Not sure this will help but in Pont, Timothy. Topographical Account of the District of Cunningham, Ayrshire. Compiled About the Year 1600 with Notes and an Appendix. Glasgow, 1856. p. xxx. it says. An interesting notice of our author - truly characteristic of his enterprising
and active mind-occurs in reference to the well -known wild project of James the Sixth to exterminate the native inhabitants and owners of the northern province of Ireland, and to re-people it with emigrants from Scotland. Pursuant to this dire hallucination, a royal proclamation was issued in Scotland, dated March 28, 1609, intimating to all persons who might wish to take part in the enterprise, and who were desirous of obtaining a share of the lands, “ That they come to the Lords of his Majestie's Privy Counsale, and present their desyres and petitionis to the saidis Lordis, be quhome thay salbe acquantit with the perticulair conditionis to be per formit be thame for thair land. ” This could not fail to be highly flattering and acceptable to the donor's canny countrymen, and, accordingly, numbers hastened to partake of the tempting largesses. In the Acts of Privy Council for July, 1609, are recorded the names of such persons as “ desired to be enrolled as undertakers in the intendit plantation and distributioun of the forfeyted and escheted lands of the province of Ulster . ” These applications were for 1000, 1500, and 2000 acres respectively — the price, with caution granted, being at the rate of £100 for every five hundred acres of land."
