John Lindsay of Balcarres (1552–1598) wasSecretary of State, Scotland. On 5 July 1581 he was appointed aLord of Session under the titleLord Menmuir.[1]
He was the second son ofDavid Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford andCatherine Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Lorn.[2] Along with his brother,Lord Edzell, he was sent under the care ofJames Lawson to complete his education on the continent and in Paris. TheFrench Wars of Religion meant they had to return rapidly from Paris toDieppe, then moving to theUniversity of Cambridge;[3] however, as there is no record of him in Venn'sAlumni Cantabrigienses John may have returned to Paris subsequently.[1]
Menmuir,Lethnot, andLochlee, in the gift of the Edzell family, were settled on him; later, under a Writ of thePrivy Seal, 11 July 1576, variousteinds and a pension were also granted, along with the small estate of Drumcairn, inForfarshire. In 1586, he purchased the lands of Balcarres (nearColinsburgh inFife),Balniell,Pitcorthie, and others in the county of Fife, which on 10 June 1592 were united into afree barony. In 1595 he erected the mansion ofBalcarres House, which he made his principal residence.[1]
Menmuir was an ally inJames VI's programme of reforms. In 1587 he was employed in framing several Parliamentary Acts relating to the constitution. In April 1588, and again in April 1589, he was appointed one of a commission to inquire into disorders in theUniversity of St Andrews. In November 1589 he joined thePrivy Council. He acquired political influence chiefly on account of his financial ability. On 14 October 1591 he was appointed one of the four financial managers for the queen consortAnne of Denmark. In June 1592, Menmuir was appointed "Master of Metals", in charge of crown revenues fromgold mining and other mineral works.[4][5]
In July 1593, hMenmuir was named one of a special council for the management of the Queen's revenues,[6] In January 1596, he was chosen one of the eight Commissioners of the Exchequer, known as theOctavians. He was reputed the ablest financier of the eight. In March he was appointedLord Keeper of the Privy Seal, and on 28 MaySecretary of State, Scotland for life.[1]
In March 1594, he spoke with Bernard Fechtenburg one of the mining experts ofThomas Foulis and convinced him to work forDavid Lindsay ofEdzell. Fechtenburg said that Edzell's samples of ores were more promising than an assay made by Foulis' other experts.[7] In February 1596, Menmuir was an auditor of Foulis's account of the gold duty and theEnglish subsidy received by James VI.[8]
Menmuir was also one of the chief advisers of the King in his policy for establishingEpiscopacy. In 1596 he drew up a scheme for the planting of kirks throughout Scotland with perpetual local stipends, with representation of each Presbytery in parliament by a commissioner. After an attempt to modify it by an Act of the Estates passed in August, but was badly received by the Presbyterian church, he gave up the plan as before its time. Shortly afterwards his lenient attitude towards the Catholic nobles brought him into collision with the kirk. He was with the King when besieged in theTolbooth on 17 December 1596, and he was attacked as a 'plain mocker of religion'. Menmuir drew up the 55 points to be submitted to theGeneral Assembly which met atPerth on 28 February 1597. He was theChancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1597 to 1598.[1]
Besides conducting important negotiations with foreign powers, on 4 March 1597 Menmuir was appointed ambassador to France. It was his intention during the visit to Paris to undergo an operation forthe stone, but bad health prevented him from making the journey, and in February 1598 he resigned the office of secretary of state. He died atBalcarres,Fife, 3 September 1598,[9] and in accordance with his Will he was buried in the parish kirk ofKilconquhar.[1]
By his first wife, Marion, daughter of Alexander Guthrie, town clerk of Edinburgh, and widow of David Borthwick of Lokhill, lord advocate, he had two sons—John, lord Menmuir, who died unmarried in January 1601, andDavid Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres—and three daughters: Catherine, married first to Sir John Lindsay of Woodhead, and secondly to John Brown of Fordel; Margaret, to Sir John Strachan of Thornton; and Janet, to Sir David Auchmutie of Auchmutie. By his second wife, Jane née Lauder, relict of both Sir James Forrester of Corstorphine and John Campbell of Calder, he had no issue.
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Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Lindsay, John, Lord Menmuir".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of St Andrews 1597–1598 | Succeeded by |
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