"illliliiiiii: h \ ^c^-^^^^^^ HISTORY OF PAISLEY. V(3L. I. z ^ ic* -• ••.■ :i- f - -^ m 2?0 THE HISTORY OF PAISLEY, ^' ^ FROM THE ROMAN PERIOD DOWN TO iS ROBERT BROWN, F. S. A., Scot., UNDERWOOD PARK, I>AISI,KY. AUTHOR OK "the history of the paisley grammar school and academy, AND of the other TOVVn's SCHOOLS," ETC., ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOLUME I. IV I Til N UME R US IL L US TK A TI NS. PAISLEY: J. & J. COOK, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, "GAZETTE" BUILDINGS, 94 HIGH STREET. MDCCCLXXXVI, -z&i C O N 1^ E N T S OF VOLUME I. rape Preface, 9 CHAPTER I. Paisley in the Roman Period, 17-20 CHAPTER n. Saint Mirin, 21-26 CHAPTER III. The Founding of the Monastery, 27-30 CHAPTER IV. The High Stewards of Scotland, 3i-34 CHAPTER V. The Priors of the Monastery, 35-36 CHAPTER VI. The Abbots of the Monastery, 37-68 CHAPTER VII. The Commendators of the Monastery, 69-73 CHAPTER VIII. The Abbey under Protestant Rule, 74-"9 CHAPTER IX. The Buildings of the Abbey, 120-130 CHAPTER X. Paisley from the Close of the Roman Period till 1560, ... 131-158 CHAPTER XL Paisley from 1560 till 1600, 159-186 CHAPTER XII. Paisley from 1600 till 1650, 187-256 CHAPTER XIII. Paisley from 1650 till 1700, 257-366 CHAPTER XIV. Paisley from 1700 till 1750, 367-413 Index, 415-425 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME I. 1. The Abbey Restored, or as what it was when completed, Frontispiece. rage 2. Abl)ot Lithgow's Memorial Stone, 47 3. Abbot Schaw's Memorial Stone, < 53 4. Seal of Abbot George Schaw, 55 5. Seal of Abbot Robert Schaw, 60 6. Seal of the Monastery, 67 7. Monogram — Andrew Knox, 77 8. Memorial Stone on Old Abbey Manse, 82 9. Medal struck on the Completion of the Renovation of the Abbey in 1 7S8, 98 10. Map of Paisley, 1490 and 1545, 148 11. Memorial Stones in the "House of All Saints" in High Street, 150 12. Fac-similc of the first preserved Minute of the Town Council, loth September, 1 594, 161 1 3. Stocks and Whipping- Post, 182 14. Lord Sempill's House, 94 High Street, 183 15. Coat-of-Arms in Lord Sempill's House, 184 16. Memorial Stones in the Plouse of Cochran of Craigmuir, 185 17. Jedburgh Axe or Jeddart Staff, , 190 18. Jug or Jougs, 195 19. Tablet Stone on Meal Market, 220 20. Silver Bells — Paisley Races, 248 21. Fac-siDiile o{ \>7ixK. of the Deposition of Elizabeth Anderson before Lord Blantyre, and his Lordship's Signature, 356 22. View of Paisley, taken from Captain John Slezer's I'hcalntm Scoticr, published in 1693, but believed to have been drawn about 1680,... 364 23. Coat of Arms used in connection with the sale of Bargarran Se\\ing Thread, 396 24. Fac-similc u{ the Signature of Jcjhn Murray of liroughton, Secretary to Prince Charles Stuart, commonly called "The Pretender,"... 406, 40S PREFACE. A LTHOUGH much has been written relating to the annals of Paisley, by many able and talented Authors, yet there is still experienced the want of a continuous history of the town, in mediaeval and modern times. No one can put his hand on a book that traces the records of everything regarding Paisley from its earliest existence till the present time. In these pages, I have, after much labour, endeavoured to meet this recognised deficiency ; and I hope the work will be found to accomplish the ideal I have set before me. I have to convey my thanks to those possessing im- portant records of local matters for having given me free access to them. ROBERT BROWN. Underwood P.'Vrk, Paisley, Decetnher, i88s. HISTORY OF PAISLEY. CHAPTER I. PAISLEY IN THE ROMAN PERIOD. URING the Roman occupation of Britain, the province of Valentia, extending from the ramparts of Severus in the north of F^ngland to the wall of Antonine between the rivers Clyde and Forth, was inhabited by five native Celtic tribes called the Otadeni, the Gadeni, the Selgovae, the Novantes, and the Damnii or Uamnonii. The last- named tribe inhabited almost the whole country which stretches from the ridge of hills between Galloway and Ayrshire on the south to the river Earn on the north, including Strathclyde, the shires of Ayr, Renfrew,^ and Stirling, with a small part of Dumbartonshire and Perthshire, and half the peninsula of Fife. Their principal towns were Colonia near the sources of the Clyde ; Coria at Car- stairs ; Vanduara or Vandogara at Paisley ; Alauna at the junction of the Allan and Forth ; Lindum at Ardoch ; and Victoria at Loch Orr in the west of Fife. Forts, garrisons, and stations were planted throughout the province to overawe the native tribes, and roads were constructed to give easy access to the chief centres of population. The main western highway traversing the country from Carlisle to the northern wall, passed Lockerbie, Moffat, Carstairs, Carluke, Wishaw, Motherwell, and Glasgow, ran thence along the right bank of the Clyde, and terminated at the wall of Antoninus near Old Kilpatrick. From Carstairs a branch road diverged into Ayrshire to the Camp at Loudon Hill ; and from Carluke another led to the northern wall at Castlecary. Another road leading from Glasgow to the west passed Langside and Rosshill, and entered Paisley by way of Causeyside. At important points on or near these military roads, forts were erected, and outlook stations were planted on prominent elevations that commanded a view of the surrounding country. Such a fort or encampment was erected at Paisley on the high ground of Oak- shawhead, with out-works extending to the river Cart on the east, and to Castlehead and Woodside on the south and west. Indeed, our ^ Renfrew was originally called Strathgryfe, and was included in Strathclyde. It was afterwards designated the Barony of Renfrew, and in the reign of Robert III. it was erected into a shire in 1404. B l8 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. earlier writers identified this camp as the Vanduara of Ptolemy. Chalmers's statement runs thus :— " No one has ever denied to Paisley the honour of a Roman station at Vanduara, a town of the Damnii. The British name of the Damnian town seems obviously to have been derived from the vicinity of the White Cart, to which the station extended ; Wendur signifying, in the British language, the white water, and this Celtic appellation was easily Latinised by the Romans into Vanduara" (Chalmers's Caledonia, vol. i. p. 156). Sir R. Sibbald, also, quoting from the manuscript of Principal Dunlop of the University of Glasgow, who wrote a description of the Shire of Renfrew about the middle of the seventeenth century, says, — "At Paisley there is a large Roman Camp to be seen. The Prjetorium'^ or inmost part of the camp is on the west end of the rising ground or little hill called Oakshawhead, on the soutli-east descent of which stands the town of Paisley. The Prcetorium^ is not very large, but hath been well fortified with three fausces and dykes of earth, which must have been large, when to this day their vestiges are so great that men on horseback will not see over them. The camp itself hath been great and large, it comprehending the whole hill. There are vestiges on the north side of the fausces and dyke, whereby it appears that the camp reached the river Cart. On the north side the dyke goeth alongst the foot of the hill, and if we allow it to have gone so far on the other side, it hath enclosed all the space of ground on which the town of Paisley stands, and it may be judged to be about a mile in compass. Its situation was both strange and pleasant, overlooking the whole country." Almost the same account is given by Crawfurd in his History of Renfrewshire, p. 5, but his references to Sibbald and Principal Dunlop show that it was obtained from the same sources. In a more extended form, Stuart in his Caledonia Romana, p. 18, says, referring to Paisley, — "The authority cannot well be disputed which places on its site the Vanduara of Ptolemy's map.- The somewhat extensive remains of ancient military works, which in one quarter almost encircled the town, and in another crowned the hill on which the entire Paisley of the seventeenth century stood, had early attracted the attention of the curious, and imparted a sort of classic interest to a spot already rendered famous by the royal and the noble. In modern times the area of the Roman citadel was turned into a bowling green, which the ancient ramparts partly served to enclose ; but with the extension of the town almost every other vestige of its defences has disappeared. Besides the ramparts on the rising ground at Oakshawhead which formed the citadel of the station, the vestiges of two other encampments of a similar de- scription exist at Paisley. The one is situated on the west, the other ^ On this site now stands the John Neilson Educational Institution. ^Claudius Ptolemy, a famous geographer, astronomer, and mathematician of antiquity, was born at Pelusium in Egypt, about the year 70, and flourished in the reigns of Adrian and Marcus Antoninus. — Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica. THE ROMAN PERIOD. 1 9 on the south. Placed at ahnost equi-distance from each other, the three formed the sahent points of an equilateral triangle, from one or other of which the various districts around might be kept in view."^ One of the highways leading into the town is called Causeyside, a name which Blean's map of 1654 gives to a village outside of Paisley on that same highway ; this name it may have got from its being built near the paved Roman road already mentioned. When Pennant visited Paisley in 1774, these Roman remains had almost entirely disappeared. His statement is — " The vestiges of the Roman Camp at Paisley are almost annihilated. Of the outer works mentioned by Camden there are no traces except one ; for at Castlehead are still a few marks, but nothing entire " ( Peiinanf s Tours in Scotland, vol. ii. p. 172). When the Roman station was planted on Oakshawhead, there was most probably a native town or village, nestled in the skirts of the woods, — on the lower ground near the banks of the river. That its situation was not only sheltered and convenient, but was pos- sessed of many attractions and advantages, may be accepted from the fact that many centuries after, when the native tribes had been swept away, and Christianity was attesting its conquests and giving pledges for a much higher civilisation, this old Damnian village was chosen as the most suitable locality for one of the most honoured and richly endowed of religious houses — the Abbey of Paisley. The origin of that native village, even at the time of the Roman conquest of Valentia, may have been a mere tradition of a long forgotten past ; but in any case it must have been exceedingly humble. In all probability " a Damnian hunter was the father of Paisley's existence. His experienced eye saw at once the value of its site ; to the swelling height above, the tidal stream below, and the undulating woods around, there was awanting only the smoke of his rude hut to form a perfect whole in his esteem ; nor when he thus found an abiding place to his wish, were many hours required ere the fire blazed on his sheltered hearth, and his young barbarians were sheltered from the storm. As time rolled on, others of his clansmen might gather around the spot, new habitations would probably arise on the margin of the white river, and the ancient solitude of the forest be gradually invaded, until a populous colony became established by its side" (Caledonia Roniana, p. 142-145). During the Roman occupation, and probably long after it, the country around Paisley was extensively covered with woods, as far as the Clyde on the north, and south-eastward as far as Blackball and Fereneze,- where great forests existed as late as the thirteenth century. But under the Roman dominion a deep and lasting effect ^ " There was an ancient Roman Camp at Paisley, distant about six miles, and of the site of the camp, this mount (at Camphill near Langside) commands a full view. It may perhaps have been an outpost belonging to the camp at Paisley." — Forsyth^ s Beauties of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 21. * Fereneze ^ fir ness, the promontory or upland of firs. 20 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. was produced on the native population. The wild hunters of the woods gradually became tillers of the soil, and were taught the rudiments of trade and commerce ; and each new step in civilisa- tion would bring increased comfort to the villagers through the improvement and extension of the village. As the poet has well expressed it — " Learning and Rome alike in empire grew, And arts still flourished where the eagles flew." In proportion to the profit they had derived and the improvements they had made under the Roman government, would the natives regret the departure of the Imperial troops from the district about the year 409. During the previous ten years, the wild tribes north of Antonine's wall had made various incursions into Valentia to plunder and destroy the towns and villages that remained subject to Roman rule. To what extent the native settlement at Paisley suffered on these occasions we have no means of knowing ; but long before the close of the fifth century, every vestige of Roman rule had been blotted out of Valentia ; and the only testimony that it had ever existed in the district, was to be read in the broken, crumbling walls that bounded it ; in the dismantled forts and half obliterated camps that marked the centres of that rule, and in the highways and branch roads by which they were connected. It is rather remarkable that very few remains of Roman antiquity have been found either in Paisley or its neighbourhood. Mr. Charles Ross of Greenlaw, Paisley, in his work. The Traveller's Guide to Lochlomond, published in 1792, states that at the farm of Knock, on the road leading from Paisley to Renfrew, " six Roman urns were dug up in 1751." Mr. Ross does not state who found these urns ; but Mr. Semple, in his History of the Shire of Renfrew, p. 249, remarks that it was Mr. Ross himself " who dug up many Roman urns in the Knock hill." It is very unfortunate that both of these gentlemen have given us so little information regarding these urns, and what became of them. A small brass medal, commemorative of the Roman conquest of Judea in a.d. 70, was found in March, 1829, by a person who was delving a piece of ground near Stanely Castle, and shortly after that date, it was in the possession of Mr. William Wilson, Younger of Thornlie. CHAPTER II. SAINT MIRIN. HRISTIANITY is said to have been introduced into Strathclyde by missionaries from Rome about the beginning of the third century. About a century later, according to one legend, St. Mirin took up his abode in Paisley, and, by his holy example and instructions, guided the people into nobler ways of life, and spread throughout the district the knowledge of the Christian faith. According to another legend, this work of St. Mirin belongs to the sixth century ; but both accounts are so mixed up with fables as to be utterly un- worthy of credence ; and no authentic record of the life or work of this saint has ever been given. That he was adopted as the patron saint of Paisley is attested by charters and deeds of gift of a very early date ; but why he was adopted, when or where he was born, how he lived or laboured, or when he died, there is no authentic record to inform us, and even tradition is silent. The earlier legend of St. Mirin, which is founded on the narrative of Fordun, has been recounted with considerable effect by the Poet Motherwell. The following is his statement, slightly abridged : — " Meagre and unsatisfactory are the annals which time hath spared of this holy man ; his name alone may be said to live in history, for the praiseworthy actions of his long and well-spent life have long since sunk into silent forgetfulness, and the remotest tradition hath preserved no echo, however faint, of that fame which at one time, no doubt, filled the land with the odour of his sanctity. The king- dom of Strathclyde was the field of Saint Mirin's labours, and the destruction of that kingdom in the year 972, in the time of Kenneth III., and the flight of a great portion of its inhabitants to Wales about the year 872 may account for the non-existence of any native records regarding the saint. Mirinus was a monk of Greece, and in all probability he was a native of Patras in Achaia, where he first distinguished himself for his piety and love of letters, and where he resided until he left that city in company with Saint Regulus and other holy men ; yet still the place of his nativity must remain in doubt, and sorry am I to say, that of his parentage nothing is known, and of the era of his birth equally little. This is the more to be regretted, because the ancient document which furnishes the first notice of the venerable Confessor has been impugned on the score of its chronological accuracy by the acute historian who gave it to the public. The document referred to is part of the Register of the Priory of St. Andrews, written about the year 1140, and is 22 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. entitled ' Historia Beati Reguli et fundacionis ecclesiae Sancti Andreae.' From it we learn that Mirinus was one of the holy men who, under the conduct of St. Regulus, imported the sacred reliques of the apostle St. Andrew into Scotland. In the year 345 an angel appeared to the holy men who guarded the reliques of the Saint, and ordered their bishop, St. Regulus, to visit the sarcophagus where these were hid, and abstract therefrom three fingers of the Saint's right hand, his arm from the elbow to the shoulder, his knee-pan, and one of his teeth. This St. Regulus did, and secreted the precious bones. An angel again appeared to St. Regulus, and commanded him to embark with his companions, taking with them the bones of the Saint, and to steer their course northward. St. Regulus obeyed the injunctions of the heavenly messenger, but as it is not our purpose to follow him in his wanderings by sea or wayfarings by land, which occupied the period of a year and half, we shall only mention that, after many perils, he at length arrived in Scotland ; and his arrival having been announced by the Apostle himself, he was kindly and hospitably entertained by King Hungus and his people. The grateful king likewise made large grants of land to the holy pilgrims, who founded a church at Chilrymont, and dedicated it to the Martyr of Patras, and therein they, with fitting solemnities, deposited his osseous remains — namely, the three fingers of his right hand, his arm from the elbow to the shoulder joint, the pan of his knee, and the only tooth which had escaped the keen search of the relique-hunting Constantine. According to Boece, Lesly, Holinshed, Spottiswood, M'Readie, and others, the memorable event above recited, occurred in the reign of Hogustus, and, as will be observed, these historians vary in the date they assign to this transaction, though all concur in placing it in the fourth century. When Regulus had established himself at St. Andrews, those of his followers most eminent for their piety and gift of speech, were sent on missions to divers parts of Scotland to preach the gospel. Saint Mirin was appointed to the West, and after long travail he arrived at the place where Paisley now stands. It had recently been abandoned by the Romans, and was then in the possession of a potent chief whose name hath not descended to posterity, but who, being much captivated by the winning manner of the Saint, allotted him a small field on the south side of the town, by the bank of a clear and pleasant rivulet, which field, though now built on, was known by the name of St. Mirin's croft, and which rivulet still bears the name of the devotee who lived on its banks. Here St. Mirin passed his latter days, distinguished for his innocency and piety, working many miracles, and enlightening the natives wonderfully by his conversation. It is reported, that of all those who flocked to his cell, none more frequently came than Merlin the pro])het, or showed more delight in his company. Merlin then lived betwixt Renfrew and Govan, on the banks of the Clyde, at that spot which is still called Merlin's ford ; but notwith- standing the singular pains which the Confessor took with the SAINT MIRIN. 23 visionary, it is believed that he died wedded to all his superstitions and heathen idolatry. There were, however, four holy men who became his disciples, namely, Barchanus, Malcolmus, Petrus, and Alanus ; these throve wonderfully under his care, increasing in all manner of profitable and pious knowledge ; and after his death they erected the chapels of Kilbarchan, Kilmalcolm, Kilpeter (now Houstoun), and Kilallan, where they respectively abode, to the great comfort and commodity of the people of these parts. 'Ihough marriage, in these primitive days of the Church, was not forbidden to ecclesiastics, it does not appear that Mirinus ever united himself to a wife, nor does it appear that he much affected the society of Saintly Virgins, like St. Patrick and St. Cuthbert. It appears that he was a man of universal acquirements, and well skilled in sundry languages, — of rare eloquence, singular industry, and profound and various erudition. When he departed this life it is hard to say, and where his bones are deposited it would require a second Sir Thomas Browne to discover."' — Renfrciushire Characters and Scenery^ p. 42-48. The other and later legend representing St. Mirin as a Confessor of the sixth and seventh centuries, is recorded in the Breviary of Aberdeen, first printed in 1457. It has been gracefully stated by the late Cosmo Innes in his preface to the Chartulary of the Abbey of Paisley, which he edited for the Maitland Club in 1832. The legend is as follows : — " Saint Mirinus, Bishop and Confessor. This other peculiar patron saint of Paisley was educated, says the Scottish Breviary, under Saint Congallus in the Abbey of Bangour. Resisting the temptations of wealth and rank to which he was born, he devoted himself to a monastic life, and became Prior to the Monastery of Bangour, under Abbot Congallus. Nothing more of his life is added by the apocryphal chronicle, except the details of a few of his miracles, which are not in general distinguished by much originality. At one time a holy guest in the Abbey, requir- ing milk propter molliorcm sui coiporis qualitaietn, when there was none in the monastery, it was miraculously supplied by the inter- vention of Mirinus. On another occasion he restored, by his prayers, one of his brethren who had fallen down, from extreme labour and thirst, after he had lain lifeless for many hours. A third exertion of the Saint's miraculous powers is somewhat more singular. Travelling on a religious mission, he arrived at the castle of the King of Ireland, and prayed to be admitted. It happened that the Queen was then in the pains of childbirth, and on that or for other reasons the Saint was denied admittance and treated with dis- respect, upon which, departing in indignation, he entreated of heaven that the King might suffer the pains of labour instead of his wife. This fearful malediction was immediately fulfilled, so that for three days and nights the miserable monarch was heard by all the subjects of his kingdom to cry incessantly like a woman in travail, until at length, finding all remedies of physicians vain, he took means to appease the Saint, and was by him delivered from 24 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. liis sufferings. We are not informed when Mirinus became a Bishop, nor even at what time he Uved, but the venerable Breviary states that, full of miracles and sanctity, he fell asleep in the Lord at Paisley, and the Church there was dedicated to his honour.'' Although these legends are quite unworthy of credence, there are many and weighty reasons for believing that such a holy man, in long past times, lived and laboured and died in the neighbourhood of Paisley. The various charters, relative to the founding of the Monastery by Walter the High Steward of Scotland and his successors, invariably mention St. ISIirin as one of the notable Saints in whose honour the house was established. There are, besides, several places in Paisley that have certainly been named after its patron saint ; but it does not follow that they were so named during his lifetime, or even shortly after his death. St. Mirin's Burn is not referred to either in the charter of James IV., dated 1488, or in that of Abbot George Schaw, dated 1490 ; but in the latter there is reference to " the rivulet of Espedair." This, however, is easily accounted for. The Espedair burn formed part of the eastern boundary of the new Burgh, created by these charters; whereas St. Mirin's Burn formed no boundary line, and its whole course lay within the Burgh. The street leading from the Cross to St. Mirin's Burn was first called St. Mirin's Vennel, and it is so named in a deed of 1505 connected with the conveyance of property situated in that street. It was afterwards known as St. Mirin's Wynd, Burngait, AVatergait, Water Wynd, and St. Mirin's Street. In the charter by which James IV., advised no doubt by Abbot George Schaw, erected Paisley into a Burgh, he gives as his reason for this act of kindness, " the singular respect we have for the glorious Confessor Saint Mirin and our Monastery at Paisley, founded by our illustrious progenitors." And in the same charter he grants " to the Provost, bailies, burgesses, and community of Paisley to have two public fairs yearly — one, namely, on the day of St. Mirin, and the other on the day of St. Marnock.'' St. Mirin's Fair was held on 15th September, St. Marnock's on 25th October. Although there is no authentic record of the life or work of this famous saint, we know that his tomb existed at the close of the fifteenth century, and that the highest honours of the Romish Church were then conferred upon it. By a charter dated 21st May, 1491, Abbot George Schaw conveyed to the Town Council "all and whole that house commonly called the heyt house,'' ^ burdened ^ The building thus granted to the Bailies and Council appears to have been the Court-house belonging to the Convent, but it was no longer required by the Abbot and Monks after the village had, in the previous year, been created a Burgh, ^\ith BaiHes and Councillors to conduct its civil and criminal affairs. It was situated at the north-west corner of Moss Street and High Street, and, having undergone at different periods considerable alterations, it contained the Council Chambers, Cleric's Chamber, and Tolbooth of the Burgh till 1S21, when all these were removed to the present County Buildings. SAINT MIRIN. 25 with " four pennies as Burgess farm, and nine shillings and eight pennies Scots at ^M■litsunday and Martinmas, in name of annual feu-farm, and for sustaining the lights of the altar of St. Mirin and the tomb of the Saint, declaring that it shall not be competent to the said Bailies to sell any part of the said tenement excepting to their own heirs and successors, Avithout special leave of the Abbot, under certification of nullity of the charter." The original charter is in the charter chest of the Town Council. The reference in this charter to the tomb of St. Mirin is^^of con- siderable importance. No doubt the tomb was situated within the Abbey, and was reverently tended till the time of the Reformation ; but just because it was an object of such reverence, and the tomb of the patron saint, it no doubt fell under the special ban of the infuriated reformers, and, along with the eight altars which then adorned that noble building, it was by them completely demolished. One of these altars, we know, was dedicated to St. Mirin. And it is quite possible that the first monks who came to settle on the banks of the Cart selected as the site of their Monastery the ground which, to them, was consecrated by the dust of the great and good Confessor ; and centuries after, when the foundations of the stately Abbey came to be marked off, their lines would be so drawn as to surround the tomb of the patron saint, which, after the noble fabric was completed, was to be honoured by many a way-worn pilgrim as the shrine of St. Mirin. Or it may have been that, in order to increase the dignity and the sanctity of the building, the ashes of this holy man were transferred from their original resting place to the place of honour within the Abbey, and a splendid shrine was erected to commemorate his name. Be that as it may, although we now know nothing regarding the date of its erection, the form of its construction, or even the position it occupied, we do know that the tomb of St. Mirin existed within the Abbey of Paisley, that perpetual lights burned before it till the eve of the Reformation, and that not the slightest traces of it have survived that era. That portion of the Abbey buildings commonly known as the Sounding Aisle, but sometimes called St. Mirin's Aisle, was origin- ally dedicated in honour of this saint and of Saint Columba. The original charter of its foundation, dated 15th July, 1499, 'which is in the town's charter chest, states that James Crawfurd of Kilwynnet, and burgess of Paisley, and his wife Elizabeth, " animated with a divine charity, and for the salvation of their souls, founded a chapel in the Parish Church of Paisley, in honour of Saints Mirin and Columba, confessors." A description of this chapel will be given hereafter. The seal used by the Abbot and Monks of Paisley also con> memorated the greatness of their patron saint. On one of its sides St. Mirin is represented in the robes of a bishop, and around his figure is the following supplication — " O Mirin ! pray to Christ for the souls of thy servants." But his fame was not confined to Paisley; for we find his name connected with places and objects in 26 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. various parts of Scotland; ist, Inchmurrin, an island in Loch- lomond ; 2nd, Inchmaryne, one of the manors of the Lennox family. The latter instance is recorded in a charter given by Isabella, Countess of Lennox, granting the lands of Kilmaronock to the preaching Friars of Glasgow ; it is dated at " our manor of Inchmaryne, i8th May, 145 1" ( Irving' s History of Dumbartonshire, p. 374). We know also that the Lennox family made extensive grants to the Monastery of Paisley, and this they may have been induced to do because some of their possessions bore the name of its patron saint ; 3rd, Kilmaronock, on the shore of Lochlomond, according to one derivation, means the cell or church of St. Mirin ( Irving s History of Dumbartonshire, p. 365); 4th, near Woodend, in the parish of Kilsyth, there is a well called St. Mirin's Well (Stat. Act. of Scot., vol. 8, p. 147) ; 5th, in the parish of Kelton, in Kirkcudbrightshire, there is an old neglected churchyard with the remains of an ancient chapel called Kirkmirren (Stat. Act. of Scot., vol. 4, p. 171); and 6th, in the parish of Coylton, in Ayrshire, is a hill called Knock Mirren. In various instances St. Mirin is called Confessor \ and this occurs most frequently in the older records. The charter granted by Robert III. in 1396 to the Abbot and Monks of Paisley, which is in the Town's charter chest, runs thus — " to God and the blessed Virgin Mary, and James the Apostle, and Saint Mirin the Confessor."' Also, in a charter granted by James II., in 145 1, he is named " Saint jSIirin the Confessor ; " and the same style is adopted in other charters and deeds of uift. CHAPTER III. THE FOUNDING OF THE MONASTERY. HE old Celtic or Monastic Church of Scotland came to an end partly through internal decay and partly by external change. The internal decay began with the introduction of the lay element, which gradually en- croached upon the ecclesiastic, and latterly completely absorbed it. This process was greatly aided and extended by the devastation wrought during the Danish invasions, which completely disorganised the Church by reducing its establishment and trans- ferring its possessions into the hands of laymen. The external change began by the introduction of the religious orders of the Church of Rome, and was carried on by the foundation of great Monasteries as centres of the Romish power, whereby the decaying Culdee Church was entirely crushed or absorbed. The period when this change was mainly effected was during the reigns of Alexander I. and David I. ; for it was during this period that the great and wealthy ecclesiastic establishments of Scotland were founded and endowed. The donations of Alexander I. to the monastic institutions were very considerable. He gave extensive grants of land to the church of St. Andrews and the Monastery of Dunfermline. In 1123 he built and endowed a monastery on Inchcolm, an island in the Firth of Forth ; and inn 24, he established at Scone a colony of monks whom he brought from England. David I., however, was the most munificent in founding and endowing monastic buildings. In 11 27 he converted the ancient Monastery of Culdees, at Dunkeld, into a Cathedral church, and founded the Bishoprics of Ross, Dunfermline, and Brechin. About the same time he translated the see of Mortlach to Old Aberdeen, and increased its revenues. In 11 28 he founded an abbey of Canons at Holyrood, Edinburgh; in 1136, an abbey of the Cister- tian order at Melrose ; in 1140, an abbey of the Cistertian order at Newbattle upon the South Esk, in Lothian; in 1147, a priory at Lesmahagow, and an abbey of Canons at Cambuskenneth ; in 1 147, an abbey of Cistertians at Kinloss, in Moray; in 11 50, an abbey of Praemonstrates at Dryburgh, near the junction of the Tweed and Leader ; and an abbey of Canons-regular at Jedburgh. He also brought Knights Templars and Knights of St. John of Jerusalem into Scotland, giving to the former a residence at Temple upon the South Esk, in Lothian, and to the latter a house at Torphichen, in the county of Linlithgow. In addition to all these, 28 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. he founded and endowed a convent of nuns at Berwick-upon- Tweed ; he converted the Monastery of DunfermUne into an abbey, and annexed to it the priory of Urquhart, in Moray. This seeming extravagance of David I., in bestowing so much weahh upon ecclesiastical establishments, caused his successor, James I., to state that " he was a sair Sanct for the Croun." But David I. was a wise as well as a pious monarch ; and in founding those great monastic houses, he had ends to serve besides those of the Church and of religion. He no doubt intended they should become great centres of social and political influence, and should be a sure and powerful agency for promoting the civilisation and the welfare of his people. Walter the High Steward of Scotland was undoubtedly influenced by similar motives when he founded and endowed the Monastery of Paisley. In several charters of the reign of David L, he is designated Walter the son of Alan ; and as owning the burgh lands of Renfrew, along with the lands of Paisley and other extensive possessions. David I. conferred on him the important, oflice of High Steward of Scotland ; and his successor, Malcolm IV., con- flrmed this appointment, and made the oflfice hereditary. At that time Walter assumed the surname of Stewart,^ and this was con- tinued by his descendants. While the High Steward resided at the castle on his lands at Renfrew, he made many gifts to the Abbeys of Melrose, Kelso, Dunfermline, and Kinloss, but his munificence in founding and endowing the Monastery of Paisley was his great achievement. The foundation charter, as recorded in the Abbey chartulary, was signed at Fotheringay Castle,- in Northamptonshire; and although without a date, is believed to have been granted in 1 163. The following is a copy of this important document : — FOUNDATION CHARTER OF PAISLEY ABBEY. " Know all present and to come that I, Walter, son of Alan, Steward of the King of Scotland, for the soul of King David, of King Henry, and of Earl Henry, and for the souls of all of my parents and benefactors, and for the salva- tion of the body and soul of King Malcolm and of myself, to the honour of God and by the power of his grace, shall establish a certain house of devotion on my lands of Paisley, according to the order of the brethren of Wenlock, that is according to the order of the monks of Clugny,^ with the universal consent and assent of the Priory of Wenlock. And for forming that house I have received ^ This name has been written in three different ways — Stewart, Steuart, and Stuart. The last was used by Queen Mary, in France ; the French alphabet having no letter "w. " - The spot where, four hundred and twenty-four years after, the beautiful but unfortunate (^ueen Mary, heiress to his house, was beheaded by order of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth. •' They were so called, as they first came from the Abbacy of Cluny in Bur- gundy, four leagues from Ma^on, in France, to the Priory of Wenlock in Shrop- shire, and the patron saint was Milburga, grand-daughter of Penda, Saxon King of Mercia. THE FOUNDING OF THE MONASTERY. 29 thirteen brethren from the house of Wenlock ; and who shall be preferred from among these thirteen to the rule of the foresaid house, shall be chosen through me and through my appointment ; and if it shall happen that the prior is deposed from his priorate, either from death or by criminally betraying his trust, he shall be deposed by me and by my appointment ; and he who shall succeed him in the priorate shall be chosen through me and through my appointment, and that from among the brethren of the house which I shall found, if there can be got therein a person of prudence and suitable for receiving such a dignity ; but if not, I shall choose for governing the house which I shall establish whoever I will from among the brethren of the said house of Wenlock, the prior himself excepted ; so as that house shall not be dependent in any way upon the house of Wenlock, except only as to recognition of this order. Which privileges for the use of that house which I shall found, the prior and convent of Wenlock shall obtain for me from the Abbot of the Monks of Clugny, and from the Prior of La Charitie, who shall confirm these privileges to religion in Paisley by their charters ; and for obtaining these privileges I shall give to the foresaid house of Wenlock, in perpetual alms, one full measure of land in my Burgh of Renfrew, and one fishing net for taking salmon in my waters, and six nets for catching herrings, and one boat. And these privileges shall be preserved uninjured be- tween me and the brethren of Wenlock and others of the Clugniac order, and after my decease, between my heirs and the brethren foresaid present and to come. Before these witnesses, — Ingelram, chancellor of the King of Scotland ; the Abbot of Rievall, by name Ailred ; Simon, cellarer of Warden ; Richard, chaplain of the King of Scotland ; Simon, brother of Ingelram the chancellor ; Robert of Costentin ; Simon, brother of Walter the son of Alan. At Fotheringay. " A few years afterwards, Walter the High Steward also granted a charter for endowment of the Monastery in the following terms : — ENDOWMENT CHARTER OF PAISLEY MONASTERY. " Gift of the Churches of Ennerwic and Legerwode and the carucate of Hastinden, and all the churches in Stragrif. " " Walter the son of Alan, Steward of the King of Scotland, to all the sons of the Holy Mother Church greeting. Know that I have given and conceded, and by this charter have confirmed to God and Holy Mary, and to the church of Saint James,! and Saint Mirin,^ and Saint Milburga,^of Passelet, and to the Prior and Monks of that place, serving God according to the order of Clugny, for the souls of King David, Earl Henry, and of my departed ancestors ; and for the salva- tion of my Lord King William, and David, his brother, and of myself and my wife, and my heirs in perpetual charity, and free from all temporal servitude, the church of Ennyrwic (Innerwick, Haddingtonshire), with all its belongings, and the whole mill, except a mark of silver in it which I have given to Radulph of Kent, and a carucate* of land between the sea and the church of Ennyrwic assigned to ^ St. James was the patron saint of the Stewarts. ^ St. Mirin was the patron saint of Paisley. ^ St. Milburga was the patron saint of Wenloc. •* A carucate is the quantity of land which a pair of horses could fairly work in one year. 30 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. them for their support ; and the church of Legerdwode (Berwickshire) with all its belongings, and the carucate of land in Hastenden (Hassenden, Roxburgh- shire) which Walter the chaplain held by these marches by which he held it ; and the church of Ketkert (Cathcart) with all its belongings ; and all the churches of Stragrif (Strath Gryfe) with all their belongings, except the church of Inchinnan. Besides this I give, and by this charter confirm, to them a tenth j^ienny of all the rents of my whole land, excepting Kyle. I Avish and command that the said Monks should hold and possess the aforesaid as quietly, freely, and peacefully as any Abbey in the Kingdom of Scotland holds and possesses the charities on it. In presence of these witnesses : Richard, Bish. of Glasgow ; Robert, Abbot of Jedburgh ; Master Mark Saloman, deacon ; Alan, my son ; Baldwin de Bignes ; Robert de Montgumbri ; Robert de Costentin ; Robert the son of Fulbert ; Ewan the son of Dovenald, and many others. " In 1 172, these charters were confirmed by a bull of Pope Alexander III. ; but it is probable that the Monastery was not erected, or at least was not fit for the reception of the monks, till some years later ; for when its founder retired from active hfe and assumed the monastic habit, he entered the Abbey of Melrose, spent there his latter days, and died there in 11 7 7. His remains, however, were deposited within the Monastery at Paisley, which his munificence had so shortly before both founded and endowed. CHAPTER IV. THE HIGH STEWARDS OF SCOTLAND. ALTER the High Steward of Scotland, founder of the Convent of Paisley, and his descendants, who held the same office, took an active and patriotic interest in the affairs of the Scottish nation ; and when Robert, the seventh Steward, succeeded to the crown in 137 1, that royal line of Stuarts began which is now represented in the gracious person of Queen Victoria. From their close connection with Paisley Abbey, it will be interesting to trace their history till they became a royal dynasty. Some historians state that the High Stewards of Scotland are descended from Banquo, thane of Loch- aber; while others endeavour to show that Walter was of a Norman family, which came into Scotland after the Norman conquest, and that his father was Alan, who called himself the son of Flaud, and owned the barony of Oswestry, in Shropshire, which had been given to him by William the Conqueror. We incline, however, to the opinion of Lord Hailes on this point, — that " in the reign of King David L, before the middle of the twelfth century, the family of Stuarts was opulent and powerful. It may therefore have subsisted for many ages previous to that time, but when and what was its commencement, we cannot determine " ( Antials of Scotland, vol. i., p. 458). The historians who hold the opinion that Walter was of Norman descent, state that he came to Scotland with King David I. about forty years before the founding of Paisley Monastery. We can- not perceive how he could have acquired, within that short period, so much wealth as to be able to endow Paisley Monastery, besides bestowing considerable grants on several other monastic institutions. Walter, the founder of the Convent of Paisley, as already stated, assumed the monastic habit, and passed his latter days in the Abbey of Melrose, where he died in 1177.^ His name appears as witness to many charters, as Walterius filius Alani ; for instance, it appears in a charter by David I. in favour of the church of Glasgow, dated at Cadzow, and in other two charters granted by King David to St. Mungo's church at Glasgow. In several charters in which his name appears as a witness, and especially in two that were granted by Malcolm IV., which are now in the Scotch College at Paris, he is designated Dapifer. (Master of the King's household). He was interred in the church of his foundation at Paisley, which continued ^Chronic: de Melross, 1 177, obiit Walteriis Filius Alani, Dapifer Regis Scotire, qui fundavit Pasleto, cujus beata anima vivit in Gloria. 32 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. to be the burying place of the Stuarts till they became kings of Scotland. Alan, son and heir of Walter, succeeded his father as second High Steward of Scotland, and died in 1204. (Fordun's MS.) He was buried before the high altar at Paisley, and was succeeded in office by his son, Walter. This Walter (third Steward), son of Alan, was appointed to the high office of Justiciary of Scotland in 1230 ; and after the death of King Alexander H.'s first Queen, on the 4th March, 1239, he was sent to France as ambassador, and there successfully negotiated the marriage of the Scottish King to Mary, daughter of Ingelram, Lord of Coucy. His numerous and valuable bequests to the Convent at Paisley, founded by his grandfather, will afterwards be described. He died in 1246, leaving several sons, and was buried in the abbey ( Chalmers s Caledonia, vol. ii., p. 779). Alexander, eldest son of the preceding Walter, succeeded his father as fourth High Steward of Scotland, and deservedly stood in great favour with King Alexander HI. In 1255 he was one of his counsellors, and was also appointed one of the regents of the king- dom ( Dairy mples Annals, vol. i., p. 168). He was likewise a valiant soldier, and at the battle of Largs, on 2nd October, 1263, he commanded the Scottish army, and completely routed the invading forces led by Haco, King of Norway. Li the same year Alexander HL granted to him the barony of Garlies in the Stewartry of Kirk- cudbright, probably as a reward for his services. It was this High Steward who invaded and subjected the Isle of Man, and annexed it to the crown of Scotland. He died in 1283, in the 69th year of his age, and was buried at Paisley, within the foundation of his ancestor, to which he himself had been a noted benefactor. James succeeded his father, Alexander, as fifth High Steward of Scotland, and at the death of Alexander III. in 1286, he was ap- pointed one of the six regents during the infancy of Queen Margaret, the grand-daughter of that monarch. Unfortunately, this young Queen died at Orkney in 1290, when on her way to Scotland, and James, the High Steward, was retained as one of the governors of the kingdom. In 1291 he was one of the auditors on the part of Robert the Bruce in presence of I^dward King of England ; and in 1297 he was associated with Sir William Wallace in the struggles against English supremacy in Scotland. In 1302 he was one of the seven ambassadors sent to France to seek assistance from King Philip ; and in 1309 he was one of the Scottish nobles who signed the spirited notice to that monarch recognising Robert Bruce's right to the crown. He died on i6th July, 1309, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, and was buried at Paisley. His son and heir, Walter, succeeded him as High Steward (History of the Stezcarts, by Andrew Stewart, p. 16). This Walter, the sixth High Steward, was born in 1293, and was therefore only twenty-one years of age when the battle of Bannock- burn was fought. On that great day {24th June, 13 14.) the Scottish THE HIGH STEWARDS OF SCOTLAND. ^;^ forces were formed into four divisions, and Bruce appointed the third one to be commanded by Walter the High Steward along with Sir James Douglas. In 13 15 Bruce gave his daughter, Marjory, in marriage to this High Steward ; but in the following year she died and left one son, who afterwards became King of Scotland. This death and birth on 2nd March, 13 16, are said to have occured in a very extraordinary manner. While Marjory Bruce was hunting on the lands of Knock, half-way between Paisley and Renfrew, she was thrown from her horse and killed. Being far advanced in pregnancy at the time, she was subjected to the Caesarean operation and the life of the child was saved ; but through misadventure one of his eyes was injured by the instrument of the operator. From this cause the future King Robert H. was called King Blear-eye or Blearie. Another account is that there were disturbances in the country at that time, and while Princess Marjory rode from Renfrew towards Paisley, intending to take refuge in the convent there, she was thrown from her horse and died soon afterwards. In con- firmation of the tradition — for it is only a tradition — it is well known that an octagonal stone, ten feet high, but without any inscription, was erected on the spot where Lady Marjory was killed. This stone pillar, called " Queen Blearie's cross (although she never was a queen), remained there till the middle of last century, when it was taken down and used, it is alleged, in the building of an adjoining farm steading. Marjory Bruce was buried at Paisley, and a tomb was erected there to her memory, which will be referred to more fully hereafter.^ At a parliament held at Scone, on 3rd December, 13 18, it was enacted in the presence of King Robert the Bruce, that in the event of his death without male issue, Robert, the son of Marjory Bruce and Walter the High Steward, should succeed to the throne. This Walter was one of the leaders of the Scottish army that besieged and captured Berwick in 13 18 ( Craivfiird' s History of the Stewarts, p. 14) ; and in various other engagements he displayed the highest skill and valour. He died in 1326, aged thirty-three years, and was succeeded by his son, Robert. King Robert the Bruce died on 7th June, 1329, and the right of ^ In November, 1869, when cligging some foundations of a building, near the mound where Queen Blearie met her death, twelve gold nobles of the reign of Edward III. of England were found. Probably they had been hid there during troublous times. 1 wo of them were in beautiful condition ; and one of the best had on the obverse the legend, — Edward . Dei . Gratia . Rex . Angl . Z . Franc . D.Hyb. The other figure is the king armed and crowned, standing in a ship that has a streamer at the mast head, with a St. George's cross ; in his right hand a sword, and in his left a spade shield, bearing the arms of England and France quartered. On the reverse there is the legend, — Ich. Aotem . Francieur. P . Medium . Illorvm . Iba ., with a cross in a tressure of eight arches with Jtcmr de lis and the lion of England under a crown. In the centre is the letter E. As no coin of a later date was among them, they had probably been hid there during the reign of Edward III. (1327-1377) or of Richard II. The first gold coinage in England was struck in the reign of Edward III. C 34 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. succession devolved upon his son, who was then only six years of age. During the regency of the young king, Scotland was frequently and seriously engaged in unsuccessful wars with England, but the crowning defeat was at the battle of Halidon hill. The second divi- sion of the Scottish army, according to Stewarfs History of the Stewarts, was on that day led by Robert, the High Steward of Scot- land, then only sixteen years of age. After this disaster the young king was taken to France for safety, and the High Steward concealed himself in the island of Bute. At Newcastle on Tyne, in 1334, Baliol, by a solemn instrument, surrendered a great part of the Scottish king- dom to Edward IH., and soon after the whole estates of Robert, the High Steward, were conferred upon David Hastings, the Duke of Athole. In the same year, the High Steward, assisted by others, secured many of the strongholds in the kingdom, and the Scots acknowledged him and John, Earl of Moray, as Regents under King David. Many severe contests with the English followed, and Robert became commander of the Scottish forces on the death of Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell. He captured the garrisons of Perth and Stirling castles ; and after dislodging the enemy from all the strongholds north of the Firth of Forth, he made a progress through Scotland, administering justice, redressing grievances, and establishing good order. In 1341 David II. returned from his exile in France. At the battle of Neville's Cross, near Durham, on 17th October, 1346, the centre division was commanded by King David II., and the left by Robert the Steward and the Earl of March. The Scotch army was vanquished, and the king was made prisoner and taken to the Tower of London. Robert the Steward most disinterestedly exerted himself to recover his sovereign from capti- vity, but did not succeed till a period of eleven years had elapsed. The Scotch representatives, at Newcastle, in July, 1354, agreed to pay a ransom of 100,000 pounds, equivalent to the sum of 12,000 pounds of modern money, to be paid in yearly instalments of ;^4ooo, and gave twenty young men of quality as hostages, till the money should be paid (Tyt/er's History of Scotland). Among these was the eldest son of the Steward. King David II. died in the Castle of P^dinburgh, on 22nd February, 1370, in the forty-seventh year of his age, and the forty-second of his reign. Upon his death, the Steward of Scotland was, in accordance with the settlement of Robert the Bruce and several Acts of Parliament, declared heir to the crown of Scotland. His title of King Robert II. was acknowledged in the most solemn and most cordial manner, at his coronation at Scone, on 26th March, 137 1. It was at the same time declared that his eldest son, John, if he survived his father, should become King of Scotland. Thus the line of hereditary High Stewards of Scotland became that famous Stewart line of Scottish kings which, within three centuries, claimed the proud distinction of sovereignty over England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. This came about in 1390, when Robert II. died, and his son, John, was crowned king under the more auspicious title of Robert III. CHAPTER V. THE PRIORS. -^^IHE thirteen monks referred to in Walter Fitz Alan's |^l|)| charter, took up their abode at first in Renfi-ew. Thus the list of grants in the first foundation charter includes " the land where the monks first dwelt." But it is not exactly known when the building of the convent at Paisley was commenced, nor when it was completed, nor at what period the monks began to occupy it. The first prior, however, was named OSBERT. His name is referred to at page 408 of the printed register or chartulary of the Abbey, under date nth April, 1172, in a deed of confirmation by Pope Alexander HI., regarding churches and lands. The second and last prior was Roger. This we learn from the following incident in the early history of the Abbey. Robert Croc, one of the vassals of the first Stuart, founded a hospital for infirm men, about 1180, at the place where he lived, to which he had given the name of Crocs-ton or Croocs-town ; after- wards called Cruickston. This hospital he endowed ; then he built a chapel, and endowed the chaplaincy for the performance of divine service for behoof of those in the hospital. Prior Roger and monks granted a license to Robert Croc and Henry de Nes, friends of the convent, to have private chapels for the celebration of divine service; but the oblations received at these chapels were to be delivered to the mother church of Paisley (Abbey Chartulary, p. 77, 78). " Nigellus, Abbas de Kilwinning, is witness to a charter of Walter the second Steward of Scotland, dated 12 10, granting to Paisley his lands lying betwixt Hauld Patrick and Espadare. The same is witness to a charter Herberti Decani et Capituli Glasgow, con- firming to Passelet several churches granted thereto by Florentius Electus, Glasgow " (Ayr and IVig/on ArchcEological Collections, vol. i., p. 117). " The Abbot of Kilwinning being appointed judge by the Pope of the debate betwixt Paisley and Malmor Hobelau, perpetual Vicar of Kyllinan, sub-delegats Richard de Lanark subdecanus Ecclesis, Glasgow, and Robertus de Edinburgh Ejusdem Ecclesi?e canonicus, who adjudg'd to Paisley numatam Terrae de Kylma apud Ken- lochgilp ; Et Capellam Beatse Mariae in eadam terra 1268. Which 36 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. made the subject of their contestations" (Ayr and IVigton Archce- logical Collections, vol. i., p. xi8). Prior Roger and the monks, by a charter granted between 1223 and 1238, resigned to the second Waher the island near the town of Renfrew, afterwards called the " King's Inch " ; and in tlie early- part of the thirteenth century, the chapter of Glasgow acquired the church of Daliel as a common church, from the Abbey of Paisley (Sketches of Early Scotch History, by Cosmo Innes, p. 39). The lands lying on both sides of St. Mirin's Burn, and extending from Causeyside to Lady Lane, known at present as the Priors- croft, were no doubt cultivated under the direction of the priors, and, being the croft land connected with the monastery, received their special attention. And whether through their influence or otherwise, certainly during the period of their government, many important and valuable grants were made to their mstitution.^ Gifts were received from Eschina, the wife of Walter the founder ; from Alan, the son of Walter ; from Walter the third Steward ; from Walter Hose ; from Peter, the son of Fulbert ; from William de Hurtford, and other vassals of the Stewards ; from King William ; from King Henry ; from the son of Anselm. And in Dumbarton- shire the priors and monks obtained extensive properties from Maldowen, Earl of Lennox, and his three brothers. Angelic, Havel, and Dufgal. The convent also acquired several churches, with some lands and revenues in Argyleshire, from the Lord of the Isles ; and from his wife Foma, the tenth of all their goods ; for which grants they obtained the privilege of being a brother and sister of the order. Dovenald, the son of Reginald, granted to the monks eight cows, and from every house on his lands one penny yearly. Angus the son of DOvenald granted to the convent half a merk of silver from his own house, and one penny from each house on his estate.- Angus also granted to the monks the church of Kilkeran in Kintyre. Duncan, the son of Ferchard, and Loemman, the son of Malcolm, granted the church of Kilfinan in Cowal ; also the numata of land of Kilmarie on Lochgilp, with St. Mary's Chapel on the same land; also three half numatas of land at Kilmun, with the fishings. Dufgal, the son of Fyfin, granted the church of Kilcolmonel in Knapdale, and the chapel of St. Columba, near his castle of Schepinche. Dovenald Macgilchrist of Tarbert granted the privilege of cutting all kinds of wood. ^ It is unnecessary to describe these grants minutely here ; they are included in the complete list of the possessions of the Monastery in 1265, to be given hereafter. * It Avas in imitation of the hearth tax called Peter's Pence, or Romfeoh, in Saxon England. — Cosmo Innes's Sketches of Early Scotch History, p. 172. CHAPTER VI. THE ABBOTS. HROUGH the influence of King Alexander II. with Pope Honorius III., the Monastery in 1220 was raised to the rank of an Abbacy, and the monks were author- ised to elect an abbot as their superior. William, i 225-1 272. William, whose name appears in the Abbey chartulary on thirteen different occasions, was the first abbot. He is witness in an agree- ment, dated 1225, with Hugh, son of Reginald, as to the lands of Auchenloss (Houston — that is, Hugh's town). In 1235 he is witness to another agreement, dated at Blackball, between the Earl of Lennox and Gilbert, the son of Samud, regarding the lands of Monachkeneran. Walter the third Steward resided at Blackball. The abbot was under the necessity of raising legal proceedings against Gilbert, son of Samuel of Renfrew, to recover the lands of Monachkeneran, belonging to the church of Kilpatrick, of which he had taken possession. The Abbot obtained a commission from the Pope to three persons, the Deans of Carrick and Cunningham, and the Master of the Schools of Ayr, to make enquiry into this matter. In 1233 the trial commenced, and the Papal Commission sat first at Irvine, and afterwards in the Parish Church at Ayr, to suit the convenience of the Commissioners. The Abbot and monks appeared for their interest, and led proof at great length to the effect that the lands of Monachkeneran belonged to the church of Kilpatrick, and that Gilbert should be ejected therefrom. Gilbert did not appear. At the conclusion of the trial, the Commissioners reported to the Bishop of Glasgow that the Abbot had satisfactorily proved his case, and they had adjudged to the convent the disputed land, and condemned Gilbert to pay ;^3o of expenses. They further enjoined the Bishop, to put their sentence nito execution, and compel obedience by Church censure. As Gilbert, however, paid no attention to the sentence, the Pope's delegates supplicated King Alexander II. to extend the secular arm against him, until the sentence was obeyed ; but with what success we do not know. Cosmo Innes says, regarding this case, " It is the earliest I know which consists of a definite and carefully recorded declaration, and of evidence given by a large number of witnesses, strictly confined to its proof with a relevancy worthy of a more advanced age " (Scotch Legal Antiquities, p. 221). 38 history of paisley. Stephen, 1272-1296. Stephen succeeded William as Abbot about 1272 ; for a charter is granted him in that year by Thomas de Fulton and Matilda, his spouse, of their lands of Fulton. The following confirmation by Pope Clement IV. in 1265 is authentic, and describes so minutely the extensive and valuable possessions of the Monastery at that time, that, notwithstanding its great length, it cannot be omitted. The information it supplies is most important, and gives the best idea possible of the enormous wealth of this institution : — "Clemens Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved sons, the Abbot of the Monastery of Paisley, and St. Mirin, Confessor of Paisley, and the brethren there, and in all time coming, following the Monastic life. " It is proper that the Apostolic protection be given to those choosing a religious life, lest, perchance, any indiscretion either draw them off from their purpose, or — which heaven forbid — impair the strength of their sacred vows. "Wherefore beloved sons in the Lord, we mercifully assent to your just demands, and secure the Monastery of St. James the Apostle and St. Mirin the Confessor of Paisley, in the diocese of Glasgow, in which you are vowed to divine obedience under the protection of St. Peter, and our own, and fortify this ordinance by the present writing. In the first place, we ordain that the Monastic order which, it is known, was instituted in that Monastery according to God, the rule of St. Benedict, and of the Cluniac brethren, be observed there inviolably in all time coming. Moreover, let whatever property and whatever goods the said Monast- ery may at present justly and canonically possess, or can in future acquire by the concession of Popes, the bounty of Kings or Princes, the oblation of the faithful, or in other just methods, by the favour of God, remain sure and inalien- able to you and to your successors, of which things we have reckoned the fol- lowing worthy of express mention : — The place in which the said Monastery is situated, with all its pertinents, and the chapel of Lochwynoc, with its pertinents ; the churches of Innerwyc, of Lygadwod, of Katcart, of Rughglen, of Curmanoc, of PoUoc, of Merness, of Neilston, of Kylberhan, of Hestwood, of Howston, of Kylhelan, of Harskyn, of Kylmacolm, of Innerkyp, of Largyss, of Prestwic- burgh, of the other (in the Monks) Prestwic, of Cragyn, of Turneberry, of Uundonald, of Schanher, of Haucynlec, of Kylpatrik, of Neyt (Roseneath), of Kyllynan, of Kylkeran, of St. Colmanel, of Scybinche, with chapels, lands, and pertinents ; the chapels of Kylmor at Kenlochgilpe, with its pertinents ; and the land which Duncan, son of Ferchard, and Lamman, his cousin gave to the Monastery there ; and that whole land lying on both sides of the Kert, as the late Walter Fitz-Alan, Steward of the King of Scotland, founder of the Monastery himself bestowed it ; and the carucate of land which formerly Grimketil held, and which is now Arkylliston, and the carucate of land which they possessed between the Kert and Grif, which is now called the Island ; and the whole land of Drumloy and Swynschawis, and the Graynis, which is now called Drumgrane, and the whole land of Hakhyncog of Dalmulyn, and the land which they had in the manor of Polloc ; and the whole land of Drepss, which the late William, son of Maduse, held at ferm of the Monastery ; and a carucate of land at THE ABBOTS. 39 Huntely which the late King William of Scotland excambed with lands which they had in the manor of Hastanisden ; and the carucate of land which the late Eschena de MoUa bestowed on them in that place, and the fishing which they had upon the water of Clude between Perthec and the island which is commonly called the Island of Renfrw, and an annual of half a merk of silver from the ferm of the burgh of Renfi-w, and the Mill which they had in the tenement of that burgh, with the water courses and all its pertinents, and a plenary loft in the town of Renfrw, and one net for salmon in the River Clude at Renfrw, and the land which they possessed near their Mill, and the lands of Hyllington and Castleside, and the whole Mill of Innerwyc, with the water courses and all the pertinents ; and the whole lands of Prestwic which is now called Monkstoun, and the land of Moinabroc, and the land of Cnoc, and the Mill of Paisley with its sequel which they held by the gift of their founder, and half the fishing at the issue of Lochwinoc, with that liberty of fishing in the lake itself, which Walter the founder granted ; and the whole land of Penuld which is called Fulton, as Henry de St. Martin, with the consent of his overlord, conferred it ; and the land situated between the Mach and Caldouer, and that part of the land where the Mill of Paisley is situated, which W'alter the Steward conceded by certain boundaries ; and the land beyond Kert, bet\\een the Espedar and Aldpatrick, as the said Steward gave it, with all their liberties and easements in the forests of Paisley and the Seneschathir ; and the land at Carnebro which they had fi'om the gift of the late Uctred, son of Paganus ; and the land at the Orde which the late Walter called Murdhac, bestowed on the Monastery ; and the annual rent of a chalder of wheat which they received from the late Patrick, Earl of Dunbar ; and the annual rent of a chalder of wheat and half a mark of silver which they possessed at Cadiou by the gift of Robert de Loundoniis, brother of the late King of Scotland ; and an annual mark of silver from Kelbride by the gift of the late Philip de Valoinis, and by the gift of the late Earl of Maldoven of Lennox, and that fishing upon the water of Lev\'yn which is called Linbren, with the land between it and the highway leading to Dumbarton ; and the lands which they had in the county of Lennox which are commonly called Linbren, with the land between it and the highway leading to Dunnberton ; and the lands which they had in the county of Lennox, which are commonly called Coupmanach, Edinber- nan, Bacchan, P'inbelach, Cragbrectalach, Druncrene, Dallenneach, Drumtocher, Drumteyglunan, Drumdeynains, Cultbwy, and Reynfod ; and the land which they had in the place called Monachkenran, with its pertinents ; and the land which Thomas the son of Tankard conferred at Moydirual ; and the land called Garyn received from the late Rodulfus de Cler ; and the whole land of Crosrag- uel and Sutheblan by the gift of Duncan, Earl of Karric ; and two chalders of meal received from Alexander, the patron of their Monastery, in exchange for the multure of the Rass ; and an annual rent of two marks of silver for the Mill of Thornton, with lands, vineyards, woods, customs, and pastures, thickets and open grounds, water, mills, roads, and pathways, and all other liberties and immunities. Let no one presume to demand or extort from you tithes of your newly reclaimed lands which you cultivate with your own hands or at your own charges, of which no one has hitherto received tithes, nor from your animals' food. It shall be lawful also for you to receive as converts, free and unfettered, clerical or lay, persons fleeing from the world, and to retain them without any 40 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. contradiction. However, we forbid any of your brethren, after making his pro- fession in your Monastery, to depart thence without leave of his Abbot, unless he joins a stricter order. But let no one dare to detain a person departing without authority of your common letters. It shall also be lawful for you when a general interdict is laid on the land, provided that you yourselves do not give cause of interdict, to perform Divine services with shut doors, and having ex- cluded excommunicated and interdicted persons, but with suppressed voice and without ringing of bells. You will receive also chrism, holy oil, consecration of your altars and churches, the ordination of priests for administering rites, from the Bishop of the diocese, if he is Catholic and has the favour and communion of the Holy Roman See, and is willing honestly to give them to you. We forbid anyone to dare to build chapel or oratory within the bounds of your parishes without your consent and that of the Bishop of the diocese, resemng the privileges of the Roman Pontiffs. We prohibit entirely to be made against you all new and unjust exactions by archbishops, bishops, archdeacons, deans, and all ecclesiastical or secular persons. We decree also the burial of those who, in their devotion, or by their last will, have desired to be buried there, unless they are interdicted or excommunicated or publick usurers, saving the just rights of those churches by whom the bodies of the dead are claimed. You are also permitted, by our authority, to recall to the use of the churches to whom they belong, the tythes and possessions pertaining to your churches which are detained by laymen, and to redeem and lawfully to free them from their hands. And when you. Abbot of this place, or any of your successors go away, no one shall be placed there by cunning or by violence except by consent of the majority of the brethren, or wiser part, according as the election is provided by God and the rules of St. Benedict. We, wishing with paternal solicitude for the future to provide also for your peace and tranquility, prohibit by Apostolic authority, within the enclosures of your places or granges, all rapine or theft, fire-raising, blood-.shedding, rash seizure or slaying of men, or exercise of violence. More- over, we confirm all the liberties and immunities made to your Monasteries by our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs ; also liberties and exemptions from secular exactions granted you for good reason by Kings or Princes, or by others of the faithful, and we fortify this privilege by this writing. We therefore decree that it shall not be lawful for anyone soever rashly to disturb the said Monastery, or to take away any of its possessions, or to retain them when taken away, to diminish them, or to annoy it by any vexatious arts ; but that all things which have been granted for any future purpose whatsoever shall be preserved entire for the discipline and maintenance of its inmates, reserving the authority of the Holy See and the Bishop of the diocese. If therefore, in future, any secular or ecclesiastical person, knowing this writ of our constitution, shall attempt rashly to contravene it, let him, after being twice or thrice admonished (unless he shall alone for his fault by a suitable satisfaction), be deprived of the dignity of his power and honour ; and let him know that he stands charged by Divine justice with the iniquity so committed ; and let him be cut off from the most sacred Body and Blood of our God and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, and let him lie under His severe vengeance at the last judgement. But on all who shall preserve for the said place its rights, let the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ rest, so that here they may receive the fruit of their good deeds, and obtain at the hands of the Righteous Judge the rewards of eternal peace. Amen." the abbots. 4 1 Walter, i 296-131 2. Walter succeeded Stephen as Abbot about 1 296. The Monastery and its possessions suffered severely during the wars which were waged at that time between Scotland and England, and the conten- tions of the competitors for the throne of Scotland. The monks and their people were severely oppressed and their property was much injured. Of Abbot Walter, however, we know but little. His name is found in the list of those who, in 1296, made submission to Edward I., King of England, and he was present in Queen Margaret's Parliament at Briggenham. James the Lord High Steward at his death, in 1294, did not leave any land to the Abbot and monks. All he did was to confirm the gifts of his ancestors, and to give to them the church of Largs. But along therewith he gave them power of travelling through his whole forest within the barony of Renfrew ; of quarrying both build- ing stones and limestone for burning, whether at Blackball, within the said forest, or elsewhere ; of digging coal for the use of their Monastery, its granges, smithies, and brew-houses ; of making char- coal of dead wood, and of cutting turf for covering in the charcoal ; greenwood for their Monastery and grange buildings within the barony, and for all operations of agriculture and fishery ; and dead wood for fuel without restriction, saving always his park and pre- served forest. He gave them a right of carriage for all these necessaries through the forest, whether on wains, or on oxen, or horses, except through his manors, orchards, gardens, corn ground, and preserved forest, which land is described by its marches, "as the Rattan burn falls into Laveran, and ascending by the Laveran to the Black burn, and by the Black burn ascending to a certain ditch between Lochleboside and the Cockplays, and by that ditch going up to the Loch of Lochlebo, and by the said Loch westward to the marches of Caldwell, and by the marches of Caldwell north- ward ascending by a certain ditch on the west of Curmelcolm between the Langsan and Dangelsmore, and from that ditch across the moss to the head of the Auldpatrick, and descending that stream to the march of Stanley, and by the march of Stanley descending between Stanley and the Cockplays to the Rattan burn, and so by Rattan burn to Laveran." These boundaries comprehended apparently a district in the west of Neilston Parish, with a small part to the south of Paisley. The ways by which the monks and their servants were allowed to pass were the roads of Arlaw, Con- waran, the Rass, and Stockbrig, and the customary tracks of the husbandmen. They were allowed to go armed with swords, bows and arrows, and other necessary weapons, and to lead with them greyhounds and other dogs ; but if they passed through the preserved forest, they must lead their hounds in the leash and unstring their bows. They had a right to hunt and hawk within their own land, and of fishing in all the streams of the forest, and in the whole rivers of Cart -Paisley, and Cart-Lochwinnoch, below the yard of 42 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Auchindonnan ; but the Steward reserved to himself birds of game, hawk, and falcon. The High Steward gave the monks the right of watercourses for their mills from the water of Espedare, both within and without his park of Blackhall, on condition of being allowed the use of their mills for his own corn at his own expense ( Afonasticon, by Dr. Gordon, vol. iii., p. 557). Sir William Wallace, the Scottish patriot, whose heroic character is so well known, came forward in Walter's time as the avenger of Scottish wrongs and the defender of her rights. Some authors state that as the knight of Elderslie's father lived only a short distance from the Monastery, he must have received his education there. But this supposition we think is a mistake, for nearly all his early biographers state that he was educated in Stirlingshire, where in his youth he resided with his uncle. Undoubtedly, however, while visiting his father's house at Elderslie, he would frequently be a visitor at the venerable Abbey. At an early period of the war that prevailed at the end of the thirteenth century and beginning of the fourteenth, the Abbot and monks obtained from Pope Boniface a bull prohibiting all persons from invading or injuring the lands and possessions belonging to the Monastery (Abbey C/iarti/Iary, No. 150). But this did not protect them; for in 1307 the English, under Aymer de Valence, burned the Monastery and destroyed much of its surroundings. At a Parliament held at Berwick at the end of the thirteenth century, Walter the Abbot of Paisley, along with many others, made oath that they would be true and loyal, and keep faith and act legally, to the King of England and to his heirs ; and that they would never bear arms for any one, or give advice or aid, against him or his heirs in any case which could happen. It was during this Abbot's reign that the name of Milburga, the English Saint, patroness of Wenlock, mentioned in the foundation charter, ceased to be used in the charters and deeds of the Convent of Paisley. After Robert the Bruce stabbed the Red Comyn in the church of the Franciscan Friars at Dumfries, his conscience sorely troubled him on account of the deed. In his distress he applied for pardon to Pope Clement V., who took pity on him ; agreed to grant absolution, and sent a commission to the Abbot of Paisley to carry the concession into effect. The commission states that Robert the Bruce, " layman of Carrick, being inspired by the Devil, slew John and Robert Comyn, knights, who provoked him very much, in the church of the Minorite brothers of Dumfries." The commission further requires the Abbot after " Robert and his accomplices have made proper satisfaction to that church and done salutary penances, to absolve him and them from the excommunication which they had incurred." Roger, 1312-1327. Roger was the Abbot who succeeded Walter about 131 2. Not THE ABBOTS. 43 much is known of him, and his name seldom appears in the Abbey chartulary. Indeed, almost the only case is in connection with a controversy which arose in 13 13 between the monks and John Bride, a burgess of Renfrew, who had been annoying them, and this case is referred to but briefly (Abbey Chartulary^ p. 376). It was during Roger's Abbacy that the death of Marjory Bruce, already noted, took place. The High Steward, her husband, had prayers offered in the Monastery for the repose of her soul ; and as he says, " inspired by love and fear for the salvation of my Marjorie, formerly my wife, and for the salvation of my ancestors and of all the faithful departed " (Abbey Chartulary, p. 237). He gave to the Monastery the church of Largs, in Ayrshire, along with the tithes and possessions of every kind belonging thereto.^ John, 1327-1346. John succeeded Abbot Roger about 1327. To aid the Monastery in its impoverished state Brother Andrew of Argyle gave to the Abbot and monks the tithes and dues of the parishes of Kilfinan, Kilkeran, and Kilcolmduel. Bishop John Lindsay of Glasgow also granted to the Monastery the chapel of Cumbrae, with the whole of the dues belonging to it (Abbey Chartulary, pp. 239, 241, 242). Earl Malcolm of Lennox in 1330 also secured to the Monastery the possessions of Monachkeneran Baskan, with all their rites, churches, and fishings, regarding which there had been during a long period many troublesome and costly contentions (Abbey Chartulary, p. 205). These lands, however, were subjected to some burdens due to the crown and to the Constable of Tarbet (Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol i., pp. 52, 129). The Earl at the same time gave the Abbot and monks power to hold courts ; but when any one was condemned to death, he reserved the power of hanging such a one at his own gallows. Although the buildings of the Monastery, according to every account, were almost in ruins, and the condition of the monks greatly impoverished. Abbot John was nevertheless sufficiently ambitious to have his own position exalted. In answer to a petition from him in 1327, Pope Benedict XL permitted him and his successors to have the honour of wearing the mitre, ring, and other pontificals (Abbey Chartulary, p. 429). James, 1346-1361. James succeeded Abbot John about 1346. Robert the Steward, born on 2nd March, 13 16, of the marriage between Walter the Steward and Marjory, daughter of King Robert de Bruce, succeeded ^ "While the Bishop of Glasgow was residing (about 1322) at his manor of the lake maiio7-inin de lacu, no doubt the house at what is now called the Bishop's Loch, his seal had been lost by Robert del Barkour near the chapel of St. Mary of Dumbreton, and found and restored to him by James of Irwyn, a monk of Paselet." — M 'George's Armorial Insignia of Glasgcno, p. 26. 44 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. to the estates and possesions of the Stewards of Scotland in 1326, upon the death of his father, Walter; and on the death of his uncle, King David de Bruce, son of King Robert I., inherited the crown of Scotland, 26th March, 1371. He confirmed all the grants made to the Monastery by his ancestors, but gave no additional ones. In 1 36 1 the Abbot and Convent had a serious dispute with David Martin, Bishop of Argyle, the successor to Brother Andrew, who alleged that the churches of St. Queran, St. Finan, and St. Colmanell were not kept in proper repair, and therefore took pos- session of the revenues. After much discussion the matter 'was compromised. John, 1361-1384. Abbot John was elected by the monks, successor to Abbot James about 1 36 1. The Abbot was present at the Parliament held at Perth in 1364 to decide as to paying to England the ransom of King David II. Crosraguel Abbey, about two miles from the village of Maybole, in Ayrshire, was founded by Duncan, First Earl of Carrick, who died about 1 240. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, constituted a dependency of Paisley Monastery, and filled with monks from that establishment ; but a difference of opinion soon arose between the two institutions. Duncan had granted to the Abbot and monks at Paisley several churches and some lands in Carrick, upon the condition that they should establish in that county a Monastery of their order ; but as they failed to do this, he founded the Abbey of Crosraguel for Cluniac monks, and transferred to it the churches and lands which he had granted conditionally to Paisley Mon- astery. The Abbot and monks of Paisley considered the endow- ment to be for themselves and for the establishment only of an oratory or separate cell. After a controversy which continued for some time, the Bishop of Glasgow, to whom the matter in dis- pute was referred, decided that the Abbot and monks of Crosraguel should be independent, and subject only to the right of an annual visitation on the part of the Abbot of Paisley ; he further appointed that the lands held by Paisley Abbey in Carrick should belong to Crosraguel Abbey, but should pay to Paisley ten silver merks sterling, yearly (Abbey Chartulai-y, No. 74). Abbot John, in his visitation to Crosraguel in 1370, found many defects in the manage- ment of its affairs, and summoned the Abbot and monks to appear before him. The Abbot, attended by his monks, appeared on the day cited and resigned his powers into the hands of the Abbot of Paisley. He gave as his reason for doing so that, in consequence of his age and bodily infirmities, he was unable to attend to either the temporal or spiritual interests of the establishment. He was then relieved of his office and its duties, and the monks were required to fix a day for the election of another Abbot (Abbey Chartidary, p. 425). While Abbot John and the monks managed the affairs of Paisley THE ABBOTS. 45 Monastery with great ability, they had a very serious disagreement with Sir WilHam More of Abercorn. The Monastery, at a former period, came under obHgation to pay forty merks annually to the English house of Sempringham ; but the predecessors of the Abbot objected to pay the money. The canons of Sempringham, for some consideration, transferred their rights to Reginald More, who was succeeded by his son. Sir William More of Abercorn, who, before matters were finally disposed of, plundered the lands of the Monastery and violently entered the Abbey itself. John, the High Steward of Scotland, and other friends of the Convent, interfered and got the whole affair settled by the Convent becoming bound to pay three hundred merks, in three equal instalments, in lieu of the annual payment of forty merks. In the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland (vol. ii., p. 394), we find King Robert II. bestowing a gift of 14/2 upon Alexander of Stirling, a monk of Paisley. The same King, in 1380, erected all the lands of Lennox into a barony, the Abbot and monks being bound to offer prayers for the King, and to pay five chalders of oatmeal to the watchman of the Castle of Dumbarton. John de Lithgow, 1384-1433. John de Lithgow succeeded John as Abbot about 1384, and his name is recorded eight times in the Abbey Chartulary. He held the Abbacy for upwards of half-a-century, and many stirring national events occurred during that long perioJ. Shortly after his appoint- ment he was summoned by the Bishop of Glasgow to be confirmed by him ; but the Abbot declined, alleging that the Bishop possessed no such jurisdiction. In 1385, John of Auchinleck ill-used one of the monks belonging to the Monastery, and was sentenced to pay a fine of 20/- yearly during his lifetime. On the 13th of May, 1390, King Robert II. died in Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire, and was interred at Scone, though his first wife, Elizabeth More, and Euphemia Ross his Queen, were buried in the Convent of Paisley. King Robert III. ascended the throne on 14th August, 1390, and in 1396 he erected all the lands of the Monastery into a free barony of regality. The Charter, in an abridged form, is as follows : — " Charter of Confirmation by Robert III., King of Scotland, in favor of the Abbot and Monks of Paisley. " For the salvation of his own soul, and for the salvation of the souls of his Ancestors and successors, Kings and Stewards of Scotland. To God and the blessed Virgin Mary, and James the Apostle and St. Mirin the Confessor. Also to the Abbot and monks of Paisley now and to come, all and whole their lands, rents, and possessions in the Barony of Renfrew, situated within the county of Lanark. Also all their lands, rents, and possessions in the Barony of Kyle, Stewart and Shire of Ayr, and their five merk lands of Mole and Huntlaw in the land of Hassenden, within the shire of Roxburgh ; and their lands of Orde, within the shire of Peebles, in one entire and free Barony, and in pure and per- 46 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. petual Regality. To be held by the said Religieux and their successors for ever of the King and his heirs, the said lands and pertinents, with Courts and power of holding Courts, &c., outfang infang. All other proprietors of Regalities, &c., are prohibited from interfering with the Jurisdiction of the Granters ; the said Religieux offering up prayers for the Granters and their successors. " Witnesses. Walter, Bishop of St. Andrews ; Mathew, Bishop of Glasgow; Robert, Earl of Fife and Monteith, the King's brother ; Archibald, Earl of Douglas ; Lord Galloway ; Mr. Duncan Petit, Archdeacon of Glasgow, the Chancellor ; James Douglas ; Lord Dalkeith, and Thomas Erskine, Knight. " Dated at Linlithgow, the 5th April, in the 6th year of the King's Reign." This charter is the oldest among the valuable and ancient papers in the archives of the Burgh of Paisley, and although nearly 500 years have passed since it was executed, it is in excellent preserva- tion. At this period Hugh Boyle granted to the Monastery half a stone of wax at the feast of Saint Mirin. In 1403 Sir Hugh Wallace a descendant of the patriot, and one of the esquires, gave, with consent of his brother, the thirteen merk land of Thornlie, lying within the barony of Renfrew, for the safety of Robert King of the Scots, of good memory deceased, and the souls of his ancestors ; and for the safety of our Lord the King, and of all his successors ; and for the safety of the donator's own soul, and all his ancestors and successors ; and for the glory of God, the Virgin, St. Mirin, St. James of Passelet, and for the monks there. The confirmation of these grants was executed by the King at Rothesay, three years before his death. The charter is written by Robert Duke of Albany, and James Douglas (Abbey Chartidary, p. 79). King Robert HI. died at Rothesay, i8th March, 1405, and his body was laid in front of the high altar in the Abbey Church of Paisley. It is not known whether his funeral ceremonies were costly and pompous or not, but a sum of 40s. for white wax was paid eighteen years later by James I. to the Abbot of Paisley for perform- ing his obsequies (Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. iv., p. 391). Abbot Lithgow in his old age had, it appears, first, William de Chisholme as a colleague, who received his appointment about 1408. His name appears in 141 4 in an indenture between the Burgesses of Renfrew and himself, the Abbot, and the convent of Paisley, concerning some land and mill of Renfrew, near the chapel of St. Mary at Renfrew.^ He was one of the monks of the Monas- 1 This indenture, dated Thursday, ist May, 1414, entered into between Mr. William Chisholme, Abbot of Paisley and the Convent thereof, on the one part, and the Burgesses of Renfrew on the other part, is as follows : — The Abbot and Convent "of their free will have assigned and in feu farm let to the said Burgesses and Community and their successors for ever that their mill of Ren- frew situated near the chapel of the Virgin on the north side thereof, to be holden by the Burgesses &c. of the Abbot and Convent with the pertinents «S:c., THE ABBOTS. 47 tery, and was very likely raised to his important position on account of his energy in the management of the temporal concerns of the Monastery. Probably he died before Abbot Lithgow. The Abbot had afterwards Thomas Morwe or Murray as an assistant or colleague in the Abbacy. But the Abbot must still have been a hale old man, for he passed over to France to pay his respects to James L, who was then in that country under keeping of Henry IV. of England. This incident we learn from the records of passports granted in October, 1421, and February, 1421-22, to Lord Gordon, Sir Alex. Forbes, the Abbot of Paisley, and others (Rotuli Scotiic, vol. ii., pp. 230,331, and Exchequer Rolls, vol iv., p. 84). John de Lithgow died on 20th January, 1433, and as he had previously directed, was buried in the north porch of the Monastery, where he had caused to be erected a stone tablet with the following inscription : — "John of Lithgow, Abbot of this Monastery, 20th day of the month of January, year of our Lord 1433, selected to be made his sepulchre." The above tablet is on the east wall of the portico, and the first line has the appearance of having been renovated. The Abbot's name also appears twice on Queen Marjory's tomb. Of no other Abbot is the name recorded on the monumental stones of the Abbey Abbot Lithgow, during the period of his Abbacy, must have with the liberty of seeking stones and mill stones for the said mill in those places where the Abbot and Convent seek mill stones for their mill of Paisley. Render- ing the said Burgesses and Community to the Abbot and Convent and their successors at two terms, Whitsunday and Martinmas, at Renfrew, by equal portions, one mark of gold or of silver of the current lawful money of .Scotland." The seal of the Burgh of Renfrew is declared to be appended to this part of the indenture remaining in the possession of the Abbot and Convent, and the seal of the Convent appended to the other part remaining with the Burgh. Then follow the obligations by the bailies and burgesses of Renfrew to pay this money. And the deed gives powers to the Abbot and Convent to distrain the movable and immovable goods of the Burgh for payment of the merk, and for all damages and expenses occasioned by non-payment of it. Dated at Renfrew, at the feast of the apostles Philip and James, 1414. The original of this deed is in the Paisley charter chest. 48 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. endeavoured to restore the buildings of the Monastery, which had been wantonly destroyed, as already mentioned, by the English forces in 1307, and in these exertions he appears to have been favoured and encouraged by King Robert II. ; for in 1389-90 we find, in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland^ vol. iii.. No. 102, the entry of a payment of ^30 — for glass for the Abbey of Paisley. Windows of glass were at this time in use only in a few of the houses of the rich. Thomas, 1433-1444. Thomas Morwe or Murray, the second assistant or colleague to Abbot Lithgow, was the Abbot who succeeded him. At the Privy Council held at Stirling in 1440 by King Robert II., to consult as to the unfortunate condition of the nation. Abbot Morwe was among the number. Richard, 1444-1445. Richard de Bodwell or BothwelP was Abbot in 1444, but nothing is known regarding his rule in the Monastery. In the following year he was promoted to the Abbacy of Dunfermline, where he appears to have ruled till 14th May, 1468. Thomas, 1445-1459. Thomas de Tervas, monk in Arbroath, was elected to succeed Richard de Bodwell in 1445, and paid, under rather suspicious cir- cumstances, a considerable amount of money into the Pope's treasury. The Abbots and monks subsequent to the year 1307, when the Monastery was burned in the wars of Edward I. of England, as already mentioned, had done much for its restoration, but Abbot Tervas surpassed them all, and at his death the buildings were nearly completed. His name occurs in several charters in the Abbey chartulary ; and under the date 1450 his name appears in an action against Robert Boyd for molesting the monks and keep- ing back the fruits of the church at Largs ( Mofiasticon, vol. iii., p. 568). King James II. highly appreciated the efforts made to restore the Abbey, and by a charter dated 15th January, 1451, con- ferred upon the Abbots and monks of Paisley important powers and privileges, including the trials of the four points of law belonging to the Crown, viz., — Rape, Rapine, Murder, and Fire-Raising. This charter recites the lands, &c., specified in King Robert's charter, and confirms that charter, and further confirms certain letters of confirmation made and granted by the late Malcom, Earl of Lennox, to the Blessed Saint Mirin and the Abbot and Convent of the Monastery, of the lands of Kilpatrick of Cocynanach, Edynbernune of Barker of Tymbalane of Drynycrene of Crag, Brectholane of Monar, Kenran, Drumsleyghmane of Cultebuyne of Dallefenane of Drumthover of Beymfoyde and of Drumdeynanys, ^ He is so named in Scotichronicon, p. 423, vol. iii. THE ABBOTS. 49 with the pertinents lying in the Earldom of Lennox, within the Sherififdom of Uumbertane, into free Barony : — " The whole said lands, &c., in a free Barony, to be thereafter called the Barony of Paisley, by the Abbot and Monastery, with the four pleas of the Crown, viz., — Rape, Rapine, Murder, and Fire-Raising, which four pleas of the Crown King Robert had reserved. Declaring that the lands and Barony of Kil- patrick before mentioned should be held by the Abbot, &c., in free Regality. Prayers for the King and his successors. " Witnesses. William and Thomas, of the churches of Glasgow and Candida casa (supposed Whitehouse), Bishops; the Earl of Douglas, ofWigton, and of Annandale ; Lord of Galloway ; William, Lord Crichton, the Chancellor ; William, Lord Somyrvile ; Andrew Lord Le Grey ; Mr. John Arons, Archdeacon of Glasgow ; and George Schereswod, Rector of Culter. Dated at Edinburgh the 13th January, 145 1, and the 15th year of the reign. This charter is also in the charter chest of the Town Council of Paisley. Regarding the privilege given by the King to the Abbot of selling wines within the gates of the Monastery, we think that Dr. Lees, in his History of the Abbey, (p. 129) draws very questionable inferences in his reference to the charter (Abbey Chartulary, p. 258. Potestatem plenariam tabernandi et vendendi vina infra portas dicti monasterii). Perhaps he has been misled by our modern derivation from the Low Latin word taber?ia?idi. The Abbot is to have power of storing and selling wines on account of causes already set forth in the charter, that is, because he is to have the right of trying causes judicially, and, therefore, of bringing together to the Abbey many persons from different parts of the country for protracted proceedings in law. There is no proof, so far as we are aware, that the Abbey reaped from this concession of storing and selling wines any harvest of gold. We require only to remember 1st, the sacredness of its shrines; 2nd, its connection with the royal family ; and 3rd, its being a place of pilgrimage for pious devotees from all quarters, bringing rich gifts, in order to see the sources of its beautiful architecture, without tracing it in any way, as Dr. Lees has done, to the "tavern keeping of Thomas Tervas." The buildings of the Monastery were completed about this time, and also a portion of the steeple (Chalmers's Caledonia, vol. iii., p. 825). On 22nd January, 145 1, King Henry VL of England presented letters of safe conduct for several Bishops and Abbots to travel in England and visit Canterbury Cathedral, and among these was Thomas, Abbot of Paisley. When the period of that safe conduct expired, the Abbot on 6th June, 1452, obtained a continuation of it for four months longer. The party crossed to the continent of Europe and visited Rome. On 25th May, 1452, King Henry VL again gave a letter of safeguard to the venerable father Thomas, Abbot of Paisley, to travel in England. 1; 5© HISTORY OF PAISLEY. On 25th September, 1452, Robert, Lord Lyle, granted to the Convent the fishing of Crookatshot. and ordered WiHiam Sempill of Elyoetson, BaiHe of the Barony of Renfrew, to give infeftment. Of Abbot Tervas we know very httle after this date ; the only information that remains is contained in two records, one of date October, 1456, noting his presence in ParHament, and one of 5th June, 1459, noting his death. The following account of Abbot Tervas, from the Auchinleck Chronicle^ written at that time, is the best and most satisfactory statement that can be quoted regarding the great energy and ability of this " richt gud man " in the rebuilding of the Monastery of Paisley. From this record we learn that among other things he " biggit the body of the kirk frae the bricht stair up and put on the ruf " He likewise " thekit it with sclait and riggit it with stane and biggit ane great portion of the steeple and ane stoutlie yet- hous." His visit to the Continent and to Rome enabled him also to provide "mony gud jowellis and claiths of gold, silver, and silk, and mony gud buks." " The yer of God 1459 the penult clay of Junii, decessit at Paslay Thomas Tarvas Abbot of Paslay, the quhilk was a richt gud man and helplyk to the place of ony that ever was. For he did mony notable thingis and held ane noble hous and was ay well purvait. He fand the place all out of gud rewle, and destitut of leving, and all the kirkis in lordis handis, and the kirk unbiggit. He biggit the body of the kirk fra the bricht stair up, and put on the ruf. He biggit and thekit it with sclait, and riggit it with stane, and biggit ane gret portioun of the steple and ane staitlie yethous, and brocht hame mony gud jowellis and clathis of gold, silver, and silk, and mony gud bukis, and maid staitly stallis and glasynnit mekle of all the kirk, and brocht hame the statliest tabernakle that was in all Scotland, and the most costlie. And schortlie he brocht all the place to fredome, and fra nocht till ane mychtie place, and left it out of all kynd of det, and at all fredome till dispone as thaim lykit, and left ane of the best myteris that was in Scotland, and chandillaris of silver and lettren of bras, with mony uthir gud jowellis." Henry Crichton, 1459-147 2. At the death of Thomas Tervas, Pope Pius W. usurped the authority of the monks of Paisley Monastery by appointing Henry Crichton, a monk of Dunfermline, as Commendator, to collect the revenues, and to pay 300 florins to the Cardinal of St. Mark's. After a time, Henry having failed to carry out this arrangement, and retained to himself all the revenues belonging to the Abbey, the Pope organised a plan to prosecute Henry Crichton, but he died. His successor, however, Paul H., deposed Henry and appointed Patrick Graham, Archbishop of St. Andrews, to be Commendator, who exercised the duties for three years. The Pope then (27th February, 1469) conferred the Abbacy on Henry Crichton. It was fortunate that the two Abbots preceding him had taken such a deep interest in the restoration of the Abbey, for he did little of importance in THE ABBOTS. 5 1 that way. He devoted much of his time to getting certified copies made of deeds connected with the x\bbey. He also, on 20th April, 1460, caused a rental book of the Abbey to be commenced, which was continued down to the period of the Reformation. ^ In 1466 he obtained from Lamond of that ilk a confirmation of the patronage of the Kirk of Kilfinan, in the diocese of Argyle ; and in 1470 his name appears in the charter of confirmation of the churches of Paisley (Monasiicon, vol. iii., p. 568). Abbot Henry, in 1464, was chosen to attend the Court of Berwick, in order to negotiate a peace with England. He was in Parliament in 1464, 1469, 147 1, and 1472. The Abbot must have directed some of his attention to the restoration of the Abbey, for the King gave him a quantity of lead from his castle at Rothesay for the roof of the church at Paisley (Lennox Papers, vol. ii). Sir John Mouss was at this time chamberlain to the Monastery, and the house in which he resided was at the north-east corner of St. Mirin's Wynd. Abbot Henry Crichton was translated to the Abbacy of Dun- fermline in 1472. Bishop Leslie states that, on the occasion of the vacancy, the Convent selected Mr. Alexander Thomson, one of their number ; but the Pope, in answer to the supplication of King James HI., made choice of Henry Crichton. Monastic establish- ments had originally the power to elect their superiors, but at this time the right was almost universally kept in abeyance. Then followed the more corrupt practice of granting the superiorities of religious houses to Bishops and secular priests, who, not having taken the Monastic vows, were not duly qualified to preside in a Monastery. Out of this grew the still greater abuse of committing charges of this nature to laymen, and even to infants. All these things were done with the sanction of the Papal authority, and the Monasteries thus disposed of were said to be held "in commendam" or in trust, until it should be found convenient to appoint a regular superior (Morton's Annals, p. 95). Henry continued Abbot at Dunfermline till 6th May, 1482. George, 1472-1498. Abbot George Schaw, the successor to Henry Crichton, appointed on 29th June, 1472, was, both as a statesman and as a promoter of the best interests of the Monastery and town of Paisley, the most able and successful abbot that ever ruled in that institution. He was not, as in the cases we have referred to, elected by the monks to fill that important position, but he received his appointment from the king. The new abbot was a younger son of John Schaw of Sauchey, in Stirlingshire, and was born in 1434. After receiving a good education, he entered into holy orders, and was elected rector of ^ At present this interesting and valuable book is in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. 52 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the Parish Church of Minto, in the diocese of Glasgow. On the promotion of Abbot Crichton to the see of DunfermHne, George Schavv was, from the fame of his piety and abihty, marked out for the Abbacy of Paisley. His high character and qualifications gained him the appointment of tutor to Prince James Duke of Rosse, second son of King James III. The Duke, after completing his education under the abbot in the Monastery of Paisley, was appointed Arch- bishop of St. Andrews, in 1497 (Account of Lord High Treasurer, p. Ixiv. preface). Abbot Schaw was a Privy Councillor, and, rising into great favour at court, was on 28th April, 1494, promoted to be Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, when the Abbot of Cambusken- eth was removed from that office ( Account of Lord High Treasurer, p. xxxii. preface). The first of his accounts is described thus : — " The compt. of ane venerable fader in God Geo. Abbot of Paslay, Thesaurare till our Souverane Lord fra xxix day of Junis in the yere of God m 1111 c Ixxxiv. yeirs " (Accounts Lord High Treasurer, p. 209). The Abbot attended punctually to his parliamentary duties between 1478 and 1482. During his Abbacy he made extensive improvements and additions to the Monastery. He erected a refectory and other buildings to accommodate the monks, and a massive tower over the large entrance gate to the Abbey. He also caused the extensive build- ings of the Monastery, its large orchards and gardens, and small park for fallow deer, to be surrounded by a magnificent wall of hewn stone, upwards of a mile in circumference. This wall commenced at the northern transept of the church, went along what is the present line of Lawn Street, formerly called Fisher's Row, to Wallneuk, where it turned east and ran along the line of what is now called Incle Street ; it there turned southward, skirting the Mill Road, till it terminated at the Columbarum or Dovecot, which stood close to the brink of the Cart opposite the waterfall at Seedhill Mills. This wall was embellished with statues. One of the statues, according to Spottiswood,^ represented the Virgin Mary, and was placed in a niche at one of the corners of the wall towards the outer side, with this distich engraved under her feet : — Hac ne vade via nisi dixeris ave Maria Sit semper sine via qui non tibi dicet ave. Pass not this way unless you shall say, " Hail Mary." May he who blesseth not be always without prosperity. This stately wall" was erected by Abbot Schaw in the year 1483, as shown by the inscription on a large tablet stone which was placed somewhere in it, and for about a hundred years formed the lintel of the northmost house No. 18 Lawn Street, at the corner of Incle Street.^ ^ AtcoiDtt of Religious Houses subjoined to Hope's Minor Practicks, p. 449. ^ A part of the wall is yet to be seen enclosing the right bank of the river Cart to the north of the Abbey Bridge. ■'In July, 1S77, the owner of the property took down this stone, when con- THE ABBOTS. 53 The following is a reduced /ac-si/mVe of Abbot George Schaw's Inscription :— This stone tablet is five feet three inches in length, and two feet six inches in breadth. The first line terminates with a shield con- taining three covered cups, the armorial bearings of Abbot Schaw. The second and third terminate with an ornament, and tlie fifth line has the figure of a sprig. All the letters are three-and-a-half inches long, in Saxon character, and cut in a//o relievo. The fifth line has been erased, very likely by excited enthusiasts at the Reforma- tion, but the rendering which has generally been adopted by historians, is — " Pray for his soul's salvation." Another stone which belonged to the wall was built into the front of a house on the south side of Incle Street, No. i6. It bears the royal arms of Scotland, sculptured in bold relief, but has no inscription.^ Like Abbot Schaw's valuable stone relic, it was also handed over to the museum. The abbots and monks had evidently the command of a secret underground connection between the Monastery and the outside world. In June, 1829, a subterranean passage, vaulted with hewn freestone, was found to intersect the garden behind the house of the late Mr. John Crawford, situated in Abbey Street. It was thought at that time to run in a line from the Abbey to the river. On digging a drain in Abbey Street, at the north end of Bridge Street, within fifty yards of the Abbey buildings, in February, 1879, the workmen came upon apparently the same stone -covered passage about fotir feet beneath the surface of the street. Mr. King, the contractor for the work then in progress at the Abbey Bridge, on removing some of the stones covering the passage and descending into it, found it verting a loom shop into a sale shop, and presented it to Paisley Free Museum, where it is now to be seen fixed upon the gable of the building east of the entrance to the library. ^ On the shield is a lion rampant, within a double tressure, flowered and counter flowered ; crest a crown, supporters two unicorns, and under the shield a bouquet of thistles, the royal badge of Scotland. 54 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. to be constructed of solid stonework. The dimensions were four feet in width and five feet in height. The side walls are constructed of dressed ashlar blocks, closely built without mortar, and the roof is in the Gothic pointed-arch style of architecture. At short distances the sides are strengthened by buttresses about a foot in width, and the masonry nowhere shows any signs of decay. Mr. King and some other adventurous friends attempted to explore this subter- raneous passage, but were stopped a few yards farther on in the direction they went by what appeared to be a falling in of the roof. In the westward direction, however, the party succeeded in advanc- ing about 150 yards, when they were stopped by the accumulation of mud at the bottom of the passage. It is very likely this road was made to enable the abbots and monks to have command of the water in the river, and also when necessary to give them a private means of ingress and egress in connection with the Monastery. No further attempts have since been made to explore the passage. During the erection of the extensive works at the Monastery, King James IV. visited Abbot Schavv on several occasions. The first of these was on 15th May, 1489. " Item xi day of May in PaSlay takin by the King furth o Tresaurer's purse V demyss, a ducat and a Fransche crown v li. iijs-" (Lord High Treasurer' s Accounts, p. 112). There is another entry in the Treasurer's accounts, which no doubt is connected with the King's visits to the Monastery. It is as follows : — " Item xxiiij May 1491 to Gybbe Brown to ryd to Paysia for James Leyche to Andro Wod. xs-" (Accounts, Lord High Treasurer, p. 177). In November 1491 the King, in returning from a pilgrimage to St. Ninian's at Whithorn, stopped at the Monastery to visit Abbot Schaw, and gave a gratuity to the masons who were engaged at the building operations. "Item the xxj nouenibris to the massonis of Paysia xs " ( Lord High Treasurer s Accounts, p. 183). Abbot George Schaw obtained from King James IV. a charter erecting the village of Paisley into a burgh. This charter is dated 19th August, 1488, and was granted by the King, as narrated in the deed itself, " In consideration of the singular respect we have for the glorious Confessor Saint Mirin, and our Monastery of Paisley, founded by our most glorious pro- genitors, where very many of the bodies of our ancestors are buried, and are at rest, and for the singular favour and love which we bear to the venerable Father in Christ, George Schaw, present Abbot of the said Monastery, our very dear Counsellor, and for the faithful service rendered to us in a variety of ways by the said venerable father in times past, and in a particular manner for the virtuous education and upbringing of our dearest brother, James, Duke of Ross, in his tender age." Two years afterwards, on the 2nd June, 1490, there followed a THE ABBOTS. 55 feu charter with confirmation of numerous privileges, granted by the Abbot and Convent in favour of the Bailies, Burgesses, and community of Paisley. We shall have occasion hereafter to refer to these and other charters which conferred important rights upon the town of Paisley. Abbot Schaw received from King James IV. most extensive privileges. He obtained from the King ]:)ovver and rights of juris- diction in the four points of the Crown — rapine, rape, murder, and fire-raising, with power to imprison and execute offenders. Abbot Schaw gave to the monks of the Convent certain pittances within the Burgh, amounting to ;£,2 2s. 8d., in " support of a solemn anniversary." These, after the Reformation, became part of the endowment of the Grammar School, assigned by King James VI. In attending to the best interests of the Convent, the Abbot had, among other matters, the marches at Arkleston, on which the neighbouring burgh of Renfrew had been encroaching, properly defined. At a future stage of our history, the proceedings connected with these will be minutely described. Abbot Schaw did not always reside at the Monastery. He erected for himself a manor place on the lands of Blackstone belonging to the Convent, on the banks of the Black Cart. In 1498 this good Abbot resolved to retire from active hfe to his newly-erected residence, and to demit the govern- ment of the Monastery to his nephew, Robert Schaw, who was canonically elected Abbot of Paisley, and obtained the Royal assent by letters patent under the great seal dated 14th March in that year. The retiring Abbot reserved to himself one third of the revenues of the Monastery. Abbot George Schaw died in 1504, and was buried in the aisle adjoining the Abbey Church, where his monument may yet be seen. The veracity and the wisdom of the Abbot won, during his long life-time, universal esteem. Nor has posterity allowed all traces of them to die. It is a common saying in Paisley to the present day, when any one is suspected of not speaking the truth, that the statement " would require a line from Blackstone." SKAL OF ABBOT GEORGE SHAW. A Priest before an Altar, oir which is a cross and a chalice ; behind the altar a crosier ; above the Priest a hand points downwards. Cir . A.D. 1490. 56 history of paisley. Abbot Robert, 1498-1525. Robert Schaw, nephew of and successor to Abbot George Schaw in 1498, was a son of John Schaw, Laird of Sauchie. Robert was a wortliy successor to his uncle, and managed the affairs of the Monastery with great prudence and abihty. He hkewise continued, with much spirit, the building operations at the Abbey, which had been commenced by his predecessors. In the first year of his Abbacy, John Earl of Ross, the last Lord of the Isles, ended his turbulent days in the Monastery, to which he had retired some time previously. Before his death he gave instructions that he should be buried beside King Robert III. before the high altar ( P)-eface to printed editmi of Abbey Chartulary, p. 15, and The Dean of Listnore's Book, p. 149). In 1503 the Abbot raised an action against John, Lord Ross of Halkhead and others, for cultivating the lands of Thornlie without permission, and also for not paying the teinds of Halkhead, amount- ing to 16 bolls of meal at 6/8 per boll, 4 bolls of flour at 8/- per boll, and 12 bolls of meal. As no further proceedings followed, the claims of the Abbot must have been settled in an amicable way. In 1507 the Abbot presented the celebrated Patrick Pandar, secretary of James IV. and author of Epistola ad Regent Scotonun, to the vacant vicarage of Eastwood, and Alexander Schaw, princi- pal chanter of the Royal Chapel of Holyrood, to the vacant vicarage of Eastwood. The Primate of Scotland declined to confirm these appointments, and must have succeeded in his opposition ; for a month later, Archd. Layng is named as vicar of Eastwood. Patrick Pandar was afterwards appointed Abbot of Cambuskenneth (Diocesan Register of Glasgoiu, vol. ii., p. t6). To settle some differences that had arisen between Abbot Robert and the Abbot of Crosraguel, James, the Archbishop of Glasgow, before the President and Chapter, on the 3rd September 1509, declared that he was content that Robert and David, Abbots of Paisley and Crosraguel, and their successors of the Cluniac order in the diocese of Glasgow, should continue in the same liberty and enjoy the same privileges, exemptions, and immunities in time to come as they enjoyed in the time of Archbishop Robert and Bishop Andrew and their predecessors (Diocesan Register of Glasgoia, vol. ii., p. 448). The greatest endowment bestowed on the Abbey during the reign of Abbot Robert Schaw was by a Burgess of Paisley, James Crawford, of Kilwynet, and his wife, Elizabeth Galbreath. They built and endowed the chapel on the south side of the Monastery, known now by the name of the Sounding Aisle, to the altar of St. Mirin and Columba, Confessors, in honour of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter, St. Paul, and the Apostles ; also for the salvation of James III. and James IV., and their predecessors and successors, and for the salvation of the Granters and Mr. Archibald Crawford, vicar of Erskine, and their relations, ancestors, and successors. For THE ABBOTS. 57 the support of this chapel, they gave the whole of the lands of Seed- hills, extending to about twenty-five acres, and also the lands of Wellmeadow, about seven acres.^ The presentation to the chapel was reserved to the granters during their life, and after their death to the Bailies and community of Paisley. There was a further con- dition, that the chaplain should reside constantly at the chapel to perform mass for the souls of those named in the charter. When a vacancy occurred, the Bailies were directed to give a preference to a Burgess of Paisley. This munificent endowment is dated 15th July, 1499. King James IV. continued as firm and constant a friend to Abbot Robert as he had been to his uncle. Abbot George Schaw, and never failed to visit the Monastery when an opportunity offered itself On returning from a pilgrimage to Whithorn in 1504, he appears to have made such a visit, and to have enjoyed it. John Haislet, harper to Sir John Semple, hereditary Sheriff" of the County of Renfrew, and Bailie of the Regality of Paisley, was present, and so pleased the King with his musical performances that he was presented with some money. The record in the Treasurer's account runs thus: "1504 Item the last day of Juniz in Paisley to Lord Sempillis harper xiiij s."" In 1507 the King, accompanied by his consort, Queen Margaret, again staid at the Monastery when on their way to Whithorn. Of this visit there is a record in the Treasurer's accounts as follows : — • " 1507 Item ix day of July to ane man to pass fra Paisley to Dumbartone with ane letter to Andro Bertoun, ij s. " " Item to the maissonnis in drink silver, xxiij s." Nearly a fortnight afterwards, the King and Queen, on their return from Whithorn, again sojourned at the Monastery, partaking for eight days of the Abbot's hospitality. At this time several dis- bursements were made by the King as follows : — " 1507 Item the xxi day of Julij in Pasley, to the offerand to the reliques, xiij s. " Item that day to the Kingis offerand to ane priests first mes in Paisley, xxiiij s. " Item to the Kingis offerand at the high mes, xiiij s. ^ These lands were assigned by King James VI. in 1566, for the endowment of the Paisley Grammar School. * Accounts of the Lord High Treastirei- of Scotland, preface cclix. "Three English pipers received at Linlithgow £"] 4s., and other English pipers that ' com to the castell yet and playt to the King ' (James IV.) were rewarded with ;^8 8s. — incidents showing that the bagpipe was then, at least, as much identified with England as with Scotland. A man that ' playit on the clarscha ' in Perth received 7/-, another in Dumfries 14/-, and an English harper in Stirling 13/4. Vocal performers were rewarded with equal generosity. ' A man and woman that sang to the King ' received 10/-, two women 14/-, two fiddlers ' that sang Graysteil ' to him received 9/-, and ' the women that met the King in Seytoun and sang to him that tyme he passit to Dunbar,' had 18'. Henry of Haddington, 'the sangstare,' received a reward of ;^3 6s. 8d. ; to ' Cunninghame the singar,' there is a payment of ;i^io ; and a similar sum was given to Wilyeam, sangstar of Lythgow, for a sang buke." 58 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. " Item xxiiij day of Julij to the workmen in Paisley in drink silver, xiiij s. " Item the xxvi day of Julij in Paisley to Schir Andro Makbrek to dispone, iij s. " Item that day, Saint Annes day, to the King's offerand at the mes, ... xiiij s. " Item to the Kingis offerand on the bred to Sanct Annes lycht, xiiij s." St. Anne's altar was one of the seven altars in the Monastery, and her festival was held on 26th July. Sir Andrew Makbrek was probably the priest who officiated at the altar on that day and received the money from the King. Abbot Robert took much interest in the Burgh created by his immediate predecessor and relative, and gave charters to many of the vassals. In 1490 he granted a charter to Andrew Poynter of the property called the Unhouse, situated on the south side of the market at the Cross, and extending to St. Mirin's burn. In 1503 he granted a charter to Andrew Ross, his beloved buckler, of the tenement called the Black Hole, in Causeyside, immediately south of St. Mirin's burn. In 151 1 he feued out the piece of ground known by the name of the Barn-yard, fronting Moss-street and lying between Meeting-house Lane and School ^^^ynd. He bought from Robert Stewart, cook, a property at the bridge on the south side of the High Street, called Bridge-end, and gave it in exchange for the tene- ment called the Lady House, on the west side of St. Mirin's Wynd. In 1525 the Abbey had two tenants in Sneddon, one in Slater's Bank, ten in Oxshawside, fourteen in Prior's Croft, nine in the town of Paisley, fifteen in Causeyside, two in Castlehead, three in Quarrel, eight in Broomlands, two in Oxshawhead — sixty-six in all ; besides those in Sedyill, Wellmeadow, Wardmeadow, and the Waulkmill, all within the territories of the Burgh — from the whole of which they received annually ;^69 17s. 8d. ( Orig. Paroch. Scoi.y vol. i., pp. 68-73). After the disastrous defeat of the Scottish army at Flodden, on 9th September, 1515, the Abbot was called to Parliament to give his advice in the unfortunate situation in which the nation was then placed. This shows he was a man of recognised wisdom and virtue. He also held a high position at Court, and became tutor to the young King James V. At Edinburgh, on loth March, 1521, Robert, Abbot of Paisley, was one of the witnesses to a precept in favour of Hugh Cawdor, Sheriff of Nairn ( T/ic TJuvies of Cawdor, p. 142). In December, 1524, Abbot Robert learned that the Monastery was to be visited by the Earls of Angus and Lennox, who intended to hold their Christmas there, with a retinue of two hundred men and as many horses. By the intercession, however, of Cardinal Wolsey, who had been written to by a friend of the Abbot's, the Monastery was saved from so great annoyance and expense. Through the influence mainly of King James V., Abbot Robert Schaw, on 15th October, 1525, obtained the important Bishopric of Moray. He filled this new position, however, for only two years, dying in 1527. In the management of the varied and extensive properties be- THE ABBOTS. 59 longing to the Monastery, the Abbot and monks had their tenants and dependants subject to a series of minute and stringent rules, ^ which are recorded in the rental book. They are as follow : — • " First, that no man taking land, or tenant within the Abbot's land, make tenant, or set, or make interchange of land under him, without leave of the Abbot, asked and obtained, under the penalty of one hundred shillings and for- feiture of his liolding and removal from it without mercy. " Also, that he purchase no lordship to speak or to plead against his Lord the Abbot, nor against his neighbours, under the penalty aforesaid. " Also, whoever he be that receives not the Abbot's servants when on his service, shall be fined in forty shillings, and unforgiven for his default. " Also, that he shall be no man's man, but only the Abbot's, and that he take service with no man without special leave of the Abbot, or whom the Abbot deputes or gives him liberty to serve with, under the penalty foresaid. " Also, that he shall set no crop land to any one without leave of the Abbot, under the penalty of forfeiting his holding. " Also, that no man purchase lordship against the Abbot in any way to his hurt or that of the common profit of the house, or slander him or his monks in word or deed, under penalty of one hundred shillings and forfeiture of his holding and removal from it without mercy, as it is before written. " Also, he that dirties his land with guld, and does not clean it by Lammas, shall pay a merk without mercy, and if the land be afterwards found dirty, all his goods shall be escheated. " Also, whoever he be that makes wrongous landniers, or consels them, or suffers men to occupy them, shall certify the Abbot and the Convent within sufficient time — that is to say, within the space of six months following from the time that he has knowledge thereof — under the penalty before written. " Also, whosoever has goods to be sold — whether marts, wedders, or fed swine — shall offer their goods at usual and compatable prices to the Abbot's officers, before they go to any market, under the penalty aforesaid. " Also, that no man be found by an inquest a common brawler or an unlawful neighbour ; but each tenant act towards the other neighbourly, under pain of law. " Also, that each tenant be ready, without obstacle or debate, to compear at Court, or at Whitsunday, when they are warned by the sergeant on the day before, to come on the morrow, as lawful day and lawful warning, under pain of fine by Court. " Also, that no man go with their corn or their multure from the Abbot's mill, under the penalty of forfeiting his holding, and a punishment of an hundred shillings. " Also, whatsoever tenant belonging to the sakin of the mill of Dalmulin, or to the sakin of any other mill of the Abbot and Convent, wherever it be within the Abbot's land, who upholds not his part of the dam sufficiently, or does not come when he is warned by the farmer to mend and repair, if anything be in ' Cosmo Innes, in his Sketches of Early Scotch History, p. 445, gives an inter- esting agreement between a Baron of Kilravock and a Paisley gardener. " One of the Barons of Kilravock while confined in Dumbarton Castle for having seized the Abbot of Kinloss, procured the services of a gardener, a burgess of Paisley, who had, no doubt, learnt the gentle craft in the Abbey gardens, and who entered into a formal contract as follows : 'At the Castell of Dumbarton II June 1536 — Thom Daueson and ane servand man with him is comyn man and servand for all his life to the said Hurhose (Hugh Rose) and sail werk and lawbour his gardis, gardingis, orchardis, ayles, heggins and staukis, and werkis pertening to ane gardner of the fassoun may be devisit. He and his man are to have such wages as may susten them honestlye, as use is to be gevin for sic craftismen. ' " 6o HISTORY OF PAISLEY. need, for the first fault he shall pay five shillings, and the second ten shillings, and the third time shall suffer forfeiture of his holding without mercy. " Also, that no man be found by an inquest a common destroyer of the Abbot's wood, under the pain of forfeiting his holding, and the fine namely " Also, that no tenant, man or woman, be found an adulterer by an inquest of their neighbours, under pain of forfeiting their holding without mercy. " Also, whatever tenant or farmer that pays not his rent and farm with service, forfeits his holding, and shall not presume to occupy it in time to come. " Also, that whenever they are charged with their Invnys in harvest and other times of the year in the service which they owe, if they come not on the day on which they chance to be summoned, the sergeant shall take from each defaulter a wcddei-, and the second time two wedders, and the third time an ox or a cow, for the Abbot's behoof without remission. " Also, that no one be found an unlawful neighbour or brawler with the Abbot's servants of his house, or of his retinue, nor strike them or any of his tenants, under penalty of five pounds and forfeiture of his holding. " Also, that any tenant on the Abbot's land, in the lands of Kilpatrick in the Lennox, who, without the Abbot's leave specially asked and obtained, shall lialdin tiychbiiris and plow to his neighbour after the old stent, as use and custom requires, shall forfeit his holding. " Also, the other payments of the defaulters of the aforesaid points, is one hundred shillings to the Abbot, unrecoverable, to be raised, and the holdings of the defaulters to be in the Abbot's — (sic) " Also, in addition to these, all other statutes and styles, use and wont, anent greenwood, guld, and swine, and other matters of neighbourship, shall be held binding as required by law. " Also, it is ordered that each tenant dwelling on the Abbot's lands of the Lennox, or any other lands of the Abbot's, shall help and assist each other to pound strange cattle and goods that intrude to destroy or occupy the Abbot's land, and he that does not come to help his neighbour when he is warned, and does not assist him to pound strange cattle, his holding shall be in the Abbot's hand " (Abbey of Paisley, by Rev. Dr. Lees, p. 171). SEAL OF ABBOT ROBERT SCH.WV. St. James with nimbus, and with staff in his right hand ; above his left shoulder is an escallop shell. The shield, which is supported by a crozier, bears three covered cups, the paternal arms of Schaw. Cir . A. D. 1498. the abbots. 6 1 Abbot John, i 525-1 571. Abbot John Hamilton, a monk at Kilwinning, succeeded Abbot Robert Schaw on the iSth May, 1525. He was one of the three natural sons of James Lord Hamilton, first Earl of Arran, by Mrs. Boyd, a gentlewoman of a respectable family in Ayrshire. The Abbot's father obtained for him this appointment to the rich Abbacy of Paisley, and Pope Clement XH. confirmed it. He was the last Abbot of Paisley Monastery, and the last Primate of Scotland. He had received a good education, attending classes first in the University of Glasgow, and afterwards completing his studies at Paris. Some time after his appointment, he directed his attention to the building of the tower of the Monastery, which he finished at immense expense. The tower was not inferior to any in Scotland. It was forty feet square at the base. Although the spire is said to have been 300 feet high, yet there is no authentic evidence of its being so. Most unfortunately it fell shortly after being erected, from the insufficiency of the foundations, and destroyed the roof and a portion of the walls of the choir in its fall. A vague tradition ascribes the fall of the tower to the fierce fury of the reforming Protestants in 1560, but Principal Dunlop, Avho wrote at the end of the seventeenth century, states that about 100 years ago the steeple fell, from its own weight, and with it the choir of the church (Appendix to Hamilton's History of Renfrezvshire, p. 147). The stones of the steeple were used in building the present gable, which is seven feet thick at the east end of the nave. The Abbot sat in the Parliaments of 1535 and 1540, and was at St. Andrews on 28th May, 1540, when Sir John Borthwick was condemned for heresy (Keith's History, Appendix, p. 6). In 1543 the Abbot, in returning through England from France, where he had been visiting for some time, was treated kindly by King Henry VIII., who endeavoured to secure him and his brother, the Governor of Scotland, as partisans. But the English King was unsuccessful in this, for the Abbot induced his brother to withdraw from the English party and to join that of France, headed by Cardinal Beaton. In the same year he had conferred on him by the Cardinal the Privy Seal, and immediately afterwards he was appointed Treasurer in place of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange. In the sederunt of the Court of Session, on 5th November, 1544, the Abbot's name appears as a judge (Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice, p. 73). Between 7th June, 1545, and 5th July, 1546, the Abbot attended seventeen meetings of the Privy Council. In the sederunt of these meetings, he is most frequently entered as Abbot of Paisley (Register of the Privy Council, pp. 1-3 1). At one of these meetings he is, however, described as " My Lord of Paslay," and at another meeting " My Lord Paslay "' (Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice, p. 34). In the beginning of 1545 he was recommended as a successor to Bishop George Crichton in the See of Dunkeld, but in consequence of the 62 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. opposition of William Crichton, Provost of St. Giles, Edinburgh, he was not admitted Bishop till 1546. His name first appears as Bishop of Dunkeld in the sederunt of the Privy Council, held on 1 6th August, 1546 ( Register of the Privy Council, vol. i, p. 35). In 1545 the Abbot, for the better protection and management of the property belonging to the Abbacy, in his absence from Paisley, appointed Robert, then Master of Sempill, to be Justiciar and Bailie. The terms of this appointment are very striking, and ominous of the troublous times of the Reformation, so near at hand. The deed of his appointment states : — " In these days the wickedness of men so encreases that nothing gives them greater delight than to invade the possessions of the monks, and to overturn their monasteries, nor had we ourselves been saved from that disaster but by the aid and assistance of that noble man, Robert Sempill, Master of the same, son and apparent heir to Lord William Sempill. The same master bravely defended us not only from the madness of heretics, but also from the insults of most powerful tyrants, and unless he continues to defend us by his arms, friends, counsel, and assistance, without doubt nothing will soon be saved to us. But so far as we are concerned, nothing must be omitted which tends to our gi-eatest safety, for, according to the old proverb, it is not less a virtue to preserve what we have than to acquire what we have not." (Reg. de Pas., Appendix, p. 2.) The Abbot, in this deed, grants to Robert for his trouble, three chalders of oatmeal yearly from " our granary," and forty-three shillings and fourpence from the lands of Glen. Dissolute conduct was too general among the clergy at this time, and Abbot John Hamilton was among the number of those who disgraced their sacred calling. He lived in open concubinage with Lady Gilston, the eldest daughter of Robert third Lord Sempill. She was the second wife of James Hamilton, Laird of Stenhouse, Provost of Edinburgh, and Captain of the Castle of Edinburgh, who was killed in the Canongate in attempting to quell a tumult between some troops and the inhabitants.^ When David Beaton, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Primate of the Church of Scotland, was murdered on 29th May, 1549, and Abbot Hamilton was nominated by his brother, the Governor of Scotland, to succeed him, the Pope readily confirmed the appoint- ment. From his great abilities, and the exalted position which he now filled, he became in reality, more than his vacillating brother, the Governor of Scotland, ruler in both ecclesiastical and political matters throughout Scotland. In 1549 he was cured of a severe attack of asthma by an astro- loger and physician named Cardan, from Milan, who lived with the Primate for eleven weeks at his country residence at Monimail. In 1 55 1 the Primate sanctioned the burning, for heresy, of Adam 1 Amid the troubles of 1547, when the English invaded the country, the Abbot was ordained to accommodate the religious men of St. Colin's Inch (Register of ttie Pn-y Council of Scotland). THE ABBOTS. 63 Hamilton on Calton Hill, Edinburgh ; and in the following year, for the same alleged crime, of Walter Mill, in front of the gate at the Priory. Mill was a poor decrepit man of eighty-two years of age. These shameful acts tended to hasten and intensify the Reformation more than anything that had taken place. In 1552 the Archbishop published a catechism in the Scottish dialect, containing a summary of Christian faith, and the curates were ordered to read parts of it on Sabbaths and holidays when there were no sermons. The object of this publication was to counteract the opinions that were now prevailing so strongly against the Roman Catholic religion. Archibald Hamilton, out of his own revenues, completed St. Mary's College, St. Andrews, which had been commenced by his two predecessors. Archbishops James and David Beaton. To gratify his taste for improvements still further, he built fourteen bridges, of which there were, one over the Eden at .Daissie, two over the Orr (the upper and nether), one over the Loch tie, one at Cameron, one at Kemback, one at Leuchars, the two bow-bridges at St. Andrews, and he completed the Guard bridge. He also built the house of Monimail, a Mensal Kirk of the See of St. Andrews, and the wall about the garden, and planted the most of the garden with fruit trees from France. When the works were completed, he presented tlie place to James V., then in his minority, that the King might have a commodious lodge when hunting in Stratheden. He also built the whole fore\vork of the Castle of St. Andrews, and several other works there. Besides, he built the Church of S. Serf, called Newburn (Dr. Gordons Ecclesiastical CJironicle of Scotland, vol. i., p. 291). In December, 1553, his nephew Lord Claud Hamilton, third son of the Duke of Chatelherault, a boy of ten years of age, was with the Queen's consent appointed his successor in the Abbey of Paisley ; but the rule and the revenues of the Monastery were reserved to Archibald Hamilton during his lifetime. The Arch- bishop continued in possession of this valuable benefice as Com- mendator, and retained his title of Abbot, as shown by a charter of the lands of Cloak, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, dated 15th January, 1558, granted by him not only as Abbot of Paisley but also as " Archbishop of St. Andrews, primate of the whole kingdom of Scotland and legate." His signature is " Joannes Archieps Sancti Andrese " (Ra/nsays Reiifrcwshire, p. 37). As Abbot of Paisley, and having control over all the property and lands belonging to the Monastery, he granted a number of charters to his vassals. In 1528, he gave permission to James Pan ton to sell an acre of land in Prior's Croft to Andrew Paynter. On 9th February, 1529, he granted a charter to James Porter, Burgess of Paisley, of the subjects called the Paisley Tak, at the west corner of St. Mirin's Wynd and High Street. On 28th April, 1541, he granted a charter of the property at present No. 29 High Street, and recently the Salutation Inn, in favour of William Steward de 64 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Blaskill, in Causeyside. On nth August, 1543, he granted a charter to John Wilson, of the lands of Castleheid. On 13th October, 1544, he granted a charter to Patrick Lowre, Burgess of Paisley, of a tenement on the south side of St. Mirin's Wynd, called the Lady House, that was formerly conveyed by Abbot Lyth^ow to John Shields. In 1545, Margaret Hamilton acquired the lands of Ferguslie from Abbot John Hamilton. In 1548 Robert, Master of Semple, Bailie of the Regality of Paisley, bought from Abbot Hamilton the Chamberlain's house, biggit by Sir John Mouss in 1 47 1, already referred to, forming the west house in Bridgend and fronting St. Mirin's Wynd. On 15th March, 1554, John, Archbishop of St. Andrews, Abbot of Paslaye, granted a charter to John Dow- hill, of "the hous at gaite heid." In 1557, "John Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, legate of the whole kingdom of Scot- land, Abbot of the Monastery of Paslay," granted to William Stewart a licence to feu to James Bard, a piece of land called his tenement of Blackhoill, in Causeyside, to the south of and adjoin- ing St. Mirin's burn. On i8th July, 1559, Abbot Hamilton granted a charter of the lands of Gallowhill to Elizabeth M'Ghie, relict of the deceased William Stewart. But meanwhile a movement was afoot among the people of Scot- land that neither the Archbishop, with all his ability, nor all the machinery of Popish power, could check or resist. Indeed, the means of persecution adopted by the Romish Church only kindled the enthusiasm of the Reformers to an intenser pitch ; and after the execution of the Protestant, Walter Mill, the Archbishop found him- self unable to stay the fury of the Reformers. In August, 1560, he attended a meeting of Estates, when the Papal power in Scotland was completely destroyed, and Roman Catholic services prohibited. Along with the Bishops of Dunkeld and Dunblane, he opposed the confession of faith that was then adopted, but in vain. A mani- festo signed by the rulers Argyle, James Stewart, and Ruthven, for the destruction of the places of worship, was then issued. It is as follows : — " Traist Friends. After maist hartey commendation, we pray you faill not till pass incontinent to ye Kirk of ( such as Paisley ) and tak doun ye haill images yrof, and bring furth till ye kirkyard and birn thym oppingly, and syklic cast down the altris and picturis, and purge ye sayd Kyrk o' a' kynds o' monuments of Idolatrie ; and this ye fail not till doe, as ye will doe us singidar empleasance, and sae committis you till ye protection of God. From Edinburgh ye xii. of August, MDLX." The populace at once adopted the method of procedure thus recommended to them, and commenced the work of destruction which has had such disastrous results throughout Scotland. It appears that the Archbishop was at the Monastery of Paisley when it was attacked, and had with him many assistants to defend it ; but they were overpowered by the destroyers from the adjoining counties, for the people of Paisley had themselves no hand in the THE ABBOTS. 65 wanton work of destruction. John Knox refers to this event in the following terms : — " The Lords of the secret Council made an act that all places and monuments should be destroyed, and for that purpose were directed to the west, the Earl of Arran having joined with him the Earl of Glencairn, together with the Protestants of the west, who burned Paisley. The Bishop of St. Andrews, Abbot thereof, narrowly escaped " (Kfiox's History of the Refortnatmi^ p. 294, edition 1644). Those zealot Protestants made thorough work in this attempt to cleanse the Abbey of idolatry. They demolished, or rather burned, the eight altars it contained, which were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Mirin, St. Columba, St. Ninian, St. Nicholas, St. Peter, St. Catherine, and St. Anne. And among the many and costly furnishings which were then destroyed no doubt were " the claiths of gold, silver, and silk, and mony gud books," which had been so reverently provided by the good Abbot Tervas.^ At the meeting of Estates in 1560 it was decreed that no one should perform mass under the pain of death.- Abbot Hamilton must have returned to Paisley Abbey and rallied his old friends; for on 2ist March, 1563, he and thirteen others were charged before the Court of Session " with the crimes of celebrating mass and attempting to restore popery in the previous month in the town of Paisley, kirkyard, and Abbey place thereof, and taking auricular confession in the kirk, toune, kirkyard, chahneris, barns, middings, and killogees thereof" (Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. 2, p. 429). They were found guilty and imprisoned ; but on the 26th July fol- lowing, William Sempill of Thirdpart and Michael Naysmith of Passo became cautioners for the Abbot, and he was thereupon lib- erated. In 1566 he was, through the intercession of Queen Mary, appointed a member of the Privy Council, and on 15th December in that year baptised her son the Prince in Stirling Castle. On that occasion he administered all the ceremonies of the Church of Rome except the " spittle," which the Queen had forbidden. In the same month he was restored to his consistorial jurisdictions, in order, it is alleged, to facilitate the divorcing by Bothwell of his wife (KeitJis History, p. 241). According to Buchanan, the servants of the Abbot were the perpetrators of the murder of Darnley, and waited at his window for the report of the explosion, and when that took place the lights were suddenly extinguished (Buc/ia?ian's Opera, ^ In a letter dated 23id June, 1559, John Knox says — "We (the Protestants under the name of the congregation) came to the Abbey of Lindores, a place of Black Monkes, distant from St. Andrews twelve miles, we reformed them, their altars overthrew we, their idols, vestments of idolatrie and mass, we burnt in their presence." ^ " In the moneth of May (1569), the Regent (Murray) maid progres to Sterline quhair four priestes of Dunblane were condemit to the death for saying of mas againes the Act of Parliament ; bot he remittit their lyves and causit thame be bunde to mercat croce with their vestmentis and chalices in dirisioun, quhair the people caist eggis and uther villany at thair faces be the space of an hor and thairefter their vestiments and chalices were brunt to ashes." — The Historic of Kiiig fames t/ie Sexf, p. 65. E 66 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. I app., p. 90). The Archbishop afterwards denied all this on the scaffold. He was, however, at the Court at the time, and was one of those who signed the account of the murder which was sent to the French Court on the following day. He was one of those who are said to have signed the bond by which Bothwell was encouraged to seize and marry the Queen ; and to have granted a commission to certain judges who pronounced sentence of divorce between Bothwell and his wife. During Queen Marys imprisonment in Lochleven Castle, he appears to have acted as the head of her party, and was present with her at the battle of Langside on 13th May, 1568. He was along with Queen Mary, and stood by her Ma- jesty on a little eminence near to the castle of Cathcart to advise her Majesty and council of war. When the Queen's army was defeated, he was one of the party that fled with her to Dundrennan Abbey. He afterwards went with her as far as the Solway, but on seeing that she was determined, contrary to his advice, to leave Scotland and to throw herself into the power of her rival, the Queen of England, he waded knee-deep into the water, held back the boat with his hands, and conjured her by every argument which his agitated mind could suggest, not to trust herself in England (Dr. Gordo7is Scoti- chronicon, vol. i., p. 288. Lyon's History of St. Andrews., vol. i., p. 360.) The Queen's party was now completely broken up, and the Earl of Lennox, on becoming Regent, declared several of the leaders traitors ; and chief among them was the Archbishop. With some of his most trusted supporters, he now returned to Paisley, and im- prisoned Lord Semple, who, after the battle of Langside, had received from the Regent the lands belonging to the Monastery. Regent Lennox besieged the Place of Paisley ; and the defenders, with the exception of the Archbishop, his son Claud Hamilton, and some others, capitulated on condition of their lives being saved. But the stipulation was not carried out, as thirty of them were hanged on the Borough Muir of Glasgow. On retaking the Abbey and Place of Paisley, Regent Lennox gave it in keeping to Allan, fourth Lord Cathcart. That knight's heraldic coat of arms, a sculpture of the 14th century, is on one of the south columns that support the clere storey of the Abbey. During the civil war that raged in Scotland after the death of Regent Murray, the Archbishop retired to Dumbarton Castle, then believed to be impregnable. The castle was, however, taken by surprise on 2nd April, 157 1, and the long-existing hatred of the Lennox faction was not to be satisfied with less than the blood of Archbishop Hamilton. He was hurriedly taken to Stirling to be tried, and was accused of conspiring against the person of the infant King, and planning to surprise him in the castle of Stirling after the murder of Regent Murray ; of knowing or being partici- pant in the murder of Darnley ; and of lying in wait at the wood of Callander to kill the Earl of Lennox. The first, second, and last charges he denied. To the third he pleaded guilty thus far, that he knew the deed was intended, and he had not prevented THE ABBOTS. 67 but rather had furthered the same ; but for this he expressed his repentance, and asked God's mercy. His accusers were Lord Ruthven, the Justice-Clerk, and George Buchanan, the celebrated historian. The judge found the Archbishop guilty, and ordered him to be hanged on a sentence of forfeiture which had been pro- nounced against him after the battle of Langside, and this sentence was immediately carried into execution. Dressed in pontificals, by way of derision, he was hurried to the battlements of Stirhng Castle, and was there hanged on a gibbet on 6th April, 157 1 (History of James VI., p. 117). The following distich was affixed to the gallows on which he suffered : — Cresce cliii felix arbor semper que vireto frondihiis, ut nobis talia poma ferat. "Long may'st thou grow, happy tree, and continually flourish, that beareth for us such happy fruits" (Tytler's History of Scotland, vol. iii., p. 337). His body was afterwards quartered, but no further indignity was inflicted ; and it is believed that his remains were soon after col- lected and secretly interred in the Monastery of Paisley. There certainly is a tablet in the Abbey Church bearing his initials, " J. H.," and his motto, Misericordia et pax (" mercy and peace "), and on another stone are the arms of the Hamilton family. At the renovation of the Abbey Church in i860, this tablet stone was taken from the outside of the building, and put into its present place at the west end of the north aisle. Thus passed away the last Abbot of the Monastery of Paisley, of whom we may say that in his irregular life, so full of vice and crime, we see too faithful a picture of that degeneracy of the Romish Church which was the most certain precursor and cause of her utter downfall. THE SEAL OF THE MONASTERY OF PAISLEY. The inscription round the margin is, "The Seal of The inscription round the margin is, "O .Mirin '. Saint James and Saint Mirin of Passelath." Pray to Christ for thy servants." 68 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. On the seal is a fij^nre of St. James, with pilgrim's staff and scrip. At each side is a shield, the dexter bearing a fess cheque for Stuart ; the sinister a saltire cantoned with four roses for Lennox. Above the dexter shield is a saltire, a crescent, and a star ; and above the sinister shield is a saltire and star. The back ground is ornamented -H-ith foliage, intersper.^efl with crosses fieury and fleur-de-lis. On the counter-seal is a figure of a Bishop vested, his right hand raised and his left holding the crosier. The shields on each side are charged the same as on the seal. Above the dexter shield is a saltire and crescent ; and above the sinister a saltire and star. At the dexter side of the Bishop's head is a fleur-de- lis, and at his feet two sprigs and foliage, a.d. 1520. The seal of the Abbey is lost, and what is given on the preceding page is taken from impressions on the wax fixed to old charters. CHAPTER VII. THE COMMENDATORS. the Reformation in 1560, the rental of the Monastery, according to a report made to Government in January, 1 56 1, was as follows : — Money, £2d,(y'] 19s. Meal, 72 chalders 3 bolls 37^ firlots. Bear, 40 chalders 1 1 bolls. Oats, 43 chalders i boll i firlot. Cheese, five hundred five score and six stones. Among the items of deductions stated are seven chalders of meal yearly for the almoners weekly doles to the poor ; for the main- tenance of the convent in kitchen expenses and clothes yearly, according to the accounts of the cellarer and granitar, ;Ca1Z ^s. 4d.; for the fees of the granitar and cellarer and their under-servants, ;^38 ; for the Archbishop's claim of procurations, now converted into money, ^13 6s. 8d.; for the contribution to the Lords of Session and pensions settled on the Abbey, ;!^55o 2s. 8d. In December, 1561, the Privy Council decreed that the holders of ecclesiastical benefices should give up one-third of the revenues derived from them for the public service, and for the maintenance of the ministers of the Reformed Church. To carry out this enact- ment, they were required to supply rentals of their various benefices, and collectors were appointed by Government to uplift the rents of the Abbeys. As the third part of their revenues was thus appro- priated, the accounts are known by the name of the " Assumption of the Thirds." Six years after this, we find Master Michael Chisholm described as the new^ collector in connection with Paisley Abbey. There belonged to this opulent Monastery at that time twenty- nine parish churches. Eleven of them were in Renfrewshire. They were Cathcart, Eastwood, Erskine, Inverkip, Killellan, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Mearns, Neilston, Paisley, and Houston. The other churches were jNIonktown, Riccarton, St. Revocks, Carmunnock, Kilfinan, Cumbra, Prestwick, Dundonald, Largs, Kilpatrick, Kil- kerran, Inverwick, Craigie, Auchinleck, Rutherglen, Roseneath, Kilcolmonell, and Legerwood. On 23rd December, 1565, the Privy Council decreed that a part of the revenues of Paisley Abbey, along with those of Kilwinning, Kelso, Jedburgh, and Newbattle, should be set apart for the Royal charges. Two years afterwards, Beatrice Pennyton complained to 70 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the Privy Council that the sum of forty merks, which had been assigned to her out of the thirds of the fruits of the Abbey of Paisley, had not been regularly paid to her. The Council ordered Master Michael Chisholm, the new collector, to pay the same regularly to her during Iier lifetime (Register of the Privy Council^ vol. i, pp. 412, 601, 602, 612). It appears the collectors were very backward in delivering the money they had received, and the Lord Regent and Lords of the Secret Council passed a very sharp resolution of the following tenor — to compear " befoir the Lordis Auditouris of the Chekker, and there mak comp't of their intromissions of the fruits of Ixvii year, to the effect foirsaid within uther sex dayis next eftir thai be chargeit thairto, under the pane of rebellioun ; and gif thai failye, the saide six dayis being bipast, to denunce thame rebellis and put them to the home, because thai war chargeit heirto of befoir, under the said pane and disobeyit." At this same sederunt it was reported that " Sir John Stewart of Minto, knicht, collectour of Striveling, Lanark, Renfrew, and Uunbartane, had paid of the third of the Abbay of Pasley ane thousand poundis " (Register of the Privy Council^ vol. i, p. 610). Although the battle of Langside, on Thursday, 13th May, 1568, was not on an extensive scale in respect of the number engaged, it was nevertheless fraught with momentous issues to Scotland and to the parties who were represented in the conflict. We have seen that in 1560 the papal power was constitutionally overthrown by the Estates of Parliament ; but on this battlefield that power was, in addition, vanquished by the force of arms. To Queen Mary, the success of the army under Regent Murray was the means ultimately of causing her chequered life to terminate on the scaffold ; and the life of the Abbot of Paisley, as we have shown, ended not less tragically in the town of Stirling. One of the first acts of Regent Murray, after the battle of Lang- side, was to proclaim Lord Claud Hamilton a traitor, thereby rendering him liable, as in the case of his uncle the Abbot, to the punishment of death. His estates also were forfeited on loth November, 1569. If Lord Claud had not been outlawed, he would, according to his appointment in 1553, have succeeded to the Monastery as Commendator, for he had been infeft in its tem- poralities on 29th July, 1567. Appointments of this kind, when first introduced, were honestly carried out. When a benefice be- came vacant, a qualified layman was commended to the charge temporarily, until a permanent pastor was appointed. Latterly, this system became one of the great abuses of the Church • for too frequently appointments of this kind became permanent, and simply meant that the Commendator drew the revenues without performing any of the pastoral duties of his ofhce. Robert Lord Semple, notwithstanding his connection with Lord Claud Hamilton, strongly supported the cause of Regent Murray, and helped him at the battle of Langside. In return for his good THE COMMENDATORS. 7 I services, the Reeent bestowed upon him the temporaUties, /// coin- mendaiii, of the Monastery. Lord Claud, however, soon returned, and did not allow Lord Semple to enjoy his new possessions at Paisley in peace. He retook the Abbey by force of arms, and ex- pelled Lord Semple's men.^ When the Regent Lennox heard of this, he assembled at Glasgow a number of gentlemen and soldiers, with whom he attacked the Abbey, and after some resistance the besieged capitulated, and placed themselves at the mercy of the Regent. Lord Claud in turn captured some men who were coming and going between the Abbey and the Regent, and put them in the castle of Drafifan, that they might be a means of relief to the other captives. " Notwithstanding whereof, thais of Paisley war brought to Edinburgh, and thair upon the common gallows, without the toun, war all hangit '"' (History of King James VI., p. 112). Lord Claud Hamilton, George Earl of Huntly, the Laird of Buccleuch, and the Laird of Wormiston, with three hundred chosen horsemen and fourscore chosen men, left Edinburgh stealthily at night on 3rd September, 1571, and went to Stirling. Among other assaults, they set fire to the house of the Earl of Morton, who in trying to escape was made prisoner ; and Captain Calder, who had charge of the Regent Lennox, brutally shot him. This expedition and murder, it is alleged, was planned and conducted by Lord Claud in revenge for the murder of his uncle the Abbot of Paisley (History of King James VI., p. 146). These contentions did not end here, for " Lord Claud Hamilton being reft of his living and rents be the Lord Semple, wha then possest the Abbay of Paislay be strong hand, as he was upon the tent day of July, 1572, passing furth to have reft sum pure tennents, Lord Claud set an chaist him bak, slew fourtie two of his soldiers, and tuik fyfteen of thayme as preasoners, and thereafter layd men ^ Upone Weddinsday, xvii. of Januar (i 570-1) instant, Claud Hamilton, accom- paneit with Johnne Hamiltoun of Drumry, soune to the Bishope of Sandandrois, Arthur Hamiltoun of Myrretoim, and utheris of that name, with a nowmer of souldiouris, come and be force enterit in the Abbay and Place of Paisley, per- teining to the Lord Sempill, now being captive in thair handis ; and lies taken sum of his freindis and servandis presoneris, and reft, spoilzeit, and away takin his horsis and uther guidis being thair, and put a garrysoun in the samin Place and Abbay, intending to retene and keip it be force ; the same being and con- tinuing in the possession of the said Lord Sempill, sen the dispositioune maid to him thairof, efter the foirfaltore orderlie led, als weill aganis the said Bischope of Sandandrois usufmctuar and lyfrentar of the benefice, as aganis the said Claud Hammiltoun, nominat successor to the same ; and sensyn the said Bischope in persoun hes cum to the said Abbay, and thair fensit and haldin courtis in name of the queue, the Kingis moder, minassing the tenentis that he will be payit of thrie zeirs rentis bigane, and has alredie begune and spoilled and reft diverse horsis and guids furth of the grund of my awin propir landis of Dernlie and Cancklystoun (Craickstoun) ( Baniiatyne Meinoriales, appendix, printed by the Bannatyne Club, p. 82). Regent Lennox's "letter of instructions to Pitcairn, Commendator of Dunfermline, Secretary of State." In the reply l-)y the Queen to this complaint of Lennox, it is stated that Sempill had consented to the sur- render of Paisley, " quilk being ane place of sic strenth, culd not easselie be takin gif himself had not consentit to the same " (IlnJ, p. 362. ) 7 2 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. about the house sa lang, till a greater power was cum furth of another part to rescue the Lord Semple " (History of King James r/., p. 176). At this period the Regent Mar and the leading noblemen became tired of the civil war that had prevailed for some time in the country, and were anxious to come to some peaceful arrangement. " When they had lang talkit of this Godlie gud purpose," they resolved to meet at Perth on 23rd February, 1572. By the treaty agreed to at that place, Lord Claud was restored to his former rights in the Monastery (History of King /a?nes VI., p. 211). Lord Claud after this lived in peace at the Abbey of Paisley, and in 1574 married a daughter of Lord Seton. During the whole minority of the King the country was in a very unsettled state. In 1575 a gentleman called Johnstone of Wastrans was slain by the Hamiltons, and as he was one of the dependants of the Earl of Angus, Lord John and Lord Claud made satisfaction for the same at Holyrood Palace to the Earl of Angus, by delivering to him a sword by the point, according to ancient custom (History of King James VI., p. 152). Regent Morton held the Hamiltons in great enmity, and in 1579 he got the Earl of Mar and some more of his friends to inform the King that the " hous of Hamilton ar, and has bene, his pernicious enemies, who had slayne twa of his Regents before tyme (Murray and Lennox), wha had not obtenit perdon as yet for the sayme " (History of King James VI. , p. 174). They advised the King therefore to bring to justice the chief lords of the house of Hamilton. As the young King readily assented to this proposal, the Regent assembled a number of soldiers, with cannons, to attack the Hamil- tons, who having heard of these warlike proceedings, made their escape both " sudanlie and prevelie." Lord John, the Abbot of Arbroath, went to England, and Lord Claud, after he had " lurkit a while in Scotland, passed into England also," where he was first entertained by the gentlemen in Northumberland, and afterwards by Queen Elizabeth. The Earl of Angus, with his army, besieged the castle of Hamilton, which with the furniture was much damaged, and the defenders surrendered themselves to the King's will. By the orders of the Regent, they were brought to Stirling Castle, where Arthur Hamilton of Merton, their captain, was hanged, and upon the rest great cruelty was exercised, either by imprisonment or by the exacting from them of large sums of money (History of Ki?ig James VI., p. 176). After the second outlawry of Lord Claud Hamilton, William Erskine of Balgonie, parson of Campsie, a nephew of the Earl of Mar, was appointed by the Regent Morton Commendator of Paisley Abbey. ^ He, along with the other opponents of Lennox ^ While at the Abbey he caused a well to be sunk in it there, which is known at this day by the name of " Balgonie Well." Upwards of half-a-century ago the water in this well was considered best for making tea of any in Paisley, and was therefore greatly used for that pui-pose in all parts of the town. THE COMMENDATORS. 73 and Arran, was present at the well-known historical event known by the name of the " Raid of Ruthven," in August, 1582, and is called by the recorder the Abbot of Paisley. In the following year those who had been present at that gathering, on asking the pardon of the King, were sentenced to different degrees of punishment, and " the thre Abbots past into Ireland." These were the Abbots of Paisley, Cambuskenneth, and Dryburgh (History of King James VI., p. 199). Erskine did not remain long in Ireland, for when Mr. Robert Montgomery resigned his Archbishopric of Glasgow, in 1585, the title and revenue were given to him. He was never in orders, and was only a titular bishop. Two years afterwards the King took the Archbishopric from him, and gave it to Walter, Commendator of Blantyre (Keiths Scottish Bishops, p. 262). In 1584 Lord Claud wrote to King James VI. and Earl of Arran, asking permission to return to Scotland. The King sent him a passport, and welcomed him back to his native country, but the Earl of Arran, although a relative, became his enemy. Lord Claud's forfeiture was, however, recalled in 1585, and the whole estates and revenues belonging to the Abbey were again given to him. The Abbey lands were likewise erected into a temporal lordship, and he was in 1587 created Lord of Paisley. In 1606 his son was created Earl of Abercorn. In 1598 Lord Claud, then Lord of Paisley, granted a commission to his son — the Master of Paisley — to act for him ; and of the son we shall hereafter have a good deal to say in connection with the management of the affairs of the Burgh of Paisley ( Council Records, 2nd October, 1598). In 1 62 1, after a life of strange vicissitudes, in a period when few men of action came to a natural end, Lord Claud died peacefully at the age of seventy-eight. CHAPTER VIII. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. R. PATRICK ADAMSON was the first minister in Abbey Parish after the suppression in 1560 of the Papal power in Scotland. He was appointed to this important position in 1572, through the influence of Lord Morton. We need not wonder that an earlier appointment was not made, if we consider the civil war and the unsettled period that followed the epoch of the Reformation. But it is quite possible that at this early stage of the Church, when ministers were scarce, a " reader," as in many other new charges, may at first have performed the clerical duties in the Abbey of Paisley. At the beginning of the century, and at the period of the Reformation, fairs were held in churchyards, and even in churches.^ Mr. Adamson was born in the town of Perth on 15th March, 1536. His father was a baker by trade. Patrick first attended the Grammar School in Perth, and afterwards studied at the University of St. Andrews, where he obtained the degree of Master of Arts. His parents being too poor to maintain him there, he went to the village of Ceres, in Fifeshire, and taught a school with great success. After being there for four years. Sir James M'Gill of Rankeillor, one of the Senators of Justice, intending to send his eldest son into France to study the civil law, selected Mr. Adamson to be his tutor. With young M'Gill he studied law for nearly three years at the University of Bourges. While there, he published the tragedy of " Herod,' in Latin verse. This production was well received. He also published a Latin translation of the Scottish " Confession of Faith." Returning to Scotland in 1569, he married the daughter of an advocate in Edinburgh, and practised for a time as a lawyer, 1 By Act of Parliament, 1503, c. 28, ii. 252, "It is statute and ordainit that ther be na maicat nor faires haldin on haly dais, nor yit within kirkis nor kirk yairdis on haly dais, nor ony uther dais, under the pain of escheit of gudis " ( Register of Privy Co7incil, p. 296). This Act was renewed in 1566, and again in 1569, when it is farther stated "that albeit God of his mercie has grantit the lycht and knawledge of his Word in this last aige, yet be malice and obstinacy of the people continewis in thair wonted disordour, and wilfullie violattis Sabaoth day, usand the same prophanelie in marcat making and utheris wardlie effairs ; as alsand jn-ophanand and abusand the kirkis and kirkyairdis quhair the people of God auch to convene to heir the Word of God and ressave the Saccramentis. " This Act gives powers to Sheriffs and Provosts and Bailies of Burghs to punish those who disobey this statute (Register of Privy Couneil, p. 688). THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 75 but not succeeding in that profession, he turned his attention to the Church, and, being found quaHfied, was admitted to the ministerial office. In T 5 70 he was preacher to the Regent, who obtained for him, as already stated, the incumbency of Paisley Abbey. In 1 574 " Neil- stoun, Kilbarchan, and jNIernys" were also in the charge. Although he remained there about three years, little is known of his ministry. His stipend was very small, being only ^200 5s. Scots money yearly. In 1575 he was appointed by the General Assembly one of the commissioners to confer as to settling the jurisdiction and policy of the Church, and in the following year he and David Lindsay were requested to report the proceedings of the commission to Regent Morton. In 1576 that nobleman appointed him one of his chap- lains, and on the death of Archbishop Douglas raised him to the Archbishopric of St. Andrews, the privileges and emoluments of that high office having previously been secured to himself. This dignity of a Tulchan Bishop, as it was called, brought him nothing but trouble and unhappiness.^ His clerical brethren were somehow almost always opposed to him, and this must have embittered his life. One of the charges raised against him was that, when unwell, an old woman of St. Andrews, named Allison Pearson, who was believed to be a witch, gave him some simple medicine which cured him. According to the belief prevalent at the time, the woman transferred the Bishop's illness to a white palfrey, which died in consequence. This woman was accused by her Presbytery of being a witch, and was condemned by them to be executed, but she managed, as was alleged, through the connivance of the Bishop, to escape from St. Andrews prison. She was, however, apprehended upon the same charge three years afterwards, and executed at Edin- burgh (Lyon's History of St. AndrrLUS, vol. i., p. 394). The Bishop was a great favourite with the King, who sent him as his ambassador to Queen Elizabeth, to inform her how matters were progressing in Scotland, and to assure her of his continued adherence to the Protestant faith. When in London, he preached frequently, and by his eloquence drew a great concourse of people to hear him. In 1584 Bishop Adamson was recalled from London, and sat in the Parliament which met in that year. The charge again brought against him by his Calvanistic brethren was that he favoured the Episcopalian party. In 1590 he published a paraphrase of the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah, in Latin verse. This work he dedicated to the King, at the same time complaining sadly of the hard usage he had met with. The troubled life of Patrick Adamson, the first Protestant minister of the Abbey Church, and afterwards of St. Andrews, was brought ^ These Bishops, introduced in 1572, were by way of ridicule, but justly, called Tulchan Bishops. A tulchan is the skin of a dead calf stretched on a frame of wood and placed under a cow, to make her give milk. Those Bishops had the name, but by a private agieement they were allowed only a small stipend, that the dioceses might yield their milk or revenue to the nobility. 7$ HISTORY OF PAISLEY. to a close on 19th February, 1592. Mr. Wilson, his son-in-law, pub- lished his works, twelve in number, at London in 1619 ; they are in Latin ; and the editor thus speaks of the author, — He was " an in- comparable poet, an eloquent orator, well seen in the Greek and Latin languages ; a prelate of great prudence, experience, and wisdom in the management of affairs ; skilful in the civil and canon law ; and of so happy a memory that he did not know what it was to forget anything that he had either heard or read ; so that the death of such a person, who was the glory of his country and of the republic of letters, can never be too much lamented." Andrew Polwart succeeded Patrick Adamson in 1576, and re- mained in the pastorate about two years only. Nothing is known about him during the time he remained in Paisley. He left the Abbey Church in 1578, and became sub-dean of Glasgow.^ Thomas Smeaton was appointed successor to Andrew Polwart in 1578. He was born near Perth in 1536, and studied at Glasgow University. In private life he was of a most kindly disposition. This secured for him the admiration of everyone. He was, besides, a man of great learning, and was considered one of the most erudite men of the time. He held the pastorate of the Abbey Church for only two years ; and in 1580, when the celebrated Andrew Melville was removed to St. Andrews, Smeaton succeeded him as Principal of the University of Glasgow. He died 13th December, 1583, in the forty-seventh year of his age. Mr. James Melville, in his diary, gives the following striking account of Mr. Smeaton : — " Mr. Thomas was very wacriff and peanful], and scarslie tuk tym to refresh nature. I haiff seen him oft find fault with lang dinners and supers at general assembhes ; and when uthers were thereat he wald abstain, and be abut the penning of things (wherein he excellit, bathe in langage and form of letter), and yit was noch rustic, auster, but sweit and affable in companie, with a modest and naive graivite ; very frugale in fude and rayment, and walked maist on fut ; whom I was very glad to accompanie whylis to Sterling, and now and then to his kirk, for my instruction and comfort. He lovit me exceeding well, and wald at parting thnist my head into his bosom and kiss me " ( Melville^ s Diary, p. 56-58). Another author thus writes of him (Baillics Letters and Journals, vol. iii-, p. 402), — " Mr. Thomas Smeaton died our principall, one of ^ Before the Refomiation, monks were entitled "Dene" or Dean, and secular clergy had Seuir or Sir prefixed to their names. Those who had attained the academical degree M.A. were styled "Master." This last designation was afterwards bestowed on the ministers of the Presbyterian Church whether they had graduated or not. In this early period ^of the Church's history, it appears that ministers were sometimes permitted to add to their clerical duties the selling of lieer and wine. In the records of the General Assembly of 1576, the following deliverance is given, apparently in answer to a question proposed whether the keeping of a tavern was allowable for a minister or reader : — " Ane minister or reader that taps ale, beir, or wine, and keeps ane open taverne, sauld be exortit be the Commissioners to keep decorum" (Belmerino and its Abbey, p. 167). THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 77 the learnedst men of the nation, as his book against Jesuit Hamil- tone doeth shew " (Smeaton's work, dedicated to James the Sixth, entitled " Ad Virulentnm Archibaldi HaDiiltonii Apostatce Dialogum, c^c." Edinburgh, 1579, 4to). Andrew Knox, second son of John Knox of RanfurUe, in the parish of Kilbarchan, a scion of the family of the celebrated reformer, John Knox, was the successor to Thomas Smeaton. Knox studied at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated A.M. in 1579. After receiving license to preach, he was inducted to the pastorate of the parish church of Lochwinnoch in 1580. In 1585 he was translated to the Abbey church. Paisley. His disposi- tion appears to have been very impulsive, leading him into several difficulties with his parishioners and his fellow-members of Presby- tery. In 1594 he and his wife, a daughter of William Knox of Selvieland, built a house in Paisley, which at present is No. 25 High Street. On an oak panel above the mantelpiece of the principal room their monogram was carved. It is now in the Paisley Museum, and the following is a xtdi\xcQ.di facsimile : — M.A.E.K. stands for Master Andrew and Elizabeth Knox. In the mutual gable of this house he put a window overlooking the house on the west, belonging to John Maxwell of Stanely, a minor. In 1599, when John Maxwell became major, he presented a complaint to the Burgh Court of Paisley against the minister to have him ordained to build up the window, and the Court, after hearing parties, decided against Andrew Knox. This procedure caused a bad feeling to arise between the two parties ; and on i6th September, 1602, a complaint was brought before the Presbytery by the minister against Maxwell for refusing to communicate at the Sacrament. At the next meeting of Presbytery, held on the 14th October, John Maxwell explained to the reverend court that he had not left the parish church from any disrespect to the Church, but because of the " deadly feud " existing between him and the minister. He, how- ever, expressed penitence, and promised to attend the parish church of Renfrew. With this they were satisfied, and found Thomas Inglis, burgess of Paisley, cautioner in 500 merks (MS. Records of the Presbytery of Paisley). 78 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Mr. Knox had a difiference also with Gavin Stewart, a burgess of Paisley, whom at the Burgh Court held on ist October, 1604, he caused to find security not to molest him. But immediately there- after, and before leaving the court, the minister, " in the counsell- hous of the tollbuthe, in the presence of ane noble lord, James Lord of Abercorn, Maister of Paisley, as proveist thereof, and of the baillies and counsell of the samyn," struck Gavin Stewart " with ane box upon the heid, to the effusion of his blood." On 9th November following, "in presence of the bailies and council, compeirit Mr. Andro Knox, minister at Paisley, and confessit the offence done by him in presence of ane nobil lord, James Lord of Abercorne, bailies and counsell of the said bghe, to Gawn Stewart, burgess thairof, qrof he clairit himself not only penitent, but als referit him- self in the will of the said nobil lord, bailies, and counsell, for repa- ration thereof, in sa far as the sam offendit them. Ilk ane of the said bailies and counsell acceptit and continuet the declaration thereof to the returne of the said nobil lord to this burghe." When this assault was reported to the Presbytery the 4th October follow- ing, Mr. Knox having acknowledged what he had done, they sus- pended him from his duties; and on i6th November thereafter decided that he " sal sit in the maist patent place of the kirk of Paisley, upon Sounday next to cum, befoir noone, being the 19th day of November instant, and thereafter that Mr. Jon Hay, appoyntit by the brethren to supply the place that day, hes delaitit the fault and offence of the said Mr. Andro to the people ; the said Mr. Andro, in all humility, sail confess his offence to God, his brethren, and the pairtie offendit, and sail sit doun upoun his knees and ask God's mercie for the same. The same being done, the bailies and some of the honest men of the paroch sail receive him by the hand '" (MS. Records of the Presbytery of Paisley). During the incumbency of Andrew Knox there were two things which particularly engaged his attention and that of the Presbytery of Paisley. One was the suppressing of Sunday desecration, and in carrying out this aim they were much assisted by the Town Council. The other was the complete suppression of the Romish religion. True liberty and toleration were not at that time understood by the Protestants. They were of opinion that, as their religion was now established by law, those professing the Romish faith should either be compelled to embrace Protestantism or suffer, at least, the penal- ties of excommunication. Mr. Knox's efforts to suppress popery and popish plots were in more than one instance very successful. In 1592 George Kerr, a doctor of laws in Haddington, was excom- municated by the parish minister there, for not abstaining from popish practices after having been duly warned to do so. He fled to Ayr, and afterwards went on board of a vessel lying at Cumbrae, with the purpose of leaving the country. Mr. Knox having heard of this, and believing he intended going to Spain on a treasonable mission, went to the ship, accompanied by twenty-four men, brought Mr. Kerr back to Ayr, and delivered him and his servant THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 79 over to Lord Ross. On afterwards searching the vessel, he found important treasonable papers, addressed by Jesuits and others in Scotland to parties in Spain and France, along with letters in blank to the King of Spain, to be filled up afterwards by Kerr, and signed by the popish lords, as they were called, the Earls of Huntlie, Angus, and Errol, and by Auchindown, knight, uncle to Huntlie. The affair is generally known as the Spanish conspiracy (History of King James VI., p. 259). In 1597 Mr. Knox accomplished another daring feat. James Gordon, a relative of Huntlie's, came to this country and arranged a plan to fortify the Isle of Ailsa, in order to receive a Spanish force. This rock was taken possession of by Hugh Barclay of Ladyland, who (having some time previously escaped from Glasgow Castle, where he was confined, fled to Spain, and returned as an agent) was employed in victualling the strong- hold. All this having come to the ears of Mr. Knox, he, at the head of a small party, attacked and defeated Barclay and his armed men ; but Barclay, rather than allow himself to be taken prisoner, rushed into the sea and drowned himself (Aikinan's History of Scotland, vol. 3, p. 244). On i6th December, in the same year, an Act was passed by the Estates of Parliament, declaring that Andrew Knox and those along with him by their intrepid achieve- ment had. done " louell and gude service to his Majestic and the country" (Acta Pari. Scot., iv. 148). It was on loth February, 1604, during the incumbency of Mr. Knox, that Thomas Bell was appointed by the Town Council to be the teacher in the Grammar School, and one of the additional duties he had to perform was " to read prayers in the kirk daily." The terms of the appointment of his predecessor, Mr. Henderson, in 1596, are not preserved, but very likely they were the same. There was no special salary attached to the fulfilling of this obliga- tion. The duties of this oflicial in the early days of the Church, after the Reformation, will be best understood by the following extract : — "The bell having rung an hour before, was rung the second time at 8 o'clock for the reader's service. The congi-egation then assembled, and engaged for a little in private devotion. So reverential were they, that it was the custom for the people entering to uncover their heads, and to put up a short prayer to God, some kneeling, some standing. The reader took his place at the 'lectern,' read the Common Prayers, and in some churches the Decalogue and Creed. He then gave out large portions of the Psalter, the singing of which was concluded with the Gloria Patri, and the next chapters of Scripture from the Old and New Testaments, going through in order any book that was begun, as required by the first book of Discipline. After an hour thus spent, the bell rang the third time, and the minister entered the pulpit and conducted the remainder of the service, according to the usage of the time. The afternoon service was begun by the reader in the same way. These usages continued with more or less uniformity till 1638 or 1640" ( Book of Common Order, Edition 1868, pp. 33,4). In subsequent appointments of teachers in the Grammar School, the duty of "reader " in the church is not mentioned. 8o HISTORY OF PAISLEY. When James VI., along with the Parhament, restored the estates of the bishops in Scotland, Mr. Knox was nominated Bishop of the Isles, by writ of the Privy Seal, and on 4th July, 1605, was allowed by the Presbytery to go to the diocese " for four or five weeks." He did not, however, return to discharge his duties in the Abbey Church at the time thus fixed ; for on 20th February, 1606, about seven months afterwards, " the baillies and counsel, with sundrie uther honest men of the toun and parochen of Paisley, compeared judiciallie before the brethren (Presbytery), and very heavily lament- ing the desolation of the congregation, of preaching, of administra- tion of the sacraments, and other necessary poynts of the office of a minister, and that by the frequent absence of Mr. Andro Knox since the time of his acceptation of the Bishopric of the Isles, craved earnestly at the brethren that they might be provydit with a sufficient pastor" (MS. Records of the Presbytery of Paisley). From the record of the numerous meetings of the Presbytery on tliis matter, it appears to have been the intention of Mr. Knox to hold, if allowed, both of the benefices ; and it was not till 12th November, 1607, that he demitted his charge in the Abbey Church. The Bishop was not so successful in his attempt to capture the castle of Dunivaig in Islay as he was with Ailsa Craig. In 16 14 the notorious left-handed Coll of Islay took possession of that castle, then under the keeping of Bishop Knox, who afterwards at the head of seventy men tried to retake it, but failed in the attempt (Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, Spalding Club, 1859, pp. 231-233). On 26th June, i6ti, the Bishop was, by letters patent, preferred to the Bishopric of Raphoe, in Ireland, and both bishoprics were held by him till 22nd September, 16 19, when he resigned that of the Isles. The Priory of Ardchattan and Abbey of Icolmkill were added to the Bishopric of the Isles in 161 5. Bishop Knox died on 27th March, 1633, about the age of seventy-four. His three sons all took orders, and Thomas suc- ceeded his father in the Bishopric of the Isles in February, 1619. It was in 1590 that all the parishes in Renfrewshire, with the exception of Eaglesham and Cathcart, were formed into a Presby- tery, and had their place of meeting in Paisley. This arrangement continued down to 1834, when by a deed of the General Assembly a Presbytery was established for the lower ward of the county, having their place of meeting in Greenock, and adding to the seven parishes taken from the Paisley Presbytery those of Largs in Ayr- shire and of Cumbray in Buteshire, formerly connected with the Presbytery of Irvine. The Presbytery of Paisley was left by this decision with twelve parishes and thirteen ministers, the Abbey parish being collegiate. In consequence of the erection subse- quently of many new parishes, the number of ministers in the two Presbyteries are much increased. During the period of the pest in Paisley, the Presbytery held their meetings in Houston from 6th November, 1645, till the 26th March in the following year. Be- tween 26th July, 1676, and 5th March, 1684, the Presbytery meet- THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 8 1 ings were held at Renfrew. By the orders of the Archbishop, tlie meetings at Renfrew were discontinued, and the first meeting after- wards was held at Paisley on 5th March, 1684. At the introduc- tion of Episcopacy in 1661, the Presbytery ceased to meet, but was reconstructed in 1663 by an Act of the Archbishop and Synod. The first meeting under the new regulations was held on 29th October, 1663, and was attended by only five members. At the Revolution, the Presbyteries of Glasgow, Paisley, and Dumbarton, having few members, formed themselves into one Presbytery, and held their meetings in Glasgow, but this continued only a few months. The Presbytery records commence i6th September, 1602, and are complete down to the present time, with the exception of the period between 24th December, 1607, and 20th April, 1626. The three first volumes have suffered a little from damp. Mr. Patrick Hamilton was the successor to Mr. Andrew Knox in the Abbey Church. He was inducted to the parish church of Lochwinnoch in 1602, succeeding Mr. Andrew Knox in that pastorate, and thus again he became his successor in the Abbey Church in December, 1607. Mr. Hamilton discharged his minis- terial duties in Lochwinnoch in a most faithful manner. In the Paisley Presbytery, on 19th January, 1604, he reported to the reverend body certain occurrences that had taken place in the parish of a very peculiar and extraordinary kind. These were as follows : — "The Presbytery being informed by their brother, Mr. Patrick Hamilton, that Robert Aitken and Robert Millar, parochiners of Lochquinnoche, super- stitiouslie behaved yameselves be ringing of girdilles ye day of Januare ; as also that Hendrie Paslay, Robert Paslay, Robert Patoun, and James King, in Muir- dykes, efter ane profane and godless manner behaivit yamselves, in disagyissing yamselfis, quhilk is nathing less than abominaon in ye eyes of ye Lord ; as also being informit be thair brother, Gavin Hamilton, vicar of Kilbarchan, that James Andrew, &c., usit superstitious playis a little before Yuill, in the day called Yuill evening — came through ye clachan of Kilbarchan, making open proclamaon, and giving open libertie to all men to tak pastyme for the space of auch days, as also usit superstitious playis upon the 26th of December at ye Corsefeind, and gave yameselfis to strolling and drinking. The brethren ordaint all the forsaid persons to be summoned to ye next Presbitrie day be thair brither, Mr. Patrick Hamilton (of Lochwinnoch), and Gavand Hamiltoun, vicar of Kilbarchan " (AIS. Records of the Presbytery 0/ Paisley). It is supposed these plays were meant to throw ridicule on old popish usages that had formerly taken place at this season of the year, by proclaiming an indulgence to everyone to do what they chose for eight days. Very little is known regarding Mr. Hamilton's proceedings in the parish during his incumbency, his name not being associated with any incidents of importance. It appears that cattle were frequently allowed to go into the churchyard to pasture, and the Town Council, we presume, with F 82 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the consent of the heritors, took the initiative in passing some very strict regulations to suppress this practice. On 6th April, 1599, they enacted " that whatever horse, ky, or other besteel be appre- hended in the kirkyard," the owner should be fined 13s. 4d. But on 15th October, 1607, they passed a much more severe resolution, very likely because this trespassing had not ceased. " Item, it is statute and ordained that ilk horse or cow that shall happen to be apprehended in the kirk yaird in time coming, the owner thereof being burgess or indweller of this burgh shall pay 40s. of nulan toties quoties. And if the horse or cow be apprehended within the same oftener than once, the persons owners thereof shall be punished in their persons in the stocks, by the bailies discretion, l^ye and attour the said nulan. " Baillie relates an amusing incident regarding Mr. Patrick Hamil- ton, that occurred at the General Assembly in July, 1648. "We are fashed with the opening of the mouths of deposed ministers. Poor Mr. Patrick Hamiltone, in the very nick when the Assembly was to grant all his desire, was rejected by his own unhappiness. He had let fall out of his pocket a poem too invective against the Church's proceedings. This, by mere accident, had come in the hands of Mr. Mungo Law, who gave it to Mr. James Guthrie, and he did read it in the face of the Assemblie, to Mr. Patrick's confu- sion" (Baillie's Letters and Journals, vol. iii., p. 60). Archibald Hamilton succeeded Patrick Hamilton in 1610 ; but as the Presbytery records are avvanting between 1607 and 1626, it is not known when he entered upon his pastorate. During his THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 83 ministry several Acts were passed, very likely at his suggestion, by the Bailies and Council, relating to Sunday observance and Church attendance. For example, on 26th January, 1622, they ordained that no houses be let to persons who are excommunicated, and that none entertain them in their own houses, under the penalty of 10 punds. Mr. Archibald Hamilton appears to have possessed some means, for on 4th January, 16 17, the Town Council state in their records that they had received from him 1000 merks, no doubt as a loan, which was put into the common chest. It was during his pastor- ship that the manse for the ministers in the Abbey was erected in 161 2, on the west side of Wallneuk Street, a short distance from the head of ^South Croft Street. We give 2^ fa: simile of the shield (p. 82), along with the letters and date that surround it, which are at the present time inscribed on a stone in the front of that build- ing. We believe the letters M A H represent Master Archibald Hamilton, and that the letters A L are the initials of his wife's name. He was appointed Bishop of KiUaloe, 21st May; consecrated at St. Peter's, Dublin, 29th June, 1623 ; had the Bishopric of Achonry in commendam from Charles I., 20th April, 1630 ; was translated to the Archbishopric of Cashel and Emly of same date ; and died at Stockholm in 1659, aged 80 years. Alexander Hamilton was the successor to Archibald Hamilton. At anyrate, he was, according to the Presbytery records, the prede- cessor of Robert Boyd of Trochrigg, who was ordained in 1626 to the Abbey Church, — Mr. Alexander Hamilton having resigned his charge at that time. Robert Boyd of Trochrigg, in the county of Ayr, succeeded Alexander Hamilton on ist January, 1626. His father, James Boyd of Trochrigg, when a young man, fought in the Queen's army at the battle of Langside. Some time afterwards he entered the ministry, and was first settled at Kirkoswald. In 1572 he was ap- pointed Archbishop of Glasgow, and died in June, 1581. His eldest son, Robert Boyd, the subject of this memoir, after the com- pletion of his education, was for some time professor of philosophy in the college of Montauban, afterwards minister of the gospel in the church of Vertuile, and next pastor and professor of theology in the University of Saumur, in France. In consequence of the fame of his piety, ability, and learning, he was called by King James VI. to be principal of the College of Glasgow, where he remained for a time ; and was afterwards called by the ministry of Edinburgh to be primar of their college. Being a staunch Presbyterian, his conduct did not give satisfaction to the Court, whose tendencies were decidedly Episcopalian. Through the influence of Lord Boyd, a brother of Lady Aber- corn, Robert Boyd was admitted a minister of the parish of Paisley, as already Siated, in 1626. Mr. Boyd was a cousin of Lord Aber- corn, and, according to his journal, had been in 1615-18 a frequent visitor at the " Place of Paisley." He lived in the " fore house of 84 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the Abbey," into which he put his furniture and books. The iVber- corn family, although his relations, gave him a very cold reception, particularly Lady Abercorn. In a letter to Mrs. Boyd at Trochrigg in the month of March of that year, he states, — " I am just now come from Blackstoun, where I found the Lady Abercorn.^ She is so coldly disposed towards me, that I expect no friendship or courtesy on her part." From what afterwards took place, it appears the Abercorns did not wish to give any countenance to the Pro- testant cause, as they were Papists, — the term then applied, — and subjected the new minister to the grossest ill usage, as the sequel will show. Wodrow states that, on a Sunday afternoon in April, the Master of Paisley, brother to the Earl of Abercorn, with several others, forcibly entered the minister's house while he was preaching, no one being therein at the time, threw down all his books on the floor, and afterwards locked the door. This offence being com- plained of to the Secret Council, the Master of Paisley and the Baihes were summoned to appear before them. At the intercession of Mr. Boyd, and on the Master of Paisley expressing sorrow for the injury he had done, the complaint was departed from. The Bailies thereafter endeavoured to put Mr. Boyd in possession of his house, but the locks of the doors were found to be filled with stones and other things, and they refused to break open the doors. On Mr. Boyd going away, he was grossly assaulted by the Avomen with opprobrious words, the men having purposely absented themselves. They threw dirt and stones at him, compelling him to leave Paisley and retire to Glasgow. The Bishop of Glasgow complained to the Secret Council of the injustice done to Mr. Boyd by the Master of Paisley and his mother, who was suspected of being the instigator of these lawless proceedings. But no compensation was awarded to him, the aggressors being allowed to go away on promising to allow him peaceful possession of his house. Even the " rascally women," as Wodrow calls them, escaped without being punished. In consequence of these troubles and an impaired constitution, he never again officiated m the Abbey Church. He died at Edinburgh, on the 5th January, 1627, in the forty-ninth year of his age. Wodrow states that Boyd " was more eloquent in the French than in his mother tongue, more eloquent in the Latin than in the French, and more eloquent in Greek than in Latin." He was the author of a Conwientary ofi the Epistle to the Ephesiatis. His other literary works w'txe Jfecatoinb ad Christum Servatorem, Edin., 1627; Monita defilii sui Primogenita Institiitione ; Cole D. Georgia Sibaldo, M.D.; Verses to King James (Muses Welcome) ; and other works left in MS. Mr. Ure, in his History of Glasgow, says he was " highly esteemed by men of all ])ersuasions for the solidity of his thoughts and great learning and judgment." Mr. John Hay was translated from Killallan to succeed Mr. Boyd ' The Abercorn family sometimes resided at the " Place of Paisley," and at other times at Blackstone. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 85 in the Abbey Church, and was inducted on 21st May, 1627. It was during his incumbency and that of his predecessor that the Paisley Presbytery commenced proceedings, in April, 1626, against Thomas Algie, John Naismith, Isobel Mowat, and James Crawford, because " they did neither frequent the house of God for hearing the Word preached, neither did communicate with others of the congregation at occasions offered, whereby they gave just occasion for suspicion of their apostacy and defection from the true religion." The Presbytery, in short, believed they were Papists, as well as the Countess of Abercorn herself The proceedings connected with the prosecution of these persons are long, and extend over a con- siderable length of time, exhibiting an amount of clerical tyranny and intolerance that could scarcely be conceived.^ These persons were brought before the Presbytery several times, and they were all excommunicated, except John Naismith, who agreed to return to the church. But the most odious prosecution was directed against the Countess of Abercorn and her son, the Earl of Abercorn. On the 1 8th May in that year, the Countess was summoned to appear before the Presbytery; but, as the Earl was from home, they delayed proceedings, at the request of the Lord Archbishop of Glasgow, till the Earl should return. He declared himself a Catholic when he came home; and the Presbytery, on 19th April, 1627, ordained him to appear before them to answer for his apos- tacy and defection from the true religion. He preferred, however, to leave the country. But the Countess, who remained, was most cruelly punished. After many meetings with her Ladyship, the Presbytery excommunicated her ; and, on going to Edinburgh, she was appre- hended and thrown into prison. She was first confined for several months in the Tolbooth, and afterwards for six months in the Canongate Jail. After her health was destroyed in these abominable places of confinement, she was permitted to live in a private dwelling-house, under certain severe restrictions. Ultimately, she was allowed to go to Paisley ; but, being quite exhausted by the three years of wretched treatment to which she had been subjected, she died on arriving there. The kirk at Paisley was at this time the scene where severe punishments were inflicted by the incumbent and his co-Presbyters. In a case of immorality, the Presbytery, on i6th November, 1626, passed the following sentence : — " The which day compeared John Robesoune, and in all humilitie confessed his guiltiness of the sin of adulterie. The brethren therefore ordained that he shuld remove the said slander so far as laye in him in this manner, namely, that the said John, being not only convict but confessing his guilt, shuld, according to the acts and lawes of the kirk, stand and abyde six Sabbaths barefooted and barelegged at the kirk door of Paisley between the second and third bell ringing, and thereafter to goe to the place of public repentance during the said space of 1 See the able History of the Paisley Abbey, by the Rev. Dr. James C. Lees, where the proceedings are given at length. 86 HKSTURY OF 1'A1SI,LV. six Sabbaths, and further, ay, and until it should evidentlie be kythed by tokens of unfeened repentance that he was truelie penitent " (Records of the Presbytery of Paisley). There is a case of a similar kind on 24th December, 1626. "The (luilk day compeared William Stcuard, in Woodsyde, and in presence of the moderator and remanent brethren, in hairclothe, barefooted and bare legged, in all humilitie, with signes and tokens of unfeigned repentance, con- fessed his guiltiness, wherefore the saids brethren ordained William to extract his injunctions, namely, that he shuld stand six Sabbaths in the said hairclothes upon the place of publick repentance within the kirk of Paisley." In May, 1628, Mr. Hay was translated to Renfrew, to succeed his father there. John Crichton, who was called Parson of Campsie, and received a license from the Archbishop of Glasgow, became the successor of John Hay, on ist September, 1529. He was a cousin of Robert Baillie, Principal of the University of Glasgow. He was very eccentric in his manner. A serious complaint was brought against him for holding erroneous doctrines, and he was also charged with drunkenness.^ The Presbytery did not dispose of the many charges brought against him, but allowed the whole matter to be decided by the General Assembly, which met at Glasgow on 21st November, 1638. Mr. Crichton did not appear there to answer to the charges brought against him, and the Assembly deposed him. His cousin, the Principal, who was present at the Assembly, states that " he was the first minister we deposed. A number of uglie doctrines were laid to his charge. I held off his sentence for some days ; for I fand him, after his return from the Court of England, a much- dejected man,- and willing to clear himself of many things laid to his charge, — to confess his errors and be divested by the Assemblie for all tyme to come, on condition he might brook his place." The Principal further states that "Mr. John Crichton was justly deposed from Paisley" ( Baillie' s Letters, vol. iii., p. 434). Henry Calvert succeeded John Crichton. He was presented by James Earl of Abercorn, and ordained 1st July, 1641. By birth a native of England, he was ordained a minister at Oldstane, in Ireland, but was dismissed because he would not subscribe the canons. It was during his incumbency in Paisley that he made arrangements to have a colleague minister in the Abbey Church, generously assigning five chalders of grain out of his own stipend, and on 8th March in the following year had the stipend ratified by Par- liament. This laid the foundation for establishing a second charge. Alexander Dunlop, the additional minister selected, was ordained in October, 1644. During the early part of Henry Calvert's ^ These charges are given at great length by the Rev. Dr. Lees in his History of the Abbey, p. 288. - He had gone to the Court to ask the King to intercede for liim, but was unsuccessful in his application. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 87 ministry, the severe and tyrannical measures formerly adopted against suspected Papists were renewed by the Covenanters with equal harshness. Margaret Hamilton, best known by the name of the "guidwife of Ferguslie," was the wife of John Wallace, son of William Wallace, of Ellerslie, the second Earl's chamberlain, who lived in Blackstone House. She absented herself from the Abbey Church, and did not communicate. She was therefore thought to be favourable to the Roman Catholic religion, and Mr. Calvert re- ported her case to the Presbytery. The proceedings of that body against her commenced in 1642, and were not finished till 1647. She pled inability, from bad health, to come to the church, and therefore received many visits from Mr. Calvert to converse with her, and to convert her from Popery. Through severe pressure and threatenings, she did ultimately take the oath to renounce Popery. But she still persisted in absenting herself from church, and it w-as only after much persuasion and menacing that Mr. Calvert got her to agree to go to church. To accomplish this, as she was unable to walk, she was carried to the Abbey — a distance of two miles — " on ane wand bed." Mrs. Wallace had a sister called Bessie Hamilton, who was likewise in favour of Popery, and Mr. Calvert was instructed by the Presbytery to deal with her also. But this female was more contumacious than her sister, and, notwithstanding all the clerical threatenings to which she was subjected, she refused obedience, and was at last excommunicated. But Mr. Calvert had a more important parishioner than the bedridden " guidwife of Ferguslie " to look after ; for the Earl of Abercorn also was a sus- pected Papist. The Earl was frequently visited by ]\Ir. Calvert, on behalf of the Presbytery, regarding his alleged leanings to Popery. After being harassed by the minister and Presbytery, the case of the Earl was referred to the General Assembly, who excommunicated him in 1649, ^^^ ordered him to leave the country. This he did, and three years afterwards he sold the Lordship of Paisley to the Earl of Angus. Mr. Alexander Dunlop, the first minister in the second charge, was a man of great ability. He was of the house of Dunlop, in Ayrshire, — a branch of the Dunlops of Auchenskeith. He married Jean, daughter of William Mure of Glanderston, and their son was the celebrated Wihiam Dunlop, Principal of the College of Glas- gow\ Wodrow thus writes of him — " He had also great grace, great learning, and a great gift of disputing and arguing, and a great painfulness in reading and staying, and in all his ministerial work. In the whole week, he lay but three whole nights in his bed. This and to all these great gifts he added a great ornament to them all, that he was clothed with great humility, so that he thought highly of his honest brethren that were far inferior to him. He had but few words ; he had but just so much as seemed to express his matter that he was to deliver. He had a strange gift and faculty in making very difficult things plain even to the common people's capacity" (Analccta, vol. iii., p. 21). The ability and qualifications 88 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. of Mr. Dunlop must also have been held in high estimation by the Bailies and Council, for on nth December, 1645, "they commis- sioned him to go and petition the Parliament at St. Andrews for some supply to the poor of the town, accompanied with Mr. John Wilson, Arkleston, to attend to him." The Council records do not state, however, whether he was successful in this mission. The Council, on 27th April, 1647, P^id the rent of his house for one year and three-quarters, amounting to ^33 6s. 8d. Scots, or j[,2 15s. 6d. sterling.; and on 15th November in the same year they agreed that " three acres of land should be measured off for a glebe to Mr. Alexander Dunlop, the minister." Two years thereafter, they further resolved that " the Bailies, five Councillors, and Clerk be chosen to collect money to help to buy a manse to Mr. Alexander Dunlop, minister ; and after same is collected, he to be dealt with for concurrence, as the town, in seeking relief of the price of the glebe given him by the town, and that of the heritors in the parish." The praiseworthy aim of the Town Council appears to have been to secure a glebe and manse to the minister of the second charge. This matter is not referred to afterwards. During 1649, Mr. Calvert fell into bad health, and Mr. John Drysdale, who came from Ireland, was appointed to be his assistant, with a stipend of 700 merks ; and the Council, on nth February, 1650, promised "anent ane to Mr. Alexander Dunlop, in respect of Mr. Calvert's infirmities, 100 pounds money yearly, to aid the con- gregation." Mr. Calvert died in 1652, having been " suddenlie overtaken with a palsie " (Baillic's Letters and Journal, vol. iii., P- 43)- Mr. Alexander Dunlop was removed from the second to the first charge on 28th December, 1653. ^^- James Stirling, and not Mr. Drysdale, was ordained to the second charge on 26th June, 1654. The Bailies, continuing their interest in all matters relating to the Abbey Church, " paid from the mortcloth money to Nicola Stewart, for the expense made by BaiHe John Vans and the Council in giving a supper to the ministers of the Presbytery and their fol- lowers at the ordination of Mr. James Stirling to be minister of Paisley, per preceptum dated 26th June, 1654, 12 punds." In 1 56 1, Mr. Dunlop must have been suffering from bad health, for Baillie states (vol. iii., p. 435), that he "was so gone with the scrubie that he is not like to live long." Presbyterianism and the Covenant were in full vigour from 1638 to 1662, but at the latter date Episcopacy was made the form of church government, and Bishops were restored by the Royal prero- gative, and confirmed by Parliament. Then followed a train of severities and prosecutions almost without a parallel against the ministers and laity who would not conform. The two ministers in the Abbey Church were severe sufferers. They were, indeed, com- pelled to leave their incumbencies. On 6th January, 1663, Mr. I)un]op was brought before the Council, and, as he refused to take and subscribe the usual oath, " the Lords of Council ordain him THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 89 to be banished forth of His Majesty's dominions, reserve to them- selves to prefix the time of his removal, and, in the meantime, ordain him to confine himself within the bounds of the dioceses of Aberdeen, Brechin, Caithness, or Dunkeld, and allow him the space of ten days to go home and order his business and affairs " ( IVod- 7'ow's Church History, vol. i., p. 318). Mr. Dunlop was to have been sent to Holland along with some others ; but the King's physician, Sir Robert Cunningham, " told the Chancellor that they might as well execute him on a scaffold as send him to the sea, for he could not be twenty-four hours upon the sea but it would be his death, for, by his extraordinary study and labour at Paisley, he had brought his very strong body so low that he could not live on the sea for a very short time" ( lVodro7u's Analeda, vol. iv., p. 19). He died at Borrowstouness in 1667, and was then about forty seven years of age. Wodrow states that " he was a person of eminent piety and extraordinary diligence and learning and singular pru- dence and sweetness of temper. He has left behind him, among other valuable papers, collections towards a system of divinity in English, which, had he been able to have put in order, would have been one of the most valuable bodies of divinity which hath been drawn up" (vol. i., p. 318). Mr. James Stirling, on the introduction of Prelacy, was also com- pelled, as we have said, to abandon his charge in the Abbey Church. Indeed, out of the sixteen ministers of the Paisley Presbytery, only two — Mr. Taylor, of Greenock, and Mr. John Hamilton, of Inver- kip — submitted to the new regulations. Mr. Stirling, some time after leaving the Abbey, went to the East Indies, and died at Bombay from injuries sustained in falling from a horse while riding. Wodrow (vol. i., p. 281), says " he was very acute, learned, and pious, and had a very polite and accurate way of preaching. He was mighty familiar and well acquaint with our great noblemen, such as the Marquis of Argyle and others, for he was well-bred and behaved. He was to have been settled at Erskine, but Mr. Dunlop enticed him to Paisley. Mr. Stirling wrote the first or historical part of that famous book, Naphtali, or the, Wrestlings of the Church of Scotland. The remaining part was written by the Solicitor- General of Scotland, Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees. The work was first published in 1667. It was ordered to be publicly burned, and any person found thereafter with a copy was ordained to pay a fine of ;^ 1 0,000 Scots. William Pierson was the first minister in the Abbey under the Episcopal form of government. His name is in the sederunt at the first meeting of Presbytery, held on 29th October, 1663. The attention of the new ministers was mainly directed to those who refused to take the usual oaths, to the punishing of those who objected to being elders, to the compelling of all to take the tests, and the putting down of conventicles. At this time, the laws against the non-complying Presbyterians were very severe. To preach at a conventicle was punishable with 90 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. death, and any person who attended one was subject to a heavy fine. Mr. Pierson left the Abbey Church, on 6th February, 1666, for DunfermUne. Mr. James Chahners, from Dumfries, an indulged minister, suc- ceeded Mr. Pierson in 1667. The Town Council, besides many of the lieges, being displeased with the new minister, appointed, on 26th July, 1669, two of their body to go to Edinburgh to arrange, if possible, with Lord Dundonald to get another minister in Mr. Stirling's place. On 26th August following, " the Council conde- scended that they agree with Mr. Chalmers in as easy a way as they can, he giving the said demission." On 4th April in the following year, the Council agreed that 200 merks shall be paid by the town of Paisley to Mr. James Chalmers for the procuring of his demis- sion ; and he gave up his charge. He died in August, 1675. Two of the members of Council were sent to Edinburgh for " Mr. Matthew Ramsay to come unto this place, and had like were dealt with my Lord Dundonald, and diverse of the Secret Council had pitched upon the said Mr. Matthew, and ordered him to come here " (Council Records). Mr. Matthew Ramsay became thereby successor to Mr. Chalmers on 22nd September, 1669. He had been at one time minister of Wester Kilpatrick, but had been deposed in 1665. Wodrow, in his Church History^ vol. i., p. 427, states that he was a " person of the most shining piety, stayed gravity, of the greatest eminence of gifts, extraordinary sweetness of temper, and of a most peaceable behaviour ; but was by the Bishop in Synod deposed at Glasgow, without any other cause, so much as alleged, but his not attending their Prelatical Synods and Presbyteries." Along with several deposed and non-conforming ministers who accepted the indul- gence, he was reinstated, when he was appointed by an Act of the Privy Council.^ Mr. John Baird, on i6th December, 1669, was, in consequence of the delicate health of Mr. Ramsay, appointed his assistant by the Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council. The patron and Mr. Ramsay also concurred in this arrangement. Mr. Baird studied at the University of St. Andrews, and obtained his degree there in 1648. In 1653, he was called both to Remback, in Fife, and Innerwick, in East Lothian, but, preferring the latter, was ordained ^ The Council appear to have had in their possession a number of articles belonging to the Abbey Session, which they ordered to be "delivered to such persons as the Session shall commission. Four silver goblets. The Session box yountill three l)aeds, — ane of them by Hugh and Gilbert Scott, containing 225 merks of inincl. ; another of them, by Gabriel Wilson, in JNIuirhead Street, cautioner, contg. 100 merks of princl.; and the tliird, a precept, with inhibition thereupon agt. Andw. Wilson, weaver, containing loo punds of principal, thirty-nine punds ten shillings, with the communion tickets, together with the church bibles, two long communion table-cloths, one okl long one, a cloth for the head table at the communion, and receive from them the Session's receipt and discharge thereof. And of an green table-cloth, a green pulpit-cloth, two water or basin cloths, with a tin cettle basin" (Toivn Coiiiuil Records, 17th March, 1668). THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 9 I there on 26th January, 1654. He discharged his duties there with zeal and fideUty till 1662, when an Act of the Privy Council was passed at Glasgow (ist October) which banished from their parishes all the ministers who had entered upon their charges since 1649, unless by the ist November following they procured presentations from the patrons and collation from the Bishops. Between 300 and 400 ministers had thereby to abandon their charges, and Mr. Baird was among the number. On 7th June, 1669, the first indulgence was granted by the King to forty-two ministers, of whom I\Ir. Baird was one, permitting them, on certain conditions, to be settled in vacant parishes. It was during the incumbency of these two ministers, in 1670, that Archbishop Leighton of Glasgow proposed his scheme to re- concile Presbyterianism and Episcopacy. He first had a meeting at Edinburgh ; and subsequently in the Abbey Church, Paisley, on 14th December, 1670, of the principal ministers in the west of Scot- land. The two Abbey ministers took a leading part in the discus- sion, but the Presbyterians would not listen to any compromise, and nothing therefore came out of the conference. Mr. Ramsay died in May, 167 1, aged forty-eight years. ^ Mr. John Baird, on the death of Mr. Ramsay, was appointed his successor in the first charge, and had as his colleague in the second charge William Eccles, an indulged minister. While Mr. Baird exercised his ministerial duties in after years, the strong covenanting proclivities he displayed sometimes brought him into difficulties. For not observing the anniversary of King Charles H.'s restoration on 29th May, he was brought before the Privy Council on the 8th July, 1673, and fined in the half of his stipend and the crop for the year.- On the 6th of March, 1684, when the persecution of indulged ministers was at its height, Mr. Baird was cited to appear before the Privy Council for breaking the indulgence accorded to him. On the nth April he was "deprived from the exercise of the ministry in all time coming, and in regard that his wife is sick, [we] give him until first May, to live regularly, otherwise to undertake banishment, and he and his family to remove out of the kingdom." In the end of that year, his wife, Margaret Bruce, who was a daughter of Mr. James Bruce, minister of Kingsbarns, Fifeshire, died at Inverkeithing; and in the beginning of the following year Mr. Baird also died, aged fifty-seven years. Wodrow states that "he was a minister of great learning and piety, and singular skill in medicine." He was the author of Violant the Review, and Babnfrom ^ " Disbursed to Maiy Padie, relict of umquile Mr. Mathew Ramsay, minister, the sum of one hundred pounds money." (Tmun Council Records, 19th October, 1671.) - In this period lofts were put into the Abbey to accommodate the increase in the population. The loft of Lord Ross of Hawkhead was in the north side, and the entrance to it was by a stair on the east side of the north porch, being carried through a window into the aisle. The entrance to the lofts above the south aisle was in the south-west angle of the transept at the east end of the south aisle. 92 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Gikad : or. The Differences about the I/idn/gence Stated and Impleaded (London, 1681, 8vo); besides leaving in manuscript a work, De Afagistratii, several sermons, and a treatise on " Hearing the Curates." Mr. William Eccles, formerly of Ayr (second charge), was ap- pointed to the second charge at the end of 1672.^ Like Mr. Baird, he was a keen Presbyterian and Covenanter, and was there- fore strictly watched by the Government. On 30th January, 1684, Mr. Eccles was summoned before the Privy Council, who " declared his license void, and ordain him to find caution, either not to preach or remove off the kingdom " ( ll^odroiu's Church History, vol. iv., p. 38). He returned to Ayr in 16S7. John Fullarton succeeded John Baird in the first charge in 1684, and his name first appears in the Presbytery Records on the 12th November in that year. He was an Episcopalian ; and, when ejected at the Revolution in 1688, he became chaplain to Lord Dundonald. He afterwards went to Edinburgli, and when Mr. Sage was elected Bishop of Edinburgh, Mr. Fullarton was conse- crated at the same time. On the death of Mr. Sage in 1720, Mr. Fullarton was chosen to be his successor. Mr. Fullarton died at his estate of Greenhall, in Glendorinal, 27th April, 1727, aged about eighty-two years, in the fifty-eighth of his ministry (Keith's Scottish Bishops, p. 524). James Taylor, minister of Mearns, was the successor, in 1684, of William Eccles in the second charge. A difference of opinion arose between him and the Town Council. He informed Bailie Pirrie that he was going to cultivate four acres of the land in Common- side, alleging that it was glebe land, and belonged to the former ministers. The Council, at their meeting on 9th March, 1686, were very indignant at this proposal, because they knew " perfectly that the same never belonged to the former ministers as glebe land, and was never in use or wont to till the same, but that the same was always rouped amongst the rest of the common land, therefore they have concludit that the Bailie and two of the Council and Clerk intimate to the minister, Mr. Tailleor, the morrow, that in case he till that land without their consent, that he may be liable for a riot to them for cost and damage and for remedying law, and in the meantime will also stop the plough in case he presumes to till." The firm attitude assumed by the Council very likely caused him to reconsider his proposal, as the matter is not again mentioned. Like his colleague, he was obliged to leave the Abbey Church at the Revolution. It is not now known what became of him thereafter. Anthony Murray was inducted minister of the first charge on 2nd April, 1688. At the Presbytery meeting on that day, " the brethren gave him the right hand of fellowship, having been an old actual minister." He was a relation of the Duchess of Lauderdale, and in ^ " Letters sent by my Lord Dundonald to Mr. John Baird to Carrick to write to William Eccles to be minister \\.qx^" (Council Records, 14th November, 1672). THE ABBEY UXDEK PROTESTANT RULE. 93 1677 was desired by the Presbyterian ministers to use his interest in their behalf with the Duke. He did so, and pressed him par- ticularly for the relief of the imprisoned ministers from the Bass Rock. Lauderdale sternly refused, " the party," as he said, being " unworthy of any favour " ( Wodrow's Church History^ vol. ii., p. 348). Mr. Murray was himself put into prison on 13th October, 1684, because he would not quit his ministry. When his brother, the Laird of Glendoich, was dying, the Council only allowed him to pay a visit, upon a bond to re-enter the prison by 20th November following, under a penalty of ^5000 ( Wodroios Church History, vol. iv., p. 39). Mr. Murray did not live long to enjoy his liberty and new position, as he died in the year following his induction. William Leggat was the successor to Anthony Murray, on 22 nd August, 1689. He belonged to Ireland, and had for some time previous to his induction in the Abbey been residing in Femaich. His continuance in the Abbey was of very short duration, as he returned to Ireland in 1691. Thomas Blackwell, a minister in Edinburgh, succeeded William Leggat in the first charge, and was inducted on 28th August, 1694, the Abbey having been without a stated minister for nearly three years. He suffered severely at the hands of the Episcopalian government. In 1676, he, along with some others in Glasgow, was " denounced for alleged harbour, reset, and supply of inter- communed persons, and having corresponded with some who had been denounced" (Wodroiifs Church History, vol. ii., p. 333). In the following year he was, at the instance of Mr. Ross, parson, Glasgow, committed to prison. One night the jailor, while intoxi- cated, left the prison door open, and Mr. Blackwell, along with another prisoner, escaped. The Privy Council fined the Glasgow Bailies in 10,000 merks, which was afterwards commuted to 2000 merks, for dereliction of duty. Afterwards the cautioners for the jailer put Mr. Blackwell into prison, and did not let him out till he paid 7000 merks to his pursuers. In 1679 Mr Blackwell's house and goods were taken possession of by the Baihes of Glasgow, to recompense themselves for the fine they had paid to the Privy Council (Wodroiii's Church History, vol. iii., p. 5). At this time, and for several years afterwards, the Abbey had no minister to discharge the duties of the second charge. But on 4th May, 1698, Mr Thomas Brown, a young minister who belonged to Glasgow, was ordained to that charge. It was during Mr Blackwell's ministry that the persons alleged to be witches were executed and afterwards burned on the Gallow- green. Paisley. It does not appear from the Presbytery records and other authentic documents that he took a prominent part in this melancholy affair. It was Mr. Turner, minister of Erskine, who first brought before the Presbytery the case of Christian Schaw on 30th December, 1796. On 3rd February following, Mr Black- well was api)ointed, with other two members of Presbytery, to wait upon the Court who were to try the prisoners ; and on 17 th March 94 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. following, he, along with other four members of that body, was appointed to meet with the commissioners. On 15th April following, Mr Blackwell and two members of Presbytery were desired " frequently to wait upon and deal with the consciences of those that were in Paisley Tolbooth." Clergymen attended Christian Schaw and the family of Eargarran, in rotation, to assist the parish minister in fasting and prayer, and Mr. Blackwell was one of these. It was David Brown of Neilston, a brother of Thomas Brown of the second charge in the Abbey, who preached before the convicted prisoners on 9th June, 1697, the day before they were executed. Of the thirteen times the case of these unfor- tunate prisoners was brought before the Presbytery, Mr. BlackwelFs name is only five times mentioned. He was a man of great ability and learning, and the author of Schema Sacrum and an Essay on the preaching of the Gospel. He was translated to Aberdeen on 9th October, 1700, and was afterwards professor of divinity in the University there. He must have been a great favourite with the Town Council and the inhabitants generally, for they did every- thing in their power to prevent his translation to Aberdeen. Bailie Dunlop was appointed on 23rd June, 1699, to go to Edinburgh to attend the Commission of the General Assembly, to use his influence in that court against the translation of Mr. Blackwell. The Council also sent Robert Paisley to St. Johnstone (Perth) to confer with the Earl of Dundonald regarding Mr. Blackwell's " transportation." The same gentleman afterwards went to P^dinburgh on the same business. According to the Council records of 21st August, 1732, "Mr. George Blackwell, preacher of the gospel, was made burgess gratis." This son of Mr. Blackwell, who was a minister in Aberdeen, must have been visiting Paisley when this honour was conferred on him. Thomas Brown of the second charge succeeded Mr. Blackwell in the first on 5th March, 1700. Robert Millar was, on 28th December, 1700, translated from Port-Glasgow — where he had been minister for thirteen years — to the second charge. In the latter end of 1708 Mr Brown died. On the 28th January in the follow- ing year, the Town Council did a very handsome thing to Mr. Brown's widow. * ' Having taken to their consideration that Mr. Thomas Brown, their late minister, is lately dead and left a wife and several children behind him, and that their circumstances are not so very good as they would wish, have therefore unanimously agreed to give to Mary Erskine, relict of the said Mr. Thomas, five pounds sterling in ane compliment." Mr. Robert Millar thereafter discharged all the ministerial duties in the Abbey for the next twelve years. This was a fortunate ap- pointment for the Abbey Church. His benevolence and Christian example greatly abounded, and had a most beneficial influence on every one around him. He was also eminent for his learning and piety. On 22nd September, 1722, Robert Mitchell was ordained THE ADDEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 95 to the pastorate of the second charge, but in 1739 he was translated to the Low Parish Church of Paisley, then newly opened. On 26th June in the following year, Mr. Mitchell was succeeded by William Fleming, who was translated from Kirkintilloch. Mr. Fleming died on 2nd January, 1747. There was no successor appointed to Mr. Fleming till 1751, when James Hamilton was admitted to the second charge.^ Mr. Millar, after a faithful ministry of about forty-three years, died in the eightieth year of his age, on i6th December, 1752. His widow, Elizabeth Kelso, survived him seven years. Although for some years prior to his death he was nearly blind, yet he per- formed his pastoral duties most efficiently. He was the author of the History of the Propagation of Christianity and Overthrow of Paganism, Edinburgh: 1723, 2 vols., 8vo ; also History of the Church tinder the Old Testament from the Creation of the World. Edinburgh: 1730, fol.- Seven years after his death, one of his sons, Andrew Millar, an eminent bookseller in London, erected a monument in the Abbey churchyard to his memory, with an appro- priate inscription. James Hamilton was promoted from the second to the first charge loth June, 1753. John Rae succeeded James Hamilton in the second charge 24th January, 1754, and died 4th September, 1757. Archibald Davidson was the successor to John Rae in the second charge on 7th September, 1758. On 20th October, 1761, he was translated to the parish of Inchinnan, and afterwards re- ceived the important appointment of Principal of the College of Glasgow. Alexander Kennedy succeeded Archibald Davidson on loth June, 1762, and died on 12th July, 1773, aged 39. Robert Boog, a native of Edinburgh, was ordained to the second charge on 21st April, 1774, and on the death of his esteemed col- league, James Hamilton, on 14th March, 1782, in the sixty-first year of his age and thirty-first of his ministry, was admitted to the first charge on 29th August, 1782.-^ For the long space of half a century the Rev. Dr. Boog discharged his numerous and important pastoral duties conscientiously and with great ability. He also took ^ In 1730 a belfry, eight feet high, was erected on the top of the present east gable, and a bell was hung in it bearing the following inscription, — "Johannes Specht, Rotterdam, A.n. 1730. It was a common saying that the tone of this bell when rung was, " Spin lint and tow." Seven years afterwards the session obtained the consent of patron and heritors to repair and enlarge the west loft in the church, the front seat of which was to be retained for the elders, and the other seats to be common. The expense of these alterations was to be defrayed from money collected in the parish for the purpose. At the renovation of the Abbey in 1861, this bell and belfry were taken down." ^ The whole of these works were afterwards published in eight volumes by Robert Reid, and printed by John Neilson, Paisley, 1789. *Mr. Francis Douglas, author of the Description of the East Coast of Scotland, wrote a curious and elaborate epitaph on this clergyman, which appeared in the Scots Magazine of 1783, and was reprinted in the Weavers' Magazine, Paisley, vol. ii., p. 92. gG HISTORY OF PAISLEY. an active part in every public matter in the town of Paisley and Abbey parish, which tended to ameliorate the condition of the people. When a Dispensary was first established in 1786, followed, in addition, by a House of Recovery in 1803, his name appears among the first of the promoters of these useful institutions. At this time, and indeed since the Reformation, the accommoda- tion for the great body of the worshippers in the Abbey Church was very unsatisfactory. The Bailies and Councillors, along with a few of the heritors, had comfortable pews, but the greater part of the area was unseated. On this matter the Town Council records of 25th January, 1672, supply us with some information, — "The Bailies and Council have concludit that there sail be pews buildit in the church upon the town's expenses, and then rouped and sett yeirhe, and Bailie Paisley and John Park, younger, are appointed to oversie the work and to agree with workmen for making thereof."^ And we further learn from the Council records of 6th June, 1672, that " it is concludit that the old Council seat in the church sail be this way disposed of as follows, viz., that the Sheriff Deput sail have the seat that sometime wis the Bailies' seat, and that heritors and old Councillors sail sit in the rest thereof, without prejudice to the ministers' wives." On the 6th October in the following year, we learn from the Council records that there was " paid out towards the expenses made in building the town's new seat in the church for timber and workmanship two hundreth punds money and;^53 los. 4d. be the treasurer." The vacant spaces in the area of the church were generally occu- pied by those who brought stools along with them upon which to sit. When the Abbey Church was the only place of worship in and for many miles around Paisley, there would be seen, on Sundays, men and women going to the church carrying their stools, and their bibles folded in a white handkerchief - This occupation of a part of the Abbey Church by those who used stools in this way caused at times differences of opinion and even assaults to arise, as in the following case that came before the Sheriff, — Agnes Young, relict of William Roger, wright in Paisley, and the Fiscal against John Reid, son to William Reid, waker at Hawkhead Wakemills. The libel was as follows : " That the ^ " For a long time there were no pews in the churches in Glasgow, and when seats came to be provided they were free. They were first let in 1667, and one of the Bailies and the Master of Works was appointed ' to visit the haill seats and lay on the quantities of mailles thairon' " (0/t/ G/asgo7v, by A. Macgeorge, p. 214). ^ We have this from a gentleman at present upwards of 80 years of age, who was so informed by his mother. Except on the " kirking day," when the bride and bridegroom were accom- modated on a form in front of the pulpit, all "married women and maidens " were enjoined to "sit laigh," that is, on the church floor. In reference to this practice, the Kirk-session of Glasgow in 1597 expressly forbade "women to sit upon forms men should occupy," and further decreed "that all women sit together mihcVw^i" (Scotland : Social and Domestic, by Charles Rogers, LL.D., p. 350). THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 97 violent dispossession of any person from that which they were accustomed to possess, and the beating, bruising, and violent thrusting such persons therefrom, aggravated as being committed in a kirk after the sacrament, is a crime severely punishable. Yet nevertheless, on the 17th July, 1722, the complainer Agnes Young, being in the kirk of Paisley after the sacrament ordering or sitting in ane chair or stool where, for several years bygone, she used to sit, the said defender coming upon her where she was sitting upon the said seat, bid her begone, therewith violently dragging the seat from under her, occasioning thereby ane violent fall to her ; and not satisfied therewith, when the complainer getting up and getting hold of ane post, he did there rugg and ryve her, driving her head and other pairts violently against the said post, whereby she hath been indis- posed and braised that she is not capable for any exercise, and thereby not able to earn her daily bread, which her circumstances doth not otherwise allow her but by labouring with her hands ; which being verified the defender ought and should be fined in the sum of fifty pounds Scots, and deserned to pay the soum of thirty punds Scots of dammage and assythment to her as the party ill- used, in terrour of others to do or commit the like in time coming" (Judicial Records of Renfrewshire^ by W. Hector, vol. i., p. 103). In 1788 the Abbey Church was in a very bad condition, and the Countess-Dowager of Glasgow wrote to the Rev. Mr. Boog on nth February in that year, desiring him to call a meeting of heritors to consider the propriety of putting it in complete repair. The meet- ing was immediately held, and the heritors appointed a committee to desire tradesmen to report as to what should be done. These tradesmen reported that the roof of the body of the church and side aisles, both couples and sarking, were so much decayed that they could not be repaired, and recommended a new roof The heritors' committee also recommended the door in the south side of the church to be built up if not required for a window, and the whole church above and below to be seated with new seats ; new doors to be placed at the north and east entries ; the main lights in the great west windows — No. i to be opened and glazed from top to bottom ^ ; No. 2 to be opened and glazed ; No. 3 to be bayed on each side and glazed as a window ; Nos. 4 and 5 to be completely opened if there shall be no gallery before them ; Nos. 6 and 7 to be opened where not covered by a gallery ; No. 8 may be built up ; Nos. 9 and 10, the one to be opened and the other shut ; Nos. 11, 12, 13, and 14 to be open as at present, or so much as not covered by the gallery ; the west door to be opened and the house lately built before it to be purchased. The committee subsequently recommended the opening and glazing of four of the high double windows on the south side, and the high north windows to be built up with solid stone. The high west window, which had been shut, ^ At the Reformation in 1560 the clerestory windows of the nave were broken. Afterwards those on the south side were built up with stone, and those on the north side were filled with wood. G 98 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. was opened and glazed ; and the spaces at the top of the high north windows were all opened and glazed. The plan of the galleries was prepared by the Rev. Mr. Boog. The access to them was by a stair at each corner of the building. The pulpit was placed at the middle column on the north side. The family seats of the principal heritors were in the front of the galleries. On the east side of the pulpit was the pew of Lord Blantyre, for Cardonald. In the east front were those of William Maxwell, for Brediland ; of Sir John Maxwell, for Crocston ; of the Town Council of Paisley, for the Burgh of Paisley ; and of Robert Fulton, for Hartfield. In the south front were those of the Marquis of Abercorn, the patron of the parish, and the Earl of Glasgow, for Hawkhead. In the west front those of James Dunlop, for Househill • Robert Orr, for Ralston ; Ludovic Houstoun, for Johnstone ; and Lord Douglas, for Abbotsinch. And on the west of the pulpit that of Alexander Speirs, for Arkleston and Newton. The armorial bearings of these heritors were placed in front of their respective pews. The repairs were commenced on iSth April, 1788, and completed on 28th April, 1789. These improvements were considered to be of so much im- portance that a medal was obtained to commemorate the event. We give a view of this beautiful and rare medal, which has on the one side a representation of the exterior of the Abbey, and on the other side the interior. The Latin word Auspicio, with R.B. under it, means that this work has been done under the auspices of Robert Boog. When the proposal to make these extensive renovations on the church came before the Council on 4th March, 1788, they readily agreed " to join the other heritors of the Abbey to make a thorough repair of the Abbey Church, and to pay a proportional part of the expense conform to their valuation." James Mylne was the successor to Mr. Boog in the second charge on 27th March, 1783, and resigned his pastorate on 4th October, 1797, having then been elected to the chair of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow College. While minister in the Abbey he farmed 150 acres of land, which he leased from the Earl of Glasgow. James Smith succeeded Mr. Mylne in the second charge, and was ordained to the pastorate on 26th January, 1798, THE ARBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. 99 In 18 1 5 a marble monument, from a design by Flaxman of Lon- don, was by the consent of the heritors erected inside of the east gable, having the following inscription thereon : " To the memory " of William M'Dowall, of Castlesemple and Garthland, his Majesty's " Lieutenant, and in five parliaments the representative for Renfrew- " shire, erected by the County. A memorial of esteem for his private " virtues, and gratitude for his pubhc services." On 4th June, 1817, the eightieth birthday of King George IIL, a grand performance of vocal devotional music, accompanied with appropriate instruments, took place in the Abbey Church with the consent of the heritors and the enlightened pastor. We believe this was the first musical performance of the kind that took place within the walls of the Abbey, and it proved the prelude to many more in successive years. This sacred concert was under the patronage of the Earl of Glasgow and the most of the noblemen in the county. Mr. R. A. Smith, so deservedly celebrated for his exquisite skill in all that belonged to melody and harmony, was the composer of much of the music and leader of the choir on this occasion.^ The charge for admission was 5s. to the gallery and 3s. to the area, and the per- formance continued from one till four o'clock in the afternoon. In every respect it was a great success." James Smith preached a sermon on 13th January, 181 4, on the occasion of a national thanksgiving " for the evidences 'of a special Divine Providence attending the late successes obtained over the enemy." This sermon was afterwards published by request, and was dedicated by the author " to his most obliging and much esteemed colleague and friend the Rev. Robert Boog, D.D., and to ^Robert Archibald Smith was born in Reading, Berkshire, i6th November, 1780. His father, Robert Smith, a native of East Kilbride, was a silk weaver in Paisley, but he left in consequence of bad trade, and went to Reading. In 1800 he returned to Paisley with his family. In 1802 R. A. Smith married Mary Nicol, a native of Arran. He shortly afterwards commenced to teach music, and in 1807 was appointed the conductor of the choir in the Abbey Church. This choir after a time had not an equal in any of our Presbyterian churches. Mr. Smith was a warm and intimate friend of Tannahill. In 1810 he published Devotional Music, and in 1819 Antliems, in four parts. He afterwards, between 1821 and 1824, published his great work in six volumes, entitled The Scottish Minstrel. In 1823 he removed from Paisley to Edinburgh, to become the con- ductor of the choir of St. George's Church. In 1825 he published the Irish Minstrel, in two volumes ; and in 1826 a work entitled An Introduction to Sing- ing, &c. In 1827 appeared the first part of his new work, c?i\\ed Select Melodies, &c. At the end of 1828 his health, which had not been good for some time, gave way in a serious manner, and after a fortnight's severe illness he died on 3rd January, 1829, in the 49th year of his age. ^ "During his residence in Glenmill my father attended an oratorio in the Abbey Church, Paisley, the first important musical occasion that had taken place in the West of Scotland, and which excited intense interest amongst all amateurs resident in the surrounding districts. Of this oratorio my father writes, — 'There was an orchestra with an organ, all novelties to me. An organ I had never heard. There was a large choir of R. A. Smith's training. Several of his own anthems were sung — the Hallelujah Chorus, and the chorus of Angels from Beethoven's Mount of Olives, with some other classical choruses. I had never heard sacred music other than simple psalm tunes. The effect on me was trans- 100 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the congregation at large of the Abbey Church, Paisley, in testi- mony of his regard and esteem." This, we believe, was Mr. Smith's only publication. He died on 28th January, 1817.^ His successor in the second charge was Patrick Brewster, who was ordained loth April, 1818. Robert Boog died on 24th July, 1823, in the 74th year of his age and 50th of his ministry. The degree of doctor of divinity was con- ferred on him by the Glasgow College on ist May, 181 2. Mr. Boog wrote a history of the Abbey, but it was never published. The MS., in his own handwriting, is in the Paisley Free Reference Library.- Mr. Boog was the author of a poem of twelve printed pages, without the date of publication, entitled Excursions through the Starry Heavens, and printed by J. Neilson, printer, Paisley. The managers of the House of Recovery, with most becoming pro- priety, at a meeting held on 4th October, 1823, recorded in their minutes that they " take this opportunity of expressing their sincere and deep regret for the loss of that eminent and excellent man. He was the parent and uniform friend of these charities, whose time, talents, and influence were ever cheerfully and successfully devoted to promote the prosperity of the establishment. To his humane and benevolent exertions may justly be ascribed that degree of usefulness and respectability to which it has attained." In the year following Dr. Boog's death a volume of his discourses was published, selected from his MSB. and edited by Professor Mylne, of Glasgow. In the preface the Professor pays a high tribute to the memory of his late colleague, and states that the publication of the discourses is " in compliance with the wishes, strongly expressed by a great number of his regular hearers and many of his friends in different parts of the country." Robert M'Nair succeeded Robert Boog in the first charge cendently overpowering. I was in an agony of delight. My whole nervous system was trembling and thrilling with emotions no language could describe. Feeling often sets language at defiance. That was a revelation of heavenly music entirely new to me. It was a day and a feast everlastingly to be remem- bered, and so it is ; but the experiment was highly dangerous to a temperament like mine, so sensitive to the power of music. On returning to my charming Glenmill, sleep there was none to close my eyes the first night. The music con- tinued to peal, thrill, and penetrate evei7 fibre of my heart. The nerves so affected refused repose. This state continued more or less for two weeks ' " (Memoir of John Fraser, of Neufeld, Johnstone, by his son, James Roy Fraser, p. 14). ^ One of his sons is the Rev. James Smith, presently of Cathcart parish, who has for a long period been clerk to the Presbytei-y of Glasgow, the laborious and important duties of which office he discharges with great ability. On being fifty years a minister, he was entertained at a jubilee by his brethren of the Glasgow Presbytery and other friends in M 'Lean's Hotel, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, on 30th April, IS78. ^ He possessed the original MS. rental book of a folio volume kept by the chamberlain of the Abbots, commencing 20th April, 1460, by Sir Wm. Seniple, Bailie of the regality of Paisley, in his own handwriting, and ending 1540. This MS. volume was sold in Edinburgh at a public sale of Mr. Boog's books on 19th December, 1823, and was bought for the Advocates' Librar)', where it now is. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. lOl Having studied at the University of Glasgow, he was ordained minister of the parish of Ballantrae in 1815, and was translated from that pastorate to the Abbey of Paisley on 9th April, 1824. ]\Ir. M'Nair possessed a kind and affable manner. In the year after his induction, the old manse and garden ground adjoining, at Wallneuk Street, was sold, and a new manse (the present one) erected beside the Glebe, additional ground being bought to give an entrance to the same from the Glasgow Road. In the first personal visit he made to the parishioners, immediately after his induction, he was well received, and at once secured a strong impression in his favour. This he retained to the end of his ministry. During the period of his pastorate, several important events occurred in which his patience was severely tried, but he always conducted himself in a calm and dignified manner. In the times of the Voluntary controversy, which extended over several years, although holding firmly his own opinions, he always expressed them tem- perately, and abstained from throwing uncalled-for obloquy on those with whom he differed. He took a deep interest in the Church of Scotland extension schemes that were promoted at that time. Near the end of 1836 he published a pamphlet of twenty-eight pages on this subject, entitled " An Address to the Heritors, Parishioners, and Congregation of the Abbey Parish of Paisley, showing the want of Church accommodation and pastoral superin- tendence in the parish, and suggesting a plan by which the evils thence arising may in part be remedied." In this brochure the village of Elderslie was particularly pointed out as in this defective condition, and it was through his efforts and influence that some time afterwards the present beautiful little church was erected there. When the secession in the Established Church in 1S43 occurred, he held, we believe, non-intrusion principles, and was one of the famous forty who signed a declaration embodying their opinions ; but like many others, he disapproved of seceding from the Church. At that time (1843) he came before the public as an author on two separate occasions. The first was a pamphlet of nineteen pages, entitled " An Address to the Parishioners, especially the Congregation of the Abbey, their duty in the present circumstances of the Church of Scotland." The other was a discourse which he first delivered in the Abbey Church in May, 1843, ^^^ '^^^s entitled " Separation between Paul and Barnabas," in which he states that " the train of thought was suggested in a great manner by the cir- cumstances in which the Church of Scotland is at present placed." Dr. M'Nair also jointly with the Rev. Dr. Burns wrote for the " New Sta- tistical Account" a description of the Town and Parishes of Paisley. In the Presbytery Court, after the secession, his wise counsels were of great service to his brethren. He likewise exerted himself much both in officiating in churches that had been vacated, and in procuring clergymen to preach where they were required. On 12th April, 1842, the degree of D.D. was conferred on him by the University of Glasgow. I02 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. In 1845, ^ number of gentlemen in Paisley and neighbourhood, who appreciated Dr. M'Nair's labours which followed the secession from the Church, resolved to present him with a substantial mark of their gratitude and esteem. This was carried out on the 24th October of that year, when the subscribers to the gift, through Mr. William Bissland, presented the reverend gentleman, in the Presby- tery House, with a gold watch, gold chain and appendages, a silver jug, and silver salver. On the latter was the following inscri])tion : — " The Rev. Robert M'Nair, D.D. From the friends of the Church of Scotland in Scotland. A testimonial of personal esteem and grateful acknowledgment for his valuable services during a period of difficulty occasioned by the late secession from the Church." In a most praiseworthy manner he devoted much of his valuable time to the fostering of Sabbath schools and to education generally in the parish. With the numerous calls that were made upon him to attend the sick, he was at all times most ready to comply, exhibiting invariably at the same time his urbanity and kindness. Dr. AI'Nair died on 22nd July, 1851. For thirty-seven years he was an ordained minister, eight years at Ballantrae and twenty-nine years in the Paisley Abbey. At the period of the death of this good divine, he may be said to have been without an enemy. He was married to a daughter of the late Principal Hill, who survived him, and died at Leith on first March, 1871. Patrick Brewster was presented by Lord Aberdeen, who acted for the INIarquis of Abercorn, to the second charge, as already mentioned, on the loth of April, 181 8. He was born at Jedburgh on 2oth December, 1788, and received his elementary education under his father, who held the Rectorship of the Grammar School in that town, and afterwards completed his course of study at the University of Edinburgh. During the early years of his ministry he took little interest in either political or public affairs. At the death of Dr. Boog, in 1823, he applied for the first charge to Lord Aberdeen, who expressed himself as willing to comply with his wish. Mr. Brewster afterwards, however, declined to take it, unless he got a new manse, which could not be promised. It was not till 1835 that ]\Ir. Brewster's political career began, and did not cease in any way till his death. On 22nd September in that year, a public dinner was given to Daniel O'Connell, M.P., in Glasgow, and Air. Brewster attended, acting as one of the chaplains by returning thanks. On the following day he drove out with INIr. O'Connell in his private carriage to Paisley, and attended, in the Old Low Church, a public meeting summoned to do honour to that gentleman. At a meeting of the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr held on the following month, Mr. Brewster's conduct in this matter was severely commented on by several of the reverend gentlemen. The Paisley Presbytery, at a meeting on the 4th November follow- ing, on the motion of Dr. Bums resolved, by ten to three votes, " to record their marked disapprobation of INIr. Brewster's conduct THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. I03 in having attended a public dinner given to Mr. O'Connell, M.P., in Glasgow, on 22nd September, as unseemly and disrespectful to the principles of the Church of Scotland." On the 12th May in the following year, the friends of Mr. Brewster held a meeting in the Abbey Church, which was well attended, for the purpose of voting an address to him, " expressive of the sense the heritors, members of congregation, and seat-holders entertain of his eminent talents as a minister of the Church of Scotland, and of the respect and esteem in which he is held by his congregation and by the parishioners at large.'"' Mr. Matthew Robertson, of Foxbar, was in the chair, and Mr. John Wilson, ofThornly, was the leading speaker in moving the adoption of the address. On 12th November, 1838, more honours were conferred on Mr. Brewster, for he was enter- tained at a public soiree in the Exchange Rooms, and presented with an address, " for his noble and patriotic exertions in the cause of civil and religious liberty." Provost Robert Bisset presided. Mr. Brewster, like almost every one else at that time, was in favour of the abolition of slavery. He delivered a powerful sermon on the subject, in the Abbey Church, which was afterwards published as a pamphlet in August, 1838. In the beginning of 1839 Feargus O'Connor visited Edinburgh and Glasgow to advocate the People's Charter. Mr. Brewster, although holding all the extreme Chartist views promulgated at that time, was opposed to the physical force opinions, held by Mr. O'Connor and others, and in favour only of moral force. At a meeting in the bazaar of Glasgow, which Mr. Brewster attended, Mr. O Connor challenged him to discuss the merits of their respective views either in Paisley, Glasgow, Edinburgh, or on the mountain top. When Mr. Brewster was leaving this meeting Mr. O'Connor was irritated at his conduct, and addressed him in language which we would be ashamed to repeat. Mr. O'Connor did come to Paisley at a late hour on the following night, but Mr. Brewster declined to discuss the force question then. He agreed, however, to do so on an early day, after proper arrangements had been made. This meeting did afterwards take place in a field at the north end of Abercorn Street, where temporary hustings were erected. The two champions entered the grounds accompanied by their respective friends. Each of the parties had a chairman, Mr. O'Connor having John M'Crae, Kilbarchan, and Mr. Brewster having Dougald M'Ausland, Paisley. It was arranged that the subject to be discussed should be " the best method of conducting the movement for obtaining the Charter." It was also agreed that Mr. O'Connor should open the debate, and that half an hour should be allowed to each speaker, after which their replies were to be confined to fifteen minutes. Several replies followed the first addresses, and a good deal of vituperative language was indulged in on both sides. To test the strength of the two parties assembled, Mr. Brewster proposed as a resolution the Calton Hill or moral force views, and ]\Ir. O'Connor proposed as an amendment the opposite physical force view. 104 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. When these motions were put to the vote, both parties claimed the majority. The supporters of the two propositions divided them- selves on the field and Mr. O'Connor climbed up a tree to have a better view of the crowd. After much wrangling, both parties claimed that they had a majority of two thirds over the other, and left the field well pleased with the result. The respectable portion of the inhabitants looked upon this exhibition as a degrading position for a minister of the Gospel to place himself in, as he was opposing a mere itinerant quack. ^ The next crisis in Mr. Brewster's life was in July, 1841, when the Glasgow Presbytery informed the Paisley Presbytery that he had preached two sermons in a Chartist Church in Glasgow, and that they were of opinion the tendency of these discourses was hurtful, and would have the effect of irritating the poor against the rich. This matter engrossed the attention of the Presbytery for a long time afterwards, and they consulted first the Synod and ultimately the General Assembly, who instructed them to cause Mr. Brewster to deliver up the manuscripts of these discourses. This when asked he declined to do, and he preached them over again in the Abbey Church. At this time the soldiers stationed in the Barracks attended divine service in the Abbey Church. Passages in these sermons were regarded by the officers as very insulting to the soldiers, as when looking up to them he spoke of a brutal soldiery. Thereafter they were not sent to the Abbey Church, but to the Episcopal Chapel instead. In June, 1842, Mr. Brewster's conduct was brought before the Commission of the General Assembly, who found ground for a libel, and suspended him from his ministerial duties for a year. In February of the following year Mr. Brewster was served with a libel at the instance of the Marquis of Abercorn, Earl of Glasgow, ^ The Chartist agitation continued to rage fiercely for several years after this. Not satisfied with speaking and petitioning Parliament in favour of the charter, the Chartists at the meetings held for a repeal of the duty on the importation of corn and jjrovisions, carried resolutions in favour of the charter. Their views may be gathered from the following placard which they issued in February, 1840 : — " To the uncompromising Reformers in Paisley. I3eware of the present anti-corn law humbug. It is a mere trick of the Whigs to divide the people and to acquire popularity, by holding forth a hope which the)' never intend to realize. Sign no petitions but for an extension of the suffrage, which alone can secure to the people the benefits arising from a repeal of the corn laws and every other monopoly. Be firm in that resolve, which is now becoming general, and the charier will speedily be the law of the land. Issued by a number of Electors and non-Electors who are desirous to counteract the machinations of the enemies of the people." On 21st April, 1848, the Chartists of Renfrewshire had a gi-eat out-door demonstration. They met at Caledonia Street, and, numbering about 5000, afterwards processed through the town to a meeting they held at Colinslie. Those assembled were addressed by Ernest Jones and others, and the foi"mer advised them to procure fire arms and load them openly in order to frighten and intimidate the Government. Mr. Brewster, who was present, in condemning the seditious language used, was received by those assembled with yells of disapprobation. Their violent and unconstitutional conduct had two effects. It tended to injure the trade and commerce of the country and to retard the progress of good political measures. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. I05 Col. Fulton of Hartfield, and W. M. Alexander of Southbar. There were thirteen counts in the libel, which extended to ninety- three pages of manuscript. Besides many other things, he was charged with introducing secular and worldly politics into his ser- mons on Sunday, — with representing the great body of the working classes as the subjects of grinding tyranny and oppression by the rulers of the country, — with calling the military forces of the several sovereigns of Europe, including Queen Victoria, human tigers, hired assassins, beasts of prey, and instruments of oppression, — with preaching these political sermons to the exclusion of the doctrines of the gospel, and that these were calculated to create insubordination among the troops present in the church, and also to excite the poorer classes to discontent and to hatred and revenge against their rulers. The libel concluded by craving that Mr. Brewster should be censured and punished according to the rules and procedure of the Church. The greatest opponents of Mr. Brewster in the Presbytery seceded from the Church of Scotland in that year, and the remaining members, wishing to have their hands relieved of this troublesome libel, decided in December of that year to the effect that Mr. Brewster be assoilzied from the charges. After the libel was served on Mr. Brewster, his friends, who were numerous among the working classes, held meetings in the Exchange Rooms, and carried resolutions highly laudatory of his conduct, and condemnatory of the Church Courts. At that time also a number of the inhabitants residing in Charleston district presented him with a walking staff, having a silver plate on it bearing a suitable inscription. In the beginning of 1845 ^ '^^^ unpleasant circumstance oc- curred in Mr. Brewster's family — the conversion of Miss Brewster to the Roman Catholic faith, and her becoming a member of that body. At that time Mr. Brewster sent a challenge to Bishop Murdoch of Glasgow to discuss, for the benefit of his daughter, whether the Church of Rome is the only true Church. On 22nd February, 1845, the Bishop sent a letter to Mr. Brewster, declining to accept the challenge, on the ground that he held in the Church of Rome a higher rank than Mr. Brewster did in the Church of Scotland, but referred him to ]\Ir. Bremner, the Catholic priest in Paisley. There the matter stopped. A meeting of the General Assembly's Committee for the liquida- tion of the debt on quoad sacra churches was held in the Exchange Rooms on 9th November, 1847. The Marquis of Bute presided, and was supported by Lord Blantyre, Colonel Mure of Caldwell, and other leading men in the county and town. After some able and appropriate speeches were delivered in favour of the object of the meeting, Mr. Brewster moved an amendment that the com- mittee appointed to raise subscriptions be instructed to take such measures as may seem best to render available the unappropriated tiends which are the patrimony of the Church. As the noble chair- man held this amendment to be incompetent, Mr. Brewster moved Io6 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. instead that, as there is great destitution in the country, and as the poor are not receiving sufficient support, it is inexpedient to ask for subscriptions. This amendment was also objected to, where- upon Colonel Mure moved a vote of thanks to the chairman, and all the gentlemen on the platform, along with others, left the meet- ing. Those that remained called Mr. Brewster to the chair and passed a vote of want of confidence in the former chairman. Fol- lowing this meeting a long correspondence took place between Mr. William Barr, writer, and Mr. Brewster relating to the tiends, in which the former accused the latter of a desire to spoil this meeting. In November in this year the Free Church party in Paisley held a meeting in the Old Low Church to condemn the Paisley Presby- tery for taking possession of the quoad sacra churches. Mr. Brewster attended this meeting, boldly denied the accusations made, and challenged his opponents to bring down their best leaders from Edinburgh, and he would on fair terms debate this matter with them. There was some correspondence afterwards be- tween him and Mr. Macnaughtan of the Free High Church on the subject, but nothing further was done. In 1849 the Presbytery was engaged in prosecuting the minister of Renfrew for intemperance. In the meantime the Rev. Mr. Kirk was inducted minister of the Middle Church, and there followed on the same day the usual induction dinner, which was attended by most of the members of Presbytery. The Scottish Toiiperance Reviciu^ in an article afterwards, accused those present at the dinner of having drunk to excess. At a subsequent meeting of Presbytery Mr. Brewster argued that so long as that charge of intemperance was held over the heads of the members of Presbytery, it was neither fair nor decent that they should come forward as the prosecu- tors of another person forthe selfsameofifenceof which they were guilty. A vacancy took place in the chair of Church History in the Glasgow University in 1841 and also in 1851, and on both occa- sions Mr. Brewster was an unsuccessful candidate. The Paisley Town Council, when Mr. Bisset was Provost in 1841, and again when Mr. Phillips held that position in 1851, granted strong testi- monials in his favour. At the death of Mr. M'Nair, Mr. Brewster applied to the Marquis of Abercorn to be promoted to the first charge, and although the majority of the congregation memorialised the patron in his favour, yet Dr. John M'Leod of Morven received the appointment. While the committee who acted for the congregation in Mr. Brewster's behalf were conducting their business, an extraordinary occurrence took place. Mr. John Crawford, writer, who was secretary to that committee, called on Mr. Brewster on the morning of the 8th August, 1 85 1, about a memorial that required to be sent to the patron. Some words arose between them of a violent nature, which resulted in Mr. Crawford striking Mr. Brewster severely on the face. Mr. Crawford was afterwards, on the 22nd October following, tried before Sheriff Glasgow and a jury, and the indictment charged him THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. I07 with the crime of assauk, having wickedly and feloniously struck Mr. Brewster several severe blows on the face and head, to the effu- sion of his blood and severe injury of his person. The jury, by a majority of eight to seven, returned a verdict of not guilty. Mr. W. Edmondstone Ayton, Edinburgh, acted as counsel for Mr. Craw- ford. The trial and the whole circumstances connected with this assault caused great excitement in the town at the time, and on loth November following a crowded meeting of the admirers of Mr. Brewster was held in the Exchange Rooms, and voted to him a flattering address. Dr. M'Leod did not accept the call, and the power of election having passed to the Presbytery, they ascertained that the patron had sent a presentation to Mr. Andrew Wilson, Falkland, and they confirmed that appointment. After Mr. Brewster thus failed to obtain the first charge he ceased to take much interest in public affairs. At the same time his health began to give way, and this was probably the cause of his partially renouncing public engagements. In 1857 the Presbytery relieved him from the performance of his pastoral duties for some time, but without his obtaining any beneficial result. He died very suddenly on 26th March, 1859. Mr. Brewster was twice married. His first wife was a daughter of Colonel Stafford of Main, in Ire- land, and the second was a daughter of Mr. James Smith, his im- mediate predecessor in the second charge in the Abbey. Mr. Brewster abstained from taking intoxicating liquors, and for many years was an oftice-bearer of the Total Abstinence Society. In the early years of his ministry he lived at Hillhead, and farmed the land belonging to that place ; afterwards he lived at Craigielinn, a resi- dence he built on the top of Glenififer Braes, and there he died. During his incumbency there were frequent complaints against him, on the part of the parishioners, for living at places so distant from the town, particularly CraigieHnn, which could not be easily ap- proached. " How could he perform his numerous pastoral duties satisfactorily," the parishioners said, " by living at such an inac- cessible place as Craigielinn ? " Immediately after his death his admirers resolved to have a monument to his memory, and this project they carried out by the erection of the stone statue at present in the Paisley Cemetery. Mr. Brewster possessed very considerable talents and ability. His style of preaching and composition were terse and vigorous. He was also a very good debater on the public platform and at church courts. The pertinacity and stubbornness, however, with which he asserted his views, greatly injured his influence. His life was a succession of disputes, either on public aftairs, or with the heritors, or in the church courts. In addition to his many speeches he frequently appeared as an author.^ ^The following list comprises, we think, all his publications : — Sermon — Heroism of the Christian Spiiit, ... ... ... ... ... 1833 Ser///on — The ClaiiKS of the Church of Scotland on tlie support and affection of the people, ]}XQSLc\\cd in the Abbey Church, 23RI July, ... ... 1835 Io8 HISTORY OF PAISLEY, Mr. James Cameron Lees, of Carnock parish, in the Presbytery of Dingwall, succeeded Mr. Brewster, and was inducted to the pastorate on ist September, 1859. Mr. Andrew Wilson, minister of the parish of Falkland, succeeded Dr. Robert M'Nair in the first charge. The Presbytery, upon whom the right of presentation had devolved, offered, as already stated, the vacant benefice to Mr. Wilson in February, 1852, and he was inducted on 19th August following. Mr. Wilson was a native of Lauder, and there and at the University of Edinburgh received his education. Falkland, where he ofticiated for about nine years, was the first field of his labours. After his appointment he was sub- jected to much opposition and annoyance by Mr. Brewster of the second charge. Objections were raised at Mr. Brewster's instance, before the Presbytery, against Mr. Wilson's trial sermons — as being in many places heretical. The Presbytery held that the objections were not well founded, and dismissed them. Mr. Brewster then ap- pealed to the General Assembly, who, after hearing Mr. Brewster in a speech of three hours' duration, dismissed the appeal and in- structed the Presbytery to induct Mr. Wilson into the pastorate. On the induction day Mr. Brewster protested against the reverend court proceeding with the business ; and at the meeting in February following, he along with three members of the congregation pre- sented, by the hands of a solicitor from Glasgow, a libel charging Mr. Wilson with heresy. The Presbytery decided that it was in- competent for the court to entertain it, as the matter had already been disposed of by the highest court of the Church.^ This appointment of Mr. Wilson was a most fortunate one for the Abbey parish and the town of Paisley. In Sabbath-school and Bible-class instruction, in the superintendence of day-schools, and in the discharge of all the various important duties of a minister of Reply to the attacks made on Mr. Brnvster in the Synod of Glasgow -and Ayr for attending the O^Connell dinner, ... ... 1 835 An Essay on Passive Obedience, ... .. ... ... ... ... 1 836 Report of Speeches at Soiree given in Mr. Bre^vster^s honour, 1 2th Nov., ... 1838 Sermon relating to the liberation of the slaves, ... ... ... ... 1838 The Seven Chartist and Military Sermons, ... ... ... ... ... 1 843 rhe Legal Rights of the Boor, 1843 Mr. Brezvste^^s .Statements in the Assault Case, ... ... ... ... 1 85 1 Wellington weighed in the balance ; or, War and Crime, ... ... ... 1853 The Perils and Duties of the IVar: European Freedo7n and Popish Conspiracy, 1854 Report of the Speech at the Paisley Presbytery in the case of Mr. J. G. Wood, 1856 The Indian Revolt : its duties and dangers, an address delivered in the Abbey Church, 1857 The Plague of Patronage, ... ... ... ... ... ... ••■ 1858 ^ Mr. Brewster, in conducting these proceedings against Mr. Wilson, incurred some expenses, and preached a sermon in the Abbey Church with the intention of applying the church-door collections to the paying off the debt. The session, in a small-debt action in the Sheriff Court to obtain the money thus collected, secured a decreet in their favour, for it was decided that the money belonged to them. The Abbey session also applied to the Sheriff to interdict Mr. Brewster from retaining church-door collections under any circumstances. The Sheriff granted this interdict, deciding that the church-session is the only party entitled to fix collections at church doors and the purposes to which they are applicable. THE ABBEY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. I09 the gospel, he was all that could be desired. He undoubtedly was endowed with great talents, and possessing the powers of an effective orator, knew how to exercise these qualifications for the benefit of all around him. His sermons were carefully prepared, and he delivered them, without reading, in a graceful and eloquent manner. The congregation worshipping in the venerable Abbey increased rapidly in numbers ; so much so, that every sitting was occupied. In whatever churches, besides, he preached, he always drew an admiring and attentive audience. The other congregations in the Established churches in Paisley had been, since the secession in 1843, gradually on the increase, but now, from Mr. Wilson's able ministrations and those of Mr. M'Gregor in the High Church, the progress became very marked and decided. In 1859 Mr. Wilson turned his attention to the improvement of the accommodation of the congregation, and, indeed, the renovation of much of the Abbey itself A meeting of heritors, at his request, was held. Mr. Salmon, Glasgow, was selected as the architect, and he afterwards supplied a report, dated 15th June, i860, with plans, recommending what should be done. The important im- provement and restoration work carried out comprised the removal of the accumulations of soil, to the extent of about ten feet in some places, above the original levels, some of the most beautiful and characteristic features of the building being thereby buried, such as the fine moulded bases of the internal pillars, and of both sides of the external walls. The whole of the church was re-seated, and the pulpit shifted from the centre of the north side to the centre of the east end ; and instead of heavy galleries all round the church, a neat gallery was placed in the west end only. Although the former seating was sufficiently substantial, it was neither in harmony with the character of the building nor did it afford the accommodation and comfort obtained in a modern church. The excavations inside of the building, where the accumulations of earth were from three to four feet deep, were made sufficient to leave a vacant space under the floor for the admission of air, and the accommodation of hot water pipes to heat the church.^ All the windows were re-glazed, ^ During the excavations in the buiying-ground adjoining the north side of the church, it was alleged that the place of interment belonging to the heirs of Mr. Robertson, gardener, Greenlaw, was interfered with. Dr. Robertson, Glasgow, one of the heirs, brought the case before the Sheriff and applied for interim interdict, which was granted. After a long proof, the Sheriff held that although earth had been removed, the remains of the pursuer's relatives had not been dis- turbed by the operations ; that although the lair was in an unsightly state, it was still capable of being put right ; and that the heritors had the power of regulating the churchyard, consistently with Mr. Robertson's right of maintaining inviolate the remains of his relatives. On appeal, the Sheriff Principal adhered to this judgment. The case, however, was next taken to the Court of Session, when the judges in 1868 adhered, and held it to be quite clear that the churchyard was the property of the heritors, subject, no doubt, to certain uses by the pari-shioners. In the present case, looking to the accumulation of earth both inside and outside the church, these operations were quite proper in their nature. The court condemned the long, expensive, and unnecessary proof that had been led, for which the pursuer was mostly to blame. This case, it will be seen, was before the law courts for six years. no HISTORY OF PAISLEY. except those in the west and east gables. The stone \vork that filled up the windows in the south clerestory and south-east gallery- was taken away, and was replaced with glass similarly to the others. The stone work in the door in the south wall was removed and formed into a window. Over the north porch there was an unseemly building used as a vestry, which was entirely taken down, and all the turrets and pinnacles restored, and thereby a most pleasing effect was given to the external appearance of the Abbey. The north transept window, one of the most beautiful features of the building, was restored, and the gable secured so as to prevent future decay. By these operations the comfort of the congregation was increased, and the nave externally made to appear some- what like what it must have been in the days of its greatness. Of the expenditure incurred, the heritors contributed ^600, the con- gregation ;;/^4oo, and the general public the balance. Application was made to the Board of Works for some assistance, but this was declined, for the reason that the Abbey did not belong to the Crown. The Queen and the Prince of Wales were also solicited for subscriptions, the latter as Baron of Renfrew, and he gave ^loo.i When the work of restoring the Abbey, which extended over a year, was completed, it was opened for public worship on Sunday, 14th April, 1 86 1. On the Thursday evening preceding, the build- ing was crowded with a brilliant assemblage, on the occasion of a grand performance of sacred music by the Paisley Musical Associa- tion, under the guidance of Mr. John Lorimer. The committee, before terminating their labours in connection with the restoration of the Abbey, purchased and razed to the ground a number of houses fronting Old Smithhills Street and Abbey Close, to afford a better view of the Abbey. This improve- ment was afterwards completed by the Town Council in 1873, when they bought and cleared away the remaining old and un- seemly buildings on the east side of the Abbey Close, changing it from a wretched lane into a handsome thoroughfare. In 1863, Mr. Wilson and his colleague, Mr. Lees, applied for an augmentation of stipend ; and the Court of Tiends, on i6th March, 1864, raised the amount from twenty-two to twenty-seven chalders. In 1808 the stipend for the first charge had been fixed at eighteen chalders, half in meal and half in barley, with ;£io in money; and in 1829 the stipend had been raised to twenty-two chalders meal and barley equally, with ;^2o as money stipend. There is besides for the minister of the first charge a manse and glebe. In 181 6 the second charge stipend was fixed at twenty-two chalders meal and barley equally, with ;^ 1 5 in money, but without manse or glebe. ^ The committee under whom the renovation was conducted were the Provost of Paisley, Rev. A. Wilson, Rev. J. C. Lees, H. E. Crum Ewing, M.P., John M'Innes (convener), Thomas Richardson of Ralston, Peter Coats, Thomas Coats, RolDert Brown, John Hutchison, David Semple, Dr. Richmond, James A. MacKean, and William Fulton. THE ABREY UNDER PROTESTANT RULE. Ill To the universal regret of his parishioners and townsmen, Mr. Wilson, after a short illness, died on the 5th March, 1865, in his forty-eighth year. On the preceding Sunday he preaclied and con- ducted the usual services, and intimated the district he intended to visit on the following Monday and Tuesday. On the Monday he carried out these arrangements in his usual health, but at his class in the evening he felt unwell, and went home at an early hour. The best advice was obtained from medical men, who pronounced the disease to be rheumatism of the heart. All the congregational and parochial machinery were left by him in a most efficient state. Mr. Wilson possessed a high order of intellectual power, and was large-minded in his views. He lived in perfect harmony with the brethren in his own and other churches. His death was a severe stroke not only to his own congregation, but to everyone in the community. Jie was universally beloved, and his memory is cherished to the present day. The printed literature contributed by Mr. Wilson was not extensive. It consisted of three sermons, preached by presbyterial appointment in the Abbey in March, 1852, which Mr. Brewster held in some parts to be heretical : and also a /^;-V^xl A new era, which has secured great advantages to the inhabitants, was then inaugurated. The Romish hierarchy, which had exercised so much power for several centuries without interruption, was entirely overthrown, and a new system established in its place. Several matters relating to these momentous changes have already been glanced at in the chapters on the Abbey. We shall now notice some others. After the Reformation in 1560, only a small portion of the immense revenues and property belonging to the opulent Monastery of Paisley was obtained by the Bailies and Council of the Burgh for public purposes connected with the community of Paisley. In 1576 King James VI. granted a part of the revenues of the Abbey to establish a school " to be called our foundation of the Grammar School of Paisley," that " the poor within our burgh may be in- structed in good morals and the knowledge of letters and virtue, and may be qualified not only for serving God in the ministry of the word, but also for being useful members of the community in our said burgh" ( Charter of James VI.). That endowment con- sisted of the lands of Seedhill, extending, so far as can now be ascertained, to about twenty-five acres ; and also the lands of Well- meadow, measuring about seven acres, bounded by the King's highway on the north. Lady Lane on the east, St. Mirin's Burn on the south, and the lands of Broomlands on the west. These two portions of land were, as already stated, given by James Crawfurd and his wife in 1499 to endow the altar of St. INIirin and St. Columba. In the charter of endowment of the Grammar School is given " the rental of all the Duties that pertain yearly to the whole altars within the Parish Kirk of Paisley." I'hey were as follows, stated in ster- ling money : — Altar of .Saint Xinian, ... ... ... ... £0 12 4 Saint I^Iary the Virgin, 8 ^% Saint Nicholas, 9 1% Saint Peter, 2 9% Saint Catherine, 5 8X Saint Anne's Altar, ... 14 9% The pittances of money and obit silver and com- mons formerly possessed and lifted by the monks of the Jilonastery of Paisley, 2 2 S l6o TIISTORY OF PAISLEY. Besides these lands and feu-duties,^ there were the chapel dedi- cated to Saint Rock, or, as sometimes called. Saint Roque or Saint Rollock, with seven roods of land, and a small burial-ground attached to it. The chapel and lands were situated near to the head of Castle Street. All these grants for the foundation of the Grammar School were very valuable. Unfortunately, however, the Bailies and Council did not form these endowments into a separate trust, as they should have done, in order to show how much money they received and how it was disbursed, but disposed of them with- out any distinction from other corporation property. The first minister in the Abbey Church under Protestant rule — after the monks were ejected and dispersed — was, as has already been mentioned, the Rev. Patrick Adamson. He was appointed in 1572, and was afterwards chaplain to the Regent ; and we believe it was through his influence at Court that Paisley obtained the valu- able charter by which the Grammar School was established. The first Grammar School buildings were erected in 1586, ten years after endowment, on the south side of the present School Wynd, then a passage leading to the Barnyard Port and Huthead, on the site of what was formerly the chapel of Saint Nicholas. - In the summer of 1563, after Parliament rose, Queen !Mary, with a numerous retinue, made an extensive excursion for two months through Argyleshire and the west of Scotland. On 29th June in that year, she left Edinburgh for Linlithgow, and having stayed a night, she went on to Dunypace. On the ist July, as stated in the Queen's Household Book, she rode from Dunypace to Glasgow, near which she remained till the 13th of that month. While residing there, she visited Hamilton and other places in the vicinity, and also came to Paisley, no doubt to visit Lord Claud Hamilton at the monastery, where he at that time resided (Life of Alary Queen of Scots by Geo. Chalmers, vol. i., p. 166). When Queen Mary and Lord Darnley were married at Holyrood House, Edinburgh, on 29th Jul}^, 1565, many of the nobles, headed by Argyle, Murray, and Glencairn, were in open rebellion against her authority. As they were, however, unable to meet the numerous forces of the Queen in the open field, they retired to their several castles, advising the people at the same time to resist her authority. On the 15th August of that year, the rebel nobles, with their fol- lowers, met at Ayr, and the Queen and Darnley, having resolved to meet them in the west country, proceeded to Stirling, and after- wards to Glasgow. There they arrived on the 29th of that month, their forces having greatly increased during the march. On the day of their arrival, the rebels entered Paisley with 1000 horsemen, but, learning they were not of sufiicient strength to oppose the loyalist ^ The names of the different feuars, with the annual amount payable by each of them, along with the situation of each of the feus, are to be found in the ToMn Council records, and are given in the History of the PaisUy Gratnniar School, pp. 19 to 28. * The reader is referred to the History of the Gram mar School and Toivn Schools for all matters relatintr to these institutions. (n.vio\ or qti was used for our tc ; little distinction was made between i andy, u and V ; y was used where we use i ; sometimes y instead of our th, especially where it begins a word, as yai, yat, ye, yis, yo7\ for they, that, the or thy, this, ihoH, often z' for w, and z for j)/ and z. Contractions both in words and letters were much used. Contracted words were indicated by a curve put over the word; at present we put a full stop at the end of the letters of a contracted word. The following are some of the words frequently found in contracted form : — Aia, aiiinici, soul ; an or ano, anno, year ; Dm, doniini, lord ; I, in ; Jacob, Jacobus, James ; kalen, kalendioe, kalends ; lachr., lachrimcc, tears ; mesis, mensis, month ; P., pro, for ; poss, posse, to be able ; Q., qui, who ; qlk, qnhilk, which; Sal, salvatori. Saviour ; umqll, uviquhill, the late. ^ Scots money is a twelfth part of sterling money, thus (Jamieson^s Ety7uo- logical Dictionajy ) : — Scots Sterlins;. A Doyt, or penny, A Bodle, or two pence, is ... A Plack, groat or four pence, is A Shilling is ... A Merk or 13s. 4d., or two-thirds of a pound, is .. A Pound is ,0 0-1-2 0-,^ o-iV I I l-^- I 8 1560 TILL 1600. 163 These records till the end of the sixteenth century relate for the most part to decisions given by the Bailies in civil cases, in which sellers pursue buyers for payment of money due for goods sold. There are also a number of resolutions by the Bailies and Council, which they called Acts, regarding the general management of the sanitary affairs of the town. Of brawls and cases of assault there was a considerable number. These instances of " troublance," as they were termed, ended sometimes in serious injuries to the person. It appears to have been the custom for almost every man to carry a sword or whinger; and when disputes arose these weapons were freely, sometimes recklessly, used. Some extracts from the records of the Town Council, in their own quaint diction, besides illus- trating the state of society at that time, will best describe the nature of these brawls, and will show the punishments inflicted by the Bailies on those concerned in them : — 6th July, 1596. — "James Stewart, son of Robert Stewart of Carswell, and John Gilchrist of Sandefurd, on the one part, and Robert Stewart of Southbar, on the other part, stated that, upon Sunday the 25th day of July, in the dwelling- house and close of Robert Semple, clerk, with pistolats, whingers, and various weapons which were prohibit to be worn, whereby they and ilk ane of them committed troublance in the burgh. The first parties compeired personally, the said complaint was referred simpliciter to their oaths. James Stewart deponed by his oath that he was na trublance, but that he was persued by the said John Gilchrist with ane pestolat, and he the said James Stewart with ane dirk. The .said James Stewart and John Gilchrist refused to give their oaths thereupon the contents of the said complaint, and became in the Bailies' will for the same, wha absolved. The said Robert Stewart relieved simpliciter from the said complaint, and decreed the said James Stewart and John Gilchrist in ane unlaw often punds for the wrangous invading of the said James Stewart in the manner foresaid." "In pretorio burgi de Pasleto, tertio Febniarii 1597, sat in judgement Thomas Whytfurd and John Vaus, Bailies.^ "The quilk day, anent the complaint given in be John Hector, flesher, upon Patrick Stewart, brother-gennan to John Stewart of Blackball, making mention that whereas the said Patrick, upon the xxv day of December last, upon the hi gait of the said burgh, came sydling behind the said John and strak him with ane quinger upon the heid, where with he woundit him in the heid to the effusion of his bluid, and in great quantities, without occasion. Compeared the said Patrick, and alleged that the said John had offended him, and granted that he had wounded John Hector. The Bailies, in respect of Patrick's confession, de- cerned him an unlaw of five punds. " loth October, 1597. — "John Hamilton, son of Robert Hamilton, officer, was decerned in ane unlaw of ten punds for invasion of Robert Aitken with ane drawn quhinger upon the sixt day of October last, being the fair day of this burgh." ^ This was generally the fonn of the sederunt when the two Bailies were hold- ing a court for the trial of cases, whether civil or criminal, that were brought before them. 164 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. 5th November, 1597. — "John Vaus, elder, Matthew Wilson, his servant, on the one part. Mr. Stewart of Caversbank, Robert Hamilton, officer, John and Charles Hamilton, his sons, on the other part. That upon the xxiii day of November either of the said parties invaded within the said John Vaus house, with swords and such weapons, like as the John Hamilton hurt and wounded the said Matthew Wilson. John Hamilton granted the hurting and wounding of Matthew Wilson, as also the said Robert Hamilton and Charles Hamilton granted the drawing of their swords. Robert Hamilton and John Hamilton were put in ane unlaw of ten punds, and absolved John Vaus and Matthew Wilson." 9th January, 1598. — " Gilbert Cochran and Peter Sunderland of Sarshill were charged by John Henderson, procurator-fiscal, with useing their whingers and wounding ane another, and were both decerned in an unlaw of five punds." 8th July, 1598. — "William Semple, burgess of Dumbarton, and John Semple in Middleton, were charged with having on the xx day of June invadit with drawn swords and caused a turbulance. John Semple appeared personally. Gavin .Stewart, cautioner, for guarantee of William Semple. Both of the parties were found in ane unlaw of x punds for trublance. " loth August, 1598. — " Robert Paton, servitor to James Master of Paisley, and John Ewing in Hawkhead, were charged by John Vaus, procurator-fiscal, with having used their whingers or other weapons within the burgh, and that Robert Paton hurt and wounded John Ewing with ane whinger in the face. Robert Paton was decerned in an unlaw of five punds, and John Ewing M^as absolved. Steven Forgie became bound as cautioner that John Ewing should be kept harmless and skaithless by Robert Paton in any way, under the pain of forty punds." 8th June, 1599. — "William Stewart of Caversbank was decreet an unlaw of five punds money for wounding of John Greenlees on the head with aneqhinger. " 14th August, 1599. — "John Allanson in Stanlie compeared before the Bailies, at the instance of John Vaus, procurator, was charged with drawing of ane sword upon the xv day of July last, being Sunday, and invading John Baird, merchant. John Allanson became in the Bailies' wull, therefore, decerned him to pay v punds." loth April, 1596. — "The qlk day anent the complaint given in be Bessie Knox, spous of John Kible, upon Margret Sympson, spouse of Rt. Mudie, tailzor, makand mention that whereupon fursday, the aucht day of Apryle, the said complainer being at the water syde doand hir business, beleifing na injurie to be done to hir, the said Margret hit hir with ane stane on the foirheid, and woundid hir therewith, to the effusion of hir bluid in grit quantitie, as at mair lenth is contained in the said complaint the parties baith put, as also John Vaus, procurator fischell for the said burgh, decerns the said Margret Symson to half done wrang in committing and drawing of the said bluid, and woundit the defender in the held in manner foresaid, and therefore decernt her in an unlaw of fyve punds, without prejudice of the satisfactione of the persewar. Because the said John Vaus, prosecutor foresaid, desynit the said Margret to gif hir aith a calumnia, upon the complaint, but she refusit gif the same, and became in the Bailies' will for the said unlaw wha dcclairing the will decernt hir to pay the 1560 TILL 1600. 165 same instantlie, also because the said complaint was sufficientlie proven be certain famous witness adjacent and sworn like as the John Kible, son to the said Bessie, was decernit in an unlaw of xvis for invasion of the said Margret Symson hir bruther thereafter as was lykways sufficientlie proven and clearlie understood to the said Baillies and siclyk. The said Bailies ordaint everie ane of the said parties to find caution to the others hinc iiidc that other of thame sal be harmless in all tyme cuming in the sum of fourtie punds money, to be peyit to the Baillies and Counsall to the commonweill of the burgh for obedience of the burgh. Compeirit personallie Wm. Mudie and Andrew Park, burgesses of the said burgh, and become caution and sourtie conjointlie and severallie that the said Margret suld nawayis truble nor molest the said Bessie Knox, nor the said John Kible in any ways, nor be order of law in all tyme cuming, under the said pane of fourtie punds, and the said Margret to releif the said cautionar of the said sourtie toties quoties. As also comperit Rt. Fork, burges of the said burgh, and become actit as cautionar and sourtie for John Kible that he sail not truble the said Margret Symson, under the said pain of fourtie punds money, and the said John became actit to relief the said Rt. Fork of the said cautionarie, where- upon other of the said petitioners askit acts." In this period the principal fuel used by the inhabitants was peats, which were obtained in the town's moss, and the following are two acts by the Bailies relating thereto. The first of these is curious, and although apparently arbitrary in its nature, may never- theless have been necessary. loth October, 1594. — "Act anent Peit Steillaris. — The qlk day the BaillieS and Co'sall of the said burgh understanding that there are divers persons, in- dwellaris within this burgh, that nather casts nor byis peits, and yet are furneist as well as them wha casts or byis peits, qlk is evident to be stollen, to the gret hurt and damage of sic as casts and byis peits. For remeid thereof it is statute and ordained that in all tymis coming the houses of sic persons as are suspected of peit steilling to be rypit, and gif onie peits be funde thairin the owners thereof to declare how they purchased the same, otherwayis the said peits to be haulden as stollen, and to be intromitted with and disponit be the Bailies, and the per- soun or persouns haivan of thame in their houses to be punischit be the discre- tion of the Baillies according to the auld acts made thereanent. " 7th April, 1598. — " The Baillies and Counsall farther ordaint that whatsoever persons being apprehendit casting peits beneith the heid bink, or that spreads the peits forgains any men's spredfields in the toun's mos, shall pay fourtie s toties quoties." It may have been already observed from the map of old Paisley, and from what we have stated, that on the south and south-west sides of the town there were extensive pieces of common land, known by the name of — The Bottom of the Wood. Gallowgreen. Over Common on the West. Over Common on the East. Laigh Common, and Common Hill. I 66 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. To the north of the town there were also tracts of common land, called — Under the Wood. Long and Short Roods. Common Foot. Bullfauld. Snadon Dyke, and Nether Common. It was upon these common lands that the burgesses had their cattle and horses pastured. It was at times somewhat difficult to regulate the conduct of the burgesses in using this pasturage, and the Bailies and Council were frequently passing acts of a stringent nature to enforce good order and secure justice to all. The perusal of some of these acts or resolutions by the local rulers, which we shall quote, will enable the reader to understand in many ways the social position of the inhabitants three hundred years ago. 8th May, 1595. — " Act anent the Gallowgrein. — It is statut and ordaint that na ky, stirks, nor other heists, except hors, be pastured upon the Gallowgrein, which the haill of the said burgh be first put thereupon be the hirds ; and that all hors shall be tederit with ane sufficient tedder, or ellis ane keipar with thame ; and gif any beis fundin be the pundars for the tyme and keepit aye and until they pay an unlaw of sixteen s, all so oft and how oft this act beis contravenit." 9th April, 1596. — "Act anent hors being funden ather teddart or lous in the common lands or in furrows or dyk baks. — Also it is statut that na hors be suf- ferit, ather in tedder or out of tedder, upon the said common fra beltane while the come be ripit, under the pain of xs toties quoties ; and sik lyke gif ony per- sons beis fundin with his hors or kow amangst his nybors come or eitting his nybors gers in the furrows or on baks of dyks, sail pay of unlaw xxs toties quoties, and to the owner of the gers or come that they be fund amang ten s toties quoties, and the pundars to half the third of the unlaw. " 1st April, 1597. — "Act anent the carrying of ky lous to the pasture place throu the common.- — Item it is statut be the said Bailies and Counsall that it sail not be leissum to any burgess within the said burgh or ways haifing come or gers within the same to caiTy the guids to pasture thereupon except they be in teddir and led be the hand throu the common or the common loans, or gif ony be funden dryfing the ky beists to the gers forsaid throu the said common or pas- touring be the gait, the ownars of the said kow or hors, or whatsomever their beist, to pay an unlaw of xxs toties quoties." A rather curious case was brought before Bailie Semple on 8th December, 1595, wherein it was alleged that the fowls belonging to certain persons had been eating Robert Kerr's com. The charge being clearly proven, the Bailie administered a very severe sentence, which is thus stated : — "The qlk day comperit in presence of Robert Semple, Bailie, Wm. Hendr- soun, John Gemmill, and Elizabeth Finlaysoun, and because they and others of 1560 TILL 1600. 167 them had skailhed Robert Ker of certain of his corne by citing thereof with fowls, as was clearly proven, qlk the said Robert had forgiven them in tymes past. Herefoir they and ilk ane of them become actit of their own proper con- fessions to collect and pay the said Robert the sum of xs money for ilk fowl that he shall apprehend citing his corne in Calsayside partaining to any of them, toties quoties being sufficientlie tryt. " In 1598 the Bailies and Council adopted, apparently for the first time, a new plan in connection with the pasturing of the cattle of the burgesses on the common land belonging to the community. On the 7th April in that year, they appointed two herds to take the charge of the cows. The herds received the cattle from the dif- ferent owners in the morning, and brought them back again in the evening. The sum paid by the burgesses for this important privi- lege is not stated, but the following are the terms upon which the herds were elected :— 7th April, 1598.— " Hirdis. — The quhilk day Robert Wilson and Gawand Corss wer fiet hirdis be the Baillies and Counsall to keep the toun ky fra beltane next untill Lamas next thereafter, for threttie-four merks money, with ane sowme to be peyit to thame at thre times, viz.. Beltane, Candlemas, and Lamas, be equal proportions, and the said guids to be keipt fra pot and myre, and gif they be apprehendit to receive ony mair ky upon the common nor were sowmit and show not the Baillies thereof, thair sould be allowit for ilk kow apprehendit in the feis the sowme of xxvis viid and sic lyke that thay suffir na hors to be pas- tured at ony common, nor na foalze to be tane of the common, and to that effeet and keeping of the premisses Robert Bowie become caution for the said Gawand Corss, and the said hirdis become actit to relief the said cautionars of the said cautionarie thereof. 7th April, 1598. — " Anent ky in hairvest. — The qlk day the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh, understanding the gi'et destruction of come in tyme of hairvest be teddring ky upon stibles and keeping thame thereupon before the cornes be innit, and for remeid thereof, it is statut and ordainit that nane be suf- ferit to haif ky lous in hairvest, either with ane keepar or without ane keepar, amang any mens cornes, except they be teddeirt upon their awn lands, and that ay and until the haill cornes be innit, under the pane of xs toties quoties." 7th April, 1598. — " Anent horse keiping upon the Gallowgrein. — And sic lyk that na hors be suffirit to be upon the Gallowgrein in teddirit or not without ane keipar, under the pane of x^- " 7th April, 1598. — " Anent scheip. — The qlk day it is statut be the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh that whatsoever scheip beis funden after Beltane upon the mens cornes, the same sal be escheit to the Baillies of the said burgh for the tjTne." In the following year two herds were engaged upon nearly the same terms, but with this addition — " that they haif the ky on the common befoir four hours in the morning, and remane furlh at even until aucht." l68 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. At this time other acts were passed relating to the proper guiding of cattle and horse, as follows : — 7th April, 1598. — " Anent putting of ky to the Common. — And that sic per- souns haifing ky that sends the same to the Common befoir the home blaw,^ whereby they gang in mens corne and sic lyk that putts not the ky to the birds in deu tyme, sal be pundit for viijs as oft and how oft they be apprehendit there- with." "Act anent Foulze. — The qlk day the Baillies and Counsall understanding that the we'san act maid of befoir that it would not be leissum to na persons that eits na fodder within the said burgh, to by ony fulzie to be transportit furth of the same, qlk act the said Baillies and Counsall ratifies and approves, with this addition, that gif ony breks or contravenes the said act the officers of the burgh sail stop and mak impediment to the same, and the fulzie to be escheit, and the byer thereof to tyne the sowme that he has given for the same. " The Bailies and Council, in acting as they believed for the welfare of the inhabitants, not only exercised a surveillance over the quality of the provisions sold in the town, but they also fixed the prices at which these should be disposed of The following acts relate to ale, bread, and candle : — I2th October, 1598. — "Anent Aill, Breid, and Candill. — "The qlk day the Baillies and Counsall of said burgh, in respect that God of his goodness has in- creassit the fruitts of the ground, and that thereby the victuall is cum in to be of les price, thairfoir has statut and ordaint that na osier within the fredome of the said burgh sell ony aill derer nor xijd the pint, the quarter kaik six pennies, till furder order be tane, under the pane of aucht s [aiicht in the original is cancel- led], and that the pund of candill be sauld for three s, and that penny candills be maid. " 8th November, 1598. — " Anent Aill.— It is statut be the Baillies and Coun- sall that na osier within the freedome of the said burgh sell ony aill derer until the next heid court nor xiiijd the pint, under the pane of xxs for the first fault, fourtie s for the nixt, and for the third fault five pund money. " loth October, 1597. — " Act anent the Selling of Breid, Aill, and Candill. — The qlk day it is statut and ordaint be the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh that osiers sell the aill deirer nor xvjd and the kaik for aucht qll firder ordr be tane, and that na candelmaker sell the candill deirer nor iijs the pund wecht, under the pane of ane unlaw of ." A number of fleshers were brought before the Baillies for contra- vening the act of the Bailies and Council of 13th October, 1596, " wha decernt every ane of thame to pay ane unlaw of ten punds money." The fleshers in the town appear at different times, both as a body and individually, to have given the Bailies and Council no little trouble and annoyance. The extracts which we shall give from the ^ This is the first time mention is made of the hom used by the herds in col- lecting the cows in the morning. 1560 TILL 1600. 169 Council records will iu several instances fully explain these matters. According to the first of these extracts, it will be seen that the butchers entered into a curious combination to secure high, if not exorbitant, prices for the food they sold ; but the Bailies, with the arbitrary powers they possessed, were able to frustrate their inten- tions. 13th October, 1596. — " Anent Fleshers. — The qlk day the BailHes and Coun- sall haifing consideration that the haill fleshers of this burgh has maid ane mutuall band and confederation to by all bestiall for the slauchter upon the equall expens, and to slay the same in the buths, and thereafter being slain the same shall not be sauld be ony of thame without a division of the rest, and the effect thereof to be equallie dividit amongst thame, whereby the haill inhabitants of the said burgh and sic ways that are constraint to by any flesh fra the said fleshers are hevelie damnifiet, and in ane manir disjaset be reason they man either gif sic prices for the saim as the fleshers has concludit and appointed, or thay constraint to leif the bying thereof and travell to Glasgow for bying of all kynd of flesh, to the grit prejedice of the common weill of the said burgh. For remeid thereof, it is statut and ordaint that the foresaid fleshers sal mak na sic bands of fieschip in tyme coming, but that eithar of them sail contein himself with his awne buth and use his awne flesh, selling without ony fellowship of the rest, and not to mak the said merchandise common, under the pane of eschetting of all sic guids as beis so funden sauld. " 2nd October, 1598. — "Anent Dismembring Mutton and Beif — Item, they ratifie the act maid of before anent the cuting and dismembring of flesh, under the panes containt thereuntill, and that na uncut be maid thereof, nor of meil, butter, nor cheis, in the winter season until ten hours, under the pane of 20s money to be payit to the Baillies of the said burgh." 1 2th October, 1599. — "Anent Flesh-Bying be Fleshers to every Flesher. — It is statut that gif ony flesher byis flesh to ony person or persons, that he de- clares to the Baillies whom to he byis the same. Neither shall it be leissum to ane flesher to by ony fleshe to other fleshers, and gif they be apprehendit so doing to be pundit for an unlaw of xxs toties quoties. " I2th October, 1599. — "Anent the Bying of Vivers befoir the Tyme of Market. — Item for as mekil as sundrie persons collectively byis and sells and suffers their victual sauld remaine in the sellars hands until the hours appointit for selling thereof, to the grit hurt of the inhabitants of this burgh, quha for keiping of guid order abyds the tyme of mercat appointit. For remid thereof it is statut and ordaint that the aithis of all sic persons as are suspectit sal be tane, and they being funden giltie, the guids apprehendit swa sailld to be escheit. " William Stewart of Caversbank, who was seven different times before the Bailies for being involved in disputes with other persons, used on one occasion offensive language to BaiHe Vaus, and being brought before the two Bailies and the Master of Paisley, was fined according to the following decision : — 8th May, 1595. — " Vaus, Bailzie. — The quhilk day anent the complaint given in be John Vaus, the younger Bailie of the said burgh, upon William Stewart, 170 HISTORY OF PAISLKY. Caversbank, makaiid mention that whereupon the six of May instant the said John haifing caused put some foulzie furth of his bame, and had scailled the same togidder besyd his said barne be his servand in quiet manner lifing for na injuiy to haif been done thereto. The said William Stewart upon envy and malice with his servants and injury to the said John Vaus with crewell words thereto, and enterit be way of deed in quarelling him and his servands, and being com- mandit be the said John Vaus in ward for the foresaid offence, be the mouth of Robert Hamilton, officer, the said William descrybit contrair of his aith, and therefoir ought to be punischlt. In respect he neglected his dewtie to the said John Vaus, being Bailzie as said is, as the said complaint at mair length is con- tained. Baith the said is crime personallie put, and the reasons and allega- tions being heard and considerit by the Master of Paisley, John Cochran the senior Baillie, and Counsall of the said burgh, has found and finds that the said William Stewart has done wrang in the wrangos trubling of the said John Vaus in manner foresaid, and therefore decerns him to cum in the power of the said Mr. John Cochran bailzie, and Counsall foresaid, and grant his said offence and crave the said John Vaus pardoun therefore, qlk he did publicli, as also decerns the said William in an unlaw often pund to be pay it to the Treasurer." The houses that were erected during this period, we believe, were thatched with sti-aw or heather, and the ridges were covered with earthen turves. Slates, if used at all, were only put on the mansions of the wealthiest in the country. The Grammar School, which was erected in 1586, had only a covering of thatch (Council Records, nth October, 1610). The turves used for the ridges of new houses and the repairing of old ones were therefore in consider- able demand, and the Bailies and Council, as will be seen, had to pass more than one Act regarding the cutting of them in the town's lands. loth September, 1594. — "Act anent Rigging- Turves Cutting. — Item, foras- mekil as it is manifest to the said Baillies and Counsall that the hail comon is oftentimes be extraordinar casting of riging turves thereupon as well be unfremen as fremen, and that riging turves are employit and applyit to sundrie others ne- cessaries nor for riging of their houses, to the great hurt and prejudice of the common weill of the said burgh. Therefore, for remeid thereof it is statut and ordaint that there be na riging turves casten in tyme cuming without leif be granted thereto be baith the Baillies, under the pains containet in the auld act maid thereanent, and the casters thereof to be punishit according to the Baillies descretion, and also that it shall not be liesum to ony non fremen of the said burgh haifing houses without the freedom thereof to cast ony rigging turves upon the said common without lief obtainit of baith the said Baillies and maist part of the Counsall, under the paines foresaid, and in caise the Bailies grant lief thereto without orders foresaid of the said Baillies to be punischit therefore be the sicht of the Counsall toties quoties." 2nd October, 1598. — "Anent Rigging Turvis Cast. — It is statut and ordaint be the said Baillies and Counsall that na turvis be cast upon the common thereof in tyme cuming but fra the first day of August to the first day of Februar, except to new bigit houses, and that libertie be socht and apprehendit to the Baillies, 1560 TILL 1600. 171 and that the said turvis be piiiit upon the Wodesyd, and sic persons that leiffs the said turvis unpinit to be pundit for ane unlaw of xiijs iiijd toties quoties, lyk as it is statut be the said Baillies and Counsall that all unfreemen haifing house within the said fredome of the said burgh sail pay for everie riging turf that they sail cast to rig the houses with viijd money to the Treasurer of the said burgh, ony way is na libertie to be granted to thame to cast ony turvis upon the said common in tyme cuming, and befoir ony libertie be granted the said unfre- men that pay what maills and pittances restane owand be thame to the Trea- surer of the said burgh, and sic persons as casts turvis and leeds not the same away to pay unlaw of xxs toties quoties. " The Bailies and Council, in the management of the municipal affairs of the Burgh, passed many other Acts in the period we are considering, which are of more or less importance. Of these the following, besides being full of interest, will, we think, still further elucidate the social condition of the people of Paisley in the latter half of the sixteenth century : — loth September, 1594. — "Act anent Lymit Hydis. — Item, it is statut and ordanit be the said Baillies and Counsall that no person or persouns lay any lymit hydis in the water of Cairt abuif William Lang's duir, and gif any person be apprehended to do in the contrair they be poindit of xxs unlaw toties quoties. " 13th December, 1594. — " Act anent Warning within Burgh. — The quilk day the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh haifing consideration of the negligence of the officers of the said burgh anent warning and removing making be thame within the said burgh albeit they make the day, being without eny day or dait nor these, nir. personall or with the dwelling place nor witness being they at qlk movit great plie and debait ; For remeid it is statut and ordainit in all tyme cuming the said officers sail make no warning to persons without they first pay to thame xijd to be given to the Clerk, qlk the Clerk sail buik the said warning the day and dait thereof, and whas instance and in what manner and before what witnesses, qlk he sail extract to the person gif he be requirit or they to produce the buick wherein the same is noted the time of the present thereof, and the warning not being buikit be the said Clerk in manner foresaid to be of nain availl, force, nor effect in all tyme cuming, so that na execution sail pass there- upon, providing always in cais the Clerk be absent and cannot be apprehendit to buik the said warning, in that case it sal be lasso to onie or not, to gif write thereupon, qlk sal be also sufficient and na otherwise." 5th January, 1595. — " Law Borrower. — The qlk day comperit personallie John Gemmell and swore that he dreded Peter Erskine bodilie harm, and thair for desyrit caution and surety of the said Peter he sould be harmless and skaith- less of him in his body, wha being present found John Stewart, younger of Bars- cub and William Erskine burgess of the said burgh, conjointly and severally, wha was likewais present, wha became actit to the effect under the pane of fourtie punds toties quoties, the ane half to the petiitoner, the other to the Bailie, and the said William Stewart is actit renounseand thereof. To releif the said William Erskine of the said cautionari and also the said Peter become actit gif he contravent the said declaration, I renounce all and whatsoever and pos- session he had has or micht claim in and to the water mylne of Saushill, with 172 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the houses pertaining thereto possessit bi him, in favour of the said John Stewart without any warning or order of law." 8th May, 1595. — "Act anent Young Women remaining without Mrs. — The c)ulk day it is statut and ordainit be the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh that na young womane wanting father or mother remane within the same fra Whitsunday first unfeit with Mrs., and gif they be apprehended within the said burgh unfeit after the said time thay shall be put in ward, and thereafter banished the town. Nather sail it be leissum to ony man to set sic persons houses." On 4th November, 1596, the Bailies decerned Peter Wilson, piper, " of his ane free confession, to pay Janet Aitken ixs xd for meat and drink." loth October, 1595. — "Act — Suppliment of the Calsaysyde Calsay Bigging. — The qlk day the Baillies and Counsall halting considered of the dekey of the Calsaysyde calsay, thinks it expedient that the saim be bigit the next symer, and has ordaint all in one voce to support the biging thereof, fourtie merks money of the common guid of the said burgh to be ingatherit fra the several persouns addettit in ony common guid befoir the election of John Algeo treasurer." 9th April, 1596. — "Act anent Complaints maid to the Master of Paisley. — ■ The qlk day the Baillies and Counsall haifing oft times bein heavilie reprovit be the Master of Paisley that they sufiferit sundrie persons, beggars, indwellers within the said burgh, to truble and molest him with their complaints, qlk thay upon the first report had caussit Master understand to be in default of the said Baillies wha wold not minister justice to thame thereanent, howbeit the said per- sons never complainet to the said Baillies. For remeid thereof in tyme coming it is statut and ordaint be the said Baillies and Counsall that whatsoever beggars or others within the jurisdiction whomsoever to ony offence is done, and makis the complaint thereof to the Master of Paisley before giving complaint to the Baillies, quha aucht and sould be readie to minister justice to thame, and the said Baillies not refusand to minister justice to thame, the persons contravenors theirof to pay to the said Baillies and Counsall five punds money toties quoties." 8th July, 1596. — "Act anent Milne Stanes Carrying. — The quhilk day the Baillies and Counsall haifing consideration of the act maid of befoir touching the leiding of milne stanes throu the toun, and that the same at that time sould not be carryit throu with ane wane thereuntil and nou the calsay thereof being neu bigit upon the grit expense of and charges of the town. There- fore it was of new statut and ordainit that in all tyme cuming that na millstanes be led through the calsay upon the edge, but how som the same cumeth to the port that should be led upon ane slyp and drawn throu the toun be hors or men, and gif the awnars of the stane pleis to half help of the toun to that effect that the officers of the toun sail warn ane number of the inhabitants thereof to help to draw the same throu the calsayis, qlk the Baillies and Counsall ordains thame to do, and gif any persons leid the millstanes any ways throu the toun nor on ane slyps the comittars thereof sail pey ten punds to the comon wants of the toune." 4th April, 1597. — "Act anent sic persons as has na guids pundable. — It is statut and ordaint be the Baillies and Counsa'll of the said burgh that all sic persons wliom upon decreits ar granted before the Baillies of the said burgh, 1560 TILL 1600. 173 by gane or to cum, and has na giiids streingzable, at the least there upon na guids can be apprehendit pertaining to them strainzable for satisfaction of the petitioner quhas favor the said decreits are obtenit : That sic persons be put in ward and the tolll)uith duir cloissit upon them, and they to remain upon their awin ex- penssis, ay and till they satisfy the partie at quhas instance they are chargit thereof, and sic of them brak ward to tyne the freedome gif they ony haif." 6th January, 1598. — "Act anent Wardors. — The qlk day it is statut and ordaint be the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh that all sic persons being put in ward for debt, be put in the ouir loft and the duir lokit upon thame, and be keepit be the officers, and gif ony persons, being wardit as said is, breks ward in negligence of the officer, the officer to be punischit therefore as the Baillies and Counsall shall think expedient." I2th March, 1597. — "The quhilk day John Morton was decernt to pay to the said Baillies and Counsall ane unlaw of five punds money, for disobedience of him in not entering in Waird within the toUbooth, being chargit be the officers thereto at the instance of John Vaus for certain det actit to the said John Vaus. Becaus the said Jone Mortoun grantit he had offendit in not entering in Waird and become in the Baillies and Counsall's will in the sam, quha decernt in man- ner foirsaid." 5th December, 1599. — " Qhilk day it is statut and ordainit be the Baillies and Counsall of the said burgh that gif ony burgess within the same beis chargit in waird be ony of the officers of the said burgh haifing ane sufficient warrand, and disobeys the same, that immediatelie thereafter the persones disobey and sal be pundit for ane unlaw of fourtie s tryell, being tane toties quoties, and that with- out detriment of the acts maid thereanent of befoir." King James IV., in his charter of 1488, granted to the inhabitants of the Burgh " the full and free liberty of buying and selling in said burgh wine, wax, woollen and linen cloths wholesale and retail, and all other goods and wares coming to it, with power and liberty of having and holding in the same place bakers, brewers, butchers and sellers of flesh and fish, and workmen in the several crafts tending in any respect to the liberty of the burgh." By the acts, however, of the Bailies and Council no inhabitant was, in this period, entitled to enjoy the important privilege of a burgess or freeman within the Burgh without first paying certain fees or dues to the Burgh funds, or, in lieu of advancing any entry-money, to pay annually what was called a "stallinger" fine. The amount of that entry-money and fine was from time to time fixed by the Bailies and Council. Fre- quently, however, the Bailies, when they wished to confer an honour upon any one, created him a burgess of the Burgli without charging any sum. On 10th September, 1594, the Bailies and Council " statut that in all tyme cuming the burgess fynes of sic persouns that beis created burgesses of the burgh be xx merks money, with if to be payd at the creation." Before any one was created a burgess, he had to make a very strict and formal oath in relation to his future conduct as a member of the community. We do not know what were the terms of the 174 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. oath in the sixteenth century, but we find from the Council records that in the next century it was as follows : — " The form of the Oath swor?t by the Burgesses of this Burgh at their creation. "I shall maintain and defend the true Protestant religion presently professed within this realm. I shall be loyal and true to our sovereign Lord and Lady and his successors. To the Provost and Bailies of this burgh and their successors, I shall be obedient to them and their officers in all leisome [lawful] causes. I shall purchase no outtentoun's [a person not living within a particular town] lordships against the freedom of this burgh. I shall not colour my gear with unfree men's gear. I shall maintain and set forward the common weal and liberty of this burgh to the utmost of my power, and this I shall do by God himself, and as I shall answer to him upon the day of judgment " (Tou and that during all the space and tyme of nynteine yeiris next after the dait heir of. Quhilk custome forsaid we and the said Lordis ordane to be employit, be the bailleis of the said burgh, present and to cum, thair deputis, customaris, and officiairs, in maner above written, to be nomineat be thame for uplifting thairof, to the reparation, bigging, and uphalding of the said brig of Pasley and other common calsayis and public streittis quhilk ar ruynous and decayit, at the sight and discretioun of the Counsall of the said burgh, quha sail have power to tak account thairof so oft as thai sail think meit and expedient. With power to the said Baillies, present and to cum, thair deputis, customaris, and officiaris, to poind and distreinze for the said custome all passengeris with hors laidit, nott fremen and others, ilk ane according to thair awn partis as is above devidit, and gif neid beiz, to sequestrat and arreist the hors and giids thairfore, ay and untill thai mak payment of the same as said is, during the haill tyme and space above written, as frelie in all respects as onie IMagistratis, customaris, or officer has done or may do in the like cais. Ordaining that publication be direct theirupon in form as effeiris. Given under our privee seill at Haliruidhous the saxteene day of Januar, the yeir of God one thousand five hundred (I m vc ) fourscore auchtene yeiris, and of our reignne ye threttie twa yeir." This charter is in the charter chest of the Town Council. Visitors were first appointed by the Bailies and Council at the term in October, 1597, but no indication is given at that date of the duties they were expected to perform. Two years afterwards, how- ever, on 12th October, 1599, we find the business they required to execute clearly pointed out in the Council records. The work Avas of a very important kind, and reflects the greatest credit upon the civic rulers at that period in their eftbrts to prevent the burgesses from being imposed upon. In the Council records of that date " Thomas Qwheyt, Thomas Petir, John Hutchison, and Thomas Brown wer electit visitors of the meat, to pas with the Baillies everie meat day to visit kynd of vivers, and that the sam be sufficient stuff, and that na beif nor mutton be cuttit, carvit, nor spoilzeit, except ane cut athint the shoulderis of the mutton, and that na muttoun be blawin, and that na meat be maid thereof, nather of butter nor cheis, until nyne hours, and to noit the contravenars heirof, and sa mekeil of the guids as sail be apprehendit to be escheit. Qulk visitors were sworne for faithful administratoun of the office."' Still further to illustrate the social condition of the inhabitants, and the wonderfully just decisions of the Bailies 300 years ago, we have selected a number of the civil cases brought before the Court, as described in the Council minutes, where all the business of the Bailies and Council is believed to be recorded. Like the criminal and other cases, they are disposed of with a firmness, an imparti- ality, and at the same time a moderation and judgment, worthy of M I 78 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. our admiration. We think the perusal of these, along with the other burgh records, will be found to be interesting : — I2th December, 1594. — "The qlk day Christiene Colquhoune and Ths. Hendersoun were decreet to rander to Wm- Ralston two young henis tane by ye sd. Christiene off the hie gait at Sanct James day last, price thereof vis viiid. Becaus sche and hir said spous for his intrest were lawfully warnet to gif the aith there- upon, yesterday compeirit not ; qlk foulles pertainit to the sd- Wm., qH^ being referit to his aith, deponit the same to be of veritie." I2th December, 1594. — ■" Removing Knox. — The qlk day Thomas Greinleis and John Kar being arrested at the instance of Johne Knox, heritor of the lands underwritten, and Wm- Knox of Delviel, and his brother and administrator, for his entrest compeirit of thair ain fre motyve willis, were decernit to remove them- selfs, thair servants, and sub-tennents furth and fra, viz., the said Thomas Greenleis frae ane barne and rigland adjacent thereto in Priors croft, and frae ane aker land in brumelands, by and within the tenth territor of the said burgh, and the said Johne Knox to remove himself furth and fra ane hous and yaird and land adjacent thereto in Oxshawsyd, within the said burgh, at the term of Whitsunday next. In favor the said John and the said W^- Entries, to the effect that they may enter thereto at the said time. " 6th March, 1595. — " The qlk day Johne Kerswell was decernt to pay Steven Alexander, cordinar, viijs iid for the price of ane pair of schone coft in July last, becaus the said Johne wes warnit to gif his aith thereupon and comperit not." 4th December, 1595. — The qlk day Archibald Hamilton was decernt to pey to John Gibb, cordinar, xii^ viiid borrowed siluir ane yeir syne or thereby, be the aith of the persewar." 4th December, 1595. — " The qlk day John Kersell was decernt to pey to Mar- gret Symsoun, spous to Robert Mudie, xixs for meit and drink tane be him at sundrie tymes about Sanct Mirren's day was ane yeir or thereby decernt him by aith of parsuar in absence of the defendar warnt thereto." 2nd February, 1596. — "The qlk day John Hall, wabster, was decernit of his awin confession to deliver to Patrick Ralston ane boll whyte seid corn, the said Patrick peyand him therefor five mks presentlie and seven mks at Beltane next. 26th February, 1596. — "The qlk day anent the claime given in be Andro Crawfurd, bges of the said bgh, waiting Jone Paisley, wabster in hutheid, auch punds ten s money for the price of sex qrtres yorkshyre claith and certain flening coft and ressavit be him fra the said Andro upon the tent day of Apryle last, de- cerns and ordains the said Andro becaus he was lawfullie warnt be Rt Hamilton, officer, to gif his aith simpliciter thereupon and compeirit not." The following is the first notice of wheat being used that we have fallen in with : — 6th May, 1596.— " The qlk day Alex. Nivir in thruscraig was decernt to pay to Thomas Wilsoun in blackball sex pects quheyt corne eitten be the said Alexr. in the month of July, 1593 yrs, and compryssit be Jone Jamieson and Ronald Luif, quha being admitted and sworne in presence of the said Alexr., with his consent, deponit the corne eitten to the quantatie foirsaide." 1560 TILL 1600. 179 Bessie Knox, in the following case, appears to have been a respectable practitioner in the healing art in the little town, and very likely was well known to the worthy Bailie, who had no diffi- culty or hesitation in admitting her just charge of xxx^ : — 24th June, 1596. — "The qlk day Margrt. Symson and Robert Moodie, her spous, for his interest, wer decernit to pay to Bessie Knox xxxs money, as for expenses depurssit be her for saw and heiling of his heid, hurt by the said defender Rob'-, as the said expenses were referit to the said Bessie's aith, wha, being sworne in his presence, deponit the same to be of veritie. " 4th November, 1596. — "The quhilk day Peter Wilson, pyper, wes decernit of his awin ppir. confession to pay to Janet Aitken nine s \d for meit and drink tane be him one." 4th November, 1596.— "The quhilk day compeirit personallie John Kar, he being convict be ane inquest and become in the Baillies and Counsals will for the offence committit be him of pykry in intmixing of certain beir of Elizabeth Inglis with his qr in, he confessit he had done wrang, craiving the said Baillies and Counsal pardon therefoir, and offerit to become actit of his awin free will for amends, that in cais he wer fundit or apprehendit with ony theft or pykerie [petty theft] in time cuming, it being tryit, to be banescht the toun perpetuallie, his fredome to be cryit doun and he to tyne his comon land, and thereupon to be at the Baillies and Counsall's disposition, as they sail please them thereafter, qlk the said Baillies accepted, and supercedit all furdir punishment for the past." 3rd February, 1597. — "The qlk day Henry Locheid was decernit to pay to Robert Hamilton auch s tend as fooryn price of two liundreth peirs and twa hundreth ploums coft in September last. " 5th March, 1597. — "The qlk day Henry Henderson, burgess of the said burgh, was decernit of his awin proper confession to remove himself, his wife, and family furth and fra the houses and yaird presently occupyit be him by and within the said burgh, viz., fra the yaird presently, and fra the houses at Whit- sunday next, at the instance of William Stewart, heritor thereof, and that conform to the warning dewlie maid to him and use of the said burgh. " 5th July, 1597. — "The qlk day Allan Lochheid, wabster in townheid, was decernt of his awin proper confession to deliver to John Mudie, fleshor, four ells fine lyning claith wolevin sufficiently, or than to pay to the said John Mudie for ilk ell thereof six punds vi* viiid ressavit be him i penny and penny for the weif- ing thereof" 7th February, 1598. — "The qlk day W"^- Stewart of Gallowhill was decernit be aith of petitioner to pay to John Whyte, fleshor, xxvis viid money for mutton and quheyt corne, coft and ressavit by the said W^. and his servants in his name in the month of March last." 4th December, 1599. — " The qlk day John Boyd, wricht, was decernit be aith of petitioner to pay to John Stewart, wricht, xvis for the making of ane leddir to John Vaus, ane of the Baillies foresaid, twa years syne or thereby, together with five punds money, as for the price of ane pair of briks of brown plading intro- mittit with by the said Jo"e Boyd twa years syne or thereby, deducand thereof xxxs of ny compts. Because the said clame was referit be the said defender to I So HISTORY OF PAISLEY. these persewars aith simpliciter, wha, being sworne in his presence, deponit the same to be of veritie. And absolvit baith the said parties hinc inde of all myes compts be the"decIaratioune of Rt- Pull, wricht, whome to the said parties referit the same simpliciter." 4th December, 1599. — "The qlk day Janet Peding was decernt of her awin proper confession to pay to Andero Hendersoun vi^ viiid for ilk hen of twa hennis of the said Andro, his hous maill in tounheid of this instant yeir of God 1599." 14th December, 1599. — " The which day Robert Kirlie and Cautioner were decerned to pay the Session 40 punds for committing adultry with Helen Stewart. John White, CoreslDar, Avas fined 20 punds for committing adultry with Isobel White." The Bailies and Council in the present period, and during the greater part of the next century, passed several rigorous acts for the suppression of Sunday desecration. Before the Reformation, Sun- day was not kept as a day of rest as it now is, but was devoted to almost every kind of pastime and amusement. Both magistrates of burghs and ecclesiastical courts exerted themselves to put down this great evil, but it was a difficult matter to overcome habits which had been so long indulged. Frequently, as might be expected, they went to extremes of intolerance.^ ^ On Sunday fairs and markets were commonly held, sometimes in the kirk- yards, and even in the kirks themselves (1469, c. 10, Acts of Parliament, 11.95; 1503, c. 28, ibid., 11.252) ; shops, hostelries, and places of amusement were kept open ; weaponshawings took place ; and it appears that the law courts occa- sionally sat for the transaction of business ( Cunningliani s Church History, p. 9). It was indeed usually appropriated to mirth and revelry ; the people practised archery at the bow marks placed near parish churches for the purpose (1424, c. 9, Acts of Parliament of Scotland, 1 1.6), engaged in the games of Robin Hood and Littlejohn, gambled, drank, danced, and indulged in all kinds of amuse- ments. To some extent, no doubt, an effort was made to limit this desecration. The Act 1469, c. 10, prohiljited the holding of fairs on holidays, and the prohi- bition was renewed and extended by the Act 1 503, c. 8, which enacted that mar- kets and fairs should not be held on holidays or within kirks or kirkyards. In Edinburgh, however, the holding of markets for the sale of flesh on .Sunday was expressly authorised by the Act I540> c. 43. The practice, with many other forms of desecration alluded to, nevertheless continued long after the Reforma- tion, and it is abundantly obvious, from the habits of legislation of the reformers, that they did not entertain the stricter notions of the sanctity of the day which subsequently prevailed in Scotland. " It v/as on a Sunday," says Dr. Joseph Robertson (Preface to the In^'cntories of Queen Rlat-y^s Jnvels, Bannatyne Club, p. Ixxix), " that the reformed commendators of Holryroodand Coldingham, both of them lords of the congregation, rode at the ring in women's clothes. It was on a Sunday that the reformed municipality of Edinburgh gave its grand banquet to the King's French kinsfolks. Knox travelled on a .Sunday, wrote letters on Sunday, and had the Duke of Chatelherault and the English ambassador to sup with him on a .Sunday. The Gaelic translator of Knox's Forms of Prayer, the Reformed Superintendent of Argyle and Bishop of the Isles, feasted the Queen and the Ambassador of Savoy on a Sunday. For more than twenty years after Knox was in his grave, Robin Hood plays were acted on Sundays, and the King of May held his gambols on Sundays in .Scotland, as in England masques and inter- ludes continued to be performed before the Court on Sundays throughout the reigns of Elizabeth and James." It was on a .Sunday also that the Queen of Tames VI. was crowned, the reformed ministers assisting at the ceremony (Caldenvood's Church History, p. 95), and on a Sunday the City of Edinburgh 1560 TILL 1600. 181 27th January, 1596. — "Act anent sic persons as that wilfully remain fra the Parish Kirk. — The whilk day it is statute and ordanit be the Baillies and Coun- sell of the said burgh that all sic persouns that beis apprehendit playing, passing to tavernis and ailhouses, or selling meit or drink, or wilfull remaining fra the parish kirk in tyme of sermon on the Sunday, be pundit for xxs toties quoties ; and in caise of refuis or inhabilie of any person apprehended offending in the pre- mises to pay the said penalty presentlie upon their apprehension or conviction after lawful trial, he or she sal be put and haldin in the stnks be the space of XX hours, and for trial to be taken herein the said Baillies and Counsel has appointed that the Clerk of the said burgh, accompanied with ane of the baillies, ane of the officers, with some other elders of the parish, the day that it shall fall them to pass upon, so that the said Clerk shall go his Sonday about accompanied as said is, and the Clerk of the Session his Sonday about accompanied in like manner, who shall not call such persons whom they apprehend in manner fore- said, and shall either cause the officers of the said burgh pund them presentlie for the said penaltie or upon the morne thereafter, and the said punds to be pryssit and applied be the Baillies of the said burgh on pios uses as best shall please them, and for the Clerks pains to be takun therein there sal be ane honest hell appointed for him yearlie be the minister and session." The stocks referred to in the foregoing Act of the Council were frequently used as an instrument of punishment by the Bailies of Paisley. They were a wooden machine for securing the legs of the culprits while in a sitting or reclining posture, and were much used in England. It is not known when they were first adopted in Eng- land, but there is sufficient evidence to show that it was at an gave a sumptuous and costly banquet to Charles I., the afternoon service in all the town churches being dispensed with in consequence (Memorials of the Troubles in Scotland, Spalding Club, I-39). Dr. Gairdner has shown that for nearly a century after the Reformation the Incorporation of Surgeons in Edin- burgh held various meetings on Sundays for the transaction of business, the ad- mission of members, the election of office-bearers, the exercise of discipline, &c. (Sketch of the Early History of the Medical Profession in Edinburgh, 1864, p. 8). The accounts of the Treasurer of the City of Edinburgh also prove that it was not uncommon to pay accounts on that day (26th April 1590, 12th June, l6th August, 4-11-18 October). So late as 1574 the practice of performing comedies of a somewhat religious character on Sunday had not been altogether discontinued, and even occasionally received the countenance and approbation of some of the Church Courts ( Principal Lees' s Evidence before Sir Andre-iV Agnezv's Committee in 1832). About the same time also ministers were to be found who accom- panied their people to the bow butts on Sunday evenings, and shot with bows and arrows (Dr. Cook's History of the Church of Scotland, 1815, II-43). Shortly afterwards, however, the Act of Parliament, 1579, c. 8, prohibited the holding of markets and fairs on " Sundays," and enacted " that na handy lauboring or working be used on the Sunday, nor na gamying and playing, passing to tavernis and ail houses, and selling of meitt or drink, and wilfull remanying fra their paroch kirk in tyme of sermone or prayers on the Sunday be used, under the panes therein prescribed" (Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, iii., 138). This Act proceeds on the narrative that the "Sabbath days were then commonlie violat and brokin, alsweill within burgh as to landwart, to the great dishonor of God," by the practices against which it was directed. Subsequently the Act 1594, c. 8, subjected all who should "profane the Sabbath day by selling or presenting and offering for sale any goods to be forfeited " (High Constables of Edinburgh, by James D. Marwick, p. xxi.). l82 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. STOCKS AND WHIPPING POST. early period. In the second Statute of Labourers, 25 Edward III., 1350, stocks are mentioned ; and in the reign of Henry IV., in the year 1405, it was resolved by the Commons that every vil- lage and town should have a pair of stocks. In 1606 it was enacted that every per- son convicted of drunkenness should be fined 5s. or remain six hours in the stocks. The last Act was confirmed by James VI., 1623. In King Lear, act ii., sc. 2, Shakspere has introduced the stocks upon the stage. Farmer, comment- ing upon the passage, says : — "It should be remembered that formerly in great houses, as still in some colleges, there were movable stocks for the correction of the servants." The stocks are still to be seen in some country places in England. We give a sketch of the whipping post and stocks used at Stokesley. During the two last decades of the sixteenth century, the town of Paisley rose to greater importance than in any previous period. We have shown by the extracts from the Town Council records that in this early period its civil rulers were fully alive to the protec- tion of life and property, and the suppression, amongst all classes, of vice and lawlessness. These records, in most cases, exhibit moderation and good sense ; and it is worthy of note that for the language and forms used in the judicial courts of the Bailies at this early period, a qualified procurator-fiscal and town-clerk were re- sponsible, and their forms of procedure and terms of expression do not greatly vary from those of the present day. The Town Council also appear to have been fully alive to the importance of having a public school for the education of the youth in the community. In 1576 they received, as already stated, from James VI. funds to found a school, and within ten years thereafter a schoolhouse was erected and a teacher appointed. The esta- blishment of this educational institution, combined with the good order and firm government maintained by the Bailies, would very likely be the main cause of inducing some of the wealthy land- owners in the neighbourhood to have town houses erected within the burgh boundary. In 1580 the handsome and commodious town house of Lord Sempill, heritable sheriff of the regality, was erected on the north side of High Street, a short distance west from the Cross. I'he length of front to the street was forty-three feet two inches. This mansion house was in the possession of the Sempill family 1560 TILL 1600. 183 till 1650, when the great-grandson of the founder sold it to Lord Cochran. The ceiling of the ground floor was arched with stone, and this flat was latterly turned into shops. We give a view of this building as it appeared before being taken down in 1861. Its successor was taken down in 1882, at the time High Street was widened and im- proved. The site is now No. 95 High Street, and the graceful structure erected thereon is owned by Mr. Robert M'Nish, shoe manufacturer. There was a tablet stone in front of the man- sion house con- taining Lord S e m p i ITs ar- morial bearings, beautifully exe- cuted. Above the centre of the shield is the letter M, and on the sides of the shield A S, which ap- pear to be An- drew, Master of Semple. We give a view of this ex- quisitely - execut- ed coat of arms, which occupies a conspicuous posi- tion above one of LORD SEMPILL'S HOUSE, NO. 94 HIGH STREET. ^-^Q hio-hest win- dows in Mr. M'Nish's tenement, and which will be found on the next page. The second house west from the head of New Street, which for many years was known as the Salutation Inn, occupied the site of the town house of Cochran of Craigmuir, and was first erected in 1608. When taken down recently and rebuilt by Mr. Isaac Richardson, there were some memorial stones in the building, which 1 84 HISTORY (»F PAISLEY. COAT OF ARMS IN LORD SEMPJLL S HOUSE. are now placed in the back walls of the present tenement. Of these we give three illustrations. The house No. 25 High Street, long known as the King's Arms Inn, was, as already stated, originally- erected by Mr. Knox, one of the Abbey ministers, and was after- wards the town house of the Ferguslie family ( W. Semple's History, p. 331). These families and others of consequence residing within the little burgh would undoubtedly tend greatly to ameliorate its social position and to increase its importance. 1560 TILL 1600. 185 At that time considerable attention was paid by the Bailies and Council to the condition of the principal streets of the town. From several instances in the Council records it may have been observed that they were causewayed. On 8th July, 1596, an Act was passed to prevent mill stones from being taken through the town on their edge, because they injured the causey in the streets. On loth October, 1595, it was agreed to repair the causey in Causeyside Street, and a portion of the bridge custom allowed to be levied was to repair the causewaying of the streets. Of the trade carried on in the town during this period there is not much to be said that can be verified as authentic. The weaving trade, which afterwards rose to such importance, must have been in operation in Paisley from a very early period. When the bailies, burgesses, and officers of Renfrew, in 1491, invaded the market cross of Paisley, as already mentioned, and took possession of " a quarter of beif for a penny of custom," they at the same time seized " a wynde of white cloth for a penny of custom."^ It would there- fore appear that white cloth was produced in such quantities at that ^ Wynde — " a certain length of clotli that cannot now be determined, as the term is obsolete " (Jainieson). 1 86 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. early period of tlie history of Paisley that it was exposed for sale in the public market ; and there is every reason for believing that it was manufactured in the town. We would further note as import- ant the frequency with which, in the records of the Town Council during the last decade of the sixteenth century, the trade of " wobster " is mentioned. We find in these records not only that w'obsters were burgesses, but that in numerous instances they ap- peared in the civil courts of the Bailies both as pursuers and de- fenders in cases where money was involved.^ Of the kind of cloth they were engaged in weaving we have not discovered any intima- tion that would enable us to speak with any confidence. Very likely, however, it was either the same kind of cloth which was produced at the end of the following century, called Bengals, imi- tations of striped muslins or coarse linen checks. During the five years at the end of the sixteenth century many cases were brought before the Bailies wherein they had to determine the value of what was sued for. We have selected a few of these from the Council records, as follows : — • For 4 days and han^owing with a horse xvis (1/4). Ane laid of meill xs (lod). 3 bolls malt six punds (10/). Price of ane cow xxxs {2/6), Twa bolls malt 15 merks (16/8). Ane blue banat xiis (i/). Ane boll of beans xix mks (2i/iX)- 14 pmids for 6 fat sheep (23/4). 16 mks for ilk boll of beer (17/9). vSeed oats per boll 10 punds (16/8). Side of beef 3 punds 13/4 {6ji}(). Leg of veil 3/6 Scots {3^d). Syde of mutton los (lofl-)- Threshing 3 bolls aits i8s (i;6). I day's shearing 2s (2d). New pleuch 2 punds I3'4 (4;'5/4 )• Hen 5s (5d). I lb. cheis 2/6 (2^d). Night banat 13/4 (i/iX)- Quhinger 2 punds (3/4). I elne harne 4s (4d). I elne linen claith 13s (i/i). 48 ells linen 42 punds (70/). 1 " The qlk day John Urie, wobsf Int : changit his ruid common land abune Greinhill with Rt Craig's ruid land in fynniesbog, with the qlk excambion baith the said parties were content, and thereupon askit acts of court." " The qlk day Ranald Luif, wobster, burgess of the said burgh, was decemit of awin proper confession to pay to Rt Greenleis fyve punds fyves vd money " (Council Records, 7th January, 1597). CHAPTER XII. 1600 TO 1650. N our Burgh the first two years of the seventeenth century unfortunately ushered it in with a threatened attack of the dreadful malady of the plague or pest, known for several centuries both on the continent of Europe and in this country.! At different periods in the sixteenth century, several of the towns in Scotland had been visited with this loathsome disease ; indeed there was scarcely a town, however small the number of the inhabitants, that was not subjected, less or more, to its desolating ravages. In Edinburgh the plague broke out in 1 5 14, and the Town Council agreed that "for the eschewing of this contagious sickness of pestilence be Goddis grace," the town should be divided into four quarters, to be superintended by the four Bailies and their quarter-masters (Martuick's Hio;h Constables, p. 30). In 1545 the pestilence again prevailed in Edinburgh, and the Queen and Lords of Council, " understanding that because of the fere of the pest that is lately reigning in the town of Edinburgh," ordained the President and Lords of Session to meet in Linlithgow (Register of the Privy Council, vol. i., p. 5). And in 1564, the Queen and Council having learned that the plague or pestilence raged vehemently in Danskin, with which place there was much communication by vessels, ordered letters to be sent to the provosts and bailies of every burgh, to warn all persons, under severe penal- ties, coming from that place, "to continue themselffis and thaer guidis within schiphind or at least to pas to sic quiet places thair- with by the way, fre burrowis and common portis as nane of oure Soverane Ladiis liegis have traffique, company, or melling with thame" (Register of the Privy Council, vol. i., p. 279). Again, in 1585 and in 15S7, the plague returned with great virulence to Edinburgh, and the Town Council, along with other precautionary measures, appointed visitors with full authority for " outputting of the foul folk " (Mai'ivick's High Constables, p. 31). The inhabitants of Paisley, like those of other towns in Scotland, experienced the baneful effects of this distemper. In 1588 the plague must have been in Paisley to some extent, although such is ^ Iia 1348 a third part of the population of Scotland was carried off by the great plague, which fell most severely on the working classes; but in 1361 the rich and the noble in the land were seized with the disease equally with the labourers, and in most instances fell victims to its xa.va.gQ^ (Tytter's History of Scotland, vol. ii. , p. 80). 1 88 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. not noticed afterwards in the records of the Town Council. On the 2nd October in that year the Glasgow Town Council resolved, " in consideration of the danger of the pest now in Paisley," to adopt a great many precautionary measures to prevent that disease from entering the city. On the 26th of the same month, " the Bailies and Council having consideration of the pre- sent peril of the pest, now being in the town of Paisley" (Council Records), made further regulations thereanent. And on the last day of that month, they agreed that, " having forseen the great apparent danger of pest like to ensue through infection from Paisley- and other places thereabouts, and being most careful to see the same prevented," adopted further resolutions "to carry that dHo-c- iwQ^Y ow\.'^ ( Glasgoiu Totun Council Records, 31st October, 1588). We have not been able to discover anything further regarding the pest in Paisley at that time, either as to its severity or duration. If we may judge, however, from the very strict and numerous regula- tions that were adopted by the Bailies and Council when the inhabitants were threatened with another visitation of the plague in 1602, we may safely conclude that their sufferings were great, and they dreaded its return. On the 8th January in that year the Bailies and Council passed the following remarkable and business- like resolutions regarding the threatened attack of the plague : — " Anent the Pest. — In the first that the haill burgesses and inhabitants of this burgh come mair frequentlie to the kirk for heiring of the Word of God, preiching, and prayars nor they haif bein accustomed to do heirtofoir, and sic as beis absent upon the Sabbath day fra the sermont in the foirnoun and efternoun to be pundit for an unlaw of xx^ [is. 8d. stg.], conforme to the Acts of Par- liament, and the sam to be employitto pious uses, and that the said guid ordination be set doun anent the cuming to the prayars morn- ing and evening upon the week dayis. Ite?n, that all persons haifand waist lands adjacent to the ports of this burgh big up the foir wallis thereof suflicientlie and braid the same with thornis that nane clyme over, within the space of four dayis after they be chargit by officers, under the pane of fyve punds. Item, that the Barne yaird fort be biggit up, and sa remam during the hail tyme of the continuation of the pest in the cuntrie. Item, that nane of the inhabitants of this burgh suffir or receive ony persons to cum in throw their yairds or baksyds, under the pane of fyve punds. Item, that the eist and west ports be diligentlie keipit fra fyve hours in the morning unto aucht hours at evin, and that the ceipars thereof be sufficient persouns, haitiing ane sword and Jedburgh staff, and that thay be not absent fra the said port the space of three scoir falls the ports oppin nor that fand in housses, under the pane of ane unlaw of xiij^ iiij'^ [is. i^d.] toties quoties. Item, that the burne port and mossraw be simpliciter closit except the burne port allan- arlie to be keipit be Robert Algeo and Robert Hendersoun, onelie to be openit betwix viij hours and ix hours befoir noun and four l6oo TILL 1650. 189 hours and fyve hours afternoun. Item, that the keepers of the said ports receive na testimoniaUls of ony persouns cumin. from suspectit places, but that they signifie the same to one of the Bailhes or some others of the persouns after mentioned wha sal be appointed. And that the persons having the said testimonials be na wayis receivit within the said burgh, but onelie to pas thair throu. Item, that na persouns wha ar not sufficientlie knowin be the Bailies and visitors of the said ports not haifand testimony not to be allowed within the said burgh to remane nather short nor lang space, under the pane of fyve punds. Item, that na persouns, inhabitants of the said burgh, receive ony travellers or creilmen, nor gif thame ludgings, without licence of ane of the Bailies had thereto, under the pane of fyve punds. Item, that na persoun dwelling within the space of ane myle of the infection of the pest be receivit within the hous for the space of fyve weeks, that it may be knawin whidder they may be clein or foull thereof. Item, becaus therefor sundry persouns that for feir of the pest and eschewing thereof, transport thamselffs with thair families furth of the citie of Glasgow to land wort in sundrie parts neir to this burgh, that nane of the said persouns be receivit within the same for the space of six weeks, and after thair trans- porting and sic like, gif they be not keipit be thameselves the said space, that nane of the receivers nor repairars in company with thame be admitted within the said burgh during the same space. Item, that James Riskie, Drummar, pas throw the toun ilk day at four hours in the morning as he was accustomed, and at aucht hours at evin, except the Sabboth day ; and albeit the wedder be foull, that he stryke the drum ane certane space upon the brig and at the cors. Item, that said orders be tane concerning the puir, and that nane puir remane within the toun but they wha are borne therein or tham has had their residence and remaining therein be the space of [blank] years, and that na puir in the landwort be re- ceived in the toun. Item, that na indweller within the burgh pas furth thereof, except to their labour about the town, without libertie of ane of the Bailies had and obtained, under the pain of fyve punds. Item, that na testimony will be given by the clerk without comand of ane of the Bailies to na persoun nor persouns, under the pain of xi= (i id). Item, outwith the west port to the toun end, John Algeo and Patrick Ralstoun. Item, fra John Sclater's cors house in the Calsaysyd to the port about the orchyaird, Thomas Wyteford and Robert Hendersoun ; and for the eist of the Calsaysyd and Sershill, William Hendersoun and John Sunderland. Iton, for the Seidhill, William Stewart and John Park. Item, within the burgh for the west port, Andro Stewart and John Hendersoun. Item, for Moss raw and Barne yaird, John Vaus and Gavin Stewart. Item, for the brig port, John Hutchisoun and Robert Urie, with the burne gait. Item, for the Watter raw, Robert Semple, clerk. Item, it is appointed be the Bailies that whatsoever persouns within the .said burgh, or sworn of the saim, refuses to keip the said ports the days about, as effeirs to be pundit for vi^ viij''" 190 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. The war-axe — of the form known as the Jedburgh axe or Jeddart staff, with a semi-circular blade, long neck, and spike at the back, and the shank of the socket prolonged into a spear-pointed blade — to be used by those watching at the east and west ports at this time, was a very for- midable weapon. The name was derived from the tradesmen in Jed- burgh being celebrated in making them. We give a drawing of this warlike instrument used by our ancestors, taken from James Drum- mond's Book of Ancient Scottish Weapons, &c., plate number xxxiv. Although the Town Council records are thus minute in describ- ing the precautions taken to prevent the entrance of the plague into the Burgh, they are unfortunately silent as to the success that at- tended the eiforts that were made. The dis- ease, indeed, is not mentioned thereafter as having been in the town, and we are therefore in- clined to believe that the inhabitants were, happily, not attacked by the pest of which they were so much afraid. In October, however, in the follow- ing year, the pest again made its appearance in some parts of the sur- Council were at once from the town, following mea- JEDBURGII AXE OR JEDDART STAFF. rounding country, and the Bailies and on the alert to make arrangements for averting it On the 14th October, 1603, they adopted the sures : — C " Act for the Keiping of the Portis. — Certane actis and statutis for preservatione and keiping of the said burghe, gif it be the plesour of l6oo TILL 1650. 191 God, fra the pest. — The qlk day the BaiUes and Counsell of the said burgh, understanding the contageus sickness of the pest is within this realme and has infectit sundrie pairtis of the sam, swa that it is necessary the portis of the said burgh be keepit and that na persounes be admitted nor receavit within this burghe repairing fra onie pairtis of this reahiie quhair the contageus seikness of the pest is presenthe, without sufficient testimonial! of thair healths. As lykewayes that na vagabondis, Strang and idle beggers, be onie wayes sufferit to enter within this burgh, and gif ony of the foirsaidis persounes forbidden beis fundin within this burghe, the keipers of the ports for the tyme where the persoune or persounis forbidden enter is efter tryall tane thairof be the Bailies and ethers of that quarter, sail pay an unlaw of x punds money, toties quoties ; and for the better observing of this order, John Vaus, Bailie Johne Algie, Johne Henrysoune, William Ewing, and William Huchesoune sail oversee and visit dailie the West and Mossraw portis and keip- eris thairof- Andrew Craufurd the other Bailie, Thomas Inglis, clerk, John Huchesoune, Robert Urie, and John Alexander, ^cor- diner, sail dailie visit and oversee the brig and burne gait ports, and gif neid beis ma persounis to be choisin and joynt with the fornameit persounis to the effect foirsaid. Item, that all the portis of this burghe be lockit at nyne houris at even nichtlie, and opened dailie at fyve houris in the morning, until farder order be taken.'"' As no farther allusion is made in the Council records to the plague, the inhabitants apparently were not, at that time, attacked by this contagious trouble. But in August of the following year, when the pest broke out in Glasgow and in Rutherglen, the guard- ing of the town against the admission of persons suspected of labouring under this disease was resumed, and the Bailies and Council resolved as follows : — " Apud Paslay, nth August, 1604. — Anetit the Pest. — The qlk day the Bailies and Council of this burghe, understanding the con- tagious seikness of the plague of pest has infectit divers parties of this realme, alsweill in Burgh as Landwart and baith the touns of Glasgow and Rutherglen, swa that it is necessar and expedient for preserving of this burgh and inhabitants hereof fra the said plague of pest (gif it be the plesour of God) that not only all the ports of this burgh be weill keipit, and that the be yets hung upon the Mos- raw port and barneyaird ports, and the said barne yard port to remane lockit during the will of the saides Bailies and Counsell, but also it is statute and ordained that nane of the inhabitants of this burghe pas furthe thairof to onie other burgh or pairt suspect furder nor the bounds and libertie of the said burghe and land pertaining thereto without special license of the said Bailies had and obtenit, under the pane of banisching them the said burgh for ever. And siclyke that nane of the inhabitants of this burgh suffer onie person or persones repairing or cuming fra onie aither part or parts thereto to enter 192 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. throu their yairds and houses within this burgh, under the pane of fyve punds money (8s. 4d.), toties quoties. And lykewayis that all the inhabitants within tlie burgh having dogs, kiep them bund Avithin thair awin houses fra the xiij day of this instant, induring the will of the saids Bailies and Counsel, and that under the said pane of fyve punds money foirsaid. And gif onie dogis beis fundin upon the said gait efter the said day until libertie be grantit be the saids Bailies and Counsell, the said dogs to be fellit and the awner to find na folt therewith." On the 8th September, 1604, in consequence of the continuance of the pest and its near approach to the town, the Bailies and Council passed further resolutions thereanent : — " The qlk day the Bailies and Counsell, having consultation of the continuance and daylie encreasing and spreiding of plague of pest, and that the same draws neir to this burgh, and therefoir for preservation thairof gif it be the plesour of God : And seeing it is lesum to use all secand measures : It is statut and ordained be the Bailies and Counsell that the haill burgesses and inhabitants of this burgh sail keip the portis as they sal be warnit be the officers the day preceding, conform to the roll to be given to thame thereupon. And the said persounes being warnit be onie of the officers sail oppin the saiddis ports at fyve hours in the morning, and lok the same at nyne houris at even. And sail remane at the saidis portis betwix the saidis hours, under the pane of twentie •^' toties quoties, gif they sail happin to contravene the same. '■'■ Keiping of t/ie Forts. — Itetn, it is ordainit that nane of the keipers of the said portis let in onie thereat unknowing to them out- with this burgh without they advertees ane of the Bailies, at the leist ane of the quarter maisteris afternamit for visiting of the saidis ports, causing keip the same in manner under mentioned, viz. : at the eist ])ort on the brig, Thomas Inglis, Robert Algie, Thornas Whytfurd, Robert Urie, Thomas Peter, John Hucheson, and Robert Sem[)le, wha also sail attend upon the keiping of the burne port ; and for the awaiting and keiping of the west port, John Algie, Andro Stewart, William Ewing, Johne Henderson, Robert Craig, David Henderson, and John Whyte, merchand."' Fortunately for the inhabitants, this ailment did not come among them, and there were no more alarming reports regarding its ap- proach to the town till about two years afterwards. On iSth May, 1606, when it was announced that the pest infested Ayr, Kyle, Cunningham, Stirling, and other parts in the east, the former acts for protecting the town from this distemper were revised by the Bailies and Council, and the inhabitants ordered to attend to them. As on the two former occasions, no one, however, was attacked by the dreaded trouble. At this time, also, the pest happily disap- l600 TILL 1650. 193 peared altogether from this part of the country, and did not return for many years. ^ Another serious malady — that of leprosy — made its appearance in the town in the second year of the seventeenth century, and although it did not prevail to any great extent, yet a curious Act, dated i8th October, 1601, was passed by the Bailies and Council to guard against its being spread. The Act was very arbitrary, and allowed leprous persons only to make calls during two hours twice a week ; they were not to go into any house, but to use clappers to bring the inmates out, under the pain of banishment ; any one admitting a leper into his house was to be fined, and no one was to let such one a house under a penalty of five punds.^ But we give the Act entire : — " Anent Leprous Folks. — The qlk day the Bailies and Counsall of the said burghe, understanding that there is sundrie leprous folks wha repairs within this burghe and usis thameselves in company at butt and every wayis with the inhabitants thereof without respect to their diseis or danger thereof — howbeit the said the same be most dangerous whair company is always to be forborne for eschewing thereof, baith in the laws set down thereanent in holy scripture as ^ The Bailies of Dumbarton, in consequence of the approach of the pest, agreed that " In regard of the bruit and rumour of the plaig of pestilence, the Bailies and Counsall inhibit and discharges that no lint nor tow be bro'- in hereafter to this burgh till the plaig ceiss, as also discharges all persouns within this burgh noways to reset or receave strangers till the magistrattis be acquaint thair- with, under the paine to be punischt and censurit with all rigor. And ordaine publicatioun to be maid be sound of drum thairof as the baillies causit do befoir, and ordaine all uncuth beggers and uthir strangers to be removit out of the burgh and the Baillies to tak tryall thairof and cause the same to be dune. And because personnes and travellers use to cum to the mercat on better days weiklie, ordanis twa to stand on Fryday afternoone and on Setterday all day, ilk weik as they sail be warnit, twa at the brig and twa at the colledge, ilk personne undir the paine of xis that beis warnit and failles, that gif straingers cumin they may be stayit till the magistraies be aquent " (Dituibarton Biirgli Records, " sevint Oct., 1635"). The Town Council of Peebles, in the following year, "statute and ordanit that in respect of the appeirance of the plaige, that na persone within this burgh pas furtli theirof to na forane pairt without speciall license of the provost and bailzeis, or ane sufficient testimonial! subscryvit be the clerk at thair command. And sichlyk that nane resett any stranger quhatsumever till they adverteis the proveist and baillies and obtene thair licence, under the pane of banishment or xl li. And for that effect, ordanes the portis to be precisle kepit in the day tyme, and the town to be watchit in the nict tyme, and the constables, with ane of the baillies in thair quarteris, to set the saids watches and they to check the saids watches, and the unlattaris of this act in ony point thairof to be wardit till they mak satisfactioun " (Burgh of Peebles Records, 14th November, 1636). ^ In Glasgow a leper hospital was founded by Marjory Stewart, daughter of Robert, Duke of Albany, son of King Robert II. On 7th October, 1589, there were six lepers in that hospital (Glasgow CoiDicil Records). One of the regula- tions of the Glasgow Town Council, as fixed on 6th October, 1610, was that "the lipper of the hospital sail gang only upon the calsie syde near the gutter, and sail half clapperis and ane claith upon their mouth and face, and sail stand afar off qll they resaif amous, or answer under the payne of banicshing thame the toun and hospital." N 194 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. also in the laws of this realme : Therefore it is statut and ordaint be the said Bailies and Counsall that no leprous persons be sufferit to repair commonlie in mannir foirsaid within the said burghe, nor be sufifirit to use ony common merchandise within the same or hauld open bathes of merchandise within the same, quhilk movis folks to repair to thame and be in company with thame, and to that effect ordains the said leprous persouns that whomsoever that are not to be leprous to be warnit to desist fra all company, beiring, re- pairing, aud drinking in the houses of the said burghe, and in oppin buthis haulking and merchandise making, and in all onie societie with the inhabitants of the said burghe, except sa money of the leprous folks as of necessitie behuiffis to craif support to haif access twice in the week, viz., Friday and Wednesday, betwixt xi hours and ane afternoon allanarlie, and that day haif clappers and stand without the duirs, and that they call the people out, under the pane of banishment of the said leprous persouns of the burgh. And lyke- ways discharge the said inhabitants to receive thame within the house to sit, drink, or beir company with thame, under the pane of xxx^ (2s. 6d.) toties quoties. And farder discharges the said inhabitants and others whomsoever haifing houses within the said burgh to set ony of the houses for lang or short taks to ony of the said leprous persouns under the pain of fyve punds money." It appears that in 1624 John Kerr became leprous, and the Bailies on 24th October in that year ordained the proclamation to be sent throughout the town against him. As he still continued on 25th January, 1625, to be affected with the disease, the Bailies caused the Act to be put in execution against any one who received him. The only other case of leprosy reported in this period, was that of Robert Urie and his wife whom the Bailies prohibited from keeping a change-house as she was sick, and " specially as they kept a scandalous house" ( Council Rcavds, 14th February, 1648). Instead of passing persecuting Acts against these poor unfortunate persons who were suffering in so many ways so severely from this disease, it would have been a more charitable and praiseworthy proceeding of the BaiUes and Council, had they, as in several other towns in Scotland, provided some place in which theymight live apart.^ The last case of leprosy in the town was that of Robert Urie's wife, who is thus referred to in the Council records. January 31st, 1650 : — "The qlk day it is statute and ordaint that Robert Urie, fleschour, his wife, who is leper, sail with all diligence be removed ont of the towne, and that the said Robert sail be discharged all slaying or selling of fleshe until he remove her." ^ It was ordained by Parliament that lepers should not sit and beg in kirks or kirk-yards within burghs, "but at their own hospital and at the port of the town" (Ads of the Parliament of Scot/and, vol. ii., p. 16). At Stirling, the leper hospital was at the west-end. It received yearly 8 bolls of oatmeal from the King ( ExcJiequer Rolls, No. 314). At Linlithgow, the leper hospital was at the Magdalen, outside of the burgh on the east side (Accounts of Lord High Trcastircr of Scotland, Preface, ccxxxvi). l600 TILL 1650. 195 14th April, 1 65 1 : — " The qlk day, in respect that Janet Wilson, spouse to Robert Urie, flesher, is very leprous, her husband is ordained to remove her out of the towne or to put her in some secret place where no harme sail be put to her nor that he sail haunt her company himself. And that he doe this betwixt and Beltane next, and from that time he to have no exercese of his calling swa being as the samyne is undone." The stealing of peats still continued to prevail to a considerable extent, and the Bailies and Council enacted some very severe laws to stop the practice. Delinquents were threatened with the punish- ment of a whole day in the jugs, and for a second oftence with banishment from the town. 24th January, 1600 : — " Item, ratifies and approves the Act maid of befoir anent peat steillars with this addition, that the person or personis convicted of peit steilling sail be put in jogs for the space of ane haill day, and if ony be twice apprehendit and convicted of peit steilling to be banished the toun." This is the first time that the jugs as a means of punishment are alluded to in the Council records. The orthography of the word varied very much — jugs, jogs, juggs, jougs, jogges, joigs, joggis, are all found in the old writers. The word is believed to be derived from the Latin woxdji/gum, the English of which is "yoke." When used in connection with ecclesiastical discipline, which was often the case, although not in Paisley, they were attached to the porch of the village church, to a tree in the churchyard, or to the wall of the church itself. The jug consisted of a flat iron collar, which was put round the neck of the offender and securely fastened to the pillar or wall against which they were placed. In Paisley the criminals stood on the head of the tollbooth stair, and the jug was fastened to the steeple by a padlock. In this conspicuous position they were subjected to the gaze of those in the street, and sometimes, when the crime they had committed provoked the popular feeling, they were much abused by having offensive things thrown at them. Although the jugs used at the Paisley Tollbooth are unfortunately not preserved, specimens are still to be seen in several other places. The jugs used at Galashiels are in the Abbotsford armoury ; and they are still to be seen fixed on the wall of the church at Merton, Ber- wickshire, and of the church at Duddingston, Mid- lothian. The jugs used in Edinburgh were attached to the ancient cross at the tollbooth, and the staple still remains to which the culprit was secured. A jug was found in a tree that was blown down some time ago near the church at Applegarth, Dumfriesshire, and is represented in the accompanying sketch (ArcJiceoIogy of Scotland, by Daniel "Wilson, p. 691). Mr. JUG. 196 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Gabriel Neil states that "the jugs or jougs might, not much later than twenty years ago, be found dangling on the Glasgow Tollbooth steeple near the ' houf door/ A pair were sus- pended from the wall by an iron chain of about sixteen inches in length, and at the end of each chain was attached an iron collar for encircling the neck " (Transactions of the Glasgow Aj'chceological Society : Paper read at meeting held 2nd November, 1857 ; subject, " A few brief notices of the old Tollbooth at the Cross of Glasgow, removed 1814." Part i., p. 22.) The last time the jugs were used in Newburgh, Fifeshire, was on 20th July, 1757. There is a jug attached to the round tower at Abernethy ( Lindores Abbey ^ p. 255). An old man, now (1864) alive, says Sir Andrew Agnew in his History of the Hereditary Sheriffs ofGal/oway, " distinctly remembers having seen the jougs or gorgets at the old castle of Innernessan." 15th October, 1607. — "To prevent stealing of peats and elding [fuel of any kind], no person to carry thereof from the Moss till first they informed the Bailies, on pain of 20^ and the bearer put in the jogs." 1 6th April, 1646. — The inhabitants of the town were prohibited from casting peats in any other moss except that belonging to the town. The bridge over the Cart, so necessary for the good accommoda- tion of the passenger and other traffic between the two sides of the river, continued to receive the attention of the Bailies and Council, after the charter was granted to them by King James VI. at the end of the preceding century. Several resolutions, in this period, were passed relating to the watching of the bridge. But the roup- ing of the bridge customs, and the repairing of the bridge itself, which follow, may be found interesting : — 14th October, 1603. — ^^ Act; Ropcijig of the Brig Buthe. — Theqlk day the brig buthe of the said burghe presentlie occupiet be W™- Hectour, tailzeur, being ropit and litel bidden therefoir, and the saids Bailies and Counsell understanding the contageous sickness of the pest is partlie within this realme and is infestit in sindrie partis thereof, and that the portis of the said burghe must be keepit, speciall the brig port, for keiping whereof the said buthe is very necessary, they thairfoir continuat the setting thairof to farther advertysment." In 1608 the brig custom was let for x punds ; in 1 6 10 for X punds ; in 1621 for 39 merks. 14th October, 1603. — ■'■''Act; coaming of persoiines to the Keiping of the Ports. — Item, it is statute and ordaint that whasoever beis warnt be the officers to keip ane of the ports at even and enters not on the morne in manner above specified sail pay ane unlaw of viii^ (8d.), and ane person put be the Bailies upon his expenses to keip the same for that day." 14th October, 1603. — " Act ; entry to the Keiping of the Ports. — Item, it is statute and ordaint that the entere to the keiping of the l6oO TILL 1650. 197 ports of this burghe begin the fyfteine day of this instant, and that the officers warne the haill inhabitants of this burghe, burgesses, and others as they sail be commendit be the Bailies, and roll given to charge to that effect, and that ilk keiper have ane sword with ane staff" in his hand at the keiping of the said ports ilke persoune under the paine of five pounds." ^^ Act ; John Vans agt. Maxwell. — In the Counsel hous of the Burgh of Paisley, the tvventie-five day of October, 1603, sittand in judgement, Andrew Crawfurd, ane of the BaiHes of the said burghe, with certane of the Counsel theirof — The qlk day in presence of the same Andrew Crawford and certane of the Counsell of the said burghe, comperit John Vaus, the other Bailie, of the samin, and complaint upon Robert Maxwell, burgess thereof, for not keiping of the brig port of the said burghe the twenty-foure day of this said instant, being warned to that effect be ane of the officers the night preceding, for his misbehaviour in word and countenance to the said John Vaus, Bailie, being reprovit be him for not keiping of the said port, and lykewayis for the said Robert's disobedience, being chargit him to enter in ward within the tolbuithes of the said burghe. The said Robert compeir and personallie confessit that he refusit to keip the said port. The said John Vaus, Bailie, having chargit him therewithe and his misbehaviour in word and countenance to the said Bailie was sufficiently proven, and theirfoure the said Andro Crawfurd, Bailie, and the Counsell desernt and commandit the said Robert to remain in ward upon his own expenses ay and qle he acknowledget his offence to the said Bailies and Counsell, and speciallie to the said John Vaus, Bailie, and also to pay 40s. of unlaw to Robert Craig, theasuser of the said burghe." 26th January, 1614. — " And sichlyk it is concluded that the brig be poynted in deu tyme of the year and the staiges thereof helpet fra the brig porte to the catchpeull newik, in sa far as the Bailies and six of the best skelled persons of the Counsall think guid and expedient." 15th October, 1635. — "An act made to shut the bridge port except the wicket, to prevent carriers carriying on the Sabbath day." The property held by the Town Council and let to tenants was very trifling. The " rouping of the customs of the burghe common and others" on 12th October, 1604, was as follows : — 1. Custom of the burgh with the north buith to Wm. Greenleis for 17 pnds 13^ 4 pennies {£^\ 9s. 5^d.) 2. Custom of the brig to Wm. Greenleis, four punds money (6s. 8d.)i 3. Mid buith under the toUbuith to John Whyte for four pnds money (6s. 8d.) ^ On 15th October, 1601, "The custom of the brig was set to Wm. Greenlees for auch punds. John Fyff, sourtie. " 198 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. 4. East buith to Wm. Fisher for four pnds money (6s. 8d.) 5. The heich buithe, tollbuith stair, for thrie pnds to Alexr. Stewart. 6. Laigh eist buithe set to John Baird, elder, tailzeour, for thrie pnds money. 7. West laigh buith rouped and let to Wm. Urie, cordiner, for four pnds (6s. 8d.) 8. Comon myre set to John Algie for thretie-thrie shillings four pennies (6s. 8d.) 9. Half aiker land in over comon above the goat set to John Whyte, flasher, for tvva years, for thrie pnds money of mail yeirlie." In the beginning of the seventeenth century the condition of the streets in the town frequently engaged the attention of the Bailies and Council, and it is interesting to notice how they sometimes went about that business. The market cross, it appears, was in need of being repaired, and on the 14th October, 1603, they ordained as follows : — " That onie ma be free to gadder and lay togidder calsay stanes whenever the same may be had neirist to this burghe, and the same to be led thairto at sik tymes as the said Bailies and Counsall sail think maist meit and expedient, for bigging of ane calsay about the mercat croce of the said burghe and other places needful for the sam." On the 1 2th October in the following year, the Council elected Robert Algie to be master of works, and passed an " Act anent the bigging of the calseyis in this burgh " as follows : — " The Bailies and Counsell of this burghe, for the furtherance and forwardt setting of the common affairs of this burghe, haif electit and choisin Robert Algie master of work, to the effect foir- said, for the space of ane yeir next to cum, quha sail be satisfiet be the consideration of the said Bailies and Counsell for his travel to be tane. And first it is statute and ordained be thame that the calsie about the croce of this burghe be buildit with possibill dili- gence, and to that effect that thair twa men presentlie set togidder stane for leiding, of the qlk the said master of work sail have power to charge the inhabitants of this burghe be the officers, and to poind the disobedients for ane unlaw, and the fynest calsay biggar can be gotten be feit to cut thereto efter Candlemas next. And siclyke it is ordaint that the calsay outwith the west port of this burghe with all possibill diligence be buildit, beginin quhair it left and to be buildit to Johne Fyffs kill, and the rcddiest meins of the common guide that can be gotten to furneis the said work.'"' On 5th November, 1606, the Council agreed that the causey forward to the Wellmeadow should be causeyed, and the heritors to gather and lead stanes as they shall be desired, for laying opposite their own properties. It appears also that the town had something to do with the keeping in repair of the road betwixt Paisley and Glasgow, for on l6oo TILL 1650. 199 the 27th March, 1607, the Bailies and Council passed an "Act for mending of the gait (road) betwixt and Glasgow." On 6th October, 16 10, the Council ordered the Master of Works " That ane calsay be maid betwixt the Abbey yet and the kirk style." 14th April, 1608. — "The Bailies and Council entered into an agreement with James Miller, mason, to take down the north syde of the west port together with the haill pen, and sail build the same six feet higher than it is at present." ^ Anent the calsays the Council agreed " one be maid in the Scoole Wynd, and causeyed foment the Blackhoill, with the causey in Moss raw head." On 28th January, 1619, further causeying work was ordered to be executed, and it was " from James Pow's house to the Wallneuk, and where John Mathie dwells by the wallside, 3 ells broad ; and from the Lady Kirk to the Seedhill mill so far as thought need full of the breadth fore said ; and that the haill burgesses, in dwellers and stallingers within the burgh, be taxed for leading of the stanes to the said causey." - In regulating the sanitary condition of the streets in the town three hundred years ago, the Bailies and Council had many diffi- culties to contend with and much opposition to overcome in carry- ing out the little they attempted to do. At that time, and long afterwards, the inhabitants were so uncleanly in their habits, that they persisted in converting a portion of the streets in front of their dwellings into dungsteads, or, as they are called in the old records, " middings." Every kind of filthy nuisance, it appears, was thrown upon the streets from the doors leading into their houses to save themselves the trouble of carrying it to a proper place prepared for the purpose ; and several stringent Acts, as will be seen, were passed by the Bailies at different times to modify, or to prevent, these unbecoming irregularities. On 15th October, 1601, the Bailies and Council ordained, not that there should be no middings on the street, but only that all offal should be removed every Saturday. The Act was as follows: — " Itan, for sa mekil as the calsay forgains the cors and other parts of the said burghe ar maid midding stedis be sundrie inhabi- tants, to the grit injury of the said burghe, therefoir it is statut ■■ We learn from a case that was brought before the court of the Bailies on I5lh February, 161 1, that the lime used for mortar in the erection of houses in the town was "burnt at BlackhaD," and that the price for "four score sax laids " was 53s. 4d. (4s. 5>^d. ) each chalder." ^ In 1577 the Glasgow Town Council appointed " a calsaj'e maker " for two years. It would appear, however, that no one of sufficient skill could be obtained in the city, and there is an entry in the Burgh records in the following year authorising "a calsaye maker" to be brought from Dundee. In 1662, when some causeying work was ordered to be done, the Council " recommends to the Master of Works to send for the calsaye layer in Rutherglen to do the work " (Old Glasgow, by Macgeorge, p. 290). 200 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. that ilk Satterday the sam be removit as is acustomit in other bor- rowis, under the pane of eschet thereof." Two years afterwards, on the 14th October, 1603, the BaiHes and Council " ordaint that na middings of fulzie be maid without the common gutter upon the calsay, conform to the acts maid thairupon of befoir, under the pane of xx^" (is. 8d.), and that " the red and bigging of all houses laid upon the calsay be transported and led away be the heritouris thairof within the space of ane month next efter the bigging be endit, thay being warnit thereto be an officer at commands of the Bailies, under the pane of v lb." And on 29th January, 1607, they further ordained that no fulzie nor middings be allowed to " ly on the calsays langer than forty-eight hours." These and similar resolutions were passed from time to time, and on 13th October, 1603, " anent raiddingsteads upon the causey, and the same with middings at fleshers' doors, be clenzed every Friday." In this period the arrangements formerly made for pasturing the cows belonging to the burgesses upon the common land, and the engagement of herds, were continued with little variation. In 1606 a bull is first mentioned. The Bailies and Council, as the land surrounding the town Avas not sufficiently fenced, were frequently under the necessity of pass- ing laws relating to the protection of the crops of the burgesses from horses, cows, sheep, and fowls, and from being stolen. Some of these Acts follow, and will no doubt be found more interesting in the quaint language of that period than in a more modern form of description : — 15th October, 1601. — "For as mekil as dyvers years bygane there his bein grit slouth in hervest of feilds of corne, beir, and any other stuff within and about the bounds of this burghe pertaining to the inhabitants of the same, and little orra tryall tane thereof for remeid, whereof in tyme cuming it is statut, ordaint, and concludit be the Bailies and Counsall of the said burgh that certain watchmen be appointit for keiping of the said cornes being stollen fra the last day of August until the same be innit, in sic sort as the said Bailies and Counsall think meit and convenient to direct." 15th October, 1601. — " Fykars. — It is statut that the act maid of befoir anent pykars and steillars of corn, peits, kail, and fouUis, be put to execution with all rigour." On 25th May, 1604, the Council "ordained that na person within this burgh, neither be themselves nor their servands, scheir ony other men's grass betwixt the furs of land, bak of dykes, nor na other parts, under ane unlaw of viij^" 9th January, 1607. — An Act was passed prohibiting any person from keeping tame doves within this burgh — very likely because they consumed so much of the growing corn.^ •• Dovecots were anciently built on small holdings, but in 161 7 a statute was passed restricting the privilege of possessing them to those who owned lands l6oO TILL 1650. 201 i8th April, 1605. — "The qlk day the BaiUes and Counsall rati- fies and approves this act maid of befoir anent the keiping of horse and kye, as well in symer as in hervest, and that na person or per- sons, burgesses or indwellers of this burgh, haif the hors or kye tedderit or loust on other men's stibbils, but on owners awin lands or stibbills quhill the corne be of the samen. And wha contra- venes, the owners to be poindit for xx^ of unlaw, toties quoties, and siclyke that na hors nor kye within the said burghe be funden pasturand on lones nor dykes until the corne be inwith and shorne, under the said pane of xx^ of unlaw, toties quoties, and the twa pairts of the said unlaw to apertein to the Bailies, third pairt to the officer and poindars." In this period the houses were mostly one storey in height, and covered with straw or heather. Fowls would therefore readily go upon the roofs of the houses and injure them very much. The Bailies, to check this evil, in a very summary and no doubt effectual way, passed an Act, 28th January, 1608, " anent fowls scraping on the houses," and gave permission " unto those who apprehended the fowls to slay and dispose of them at pleasure." 14th April, 1608. — " Act anent foul horse. — Item, it is statute and ordained that no scabbed or foul horse remaine nor be holden within the said Burgh nor territory thereof, under the pain of ten pounds of unlaw, toties quoties." 14th April, 1608, " Ordains all sheip to be expelled furth of the said burgh, freedom, and territory thereof presently under the pains contained under the acts maid thereanent of before." On 30th April, 16 12, " The Bailies and Counsall having con- sideration of the great disorder, skaith, and oppression done be ane great number having horse within this burgh to honest men in their corns and gers, ordain no person to keep horse without it is known to the Bailies that they have grass of their own to feed them on." 23rd April, 1618.— " Persons guilty of stealing pease, parents to be answerable for their children and masters for their servants, for a fine of 20s. which the masters are to retain out of their servants' wages." nth October, 1621. — ''Item, no person to bring any sheaves of corn into his house or stable after sun setting under the pain of xi^' and that no stabler receive any sheaves of corn within their house or stable from any person or stranger under the like penalty." On 26th January, 1636, "The Council ordained that no sheep to be kept on common or heritable lands from St. Patrick's day till the haill corn be put in, under a fine of five pounds (8s. 4d.)" which might produce twelve chalders of victual. By an Act passed in 1567 owners of dovecots were protected, inasmuch as the destruction of a pigeon was made punishable with forty days' imprisonment, and for the second offence with deprivation of the right hand (Social Lije in Scotland, by Rev. Charles Rogers, vol. i., p. 243). 202 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. I St February, 1649. — ''''Item, they renew and ratify the act that whatsoever person has corn eaten by their neighbour's bestiall in time coming, that they shall persew the same within year and day thereafter, and what skaith beis found due by the party offended that the Bailies shall have as much by the offender." In one chapter devoted to the latter half of the preceding century we narrated a number of cases of assault, which are described in a rather graphic way in the Council records, in order to show to some extent the state of society at that time. We now propose to give some of a similar kind belonging to the succeeding half century, and have selected a few of the most important and interesting. It will be seen that the whinger or sword continued to be generally carried, and was frequently used in brawls and disputes in a very dangerous manner. 25th June, 1600. — " Robert Snodgrass, wabster, was decernt in an unlaw of fyve punds money for wounding of Wm. Aitken on the heid, grantit done be him upon the xiij day of this instant, and also decreed to satisfy the said Wm. be the sicht and descretion of the said Bailies for the wounding of him to the effusion of blude. John Henderson, cautioner for the said Wm. and Gawand Stewart for the said Robert, that they sail not invaid again in tyme coming under the pane of x pund (i6s. 8d.)'' John Wilson was charged with the very serious offence of trying to put Bailie Vaus into a moss got. 6th June, 1601. — "John Wilson, calsysyde, desernt in an unlaw of 40s. (3s. 4d.) for injuring of John Vaus, bailie, being upon the moss the second of June instant swa tryit to haif merit gritter punish be the major part of the Counsall they convenit for the tyme." 6th February, 1601. — "The qlk day anent the complaint given in be John Henderson, procurator liscal, upon Patrick Quhyt and Paul Fleming in Gaitsid, mak and mention that quhain the sex Januar last either of them invaidit one another with wapoun invasive and woundit one another to the effusion of their blude, thereby they and either of them committat trublance of the said burgh and therefoir ought to be decreet in an unlaw of ten punds. Patrick Quhyt, compeared be John Hector his cautioner, is decernt in ane unlaw of ten punds (i6s. 8s.) because it was sufficientlie verefit that he had woundit the same Paul in the heid and the said Patrick comperit not to object, in the contrairhe and the said Johne Hector his cautionar decernt in manir foir said." 3rd April, 1 60 1. — " Triihlaucc. — The qlk day anent the complent givin in John Hutchisoun, procurator fiscal of the said burgh, upon Gavan Ralstoun, younger of that ilk, and Mr. John Gilchrist, mak- and mentioun that upon the xxv day of March last, bypast either of the said parties at the market cors of the said burgh invadit one another with drawn swords, thereby thay and either of thame ought l6oo TILL 1650. 203 and sould be decernt in ane unlaw of five punds money, confornie to the acts and statutes maid thereanent, the charge givin to the said persons, and the cautionars for the defenders to haif comperit this day, the said Mr. John Gilchrist compeired personallie, denyit ane trublance comitit be him, the said Gawand Ralstoun oft times callit and compeirit, the said John Hutchisoune offerit to prove the said trublance, and for persuing thereof produced certain famous witnesses, quha having been admitted and sworne and examined, proved the said Gawand Ralstoun invadit the said Mr. John Gil- christ with ane sword, and therefore decernt the said Gawand Ralstoun and Patrick Mossman, cautioner foresaid, in an unlaw of fyve pounds." 1 8th May, 1604. — " The qlk day Gawin Stewart, burgess of the said burgh, as principal, and David Henderson, cautioner and sourtie for his enterie, was decernit in fourtie shillings of unlaw for trublance comittat within the said burgh the 15th day of May in- stant, in the striking and persewing of Ro'- Urie with ane sword and scabbart, whereupon qlk the said Gawin confessit, and come in the said Bailies will of the said unlaw, swa in manner foresaid. Lykeas the said Rob^- Urie being callit and persewit for trubling of the said burghe, and persute of the said Gawin was assoilzeit, because the same being referit to the said Robert's aithe of veritie, he denyit that he wis one persewar of the said Gawin, but onlie defendit himself. And the Bailie ordaint to poind for the said unlaw." On 1 6th October, 1604, Thomas, William, and John Jamieson, three brothers, wabsters in Cardonald, were charged by Robert Urie, procurator-fiscal, with having on the 14th of that month " persued John Park, younger in Househill, in the burngait of Paisley, with drawn swords and other weapons, and thereby hurt and wounded John Park in different parts in the held, to the effusion of his blood in great quantities." Thomas and William Jamieson admitted the " trublance," and came in the will of the Bailies. John Jamieson denied the charge, but the court found him " airt, part, and coad- jutor with his other twa brothers." " The Bailies therefore, with consent of the maist part of the Counsell," desernt the brothers to pay fifteen punds {^£1 5s.) to the treasurer." William Gilmour put in the stoks for insulting Bailie Vans. 1 2th October, 1604. — " The qlk day Wm. Gilmour, burgess of the said burgh, for his misbehaviour in language and disobedience given to Johne Vaus, ane of the Bailies of the said burgh, in wrang- ous complaining upon him to ane nobill Lord, James of Abercorne, Provost of the said burgh. Efter triall tane of the said complaint given in be the said William, and the said Johne Vaus's answer thereto, the said nobill Lord, the other Baillie, and Counsall of the said burghe, hes fundin the said Wm. to have not onlie misbehavit himself in language and disobedience to the said Bailie, but also in the wrangous compleining on him to the said nobill Lord, and 204 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. thereupon the said nobill Lord, other BailUe, and Counsell ordaint the said Wm. Gilmour to be put in the stoks and to remain therein, ay and until he be releisit therefra be the said John Vaus, Bailie, and Counsell, his ofifence publischt, and crave the said Bailie and Counsell forgiveness thereoff. ^Vhereupon the said John Vaus, Bailie, askit actis." 9th November, 1604. — "Jone Wilson, portioner of Hutheid, being doing his lesum affairs and business within this burghe in quyet maner, beleivand na hurt nor injurie to have been done to him be onie person bot to have livit under God's peace and our soverane lord, Avas attacked by James Spreul and Jone Spreul, along with other five accomplices, with swords and gauntelats in the king's street, who maist cruellie struck and feUit him to the earth, where he fell in ane guttar, so that for ane greit space thereafter he wist not where he wis. Theirafter they maist violentlie brak the south port and also uttered irreverent words, until be force they were compellit to enter in the toUbuith and find baile accordingly. The Bailie decerned the said James and Jone Spreul to pay to the treasurer of the burgh five pounds of money." 17th January, 1605. — "The qlk day, anent the claim given in and persewit be George Ramsay and Robert Urie, procurator-fiscal for this burgh, for his enterest, against Patrick IMossman of Sande- furd, burgess thereof, bearing that upon the xxvi day of Januar instant the said George, being keipand the brig port of this burghe, thinkand for na harm nor injurie to have been done to him, never- theless the said Patrick came to him and struk him with ane batoun divers straikis on the heid and airm, to show his contempt of the Bailies and Counsale of this burgh, and thereby has comittit trub- lance within the saim, and therefoir aucht and sould be decernit in an unlaw of fyve punds, conforme to the Acts maid thereanent. And farder, to be puneisit in his person for his contempt, according to the Bailies and Counsale's will, as the said clame in itself at mair lenthe beirs. The said persewaris compeir and personallie, and the said Patrick Mossman lykwyse compeir, and personallie con- fesset the striking of the said George Ramsay with ane stalf wepoun, upon just occasioun maid be him to the said Patrick, mentioned, sworne, and therefoir become in the will of the saids Bailies for the wrang and off"ence done and comittit be him tuching the trublance of the said burgh, whereupon the said Robert Urie, for fischall, askit actis." 17th January, 1605. — "The qlk day, in presence of the said Bailies and Counsill, comperit personallie Thomas Quhytfurd, burgess of the said burgh, and compleinit upon Walter Fordyce and Janet Mathie, his spous, for slandering of the said Thomas, allegand and avowing that he, upon the saxtein day of this instant, stoU twa of the hennis being within his stabill. The said Walter and his spous compeirand, bathe personallie declairit be the aithis that the said Thomas had tane their said two hens tyme and place foirsaid, l600 TILL 1650. 205 and that the said Walter Fordyce saw the said Thomas tak the same. Of the qlk slander the said Thomas, be his greit aithe tane in the presence of the said Bailies and Counsale, purgeit himself. And lykewise declairit befoir the saids Bailies and Counsell that the said Walter was adjudget and convict of theft at ane certane tyme be the Bailies of the said burgh for the tyme, and therefoir ought to haif bein scurgit and banist the toun, as is notor to the saids Bailies and Counsell, qlk act he desyrs the said Bailies and Counsell to put to execution. The said Bailies and Counsalers, advyseand upon the said complaint, findand the said Thomas to be innocent of the sklander, in respect of his greit aithe gevin thereupon. Therefoir the said Bailies and Counsale decerns the said Walter Fordyce to be put in the stocks publiclie, and the said Janet Mathie, his spous, in the joggis, and to be baithe banist furthe of this burgh within the space of fiftein days nex to cum, and that he cum not within the freedom thereof hereafter under pain of scurgeing and burning." 1 2th jNIarch, 1605. — "The qlk day, anent the claim given in and persewit be Jone Henrysone and John Park, procurator fiscal of this burgh, against Wm. Sempill, servitor to Robert Sempill of Fulwood, and Constantine Mortoun, servitor to Wm. Sted, capitane of Dunbrettane, beiring that qr. upon the day in Mche instant, the said Wm. Sempill and Constantine Mortoun, without onie just occasion offert to thame, not only manassit invadit and coistit the said Jone Henrysone with more injurious words in presence of the said Jone Vaus, Baillie, but also invadit and persewit the said Jone Henrysone, the said John Vaus, Bailye, w' the officers and haill comunitie of this burgh being convenit for the tyme with drawn swords and other wapounes, invasive and comittit trublance w' in the said burgh, and therefoir they and ilk ane of thame aucht and sould be decernt in an unlaw of ten punds. Lykeas, the said Wm. Sempill upon this instant day maist wrangouslie and violentlie persewit Robert INIaxwell, burgess of this burgh, with ane drawn sword, and has comittet another trublance, and therefoir aucht and sould be decernt in ane other unlaw of ten punds, as the said claim in itself at mair lenthe beirs. Baith the parties pst. The Baillies decerns and decreits ilk ane of the saids Wm. Sempills and Constantine Mortoun in an unlaw of ten punds, for the first trublance comittet be thame in maner above rehersit, and siclyke decerns the said Wm. Sempill in ane other unlaw of ten punds for the said last trublance comittit be him in persewing the said Robert Maxwell. Because the said claim being referit to the said psewars probation and certaine terme assignit to thame for pvog yrof, yay provit the samin sufficientlie as was cleirlie understand unto the said Baillies, quha yrfoir decerns in manner foirsaid for the payment of the qlk thrie unlaws to be payit be the said Wm. and Constantine, rescive ilk an for the y"" awin pts in maner above rehersit, John Algie, elder burges of the said burgh, is become actit of his awin proper confession as cautioner and sourtie for thame. 206 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Lykeas ye said Wm. and Constantine renunceand their awin juris- diction and submittand thameselfis to the jurisdiction of the said Baillies in this cais, actit thameselfis conjuncthe and answerabHe to warrand frethe reUef, and skaithliss keip the said Jone Aigie, the cautioner, yr anent qrupon the said psewar, and the said Jone Algie askit actis.'' 23rd April, 1605. — "The qlk day anent the complaint given in be Jone Henrysone, and remanent p"" fischall of this burgh agains John Fynlayson, burgess yrof, Jone Ste\vart, his broyer natural!, and Jone Steinston, for trublance of this burgh and sundrie of the inhabitants of the sam, upon Sundaye last the xxi of this instant, within clud of nicht, as in the clame yranent at mair lenthe is contenit. Baithe pties present. The Baillies decerns the said Jone Fynlayson in an unlaw of ten punds, to be payit to the thes""- Because the said clame being referit to the said persewars probation, and ane certain tyme assignit for proving yrof, decerns in maner foirsaid.'"' 3rd ]May, 1605. — "The qlk day anent the clame persewit be James Miller, mason, indweller of this burgh, and Robert Sempill, pror. fischall of the same, for his enterest beiring qrupon, the xx day of Apryle last, the said James being workand his labour of mason-craft to Jone Hutcheson, ane of the Baillies of this burgh, belevand na evil to have been done to him be na person nor psones, but to have leivit under God's peace and o"" sourane Lord's, netheless, Wm. Elphinstoune, glaisewricht, being movit be ane evil spreit as apperit come furth of the said Jone Hutcheson's hous, and desyrit the said James, cpliner, to haif spock nane word to him, without ony furder straik the said James with his nief upon the chiek, and then maist unhonestlie hurt his cheik, qlk he wald not half sufferit nor susteint for xx£ money, and yfoir the said Wm. and Andro Stewart of Woodsyde, burges of this burgh, cautioner and sourtie for his entrance, suld not onlie be decernt to pay to the said James the foirsaid sowme, bot also ane unlaw of fyve punds to the thes""- of this burgh, conforme to the acts and statutes maid yanent as at mair lenthe is conteint in the said claim. Baith the parties present. The said Wm. confessit the trublance comittet be him in maner claimit, and yfoir come in the will of the said Baillies for the unlaw, and in satisfaction yof acted himself as principall in the bulks of this burgh, renounceand his awin juris- diction in this cais and the said Andro Stewart, as cautioner for him. To wyre the meikill foir window in the tolbuthe betwix and Whitsonday nex, provyding he be farder satisfiet, yfoir be the syt of the saids twa Baillies, Thomas IngUs and Robert Algie." 3rd May, 1605. — "The qlk day, anent the clame given in and psewit by Alexr. Snodgrass in Cragenfeoch, and Robert Sempill, pr. fischall of this burgh, for his interes, agains Jone Adam in Craigs and David Henryson, burges of the said burgh, cawner for his enteres, beiring that qrupon the xxviij day of Apryle last, being l6oo TILI, 1650. 207 Sondayi, the said Alexr., being within this burgh doing his leisum busyness, and yrafter being gagai)d upo the hiegaite, myndg to gang haime, beleving na evil to have bene done to him by na pson nor psones, bot to have leivit under God's peace «Sc o""- sowane Lords : netheless the said Jone Adam, be instigation of the evil spirit & of set purpois, set upon the said Alexr. Snodgrass on the hie street of the said burgh, straik at him w'- his sword, and hit him ywith on his mowth and nees to the great effusion of his bluid, and yrfoir the said Jone aucht not onlie to be decernt to con- tent & paye to the said Alexr. the sowme of xx£ money as for the skaithe susteinit be the said Alexr. in hurtg of him in maner foir- said, but als aucht and suld be decernt in ane unlaw of ten punds for the said bluid and trublance of this burgh, to be peyit to the thes""- of the sam, as baithe the said pties pst. The said Jone Adam confessit the trublance comittit be him in maner containt in clame, and yrfoir come in will of the saids Baillies for the said unlaw, quha decerns & ordains the said Jone Adam and David Henryson, his cauner, to pay the sum of ten punds of unlaw to the thes''- of this burgh, and the said Jone Adam is decernt of his awin consent to relief his said cawner, qrupon the said pr. fischall and cauner askit actis." 14th May, 1605. — "The qlk day, anent the clame given in be and psewit be Jone Davidson, burges of this burgh, and Agnes Hart, his spouse, agains James Pull, wricht, craving him ye sowme of nyne mks money, qrof fyve mks furneischit be ye said psewar to the said defender in meit and drink, and foure mks borrowit be ye said James fra ye said spouse's persewaris, half ane yeir syne, qlk sowmes he refuises to pay w' out he be compeUit, as the said clame at lenthe pportis. The said persewaris compeirand personallie, and the said defender being lawfullie warnit to this court, oftymes callit, and not comperit, the said Baillie decerns and decreits the said defender to content and pay to the said psewar the sowme of money above spe' - w' v^ for expenses. Because the said clame being referit be the said psewar to the said defenders aith of veritie, quha being laulie warnit to this court be Robert Hamilton, ofticer, to ye effect foirsaid w' certification, comperit not, and the said clame being referit to the said psewaris' aithes of veritie, quha being sworne, deponit in maner foirsaid ; and ordanes the officers to poind for ressounes forsaid gif neid beis. Q""- upon the said psewar askit actis." 27th May, 1605. — "Comperit personallie Wm. Gumming and Mall Gochran, his spous, and for the wrang and oftence comittit and done this day be the said Mall in breaking of Jone Young's held, servitour to Mr. Andro Knox, minister of Paslaye, to the effu- sion of his bluid, confessit be the said Mall, the Bailzie decerns her in an unlaw of fyve punds, qlk soume the said Wm. acht himself to pay." 27th July, 1605. — " The qlk day NicoU Ralstone, fleschour, com- 208 HISTORY OF PAISLEY, plenit upon Peter Walkinshaw in Bornehill for ye wrgous dinging and striking of him upon the xxv day of July instant, being the fair of this burghe, and yrthrow trubling ye sam efter ye proclamation yrof, and yrfoir aucht and sould be dent to pay to the thesaurer of the said burgh the sum of ten punds of unlaw, and ane sufficient amends to the said Nicoll for the offence done to him. Baith the said pties personallie compeirand, the said Peter Walkinshaw cfessit he straik the said Nicoll w"^ his feet on the neck ye said day, qlk confession ye said Nicoll acceptit, in respect qrof the said Bailies decnt him to pay to the thes''- of the said burgh ye said sowme of ten punds, for pay'- qrof to the said thesaurer Robert Urie, burges of the said burgh, become actit, cauner, and sourtie for ye said Peter. Lykeas ye said Peter renunceand his awin jurisdiction, actit him of his awin proper consent and confession to warrand fre the relief and skaithless keip ye said Robert of his said caurie, qrupon the said Nicoll askit actis." 27th July, 1605. — "The qlk day Nicoll Ralstoun being com- pleinit upon by Robert Urie, p""- fiscall of the said burgh, for trubling of the sam w' in proclamation of the fair, in sa far as the said Nicoll come with ane steill bonet and sword in the said Robert's house, seiking Peter Walkinshaw in Bornehill, to haif persewit him as the said compleint at mair lenthe beiris. Baith ye pties psnt. Ye said Nicoll Ralstoun alle' y' the said Peter struk him upon ye xxv day of this month upon the tolbuith stair of the said burgh. Lykeas ye said Nicoll confessit that he wore the said steill bonet and sword that day, to haif persewit the said Peter and tane ane amends of him gif he suld have apprehendit him, qlk confession ye said p""- fiscall acceptit, in respect qrof the said Baillies decernet the said NicouU Ralstoun to pay to the thesaurer of the said burgh the sowme of ten punds for ane unlaw, qrupon the said p""- fiscal askit actis." " In the tolbuthe of ye burghe of Paslay, the sevent day of August, 1605. Sittand in judgment: James, Lord of Abercorn, Provost of ye said burghe ; Jone Vaus and Jone Hucheson, Bailies yrof — Unlaw : Mersheli, Andro ; Dougall et Hair. — " The qlk day, anent the clame givin in and persewit be Patrik Mosman and Robert Urie, pror. fiscalls of this burghe, agains Mersheli, younger in Kilbarchan, John Hair, Wm. Dougald, and Wm. Andro, yo""- Alexr. Houstoune, servitor to Wm. Poterfield of y' ilk, and John Wallace, bgis of the said bghe, cautioner for yr entres, makand mention that qrupon the xxv day of July last, being the fair day of this bghe, and eftir ye pclamation of ye said fair that na psounis suld invade nor persew ozrs nor trubill this bghe for auld debt or for new, under the pane of ane unlaw of ten punds money, during the tyme of ye said fair, qlk was pclamit for aucht dayis : netheles the said Johne Me'shell ye said day invadit and strik Thomas Snodgrs in Middiltoun, and hit him upon ye mouth and neis to ye effusion of his blude, and lykewayis the said John Hair invadit and l600 TILL 1650. 209 Strike Jon Baird, wabsf> indwellar of yis burgh, qrupon he then cplenit to your wf q^^- thair eftir apprehendit the said Jo"^ Mershell and Jo" Hair, to haif brocht thame to ye tolbuthe of yis burghe qle caut" had been funden for payment of ye said unlaw, and in the meintim they seeing ye said Wm. Dougald, Wm. Andro, Alexr. and Patrik Houstounis, not onhe be yameselfs ressisted ye Baillies and officers of yis burghe, and drew yair swords and quhingers, strak yw' at thame. Bot als ye said Wm. Andro being on horsbak, and ye said Wm. Dugald being on fut w' sundrie uzis, and said Wm. Andro. Lykeas he w' ye said W"- Dougald drew yr swords and assisted ye said Jo"- Marshall, and Jo"- Hair invadit and psewit ye said Baillies and officers. Lykeas they being apprehendit be ye said Baillies and officers, quha were bringand them to the tolbuth to have fund caution for trublance of the said bghe, in the mein tyme ye said Patrik and Alexr. Houstounis maid a new inva- sion, drew yr swords, strak yr w' at them, ressisted ye said Bailies and offis in execution of yr office, and assistit ye said psounes, and at ye sam tyme Jo"- Hucheson, ane of the Bailies of this burgh, was hurt in his face to the effusione of his blud, and w"^ monie injurious words given, be ye said psounis. Lykeas be yr occasion in resist- ing ye said Baillies and yr officers, sundrie stanes of ye tolbuth stair wes dung doune throw the occasion, qrthrow sundrie of the inhabi- tants of this burgh were cruellie hurt and lameit, and ye said Wm. Andro strak Robert Pull on his face to the effusion of his blude, qrthrow ilk ane of the said psounis his comittit trublance w' in yis bghe, and yrfoir everie ane of thame aucht and sould be decernt in an unlaw of ten punds mo'=>', to be payit to the thes""- of ye said bghe, as the said clame at mair lenthe beiris. The said psewaris compeirand psonallie, as lykewayis the said defenders cpierad psonallie, qrupon the said John Wallace, caun""- for yr entrie, askit acts, the said pror. fiscall, w' consent of ye Baillies, past fra ye psute of the said Patrik Houstoun pro loco et tempore salva acm. As lykewayis ye said Pveist and Bailies, w' consent of ye pror. fiscall and Alexr. Houstoun, continewit ye said action for ye said Alexr. 's pairt, gafain ye said Jo" Wallace caune""- for his entrie, being persewit for said trublance ane tyme befoir the term of Mer- times next to cum, and ye said Jo"'= as cauner for him warnit befoir ye said terme, and the said Jo"- Mershell, Jo"- Hair, W"^- Dougald, and W"^- Andro, efter ye denyall of ye said trublance, cfessit ye sam and com in will of ye said Proveist and Baillies for yr unlaw, and ye said Proveist and Baillies n' w^ standing of yr being in will, qlk ye said p"" fiscall acceptis, ordainit ye p""- fiscall to produce witness warnit be them to this court for bettir tryall of ye said trublance, Q^ producit ctain witness, quha wer sworne and admittit in pnce of ye said defenders, and renuncit furder pbat"-- and y""- w' ye said Proveist and Bailies, being fully advyssit, decern and decreit ye said Jo"- Mershell, Jo"- Hair, W">- Dougald, and W™- Andro to pay to the thes""- of the said bhe the sowmes eftir specifiet, viz., the said John Mershell the sowme of ten merks, Jo"- Hair fyve mks, W™ o 210 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Andro ten mks, and W'"- Dougald ten punds, of unlaw, for payment qrof ye said Jo"- \\'allace becom can''- and actit himself to pay the sam to Andro Stewart, thes""- Lykeas Alex""- Cu'ighame of Craigends, being pnt, renounceand his awin jurisdiction and submittand him to the jurisdiction of the Baillies of the said burghe, in this cais becom actit of his awin pper cfession to warrand relief and skaythless keip the said Jo"- Wallace a'et the pay'- of the said sowmes. Because the foirnamit persones, defenders, not onlie cfessit the said trub- lance and com in will for ye said unlaw, but also becaus everie ane of ye pts and deeds wes clerlie pvit to the said Pvest and Bailies and yrfoir yey decernt in man above written ; qrupon ye said Jo"- Wallace and pror. fiscall askit actis." 15th October, 1607. — ^^ Act anent the use of the Unlatvs. — The which day it is statute and ordained by the said Bailies and Counsel, that all kind of small unlaws (except the outlaws for troublance and bluids allanerlie, which and shall be employed wholly for the common weal of this burgh), shall be ingathered and uplifted by the treasurer of the said burgh for the time, yearly in time coming, who shall be accountable to the Bailies and Counsel for the two parts thereof, to the common weal of the said burgh, and to the Bailies, with the visitors and others, their assessors, for the third part of the same to be employed by tliem to their own particular use, for their pains, travells, and expenses. And to the effect the Bailies of the said burgh may take the greater travel and pains in execution of their office, specially in trying of the trans- gressors and breakers of laws, statues, and ordinances of the same, decerning of the unlaws for the same, and causing the officers uplift the same yearly hereafter. It is statute and ordained by the said Bailies thereof, shall have yearly in all time coming twenty punds money for their feal equally betwixt them." 23rd December, 1607. — "John Whiteford having spoken in- juriously of Bailie Vans while sitting in judgement, upon asking the Bailie's pardon he was forgiven, under certification if he again offend he is to loss his freedom of the burgh." 31st January, 1608. — " Confession of trublance by John Wallace by drawing a quhinger and striking Wm. Hector, taulzor, fined in ;^5 Scots, and paid to the treasurer." 2ist October, 1609. — "John Hannay was fined in 40s. for trublance and pursuing John Wilson with quhinger." 4th May, 161 1. — " Patrick Whyte, Gateside, and his wife being found drunk on the street, and being challenged by the Bailies uttered malicious speeches, were therefore laid in the stocks at the cross and fined in five punds, and if they were again found drunk in the streets, they become bound to pay to the said Bailies, Counsel, and community, or their treasurer the sum of twenty punds (^i 13s. 4d.)" 14th Februar}^, 1613. — " Jone Symson, an unlaw, fined 40s. for l600 TILL 1650. 211 injuring Eliz. Wallace, and to set down on kneyis and crave God pardone, and Elizabeth Wallace." To regulate the proceedings connected with the poinding of goods, the Baillies and Council passed at different periods some strict laws. loth April, 1600. — '■'■Item, it is statut and ordaint that whatso- ever guids become poindit within burghe in time coming, sal be ropit three several market dayis, conforme to the auld act maid thereanent of befoir in all points." 14th October, 1603. — ^'^ Act poindiin::; of guids and gcir. — Item, is statute and ordaint that the guids and geir that sail happin to be poindit in onie tyme coming be the officers of this burghe or onie of them, be virtue of decreitis given be the Bailies of this burgh for the tyme, and ropit be the saids officials, that the same be buiket before they delyver onie thairof of the officers hand to onie persoun or persounis upon the expenses of the owners thairof in the court bulks of the said burghe, under the pane of ane unlaw of viij^ to be upliftit frae the officer contravener hereof." 25th May, 1604. — '■'■Ad, Election of Poinders. — The qlk day the Bailies and Counsell electit and choisit Wm. Huchison burges of the said burghe, John Wilson and Cuthbert Dickie, officers, poinders, and Robert Craig there oversman, unto the terme of Alhallowday next, to come for poinding and apprehending of all hors, ky, and other bestiall eitting onie other man's corn or grass nor thair owner's, and the poinder to have twa^of every beist apprehendit eitting onie other men's corn or gress nor thair owner's, and gif they be apprehendit in cornis the samin to be pryset and the skaithe thereof payit be the owner togidder with viij^ to the Bailie, viij^ to the parties skaitheit besyde the avail of the skaith, and lykewayis the owners of onie hors, kow, or other beist, they being a]Tprendit citing other men's gmss sail pay the Bailie viij^'to the partie skaithit viij*' twa^ to the poinder, toties quoties.'' The duties to be performed by the Treasurer are thus described: — 1 8th April, 1605. — ^^ Act, Treasurer. — The qlk day the Bailies and Counsale electit and choisit Andro Stewart burgess of the said burgh, thesaurer thereof, for the space of ane year at the leist, unto the held court next following, the feist of Paische next to cum, in the yeir of God, 1606 yeirs. Quhilk office of thesaurer the said Andro Stewart acceptit in and upon him and becomes actit and obleist to mak compt reckoning and payment to the Bailies, Counsale, and communitie of the said burgh, of the comon guids, geir, maills, fermes, dewties, annels, unlaws, and others pertaining, or that sail happin to pertein to the said Bailies, Counsale, and communitie the said yeir. Whereupon the said Bailie askit actis, for the qlk the saids Bailies appoyntit to the said Andro Stewart fyve punds of feall." 212 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Several severe acts were ratified by the Bailies and Council against swearers, blasphemers against God's name, and scolders, in accordance with similar laws previously agreed to by Parliament.^ 1 2th October, 1604. — "The qlk day the Bailies and Council, haifing considerit the great abuse and blasphemie agains God's halie name comonlie usit be the maist part of the inhabitants of this burghe, in sweiring and blaspheming his haly and blessit name, quare throw the heavie wraith of God is procurit to light upon the haill burghe : thairfoir and for eschewing of the said vyce in tyme cuming, it is statut and ordaint that whatsoever person or persons happen to be apprehendit banand swereand or blasphemand God's halie name, or speikand filthilie, sail be immediately poindit for an unlaw of [ ] toties quoties, and gif they half not giere, to be furneist in their persons, conform to the Acts of Parliament and Acts of the said burgh maid thereanent of befoir. As also of all skolds and flyittars within this burgh being tryit culpablie of the said offence, sail not only stand in thejoggs induring the will of the said Bailies and Counsel, but also shall be poindat for ane unlaw of twenty shillings, toties quoties." 13th June, 1608. — " The which day compeared personally Eliza- beth Burnhead and John Baird, her spouse, for his interest, and complained upon Agnes Nesbit that where the said Agnes, with- out any just occasion aforesaid by the said Elizabeth to her, yester- day morning, being the Sabbath day, most shamefully slandered and blasphemed the said Elizabeth upon the high king's street of the said burgh, uttering the following words, to Avit, ' Thou art ane tryd Lurdane, a blind Lurdane, and messel Lurdane, unwordie to be haldin not honest companie, that she wold prive the said Elizabeth ane Lurdane,' and siclyk. The said Agnes complaned upon the said Elizabeth of the said Agnes with her cuftls upon the face and heid the time foresaid within the said Elizabeth's own house. Both the parties present. The said Agnes denied the complaint, and re- ferred the same to the said EUzabeth's probation. The Bailie and Counsel have taken sufficient trial and probation upon the said ^ The first of these acts agreed on was in 1551 c. 7, the preamble of which stated : — " Notwithstanding the oft and frequent prechingis in detestation of the grevaus and abominabill aithis, sweiring, execratiounis, and blasphematioun of the name of God, sweirand in same be Ids precious blude, bodie, passion, and woundis, devill stick, cummer, gor, roist or ryfe theme, and sic uthers ugsum aithis and execretionis agains the command of God, yet the samin is cum in sic ane ungodlie use amangis the pepil of this realme baith of greit and small estatis, that daylie and hourlie may be hard amangis thame, ofifin blasphemation of Godis name and majestic to the greit contemptioun thairof, and bringing the ire and wraith of God upon the pepill." And enacted that whoever should swear such oaths should be fined for each offence according to his rank. The second act, 158 1, c. 5, ratified the previous statute, the penalty being fixed at the highest scale prescribed by the act 1551, c. 7. For the better execution of these acts censors were ordered to be appointed in the market places of all burghs and other public fairs, with power to imprison swearers till they paid the prescribed fines and found surety to abstain in future. l6oO TIT>L 1650. 213 complaint maid by the said Elizabeth, find the said Agnes to have injured and blasphemed her in manner contained in the said com- plaint, and decerns and ordaines the said Agnes to transport herself furth of this burghe betwixt and the morne at even without langer delay, and never to come within the same hereafter, under the paine of scourging and joging of her. And siclyk finds the said Elizabeth to have done wrong in striking of the said Agnes on scholder, and therefore decerns her and her said spouse to pay an unlaw of 40^-" 8th March, 1618. — "All flyters, scalders, and tuilzeoures for the first and second faultes hes got to pay the unlaws put in the stockis or peggis, and for the third banischat the said burgh." nth October, 1627. — " Said day the Bailies and Counsel ordain the act made of before against flyters and backbitters to be put in execution." 25th November, 1645. — ''The Bailies and Counsel ratifies the acts against cursers and swearers or speakers of filthy and profane language, to be put in execution." The town appears, like all other places in the country, to have been infested at times with vagabonds and strong beggars, who would not work, and wished to live an idle life at the expense of the well-behaved. The Bailies and Council, at different periods, adopted strong measures for the suppression and punishment of this class of persons. These measures were not, however, directed against the necessitous, aged, and infirm poor belonging to the community.^ 29th January, 1607. — "The Bailies and Council passed an act anent debarring of vagabond men and women from the town." nth October, 1610. — " Na beggars except sic as are borne within the toun and parochin be ludget within the same in time coming, under the paine of xl^ money." t5th October, 1635. — Again "ratified the act against beggars and orray women," the punishment being expulsion from the town. In the letting of houses in the town, and the feeing of servants, 1 The old Acts of Parliament against " sturdy beggars and rogues " were most stringent. In the reign of James I. tn 1424 (Far. i , cap. 25), all betwixt "fourteene and three score ten yeirs" were prohibited from begging without per- mission, "under the paine of burning on the cheike and banishing of the countrie." In 1579 (James VI., Par. 6, cap. 74) a still more severe law was passed "for the suppressing of Strang and idle beggrs, to have committed in waird in the common prison, stokkes or irons. And gif the happen to be con- victed, to be adjudged to be scourged and burnt throw the eare with ane hot iron, except sum hone^t and responsible man will of his charitie be contented to act himself before the judge to take and keip the offender in his service for ane haill year nixt following . . . but gif hee be founden to be fallen againe in his id'le and vagabond trade of life, then being apprehended of new, he sail be adjudged and suffer the paines of death as a theif." The Bluegowns were, how- ever, exempted from all these penalties. 2T4 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the Bailies and Council exercised very considerable control over owners and masters, and in some cases showed what we might call unreasonable severity. Of course the object of the civic rulers was to keep the town clear of unworthy inhabitants. 29th January, 1607. — An act passed " against any person setting a house to a stranger till they advertised the Bailies and Council and have their liberty, and also the proprietors of houses to warn away every person suspected of pickery and whoredom, and young women who have no mistresses, and to clean the street opposite their properties, under the pains of five pounds of a fine." 12th April, i6ri. — "The which day it is statute and ordained that no orray person, man nor woman servants, abide nor be suffered to remain in the town unfeid nor convene in houses spinning work of their own, but that they be feid and work for meat and fee, under the pain of banishing of them the town, and siclyk nae manner of persons set their houses so to remain unto for mail nor otherwayis, under the penalty of ten punds." 1 2th October, 1620. — "It was enacted that whatsoever servant goes forthwith of their master's house without liberty, their masters were empowered to keep 3s. 4d. of their fee." 24th January, 1622. — "Ordained that no houses be set to persons who are excommunicated, and that none entertain them in their houses, under the pain of ten punds." loth June, 1646. — The Bailies ordered a house to be burned and a new one to be built in its place. The important matter of better Sunday observance and church attendance by the inhabitants, was frequently under the considera- tion of the Bailies and Council, as at the end of the preceding century. Several acts which we now give bearing on this subject, were passed by them. On 28th January, 1602, the Council passed a resolution urging a more regular attendance at church under a penalty of 20s., in terms of act of Parliament. Also a more regular attendance at morning and evening prayers on week days. On loth February, 1604, they obliged merchants to shut their doors every Tuesday during prayers, and to attend the church for hearing the word, under the pain of 8s. loth February, 1604. — " The qlk day it is statu t and ordainet be the Bailies and Counsell that the merchants within this burghe steek their buith doors ilk Tysday, the tyme of preaching, frae the beginning thereof to the evening, and that they pas themselves to the kirk for heiring of the word. And likewayis that the masters of all crafts within the said burghe pas to the kirk to the preching ilk Tysday and heir the word of God prechit, under the paine of an unlaw of aucht shillings of ilk absent, toties quoties." 1 2th October, 1604. — " Act ancnt Keiping of the Sabbath days.— The qlk day it is statute and ordained be the Bailies and Counsell l6oO TILL 1650. 215 that the haill inhabitants of this burghe keep the Sabbath days, under the panes contennit in the Act of Parliament and acts of the said burghe maid therenant of befoir, with this condition, that gif it happin onie person or persons dwelland in landwart being addebtit to onie inhabitant of the said burghe, to be apprehendit within the same bulying, drinkand, vag'and, or doand onie turns upon the Sabbath in tyme of preichings, it sal be lesum to the person or per- sons to quham they are indebted to challange thame as gif it wer not on the Sabbath." 25th October, 1612. — "The Bailies and Counsall ratify the acts made of before anent the keeping of the kirk in tyme of preaching, and anent aill sellers and drinkers the time thereof And farder statuts and ordaines that there be ane person, ather guidman or gudewyfe, furth of every hous within the burgh ilk Tyisday at the preiching, and every Sonday afternoon, under the pane of vj ^ viij<^ (Gyid.), toties quoties. And the same to be usit for the help of the puir." 8th March, 16 18.- — " If cm, that all disobedients to the kirk within the said burgh be put in ward till they find caution to compear before the Session." 8th March, 1618. — " //^v//, that no burgesses nor other inhabi- tants of the said burgh disobey the Magistrates thereof, being law- fully commanded, and if any disobey, being commanded as said is, for the first fault pay ten punds money, the second fault twenty punds, and the third fault their freedoms to be cried down and their persons warded during the Bailies' will ; and if the disobeyer be an unfreeman, that he be apprehended and put in ward, therein to remain upon his own expenses, ay and till he make amends by the sight of the Bailies and Council, and if they have any goods or gear, that they be punished therein by the discretion of the said Bailies." nth October, 1621. — " Ratifies the Act that no market of fruit, herrings, nor other viviers be openly made before the afternoon preaching be ended, under the pain of 40/ " (3s. 4d.) loth October, 1622. — " The said Bailies and Counsel ordain that no notar write nor make any kind of security on the Sabbath day, under the pain of 40/, toties quoties." 5th May, 1636. — Acts ratified as to keeping the church on Sab- bath and Tuesday, against the drinking and selling of ale on Sabbath, and drinkers and sellers of ale after ten o'clock at night through the week.^ 1 nth October, 1665. — "This day it is ordained that the several ministers within the boundis of the diocese put the acts of the Synod in execution for repression of the prevailing vices of drunkenness and swearing and cursing and fikhie speaking and all profanness. Ordained that ministers within this diocese shall in all companies abstain from drinking of healthes themselves, and also dis- countenance and dissuade it in others." 24th April, 1668. — "For preventing tippling and drinking in all houses upon the Lord's day, it is ordained that the 2l6 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Tliose of the inhabitants who became burgesses and freemen were important members of the communitiy. They were generally the owners of at least one acre of land, and had the privilege of pasturing their cows on the extensive common lands within the burgh. While their rights were important their obligations were considerable.^ One of their duties was to attend the Bailies at the different head courts and at the two fairs held annually. Those absent at such times, and there were always some so situated that they could not attend, were fined at the commencement of the century in 8s., but before the middle of it, the fine was increased to 20S. On these occasions, we learn from the Town Council records, they were bound by the Bailies to appear in their armour. We quote some of these acts on this and kindred subjects, which serve to show that the inhabitants were all well supplied with different kinds of warlike weapons. 8th May, 1606. — ^^ Ancnt Musters. — The which day it is statute and ordained by the Bailies and Counsell that the whole burgesses and freemen of this burgh prepare themselves in their armour in their best arraye, to make their musters on Whitson Tuesday next to come without longer delay, every person under the pain of 40s. money. And that no person nor persons be admitted nor created burgess hereafter till first they produce and show their armour before the said Bailies and Counsel of the said burgh for the time, and declare the same to be their own by their conscience." 17th June, 1608. — ^^ Aci Aneiit Musters. — Ordaint be my Lord Proveist, Bailies, and Counsell that the haill burgesses and inhabi- tants, especially burgesses, sail give their musters sufficientlie armit with jack, steill-banat, plet sleivis, speir, and halbert, and ilk person to give their oaths that the same is their own proper armour, under the pain of ten punds of an unlaw, unforgiven." nth October, 16 10. — ^'' Aet anent Wapoiies. — That in all time coming every burgess and inhabitant shall have in his house ane halbert and Jedwart staff or lance, and that when any troublance falls out in the burgh (gif they be at hame), that they bring forth ane of the said weapons for redding or defence, and gif they be otherwise fund they shall pay an unlaw of 40^" When St. James Fair was held on 27th July, 16 19, a great many bells of the paroch church be range about half vane houre after afternoone's ser- mone, and if that they sal be found in aile houses after the said bell, then those persones are to be censured by the minister and session ; lykewise hyring of servants on the Lord's day to be curbed" {Registe}- of the Diocesan Synod of Dunblane, pp. 28-58). ^ The Town Council of Peebles at one time appointed women as burgesses. " Item, that ilk day was mayd burgess Eby Scot, and sal pay for hir fredoume xs" (Records of the Burgh of Peebles, 15th November, 1456. By an act of the Edinburgh Town Council of 17th May, 1555, bachelors were not permitted to be freemen, for they ordained that none be received burgesses but "honest haliet qualfyt men, and that they be maryit indwellers within the brucli, haiffand sufficient substance with stob and staik." l600 TILL 1650. 217 of the burgesses who had been warned but did not attend were fined. So, too, were several who attended without their armour. And on 28th October in the same year the burgesses were warned to attend in their armour, and those absent were fined. 13th October, 1636. — "It is enacted that the unlaws of all absent from the head courts and keeping of the fairs of the burgh shall be 20/ for each person absent, and that none want armour carried by himself or a sufficient substitute." From the Council records on 20th November, 164S, it appears that the community then and formerly kept a store of arms, which they delivered to soldiers and received back when these were dis- charged. The Bailies and Council were sometimes subjected to much trouble by burgesses who owned common land within the Burgh but resided outside of its boundary, and thereby became unable to dis- charge their duties properly. To correct what was considered to be an abuse, they passed a severe act on tlie subject, of which the following is a copy : — 15th October, 1601. — ^'- Anent Burgesses not divcUhig within the Burghe. — Itevi^ for as mekil as sundrie burgesses of this burgh haif- ing comon land within the sam hes transported thamcselfis and famihs and guids furth of the sam, and dos not mak their resi- dence in the burgh, whereby they ar not abl to discharge themselffs of the aithe of burgess-ship maid the tyme of their creatioun of burgess of the said burghe, to the hurt and prejudice of the said burgh and contrair to the comon weill of the sam, therefoir it is statut and ordaint all sic persouns dwelling in such parts for the present, repair to the said burghe and mak their residence within the sam betwix and the first day of Januar nixt." 15th October, 1601. — At the meeting of Council at this date " it was statute and ordaint that all sic persons desyring to be maid burgesses of this burgh presentlie and in tyme cuming whas prede- cessors were not burgesses thereof befoir, sal pay for the burgess fynes twentie punds twa ^ money, togidder with the dews, use and wont, to the clerk and officer." At this date a further important act was passed regarding the creation of burgesses, to the effect " that na person be creat burges except he produce ane jak and steil-bonnet, ane pair of plait slevis, and sword, ane bandit staff or halbert of his awin" (Council Records, 6th October, 16 10). 1 2th October, 1620. — On this date the following inhabitants, instead of entering as burgesses of the burgh, paid the stallinger fine, which, it will be observed, was of various amounts : — Robert Cunningham, turner, 26s. 8d. (2s. 2^3d.) Thomas Spreul, Webster, 13s. 4d. (is. i^sd.) William Hector, tailor, 13s. 4d. (is. if/jd.) 2l8 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. John Stewart in Orchard, 13s. 4d. (is. i^id.) Thomas Wilson, webster, los. od. (os. lod.) WilHam Hutchison, cordiner, 13s. 46.. (is. i^id.) Two of tlie foregoing were weavers ; thus we see that the weaving trade was carried on to some extent at this early period in the Burgh. It does not appear that weapon-shawings were much indulged in by the inhabitants, although these meetings were very popular in many other places in the country, both burghal and rural. This could scarcely arise from the burgesses not possessing weapons of various kinds, for it will have been observed how very strict the Bailies were in enforcing that all should be well provided with arms. It is quite likely the burgesses thought they had enough to do with military matters when they were obliged to appear fully armed at the head courts and fairs in the Burgh. In this period we have only fallen in with one reference to the gatherings called weapon- shawings. ^ 8th May, 161 7. — "Ad, Wapoiin Schawing. — Item, that the haill burgesses keep Whitsund Thursday in all time coming, for their wapoun schawing." - The Bailies and Council give every evidence of taking great care in fixing, at different periods, the price of food and other articles of domestic use. Ale and wine particularly engaged their attention, not only as regards the price but also the manner of selling them. During the period we are considering, and long afterwards, ale was the almost universal beverage of the inhabitants ; and the numerous kilns, malt barns, and maltmen referred to in the Council records, testify plainly to the great extent of the ale trade. We shall quote some of the acts of the Bailies and Council relating to ale and wine, as illustrative of the customs of the inha- bitants. Whisky at this time w-as unknown, and wine was used, as at present, only by the upper classes. 14th October, 1603. — "Item, it is statute and ordaint be the said ^ In the reign of Robert I., 1318, c. 27, weapon-shawings were first appointed to be held in the sight of sherifis and barons. Subsequently several acts of the same kind were passed ; and the Act 1457, c. 6, ordered weapon-shawings to be held four times in the year, prohibited football and golf, as likely to interfere with the practice of archery, which was enjoined, and ordered a bowmaker and fledger or arrowmaker to be established in the head town of every shire, and to be furnished by the town with the materials of their trade, that all persons be- tween twelve and fifty years of age might be provided with weapons and might practice shooting. Afterwards other similar Acts of Parliament were passed, and the Convention of Estates on 30th June, 1598, required every burgess dwell- ing in town "worth 500 pounds of free geir to be l"urnished with a complete light corslet, a pike, a halbert or two-headed sword, or else a musket with forcut, bendrole, and headpiece " (Mar7vick's History of the IligJi Constables of Edin- burgh, p. 86.87). 2 In connection with Knockhill, it may be added that on the side nearest Renfrew the lower edge of the hill is to this day called the "butts" most probably as marking a place of exercise for the practice of archery (Statistical Account if Scotlajid — Rciifrt-iv, p. 17). l6oO TILL 1650. 219 Bailies and Counsell that no oistlars, brewsteris, noxteris, nor others sellars of aill within this burghe, fra the xviij of this instant dearer nor ij*^ iijd (2 ^^^d) the gallowne, under the paine of five punds money of unlaw to be tane frae the contraveneirs of this act, toties quoties." nth October, 1610. — " The Bailies and Counsell ordaint the aill to be made guid and sufficient, and sauld for xij'^(id.) the pint, and that na hostler refuse honest men and neighbours the same in reasonable quantity at the price foresaid, under the pain of V pund" (8s. 4d.) 25th November, 1645. — "The BaiHes and Counsel appoint the price of aill until the next head court to be is. 4d. the pint, of beir ane plack dearer." 9th May, 1605. — " Sentence of Wyne Selling. — The qlk day it is statute and ordaint be the Bailies and Counsell of this burgh that the taverners and vyners of wyne within the sam sail sell the wyne na dearer fra this daye furth nor sax^ viijd(6^id.) the pynt, under the pane of an unlaw of fyve punds, to be poyndit and tane up frae the contravenars thereof, toties quoties." In connection with the regulation of the price of ale, the Bailies and Council naturally fixed the price of malt also. The first of their acts, which we give in this matter, is very important and interesting, and shows how carefully they discharged their duties. Before determining the rate at which the malt should be sold, they con- sulted with those engaged in making it. Altogether the record is interesting. nth December, 1601. — ^^ Anent the JMuIt. — The qlk day the Bailies and Counsall heving convenit for ordor taking with the price of the malt to be brocht and sauld within this burgh, fra the dait hereof till Candlemes next, for making of the said price, callet to compeir befoir thame John Algeo, Robert Craig, David Hendersoun, John Hector, John Cochrane, Stevin Alexander, John Alexander (younger), John Davidson, Wm. Hendersoun, Adam Lochheid, Wm. Cumming, Wm. Symesoun, and remanent maltment within the said burghe, of the qlk the maist part comperit and agreit that the Bailies and Counsall of the said burghe with the said John Algeo electit for their part and Robert Kirlie for the part of the said Bailies and Counsall, that whatever price they liquidat upon the said malt, the same to be sauld till the term of Michaelmes to the indwellers of the said burghe, the said maltmen actit thameselffs to sell the sam for the said price, under the pane of fyve punds, toties quoties." Meal was another commodity of which the Bailies and Council took surveillance. The market for meal prior to 1635 was held at the cross and was regularly visited by members of Council appointed for that purpose. On 5th October in that year this market " on account of the throng and straightness of the street was removed to the High Street, on the east side of the west port " (Town Council 220 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Records). A tablet stone, a sketch of which we annex, was placed in the front of the building. This stone, 26 inches high and 25 inches broad, is now in the Free Museum. Unfortunately one of the corners upon which was a part of the date is broken of as shown in the drawing. W. Semple in his History of the Shire of Renfrew, p. 313, states that "at the corner of New Street stands the meal market, fronting Main street, bearing date 1665." Although the market was removed from the Cross to High Street in 1635, yet it is quite possible the building connected with the market was not completed till 1665, or this inscription stone may not have been put into the building till 1665. On this memorial stone is the " Paisley coat of arms," which is a shield with a fess cheque and three roses — one in dexter chief, a second in sinister chief, and the third in middle base. When the first Grammar School was erected in 1586, the memorial stone placed over the entrance had on it the Paisley coat of arms, similar to that now shown on the memorial stone on the meal market, the outline of the shield only varying a little. The original memorial stone with coat of arms thereon is now over the main entrance to the Grammar School in Oakshaw Street. The site of the meal market is now No. 26 High Street. On 23rd July, 1647, the weekly market day was changed from Saturday to Friday ; and on 27th January in the following year l6oO TILL 1650. 221 there was " sermon in the forenoon during which no business to^be done, under the paine of five punds, and every person warned to go to the kirk." 14th October, 1601. — ''■ Aiicnt Mcill Seliiiig. — Item, ratifies the act maid of befoir anent the selHng of meill, with this addition, that gif ony meill selling in the mercat be found near in the ground of the sek, nor in the mouth thereof, or raixit with beir meill, the sani sail be apprehendit, and sail be eschet to the Bailies and Counsall." 14th October, 1603. — '■^ Item, it is statute and ordaint that Thomas Peter, Robert Craig, and Thomas Whyte be visitouris of the flesh and meill mercattis." The markets for " flesh, fowl, fish, butter, cheese, and bread " were, according to the Council records, ordained to begin every day at nine o'clock, and no sooner, and the meal market at ten o'clock ; and no person was allowed to sell " any gear before the times fore- said, under the pains of confiscation." The kind of bread used by the inhabitants and exposed for sale was oatcakes, the price of which was frequently fixed by the Bailies and Council. 14th October, 1603. — '''■ Act anent Breid. — Item, it is statute and ordaint that the quarter kaik of gude and sufficient aettmeil, whereof there sail be onlie fyve kaiks in the peck, and in ilk kaik thrie quarters allenarlie, be sauld for vi pennies (^d.) the quarter to all our soveraine Lordis leiges, under the pane of xx^ (is. 8d.) of unlaw, toties quoties." nth October, 1610. — "That the kaiks be sufficient and sauld for vj'^ (/^d.) the quarter, under the pane of xl* " (3s. 4d.) 25th November, 1645. — "The cake of bread was fixed at 2s"(2d.)i The Bailies and Council likewise took under their cognizance the ^ The Guildry of Glasgow ordained, 6th February, 1605, that "if any cake- bakers be found buying meal before eleven of the clock, conform to town's acts, shall pay an unlaw of sixteen shillings to the Bailies and six shillings and eight pennies to the visitor, toties quoties, being tryed that they have contravened " (History of the Merchants' House, G/asgozo, p. 77). Dumbarton Burgh records, 2nd October, 1627. — '■'■ Item, that the kaiks be sauld for auct pennies the kaik, and that thair be onlie four kaiks in the pek and thrie ferdalls in ilk kaik onlie, and that they be sufficient be the sight of the visiters, undir the paine of viijs for the first fait, xvjs for the second fait, and xxiiijs for the third fait, and sau furth, to be applyit as said is. " Ibid., 5th January, 1636. — "The qlk day, in respect thair is not now ae baxter in the burgh, seeing Johne Morisoun is faillit, thairfor they concluid that ane be socht with diligence, and for the better obtaining of a gud baxter thay concluid to cans big the baxter ae sufficient ovne on the toun's charges, and to pay the first yeir's maill of his baikhous, and to be maid burgess also gratis." On the 24th October following, James Watson from Stirling, who had been appointed baker, complained " that notwithstanding he provydes flour and bakes wheat bread and uther bread to serve the toun," yet bakers from other burghs bring bread into the toun. To remedy this, the Council agreed that other sellers of bread should not be suffered to sell bread in the burgh except on the market day, betwixt ten o'clock forenoon and two o'clock afternoon. 22 2 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. price of candles, and directed what sizes should be made. They also fixed the price of tallow. 14th October, 1603. — " Act anent the Candle. — Item, it is statute and ordaint that fra this day furth the pund of candle be sauld for iij^ iiij'*' and the candle maker is to make and sell pennie candles, under the pane of xx^ of unlaw." loth October, 1604. — '■'■Act an cut the Price of CandcC and Lichf. — Item, it is statute that all night licht within this burghe be sauld to all his soverane Lord's lieges for xlvj^ viij^ the stane weight, and the pound wecht of maid candle be sauld for iij^ iiij^ the pound, and that the sellars thereof have hail just wechts mare or less for selling thereof ; and them contravening hereof be poyndit for an unlaw of xls toties quoties." 6th October, 1610. — ^^ Anent Tallow. — It is statute and ordaint that tallow is to be sold for xliij'^ and iiij^ the stane, and the pound weight of made candell be sauld for iij ^ and iiij ^ (3^d.) And that every candilmaker make and have ready for every inhabitant ij'^ candel for thair awn money, and that the iiijd (^d.) or iij^ (^d.) candel be tane for the ij^ (J6d.) candel." It is stated in the Council records of 4th August, 16 12, that the Justices of Peace having made an act regulating the price of boots and shoes, the Bailies and Council convened the cordiners before them, and they agreed to abide by the Justices' appointment. As in the latter end of the previous century the butchers in this period gave the Bailies and Council a good deal of trouble, and stringent measures were again adopted to keep them under proper control. 14th October, 1603, — '■^ Item, the sadis Bailies and Counsell ratifies and approves the acts maid of befoir discharging the marrowing of the fleshouris, and that they pairt and deill thair mairtis quick against the steilleris and pyckers of fowllis, kaill, pettis, and casting of rigging turfis on the common, and that the saidis actis be observit and keepit under the pains." loth February, 1604. — "The qlk day Johne Thomsoune, hedger, fleschour, was be the said Bailies and Counsell decernt to pay four merks money of unlaw, for blawing of ane viell against the acts and statuts maid thereanent." 1 2th October, 1604. — ^^ Item, the Bailies and Council ratify the act maid of befoir tuching the discharging of the marrowing of fleshers within the said burghe." 8th June, 161 1. — "Arthur Laing, flesher, was fined in ten punds for killing a cow having the mure evil, and the selling the beef to the inhabitants and discharged from killing cattle till he has the Bailies' license." 27th January, 1620. — ^^ Item, that all fleshers within the said burghe be warned to compear before the said Bailies and Counsell l6oO TILL 1650. 223 this day eight days, the 3rd day of February next to come, to hear and see the act anent their marrowing deserved to be put to execution against the contraveners thereof." nth October, 1621. — "Ratifies the act that nae fleshers or merchants open their buths on Sabbath." On loth October, 16 16, The BaiUes and Council for some unexplained reason ordained that no manner of person or persons within the burgh pass to the market of Renfrew on any Saturday to sell any kind of viviers in any time hereafter. In this half century a variety of cases including theft were brought by the procurator-fiscal before the Bailies to adjudicate upon. Of these we shall give a few in the language used in the Council records. i6th July, 1600. — "The qlk day George Wilson being tried for stealing of ane pair of black sattin brieks brought and sauld in this toun for 43s. 8d. was delivered to the owner, and after the humble suit of the said George for God's sake, the Baillies finding no other crime in him spairit his present punishment upon condition that he sould not onlie never do the like bot also be his aith promised never to make residence within the Sheriffdom of Renfrew in any tyme coming, and in cais he be sein or fand within the same he is content and contented to be punished to the deed without any assizes." 17th October, 1603. — " Robert Sympson, pyper, wha by the act of Counsell of this burgh for his misbehaviour and certane oftences, injuries, and wrongs oft and diverse tymes done and comitted be him to the inhabitants thereof in their own houses within the same, was banishit furthe thairof, and notwithstanding thereof, and in con- tempt of the said Bailies and Counsell, the said Robert privately repairit within the said burghe, upon the xxvi day of this instant publiclie, whan he Avas apprehendit and put in the stocks, and as yet remains therein, for his contempt and injuries." The Bailies obtained security from William Ewing to the effect that if the pyper entered the burgh again without permission he was to pay " ten punds for each time he so contravened." 1 8th May, 1606. — "Thomas Stevenson and Catherine Boyd, vagabonds, for lying together openly day and night in the filthy sin of fornication, are ordered to be taken to the west port and carted together east through the high street and through the water of Cart, and banished, with Helen Campbell, Thomas Mather, with certifica- tion if they are found in the burgh they are to be scourged and burned." ^ ^ This cruel and barbarous punishment, which was frequently adopted, was performed in different ways. Sometimes the prisoner was burned with a hot iron on the hand ; at other times on the face ; and occasionally the ear was pierced with a hot iron. By an Act passed by the Queen's Majesty and the Lords of the Secret Council in December, 1564, they " ordanis lettres to be direct, chargeing all hir Hienes' 224 HISTORY OF PAISLEY, i6tli September, 1606. — Several persons were brought before the Earl of Abercorn and the Baihes charged with breaking into the gardens of Whyteford, of John Jamieson, cordiner in Causeyside, and of William Stewart of Caversbank. The court decerned that six of these yard breakers " should be punished in their persons and goods, conform to the Act of Parliament, with this mitigation, because they and ilk ane of them declared it was their first fault, and that they never brock yards before, therefore they and ilk ane of them to pay to the party offended five punds money (8s. 4d.), and to be taken by the officers of the said burgh and laid in the stocks at the market cross thereof on the day next, from ten hours to twelve hours to remain therein ; and ordains the remanent eight persons, malefactors, to be taken by their parents and presented at the said market cross the day foresaid, there to stand and ane paper on their head the space foresaid, and thereafter to be scourged by the said parents to the effusion of their blood." We learn from the Council records that at the commencement of the seventeenth century there was in connection with the tollbooth at the Cross a spire with a bell and clock to indicate upon dials the hours of the day. Slezer's view of Paisley, taken near the end of this century — which will afterwards be given — shows a spire there of goodly dimensions. We do not know, however, when this spire was erected. A most minute agreement was made in 1603 by the Bailies and Council with John Wallace, smith, to take charge of the clock and to ring the bell. This contract is so minutely and correctly stated that it is really a curiosity, and we therefore give it in full. The bell, it will be observed, was rung at ten o'clock at night only — one of the hours at which the town bell is rung in our own day : — "Apud Paislay, 22nd die Mensis Nov., 1603. — Act a7unt Keipiug of the Knock. — 'I'he qlk day it is aggreit betwix the Baihes and Counsell of the Burghe of Paisley on the ane part, John Wallace, smythe, and Thomas Quhytfuird, cautioner for him, on the other pairt, viz., the said John Wallace and Thomas Quhytfuird, cautioner for him, has actit thameselves conjunctlie and severallie that the said Johne Wallace sail not onlie keip and oyill the knock, and gif onie pairt thereof brecks that sicklyke nieds mending, he shall mak and mend the sam, using his awn expenses, and also sail ring and knell the sam in ilk night at ten houris at evin for the space of ane yeir next efter the dait hereof, for the qlk causes, and for the said Johne lieges that na maner of personis, nowther to burgh nor to land, within this realme tak upoun hand to hald or manteine ane bordell, privatlie or opinlte. And quha that evir beis convict thairof be the ordinar judge, that thai be puneist as follows: that is to say, for the first fait to be aucht dayis imprisonit, with breid and watter, and scourgit throw the toun or parrochin quair thai hald the saidis broddillis and beis apprehendit ; and for the second fait, that thai be brint on the cheik with ane hot irne, and banneist the toun or parrocliin for evir " {Register of the Privy Cou)iciI 0/ Scotland, vol. i., p. 297). l6oO TILL 1650. 225 Wallace making of ane wheel qlk was broken of the said knock, mending and greathing of her and keiping of the same in order for the said space of ane yeir, and for making of ane iron band or clasp to the brig port, the Bailies and Counsell actit and obleist thame to caus thair thesaurer pay to the said Johne Wallace the sovvme of ten merks fyve shillings usual money of this realme for his wark, expense, travel and painis in mending and keiping of the said bell during the said space of ane yier as said is next, efter the dait herof. And gif the said Johne Wallace awaits dilligentlie and keips the said knock in gude ordour, and knells the bell nichtlie at ten hours at even, and behaves himself honestlie during the space above specifiet, the said Bailies and Counsell sail have farder consultane of his said office at the ishue and outrunning of the said yier. And sicklyke the said Johne actit himself to relieve the said Thomas of the said cautionrie, and hereupon the saidis BaiUes and Counsell and the said Johne askit actis." In 1609 the Tollbooth "was for the most part in a ruinous state," and as the Council had no funds to enable them to put it in a good condition, they, on 30th September in that year, sold " the new raids above the Greenhill."^ It is stated that the inhabitants were warned to the sale, and " the ground was to be laid off in ruids." Although contrary to former acts, on this occasion " it is conde- scendit by the Baillies and Counsell that every inhabitant burgess shall be allowed to possess six ruids." This land was therefore sold by public roup on ist February, 1610, in lots of one rood each, and it is described as being situated above " the Greenhill, betwixt the Raw brig and the march of Ferguslie and the Lone road." The following are the names of the purchasers, with the price of each lot in Scotch and sterling money : — ■ S( Robert Urie, £t,t, John Wallace, ... ... 32 John Wallace, ... ... 30 Wm. Huchison, ... ... 32 Robert Algie, ... ... 32 Ths. King, ... ... 30 Wm. Dunlope, ... ... 30 Robert Fork, ... ... 30 ^ Near the end of this century the Convention of Royal Burghs advanced con- siderable sums of money to the Burgh of Renfrew, for the rebuilding and repair of their tollbooth. On 7th July, 1687, they "agreed to advance to the Burgh of Renfrew 500 merks Scots (^^27 15s. 6%d. ) towards rebuilding their tollbooth, and appointed a committee to report on the condition of the burgh " (Rtxords of the Convention of Royal Burghs, 1677-1711, p. 70). 4th July, 1689. — " The agent having been appointed to pay to the Burgh of Renfrew 1000 merks (^^55 lis. 173d.) for repairing of the tollbooth, the Con- vention instructed him to retain one half of the sum till the commissioners of Glasgow and Dumbarton ascertain that the first 5(X) merks wes reallie applyed towards the repairing of the said tollbooth and that the work is advanced " (Ibid., p. 90). P otch. 6 8 Sterling. •-^2 15 (^Yz 10 2 14 2 2 10 13 4 ... 2 14 5>^ 13 6 4 8 ... 2 13 4 ... 2 II I^ ... 2 10 6^ ...268 226 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Scotch. Sterling. James Pow, .••;^3o 6 8 ...£2 10 6^ John Algie, ... 28 ...268 John Baird. ... 25 6 8 2 2 2^ John Luif,... ... 26 ...234 John Ker, ... ... 25 6 8 ... 222^ Symon Hamilton,... ... 25 6 8 , 2 2 2^ John Huchison, ... ... 29 ...284 John Alexander, ... ... 27 6 8 ... 2 5 62/3 Andrew Urie, ... 25 ...218 John Algie, ... 32 ... 2 13 4 John Hamilton, ... ... 26 13 4 ... 2 4 5>^ Robert Craig, ... 25 ...218 Four years afterwards — on 26th January, 16 14 — the Jail was again in a state of disrepair, and at that time "the Council agreed that six of the best skilled persons of Council convene with the Bailies for the reparation of the toUbuith so far as necessar." No doubt, with so many good advisers, the repairs would be satisfac- torily carried out. The " knock " which John Wallace in 1603 undertook to keep in good order had, notwithstanding his attention, become useless, for on 24th May, 1647 — forty-four years afterwards — the Council ordered a new clock to be bought, the price of which was four hun- dred merks (;^2 2 4s. 5 ^d.) At that time the bell must have become useless also, as at a meeting of Council held on the 29th of that month they agreed " that a prick is to be builded in the tollbuith for a new bell. And they agreed with John Caldwell, his son, and servant to build the stone-work of the prick on the tollbuith, he to have six punds (los.) per week, and his son and servant live punds (8s.) per week, without morning and evening drink." It must have been the custom at that time to give drink twice daily to tradesmen, when a positive arrangement of this kind required to be made to the contrary. The Bailies and Council established, at some period unknown, a very curious method of recovering those rents and dues that re- mained too long unpaid. The key of the tollbooth door was sent to them by the Treasurer, that they might enter into ward and remain therein till the money was paid. If they failed to enter the tollbooth of their own accord within twenty-four hours after the key was sent to them, the town officers were commanded to apprehend and put them in the tollbooth, where they remained till the Treasurer received payment of the sum due to him. The Town Clerk at this time, and long afterwards, in preparing leases for tenants, held them and their cautioner " subject to the act anent the key of the tollbooth door." The first time the key of the tollbooth door is referred to in this way, is on 20th November, 1648, when Robert Alexander, ex-Bailie, for refusing to deliver up the town's papers in his hands anent teinds, l600 TILL 1650. 227 being repeatedly charged, and fined forty pounds without ever ap- pearing, and for disobeying the Act anent the tollbooth key, was ordained to have his freedom cried down. 24th July, 1649. — "The qlk day the said BaiHes and Counsell has appointed the keye of the tollbooth doore to be given to John Hamilton, maltman, for entering in ward till he paye the hole of his treasurer complete." The Bailies and Council took particular pains to protect the in- habitants from being imposed upon by any one using unjust weights and measures. In the tron a supply of just weights and measures was kept, and certain days were appointed on which to " sicht " those used by the dealers. It is doubtful if they had at first a standard, but such is referred to in the Council record of 1648. Besides measures for dry goods and stoups for ale, they had also what they called met- lomes (metluymes), instruments for measuring. In the record of 26th October, 16 12, which follows, will be observed a curious and minute inventory of all the different measures and weights in their possession in the tron. 4th April, 1600. — "The qlk day the said Baillies and Counsall hes condescendit and ordaint that all furlats, pects, half pects and quarter- pects and other messours within the said burgh or that forme, be met and messorit, and thereafter of new seillit and siclyk, that all manner of stoipis within the said burghe wherewith aill is sauld or bought, be also met and messorit according to the messour and quantitie of the just messour." 1 2th October, 1604. — " Item it is statut and ordanit that all messors and wechts within this burghe be sichtit, and ane day appointit be the Bailies to that effect." 26th October, 161 2. — " Compearit William Greinleis, customer the year preceding. And grant him to have in his hands and keeping the common metlomes and wechts under written, viz. : — Twenty-two pects, thereof twa girthit with iron ; three firlots, whereof twa girthit with iron and ane with tymer ; ane stane of thrie stane wecht ; ane of twa stane wecht ; ane of ane stane ane half stane wecht ; ane quarter wecht ; ane twa pund wecht of leid ; ane stane of ane pund wecht ; ane half pund v/echt ; ane quarter pund ; ane pair of weyis, with the brod sufficientlie hung with ane pund wecht and half; ane pund wecht of leid ; quhllk metlomes^ and wechts with the weyis sufficientlie hung as said is. The said W™- in presence of the Bailies has delivered to the said W""- Aiken, now customer, and quhilk the said W'"- and Gabriel Henrystone, ane of his customers, are become astet to render and deliver againe in presence of the said Bailies to the next customer." loth February, 1648. — The number of measures belonging to the ^ An instrument for measuring — an elwand. 2 28 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. community, forty-five in all, were delivered to the new customer, be- sides the standard. 14th February, 1648. — Merchants, and all dealers of wares, were ordered to provide themselves with lead weights. We cannot discover how the Bailies and Council came, at first, to have the management of the mortcloths required in this town and neighbourhood. It was a business that did not naturally belong to them, but should have been, as in most other places, in the hands of the members of Session connected with the parish. Very probably the town Council originally undertook this matter at the request of the Abbey Session. A separate account, generally entrusted to a member of Council, was kept, and the surplus funds derived from keeping mortcloths and letting them out for hire, were given to assist the poor. 'J'he Town Council had a monopoly in the supply of mortcloths, and accordingly charged whatever they thought fit, and it is not therefore to be wondered at that they derived a very con- siderable revenue from this source. The first reference made in the Council records to mortcloths (though it is possibly not the first time this subject was before that body), is dated 14th April, 1608, and is as follows : — " Itcm^ it is concluded that there be ane mortclaith of the finest black that can be gotten, and another mortclaith of substantious black for the common sort, and that be the Bailies an craftsman to be chosen be them who can wail the same. On the 13th October, in this year, the Bailies and Council appointed Th^ Peter to be mortcloth keeper, and to lend to honest gentlemen in the country, upon warrant from the Bailies, for xl^ (3s 4d), and to those in the town for xiijs \\\]^ (is. ig^d.), and the dues to be given to the poor." On i6th November, 1610, the mortcloth was put, by the Bailies and Council," into the hands of John Baird, tailor, with the monie alreadie received therefor; and it was ordaint that John Baird be answerable to the Bailies and Counsall for the money received for the claith, which was directed not to be given furth nor lent, neither within nor without the town, but by command of ane of the Bailies." 19th April, 1621. — ^"The which day the said Bailies and Counsall condescends and agrees that there be ane velvit mortclaith bought, and that the old mortclaith be twined and dicht betwixt and Lammas next." 9th May, 1622. — "The which day the said Bailies and Counsell has ordained that freemen their wives and bairns have the velvet mortclaith for forty shillings. And that they get it not but within the space of three hours before the corps be brought furth. And that the keeper have the Bailies warrand." It is mentioned in the Council records of 30th October, 1648, that the new cloth to the tutor of Montgrenan is charged three pounds. l60O TILL 1650. 229 The honourable James, Master of Paisley, eldest son of Lord Claud Hamilton, was, in 1604, created Lord Abercorn, and on loth July, 1606, he was raised to the dignity of Earl of Abercorn. As already stated, Lord Claud, in 1598, empowered the Master of Pais- ley to act as his commissioner in every matter relating to his estates at Paisley, and thereby, as successor to the Abbots, to elect an- nually one of the Bailies of Paisley. James, Master of Paisley, took an active interest in the affairs of the town, and frequently acted with the Bailies and Councillors. His first appearance at the Coun- cil Board was at the election of the Bailies and Councillors on 6th October, 1599, the year after receiving his commission, when " Johne Algie and Johne Vans were electit and choisson Bailies of of the said burghe, wha wer sworne for the faithful administration of thair office for the year to cum, in the presence of the right honor- able James, Master of Paisley, and communitie of the said burghe.' On 4th October, 1600, James, the Master of Paisley, was again present at the election of the two Bailies. On 17th September, 1601 "Bailie Inglis and John Henderson Procurator Fiscal brought serious charges against William Stewart of Caversbank. As he drew his whinger and offered to strike the Bailie, he was threatened with having his common land and free- dom taken from him, and only escaped by going down on his knees and asking the pardon of the Provost, Bailies, and Councillors. As this is the first time James, Master of Paisley, is called Lord Provost, and Provost, and also because this case is somewhat curious, we give the record entire. " The qlk day anent the complaint given in be Thomas Inglis ane of the Bailies of the said burghe and John Hendersoune procur- ator fischall upon W""- Stewart of Cavirsbank burgess thereof, mak- and mention that whereupon the (blank) day of June past Helin Maxwell, relict of umquile W""- Stewart of Cavirsbank, burgess of the said burgh, obtenit decreit of court befoir the said Baihe deserning and decreiting him to extent to pay to the said Helin certane soumes of money claimt in the said decreit, and for the causes therein specifeit conforme to the qlk decreit Arch''- Ar- thor and Ro*- Hamiltoune, officers at comand of the said Baihes first serchit and sought the said W"^'^ guids and geir to have pundit the same for the soume claimt in the said decreit and payment to haif bein maid thereof to the said Helin and because thay could not apprehend the said W™'* guids and geir pundable for the said soums. Thairfoir the said Bailies ordaint the said officers to pas and charge the said W™- to enter his persoun in ward within the tolbut of the said burghe, therein to remain upon his awin expenses aye and until he had maid payment of the said soume to the said Helin lyk as the said officers chargit the same W'"- personallie to enter the said '\V™- in ward within the said tolbut for the causes above written. Qlk the said W"^- contemptuouslie disobeyit, and thereupon the said Thomas Inglis upon the third day of September 230 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. instant of new comandit the said W""- personallie to enter in ward for the causes above written within the said tolbut wha not onlie disobeyit the said comand contemptuosHe but also maist plainUe and injurioushe drew ane quhinger and therewith struck at him the said Thomas and therefoir the said W""- has vioht the aith of his obedience maid be him the tyme of his creatioune of burgess of the said burghe in his contempt of our Soverane, Lord Provest, and Bailies of this burghe, and therefore ought and sould be decernit to tyne and to have tent his fredome of the said burghe, and conse- quentlie his common land ought and sould be decernit vacant in the said Bailies and counsall's lands to be disponit and roipit be tham to sic as will gif maist therefoire and furder to be punischit in his lands and guids be ane act of Parliament lawis of borrows and Justice. Compeirit the said William Stewart and grantit the offence above written ; for mending and satisfaction thereof referit him sim- pliciter in the will of the R'- Honorable James, M''- of Paisley, Provist, Bailies, and Counsall of the said burghe, viz. : John Vaus, young Bailie of the said burghe, and whatsoever they decernit the said W""- Stewart actit himself to obey the sam. AVhereupon the said persuar and procurator fiscal askit acts and thereafter the said Richt Honourable James, M''- of Paisley, Provist, Bailies, and Counsall of the said burghe Declarit thair will that the said W""- Stewart sail ask the said Provist, Bailies, and Counsallars pardon upon his knees, and likewise the said Th^- Inglis whom he had offendit for his said offence. Quhilk he further did lyk as thay re- mit the sam upon condition that gif the said W™- comittid dis- obedience to the Provist and Bailies of the said burghe in tyme cuming the sam being tryit, in that cais his fredome to be cryd doun and his comon land to be declarit vacant and at the dis- positioun of the said Bailies and Counsall^ and that conforme to the said claime in all pairts." The annual election of the Bailies and Council, on 15th Oct., 1601, was likewise conducted in presence of the Right Honorable James, Master of Paisley. On this occasion four procurator-fiscals were elected, — Johne Vaus, Johne Huchisoun, John Hendersoune, and Robert Urie. It appears that the Councillors for some time previous to this had been very negligent in attending the meetings of Council, and at this meeting it was enacted " that whosoever, Bailie for the tyme being, warned the nicht preceding the day appointit of Counsall to be in the Tolbuth, to the effect foirsaid, and beis absent without libertie grantit, ilk person of Counsall so apprehendit absent shall pay se.v^ viij, and the Bailies so warnit, without ane lawfuU excuse and libertie, to pay xiij= iiij'^' qulk unlaw sal be partlie pundit for and usit and distributitt be the advyce of the remanent of the Counsall convenit for the tyme." Another resolution was passed at this meeting of Council regarding those who were in the habit of disturbing the business by talking among themselves. " Act anent sic persons that in time of voting speak l60O TILL 1650. 231 unspeared. The Bailies and Councillors having a custom of getting into small committes and speaking of other matters than those before them, and particularly in time of voting. It is enacted that all sic persons Bailies or others quhile the time of voting speaks un- speared or above their voice shall pay eight pence." In the following year {Council Records, qth March, 1602) there appeared, by appointment, in the Council room "in ])resence of the R'- Honourable James, M""- of Paislay, Provist of the sam and the BaiUes," Sir James Semple of " Baltrees," who produced a com- mission, from Lord Robert Semple, Sheriff Principal of Renfrew- shire, appointing him " his Sheriff and Bailie Depute of the Sheriff- dome and regaUtie of Paislay." The commission was dated at Leith the 22nd day of February, 1602. Sir James Semple at the same time, " gave his aith for the full and trew administratioun of justice in the said office and for ministering justice therein during the haill years and space therein contained." ^ At this meeting, and immediately after these proceedings. Sir James Semple appointed John Vaus, formerly one of the Bailies of Paisley, to be Sheriff Clerk. There is a blank in the Town Council records from 9th March, 1602, till 14th October, 1603, when the election of the Bailies took place. The record of the latter date states that Andro Crawfurd and John Vaus were elected Bailies by " the auld and new Coun- sall thairof and others. Quhais voit in the said electione conforme to the Act of Parliament with speciall advyce of counsall and con- sent of the said James, M""- of Paislay, for the space of ane yeir." No reference is made to the election of Procurator Fiscals. At this time there were fifteen members of Council. When the Bailies and Council were elected on 12th October, 1604, the name of the noble Lord James, Lord of Abercorn, Magis- trate of Paisley, Commissioner for the noble Lord Claud Hamilton of Paisley, his father, appears in the sederunt. At this meeting the Council passed the following " Act anent trubulance within the burghe," apparently as a guide to the Bailies in their decisions when cases of that kind came before them. " The qlk day it is statut and ordaint by the Bailies and Council of this burghe that what- sumever person or persons shall happen to injure others in word or deed, in manner following, to wit, he that sail happin to gif his neighbour a lee sail paye xl^' the giffer of a drye cuff fyve punds, and the committer of bluid ten punds, and to be poindit therfoir, toties quoties." At the annual election of the Bailies there were always a number ^ Sir James Sempill, younger of Beltrees, grandson of Lord Sempill, was born in 1563. He was the author of the Packman's Paternoster, Sacrilige Sacredly Handled, and other works, along with several Latin poems. Sir James Sempill received his education under George Buchanan, the tutor of King James VL, and acted as the King's amanuensis. In 1599 Sir James Sempill ^as appointed am- bassador of King James VL to London, and was sent as ambassador to France in 1601. He died in February, 1625. Robert Sempill of Beltrees, the author of the elegy of Habbie Simson and other poems, was the son of Sir James Sempill. 232 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. of persons who were entered as burgesses and freemen of the burgh. The following may be taken as a specimen of the mode of entry in the sederunt book : — " The qlk day, Alexander Cochran, tailzeour, sone and apperand air to William Cochran, tailzeour, Burgess of Paisley, was, be the Bailies of the said burghe, creat and maid Freiman and Burgess of the sam, to use the freedom and libertie thereof and gaif his aithe of fidelitie thereupon as use is, and has pre- sentlie payit to John Whyte, thes'- thrie punds viij= viij^-" (5s. Sfjd.) On loth October, 1605, "The election of Bailies was in the presence of James, Lord Abercorn, Master of Paisley and Provost, commissioner of his father." On 23d December, 1607, "John Whiteford having spoken in- juriously of Bailie Vaus while sitting in judgement, upon asking the Bailie's pardon he was forgiven under certification if he again offend he is to loss his freedom of the burghe." A further regulation relating to cases brought into the Burgh Court, of date 14th April, 1608, was that in actions for debts before the Bailies, if the matter were referred to the defender's oath, the pursuer should lodge 8s., and if it were referred to the pursuer's oath, the defender should lodge 8s., this money to be applied to the Bailie's use. The election of Bailies and Councillors for the few foregoing years was without any particular feature, but at this time a rather peculiar circumstance took place (Council Rixords, 8th October, 1608). One of the Bailies, Thomas Hughes, was chosen by Lord Abercorn and the other by the old and new Council. The latter produced an exemption from the King under his Privy Seal, not only from all raids, hoists, waponschawing, hostilities, and assise, but also from bearing of office within the burghe, and specially of Bailieary, but at his own pleasure. " He accepted under protest and on the con- dition that his acceptance should not injure his right of refusing in time coming thereafter. Thereupon, the two Bailies were sworn-in by the Council." At the head Court on loth October, 16 16, Lyners were first elected. On 14th October, 1617, an Act was passed by the Bailies and Council, decreeing that they should wear hats when they came to the meetings of Council and when they went to the kirk. The Act is in the following terms : — " The which day it is statute and ordained that none of the Counsellors within the burgh come to the Counsall nor enter in the town dasse in the kirk without hatts,^ nor ^ Records of the Burgh of Peebles, 1st December, 1609. — "It is oidainit that nana of the Counsall want ane hat ; and to be providit therewith baith in kirk, Counsall, and Court days betwixt and the 25th December instant, under the pane of ane unlaw." Ibid.- — 22nd December, 1623. — "Ordains if any come to the Counsell without a hat he shall pay twenty shillings." Ibid. — 26th RIarch, 1632. — The Council ratified the former Acts about the liats, and prohibited any from coming to Council meetings " witli blewbonnettis." Ibid. — 1 2th October, 1646. — Ordained that whomsoer did not come im- l6oO TILL 1650. 2^^ yet that none presume to enter in the said dasse in the kirk but those that are presently upon the Counsall or has been thereupon." On 12th October, 1649, they ratified this Act with these additions, " Nor come to head Courts and fairs without a hat, under the pain of xxs" 1 The Earl of Abercorn, and Lord Provost of Paisley, died at Monktoun on the 23rd March, 1618. In his settlement he stated, " I commit my saul in the holie handes of my guid God and merci- ful father, fra quhome, throu the richteous meritis of Chryst Jesus, I luik to ressave it again at the glorious resurrectioune, joynit with this same body, qlk heir I leif to sleip and be bureit, gif so it plis God, in the sepulcher where my brethir, my sesteris, and bairnes lyis, in the lyll callit St. Mirinis lyll, at the south heid of the crose churche of Paslay, trusting assuredlie to rys at the blessit resurrec- tioune to lyf eternall. I desyr that there be no vaine nor glorious seremonie usit at my buriell, raysing (crying) honouris; but that my corps be kareyit to the grave be sum of my most honorabill and nerrest freindis, with my bairnes," &c. The Earl of Abercorn possessed great abilities, and was held in much esteem by King James VI., who made him one of the Lords of the Privy Council, and in 1600 gave him, by charter, the office of High Sheriff of the county of Linlithgow, with all the fees belonging thereto; and by another charter in 1601, the lands and manour of Abercorn, Broadmeadows, &c. The King likewise conferred on mediately after the bell ringing "sail pay foure shillings," and those absent "sail pay ten shillings," and that " nane come without hattis, bot be in decent forme as becommeth Councallors, under the lyk pane often shillings." Diunlhij-ton Burgh Records, 3rd October, 1663. — "The qlk day conforme to the laudable practice of this burghe, in reading ane prayer in Counsall ilk Counsall day, praying that the Lord wold be present with the Magistrates and Counsall, and give them directions from himself in all their affairs, qlk hes bein this long time neglected, thairfor it is statut and ordanit that in all tyme coming the prayer be said ilk meeting of Counsall be the Clerk, and ordains that ilk member of Counsall who shall not be present at the saying of the prayers, being within the burghe and not having libertie from the Magistrates, sail pay ane unlaw of six shillings Scots, toties quoties, and ordains the bell for conveening of the Counsall to be rung precisely at nyn hours in the morning, and if any Magistrate be not present at or immediately after the ringing of the bell, he sail pay twelve shillings Scots, toties quoties. And lykas in respect that several members of Counsall hes conveined in Counsall in ane very undesent mainer, by coming without hats, thairfor ilk persone that sail come to Counsall without his hat sail pay ane unlaw of sex shillings money, foirsaid toties quoties, and ordains that this Act be put in execution in all tyme coming." 1 The members of the Convention of Royal Burghs agreed, on 25th July, 1681, to uphold their dignity and "reputation" in a different way, viz., by " ryding with their best horses, furniture, and apparel." Their resolution was that " the Convention, taking to their consideration how much it is for the honour and reputation of the Royal Burrows that their Commissioners shall ryde at the down-sitting of the Parliament with their best horses, furniture, and apparel : therefoir they ordaine ilk Commissioner that do not ryde as afoirsaid shall be liable in ane penaltie of ten punds sterling, to be paid to the agent, which he is hereby empowered to exact from the burghs said deficient in their duetie." (Records of Convention of Royal Burghs, vol. 1677 to 1711, p. 25.) 2 34 HISTORY OF PAISLEY, him the title of Baron of Mountcastle and Kilpatrick. He obtained also a large grant of lands in the barony of Strabane, in Ireland, upon which he built a castle and a church. He was succeeded in his estates by his eldest son James, second Earl of Abercorn. The Council were somewhat irregular as to the time of day at which they held some of their meetings. These were sometimes held early in the morning, as the following resolution of 8th January, 1619, will show. "Item — That the counsallors convene in the counsel house of the said burgh with the Bailies upon Friday, the fifth of February next, at seven hours in the morning, for hearing of John Algeo, younger, treasurer, his account; and that the whole persons that are indebted in any pittances be warned to compear before the Bailies and Counsel the said day and place. On 30th August, 1647, 3- Council meeting was appointed to be held on the I St of September following, betwixt seven and eight o'clock in the morning, for settling some accounts. And on 30th October, 1648, " It is statute and ordained by the Council that the meeting of the Bailies and Council, at their Council meeting, shall be in "the time of winter at nine o'clock morning each Monday, and in the summer at eight o'clock, and that none without a very necessary and an extraordinary occasion and excuse be absent under the pain ofxx^-" When the Council wished to attend in Edinburgh to any of the town's business, which was always of a legal kind, one of their num- ber, or the town clerk, or one along with the clerk, went personally, and riding was always their mode of travelling. On 15th April, 161 9, Bailie Hutchison was appointed to ride to Edinburgh to attend the calling of the suspension before the secret Council, which is purchased and obtained to be the Bailie and Council of the town of Lanark anent the weights. At the election of the Bailies on 4th October, 1619, the proceed- ings were conducted in the same way as formerly, with this excep- tion, that the Earl of Abercorn allowed the Council to appoint the first Bailie, while he made choice of the second Bailie. At the court held on 27th January, 1620, the Bailies and Council enacted, without giving any reason, "that na person or persons carry any fire furth of their houses within this burghe except in close vessels, under the pain of xi=- toties quoties." At the meeting at which the Bailies and Council established a horse race in the town, they voted a sum in aid of some kind of theatrical performance, the record regarding which is as follows : — 13th May, 1620 — "Which day the Bailies and Council, by a great majority, voted twenty punds from the common gude for help and supply to a pleasant invention and play to be played in the said burghe." It would appear from the Council records that Paisley merchants were molested by some persons in Glasgow, when they went to that city to dispose of their goods, and had complained to the Bailies of Glasgow thereanent. On ist May, 1623, "Item — Ordains the l6oo TILT, 1650. 235 Bailies, with three or four of the Council, to ride to Glasgow to speak to the Provost and Bailies thereof anent troubling the merchants of this burgh in using of their calling and trade of merchandice." At the election of the Bailies on the 24th October, 1624, a very curious circumstance occurred. In the absence of the Earl of Aber- corn, his mother attended and made choice of one of the Bailies. At the annual election on 4th October, 1630, one of the two Bailies was chosen by Lord Abercorn the Provost, and fifteen members of Council were elected. This was the usual number for a long time both previously and afterwards. At the head court held 9th May, 1633, "the Bailies and Council have statute and ordained that because there are many small matters and actions pursued before the said Bailies not worth to be filled up in the books, therefore that all men extract their decreets within fifteen days, otherwise the Clerk not to be answer- able for the proof, but to call the same over again." The Bailies and Council on loth October, 1633, in order to pre- vent Avhat they considered abuses, viz., Bailies holding office too long at one time, and a Councillor being elected a Bailie too soon after entering the Council for the first time, passed a stringent act on the subject. They ordained that any man being Bailie for two years together shall not be on the leet of nomination to be a Bailie for the third year, and that no new Councillor shall be on the leet of nomination to be a Bailie for the first year in which he is chosen a Councillor. The Council minutes are not recorded from 24th April, 1634, till 29th January, 1 635, the paper in the volume being left blank and clean. At the annual election of Bailies and Councillors on 30th Sep- tember, 1637, it is stated in the Council records that Lord Aber- corn, the Lord Provost, was elected one of the Bailies. It appears strange that he should hold both of these offices, but we believe this arrangement must have been made at his own request.^ Another blank, but a much larger one, now takes place in these records of the Town Council, which have been of so much service to us. All the records are awanting between 25th January, 163S, and 19th November, 1645. ^ "The qlk day it is thought meit and expedient that at all the ordinar meet- ings of the Magistrates and Counsall of this burgh thay sail begyn with prayer and invocation to God, and to that do set doun a common prayer, and insert the same in part of the bulk, and to be red by the clerk at ilk meeting " (DiiDtlhuion Burgh Records, 7th August, 1637), This resolution must have been soon after- wards ignored, for in 1663 the records state that prayer " hes bein this long time neglected," and the Council agreed that it should be resumed " in all tyme coming." Councillors who are absent from the meetings without permission are to be fined in six shillings, and magistrates not present when the bell is rung at nine morning or immediately thereafter are to pay 12s Scots. And those coming to the meetings " in ane very undecent manner without hats to pay ane unlaw of six shillings money." "William Dennistoun being found guilty of revealing the secrets of the Council, contrair to his aith, was sentenced to ane unlaw of 40 punds, and if the offence is repeated his freedf))n is to l>e cried doun" (Ibid., 19th March, 1670. 236 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. At the head court, held on 12th October, 1648, '"'the hail acts were read and published in face of the court, that none should pre- tend ignorance." At this court also the important statement was made regarding the Earl of Abercorn, that he was claiming a portion of the town's moss lands. It is as follows : — " The which day in respect that it is concurred and perceived by diverse of the Town affecting the weil thereof that the Earl of Abercorn intends to encroach on the town's liberties, and in par- ticular in impeding them to win, cut, and labour their moss land, and for that purpose the said Earl and his Lordship's factors have begun to assume to them the rooms alledged to be the monks' rooms in the moss, thinking thereby to get possession of the moss and land thereof, therefore the Council for some speedy preventing thereof have referred to the two Bailies the way how the same may be prevented and his Lordship incroaching in possession inter- rupted." On the 9th July following the Council appointed Bailie Fork and the Clerk their commissioners to go to Edinburgh to defend the town's moss rooms wanted by the Earl of Abercorn, and agreed " to give ilk ane of them for their own and horse charges xxxiij^ iiij^ (2s. 9^d.) in ordinar money per diem, attour the payment of their extraordinaries." A rather severe sentence was passed on William Love for con- tempt of court. 25th ^lay, 1646. — " W"- Love for declaring that the Bailies had given a false decreet against him was sentenced to pay four punds money. Also to stand in the tolbuith till it be paid, and lye in the stocks at the Cross during the Bailies' will." On 9th November, 1646, a Council meeting was appointed to be held every Monday. 5th April, 1647. — "John Dickie, wright, for striking Bailie Wal- lace, was sentenced to lye in the stocks till he paid twenty punds of fine, and lye in the stocks on Saturday next till his freedom be cried down. ' The Bailies and Council must have considered it part of their duty to protect the fish in the river Cart, for at the head court held on 6th May, 1647, the Act was ratified against fishers of smolt — the fry of salmon. At the annual election of Bailies in October, 1647, a rather serious difterence arose between Lord Abercorn and the Town Council regarding the election of the Bailies. Conferences of the parties were held on the subject, and lawyers were consulted, with- out any arrangement being arrived at. This difterence continued till the period of election in the following year, when Lord Abercorn made choice of both the Bailies. The Council protested against l600 TILL 1650. 237 this, holding that he possessed the privilege of electing only one BaiUe. During this dispute Robert Park, the clerk, was sent to Edin- burgh to consult the lawyers thereanent. On returning, he reported his diligence, and gave in a statement of his expenses, which were as follows : — " Robert Park's expenses in going to Edinburgh for himself and horse, 7 days at 30s., £10 los. (17s. 6d.); for his extraordinairs, 7 merks (7s. 9^d.) ; paid three lawyers, ;z^5o os. 2d. (;^4 3s. 4j5d.), with 58^ more for his horse wages " (4s. lod.) On 19th March, 1648, a deputation, consisting of John Spreul and Robert Park, clerk, was sent to Edinburgh to consult the lawyers about the ratification of the town's charter, along with some other matters. They received 100 punds (^5 iis. i^d.), whereof about 20 punds {;£i 13s. 4d.) is light money, to be sold to the best advantage. At the election of Bailies and Councillors on 6th October, 1648, there was produced by William Muir of Glanderston, who very likely was one of the town's lawyers in Edinburgh, an Act of the Committee of States, dated 22nd September, 1648, anent the elec- tion of Bailies and Councillors. It was agreed at this meeting, after the ratifying of some Acts, that the Bailies have no charge of receipt or disbursement of the common goods, meaning no doubt thereby that the Treasurer alone should have such charge. At this meeting they also ratified an Act agreed to on the 25th April, 1645, which, it will be seen, belongs to one of the volumes of the Council records now awanting, that all " unlaws exceeding xP money shall be payed to the Treasurer, and he to be charged therewith, and that the Clerk enroll the said unlaws as he will answer upon his peril." " Item, they ratify the act that no unfreeman shall break common land under pain of confiscation of their crops, and that no outen- touns burgess nor unfreeman shall have liberty to transport fulzie out of the town nor buy any within the same." Bailie John Spreul and Robert Park, clerk, who had been sent to Edinburgh on important business, as already stated, gave to the Council, on 6th November, 1648, an account of their expenditure, and as it is full of interest, we give it in its entirety : — " Which day the Bailie, Robert Fork, and haill Counsell present having heard, seen, and considered the compt of extraordinary de- bursements made by John Spreul, present Bailie, and Robert Park, clerk, the tyme of their being in Edinburgh anent the town's busi- ness, in giving ane supplication (conform to the Bailies and Counsell's commission) against the Lords of erection, and in pro- curing the town's charters ratified, they find their compt of extraordinary disbursements to clerks and lawyers to be ane hun- dred forty and ane pounds xi^ iiij^ . And their being and remaining to have been threescore ten days, for every day whereof they allow to them xx^ (is. 8d. stg.), ilk ane for their own charges, 238 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. ordinary and extraordinary, and for their two horses the space of eight days, eight pounds {13s. 4d. stg.) money, extending in all to two hundred nineteen punds xi** iiij'i- Whereof they find that the said John and Robert received out of the common purse at their away going, viz., fourscore punds money and twenty punds of light money to sell, for the which they got forteen punds vi^ iiij''' extend- ing to fourscore fourteen pounds vi^ iiij''- so there rests to the said John and Robert the sum of ane hundred twenty-five punds five shillings money, the which sum the said Bailies and Counsel promise to allow to the said John Spreul, alburser thereof, and does hereby allow to him in his treasurers accounts." At this time the Town Council were possessed of surplus funds, for we find from their records that on 28th January, 1649, they had 2000 merks (;^iii 2s. 2^^3d.) lent to the Laird of IJuchal, who paid them ;^io6 13s. 4d. Scots annually of interest, being at the rate of yj^ per cent.^ The Procurator's feal at this time was " five punds " annually (8s. 4d.) The Council ordained that no burgess nor indweller should prosecute any person before any judge except the Bailies, under the pain of a fine of ten punds, unless in cases consistorial. At a meeting of Council held on the ist February, 1649, ^ great many of the " auld acts " were ratified, of which we quote the fol- lowing : — " Item, the saids Baillies and Counsell renew, ratifie, and approve the act made that all burger airs gotten of their own bodies and creat burgesses, sail immediately after the decease of the father have so meikell of their father's common land as the Bailies and Counsell, efter consideration, sail think expedient, and his mother sail have the remainder, and after the decease of his mother the said air sail have the rest." They ratified the acts providing that " gif any widow having common land mary, she shall tyne the ane half; or commit fornica- tion either with ane freedman or ane unfreedman, that she sail tyne the said half common land. And the said land sail returne to the Bailies and Counsell, and be at their disposition." " Item, they ratifie, approve, and renew the acts made that gif any burgess having comon land sail happen to marie ane widow having comon land, that the said \\idow's comon land sail return to the Bailies and Counsell, and the haill, or sa meikell thereof as they sail think expedient, to be given to the air gotten betwixt her and her former husband, if there be any, and if there be nane, the same to be rouped." 1 2000 merks Scots is £\i\ 2s. 2%d. stg.; ;^io6 13s. 40!. Scots is £Z 17s. 9_^d. stg., or 7;^ per cent. In the Caldwell papers, part 1, page 128, the ordinary rate of interest, or "annual," as it was called, was, in 1647, 1648, and 1649, from six to seven per cent. l600 TILL 1650. 239 " Item, the saids Bailies and Counsell renew, ratifie, and approve the former acts made that na burgess creat gratus, nor for half fynes, sail lease or breack any common land." " Item, they ratifie and approve the former acts made that na burgess within this burgh sail have or brock any more common land nor twa aikers, and gif ony sail happen to breck any more, the same to be rouped and applied to the common purse." " Item, the saids Bailies and Counsell ratifies and approves the act made that all burgesses and freedmen of the said burghe havand common land and makand their residence furth of the samyne, sail tyne their said common land whatsoever they have within the said burghe, and the samyn to be decerned vacand." " Item, the saids Bailies and Counsell renews and ratifies the act made that na meillmaster resorting to this burghe, nor dwelling within the samyn, doe sell their meill within houses nor boothes, but that the samen be public to the common mercat place, there to be sold to all our Soveraigne Lord's leidges, or upon reasonable and competent pryce. And that no meillmaker sell his meill dearer on the oulk day nor they doe upon the mercat day preceding, under the pane of escheeting of the same. And siclyk that na meillmakers in this burghe refuse to sell meill to their neighbours (if they have any) when they sail be required, under the pain of escheeting of sa meikell as sail be fund within their house. And their bodyes to be punisht at the Bailies' will." " Item, the said Bailies and Counsell ratifies the Acts made that na unsene freeman's biere be received be freeman to be made in their kills to the said's unfreemen in prejudice of the saids freemen, under the paine of xP for the first fault, fyve punds for second, and crying downe their friedom the third." '■'■Item, they renew ratifie and approve the acts made that the officers sail put all decreits obtaint before the judges of the burghe to dew execution within fifteine days after they receive the same but furder delays. And make the partie payand of the sowm as con- teined thereuntill within the saids fifteen days (except payment be delayed with consent of parties,) under the paine of deprevation of their office. And payment of the principal dew to the partie or satisfyand the partie therefor. And that all goods poinded be the officers be prysit be them without rouping." " Item, they renew and ratifie the act that if ony of the officers bees funden absent when they have to do many common offices of the said burgh and does not their diligence according to their office, that incontinent efter tryell be taine they be depryvit ipso factor " Item, they ratifie, renew, and approve the act made that what- somever persons within this burghe beis thryce given up for pyckers or resetters of pyckerie or theft, syk es kaill, beire, corne, pease, hens, caponnes, peits, comitis whoordome or other vicious crimes, 240 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. and beis fund guiltie thereof, either in thrie heid courts or before the BaiHes and Counsell, they sail be banished off this burghe, and gif the man's wyffe be convened the man to answer for his wyffe and to be baith banished aff the towne. And gif the man be ane burgess his friedom to be cryit downe at the second fault, whether it be himself or his wyffe. And they that resetts ony of the said persons, committers of the said crymes, to underlye the same paines.' " Item, the saids Bailies and Counsell renews, ratifies, and ap- proves the acts made, that no manner of persoune nor persounes who are not burgesses, inhabitants within the said burghe, sail brooke any manner of freedome or privilege within the same nor communitie thereof, especially in pasturage of goods, carting of rigging turves or devitis thereupon in tyme coming under the paine of fyve punds toties quoties sa aft as they contravene, and that it sail not be leisam to the Bailies thereof at ony time to grant or give license for that effect, qlk in case they to be answerable to the Counsal for the unlaw foresaid, and the said act to have full effect in the self notwithstanding that the contravener thereof have heri- tage within the burghe and be Burgess and not inhabitant, or other ways be inhabitant and not Burgess, swa that the priviledge sail only be extendit to Burgesses, inhabitants who stentes and leives within the towne and watches and wards when neid is." "Item, they ratifie and approve the Acts made that in all tyme coming the unlaws of all absents from heid courts of the said burghe, and from keeping of fairs of the samyne sail pay xx^ money ilk absence toties quoties." " Item, they ratifie and approve the Acts made that whatsomever Burgess of the said burghe beis charged in ward for nonpayment making of any common goods and disobeyes the said ward, that he sail be called to ane particular court to heir and sie him desernt to have forfault his friedome, and the samyne to be cryed downe incontinent at the mercat croce for his disobedience, and siclyke he that enters in ward and breaks the samyne." The bad practice was still continued of allowing feuars to en- croach upon the street on payment of a yearly sum. On 29th February in this year, John Love was permitted " to build ane hanging foir stair with pallars under it upon the gavell of the tene- ment that was Th^- Mylnes foirgainst the showe mercat at the cross, for the yearly payment of vi^ viii^ " At this date " William Grenleis, Treasurer, is appointed to goe to Glasgow and buy ane hundreth daills with twa tries for to be ane caise to the knock, to be caises to the steipill windows and ane dure in the kirk, to the entrie of the town's clerk." When the charter of erection was granted to the town of Paisley by Abbot George Schaw in 1490, he must have known that there l6oO TILL 1650. 241 was coal in the Burgh lands, as will be seen in the copy of his charter given at page 143.^ The first reference in the Council records to the town having anything to do with coal workings, is on the 26th March, 1649, — " Qlk day it was concludet be the Baihes and Counsell that James Cunninghame goe to Riccarton and bring ane man reported to have greit skill of coale, to try if there be anie coale within the boundes of the towne." The Council must have received a favourable report from the person at Riccarton, for we find from their records that workmen had been employed to carry on operations connected therewith, as on 3rd June following it is recorded, — "Qlk day James Alexander, late Bailie, is appointed to oversee the workers at the heuche for the space of eight days, that they work constantlie and leiv off at dew tym only, for the qlk they appoint the said James to have xiijp per diem." On the 29th November following, the Council agreed that the " heuch be deserted, in respect of the shortness of the day, till spring time next." The following record is the first indication of the civil war into which the country was about to be plunged, — in which, too, the town of Paisley was seriously involved : — 2nd April, 1649. — " Q}^ day it is concludit be the Bailies and Counsell that all inhabitants within the towne sail be restraint in tyme coming during the tym of levying to tak on to be sodjours with any bot for the towne, and that lest some husbands who have alreadie taken on with gentlemen outwith the towne, their wyves and bairnes sould be burdensome to the towne, it is concluded that they sail presentlie goe out of the towne and dwell on the lands for the qlk the husbands are gone furth. And that this be intimat be tuck of drum." This resolution is followed by another, at the same meeting, showing that the arrangements for the coming conflict of arms had extended to Paisley itself, — " Qlk day it is appointed that twa hun- dred punds for the outrick of ane troup horse sail be imposted on the burgesses, heritors, and inhabitants of the towne." But the further history of the connection of our town with the civil war belongs to the next chapter. William Greenleis, the treasurer, was charged to make up his accounts, but as he pleaded that he was unwell, the Bailies and Council ordained him to compear before them " on Wednesday next, at vii hours in the morning, under paine of disobedience " (Cotmcil Records, 28th May, 1649). The treasurer having failed to ^ Mr. R. W. Cochran Patrick in his able and interesting work on the Early Records relating to Mining in Scotland, page xxiv, states that in 1294 James, High Steward of Scotland, gave to the Abbey of Paisley the right " carbones marinos fodiendi " to dig sea coal. That coal was just beginning to be used at this time in Europe may be seen from the letters of /Eneas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II, who says that in Scotland a "sulphurous stone was dug up which was used for firing" (Piiikerton, vol. ii, page 150). Q 242 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. appear, was two days afterwards fined in forty punds, and, as it was reported he was about to leave the country, the Council agreed that he should be imprisoned till caution was found by him for the sum owing. The Council "punded" the treasurer's effects for the fine, but on receiving a petition from his wife, they agreed to restore these on the payment of five punds. 6th August, 1649. — "License was granted by the Bailies and Council to Lord Ros to cause cast in the common of Paisley fyve score threttene riging turves for riging of his dwelling house in Calseesyde and kitchen thereof." John Hamilton, who succeeded William Greenlees in the treasurer- ship, appears to have failed to account for his intromissions, as the Bailies and Council appointed the " keye of the tollbuith " to be given to him to enter into ward till he paid the whole of his accounts (Council Records, 24th July, 1649). Everything must have been satisfactorily arranged, for on i8th October following, being the end of the financial year, w-e find the following entry : — " John Hamilton, treasurer's, compt footed and closed." The following extract from the Council records of ist October, 1649, gives a precise account of the manner in which the Bailies and Council were elected at this period : — ist October, 1649. — "Sederunt: Robert Fork, bailie; James Alexander, INIr. Hew Fork, Hew Blair, Johne Carswell, James Cunninghame, Hew Paterson, Johne Wilson, Robert Parkhill, William Mathie, Robert Peiter, Wm. Greinleis, John Wallace, Andro Wilson, Johne Baird, Counsellors who have elected and chosen to be on the new Counsell for the year to come, Johne Wilsoune in Smiddiehills ; William Henderson, merchand ; John Kelso, merchand; Peiter Fleyming, tailzeour; Alex. INIilne, merchand; John Stewart, merchand; and John Greinlees, cordiner; who, having all made faith as use is, and the said Bailie and old Counsell being removed, the said sevene of the new Counsell did elect out of the said auld Counsell, to be lykwise on the Counsell for the year to come, Robert Fork and John Spreule, late Bailies ; James Alexander, Mr. Hew Fork, Hew Blair, John Carswell, Hew Patersoune, Johne Wilsoune, y''-' maltman; Robert Parkhill, cor- diner; and Andro Wilsoune, in Calssisyde; who all lykwise re- turning and having made faith as use is, Did out of the number of the said old and new Counsell elect to be on the lite of Bailies the said Robert Fork, y''' John Spreule, late Bailies; John Carswell, M''- Hew Fork, James Alexander, and Neill Blair, whilk sexe being put in voting who sould be Bailies, be pluralitie of voyces the said Robert Fork, y""- and the said Johne Carswell are nominat and chosen to be Bailies for the year to come, who gave their solemn aiths defidcli admifiistraiiotie." At the election of Bailies and Councillors on loth October, 1649, there was passed without any explanation the following severe- l6oo TILL 1650. 243 looking Act regarding the PJailies, if they did not discharge their duties properly : — " It is statut and ordained that the Bailies see all the acts of the Council put in due execution, under the pain of ten punds to be paid to the Treasurer, they being tirst warned by two of the Council." 26th November, 1649. — " ^<^^ ancnt ane Charter of the Bur^he. — The qlk day it is concludit be the Bailies and Counsell that with all possible diligence there sail be ane means and endeavour used for obtaining ane new charter of the burghe, with ane other new charter of all the tenements that are holden be the towne of the Erie of Abercorne formerlie, with the teinds includit, to be now holden of the King's Majestie." And on 20th December thereafter, Robert Clark was appointed to go to Edinburgh to Robert Fork, the other Bailie, who was there at that time, " who both sail have power and commission sub- scribed and deliverat to them for consulting with lawyers and obtaining ane new charter," as described. 30th November, 1649. — " Sir George Maxwell of Nether Pollok, Knight, along with five others, were admitted burgesses of the burgh by the Bailies and Counsell." The Bailies and Council had two town officers, or, as they were called, officers and " sergeands " (in Abbot Shaiv's Charter of 1490). Their duties in the little burgh were very multifarious and onerous, as they required to apprehend persons both for civil and criminal causes, execute poindings, and carry into effect the decisions of the Bailies in the burgh court, and to attend to them at all times when officially engaged. They were from time to time supplied with a suit of official clothes, which they always used when on duty (Council Records, 23rd October, 1607, and 25th January, 1625). The halberds which they carried in those times were meant for defence, and not — as they latterly became — merely for official show. Having therefore important business to perform, the town's officers required to find caution that they would " exerce their office leillie and trewlie, under a penaltie of xx punds." In those days the town drummer was also an official of some con- sequence, as it was through him alone the Bailies and Council com- municated to the inhabitants their various intimations. He, also, like the officers, received his clothes from the Council. No security was asked from him for the proper performance of his duties, but when appointed he was obliged to come under some peculiar obli- gations. A single instance will show the terms under which this official was elected. " The qulk day the Bailies and Counsale electit and choisit Andro. Stewart, sone lawfull of umquile Alex. Stewart in Barodgear, drummer of this burgh for the space of ane yeir next following the feist of Beltane next to cum. Quha acceptit the said office upon him for the yeirlie dewtie usit and wont to be payit be the inha- 244 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. bitants of this biirghe to the Drummer of befoir. Quha became actit that he sail nawyse strick the drum within this burgh nor outinwith the sam, but at the ordinar tymes usit and wont, by the special license of the said Bailies, and gif he do in the contrair he is content to be dischargit simpliciter of his office " (Council Records, i8th April, 1605). It may be safely stated that horse-racing in Scotland — at least, sport worthy of that name — commenced at Paisley. Among the ancient nations, neither the Greeks nor the Romans indulged in horse-racing. The first authentic account of that sport in Britain is of races at Smithfield in the reign of Henry II. (1154 to 1189), and it was more for the purpose of showing the speed and qualities of horses to purchasers, as there were no rewards for the winners ( Histof-y of Horse-Racing, l^ondon, 1863). The chief amusements of King Henry VIII. " were shooting at the round, hunting, and horse-racing " (Privy-Purse Expenses of Henry VIII., by N. H. Nicolson, p. 24 to 204). In 1552 a horse race was estabfished at Haddington for a silver bell ( Iladdington Burgh Records, lotli May, 1552,) but it was through the patronage of King James VI. of Scotland and I. of England that horse racing became a permanent institution. Indeed, the people of Scotland became so fond of the sport of horse racing and of betting upon it, that in 162 1 the Scottish Parliament passed an act to restrain this passion (Acta Pari. Jac. VI., vol. iv., p. 613). The preamble of this act runs :— " Considering the monyfold evillis and inconvenientis whiche enseu upoun carding and dyceing and horse races, whiche ar now over much frequented in this countrey to the gryt prejudice of the leigis, and because honest men ought not expect that anye wynning hade at anye of the games above writtin can do thame guid or prosper," &c. The statute farther says, " And if it shall happen any man to winne any summes of money at carding or dyeing attour the summe of an hundreth merks within the space of twenty four houres, or to gaine at wagers upon horse races any summe attour the said summe of an hundreth merks, the surplus shall be consigned within twenty four houres thereafter in the hands of the Treasurer of the kirk if it be in Edinburgh, or in the hands of the kirk session in the countrey parochines," &c. The first allusion to horse racing in the records of the Town Council of Paisley is of date 27th April, 1608, in these terms : — " Act ajient the Silver Bell. — Item, it is concluded that ane silver bell be made of 40Z. weight with all diligence for ane horse race yearly, to be appointed within the burgh bounds, and day for run- ning thereof to be set down by advice of my Lord Earl of Abercorn, Lord Paisley and Kilpatrick." It would appear the two bells had also a silver chain, which is not now attached to them, for on 8th May, 161 7, mention is made l6oO TILL 1650. 245 of " the hand chenyie and silver bells made for the horse race." Full sized drawings are given of the two ancient bells, and a blue silk ribbon is now generally used to bind them together. It was not, however, till 1620 that the first race took place. The act of this date referring to that of 1608 merely says " qlk was of old set downe and not affectuat." Very likely the first Earl of Abercorn, who died in 16 18, was opposed to the act of 1608, and his eldest son, then Lord Paisley, succeeding his father as second Earl of Abercorn, revived the matter in 1620. The following is a copy of this curious and important act of 13th May, 1620 :^ ''^ Aci setting downe ane hors Raiss, apud Pais slay, decimo tertio die mensis May, 1620. — The quhilk day Andro Crauforde and Jo"- Algeo, zounger baillies of ye burghe thairof, with the counselle of the samyn, being convenit in the tolbuith of the said bur'- with advyse of ane nobill and potent erle, James erle of Abercorn, &c., proveist of the said burghe, for ordour taking with sundrie thingis concerning the commoune weill of the samyn, and namelie, anent the conclusioune of thair bell race and efterschot, quhilk was of auld set doune and not effectuat. Thairfoir it is now concludit and ordanit be the saidis Baillies and Counsell with advyse and consent foirsaid, that zeirlie in tyme cuming, thair bell race sal be rwne on the saxt day of Maij, in manner following, viz., to be start at ye gray stane callit St. Conuallis (pronounced Convallis) stane and fra that richt eist to the lytill house at the calsayend of Renfrew, and fra that the hie kingis way to the vvalnuik of Paslaye, and quhat horse first comes over a scoir at [ ] Renfrew, sail have ane dowbill aingell, and the horse and maister yairof that first comes over the scoir^ at the said Walnuik of Paislay, sail have the said bell with the said burghe's airmes yairupon for yat zeir. Togidder with the rest of the gold that sal be given in with the said bell, in manner following, except ane dowbill aingell that sal be given to the second horse and his maister yat comes nixt over the scoir to the foirmest, and to that effect the saidis Baillies and Counsell present and to come, with advyse of their said Lord Proveist, obleist thame to give in zeirlie with the said silver bell, the pieces of gold following, viz., the said Lord Provost ane dowbill aingell, the saidis Bailleis and Counsell ane other dowbill aingell. Lyikas the noblemen haifand landis within the parochin of Paislay, as my Lord Sempill, ane singell aingell, my Lord Rose, my Lord of Blantyre [ ] everie ane of thame ar willing for the upholding of the said bell race, zeirlie to give in ane single aingell yairunto and everie awner of the horse that rwnes to produce ane singell aingell of gold to the said Baillies befoir the foir the horse be drawen out lyikas all the awnneris of the horses that sail happen to ryne zeirlie sal be obleist to be present within the bur' of Paislaye [ ] dayes at leist befoir the said raice day, and ^ The termination of the race at Wallneuk must afterwards have been trans- ferred to St. James Street, which, fifty years ago, was generally called the "Scoir." 246 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. thair to be reddie with thair ryderis befoir ten houris befoir nowne, and the ryderis to be weyit at the trone of the said Bur"^ of Paislay, [ ] stane wecht ; quhair the maisteris or otheris haifand power of thame sal be present with the rydaris in the tolbuithe of the said burghe for gifing up thair names, casting of the dyce for their places in outleiding and the wandhandis. And because this present zeir is so far spent, it is concludit be the said Lord Proveist and other noblemen, with advyse of the saidis Bailleis and Councell of yis bur' that the said bell raice be rune the first day of Junij nix to cum, fra the gray stane callit St. Conuallis' stane to the said lytill house, and fra that to the Walneuk of Paislaye, as said is, haifand thair horse alwayis dyetit in the said bur' in manner foirsaid. And quha happens to wone the said bell, keipand thair wecht in manner above written, being weyit again e at the said trone, sail have the said silver bell hung at his horse heid and ye gold foirsaid. With this provisioune, that the maister of the horse, or onie others haifing power of him, sal be actit as principall, with ane sufficient burgess man as cautioner for him, conjunctlie and severallie, for productioune of the said bell to the saidis Bailleis of Paislaye, als gude as he sail resave the samin, with what augmentatioune pleist him to add yairto zeirlie, apoun the said saxt day of May, befoir nyne houris in the morning ; and quhatever hors beis not keepit and dyettit within the said burghe the space foirsaid before the said day, and led fra Paislaye to the starting place, they sail not be sufferit to runne in tyme cuming, and quhatevir horss winnis the said silver bell three zieris togither, the maister owner yairof sail have the said silver bell to himself, conforme to the manner of other burrowes." "//fw, it is concludit be the saidis Bailleis and Counsall of the said bur' with advyse of my Lord Proveist, that ane efterschot raiss sail be runne zeirlie in all tyme cuming, fra ane scoir at the Sclaittis of Ellirslie to ane other scoir at the Calsayheid of the said bur' of Paislaye, be horse of the price of ane hundreth merks, ryddand with the wecht foirsaid, for ane furnischeit sadill, quhilk sal be zeirlie presentit be the saidis Bailleis of Paislaye, present and to cum, at the scoir at the said Calsayheid. And quhilkis of the saidis horses that sail happen to cum first over the said scoir at the said Calsay- heid, the awner yairof sail have the said sadill, stok yairof, and covering ; and the awner of the secund horse that sail happin to cum secundlie over the said scoir sail have the furnischeing of the said sadill then presentit. The ryders allwayis of the saidis horses keipand thair wechtis they war weyit of befoir thair furthdrawing, and na other wyse." It will he observed from the foregoing Act that the horses were to start " at ye gray stane callit Saint Conuallis stane,'"' at Inchinnan.^ ^ Iiichinnan acquired its name from a long narrow island in Cart water, where it joins Gryfe, opposite the church of Inchinnan. }'j/ys (Welsh) or i>/f/is (Gaelic) an island, likewise a peninsula. 1 lie adjunct may be derived from Saint Innan, who is said to have been a ccnfcfsor at Irvirc wlicre he died in 839 ( I'mshv Mo^nziin; P- 637). l6oo TILL 1650. 247 This stone at the present day is situated a few yards north of the road leading from the bridge over the canal to Renfrew, and about half-way between the towing-path and the west porter's lodge of the avenue leading to Blythswood House. There is a well-formed foot- path leading to the stone immediately north of the porter lodge, and free access is granted to all by Sir Archibald C. Campbell, Bart. This stone is about 32 inches high, 48 inches thick at the base, and 34 inches at the top ; and in breadth is about 32 inches at the base and 24 inches at the top. The stone probably weighs about two tons. Saint Conuallis, who died i8th May, 612, was one of the two disciples of Saint Kentigern or IMungo. According to the Scottish breviaries, he was the first Archdeacon of Glasgow, and his festival was celebrated on the 18th of Md-y. Conuallis resided at Inchinnan, where a monument or cross was erected to his memory, which was visited by pious pilgrims. The cell in which he lived was near the cross, of which it is supposed this stone formed the base. St. Conval's stone is now generally called Argyle's stone, from the belief that the Earl of Argyle was taken prisoner here on 30th June, 1685. In the parish church of Renfrew there was a chapel founded in memory of Saint Conuallis and Saint Ninian (Diocesan Jicgistcr of Glasgozv, vol. i., p. 403). In 1507 Sir John Alanson, the then chaplain, was bound to reside at his ministry, and to perform service in terms of the foundation, and to maintain the building. At that time he had deserted his charge, and the prebendary of Renfrew admonished him to return to his duties, and to repair the buildings. This Act of the Bailies and Council is otherwise so fully and minutely stated, that further explanations are unnecessary. We give a full-sized drawing of these ancient and interesting relics, the two silver bells, on the next page. As determined by the Act of the Bailies and Council of Paisley, which we have quoted, the first horse race for the silver bells was run in 1620, and was won by Hew Crawford of Cloberhill, who found James Maxwell cautioner for producing the bells on 6th May next, under a penalty of " one hundred punds ' (_;^8 6s. 8d.) The Council records supply this information, but, unfortunately, without giving any more particulars. The records of the Council are silent as to whether there were any races on 6th May in the following year — the period at which the winner of the previous year was required to deliver up the bells. If there were no races at Paisley in 162 1, the Earl of Abercorn (who appears to have been the grand promoter of these races, rather than the Bailies and Councillors) had his relish for horse-racing gratified in that year in another place. Lords Mortoun, Abercorn, and Boyd entered into an engagement or wager to run, at Cupar-Fife, a horse each, the stakes to be a double gold angel for every horse This agree- ment or indenture, as it is called, is somewhat curious. It runs thus : — " Ane Indentour of ane Horse Race betiuixt my Lords Mortoun, Abercorne, and Boyd. — The Erie of Mortoun obleissis himself to 248 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. produce George Rutherfuirde's barb naig, the Erie of Abercorne obleissis him to produce gray naig, my Lord Boyd obleissis him to produce his bay horse. Upon the conditions following : Thay ar to run the first Thuirsday of November nixt to cum, thrie mett myleis of Cowper raise in Fyff, the waidger to be for every horse ten dowbill angellis, the foirmest horse to win the haill thretty. Ilk rydare to be aucht Scottis stane wecht. And the pairtie not SILVER BELLS — PAISLEY RACES. comperand or refussand to consigne the waidger sail undergo the foirfaltour of this soume, and that foirfaltour sal be addit to the staik to be tane away be the wynner. Forder, we declair it to be lesume to ony gentleman to produce ane horse and the lyke waidger, and thay sal be walcum. Subscryvitt with all our handis at Hamiltoune l6oO TILL 1650. 249 the fyfteine day off August, 162 1. — Morton, Abercorn, Boyd" (Printed in Book Form for Private Distribution). We are, however, unable to give the name of the winner in this race. On 8th May, 1622, according to the Council records, "the race and cup were run and won by Robert, Lord Boyd." On this occa- sion, John, Earl of Cassilis ; John, Earl of Wigton ; John, Lord Lindsay ; Robert, Lord Boyd ; Mr. James Hamilton of Westport, commissair of Glasgow ; and James Hamilton of Aitkenhead, were made burgesses by the Bailies and Council, and George, servant to my Lord of Abercorn, was made burgess ; and all of these, no doubt, honoured the races with their presence on that day. The Bailies and Council, on 9th May, 1633, agreed that "a saddle race be proclaimed on the 22nd May annually." No further reference is made to horse racing, during the period embraced in this chapter, in the Council records. They may nevertheless have been continued annually, although not under the special direction of the Town Council. In 1613 the Bailies and Council erected, at the west port in the High Street, a hospital or almshouse, and the stones with which it was built were taken from St. RoUoc's Kirk, then falling into decay. This chapel has been already referred to as standing near the head of Castle Street. The foundation charter of the institution, dated 30th September, 1618, provides that "in this hospital six poor, weak, old men, unable for work, or more if it may happen, belong- ing to the Burgh, shall be supported, and clothed with gowns down to the heels, tunics and caps, black or blue according as the Bailies should prescribe. For the support of whom in all necessaries they give and grant as follows, viz.: the said house and place or hospital already built, and all its pertinents, together with the annual pay- ments after-mentioned, viz., to each of the said old men 40 merks (^2 4s. StV^-) annually to be paid by the Bailies and their suc- cessors, by such portions daily, weekly, or monthly at the Bailies' option, from the first and readiest of the rents, customs, and fruits or common good of the Burgh. Also, give and grant to the said six old men and their successors in the said hospital, si.xty loads of peats and thirty loads of coals, to be annually delivered at the hospital by the Bailies and their successors in the said Burgh for fuel, when necessary ; declaring the said old men praying day and night to God for the defence of His universal Church, and for King James and his Queen and their posterity, for Lord Claud, Lord of Paisley, James, Earl of Abercorn, and his grandson, and his heirs male. Lords of Paisley — the granters superior — for the property of the Burgh, and for the eternal salvation and daily prosperity of the Magistrates, Council, and inhabitants. Likewise ringing the bell of the hospital daily at five in the morning and ten at night, and the last bell on days of preaching and prayer, and as occasion shall require and as shall be appointed by the Bailies. Also, keeping the 250 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. hospital clean, the garden well cultivated and planted with flowers, herbs, and i^ot herbs, in all time coming." The original charter is in the charter chest of the Council. The Council, by the direction of the Earl of Abercorn — so the record states— ordained " that the annuals and obit silver which were paid of old to the priests in the kirk of the said Burgh be annexed to the funds of the hospital " (Council Records^ 8th March, 16 1 8). "J'his obit silver was part of the grant to endow the Grammar Scliool, and such application of it was therefore a viola- tion of the charter. The hospital consisted of two storeys in height, and the second storey, or " loft," as it was called, was annually let. On one side of the little spire, which contained the bell, attached to the hospital was this inscription, — " Quha gives the puir, to God he lends, And God, again, mair grace him sends " ; and on another side the following, — " He that has pitie on the por Of grace and mercy sal be sor. " These inscriptions apparently influenced more than one charitable person to aid the funds of the hospital. In January, 1629, Mr. Thomas Inglis, by his will, left 500 merks (^27 15s. (i^^^.) as an endowment to the hospital ; and on 22nd September, 1632, "Peter Algie, writer in Edinburgh — the town's agent there- — mortified for the use of the poor in the hospital at the west port 100 merks money" (^5 us. ijVd). In 1 62 1 the Council ordered "the hospital bell to be taken down and sent to Edinburgh, and get a new one of four or five stones, as the bell-house will not carry more." When King James VI. left Scotland on 5th April, 1603, to ascend the throne of England, left vacant by the death of Queen Elizabeth on 24th March in that year, he promised to revisit his native country every three years. It was not, however, till 161 7, fourteen years after he had left, that he came from England to fulfil his promise. He arrived at Edinburgh on i6th May, 161 7, and was met at the west port by the Magistrates and Council in their robes of office, and the other priticipal inhabitants arrayed in black velvet. The King received an enthusiastic reception, and the deputy town-clerk addressed him for nearly an hour in a most bombastic strain, as the following short extract may show : — " This is that happy day of our new birth, ever to be retained in fresh memorie, wherein our eyes behold the greatest human felicity our hearts could wish, which is to feed upon the royal countenance of our true phoenix, the bright star of our northern firmament, the ornament of our age wherein we are refreshed, yea revived, with the heat and beams of our sun — the powerful adamant of our l6oO TILL 1650. 251 wealth — by wliose removal from our hemisphere, we were darkened, deep fear and sorrow had possessed our hearts. The very hills and groves, accustomed before to be refreshed with the dew of your Majesty's presence, not putting on their wonted apparel, but with pale looks representing their grief for the departure of their King. Receive, then, dread Sovereign, from your Majesty's faith- ful and loyal subjects, the Magistrates and citizens of your High- ness's good town of Edinburgh, such welcome as is due from those who, with thankful hearts, do acknowledge the infinite blessings plenteously flowing to them from the paradise of your Majesty's unspotted goodness and virtue. Wishing your Majesty's eyes might pierce into their very hearts, there to behold the excessive joy inwardly conceived of the first messenger of your Majesty's princely resolution to visit this your Majesty's good town." The King then commenced a " progress " through the principal counties in the kingdom, and at every town and mansion of the nobility which he visited he was received with the utmost joy and respect. He arrived at the Place of Paisley on 24th July, 1617, as the guest of the Earl of Abercorn. In the records of the Town Council there is no reference made to this visit of the King, but it has been alleged by some writers, without any authority being given, that the Bailies and Council petitioned his Majesty not to visit the town, as they were too poor to entertain him. This cannot have been the case, for the Earl of Abercorn being, as already mentioned, highly esteemed by the King, was Provost, or rather Lord Provost, of Paisley, and, in assisting the Bailies and Council to manage the affairs of the town, would certainly be no party to send such a communication to the King. Nor would the Bailies and Council, without consulting the Earl, forward on their own account such a petition to the King. King James was welcomed to Paisley, and entertained by the Earl of Abercorn in the large hall. On this occasion — where, no no doubt, the nobility and gentry of the county, along with the Bailies and Councillors of the town of Paisley, were assembled — an oration, partaking largely of the inflated style of the deputy town- clerk of Edinburgh, was delivered by a pretty boy of nine years of age, son of Sir James Semple of Belltrees, then Sheriff of the county. This address was as follows : — " A graver orator (sir) would better become so great an action as to welcome our great and most gratious Soveraine ; and a bashfull silence were a boye's best eloquence. But seeing wee read that in the salutations of that Romane, Caesar, a sillie Pye amongst the rest cryed ave Csesar to : Pardon mee (sir), your M. owne old Parret, to put furth a few words, as witnesses of the fervent affections of your most faithfull subjects in these parts ; who all by my tongue, as birds of one cage, crye with me, Ave C^sar, ^^'elcome most gratious King. Welcome, then, is the word, and welcome the work wee all aime at. A verball welcome were base, trivial, and for 252 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. everie body ; and a Real or Royal Welcome answering either our harts' desires, or your H. deservings, ad haec quis sufficiensl Actions can never gequall affections. Saying, then, is nothing ; shall I sweare your M. welcome ? I dare ; but it becommeth not a boy to touch the Bible ; and yet because an oath taken by nothing, is but nothing, I sweare by the Black Book of Paisley, your M. is most dearlie Welcome. Thus have I said (sir), and tlius have I swome : Performance tak from Noble Abercorne. Welcome then (sir) every where, but more welcome here than any where. This seemeth a Paradox, but if I prove it, your M., I hope, will approve it. Three pillars of my proof I find in our old poet, Phoebus, his Clytia, and his Leucothoe ; whose fabulous allegorie if I can applie to our selves by true historic, all is well. Phoebus (sir), you knowe, is knowne to all, because scene of all : that sunne, that eye by which the world seeth, shining alike both on good and bad. And are not you (sir) our Royal Phoebus ? are not you as ane eye of the world, seeing upon you are the eyes of the world, some for good, others for evil, according to their minds. And as that sunne in his course compasseth and passeth by the whole world, so hath your M. since you beganne to shine in your royal sphere inhanced a good part of the world, but passed by, and buried all the Princes as well of the Heathen as Christian world. O shine still, then, our Royall Phoebus. Now that your M. is the pecuhar Phoebus of our westerne world, if any did doubt, then Ex ore duoriim ant triu?}i, your three kingdomes are three witnesses. Still shine, then, our Royall Phoebus. Now (sir), Clytia and Leucothoe were Phoebus' mistresses ; Clytia the daughter of the ocean, Phoebus' first love. Hence did the poets faine that the sunne, rising in the East, holdeth his course westward for visiting his love, and accord- ing to their long or short embracements aryse our long or short dayes and nights. And are not wee, then (sir), of Scotland your M. owne old kindlie Clytia? are not you (sir) our Phoebus, comming from the East with glorious displayed beames, to embrace us in the mouth of the ocean ? And is not this verie place now (sir) your westermost period ? ergo {?,\x), yo\xr kindliest Clytia? Your Clytia (sir) is of many goodlie members. Your M. hath past alreddie her head, neck, and armes, your greater townes and cities ; but till now came you never to her hart. Why ? because in this verie parish is that auncient seat of William Wallas, that worthie warrior, to whome (under God) we owe that you are ours, and Britanne yours. In this very parish is that noble house of Dairnley-Lennox, whence sprung your M. most famous progenitors. In the citie you came from, the bed that bred you. In the next you go to, that noble race of Hamilton, wherein your M. most royall stemme distilled some droppes of their dearest blood. And in this verie house is your M. owne noble Abercorne, a cheefe sprigge of the same roote, removed only a little by tyme, but nothing by nature. And there- fore are you in the verie hart of your Clytia, and so welcomer l6oo TILL 1650. 253 to her hart than to any other part, and so I hope, your M., Parret hath proved his paradox. Now (sir), Leucothoe, that fairest Ladye, Phoebus' second love, she is even your M. owne glorious England, most worthy of all love. When that Phoebus first wowed that Leucothoe, he was faine to transforme himselfe in the shape of her Mother, and so to shift her hand-maids for a more privat accesse. But when your M. went first to your English Leucothoe, you went lik yourselfe, busked with your owne beames and backed with the best of your Clytia ; so were both you and wee welcome, and em- braced of your Leucothoe. And returning now to your Clytia, you bring with you againe the verie lyfe (as it were) of your Leu- cothoe, these Nobles and Gentrie which accompany you, and should not both bee — ^nay, are not both most dearlie welcome to your Clytia. That Phoebus in his love to his Leucothoe forgot his Clytia ; he came no more at her, her nightes grewe long, her winters tedious, whereupon Clytia both revealed and reviled their loves. And so Leucothoe was buried quickly, her own furious father and Clytia cast out for ever of Phoebus' favour. But, your M., in your most inward embracements of your Leucothoe, then were you most mind- ful of your old Clytia. Indeed, our nights have been long, a four- tein yeeres' winter, if we weigh but your persone ; but yet the beames of your Royall hart (the onlie lyfe of Love) were ever awarming us. The onelie remedie were that these two Ladyes, as their loves are both fixed on one, so themselves become both one ; and what will not true love unite ? As they have alreadie taken on one name for their deare Phoebus' sake, let them put on also one nature for the same sake. So shall our Phoebus shine alike on both, be still pre- sent with both ; our nights shall be turned to day, and our winter in ane endlesse sommer ; and one beame shall launce alike on both sides of our bound-rod, and our Phoebus no more need to streach out his armes on both sides of it, devyding as it were his Royall body for embracing at once too divided Ladyes. Hee that con- spireth not to this Union, let never Phoebus shine more on him. Lastly (sir), that poore Clytia, thogh she lost her Phoebus' favour, yet left shee never of to love him, but still whether his chariot went thither followed her eyes, till in end by her endlesse observance she was turned in that floure called Heliotropion or Solsequium. And how much more (sir) sheuld wee, who grow daylie in your grace and favour, bee all turned in a ^aaiXior^omov with a faithfull obse- quium. Our eyes shall ever be fixed on your Royall chariot, and our harts on your Sacred Person. " O Royal Phoebus, keepe this course for ever. And from thy deare Britannia never sever ; But if the Fates will rather frame it so That Phoebus now must come and then must goe, Long may thy selfe ; Thy race mot ever ring Thus without end : We end. God Save our King. Amen." ^ 1 The Muses' Welcome to the High and Mighty Prince James, by the Grace of God King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., 254 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. We do not know if King James at this visit passed through the Bridge Port and visited the Grammar School, which he founded forty-two years before. We believe he would. It is supposed that the population of Paisley at this period was a little under looo. We have narrated the alarm caused to the inhabitants of Paisley at the beginning of the seventeenth century by the appearance of the pest or plague in this part of the country, and the great pre- cautions that were taken by the Bailies and Council to prevent its entrance into the town. Their efforts at that time were successful, but this was not the case wlien the malady again returned, near the end of 1645, ^1"'^ continued with great violence till the middle of the following year.^ The sufferings of the inhabitants were great, not only from the pestilence, but also from the scarcity and dearth of provisions of every kind. Infected persons and houses were, at much labour and expense, cleaned under the superintendence of a committee of the Town Council, who also obtained contributions of meal and money from the different parishes in the county (Council Records, 25th and 30th November, 1645). The inhabitants had come to such straits that the Council appointed two of their number "to go on the ist December to Glasgow and supplicate the Town Council thereof for help and supply to the poor of the town of Paisley." The Glasgow Town Council at once responded to this solicitation, and agreed, " in consequence of the lamentable estate and condition of the poor people within the town of Paisley, and the hard straits they are brought to by God's visitation of the plague of pestilence lying upon them now this long time," to grant them twenty bolls of meal (Glasgow Council Records, 6th Decem- ber, 1645). For some time Council meetings and courts ceased, from some unexplained cause, to be held in the Tollbooth, and were held at the Cross, in Smithhills, and on one occasion the election of the Bailies took place in the kirkyard. Cleaners to attend to those suffering from the plague required to be brought from Borrowstowness, as no one apparently in the town of Paisley could be got to do that work. Some of those infected were sent outside of the town to a place called " The Moor," which probably at His Majestie's happy retunie to his old and native Kingdome of Scotland after 14 years' absence, in anno 161 7. Digeslia according to the order of His Majestie's progress, by John Adamson. Imprinted at Edinburgh, 1618. ^ At this time Renfrew was a place of much greater relative importance than it now is, and the inhabitants of Paisley were then, it would appear, accustomed to make purchases in it. During the time of the plague they were refused, as tradition says, admission into the burgh ; and to accommodate both parties a kind of exchange was established at the head of "Hairst Loan," the way leading to Paisley. A large fire was kept burning, with a pot suspended over it, con- taining water and a ladle in it. The Renfrew merchant having grasped the ladle, stretched it towards his Paisley customer, who deposited in it the price of his jnirchases ; it was then immersed in the boiling pot, and brought out purified from all infection, and declared current (Note in Statistical Account of Reiifrciv, p. 4). l600 TILL 1650. 255 was some part of the moss lands, where very Hkely some temporary houses would be erected (Paisley Council Records, iStli November and 6th December, 1645). A few of these unfortunate persons returned from the moor too soon, and after being fined were sent back again (Council Records, 8th December, 1645). i'he BaiUes and Council in the midst of their troubles appointed the Reverend Alex. Dunlop of the Abbey Church, along with John ^Vilson of Arkleston to go to Parliament, then sitting at St. Andrews, for aid to the poor of Paisley (Council Records, 15th December, 1645), but the result of this application is not stated. During the spring of 1646 the plague began to abate, and by the month of June in that year it had entirely disappeared. This distemper never attacked the inhabitants of Paisley again. At this time also the plague was raging with great severity in Glasgow ^ and several other places. The Town Council of Paisley on an application from the Town ^ Robert Bailie, Principal of the University of Glasgow, in his published letters and journals states, 26th January, 1647, vol. iii, p. 5. — "The pest in- creases in Glasgow ; my heart pities that much misguided place." On 2nd June following, — " The pest hes dissipate the colledges of St. Andrews and kills many in the north." On ist September, — "The pest for the time vexes us. Great merrie Edinburgh and Leith, and all about which lately were afflicted with more of this evil than ever was heard of in Scotland are free ; some few infections now and then but they spread not. Aberdeen, Brechin, and other parts of the north are miserablie wasted." On 27th March, 1648, he states — " The colledge was almost totally dissolved for fear of the plague. My little daty was extremely sicke, of a sudden, so I found great appearance of the pest in my house ; yet against the morrow, the Lord, on as great a sudden restored my child to her full health." On 23rd August following, — " Our condition for the time is sadd ; the pestilence in Glasgow, Aberdeen also. ... at this time I was grieved for the state of Glasgow. The pest did encrease. My brother's son's house was in- fected ; my brother's house enclosed many in danger ; one night near a dozen dyed of the sickness." The plague at this time broke out with great severity in the city of Perth, and the inhabitants appear to have suffered more severely than in any other place in Scotland. The magistrates to prevent it from spreading ordered a house in the Castle Gable to be burned because a person from Edinburgh, infected with the disease, had lodged there. Notwithstanding all their precautions it made its appearance in July, 1646, and according to a contemporary account 3000 of the inhabitants were carried off, so that the town was almost depopulated — whole streets being entirely forsaken. The church doors were closed from 22nd August to 3rd January, 1647. It was at this time that " Bessey Bell and Mary Gray," who have been celebrated in song by Ramsay, died of the plague. The tradition concerning them is as follows : — While Miss Bell was on a visit to Miss Gray the plague broke out in 1646. In order to avoid it, they built themselves a bower about three quarters of a mile west from Lynedoch house, in a very re- tired and romantic place, called Burn-braes, on the side of Brachieburn. There they lived for some time, but the plague raging with great fury, they caught the infection, it is said from a young gentleman who was in love with them both, who could not refrain sending messages to them, and here they died. They were buried in another part of Mr. Gray's grounds, called Dronacuhaugh, at the foot of, and near 'the bank of the river Almond. The burial place lies about half a mile west from the present house of Lynedoch. Lord Lynedoch, the pro- prietor of the ground, a1)out the year 1837, enclosed with an iron railing the se- cluded and romantic spot where "Bessey Bell and Mary Gray" were interred ( The History of Perth, by William Gray Marshall, p. 364). 256 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Council of Glasgow agreed that " forty men are to go to Glasgow with spades and mattocks and shovels to-morrow morning and work four days at the Ports, and that each man get two merks from those that do not go" (Council Records, 15th June, 1646). The plague must have continued for a long time in Glasgow, for according to the Council records of 7th October, 1647, the Provost of Glasgow applied to the Bailies and Council of Paisley to have the college accommodated in Paisley during the plague, which was agreed to. CHAPTER XIII. 1650 TILL 1700. HE civil war, which had begun in England in 1642, extended to Scotland before the middle of the century. On the throne of England becoming vacant by the cruel and unjust execution of King Charles I. on 30th January, 1649, the Scottish nation, then under the guidance of the Covenanters, headed by the Duke of Argyll, immediately pro- claimed his son, Charles II., as his successor, on condition of his strict observance of the Covenant. In consequence of this pro- cedure, the English Parliament resolved to make war upon Scotland, and despatched Cromwell, with an army of 16,000 men, to invade that country. It was at this crisis that the Bailies and Council of Paisley, on 2nd April, 1649, ^s already noticed, agreed that 200 pounds (^16 13s. 4d.) should be raised "for the outreik of a troop of horse," who very likely were present at the battle of Dunbar, which ended in such disaster to the Scotch army on 3rd September, 1650. Shortly after his victory, Cromwell and his army came to Glasgow, where they remained for some time. This proximity of the English army did not, however, diminish the patriotic and martial spirit of the inhabitants of Paisley, nor stop their efforts in favour of the cause of the newly-appointed King. We have the best proof of this when in the most spirited manner the Town Council, who were no doubt supported by the warlike burgesses, agreed along with other burghs in Clydesdale, Galloway, and the counties of Renfrew and Ayr, that " the twa Bailies, James Alex- ander, M""- Hew Fork, and Johne Wilson, elder, are appointed this day to convene and to consider Avhat expenses will befall to outreik twa horse for the towne to their present levy, with the town's part of xxxvij footmen ; and to proportion and cast the samyne upon the inhabitants of the towne with all diligence ; and Johne Kelsoe, Hew Patersoune, and Alex""- Miln are appointed to uplift and_ exact im- mediatlie from the inhabitants what sail happen to be imposed " (Council Records, 8th July, 1650). At a subsequent meeting of the Bailies and Council held in that month, the warlike feeHng was still further manifested, when they resolved to " appoint the town pre- sently to be put into a position of war ; that one of the Baihes shall stay at home, to wit, Robert Fork, the other going to the army ; that James Alexander and Hugh Blair shall be guardmasters, to see the town drilled ; and that Robert Kerbe and Thomas Hall be sergeants, to drill them " ( Couticil Records, 29th July, 1650). These troops were to be under the command of Colonels Strachan and R 258 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Kerr. At this time a part of the Scottish army was at Stirnng under King Charles II., and another part was encamped at Dumfries. A few weeks afterwards the continued activity of the Council is marked by their stating " that the persons after-named have conde- scended and undertaken to go forth for the town in the present ex- pedition of the association, viz., Thomas Campbell and John Park, merchants ; William Mathie, Thomas Reid, Steven Alexander, and James Wallace" ( Coimcil Records, loth September, 1650). At this meeting the Council further agreed " that the best horse within the town shall be taken and appraised for going out in the present expedition, and that the Bailies and Council shall give their bond for payment." Colonel Kerr, with his troops, resolved to attack the English army lying at Hamilton, and carried out his design on ist Decem- ber, 1650, at four o'clock in the morning; but by treachery, as is supposed, the enemy were fully prepared for the assault. Colonel Kerr was unsuccessful in the attack, was wounded, and taken prisoner ; his troops retreated, and were pursued as far as Paisley and Kilmarnock. It is very hkely this is the " expedition " referred to in the Council records. This misfortune to the Royalists in- creased the power of Cromwell, whose troops overspread the country without opposition, subjecting Glasgow and other places to heavy contributions. During this year the inhabitants of Paisley were compelled to pay considerable assessments to provide for the support of their soldiers. They had, first of all, to pay for the " outreik " of the troops ; and they had also to pay their proportion of the expense of those raised by the associated counties. In addition to these, the inhabitants had to pay for the maintenance of the soldiers quartered on the town, and likewise to pay their proportion of the expenditure of the Royalist soldiers quartered at Dumbarton. The nature of the dif- ferent assessments and their amount will be best understood from the resolutions of the Town Council on this subject, which are sub- joined : — "The Council concluded that the town's part of the disburse- ments of the outreik of the five shires' association, extending to 959 pounds 8 shillings money (^79 19s. 8d.), shall be imposed upon the inhabitants of the town, for imposition of which a committee is appointed" ( Council Records, 23rd September, 1650). " Qlk day it is concludit that the quartering of ane part of Colonel Kerr's regiment that was on the towne the last week being fourescore pounds money, sail be laid upon the inhabitants of the towne, with the former expenses of the outreik of sexe trowp horse " ( Coimcil Records, 7th October, 1650). "The Bailies concluded that 300 merks (^16 13s. 4d.) of money for Colonel Kennedy's quartering of his regiment shall be imposed upon the inhabitants, and for the equal onlaying of which a com- mittee is appointed, and a collector who is to have eight pounds 1650 TILL 1700. 259 (15s. 4d.) of salary, to be levied in the same manner" (Council Records, i6th December, 1650). It appears that the ammunition belonging to the town was in danger of being seized by the English, for we find the Council (Council Records, nth November, 1650), "in obedience of the letters and acts of the committee of association, have appointed the powder, match, and balls in Paisley to be carried to the castle of Avondale." ^ In the following month, the Council further resolved " that the shire arms that are in the Tollbuith shall this night be transferred forthwith thereof and carried to some convenient place, where the same may be hid from the enemy" (Council Records, 8th December, 1650). It never afterwards transpired where these arms were deposited. These frequent and heavy assessments were not submitted to by all the burgesses without complaint. We have an instance of this in the case of W'"- Greenleis, who expressed his mind to one of the Councillors in too offensive a manner, and for this he was severely punished. The case is thus laid before us. "The Procurator-Fiscal brought a complaint against W"^- Greenleis for saying to ane of the town Counsel, viz., to John Wilson, y- 'ye have put me and my sone in fyve merks (5s. d^.^^.) outreik ; ye are but flatterers ; ye have put the money off yourselffs and lay it upon me, — Meaning the Bailies and Counsell had done it." His freedom was appointed be the Bailies to be cried down" (Council Records, 15th July, 1650). About the month of April, 165 1, a number of English soldiers must have been in Paisley for some time. They did not, however, oppress the town in any respect, but having plenty of money we find that the inhabitants rather took advantage of them in more than one way. The Bailies and Council seem to have been so ashamed and indignant at the conduct of some of the shopkeepers, that they passed the following resolution : — " The qlk day in respect there is diverse enormities and covetous practices done be severall in this towne, the enemy lately laye thereon in taking from their neighbors at the tyme exorbitant pryces for their drink and refusing to receive money at the rule thereunto, it is cryed up be laws of the kingdome notwithstanding the samyne bes a whyle preceding past at the new rates, and in retaining cuntrie men's victualls and goods broucht unto the towne be the enemye notwithstanding the owners thereof be knowne. Therefore it is ordained that intimation sail be made threw the towne be towk of drum, that all neighbours sail be rejjaired of the saids enormities be them that hurt them either in taking of exorbitant pryces for drink or in taking of money at ane lower rate nor the law provydes. And that all who have victualls or goods ^ A stronghold at Strathaven belonging to the Duchess Anne of Hamilton, which the English had been unable to take. 26o HISTORY OF PAISLEY. sail restore them to the owners if they know them ; and if they know them not that they keep them some weiks till they sie if the same be owned, under the paine of restoiring the double attour ane unlaw" (Council Records, 5 th May, 165 1). The Bailies and Council being dissatisfied with the way in which the inhabitants were charged with the assessment required by the Committee at Dumbarton, for the support of the troops there, appointed Bailie Spreule to obtain redress if possible, and from the following Council records he appears to have been successful in his mission : — " The qlk day it is concluded that John Spreule, Bailie, sail the morn goe with all possible diligence to the Comittee of Dunbritane or to the Comanders of the regiment of dragouns lyand at Dun- britane shyre to whom the shyre of Renfrew pays assisting quarters, and there to travell and deal with them or either of them for ane ease to the towne of its proportion of foure score nyne merks money located to be payed per diem furth of the Paroch of Pasley to the said regiment of dragouns under comand of (blank) for the space of ane month, for the qlk end there is a concession given to John Spreule (Council Records, 14th May, 165 1). "The qlk day John Spreule, Bailie, reports that conform to his comission he went and he agreed at Erskine with Colonel Campbell, his regiment for to pay to him the sowme of (blank) money for 20 days assissting guards, viz. — from 1 2 of May instant till the second of June next thereunto. The Council does approve him" (Council Records, i6th May, 1651). Farther numerous and heavy assessments were laid on the inhabitants during the early part of this year (1651), to meet the expenditure connected with the support and maintenance of his Majesty the King and the Royalist army. The Town Council as well as the people must have had the Royalist and Covenanting cause thoroughly at heart when they so unanimously submitted to such numerous exactions. Indeed, the greater part of the time of the Baihes and Council must have been absorbed in the imposing and collecting of these assessments. The subjoined extracts from the Council records will best explain the purposes for which all this money was required, and will besides give some insight into the workings of the Civil war as it affected our town in that period : — " It is concludit that the to\ATi's part of assisting quarters ap- pointed be the Parliament to be payed be the shire to the shire of Dunbritane for the company of dragouns lyand on them the moneths of Januar and Februar last, the town's part extending to twa hundreth fourtie punds money, sail be laid upon the heritors and inhabitants of the towne" (Council Records, 30th Januar}^, 165 1). " Qlk day there is ane hundred fyftie punds (^^i 2 6s. yd.) money as the town's part of assisting quarter to the company of dragouns lyand in the shire of Dunbritane is appointed to be casten and laid upon 1650 TILL 1700. 261 the towne with all diligence for the moneth of IMarch last and half of Aprile instant. And for taxing thereof there is elected John Wilson, James Alex""' Rob. Fork, younger, Hew Blair, Johne Wallace, not, Rob. Fork, younger. Hew Blair, John Wallace, not., Robert Park" (Council Records^ 14th April, 1651). " The qlk day the quarterings of threttie-foure sodjours of the Laird of Prestouns troupe ane nicht and of fyve gentlemen of his troupe foure nichts and the price of 5 f^- iii p''^- of aits bocht and furnishit to him for the quarterings of xii of Dunbritane men (that come to get assissting guards to the towne and paroche of Dun- britane) ane nicht with the towne's part of assisting quarters payed to the regiment of dragouns, from the 1 2 of May instant to the 2 of June next. And the town's part of assisting guardes to the towne and paroche of Dunbritane for Prestouns troup assigned to them from the 5 of INIay instant till 20 thereof, with the expenses of severall comissions sent be the towne to Dunbritane and Frskine, extending now to two hundrethe ten punds v^- viii^- (^17 10 Sy^-) appointed to be taxed and imposed upon the towne and inhabitants thereof be James Alex""-' elder, Hew Blair, Robert Parkhill, Johne Wallace, John Patison, elder, maltman, chosen and elected tax- masters thereof, who are ordained to impose the same with diligence " ( Council Records, 26th May, 1651). " The qlk day it is concludit be the Bailies and Counsell present unanimously that the towne's part of the present levye furthe of the shyre of Renfrew being twa horse and nerehand half an horse, sail be outreiked with all diligence. And that for that effect sexe hun- dredth punds (^50) for the outreik and fourtie auch merks for ane month's (^2 13s. 4d.) mentenance to the King's Majestic sail be presentlie imposed upon the burgesses and inhabitants of the towne. And for imposition thereof the saids BaiHes and Counsell have elected John Wilson in Smiddiehills, Hew Blair, James Cunning- hame, R'- Parkliill, John Kelso, Johne Paterson, elder, Maltman, John Wallace, not, and W"'- Greinlees, cordoner, and James Alex""- to be collector, who is to have for his pains aucht merks (8s. lo-f . 2d.) ( Council Rcco)-ds, 1 6th June, 165 1). " The qlk day the said Bailies and Counsell taking to their con- sideration that the last cast for the outreik of twa horse and the pay- ment of ane month's mentenance to the King's Majestic is short in the sowme of fyvtie-twa punds {^£4. 6s. 8d.) money. Wherefor they have concludit to cast on the samyne of new, together with ane hundreth punds (^8 6s. 8d.) money for to utreik two bagadge horse. Item, sexteen punds {;£x 6s. 8d.) more for the town's part of money payed be the shyre to Prestoun's regiment for one of sevenscore-ten volunteers and twenty-six balls, and (blank) of rent payed to them. And threttie-two punds {;£2 13s. 4d.) money for the town's part of fortie nolt, 160 sheep, and (blank) stones of cheise, to be sent furth of the shire presentlie to the armye. Item, fourtie punds money (^3 6s. 8d.) for quartering of JNIajor Crook's 262 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. transport with some seike men. And threttie-twa punds money for another month's mentenance to the King's Majestie, extending in all to the sowme 05943 punds ii^ vi^ {£l'^ 12s. 2d.) money. And for imposing thereof their is appointed Johne Patison, elder, and Robert Mackinan, John Wallace, notar, John Kelsoe, Hew Blair, James Alex""-' and John Wilsone in Smiddiehills, to be taxers " (Coimcil Records, 25th June, 165 1). " The Qlk day John Snodgrass and Hew Paterson are appointed with all expedition to go this day and provyde the town's part of kye and scheip to the armye" (Council Records, 21st July, 1651). " Qlk day their is appointed to be imposed upon the inhabitants of the towne of Paislay the sowme of money for the causes after- specified, viz., that is payed to M''- John Crooks the sowme of threttie-six punds (^3) money, being xxx^ for ilk hundredth merks of valuation for the town's part of the outreik of thrie horse, and thrie punds (5s.) to each souldier, Generall-Major Montgomerie's regiment. Item, fourteine punds viij^ (^i 4s.) to Andro Sempill for eight days' mentenance of Prestoun's regiment. Item, foure- score punds (^6 13s. 4d.) for quarterings about the 28th of June to 34 of Prestoun's troupers and 48 of Generall-Major Montgomerie's troupers, ilk ane of them ane nicht. Item, seven punds money (its. 8d.) to transient quarters to thretteine of My Lord Mont- gomerie's regiment. Item, thriescore thretteine punds (;^6 is. 8d.) money for ane kou and xij sheip for the towne's part of the second outreik of kye and sheipe to the armye. Item, aucht score punds money (^13 6s. 8d.) for the town's part of a trowp of horse to the second outreik to the armye, to be made on the first of Augt. Item, thriescore twelve punds (^6) money, as being assessment upon ilk hundreth merks of valuation of the paroche for armes, ane month's mentenance to the inferior officers, ane for eight days' mentenance to the sodjours, and for tents and pans. And twa hundreth aucht punds {£,12 6s. 8d.) for to outreik fourteine foote sodjours, extending in all to the sowme of seven hundreth fyvtie punds eight shillings f^£,(i2 los. o^Vd.) With twelve punds (^i) to ane collector to ingather the same. John Wallace is appointed collector"' ( Council Records, 30th July, 1651). These assessments had become so numerous and oppressive upon the inhabitants, that Bailie Spreule was again deputed by the Council to go to Stirling to appeal to the King and Parliament for some abatement of them. In this resolution, which we also give, it will be seen that the Council state their case in a very respectful way, and simply wish the payments of these burdens to be delayed till they are better able to make them. Although the Bailie did not obtain any redress, he was nevertheless thanked for his diligence. " The qlk day John Spreule, Bailie, hes made his report of his diligence done at Stirling with the King's Majestie and Parliament for to have had ane exoncrationc from publick burdens upon the 1650 TILL 1700. 263 towne in respect of the poverty that the towne of Paisley is brought unto be the enemy, till the said towne recover somewhat of its former abilitie. And albeit the said Johne has not come speed, the Council does approve his ^\!^\^twzQ''' (Council Records, i6th June, 1651). A burgess named William Greenleis, already noticed, refused to pay the assessments for maintaining the Royalist army, and the Bailies and Council dealt with him in a very summary and severe manner, as will be seen from what follows : — "The qlk day William Greenleis, elder, merchand, being con- vened for refusing to bcare his burding with the towne as ane inha- bitant, notwithstanding that he has beine oversiene in using the liberties of ane freeman since his freedome wes cryd downe. They therefore have instanter discharged him the brooking of common land and making of any charge or trading therein. And ordains him to pay presentlie the part of the public burdings put upon him for his tenement and common land the tyme bygaine, and to pay for his tenement in tyme coming as ane inhabitant, otherways to depart the towne, seeing that for the present publick burdings he hes beine found twyse disobedient to the Magistrates since his refusall of payment" (Council Records^ 14th April, 1651). On the 29th January in the following year he presented a suppli- cation to the Bailies and Council to be forgiven, and they " par- doned him all bygaine escaips, received him into their favour, and restored him to his freidome, upon hope of his good cariage in tyme coming." As the supplies of both money and food for the support of the King's soldiers had become very scant, his Majesty, with an army of 16,000 men, left Scotland for England, and arrived in Carlisle on 6th August, 165 1, with the view of living upon the enemy. The contingent of soldiers belonging to Paisley left the town en route for the same country some time previously, as the following minute of Council very clearly indicates : — " Qlk day there is ane list of twelve sodgours designed to goe furth for the towne. And notwithstanding ane bombardier is ap- pointed to goe throw the towne presentlie for all voluntiers to repair to the tollbuith this day at twa hours in the afternoon, where they are to receive their conditions" (Council Records, 30th July, 1651). Every reader of history knows that Cromwell left Scotland to pursue the Scotch army, and that at Worcester he overtook and defeated it on the 3rd September, 1651. King Charles II. after many difficulties escaped to France. There is every likelihood that the soldiers belonging to Paisley were present at that battle which was so disastrous to the Scotch army. Immediately after- wards every place in Scotland was taken possession of by the English, and we know from the subjoined records of the Town 264 HISTORV OK ]'A1.SLEV. Council, that the enemy occupied Paisley on the 20th and 21st September of that year : — " Qlk day the Bailies and Counsell taking to their consideration that upon the 20 and 21 of September instant, when the Englishers were ordered to be quartered upon the towne, some caused their neighbours to be oppressed by giving money to those that were quartered on themselves to go upon their neighbours and others moved the Englishers that were quartered upon them to bring in their neighbours corn into their houses for their horses, and some were oversein in the quarterings. Therefore they have ordained that all w'ho have been oppressed or unjustlie hurt sail come to the tollbuith to-morrow, the 25 of this instant at fyve hours afternoon, and declaire and give up the same that rectification may be made as accords. And ordains this to be intimat the morne before noone be touk of drum" (Council Records, 25th September, 165 1), Although the inhabitants were now relieved from the payment of taxes to maintain the Royalist army, as such no longer existed, yet they had to contribute to the support of Cromw^ell's troops. It appears the town was owing a half-year's cess, and on 4th October in this year, the Council wishing to get clear of this obligation appointed John Spreull, Merchant, " to go to Stirling to the English Commanders to capitulat with them anent six months bygane cess demanded be them off the towne." He did not succeed in this mission, and three days afterwards the Council resolved as follows : — " Item, it is condescendit that the said sex months cess sail be emposed upon the burgesses and inhabitants of the towne with divers other expenses made be Commissioners sent to them of before and for meit and drink sent downe to them in the shire of Renfrew, they came last and laye on the towne extending to thrie hundreth punds money (^25 os. od.) or thereby, for imposition thereof, there is chosen John Carswell, Robert Fork, John Wallace, John Wilson, in Smeddiehills, and John Pateson, elder, Maltman, to impose the samyne on Monday next, the sext of this instant, at vi. hours in the morning. And Johne Wilson, yo""-' Maltman, is chosen to collect the samyne" (Council Records, 7th October, 165 1). The attendance of members at the Council meetings, at this time, appears to have been far from satisfactory, for the Council on the 9th October, 165 1, ordained, that " whosoever of the Council shall not precisely keep the Council meeting at the hour whereunto they shall be warned, that they shall be immediately thereafter punded for 20s. (is. 8d.) of unlaw, toties quoties, and the Bailies to be punded for the unlaw in case they neglect to cause pund them. Ititerim, John Wallace, notar, for himself, protests against this act in respect of his common employments." As in every other town in Scotland there was stationed in Paisley a guard of Cromwell's soldiers, who were under the command of 1650 TILL 1700. 265 Capt"- Robeson. While the presence of these soldiers was a sad oppression to the inhabitants, there were besides other burdens to which they were subjected. In their difficulties, the Council resolved to send the never failing John Spreull to General- Major Deans, then at Dumbarton, to submit to him the state of the town and to supplicate for relief. But we shall allow the Bailies and Council to tell their own story. " The qlk day John Spreull is appointed to go to Dunbritane to Generall- Major Deans, and there to represent to him the many burdings that the towne of Paisleye have borne beyond the Shire of Renfrew within the whilk it lies. And that now albeit that they beare common burding with the said shire in the payment of assess- ment, that yet notwithstanding Captane Robeson's trowpe now keiping a guard on them, the said towne doth burding them with coill and candle both day and nicht to the said guard, nevertheless that all the burdings that the said town doth beare besyde on sending of posts guyds and horses] to send. And to labour for remedie with the said Major- Generall " (Council Records, 13th February, 1652. At this time Cromwell's commander having abolished all courts, the Council agreed " that upon Thursday next, the penult of this instant, which should be the heid court day, that they sail meet in James Alexander, Bailie, his heich hall, and there sail elect ane new Thesrar for the efifeirs of the town, sail create any burgesses that sail happen to be, and to receive resignations if any beis, and book those having richt to common lands" (Council Records, 26th April, 1652). On the 4th of the following month the Bailies and Council im- posed a tax on the inhabitants to provide for the English assess- ment of April and May, extending to fourscore sixteen pounds (;^8), "with aucht merks (8s. lo^^^^^-) for the town's part of Capt"- Robeson's his Cornett's losses within the parish of Cathcart, laid on upon the shire, and aucht punds (13s. 4d.) for collector's fees." Although the soldiers under the command of Captain Robeson were quartered in Paisley, yet it appears that he, along with some other officers, preferred to live at the commodious mansion of Castlesemple. As the beds there were not, however, equal to those they had been accustomed to have in their own homes in the south, they applied to the Paisley Bailies and Council for a supply of feather beds, which the latter declined to give, as the following re- cord of theirs of 4th June will show : — " In respect that Captain Robeson doth require three feather beds furnished to be sent to Castlesemple for him and some of his officers to lye upon, the said Bailies and Council having taken the matter to consideration, that the demand is without orders, and that they have borne coal and candle to their guard all the last winter, besides their bearing of their proportional part of burdens with the shire, and divers other burthens beyond them ; therefore they have 266 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. resolved that they will furnish none of the said beds ; but if Captain Robeson and his officers will at their own hands oppress and take furnished beds at their own hands from any person or persons, one or more, within the town, in that case it is concluded that the whole town shall bear the burden thereof, and be taxed therefor, but pre- judice of remedy whenever it may be had. And this is to be reported to the said Captain in the best way." As there is no further record on this subject, we are left to con- clude that the English commander did not further insist on his intended and somewhat unsoldierlike luxury. In consequence of the presence of the English soldiers, and the unsettled state of the town and country, the BaiHes and Council encountered great difficulties in getting burgesses to act as council- lors after they were elected. At a head court, held on 12th October in this year, two burgesses who were chosen members of Council refused to accept of office, and they were each fined in five pounds (8s. 4d.) As the soldiers were in possession of the Toll- booth at this time, the election took place in the house of James Alexander. By the end of this year the English soldiers quartered in the town became more and more arrogant and oppressive. They took possession of the whole of the keys belonging to the Tollbooth, with the exception of the charter chest, and as it was at this time, through some cause which is not explained, locked with only one key, the BaiUes and Council were greatly concerned regarding the safety of its valuable contents (Council Records, 13th December, 1652). Three months afterwards, "the evidents in the common chest M'ere sighted " by the Council, and as their records are silent as to any of them being awanting, we may conclude that none of them had been taken away ( Coimcil Records, 14th March, 1653). The authority and power of the Bailies and Council were entirely ignored and, indeed, abrogated by the military, for the court of the Bailies, in which so many civil cases arising among the inhabitants had hitherto been satisfactorily disposed of, was abolished. Even the election of the Councillors and Bailies themselves ceased to be carried out. On 29th September their election was postponed till the 22nd November, and when that day arrived the election was further delayed till i6th January, 1654. But as there is not any- thing afterwards stated about this election, it cannot have taken place. On 9th November following, to extricate themselves from the unfortunate dilemma in which they and the inhabitants were placed, the Council wrote to John Spreull, at that time engaged on other business in Edinburgh connected with the burgh of Renfrew, "to apply to the General Major and Judges, and to seek to Sir George Maxwell, who is now gone east, and there to supplicate them for liberty to choose another Bailie to hold courts and ad- minister justice, this town being a considerable corporation, the sums that are ordinarily persued but petty, and poor people have 1650 TILL 1700. 267 to pay treble charges before the Sheriff." This appHcation appears to have failed of success, for on the 30th of that month " the Coun- cil appointed John Kelso and Robert Park to go to the Laird of Nether Pollock and deal with him for his assistance or letter of re- commendation to the Judges and General Monk for liberty to them to choose new Magistrates, in respect that the ane Bailie is removed by death, and the other Bailie to be very shortly removed." Nothing further is stated regarding this representation to the Laird of Nether Pollock, but it is perfectly apparent that the town was in a most unfortunate position, with one Bailie dead and the other unable to act. On 4th January, 1655, however, the Council made another effort to obtain from the military authorities power to appoint Baihes, and " nominated John Wallace, notar, one of their number, to go with all expedition to Edinburgh or Dalkeith to General Monk, and to supplicate him for liberty to choose their own Magis- trates and to administer justice, and do others of the town's neces- sary affairs, in respect that the ane of the Bailies is deceased, the other in all. appearance at the point of death, and they like to have no obedience of the inhabitants." This application was successful, for John Wallace, on his return from Edinburgh, reported to the Council on the 17 th of that month that he had obtained for the town from General Monk " a liberty and license to choose a Bailie in place of umquile James Alexander, Bailie, with power to admini- ster justice and use regular uplifting of the cess and other burdens." Having this authority from General Monk, the principal repre- sentative of Cromwell in Scotland, who was no doubt desirous to have a legal local constituted authority in Paisley for collecting " the cess and other burdens," which he was always in need of, the Council, on the 22nd of this month, elected George SpreuU one of the Bailies. Three days afterwards, they " ratified all the Acts made or ratified in the head court of date the nth Oct., 1649, ^"^'^ ordained the same to be publicly read" (Council Records^ 25th January, 1655). On the 29th of this month, they also passed an " Act ordering meetings of Council to be held each Monday at two o'clock. Councillors late to pay sixpence, and, if absent, the double. Bailies not keeping the hour exactly to pay twall pennies, and the Clerk being advertised that a quorum is met, and keeps not time, to pay sixpence." On the 26th of the following month, the Council, in consequence of the " demise of Bailie Vans, appointed a deputation to be sent to General Monk, commander-in-chief of this nation, for permission to elect a Bailie in his stead, it being customary to have twa, and Bailie Spreull, the other magistrate, being occasionally elsewhere in his trade of merchandise." John Wallace, on 2nd March following, " reported that he had waited on General Monk, and produced his authority for electing an able, faithful, and godly man to be Bailie in the place of Bailie Vans, de- ceased ; and this to be done in the advice of Sir Geo. Maxwell of Nether Pollock, knight." The election took place on the 7th May, in presence of the Knight of Nether Pollock, who, while friendly to 268 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the town, also stood in high favour with General Monk, and the Council unanimously made choice of John Kelso to be Bailie till the next election. The town by this time was relieved from the presence of the military guard which kept the inhabitants in so much subjection, the civil war — which had thrown the country into such an unsettled state, causini? great poverty and distress — was at an end, and the Bailies and Council had again fairly resumed the management of the affairs of the community with their usual firmness and pru- dence. Having confidence in the future prosperity of the town, and possessing funds, notwithstanding all that had taken place, they purchased for 5550 merks (^308 6s. Sd.) the extensive and valuable lands of Snawdoun, of which we shall have occasion after- wards to speak. At the beginning of the latter half of the seventeenth century, the Town Council, under the guidance of an intelligent judgment and animated by the desire of adding to the prosperity of the burgh, concluded that the interests of the community would in the future be greatly benefited by making certain purchases of valuable pro- perties and privileges. One of these was the acquiring of the superiority of the burgh, and along with it the right of electing all the Bailies. In 1652, the second Earl of Abercorn, as already mentioned, sold the rich Lordship of Paisley to the Earl of Angus for the sum of ^160,000 Scots {^£13,333 6s. 8d.), and from the latter the greater part of it was purchased in the following year by Lord Cochrane, who was shortly afterwards created Earl of Dun- donald.^ In the beginning of 1656, negotiations were opened by the Town Council with the Earl of Dundonald and his eldest son, William, master of Cochrane, for the purchase of these possessions and rights; and these continued without interruption for about two years. During that period, many deputations were sent by the Bailies and Council to Edinburgh to advise and consult with their legal agents and advocates there, regarding the furtherance of what they so ardently wished to see consummated. The agreement entered into between the two parties is a very long one. It was completed and signed on 3rd May, 1658. This contract is embraced in the charter granted to the Burgh by King Charles II. in 1666, which will be given at length. The contract between the Earl of Dundonald and the Town Council " was written be Robert Alexander of Blackhouse, wrytter in Paslaye," and the witnesses to the signatures were " Colonel Alexander and Gavin Cochrane, brother-german to the said William Lord Cochran, Francis Dunloppe of Househill, James Freland, fiar of that ilke, servant to the said ^^'illiam Lord Cochrane, wrytter, ' The Cochrane.s are a very ancient family, and possessed the Barony of Cochrane, in the County of Renfrew, for more than 500 years. They are a branch of the family of Blair of Blair, and adopted the name of Cochrane in consequence of a marriage with Alexander, son of John Blair of Blair, at the end of the sixteenth century. 1650 TILL 1700. 269 and Jon M'Kerrel, brother to Hillhouse." It was signed as follows : — John Park, bailie ; John Spreull, baiHe ; John Kelso, John Cars- well, Jo. Wallace, William Grienleis, William Adam, William Love (thesaurer), William Henderson, John Wilson, Rot. Parkhill, Andro Wilsone, Thomas Justice, councillors. Cochrane, W. Cochrane, Ga. Cochrane, Ja. Dunlop, Ja. Frieland, John M'Kerrel, and Ro. Wallace, witnesses. Then follows a declaration by Robert Alex- ander, N.P., that William Grien, bailie, and John Snodgrass, Patrick Baird, William and John Paterson, councillors, cannot write. It will thus be observed that at the subscribing of this most im- portant deed the lamentable fact is divulged that one of the Bailies and four of the Councillors could not write their names. This con- tract does not state what amount of money was payable by the Council to the Earl for these properties and privileges, but on 3rd December, 1659, the following statement appears in the Council records, which throws some light upon the subject : — " This day there is a precept direct to William Love, treasurer, for payment making to William Greinleis, present treasurer, of the sum of 300 punds money (^25), wherewith to make up and pay to Robert Alexander, writer, the sum of 554 merks money (^30 15s. 6fd.) in part payment to him of the sum of 900 merks (^50) money, with an year's annual rent thereof resting owing of the Master of Cochrane's bond." The Council on 22nd December, 1660, testified their gratitude to two of the King's advocates, who appear to have done good ser- vice to the town — to have been " the town's friends " — in the com- pleting of the contract with the Earl of Dundonald. On that day they " concluded that there shall be four dozen of trounchers and one dozen new cups sent to Sir John Gilmour and Sir John Fletcher, the King's advocates, to move them to continue the town's friends." ^ On the 7th of the following month. Bailie Alexander, then in Edinburgh, and William Hamilton, the town's agent there, were directed by the Council " to the eftect that if any- thing could be done in the present Parliament anent the advance- ment of the town's business, they should do it," thereby im- plying they should get the contract ratified with the Earl of Dundonald. In the meantime, the Council on 8th April, i66r, resolved that the agreement with the Earl should be submitted to the heritors and inhabitants of the town, for their opinion thereon. On the 14th May following a most encouraging reply was delivered to the Coun- cil, through " John Spreul, James Maxwell, and Robert Wallace, who were commissioned by the heritors of the town to thank the ^ In this period Paisley was famed for the ingenuity and taste displayed in the making or turning of wooden trenchers and cups, which were extensively used before the introduction of those made of earthenware. The trenchers were in use, particularly in the country farm-houses, down to the first and second decades of the nineteenth century. We have seen these trenchers. They were about eighteen inches in diameter, and were used for holding oat-cakes. 270 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Bailies and Council for their care and pains in defending the town's liberty," and declaring that " they were satisfied be the proposals drawn up betwixt them and Lord Cochran." Much delay occurred afterwards before the so-much-desired Act of Parliament was obtained, and several deputations and many communications were sent to Edinburgh, to urge forward the com- pletion of the business. Very likely, the unsetded state of the country at that time was to a considerable degree the cause of all this delay. On 24th February, 1666, the Council "concluded that a boy shall be sent to Edinburgh with a sharp letter to Mr. Gavin Loudon, the town's agent, to know whether or not the King's Advo- cate has made his report to the Lords of Exchequer anent the town's signature." What reply Mr. Loudon made, or what course he ad- vised them to adopt, we do not know ; but the Bailies and Council, in their records of the 7th of the following month, state that his report had been received, and it is very significantly added, " that against the beginning of April next four dozen of new trounchers shall be sent to my Lord Warriston and two dozen to Judge Kerr, and that against that term one of the members shall be sent to expede the town's charter." ^ The perseverance of the Bailies and Council was, after this long delay and annoyance, crowned with ^ At this time and earlier it was a common practice for Town Councils to send presents to their legal agents in Edinburgh, and also to advocates there who acted for them, nor did the system stop short in this case of the judges of the land. Peebles Town Council Records, 6th February, 1567. — The Counsale ordains the Thesaurar to by xij hennes on the toun expens, and to cause vi of thame to be delyverit to David Magill, thair advocat, and uthir sax to Alexander Hay, scryb to the Secret Counsall. Glasgoiu To7(Jtt Council Records, 19th December, 1612. — The qlk day the Provost, Baillies, and Counsall, for the guid and thankful service dune be John Nicoll, wryter, Edinburgh, to the toun, speciallie in advertiesing the toun of the action persewit be ane Jon. Livingstoun against thame for suffering David Anderstoun, tailzour, to eskaip ward, being committit to ward be virtue of cap- tioun, and for the expectatioun qlk they half of his service to the toun, hes ordanit the Thesawrer and Mr- of Werk to send ane half-barrel of herring to him, for this yeir only, with twa half-barrelis to M^- Alex. King, twa to M""- Thomas liendersoun, ane to Mr- Wm- Hay, and ane to James Winrame, with 10 lb. to ilk ane of thair clerkis. Ibid. — 14th December, 1641. — Ileni, ane uther letter to Mr. Web (servand to the Duik of Lennox), with a propyne of Ix elnes of lining cloathe, twa gallounes of aquavytie, and four half-barrels of herring, and twa pair of plydes. Ibid. — 27th December, 1641. — Item, ordains the Maister of Wark to send east to the toune's advocattis and thair agents thair fies and thair herring ; and to Robert Bruce, the Duik of Lennox his agent, twa half-barrels of herring. Diunbarton Burgh Records, 22nd November, 1662. — Ten barrels of herring to be sent into Edinburgh to the advocates of the burgh, viz., twa to Sir Peter Weaderburne, twa to William Maxwell, ane to Lochie Mattias, ane to Thomas Wallace, ane to John Cunninghame, ane to James Rose, ane to Walter Ewing, ane to Alexander Maxwell, ane to Alexander Watson, merchant in Glasgow. Ibid. — 22nd November, 1677. — Herring sent to the toun's advocates — Twa half-barrels to Sir George M'Kenzie, his Majestie's advocate, and a quarter- barrel to .Sir Robert Sinclair. 1650 TILL 1700. 271 success. 1 A charter of resignation and confirmation, dated 8th December, 1655, and afterwards sealed with the Great Seal on 28th July, 1666, was obtained from King Charles II. Adam Paterson, one of the Bailies who had been in Edinburgh attending to the forwarding of this great measure, on 31st July, 1666, returned to the Council some of their old charters. The following is a translated copy of this charter of King Charles II. which is regarded as the Magna Charta of the rights and liberties of Paisley : — " CHARLES, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, To all honest men of his whole country, Clergy and Laity, Greeting : Know ye, that we, with the express advice, consent and assent of our right trusty Cousin and Counsellor, John, Earl of Rothes, Lord Leslie of Balin- breich, our High Commissioner, Comptroller, Collector- General, and Treasurer of our new augmentations within our Kingdom of Scotland ; and also with consent of our well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor, Lord Ballenden of Broughton, our Depute in said offices, and remanent Lords Commissioners of our Exchequer of our said Kingdom, have given, granted, and disponed, and by this present Charter of ours confirmed, and by the tenor hereof, give, grant, and dispone, and for ourselves and our successors, for ever confirm to our Lovites the Bailies, Treasurer, Council, and Com- munity of the Burgh of Paisley, and their successors, all and whole the Burgh and Town of Paisley, with Burgh Acres, Crofts, Tenements, Houses, Burgh Mails and Lands of Seedhills, annexed thereto, within the boundaries after- mentioned, and territory of the same, (excepting the Mills, called the Seedhill Mills, corn -kilns thereof, mill-hills or shilling-milns of the same, and astricted mul- tures of the said Burgh of Paisley, and knaveship thereof, according to use and wont, and of the lands after-mentioned, within the territory of the same): All and Whole the Feu Duties of old addebted, obliged, and usual to be paid to the Abbot and Convent of the Abbacy of Paisley, for the time being, and now to the Lords of Erection of Paisley, their Factors and Chamberlains, in their names, of and for said Burgh of Paisley, houses, biggings, yards, tenements, acres, portions and parcels of land thereof, westward frae the east end of the Bridge of Paisley, and Mustard -dyke, ^ Council Records, 1st September, 1690. — The Council, "in consideration of the pains and trouble M^- Robert Alexander, advocate, has been at in procuring a right to Cavershouse be an Act of Parliament, together with the extract of two new fairs by ane other Act, and in fending other of the town's affairs, therefore they allow him ten dollars by and attour four dollars he has formerly received. Itevi, they ordain Alex. Finlayson, writer in Edinburgh, be paid of the sum of forty-nine punds 14s 6 i4S- 5^.) 24th February, 1684. — Three score punds (^3 6s. 8d.) 24th January, 1689. — Fifty punds five shillings (^4 3s. 9d.) 23rd January, 1690. — Thirty-six punds 20 pennies {^2 los. id.) 29th January, 1691. — Thirty-six punds 20 pennies (;^2 los. id.) ^ In some parts of Scotland collections were frequently made by orders of ecclesiastical authorities at church doors for the repairs and maintenance of bridges, as it was held that this burden should not be borne alone by those in whose lands they were situated. 294 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. On 15th October, 1685, " They ratify the act that the customers of the bridge shall weekly cleanse the same of foulzie and keep the waterspouts thereof clear, under the pain of five punds " (8s. 4d.) On 25th January, 1694, "They have concluded that the custom of the bridge shall be restand, to wit, each horse-load four pennies, and every other, two pennies, conform to use and wont." 20th May, 1695. — " The said day the Council have ordered the Bailies to repair the bridge that was damaged by the last winter's ice, and to give in account of expence thereof." When the bridge w^as conveyed to the To\\ti Council in 1598, the tollage authorised to be levied by King James VI. was only, as already stated, to continue for nineteen years. It would appear, however, that the Council obtained powers from the Privy Council, from time to time, for the continuance of the custom. The following curious minute shows one of these applications : — " Considering the great burden and expense they have been lately at in the great quartering, both local and transeant quarter, of the King's forces of Argyle's rebellion, and several times before and since then, they have therefore concludit as a recompense thereof to apply to the Privy Council for a bill for continuing of the brig cus- tom at the same prices and custom which is now presently exacted, because the town's liberty in uplifting the same is nearly expired, and for that effect they have nominated Bailie Perrie to go east and bill the said Privy Council, and employ advocates, clerks, and agents for throughing of the said bill, and has ordained him a sum each day for bearing of his expense, conform to use and wont ; and to pay his horse hire and his extraordinary expense that he shall happen to disburse in the town's affair during his abode at Edin- burgh, and ordains him to keep a particular account thereof ; and ordains W""- Whyte, treasurer, to advance him twelve full dollars in hand for which he is to be accountable to the town at his home coming" (Council Records, 4th January, 1687). According to the charter of erection of the Burgh, by King James IV., in 1488, as already noticed, the market days were to be held every Monday. But by the charter of King Charles II., of 1655, the weekly market day was fixed to be Friday. On 30th January, 1697, the Bailies and Council changed the market day from Friday to Thursday, and it has continued so down to the present time. Their reason for making this change was, " in consi- deration that the market day being on Friday, is deteriorated and made worse by the market day at Beith being upon the same day, so that both places are prejudiced thereby, and parties hindered from keeping both markets" (Coimcil Records, 30th January, 1687). The area at the cross where most of the markets were held is 178 feet long, 74 feet broad at the east end, and 50 feet broad at the west end. What was called the " plain stanes " was a space on a part of the north side of the market-place raised a little higher 1650 TILL 1700. 295 than the adjoining causey, 72 feet long by 22 feet broad, and pro- tected with eighteen stone pillars. It was here that the burgesses met to transact business, discuss the news of the day, and to have an agreeable promenade. In addition to the markets for meal, flesh, fish, fowls, eggs, cheese, butter, salt, lint, wool, linen, cloth, and shoes, the Council had under their consideration a proposal to establish " a beer market in the High-street, near the Alms-house" (Council Records^ 13th July, 1658). Although a considerable business must have been trans- acted in this commodity, which was partaken of by nearly all classes, it does not appear that this suggestion of the Council's was carried into effect, as the matter is not again mentioned. The meal market was of very great importance to the inhabitants, and the following are some interesting records of the Town Council relating to it : — 24th January, 1647.^ — " The Bailies and Counsell apoints the meill market to be roped, and the meill men in to^^^l and landward to pay for ilk peck as formerly, and both town and landward to pay for ilk seek ilk day xii'^- (id.) by and attoure the ordinarie price for the pecks, and the entries to be on the first Fryday ensewing Candlemes nixt, and so yeirlie thereafter, and they apoint the yaird to be roped with the mercat. And it is declaired that in the said meill mercat there sail only be sold meill, groats, beins, and pease ; and the customer of the custome booth is to have four pecks, two half pecks, with four parts conform, and to lend the same to none but to those that have salt, lintseed, or such like to sell, the which are to remain within the custome booth." 24th January, 1667. — "The meill mercat roped and sett to Alexander Cochrane, tailzeour, for the yeir to come, for payment of two hundreth merks iij^- iiij'^- ^^'illiam Carswell and Alexander Clerk, cautioners." 4th February, 1667. — " The quhilk day by Adam Paterson, Bailie, there is delyvered to Alex. Cochran and Alexander Clerk, takmen of the meill mercat, all and haill threttie pecks, four half pecks, and ane firlot received from Archibald Anderson. And the said Archibald Anderson has yit in his hands not delyvered fiyve pecks. And there is continowed with him two half pecks and the bart seye." ist Februar}^, 1672. — "Delivered to the taksman of the meill market forty whole pecks and half pecks with fourt parts in the bottom, and a meal firlot." 25th April, 1672. — "This day the Baihes and Council have enacted, statute, and ordained that none heirafter sail be hindered to sell staple wair on ane mercat day without better consideration sail be had be Counsell thereanent. Bailies Greinlies and Paislay protest contrar this act." 31st January, 1673. — " ^^ is concludit that the keeper of the 296 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. meill mercat ladder sail have from everie ane that borrows the same vi''- (3^d.) per diem, so long as the borrower does keip it, that none sail get the said ladder, without they borrow the same from the Bailies, both or ane of them ; and that the borrower, when he receavs the ladder, sail give ane pawn of the value of the ladder, for the saiff return thereof" ist February, 1676. — "In presence of Mr. Robert Wallace, Bailie, John Baird, customer, hes delyvered to James Craig, elder, wiver, now customer, two weys balks, two brods, called weys brods, the trone cheinzie, another cheinzie in the booth, two four stone weights, two two stone weights, two single stone weights, two half stone weights, two quarter weights, two two pund weights, ane single pund, ane half pund, ane quarter pund, ane two ounce weights, ane bark sev, ane firlot, ane whole peck, two half pecks, two keys to the custome booth door." For a long time prior to 1658, the annual cattle market, at St. James's Day Fair, was held at Greenhill; but on the 13th July in that year, the Bailies and Council " concluded that the horse and kye market, that used to be holden on the Greenhill yearly, at St. James's Day, shall yearly, in time coming, be holden on St. Rollock's Kirk lands, and on the high ways about the same, and this to be intimate the next market day." This site cannot have been consi- dered sufficiently central and convenient, as on the nth March, 1 66 1, they " concludit to buy from William Greinleis that fauld of land at the Calsiend, called Gilmoufs fauld, for the inlargeing of the commountie of the said burgh, and for holding of St. James's Fair there, for horse and nolt ; and having conveined the said William before them, he condescends to sell the samyne to the towne, and they have agreid the price to be auchteine score ten merks, and to bulk the said William therein frie, as air to his father, to the effect he may reseigne the samyne, in the town's hand, ad perpetuarn reinaiietitiam. This is apointed to be perfited at the Beltane head court nixt to come. And he hes libertie to remove the foulzie that lyes on the samyne, with the stanes that lyes in the slap in the hinderend of the fauld." On 2nd May, thereafter, they further agreed, " that St. James's Fair this yeir, and in tym coming, sail be holden at the Calsiend, betwixt the lones, and on Gilmour's fauld ; and that the way there sould be mendit to that effect ; and that the horse mercat, if neid be, may come in to the moss raw port." As the surface of the grounds where the cattle market was in future to be held was unequal, the Council concluded in that year that it " shall be made even and level by hired men, and that the Bailies shall furthwith put them to work." The places thus indicated are now called St. James Place and St. James Street ; and this market, for " horse and nolt," continues to be held there at the present time. The days for fairs, by the charter of erection, granted by King James IV., in 1488, as already stated, were Saint Mirin's day, that 1650 TILL 1700. 297 is 15th September, and Saint Mamock's day, that is 25th October. Afterwards the Town Council appointed St. James's day to be observed on 25th July, instead of Saint Mirin's day. According to the charter granted by King Charles II., in 1666, it provided for the "holding there two public fairs yearly, — one thereof on 25th June, commonly called St. James the Apostle's day, and the other on 26th October, commonly called St. Marnock's day, each year, in all time coming." The Bailies and Council finding the two fairs to be insufficient, agreed to apply to Parliament for power to appoint two more fairs ( Cotmcil Records, 4th January, 1687); and three years afterwards an act was passed to hold a fair "upon the first Thursday of February yearly, and another on the first Tuesday of May." The Council ordained these "fairs to be proclaimed custom free for seven years time, after February next, being the first fair, and any horse to be sold upon the market days in time coming, to be free of all custom" (Council Records, 25th September, 1690). The days for holding these fairs were afterwards changed to the third Thursday of February, called Candlemas fair ; the third Thursday of May, called Beltane ^ or Whitsunday fair ; the second Thursday of August, called St. James day fair ; and the second Thursday of November, called Martinmas fair. Although fairs could now be fixed by any corporation, to be held at such times and as often as might be determined, yet in olden times they could only be established by charter. Fairs in those days also had several special privileges attached to them. During the fair days every one enjoyed perfect freedom. The bondsman was free, and his owner could neither " chase nor take him " (Leges BurgorufH, p. 88). Only the outlaw, traitor, or malefactor of the deepest dye could be laid hold of during these days (Leges Burgoriim, p. 86). Another important privilege enjoyed by every trader, whether residing in the town where the fair was held, or out of it, was that he could expose his goods for sale as freely as it he were a resident burgess. Fairs, besides, were the principal terms at which people from the surrounding country attended for the transaction of business. The best attended of these fairs, with their markets for catde and horse, was the Saint James day fair. Another great attraction at this fair was the races, which were apparently continued annually, and were, besides, very popular. On 18th July, 1659, the Council agreed to have " thrie raices," and their record on that occasion was as follows : — " The qhilk day the BaiHes and Councell taking to their con- sideration and thoughts, ane desire presented unto them be William Greinleis, Merchand, from diverse burgesses and heritoris of the town, and in their names, desireing the libertie of ane horse raise, 1 Bel is the name of the sun in Gaelic,— to';/ in the same language signifying fire. The festival observances of Belieiii — the first clay of May — have ceased to be held. 298 HISTORY UF PAISLEY. and that the BaiHes and Councell would be pleased either to buy ane sadill and graith thereof, or to permit them to doe it. They have concludit that there sail be two hors raises (if any will be pleased to run) upon the morning efter the fair day, called Saint James fair, the first to be for the sadill and graith, the expenses of all not exceeding vi. punds money (los.) and ilk man that runs to give in his xij'- (is.) to be the second raiss, and that none sail run at the first rais of hors that sail exceid the price of ane hundreth merks money. And that efter both there sail be ane foot raise for ane pair of small white hose, run from the bull fauld bridge, about the common, be the lone well, to the town hed." On the loth July in the following year, the Bailies and Council " appointed that there shall be three races, all horse of 100 punds price and under to have liberty to run ; the winner of the first race to have a gude saddle and furniture, with ten punds ; the winner of the aftershot race to have the stakes of the runners of the first race ; and the winner of the foot raice to have an ell of kersy worth xi^- (nd.) This to be proclaimed at Glasgow, Kil- barchan, Kilmalcolm, Beith, and Dairy." On 20th July, 1661, the Council "appointed a well-mounted saddle for the race to be made, and that the fair and race be timeously intimate." And two weeks afterwards the Council agreed that " six quarters of good kersey be bought for the foot race." On 8th July, 1663, the Baihes and Council " concluded that the horse race shall be run this year about the 24 acres land." This piece of land may now be described as bounded by St. James Street on the south, Caledonia Street on the west. Shambles Road on the north, and Inchinnan Road and Love Street on the east. nth July, 1668. — " The Bailies and Council does continue the fayre on the days quheron the same falls (the Saboth excepted), and the race to be on the ordinar day, and ane saddle to be bought not exceeding ten merks money." For some reason which is not stated, the Council, on 3rd July, 1676, resolved not to have any races during that year. This is shown in the following record : — " The Bailies and Counsell find it convenient and doe conclude that there shall be no hors race within this burgh for this yeir." This decision of the Bailies and Council was strongly objected to by a number of the inhabitants, who appointed a deputation to wait on them to urge the continuance of the races as formerly. This remonstrance on the part of the deputation had the effect of causing the Bailies and Council to bend to the popular will, for they agreed, as follows : — nth July, 1676. — "The quhilk day compears William Simson and John Hamilton, writers, John Pickie and Allan Stewart, malt- men, alledging themselves to be commissionat be the rest of the 1650 TILL 1700. 299 burgesses of the burgh, and in their names, to show that for a long tyme the town of Paslay has been in use to have ane horse and foot race, and now they are informed that the Baihes and Councell have decryed the same. And therefor they, as Commissionars forsaid, for themselves and in the name of the rest of the burgesses, desired that the said race sould be continued as formerlie, and thereupon they require the said Bailies aud Councell their answer. The quhilk Bailies and Councell taking the said desire to their consideratioune. In regard that at the last Michaelmas head court, 1675, it was determined that there sauld not be ane race this year, and that the same was intim.ate at the said court, none of the burgesses making any repugnance nor contradiction, and that accordinglie it was this yeir so concludit, yet now finding that the burgesses doe resent the same as being to the town's prejudice and hurt. Therefore, they concede to permit the said race to be run this yeir as formerlie," This record establishes the fact, " that for a long time the town of Paisley has been in use to have ane horse and foot race," with- out interruption. 24th June, 1680. — " The Bailies and Council appoynt ane race as formerlie, and Bailie Pasley and Bailie Park to buye sadle, furniture, and hose." 1 2th July, 1682. — "Act anent the race. Who have ordained ane race for this instant for sadale, after shott and hose, and have appointed the Bailies to speak to John Patoun to make ane prize the sadle, and to buy the furniture from Robert Alexander, Bailie thereto, with cloath for the hose." 13th January, 1683. — "Who have appointed a race sadle, after- shot and hose, to be run as formerly, and have ordained the Bailies to see the race put out conform to use and wont, and have nominated and appointed William Fyfe and William Whyte, meill- man, ride about with the three racers who have a shilling allowed them for their horse." 13th July, 1685. — "Who have appointed ane race for sadle, aftershot and hose, at the next fair, conform to use and wont, and ordanis the Bailies to employ the saddler for making of the saddle, and buy furniture thereto and hose for the foot race. Item, they have appointed and ordained James Patoun, messenger, to return back the town's horse and furniture to Robert Kirlie, ofhcer." In the month of July, in 16S6, 1688, 1689, and 1694, resolutions similar to those quoted, were passed by the Town Council, regarding the annual races. In the management of the affairs of the burgh, the Bailies and Council passed a number of acts on various subjects, having relation to the good government of the inhabitants. Some of these are entirely new, while others are re-enactments of older resolutions, with additions and amendments intended to meet the altered cir- 300 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. cumstances of the times. Some of these acts or resolutions follow, and will be found, we think, interesting and worthy of perusal. 9th October, 1656. — "It is statute and ordained that no owners of moss rooms themselves, their heirs, nor their tutors or curators, shall set any of the said moss rooms to any outentown persons, whether they be burgess or not, under the pains of ten punds (los.) money, attour the confiscation of the peats." The rooms here referred to are the parts of the moss where peats were cast or cut. 9th October, 1656. — "The Bailies and Council statute and ordain, that if any burgess inhabitant within the burgh shall here- after be lawfully warned to be on the Council, and comes not to attend the election, whether they be elected or not ; or being elected, does not accept, shall, for their fault, pay ten punds (i6s. 8d.) money." 2ist April, 1659. — "The Bailies and Council statute and ordain, that in time coming none shall be on the lete of Bailies till first they have been Treasurer." ist April, 1661. — "It is concluded by the Bailies and Council that are present, that, hereafter, whosoever of their number shall be absent from the Council ordinary meetings, being lawfully warned thereto, and in health and liberty, shall pay each absence forty shillings money, and this to be intimate to them of the Council that are now absent, that they pretend not ignorance." ist June, 1661. — "The officers are appointed to exclude all women furth of the old Council seat (in the kirk), and to keep them furth thereof" loth May, 1660. — "The which day it is statute and ordained by the Bailies and Council, that in no time hereafter young or old shall keip their horse on common lands on the Sabbath day ; but that on each Sabbath day the horse shall be tethered with sufficient tethers all the day on their own grass, so that the Lord's day be not profaned by persons abiding out of the church in time of sermon, and in gathering together and using profaness after sermon, and who does in the contravene, shall pay xi^- money (iid.) as oft and how oft, besides what shall be found due to poinders and ofticers." nth October, 1660. — " It is statute and ordained, that no women sail washe and tramp clothes in any place of the town within the sight of walkers on the Hie streit, under the pain of xi^- (nd.) toties quoties." 22nd January, 1662. — "This day it is statut and ordained be the Bailies and Council, that in all time coming all sums consisting of xi^- scots, or under, shall be judged by the Bailies on the streets or in the tolbooth, if they please; and that all sums under twenty merks money, shall be decerned and discust upon the second citation, the second citation being literal ; and the defender per- 1650 TILL 1700. 301 sonally apprehended, he can, if none compearance at the second diet, and in case of compearance, their defences, if they any, have to be heard." 13th October, 1664.— "The Baihes and Council statute and ordains, that in all time coming, all persons liable in payment of feu duties, common land mails, altarages, and pittances, which ought and should be paid to the treasurer yearly, at Whitsunday and Martinmas, shall be paid to the treasurer present and yearly to come, within the toUbooth of Paisley on the three days following, without any further craving, viz., on the first Tuesday of February, the first Tuesday of March, and the first day of April, under the pain of xi^- money, to be paid by ilk party that fails to the treasurer, attour present execution to be made for payment if the money liable to be paid, they alway being lawfully warned twenty-four hours of before." 13th October, 1664. — "The which day it is statute and ordained by the Bailies and Council, that whatsoever person hereafter, burgess or inhabitant, liable in payment of any of the town's goods, and shifting and delaying to do the same, shall have the key of the tollbooth door sent to them by the treasurer, for entering in ward, and remaining therein, till ay and while they pay that which they shall be liable unto, and that within the space of twenty-four hours after the sending to them of the said key, that then and in that case the officers, as they shall answer upon their peril, shall upon their first sight of them, put that person in ward, thereunto remain in close ward, ay and while they satisfy the debt." nth October, 1666. — "The BaiHes and Council ratifies the act, that no petition sail be heard for mitigatione or remission of unlaws, where the parties unlawed gives not in their petition to the Council tymouslie, or at least within sexe weeks nixt after that the unlaw be inflicted, and that also the process be shown to the Council, provided there be ane Council in that interim." 9th April, 1668. — "The Bailies and Council statuts and ordains, that in all tym coming, before the Bailies give libertie to cast onie riging turvs, more or fewer, they sail sight the hous quherunto the same wes craved, whither or not the samyn hes bein pinned ; and if the same has not bein pinned or tries thereon, and beis raised with force of storme, in that caise they may grant some riging, and where the same had not bein pinned with pins and tries, that the Bailies sail have no libertie to grant any till seven yeirs be expired, conform to the old acts." 14th October, 1669. — "It is concludit that there sail be no elwands used herefter within the town of Pasley be any person whatsomever bot such as are sealed with the stock of Pasley e, and that no other elwands sail be used such as Irwein elwand, unless special pactioun be made betwixt the saids parties, that the measures shall be with Irwein elwand ; and if bargains sail be so made, to be measured with Irwein elwand, that none sail have such ane elwand 302 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. but the common metster, who sail measure for both parties ; the bargain always, and no otherways, being made at Irwein, or at some place considerable distant from Paisley, or otherwayes the clothe at the tym of the bargain not being within the libertie of the town. And if, therefter, it sail be found that any sail buy or sell clothe within the town of Pasleye, with any other elwand than the town's sealed elwand (under there be ane paction made for the measure with Irwein elwand), or if any elwand not sealed with the town's seall sail be keiped or used be any other person or persons, that the person so contraveining sail pay toties quoties the sum of ten punds moneye" (los.). 2ist April, 1670. — "The Bailies and Councell conform to the Act of Parliament, apoints statutes and ordanis that ilk person heirafter that sail be fund to swear ane oath or to take God's name in vain, sail pay twentie shillings (is. 8d.) Scots als oft and how oft." 1 13th October, 1670. — " They ratifie the act that no houses sail be set to strangers without the Bailies their license, under the paine of ten punds money (i6s. 8d.), and that no inhabitants sail receive strangers into their houses to be servants without their exhibiting to the Bailies of sufficient testimonialls when they came, and of their former good behaviour, under the pain of fyve punds money ''(8s. 4d.) 20th October, 1692. — " //^;//, they have concluditall in one voice to maintain their own town's poor within themselves." 26th January, 1693. — "//cw, that none keep fowls to their neighbours' hurt, in time coming, under the pane of forty shillings " (3s. 6d.) " The Bailies and Council statutes and ordains, and in all time coming prohibits all the officers, whoever keep the mid door of the Council seat, where the Baihes and Council sit, to suffer or permit any person to come within the door till such ane time the Councillors be served of their seats, and to keep out the Council themselves, if they presume to repair to the kirk without a hat, and discharged to suffer any person to sit in the first seat with the magistrates, except the old magistrates, and such who shall have the Bailies permission ; and the door of the new loft ordained to be kept closed at skeilling of the preaching, both forenoon and after- noon, till the Bailies and Council be first out of the Church " (Coimcil Records, 25th January, 1683). 7th May, 1683. — ^'- Act aneiit Dogs. — Who upon complaint given in to them by certain of the inhabitants of this burgh against several ^ The Act of Parliament here referred to is that of Charles II., a.d. 1661, chap, xix., which imposed a fine of twenty pounds on a nobleman for cursing or swearing ; on a baron, twenty merks ; gentleman, heritor, or burgess, ten merks ; a yeoman, forty shillings ; a servant, twenty shillings ; and a minister, the fifth part of his stipend. Any judge or magistrate refusing to put the law in force, " shall be liable and subject to a fine of one hundred pounds Scots, for the poor of the parish where the scandal happened." 1650 TILL 1700, 303 Other inhabitants, for keeping of mad dogs, who had bitten several other dogs, whereby the whole inhabitants and residenters within the said burgh are likely to come by great hurt ; therefore for reme- dying thereof, and for preventing of all further hurt, they have statute and ordained that the whole dogs, both great and small, after inti- mation by ane band, to be bate through the town for that effect, be either instantly hanged or kept close and secured during the Bailies and Council's pleasure, that the veritie thereof may be known with certification to the contraveners and disobeyers, their dogs being found vaging after due intimation foresaid, it shall be leissome and lawful to any within this burgh to hang or kill the same." 6th November, 1684. — Item, they ratify the act made against keepers of mastif dogs, that they muzzle their mastifs all day, and house them all night, and secure them from wronging of burgesses, under the pain of five punds scots money, besides killing of the dogs, and the same act to be extended against keepers of mastifs, to be kept in the time that they are hot." " Who, in obedience to their acts made for payment of the Council's expence who were summoned to Edinburgh, either as parties or witnesses in whatsomever bygane actions persued against the town, they have allowed ilk ane of them twenty -four shillings the day, for the space of eight days, and are to pay their horse hires in the first ane thereof Item, conform to their last act made for enscribing of the treasurer's account of disbursements at Edinburgh for the town, upon his giving his oath on the veritie thereof, they have accordingly taken his oath, who has deponed positively on the veritie thereof, and therefore has allowed the same, and ordains ane precept to be subscribed to him for that effect, and for the Coun- sillors' expense, the treasurer's precept and account to be allowed the first end of the town's rents. Item, for taking away all former debates, they have allowed and ordained ane precept to be drawn on the treasurer for twenty-one punds three shillings four pennies, due by the town to Robert Fork, of an old account for the town, conform to ane account thereof given in. Item, ordain and allow five punds for the Bailie's horse hire to Edinburgh, five merks for the treasurer's horse hire, and five merks for Bailie Maxwell's " (Council Records, 9th August, 1683). ist May, 1690. — "They act and statute that no burgess nor inhabitant feed their horse, kyne, or other bestial, in common lone or marches, and especially upon the Sabbath day, under the pain of five punds (8s. 4d.) toties quoties, and that none in any time feed within the Sneddon or Seedhill burn, under the like penalty." 5th May, 1690. — "Robert Campbell, horse merchant, hereby enacts himself not to grass, pasture, or feed his horse, kyne, or other bestial, upon any other men's grass, either this year or in any other year hereafter, under the pane of five punds (8s. 4d.) scots, toties quoties." The mode of electing the Councillors and Bailies annually, was 304 inSTORY OF PAISLEY. somewliat peculiar and difficult to understand ; but the following extract from the Council Records explains very minutely how it was gone about at that period : — 30th September, 1661. — "Sederunt the said Robert Alexander and John Vans, Bailies ; Robert Fork, elder; John Hamilton, John Paterson ; James Alexander, elder ; William Greenlees, younger ; Master W"- Fork; John Wallace, notar; Adam Paterson, Thomas Henderson, John Snodgrass, Robert Love, younger; John Glen, W™- Love, John Fyfif, James Alexander, younger, who have elected to be on the new Council for the year to come, viz., W"- Greenlees, elder ; James Maxwell, merchant ; John Paterson, elder, maltman ; Mr. Robert Wallace, John Lyne, David M'Hortor, W-"- Robertson, merchant, who being all seven solemnly sworn, and having made faith as use is ; and the said Bailies and Council being all removed, the said seven of the new Council did elect furth of the said former Council to be with them on the new Council for the year to come, viz., the said Robert Alexander and John Vause (last Bailies), Robert Fork, elder ; John Hamilton, W""- Greenlees, younger, merchant ; John and Adam Patersons ; James Alexander, elder ; W"- and Robert Love, younger, who all returning and being solemnly sworn as use is, the whole Councillors, both old and new, did chuse to be on the lete of Bailies, viz., the said Robert Alexander and John Vans (prior Bailies), Robert Fork, elder; ■yVm- Greenlees, elder; John Hamilton and John Paterson, who being all removed, the said old and new Council did chuse out of the said lete the said Robert Alexander and John Vaus to be Bailies for the year to come, who gave their oaths de jideli adminis- tratione during the said space." In the Council Records the River Cart, whether as regards its condition or the trade upon it, is very seldom referred to, but the following notices are interesting exceptions :— 20th July, 1661. — "Two men and two horse are appointed to wade and gather calsie stanes out of the water, and to bair the same." 25th January, 1677. — "The quilk day the Bailies and Counsell statute and ordain, that in all tym comming, each gavert landing on the Snawdoun sail pay vi^- viij'^- of an charge, and ilk small or litle boat iij^- iiij'^' and burgesses to pay the equal half thereof" iSth June, 1677. — "This day it is concludit that the town, with the concurrence of others, sail weed the water from the Kirk foot of Inchinan, up to the Snawdoun yaird head." 25th September, 1690. — ^^ Item, they have concluded to stop Dundonald in tyme coming for receiving any tiend or anchorage in the Sneddon, from any boat which shall harbour there in time coming, and if there be violence therein to instrument him there- upon. ' 7th July, 1692. — "The Bailies and Council have concluded to lay stepping stones thro' the water, from St. Mirin's Wynd foot to 1650 TILL 1700. 305 the green, and have appointed William Love and Robert Park to see the same done." There is a tradition that many of the people residing in the south part of the town, in going to and returning from the Abbey Church, in the summer time on Sunday, crossed the river there by these stepping stones, instead of going by the bridge. These stepping stones were more recently known by the name of " Trail's dipping." Mr. Traill had a dye work adjoining, and his men stood on these stones when washing yarn in the river. In December, 1653, Cromwell was declared Lord Protector. During his usurpation, the country was ruled very strictly, but it enjoyed peace. No sovereign did more for the general prosperity of the nation than Cromwell. At home, his government was up- right and impartial, and he caused the laws to be respected ; abroad, he exalted the military and naval power and glory of Britain.^ Scotland was divided into twenty-eight garrison districts, with 9000 soldiers to keep it in subjection. The expenditure of the government amounted annually to ^286,458, while the revenue was only ;;^i43,642, and the balance being remitted from England {Laing, vol. i., p. 445), Scotland benefited thereby to the extent of its whole revenue. The greater number of Cromwell's soldiers consisted of tradesmen and small farmers, and were the means, in many places in Scotland, of bringing agriculture and the arts to a perfection till then unknown. Commerce with the English was also encouraged, and many merchants from the south formed establishments in Scotland. Cromwell died on 3rd September, 1658, and, by enactment of Parliament in 1653, was succeeded in the protectorate by his son, Richard. He, however, did not possess the abilities and quali- fications for government which his father so signally displayed. Within the short period of one year, the Avhole nation be- came weary of him, and the restoration of Charles II. was pro- jected and carried out with safety by General Monk. The King was invited to ascend the throne of his forefathers, and on the 25th May, 1660, he arrived at Dover, where he was cordially received and welcomed by Monk. On the 29th of that month, Charles made his entry into London, amidst the universal congratulations of the people. Parliament was overjoyed, and he was immediately proclaimed King. Throughout the country, the same joy every- where prevailed. In Paisley, there were also manifestations of rejoicing at the restoration of Charles, and the Bailies and Council, at the suggestion of Lord Cochran, agreed, at a meeting held on the 15th May, 1660, to have King Charles II. proclaimed at the cross as the righteous heir of the throne. ^ Of the uprightness and impartiality of the judges appointed by Cromwell, Sir Walter Scott, in the "Tales of a Grandfather," states that on the peculiar rectitude of the men employed by Cromwell being pointed out to a learned judge in the beginning of the next century, his lordship composedly answered, *' Deil tak them for their impartiality ! a pack of kinless loons ; for my part, I can never see a cousin or friend in the wrong." V 306 HISTf)RY OF PAISLEY. King Charles, immediately after his restoration, ignoring the fact that he had subscribed the covenant, adopted his father's absurd notion, that prelacy and monarchy were inseparably connected, and there- fore took measures for the establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland. The Council of Scotland issued a proclamation, intimating " his majesty's pleasure to restore the government of the Church by Archbishops and Bishops as it stood in the year 1637." At the Session of Parliament on the 8th May, 1662, the restora- tion of Episcopacy was confirmed. The Solemn League and Covenant was burned in Edinburgh by the hangman, and the Scottish Parliament passed an act to cause all persons in office to sign a declaration repudiating the Covenant as an unlawful bond. With the establishment of Episcopacy, persecution commenced. About 400 clergymen, mainly in the western counties, were put out of their livings for adhering to the Covenant and objecting to Episcopacy, and their places were soon filled by others more pliant, coming from all parts of the kingdom. The people, however, were disgusted with the new incumbents ; they followed their former ministers and attended meetings in the open fields. By an Act of Parliament passed in 1662, fines were imposed upon a great many of the nobility, gentry, merchants, and monied people of Scotland, to whom the benefit of an act of indemnity was denied. The reason given for imposing these fines was, that the money might be given for the relief of the king's good subjects who had suffered in the late troubles. About 900 persons in all were fined, in sums to the amount of ;^i,oi7,353 6s. 6d. Scots (^84,821 2S. 2d). Of these thirty-nine were in the county of Ren- frew, and those in Paisley were as follows : — Scots. Sig. John Kelso, Bailie , - - ;^5oo — ^41 13 4 John Spreul, Bailie,-^ . . _ jgo — 30 o o John Park, Bailie, - - - 480 — 40 o o In November, 1665, the Earl of Rothes, Commissioner, an officer equal to vice-king {Aihnan's History of Scot/and, vol. iv., p. 428) in Scotland, made a tour to the west country "in great pomp and splendour, with the King's guards waiting on him, and a train of attendants " ( IVodrow's Church History, vol. i., p. 428). The object of this demonstration was to overawe, if ^Bailie John Spreul was a merchant in Paisley, and between 1648 and 1658 was frequently elected senior Bailie. He paid one half of this fine, and be- cause he refused to pay the other half he had to leave the countiy. His son, James Spreul, afterwards an apothecary in Glasgow, was seized in Paisley by a party of soldiers, sent from Kilmarnock by General Dalziel, and suffered greatly because he would not discover where his father was. After threatenings of being shot, roasted at a fire, and after being confined for a short time, he was dismissed. James Spreul underwent many sufferings afterwards at the hands of the government ; was put to the torture, tried before the Justiciary, and, libel not being proven, was tried again before the Privy Council for attending conventicles, and sentenced to the Bass Rock, where he was imprisoned about six years before being liberated ( ll'oitro7os C/uircti History). 1650 TILL 1700. 307 possible, those who were not complying with the ecclesiastical arrangements. Lord Rothes and his numerous and distinguished attendants, in this tour, visited Paisley, and were the guests of Lord Cochran, in his hospitable mansion at the Abbey. On this occasion the Bailies and Council endeavoured to make matters as agreeable as possible, by entertaining them, and also creating them burgesses of the town. We have no means of knowing how the Bailies and Council managed to entertain the illustrious visitors, but we know that they resolved to send to Glasgow for the con- fections stated in their records : — 8th November, 1665. — The which day it is concluded by the said Bailies and Council that, in respect the Earl of Rothes, His Majesty's Commissioner, is to be in the Abbey of Paisley this night, that therefore he shall be invited to have the courtesy of the town from the Bailies and Council, and for effectuating thereof they have appointed the said John Ewing to go to Glasgow and buy 4lbs. raisins. lib. confected cinnamon. lib. confected almonds. lib. corriander. lib. carvy. lib. annise. lib. rough almonds. i^lb. cordisidron, and 6 ells of silver ribbon. "The quhilk ane noble and mightie Lord, John Erie of Rothes, Lord Leslis, &c.. His Majestie's sole commissioner within the kingdoms of Scotland, WiUiam Duke Hamilton, James Marquise of Montrose, Alexander Erie of Glencairn, James Lord Ogilvie, Thomas Lord Dundee, Lord Montgomerie, Francis Montgomerie his brother german, Captain Andrew Paterson, Henrie M'Kie servant to my Lord Commissioner, John Park of Dubs attendar on the Earl of Eglinton, four servants of the Commissioner, one servant to Major Buntein, were be the Baihes and Councell creat and made burgesses, also ane servant of Lord Cochrane " (Cotincil Records, 9th November, 1665). AVith such an illustrious gathering of the nobility, the little town of Paisley must have been in a state of considerable excitement. The Council Chambers would, no doubt, be taxed to the utmost to accommodate such a large company. To prevent conventicles from being held, and to overawe the Covenanters, a considerable number of soldiers were stationed in Paisley and neighbourhood. These were maintained at the expense of the inhabitants, and the Council had also to contribute money to the same fund, as is shown by their records of 13th December, 1665. " W'"- Greinleis, Bailie, and M'- Robert Wallace, the town's Com- missioners at Edinburgh, sent a letter to the BaiUes and Councell enclosing an order from the King's Commissioner to the Committee 308 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. of Excise for conveining the shire and appointing of corn and straw to the life-guard, with locaHty of coal and candle, to the which letter the Bailies and Council has returned to the said Commis- sioners their answer, with 200 merles (^16 13s. 4d.) further sent to them, with Patrick Baird, Drummer, carrier thereof, and they have sent the Commissioners' orders to the Laird of Craigends with Bailie Vaus and one of the Life Guards to require his answer." In the following year, the Presbyterians — whose only crime was their refusal to comply with the commands of the Episcopalians — found their oppressions so unbearable that they rose in arms to vindicate their rights ; but they were defeated among the Pentland hills by General Dalziel on the 28th November in this year. The measures of the Government afterwards became still more severe, and the military were stationed at different places all over the West of Scotland. In Paisley were quartered twenty-four of Lord Carnegie's troops, "and the Council agreed that not more than one should be in the same house" ( Council Records, 28th May, 1667). On 12th November following, the Baihes and Council agreed that 120 punds (;^io) of locality money should be imposed "on the town's people for payment to those upon whom these troops had been quartered." It appears that the Council, besides pro- viding a trooper, had also to pay their proportion of the expense connected with the militia in the county. The following are the records of the Council : — 7th November, 1668. — "The Council ordains the Baihes to agree with David Maxwell, in Smiddiehills, to be their trooper, for nine score punds of money (;^i5) to buy his horse and arms, and his proportion of oats and pay with the other troopers of the shire." loth December, 1668. — "The Bailies and Council have con- cluded that their part of the outreik of the militia, extending to nine scores punds money (;^i5), shall be forthwith imposed on the town by a committee of the Council." 2ist September, 1672. — "The Bailies and Council impose upon the inhabitants the sum of six score punds money for payment of the locality of a squad of the Chancellor the Erie of Rothes, his troops that last time lay in the town." It seems that two of the burgesses in the to^vn made to the Privy Council some complaint, which unfortunately is not described, against the Bailies and Council, who were all, therefore, under the necessity of travelling on horseback to Edinburgh to answer to the charge. The following record of the Council brings out the circum- stance : — 7th May, 1677. — "Thewhilk day the Bailies and Counsell, take- ing to their consideratioune the vast expenses that they have beine at for thair hors waiges and for their own and their horses' charges in ryding all of them to Edinburgh for answering to the complaint givin in before the Privie Counsell be John Maxwell and John 1650 TILL 1700. 309 Fork, two of the burgess, doe find it just and right that the town's common goods sould bear the burthen thereof, and that the thea- saurer sould make payment to them of the samyne, and doe so conclude." Instead of improving under the severe repressive measures that were being adopted, the condition of the country was gradually be- coming worse. In their extremity the Government addressed a letter, dated 17th October, 1677, to the Earls of Glencairn and Dundonald and Lord Ross, and the heritors of the shires of Renfrew and Ayr, requesting them to assemble and devise some measures for suppressing the "extraordinary insolences committed, not only against the present orthodox clergy, by usurping their pulpits, threatening and abusing their persons, and setting up conventicles in houses, and keeping scandalous and seditious conventicles in the fields, the great seminaries of rebellion," &c. The BaiHes and Council were desired to send a deputation to attend this meeting, and on ist November, 1677, "they appointed Bailie Greenleis and John Wilson, maltman, to goe to Irving, and to keepe the meeting there that is apointed be his Majestie's Privie Council to be kept there, by the Erles of Glencairn and Dundonald and Lord Ross, with the heritors of the Sherefdome of Renfrew and Air, for consult- ing anent securing the peace of the kingdome." This meeting took place on the following day, and resolved that, as it was out of their power to suppress conventicles, the best course to pursue was to grant toleration to the Presbyterians. In the following year the Council Records shew that further sums of money had to be paid by the inhabitants in consequence of the presence of the mihtary in the town. The first of these minutes refers to treats given to the officers and men, by the BaiHes and Councillors, on more than one occasion, and very likely the money was well spent in helping to keep matters smooth in these troublous times. 28th February, 1678. — "This day it is found that the Bailies and diverse of the Counsell did spend on the 25th of this instant, with the Master of Ros and the Livetenant-CoUonell to Athoill's regiment and their followers, in Thomas Henderson's house, and with the rest of the officers in Bailie Greinleis', and for diverse barrells of ale to the souldirs, threttie six punds 9s. 4d. (60s. gd.), and upon the same day givin to the quarter-master and officers, to put the regiment by from quartering thirtie days, extending to eighty-five punds v*- (^7 2s. id.), and givin for furnishing of baggage horse to them, nine punds xixs(i6s. 7d.). //t7«, spent in a treat with the Marquis of Athol, the Erie of Perth, Lord Murray and Lord Charles Murray, and diverse other gentlemen and their followers, in Bailie Greinleis' house, on the 26th of this instant, ^26 5s. 4d. {£\ 3s. gd.), extend- ing in all to p^ 1 58 3s. 8d. (^13 3s. 7d.) The qulk sum of ;^i58 3s. 8d. is taken out of the common purse and givin to Bailie Grein- leis to defraye these debts." 310 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. 28th February, 1678. — " Acommittee of Council appointed tomeet at tollbooth door, and the town to be warned that payment may be made to those who had furnished provisions to the Erles of Airley, Strathmore, and Angus troops, and a tax to be imposed upon such burgesses as had been at no expense, that the burthens might be equahsed." 24th March, 1678. — "A meUtiaman agreed with to have two years of advance money wherewith to buy a horse — and to be bound to refund the same if he does not serve — and to do all things incumbent upon the rest of the melitia of the shire, and as they shall be appointed by the committee of the shire to do." 27th March, 1678. — "•Item, ^^56 2s. (;^4 17s. 6d.) for the ex- penses of two of the Bailies, four of the Council, &c., for two days' attendance upon the committee of the Privie Council at Glasgow." 8th June, 1678. — "The examination of a melitiaman's furniture when given back was to be made by one of the Bailies and some assistants appointed by the Council." 1 2th June, 1678. — "Locality money imposed for the soldiers, called blue coats, under the command of Sir John Nicolsoune." Among the many severe measures adopted by Government, im- mediately after the battle of Drumclog, on ist June, 1679, ^1"*^. the battle of Bothwell Bridge, on the 22nd of the same month, was "a proclamation issued against all who had ever harboured or com- muned with rebels." Four years after these engagements the Bailies and Council were summoned to appear at the Justiciary Court, Glasgow, on the very serious charge of allowing three persons who had been at the battle of Bothwell Bridge to live in the town. On receipt of the document containing this grave accusuation, they, after full consideration, resolved as follows : — " ist June, 1683. — Eo. die, who, after consideration of an in- ditement given to the present Bailies and Council of this burgh to compear before the Lords of Justiciary at Glasgow, the twelfth and thirteenth days of June instant, for alleged resetting of James Spreull, Hugh Fulton, and Christopher Strang, indwellers in this burgh, after Bodell bridge, and suffering and permitting them to have the liberty and privilege of his Majestie's good lieges sinsyne within the burgh, and albeit aiding and abeting them in meat, drink, armour, and ammunition in manner and length specified in the inditement; and it being asked whether it should be a town's business and the town's purse to bear and sustain their expenses, they all in one voice have concluded and ordained that whatever expenses, imprisonment, or fine the Bailies or any of the Council shall happen to sustain through the said cause, that the same shall be paid forth of the town's readiest rents and deuties ; and have ordained the treasurer to ad- vance money to the Bailies and Council for defraying their expenses during their abode in Glasgow, and their expenses of imprisonment and fineing, if any shall happen to be ; and the treasurer to give in ane particular account of the disbursements, which shall be answered to him on demand after he returns from Glasgow ; and for the eftect 1650 TILL 1700. 311 foresaid they have appointed William Fyfe and the clerk to go to Glasgow and make moyan^ with the Bishop to be the town's friend before the day of appearance ; and to pay their horse hirer and ex- penses they shall disburse and pay in their affair, and their paines then taken." On the 8th of the same month, the Bailies and Council further "concluded that there be ane precept drawn upon the treasurer for advancing to the Bailies and Council of the sum of two hundred pounds Scots money (^16 13s. 4d.), and have appointed four guineas of gold to be taken out of the common kist, partly for defraying the expenses at Glasgow, employing advocates, and partly for complimenting the Clerk of the Circuit Court and making of their necessary moyan therewith in order to bring off and assoilzie the town for the indictment given them for the alleged crime, with aiding and abaiting the rebells at Bodall bridge and sick lyke." The Council records do not state afterwards how this prosecution was finally disposed of; but it is very likely the visits to the Bishop and the Clerk of Court, coupled with the " complimenting," significantly explains how the Council managed to be relieved of this very perilous charge. For the protection of the inhabitants, the Council agreed to apply to the Privy Council for powers to judge and decide in cases relating to the test and other oaths. Their petition thus runs : — " Who upon consideration of the removing of our indulgence and the presenting of new ministers to the kirk in their place, that there may be some evil humors within the town who may refuse to give obedience to come to the church and withdraw from the ordinance. And taking to consideration that it will be for the weill of the town and burgesses that the town got a commission from the Privy Council to fine and imprison within themselves, and to prevent all other judges and magistrates from abusing them, they think fitt that Bailie Fork and Robert Pateson, treasurer, ride in on the town's expence to Glasgow, having ane present occasion and errand thither, to the Bishop of Glasgow, anent some vagrant rebels that has been alleged to have marched thro' the town within eight days, and several other things for trying and finding out of the said vagrant rebels. The Bishop of Glasgow has given strict orders to Bailie Fork to bring his diligence to him this day, and get a letter in favour of the town in order to the said commission for fining and otherways imprisoning the resistants to the church and withdrawn from ordinance" ( Council Records, 29th July, 1684). In these troublous times, the Town Council found great difTi- culty in obtaining one of their number to fill the important and responsible office of treasurer. No reason is given why those asked declined to act ; it is just stated that they would not accept of the appointment. On 2nd January, 1684, Robert Pow, ^ Means for attaining any end. A good example of the influence of the French on the Scottish tongue. French, nioyen =; means ; Latin, medium. 312 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. talioLir, was elected treasurer, and the officers reported " that all the times they went to warn him to attend the Council meetings, both outer and inner doors were shut." The Bailies discovered that, when he saw the officers coming, he closed the doors of his house. They therefore ordered the officers " to apprehend him and put him in sure prison until he embrace the office of the treasurer or pay one hundred punds (^^8 6s. 8d.) of fine, and his burgess ticket to be given up on the market day immediately after sermon." On 2nd February following, " Bailie Fork has given in the Privy Council commission anent the town's electing of a treasurer and Councillors who formerly refused to accept, and ordained the same to be laid in the common kist." It would appear from this that the Town Council had applied to the Privy Council for instructions how to act when such declinatures occurred. So also, on the 15th of that month, the Council resolved, " in respect of Robert Finlay- son, Thomas Peter, and David Wylie, their disobedience to compear as they were warned, to embrace their office as treasurer, therefore they fine each of them in ten punds Scots money" (i6s. 8d.) On 9th November, 1686, the Council elected Matthew Corse to be treasurer ; but, as he declined to accept of the office, they, on the 15th of that month, made choice of Hew Fulton, merchant, who also refused to be their treasurer. On the same day, they elected Robert Instira, apothecary, to be treasurer, who likewise refused, and the Council " fined each of them in one hundred punds Scots (^8 6s. 8d.) money of fine, and committed them to prison, aye and until they pay their respective fines." The Council, although dis- couraged, persevered in the election of a treasurer, and, " finding it just and reasonable to dismiss the first leet of treasurers before they could elect a new leet, they did nominate and elect William Whyte, merchant, and Thomas Peter, senior, in Causeyside, each of them after the other to be their treasurer, who, being oftentimes warned by the officer to have compeared before the Bailies and Council to accept of the foresaid office, and none of them com- pearing there, the said Bailies and Council hold them confest and disobedient, and therefore fined each of them in one hundred punds the piece, with the rest, and ordains the officer to apprehend them on sight." Nothing more is stated about the treasurership till the 7th October, 1687, when the Council elected Robert Paterson, tailleor, to discharge the duties of that office, who "refused to accept, being several times warned to accept to that effect, therefore they have fined him in one hundred punds Scots money (^8 6s. 8d.) of unlaw, conform to the Privy Council order, for his disobedience and refusal, and ordains the officers to apprehend him on sight, aye and until he pay the fine. At that meeting of Council, W™- Love, in Seedhill, was elected treasurer, and they " ordained him to be warned to accept of the office against the next Council meeting with certification." As his name is not again mentioned, he must have agreed to accept the appointment. I'revious to the Michaelmas term in 1688 the Council were, for 1650 TILL 1700. 313 some unexplained cause, ordered by the government to postpone the election of the Bailies and Councillors. The Council record only states that they " have met in order to peruse a letter direct from his Majesty's Privy Council to the Bailies, to be communicated to the Council for continuing the election of Magistrates and Town Council of Paisley this instant year, till the Council's further orders. Who, after perusing thereof, have reverently and loyally accepted of it, and in obedience thereof thereto, have continued their election till they know the Council's mind thereon" (Council Records, 2nd October, 1688). It would further appear from the Records of the Council of this date, that Mr. Ezekiel and John Fork, whom the Council regard as " persons that they think are not fit to serve in any station or public trust within the town, had gone to Edinburgh to find fault with the Baillies and Councillors, and to induce the Privy Council to cause the Town Council election to be proceeded with. To counteract this procedure, the Council appointed " Hew Snodgrass to go east with a letter subscribed by the Bailies and Council to the Chancellor, to inform him of the saids two persons ; their former misbehaviour to the government, and to vindicate them- selves of what aspersions and misrepresentations they intend to put upon the present Magistracy innocently." The treasurer was instructed " to advance to Hew Snodgrass six dollars for bearing his expence, which are to be countable." At a meeting of Council held six days thereafter, the clerk reported that the Chancellor continued the election, and the Council expressed themselves as " content therewith." The Bailies and Council were in want of advice upon some mat- ters relating to the town, and on 21st October, 1689, they appointed "the two Bailies to go to Glasgow upon Wednesday next, and consult John Graham, of Dougalstoun, anent the town's affairs, for which they allow them to give to the said John Graham ane guinea, and appoints James Alexander, clerk, to go with them the said day." James Arthur, merchant, petitioned the Town Council for refunding him ane hundred merks Scots that was exacted from him by the Bailies and Council in the year 1683, for not exercising the office of treasurer. They have granted him his request in regard his refusal was for the best " (Council Records, 12th October, 1695)- Peter Workman, a burgess of the town, who had been abusmg the government, was compelled, no doubt very unwillingly, by the Bailies, to come under an obligation " that he shall never be found nor heard to speak or reflect against the present established govern- ment, or the Magistrates of this burgh hereafter, under the pain of banishment furth of the town of Paisley and liberties thereof" (Council Records, 5th January, 1684). At this period the government continued with unrelenting severity their persecution of the Covenanters. In 1685, James Algie and John Park suffered death at the cross of Paisley. These 314 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. men were joint-tenants of some land at Kennieshead, in the parish of Eastwood. James Algie was a conformist, and attended the Episcopal services, but through the influence of John Park he ceased doing so. From some cause they gave up the lease of the farm they held, and a person who was the means of bringing them there was so offended at this, that he sent a nephew of his own, on Sunday, ist February, 1685, with a letter to Mr. John Cochran of Ferguslie, Paisley, Bailie of the Regality of Uarnley, informing him that James Algie and John Park held rebellious principles, disowned the King's authority, and defended the declaration of the societies. On that day a party of soldiers was despatched, who apprehended them while engaged at family worship, and brought them that night to the Paisley tollbooth. They were tried on the following Tuesday by the Commissioners having a jurisdiction in the county. At the trial, the Laird of Orbiston, one of the Commissioners, told them that the abjuration oath, which they were willing to take, would not save them, and said to them, " Unless you take the test, you shall hang presently." They replied, " If to save our lives we must take the test, and the abjuration will not save us, we will take no oaths at all'' ( IVodnnus Church History, vol iv., p. 189). The conse- quence was that at ten o'clock they were condemned, and at two o'clock were executed at the market cross of Paisley, on 3rd February, 1685. This is a specimen of the summary carrying out of the barbarous and cruel laws which characterised these times. Their bodies were interred in the common burying-ground at Gallowgreen.^ Some time after the Revolution of 1688, a stone slab was placed over their grave, with the following inscription upon it : — " Here lie the corpses of James Algie and John Park, who suffered at the cross of Paisley for refusing to take the oath of aljjuration." 3rd February, 1685. " Stay, passenger, as thou go'st by, And take a loolv where these do lie, Who, for the love they liore to truth, Were deprived of their life and youth. Tho' laws made then caus'd many die — Judges and sizers were not free. He that to them did these delate, The greater count he hath to make ; Yet no excuse to them can be— At ten condemned, at two to die. So cruel did their rage become, To stop their mouth, caus'd beat the drum. This may a standing witness be 'Twixt Presbyt'ry and Prelacey." ^ The sentence passed on two men belonging to Dumfries, for being present at the Pentland skirmish, was even more barbarous and degrading. The orders from the judges of the Court at Ayr, were " to sie their sentence for hanging the persounes and affixing of the heids and richt arms of Jon Grier in Four merk land, and William Welsch in Carsfairne, upon the eminentest parts of the Burgh," which mandate being communicated to the Council, they " condescendit that the Bridge port is the fettest place quhere upon that the heids and arms should be affixed, and therfoir appointed them to be affixed on that place " (IVilliain ^PDincal's History of Dumfries, p. 407). 1650 TILL 1700. 315 Meantime, in the midst of these scenes of cruelty and barbarism, Charles II. died on 6th February, 1685, and was succeeded by his brother, the Duke of York, under the title of King James VII. of Scotland and II. of England. Then followed a government still more oppressive and tyrannical. Under a proclamation issued by the King, the town of Paisley and the shire of Renfrew, along with all the rest of the country, had to provide, at their own cost, cavalry fully mounted and accoutred. The following extracts from the Records of the Town Council give some idea of the inconven- ience and expense to which the inhabitants were thus sub- jected : — 25th May, 1685. — " The qlk day the Bailies and Council having met, in order to the putting out of men for the King's service, in obedience to the King's proclamation, and having sent for James Patoune, messenger, for that end, he has accepted and come in the Bailies and Council's will for his payment, and the Bailies and Council to mount him sufficiently in horse, armour, and other furni- ture belonging to horse and man, and have ordained the Bailies to look William Mure in a town's horse, and James Gemel, maltman, their horse, and to buy them as cheap as they can, if they please them, and to provide the arms and furniture necessary on the town's expense, with concurrence of James Adam and John Wilson." 27th May, 1685. — "The Bailies have made report this night to the Council, that my Lord Cochran, captain to the heritors and free holders, wad setters and life renters, within the Sherifdom of I^n- frew, liable, conform to the late proclamation, to ride out and wait on the King's standard, has refused to accept of Francis Shenen, whom the Baihes and Council had chosen to ride out for them, and therefore ordain that there be another person chosen in his place to ride the morrow for the town. Therefore the Bailies and Council have agreed with Bailie Fyfe to ride out, who is to begin to ride the morrow, the 28th instant. The town is to furnish him horse and furniture, except what furniture he can furnish himself of his own, and twenty days' provision, and the twenty days' provi- sion being always allowed in the first end of his wages, and Bailie Fyfe to return back the horse and furniture if he be not killed." 6th June, 1685. — "Who have appointed Wednesday next for laying on of ane outreik on the heritors, burgesses, and inhabitants, for relieving and defraying of the town's expense in raising of men and horse and other furniture, with twenty days provision and advance money, and have all in one voice condescended to lay it on, conform to their abihties and quantities of days, for doing whereof they have nominated W'"- Whyte, John Kirk, Robert Lauder, Adam Simpson, and James Adam, to lay on the same, with the Bailie and Clerk, and to make their report to the next Council meeting." 5th July, 1685. — " Who, in consideration of my Lord Cochran, captain to the Sheriffdom of Renfrew's troop, has complained of 3l6 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. James Patoune, one of the town's horsemen, has bad and insufficient pistols and hosterly, and that the captain will not allow Bailie Fyfe to ride any farther, they have appointed Bailie Fyfe's arms and furniture to return back and be given to James Patoune, conforme to Bailie Fyfe's last act ; and James Patoune is to subscribe an act that he shall return back his horse, arms, furniture, and ammunition to the town when he returns, if the troop of the horse be not killed." 1 2th October, 1685. — " The qlk day the Bailies and Council have ordained James Patoune, messenger, to deliver up the town's horse and furniture, viz., brydle and sadle, two girths and ane tye and curple, and ordains the treasurer to pay him twenty seven punds, besides what formerly he has got for riding for the town, being the town's good will, or else to make payment to the Bailies and Council of five punds as the price thereof The horse which William Stewart is oftered and will for him, is to pay in the remainder to the said W""- Stewart, present treasurer, twenty three punds scots money, which is presently paid to W""- Alexander, treasurer." 7th October, 1687. — "The qlk day in obedience to ane warning given in by the officers to Bailie Carswell, at command of the Bailies, to render up his arms, which were furnished by the town to W"- Fyfe, late Bailie, and James Patoune, messenger, when they rode out for the town against Argyle's rebellion ^ in the west, and given up to the said BaiHe Carswell to keep for the town's use, the said Patrick has given up presently before the Bailies and Council two pair of holsters and pair of pistols, ane curple and ane tye, and declares that the town's sadle and other curple, and ane tye, is in W"- Whyte's, late ^treasurer's hand, who is ordained to be warned to produce them at the Council meeting, with stirrup iron and stirrup leatheries." nth October, 1688. — "The qlk day, at command of BaiHe Alexander, Hew Snodgrass has delivered up to James Patoune, messenger — whom the Bailies and Council have chosen to ride out for the town, in obedience to his Majesty's late proclamation — ane pair of holsters, ane curple and tye, belonging to the towai, which he had in keeping for their use." 4th January, 1689. — "The qlk day the Bailies and Council having counted and cleared with James Patoune, their rider, conform to the late proclamation and their own agreement with him, they find, after count and reckoning, that he has riden for them the space of three score days, viz., from 12th October to the nth day of December, which space, at thirty shillings the day, conform to agreement, extends to four score ten punds. Item, they find that since he was disbanded, which was upon the nth December last by-past, he has kept the town's horse on his own expense, which, conform to agreement, was to have twelve shillings each day for ^ This most likely refers to the period when Argyll was taken a prisoner in the act uf crossing the River Cart, at the ford of Inchinnan, on 20th June, 1685. 1650 TILL 1700. 317 keeping thereof, and which days being counted, extends to twenty six days, extending in money to fifteen punds, all which sums being calculated together, extends to one hundred and twenty five punds twelve shillings ; and there being thirty eight punds seventeen shillings four pennies rebated off the said sum, which was paid by the town to the said James, at several occasions, as part of his fee, there yet rests owing to him the sum of sixty six punds fourteen shillings four pennies, Avhich the said Bailies has drawn out ane precept on the said Hew Fulton, their treasurer, to be paid to the said James Patoune." The wicked and tjTannical reign of King James II. was terminated by the landing of the Prince of Orange, in answer to the invitation of many in the country, on 5th November, 1688. Every\vhere the Prince was received with enthusiasm, and James VII. fled from London to France. King William III. (of England, II. of Scotland) and Queen Mary II. were proclaimed with " great rejoicings at the Cross of Edinburgh, on nth April, 1689, the same day on which they were crowned at Westminster, the Scottish Parliament declaring that James the Seventh had forfaulted the right to the c^o^vn. All the old complicated oaths and declarations of allegiance were abolished, and the only one put in their place was simply " I do sincerely promise, and swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to their majesties, King William and Queen Mary, so help me God." In this way the Revolution, as it is called, of 1688 was consummated. To rectify the abuses that had been perpetrated by the former despotic and arbitrary governments in the appointing of magistrates in Royal Burghs, the Estates ordered new magis- trates to be elected by the burgesses, Avho were directed to give in subscribed lists on the day of the election. As this order applied, apparently, only to Royal Burghs, William Greinlees, the agent in Edinburgh for the town of Paisley, petitioned the Lords of the Privy Council, to grant the same privileges to the burgesses of Paisley. This petition is dated 23rd September, 1689, and as it is very important, we give it in full. It is as follows : — "At Edinburgh, the twentie-third day of September, 1689, anent the petition given in to the Lords of his Majestie's privie counsell, be William Greenlees, ^vriter, in Edinburgh, as having commission from the burgesses of the burgh of Paisley, Shewing that where albeit by the controverted priviledge and constant practice of the said burgh, the burgesses thereof had yearly a free election and nomination of their baillies, counsell, and toune thesaurer, never- theless, of late years (while under the yoak of arbitrary power), by reasone of the oaths that were imposed upon persones in publick trust, very unsufiicient and malignant magistratts were sett over them, and these who have the present exercise of the magistrasie 3l8 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. tliere, were contenanced by the late Chancellor, without any electione, by which meanes the publick peace of that place has bein exceedingly disturbed, the Godly ministers much discouraged, the scholes for learning decayed, and the said burgh has bein thereby impoverished, and brought under great debt, and they are still lyke to labour under the same difficulties and inconveniences except such remed be allowed them as has bein to others in the like caise, and therefore humbly craving that the sds lords would authorize and impower the burgesses of the said burgh to assemble and meet upon the thertie day of September instant, and friely by the poll and pluralitie of votes, to nominat and elect persones of credit and integritie, and who by the ancient and laudable act of the said burgh are capable to be baillies, counsellors, thesaurer thereof, and to appoynt Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, William Cunningham of Craigens, William Muir of Glanderston, and George Houstoune of Johnstone, or any one or two of them, to supervise the said election, as the said supplicatione bears ; which being considered be the said Lords of his Majestie's privie counsell, they hereby authorize and impower the burgesses of the burgh of Paisley, excepting and secluding honorary burgesses, toune officers, pensioners, and beadmen, to assemble and meet upon the thertie day of September instant, and freely, by the poll and pluralitie of votes, to nominat and elect persones of credit and integritie, and who by the ancient and lauable acts of the said burgh, are capable to be baillies, counsellors, and thesaurer thereof, and appoynt Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, William Cunningham of Craigens, William Muir of Glanderston, George Houstoune of Johnstone, and the Earle of Dundonald, to be overseers of the said election, and appoints any two of them to be a quorum. Extracted by me (signed), Gilb. Eliot, Clk." In pursuance of this petition, and in accordance with the decision of the Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council, a meeting was held on the 30th September, 1689, and a regular poll election of Magistrates and Councillors was made at the sight of William Cunningham of Craigens and George Houston of Johnstone, two of the assessors named by the court. A minute to this eftect is preserved in the Charter Chest of Paisley, of date 7th October, 1689. ^ The western counties of Scotland, which had been so much harassed during the late persecutions and wars, concurred zealously in the Revolution of 1688-9. "T^^ '^''C" of Renfrewshire marched to Edinburgh to support " the Convention for establishing the new regime ;" and when their presence was no longer necessary, having received the thanks of the Estates, they marched away with their ^ On 26tli April, 1696, "Thesaidday the Bailies and Council have subscribed the bond of asseveration to King William, conform to the Council's appointment, and ordanis the Bailies to go through the Burgesses that they may subscribe the same and send the same into the Council against the first occasion." 1650 TILL 1700. 319 arms to their respective homes, having upon their colours a Bible with some other devices, and these words, " For reformation accor- ding to the Word of God." The convention offered to compensate them for their important services, but they declined all manner of reward, declaring " that they only came to save and to serve their country, and not to impoverish it by enriching themselves " (Proceedings of the Convention, printed for ChisivcU, London, p. 22). The Town Council had to contribute considerable sums of money in connection with the support of the army. On i8th November, 1689, by intimation from the Commissioners of Assessment, they had to provide their proportion " for the carrying four days' provisions to Greenock, for 1500 Danish horse." On 23rd January, 1690, the Council " ordained Bailie Crawford to go to Edinburgh on ]\Ionday next, in order to the removing of the great burden of the soldiers quartered in the town at this time, and for preventing of the trouble also of the Danish horse." On 22nd February following. Bailie Crawford reported to the Council, among other matters, " that he had procured a warrant for removing the companies of Glencaim's regiment lying here." And on 26th April, 1696, "the Bailies report that they had got a man to be a soldier, conform to act of Parliament." We find that all the inhabitants were not in favour of the new government, and indeed universal acquiescence could scarcely be expected. The following is, at anyrate, proof of the existence in Paisley of one Jacobite. " John Peitter, weaver, being incarcerated within the tollbuith of Paisley for his unchristian speeches and be- haviour towards the present government and sundry other persons in public trust, who, upon his liberation furth of the said prison, hereby binds and obliges him that he shall not, in time coming, use any such expressions towards any persons, but shall live peaceably, soberly, and Christianly, under the pain of the losing of his freedom of this burgh, and subscribing an act of banishment furth of this place, which he hereby does, per 7'erba, depute before Robert Kirlie, officer, and James Alexander 'YCi^'^''^'^^ -Records, 17th December, 1692). The Bailies and Council, as in former times, passed a number of acts to regulate the proceedings of the butchers. They are as follows : — 19th May, 1655. — "The fleshers convened before the Council, the flesh stocks (or stalls) are ordered to be removed from opposite Robert Fork's property at the cross, and a shed to be erected for them where the lister trees stand, and to cover the same with deals, which was to be ready for covering betwixt and the 15th August to come." 15th October, 1657. — " It is statute and ordained be the Bailies and Council that no fleshour within this burgh sail heirefter let the blood of any beasts goe on the streits without kepping of it, and 320 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. sail either give or cause carrie the same away, under the pain of ten punds money, toties quoties."^ nth October, 1666. — "They ratifie the act that no more fleshers than two sail marrow together, and that they sail be in one booth, under the pain of ten punds money toties quoties, and that none of them sail collop flesh, blow mutton, nor tak fillits out of either hud- roums or sheepe, neither take ears out of hudroums, under the pain of ten punds money toties quoties." 14th October, 1669. — " The Bailies and Counsell enact, conclude, and ordain that the fleshers within this burgh sail in no tym heirefter tak tugs aff hyids, hole anie part of their hyidis, nor score the same in half holes, under the pain of x^- money (lod.) to be payed by the contraveiner for ilk tug, iiij^- (4d.) for ilk hole, ij^- (2d.) for ilk score or half hole, als oft and how oft the same sail be transgrest." 13th October, 1670. — "They ratifie the act that town fleshers sail not buy from landward fleshers flesh, quick or ded, before two hours in the afternoone, under the pain of five punds money (Ss. 4d.) toties quoties." It appears from the following minute that some of the butchers in the town actually, as in Glasgow, slaughtered cattle on the public street. " They statute and ordain that no flesher kill flesh upon the High Street, and that they shall not sell any vivers in any other place than in the Flesh Market after Whitsunday next, which is appointed to be in the north end of the meeting-house at the said term, under the pain of ten punds, and have concluded to remove the north port beyond the meeting-house" (Coimcil Records^ 29th January, 1691). It was on 9th October, 1690, that the Council ordered "the ' At this period and afterwards, it was the odious practice of the butchers in Glasgow to slaughter animals in Trongate, as the following copy of the minute of Council of 20th September, 1666, plainly demonstrates : — " Forsuameikle as the said Bailies and Counsell taking to their consideratioune that it has bein the use and custome of the fleshers of this burgh heirtofoir to slay and bluid the whoU bestiall they kill on the Hie streit in Trongait on both sides of the gait, quilk is verie lothsome to the beholders, and also raises yin filthie and noysome stink, and flew to all maner of persones that passeth that way throu the King's Hie street, and is most unseimlie to be sein, that the lyk should be done thereon ; and the said Magestratis and Counsell understanding that the lyk is not done in no place within this kingdome or outwith the same, or any well governed citie. And now, seing the said fleshers may be provydit uthirwayes and far more commodious for blooding and killing the haill bestiall they kill, and also, they being most desyrous that the said abuse be remeided heirafter, therefor comands and charges them and ilk ane of them to provyd houses in baksyds for the doing thereof, as is done in Edinburghe and uther M'ell governed cities, and that betwixt and the term of Witsonday nixt to come, under the paine of ane hundreth punds monye, to be exacted aff ilk ane of the said fleshors, to be applied ad pios testis, and that how oft and sade oft." The slaughtering of cattle on the public street must have continued, for on 14th August, 1668, "the Bailies and Counsell discharges the fleshors in the land mercat to kill any muttone or hudron (heifers) in the Hie street, under the paine of ten punds ilk persone in case of failzie, and that they keip their filth and pynches (entrails) aff the foir gait." 1650 TILL 1700. 321 meeting-house to be thatched this winter, and resolve to make the same a flesh market against May day next." According to the fore- going minute, it was only "the north of the meeting house" that was used as a flesh market. In April, 1692 and 1694, they agreed to let this house, but it must have been only the south end of it, unless the flesh market had been removed to some other place. The north port, sometimes called the Moss gate port, was situated a short dis- tance to the north of the School Wynd ; but to have this new flesh market inside of the port, it would be removed to the present Meeting-House Lane. From the name of this house comes the name of the lane. At different periods the Bailies and Council passed severe sen- tences against some of the inhabitants for their immoral conduct. 26th June, 1654. — It is appointed that at the first conveniency this week such women as have committed fornication or are scan- dalous in their carriage, shall be expelled the town, conform to the desire of the Session and acts of the Assembly." 14th January, 166 1. — "Jean Napier, ane common strumpit, banished the town for whoredom, with certification that if any of the inhabitants receive her into their houses, they shall be severely punished." 14th March, 1666. — "The whilk day the Bailies and Counsell heaving taken to their consideratioune the scandalous carriage of Janet Stewart, widow, and that it was proven be eye witnesses her vile fornication committed be her publiklie and in the day tym, and that she is now fund relaps therein, have appointed her to be ex- pelled the town betwixt and Fryday nixt, as ane vile person not worthie any more to dwell therein, and that she shall stand in ward till she find cautioune to effect that she sail never any more be ane residenter therein." 26th December, 167 1. — "The Bailies report that they and certain of the Counsell yesterday did expell Mareon Shaw, daughter lawful of umquile Malcolm Shaw ; Agnes Scott, Janet Stewart, widow ; Jean Brysson, and AUeson Simpson. The Counsell approves of the ex- pulsion of all except Janet Stewart, wha, in respect of hir old age, is tollerat to stay, she finding sufficient caution for her good behaviour in tyme coming, under the pain of banishment perpetuallie, attoure the payment of the fine." i6th February, 1672. — "This day, because of some scandalous crying fame against John Fork, it is thought fitt that he be discharged to compear a procurator before the Bailies till he purge himself of the crying fame." 3rd August, 1678. — "The quhilk day, there being ane flagrant scandal of adultries alleged committed be William Ore, officer, with Mareon Davieson, dauchter of umqle James Davieson, and there- upon the Bailies, having apointed Robert Alexander and Robert Park to try the same, they report that the fact will be neirly provin, w 322 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. and by some the fact itself, attour diverse other grounds of scandall. The quilk the Baihes and Councell taking to their consideratioune, they therefore ordain the said Wilham Ore to be discharged of all further execution of his office as their officer, and ordains the woman to be imprisoned till she find cautioun to satisfie the church." It was not till the beginning of 1661 that any systematic plan was adopted for having the town watched and protected during the night. Although the inhabitants had previously suffered severely from the visitation of the pest and the contentions between the Royalists and the Presbyterians, yet the population had gradually increased, thereby rendering some arrangement for protection to be absolutely necessary. Both Hfe and property required to be safe-guarded, and there was no way in those days whereby such could be so effectually done as by the inhabitants undertaking the arduous duty in turns themselves. The resolution of the Council on this point would, no doubt, be seriously considered and matured in private before being brought before them publicly for formal adoption. Their record on this important matter is very concise and business- like. It is as follows : — 7th January, 1661. — "It is concluded that there sail be ane nightlie watch heirefter in the town during the Bailies' and Coun- cell's pleasure, consisting of threttein persons. Twelve to be on the guard, and ane to command. That there entrie sail be nightlie at the ringing of the ten hours bell. They are to continue on the guard till sex hours in the morning nightlie. The said guard is to send twa or thrie of their number nightlie, once or twice, throw the Calsiesyd. The officers are to warne ilk threttein persons (begin- ning in the Smiddiehills) be vicissitude and turns about throw the town, and ilk person who faills to come on the watche, being law- fuUie warned, is to pay to the guard of that night xx*- (is. 8d.), to be exacted and disposed upon be themselves." The Baihes and Council, in attending to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the town, had still to contend with the un- cleanly habits of some of the inhabitants, in persisting to have their ** middens " on the street in front of their own doors. Here is a resolution the Council passed on this subject, and also another declaring that the " foulzie " collected within the burgh should not be sold to " outtentown" persons, under severe penalties : — 25th May, 1661. — "Whereas the Bailies and Councel finds by experience that peoples laying out of their foulzie in middins at their door cheiks on the foregate is both unbecoming, uncomely, and dishonest to the town, therefore they have concluded and ordained, that none hereafter within the ports shall make their middins on the fore gate, but in their back yards, or else lead the same away within forty-eight hours after they lay it out, under the pain of ten punds money toties quoties, and this to be intimate to every family by the officers." 1650 TILL 1700. 323 13th October, 1670. — " It is appointed and statute that all sellers of foulzie to any outtintovvn's man or person sail pay ten punds Scots money (^o i6s. 8d.) toties quoties, and that no Bailie sail have libertie nor power to give license to any man to transport foulzie out of the town, and that those who have sold and transported foulzie alredie shall be fyned furthwith be the Bailies." 9th October, 1690. — ^^ Item, they statute and ordain that every inhabitant shall cleanse the High street for against his own dwelling or heritage the Thursday before the fair of Paisley, and see each the first Thursday of each month in all time coming." Judging from the Council Records there was not in this period much done to the causeying of the streets. 6th January, 1664. — "The two Bailies report that, according as they were appointed, they have agreed with ane causeyman in Glasgow to come and lay the town causey for 5 merks 3 shillings and 4 pence (^o 5s. lod.) the rood, without any service, except furnishing to him of stones and sand, the Council appoint the Bailies to agree with, and man to lead the sand thereto." 28th January, 1664. — "It is concluded ilk ane of the Councillors sail attend his day about upon the causey makers, to see them lay the causey well, and to begin at Adam Paterson's." 14th September, 1668. — '■'■ Act anent ane calsie to be made for the lining cloth maj'ket." — " The said day it is apointed that the piece of ground before Gilbert Fork's gate and hous on the south sal be calsied for the lining cloth market." 14th March, 1665. — "Liberty was granted to Robert Alexander, writer, to bring out the north front of his house, at the head of the shoe market, three feet, for which he is to pay twenty shillings." 14th September, 1682. — "The Bailies and Council have drawn ane precept of 100 merks money (;^8 6s. 8d.), to be paid to Robert Leitch, causeway layer, in part pa}aTient to him, for laying of the new laid causeyway in Moss row at five merks scots money ilk rude, the said causeway extending to 46 roods of length." 30th April, 1692.^" The Bailies and Council have concluded to causeway the town head, beyond the west port, this present year, so far as shall be found needful." The Bailies and Council had no apparatus or engine of any kind for extinguishing fires when they should unfortunately take place. i6th December, 1670. — "They concludit that there sail be twentie four leather buckets for stanching of fire made, and that John Park, younger, sail employ James Gairdner, cordoner, in Glasgow, to make ane, to be sein and considered with of the price, and thereafter the same or remainder to be made conform." And on 4th January, 1677. — "They apointed six iron cleiks to be made 324 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. for pulling down of houses in caise of fire, and to cause buy and make two ledders." At the beginning of the year 1668, a great fire took place in the town of Kilmarnock, destroying the houses inhabited by " sex score families or thereby." The loss sustained, and the distress thereby caused, were so great, that the calamity was, it appears, brought under the notice of the Privy Council, who authorised subscriptions to be raised, in different parts of the country, on behalf of the sufferers. Among other places, an appeal was made to the Bailies and Council of Paisley, who came to the resolution given below. We do not know, however, what success attended the efforts of the Councillors who were appointed to canvass the inhabitants for subscriptions. nth July, 1668. — "This day, by warrand of his Majestie's Privy Counsell, ane petition being presented be the Commissioners of Kilmarnock, viz., William Failseour and Mathew Brown, to the Baihes and Counsell of Paisley, ane voluntar contribution to the ruyned and distrest town of Kilmarnock, both by sad quarterings and ane great accidentall fire, that hes consumed sex score families or thereby. The saids Bailies and Councell, taking the same to their consideratioune, doe find it their dewtie to have ane contri- butione through the town of Pasleye for the supplie of the said town, and for that effect they have nominate and appointed Bailie Paterson, Mr. Robert Wallace, John Park, younger, and Robert Pasleye, to collect the same with their first convenience." The Bailies and Council, from time to time, as opportunities offered themselves, conferred the freedom of the town upon several of those who visited it. The following list of noblemen, gentlemen, and others, who were so honoured, will be found to be not a little interesting. They were all "created and made burgesses gratis, and made faith as use is." 7th August, 1671. — William Master of Ross, and Sir James Dalrymple of Stair, Knight, Lord President of the Colledge of Justice, and their servants. 1 2th May, 1683. — Mr. John Gordon, servitor to Mr. Thomas Gordon, clerk of the circuit ; William Riddal and Walter Chapman, his servitor ; and William Borthick, corporal of Captain Inglis's troop of dragoons. 6th May, 1684. — John Johnes, writer in Glasgow; Walter Fleming, y- of Coutstoune ; Mr. John Spreull, writer ; John Smith, writer, and George Russell. 13th November, 1684. — John Irving of Stabletoun, Sheriff- Depute of the Sheriffdom of Renfrew ; and Francis Irving, his servitor. loth January, 1685. — William Shedden, tailor in Paisley, at the desire of Lady Montgomerie. John Shaw, y""- of Greenock ; John Thomson, his gentleman ; 1650 TILL 1700. 325 John Baird, Glencairns, gentleman ; John Lang, his chamberlain ; John Rodger, Steward to the said Glencairns ; James Hume, his groom ; John Odus, his servitor ; Robert Pennew and John Wright, footmen; John Spence, gentleman to my Lord Ross; John Mastertoun, master houssell ; Richard Voerres, page ; Henry- Campbell, mess cook ; Donald M 'Donald and John Wright, foot- men ; James Yetts and John Yetts, trumpeters to my Lord Ross, his troop ; and John Montgomerie, servitor to my Lord Hoome. 2ist February, 1685. — Andrew M'Invatuor, writer in Greenock ; Duncan Campbell, his servitor. 17th July, 1686. — Francis Lord Glassford, Mr. John Semple, his factor ; James Abercrombie, his gentleman ; James Leishman, his steward ; Hew Cheisholme, his groom ; Hew Gillies, his footman ; Robert Semple, writer in Edinburgh, son to the Laird of Fullwood. 27th July, 1688. — Mr. Gilbert Black, servitor to the Archbishop of Glasgow, and John Love, his groom. 8th September, 1688. — Thomas Wallace of Elderslie ; Mr. Alex- ander Crantstoun, doctor of medicine ; John Blair, younger of Curtberry ; John Muir and Archibald Campbell, servitors. 3rd September, 1688. — Joannes Reid, servitor to Mr. Arthur Murray. 28th September, 168S. — George Ross of Gastoun, and Abraham Absoam, his servitor. 19th October, 1688. — James Oliphant of Williamstoun, John Millar and John M'Donald, his servitors ; and James Kettle, servitor to Th'- Murray, y''- of Woodend. 27th September, 1689. — John Ralston, Mauldhill. 28th September, 1689. — William Wilson, Quarrier, 30th April, 1 69 1. — William Currie, saddler. 13th March, 1695. — Mr. John Hamilton of Walcraig, one of the Lords of Session ; Gavin Ralston of that Ilk ; John Archibald, Thomas Carmichael, and John Ray, servitors to Walcraig, and Adam M'Cay and Robert Fleming, servitors to Ralston. loth July, 1695. — Archibald Crawford of Auchmaines, Robert Semple of Fullwood, David Dougall, merchant in Edinburgh, and Cochran of Craigmuir. 19th May, 1697. — Sir John Houston of that ilk; Mr. John Stewart, y- of Blackball ; Mr. Charles Lundie, brother german to the Laird of Lundie ; Mr. Francis Grant, advocate ; Mr. James Stewart, advocate ; Arch"^- Bannatine, y""' of Kellie ; Robert Orchart, lieutenant in Earl of Hultrebarne, his regiment of foot ; Dunlop, ensign there ; John Ferguson, writer in Edinburgh ; John Birnie, writer there ; Archibald Campbell, servitor to Blackball ; James Petrey, servitor to Lord Blantyre ; John Ferrier, sen""-' servitor to the Laird of Houston ; Robert Hogg, servitor to the Laird of 326 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Blackhouse ; Charles Gillies, servitor to the said Mr. Francis Grant; George Auston, servitor, and James Johnston, writer in Edinburgh. 27th September, 1697. — John Alexander, fourth lawful son of Robert Alexander of Blackhouse, designed of Carolina. 4th April, 1698. — William Selkrige, writer in Edinburgh, one of the town's agents against Dundonald. 5th April, 1698. — James Houston, merchant in Glasgow, and Robert Cunningham, factor to the estate of Newark. In connection with the imprisonment of persons in the tollbuith, arrangements — many of which are somewhat curious — were made regarding their confinement. These cases are given as they are stated in the Council Reco7-ds. The first is that of John Stewart, who was allowed to go to Church on Sundays, and John Glen, Smiddiehills, became security that he would return to the tollbuith. nth May, 1672. — "The quilk day John Glen, in Smiddiehills, becomes acted and obleist as cautioner and souertie for John Stewart, sometyme in Rais, now within the prison of Paslay, that during his imprisonment, ilk Sabbath, that the said John Stewart sail hapen get his libertie to come furth to the church of Paslay, at eight hours in the morneing, sail return to prison at four hours in the same day in the efternoone, under all hazard and pain that therefor there- efter may follow, and Allan Stewart, in Cardonald (renunciand his own jurisdiction), obliges him, his airs and executors, to freeth and relieve the said John Glen of the premises and of all damage he sail hapien to sustain therthrough." 9th April, 1674. — "The Bailies and Counsell finding that William Porterfield, of Quarreltoun, is confined in the town of Paslaye, and is to be prisoner in the tollbuith ilka night, betwixt sunsett and sun- rysing, therefor they grant to him the benefit of the high councell hous to lye therinto." Robert Stevenson, who belonged to Kilbarchan, escaped from the tollbuith, where he had been imprisoned as a deserter from his Majesty's service. It appears that on the 15th January, 1696, he gave Robert Kirlie, the jailor, a quantity of ale, and afterwards left the prison dressed in women's clothes. Robert Kirlie was indicted before the Sheriff for wilful neglect of duty by the procurator-fiscal and the military authorities, who craved that he should produce the same prisoner or a man equally as good, and pay three score punds Scots for the expenses incurred. The Sheriff decided against the jailor, and ordained him to remain in prison till he implemented the charges made against him, or found sufficient security. Robert Kirlie afterwards presented a petition to the Town Council to ad- vance money to him upon certain conditions, which are not stated, to enable him to obtain his release from prison, and they "ordained the treasurer to pay to him forty punds scots" (Coiutcil Records, 27th March, 1696). The Bailies and Council resolved on 25th January, 1677, that " the drum is to beat at fyve hours and the bell to ring at six from 1650 TILL 1700. 327 the I St of November till the ist of Februar, and for the first of the yeir at four hours and fyve hours respective, as before." The Bailies and Council possessed the right to vote in the choice of two commissioners to represent the county in Parliament, and on 8th June, 1678, they "elected the two Bailies their commissioners to goe down to Renfrew the day and give their voice to the election of two commissioners for the shire of Renfrew to the Convention of Estates." Mr. Ezekiel Montgomery, of Westlands, Sheriff-depute of Ren- frewshire, slandered the Bailies and Council in a most shameful manner by calling them " ane pack of beasts and sumphs." The fiscal, Robert Landes, brought this scandalous attack before the Bailies and Council at a meeting held on the 19th April, 1682. The interesting record is as follows : — " The whilk day convenit in Counsell, Bailie Maxwell, &c., who ratifie, approve, and confirm the old and ancient acts of the burgh made anent the buying, selling, and fruiching the towne's common land, at length specifeit in the said ancient acts. And the said Robert Landes, fiscall, having complaint to the said Bailie and Counsell foresaid, upon Mr. Ezekiel Montgomerie, lately Sheriff- deput, for calling the Counsell convenit in the tolbuith, on the 19th of this instant, ane pack of beasts and sumphs, for the Coun- sell's requiring the said late Sheriff-deput to produce the letters of horning and poinding quhairwith he had poinded Bailie Maxwell, conforme to ane act of cautione fundin be him, for production of the lettres of horning and poinding foresaid, under the penalty of fyve hundred merks money of fyne, upon consideratione of the quhilk misbehaveing words spoken before the Counsell, the said Bailie and Counsell ordains that upon sight the officers apprehend the said Mr. Ezekiel Montgomerie wherever he can be apprehendit, within the town's jurisdictione, ay, and whill sufficient cautione be found be him that he sail answer the fiscall as law will, and to be imprisoned quill he find cautione to the effect forsaid." At another meeting held on the 29th of the same month, the Council appointed Bailie Maxwell and the town clerk to go to Edinburgh, as they learned that Mr. Montgomerie had gone there to raise a summons against the town, but this threat was not carried out.^ Hitherto we have frequently had opportunities of commend- ing the firmness, sagacity, and foresight of the Bailies and Town Council in discharging their municipal duties. We have now, how- ^ His after-life was attended with many striking changes. On 14th February, 16S4, the Privy Council agreed to pursue him for twenty-four acts of malversa- tion, oppression, concussion, and extortion from the poor people at the previous Circuit Court, and decided that he should find caution at future diets, under pain of ;[^looo sterling. Having failed to do so, he was committed to prison. Two years afterwards he was liberated on condition of discovering heritors who had been engaged in the recent rebellions ; but instead of doing so, he went to Ireland and became a preacher. After the Revolution in 1688 he returned to Paisley, 328 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. ever, to consider a case in which their procedure, to state it mildly, greatly shocks us. It relates to the removal and destruction of the ancient stone cross that stood in the market place. Shortly after its erection in 1488, when the little village of Paisley was raised to the dignity of a burgh, this cross was, as already stated, knocked down by the Renfrew burgesses, in their envy and spite at their new rival ; but now we have to record that it was deliberately and wantonly taken down and demolished by those who should not only have protected but revered it. On 20th October, 1692, the first record of the Council on this matter is as follows: — ^^ Item, they have all in ane voice concluded to remove the cross, and to lay ane causeway where the stone is." And exactly a year afterwards, on the same day and in the same month, they again resolved : — "Item, they have all in one voice adhered to the former act anent the removing of the cross." And on 9th April, 1694, the final resolution of the Council is as follows : — " The said day the cross was to be taken down and the High Street to be lifted and levelled, and that from William Gemell's house in the North Street to the shop of Robert Paisley, late Bailie, and that in summer next." This removal of the ancient stone cross was, it will be seen, not decided on in any abrupt or hasty manner, for the matter was under their consideration at least on three different occasions in the course of three different years. ^ The cross in High Street, at Perth, was about twelve feet high, with a balcony on the top, to which there was access by a flight of steps within the building. Proclamations were wont to be read from the balcony ; and here, on the King's birthday, the usual loyal toasts were drunk by the magistrates. As each separate health was drunk, the bottles and glasses were thrown among the crowd, and new ones procured for the succeeding toast. About the year 1764, when carts and other carriages came to be introduced, this edifice being found considerably to impede the carriage way, was taken down. The city gates were removed about the same period ( Traditions of Pert'li, by George Penny, p. 15). Instead of punishing persons who had misbehaved, sometimes the BaiHes acted very leniently, thereby giving the culprits an oppor- tunity to reclaim, and took an obligation from them that they would act properly in the future. This procedure was very likely attended with beneficial results. ^ The reader will recollect the lines in "Marmion " : — " Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillar'd stone, Rose on a turret octagon ; (But now is razed that monument Whence royal edict rang, And voice of Scotland's law was sent In glorious trumpet-clang. O ! be his tomb as lead to lead, Upon its dull destroyer's head ! — A minstrel's malison is said). 1650 TILL 1700. 329 29th September, 1695. — "Robert Semple, chapman, being car- cerated within the tolbooth for his miscarriage and tumuhuouse troublesome behaviour upon yesternight, the Bailies liberate him furth of prison, upon his granting an act to live peaceably in time coming, under the pain of twenty pund Scots (^i 13s. 4d.), and which he obliges himself to do." 14th November, 1696. — "The said day Alexander Gibson, weaver, a ^•agrant person, and unwarrantably living within the said burgh without any testimonial of his former life and conversation, and being otherwise troublesome to the town, enacts himself that, in case he be seen in the said burgh in time coming, he shall either pay twenty pounds scots or then lye in the jogs or stand in the cock-stule^ during the Magistrates pleasure for the time." 9th April, 1697. — "The said day Mr. Bryce Macolme, in Paisley, being convened before the Bailies of Paisley, and by them sentenced to remove furth of the town and not to be seen therein in time coming oftner than once in the week, and that he shall not abide the night time therein. In obedience to which sentence the said Mr. Bryce Malcolme obliges him to fulfill and obtemper the said sentence and that against the first day of May next to come." In 1695 the Scottish ParHament, "in regard of the great and iminent dangers that threaten this kingdom from foreign enemies and intestine dissafections (chap. x. Act for poll money, p. 461), and it being therefore necessary " that a complete number of standing forces be maintained, and ships of war provided for its defence," resolved to raise the requisite funds by way of poll money. They, therefore, ordained " that all persons, of whatsoever age, sex, or quality, shall be subject and liable to a poll of six shillings, except poor persons who live upon charity, and the children under the age of sixteen years, and en familia of all these persons whose poll doth now exceed one pound ten shillings scots," and " that beside the said six shillings imposed upon all the persons that are not excepted, a cottar having a trade shall pay six shillings more, making in all twelve shillings (6s.) for every such cottar." Masters were also to pay for their servants. " Merchants, whether sea men, shopkeepers, shopmen, tradesmen, and others, whose free stock and means is above 500 merks {£,2'] 15s. 6d.), and doth not extend to 5000 merks, shall be subject and liable to two pounds ten shillings (4s. 2d.) of poll." Those having means and stock 5000 merks (^277 15s. 6d.), and under 10,000 merks (^555 us.), were to pay four pounds (6s. 8d.) of poll. Among the variety of charges provided for in this act. Lords were to pay 40 pounds (^3 6s. 8d.) ; Viscounts, 50 pounds {£^\ 3s. 4d.) ; Earls, 60 pounds (^5); Mar- quesses, So pounds (;^6 13s. 4d.) ; Dukes, 100 pounds (^8 6s. Sd.); Notars and procurators before inferior courts, 4 pounds (6s. 8d.). ^ Cock-stool. The cucking-stool or tumbrell, Burrmi Lawes. Teut. kolcken, ingurgitare, or kaecke, the pillory. This term has accordingly been used, in later times, to denote the pillory (Jamieson). 33© HISTORY OF PAISLEY. The list of the names for this poll tax upon the inhabitants of Paisley, was made out, and the assessment fixed, by Gavin Cochran of Craigmuire, James Dunlop of Househill, Claud Alexander of Newtoune, and Robert Pow, one of the Bailies of Paisley, and Robert Park, their clerk. The tax is stated in scots money, which is a twelfth part of sterling money. This roll of the inhabitants of Paisley above i6 years of age, in 1695, i^ rnost complete and correct; and besides giving the names of every member in each family, it describes their professions and trades. The roll of names is altogether so exceedingly important and interesting that, although somewhat long, we give it entire. It is as follows.^ PAISLEY PAROCHINE. List of the Toiune. John Forman, weiver. Alex. Forman, weiver, no stock, 12 sh. trade and pole; Jane Love, spouse, 6 sh.,"- ... ... ... ^o 18 o William Speir, maltman, 1 2 sh., trade and pole ; Christian Rowand, spouse, 6 sh.; Issobal Thomsoune, servt, 15 lib. fee, 7 sh. 6d., ... ... ... ... in 6 John Walker, weiver, ... ... ... ... ... 012 o Thomas Wallace, cordoner, worth 500 mks., 2 lib. 16 sh.; Jennet Stevensoune, his spouse, and Jennet Wallace, his daughter, 6 sh. each ; Mary Plewright, servt., 6 lib. fee, 9 sh., ... ... ... ... ... 317 o James Gemmell, prentice to Robt. Alexr., masone, 6 sh.; Jennet Maxwell, his wife, 6 sh., ... ... ... 012 o Robert Alexr., masone, 12 sh. trade and pole; Margt. Biggert, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... 018 o AVilliam Alexander, workman. William Cochran, weiver. Charles Munro, weiver, 12 sh.; Mareon Robiesoune, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... ... oiS o William Willsoune, weiver, 12 sh. trade and pole; Isoball AVillsoune, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... 018 o Agnes Barbour, widow, ... ... ... ... 060 John Fyfe, merchd., worth 500 mks., 2 lib. 16 sh.; Janet Cochrane, his mother, 6 sh.; Bessie Jamiesoune, servd., 12 lib. fee, 12 sh., ... ... ... ... 3 14 o Jean Knox, widow. Robert Norie, wright, 12 sh. trade and pole; Agnes Thomsoune, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... 018 o •* The original manuscript of the Poll Tax Rolls for the County of Renfrew, is in the charter chest belonging to the Town Council of Paisley. These rolls were published in the Glasgow J/erald newi-paper in 1S64, by the late Mr. David Semple. - The contractions used in this roll are these — lil>. pounds ; s/i. shillings ; (I. pence; ;«/'j'. merks ; 7'al. valuation; gcj/., gcal. general; daitr. daughter; seii't., sa~i'd. servant ; ycr. younger ; yr. there. 1650 TILL 1700. 331 William Snodgrass, workman, 6 sh. pole ; and Janet Wodrow, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... £,0 12 o Ursilla Henshell, widow. George Watterstoune, glassier, worth 500 and not 5000 mks., 2 lib. 16 sh.; Anna Baird, spouse, 6 sh.; James, David, William, Anna,andjennet,children, each 6sh., 4 12 o Robert Finlaysoune, meilman, no stock, 6 sh.; Margt. Kibble, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... 012 o James Robiesoune, couper, 6 sh. trade, 6 sh. pole ; Bessie Mathie, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... 018 o Matthew Robiesoune, smith, no stock, 6 sh. trade, 6 sh. pole; Margt. Craig, servt., 16 lib. fee, 8 sh., ... i 6 o John Alexander, maltman. James Willsoune, weiver, 1 2 sh. trade and pole ; Girzall Barbour, spouse, 6 sh.; James and Agnes, his sone and daur., each 6 sh., ... ... ... ... iio o Mareon Finlaysone. Jean Campbell. Bessie Pattesoune. Alexr. Park, maltman, worth 500 and not 5000, 2 lib. 10 sh., and 6 sh. general pole ; Mareon Miller, his spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... ... 3 2 o David Wylie, smith, worth 500 and not 5000 mks., 2 lib. ID sh.; Janet Corse, his spouse, 6 sh.; David Wylie, his sone, 6 sh., ... ... ... ... ... 380 David Landesse, cordoner. Janet Taylior, widow. Alex. Greenlees, cordoner. William Shedden, taylior. James Reid, weiver, and his sone James, for himself 12 sh. and his sone 6 sh., ... ... ... 018 o James Campbell, house mert., worth 500 and not 5000 mks., 2 lib. 16 sh.; Agnes Lang, his spouse, 6 sh.; Agnes Campbell, child, 6 sh.; Jean Jamieson, servt., 13 lib. fee, 6 sh. 6d., ... ... ... ... 406 Elizabeth Aitken, widow. James Davidsoune, weiver. John Pattesoune, wright, worth 500 mks., 2 lib. 10 sh., and 6 sh. general pole ; Mareon Love, spouse, 6 sh.; Jennet, his daughter, 6 sh.; Marie Davidsoun, servt., II lib. fee, 5 sh. 6d., ... ... ... 319 6 Hugh Dunsmuir. John Cochrane, workman. Robert Pattiesoune, maltman, 12 sh. trade and pole; Mareon Cochrane, spouse, 6 sh., ... ... ... 018 o John Willsoune,^ mert., worth 500 mks., 2 lib. 16 sh., and 6 sh. general pole ; Lsobell Holmes, spouse, 6 sh.; John and Elizabeth, his children, each 6 sh., 3140 ^ This was the great grandfather of John Wilson (Christopher North), Pro- fessor of Moral Philosophy in tiie University of Edinburgh. 332 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. James Alex""- officer, 6 sh.; Mary Barr, his spouse, 6 sh., ^o 12 o John Semple, mert., in tounehead, worth 500 and not 5000 merks, 2 hb. 16 sh.; Jennet Allasoune, spouse, 6 sh. ; Jennet and Jean Semples, children, each, 6 sh., 380 Robert Semple, mert. Geills Scott, widow. Robert Campbell, house mert. Robert Prock, weiver. Robert Muir, cadger. INIargaret (blank), widow. James Stewart, smith, no stock, 12 sh., ... ... 012 o Mareon Caldwell, widow. William Hendersoune, couper, no stock, 12 sh. trade, 6 sh. pole ; Elspa Fyfe, spouse, 6 sh. ; John and Janet Hendersoune, children, each 6 sh., ... i 10 o David Hamiltoune, workman. Margaret Stevenson, widow. Thomas Mathie, weiver, worth 500 and not 5000 mks., 2 lib. 10 sh., and 6 sh. general pole, ... ... 2 16 o George Mathie,^ taylior, worth 500 merks, 2 lib. 10 sh.; Isobel Patiesoune, spouse, 6 sh. ; Helen David- soune, servant, 14 lib. fee, 7 sh., ... ... ... 315 o Robert Kirlie, officer. Andrew Campbell. Jannet , Robert Alexander, Notary Public] > H iz; ^, w-(i£rJ; ^ t-eJ® ^>.r-Tdr^ v-fiV^ ^ g/f O^e (j^^J^i .^,^ww^^ /-vo J.(/^ ^/^^ ^/(^ ^ s-wd,.^ t^cA;H; .;>' i;*>- '/i_ Fac- Simile of Part of the Declaration of Elizabeth Anderson, taken before I.orh Blantvre. <^ M 1650 TILL 1700. 357 These confessions of guilt cannot well be accounted for. Did those charged with being witches consider their characters thereby ruined, and therefore regarded their lives as worthless, or did some of them, being insane, actually believe that they met with the Devil, and were really witches who possessed certain supernatural powers ? The report presented by these Commissioners to the Privy Council, on 9th March, represented that there were twenty-four persons, male and female, suspected and accused of witchcraft, and that further enquiry ought to be made into this crime. Of those charged, one was a girl of fourteen and another a boy of twelve years of age. In the meantime, the Paisley Presbytery appointed a public fast to be held in the parish of Erskine (Records of Paisley Presbytery^ 3rd February, 1697), and afterwards on 24th March, another : — " Considering the great rage of Satan in this corner of the land, and particularly the continued trouble of Bargarren's daughter, which is a great evidence of the Lord's displeasure, being provoked by the sins of the land (exprest as the cause of our former publike fasts) so to let Satan loose among us ; therefore, the Presbytery judged it necessary to set apart a day of public humiliation and fasting that we may humble ourselves under God's hand and wrestle with Cod in prayer that he may restraine Satin's rage and relieve that poor afflicted damsell and that family from their present dis- tress, and that the Lord would break in upon the hearts of these poor abdured wretches that are indited, that they may freely and to the glory of God and the rescuing of their own souls out of the hands of Satin, and that the Lord would conduct and clear their way that are to be upon their tryal in order to the giving of Satan's kingdom an effectual strok ; therefore, the Presbytery appoints Thursday come-eight-days to be religiously and solemnly observed, upon the accounts foresaid, in all the congregations within their bounds, and the same to be intimate the Sabbath preceding." Christian Shaw was for sometime under the care of Dr. Matthew Brisbane, physician, and Mr. Henry Marshall, apothecary, Glasgow, but they failed to effect a cure, and gave evidence which clearly shows they, too, were the dupes of this miserable superstition. In accordance with the report of the Commissioners, the Privy Council issued a new warrant to the greater number of those formerly appointed, with the addition of Lord Hallcraig, Mr. Francis Montgomery, of Giffen ; Sir John Houston of that Ilk ; Mr. John Kincaid of Corsbasket, Advocate ; and Mr. John Stewart of Blinkhall, advocate, or any five of them, to meet at Renfrew, Paisley, or Glasgow, to take trial of the prisoners and to sentence the guilty to be burned or otherwise executed to death as the Commissioners should incline. The warrant was signed by Pol- worth, Cancellar, Douglas, Lauderdale, Annandale, Yester, Kintore, Carmichael, W. Anstruther, and Arch'^- Muir. The trial of these alleged witches took place in the Court-house 358 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. of the Paisley tollbuith. The Commissioners present were " Lord Blantyre, Lord Hallcraig, Sir John Maxwell of Pollock ; Mr. Francis Montgomery, Blackhall, Duchal, with several others to the number of eleven. There were deputed in the room of the King's advocate, viz. — Mr. John Menzies, Mr. Grant, and Mr. Stuart. The prisoners, twenty-one in number, were frequently called to see if they could be brought to confession. They were confronted with Bargarran's daughter and the three little confessors, Elizabeth Anderson and the two Lindsays. But they still denied all, which put the Court to call out seven of them against whom threatenings and some malafice could be proven. These were Margaret Lang, in Cartympen, a woman famous for religion ever since the sixtieth year of God, and really a person of extraordinary gravity and wisdom. I know not whether to call it natural or diabolical, but I have never heard a woman speak so gravely, pertinently, and religiously, both to the Ministers and Judges, than she did. The others were Katherine Campbell, Agnes iNaismith, John and James Lindsays, Agnes Fostur, and Margaret Fulton. This Kate Campbell is a young well-favoured lass, twenty years of age, but the rest most part old both men and women. The Commissioners after their first assay to have them confess before they brought them to a formal tryal, would have them taxed by pricking, which really to me seems strange, for there was not any on them save Margaret Fulton, but marks were found on them which were altogether insensible. That a needle of three inches length was frequently put in without their knowledge, nor would any blood come from these places ; and though many, especially doctors, ridiculed these as storys, yet after we called D''^- Brisbaine and Baird and let them see a needle of a great length put into the top of one of the vertibrae of the back, and one into Margaret Lang, a hand-breath beneath her ribbs in the region of the lower belly, they both thought it wonderful, being in a place where in another woman the needle could not but pierce the gutts. Ail the other fourteen were also prickt and marks found in most of them. But I was most concerned for Martha Semple, daughter to Margaret Lang, who was most exactly searched twice, yet no mark found, though the pricker mist not to search the very soles of her feet and other more secret places ; for when there was any difficulty to find the mark they did quite uncloath them, but then it was in a room and not publickly, before one or two of the Justices, a Minister, one of the advocates, and the Clark, my Lord Halcraig, and I were only present with Martha ; but really she is a well-favoured and gentle a lass as you'l look on, and about seventeen or eighteen years of age. I took up M''- Wylie to her to see if he could bring her to any confession ; he spoke long to her but she deny'd all, notwithstanding of what you see in the enclosed paper, but she was the only person amongst them all that ever I saw weep. They were at last, on the 15th April, to have been brought to their tryall after three or four days trifling with them by pricking and to bring some of them to confession ; but just as the Assize was constitute, they 1650 TILL 1700. 359 mov'd to have a little more time to provide themselves advocates, which the Justices yielded to and adjourned to the 2nd Tuesday of May ; and in this interval the two brothers did confess, and upon examination said the same things that the two Lindsays and Ander- son had declared as you have it on the within paper. Another man also confessed ; but the Devil strangled him in prison, for he was found sitting in a chair with a cord about his neck, but slack and ty'd to nothing. After the adjournment, the Judges met again, and having sufficient evidence of several malafices done by each of the seven above-named, with the testimonys of the five confessing witches, all concurring in the same acts, sentenc'd them to be burned the loth of June, which was accordingly executed. The other fourteen being respited till the King's Advocates' pleasure, among whom is one Morison, wife of Francis Duncan, in Greenock, called in the paper the Devil's Gentlewife Antiochia, on whom many marks are found, of which you'l receive further information by the inclosed to which I refer you." These apparently faithful and truthful extracts are taken from the preface of the book entitled " A Relation of the Diabolical Practices of above Tiuenty Wizards and Witches of the Sheriffdom of Renfrew" ore., published in 1697, and is the first in the list of publications on the witches already referred to. This book is addressed to Sir T. M., and the author, who gives his initials as T. P., says — " According to your request, I send inclosed the proceedings of the Commissioners appointed by the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council for enquiring into the witches and witchcrafts in the Sheriffdome of Renfrew, of which I have had opportunity of knowing more than any others, as having been with the Commissioners on the tryalls ; and shall add nothing here, save what passed at the first Dyet of the tryall, which was at Paisley." We believe many are under the impression that torturing of any kind was not applied to these unfortunate creatures from the parish of Erskine in order to elicit confessions. But the plain statements of this gentleman who was present at the trial, which he describes with the greatest minuteness, tell a very difierent tale in respect of the brutal prickings that were resorted to. The condemned persons were first hanged, and afterwards put into a fire, to which tar was added that the bodies might be con- sumed the more rapidly (History of the Witches of Reufreivshire.) A doubt has been expressed about their being first hanged and afterwards burned, owing to the words used in the records of the Paisley Presbytery, that the condemned were to be " waited upon to the fire (Records of Paisley Presbytery, 9th June, 1697) by the clergymen." We are inclined to believe that the writer of this record omitted the word "hanging," because the burning of the witches would be the common expression, and was the more striking part of the fearful penalty. We are confirmed in the belief that they were first hanged by the report of a decision in 3(3o HISTORY OF PAISI-EV. asimilarca.se at Dumfries, on 5th April, 1659. 1'^''' women were tried on different charges of witchcraft. Nine were found guilty, and tJie sentence by the commissioners was that they were to be taken " to the ordinar place of execution of the burghe of Dumfries, and ther between two and four hours in the efternoon to be strangled at stakes till they be dedd, and thereafter their bodyes to be burned to ashes." On the 1 8th July, 1623, three females were condemned at Perth for being witches, and " suffered the ordinary punishment by being strangled at the stake and afterwards burned" (Thomas Hay Mar s hair s History of Perth, p. 358). On 13th September, 1678, ten women "were convicted on their own confessions, at Edinburgh, and condemned to be strangled at a stake and burned " (Ariiofs History of Edinburgh, p. 194). It was customary at precognitions and trials of persons charged with the crime of witchcraft, to use instruments of cruelty for the discovery of the Devil's witch mark. For this purpose an instru- ment called the pricker was used. The person who was employed by the authorities to apply this instrument was called a pricker, and if he found a part of the body that did not bleed when pierced, then that was the place which the Devil had pinched or nipped. The swimming test was another piece of cruelty that was practised. The body was wrapped up in a sheet with the thumbs and great toes fastened together. If it floated when thrown into the water, the accused was declared to be guilty, and if it sank he was pronounced innocent. Other instruments of torture were frequently used to elicit confessions, such as the pitnie winks or thumb screw. The hercas (torquois), a species of pincers for wrenching off the finger nails ; the cospiecaws or boot for crushing and bruising the feet and toes \ the fire tongs and the witch bridle. When these did not succeed in extracting a confession, even severer instruments of torture were used. We have seen in the case of Christian Schaw that four women and three men were convicted. One of the men died in Renfrew prison, and it can scarcely be doubted that he committed suicide. Four of the women and two of the men were executed on the Gallowgreen. The following are their names and the places where they resided : — Margaret Lang, wife of William Semple, cottar in Cartympen, parish of Erskine. Catherine Campbell, servant to the Laird of Bargarren. Margaret Fulton, belonging to Dumbarton, and probably residing there. Agnes Naisniith, residing probably in the parish of Kilpatrick. John Lindsay, a cottar in Barloch of Bargarren. James Lindsay, a cottar in Billboe, in Orbistoune's lands of Erskine. 1650 TILL 1700. 361 John Reid, a smith in the Laird of Hapland's lands in the parish of Inchinnan. The eminent dramatic writer, Joanna Baillie, has a tragedy founded on the Bargarren witches ; and many of the scenes, such as " an open space before the Abbey Church " — " a mean chamber with a window looking upon the market place," refer to places in this town. The gifted author, however, admits in a footnote, that the story is entirely imaginative (The Works of Joanna Baillie, p. 613, edition, 1853). The Bailies and Council had not any thing to do with this discreditable trial. All they did was to put the court house into good repair, as stated in their record of 22nd March, 1697 : — " Court seats to be repaired and cloth to the kirk seats." " The said day, the Bailies and Council, taking to their consideration that the commission for trial of the witches is to sit at Paisley, and that for decorement of the town, they think it convenient that the toll- booth be repaired, and for that effect they appoint the seats within the barr to be repaired, and a high seat made for the judges against their coming, and other things as shall be thought convenient." " Item, they thought it fit to buy a cloth with a silk fringe, to be laid on before the Bailies ilk Sabbath day in the kirk seat." With the exception of the following entry, this is the only reference made to these supposed witches in the Council records. " The said day, precept drawn on the treasurer for forty-nine punds sixteen shillings ten pennies, spent by the Bailies and several of the Council, with the Commissioners of trial of the witches, in making them burgesses, payable to the several persons therein mentioned, conform to one particular account" (Council Records, 29th May, 1697.) This must refer to the seventeen burgesses that were entered, as already stated, on 19th May, 1797. Mr. Neil Snodgrass, writer, was the agent for those who were tried for witchcraft, and he raised an action, before the Sheriff, against William Reid, apothecary, for using defamatory language towards him. We give some extracts from this case which will no doubt be found in several items to be very amusing : — " Compleans Mr. Neille Snodgrass, writer in Paisley, and the pror. Fiscal of court for his intresse, upon and against William Reid, apothecary, burges there. That wheire there being nothing more precious by the estimate of all men than ane man's good^name, credite and reputation, which, when tainted by ascrybing, unjust, and unchristiane calumnes and reproaches, tends highly to the defamatioune of the person, especially when emitted from the mouth of ane supposed to have been otherwayes grave and sobir, nether can reparatioune be given without the persoune gultie of the said calumney be examplarly punished ; yet treue it is that the said Neille being laitly concerned in ane criminal process of witch- 362 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. craft, as pror. for the lait pannels, before the Commissioners of Justiciary, and having acted therein for defence ; ane act both consistent with his statioun and imployment ; and not only allowed by the manney repeitted acts of parliament made anent advocatts and prors. before whomsoever caise, either civil or criminal, but practised by the most famous of lawiers, and disprovit by none judicious, be the deffender, upon the 12th instant, while the said Mr. Neille was sighting ane stair and gavell controverted betwixt the deffender and him, he, in presence of severall famous witnesses, desyred the said Mr. Neille to goe and consult his master anent them, at which words ane of the persouns present, being surprysed, asked who was his master, Dundonald or whom, the defender answered he knowes whos actions he laitly agented, let him consult him, whereupon Mr. Neille said, that such words did not become any persoun judicious or prudent; answered he, your wisdom will be known in the day of judgment, or what is wisdom or what is folly. By which expressions necessarily the defender atributed the deville to be the said Mr. Neille, his master, and advised him to consult him, nether can the w^ords bear any other sense. Likeas they were so taken, and understood by all the persouns present, which being verified, the deffender ought and should be examplary punished in his persoune and goods. By craveing God and the said Mr. Neille, pardon by public acknowledging of his fault in his foresaids expressions, and unlawed in the soume of ane hundreth pounds scots, at the instance of the Fiscal, according to justice." William Reid's defence was that, when he said, " go and consult your master, yet no cryme nor reproach can be inferred therefra, unless he also had subjoined Mr. Neil's own explanation and bid him consult the devill, which he neither did directly nor indirectly, having neither spoken of the devill nor any of his instruments." And, besides, other arguments stated " it is one of the peculiar prerogatives of God Almighty to be the heart-searching, heart- trying God, and none els bot he alone can know nor does know the thoughts of a man's heart, so that Mr. Neil's explanation lybellit must rather be attributed to his own foppery and conceit than any ways attributed as a cryme to William Reid." The defender's farther objections were that "the citation given is illegal, being given on the day of compearance." That " ther is no judge competent to any scandalls but only the kirk session or ecclesiastical judicature," and that " na process be till the Fiscall's name be condescendit on." The following is the decision of the Sheriff, and it is so heavily loaded with legal terms as to prevent ordinary mortals understand- ing what is meant : — "Paisley, 24th Aprile, 1697. — The judge, for interloqutor, finds relevant that the pursuer, proveing that he was late procurator or agent for the late pannells in witchcraft, and the defender thereafter, in passion, requiring him to goe consult his master anent the gevills 1650 TILL 1700. 363 lybelled, which, when asked who, the defender told him whose cause he lately was procurator or agent in. Finds that the word master cannot be ascryved to ane client one or moe, because of the speciall repugnancie, viz. that agents rather consal clients yn clients ym lykas clients could not be understood to be consulted in gevills, and sua finds that the forsaids scandalous words being proven, together with the witnesses present, taking and understanding by master the devill to the best of their knowledge, relevant to inferr the scandall lybelled, and punishment yrof accordingly for the fysk reserving the partie lesed assythment inteir till ane sitting Session (signed), Ro. Sempill, ball dept." The pursuser offers to prove the complaint conform to the interlq""- per testes. The defenders pror. protests against interlocf for coast, skaith, and damage, and remeid in Law " (Paisley Magazine^ p. 154). In the middle of the last decade of the seventeenth century the Scottish nation became ambitious to engage in a more extensive foreign trade. The projector of the first great scheme, that seemed to open up a field for enterprise, colonial trade, and all their con- comitant blessings, was William Paterson, a native of Skipmyre, in the parish of Tinvvold, about seven miles from the town of Dumfries, the founder of the banks of England and of Scotland. A com- pany was incorporated by Act of Parliament, on 26th June, 1695, under the title of " The Indian and African Company of Scotland." By this act the lowest sum receivable was p^ioo Stg., and when the subscription books were first opened, such was the enthusiastic eagerness to obtain shares, that shares to the amount of ^300,000 Stg. were taken up in nine days, one fourth being paid in cash (Win. Pagan's Life of IVm. Paterson, p. 109). The desire to secure an interest in this scheme was unbounded. Every burgh, every city, and almost every person of substance in Scotland, became shareholders. Altogether, ;^4oo,ooo was subscribed and paid, an immense sum, considering that the circulating capital of the kingdom did not exceed ^800,000 Stg. Among the burghs that became shareholders in a moderate way was Paisley, whose Bailies and Councillors " thought fit to give in for the East Indian Africa trade the sum of ^^ 100 Stg. ( Council Records, i8th April, 1696), and, accordingly, have ordered the two Bailies to go to Glasgow and see the usual way for subscribing the same, and to subscribe for the same, and this shall be their warrand." The treasurer reported to the Council " that he has received one year's rent from Craigmuir, elder, of his thousand merks due by him to the town preceding Martinmas last, extending' fifty merks," thus showing that the Council had lent this sum to that gentle- man f Ci?//;/^// i?^(ff;'(?'j', 28th Jany., 169S). Claud Alexander of Newton, Paisley, was also a subscriber for ^100 Stg. The Glasgow Town Council, believing "that the Company lately appointed and established seems to be very 3^4 HISTORY OF PAISLKY. promising, and ap})arcntly may tend to the honour and profit of the kingdome, and particularly to the great advantage of this burgh to share therein, subscribed ;,^3ooo Stg. (Glasgow Council Records, 5th March, 1696). The little, but wealthy town of Dumfries subscribed ;;^5ooo, and the inhabitants of that town and neighbour; hood showed their appreciation of Mr. Paterson and his Darien project, by taking in addition ^6000 of stock (iWDowall's History of Dumfries, p. 456). The melancholy fate of this company in attempting to form a colony on the isthmus of Darien is well known. Its destruction was so complete, that not more than thirty emigrants, out of many hundreds, returned to their native country. During the century thus closed, Paisley had in many ways made progress, although not to any great extent. There were several circumstances which tended in every way gready to retard the advancement, not only of Paisley, but of Scotland generally. The principal of these causes, at least till the Revolution, was ecclesiastical in its nature ; for this is true alike of the persecuting tyranny of the Stewarts and of the conquest of Scotland by Cromwell. The population of Paisley at the commencement of the century was about 800, and in 1695 it was 2200 (Statistical Accou?it of Scotland in I7g2, vol. vii., p. 66), being an increase of 1400, which certainly is not a great increase for a hundred years. The first pictorial illustration that we have of the town of Paisley was made by Captain John Sleser. It was pubHshed in his T/iceatrum Scotice in 1693, but it is understood to have been drawn about 1680. We give a copy, on a reduced scale, of this valuable and most interesting illustration, which certainly exhibits the town of Paisley, in those days, in a very pleasant and picturesque fashion. The greater portion of the houses, it will be seen, are clustered closely about the market cross, forming St. Mirin's Wynd, Bridgend, and Moss Raw, where also the Steeple stands con- spicuously, beside the toUbuith. Surrounding the town are its hills and valleys, with the humble-looking houses of one storey in height, regularly but pleasantly scattered over them, covered with straw or heather, and having turves on the ridges. It will be observed that the noble structure of the Abbey, from its great height, stands prominently out above all the other buildings, having the bridge near thereto, with the port over it. All these combine to add to the beauty of a landscape which our manufacturing industries have greatly marred. Hamilton (whose narrative may be relied on), in his account of the Sheriffdom of Refifreto, written about the end of the seventeenth or beginning of the eighteenth century, says — " The most consider- able place in this jurisdiction, and where the sheriff court and court of regality usually sitts, is Pasley, the seat of a very consider- able and ancient monasterie, situat upon the water of Kert, some few miles above where it falls into Clyde, in a pleasant, fertile, and 1650 TILL 1700. 365 rich soill. To which boats can come from the sea to the bridge of Pasley, where the water of Kert divideth between the abbacy and the town of Pasley, which is a very pleasant and well-built litle town ; plentifully provided with all sorts of grain, fruitts, coalls, peats, fishes, and what else is proper for the comfortable use of man, or can be expected in any other place of the kingdome " (Maitland Club Ediiion, i8ji, p. 73). We learn also from Sibbald's manuscript, written about 1653, and embraced in the work of this author (p. 144), that " the tides floweth up Glide and entereth this river (white Cart) as far up as the bridge of Paisley. The tide is reckoned to flow about three feet at Paslay, but all fresh." Although Paisley enjoyed nearly all the advantages possessed by a Royal Burgh, yet the Bailies and Council appear to have been dissatisfied with their position ; at anyrate, they aspired to have the town made one of the Royal Burghs of Scotland. We have discovered this in the records of the burgh of Dumbarton. On 7th April, 1658, that Town Council resolved that "a Commission be sent to Edinburgh to a convention called for staying of a grant making the town of Paisley ane Royal Burgh." The combined efforts of the Dumbarton Commissioners and others were successful in the staying of this matter. Among the inhabitants engaged in the various industries of the town at the end of the 17 th century, it will have been observed that those engaged in the weaving trade greatly predominated. In the town alone, with a population of 2200, there were 66 engaged in the weaving of what, we believe, was linen and woollen cloth. There were, in addition, 32 weavers in the different hamlets and cottars' houses scattered throughout the Abbey parish. The trade of pre- paring and selling cloth must, therefore, have risen to consider- able importance ; and it is not to be wondered at that one of the markets in the town was appropriated to the selling and buying of " linen cloth," in order to suit the convenience, not only of the in- habitants of the town and neighbourhood, but also of those traders who came from a distance. Another important industry at the end of the century was shoe- making, and those engaged in it were called cordiners.^ There were 33 thus employed, and such a number could not be required to meet the wants of the small number of inhabitants in the town and country adjoining alone, but must have been employed besides in making these goods for more distant places. We are confirmed in this view from the fact tliat there was a " shoe market " in Paisley, which is frequently alluded to in the Council records. According to the poll-tax roll, there were 29 tailors in the town in 1695, and many of these were men of wealth and of importance in the community. They were the first tradesmen who formed ^ Cordwainers. French, cordounier — a worker in Cordewane, that is, leather of Cordova (in Spain). 366 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. themselves into a society, and they obtained a charter from the Bailies and Council on loth August, 1658. The maltmen, who included brewers of ale, were another im- portant class in the town. In our accounts of this 17th century we have frequently had occasion to notice the interference by the Magistrates in the passing of acts to regulate their trade. The largeness of the number of those engaged in this business in 1695 testifies very plainly to the considerable quantity of ale that was consumed by the inhabitants. The 41 merchants enumerated in the poll-tax list would most likely include shopkeepers of every kind, for none are specially designated in this style. While the little community had only two medical gentlemen and three apothecaries at the end of the century, it was blessed and honoured with the presence of at least six, if not more correctly eight, gentlemen belonging to the legal profession. Altogether, the industries of the town at the close of the seven- teenth century had risen to be of considerable importance, depending as they in its course began to do, not merely on the town's markets, but on the developing traffic with other portions of the country. CHAPTER XIV. 1700 TILL 1750. HE nation being now delivered from regal tyranny and internal dissensions, and toleration in ecclesiastical matters being established, the eighteenth century com- menced with every prospect of continuous peace and prosperity. King William, however, foresaw that a consolidation of the governments of Scotland and England, by an Act of Union, was absolutely necessary to destroy those feuds and jealousies which had prevailed for centuries, and had done so much injury to the best interests of both countries. Accordingly, he did everything in his power to promote this great and patriotic measure. But his death, on the 8th March, 1702, prevented him from seeing accomplished the important object he had so much at heart. The Union of the two kingdoms was completed by Act of Parliament in the reign of Queen Anne, but not without encountering great and violent opposition, particularly in Scotland. Several Town Councils petitioned against the bill, and one of these was the Town Council of Dumbarton, whose resolution was as follows : — " That the same is a matter of the greatest weight and moment, and in their judg- ment of the most dangerous consequence to all the interest, civil and sacred, of the nation ; and in appointing Sir James Smollet to be their commissioner, instruct him to declare their dislike of, and dessent from, the said union, as in their judgment inconsistent with, and subversive of, the fundamental laws and liberties of their nation, and plainly evacuating all the publick oaths this nation lyes under ; and, further, they expect and desire of their commissioner to have due regaird to the judgment of his constituents, the laws and hberties of the nation, and the established government of the Church " (Dumbarton Burgh Records^ 4th October, 1706). This resolution may be taken as embracing the prevailing sentiments of the opponents to the Union. But before the Queen finally gave her assent to the Act of Union, on 6th March, 1707, riots of a most serious and violent kind, encouraged no doubt by the Jacobite party, took place in some of the principal towns in Scotland, such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dumfries. The Union question is not alluded to at all in the records of the Paisley Town Council, and the inhabitants, whatever their opinions were, made no demonstration of any kind. One of the first matters that seriously engaged the attention of the Bailies and Council, at this time, was the condition of the 368 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. ancient bridge over the Cart. The bridge consisted of two arches, and "the two springs of the east arch" fell on the third March, 1 702. Mr. W. Semple, in his history, page 330, states that " the very same year (1702), the east arch of the old bridge of Paisley was rebuilt, the bridge being then only eleven feet wide." The Town Council were unable, from want of funds, to rebuild what had fallen, and the Earl of Dundonald, although desired, would not give any of the stipend he had saved from a vacancy in the Abbey Church to assist in completing the operations. It was also found that the contributions from the adjoining counties were not coming in so quickly as had been expected. The Council, therefore, to bring all parties to a proper sense of the duty they had to perform, "resolved and concluded all in one voice that the same bridge shall be unrepaired this season till the necessary supplies be ingathered " (Coimcil Records^ 4th May, 1702.) At a previous meeting, the Council had made an agreement with Robert Alexander and William Baird, masons, for the quarrying of stones for the " down fallen arch," at Gallowgreen, the Craigs of Ferguslie, Newtown and Brediland. But having now resolved to stop the " mining of any more stones for the said bridge, till supplies be made to them conform to the former act," they agreed to pay the contractors " ane hundred and eighteen pounds eight shillings and eight pennies Scots," for the work they had done (Coimcil Records, 4th May, 1702.) It appears that after erecting the part of the bridge that had fallen (a work which must have been done during some portion of 1703, although such is not stated in the Council records), William Clyde, gardener, sent a petition to the Council, " craving some allowance in consideration of his expenses anent the rebuilding the eastmost arch of the bridge." As already stated, the Council at this time were short of funds, and did not therefore give him any money, but they did the next best thing in their power. They had previously been prosecuting him to make him enter as a burgess in the burgh, and they agreed to " remit him his ten pounds two shillings of burgess fine, together with the expenses of the diligence, at the treasurer's instance, against him" (Coimcil Records, 27th September, 1703.) From the third March, 1702, when part of the bridge fell, till it was rebuilt, apparently at the end of summer, in the following year, the inhabitants and those residing in the neighbourhood must have been subjected to great inconvenience. This was the only bridge that crossed the river at Paisley, and all traffic during that time must have gone either by the Sneddon ford or by the Saucel ford, which at one time, as we have already stated, was called the Black ford. The custom of the bridge along with the two booths thereat was let from time to time. On 27th January, 1721, these were let by public roup for a year, to Robert White, shoemaker, for twenty pounds Scots money (33s. 4d.), the Council "reserving the use of the eastmost booth to the town, when they shall have use for the same." The tacksman and his cautioner came under the usual lyoo TILL 1750. 369 obligation as " to the act anent the key of the toUbooth door " ( Council Records). On 26th January, 1733, the custom of the bridge with the two booths was again let by public roup for one year, under the former conditions, to Robert White, cow-owner, for seventeen pounds (29s. 2d). In 1725, the Bailies and Town Council of Kilmarnock informed the Town Council of Paisley, that the " want of a bridge upon the water of Irvine, betwixt Kilmarnock and Riccarton, was a general loss to that country, and that some persons had lately perished therein," and solicited assistance to erect a bridge there. The Council most generously, "in one voice, allowed that the sum of five pounds Sterling be advanced" for this purpose, and that this "sum be paid to Adam Dickie, one of the present magistrates of Kilmarnock" (Council Records, 5th March, 1725.) This was certainly a handsome subscription, the more particularly that the bridge to be erected was so far distant from Paisley, and little advantage could be taken of it by the inhabitants. At the commencement of the eighteenth century, several of the trades in the town finding that their numbers were increasing very considerably, began to feel the importance of union, and were impressed with the laudable desire of assisting their poor brethren, and of preventing several abuses in the trades to which they respectively belonged. They would likewise see that in Royal Burghs the most of the trades held, from the Crown, charters with important privileges ; but as these could not at the period we write of be secured, they requested and received charters from the Town Council, securing what advantage the corporation could confer. We have already stated that the Tailors obtained a charter from the Town Council as early as 1658. The other trades which obtained charters at this time were the Shoemakers, on i6th December, 1701 ; the Weavers, ist October, 1702; the Maltmen, 1 6th October, 1703 ; the Wrights, 14th June, 1723 ; the Merchants, 1 2th March, 1725; the Masons, 9th May, 1749; the Fleshers, 29th April, 1751 ; the Hammermen, 15th May, 1761 ; the Bakers, loth November, 1777 ; the Brewers, 13th April, 1781. The charter granted to the Weavers is a good specimen of those given to the different trades. It states that " Considering that in all tymes and in all Incorporationes there are still indigent and necessitous persons, wanting means wherewith to supplye their outward necessities, the number of them is at this tyme much increased and augmented by the late great dearth, and considering that the most proper and effectual way and means to prevent and supplye indigent and necessitous persones, is by persones of ane trade entering into a society, and gathering of a common purse, poor and indigent children of any person hereafter subscryving, may be brought up and put to service or trade, as their sex, age, and inclmation shall lead them, and the old, poor, and indigent persones may be supplyed as need shall require ; Have, therefore, for 370 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. preventing several abuses in the said trade, conform to the several laudable acts made or to be made by the saids Bailies and Councill in their favours, entered and bound themselves in a Society to be constitute of the persones. Representatives following, viz. : — ane Boxmaster or Collector, two key keepers, and eight masters of trade, eight of whom shall be ane sufficient quorum (the boxmaster and two key keepers being always three of the said quorum), to be elected and chosen by the pole and plurality of the persones. Weavers, Burgesses, and inhabitants, within the said brugh, hereafter subscryvers at or with the first conveniency after the first of October." The charter provides for the annual elections, the payment of 8s. Scots yearly (8d.), the entry money of 14s. Scots (is. 2d.), the payment of 30s. Scots (2s. 6d.) for every apprentice. The poor members of the trade were to be assisted " viz., the young by maintaining and educating them until such tym as they shall be in a capacity to enter to trades, or common service, as their sex, age, or inclination shall lead them, and by allotting to the old persons such alms, termly or yearly pensions, as shall be thocht most reasonable by the representatives of the said trade, according to the indigence of the persons and means of the Society." The Bailies and Council stipulated that the members should become burgesses. The principal object of all these societies was to act as friendly societies, and the most of them, it will afterwards be shown, carried out this aim most nobly, and greatly assisted the poor members. Many of the regulations which the managers of the Wrights' Society enacted immediately after its formation are interesting ; and as they illustrate the views they held at that period, we have selected a few of them : — 1 6th March, 1724. — " That if any servant shall abuse or under- mine his master in word or deed, he is to be fined in twenty shillings toties qiioties, or turned out of the incorporation, as they shall think fit. That no servant or journeyman shall work no budds or tasks of work through the town without their master's liberty or knowledge, under the penalty of forty shillings toties quoties. That no master shall fee any servant that is present servant to another without his master whom he is serving be first acquainted, under the pain of three pounds Scots money. That no master within the incorporation shall borrow or lend Avith any tradesman in the town, any tools or instruments who are not entered with box, rmder the pain of forty shillings Scots toties quoties. That every person who has not served his apprenticeship in the town shall pay twelve pounds Scots, at his first entry, to the box. That no journeyman within the town shall have liberty to work any wright work to any within town except to the persons or Wrights incorporated ; and in case the journeyman shall contravene the same, that the wrights incorporated shall not give the said journeyman any employment afterwards, under the pain of lyoo TILL 1750. 371 three pounds Scots. On 2nd November, 1727, they enacted that no journeyman shall have liberty to work any work to any person within burgh as master, and receive wages as such, except to those incorporate, under the pain of three pounds Scots. On loth October, 1728, they agreed that if there should for any time here- after happen a vacancy of clerkship, and there be one of the children of the freemen of the said Society capable for the said service, and failing of one, if there be any of their children-in-law capable as aforesaid, that these should be preferred to any other person whatsoever ; and have this day elected John Pattison, writer, to be their clerk, being one of the children of freemen of this trade. 29th April, 1847. — William Stewart, officer, having warned several journeymen to enter with them as such, who have been contumacious, and have not waited on them ; they therefore enact that each journeyman and their master, being lawfully warned to a meeting, and not obeying, shall hereafter be fined jointly and severally in six shillings Scots, besides fulfilling the former acts made anent journeymen. 17th February, 1775. — The Society hereby restrict the expences of elections in time coming for dinner and drink to one pound Stg., and ordain no more than that sum to be paid out of the funds towards such expence." At this time the affairs of the society were managed by twelve masters. It was the general practice in this and the early part of the following century, for apprentices in the weaving trade, and indeed in almost all the trades, to five in their masters' houses. In the list of names taken for the poll tax already given, it will have been observed that with nearly every tradesman's name there appear those of one or more apprentices. In some cases journeymen, when unmarried, also lived with their master. Notwithstanding the surveillance under which the apprentices thus lived, they frequently stayed out late at night, at least after ten o'clock ; and the Council, to check this evil, passed the following act :— " Act imposing a fine on servants who keep not seasonable hours at night '" : — " The Bailies and Council, in pursuance of several laudable laws and acts, have enacted and hereby enact that all apprentices, journeymen, or other servants of whatever craft, within this burgh, who shall be found or convicted of being out of their master's houses or other houses where they lodge after ten of the clock at night, sh ill be liable to a fine of one shilling Stg. toties qmties, and in case of their being out all night, the fine to be doubled, and that all masters or parents who shall not delate ^ their servants or child- ren that are guilty, shall be liable to a fine of two shillings Stg. toties quotifs, and that Innkeepers or vendors of liquors within the burgh who entertain such apprentices or servants after said hour, shall also be liable to a fine of two shillings Stg., and such fines so ^ A law term, low Latin ; delatarc, to secure. 372 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. incurred to be exacted without defalcation, and the fines to be given to the stent masters for behoof of the poor" (Council Records^ 29th January, 1748). In this period the BaiUes and Council passed several acts relating to the entry of burgesses to the privileges of the burgh. On 19th November, 1707, they enacted "that in time coming all strangers who are from and after the date hereof created burgesses, shall pay forty pounds Scots (^3 6s. 8d.) and two shillings Scots (2d.) a fine, without any defalcasion, and ratifies the former old acts thereanent." Two years afterwards they "ratified all former acts whereby no gratis burgess shall be capable of bidding at roups of any of the town's gear or be received as cautioners for those who bid for the same, and that no gratis burgess shall be in time coming booked in any of the common lands"' (Council Records, 28th January, 1709.) In connection also with the creating of honorary burgesses they enacted that such ( " excepting noblemen and gentlemen) shall have any benefit by virtue of their gratis burgess tickets, but only for the space of seven years from and after the date thereof, but this act not to be extended to such gratis burgesses as are already made" (Council Records, 28th January, 1709.) They likewise enacted that no servants should be "made burgesses except at the same time their masters are made burgesses, and the Clerk discharged to give out any burgess tickets to any except one of the Bailies be present, or some others of the Council, and appoint these acts to be read at every oXtcixon" ( Council Records, 5th May, 1 715.) On 24th January, 1724, they also " ordained that no inhabitant within the burgh shall be admitted or entered burgess privately, but at a head court, except in some emergency or extraordinary occasion." Any of the inhabitants who failed to enter as burgesses when called upon by the Town Council were prosecuted, as the following instance will show : — " Whereas, Robert Macneil, in Hutthead, and William Pinkerton, weaver, being several times warned by an officer to enter burgess, and being called on and not compearing, the said Robert Macneil is unlawed in forty shillings Scots (3s. 4d.), and William Pinkerton in the like sum" ( Council Records, 24th January, 1724). At the commencement of the reign of King George I., the oath taken by the burgesses, when they entered, is thus stated in the Council Records : — " I shall maintain and defend the true Protestant religion presently professed within this realm. I shall be leill and true to our Sovereign Lord, King George and his successors ; to the Provost and Bailies of this burgh and their successors. I shall be obedient to them and their ofhcers in all leisome cases. I shall purchase no outentouns Lordships against the freedom of this burgh. I shall not colour my gear with unfreemen's gear. I shall maintain and set forward the common-weal and liberty of this 1700 TILL 1750. 373 burgh to the utmost of my power, and this I shall, by God himself, and as I shall answer to him at the day of Judgement." In the last century the Baihes and Council created only a small number of honorary burgesses. During the first half of the present century, however, they entirely changed their former mode of action, and the number of honorary burgesses created in that time was very considerable. A perfect mania, in short, was manifested for this business. The Council do not appear to have disliked the labour and trouble connected with it, but at one time they did object to the expense of providing ribbons for the burgess tickets ; for " having considered the vast expence that the town is put to by their furnishing ribbons to honorary burgesses, they have discharged the said practice in all time coming" (Council Records, 14th January, 1707.) Those upon whom this honour was bestowed, belonged to almost every class. We prepared a complete list of the names of these, during the first half of this century, but finding they would occupy too much space, we abandoned the idea of printing them. In numbers there were 18 Noblemen ; 9 Knights and Baronets ; i Lord Justice Clerk ; i Lord President of the Session; 3 Professors; 82 Army Officers; 16 Navy Officers; 13 Advocates ; 40 Clergymen ; 28 Medical Gentlemen ; 42 Lawyers ; 237 Gentlemen ; 275 Merchants ; 7 College Students; 29 Trades- men ; 303 Servants of Noblemen ; 5 Weavers ; 6 Sundries. In all, 1 1 15. The Town Council still continued to take the management of the mortcloths, and also to keep a roll of the poor in the town. At the beginning of our period, the mortcloths were under the charge of Pat- rick Baird, whom the Council ordained " to pay out of the mortcloth money twenty-nine pounds three shillings Scotch (^2 8s. 7d.) to the respective poor persons contained in a roll given him " (Council Records, 5th May, 1704.) It is not mentioned hov/ often money was paid in this way, nor is the number of poor on the roll mentioned. When a new mortcloth was required, there were " several swatches of velvet for ane large mortcloth, together with the prices thereof," submitted to the Council, who appointed John Paterson " to go to Glasgow to buy as much of one of these velvets as be one large mortcloth, and to agree for it as cheaply as he can. And as much lining as will be sufficient for it, and also appoint him to buy ane fringe of moyhair ajs will serve the old mortcloth in respect that the fringe thereof is to be made use of to the new mortcloth" (Council Records, 3rd February, 1707.) Nothing further is stated about mortcloths till 31st August, 1725, when the Council " ordained outentowns shall pay two shillings Stg. for the new plush cloath, and each burgess sixteen shillings Scots " (is. 4d.), and " as the old plush cloath is now converted into a middle one, each stranger shall pay eighteen shillings Scots (is. 6d.) and a burgess twelve shillings money " (is). At the end of the seventeenth century and during the whole of 374 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the following century, refreshments were largely supplied at funerals. When the family were in such circumstances as to be able to afford it, there were services of bread, cheese, wine, and spirits, or what was called three rounds — one of rum, one of whisky, and one of wine. It is alleged that in some instances the company indulged to excess, but we have not discovered in the Council Records any statements of misdemeanours of that kind.^ In supplying those attending funerals with refreshments, salvers would be required ; and it appears the Council had six of these, which they handed over to the keeper of the mortcloths, to be hired out at funerals, as is shown by the following record of date 19th September, 1747 : — " They have agreed that the six salvers belonging to the Town, which cost one pound eleven shillings Sterling, be put into Claud Morrison's custody, keeper of the mortcloths, for which he is to receive from every burgess that use the same at funerals, two shillings Scots (2d.) for each salver, and from a non-burgess three shillings Scots (3d.) for each, and ordain that they be not lent to any person living outwith the bur^h until first allowance be had from the then magistrates, and caution be found to restore them without delay, and such to pay four shillings Scots (4d.) for each salver." There were two public bells in the town ; one was in the west or '' Wee Steeple," at the Almshouse, adjoining the West Port ; and the other, called the vieikle bell, in the Steeple, at the Cross. The latter was, besides other occasions, rung at funerals,- and the Council "discharged Andrew Wilson, who rings the meikle bell, to ring the same, at any time coming, with leave of a Bailie, and whoever gets the same allowed shall pay in all time coming, being a burgess, forty shillings (3s. 4d.), and being a stranger, three -pownd?, "( Couficil Records, 26th January, 1705). On 28th March, 1723, the Council appointed " Arthur Lang, weaver, to go with the dead bell, and that during pleasure." On 25th April, 1735, the Council appointed Robert White, cow-owner, to go with the dead bell. A vacancy occurring in the situation of keeper of the town's clocks, in the following year, they elected Matthew Stewart, who " is to furnish oil and other necessaries thereto, upon his own charges and expenses, excepting cordage, and he is to have for the same of forty-two pounds Scots (;^3 los.) money yearly, in which is included the ringing of the meikle bell and going through the town of Paisley with the drum" (Council Records, 21st May, 1736). The races, in the first half of the eighteenth century, were ^ An Act of Parliament was passed on 13th September, 1681, in the reign of Charles II., entitled "Act restraining the exorbitant expenses of Marriages, Baptisms, and Burials." ^ The practice of ringing bells at funerals commenced in Popish times, and was intended to -warn those within hearing of the bells to pray for the souls of the departed, whose bodies were about to be committed to the earth (Black's History of BrecJiiii, p. 119). I700 TILL 1750. 375 continued in a very similar way to that which prevailed during the latter half of the preceding century. On nth July, 1704, the Council " allowed a foot race, a horse race, and aftershot race, as use is, to be run by them who please to test themselves, conform to the custom of the burgh.'"' At the races, on 27th July, 171 1, an untoward occurrence took place. Robert Sclater, town otticer, stabbed, with his halbert, a horse belonging to Mr. John Muir, brother to the Laird of Rowalland. The event is thus referred to in the Coimcil Records : — 15th August, 171 1. — "The said day they taking to their consideration that ane unhappy accident having fallen out upon the 27th July last, at the fair, a little before the Eftershott was run for, when ane horse of Mr. John Muir, brother to the Laird of Rowalland, was stabbed by Robert Sclaitter, officer, who, being commanded to stop the said horse from running about till the town's races was over, stabbit him with his halbert. And the said Bailies and their two officers having been pursued before the Justices of Peace of the Shire, at the instance of the said Mr. Muir, Lieutenant Halay, Cornet Park, and Cornet Bintin, for payment of the horse's price, being fifteen guineas of gold, and for the damages they sustained. The Council being acquainted with the same, they desired the Bailies to go through some of their best friends in the Shire, and take their advice concerning it, who, having accordingly done the same, they reported that their best friends advised them to accommodate the same with the parteis with all expedition, to which the Council at that time condescendit ; in prosecution whereof, the Bailies immediately apphed to their friends to bring the aggrevement to ane period, and with their assistance, before the action was called, agreed that they should come on Mr. Muir's will for the said fifteen guineas, as the price of the horse, and that they should take the said horse to themselves for the use of the town, upon which the contraversie was dropped. And, therefore, they considering that the said accident fell out when the Bailies were in exercise of their office, by asserting the town's privileges, though the officer exceeded the bounds of his commands, and has been already corporally punished for the same by imprisonment for the same, have drawn a precept on John Patison, treasurer, for the said sum of fifteen guineas for the payment of the horse aforesaid, and ordain the horse, so soon as he is in any tolerable condition, to be sold to the best advantage, and given to the treasurer for the use of the town." 7th September, 17 11. — "John Walkinshaw of that ilk, offered the Magistrates 5 guineas for the horse stabbed at the race." 13th July, 1 7 14. — "The said day they have agreed to the ordinary races at St. James' Day, and appoint the saddle, furniture, and other necessars, to be provydit for that efiect." "Act anent the races, 8th July, 1723."— "The said day, by plurality of votes, it is agreed that the silver bells belonging 10 the 376 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. town is allowed, with respect to the race at St. James' Day, as a reward. But the gainer is to give back the same to the town at twelve pounds twelve shillings ; and the second horse, the rider to have three pounds Scots (5s.) ; as also there be one saddle for the aftershot." At the beginning of our period, the Town Councillors had become very irregular in attending the meetings of Council to which they were summoned. In order to check this absence and want of punctuality, they resolved " that if they fail they shall underlay and pay the fines following, viz. : Each Bailie, thirteen shillings four pennies, and each Councillor in half ane merk, toties quoties, to be exacted without exemption. And to the effect they may be more and better assention of the diet, it is hereby enacted and ordained that the great bell shall be rung at their several meetings, to the end they may be further advertised of the same " (CojiHci/ Records, 30th October, 1705). This arrangement con- tinued till about the middle of the nineteenth century. The Council adopted the very prudent resolution that " whatever matters of importance and consequence shall be agitate before the Bailies and Council, those must and shall sufiter a hearing of the same the first and second time before an act shall pass thereupon " (Council Records, 24th January, 1724). This plan is similar to the modern practice of giving notice of a motion on any subject. In order to give the magistrates facilities for disposing in a rapid way of cases brought before them where the amount did not exceed three pounds Scots or five shillings Stg., the Council " enact and statute that it shall be leissoume and lawful" to do so in a summary razxixvtx (Council Records, 28th January, 1732). In 1739 the population had increased to about 3396, and the Bailies and Council, finding that two Bailies were insufficient to manage all the court cases and largely increased municipal business, agreed on the nth May in that year to electa third Bailie and also two additional Councillors. Their reasons for doing so are very fully set forth in the following resolution : — " The said day the said Bailies and Council taking into their serious consideration the many remonstrances which have been made that for some time by gone, by reason of the great increase of the inhabitants of this burgh, two Bailies, on account of their frequent other necessary associations, are not sufficient or in a condition to determine the many questions which arise among the inhabitants, or which are brought before one or other of them, by persons resorting to the burgh ; and that fifteen Councillors are too scant a number of such a society for due administration and management of the common stock, revenue, and aft'airs of the community ; and that by their charter of election they have power to choose and elect a Provost and Bailie without any restriction of their number, and also a Town Council, without determining their number, and to establish and authorise crafts and artificers, and i-joo TILL 1750. 377 have such hke powers as are given to Royal Burghs, have therefore, after mature deliberation, resolved and determined, and hereby enact and statute and ordain, that at Michaelmas next ensuing, in year 1739 years, and at every subsequent election from and after that term, three persons are to be named and authorised, each one of them, for exercising the office of a Bailie ; and who, at public meetings are to preside as they are elected to be first, second, and third Bailie ; and also that sixteen persons are to be elected, named, appointed, and authorised to execute the office of Councillors, and that the election of the said additional numbers shall be made, and proceed in the same manner and according to the same rules formerly observed for electing and choosing the Bailies and Council of this burgh, and it is hereby declared that one or two of the Baihes and nine of the Councillors shall be a quorum." At this time it appears the Council, in the discharge of their duties, were frequently subjected to great inconvenience from some of the Bailies and Councillors not accepting office after being elected. The majority consisting of those that were willing to perform their duty in a patriotic manner, held that as representing the community they were authorised to elect magistrates, treasurer, clerk, officers, and visitors of markets, grain, vivers, and liquors, &c., and to incorporate merchants and craftsmen into separate corporations, and to enact burghal laws consistent with the established laws of the kingdom, to hold courts, and to fine. In the prosecution of these numerous and important duties, they sometimes by declinatures met with obstructions to the detriment and loss of the community. And they held that it was meet and reasonable that every person of probity, ability, and fitness, should have an equal share of the administration of the common aftairs of the burgh, should be obliged to undertake the office to which he may be chosen. Therefore they enacted " that every inhabitant who is a burgess of the burgh who shall be judged to be qualified to be a Magistrate, Treasurer, and Councillor, and shall be thereto elected in due form, shall be obliged to accept of and serve in the office to which he is elected, and that for the space of one year, under the penalty of;!^io Stg. for a Bailie; ;^8 Stg. for a Treasurer ; j£^ for a Councillor and ;^i for every other office-bearer, to be exacted without defalcation, and that within ten days of the day after intimation thereof, and to be applied to the exigencies and affairs of the burgh ; and the recusants, after the said ten days, to be immediately imprisoned until the respective penalties above mentioned for the office declared to be accepted, be paid by the recusants who are not therefore to be amerciated if elected to that office or to any office of an inferior degree, and upon the recusants, one or more, his or their paying their fines, appoints the Magistrates and Town Council by a new election, in fourteen days thereafter, to supply the places of the recusants" (Council Records, 4th October, 1746). 378 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. At this time, and long afterwards, sentence of death was passed and carried into execution, for the committal of crimes which are now punished with penal servitude for a number of years or for life. The first execution after that of the so-called witches in 1697, was of James Laird, who, on 28th November, 1700, was hanged at Gallowgreen. He was a wood turner to trade, in Gorbals, Glasgow, and was tried for robbery before Robert Semple, Sheriff-Depute. On 28th March, 1717, Robert Lang, after trial before the same Sheriff, was executed on the Gallowgreen for stealing a horse. Here we may note a really capital crime of this period. On 2nd September, 1743, Robert Love was hanged on the Gallow- green for the murder of his son. When the family were at dinner the father and son had a dispute upon some matter, and the father being of a violent temper, became provoked, and stabbed his son with the knife he held in his hand, so that the young man instantly died. The Bailies and Council continued, in this period, to fix the prices at which several kinds of food should be sold. Regarding the price of malt, they were of opinion that the brewers were charging too much, and they ordained " the ale to be sold for twenty pennies per pint (ly^d.) and not above," with certification to the brewers " who shall contravene the premises, that they shall be fined at the discretion of the Bailies for each transgression, and in the meantime ordane the ale to be made good and sufficient '' ( Council Records, 12th April, 1706). The society of maltmen complained to the Bailies and Council that several strangers were bringing inferior malt into the town clandestinely, on the Wednesdays, when the visitors had not an opportunity of having it examined. The Council, to prevent this procedure, " enacted that all strangers' malt be set down in the meal market on the Tuesdays and Thursdays, before noon, in order to be sighted and surveyed by the visitors." They also prohibited the burgesses from buying any of that malt till sighted, and ordained that " strangers shall pay for each sack twelve pennies Scots (id.), and burgesses six pennies Scots (^d.) in name of custom" (Council Records, 22nd October, 1708). This act was renewed on 6th March, 1727, with the addition that " burgesses contravening it would be fined forty shillings (3s. 4d.) for the first off"ence, and three pounds (5s.) for the second offence." On 2nd October, 1733, a further regulation was made regarding the brewing of ale. The Bailies discovered that several of the inhabitants did " brew in inconvenient brew houses, and also at unseasonable hours in the night time ; " and also that some of " the inhabitants keep bad houses." To correct these irregularities they ordained that the inhabitants " shall not have liberty to brew ale or beer for sale without a licence from the Bailies," and those contravening " shall be liable in the sum of ten pounds Scots" (i6s. 8d.); and, further, if those licenced be " convicted of keeping bad houses, they shall be discharged from brewing in all time coming." On 28th January, 1737, this act was I700 TILL 1750. 379 again ratified with this further addition, " that every Brewer that shall be convicted of keeping or entertaining any person at unseasonable hours, shall pay forty shillings Scots (3s. 4d.) for the first fault and three pounds Scots (5s.) for the second fault." On 21st December, 1742, this act was again ratified, with the addition "that the said act and penalties therein contained shall extend to venders as well as brewers of ale and beer." It appears, from a very stringent resolution passed by the BaiHes and Council, regarding the town ofticers, that they had become very negligent in the performance of their duties and even insolent in their conduct towards the Bailies. The following copy of the minute they passed will best explain matters : — 29th April, 1709. — "The Bailies and Council having taken to their consideration the negligence and indifference of the officers in obtempering the commands of the Bailies, and sometimes their absolute refusal to obey them in their just and lawful commands, which they conceive may partly proceed from the BaiHes, for some time bygone, not being in use to check these insolences and misdemeanours without the concurrence of the Council for that effect, have therefore unanimously agreed that in time coming it shall be in the power of the Bailies, commonly or severally, upon any of the officers refusing to obey their just and lawful commands, or to neglect what is by them committed to their charge, sharply to censure and reprove them for it, and, if the Bailies think fit, to exauctorat and deprive them of their offices, and to punish them otherways corporally, according to their demerits, and that without the concurrence or advice of the Council." On 24th January, 1721, they further "enacted that none of the town officers or servants shall have the privilege of taking any of the town's customs, fairs, or lands, for any time coming, nor that they shall be received as principles or cautioners." And on 24th January, 1724, they " statute and ordain that the officers shall have new clothes given them, that the same be of the town's livery, conform to use and wont, and this to be in all time coming. And that the officers shall be obliged to carry the town's halberts before the magistrates at all burials, and at every other occasion when required." In 1728, the town drummer having failed in the "keeping of the two clocks " properly, his salary was reduced from thirty-six pounds (;£$) to twenty-four pounds (^^2) yearly. In the following year he was altogether dismissed because " the ringing of the meikle bell and going through the town in the seasons use and wont," were imperfectly performed. It appears the Bailies alone elected another drummer and a town officer, which procedure gave great offence to ten of the members of Council, who went to Robert Wilson, notary public, and protested against the election " without the concurrence of the Councillors," and " in respect there was no act recorded in the books of ane election or choice of the said person to be drummer and officer, which ought to have been 380 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. otherways, the Bailies' admission could be of no effect, seeing that drummer and officers had always been received in presence of the said Bailies and Council, and that they were illegally elected and admitted." The protestors also stated that they " did not think themselves safe to meet and commune anent the town's affairs, in respect the Bailies acted and proceeded without their concurrence, and that it was known to the Bailies that the majority of the Council was against their admission at two several Council meetings preceding their admission." These ten Councillors further " pro- tested for cost, skaith, damage, and remeid in law, and asked and took instruments in the hands of the notar public." This protest was taken within the dwelling house of Robert Greenleis, late Bailie. This great tempest among the Bailies and Councillors is not again alluded to in their records, and it is probable that the Bailies acquiesced in the election by the whole Council of the drummer and officer. The Bailies and Council passed another act regarding the imprisonment of the town's debtors, and in token thereof the presenting to them of the key of the tollbooth door which has already been referred to. 20th October, 17 10. — "The said day the Bailies and Council taking to their consideration that both the Bailies and treasurer are frequently troubled holding courts for payment of the town's rents at the instance of the treasurer, against the several burgesses that happen to take any of the town's lands, customs, or other goods, and that ordinarily the taksmen burgesses are put to a great deal of trouble and expence unnecessarily for defraying of the expence in obtaining decreets and raising diligence thereon, and oftentimes retards the town's public business. For preventing thereof the Bailies and Council have enacted and hereby enacts that the takers of common land (and their cautioners) customs, crops, or others, by way of roup, shall in all time coming be obliged to go to prison for what shall be owing by them to the treasurer for the causes fore- said, upon the treasurers sending them the key of the tollbooth door by an officer, where they shall continue in prison till they satisfy the treasurer, and that the forsaid taksmen in time coming, their signing of the act of roup shall be ane sufficient consent." This act was ratified on 28th September, 17 16. On 31st January, 1726, the Council entered into an agreement "with John Cochran, wright, in Smithhills, anent the keeping of the two clocks — that is, the one in the steeple at the Cross and the other in the west steeple at the Almshouse. His salary was to be eighteen pounds Scots (^i los.) yearly, and he was to furnish oil and other necessaries to the said clock on his own charges." And on 15th October, 1731, they "ordered a plain iron rail to be put on the tollbooth stair, and the Council appoint the Bailies to buy the iron for that effect." On 28th January, 1732, they ratified an act that was passed in 1597, "that all persons upon whom decreets 1700 TILL 1750. 381 past before the Bailies of the said burgh present and to come, and had no goods streinzable, at least no goods could be apprehended pertaining to them streinzable for the satisfaction of the party in whose favour the said decreets is obtained, that such persons be put in ward, and the tollbooth door closed upon them, and there to remain upon their own expences, aye and while they satisfy the party at whose instance they were charged, and if they break ward, to cry down their freedom, if they have any." In 1737 a new jailor was required, and the Council elected William Stewart, town ofificer, "who gave his oath de fiddiz.% use is," and three persons became cautioners for him that he " shall not through his default suffer any person or persons that shall happen to be imprisoned for a civil debt or otherwise, to escape furth of the prison, but if he shall be negligent thereanent," these cautioners became bound "to pay the whole damages that mayor shall be thereby sustained or incurred" (Council Records, ist February, 1737). We learn from the Council records of loth December, 1744, "that the town jail hath become in disrepair, and so unfit and insufficient for detaining such persons as may be committed prisoners therein, and that several have of late broke and made their escape therefrom, whereby the execution of justice is thereby frustrated." In consequence of this ruinous state of the jail, the Council agreed that it should " with all expedition be repaired at the sight of the Bailies, and that a competent number of dales, posts, and other necessaries be purchased and procured for this purpose." The inhabitants still continued the abominable custom of having " middings " on the streets in front of their houses. Even the High or Main street itself was used for such unseemly and unhealthy purposes ; and the Bailies and Council, in order to stop the practice, " unanimously agreed to discharge as they hereby discharge all persons whatsoever inhabitants from laying any middings on the High street within the ports of this burgh from the term of Whitsunday next to come, under the pain of five pounds Scots " {Z?,. i^A.) (Council Records, i6th April, 17 14). Thirty years after- wards this practice was still prevalent, and the Council were under the necessity of prohibiting the inhabitants " from laying down any, or making middings, in the High street or in the foreside of their houses fronting to the High street or vennels within the burgh, under the penalty of ten pounds (i6s 8d.) Scots, toties quoties. And ordains this act to be intimated publicly by tuck of drum" ( Council Records, 13th April, 1744). The Council objected to any of the " foulsie " gathered in the town, being sent to improve the land outside of it, and enacted that " no inhabitant shall sell any fodder or foulsie to be transported out of the five merk land or transport any themselves, under the pain of five pounds Scots " (Council Records, 6th May, 1720). This filthy habit of converting a part of the street opposite dwelling houses into middings was not confined to Paisley. In Glasgow the inhabitants were prohibited by the Council from forming middings in the streets. In St. Andrews, 382 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. in 1697, it is stated " the whole of the streets are filled with dung- hills, which are exceedingly noisome and ready to infect the air, especially at the season when the herring gutts are exposed in them " (Perth, its Amials and Archives, p. 341). Alexander Laing states that, " it was long ere the streets of country towns were brought into a condition even approaching to cleanliness. In 1793 the magistrates of Newburgh issued an order that dung was not to be allowed to lie on the street longer than forty-eight hours ; and even thirty years later the inhabitants were duly warned by tuck of drum to remove all accumulations of manure from the streets in front of their houses previous to the half yearly fairs " (Lindores Abbey, p. 293, by Alexander Laing). 2 1 st April, 1 7 27. — ■" Act ancnt Expelling of Unclean Women. — The said day the Council statute and ordain that in all time coming any woman residing in the said burgh of Paisley, being twice guilty of uncleanness, the Bailies of the said burgh shall have power to expel them furth of the town of Paisley." The Town Council had a vote in the election of a Knight or Baron to represent the shire of Renfrew in Parliament. One of the Bailies was generally appointed to go to Renfrew to vote on the day of election. On 29th October, 17 14, they appointed Bailie Glassford to attend the meeting at Renfrew, and to vote for Sir Robert Pollock of that ilk. In 1722, Bailie Paterson was instructed to vote for Mr. Thomas Cochrane of Craigmuir. We do not know whether at the other elections the Bailie received any instructions for whom to vote, for they are not recorded. In 1743, "a petition was given in to the Lords of Session by Sir Michael Stewart and three others, complaining against a great many voters within the shire, and particularly against the town of Paisley, having any vote for the election of a Knight to represent them in Parliament." The Council were, of course, very indignant at this attempt to deprive them of their privilege, and appointed " Mr. Arch. Campbell, Writer to the Signet, to Agent for us, and to employ Lawyers for maintenance of our said rights, and for that purpose transmitted to Edinburgh " the principal charters belonging to the town, along with an extract of the town's valuation, according to which they paid a proportion of the land tax. But the minute of the Scots Parliament having been lost wherein the town's vote was sustained, in a question between Sir Robert Pollock and Orbiston, " they agree that an extract thereof be had out of the records, and empower the Bailies to order the treasurer to send into Edinburgh five pounds Stg. towards defending their vote" (Council Records, i6th December, 1743). As this matter is not again referred to in the Council records, Sir Michael Stewart must have either withdrawn his action or been unsuccessful, for on 23rd July, 1747, the Council appointed Thomas Kerr, one of the Bailies, to go to Renfrew on the following day to "vote for what candidate he shall think proper " to represent the shire of Renfrew in Parliament. I700 TILL 1750. 883 Queen Anne died rather suddenly on ist August, 17 14, and George I. was proclaimed King on the 4th of that month. The King declined the services of the Earl of Mar, who afterwards hastened to Scotland and put himself at the head of the Jacobite party, for the purpose of overturning the government. At Aboyne, the Jacobite chiefs held a meeting at which the Earl of Mar produced a commission from the Chevalier St. George, son of James VII., appointing him commander-in-chief of the Jacobite forces in Scotland. The meeting agreed to support the Chevalier, and at Braemar, on 6th September, 1715, he was proclaimed King James VIII. The Insurgents, on 14th September following, seized Perth while the Duke of Argyle, the commander of the forces of King George I. was, with his army, stationed at Stirling, waiting for reinforcements. Meanwhile, the friends and supporters of the government, throughout the country, were not inactive in rendering assistance to King George I. Among them were those in the west of Scotland who had suffered so severely in the reigns of Charles II. and James VII. The BaiHes and Town Council of Paisley, supported no doubt by the inhabitants, were conspicuous for their energetic loyalty. The following is a copy of the records of their meeting, held on 5th August, on this highly important subject : — '"'' Act for Keeping Guard. — 5th August, 1715. — The said day they taking into their consideration the eminent danger that this country is exposed to at this juncture by reason of the Pretenders' attempting to land in the kingdom of Scotland with a considerable number of soldiers, they have therefore agreed to keep guard, which they appoint to begin this night, and in the meantime ordain the whole inhabitants to have all their arms in readiness." At the same meeting they likewise agreed as follows : — " Two Pair of Colours for the use of the Town. — 5th August, 1715. — The said day they have agreed that there be two pair of colours bought for the use of the town, and recommend Bailie Paterson to buy the same and put on the town's arms thereon." Many of the inhabitants also entered with spirit into the cause for defence of the town and the country, and agreed as follows : — "Att Paisley, the 27th day of August, 17 15. — We under-sub- scribers taking into our serious consideration the eminent danger we are in from the threatened invasion of the Pretender, and the danger from many within our own bossoms that are to joyn with him, and that it lyes upon all honest men to do their indespensable duty to provide tymeously for the defence of our Soveraign and our own sacred and civile interests. Do therefore bind and oblige our- selves in manner under-written, vizt.: — That we shall outreik men for that effect, and pay them sixpence each day during two or three months, less or more, as need shall require, conform to our respec- tive subscriptions, from and after the time they are listed and upon exercise and service." Then follow the signatures of some for one man, and others for two, three, and four men. 384 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. On the 17th of the following month a communication from the Duke of Argyle was laid before the Town Council, and with the greatest alacrity they agreed to provide and pay for twenty men to go to Stirling to join the royal army assembled there. The follow- ing is a copy of the important resolution passed at this trying time : — ^^ Letter from His Grace the Duke of Argyle. — Paisley, 17th of September, 17 15. — Sederunt, John Paterson (Bailie), Bailie Pow, Bailie Campbell, Robert Greenleis, Wm. Finlayson, Gavin Rowand, John Kerr, for. Todd and for. Cersse and John Paterson. " The said day considering that they have received a letter from his Grace the Duke of Argyle, commander-in-chief of the whole forces in Scotland, acquainting the town that the dissafifected highlanders are actually gathered together on bad designs against the present government and tranquility thereof, and therefore inviting the town to send as many men well-armed to Stirling as they can spare, to oppose the enemy. They have therefore agreed that the men who have listed themselves, at least as many of them as the town shall think fit to call out, and who want arms of their own, that they be provided out of the first and readiest of the arms belonging to those who shall stay at home, promising them, if they shall either have satisfaction for their arms, or wish to have them restored to them, or have new ones for them, commission the said Bailie to write to Bailie Glassford, who is for the present at Glasgow, to buy for the use of the town the number of twenty guns, to be distributed to those who shall lend their guns at this juncture till they receive back their own." Thereafter, this last clause about writing to Bailie Glassford to buy for the use of the town the num- ber of twenty guns, is reversed and discharged. At this meeting they also "agreed that the town shall pay out of the common stock twenty men at eight shillings Scots per day, four shillings Sterling per week ;" " and also they appoint Bailie Glassford to borrow for the use of the town, at this occasion, the sum of fifty pounds SterHng money, to be given to Charles Simson, who is appointed treasurer to the company, that goes for Stirling to pay the men with at the sight of Bailie Paterson, and ordaining the money signed for or promised by the inhabitants that remains to be collected in order to repay the said fifty pounds pro tanto and that weekly. Also order a barrel of powder to be sent along wnth the men and as many balls as they shall have occasion for." To encourage the inhabitants to support the Government at this critical period in the suppression of the rebellion, the Bailies and Council undertook to make those who became volunteers, burgesses without any charge. Their resolution on this matter is as follows : — " The said day, considering that it was promised to those who off"ered themselves as volunteers to go towards Stirling to attend the tyoo TILL 1750. 385 order of the Duke of Argyle, commander-in-chief of his Majesty's forces within the kingdom of Scotland, that those who were not already burgesses should be made so with the town's first conveni- ence. They have approved of the said promise, and hereby recom- mend to the said Bailies present or to come, wholly and severally, to create them burgesses of this burgh in the most ample manner. This act is not to be extended to any of those persons who listed themselves, if they do not attend the standard and obey their officers '' (Council Records^ ist October, 17 15). The feeling in favour of the Government was so strong in Paisley, that a great many more of the inhabitants volunteered to act in its defence, and repel and subdue the rebels, than those appointed to join the royal army at Stirling. The Town Council, in their memorial to the Lords of His Majesty's Treasury regarding the repayment of the ;;/^5oo taken from the town by the rebels in 1745, state " that in the year 17 15, when a rebellion broke out in North Britain, the town of Paisley early distinguished itself by a remarkable zeal and spirit by opposing it in its rise and progress. A body of 140 men was raised, disciplined, and supported at the expense of the town, and was sent to Glasgow, and from thence to Dumbarton, till the rebellion was happily extinguished." The Macgregors, under the command of Gregor Macgregor of Glengyle, a nephew of the cele- brated outlaw, Rob Roy Macgregor, committed considerable depre- dations upon their neighbours in the Buchanan district. They also took possession of the boats on the river Endrick and Lochlomond, about the beginning of this month, and after drawing them ashore at Inversnaid, went off in a body to Mar's camp. An expedition, which was joined by 120 volunteers from Paisley, was sent to over- awe and subdue the Macgregors, and the following extract gives a very interesting account of their adventures : — " For this purpose and in order to bridle these rebels in their excursions, a strong guard of one hundred and twenty volunteers from Paslay, having been sometime before posted at Dumbarton, and about four hundred volunteers, partly of the Right Honourable the E. of Kilmarnock's men, partly of the people of Air, Kilwining, Stevenston, &c., having garrisoned the houses of Dreemakil, Cardross, and Gartartun, it was resolved to retake, if possible, the boats from them, by which they kept the country round in a terrour, not knowing where they might make their descent. For effecting this, on Tuesday, October nth, about six o'clock at night, there came to the key at Dumbarton, from the men-of-war that are lying in the Firth of Clyde, four pinnaces and three long boats, with four pateraroes and about one hunder seamen, well-hearted and well- armed, under the command of Captain Charlton, Captain Field, and Captain Parker, with four lieutenants and two gunners. About two or three hours after, there came up to them a large boat from Newport, Glasgow, with two large screw guns, under the command of Captain Clark. All these being joined by three large boats of 386 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Dumbarton, upon the morrow, about nine in the morning, they all put off from the key, and by the strength of horses were drawn the space of three miles up the river Levin, which, next to Spey, is reckoned the most rapid river in Scotland. When they were got to the mouth of the loch, the Paslay men, and as many more as the boats could conveniently stow, went on board, and at the same time the Dumbarton men, the men of Easter and Wester Kilpatrick, of Rosneith, Row, and Cardross, marched upon foot along the north- west side of the loch; and after them on horse-back, the Honourable Master John Campble of Mammore, unckle to His Grace the Duke of Argyle, attended by a fine train of the shire, viz. : — Sir Archibald M'Aulay of Ardencaple, Aulay M'Aulay his eldest son, George Naper of Kilmahew, Walter Graham of Kilmardinny, John Colquhoun of Craigtoun, John Stirling of Law, James Hamilton of Barns, with many others, all richly-mounted and well-armed. When the pinnaces and boats, being once got within the mouth of the loch, had spread their sails, and the men on shore had ranged themselves in order, marching along the side of the loch, for scouring the coast, they made altogether so very fine an appearance as had never been seen in that place before, and might have gratified even a curious person. The men on the shore marched with the greatest ardour and alacrity. The pinnaces in the water discharging their pateraroes, and the men their small arms, made so very dreadful a noise through the multiplied rebounding echoes of the vast mountains on both sides of the loch, that perhaps there was never a more lively resemblance of thunder. Against evening they got to Luss, where they came ashore, and were met and joined by Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss, baronet and chief of the name, and James Grant of Pluscarden, his son-in-law, and brother- german to Brigadier Grant, followed by 40 or 50 stately fellows in their short hose and belted plaids, armed each of them with a well-fixed gun on his shoulder, or strong, handsome target, with a sharp-pointed steel, of above half an ell in length, screwed into the navel of it, on his left arm, a sturdy claymore by his side, and a pistol or two, with a durk and knife on his belt. Here the whole company rested all night. In the meantime many reports were brought to them, contrived or at least magnified by the Jacobites, in order to discourage them from the attempt ; such as that M 'Donald of Glengarry, who was indeed lying with his men about Strathfillan, sixteen miles from the head of the loch, had reinforced the M'Gregours, so that they amounted to at least 1500 men, whereas there were not full 400 on the expedition against them. That the loch being narrow at Innersnaat, where the rebels were lying, they might pepper the boats with their shot from the shore without any danger to themselves, being shaded by the rocks and woods. In a word, that it was a desperate project, and would be a throwing away of their lives. But all this could not dishearten these brave men. They knew that the M'Gregours and the Devil are to be dealt with after the same manner, and tliat if they be 1700 TILL 1750. 387 resisted they will flee. Wherefore, on the following morning, being Thursday, the 13th, they went on in their expedition, and about noon came to Innersnaat, the place of danger. In order to rouse these thieves from their dens. Captain Clark loosened one of his great guns and drove a ball through the roof of a house on the face of the mountain, whereupon an old wife or two came crawling out, and scrambled up the hill ; but otherwise there was no appearance of any body of men on the mountains, only some few standing out of reach, on the craggy rocks, looking at them. Whereupon the Paslay men, under the command of Captain Finlayson, assisted by Captain Scott, a half-pay officer, of late a Lieutenant in Collonell Kerr's regiment of dragoons, who is indeed an officer, wise, stout, and honest ; the Dumbarton men, under the command of David Colquhoun and James Duncanson of Garshaik, magistrates of the burgh, with severals of other companies, to the number of an hundred men in all, with the greatest intrepidity leapt on shore, got up to the top of the mountain, and drew up in order, and stood about an hour, their drums beating all the while ; but no enemie appearing, they thereupon went in quest of the boats which the rebels had seized, and having casually lighted on some ropes, anchors, and oars, hid among the shrubs, at length they found the boats drawn up a good way on the land, which they hurled down to the loch ; such of them as were not damaged they carried off with them, and such as were they sunk or hewed in pieces. And that same night they went t6 Luss, and thence next day, without the loss or hurt of so much as one man, to Dumbarton, whence they had first set out altogether, bringing along with them the whole boats they found in their way on either side of the loch, and in the creeks of the isles, and moored them under the cannon of the castle. And thus in a short time, and with little expense, the M'Gregours were cowed, and a way pointed how the government may easily keep them in awe."'^ Instead of the Paisley Volunteers being sent direct to the Royalist camp at Stirling, they " got a new route to march to Glasgow, by order of the Depute-Lieutenant, there to wait farther orders " (Coimcil Records, 5th November, 17 15). The money that had been borrowed for the pay of the Volunteers having apparently been all expended, the Council agreed " that more money will be necessary to be advanced for their payment." They therefore " appointed James Glassford, Bailie, to borrow for that effect the sum of fifty pounds stg. further, that is to be delivered to Charles Simson, writer, and to be laid out by him to the men as formerly " (Cotmcil Records, 5th November, 17 15). On 13th November, 17 15, the battle of Sherifif-Muir, near Dun- blane, was fought between the army of the Royalists, under the command of the Duke of Argyle, and the forces of the Chevalier, ^ The Lochlomond Expedition, p. 6, dated Dumbarton, 15th October, 1715, three days after the expedition. Author unknown. Glasgow, 1 715. 388 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. under the Earl of Mar, with unsatisfactory results, the right wing of both armies being victorious, while the left wings were defeated and put to flight. It was altogether a confused battle, the rebels after- wards retreating to Perth, and the Duke of Argyle returning to his old position at Stirling.^ The Bailies and Council, in addition to providing the volunteers already mentioned, appointed Bailie Paterson to attend " a meeting of the Commissioners of Supply and Justices of Peace within the shire, for outreiking of carriage horse to Stirling, for his Majestie's use." They also — on 17th January, 1716 — agreed on the part of the town, " that Bailie Paterson, with three or four of the Council, buy a good carriage horse, for his Majestie's use, to the best advantage ; and to have him ready, with a man to wait on him, to march to Stirling against Friday next, to attend the Duke of Argyle with the army, and to do what other things was requisite thereanent, and this shall be his warrant." Early in this month (January) the Duke of Argyle received important reinforcements from England. He then had an army under him of 10,000 men, besides a large train of artillery. On 29th January the Duke, with this army, left Stirling in pursuit of the rebels, who retreated to Dundee ; and the Chevalier afterwards, with the Earl of Mar, along with a number of his friends, shame- fully deserted the insurgents, and went on board of a small French vessel lying near the shore at Montrose — quitting Scotland, as has been pithily said, " in safety and disgrace." The rebel army soon afterwards dispersed, thus ending the rebellion of 17 15, or what was commonly called " Mar's year," or " Mar's rebellion," or " The fifteen." The insurrection having been brought to an end, the Bailies and Council "got in from the inhabitants the fifty guns and pateraroes, which were received by order of his Grace the Duke of Argyle, furthe of the castle of Edinburgh, the time of the late rebellion, and for which Bailie Glassford gave his receipt to the Government, and arms they laid up in the high council house, to lye there till the head court" (Council Records, ist October, 1716). On 5th April, in the following year, the Council resolved that the arms and other things received " in the time of Mar's rebellion, should be carried ^ This battle is amusingly described in an old ballad, of which the following is the first verse : — There's some say that we wan, And some say that they wan, And some say that nane wan at a', man ; But o'ae thing I'm sure, That at Sheriff-muir A battle there was that I saw, man ; And we ran, and they ran ; And they ran, and we ran ; And we ran and they ran awa, man. It is stated that this ballad was written by the Rev. Murdoch M'Lennan, minister of Crathie, Deeside, where he died in 17S3. 1700 TILL 1750. 389 down to Renfrew, being the place appointed by the Deputy Lieutenant for that effect, and there to-morrow, the i6th instant, they appoint Matthew Kyle, Bailie, to go along with the same, and to receive BaiUe Glassford his receipt for the same, and they appoint ane declaration to be signed by those who officiate as officers to the volunteers within the said burgh at that time, anent the way and manner of the breaking and losing the arms patronlaghers and others, and the consumption of the powder and ball" (Council Records, 15th April, 17 17). In accordance with this act of Council, Bailie Kyle " went along with the said arms, and delivered the same to Robert Hall, of Fullbarr, who granted receipt for the same, which receipt the said Bailie Kyle transmitted to James Glassford, then at Edinburgh, who delivered the same to James Finlayson, writer, in Edinburgh, and the said James got up his receipt, and accordingly the Council exonered the said Bailie Kyle" (Council Records, 17th May, 17 18). At this period and afterwards the Council sold a number of trees of different kinds, in several parts of the town. On i6th Februar)'-, 1722, "five plain trees in the Sneddon were rouped"; and on 25th November, 1740, "the sauchs within the Sneddon bank enclosure were rouped for the sum of thirteen pounds fourteen shillings" ; and on 8th March, 1745, "the whole of the sauchs in the Sneddon bank were sold for four pounds twelve shillings " (7s. 6d.) On 1 2th February, 1734, the Council sold by public roup all the trees in Aiket's yard,^ which consisted of " the fruit trees at the head of the yard above the buncker " for five pounds Scots (8s. 4d.) ; " the fruit trees on the eastmost rigg " for three pounds Scots (5s.) ; " the fruit trees in the westmost rigg " for one pound ten shillings (2s. 6d.) ; "the westmost ash tree" for forty-two shillings Scots (3s. 6d.) ; " the ash trees next thereto" for fifteen pounds six shillings (^i 5s. 6d.) ; " the westmost two plain trees" for four pounds six shillings (7s. 2d.); and "another ash tree" for five pounds fifteen shilhngs. On 25th October, 1734, " an ash tree in Aiket's yard " sold for eight shillings and sixpence Scots (8^d.) ; and on the same day "a birk tree lying there" sold for five shillings Scots (sd.) In the early part of this century, the moss lands belonging to the town must have been subjected to some operations for the reclaiming of them and the formation of roads. On 6th September, 17 1 7, the Town Council sold "to John Story, by way of roup, seven dozen of moss kebers, at three shillings and sixpence the dozen." It must have been at this time, in the casting of peats by the burgesses, that they came into possession of so many " moss kebers" or trunks of trees which had been lying there since the time the moss ceased to be an extensive forest. The Town Council bought from " Robert Alexander of Newton, 1 So called, it is believed, from having belonged at one time to Mr. Cunningham of Aiket Castle, in the parish of Diuilop, Ayrshire. 390 HISTORY UF PAISLEY. the yard called Aiket's yard, with an acre and three roods of land in Causeyside, with some houses and yards there." This purchase was made, they state, in the " consideration how necessary and advantageous it would be for the inhabitants and burgesses for enlarging the town and accommodating the inhabitants (whose number are of late increased) with houses, that a new street be made from the head of Aiket's yard, next to the meal market, to the Causeyside, through the said lands" (Council Records^ T2th March, 1734). The selling of the trees there was preparatory to the feuing of the ground for the building of houses, and the formation of a street " of seven elnes in breadth," which was afterwards named New Street. The most important purchase of land made by the Council during the i8th century, was that of the valuable and extensive estate of Ferguslie. On the 4th July, 1748, they authorised John Hart, one of the present Bailies, and Robert Fulton, late Bailie, to go to Edinburgh, and at the public roup, to take place there on the 6th of that month, to purchase these lands for behoof of the town. At a meeting of Council, held on the 9th of that month, they reported that they had bought Ferguslie estate for the sum of 33,000 pounds scots (^2,750), and of this the Council approved. It is interesting to observe the rates at which the Council let their land in small quantities to the inhabitants. A field called the " eleven acres" was let by pubhc roup, on 17th August, 1722, in lots of one acre each, " to be laboured for eleven years." The annual rent ranged from 15 pounds Scots (25s.) to 20 pounds Scots (33s. 4d.) At other times the grass within the Hutt, on the Sneddon bank, within and \vithout the enclosure of the Hutt, the Clay Holes, Gallowgreen, and the Goves, were let ; but as the extent of ground is not stated in any case, the records convey no information as to their value. On 28th April, 1732, the Council always anxious to check immorality, " statute and ordain that in all time coming, no person that is under mala fama shall have liberty to take any of the town's lands or goods or possess the same." The different properties belonging to the community were let, by public roup, for one year, on 26th January, 1733. The custom of the meal market, at 42 pounds ^ raerk {£1 los. 6^Sd.). Troan and custom booth, 2 pounds half a merk {£q 3s. lo^-sd.). Custom of the Bridge, for 17 pounds scots {£\ 8s. 4d.). Custom of the two old fairs, for 30 pounds and a merk scots {£2 IIS. i>id.). Custom of the two new fairs, for ten pounds ten shillings (^o 17s. 6d.). Eastmost shop beneath the steeple, for three pounds twelve shillings {^o 6s. od. stg.). Shop beneath the Tollbooth stair, for seven years, for eight pounds six shillings scots (^o 13s. lod. stg.). 1700 TILL 1750. 391 Westmost shop beneath the steeple, for three pounds six shiUings (^o 5s. 6d. stg.). For the convenience of the inhabitants, the Town Council, according to the following act, lent out on hire some of their working utensils. '■'■ Act anent Borrotoing of the Town's Utensils." — nth April, 1726. — " The said day they enact that any burgess within the Burgh of Paisley that shall borrow any of the Town's utensils, shall give a pledge for restoring of the same, and shall pay for the liberty of the Town's ladders, six pennies per day ()^d.), and for the wheel barrows, eight pennies per day" (T^d.). At this time the Dove-cot in the Sneddon still remained. On 30th January, 17 19, "it was rouped and sett for seven years, entry to the Doves at Candlemas next, and to the fuilsie or dung at Beltane thereafter, to John Muir, weaver, in Sneddon, for the sum of twenty-eight pounds ten shillings scots money (47s. 6d.). On 5th January, 1734, it was rouped for seven years, on the same con- ditions, for thirty-one pounds scots (^2 us. 8d.). On 2nd February, 1741, for seven years, at twenty-four pounds {£,2 os. od.); and on 29th January, 1748, for one year, at twelve pounds eighteen shillings scots {jP^x is. 6d.). The number of Doves at these different periods is not stated. The Dove-cot is not mentioned again in the Council Records, and it is likely the greatly reduced annual rent, combined with the demand for ground to build houses upon at this time, led to the removal of that ancient landmark in the town. The Almshouse continued to be open for the reception of well- behaved poor old men. On 29th December, 17 19, "Thomas Pasley, weaver, and burgess of Paisley, was, in compliance with his petition," granted the liberty of the Almshouse ; " and the Council do confer upon him the quarterly salary that is allowed to each hospital man on his entry to the benefice." On 13th April, 1722, " James Luke, one of the hospital men, and having duly five merks (5s. 6yzd..) quarterly, upon the account of his deplorable condition, to have ten merks (us. i^d.) quarterly, and that James Snodgrass shall have five merks quarterly (5s. Oyzd.), paid to him." About this time the Almshouse buildings became ruinous, and were found besides not sufficiently commodious. The Town Council, therefore, agreed that they should " be demolished and rebuilt with a steeple, bell, and clock" {Conncil Records, 3rd May, 1723). Seven days afterwards, the Council appointed Geo. Storie, one of the Bailies, to buy what timber shall be found necessary with respect to the rebuilding of the Almshouse, and to take to his assistance to that effect foresaid, any wright within the burgh whom he shall think fit." He was also empowered, with the concurrence of a committee of Council, " to enter into a contract with John Hart, mason, anent the rebuilding of the said Almshouse." On the 5th November, in the same year, the Council appointed the Baihes "to write to James 392 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. Brakenrigg, in Gorbals, of Glasgow, in order to the making of a clock for the steeple of the Almshouse, and to agree with him for the price thereof." On 24th April, the Council "allowed to John Craig, one of the hospital men, five merks scots (5s. 6^36..), formerly- paid to Matthew Bain, who is discharged." On 2nd October, in this year, the Council "paid fifty pounds scots (;^4 3s. 4d.) to Th^- Adam, wright, which, with fifty pounds formerly received, completes the agreement anent the wright work." On the same day " they examined the accounts of John Hart, mason, for rebuilding the almshouse, and laying of stepping-stones, together with the payments made to him, they find the Town of Paisley stands debtor to him in the sum of 190 pounds scots" (^15 6s. 8d.). The customs of the four fairs were let every year by public roup. The two fiiirs that were established by King James IV., in 1488, were called the two old fairs, and were let together, — while the customs of the two fairs, fixed by Act of Parliament near the end of last century, were called the two new fairs, and were also let together. On 29th January, 1720, the customs of the two old fairs were let, by public roup, for one year, at twenty pounds scots (;^i 13s. 4d.); and the customs of the two new fairs, at seven pounds scots (iis. 8d.). In 1733, the customs of the two old fairs, were let at thirty pounds one merk ; and the two new fairs, at seven pounds ten shillings scots (12s. 6d.). On 25th January, 1727, " the Council statute and ordain the fair called the May fair shall be holden yearly upon the first Thursday of May." In regulating the business connected with the different markets, the Town Council exerted themselves to protect what they con- ceived to be the privileges of the burgesses, and anything tending to their advantage. One of their acts was to " discharge all persons who were not Burgesses to buy any cloth, yarn, or such like from any person before the same is exposed to the public in the market, with certification to them if they do in the contrary hereafter they will be punished according to their demerit " ( Coimcil Records^ 5th May, 1704). They likewise, annually, appointed visitors for the different markets, whose duty it was to inspect them regularly, to see that the goods exposed for sale were of good quality, and were sold at prices not exceeding what had been fixed. There were generally two members of Council selected for each market, which were the meal market, flesh market,^ malt market, iron market, shoe market, and hyde market. There were also visitors appointed in matters relating to wheat bread, measures and weights of every kind, thread and thread reills, bad ^ In the following extract occurs alibt of the weights and measures in the Meal Market, on 3rd February, 1707: — "Twelve balks, five broads, three buckets, and sixteen weighing pecks, whereof six are iron girthed, two of which iron girthed pecks want the bottom, and are to be bottomed, and fourteen half-stone weights, two quarter weights, and one two pound weight. Together with tliirteen metting jiecks, all which are now instantly delivered to John I'errie, as also four new half pecks with fourt pairts in the end thereof." lyoo TILL 1750. 393 yarns and cloth insufficiently wrought, and ill-counted yarn and reels ; for the latter there were two persons appointed, not necessarily members of Council, for each of the Townhead, Barnyard, Moss Raw, and Calsaside districts. There were also two members of Council appointed to take charge of the poor roll. From the beginning of the eighteenth century till 1740, the poor in Paisley were supported from the profits arising from the hiring out of the mortcloths, from funds supplied by the I'own Council and by the benevolence of private persons. The poor roll in May, 1720, formed a charge of ^24 14s. od. Scots (;^2 is. 2d.) In January, 1721, of ^^31 4s. od. Scots {£^2 12s. od.) In April, 1722, of ;z^25 2S. od. Scots (;^2 IS. lod.) In January, 1734, of ;^3o i2S. od. Scots (;^2 I2S. od.) In 1740 the population had greatly increased, being then about 4000, and the number of poor people had increased apparently in a greater ratio than formerly. The Council were therefore under the necessity, at this time, of making new and permanent arrangements, not only for the raising of funds to support the poor, but also for the proper management of everything connected with them. They first of all, with the view of checking the influx of vagrant poor into the town, and also for the new and important action of appointing Stent- masters, passed the following resolution, dated 25th January, 1740:— " The Bailies and Council taking into their serious consideration the great oppression the place is under, by stranger and vagrant poor that daily creep into the place and become a burden to it, and stroll a-begging through it, do hereby, in order to prevent the inconveniency in time coming, ordain and appoint that no Land- lords shall receive into their houses any strangers likely to become a burden to the place, or keep in their houses strangers, under the penalty of ten pounds Scots toties qiiotics, and do also appoint a list of their own proper poor, within the town, to be taken up, and of the inhabitants who are able to contribute of their substance, in order to their being stented for the maintenance of their foresaid poor ; and that the magistrates shall be hereby empowered to appoint stentmasters to the eftect foresaid, and that every inhabitant shall be obliged to pay according as they are stented, and the said Bailies and Council hereby discharge begging from door to door." On the 25th April following, they adopted a series of regulations anent maintaining the poor, to the effect " that the overseers of the poor, with the assistance of the kirk session, shall make out a list of the town's proper poor, with an estimate of what will be requisite to maintain them. That a list of all the inhabitants who are able to contribute towards supporting the poor shall also be taken, in order to their being stented conform to their substance, circumstances, and trades. That seven stent masters shall be chosen by the Town Council, and empowered to call to their assistance any whom they may think able to give them information. That collectors shall be 394 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. appointed to uplift and pay the poor. One collector for the north side of the town, Moss Raw and Seedhill ; another for the south side of the town, New Street, Calsieside, and St. Mirin's Wynd. If the Council see fit, they may choose one collector. That the collectors shall be allowed to use summary execution upon the persons stented, either by imprisonment or poinding, and shall be assisted by the town's ofiicers. That the upliftings and disbursements shall be made up monthly, quarterly, half yearly, or yearly as required, and their accounts publicly exposed in the news-room, the first Friday of each quarter of a year, that all concerned may have access to in- spect the same, betwixt the hours of two and four in the afternoon. That the stent masters, with the advice of the minister and members of session, shall give to the poor as they may see fit, and the stent masters are empowered to add to the stent or diminish therefrom as shall be needful. That the streets be kept clear of strolling and vagrant beggars, and that now beg from door to door. That two or more of the poor be maintained, who shall be chosen by the magistrates, and shall be obliged to accept the same employ, under pain of being deprived of the maintenance allotted to them, and of being expelled out of the town, or otherwise punished, as the magis- trates shall see fit. That young children shall be maintained, either along with their parents or otherwise, till the age of seven years, and shall then be put out as to\\Ti or parish apprentices for meat and clothing to any family who is willing to receive them, or be placed by house roll at the sight of the magistrates and overseers of the poor till they be of the age of 21 years if males, and of the age of 19 years if females; and upon their staying with their respective masters or assignees till the expiration of these years, their said masters or assignees shall be obliged to furnish them in a suit of new clothes, woollen and linen, with shoes and a week's provisions; and their respective masters shall teach them to read during the time of their service. That such as do not go so soon out as apprentices, shall be obliged to serve for meat and clothing as many years above fourteen, if males, as they go out under fourteen ; and if females, as many years above thirteen as they go out to their service of apprenticeship under thirteen years. On the same day the Council appointed Robert Patison, James Wallace, maltman, and Mr. John Baird, William Birkmyre, and John Wilson, merchants, John Robison, younger, and John Pasley, younger, weavers, to be stent masters, and William Lang and James ]\Iartin, merchants, to be collectors." There was thus laid the basis on which thereafter was regulated the management of the poor in Paisley for upwards of a century ; and we have given the names of the first stent masters, who, no doubt, with their successors throughout the same long period of time, found they had undertaken a difficult and ill-requited, but at the same time a necessary and benevolent labour for behoof of the inhabitants. In consequence of a petition from some of the inhabitants who lyoo TILL 1750. 395 made and sold candles, the Bailies and Council, on 8th April, 1721, prohibited " the fleshers from exporting of their tallow furth of the town for all time coming, under the penalty of forty shillings Scots money (3s. 4d.) for each contravention ioties quoties" but at the same time provided " that the petitioners are and shall be obliged to furnish the community with candles at all occasions under the like penalty, and they paying to the fleshers for their tallow accord- ing to the Glasgow statute." There appears at this time to have been ten rooms in the slaughter-house, which were on 12th May, 1722, let by public roup for a year at rents varying from three pounds Scots (5s.) to thirteen pounds Scots (/^i is. 8d). On 27th October, 1726, the flesh market dues were rouped for a year at four score two pounds forty pennies Scots {£,"]). We have already shown that the number of persons engaged in the weaving trade at the end of the previous century in Paisley and the neighbouring villages, was very considerable. In Paisley alone, in 1695, when the survey for the poll tax was taken, there were 66 weavers, and in the Abbey Parish 32 weavers. After the union of Scotland with England, the intercourse between the two nations greatly increased, and instead of the dealers or packmen confining their attention to the local markets, they went to England, where there was a great demand for the goods and prices were much better. These travelling merchants also found in this way numerous opportunities for observing what kind of goods Avas mostly wanted, and how the manufacture of them could be improved. George Crawfurd, the historian of the shire of Renfrew, in 1710, states (page 40) regarding Paisley "that which renders this place consider- able is its trade of linnen and muslin, where there is a great weekly sale in its merkets of those sorts of cloath ; many of their inhabitants being chiefly employed in that sort of manufactory." The other kind of goods made afterwards was what was called Bengals, in imitation of the striped muslins made by the manufacturers of Hindostan, and coarse linen checks. About 1730 the weaving trade greatly extended, and became very prosperous, principally in the making of check handkerchiefs ; to this branch afterwards succeeded the making of light goods of every description, such as plain, striped, spotted, and figured, clear lawns ; and bordered, plain, and spotted handkerchiefs. Altogether, before the middle of last century, the weaving trade had, through the ingenuity, perseverance, and activity of those engaged in it, been greatly increased, and had carried the name of Paisley throughout the land. The manufacture of sewing thread, now such an important and ex- tensive branch of trade, was first commenced at Bargarran, in the parish of Erskine. In 1 7 1 8, Christian Schaw, so notorious in connec- tion with the witchcraft case at the end of the preceding century, married the Rev. John Miller of Kilmaurs, who received his licence to preach from the Presbytery of Paisley. When on a visit to Bargarran, about 1721, he died, and was interred in Erskine church- yard. Mrs. Miller then took up her abode at first with her mother, 396 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. at Bargarran, and afterwards at Johnstone. The story of the introduction of the Bargarran sewing thread into this country is short and simple. Mrs. Miller, who was ingenious, and possessed abilities of no ordinary kind, acquired great skill in the spinning of very fine linen yarn, which she afterwards, by much perseverance, converted into thread. To secure perfect purity and whiteness, it is said, one of her experiments was, to bleach the thread upon a large slate at a window of the house. She succeeded so well in the making of this thread, that a parcel of it was shown to Lady Blantyre, who took it to Bath, where it was much approved and was bought readily, at good prices, by some manufacturers of lace. Through the kindness of an acquaintance, who was going to Holland, she obtained one of the thread mills used there which turned twelve bobbins. He also, when at Campvere, where the thread business had hitherto been carried on with great skill and success, learned all the particulars relating to its manufacture. All this information was communicated to Mrs. Miller, who, with the assistance of her mother, younger sisters, and others in the neigh- bourhood, soon built up a successful and profitable business. Shortly afterwards, the making of this thread was also commenced in Paisley, thereby causing some little competition. To meet this rivalry, the Bargarran thread, setting forth its excellence, was advertised in the Edinburgh newspapers. The following is a copy of the advertisement : — " The Lady Bargarren and her daughters having attained to a great perfection in making, whitening, and twisting of Saving Thread, which is cheap, and white, and known by ex- perience to be much stronger than the Dutch ; to prevent people's being imposed upon by other thread, which may be sold under the name ' Bargarren Thread,' the papers in which the Lady Bargarren, and her daughters, at Bargarren, or INIrs. Miller, her eldest daughter (Christian, now a widow), at Johnstone, do put their thread, shall, for direction, have thereupon their coat of arms azure three covered cups or. Those who want the said thread, which is to be sold from five pence to six shillings per ounce, may WTite to the Lady Bargarren, at Bar- garren, or Mrs. Miller, at Johnstone, near Paisley, to the care of the Postmaster at Glasgow ; and may call for the samen, in Edin- burgh, at John Seton, merchant, his shop in the Parliament close, where they will be served either in wholesale or retail ; and will be served in the same manner at Glasgow, by William Selkirk, mer- chant, in Trongate." Those in Paisley who followed the example set them at Bargarran in the making of this thread, secured the services of an ingenious Wright there, to construct machines that turned twenty-four bobbins instead of twelve. At this early stage the machines were all dri\en 1700 TILL 1750. 397 by manual labour. Such was the beginning of this branch of industry in the town. In the first half of last century the trade gradually and continuously advanced, till, in 1 744, there were 93 mills or machines in operation for twining thread. While the Abercorn family lived in the Abbey buildings, the space between the River Cart and the Abbey was used as a bleaching green by the inhabitants. Shortly after the Dundonald family came to reside there, they objected to the washing and bleaching of clothes at that place, on the ground that the property belonged to them. The dispute about this privilege claimed by the inhabitants, first came before the Council on 23rd February, 1655, when they appointed one of the Bailies and some of the Councillors, along with the Clerk, as a deputation to wait on Lady Cochran, but they were unsuccessful in bringing matters to a peaceful termination. Ultimately, the Council resolved, on 22nd March, 1655, "that letters of Law Burrows shall be sent for against my Lord Cochran, his Lady, the Master, and their followers." In the meantime, the Council "concluded, on 29th March, 1655, to go to the bleaching green, betwixt the Abbey chambers and the water where the town's knocking stones are cast down, and set up the same again, and to make a civil interruption." Shortly afterwards. Lord Cochran withdrew his opposition to the inhabitants bleaching clothes there, and harmony prevailed among all parties, on this matter, for a long time thereafter. In 1736, however, the Council were again under the necessity of interfering to protect the inhabi- tants, in consequence of the procedure of Lord Dundonald. At that time Bailie Reill was instructed by the Council, on the i8th June, 1736, "to take an instrument against Thomas, Earl of Dundonald, to desist and cease from troubling and molesting the heritors, burgesses, and inhabitants of Paisley, in their possession of the Abbey green, lying on the east of the water of Cart, above the bridge of Paisley, and westward from the east end of the bridge of Paisley and Mustard yard dyke ; and to remove the rail placed by his Lordship thereupon ; and that he might not appropriate the right of the said green, whether of property or commonty of the same ; and to protest for cost, skaith, damage, and remedy in law, if the Earl did not comply therewith ; the said Matthew Reill reports to the aforesaid Council, that he had instrumented the said Earl, and took a protest against him accordingly." This subject is not again referred to, and we do not know how the matter was disposed of In this period very little is stated regarding the improving of the streets ; and we infer that very little was done in that way. On 28th January, 1709, the Council agreed, "that calsies in the town to be new laid, viz., from Craig's middle door, within the port, to George Waterston's stairfoot, without the port." Following out the opening of New street, and the feuing of the ground on each side, Mr. James Fulton, proprietor of the Orchard, formerly connected with the Abbey, intimated to the Town Council, " that he had sold and alienated part of the lands of Orchard yard, which pertained to 398 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. him, to different persons, seYeral portions and divisions ; and, mter alia, that he had sold several tenements, or steadings, reaching from the east to the west side of Orchard yard ; and had saved 18)^ feet in breadth, as a vacuum between the steadings on the north and south, for a street or lane, leading from the Causeyside to Church- hill" (Council Records, 22nd July, 1746). There were, likewise, few resolutions passed at this time relating to the improvement of the condition of the town in sanitary matters. It appears that many of the chimney heads, or " lum heads," as they were called, were built very low, on a level, indeed, with the ridges of the houses, and they were apt, therefore, to cause damage by fire. The Magistrates and Council accordingly resolved, on loth June, 1729, "that whatsomever Heritors and Tenementars having office, or house, whose lum heads are equal with the rigging, shall raise or lengthen their respective lum heads two feet above the rigging, against the first September next to come, under the penalty of ten pounds scots (i6s. 8d.); and that every inhabitant shall cleanse their lums once quarterly, under the like penalty; and those presents to be intimated by teuk of drum." A serious accusation was made by some of the inhabitants in Causeyside, whose yards adjoined the Espedair, regarding the pollution of that burn. They complained that some of the persons — in the bleaching of cloth and yarn there — had " been guilty of a very bad practice of steeping their cloth and yarn in cows dung, and thereafter throwing the same into the burn, and also of their sapples and other filth, whereby the burn was rendered useless to those that were below them, the water being turned so nasty and foul, that they could not make any use of the same for bleaching and cleaning of cloth and yarn, to their great detriment, and to the disadvantage of the whole town." The Bailies and Council, on 26th January, 1733, prohibited this practice, under a penalty of forty shillings Scots (3s. 4d.), and intimated the same by tuck of drum. The town had by this time commenced to extend so much that the ports were no longer on its boundary. Other streets, such as New Street, also formed approaches to the centre of the town with- out the intervention of a port. The time had arrived when the ports were not only useless, but were actually an interruption to those streets in which they were placed. The first of the ports that was doomed was what was called the " Water Port," in St. Mirin's Wynd. John Renfrew, smith, and John Stewart, one of the masters of the Grammar School, having acquired two tenements adjoining that port, petitioned the Town Council to remove it. because, being in a ruinous state, it interferred with the improvements they proposed to make. The Council at once agreed, on 5th December, 1733, "that the port be taken down, and the stones thereof sold." Six days afterwards the stones were sold by public roup, and realised eight pounds Scots (13s. 4d.) Thus disappeared the first of these ancient landmarks belonging to the town. The community were the owners of a lint mill, which was "sett" lyoo TILL 1750. 399 from time to time by public roup. It is very likely they acquired it in order to encourage the trade of the town, in so far as the pre- paration of coarse yarn for linen thread was concerned. In the different records of its being let, it is not stated where it was situated. A mill wheel is, however, sometimes alluded to, and we believe its situation was on the west side of the river Cart, adjoining the water- fall at the Saucel. The first time it was let was ist July, 1726, for seven years, at the annual rent of ninety-eight pounds (^8 3s. 4d.) The last time it was let was on 7th July, 1749, at the rent of ;j^5 stg. The mill was frequently in want of repair, the tenants never remained long, and being a source of annoyance to the Town Council, it would likely be sold shortly after the date last mentioned. On 25th June, 1733, the mill "being in disrepair, the trustees for encouraging manufactures seem to incline to grant a premium for bringing the said mill to perfection," and the Council authorised the Bailies to " act thereanent as they shall deem most expedient in petitioning the said trustees for that effect." This matter is not afterwards referred to, and the application was probably unsuccess- ful. By this time the use of wheaten bread must have been coming into more general use among the inhabitants, for on 23rd January, 1733, the Bailies and Council "discharged all inbringers of wheat bread to sell the same upon any day in the week except only upon the market day, under the penalty of forty shillings Scots " (3s. 4d.) As early as 1730 the Town Council maintained a news-room " for the behoof" of the town. It appears there was at least one news- paper got for it, and that was the Edinburgh Coitrant, published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The only other newspaper published at that time in Scotland was the Glasgotv Joumal, but no reference is made to it in the Council records. It was very likely got, however, for the news-room also, but paid for in such a way as not to require any entry in the records. The paying for a news- paper first appears in the Council records on 26th January, 1733, when William Birkmyre, treasurer, gave in a receipt for the year's news for the behoof of the town "of Paisley, from 12th October, 1730, on to the 12th October, 1732, being ^1 6s. stg., which is placed in the treasurer — his account of this quarter." The records show in subsequent payments of this kind, which come down to 1744, when they cease, that they were made for the Edinburgh Courant. This news-room would likely be somewhere about the Tollbooth buildings, and must have been a place to which the inhabi- tants resorted. When the series of regulations was made regarding the maintenance of the poor, one of them provides that the collectors' account " of the uplifting and disbursements," after being made up, " shall be publicly exposed in the news-room, the first Friday of each quarter of a year" (Council Records^ 25th April, 1740). A fire took place in 1729, in Causeyside, when the houses of 130 families were destroyed. But it was on Saturday, 2nd June, 1733, that Paisley was visited by a most calamitous fire. The Council 400 HISTORY OF PAISLF.V. Records of 13th July, 1733, state "that a fire broke out at the head of the shoe market, whereby seventy-five or eighty famiHes were burnt out of their houses, and the whole wynd called St. Mirren's Street, on both sides of the street, and from the tenement of the deceased Robert Park, on the one side of the street, at the Cross, and the tenement of James Maxwell of Merksworth, on the other, all below these to the bridge are laid in ashes, which being a very con- siderable and wealthy part of the town, the loss thereby sustained amounts to a very great sum." Another record ( JV. Seinple's History of Retifreivshire) says "that the conflagration was kindled in Mr. Campbell the then surgeon's shop, head of St. Mirren Wynd," on the east side, and burned the houses on both sides of that street, with a part of Causeyside, both sides of the High Street from the Cross to the Old Bridge, the east side and part of the north side of Cross where Gilmour Street is now. There were 31 houses burned, ren- dering from 70 to 80 families or about 400 persons houseless, out of a population of 3400. There being no insurances against fire in those days, the sufferers, in their distress, had nothing to assist them but the sympathy and support of the public. The Bailies and Council presented a petition to the Presbytery, beseeching them to give their authority for granting voluntary con- tributions being made, on behalf of the sufferers by the fire, in the different parish churches with which they were connected. The Presbytery readily granted the prayer of the petition, and passed a resolution accordingly, when the sums stated below were received : — Eastwood, ... Erskine, Greenock, ... Houston, Inchinnan, ... Inverkip, Kilbarchan, . . . Killellan, Kilmalcolm, Lochwinnoch, Paisley, Port-Glasgow, Renfrew, In all, ^180 16 iT>^ Glasgow, also, with a noble generosity, equal to that which it shows at the present day, assisted those who had suffered by the fire, as the following extract from the Council records of the city testifies, 14th June, 1733 : — "Which day the magistrates represented that, considering the deplorable circumstances of many of the inhabitants of the burgh of Paisley, by which they are reduced by the violent conflagration by fire, which happened there on the second instant, whereby in a few ■ - ^12 18 8 15 I 5 6 3 6 8 6 10 20 5 II II 7 5 7 5 61 I 8^ 12 13 2 20 lyoo TILL 1750. 401 hours a third or fourth part of the town was laid in ashes, and many famihes dislodged and their effects consumed, The said magistrates, out of charity and compassion, and for a present help and relief to such of the sufferers as are reduced to want and indigence, did recom- mend to the inhabitants of this burgh for a voluntary contribution throw the city for the present relief, and supply of the saids sufferers, and recommend to the sessions of this city to nominate fitt persons of their number, as they should think necessary, for ingathering the said contributions, and the same to be paid in by him to the Baihes of Paisley, to be distributed, which being heard by the Council, they approved ; and, furder, ordain John Craig, thesaurer, out of the town's common good, to pay into the Bailies of Paisley, or any of them to the end foresaid, fourty pounds Sterling money." We have no means of knowing how much was contributed by the inhabitants of Glasgow, but we have no doubt it w^as very consider- able. There is every likelihood, also, that the families which suffered so severely from this disastrous fire, received assistance from more distant places, as did the inhabitants of Kilmarnock in a similar case already referred to. Both before and after this time it was the custom for towns to aid one another Avhen the inhabitants suffered from destructive fires. In 1 748, after a great fire in Hamilton, money was, by the orders of the Town Council, collected from house to house within the burgh of Paisley, towards the relief of the sufferers, and the sum of ^35 2s. 4d. was obtained (Coimcil Records, loth September, 1748). In the following year there was a great fire in Gorbals, Glasgow, and the inhabitants of Paisley raised ^51 os. 6d. towards the relief of the sufferers (Council Records, 22nd August, 1749). After a considerable fire in New- burgh, in 1685, the sufferers applied to the Lords of the Privy Coun- cil, beseeching them to give authority for a voluntary contribution being made on their behalf in the parish churches of the neighbour- ing shires. The Council passed an act accordingly (Lindores Abbey, p. 257). In Newburgh, on 26th May, 1656, a collection was made in the parish Church " for the brunt lands in Edinburgh." The sum received was five pounds ten shillings, but it w^as made up out of the box to six pounds (Lindores Abbey, p. 239). The Bailies and Council of Paisley, in order to guard against the occurrence of fires, passed, on 13th July, 1733, some excellent regulations regarding the construction of houses to be built there- after. They are as follows : — " Considering that the streets of this burgh are very strait and nar- row in many places which cannot easily be made wider and brodder, and that a great many houses fronting to the street are thatched with straw or heather, and some of them built with timber fronts, which are ready fuel to the fire in such conflagration, that when such accidents have happened, all means used for preventing the spreading thereof have proved ineffectual, Do therefore enact and ordain that no person build houses fronting to the street in time B I 402 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. coming within the ports of this burgh or the places where the ports were, but such as shall be built of stone walls both back and fore, covered on the roof with slate, tile, lead, or stone, and that all houses which are at present ruinous, or shall hereafter become ruinous, be built and covered in manner foresaid, and that all houses of two storeys high fronting to the street, hereafter to be built or repaired, without the said ports, shall in like manner be built of stone and covered with slate, tile, lead, or stone in manner foresaid." It will be observed that a great many of the houses in the town at this time were covered " with straw and heather, and some of them were built with timber fronts." Although St. Mirin's Wynd was only fifteen feet in width, yet these regulations did not provide for any increase in the breadth, and thereby an excellent opportunity of street improvement was lost. These regulations were not, however, enforced particularly as regards the covering of the roofs of the houses, for more than one of them, on the east side of St. INIirin Street, are at the present day covered with straw. At this time the Town Council let to George Storie, late BaiHe, for a period of five years, " the coal within the unarable ground in that part called Gallowgreen." The rent for the first year was to be 104^ merks (^s ^^s. i^d.) and 209 merks (^11 12s. 2^d.) yearly thereafter "( Coiaui/ ^Records, 24th January, 1735). Without any reason being assigned, George Storie, in December in the following year, abandoned his lease, and the " coal heugh " was let, by public roup, to Thomas Kerr, elder, merchant, for three years, at the annual rent of 180 pounds Scots. At the end of the first year he gave up his lease, as he was entitled to do, and the Council arranged with him to take the management of the Avorkings. During the first year he expended ^73 us. 3d., which " included the expense for cleaning an old shank at the foot of the Gallowgreen, and going farther down and searching for coal, wherein no workable coal could be found, and striking through the gaw in the present going shank, the ordinary of which amounted to ^15." On the other hand, the coal sold amounted to ;^5i is. od., and the Council paid the difterence of ;^22 los. 3d., and continued him in the management till Beltane next (Coimcil Records, 3rd October, 1737)- The records are silent about the coal heugh till 2nd October, 1741, w^hen it was let to James Maxwell, Hutthead, for a year, at ^^ 15s. ; and on the 2Sth September in the following year it was let to John Smith, merchant, for three years, at ;^8 I2S. 6d. This tenant completed his lease, and it was afterwards let in 1745 for j[^^ 3s. od. And in the same year, to a new tenant, for 52 pounds Scots. Another tenant had the heugh from ist October, 1748, at 12 pounds or ^i Stg. From having had so many tenants, and few of them completing their leases, the coal heugh appears to have been an unprofitable affair. The perseverance of the Town Council and of their tacksmen was very praiseworthy, lyoo Tii.i. 1750. 403 particularly when their eftbrts were attended with so little success. On nth May, 1750, it was let to William Morrison, merchant, Paisley, for seven years, at j£s of rent yearly, under the condition of being " free of the tack at the end of each year." This tenant appears to have been in possession for about a year only, as on 17th June, 1751, the Council "ordain the coal heugh in Gallow- green to be rouped and set for seven years,"' on the 28th of this month, coupled with the previous condition of the tenant being " free at the end of each year." This is the last reference in the Council records to these coal workings, and it is very probable no one came forward at the roup to make an offer, so that they would be altogether abandoned. Prior to 1738, the Abbey was the only place of worship in this district. On the 1 2th February, 1733, at a meeting of Town Council, " the Magistrates and Council having considered the many applica- tions made to them by the generality of the heritors, and burgesses, and inhabitants of the said burgh, for a new church or house of worship of God, and for a minister or ministers to serve the cure thereat, within the terrritories of the burgh, for the accommodation of the said inhabitants and their families, who neither are nor can be accommodated within the Abbey Church, wliich is the only church of the parish of Paisley, in which parisli the burgh lies ; and particularly, having considered a signed petition sent in to them in the year 1730 by several incorporations of the said town, setting forth the many inconveniences and dismall consequences arising from the want of accommodation for the benefits of publick orden- ances, and praying for relief; and the Magistrates and Town Coun- cil having for many years bygone had that subject under their deli- berations, both in Council and at many and frequent meetings with the inhabitants ; and having good ground to expect liberal contri- butions from these inhabitants and other wellwishers for enabling them to provide a new church, and a minister or ministers to serve the cure thereat ; and being willing to satisfy the just desires of their inhabitants in a matter in itself so absolutely necessary ; and having had several communings with the Right Honourable Thomas Earle of Dundonald, titular of the teinds and patron of the parish and parish kirk of Paisley, in relation thereto, and with other noble and honourable persons, heritors of the said parish of Paisley, — they, the said Magistrates and Town Council, have unanimously agreed to the terms and conditions after-mentioned." These terms and conditions were those embodied in a contract of the same date as the foregoing minute of Council, entered into between the Magistrates and Council and Earl of Dundonald, whereby the said Earl, "for the soume of one thousand merks (^55 ns. id.) Scots instantly advanced, paid, and delivered to him be the said Bailies and Council," consented " to the creation and planting of new churches within the territory of the burgh of Paisley," and " disponed to the Magistrates and Council the patronage of said churches and 404 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. the disposal, during the vacancies, of any fund which should be pro- vided by the burgh for stipends, communion elements, manses, and glebes. On the other hand, the Magistrates and Town Council, on behalf of the burgh, obliged themselves to relieve the patron of all obligation to make provision for these ministers, or to build or up- hold the churches, and they further bound themselves to provide each of the ministers of the new erection with a stipend not under looo merks and a glebe. The Presbytery passed an act in January, 1736, finding it most necessary that a new church or churches be erected in the town of Paisley. Thereafter a process was brought at the instance of the Presbytery, of the procurator of the Church, of the Magistrates and Council of the burgh, of the patron, and a number of the heritors, before the Tiend Court, who, on 7th July, 1736, w.th consent of all parties, pronounced an interlocutor de- cerning f( r the erections in terms similar to those specified in the original agreement. In consequence of the arrangements thus entered into, the first parish church of the burgh of Paisley, called the Low Church, was erected in 1736. A contract was previously entered into with the inhabitants by the Magistrates, whereby the latter bound themselves, on subscriptions being made to the extent of ^1500 to obtain the decree of erection, to build a convenient church. The Town Council entered into a contract with James Baird and John Hart, masons, " to build a new church upon that piece of ground bought from Robert Alexander of Newton, called the meikle yard," at the rate of ^5 los. a rood, and to be supplied with lime, sand, and rock, which they were to work themselves. The foundation-stone was laid 13th May, 1736. When the mason work of the church was finished, it amounted to ^155 12s. 6d; but as the contractors were losers by the transaction, the Council allowed them;^25 additional, making the whole sum ;!^i83 12s. 6d. Un- fortunately, all the other tradesmen's accounts are awanting, and no record of them can be found. One writer — the Rev. J. Mac- naughtan, in a publication in 1834 — has estimated the total cost at ^525, and another — Mr. Hugh Macfarlane, in a publication in 1835 — at ;j^95o. Such was the enthusiasm of the inhabitants to have this church, that instead of subscribing ;^i5oo as agreed upon, the subscriptions amounted to ;^i934 5s. At that time the population of Paisley was about 3500. The church con- tained 13 1 8 sittings, 982 of which were allocated to those who had subscribed the money, and 336 were retained for the com- munity. The church was finished in 1738, and Mr. Robert Mitchell was translated from the second charge of the Abbey of Paisley to the new church in the same year. His stipend was at first 1000 merks (^55 IIS. id.), and the Council paid an assistant to Mr. Mitchell, "in respect of his great charge and uncertain health." On 20th Feb- ruary, 1740, Mr. Peter Scott was appointed assistant and successor to Mr. Mitchell, with a stipend of 600 merks (£33 6s. 8d.), and in full of manse and glebe. Mr. Mitchell died in 1747, and 500 merks 1700 TILL 1750. 405 {£^1 15s- 6^id.) were paid to his widow. Mr. Scott then became the minister. The second Jacobite rebelUon made 1745 a memorable year in Scotland. Upon the first appearance of this insurrection, the same activity and resolution to support the Government, was manifested by the Bailies, Town Councillors, and inhabitants, as in the insurrection of 17 15 ; for a body of 210 men was raised, who were accoutred and supported by the town. Every one who has studied Scottish history fully, knows all the daring and exciting circumstances that marked the expedition of Charles Edward — son of the Chevalier St. George, commonly called the Pretender — in his attempt to recover the throne of his ancestors, from the 19th August, 1745, when the Jacobite banner was unfurled in the solitary Vale of Glenfinnan, in the Western Highlands, till the retreat of the rebels from England to Glasgow, on 25th and 26th December in that year. When the rebel army came to (Glasgow, the Magistrates and Town Council were called upon to give considerable quantities of clothing, and to pay a large sum of money ; and they ultimately arranged to give ^^i 0,500 stg. The Town Council of Paisley became aware of this, and very naturally fearing they would soon be called upon to contribute, in the same manner, they very prudently held a meeting on Saturday, the 28th December, and came to the following resolution : — '■'■ Act anent Treating with the Rebels" — 28th December, 1745. — " The said day the Bailies and Council, being informed that a great body of armed men, under the command of a person who styles himself Prince Regent of the Kingdom, have come into the City of Glasgow, and made sundry demands upon the inhabitants of the said, under high pains ; and that the city have been obliged to comply with these demands ; and being also informed that a party of the said army are intending to come to this place, and being afraid that they may make demands thereon in like manner ; for preventing the bad consequences that may ensue to the place, in case such demands may not be complied with, do appoint John White,^ one of the depute clerks of session (who happens to be in the place at the time) ; Mr. Robert Campbell, doctor of medicine in Paisley ; William Caldwell, William Reid, late Bailies ; Mr. John Baird and Robert Pollock, merchants, or any four of them, to meet and treat with the said parties, and make such agreement with them as they can, in the best and easiest manner possible, for the safety of the place and inhabitants thereof; and the said Bailies and Council for themselves, and in name of the community of the Burgh, become engaged to make good the said agreement, and for that end to borrow money upon bond, or otherwise, as they best can, upon the credit of the community, until such time as the same can be ^ He was a son of John Whyte, apothecary in Paisley. As a relation of the Bargarran family, he had attended Cliristian Shaw. 4o6 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. levied from the inhabitants, according to their circumstances and abiUties. The BaiUes and Council having entered into the above resolution of engaging the public credit for answering the present exigency, and preventing the harm that might happen, if the party should levy from the inhabitants." The conspicuous loyalty and zeal so promptly shown by the inhabitants, brought down upon them the resentment and severity of the rebels at this time. The rebel army remained in Glasgow seven or eight days ; and while stationed there, a body of them visited Paisley to extort money. It was on Sunday, 29th December, in that year, that a party of about 120 rebels entered Paisley, and stayed at the residence of Bailie Robert Fulton, in Causeyside. One of the officers knocked at the door, which was opened by the servant maid. The officer enquired if her master was at home, and on being told the Bailie was not in the house, he left with her a paper, which he desired her to take to the Magistrates. He further told her to inform the Magistrates that they must send to Blackston meat and drink for 150 or 200 men, and that they must send their cess and excise money to Glasgow. The following is a copy of the paper which the girl took to Bailie Kyle : — " Charles, Prince of Wales, &c.. Regent of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, and dominions thereunto belonging. To Bailie Kyle, Bailie George Story, and William Park, merchant in Townhead of Paisley. These are ordering you to repair to our Secretary's office against 12 o'clock to-morrow here, which you are to obey, under the pain of Military Execution, to be done against your persons and effects. Given at Glasgow this 29th of December, 1745. By His Highness's Commands." In this serious emergency, the Bailies and Council acted with great spirit and promptitude, in holding a meeting of Council on that Sunday evening to deliberate on wliat should be done. A num- ber of the leading inhabitants were also, by invitation, present at the meeting. They decided that the order left that day at Bailie Fulton's house should be attended to, and appointed a deputation, consisting of Bailie Kyle and William Park, along with William Caldwell, merchant, Causeyside, and John Robertson, to go to Glasgow on the following day, Monday, to meet with the Prince and John Murray of Broughton. The third name mentioned in the order from John Murray was Bailie Story, but he was at Falkirk along with the King's army among the volunteers raised by the town. Those of the deputation who returned from Glasgow on the following afternoon reported that ^1000 was demanded from the town of Paisley, that no offer of less would be entertained, and 1700 TILL 1750. 407 that Bailie Kyle and William Park were detained as hostages till the money was paid. The hostages were put under the care of the troop commanded by him who had lately been created Lord Kilmarnock. Another meeting of Council was held on Monday, along with some of the inhabitants, including John Whyte, Depute- Clerk of the Court of Session, who was on a visit to see his father, John Whyte, apothecary, Paisley. The Council appointed another deputation, including John Whyte, who was slightly acquainted with John Hay, assistant to Mr. Murray of Broughton, to go to Glasgow on the following day, Tuesday. They accordingly went, and after Mr. Whyte had a conference with John Hay, returned and informed the deputation that Prince Charles and Mr. Murray had been prevailed on to accept ;^5oo Stg. provided the money was paid on Thursday following before six o'clock at night. A meeting of Council was held on Thursday forenoon, and a resolution, of which the following is a copy, was passed, agreeing to borrow " Acf Einpotucring the Treasurer to Boj-rotv £500 Stg. for satisfy- ing the demand made upon the Town by the liebels." — 2nd January, 1746. — "The said day the Bailies and Council, considering that a demand of one thousand pounds Sterling made upon the burgh by the foresaid party hath been procured, mitigated to five hundred pounds Sterling, with which they are forced to comply, and for payment whereof Matth. Kyle and William Park are detained hostages. Therefore they, in pursuance of the above act, dated the twenty-eighth of December last, and for making good the agree- ment made by the above persons nominated for that purpose, which is required to be implemented against six of the clock this afternoon, and that the said sum cannot be obtained from one or two persons at present. They hereby appoint and ordain John \Vhyte, junior, present treasurer, in name of the Bailies and Council, to borrow money to the extent of the above sum of five hundred pounds Sterling from diff'erent hands, as he can find it, and to grant his bills, one or more, therefore, in the meantime, for answering the present demand, whereby the Bailies and Council oblige them to relieve him as soon as a proper hand can be found to advance the whole sum upon security to be given by the Bailies therefor." On the evening of that day the Council had been able to raise only ^300, which was taken to Glasgow by Mr. White and some of the Councillors. Mr John Hay was asked to accept of this sum in full of the claim. He declined to do so, but agreed to give the deputation a receipt for this money, on condition that the balance was paid before seven o'clock on the following morning. Mr. White agreed to this, and in the meantime Bailie Kyle and William Park were released, on the condition that if the money were not then paid as promised, either they or other two inhabitants of the burgh of equal standing would become hostages till the balance of the money was paid. The ^200 was, however, paid to Andrew Lumsden, 4o8 HISTORY OF PAISLEY. clerk to Mr. Murray, within the proper time, and the former receipt given up and a new receipt written by John GoodwiUie for the ;^5oo. This was done in one of the rooms of the house where Prince Charles Edward lived, which was called the Secretary's office. The receipt was then taken to John Murray's house, a short distance from the Pretender's. They found Mr. Murray confined to his room with a lame leg, which he rested on a chair, but otherwise looking quite well. The deputation had to leave Mr. Murray and go into an adjoining room, to allow him to speak to another party who came in. The receipt was afterwards brought to them with Mr. Murray's signature adhibited to it, but they did not see him sign his name. The following is a copy of the receipt, with a fac simile of Mr. Murray's signature^: — "Charles, Prince of Wales, &c., Regent of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, and the Dominions thereunto belonging, to all the inhabitants of the town of Paisley, — Whereas, you have, by the hands of Wm. Park, merchant in Paisley, made payment to our secretary for our use of the sum of ;^5oo stg., which we have accepted of as the contribution laid upon you in respect of your raising melitia and otherwise opposing our interest, we therefore not only grant a receipt of the foresaid sum, but hereby grant full and ample protection to you for your estates, houses, goods, merchan- disses, and effects of Avhat kind soever, from all injuries, violence, or insults offered or done by any person or persons whatsoever, requiring all His Majesty's officers, civil or military, to see this pro- tection inviolably observed. — Given at Glasgow, the 3rd day of January, 1746, by His Highness' command." On the following day, Saturday, 4th January, " a proper hand " was " found " to advance the whole sum. The Council met on that day and " signed a bond, granted to Col. Wm. M'Dowal of Castle- semple, for the sum of ^500 stg., payable against Whitsunday next, bearing from the date" (Co^cncil Records). The Militia, at Glasgow, were organised under the Earl of Home, as colonel ; and the Mihtia, or Volunteers, from the Town of Paisley, who were well equipped, joined them. On Saturday, ist December, they were inspected by Colonel Home and staff, and afterwards marched to Edinburgh. They then proceeded to Falkirk, and were present at the battle fought near that town, on 17th ^ John Murray of Broughton, secretary to Prince Charles, was formerly a W. S'. in Edinbui-gh. Andrew Lumsden, cleric to John Murray, was a writer in Edin- burgh. John Hay, one of the advisers of Prince Charles, and Quarter-master to the Highland army, was previously a W. S. in Edinburgh. And John Good- wiUie, clerk to Andrew Lumsden, was likewise a writer in Edinburgh. 1700 TILL 1750. 409 January, 1746, and showed more courage than the regular troops of the Hne, for they remained in their Unes after the Dragoons and part of the Infantry had fled. Many of them, however, lost their lives in this engagement with the rebel army.^ The ensign of the Paisley Volunteers, named John Renfrew, was a native of Paisley, who nobly preserved his flag, and brought it back to our town. At Kings' birth days, and other periods of rejoicings, it was exhibited, along with the two flags used in 17 15, for many years before they went to pieces. Dugald Graham, the rhyming historian of the rebellion of 1745, who afterwards became the bellman in Glasgow, thus writes, in describing the battle of Falkirk : — "Kirk formed his men, and took the hill; The horsemen also marched there — till Glasgow and Paisley Volunteers, Eager to fight, it so appears, With the dragoons, advanced in form, Who, 'mong the first, did feel the storm ; The Highlanders, seeing their zeal, Their Highland vengeance poured like hail ; On red coats they some pity had— But 'gainst Militia were raging mad." After describing the defeat of the dragoons by the Highlanders, he proceeds : — ' ' The south side being fairly won, They faced north, as all had been done ; Where next stood, to bide the brush, The Volunteers, who zealous, Kept firing close, till near surrounded, And by the flying horse confounded ; They suifered sore, into this place — No Highlander pity'd their case : Ye cursed Militia — they did sivear — IV/iat a devil did bring you here ? " No one joined the rebels in this town or neighbourhood, except Cochran of Ferguslie. In 1715 that gentleman was a zealous Jacobite. A regiment, of what were called " rebels," from Ireland, seeking to join the Earl of Mar's army, passed his estate of Ferguslie. The laird treated them all with bear scones and milk (Paisley Magazine, p. 680). He was also a supporter of Prince Charles in his rebeUion ; and after the decisive defeat at Culloden he fled to France from the vengeance of the Government (Caldwell Papers^ Part II., vol. i., p. 71). On 27th January, 1746, the Town Council authorised the Magistrates to borrow ^40 towards paying the Militiamen. And on 26th September following, they " ordered the Treasurer to be charged with ^32 los., as the price of fifty pounds weight of gun- powder," belonging to the town, that had been sold. The rebellion being now subdued, this ammunition was no longer required. On 1 6th October, 1747, the Council examined the intromissions, with the money raised by contributions from the inhabitants, for ^ Process against John Murray, by the Town Council of Paisley, to repay £,S'^o. 4IO HISTORY OF PAISLEY. maintaining the Volunteers in the time of the late rebellion ; but no l)articulars are given. In the beginning of 1747, the Town Council of Glasgow applied to government for the repayment of the ^10,500 which they were compelled to advance to the rebel army, and on the 7 th May in that year instructed the " Treasurer to pay to Mr. Wm. Cross, advocate, the sum of ^119 as his personal charge and expenses in going to, and at, and coming from London " on this matter. On 14th June in the following year it is stated in the Council records "that Parliament had granted the sum of ;j{^io,ooo to reimburse the town of the above extorted fines." The Town Council of Paisley believing, no doubt, that they would be repaid the ;^5oo extorted from them by the rebels, "subscribed on 14th November, 1749, a petition to His Majesty, King George, praying relief of the ;^5oo extorted from the town by the rebels, which, with an authentic copy of the rebels' demand and receipt, they have trans- mitted in a letter directed to Andrew Fletcher, Esq., Member of Parliament, at the Duke of Argyle's house. His Grace's Secretary, to be delivered to His Grace, in order to be presented to His Majesty for his answer." The reply to this petition is not in the Council records, and cannot be found, but it must have been unfavourable. The Town Council of Dumfries were compelled to pay ;^2ooo to the rebel army, but it was computed that the town had suffered altogether a loss of not less than ;^4ooo. The Town Council applied to the government to be reimbursed, and through the influence of the Duke of Queensberry and Sir James Johnstone, member for the Dumfries group of burghs, they received ^2848 5s. iid. in full of the money tribute and other exactions (M'Doiuall's History cf Dumfries, p. 545). Great injustice was done to Paisley in this matter, and we can see no reason why the town should not have had reimbursed to them the money taken from them by the rebels, as well as Glasgow and Dumfries. There was, evidently, in the case of our town, a lack of that influence at head quarters which often goes farther than the claims of justice. The Town Council having failed to obtain redress from Government, were, it appears, advised that they had a good personal claim against John Murray, of Broughton, himself. They accordingly, in July, 1753, raised an action in the Court of Session against him, to repay the ^500 he wrested from them in 1745. The defender stated that while he officiated as secretary to the young Pretender, there was a stamp ordered to be made, containing his name, which might be fixed, as occasion required, in place of the real subscription. That, in returning from England to Glasgow, he became greatly indisposed, and was, for a considerable time, confined to his chamber, and mostly to his bed. Being thus incapable of acting, Andrew Lumsden was appointed to officiate in his place ; and having possessed himself of the stamp, did use the same. That the order and receipt referred to were not signed by him, but were affixed by lyoo TILL 1750. 41 1 the stamp, then in the keeping of Andrew Lumsden. That he neither received the money nor granted the receipt. And that the Act of Indemnity, of 15th June, 1747, discharged every crime committed in the course of the rebeUion, and every claim of damage or restitution. When the case came before the court, the judges were equally divided in opinion ; but the Lord President acquitted the defender, John Murray. The case was before the court till January, 1760; and the pleadings and papers of one kind and another, form a formidable bundle of papers. The Town Council, being unsuccessful in this action, which was thus in the Court of Session for seven years, as a last resource presented a memorial to the Lords of His Majesty's Treasury. It is a spirited and well argued claim. The following is a copy of it : — "Tt* the Right Honourable the Lords Comviissioners of His Majesty's Treasury. " The Memorial of the IMagistrates, Town Council, and In- habitants OF Paisley, in North Britain. "Humbly sheweth, — That in the year 17 15, when a rebellion broke out in North Britain, the town of Paisley early distinguished itself by a remarkable zeal and spirit in opposing it in its rise and progress. A body of 140 men was raised, disciphned, and supported at the expense of the town, and was sent to Glasgow, and from thence to Dumbarton, till the rebellion was happily extinguished. " Upon the first appearance of the rebellion in the year 1745, the same active spirit and resolution to support His Majesty's Govern- ment discovered itself by a speedy levy of a body of 210 men, who were disciplined and supported by the town. This body of men joined the regiment raised by the town of Glasgow, and marched to PMinburgh, and from thence to Falkirk, where many of them lost their lives in the engagement with the rebel army near that place. " By the distinguished loyalty and zeal appearing on repeated occasions, this small manufacturing burgh felt the resentment and severity of the rebels in the year 1745. Upon their retreat from England, an order was issued by the Pretender, in consequence whereof the Magistrates were taken and detained prisoners till, with the utmost difficulty, and under the threatenings and terrors of military execution, a contribution of ^500 was raised and paid to the Pretender's secretary. On payment of this sum, a receipt was given, mentioning the same to have been exacted in respect of the town's raising militia and opposing the rebel interest, and the receipt is signed by John INIurray, the Pretender's secretar}^ " The town of Paisley being utterly unable to support the load.'of debt occasioned by the heavy exaction, was advised to bring an action before the Court of Session for recovery thereof from the said John Murray, as accessory to the extortion, and who signed the receipt before-mentioned. The said John Murray having pleaded His Majesty's most gracious act of indemnity as a bar to any action for wrongs committed in the course of the rebellion, the Court of 412 HISTORY OK PAISLEY. Session (25th July, 1759), though divided in opinion, gave a judg- ment acquitting the defendant. " The Magistrates and inhabitants of the town of Paisley would have most cheerfully acquiesced under their losses if they had not proved too heavy a burthen to support. They are at present under the pressure of a load of debt which they see no probability of being ever able to discharge, unless assisted by His Majesty's bounty. They therefore take the liberty of laying their unfortunate case before the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, and beg leave to suggest that their case is so far singular, that this is the only single burgh in North Britain that has suffered for its distin- guished loyalty and attachment to His Majesty's Government with- out obtaining any relief. And that the town of Glasgow in particular received ^^ 10,000 stg., by orders of Parliament, and the town of Dumfries ^{^2000, by warrant from your Lordships, in satisfaction for their losses. " The memorialists, therefore, most humbly pray your Lordships will be pleased to take their case under consideration, and to grant to them such sum as a relief and satisfaction to their losses as to your Lordships shall seem just, and direct the same to be paid out of the surplus prices of the estates forfeited for the rebellion in 1745, or in any other manner as to your Lordships shall seem most proper. (Signed) "Will. Gordon, " For the Memorialists." We much regret we are unable to supply the temis of the declina- ture of the Lords of the Treasury to this honest and able appeal, for such is not in the Council records. One cannot but feel indig- nant at the conduct of the Government in thus treating with indifference a community that showed such patriotism, and made so great exertions on behalf of a new dynasty in the crisis of its fate. The abbot and monks of the Monastery had exercised jurisdiction over their varied and extensive properties by means of two Bailies, whom they appointed. The one was over their estates in Ayrshire, and the other over those in the shire of Renfrew. This office and that of Sheriff being combined, first became hereditary in the Semple family in 1404, when the barony of Renfrew was made a Sheriffdom (Geo. Chalmers's Caledonia, vol. iii., p. 775). In 1636, the Earl of Eglinton purchased the hereditary Sheriffship from Lord Semple for _;^5ooo, which was never paid. The records of the Sheriff Court which are preserved, do not com- mence till 1685. The Sheriff Court must have been transferred from Renfrew to Paisley some time prior to 1693, for on 6th June in that year the Town Council " ordered the two Bailies to write to Mr. Robert Alexander, advocate, desiring him to go to Edinburgh to oppose the transporting of the Sheriff Court to Renfrew, and the town to pay his expense attour what they please for his pains." It lyoo TILL 1750. 413 would appear that the Sheriff Court was removed from Paisley to Renfrew some time after this, and, according to the following record in the Court minute book, was again transferred to Paisley in 1 705 : — "Paisley, 6th Nov., 1705. — The qlk. day ane warrand was pro- duced, granted be Alex""- Earl of Eglintone, shreff princU of Renfrew, for transporting the weekly courts from the burgh of Renfrew to the towne of Paisley ; and after the same was publickly read and published, was ordered to be recorded. The qlk. day, James M'Alpie produced ane commission by John Richardson, Sheriff- Clerk, in his favior, for officiating during his pleasur" (Preface to the Poems of James AP A/pie, p. 6 ; Paisley, 1828). The Sheriff Courts continue to be held in Paisley at the present time. In 1747, an Act was passed by Parliament whereby all hereditary Sheriffships in counties in Scotland were abolished, the Sheriffs thereafter being appointed by the Crown. On 8th March in that year, Mr. Charles M'Dovval of Crichen, advocate, was appointed Sheriff-Depute for the County of Renfrew by the Crown, at a salary of ^150 a year ; and in 1748 he made choice of Claud Simpson, writer in Paisley, as his substitute. This most important and beneficial Act came into operation on 25th March, 1748. The Earl of Eglinton received ^5000 from Government as compensation for the loss of his hereditary right of jurisdiction as Sheriff. Thus ends our record of a half century in which Paisley made slow but steady progress, statistically and socially. The foundations were laid of her great thread and weaving trades ; and, while the Union of Parliaments near the beginning of our period opened up to her enterprise England and her dependencies, the extinction of the hopes of the Jacobite factions towards its close left her free for a much more rapid increase than she had ever experienced before. END OF VOLUME FIRST. INDEX Abbey attacked by Reformers, 64. Abbey besieged, 66, 71. Abbey, buildings of the. Chapter IX., 120, 121, 133. Abbey burned in 1 307 by the English, 42. Abbey Chartulary, 23. Abbey Church biuying-gi-ound monu- mental stones, 128, 129, 130. Abbey Church, Lofts put into, 91. Abbey Church, Medal to commemorate re-seating, 98. Abbey Church Monumental Stones, 125, 126, 127, 12S. Abbey Church Renovated (i860) and described, 109, no. Abbey Church renovated, Members of Committee, no. Abbey Church Reseated (1788), 96, 97. Abbey Church stained glass mndows, III, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118. Abbey Cloister-court, Report by David Bryce, Anderson & Bryce, 124. Abbey-close Improvements, 124. Abbey, described by R. W. Billings, 120. Abbey, dimensions, 120, 121. Abbey, John Murdo, 121. Abbey, restoration of the whole of the, 119. Abbey, Second Charge established, 86. Abbey Session, Articles belonging to it, 90. Abbot George Schaw, 51, 54. 55. Abbot Heni-y Crichton, 50. Abbot James, 43. Abbot John de Lithgow, 45. Abbot John de Lithgow's stone tablet, 48. Abbot John Hamilton, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 134. Abbot John, 43. Abbot John, 44. Abbot Richard de Bodwell, 48. Abbot Robert Schaw, 56, 58. Abbot Roger, 42. Abbot Stephen, 38. Abbot Thomas de Tervas, 48. Abbot Thomas Morvve or Murray, 48. Abbot Walter, 41. Abbot William de Chishohne, 46. Abbot William, 37. Abercorn-bridge, 1 36. Abercorn, Countess of, and others, pro- secuted by the Paisley Presbytery for being Papists, 85 Abercorn, Duke of, declined to take compensation for loss of patronage in Abbey Church, 113. Abercorn, Earl of, sells Eordship of Paisley to Earl of Angus, 268. Abercorn, in the absence of Lord, his Mother made choice of one of the Bailies, 235. Abercorn, Lord, 229, 231, 232. Abercorn, William More of, dispute with, 45. Aberdeen breviary, 23. Aberdeen, See of Old, 27. Acts, Auld, ratified, 23S. Adamson, Patrick, Abbey Minister, 74, IS, 76- Adamson, Rev. Patrick, 160. Aiket's-yard bought to form a new street, 390. Ailsa Isle, Romish party attacked, 79. Alanson, Sir John, 247. Alanus, a disciple of St. Mirin, 23. Alauna, 17, Ale, acts anent, 168, 278, 378. Ale and wine tasters, 144. Alexander I., donations by, 27. Algie, James, and John Park executed, 313- Allan river, 17. Almshouse, 249, 250, 283, 391. Altars in the Abbey destroyed, 65. Ammunition in Paisley removed, 259. Andrews, John, 150. Antonine's wall, 17, 20. Apothecaries in Paisley, 366. Apprentices living with their Masters. 371- Ardoch, 17. Argj'll, Bishop of, serious dispute Avith, 44. Argyll stone, 247. Arms, Paisley, coat of, 245. 4i6 INDEX. Arinv, English, attacked at Hamilton, 258. Army, Scotch, left for England, 263. Assaults described, with punishments, 163, to 165, 202 to 213, 281, 282, 283. Assessments in Paisley for war pur- poses, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 307, 308, 309, 310, 315, 319. Auchinleck Chronicle, 50. Ayrshire, 17. Bailies allowed to judge cases of 10/ Scots and under, on the streets, 300. Bailies and Council summoned to Glas- gow Justiciary for harbouring men who had been at Battle of Bothwell bridge, 370. Bailies and Councillors when elected, declining to act, to be fined, 300. Bailies authorised to decide summarily in cases not exceeding 5/ sterling, 376. Bailies called " ane pack of beasts and " sumphs " by Sheriff- Depute, 327. Bailies elected by permission of English Commander, 267. Bailies, Election of, 161, 235, 236, 237. Bailies not to be put on the lete of Bailies till they have been Treasurer, 300. Bailies not to hold office more than two years, 235. Bailies, prosecutions only to be before the, 238. Bailies to be chosen annually, 144. Bailies to be fined if not discharging their duties, 243. Bailies, two additional chosen, 376. Baird, John, Abbey minister, 90, 91. Bakers' Society formed, 369. Barchanus, a disciple of St. Mirin, 23. Barnyard, 149, 153. Barrochan cross, 153. Beggars, 289, 394. Beggars, strong, and vagabonds, Acts passed against, 213. Belfry, Abbey Church, 95. Bell for the dead, 283, 374. Bell of Almshouse, 250, 374. Bell rung at Ten o'clock nightly, 322. Bell, Thomas, Master of Grammar School, Reader of Prayers in the Abbey, 79. Bell to be rung at Six morning, 326, 379- Bells rang at Funerals, 374. Bells, Silver, Paisley Races, with Paisley Coat of Arms thereon, 244, 245, 248. Birkenshaw, 137. Black Book of Paisley, 125. Blackball, 19, 37, 132, 133. Blackhole, 152. Blackland mill, 135. Blackstone, residence of Ab])ot Schaw, 55- Blackwell, Thomas, Abbey minister, 93, 94- Bladda-zarde, 153. Bleaching-green at the Abbey, 397. Blood, Committer of, how punished, 231- Blythswood, 137. lilythswood, 247. Boog, Robert, Abbey minister, 95, 98, 100, 103. Booking Tenure, action by Burgesses, 148. Bothwell Bridge, battle of, 310. Boyd, Robert, Abbey minister, S^. l^read, acts anent, 168. Bread, Wheaten, 399. Brechin Bishopric, 27. Brechin, Conduct of Town-officers at, 286. Brewer, Thomas the, 133. Brewers' Society formed, 369. Brewster, Patrick, Abbey minister, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, loS. Bridge Custom, 368. Bridge of Paisley, 142, 175, 176, 177, 196, 292, 293, 294, 368. Bridgend, 149. Brigton, Richard, buckler, 149. Broomdyke, 142. Broomlands, land at, proposed to be bought, 280. Broomlands, 143, 149. Brown, Thomas, Abbey minister, 93. Brown's-lane, 152. Bruce, Marjory, 33, 43. Bryce, David, Anderson & Bryce, re- port relating to Cloister-court, 124. Buckets for Extinguishing Fires, 323. Buiths belonging to the Council let, 162, 197, 198, 278, 390. Bullfauld burn, 136. Burgal land, 154. Burgesses created gratis, not to break common land, 239. Burgesses, entering as, 143, 144, 173, 217, 232, 372, 373. Burgesses, honorary, 174, 243, 249, 324, 325, 372. Burgesses, Musters of, 216. Burgesses, oaths taken by, 174, 232, 372. Burgesses, outentown, 217, 280, 281. P)um, St. Mirin's, 135. Burying - ground at Abbey Church, action before the Law Courts, by Dr. Robertson, 109. Calvert, Henry, Abbey mini-;ter, 86. Cambuskenneth Abbey, 27. INDEX. 417 Camp at Paisley (Camdoi), 19. Camp at Paisley (Forsyth), 19. Camp at Paisley (Pennant), 19. Camp at Paisley (Stuart's Caledonia Koinana), 18. Campbell, Sir Archibald C, 247. Canal, Glasgow, Paisley, and John- stone, 134. Canal-street, 152. Candle, Acts anent, 168, 222, 395. Card playing, 244. Carlisle, 17. Carluke, 17. Carstairs, 17. Cart River, 17, 134, 135, 142, 143, 304. Cart, White, 18. Carucate, a quantity of land, 29. Castlecary, 17. Castlehead, 17, 133, 135, 143, I53- Casualties of non - entry, action by Burgesses, 148. Catechism published by Abbot Hamil- ton, 63. Cattle-market, 296. Causewaying of streets, 172, 185, 198, 199. 323- Causeyside, 17, 18, 143, 152. Caversbank Lands bought by the Coun- cil, 279. Celtic Church of Scotland, 27. Celtic Tribes, 17. Chalmers, James, Abbey minister, 90. Chalmers, William, 148. Chapelhill, 132. Chaplains of St. Mirin, 139. Charter by James IV. constituting Paisley a Burgh of Barony, 141. Charter by King Charles II., 271. Charter endowing Paisley Monastery, 29. Charter by King James IV. erecting Paisley into a Burgh, and Charter of confirmation granted by Abbot and Convent, 54. Charter founding Paisley Abbey, 28. Charter, New, of the Burgh, 243. Charter of James IV. confirmed by Abbot Schaw, 142. Charter of King Robert III. in favour of Abbots, 45. Charter to Paisley by Abbot George Schaw, 24. Charters granted bv Abbot Hamilton, 64. Charters granted by Abbot Robert Schaw to the Vassals, 58. Chartist agitation, 103, 104. Chimney Heads to be raised, 393. Christianity in Strathclyde, 21. Church at Paisley before the Monastery, 138, 140. Church, Low, built, 403. Church of Scotland, in 1843, Secession from, loi. Church Seats of the Council, regulations anent, 302 Churches belonging to the Abbey in 1265, 38. Churches belonging to the Abbey, 69. Churches to be destroyed, 64. Churchyards Pasturage in, is prohibited, 81. Civil cases in the Court disposed of, 178, 179. Cleiks to pull down houses when on Fire, 323. Clocks, keeping of the two Town, 3S0. Cloth, buying and selling, 143. Clugny, Monks of, 28. Clyde River, 17. Coal-heughs, 143. Coal Workings, 241, 279, 402. Coat of Arms in Lord Sempill's House, High-street, 184. Cochran of Craigmuir's House, High- street, 183, 184, 185. College of Glasgow to Paisley during the Pest there, 256. Colonia, 17. Commendators, 69. Commissioners, for the Election of, 327. 328. Common-hill, 153. Common-land, 154, 158, 165. Common, West Over, 135. Concert, sacred, in the Abbey Church, 99- Contempt of Court, to lye in the Stocks for, 236. Convallis's, St., Stone, Inchinnan, 245, 246, 247. Conventicles, 89. Conventicles, 308. Cordiners, 222. Coria, 17. Council Meetings, when held, 267. Council purchase Lordship of Paisley from Earl of Dundonald, 268. Councit Records awanting, 161, 235, 237-. Council Records, Town, 161. Council Records, Town, First Minute and Election of the two Bailies, 161. Councillors Fined for not attending meetings, 230, 264, 267, 376, 377. Councillors, four, and one Bailie, unable to write, 269. Councillors not eligible to be Bailies in their first year, 235. Councillors, when elected, declining to act, 266. I 4i8 INDEX. Courts abolished by Cromwell's Com- mander, 265. Courts, Burgh, 144. Covenanters, 257, 306. Crawford, James, of Kilwynnet, endow- ment of Chapel of St. Mh-in, 56, 136, 140. Crawford, John, assaulting Patrick Brewster, 106. Crawfurd, James, of Kilwynnet, 25, 159- Crawfurd, Roman camp at Paisley, 18. Crichton, Abbot Henry, 50, 51. Crichton, John, Abbey minister, 86. Cromwell, 257, 305. Croocs-ton, 35. Crookston Castle, 145. Crops, Protecting, 200, 20I, 202. Crosraguel Abbey, 44, 55. Crossflat Burn, 136. Cross at Crossflat, 153. Cross at Market removed, 328. Cross at Perth, 328. Cross, Barrochan, 153. Cross House in Causeyside, 152. Cross, Market, at Paisley : goods seized by Burgesses of Renfrew, 147. Cross stead stone, Auldbar, 152. Cross, The, 149. Culdee Church, 27. Customs and Tolls, ancient, 143, 144. Cuthbert, St., 23. Dalgety, J. B., Abbey minister, 114. Damnian Hunter, 19. Damnii Tribe, 17. Darien project, 363. David I., Monastic endowments by, 27, 28. Davidson, Archd., Abbey minister, 95. Decisions, by Bailies, in small matters, 235- Dice Playing, 244. Dickie, John, for striking Bailie Wallace, put in the Stocks, 236. Dodds, James, Abbey minister, 1 12, 1 13. Dogs, mad, 302. Douglas, Frances, 95. Dovecot in Sneddon, 277, 279, 391; Doves, keeping of town's, prohibited, 200. Drum to be beat at five o'clock in the morning, 326. Drumclog, battle of, 310. Drummer, Town, 189, 241, 243, 285, 286, 379. Dry burgh Abbey, 27. Drye cuff how punished. Committer of, 231. Duchal Castle, 145, 146. Duchal, Laird of, Money lent to, 238. | Dumbarton Castle, 145. Dumbarton Castle taken, 66. Dumbarton, Pest at, 193. Dumbartonshire, 17. Dunfermline Monastery, 27, 28. Dunivaig, Castle of, 80. Dunkeki Cathedral Church, 27. Dunlop, Alex., Abbey minister, 87, 89. Dunlop, Principal, iS. Dunsketh wood, 137. Duties belonging to Parish Kirk of Paisley, 159. Earn river, 17. Eccles, Wm., Abbey minister, 91, 92. Edinburgh, Riding to, 234, 237. Elderslie Church, loi. Elderslie, 137. Electing Bailies and Councillors, mode of, 242, 304. Election of Bailies and Councillors postponed, 312. Election of Bailies and Councillors after 1688, 317. El wands, 301. Episcopacy, 306. English soldiers in Paisley, 264, 266, English soldiers leave Paisley, 268. Episcopacy and Prosecutions, 88. Erskine, William, of Balgonie, com- mendator, 72. Eschina, wife of Walter the founder of the Monastery, 36. Espedair rivulet, 24, 133, 135, 141, 142, 153,398. Executions, 378. Extinguishing Fires withleather buckets, 323- Fairs, 297, 392. Fairs in Churches and Churchyards, 74. Feather beds wanted by English at Castlesemple, 265. Fereneze, 19, 152. Fereneze forest, 136, 137. Ferguslie, 134, 137. Ferguslie family. Town House of, 184. Ferguslie Estate, 390. Ferguslie, Guidewife of, 87. Ferguslie woods, 137. Feuars, list of, in 1488, 154. Feu duties, and when payable, 301. Fifeshire, 17. Figures under East Window, St. Mirin's Aisle, 139. Fining of the Covenanters, 306. Fire, precautions against, 234. Fires, and assistance given, 399, 401. Fishers' Row, 52. Fleming, Wm., Abbey minister, 95. Flesh, Appreciators of, 144. INDEX. 419 Flesh Market, 321. Fleshers, Acts anent, 168, 169, 222, 223, 319, 320. Fleshers' Society formed, 369. Ford, Black, in the River Cart, 132, 139,, 140, 153. P'ord, White, 139. Forests surrounding Paisley, 136, 137. Food, &:c.. Fixing the Price of, 218. Forsyth, Camp at Paisley, 19. Forth, River, 17. Forts, Roman, 17. Fotheringay Castle, 28. Foulzie gathered in the town, not to be sent to improve land, outside of it, 381. Foulzie, Sellers of, 323. Fowls, Acts relating to, 166, 201, 302. Fraser, John, Johnstone, 99. Fullarton, John, Abbey minister, 92. Fulwood, 137. Funerals, Refreshments at, 374. ,, Bells rung at, 374. Gadeni tribe, 17. Galloway, 17. Gallowgreen, 134. Gallowgreen, 166. Gallowhill, 134. Game in the Forests, 136, 1 37. Gardener, a, of the Abbey, engaged to go to Kilravock, 59. Gardens, breaking into, 224. Gentles, Thomas, Abbey minister, 113, 114. Gifts by Walter, High Steward, 41. ,, to the Abbey, 43. Gifts from Eschina, and others to the Monastery, 36. Gifts of property, &c., to the Abbey, King James II. 's, 48. Glasgow, Roman road to, 17- Glasgow-road, mending, 199. Glass given to the Abbots, 48. Glencairn, &c., deputation to, about the peace of the country, 309. Gleniffer, 137. Goods pundable, Act anent those having no, i"73. Gordon's-lane, 153. Government abused by a Burgess, 313, 319- Graham, John, of Dougalston, con- sulted by the Bailies, 313. Graham, Rev. Dr., states Abbey west door, the same as main door of Priory, Inchmahone, 120. Grammar School, 151, 159, 160, 182. Grave-yard at Seedhill, 139. Guard, Night, 322. Halidon-hill, Battle of, 34. Hamilton, Alex., Abbey minister, 83. Hamilton, Archd., Abbey minister, 82. Hamilton, Archibald, Money lent to Town Council, 83. Hamilton describes Paisley, 364. Hamilton, James, Abbey minister, 95. Hamilton, Lord Claud, assigns the management of affairs in Paisley to his son James, the Master of Paisley, 175- Hamilton, Lord Claud, successor to Abbot Hamilton, 63, 70, 71, 72, 73. Hamilton, Patrick, Abbey minister, 81. Hammermen Society formed, 369. Hammill rocks, 134, 136, 140. Hats to be worn by Bailies and Coun- cillors, 232, 302. Hauldpatrick and Espedair lands, 35. Hawkhead Mil!, 139. Hay, John, Abbey minister, 84. Heather covering houses, 170. Herds elected to take charge of the Cows, 167. Heretics, Alleged, bumed, 62. Heyt-house at the Cross, 24. Hezelden, 152. Hides not to be laid in the river, 171. High-street, 149. Holyrood, Abbey of, 27. Horses, regulations regarding feeding, 300, 303- Horse stabbed at Racecourse by Town- officer, 375. House of All Saints, 150. House ordered to be burned, 214. Houses, how to be built to prevent fires, 401. Houses, Letting of, 224, 302. Hunterhill, 132, 137, 140. Hunter, John le, swore fealty to King of England, 132. Inchcolm Monasteiy, 27. Inchinnan, 245, 246. Immoral houses prohibited, 378. Immorality, Persons punished for, ?5, 86, 223, 321. Inch, 143. Industries in Paisley, 365, 366. Inhabitants, avocations of, in 1695, 351. Isles, Churches from Lord of the, 36. Isles, Lord of the, dies in the Convent, 56. Jail in disrepair, 381. James I., 28. James, Prince, Duke of Rosse, 52. James, St., 29, 138. Jedburgh Abbey, 27. Jugs, The, or Jougs, 195, 196, 284 420 INDEX. Kennedy, Alex., Abbey minister, 95. Key of Tollbooth to be sent to debtors, 301. Kilallan, 23. Kilbarchan, 23. Kilmalcohn, 23. Kilmarnock,fire at, assistance given, 324. Kilmarnock, money given to assist in Building a Bridge, 369. Kilpatrick Church, Dispute regarding, 37- Kilpatrick, Old, 17. Kilpeter (Houston), 23. Kilwinning, Abbot of, 35. King Charles I. executed, 257. King Charles II. proclaimed, 257, 305. ,, his Chaiter to Town Council, 270. King Charles II. dies, 315. King Edward I. 41. King James III., assassination of, 145- King James IV. 's visits to the Abbey, ,.54> 57- ^ King James IV. 's Charter to Paisley, ..'41- King James IV. at Glasgow, Paisley, and Duchal, 145. King James VI., 80. King James VI. visits Scotland and Paisley, 250. King James VII. ascends the throne, 315- King Robert II., died, 45. King Robert III., at his death, buried in front of high altar in the Paisley Abbey, 46. King Robert the Bruce, killed John and Robert Comyn, 42. King William and Queen Mary ascend the throne, 317. King's Arms Inn, High-street, 184. King's Inch, Renfrew, 36. Kinloss Abbey, 27. Knights of St. John, 27. Knights Templars, 27. Knox, Andrew, Abbey minister, 77, , 79. 80. Knox, Andrew, assaulting Gavin Stewart, 78. Knox's, Andrew, Monogram in House, High-street, facsimile, 77. Ladders and baiTows hired out, 391. Lady Altar, 150. Lady Burn, 136. Lady House, Our, 151. Lady Kirk, 139. Lady-lane, 149, 153. Laigh-common, 153. Laigh Linn, 136. Land, Acts relating to breaking, 239. Land, how divided on death of a Bur- gess, 238. Land let by Public Roup, 390. Land sold at Greenhill, 287, 288. Langside, Battle of, 66, 70. Langside, 17. Lands, Resignations of, 144. Law Borrows, 171. Lawyers in Paisley, 366. Lead, given by King James III. to the Abbey, 51. Lees, J. C, Abbey minister, 108, iii, 112, 113. Leggat, William, Abbey minister, 93. Lennox's, Earl of, gifts, 36. Leprosy, 193, 194, 195. Lesmahagow Priory, 27. Lie, those committing a, how punished, 231. Lime brought from Blackhall, 199. Lindum, 17. Lint Mill, 398. Linwood, 137. Loch Libo, 152. Lockerbie, 17. Longait (Canal-street), 153. Loudon Hill, 17. Low Church built, 403. Lvle, Robert, Lord, 50, 145. M^alcolm IV., 28. Malcolmus, a disciple of St. Mirin,, 23. Malt Brewing regulated, 378. Malt to be sighted, 378. Maltmen in Paisley, 366. Maltmen Society formed, 369. Manse, Abbey, facsimile of Tablet Stone, 83. Map of Paisley, 1490 and 1545, 148. Market Days, 294. Markets for Flesh, Fowl, Butter, Cheese, and Bread, 221, 295, 392. Mary, Virgin, 139. Masons' Society foiTned, 369. Mass not to be performed, under pain of Death, 65. Master of Works, 198. Maxwell, John, dispute with Andrew Knox, 27. M'Dowall, William, Monument in Abbey, 99. Meal Market, 220, 295. Meal only to be sold in the Market, 239- Measures and Weights, 227. Medal to commemorate Reseating of the Abbey Church, 98. Medical Gentlemen in Paisley, 366 Medical Practitioner, Bessie Knox, 179. Meeting-house, 321. Melrose, Abbey of, 27. Merchants in Paisley, 366. INDEX. 421 Merchants, Paisley, molested in Glas- gow, 234. Merchants' Society fonned, 369. Merksworth Burn, 136. Merlin, the Prophet, 22. M'Gill, Sir James, 74. M'Gregor, James, of High Church, Paisley, 109. Middings on Streets, 199, 200, 322, 323, 381. Middings on Streets in St. Andrews, &c., 382. iNIilburga, St., 29, 42, 138. Mill at Passelet, 138, 140, 153. Mill Stones, Act anent carrying, 172. Millar, Robert, Abbey minister, 94, 95. Miln of Paisley, 144. Ministers, power under Charter to appoint, 144. Mirin, Saint, Memoir of, 21. Mirin, St., 29, 138, 139, 141. Mitchell, J. M., Abbey minister, 1 13. IMitchell, Robert, Abbey minister, 94. M'Nair, Robert, Abbey minister, 100, loi, 102, 106. IMoffat, 17. Monastery Charters, 24. Monastery completed, 49. Monastery, possessions of, fully de- scribed, 38. Monastery raised to the rank of an Abbacy, 37. Money Lent to Laird of Duchal, 238. Monk, General, 305. Monks first dwelt at Renfrew, 35. Mons Meg Cannon, 145, 146, 147. Montgomery, Ezekiel, Sheriff-Depute, slandering the Bailies, 327. Monument in Wellmeadow, 15 1. Monumental Stones in Abbey Church Bui7ing-ground, 128, 129, 130. Monumental Stones in the Abbey Church, 125, 126, 127, 128. Mortcloths, 22S, 290, 373. Morton, Lord, 74, 75. Moss-gate, 153. Moss Kebers sold, 389. Moss Lands claimed by Earl of Aber- corn, 236. Moss, Paisley, 136, 137, 143, 300. Mossman, Patrick, 150. Moss-raw, 153. Moss-street, 149. Motherwell, 17. Motherwell, William, 148. Motion, Notice of, in Council business, 376. Mous, Sir Henry, 133. Mouss, Sir John, Chamberlain to the Monastery, 51, 149. Muir, Sir Henry, 143. Murdo, John, Abbey architect, 121, 127, 128. Murray, Anthony, Abbey minister, 92. Murray's Mailing, 152. Mustard-yard, 135, 152. Musters of Burgesses, 216. Mylne, James, Abbey minister, 98, 100. Neilson, John, Institution, 18. Nether Bailze, 152. Newbattle Abbey, 27. New-street formed through Aiket's- yard, 390. News-room, 399. Nigellus Abbas de Kilwinning, 35, Novantes tribe, 17. Oakshawhead, 17, 19, 133, 134, 141, 143. Oakshaw-side, 134, 135, 136, 141, 142. Oakshaw-side Lands bought from Earl of Dundonald, 275. Oakshaw-street, 149, 153. Oakshaw-wood, 134, 137, 142, 143. Oaths in Court, regulating, 232. Oaths, Test and other, 311. Oat-kaiks, 221. O'Connell, Daniel, 102, 103. O'Connor, Feargus, 103. Officers, Town, 144, 243, 285, 286, 378, 379- Old Smithhills and Abbey-close houses taken down, IIO. Orchards and Gardens at the Abbey, 52. Orchart, 152, 153. Orr Loch, 17. Otadeni Tribe, 17. Outentown Burgesses, 217, 280. Outfield land, 154. Overcommon, 153. Paisley Abbey, Foundation Charter, 28. ,, Charter of Endowment, Paisley after the Roman period till 1560, 131. Paisley, Church there before Monastery, 138. 139- Paisley Coat of Arms, " said bell with Purge's airmes yairupon," 245. Paisley, Complaints by Master of, 172. Paisley, Derivations, by different authors, 131. Paisley described by Hamilton, 364. ,, Sibbald, 365. Paisley Forest, 136. Paisley, Fort at, 17. Paisley, James, Master of, 175, 229. Paisley, Lords of, 73. Paisley, Lordship Sold to Earl of Angus, 268. Paisley Monastery endowed, 28. 422 INDEX. Paisley proposed to be made a Royal Burgh, 365. Paisley, Situation, 132. Paisley, Spades and Shovels for siege at Duchal, 146. Paisley Tak, 149. Paisley, the Rebels,Argyle, IVIurray, and Glencairn entered, 160. Paisley, Topography of, 149. Paisley, Village commenced, 141. Paisley, Village there before Monas- tery, 138, 139, 140. Pandar, Patrick, 56. Park, John, and James Algie executed, 313- Pasturage, Common, 143, 200. Pasturage regulations, 166, 167, 168. Patison, Bailie Robert, 148. Patrick Burn, 137. Patronage of Abbey Church, Duke of Abercorn declines to take compensa- tion, 113. Patrick, St., 23. Pearls, 135. Pearson, Allison, supposed to be a Witch ; executed at Edinburgh, 75. Pease stealing, 201. Peats and peat stealing, 163, 195, 196. Peebles, Plague at, 193. Pennant, camp at Paisley, 19. Pentiand Hills, Battle among, 30S. Perthshire, 17. Pest at Dumbarton, 193. Pest, 187 to 193, 254, 255. Petrus, a disciple of St. Mirin, 23. Philosophical Society, Hall of, 125. Pierson, William, Abbey minister, 89. Pipers, 57. Pittances granted by Abbot Schaw to the Monks, 55. Place of Paisley, 124. Plague at Peebles, 193. Plays to ridicule Popish ways, 81. Poinding, 211. Poll Tax, 329 to 351. Polwart, Andrew, Abbey minister, 76. Pontificals allowed to be worn by the Abbots, 43. Poor, Maintenance of the, 302, 393. Pope Clement confirms possessions of the Monastery, 38. Population, 364, 365, 376. Port, West, 151, 199. ,, Saint Mirin's, 152, 398. ,, Moss-raw, 153, 321. ,, Barn-yard, 153. Ports, keiping of the, 196, 197. Ports, &c. , repaired before Queen Anne's visit to Paisley, 175. Prsetorium at the Cross, 149. Prcctorium uf the Roman Camp, 149. Prayers at Council Meetings in Dum- barton, 233, 235. Presbyterianism and the Covenant, 88. Presbyterians fined and oppressed, 302, 306, 308. Presbytery formed in Renfrewshire, 80. ,, Records,, 81. Price of several articles at the end of the 1 6th century, 186. Prior Osbert, 35. „ Roger, 35. Priorscroft, 36, 143, 153. Privy Council, Complaint against Coun- cil, to, 308. Procurator-Fiscal's Salary, 238, 286. Progress of Paisley, 364. Ptolemy, Claudius, 18. Punishments awarded by the Bailies, 284, 285. Pykerie, 179, 200, 222. Quarries, 143. Quarryhill, 133, 153. Queen Anne, Consort of James VI., visits Paisley, 174. Queen Anne's death, 383. Queen Blearie's Death at Knock, 33. ,, stone cross at Knock, 33. Queen Mary at Paisley, 160. Race Horse stabbed, 375. Racing, Horse, 234, 244, 245, 246, 247, 249, 297, 374. Rae, John, Abbey minister, 95. Raiss, Lands of, 133. Ramsay, Matthew, Abbey minister, 90. Reader, a Church, 74, 79. Rebellion of 17 15, 383 to 389. of 1745, 40410412. Rebels — Argyll, Murray, and Glen- cairn — entered Paisley, 160. Reformation in 1560, 158. Regulus, St., 22. Renfrew, Barony of, 17. Renfrew Burgesses agi-eement with the Abbot, 47. Renfrew Burgesses charging Custom at Paisley, 287, 288, 289. Renfrew Burgesses threw down Market Cross of Paisley, 147. Renfrew, Calsayend, 245. Renfrew Church, 247. Renfrew lands held by High Steward, 28,133-. Renfrewshire, 17, 225. Renfrewshire men at Edinburgh, after the Revolution of 1688, 318. Rental of the Abbey, 69. Revenues of the Abbey, how disposed of, 69. Revolution of 168S accomplished, 317. INDEX. 423 Riccartsbar, Stobs of, 143, 153. Rigging-Turves, Acts anent, 170, 242, 301. Robert III., 17. Robertson, Dr., Abbey burying-grounds, Action before the Law Courts, 109. Rocks at Seedhill, 134. Roman Camp at Paisley, 18, 134. Roman Catholic Services prohibited, 64. Roman Medal, Stanely Castle, 20. Roman remains, 20. Roman rule, in Valentia, ceased, 20. Roman Urns, Knock hill, 20. Romans in Paisley, 17. Romish Religion, suppression of, 78. Ross, Bishopric of, 27. Ross, Charles, Greenlaw, 153. Ross, James, Duke of, 141. Ross, Lord, of Halkhead, 56. Rosshill, 17. Rothes, Earl of, in Paisley, 306, 307. Royal Burghs, members to ride to meetings of Convention, 233. St. Andrew's Church, 27. St. Anne's Altar, 58. St. Catherine's Tile Tenement, 149. St. Columba, 25. St. Congallus, 23. Saint Convallis, 247. St. Kentig^rn or Mungo, 247. St. Marnock's Fair, 24. St. Mirin — six places in which his name is mentioned, 26. St. Mirin's Aisle, 25. St. Mirin's Burn, 24, 134, 135, 141. St. Mirin's Burn, 135. St. Mirin's-croft, 143. St. Mirin's Fair, 24. St. Mirin, Memoir of, 23. St. Mirin's name in different Charters, 26. St. Mirin's Tomb and Altar, 25, 134. St. Mirin's Vennel, and other names given to that street, 24, 135, 149, 151. St. Nicholas, Chapel of, 160. St. Ninian, 247. St. Ninian's Cross, 152. St. Rock's Chapel, 151, 160. Salmon, 134. Salmon Smolt, Fishers of, prohibited, 236. Salutation Inn, 183. Saucel hill, 132, 140. Schaw, Abbot George, 24. Schaw, Abbot George, 51, 141, 142. ,, ,, ,, tablet stone, 53. Schaw, Abbot George, confirms Charter of James IV., 141. Schaw, Christian, Bargarran, 93, 94. Sclatebank, 143. Scone, Colony of Monks, 27. Scotch Money compared with Sterling Money, 162. Scotch words and their contractions, 162. Seal of Abbot George Schaw, 55. Seal of Abbot Robert Schaw, 60. Seal of the Abbots, 25. Seal of the Monastery of Paisley, 67. Second charge in the Abbey established, 86. Seedhill, 134, 140, 143. Seedhill, Grave-yard at, 139. Selgovae Tribe, 17. Sempill, Robert, Master of, appointed Justiciar and Bailie, by the Abbot, 62, 70, 71. Sempill's, Lord, House, 94 High-street, 183, 184. Semple, Sir James, Sheriff, 231. Semple, Sir Wm., Bailie of Regality of Paisley, lOO. Sergeants, 144. Servants, domestic, female, wages and number, 351. Servants, Feeing of, 224. Seven Sacraments, figures in St. Mirin's Aisle, 139. Severus, Ramparts of, 17. Sheep to be expelled from the Burgh, 201. Sheriff Court, 412. Shoemakers (cordiners) in Paisley, 365. Shoemakers' Society formed 369. Shortroods, 136. Sibbald describes Paisley, 365. Sibbald, Sir R., 18. Sir prefixed to names of clergy, 76. Sleser's Pictorial Illustration of Paisley, 364- Smeaton, Thos., Abbey minister, 76. Smith, James, Abbey minister, 98, 99. Smith, R. A. , memoir of, 99. Smith, Rev. James, Cathcart, 100. Snadoun, torrente de, 134, 153. Snawdoun House, 276. ,, finiit in yard, sold, 277- ,, dovecot, 277, 278, 391. ,, trees in, sold, 277. ,, derivation of, 277. Snawdoun, land bought bv the Council, 275. Sneddon, 142, 143. Snodgrass, Neil, agent for witches, curious Law case, 361. Soldiers, English, imposed upon when in Paisley, 259. Soldiers, English, in Paisley, 264, 366. Soldiers, English, leave Paisley, 268. Soldiers, raising of, 241. Sounding Aisle (St. Mirin's Aisle), 120, 122. 424 INDEX. Sounding Aisle interment vaults, 122, 123, 124. Spreul, Mary, Ferguslie House, 138. Stallingers, 144, 174. Stanely Shaw, 137. Steeple Bell and Clock at Cross, 224, 226. Steeple of Monastery, 49, 61. Steward, High, Walter, son of Alan, 31. ,, ,, Alan, son of Walter, 32. ,, ,, Walter, son of Alan, 32. ,, ,, Alex., son of Alan, 32. ,, ,, James, son of Alex., 32. ,, ,, Walter, son of James, 32. ,, ,, Robert, son of Walter, 33. ,, ,, Robert, son of Walter, ascends the throne, 34. Steward, Walter, appointed High, 28. ,, ,, gifts to several Ab- beys, 28. Steward, Walter, founding and endowing Monastery of Paisley, 28, Stewards, High, of Scotland, their history, 31. Stewards, High, of Scotland, their ancestors, 31. Stewart, John, Woodside, 134, 137. Stewart, Sir Michael, objecting to the Council vote for a County Commis- sioner, 382. Stewart, Sir M. R. S., 133. Stewart — three ways of spelling this name, 28. Stewart Wm., of Caversbank, offending the Bailies, 169, 229. Stipend Augmentation to Abbey minis- ters, no. Stirling, James, Abbey minister, 88, 89. Stirlingshire, 17. Strathclyde, 17. Strathgryfe, 17. Straw covering houses, 170. Streets and Roads in Paisley in the 15th century, Plan of, 148. Stocks as a mode of punishment, 181, 236, 285. Stoney-brae, 134. Stools used in Abbey Church, and case of assault, 96. Sunday desecration, 78, 180, 181, 285, 300, 303- Sunday, Observance of, 214, 215, 300, 303- Swearers, Blasphemers, and Scolders, Acts passed against, 212, 302. Swine, 136. Tablet Stone of John de Lithgow, 47. Tailors in Paisley, 365. Tannahill and Ferguslie, 137, 138. Taylor, James, Abbey minister, 92. Tenants of the Abbey, 58, 59. Ten o'clock at night, persons fined if out after, 371. Tervas, Thomas de. Abbot, 48, 49, 50. Theatricals, 232. Thefts, 222. Thomas the Brewer, 133. Thornlie Lands given to the Abbey, 46, 137- Thread, Bargarran Sewing, 395. Thrushcraig, 132. Tollbooth, 149, 225. Tollbooth, Entering in ward in the, 173, 226. Tollbooth, Escape from, 326. ,, Indulgencies given to, 326. ,, persons liberated on giving security for future good behaviour, 328, 329- Tollbooth Key sent to Debtors, 301, 380. Topography of Paisley, 149. Tower of the Monastery, 49, 61. Tramping of clothes prohibited in sight of walkers in the High-street, 3ch3. Travelling expenses paid to Councillors, 303. 308- Treasurer's accounts, 241, 242. Treasurer's duties described, 211, 237. Treasurers, Town, declining to act, 3", 313- Trees sold, 389. Troop of horse raised in Paisley, 257, 258. Trooper engaged, 308, 315, 316. Trounchers, &c. , Gifts of, 270. Trout and Salmon in the river Cart, 134, 135: Tulchan Bishop, 75. Underground passage at the Abbey, 53. Underwood Burn, 134, 136. Underwood, 137, 153. Unfreemen not to break common land, 237- Union of England and Scotland, 367. Unlaws wishing mitigation of sentences, to be only heard after petitioning, 301. Vagabonds and strong beggars. Acts passed against, 213. Valentia, Roman province of, 17, 19. Vanduara, so called by the Romans, 17, 18, 138. Vaus, John, appointed Sheriff Clerk, 231. Vennel (Lady-lane), 149. Victoria, at Loch Orr, 17. Village at Paisley before Monastery, 138, 140. Virgin Mary, 139. INDEX. 425 Visit proposed, of Earl of Angus aad Lennox to the Abbey averted, 58. Visitors to Markets, 177, 392. Visits of King James IV. to the Abbey, 54, 57- Walkingshaw, 137. Wall built by Abbot Schaw, 52. Wallace, Sir William, 42. Wallneuk of Paisley, 245, 246. Walter appointed High Steward, 28. Walter, the High Steward, dies at Melrose, 30. Wangate-end, 153. Wann, Sir John, 15 1. War, Civil, in England and Scotland, 257. War Declared by England against Scotland, 257. War, Paisley made ready in time of, 257- Ward, bottom of the, 143, 153. Warders, Act anent, 173. Warnings, Act anent, 171. Watergait (Water-wynd), 149. Waulk Mill, 135. Wax, buying and selling, 143. Wax to the Monastery, 46. Weaving Trade of the Town, 186, 363, 395- Weapon Schawing, 218. Weapons of Burgesses, 216, 217, 281. Weavers' Society formed, 369. Weights and Measures, 227. Wellmeadow, 135, 142, 143, 149, 153. Well-street, 153. Wendur, White Cart, 18. Wheat first mentioned in the Council Records, 178. Whiteford, John, first Bailie of Paisley, 133, 143- Whithorn, 152. Widows committing fornication, to lose common land, 238. Widows marrying, how their land is to be disposed of, 238. Wilson, Andrew, Abbey minister, 108, 109, III. Windows, Stained Glass in the Abbey Cluirch, III, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118. Wine and beer sold by the Clergy, 76. Wine, buying and selling, 143. Wines allowed to be sold in the Abbey, 49- Wishaw, 17. Witches, 93, 352 to 361. Women, Young, Act anent, 172. Women excluded from the Council Seat in the Kirk, 300. Women not to sit in Church on forms with men, 96. Women, Unclean, expelled the Town, 382. Woods around Paisley, 19. Woodside, 17, 134, 136, 137. Worcester, battle at, and defeat of Royalists, 263. Wrights' Society formed, 369. Wrights' Society, Extract from Records, 370. J. AND J. COOK, PRINTERS, PAISLEY. NOV 2 6 1985 ^^'sUf-JtJ^ -r.'" (2:/t> A 000 599 127 8 iiuiiiiiiiiiiiinui