Illegal Act of Union

thoughtful letter (July 28) not only admirably sums up what she has to

say but also gives me the opportunity of pointing out that Scotland

still has both its Scots parliament and its independence.

Scotland still has its independence because the Scots Parliament acted

illegally in enacting in 1707 the Act of Union between Scotland and

England against the overwhelming wishes of the Scots then not to unite

with England, and in Scots law the sovereign body for Scotland was, and

still is, the whole Scottish people whose approbation was required to

give validity to that Act which, incidentally, was also invalid under

Scots law because the Members of Parliament, or enough of them anyway,

were bribed and/or otherwise corrupted into voting for and so passing

it.

And Scotland still has its own parliament because the Parliament of

1707 is still in existence, its dissolving of itself then being illegal

because done in accordance with that illegal Act and also because it did

not in any case have the legal power to abolish the Scots Parliament. No

parliament can bind its successor nor can it so bind things that there

can be no successor parliament, certainly not without the approbation of

the whole Scottish people.

As the Scots Parliament of 1707 is legally still in existence, all

that is needed is for it to be reconstituted, which requires no election

to be held for it is possible to trace the heirs of nobles who were

members in 1707, and for these heirs to be members now.

It is likewise possible for holders of church offices now, the holders

of which were members then, to be members now.

The Commons side of the reconstituted parliament could be made up of

the chairmen of all districts councils and of the three all-purpose

island councils as today's burgess members as it were.

Once reconstituted this still-existing Scots Parliament would take

over the running of Scotlnd, say on St Andrew's Day this year, and

prepare the way for whatever the Scots wish next, as expressed in a

Scottish General Election held not later than the end of next year.

So there is actually no ''brick wall'', to quote Morag Kerr, actually,

no need for ''independence (to)

be declared'', to quote her again,

and she and all other of us Scots are actually subjects of Elizabeth,

Queen of Scots, for Scotland is actually also still, and legally, the

independent kingdom it was immediately prior to the illegal Act of Union

in 1707.

Michael A. Ritchie,

Blue House,

Duns.