Sir James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh

Sir James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh (1655–1708), of Philiphaugh, was Lord Clerk Register of Scotland.

He was the eldest son of Sir John Murray of Philiphaugh, by Anne, daughter of Sir Archibald Douglas of Cavers, and was born in 1655.

As member for Selkirkshire, he sat in the convention of estates which assembled at Edinburgh, 26 June 1678, and he was chosen member for the same county in 1681. He was also sheriff of Selkirk in succession to his father. On 18 November 1680 he and Urquhart of Meldrum, a commander of the king's troops, brought complaints against each other before the privv council. Murray asserted that Urquhart had sought to interfere with his jurisdiction as sheriff and had threatened him with imprisonment, while Urquhart accused Murray of remissness in taking proceedings against the covenanters, and of declining to supply him with a list of those concerned in the rebellion. As power had only been granted to Urquhart to act as justice of the peace, and not to sit alone as magistrate, he had exceeded his prerogatives in interfering with the duties of Murray as sheriff, but the council declined to affirm that he had acted beyond his powers. On 21 Jan. 1681 the case was again brought before the council, and finally, on 6 October, the council found that Murray had 'malversed and been remiss in punishing conventicles,' and therefore they simply deprived him of his right of sheriffship of Selkirk, it not being heritable, but bought by King Charles from his father, and declared it was devolved in the king's hands to give it to any other . According to Lauder some said that 'seeing the Duchess of Lauderdale's courtship, by which he had stood, was now dried up, he came well off that he was not likewise fined'.

After the discovery of the Rye House plot, Murray was, in September 1684, committed to prison. Being brought before the council on the 6th, and threatened with the boots, he made a confession and threw himself on the mercy of Queensberry, and on 1 October, he was liberated on bail of £1,000 to appear when called . Subsequently, on application to the king, he and others received pardon, with the view of their testimony being used against the chief contrivers of the Rye House plot. He was a witness against Robert Baillie of Jerviswood on 23 December 1684, and also against the Earl of Tarras on 5 and 6 Jan. 1685. His evidence was also adduced against Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont, Pringle of Torwoodlie, and others, against whom sentence of forfeiture was passed in their absence.

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