A LETTER FROM A Citizen of Glasgow To his Friend at Edinburgh.  
Containing some modest Animadversions on a late Printed Letter, concerning the Affairs of that City.  PROV. 10.9. 
He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely: But he that perverteth his ways, shall be known.  PROV. 16.18. 
Pride goeth before destruction: And an haughty Spirit before a fall.  
Printed in the Year, 1700.   

A Letter from a Citizen of Glasgow to his Friend at Edinburgh, etc.  
SIR,  
I was not a little surprised upon the Receipt of yours, of the 11th. instant, containing the Printed Copy of a Letter concerning the Management of the Affairs of this City, by which the Author, with no small stock of Assurance, endeavours to vindicate the great Abuses which the Inhabitants have suffered in the Administration of their Affairs since the Year 1689.  
I am persuaded that neither the Magistrates, nor any other Wellwisher to the Peace and Quiet of this Town, could be Accessary to the publishing of a Letter that, I am afraid, must unavoidably move some Persons, who otherwise would lie Dormient, to make a stricter Inquiry into its Veracity than perhaps, the Author would, upon more Mature Consideration, be willing to subject it: For as it is truly Lamentable, That there should be any discord, or even so much as the Seeds thereof, between our Magistrates and the Inhabitants, so it cannot but be regreted, that any should be so Malicious as to expose the Weakness of either the one or the other, by publishing the same in Print: And as there is nothing more certain than, That a City divided against itself cannot stand, so the first Aggressor, or Chief sour of Sedition, should remember the Condemnation pronunced by our Saviour, Woe be to him by whom the Offence cometh. And I am sure you will allow it to be an Aggravation of the Gild, the publishing of it so unseasonably, to the disquieting of the Minds of the People at this time, the Sacrament of the Lords Supper being to be Administered here upon the next ensuing Lords day. And were I not persuaded, that there must be many more Copies of a printed Paper, than that one which you sent me, I would commit it to the Flames.  
But now, since you tell me that that Letter has raised in several others as well as yourself, a desire of being informed by some impartial hand, concerning the true Condition of our Town's Affairs, and that you seem to expect some account thereof from me. I shall inform you of what occurrs to me at present, with relation to the Contents of that Letter.  
As to what is Suggested in the second Paragraph of it, I must say, That tho' I was much conversant with the Generality of the People of Glasgow yet I never heard any Reflection made against the Magistrates and Council for Mis-management of the Town's Common-Good, further than that they were always determined by John Anderson of Dovehill's Counsel and Advice, alleging, That instead of a free Election (which the Letter-writter says the Town has) they had allowed Dovehill the Nomination of the Provost, Bailies, and Town-Council, ever since the late happy Revolution; whereby the Town's Gift (tho' it cost them 9000 Marks, and gives Warrant for as free an Election as any Burgh of this Nation, and particularly as that of the Burgh of Edinburgh) yet was never further extended or made use of by them, than to put Dovehill in place of the Archbishop; these Persons being always preferred whom he named to the place: And tho' Dovehill could not always be Provost himself, because of the set of the Burgh, yet whoever were chosen were but Nominal Provosts, and he always exerced: And the Expense which the Burgh was put to in procuring the abovementioned Gift of a free Election of their Provost and Magistrates, was so far from Relieving them of the Inconveniencies which they lay under, that it has been made use of as a handle by Dovehill to continue, and perpetuate the Magistracy in his own hands, with such others as entirely depend upon him, who succeeded one another by turns and private Conceit, eversince the obtaining of the said Gift; and that by such Methods and Practices as you will fully understand by and by.  
And as an evidence thereof, it is very remarkable, that since the year 1689, there have few or none been able to come upon the Government of the Town, but such who have been shrewdly presumed to be devoted to Dovehill and his interest; and none has been altered or turned out of the Town-Council, except only those who for the good and interest of the Burgh, as well as for the freedom of its Inhabitants, stated themselves in opposition to Dovehill's Designs, and endeavoured to check his proceed, when contrary to the true interest of the City.  
For instance whereof John Sprewl who has very particularly signalised himself for the honour of his Country and good of this City; Thomas Peter who faithfully discharged his Trust, and was extraordinary serviceable to the Town, and gained to it by his diligent management 16000 lib. clear profit on a Tack of the Excise; John Smith, John Stirling and John Armour, Persons well beloved by the City, and most Affectionate to its interest, and very capable of executing the Trust committed to their Charge, are the only Persons turned off the Council these Ten Years past.  
The Magistracy being thus continued in the Person of Dovehill, and his Dependants, notwithstanding of the Gift by which the City expected to have been secured against such Practices, and to have had the benefit of a free Election in the Terms of that Gift, namely to be as free as any City of the Kingdom and particularly that of Edinburgh, the Inhabitants (I must say) cannot but think themselves aggrieved, that Dovehill should keep the Tenor and intent of this Gift to be such a Secret, as that to this hour it has not been either communicated to the two Houses of Merchants and Trades, or so much as entered in our Records.  
And that I may not seem to assert this without warrant, as not having seen the said Gift; it appears by the Act of Parliament 14 of June 1690. Confirming the said Gift, that the Election since that time has not been in the Terms thereof, nor that the freedom of Election thereby granted to the City and Community of Glasgow, has ever been Communicated or made effectual to them: For by that Act of Parliament, it is Enacted, That the City of Glasgow and Town Council thereof, shall have full Power and Privilege to choose their own Magistrates, Provost, Bailies and other Officers within Burgh, as fully and freely in all respects as the City of Edinburgh or any other Royal Burgh within the Kingdom enjoys the same: And there being no particular manner determined in the Gift or Act above-recited, for exercing the new freedom and Liberty thereby granted to the City of Glasgow, it follows necessarily, that before any Election could legally proceed after the said Gift, the Town Council for the time, together with the Two Houses, which are the full Representation of the Burgh, aught to have been jointly consulted about the form of Electing the Provost, Bailies and other Officers, the Right of which is thereby conveyed to them; especially to the two Houses of Merchants and Trades, as being the Body of the Society and Community of Glasgow: And beyond question this must have been the design and Genuine intent of the Act of Parliament, as you may see by its referring to the Election of Edinburgh, in which the Trades have a very considerable interest. Nevertheless Dovehill, instead of conveening the Town-Council, Merchants and Trades Houses, in order to establish a fett for Electing the Magistrates in all time coming, pursuant to the Gift and Act of Parliament confirming the same, steps in into the Arch-Bishops place, and Leits the Magistrates without taking notice of either the Merchants or Trades Houses, and by that means has, contrary to the Town's Right and Freedom entailed the Magistracy upon himself and those of his Appointment ever since the Revolution, and has, during that time, enhanced the management of the Common Good without Control.  
And the People of Glasgow judging themselves extremely leased by this manner of Electing after the procurement of the Gift and Act of Parliament ; and finding themselves most rudely treated by Dovehill, who frequently gave very insolent Answers to their respectful Petitions for Redress of their wrongs, were and (as I am informed) still are resolved to pursue a Declarator of the Town's Freedom of Election, before the Parliament.  
And lest you should imagine this to be a groundless Charge, I shall support it by the following undeniable instance of his insolent Expressions and insulting carriage towards the Inhabitants in general:  
When several of the most considerable of their Number, did, in Name of themselves & their fellow Citizens, signify to Dovehill, that they could not comply with the paying of Stint upon any account whatsoever, but for the King's Cess; and particularly, that they could not pay Stint for the Burgh-dues, unless they were discerned and ordained by a Competent Judicatory; he Answered very huffily, That it were easier to hold a Lion by the Jaws, than to quarrel what the Magistrates did in reference to the Stenting of the Inhabitants, and that he would Stint them for the said Burgh-Dues, for the Defficiencies of former Stents, and for the Subscriptions of the Royal burgh's to the Indian and African Company; and bid any that quareled either of these to set it to their knee and right it if they could; all which can be made appear by famous Witnesses in this Town. And though all these aught to be paid out of the Common-Good, yet the several Inhabitants signified their inclination to comply most cheerfully with their Stint for the● said Subscription-Money (as they did) but only insisted, that Dovehill should take the Advice of the Merchants and Trades Houses, for laying on the same proportionably, and not assume to himself the Privilege of laying on a Stint Arbitrarly, without allowing them the freedom of enquiring into the Reasons thereof.  
I shall in the next place show you Dovehills sinistrous intrigues and illegal Practices, as to the method of continuing himself and his Sett in the Magistracy and Council, and debarring all those whom he thought not entirely in his Interest, not only from the Magistracy and Council, but also, as much as he could, from having any knowledge of the Town's Affairs: And indeed the matter is so very Scandalous, that were it not very notoriously known here, I should hardly venture to expose myself to the hazard of not being believed in the Relation of a practice so very uncommon; which is as followeth.  
I have already told you, that when ever any Election was to be made since the Beginning of Dovehill's Administration, he always assumed to himself the Privilege formerly enjoyed by the Archbishop, of giving in the Leits, and in those Leits he never failed of leishing together one of his own Creatures, or intimate Friends, whom he reckoned to be absolutely under his Management, with some Person of no Note or Degree within the City, or otherwise hated by the People, or disaffected to the Government; and after an Extraordinary Method, the Council behoved to choose by pairs, and not to have their Freedom of Electing out of the whole Leit; by which means he absolutely secured the Election to his own Creature or Friend:  
And that I may say nothing without Book, I shall (beside many other Instances to be given) condescend, for Brevity's sake, only on two: The first is Provost Napier (a Creature of Dovehill's) coupled with Provost Barns, a Person whom Dovehill himself had represented to the Town and Inhabitants, as a great Malverser and Squanderer of the Common-Good, and a Scourge to the Town in the time of the late Evil-Government, being a Tool of the late Archbishop's in fining for Non-conformities, and the then pretended Irregularities; By which Method he absolutely secured his Creature Napier to be chosen. The other Instance is, Matthew Cumming his Trusty Friend, who attends the Council on no Occasion, but when Dovehill calls for him for some Special Eminent Service or other, particularly about the time of Election; For Cumming being an Old Man, and living for the most part in the Country, is not able to attend the Council, as the Duty of a Councillor requires; yet being an old Trusty Trojan of Dovehill's, it was thought necessary in order to get him chosen, to buckle him with William Fawside, a Man shrewdly suspected to be both Jacobite and Malignant.  
It falls next in Course, That I inform you of Dovehill's Measures for turning out of the Council such as upon Trial, he finds not willing to run his Errands, or close with his Designs: He Lists the Person whom he intends should be put out, with another Person, that by the Sett of the Town cannot be turned out; and this he did in particular to the forementioned John Sprewl, a Person well deserving not only of this City but of the Country in general, by Leiting him with John Leckie one of the Magistrates for the immediate preceding Year, who by the Old Sett of the Burgh behoved to continue, and could not be turned off for that Year, by which Means John Sprewl must of necessity be removed, notwithstanding he did then, and at several other times, protest against such gross and palpable Encroachments upon the City's Right and Freedom of Election: And there has been such a continued Course of such Practices used by Dovehill, that it were a needless blacking of Paper to trouble you with any further instances of it at this time.  
But as a further Swatch of his Politics, in contriving of Handles by which he might preserve his Reputation and Esteem with his own Sett; when he foresaw that at the Convention of burgh's, July 1699, a part of the Burden of the Ten pounds formerly payable by the burgh's of Barony, must necessarily have been laid upon the Town of Glasgow, he writes a Letter to James Peadie then Provost, in which he declares, that he was so unfortunate, as to be ill-looked upon by several eminent Persons of the Nation, and that the Town of Glasgow having received prejudices on his Account, he therefore desired the said Provost to make choice of some other Person to represent them at the said Convention, which accordingly was done: Yet no sooner was the Convention over, but he endeavoured to calumniat the Commissioners that were there for this Burgh, unjustly alleging (tho' they had done all that was in their Power to lessen the Proportion of the said ten pounds, that was intended for Clasgow) that they were the Persons who brought Burden upon the Town: Because (forsooth) 40 shillings of the said Ten Pounds were laid on this Town for one year: And to support this Allegation, he affirmed further, that they had trusted too much to Sir James Smallet, and that if he had been Commissioner, he would have taken such Measures, as that no part of the said ten Pounds had been laid on the Town: This was such a Masterpiece of his Cunning, as he thought would undoubtedly Rivet him in the Good Opinion of his Old Core, and secure his being again chosen Provost at the then following Election; and thereby more firmly establish himself in all the other Beneficial places he enjoys, such as the being Manager of the Tack of the Customs, Conjunct Collector of Glasgow, General Surveyor; Book Keeper to the Town, Towns Agent, and Deburser of their Money, which many People stick not to say was the chief Butt that he aimed at.  
Having now given you this short account of the Council established by Dovehill, I reckon you will need but few further Arguments to persuade you, that the noise which he said was made concerning the management of the Affairs of Glasgow, was not altogether groundless; and I am persuaded, you are already of Opinion, that his Management in general has tended but very little to either the Peace, Credit or Interest of this City; and that he is not a Person so very self-denied, and regardless of his own interest, as to make a continued struggle for inhancing the Magistracy, if he had not found his Accounts by it.  
And though the account I give of this matter, may seem to carry along with it a more than ordinary concern, I have reason to hope, that you will not be so uncharitable, as to think that either I, or much less, so numerous a Body of the Inhabitants, as have cried out against the foresaid Abuses, do it upon the account of any personal prejudice at Dovehill, or any other of those who have been upon the Magistracy, during his Administration, but what we do or say in this matter, proceeds merely from the sense we have of our duty, to the City of Glasgow, whereof we are Members, and from the Obligations that lie upon us by our Burges-Oaths, to endeavour the good and welfare of the Town: And besides too, several of them stand in need of no Vindication, particularly Provost Peadie; who (I am persuaded) has behaved himself very Honestly and Conscientiously in his station, as some others have also done in theirs.  
But to come closer to the Contents of that Letter, which I am persuaded, no body but Dovehill could be at the Pains to Write, or have the Effrontory to publish, though in a blank Persons Name, to Vindicate the Magistrates of Glasgow (forsooth) from the Mismanagement, which the Community of the City charges only upon himself, it is observable, that for justifying himself from what he is pleased in that Letter to call Calumnies (though the People of Glasgow finds them to be sad Truths) he proclaims to the World, that he did expose his Books to the Two Houses, and desired that they would choose Six Persons of each House to consider the Town-Accounts and management, to the end that they might report their Opinion to both Houses; and that after these Persons had gone through the Accounts, and made their observes and remarks thereon, they could not be prevailed with to make the same known. By which Declaration he pretends to justify himself, and impose a belief upon Mankind, that all the Noise made about the Management of the Town's Affairs, was only groundless Suggestion, Clamour and Calumny.  
Yet you must know, that as this pretended exposing the Books to the Members of both Houses was but a mere shame, there being no free inspection given of the Books (as he alleges) nor sufficient time to make any reasonable Observations upon the Management of the Common Good, so neither was the scrimp inspection that was made, a free offer of Dovehill's for his own Vindication, as he would make us believe, but merely the effect of an Address, from a great many of the Inhabitants to the Dean of Gilled, desiring that the Books might be exposed, and which the Council (when conveen'd) did accordingly grant: But Dovehill had so managed the matter, that the inspection so much desired, proved altogether useless as to the Design for which it was intended: For although Six were appointed by each House to receive the Books, and have the free perusal of them amongst themselves; yet in stead of that free inspection which they ought to have had, Dovehill who by an unpresidented Conjunction of two such Offices was both Provost and Book-Keeper (for which he has a considerable Salary) never parted with the Books, nor allowed inspection thereof, but in his own presence, he pointing and illuminating the several Posts as he pleased: Neither did he allow above some few Hours for several days to go through the said Books, and by that means, any inspection or Survey that they had was so very superficial, that no distinct Report could possibly be made, especially considering that the Accounts of two full years, viz. From Michaelmass 1697 to Michaelmass 1699, are yet unrecorded: During which time many shrewd presumptions can be given, that there were great Fallacies and Abuses committed: And even in the Accounts which are recorded, there are several very considerable Articles not instructed; at least they must follow Dovehills Faith for the Disbursements of all the Writers Accounts, which tho consisting of several small particulars, yet amount to a great Sum, and go under such Names as the Revisers could not pretend to contravert, unless they had some Writers or Agents to Assist them, many Disbursements being Charged at several times for Doubles and adjusting of Minutes to the Lords Men, Clerks, Macers, etc. and several other Articles of that kind, which at least ought to have been attested by the Towns Agent, to whom they pay a yearly Salary; and besides it was not unknown to some of them, who were appointed to review these Accounts, that Dovehill had several Law-Pleas of his own, which went on at the same time, and that possibly one payment might have served for both: All which considerations were in my humble opinion sufficient Reasons to dissuade any discreet Men from venturing to expose their own Reputations, by giving in a Report under their hands in a matter of which they could not possibly have any distinct view.  
As to the particular Account which Dovehill gives of the Town's Debts, and the several payments by which he pretends to have reduced them by his painful management, you cannot well expect any particular Information from me concerning the same, until I have better Authority to direct my reason, and ground my belief upon, than any thing contained in that Printed Letter; for Dovehill being Book-Keeper as well as Provost might easily make a Charge and Discharge as he pleased: But had he given, as was desired, full and free inspection of his Books to my Informers, 'twere an easy matter to confute his said pretended and shame Account, & demonstrate that it was calculated only for a new Trick to impose upon the People, & persuade them that their Affairs are in good order, when in the mean time they are (I am very much afraid) going to Wreck and Ruin.  
And therefore, (tho' for the reasons aforesaid a particular Answer cannot at present be given to an Account, thus clandestinely patched up by Dovehill and his Agents, with design to surprise and amuse the People therewith) yet to obviate the fallaciousness and disingenuity thereof, and to show to the World that many considerable Sums have been exacted & intrometted with by Dovehill over and above the Town's ordinary Revenue and Common-Good, I have hereunto subjoined some noted particulars amounting to the Sum of 126700 lib., which are most disingenuously suppressed, or at least omitted in Dovehill's Printed Account.  
 lib. ss. d, Exacted from the Inhabitants under the Name of King's Cess, etc. more than warranted by Act of Parliament, about 36700 00 00 Gained upon the Tack of the Excise of the Five Shires. 16000 00 00 Uplifted of Seat-Mails before there was one word of building the Blackfryar Church, about 08000 00 00 Received from the Inhabitants for private and public Malt before the Revolution, about 06000 00 00 Received of the 2 d. per Pint of Ale to this Year. 60000 00 00  126700 00 00  
And this beside the whole Revenue of the Town of Glasgow, viz. Milns, Ladles, Pecks, Greene's, Throne, Bridge, Broomy-Law; Port Glasgow, Drawen-Teinds about the Town. Teinds of the Gorbals, Flesh-Market, Land Market, the Rent of the Sixteen Mark-Land, Feu-Duties and Teinds of the Barony.  
By all which it's evident to the meanest Capacity, that Dovehills Vindication is but a further step of his imposing upon and deluding the People, with design to lull them asleep and keep them as much as he can in gross ignorance of the Town's Affairs.  
And as a further evidence of his Sinistrous design by the said Account, you may observe a most shameless Peice of Partiality in that shame vindication of himself and the Magistrates; for he thereby makes all the payments of the Town's Debts to be made during the time of his own Provostship; but in Provost Peadie and Provost Napier's time (who are known to be very honest Men) no Debts were paid; which is a gross and grievous Reflection upon the Reputation of honest Men; especially considering, it is very well known that, though Dovehill was not always in the Provost's Chair, yet he had still the ascendant over it so far as to have the management of the Council who were all of his own choosing: For Proof whereof my informers do declare, that they knew several Sums that ought to have been applied to the payment of Debt in Provost Peadie and Provost Napier's time, preposterously applied for payment of Debt in Dovehill's time, particularly 1100 lib. paid by George Murehead late Treasurer for defraying of Debt in Dovehills time, which should have been paid in Peadies' time: And several instances can be given of the like Practices overall the Accounts.  
And it is very remarkable, that how favourable soever the Letter is to Dovehill, in all its parts, yet the Writer thereof has omitted Seven Thousand Marks of Expenses, that the Town of Glasgow was at, in defending the Slaughter of Major Meinzies; which being so considerable a Sum, I know not how it could have escaped Dovehill's Memory, upon perusal of his Books; but I rather begin to have Charity for him in believing that being ashamed thereof, he has wilfully omitted it; as being not only extravagant, but an Article too that he knows might have been easily prevented by taking the said Major alive, and bringing him to a fair Trial, when he was surrounded by Dovehill and such a Number of the Inhabitants, as must needs have made his escape impossible; which is well known to the whole Inhabitants of this place.  
Now that I have done Justice to Dovehill, in minding him of what he has neglected to state in his own Discharge, he can the less blame me, for having, in Justice to the Community, of which I am a Member, mentioned those Particulars which he has wilfully concealed in his Letter, and aught to be put to his Charge: Which, together with the many unnecessary Pleas, in which he has involved the Town, amount to a great Sum, and can easily be made appear, if he could be prevailed with, to allow the Inhabitants to inspect his Books more narrowly, and make their Remarks with greater Deliberation, than those Pleas were engaged in.  
As to the Conclusion of his Accounts, by which he asserts, that there is 50326 Pounds 5 Shillings paid of clear Debt, my Informers seemed to be very glad, if they could be certified, that the Town of Glasgow's Debts are so much lessened, since Dovehill's entering into the Magistracy; but are unwilling to believe it, till the two Years outstanding Accounts be Recorded, and come to Light: For until that be done, and a fair, full and free Inspection given of his Books, and a true Charge made against him, (which is noways done in the foresaid Letter and printed Account, as appears by what is above said) there can be no just or particular View given of that Matter: And the Inhabitants are deeply afraid, that instead of finding the Town's Debts lessened, in the Sum which he pretends, that they will find the Common-Good reduced to such a Pass, as that in a little time it will not be able to bear its own Weight, if it fall not speedily into better hands. Nor is this the Case of the Common-Good only, but even the Inhabitants themselves, by the extraordinary Burdens laid on them, are become so unable, that many of them have already left the Town, and given up their Burgess-Tickets, to be free of the Stents and Burdens; and many others are like to follow their Example: So that Dovehill's Management may come to empty the Town of Trading Merchants, as well as he has purged the Council of such as cannot be devoted to his Interest, unless a speedy Remedy be found: Nor is it to be supposed, that it was upon the Account of Public Works, that the Inhabitants have been thus heavily Stented: For the Expense of these are much more than compensed, by the extraordinary Incomes and Profits, of which Dovehill has made no manner of Account.  
But lest this my long Letter may weary your Patience, tho' I have several other things to add on this Subject, I shall conclude at present with this one Observe: The Writer of that printed Letter which you sent me, says, That the Magistrates bear as heavy a part of the Stents as any others, and some of them more than any in the Town: But because I am sure, that the Inhabitants know very well that Assertion to be impudent and false, I shall only tell you, that if Dovehill has been Stented for any Trade that he has had these Twelve Years passed as a Merchant, they have done him very much Injustice; for my Informers assure me, that they never knew of any Trade that he has had in all that time, except the Provost-Trade; which now, it seems, they incline to believe to be a better Trade than they thought of: Especially when they consider what Industry & Art he uses, to keep himself in that Station; what his Circumstances were when he entered into it what they are now; and how that by that Trade only, he has paid off so much of his own proper Debts: For they are persuaded, that the Four Pounds a Day which he gets, when Abroad on the Town's Affairs, and the Three Hundred Pounds he gets as being Book-Keeper, could never effectuate such things.  
Sir, Tho' your Importunity has expiscated all this from me, I should not wish, that it were exposed to any, who would improve it to the raising of Discord: And though the Author of that Letter has thought fit to leave a blank for his Name, for Reasons best known to himself, since we can only guests at them; yet I could have no Scruple in Citing my Informers Names, were it not they assured me, that if their Names were known, they might expect no less than Military Execution, by exorbitant Quartering of Soldiers upon them: For that is the common Usage of the People of Glasgow, if they seem to quarrel any thing that Dovehill thinks fit to be done; his ordinary is, to send Two Soldiers to Quarter on each of them, tho' often, the Houses which they are sent to, cannot well accommodat the People themselves: So that it is all one, whether there be Two Companies, or Two Regiments in Town; for the Locality is still exacted of those, whom he thinks Dis-affected to him, whether there be any Shadow of Reason for it or not.  
If this Account can give you any Satisfaction, I have my chief end by it, next to that of endeavouring to obviate and expose those Measures, which I think so prejudicial to the Interest and Welfare of this City, whose Good, you know, I am in Duty bound to advance, as much as in me lies: And if I fail in the Performance, I hope you'll in Charity rather impute it to my Ignorance, than to the Want of a Hearty Inclination in  
SIR, Your Real Friend, and Humble Sarvant, J. B. Glasgow, 17th. July, 1700.   

Postscript.  
AFter I had considered this tedious Letter, I cannot forbear giving you further assurance, that the several matters of Fact therein contained are truly and justly related, to the best of my Memory, and according to the truest Information that I could procure.  
But upon second thoughts, my Memory does not serve me exactly whether William Fawside mentioned Page 7 was coupled with Matthew Cumming or Dovehill's other beloved Creature Gavin Wood; but that he was leited with one of them, I am positive: And that George Graham, James Robertson and John Gardiner (whose Characters are well known to the Inhabitants) were likewise severally Leited with other Trusty Friends of Dovehill's.  

And for the further Verification of what I have Written concerning the Election of our Magistrates, I have hereunto Subjoined a true Copy of the Act of Parliament in favours of the Town of Glasgow.  
June 14th. 1690.  
OUR SOVEREIGN LORD and LADY, taking to Their Consideration, that the City of Glasgow is amongst the most considerable of the Royal Burrows within Their Ancient Kingdom of Scotland, both for the number of Inhabitants, and their singular fitness and application to Trade, and the convenient Situation of the Place, upon the River of Clyde; And that the Common-Good of the said City hath been greatly wasted and exhausted, by draining vast Sums of Money from Magistrates, who were not freely Elected and Chosen, as is usual in other Royal Burrows: And likeways considering the firm Adherence, and constant Zeal for the Protestant Religion, of the Community of the said City, Their Majesties did grant a full and ample Charter, in favours of the said City of Glasgow, and the Common Council thereof, confirming all former Charters granted to them by any of Their Royal Predecessors, in favours of the Community of the said City, or Gild-brethrens, Tradesmen, or any Society or Deaconry within the same; and also of new Granting and Disponing to the said City, and common Council thereof, a full and ample Power, Right and Faculty of Electing their Provost, Bailies, and other Magistrates, at the ordinary time of Election, as freely as any other Royal Burgh might do within Their said Ancient Kingdom, promising to confirm the foresaid Charter in the next Parliament. Therefore Their Majesties, with Advice and Consent of the Estates of Parliament, do Statute, Enact and Ordain, that the City of Glasgow, and Town-Council thereof, shall have Power and Privilege to choose their own Magistrates, Provosts, Bailies, and other Officers within Burgh, as fully, and as freely in all respects, as the City of Edinburgh, or any other Royal Burgh within the Kingdom enjoys the same; Beginning the first Election at Michaelmass next, and so forth yearly in time-coming. And further, Their Majesties, with Consent foresaid, do Ratify, Confirm, and Approve the foresaid Charter granted by them in favours of the Community, and Common Council of Glasgow, of the date the fourth day of January 1690, in the whole Heads, Articles, and Clauses thereof, as fully and amply, as if the same were word by word herein Ingrossed; Whereanent Their Majesties, with Consent foresaid, do hereby Dispense for now and ever. It is always hereby expressly provided and declared, that this present Act shall be without prejudice or derogation to Their Majesties, of Their Rights to the Regality of Glasgow, or other Rights, except as to the Power and Freedom of the Burgh of Glasgow, in relation to the choosing of their own Magistrates, and the several Erections of Incorporations and Deaconries in that Burgh.   
FINIS.