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Lord Dundas And Shetland Actions on Skat

Lord Dundas was the son of Sir Lawrence Dundas (b. 1712, d. 1781) who had acquired the estate the Earldom of Orkney from James Douglas, Earl of Morton, in 1766.  As a consequence of legal actions brought by him in 1811 and 1820, it can be seen that it was accepted that skat was derived from the Danish land tax.

From the earlier action the following is put forward

Objections for the Right Honourable Lord Dundas to the Rental of Fetlar and North Yell:- "The rental of the parish of Fetlar, as given up by the minister, states:- (1)  The landrent of every heritor in the parish; (2)  The skat-duties payable to the objector, as superior or overlord of the district  These duties ought not to have been included in the rental, as, from their nature, no part of them  ever was or can be payable to the Minister as teind.  The origin of the skat duty was a tax similar to the land-tax of Scotland, which was imposed on the islands of Zetland when under the domination of the King of Denmark, and on occasion of their being transferred to the Crown of Scotland that tax was continued, and by the grant which was originally given to the family of Morton, and subsequently acquired by the objector's father, the tax has been continued.  It is a duty payable, not by the heritors of lands, for in no one instance does it ever enter their rentals, nor are they liable for it to Lord Dundas the superior.  It is alone payable by the tenants or occupiers of the lands; and, consequently, when lands are lying ley or waste, the duty is not payable, and the objector does not receive it; so that, in fact, it is a  contingent tax, sometimes leviable and sometimes not;  but in no shape connected with rents of lands, or the proprietors of lands, NEITHER THEY NOR THE LANDS THEMSELVES BEING SO MUCH AS LIABLE for it, so that there is no principle whatever upon which it can be added to the rental of the parish, and a fifth part thereof considered as teind.  The value thereof, as given up by the minister, amounts to L.31:9:6, and which,  consequently, will fall to be deducted from the rental."  Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland pages xxix-xxx

And more strongly in replies made:

"These duties are not in any shape leviable by the heritor....If they run in arrears, the heritor is in no shape liable to Lord Dundas for them.  Neither are the lands or the fruits of the ground liable for such arrears.  It is a personal claim against the occupiers as inhabitants of the islands.... The teinds, again, are debita fructuum; the scatt, on the other hand, is a mere personal debt against he occupier of the lands, for which Lord Dundas has no claim against the landlord, nor any right or security over the produce." Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland pages xxx-xxxi

On 11 January 1811, Lord Robertson sustained these objections made by Lord Dundas.

The second action was against Mr Gifford of Busta in Shetland c1820 where it was found:

that certain feu and unboth duties, with scatt, wattle, sheep and ox money, were debita fundi (that is, real burdens on the lands, like proper feu duties) and exigible from the proprietor. Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland page xxxi

The plea of Mr Gifford was:

that the scatt, wattle, sheep and ox money were debita fructuum, being, according to immemorial usage, payable by the tenants only when the lands produced fruits; but that when the lands were not in a profitable state of occupancy (or ley) no such duties were exigible. Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland  (1886) page xxxi

The amount of skat was not disputed in the action against Mr Gifford and the action was upheld.

It will be seen from these two cases that in the first, Lord Dundas maintained:

that skat could  not be levied  from either lands or their proprietors, or even from the produce of the ground, not being debita fructuum;  Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland  (1886) page xxxii

and in the latter:

that skat, &c. could be levied from either or all of these, being no only debita fructuum but debita fundi. Notes from The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland  (1886) page xxxii

Interestingly, Lord Dundas was successful on both occasions.

The cases do show that Lord Dundas admitted that skat was the Danish land tax.  This is what James Douglas, the Earl of Morton had denied during the Pundlar Process in 1752.