St Tigernach, of Ireland, 550. St Becan, of Ireland, abbot, 6th century. St Gerald, abbot of Seauve, near Bordeaux, 1095. St Vincent Ferrer, of Spain, confessor, 1419.
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Born. – Catharine I. of Russia, 1689, Ringen.
Died. – Danton, guillotined, 1794.
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On this Day in Other Sources.
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In 1287, Pope Honorius [IV.] departs this life, at Rome, the 5th day of the month of April; and to his succeeded, in the pontifical chair, Jerome [Masci] of Piceno, general of [the] order of St Francis, and Cardinal Palestrina. After his election, he was called Pope Nicholas IV.
– Historical Works, pp.77-88.
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Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, took the town of Berwick from the English, who had possessed it 20 years, the 5th of April 1318.
– Historical Works, pp.88-104.
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The 5th day of April, this same year [1512], the Queen is brought to bed of a son, christened James, who, after his father’s death, was King of Scotland.
– Historical Works, pp.214-238.
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The 5th day of April this year [1603], being Tuesday, his majesty [James VI.] took his journey for England, with the tears and lamentations of his people, and entered Berwick the 6th of this same month, where he stayed 3 days, and so [on] forward by easier journeys. He entered London [on] the 7th day of May, this same year.
– Historical Works, pp.340-416.
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[James VI.] left Scotland on the 5th of April [1603], after taking a tender farewell of his Scottish subjects, and promising to revisit them once every three years. He did not allow one year to elapse without making an effort to accomplish a union between England and Scotland; but it ended in the comparatively narrow result of establishing that the postinati – that is, Scotsmen born after the king’s accession to the English crown – should be regarded as naturalised in both countries.
– Domestic Annals, pp.177-227.
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The consistory house [of Glasgow Cathedral], was probably coeval with the tower, had, through age, fallen into still greater decay, and it required a more extensive repair. A minute of the town council of date 5th April, 1628, bears that “the proveist, bailyeis, and counsell has condescendit and aggreit that James Colquhoun, wricht, and John Boyid, masoun, build and repair the dekayet pairtis of the Librarie hous of the Hie Kirk, putt the ruiff thairon, geist and lost the samyn, and theik the samyn with leid, and do all thingis necessar thairto for 3100 merk.”
– Old Glasgow, pp.104-116.
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Apr. 5 [1683]. – At the funeral of the Duke of Lauderdale at Haddington, while the usual dole of money was being distributed among the beggars, one, named Bell, stabbed another. ‘He was apprehended, and several stolen things found on him; and he being made to touch the corpse, the wound bled afresh. The town of Haddington, who it seems have a sheriff’s power, judged him presently, and hanged him over the bridge next day.’ – Foun.
– Domestic Annals, pp.322-337.
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“The corpse of Andrew Wilson, baker, son to Andrew Wilson, baker and inn-dweller in Dunnikier (Qui mortuit Gallifocio Edinburgam), was interred on the 5th April, 1736.” An old denizen of Pathhead declared that he saw Wilson’s grave opened, and could not but remark upon the size and texture of his bones.
– Old and New Edinburgh, pp.123-138.
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I have often seen the site of fires surrounded by stones placed there by children; and once, on a beautiful Easter Thursday evening (April 5), just at sundown, many fires suddenly appeared blazing and smoking on the hill-tops in the Isle of Man. In about ten minutes they all vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, and a Manksman, who was asked to explain the cause, looked much disturbed, and went his way in haste without answering.
“Bealtainn,” yellow May day, is in spring; and All Saints, All Hallows or Halloween, “Samhuinn,” 1st of November, is late in autumn – so there are Pagan as well as Christian observances connected with these two seasons.
– Popular Tales, Vol. 4, pp.348-369.
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In 1817 the corporation of Aberdeen became bankrupt, chiefly in consequence of the enormous expenditure incurred in opening two new streets or approaches to the town, under the authority of an act of parliament dated April 5, 1800. The engineer employed had estimated the whole expense at about £42,000, but the total expenditure, up to Whitsunday 1816, amounted to £171,280. The parliamentary commissioners also reported, that while the total average annual revenue of the city for the five years preceding Michaelmas 1832, was £15,184, the total average annual expenditure was £17,528; but this excess arose upon casual expenditure, chiefly in building churches.
– Gazetteer of Scotland, pp.3-11.
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“THE REPRESENTATION OF SCOTLAND.
‘A Liberal,’ St Ninians, writes:- As there is a great likelihood of a general election taking place towards the close of the year, it would not be amiss if attention were called to a few of the questions which are stirring the public mind at the present time. Great attention has been called to the representation of the people of the three kingdoms by the utterances of Mr Gladstone when he ushered in, if I may so speak, the present Reform Bill. They have been at once seized upon by the Conservatives as a pretext for opposing a Bill which they knew full well they dare not oppose openly. Of course, Mr Gladstone made a blunder when he spoke of redistribution at all, but he spoke only of his own opinions, not of the general opinions of the Cabinet. Mr Bright followed Mr Gladstone, and pointed as a conclusive argument to the Treaty of Union. The Treaty of Union! What does he say of the Treaty between England and Scotland? Where are the rights and privileges conferred upon us by it? It seems to me that they have taken wings and flown away. Where is our national Mint? Why are we the most heavily taxed of the three kingdoms when it was agreed at the Treaty of Union that we should only bear one-fortieth of the taxation? I wish that some of our more prominent statesmen would turn their attention a little more to Scotland, for the treaty with Ireland seems to be considered more sacred than that with Scotland. Why it is I cannot imagine. Taking Mr Gladstone’s own figures at the time when he was addressing his constituents in Midlothian, we find that Scotland, if we go by population, instead of having 60, as it has at the present time, should have 70, and if we calculate by the amount of revenue it gives it should have 78 members. Taking the mean between these, Scotland should be represented in Parliament by 74 members. Applying the same rule to Ireland, it should have 84 members, instead of 103, as the Prime Minister would like to give it. According to a late return, we find that the smallest Irish constituency, viz., Portarlington, has an electorate of only 141, while the smallest Scottish constituency, viz., Wigtown Burghs, has an electorate of 1340. Yet we find that they have both one member to represent them. Again, Galway, with an electorate of 1106, has two members of Parliament, while Aberdeen, with 14,489, has only one member to represent it. Can any person, with these figures before him, say that Ireland has 103 members by justice, while Scotland has only 60? Why, the thing is simply unjust. But I am sure that the Prime Minister will not be followed by the body of the Liberals, and I hope that no member will be returned to Parliament at next election who is not prepared to stand up for Scotland and see her representatives augmented. I would like to see discussion raised on these momentous questions in this paper, for it would allow of much information being diffused among the public, this paper being emphatically the ‘People’s’ Journal.”
– Dundee People’s Journal, Saturday 5 April, 1884.
– Treaty of Union Articles, 1875-1900.
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On the 5 April 1902, during the 1902 British Home Championship match between Scotland and England, the back of the newly built West Tribune Stand Ibrox Park collapsed due to heavy rainfall the previous night. Hundreds of supporters fell up to 40 feet to the ground below resulting in the death of 25 people. The tragedy occurred after 51 minutes of the match, which was allowed to finish, to avoid supporters exiting en masse crowding the area obstructing rescue work. Bruce Crawford died of a fracture of the base of the skull, and his place of death is given as Ibrox Park itself, rather than a hospital.
– Glasgow’s Eastern Necropolis.
