24th of March

St Irenæus, Bishop of Sirmium, martyr, 304.

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Born. – Mahomet II., 1430, Adrianople. 

Died. – Haroun-al-Raschid, twenty-fifth Caliph, 809; Pope Nicholas V., 1455; Mrs Mary Tighe, classic poetess, 1810, Woodstock, Ireland; Bertel Thorvaldsen, Danish sculptor, 1844.

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On this Day in Other Sources.

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On the 24th and the 28th of March, [Queen Mary] held two privy councils; as we know, from Keith, 374. She again returned to Seaton; 

– Life of Mary, pp.151-155.

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Another case in which witchcraft was practised in the olden time was for the purpose of getting mills to grind freely. With such a case we find the Presbytery of Glasgow dealing on the 24th of March, 1602. “Quhilk daye compeirit William grinla in ye parochin of Leinzae and grantis yat William baird in Balloche gart him gang wt him to Annie forsyithe and thai bayth besoucht ye said Annie for godis saik to cause ye mylne gang to grind ye said William bairds meill; and yt ye said William baird opened his sek, and ye said Annie pat hir hand in ye sek, and efter yt ye said mylne geid.” At a subsequent diet the presbytery find that the parties “have committed a capital crime replenischit with sorcerie,” and understanding that the woman Annie is fugitive, they remit the two men “to Lord Flemyng yair ordinar to underly punischment for thair offence.” Lord Fleming reserving to himself “ye pecuniall sum” to be exacted from them, remitted them back to the presbytery to prescribe the penance, and the presbytery for their “horrible sine” appointed them to make their repentance publicly in each of three several kirks in sackcloth, “bairfuttit, bairleggit, and bairheidit, sex severall sondayes and to crave Gods mercie for declyning to praye to God and inclining to the said Annie.” 

– Old Glasgow, pp.189-215.

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THE death of Elizabeth, March 24, 1603, opened the way for King James to the English throne. 

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Intelligence of the death of Elizabeth, which took place at an early hour on the morning of Thursday the 24th March [1603,] was brought to King James by Robert Carey, a young aspirant of the English court, who, making a rapid journey on horseback, reached Holyroodhouse on Saturday evening (Mar. 26) after the king had retired to rest. The son of the governor of Berwick came next day and delivered the keys of that town to the Scottish monarch. 

– Domestic Annals, pp.177-227.

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This fortress [Dumbarton Castle] was one of the first which fell into the hands of the covenanters in the reign of Charles I. On Sunday, 24th March, 1639, Sir William Stewart, the captain of the Castle, had gone with his family and the greater part of the garrison, to the church at Dumbarton. John Semple, the provost of the town, and McAulay of Ardencaple, with a body of armed covenanters, surrounded Stewart and his soldiers, and took them prisoners. By threats of death, they obtained from Stewart the watchword of the Castle, which enabled them to get within the outworks, with a body of soldiers: the small portion of the garrison who remained within surrendered it the following morning. 

– Select Views, pp.73-86.

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“It is ordainit be the Committee of Estaites that fyve hundrethe bollis of meill be advancit for the vse of the people that cumis in to help to cast up the trinche about this citie, quhilk is to be payit out of som sowmes of monye the Provest is to receave for the vse of the publict; and becaus the meill can not be commodiouslie gottine, the said Provest Baillies and Counsell hes concludit to pay to everie man that cumis in to wirk, in satisfaction of the peck of meill ilk man sould have, conform to the act and ordinance of the said Committee.” In the following year there is an entry showing that the presyteries in the neighbourhood were required to furnish men for this work: “24 March [1646] – ordains Jon. Johnston to go to the Presbiterie of Lanerk and get answer from them anent ther sending of men, or moneys to hyre men, to work at the trinch. As als ordains to wryte to the rest of the Presbiteries for ther deficiencie.” 

– Old Glasgow, pp.162-175.

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   “The Lords after reading the Peerage Bill a 2d time, Read the Petitions presented by the Lord Cowper, of the Lords Dundonald, Faulkland and Abercorne of Scotland, complaining of the Peerage Bill taking away their Rights and Priviledges, and of its being a breach of the Union, and praying to be heard by their Council.  

   There was a Considerable debate for and against Committing the said Petition, but at last, it was resolved, that it should be laid before the King.”  

– Pue’s Occurrences, Tuesday 24th March, 1719.

– Treaty of Union Articles, 1700-1750.

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Some of the notices of marriages in this Glasgow Journal are amusing. For example:

“March 24th 1746. On monday last James Dennistoun Junr of Colgraine Esq. was married to Miss Jenny Baird a beautiful young lady.” 

– Old Glasgow, pp.299-307.

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The rise in the value of property in this locality has been very remarkable. In 1788, just after Buchanan Street was opened, a lot of ground fronting the street was sold for 2s. 6d. the square yard. In 1777 the magistrates resolved to dispose of “the towns building ground” in Argyll Street and neighbourhood, and by their minute of 24th March in that year they fixed the prices. They resolved that the ground in the old green – the “Dowcat green,” lying between Jamaica Street and Stockwell – should be sold at 3s. 6d. the square yard; that St. Enoch’s Square, the ground in Argyll Street “westward of Mr. Robertsons,” and the west side of Jamaica Street, should all be sold at 4s. 6d. the square yard; and that for the steading on the east side of Jamaica Street, “as it is a corner steading,” the price should be five shillings the square yard. Within the last few years ground in St. Enoch’s Square has been sold at prices ranging from £20 to £25 the square yard, and one lot was sold as high as £50 the square yard; while in Argyll Street, near St. Enoch’s Square, the prices have ranged from £50 to £80, and one steading was sold at £100 the square yard. These were the prices paid for the ground alone, over and above the value of the buildings at the time of the sales. 

– Old Glasgow, pp.150-161.

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“SUPERSEDING THE SCOTCH LAW COURTS.

   Mr. McLELLAN wished to bring under the notice of the Council, a measure of great importance to Scotland in its commercial relations and otherwise. Some two years ago, a bill was brought into Parliament, the effect of which would have been to subject the Scotch Law to the operation of English Common Law at Westminster – an instance of gross centralization, and highly detrimental to the commercial interests of Scotland. This clause was detected and deleted, and Scotland preserved from this infliction. Another instance was, in the case of a bill making some alteration in the system of transporting criminals – a bill hurriedly carried through Parliament, and in which there was a decided infraction of the 19th section of the treaty of union. That was actually the law at this moment; and its provisions were to the effect that the warrant of any criminal judge in England should supersede the warrants of judges in Scotland and in Ireland – superseding our criminal police and local control. Now, in addition to this, a bill had just been introduced into Parliament, under a plausible pretence, by a gentleman of the name of Craufurd, who represented the Ayrshire district of Burghs, which proposed to carry out some good provisions, by allowing validity to the indorsation of judges’ warrants in the three kingdoms. This was reciprocal, fair, and just. But the clause to which he objected, was one which took the same course as that proposed by the bill introduced two years ago, and which superseded in civil causes the control of the Scotch courts, high and low, and which swept the whole procedure from them, and centralized it in Westminster and the other courts in England. This was not only a breach of the 19th article of the Union, but if passed into law it would be everywhere felt as inconvenient, and it would place the Scotch law in a subordinate position to that of England. For the sake of example, he would take the case of a bargain between a Scotch trader and an English furnishing house. Well, the goods arrive; but they are found not to tally with the sample. Now, if the objections on this head are never so strong on the part of the Scotch receiver, he was to have no power, as at present, to object to the breach of contract in the Scotch courts of law, and at the place of his own residence, but his case was transferred entirely to the English law courts. This would be an immense inconvenience, besides being flagrantly insulting to the Scotch. It was partial to England, and unjust to Scotland, and altogether such a gross instance of centralization as could only have been introduced by ignorance or malice prepense.” 

– Glasgow Herald, Friday 24th March, 1854.

– Treaty of Union Articles, 1850-1875.

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Associated Words from Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary.

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MIRK MONANDAY, A day of uncommon darkness, often referred to in the conversations of old people, S. March 24, 1652.