St Michael and all the Holy Angels. St Theodota, martyr, 642.
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Born. – William Julius Mickle, translator of Camoen’s Lusiad, 1734, Langholm, Scotland.
Died. – Pompey the Great, killed in Egypt 48 B.C.; Gutsavus Vasa, king of Sweden, 1560, Stockholm; Conrad Vorstius, German divine, 1622, Toningen, Holstein; Charles François Dupuis, astronomer and author, 1809, Is-sur-Til.
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On this Day in Other Sources.
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On Michaelmas day [29th of September, 1270], at Scone, King Alexander knighted Donnchadh, son to Uilleam, Earl of Mar.
– Historical Works, pp.57-77.
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Scarcely, if at all, inferior in importance to the monopoly of trade and commerce enjoyed by the burgesses of king’s burghs, and to the right which they possessed of selling and transmitting their property, was the right which they also had, in the earliest period of record, to elect their own magistrates and the officers of the burgh to whom was entrusted the administration of the burgh laws in the burgh courts. Without this privilege, indeed, and that of local government of which the privilege formed part, it is difficult to see how they could have made their other rights and privileges effectively operative.
On this subject the Laws of the Four Burghs enact that, at at the first moot or public assembly after Michaelmas, the magistrates, designated prepositi, – literally persons put forward – shall be chosen through the council of the good men of the town, who are leal and of good fame. On their election the magistrates were required to swear fealty to the king and the men of the town, and to keep the customs of the town, and not to execute justice on any man or woman for wrath or hatred, fear or favour of any one, but only through ordinance counsel and doom of the good men of the town. They were also required to swear that neither for fear nor love, nor for hatred, nor for relationship, nor for pecuniary loss, should they fail to do justice to all men. Who were the good men of the town, leal and of good fame, in whom the election of magistrates was thus vested, has been made the subject of controversy. But there seems to be little room for doubt that they were the permanent free inhabitants of the burgh – the holders of the burrowages, duly admitted, sworn, and enrolled as burgesses, who performed the duties and enjoyed the privileges incident to that relation. The Statutes of the Guild ordain that the mayor and prepositi shall be chosen at the sight and by the consideration of the whole community, and the whole community thus referred to appears to be synonymous with the good men, leal and of good fame, mentioned in the Burgh Laws. The oldest record of an election in Scotland is that of Aberdeen, at Michaelmas, 1398. It may be thus translated, – ‘On which day, William of Chamber, the father, with the consent and assent of the whole community of the said burgh, is elected to the office of alderman, and Robert the son of David, Simon of Benyer, John Scherar, and Master William Dicson, are elected to the office of bailies.’ The election of the alderman, bailies, and sergeants or burgh officers for the following year, is also made in the same terms, ‘with the consent and assent of the whole community of the burgh.’
There is thus every reason to believe that at a very early period, if not, indeed, at the earliest period of the municipal history of our oldest burghs, they were governed by magistrates or prepositi, consisting of a chief magistrate, known first as the mayor or alderman and afterwards as the provost, and the bailies, and by a selected body of burgesses called the duodene, dusane, or council. The magistrates, and probably also the dusane or council, were elected annually, at or about Michaelmas.
– Scottish Review, Early Scottish Burghs.
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The Scotish Queen did not approve of Leicester. Elizabeth did not want to part with him: And, of course, the commissioners had very little to settle, by conference. Whatever disappointment, Lord Robert Dudley may have sustained, by being rejected by a Queen, whom he did not court, was amply made up, by Elizabeth, who raised him, and his brother, to higher honours. He was created Earl of Leicester, on the 29th of September 1564.
– Life of Mary, pp.78-98.
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Lennox, his father, on a visit, which he then made to Darnley, also, endeavoured to persuade him of the impracticability of his plan, for relinquishing his wife, and son, to wander, in other lands, without a friend, and without resources. Lennox, on his return home to Glasgow, wrote the Queen, of his son’s design, and of his inability to dissuade him, from so impracticable a purpose. This letter she received, on the morning of the 29th of September, [1566,] when she laid it before her Privy Council, for their advice; and in the evening, at 10 o’clock, Darnley arrived, at Holyrood-house: But, he, peremptorily, refused to enter the palace, unless three, or four of the chief nobles, who were within, should leave it: These were Murray, and Maitland, and some other of the officers of state. The Queen, condescendingly, went without the palace to receive him; and conducted him to her own apartments, where he remained with her, during the night. About that time, as we learn from Knox, Darnley wrote to the Pope, and other Catholick powers, complaining of the state of the country, as being disordered; because of the Queen’s bad encouragement of Catholick concerns: By some means, the Queen, obtained copies of those letters; and threatened him so sore, that there was never after any appearance of love between them: But, of all this, we see nothing, in the statement of the Privy Council, in Le Croc’s letters, or in Robert Melvill’s epistle: And Darnley was not in the habit of such intrigues. While the Queen, and her husband, passed the night together, she questioned him, about his design, to depart from Scotland; and requested to know his cause for such a resolution: But, he would not acknowledge, that he had any cause of discontent, and would not assign any reason, for his conduct. On the morrow, the Privy Council assembled, in the Queen’s apartments, before whom the Bishop of Ross laid the letters from the Earl of Lennox, on the King’s resolution. The Council reasoned the matter with him; and endeavoured to make him avow the cause of his resolution, to depart the realm; and whether any particular person had given him offence. The Queen taking him by the hand, kindly requested him to say, whether she had ever given him offence, and conjured him not to spare her in the least. Le Croc, also, endeavoured to induce Darnley to avow the true cause of his discontent; but in vain. The King would not confess, that he had any such design, as his departure from Scotland; he said he had no cause of discontent; and he, freely, declared, that the Queen had never given him any cause of complaint: He now retired, from the Privy Council; saying to the Queen, “Adieu, madam, you shall not see my face, for a long space;” and to the lords, he said, “adieu, gentlemen.”
After this unceremonious departure, Darnley went to his father, at Glasgow, where he pretended to continue his purpose of going abroad, and kept a vessel in readiness. From Glasgow he wrote to the Queen, in affected language; wherein he grounded his complaints on two points of grievance: (1) That the Queen did not trust him with so much authority, nor was at such pains to advance him, and to make him honoured, by the nation, as formerly: (2) That no body attended him, and the nobility avoided his company. To these avowed grievances, the Queen made answer: (1) That she had, at the beginning, conferred so much honour on him, as had rendered herself very uneasy; and that he had abused her favours, by patronizing the conspiracy against her; but, notwithstanding this great failing on his part, she continued to show him such respect that, though those, who entered her chamber with him, and murdered her faithful servant, had named him the chief of their enterprize; yet, she had never accused him thereof, but did always excuse him, as if she had not believed the fact: (2) As to his not being attended; the fault was his own, as she had always offered him her own servants; and as to the nobles, they pay deference, according as they receive respect themselves; and if they desert him, his own deportment is the cause thereof; as he is at no pains, to make himself beloved by them; and had even gone so far, as to prohibit those noblemen to enter his apartment, whom she had first appointed to attend upon his person. The Privy Council, who give this representation, solemnly declare, “that so far as facts had come to their knowledge, Darnley had no ground of complaint; but, on the contrary, that he has the best reason, to look upon himself, as one of the most fortunate princes, in christendom, if he had only known his own happiness, and made the proper use of the good fortune, which his destiny had put into his hands.”
– Life of Mary, pp.136-151.
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The insurgent nobles had hitherto governed Scotland, in the Queen’s name, without her authority: From the epoch of this coronation, every act was done, in the King’s name: and, those lords directed, that the infant King should be proclaimed, in every town within the kingdom. The associated nobles had now accomplished the secret resolution, which they had entered into, at Stirling, immediately after Mary’s marriage with Bothwell; to dethrone the Queen, and crown her son, which was thus achieved, by fiction and forgery, by falsehood and perfidy, by violence and perjury. This coronation of the Prince, and dethronement of the Queen, were, merely, the consummation of the original conspiracy, for the death of Darnley. The concert which began at Michaelmas 1566, and was completed, at Craigmillar, in November, comprehended, as essential, the marriage of the Queen to Bothwell, the cat’s-paw, merely, as one of the means, for disgracing, and dethroning her. Maitland, for counsel, and Morton, for action, obtained the acquittal of Bothwell; and by artifices, and violence, forced the Queen to marry him. They had now obtained, for Bothwell, all that they had promised, in reward, for acting the chief part in the odious tragedy of Darnley’s death. The marriage was, scarcely, solemnized, when Morton, and Maitland, with other associates, entered into secret resolutions, to dethrone the Queen, and to crown the Prince; in order to let in Murray to the viceregal chair. When those guilty nobles drew their swords, they avowed, as their pretence, rather than their motive, the freeing of the Queen, from the thraldom of Bothwell. When she freed herself, from Bothwell, Morton, the murderer, immediately, made her captive, and soon sent her to Lochleven castle, as a prisoner. But, short is the distance of time, and place, from the prison to the fall of princes. They continued their efforts, and their artifices, till they crowned the Prince, and obtained the regency, for Murray.
– Life of Mary, pp.155-184.
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These two miscreants, after concurring with Bothwell, in the King’s murder; after procuring his acquittal by a fictitious trial; after marrying him to the Queen, by fraud, and force; after drawing their swords, to free the Queen, from his thraldom, and for his punishment; perfidiously took the Queen prisoner, at Carberry-hill, and allowed Bothwell to escape, deliberately: Such conduct is an evident proof of guilty conduct. Morton, and Maitland, who acted, merely, as the agents of Murray, now committed the Queen to Lochleven castle, till they should do justice on Bothwell. And it may be allowed, that they made great efforts to arrest Bothwell, after they knew that he was out of reach. Bothwell had been already tried, and acquitted, by means of the two men, Morton, and Maitland, who now insidiously pursued him: and, under a legitimate government, could not have been again tried.
From the epoch of all those conspiracies, at Michaelmas 1566, Murray was intimately acquainted with the various plots; as the chief advantage of them was to result to him. When he set out, for France, on the 9th of April, he was perfectly aware of what was in contemplation. From the moment, that Morton, and other guilty nobles, drew their swords, at Stirling, for dethroning the Queen, and crowning her infant son, Murray’s elevation was the great end; and the conspirators, constantly informed him of their progress; solicited his return; and refused, to act with Thorkmorton, as ambassador, till Murray’s arrival. His influence, and his energy, in Scotland, were sufficiently known, in France. He was even induced to swear to the King of France, and to the Queen’s uncles, that he would set the Queen, at liberty, on his return, and restore her to her dignity.
– Life of Mary, pp.184-206.
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ALEXANDER CAMPBELL THE LARD OF CALDER
HIS PURSMAISTERIS COMPT.
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xxix day of September being Wednesday.
Item that day eftir none in your chalmer with certane of the Cambellis of Angus with yow, ane chopine wyne
v s.
Item your collatioun that nycht at evin, the haill foirsaidis barronis and gentill men with yow, ane point of Spenis wyne
x s.
Item giffin to John Gillianis wyfe, that wes awin hir for aquavytie quhilk scho sent to Edinburgh at the Lairdis command derectit to Effie thereanent with Panttone the Lairdis awin seruand, and also for the wessellis that the aquavytie was intill
xviij lib. xv s.
Item to Johne Calder for twa new gerthis and setting ane bowkill upon your geldingis hawsing gerth
ix s.
– Sketches, Appendix VIII.
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One of the earliest incorporated trades of Edinburgh was that of the hammermen, under which were included the goldsmiths, who, in 1586, were formed into a separate company. By the articles of it, apprentices must serve for a term of seven years, and masters are obliged to serve a regular apprenticeship of three years or more to make them more perfect in their trade. They were, moreover, once bound to give the deacon of the craft sufficient proof of their knowledge of metals, and of their skill in the working thereof. By a charter of James VI., all persons not of the corporation are prohibited from exercising the trade of a goldsmith within the liberties of Edinburgh.
King James VII. incorporated the company by a charter, with additional powers for the regulation of its trade. Those were granted, so it runs, “because the art and science of goldsmiths is exercised in the city of Edinburgh, to which our subjects frequently resort, because it is the seat of our supreme Parliament, and of the other supreme courts, and there are few goldsmiths in other cities.”
In virtue of the powers conferred upon it, the company, from the date of its formation, tested and stamped all the plate and jewellery made in Scotland. The first stamp adopted was the triple-towered castle, or city arms. “In 1681,” says Bremner, in his “Industries of Scotland,” “a letter representing the date was stamped on as well as the castle. The letter A indicates that the article bearing it was made in the year between the 29th of September, 1681, and the same day in 1682; the other letters of the alphabet, omitting j and w, representing the succeeding twenty-three years. Each piece bore, in addition to the castle and date letter, the assay-master’s initials. Seven alphabets of a different type have been exhausted in recording the dates; and the letter of the eighth alphabet, for 1869, is an Egyptian capital M. In 1759 the standard mark of a thistle was substituted for the assay-master’s initials, and is still continued. In 1784 a ‘duty-mark’ was added, the form being the head of the sovereign. The silver mace of the city of Edinburgh is dated 1617; the High Church plate, 1643.”
– Old and New Edinburgh, pp.373-382.
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In early times the magistrates in their corporate capacity appear to have exercised a generous hospitality. “Corporation dinners” were of frequent occurence, and there are some curious notices of these banquets three hundred years ago. They appear to have been held in different taverns by rotation, so as to distribute the favour equally. And our old rulers were not above running up a score, though no doubt they honestly cleared them off periodically. On one occasion we find an order by the council “to take ane account of what reckonings is restand in any taverns in the toune that hes been spent wpon the tounes accumpt this last yeir, that warrand may be granted for paying the same.”1
– Old Glasgow, pp.215-237.
1 29th September, 1682.
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It is pleasant also to notice that in early times the Glasgow magistrates, with all their troubles, had a regard to the amenities of social life. They had flowers on the council table, and, what is curious, they had flowers also placed on their seat in church. In their accounts towards the end of the seventeenth century there occurs a payment for “roses and flowers furnished to the Counselhous and kirks, and to the Magistrats and Counsell;”1 and there are subsequent payments for flowers yearly to the Counsell hous and seats in the Churches.”
– Old Glasgow, pp.215-237.
1 29th Sept. 1683.
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Inverness, such as we have described it, exhibits, in almost every feature, marks of recent and entirely renovating transition. Only about forty years have elapsed since its streets were a continuous nuisance, altogether unwitting of a single appliance or process of cleanliness. During the former half of last century, municipal matters were so strangely managed, that, on the 29th of September, 1709, the town-clerk “paid an officer 4s. 6d. Scots, to buy a cart of peats to be burnt in the tolbooth to remove the bad scent;” and, in December, 1737, the magistrates ordered the town-clerk to purchase “an iron spade, to be given to the hangman for cleaning the tolbooth.”
– Gazetteer of Scotland, Inverness, pp.24-35.
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And be it further enacted, That from and after the Twenty ninth Day of September, One thousand seven hundred and forty eight, no Person whatsoever, by reason of having an Income of Four hundred Pounds, Scots Valued Rent, or any greater Rent, or being qualified to vote at Elections of Parliament Men, or by Licence, shall be intitled to keep, bear, or wear any Arms, by himself, Family, or Servants, unless he shall first have qualified himself, by taking and subscribing the Oaths of Allegiance and Abjuration, and subscribing the Assurance appointed by Law to be taken by Persons in Offices of publick Trust in Scotland, either in the Court of Session, Court of Justiciary, or in the Sheriff or Stewart’s Court of the County, Shire, or Stewartry, where such Person shall reside, or in One of His Majesty’s Courts at Westminster, and caused a Certificate of his having so done to be entered or registered in a Book to be kept for that Purpose in One of the said Courts in Scotland; and in case any such Person as aforesaid shall presume to keep or carry any Arms, without having first qualified himself as aforesaid, every such Person shall forfeit the said Arms to His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, and also One hundred Pounds Sterling, to be recovered in any of the said Courts in Scotland; One Moiety to the Use of His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, and the Other Moiety to the Person who shall sue for same.
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And for the better ascertaining what shall be deemed exercising the Employment, Function, or Service of a Chaplain within the true Intent and Meaning of the said recited Act, be it enacted and declared, That from and after the Twenty ninth Day of September, One thousand seven hundred and forty eight, any Person being, or pretending to be in Holy Orders, of any Denomination whatsoever, other than the Ministers, Elders, or Preachers of the established Church of Scotland, who shall preach or perform any Divine Service in any House or Family of which he is not the Master, in the Presence or Hearing of any other Person or Persons, whether such Person or Persons be of the Family or not, shall be deemed to be one who exercises the Employment, Function, and Service of a Chaplain within the Provision and true Intent and Meaning of the same Act.
And whereas, to evade the Execution of the said Act, relating Persons keeping or being Master or Teacher in such private Schools, divers Persons have kept such Schools in the Names of others, and had or enjoyed the Profits thereof to themselves, and have thereby avoided complying with the Qualifications required by the said Act: For Remedy thereof, be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the said Twenty ninth Day of September, One seven hundred and forty eight, every Person who shall keep, in his own Name, or in the Name or Names of any other Person, any private School for teaching English, Latin, Greek, or any Part of Literature, or any School for Literature, other than as in said Act is excepted, or who shall have, receive, or be interested in the Profits, or any Share of the Profits of such School, shall be obliged to take the Oaths appointed by Law to be taken by Persons in Offices of publick Trust in Scotland; and to pray, or cause to be prayed for in express Words, His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors by Name, and for all the Royal Family, as often as there shall be Prayers in such School, or before or in the Hearing of any of the Scholars belonging to such School; and if any Person shall, from and after the said Twenty ninth Day of September, keep any such School in his own Name, or in the Names of any other Person or Persons, or have, receive, or be interested in the Profits, or any Share of the Profits of such private School, as shall not have been registered in Manner directed by the said Act, or without having qualified himself, and caused the Certificate thereof to be registered in Manner directed by the said Act; or in case he shall neglect to pray for His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors by Name, and all the Royal Family, or cause them to be prayed for as aforesaid; or in case he shall resort to, or attend Divine Worship in any Episcopal Meeting-house not allowed by Law; every Person so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted before Two or more Justices of the Peace, or before any other Judge competent summarily, shall, for the First Offence, suffer Imprisonment for the Space of Six Months; and for the Second or any Subsequent Offence, being thereof lawfully convicted before the Court of Justiciary, or in any of the Circuit Courts, shall be adjudged to be transported, and shall be accordingly transported to some of His Majesty’s Plantations in America, for Life; and in case any Person so adjudged to be transported shall return into or be found in Great Britain, he shall suffer Imprisonment for Life.
… Now, for clearing and taking away any such Doubt, it is hereby enacted and declared by the Authority aforesaid, That no Letters of Orders, not granted by some Bishop of the Church of England, or of Ireland, shall, from and after the Twenty ninth Day of September, One thousand seven hundred and forty eight, be sufficient, or be taken or adjudged to be sufficient, to qualify any such Pastor or Minister as above-mentioned, whether the same were registered before or after the said First Day of September; and that every such Registration, either made before or after the said First Day of September, shall, from and after the said Twenty ninth Day of September, be deemed null and void to all Intents and Purposes.
…
And whereas by one other Act of the Twentieth Year of His present Majesty’s Reign, it is enacted, That from and after the Twenty ninth Day of September, One thousand seven hundred and forty seven, it shall not be lawful for any Person whatsoever in Scotland, to act as Writer, Agent, or Solicitor, or to manage, agent, or solicit any Cause or Business in the Court of Session, Court of Justiciary (whether at Edinburgh or in the Circuit Courts) or in the Court of Exchequer, until such Person shall have first taken and subscribed the Oaths in the Court of Session or Justiciary, or in One of the Sheriff’s or Stewart’s Courts appointed by Law to be taken by Persons in Offices Civil or Military in Scotland, and caused a Certificate of his having so done to be entered or registered in a Book to be kept for that Purpose in the respective Courts where any such Person shall so officiate.
And whereas a Doubt hath been entertained, whether the Persons acting as Extractors in and about the Court of Session, as Clerks to any of the Lords of Session, or to any Advocate, as Clerks or first Servants to the Principal and under Clerks of Session, or as Keepers of the Registers of Bonds, or other Registers, as Collectors or Sub Collectors of the Fees of the Lord Register and Clerks of Session, are comprehended within the Intent and Meaning of the said Act; be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person shall, after the said Twenty ninth Day of September, in the Year One thousand seven hundred and forty eight, be or act as Extractor to the Court of Session, or as Clerk to, or Keeper of the Hand Rolls of any of the Lords of Session or Justiciary, or as Clerk to any Advocate, or as Clerk or first Servant to any of the Principal or under Clerks of Session or Justiciary, or as Keeper or under Keeper of the Register of Bonds in any of the said Clerks Offices, or other Offices of Registers, or as Collectors or Sub Collectors of the Fees of the Lord Register, or Clerks of the Session, unless he first take the Oaths, and subscribe the Assurance, appointed to be taken and subscribed by Persons in Offices of publick Trust in Scotland, and cause a Certificate thereof to be entered and registered in a Book to be kept for that Purpose; and the Lords of the Session are hereby required to cause such Book to be kept by One of the Principal Clerks of the Session, who is to enter the Names of the Persons taking the said Oaths, and subscribing the said Assurance, in such Books, upon the said Persons taking such Oaths, and subscribing such Assurance, before the Lords of the Session, upon Certificate from proper Officer of such other Courts, where the same shall be taken and subscribed respectively; and the Lords of the Session shall cause true and exact Lists of the said Persons so taking the said Oaths, and subscribing the said Declaration, to be affixed first and last Day of every Session, in the Outer and Inner House of the said Court, and to be kept up there constantly, till new Lists are fixt up according to this Act; and in case any Person shall, after the said Twenty ninth Day of September, be or act as aforesaid, before he shall have so taken the said Oaths, and subscribed the said Assurance, he shall be subject to the same Disabilities, Forfeitures, Penalties, and Punishments, as if he was Writer, Agent, or Solicitor, within the Intent of the said Act; and the Lords of Session are hereby impowered to give such Orders, from time to time, to their Clerks, Macers, or Keepers of the Minute Book, or other inferior Officers, or Members of their Court, as they shall judge necessary, for the more effectually discovering and punishing such of the said Persons, and such Writers, Agents, or Solicitors, who shall not qualify themselves according to this and the said recited Act, and to censure and punish such Officers of their Court, as they shall find guilty of neglecting to give Obedience to such Orders, or wilfully concealing any such Offenders in not so qualifying themselves.
And whereas by an Act of Parliament passed in the First Year of the Reign of His late Majesty, intituled, An Act for encouraging of Superiors, Vassals, Landlords, and Tenants in Scotland, who do or shall continue in their Duty and Loyalty to His Majesty King George; and for discouraging all Superiors, Vassals, Landlords, and Tenants there, who have been, or shall be guilty of Rebellious Practices against His said Majesty; and for making void all fraudulent Entails, Tailzies, and Conveyances made there, for barring or excluding the Effect of Forfeitures that may have been, or shall be incurred there on any such Account; and also for calling any suspected Person or Persons, whose Estates or Principal Residence are in Scotland, to appear at Edinburgh, or where it shall be judged expedient to find Bail for their good Behaviour; and for the better disarming dissaffected Persons in Scotland; it is amongst other Things enacted, That all and every Tenant and Tenants in Scotland, who should continue peaceable, and in dutiful Allegiance to His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, bruicking and occupying any Lands, Milns, Mines, Woods, Fishings, or Tenements, as Tenant or Tenants, Taxman or Taxmen, from and under any Person guilty of any of the High Treasons in the said Act mentioned, should, and they were thereby ordained to bruick and occupy all and every such Lands, Mines, Milns, Woods, Fishings, and Tenements, for the Space of Two Years, or Crops, to be accounted from and after the Attainder of such Person, freely without Payment of any Rent, Duty, or Service, for the said Two Years or Crops; and that if any Subject of Great Britain, holding Lands or Tenements, of a Subject superior in Scotland, had been, or should be guilty of the High Treason or Treasons in the said Act mentioned, the Lands or Tenements of every such Offender, held of any Subject superior in Scotland, should recognosce and return into the Hands of the Superior, and the Property should be, and was thereby consolidated, with the Superiority in the same Manner, as if the same Lands or Tenements had been by the Vassal resigned into the Hands of his Superior, ad perpetuam Remanentiam; and in case any Tenant or Tenants, Taxman or Taxmen, bruicking and occupying any Lands, Mines, Milns, Woods, Fishings, or Tenements, being guilty such High Treason or Treasons as aforesaid, and should be thereof duly convicted, and attainted, the Title by which all and every such Tenant or Tenants, Taxman or Taxmen, did bruick or occupy as aforesaid, should cease and become void, and the Lands, Mines, Milns, Woods, Fishings, and Tenements so bruicked or occupied, together with the single and Life-Rent Escheat of such Tenant or Tenants, Taxman or Taxmen, should return to and be enjoyed and possessed by the Person or Persons from or under whom such Title was derived respectively, who should continue peaceable and dutiful to His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors: And it is by the said last recited Act further enacted, That no Person or Persons who might reap or have any Benefit or Advantage by the Attainder, Conviction, or Forfeitures of any Person or Persons by virtue of the same Act, should be capable of being a Witness or Witnesses against any Person or Persons by whose Attainder, Conviction, or Forfeitures, any Benefit should or might accrue to such Witness or Witnesses: and whereas the said Act was made on the Occasion of the unnatural Rebellion which broke out in this Kingdom in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and fifteen, but a Doubt hath been conceived whether the Clauses herein before recited, or some Part thereof, do still continue in Force, or not; and in case the same should be adjudged so to be, great Inconveniencies might insue therefrom for the future; be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That so much of the said Act as is before recited be, and the same is hereby, from and after the Twenty ninth Day of September, One thousand seven hundred and forty eight, repealed, and declared to be no longer in Force.
Provided always, That nothing in this Clause contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to prejudice or affect the Right, Title, or Interest of the King’s most Excellent Majesty, or of any other Person or Persons, vested or accrued by virtue or means of any Matter or Thing whatsoever, happened or done at any Time before the said Twenty ninth day of September.
Provided also, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to extend or enure, to declare or determine the Clauses herein before recited, or any Part thereof, to be or continue in Force till the said Twenty ninth Day of September; but such Exposition and Construction of the said recited Clauses, and every Part thereof, shall be made, as to any Matter or Thing happening before the said Twenty ninth Day of September, as would and ought to have been made in case this Act had never been passed.
– George II., 21st Year, Chapter 26, 1747.
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Previous to the year 1767, when the Jamaica Street bridge was commenced to be erected,1 and before the weir had been formed to protect its foundations, the river was navigable for small craft up to Rutherglen, where there was a small landing quay.
– Old Glasgow, pp.248-266.
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