History of the Johnstones, 1191-1909, with ... - Electric Scotland

QUEEX WARY 71
His father's lands were divided to provide for the numerous brothers. George
had Graitney, an important but much smaller holding than
and
Newbie ; John, a
younger son, received a farm in Cummcrtrees ;
Herbert (whose sons, Adam,
James, and Arthur sign a bond in 1578), a farm in Croftheid— as " gudemen "
under the Baron of Newbie.
Besides the Barony Newbie inherited the church land of Kirkpatrick
Fleming, and obtained a Crown Charter for it, and he bought a copyhold of
Dornock part of the lands of the Abbey of Dundrennan, for both glebes intersected
his Barony.
In the first session of Parliament at Edinburgh after the peace of 1552 it
was proposed that an annual tax should be levied on the Borders to support a
large standing army, in place of the Royal Statute of 1455 which ordained that
200 spearmen and as many archers should be maintained upon the East and
Middle Marches for their defence, and that those " near the Border should have
good households, and armed men as offers and to be ready at their principal
place, and to pass with the Wardens when and where they shall be charged."
Nearly 200 of the Border chiefs and gentlemen, including Newbie, assembled at
Edinburgh to protest against this tax. They would defend the realm as their
forefathers had done, but had no money. Yet as Newbie and Graitney covered
a large extent of Border, the burden of defence came rather heavily upon their
families.
Among the feuars of Newbie who helped in the agricultural duties were
Gibsons, Hallidays, Potts, Wylds, and Raes, landowners themselves in earlier
days while ; the sons of the house, always armed, kept by turns a vigilant watch
on the opposite shore. There were no traitors among them, so the frontier was
usually crossed much farther east by the enemy. This happened only five
years after the peace was signed. John Maxwell, now known as Lord Hereis,
and a colleague were actually at Carlisle to arrange on the part of Scotland
that she should continue at peace with England, although her ally, France, was
engaging in a war with Spain, which involved the English Queen Mary as the
wife of a Spanish Prince.
An English army suddenly crossed the east Borders, and Lord Hereis,
to keep it out of Dumfriesshire, patriotically formed a bond of manrent,
in return for the restoration of land, 1
with the head of the Armstrongs, who
had assisted the enemy only seven years before and actually captured
Johnstoun. Some of this clan as usual helped the English in 1557, and
defeated Bothwell, the Lord of Liddesdale, who, on his side, defeated the
English. Still their partial adherence to the Scots hastened the peace,
which was signed in 1559.
This year the Protestants first formed themselves into a league in Scotland,
and the Reformed faith was officially recognised in 1560. The young Queen
a year later returned a widow to her native land, and there were hopes
that she might be induced to accept it herself. Lord Maxwell and Murray
1 The lands granted to Lord Hereis's father when James IV. hanged Johnnie Armstrong
and the leading men of his clan.