An Act of Parliament was passed in
1733, to enable William Mackenzie, late Earl of Seaforth, to sue
or maintain any action or suit notwithstanding his attainder, and
to remove any disability in him, by reason of his said attainder,
to take or inherit any real or personal estate that may or shall
hereafter descend to him. - "Wood's Douglas' Peerage."] felt free
once more to return to his native land, where, according to Captain
Matheson, he spent the remainder of his life in retirement, and
"with few objects to occupy him or to interest us beyond the due
regard of his personal friends and the uninterrupted loyalty of
his old vassals." He must, however, have been in tightened
circumstances, for, on the 27th of June, 1728, he writes a letter to
the Lord Advocate, in which he refers to a request he had made to Sir
Robert Walpole, who advised him to put his claim in writing that it
might be submitted to the King. This was done, but "the King would
neither allow anything of the kind or give orders to be granted what
his Royal father had granted before. On hearing this, I could
not forbear making appear how ill I was used. The Government in
possession of the estate, and I in the interim allowed to starve,
though they were conscious of my complying with whatever I promised
to see put in execution.
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