The tryal of Philip Standsfield, son to Sir James Standsfield, of New-Milns;: for the murder of his father, and other crimes libel'd against him. / Published by authority.

Follows the Declaration of Umphray Spurway English-man.

I Umphray Spurway of New-milns, Clothier, being summoned to ap∣pear before the Lords of his Majesties Privy Council in Edinburgh the 6 of December 1687. To declare my knowledge of what I had seen, and heard, relating to the death of Sir James Standsfield of New-milns, Did then and there declare before the saids Lords, as hereafter fol∣loweth. And after declaring what I had to say, was commanded to committ to writing my said Declaration, under my own hand, which I the aforesaid Umphray Spurway do hereby humbly offer to the above∣said Lords of his Majesties Council, subscribing the same with my own hand.

About six weeks before the death of Sir James Standsfield, after night I went to pay my respects to Sir James, as I usually did when he was at Newmilns, at which time I found him not so free for Discourse, nor so pleasant as at other times: In so much that I used that freedom with him, to Quere the reason why his Honour was so Melancholy? who with a great sigh, wringing his hands together, with tears trickling down his Cheeks; said, Mr Spurway, I have great cause for it; I have born my own burden, without complaining to others, but I have a very wicked Family, and it's very sad that a man should be destroyed by his own Bowels; But let me be never so sparing in my expence, both at home and abroad, yet they at home of my Family consume me; condescending on some par∣ticulars, of some extravagant sums of money, monethly brought in to him, that his Family had expended, besides what he allowed for them, which was very sufficient: But that which grieved him most was, that his youngest Son, whom he had some Comfortable hopes of, and upon whom he had settled his Estate upon; His just Debts being first payed, and that to the knowledge of his Son; But now he was frustrated of his hopes of that his Son too: For his eldest Son had debauched his youngest Son, who had several times of late come in Drunk, as the other; This he declated to me with very great grief of heart: But the Saturdays night after Sir James, and a Minister one Mr. Bell came to New-milns from Edinburgh, I came in at the house of one James Marr, where I saw Sir James, and Mr. Bell sitting by the fire, before he had been at his own house, which I wondred at, having never known the like done by him before; but since, I have had my thoughts, that he had a fear upon him, (good Gentleman) of going to his own house, but having sat some time with him, he desired Mr. Marr to send one of his People at his house, to know, if they had kindled a fire for him; And upon the return the Messenger gave this answer. May it please your Honour, your fire is kindled for you; upon which Sir James, and the Minister arose, and took their leave of Mr. Marr; And I also accompanyed Sir James and the Minister half the way toward his home, and so took my leave of him, wishing his Honour a good night: But the next morning being Sabbath∣day after the light well appeared, one Agnes Bruce came at my Chamber

〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉

〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉

door & knocked. I went and opened the door, says she, Sir, Sir James is gone out of his Lodgeing-roum this morning, and we have sought all the Roums of the house for him, but cannot find him; she goes off, I im∣mediatly followed her, and when I came out of my door, I met with Master Philip Standsfield, and James Dick. Mr. Standsfield declares to me, Lord, Master Spurway, what should be the cause of this man's discontent, that he should thus leave his Lodgings, and walk out? To which I replyed, Sir, do you wonder the cause of his discontent, who never gave him con∣tent, but had been the cause of grieving him, from one to the other of them ever since I knew the Family; But he turned his back upon me, and made no reply at all; however I went at Sir James's house, but could not procure the keys of neither of the Gardens, and I sent abroad of Sir James's servants, and of my own, some on horse-back, and some on foot, to inquire after him; At last a servant of mine, one Will Bowman found him in the River, a little be-west the Town; I went at the place, and saw him lying about two yeards, or eight foot from the Brink of the River, lying upon his Belly, just at the top of the water, as it were floating, only his Coat, and westcoat loose about him, and a shirt on him that I saw. I saw the place at the Brink of the River, where some one had stood all beaten to mash with feet, and the ground very open and mellow, although a very hard frosty morning; So I gave order to some to get a Ladder, and to set the one end into the River, as near the hinder part of Sir James as they could, and the other end of the Ladder to fall at the top of the Brae, which was very steep, and so they might get him out easily; So I came away from the place, and desired Mr Marr to see the Body landed, Declaring that I would go home, and write to Mr George Hume merch∣ant in Edinburgh of the sad sight which I had seen, desiring him to com∣municat the same to my Lord Advocat, with desire to know by the Mes∣senger his Lordships pleasure, what of advice or direction he would be pleased to give concerning it, and it should be followed; But the Messen∣ger that I sent, after he had delivered my Letter to Mr Hume, and Order given by Commissary Dalrymple, how to proceed further with the Body of Sir James, which order was directed to my self by a letter, which when I read the letter, the contents was: That I should endeavour to procure two or three discreet persons of New-milns to my self, and we together view the Body of Sir Iames; and if we found no grounds to believe that his Person had not been wronged by others, that then with all speed he should be Buried, and that as privatly, and with as little noise as could be; But this letter which was the Commissary's Order to me was sent by the hand of one Iames Mitchell Kinsman to Sir Iames; For that horse that the express rode on to Edinburgh was taken out of the stable, where he was set up. And one Mr. Patrick Smith the Brother in Law of Sir Iames Stands∣field mounted on him to come for New milns; So that my express was thereby disabled, to bring me the answer of my letter; And the said Iames Mitchell who brought my letter, came home at the place by nine of the Clock, that sabbath-day at night, and gave an account of the letter that he had for me; But they diswaded him from bringing it me. So that I had it not till three hours after Sir Iames was buried. But upon Munday morning, I arose about three or four of the Clock; And coming out of my house, I saw great lights at Sir Iames's Gate, which occasioned my going

down, to see what the matter was; And as I went, I met with one Will. Robison, coming up of home, I asked what the meaning was of these lights, and of the horses that I then saw at Sir Iames's Gate? who answered me that Sir Iames's Corps were brought out at the Gate, and that they were carrying it at Morum to be buried, having received orders from my Lord Advocat for that purpose; At which I returned to my house, thinking it very strange thus to proceed without having had the Corps viewed by some Person, as I well knew was customary in England in such cases. The next step to my remembrance was, that upon the Tuesday night following, after I was in bed, One Mr. Alexander Camp∣bell in Edinburgh, with one Mr. James Row, and an Gentleman one Mr. Hamilton, with two Chirurgions, came at my house, and caused me to rise out of my Bed, showing me an order, which they had from my Lord Advocat, for the taking up again the body of Sir James Standsfield; and com∣manded me to make ready to go with them, and having seen the order, rea∣dily submitted thereunto, and when coming upon the place at Morum, caused the said grave to be opened, and the Coffin taken up. It was carried into the Church and there opened; And as soon as Sir James's grave-cloaths were taken off him, and all his upper parts uncovered home to his privy parts, me thought his face look'd not as I expected, nor as others had insinuated, that were at the dressing of him at first; For they said that his Body & Face was very fair and fresh, but I found his face at first view of another complexion, being blackish with some strakes of red-like standing, or rather strangled blood, and under his left ear I saw a swel∣ling home to his throat of a blackish red colour; After this I saw the Chirurgions opening his Body, beginning at the top of his chin, and so down to the pit of his stomach, and then cut his Skin on both sides his throat towards each ear, and coming at the place near his left ear, that I saw swoln, I there saw of corroded or congeal'd blood, lying in a lump of a great thickness, and two or three inches long, which proved to me he had been strangled; And one thing more I observed, that when Mr. Mure∣head put off his Cap at first from his head in slipping it back, Sir James's eye-lids opened, and his eyes appeared, but his eye-lids much swoln, and very red, which did also prove to me a symptom of strangling.

This being done and his breast opened, so that his intrals appeared, and to me seemed in good order, and no appearance of water in his body, neither then, nor when first he was taken out of the river, the like I think, has not been ever known by any man that cast himself, or that has been cast into a river alive, and not to have his body full of water, nor that ever a dead man should ly at the top of the water, where no running stream is, but a still water of about 5 foot deep; But to me in this it showes, that as God is a Wonder-working God, so he has in this showen no less, to convince men, that this worthy Gentleman murdered not himself, but was murdered.

But my last Observation was of a wonder more, that the Lord did show, when the Chirurgions had caused the Body of Sir James to be by their Servants sewen up again, and his Grave-cloathes put on: A Speech was made to this Purpose; It is requisit now, that those of Sir James Standsfield's Relations and nearest Friends should take him off from the place where now he lyes, and lift him into his Coffin; So I

saw Mr. James Row at the left-side of Sir James's Head and Shoulder, and Mr. Philip Standsfield at the right-side of his Head and Shoulder, and going to lift off the Body, I saw Mr. Philip drop the Head of his Father upon the Furm, and much Blood in his Hand, and himself fly∣ing off from the Body, crying, Lord, have mercy upon me, or upon us, wipeing off the Blood on his Cloaths, and so lay himself over a Seat in the Church, some supposing that he would swarff or swoun away, cal∣led for a Bottle of water for him; After this we went for Morum Castle, where Mr. Philip Standsfield, my self and several others stayed until it was day; In which time I challenged Mr. Philip for his unkindness to me, by his not inviting me to accompany the Corps of his Father, when first buried, knowing the Intimacy that there was betwixt his Father and my self; And that of all the People in or about the Town, his Fa∣ther delighted in no ones company as in mine, and that he did not give me notice of his Burial, that I might do my last Office of Love and Service to him, by accompanying his Body to his Burial-place, I took it very ill from him; So then Mr. Philip swore that he had sent two of his Servants to invite me, but if those damn'd rogues would not do it, what could he help it; and yet did declare, as is proved, and as him∣self since confest before my Lord Advocate that he would not invite me, assigning this as his Reason, supposing that my self and James Marr had been Instruments of setting his Father against him, which was a false suggestion: All which particulars I have before the Lords of His Maje∣sties Honourable Privy Council declared: So by their Command I have in this sheet of Paper written it over with my own Hand, and do hereby subscribe my Name, the sixth of December, 1687. Sic subscri∣bitur.

per me, Umphray Spurway.