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A/C 22 S 7 W 5. T H E N E W STAT IS TI C A L A C C O U NT O E S C 0 T L A N D. V O L. VII. THE NEW STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF S C () T L A N D. BY THE MINISTERS OF THE RESPECTIVE PARISHES, UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF A COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SONS AND IDATUGEITERS OF TEIE CLERGY. W 0 L, W II, R E N FR E W — A R G Y I, E. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH AND LONDON. MDCCCXLV. R E N F R. E. W. 2 A. ºzco e - 22.4% 2% a Jºže ze.t.c.?” /: ~ 32.3/ Ž 2 & 74° C O N T E N T S. CATH CART, EAGLES HAM, EAST WOOD OR POLLOCK, ERSKINE, - GREENOCIR, . . º HOUSTON AND KILLALLAN, INCH INNAN, . . INNERI; IP, e KILBARCH AN, IILM ALCOLAI, LOCHW INNOC II, MEARNS, NEi LSTON, PA (SLI.Y, PORT-G LAsgow, RENFREw, PAGE 495 383 33 , #500 405 º 46 ] 13 to 525 352 e 56 tº 74, 12 () 7 : 6 : º-Tºſºrºfanºſ,” º- - - & Scotstº |- - – ſº, ----- º : 5 prºlintº ºn- º: Pºrº º º anº - - º *…hº. - ººrse"º §º º º º . - º º - º º º - º, 2-C,5- D º º ; “. ſº - |-- #. *}. º &º 3% {&#Nſ ºf Słſſ R.E. British Miles. - - - - - º Wºłº, ochººl - ºnchinº - _ Longitude west from Greenwich 4° 30' - - - - - - - - - ºn-º-º-º-º-º: PARISH OF RENFREW. PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNoD of GLASGow AND AYR. THE REV. DUNCAN MACFARLAN, MINISTER. § I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name of this parish, as well as of the county, ap- º to have belonged originally to the site and neighbourhood of the present burgh. A town bearing the same name existed here in the reign of David I., which commenced in 1124. We are, from this and other evidence, carried back to a period when some dialect of the Celtic must have been spoken in this part of the country; in this immediate neighbourhood, most probably that of the Strath-Clyde Britons. Clyde, Leven, Lomond, Dumbarton and, as we think, Renfrew, are all British names. The author of Caledonia derives the last of these from Rhyn, in Welsh, or Rinn, in Gaelic and Irish;-both meaning a point of land; and Frew, or Fraw, in Welsh, a flow of water; thus making Renfrew the point of land near the flow or conflux of the rivers Clyde and Gryfe. All who are acquainted with the localities of the burgh will recognize in this an apt description; yet it must have been much more so, when these rivers spread out as they formerly did, leaving the lands around the burgh literally as a point appearing amidst the waters. Assuming, then, that this name was anciently applied to the site of the burgh, it is easy to understand how it would afterwards be given to the burgh itself, and from it to the parish; and we know, that it was afterwards extended, first to the barony, and then to the sheriffdom or county. Hence the name of the burgh, the parish, and the county of Renfrew. * - Eatent and Boundaries.—This parish comprehends the whole of the burgh, and a landward district extending to about 5% miles * It may not be improper here to notice an error, into which several respectable Writers have fallen on this subject; apparently copying one from another. Among others, Crawford, in his history of the county, alleges Renfrew to be the same with Randuara, a name said to be found in Ptolemy, as quoted by Cambden. The re- ference to Cambden is correct, but the word used by Ptolemy is Vanduaria; and the place to which this latter name is applied, instead of being on the very banks of the Clyde, appears to be nearly equidistant between it and the Ayrshire coast. RENFR.E.W. A. 2 R EN FREWSHIRE. in length, and 2% at its greatest breadth, the amount of surface being about 9 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the pa- rishes of East and West Kilpatrick, both in the county of Dum- barton; on the east chiefly by the parish of Govan, in the county, of Lanark; on the south by the Abbey parish of Paisley; and on the west, or rather the north-west, by the rivers Black Cart and Gryfe, which separate it from the parishes of Kilbarchan and Inchinan. - Topographical Appearances.—The general outline is irregular, and is farther broken by the intersection of several navigable rivers. Fully one-third of the whole is on the north side of the river Clyde; this being the only part of the county which crosses that river. A similar proportion of what remains is separated from the rest by the White Cart, and a navigable canal which runs for a short dis- tance alongside of it. Communication with this district of the parish is maintained by bridges, and with the north side of the Clyde by boats. Row-boats are employed for foot-passengers, and a large vessel open at both ends, and moved along a chain by a hand-windlass, for cattle, carts, and carriages. The general ap- pearance of the parish, in its two southern divisions, is that of an alumost perfect level, and very much in the centre of an extensive plain; stretching southward to the hilly country above Paisley; westward into the parishes of Kilbarchan, Houston, and Erskine; northward to the base of the Kilpatrick range; and eastward to- wards Glasgow. In this general division of the parish, there is only one noticeable acclivity, which, from its insular situation, commands an extensive view, and is dignified with the appellation of Knock, a low hill. On the north side of the river Clyde, the surface is more unequal. The hilly undulations, which skirt the base of the Kilpatrick range, shoot down and overlook the lower grounds; and, running eastward towards Glasgow, are formed into a succession of low conical hills, several of which are within this parish. The most considerable of these is Jordanhill, which rises perhaps 180 feet above the level of the river. Between and around these, the lands are low, flat, and alluvial; resembling those on the south side of the river. On both sides are several handsome mansion-houses, With plantations corresponding, which greatly diversify and enrich the general landscape. There is a small hill above Scotstown gate, from which the central and richest portion of the view is best seen ; and for a more distant and general view of the parish and REN FREW, - 3 surrounding country, we know of no point better than the hill on which the High Church of Paisley stands. - Climate.-Although our climate cannot differ greatly from that of the surrounding parishes, it is probably in some respects modi- fied. Most of the parish lies very low, and is yet remarkably open; the subsoil is generally dry and gravelly,–in many places, a bed of fine sand; the tide ebbs and flows through it in several channels; and it is to a considerable extent sheltered by the Kilpatrick and Campsie hills on the north; and the upper lands of Renfrewshire on the south and south-west. These and other local circumstances probably affect both the temperature and the quantity of rain com- mon to the surrounding parishes. Unfortunately there is no journal kept on either of these points; but we know it to be the opinion of several intelligent observers, that there is a difference. Showers, especially from the west, are attracted by the hills, and fall out in the more broken parts of the country; very much passing over the central plain. An intelligent farmer, who has resided all his life on an elevated tract of the Kilpatrick hills, from which the whole vale of the Clyde may be distinctly seen, assured the writer, that he has been always accustomed to observe the lands about Renfrew and the point of Cardross, (another point similarly situat- ed.,) sooner free of snow than any other part within view. In com- mon also with other parts of the country, our climate has been im- proving. Our winters are milder, our summers are said to be cooler; and yet between sowing and reaping there is a shorter pe- riod. This last may be in part owing to the introduction of fo- reign seeds, that are of quicker growth; but still more, we appre- hend, to increased draining, better and more thorough cultivation, and stimulating more abundantly with hot manures. The general deepening and embankment of our rivers, the drying up of stag- nant pools, the growing of plantations containing many evergreens, and the cultivation of the country at large, must have also contri- buted to the amelioration of our winters. We are not sure whether the greater coolness of summer has yet been satisfactorily explained. The greater cold during winter might have made the summer's heat more noticeable, and perhaps the inferior equipments of husbandry, used sixty years ago, might have rendered both men and cattle more oppressed by the heat; but may it not be farther submitted, whether, upon the same principle on which both the summer's heat and the winter's cold are modified near the sea, namely, the greater radia- tion of heat,-the general and more thorough cultivation of the soil 4 R EN FREWSHIRE. may not have contributed to effect a similar change on land? In connection with climate and other circumstances, this parish has long been accounted remarkably healthy. The writer of the for- mer Statistical Account says, “No place, perhaps, in the west of Scotland is so peculiarly healthy as Renfrew. Epidemical distem- pers are hardly ever known.” In illustration of this latter circum- stance, it may be mentioned as a current tradition, that the plague which raged so much in the neighbourhood, especially about the beginning of the seventeenth century, never entered Renfrew. * And it can scarcely be said that the Asiatic cholera of 1832 en- tered it; for, although there were two deaths believed to be by cho- lera, the individuals affected were understood to have caught the disease in Glasgow. We mention these facts as matters of ob- servation, but without believing them to be explicable on any other principle than that of Divine Providence. It is not to be conceal- ed, however, that typhus fever and British cholera, as well as the usual epidemics affecting children, occasionally visit this as much as other places. In 1787 or 1788, or about that time, small-pox seems to have been very fatal in the burgh and neighbourhood. Since that time, it yielded to the general use of vaccination, and seldom occurred till last autumn, when a species of the disease again appeared, spread generally among children, and attacked some grown people; several of whom died, though they had been pre- viously vaccinated. The general impression, however, of aged people, who had seen small-pox in its more virulent forms, is, that our late visitation has been comparatively mild. - : Hydrography, &c.—The subsoil being for the most part alluvial, our springs vary in their quality, and also in the depth to which wells must be sunk for them. About the burgh, they flow from the south chiefly through a bed of fine sand, and are remarkable for purity and perennity; some of them, however, being slightly tinged with the oxide of iron. From the great changes which have taken place in our rivers, especially in the Clyde, and on account of its great com- mercial importance, it may be desirable to go more into detail under * 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 the “Hairst Loan,” the way leading to Paisley. A large fire was kept burning, with a pot suspended over it, containing 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 purchases; it was then im- mersed in the boiling pot, and brought out purified from all infection, and declared current. REN FREW. 5 this head than would otherwise be necessary. In the middle of the seventeenth century, there were between the Point House, oppo- site Govan and Erskine Ferry, a distance not exceeding perhaps eight miles, not fewer than eight islands, four of which appear to have been within this parish. The largest of these was called the King’s Inch; it had in it a large castle, once a royal residence; and it now forms the principal domains of Eldersly House. Another, the Buck Inch, or, as it is vulgarly called, the Packman Isle, now forms part of the lands of Scotstown. A third, called the Sand Inch, still bears the name of “the Isle,” and is part of the com- mon near the ferry of Renfrew. And a fourth, the Ron or Ren, lay in the mouth of the Gryfe.” When the river was thus divided and broken by so many islands, the different channels were full of banks. These naturally interrupted the currents, and caused the adjacent lands to be often flooded to a great extent. One of the channels passed immediately under the burgh, so that the gardens along the street called Townhead are still described in deeds of property, as bounded on the north by the Clyde, though they are now distant from the river probably half a-mile. About seventy or eighty years ago, a square-rigged vessel, which afterwards sail- ed in the Virginia trade, is said to have been launched into this channel from a building yard, which must have been over the pre- sent green, near Eldersly west gate. This ancient channel may still be traced from the Marlin Ford above Braehead House, through the grounds now of Eldersly, along under the burgh and through the common. During the earlier part of this course, it formed the boundary line between the counties of Renfrew and Lanark; and having received the Mill-Burn at the east end of the burgh, part of it is still partially open, under the name of Puddough,-a name most probably derived from the appearance of this channel when the other had been so deepened as very much to withdraw the water, leaving it comparatively small and muddy. From the burgh down to the ferry, there is a navigable canal, which was opened about fifty years ago, and which is partly in the old bed of the river. Towards the ferry, however, it is cut across what was at one time an island. To furnish some idea of the improvements which have been going on in the present channel, it may be stated, * These may be seen in a map of the county, published originally in Amsterdam . º and republished with the last edition of Crawford's History of the County + At that period much smaller vessels were employed, we understand, than at pre- Sent, 6 RENF REWSHIRE, that, in 1755, there was only one foot six inches of water at seve- ral of the fords (in summer) opposite the grounds of Eldersly; whereas there are now about six feet all the way up. And, as there is a rise of nearly six feet more during ordinary tides, twelve feet water have thus been secured. With spring tides, under high west and south-west winds, it may even rise to sixteen feet and upwards. Here at the period referred to, the width of the river at these places was from 684 to 884 feet, and now it runs from 230 to 280.* Operations for deepening the channel commenced soon after 1770, and have been chiefly directed to two points, the confining of the current by parallel dikes and banks, and the deepening of the bed of the ri- ver,-latterly by dredging-machines, which are wrought by steam.f Geology and Mineralogy.—Nearly the whole of the low grounds in this parish are strictly alluvial. The subsoil consists chiefly of extensive beds of sand, often interspersed with thin strata of clay, sometimes of moss (peat-bog,) and occasionally interrupted with large masses of solid unstratified clay. The disposal of these and other deposits strongly indicates a submarine formation. Selecting a piece of land near the centre of this level tract, we had pits dug round several fields for examining the upper strata. And after passing through the soil, we sometimes found a few inches of clay, and at other times of moss, but more generally sand. Between the layers of sand, we found large deposits of the oxide of iron (which gives the water a rusty appearance,) but no ironstone; and often a quantity of coal gum, interspersed with pieces of coal, containing probably from one to six or eight cubical inches. This coal deposit, we found generally a few inches under the soil, and probably from two feet and a-half to three feet under the surface, and uniformly water-worn. We have repeatedly burned the coal, and found it to burn clearly like gas coal, and to be remarkably light.; Beneath this, we sometimes came to a fine sand, naturally white, * This, as well as the constant agitation of the water by steamers, may in part ac- count for the small quantity of ice now found on the river. Old people recollect, when coals and other materials were usually carted across the Clyde on the ice for many weeks together; and even so late as 1814, the people on the north side are said to have walked over to church for four or five Sabbaths in succession. Anything of the kind occurring now would be accounted very wonderful. f Much important information will be found, respecting the improvements of the river, in Dr Cleland's Statistical Work, and in the Account of Glasgow in this work. Farther improvements are at present under consideration. An Engineer’s Report now before me, contains plans for deepening the whole bed of the liver to not less than 20 feet, at high water, during neap-tides, and at an expense of L.377,867, 2s. 9%d. † This coal deposit, which must have been left by the water, is partially spread over the whole plain; as we lately found it, on the west of the Cart, at a distance of near- ly two miles from the other. RENF REW. 7 but appearing at first bluish black, from the tinge of the water with which it is filled. On running a walking stick frequently into the sand, it became quite dyed, so as to retain the colour, though fre- quently washed. On opening a pit, there was also a strong smell of bilge water, or such as is felt on digging within the flow of the tide down the frith. These pits were dug probably from four to six feet under the surface of the soil. And we may add, that the above observations may be verified by examining almost every deep ditch in that neighbourhood. In one place, we found a quantity of small shells,-cockles, muscles, welks, &c. not more than about twenty inches under the surface, imbedded in sand, but resting on a mass of clay. This was about a mile south of the burgh; and about half a mile farther south, there is a long ridge or bank consisting chiefly of sand or gravel, and bearing the name of the “Cockle Hill.” Near the place where the small shells were found, larger shells, resembling cockles, are also occasionally found at a depth of ten or twelve feet in unstratified clay; and they have also been found in other parts of the parish. The western extremity of the ridge al- ready described also rises into a small conical hill, and consists, for a considerable depth, of gravel, bearing strong marks of its hav- ing been thrown up by cross currents. There are other two simi- lar knolls or hills in the parish, and of like consistency. One of these, Blawerthill, has been dug to a great depth; and it appears that, under the gravel, there is a bed of clay exactly correspond- ing in quality and situation with that around the hill,—thus show- ing the gravel to be distinct from the surrounding strata, and rest- ing upon it. We have also before us, stones which were raised by the dredging-machine out of the bottom of the present channel of the Clyde, near Scotstown. These are composed of a soft slaty sub- stance, and are evidently water-worn, being formed into a variety of circular and other rounded figures, such as might be expected on some beach of fine sand, under the action of the tide. Yet they are found deeply imbedded in white mud, and lower than the wonted channel of the river.” The conclusion to which these facts naturally lead, is, that the whole of the level tract already de- scribed must at one time have been under water, and that the surrounding heights, still free of alluvial matter, were then the * I l7 borings have just been made in the bed of the river, between Glasgow and Findlayston, a distance of perhaps 16 miles; and throughout this course nothing has been found which may not be regarded as alluvial. Along this parish, running mud, sand, gravel and clay, sometimes mixed with small stones, form the chief materials. Along a considerable way, the bed of the river consists of white soft mud, 8 R EN F. R. EWS HiRIE. shores of this inland frith, the little insular hills having been banks and islands. And it forms an interesting corroboration of this, that the ancient names of several places indicate such a state. Even the name Renfrew may have originally marked a mere point of land, generally surrounded with water; and the frequency of the name “Inch”—island, as applied to inland districts, probably refers to an earlier period than the mere branching of the Clyde. And what is still more remarkable, an ancient seat on the border of this plain is still called “Garscadden”—“The Herring Yair,” although, now at a distance of probably a mile and a-half from the Clyde. It is perhaps farther confirmatory of this, that in charters of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the herring fishing of the Clyde is spoken of as important, and as being possessed by the community of Ren- frew, and other parties farther up the river. That the level of the tide was also at one time much higher than at present, is de- monstrated from the appearance of the banks all the way down the frith, and even on the southern extremity of the island of Ar- ran. The cause of this important change furnishes a tempting field of speculation; on which it would be injudicious at present to Chter. - . Under the alluvial matter thus described, the different strata seem very much to agree with those in the adjacent districts. They consist of diluvial clay, and similar materials containing boulders, chiefly of trap rock, and resting on the coal formation, common to this whole district of country. About the middle of the last century, both coal and lime were wrought on the farm of Porterfield,—about a mile south of the burgh. The working of these was frequently interrupted; but it continued at intervals down to about 1814. They were found at a depth of about thirty- five fathoms, and corresponded in quality with those found at Hur- let, but wholly different from the above mentioned deposit. The gentleman who last wrought these, mentions his having found a fossil fish, of considerable dimensions, imbedded in the limestone rock, at that depth. It was sent to Glasgow, and is probably deposit. ed in some one of the museums. Coal has long been wrought on the north side of the Clyde, in the lands of Scotstown and Jordan- hill. We have now before us an account of the working of this coal, drawn up by the manager, and from which we shall furnish an ab- stract. The Skaterigg and Annisland coal is quite distinct from the general field already described. It rests on more elevated strata, is of a different quality, and is disposed in seams of much T EN F. R. E. W. 9 smaller dimensions. It was wrought, till lately, by the Dumbarton Glass Company, and was used in their works, on account of its purity, as being free from sulphur and other obnoxious qualities. There are at present two pits in operation; one 31 fathoms deep, and the other 38,-the engine pit being 64. There were origi- nally three seams of coal;-one 18 inches; another, called the main seam, 24; and that now wrought, 21. This last seam con- tains 7 inches of excellent gas coal, each pound yielding 4} cubi- cal feet of gas, 4 inches of soft coal, and 10 inches of Smithy coal. A dike, running from south-east to north-west, passes through the engine pit, leaving the seam on the north side 4% fathoms lower, and which is wholly unwrought. Beneath all of these seams, it is believed, there may be found a continuation of the general coal field already referred to, the coal wrought being not only diffe- rent in quality, but also occupying a higher place in the arrange- ment of the different strata. Botany.—The whole of this parish being either cultivated or laid out in plantations, and possessing, moreover, a limited variety of soil, its indigenous botany is comparatively scanty. The fol- lowing are among the less frequently occurring plants. Ophrys ovata and O. cordata, Serapias latifolia, Campanula rotundifolia alba, Veronica officinalis alba, Asplenium scolopendrium, A. ruta muraria, and A. adiantum nigrum. Some of the more tender evergreens occasionally suffer, and in exposed places they often fail; but wherever there is sufficient shelter, and especially from the previous growth of trees and shrubs, not deciduous, they grow freely enough. In the border of Scotstown garden, there is a very fine Tulip tree and several Acacias, all of which have been richly covered with flowers. - Žoology.—We have now before us, through the kindness of a friend, a list of nearly seventy species of birds, known to frequent this parish, about one-half of which are resident throughout the year. It has been remarked, that the missel-thrush (Turdus vis- civorus,) which was rare in this country perhaps twenty years ago, is now so abundant as to cause great annoyance, where there is small fruit. The starling (Sturmus vulgaris) also regularly breeds here, and remains with us throughout the season. And the kings- fisher (Alcedo ispida) is occasionally seen. We are persuaded that the improvement of the country, and especially by forming planta- tions of evergreens, is rapidly increasing settlers among us from the south. And although we have not had the same means of being i () - RENF REWSHIRE. informed respecting insects, we have little doubt that a similar change is going on among them. Q The most important fish in our rivers is the salmon. And as this burgh long possessed an exclusive right to fish along the whole length of the county, the value of the salmon-fishing, is to it a matter of importance. To ascertain with as much accuracy as possible, the effects which the commercial improvements on the Clyde may have had on the quantity taken, we have had a state- ment made out of the rents of the fishing for 120 years, ending with 1834. During that period the rent seems to have made gra- dual progress. Taking the last sixty years, during which these im- provements have almost wholly taken place, and dividing them into three periods of twenty years each, the amount of rent for each pe- riod will stand thus: From 1774 to 1794, L. 1126, 14s.; from 1794 to 1814, L. 3902, 4s. ; and from 1814 to 1834, L. 4199, Is. From this it would seem as if the fishing had actually increased, whereas we find it to be the uniform testimony of aged men, prac- tically acquainted with the matter, that the quantity is probably not more than one-third or even one-fourth of what it once was ; the increase of the rent being chiefly dependent on the rise of the price, and partly, perhaps, also on competition among bidders for the fishing. The embankment of the river keeps the fish in the current, leaving them no resting-place; and even this is, during per- haps fifteen hours of every day, (Sabbaths only partially excepted,) —frequently agitated by steamers. They are also deprived probably of many beds where they were wont to spawn. But, above all, the water of the river is now so saturated with poisonous matter, from Glasgow and other places, as greatly to injure them. During Se- were drought in summer, we have seen many large fishes floating dead on the surface of the water.” - II.—CIVIL HISTORY. Family of Stewart.—The ancient family of Stewart had their first residence and special patrimony in this parish. The earliest ancestor of this family, respecting whom we have properly authen- ticated information, was Walter, usually denominated Filius Alani. To him, the burgh and territory of Renfrew, with other estates and perquisites, were granted by David I., who ascended the throne in * It is a curious fact, attested by all fishermen, that the salmon uniformly seeks to return to the place where it was spawned. As the spawning beds of the Clyde are chiefly above Glasgow, it forces its way up the river, and has to encounter all the hinderances that occur. It were well, therefore, even in an economical point of view, that every hinderance to the upward progress of the salmon were on Sabbath removed, and this noble fish allowed the free use of his native river. RENFREw. 11 1124, and died in I 153. This Walter was, at the same time, invested with the office of Seneschallus Domus Regis, Steward of the King's Household, or Dapifer Regis, the King's Steward, which he is sometimes called ; and hence the origin of the name Stewart. It seems to be clearly proven, that this Walter had also property in Shropshire, and was otherwise connected with that part of England; from which it has been inferred that he himself came from that country. After settling in Renfrew, he founded the abbey of Paisley, and died in 1177, being succeeded by his son Alan. He also inherited his father's office, and flourished in the reign of William the Lion. He died in 1204, and was succeeded by Walter, also denominated in charters, Filius Alani. He was made Seneschallus Scotia, and the office was now rendered hereditary in the family; in consequence of which, he and his successors were commonly called “the Stewards.” This term seems to have been used for some time officially ; but when surnames came to be intro- duced, it naturally assumed that character. This “Steward” died in 1246, and was succeeded by Alexander, who, in 1255, was ap- pointed one of the regents, and in 1263, commanded the Scottish forces at the famous battle of Largs. He died in 1281, or betwixt that year and 1283, and was succeeded by James, who took a leading partin behalf of his country in the troubles which followed. He died in 1309, leaving his son Walter only sixteen years of age. When twenty-one, he appeared with his vassals at the Torwood, before the battle of Bannockburn; and was, with Sir James Douglas, put in command of a division of the Scottish army. After the battle, he was knighted by King Robert the Bruce, and the year following he became son-in-law to the King, by his marriage with Marjory, the King's only daughter, on whom the reversion of the crown had already been settled. In 1316, only a year after marriage, his wife died, leaving by him a son called Robert. This son succeed- ed his father in 1826, and in 1871, he succeeded his uncle David II. under the title of Robert II. Hence the accession of the Stewarts to royalty. \ - Several memorials of the ancient residence of this illustrious family are still observable in Renfrew. On a rising ground be- tween the cross and the ferry, is the site of the ancient castle, the common residence of the “Stewarts.” A charter granted by “James the Stewart,” and grandfather to King Robert II. is dated “apud manerium nostrum de Renfrew.” Crawford also mentions that he had seen a lease of the castle of Renfrew, with the orchards 12 R EN FREWSHIR E. and meadows therewith connected, granted in favour of Lord Lyll and his heirs, and bearing date 1468. After this, the Hawkhead family became Heritable Constables. Within the recollection of many living, there was a deep fosse partially round the site, built with stone on the inner side, and having a small rivulet passing through it; but no part of the castle is recollected. Immediately adjoining and stretching away from the burgh, there had been an ex- tensive orchard, and part of the fruit trees are remembered; and farther on, was “the King's Meadow.” It is still called by the same name; the landsformerly an orchard, are still called “the orchard;” the site of the castle is still “Castle hill;” and part of the ancient foundations were lately dug up, when several rings and a key were found. A small street immediately adjoining is still called the “ Dog Row,” meaning the place where the ancient kennel was. And a chimney-piece, of unusual length and remarkably low, is still found in a cottage opposite the end of this row, which tradition alleges to have belonged to an establishment for boiling dogs’ meat. Close by Renfrew are the domains of Eldersly, formerly an island, and bearing the name of “the King's Inch.” On this island, and only a short way in front of the present mansion-house, stood another castle, formerly possessed by the Stewarts, and afterwards by the House of Hawkhead. In a charter granted by Walter “the first Steward,” the following expression occurs, “cum illa maisura super rupem, ubiaula mea erat fundata;” and in a confirmatory charter, granted by his son Alan, “the second Steward,” the same clause is thus repeated, “cum illa maisura super rupem ubiaula patris mei erat fundata.” It is a remarkable circumstance, that there is not a spot in this parish, where rock is visible, except where the ancient castle of the Inch stood. Here there was a mass of whin rock, which was removed on the erection of the present man- sion of Eldersly. And as it is clear, from the terms of these char- ters, that the “ Aula” referred to, was about Renfrew, we are dis- posed to believe, that the first residence of “ the Stewards” was on “ the Inch.” The castle and domains of the Inch afterwards pas- sed into the hands of the Hawkhead family, and the ruins of the last castle were taken down preparatory to the erection of Eldersly House. At that time they consisted of three stories, but were built in a castellated form. A sketch of the ruins was taken, not long before their removal, and was possessed by the present provost of the burgh ; but it became amissing, and has not yet been found. Two points of the above narrative of the house of Stewart may . 4 RENFREw. | 3 be illustrated from other memorials, now on the verge of oblivion. Nearly sixty years ago, two monuments connected with the history of that family stood on the Knock hill, an elevated ridge of land about half way between Renfrew and Paisley, and described in the former section. A highly respectable farmer, who was born and brought up on the Knock, and who was accustomed to see these from his infancy, guided the writer to their sites, which are now wholly obliterated. The following description may therefore be of use to after generations. Proceeding first to the highest point of the road between Renfrew and Paisley, and as it crosses the Cockle hill, we find a gate on the west side. Ninety-six yards from this gate, in a straight line towards the north corner of the Knock farm-house, there was, at the period referred to, a circular mound of earth, about twenty yards in diameter, and surrounded by a moat five yards broad, the mound having been apparently raised by the earth taken out of the moat. This mound was commonly known by the name of the Kempe Knowe. The tradition is, that there was at one time a wager between the Scottish and English sove- reigns; the latter having challenged Scotland to furnish a man able to fight a noted champion attendant on the English court; and the former having accepted the challenge. The King of Scot- land being much perplexed to find a man competent to the task, offered “ The Inch” as a reward to any who should successfully encounter the Englishman. At last Sir John Ross of Hawkhead offered his services, and arrangements were made on the Knock hill for the fight. The moat was filled with water, a large fire was kindled on the mound, and the parties were expected to grant no terms. To escape was to meet death by drowning; and to be vanquished was to perish, if not otherwise, by fire. The English- man was of large stature and renowned prowess, while Ross was only a private gentleman, and of small stature, but of great agility and muscular strength. Having equipped himself with a dress of skin, the smooth side out, and rendered farther slippery with grease or oil, he appeared on the ground with his more bulky antagonist. After many unavailing attempts to lay hold of Ross, the English- man held out his own hands, inviting his antagonist to grasp them, and no doubt trusting to his own superior strength against any ad- vantage which might thus be given. The invitation was “palm my arm.” This, it seems, was the hold Ross most coveted. He seized the Englishman by the wrists, and, by a sudden jerk, wrench- ed his shoulders out of their sockets, and made easy work of him. 14 - REN FREWSHIRE. He now claimed his reward, and the King, desirous of retaining the castle and lands of Inch, offered for this inch a span of land any- where else. Ross, thanking the King, expressed his satisfaction with the Inch for present services, and the happiness it would give him to have the honour of serving his Majesty for the span at some other time. Hence, as is alleged, the origin of the rights of the Hawkhead family to the ancient castle and lands of the Inch. From this time, adds tradition, Ross went commonly by the name of “ Palm-my-arm.” Figures of this same knight and his lady, Mar- jory Mure, lay long under an arch in the church of Renfrew, hav- ing over them on the circle of the arch the following inscription: “hic jacet johès: ros miles quodem : dominus de hawkehede et marjoria uxor sua ; orate pro meis, qui obiit.” The statues have been removed within the aisle, but the inscription may still be read in the church. This monument is evidently very old, but proba- bly somewhat posterior in date to the age of the persons repre- sented. When speaking of this monument, however, the old in- habitants give it no other name than “Palm-my-arm ;” while in relating the anecdote they call Ross Josias, being probably led into a mistake by the contraction of the name. - Proceeding from the centre of the circle on the Knock farm, as already described, and towards a point about two yards and a half south of the byre door, and at the distance of 134 yards, we come to the site of another monument. Sixty years ago an octagonal column, of about ten feet in height, and inserted in a pedestal of perhaps six feet in diameter stood here. * It was without any in- scription, but went commonly by the name of “Queen Blearie’s Stane.” Tradition describes the person meant, to be Marjory Bruce, daughter of King Robert I., mother of King Robert II., and wife of Walter the Steward. It farther accounts for the mo- nument, by alleging that she had been hunting, and fell from her horse at this particular spot,-that she was at the time far advanced in pregnancy,–that the child was separated from her by a surgical operation, but at the expense of the mother’s life. A similar account will be found in “Hamilton’s Description of the Shires of Lanark and Renfrew,” and also in two old histories reprinted with it. And * To render the exact position of this ancient monument more certain, let the ob- server look from the point assumed, directly towards Cochney House in Kilpatrick, and his line of vision will, if his position be correct, pass a few yards west of Inchinam bridge, and directly over the adjoining drawbridge. The monument which stood here at the period referred to, was removed in 1781 or 1782, as near as can be recol- lected. The shaft was made the lintel of a barn door, but the farm-steading having been since rebuilt, it has disappeared. RENF REW, 15 farther proofs and illustrations of both this and the former monu- ment will be found in the same work by its ingenious and learned editor. With the historical controversy raised on this last tradi- tion, we cannot farther intermeddle than to add our name to the list of those who sustain the tradition, supported as it is with historical facts; and simply to add, that we examined the spot, accompanied by our fore-mentioned guide,-that the ground rises immediately be- hind this into a dry, hard, gravelly knoll, while the place where she is said to have fallen is soft and marshy; and was so to a much greater extent in the recollection of our informant. “He had often,” he said, “ seen the cattle lair” in it.” And he added, that the common belief of those whom he had heard in early life re- peat the tradition, was that her horse must have been coming over the knoll, and got into this marsh before she was aware; and the appearance of the grounds still comports with this explanation. Religious Houses.—One of the objects which first engaged the attention of the Stewards after their settlement, was the establish- ment of religious houses in this quarter. Walter, the first Steward, seems to have established a monastery of the Cluniac order of Bene- dictine monks first at Renfrew. In a confirmatory charter of Mal- colm IV. a previous grant by Walter the first Steward is thus de- scribed: “Sciunt tam posteri quam presentes me concessisse, ethac mea carta confirmasse, Deo et ecclesiae Sanctæ Mariae et Sancti Ja- cobi, de insulajuata oppidum Reinfrew, et priori ejusdem loci, et mo- machis ibidem.” And in a charter granted afterwards in favour of the abbey of Paisley, the following clause occurs: “et molendinum de Renfru, et terram ubi monachi privs habitaverunt.” From this and other evidence, it would appear, that what afterwards became the ab- bey of Paisley was first a religious house at Renfrew ; and that, dur- ing the lifetime of the founder, it was chiefly removed to Paisley. As to the place it occupied here, we are disposed to differ from some in thinking that it was on the Inch. We believe it to have been rather on the south banks of that channel of the Clyde which passed un- der Renfrew, and therefore not far from the street opposite Mill- Burn House. And hence the adjoining lands were afterwards chaplainries,—the chaplainries of St Mary and St Thomas, which names they still bear. And lands immediately adjoining these are still called Monk Dyke, &c. We may add, that a great number of altarages were afterwards erected, such as that of St Mary or our Lady, St Christopher, St Ninian, St Andrew, St Thomas, St Bartholomew, and the Holy Cross. * “ Lair, stick in the mire,”—JAM, Et, Dict. | 6 - R.E.N FREWSHIRE, Burgh.--This burgh was first regal, as possessed by the ancient Kings of Scotland. On its passing into the hands of the Stewarts, it became a burgh of barony. But Robert III., to whom it belong- ed as part of his patrimonial inheritance, granted a charter to the “burgesses and community,” making over his right, and consti- tuting it a royal burgh. This charter was granted in 1896, and contains a full grant of the burgh itself, of the fishing on the river, of the customs levied within the burgh and throughout the barony, and of whatever other privileges might be enjoyed by any other burgh in Scotland; the reddendum being eight merks and payment of a hundred shillings to support a chaplain in the parish church. Two confirmatory charters were granted in the reign of James VI. The former of these bears date 1575, and conveys an additional grant of all the religious houses and altarages, &c. connected with the burgh. This latter is dated in 1614, and ratifies the two for. mer, explaining, if not making, additional grants, especially in con- nection with privileges belonging to the burgh as the principal port on the Clyde. These are numerous, and particularly secured. After enumerating a long list of properties and privileges vested in the burgh, the following statement is set forth as containing the spe- cial ends to be served by these : “ Pro meliore sustentatione pau- perum et schola grammatica in dicto burgo, pro.educatione adolescen- tium ejusdem in virtute et literis prout Praeposito et Balliwis dicti burgi expediens videretur:” i. e. for the better maintenance of the poor, and of a grammar-school in the said burgh, for the education of the young in virtue and learning; and under the direction of the provost and bailies. In an after part of the same charter, certain ecclesiastical property is also specially set apart for the mainte- mance of a grammar school. In 1703 another confirmatory char- ter was granted by Queen Anne, ratifying those which preceded, both generally and specially ; and it may be added, that she also speaks of herself as coming in the room of the ancient Stewarts, from whom, moreover, the Royal family still derive one of their titles, Baron of Renfrew. The arms of the burgh consist of a ves- sel constructed after an ancient and simple form, having a figure of the sun over the prow, and of the moon over the stern, with two crosses, one fore and another aft. Two escutcheons are hung from the yard, one bearing a lion rampant, and the other the arms of the Stewarts, Or, a fess checquie, azure and argent. In the colours flying at the mast-head is a St Andrew’s cross. And the whole is surmounted with the motto “Deus gubernat navem.” R EN FR E.W. i 7 The limits of the royalty are extensive, probably comprehending the whole of the burgh's ancient domains, and being confined to these;—for Castle Hill, and Orchard lands, &c. anciently belonging to the baronial residence, are legally without the burgh, though forming part of the town; while other lands more than a mile dis- tant are included. The Parliamentary boundaries are, on the other hand, drawn closely round the part built upon, without any reference to ancient limits. They are also on one side incorrectly described,—the term “Puddough burn” being mistaken for Mill burn. The affairs of the burgh are managed by a provost, two bailies, and sixteen councillors; and the annual rental of burgh property amounts to about L. 1500, the interest of debts being upwards of L. 100. Weekly courts are held by the magistrates for the administration of justice. The quarter sessions are still held here, as are several other county meetings, especially that for elect- ing the county member, the Sheriff and most other courts being held in Paisley. Previous to the Reform Act, this burgh, along with Glasgow, Rutherglen, and Dumbarton, returned a member to Parliament; but since the passing of that act Renfrew is con- nected with Kilmarnock, Rutherglen, Dumbarton, and Port-Glas- gow, the number of voters in this burgh being about 80. Antiquities.—The additional antiquities of this parish are neither numerous nor perhaps important. Historians speak of a great battle having been fought at Renfrew, in 1164, between Sumerled, Lord of the Isles, and the inhabitants of this country; but we are not aware of any existing memorial to mark the spot. " We have also seen the record of a tradition, assigning to the “Knock” hill in this parish the origin of the surname Knox. And it is at least re- markable, that, in a charter dated 1503, and quoted by Crawford, the proprietor of “ Knock” is styled “Uchter Knock.” It is far- ther noticeable, that Knock and Ranfurly were at that time posses- sed by the same family: thus connecting the alleged descent of the Reformer with the Knock as well as Ranfurly. In 1778, two urns, containing human ashes, were dug up on the summit of the Knock hill. They were believed to be Roman,—this point being little more than a mile from the place where the Romans had a station, near Paisley. In connection with the same hill, 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 ex- ercise for the practice of archery; and thus confirming some of the preceding remarks respecting the early state of the burgh. With- RENF REW. IB | 8 R. E. N. F. R. EWS Hi R. E. in the domains of Renfield, now usually called Blythswood, and not far from Inchinan bridge, is the “Argyle stone.” The un- fortunate Earl of Argyle, who made his descent on Scotland in 1685, had his troops scattered in Dumbartonshire, crossed the Clyde, and was pursuing his way towards Renfrew in disguise, when, after fording the Gryfe, a little way beneath the present Inchinan bridge, he was attacked by some militiamen, wounded, and taken prisoner. The Argyle stone was that on which he fell or probably leant, on being wounded, and which was thus, as tradition says, stained with his blood. It is a large block of sand- stone, weighing probably a couple of tons, and having perhaps some red veins in it, which caused many so long to believe that it re- tained the stain of the Earl’s blood. It is now enclosed and se- cured against damage by the proprietor; while it is judiciously al- lowed to mark the spot where the capture took place. Parochial Registers.-The parochial registers of this parish are in all four, the minutes of session, the registers of marriages and of births and baptisms, and the sessional cash-book. The minutes of session begin with an account of registers and other documents, belonging to the session, which appear to have been lost during the time of the latter persecution ; or at least not to have been deliver- ed to the session at the Revolution settlement. This brief narra- tive also details some interesting particulars, respecting Mr Simp- son, the outed minister, and his congregation, between the Restora- tion and Revolution.” . From 1690 to 1696, the minutes are com- plete; but are wanting from the latter date on to 1731. From this, they are regularly kept down to the present time. They extend in all to five volumes. The registers of births, baptisms, and mar- riages are kept in the same book, though in separate columns or pages. They begin with memoranda from 1673, but form a re- gular record from 1692 downwards, and are contained in four vo- lumes. The cash transactions of the session are recorded from 1732. Land-owners.-The principal heritors in the parish are, the In- corporation of the burgh; Alexander Speirs, Esq. of Eldersly; Lord Douglas; W. M. Alexander, Esq. and others, proprietors of Walk- * Mr IPatrick Simpson seems to have been an able, acceptable, and faithful minis. ter. He was outed in 1662, but continued to mect his people when allowed, down to 1690, and was then restored. On attaining the fiftieth year of his ministry, com- munion cups were presented to him as a token of respect, and they are still used in the parish church. I have not yet been able to ascertain whether Professor Simpson, so well known in the history of the church, as charged with heretical sentiments, was the son of Patrick; but I find that the Professor held a farm in this parish, and that Patrick mentions his son's having written certain documents for him, as if he lived near to him. 4 T. EN F. R. E. W. 19 ingshaw; Miss Oswald of Scotstown; James Smith, Esq. of Jor- danhill; and Archibald Campbell, Esq. of Blythswood. Five handsome mansions are on as many of the estates. Eldersly House is spacious, and surrounded by one of the noblest parks in this part ôf the country. Blythswood and Scotstown Houses have been more lately built, and are very handsome. Blythswood House and grounds especially, are in the best taste, and kept in a state of high order. Jordanhill House is on an elevated site, and commands a very extensive view of the whole country. The Walkingshaw House has not been regularly inhabited for some time, and has gone much into disrepair. There are few other remarkable build- ings in the parish. The Incorporation buildings, containing the jail, town-hall, and council-chambers, are convenient, but plain; and the church is old, low, and uncomfortable, as well as small. III.-PopULATION. The rural inhabitants of this parish have doubtless partaken of the changes generally affecting the country; but we are not aware of any thing special in their case. Their farms are generally larger than they once were, and they are better cultivated. Their cattle are superior to what they were, and both the farmers and the ser– vants perhaps work more. But the relation between master and servant has, in many cases, been allowed greatly to alter, and the alteration has tended not a little to lessen the respectability, and deteriorate the moral habits of the latter. Partaking of the spirit of the age, many regard their masters as having a claim merely on their labour, and thus repudiate all moral restraint; while, on the other hand, masters too often care for little more. And hence the frequency of change and want of cordiality between the parties. The circumstances of the inhabitants of the burgh have been altered still more. A considerable proportion of the inhabitants seem ancient- ly to have possessed houses and pieces of land, by which they par- tially supported themselves and families. The salmon-fishing also was at one time let only to burgesses, and the rent would, on this very account, be moderate. Many of the young men went also to sea, and became afterwards concerned with trade. From these different sources of income, they seem to have been on the whole comfortable, and holding, as a community, a somewhat respectable situation in society. But trade and manufactures, which have so enriched several places in the neighbourhood, appear to have had the effect of impoverishing Renfrew. Business in Glasgow and Paisley withdrew many of those who had a little property, and 20 RIS NF REWSH 1 R E. thus, as well as by sales, much of what formerly belonged to inha- bitants of the place, has now passed into the hands of strangers. The nearness of the burgh to these large towns, rendered it at the same time convenient for muslin weavers. They therefore took the place of those who departed. Barns and other offices, formerly append- ed to the dwellings of substantial burgesses, became loom-shops. In- stead of a butt and a benn, a single apartment was now all that could in general be afforded as a dwelling-house. And instead of living on the produce of lands, of fishings, and of trade, the greater num- ber of families are dependent solely on the fruits of their daily la- bour; which, in consequence of the long depression of this branch of trade, are scanty enough. The usual effects have followed, both morally and economically. The average number of births in the parish for the last seven years may be about 75 annually, of marriages 23, and of deaths 65. The number of persons at present under fifteen years of age is, as near as I can ascertain, 1047. ** There are only four families usually resident, possessed of con- siderable landed property; and not more than perhaps one other has lands to the amount of L. 50 annually. There is not at pre- sent any insane person in the parish, but five or six are in a fatuous state. There is only one person blind, and none either wholly deaf or dumb.” The number of families in the parish is - - * - *- sº 535 chiefly employed in agriculture - tº º l 17 in trade, manufactures or handicraft, 366 IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture. — There are 3776 acres English measure in the parish. Nearly the whole is in a state of cultivation. We have not the means of ascertaining with precision the amount of lands enclosed around gentlemen’s houses and under plantations. The latter, however, are chiefly around parks and lawns, and consist of beech, ash, elm lime, oak, larch, spruce, birch, horse-chestnut, &c. with a variety of shrubs and evergreens, such as the bay laurel, Portugal laurel, lauristinus, &c. all of which thrive, when properly sheltered. There is no undivided common in the parish, but there * When reseating the church in 1821, a large quantity of earth was dug out of the floor, and with it many bones; some of which were unusually large. To prove this, thigh bones were laid alongside the thigh of living men about six feet high, and the mere bones were said to exceed in length the living limb with all its integuments. One of the largest hats which could be found, was also too small to draw over some of the crania. We state these facts as reported by credible witnesses, but without venturing to infer any thing as to the general size of the ancient inhabitants. RENF REW. 2 1 cannot be fewer than 100 acres in small properties around the burgh. Upwards of seventy acres are on the south side, and di. vided into twenty-two separate properties; the marches being de- pendent on the turning of the furrow, year after year. This mode of cultivation is no doubt unfavourable to the amount of produce and agricultural improvement; but is, on the other hand, highly favourable to habits of industry, economy, and morality. Fami- lies possessing even single acres of land have, in consequence, a certain standing in Society, which they naturally seek to maintain. They have labour to occupy their spare hours, and virtuous cares giving a direction to their thoughts. Hence they generally suc- ceed in laying up some little stock beyond their daily earnings. Rent of Land.—The average rent over the whole parish is pro- bably from L. 2, 10s. to L. 2, 15s. per acre. On several estates, the principle of a grain rent has been adopted; the price of agiven quan- tity of wheat being usually the rent per acre; and this principleseems to be approved of by the farmers. To a disinterested observer it seems preferable for both parties. For, as the farmer cannot long pay an old rent with falling markets, the proprietor must, in these circumstances, suffer loss, be the conditions what they may ; and yet he can have no claim for an advance of money rents, however much the markets may improve ; while with a grain rent he has the chance of profit as well as the risk of loss; and farming itself is thus rid of half its cares. At the same time, it would doubtless be an improvement to include more than one staple commodity. If, in such a district as this, the price of a boll of wheat, a boll of oats, and a stone of butter, were substituted for their value in money, the farmer would be but little dependent on the fluctuations of the market. The rent for grazing in this parish is not usual- ly paid per head, but either per acre, or so much for an entire field; the grass being chiefly around gentlemen’s seats; and may be esti- mated at an average of L. 8, 10s. or L. 4 per acre.” Rates of Wages.—The wages of steady and able labourers are from 10s. to 12s. per week. Men servants are hired for from L. 7 to L. 11 in the half-year, with bed and board; and females for L. 3 and upwards to L. 5, and L. 5, 10s. The common wages for journeymen masons are from 18s. to 20s. per week; for wrights from 15s. to 18s. ; and for smiths about 18s. * A large herd of cows feed on an extensive meadow, belonging to the corporation, at So much per head; but the rate is beneath the actual value, and may vary from time to time; and besides, the privilege is confined to burgesses, 22 REN Fl{EWSHI RE . Live Stock. —The common breed of dairy cows in this parish is the Ayrshire, only they are considerably heavier than in most parts of Ayrshire. And to prevent their becoming too heavy, they are very commonly allowed to go into calf during the second year. The sheep and bullocks are for the most part from the west High- lands, but various, as being often the property of Glasgow butchers, and consisting of such as are brought into their market. And working horses are, in consequence of our vicinity to the large towns, also various; but they are generally of the Clydesdale breed, or some of its crosses. Husbandry.—One of the chief improvements in agriculture, now occupying attention, is furrow-draining; which, from the want of stones, is executed chiefly with tiles. In heavy and rather wet lands, it costs about six guineas per acre, and has been found to pay the entire outlay in two crops. It is accordingly going for- ward, in nearly all the farms in this parish. The most common way of meeting the expense is for the proprietor to pay the outlay, and the farmer to pay a per centage, during his lease. The most com- mon manure, in addition to stable and byre dung, is “ Soapers' waste,” which is largely used in the light soils. It costs 5s. per ton in Paisley, and from 7s, to 7s. 6d. when laid on a great part of the land. It is valued, particularly on account of its giving adhesion to loose soils. This special end might perhaps be more cheaply served by pulverized clay. Large masses of very adhesive clay exist in the centre of our light soils. Suppose it to be raised towards the end of summer, dried and pounded if necessary, with mallets, and laid on stubble or old pasture about to be broken up, at the rate of 30 or 40 carts an acre, it would during winter amalgamate with the lighter soils, and give them next season increased adhesiveness at comparatively small expense. Let the same be repeated at the end of each rotation, for five or six times, and the effect would probably be permanently to improve the general character of the soil. The implements of husbandry are the same here as in the neighbouring parishes; in some of which they will probably be described. Comparing our farm stead- ings with those in other parts of the country, they hold a middle place. They are decidedly inferior to those in the Lothians and other districts, where the farms are very large; but are at least equal to those in the neighbouring parishes, and throughout this district. Some of the farms here extend to perhaps about 200 acres, all arable ; and some do not exceed 40 or 50 ; but R EN IN TRE W. 2 3 they generally run from 60 up to 100. Several farms around the burgh are made up of separate fields, possessed or taken from different proprietors; the farmers having their establish- ments within the burgh. The leases of large farms are commonly nineteen years, but in this there is considerable variety, especial- ly in farms made up as those last referred to. The common rotation is, first, some kind of green crop, then wheat, then hay and clover, then oats, perhaps, and the same rotation over; or the second crop of hay is pastured upon, and the land is allowed to rest. Manufactures.—The manufactures in this parish are various, though not extensive. The first and most important is the mus- lin weaving. Connected with this branch, there are 257 looms, of which 176 are called harnessed looms. Each of the whole oc- cupies one man,—except a few, which are wrought by women; and every two occupy one woman winding yarn. But in addition to these, every harnessed loom requires the assistance of a boy or girl, from seven or eight years of age, up to probably fourteen or fifteen. There are thus, 257 weavers, 176 children drawing, and at least 128 women winding, making in all 561. Weavers' wages vary not only with changes in trade, but also according to the dif- ferent branches of work in which they are employed. But taking an average of the whole, their earnings are believed not to exceed perhaps 8s. or 10s. per week; all deductions being made. The children employed in drawing earn from Is. 6d to 2s. 6d. per week, and winders do not probably realize more than 2s. Be- sides those who are thus immediately connected with the weav- ing, a considerable number of females are employed with clip- ping, tambouring, and flowering. They bring their webs from Glasgow and Paisley, and work in their own houses; their earnings being probably very much in the proportion of those already de- scribed. Though these different employments are generally free from any thing noxious to health, they are all sedentary and long- continued, usually from six o'clock in the morning till ten o’clock at night. The practice of employing children at drawing is, on various accounts, objectionable. Parents are induced to send their children to this employment generally about seven or eight years of age, thus arresting their progress in education, when they have but well begun. They endeavour afterwards to pick up a little at evening classes, but their hours of labour are too extended to admit of this without oppression : their having been employed in this line from 24 REN FREWSHIRE. childhood, virtually shuts up the boys to the single occupation of weaving, in after life. They pass with ease and at little expense, from the employment of drawing to that of weaving. The trade is thus kept overstocked with hands, and wages continue, on this as well as on other accounts, depressed, so that the very poverty of the weaver perpetuates some of the causes of his distress. But the employment of children in drawing is morally objectionable. Listening, as they do, to all that is said, often by the irreligious and profane, and placed as they are under the authority of these very masters, it is not wonderful that their own language and after conduct should, in many cases, be tainted with what is unbecom- ing. We recollect being told by a gentleman holding a high and responsible situation in one of the large manufacturing towns, that he had himself been a draw-boy; and that he now almost shudder- ed to look back on what he recollected of his situation. Next to the weaving and its kindred branches is the bleaching. There is only one bleachfield in the parish, which is in the burgh, and employs 12 men and 90 women and girls. The men earn from 9s. to 16s. per week, the women and girls from 3s. to 7s. Their employment, however, is not constant, and they have to work in apartments too much heated to be very healthy. It may be proper here to mention a very laudable and advantageous prac- tice common among females, usually employed with manufac- tures during the greater part of the year: in summer and au- tumn, a considerable number lay aside their needles and other im– plements of manufactures, and hire themselves to the farmers in the neighbourhood, at potato planting, hay-making, hoeing and weeding, and latterly at reaping, digging potatoes and raising tur- nips. This change of employment is beneficial to health, profi- table to the labourers, and convenient to the farmers; and ought farther to be encouraged, as productive of intercourse and kindly feelings between different classes of the community. There is a manufactory of starch in the burgh; but it employs only two or three men. The starch itself is chiefly used in the bleachfields. - A tile-work was set agoing two or three years ago, about a mile south of the burgh. The tiles made are for draining land, and are of various sizes, according to the kind of drain they are to oc- cupy. They consist of soles and covers; the former being flat, like flooring tile, and the latter formed archwise, the rounded side being kept up. This work employs about half a dozen men, and nearly the same number of children. R EN FREW. 25 The Trust on the river Clyde have their chief establishment in this parish. They occupy about 15 men ashore. These are employed as Smiths, hammermen, carpenters, wrights, and Sawyers, earning from 12s. to L. I per week. During summer they occupy about 36 men aboard of their vessels. These are partly engineers and others in special trust; but chiefly labourers or puntmen, who earn 15s. per week. There are also, perhaps, 80 men employed ashore, in connection with the punts and dredging-machines; but these move from place to place along the river. A considerable pro- portion of the whole, and especially of the two former classes, live within this parish. Near the river Trust establishment there is, and has long been, a distillery, manufacturing whisky from malt, made partly from bar- ley, and partly from bear or bigg, dried with peat. The annual produce of this distillery may be estimated at 140,000 gallons. About 22 men are constantly employed here, receiving from 12s. to 16s. per week of wages. Connected with the distillery, there is a large dairy, consisting of about 100 milch cows. During winter they are fed on turnips, draft, &c.; and in summer they are pas- tured. The produce is chiefly sent to Glasgow. This employs five men, three dairy maids, and four milkers. z. The coal-works before described employ between 30 and 40 men and boys under ground, and several on the hill; and a considerable number of men and horses find work in carrying the coal. A col- lier's wages probably average from 15s. to 18s, per week, when he is regularly employed; but there are many interruptions and particular expenses to which he is incident; and the employment itself is neither agreeable nor healthy. Speaking of the colliers in this pa- rish, it is proper to mention, that they are, with a few exceptions, not inattentive to divine ordinances, and decent in moral conduct; and that one of them is a worthy and estimable member of the kirk-session. Navigation.—This burgh once occupied a much more import- ant place in respect of navigation than it does at present. In the charter of 1644, it is described as the principal sea-port on the river: and it continued to have a little trade within the recollection of some now living. At present, there are no vessels belonging to Renfrew, except such as carry coals, manure, &c. on the river. A considerable number of vessels, however, load and unload at the harbour. Those discharging are chiefly laden with grain from Ire- land, and dye-stuffs, &c. for Paisley. Potatoes also, and fish, &c. are 26 T&EN FR E W S II IR E. sometimes brought from the Highlands. At other times potatoes, &c. are shipped here. A commodious quay was built last year, at an expense of about. L. 800, and the harbour is still susceptible of important improvements. As the quay runs chiefly along the canal, it might, at comparatively small expense, have also the ad- vantage of a wet dock. Let the canal be widened and the quay extended, and a flood-gate thrown across the mouth of the for- mer, and vessels might be discharged without the agitation of even a steamer's surge. And from the width and openness of the river below this, sailing vessels would be generally able to come up with- out the aid of any dragger. V.—PAROCHIAL EconoMy. Trade and Means of Communication.—Renfrew, though a coun- ty town, has no regular market, except fairs, which are chiefly for cattle; the principal market-towns in the neighbourhood being Glasgow and Paisley. The former of these is little more than four miles from the nearest extremity of the parish, and the latter scarcely a mile and a-half. The means of communication with other parts of the country are very abundant. As the Clyde passes through the parish, we have the advantage of nearly all the steamers to and from Glasgow. During five days of the week, we have a daily coach to Glasgow; and during summer, another goes to Paisley six or seven times a-day. In addition to these, we have three car- riers to Glasgow, and two foot-runners to Paisley. Those who live on the north side of the river have not so many opportunities, yet they also have considerable means of intercourse. Our post-office is a sub-office to Paisley, and we have two arrivals from Paisley, and one by the Dumbarton post, on the north side of the river. Few parishes are so much intersected with roads and rivers. Two public roads run parallel to each other on the two sides of the Clyde,-the one, the old Glasgow and Greenock road, and the other, the Glas- gow and Dumbarton road. The former runs about a mile and a-half in the parish, and the other about two and a-half. These are chiefly from east to west. Another public road runs from Paisley north- wards, crossing the former of these in Renfrew, proceeding to the ferry, and thence to the Dumbarton road; extending to about two miles within the parish. Another proceeds north and north- east from the Dumbarton road to the north-west extremity of the parish, and extending perhaps to about a mile and a-half. A fifth, of about the same extent, runs from Inchinan Bridge southwards towards Paisley ; and a sixth crosses the south-west extremity, running about half a-mile within the parish. A railway has also R EN FREW, 27 been commenced between the Clyde near Renfrew Ferry and the town of Paisley. The only considerable bridges connected with the parish are two, -the Barnsford Bridge, which is thrown across the Gryfe and Black Cart, immediately after their junction, and the Inchinan Bridge, which is thrown across this united stream and the White Cart, immediately above their confluence. This last consists properly of two bridges united; the one spanning the White Cart, and the other the Gryfe, but both resting on the point of land which separates these two rivers. A timber drawbridge crosses the canal before noticed, as running alongside the White Cart. Ecclesiastical State.—From the irregular form of the parish, no place would be in all respects convenient to the whole population, and the present site of the church is in the circumstances as suit- able as any that could be selected. The greatest distance which parishioners have to come to church is about three miles, but with the inconvenience of having a river to cross; and it ought to be mentioned, that the town-council allow an abatement of rent, so as to permit the labouring classes on the north side to cross the ferry, on the Lord's day, gratis. It does not indeed appear, that it was ever the practice to charge parishioners any fare on Sabbath for coming to church, beyond what is levied on the farms in produce. The great bulk of the population, however, are in and around the burgh, to whom, therefore, the situation of the church is all they could wish. The present church was at least repaired, and had an aisle added in 1726; but whether it was then wholly rebuilt, we have not been able distinctly to ascertain. It has under- gone various alterations, and in 1821 was wholly reseated. In order to gain a greater elevation of ceiling, a large quantity of earth was at the same time removed out of the floor, which is now about two feet under the level of the soil around the church. On this and on other accounts it is damp and uncomfortable. It contains about 760 sittings, – a number under the legal provision for the parish- ioners, and greatly short of the amount actually required. To meet this, as well as otherwise to promote the spiritual improve- ment of the parish, a separate service has been for several years conducted at eight o'clock every Sabbath morning. The manse was built in 1790; but was repaired and the offices rebuilt in 1831. The glebe is wholly separate from the manse, and is divided into two portions, the larger being at a considerable distance. The whole amounts to upwards of twenty-one Scotch acres: but the greater part consists of inferior land, which was obtained by excambion, for the legal amount of rich land near the burgh. 28 RENF REWSHIRE, Now that it has been fenced, drained, and improved, the whole is probably worth about L. 50 a-year. The stipend is 18 chal- ders, half meal and half barley. The former ministers of this parish whose names we have as- certained, were the following:—Mr Andrew Hay, inducted in 1576; Mr John Hay, in 1602. Mr John Hay appears to have been suc- ceeded by a son of the same name, who is described as Parson of Renfrew, in 1632. The Hays possessed property in the parish, and were Episcopalians. Mr John Hay Jun., appears to have been removed from his charge, and was succeeded in 1650, by Mr John Maule, who was a Presbyterian. And he was succeeded by Mr Patrick Simpson in 1658, who was outed in 1662, when Mr John Hay was readmitted. He was succeeded by Mr Francis Ross ; and he again by Mr Robert Douglas, the dates of the admission of the two latter being unknown. These two latter, as well as Mr Hay, were probably Episcopalians, and made but little im- pression on the parish; for after the indulgence, Mr Simpson, the outed minister, and his people met, in what he calls a “meet- ing-house,” and carried on the discipline of the parish, much in the same way as before. In 1690 Mr Simpson was readmitted, and died in 1715. In 1716, Mr Neil Campbell was translated from Roseneath, and in 1728, was again translated to be Princi- pal of the University of Glasgow. Mr M'Diarmid of Ayr was now presented by the Crown, but rejected by a majority of quali- fied parishioners. This case went the round of the church courts, and at last, after a vacancy of nearly two years, the Crown present- ed Mr Robert Paton, minister of Haddington. In 1731, he was translated thither from Haddington, and died in 1768. In 1769, Mr Colin Campbell, son of the above Mr Neil Campbell, was translated from Kilmarnock, and died in 1788. In 1790, Mr Thomas Burns was translated from Inchinan, and died in May 1830; and the compiler of this account was translated from An- derston Chapel, Glasgow, and inducted here on the 30th of No- vember 1830. There is no regular place of worship in the parish, except the Established church, to which the great body of the pa- rishioners profess to adhere. - - Religious Societies, &c.—There are not many religiousand philan- thropic societies in the parish; but the ends which these usually contemplate are not wholly neglected. As we have no assess- ment for the poor, considerable exertions have to be made on their behalf. There is also a Female Benevolent Society, the mem- bers of which endeavour to aid special cases of distress. A Bible RENF REW. 29 Society also exists, for the supply of the parish, and which has hitherto done well. The leading principle of the society is to af- ford facilities for the purchase of Bibles. This is accomplished by having on hand an assortment of Bibles at different prices, bound in the most efficient and tasteful manner, and offered unreservedly to all, while the price may be advanced by instalments. This re- moves entirely the idea of pauper terms and pauper Bibles, and yet allows to the poor, as well as the rich, full access to the Word of God. And they have hitherto justified the confidence put in them; few, indeed, having expressed any unwillingness to pay for what they were to receive. The consequence is, almost every child who can read has either a Bible or Testament.—A consi- derable sum is also raised for purposes of education and for libra- ries. There are particularly two schools of industry dependent in part on subscriptions, one of which from its extent, as well as proper management, has proved avery great blessing to many. Our Sabbath schools are numerous, and are furnished with juvenile li- braries, the expenses of which are met by collections and donations. We have also a parish library; partly dependent on similar resources. But beyond these and other parochial institutions, we have no or- ganized associations; and we assist other objects only by collec- tions and individual subscriptions. Education.— There are six week-day schools in this parish, and these are attended by about 327 day scholars, and 90 evening Scho- lars; thus leaving little more than one-ninth of the population at school during day, and somewhat more than one-seventh when evening scholars are included. The burgh grammar-school is en- dowed to the extent of L. 36, 13s. 4d. a-year. The teacher of a district school has a limited allowance; but this is by private ar- rangement, and the expense is met chiefly by an individual heri- tor. One of the teachers in the burgh has the school-room free, but even this is, we believe, by subscription, and another is wholly unaided. In addition to these, there are, as already noticed, two schools of industry for girls. The teacher of one of these has a salary without fees; but this is made up out of subscriptions and the produce of the school; and the other has a few pounds from the town- council, and the produce of her school. The branches taught in these different schools are numerous, embracing all the usual depart- ments of school education, and they are on the whole well taught. In all of them the children are made acquainted with the Scriptures and the Shorter Catechism; and in most of them they are well 3 () REN FR EWS H 1 R.E. instructed in the meaning of what they read. In several, but especially the grammar-school, they are trained to a degree of expertness in processes of mental arithmetic which usually asto- nishes observers; and in this, as well as most of the others, they are taught to read intelligently and accurately. There are neverthe- less several manifest defects in our school education. The schools are all in a great measure promiscuous. Each teacher has too many classes to attend to, and too many branches to be taught successfully. Then the teachers themselves are miserably paid, and are thus forced to multiply their classes as a means of living. The same number of teachers would, with properly assorted classes, do double the work; and promote education to the same extent. But it is morally impossible that teachers, mainly depen- dent on fees, can ever in such a place as this attain to a due division of labour. Then the early removal of the children to work is con- tinually thwarting and discouraging them. Should it ever happen that the proper means shall be allowed for raising our grammar- school to the proper rank of a grammar-school, three teachers ought to be appointed—one for English grammar, French, Latin, and Greek—another for writing, arithmetic, mathematics, geogra- phy, &c. and a third for English reading alone. This would do much for the interests of the burgh, and of the parish at large, and is perhaps not more than might be expected, seeing there is no pa- rochial school in the parish, and that something of the kind was originally contemplated in the charters granted to the burgh. School wages are so low as from 2s, to 3s. a quarter for reading, some- thing being added for extra branches. Only a few who are natives of the parish, and above six years of age, are wholly unable to read; and such as are known to be in these circumstances are in the course of being instructed. As in other parishes, the children of the destitute poor are instructed at the expense of the session. The number of children attending Sabbath schools is about 390, besides a class of young adults, instructed by the minister of the parish, and amounting to about 60. The Sabbath schools are taught by about 40 teachers, the boys being chiefly taught by males, and the girls by females. Most of the children attending Sabbath schools within burgh attend religious worship during the morning and forenoon services, and part of them also in the afternoon. They are for the most part taught according to a uniform system, which embraces the morning service as an exercise. Literature.-There is a parish library, from which parishioners are allowed to read, at the rate of 2s. per annum, for one volume R EN F. R. E.W. 31 at a time; and there is another subscription library in the burgh, which has long existed. There is no school of arts or mechanics’ institution ; but an association is in progress of being formed for the cultivation of natural history and the useful arts. A news-room is also maintained for the convenience of burgesses and strangers. Benefit Societies.—These are numerous, amounting to at least seven in the burgh. Some of them provide for widows; but they are chiefly for cases of personal inability to work; they have frequently failed to implement their conditions, the aliments fixed being generally too high for the subscriptions. Some of them, however, are, we understand, doing well. One of these, the “ Sailors’ Society,” is said to have existed in the fourteenth century, and is possessed of considerable property; but its income has been dependent on other sources than subscriptions. Several societies also exist for furnishing mortcloths, mort-safes, &c. It is at presenta matter of consideration, in the parish, whether to attempt establishing a sav- ings bank; the chief hinderance being the pre-existence of so many benefit societies, that would probably suffer by the withdrawal of funds. Poor's funds.-A considerable sum of money was long held by the kirk-session for behoof of the poor. But for many years, the expenditure has so exceeded the income as greatly to reduce the stock; and for the last two years a voluntary assessment has been agreed to among the heritors, for the annual deficiency. In ad- dition to the collections, there is only one mortification, amount- ing to about L. 60,—the interest of which is available, and only a few pounds of interest from the remaining stock; there are no dues connected with mortcloths or ecclesiastical observances paid into the poor's funds. In addition to the ordinary and sa- cramental collections, there is a special collection every year, to which non-resident heritors also contribute. The amount thus raised in 1834, including interest, as above stated, was about L. 147, and the expenditure L. 212; leaving a deficiency of L. 65. The number of poor regularly alimented is about 50, and the num- ber who receive occasional aid about as many more. The most common aliment to aged persons able to do a little, and without children, is 4s. per month. But in addition to this, even the ali- mented poor receive a few shillings on Sacramental occasions, and at the beginning of winter. What is desirable under this head is enlarged church accommodation, and the moral cultivation of the parish, which are alone adequate, fairly to meet the wants, and promote the happiness of the poor. 32 REN FREWSHIRE. Prison.—The number of prisoners confined here, and connect- ed with this district, does not amount to half a dozen in a year, and they are nearly all debtors. A few others come here from other places. The apartments are well aired, and by no means unhealthy; and, with regard to religious instruction, the period of incarceration is usually too short, to make this any matter of anxiety. Fairs, Public Houses, &c.—There are three fairs held in the burgh annually, chiefly for the sale of cattle; and an attempt has lately been made, to get up a cattle show, which is likely to suc- ceed. The number of public houses in the parish has been for several years about 30. They are, especially in this place, pro- ductive of evil, from the immense number who frequent them on the Lord’s day, chiefly from Glasgow and Paisley, particu- larly the latter. Some of those who sell spirits are, with cre- dit to themselves, particularly attentive in preventing abuse; a few of them shutting their houses entirely on Sabbath. And the present magistrates have very laudably enforced the obser- vance of the licensing act, on Saturday night and during di- vine service on the Lord’s day. But still, abuses connected with public houses, and especially on the Lord's day, are among the chief hinderances to the moral and religious improvement of the parish. And there can be no reasonable doubt, that the use of ardent spirits over the country is at present one of the greatest prevailing evils, economically, morally, and religiously. It is dif- ficult to say by what single means the evil may be remedied. But if the nation at large were only in earnest, perhaps few of the means which have been proposed would either remain untried, or prove uninfluential. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. On comparing the present state of the parish with that which existed when the last Statistical Account was drawn up, forty years ago, the following results appear : Population in 1791, 1628; in 1835, 2833. Looms in 1791, 120; in 1835, 257. Labourers' wages in 1791, Is. 6d. per day; in 1835, 2s. Men-servant's fees in 1791, L. 5 in the half year; in 1835, L. 7 to L. l I. Manure per ton in 1791, 2s. 6d. ; in 1835, 5s. Peck of meal in 1791, ls. ; in 1835, ls. to 1s. 3d. Peck of potatoes in 1791, 8d. ; in 1835, 7d. to 8d. -- Land per acre in 1791, generally L. 2; in 1835, L. 2, 10s. or L. 2, 15s. Chief crops in 1791, oats, barley, wheat, and potatoes; in 1835, Potatoes and turnips, wheat, beans, hay and clover. January 1836. PARISH OF EASTWOOD OR POLLOCK. PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. GEORGE LOGAN, MINISTER. I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—EASTWooD is the name by which this parish has been long known, a name obviously derived from the woods that ex- ist in it, one of which, of large extent, covering more than 200 acres, has within these twenty-five years been rooted out, and the ground converted into arable land. The parish appears like- wise to have had at one time the name of Pollock. This is ascer- tained by many written documents, in which it is mentioned as for- merly called Pollock, but then called Eastwood. The ancestors of Sir John Maxwell have for several centuries been the principal heritors of the parish; and that family has been celebrated for at- tachment and devotion to the Church of Scotland, in the cause of which they suffered much during the reigns of Charles II. and James VII. There can be no doubt, therefore, of its having got the name of Pollock from that of the lands of which it is chiefly com- posed; and by that name the family of Pollock wish the parish again to be called. t . - Extent, Boundaries.—The greatest length of this parish from north to south is 4 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west about 3 miles; but its form is very irregular, so that its di- mensions vary greatly in different parts. The medium may be 3 by 2% miles, comprehending about 7% square miles. It is bound- ed on the east by the parishes of Cathcart and Mearns; on the south by the parish of Mearns; on the west by the parish of Neil- ston; and on the north by the Abbey parish of Paisley and the parish of Govan; while it approaches on the north side within three miles of the city of Glasgow. On the west side, a considerable ex- tent of land, held to be in the Abbey parish of Paisley, projects into and is almost surrounded by the parish of Eastwood. It ap- pears from the records of the Presbytery of Paisley, 24th January 1650, that this land was annexed to Eastwood by decreet of the R.E.NF REW. C 34 R EN IF REWSHIRE. Commission for Plantation of Kirks; but that decreet has not hi- therto taken effect in practice. - Topographical Appearances.—There are no mountains in the parish; but it has an undulating surface throughout, with many gentle swells or hills, and flat lands or valleys of various shapes and sizes, and in many places intersected with streams,—so that the whole has a very beautiful and picturesque appearance. At the southern extremity, where the parish joins the Mearns, there is a continued range of hills sloping to the south and north. The ac- clivities of the hills vary from one in ten to one in twenty: the greatest height is about 300 feet; and the least, about 30 feet above the level of the sea. The general slope is from the south- east to the north-west. ‘. . Hydrography.—The White Cart is the only water in the pa- rish that can be called a river. It runs about four miles, either through the parish, or as the boundary with Cathcart and the Abbey parish of Paisley. Its source is in Eaglesham moors, and after passing through the parishes of Eaglesham, East Kilbride, Mearns, Carmunnock, Eastwood, Abbey of Paisley, and Inchinnan, it joins the river Clyde about seven miles below Glasgow. No part of it is navigable till it reaches Paisley. The bed of the river has been deepened below that town, and the navigation to the Clyde completed by a short cut or canal. There are, besides the Cart, two smaller streams, Auldhouse Burn and Brock Burn. The for- mer issues from an extensive lake in the parish of Mearns, called the Brother Loch, and joins the river Cart at Pollockshaws. The latter rises also in the Mearns, and joins the water of Levern at the western extremity of the parish; and thence, as well as farther up the stream, the Levern is the boundary between Eastwood and the Abbey parish of Paisley, until it joins the river Cart near Cruick- ston Castle.—There are no springs in the parish of any note, if we except one in the glebe, which discharges about eleven impe- rial pints every minute. It is perennial, and seems to be affected neither by drought nor rain. There were several springs of the same kind in the neighbouring fields, but they have all been drain- ed off into the adjoining burn. Geology and Mineralogy.—The direction or dip of the strata, where they are lying fair, is from the north-west to the south-east. The inclination of the beds varies from one in six to one in tem. No dikesare met with; but frequent derangements of the strata occur, by slips or fissures which displace the beds less or more, and sometimes 4 EAST WOO }). 35 to the extent of 100 feet, from their positions. The direction of these slips is generally from dip to rise,_although there is one very dis- tinct instance in the parish of derangements both across and in the line of the strata, whereby a lime rock is thrown up and down, and appears and disappears in a variety of places for the space of near- ly two miles along the ordinary line of dip and rise, and for about half a-mile in the opposite direction, or on the ordinary level of the metals. The rock here alluded to is known by the name of Arden lime. It appears on the surface at Davieland, near the eastern ex- tremity of the parish, and also at the western extremity at Darn- ley Bridge, and Darnley Bleachfield, and at several intermediate places. - The rocks of this parish are sandstone and limestone, with nu- merous bands of ironstone. The first and last are found every- where, by sinking pits; and the sandstone makes its appearance on the surface in many places. - In the barony of Eastwood, properly so called, there is a quarry of a very peculiar description. The rock is 50 feet deep, and lies in horizontal strata, the beds varying in thickness from 2 inches to 2 feet. The general dip or inclination is to the south-east. There is betwixt each bed a thin layer of what resembles fire clay; and the face of the rock has very much the appearance of a wall built by the hand of man. The stone is of excellent quality, is easily wrought, and can be cut to any size of length or breadth that may be required. It is used for all parts of house-work, but is peculiar- ly adapted for pavement, stair steps, and hearths, and can be wrought into cisterns of any dimensions for holding bleaching liquors, &c. It has been discovered only within these four or five years, and is considered by judges to be a great natural curiosity, and one of the finest lying fields of rock in the country. There is another valu- able quarry about a quarter of a mile from the former. It is, what is technically termed, a liver rock, and the depth of it is 24 feet. It is of the finest quality, and is used for every purpose of masonry in house-building of the first description in Glasgow and the neigh- bourhood. It is much admired by sculptors, as well adapted for making fancy figures of any kind or size. There is a third quarry in the neighbourhood of this, in the farm of Giffnock, which is of the same quality with the latter, and for which there has been long a great demand. The number of quarriers employed in the first and second of these is thirty, with twenty labourers. They work ten 36 REN FREWSH1RE. hours each day, and six days per week. The wages of the former are, 2s. 6d., and of the latter, 2s. per day. Limestone has been wrought at Arden and Darnley, and also at Cowglen. It is still wrought at the first mentioned place, though on a limited scale, the lime being of so poor a quality as not to admit of any sand in building. But its physical character is such as that it very soon becomes almost as impenetrable as the solid stone. It is used chiefly for the rough-casting of houses. Its component parts when analyzed have been found to be, 78 per cent. lime, 13 sand, 6 iron, and 3 clay. The thickness is 9 feet 6 inches; but only 3 feet 6 inches at the bottom are burned. The other beds are considered to be of so poor a quality as to be unfit for lime, and are laid aside for roads. The lime at Cowglen resembles that at Arden, but it is not the same stratum. It is five feet thick, and consists of four distinct beds, some of which produce lime of a pure white, and others of a blue colour. Coal is wrought in the parish at Cowglen, where there is a great number of seams of various thickness; but none exceeding 2 feet 6 inches. The whole are of good quality; and five of them have been wrought, and are still in working in pits varying from 10 to 40 fathoms in depth. The works are carried on in the usual manner, by leaving about one-fourth part of the coal in pillars for supporting the Superincumbent strata. Soil.—The soil is various. On the south side and the higher grounds, it is generally a thin earth, with what is called a till bot- tom,-till being a mixture of stone and heavy clay, hard and re- tentive of moisture. But there are likewise on the banks of the Cart, and the burns or rivulets, various holms of considerable ex- tent, and very fertile. • • II.-CIVIL HISTORY. So far as consists with the knowledge of the writer, there is no ancient or modern history of the parish printed or in manuscript; and, though the different proprietors have no doubt plans of their several estates, there are no general maps, plans, or surveys of the parish. In the possession of the family of Polloc, there are several ori- ginal papers of considerable antiquity, which deserve attention. Among the chief of these are the following:—A precept from the Lords of Council of King James V. to meet his Queen when she came first to Scotland, dated 1527; a letter from the Regent-Queen - /$3.7 EAST WOOD, 37 Mary, 1559; a letter from Lord Morton, and others, anent the murder of the King, 1567; a letter from Queen Mary before the battle of Langside; a letter from King James VI. for a hackney to the Queen, 1590; another for provision to the Prince's baptism, 1594; and the original, with the subscriptions, of the first Solemn League, signed by the King and Council, 1587. The letter from King James for provision for the Prince's baptism is a great curiosity, and deserves to be made public, as affording a singular picture of the times. The original of the Solemn League is written with great distinctness and beauty, in a character re- sembling Italic print, and can be read with as great facility as the most modern writings. There have been in this parish since the Revolution seven mi- nisters, including the present incumbent. It is singular that two of these, viz. Messrs Crawford and Wodrow, have written histories of the Church of Scotland. The latter was born in Glasgow about the year 1680, and died in 1734. Eminent Men.—Mr Wodrow was a man not only of great worth and usefulness as a minister, but of extraordinary industry and ap- plication to researches connected with the antiquities of Scotland. He wrote a great deal, and employed himself, particularly during the last years of his life, in writing the lives of the principal léarned men of Scotland who lived previous to the restoration of the Stewarts. Some of his manuscripts are preserved in the Library of the Fa- culty of Advocates; some, in the repositories of the Church; and some are still in the hands of his descendants. His great work is the History of the Church during the period of the Persecution. It commences with the Restoration and ends with the glorious Re- volution, and the accession of William and Mary to the throne of these realms. For many years it lay in a great measure neglect- ed; but Mr Fox having given a high character of it in his history, it was brought into public notice. All the copies were quickly bought up, and a new and elegant edition, in four volumes octavo, has been edited by Dr Burns of Paisley. - Mr Crawford’s church history has never been published, but the manuscript is among the records of the church. It consists of two volumes folio, and contains upwards of 1400 pages. It commences with the introduction of Christianity into Scotland, and ends at the year 1680. Walter Stewart of Pardovan, Esq., the well known author of 38 REN FREWSHIRE. the Collections, died while on a visit at the House of Pollok, and was interred in the aisle appropriated to the Pollock family.” Land-owners.—Sir John Maxwell, Bart. of Pollock; and David . Machaffie, Esq. are the chief land-owners. Parochial Registers.-The earliest date of the parochial regis- ter of births is 1687; but it is defective, as few Dissenters are in- clined to register. The earliest date of the register of proclama- tion of marriages is December 1693; but this is likewise defective, as the parties frequently neglect to return and get the marriage re- gistered. * * III.-PopULATION. We have no means of exactly ascertaining the ancient state of the population of the parish; but it would appear, that towards the commencement of the last century the population was very small, perhaps not more than a sixth of what it now is. The burgh of Pollokshaws was then a small village; and Thornliebank, which now contains upwards of 1300 inhabitants, had then no existence. The causes of the great increase of the population to its present amount, 6854, were the establishment of several large public works in the parish, and the improvements in trade, manufactures, &c. The amount of the population residing in Pollokshaws is 4627,- of which 21.69 are males, and 2458 females. In Thornliebank the population is 1366, of which 700 are males, and 666 females. In the country part, there are 861, of whom 414 are males, and 447 females. - The proprietors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards are, besides Sir John Maxwell and Mr Machaffie, already mention- ed,—the Earl of Glasgow; Neil Thompson, Esq. Camphill; John Maxwell, Esq. M. P., younger of Pollock; Dugald Bannatyne, Esq. Postmaster, Glasgow; Messrs Crum, Thornliebank; Martin, * A marble monument, erected to his memory, bears the following inscription :- “Within this aisle lies Walter Stewart of Pardovan, son of Walter Stewart of Par- dovan, and grandson to Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackhall,—a gentleman well skil- led in most parts of useful learning, and in the constitution of his country, and emi- ment for his unbiassed zeal for its ancient rights and real interests, which he shewed by his very early appearance for the Protestant religion, in accompanying King Wil- liam from Holland at the glorious Revolution 1688, and afterwards by his services in our Scotch Parliament, where he for many years represented the burgh of Linlith- gow,-of such distinguished piety and zeal for our holy religion, that he mortified 20,000 merks to the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge. He died March 8th 1719, aged 52 years, at the seat of his affectionate kinsman, Sir John Maxwell of Pollok, one of the Senators of the College of Justice, and is interred in the burial place of that honourable family, which, by the permission of the honour- able proprietor, is likewise destined for the burial-place of his dear spouse, Katharine Cornwall, daughter of James Cornwall of Bonhard, who has erected this monument to the memory of her dearly beloved husband.” EAST WOOD. 39 ** Esq. writer, Paisley; Dr Macarthur, Glasgow. They are all non- resident, with the exception of Sir J. Maxwell and Messrs Crum. There are in the parish 1 fatuous, 4 blind, and 4 deaf and dumb persons. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—The whole parish, excepting what is built upon, or occupied with wood, consists of arable land. There are nei- ther waste lands nor common; and the total number of acres, stan- dard imperial measure, is about 5000. The number of acres under natural or copse-wood is 250, and there are about 100 acres under planted timber. The trees generally planted are, oak, ash, elm, sycamore, beech, larch, Scotch fir, silver fir, and spruce. Rent of Land.—The average rent of land is about L.2 perim- perial acre. The average rent of grazing is L. 4 per ox or cow. There are no sheep farms in the parish. - Rate of Wages.—The wages of day-labourers are from 10s. to 12s. per week. Those of farm-servants are from L. 8 to L. 10 for the half year, with bed, board, and washing. Their food con- sists principally of preparations of oatmeal and milk, morning and evening, and of broth and beef to dinner; and the custom still generally prevails of the servants sitting at the same table with their masters. Live-Stock. —The cattle in the parish are chiefly of the Cun. ningham or Ayrshire breed. Considerable attention has been paid of late to its improvement. Still, however, the breeding of cattle is considered but a matter of secondary importance; and, owing both to this circumstance, and to the inferiority of the pasture lands, the cattle are not equal to those reared in some of the neighbouring parishes, particularly those in the west. Husbandry.-The general mode of farming pursued in the pa- rish is by a rotation of crops. Each farm may be pretty accu- rately described as divided into five parts. One part, after lying in pasture for the period of one season only, is ploughed up and sown with oats. The succeeding year, it is planted with potatoes. The year following, it is sown with wheat, and laid down with grass seeds for a crop of hay. The farm buildings are of one story in height,-and all, with one or two exceptions, slated,—affording every accommodation which the tenants require. The enclosures contain from five to twenty acres. - The principal improvements that have recently been introduced 4() RENFREWSHIRE, are furrow drains. Clauses, as to the mode of management, are seldom inserted in the leases, and are held to be useless, when a proper selection of tenants is made. Indeed, by far the greater part of the parish is held by the tenants, under verbal bargains, for the term of years noted in the proprietor's rental book, or by a memorandum of the agreement. The general duration of leases is ten years, and few of the farms much exceed 100 acres. The average produce of wheat per acre may be taken at 9 bolls. g 8 oats, do. º cultivated hay, do. e 200 stones. potatoes, do. & { } 30 bolls. There are few or no cabbages or beet raised in the parish for the purpose of feeding cattle. Each farmer cultivates as many tur- mips as may be sufficient for consumption on his own lands. They are seldom raised for the market. The quantity of land in the parish under grass may be reckoned at about one-half. This, it must be observed, includes, not only the lands in pasture connected with the various farms, but several large districts of pasture land which Sir John Maxwell retains in his own hand. - The gross amount of coals wrought in the parish may be valued at L. 3500; and of lime at L. 400. Manufactures.—The several branches of manufacture carried on in the parish are cotton-spinning, weaving, bleaching, calico-print- ing, &c. In the Pollockshaws cotton-work, there are employed in power-loom weaving, 265 persons; in cotton-spinning, 194; total, 459. There are employed in Auldhouse-field in bleaching and finishing, 190; mechanics and labourers, 20; total, 210. In Thornliebank, there are employed in calico-printing, 344; bleaching and finishing, 186; cotton-spinning, 151; power-loom- weaving, 121; hand-loom-weaving 45; total, 847-At Green- bank, Pollockshaws, there is a considerable dye-work, but I can- not specify exactly the number there employed. There are, be- sides, in Pollockshaws, several hundred hand-loom weavers em- ployed by the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley. These have generally been considered as excelling in that department. In the manufactories, men, women, and children, work usually twelve hours each day, with the exception of Saturday, when they are engaged only nine hours; and the wages are considered as affording fair remuneration and means of support to the operatives. With respect to their effects on health and morals, a master of one of these public works writes thus, “From all I can learn, the health 3 EASTwooD. 41 and morals of persons employed in well-conducted manufacturing establishments are greatly superior to what they are in other districts of the country. The regular and abundant food, and comparatively comfortable lodging, more than compensate for the less frequent ex- posure to the open air, and the greater duration of labour; and the means we possess of knowing and checking open vice, have, I be- lieve, a powerful effect in suppressing it.” The observation of Dr Macgill, in the former Statistical Account, seems just, “The people of this parish are in general more healthy than those usually are who follow such occupations. This may be owing in part to the fresh currents of air which blow frequently with considerable strength betwixt the surrounding heights, and very much to the tradesman mingling sometimes with his sedentary employment the exhilarating exercises of the garden and the field.” W.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. Pollockshaws is the only town in the parish. It was erected in the year 1814 into a burgh of barony by a charter from the Crown, and has a provost, bailie, and six councillors, with a town-clerk and fiscal. All persons who rent a house of L. 4 and upwards have a right to vote in the election of the magistrates and council. It has no proper market day; but provisions of all kinds may be readily at any time procured. A post-office was some years ago established, which has daily communication with the post-office at Glasgow, The village of Thornliebank is situated a mile to the south-west of Pollockshaws, the whole of which, with the ex- ception of two or three small houses, belongs to Messrs Crum, and is almost wholly occupied by persons in their employment. The length of the several turnpike roads which pass through the parish is about four miles; and there are stage-coaches which travel daily upon them. The roads are oppressed with toll-dues so much, that in going from the south-west of Pollockshaws to Glasgow, a dis- tance of only three miles, a single horse-gig pays 1s. 4d. We have no canals or railways in the parish. The bridges and fences are generally kept in good repair. Ecclesiastical State.-The parish church is situated upon the slope of a hill, at the south-west end of Pollockshaws. It is very conveni- ently situate for the inhabitants of Pollockshaws and Thornliebank, who compose by far the greatest part of the population. Its dis- tance from the most remote part of the parish does not much ex- ceed three miles. The old church, which stood about half a mile to the west, was taken down, and the new one built in 1781; it is 42 R.EN FREWS HIRE. still in a tolerable state of repair. Though, at the time when it was built, it was reckoned one of the neatest churches in the district,- itis far from possessing the elegance of many churches of more recent erection. It affords accommodation only for about 750 persons, so that it is by no means sufficient for the population of the parish. There are no free sittings. Sir John Maxwell, having more seats than are required for the accommodation of his tenantry, lets a few seats an- nually to such of the parishioners as are not otherwise accommodat- ed.—The manse was rebuilt in 1791 nearly upon the old site, and has undergone from time to time various repairs. Though not equal to some of the new manses, it is still a commodious house, and very pleasantly situated.—The glebe, including the ground occupied by the manse, offices, plantings, roads, and garden, contains about six acres. There are not, however, more than five arable acres; and it cannot be valued above L. 2 per acre. There is no land allot- ted for pasture: the minister receives in lieu of it only L. 20 Scots. The stipend which, at the date of the former Statistical Ac- count, was 5 chalders of meal, 1 chalder of bear, and 400 merks of money, including communion elements, has been since aug- mented three times. The last augmentation was given in 1824; and its amount now is 8 chalders meal, 8 chalders barley, and L. 15 for communion elements. - There are no Chapels of Ease connected with the Established Church. There are two Seceding chapels or churches, furnishing sittings for about 700 each, or 750,—one of which belongs to the United Associate Synod, and the other is connected with the Synod of Original Seceders. The stipend of the minister of the latter is L. 125, with a manse, garden, and cow's grass, which may be valued at L.20. The stipend of the minister of the former is L. 130, without either manse or garden. These stipends are raised from the seat rents and collections. We have no Episcopal or Catholic chapels. The Catholics, of whom it is said there are about 700 in the parish, when they attend public worship, go to Glasgow. The parish church and the two Seceding meeting- houses could accommodate only 2200; but, excepting upon sacra- mental occasions, they are seldom completely filled. The neglect of public worship is a growing evil; and the public works have at- tracted and brought into the parish a great number of strangers, who are very irregular in attending upon the ordinances of religion. The ordinance of the Lord's supper is dispensed twice a-year si- multaneously in all the three places of worship. . The average EAST WOO D. 43 number of communicants in the parish church is only about 360. Many of the rising generation never apply for admission to the Lord’s table. The number of families professing to belong to the Established Church is 367; to the Original Burghers, 309; to the United Associate Synod, or New Light Burghers, 219; Roman Catholic families, 124. 162 families acknowledge that they at- tend no place of worship, and belong to no denomination: and many more are supposed to be in the same predicament who do not own it. 3 : We have no Societies at present in the parish for religious pur- poses. A Bible, Missionary, and Educational Society has been once and again attempted, and for some time carried on ; but it gradually fell off, till at last it has totally disappeared. The pa- rish has been assessed for the support of the poor for a number of years past; and ever since, our church collections have been greatly diminished, and perhaps do not average much above 7s, or 8s. per day. - The minister has a class of young persons who attend him week- ly for the purpose of receiving instruction in the principles of re- ligion; and a Fellowship-Meeting, consisting of a considerable number of the rising generation, has lately been formed, which promises a revival of religion among the young. Education.—There are five schools in the parish,_in each of which there is only one teacher. The parochial teacher has the maximum salary, and the legal accommodations of school-room, dwelling-house, and garden. The branches of education usually taught are, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English gram- mar, Latin, and occasionally algebra and practical mathematics. The general expense of education per quarter is, 8s. for reading ; reading and writing, 3s.6d. ; Latin, &c. 5s. The greatest number attending the parish school is 51 males, and 50 females. The probable amount of fees paid to the schoolmaster is L. 86 per an- num. The same branches of education are generally taught in the other schools; and the greatest number of males attending is 363, and females 246; in these numbers, is included a great pro- portion of evening scholars, who are connected with the public works, and therefore cannot attend any day-school. The fees are the same as those of the parochial school. It is not easy to state exactly the number of the young between six and fifteen years of age who cannot read or write; but there is reason to fear that it is considerable. There are but too many who seem not alive 44 REN FREWSHIRE, to the benefits of education, but there are others, whose poverty only prevents them from giving their children that education which they would wish. A number of the children of the poor are educated at the expense of the parish. Of the other teachers three pay rent for their respective school-rooms. The teacher at Thornliebank has a large and commodious school-room from the proprietors of the public works, together with a comfortable dwel- ling-house; but he is otherwise wholly dependent upon school fees. There are, besides, in the parish, three Sabbath schools, attended by about 600 males and females; but of these it is believed a con- siderable proportion attend either day or evening schools through the week. The expense incurred by these is defrayed by occa- sional collections. Literature.--We have no parochial or circulating libraries at present in the parish. A public reading-room was sometime ago opened in Pollockshaws, but not meeting with sufficient encourage- ment, it has been discontinued. Friendly Societies.—There are the following friendly societies: 1. The Old Society of Weavers, instituted 1749. The number of members is about 200; contribution, 4s. per annum; bedfast aliment, 3s. per week; and walking aliment, 2s. 1d. To super- annuated members, or such as are past working, bedfast aliment 2s. 1d. : walking aliment, 1s. 8d. 2. Ayr and Renfrewshire Friendly Society of Weavers, insti- tuted 1799; members about 200; rate of contribution and aliment the same as in the old society. The average annual expenditure about L. 30. 3. Young Society of Weavers, instituted 1774; rate of contri- bution and aliment nearly the same as above. 4. Funeral Friendly Society, instituted 1827; rate of contribu- tion, a man with a family, 4s., a single man, 2s. L. 2 are given to defray the funeral charges of a member. The number of mem- bers is about 100. 5. Gardeners' Friendly Society, instituted 1830; rate of con- tribution, 6s. per annum; members, 44; bedfast aliment, 5s. per week; walking aliment, 3s. per week. 6. Cowglen Friendly Society, instituted 1809; 67 members; contributions 5s. per annum; bedfast aliment, 6s. per week; walk- ing aliment, 4s. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of regular paupers upon the roll is 81 ; and average allowance to each per EAST WOOD, * - 45 * year L. 2, 16s. 0%d.—exclusive of articles of clothing, which are allowed when necessary. Small sums are sometimes also given for the relief of occasional distress. The funds for the poor are derived from an assessment impos- ed annually, (one-half on the heritors, and the other on the rest of the inhabitants, according to their means and circumstances,) and amounting for the current year to L. 335; rent of a small house left to the parish, and church collections, L. 24; total, L. 359. A disposition to refrain from seeking parochial relief does exist to a considerable degree. Of this, the existence of so many Friendly Societies seems an evident proof. There are, however, many per- sons who think themselves not at all degraded by application for relief to the parish funds. Prison.—The jail of Pollockshaws, although authorized legally as such, is not fit for the accommodation of prisoners, and is used only as a temporary lock-up-place, where offenders are confined for a few hours, or until they can be transmitted to the county pri- SOI). Fair.—We have no fairs, unless the last Friday of May may be so called, which is observed as a holiday, and when there is a trifling horse-race, which has no other tendency than to assemble a number of idle people, and promote the sale of whisky. Inns, Alehouses, &c.—There are 56 licensed alehouses or whisky shops in the parish. Their number has been greatly in- creased within these twenty years. They have a very injurious effect upon the morals of the people, and are known from actual observation to be productive of great misery and much crime. Their number, I am informed, is much greater in proportion to the population than in any other part of the county; and the num- ber of cases of assault and other minor offences, arising generally from intoxication, seems nearly in the same proportion. . Fuel-Coal may be said to be the only fuel. Of this there is abundance in the parish and neighbourhood; and the price varies from 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. per cart, 12 cwt. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. There is a striking difference betwixt the present state of the parish and that which existed at the time of the former Statistical Account, in respect of population,-the number of inhabitants since that time being greatly more than doubled. At that time, also, a considerable part of the land was, in a manner, waste,_being co- wered with heath and bent; whereas now there is hardly an acre of 46 º RE N F REWS HIR E. unproductive land in the parish. Draining, which then was little, if at all, practised, is going forward with great spirit, and will with- out doubt tend much to improve the quality of the soil, and pro- mote its fertility. It does not appear to the writer that any bet- ter system of husbandry can be introduced, or the facilities of in- ternal communication increased,—there being already excellent roads leading to and through every part of the parish. Could ar- dent spirits be altogether banished, or their consumption diminish- ed tenfold, and those engaged in the public works led more generally to sanctify the Sabbath and attend upon public worship, these things would tend greatly to promote the best interests of the working-classes. It is likewise evident that there is much need for church extension,-the present accommodation being by no means adequate to the population. January 1836. UNITED PARISHES OF HOUSTON AND KILLALLAN. PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. JOHN MONTEATH, D. D. MINISTER. I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. THE parishes of Houston and Killallan were united in the year 1760. Names.—Killallan is a corruption of Killfillan, i. e. Cella Fillani, the name of the tutelary saint of the parish. Houston may be sup- posed to be a corruption of Hew's town, perhaps from Hugo de Padvinan, who is said, by Mr Crawfurd, in his History of Renfrew- shire, to have obtained a grant of the barony of Kelpeter, the an- cient name of Houston parish, from Baldwin of Biggar, Sheriff of Lanark in the reign of Malcolm IV. Boundaries, eatent.—The united parish is bounded on the west by Kilmacolm ; on the south by Kilbarchan; on the north and east by the parish of Erskine, which separates it from the Clyde. It is about 6 miles in length and 3 in breadth. Hydrography.—The only considerable river is Gryfe, which HOUSTON AND KILLALL AN. - 47 separates it from Kilbarchan on the south. This river has its source in the high moors and mountains that are situated between Kilmalcolm and the Largs on the coast of the Frith of Clyde. It is composed of several streams that unite near the mansion-house of Duchal. It runs rapidly over several precipices to the low country at Fulwood; after which, it moves slowly in a serpentine course, receiving the river Black Cart at Moss Walkinshaw, and White Cart at Inchinnan Bridge, and thence into the Clyde a little below Renfrew. * . Geology.—In the highest districts of these parishes, granite pre- vails. In the lower districts, there are Sandstone and limestone quarries, and coals. - & Alluvial deposits, moss, or peat, in many places six feet deep, cover extensive fields of clay, in the low districts of Killallan, be- ing the eastmost part of the parish, and on both sides of the water of Gryfe. Small pieces of land have been cleared of the moss, and produce good crops. Zoology.—The woodlark, sometimes called the Scotch night- ingale, from its pleasant and plaintive notes, and singing often after mightfall, was common here fifty years ago, but has quite disap- peared since that time. Whether the introduction of foreign trees among the natural woods, such as larch and pines, or frequent liming of land, or some severe winter, have occasioned their disappearing, the writer of this account will not venture to de- termine. - Botany.—The writer of this account has often examined the indigenous plants of these parishes by Linnaeus's Genera Plantarum, but found none but such as are common in the west of Scotland. There is an extensive natural wood on Houston barony, the pro- perty of Archibald Spiers, Esq. of Eldersly, consisting of oak, birch, plane, ash. There are also an extensive natural wood, con- sisting of the same kinds of trees, on the estate of Barochan, the property of William M. Fleming, Esq. of Barochan, and some thriving modern plantations on Barochan. But the most exten- sive plantations in these parishes are on the high-lands in Killal- lan, and on the mosses in the lower parts of Killallan, which Mr Spiers has planted with oak, larch, ash, beech, Scotch fir. Most of the trees thrive well on the high-land, particularly the larch. Those on the mosses have a good appearance at a distance, but have not been narrowly inspected for some years by the writer of this article. During the severe drought this season, a very consi- 48 * * R. EN F. R. EWS EIIR E. derable number of acres of planting on the moss, on the South side of the Gryfe, were by accident set on fire; the wind being from the east, the fire raged, and the flames rose to a great height. In some parts, the progress of the fire was arrested by a number of men cutting large trenches in the moss. To leave large avenues un- planted in modern plantations might, perhaps, prevent the spread- ing of fire. Proprietors of land may also, perhaps, find it their in- terest, when planting on high and exposed situations, to plant the pinaster or maritime pine along the skirts of their plantations, as an excellent defence against the storm; but it requires to be trans- planted in the nursery, its tap-root shortened, and to stand eighteen months more in a nursery of rich ground. The Earl of Galloway, by following this plan, has obtained thriving plantations on every exposure; and in the west of Scotland Scotch firs planted on the south-west of the other trees are a great defence from our most frequent storms. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Land-owners.-The chief land-owners are, Archibald Spiers, Esq. of Eldersly, non-resident; William M. Fleming, Esq. of Ba- rochan, resident; William M. Alexander, Esq. of Southbar, non- resident; William Cunningham, Esq. of Craigends, non-resi- dent. Family of Fleming of Barochan,--Barochan is a very ancient family. Peter Fleming of Barochan * and six of his sons fell in the fatal field of Flowden. Mr Fleming left a seventh son, who succeeded him. This same Peter Fleming was a celebrated fal- coner. His tersel beat the falcon of James IV., upon which the King unhooded his favourite hawk, and put the hood on the ter- sel. The hood was richly ornamented with precious stones. Most of them were stolen many years ago. One ruby remained of great value; but about thirteen years ago, it fell out, and, not being missed at the time, it was lost. A few seed pearls only remain. There is still at Barochan a pair of silver spurs which belonged to the same Peter Fleming. Barochan cross was described in the former Statistical Account. Its history is still obscure. But antiquarians may perhaps be enabled to throw some light on its original, by examining these fine stenographic figures of it which were lately furnished to the writer of this Account by W. * This laird of Barochan had probably two proper names, and this may account for his being denominated William in the account given of his death, in the former Sta- tistical Account. HOUSTON AND KILLALLAN. 49 M. Fleming, Esq. the present proprietor of Barochan, and which will be found in his possession.* * Parochial Registers.-There are three volumes of parochial registers; the earliest entry is 25th October 1696. The two oldest volumes have not been regularly kept; they are not even authenticated by the subscription of any clerk; and there are con- siderable gaps in them. Indeed, there never was any parochial schoolmaster or regular session-clerk in the parish of Killallan while disjoined from Houston; and no register, except one gratui- tously kept by the late Rev. Mr Monteath, previous to 1799. The date of births was entirely omitted, and baptisms only inserted, —such perhaps might be the common practice at that time. But when this omission was discovered by the present minister, he con- sidered it his duty to the public, to insist that births should be strictly and uniformly registered; and he had some difficulty in per- suading the session-clerk that this was absolutely necessary, for ex- actly ascertaining the ages of the parishioners. Since that year, the register has been regularly kept. III.-PopULATION. In the year 1760, when these parishes were united, there were only about 300 examinable persons in each of them. The whole population in 1831 of the united parishes was 2745. The cause of this remarkable increase is evidently the introduction of public works. Number of persons in villages, º Q * * 2140 the country, © * & & 605 Yearly average of births for the last seven years, º tº 53} marriages, do. tº * & ſº 23; Number of persons under 15 years of age, * e 1216 betwixt 15 and 30, * d e tº 68] 30 and 50, º e e 485 50 and 70, tº e e 295 upwards of 70, e e tº e § 68 Number of families in the parish, e º * te 520 chiefly employed in agriculture, * e ſº 100 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, 363 Average number of children in each family, de {} e 2} Insane and fatuous persons, * : e 4 William M. Fleming, Esq. of Barochan, is the only resident heri- tor, possessing a considerable landed estate; but there are several * There was a plan of Houston parish, made at the desire of a former proprietor of the barony of Houston, which comprehends the whole of that parish, and part of Išillallan ; but the plan is now lost. The present minister of these parishes has a faint recollection of having seen, a great many years ago, but cannot remember in whose custody it was, a fine and apparently minute plan of Houston and the adjacent country, specifying the names of the farms; it was said to have been made under the influence of the French government, with a view to the invasion of this part of the country. R.E.N FREW. D 50 R. EN FREWS HIR. E. individuals and families of independent fortune resident in the pa- rishes. The number of proprietors of land, having L. 50 and upwards of yearly rent, resident and non-resident, about 9. Character of the People.—The author of this article, in his Ac- count of the parish of Neilston, inserted in the former work, ven- tured to state his opinion on the effects of some of the cotton mills, and other public works with which the parish abounded, upon the morals and health of the people.* The lapse of forty years has not induced the author to alter the opinion which he then expressed on this subject. Where a population is composed, like that of Houston and Killallan, of people from all quarters, and of all sentiments in religion and politics, it is difficult to delineate their character. He hopes, however, that they are not behind any of their neighbours, who are similarly situated, in intellectual, moral, and religious improvement. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—Draining and straightening of ridges have been practised for many years. The farm-houses are almost all slated and commodious. Leases generally for nineteen years. Rent of Land.—Rent of arable land from L. 2 to L. 3, and in some situations L.4 per acre. The valued rent of the parish is L. 4057, 8s. Scots; the real rent probably L. 9000 Sterling. Recent Agricultural Improvements.-Mr Fleming of Barochan lately returned from India, where he was a District-Judge, and afterwards a Circuit-Judge for many years, when he had leisure from the important duties of his office, amused himself with agri- cultural and chemical experiments; and is now improving here his paternal estate to a considerable extent. The scarcity and the consequent dearness of common manure is among the greatest ob- stacles to agricultural improvements in this part of the country. He has, therefore, lately made many experiments of oil mixed with moss as a manure, which he has found answer well for top-dressing grasslands, and also for various crops; and if oil can be purchased at L. 18 Sterling per ton, he is of opinion it can be used profitably as a substitute for common manure. f * Vide Volume second of former Statistical Account, parish of Neilston. The account of this parish was, with some others, translated into French, and transmitted by Sir John Sinclair to some of the foreign cabinets, as specimens of statistics. † It is said, that Mr Fleming, when in India, made several new and valuable im- provements in the collection and preparation of opium. # An extensive use of oil compost might be useful to the fisheries, by increasing the demand for oil, which has decreased since the introduction of gas. 4 HOU STON AND KILLALLAN. 5 1 Cotton Mills—Bleachfield.—The cotton mills erected since the time of the former Statistical Account are, all but one, on the left bank of the water of Gryfe; they commence in Killallan, about two miles west from the church of Houston, continue in an eastern di- rection, and terminate in Houston parish. They are the following: the new mill occupied by Messrs J. and J. Findlay, near Bridge of Weir, in Killallan, built in 1792; it is 144 feet in length, 36 in width, height 3 stories and attics; it contains 6240 mule spindles, and the necessary preparations, and is driven by a water-wheel 13 feet diameter, by 11 in width ; 12 horses power; 94 persons em- ployed in it; amount of wages paid weekly, L. 32, 10s. Gryfe Grove Mill, occupied by Mr Robert Barr, built in 1822, 46 feet long, 30 feet wide, of two stories and garret; contains 900 mule spindles, 480 water-twist spindles going, and machinery for preparation, driven by a water wheel of 12 feet diameter, and 6 feet wide, made of cast and malleable iron; 11 males and 20 females are employed in the mill, and 8 women in their own houses, 3 of whom are widowers, and two of them near eighty years of age. The wages paid to workers per week average about L. 10, or L. 520 a-year, exclusive of cartage and other out-door work. Ad- jacent to this mill, Mr Barr and a partner, Mr M*Gavin, erected a mill for carding wool and tow, for country people. Another cotton mill, adjacent to the last mentioned, is building by Mr Shank, 46 feet long, 36 feet wide over the walls, consisting of a cotton cellar, two stories and garret; when finished, it will contain from 1300 to 1400 water-twist spindles, and all necessary machi- nery for preparation, driven by a water-wheel of 12 feet diameter, 6} feet wide, made of cast and malleable iron. Gryfe Mill, a little to the east from Bridge Weir, occupied by Messrs John Freeland and Company, was built in 1793, is upwards of 190 feet, within the walls, in length, 34 feet in width within the walls, 50 feet in height, contains 18,000 spindles, 35 spinners, with ample preparation, wrought with a water-wheel of iron 18% feet in diameter, by 12 broad, lighted by gas, employs regularly upwards of 260 hands; wages paid every second Saturday, amount- ing to upwards of L. 200 Sterling. g Crosslie Mill, occupied by Messrs William Stevenson and Sons, built in 1793, length 190 feet, breadth 38 feet, and six stories high, driven by one of the largest cast iron wheels in the county, being 26 feet in diameter, and 12 feet broad, estimated at 70 horse 52 RE NIFREWSHIR.E. power; 300 persons employed in it; their average wages amount to L. 115 per week. Houston Cotton Mill, on the burn of Houston, occupied by Mr Arrol, built about the year 1793. The present occupier has since added about one-third to the building, and filled it with machinery. It is 95 feet long within the walls, 33% wide, and 4 stories high, containing 9000 mule spindles, with preparations, driven by a water wheel30 feet diameter, by 4 wide, reckoned at about 18 horse power. There is also an engine attached to this mill, which is employ- ed in dry weather. The number of workers engaged is about 140; 17 of these are spinners from twenty-five to forty-five years of age, the rest are boys and girls from ten to twenty years of age. The occupier of this mill has not stated any thing respecting the wages of the work-people; but remarks, that there are several capi- tal sites in the upper parts of the united parishes for collecting water in winter, which if held in lease by him, would supersede the fire-engine, but the rent asked for the land there was more than could be given. Several of the proprietors of mills upon the Gryfe have made similar remarks, stating their wish to have additional re- servoirs of water, but that a higher rent for the land was asked than they could agree to pay. Houston Bleachfield, on Houston Burn, occupied by Messrs J. and J. Carlisle, is mostly employed by the manufacturers of Glas- gow and Paisley. About 50 people are engaged in the bleaching annually of about 4000 lbs. cotton yarn, and 60,000 lbs. linen yarn and thread, and in the whitening and drying of about 12000 lbs. of Chinese raw silk. The men are paid at the rate of 9s. to L. 1, and the females from 5s. to 7s. per week. They are mostly na- tives of Argyleshire. V.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. Villages.—There are three villages. The nearest market-town is Paisley, seven miles distant from the church of Houston; but there is a market for a variety of articles also in the large and po- pulous village of Johnstone, about three miles distant. Ecclesiastical State.—The church was built in 1775, is con- veniently situated, and accommodates above 800 people. Di- vine service is generally well attended. There are no Dissent- ing or Seceding chapels within the united parishes; but there are houses of worship for most of the different descriptions of Dissent- ers and Seceders, not distant, in several neighbouring parishes. The manse was built about thirty-two years ago. The glebe is 3 - HOUSTON AND KILLAL LAN. 53 six acres in extent; the stipend 8 chalders of oatmeal and 8 chalders of barley." Education.—There is one parochial school,-the branches taught are, Latin, English, English grammar, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, and geography; schoolmaster’s salary L. 34, 4S.4%d. Sterling; amount of school fees about L. 28; he has the le- gal accommodation. He has some additional income as clerk to the kirk-session. The general expense of education is very moderate, —only about 14s. Sterling per annum. There are four private schools, in which, excepting Latin and geography, the branches already stated are taught. The teachers are paid by those who employ them. Perhaps the most visible change in the people since the facilities of education were increased is, that they appear now to be all politicians. Literature.-There is a library in the village of Houston; news- papers are common. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of poor re- ceiving parochial aid, 28; average sum allotted to each per week ls. 8%d. One insane pauper lodged in the asylum at Glasgow, costs the poors’ funds about L. 20 Sterling yearly. There is only one small asylum in this very populous county of Renfrew, about two miles below Greenock. The want of a much larger one, and in a more central place of the county, is felt very severely, and ought to be provided for. Annual contributions for the poor, at an average, at the doors of Houston church, L. 58; from annual proclamation of banns, and mortcloth money, L. 7, 4s. ; interest of L. 190 of stock in the bank, at 2% per cent. L. 4, 15s. ; annual donations from the he- ritors and proprietors of public works for twenty years past, only L. 20; total, L. 89, 19s. But the parochial minister has re- peatedly represented to the heritors and proprietors of the public * The following statement may perhaps be of some interest to patrons and presby- teries. The present incumbent, after having been a minister in a Chapel of Ease, was unanimously admitted assistant minister and successor to his father in these united pa- rishes, in June 1781; he was afterwards admitted minister of Neilston in March 1785; and after the decease of his father, he was again admitted minister in the united parishes here in September 1797. The Rev. Mr Forrest, late minister of Port-Glasgow, presid— ed at both of these admissions at Houston. As it is a vice-patronage here, the late Mr Fleming of Barochan challenged Mr Spiers of Elderslie's right respecting the said second admission at Houston, alleging that Mr Spiers had exhausted his right by the first admission of the present incumbent; but the Court of Session decided unani- mously in favour of Mr Spiers's right to present, and Mr Fleming acquiesced. Was this decision founded on the principle, that where there is no actual vacancy there can be no legal presentation ? 54 '. R EN FREWS HIR. E. works in Houston and Killallan, the absolute necessity, in these parishes, crowded with public works, and several rising villages, either to enlarge their contributions, or to assess the parish. There seems to be no disposition among the poor to refrain from seeking parochial relief, or to consider it as degrading; the former independent spirit of the Scotch seems much on the decline in all the manufacturing districts; and what is perhaps still more to be regretted, many children neglect their parents in old age, and even parents desert their children. Fairs.-Fairs are yearly in May, for milch cows, young cattle, and Highland cattle. * Inns.—These are numerous, and their effects obvious. Fuel-Coals are abundant at three miles distance, and peats at two miles; but the former are sold at a high price, owing to the great demand. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. t The state of the united parishes at present, crowded as they are with public works, and a population collected from all quarters, is very different from its state at the time of the former Statistical Account, when the people were principally employed in the pur- suits of an agricultural and pastoral life, and when strangers had not much mingled with them. - Improvements in agriculture might still proceed, were leases for nineteen years granted, not at the price of grain during the last and long-continued war with France, but at the market price of grain for several years past, and were some other reasonable encourage- ments given. - With regard to what might promote the progress of industry, and the happiness and comfort of the labouring classes, the writer is humbly of opinion, that by such an increase of knowledge in re- ligion, morals, history, and some of the most useful arts and sciences, as would induce them to persevere in habits of industry, sobriety, and economy, and to cherish the feeling of self-respect, and counter- act the prevailing spirit of a reckless improvidence,—much misery might be prevented.* The large moss in the parish of Killallan belongs partly to the estate of Barochan and partly to that of Fulwood. It was divid- ed by a decree of the Court of Session about twenty-nine years * It was from an earnest desire to promote these ends that the parochial minister frequently recommended attention to a library of valuable books, from the pulpit, and that he has from time to time contributed to the library of Houston and Killallan. HOUSTON AND KILLAL LAN. 55 ago or thereabouts. Mr Spiers, the proprietor of Fulwood, has . planted a great part of his portion with Scotch firs; but the trees have not thriven on this moss, probably in consequence of the moss being too wet. Little other improvement has been attempt— ed, except near the edges, where the peat has been mostly remov- ed, and there a few acres have been occasionally reclaimed. There is a good deal of bent land of the same description that might easily be brought into cultivation; but the greatest bar to improve- ment is the wetness and want of access. The first thing, then, to be done, is to lay it as dry as possible, and then to make a road through it, which would admit of the transit of peats, and facili- tate the clearing of the moss, preparatory to improvement. Moss can be made into a very good manure by being mixed with oil, and at a moderate expense, particularly when oil is cheap. The experiment lately tried by Mr Fleming perfectly succeeded. The proportions were 3 cwt. of oil to 60 cubic yards of moss. The moss was spread on the ground about one and a-half feet, and covered with long horse litter, weeds, &c. an inch or two thick, (a cart or two is sufficient for this quantity of moss.) Above this, another layer of moss was laid of one foot thick, and the three cwt. of oil poured over it as equally as possible. The whole was then covered up with eight inches or a foot of moss, and allowed to heat for three weeks, (the time, however, must depend on the weather.) When it had stood for this period it was turn- ed over, and when again well heated for a fortnight, it was ready to be laid on turnip land,—the texture of the moss having been by this time completely altered, and become in appearance a black, greasy, rich mould. The turnips were not sown until the middle of July with the moss manure, which was used in the proportion of 30 cubic yards per acre; and from being too late, and the season wet and bad, the crop was far from good, though quite as much so as those sown on the same land, at the same time, and with the same quantity of the best short cow dung; and this year the oats look as well on the land manured with the moss as on that of the same description which was manured with the dung at the same time. The cost of the compound was as follows, (the oil being very dear in 1830, at which period the experiment was made:) coarse train oil 3 cwt., L. 3, 10s. ; horse litter, 5s. ; driving moss, 70 cubic yards, L. 1, 10s. ; working and turning, 10s. ; expense of 60 cubic 56 R.E.N FREWSHIR. E. yards manure, at Is. 11d. per cubic yard, L. 5, 15s. The oil in 1831 was so high in price that blubber was substitut- ed by Mr Fleming, which cost L. 10 per ton, and double the quantity was used to the same number of cubic yards of moss. This did not, however, answer quite so well as the oil, it taking a longer time to heat and mix with the moss, that is, from two to three months, before it was ready; but the time it takes to heat depends very much on the season of the year and the state of the moss, which ought to be exposed to the air and frost, six or eight months before it is used, and ought not to be used in too wet a state. Six acres of barley were manured with this composition in 1831. The compound of oil and moss not having been long Kenough made, it did not become firm enough for turnips, and did not consequently answer for them; but the barley crop has been good, and the field looks well, having been sown down with grass seeds. Revised January 1836. PARISH OF KILMALCOLM. PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. ROBERT CAMERON, MINISTER. I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Extent, Boundaries.—THE extent of the parish is about 6 miles square; it is bounded on the west by the parishes of Port-Glas- gow, Greenock, Innerkip, and Largs; on the east by Killallan and Houston; on the south by Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch; and on the north by Erskine and the river Clyde. Topographical Appearances.—The general appearance of the parish partakes of the Highland character. The lands in general rise in gentle swells from the river; and in some places are rocky and moorish. Here and there, are clumps of planting, which give a beauty and variety to the surrounding scenery. This is parti- cularly the case towards the south. The village is about 350 feet above the level of the sea, and few spots command a more KILMALCOLM. 57 rich and beautiful view than the rising grounds on the shore. At certain seasons of the year, there are heavy falls of rain, attend- ed with high winds, which injure the fields and gardens. The climate is moist, and all the houses are more or less affected with dampness. The inhabitants are generally healthy. In- flammations and rheumatic affections are the most prevailing dis- 628 SGS, Hydrography.—The Frith of Clyde bounds the parish between three and four miles on the north. The waters of the Grieff and Duchall rise in the west, and run in a southerly direction through the whole length of the parish, unite their streams, change their course eastwards, and discharge their waters into the river Cart, which falls into the Clyde at Inchinnan. The parish abounds with excellent water. During very dry seasons, some of the surface springs disappear, which, however, occasions no inconvenience, as the perennial springs are numerous, and yield an ample supply of the finest water at all times. Geology.—The rocks that abound in this parish are of granite, and in some places of great depth. Some simple minerals have been found from time to time. The soil on the rocks is light and gravelly, and upon the high-lands is covered with heath and wild flowers. The vegetable productions and other plants are all of the common kind. Žoology.—A few years ago, a bull and two cows of the aborigi- mal breed of the country were brought into the parish from Eglin- ton Castle. They are entirely white, and continue so shy that they will allow no one to approach them. The flesh of these ani- mals, it is believed, has neither the richness nor the flavour of the Highland breed of cattle. The streams abound with excellent fish; such as trout and par. At the end of the year, the salmon come from the Clyde up the small river, where they deposit large quantities of fry, which return to the salt water in the month of April. So rapid is their growth in Salt water that, report says, they have increased in length eighteen inches. A small piece cut out of the fin is the usual mark by which this fact has been ascertained. - II.—CIVIL HISTORY. Some account of this parish is contained in the histories of Renfrewhire that have been published from time to time, such as those of Semple, Crawford, and Wilson. There are no sepa- 58 R. EN F. R. EWS HIR. E. rate maps of the parish ; but it is delineated in the map of Ren- frewshire, where it is described as the most extensive in the coun- ty, in point of surface. The Lords Lyles and the Earls of Glen- cairn had property in the parish and seats in the church; and some of them were interred in the cemetery of the church. Land-owners.-The chief heritors are, James Corbet Porter- field; W. C. C. Graham; Robert Farquhar; William Macdowall; and John May, Esqs. Parochial Registers.-The parochial registers do not extend far back; neither have they been regularly kept. The first entry is made in the year 1707. A parochial register is now regularly kept. Buildings.-The church may be said to be the only public building in the parish. The houses of Duchall, Carruth, Finlay- ston, and Broadfield, are, however, modern mansions, and elegant- ly and commodiously built. The House of Finlayston commands a beautiful and extensive view of the Clyde. There are three mills in the parish for grinding oats and barley. . - III.-PopULATION. The population of the parish was, according to the census of 1801, & | |00 1811, wº 1474 1821, e 1600 1831, tº 1613 of whom there were, males, 756; females, 857 The village contains 367 inhabitants; the country part of the parish 1246. The yearly average of births, &c. for the seven years preceding 1833 is as follows: Baptisms, 23; Marriages, 174; Burials, 17%. Fourteen individuals in the parish draw upwards of L. 50 yearly from land, and are all independent in their circumstances. There are also 227 houses inhabited by 300 families. There are 2 per- sons blind, 3 deaf and dumb, and l insane. It is pleasing to see the improvement that has taken place in the character and manners of the people. The church is more regularly attended; the people are cleanly, and their dress taste- ful. Their manners and language are also improving, and they are not surpassed in religion or morality by any around them. During the last three years there have been four illegitimate births in the parish. IV.-INDUSTRY. 353 males are employed in agriculture above twenty years of KILMA LCOLM. 59 age ; 13 in manufactures; and 57 in the retail of grocery goods, &c. There are 104 family servants, and 2 surgeons. Cultivated or occasionally in tillage, &= 8000 acres. Constantly waste, or in pasture, wº gº 22000 That might be profitably cultivated, º 1000 Under wood, natural 20, planted 205, *- 225 In undivided common, Duchall moor, gº 5800 Agriculture.—The soil is light. A large quantity of land in the parish has not been brought into a state of cultivation. This is no doubt owing, in a great measure, to its general sterility, and the consequent expense attending improvements. The farmer has done much, but cannot be expected to do all, unless he receive considerable assistance and encouragement. Rent of Land.—The average rent of land per acre is L. l ; for grazing an ox, L. 3; for pasturing a sheep, 5s. Real rent of the parish about L. 7000. - Husbandry.—The cattle in general are of the Ayrshire breed, and some of the farmers along the moors keep sheep, which pas- ture on Duchall moor. The usual course of husbandry is pursued, and considerable improvement has been made in this department within these few years. The farmers were, some time ago, thought rather behind their neighbours; but, considering the nature of the soil, there is now no ground for such complaint. Their crops bring as high prices at the market as those of the adjoining pa- rishes. Leases are in general for nineteen years. The farm- steadings are not in good order; but some new ones are build- ing, which will be a great improvement. Produce.—The averagé yearly amount and value of raw produce raised in the parish, may be as follows: Grain of all kinds, ſº L. 8000 Potatoes and turnips, * 5000 Hay, º tº Eº e- 1500 Land in pasture, - tº- 3150 Gardens, * {- * 80 Miscellaneous produce, - 200 L. 17,930 V.—PARocBIAL EconoMY. Kilmalcolm is the only village in the parish, and is distant about four miles from Port-Glasgow, which is the nearest market and post-town. The public roads, on which there are two toll-bars, are kept in good repair, and extend in length about six miles. The bridges are also kept in good order. The fences are but indiffe- rent,--no great taste or care being shown in this respect. It is 60 RENF REWSHIRE, hoped that more attention will be bestowed on them in future, as it may be the means of preventing serious accidents, several of which have taken place. Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church stands in the village, and is not conveniently situated for the population. To the west and south, many are four miles distant,--So that it is almost impos- sible, during a great part of the year, for the old and infirm to at- tend public worship, which is a subject of regret. A new parish church was built about two years ago, and is in excellent repair. It can accommodate about 1000 persons, and is too large for the present population. The manse was built more than a century ago, and has under- gone some extensive alterations and repairs. Upwards of forty years ago, two wings were added to it, and a handsome porch,- which render the house as convenient as any modern manse in the neighbourhood. The glebe lands, including the garden and the site of the manse, consist of about 8 acres. The soil in many places is very shallow, and cannot be valued at more than L. 13. The stipend is 16 chalders, half meal half barley, convertible at the highest fiar prices of the county,+besides L. 8, 6s. 8d. for com- munion elements. There are two meeting-houses in the parish : one belongs to a few Baptists, and the other to the sect denominated the Reform- ed Presbytery. No emolument is attached to the former; and the latter is supported from collections and seat rents. These meeting- houses are attended by few who belong to the parish. The Bap- tists may number about 10 individuals, and the Reformed Pres- bytery about 20 members; but neither of these bodies is on the increase. The great body of the people attend the Established church. There are 400 communicants on an average, who receive the Sacrament, which, considering the population, is a large num- ber. The young seem all to express a desire to join the church at a certain age. Education.—There are six schools in the parish, and the paro- chial school is in the village. The teacher has the maximum salary, a dwelling-house and garden. The branches of education taught are, reading, writing, and arithmetic, more being seldom required. The emoluments of the private teachers arise from school-fees,— a school-room and dwelling-house being provided by the people. There are no persons in the parish who cannot read, and the young KILMALCOLM. 61 do so remarkably well. All seem alive to the benefit and necessity of education. Literature.—A circulating library was lately established in the parish, which has been in active operation for more than a year. Could a fair judgment be formed from the past, it is probable that this infant institution may succeed; but country people, from many causes, do not read much. There are no reading-rooms in the pa- rish ; but several newspapers circulate, upon all sides of politics. Charitable Institutions.—There are no charitable institutions, with the exception of a Friendly Society, which a few individuals have formed for mutual support. Poor.—There are at present 14 poor upon the roll, who re- ceive according to their circumstances. Should they be able to work a little, they get 1s. per week; and when unable to do any thing they are allowed upon an average 2s. Each of them also receives a quantity of coals at the new year, equal in value to 10s. When sick, a small sum is generally added to their weekly allowance, and medical attendance and medicines are provided for them. It is a subject of surprise how they manage to live, and make so few com- plaints. They, however, do not look upon this kind of charity as in any way degrading; and children, in good circumstances, have been known to allow their parents to receive it. The funds from which the poor are supplied are derived from collections at the church doors, fees of proclamations, and the pro- fits arising from the letting out of a hearse and mortcloth. The deficiency is made up by the heritors, according to their valuations. The average annual amount of church collections for the poor is about L. 18. Fairs.-At present there are no fairs. Some time ago, an an- mual fair was held here ; but the only memorial of it now is the assembling together of a few people in the village, who spend an hour or two in conversing upon the days that are gone by. Alehouses.—In this parish, there are seven alehouses. They are not all, however, well attended, and it is rarely that the people go to excess in drinking. . Fuel.-Coal and peat are generally used as fuel. The coal is at a considerable distance, and is expensive in the carriage. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. The moral condition of the people has of late been im- proved. The general appearance of the parish is also changed for the better. Green fields now appear where formerly stones 62 REN FREWSHIR. E. and brambles were only to be seen. Clumps of planting are rising all over the parish, which are already affording shelter, and adding beauty to the scenery ; and tracks, on which nothing met the view but barren rocks, are now covered with the fir, the birch, and the spruce. The manner of cultivating the land is all modern. Excellent cattle and good instruments of husbandry abound. It may be fairly said, that few places have made more progress in im- provement, and there is little doubt that it will continue. It is worthy of remark, that the Sacrament of the Lord’s sup- per was dispensed in this parish, by the celebrated John Knox, in the house of Finlayston, then belonging to the Earl of Glencairn. The cups used upon this occasion were two candlesticks of the finest silver. The lower part or sole formed the cup, which was screwed into the upper. These cups were used in the parish church at the dispensation of the sacrament so long as that family con- tinued in the parish. Then they were replaced by four copper cups gilt, furnished by the Countess of Glencairn, who, it is said, car- ried the silver cups along with her. Report also states that these cups are still in the possession of the friends of that family. January 1836. PARISH OF PORT GLASGOW. PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. JAMES BARR, D.D. MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THIS place originally formed part of the adjoining pa- rish of Kilmalcolm, and consisted of the small village of Newark, so called from the barony of that name which lay in its immediate vicinity. The land on which the town stands was, in 1668, pur- chased from Sir Patrick Maxwell of Newark, by the magistrates of Glasgow, with a view to provide a convenient harbour for the ves- sels belonging to the merchants of that city. In the year 1695, it was, by the competent authority, disjoined from Kilmalcolm, and, with a few farms in the neighbourhood attached to it, erected into a distinct parish, under the name of New Port-Glasgow, or more PORT-G LASG OW. 63 commonly Port-Glasgow,-a name simply expressing the design of its erection, as the Port of Glasgow. Eatent.—In its form, this parish approaches nearly to a square, and does not exceed an English mile either in length or breadth. It has for its boundaries the river Clyde on the north, the east pa- rish of Greenock on the west, and Kilmalcolm both on the east and the south. The land presents a very irregular appearance, consist- ing chiefly of hills which rise immediately behind the town in two successive ridges to a considerable height, and which, covered with wood and verdure, exhibit a beautiful object to travellers passing along the river, and richly reward the labour of an ascent, by af- fording an extensive view of the surrounding country, not surpas- sed in grandeur and loveliness even by the most admired scenes of which England, and perhaps Europe can boast. From the top of these hills, and nearly on a level with it, the parish extends in a southerly direction to the distance of about half a-mile, and is divid- ed into seven farms, some of them considerable in size, but all of them in a very imperfect state of cultivation, and naturally of a cold and barren soil. By far the most valuable portion of the land of this parish lies along the bank of the river, to the extent of about 300 yards from the water’s edge; the whole of which has long been con- verted into garden ground, and furnishes a supply both of vege- tables and fruit, excellent in quality, and in quantity much more abundant than is required for the use of the inhabitants. Climate.—The proportion of wet weather here, as in other places along the coast, has been ascertained to be considerably greater than in those districts which lie farther removed from the sea. In addition to other causes of a more general nature, the high lands in the immediate neighbourhood may have some influence in con- tributing to the moisture of the atmosphere. Certain it is that the heights above the town have the effect of intercepting the sun's rays, and do not permit them to fall on it during nearly six weeks in the winter. It would be difficult to specify any diseases which can be said to be peculiarly prevalent in this parish. Few places of equal extent contain a greater number of very old people; a circumstance which sufficiently indicates the salubrity of the climate. River.—The breadth of the river here does not exceed two miles, and the greater part of it is dry at low water. But the channel of the river in every state of the tide contains a depth of water suffi- cient to keep afloat vessels of the largest dimensions, with their full cargo in perfect security. In ordinary tides, the water rises to 64 RENF REWSHIR.E. the height of 9 feet, and to the height of 11 feet in spring-tides. Very few fishes are taken at this place, and these only small in size, and of the most common kinds. During the winter months, immense quantities of sea-fowl frequent the river, including barnacle, teal, and other species of the duck tribe. …' II.—CIVIL HISTORY. Proprietors.—The landward part of this parish belongs to Mr Farquhar of London, who purchased it from Lord Belhaven a few years ago. The same gentleman also holds the right of superiority over a considerable part of the town, with the gardens adjoining to it, upon which he levies an annual feu-duty at the rate of L.2 per acre. Of the remaining portion of the town, the superiority is vest- ed in the city of Glasgow. The Castle of Newark stands at the eastern extremity of the bay to which it has given its name, on a point of land projecting into the river, and which commands a mag- nificent view of the surrounding scenery. It is built in the castel- lated form, and when fortified, must have been a place of great strength. The building has been long in a ruinous condition, and is now interesting only as a venerable monument of feudal grandeur, a memorial of the spirit and character of a barbarous age. Town.—In its general appearance, the town presents an aspect of neatness and regularity, not often to be met with. The streets are straight, and for the most part cross each other at right angles; while the houses, pretty nearly equal in size, and generally white- washed, give to the whole a light and uniform appearance. The only modern buildings worthy of notice are the town-house and the parish church. Of these the former is of plain but substantial work- manship, ornamented in front with a portico, resting on four massy fluted pillars, surmounted with a handsome spire, which rises from the centre. The ground floor has been chiefly laid out in shops; but the upper story, in addition to the chambers of the council and town-clerk, contains a large and commodious reading-room, with several apartments which are occupied as counting-rooms for mer. cantile business. The parish church was built in 1823, and con- tains accommodation for above 1200 sitters. It is square in form, and plain in the outward appearance, but has been much and de- servedly admired for the simple elegance of its internal construc- tion. The wealthier inhabitants of the place did themselves great honour, and set a valuable example to others, by gratuitously con- tributing L. 1500 towards the expense of its erection. There are two other places of public worship; the one, a chapel of ease be- PORT-G LASGOW. 65 longing to the Establishment, capable of accommodating 1500 per- sons; the other in connection with the Associate Synod. Constitution of the Burgh.-In 1775, a charter was obtained from Parliament conferring on the town the privileges of a burgh of barony, and granting a constitution which vested the manage- ment of its municipal affairs in a council of 13, including 2 bail- ies. By the late Burgh Reform Act, the number was reduced to 9; consisting of a provost, 2 bailies, and 6 councillors. The town has by the Reform Bill been elevated to the rank of a Par- liamentary burgh. It embraces a constituency of 211 qualified voters; and joins with Kilmarnock, Rutherglen, Dumbarton, and Renfrew, in sending a Member to Parliament. Revenue.—In the year 1834, the revenue amounted to L. 1951, 7s. 7d.,-obtained from the rent of church seats, from a tax on houses, from anchorage-dues, dock-dues, the rent of warehouses, the sale of gas, flesh and fish markets, and a few other sources of public income. About the one-half of this revenue is required to pay the interest of an accumulated debt; and the remainder goes to meet the necessary demands for minister's stipend, the salaries of public officers, and other expenses incurred in conducting the affairs of the town, and promoting the comfort of its inhabitants. III.-PopULATION. There are no documents from which to ascertain the exact num- ber of people that resided in this parish at the time of its erec- tion. In 1700, it did not contain a population of more than 400 souls; but in 1718, when the first parish church was built, the in- habitants amounted to twice that number. From this period the population continued steadily, though not rapidly, to increase, un- til the year 1790, when it consisted of 4036 persons. In conse- quence of the American war, which had an injurious effect on the trade of this place, the population underwent a considerable dimi- mution; for by the census that took place by order of Government, In 1801, it was found to be, & -> 3865 1811, it amounted to e e e 5] 16 1821, g e º 5262 1831, º º e 5.192 Comprehending, of males, 2186; of females, 3007 Making, families, • - J279 Inhabiting houses, 400 Including families employed in agriculture, º 7 trade and manufactures, 435 The comparatively slow increase of population in this place, and its occasional falling off, may be traced to the fluctuations of for reign trade, on which it has chiefly depended for its support, and R.E.N FREW. E 66 REN F. R. EWS HIRE, also to the influence of competition, exercised by the neighbouring ports of Greenock and Glasgow : but it is proper to add, that the trifling decrease which appears in the census of 1831 has been far more than made up since that period, as appears from a survey taken expressly for this work in the summer of 1835, and by which the population of this town and parish is ascertained to be as fol- lows, viz. The number of inhabitants, . & § 60 l S males, 2856; females, 3162 families, º e I 332 persons under 15 years of age, e 2122 between 15 and 30, e 1910 30 and 50, & 1394 50 and 70, tº 494 above 70, * 98 Character of the People.—The inhabitants of this place are ge- nerally well informed, diligent in business, and liberal in charity. They may be characterized also as a church-going people. Dur- ing the last year, there were only two prisoners confined upon charges of a serious nature, and a few others for minor offences. In the year 1790, with a population of 4000, there were no less than 81 public-houses in the town. It is gratifying to be able to state, that in March 1835, and with a population of about 6000, the number of public-houses had been reduced to 70. It would be still more gratifying to be able to add, that the practice of in- temperance has diminished in the same proportion. Appearances, however, do not by any means warrant such a conclusion, and seem to indicate, that intemperance never prevailed among the lower classes of society to a wider and more alarming extent than in the present day. - The people of this place exhibit all those characters and habits which commonly distinguish the inhabitants of sea-port towns. Engaged in maritime and mercantile avocations, they cannot be expected to have either time or taste for the pursuits of literature; yet many of them have received the advantage of a liberal educa- tion, and they are, generally speaking, highly respectable in point of intelligence and judgment. Nowhere is the principle of attach- ment to the British constitution and government, both in church and state, more deeply rooted, more steadfastly maintained, or more unequivocally expressed, than among the people of Port- Glasgow. Few of them possess great wealth, but a large number are in circumstances of independence. The working classes are in general well employed, and obtain good wages. Upon the whole, all ranks of society may be said to enjoy, in a superior de- gree, the means of comfortable subsistence; and, were they all as * PORT-GLASGOW. 67 provident as they are industrious, the evils of pauperism would be confined within very narrow and manageable limits indeed. IV.-INDUSTRY. Manufactures.—The Gourock Rope-work Company have long had a branch of their establishment here, for the manufacture both of rope and sail-cloth. The canvas factory, which has of late been considerably enlarged, gives employment at present to about 200 men, at 12s. a-week, and 81 boys, at 8s. 6d. ; and 71 women, at 4s. 6d., and 67 girls, at 3s.6d. In the rope-work department, 45 men are employed, each receiving 15s. a-week, assisted by a number of boys. In both, the number of workers amounts to 474, male and female. - There are at present only two houses actively engaged in the business of sugar-refining. The one, on a comparatively small scale, in which the old process of making refined sugar is adhered to. In the other, which is of large extent, the new system of refining by steam is followed. In connection with these, about 50 men are regularly employed within doors, whose wages vary from 12s, to L. 1, 10s. per week. Ship-Building.—The work of ship-building is carried on here to a considerable extent. Of late years the carpenters have been chiefly employed in the construction of steam-boats, of which they have produced a great number, some of them of the largest class, and all of them of very superior workmanship. At present this de- partment of maritime industry gives employment to nearly 200 men, at the rate of about L. 1 or L. 1, Is. a-week, besides a number of apprentices. " Trade.—Wast improvements have in the course of the last few years been effected, in deepening the river, and otherwise increas- ing its facilities of navigation. These, as was to be expected, have proved injurious to the commercial interests of the outports on the Clyde. In the year 1811, the coasting trade of Port-Glasgow employed 400 vessels and 1300 seamen. Owing to the facility with which vessels of inferior burden find their way up the river, nearly the whole of this portion of the trade has been transferred to Glasgow. The foreign trade of this port may be estimated by the following table for the year 1834. The arrivals during that year were the following: Ships carrying Toms. From the West Indies, * 26 - (3934 East Indies, º 3 - 1040 British North America, 36 – 173] 7 the United States, sº 6 - JS57 the Mediterranean, - ll - 1545 Making in all, —82 -—28693 68 R EN F. R. EWS HIRE. During the same year the export trade was carried on to the following eXtent : Vcsscle. Toms. To the West Indies, ſº 29 tºº 7522 Fast Indies, e- 12 tºº 3952 British North America, 30 – 14320 the United States, * 4 wº 120] the Mediterranean, gº I | E- 1535 In all, * 86 – 28530 The following table presents a comparative view of the foreign trade of this port: Inwards. In 1825, the number of vessels was 72, bearing 21485 tons. 1830, º * - - 80 – 21972 1834, - e- º 82 – 28693 Outwards. 1825, - º - 80 - 2479] 1830, * *s q= 86 - 24762 1834, gº * - 86 – 28530 From the above statement, it appears that the trade of this place, notwithstanding the disadvantages with which it has to contend, is in a course of steady though not rapid increase. The amount of revenue collected at this port has indeed sustained a very large re- duction within the last few years. Thus, - In 1830, the revenue amounted to L. 243,349 3 1 1832, wº * - 185,426 18 64 1834, * * sº 140,284 8 10 This defalcation may, however, be accounted for by simply stat- ing the fact, that the duties upon tobacco, which were formerly collected here, are now paid in Glasgow, lately constituted a bond- ing port for that article; and which duties are more than sufficient to make up the deficiency exhibited in the present state of the re- WCI) Ule. British manufactures of every description are shipped here in large quantities; and in return all the ordinary articles of foreign produce are imported, including tea, which, though it may not add greatly to the trade of the port, will probably realize a considerable addition of revenue. Port-Glasgow is the principal port on the Clyde for the importation of North American timber, for which secure and extensive accommodation has been provided in the wood-ponds, which are constructed along the shore in the imme- diate vicinity of the harbours. The extent to which this branch of the trade has been carried on will appear from the subjoined account of the quantities imported: In 1825 amounting to 19650 tons. IS29 gº 16620 1834 * 27975 PO RT-G LAS GOW. 69 In the beginning of the year 1835, the harbours of Port-Glas- gow contained vessels which measured in all 12,000 tons, being the largest amount of tonnage ever known to have been in this port at one time. It may be proper to state, that formerly, the trade of this place was almost entirely carried on in ships which were the property of merchants in Glasgow. Of late years, how- ever, the people of Port-Glasgow have become ship-owners to a considerable extent; and at present about one-fourth part of the whole, or above 7000 tons of shipping, belong to individuals resi- dent in the town. If that spirit of commercial enterprise which has already embarked a large capital in this way, shall continue to discover itself as it has done for the last ten years, not only an in- crease of trade may be anticipated, but the port will acquire more and more of an independent character. Harbours.—Attached to this port are two capacious harbours, substantially built, and so completely sheltered from the storm that the vessels moored in them have seldom been found to suffer injury even from the severest weather. These are furnished with ample quay and shed-room, together with a commodious graving-dock, the oldest in Scotland, but lately improved at a great expense for repairing vessels. The largest vessels that trade to Clyde are found at this port, measuring about 600 tons; a few of them regis- ter for upwards of 650 tons; and all of them carrying nearly double the amount of their register tonnage. Yet such is the facility of access to the harbour, that these vessels which draw twenty-one feet of water, are towed up and down in the channel of the river with the greatest ease and in perfect safety. Wet-Dock, &c.—A very important addition to the harbour accom- modation of Port-Glasgow is about to be obtained in the erection of wet-docks. The present harbours being found too small for the increasing number of ships belonging to the port, the inhabitants of the town resolved to avail themselves of their local advantages by converting the Bay of Newark, which is naturally adapted to the purpose, into a spacious dock, where vessels of the largest class might lie securely afloat in every state of the tide. Accordingly, the trustees of the harbour obtained an act of Parliament investing them with the necessary powers for carrying this desirable object into effect; and funds having been procured to the amount of L. 35,000, they were enabled to commence the work, which is now in rapid progress, with every prospect of being finished by the end of this year. This, when completed, will be the only dock of the 70 R EN FREWS HIRE. same kind on the west coast of Scotland; and, from its large ex- tent and spacious quays, with a depth of water equal to twenty-five feet alongside of them, will hold out very superior advantages to the trade, both in point of security and convenience. A pretty correct idea may be formed of the improving trade of this port, by a reference to the amount of harbour revenue collect- ed during some of the preceding years. The revenue derived from the harbour in 1831, amounted to L. 1454, 0s. 9d. ; in 1834, to L. 1639, 6s. The charges levied at this port are all on the most moderate scale, and fall very considerably below the rates imposed at the neighbouring ports of Greenock and Glasgow. To mer- chants engaged in the trade of Clyde, the harbour of Port-Glas- gow now presents the double advantage of comparatively low charges and vastly superior accommodation. - Besides, the privileges of the warehousing system at this port are on a footing equal to those of any other port in the kingdom. Warehouse-room is provided on a very extensive scale, and is open for the general accommodation of the trade on very moderate terms. The buildings are all of stone, and, with one exception, they are all of special security. In addition to the regular bonded ware- houses, there is a large area for receiving wood into bond, and an excellent warehouse for crushing refined sugars, in which large quantities of that article are prepared for exportation to the Me- diterranean markets. - V.-PAROCHIAL EconoMY. - Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church stands in a very con- venient situation, and is in excellent repair. It affords accommo- dation for 1260 sitters, including 50 free sittings for the poor, and is ordinarily attended by a congregation of about 1150 persons. The present stipend of the minister, as fixed in 1823, is L. 250, with an allowance of L. 27 yearly for a house, and L. 3 for a gar- den. The sum of L. 5 is allowed for communion elements; and, to meet the expenses of an additional communion in the winter, the sum of L. 15 is granted. The average revenue actually drawn for seat-rents in the parish church during the last ten years has been at the rate of L. 489, 16s. per annum. For some years a parochial missionary has been employed here, whose salary is raised by con- tributions from the congregation connected with the parish church. In the year 1774, a chapel of ease was built in this place, capable of accommodating 1500 sitters, and which for a long time conti- * POHT-G LAS GOW. 7 | nued to be well attended; but for many years the number of stated hearers has not, it would seem, at an average exceeded 200 per- sons of all ages. The minister of the chapel has secured to him by bond a salary of L. 100 a-year. - This parish contains only one dissenting place of worship, which is in connection with the Associate Synod. It accommodates about 800, and is attended by a congregation amounting to about one- half of that number. Not less than 1600 persons professedly be- long to the Established Church. Of these there are in full com- munion with the church, 1325; communicants with the Dissenters are 351; Roman Catholics, 332. It cannot be alleged that there is any want of church accommo- dation in this parish, for there are in it places of worship capable of containing one-half of the inhabitants; yet the fact has been recently ascertained, that 833, or about one-seventh part of the whole population, have not seats in any place of worship, are mem- bers of no Christian congregation, and do not observe even the forms of a religious profession. - Societies for religious purposes exist here in great variety, and are in general respectably supported; including a Bible Society, Auxiliary Missionary and Gaelic School Societies, with many others, ——the joint revenue of which may be estimated at about L. 150 per annum. A Seaman’s Friend Society was lately instituted, which promises to be productive of much good. The formation of a Sail- ors’ library has commenced under most favourable auspices. Every ship that leaves the harbour carries a small tin box, furnished by the society, containing several copies of the Scriptures, and a few other approved religious publications for the use of the men while at sea. The people of this place are honourably distinguished for liberality in promoting every object of Christian benevolence. In addition to the sums privately contributed, the collections at the door of the parish church for religious and charitable purposes, exclusive of what was collected for the parochial poor, must have amounted to upwards of L. 100 during the last year. Education.—There are altogether eight schools at present taught in this parish. Formerly three masters were provided by the Cor- poration, with a salary of L. 20 per annum to each, who superin- fended the classical, the commercial, and the English departments respectively. Lately, however, two of these situations having be- come vacant, the magistrates considered it necessary to discontinue both salaries, and to resolve, that in future there shall be only one 72 R EN FREWSHIRE. endowed or parochial teacher, with the usual allowance of L. 20 for his salary. This arrangement will no doubt be attended with a small saving to the public funds, but it can hardly fail to prove unpropitious to the cause of education, and consequently injurious to the best interests of the community. The fees for the different branches of instruction are not the same in all the schools, but vary from 8s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. per quarter. In addition to the one parochial, and six private schools, there is a charitable institution, commonly called Beaton's school, from the name of its founder David Beaton, who in 1814, left the munificent bequest of L. 1400, to be laid out in building and endowing a school for the education of poor orphan children. Upwards of 150 children of both sexes receive instruction here in all the common branches of education, and a number more at the trifling charge of 2s. per quarter. The teacher has a fixed annual salary of L. 60, with a free house. It is difficult to ascertain with accuracy the number of unedu- cated children in a community, owing to the reluctance which pa- rents naturally feel to make a discovery which would criminate themselves. The following calculation, however, is the result of a very careful inquiry. Persons between six and fifteen not taught to read, 105; d.o. taught to read, but not write, 436; above fifteen not taught to read, 10. This statement, it is to be feared, does not by any means show the full extent of the uneducated popula- tion, yet it sufficiently proves the importance of an increase in the means of education, and particularly of cheap education, to meet the wants of the people. It seems absolutely necessary that a school should be erected, in which the children of sailors, and of the poorer classes generally, might be furnished with useful instruc- tion at such a rate of wages as their parents can afford to pay. Libraries.—The library for the use of seamen, recently insti- tuted in this place, has been already mentioned. There are two other libraries, the one of a general and miscellaneous nature, the other a youth’s library, which consists exclusively of religious pub- lications. Provident Bank.-In the year 1818, a provident-bank was esta- blished here under the sanction of the corporation. The following statement, applicable to the year 1834, may serve to shew the ex- tent of its operations. The money deposited in that year amount- ed to L. 1481, 18s. and the sums withdrawn during the same pe- riod to L. 1828, 8s. 7d. When it is considered that the deposits consist chiefly of small sums lodged by servants and other classes of working people, it will be seen that this institution must have been PORT-GLAS GOW. 73 largely taken advantage of by those for whose benefit it was de- signed, and has in fact proved a great blessing to the community. Poor and Parochial Funds.-Above 170 persons at an average receive stated relief from the parish. To each of these a weekly allowance is given of from 9d. to 2s. a-week, according to circum- stances, and a considerable number of them receive additional aid to the amount of from L. 1, 5s. to L. 2 a-year, in the shape of house rent. A large item in the expenditure is incurred by the support of orphan children, amounting at present to above 20 in number, each of whom costs the parish nearly L. 6 in the year for board and clothing. With a view to check intemperance among the poor, and secure for them at least one substantial meal in the day, it was resolved a few years ago to try the use of a per- manent soup-kitchen. A commodious place was fitted up for the purpose, where eighty quarts, at an average, of excellent broth have been dealt out to the poor every day, Sabbath excepted. A ticket bearing the value of one penny entitles the pauper to a quart of soup and a halfpenny roll of bread, which together are worth three halfpence. Some of the poor people would prefer to have the money at their own disposal, but they are in general well pleas- ed; and, on the whole, the experiment has fully realized the ad- vantages that were expected to result from it, and may be consi- dered to have demonstrated the utility of the plan, both in regard to comfort and economy. The maintenance of the poor in this parish, as in most other sea-port towns, is attended with a very heavy expense. For seve- ral years past the amount of expenditure has averaged about L. 600 a-year. But this large sum is raised by the inhabitants without having recourse to the aid of an assessment. With the exception of what is derived from the interest of a small sum of money, from the rent of a house, from charges for proclamation of banns, and the use of a mortcloth, and some other incidental sources of revenue, -with these trifling exceptions, the whole amount is contributed by voluntary collections at the doors of the churches. In the year 1834, there was collected at the parish church L. 384, 18s. 9%d., at the chapel of Ease, L. 17, 0s. 11+d. by the Dissenters, L. S. 8s. 1d. From this statement it appears that the members of the Established Church, who constitute about three-fourths of the church-going population, contribute nearly 49–50ths of what is required for the maintenance of the parochial poor. 74 R EN FR EWS HIRE. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Perhaps there is no town in the kingdom of equal magnitude which has undergone less change in its character and circumstan- ces since the former Statistical Account of Scotland appeared than that of Port-Glasgow. Had the improvements now going on upon the harbour been effected twenty years ago, the place would undoubtedly have advanced much more rapidly than it has done, in extent and importance. What shall be the effect of these improvements, whether, as may reasonably be anticipated, they shall attract a larger portion of foreign trade, and at the same time give an additional impulse to the spirit of domestic enterprise, time alone will determine. January 1836. PARISH OF LOCHWINNOCH. PRESEYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. ROBERT SMITH, MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name seems to refer to the large loch in the neigh- bourhood of the village, and to the principal island which it con- tains, –Innich being the genitive case of the Celtic word Innis, which signifies a small island. This etymology is confirmed by the fact, that a number of names of places in the parish are of Celtic derivation; and it agrees nearly with the manner in which its name is pronounced by its present inhabitants, as well as with some of the ways in which it was anciently spelled.* Extent, Boundaries.—This parish is said by Robertson to be 12 miles long from east to west, and where broadest about 6 miles from north to south,-which is very near the truth. It contains about 19250 English acres. Its figure, though irregular, is not un- like the head section of a fish or serpent. It is bounded on the south by Beith; on the west by Kilbirnie and Kilmalcolm; on the * I have seen almost forty different ways of spelling Lochwinnoch taken by Dr A. Crawfurd, a native of the parish, from books and MSS. from 1504 down to the present day, of which the following are a few examples, Lochvinyoch, Lochguhin- yoch, Lochwhinoch, Lochineach, Lochwinioch, Lochwinnoch. + Description of the shire of Renfrew, &c. p. 348. LOC HWIN NOCH. 75 north by Kilbarchan; and on the east by the Abbey parish of Pais- ley and Neilston. Topographical Appearances.—Its surface is very irregular and hilly. The highest hills in the county are situated in its western extremity. There is a range of hills stretching along the west coast from Greenock to Ardrossan. The highest of these are the Misty Law and the hill of Staik, the former of which is in this parish, and the latter forms its western boundary. The Misty Law is said, in the former Statistical Account, to be 1246 feet above the level of the sea, and the hill of Staik, it is now ascertained, is somewhat more. Their heights were taken some time ago by order of Government. The prospect from the Misty Law is said, in the Account just now referred to, “to be extensive and varied over twelve counties, including the Frith of Clyde, and the islands of Arran, Bute, Ailsa, &c. This hill is surrounded by the moor- land part of the parish, which abounds with game, and affords to- lerable pasture for sheep.” There is another range of high land pas- sing through the eastern part of the parish, which stretches from be- yond Paisley towards the western coast. This has been justly called table-land, and almost the whole of it within this parish is arable. Amongst the western hills, there are many small, and some beautiful and romantic valleys; but the principal valley lies between the two ranges of elevated land, on the north and south sides of the loch. It stretches from beyond Dalry, through Kil- birnie, Lochwinnoch, and Kilbarchan, and terminates in the east- ern part of the great vale of Renfrewshire or Strathgryfe, which lies on the west of Paisley, and contains many thousands of acres of rich and valuable land. In the long and expansive valley which passes through Lochwinnoch, there were originally three large lochs,—Kilbirnie, Barr, and Castle-Semple lochs, the two last of which are within this parish. At an earlier period, when the land was not so well drained and cultivated as it is at present, these three lochs were sometimes, during a great fall of rain in winter, united, and formed an extensive sheet of water, stretching several miles along this beautiful valley. This never happens now. Castle- Semple and Kilbirnie lochs always contain a considerable expanse of water; but they are now far separated by cultivated land; and Barr Loch, which lies between them, and near the former, is so well drained, that it has the appearance of a loch only during a heavy fall of rain in winter. In summer, it waves with the most 76 - R E N F I& EWS HIR E. luxuriant crops of oats and hay, which would not disgrace a more genial clime and southern latitude. Robertson's description of the appearance of the parish is as follows: “Lochwinnoch is greatly diversified in its general aspect. Part of it consists of high and bleak hills in the back ground; part of it is a low winding valley, in general of a very fertile soil; and in the heart of it, is the largest loch or lake in the county. This valley, with the shelving country towards it on both sides, contains nearly the whole population. It is also ornamented with plan- tations, whilst the houses of its numerous small proprietors are each set down under the shade of a few old trees in the midst of well cultivated spots of ground. The whole strath has a warm and cheerful appearance. It is the very vale of Tempe of Renfrew- shire.” This “vale of Tempe,” however, merits a more particular de- scription. If you view it from the west at any elevated spot on the road to Kilbirnie, the prospect is varied and beautiful. You have the well-cultivated lands around you, and the rising ground on each side, particularly on the west, where the hills rise gradu- ally above one another till they terminate in the Misty Law and hill of Staik. Immediately in front, are seen the remains of Barr Castle, long the residence of the successive families who possessed the neighbouring lands, and near it Barr House, the residence of William Macdowall of Garthland, Esq. the present proprietor, surrounded by thriving plantations and well-cultivated fields. Be- yond both of these, is the large and regular, sheltered and flour- ishing village of Lochwinnoch. But by far the most remarkable feature of the prospectis Castle-Semple Loch, the ruins of the Peel, and the adjacent scenery. On the south side of the Loch are seen Lochside, Beltrees, and, in the distance, Bowfield, with a shelving country, bestudded with houses, and ornamented with plantations. On the north side of the Loch, appears the whole policy of Castle- Semple, the most beautiful and extensive in this part of the coun- try. But from this point the view of it is imperfect. You have a general prospect of the woods and grounds of Castle-Semple, and of the hill of Kenmure in the back ground, surmounted by the Temple, like an observatory, erected on an eminence which rises abruptly out of the valley. In order to see the scenery of Castle- Semple to advantage, it must be viewed from the rising ground on the south side of the loch. There you have another and striking view of Castle-Semple and Barr lochs, the village, and Barr Castle, LOCH WIN NO CH. 77 but more especially of the whole policy of Castle-Semple. This, which is surrounded on the north by a high wall, three or four miles long, is laid out with the greatest skill. It contains about 900 acres, subdivided into a great number of enclosures, and pervaded by above twelve miles of roads and walks; and, albove all, it is orna- mented with many large plantations and scattered trees. The eminences are crowned with woods, which in some places descend into the valleys, and exhibit a delightful variety of elevation, as well as of shade. In some places there are rows of trees, and solitary trees are here and there scattered over the lawns. Even the back ground and distant scenery add to the beauty of the policy. The heights are covered with plantations, which are disposed with the greatest skill and the best effect. The scene is as varied as it is at every point beautiful. In moving along the face of the elevat- ed ground, on the south side of the loch, the prospect is con- stantly varying under the eye, and is everywhere delightful. The House of Castle-Semple, the residence of Colonel Harvey, the present proprietor, being built in 1735, is not equal to the situa- tion which it occupies, though a meat small mansion. But the gardens on the rising ground a little to the north of the house are one of the best features of the landscape. These gardens were lately formed at very great expense. They contain two large en- closures, surrounded and subdivided by high walls, covered with fruit trees. Along the cross walls in the centre there is a great extent of glass-house; containing not merely vines, peach trees, &c. but a variety of flowers and shrubs. On the north side of the gar- den there is a large pinery, and behind it a stove house for propa- gating tropical plants and shrubs. On the south side there is a large green-house; and in the fore-ground an extensive flower-garden, surrounded with shrubbery, and subdivided into plots of different forms, and planted with shrubs and flowers of every name and hue, encircled by grassy borders, and pervaded by gravel walks, “shaven with the scythe and levelled with the roller.” In the north-east side of this fine garden there is an extensive rockery, covered with rock-plants, and encircling a pond, in whose waters a multitude of gold and silver fish play, and from whose centre a beautiful jetteau rises. I understand that, though there are some gardens more extensive, and others more remarkable in one or another de- partment, yet there are few formed on a better plan, and in all re- spects more complete and excellent. Meteorology.—At the gardens of Castle-Semple, there has been 78 R EN FREWS H I R.E., for years past, carefully marked every day, the height of the ther- mometer and barometer morning and evening; and the water re- ceived by two rain-guages; the direction in which the wind blows, and the state of the weather. From this meteorological journal I subjoin the following extracts and calculations: 1829. - Thermometer, average height throughout the year at 8 A.M. - 47.98 do. do at 8 P. M. – 46.7 greatest height in the course of that year, tº 73. lowest range, º - -> - 12. average height in the month of June at 8 A.M. - 61.7 do. do. at 8 P. M. - 58.966 do. in the month of December at 8 A.M. 37.355 do. do. at 8 P. M. – 35.839 Barometer, average height throughout the year at 8 A. M. - 29.6S2 1830. Thermometer, average height throughout the year at 8 A. M. – 48.773 do. do. at 8 P. M. – 46.9 greatest height in the course of that year, - 6S. lowest range, es * - ge - - 12. average height in the month of June at 8 A. M. 58.2 do. do. at 8 P. M. 54" | 66 do. in the month of December at 8 A. M., 37.451 do- do. at 8 P. M. 37.354 Barometer, average height throughout the year at 8 A. M. – 29,545 Isle of Man.* No. of Days. Weathem'. Year. Ther. Med. Wind. No. of days. Rain. A. M. P. M. N. S. Jº. W. Rain. Snow. Fair. Inches 1829, as 46 ſo; gi ſīo 62 is; is 217 §§§9 1830, 48.8 46.9 83 104 84 94 167 15 183 38.55 Aberdeen. - 1829, 46.62 &º - * - =- 28.66 1830, 46,8] º - . ºs - * - - 30.60 From the two rain-guages already mentioned, very different re- sults are obtained. I have made my calculations from the one which stands nearest the surface of the earth, and which receives more rain than the other, which, by its elevation, is more exposed to the wind, and, therefore, I apprehend, does not give so fair a result. - In 1827, there fell during the whole year, 46.86 inches. 1828, - - º - - 54.94 1829, - - º t- º 39.85 1830, - - - - 55.5l To mark the difference of the two guages, and to shew the at- tention which should be paid to the situation of such instruments, I may mention, that the quantity of rain received by the other in 1830 was only 43.95. I believe this is also an inferior instrument to the other. It is obvious, therefore, that, if I had made my cal- * I have seen similar statements made in the Isle of Man and at Aberdeen, during these two years, which it may be interesting and useful to contrast with the one just now given, 4. LOCHW INNOCH. 79 culations from this guage, it would not have appeared that such an immense quantity of rain falls in this neighbourhood: still it is not to be denied that the quantity is great. It will immediately appear that it is very much the same with that which falls at Largs, where observations of this kind were long made by Sir Thomas Brisbane, at Brisbane House. We are separated from that parish by the high-land about Misty Law and Staik, which attract the vapour rising out of the great Atlantic Ocean, and condense it into rain, and send it down with impartial favour, upon us, and the inha- bitants of Largs. Though a great quantity, however, falls in the neighbourhood of our high hills; yet it appears from a statement in Wilson’s Account of Renfrewshire, that the whole west part of Scotland is not deluged with so much rain. The following is his report for 1809 and 1810, at the four following places: Pears. Dalkeith. Bothwell Castle. Glasgow. Largs. | S09 2S. 552 24. 440 25. 132 38.624 1810 25.636 25.0 l () 21.433 38.714 From this statement it will be seen that more rain falls at Dal- keith than at either Glasgow or Bothwell Castle. Mr Wilson him- self remarks, that, “although it thus appears that the quantity of rain in the west of Renfrewshire is considerable, it is certainly far short of that which falls annually at Lancaster, Manchester, Ken- dal, and Keswick, which is 40.3, 43.1, 61.2, 70.6 inches respective- ly. The quantity of rain is not so much to be dreaded as its fre- quency.” The direction in which the wind blows morning and evening at eight o'clock, and the state of the weather, morning, noon, and even- ing, as cloudy, wet, or fair, are noted in the journal from which I have already quoted. This last record impressed me more than ever with the idea of the lowering aspect of our sky. There is a succession of cloudy, hazy, showery, and wet, but comparatively little sunshine and fair weather. In 1827, the wind was westerly seven months, southerly three, and northerly two. And there fell 46.86 inches of rain, so that the westerly wind does not bring such a quantity of rain as it produces frequent showers. Little comes from the north, and an east rain usually continues two or three days. In 1828, the wind was southerly six months, westerly four, north- east one, and east one, and there fell 54.94 inches of rain, so that the prevailing south wind produced more rain than the prevailing west wind of the former year. In 1829, the wind was northerly four months, westerly four, southerly 2, and north-west two, and there fell 39,85 inches of 80 REN FREWSHIRE. rain,-the north wind bringing less rain than fell in either the pre- ceding or following year. - - In 1830, which might be emphatically called the wet year, the wind was remarkably variable, but it secured for us a large quan- tity of rain, by blowing from the south five months, from the west two, south-west one, north-west two, north one, and north-east one, and there fell 55.51 inches of rain. After what has been said, it is scarcely necessary to remark, that the climate here is moist, but it does not seem to affect materially the health of the inhabitants. It is a curious fact, that they were remarkably healthy during the wet year, 1830. There were only 60 deaths in the course of that year out of a population of 4500, which was considerably less than had occurred for many years; but they habitually enjoy good health. The water gathered in the high-land is fully impregnated with moss, which is strongly an- tiseptic, and destroys the marsh miasmata which rise out of the loch and neighbouring valley. This is supposed to be our secu- rity against agues and other diseases, which elsewhere prevail in similar situations, and the reason why our people enjoy so much health. The inhabitants of the high-lands enjoy sunshine and fresh air when the valley is often covered with a dense fog. But, on the other hand, those of the valley sustain little injury from a fog which is not loaded with marsh miasmata, are protected on all hands by the neighbouring hills, and usually enjoy a remark- ably mild climate. So much is this the case, that Lochwinnoch has often been resorted to with advantage by delicate persons during summer, for whom the sea air was too keen. Many instances of longevity occur here. * - I have been furnished with an account of the patients and dis- eases which came under the care of the surgeon here, who had the greater part of the practice in this place. It extended from the beginning of January 1817 to the 22d October 1819. It must be * In the former Statistical Account, the following case is mentioned: “ Margaret Paton, who was born in this parish, is mentioned by Lynch on Health as a remark- able instance of longevity. Her picture, and a print from it, which the writer of this account has seen, were done from the life by J. Cooper in 1739, with the following inscription : ‘Margaret Patton, born in the parish of Loghnugh, near Paisley, in Scot- land, living in the workhouse of St Margaret's, Westminster, aged 138 years.” Margaret was born in the Cottar Raw at Risk, and it may be noticed, that John Ring died at Risk, about twelve years ago, aged ninety-three years. His brother James died at Beltrees a few years after, about the same age; and Robert Sempill, the last of the Sempills of Beltrees, died in 1789, aged 103 years. Elizabeth Jami- son, who died about the end of 1830 at Burthills, was almost ninety-nine years of age; and one Ruthven, an old soldier, died at Glasshill in 1812, aged lll. - . 3 LO CHW IN NO CH. 8 I remembered, however, that there was then not merely a population of about 4000 in this place, but he had many patients in neighbour- ing parishes. He had altogether 785 cases, and the following were the diseases that most frequently occurred : Fever.—Continued fever, 84; typhus or nervous, 20; inflammatory, 18; biliary, 12; total, 134.—Peripneumony, 85 ; catarrhs, 33; colics, 21; con- sumption, 19; rose, 18; headach, 18; enteritis, 17; rheumatism, 16; children’s complaints, 114. It may help to elucidate the subject still farther, to give the following statement: There were in 1828 ninety-five deaths, the greatest number I have known in one year, though the summer was warm and genial; still-born, 6; below 10 years of age, 35; from 10 to 20, 5; from 20 to 30, 4; from 30 to 60, l l ; from 60 to 70, 17; above 70, 17; total, 95. In January, 3 deaths; Febru- ary, 8; March, 10; April, 8; May, 10; June, 8; July, 13; Au- gust, 11; September, l l ; October, 7; November, 3; Decem- ber, 3. It will thus be seen that there were more deaths during the fine summer of this year than during the winter; but this fact, and the health of the inhabitants during the wet year, 1830, I should think rather anomalies than fair specimens of the effects of wet and warm weather. Hydrography.—Springs are numerous throughout the parish, but none are of a remarkable character. The village is at all sea- sons well supplied in this manner with good water, which rises out of the sandy soil upon which it is built. In other places they flow from almost every kind of rock. Springs impregnated with carbo- bonate of iron are found in the Misty Law moor and elsewhere. There is a spouting spring strongly impregnated with this substance in a bank a little west from Barr Castle. It rises from an opening made in the earth when mining for coal, and at one time spouted two or three feet above the ground. Now it is covered with a pump, and used as a well by a family in the neighbourhood, who are very sensible of the peculiarity of its taste, and the excellence of its qua- lities. - The only large lake in the parish is Castle-Semple Loch, which was once much larger than at present, but it still covers about 200 acres of ground. Its length is much greater than its breadth. It contains three small wooded islets, and is surrounded by the beau- tiful scenery of Castle-Semple, already described. The mansion- house stands on its north side, near its eastern extremity. It is fur- TEN FREW. F 8 R EN FR EWSHIRE. 2 mished with swans, Cape and Canadian geese in vast numbers, ducks, teals, and other kinds of water-fowl, and contains pike, perches, and other kinds of fish. “Queenside Loch is situated on the moors, and contains about 21 acres; it forms an excellent re- servoir for supplying two large cotton mills in the village of Loch- winnoch.” Waws Loch is in the opposite extremity of the parish. It is small, and remarkable only for its situation and the quantity of water lilies (Nymphaa alba) which it produces. The only river that runs wholly within the parish is the Calder, which rises on the borders of Ayrshire, amongst the high-lands so often mentioned. It runs principally in a south-eastern direction, and pursues a very winding course. Owing to the height of its source, it descends over various elevations, and forms in different places beautiful waterfalls. Its banks, as it approaches the village, are exceedingly picturesque, and are adorned with wood, both na- tural and planted. After passing through these beautiful banks, which are celebrated by Wilson, the American ornithologist, it winds round the west and southern extremities of the village of Lochwinnoch, and, turning to the east, falls into Castle-Semple Loch, keeping up a constant current through it, and maintaining its salubrity. When it issues from this loch it obtains the name of Black Cart, which is a dark, level and slow-running stream. It forms the boundary between Lochwinnoch and Kilbarchan from its source, till it leaves the parish. The Dubbs flows through level meadow land from Kilbirnie Loch to Castle-Semple, and though it be not much elevated above the level of the sea, yet it is the sum- mit from which the adjacent streams pursue different courses to the Sea. Those upon its west side proceed directly westward to the coast, but those upon its east side fall into the Black Cart, which flows in a north-easterly direction, till it join the White Cart at Inchinnan, whose united waters proceed in a north-west direction, till they fall into the Clyde a little below Renfrew. Geology.—There is no very remarkable feature in the geology of this parish. The rocks are generally of secondary trap, afford- ing almost innumerable varieties of greenstone, basalt, amygdaloid, porphyry, &c. which run into each other by endless gradations. There are neither primitive nor transition rocks in it. Green- stone stratified with claystone, and with freestone overlying coal, is found at Hallhill, where there is also crystallized freestone. The crystals are cubical, contained in the freestone, and form an integral * Former Statistical Account. 3 LOCHWINNOC H. 83 part of it, with many petrifactions of what seem to have been arbores- cent ferns. Their stems are now sandstone, and their bark is con- verted into carbon. This freestone overlies the coal and stratified greenstone. The range of hills, of which the Misty Law and Hill of Staik are the highest, is mostly formed of porphyry toward the top, which is capped with greenstone, intersecting the porphyry in innumerable dikes. Carbonate of copper is found in small quan- tities in nests at Kame, contained in whinstone; and veins of sul- phate of barytes are common in the secondary trap rocks. These veins are from 6 inches to 14 or 16 feet thick. Their directions . are various. Trap tufa is found in a few instances among the por- phyry, in which it seems imbedded, but its relation to it is not easily traced. It is composed of the fragments of the surrounding por- phyry and greenstone, cemented together by a paste apparently composed of these rocks and oxide of iron. - Overlying the secondary trap in the lower part of the parish i the coal formation, consisting of the usual series of freestone, iron- stone, shale, &c. dipping generally to the south-west. This forma- tion partly surrounds the beautiful loch of Castle-Semple, and con- tinues without interruption into Ayrshire, around Kilbirnie Loch, and onward to Ardrossan. This formation, however, is limited within the parish to a very small compass, and the working of coal has not been found a very profitable speculation, as it is intersect- ed with many dikes and troubles. The thickest bed known is at Hallhill, where it varies from 6 to 10 feet; the other beds are from a few inches to 2 or 3 feet thick. It may be remarked, that the coal strata which dip towards the south-west, crop out in an op- posite direction near the foot of Castle-Semple Loch; but the stra- tified rocks on the northern side of the loch scarcely reach this point, being cut off by the insulated rock of the Hill of Kenmure, which does not belong to the coal formation, but is composed of secondary trap. - Limestone, which abounds in organic remains, is wrought by mining at Howwood, and a similar limestone was formerly wrought at Midtown. The organic remains found in it consist chiefly of bi- valve shells, some of which are very rare species, Coralloids, En- trochi, Encrini, &c. Although limestone has been wrought on a sumall scale in several instances, yet the quantity known to exist is very limited in extent; and at two places, Garpel and Midtown, has been fairly wrought out. The minerals found in this parish are numerous, and a good many 84 R.E.N FREWSHIR. E. belong to the Zeolite family. Some of them, as white prehnite, are very beautiful. I have been furnished with the following list, which comprehends the greater number of them. Species. Localities. Agate, (var. fortification agate,) Edge, Glenward, Misty Law moor, &c. Amethyst, Misty Law moor and Glenward. Amygdaloid, common. Analcimé, crystallized at Linthills and in Calderbank. Arragonite, in small crystals at Linthills. Augite, common, plentiful in trap rocks of secondary formation. Barytes, sulphate of, (lamellar, ) Raith-water, Kame, Knows, and near Cruckhill. Bitumen, Garpal lime quarry. Carbonized wood, Hallhill, Garpal, &c. in sandstone. Carburetted hydrogen gas, Hallhill coal-work. Chabasie, Maich water. Chalcedony, common, Misty Law moor. —var. carnelian, Glenward, Misty Law moor. Clay, variegated, Camphill-burn. Claystone, common. Clinkstone, Ruch-burn, &c. common. Coal, cannel, (var. splent-coal,) Hallhill. slaty, Hallhill. . coarse, How-wood, &c. Copper, pyritous, near Cloak. - green carbonate of Kame, Tandlemoor. Felspar, common, red, Misty Law moor. Green earth, Edge, Calderbank, &c. Greenstone, common. e - porphyritic, not uncommon. Hornblende, basaltic, Misty Law moor. Hörnstone, Misty Law moor, in small quantities. Iron, common sulphuret of, Hallhill. — ‘red oxide of, (var. red hematite,) Berrieglen, argillaceous oxide of, (var. bog ore,) common. Ironstone, compact brown, Loch Banks. — (var. lenticular,) Loch Banks. Jasper, common, Dunshill, Langyard, Tandlemoor, &c. - • ‘ striped, Misty Law moor, rare. . Laumonite, Edge-brae, Calderbank, &c. Lime, carbonate of, (subsp. crystallized calcareous spar, of the form commonly called Dog-tooth spar,) Netherhouses, Berrieglen, How-wood, &c. (subsp. laminated calcareous spar,) not uncommon, as at the How- wood, &c. - (subsp. fibrous limestone,) in very small quantities in Calderbank, —-—— (subsp. compact limestone,) How-wood, Langyard, &c. (subsp. concreted, var. calcareous incrustations,) not uncommon, on some rocks. - (subsp. brown spar,) crystallized in the Misty Law moor. Manganese, oxide of, (earthy,) common in small quantities in whin rocks. - (crystallized,) Ituch-burn. Mica, lamellar, Barr quarry, &c. in freestone. Porcellamite, road from the village to the Langyard. Porphyry, Misty Law moor, Auchinhane, &c. Quartz, common crystallized, Misty Law moor, Calderbank, &c. (var. rock-crystals,) in small crystals in the Misty Law moor, the Glenward, and at the Cruckhill. Slate, argillaceous, (var. shale,) Loch Banks, Milbankburn. - - — (var. novaculite,) Loch-head. Steatite, common, Loamhead, Calderbank. Stilbite, red foliated, Calderbank, large specimens. * Trap-tuffa, above the mouth of Raith-water in Calder-water, also at the foot of the Ruch-burn. - 4 LOCHWIN NO CH. 85 Species. * Localities. Wacke, Misty Law moor, abundant. Zeolite, common, High Barnaich. - needle, High Barnaich, &c. Besides the minerals and rocks which exist in their natural situ- ations, there are others of which only fragments are found. These are chiefly of the primitive rocks, and the most numerous are gra-3. nite, syenite, mica slate, and quartz rock; and of the transition rocks, greywacke. * Botany.—This parish the botanist will find interesting. The following list enumerates our rarer plants: Hippuris vulgaris. Ligustrum vulgare. Pinguicula vulgaris. Circaea Lutetiana. Veronica scutellata. Scirpus lacustris and pauciflorus. Arundo Phragmites. Aira flexuosa. Aira praecox. Holcus avenaceus. Nardus stricta. Briza media. Scabiosa arvensis and succisa. Galium boreale. Lysimachia nemorum and vulgare. Campanula latifolia. Potamogeton lanceolatum and crispum. Lithospermum officinale. Echium vulgare. Convolvulus sepium. Jasione montana. Solanum Dulcamara. Sanicula Europea. Ligusticum Meum. OEmanthe crocata. Sison inundatum and verticillatum. Imperatoria Ostruthium. Viburnum opulus. Triglochin palustre. Alisma Plantago and lanceolata. Epilobium angustifolium and palustre. Vaccinium Oxycoccos. - g Polygonum amphibium, var, aquaticum. Paris quadrifolia. Adoxa moschatellina. Saxifraga hypnoides. Stellaria memora and glauca.’ * Sedum Telephium, villosum, and An- glicum, * Arenaria rubra. Spergula nodosa; Lythrum Salicaria. Sempervivum tectorum. * Prunus Padus and Cerasus. . Spiraea salicifolia. * Rubus idaeus, fruticosus, corylifolius, and Saxatilis. Tormentilla repens. Comarum palustre. Nymphaea alba and lutea. Chelidomium majus. I’apaver Argemone and Rhaeas. Stachys ambigua. &n Lamium amplexicaule. Scutellaria galericulata. Melampyrum pratense. Camelina sativa. Cardamine amara. * The following description is given of a magnetic rock in the former Statistical Ac- count of the parish : § “A very singular magnetic rock has been discovered two miles from Castle-Semple: The compass was sensibly affected all round the rock to the distance of 150 yards. The effect was most remarkable on the east and west side of it, and in every direction it was greater as the compass was nearer to the rock itself. In its immediate vicini- ty, or nearly in a perpendicular direction above it, the position of the needle was very unsteady and irregular, and as the compass was gradually brought nearer the ground, the deviation from the magnetic meridian was more remarkable, and the vibrations more rapid. When the compass was set on the ground, the north pole of the needle invariably directed itself to one small space of the rock, on whatever side of it the needle was placed.” This, I presume, furnishes another to the many examples that exist to prove that “ rocks impregnated with iron ore affect the magnetic needle, not only from the iron which they contain, but also from the portion of the natural magnet imbedded in the mass.” In the New Philosophical Journal for July–October 1831, there is an ar- ticle on this subject. After noticing that the rock on which Dumbarton Castle is built possesses this property, a particular account is given of rocks on the top of Ar- thur's Seat, and a table drawn up of experiments made by Mr W. Galbraith, A. M. and Mr James Trotter, to which it is sufficient to refer in illustration of this subject. 86 REN FREWSHIRE. Fumatoria claviculata. Myriophyllum spicatum. I_epidium campestre. Carex hirta, Nasturtium sylvestre. Salix cinerea. Barbarea vulgaris. Empetrum nigrum. Geranium sylvaticum. Peltidea aphthosa and canina. Trifolium medium, and arvense. Cenomyce pyxidata, fimbriata, furcata, JErvum hirsutum. and rangiferina. Cnicus heterophyllus. Marchantia polymorpha. Gnaphalium sylvaticum, Jungermannia Blasia. - Tussilago Petasites. Sphagnum obtusifolium and acutifolium. Senecio Saracenicus and sylvaticus. Dicranum bryoides, adiantoides, and Solidago Virgaurea. taxifolium. Gymnadenia conopsea. Polypodium Phegopteris and Dryopteris. Habenaria albida. - Asplenium Trichomanes, Ruta muraria, Listera cordata and ovata. and Adiantum nigrum. Epipactis latifolia. - Pteris crispa. Typha latifolia. Lycopodium selago and alpinum. Sparganium natans and ramosum. - II.-CIVIL HISTORY. - Parochial Registers.--These are three in number. 1st, A re- gister of proclamations of marriage, which is complete from 1718 to the present time; 2d, a register of births and baptisms, which was begun in 1706 and continued to 1714. There is a blank till 1718, after which it is complete to the present time. 8d, The mi- nutes of the kirk-session from September 1691, when Mr John Pais- ley was ordained, till June 1700. The minutes are wanting from this date till August 1709, from which they extend to 1760, after which there is another chasm till 1777. From 1777. they are complete to the present day. In looking into the earlier period of these records, one is struck with the quantity of business that came before the session, when he considers the smallness of the population, the primitive, and, as we are accustomed to think, purer state of society. The strictness of discipline, however, and the fact, that almost every offence came before the kirk-session, may account for the number of cases on record, without denying that “ the former times were better than these.” Historical Events.-The battle of Muirdykes, fought on a farm of the same name in the eastern part of the parish, June 18, 1685, is noticed by a number of historians, such as Wodrow, Sir Patrick Hume of Polwart, and Dr M'Crie in his Memoirs of Bryson. The Duke of Argyle collected in Holland an army of 1500 refu- gees from Scotland, with whom he landed at Kintyre and proceed- ed towards Glasgow. When they reached Kilpatrick his follow- ers began to desert him. With a few of them he crossed the Clyde and came to Inchinnan, where he was taken prisoner, car- ried to Edinburgh, and executed. A remnant of his followers, under the command of Sir John Cochran, came to Muirdykes, LOCHWIN NO CH. 87 where they were attacked by the forces of King James VII, whom they defeated, and remained on the field behind a natural entrench- ment till it was dark. Afraid of the enemy being reinforced, they retired during night, and proceeded southwards to the parish of Beith. The King's forces made a similar retreat under the shade of night, and so the field was found next morning deserted of both parties. • Though Renfrewshire was never visited by the “Bloody Cla- verhouse,” nor laid waste by the Highland host, and seems to have suffered less than some other parts of the country during the un- natural wars of the Stewarts against their own best subjects, yet it did not escape the rage of persecution, and the names and resi- dences of many individuals belonging to this parish are preserved in Wodrow’s History, who were seized and tried, imprisoned and fined, robbed and tortured, banished and enslaved. The persecuted ministers, followed by the afflicted people, met in the moors among the hills, preached the Gospel, and baptized the forefathers of some who are still alive in the parish. The celebrated Renwick preach- ed in different places here and in the neighbourhood.* Amongst the eminent characters connected with this parish, we are entitled to number Sir William Wallace, the celebrated de- fender of Scotland. There is a barony of land in the south-east- ern extremity of the parish, called Auchinbathie Wallace, upon which there are still the remains of an old castle, which belonged to his progenitors. Near it, on the farm of Laightrees, there is a small eminence in the midst of a morass, which is a meadow in summer but a loch in winter, called Wallace's Knowe, where, ac- cording to tradition, Wallace defended himself against a party of Englishmen. There is no doubt of his possessing property here; and we are willing to believe he resided sometimes in the Castle of Auchinbathie Wallace, and performed exploits in the neigh- bourhood. * I cannot help mentioning one anecdote, out of many, not recorded in Wodrow’s History, of James Glen of Gillsyard, who was great-grandfather of William Glen, at present the oldest efficient member of the kirk-session, and an heritor in the pa- rish, and the same relation to John Glen, another small proprietor: he had a child baptized one day among the hills. In the evening of the day following, when he was proceeding towards Bridge-end, he saw two horsemen, who immediately pursued him. Whilst he was flying before them he perceived a horse-shoe, which he picked up and deliberately placed under his cap. He was overtaken at the old mill of Bridge-end, where he tried to escape amongst the brambles on the side of the read, but one of the soldiers succeeded in striking him a violent blow with his sword on the head, and perhaps thought he had killed him, and left him dead among the brushwood. The horse-shoe, however, placed under his cap protected his head, and as it was in the dusk of the evening he was allowed to remain unhurt in his lurking-place. 88 R. E N F R. E.W.S. HIR. E. Family of Sempill.—But by far the most remarkable family in the ancient history of this parish was that of the Sempills, of whom a pretty full account is given by Semple and Crawfurd, continued by Robertson. I have seen a fuller and more accurate account of the family in MS., by Dr A. Crawfurd, but I cannot enter so fully into the subject as even the printed record, and shall only notice some of the most important circumstances scattered over the whole his- tory of this family. They seem to have been vassals of the Stew- arts, who at one time possessed the whole barony of Renfrew, and were progenitors of a long race of kings. In this manner, they were brought into notice at court, and made a figure in the his- tory of the country. Walter High Steward of Scotland married Marjory, daughter of the most illustrious of Scotland’s kings, Ro- bert the Bruce, whose son, Robert Stewart, succeeded his uncle, David II., in 1871. The barony of Renfrew was called the princi- pality, and was afterwards conferred as a separate maintenance upon the prince who was heir-apparent to the throne; and for this rea- son one of his titles still is “ Baron of Renfrew.” Robert, the first of the Sempill family, of whom any record re- mains, lived in the reign of Alexander II., who ascended the throne in 1214. His sons, Robert and Thomas, were great patriots, and friends of Robert the Bruce. John Sempill, the seventh of the family, was a man of great talents and distinction. Amongst other public transactions in which he was engaged, he was one of the Scottish commissioners appointed to negociate with the Court of England for the liberation of James I., whom he met and con- gratulated at Durham when he was returning home. He was made a knight by James II. about 1430. Renfrewshire was dis- joined from Lanarkshire in 1406, and Sir William Sempill, the second baronet of the family, was made Sheriff of this county, and obtained from James III. the baronies of Ellistown, Castletown, afterwards called Castle-Sempill, now Castle-Semple. Sir Tho- mas Sempill was killed in 1486 at Bannockburn, in the service of his sovereign, James III., who, after a fall from his horse, was treacherously put to death in the manner minutely and graphical- ly described by Sir Walter Scott in his Tales of a Grandfather. His son, Sir John Sempill, was created Lord Sempill by James IV. in 1488. It was this Lord Sempill who built the Collegiate- Kirk of Lochwhynyeoch “to the honour of God, and of the blessed Virgin Mary, for the prosperity of his sovereign James IV., and Margaret his Queen, for the soul of Margaret Colville, his former LOCHW IN NOCH. 80 spouse, and also for the salvation of his own soul, and that of Margaret Crichton, his present wife, and of all his predecessors and successors, and of all the faithful deceased.” This wise and pious Lord, having fully appointed and richly endowed the Colle- giate Kirk, died on the celebrated field of Flouden, on the 9th September 1513. The walls of the old kirk are still standing. Its whole length is 71 feet 6 inches; its breadth 24 feet 3inches; and the height of the side walls 15 feet 6 inches. The east end of it is separated from the west by a partition, is enclosed, and still used as a burying-place by the family of Castle-Semple. Robert Lord Sempill was called the great Lord Sempill. The family estates had been vastly increased by his father, Lord Wil- liam, and he being a person of a martial spirit, was engaged in many of the wars of his age. He was present at the battle of Pinkie in 1547. He adhered strictly to the interests of Queen Mary, till the murder of Darnley, after which he entered into a bond of association with other noblemen to defend the young King James. He was present with the Regent Murray at the battle of Langside, and, in consideration of his many and valuable services to the King and government, obtained from him a charter of the abbey of Paisley in 1569, upon the forfeiture of Lord Claud Hamilton. He engaged in the great feuds between the houses of Eglinton and Glencairn, or the Montgomeries and Cuninghames, with the former of which the Sempills had formed various marriage connections. These feuds lasted from 1488 till 1586. There were so many families involved in them, and so many lives lost, that it was more like a civil war, than a family quarrel. During these perilous times, Lord Sempill built the Peel on a small islet in Castle-Semple Loch. Being surrounded on all sides by water and well defended, it must have been a very safe and impregnable retreat. The foundation and a portion of the di- lapidated walls still remain surrounded by a few trees and shrubs. In consequence of the extent to which the loch has been drained, the Peel now stands upon its southern margin, in the line of a high embankment, by which the land beyond it is kept compa- ratively dry during the summer, but which alters and hurts the appearance of this ancient place. The great Lord Sempill had three sons, Robert, who died in his lifetime, Andrew, who was the head of the Sempills of Breucheills or Bruntsheills and Millbank, and John, head of the Sempills of Beltrees. Francis Lord Sempill Was the first of the family who renounced the errors of the church 90 R EN FREWS HIRE, of Rome, to which the members of this family were long and zeal- ously attached. Hew Lord Sempill was a Colonel in the army, and commanded the left wing of the King's forces in the battle of Culloden in 1746. He had sold Castle-Semple to Colonel Mac- dowall in 1727, and bought North Barr in 1741. His grandson Lord Hew Sempill was the last of the family. He had four child- ren, of whom two are still alive ; the Honourable Maria Janet Sempill, and the Honourable Sarah Sempill. This family was the head of the clan of Sempills, and at one time possessed an extent of property, which at the present day would have produced an annual income of from L. 20,000 to L. 25,000, and therefore were properly styled “ a potent and powerful family.” Now the whole of that property has passed in- to other hands. The Sempills of Beltrees were, in an intellectual and literary point of view, more celebrated than the great Sempill family, from which they were descended. John, the first of this family and son of the great Lord Sempill, married Mary, sister of Lord Li- vingstone, who was one of the maids of honour to Mary Queen of Scots. Both she and her husband were great favourites with the beautiful Queen, which was the means of promoting their wealth and worldly prosperity. His highest honour, however, was that he was the father of Sir James Sempill, his successor. Sir James was an intimate and faithful friend of Mr Andrew Melville, and therefore various important circumstances are mentioned con- cerning him in Dr M'Crie's Life of that celebrated individual. This intimacy is said to have occasioned the publication of the fa- mous Basilicon Doron by James VI. Sir James Sempill, who was a friend and favourite of the King, being employed to transcribe this treatise, sent it to Mr Andrew Melville to peruse. Melville taking offence at some passages which it contained, brought the subject before the synod of St Andrews, which obliged the King in self-defence, as he thought, to publish the whole work; and this step answered the purpose at least of procuring for him much ad- miration in England. After Melville had been decoyed to Lon- don, and cruelly and unjustly committed to the Tower by his faith- less sovereign, Sir James was enabled to render him important ser- vices. He first procured for him a relaxation of his confinement and rigorous treatment, and then permission to retire to France, where he became a professor of divinity in the Protestant College of Sedan. Daniel Tilesius, a man of talent, but of Arminian prin- 1, OCH WINNOCH. 9 | ciples, was his colleague, and it is supposed that, at the sugges- tion, and perhaps with the assistance of Melville, Sir James en- gaged in a controversy with him, which had the effect of pre- venting the spread of his opinions among the students. Pro- voked at this, Tilesius endeavoured to ingratiate himself with King James, by publishing a defence of the late proceedings in Scotland, and filled it with unmerited and unmeasured abuse of the Scotch Presbyterians. This was answered by Beltrees in 1622, in a book written with great ability. The style is nervous, and the satire keen, but more chastened than was necessary in answer- ing the coarse attack of Tilesius. As intimated in the conclusion of this work, the controversy was continued, in which Sir James perhaps obtained secret assistance from Melville, and, at any rate, public and effectual aid from Calderwood, who published an ela- borate work entitled “Altare Damascenum.” The other works of Beltrees were, an Answer to Tilesius's Defence of the Bishops, and the Five Articles, Cassandra Scotiana to Cassander Anglica- nus, published in 1616; “Sacrilege sacredly considered,” publish- ed 1619; the Packman's Pater Noster, a satirical poem against the Church of Rome, and probably the following production. When King James visited his native kingdom of Scotland in 1617, an oration, in the form of an allegory, welcoming his Majesty, was pronounced in the great hall of the Earl of Abercorn by a very pretty boy of nine years of age. This was William, the youngest son of the Sheriff, Sir James Sempill of Beltrees. He died in his house at the Cross of Paisley in February 1625. His descendants seem to have retained chiefly his poetical ta- lents, but degenerated from grave and serious subjects, to the com- position of merry songs and satirical poems. His son Robert was the author of the epitaph of Habbie Simpson, the piper of Kilbar- chan, and perhaps other similar productions. Francis, the next pro- prietor, was still more fertile in works of this kind, but, as will easily be believed, he squandered away his property, which he treated as lightly as every other subject. These light-hearted descendants of the grave and literary Sir James, when they could not rise to the composition of a poem, showed their spirit in a diffe- rent way. Robert, the sixth of the family, was present at the last burning of witches in Paisley, in 1697, though to prevent this his parents had concealed his shoes, and he was obliged to go with- out them. It was he who died at Kilbarchan in 1789, aged 103 years. His son Robert made a little money, and retrieved the 92 R EN FREWSHIRE. circumstances of the family, but left it all to Mr Hamilton Collins, who married his youngest sister. Mrs Campbell, his eldest sister, was entirely overlooked; but her daughter married Mr Stewart, a respectable merchant in Greenock, and their son, Mr Stewart, I believe, still takes the title of Beltrees. Family of Glen of Barr.—The second largest property in the parish is Barr, with regard to which I shall only say, it was pos- sessed by the family of Glens above 300 years. John Glen, the first of the family, swore fealty to Edward I., King of England, in 1296, during the wars of the celebrated Sir William Wallace; and the family became extinct in the person of Alexander Glen, in 1616. - There are, however, a few families here of the name of Glen, who are supposed to be cadets of the Glens of Barr. The property was next possessed by the family of Hamiltons, who also sold it about half a century ago, and the only surviving branch of the family is an old maiden lady residing in the village, about eighty years of age. Family of M*Dowall of Garthland.—The present proprietor is William M’Dowall of Garthland, Esq. whose progenitors bought Castle-Semple from Lord Hew Sempill in 1727, and ever since that period, this has been one of the most distinguished families in the county of Renfrew. The late William M’Dowall of Garth- land, Esq. was frequently Member of Parliament both for the coun- ty and the Clyde district of burghs, and a very influential person at court. His memory is not merely revered in the parish, but he enjoyed so entirely the esteem of all the gentlemen of the coun- ty, that after his death they erected an elegant monument to his memory in the old Abbey Kirk of Paisley. Land-owners.--Two of the chief land-owners in the parish have already been mentioned, Colonel Harvey of Castle-Semple, and William M*Dowall, Esq. of Garthland. The rest in the order of their valuations are, Mrs Barr; Colonel Fulton of Hartfield; Lu- dovic Houston of Johnstone, Esq.; William Cochran of Ladyland, Esq.; and William Patrick, Esq. W. S. The first three are re- sident, the following non-resident. The rest of the parish is broken down amongst a multitude of small proprietors, amounting altogether to almost 130. Eminent Men.—Most of the persons hitherto mentioned were distinguished chiefly by their property, and their political or warlike character, but there are at least two worthy of notice on account of LO CHW IN NO C. H. 93 their talents and literature:–James Latta, Surgeon in Edinburgh, was born in 1754. He was son of James Latta, an extensive farmer, and grandson of Michael Nasmith, long parochial schoolmaster in this parish. He published a practical system of surgery in 3 volumes 8vo, the second edition of which appeared in 1790, and is quoted by Cooper, in his Dictionary of Surgery, as a respectable work. Latta died young and unmarried. Alexander Wilson, the Scots poet, and celebrated American ornithologist, was not a native of this parish, but he was connected with it by residence. His father removed from Paisley, the place of his nativity, to Auchinbathie, in 1784, and his son was employ- ed as a weaver in Lochwinnoch till 1790. In consequence of this, many of his poems are founded on the scenery and incidents of the parish :-such as Calder Banks, Address to Mr M*Dowall of Garthland, Fauldhead's Elegy, &c. His most remarkable poem, Wattie and Meg, is supposed to refer to two individuals who were well known here; but the inhabitants of Paisley dispute this ho- nour with us. In consequence of a satirical poem written against a respectable manufacturer in Paisley, an action was raised against him before the Sheriff, and though the sentence was mild, he took it amiss, and went to America in 1794. He lived at Phila- delphia, and having abandoned politics, which had provoked his muse to satire, he betook himself to the study of natural history. There he published a splendid work entitled American Ornitho- logy, in 9 volumes, with plates.” * It may not be improper to subjoin a notice of the parochial ministers since the Reformation. It so happens, that almost all the former Presbyterian minis- ters of Lochwinnoch have been not merely exemplary in their characters, and dili- gent in the discharge of their duty, but acceptable to their parishioners. This cir- cumstance has kept the people united, promoted their improvement, and maintain- ed the Established Church here in a state of uninterrupted prosperity. This is a fact worthy of the attention of patrons. l. The first person who officiated in this place in sacred things, after the Reformation, was Ninian Sempill, in 1576. He was only a “reader,”—a class of public teachers still of inferior repute in the country. His stipend was L. 16 Scots, with the kirk-lands. 2. Mr Andrew Knox, son of Mr. John Knox of Ramforlie in Kilbarchan, was ordained about 1580, and translat- ed to Paisley in 1585. He helped to defeat an attempt of Mr Hew Barclay of Lady- land, to overturn the Protestant faith by the assistance of the court of Spain, but was not equally zealous against Episcopacy, which shews he had lost something of the spirit of his relative the great John Knox of a former generation, for when James VI. restored Episcopacy in I606, he was made Bishop of the Isles. In 1622, he was promoted to the Bishoprick of Raphoe in Ireland, where he died in 1632. Crawfurd represents him as a person of considerable learning, but of gentle dispositions, and averse to persecution for conscience sake. He therefore shewed great kindness to his Presbyterian countrymen who fled from Scotland on account of their aversion to the church which the government were trying to establish in the country. 3. Mr Patrick Hamilton was minister of this parish in 1602, and was translated to Paisley in 1607. 4. Mr Alexander Hamilton in 1627. I have found no record how the parish was supplied during the long vacancies of this early period. 5. Mr Hew 94 REN FREWSHIRE. Antiquities.—I have already mentioned the Peel and Collegiate Kirk, and shall now notice the remains of other ancient buildings. The Barr Castle is the most remarkable of these. It is entire, but without a roof. It is a high oblong tower, must have been a place of considerable strength, and is a respectable piece of archi- tecture for the time in which it was built, which seems to have been in the fifteenth century. It has both slits for arrows and ports for Peebles in 1647. He was a pious and able man, and one of the many Presbyterian ministers who suffered during the reign of Charles II. Of the 400 ministers who refused to conform to Prelacy, there were 14 in the presbytery of Paisley, and Mr Hew Peebles was one of them who was deposed in 1663. For teaching in his own family on Sabbath evening, he was brought before the High Commission, where he pled his cause with great freedom as well as force of reasoning. Notwithstand- ing of this he was required to remove to Forfar, and to confine himself to that town. He was again brought before the council in 1670, and required to confine himself to Dumbarton and a mile around it. When the act of indulgence was pas- sed at Glasgow in 1672, Mr Peebles at first refused to avail himself of it, but after- wards complied, and was restored to his charge about 1676. With some interrup- tion he continued his labours till the Revolution in 1688, when he was fully restored to his office and emoluments, and died in 1691. His receipts for stipend from 1660 to 1665, are still in the possession of an inhabitant of the parish. During the suspension of Mr Peebles, there were at least two Episcopalian mi- misters or curates here :-Mr Robert Aird in 1666, and Mr William Cuninghame in 1683. One of them was very strict in requiring the parishioners to conform to Episcopacy, and in reporting against those who were irregular and refractory, but the other was easy and indulgent, and if they appeared to answer to their names at the commencement of public worship, he commived at their retiring, with- out requiring them to remain and join in the service : —and therefore he has left a favourable impression behind him in the parish. G. Mr John Paisley was or— dained 15th September 1691, refused a call to Foveran in Aberdeenshire, in 1693, and died in 1728. There is still evidence of his fidelity and diligence in the records of session during his incumbency. 7. Mr John Pinkerton was ordained 15th De- cember 1728, and died 3d January 1750. The impression of his worth and fidelity still remain with the inhabitants of the parish. 8. Mr John Couper is said to have been licensed at the same time with his predecessor, and after a long probation was ordained at Lochwinnoch in September 1750, and died in September 1787, at the age of 81, after an incumbency of 37 years. He was the only minister of this parish who belonged to what is called the moderate party in church politics, I mention this, simply as a fact of which neither he, nor any of his family, would have been ashamed, and have much pleasure in being able to add, he was an excellent scholar, and an irreproachable character,-was most attentive to his parochial duty, and the education of his family, of which they have reaped the benefit in the prosperity which it has helped to secure for them in the world, and for which they have evinced their gratitude in their high respect for the memory of their father, and peculiar attach- ment to the place of their nativity. After the death of Mr Couper, the patron, Mr M' Dowall of Castle-Semple gave the people of this parish a choice of their own mi- misters. The first chosen was, 9. Mr James Steven, who was translated from a chapel in Albion Street, Glasgow, to Lochwinnoch, 15th August 1788, and died 21st June 1801. He was a very popular preacher. 10. Mr James Crawfurd was translated from Port-Glasgow chapel, 18th December 1801, and died 7th May 1814. He was an excellent man, as well as an acceptable preacher. Immediately before the death of Mr Crawfurd, the patronage of this parish was sold by the trustees of the late William M“Dowall of Garthland, Esq., and purchased by a number of the heritors. None but heritors were permitted to have a share, and no one heritor could hold more than five shares. The patronage being bought for L. 1550, was soon disposed of amongst seventy-seven heritors, holding more or less shares from one to five, and having votes proportioned to the number of their shares. Each share cost L. 10. These patrons chose, ll. Mr Robert Smith, in October 1814, who was ordained 2d March 1815, and is the present incumbent. LOCHWINNOCH, 95 guns. Great guns were used by the English in the siege of Berwick in 1405, but for some time after this, our forefathers, especially in Scotland, retained an attachment to their ancient mode of warfare with bows and arrows. This castle, then with both its slits and gun- ports, seems to have been built in the fifteenth century, when they were passing from the one mode of warfare to the other. It consists of four stories. The first or ground-floor is arched to secure horses and other cattle in times of danger. The second contains the great hall, and the other stories different apartments for different pur- poses. It has a rampart or battlement at the top, and a turret at each corner. The large door is thick, and studded with strong spikes, having broad heads. It was lighted with 16 windows, and is about 35 feet long, and 26 broad, and the walls are about 4 feet thick. This castle is delightfully situated on a head-land a little west from the village, and commands a view of Barr House, the village, Crook Hill, the loch, Peel, and much of the adjacent scenery already described. Elliston Castle is a small square building. It was the residence of the Sempill family before 1500, and stands on the opposite side of the loch from the present mansion-house. It must have been built before the use of gunpowder, but when repairs were made in later times, gun-ports were formed in its walls. Its length is 42 feet over the walls, its breadth 33 feet, and its height from 20 to 30 feet, being higher in some places than others. The end walls are from 8 to 9 feet thick, and the side walls about 6% feet. In the east and west walls there is an opening opposite to one another, and arched over the top, which might have been doors, but which from their elevation in the walls, appear like large windows. Au- chinbathie tower stands on the side of the public road leading to Dunlop, Stewarton, &c. It is surrounded by some old trees, and cultivated land,-memorials of the wealthy inhabitants by whom it must have been occupied. We have said it was no doubt the man- sion-house of the progenitors of Sir William Wallace. It is not so large as either of the castles already mentioned, though less di- lapidated than the second. It is 29 feet long, from 10 to 12 broad, but it is probable that only a portion of the side walls remain, and its greatest height is about 17 feet. There is a small building em- bosomed within these ancient walls, and, therefore, instead of being the mansion-house of a distinguished family, they are now an out- house for cattle. Besides these, there were other ancient castles, of which little 96 R E N F REWS HIR. E. visible trace remains. The castle of Castle Tower gave place to the present mansion-house of Castle-Semple. Its foundations were this year laid bare in forming some drains about the latter house. Bel- trees is mentioned as one of the stone-houses or castles in Renfrew— shire in 1612, by Monypennie in his Chronicles of Scotland. The celebrated and literary Sir James Sempill was then proprietor of Beltrees. Cloak Castle stood a little to the north-west of the pre- sent mansion-house. The foundations of Lorabank Castle were dug up by Mr Robert Orr, late proprietor of Langyard and Lora- bank. - There are visible the remains of a camp or fort on the farm of Castlewaws, in the eastern part of the parish, not far from the scene of the battle of Muirdykes. It is on the top of one of the highest hills on the south side of the loch, which, on account of its ele- vation, is visited by strangers for the sake of the extensive and delightful prospect which it commands, as well as for the sake of examining the camp. Towards the west the eye lights on the sombre Misty Law and adjacent hills, from whence it turns southwards towards the beautiful country of Cuninghame, the Frith of Clyde, the Island of Arran, and the Craig of Ailsa. The entrenched hill is a superficies of about 80 falls in length, and about 25 in breadth. It consists of a mass of trap rock, precipi- tous on both sides; it is highest on the east side, which is 40 feet high. The precipice had no need of a wall for defence, but some parts of the eminence are sloping in the ascent, and are defended by a rampart of turf and stones, something like a feal-dike. The north and south sides are somewhat departing from the form of a precipice, and therefore are fortified. On the south end, there are still the remains of an entrenchment, which is 5 feet high. Within the entrenchment there is a circular wall or intervallum of the same rude materials, about 60 feet in diameter toward the west. This fort has been supposed to be the remains of a camp formed by Sir William Wallace in his wars with the English; but more probably it was one of the hill-forts formed by the ancient Britons, of which there are many remains in the country. The bridge of Bridgend across the Calder, a little to the north- west of the village, is worthy of notice, chiefly on account of its anti- quity. It is mentioned by Montgomery of Westlands in 1650. The adjacent property is called Bridgend, probably from this bridge, and this property is mentioned by this name in a charter of Lordship of Paisley, by James VI. in 1626, and in the rental of the LO CH WIN N () CH. 97 abbey of Paisley in 1525. The arch of the bridge is very fine, and the mason-work far more elegant than is now employed about bridges. Originally it was very narrow, and barely allowed one cart to pass at once, but was repaired and widened in 1814. We have nothing but conjecture concerning the origin of this bridge. In the former Statistical Account it is mentioned that a brass cannon and various canoes were found in the lake, which evidently prove the large forests that must have existed in this part of the country. Many canoes have been found since that period. There is a person still alive who saw twenty-one buried in the mud between the old Peel and north side of the loch. A canoe taken out of the loch is still preserved in the garden of Allan Pinkerton of Mossend.” Modern Buildings.-These require little description, for though the village be large, it contains few houses worthy of particular no- tice. The following general and accurate account of it is given by Robertson. “Lochwinnoch is a very thriving village, built on a re- gular plan of one main street (which is half a-mile long) with some streets crossing it at right angles. The houses are generally of two stories in height, and covered with slates. The situation is indeed very pleasant, as it is exposed only to the south-east, being under shelter in all other directions, either by rising grounds or thick plantations.” This description is strictly applicable to the new town; the old, which is only a small portion of the village on the north, is meaner and more irregular in its appearance. The churches and mills will be noticed afterwards; and besides these, there are about eleven superior houses belonging to the wealthier inhabitants, such as professional men and the proprietors of cotton-mills. III.-PoPULATION. The population in 1695 was 290 families, and of course about 1450 1755, & * 1530 1791, wº te 26.13 1801, g & 2955 18) 1, tº e 35l 4 1821, te te 4130 1831, e & 45.15 From the above statement it will be seen that the population has increased rapidly since 1791. The chief reason of which was the erection of cotton-mills about that time, and the stimulus which these gave to every other kind of business. I have found the in- crease regular for the last seventeen years, with the exception of the years 1819 and 1820, when, in consequence of distress and discontent, there was a considerable emigration to America. * Some other minor antiquities are noticed in the MS., consisting of gold and silver coins, a ladle of Corinthian brass, querns, &c. found in the parish. T.E.N.I.' IRIEW. G. 98 REN FREWSHIRE, The present state of the population is as follows : Village of Lochwinnoch, e 2645 - Hollowood, tº o 209 Glenhead, gº te 53 2907 In the country, te tº 1608 Total, 45.15 Average number of births for the last seven years, 93 of deaths, tº 7 of marriages, e e 3] Neither the register of births nor deaths is quite accurate. They are both a little below the truth. Average number of persons below 15 years of age, 1750 betwixt 15 and 30, . 1325 30 and 50, . 857 50 and 70, . 434 above 70, © 149 There are many of the last list above 80, and two of them, both males, are about 97. The average number of children in each family is g 2} Unmarried men, both bachelors and widowers, above 50, .. 70 Women above 45, e ſº sº * 53 Number of insane, fatuous, blind, deaf and dumb, g 33 There are no nobility in the parish, and the principal land- owners have been already mentioned. There are from 50 to 60 proprietors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards. The kingdom of Strathclyde comprehended the shires of Dum- barton, Renfrew, Lanark, Ayr, &c. and consisted of an independent British or Celtic people. It was conquered by the Saxons about the year 1000 or 1100, two hundred years after the conquest of the other provinces in the lowlands. Hence the language of the west of Scotland, and the Renfrewshire dialect, contains far more words derived from the Gaelic than that of many other counties. The inhabitants of this parish spoke this kind of Scotch dialect exclu- sively till the public works introduced people from all parts of Scot- land, and even from Ireland, which has modified it somewhat. There is no game or amusement by which the inhabitants of this parish are so much distinguished as curling,-which they have the best opportunities of enjoying on the fine sheet of ice on the loch of Castle-Semple. The young men and women employed in the cotton-mills can afford both to live and dress well, and their example tells upon the rest of the inhabitants. The numerous small proprietors, too, are generally in better circumstances than ordinary farmers, and therefore the appearance of the congregation is much gayer than might be expected in a country parish. Those who endure the LO CHWINNOCH. 99 heat, fatigue, and long confinement of the mills require a ge- nerous diet, and use it. They have generally butcher-meat at dinner, and sometimes at breakfast. This occasions an excellent market in the village. Many of the other inhabitants live in a plainer style, both in the town and country. The peasantry, I be- lieve, generally eat porridge, and bread and cheese or milk to breakfast; broth and butcher-meat to dinner; and porridge again, or potatoes, or some other lighter food, to supper. Tea is not used in the country on ordinary occasions, except by some heads of families; but, with solitary exceptions, they live well. In a manufacturing place like this, a great deal of ignorance and immorality may be expected. But the managers of the pub- lic works have always, much to their credit, been very careful about the character of the persons whom they employ; and the inhabi- tants enjoy all private as well as public means of instruction and improvement. The young are not merely educated at public schools, but many of them attend classes for religious instruction; and as soon as they approach the years of maturity they in gene- ral apply for admission into full communion with the church. They are in a remarkable manner a church-going people. There is hardly any such thing as infidelity, or even heresy, in the parish; and those who are suspected of bad principles are regarded with such feelings as to prevent them from doing much injury to those around them. IV.--INDUSTRY. Extent of Lochwinnoch parish in English acres, - 19219 Cultivated, or capable of cultivation, - 9000 Wood, * sº {-º - 700 Water, cº tº- * tº- tº * 300 Gardens and orchards, es sº 1.00 Pasture of all sorts, sº sº * 9] 19 19219 Such a large extent of land planted contains an immense variety of wood; and upon the estates of Colonel Harvey and Mr M*Dowall it is managed in the best possible manner. The former keeps a skilful forester, and the plantations of the latter are managed with similar skill and attention. Where the soil is deep enough, all sorts of forest trees can be grown. On Castle-Semple estate there are many fine old trees, beech, oak, Scotch and English elms, and large variegated planes; larch firs, silver firs of remarkable size, and the largest tree of the cedar of Lebanon, except one, that exists in Scotland. Besides these old trees, the forester has lately planted a large assortment of the finest trees of the forest which could be collected, and which are thriving well. I have re- ! {}{} IREN FREWSHIRE. ceived a similar report of the variety of trees on the estate of Mr M“Dowall, but some of the plantations are younger than the woods within the policy of Castle-Semple, which were managed with great skill by the late proprietor, Mr M*Dowall of Garthland. Rent of Land, &c.—The rent of land varies from L. I to L.4 per acre in grass, and from L. 3 to L. 8 or L. 9 in crop, according to situation and circumstances. These are so various that it would be very difficult to find a fair average. - A cow’s grass during summer varies from L. 3 to L. 5, exclusive of the expense of keeping it during winter. A sheep may be pas- tured for 8s. or 10s. on good land, but for less on the moor land. Rye-grass hay, with the seed, is sold at from L. 3 to L. 5 per 100 stones; meadow-hay from L. 1, 10s. to L. 3, 10s. ditto; flax from 12s. to 15s. per stone; wool, from 5s. to L. 1 per stone ; cheese, - from 7s, to 9s. per stone; butter, 13s. per stone; and beef, 6s. 4d. per stone. (I always speak of the local weights and measures, never imperial.) Live Stock.-The best breed of cattle and sheep are reared in the parish. All the farmers have the finest Ayrshire cows. Husbandry, &c.—Leases generally extend to nineteen years, though some lands are let occasionally from year to year. This is an injurious system, because the lands are not improved when a tenant has not the certain prospect of holding it so long as to enjoy the be- nefit of his improvements. The farm-buildings are in general sub- stantial, comfortable, and slated. Those on Castle-Semple estate, and the houses of some of the wealthier small proprietors, are ele- gant, and superior to what is required for farm-houses. To contrast with these there are one or two old buildings to remind us of the state of things in a former century, and which would not seem out of place in the Highlands. Most of the enclosures are thorn hedges, but some are stone dikes. - - Much has been done in improving land, during the last forty years. Enclosures have become general—roads are formed through- out the parish—the land has been drained and limed,—and the ro- tation of crops improved. The embankments which separate Barr Loch and Aird Meadow from Castle-Semple Loch, formed by the late proprietor, James Adam, Esq. W. S. and by which upwards of 200 acres of ground have been made to produce most luxu- riant crops of oats or hay, are the most extensive improvements that have taken place in one quarter. * The late Andrew Moody, * Barr, Loch is now the property of William M’Dowall, Esq., and Aird Meadow of Colonel Harvey of Castle-Semple, • LOCHWINNOCH. 1 0 1 Esq. improved at great expense his property of Heathfield, form- ing part of the high lands in the north-western part of the parish, now the property of James Watt, Esq. in Greenock, and John Millar, Esq. Glasgow; and improvements upon a smaller scale have been carried on throughout the whole parish. Still there are individuals, especially among the small proprietors, who, from want of skill, or energy, or money, have not made the most of their properties. ſº Produce.—The average gross amount and value of raw produce yearly raised in the parish, may be as follows: 2025 acres may produce at the rate of four bolls per acre, or 8100 bolls, at 15s. per boll, - - Eº ſº * L. 6075 0 0 225 acres in potatoes, &c. may be worth L. l l per acre, or in all - 2475 () 0 There may be in hay of different sorts one-fourth the quantity of land under grain crop, 506 acres worth L.3 per acre, or * e- 1518 0 0 6950 acres of moors, &c. may berated at about 10d. per acre, L. 28S 0 0 2169 of better pasture at L. 1, 5s., º * 27] ] () 0 100 acres of gardens and orchards, worth L. 6 per acre, or 600 0 0 The thinning of plantations, &c., gº * 300 0 0 Miscellaneous produce, ſº Eº &= * 100 0 0 —— 3999 0 0 Total, *Eº * L. 14,067 0 0 Quarries, &c.—There are quarries of various kinds in the parish. There is a small lime quarry which is wrought at present, and lime exists in other places where no present use is made of it. There is abundance of freestone and other kinds of stone for building, and quarries are opened when they are required. There are two coal pits, the one at Hallhill on the eastern, and the other at Nervel- stone, in the western extremity of the parish. The former is worth about L. 300 a-year after expenses are paid. The latter is less valuable, and the working of it has lately been discontinued. Manufactures.—The first manufacture in which the inhabitants of this parish were engaged to any considerable extent was that of linen. About the time of the Union in 1707, this manufactory was introduced into Paisley, and the farmers in this as in other places began to grow flax, and their female domestics were em- ployed in making yarn for this manufactory. In the progress of the trade a company was formed here, who built a small factory about 1740, and a larger one about 1752 for linen and cam- brick. Mr Humphry Fulton, who was connected with this parish, in- troduced the manufacture of silk into Paisley after the model of the Spittalfield weavers in 1759; and before 1780, the elegant gauze trade was the chief manufacture in Renfrewshire; but it gave place to the cotton muslins about 1785 or 1790. 102 LOCH WINNOCH. Thread-making was introduced about 1722, and at one time there were about 20 thread mills in this parish ; but now the busi- ness has been nearly discontinued. - A bleachfield belonging to the Factory Company was begun about 1740, which consumedall the butter-milk of the parish, till Dr Home of Edinburgh rescuedit out of the hands of the bleachers, and restor- ed it to the use of the inhabitants, by teaching them about 1756 to use sulphuric acid in its place. The second bleachfield was begun at Loanhead; the third at Burnfoot by Mr Hamilton Adam. The Fultons and Co. began bleaching near their large mill about 1793. All these bleached chiefly their own goods, but there are other bleachfields which depend upon the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley. The bleachfield of the late Henry Wilson of Bowfield, Esq. is particularly mentioned in the former Statistical Account, and it has been continued with little interruption, though by different per- Sons, to the present day. The business was never carried on with more skill, spirit, and success than by Mr John Campbell, who at present occupies the house and field of Bowfield. Mr Peter Ca- meron has a field at Midtown, where a great deal has been done. He is a person of an ačtive and enterprising spirit, and has con- nected with the field a beetling-mill on the banks of the Calder, in which he finishes the goods and prepares them for the market.* There are 15 weavers in the parish occupied in coarse work for the use of the farmers and other inhabitants, and about 203 em- ployed by the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley. From 1780 and downwards, they were engaged with various kinds of muslins: but a remarkable change took place in the trade about 1820. The present weavers are employed in Canton crapes, Angola shawls, silk cypresses, silk harnishes, cotton harnishes, and a mixture of both. This is a complex manufacture, requires the assistance of a draw- boy,-andsometimes expensive harnishes, but they make great wages when the trade is flourishing. When this business was introduced, Some weavers made a great deal of money; and others would have found it equally profitable if they had been equally careful. About a fourth part of our weavers are still employed in working muslins, but very little can now be made by this kind of work. Thereis one millin the parish, which contains six looms employed in power-loom weaving. Tanning was introduced into the parish about the beginning of last century, but it did not succeed. - * Cameron has failed and left the parish since the above account was written. 13ut the business of the bleachfield is carried on by John McNab and Co. LOCHWINNOCH. \ 03 Candlemaking was carried on for some time by Mr James Con- nel of Calderhaugh, but it was discontinued about 1828. Mr Crawfurd and his brother have a mill for carding and spin- ning wool, in which they employ 22 workers. It is in the third story of a very fine mill near the Calder. This elegant building was erected in 1814, and the under part of it is one of the largest, and most complete corn-mills in the country. After the dried oats are put into the happer, they go through the whole pro- cess of shelling, winnowing, grinding, and sifting, and are prepar- ed for the bags and the market without any other manual labour than that of superintending the process, which is carried on wholly by machinery. But the cotton-mills mentioned in the former Statistical Account have for the last forty years been by far the most conspicuous ma- nufactory in the parish. The old mill was erected by Messrs G. Houston, Burns, and Co. about 1788, and is now the property of W. Wright and Co. It is situated on the rising ground on the north-west side of the village, and is driven wholly by the waters of the Calder and re- servoirs connected with it. The building consists of five stories with garrets, lighted by 152 windows and 40 sky-lights. It con- tains 8140 spindles, and the yarn varies in size from No. 60 to 80, and the water-twist from 24 to 30. It employs altogether 170 workers, old and young, who receive about L. 148 of wages a-fort- night. - The new mill was erected by Messrs Fulton and Co. in 1789, and is now the property of Messrs Fulton and Buchanan. This large and elegant building stands upon the level ground near the foot of the High Street. It is not, however, in the line of the street, but placed so far back as to form a large and fine area in front of the mill, enclosed by a parapet wall, surmounted in the centre by an iron railing, which is in the line of the street. It stands near the banks of the Calder, by the waters of which it was wholly driven till a large addition was built to it in 1825, when a steam-engine was erected, which is now used along with the water in driving this mill. It consists of five stories with garrets, and is lighted by 360 windows and 60 sky-lights. It contains 25,224 spindles, which work 12,000 lbs. of gotton every fortnight. The yarn varies in size, from No. 36 to 84, averaging 60. It employs 345 workers, who receive about L. 260 of wages a-fortnight. . About 1788, a small cotton-factory was commenced by a num- | 04 R EN FREWSHIRE. ber of persons in the parish, in which the jennies were moved by the hand; but it did not succeed, and was soon given up. Messrs William Caldwell and Co. built a small mill at Boghead, a quarter of a mile north from the village, soon after the former. It consisted of three stories, besides garrets, and employed about 80 workers; but being accidentally burnt down about 1813, it has ever since remained in a ruinous state. The persons employed in the cotton-mills work twelve hours five days in the week, and nine hours on Saturday. They have one hour and forty minutes for both breakfast and dinner. The con- finement and high temperature of the mills must enfeeble the frame, and ultimately tell upon the health of the workers, especially when they do not enter them in early life; but they are not immediately broken down, and are not in general very sickly, so long as they continue to work, though paler, and sometimes thinner than those who are employed in the open air. The morals of the workers are still less affected, for the reasons already assigned,—the care with which unworthy persons are excluded, and means employed to im- prove workers. There are many as excellent persons in the mills as amongst any other class of the inhabitants. The workers make very high wages, and these mills would in this respect add greatly to the comfort of the inhabitants, were it not that they tend to in- crease the population, with its attendant evils, and more especially to bring a number of large and poor families into the parish, in the hope of finding employment easily for their numerous children. Not- withstanding of this, I am satisfied that the inhabitants of the vil- lage of Lochwinnoch have for a considerable time past been more comfortably provided for, than those of places where there are no mills and a great many weavers, who have repeatedly suffered more of late than persons employed in such mills. Cotton-spinning is not now so profitable as it once was to the proprietors; but the spi- rit and extent to which it is carried on is, I should think, the best proof that it is not yet an unprofitable concern. V.—PARocIIIAL EconoMY. Villages.—There is no market-town in the parish, and Beith, which is the nearest, is almost four miles distant; but everything that is needed can be got in the village of Lochwinnoch. The only other two villages are Hollowood and Glenhead, and they are both very small. Means of Communication.—There is a post-office in Lochwin- moch; and there are carriers both to Glasgow and Paisley more LO CHW IN NOCH. 105 than once a-week, besides carriers passing through the parish week- ly to Greenock, Port-Glasgow, &c. For facilitating this in- tercourse, there are excellent turnpike roads and bridges in all di- rections. Fences are raised everywhere, and there are private roads, generally good, to every part of the parish that is inhabited. A stage coach passes twice a-day along the road between Beith and Paisley, about a mile south from the village of Lochwinnoch. It leaves Saltcoats at 6 A. M., passes this a little after 8, and reaches Glasgow at half-past 10 o’clock. It leaves Glasgow about 4 P. M., and passes this a little after 6 o'clock. The course of a canal between Glasgow and Ardrossan, passing along the side of Castle-Semple Loch, was marked off about thirty years ago, and the canal was actually made as far as Johnstone; but it has never been carried farther, and the original design is now, I believe, abandoned. But an act of Parliament has been obtained to form a rail-road throughout the same line of country, and it has been executed from the harbour of Ardrossan as far as the coal-works in the neighbourhood of Eglington; but, I suspect, it will not soon be carried through to Glasgow. Ecclesiastical State.-The parish church was built in 1806 on a new site opposite to the elegant west gates of Castle-Semple, and on the west of Harvey's Square. It is a large building, which ought to have been square, but its corners are rounded off so as to make it an irregular-sided octagon. It is well finished and painted within, and lets to about 1150 sitters; but when packed it will hold 200 or 300 more. It has a neat spire, though rather short. Beneath this spire, there is a paved area enclosed with ele- gant columns, having three large and high-arched openings be- tween them corresponding to the three large doors in the front of the church. It stands in a field where no person has hitherto been buried, surrounded on three sides with a high wall; and on the front of the church there is a parapet wall, surmounted by an iron railing and two handsome gates, one at each end of the wall. The field is ornamented with trees and flowering shrubs. The situation of the church is sufficiently convenient for the in- habitants of the village and those on the north side of the loch; but it is far from those in the eastern extremity of the parish, and, in consequence of this, some of them do not attend it, but go to Johnstone chapel. There are no free sittings in the church, ex- cept part of two table-seats; and the other seats are let so dear as to be a very heavy burden upon poor persons. They vary from 106 REN FREWSHIRE, 4s. to 12s, a seat ; and if a family be large their sittings in church are almost equal to their rent, if they have as many as they re- quire. The reason of this is, that even with us where there is a village population of about 3000 souls, and altogether 3730 persons who profess to belong to the Establishment, there is a me- lancholy want of church accommodation. The present manse, (though not the offices,) was built in 1815, and is a good house. The glebe contains from 6 to 7 Scotch acres, and affords very good pasture. The stipend is 8 chalders of meal and 8% of barley, with L. 15 Sterling for communion ele- ments. There is no chapel nor any other place of worship con- nected with the Established Church within the parish.* The only other place of worship is one belonging to the United Secession body. It was built in 1792, in the form of an octagon, and stands near the parish church. It has a small tower in front, which improves its appearance. There have been three different incumbents in this place of worship, all of them still alive, and ex- cellent men, the Rev. Mr Schaw, now in Ayr; the Rev. Mr Robson, now in Halifax, America ; and the Rev. Mr Shoolbraid, the present incumbent. A meat house was built for him in 1825, which, with a garden in front of it, is situated near the church. His stipend is L. 100, which is raised from the seat rents, the re- gular and extraordinary collections, and, I believe, other occasional contributions. The inhabitants of this parish are in a remarkable manner a church-going people. 3730 of them profess to belong to the Es- tablishment; 1509 have been admitted into full communion with it; and there are about 1100 regular communicants, leaving about 400 aged, careless or scandalous persons, who do not regularly com- municate,_after deducting, however, a number in the eastern part of the parish who are admitted to sealing ordinances in the chapel at Johnstone. There are 789 Dissenters of all denominations. Religious Societies.—There are two societies in this place for promoting religious purposes, a parochial and a female society. Their funds have dwindled down to a very small sum for some years past. The former, at its institution in 1815, raised almost L. 100; and now its annual income is generally below L. 20. The latter, which was instituted a year or two earlier, then raised above L. 40; and now it does not raise L. 10. Our Sabbath evening schools have become more numerous, amounting to 7, and attended by * A missionary station was opened in the end of 1834. LOCHWINNOCH. 107 about 600 children. We have a Tract Society, a Temperance Society, a Society for the reformation of morals, and various col- lections for religious and charitable purposes, in the course of every year. The Tract Society is constituted and managed in such a man- ner, that every family in the village is furnished with a new tract upon some religious subject every week in the year; the distri- butors going through their respective quarters for this purpose every Monday. N. Education.—There are altogether ten schools in this parish,-two or three of which are very small, and others are not large; but there are about 400 children attending all these schools. The parochial schoolmaster has the legal accommodations of a house and garden, and the maximum salary of L. 34, 4s. ; but hi- therto the teacher has paid L. 5 of this sum to a teacher at Glen- head, a village on the south side of the loch, who has, besides this, a school-house, a dwelling-house, and a small garden. The teacher at Hollowood, the other village on that side of the loch, has the same accommodations, and sometimes a sum raised by voluntary subscription; but there is no regular salary attached to this school. There is in the village of Lochwinnoch a school supported by the proprietors of the New mill. They have, very much to their honour, provided an excellent school-room, giving the teacher a salary of L. 36a-year, and requiring him to teach 60 scholars through the day, 30 under twelve years of age, who leave the mill before the others, and meet in school at six o'clock, and 60 who meet at eight o’clock in the evening. These children pay only 9d. a quarter to defray the expense of paper, slates, &c. which are provided for them. But the teacher is permitted to take in more than 60 scholars if they apply, exacting of these additional scholars the ordinary rate of wages. All the other schools are wholly unendowed. In about one-half of the schools there is nothing taught but reading, and perhaps a little English grammar, writing, and arithmetic. The other five or six teachers are acquainted with Latin, and some of them know Greek, French, and other branches of education. I am not aware there are any children growing up among us without education, and if this were discovered, provision would be made for their instruction. There may be one or two, but there are not many, adults who can- not read. The state of education seems to have been very diffe- rent, only a little more than a century ago. So far from employ– ing ten teachers here, the parochial schoolmaster seems to have 108 R EN IN REWSHIRE. been obliged to move from place to place, and even when he re- turned to Lochwinnoch, got little encouragement. In an old MSS. book belonging to Barr, there are the following records, “ school taken up 4th January, 19 waens, including 4 lassies;” “school taken up October 27th, 1697, 6 callans, no lassies.” “Ye school taken up 22d June 1697, 13 weans, including 3 lassies.” Female education seems at this early period to have been very much neglected, and former generations, perhaps, were still worse instructed. This might be one reason for a resolution still to be found in the minutes of session during the incumbency of Mr John Paisley, dated October 13th 1691. “William Glen, school- master, is required to take care that all his scholars get the Cate- chism so perquier, that by turns they may repeat the same before the congregation every Lord’s day, one standing on the east end of the church inquiring the question, and the other in the west answering.” Libraries.—There is a parochial library, which was instituted in 1823, and therefore is not yet large. Special care is taken to exclude from it all books hostile either to religion or government. Another parochial library, exclusively religious, was established in 1833. But many persons disliking this exclusive character, an- other was formed in 1834, called the Working-Man's Library; into which all kinds of books upon every subject are admitted, though containing the most conflicting opinions, except such as are hostile to evangelical religion. Long before the existence of any of these libraries there were book-clubs, which interfere with the prosperity of the parochial institutions. Some persons prefer these clubs not merely from their dislike of public libraries, but be- cause, after they have existed for some time, the books are sold, and divided amongst the members, which enlarge and improve their private libraries. There is likewise a small library of select books upon religious subjects, and adapted to the capacities of young per- sons attached to the Sabbath evening schools. This library is di- vided into seven portions, one of which is given to each of the schools for a year; after which, they are exchanged like the circu- lating libraries in East Lothian, and every school has an opportu- mity of using the whole library in the course of seven years. Friendly Societies.—The oldest of these societies was the Far- mers' Box, which has been broken up ; but there is still one at Hollowood, connected with the landward part of the parish, whose existence is also endangered, not by poverty, but by injudicious LOCHW IN NOC H., 109 interference. This society is large, and very rich, but in conse- quence of some legislative regulations, the members threaten to dissolve it. One would think that “the powers that be.” have enough to do, though they do not interfere with those who are managing their own affairs peaceably and prosperously. There were once eight Friendly Societies in the village of Lochwinnoch, but at least three have become extinct. There is also a Female Provident Society, formed upon the same principles. There is a Female Benevolent Society, supported and conducted by the ladies of the parish, which contributes essentially to the comfort of the poor. The village is divided into districts, and visitors are appoint- ed for each. The ladies visit all the poor in their respective dis- tricts, and after careful investigation, distribute clothing, fuel, &c., according to exigencies,—so that no person can remain in a state of wretchedness and want. Poor and Parochial Funds, &c.—The average number of persons on the poors’ roll for the last seven years has been 50%. A pauper receives from 9d. to 5s. a week. Besides regular paupers, how- ever, there are a great many who receive donations and occasional assistance in various ways. A large sum is expended in this way, because it keeps persons for sometime from becoming regular pau- pers, and is intended to encourage a spirit of independence, which is fast giving way in this part of the country. In order to form some idea of this matter, it may be stated, that in the course of the year 1832, the sum expended in the regular allowances to those on the poors' roll was L. 203; and the occasional donations amounted to L. 135, 6s. 2d. It is but fair to remark, however, that the greater part of these donations were given to those who were likewise receiving regular parochial aid. Many rents are paid when extraordinary assistance is wanted in peculiar circum- stances, &c. The whole average expenditure for a year, both in occasional donations, and for the regular poor, during the last seven years, has been L. 321, 17s. 3; d. This sum is raised in the following manner: Average annual amount of parochial collections for the last seven years, L. 93, 17s. 4d. ; hearse and mortcloth ditto, L. 6, 10s. 5d. : proclamation of banns of marriage, do., L. 14, 4s. The remaining part of the funds was once raised by a regular annual assessment upon the heritors, feuars, and householders; but for some time past it has been raised by occasional voluntary contributions as they are required, in the same proportions, every 1 10 RENF REWSHIRE. person contributing as formerly according to his property, which is intended to retard the increase of expenditure. Of this sum, the heritors contribute by far the greater part; the feuars and house- holders paying only L. 35, when the heritors pay L. 166. * There is no prison in this place, though it is much wanted, and has often been talked of; but there is a very active fiscal, and a bench of Magistrates or Justices of Peace, who hold a court on the first Saturday of every month. Fairs.-There are three fairs held in this parish in the course of the year. The oldest is called the fair of Hill, from the place where it originally met, viz. on the Market Hill. It has been held from time immemorial, on the first Tuesday of November, old style, but has met for a long time past in the village of Loch- winnoch. Originally, a great variety of clothes, shoes, &c. were sold at this fair, at present it is only a market for cattle, and a time for meeting and settling Martinmas and other accounts. The May fair or trades’ race, is held on the second Tuesday of May, old style. It was begun about the year 1745 or 1750. The trades had originally a parade, which has long been discontinued; but there is still sometimes a race of one kind or another. There are some cattle in the market in the course of the day, and many meet in the afternoon to settle their Whitsunday accounts. The farmers' parade or race is held on the first Tuesday of July. It is of a still later date than the former. At one time, the far- mers from all parts of the parish mustered at this parade; but for some time those on the South side of the loch have withdrawn, and there is some prospect of its being discontinued altogether. Still, however, a number of those on the north side of the loch have hi- therto appeared at the parade. The horses used to be arranged according to their colours, with a captain at the head of each com- pany, and the whole marched under the command of a colonel. The hats of the riders are adorned with ribbons, flowers, and new- shot oats, and some of them have showy sashes and other orna- ments. The trappings of the horses are equally showy. One of them carries a large flag, and they are accompanied by a piper, and sometimes a band of instrumental music. Some of those who ride the fleetest steeds, after the parade is over, try their speed in a horse race. There are a few cattle at this fair likewise. * William Brown, Esq, who died in Antigua in October 1835, has left L. 4000, which is to be invested, and the interest to be given over to the kirk-session of this parish for behoof of the poor. This sum, it is hoped, will soon go far to super- sede the need of an assessment. 3 1, OCHWINNOCH. 1 11 Inns.—There are 24 inns in this parish, which are too many, and do an incalculable amount of mischief without being balanced by almost any good. The institution of temperance societies led to an inquiry into the quantity of ardent spirits and other liquors used here, and the melancholy and astounding fact was forced upon us, that in this, as in the neighbouring parishes, three or four times more money is expended in this manner than is required to support both our churches and schools, and all our charitable and religious institutions. Fuel.-It has already been remarked that there are two coal- pits in the parish,-one in its eastern, and the other in its western extremity. There was one lately in its centre, near the village of Lochwinnoch, and there are beds of coal in various other places. Quarrelton is only a mile or two beyond our eastern boundary, where there is one of the most remarkable beds of coal in Great Britain, if not in Europe; and there are coal-pits equally numerous and valuable in the opposite direction, beyond our western bound- ary. A load of coals is sold at 7d., eight of which make an ordinary cart. The proprietors and farmers in the eastern, and more especially the western, extremity of the parish burn turf, but coal is most generally used throughout the parish. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. The changes in this parish since the last Statistical Account was written, have been rather progressive than sudden or remark- able. There has been a departure, if it be not an advancement, from a simple and more primitive state of society. The popula- tion is almost doubled, and though this increase has been chiefly in the manufacturing population, yet the country part of the parish is much changed. The farm-houses and lands are much improved. They are enclosed with hedges, and have every advantage from roads. There is more wealth and external comfort; but I fear there is also more Vanity and luxury, and perhaps immorality and crime. At the same time, while one class of a larger population tempt to the commission of evil, another class “provokes to love and good works.” There are now far more exertions made to pro- mote the intellectual and spiritual improvement of the inhabitants, and therefore there is more intelligence and zeal than was forty years ago. I do not pretend to understand the best system of husbandry, but have received the following hints from an intelligent person, a native of the parish, who has the management of an extensive dis- trict. | 12 R.E.N FREWS EIIR. E. The old-fashioned practice still generally prevails, of taking two white crops, and then usually, though not always, sowing down the ground with rye-grass seed. There are exceptions to this mode of farming, and it were of great importance for others to improve the rotation and kind of crops grown. The clay soils have been drained to a great extent of late years; but the practice should be carried still farther; and then the fol- lowing rotation of crops would be profitable if the situation be not too elevated: beans, wheat, turnips, followed by a white crop, and sown down with perennial rye-grass. Light soils are most ge- neral, and on them the best rotation is oats, potatoes, and oats again, or barley sown down with perennial rye-grass and clover. The culture of wheat was introduced here within the last twenty or twenty-five years, but has never been carried to any great ex- tent. A large proportion of the parish is ill adapted to this crop. Indeed, a great deal of it is fitter for pasture than any kind of crop. There is a fine breed of Ayrshire cows; and the butter and cheese derived from the dairy, the rearing of young cattle, and fattening ‘of others for the neighbouring markets of Paisley and Glasgow, are the best sources of emolument to the farmers on the more ele- vated districts. This kind of farming might in many places be improved by irrigating whinstone soils, and converting them into highly productive meadows. This was practised with great suc- cess by the late Andrew Moody of Heathfield, Esq. Though these hints may be of some use, yet the grand means of improvement are to aim at the moral and religious culture of the people. Mere intellectual culture and liberal acquirement, if not brought under the influence of religion, are not enough. There are hosts of politicians among the mechanics and workmen in every manufacturing district, who, in intellectual acumen and one kind of information, are elevated above their station; and yet, from a want of regard to religion, and the industry and tranquillity which flow from it, are some of them indigent and unhappy, and neither amiable nor useful members of society. Religion ought to be the governing principle, not merely of individuals and families, but of magistrates and governments. Upon the latter it is incumbent to promote religion and good morals, just in the same manner as it belongs to them to do whatever may promote the peace and well- fare of society. Revised January 1836. PARISH OF INCHINNAN. PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. LAURENCE LOCKHART, MINISTER. \ I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name has been variously written, as Inchenan, Inchanan, Inchyman, Inchechynane, &c. &c., but is now generally spelt Inchinman. The first syllable is obviously composed of the Celtic word * signifying an island or a peninsula, while the ad- junct, according to one conjecture, is the plural of a word+ derived from the same source, and signifying a river. Another conjecture is, that the adjunct is the name of Saint-Iman, to whom the church is supposed to have been dedicated. In Bagimont's roll for Inch- innan, there is the substitution of Killiman, and which, according to the etymology that may be preferred, will mean either “ the Church wpon the Rivers,” or the Church of Saint Iman.” Chalmers affirms that this parish acquired the name of Inchinnan, in consequence of the proximity of a long narrow island in the river White Cart, where it joins the Gryfe, opposite to the church. § Inasmuch, however, as the parish is bounded by rivers on three sides, its peninsular cha- racter may, with more probability, have given rise to the appella- tion. It may also be stated, that, according to a tradition, which is * Ynys (Welsh), innis (Gaelic), an island, also a peninsula. + Ainhainan (Gaelic) 7 ivers, sounds oinon. :: We are told that St Inan was a confessor at Irvine in the ninth century; that he wrote several theological works, whose titles are given ; and that, after accomplishing the pilgrimages of Rome and Jerusalem, he closed his life at Irvine, where multitudes were wont to assemble to witness the miracles supposed to be performed at his tomb. His festival was celebrated on the 18th of August.— Dempsteri Hist. Eccl. Gent. Scot., &c. printed for the Bannatyne Club. Edin. 1829,-also, Keith, 233. Edition of 1755. . . It may be added, that St Inan was tutelar saint of Beith. On a hill in that parish a seat and a well still bear his name, and a fair is held annually, not, however, on the 18th but on the 30th of August, which is called Tannansday, by corruption for St Inan's day. - § Here Chalmers is undoubtedly in error. The only island in the White Cart is in the parish of Renfrew, and of modern and artificial origin, being mere- ly a section of land detached from the eastern bank of the river, by means of a canal which was cut, in the memory of persons yet alive, for the purpose of removing the obstructions created by Inchinnan Bridge, to navigation between the river Clyde and the town of Paisley. There is an island in the Gryfe which might once corre- spond with the description of Chalmers; but, always insignificant, it has been gradual- ly encroached upon by the water, and there is no longer any trace of it opposite to the church. - RENFREW. |H 114 R.EN FREWS HIRE. confirmed by the appearance of the surface, and of the soil beneath, a branch of the Gryfe formerly intersected the parish, a little way above the rocky elevation on which the church stands; in which case the site of that building must have been once, in the strict sense, insular, as it still occasionally is, at high floods. Extent and Boundaries.—The extreme length is about 3% miles, and its breadth varies from # of a mile to 2 miles or more. It is bounded on the north by the river Clyde, which divides it from the parish of Old Kilpatrick in Dumbartonshire. Its eastern and southern boundaries are formed respectively by the rivers Cart and Gryfe, which flow between it and the parish of Renfrew ; while westward it marches in an irregular line with the parish of Erskine, and touches at one point the parish of Houston. Topographical Appearances.—The surface, especially in the vi- cinity of the rivers, is flat, or gently sloped; but it is diversified by a number of diluvial rising grounds, of considerable elevation,-- some of them under the plough to the summit, others of them beau- tifully wooded, and all of them commanding extensive views of the surrounding country. The strath of the Gryfe is extensive and fertile, and reminds the English traveller of his native vales. Climate and Diseases.—The climate, although moist, is health- ful. It has been alleged that, in former times, fevers were scarcely known here. At present, the place does not appear to have any greater degree of exemption from them thanis enjoyed by other well- aired localities. Cases of typhus and scarlet fever occur almost every year, seldom, however, with fatal results. Last year, the natural Smallpox prevailed extensively amongst persons of various ages, who had all been vaccinated in infancy; but in no instance did the dis- ease destroy life or disfigure the countenance. On a recent occa- sion, when Asiatic cholera afflicted the towns and villages of the neighbourhood, a young healthy man, and an aged woman, both of temperate habits, and residing under the same roof in a seclu- ded cottage, were attacked during night almost simultaneously, and both cases proved rapidly fatal. As may be conceived, this melan- choly visitation created great alarm in the parish; but happily the epidemic did not extend its ravages farther. - Springs and Rivers.-In the higher parts, there are some springs of the best quality, devoid of any mineral taint, and of refreshing coolness. Generally speaking, however, the wells are more or less chalybeate; and those in the vicinity of the river Gryfe are often brackish during the drought of summer, when the saltwater brought IN CHINNAN. | | 5 up by the tide,” (whose influence extends considerably beyond the South-western boundary of the parish,) finds its way into them in a less diluted form than during the rest of the year. The character of the Clyde, in this neighbourhood, has been much altered of late years, in consequence of the operations of the river trustees, in deepening its bed for the improvement of the port of Glasgow. When the steam-boats commenced plying, and the dredging + machines were first introduced, the salmon appeared for a time, in their fright, to have made their escape to less disturbed waters. Of late years, however, they have been caught in consi- derable quantities. The river Gryfe, a little way above the point where it begins to bound Inchinman, is a clear and pebbly stream, with picturesque banks; but in its farther progress its appearance is changed. Within the grounds of Walkinshaw it acquires an in- crease of volume, by the influx of the Black Cart; I and, as its subsequent course is through a rich and flat country, it becomes interesting chiefly from its windings. At last, sweeping past the church of Inchinnan, it is joined at Inchinnan bridge by the White Cart, and then the river, formed by the united streams, assuming simply the name of Cart, pursues its course in a broad channel, until it is lost in the Clyde at Blythswood House. The pike, eel, perch, and braize, abound in the Gryfe and Cart, and attract * The following anecdote is still current. In the early part of last century, the clergyman of Lamington, in the upper ward of Lanarkshire, had come to assist his friend the incumbent of Inchinnan on a sacramental occasion, travelling on horseback, and attended, according to the invariable practice, by his man, who, although from his vocation a severe critic of sermons, was profoundly ignorant of the doctrine of the tides. During the course of the visit, the servant was astounded and alarmed to discover that the waters were moving in a direction the reverse of what he had previously witnessed; whereupon concluding that some awful calamity impended, he hastened to his mas- ter's chamber, broke his slumbers, divulged the appalling phenomenon, suggested the prudence of immediate departure, and concluded by expressing a faint hope that they might yet reach Lamington in safety. ºf Each of these machines is worked by eight men. The quantity of stuff raised by them varies, of course, with the nature of the bottom. The superintendant of the river says he has seen 1200 tons raised in ten hours. # This river, which takes its rise from Castle Semple Loch, in the parish of Loch- winnoch, is called Kertlochwinoc, in the chartulary of Paisley. § In the Cart, before its confluence with the Clyde, is a small island called Colin's Isle, which, according to popular tradition, originated in the stranding of a vessel. During a long pending litigation, which was the consequence, the vessel was not re- moved, and the mud and sand had so accumulated around it, that by the time the de- cision came to be pronounced, it had become a picturesque little island, covered with thriving firs. This story was doubtless invented as a hit against the lawyers, who abound in the neighbouring town of Paisley, but has called forth some pretty verses from Mr Park, the poet of Renfrew. The surrounding scenes above referred to are universally admired for their amenity and tranquil beauty, and were in former times embalmed in song by John Wilson, the author of Clyde, a poem, edited by the late Dr Leyden in 1803. -’ - “Where the proud bridge on stately arches rides, And from his height surveys the slumbering tides, 116 REN IFREWSHIRE. the disciples of Isaac Walton. The hand-loom weaver from Pais- ley, recognized by his wan looks, green apron, and suit of rusty vel- veteen, may frequently be seen angling for the fish last mentioned, of which, though impregnated with a muddy flavour, he content- edly makes his meal, and thinks himself fortunate if he can suc- ceed in filling his creel in the course of a day’s fishing. Could not a paternal government stretch forth its hand and do something to ameliorate the condition of a most meritorious class of men, who have suffered a long depression, not from any fault of their own, but solely in consequence of those improvements in machinery which have proved so beneficial to the community at large 2 Let them have but a fair remuneration for their labour, and their native good sense will soon teach them to concern themselves with other matters than annual parliaments and universal suffrage. Geology and Mineralogy.—The geological features of this pa- rish are not of so striking and peculiar a nature as to demand any but a very brief notice. In so far as regards the character and compo- sition of its surface, it presents the usual phenomena peculiar to the diluvial deposit of the surrounding country. The diluvium itself consists for the most part of a loose gravel, containing a multitude of interspersed boulders of primary as well as secondary rocks, which from their character appear to have been transported from a north-western locality. The strata immediately beneath this di- luvial covering belong to that series of the secondary division of rocks denominated carboniferous. This is indicated by the alter- nations they exhibit of grey sandstone, shale, and coal, which are more or less conspicuous in the quarries that have been opened. In these sandstones, very beautiful specimens of the fossil Flora, which are supposed to be characteristic of the independent coal formation, are found. The manner in which several whin dikes traverse these stratais not unworthy of notice.—Some of them are of great thickness, and have been, during a long series of years, extensively quarried for No motion dares his amorous sloth molest Or ruffle Blythswood's image on the breast. Of tranquil Cart, &c. - Clyde, a Poem, p. 95. Mr Wilson died master of the grammar school at Greenock, before his election to which situation he had been taken bound by the magistrates and minister, to aban- don for ever “the profane and unprofitable art of poem-making.” To this severe demand he submitted for the sake of his family. In a letter to his son, we have the follow- ing doleful passage: “I once thought to live by the breath of fame, but how miser- ably disappointed, when, instead of being caressed by the great, I was condemned to bawl myself hoarse among wayward brats, to cultivate sand, and wash Ethiopians for all the dreary days of an obscure life, the contempt of shopkeepers and brutish skippers.” —Biographical sketch by Dr Leyden. IN CHIN N AN a 117 paving and macadamizing purposes. The simple minerals are too insignificant to call for any particular remarks, being confined to a few crystals of calc-spar, which are occasionally found in the strata above referred to. Soils.-The soil consists chiefly of strong productive clay. On the banks of the rivers, it is of a rich loamy description.—In the higher parts, it is gravelly, approaching more or less to what is cal- led dry field. 3oology.—The weasel, hedgehog, and mole, abound here. The country people complain of the number of foxes; but it may be doubted whether they would resign the enlivening spectacle of the hunt passing through their borders, for the sake of the few barn-door fowls that the fox now and then appropriates. Hares find good cover in this parish, and are plentiful, especially in Lord Blantyre's grounds, where they are preserved. The sportsman finds abundance of snipes, and occasionally a wild duck and water- hen on the boggy banks of the Gryfe, Cart, and Clyde. Pheasants and partridges are tolerably abundant, and grouse are occasion- ally met with in the moss of Southbarr.—The thrush, blackbird, and other warblers, exist in great abundance. The cuckoo pays an annual visit, also the land-rail. Great flocks of lapwings or pee- wits are continually flying about flapping the air with their wings. The halcyon or kingfisher builds in Colin's isle. There are nests of common herons on some high fir trees in Park wood, adjacent to the Newshot isle in the Clyde, where they are sometimes seen in considerable numbers catching their prey. Owls and other doleful creatures occasionally haunt the tower of the parish church, whilst the space between the ceiling and the roof shelters a pro- fusion of bats. Botany.—On this head the place affords but scanty materials for description. The writer has not remarked any species of indige- nous plants within the parish, not noticed in Hopkirk's Flora Glot- tiana. In the pleasure grounds of Park, the horse-chesnut and walnut trees produce ripe fruit in abundance, and the laurels have in the lapse of an unusually short period reached the height of thirty feet. The rarer herbaceous plants are also cultivated with great success. At Southbarr, there is an extensive range of hot- houses, containing a valuable assortment of green-house plants, vines, &c. In the lawn, the fir, oak, beech, elm, &c. have found a congenial soil, and although principally planted within the last fifty years, have reached dimensions rarely attained in so limited a 1 || 8 REN FREWSHIRE. time. The plantations at Rashelee are also in a most thriving con- dition. e - II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Historical Notices.—The lands of Inchinnan formed one of the numerous grants which the Stewarts obtained from the Kings of Scotland, before their own race became royal. By a charter dated at the Castle of Roxburgh, A. D. 1158, in which King Malcolm IV. confirmed Walter (filius Alani) the first undoubted High Stewart of Scotland, in his office, and in the lands he had received from King David, he bestowed upon him some new privileges and grants of land. Among the latter Inchinman * is specified. About the middle of the thirteenth century we find Alexander, High Stew- art, mortifying to the monks of Paisley, chalders of meal from his lands of Inchinnan. During the reign of Robert I. Wal- ter the High Stewart gave some valuable + portions of the pro- perty to Sir Walter Hamilton, ancestor of the Duke of Hamilton: but it would appear that, early in the fourteenth century, all that had been retained of the original grant was bestowed upon the Stew- arts of Darnley, who became subsequently Earls and ultimately Dukes of Lennox. In 1861, Sir John Stewart of Darnley, having personally resigned all the lands of Crookisfow, Inchinnan, and Perth- wyckscott, with their pertinents, into the hands of Robert the High Stewart (afterwards King Robert II.), had the same granted to him by an original charter. To Matthew, Lord Darnley, and second Earl of Lennox, the descendant and representative of the above Sir John Stewart, James IV. granted in 1511 a charter of confirmation, containing a clause by which His Majesty, from the spe- cial favour which he bears towards his cousin the said Earl, and for the gratuitous services rendered by him, and for the preservation of the Castle of Crookisfow, the manor and palace of Inchinnan, and other policies within the lordship of Darnley, from the devastation * Praeterea ego ipse eidem Waltero in feudo ethereditate dedi, et hac eadem carta confirmavi pro servitio quod ipsi regi David et mihi fecit Prethe quantum rex Da- vid in manu sua tenui et Inchienºn, &c.—Vide Appendix to Chartulary of Paisley, p. 1, printed for the Maitland Club. + Omnibus Cristi fidelibus, &c. Sciatis me dedisse, concessisse, et carta mea con- firmasse Deo et Sancto Jacobo et Sancto Mirino monasterii de Passelet et monachis ibidem deo servientibus, &c. duas celdras farine singulis annis percipiendas de fir- ma mea de Inchynnan, &c.—Chartulary of Paisley, p. 87. # Barnhill, Alands, Newlands, &c.—These, according to Hamilton of Wishaw, (Description of the Shires of Lanark and Renfrew, printed for the Maitland Club, I831, p. 87,) were commonly said to have been a god bairn gift. They afterwards be- longed successively to the Erskines, Hamilton of Orbiston, Graham of Dougalston, Lord Douglas, M*Dowall of Walkinshaw, and are now the property of W. M. Alex- ander, Esq. of Southbarr, and Mrs Redfearn. 3 |N CHIN N AN. 119 and destruction that might happen to them during the time that the said lands might be in ward—granted and confirmed to the said Matthew, Earl of Lennox, and his heirs male, the said castle and fortalice of Crookisfow, &c. and the said manor and palace of Inchimnan, with the parks and gardens thereof, the Dominical * lands of Inchinnan, the lands of Quithill, the town of Inchinnan, Ruschaled, Wirthland, Flurys, Gardenerland, &c. with the whole commons thereof, extending also to a L. 20 land of old extent, &c. to be held by the said Matthew Earl of Lennox, &c. of and under His Majesty and his successors, Kings and Stewarts of Scotland, in fee and heritage, in free blanch farm for ever, for payment of a penny silver if asked, allenarly, notwithstanding that the said Lordship of Darnley was formerly held by service of ward and relief, &c.—Stewart's Genealogical Hist. of the Stewarts, pp. 71, 212, 213. - & Upon the death of Matthew, fourth Earl of Lennox, in 1571, his grandson King James VI., as heir male of the Stewarts of Darn- ley and Lennox, became entitled to the honours and estates of that family; but unwilling that they should be absorbed in the crown, he conferred them in the first instance upon his uncle Charles Stew- art, and, after the death of the latter without issue, upon his grand- uncle Robert Stewart, Bishop of Caithness. When the latter accepted the earldom of March, the Lennox estates and titles were granted by the King to Esmé Stewart Lord d'Aubigny (the son and heir of John Lord d'Aubigny, the youngest brother of the King's grand- father Matthew Earl of Lennox), and whom he farther elevated to a dukedom in 1581. In 1672, this line having failed in the person of Charles sixth Duke of Lennox, also Duke of Richmond, (the husband of the beautiful Frances Stewart of the noble house of Blantyre) they once more reverted to the Crown; and Charles II. was served heir at Edinburgh 1680. The retour of the special ser vice on that occasion specifies the lands of Inchinnan with the pa- tronage of the parish church. Charles immediately transferred the Lennox estates to his natural son Charles Lennox, whom he had previously created Duke of Lennox and Richmond; by whom they were sold about the beginning of last century to James, Marquis and afterwards Duke of Montrose, and who, notwithstanding the * That is Maines lands or lands occupied or laboured by the Lord of the manor. Wide Skene's explanation of Terrac Dominicales, in his work “De Verborum Signifi- catione, or the exposition of the terms or difficult words conteint in the foure builces of Regiam Majestatem and others.”—These lands now form the farm of Oldmains, 120 R EN FREWSHIRE, numerous” alienations of former times, became then proprietor or Superior of by far the more considerable part of this parish. The said property now belongs to Archibald Campbell, Esq. of Blyths- wood, Lord Lieutenant of the county, his ancestor having purchas- ed it from James Duke of Montrose in the year 1737. Land-owners, with their respective valuations. Archibald Campbell of Blythswood, e e L. 900 0 0 W. M. Alexander of Southbarr, and Mrs Redfearn, joint pro- prietors of Walkinshaw, e e tº 463 6 8 W. M. Alexander, Southbarr, tº tº , 293 6 8 The Lord Blantyre, te tº d de 200 0 0 Matthew Killoch of Freeland, g g e 160 0 0 William Fulton of Park, & º * * 157 6 8 William Maxwell of Dargavel's Lands of Rashelee, . 96 O 0 Miss Balfour of House of Hill, e & * 85 6 8 John Algief of Greenhead, & g t 20 0 0 J. Crawford of Ferrycroft, e * g 16 13 4 The Lord Douglas, * ſº e g 9 0 0 Robert Cameron of Ladyacre g ge 6 13 4 L. 239s is a Few of these heritors are resident in the parish, but most of them have seats in the neighbourhood. Family Descent.—Mr Campbell of Blythswood is descended by a female from the family of Ardkinlas; but his name was original- ly Douglas, and he is male representative of the family of Dou- glas of Mains in Dumbartonshire. * Thus Matthew Earl of Lennox had, in 1497, given Northbarr and Rashelee to his relative Thomas Stewart, the first of the family of Barscube. Northbarr was pur- chased by Donald M. Gilchrist in 1670. About the middle of last century, it was purchased by the Lord Semple. It is now the property of Lord Blantyre, and is connected with the grounds of Erskine by means of a bridge thrown across the pub- lic road close to Erskine ferry. Rashelee has been in the possession of the family of the present proprietor, Wil- liam Maxwell, Esq. of Dargavel, for upwards of three centuries,—his ancestor, Patrick Maxwell of Newark, having acquired it from the family of Lennox previously to 1516. Southbarr had been long possessed by another branch of the Maxwell family. and was purchased by the late Boyd Alexander, Esq. in the year 1785. # The lands of Park were granted in 1522 by John Earl of Lennox, to his kinsman, William Stirling of Glorat. This beautiful property appears to have passed through many hands. It was purchased in 1787 from a family of the name of Campbell by the father of the present proprietor, William Fulton, Esq. who has recently adver- tised it for sale. Freeland, says Crawford, was in old times the inheritance of the Stewarts of Kil- croy. It was called by them Freeland Stewart, which name was changed to Freeland Brisbane, by a new proprietor who had the latter surname. When Crawford wrote it was the property of William Maxwell, brother to the Laird of Dargavel. The fa- ther of the present proprietor, Matthew Killoch, Esq. purchased it from a gentleman of the name of Ker. . * + There are several respectable farmers in this parish of the name of Allgie or Al- goe, a name peculiar, it is believed, to this part of the country. In former times a family of this name had considerable estates in Renfrewshire, and were of Italian ori- gin, the first of them having come from Rome in the suite of one of the Abbots of Paisley. The Algies of Inchinnan are spirited farmers, and the name, along with others in this place, frequently ſlourishes amongst the prize takers at ploughing- matches. IN CHINNAN. 12 1 Mr Maxwell Alexander of Southbarr, (nephew of the late pro- prietor) is second son of the deceased Claud Alexander, Esq. of Ballochmyle, of the family of Newton, cadets of Blackhouse. Mr Maxwell of Dargavel is male representative of the Halls of Fulbar, who obtained their estate from King Robert II., and as- sumed the name of Maxwell at the beginning of last century, when they succeeded through a female to the family of Dargavel, cadets of the Maxwells of Newark, who sprung from the family of Calder- wood in Lanarkshire. & Miss Balfour of House of Hill, now called Northbarr, is mater- nally descended from Donald M-Gilchrist, who purchased North- barr proper in 1671, and claimed descent from Donaldus M*Gil- christ Lord of Tarbart, who lived in the time of Robert the Bruce, and was a benefactor to the monastery of Paisley. Eminent Men.—Of these there are several at this moment re- sident, but their merits must be left to the statistical pen of some future incumbent. Looking to former times, Mr Robert Law, au- thor of the Memorials of Scotland, appears to have been born here. He was the son of the Rev. Thomas Law, minister of Inchinnan in the early part of the seventeenth century, and the grandson of James Law, Archbishop of Glasgow. This parish also produced a gentleman of the name of Maxwell, the younger of Southbarr, who wrote verses, and died in early life in the beginning of the seventeenth century. The late lamented Mr Motherwell possessed a MS. volume of verses which he attributed to Maxwell’s pen, and published some extracts in the Paisley Magazine. If we may judge from the specimen appended, the muse of the Inchinnan poet did not soar to the sublime. * Parochial Registers.-These, although consisting of several vo- lumes, do not extend farther back than to the year 1722. The lists * Glen. Bayth fals and greedie et munquam leal Post haud medie, bayth fals and greedie, And ower speedie to flatter and steil, Bayth fals and greedie et nunquam leal. Bisch. Barschagrie is my castellum, gifye it seik With clay wallis, for bellum Barschagrie is my castellum, Courit we smeik and smelling wt Suete Schairme and reik, Barschagrie is my castellum gif ye it seik. Abo. Pas. The ministeris intendis to get the teind beir, . . The abote miskendis that the ministerisintendis; The granter defefidis and garis them sing perqueir, The minister intendis to get the teind beir. Mor, Max. I hazarde my guid name, my lyfe and my land, To bring the Douglas hame I hazarde my guid name, And now to bring me to schame yai do yat thai can, Causs I hazard my guid name, my life and my land. P. M. p. 385 122 TEN FREWSHIRE, of births, baptisms and marriages are intermingled with accounts of the money collected at the church door on Sundays, and state- ments of the expenditure in behalf of the poor, together with the minutes of the proceedings of the kirk-session in matters of disci- pline. - w - The older documents are so confused and unsatisfactory, and some of them in such a state of decay, that the kirk-session have ordered the whole to be transcribed by the parochial teacher, Mr Galloway, whose accuracy and intelligence are a security for the task being properly executed. Had the more ancient records been preserved, we might have found some details on the subject of witchcraft.* * An account of the Confession and Death of John Reid, smith in Inchinnan, who made a discovery conform to the former witnesses after the trial was over.—Upon the 21st of May 1697, after the trial of the seven witches, there is an attestation subscribed by Mr Patrick Simpson, minister at Renfrew, Walter Scott, bailie there, &c. of this import. John Reid, Smith in Inchinman, prisoner, did in presence of the said persons and some others, declare, that about a year ago the devil (whom he knew to be such thereafter) appeared to him when he was travelling in the night time, but spoke none to him at the first encounter. At the second appearance he gave him a bite or nip in his loin, which he found painful for a fortnight. That the third time he appeared to him as a black man, and desired him to engage in his service, upon assurance of getting gear and comfort in the world, since he should not want any thing that he would ask in the devil's name: and then he renounced his baptism, putting the one hand to the crown of his head, and the other to the sole of his foot, thereby giving himself up to Satan's service, after which the pain of the bite or nip ceased. He told that hitherto there were no others present; but thereafter he was at several meetings, particularly that in Bargarran's yard, about the time when there was a fast for Chris- tian Shaw ; where the devil appeared in the same kind of garb as he first appeared to him, and they consulted Christian's death, either by worrying or drowning her in the well, and the devil said, he should warrant them, that they should neither be heard, seen, nor confess; to which end he gave every one of them a bit of flesh ; that the declarant got, but let it fall and did not eat it. Thereafter, in the presence of the laird of Jordanhill, the minister, Mr Andrew Cochrane, town-clerk, and Bailie Pater- son, he owned his former confessions: and being enquired of Jordanhill how they were advertised of their meetings, he said that ordinarily at their meetings the time of the next was appointed; but for particular warning there appeared a black dog with a chain about his neck, who tinkling it, they were to follow, &c. And being enquired by the minister, if he did now wholly renounce the devil (for he had for- merly told how Satan had not performed his promise) and give himself to Jesus Christ, and desire to find mercy of God through him : he assented thereunto. It is to be observed that John Reid, after his confession, had called out of the prison win- dow, desiring Bailie Scott to keep that old body Angus Forrester, who had been his fellow prisoner, close and secure; whereupon the company asked John, when they were leaving him, on Friday's night the 21st of May, whether he desired company, or would be afraid alone; he said he had no fear of any thing. So being left till Sa- turday's forenoon, he was found in this posture, viz. sitting upon a stool, which was: on the hearth of the chimney, with his feet on the floor and his body straight upward, his shoulders touching the lintel of the chimney, but his neck tied with his own neck- cloth (whereof the knot was behind) to a small stick thrust into a clift above the lin- tel of the chimney; upon which the company, especially John Campbell, a surgeon, who was called, thought at first, in respect of his being in an ordinary posture of sit- ting, and the neckcloth not having any run loup, but an ordinary knot, which was not very strait, and the stick not having the strength to bear the weight of his body or the struggle, that he had not been quite dead; but finding it otherwise, and that he was in such a situation, that he could not have been the actor thereofhimself, con- cluded that some extraordinary cause had done it, especially, considering that the IN CHINNAN. 123 Antiquities.—The palace of Inchinnan, referred to in the histo- rical notices, stood near to the site of the farm-steading of Garna- land, on the north side of the parish, andlooking towards the Clyde. It was built by Matthew, Earl of Lennox, in the year 1506. When Crawford wrote his history of the shire of Renfrew, there were “some considerable remains of it.” Persons still in life re- collect having seen a portion of the ruins, which, however, having been found to contain some good materials for building, were, in the absence of the laird, condemned to contribute their share of a gable to the farm-house adjacent. Had the structure been of any great consequence, it would not, it is likely, have fallen so early in- to decay; a conclusion strengthened by the fact, that the castle of Crookston, the principal residence of the Darneley Stewarts, now in ruins, is only five miles distant from Inchinnan, and by another fact referred to in the historical notices, viz. that the lands of Park, immediately adjoining the palace, were alienated a few years after the date of the erection of the palace. It may be added, that there is no evidence of charters having been dated at the palace of In- chinnan. From a wall in an old mill near to the site of the palace, and recently pulled down, was taken a stone, which is referred to by Semple in the continuation of Crawford's history of the county; it is now deposited within the tower of the church, and is inscribed as follows:* - Tº S L . H C I, D. D | 6, 31 The former church of Inchinnan, which was pulled down in the year 1828, was a very ancient structure, upwards of 50 feet in length by only 18 feet in breadth, with an antique scarcement to throw off the rain from the foundation. Its walls were of great thick- mess. The side wall to the south presented several frightful fissures, which were observed suddenly to increase, and having, moreover, door of the room was secured, and that there was a board set over the window, which was not there the night before when they left him. The seven witches alluded to in the above extract were three men and four wo- men, executed at Paisley for the bewitching of Christian Shaw, daughter of Bargar- ran, on Thursday the 10th June 1697. They were first hanged for a few minutes, and then cut down, and put into a fire prepared for them, into which a barrel of tar was put in order to consume them more quickly.—Wide a History of the Witches of Renfrewshire, who were burnt on the Gallow-green of Paisley. Paisley, 12mo, 1809. * The antiquarianism of the place and neighbourhood has not yet interpreted the above inscription ; and the writer deems it prudent to hazard no conjecture on the subject, calling to remembrance the embarrassing position of a distinguished anti- quary, who, after having made as he thought the profound discovery, that A. D. L. L. meant Agricola dicawit Libens, Lubens, was required to abandon it for the true in- terpretation, which turned out to be, Aiken Drum's Láng Ladle.—Antiquary, new edit. Vol. i. p. 50. * | 24 RENF REWS EIIR. E. begun to bulge out from the eaves downwards, it was pronounced by tradesmen to be in a very dangerous state ; yet it was brought down with greater difficulty than the eastern gable, which, accord- ing to tradition, had been rebuilt towards the close of the seven- teenth century. Silver and copper coins of the reigns of William and Mary, Henry IV. of France, &c. were found in the ruins, but there was no appearance of their having been deposited by design. When the floors were lifted, an immense quantity of human bones was found. The area was literally paved with skulls. The beams of the roof were of solid oak, some of them perfectly fresh, and with marks of having formerly belonged to a building of quite dif- ferent dimensions,—thus confirming the current tradition, that, when the palace of Inchinnan became ruinous, the beams which had Sup- ported its roof were partly transferred to the parish church, which happened at the time to require repair. It is believed that the old church of the adjoining parish of Erskine was supplied in the same way from the same source. In the church-yard, all the old tomb-stones, of which many remain, have crosses of different forms sculptured upon them. The parishioners point out what tradition has taught them to call the Templars graves. The stones cover- ing them, now reduced to four in number, are not flat but ridged ; and upon their sloping sides, figures of Swords may be distinctly traced. If ever there were stone coffins under them, it is long since they have disappeared, and the graves themselves have been appropriated from time immemorial to the use of the parishioners. Modern Buildings.-The only buildings of any architectural pretensions are the church and bridge of Inchinnan. The for- mer is Gothic, with a massive square tower, buttresses, &c. and is much admired. The latter is an elegant structure, consisting of two divisions, under one of which the Gryfe passes, while the other is thrown across the White Cart. It was erected at an expense of L. 17,000. The house of Southbarr was, with the exception of one wing, destroyed some years ago by accidental fire, and has not yet been rebuilt. III.-PopULATION. In 1755, the population amounted to 397 5 e * e 306 1801, º & g 462 I8] 1, wº º ſº 64l 1821, º * gº 582 1831, © tº g 620 The diminution of the population between 1755 and 1791, is to be accounted for, partly by the removal of a distillery, and 4. IN CH IN N AN. 125 partly by the consolidation of farms, to which must be added the growth of the manufactures of Paisley, which seduced cottars from country parishes adjacent. The increase from 1791 to 1801, arose in some degree from the impetus of the high prices of grain, which prompted the farmer to subject his pastures more extensive- ly to the plough, rendering more hands necessary; also from the opening of quarries at Park, and extensive improvements on the estate of Southbarr, both which causes operated so as either to pro- duce an influx of new labourers, or to detain those who, under other circumstances, would have sought employment elsewhere. The farther increase at 1811 depended on the introduction of some families for the purpose of reclaiming some moss land on the estate of Southbarr, but principally on the building of Inchinnan bridge, which brought an influx of labourers. Since that time the population has varied from year to year; but the comparatively high average still maintained is to be ascribed to the increased demand for labour on the Clyde, in the quarries, and in the drain- ing of land. The numbers of males and females are nearly equal, and there are no insane, fatuous, blind, or deaf and dumb persons in the parish. Instances of longevity occur, it is believed, with greater frequency than is common among a population so limited in number. A female died this season who had nearly completed ninety-six years, and retained her faculties in wonderful preserva- tion until a short time before her death. Character of the People, Customs, Habits, &c.—In their general character the people are intelligent and well conducted, neighbourly and kind, and exemplary in their attendance on divine ordinances. There is scarcely a person who can be called a gross and habitual drunkard; but abuses sometimes attend the celebration of new-year's- day, and in consequence of the old habit of transacting business over a glass, there is a great risk of habits of intemperance being formed. - Here, as elsewhere in Scotland, funerals were formerly conduct- ed at a great and even ruinous expense. —The company invited. was unnecessarily large, and observed little punctuality in assem- bling. It was not uncommon to have what was called a triple service, which meant that three glasses, two of wine and one of spirits, were offered successively to each person present. Even the double service is going into desuetude, a single glass of wine being, generally speaking, all that is now offered in the shape of liquor. After the last duties have been performed at the church- 126. RENF REWS HIRE. yard, the immediate relatives and intimate friends return to the house where the death has occurred, to condole with the survivors; on which occasion a simple repast is served up. - IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture and Rural Economy.—With a few trifling exceptions, the whole population is agricultural, or engaged in pursuits subsi- diary to husbandry, or arising out of the ordinary wants of the people. There are 3 Smiths, 3 carpenters, * 1 shoemaker, 1 weaver, I tailor, and 1 coal-merchant, who brings his coals by water to a wharf at Inchinnan Bridge. The number of persons employ- ed in the quarries varies considerably at different times, and some of them have their domiciles in other parishes. There are five in- dividuals who rent small portions of land, which they cultivate in addition to other occupations. Three farmers live principally by sup- plying distilleries with peats, which Southbarr moss furnishes of the best quality. Large quantities are conveyed by water-carriage to Edinburgh, Clackmannan, &c. at the rate of 7s. per ton, and others are taken by land carriage to Glasgow, Greenock, &c. The num- ber of farms exclusively occupying the attention of the farmer is 19. Their extent varies from 36 imperial acres to 216, and the leases are universally of nineteen years duration. Rent of Land.—Grain rents regulated according to the fiar prices are most usual. Upon an average, the land is let at one boll and a-half of wheat per acre. Rate of Wages.—Agricultural labourers are generally paid at the rate of 10s. a-week in winter, and 12s. in summer; women earn about 1s. a-day, and during harvest about 2s. ; ploughmen are hired at L. 9 for the half-year, with bed, board, and washing. Married ploughmen receive about 10s. a-week, with a free house and small garden. In some instances more is given, in others less; female servants are hired at L. 4 in the half-year; those who drive the milk to market receive L. 5, being responsible for the payments. Quarriers earn at the rate of 12s. weekly in winter, and 18s. in sum- mer; good carpenters receive about 16s. The harvest is now ge- nerally reaped by the Irish, who arrive in great numbers for that purpose. Their wages have averaged during the last two seasons 2s. 6d. per day. Paisley affords a considerable employment to the females of this parish in the embroidering of crape shawls and other fancy departments of manufacture. These works they execute in * One of these, Mr M*Kean, has erected a steam-engine to assist him in his la- bours. The machinery is so constructed, as at once to saw timber and thrash grain. º IN CHIN N AN e 127 their own houses, and clever girls make from 10d. to 1s. a-day, which often enables them to assist their parents in old age, or when under disease. - Quarries and Mines.—Limestone and coal exist in abundance, and have been both wrought, the former to a considerable extent ; but the proprietors have not encouraged extensive operations in these departments. The quarries of freestone on the estate of Park have been extensively wrought, and produce stone of superior quality. The church and bridge of Inchinnan were built of it. Rashelee is rich in the same products. Freestone of a good co- lour and very durable quality, is now being wrought with great spirit. Since the year 1760, its whin dikes have supplied the river trustees with all the stone required by their extensive improvements in contracting the channel and deepening the bed of the river. Husbandry.—The land is in a high state of cultivation, and all the modern improvements with respect to rotation of crops, manures, and draining, have been adopted. Where stones can conveniently be had, they are used for the latter purpose; but tiles are in most request. A tile-work has been recently erected on the estate of Blythswood. The tenants are supplied with tiles at the rate of one guinea per thousand, and they are permitted to drain to any ex- tent, Mr Campbell defraying the immediate expense, and they, dur- ing the continuance of their leases, paying interest at five per cent. on the outlay. Persons not upon the estate of Blythswood are supplied with tiles at an advance of two shillings per thousand. The trenching plough has been lately introduced upon the estate of Southbarr. - The land being chiefly under crop few horses are reared. Those employed in agriculture are generally of the Clydesdale breed. The number of farm horses is 97. Almost all the cows are of the Ayrshire dairy stock, and particular attention is paid to the rear- ing of them. The number of milk cows generally kept is 250. The farm-buildings are commodious and well built, and, with few exceptions, slated. The parish contains 3060 acres, which may be arranged as follows: Arable in cultivation, tº *. 2600 Natural pasture, e • . 100 Sites of houses, roads, waters, ſe . 60 Woodlands, ſº & 300 3060 Produce.—The yearly value of all kinds of produce, is, at a rough guess, as follows: 128 REN FREWSHIRE. Grain of all kinds, • . - L. 5449 4 0 Potatoes, turnips, &c., - º 2955 () 0 Hay, e © º - 1299 () 0 Pastures, © g º e 867 0 0 Dairy, º * º - 2500 () () Woods, º wº º º 150 0 0 Peat, e º º -> 400 0 0 L. 13620 4 0 V.—PARocBIAL ECONOMY. Markets.-The principal markets for the sale of grain are those of Paisley and Glasgow, the former three miles, and the latter se- ven miles distant at the nearest point. The produce of the dairy is disposed of in Paisley. Villages.—There are only two villages, if they can be so called, the larger of them containing six houses, with the average number of two families accommodated in each house. Means of Communication.—The high road from Glasgow to Greenock intersects the length of the parish. Two good roads communicate with Paisley. Two bridges, one called Inchinnan bridge, the other Barnsford bridge, supersede the fords or ferries of former times. Water-carriage is principally adopted in importing manures from the towns. Formerly a mail-coach and stage-coaches passed to and from Glasgow and Greenock through Inchinnan daily, but steam has banished them all. The post is conveyed by a gig, which takes a somewhat circuitous route for the accommodation of Paisley, and the letters for Renfrew (where the head post-office formerly was) are conveyed to it by a runner. Farmers now sel- dom walk or ride to market. A coach, which starts for Glasgow from Renfrew on all the other lawful days, is employed on Thurs- day (the market day of Paisley) in conveying them and their brethren of the adjoining parish to that town. Ecclesiastical State.—That a religious establishment of some kind existed at Inchinnan, in remote times, is not to be question- ed, although it may be prudent not to give implicit credence to all the averments of the Scottish historians. According to them, Saint Convallus, * a disciple of St Kentigern, taught Christianity * It may be worthy of remark, that in former times, a stone called Saint Conal- lie's stone, stood near to the ancient ford of Inchinnan, on the Renfrew side of the river. The said stone, as appears from the records of the burgh of Paisley, was the starting point of a horse race for a silver bell, instituted by the bailies and council in the year 1620. According to the late Mr Motherwell (see his notes to Renfrewshire Characters, and Scenery, a Poem, Part I.) the above stone, now called Argyle's stone, as marking the spot where the Marquis of Argyle was taken, was the pediment of a cross erected to the memory of Saint Convallus, near to the site of his cell, and which cross might at once serve to indicate the ford, and remind the traveller to invoke the . Saint's protection, or to thank him for his preservation. As to Saint Convallus him- IN CHINNAN. 129 here in the seventh century. Be this as it may, there was a church on the site of the present one in the reign of King David I. This prince gave the church of Inchinnan with all its pertinents to the Knights Templars. Hence, when Walter the High Stewart, who founded the monastery of Paisley, gave to it all the churches in Strathgryfe, he expressly excepted the church of Inchinnan. * The Knights Templars, whose office, as is well known, was to de- fend the city and temple of Jerusalem, to entertain Christian stran- gers and pilgrims, and guard them safely through the holy land, although poor at first (in token of what their seal bore, two knights mounted on the same horse,) came to possess 9000 houses in Christendom, and had property in land or houses in almost every parish of Scotland†. They appear to have obtained considerable grants of land in Inchinnan, and are supposed to have had an esta- blishment at Greenend, now called House of Hill. Upon the Sup- pression of the templars in the early part of the 14th century, their property was transferred to the Knights: Hospitallers, or Knights of St John of Jerusalem, whose principal settlement in Scotland was at the preceptory of Torphichen in Tinlithgowshire. As the suc- cessors of the templars, the Knights of St John enjoyed the rec- self, according to the Scottish breviaries, he was the first Archdeacon of Glasgow, and his festival was celebrated on the l8th of May. The historians record that he made a famous oration at the funeral of King Aidanus, and that his monument at Inch- inman was for ages a place of resort to the pious. Fordun writes, “ Unus vero dis- cipulorum ejus (Kentigerni) praecipuus erat Sanctus Convallus, miraculis et virtuti- bus praeclarus, cujus itaque ossa sepulta quiescuntapud Inchenane, quinque milliari- bus a Glasgw.”—Scotichron, Tom i. p. 134. Boethius says, “ Et Convallus divi Ken- tigerni discipulus, cujus reliquae celebri monumento in Inchennen haud procul a Glasguensicivitate a Christiano populo hactenus in magna habentur veneratione.” Sco- torum. Hist. Lib. ix. We are farther told that he was an author, “Scripsit Kentigerni Magistri Vitam, Lib. i. ; Contra ritus Ethnicorum. Lib. i. ; Ad clerum Scotico- rum super Ecclesiae Statutis, Lib i. ; Vide Dempsteri. Hist. &c. p. 157. * Walterus, &c. Sciatis me dedisse, &c. Deo et Sancte Marie, et ecclesiae Sancti . Jacobi et Sancti Mirini, et Sancti Myldburge de Passelet, et priori ejusdem loci, et monachis Deo servientibus (inter alia) omnes ecclesias de Stragryf, &c. ecclesia de Inchinnan eaccepta. The above charter was confirmed by Pope Alexander III. in 1170. Reg. Mon. de Paselet, pp. 7 and 409. - + Temple property had great value and importance attached to it from the right of sanctuary which it enjoyed. Tenements of the Templars within burgh in Fife are still called houses of refuge. Not many years since, an old woman, who had got into some squabble with the magistrates of Kinghorn, when pursued by the town- officers, rushed into a Temple tenement in that town, and, putting her head over the window, dared them to do their worst, upon the belief that this sanctuary could not be violated.—Wide Abstract of the Chartulary of Torphichen. Edinburgh, 1830. †: “ From the Rolls of Parliament, so far as preserved, it would seem that the Pre- ceptors originally sat among the territorial Barons, and not among the Ecclesiasties; but in the reign of James IV. Sir William Knows took his place, not with the feu- dal Barons, but among the Lords of Parliament, under the title of Dominus Sancti Joannis. His successors, Sir Walter Lindsay, and Sir James Sandilands, in like man- mer assumed the title, and sat as Lords St John.”—Introductory notice to Abstract, above quoted, p. 3. R.E.NFR.E.W. I ] 30 REN FREWS HIRE torial * tithes, and other revenues connected with the church and parish of Inchinnan, and had the cure served by vicars of their ap- pointment. At the dissolution of the monastic orders, in conse- quence of the Reformation, the last preceptor of Torphichen pur- chased: the united estates of the Templars and Hospitallers from the Crown, and, dropping his official title of Lord St John, was created Lord Torphichen. Thus the tithes, temple-lands, and patronage of the church of Inchinnan, came to be vested in the first Baron of Torphichen. The temple-lands of Renfrewshire were subse- quently acquired by Semple of Beltrees, and those of Inchinnan have been distributed amongstavariety of proprietors for generations. The patronage of the church of Inchinnan having subsequently at one time or other belonged respectively to the Crown and the Dukes of Lennox and Montrose, is now vested in Archibald Camp- bell, Esq. of Blythswood, whose forefathers acquired it from the Duke of Montrose in the year 1737. { With regard to the incumbents of Inchinnan since the Refor- mation, it appears from the register of ministers, exhorters and readers, that William Jackson was reader (at Inchecynane) in 1567, and Thomas Knox was exhorter in 1569. Gabriel Maxwell, ap- pointed in 1602, is supposed to have been the first Protestant cler- gyman in full orders. Thomas Law succeeded him in 1626. James Wallace became incumbent in 1649. In 1664, he was suspended for absenting himself from synods and disobedience to the presby- tery, and ousted from his living, and confined to the parish for not conforming to Episcopacy.—Wodrow’s Church History, Vol. iii. Mr Wallace was alive at the Revolution, and although his name does not appear in the Sederunts of Presbytery, he was undoubted- ly restored to his living, for it is stated in the records of 30th J uly 1689, that “Mr Patrick Symsone went to Mr James Wallace about that collection, (viz. in behalf of some Irish Protestants) who pro- mised to intimate it on the Sabbath, and gather it on the Monday.” We may conclude that Mr Wallace's infirmities prevented him from attending the meeting of Presbytery; and as the first notice * Rectorial Tithes.—The following notice is from the Abstract formerly referred to. “The Kyrk of Inchynnan has been in use to pay but xx. lib. allenarly, but it is bet- ter an it were out of the hand of the Laird of Cruickstone.” From the same source it appears that Ludovic Duke of Lennox obtained a tack of the teind sheaves of In- chinman, in 1591. # The terms on which the purchase was effected were the payment of an annual feu-duty of 500 merks, besides the sum of 10,000 crowns. The Lord of St John seems to have had difficulty in raising the latter amount. It was borrowed from Timothy Curnedli, an Italian gentleman of the Preceptor's acquaintance at Genoa, and a banker of the house of Bonvizi, resident at the time in Scotland.—See Note to Hay's Vindication of Elizabeth More (Queen of Robert II.) and her children, print- ed in Scotia Rediviva, p. 69. IN CHINNAN. 13 l of an appointment to supply Inchinnan pulpit occurs May 14th 1690, we may infer that the living was vacant by his death about that time. James Finlay was Wallace's Episcopal successor in 1665. This gentleman was blamed * by his presbytery for irre- gularity of attendance at its meetings, but defended himself by giving reasons, and, what was of more importance, by producing the license or dispensation of the archbishop. Having been trans- lated to another parish he was succeeded by William Stewart, who, on June 27, 1667, appeared before the presbytery of Pais- ley with a recommendation from the archbishop to have his trials furthered. Having passed these with acceptance, he obtained from the presbytery that met on the 15th August, a testimonial to that effect for the archbishop, in order to his ordination. Mr Stew- art's name appears for the last time in the presbytery record, 7th September 1687.-John Stirling was admitted 7th May 1691.-Ro- bert M'Auley, 9th September 1697.-Matthew Crawford, May 11, 1710, and was afterwards Professor of Church History in the Univer- sity of Edinburgh.--Patrick Maxwell, May 3, 1722; he died 1749, and was succeeded on the 3d February 1750, by Archibald Smith. He died in 1760, and was succeeded in 1761 by Archibald Da- vidson, D. D. promoted to the Principality of the College of Glas- gow in 1786.-Thomas Burns was ordained his successor 16th Feb. 1787, and was translated to Renfrew, 5th August 1790. In 1791, William Hardie was ordained, but died in the subsequent year. William Richardson, D.D. was ordained in 1793; and he re- signing the charge in 1822, the present incumbent became his suc- cessor on the 18th August of that year. * In Bagimont's Roll, the vicarage of Inchinnan was taxed at L. 2, 13s. 4d. being a tenth part of its estimated value. At the Reformation, the vicar, Sir Bernard Peebles, reported that its re. venues were L. 60 yearly, including all profits and duties. In 1684 the incumbent declared to the Presbytery, verbo sacerdotis, that the just provision of the kirk of Inchinnan was 7 chalders of victual, but that he had never received more than 6. The living is at present augmented to 16 chalders, one-half meal the other half barley, paid in money according to the highest fiar prices struck in the county, with the sum of L. 8, 6s. 8d. as an allowance * Another complaint brought against some of the Episcopalian clergy in this presbytery was the omission of the doxology, which was ordered to be sung every Sunday. It was argued in defence, that none of the people would join in such music, and that the minister and precentor being the only performers, and sometimes both of them alike destitute of a musical ear, the effect was bad, and the discord intoler. able. Still these pleadings went for nothing. The archbishop stepped not forward to screen the individuals who had been guilty of this species of delinquency. 132 RENFREWSHIRE. for providing communion elements, and a glebe of 74 acres. Part of the incumbent's emoluments he, like his predecessors, derives as superior of a piece of land called Ladyacre, which was an ancient mortification for the support of an altar dedicated to the virgin, and which in popish times adorned the church of Inch- innan. In all charters granted by the ministers of Inchinnan in virtue of the superiority referred to, they have uniformly styled themselves undoubted chaplains of the altarage and altar com- monly called our Lady’s Altar of old, founded and situated in the kirk and parish of Inchinnan. The teind and feu-duty annually arising from this source amount to L. 1, 5s. 5d. The attachment of a superiority to a living occurs nowhere else in Scotland in simi- lar circumstances, and the popish title connected with it is a still more extraordinary anomaly. The church and manse of Inchinnan have been erected since the admission of the present incumbent, and have ample accommoda- tion. * They are placed at the eastern extremity of the parish, which is somewhat inconvenient, and it would be an improvement if a portion at the extreme west were annexed to Erskine, and what is called Abbot’s Inch, in the parish of Renfrew, annexed to Inch- innan. Preaching from a tent on Sacramental occasions has been given up for about twenty years. There are four elders belong- ing to the kirk-session. Nearly the whole of the population be- longs to the Established Church. Only two agricultural families are attached to dissent. One of these recently came from another parish. The other affords the only instance in the course of two generations of an aboriginal family leaving the Establishment, while the roll of communicants, amounting to nearly 200, contains not a few names originally connected with the dissenting interest. The minister is accustomed to visit the dissenters, and also the few fa- milies of Irish Roman Catholics who are resident, just as he does the members of the Established Church, and has been uniformly received in the kindest manner. A Roman Catholic recently re- * A charter granted by the Rev. Robert M'Auley in 1704 commences thus: “ Omnibus hanc chartam visuris vel audituris Magister Robertus M'Cauley apud ecclesiam de Inchinan ac undubitatus capellanus alteragii et altaris vulgo vocat our Lady's Altar fundat. et olim situat, infra ecclesiam parochialem de Inchinan, &c. no- veritis me dedisse, concessisse,” &c. - - The last charter, granted in the year 1821, begins thus: “ To all and sundry to whose knowledge these presents shall come, I, the Rev, William Richardson, Doctor in Divinity, Minister of the Gospel, and of the kirk and parish of Inchinman, and un- doubted Chaplain of the altarage and altar, commonly called our Lady's Altar, and as such, undoubted superior of the lands after-mentioned,” &c. - + The older inhabitants were greatly attached to the tent, and their attachment had been fostered by a venerable incumbent, who was wont to declare, in his own pecu- liar phraseology, that the tent afforded the best specimen of “visible religion” any- where to be found. IN CHINNAN. 133 nounced Popery; but having removed to the parish of Renfrew, is now under the pastoral care of the Rev. Duncan M*Farlan, who has distinguished himself as a defender of the Protestant faith. Education.—In addition to the parochial school there is a school of industry. The parochial school-house consists of a large well- aired hall, together with five apartments for the accommodation of the teacher; and attached to it are a cow-house and suitable of fices, besides a garden, measuring nearly half an acre, and play- ground for the children,_the whole arrangements reflecting much credit on the liberality of the heritors. In addition to the ordinary branches, Latin, practical mathematics, and architectural drawing, &c. are taught. The fees vary from 8s. to 6s. per quarter. All classes are anxious to secure for their children the benefits of a good education. There is no child above ten years of age unable to read; and the greater number who have reached twelve years have a good plain handwriting. The children of the poor are educated at the expense of the kirk-session. The teacher has the maximum salary, which, with the fees and a few casualties, give him an in- come of L. 65. During the winter months the attendance is good, averaging 60; but from seed-time to harvest there are frequently not above 30 scholars, and these of the younger children. Such a system of alternate toil and tuition is highly prejudicial to the in- terests of education, and greatly more expensive than if the pupils were allowed to complete the course with fewer and shorter inter- ruptions. The female who superintends the school of industry is furnished by the kindness of the heritors with a school-room, house, and garden. Her income, which is very scanty, is derived from fees alone. There are two Sunday schools taught gratis. Library.—There is an excellent parish library, consisting of nu- merous standard works on theology, general history, voyages and travels, &c.; and all the parishioners have access for merely a no- minal sum,-6d. per quarter. Poor and Poors’ Funds,--The number of persons on the poors’ list is at present four; and the parish is also burdened with the maintenance of two illegitimate children. The ordinary wants of the poor are supplied from the collections at the church door, amount- ing, upon an average, to L. 30 sterling per annum. Any deficiency is made up by a voluntary contribution, which is required almost every year for miscellaneous parish purposes. The old Scottish spirit of independence, inducing a reluctance to ask relief from the parish, exists here, it is believed, in greater strength than in most places similarly situated, it being now a general complaint that it has nearly expired. Two instances have occurred, in the writer’s 134 RENF REWSHIRE. experience, of individuals voluntarily resigning their little monthly allowance, in consequence of their circumstances having become somewhat improved. Not long since, there was a petition laid be- fore the session from a very aged and infirm widow; but when the relatives were informed of it, they begged it to be withdrawn, and agreed to contribute a much larger allowance than the parish would have granted. When a person’s circumstances become strait- ened, and there is no relative able or willing to lend assistance, the practice very usually is, to dispose of the clock, watch, writing- desk, or other symbol of better days, upon the principle of a lot- tery. This custom having the nature of gambling in it, has never been encouraged by the gentlemen of the parish or kirk-session; but it is said to be attended with few abuses, and it cannot be denied that it has been the means of keeping persons off the poors’ list for years. Alehouses.—There are two of these, of which at least one might, with advantage, be abolished. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Since the former Statistical Account was published, the aspect of this parish has assumed various and important alterations. The roads have undergone great improvement. While almost all the old farm-buildings, &c. have vanished, and been succeeded by new ones adapted to a more advanced state of society. The comforts of the peasantry, with respect to the articles of food and clothing, have ex- perienced a similarly beneficial change. The author of the former Statistical Account lamented the existence of five alehouses, into some of which the card-table was introduced. Of these evils amongst a greatly increased population, the first has been mitigated, and the last has entirely disappeared. **r With the exception of a small portion of moorland not yet re- claimed, the parish is enclosed. In many instances, however, the fences are susceptible of improvement, and the slovenly manner in which some of them are kept but ill accords with the high cultiva- tion of the land. - - The number of illegitimate births has of late years increased, and the pledge usually preceding promiscuous intercourse is now in fewer instances redeemed on the part of the male delinquent, by marriage. In the state of social manners just referred to, no slight meliorations might be effected by an increased circumspection of parents and heads of families, who, by adopting a more prudent sys- tem in the adjustment of field labour, and by enforcing a stricter domestic discipline, might, without difficulty, accomplish this most desirable reform. March 1836. TOWN AND PARISHES OF PAISLEY.” PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. Ministers. Parishes. THE REV. ROBERT MACNAIR, A. wº Abbev THE REV. PATRICK BREWSTER, 3/. THE REV. ROBERT BURNS, D. D., . . St. George's. THE REV. JOHN MACNAUGHTAN, A. M., . High. THE REV. ROBERT STEVENSON, Q Middle. THE REV. ALEXANDER TELFER, A. M., . Johnston. THE REV. JOHN CAMPBELL, * , e. Gaelic.f. THE REV. JAMES GRAHAM, gº * North. THE REV. JOHN MEARLANE, Martyrs. THE REV. ANDREW BORLAND PARKER, A. M., Levern, THE REV. ALEXANDER SALMON, * South. I.--Topogº APHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. THE portion of Renfrewshire to which our attention is now to be directed, was, previous to the year 1736, all included in one parish, known by the name of the parish of Paisley. The town of Paisley is the only part of it, which, by a deed of the Court of Teinds, has been erected into distinct parishes. Its magistrates, however, are still regarded as heritors in the original parish, and, as such, pay a proportion of the stipend, and retain a certain num- ber of sittings in the church. Since the act of the General As- sembly, by which Chapels of Ease were raised to the status of pa- rish churches, Johnstone, in the western district, has been so ele- wated, and the church at Levern, in the south-eastern district, is about to have a parish assigned to it. Meantime, it will be con- venient to consider the whole as forming one parish, especially as the town of Paisley occupies but a small extent of surface, and is completely surrounded, by what is now, by way of distinc- tion, called the Abbey parish. Etymology.—We are indebted for the following ingenious ob- servations on the etymology of the word Paisley, as well as on that of various places situated in the parish, to William Kerr, Esq. surgeon, Paisley. • Drawn up by the Rev. Dr Burns and the Rev. Robert Macnair. # A separate parish is not assigned to the minister of the Gaelic Church. RENF REW. IC 136 ------- R.E.N FIRE WSHIR. E. “At Paisley, the Romans had a station or town, which antiqua- rians regard as the Vanduaria of Ptolemy. The most probable conjecture concerning the etymology of this name, is given by Chalmers, who believes it to be the Latinized form of the British words wen dur, or white water, applied by the natives to the river "White Cart, which flowed past the eastern wall of the camp. The Romans entered Scotland in the year 80, and left it in 446. Vanduaria must, therefore, have flourished at some period between these years. After the retreat of the Roman forces, the name was lost, and no place connected with its site is found in history, till the middle of the twelfth century, when lands on the bank of the river opposite to the camp are mentioned under the names of Passeleth, Passelay, and Passelet. The earliest mode of spelling is Passeleth, and is found in a charter granted by David I.” In the next century, Paisley occurs in one paper as Passeleht. The terminations in let and lay occur most frequently, and seem to have been used indifferently, till the middle of the sixteenth century, when the orthography commonly employed became Paslay. Chal- mers mentions two etymologies of the name, the first Pasgel-laith, which, in the ancient British, signifies moist pasture ground; the second Baslech in the British, and Bas-leac in the Gaelic, which signify the flat stone shoal,’ supposed to have been applied to a ledge of rock which runs across the channel of the river White Cart. -- That these etymologies rest on a foundation little better than resemblance in sound, is evident, from the meaning of the one being so widely different from that of the other. The difficulty of ascertaining the origin of the name of Paisley is somewhat dimi- nished, by the existence, in ancient times, of two places of the same name in England, one in Sussex, the other in Gloucestershire; and more than one place, in which Paisley formed the first part of the name. In the ancient documents published by the Record Com- mission, f the spelling of these places scarcely differs from the most ancient forms of the Scottish Paisley. The first syllable is either * Passe,’ ‘ Pese,” or ‘ Pis;’ and the last syllable Leghe' or * Ley.” In the same documents, Stainley, Thornley, and the other names terminating in Ley, are likewise found terminating in Leghe, indicating that these terminations were understood by the * Vol. published by the Maitland Club, in 1831, p. 229. f Chalmers’ Caledonia, Vol. iii. p. 819. The meaning of Bas, as given by Arnº- strong and M*Alpine in their Gaelic Dictionaries, is different from that assigned by Chalmers. By them Bas is the palm of the hand, and Bås “ death.” # Inquisitiones post mortem, inquisitiones monarum, rotuli hundredorum, calen- darium rotulorum chartarum. w PAIS I, E. Y., . 137 Saxon inhabitants. Legh and Ley, which were pronounced as they are spelled, are in fact the Anglo-Saxon words for lea or fal- low ground,” and there can scarcely be a doubt, that the last syl- lable Leht, Leth, Let, and Ley of the Scottish Paisley, are the same words modified by a slight difference of dialect. “The words in the same language which resemble the first syl- lable are pais peace, and pisa peas. The last of these, in the pro- gress of language towards old Scotch, became Pese, which agrees with the modern pronunciation of Paisley. Paislet or Paisley, would be the lea of Peace, and Peselet, or Pesley the Peas—lea. The only argument against the first of these being the true etymology, is, that history is silent respecting the conclusion of a peace at this place. With regard to the second supposition, peas undoubtedly gave names to places at very early periods, such names being found in the ancient records already referred to, as early as the reign of Henry III. In these records, the names of different kinds of crops are found in combination with leghe or lay, such as corn, oats, wheat, bear, or barley, and beans, and afford a cu- rious illustration of the vegetables cultivated in early times. # On the supposition of Paisley receiving its name from peas, it would originally signify lea ground which had carried peas. : “There are two places in the Abbey parish, which, probably like Paisley, terminated indifferently in let or ley, but which have re- tained the termination let, viz. the village of Hurlet, and the farm of Caplet hill. In the ancient records already quoted, there is mentioned a place in Berkshire, sometimes spelled Hurlegh, and at other times Hurlé. The first syllable Hur seems to be the word Hare, which in old names, changes to Har, Hor, and Hur. Hurlet is consequently Harelea, the Lea frequented by hares. § Illustrative of the termination let, may be mentiomed Horselet-hill, in the parish of Govan, the etymology of which, agreeably to the foregoing conclusions, is quite easy; but, on the supposition of Let being British or Gaelic, is involved in difficulties. º.º.º. . . “Besides Paisley, the places in the Abbey parish, terminating in * Legh and Ley are translated in Lye's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Terra inculta, Novale, Campus, Pasarum. + See Tytler's History of Scotland, Vol. ii. p. 216. : In Shakspeare, there is an instance of lea applied to ground bearing crops. “ Ceres most bounteous lady, thy rich leas Of wheat, rye, barley, fitches, oats, and peas.” § In two retours of the seventeenth century, this place is spelled Holzct and lial- rett; the first of which may be translated the Wood-lea. The name at present is universally pronounced Hurlet, . 138 REN FREWSHIRE. ley, are Eldersley, Stainley, Thornley, Collinsley, Relees, i.e. Rye- lees, and a farm united to it, called Halylee.” Mr Kerr's observations on the etymology, &c. of some other names of places in the parish will be found in the subjoined note.* * “ Names derived from the British, the Gaelic, and the Anglo Saxon, are found within the parish. Those derived from the most ancient of these, the British, are, with one exception, names of streams and hills. The rivers White and Black Cart have probably received their name from Cardd, which signifies narrow, a name given, perhaps, in contrasting these rivers with Clyde or Gryfe. Lavern, according to Chalmers, is from Laver, noisy, and am, stream. Arkleston hill, probably from Arcwl, prospect, and Dun, hill. . This hill, though rising only about 100 feet above the level of the adjoining low ground, presents a most delightful and extensive pros- pect, which may vie with the most celebrated in Scotland. Every one who visits this district, and wishes to behold its beauty and richness, ought to make an excur- sion to the summit of Arcwl Dun. Rather more than a mile to the east of this hill, is a similar elevation, called Keir hill, from an ancient British fort on its top, the ves- tiges of which still exist, and show the wall to have enclosed a circle of about seventy yards in diameter. Cardonald, an old mansion, which stands on level ground, on the bank of the river White Cart, exhibits no indications of remote antiquity, except the name. Caer and Keir signify in British, castle or fort. “The Gaelic language is found, like the British, in the names of streams, and hills, and likewise of several farms. Alt-patrick is Patrick's burn. Espedair burn is eas a small stream descending rapidly from hills, and Peadar, Peter. The highest eastern point of the range of hills, celebrated by the muse of Tannahill as the “ Bracs o' Gleniffer,’ is called the Duchal-law, a name which seems to be a compound of the Gaelic word Dhu, black or dark, and Choillé growing wood, and the Anglo-Saxon Hlcaw, a grassy hill. The descent eastward, from this law, forms the extremity of the range of hills, and being much higher than the surrounding country, forms a kind of promontory, which receives the name of Ferneze, Ferineeze or Fernyneeze. In ancient documents, it occurs Perénes, and Latinized Perineisum. Nese in Anglo-Saxon signifies nose. Firrin is used by Gawin Douglas as the adjec- tive of Fir; and in the English parliamentary writs in the reign of Edward II., a person of the name Ferendraught is likewise called Fernedraught, proving that Fe- Ten is identical with Ferné. Ferneeze and its modifications, therefore, mean the Pirnose, and imply that this declivity was in ancient times, as it is at present, cover- ed with fir, which would probably be the dark wood, that, at an early period, gave name to Duchal-law. Of Gleniffer, no satisfactory etymology can be found in the British or Gaelic. It is probably a compound of the Anglo-Saxon ºffer upper," an appellation to which it is well entitled, as from the low grounds it appears a cleft on the top of the hilis. H “Names of dwellings derived from the Gaelic are few in number. The great pro- portion of names of mansions and farms are derived from the Anglo-Saxon. It is probable, that in the eleventh century, or when the Gaelic ceased to be the lan- guage of this part of the country, the names of many places would be translated into the new language, and others would have names imposed, without any regard to their former meaning, so that from the number of places still bearing Gaelic names, we cannot form any idea of the number of farms in the parish, while it was a Gaelic district. Much light may be thrown upon the languages which existed in this coun- try, by a minute examination of the etymology of its different districts, and in the absence of any written documents in the Gothic language called the Scoto-Saxon, the names of places still exhibit some of the points of resemblance and of difference from the Anglo-Saxon. - “Sneddon, now forming part of the town, is probably the Anglo-Saxon Sniden, a portion cut off, from the verb sneddan. In more modern times, Clippens, in this neighbourhood, received its name in the same way. : * See Jamieson's supplement to his Scottish Dictionary, word Ever. +. Another derivation has been furnished to us, by a good Gaelic scholar, from the Gaelic Gleum Glen, and Jubher, (the bli in Gaelic sounding v) yew tree, which makes it the Glen of yews. # Sneddon has also been considered as a corruption of Snaudon, or Snowdon, and as furnishing a title to the Prince of Wales, as being Prince of Scotland. “ The PAIS LEY. 139 Extent and Boundaries.—The parish of Paisley is situated in the upper ward of the county, and in the finest part of it. It may be regarded, in point of extent, the third in Renfrewshire, and in point of value, by far the first. Its distance from the Clyde is lit- tle more than 2 miles. Its extreme length from north-east to South-west, is nearly 9 miles. In breadth it varies from half a mile to about 5% miles, being deeply indented on all sides by corners of adjoining parishes. In consequence of this, notwith- standing its great length, and in some parts breadth, it measures little more than about 16000 acres. It is bounded on the north and north-east by the parishes of Renfrew and Govan; on the east and South-east by those of Eastwood and Neilston; on the South and South-west, by those of Neilston and Lochwinnoch ; and on the west by the parish of Kilbarchan. • * Topographical Appearances.—Near the centre of the parish in N. Lat. 55° 48' and W. Long. 4° 26' on a bold terrace-like ridge, rises the town of Paisley. Much of it is built on that ridge, and on one of a similar description, which runs parallel on the south. The distance of the cross of Paisley from that of Glasgow is about 7# miles; and from the Clyde, which flows north of it, about 3. The surface occupied by what is properly called the old town, or the burgh of Paisley, is about a mile square; but in speaking of Pais- ley, we must include its populous suburbs in the Abbey parish, espe- cially those now within the parliamentary burgh, which is spread over a surface of about 3 miles by 2%, and contains about 6 square miles, including a small portion of the parish of Renfrew. The general surface of the Abbey parish is of a beautifully diversified character. Around the town of Paisley, except to the northward, many gentle eminences, some in cultivation, and others in wood, “impart their beauty to the scene.” Northward of the town, the surface is flat, principally indeed consisting of reclaimed moss. But the southern border of the parish, rises into what are called the “ There are two names derived from Latin, which have probably been imposed by the monks. Sacel-hill, receives its name from a Sacellum or chapel, which stood at its base, and from which a small cluster of houses is still called the chapel. Blada, a piece of ground adjoining the Sacel-mill seems to be Bladum, grain, a word frequent- ly found in the barbarous Latin of the middle ages.” titles are themselves Scottish,” says the writer of the article Paisley in the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, speaking of the Prince of Wales as Baron of Snowdon, Snaudon, and Renfrew. “Now, as the Stewart family had long their chief seat in Renfrewshire, and the lands of Snaudoun, near Paisley, formed, in all probability, a part of the pa- trimonial inheritance of that illustrious house, it does not seem at all improbable, that the baronial title of Snowdon, actually coupled with that of Renfrew, was derived from the very lands in question.”—Encyc, Vol. xvi, p, 270. T40 RENE REWSHIRE, Paisley or Stanely Braes, known also, at least in one part, as the Braes of Gleniffer. The highest point of these braes, as lately as- certained by measurement, reaches an elevation of 760 feet above the surface of the river Cart, at high water mark at Paisley. Though here and there interspersed with moss and heath, they in general afford good sheep pasture, and where they decline into lower ground, a considerable part of the land is in cultivation. As the surface of this extensive parish is of varied character, so also is there variety in the nature and qualities of its soil. Speak- ing of the soil generally, it is thin, resting on a bottom of gravel or till, and very retentive of moisture. At the same time, no inconsiderable portion of it is rich, fertile, and productive. This is especially the case with those parts which lie along the banks of the rivers; and it is reasonable to think, that as much of the soil of this extensive parish as is capable of cultivation, will very soon be brought under it; the large town, and the populous villages in the parish and its neighbourhood, as well as its vicinity to Glasgow, affording at once means of improvement, and a ready market for produce. Meteorology.—The temperature is upon the whole mild. The air is rather moist, probably occasioned by the prevalence of west and south-west winds from the Atlantic. The following meteoro. logical tables are abridged from observations by Dr Rodman, phy- sician in Paisley, who has been kind enough to favour us with more extended tables for the whole of the year 1829, and for nine months of 1832, the year in which cholera made its appearance. 1829. JANUARY. Weathcº". Wind Therm. Bar.—Inches. Mild, 14 days E. & 12 days - Frosty, 11 S. E. | 9 Snowy, 8 tºº Rainy, 2 31 Clear, l — 31 FEBRUARY. Mild, 5 days F. , , 17 days Frosty, 7 S. E. & E. . 2 Snowy, I E. & S. E. 3. Rainy, 12 S. E. tº , 6 Clear, 3 *E* –28 28 MARCH. Mild, 17 E. 14 days Varied from Varied from Frosty, 6 S. E. 10 57° to 52° 30 to 28%; Snowy, 2 N. E. . . 4. V, - Rainy, 6 W. ſº 2 * *m. E. & S. S. E. H. PAIS LEY. 14 I Mild, Rainy, Clear, Mild, Rainy, Clear, Mild, Rainy, Clear, Cloudy, Mild, Rainy, Clear, Cloudy, Mild, Rainy, Clear, Cloudy, Weather. 10 days 17 3 30 6 days 8 17 31 6 days 17 31 3 days I5 31 A PRIL. WP:mol. Thermº, N. E. . 3 days Varied from N. W. 5 . 57° to 52°. E. . 7 - S. E. 5 W. . 6 S. W. 2 N. 2 —30 MAY. W. 15 days Varied from N. W. 2 54° to 69° S. W. 2 S. I S. E 2 E. e 5 - N. E. 4. 31 - JUNE. W. 15 days Varied from S. W. 6 : 61° to 72° N. E. 4. • * E. by S. I S. E. I 30 JULY. N. E. 7 Varied from S. W. 8 63° to 68° W. 5 . N. W. 6 . S. . 3 W. by S 1 . E. I , 31 AUGUST. W. . 4 days Varied from S. W. c 2 61° to 68° N. W. . 11 N. . . 8 N. N. W. . 1 N. E. • 4. - S. W. we I W. & E. . I E. to W. . I W. N. W. I s ! Bar.—Inches, Varied from 30 to 28%; Varied from 29.3 to 32.2 Varied from 29.7 to 29.9 Varied from 29, to 29.7 Varied from 29, 1 to 29.7% 142 REN FREWSHIRE, SEPT EMBER. - -- Weathgº'. Wind. Thermº. Bar. —Inches. Mild, º 4 days N. W. . 7 days Varied from Varied from Rainy, . 16 W. . . 5 58° to 67° 29.0 ! Clear, . 10 S. W. 10 to -*. S. E. - I 29.07% 30 E. . I N. E. & 3 E. to W. } S. . 1 N. I —30 Octob ER. Mild, º 6 days W. 7 days Varied from Varied from Rainy, . 16 N. W. 7 55° to 61° 29.02% Clear, © 6 S. W. 7 N to Cloudy, .. 3 N. . 3 29.08 *memºs N. E. 3 31 S. E. I E. . 2 S. I —31 Now EMBER. Mild, . 5 days N. W. . 4 days Varied from Varied from Rainy, . 20 W. 6 48° to 58° 29.03% Clear frost, 5 S. W. 5 to - S. E. 3 29.09 . . 30 N. E. 8 N. 2 E. 2 —30 - DECEMBER. Mild, . 5 S. E. 3 Varied from Varied from Rainy, . 12 E. . 11 45° to 58° 29.04 Clear & frosty, 10 S. . 2 to Cloudy, .. 4 S. W. 4. 29.09% * * W. . 3 3I. N. W. I N. E. 7 —31 The notices of the weather in the foregoing tables were mark- ed down only once a day, at nine in the evening. Register for nine months of 1832. FEBRUARY 1832. - Mild, . 6 days E. to N. . 1 day Varied from Varied from Rainy, .. 7 E. N. E. . 48° to 55° 29 to 30 Frosty, .. 4 W. N. W. tºmº W. º 17 S. E. to E. E. to S. W. * —17 The other days not included. PAISLEY. 143 Weather. Mild, 8 days Rainy, 14. Frosty, 3 Blowy, 6 31 Mild, 10 days Rainy, 14 Blowy, 5 Thunder, l 30 Mild, . ~13 days Rainy, I2 Clear, 6 3I Mild, 10 days Rainy, I 2 Clear, 8 30 Mild, 13 days Rainy, 8 Clear, l() 31 Mild, 7 days Rainy, 18 Clear, 6 31 Mild, 11 days Rainy, 10 Clear, 9 - —30 MARCH. Wind, S. W. . 6 days S. . . 2 W. to S. W. 4. W. © 7 W. to S. .. 2 E. to S. E. 1 W. to N. W. 3 N. W. 5 N. l —31 APRIL S. W. 7 days N. E. 11 W. 4. N. W. I N. E. to E. 2 E. . . I S. E. to E. 3 W. to S. E. 1 —30 MAY: E. . . 2 days N. E. . 13 S. W. to W. 7 N. W. . 4. S. E. l S. W. 3 W. l - —31 JUNE. N. E. 7 days S. W. 5 N. W. . 2 N. . . 1 The other days very changeable. JULY. N. E. © 3 days S. to S. I S. W. . 4. W. . . I N. W. . 3 E. . . I The other days very changeable. AUGUST. N. E. ſº 5 S. W. . 8 The other days very changeable. SEPTEMBER. N. E. . 6 days S. W. . 9 N. W. Therm. Varied from 48° to 58° Varied from 53° to 60° Varied from 53° to 64° Varied from 62° to 68° Varied from 639 to 71° Varied from 63° to 729 Varied from 59° to 66° tº Q l The other days very changeable. Bar.—Inches. Varied from 29 to 30 Varied from 29 to 30.2 Varied from 20.7 to 30.1 Varied from 29.5 to 30.4 Varied from 29.7 to 30.4. Varied from 29.5 to 30.2 Varied from 29.6 to 30.5 144 REN FREWSHIRE, Octob E.R. Weather. JW7??id. Therm. Bar.—-Inches. Mild, . 7 days S. W. . 9 days Varied from Varied from Rainy, , 18 W. e 8 5° to 65° 29. to 30.5 Clear, e 5 N. E. e 3 - The other days very 30 , changeable. The months of January, November, and December of 1832 are not included in Dr Rodman’s tables. But from a register kept at the Gas-works, we find that the barometer varied in January from 29°.4 to 30°.4; in November from 29° to 30°.5; and in December from 29° to 30°.4. - Barometer 1836. January, varied from 29. to 30.4 inch July, varied from 29.3 to 30.1 inch February, e . 28.7 to 30.3 August, . . 29.4 to 30.1 March, º . 28.7 to 30. September, . 29.1 to 30.2 April, º . . 29. to 30.4. October, . 28.5 to 29.9 May, e º . 29.8 to 30.4 November, . 28.7 to 30. June, º tº . 29.2 to 30. I December, . 28,4 to 30,2 No rain-gauge was kept in the neighbourhood of Paisley, till 2d December 1834, when one was placed at Nethercraigs, in this pa- rish, one mile and a-half south of the town of Paisley, about 160 feet above the level of the sea. Other two rain-gauges have, in the course of last year, been set, the one at Orr Square, Paisley, 62 feet above the level of the sea, and the other at Back Thornly Muir, one mile south of Nethercraigs, 693 feet above the level of the sea. The results of the first for two years and one month; of the second for three months; and of the third for four months of last year, are included in the following table: Inches. 10ths. * At Nethercraigs, 1834 Dec. 2 3 1835, Jºches. 10ths. Jan. Feb. and Mar. 17 9 1836, January, 9 8 Apr. May, and June, 5 9 February, 3 0 July, e 4 6 March, 7 I August, 2 8 April, 3 2 September, 7 8 May, () 4 October, 3 6 June, 4 5 At Orr At Back November, 7 2 July, 9 4 Square. Thornly Muir December, 3 2 August, 5 3 Inch. 10ths. Inch. 10ths - September, 7 3 - 8 8 53 0 October, 3 2 3 ] 3 6 November, 7 1 5 4 7 4 December, 8. 0 6 5 10 2 68 3 Diseases.—As might be expected, the moist atmosphere occasions rheumatisms, quinsies, pulmonary and other inflammatory disorders. Contagious diseases frequently visit this place. A pestilence wi- PAIS LE Y. 145 sited it in 1645, as appears from the records of presbytery and town- council. A pleurisy is particularly mentioned as having prevailed to a considerable extent in the year 1771. Influenza raged exten- sively in the spring of 1803, and in the end of the years 1830 and 1831. At present (January 1837) influenza is raging to a great extent here, as in many other parts of Scotland. Dysentery raged violently in 1765. Since that time, it seems not to have prevailed to any great extent till the year 1828, when it spread to an alarming degree, and carried off many valuable lives. Ty- phus fever has for some years past greatly prevailed, and in many instances has proved fatal. In spring of 1834, small-pox made its appearance in the town, and continued more or less during that year. Sixty-one deaths are recorded as having taken place in consequence of this disease, forty-three in the town, and eighteen in the Abbey parish. In almost all of these in- stances, the individuals carried off had not been previously vac- cinated; and it is a well established fact, that till that year, since vaccination was practised, few cases of variolous infection had ap- peared. The confinement, and sedentary life of the operative manufacturer, may perhaps account, in part, for those consumptive ailments, which are of frequent occurrence. Cholera.-Paisley was visited by cholera asphyxia in 1832. Previous to its arrival, a board of health was formed, and the most prompt measures were used for cleaning the streets and alleys of the town, white-washing and fumigating infected or suspected houses, liberally distributing flannel clothing to the poorer classes, and supplying them with nourishing food. Two places were fitted up as hospitals, and the medical faculty were in constant attend- ance. The number of cases in all was 769; and of the individu- als seized, 446 died. It attacked chiefly the intemperate and dis- sipated in the humbler ranks, though others of better condition and habits, but of feeble constitution, fell victims to its violence. It appeared first at Paisley, on 13th February 1832, and entirely left it in December following. The greatest number of cases on one day was nine. Cholera again made its appearance in 1834, and carried off 140. But as no cases were reported that year, it is impossible to give any correct account of the number of individu- als seized. - Hydrography.—The White Cart is the principal river in the parish. It rises in the hilly grounds between Eaglesham and Kilbride, and, after having formed for a few miles the boundary 146 REN TREWSHIRE, of this parish, enters it on the eastern side, and flows in a gently winding course to the town of Paisley, whence, after forming a beautiful and picturesque waterfall a little above the Seedhill bridge, and bending round to the northward, it pursues its course towards the Clyde. It is joined at Inchinnan bridge by the Black Cart, which had previously received the waters of the Gryfe, near Barnsford bridge; and their united streams fall into the Clyde, about three miles below the town. In the White Cart, perch, trout, flounders, and braises, or gilt-heads, are found, but not in great quantities, owing, it is thought, to the public works on its banks. We are told, by some old historians, of fine large pearls having been found in this river, but these have long since com- pletely disappeared. * Below the town, this river exhibits little beauty, but above it, much ; its banks being frequently elevated, and clothed with a rich drapery of wood. In consequence of a short canal having been cut to avoid the shallows at Inchinnan bridge, and other improvements on the ri- ver, made about fifty years ago, the Cart is navigable up to the town of Paisley, for vessels of from sixty to eighty tons burden. These improvements, which are particularly mentioned in the former Statistical Account, were completed at an expense of L. 4000. In the year after they were finished, the tonnage was let at L. 151. Since that period, the sum for which it has been let has increas- ed. For the five years mentioned below, it has been as follows:— For 1831, L.222; for 1832, L. 321; for l833, L. 300; for 1834, L. 291 ; for 1835, L. 260. - - Additional improvements on the river, for which an Act of Par- liament has been obtained, are now in progress. These, when fi- mished, will greatly increase the revenue arising from it, as well as improve the commercial interests of the place. For many years, small track-boats have been employed on the river, for the con- veyance of passengers to and from the steam-boats on the Clyde ; * In Principal Dunlop's “Description of Renfrewshire,” written upwards of 140 years ago, and lately printed by the Maitland Club, we have the following account of these pearls. “The most noted peculiar rarity this shire affords is that of pearls, found in the water of White Cart, about Paisley, and above it for three miles. Though it be not that considerable, that the proprietor of the water and land adjacent claims an interest in them, but every person hath liberty to search for them, yet pearls are not only frequently here found, but of such a fineness and magnitude, as may be compared with any, except what the Indies afford; and they are transport- ed to other countries in good parcels, so that Tavernier, the great French jeweller, in his travels to the East Indies, taketh notice of them. They are found in the bottom of the water, in a fishes shell, larger than that of the muscle. The fishing is most in the summer time.” p. 143. These “pearls,” says Dr Boog, in the former Sta- tistical Account, “ have long disappeared, and the river has become a more certain source of wealth by its utility to an industrious and manufacturing neighbourhood.” Stat. Acc. Vol. vii. p. 77. PA IS I, E. Y. 147 and for three years previous to the commencement of the im- provements, a steam-boat plied regularly between Paisley and Greenock, Gourock, Dunoon, and other watering-places on the Western coast. When the improvements above-mentioned are completed, it is expected, that a plan suggested by Dr Boog in the former Statisti- cal Account, by which the inhabitants of Paisley may reap the full benefit of the completion of the great canal between Forth and Clyde, will also be carried into effect. It is, the formation of a branch from the great canal to the Clyde, to terminate as nearly opposite to the mouth of the Cart as the ground will permit; the ad- vantages of which must be great. * For this an Act of Parliament has been lately obtained. The proposed branch will be about three- fourths of a mile, and it will save the distance of seven or eight miles to vessels trading between Paisley and the great canal. The Levern is a rivulet of considerable breadth and flow, and is noted for the many cotton-mills, bleaching-works, and print- fields, &c. on its banks. In many parts of its course from the southward, it exhibits scenes of sequestered and even romantic beauty. This river is famed, as having given a name to the inha- bitants of this district of country; for the Levernani, mentioned in history, seem to have been no other than the men of Levern- side. It forms part of the eastern parochial boundary, and falls into the Cart, at the point of its entrance into this parish. The Black Cart, which rises in Castle Semple loch, may be noticed as forming the north-western boundary of this parish, and separating it from the neighbouring parish of Kilbarchan. * Various streamlets proceed from the braes on the south, and lose themselves in the larger currents. Such are the Espedair and the Alt-Patrick burns. t Between two and three miles to the eastward of the town of Paisley, a saline spring rises, called Candren Well; on the pro- perties and virtues of which, the late Dr Lyall, a native of Paisley, but long settled in Russia, wrote a pamphlet, strongly recommend- ing the water as an aperient and corrective. Many of the springs that rise within the precincts of the town are slightly mineralized, especially the Seedhill Well, which, in former times, was occa- sionally used as a tonic. Geology and Mineralogy.—The geology of this parish is very simple in its general outline, but very interesting in many of its de- * See former Stat. Acc. Vol. vii. p. 78. 148 REN FREWSHIRE . tails. The high land of the parish is composed of secondary trap rock, while the low land of the parish is uniformly composed of rocks belonging to the coal formation, and these are in general deeply covered with diluvium, containing many bouldered pieces of primitive and transition rocks. But secondary trap is the lowest rock seen in situ within the parish. This trap is composed of un- stratified masses of porphyry, amygdaloid, hornblende rock, green- stone, and basalt; but the junction of these rocks with each other is for the most part hidden from observation. Porphyry of a grey or greyish blue colour constitutes the great mass of which the hilly division is composed. It varies in hard- ness in different places, but is for the most part compact, and abounds with crystals of quartz, and pretty large rhomboidal plates of felspar. In many situations this rock assumes an amygdaloid structure, enclosing calcareous spar, arragonite, zeolite, stilbite, chabasite, &c. and occasionally large druses occur lined with preh- nite in mammaloid masses of a green or straw-colour, sometimes smooth, and in other instances crystallized on the surface. Preh- nite too is frequently found imbedded in, or constituting an integral part of the rock. Hornblende rock, with quartz and felspar, frequently occurs in detached masses both on the high and low grounds, and on the road to the farm of Braehead, about 400 feet above the level of the sea. Hornblende occurs almost without admixture with any other mineral. Its colour is dark green approaching to black, and it is so friable as to be easily reduced to its crystalline form by the slightest stroke of the hammer. In this locality, it seems to separate a mass of porphyry from a more amygdaloid rock, having a base similar to clinkstone. . Greenstone is quarried in several places on the table-land. It is traversed by numerous veins of jasper and chalcedony, and con- tains several varieties of the zeolite family. Basalt is found mas- sive towards the western extremity of the range, nearly of a black colour, and replete with crystals of augite and olivine. - The second or lower division is highly interesting on account of the value of the minerals to the manufactures of the district. These consist of Sandstone, limestone, coal, aluminous shale, ironstone, fire-clay, bituminous shale, and trap rock. The sand- stone which abounds in the parish is that belonging to the coal measures. It is uniformly stratified. In some places, the rock is exposed on the surface, but more frequently is covered by a few FAISLEY, 149 feet of diluvium, containing numerous rounded water-worn pebbles, and occasionally also by extensive beds of sand, exhibiting the ap- pearance of a sea beach, and containing shells the same in species as those at present existing in the adjacent Frith of Clyde. Im- mense numbers of these shells were found in digging the canal from Glasgow to Johnston. They were little altered in appear- ance; and the impression left by a careful examination of the stra- tified sand in which they were found was, that they had been de- posited at the bottom of the sea, and that the lower part of the parish must consequently be of submarine formation. * For the most part, the colour of the sandstone is yellowish white, more or less tinged with iron. In texture it is commonly compactº and small-grained, but this varies in different parts of the same quarry. In some localities, it is traversed by innumerable mi- nute veins of carbonaceous matter. In other places, it abounds in modules of the common radiated iron pyrites. In most of the sandstone quarries, vegetable remains have been found from time to time, consisting of reeds, arborescent plants, and ferns. The former are often circular, but more generally flattened; some of them are smooth on the surface, others are sulcated longitudinally, and many are jointed. They are met with from half an inch to six or eight inches in circumference. The remains of the arbo- rescent ferns are for the most part marked externally with rhom- boidal impressions raised above the surface, and arranged around the specimen in a spiral order. All these remains are coated with. sharcoal, and their interior filled with siliceous or calcareous matter, often also with a considerable quantity of the proto-sulphuret of iron. The sandstone quarry in most repute is that of Nitshill, and is of such extent as to give employment to nearly one hundred men all the year round. The following description is from the pen of Mr Oatts, manager of the Hurlet Alum Works: “This rock has a gentle declivity from south to north, with a dip eastward. It lies over a stratum of coal 2 feet 6 inches thick. The rock is 60 feet in thickness from the coal upwards. In some parts it rises to the surface; in others, it is covered by 3 feet of earth. It contains three distinct strata of coal, besides the stratum underneath it. This coal is quite different in its nature, quality; and value, from the neighbouring Hurlet coal. In the sandstone rock some remarkable specimens of fossil vegetable remains have * See Capt. Laskey's Account of these shells in Vol. iv. of the Transactions of the Wernerian Society. I 50 REN FREWSHIRE. been found. Two petrified trees found here are placed as curio- sities near the mansion of the proprietor at Househill, the one, 10 feet high, and 5 feet round at the bottom; the other, 5 feet high, and 5% feet round at the bottom, both having the large root fis- sures, and protuberances equally decided and discernible with any other of the full-grown timber that now adorns the surrounding lawn. A fossil fern procured at Levernshields is 3 feet in cir- cumference at bottom, 1 I feet 4 inches high, 3 feet more in length having been left behind when removing the petrifaction from the quarry. This specimen was found in the lower or bottom seam of the rock, with several others which were destroyed by the quarriers. All were found lying on a gentle declivity with their tops westwards. The natural pile and porous quality of the rock varies considerably on the different sides of each of these seams of coal, that next the bottom being the finest, that at the surface of the ground much coarser.” - In some parts of the above-mentioned quarry, a considerable quantity of iron pyrites occurs, which, upon exposure to the air, becomes gradually decomposed, and greatly disfigures and de- stroys the stone. When sandstone is met with in the immediate vicinity of trap rocks, it becomes so much hardened in texture as to be able to withstand the effects of weather and flood for an in- definite length of time; as is well exemplified in the ridge of rock which stretches across the White Cart at Seedhill, immediately above the town of Paisley. Limestone belonging to the coal formation is very generally diffused throughout the lower division of the parish. It occurs in layers or beds, generally lying under the sandstone, or alternating with coal, ironstone, fire-clay, aluminous and bituminous shale, &c. In some localities it is found near the surface, and is then quarried. In other places, it is wrought by mining, especially where it occurs in the vicinity of coal. The principal quarries of this valuable rock are at Hurlet and Blackhall. This limestone has generally a grey colour; is translucent on the edges; breaks with a flat conchoidal fracture; and contains innumerable remains of different species of shells, entrochi, encrini, &c. besides numerous crystals of calcareous spar, and small masses of slaggy mineral pitch. Coal occurs abundantly in the lower division of the parish, which, as formerly stated, is entirely composed of rocks belonging to the coal formation. This valuable mineral may exist in the pa- 3 PAISLE. Y. 15 [. rish in very great quantities, as few trials comparatively have been made for it, in many places where there is at least a strong pro- bability that it might be found. It has been found within the town of Paisley, as at Gallowgreen; also near Meikleriggs; but by far the most profitable pits have been at Quarrelton and Hurlet. The coal of Quarrelton consists of five continuous strata, which, in a field of about fifteen acres, is found to dip in several different directions, as towards a centre, thus forming a basin, but having its strata somewhat interrupted by hitches, at one of which the mass of coal is thrown up about 50 feet, and at another about 30 feet. These hitches interrupt not only the direction, but also the degree of dip. The following section of the coal strata at Quarrelton we ex- tract from the article “ Mine,” in the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. It was drawn up by the ingenious Robert Bald, Esq. civil-engin- eer; and we have tested its accuracy. - No. Names of the Strata. Yds. Ft. In. No. Names of the Strata. Yds. Fi, In, l, Greenstone, 36 0 () 8. Coal, e 3 O () 2. Sandstone, and common 9. Indurated clay, 0 1 () indurated clay, alter- 10. Coal, * 9 () () nating in thin bands, 8 0 0 1 1. Indurated clay, 0 l (3 3. Fire-clay, with coarse 12. Coal, tº 3 } 0. ironstone, 0 0 13. Indurated clay, {} 2 3 4. Coal, • 3 | 0 14. Coal, e 3 () () 5. Indurated clay, 0 1 0 15. Indurated clay, 0 l () 6. Coal, & 3 1 0 16. Coal, 5 2 () 7. Indurated clay, 0 2 3 8 I 6 The above is a very interesting section of a coal field, which, according to Werner, belongs to the newest flatz trap formation. The striking peculiarities are:–1. The great body of greenstone of the common crystallized texture, known in Scotland by the name of blue whinstone, found at the surface, and lying above the common coal strata, which are comparatively soft, and have lit- tle coherence. 2. The vast body of coal lying together, consisting of ten beds. There are only seven beds in the section, but the fourth coal is commonly reckoned three beds, and the lower coal two beds, there being a difference in the quality, with thin divisions in some places betwixt them. The whole thickness is 90 feet 2 inches. Some of the coal is of the open burning kind, but the great part is of the close burning quality, similar to Newcastle coal, and breaks into small pieces. The coal abounds with inflammable air, and is liable to spontaneous ignition. In a great part of this coal-field, the coals amount to only one-half of the thickness represented in the R.E.N.F.R.E.W. L 152 REN FREWSEIIR E. A section; but in the place where the section is taken, the coals lie as if they had been cut through, and one-half slid over the top of the other. This singular coal field is very limited in point of extent. * - Hawkhead or Hurlet coal is a stratum or seam 5 feet 3 inches thick, declining eastward with a dip which is variable, but may on an average be accounted one in seven. It extends over several hun- dred acres of land, principally in the Hawkhead estate, but also in the adjoining estates of Nether Polloc and Househill. By careful and accurate measurements it has been ascertained that this same bed of coal extends over 340 acres of Hawkhead estate, 85 acres of Nether Polloc, and 50 acres of Househill; making in all an area of 475 acres imperial measure. The strata intersected in a pit near Hurlet, on the west side of Levern water, were as follows:— - - - g . Feet. Inches 1. Earth and clay, • • • 42 O 2. Sand and gravel, & - $ * 8 0 3. Schistus with some thin strata of limestone and many beds of iron- stone and balls of ironstone, tº - º 105 O 4. Limestone, - º - tº © 3 0 5. Aluminous schistus, ſº º e 3 | 6. Coal, containing balls of pyrites or copperas stones, e ... 5 3 | 66 4 This coal contains sulphur, and thereby possesses the property of caking when exposed to heat. The miners remark, that sul- phur always exists in coal, lying immediately beneath limestone. The Hurlet mines at one time contained inflammable air, and through the negligence of some workmen in not using the neces- sary precautions, several valuable lives have been lost. Such acci- dents, however, are now in a great measure dissipated by the free circulation of atmospheric air throughout the waste, and the nume- rous pits or shafts communicating with each other. H * In May 1818 one of these mines at Quarrelton was overflowed with water, and five of the miners perished. Two of the others were rescued alive, after having been immured in the gloomy dungeon for ten days. A very interesting account of all the circumstances of this event is given in the Scots Magazine for 1819, p. 33. The statement was drawn up from the accounts of the men who escaped, both of whom, two brothers of the name of Hodgert, are still living. Appearances on the west side of Quarrelton, and on the north side of the Beith road, indicate the fact of the ground having sunk to a considerable extent. In the old Statistical Account (Vol. vii. p. 8],) this is noticed as follows:—“Some years ago this coal took fire, and the pillars giving way, the ground sunk and left the surface in a very rugged state.” Similar appearances on the surface, indicative probably of similar causes, are to be noticed in others of the coal districts. - + See for further information on this and analogous subjects, Mr Wilson's Agri- cultural Survey, pp. 14–28, and 276-281. A PAIS LEY. 153 The thickness of the Nitshill rock, measured downwards from the surface, is as follows: Ft. I jº. - - Ft. In , 1. Coarse sandstone, 26 0 7. Lower seam of rock (best kind) 17 0 2. Upper stratum of coal, l () 8. Schistus or blaize, like that of 3. Rock of thin layers with black No. 3, e ‘ º & 1 0 blaize mixed, . 6 9. Coal, with thin irregular strata 4. Second stratum of coal, . 0 6 of blaize * . & 2 5. Fire clay containing iron balls, 3 0 6. Third stratum of coal, . I S 60 2 The lower stratum of coal only can be wrought by mining. The other seams, Nos. 2, 4, and 6, are taken in the course of working the rock, for which there is a brisk demand. . In addition to the above, there are fields of coal on the south side of the turnpike road leading from Paisley to Beith, on the grounds of High Auchenlodmont, Elderslie, and Craigenfeoch. In this last field, 4 under seams of coal have lately been discovered; the seam above these having been wrought above thirty years ago. In all, there are five distinct strata of coal, varying from 3% to 5 feet in thickness; one of them having a stratum of gas coal of 9 inches in thickness. These five seams of coal are at present wrought in separate lofts or storeys. The three under strata have, how- ever, been frequently joined in one mass, forming a bed of coal upwards of 12 feet in thickness. In working, a considerable num- ber of men are constantly employed. The superincumbent mi- nerals at this place are whinstone, sandstone and blaize, or till. Ironstone has been extensively found in different parts of the lower division of the parish. It occurs in greatest abundance in the form of clay-ironstone, lenticular iron ore, and proto and per- sulphuret. The first two of these ores occur, for the most part, in beds of various thickness, alternating with limestone, fire-clay, alu- minous schistus, &c. and are often very rich in metal. About thirty years ago, many hundred tons were annually sent from the parish to the smelting furnaces of Clyde iron-works. Ores of iron are still found in considerable quantities at Hawkhead, Hurlet, Black- hall, Sacel, &c. and at most localities where there are beds of coal or lime. It occurs most frequently in the form of rounded masses of a moderate degree of magnitude, and very frequently of a len- ticular form. These contain often beautiful specimens of Cornu ammonis, Anomias, Productus, &c. in a state of very perfect preserva- tion. In other instances, the specimens are divided by septa of calcareous matter, or are filled with beautiful crystallized per- sulphurets of iron. At Hurlet, betwixt the aluminous schistus and main seam of coal, a thin irregular layer of pyrites is sometimes 154 T EN FREWSHIRE • found, not exceeding 2 inches in thickness. It is also found very generally imbedded in the coals, in round balls. Both the proto and persulphuret of iron are abundant in the sandstone, coal, and alu- minous schistus. - Aluminous schist is abundant at Hurlet, and probably also in other localities. At Hurlet, it lies beneath a bed of limestone, and rests on coal. It contains much proto-sulphur of iron, and is employed in the manufacture of the sulphurets of alumina and iron. The stratum of aluminous schist varies in thickness from 6 inches to 3 feet and a-half. When first exposed by the removal of the subjacent coal, it is in the form of a hard compact rock, is quarried with difficulty, and is composed for the most part of proto-sulphuret of iron, alumina, and coaly matter. Soon after the coal is removed from the pit, (especially if there be little cir- culation of air,) the inferior surface of the schist becomes covered with an efflorescence, which after the lapse of some time is found to penetrate through its whole thickness, splitting the rock into laminae, and thus rendering it easily quarried. After a still longer period of time, it falls to the bottom of the mine by its own gra- vity, and from its light and spongy texture is termed chaff by the workmen. It then consists of minute whitish or greenish colour- ed fibres of the sulphurets of alumina and iron. Besides these sul- phurets the Hurlet mines occasionally produce specimens of the native sulphates of magnesia and of soda; the former of these in the shape of beautiful crystalline fibres. Its constituent parts in the fully decomposed state have been found as follows: Water, tº-e 45 per cent Sulphur, * 25 Clay, tºº } () Oxide of iron, *- 20 100' Fire-clay occurs abundantly throughout the lower division of the parish. Its colour varies, being sometimes of a lead, at other times of a nut-brown colour. It is generally compact, hard, and capable of resisting a very high temperature. It generally assumes the form of beds or layers above and under coal, lime, &c. and often contains ironstone balls in considerable quantities. - Bituminous shale occurs in great quantities, alternating with sandstone, limestone, coal, and ironstone; its layers varying from one-eighth of an inch to ten inches and upwards in thickness. It contains innumerable impressions of reeds and bivalve shells, par- Paisley. - 155 ticularly the Pedunculata mytilloides and Nucula attenuata, as at the mines of Blackhall. - Greenstone, or, as it is provincially called, whinstone, occurs in beds forming part of the coal measures at High Craig, Craigen- feoch, Elderslie, and near Seedhill mills, Paisley. This occur- rence, by no means common, is also to be found in Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch. In some instances, as at Hallhill, the green- stone is conformable to the stratified rocks of the coal measures, but in other instances it overlies these rocks in an unconfor- mable position, as at High Craig and Craigenfeoch. This rock is most frequently of a bluish-grey colour, fine grained, and breaks with a fracture more or less splinty and conchoidal. At Ladykirk, near Seedhills, the rock lies only a few feet below the surface, and has been wrought for many years to the depth of perhaps 30 or 40 feet. In this locality, the rock is traversed by numerous veins of calcareous matter, in which small cavities are frequently found, lined with crystals of silex, carbonate of lime, and mam- millary concretions of that mineral. Not unfrequently, there are to be found druses lined with crystals of carbonate of lime, and containing a bituminous substance of a colour and consistency - closely resembling that of soft soap. In the recent state it is so transparent as to admit of subjacent objects being distinctly seen through it; but after exposure to the air, it by and bye assumes a firmer and more wax-like consistence, but retains its transparency. Its lustre is resinous; its feel soft and greasy; its smell strongly bituminous, and somewhat resembling oil of amber. Its specific gravity is about 0.910. When heated, it melts, boils, and diffuses a whitish fragrant vapour. It is not remarkably inflammable, but when kindled burns with a light resembling that of a common candle. It readily dissolves in spirit of turpentine. In naphtha from coal tar it becomes fluid, and remains like a drop of olive oil at the bottom of the vessel in which the experiment is made. In sulphuric ether, alcohol, ammonia, caustic potash, the fixed oils, and the sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids, it remains unaltered. It differs in colour, consistence, and inflammability, from the mi- neral oil of Professor Jameson, though it is certainly a variety of that substance. It is held in high estimation by the quarriers, as a healing salve; and when procured is carefully stored up, and applied as a specific for cuts and bruises. - At the farm of Arkleston, a basaltic rock of a rather curious tufaceous character occurs, rising from 20 to 30 feet above the 156 RENF REWSHIRE. level of the plain. The rock is rapidly assuming an earthy ap- pearance. It contains considerable masses of a black, friable, and coally looking substance, easily reduced to powder between the fingers, leaving a carbonaceous stain. * - Blue clay abounds almost everywhere in the lower-department of the parish. Indeed, the whole plain to the north of the hill called Oakshaw seems to consist of an immense basin of this use- ful deposit, in many places not less than 18 feet in thickness. It is for the most part soft and unctuous to the touch, and is exten- sively used in the manufacture of brick and tile. The greater part of this clay is pure, containing very few foreign substances, but near the bottom of the basin it assumes a muddy character, and incloses innumerable marine shells in a state of perfect preserva- tion, and retaining their gelatinous and albuminous parts; as also rounded pieces of quartz, limestone, schist, &c. A mass of shingle or loose water-worn gravel often occurs below this clay, and, for the most part, rests on a bed of fire clay, sandstone, &c. Potter's clay has been found about a mile to the south-west of Paisley, on the Brediland estate, where a pottery for the manufac- ture of coarse earthen-ware has been for some time carried on. Mossy ground is abundant in the lower division of the parish ; but the peat moss, which in 1719 covered 300 acres, is now nearly all reclaimed. This moss lies upon a bed of gravel and rounded pebbles, incumbent on an extensive basin of blue clay. In the Paisley moss, the little that remains of the peat is light, and of a Spongy texture. The peats are composed of the preserved roots, stems, and branches of Ericas, Sphagnums, and other heath plants, intermixed with twigs of birch, oak, furze, &c. The roots and tall straight branchless stems of large oak trees are abundant in these mossy districts, all deeply imbedded, but retaining almost their primitive hardness, and coloured to their centre of an inky blackness, from the bog-iron held in solution by the water, and retained by the spongy nature of the soil. These stems are uni- formly of a conical form at their base, and almost universally lie in a north-easterly direction. Their tall, tapering, and almost branchless forms, prove that they have formed part of an old and thickly growing wood, which, as various relics prove, has in part * In the former Statistical Account, notice is taken of a substance somewhat simi- lar being found in other places. “A bituminous substance is found both in the limestone and whinstone quarries. It drops in a fluid state from the limestone at Blackhall ; in that at Hurlet it is found solid, sometimes so indurated as to be brittle, sometimes so soft as to be cut with a knife, in both cases highly inflammable.”—Vol. vii. p. 83. 4 PAIS LEY. 157 been cut down by man, and in part, having attained its natural period; has yielded to the force of the strongest and most prevailing blast. Branches of birch are also very abundant. They retain their na- tural colour, in general are spongy and flattened, but their cuticle remains fresh, glistening, and apparently unaltered. To the north-east of Paisley, on the farm of Gallowhill, a quarry has of late been wrought in an extensive bed of schistose rock, lying almost horizontally about 3 feet below the surface. Its colour is dark grey, approaching to black. Its texture is compact and fine-grained, and it readily splits into layers, but is with diffi. culty broken across. Its fracture is splintery and rather conchoi- dal. It is composed of about 32 per cent. of carbonate of lime; 47 of sand; 9 of alumina; and about the same proportion of car- bonate of lime. This rock abounds in beautiful specimens of many genera and species of ferns, as also of shells, chiefly Terebra- tulae, Nuculae, and Orthocerites. * . The layer of till immediately above this rock for several inches closely resembles fuller's earth. Manufacture of Minerals.-The coal in the estate of Hawk- head has been wrought for upwards of 300 years, and that in Househill estate for 38 years, and is nearly exhausted in both of these properties; but in the estate of Nether Polloc, where the coal has been recently opened up, there is still an extensive field un- touched, with the accompanying strata of aluminous schistus and limestone, all of which are extensively wrought by Messrs John Wilson and Sons, who hold them in lease from Sir John Maxwell of Nether Polloc. Ironstone abounds at Hurlet, and the work- ing of it has recently been begun with activity by Messrs Wilsons, who have now upwards of 100 miners and other workmen em- ployed in this branch alone. The manufacture of sulphate of iron or copperas was introduced into Scotland by Messrs Nicolson and Lightbody of Liverpool, who established their works at Hurlet in the year 1753, having previously secured by contract a supply of the pyrites and other material fit for their processes, found in work- ing the coal, at 2%d. per hutch of 200 weight. A similar establish- ment for manufacturing copperas was begun at Nitshill in 1807, where it is still carried on by Messrs Wilson and Sons, who also in the year 1820, purchased the old copperas works at Hurlet, which were then converted into an extensive manufactory of alum by Mr Wilson Junior, the managing partner of that company. * Two species found here, belonging to a rare genus, are described by Dr Scouler in Thomson's Records of General Science, Vol. i. . . 158 * RENF REWSHIRE. The manufacture of alum was also first introduced into Scotland by Nicolson and Lightbody, who prepared considerable quantities of that article at their works at Hurlet in the years 1766 and 1767; but their process being defective, the manufacture was abandoned in 1768–9; and it was not till the year 1797, (when works were erected at Hurlet by Mr Mackintosh of Crossbasket, and Mr Wil- son of Thornly, and their partners) that the manufacture of alum was successfully established; but since that period the works now mentioned, as well as that established in 1820, under the manage- ment of Mr Wilson Junior, have been producing a large and steady annual supply of alum, manufactured on correct chemical principles. - - The extent of the various mining and chemical operations of Messrs John Wilson and Sons, all situated in this parish, will be best understood by the following statement, shewing the quantity of minerals turned out, and alum and copperas manufactured by that company for one year, namely, from Whitsunday 1835, till Whit- Sunday 1836; viz. 1. Minerals turned out during the year men- tioned, from the lands of Haugh, on the estate of Nether Polloc, Coal, - - - 42,554 Tons, I.imestone, - * - 4,931 Aluminous Schistus, - 5,701 & Turned out in one year, 53,186 Tons. The whole of this large quantity was turned out from a single shaft or pit at Haugh. 2. The quantity of alum and copperas manufactured by the same company during the year was, Alum made at the work at Hurlet, formerly belonging to Nicholsons and Lightbody, - º l?00 Tons, Copperas made by them at Nitshill, - 300 Manufactured in one year, - 1500 Tons. Large quantities of muriate of potash and sulphate of ammonia are also manufactured by the company, in connection with their alum process. The former article is extracted from kelp, and the latter is prepared from the ammonia liquor produced at the gas- works in Glasgow; from whence it is conveyed to the alum-works by the Paisley and Glasgow Canal, and by the Hurlet Railway : by which modes of conveyance, the greatest portion of Hurlet mi- nerals and alum and copperas are also sent to the markets of Glasgow and Paisley. The number of men employed by Messrs Wilson and Sons in the various operations, at and near Hurlet, is at present 380, and may be divided thus: - 3 PAISLEY. 159 Colliers and miners and other workmen employed at Haugh coal-pit, ..] 44 Lime-blowers and other workers of lime there, *se - 29 Miners of aluminous schistus there, tº º 4- * 10 Workmen employed manufacturing alum and copperas at Hurlet and Nitshill, 81 Workmen employed at ironstone pits and mines at Hurlet. l 16 Total, 380 The wages of the above workmen are, miners from 3s. 4d. to 4s. per day, with houses, fires, and gardens, free of rent or other charge; labourers and others are paid from 1s. 10d. to 2s. 8d. per day, and are not allowed houses and fires free. There are in the employment of the company upwards of forty horses engaged at the works, or in conveying the minerals and other produce to Glasgow and Paisley. The operatives employed at the other works at Hurlet and Nits- hill, conducted by Mr Mackintosh, may amount to about 200 more, and they reside principally in the immediate neighbourhood. From the nature and extent of these works both above and below ground, the men are exposed frequently to fatal accidents. To provide against distress arising from such contigencies, a friendly society was established in 1811, which has done and promises to do much good. In a population of nearly 1000 souls within the boundaries of these works, 100 pupils are reported to be attending school, where the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught and where the teacher, encouraged by the friends of education and of youth, devotes himself on week-days and on Sabbath-days, to the moral and religious training of his charge. . There is still too much ground for the remark of the learned author of Caledonia. “Ironstone seems to be universally found within every division of Renfrewshire: * But we hear nothing of any iron work. It is, however, more than probable, that in a shire which abounds with water for driving machinery, and has plenty of coal, iron works of every kind will be established, and will be of importance, in proportion to the capital that may be employed; so as to furnish employment more steadily to an industrious people.” “ We have much pleasure in closing this account with the following remarks from Mr Wilson's excellent Agricultural Survey of Ren- fewshire: “In many places where this division of Renfrewshire is intersected by the rivers White Cart and Gryfe, and the rivulets * In the lands of Blackhall the property of Sir M. S. Stewart, M. P., valuable beds of iron ore have been within these few weeks discovered ; and Sir W. Milli- ken Napier, Bart. of Milliken (Kilbarchan parish,) has lately made a similar dis- covery on his estate. - + Caledonia, Vol. iii. p. 767, 160 REN FREWSHIRE, Levern and Locher, immense quantities of ironstone may be observed cropping out on the banks of those streams. The de- tached ironstone bands and balls, which are to be found as con- comitant strata of almost all the coal-works in the county, are also worthy of notice.” “It is therefore highly probable that a mineral which the county contains in such profusion, will in some future period be held in higher estimation, prove an addition to the wealth and importance of this county, and give a new spring to the in- genuity and exertion of its inhabitants.” ” Botany.--—The surface of the Abbey parish, being considerably deversified with hill and heath, wood and glen, fields of various soils, marshes, and running waters, it necessarily presents many congenial habitats for wild plants. The hills are not, however, suf- ficiently high to produce any decidedly characteristic effect upon their Flora: nor is the parish so circumstanced as that it can boast of the particular plants to be found near the sea-shore. The num- ber, therefore, of what may be termed rare plants may not be so numerous as in some localities, yet their variety is amply sufficient both to interest and to instruct the student of nature. - The high grounds in the parish, known by the name of Stane- ley, Gleniffer, and Ferneeze hills, which consist entirely of por- phyritic and other trap rocks, whose soil is, for the most part, of a moorish mature, and which slope towards the north, are in many places covered with the Ulex, Cytisus, and Pteris aquilina, but, on certain dry and sheltered localities, the following among many other plants occur, viz. Epipactis latifolia, Listera ovata, Gymnadenia conopsea, Jasione montana, Erythraea Centaurium, Gentiana cam- pestris, Campanula rotundifolia, Vaccinium Myrtillus, Gnaphalium dioicum and minimum, Viola canina, lutea, and tricolor, &c. On the more marshy grounds the Orchis maculata, mascula and lati- folia are abundant, together with Parnassia, Ajuga, Comarum, Eu- phrasia, Pedicularis, Cardamine, various species of Ranunculus, Po- lygala vulgaris of various colours, and Prunella vulgaris, both blue and white. -- In the high mossy districts, the Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix, Vaccinium Oxycoccos, Narthecium Ossifragum, Pinguicula vulga- ris, Drosera rotundifolia, and in Paisley moss, D. longifolia, where * Wilson's Survey, p. 25. # The notices respecting the Botany and Zoology of the parish have been furnished by Dr A. R. Young, formerly of this town, but now resident at Dunoon,_an in- dividual distinguished for his knowledge in both of these departments of natural science. ... • PAISLEY. | 6 || also Andromeda polyfolia used to abound, but has of late years been totally eradicated. Two species of Eriophorum, and several species of Carex, Schoenus, Scirpus, and Juncus; also Polytrichum, Cenomyce, Sphagnum, and other Cryptogamia, abound in the mos- sy districts of the high and low grounds. In the glens and shady places are to be found the Lysimachia memorum, and nummularia; Chrysoplenium alternifolium, and oppositifolium; Circea Lutetiana, Adoxa moschatellina, Oxalis ace- tosella, Mercurialis perennis, Asperula odorata, Primula vulgaris and veris. Lychnis dioica, occasionally with white odoriferous flowers, Scolopendrium vulgare, and several species of Polypodium, Aspidium, and Asplenium. The Epilobium angustifolium occurs at Gleniffer Glen, and Trollius Europaeus at Bundrain, in the west of the parish. - Among the rubbish of several old limestone and other quarries, the following plants aremet with, viz. Resedaluteola, Teucrium Sco- rodonia, Pyrethrum parthenium and inodorum, Artemisia vulgaris, and Tanacetum vulgare. On the walls of Staneley Castle, the Parietaria officinalis, Fumaria capreolata and claviculata, are to be met with ; and on the old walls of gardens and fields, the Arabis Thaliana, Draba verna, Sedum villosum and acre, are not uncom- mon. In an old wall near Dundonald, the Grammitis Ceterach occurs in considerable abundance, together with many species of native ferns. On way sides, in two or three localities, the Lamium album and purpureum, Sherardia arvensis, Bartsia Odontites, Hy. pericum perforatum, humifusum, quadrangulum, hirsutum and pul- chrum, Nepeta cataria, Antirrhinum linaria, Arctium lappa, both cottony and smooth. In grain fields, the Anagallis arvensis and cerulea, Picris hieracioides, Chrysanthemum segetum and leucan- themum, and Agrostemma Githago are not uncommon, but the Centaurea cyanus and Papaver Rhaeas are but seldom seen in the parish. On pasture grounds in the lower part of the parish the Apargia hispida and autumnalis, and Ononis arvensis occur. In se- veral of the burying grounds the Conium maculatum is abundant; and at Meikleriggs farm, the Myrrhis odorata has grown vigorous- ly and abundantly for many years. - - On the banks of the rivers, ditches, and in marshy ground, the Sparganium ramosum, Typha latifolia, Lythrum salicaria, Doro- micum pardalianches, Iris pseudacorus, Valeriana officinalis, Spiraea ulmaria, Geranium pratense, Scrophularia aquatica and nodosa, Symphytum tuberosum and officinale, Myosotis palustris, Phellan- l62 RENFREWSHIRE. drium aquaticum, Barbarea vulgaris, Nasturtium officinale, Meny- anthes trifoliata, Caltha palustris, and Petasites vulgaris, are all to be found, some of them in great abundance. In Black Cart and some reservoirs of water, the Nymphea alba may be seen; the Nu- phar lutea, Ranunculus lingua, aquatilis, and hederaceus, Alisma plantago and ranunculoides, Polygonum amphibium and Hydropi- per, and several species of Potamogeton, are by no means uncom- II].OI]. - In the shade of woods and coppices, the Anemone nemorosa, Hyacinthus non-scriptus, Sanicula Europae, Stachys sylvatica, Habenaria viridis, Betonica officinalis, Fragaria vesca, are fre- quent : while the Solanum dulcamara, Convolvulus sepium, and many other plants, are found taking advantage of the support and shelter of the hedge. Several extensive woods and plantations occur throughout the parish, besides numerous ornamental clumps and belts for affording shelter. On the high grounds, these clumps and belts consist for the most part of birch, larch, spruce, silver and Scotch firs. On the low grounds, on the contrary, the hard woods are more frequently planted in like situations, such as the oak, elm, plane, horse-chest- nut, ash, &c. intermingled with some of the more showy, though less valuable species. These are always nursed for several years with speedy growing deciduous trees, as the various poplars, and also with such evergreens as the spruce and Scotch firs: these are removed from time to time, as the more valuable trees enlarge. Žoology.—The following mammalia are to be found in the Ab- bey parish and vicinity :—Vespertilio murinus, and more rarely, as at Crookston Castle, Rhinolophus Hipposideros and Plecotus au- ritus. The Erinaceus Europaeus, Talpa Europaea, sometimes of a white colour, are numerous. The Sorex araneus is common, the fodiens somewhat rare. The Mustela vulgaris, and sometimes M. putorius, are killed. The Meles taxus, Lutra vulgaris, Felis ca- tus, and Martes fagorum, have also been killed within the parish, but must be considered as very uncommon. The Mus musculus, sylvaticus, and decumanus, are very abundant, as is also the Arvicola aquatica. The Delphinus Phocaena and orca are said to have been seen in the White Cart in pursuit of fish. The indigenous reptiles are not numerous. The most common are Vipera communis, Triton aquaticus and vulgaris, Rana tempo- raria, and Bufo vulgaris. The Lacerta agilis and Anguis fragilis, have both been taken on the Gleniffer hills, but are very rare. * PAISLE. Y. 163 The following birds have been seen or killed in the parish, or its immediate vicinity, viz. Perdix cinerea, Lagopus Scoticus, and oc- casionally on the high grounds, Tetrao tetrix, and Coturnix vulga- ris. The Columba Palumbus is abundant. The most common birds of prey are the Buteo Nisus, and Palumbarius, Falco AEsalon, and Circus cyaneus, but the Falco peregrinus and Tinnunculus, and Buteo vulgaris and aeruginosus, have also been killed. The Aluco flammeus, and Strix stridula, are not unfrequently seen, but the Otus vulgaris and brachyotus are to be considered as rare birds in the parish. Between the 8th and 18th of April, the Hirundo riparia, rustica, and urbica, make their appearance; the first, gene- rally by the 9th, while the Cypselus Apus seldom arrives till the end of the month. By the beginning of October, they take their depar- ture. The Turdus viscivorus, musicus, and Merula, are common, the torquatus is rare, but the T. pilaris and iliacus, are regular winter visitants. The Caprimulgus Europaeus, Muscicapa grisola, Sylvia rubicola and Phoenicurus visit the parish in summer; the S. rubecula continues throughout the year, our earliest songster in spring, and the last in autumn. The following summer-birds are occasionally seen : Curruca sylvia, Sylviella, locustella, hortensis, sibilatrix, atricapilla, and Regulus trochilus. The Accentor mo- dularis, Troglodytes vulgaris, and Regulus cristatus, remain in the parish the whole year, as also the Motacilla alba and boarula; the M. flava is to be seen only during the summer months. The Loxia curvirostra, Pyrrhula vulgaris, Sturnus vulgaris, are all regular vi- sitants. The Alauda arvensis, Emberiza citrinella, miliaria, Schoe- niculus are common; the E. cirlus and nivalis, visit only in the win- ter months. The Parus major, caeruleus, caudatus, and palustris, Pyrgita domestica, Fringilla coelebs, cannabina, linaria, and cardue. lis, are all abundant, except the last species, which is seen only oc- casionally. On the Argyleshire coast, they are very numerous, coming to the shore in large flocks during frosty weather. The Alcedo ispida, Certhia familiaris, and Garrulus glandarius, are rare birds; the first has frequently been observed on the banks of the rivers, and the two last in the woods of Crookston. The Pica caudata, Cor- vus frugilegus and monedula are common ; the C. corone and cor- nix very rare. In April, the Cuculus canorus pays his annual visit, and takes his departure in July. On the river banks, the Ardea cinerea, Rallus aquaticus, Gallinula chloropus and porzona, Fuli- ca atra, Totanus fuscus, macularia, and hypoleucos, are frequent- ly observed. The T. glareola, calidris, and glottis, are compara- tively rare. The Numenius arguata, Tringa alpina, and sometimes l 64 RENFREwsHIRF. in winter, T. minuta, have been killed in the parish. The Scolo- pax gallinago and gallinula are sometimes observed, as also S. rus- ticola. The Vanellus cristatus, Squatarola cinerea, Charadrius pluvialis and morinellus, are all regular summer visitors. From the proximity of the parish to the Frith of Clyde, several aquatic birds are occasionally seen, especially in stormy weather and during win- ter; such as Anas Boschas, crecca, and penelope, Clangula vulga- ris, Larus canus, argentatus, fuscus, ridibundus, and rissa; Cata- ractes vulgaris, Puffinus Anglorum, Sterno hirundo, Alca torda. The fishes commonly met with in the Black and White Cart consist of the Petromyzon fluviatilis, Salmo salar, fario, and trut- ta; occasionally Osmerus eperlanus, Thymallus vulgaris, and the small fry of Clupea harengus. The Esox lucius, Leuciscus rutilus and phoxinus, Pagrus vulgaris, Perca fluviatilis, Platessa Flesus, Anguilla vulgaris, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and, not unfrequently, the Cobitis barbatula, are all indigenous. - - The following land shells are to be found in the parish in win- ter, under the rubbish of old quarries and turf-capped walls, and in the fir plantations on the Gleniffer hills, viz. Helix aspersa, ne- moralis, hortensis, arbustorum, nitida, and rufescens, Vitrina pel- lucida, Bulimus lumbricus, Pupa muscorum and bidentata, Cary- chium minimum, and Balea perversa. In White Cart and Pais- ley canal, the Anodonta anatina is very abundant, and of large size, and occasionally contains well-formed pearls. The Lymnea palus- tris, limosa, and fossaria, and, more rarely, the Ancylus fluviatilis and Planorbis carinatus are to be found in streams of running water, as the Gleniffer burn: the Physa fontinalis is now very rare. In the lower strata of the blue clay which abounds in the lower part of the parish, the following sea-shells occur, enveloped in a soft muddy clay, viz. univalves, Turbo littoreus and rudis, Nerita littoralis and glaucina, Fusus corneus and antiquus, also two spe- cies of Buccinum, not now inhabiting the adjoining seas; toge- ther with numerous fragments of Patellae, Balani, Corallines, and Serpulae. The Bivalves consist of Cyprina Islandica of all sizes, Mya arenaria and truncata, Mactra lutraria, Mytilus edulis and modiola, Nucula minuta, and numerous remains of Pectens, Tel- linae, and Lucinae. - In the limestone and shale found in the parish, the following shells and exuvia occur: Terebratula sacculus, ambigua, and cru- mena, Productus longispinus and Martinii, Gryphaea incurva, Nu- cula attenuata, Unio Urii, Pedunculata mytilloides, with many Entrochi, and, rarely, fragments of Ammonites and Orthocerites. PAISLEY. 165 . II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Historical Accounts.-We are not aware of any MS. accounts of the town or parishes of Paisley. The principal sources of infor- mation regarding the past history and present state of Paisley are the following: Crawfurd’s History of Renfrewshire, first published in 1710; republished with additions by William Semple, a native of Paisley, in 1782; and edited for the third time, with continua- tion and additions by George Robertson, in 1818;-Description of the Sheriffdom of Renfrew, compiled about 1810 by William Ha- milton of Wishaw; and printed with illustrative notes and appen- dices by the Maitland Club of Glasgow, 1831;-Description of Renfrewshire by Principal Dunlop of Glasgow, published by the Maitland Club, 1831;-Chalmers’s Caledonia, Vol. iii.;-Mr Wilson’s Agricultural Survey;-Dr Burns on the Poor;--The Paisley Magazine 1818;—Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Paisley prefixed to the Paisley Directory of 1832–3;—and Swan's Description of the Town and Abbey of Paisley, 1835. Black Book of Paisley.—The celebrated “Black Book of Pais- ley” has by many been supposed to contain a history of ancient Paisley, or at least of its venerable monastery. It turns out to be nothing more than the famous “Scotichronicon” of John Fordun, who lived about the middle of the fourteenth century, and was a native of the village of Fordoun, in Kincardineshire, from which he seems to have taken his name. He undertook the task of writing the chronicles of Scotland, from a laudable desire to Sup- ply the want of those historical monuments which Edward I. car- ried away to England. The work commences at a period nearly coeval with the beginning of the world, and after two books of what may be considered as fabulous matter, we have a very respectable repository of events in Scotland, from 1056 to 1153. The first seven chapters of the first book contain “a general description of the world and its divisions;” and then begins the history of Scotland. Geythelus, the son of a Grecian King, is said to have been banished by his father into Egypt, where he married Scota, the daughter of that very Pharaoh who perished in the Red Sea. As Moses under Divine command led the Israelites eastward, so Geythelus and Scota are said to have led their followers westward, where they discovered a “fair island to the north.” Geythelus did not live to visit it, but his son Hyber (hence Hibernia) landed on it, and called it Scotia in memory of his mother | Thus the venerable priest claims for his country a sufficiently high antiquity. 166 RENF REWS HIRE, The second book is wholly occupied with a description of the island thus discovered; and the third, fourth, and fifth books contain what is properly the “chronicle,” and it is a valuable remnant of the olden time. One Walter Bower or Bowmaker, as he is sometimes called, who became Abbot, not of St Columba, as has been sup- posed, but of Inchcolm, in 1418, continued the work of Fordun to the death of James I., 1436. The work was held in such esteem that various MS. copies of it were made by the inmates of diffe- rent monasteries in Scotland, and these generally took their names from the places where they were executed. Hence we have “the Black Book of Scone;” a monk of Scone having been, along with Bower, one of the minor continuators of Fordun. Of this M.S. Sir James Balfour made an abstract, from which it appears to have been truly a copy of the original Scotichronicon. Then, we have the Black Book of Paisley, Magnus et niger liber Pasleti, an extract or copy made, it is said, first at Holyroodhouse, and afterwards pos- sessed by the monks at Paisley, who held it in great esteem. Then we have the “Liber Carthusiensis” of Perth ; and the famous book of the Pluscardine Priory near Elgin. Of MS. copies of the “Sco- tichronicon,” with its continuations, there are extant at least six; a noble one in the College Library of Edinburgh, the gift of Princi- pal Colvil about the middle of the seventeenth century; one in the University Library of St Andrews; one in the possession of the Representatives of Lord Viscount Tarbat; one in the Cotton ſi- brary at Oxford, containing only Fordun's portion, however; one in Bennett College, Cambridge; and one in the King's Library, now deposited in the British Museum. This is the genuine “Black Book” of Paisley, of which we have just received the following notice in a letter from Joseph Stevenson, Esq. one of the Librarians of the British Museum. “ The volume you men- tion is amongst the MSS. presented by George II. to the museum at its foundation, and is now marked 13 E. X. It is a fine folio volume upon vellum, written in the fifteenth century, and contains a good copy of Fordun's Scotichronicon. It was carried away from Scotland by General Fairfax, a great collector of MSS., and was afterwards purchased by Charles II. for L. 100, and by him placed in the Library of St James's. Hearne collated it for his edition of Fordun, printed at Oxford in 1722, in the preface to which work you will find a larger account of it.” We have ex- amined the editions of the work by Hearne, by Gale, and by Goodall; and, while we could dispense with the fabulous parts of PAISLEY. 167 the work, we are inclined to think that a good English translation of the really historical parts, with the moral and political reflexions in- terspersed, is a desideratum in literature. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the sombre colour of its covering gave the name to this far- famed MS. At what time it changed its dress we cannot say; but it is upwards of a century since Bishop Nicolson and Sir Ro- bert Sibbald claimed for it the epithet “red” as more strictly ap- propriate. The Chartulary of Paisley.-In 1832 the Maitland Club of Glas- gow conferred a singular boon on the lovers of antiquarian lore, by the publication of the Register or Chartulary of the monastery of Paisley. The MS., which was presented to the club by the Earl of Glasgow, its noble President, is the same which was long in possession of the Earls of Dundonald; and it has been collat- ed with the copy in possession of the Faculty of Advocates. An admirable prefatory dissertation has been prefixed by Cosmo Innes, Esq. Advocate, who edited this work. In the dissertation, various strange blunders of George Crawfurd have been pointed out; and a most interesting view given of the genuine uses to which such mo- numents of other times may be applied, in illustration of the man- ners of the respective periods; the genealogies of families; and the authentic history of the times. Maps, Plans, or Surveys of the Parish.-No plans or surveys of this parish distinct from the other parishes of the county have been published, or are known to exist. An excellent map of the town and suburbs, on an extended scale, was drawn up and published about fifteen years ago by Mr Knox, and a new edition of it, with the necessary changes and improvements, is at present in progress (1837.) The engraving of Paisley in 1693, appended to the Pais- ley Magazine, we have compared with the original in Sletzer's “Theatrum Scotiae,” and found it perfectly accurate. * Historical Notices.—Though of comparatively recent date as a principal seat of British manufactures, Paisley is of venerable an- tiquity as a place of note. The whole of the county of Renfrew, in which Paisley is now the chief town, lay within the Roman pro- vince of Valentia. The general voice of antiquarians assigns Pais- ley as the place designated by Ptolemy, the celebrated Egyp- tian geographer, Vanduaria. That the Romans had here a post of importance is unquestionable. Principal Dunlop wrote his description of Renfrewshire about the end of the seventeenth century, and has given the following account : “That the Ro- R.E.N.F.R.E.W. MI 168 * REN FREWSHIRE. mans came this length” (to Renfrewshire) “is more than pro- bable; for as there are in many places, from the one end of Clydesdale to the other, visible, undeniable vestiges, for whole miles of way together, of an old Roman street, from Erickstane, in the head of Eusdale, to Maul’s Mire, at this end where it bordereth this shire, (called this day Watline Street,” corruptly for Vitellian or Vitellius’ Street,) so there are continued ves- tiges of their being” (having been) “in this shire; for at Pasley, there is a large Roman camp to be seen. The praetorium or in- nermost part of the camp is on the west end of a rising ground or little hill called Oakshawhead, on the south-east descent of which standeth the town of Pasley. The praetorium is not very large, but hath been well fortified with three foussées and dikes 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 foussées and dike, whereby it appears that the camp reached to the river of Cart. On the north side, the dike 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 Pasley stands, and it may be guessed to be about a mile in compass. Its situation was both strong and pleasant; overlooking the whole country. I have not heard that any have been so curious as to dig the ground into the praetorium : but when they tread upon it, it gives a sound as if it were hollow below, where belike there are some of their vaults. Near to this camp, about a quarter of a mile, stand two other rises or little hills, the one to the west, the other to the south, which, with this, make almost a triangular form, where have been sta- tions for the outer guards. The vestiges of these appear, and make them little larger than the praetorium of the other camp, of the same form, without any other fortification than a foussée and dike.”-H * The Roman road here referred to is that from Carlisle to Paisley. Maulsmyre is on the estate of Castlemilk, and not far from Rutherglen, and there the remains of an ancient causeway are to be traced, although Chalmers is of opinion that antiqua- rians have not been very successful in connecting it either with the Roman road to Paisley, or with the Roman road through Clydesdale. There seems no reason to doubt, however, that from Glasgow, a branch of the great Carlisle way diverged to the left and went across the country to Vanduaria, (Paisley,) Gordon (Itin. Sept.) traced it in 1725; and Horsley soon after. Chalmers, Vol. i. p. 139. There is lit- tle doubt that the well known street of Paisley, called Causewayside Street, must have taken its name from its following the track of, or running contiguous to the old Roman causeway. In Bleau's map (1654) Causwaysid appears as a small clachan at some little distance from the town, and deriving its name from the Roman road near it. t In Bishop Gibson's additions to Camden's account of the country formerly pos- 3 PAIS LEY. 169 When Walter the first Stewart founded a monastery at Paisley, in 1163, there does not appear to have been any village at the place.* The monastery was planted on the eastern bank of the White Cart; and opposite to it, on the western bank of that river, there gradually arose a village, which, as it stood on the lands of the monastery, belonged to the monks. It was inhabited almost en- tirely by the retainers of the monastery, and, till a comparatively modern period, was limited in extent and population. Hamilton of Wishaw gives the following account of it about the beginning of last century: “ The most considerable place in this jurisdiction, and where the Sheriff-Court and court of Regality usually sits, is Pasley, the seat of a very considerable and ancient monasterie, si- tuat upon the water of Kert, some few miles above, where it falls into Clyde, in a pleasant, fertile, and rich soile; to which boats can come from the sea to the bridge of Paisley, where the water of Kert divideth between the Abbacy and the town of Pasley, which is a very pleasant and well built little town, plentifully provided with all sorts of grain, fruitts, coalls, peats, fishes, and what else is pro- per for the comfortable use of man, or can be expected in any other place of the kingdom.” + - In the time of Crawfurd, Paisley consisted but of one principal street with some divergent lanes, containing in all perhaps 2000 in- habitants. - - . History and Constitution of the Burgh.-The town of Paisley is in form a burgh of barony. The lands now constituting the burgh were, previous to the erection thereof, held by the Abbot and convent of the monastery of Paisley, of the order of Cluny, in libera regalitate. Four charters, of date 13th January 1451, conferring numerous privileges, granted by James II., “monasterio de Pasleto,” are to be found on record. In the first year of the reign of King James IV., the burgh, formerly a regality, was erected into a free burgh of barony. The privileges contained in the charter were granted to the inhabit- ants: but the lordship of erection, including the power of appoint- ing a provost, baillies, and other office-bearers, was given to the abbot and his successors. sessed by the Celtic tribe of the Damnii, we have a description of the Roman camp at Paisley, to the same effect, and nearly in the same words with the above account of the Principal. We think it therefore quite unnecessary to insert it here. * See Chartulary of Paisley, printed by the Maitland Club, Nos. ii. vii. &c. appen- dix. + Volume of Maitland Club for 1831, p. 73. I 70 REN FREWS HIRTE. The narrative of this charter is illustrative of the history of the abbacy of Paisley. It proceeds on “the consideration of the sin- gular devotion which his Majesty had to his glorious confessor, St Mirrinus, and his monastery of Paisley, founded by his Ma- jesty's most noble progenitors, (where most of the bodies of his ancestors are buried and rest,) and on account of the singular fa- vour and love which his Majesty bore to the venerable father in Christ, George Schaw, then abbot of the said monastery, a coun- cillor much beloved for his faithful attachment, repeatedly shown, by the said venerable father, to the King, in times that are past; and chiefly on account of the virtuous education and very dear upbringing of the King's brother, James Duke of Ross, in his tender age.” The date of this charter is 29th August 1488. On the 2d June 1490, a feu charter and confirmation, with an extensive enumeration of privileges, was granted by the abbot and convent in favour of the provost, baillies, burgesses, and commu- nity of the burgh. In the tenth year of his reign, and on the 3d January 1576, King James VI. granted to the burgh a “charter de omnibus altaragiis, capelariis, terris firmis, &c.” which appears to be the foundation of the right of patronage in the burgh first exercised by the Abercorn and Dundonald families, and afterwards acquir- ed by the magistrates and council from Lord Dundonald in 1733. It is well known that at the Reformation, towards the end of the sixteenth century, the monasteries of Scotland were suppres- sed, and their revenues seized by the crown, which the Govern- ment, in most cases, effected, by concluding a bargain with the heads of religious establishments, and prevailing with (or rather compelling,) them to resign the same into the hands of the crown or its donators. Sir Thomas Hope, who was Advocate to Charles I. and has al- ways been regarded as a writer of most respectable authority, states, “ that on the 6th of the ides of December 1553, John Hamilton, natural son of James Earl of Arran, who was then Ab- bot of Paisley and Bishop of Dunkeld, and afterwards Archbi- shop of St Andrews, with the Queen's consent, (reservatis sibi fructibus,) resigned the abbacy, comprehending the lordship of erection of the burgh, in favour of Lord Claud Hamilton, a child of ten years of age, notwithstanding that it is expressed in the bulls of Pope Julius, that he was fourteen years old. This Lord PAISLEY. 17 | Claud was third son of James, Duke of Chatelherault, Governor of Scotland. * “He adhered to Queen Mary's interest, and was at the field of Langside, in the year 1568, for which he was forfeited, and Pais- ley, then in the crown's hands, was bestowed by the Regent upon Robert, son to William, Lord Sempill, heritable baillie of Pais- ley, and justiciary of that regality; but Lord Claud being after- wards restored to his fortune, was, in the year 1591, by the favour of King James VI., created Lord Paisley.” The charter here alluded to, uniting the abbacy and its appen- dages into a temporal lordship and barony, in the person of Lord Claud Hamilton, with the title of Lord Paisley, is to be found on record, dated 22d March 1591. In 1653, James, second Earl of Abercorn, who succeeded his father, created first Earl in 1606, disponed the abbacy, and with it the lordship of erection of the burgh of Paisley, in favour, first of the Earl of Angus, and immediately after, in favour of William Lord Cochran, of Paisley and Dundonald, who appears by the records to have obtained a crown charter thereof, on 14th July 1662, * Previous to obtaining said charter, William, Lord Cochran, and William, Master of Cochran, his eldest son, entered into a con- tract with the magistrates and council of the burgh 3d May 1658, wherein his Lordship and son profess their desire “to preserve and keep entire the whole forms, freedoms, privileges, liberties, and immunities of the burgh, and to corroborate, strengthen, and aug- ment the same, for the better thriving and flourishing of the burgh.” Moved by these considerations, “ and for certain sums of money, paid and delivered to them,” they sold, renounced, and overgave, * The first Earl of Abercorn, “a man of extraordinary accomplishments,” accord- ing to Hamilton of Wishaw, died at Moncktoum, in Ayrshire, on the 23d of March 1618. The following extract from his last will and testament affords a pleasing in- stance of faith and pious resignation :- “I committ my saul in ye holie handis of my guid God and merciful Father, fra quhome, throw ye richteous meritis of Christ Jesus, I luik to ressave it again at ye glorious resurectionne, joynit wt yis same body, qlk heir I leif to sleip and be. bureit, gif so it pleis God, in ye sepulcher, qr my brethir, my sisteris, and bairnes' lyis, in ye iyll callit St Mirreinis Iyll, at ye south heid of ye croce churche of Pas- lay ; trusting assuredly to rys at yt blissit resurrectione to lyf eternell. I desyre that yr be no vaine nor glorios seremonie vsit at my buriell, raying (crying) ho- nouris, bot yt my corps be karayit to ye grave, be some of my most honorabill and neriest friendis with my bairnis, &c.” The whole of this testament is recorded in the Commissary Register of Glasgow, and the above is taken from the edition of Hamilton's work, printed from the original MS. by the Maitland Club, p. 75. “ St Mirrin's Iyll” is the far, famed sounding aisle of Paisley ; the burying-place of the Abercorn family; and where several of the royal line of Stewart lie in deep repose. 172 REN FREWSHIRE, in favour of the bailies, council, treasurer, and community, aſ right of superiority of the burgh, and feu-duties and casualties, formerly payable to them from the same, with the right of elect- ing magistrates, &c. to the effect that the said burgh, freedom, li- berties, and privileges of the same, may, in all time coming, be held of his highness, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and dominions thereunto belong- ing, and his successors, superiors thereof,” and in virtue of this con- tract a charter of resignation and confirmation was obtained from King Charles II., dated 8th December 1665, and sealed with the Great Seal, 28th July 1666, and this may be considered as the Magna Charta of the rights and liberties of Paisley, as at present constituted. It may, in general, be observed, that the burgh of Paisley, though in form a burgh of barony, is vested with privileges of a very extensive kind. Its burgesses have powers to elect annually a provost, baillies, and other office-bearers; to receive resignation of burgage lands, and give seisin thereof; to hold fairs and week- ly markets; to decide in civil cases to any extent; to judge in Ser- vices of heirs; to issue acts of warding for debts constituted in their courts; and, in short, to exercise every privilege of a royal burgh, including even that of electing a commissioner to serve in Parliament.* - The council of the burgh is composed of a provost, four bail- lies, a treasurer, and ten ordinary councillors, who are elected an- nually on the first Monday in November, according to the regula- tions laid down in the lately passed Municipal Bill for the burghs of Scotland. For a long time past it has been customary to re- elect the provost for a second year. The burgh clerk, chamber- lain, parish clerks, public teachers, &c. are likewise appointed yearly. - . - The mode of electing the magistrates and council prior to the Burgh Reform Bill was peculiar to Paisley, and as a venerable relic of the olden times, when what are called self-election and the close system obtained, it may here be shortly detailed. . On Monday preceding the day of election, the council, by ge- neral vote, nominated five of their number as a leet or list for trea- surer, and fourteen persons, who had formerly been in council, and six burgesses, who had never been members of council, as a leet for * Till 1770, the chief magistrate regularly voted at all elections for the county in name of the burgh. PAIS LEY. 173 ordinary councillors. These fourteen and six individuals were se- lected by each of the councillors present naming one in rotation, but should the number of councillors be less than twenty, so as in that way to leave the list incomplete, the remainder were supplied by a general vote. On the day of election, the treasurer, five old, and three new councillors were chosen by general vote, and after administration of the oaths prescribed by law, they, accompanied by the burgh clerk, retired to an anti-chamber and chose thirteen of the former council, making in toto the number of twenty-two, of whom the council for the year to come was to be composed. The old and new council afterwards nominated three persons in succession to retire into an adjoining room, and select one of them to return, who was, of course, one of the leet for magistrates, and he in turn suggested another, who retired in his stead, and, if ap- proved by the council, which was usually the case, that person re- tired and from the three thus in the other apartment, the council again selected one, who also was in the leet for magistrates, and in a similar way one was voted out and another in, until the num- ber of nine, composing the leet, was completed. These nine hav- ing giving their votes, sigillatim, again retired, and those remain- ing in the council-chambers having given their votes, the election was decided in favour of those who appeared to have the majority.” * It appears from the following minute of the Court of Session, that in 1689 a re- gular election by the burgesses was ordered, in consequence of a petition from them to that effect.—“At Edinburgh the twentie-third day of September 1689, anent the petition given in to the Lords of his Majesty’s privie counsell, be William Greenlees, writer in Edinburgh, as having commission from the burgesses of the burgh of Pais- ley, Shewing, That where albeit by the uncontroverted priviledge, and constant prac- tice of the said burgh, the burgesses thereof had yearly a free election and nomina- tion of their bailzies, counsell, and tourne thesaurer, nevertheless of late yeares (while under the yoak of arbitrary power) by reasone of the oaths that were impos- ed upon persones in publick trust, very unsufficient and malignant magistratts were sett over them, and these who have the present exercise of the magistracie there, were continowed by a letter from 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 allow- ed 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 as- semble 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 integrity, and who by the ancient and laudable act of the said burgh are capable to be bailzies, counsel- lors, thesaurer thereof, and to appoynt Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, William Cunningham of Craigens, William Muir of Glanderston, and George Houstone of Johnstone, or any one or two of them, to supervise the said election, as the said sup- plicatione bears: which being considered be the said Lords of his Majesties privie coun- sell, they heerby authorize and impower the burgesses of the burgh of Paslay, ex- cepting and secluding honorary burgesses, toune-officers, pensioners and beadmen, to f 74 RENFREWSHIRE. Holding, Waluation, and Revenues of the Burgh.-Paisley was the seat of the regality court, but had no corporate rights, or se- parate municipal jurisdiction till 1488, when it was erected into a -burgh of barony. The burgh lands hold directly of the crown; and their old valuation is upwards of L. 1000 Scots. The gross revenues of the burgh amounted in 1833 to L. 3843, 12s. 7d., arising from rents of houses and lands, dues of flesh-market and river, casualties of burgage entries, church seats, and other items. The estimated value of the whole of the town's property is about L. 50,000; but after deducting debts and other drawbacks, the real worth of the corporation property will be reduced to about L. 20,000. Privileges of the Magistracy.—The magistrates are ea officio justices of peace for the county; and the provost holds in addition the honourable office of deputy-lieutenant. The number of resi- dent justices of peace in or near the town, is at present 42,-an increase of 40 within the last twenty years. Representation.—Paisley returns one member to Parliament. The number of qualified voters of L. 10 and upwards is 1510. All of these reside within the town and Abbey parishes; and the Ab- bey in addition contains about 300 qualified voters for a county member. Since the passing of the Reform Bill in 1830, Paisley has had not fewer than four representatives, including the present member. These are, Sir John Maxwell, Bart. of Pollock; Sir Daniel Sandford, Professor of Greek in the University of Glas- gow; Captain A. G. Speirs of Culcreuch; and the present mem- ber, Archibald Hastie, Esq. a native of the town, and a highly re- spectable merchant in London. Ancient mode of holding property in Burgh.-Lands, &c. within burgh are held in feu of the magistrates, council, and commu- nity, and by an ancient and peculiar practice (the validity of which has been sanctioned by the Supreme Court,) investiture was given in burgh lands by a very simple process. The heir or other per- assemble and meet upon the thertie day of September instant, and freely by the poll and plurality of votes to nominat and elect persons of credit and integritie, and who by the ancient and laudable acts of the said burgh are capable to be bailzies, coun- sellors and thesaurer thereof, and appoynt Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, William Cunningham of Craigens, William Muir of Glanderston, George Houstone of John- stone, and the Earle of Dundonnald, 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 the above, a meeting was duly 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 Johnston, two of the assessors named by the court. A minute to this effect is preserved in the charter-chest of Paisley, of date October 7, 1689. 4 PAIS LEY. 175 son holding a conveyance to lands, and desiring to be entered or invested in place of the ancestor or granter of the conveyance, ap- peared personally or by attorney, and, in the usual manner, made symbolical resignation of his right in the hands of the magistrates, for the purpose of obtaining what is termed “new and heritable booking.” This “booking” consists in the registry of the res gesta (including a description of the land, and a statement of the nature of the party's right in connexion with the person last “book- ed,”) in the record or chartulary of the burgh, and an authenticat- ed copy or extract of registry, under the hands of the town-clerk, was held to complete the investiture, without charter, sasine, or any other written instrument. This practice, however, became expos- ed, in process of time, to great inconveniences, and is now little resorted to, except in the transmission of property in the different churches. - Regality and Sheriff Courts.-The regality of Paisley was an extensive jurisdiction, comprehending the domains of the monas- tery, not only in this county, but in the counties of Ayr, Dun- barton, and others, and had been erected while the barony of Renfrew was yet a division of the sheriffdom of Lanark or Clydes- dale. The office of heritable sheriff was granted by Robert III. to one of the family of Sempil in 1404, (the date at which the barony of Renfrew was erected into a sheriffdom,) and the office of heritable baillie of the regality of Paisley was conferred by the Abbot on another of that family in 1545. Alexander Earl of Eglin- ton, purchased the offices from Hugh Lord Sempil in 1636, for L. 5000 Sterling. The Earl of Eglinton received a compensa- tion from Government for these offices, at the abolition of heri- table jurisdictions in 1749. One sheriff-depute has jurisdiction over the whole of Renfrewshire; but in 1815, a second sheriff-sub- stitute was appointed for the lower ward of the county; and the sheriff-courts for that division are held at Greenock. Transference of the Sheriff-Courts from Renfrew to Paisley.— This important point, long a matter of uncertainty, has been settled by an index to certain deeds recorded in the Sheriff-court, to which there is this prefix:-“Ane minut book of all bonds, obligations, assignations, translations, tacks, contracts, renunciations, and others, registrat in ye sheriff-court books of Renfrew, and regality books to Paisley, since the 19th August 1685. James M*Alpie, clerk.” There is a substitution subscribed at “Rosdow, 13th May 1694,” by James Crawford sheriff-depute of Renfrew, to James M*Alpie, 176 REN FREWSHIRE, to hold courts, and determine in all matters relating to the excise within the same shire. The growing population of Paisley, how- ever, required a more extensive innovation, which was nothing short of the complete removal of the courts from Renfrew to Pais- ley; and in the same “minut-book,” there is the following en- try:-‘‘ Paisley, 6th November 1705. The qlk day ane warrand was produced, granted be Alexr. Earl of Eglintone, shreff princll of Renfrew, for transporting the weekly courts from the burgh of Renfrew to the toune 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 favirs, for officiating during his pleasur.”” Paisley has continued ever since to be the seat of the sheriff-courts. The meetings of Quarter Sessions, Commissioners of Supply and Freeholders, are still held at Renfrew; but most of the adjourned meetings even of these courts are held at Paisley. The records of the Sheriff and Regality courts are extant from the year 1689. Ancient Charters—Royal School.-Among a great number of charters and other ancient documents in the charter-chest of the burgh the following may be noticed. - - “Charter of confirmation,” dated at Linlithgow on 5th April 1896, by King Robert III., whereby he, “for the welfare of his own soul, and the souls of his ancestors and successors, Kings and Stewarts of Scotland,” gives and confirms “ to God and the blessed Virgin Mary, and to the blessed James the Apostle, and St Mirren the Confessor, also to the abbot and monks of Paisley, now and to come, all and whole their lands, rents, and possession in our barony of Renfrew, situated within the county of Lanark. Also all their lands, rents, and possessions in our barony of Kyle Stewart, lying within the shire of Ayr, and their five merk lands of Moll and Huntlaw, and the lands of Hassyden, within the shire of Roxburgh, and their lands of Orde, within the shire of Peebles, into one en- tire and free barony, and in pure and perpetual regality,” to be held, “by the said monks and their successors for ever, of us and our heirs, with power of holding courts, infang theiff and outfang theiff,” &c. but “reserving the four pleas of the Crown.” All other proprietors of regalities are prohibited from interfering with * Introduction to “Certain Curious Poems, principally from the pen of James M‘Alpie, Paisley, 1828,” “as quoted by Mackie in his Historical Description of the Abbey and Town of Paisley,” p. 153. p AISLEY. - 177 the jurisdiction of the grantees. The return required for the grant is the prayers of the monks. Charter by King James II. dated at Edinburgh, on 13th Ja- nuary 1451, by which he ratifies the charter of King Robert III., and the grant of the lands therein described, and farther confirms certain letters of confirmation “made and granted by the late Mal- colm and Malcolm Earls of Lennox, to God, the blessed St Mir- ren, and the abbot and convent of the monastery of Paisley,” of the lands of Kilpatrick, and other lands in the earldom of Lennox, within the county of Dumbarton, and erects the whole into one ba- rony and regality. This grant confers the four pleas of the crown, which King Robert had reserved, but retains the right to the prayers in behalf of the granter and his successors. Charter dated “at Halierude House,” 3d January 1576, by King James VI., with the consent of James Earl of Morton, Lord Dalkeith, Regent, and the Lords of the Privy-Council, whereby he, upon the narrative of the good conduct of his subjects, and particularly of the burgh of Paisley, and because it became him to provide for the erection of a school in the burgh, “ for the initi- ation of youth in learning and good morals, not only that they might be useful in the service of God, but in the service of the burgh,” grants and conveys to the bailies and councillors, and community of Paisley and their successors, “all and whole the al- tarages of the chapels, the lands and manse after-mentioned, farms, annual rents, profits, and duties of the same, pittances, obit silver and common duties under specified, lying in the burgh, parish, and liberty of Paisley, viz. the altarage of St Mirren and Columba, the altarage of St Ninian, the altarage of the Virgin Mary, the altarage of St Nicholas, altarages of St Peter, St Catherine, and St Anne, the chapel of St Rock, and the seven roods of land or there- by of the said chapel belonging to the same, together with the other pittances of obit silver or common, which formerly the monks of Paisley were in use to levy and receive, with power to the baillies, council, and community, and their successors, and their collectors to receive the subjects, conveyed in the same way as any prebendiarys or chaplains could formerly, for the repair and sup- port of a grammar-school, and support of a master or preceptor, for the instruction and erudition of youth of the burgh and neigh- bourhood.” In terms of the grant, forty merks annually are to be paid to four poor boys, natives of the burgh, remaining in the school during the space of five years, and on expiry of that term, 178 REN FREWSHIRE. and removal of these boys, others are to be put in their place, by the baillies and council, and the same payment made. The sub- jects conveyed and confirmed are erected into one body (corpus,) to be called “ the King's Foundation of the Grammar School of Paisley.” (“Fundationem nostram scolae grammaticalis de Paisley nuncupandam.”) Among the witnesses to this charter appears “our familiar councillor Mr George Buquhanane, pensioner of Corsraguel, keeper of our privy seal.” Royal visits to Paisley.—“Sth July 1597. The quhilk day the said Baillies and Councell understanding perfytli, that the queene's M. is to be shortlie in the place of Paslay, and in respect thereof, for decoratioun of the kirk and portis of the said burgh, in sic sort as may be gudlie done for the present, they haſ concluded, that thare be ane pyntour sent for to Glasgow, for drawing of sum drauchts in the kirk, as salbe thocht maist necessar for the pre- sent: Secundlie, that ane wricht be concludit wt for bigging and mending and repairing of the portis of the said burgh.” It is to be supposed that this visit of the Royal consort of James cost the town more money in the way of “pintours” and “wrichts,” to say nothing of entertainments, than the funds could well afford, for we find that when, in 1617, the King himself on his return from England to visit his ancient kingdom, came to the same “place of Paslay,” no preparations are made by the council for his welcome to the burgh, and there remains no proof that James ever crossed the Cart, or passed through the brig port. Tradition says, that he was petitioned not to come nearer than “the place,” inasmuch as the town could not entertain him so sumptuously as might be fit- ting. He did come to the mansion of the “Noble Abercorn,” where, in the great hall, “ane oratioun” was addressed to him in name of the community and inhabitants of Paisley and its neigh- bourhood, by “a prettie boy of nine years of age, the son of Sir James Semple of Beltrees, at that time sheriff of the county.”— The “address” is printed in “the Muse's Welcome;” a well known collection of similar “oratiounes” and poems, commemorative of the King's visit at this time, “digested according to the order of His Majestie's progresse,” by J. A. (John Adamson.) The ad- dress is also inserted in the Paisley Magazine, p. 577. It is in- genious, but it will scarcely bear to be tried by modern usages.” * The “little boy”swears by “the Black Book of Paisley” “ that his Majesty is most dearly welcome ;” and immediately adds these inimitable lines : - “Thus have I said, Sir, and thus have I sworne, Performance tak from noble Abercorne !” The “grand schoolmaster" is then compared to “ I”haebus,” “ that eye by which 12 AISLEY, & 179 The author in all probability was Sir James Semple, who belong- ed to a family long known by a sort of hereditary love of the muses, and who has richly deserved the respect and gratitude of every Scotsman as the friend of Andrew Melville, in obtaining his libera- tion from the tower, and afterwards in vindicating his memory.* The last representative of this family died about forty years ago, at a very venerable age.f. On November 8, 1665, the council “concludit,” that “in re- spect the Erle of Rothes, His Majesties commissioner, is to be in the Abbey of Pasleye this night, that therefore he shall be invit- ed to have the curtiesie of the town from the baillies and council; and for effectuating yrof they have appointed John Ewing to go to Glasgow and bring four punds of raisins, ane pund of confected cannell, ane pund of confected almonds, ane of coriander, ane of carvie, ane of anneisse, ane of roughe almondes, and half ane pund of cordesidron, with nine elnes of silver ribbons.” In 1822, when King George IV. visited Scotland, the magis- trates of Paisley waited on him at Holyroodhouse with a loyal and dutiful address, in which a kind invitation was given to His Ma- jesty to visit this “the place of his fathers' sepulchres.” Rebellions 1715 and 1745.-On both of these occasions the inhabitants of Paisley were distinguished for their loyalty. On August 5, 1715, the common council of the burgh, “taking into consideration the imminent danger that the country was exposed to by reason of the Pretender's attempting to land in the kingdom of Scotland,” appointed a regular nightly guard of twenty men, and “ordained the haill inhabitants to have all their arms in readiness.” Two pairs of colours were also ordered to be pur- chased for the use of the town, “ and to have the town’s arms put the world Seeth.” Clytia and Leucothoe appear in fabulous mythology, as the two wives of Phoebus; and the “prettie boy” asks his Majesty: “Are not wee then, Sir, of Scotland your M. own old kindlie Clytia 2 Are not you Sir our Phoebus, comming from the east with glorious displayed beams, to embrace us in the mouth of the ocean? and is not this very place now, Sir, yon westermost period 2 Ergo, Sir, your kindliest Clytia?” The little fellow becomes most anatomically eloquent, when he recollects that he is spouting “in the place of Paisley.” “Your Clytia, Sir, is of many goodlie members.” “You M. hath passed already her head, neck and armes, you greater townes and cities, but till now you never came to her heart | Why? because in this very pa: rish, is that ancient seat of William Wallas, that worthie warrier, to whome (under God) we owe that you arours, and Britaine yours " We need scarcely add, that Leu- cothoe “that fairest ladye” was “his Most glorious England, most worthye of all love,” and that when James ‘‘ went first,” to her “ he went lik himselfe, busked with his owne beams, and backed with the best of his Clytial” We do not read of his Ma- jestie's reply. We suspect that all his “grammarie” and all his “modesty” together were nonplussed by the unexpected eloquent address of the “prettie boy.” - * M'Crie's Life of Melville, Vol. ii. page 339, 458, &c. + See New Statistical Account of Lochwinnoch, p. 88, &c. 180 RENF REWSHIRE. thereon.” On September 20th, in consequence of a letter from the Duke of Argyle, the town agreed to send to Stirling “as many armed men as possible,” and they ordered twenty guns to be bought at Glasgow.” They agreed to support “20 men” at 4s. Sterling weekly, and “a barrel of powder and as many balls as necessary” are sent with the men. Burgesses are found to volunteer on this service. On December 28, 1745, “the baillies and council being in- formed, that a great body of armed men under the command of a persone who styles himself Prince Regent of the Kingdome, have come unto the city of Glasgow, and made sundry demands upon the inhabitants of the said city,”—“ 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,” they appoint a certain number to “meet and treat with the said partys, and make such agreement with them as they can in the best and easiest manner possible for the safety of the place and inhabitants; and the town's credit is pledged in the meantime, so as to prevent the harm that might happen if the party should levy from the particular inhabitants.” Next day the Pretender by his secretary (Murray of Broughton,) sent a summons to the magis- trates to repair to the secretary’s office. An imposition of L.500 Sterling is laid upon the “haill inhabitants,” and on January 3, 1746, a receipt is granted under the hand and seal of Charles for this sum. The sum originally demanded was L. 1000, but the magistrates by good management procured its mitigation to L.500. The sum was borrowed in name of the town from different persons in the place as they could furnish it, and the council agree to “re- lieve the thesaurer so soon as a proper hand can be found to advance the whole sum” upon the town's security. This “proper hand” was soon found in the person of “Colonel William Macdowall of Castlesemple,” to whom in return a bond for L.500 was granted. * The colours used by the “volunteers” in 1715 and 1745, are still preserved among the town's archives, and have been occasion- ally displayed on the battlements of “the castle,” on days of public rejoicing. In 1753, an action was raised by the town of Paisley against John Murray of Broughton, for repetition of the L.500 levied in 1745, * Copies of the “summonses” by the Pretender, and other documents of the time, are to be seen in the charter-chest of the town of Paisley of date 8th, and 20th, De- cember 1745, 2d, 3d, and 10th January 1746. - PAISLEY. 181 on the ground that the defender was a principal actor in the extor- tion of the money. The defender was assoilzied from this claim, 28th July 1759, and the pursuers were also unsuccessful in an appeal to the House of Lords in 1760. A memorial was after- wards presented to the Lords of the Treasury for relief, on the ground that the town had been subjected to the exaction, on account of their loyalty; but this application was not successful. Illustrations of Ancient Manners.-The records or minute books of the Town Council, which are, with few exceptions, entire from the year 1594, bear distinct references to others of more ancient date now lost, * and afford many curious and minute illustrations of the usages of other times, and of the powers exercised by the council of passing acts for the government of the inhabitants, and the general police of the community. 1580, July 11.-A person of the name of Wilson is tried for stealing a pair of breeches. The council banish him from the county, with certification that, if he shall return, and “be guilty of the like again, he shall be content to be punished to the dead, and without ane assise.” - 1594, January 21.—An act is passed “anent sic persones that wilfullie remains frae the kirke,” or apprehendit going playing, passing to taverns, or selling meat or drink, or siclike;” and they are to be punished with a fine of L.1, toties quoties ; or “holden in the stocks twenty-four hours.” A baillie, the town-clerk, an elder, and proper officers are appointed to parade the streets and pick up such offenders. The fines are to be applied “ad pios usus.” 1597, July 8-" All uncouth beggars are to be expellit” from the burgh; and two men are appointed to see this done, with L.1, 10s. Scots of weekly payment, if they show diligence.” 1602, January.—More regular attendance on church on Sab- bath enforced; as also “attendance on morning and evening prayers on week days.” 16.—“The east and west ports to be diligently kept by a pro- per person, having a sword and a Jedburgh staff.” 1603, February 10.—Merchants “are ordered” to shut their doors every Tuesday during prayers, and to attend the kirk for hearing the word under the pain of 8s. Scots.t * It appears by an entry in council minutes of 8th April 1606, that records of a much older date were then extant; a list of not less than six volumes being inserted, from A. D. 1507, 1594. + The old motto of Paisley is similar to that of Glasgow. “Let Paisley flourish through the preaching of thy word.” This is the inscription on the silver cups used 182 R EN FREWSHIR.E. October 11–4 Banners and swearers” are to be fined twelve pennies for each offence. “Scolders and flyters” are to be put in the jugs, and fined 20s. “giving the lye,” is fined 40s. “A dry cuff,” is valued at “five punds.” “A committer of bluid,” brings “40 punds.” 1606, May 18.—Three vagabonds are ordered to be “carted through the street and the cart;” with certification that if they re- turn, they shall be “scourged and burnt,” i. e. we presume, brand- ed on the cheek. 1606, August 1.—Andrew (Knox,) Bishop of the Iles, becomes security for “ the Laird of Coll’s servant,” who not compearing, “ the baillies decern against the bishop with 6s. 8d. expenses.” September 16.—“Yard breaking” is thus punished, “five punds fine; setting in the stocks from 10 to 12; and thereafter to be scourged by the parents to the effusion of their blood.” 1607, January 29.—An act was passed against any person set- ting a house to a stranger, till they advertise the baillies and coun- cil, and have their liberty. 1608, 24 June.—It was statuted and ordained, that the whole burgesses and inhabitants should give “their musters sufficiently armed with jak, steel bonnet, plet sleeves, speir or halbert; and ilk person to give his oath that the same was their own proper armour, under the pain of ten punds.” * 1622, June 13.—Two women accuse one another of mutual scolding and “cuffing;” the one is fined 40s. the other is banish- ed the burgh, under certification of “ scourging,” and “ the joggs” if she returned. In 1623–The baillies, with three or four of the council, were appointed to ride to Glasgow, and speak to the provost and bail- lies thereof, “anent the troubling the merchants of this burgh, in using of their calling, and trade, and merchandize.” 1625, January 25.—“ Janet Cochran, Lady Jameson,” is ba- nished town by the baillies; and any one found giving her “meat or drink,” is to be fined 40s. - 1642, 24 January.—“No houses to be let to persons excom- municated; and none to entertain them in their houses, under a pain of ten punds.” 4. - 1648–Sermon appointed on Friday, “being the market-day,” at communion in St George's and the High Churches. The date of the one is 1744, and of the other l'758. PAIS LEY. 183 all to go “to the kirk,” and “no business to be done” during time of sermon. 16 January.—“No women to keep school” in the town; and none of them “to receive men children.” 1653, March 28.—Isobel Greenlees is appointed to stand two hours in the jugs; and to pay a fine of 40s. for “cursing the baillie.” The following extract will shew that the burgesses at this pe- riod were not inattentive to the duty of asserting their rights and privileges:— - 1655, March 9.-“John Wilson, weaver, and his wife, having asked and obtained liberty of Lady Cochran, or the Master of Cochran, to bleach cloth on the green, under the chambers,” (of the Abbey mansion-house,) he is conveined before the baillies, and having acknowledged he had liberty to set up a knocking-stane, which the lady or master had driven down, (and thus established the right of the Dundonald family,) he was put in jail till his wife drove down the stane: goe and disclaim the libertie sought; and pay a fine of 5 punds.” April 9,-The whole council go to the “green,” and make a “civil interruption” of the claims of her ladyship and the master. 18th July 1659.-“ The quhilk day the two present baillies, William Greenlees, and John Park, old baillies, are appointed to buy a drum for the use of the town.” April 9, 1660.-‘‘ Report John Park, baillie, that as he was appointed, he went to Edinburgh and sought all the booths where there is any velvet, and found nane three piled, and that the two piled was so, bad and thin, that he could not buy it for a mort- cloth.” - 13th September 1660–1. This day John Kelso has produced , before the other baillies and counsell, the towns twa pair of colours, that was taken away by these who were called Tories, and were re- deemed from some of them by Robert Semple, merchant burgess of Glasgow, and the sum given therefor formerly paid to the said Robert Semple, by the said baillies, by allowance of the council, and is now put in the common chest.” 1660, December 22,-‘‘ The whilk day the baillies and coun- sell foresaid, have concluded that there sall be four dozen of trenchours, and ane dozen of new cups sent to Sir John Gilmour, and Sir John Fleshour, the King's Advocate, to move them to con- tinue the town’s friends.” RENF REw. - N | 84 RENF REWSHIRE, 1664, August 13th–" This day the baillies and councill having considered, ‘ame supplicatioune of the two officers and a drum- mer, for five punds of fee to ilk ane of them, conform to former use and wont,’ they find that it is but ane late practice, and was only granted to them in the English time, when they had meikie pains and little gains; and, therefore, ordains them to have the same fee this year, but not hereafter.’” º October 13.−“ The whilk day it is statute be the baillies, and council, that whatsoever person hereafter, burgess or inhabitant, liable in payment of any of the town's goods, and shifting and de- laying to do the same, shall have the key of the tolbooth sent to them by the treasurer, for entering inward, and remaining there- in, 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 the first sight of them, put that person in ward, therein to remain in close ward ay and until they satisfy the debt.” - 1667, October 17.—“ Whilk day the baillies and council having taken to their consideration the incivility and indiscreet carriage of Mr Hugh Montgomerie, Sheriff-depute of Renfrew, in permitting the corpse of ane Janet Finnie, ane suspect witch, imprisoned by him in this jail and deceased therein, to be unbur- ried these fyve days bygone, or thereby, and refusing absolutely to cause bury her, notwithstanding both his duty and their requir– ing of him, so that they are necessitated to cause bury her, have therefore determined that he shall be deprived of certaine favours he has from them, especially that he and his sons shall have no liberty from henceforth to sit in any of the town’s seats in the church, and for these reasons, have ordained their officers to hold them out of both their seats.” 1680, March 16.-* The council allowes three dozen trenchors to be sent to Mr Rorrie M'Kenzie, in token of his kyndness and pains shewn to this towne, in several business bygone,” and appoints the thesaurer to pay for them. 1. June 1683.—“ Sederunt John Snodgrass, baillie; Robert Forke, &c. - º - “Who, after consideration of ane endyctment given to the present baillies and councill of this burgh, as representing the community and burgh, to compear before the Lords of Justiciary, at Glasgow, the 12th and 13th of June instant, for allet resetting of James PAISLE. Y. +. | 85 Sproull, Hew Fulton, Christopher Strang, indews (i. e. indwellers) in this burgh, efter Bodthil Bridge, and suffering and permitting them to have the liberty and privilege of his Majesty's free lieges sensyne within this burgh, and ellet aiding, abetting them in meate, drink, armour and amonition, in manner at length exst in the said endyctment. And it being asked whether it sould be ane towne's business and towne's purse to bear and sustaine the expenses, they all in one voice have concludit, and ordainit, that whatever expences, imprisonment, or fine, the baillies or any of the counsell sall hap- pen to sustain through the said endyctment, during their abode in Glasgow for the said cause, that the samen shall be paid furth of the towne’s readiest rents and duties: And have ordainit the trea- surer to advance money to the baillies and councill for defraying their expences during their abode at Glasgow, and their expences of imprisonment and fyning, if any sall happen to be. And the treasurer to give in ane particular account of his disbursement, which shall be answered to him on demand, after their return from Glasgow. And for the effect foresaid, they have appointed William Fyfe, and the clerk, to go to Glasgow, and make moyan with the bishop to be the towne's friend before the day of compearance, and to pay the horse hire and expences they sall happen to deburse and pay in said affair, and their pains therein.” 8 June 1683.−“ Sederunt, &c., who have concludit that there be ane precept drawn upon the thesur for advancing to the baillies and counsell of the soum of two hundred punds Scots money, and have appoint four geanzies of gold to be taken out of the common kist, partly for defraine the expences at Glasgow, employing advo- cates, and partly for complimenting the clerk of the circuit court, and making of necessarie moyan therewith, in order to bring off and assolyzie the town for the indytment given them, for the al- leged conversing with, aiding, and abaiting the rebells at Bodwel Bridge.” - 22 March 1697.-“ The same day the baillies and councell, taking to their consideration that the commissioners for tryal of the witches, is to sit at Pasley, swa that, for decorement of the town, they think it convenient that the Tolbuith be repared, and for that effect they appoint the seats within the bar to be repaired, and a heigh table made for the judges, against their coming, and other things as shall be thought convenient. Then they thought it fitt to buy a cloth, with a silk fringe, to be laid on before the baillies ilk Sabath-day in the kirk seat.” 186 REN FREWSHIRE. 7 August 1705.-" The said day they have by plurality of votes allowed to Mr George Elen, master of the grammar school, and Mr James Alexander, Doctor, twenty pounds Scots, towards the defraying of the expenses of their acting of Bellum Grammaticale, and also for their furderencouragement, promise to erect ane theatre on yr own expence.” Police Establishment.—It is not necessary to trace the mode of management adopted by the rulers of this ancient burgh, with re- gard to police, farther back than 1695. At that period the popu- lation of the town and Abbey parish amounted to 4375 persons, of which number there were in the burgh about 2200. In the year 1806, when the police act was obtained, the population was 35,000, and now, in 1837, it appears that there are in the H town and parish about 60,000, and within the range of the police, which extends one English mile in every quarter and direction, be- yond the marches or boundaries of the burgh or burgh lands, and territories “ so called or known,”—50,000. Previous to the union of Scotland and England in 1707, it ap- pears from the records of the burgh, and the peculiarity of some of its usages, that the inhabitants were more regulated by the autho- rity of the magistrates and council, and by the pastors of the pa- rish, and their consistory or session, than by the King and Parlia- ment; and that the municipal and moral regulations were varied according to the circumstances in which they were placed. Before this period, many of the great heritors of the county had their win- ter residences in Paisley. The Abbey with its numerous ecclesi- astics, during the continuance of the Popish system, and even after its erection into a temporal lordship, attracted the gentlemen of the county to reside a part of the year in the town or its vicinity. About the beginning of last century, there happened to be a con- siderable number of weavers in the place, distinguished for inge- nuity and skill in their several departments. After the union, a connexion with our southern neighbours, induced some of the in- habitants to commence linen cloth for sale. They soon after em- ployed a number of their females to spin cotton yarn; of which they made Bengals, or imitation of muslins. They likewise com- menced a manufacture of handkerchiefs; afterwards of lawns; and at a later period of linen gauzes. The increase of population and of manufactures was accompanied with the increase of crimes and irregularities; and hence the origin of the town-guard. This branch of police was at first had recourse to occasionally, when it. PAISLE. Y. 187 was deemed necessary, but afterwards it became permanent. This guard, of which the magistrates had the sole direction, consisted of thirteen householders, warned in rotation, who made choice of their own captain, and attended from ten at night to five or six in the morning. The captain reported to the sitting-magistrate the oc- currences of the night, and on public occasions, such, as fairs, and sometimes for a whole year, the number was increased to eighteen. This system of police answered the purpose tolerably well for many years; but as the town increased in population, in wealth, and in vice, it was found at last to be very defective. The wealthy in- habitants, in place of attending personally, paid porters, or menial servants, to act as substitutes. On some occasions, in place of sup- pressing riotous conduct, it was encouraged, or at least not report- ed to the magistrates, and they frequently did not perambulate the streets at all. Many of the councillors and magistrates, with other inhabitants, being of opinion that a police bill was necessary for the safety and comfort of the inhabitants, the burgesses were ap- plied to for a meeting to take the proposed measure into conside- ration. At this period there was no fund for lighting the town, and it was customary for the corporation, to furnish sixty or seventy lamps during a few months in winter. This mode of lighting only tended to make the darkness more visible. Foot-pavements, be- sides, were become absolutely necessary, and regular police officers were imperiously required for the protection of property. Meet- ings of magistrates, council, and inhabitants were repeatedly held, and, after much deliberation and discussion, a bill for a police establishment was framed ; carried without opposition through both Houses; and received the Royal assent in 1806. - The police establishment, as at first constituted, consists of a masterofoolice, two serjeants, four corporals, and twelve night watch- men; but they may be augmented as the funds may allow. There are at present (Jan. 1837,) five corporals, and fourteen watchmen. The burgh is divided into nine districts or wards, and two com- missioners are chosen for each ward, by such householders as pay L, 5 or upwards of yearly rent. The magistrates are commis- sioners by office, and have the general superintendence of the establishment. The suburbs are divided into six wards, with one commissioner to each ; the sheriff-substitute being always a com- missioner ea officio. The powers and duties of the commissioners and officers are the same as in other establishments of the kind. \ 88 RENFREWSHIRE. This establishment comprises at present a superintendent, two ser- jeants, one corporal, and four watchmen. This system of police has been of high importance to the good government and comfort of the inhabitants. At its commence- ment, there were many violent struggles between the more irre- gular part of the community and the police officers; but fines and imprisonments made them more submissive to the laws. When we take into view the small number of police officers hither- to employed, to perform duty both day and night, and the great population, consisting chiefly of mechanics and labourers, we must acknowledge, that the establishment is justly entitled to high ap- probation. A good many years previous to the passing of the police bill an establishment of special constables was organized in this place, with a view to preserve the peace of the community, and to pro- mote good order, in opposition to the attempts of the disaffected and seditious, who aimed at nothing short of the destruction of all law, government, and religion. The plan was reviewed and approved of by William Macdowall, Esq. of Garthland, the Lord Lieutenant of the county, and by the sheriff and other magistrates; and was adopted to a considerable extent, and with due effect. The es- tablishment was organized in 1794 or 1795, a short period before the volunteering system commenced. After that event, this insti- tution still subsisted; but the parade, the dress, and the music of the military associations threw the peace officers into the back ground. However, after it was found from experience, that the constables were the only efficient body that could effectually com- mand peace without military execution, it was again had recourse to. Regulations were published by the magistrates of the place, and the sheriff-substitute of the county, accompanied with a state- ment of the powers vested in constables by the laws of their country. Since that time the establishment has been kept up at a trifling expense. The furnishing each constable with a baton, as a badge of office, was all the expense incurred. The body consists of re- spectable citizens, scattered through the whole extent of the place. Of course, they are generally acquainted with their neighbours, and consequently, in case of any seditious movement or public dis- turbance, the leaders can hardly escape detection. Another fa- vourable circumstance is, that this body of men may be brought to act with the utmost promptitude. The town and suburbs are divid- ed into four wards, according to the number of parishes. Each PAISLEY. 189 ward has a chief constable empowered to command, as if he were a military officer. There is likewise a second in command, to aid the head constable with his advice, and to command in his absence. Each ward is divided into eight or more districts, according to the extent and population. The captain or head of each district keeps a roll of his men, and his duty is to warn them to attend the ge- neral rendezvous, when notified to him by his commander. The number enrolled in the four parishes exceeds 500. The whole may be collected in less than one hour, ready to disperse any mob or riot that may take place, on receiving orders from the magis- trates in the town, or the Sheriff or Justices in the suburbs; without which they are not empowered to act. This effective and honourable body of men has been employed on various occa- sions to command and preserve the peace ; and always with com- plete success. What adds to the value of this institution, is, that it is completely constitutional. There are no weapons of war brought into operation. There is no compulsion as to the service, and little or no expense is incurred. The disorderly and evil-in- tentioned, conscious that they are in danger of being discovered, if any attempt is made to disturb the public peace, are thus kept in check, and regularity and peaceable conduct have thus been pre- served in very critical times. The principle of the establishment claims an antiquity as high as the days of Alfred the Great ; and the plan itself is certainly deserving of imitation in every populous town and district of the country. Progress of crime.—In the following table is exhibited a view of the state and progress of crimes, &c. as judged by the magis- trates, from the period when the police establishment began down to 1818, and for the last five years. The melancholy progress of crime, particularly of late years, may be judged of from this table; a progress for which the rapid increase of population will not wholly account. 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 Persons convicted of — — — — — — — — breaches of the peace, 218 267 la4 169 134 106 94 | 67 || 3 Cases of theft, & 4 I6 16 5 | 1 | 1 9 19 25 Persons convicted of swindling, te 2 l 2 l () 2 l l () Do. for profanation of Sabbath, e 0 13 7 5 O () O 5 8 Do. of vending base money, tº () 2 3 : 2 6 G 4 | 8 Cases of house-break- ing, e º () l () O 2 0 () 3 2 Persons convicted of . reset of theft, () () () () () () () 0. l 190 RENFEEWSHIRE. 1816 1817 J 818 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 == ** – a mºme = <= --→ *-* Case of murder, O 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 0 Robberies on streets * or vicinity of town, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 l 4 IPersons convicted of breaches of the peace, 144 146 202 704 790 607 717 5S3 Cases of theft, . 40 40 68 317 264 275 40] 273 Persons convicted of - Swindling, e 2 4 | 1 4l 14 I6 45 12 Do. for profanation of Sabbath, gº J 0 2I 27 216 192 200 252 172 Do. of vending base # money, 4 3 5 8 2 5 7 Cases of house-break- ing, º * 8 6 37 37 31 29 40 Persons convicted of - reset of theft, ſº 5 2 4 23 7 8 28 17 Robberies on streets - or vicinity of town, 3 2 0 48 3] 33 40 56 Besides these, there is a class of minor offences, involving a contravention of the police act in some one or other of its clauses, which has not been noticed in the above lists. The amount of these for the last five years has been as follows: 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 &mº sºmme=== | 088 1206 | 052 776 593 Public houses.—The following is an authentic list of the num- ber of licenses issued for the town and Abbey parishes of Paisley, during the last eight years. The number has slightly risen dur- ing the given period, but when taken in reference to the increas- ing population is very immaterial. Number of licences issued for the town, and Abbey parish of Paisley. October 1828, Burgh of Paisley, º 237 New town and suburbs, tº 121 Abbe Johnstone, Quarrelton, { y; Thorn, Elderslie, Dove- &= 57–178 cothall, and Nitshill, tº-ººººººº- - 415 May 1829, Burgh, &= - 274 1833, Burgh, - 248 bbey, tºº 198 Abbey, gº 189 —472 - —437 1830, Burgh, * 273 1834, Burgh, 257 Abbey, * 196 Abbey, * 186 —469 —443 1831, Burgh, sº 217 1835 Burgh, tº 262 Abbey, - 267 Abbey, * 188 —484 - —450 1832, Burgh, * 223 Abbey, tºº 170 | ——393 In addition to the ordinary causes of intemperance which, alas ! . . " This was the case of a poor woman found in a close in the night, between a Sunday and Monday, with marks of serious injury on her head, which occasioned her death on the afternoon of the same day. The murderers were never discovered ; and it is possible the wounds may have been occasioned by a fall. PAISI, EY. 191 operate here, as in other places, to a melancholy extent, there is one which has not been adverted to so frequently in this connexion as it ought ; the system of pawnbroking. About two years ago the at- tention of an official gentleman in the place was seriously called to this subject in making up some statistical returns; and the result was really heart-rending. He took the three leading establish- ments in town, and the weekly average showed the following issue of pawn-tickets; in the first of these establishments, 4000; in the second, little short of 3000; and in the third about 2200. Now, appalling as at first sight this arithmetical summation appears, the misery does not rest here. By the pawnbroking act, when a broker advances any sum beyond 10s, he is bound, under a penalty, to enter the transaction in a particular form; and when the article pledged is sold, he is bound, should it realize more than the advance, to count and reckon with his customer, retaining only the original sum advanced, and the profit or ten per centage which the act al- lows him. So far there is no objection. But the case is widely dif- ferent when the advance is under 10s. Here there is no obligation on the broker to make any entry at all. He simply retains the article on which he has made the advance, and, should it not be redeemed within the statutory period, he is then entitled, without advertise- ment or any form of notice, either to sell the article or retain it for his own use; no matter what disproportion may exist betwixt its real value and the sum advanced. This, it is plain, is a positive premium on restricted advances; and an establishmentin Paisley did at one time, at least, make a point never to advance beyond the lesser sum ; and what with loss of tickets, mistake of dates, &c., their profit, we may presume, would not be thereby diminished. Very many cases have occurred where poor creatures, unable at the time to relieve some piece of furniture, or dress, pawned, it may be, by some foolish husband or wife, have lost all chance of reclaiming their property. A case illustrative of this may be noticed. A poor woman pawned a cloak or mantle; the sum advanced was 6s. ; she lost the ticket, which was carried, (it is supposed, by the person who had stolen it,) to the office, and the mantle relieved, and afterwards. sold to a clothesman in town for 23s. Now suppose that the wo- man had kept hold of her ticket, but had not been able to redeem this mantle in time, this deficiency between the 6s, and the 23s., would have found its way into the pocket of the pawnbroker. But there is an evil still more monstrous, and a most fearful encourager of dissipation. Suppose an advance of 6s. has been made,-and it 192 REN FREWSHIRE, is noway uncharitable to suppose that some proportion of it at least has been spent in drink—a farther advance is then wanted, it may be for the same wretched purpose, and the following device is re- sorted to. There are in town a good many clothes people or brokers, as they are called, who traffic in every sort of second-hand article. These persons have now got into the way of purchasing pawn-tickets, and cases have occurred in the Justice Court, where it turned out that tickets on which 6s. or 8s. had been advanced, have been sold to these middlemen as low, as 6d. or Is. Now, keeping in view the original discrepancy between the value and the advance, the sacrifice is beyond calculation when this second transaction is closed. A woman in one of the parishes told the public prosecutors that she had an amazing quantity of such tickets, “half a tea-chest full,” was her expression, and that when her own shop required replenishing, she went to the pawnbroker's, as to a bonded warehouse, and got herself supplied ! Many in- stances are on record highly creditable to the feelings and honesty of pawnbrokers in the place; but it is the system that is radically and thoroughly bad. Too easy a door is left open for the immedi- ate means of dissipation; and if the system cannot be rooted out altogether, it should at least be so far modified as to debar, and that under any circumstances, the pawning of bed-clothes, wearing ap- parel, and such like articles. It would be easy to show how rami- fied the operations of the system are, as affording a facility to a weaver, for instance, to pawn articles committed to his care for manufacturing purposes, and many other such cases. Pawnbroking, public-houses, and intemperance, are subjects which richly demand the zeal and energy of the upright senator, in order to a direct and profitable interference of the Legislature. •, Eacecutions in Paisley.—Since the Union, there have been three public executions in Paisley. In 1765, Alexander Provan was hanged at the Gallowgreen for the murder of his wife, his right hand having been cut off prior to execution. In 1797, Thomas Potts was executed for housebreaking; and in October 1829, John Craig and James Brown were executed for housebreaking and robbery. Y. On a general review of the police establishment, the following things appear to be desiderata in its constitution and plan of pro- cedure: — an effective union between the establishment of the burgh and suburbs,”—a larger number of officers, and more * This union has, we are happy to say, been accomplished since the above was written, and we have no doubt that the advantages of it will soon be manifest, (Janu- ary 1837.) T AISLEY. • 193 frequent and hearty co-operation of the inhabitants at large in carrying into effect the great practical design of the institution. Meetings of Courts.-The Sheriff court sits every Tuesday dur- ing session. The Sheriff Small Debt Court is held once a fortnight, on Thursdays. The Burgh Court is held every Monday, and Friday. The Commissary Court sits on Thursdays. The Quarter Sessions are held at Renfrew on the first Tuesday of March, May, and August, and last Tuesday of October. Justice Court for small debts is held at Paisley every Friday. Licensing meetings held at Renfrew, first Tuesday of May and last Tuesday of October. The town-council have three stated meetings, called “Head Courts,” annually; they meet for ordinary business gene- rally once a week, and oftener as required. Meetings of Commis- sioners of Police are held quarterly, and oftener when required. Antiquities, Ancient Mansions, &c.—Of these, by far the most interesting is the Abbey Church. But as it will be noticed under the head of Ecclesiastical History, we at present simply remark, that, in its immediate neighbourhood, stands the Mansion-House or Place of Paisley, an old building, at one time the residence of the Abercorn family, and at another of the Dundonald; but now let out to various tenants. This tenement is the property of the Mar- quis of Abercorn. It is no way distinguished for its architecture. Crockston or Cruickston Castle is a lofty but greatly shattered ruin, finely situated on a wooded slope, about three miles south- east from Paisley. The ancient proprietors of this castle andlordship were a family of Norman origin, surnamed De Croc, one of whom, Robert De Croc, was in the time of King Malcolm IV. a sub- scribing witness to the foundation charter of Paisley abbey. The castle and adjacent lands are now the property of Sir John Max- well of Pollock, Bart. Of the noble yew tree, which once grew near the castle, conspicuous for miles around, and noted for hav- ing oft afforded shade to Queen Mary and Lord Darnley, ere love grew cold, not a vestige now remains.” , The ancient tower of Stewarts Raiss is still to be seen. It stands on the right bank of the Levern, about two miles south of Cruickston, and distant four from Paisley. It was once the pro- perty and seat of a family named Halrig, a branch of the noble fa- mily of Darnley. “I have seen,” says Crawfurd, in his “History of the Shire of Renfrew,” “a charter granted by John, Lord Darn- ley, and Earl of Lennox, of the lands of Halrig and Raiss, to * It was removed by the proprietor about eighteen years ago. 194 REN FREWSHIRE. Alexander Stewart, consanguineo suo, i. e. his kinsman, upon the resignation of Hector Stewart of Raiss, his father, anno 1484.” They now belong to James Sharp, Esq. merchant in Glasgow. Stanelie Castle, an old tower, still in tolerable preservation, is si- tuated about two miles south-west of Paisley. It stands low, with the braes of Gleniffer rising immediately behind it. The masonry has been strong; and a cornice at top, the corbels of which pro- ject considerably, gives an agreeable finish to the pile. Its height is about forty feet; fully ten feet lower than the most elevated part of Cruickston Castle. Stanelie Castle and barony formed an ancient possession of the Danzielstons of that ilk,+ “For I have seen,” says Crawfurd, “in the public rolls of King Robert III. a charter granted to Sir Robert Danzielston, Knight, of these lands, the second year of his reign (1872.)” The property came into the possession of one of the Maxwells of Calderwood, and is now in that of the Right Honourable the Earl of Glasgow. . Besides these ancient castles, there are a few other antique structures in the parish. Hawkhead house is the principal of these in point of rank and extent. It is the residence of Lord Viscount Kelburne, and the property of his Lordship's father, the Earl of Glasgow. This house is an irregular pile, of which Crawfurd thus writes: “ South-west from the Castle of Crocston lie the castle and barony of Halkhead, situate upon the river Cart, the principal residence of the Right Honourable William Lord Ross.; This fabric is built in the form of a court, and consists of a large old tower, to which there were lower buildings added, in the reign of King Charles I. an. 1634, by James Lord Ross, and Dame Margaret Ross, his lady, and adorned with large orchards, fine gardens, and pretty terraces, with regular and stately avenues, fronting the said castle, and almost surrounded with woods and inclosures.” $ Since Crawfurd’s time, the house has undergone considerable alterations. - - Blackhall House, lately occupied by a farmer, is now, the roof * Semple's Crawfurd, p. 241. + Robertson's Crawfurd, p. 89. † Of this family, Hamilton of Wishaw thus speaks: “Robert de Ross is wittness to repair a year upon I even in the first year of King Alexander the Third, which is 1248. They are frequently wittnesses in the charters of the monasterie of Pasley. Thereafter, they were nobilitat by King James the Fourth, about the year 1492; and have continued in honour and reputation since. Godfridus de Ross, Miles, some and heir of Sir Godfride de Boss, Knight, confirmes the lands in Stewarton which the abbacy of Pasley gott from Sir James Ross. Amongst the witnesses is William de Ross, 1281, reg. Alex. 3tii. 2.” - Account of the Sheriffdom of Renfrew, p. 77, printed for the Maitland Club in the year 1831. § Robertson's Crawfurd, p. 54. PAIS LEY. - 195 having by its proprietor been taken off, to be regarded as one of the ruins in the parish. It may be remarked, as affording a speci- men of the confined and homely accommodation, as respected the dwellings of families of rank and consequence little more than a century ago. It is on the banks of the Cart, south-east of Paisley, but in its immediate vicinity, and is a strongly built, old pile, still belonging to the Shaw Stewart family. It was to an ancestor of this family, Sir Archibald Stewart, the lands of Blackhall were granted by King Robert III, in 1896. * All the fair plantations and gardens, which, in Crawfurd’s time, grew in its neighbourhood, are gone. A minute description of the house itself is in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1819 or 1820. Cardonald, an old mansion in the castellated style, large and commodious, is about three miles east of Paisley, on the banks of the White Cart. This venerable-looking struc- ture, now let to various tenants, is embowered in wood of large growth. It is spoken of by Crawfurd as one of the seats of the Right Honourable Walter Lord Blantyre, a family to whom the property still belongs. The same author farther says, “an an- cient family of the Stewarts did possess the lands of Cardonald,” adding, that the first of these proprietors, Al. Stewart “ and Marion Semple, his spouse, obtained them in the year 1487.” + In the reign of King James VI. they passed to Walter Stewart, Prior § of Blantyre. - Of the ancient manor place of the Cochranes, a family of great antiquity in Renfrewshire, and whose house and barony lay on the western side of the parish, no remains are to be seen. This was the principal manor of the Cochranes, whose ancestors had, in Crawfurd’s time, (1710,) possessed the lands “well nigh five hundred years.” The greater part of this ancient barony is now the property of Ludovic Houstoun, Esq. of Johnston. Near the west end of the village of Elderslie, and on the south side of the turnpike road passing through it, a tenement of rather ancient appearance is pointed out as the house in which the renown- ed hero Sir William Wallace was born. But if this brave de- fender of his country was born, as is generally allowed, on the spot, it must have been in a habitation of older date. Adjoining * Robertson's Crawfurd, p. 58. - + This river is called the White Cart, to distinguish it from another river in this county, which, from its appearance, probably occasioned by the mossy ground around its source and along its banks, has received the name of the Black Cart. # Semple's Crawfurd, p. 229. § Commendator. 196 l{EN FR EWS H II: E. this house is an old garden, from the foundation of whose walls, about thirty years ago, a stone was dug, bearing the following in- scription cut in Roman letters, “W. W. W. CHRIST is only MY REDEEMER.” The stone was taken to Elderslie house, the seat of Alexander Speirs, Esq. M. P. where it still remains. Near “ Wallace's House,” the name by which the above-men- tioned mansion is known, but on the north side of the turnpike road, stands the very celebrated tree called “Wallace's Oak.” Many are the years that must have rolled away since this tree sprung from the acorn. About eight or ten years ago, its trunk measured 20 feet in circumference. Now, it measures only 14 feet and 2 inches. It was 60 feet in height, and its branches ex- tended to the east 45 feet, to the west-36, and to the north 25, covering altogether a space of 19 English poles. It derives its name from having, as tradition affirms, afforded shelter to Wallace and a party of his followers, when pursued by their enemies, in the same way as the Boscobel oak afterwards did to Charles II. It is also worthy of notice, that, in the garden of Wallace's house, there is to be seen a fine specimen of our Scottish yew, said to be coeval with, some say older than, the celebrated oak. But be this as it may, it is certainly of ancient date, and tradition has assigned to it the name of “Wallace’s Yew.” The names of several places in the vicinity of Elderslie con- firm the opinion of that village having been the birth-place, or at least the dwelling-place, of the Scottish hero. On the subject of antiquities, we would mention that, at a very little distance to the north-west of Stanelie Castle, there was till lately a small wood, near which was a Danish stone, according to Semple, but more probably a Popish cross, “between 4 and 5 feet high, standing on a pedestal, the cross-piece on the top broken off.” It had wreathed work on its edges, and on one side near the base, figures of two lions, with those of two boars above.* At Auldbar, a mile or so to the southward of Hawkhead, there was another of a similar description called “the Stead stone Cross.” “It is now,” says “Semple, about 4% feet long, 16 inches broad, and 8 inches thick, standing upon a pedestal about 1% foot high, 4, feet long, and 3 feet broad: which stone with its foundation had been lying in a gravel pit for some years, and was lately erect- ed by Mr Charles Ross of Greenlaw. He remembers, within these * Semple's Renfrewshire, part 2, p. 264. 4 12 Al SLE Y. 197 forty years past, to have seen the cross-pieces on the top. No figures have been on it, only wreathed work.” Not a mile to the south of this, at Harelaw Craigs, on a rock, upon the side of a branch road, “are seventy-two small holes of an oval form, an inch deep, and placed at irregular distances. Tradition has handed down, that a battle was fought here, and that these holes were where the feet of tents stood.” Semple, how- ever, thinks the tradition groundless. I There are several estates in this parish, once or still belonging to families of distinction, which, generally speaking, have either no mansions on them, or dwellings of inferior character. We give their names here, because the proprietors or their connexions have figured in the history of their country. Raiss or Logan's Raiss. John Logan of Raiss is named in the chartulary of Paisley as an arbiter between the Abbot of Paisley and the burgh of Renfrew, in 1488. The lands now belong to the Earl of Glasgow — White- ford. Walter de Whiteford obtained these lands, which he so cal- led, from the Stewart of Scotland, for his good service, at the bat- tle of the Hargs against the Norwegians, anno 1263, in the reign of Alexander III. Mr Kibble of Whiteford has long possessed the lands. —Newton, formerly belonging to the family of Alexander, is now the property of Alexander Speirs of Elderslie, Esq. in whose possession are also the lands of Fulbar, belonging, when Crawfurd wrote, to a very ancient family of the name of Hall, settled there at least as early as the year 1370.-Bredieland, still the property of a family of Maxwells, who have possessed the estate between three and four hundred years. William Maxwell, Esq. the present proprie- tor, has also the estate of Merksworth, anciently belonging to the Algoes of Walkinshaw.—Woodside, belonging, in Crawfurd’s time, to his own family, is now in the possession of the heirs of John Shedden, Esq.-Ferguslie, on which is a good family residence, was granted in 1544, by the abbot and convent of Paisley, to John Hamilton of the Orbieston family. It now belongs to John Wilson, * Semple's Renfrewshire, part 2, p. 238. # Ibid. p. 239. # The rubbish which had gathered upon and around these holes was lately cleared away, by order of John Wilson of Thornly, Esq., so that the antiquarian has now no difficulty in tracing them. In a manuscript note by Dr Boog, appended to Semple's History, he says, “ in the neighbourhood of the farm of Braehead, some men digging in a hillock found several earthen vases. By their account they must have been urns : and along with them some brass instruments, which they describe as resembling heads of spears, 1770.” 198 RENE REWS HIRE, Esq. The remains of the old Castle of Ferguslie are still to be traced on a property lately purchased, and at present possessed by, William Barr, Esq. of Drums. Within the burgh of Paisley, while it was yet an inconsiderable place, there stood several mansions, each being the property, and frequently the residence of a noble or distinguished family. Of these we may mention Semple House, inhabited by the Lords Semple, heritable Sheriffs of the regality of Paisley; and Fergus- lie House, originally belonging to the family of Ferguslie. Both of these dwellings are situated in the High Street, and are now oc- cupied by a variety of tenants. Modern Buildings.--The principal modern seats in the parish are, Johnstone Castle, Househill, and Ralston. The first of these stands on an estate originally called Easter Cochrane or Quarrelton, anciently possessed by Cochrane of Craigmuir, but for ages past by the ancestors of the present proprietor, Ludovic Houston, Esq., * whose castle is now one of the chief ornaments of the county. The grounds around it are well wooded.—Househill, on the banks of the Levern, near its confluence with the White Cart, is a meat and com- fortable mansion, still, with the lands, in the proprietorship of the ancient family of Dunlop of Househill.—Ralston House is compa- ratively a new and excellent mansion, built by the late William Orr, Esq. of Ralston. There are also good and commodious houses on the estate of Barshaw, the property of Robert Smith, Esq.- and on the lands of Corseflat and Achentorlie, built by the late proprietor, Matthew Brown, Esq. and now in the possession of his son, Andrew Brown, Esq. To these may be added, Greenlaw House, the property and residence of Mrs Kibble; Brabloch, of Fulton M'Kerrell, Esq.; Maxwelton House, of Colonel Fulton; and Kilnside, an elegant mansion lately erected by Joseph White- head, Esq. There are, besides, especially in the neighbourhood of the * The family of Johnston is a colliteral branch of that of “ Houston of that ilk,” spoken of in Robertson's continuaticn of Crawfurd, p. 99, as of great antiquity, and deriving their descent from “ Hugo de Padvinan,” who is mentioned as one of the witnesses to “Walter High Stewart of Scotland's foundation charter of the Abbey of Pasly.” George Houston, younger of Johnston, Esq. has been recently chosen member of Parliament for this county in room of the late Sir M. S. Stewart of Greenock and Blackhall, Bart. # The estate of Ralston was long possessed by “the Ralstons of that Ilk,” said to derive their pedigree from Ralph, younger son of one of the Earls of Fife, who having obtained these lands from the High Steward of Scotland, they were afterwards called Ralphstown, from the proper name of their proprietor.”—Robertson's Craw- furd, p. 57. The estate is now in the possession of the British linen Banking Com- pany. 3 PA IS LE. Y. 199 town, a number of neat villas, which persons enriched by trade take a delight in building ; and in laying out the grounds around these, the proprietors have displayed that taste for which the in- habitants of Paisley are so distinguished. Public Buildings.-The county buildings were erected in 1818 —1820, at an expense of about L. 28,000, raised by assessment on the county. The general form of this pile is quadrangular, and the style of the exterior castellated. The western or front divi- sion contains a court-house, county-hall, council-chambers, and a number of offices for different departments of public business con- nected with the town and county: the eastern range consists of the correction-house and common jail, with a chapel for reli- gious worship. Around these prisons there is a lofty wall, armed, where necessary, with “chevaux de frise.” Between the back and front divisions are two courts for air and exercise. The front one is ornamented with a noble façade, with projecting hexagonal turrets, rising considerably above the prison roof. An exterior balcony has been constructed over the arched gateway. It is supported by corbels, and adorned by a perforated parapet. The buildings are for the use of the county as well as of the burgh. The steeple of the former prison and court-house still stands, an ornament at the cross. Opposite to it are the Coffee-room build- ings, the upper part of which is adorned with Ionic pilasters, and includes in it a large, elegant, and comfortable reading-room, on whose tables are, always to be found an abundance of news- papers, reviews, and magazines. In addition to the parish churches, to be noticed under the head Ecclesiastical History, we may mention the Episcopal Chapel, a handsome building of chaste Gothic ; and one of the Secession churches, an elegant Grecian erection, as among the public build- ings which ornament the town. es - Town and Suburbs of Paisley.—The town of Paisley is at this day the third in Scotland in regard to size and population. Its houses, with those of its suburbs, are spread over a tract of ground, about two miles and a half square. Its main street runs from east to west, for nearly two miles, and forms part of the road from Glas- gow to Beith and the Ayrshire coast towns. Another long line of street passes through the town, from north to South, the north part being the continuation of the road from Inchinnan, and the south merging in the road to Neilston. Perhaps the most spacious and RENFREw. ' - O 200 R EN I'REWSHIRE, regularly built street in Paisley is George Street; but, in point of elegance of buildings, none can equal Forbes Street, which is lately opened. The new town, which is separated from the old by the river Cart, was planned by James eighth Earl of Abercorn, who named most of the projected streets, in honour of the trade and manufactures of the place. The first houses in this important ad- dition to Paisley were erected in 1779. It now consists of upwards of twenty regularly formed and closely built streets. The town of Paisley, upon the whole, although well built, can- not cope in elegance with some of the larger towns of Scotland. Of late years, however, its appearance has been greatly improved by several low thatched houses having given way to meat and sub- stantial tenements. Improvements of this description are in rapid progress. Of modern erections, Garthland Place may be point- ed out, at the entrance to Paisley from the east, as one of the most elegant rows of which any town in Scotland can boast; and in passing along the streets, may be seen several handsome, if not splendid houses, intermingled with the ordinary dwellings of the inhabitants. At Williamsburgh, a village or suburb, east of the town, were erected, about fifteen years ago, barracks, adequate to the accommo- dation of half a regiment of foot. These barracks are commodious and pleasantly situated. Charleston, including Lylesland and Dovesland, is a district, to the south of Paisley, inhabited chiefly by weavers, and containing, although most of it is built within these few years, a population of nearly 4000 inhabitants. - Mawwelton, Ferguslie, and Millerston, form the western suburbs of Paisley, and with the places just mentioned, are comprehended within the Parliamentary burgh. From the great space occupied by the town and suburbs of Paisley ; from the sloping character of the ground, on which great part of it is built; and from the houses in general having a considerable portion of unoccupied ground be- hind them, and some of them tastefully laid out gardens, Paisley may, upon the whole, be considered as a healthy place of residence, notwithstanding the occasional visitations of epidemical disease. Willages.—In the parish, besides the suburbs of Paisley, we have to mention the following villages, viz. Nitshill, Hurlet, Corsemill, and Dovecothall, in the South-east; and Elderslie, Thorn, Over- PA ISLEY. 20 I ton, and Quarrelton, with Johnston, which may be considered rather as a thriving town than as a village, in the west. Nitshill, distant about four miles from the old parish church, and Hurlet, about three, are inhabited chiefly by colliers and other miners employed in the extensive works in their neighbourhood. The inhabitants of Corsemill and Dovecothall again, also about three or four miles from the Abbey Church, are chiefly employed in the bleachfields and printfields on the banks of the Levern, although several of the inhabitants of all these four villages find occupation in the extensive cottom-mill at Barrhead, in the neighbouring parish of Neilston. - Elderslie, situated about two and a half or three miles from Pais- ley, is, exclusive of Johnston, the most populous village in this pa- rish, beyond the bounds of the Parliamentary burgh. Its inhabi- tants are chiefly weavers, and cotton-spinners, including at the same time several employed at the neighbouring coal-pits and quarries. As the Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardrossan Canal stretches along the north side of this village, it greatly facilitates its commercial inter- course with the neighbouring towns. Its inhabitants are well sup- plied with excellent water, from springs in the vicinity, especially from the famed Bore, a spring, whose water came in contact with a shaft, put down about forty years ago, when searching for coal. After boring forty fathoms deep, the original design was aban- doned; but although coal was not obtained, the spring still con- tinues to supply plentifully the inhabitants of this interesting village with excellent water, throughout the whole year, at the rate of five gallons per minute, being six and a half gallons per day to each in- dividual. * Thorn and Overton are peopled by colliers, weavers, and a few other handicraftsmen. The population of Quarrelton consists al- most entirely of colliers. This village is very pleasantly situated, on the north side of the great road from Glasgow to Beith; and it, as well as Elderslie, and the other villages on this line of road, presents from morning to night, a very busy and animated scene, from the great number of travellers daily passing. This village, like Elderslie, is well supplied with excellent water. Johnston, which is still included in the parish, quoad civilia, ex- hibits a most striking illustration of the effect of manufactures, in originating and increasing towns. About fifty years ago, near that bridge across the Black Cart, 202 REN FREWS HIRE, which, till lately, gave to the place the popular name of “Brig o' Johnston,” merely a few cottages were to be seen, where now is a town consisting of two large squares, many considerable streets, and numerous public works. This town is about four miles west from Paisley, and about eleven from Glasgow. Its situation is very pleasant, being contiguous to the Black Cart. It is probable that, at this day, it would either not have existed, or if it had, have been confined to the few cottages near the bridge, had not the late pub- lic-spirited proprietor, by his influence and example, excited a spi- rit of industry among its inhabitants, and cherished it by his pa- ternal care. The spirit he infused has continued to manifest itself, in the increasing wealth and prosperity of its enlightened and enterprising merchants and tradesmen. The rapid increase of this place is not exceeded, if equalled, in the annals of Scottish history. It began to be feued in the year 1781, when it contained only ten persons. Towards the end of October 1782, nine houses of the New Town of Johnston were built, two others were being erected, and ground on which forty- two more were to be built was feued. In 1792, the inhabitants amounted to 1434 in number; in 1811, to 3647; in 1818, to about 5000; and in 1831, to 5617. - As the introduction of the manufacture of cotton yarn by mill machinery led to the founding of Johnston, so has the extension of the same manufacture contributed to its rapid increase and pre- sent prosperity. Within the boundary of this place are situated not less than eleven cotton mills. The town of Johnston is built on a very regular plan. Besides Houston Square, in the centre of the town, which is now built up on every side, there is to the southward a large area, intended to be a second square, as well as market place, which is already beginning to be enclosed with neat houses. High Street, which extends from the bridge of Johnston to Dick's Bridge on the east, is closely built, as are several other streets, branching at right an- gles from both its sides. The houses in Johnston are, for the most part, two and three stories in height, handsomely composed. of good mason work. To each house is attached an adequate ex- tent of garden ground. The shops are numerous, some of them elegant, and in general, well stocked with varieties of excellent com- modities. - - The civil polity of the town is managed by a committee elected | aft&Sº - & Sº ! | %\}|º: HTº t XY ||||}º | † | |||}||||||||||||||| #|ſº |||s:#3 ſº ** Sº- | - |º. º y! º sºº （º). | º HN)\\\\\ º 32 * s # Hä ) . | tº | A. } †ill } ! - |||}| # |º | £º *y is §§ |T gº º I º $ | f | iłł º º 11: i \ § | mº º º ºft "| Wººskºs) l * - i • *Nº. |}| º: 3.3 2\\ | #| || º| = §º: * ÉiffTTTTTTTT|| | || º - Éſ Éll |#####| ſºjīlīlſº iſ Tº Hººsºsºft Wilſº || || || ºse==ººmſ | | . . . . . . 2 — - ºf #|| - º | º ~. .# =}=|[6% - º ||| S; == tº | Wiń. ºſſilºſºlſ|| fillillº'ſſil º : ºff. |\|\}; j%|%|U º Pa (I||||}/ & N i T #, !º | #| || | Hºm º 5 Nº) §§ & % (7. =#. ſº. SQ., º Ös - º * º 2 g|S. ſºul. Nº ºf PAIS LEY. 203 annually by the feuars. A Justice of Peace Court is held in the Assembly Rooms on the first Friday of every month. In Johnston ºthere are a due proportion of highly respectable writers and me- dical practitioners, a lodge of free masons,—various booksellers and printers, fire and life assurance companies, and a branch of the Paisley Union Bank, carriers to Paisley, Glasgow, Port-Glasgow, and Greenock. The market-place is very spacious, and affords accommodation rarely to be met with. The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal terminates in a basin at the east end of John- ston, to the advantage of which it greatly contributes. Adjoin- ing to the coal quay in this place, the tacksman of the Nitshill stone quarry has a yard for landing his building materials, for the better accommodation of those who prefer using the excellent stones of that quarry, in the construction of their factories and houses. - From an eminence on the Paisley road, distant about a quarter of a mile from Johnston, that village has a picturesque appearance. The light and elegant spire which adorns its octagonal church is an object of general admiration. It was built in 1823, and is an imitation in miniature of the famous spire at Lincoln, built by Sir Christopher Wren. Since the erection of this spire, not less than five different bells have been its inmates, all of which, although of good materials, as well as excellent tone, have been rendered un- fit for duty by fracture, occasioned, it has been said, by the con- fined space in which they were hung. A sixth bell is now order- ed, but it is proposed to erect it in a lower part of the spire than that occupied by its predecessors, in the hope, that, in a more roomy space, it will be less liable to the accident which befell the others. III.-EccLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Monastery.—At one period, Renfrewshire was all comprehended in the deanery of Rutherglen, being one of the ten deaneries of the Episcopal see of Glasgow. The only monastic establishment in the county was that of Paisley, founded by Walter, son of Alan, the first of the Stewarts. This monastery appears to have been founded in theyear 1163,” for a Prior, and thirteen Cluniac Monks, # whom its founder-brought from Wenlock in Shropshire, his native * Chart. Pais. pref. p. 3. + “The order derived its name from the Abbey of Cluni in Burgundy, the first and always the chief house of what were termed the reformed Benedictines.”—Pref, to Chart. p. 3. ** 204 - REN FREWSHIRE. country.” It has been supposed that Paisley was not the first situa- tion selected as the seat of this monastery. A charter of Malcolm confirms a grant of its founder, to the monks of St Milburga of Wenlock, of the Cluniac order, seated at the church of St Mary and St James, in the Inch beside Renfrew; and a recorded char- ter of the founder grants to the monks of Paisley “terram quam monachi prius habitaverunt.” + These words, however, do not prove that Walter founded his monastery at Renfrew, and after- wards removed it to Paisley, although they are strong evidence, that, previous to the grant referred to, a settlement of monks ex- isted at the former place. But if, by any other evidence, it can be made out that Renfrew was the original site of our monastery, it appears that its founder soon discovered the superiority of Paisley over Renfrew, as its site: for within a very short period, and before the death of King Malcolm, did he remove the new colony to their more permanent abode. I The monastery was dedicated generally to God and the Vir- gin Mary, and in particular to St James and St Mirin, § the last of whom seems to have been a Scottish Confessor, who passed his days in this vicinity, became afterwards the tutelar saint of the place, and was commemorated on the 15th of September || This monastery, by its original constitution, was ruled by a prior. But about the year 1220, it was, by a bull of Pope Honorius, raised to the rank of an abbacy, and the lands belonging to it were after- wards erected into a regality, under the jurisdiction of an abbot. " Its Abbot was entitled to wear a mitre, a ring, and other ponti- ficals;” and he and the monks obtained from the popes many bulls, confirming their rights, and conferring on them certain privileges.--- It was liberally endowed by Walter, its founder. “He granted to the monks the Church of Inverwick, and the Mill of Inver- wick, in East Lothian; the Church of Legerdeswode, in Berwick- * Chalmers, in his Caledonia, has not only illustrated that obscure part of Scottish History, the true origin of the Stewart family, by showing that Walter, the first Stewart of Scotland, who obtained such magnificent possessions from David I. was one of the Fitzalans of Shropshire, afterwards Earls of Arundel, but has ex- plained the nature of the connexion between that family and the Cluniac Monks of Wenlock.—Vol. i. p. 572–6. - # Chart. Pais. pref. p. 5. # Ib. - - § “S. Merinus monachus, S. Regulo Graeco perfamiliaris, qui vel una cum illo in Scotiam appulit, vel cum ille appelleret, strenuam, Deoque acceptam, instruendis Christiana pietate popularibus operam impendebat, Scripsit, “ Homilias de Sanctis,” Florebat anno cocIXIX.” Dempsteri, Historia Ecclesiastica, p. 481, Tom. ii. print- ed for the Maitland Club in 1829. | Chalm. Caled. V. iii. p. 820. | Chart. Pais, p. 8. ** Chart. Paisley, p. 429. ff Ib. passim. * 4 PAIS LEY. 205 shire; a carucate” of land, at Hastenesdene, in Roxburghshire; the churches of Cathcart, and of Paisley, and all the churches of Strathgryfe, in Renfrewshire, except that of Inchinnan; the church of Prestwick-burgh, and the church of Prestwick, with all the lands of Prestwick, in Ayrshire; a salt-work at Calentir, in Stirlingshire; the lands of Drip and of Paisley and other lands in the barony of Renfrew ; a toft in his burgh of Renfrew; + and half a merk of silver, yearly, from his rents in that burgh; the mill of Renfrew; the island in the Clyde near Renfrew; and the fishing, between that island and Perthec; one net's fishing for salmon, and six nets fishing for herrings, in the Clyde; 4s. yearly from the mill of Paisley, and the right of grinding their corns at this mill, free of multure: the tenth of the produce of that mill, and of all his other mills; the tithes of all his wastes, and of all the lands, which were settled, or should be settled in his forests: the right of pasturage and all other easements in the forest of Paisley ; the tenth of his venison, and the skins of his venison; the tenth penny of the rents of all his lands, except those in Kyle.” f Eschina, the wife of the founder, gave to the monks some lands and pasturages, in her ter- ritory of Moll in Roxburghshire. § Alan, the son of Walter, be- sides confirming his father's grants, made considerable additions to them, such as the church of Kingarf; in Bute, with its chapels, —and a large tract of land in that island. Walter, the third Stew- art, and grandson of the founder, added still farther to the posses- sions of the monastery, as did also the vassals of the founder and his successors. Accordingly, we find the monks of Paisley in pos- session, at one time, of the church of Sanchar, and the church of Dundonald, with its two chapels of Crosby, and Richardtoun, the church of Achinleck and of Craigie in Ayrshire, the churches of Pollock, Mearns, and Neilston in Renfrewshire. We may men- tion also, that Walter the Stewart, in 1318, added to the endow- ments of the first three Stewarts, the church of Largs, in Ayrshire, with its property and pertinents, for the salvation of the soul of his wife, Marjory Bruce, who was buried in the monastery at Paisley." The monks of Paisley were also gifted with the churches of Ruther- * A carucate of land, that is, “as much land as a plough could till in one year, computed in England at 100 acres.” Skene de Signif. Verb. + Toft is used to denote “a place of pasture near a village.” Jameson's Supplement, verb. Toft. Charter of Alan, the second Steward of Scotland, son of Walter, the founder of the monastery of Paisley, granting a toft in Renfrew, and the right of a salmon-met in the river Clyde, to the monks of Cuper.” From the Cottonian Charter, xviii. 24, See Illustrations of Scottish History, printed for the Maitland Club. #3Chart. passim, Chalmers' Caledon. Vol. iii. p. 820, § Chart, p. 74. || Chalmers, Vol. iii. p. 821. * Ib. 206 RENF REWSHIRE, glen and Carmunnock, in Lanarkshire, before 1189, and of Kilfin- an, in Cowal, and of Kilcolmanel, in Knapdale, with the chapel of St Columba. By these and other rich donations, as well as smal- ler acquisitions of lands and tenements in burghs, partly the gifts of pious individuals, and partly by purchase, did Paisley become the most opulent monastery in the south of Scotland, with the ex- ception of Kelso. St Andrews, Dunfermline, and Aberbrothock are mentioned as the only ones north of the Forth, that exceeded it. These, however, were of royal foundation, nor is there any ex- ample in all Scotland of any monastic establishment being so li- berally endowed by a private family, as that of Paisley was by the first three Stewarts.” The Abbey of Paisley was the family burying-place of the Stew- arts, before their accession to the throne, and even after that pe- riod, Eupheme, Queen of Robert II., and Robert III. were buried at Paisley; the first in 1387, and the second in 1406. # The monastery was destroyed by fire by the English in 1807. It was afterwards rebuilt and greatly enlarged. The magnificent Ab- bey Church, which existed at the Reformation, seems to have been built in the reigns of James I. and II., and was nearly completed by Abbot Thomas Tarvas, in 1459. § It was after the model of a Cathedral, in the form of a cross, with a very lofty steeple, finished after the abbot’s death.| The spacious buildings of this * Chalmers, Vol. iii. p. 822. † Ib. f Fordun, as referred to by Chalmers, Vol. iii. p. 824. § “The yer of God McCoclix. the penult day of Junii, decessit at Paisley, Thomas Tarvas, Abbot of Pasley, the quhilk was ane richt gude 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 wele purvait. He fand the place all out of gud rewle, and destitute of leving, and all the kirkis in lordis handis, and the kirk unbiggit. The body of the kirk fra the bricht stair up, he biggit and put on the ruf, and thecket it with sclait, and riggit it with starie, and biggit ane great porcioun of the steple, and ane staitlie yethous, and brocht hame money gud jowellis, and clathis of gold, silver, and silk, and mony gud bukis, and made staitlie stallis, and glasynit mekle of all the kirk. And brocht hame the staitliest tabernakle that was in all Scotland, and the mast costlie. And schortlie he brocht all the place to fredome, and fra nocht till ane michty 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 ane lettren of bras, with mony uther gud jowellis "-Auchinlek Chronicle. | One of the architects employed in the erection or repairing of the Abbey, was John Murdo, as appears from the following inscription, on the south side of the transept door of the Abbey of Melrose. - JOHN : MURDO : SUM : TYM : CALLYT W. S : D : BORN : I.N. : PAR. YSSE CIERTAINI, Y : AND : HAD . IN : KEPING : A L : MASON : W Elt K 2 OF : SANTA N DR. A. Y S : YE : HYE : KIRK . OIF : GLAS : GO : MELROS : A N D : PASLAY : OF NY DIOSDALI, ; I) : QF : G A LWAY : I : l’It AY : TO : GOD :...~D : Y : BATH, ……….…….….… ：-） A B BEY OF PAIS LEY, ， ， ….….……… ：（ ….…. …s ： * - s- … …….…！！！！-- PAISLEY. 207 monastery, with its extensive orchards and gardens, and a small park for fallow-deer, were surrounded by a magnificent wall of cut stone, upwards of a mile in circumference. This wall was built in the reign of James III. in 1485, by George Shaw, Abbot of Pais- ley, as appears from the following inscription on the west wall of the house, at the angle formed by Lawn Street and Incle Street. THEI CALLIT YE ABBOT GEORG OF SCHAw E, ABOUT YIS Al3BAY GA RT MA K Til IS wAw ; A THousANDE Foult HUNDRETH ZHEY R, AUchTY ANDE FYVE, THE DATE BUT VEIR: #: 3. THAT MIA DE THUS N OBIL FOUNDA CIOUN. Spottiswood takes notice of another inscription. “In one of the corners of this curious wall, towards the outer side, there was a niche, with a statue of the Virgin Mary, with this distich en- graven under her feet. Hac me vade via, nisi dixeris ave Maria, Sit semper sine vae, qui tibi dicit ave.” + The wall, indeed, seems to have been adorned at frequent in- tervals, with statues. : r At the Reformation, the rental of the Monastery of Paisley, as reported to Government in January 1561–2, amounted to L. 2468 in money; 72 chalders and 4 bolls of meal; 40 chalders and 11 bolls of bear ; 42 chalders, 1 boll, I firlot, and I peck of oats; and 706 stones of cheese; and at that time not less than twenty-nine parish churches belonged to this monastery. § After the Refor- mation, the abbacy was secularized by the Pope, in favour of Lord Claud Hamilton, third son of the Duke of Chatelherault ||; and * Historians have supplied the part of the inscription which is effaced, in conse- quence of which, the whole is given as under : “John Murdo, sum tym callyt was 1, And born in Parysse certainly, And had in keping all mason werk Of Santandrays, ye hye kirk Of Glasgu, Melros, and Paslay, Of Nyddsdall, and of Galway : I pray to God and Mary bath, And sweet St John kep this haly kirk fra skaith.” - * Semple thinks the line “pray for his salvation” was obliterated between 1710 and 1735. f See Renfrewshire Characters and Scenery, published in 1824, p. 35. # Quod (monasterium) magnificentissimo muro, quadro penitus, lapide pulcher- rimis ac crebro, eminentibus statuis ultra mille passus undique cingebatur. Leslacus, as quoted in notes to Renfrewshire Characters and Scenery. § Chalmers's Caled. Vol. iii. p. 826. | Long before this period, free use seems, at times, to have been made of the pro- perty of ecclesiastics. The following is an extract of a letter, “from Dr Magnus to Cardinal Wolsey, dated at Edinburgh, 22d December 1524.”—“The good Abbot of 208 R EN FREWSHIRE. on the 29th of July, 1587, erected by the King and Parliament, into a temporal lordship, when the whole property of the monas. tery, with the patronage of the several churches, was granted to Lord Claud, and his heirs in fee; and he himself was created Lord Paisley. * The opulent lordship of Paisley continued in that family till 1652, when James Earl of Abercorn sold it to the Earl of Angus, who next year sold the greater part of it to Lord William Cochran, who was created Earl of Dundonald, and Lord Cochran of Paisley in 1669. The barony of Kilpatrick, in Dum- bartonshire, he disposed of to Sir John Hamilton of Orbistoun; the lands of Monkton in Ayrshire to Lord Bargany; and those of Glen, in Renfrewshire, to Lord Sempil, and others. -- Great part of the lordship of Paisley was, at different times, sold off by the Dundonald family; and what remained of it was, in 1764, re- purchased by James Earl of Abercorn, and now belongs to the Marquis of Abercorn. Since the Reformation, the Abbey has been successively the residence of Lord Paisley, the Earl of Aber- corn, and the Earls of Dundonald. But the Earl of Dundonald, having demolished the ancient gateway of the Abbey, and feued off the immediately adjoining grounds for building, the appear- ance of the place was entirely changed, and the Abbey rendered unfit for a family residence. It has, since that time, been let out, in separate dwellings, to tradesmen’s families, and, for several years, has been in a state of great disrepair. The Abbey Park, with its orchards and gardens, are now the site of the New Town of Paisley, having been feued off for building ground by their pro- prietor in 1781. Till that period, the magnificent cut stone wall that enclosed the park remained nearly entire. But having been sold to the feuars, most of the stones have been since used in building their houses, and now (IS37) the only portion of it, we Pasley of late shewed unto me he was likly to susteyne gret hurt and damage, booth to hymnself and his monastery by the saide twoe Erles, (“Angwisshe and Lenowz”) if remedy were not founden in tyme convenient, for as he shewed unto me the said twoe Erles intended to keep thaire Cristenmas in his saide house, and to use every thing there at thaire libertye and pleasur, booth for hors and man, to the noumber of ijc. persons, and therfore desired me to write for hym to the Erle of Angwisshe, and soe I did, and besides that matier, gave vnto the Saide Erle of Angwisshe my poore advertismert, according to the contynne of your saide gracious letteres, copy of my letter with his answer therunto, pretermitting a grete parte of the effectuall matier wherynne I shulde have knowen his mend, I send also vnto your saide grace.” Il- lustrations of Scottish History, page l 12–l 13, printed for Maitland Club. * Chalmers's Caled. Vol. iii. p. 827, and former Statistical Account Vol. vii. p. 59. also Hamilton's Description of Lan. and Reńfw. p. 74, printed for Mait. Club, J83]. f Chalmers's Caledonia, Vol. iii. p. 827, and Statistical Account, Vol. vii. p. 95. : Ibid. O - -- PAISLE. Y. 209 believe, which has escaped destruction, is to be seen in its place, near the Seedhill Bridge. Chapels.-In former times, there were several chapels within the parish of Paisley. In the town there stood one of these, dedicat- ed to St Rock. The Stewarts had one at their manor-place of Blackhall, on the south-east of the town. Before the end of the twelfth century, an hospital was founded for infirm men, by Ro- bert Croc, one of the most considerable vassals of the first Stewart already mentioned, as having settled at, and given the name to, Croc's town, afterwards called Cruickston. He not only endowed this hospital, but also built a chapel, and endowed a chaplain to perform divine service, for the infirm brothers of the hospital. A license was obtained by him and Henry Nes, both vassals of the Stewarts, to have, within the walled courts of their habitations, two oratories, or private chapels, for the celebration of divine ser- vice, on condition, that all the oblations received in those chapels, should be carried to the mother church of Paisley. This hos- pital seems to have stood on the left bank of the Levern water, be- tween old Cruickston and Neilston.* - - Of the parochial church of Paisley, the monks enjoyed the tithes and revenues. Its tithes, according to the rental of the monastery, were yearly, 5 chalders, I firlot and 3 pecks of meal; 6 chalders, 9 bolls of bear; L. 10 for the tithes of the lands of Whiteford and Ralston; and L. 26, 13s. 4d. for the tithes of the town of Paisley ; and, according to the same rental, the vicarage revenues of the parish churches of Paisley and Lochwinnoch were L. 100 yearly.t - After the Reformation these tithes and revenues, along with the patronage of the parish, became the property of the commenda- tors of Paisley, till 1587, when, as has been stated, the whole pro- perty of this opulent monastery was granted to Lord Claud Ha- milton, the then commendator, and his heirs. The patronage of the church has since belonged to the different proprietors of the Lordship of Paisley, and is now in the hands of the Most Noble the Marquis of Abercorn. : - - Of those who held the chief place in the monastery, whether as prior or abbot, or afterwards as commendator, Crawfurd has furnished us with a list, which future writers have copied. The * Chalmers's Caled. Vol. iii. p. 828, 829, and 832. # Ibid. p. 831, 832. f Ibid. p. 832, and Statistical Account, Vol. vii. p. 94. 2] 0 - R.E.N FREWSH 1 RE. following, (for which the chartulary is our chief authority,) it is pre- sumed, will be found more correct than the one referred to, al- though on this subject we cannot pretend to complete accuracy.” Priors.-The monastery of Paisley was at first governed by a prior. - 1. Osbert is the first prior on record in the chartulary, in con- firmation by Pope Alexander III. 8th April 1172. He was suc- ceeded by - 2. Roger, who, by charter dated about 1180, grants to Robert Croc and Henry de Nes, special friends of the convent, license to build the two chapels already noticed. By a charter, referred to the period between 1223 and 1233, he and the convent resign to Walter, second of the name, son of Alan, the island near the town of Renfrew, afterwards called King's Inch. Abbots.--About 1220, the monks received authority to elect an abbot as superior of the convent. The first abbot is, 1. William. He is witness in an agreement dated 1225, with Hugh, son of Reginald, as to the lands of Achinchoss (Houston.) In 1235, he is witness to an agreement dated at Blackhall, between the Earl of Lennox and Gilbert the son of Samuel, as to the lands of Monachkenneran. * 2. Stephen succeeded. A charter is granted by him in 1272, to Thomas of Fulton, and Matilda, his wife, of their lands of Fulton. Crawfurd states, that Andrew de Kelcou was the successor of Wil- liam. But this is incorrect. The deed to which Crawfurd refers as evidence, instead of being dated in 1818, is dated in 1828, and proves that this Andrew was not abbot, but prior at the time, and acted in the matter as procurator and attorney for the abbot and mo– nastery.S 3. Walter succeeded Stephen. His name is to be found in the Ragman Roll, as having come under submission to Edward in 1296. He was succeeded by, 4. Roger, in 1812, whose successor was, 5. John, who is Abbot in 1827, when Andrew, Bishop of Ar- gyle, grants to the monks the fruits belonging to the rector in the churches of Kilfinnan, Kilkerran, and Kilcolmanel. In 1334, Pope Benedict granted this abbot and his successors the liberty * “The rental book of Paisley furnishes information concerning several of the abbots, with the assistance of which, it may be possible to give a complete and correct list of them.” Chart. Pais, pref. p. 6. - + Printed Chart. p. 408. # Ib. 77, 78. § Chart. Pais. p. 27. .* PAISLE. Y. 211 of wearing the mitre, ring, and other Pontificals. He was suc- ceeded by, 6. John de Lithgow. His name occurs in the chartulary, in deeds bearing the dates 1884, 1887, 1888, 1408. Within the north porch of the Abbey Church is a stone with this inscription : Johes d. Lychtgu abbas hujus monastii xx die mésis Januarii ano dm McCCCXXXIII elegit fieri suā sepultură. But it would appear that soon after 1408, he had resigned his office, for, 7. William Chisholm is Abbot in 1414. He was one of the monks of the monastery, and probably recommended himself to the Chapter by his activity in the temporal affairs of the convent, in which he appears to have had some concern during the rule of Ab- bot Lithgow. His successor was, 8. Thomas Morwe, who on 13th October 1420, and 21st April 1421, receives a safe-conduct to pass into England.* To him suc- ceeded the celebrated, 9. Thomas Tarvas, who died 30th June 1459. The next abbot is, 10. Henry Crichton, who was translated to Dunfermline in 1472, and was succeeded by, - 11. George Shaw, celebrated as the builder of the magnificent wall which surrounded the monastery and its gardens, and the founder of the burgh of Paisley in 1490, when his charter to the provost, baillies, burgesses, and community of the burgh is dated. He was a younger son of John Shaw of Sauchie, Stirlingshire, a family now represented by Sir M. Shaw Stewart of Greenock and Blackhall, Bart. His life has been written by Crawfurd. (Lives of the Officers of State, Edinburgh, 1726, p. 367.) 12. Robert Shaw, another son of the house of Sauchie, and nephew to Abbot Shaw, became his successor on his uncle's resig- nation in March 1498–9. He became Bishop of Moray, and was succeeded by, 13. John Hamilton, the last Abbot, who was appointed by the Pope, 18th May 1525. He was a natural son of James, first Earl of Arran, “by Mrs Boyd, a gentlewoman (says Keith) of a very good family in the shire of Ayr.” He obtained a legitima- tion on the 20th of June 1546. In the same year he was made Bishop of Dunkeld, and, in 1549, Archbishop of St Andrews. He was declared a traitor by the government of the Regent Moray in 1568, for adhering to the cause of Queen Mary. In 1571, on the seizure of Dunbarton Castle, he fell into the hands of his enemies, * See Rotuſ, Scotiae. 212 REN FREWS HIRE, and, three days thereafter, was ignominiously hanged on a gibbet, in the town of Stirling. This abbot erected, aſ immense expense, a handsome tower to the Abbey Church.” Commendators.--John Hamilton, about four years after his ap- pointment to the Archbishoprick of St Andrews, resigned the ab- bacy, as already mentioned, in favour of his nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton. But while the archbishop resigned his place as abbot, he still continued, as commendator, in possession of the rule and re- venues of this valuable benefice. After his death, Lord Claud having also adhered to Queen Mary, Robert, son to William Lord Sempil, heritable baillie of Pais- ley, was appointed commendator of the monastery, by the treaty of Perth in February 1572–8. Lord Claud was afterwards restored to his rights, when he ex- pelled Lord Sempil from the monastery, and took possession of it himself as commendator. He was in 1579 obliged to fly into Eng- land; but returning from it, in 1585, he was again restored to his property and rights; and on the 29th of July 1587, the whole pro- perty of the monastery, which he held for life, as commendator, was erected into a temporal lordship, and granted to him and his heirs in fee. § - Church.-The church of the monastery when entire appears to have consisted of a nave, a northern transept, and a choir, with the chapel commonly called “the Sounding Aile,” partly on what would have formed the site of the southern transept. The edifice has been 265 feet in length, measured over the walls. The in- ternal measurement of the nave is 9 feet 3 inches in length, and 59 feet 6 inches in breadth, including the width of the ailes, the northern of which is 18% feet, and the southern 123 wide, leaving 33 feet 5 inches as the width of the nave proper. The transept measures internally 92% feet by 35, and the choir, which has been without ailes, 123} by 32 feet. The measurement of the transept is carried across the church, to the wall of what is called St Mirren's chapel, or the sounding-aile. - - Externally, the walls of the side ailes of the nave are sur- mounted by a plain parapet, at about 27 feet from the ground: * Leslaus de Origine, &c. Scotorum, p. 10. + P. 176. A - # “The twa breider, Lord John and Claud Hamiltouns, fled in Ingland, and their landis at the King's gift.” “Ane cronickill of the Kingis of Scotland,” p. 133, print- cd for Mait. Club. . Ś Acta Parl. iii. 595, 432, 587, as referred to by Chalmers. See Caledon. Vol. iii. p. 827, PAISLEY. 213 the walls of the nave rise 33 feet higher, and the parapet is pierced by embrasures. From the ground to the roof of the building, the height is 82, and to the top of the belfry 90 feet. . The west front of the church is an elevation of much dignity, composed of a grand central and two lateral compartments, se- parated and flanked by buttresses, three of which are terminated by recently erected cones, a similar one of which is on the east end of the nave. These cones are by no means ornamental. The centre of the front is horizontally divided into three com- partments, in the lowest one of which there is a grand door-way very deeply recessed, flanked by two elegant blank arches, nar- rowly pointed, and adorned, as well as the arch of the great door- way, by a moulding filled with the toothed ornament. The mould- ings of the principal arch rise from the capitals of fifteen slender shafts, alternately relieved and attached. In the second com- partment are two well-proportioned windows, 26 feet in height, by 9% in breadth, and divided into three simply pointed lights, the upper part being filled with tracery, consisting of circles and triangles. In the spandrils between, and on each side of these windows, are three Gothic niches, each 7 feet in height, in which images, it is said, were at one time placed. Each of these is ornamented with a wreath of toothed ornament, similar to that of the great archway, and four blank quatrefoils occupy the spaces between their pointed arches. The uppermost compartment con- tains one large window, 19 feet by 14 feet 9 inches, of five trefoil headed lights, above which is elaborate flowing tracery, filling the whole arch of the window. Each of the side compartments of this imposing front is pierced by a single window, of the lancet or narrow pointed form. - * * The ailes are lighted by pointed windows, in the decorated style, divided by mullions into two, three, and in some, four lights, the arched heads filled with flowing tracery of diversified cha- racter. Of the four in the north aile, the first and second from the transept seem to have undergone less change than the others, as their architecture has more the appearance of antiquity, or at least bears fewer marks of alteration or renovation than that of the others. This remark applies also to the second, from the west end of the south aile. On the north wall, toward its west end, is a porch, above which is erected the present vestry. Through this porch is an entrance, in a style of architecture somewhat si- milar to that of the western. On the left wall of the portico is 214 R EN FREWSHIRE, an inscription to the memory of John de Lithgow, mentioned among the Abbots of the monastery. The south aile presents the same number of windows with the north. It shows also two gate- ways, now built up, one near each end of the building, the eastern one being semicircularly arched, and exhibiting the only feature which appears to be of Norman character, in the exterior of the edifice. The clerestory windows are twelve in number, on each side of the main body of the nave. They are formed by a mullion into two trefoil-headed lights, and quatre-foiled in the enclosing arch. As these windows are placed close to each other, open- ing within pointed arches, and finely proportioned, they im- part to the church a peculiarly light and graceful appearance. That appearance on the south, however, is at present destroyed, as the whole range is built up with rough masonry. The eastern gable of the nave is merely a screen of modern masonry, filling up the western arch beneath the great tower. On the outside of this gable may be traced a mural tablet, apparently erected to the memory of the unfortunate John Hamilton, the last of the abbots. The remains of an inscription, and the arms of the Hamiltons, with the motto “misericordia et pax,” are still visi- ble. But neither the modern part of this gable, the window in- serted in it, the bell turret that rises above it, nor the roof of the building, also of modern date, are at all in keeping with the other parts of the edifice. The large bell, which was once the tenant of the lofty tower that rose from the centre of this church, is said to have been carried by Oliver Cromwell to Durham, where it is still to be seen, and where it is likely to remain, till a suitable habitation be provided for it, in the place of its former abode. - - The interior of the nave is truly magnificent. Ten massy clus- tered columns, 17 feet in height, with simple but elegantly mould- ed capitals, divide the ailes from the body of the fabric. Of these columns, the circumference of each of the two nearest the west is more than double that of any of the others, plainly indi- cating that they were intended by the architect, in connection with the front wall, to support two western towers. From the imposts of the columns spring pointed arches, with delicate and graceful mouldings. On the centre pillar to the south is sculptured in re- lief an antique coat of arms with grotesque supporters. From a floor formed above the first tier of arches spring those of the tri- forium. They are large and semicircular, springing from clustered PA IS LE Y. 2 || 5 columns, and are enriched with a variety of mouldings. Within these finely sweeping arches, are included two pointed ones, cinque-foiled in the head, and separated from each other, by a short but delicately clustered column, with an ornamental capital. The space between the heads of theseminorarches, and thatofthe principal arch above them, is open to the body of the structure, and beautifully cusped. From the summit of the spandrils, between each pair of arches, a se- mi-hexagonal projection juts out about 3% feet, supported by two ranges of blocked corbels, receding downwards. These pro- jections or platforms terminate, each in a sculptured grotesque fi- gure, which seems groaning under the weight. We are disposed to think, that the flat summits of these singular projections, while they served to form the clerestory walk or gallery, which passed al- ternately behind and in front of the pillars, were also intended to be used as stands for torch-bearers at the celebration, by night, of fu- neral or other rites. The arches and other appendages of the triforium are, so far as we have heard, peculiar. Above the trifo- rium rises the clerestory, the arches of which, opening also to the in- terior of the edifice, are simple, pointed, and narrow, but of just pro- portions, with clustered piersandplain mouldings. The original roof, which has given place to a simple coved one, was finely groined with sculptured bosses, at the intersections of the ribs, of which a specimen is still to be seen, towards the west end of the southern aile. Near the roof of that aile, are two very small trefoil-head- ed niches, in which, as is supposed, images at one time stood. The modern eastern window, in the inside, is filled with stained glass, and beneath it, is a large white marble monument, erected by the county of Renfrew, in memory of the late William M*Dowall of Castle Semple and Garthland, Esq., who represented this coun- ty in five different Parliaments. Other monumental tablets, a few of modern, but many more of ancient date, and much defaced, are arranged upon the walls of the building, or form part of the pave- ment of the area. * The nave, which is now the church of this extensive parish, underwent a thorough repair in the year 1789. The pulpit, which is attached to the centre pier on the northern side is of oak, and surmounted by a chaste Gothic canopy, rising to a point, at a con- siderable height; the pulpit and canopy are enriched with nume- rous carvings. The gallery is disposed around the whole edifice, and ornamented with the armorial bearings of the principal heri- tors. For the comfort of the sitters, stoves were introduced into RENFREW. g P 216 REN FREWSHIRE. the church about six years ago; and it is at present, besides being one of the most magnificent, one of the most comfortable, places of worship in Scotland. . The transept, although ruinous, still displays in the fair propor- tions, and yet remaining beauty of its northern window, a most in- teresting relic of monastic grandeur. The window, about 35 feet in height, by 18 in breadth, occupies the greater part of the space that intervenes between the graduated buttresses, which support the northern angles of the transept. It is formed within an arch of beau- tiful proportions and of the decorated kind. The centre mullion still remains, dividing the window into two great lights, pointed and rich- ly cusped. The space between them and the great arch has been filled with flowing tracery, a considerable part of which may still be seen, as well as portions of similar work, in the large windows that once adorned the sides of the transept. Two large pointed archways, now filled up with masonry, once formed a communication between the centre part of the church, and St Mirin's aile on the south. - The choir, the walls of which are now levelled to within ten feet of the ground, presents an interesting relic of monastic times. The piscina or font, which still remains, with an accompanying niche on each side, is near the east end of the south wall. A little to the west, in the same wall, are four recesses, supposed to have been stalls or seats for the priests, during the celebration of high- mass. One of these recesses, indeed, has a groove in it, as if for shelving, which may give rise to the conjecture, that it was intend- ed rather as a vestiary than as a stall. The other three, however, are without grooves. They are all cinquefoiled at top within the pointed arch, which is ornamented with beautifully carved work. * The remains of the strong clustered pillars that supported the tower, which, surmounted by the lofty spire, once rose from the cen- tre of the building, are still to be seen. The tower, we are told, on one occasion, and before it was finished, had, by its own weight, and the insufficiency of its foundation, given way. It was afterwards rebuilt, at an immense expense, by John Hamilton, the last of the abbots. * We cannot say what was the cause or the precise pe- riod of its second fall. The account given by tradition of its de- - * Porro Pasleti immensis sumptibus, Ecclesiae turren, nulli apud nos secundam, extrinxit Joannes ultimus archiepiscopus S. Andrae, quae antea parum firmo nixa fundamento, absoluta mole sua conciderat.—Leslaus. * PAIS LEY. * , i. 217 struction is, that, “during the first effervescence of the Reformation, the fabric was materially injured, and shortly afterwards its tall spire, said to have been 300 feet in height, having been struck by lightning, duringaviolent thunderstorm, fell, demolishing at the same time, the roof of the choir.” Although the architecture of the choir has been remarked as plainer than that of the other parts of the church, yet it is not improbable that the windows were decorated with flowing tracery. St Mirin's Aile.—South of the nave or present church, and closely adjoining to it, is the cloister court, a quadrangle of about 60 feet, the buildings around which still display evident traces of the piazza itself. From this court entrance is afforded to St Mirin's or the sounding aile, called also the Abercorn chapel, a building on the east side of the court, of about 48 feet long by 24 broad, and well-paved,—about 15 feet of the floor at the east end being raised above the rest. In the east gable is a large and very handsome window, of four trefoil-headed lights, (though now blocked up,) the arches filled with tracery, composed chiefly of quatrefoils. Beneath this window is a series of sculptured figures, in tolerably bold re- lief, apparently of ecclesiastics engaged in various offices prescrib- ed by the Romish ritual. These figures are placed in a sort of belt, of about a foot and a-half in width, extending between the two side walls, except in the space near the centre of the gable, where probably, at one time, an altar stood. This, with the pis- cina and its niche on the south wall, confirms the opinion of this structure having been the private chapel or oratory of the monks, whose magnificent church appears almost from the very first to have been put to general parochial use. On the north wall appear the * Renf. Char. and Scen. p. 35. Mackie, in his historical description, states, that the lofty spire, and a great part of the church, were demolished, in consequence of the following manifesto, issued by the rulers of the day. “Traist friends, after maist hartey commendation, we pray you faill not till pass incontinent to ye kirk of - and tak down ye haill images yrof, and bryng furth till ye kirkyard, and birm thym opping- ly, and syklyk cast down ye altris and picturis, and purge ye sayd kirk o' a' kynds o' monuments of idolatrie; and this ye fail not till doe, as ye will do us singular emplai- sance, and sae committis you till ye protection of God. From Edinburgh ye xii of August MDLX.” Signed, “ Argyle,” “James Stewart,” and “ Ruthven.” But with the opinion of this writer we cannot agree, as the above order was issued for the purpose, not of destroying the churches, but only of purging them of the images of a degrading superstition; and although some in their zeal might be carried farther than prudence dictated, or than the rulers proposed by their manifesto, we can scarce- ly suppose our reforming ancestors were bent on the work of reckless destruction, es- pecially as the following postscript is added to the manifesto: “ and fail not, bot ye tak gude heed that neither the desks, winnocks, nor doors be any wise hurt, or bro- ken, either stane work, glassine-work or iron-work.”—See M*Lellan's Cathedral of Glasgow ; a beautiful and interesting work, lately published. - 218 REN FREWS HIRE. two large arches, now filled up, noticed in our account of the tran- sept and choir. The roof is groined, the ribs springing diagonal- ly from two slender triplicated shafts on the southern side. Under the elevated pavement, at the east end, is a large vault 14 feet deep, the burying place of the Abercorn family; and on the south wall, between the large arches we noticed, is an inscription in memory of some younger branches of the Hamilton family. Nearly in the centre of the lower floor is an altar tomb, commonly called “Queen Bleary's tomb,” which, after lying formany years in a mutilated state, and exposed in the open air, was found, about twenty years ago, among the fragments of other pieces of sculpture. It was reconstructed, coated withstone-coloured cement, and placed in its present position, under the direction of the late Dr Boog, to whose taste the inhabi- tants of Paisley are much indebted, not only for the transporta- tion of this monument, from the cloistercourt to its present sheltered situation, but also for the removal of those ignoble buildings, which, at one time shaded the western façade of the church, blocking up the great doorway, and part of the fine windows. Round the up- per part of the tomb is a series of compartments, filled with bold- ly sculptured figures of ecclesiastics, quatrefoils, and shields with armorial bearings. On the slab, which is the top of the monu- ment, projecting so as to form a kind of moulded cornice over the sides and ends of the tomb, is the figure of a female, in a recum- bent posture, with hands closed, in the attitude of prayer, the head resting on a cushion, and over the head an elegant Canopy, of the kind common over Gothic niches. But whether this figure originally rested on the tomb, or whether all the parts put together belonged to the same tomb, or whether the tomb itself may not have been once an altar belonging to the private chapel, or to the parochial church, we cannot pretend to determine. This chapel being vaulted, and containing nothing but this monument, has an echo so remarkable as to have obtained for it the name of “ the sounding aile.” Instrumental or vocal music performed in it has a curious effect, from the prolongation and consequent mingling of the notes. The noise and re- verberation arising from the sudden and forcible shutting of the door, after the entrance of a visitor, are often very startling. But on the whole, the account of their effects, as recorded by Pen- nant" and others, is rather exaggerated, or perhaps the erection of * Pennant's Tour. PAISLEY. 219 the tomb within it, and the brick-work which closes up the beau- tiful window, have diminished the echo: which we are informed is liable to be considerably affected by even the filling of an adjoin- ing building, used as a hay-loft, it being then less perceptible than when that loft is empty — a singular fact in acoustics, proving that not only the form of a building itself, but also the buildings with which it is connected, should be taken into account, when quantity of sound is a desideratum. The late Dr Boog wrote an account of “Queen Bleary's Tomb,” which is published in Vol. ii. part 2 of “the Transactions of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland.” He seems to conjec- ture, from the figures in the east end of the aile being so differ- ent from any other work about the church, that they must be re- ferred to a period prior to that of the building of the present fabric; and he adds, “it is certain, from the foundation charter, that a church existed at Paisley before that time.” In his account of the tomb, while he considers the basement as forming part of the monument, he puts no faith in the Paisley tradition of its being that of Marjory Bruce.* This chapel, however, is generally consider- ed as having been built in 1499 by James Crawford of Kilwinnet, burgess of Paisley, and Elizabeth Galbraith, his wife, “who found- ed, constituted, and ordained a chapel, with its chaplain, in the church of the parish of Paisley, on the south side thereof, to the altar of St Mirin and Columba.” For its support, the founders granted the lands and tenements of Seedhill and Wellmeadow in perpetual alms. “ The charter bears to have been sealed with the seals of the Lord Archbishop of Glasgow and chapter; of the granters; of the abbot and convent of Paisley; of the burgh of Pais- ley, and others, to be obtained by grantees, or in their names. At Paisley, 15th July 1499.”f Six seals have been appended, of which five still remain. Within what formed the choir, and in the neighbouring grave- yard, as well as within the church, are many monumental stones, with inscriptions, interesting to the antiquary. Beautiful spe- cimens of these are to be seen engraved in the first volume printed for the Maitland Club of Glasgow. Elizabeth More, and Eupheme Ross, consorts of Robert II., Robert III., with Walter * See Antiq. Trans. Vol. ii. Part 2. pp. 456, 461. On this subject, some curious conjectural information may be found in appendix 3d, to the volume of the Maitland Club for 1831. - - + Charter in the charter-chest of the town of Paisley. 220 R EN FREWSHIRE, the great Steward, and his lady, are among the distinguished per- sons said to be interred in the monastery. Presbytery.—On the establishment of the Reformed church of Scotland, a presbytery was erected at Glasgow, and another at Dumbarton, to the former of which the parishes in the eastern part of Renfrewshire were attached, and to the latter those in the western. But in 1590, all the parishes in this county, with the ex- ception of those of Eaglesham and Cathcart, only part of which last is in Renfrewshire, were formed into a presbytery, the seat of which was fixed at Paisley. This arrangement continued till May 1834,” when, by a deed of the General Assembly, a presbytery was esta- blished in the lower ward of the county, having its seat at Green- ock, and to which that venerable court attached, in addition to seven parishes formerly connected with the presbytery of Paisley, the parish of Largs in Aryshire, and that of Cumbray in Buteshire, both of which formerly belonged to the presbytery of Irvine. Pre- vious to this division, the presbytery of Paisley contained 19 pa- rishes and 20 ministers, the Abbey parish being collegiate. It was by the division left with only 12 parishes and 13 ministers. But, in consequence of the erection of chapels into parish churches, which took place in the same year, and the subsequent increase of churches within its bounds, that Presbytery now contains, with one exception, as many parishes and ministers as it did previous to the division; and although for two years it returned to the General Assembly a minister and elder less than formerly, yet it is again entitled to return the same number as it did before the erection of the presbytery of Greenock. * Although since the year 1570, Paisley has been the seat of a presbytery, the meetings have not been uniformly held in that town. On account of the pestilence in 1645, the court resolved, on the 6th of November of that year, to hold their meetings at Houston, and this they accordingly did, till the 26th of March; in the following year, when they resumed their sederunts at Pais- ley.” We find also that between the 26th of July 1676, and the 5th of March 1684, the meetings of presbytery were held at Renfrew, probably from the ministers who then officiated at Pais- ley having refused to countenance the jurisdiction of the Episco- pal presbytery, in matters of church discipline. By the archbi- * “The presbíterie conveent at Houstoune, in respect of the visitation of the pes- tilence at Paisley, and resolvit to continew their presbíterial seate at Houstoune, till it pleasit God that Pasley were free of that seeknes.”—Presbytery Records. + Presbytery Records. PAISLE. Y. 22 l shop, this practice was ordered to be discontinued, and the pres- bytery were enjoined to hold their meetings at Paisley, the pro- per seat. Accordingly, the first meeting of that court, after the injunctions of the Archbishop, was held at Paisley on the 5th of March 1684. * - On the introduction of Episcopacy in 1661, the presbytery was broken up; but it was reconstructed in 1663, by an act of the archbishop and synod. The first meeting, under this new regime, was held on the 29th of October 1663, when the whole presby- tery consisted of only five members, + with two correspondents from the presbyteries of Glasgow and Dumbarton. † At the era of the Revolution, another change seems to have taken place in the constitution of this presbytery. For we learn * “Paisley, March 5, 1684.” “No exercise this day, because of some disturban- ces at the brethren's first meeting at Paisley. The exercise is continued on Mr Wil- son.”—Presbytery Records. f “John Hay, parson of Renfrew, moderator; James Taylor, Greenock; Wil- liam Pierson, Paisley; Andrew Abercromie, Kilmalcolm; and Alexander Turner, Neilston.”—Presbytery Records. - + At the time of the “Act of Uniformity,” 1663, by which 400 of the most zeal- ous and able ministers of the Church of Scotland were ejected from their parishes, the presbytery of Paisley consisted of 16 ministers, of whom one only conformed to prelacy; a second did conform, but it was at a later period. The name of the first of these was Mr James Taylor, of Greenock; and that of the second, Mr John Ha- milton of Innerkip. The names of the rest, all of whom suffered “ the loss of all things,” rather than abandon their principles, were as follows, and they deserve to be held on honourable record:—Mr Alexander Dunlop, Mr John Drysdale, and Mr James Stirling, all of Paisley; Mr John Stirling of Kilbarchan; Mr Patrick Simp- son of Renfrew ; Mr Hugh Smith of Eastwood ; Mr William Thomson of Mearns ; Mr William Thomson of Houston; Mr James Hutchison of Killallan; Mr James Alexander of Kilmalcolm ; Mr Hugh Peebles of Lochwinnoch ; Mr James Wallace of Inchinnan ; and Mr Hugh Walker of Neilston. “ These persons were not only deprived of their livings in time to come, but of the last year's stipend for which they had served ; and in the winter season (December 1663,) obliged, with sorrowful hearts and empty pockets, to wander I know not how many miles with their numerous and small fa- milies, many of them scarce knew whither. But the Lord wonderfully provided for them and theirs, to their own confirmation and wonder.”—Wodrow’s Hist. Vol. i. p. 326. 8vo ed. On December 14, 1670, an interesting meeting was specially held at Paisley, betwixt Archbishop Leighton and Bishop Burnet, on the part of the Episcopalians, and the brethren of Paisley, Glasgow, and neighbourhood, in the Presbyterian interest, with the view of bringing about an “accommodation” between the parties. A full report of this meeting is given by Wodrow in the second volume of his History, (2d ed.) lt ended in smoke. The Presbyterians were not satisfied of the sincerity of the mo- tives which led to the proposal; and the Episcopalians were not prepared to grant such concessions as would please the conscientious adherents of presbytery. In 1679 a meeting of persecuted Presbyterian ministers was held at Paisley, when a whole- some warning was drawn up by them against popery, together with a short vindica- tion of Presbyterian principles, but the paper was never printed. “After this,” says Wodrow, “till the Revolution, Presbyterian ministers had few or no meetings; and I shall have little more to say of them, but that they remained in retirement, few ven- turing to preach in the fields, and some now and then in houses. And through the following years I shall have little more to relate, but a continued scene of persecu- tion of ministers and people, and heavy oppression of the whole country.”—Wodrow Vol. iii. p. 176. - 222 R EN FREWSHIRE. that after the liberty granted in July 1687, the three presbyteries of Glasgow, Paisley, and Dumbarton, from the small number of ministers in each, formed themselves into one presbytery, whose meetings seem to have been held in Glasgow, as from one of our presbytery minutes, it appears that the actings of the court at that period, are recorded in the book of the presbytery of Glasgow. This arrangement continued only for a few months, as the presby- tery of Paisley appear to have resumed their meetings at their own seat in December following.” Presbytery Records.-As Paisley has long been the seat of a presbytery, and as the original parish, of which we are giving an account, comprehends more than one-half of the parishes now in- cluded within the bounds of that presbytery, it seems natural for us to take some notice of its records. They are preserved in four- teen volumes. The first volume commences 16th September 1602, and termi- nates abruptly 24th December 1607, part of the record having been evidently lost or destroyed. The volume has suffered from damp, but is entire, and perfectly legible so far as it goes. The second volume commences 20th April 1626, and ends 9th September 1647. This volume is in tolerable preservation. The third volume has suffered more from damp than any of the preceding, and the edges of a few of the pages at the beginning have decayed, but there is not much obliteration in consequence. It commences 22d September 1647, although the date is worn away and the first page happens to be bound up between the third and fourth leaves. “A copy of the Acts anent the Discipline of the Kirk apud Glasgow 8 Aprilis 1612,” has been introduced at the begin- ning of the volume. It ends 29th March 1660, but has the synod’s docquet dated 4th October 1660. . The fourth volume commences 25th April 1660, but stops short at the 6th page, after entering the minute of the sederunt of June 18th of the same year. Several blank leaves then occur, and at page 19th commence the transactions from December 27, 1687, thus omitting the record of the proceedings of the whole Episcopal pe- * The following is the minute on the occasion, (27th Dec. 1687.) “After the liber- ty in July 1687, by the appointment of the grall meeting at Edr, in August, in ye year forsd, the presbíteries of Glasgow, Pasley, and Dumbrittone, did joine together and made up one presbitrie, by reasone of the paucitie of minrs which continued until Deer of ye sd year. The actings of qch are to be found in the presbíterie book of Glasgow.”—l’resbytery Records. PAIS LEY. 223 riod, from 16th October 1663, to 7th September 1687, which are contained in a separate volume, being the fifth. The cause of this is somewhat curious. When the change to Episcopacy took place, and broke up the presbytery, Mr James Stirling, then minister of Paisley, retained the presbytery book, the volume of records now described as the fourth, and having the minutes of court written up only to the 13th of June 1660, and that on six pages. After this volume, the Episcopal clergymen, who succeeded Mr Stirling and his brethren, made many inqui- ries, but all their attempts to procure it were unsuccessful. Robert Park, late clerk to the presbytery, was summoned, 31st August 1665, to give an account of what had become of the volume, as the want of it occasioned many scandals, for which satisfaction was not made, to be buried, or forgotten. He did not appear on the day mentioned, on account, it is said, of sickness; but on the 14th of the following month, he gave in a paper subscribed by his own hand, solemnly declaring, that “ Mr James Stirling, late minister at Pasley, came and received the presbytery records from him.” The presbytery afterwards consulted the synod on the subject, but Mr Stirling having gone to India, they were obliged to submit to the want of the book, and accordingly commenced a record of their proceedings in another volume. After the Revolution, when many of the old ministers returned to their charges, inquiry was again made after the volume that had been so long amissing, and it was found in the possession of Mr James Stirling, minister of Kilbar- chan, nephew of Mr Stirling, formerly minister of Paisley. In con- sequence of this, the presbytery, at a meeting on the 5th of Febru- ary 1690, appointed Mr Stirling to deliver up the old presbytery book,+ at the next meeting, which he accordingly did on the 16th of April following. Inquiry was also made after the minutes from 1660 to the Revolution, or during the Episcopal period. But this inquiry proving unsuccessful, the presbytery seem to have left the blank leaves between pages 6th and 19th, in order that these minutes, should they ever afterwards be found, might be inserted in their proper place, and to have commenced to engross their pro- cedure from 27th December 1687, on page 19th of this vo- lume, which is styled “ the old presbytery book.” Hence the ap- pearance which this book presents, and hence has this volume com- * Minutes of Presbytery. t Presbytery records. 224 RENF REWSHIRE. pletely escaped any admixture of Episcopal leaven. This volume closes with the minute of 26th October 1699. The fifth volume, already mentioned, contains the minutes from 16th October 1663, to 7th September 1687. The history of this volume, which contains the minutes of proceedings during the Epis- copal period, is also somewhat singular. We have already no- ticed the unsuccessful inquiry made by our fathers after the mi- nutes of this period. After a lapse of nearly a century and a-half, Mr Douglas, then presbytery clerk, the present minister of Kilbar- chan, having got a slight hint of a volume having been seen in a private library, belonging to a family in Lorn, apparently forming part of the records of the presbytery of Paisley, immediately insti- tuted a correspondence on the subject, and after the lapse of a considerable time, during which his correspondence was going on, he had the satisfaction of delivering it up to the presbytery about twelve years ago, for which he received from that court an unanimous vote of thanks. How this volume found its way to Lorn, we cannot say; but Mr Douglas in a note to us, says, “this light volume (for it is not at all ponderous) had found its way, I presume, to that district of Argyllshire, through some one clergy- man or layman, a retainer of the Episcopal church, who seems to have inferred his title to retain the record in question, on the same principle on which more important documents found their way to Zion College.” “ * - e The sixth volume commences 7th November 1699, and ter- minates with the minute of 10th September 1707. The seventh volume brings down the minutes from 7th Octo- ber 1707, to 18th July 1722 : the eighth from 8th August 1722, to 19th of March 1735; the ninth, from 1st April 1735, to 26th September 1752; the tenth, from 25th October 1752, to 23d October 1774; the eleventh, from 30th November 1774, to 7th July 1790; the twelfth, from 5th August 1790, to 4th Septem- ber 1800; the thirteenth, from 3d December 1800, to 7th May 1823; and the fourteenth, from 4th June 1823, to the date of * The first notice of this volume, Mr Douglas had from Mr Storie, of Roseneath, and his correspondence was with Dr Campbell of Kilminver, and Hugh M“Lach. lan, Esq. writer, Glasgow, the last of whom is the person who put it into his hands. It is singular enough that it should be to the minister of Kilbarchan, the presbytery are indebted for the recovery of both of these volumes. May we not hope, that he or our present presbytery clerk may yet get some “slight hint,” which may lead to the recovery of a volume, which at present seems to be lost, containing the minutes be- tween 1607 and 1626, and which Óught to be the second volume of the records? Tº AISLEY. 225 the last meeting of presbytery, which was held on the 1st of this month, February 1837. Parishes of Paisley.—Since 1641, the old or Abbey parish of Paisley has had the benefit of two ministers. In that year the minister, Mr Calvert, agreed to give a colleague out of his stipend, (originally 16 chalders of meal,) “5 chalders, and that according to the act of high commission, and promised, moreover, that he would give a chalder more, provided the entrant should be agree- able to the presbytery, the parish, and himself.” The stipend of the charge, thus erected, has since received several augmentations, and it now consists of 22 chalders, half meal and half barley, with L. 15 for communion elements. + The stipend of the first charge, which was augmented in 1830, is 22 chalders, half meal and half barley, with L. 20 for communion elements, and about L. 19 as compensation for grass glebe. The arable glebe, including the site of the manse, consists of about 4% acres, and is well situ- ated for letting out as garden ground. This charge has a manse attached to it. The present one was built in 1824, and reflects great credit on the taste and liberality of the heritors. - From the increase of population in the parish, particularly in the town, an additional church became necessary, and accord- ingly in 1736, the burgh was erected into a separate parish, by a decreet of the Lords Commissioners for the plantation of churches. At the same time, a charter was obtained from Lord Dundonald, the patron of the parish, granting liberty to the magistrates and community to build within the burgh, a church or churches, of which the patronage was to be vested in the magistrates and town- council. In consequence of the arrangements they entered into, a church was erected in 1736, as the parish church of the burgh of Paisley. From the continued increase of the population, ad- ditional church accommodation became again necessary, and in the year 1756, another place of worship was erected. Being built on the height called Oakshawhead, the highest part of the town, it was distinguished by the name of the High Church, and the for- mer erection, from its relative situation, was denominated the Laigh Kirk or Low Church. In the space of other twenty- five years, the population still rapidly increasing, it was found ne- * Stat. Act. Vol. vii. p. 94. † There was once a house attached to this charge, although it seems never to have been recognized as a manse. It was the gift of the town to the second minister, who had the special charge of the burgh. 226 RE N FREW SHIR. E. cessary to add a third church, to the two already in existence; and accordingly, this was done in 1781, by its erection, near to the site of the High Church; and this place of worship, from its relative situation, received the name of the Middle Church. The burgh of Paisley, which till the erection of this third church, had continued one parish, was on the 20th of February of that year, by a deed of the Court of Teinds divided into three parishes, called each from its particular churches, the Low Church parish, the High Church parish, and the Middle Church parish. The patron- age of these churches belongs to the magistrates and town-council. The original stipend allocated to the minister of the burgh of Pais- ley was 1000 merks Scots, with an allowance in lieu of a manse and glebe. This, as well as the stipends of the other two ministers, has been several times augmented, and now the stipend of each is L. 800 per annum, communion elements being provided by the council and kirk-session. The stipends are paid out of the funds or common good of the burgh. A small addition to church accommodation in the burgh was again made in the year 1819, when St George's Church was erect- ed. This, however, was merely an increase of 600 sittings, in the Low Church parish, for the minister of the Low Church was trans- ferred to this new erection, which was constituted by the presby- tery, and still continues to be, the church of that parish, while the old Low Church is no longer used as a church in the establishment. Such is all the provision, which the law has made since the period of the Reformation, for the spiritual interests of this extensive dis- trict, with its great and rapidly increasing population. Its scanty nature will appear, if it be considered, that in the original parish There is a population of 26 177 with church seats for I 150 In St George's or Low Church parish, 6949 º ge 1850 In High Church parish, * J 4992 tº to 2000 In Middle Church parish, * 9762 & g tº | 500 - 37860 6500 To remedy the want of church accommodation in these pa- rishes, six chapels, including a Gaelic church, have been erected. All of these have been raised to the rank of parish churches, each, with the exception of the Gaelic one, having a parochial district assigned to it. The Gaelic Church was built in 1793, and although situated in the High Church parish, is intended for the accommo- dation of the Highlanders in general, in Paisley and its neigh- bourhood. The oldest of the other five is the church of John- ston, in the western district of the Abbey parish, built in the year PAIS LEY. 227 1792. Another was opened for public worship, at Levern, in the south-eastern district of the parish, on the 23d of March 1835, to which a pastor has been since ordained. In the burgh three similar places of worship have been erected, called the North Church; Martyr's Church; and the South Church; and all of them are already provided with ordained clergymen. A great ad- dition has been thus made to the church accommodation and pas- toral superintendence of our destitute population. Still, however, unless these places of worship be so endowed as to admit of a num- ber of seats being set apart for the poor, and the whole let at very moderate rents, the objects of an establishment will be but partial- ly answered. - The additional church accommodation, obtained in consequence of these erections, may be stated as follows: Johnston 1000 Q } Levern, 670 = 1670+ 1 150 in Abbey, =2S20 W § Gaelic, 1350 & Martyrs, 1250 = 2600+2000 High. —º North, 1000 + 1500 Middle, –2500 South, 1004 + 1850 St George's 2854 There is thus church accommodation to the amount of 12,774 sittings provided by the Establishment, for the whole population of the town and parishes of Paisley, amounting to 57,880. To each of the clergymen of these new churches, a bond of provision is granted, varying from L. 80 to L. 100. But it is understood that the bond shall merely specify the minimum stipend, while it is ex- pected that the income will always considerably exceed that small sum. Besides his stipend, the minister of the Gaelic Church has a manse, lately built for him, by his congregation. The small amount of church accommodation, as well as pastoral superintendence provided by the Establishment in this place, would have been more severely felt by our population, had it not been for the laudable exertions of our dissenting brethren, who, to a con- siderable extent, have remedied the evil. In these parishes, there are eleven different churches belonging to presbyterian dissenters viz. one to the Reformed Presbytery; one to the Old Burghers; three to the Relief; and six to the United Secession. There are also several bodies of Independents, including Methodists, Baptists, Glassites, Unitarians, and Universalists. In Paisley, there is also an Episcopal chapel, which was recently erected, and in the new town, is the only Roman Catholic Chapel within the bounds of this presbytery. The duties of the priest extend to a population 228 REN FREWSHIRE. of about 7000, chiefly immigrants from Ireland, one-half of whom may be reckoned as residing within the parishes of Paisley. The accommodation provided by these different denominations may be stated as follows: By the Reformed Presbytery, - * * - 1000 Old Burghers, &# sº & 300 United Secession, º ſº a {- 6540 Relief, gº gº {-º gºe 4290 Independents of different classes, {- 2600 Episcopalians, * = tº-º * 400 Roman Catholics, {--> tº 1000 16,130 The ministers of the Presbyterian dissenting churches are paid by their hearers, and their different stipends may be stated as vary- ing from L. 100 to L. 250 per annum. Three of them are pro- vided each with a house and garden. - * The following table exhibits the numbers connected with the different denominations in these parishes, with the number of sit- tings in the churches, and communicants belonging to each deno- mination. In this table, the children are reckoned to belong to the denomination of the head of the family. - Abbey parish, No. of families, 5377 Total population, 26.177 Low parish, 1555 6949 High parish, 3279 - - 14992 Middle parish, 1994 97.62 12205 57880 # g "d tº g rö º * & C o, ## #4 ## = } }; ; # ## # 5 # # 5 # C § 5 § 3 ; 3 3 # $2 85 '#3 ‘ā g 5 §D 3 p: * 5 ſº : ſº p:T g : R & CŞ C Abbey parish, 14049 510 （26 322 8926 2s15 1237 1799 Low parish, 3229 10] 76 16 l 108 636 467 262 High parish, 5547 402 164 35 2390 1372 l l 44 727 Middle parish, 5134 355 14I 35 1203 621 431 l 158 27959 136s 907 40s soºn 5474 3279 3946 * A tº . +3 .d 43 ç 3 .9 .* .5 § 6; $2 cº P . I § "S 3 . rö Tº * § Gl) co ..! 3 . § 3 B (f) .2 ro C F-4 º; ..? -º % +3 ºil 3, .2 -º ălă ă ă ă ### ## = ### ## 5 # g-f 9 O ſº cº; to -3 $2 P: c * -c. E º, § C -- *—t $2 ### * * *** 33 & ### 35 g : H 35 3 2, , Ø, ſº C. C. O & O C. H E Abbey parish, I 1165 963 4146 4055 8201 2841 2679 5520 Low parish, 2666 1054 10] I 972 I983 667 617 1284 High parish, 6234 32II 1965 2178 4143 1439 1331 2770 Middle parish, 3944 684 1868 1425 3293 1324 l 183 2507 24009 59.12% 8990 8630 17620 6271 5810 12081 * The marked difference of comparative numbers belonging to this class in the PAIS LEY. 229 The districts assigned to the new churches, with the exception of a small part of Levern, are all taken from the overgrown parishes included in this report. The numbers and denominations within their bounds are included in the above table. Still it may be sa- tisfactory to have these particulars stated in regard to the new pa- rishes, so far as they have been obtained. The following table exhibits the numbers and denominations assigned from the Abbey to the parishes of Johnston” and Levern.-- Johnston, No. of families, I 194 Levern, No. of families. 330 Total population, 55.17 Total population, 1812 * .d .: |# 4 |###|s #| | | #| || #24; #|á | |###|##|#####|4 |##|##|äg # 5 |#| || |#|: & #|ć |#9 |#|#9|5 #|; 3 ||38|a #3 : , ºr - || O #|} |33 |T = | . re; & H → a 5 r: | 3 c5 | = 9 |- $ + = | 3 ||3 |* g; ; ; 3 || 5 |73 ||3|- a 3|º #|º g| 3 ||3|.5 : Tº E § 5 |3|< |S| 2 |: ; ; ; *-* F-4 ; : |2 = | 3 + | 3 : T. E. iś F. t; C ſº. 3 |-|3| 3 || 3 || 3 & ! 9 || 5 |S|o 3 º' | Q = | < || 8 tº d = ||.C. 3 |3, ſº |c || ||23 |d Q ind 3.5 |z|2 G|Q Ö|E |C ſº di G|- Johnstone, 3113|421 1068|874|601 15:31, 235S]46 95l | 733||1684| 846| 583||429 Levern, 123253 ||38||123. 29, 1325, 565)15, 413. 141, 554 188! 68) 256 About 1600 of the inhabitants of Charleston, out of a popula- tion of 4000, have been placed under the superintendence of the minister of the South Church. The other part of his pastoral charge is detached from St George's parish. The districts assign. ed as parishes to the other two new churches are taken each from the old parish, within whose bounds the church is situated, and comprise each a population of from 3000 to 3600. The new places of worship are not yet filled. But since their opening, in the course of two years, they have added upwards of 1000 to the number of sitters in the Establishment,-an evident proof of the former want of church accommodation, in this place, four parishes cannot fail to attract notice. The difference is owing entirely to the different principles on which the survey was made. In the Abbey and Middle pa- rishes, the question was decided by the replies of the parties themselves. In the High and Low parishes, the question as to religious profession was determined, not exclu- sively by the claims of the parties, but by the actual information possessed by the el- ders who made the scrutiny, and by the replies that were given to such specific ques- tions as, What church do you attend ? How many sittings have you ? What is the name of the minister you hear? &c. After all, even in this way, we only approximate to the truth; and we strongly fear, that the numbers, even as marked in the High and Low parishes, fall considerably short of those degraded masses of corrupt society which are sunk in all the darkness of a state of practical atheism. * The reason of so great a population having been assigned to the minister of John- ston, is, that the same district was placed under his superintendence forty years ago, when the population, within the perambulated bounds, was only about 1500, and it was not thought advisable to make any change in this arrangement, that populous place being regarded more in the light of an overgrown parish, than as a portion to be de- tached from the Abbey. † In addition to the 1800 from the Abbey, it is proposed to add to the Levern about 400 from the parishes of Neilston and Eastwood, whose residence is in the neighbourhood of that place of worship, making in all about 2200. 230 REN FREWSHIRE. as well as of the attachment of the inhabitants to the church of their fathers. The other churches are, generally speaking, well attended. * Ministers.-After the period of the Reformation, the first indi- vidual whom we find on record, as minister of Paisley, is Patrick Adamson,” who was afterwards promoted to the arch- bishoprick of St Andrews, and is particularly noticed in the his- tory of the church. He is mentioned as minister of Paisley in 1573. He was made archbishop in 1576, and after a life of many singular reverses, died in 1591. His successor seems to have been Andrew Polwart, afterwards subdean of Glasgow. Thomas Smeaton is mentioned as next in succession, in 1578. He succeeded Andrew Melville as Principal of the College of Glasgow in 1580, and died on the 18th December 1583, in the forty-seventh year of his age. He was a man of prodigious learn- ing, and admired for the virtues of his private life, as well as the elegance of his scholarship.f Andrew Knox, of the family of Ramfurlie (Ranfurlie), from which the celebrated John Knox is also descended, is next on the list. He seems to have been translated from the church of Lochwin- noch, to that of Paisley, about the year 1585, in which he conti- nued till the year 1606, when King James, having restored the es- tates of the bishops, Mr Knox was promoted to the bishoprick of the Isles. He was again translated by the King, in 1622, to the Episcopal see of Raphoe in Ireland; when his son Mr Thomas Knox, was advanced to the bishoprick of the Isles. Andrew Knox is the supposed ancestor of the Wiscounts Northland, lately created Barons of Ransfurlie. He seems to have been esteemed a man of learning, free of bigotry, and averse from all manner of perse- cution on account of matters of church-government. So liberal * Mr Patrike Adamsone, minister, vi. xx lb to be payit of the thryddis of Pas- lay, November 1572. Register of ministers, 1567, page 35, printed for the Maitland Club in 1830. f The following is the account which honest James Melville in his “ Diary” has given of Mr Smeaton. “Mr Thomas was verie wacriff and peanfull, and skarslie tuk tym to refresh nature. I haiff seen him oft find fault with lang denners and suppers at general assemblies; and when uthers wer therat, he wald abstain, and be abut the penning of things (wherein he excellit, bathe in langage and form of letter) and yit was nocht rustic, nor auster but sweit and affable in companie, with a modest and maive graivite ; verie frugale in fude and reyment; and, walked maist on fut; whom I was verie 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 thrust my head into his bosom and kiss me.” pp. 56, 58. He was chosen to succeed Mel- ville as Principal of Glasgow College in 1580, where he was sole Professor of Di- vinity, and was also minister of Govan. He was Moderator of Assembly 1583; and he died on the 13th December of the same year. PAISLEY, 231 were his opinions, that, in conjunction with some clergymen of Pres- byterian principles, he concurred in ordaining several ministers of that communion, giving as his reason, that “he thought his old age prolonged for little other purpose, but to do such good offices for the propagation of the Gospel.” He died in 1632.* On his translation, Patrick Hamilton was appointed minister. This appointment seems to have been made in 1607. He was previously minister of Lochwinnoch. Robert Boyd of Trochrig, in the shire of Ayr, eldest son of James, “ Tulchan,”—Archbishop of Glasgow, was admitted mini- ster of Paisley, on the 1st of January 1626. Previous to this time, he had been successively Principal of the Colleges of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and was universally esteemed one of the most learned, liberal, and pious men of his age. His manse was the “fore house of the abbey.” Wodrow relates, that, one Sunday afternoon, the master of Paisley, brother to the Earl of Abercorn, with some others, forcibly entered his house while he was preach- ing, cast all his books on the ground, and afterwards locked the door. Complaint of the aggression having been made to the se- cret council, the Master of Paisley and the baillies were summon- ed to appear before them. But at the intercession of Boyd, and on the Master expressing contrition for the wrong he had done, the complaint was departed from, and Trochrig was ordered to be re- possessed. The baillies apparently yielded obedience to the com- mand of the secret council, and endeavoured to put Boyd in * In the year 1592, the country was much disturbed by apprehensions of the secret workings of the Papists, and measures were adopted for the purpose of counteracting them. In each presbytery an individual was nominated to watch their proceedings, to collect information from his brethren, and to correspond with a committee, which was to sit in Edinburgh for the common safety. Andrew Knox was appointed the corresponding member from the presbytery of Paisley, but deeds and not words were fitted for the eager spirit of the future bishop. Having received secret intelligence that George Ker, * a Doctor of Laws, and brother of Lord Newbattle, was about to proceed to Spain, with secret letters from the disaffected Lords, accompanied by a number of students of the College of Glasgow, he proceeded to the Island of Cumbray, and seized him. On his person were found letters from certain priests in Scotland, and blanks subscribed by the Earls of Huntly, Angus, and Errol, with a commission to one Crighton a Jesuit, to fill up the blanks, and address them to those for whom they were intended; These papers, with Ker's confession, disclosed the notable pro- ject by which the King of Spain was to land 30,000 men on the west coast of Scot- land, who, in conjunction with the troops to be furnished by the three earls, were to suppress the Protestant, and to procure the re-establishment, of the Roman Catholic religion in Scotland. . Much information regarding him may be obtained in the earlier part of Vol. i. of Dr Reid's valuable “ History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,” and in “ Gre- gory's Account of the Isles.” * Some accounts say erroneously, Barclay of Ladyland. RENFR.E.W. Q 232 IREN FREWS HIR.E. possession of his house; but the locks were found filled with stones and other articles, and the baillies refused to break open the doors. On Mr Boyd retiring, he was grossly assaulted by the women, with opprobrious speeches, the men having purposely ab- sented themselves. They threw dirt and stones at him, actually compelling him to leave Paisley, and retire to Glasgow. A complaint was made by the Bishop of Glasgow, of the disgraceful treatment of this worthy clergyman; but little or no justice was administer- ed to him, the noble aggressors being allowed to depart, on pro- mising to repossess the minister, and allow him the peaceful enjoy- ment of his house. The “rascally women,” as Wodrow calls them, also escaped merited punishment. Trochrig, however, never again exercised his ministry at Paisley, but died at Edinburgh, on the 5th of January 1627, * in the forty-ninth year of his age. Mr John Hay is mentioned as having succeeded Mr Boyd in his charge, on the 21st May 1627. He had been formerly mi- inister of Killellan, and he afterwards left Paisley to fill his father's place in Renfrew, about the year 1628. Mr John Crighton, who is denominated parson of Campsie, was admitted to this charge, by licence of the Archbishop of Glasgow, on the 1st of September 1629. He was a man of a singular cha- racter, and having been accused of erroneous doctrine, and other misdemeanours, he was deposed by the General Assembly held at Glasgow, on the 21st of November 1688. - - Henry Calvert, his successor, was ordained on the 1st July 1641. It was this incumbent who made provision for a colleague mini- ster, and the reason assigned for this is, that the charge had be- come “an over great burden to one.” His colleague was appoint- ed in October 1644. A few years after this arrangement had been entered into, it appears that Mr Calvert's health had become in- firm, for in October 1650, his confirmed disability induced him- self and his colleague, with the parishioners of Paisley, to sup- plicate the presbytery to concur with them, in inviting Mr John Drysdale, who had left Ireland on account of persecution, to sup- ply Mr Calvert's place. The presbytery having acceded to their wish, Mr Drysdale was appointed assistant to Mr Calvert, with a stipend of 700 merks, provided by the parish, during Mr Cal- vert’s lifetime. On Mr Calvert’s death, and the succession of Mr Dunlop, his colleague, to the first charge, the second charge * Wodrow's life of Trochrig, M.S. as referred to by Mackie, in his Hist. Descrip. of Abbey and Town of Paisley. * PAIS LEY. 233 was filled not by Mr Drysdale, but by Mr Stirling. Mr Drys- dale, however, appears to have continued at Paisley. For on the establishment of Episcopacy in 1661, he incurred the displeasure of the government for his non-conformity, and having been charged with turbulent and seditious practices, the Earl of Eglinton, as Sheriff of Renfrew, was ordered to seize his person, and send him in to the council, by the 9th of December. Mr Drysdale ab- sconded, and, as Wodrow conjectures, fled to Ireland. Alexander Dunlop was removed from the second to the first charge, on the 28th December 1653. He was of the house of Dunlop in Ayrshire, a branch of the Dunlops of Achenskeith. He married Jean, daughter of William Mure of Glanderston, and was father of the celebrated William Dunlop, Principal of the Col- lege of Glasgow. On account of his opposition to Episcopacy, he was, after being unsuccessfully dealt with by the council, silenced from preaching, but allowed to return to his family. At length, on the 6th of January 1663, he was summoned before the council, and having refused to take and subscribe the usual oaths, “ the Lords of Council ordained him to be banished forth of his Majesty's dominions, reserving to themselves to prefix the time of his re- moval; and, in the meantime, ordain him to confine himself within the bounds of the diocesses of Aberdeen, Brechin, Caith- ness, Dunkeld, and allow him the space of ten days, to go home, and order his business and affairs.” “He was,” says Wodrow, “a person of eminent piety, and extraordinary diligence and learn- ing, and singular prudence, 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 have been drawn up.” * William Pierson appears as minister of Paisley, in the first presbytery, under the new order of church government, which was held at Paisley on the 29th of October 1663. Mr Pierson having been afterwards presented to Dunfermline, received his ordinary’s demission, and a testimonial of his carriage from his brethren, on the 6th of February 1666. - James Chambers succeeded him in 1667, and continued mi- nister of Paisley till 1669; for we find, * Wodrow's Hist. Vol. i. p. 318, 8vo. ed. - “In this calm (the indemnity after Pentland, December 1667,) Mr Alexander Dunlop, and Mr James Ferguson, two eminent Presbyterian ministers, died.”—Ib. Vol. ii. p. 100. 234 RENF REWS HIRE, Matthew Ramsay mentioned as his successor, on the 2d of Sep- tember 1669. Mr Ramsay had been minister of Kilpatrick, from which office he was deposed in 1665, “for no cause alleged but his not attending their prelatical synods and presbyteries.” “ He now, however, accepted of the indulgence granted to the non-con- forming clergymen, and was appointed by an act of the privy-coun- cil to the vacant charge of Paisley. “He was,” says Wodrow, “a person of the most shining piety, stayed gravity, of the great- est eminency of gift, extraordinary sweetness of temper, and of a most peaceable behaviour.” f Mr John Baird, late minister at Innerwick, also received the benefit of the indulgence, and was appointed, on the 16th of December 1669, assistant to Mr Ram- say, who it appears had, from bodily infirmity, become unable to discharge the duties of his office. § Mr Baird, it is probable, would have been afterwards deposed, as he too was cited to ap- pear before the council, on the 6th of March 1684, for non-con- formity. But a testimonial of his sickness having been produced, his case was deferred until April. “Whether this sickness car- ried him to heaven at this time, I know not,” says Wodrow, “but I find no more about him in the register. He was a minister of great learning and piety, and singular skill in medicine.”|| To the indulged ministers the first who succeeded was . John Fullarton. The first sederunt of Presbytery, at which he appears, is of date 12th November 1684, when he was moderator. He was ejected at the revolution. In 1720, he was elected Bi- shop of Edinburgh on the death of Bishop Rose, and was one of the first of the post-revolution prelates. He died in May 1727. Anthony Murray was admitted minister of this charge on the 2d of April 1688. “The brethren gave him the right hand of fellowship, having been ane old actual minister.” No notice of him appears in the Presbytery records after 27th of February 1689. ** His successor was, William Leggat, from Ireland, who, for the time, was residing at Fenwick. On the 22d of August 1689, he accepted of the call from Paisley, (salvo.jure eeclesiae Hibernia,) and received the right * Wodrow, Vol. i. p. 427, 8vo. ed., . f. Id. Vol. ii. p. 133. # Id. Vol. i. p. 427. § Id. Vol. ii. p. 134. | Id. Vol. ii. p. 38. " Presbytery Records. ** Murray was a relation of the Duchess of Lauderdale, and in 1677 was asked by the Presbyterian ministers to use his interest in their behalf, with the Duke. He did so, and pressed particularly the relief of the persecuted ministers from the Bass. Lauderdale sternly refused, “the party,” as he said, “being unworthy of any favour.”—Wodrow, Vol. ii. p. 848. I’AISLEY. 235 hand of fellowship accordingly. He returned to Ireland in the end of 1691, and was succeeded by, Thomas Blackwell, who was ordained on the 28th of August 1664. He was called to the charge on the 5th of April 1693, but his ordination was delayed till the above date, for reasons men- tioned in the Presbytery records, one of which was his own “un- clearness” about accepting of the call. He was translated to Aber- deen on the 9th of October 1700. * . Thomas Brown, who had previously held the second charge, succeeded him in 1700. His successor was, Robert Millar, a man distinguished for learning and piety. He was author of the “History of the Propagation of Christianity,” and other works illustrative of the scriptures, and the history of the church. He was appointed to his charge in Paisley on the 28th December 1709, and died on the 16th December 1752. James Hamilton succeeded him on the 9th of June 1753, being translated from the second charge. He died 14th March 1782, in the sixty-first year of his age, and thirty-first of his minis- try.* Robert Boog, D. D. succeeded to this charge on the 29th August 1782, having, for about eight years, held the second. He died on the 24th July 1823, and was succeeded on the 9th of April of the fol- lowing year, by the present incumbent, who was translated from Ballantrae, where he had been ordained on the 11th May 1815. Second Charge.—Provision having been made by Mr Calvert, for a colleague minister in this parish, in the year 1641, as already mentioned, John Fullerton was appointed to it the same year, but he does not seem to have accepted of the appointment. He ap- pears to have been afterwards minister of Kilwinning. Alexander Dunlop was the first who held this charge. He was appointed to it in October 1644, and held it till his removal to the first charge on the 28th of December 1653. James Stirling was ordained his successor in this charge, on the 12th of June 1654. Like his colleague, Mr Dunlop, he was, on the introduction of Episcopacy, ejected from his charge. He wrote the * On this clergyman a curious epitaph was written by Mr Francis Douglas, au– thor of a descriptive work on “the East Coast of Scotland,” and printed in the Scotch Magazine of 1783. We cannot insert the whole, but the following is the concluding clauses. “ Unnoticed by the crowd, he chose to walk with virtue in the shade. Con- fiding in the Supreme Being, and animated by the hope of immortality, he bore a long decline of health with uninterrupted tranquillity, and died in perfect peace. Gentle shade 1 congenial spirits gather round thee: farewell. He died 14th March 1782, in the sixty-first year of his age, and thirty-first of his ministry.” 236 RENF REWSHIRE. first or historical part of that famous book “ Naphtali, or the wrestlings of the Church of Scotland.” . . William Eccles, an indulged minister, seems to have been ap- pointed to Paisley about the same time with Mr Ramsay (1669,) whose assistant was Mr Baird, and it is therefore probable his ap- pointment was to the second charge. The exact period of it we have not been able to ascertain. But he was deprived of his license by the council on the 30th of January 1684.f John Taylor, formerly minister at Mearns, succeeded to this charge in 1685. He, like Mr Fullerton, was deprived at the Re- volution. This charge seems to have remained vacant from the time of his removal till it was filled by Thomas Brown, as he is the next in succession, whose name ap- pears in the records. He was ordained on the 4th May 1698. From this charge he was translated to the first in 1700, and from that period, the second charge appears to have been vacant till the ordination of Robert Mitchell, on the 22d September 1722, who, on the 21st March 1739, was translated to the church and parish lately before erected within the burgh of Paisley. William Fleming, previously minister of Kirkintilloch, succeed- ed him, on the 26th June 1740; and died on the 2d January 1747. James Hamilton, who succeeded to this charge, was ordained on the 24th April 1751. He was soon after this translated to the first charge. John Rae, his successor, was ordained on the 24th January 1754; and died on the 4th September 1757. - Archibald Davidson, next in succession, was ordained on the 7th September 1758. From this charge he was translated to the parish of Inchinnan, on the 20th October 1761, and there after to the principality of the College of Glasgow. - Alexander Kennedy, his successor, received ordination on the 10th June 1762, and died on the 12th July 1773. He was suc- ceeded by Robert Boog, who was ordained to this charge on the 21st April 1774, and held it till his translation to the first, on the 29th August 1782. * The “reasoning part of Naphtali was written by one of the best lawyers of his time, Mr (afterwards Sir) James Stewart of Goodtrees.”—Wodrow’s Hist. Vol. ii. p. 100. f Wodrow, Vol. iv. p. 38. PA IS LEY. & - 237° James Mylne, his successor, was ordained on the 27th March 1783; and resigned his charge on the 4th October 1797, having been elected to the chair of Moral Philosophy in the College of Glasgow, which he still continues to fill. . * James Smith succeeded the Professor, and was ordained on the 26th January 1798. He held this charge till his death, on the 28th January 1817. The present incumbent succeeded Mr Smith, and was ordain- ed to his charge on the 10th April 1818. Low Parish.-At the opening of the new church in the burgh of Paisley, or the “Laigh Kirk,” Robert Mitchell was translated from the second charge of the original, now the Abbey parish, to this newly erected parish, on the 21st March 1739. He died on the 9th March 1746, and was succeeded by Peter Scott, who had been ordained as his colleague and suc- cessor, on the 27th June 1740. He died on the 4th August 1753; and his successor was - Robert Findlay, D. D. an exemplary minister, and a man of pro- found learning, who had been settled at Galston, on the 21st of March 1754. He was translated to Paisley on the 29th January 1756; thereafter to the Ramshorn parish of Glasgow, and ulti- mately to the Divinity Chair of the university in that city, which he filled till his death in 1814, at a very advanced age. He was succeeded by John Witherspoon, D. D. L.L. D., who was translated from Beith on the 16th June 1757. He resigned his charge on the 22d June 1768, and went to America, and became the distinguished President of Princeton College, New Jersey.” He died in 1794. James Morrison, A. M., from Strathblane, was the next incum- bent, having been admitted to this charge on the 29th June 1769. He died on the 28th March 1781, when his place was filled by Colin Gillies, who, having been ordained assistant and succes- sor to Mr David Turner of the West Parish Greenock, was admit- ted to this charge on the 19th December 1781; and died on the 6th March 1810. - John Reid, who was ordained his assistant and successor on the 17th December 1801, survived him only a few months. He died on the 10th of November of the same year. (1810.) - Robert Burns, D. D., was ordained on the 19th July 1811. He was removed from the Laigh Kirk to St George's, in which he * The best account of the life of this distinguished man will be found in the Edin- burgh Christian Instructor for 1830, p. 673. 238 RENFREWSHIRE. now officiates, but is still minister of the same parish, St George's being now the church of that parish. High Parish.—After the opening of the High Church in 1756, James Baine, A. M. was admitted to the charge, on the 22d April of that year. On the 26th March 1766, he resigned his charge, having joined the presbytery of the Relief Church, in which connexion he died in 1790. George Muir, D. D. succeeded him, on the 30th October 1766. He died on the 20th July 1771, and was succeeded by William Taylor, D. D. who was ordained on the 2d July 1772. Dr Taylor was, on the 15th September 1780, translated to the High Church of Glasgow, and afterwards succeeded to the princi- pality of the University in that city. John Findlay, D. D. his successor, was ordained on the 14th March 1781, and died on the 25th March 1821.* John Geddes, his assistant and successor, was ordained on the 9th February 1821. He was removed to St Andrew’s parish, Glasgow, on the 18th January 1832, in which he remained till his death, on the 24th May of the following year. The present incumbent succeeded him. He was translated from the Scotch Church, Crown Court, London, to which he had been ordained by the presbytery of Paisley, on the 21st of July 1831. He was admitted to his present charge on the 14th May 1832. Middle Parish.-Of the Middle Parish of Paisley, the first mi- nister was John Snodgrass, D. D., who was translated from the town of Dundee, and inducted to his charge in Paisley, on the 19th De- cember 1781, which he held till his death, on the 22d June 1797. Jonathan Ranken his successor, was ordained on the 15th June 1798, and died minister of this parish on the 7th March 1831.4 James Begg, A. M. from Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, Edinburgh, succeeded him. He was admitted on the 25th November 1831, and was translated to the parish of Liberton on the 18th June 1835. The present incumbent, his successor, was inducted to his charge on the 12th February 1836. * Johnston.—It was only in the year 1834 that the village or town * An interesting memoir of this faithful and eminently useful minister was written by Mr Thomas Crichton, Master of the Hospital, Paisley, and to which re- ference may be made for full information regarding him. Mr C. wrote the Account of Witherspoon above referred to. i Interesting sketches of these excellent ministers of this place, Dr Snodgrass, and Messrs Geddes and Ranken, will be found in the Christian Instructor for 1830, p. 510, and 1833, p. 801. These sketches were written by Mr Crichton. PAISLEY. 239 of Johnston was erected into a distinct parish. The place of wor- ship in it connected with the Establishment, however, was opened in the year 1794, and perambulated bounds were assigned to the locality, whose inhabitants were placed under the ecclesiastical su- perintendence of its minister. Those who have successively filled the situation of ministers there, are, - James Weir, ordained 1st June 1797, who resigned in 1801 ; Matthew Graham, ordained 20th January 1802, who resigned 7th December 1804, having been called to the chapel of Calton, Glas- gow; Andrew Harley, admitted 26th April 1804, who died 30th July 1807;” and Alexander Telfer, present minister, ordained 16th December 1807. Gaelic.—In the same year, the Gaelic Chapel was received into the number of churches in the Paisley presbytery. That place of worship, however, was opened in 1794. Its ministers since the opening of it have been, - William Simpson, settled 1795 or 1796, who resigned 21st June 1802; Walter Blair, admitted 3d June 1803, who died in July 1832; and the present minister, John Campbell, ordained on the 16th April 1833. * North.-Of the places of worship recently built, the North Church was the earliest that was provided with a minister. The first who was elected to the charge was Peter Macmorland. But be- fore his ordination he was chosen minister of the National Scotch Church, London, and ordained by the presbytery of Paisley to that charge on the 2d of April 1835. . Robert Stevenson succeeded him, and was ordained on 17th July, but, being soon after removed to the Middle Church of this town, he was succeeded by the present incumbent, who was or— dained on 31st March 1836. Martyrs, Levern and South.--The first elected incumbents in the other three churches Martyrs, Levern, and the South still con- tinue to officiate in the charges to which they have been severally ordained. The minister of the first was ordained on the 21st of July, the second on the 22d of that month, and the third on the 19th of August, all in the year 1836. Churches.—The churches are all in a state of good repair. We have already noticed the Abbey. The others are plain substantial buildings, and well fitted up within. The High Church, said to be * Of this faithful, but short-lived minister, an interesting memoir will be found in the Religious Monitor of October 1808. 240 R EN FREWS Hl R. E. the largest in Scotland whose roof is unsupported by pillars, is surmounted by a lofty, as well as a handsome spire, which attracts the eye at a great distance, and the Levern, which is the smallest of the Paisley churches, is picturesquely situated on the left bank of the river which gives it its name. Parochial Registers.-As previous to the year 1736, the whole of the district comprehended in this article was included in one parish, there was then only one parochial register kept. From that register, we find the minutes of the kirk-session as far back as November 1699. In the first volume, which brings down the minutes to August 1706, a number of leaves appear to have been torn out. The next volume commences with the minutes of Ja- nuary 1710, and ends in February 1775. A volume appears to have been lost, containing the proceedings of the kirk-session between February 1775 and March 1792. With the exceptions noticed, the minutes are complete, from their commencement in 1699 to the present time. The registers in the burgh parishes have been regularly kept, from the opening of the different churches, each parish having a distinct register. The sessions of the three endowed parishes in the town, however, meet together on particular occasions, for all matters connected with the poor, when they form what is called the general session. Each of the three kirk-sessions has a clerk of its own, elected by the town council in consequence of special contract; but the clerk of the Abbey session is chosen by the members of the court themselves, which is also the case with the clerks of the sessions of the unendowed churches. In the Abbey parish the registers of births have been regularly kept from 1676, and proclamation of banns from 1670, to the present day. In the burgh, one register was kept from 1738 till 1781. At that period, when the burgh was divided into three distinct parishes, separate registers were ordered for each, and they have been kept with great accuracy from that date to the present time. Baptisms and marriages, as well as births and proclamations of banns, are registered. The early records contain many curious notices of manners, and of the passing events in civil and ecclesiastical history. A few of these are given in the subjoined extracts:— “ 19th Januar 1604. The presbitrie being informit by thair brother, Mr Patrick Hamiltoun, that Robert Aitken and Robert Miller, pa: ochiners of Lochguinnoche, superstitiouslie behaved yameselves be ringing of girdilles ye day of Januare; as also that Hendrie Paslay, Robert Paislay, Rot. Patoun, and James King, in Muirdykes, PAIS LEY. 24l efter ane profane and godles maner behavit yameselfis in disagyissing yameselfis, quhilk is nathing less than abominaen in ye eyes of ye lord, as also being informit be thair Brother, Gavan Hamilton, Vicar of Kilbarchan, that James Andro,” &c. &c., “usit superstitious playis a little before yuill in the day callet yuilevinning, come throw ye clachane of Kilbarchan, making open proclamacn and giving oppen libertie to all men to tak pastyme for ye space of aucht dayes, as also usit superstitious playis upon the 26 of December, at ye Corsfuird, and gave yameselfis to strolling and drinking. The brithren ordaint all the forsaid persons to be sumond to ye next presbitrie day be thair brither, Mr Patrick Hamiltoun and Gavand Hamiltoun, Vicar at Kilbarchan.” “24 May 1638. The qlk day the brethren thought good that a solemne fast should be kept on Sonday come eight dayes, and intimatioun thereof to be made on Sonday next throughout the whole churches of the presbyterie, for the removeing of the sinnes of the land, especiallie the contempt of the gospell, wch justlie hath pro- voked God to permit lnnovations to creepe in into the church, and that it would please God to save this Kirk of Scotland from all Innovations of religioune, and that peace with the professioune of the pnt religioune may with libertie be interteined.” “30 Aug. The qlk day the brethren that were pnt did all solemnlie sware that they were neither dealt with nor suffer themselves to be dealt with to be perverted against the Covenant nec prece, pretio, nec uninis.” “l 1 Aprilis 1639. The qlk day the brethren thought it most expedient and ne- cessarr, that Mr Matthew Brisbane should goe with the Colonell Montgomerie and the companie with him, to Dunce-hill, for their co"fort, be preaching and other exer- cises of devotion.” “9 Decemb. 1641. The qlk day the brithren were acquainted that the Nynt day of Januar nextocii is appointed to be kept for solemne thanksgiving to God for es- tablyshing peace within the Kingdome of Scotland.” “ 19 May 1642. The qlk the Moderator, brethren, and remanent members of the presbyterie ordained Mr John Hay and Mr Henrie Calvert to goe to the Erle of Abercorne, and speake to his Lop anent the subscriptioune of the Covenant, and ament his coming to the Church, and anent the bringing back of his eldest sonne ac- cording to the Act of the provincial assembly.” “ 23 September 1643. Anent a lite of the Estates requireing that the brethren would be pleased everie one to put out a man with other presbyteries with the expe- ditioune to England. The brethren have declared their willingnes so to doe, but have referred the matter till the provinciall assemblie to be kept at Laimrek upon Tuisday next insueing, and after advisemt to give ansr.” “ 13 June 1644. The brethren ordeine Mr Ninian Campbell to goe to the armie nowe in England, and supplie there as Minister till he were liberat, and that in my Lord Loudounes regiment, and order Mr Jon Hay to writt to his Lop to that effect.” “21 May 1646. The qlk day the ministers at Paislaye, Kilmacolume, and Killel- lane, required powers fra the presbíterie for judicialle tryalle and examina'n of suche personnes as are suspected to have had complyance with James Grhame or Alex. Mºdonald, or receivit protection fra theme, qlk wes granted.” “ 7th Januar 1647. The qlk day compeirit Andro Semple, tourne-clerk of Renfrewe, and grantit he wes at the meetinge of the gentilmen of the shyre at Renfrewe qn there wes ame act made for outputeing a trowpe of horse for James Grhame. The presbiterie hes wrinet him apud acta to this day twentie dayes, to give up ane roll of the gentilmen yt were yre.” “27 Decr. l (;48. Iteported by the Brethren that the Covenant wes renewed with solemne fasting and humilla'n on Sabboth last.” “April 12, 1649. Compeared Johne Wallace of Ferguslie, Allane Wallace, his son, Rot. ffork, elder, and Rot. Alexr, late baillies of Pasley, who for their accessioun to the late sinfull ingadgment, are referred to the gnall assemblie.” e “ 27 Sept. 1649. Reported by John Sprewle, proveist of Renfrew, that he had apprehendit some women in Renfrew for eminent presumptions of Witchcraft. The prebrie appoynts Mrs Johne Hamiltoun, Allexr. Dunlope, the Lairds of Bischop- toune and Craigends, elders, to confer with the said woemen, and deale to bring them to ane confession.” - “ October 1649. The prebrie concludet that all the brethrene sall this nicht and the morrowe, deall with the persons apprehendet for witchcraft in Pasley and lècn- frew to bring them to confessioun.” “Feby. 5, 1650. The rest of the day and the morrowe to be spent in dealing with the witches now upon pannell, yt they may be broucht to repentance.” 242 REN FREWSHIRE, “May 16, 1650.—The solemne thanksgiving for ye overthrow given by the m-tye of God to James Grahame, appointed to be keiped on Wednesday come eight days, ac- cording to ye appointment of ye comission of the gnall assemblie.” “ Penult May 1650. Produced the confessions of Janet Wood, in Neilston—the prebrie finding her guiltie of gross sorcerie and witchcraft, they have earnestlie re- comendet ye same to ye lords of secret counsell or comittee of estates, for granting ane comission for her tryall and censure.” “ Sept. 1650. In respect our armye in ye feilds against ye sectaries is scattered at Dunbar, and yt ye gentelmen and ministris of ther westerne shyres are to meet at Kilmarnock, the prebrie appoints Mrs Allexr Dunlope and John Mauld to repaire thither, and to concurr wth them in any good and necessary course for saiftie of the cause and kingdome.” “10th August 1653. This day, unexpectedlie, Capitane Greene, one of the In- glish armye, with ane partie of souldiers, invadit the presbitrie, and by violence in- terupted their sitting, carried them out to ane house in the town, and deteined them yr as prisoners, alledging yt all presbries were discharged, and had no power to sitt. Therefter they being dismissed, did again conveine, and considring the greit dis- traction of the tyms, and the uncertantie of the continuation of yr liberties appointed the ordination of Mr William Thomson to the ministrie at Merns, to be at Merns the morrow, and the day to be observed as ane day of humiliatioun.” “ Primo September 1653. Compeared Capitane John Greene, one of the In- glishe officers, who, declaireing that he was come to sitt with the presbrie and attend all their dyets, that he might know what they did in their meetings, did exhibit ane warrand from Collonell Lilburne to that purpose. The prebrie did declaire their great dissatisfaction yr with, and yt with their consent he sould not sitt with them, whereupon he did forbear for the tym.” “ 25th April 1660. Mr Hugh Peebles reports, that as was appointed he did re- buke before the congregation loghwinzoch, Alexander Hamilton in Kilbarchan pa- rish, and Kathrine Blair, his wife, for scandalous conversing, eating, and drinking wt the Lord Sempell and the rest of his Popish family now excommunicat, particu- larly at their superstitious observance of Yool, also Giles Sempell for the same fault, and for dauncing with them at the same occasion ; item James Allason, John Gillis, Ninian Tarbert, for profaning the Lord's day in the house of Castle-Sempill, at their superstitious observing of Yool tyde.” “August 18, 1664. Robert Finny, parochiner in Pasley, being sumoned for his abuse upon his marriage day, by bringing a bagpipe thorow the tourne of Pasley, with many horse, playing along to the scandal of the people, contrary to orders made for- merly in this place against such abuses, and is appointed to be rebuked publickly be- fore the congregation, and to pay six pounds Scots of fine for his fault. “ Decr. 20, 1666.-Ament those within the presbytrie who were in arms in the late rebellious insurrection, the brethren report, that none to their knowledge within the presbytrie were actually joymed with their body who were in arms, only the young goodman of Caldwell, in the parish of Neilston, was with the laird of Caldwell in arms going to these rebells, as also William I?orterfield of Quarreltown, in the parish of Pasley, now vacant, also Alexr. Porterfield, the said William his brother in the parish of Kilphallan, now vacant also, and their names now already known and published in the printed papers. Two also now given up as suspected persons, who had fled their houses, when searched for by the soldiers, in the parish of Eastwood, Gavin Philsill in Pollocktoun, and Archibald Chisne, who also are already made known to his Majestie's forces, who are endeavouring to apprehend them.” Jany. 12, 1681.—The said day the Acts of Synod vere read, and the brethren in- terrogat as to their observing thereof, all of them reports, that they say the Lord's prayer, and either sings or says the doxologie. And they promise that so soon as the country shall in any measure settle cheerfully, to go about obedience to the act of the administration of the Lord's Supper.” - “ Dec. 21, 1681.—The Moderator produces ane order, pticularlie directed to him from the Archb., requiring him, in presence of the remanent brethren, to administer the oath called the Test to all schoolmasters, doctors, and chaplains within the bounds of the presbytrie, and to report his diligence hereament, betwixt and the first of Ja- nuarie 1682.” “ Feb. 7, 1083.—This day ye Moderator and brethren, conforme to ame act of sy- nod gave into Bayly Paterson in Renfrew, ye shiref deputes substitute, ye following list of disorderly schoolmasters within ye bounds, who have not taken the test, viz. James Cowie in Kilbarchan, Peter Pew in Nilstoun, Mr Wm Reid in Lochwnoch, PAISLEY. 243 John Richmond in Greenock, Thomas Wat in Carsdycke, John Semple in Houstoun, Mongo Mitchell in Innerkip, which list ye said Bailie has promised to give into the shiref depute, for officiating contrary to law. “Also Mr Gadderer giving in a list of some obstinat' persons wtin his parioch who refused to join wt him as elders in discipline. The Moderator and brethren do like- wise give in ye sd list to Bayly Paterson, who hes promised to give it up to the shiref depute.” “ March 24th 1697. The Presb. considering the great rage of Satan in this cor- ner of the land, and particularly the continued trouble of Bargarren’s daur. which is a great evidence of the Lord's displeasure being provoked by the sins of the land, (exprast as the causes of our former publike fasts) so to let Satan loose amongst us, Therefore the presb. judges it very necessary to set apart a day of solemne humilia- cne and fasting, that we may humble ourselves under God's hand, and wrestle with God in prayer, that he may restrain Satan's rage and relieve that poor afflicted dam- sill and that family from their present distress, and that the Lord would break in upon the hearts of these poor obdured that are Indicted for witchcraft, that they may freely confess to the Glory of God and the rescuing of their own souls out of the hands of Satan, and that the Lord would conduct and clear their way that are to lie upon yr tryell, In order to the giving of Satan's Kingdom ane effectuall stroak. Therefor the presb, appoints Thursday come eight days to be religiously and solemnly observed upon the accounts fors'd, in all the congregations within their bounds, and the same to be intimate the Sabbath preceding. “The presb. also appoints the whole members to deal with those who are indited, as they shall have occasion, in order unto their being brought to a confession.” - “ Aprile 14, 1697.-The meeting considering this day that the revising of the nar- rative of Christine Shaw's trouble was recommended unto them by the synod, there- fore they appoint Mr Turner to cause transcribe four copies, and send one to prin. cipal Dunlop, and Mr Ja. Brown, another to Mr Ballantine, another to Mr Wylie, and another to Mr Wilson, allowing them to advise with any of the brethren of yr respective presbitrys in the revising yrof, appointing them, ere they leave this place, to meet and appoint the time and place of their next meeting, that they may compare their animadversions, and put the qll relations in a suitable dress.” “ May 19, 1697.—Sed. The members of the presb. with the rest of the brethren that were in town. - “After prayer, Mrs M*Dowall, Da Brown, Ja Stirling are appointed, as frequently as possibly they can, to converse with the seven persons that are condemned to die for witchcraft.” “Mr Pa. Sympson and Mr Da Brown are appointed to have each of them a Lecture in the tolbuth to those that are condemned upon June 9, the day preceding their Execution.” - “At Pasley, June 9, 1697. Mr Sympson preacht this day in the tolbuth to the condemned persons, on 2 Tim. 2, 25, 26, and also Mr Brown on 1 Tim. 1, 16, ac- cording to appointment.” “The presb. did appoint the whole members to spend sometime this night with the condemned persons who are to dy to-morrow, and did allot to each one or two of the Brethren one of the sentenced persons, to be dealt with by them, and waited upon to the fire.” . “January 11th 1699. The Presb. appoints their Commissioners to the Assembly to plead that this presbytery be exeem'd from supplying the North at this time, upon the account of the sad condition of the Country through diabolicall molestations, &c.” From the minutes, it appears that the Presbytery took a very strong interest in the question of the Union of the Kingdoms in 1707, appointing a Committee of their number to wait on the proceedings of the Parliament and Commissioners at Edin- burgh, for the purpose of stopping what was then considered a dangerous and degra- ding proposal. The tumults of the times are matter of history with which we have nothing to do; but we may remark, that the Presbytery of Paisley did, in this in- stance, only echo the universal feeling of the more decided part of the Presbyterian body, that the Union would prove highly prejudicial to the Church, by lessening her influence with the legislature, and by merging her interests in those of a legislative body, in which Episcopacy could not fail to have an immense preponderance. Parochial Missions.—About ten years ago there was a town mission established in Paisley, which employed two agents. This 244 REN FREWSHIRE. society was dissolved about five years ago, when an Association was formed chiefly of members of the Established Church. That As- sociation has been abſe to employ three licentiates of the church as parish missionaries, who labour in some of the most populous places of the town and Abbey parishes. They are appointed by the session of the parish in which they labour, and under whose super- intendence they are considered as particularly placed. The funds for their support are raised by subscription, and by collections on Sabbath evenings, when the ministers of these parishes take, each his turn of preaching in the High Church. Sabbath Schools.--Besides the parish missionary Association, there are in Paisley two Sabbath school societies, one supported by members of the Established church, and the other chiefly by persons connected with the different denominations of evangelical Dissenters. The original Sabbath School Society, in this place, was established in the year 1796; and for nearly thirty years was supported by individuals of all denominations, who were disposed to give it their countenance. But in the year 1833 it was found that the members of the Established and dissenting churches, from causes arising out of the Establishment controversy, could no longer co-operate with that harmony, which had hitherto existed among them ; in consequence of which a separation took place, which gave rise to the two distinct Associations now mentioned. Still, however this separation, we ought to remark, has decidedly increased the number attending Sabbath schools in Paisley. There were last year not less then 4198 in attendance on these schools, being about 2000 more than are found on the list of the Society previous to the separation. The schools of both Societies are conducted on the same principle, and use the same books. Most of the Sabbath schools have juvenile religious libraries attached to them. The system of local arrangement is adopted as far as practicable, and a vigilant system of visitation is maintained. - Ministers' Classes.—Most of the clergymen, both Established and dissenting, have long been in the habit of instructing weekly classes of young men and young women of their congregations and parishes, in the principles of the gospel, by way of free and familiar catechising on the Scriptures or approved catechisms. The num- bers in these classes vary from about 20 to 150. The greatest bene- fit has been found to result from these interesting departments of pastoral duty. Education.—In these parishes, there has hitherto been a great 3 - PAISLEY. 245 want of the means of ducation, although of late, attempts have been making for the purpose of remedying this evil. The state of edu- cation appears, from a report of the presbytery given in to the Ge- neral Assembly, in May 1834. According to that report, there were then in the Abbey parish 32 schools, attended by 2318 scholars, including those who attended in the evening, making in a popula- tion of 26, 177, only about one in 11.28, or nearly 9 per cent. un- der education. In the town parishes, there were 33 schools, and 2458 scholars, making in a population of 31,460, only about one in 12.80, or about 7.81 per cent. receiving instruction. How very different is this from what it ought to be for in order to exhibit a parish fully enjoying and improving the means of education, there ought to be a fifth or a sixth part of its inhabitants receiving instruc- tion, and this we find to be the case, in some of the well educated parishes in Scotland. Of these 32 schools in the Abbey parish, not one is parochial. One of the teachers has an annuity of about L. 10 or L. 12, being the interest of a sum of L. 240, left by William Maxwell, Esq. of Bredieland, as a small endowment for the improvement of educa- tion in the parish. Four of them are furnished with school-rooms, built by subscription, and kept in repair by a committee of subscrib- ers. All the other teachers are wholly unendowed. The 33 schools in the town of Paisley include those called the town schools, whose teachers are appointed by the council, and over whom that body exercises a particular superintendence. The first of these is the grammar-school, in which the Latin and Greek languages are taught, and from which, for many years past, some of the most distinguished classical scholars have been sent to the neighbouring University of Glasgow. Had all the funds original- ly destined for the support of this school been retained, the rector would, at this day, have been provided with an ample endowment. For we find, that, in the year 1576–7, seven roods of land, with the revenues and endowments of the altars and chaplaineries in the church of Paisley, that is, a chapel formerly in the town of Pais- ley, dedicated to St Rock, were bestowed on the magistrates and community of Paisley, for the erection of a grammar-school. * These endowments, however, through the lapse of time, have, in a great measure, been lost sight of; and the income of the teach- * Histor. Descrip. cf Abbey, p. 86. 246 RE N FREWS EIIR E. er, at this day, consists of merely a school-house, dwelling-house, and about L. 17 per annum, with the wages of the scholars. * There are other three schools which may be called town schools, two in which the English language is taught, and one in which writing, arithmetic, and practical mathematics are the branches of instruction. The teacher of each of these schools is furnished with a school-room; one of the English teachers has in addition a dwel- ling-house, and the other, as also the commercial teacher, a salary of L. 8, 6s. 8d. per annum, from the funds of the town. The only other teacher within the burgh who, when the report was given in, had any thing like an endowment, was the one in Seed-hill, who, in addition to a school-room and dwelling-house, enjoyed, as he still enjoys, an annuity of L. 5, left for the purpose of education about fifty years ago, by a person of the name of Park. Such was the state of education in Paisley within these two years. But it is refreshing to think, that active exertions have been set on foot, for the purpose of remedying the evil of so great a want of education as then existed among us ; and, from the libe- rality of the friends of education, there is great reason to hope, that these exertions will, ere long, be crowned with success. The heritors of the Abbey parish have resolved to assess themselves, in the legal sum of three chalders, for the support of three parochial teachers, each of whom to be localled in one of the three dis- tricts of the parish, viz. one in the east, one in the west, and one in the central or middle district. A school has also been recently erected in the New Town, from funds left for this purpose, by the late Mr and Mrs Corse of Greenlaw. From all these sources, it is expected that a great addition will be made to the means of educa- tion, and, from the additional encouragement to teachers, an im- provement in its quality. To the parishes within the burgh of Paisley, a grant from Go- vernment of L. 700, for the purpose of building schools, was lately obtained, which has been so increased, by the liberality of the in- habitants, as to have afforded them the means of erecting three new school-rooms, and of increasing the accommodation of an existing one. The general session, who had previously built a school-house by means of funds at their disposal, have, along with a certain number of subscribers, the superintendence of these schools, and they have guaranteed to each teacher a salary of L. 15 per an- * When the school is well attended, the teacher possesses a very competent in- COIIl Q. 4 PA1 SLEY. 247 num, which enables him to teach at a reduced rate of wages, thus bringing the means of education within reach of a class of our townsmen who could not have otherwise procured this blessing to their offspring. The rate of wages per quarter in these sessional schools is 2s., and they are at present attended by nearly 700 pupils. - In the New Town, a commodious infant school, with dwelling- house for the teacher, has been lately erected by public subscrip- tion. The ground was gifted by James Kibble of Greenlaw, Esq. along with a handsome subscription, in aid of the building. It was opened in July 1835, and the average number of scholars that have been since attending it is about 80. The ministers of the town as well as of the Abbey parish are trustees. In the town there is one charity school, founded by Mrs Mar- garet Hutchison, and additionally endowed by a donation of L. 500 from the late Walter Carswell, Esq. A commodious school-house, capable of holding 250 pupils, has been erected; and there are al- ways under tuition from 200 to 250 young persons. The inhabitants of Paisley having thus exerted themselves to increase and improve the means of education, especially among the poor and working-classes of the community, have also begun to turn their attention to the introduction of an improved system of education, for the benefit of those whose circumstances enable them to give to their children the higher branches of instruction. With this view, an Association has lately been formed, for the erection of a seminary to be called “The Paisley Academy,” in which, French, Italian, and German, and other modern lan- guages shall be taught, with the principles of mathematics, me- chanics, and different branches of natural history and philosophy. It is expected, that, if the plan succeed, the Paisley Academy will have associated with it a regular “school of arts,” so as to furnish to the inhabitants of Paisley and its neighbourhood, the means of completing the education of those of their children not intended for one of the learned professions, without the necessity of send- ing them to a distance. Theological Halls.-Paisley is the seat of not less than two se- minaries for theological education; the one connected with the Reformed Presbyterian Synod, and under the charge of the Rev. Andrew Symington, D. D.; the other connected with the Relief Synod, and under the charge of the Rev. James Thomson, D. D. RENFREW. R. 248 REN FREWSHIRE. These gentlemen are also ministers of congregations respectively in the town, and during the hall term (which is in the months of August and September) their pulpits are supplied by ministers spe- cially appointed by the synods. The number of students at both of these institutions may average 40. Each hall has attached to it an extensive collection of theological books. - Religious Societies.—Paisley was for twenty years the seat of very flourishing Bible Society, under the name of “ The Paisley and East Renfrewshire Bible Society ;” which, besides supplying home wants, sent annually many hundred pounds to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and other societies of the same kind. Of late it has existed under the form of four female Bible associa- tions, which have done much good by distributing Bibles, purchas- ed, lent, or gifted to the poor of the place; and which have also distributed of their charity to the Highlands, colonies, and foreign parts. The missionary enterprise was early befriended in this place, and several associations in behalf of the London, Scottish, Bap- tist, and Continental Societies, have from time to time lent their aid to the good cause. Of late, various circumstances have directed the attention of the Christian public more immediately to the sup- ply of spiritual wants at home; but the visits of the representa- tives of these and other institutions of the same nature are still hailed with pleasure, and liberal collections and subscriptions, from time to time, made in their behalf by all denominations. IV.-PoPULATION. - State of the Population.— The population of the Abbey and town parishes may be distinctly traced from the year 1695; and, ac- cording to the statements given at different periods, it is as follows: Abbey. - Town. Total in Year, Families. Souls. Families. Souls. Abbey & Town. 1695, 435 2200 1755, 2509 4290 6799 1781, 1536 11,100 In the above table we have not distinguished the males from the females, as there is no record of the number of each, at the different periods referred to. Besides, in the Abbey parish, the number of souls is mentioned only at one of the periods; at the other two, we have only the number of families in the parish. From the year 1791, we are able to give the statement of the population with more accuracy, distinguishing between the males and females in each year in which the census was taken, IPA IS LEY. 249 • Abbey parish. Town of Paisley. - Year. Fam. Males. Fem. Total. Fam. Males. Fem. Tot. Total in • f Ab. & Tri. 1791, 2255 5259 5533 10792 3232 6577 7223 13800 24592 1801, 2991 6502 7561 14153 3945 7821 9205 17026 31 179 J811, 3612 7614 917] 16785 4446 8843 11094. 19937 36722 1821, 4210 9609 10966 20575 5730 12133 14295 26428 47003 1831, 5306 12062 13944 26006 7002 14460 17000 3.1460 57466 According to the census of 1831, the whole population amounts to - 57,466 Of this number, the burgh contains sº wº tº 31,460 The New Town and suburbs in Abbey parish, sº * 14,739 Making the whole within the bounds of police of the town and suburbs of Paisley, gº tº * 46,199 The remaining portion of the population in the Abbey parish may be thus stated, viz. - In the village or town of Johnston, iº * * 56.17 Elderslie, tºº – gº cº 1099 villages of Thorn and Quarrelton, - º * 847 Nitshill, Hurlet, and Dovecothall, * - 1000 country districts, º tº * --- * 2704. Since the above census was taken, there has been an increase in both the Abbey and town of Paisley. The census taken about two years ago, and which we have adopted under the ecclesiastical head, makes the population of the Abbey 26, 177, and of the Town 31,703,-of the whole 57,880. But since that period the increase, we have reason to believe, has been very rapid, as a number of ad- ditional houses have been built, both in the town and suburbs of Paisley, and in the village of Johnston and its neighbourhood. At present the public works in Paisley are on the increase, and there is a large mill about to be erected at Johnston, which, it is said, will give employment to not fewer than 200 individuals, so that when we take into consideration, not only the persons who will be actually employed at all these works, but also their families, and the victual-dealers and clothiers required to provide the necessaries of life to this additional population, we may anticipate an increase in the number of the inhabitants, on a scale equal to, if not greater than any we have yet had occasion to record. The average number in each family in the Abbey parish is 4.7; in the town 4.4 ; in both taken together 4.6. The number in each family of the town and village population, however, is very different from that of the country. Thus, of the west- ern part of the parish, including Johnston and Elderslie, the number of families in the villages is 1593, and the population 7434, making the average number in each family 4.6 ; whereas the number of families in the country locality of that quarter is 53, and the population 370, giving an average of 7, or nearly so, to 250 - REN FREWSHIRE. a family. This arises from the number of servants kept by those employed in agriculture. The proportion to each family, in an- other district of the parish, is even greater than this, and is to be ascribed to the bleachfields in that locality, in which many High- land girls are employed, who lodge together in large apartments provided by their masters, and each of these dwelling-places is reckoned the abode of a single family. The yearly average of births recorded for the last seven years may be stated as follows: Males. Females. Total. In the Abbey parish, 225 206 431 Low do. 34. 33 67 High do. 75 64 139 Middle do. 52 53. 105 In all the parishes, 386 356 742 But this is no satisfactory proof of the number of births in the different parishes, many neglecting to register. Of 3022, the total number of births recorded in the Abbey pa- rish, for the last seven years, it appears that 23 are twins, that is, one in every 66 children registered is at an average a twin. Of marriages, the following may be given, as the yearly average for the last seven years, or rather of proclamations for marriage, for the marriage is not always celebrated in the parish in which the parties are proclaimed. In the Abbey parish, 286 Low do. 77 High do. l42 Middle do. 110 In all the parishes, 615 The average of deaths cannot be ascertained for the last seven years, as no regular register of them has been kept during the whole of that time. We have, however, been favoured with an excellent mortality bill, drawn up by Dr M'Kinlay of this town, for the year ending 31st December 1834, from which it appears, that during that year there died in the Abbey parish and burgh parishes, in all 1824. In the Abbey parish, the population may be thus divided. Population under 15 years of age, * 10331 betwixt 15 and 30, t- - 7818 30 and 50, tº- sº 5419 50 and 70, º tº 2007 upwards of 70, sº tº sº 431 26006 PAIS LEY. - 251 In this parish, the number of unmarried men, bachelors and widowers, upwards of 50 years of age, amounts to 274, and of un- married women, upwards of 45, to 507. The deaf, dumb, and in- same, are 50 in number. These particulars in the burgh parishes have not been ascertain- ed, but they may be regarded as existing in a similar proportion when taken in connection with the population. We may add, that in proportion to the population, Paisley can show as many instances of longevity as most places throughout Scot- land. No doubt our people who are employed in mining and mecha- nical operations are liable to many accidents, which tend to shorten human life, and in some of our manufactories the employment is by no means of the most healthful description. Within these few years, however, we attended the funeral of a man” who died at Elderslie, in the 116th year of his age; an individual lately died at Thorn, aged 100 years; and on the 20th of August last, there was present on a convivial occasion, a woman, in her 94th year, of the name of Jean, who had the pleasure of seeing, on that occa- sion, her daughter Jean, her grand-daughter Jean, and great- grand-daughter Jean, all named after each other in succession. Within these few weeks we know of four individuals in the town who have died at the venerable age of 90 and upwards. Land-owners.-Of landed proprietors, not a great number are resident. But in addition to those that reside, a considerable number of gentlemen who have realized, or who are realizing, an independent fortune, live either in the burgh, or in the country part of the Abbey parish. - General Habits of the People.—There is nothing peculiar in the language spoken by the inhabitants of Paisley. Like that of other parts of the country, it may be said to have its provincialisms; but, upon the whole, these are less marked than they once were, and within the last forty years, the language of the natives may be said to be much improved. The custom is still too prevalent of making bargains over a glass, as it is called, or in a public-house, and it is much to be re- gretted that the practice of dram-drinking is so very common as it is. The ice in winter, and the bowling green in Summer, the race-course, and the theatre, are favourite places of resort with many of the inhabitants. * Hugh Shaw, born in Sorbie, served under the Duke of Cumberland in 1745–6. 252 F EN FREWS III R E. The young, on public days, give evidence of their taste for dress. On ordinary days, the girls employed in factories, or in sewing manufactured goods, generally wear a large cloak or mantle of cloth or of tartan with a hood, which may be noticed as the only peculi- arity in the dress of our town. When trade is flourishing, the people, on the whole, enjoy, in a considerable degree, domestic comfort : but there are so many vicissitudes in the trade of the place, and reverses are so frequent, that after one unfavourable period, numbers have scarcely risen above their difficulties, when they are again obliged to encounter fresh ones. The circumstances of those in the country part of the parish are, in general, not so fluctuating. At the same time, of late years, the farmers have, from their high rents, and the low prices of grain, scarcely made that progress with the manufacturers, in improving their circumstances, which, from their industry, we might naturally have been led to expect. . About forty years ago, our people were reckoned among the most intelligent, moral and religious inhabitants of Scotland: and still a great many may be so considered. But various circumstan- ces having concurred in causing a deterioration in these respects, particularly since the era of the French revolution; and our popu- lation having greatly outstripped the means of moral and religious education, many have been left to grow up in ignorance of the first principles of Christianity; and too many, alas ! have had their minds sadly imbued with prejudices against its sacred truths and institutions. I)istinguished Men.—Of natives or inhabitants of Paisley, many have distinguished themselves in the different walks of life. Some of these we have already noticed, and others will fall to be men- tioned in the sequel of this account. Others, perhaps, not less distinguished, but whose modesty prevented them from taking an active share in the more public scenes of life, now live only in the grateful recollection of their own townsmen, while we cannot but believe, that many of our greatest benefactors are no longer re- membered. - Among persons of eminence, we may notice the following: Andrew Knox, a relation of the illustrious Reformer, minister of Paisley, and afterwards Bishop of Raphoe; Patrick Adamson, after- wards Archbishop of St Andrews; Thomas Smeton, afterwards Principal of the College of Glasgow; Robert Boyd of Trochrig, PAl SLE Y. 253 who had been successively Principal of the Universities of Edin- burgh and Glasgow, and then promoted to be minister of Paisley; Alexander Dunlop, father of the Principal; Robert Millar, author of the “ History of the Propagation of Christianity,” and other works of merit; John Witherspoon, afterwards President of the College of New Jersey, and one of the best divines of the Scot- tish Church; Robert Findlay, the late eminently learned and pious Professor of Theology in Glasgow College; Robert Tan- nahill, the author of many beautiful Songs; Alexander Wilson, the celebrated American Ornithologist; Dr Robert Watt, author of the “Bibliotheca Britannica;” John Henning, the distinguish- ed modellist; and William Motherwell, whose genius and highly gifted poetical talents have been lately consigned to an early grave. Of eminent natives still alive, we notice John Wilson, the distinguished Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Uni- versity of Edinburgh ; and Dr John Thomson, one of the orna- ments of the Edinburgh Medical School. The authors of the former Statistical Account of this parish, Dr Boog and Dr Snodgrass, deserve a place in any catalogue of distinguished men; and it is worthy of notice, that John Wilson, Esq. of Thornley, who rendered such eminent service in drawing up the articles on Agriculture and Geology in that account, still survives, in the enjoyment of excellent health, at a venerable age. V.-INDUSTRY. - The following table exhibits a view of the amount, employments, &c. of our busy population in the year 1831. 254 RENFREWSHIRE. Ķīgāſ 99ț¢/g|800/pſ66/9857.Tī£99g|gț8||683 |9908,9Ø09,89|[ | ſg | SL ||.09 [[199† 19. Þý608 | 33993 || Sf9 |98ț¢ Il ſº LL || 39 |9(9698 gĢ69 |g99969 106 |98 |8857 |66ſ, ſó†* * №giſ; I |g969 | {9/8 |Þ0689/, |ZSŤ [ [g 198 | [ |89g. I 189ț¢ | q2 IlmųO AAOTI †886 |[ || 866 | -3 |930/, I × |86||993 ||I/, |96/, 1891, ſº6Z þýg6 I |Þ886 |89țg |9ØğýS& [ |ſ, [0Ø Ø I ſº II | [ || 9IZ 1999 ||{0. InųO 9Uppſ||W IØ9; II， ÞțZI90] [66] [89 |0ț79 ſõIOZ|' ' | ' '* * $608 |[õ9ț [ [[6 L/, [08898g [ [60 Ig |0 |99Ī |0 || 938 |808 | q0.InųO qãIH 90094|glgozję819 I |gglº-I |g9g|108|03||SgőIſºgºzſz91 | l5 | 91 |86Ľg 190093 ſº68 I |39031 | 923 ||6287 || @I ILI |8||9089 ||0||81| qsſitàÁøqqy �·•، -}1-ſz:|"EL∞ eð}–}= # >ļa g =|8. zOļ ȘI:] E UJ!=' 1881! Igsil IISI ' '1081 |±| 5șĒĻ ĒĒĒĒĒĖĘ ę Ę**j𠧧§§§§§|3. ř[#|#š | Ē §, | Ă | Ș | E. ? |#| ? |№. È |# = | Ă ă ă | ā Ē | -3đŠË, Ë， Ē|3， 5 #|į #ff & | & | & 5 | 5. *SNOIJIVYISIJNÍ) NŐIĒ ja 5Ë5$|Ēģ§§！ 2žšįĒĒ}Ē. | .șğ ĢĒĒšā§§Řā|ſ| 3 Î |  | sansniva JNaſsaſſaoºsholaeſ-gºv|g |#|#| ??? |#|#|Ģēļģ Ķ Ļº g | ſā ģ£ ș| ?.?$ $ $ $ | E. 5. §-|ğ Ģ||Ķ| ? |Ē| 3Ē± sihi, xa norīvināo） Tv Loſ |#| |#|#|° = |55|#šā|#|#| |#| ? |#| ? %�## #|# = žĒĒ|ºff|Ē| ţă | ? ?ğ.Ē●ĒEl “Iminiſtinoſyrov. Ni??* NGIYICITIIHO’SŐTITIIN V JI*SCII" I •# | ? | ?CIJI KOTIĆIINGI SÕITIV INȚĂ | ĐNICInTIONI ‘SNOSTIŞIĞI | JIO SNOIJIVāIn OOO || ~IJNVI QIN V SSISQOH · Igs I og IOS I UGOJ ºstea X ua L Jo poſtad qobº ſe uoņēIndoā sų jo KretauinS e qȚIA $ 139 [ NI AGITSIVÆ HO SQSNĘŁO NO ILV InđOåI PAIS LEY, 255 Parish Rental—The valued rent of the parish is L. 11,944, 13s. 4d. Scots, the real rent L. 22,415, 17s. 8d. Sterling, divided among ninety-five landed proprietors, of whom seventeen possess each L. 100 Scots or upwards of annual valuation. We here sub- join a list of the land-owners possessed each of the yearly income, from his land, of L. 50 or upwards. - - The Most Noble the Marquis of Abercorn; The Right Ho- nourable George Earl of Glasgow; The Right Honourable Lord Blantyre; The Right Honourable Lord Douglas; Sir Michael Shaw Stewart of Greenock and Blackhall, Bart. ; Sir John Max- well of Polloc, Bart.; Alexander Speirs, Esq. of Elderslie; Lu- dovic Houston, Esq. of Johnston; Robert Fulton, Esq. of Hart- field; The British Linen Banking Company; The Town of Pais- ley; Misses Dunlop of Househill, and Mrs Campbell; James Kib- ble, Esq. of Whiteford; Andrew Buchanan, Esq. of Hillington; William Maxwell, Esq. of Brediland; William Barr, Esq. of Ferguslie; John Wilson, Esq. of Thornley; James Gerrard, Esq. of Whitehaugh; Charles James Fox Orr, Esq. of Thornley Park; Robert Smith, Esq. of Barshaw ; H. B. Stains, Esq. of Braehead; Andrew Brown, Esq. of Auchentorlie : William Sim, Esq. of Gallowhill; Adam Hamilton, Esq. of Lounsdale; The Trustees of the late John Shedden, Esq. of Woodside; The Heirs of the late William King, Esq. of Lonend; Robert Dalgleish, Esq. merchant, Glasgow ; J. P. Storrie, Esq. of Iłiccarsbarr; Miss Christie, Paisley; Trustees of the late Boyd Alexander, Esq.; Heirs of the late Robert Barclay, Esq. of Glen; Robert Orr, Esq. of Lylesland; The Heirs of the late William Peock, Esq. of Meikleriggs; James Sharp, Esq. merchant, Glasgow: Thomas Ro- bertson, Esq. of Thornleymoor; John Wilson, Esq. of Ferguslie ; The Heirs of the late Hugh Ferguson, Esq. writer, Glasgow; The Heirs of the late John Bell, Esq. Woodside; Faculty of Procura- tors, Paisley; Miss Braid, Carriagehill. Agriculture.—In the last Statistical Account, we find the fol- lowing remarks. “The husbandry of this parish, as of all the west of Scotland, was, about the middle of this century (the 18th,) in a most unprosperous state. The indigent circumstances of the farmers, their indolent habits, the want of roads, of wheel-carriages, and proper implements of husbandry, all conspired to obstruct the improvement of the soil. Till about 1770, lime, coal, grain, &c. were generally conveyed on horseback. The old servitudes of carriages, kain, labour, thirlage, &c, still existed, with many prac- 256 R EN FREWSHIRE, f tices discouraging to the farmer, and strongly marking the languid state of agriculture. The spirit of improvement, however, which, about that time, appeared in Scotland, reached Renfrewshire; and a very favourable change has now taken place. The introduction of artificial grasses, and the culture of potatoes, have produced a more diligent and accurate husbandry, and banished the pernicious distinction of croft and outfield.* Before 1766, there was scarce any hay sown”—“potatoes about forty or fifty years ago were brought in boats from Kintyre to Paisley market. About thirty years ago, farmers began pretty generally to cultivate them in the field.” The writer proceeds to state the mode of farming which in his day (1791) was practised; and the plans and improvements which had commenced previous to that period, have since been prosecuted, so that, at the present day, this parish may be regard- ed as inferior to none in the west of Scotland, in point of cultiva- tion. The parish contains in all about 16,160 acres, which may be divided as follows. ‘i’he number of acres arable, * * gº sº 12,700 uncultivated, --> - * - 700 in mosses; sites of houses, roads, waters, &c. 1,760 in woods and plantations, g gºs 1,000 . The whole may be spoken of under two divisions, the upper or hilly, and the lower or gently rising, the soil of the former being free, light, and on a dry bottom, or whinstone, or what is called rotten rock, which readily absorbs water; that of the latter being what we described, under Topographical appearances, as thin, and generally resting on a till bottom, the till being a mixture of stone and heavy clay, hard and retentive of moisture. Rents.-The average rent of land in the upper division may be stated at L. 1 per imperial acre; and that of the lower at L. 1, 15s. but there are some farms, particularly in the neighbourhood of the town, which bring from L. 3 to L. 4 per acre. Of late, grain rents have to a considerable extent been adopted. The average annual expense of grazing a cow may be stated at L. 4; and that of a sheep at 12s. But very few sheep are rear- ed in this parish. Wages.—The rate of wages for a first rate ploughman, found in bed and board, is reckoned at L. 20 per annum; and that of a first * “The distinction between croft and outfield prevailed very generally in the old and imperfect husbandry of Scotland. The croft, consisting of a few acres nearest the farm house, was perpetually in crop, and received the whole manure of the farm. The outfield was the open pasture land, which was occasionally ploughed in patches for oats till they were exhausted, and then left to rest.” PAIS LEY, 257 rate female servant, found in the same, at L. 9 per annum. Both male and female servants of inferior qualifications, are paid accord- ing to their ability, or the agreement made with their employers. A common labourer, with provisions, may be procured in winter for ls. 6d., and in summer for 2s. per day. Artisans are employed at 3s, or 4s. each per day. The husbandry pursued by the farmers is of the most approv- ed description. The soil, in general, although not originally of the most fertile quality, has become very productive by cultivation; many inducements are held out to husbandmen, by the prospect of a ready market, for every kind of crop, as well as by the facility of procuring manure from the neighbouring towns and villages. Tile-draining has of late been carried to a considerable extent, particularly on the estates of the Marquis of Abercorn; and this improvement may, in several places, be profitably carried to a still greater extent than it has yet been, the nature of the soil requir- ing it; and we doubt not a little more encouragement from the landlords, of which the parish affords more than one example, would induce the farmers to do so, and this would prove an ad- vantage to both. The lands are all well enclosed; those in the upper district, chiefly with stone dikes, those in the lower with hedges. The farm-houses and offices, especially the re- cently built ones, are for the most part covered with slates, while they are both substantial and commodious. The average extent of each farm is about 100 acres, and the duration of leases from ten to nineteen years. There is not much large or old timber in the parish ; the greater part is found on the Hawkhead estate, which also contains any copse-wood that grows in the parish. Any other wood we meet with is generally raised around gentlemen's houses, and is under good management. Live-Stock.-The horses reared in this neighbourhood are ge- nerally of the Clydesdale breed, which is considered very superior. These horses are perhaps the most vigorous of any in Great Bri- tain, and our farmers keep them in excellent condition, finding, doubtless, that they repay the care bestowed on them. There are also a few of what are called half-bred horses raised in the pa_ rish, and on one estate in it, a good many racers and hunters, chiefly for the use of the proprietor. The cattle are of the Ayrshire kind, to which a good deal of attention has been paid, particularly in the high district of the pa- 258 RENFREWSHIRE. rish, encouragement being held out to this, by the premiums an- nually given by the Agricultural Society of Paisley. The average value of a good stock of cows may be reckoned at the rate of L. 11 each, some superior ones being valued as high as L.20 each. The average quantity of milk yielded by a cow of the breed referred to is about 1200 Scotch pints, or 600 gallons a year, which will pro- duce about 130 pounds of butter, the value of which, with that of the milk was, for the last year, about L. 11. To this is to be ad- ded the sum of about L. 3 for manure, which will make the annu- al produce of each cow about L. 14 Sterling. - The few sheep reared in the parish are chiefly of the Leices- tershire species. As the farms in the Abbey parish are situated in the neighbour- hood of large towns and populous villages, the dairy produce forms an important item in the returns made. The milk is, in general, converted into butter, and butter-milk, except in those farms in the more immediate neighbourhood of the towns and villages, where the cream only is churned, the skimmed milk being easily disposed of. *- Crops.--The usual rotation of crops is as follows: oats out of lea or after hay; potatoes or turnips, with 35 square yards of good farm- yard manure, per imperial acre; wheat, barley, or oats, with clovers and grass seeds, sometimes cut green, but commonly made into hay. The barley or oats are generally allowed a slight dressing, with ash or short dung. These remarks apply chiefly to the low- er district of the parish, as the farmers in the higher seldom sow wheat. They generally adopt what is called the four-shift course, sowing the clover and grass seeds along with the barley or oats after the green crop. They then pasture their land for three years, which those in the lower district seldom do. Oats are sown in March or April, barley in April, or as soon after the oats as the weather will permit, and wheat in September or October. Lime is generally applied on the lea, in the high districts, and on po- tatoe ground in the low. The iron plough is commonly used. The crops are generally got in in September and October; but this year great portions of them, especially in the upper parts of the parish, were in the fields till the month of December. Produce.—Upon the whole, the gross value of farm produce in the parish, on an average of the last five years, may be stated as follows:— - PAIS LEYe 259 In the Upper Division. Oats, 400 acres, yielding 30 imp. bush. per acre, at 2s. 6d. per bush. =- - • L. 1500 Potatoes, 80 7% tons per acre, L. 1, 10s. per ton, 900 Turnips, 20 - 10 - º 15s. tº- 150 Hay, 300 - 1% - L. 2, gº 900 Pasture, 900 º * - L. 1, per acre, 900 Uncultivated, 700, of which one-half might be profitably improved - - - 5s. do. I75 L. 4525 In the Lower Division. Wheat, 1980 acres, yielding 32 imp. bush. per acre at 6s. 2d. per bush. - * - tº- - L. 19536 Oats, 2750 - 40 - --> 2s. 6d. 13750 Beans, 440 - 28 - +- 4s. 2464 Potatoes, 1320 - 7% tons, L. 1 10s. perton 14850 Turnips, 220 - 15 - º 15s. 2475 Hay, 1540 -> 2 - L. 3 9240 Pasture, 2750 - * - L. 1, 15s. per acre,4812, 10s. L. 67127, 10s. L. 71652, 10s. Prices at different periods.-In 1594, various decrees were pas- sed by the baillies and council, as recorded in the community’s re- cords, from which it appears that the price in Scots money of A boll of oatmeal was L. 4. The fee of a servant-maid for half a year A threave of oat straw 2s. 6d. 4 merks. A peck of bear 5s. 6d. A boll of malt 12 merks. A day’s work of two horses 8s. 6d. Ploughing an acre of ground L. 3. A ewe sheep 33s. 4d. A peck of groats 20s. A boll of white oats nine merks and A barked hyde 30s. 8d. 6s. 8d. A fourth part of linseed 6s. 8d. A boll of black oats L. 4. A side of mutton lls. Half a boll of grey corn 33s. Five quarters “fine violet London claith” | i.io, igs. Si. In 1597, the boll of malt had risen to twenty merks, when a pound and quarter of butter are marked in the council minutes as sold for 4s. 2d. Scots. In 1609, the price of three pecks of oatmeal is rated in the same minutes at 20s. Scots. The fiar prices of Renfrewshire are annually struck at Paisley about the beginning of March. The following are the prices Ster- ling for the seven years previous to 1836. 1829. 1830. 1831. IS32. l833. 1834. 1835. Best wheat, im. qr. 55s. 0d. 56s. 11d. 54s. 23d. 52s. 7d. 47s.6}d. 40s. 9}d. 87s. C# Medium average 53 10 55 5} 53 6; 5l 4; 46 10%. 39 ll 36. 5* Best barley, 35 2 33 44; 32 S 33 4, 29 6 28 3} 28 3 Medium average 34 6 32 33 32 3} 33 l 29 2 26 8; 26 114 Best bear 32 3 27 4} .29 l l 31 73. 28 43 25 2 23 84 Medium average & © e 26 4+ 29 7 31 0 - - - 24 6} tº e e Best oats 23 1; 27 0# 22 7, 20 4 18 S 22 6, 20 104 Medium average 20 6 26 4, 21 8, 18 ll; 18 5; 1910, 20 2 Best beans & pease 34 0 • e º 36 6 32 13, 33 0 32 1.1%. 34 0 Medium average * @ e tº e º 35 94 31 3 tº Q tº 31 73. tº e g Best oatmeal 140lb. 17 0: 29 7} 16 73 14 7} 14 9; 15 10; 16 5, Medium do, 16 J 14 20 5 e - © 14 7 14 9} e e º 14 43 260 º REN FR EWS HIR. E. Price of Provisions at present : Oatmeal 2s. 6d. per stone. Salt butter 8d. to. 1s. per Ib. Barley flour Is. 8d. do. Fresh do. Is. li. do. Pease meal 2s. 6d. to 2s. 8d. Beef 4d. to 7d. do. Quartern loaf 9d. Mutton 5d. to 7d. do. New cheese 7d. per lb. Veal 3d. to 7d. do. Old do. 7d. to 8d. Lamb 5d. to 8d. do. Eggs per dozen 9.d. to 11 d. Potatoes 5d. to 5%d. pcr stone. Servitudes.—The ancientservitudes, onceso oppressive and haras- sing to the agriculturist, are now in a manner unknown in this pa- rish; at least the only one of them which remains is that of thir- lage, exacted by the Seed-hill mill, from certain lands thirled to it. The thirlage thus exacted, including all the dues, is about the sixteenth or seventeenth peck. e Renfrewshire Agricultural Society.—This society was establish- ed at Paisley in 1819, under the patronage of several gentlemen of extensive landed property, and embracing persons of all varieties of political opinion. The president is Sir John Maxwell, Bart. of Pollock; and among the vice-presidents we observe the names of Mr Campbell of Blythswood, Lord Lieutenant of the county; Mr Houston of Johnston ; Mr Napier of Blackstoun, &c. Its exer- tions have contributed much to the advancement of agricultural science and its practical applications. Its members have an annual show of cattle, when various premiums are distributed; and there is an annual ploughing-match, when various prizes are also award- ed. In May 1835, twenty-three prizes, of value from L. 1 to L. 5, were distributed at the cattle-show. Eight prizes were distributed at the ploughing-match in February 1836. In August 1836, there was an extensive cattle-show, when twenty-five prizes were given. This last show was accompanied with a high degree of satisfaction. The number of the cattle on the field, their excellent quality, the fineness of the weather, and the number of spectators, all conspir– ed to give eclat to the proceedings. It was stated by one of the judges, that the show was superior to the one of last year at Ayr, before the Highland Society. - * Florist and Horticultural Societies.—The former of these was established in 1782, and has been of eminent service in promoting the extensive and tasteful culture of flowers of all colours and value, by annual exhibitions, competitions for prizes, &c. The second has been more lately established (1832,) but it also pro- mises to be of great advantage in the kindred departments. The operatives of this place have been long distinguished for their taste and ingenuity in the rearing of flowers. Many of them have gar- 4. T AIS I, E. Y. 26 l dens of their own attached to their houses, and those who have not, find no difficulty in obtaining suitable accommodation in the gardens of their friends, and of gentlemen in the neighbourhood. In many a keenly contested struggle, the pinks, carnations, tulips, dahlias, &c. &c. reared in Paisley, have been honoured with marks of distinction; while the occupation and relaxation attendant on their culture have tended to liberalize the mind, and to promote habits favourable at once to mental and moral improvement. In the horticultural department, there has been for several years a keen struggle in the rearing of cauliflowers, cabbages, and vege- tables of every description; and this has tended very much to the improvement of gardening, in all the varieties of esculent produc- tlOnS. & Trade and Manufactures.—The trade and manufactures of Pais- ley may be traced from very small beginnings, but their progress in some periods has been rapid and astonishing. Not long after the union, when a free trade was opened with England, the spirit of manufacture began to shew itself here; and the fabrics which were produced were made upon such just and economical princi- ples, and with so much taste and judgment, that they found a ready market, not only at home, but likewise in the neighbouring king- dom. But the trade of Paisley at that period, owed its chief en- couragement to a class of men who were of great benefit to this country, though the occupation has now fallen rather into disre- pute; we mean, the pedlars or travelling merchants from the south, many of whom having frequented Paisley as their staple, and hav- ing gained a little money by their trade, came to settle there, and bought up large quantities of its manufactures, which they vend- ed among their friends and correspondents in England. After- wards the merchants of Glasgow found their account in purchas- ing these goods, and sending them both to the London market and to foreign parts. Such was the state of the trade and manufac- tures of Paisley, from the period of the union (1707,) till about the year 1760. The different articles of which they consisted during that period, were, at first, coarse checkered linen cloth, and Bengals; afterwards checkered linen handkerchiefs, some of them fine, and beautifully variegated, by the manner in which the dif. ferent colours were disposed, according to the taste and invention of the manufacturers. " These were succeeded by fabrics of a lighter * In 1710, Craufurd thus describes the manufactures of Paisley. “That which renders this place considerable, is, its trade of linen and muslin, where there is a great 262 REN FREWSHIRE, and more fanciful kind, consisting not only of plain lawns, but likewise of such as were striped or chequered with cotton, and others that were ornamented with a great variety of figures. To- wards the end of the above-mentioned period, the making of linen gauze was a considerable branch of trade in Paisley; and before the middle of it, a new species of manufacture of great importance was begun by the inhabitants of the place, and which they con- tinued long to prosecute with peculiar advantage: we mean, the making of white sewing-thread, known to the merchants by the name of ounce or nun’s thread, as distinguished from the different kinds of coloured and white cotton thread, which have been manufactured chiefly at Aberdeen and Dundee. This valuable branch of trade may be said to have been imported into this coun- try by a lady in the neighbourhood of Paisley, who, about the year 1725, found means to procure from Holland the machinery which is necessary for carrying it on, and set the first example of it in her own family. * Such a spirit of enterprise, of ingenuity, and of so- ber industry, was not lost on the manufacturing genius of the peo- ple of Paisley. The business was soon taken up by them. It was carried on to a very considerable extent prior to the middle of last century; and so long as this kind of thread was cultivated in Scotland at all to any extent, it had its principal seat in that place. About the year 1760, the making of silk gauze was first attempt— ed at Paisley in imitation of that at Spital-fields, London. The success was beyond the most anxious expectations of those who engaged in it. The inventive spirit, and the patient application of the workmen; the cheapness of labour at that time, and the skill and taste of the masters, gave it every advantage for being natura- lized here. The consequence was, that nice and curious fabrics were devised; and such a vast variety of elegant and richly orna- weekly sale in its markets of those sorts of cloth ; many of the inhabitants being chiefly employed in that sort of manufactory.” * This lady was Christian Shaw, daughter of John Shaw of Bargarran, afterwards married to the Rev. Mr Millar, minister of Kilmaurs, Ayrshire. Her name is as- sociated with the history of witchcraft in the county of Renfrew. When eleven years. of age, she pretended to have been betwitched ; a solemn trial of the agents in the infernal process was held, and three men and four women were condemned to death, and executed in the gallow-green of Paisley. See Arnot's Criminal Trials, and the “ History of the Witches of Renfrewshire,” for a full detail of all those melancholy proceedings. Bargarran, where Mrs Millar resided after the death of her husband, and where the machine employed by her and her daughters in the manufactory of linen thread is still preserved, is in the parish of Erskine; and we shall leave it to the writer of the Statistical Account of that parish to detail, as Dr Young in the Old Statistical Account has done, the history of an experiment so interesting and so suc- cessful. &n •D PAIS I, E.Y. 263 mented gauze was issued from the place, as outdid everything of the kind that had formerly appeared. Spitalfields was obliged to relinquish the manufacture. Companies came down from Lon- don to carry it on at Paisley, where it prospered and increased, it is believed, beyond any manufacture of which any town in Scotland could boast.” Indeed it not only became the great distinguish- ing manufacture of that town, but it filled the country round to the distance of twenty miles; and the gentlemen engaged in it had not only warehouses in London and Dublin, but correspond- ents upon the continent, and shops for vending their commodities in Paris and other large cities and towns. About 1785, the change of fashion, on which this trade must entirely depend, had an unfavour- able effect upon it; and many of the principal houses in the place, while they pushed the silk branch as far as they could, entered in- to the muslin manufacture with their accustomed ardour, yet with a judgment and prudence by which men of business and of capi- tal are ever distinguished from rash and unwary adventurers. The muslin trade soon rose to an unexampled height of prosperity, and its gains both to master and workmen were very encouraging. Of late years comparatively little has been done in this branch ; but the houses which are still engaged in it are of the highest re- spectability, and the fabrics produced, and which are chiefly de- signed for the London market, are unexampled in point of taste and elegance of execution. The ornamenting of muslims by fine needle-work has lately become a considerable branch of our trade. Such work has long been done here, but never at all to the same extent as now. It appears from the best calculation that could be made, that in the year 1784, the manufactures of Paisley in silk-gauze, lawn and linen-gauze, and white sewing thread, amounted to the value of L. 579, 185, 16s. 6d; and that no fewer than 26,484 persons were employed in carrying them on. In 1790, when the last Sta- tistical Account was compiled, the total yearly value of the manu- factures of Paisley of all kinds, was estimated at L. 660,385, 16s. The progress of manufactures up to this period may be judged of by comparing this statement with the fact, that in 1744, there were only 867 looms in all employed, and the whole value of the * Disputes betwixt the masters and men had arisen at Spitalfields, which led to the famous “Spitalfields' Act” for fixing a minimum of prices. The folly of this, as of every attempt of the kind, was soon proved by its utter ineptness, as a means of pre- venting misunderstandings and feuds; and the Spitalfields capitalists transferred their capital and trade to Manchester and other places. RENFREW. S 264 R EN FREWS HIRE, linen manufactures amounted only to L. 15,000. From the ac- counts transmitted annually by the stamp-masters to the Board of Trustees in Edinburgh for the encouragement of Manufactures, it appears that the linen manufacture in Paisley attained its highest point in 1783–4, when the number of yards stamped was within a trifle of two millions, and the number of looms 2000.* About the same period, the silk-gauze trade gave employment to 5000 looms, a very large proportion of which were in the country villages around, and produced L. 350,000 worth of silk goods. The manu- facture of ribbons, and of some other silk fabrics, was introduced in 1772, and was for some time carried on to a considerable ex- tent.-- Shawl Manufacture.—The rise of the shawl trade forms an im- portant era in the history of Paisley. Imitations of India shawls had been produced in the city of Norwich, and the town of Stockport, near the close of the 18th century. Much about the same time also, a lady in Edinburgh had attempted something of the kind, but not on such effective principles as the English manufacturers. These imitations were chiefly of soft silk. Some of them were sent to Paisley and submitted to two or three manufacturers. The muslin trade being then good, while shawls, it was considered, would be quite a fancy article, very few adopted this branch, and consequently little pro- gress was made for some time. One manufacturer, however, of considerable ingenuity and great perseverance, embarked in the trade, and was eminently successful; ; others followed and with various success. In those days, the erection of a shawl-loom was an expensive concern. The manufacturer had to advance a great proportion of the money required. This, along with the risk of a fancy article, when so much outlay was necessary, deterred many from taking up the trade. By the exertions of several ingenious weavers who had made a little money, conjoined with the well- known intelligence and persevering industry of the operatives whom they engaged for the work, many obstacles were overcome. At length the shawl trade became of more importance than the muslin branch. The working classes were greatly benefited by the change, * Wilson's Survey of Renfrewshire, p. 241. + Ibid p. 243–4. : This was Mr James Paterson, Orchard Street. The first inventors or importers of arts, are often in the end unsuccessful, in reaping the gains of their perseverance and industry, and this was the case with Mr P., while J. M. the weaver whom he em- ployed to make the first imitation shawl in Paisley, is at present begging his bread The family of Mr P. seem to have possessed a native genius for drawing-patterns; . several members of it, both in London and Paisley, are still distinguished in that | 11 e, PAISI, EY. 265 as the price paid for manufactured cotton work had by this time been much reduced. The shawl trade now ramified to a great extent. India imitations were produced in soft silk, in spun silk, and in cotton, and in mixtures of all the three. The same style of raised work was also done for ladies dresses on white grounds with small figured spots. Imitations were also made in silk, of the striped scarfs and turbans worn by the natives of the east, which from their resemblance to the skin of the animal of the name, were called Zebras. Very extensive exportations of these articles were made to the islands in the Grecian Archipelago, and to Turkey. An attempt was made to supersede them by means of printed goods, which had nearly the same appearance at first sight; but the circum- stance of the adherents of the Koran having been, by the precepts of their prophet, prohibited the use of all stained articles of manu- facture, soon put a stop to this sort of traffic. This trade is still carried on at Paisley, though not to the same extent as it was some years ago. - - Still the great desideratum was a more strict imitation of the real India or genuine cashmere shawls. This was accomplished to a considerable extent by mixing fine wool and silk waste together; the yarn spun for this mixture being called Persian yarn. This, however, was only fitted for the weft, which was generally shot upon a silk warp. Something was still wanting to approximate more nearly to the India fabric. Several attempts were made in Nor- wich, Edinburgh, and Paisley, but none of these succeeded. At length, a house in Yorkshire produced an article which was very much liked in the market, in consequence of its fine soft feel; and which they called thibet cloth. It was nothing more nor less than a tweeled fabric of fine worsted yarn made from the best of wool, and when scoured, raised, and cropped, it had a beautiful appear- ance. The house purchased borders in Paisley, and elsewhere, which they sewed to this cloth, and these thibet shawls made in Yorkshire had a long run. The Paisley manufacturers at length succeeded in bringing this branch also to town, and for several years it was one of the chief staples of the shawl trade. Still, however, no figures could be produced on the thibet ground. The yarn was too tender to stand harness work; so that in reality, although the India fabric was approached pretty nearly, a wide gap still re- mained. At length, some French shawls were introduced, so closely resembling the India, that it was difficult to discriminate between the two. Enquiries were set on foot, when it was found that the 26 (j R EN FREWS H I [R E. French had been making shawls for some years back, from the genuine Cashmere wool; and that they not only imported the wool from the east of Europe, but that they had a great many cashmere goats rearing in France. It became therefore an object to get some of the French yarn over. This was accomplished, and the first cashmere cloth was made in Paisley. Attempts were made to get the yarn spun in this country, but these may be said to have failed. No doubt a good deal of cashmere yarn was spun in this country, but it wanted that softness which so peculiarly characterized the French. Some of the Edinburgh manufacturers began to make cashmere shawls, and some beautiful specimens were produced at Paisley. In consequence of the fall of prices, however, the ex- pensive art that was at one time bestowed on shawls was greatly diminished. - In connection with the above, the crape trade deserves some particular notice. About the year 1823, the manufacture of crape dresses, Damask and embroidered shawls, exactly the same as those imported from Canton, was introduced to Paisley, and since that time a great many hands have been employed in making them. The dexterity displayed by the embroiderers in the town and neigh- bourhood, will bear comparison with that of any in the kingdom, and in many instances with that of the Chinese themselves. This kind of shawl is still (1837) made, although to a more limited extent. In- deed, the shawl trade generally has, within these very few years, un- dergone a great change in this place. The kinds of shawls chief- ly made now, are of three qualities; the first is wholly silk; the second, half silk and half cotton; the third wholly cotton. The manufacture of such shawls has been increasing with astonishing rapidity for some years past. There are several makers whose yearly sales amount to forty, fifty, or even L. 60,000 Sterling. The total sales for the year 1834, are estimated at nearly L. 1,000,000 Sterling, and in 1835, they must have been considerably greater. Machinery has of late been introduced to great purpose in fi- nishing these shawls. Formerly each shawl employed a girl a whole day in the operation of what is called clipping, for which she got from 1s, to 1s. 8d. Now, that operation is done for 2d. a shawl, by means of a machine of a most ingenious description; the invention of a Frenchman.* By a very simple contrivance too, the expense * These machines were first introduced from France in 1834, by their inventor, M. Vergniais, of Lyons. The cost was nearly L. 300, including carriage and fitting up. They can now be got of Paisley manufacture for L. 40, equally good, if not su- perior. The facility and neatness of machine-clipping give the manufacturer great PAISLEY. 267 of fitting up that part of the loom which forms the pattern is like- ly to be much diminished. The Jacquard machine, (so named from its ingenious inventor at Lyons) used in place of a draw-boy, is now attempted to be introduced into Paisley, in an improved form, by a gentleman who has taken out a patent for the improvement." The French use no draw-boys, and yet they produce the finest of patterns, although it must be acknowledged, on a small scale. In this sketch of the progress of the shawl manufacture in Paisley, we must not omit to notice that most ingenious and beautiful species of shawls known by the French name Cheneille (caterpillar;) from their variegated colour and the softness of their feel. They are to be seen frequently in shops labelled with the words: “velours au soie” “velvet on silk;” a name very descriptive of this manufacture. Mr Alexander Buchanan, now of Glas- gow, then of Paisley, is the first who produced a web of this de- scription; and Mr James Taylor, at present one of the magistrates of Paisley, was among the earliest to appreciate the value of the article and to manufacture it on an extensive scale. These beauti- ful specimens of art and taste still maintain their place in general GStinnat|On. All the trades depending upon the shawl branch have neces- sarily increased ; in particular that of dyeing has been much enlar- ged. Fifteen years ago, perhaps forty or fifty hands were employ- ed at it; now ten times that number at least are engaged. Silk Gauze.—The silk gauze, since its revival about eighteen years ago, has progressed very much. Paisley now furnishes near- ly all the silk gauzes that are used in the kingdom, with the excep- tion of those imported from France. The elegance and taste dis- played in this branch of manufacture, with the moderate prices at which the goods are produced, is really astonishing. Cotton Thread. —In place of the linen-thread formerly made in this town, there has sprung up a pretty extensive cotton-thread trade. There are eight or nine factories employed in making this thread. They are propelled by steam, the whole power being about advantage. We know some manufacturers that could not get through their work on the old system ; but these machines enabled them not only to overtake the work, but to extend it, which they could not otherways have done. At that time also, we had to compete with the French, who in their superior cutting had a decided advantage; but they are now completely driven from our market; we mean in the article of shawls. * The gentleman alluded to is Mr James Morison, imanufacturer in Paisley. We cordially wish him success in the application of his patent. Mr James Mills, pattern- drawer, has lately attempted with success, some improvements on the common har- l] CSS, 268 REN FREWSHIRE. 200 horse, and the value of the thread made being above L. 100,000 Sterling. Looms employed, &c.—The number of looms in Paisley at pre- sent, is ascertained to be about 6000. Of these 5700 are employ- ed by Paisley manufacturers; the remaining 300 work to Glasgow houses. About 2000 looms are employed in the country by Paisley capital, chiefly in the neighbouring villages, but including some hundreds in Kilmarnock, Perth, Largs, Strathaven, &c. The number of apprentices to the looms in Paisley is at present 728. The number of harness-weavers in Paisley at present, is 5350 ; plain weavers 650; female weavers 40; in all 6040. Each har- ness-weaver requires a draw-boy, for whom he pays on an average 8s. 6d. per week of his earnings. * Register of Inventions and Improvements, &c.—It is matter of regret, that the expense incurred in procuring patents for inven- tions and discoveries, should be so great, as we are convinced that many ingenious men of the operative classes, both in Paisley and elsewhere, have from this cause alone been prevented from enlarg— ing, as they might have done, the manufacturing genius and indus- try of their country. In a letter which we have just received from an ingenious mechanic there is the following statement: “As there is no protection in this country, an inventor is obliged to decline putting his improvements into practice, as the moment they make their appearance they will be pirated, thereby leaving him no- thing, perhaps not even the merit of invention, for his trouble and expense.” On the subject of “tables of prices,” as affecting the progress of manufactures, we have received the following statement from a most respectable manufacturer in town, who carries on bu- * The following observations, by a very intelligent observer, will still apply to the ingenious weavers of Paisley, with this difference, that the ingenuity then (1811,) employed on the muslim department, has been of late years, applied to other branches, which were unknown at the time when Mr Wilson wrote his survey. “What was said of Bolton in the year 1793, may be at present strictly applied to Paisley — It is the centre of the manufacture of ornamental or fancy goods, and it is only by emigrants from this place that any branches of this trade have been trans- planted elsewhere. The most ingenious part of the workmanship remains rooted as it were to the soil, and flourishes even amid “many discouragements.” (Aitken's IHist. of Manchester, p. 262.) The condition of the manufactures of Glasgow con- firms this ; for althcugh the muslin manufacturers in that city, which is only seven miles distant, garry on this business to an immense extent, yet in articles of fancy- work, they have always been surpassed in Paisley. In fact, the superiority of the Paisley weavers, in these ornamented fabrics, is so fully admitted, that Paisley is re- sorted to as the original seat of this branch of the muslin manufacture; and many weavers in this place are employed for these articles by Glasgow manufacturers. The most dexterous workers employed in Glasgow on these kinds of goods, are either natives of Paisley, or persons who have learned their business there *—Wilson's Sur- vey of Renfrewshire, p. 255. - PAISLEY. 269 siness to a very great extent: “These” (minimum tables for weav- ing) “I think are prejudicial to the introduction of any thing new, If a manufacturer has projected something which is entirely diffe- rent from common, the case is immediately taken up by the Wea- vers’ Association, and a price fixed on before the maker can know whether it is to succeed or not. A very respectable manufacturer told me, that last year he thought of trying something which he considered entirely new ; but rather than encounter the vexation and turmoil of the Weavers’ Association, he abandoned his pro- ject.” The social and friendly habits of the weavers of Paisley have, from a spirit honourable to all who have cherished it, proved ini- mical to the claims of individuals to the honour of exclusive in- vention. Unlike the operatives of some other places, the weavers of this town have always displayed a warm and kind-hearted spirit of reciprocal interchange. When an ingenious improvement sug- gests itself to any one, his first idea seems to be, not how he may hoard it up, so as to make the best of it exclusively for himself, but rather how he may render it as useful as possible to the ge- neral interest. And hence, it becomes the subject of immediate conversation in the shop, and is very naturally laid hold of as the common boon of all. While this social disposition has been unfavourable to individual interests and honours, it has not been on the whole adverse to the general progress of manufacturing skill. The suggestions of one have led to the suggestions of others. One mind has sharpened another ; and ideas which may have float- ed in an undefined form before the fancy of one man, have, by mental collision, been moulded into the compact and tangible shape of a substantial and well-accredited improvement. Thus have the trade and manufactures of Paisley been mightily benefited by the application of different minds to a common object, while it might so happen, that no one individual could exclusively lay claim to the reputation of discovery. The system of the division of labour may be favourable to the prosperity and wealth of nations; but it is certainly not very fa- vourable to the developement of original genius. When a Pais- ley weaver was the “vel Caesar aut nullus,” of his favourite web, he stood a much fairer chance of having his inventive genius called into play, than in these “degenerate days,” when thirteen persons interpose their services betwixt the cotton as it comes from the spin- ning-jennies, or the silk as it leaves the throwsters mill, and the 270 R ENE REWSHIRE. same articles when placed on the counter of the merchant, in all the beauty and in all the tastefulness of finished productions. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the prodigious extent to which machinery has of late years been carried into all the depart- ments of industry, must prove unfavourable to the display of manu- facturing genius, while we may notice it as a striking illustration of what has been called the process of compensation, in the ar- rangements of Providence, that the genius which is thus restrained in one department, is not lost to the world, but is simply transfer- red to another region of human activity, and developes its powers on a larger scale in the field of mechanical enterprise. In the following historical and local notices, we have attempted a sort of register of inventions and improvements in the history of Paisley manufactures. The list is confessedly very incomplete; and it is matter of deep regret, that many names, well worthy of mention in the history of a manufacturing community, are “un- known to fame.” Mr Humphrey Fulton of Maxwelton, Paisley, was the first who introduced the silk manufacture into Scotland. In an epitaph upon him in the Scots Magazine in 1782, we are informed, that, “in company with his two sons he often employed from 400 to 600 looms, and in the various branches of the manufacture gave daily bread to 1000, frequently to 1500 people. Many with him, have merited of their family: few have better deserved of their country.” Messrs Walkers, father, son, and grandson, harness tyers in the warehouse of Messrs W. Fulton and Co. Maxwelton, have distin- guished themselves by their ingenuity in inventing plans, and most successfully, for facilitating the figured work on muslims and silk- gauzes. An ingenious Wright of the name of Lamb, in the employ of the same respectable house, has distinguished himself by his improve- ments in the mode of making brocade fames and shut, les for fa- cilitating the production of figured and ornamental silk gauzes. The plan of the fly-shuttle and lay was brought from England above forty years ago, by Mr Herbert Buchanan of Arden, silk ma- nufacturer in Paisley. He sent up John Robertson, one of his opera- tives, to Manchester to see the model, which Robertson brought down with him to Paisley, where it was immediately adopted, and is now universally used. It has, since that time, received many im- provements from the ingenuity of Paisley weavers, the most import- PAISL EY. 27 1 ant of which was the introduction of the “ten bow lay,” in 1812, by which a weaver can work with the greatest facility with ten shuttles without shifting them. The original “fly lay” could be wrought with only one shuttle. The machine for the singeing process in bleaching was first brought into use in this part of the country by the late Mr Wil- liam King of Lonend. It was first applied by him in the case of book-muslins which, about the year 1788, were in very great vogue, and preferred by many to India productions for fineness of fabric. Among the most ingenious men whom Paisley has produced, Messrs Robert and John Burns, brothers, stand pre-eminent. Mr Robert Burns, of the firm of Houston, Burns, and Company, was the inventor of many curious and useful pieces of mechanism in the departments of Dynamics and Hydro-dynamics, as noticed parti- cularly by Sir David Brewster, in these articles of his truly scien- tific Encyclopedia.” Mr John Burns invented the plan of rollers to facilitate the harness-work of webs; a plan universally approv- ed of, and adopted by the operatives. He also suggested the ma- chine for drying bleached goods by metal rollers heated by steam, a plan which has been universally adopted by the bleachers, and which is capable of application indefinitely in the field of manu- facturing industry. In another and very different field, the same most disinterested gentleman produced twelve of the best potatoes reared from the plum, and exhibited at a public competition; for which he received a medal from the Agricultural Society. In 1823, Mr Alexander Buchanan produced the first specimen of chemeille shawl in this country, for his ingenuity in the invention of which he was honoured with a premium of twenty guineas from the Trustees in Scotland for encouraging Manufactures. About eight years ago, Mr Claud Wilson, weaver in Paisley, in- vented a species of machinery, which has proved extremely useful in the manufacture of carpets. His genius not finding its reward in this country, he went to the United States, by special invita- tion, and is now at the head of a large carpet manufactory in that country. Mr Alexander Lang, following up the plan of Mr Wilson, has improved upon his machine, so as to supersede in the manufacture * Vol. xi. pp. 552, 554. 272 R. EN FREWSHIRE. of carpets the use of a draw-man or draw-boy; and his machines have been adopted to a considerable extent, particularly in Eng- land. * Between the years 1826 and 1828, several unsuccessful at- tempts were made, both in Edinburgh and Paisley, to introduce Thibet shawls. About the latter period, Mr Robert Kerr, now a most extensive manufacturer, turned his attention to that article, and after a deal of trouble and expense succeeded; and in two or three years after, it became the staple article of the trade. One great objection at first was, the very high prices of woollen yarns necessary for such a fine fabric; and it is a curious fact, that when Mr Kerr was in England pursuing the subject, he bought the same yarns on the same day, in three different houses in Bradford, at L. 1, 9s., L. 1, 2s., and 12s. per lb. In supplying himself with this last, however, he took care to ask for fine worsted. Mr Kerr has lately introduced an important change in the manufacture of Cheneille shawls. These shawls were manufac- tured wholly of Brutia silk, which last year rose to such a price as completely paralysed this branch of trade. In this emergency, he thought of applying spun silk of a peculiar kind, which he got made for the purpose, and which is termed roving or floss silk. It succeeded so well, that even the best judges could not discern any difference; and it may be said to have given this branch a new impulse, by bringing out the shawls intrinsically as good in quality and appearance, and at a price that will tend to make the con- sumpt more general, and thereby make it a more permanent article of trade. Messrs John Roxburgh and Son have lately introduced several improvements in the manufacture of the richest description of shawls in imitation of India, the most recent of which is the use of fine wool for warp. This is named the Cabille shawl, and is the first successful application, in this country, of the harness to an entirely woollen fabric. One of the finest of these Cabille shawls was presented to Queen Adelaide, October 1836, which met with Her Majesty's gracious approbation. A premium of L. 25 was given for the same shawls (November 1886) by the Trustees for the Encouragement of Manufactures in Scotland. Messrs Scroggie and Gilchrist have been of singular benefit to the manufactures of this place, by the improvements they have in- troduced into all the departments of dyeing. Formerly all colour- PAISLEY. 273 ed silks were got from London or Edinburgh; now, silks of the finest kinds, and all sorts of cloth, may be dyed equally well at Paisley. - In a register of inventions and improvements, the name of Mr Andrew Balderston deserves to be recorded with honour. This meritorious individual, though not a native of Paisley, has resided in it for twenty-four years. He was born at Dunfermline, and be- fore he left it he had, in his capacity as a damask weaver, invent- ed the most approved method of flower lashing. A Paisley ma- nufacturer (Mr James Taylor) encouraged him to apply his in- vention to the ordinary fancy trade, and it has succeeded to a wish. Formerly one man was employed to read the flower; a second to take it down ; and a third to lash it on. Now all these operations are done by one and at once. The system thus introduced by Mr Balderston has been universally approved and adopted by the trade. Mr Balderston has also distinguished himself as the in- ventor of the “cutting machine,” used in preparing the weft for Cheneille shawls, a simple and beautiful piece of machinery. For this he took out a patent; but it has done him little good in a pecuniary point of view—the invention having been so frequently pirated. Our ingenious operatives would require “a patent-pro- tecting association.” Cotton-Spinning.—The first cotton-mill in Renfrewshire, and the second in Scotland, was erected on the borders of this parish, at Dove- cothall, near Barhead, in the parish of Neilston; but the first extensive establishment of the kind in the county was erected at Johnston, in 1782. These erections were soon followed by others on a large scale in different parts of the district, and particularly in the pa- rishes of Neilston and Pollock, or Eastwood. Cotton-spinning com- menced in the town of Paisley, soon after steam power began to be applied to machinery for that department of manufacture.” The lo- cality, however, has not been found favourable to the increase of this great branch of our national trade; chiefly owing to the high price of fuel, and the expense of conveying the raw material from, and the manufactured article to, Glasgow. It is a remarkable fact, however, and highly characteristic of the enterprising spirit of the inhabi- tants, that, notwithstanding these obstacles, Paisley contained, in * Even prior to this era, there were mills on the principle of hand-jennies; and others that were driven by oxen. The father of the present M. P. for Paisley was proprietor of one of the former of these, along with his partner Mr Davidson. 274 RENF REWSHIR. E. the early stage of this wonderful trade, a greater number of cot- ton mills than the opulent city of Glasgow. Forty years ago, or a little more, there were ten mills within the burgh, and New Town of Paisley. Of these four were turned into dwelling-houses; one into a weaving (power-loom) factory; one was burned down ; and two were removed, and the machinery and materials sold by public auction. Most of these mills were on rather a small scale, the largest of them (St Mirrens,) being, however, a respectable establishment of 10,000 or 12,000 spindles. There are at present in the town two large factories, and one on a smaller scale. In the village of Elderslie, there is an extensive cotton mill ; and in the town and neighbourhood of J ohnston, there are eleven of va- rious sizes. With the exception of two, which are driven by water, all of these are propelled by steam. The power employed in them all is estimated at that of 266 horses. The total amount of spindles is 90,000. The capital employed in erecting and carrying them on is estimated at L. 135,000; and the number of persons employed at them all is about 2700. The proprietors of these works have not been backward in availing themselves of the several improvements on the system which have been introduced since the days of Ark- wright and Hargreaves;* and it is probable that the latest inven- tion of all, that of the self-acting mule, will soon be generally adopt- ed. “The adoption of the self-acting mule will aid much in ena- bling the spinners of Britain to maintain a successful competition against the cheap labour of other countries, which have less capital and fewer facilities for obtaining these improved machines, and less skill in their management when obtained.”-- ^ Besides the above, there is in the New Town of Paisley one power-loom-factory, for cotton cloth used in printing. An exten- sive factory is about to be erected at Johnston, for weaving cloth by machinery, which, it is expected, will give employment to 200 or 300 persons. *. Founderies.—The iron foundery establishment of Messrs William Thomson and Co. has been for half a century in high repute, and * Mr Neil Snodgrass, of Johnston, was the inventor of the “cleaning machine;” which was first used in the Johnston cotton mill belonging to Mr Houston. It has since received many improvements, and may now be considered “perfect.” t New Stat. Ac. of Glasgow, p. 145, Aug. 1835. To this article we refer for fuller details on the progress of improvement in the spinning of cotton, and particu- larly to the circumstances which led to the union of the patents of Mr Smith of Deanston, and Mr John Robertson, late foreman to Mr Orr of Crofthead, for the in- vention and manufacture of the most improved species of self-acting mules, à-l. Tº A IS LEY. 275 their improvements in smelting, &c. have lately added greatly to the extent of their business. The first steam-engine made in Paisley was lately set agoing as the propelling power to Mr Galloway's factory, Causewayside. It is of twenty horse power, and does great credit to the makers, Messrs Barr and Macnab, of the Abercorn foundery. Messrs Reid and Hannah, are extensive makers of gasometers, iron boats on the swift principle for canals, and factory machinery in general. Not a few specimens of their ingenuity and skill in the second of these departments are to be found, not in Britain only, but in several parts of the continent of Europe. There are in the town three brass founderies. There are in the thriving town of Johnston, two brass founderies, and two for iron, on an extensive scale; with five machine manu- factories, employing 120 individuals, and with a steam agency of twenty-six horse power. Indeed we are satisfied, from many symp- toms, that this stirring and healthy place possesses in it the ele- ments of a rapidly extending and wealthy community. Printing of silks and other fabrics has lately been attempted in Paisley; but as yet it is on a limited scale. We have one large tan-work, the property of Joseph Whitehead, Esq. of Kilnside House. The structure, plan, and whole arrangement of this work, are such as render it one of the first in the kingdom; and we un- derstand that in excellence of work produced it is unrivalled. We have three breweries, two of them on a large scale. We have also three distilleries, two in the town, and one in the country; one large soap-work; * seven extensive bleachfields: and one large silk throwing mill, the property of Messrs Hervey, Brand, and Co., of Glasgow. Post-Office.—The mercantile progress of Paisley may be esti- mated from the yearly returns of its post-office, which have been as follows: 1720, L. 28, 13s. ; 1769, L. 223, 3s. 8d.: 1809, L. 2814, 17s. 7d. ; 1834, L. 31.94.-- VI.-PARoCHIAL ECONOMY. Markets and Fairs.-In the town of Paisley, Thursday is the weekly market day. During the year, there are four distinct fairs, * This work is one of the oldest in Britain. It has existed for more than six- ty years. The original firm was Messrs Christie, Corse, and Co.; it is now Messrs William Sim and Co., and the article produced at this work stands very high in the market. f lt would be very desirable, in a commercial view, that the postage to Glasgow were reduced from 4d. to 2d. The revenue would be no loser. * 276 REN FREWSHIRE, each of three days duration.* The principal of these is St James' Day Fair, as it is called, which is held in August. On that occa- sion, the chief resort of our inhabitants is the race-course, which of late has undergone great improvement. The Paisley races are of early institution, as appears from a deed of council, of date April 1608. They have been usually run on the Friday and Saturday of the fair week; but the council, at a late meeting, have resolved very properly, that, in time coming, they shall be run on the Thurs- day and Friday of that week. Fairs are held at Johnston on the Thursday following the second Monday of July; and on the last Thursday of October. This last is a cattle-market. A horse- market is held on the last Friday of December. The fair which in former years used to be held at Thorn, about midsummer, has of late been discontinued, or rather is now held in the neighbouring town of Johnston, and is one of those above re- ported. Means of Communication. —Paisley enjoys great facilities of com- munication with all parts of the country. A post-office is established in the town, and there is another at Johnston. Our inhabitants enjoy the benefit of three departures in the day, for Glasgow and Greenock, and as many arrivals from these places. To and from several other towns not in the line of the Glasgow and Greenock roads, there is a daily post. For passengers, a coach starts to Glasgow, every hour, from nine in the morning till nine at night, and as frequently returns from it. The communication by the canal is nearly as frequent. Twice a-day in summer, and once in winter, a coach passes through Pais- ley, from Glasgow to Beith and Saltcoats, as well as from Beith * The first, in the course of the year, begins on the third Thursday of F ebruary, the second on the third Thursday of May, the third on the third Thursday of A ugust, and the fourth on the second Thursday of November. ** i “ It is concluded that ane silver bell be made of 4 oz. weight, with all diligence, for ane horse race yearly, to be appointed within this burgh, and the bounds and day for running thereof to be set down by advice of my Lord Earl of Abercorn, Lord Paisley and Kilpatrick.” - “In the course of the following century, this new taste of our ancestors had gain- ed such ground, that their excessive passion for the turf called for the interposition of Parliament. The preamble of Stat. 1621, chap. 14th, is in these terms: “ Consider- ing the monyfold evillis and inconvenientis whiche ensew upoun carding and dyceing and horse racing, whiche are now over muche frequented in this countrey, to the gryit prejudice of the legis; and becaus honest men ought not expect that anye wyn- ning hade at anye of the games above-written, can do thane guid or prosper,” &c. —Miscellany of the Maitland Club, printed in the year 1833, p. 197. The statute goes on to limit all wagers upon horse races to the sum of one hundred merks, under penalty of forfeiture of the surplus to the poor of the parish. - 3 PAIS LEY. 277 and Saltcoats to Glasgow. There are also coaches to and from Renfrew and Neilston. About three years ago, steam-coaches plied between Glasgow and Paisley, till a fatal accident, occasioned by the bursting of a boiler, put a period to the speculation. Roads and Bridges.—The roads on which the coaches travel are all turnpike, and they, as well as the other roads in the parish, are, in general, kept in excellent repair. The principal one through the parish and town of Paisley is the road from Glasgow, which leaves the Abbey parish on the west, at the distance of about nine miles from its entrance into it on the east. It crosses a bridge over the Cart, which connects the new town with the old, and which at one period was the only bridge at Paisley. One of the arches of this bridge, or rather of its predecessor, was ribbed beneath, indicating a style of architecture, said to have been prevalent in the fifteenth cen. tury. Besides this bridge, there are other two which form, each a communication between the Abbey and town parishes. One of these is the Seedhill bridge, said to have been built of stones obtained from the ruins of part of the Abbey building, and which is near the Seedhill Craigs, once a favourite salmon leap, and where we are informed, the fish were often shot in their attempts, to reach the upper part of the river. The other is the Sneddon bridge, a lit- tle above the present harbour. Besides these, the Cart, in its pro- gress through the parish, is crossed by other two bridges, one about a mile, and the other about two miles above any of those which connect the new and old towns of Paisley. Canal.—The Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardrossan Canal was ori- ginally intended to proceed from Glasgow to the sea at Ardrossan, a distance of about thirty miles, in nearly a straight line, and a great part of the way through a deep valley. The adjoining coun- try, through which it would have passed, is very populous, the city of Glasgow, at the one end of it, being the second in Britain in point of population; while along its course, at short intermediate distances, are the towns of Paisley, Johnston, Kilbarchan, Loch- winnoch, Kilbirnie, Beith, Dalry, Kilwinning, Stevenston, Salt- coats, and Ardrossan—containing, in all, about 400,000 inhabi- tants. Besides, the country itself abounds in minerals, such as coal, iron, limestone, &c. An act of Parliament was obtained in 1805; and the first general meeting of the Canal Company was held at Paisley, on the 17th of July 1806. The operations com- 278 R E N F REWSHIR E. menced in May 1807; and the navigation between Paisley and Johnston was opened about the 10th November 1810;” and that between Glasgow and Paisley on 4th October 1811. This cut between Glasgow and Johnstone, I 1 miles in length, is all of the canal that has yet been completed. The breadth at the surface is 28 feet, and the depth 4%. In its progress it passes through two tunnels, — one under the Causewayside Street of Paisley, 240 feet long; and the other near the west end of the town, 210 feet in length. The chief aqueduct bridge formed for this canal is over the river Cart, on the east side of Paisley. It is 240 feet in length, 27 in breadth, and 30 in height, with a span whose fine arch is not less than 84. The present cut is supplied with water from several brooks betwixt Paisley and Johnston. Its actual cost is said to have been not less than L. 130,000, a sum greatly beyond the original calculation. So level is the ground through which the cut has been formed, that it has not been found necessary to construct any lock, during its course. Besides the vessels for the transportation of goods, there were formerly employed on this canal two, and sometimes three boats, for the conveyance of passengers. These were elegantly fitted up, and calculated to carry 100 passengers each. Of late, this sort of navigation has been prodigiously increased, by means of the gig-boat for passengers, an immense improvement on the for- mer track-boat. It is the invention of an ingenious and enter- prising gentleman, William Houston, Esq., Johnston Castle, who has devoted much of his valuable time and talents to the pros- perity of the town and commerce of Johnston. One of these gig-boats starts every hour, from nine in the morning till nine at night, from Port-Eglinton, Glasgow, for Paisley; and from nine in the morning till eight at night from the Canal Basin, Paisley, for Glasgow. The voyage is made within the hour. The intercourse, by the same means, between Paisley and John- ston, is frequent. From the 1st of October, 1835, to the 30th of September, 1836, the number of passengers by these boats was 423, 186; the fares drawn from them amounted to upwards of L. 9000. There are about sixty-four horses employed for the * On the 10th of November, a few days after the canal was opened between Paisley and Johnston, a very melancholy accident happened at the basin, near Bar- clay Street, in consequence of which eighty-five individuals lost their lives. It was occasioned by the heeling of the boat, while crowded with passengers, by which-more than 200 individuals were thrown into the water. Of this accident, a particular ac- count, written by the late Mr D. Wallace, is given in Dr Burns's Historical Dis- sertations on the State of the Poor, p. 1 16, 1st edit, PAISLEY. 279 gig-boats, besides fourteen for the luggage-boats, &c. This canal affords employment for upwards of fifty-two men and seventeen boys. The following table shews the progressive increase of passen- gers, by this canal, for six years. - In 1831, they amounted to 79,455 1832, * 148,516 1833, º 240,062 1834, - 307,275 1835, * 373,290 1836, tº 423, 186 The number of tons conveyed by the canal, for each of the last six years, is as follows: - 1831, tº- 48,191 1832, * 51, 198 1833, tº 53,194 1834, * 57,853 1835, * 60,510 1836, º 67,305 Railways.--Besides the communication to the Clyde, by means of the Cart, a company was formed sometime ago, with the view of forming a railway, to proceed from the New Town of Paisley to the Clyde, a little below the present landing-place at Renfrew. On this railway, both goods and passengers will be conveyed. It is now finished, and will be opened in the course of a few weeks. A railway is also in contemplation from Glasgow to Greenock, and another from Glasgow to Ayr, and Kilmarnock, and other towns in Ayrshire, which is expected to form part of the great railway from Glasgow to London. Both of these will pass near- ly through the centre of Paisley, and will prove of great com- mercial and trading benefit to the place. Increase of Travelling.—It may afford some idea of the great increase of travelling in this neighbourhood, if we bearin mind, that in 1814; only once a week, on the Glasgow market-day, a coach started from Paisley, to convey merchants to Glasgow, and bring them home in the evening, whereas in 1834, just twenty years from the former period, the passengers by the coaches to and from Glas- gow were about 200 daily. But we must add to these the passen- gers by the canal during that year, estimated at 307,275, and those by the Cart coastways, not fewer than 46,080, in order to form some idea of this vast increase; and yet, to how much greater an extent, may we expect, it will be carried, when the different railways in contemplation are finished. R.E.NIFREW, T 280 REN FREWSHIRE, Supply of Water.”—At present, the inhabitants of Paisley, are by no means well supplied with water. Some of them draw their supply from public and private wells, and from barrels and cisterns, into which rain is conveyed from the roofs of houses : and a great many families purchase it from individuals, who make a trade of carting it along the streets, in large barrels, and selling it at the rate of one penny for ten gallons. The water thus sold is partly filtered from the Cart, and partly supplied from wells and springs in the surrounding country. A supply so inadequate to the comfort of the inhabitants, and the wants of public works, induced the formation of a Water Company in 1825, who proposed to ob- tain water by raising it, from the river, immediately above the town. But after the capital had been subscribed, and an Act of Parliament obtained, objections, by the proprietors of the Sacel and Seedhill Mills, to the abstraction of water, without an amount of compensation, to which the company were unwilling or unable to agree, caused the scheme to be abandoned. - Engineers having stated, that, in their opinion, a sufficient supply of water for the town could not be procured from any other Source, all hope of obtaining it was abandoned, till our respected townsman, James Kerr, M. D., after a laborious examination of the Gleniffer hills, called the attention of the public, to the prac- ticability of procuring from that source an ample supply, by the formation of one or more large reservoirs. Mr Thom, civil-en- gineer, was then employed to examine and report upon the scheme, and his report having been highly satisfactory, a capital of L.40,000 was speedily subscribed, and, in 1835, an Act of Parliament for carrying the scheme into effect obtained. - The company are preparing to intercept the drainage of more than 1600 acres, on the north eastern side of the Gleniffer Braes, comprehending the sources of the Espedair and Harelaw burns.# Of this drainage, the altitude ranges from 135 to 750 feet above the level of the sea. Two capacious reservoirs, one of them having a maximum depth of 32 feet, and the other of 49, covering nearly 100 acres, and capable of containing about 91 millions of cubic feet of water, are in the course of formation. The reservoir nearest the town, is to be formed with two divisions, in order to have * This notice of the supply of water was furnished by Mr W. Kerr, Surgeon, of this town, and Mr Stirrat at Nethercraigs. g f The Act of Parliament gives power to intercept the drainage of 2300 acres. Sheffield, which is supplied from a large reservoir, derives its water from only 1300 aCr(ºS. - * PAIS LIE Y. * 28t at all times one in which the water may be allowed to settle, so that the expense of filtration may belessened or avoided. From this reser- voir, the water will be conveyed to the town, a distance of only a mile, along a stone conduit, lying near the surface of the ground. The termination of the conduit will be at a point high enough to distribute water to every street in Paisley. $ Six bleachfields and print-fields, having reservoirs attached, to the extent of 5 millions of cubic feet of water, are situated on the Espedair burn. Of these, two depend entirely, and the others chiefly, upon water from the drainage proposed to be intercepted. Hence some difficulty was experienced, in arranging with the pro- prietors of these works, the terms on which they would part with the surplus water of the streams. At length, the proprietors made a proposal, which was agreed to by the company, and has been confirmed by Act of Parliament, which, for its simplicity and easy adaptation to such undertakings, is worthy of special notice. Al- lowing for loss of water by evaporation and otherwise, an annual depth of 18 inches is supposed to flow into the reservoirs, from the whole of the ground intercepted. Three-fourths of this quantity are to be the property of the company, and one-fourth is to be- long to the proprietors of the works on the stream; and this last portion is to be so let out from the reservoirs, as to form a constant and uniform stream. Should, however, a larger quantity of water than 18 inches annually be available to the reservoirs, measure- ments are to be made for three years, when the fourth part of the average annual quantity, then determined, is to be fixed as the amount of compensation in all time coming, provided the quantity thus measured be not less than 18 inches, which quantity is to be the minimum. No money has been given to the proprietors of public works, a steady and sufficient stream being admitted to be an adequate compensation. The lower reservoir will be highly ornamental to the country, and the terraces formed by the large drains, which are intended to run almost horizontally along the brow and base of the classic braes of Gleniffer, will afford some of the most delightful pros- pects in Renfrewshire. The committee of management commen- ced their operations some months ago, and they expect to finish them in the course of two years.” * It is an interesting fact, that the principle on which the present undertaking is founded, was acted upon at Constantinople, in the fifth century. . The rivulets in the neighbourhood of that city, being evaporated in summer, to an insignificant size, six 282 RE N FR EWS HIR.E. Supply of Gas.--A company, with the view of lighting Paisley with gas, was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1823, the capital being L. 16,000, which has since been doubled. The works are on an extensive scale, and advantageously situated, occupying an area of about two acres of ground, besides the space occupied by the gas holders at Sacell and Ferguslie. The num- ber of retorts is at present 52; but that number the company are about to increase. Each of these is capable of producing about 6000 cubic feet of gas in twenty-four hours; 40 of these have been in use this winter; last summer only 4 were used. The gas hold- ers are 7 in number, 5 at the works, and the other two already no- ticed. Of the 7, four can contain of gas each 20,000 cubic feet, two, each 18,000, and one i 6,000. The reason of placing two of these at a distance from the works is, that the pressure of gas may be equalized in all parts of the town and suburbs. The coals used in these works are brought from different places, but chiefly from Ruchill, near Kelvin-dock. The quantity carbonized from June 1835 till June 1836, amounted to 3224 tons 10 cwt. The charge by metre is 8s. 6d. per 1000 cubic feet, and the annual charge for one jet from sun-rise till 8 o’clock at night is 7s. 6d., till 9, 9s. 8d., till 10, 1 1s. 10d., till 11, 14s., and till 12, 16s. 2d. Pipes have now been laid in almost every street, and the greater proportion of dwellings, shops, manufactories and churches, with the street lamps of the town and suburbs, are lighted with the pure gas, which the company supplies. The main pipes measure up- wards of 50 miles in length. The town of Johnston is also lighted with gas, as well as several public works, in the country parts of the Abbey parish, the gas being made within their own premises. Management of Poor in the Abbey parish.-It was not till 1785 that assessment for the poor was resorted to in this parish; and the rapid progress of trade and population, with the consequent influx of strangers, will easily account for its introduction. The assess- ment for the first year was only L. 152. In 1792, when the old Statistical Account was published, it had risen to L. 415, and this sum, with about L. 125 per annum, arising from the collections at reservoirs were formed to contain the floods of winter, thereby preserving an ample supply during the whole year.—See Mathew's Hydraulia, p. 230. The city of Jerusalem was also supplied by Hezekiah, in a manner somewhat si- milar. See 2 Kings, xx. 20, and 2 Chron. xxxii. 30. According to tradition Solomon likewise constructed tanks for the same purpose. For information respect- ing these remains, see Landscape Illustrations of the Bible, Vol. 1st. On the sub- ject of the ancient aqueducts at Rome, See Leslie's Nat. Phil. Vol. i. 12 AIS LEY. 283 church, &c. making a total of about L. 540, was sufficient for the annual demand for some years. The following is the progress of the rate since 1808, at intervals of five years:— 1808, tº- L. 1570 l l 10 1827, - L. 2630 l () 1812, tº 21 79 15 ,6 1832, * 2476 12 7 1817, Eº 1531 7 0 1835, * 2562 19 9 1822, - 1661 l l The assessment, as above stated, is in addition to the collections at the doors of the parish church, and other church funds, which of late years have averaged about L. 60. The only permanent fund at the charge of the session is a sum composed of various legacies, and amounting in all to about L. 700, the interest of which is ap- plied to the poor. * The ordinary management of the poor is conducted in the usual way by overseers, specially appointed at the annual meeting of he- ritors and kirk-session, and by the elders of the parish. Monthly meetings are held for the purpose of granting occasional aid, and quarterly ones for entering paupers on the roll. - The following table exhibits, in one view, some particulars of importance relative to the practical working of the system. Number of ordinary poor on the roll at different periods: Old & Infirm. Poor children. 1785 sº 90 to 100 gº tº- 1801–2, gº 158, $º - 41 1804-5, & 168 - - 45 1810-11, - 219 - - 41 1816-17, *gs 272 tº 15 1822, sº 275 º 54 1827, *- 3:25 * 66 1831, * 480 * * 5S 1835, sº 47] *> tº- 66 Highest rate allowed to the regular pensioners, (except when confined and in a state of derangement, in which case + more is given) L. 3, 5s. per quarter ; lowest rate 6s. 6d. ; average of the whole 18s. I lid. The number of occasional poor is very various, but the average expense of this class may be L. 150 a year. The principle of assessment in this parish used to be the real rental; one-half on heritors, and the other on tenants. Of late, this has been departed from, and an effort has been made to return * Besides the above, there is under the administration of the senior minister of the parish, and three trustees, by direction of the Court of Chancery, the an- nual sum of about L. 23, the produce of a principal sum, left by the late Lady Grant, of Monimusk, and vested in the funds. This sum is distributed annually, in the month of January, to poor householders, who are not receiving parochial aid. Lady Grant, before her marriage to Sir William Grant of Monimusk, had been mar- ried to Mr Andrew Miller, bookseller, London ; the son of the Rev. Robert Miller, one of the ministers of the Abbey parish. f The ordinary charge of lunatic asylums is allowed, varying from 7s, to 10s, per week. - - 284 R EN FREWSHIRE. to the resolution adopted so early as August 1785; namely, to “ proportion the sum upon the heritors, householders, and tenants in the parish, regulating the contribution to be paid by each indi- vidual, by his property in the parish ; his trade, his means, and substance, and having regard to every circumstance that may ren- der the contribution as equitable as possible.” The stent-masters are annually appointed at the general parochial meeting in the month of June. - - Some years ago, the expediency of erecting an hospital or cha- rity workhouse in the Abbey parish was seriously considered. After due deliberation, it was finally resolved that the more advis- able mode was that actually adopted, of supporting the poor in their own houses or in the houses of their friends. In a few spe- cial cases, the overseers have obtained admission for their helpless and lunatic paupers, to the Town Hospital of Paisley, on paying a reasonable board. - The following is the view given of “the duties of overseers” in the parish minute of August 4, 1785. It is well worthy of serious attention. - - “ Each of the overseers elected by the meeting shall take from the poor's roll, a note of the poor that lie most convenient for his inspection; but so that every poor person shall be under the in- Spection of some one of the overseers; and the overseer shall, be- fore the ensuing meeting, inform himself minutely of the character, the age, and circumstances of said poor; what relatives they have to assist them ; and what work they are able to do; so that the overseer may know as accurately as possible, what sum may be ne– cessary for their support, and that thus no more may be given than what is absolutely so; and, as the prevention of any unnecessary rise in the assessment will greatly depend upon the attention of overseers to this part of their duty, it is unanimously agreed, that every overseer shall, for every poor person whose circumstances he has neglected to inquire into, forfeit the sum of five shillings Ster- ling, to be applied to the use of the poor.” Management of Poor in the Town Parishes by the Kirk-Sessions. —The sessions of the three parishes within the bounds of the ori- ginal burgh are distinct and independent in all matters of discipline, but they form one general session for the care of the poor, by decreet of the Court of Session 1782. Under its exclusive management are placed the collections at the three town's churches, sums aris- ing from proclamation of banns, &c. &c. The average of annual collections at these churches for ten years prior to 1817 was PAIS LEY. 285 L. 754, 15s. In 1823 the amount was L. 745, 11s, and since that time the average has been about L. 700. The sessional income from other sources averages about L. 60 additional; and, by means of these funds, all the regular and occasional poor on the com- munion rolls of the Established Church and Gaelic Chapel are supported. The number of regular pensioners at present is 200, who receive from 6d. to 2s. 6d. weekly, according to circumstan- ces; the average being a fraction above Is. To some hundreds of occasional poor and poor householders, donations of money, coals, clothes, and provisions, are from time to time given according to circumstances. The business of the general session is managed by a standing committee, consisting of four elders from each ses- sion, who meet monthly for enrolling paupers, inquiring into cases, and paying the elders for any outlays during the preceding month for occasional poor, a discretion to this extent being granted to the elders in their respective quarters, subject to monthly review. Each elder is understood to visit the regular poor in his propor- tion monthly, and to pay them their aliment. They are also ex- pected to inquire into their general character, attendance on or— dinances, state of the children of the poor as to education, &c. Prior to 1828 the general session had the entire charge of the whole poor in the three parishes, and their funds were aided by a portion of the hospital assessment, varying from L. 50 in 1809, up to L. 500 in 1827. But the burden thus laid on the elders was excessive ; and an agreement was entered into in 1828 by all par- ties having interest, to the effect that the sessions, retaining their own funds, should take charge of all the poor, regular and occa- sional, on the communion rolls of the Established Churches and Gaelic Chapel; and that all others should be placed, by a civil ar- rangement, under the superintendence and control of the managers of the Town's Hospital. This species of voluntary agreement has on the whole wrought well. A prodigious relief has been granted to the elders, while their avocations as elders partake far more of the character of a spiritual agency. - On the first Sabbath of each year, an extraordinary collection is regularly made in the three parish churches of the burgh, which is devoted as a new-year's gift to the relief of respectable members of the church who, generally speaking, receive no other assistance during the year. As a specimen of the readiness of the congre- gations to contribute to the aid of this interesting class, we notice the amount of last new-year's day collection, L. 134, 12s. 8d. This 286 18 EN FREWSHIRE. amount was distributed among nearly 400 persons, in sums which on the whole averaged 6s. to each. Town's Hospital.—Till 1740 assessment was totally unknown in the town of Paisley. That year was one of extreme seve- rity on the poor of Scotland generally, and the circumstances of Paisley, as a rising manufacturing town, tended to an in- crease of pauperism. In 1740, an assessment, to be paid weekly, was laid by the magistrates on the inhabitants, and overseers were appointed to allocate and to distribute it. These acted along with the minister and elders of the parish, in the joint charge of the poor. In 1750, the necessity of an asylum for maintaining the aged and infirm, together with poor and destitute children, was strongly felt ; and for this purpose a substantial and commo- dious building was erected in 1752. It is built in a free and airy part of the town, and has a large garden belonging to it. The only addition made to it of late years has been the erection of a small lunatic asylum, which has proved of immense advantage both for the recovery of insane persons, and the safe and comfortable keeping of such as are fatuous and incurable. The house is under the management of fifteen directors, who are chosen annually,– three from the town council; one from each parish session; and the rest by the rate-payers from among the inhabitants at large. It is conducted on the strictest principles of economy, and with great attention to health, cleanliness, and good order, and has hitherto answered the ends of its institution, as much perhaps as any erec- tion of the kind. It is visited daily by an experienced surgeon, annually chosen by the directors, and paid out of the funds. It is visited also weekly, and occasionally by a committee of directors, and a meeting of the whole number once every fortnight takes the regular superintendence of its concerns. The internal manage- ment is committed to a master, who has also the charge of educat- ing the children; a clerk who, along with the treasurer, manages all financial concerns; and a matron, who, with one or more house- maids, has the more immediate care of the household economy. The master also takes charge of the employment of the inmates; for it has been all along a leading principle in the management of the house, that while the young are duly educated, the adults, so far as practicable, shall be employed in some kind of useful in- dustry. The particular kind of work in which they have been employed has varied from time to time, according to the state of manufacture in the town. At an early period of the institution, PAISLE. Y. 287 the principal work for both old and young was spinning of cot- ton yarn on the wheel; but since the invention of machinery, this kind of employment has been entirely given up. For a time, when the children were more numerous than they are at present, they were partly employed as piecers in cotton mills, and at tambour- ing within doors. At present, a few of the men are employed at the loom; the boys who are in any degree forwarded in their education are engaged in operations connected with the manufactures of the town; the girls who are beyond the age of mere children assist in the work of the house; a few of the women are employed in wash- ing, and in attending the kitchen, some in winding yarn, others in sewing and knitting; but the far greater part of the inmates are employed in reeling lashes for the manufacturers. The pro- duce of labour cannot, in a pecuniary view, be very great; but ha- bits of industry are favourable both to comfort and to morals. It is the custom for the master to take all the young people along with him to church twice every Sabbath; and, immediately after their return from the afternoon service, they are taken into the school, and are employed in reading the Scriptures or religious tracts, re- peating hymns and catechisms, and other religious exercises till the time of supper and family worship, when they assemble along with the whole household in the public hall. Of late, it has been cus- tomary to ask the services of one of the clergymen monthly on these occasions. The duty of conducting daily worship, morning and evening, devolves on the master; but on those Sabbaths when the clergyman does not attend, and when the master is engaged with the catechising of the children, the religious exercises of the evening are conducted by one of the directors, or by a pious lay member or office-bearer of the church. The sick and bed-ridden are attended to in the same way, while the clergy and elders of all de- nominations have at all times free access to the inmates. - An annual examination of the Hospital School is held, when the ministers of the town, the magistrates, and directors are in- vited to attend. On these occasions, it has been customary for the ministers to pray with, and to exhort, the people both old and young. This annual examination is not only useful to the chil- dren and their teacher, as a stimulus to diligence and exertion, but it may also be considered as a seasonable pastoral visitation to the aged, many of whom are bowed down beneath a load of sorrows and infirmities, and stand in need of consolation, while others, 288 REN FREWSHIRE. whose habits are depraved, require serious remonstrance, and grave rebuke. - The following table exhibits the number of inmates in the hos- pital, old and young, at different periods, with the expense of their malntenance : 1759, 46 tº L. 200 19 23. 1769, 31 - - 235 14 3; 1778, 61 es - 464 3 9 1789, | 15 - - 580 l 6 2 1793, 134 - 6S8 4 0 1800, 124 - - | | 33 l () 2 1810, 134 - - 1349 19 l l ; \S17, 155 - - 1424 3 0% 1823, 1.59 &= - 1004 || 1 1835, 220 - 1347 6 5 If from the above sums we deduct the expenditure on repairs, furniture, and utensils; on children at nursing out of the house; on grants to the general session for the poor, &c. the actual cost of maintaining each pauper in the house will not amount to L. 4 per annum. Till 1828, the kirk-sessions took entire charge of all the poor out of the hospital, and to this end were assisted by annual grants from the hospital assessment. Since 1828, the burden of manag- ing the out-door poor, with the exception of those in communion with the Established churches, has devolved on the directors of the hospital, with the assistance of about sixty managers, chosen indis- criminately from the town at large. The mode of management thus adopted is essentially the same with that already described in the Abbey parish. The gross expenditure for last year on both in and out-door establishments of the hospital has been L. 2502, OS. 9d.* (* Distributions of Charity by Public Bodies.—There are six incor- porated societies, (Merchants, Weavers, Wrights, Tailors, Shoe- makers, Maltmen, &c.) who distribute considerable sums annually to their poor members; but the amount cannot be ascertained. Nor, indeed, can these distributions be considered as properly of an eleemosynary nature. The members have paid their terms of entry with the societies, and are thus entitled to relief as may be, with this limitation, that the precise amount is not settled as in the case of a friendly society, but is left to the discretion of the managers. The following mortifications are lodged in the hands * For additional information on the subject of the poor in Paisley, see Dr Burns's “ Historical Dissertations on the poor.” 3 PAIS LEY. 289 of the town-council, for the benefit of poor persons, aged and in- firm, and subject to the specifications of the several donors. Alms House mortification, £º L. 259 6 S for benefit of 3 poor persons, Mrs Armour's do. 55 l l 1 do. 2 do. Itobert Alexander’s do. 1 12 2 2 do. 2 do. Robert Peter's do. - 166 13 4 do. 3 do. James Maxwell's do. | ()0 0 0 do. 4 do. Park and Hutcheson's do. 200 0 0 do. 4 do. Baillie Reid, a grant of land producing at pre- sent a yearly rent of 5] 1 1 3 do. 4 do. Miss Maxwell of Williamwood, 600 0 0 do. 3 families. The above trusts have been judiciously and impartially admini- stered, and much benefit has been the result to many poor indivi- duals in old age who have seen better days. Relief granted to the Poor by Dissenting Congregations.—The duty of granting relief to poor members is generally recognized by the dissenting bodies of this place. In 1817, the annual amount thus granted was estimated, from pretty correct data, to be about L. 650. * We have endeavoured to obtain a return of the distributions during 1836, by the four leading dissenting congre. gations of Paisley, but have received for reply, that “the informa- tion requested cannot be obtained;” as, “ in present circumstances, there is a fear of the use that might be made of such statements.” Friendly Societies.—Of these institutions, Paisley has had a due proportion. By the middle of the seventeenth century, we find them in operation, and by the beginning of the eighteenth, every trade seems to have had its society for the support of decayed members. About the middle of that century, these were again followed by a class of societies assuming each the name of a lo- cal district, as the “Croft,” and the “Maxwelton” societies, or the more general appellation of the “Princes,” the “Ayrshire,” the “Cumberland,” &c. Such was the assiduity of members in ge- neral, and especially of the annually elected deacons, during the period they were in office, to add to the number on the roll, that scarcely a young man escaped being a member of one or more of these institutions, of which, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the town could number twenty-five, all in operation. The mode of calculation, however, on which such societies should be founded was not as yet properly understood; so that although those in existence were productive of much benefit to the town in general, and to their members in particular, it was soon found that a miscalculation of the demands on them, or of the wants or dis- * Dr Burns on the Poor, p. 161, lst edition. 290 RENF REW SEIIRE. tress they were intended to relieve, would speedily bring about their ruin. As they declined, however, others arose in their room both in the town and Abbey parishes. e Hitherto, no observations had been made, on the proportions existing between the periods of health and of sickness; nor was it possible, from the nature of these societies, which gave out their aliment as a matter more of charity than of right, to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion, by an examination of their experience. It was seen, however, that a want of sufficient income was the ra- dical defect, and to remedy this, the friendly societies then in ex- istence demanded from their members, an annual payment, in addi- tion to their entry money, varying from a penny to sixpence a week; and of these reformed societies, Paisley had twenty-two by the year 1810. Although for a time the funds of these associations ra- pidly increased, there was still a defect in their constitution. The anxiety of their promoters to remove all idea of charity, from the minds of the receivers, made it imperative on every member, what- ever his station in life might be, to take his aliment, and thus the demands were again increased to a higher rate than the supplies could afford. One great point, however, was gained, that of the ratio of health and sickness, which put it in the power of the cal- culator, to fix the amount of aliment that a society might allow, from a given contribution, or from the amount of aliment required, to fix the necessary contribution. With this view, in 1815, one of the societies, consisting of 450 members, appointed a commit- tee to examine its own operations, from the date of its commence- ment in 1802. The experience of other five societies was after- wards obtained. In 1820, the subject was taken up by the High- land Society of Scotland, and in returns made to them, the expe- rience of Seventy-nine associations was procured; and it is worthy of remark, that the proportions found to exist, in the six societies in Paisley, whose operations were examined, scarcely varied from that of the seventy-nine, furnished to the Highland Society. We subjoin a copy of the result of the annual examination of the ope- ration of the society, which gave rise to the improved System, from which it will be seen that these useful institutions are now based on such rational and scientific principles as may secure their per- manence, and that, by a method which requires on the part of the accountant or clerk to the Society, only a knowledge of the common rules of arithmetic. Tº AIS LEY. - 291 Result of examination of the operations of the Young Friendly Society in 1835. + £| 3 || – | # 2, .. 5’ → 5’ * Alſº - aſ # , s = - alf a s bſ. 2 o • Fºs 8 o *—t & pºsſ Q) || C. o -3 * ={ : o ºs *—ſ spºt | 13 .515 7.475|.0.101|.1313| ||4|| 1 | .992| 9922 |.0159 | .1749 5. .576 || 4,608 .0102 | . 0816 45| 8 | .962 | 7.696 | .0174 . 1392 ; 10 | .578 5.780 |.01.03|.1030 46 16 | 1.032 | 16.512 |.0179 .2864 : .581 2.324 .01 04 .04 l 6 47 12 | 1.108 || 13.296 |.0 l 82 .218.4 i. .585 || 2.925 | .0l 05] .0525 18| 6 | 1.186 7.116 |.0185 | . l l 10| 5. .590 2.360 | .0l O6] .04.24 49| 9 || 1.272 || | 1.448 |.0189 | . 170] .596 | 1.788 .0108) .0324 50 15 | 1.36] | 20.415 | .0193 | .2895 2.412 .0109 .0436 5l 16 | 1.43 l ; 25.216 .02 12 | .3392 .61 l 4.277 .01.10| .0770 52 11 | 1.54 l6.951 |.0217 | .2387 .62 l 4.968 .0 l l l .0888 53| 7 | 1.633 l l .431 |.02.21 | . 1547 2 8 6 0 3 . .631 || 4.417 | .0l 20, .0840 54. 12 | 1.726 20.712 |.0226 .2712 32 .64l 5.769 .01.23 . 1107 || |55 l l J.821 20.031 .0248 .2728 ** 12 .652 || 7.824|.0.126 .1513 56 l l 1.9l8 21.098 |.0255 | .2805 º: | .663 || 8 619 .0128. . iT64 57| 9 || 2.018 || 18. 162 | .0261 .2349 35 .675 5.400 | .0 l 29| . 1032 58. 12 2. 122 || 25.464 .0269 .3228 * 14 | .688 9.632|.0.130|. 1820 || ||9| 3 || 2.230|| 6,690 |.0294 | .0808 | 19 .702 |13.388|.0.133 .2527 60 0 || 2.246 .0303 *| 14 | .718 ||0.052 |.0147| .2058 6 || 1 || 2.250 2,250 | .03 || 2 | .0312 *| 15 .737 || 1.055 | .014) .2235 | |52| 0 || 2.736 .0343 *| 13 | .758 9.854 |.015.1 .2963| ||3| 0 || 3.100 .0355 *}| 20 | .784 || 5.680 .0154 .3080 || |64 0 || 3.700 .0389 | ** 20 .814 |16.280 | .0156 .3120 65 l 4.400 || 4.400 .0429 .4029 *| 2 | .852 |17.892 | .0158|.3318 - sºmºsºmºsºme 431 -788 7.0984 Aliment paid January till June, * sº * 2.É 104 2 3 Do June till December, º wº sº 7| S 4 - 4, 175 10 7 There ought to have been paid as above 431 weeks at Ss. * 172 14 4 Over sickness, 39 2 16 3 There ought to have died 7.0984 Whilst there only died 7. - Owing on life assurance, .0984, in money gº gº 0 4 ll - tº tºº g£ 3 l 2 Four members left the society leaving stock, * , 29 23, 12 0 Interest received, investments at 5 per cent. 38 105 2 10 * x Do calculated at 4 per cent. * 84 2 3 - — 21 0 7 — 44 12 7 From which deduct the above loss, and there is left to be carried to *=º the surplus fund, sº tº-º; º $º 26 41 l l 5 When it is considered that 45 of these societies exist in the town, and 5 more in the villages within the Abbey parish of Pais- ley, the members of each varying from 120 to 500, and each with a distribution annually of from L. 45 to L. 265, a hope cannot but be entertained, that the rising generation will not require so much assistance in old age as their fathers received, from the esta- blished parish rates. 292 RENFREws HIRE. Among the friendly societies of Paisley, we cannot omit not- cing the “Female Union” and the “Female Friendly,” both found- ed in 1820, and managed entirely by respectable females of the operative classes, and for their relief in sickness. They have suc- ceeded on the whole remarkably well, and deserve to be exten- sively imitated. - Dispensary and House of Recovery.—In 1786, a public Dispen- sary was established in Paisley by subscription; and about fifteen years after, a commodious “House of Recovery” or public infirmary for the reception of persons labouring under contagious disease was erected. Additions have from time to time been made to it; and it now accommodates about 45 patients. It is managed by a com- mittee, annually chosen by the subscribers, along with all those who may be annual subscribers to the amount of L. 3, 3s. and upwards. Its more immediate superintendence is committed to a house sur- geon and apothecary ; a matron, and two or more house-servants, as may be required. Six of the medical practitioners in town act as medical directors, and visit the patients in the house, and those on the rolls of the dispensary. Two of the managers, with a me- dical director, visit the house weekly, or oftener if necessary, and report their observations in a book kept for the purpose. In 1835, the patients admitted to the benefits of both departments were 1595 ; and the number in all since 1786 has been 36,268. The expenditure of the year 1835 was L. 466, 11s. 10%d.; a small sum indeed, when we take into view the immense good done to the fa. milies of the poor, and to the general health of the place. An an- nual report is published, of the numbers and cases admitted, with the several results, the lists of diseases on the journals of the house, state of accounts, and general management for the year. The following table will shew the comparative number of Fever cases, and those of general distress, which have been received into the house during the last ten years. Admitted. Fever. Other Admitted. Fever. Other Diseases. Diseases. 1826 | 35 1 0 1 34 1831 428 404 24 1827 | 92 | 64 28 1832 600 582 18 1828 335 3H3 22 1833 33] 302 29 1829 186 169 17 | 834 676 665 | l 1830 | 10 92 | 8 1835 463 445 I 8 Philosophical Institution.—In 1808 several gentlemen of scien- tific and literary taste associated together for the establishment of a philosophical institution, embracing all the branches of physical PAIS LEY. 293 research, together with literature and the belles lettres. With the exception of the Andersonian Institution at Glasgow, no society of the same nature was at that time known to exist in Scotland. It was agreed to have courses of lectures by the members who vo- lunteered their services, and these lectures were accompanied with free and friendly conversations on the respective subjects. The first lecture was given on the 2d October 1809, by a late vene- rable minister of the Secession church in this place, Dr William Ferrier; and its subject was, “The nature and objects of philo- sophical research.” In 1812, the institution was incorporated by charter from the magistrates and council. From that period till the present day, it has been continued in various degrees of pros- perity. While single lectures on miscellaneous subjects have been delivered, from time to time, by the members, a course or series has occasionally been given by professional gentlemen of the town : e.g. On meteors and meteorology, by Dr James Kerr; on Physi- ology, by Dr A. K. Young; on astronomy; and on Geology, by Rev. Dr Burns; On Electricity, by Mr John Kennedy, and Mr George Miller, &c. At different times, lecturers have been spe- cially appointed at the expense of the institution ; and among these we mention the names of Mr John Steele, Mr John Murray, Mr John Kennedy, and Mr Hugo Reid. The present lecturer is Mr William Patrick, a licentiate of the Church of Scotland, au- thor of a volume on “the Botany of Lanarkshire,” and to whose talents for Statistical research this work has on more than one occa- sion been indebted.* Attached to the institution, there is a valuable library of 500 volumes on various subjects connected with arts and sciences, che- mistry, natural, moral, and experimental philosophy and history. To this library, the Rev. Dr Chalmers, when minister of the Tron Church in Glasgow, was a liberal benefactor. The museum contains a valuable collection of minerals, consist- ing of silver, copper, lead, and iron ores, of great variety and beau- ty. It contains also a complete set of the casts of the Elgin marbles, presented to the institution by the artist, our ingenious townsman, Mr John Henning. Among the articles of a curious and interesting nature may also be noticed, a set of large horns of the North American moose-deer; a set of spiral horns of the goat or sheep kind from the East Indies; Esquimaux fish harpoon; * See Articles “Hamilton,” “ Cambuslang,” &c. 294 RENF REWSHIRE. matchlock gun from Java, &c. The apparatus consists of an ex- cellent air-pump, and a variety of other philosophical instruments. ſt is deeply to be regretted, that an institution so valuable in a moral, as well as in a philosophical point of view, should not have met with more countenance from the inhabitants of Paisley. We are disposed to think that, in the view of the erection of an academy, provision should be made in its structure for a large lec- ture room, which may be used also for inspections and public ex- aminations of the schools; a museum, and libraries, both philo- sophical and literary. We know few things that would tend more to raise the tone of thinking, and the scale of educational attain- ment. Hope Temple Museum.—The articles belonging to the Philo- sophical institution have been lately lent to Mr Small, Mr Young, Mr Duncan, and other patriotic gentlemen of the place, who have established a museum, with public gardens, &c. at “Hope Temple,” a space of several acres in the immediate vicinity of the town, which had been tastefully laid out many years ago by the then proprietor, John Love, Esq. a native of the place, and whose name will long be fresh and fragrant, in the esteem of all who can appreciate the ... claims of genuine and enlarged benevolence of heart. School of Arts.-In such a manufacturing community as this, much advantage would arise from the institution of a school of arts or of design. It would foster native talent, and encourage a taste for the drawing of elegant patterns. Lectures on the department of design, and on the general principles of taste might be given; and thus the belles lettres and philosophy might be made to pay homage to the genius of manufacturing industry. A repository for inventions, patterns, models, &c. might also be formed on the plan of the admirable agricultural institution of this kind at Stir- ling, so creditable to the Messrs Drummond. We rejoice that the plan of a school of arts has been seriously proposed here, and that several gentlemen of enterprise and capital in the town have re- solved to give it their most deliberate attention. Provident Banks.-The Paisley Provident Bank was instituted in June 1815. At a public meeting called by the magistrates, a body of trustees and committee of directors were appointed, and a cashier chosen; and the bank was opened in November of that year, under certain regulations, which were afterwards amended in 1820, and confirmed by the Justices at a General Quarter Session st *r PAIS LE. Y. 295 in March 1821. No sum less than one shilling is received, and no interest is paid on any sum less than L, 1, 5s. The deposits are lodged in the Paisley and Union Banks. The general superin- tendence is vested in fifteen trustees, chosen annually at a gene- ral meeting of the subscribers to the security fund of L. 1000. A standing committee of six of these takes the immediate charge. The cashier is named by the trustees annually, and finds security for his intromissions at the sight of the trustees, who meet once a year for the review of the transactions of the preceding year, and other business connected with the institution. - It was considered of high importance, that the institution should contain within itself the means of its own existence, instead of be- ing indebted to general eleemosynary aid; and on application to the Paisley and Union Banks, the only banks then in the town, they generously agreed to allow five per centon the money to be deposit- ed with them, which enabled the directors for some time to pay to the depositors four per cent. leaving the remaining one per cent. and interest on fractional sums, applicable to the defraying expen- ses of management. The rate of interest has since fluctuated ac- cording to the money market; but the directors have always been enabled from the same source to allow depositors the same rate as was generally allowed by the other banks to their mercantile customers. The subjoined statement will shew the yearly pro- gress of the institution. Statement of cash received and paid by the Paisley Provident Bank, since its commencement on 13th November 1815. & Received, includ- ing interest put to credit of depositors at annual balance 30th or 31st Oc- Payments made to depositors, includ- ing sums paid into the Paisley and Union Banks on Sums paid into Paisley & Union Banks, on interest receipts in name of depositors, as stat- Interest paid to depos. whose a CCOuntS were closed, over & above the sums tober. interest receipts edin the preceding stated as paid in for their behoof. column. second column. & S. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 42 s. d. 1816, 1192 10 10 459 19 () 3 19 | 1817, 725 19 6 466 6 9 3 14 0 1818, 1312 I 10 699 5 9 6 7 10 1819, 1596 4 8 1445 0 10 15 16 3 1820, 1677 4 11, 1858 10 11% 8 l l 3 1821, 2661 11 11 1626 5 5 1 1 6 10 1822, 3193 4 8, 2118 13 7% IS 2 10 1823, 2526 4 10 2822 18 6 380 0 0 18 16 6 1824, 2861 0 10 3037 0 10 280 0 0 18 7 5 1825, 3634 18 8 3072 18 5 710 0 0 14 16 8 1826, 2550 5 11 4.183 10 2 1366 0 0 17 6 5 TJ RENFREW, 296 REN FREWSHIRE. 1827,423012 1 5 £2419 18 4 38.570 0 0 & 12 ll 9 1828, 3593 0 10 3292 5 5 1 125 0 0 14 7 S 1829, 2753 18 5 3.122 17 3 770 0 0 12 6 5 1830, 3146 0 6 3189 17 8 1040 () 0 10 4 2 1831, 3502 19 4 3025 8 4 1005 0 0 1 l l l 1 1832, 3275 8 4 3367 15 2 920 0 0 13 18 7 1833, 4428 ll 4 3536 7 1 1115 0 0 . I 1 17 7 1834, 4804 16 1 4777 15 3 1260 0 0 18 7 6 1835, 5091 7 10 4696 2 9 1365 0 0 16 l 5 1836, 4520 6 8 536]. 13 9 1255 0 0 28 12 5 smº ºms, ºsmºs ºsmºs-ºsmºs º-º-º-º-º-º: £62,059 19 5 58,080 11 3 13,161 0 0 286 14 6 In April last, the Town Council resolved to receive small depo- sits of money on the security of the property and revenues of the burgh. Deposits of L. 1 to L. 30 are received by the chamber- lain at his office, every lawful day; and four per cent. of interest is allowed. The sum deposited in this savings bank up to the 1st of January last has been L. 6040, 9s.3d. ; and the number of de- positors 501. The first sum received was on the 14th April 1836. On the same principle, the trustees of the River Cart did, in December last, agree to receive deposits of money at the rate of five per cent. on the security of the revenues of the river and pro- perty of the trust, from L. 1 to L. 50. It is desirable that all these institutions should be consolidated into one large establishment, under the newly fixed Parliamentary provisions, so advantageous to institutions of this nature. Of institutions of the nature of a manege, there are many in Paisley, and they have been the means of much good. It is matter of regret that the principles of Life Insurance for widows and heirs are so little understood in this place. A fa- vourable commencement has been made ; and with one institu- tion an investment has been insured by about forty individuals to the extent of upwards of L. 20,000. - Benevolent Societies.—The “Widow and Orphan Society” has existed since 1776. With its small property, aided by an annual collection, it distributes its bounty in money, provisions, and coals, among several hundreds of most needy and grateful recipients; and is deservedly a great favourite with the public. “The Female Benevolent Society” was established in 1811, and has been most efficient in the relief of aged female poverty. Its income for some years past has averaged L. 200 per annum; and it has been in the habit of distributing money, and specially articles of female cloth- PAISLEY. 297 ing, among between 600 and 700 individuals. There are also institutions for the support of a school for educating the children of Roman Catholics; for instructing the Deaf and Dumb; for Gaelic Missions; for reformation of manners; for promoting temperance, &c. These are all conducted on the usual principles, and receive more or less of public countenance. Jail and Bridewell.—These were erected in 1820, and, in point of situation, security, healthfulness, and general arrangement of rooms, are unexceptionable. But they are both grievously defec- tive in regard to the means of solitary confinement, of suitable classification, and of moral and religious instruction. In the Jail, there are nineteen apartments for prisoners confined on criminal warrants, and fifteen for prisoners on other warrants. Since the act was passed, limiting the imprisonment of debtors to sums above L. 8, 6s. 8d., very few prisoners of this description have been incarcerated; and thus greater facilities are afforded for accommodating prisoners of a different description. The number of criminal prisoners of all kinds during last year has been 319; and of debtors, 195. Of male criminals there have been 264; and of females, 55. Of both classes, 29 were under fifteen years of age. Of the whole number of criminals, 72 could neither read nor write. The number of prisoners at present, debtors and criminals, is 54. There are three small yards intended for airing grounds; but they are never used. Neither keeper nor turnkey reside within the jail, but in front of it. No kind of work is permitted within the jail. - The Bridewell contains forty-two cells; an hospital for the sick; and two airing grounds. The average number of inmates is 32; at present there are 39; of these 30 are males, and 9 females. At an average of the usual inmates, 6 or 7 are under seven- teen years of age. A teacher attends one hour a day. There are at present 4 that cannot read, and this is generally the ave- rage. The inmates are employed in weaving, picking wool and foreign skins; winding yarn, veining or hand-sewing, &c. The produce of work in 1835 was L. 192, 18s. 5d.; and the gross ex- penditure was L. 273; the difference being made up by a grant from the police assessment. The diet is porridge and milk to breakfast, broth and bread to dinner; two meals a day ; and on Sabbath, broth and a portion of beef are allowed. The numbers committed during last year were 188; of these 298 RENFREWSHIRE. 133 were committed for the first time; 20 for the second ; 6 for the third; 8 for the fourth; 3 for the fifth; 1 for the sixth; 2 for the seventh; 1 for the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth, thirty-first, and thirty- second times. In regard to the last four of these instances, it was the same individual; and this is commonly the case in four or five other instances. The inmates sleep in couples. Classification, silence, and proper discipline are attended to in this prison, to as great an extent as the limited space, and the supply of bed-clothing for the sleeping cells, will admit. A library of religious books is at- tached to the prison, under the charge, and at the expense, of a so- ciety of young men, who attend every Sabbath morning to give out and receive the books, and to converse with the inmates on their contents. The books are greatly valued by the inmates, and well used by them. Attendance on chapel is generally held out to, and viewed by, the inmates as a great privilege. This Bridewell is un- der excellent management; and accomplishes its end as fully as any one of the extent in the kingdom. A chapel, very commodious and well arranged, is common to jail and bridewell; and divine service is regularly conduct- ed on Sabbath evenings by the Established and Dissenting Pres- byterian ministers of the place. Pious laymen occasionally visit both jail and bridewell, for imparting religious instruction; and a medical attendant for both is specially appointed ; but there is no chaplain for either / . No subject of national police or of public morals requires more loudly parliamentary interposition than the state of the prisons of Scotland. The exertions of the “Prison Discipline Society of Scotland” deserve every encouragement; and their late admirable “address,” with its very valuable “ appendix,” ought to be exten- sively circulated, and seriously pondered by every well-wisher to the best interests of mankind. Secretary of that society, Dr Gre- ville, Edinburgh. Faculty of Procurators.-The “Faculty of Procurators” before the courts of Paisley and Renfrewshire was incorporated by royal charter, 24th June 1803. The office-bearers consist of a dean, treasurer, clerk, three councillors, three examinators, and a libra- rian. Its members at present are 50 in number. The library is an excellent collection of the best standard law books. The fa- culty form also a society for mutual assurance in favour of the wi. dows of members. PAISLEY. 299 Medical Faculty.—The medical practitioners in Paisley and Johnston are at present 34. There is a “Medical Society” in the town, for mutual improvement by monthly meetings, read- ing essays, conversation, &c. A valuable medical library is at- tached to the House of Recovery, in whose committee room the so- ciety holds its meetings. From the funds of this institution, the sum of L. 10, 10s. is annually given to the library, as a small ac- knowledgment of the valuable gratuitous services of the faculty. New Coal Company.—A company has been lately formed for working the coal in the fields of Hartfield and Meikleriggs, within a mile of the town. If the coal is good and in sufficient quantity, the additional supply thus furnished to the town will be of essen- tial service to its trade and manufactures. - Periodicals, &c.—The Paisley Repository, 2 vols.; the “Harp of Renfrewshire,” a collection of ancient and modern poetry, chiefly the products of the district, with interesting biographical sketches of the “poets of Renfrewshire;” and the “Paisley Magazine,” edited by the late Mr Motherwell, and characterized by talent and varied local information,--may be mentioned as favourable speci- mens of the periodical and ordinary literature of Paisley. Newspapers.--A very respectable weekly paper, entitled, “The Paisley Advertiser,” published every Saturday morning, has sur- vived considerable opposition, and promises to maintain its present position from the fairness of its details, the soundness of its prin- ciples, and the judgment and good sense which generally charac- terize it. Its circulation is at present greater than at any former period. Another weekly journal, called the Glasgow Saturday Evening Post, and Paisley and Renfrewshire Reformer, is printed at Glasgow, and published there and at Paisley at the same hour. It advocates ultra-radical politics, and is eagerly perused by those who are attached to these views. Sixty years ago only one news- paper was known as coming to Paisley. It belonged to the ma- gistrates, and it lay on the council table for the use of respectable freemen. Its name, the Edinburgh Courant. Now, there are com- paratively few individuals above the lowest rank who do not enjoy the luxury of a peep at least, into one or more of these influential organs of public sentiment. - Libraries.—The “Public Subscription Library” is a valuable collection of miscellaneous literature. It now amounts to 4500 vo- lumes, and it is supported by 200 subscribers. The “Trades Li- brary,” supported chiefly by the operative classes, is a very extensive 300 R EN FR EWSHIRE, * and valuable collection of several thousand volumes. Most of the congregations have libraries of religious books attached to them, for the use of the members and the public. There is a library of theological books, to the extent of 800 volumes, supported by volun- tary subscription. Of “Book-clubs” the number cannot be stated. They have long been in high repute; and their periodical sales have been the means of introducing many valuable literary works into the houses of the members. Stereotype Printing.—Printing by stereotype has been lately be- gun in Paisley by Mr Alexander Gardner, Bookseller and Sta- tioner; and we have at present before us a very promising speci- men of the work in a neat edition of the psalms and paraphrases of a small size, and very moderate price. The psalms are accom- panied with the valuable notes of John Brown of Haddington, abridged; and the paraphrases have appended to them what we never saw before, a short summary of the contents of each, with the name and biographical notice of the author. We understand that Mr John Neilson, long well known as a printer in this place, has commenced business in the same line. Lithography.—Lithograph printing, writing, and ornamental sketching, are executed with great beauty and exactness by Messrs Robert Hay and Son, at the Advertiser Office. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. In bringing our remarks on the town and parishes of Paisley to a close, we cannot help expressing our belief that this locality possesses an interest to which few, if any other, places in Scotland can lay claim. Whether we wander on the banks of its streams, or follow the antiquary to the ruins of its castles, or to the remains of its far-famed abbey, or dive into the pits of its richest minerals, or ascend the heights of nature or of art, and gaze on the extent and beauty of the scenery around, or accompany our intelligent farmers in their healthful occupations, or visit our extensive fac- tories teeming with their busy population, or examine our schools and places of moral and religious instruction,--we meet with much not only to interest, but also to instruct. But deep as is the impression which the present aspect of Paisley is calculated to make, the impression becomes much deeper when we compare Paisley as it now is, with what it was when the old Statistical Ac- count was published, and with what, from its continued progress, it is likely at no distant day to become. Compared with its state when the Statistical Account was pub. PAISLEY. 301 lished, forty-five years ago, Paisley has made an astonishing pro- gress. In agriculture, those improvements which were then com- menced, had rapidly advanced by the time (1812) in which Mr Wilson of Thornly published his excellent agricultural survey of Renfrewshire, to which reference may be made for farther infor- mation on this important branch of statistics. Since that period, again, improvements have been carried to a still greater extent; additions have been made to the land under cultivation ; draining, in its different styles, has been introduced, fences are more parti- cularly attended to, the most approved rotation of crops has been adopted, the most improved implements of husbandry are in use, and the recently erected farm-steadings greatly surpass those of former days, in neatness, commodiousness, and comfort. We have therefore every reason to conclude, both from what has been al- ready done, and from the spirit which prevails among our farmers, as well as from the encouragement which the Agricultural Society holds out, in all departments of rural economy, that no improve- ment will be introduced into any county of Scotland, without find- ing its way to the parish of Paisley. But the change appears still greater, when from the rural dis- tricts we turn to the town. Its population has nearly trepled. Its public buildings, its private dwelling-houses, its streets, its whole appearance as a town, indicate the advance of wealth, of refinement, and of public spirit. We have now a police establishment, well de- fined and effective. Paisley is no longer a mere village, of no weight absolutely in the political scale of the nation,--it has its own representative in the supreme legislative assembly of the em- pire, to express its mind, and to watch over its municipal and commercial interests. We have now our “castle,” with all its ex- tensive and valuable offices for the public business of the county and the town. We have our bridewell, one of the best construct- ed and best managed in Scotland. We have our Coffee-room, reading-rooms, libraries, book-clubs, and weekly periodicals of intelligence. In addition to the “ Public Dispensary,” which existed in an infant state when the last Statistical Account was published, we have now a commodious and well managed Infir- mary or house of recovery. We have now, also, our societies or public associations for law, for medicine, for philosophy and the arts. In place of one banking establishment on a small scale, we have now two of well-established credit, and which the town claims as properly her own; three branches of banks which have their prin- 302 RENFREwsHIRE. cipals in Edinburgh and Glasgow; and two provident institutions. Of Fire and Life Insurance agencies we have nineteen; and in ad- dition, the “Amicable Mutual Assurance and Endowment Society of Scotland,” established on the most liberal and economical prin- ciples, has here a prosperous branch. The old “Friendly Socie- ties,” which were generally established on fallacious calculations, have either died away, or are giving place to institutions of the same nature on better principles. Our visits to Glasgow, which, fifty years ago, were made at respectable intervals by tradesmen on foot, or by those who could afford it on horseback, are now made hourly, in all the varied modes which land or water carriage can command. These are some of the visible and palpable points of comparison between our town as it was and as it is ; and look- ing on Paisley even in these external relations, candour must say of it, that it promises to be, in a higher sense than it has hitherto been, one of the great rising communities of Scotland. But Paisley must stand or fall by its manufacturing industry; and it becomes a very serious question, what may be the state and prospects of Paisley in this respect? At the time of the last Sta- tistical report, Paisley had enjoyed a lengthened period of manu- facturing prosperity, and it continued to do so for a good many years after. Perhaps the most prosperous days for Paisley were those from 1803 to 1810, when the Continent was the seat of war, and when the maritime and commercial preponderance of insular Great Britain was propitiously felt in all her marts of trade. A good workman could, at that period, realize by the labour of his hands from L. 1, 5s to L. 2, 10s. a-week 1 The consequence was an overstocking of the trade, and a glutting of the markets. Some extensive failures occurred, and by 1812, a most serious check had been given to our manufactures. From that time till 1830, we have had our seasons of prosperity and of decline; we have waxed and we have waned; but never did our operatives regain their former position of gainful industry. Time and the succes- sion of events work wonders, and for the last eight years Paisley may be said to have been in a prosperous condition. Experience has taught many salutary lessons. The branches of trade have been multiplied. Operatives have not been so ready to bring up their children to their own trade, but have sought out other means of oc- cupation,-looking beyond, it may be, the magic circle of the family fireside, and sending them to a distance that they may be- nefit other places by those mental energies which might have PAIS LEY. 303 pined for want of encouragement and a fair field at-home. The business of master manufacturers is now conducted on better prin- ciples. Their goods are not now entrusted exclusively to agents in London or at a distance, who might possibly feel little interest in an immediate and large return. Their eyes have been opened to the terrors of these dismal abodes, bonding warehouses 1 Part- ners in the respective concerns have periodically gone forth to the great marts of commerce, to be their own salesmen, or agents in their own pay have been duly commissioned. Branches of Paisley houses have been established in London and other great fields of commerce, and the connexions thus formed have been of high benefit, both to the parties concerned in them, and to the trade at large. Improvements on machinery have been received with readiness by the manufacturers of Paisley, and applied to use on a scale which, when compared with former days, may be termed extensive. On the whole, we apprehend that the prospects of this place, in regard to the improvement and extent of its manu- factures, were never more bright than at the present moment. In anticipating the future progressive advancement of Paisley, in wealth and consequence, we count a good deal on the improved modes of communication which are at present in progress. That swiftness, ease, and cheapness of conveyance will, as a matter of course, lead to a vast increase of travelling, both on business and on pleasure, is strikingly illustrated by the fact, that the Paisley Canal, which used to have its 20 or 30,000 passengers annually, can now boast of somewhat approaching to half a million, while multi- tudes continue to travel by coaches or by waggons; and we have no doubt that the improved navigation of the Cart, combined with the formation of not less than three rail-roads, to the Clyde at Ren- frew, to Greenock, and to Ayrshire, with corresponding relations to Glasgow, will add unspeakably to the extent of intercourse be- twixt Paisley and a vast multitude of places of great and growing importance. Thus the conveyance of raw material, of coals, corn, and goods of all kinds in a safe, quick, and moderately expensive mode, will afford many facilities to the extension of our trade. A community which has hitherto been exclusively devoted to manu- factures, and which has looked to Glasgow as its only medium of commercial communication, may gradually acquire a commercial character of its own, and thus begin to look up, like Aberdeen and Dundee, in the manly confidence of a rapidly growing indepen- dence. 304 REN FREWSHIRE. When we look at Paisley in a moral and religious view, we have our hopes mingled with many fears. Since the last Statistical Ac- count was published, the religious character of the place has much deteriorated. French infidelity and Sunday drilling, combined with other causes to poison the principles, and relax the ha- bits of the rising generation; while the rage for political reading and speculation abstracted the minds of the operatives from the more profitable, but less exciting matters of religion and the Bible. In the meantime, our educational and religious means did not keep pace either with the advancing population or the growing dege- neracy. Indeed, education amongst us has all along been, and even at present is, in a very low state; and so long as a decent pecuniary encouragement is wanting to that most useful class of citizens, the teachers of youth in elementary branches, we can scarcely expect any rapid change to the better. The in- come of many private teachers in this place and neighbourhood does not exceed L. 30 a-year. The means of public religion and of pastoral superintendence have not been adequate to the exigencies of a growing population ; and that beautiful paro- chial economy, which the fathers of the Scottish Reformation handed down as a most precious boon to their successors, has become in this, as in all our large communities, little more than a shadow. The moral influence of the ministers of religion is at- tenuated just in proportion to the extent of surface over which it is diffused ; while divisions among Christian professors, partly poli- tical, and partly religious, are not favourable to an harmonious, well-concentrated, and persevering assault on the strongholds of the common enemy. * - And yet we are not without our “lights” amid the “shadows.” Even in a religious point of view, for intelligence and accuracy of sentiment, for zeal in benevolent and religious enterprise, and for general decency and sobriety of deportment, Paisley, with all its faults, will stand a comparison with any city of the same extent in the kingdom. From her pulpits, of every denomination, the * Dissent in Paisley is of comparatively modern growth, and it has been occasion- ed chiefly by mismanagement on the part of the guardians of the Established Church. The two Iłelief churches, which are the largest of the dissenting meeting-houses in I’aisley, are flagrant proofs of this. The West Relief was built in consequence of the refusal of the town-council to erect a church in the western district in 1781; and the East Relief was occasioned by a similar refusal in 1807, to abandon the plan of rouping seats, and to build an additional church. Early in that year, the general session had memorialised the council for a fourth church, but no measures whatever were adopted for its erection. PAIS LEY. 305 sacred truths of the gospel of peace are preached in purity. No place can boast of a more pains-taking and efficient eldership. No where have, more commendable efforts been made in aid of church extension, and her becoming ally, Christian education. On the whole, the hopes of her best friends are high ; and they are so, mainly because based on the assured triumphs of truth, rather than on the anticipated growth of commercial greatness. From the following passage in “Bannatyne's Memoriales,” late- ly printed by the Bannatyne Club, it appears that the Abbey and Place of Paisley was at one time a kind of fort of considerable strength. “In the meantyme (Jan. 1570–1,) Paisley was taken from the Lord Semple's servandis be the Hammiltounes, and be thame keipit till that the Regent (Lennox) with his forces tuike it and delyver- ed the place in keiping to the Lord Cathcart. Great moyen was made to raise the Seidge, and so to frustrat the poure Regent of that enterpryse ; but God assisted him then so that he gat the Place of Paisley randerit without promeis or compositioune, uther than the Regentis will, undeclaired.” P. 82. A more full account of this affair is given by the Regent Lennox in his “Letter of In- structions to Robert Pitcairn, Commendator of Dumfermling, Se- cretary of State, &c.” printed in the Appendix to this very valuable work of the Bannatyne Club, 1836. “Upone Weddinsday the xvii. of Januar instant, Claud Hamilton, accompaneit with Johnne Hammiltoun of Drumry, Sonne to the Bischope of Sandandrois, Arthour Hammiltoun of Myrretoun, and utheris of that name, with a nowmer of souldiouris, come and be force enterit in the Abbay and Place of Paisley, pertening to the Lord Sempill, now being pri- soner and captive in thair handis; and hes takin sum of his freindis and servandis presoneris, and reſt, spoilzeit, and away takin his horsis and utheris 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 continewing in the possession of the said Lord Sempill, sen the dispositioune maid to him thairoſ, efter the foir- faltore orderlie led, als weill aganis the said Bischope of Sandan- drois, usufructuar 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 queme, the Kingis moder, minassing the tenentis that he will be payit of thrie zeirs rentis bi- 306 REN FREWSH 1 RE. gane; and hes alredie begune and spoilled and reſt diverse horsis and guidis furth of the grund of my awin propir landis of Dernlie and Cancklystoun. (Cruikystoun.)” In the reply on the Queen's part to this complaint of Lennox, it is maintained that Sempill had consented to the surrender of Paisley, “ quhilk being ane place of sic strenth culd not easselie be takin gif himself had not consentit to the same.” P. 362. A pretty fair explanation is also given in the sequel of the other matters of complaint on the part of the Regent. On 20th October 1572, the General Assembly complain that “messe is said in certame places of this countie,” and Paisley is particu- larized, and the civil power is importuned to use means “ For ap- prehending of the messe Sayaris, and also the hearesis, to underlye the law.” P. 278. Thirty years after, Lady Abercorn being a Pa- pist, gave no small trouble to the session and presbytery of the bounds, and proved a great enemy to the progress of the Protestant faith. It appears that in Popish times, Paisley was one of the four places in Scotland to which pilgrimages were made.” N. B.-Since this Account was written a dark cloud has come over our manufacturing prospects; but we trust that the stagna- tion will be only temporary. In addition to the acknowledgmelits made in the course of the preceding account, the compilers beg to offer their sincere thanks for the valuable assistance received from the following gentlemen in the several departments noticed: In Geology, Dr A. K. Young; Mr William Kerr ; Mr George Miller, of the Blantyre Cotton Works, formerly of Paisley ; Mr Wilson, Junior, Hurlet; Mr Oatt of the Hurlet Alum Company; and Mr Montgomery of Cloak, who has been lately honoured with a piece of plate (value 25 sovereigns) by the Highland Society, for his valuable Essay on the Mineralogy of Renfrewshire. • In the departments of Topography and Ecclesiastical Antiquities,—The Rev. W. M. Wade, A. M. Minister of Trinity (Episcopal) Chapel; Mr Glassford, Johnston; Mr John Dunn, Writer, Paisley; and Mr M'Lellan, Glasgow. In the department of Agriculture,_Mr Carlile of Houston; and Mr William Glen of Hawkhead Mains. In the departments of Trade and Manufactures,—Mr Alexander Carlile; Mr Archibald Yuile, manufacturer, Paisley ; Mr George Miller, Blantyre; and Mr Robert Lang. - For the article on “ Friendly Societies,” we are indebted to Mr Alexander Bor- land, of the Western Bank. - In the article on “Civil History” we have availed ourselves of some valuable pa. pers which had been drawn up by two intelligent citizens now gone,—Provost Wil- liam Carlile, and Mr Gibson, Town-clerk of the burgh. To Mr Campbell, Sheriff substitute; Mr Smith, Secretary of the Maitland Club; Mr Gavin Lang, Town-clerk, and his partner, Mr Wilson ; Mr Alexander Gibson, Depute-clerk to the Justices of Renfrewshire; and to other gentlemen whose names are not mentioned, we owe many obligations for the use of their libraries, and for im- portant information on various branches connected with the Statistics of Paisley. The gentlemen of the Maitland. Club obligingly acceded to our request for the use of their plates of the seal of the Monastery.— R. B. R. M. * Notes to Renfrewshire Characters and Scènery, p. 36. PAISLEY, Feb. 13th 1837. PARISH OF NEILSTON. PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. ALEXANDER FLEMING, D. D., MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY.” Name.—TRADITION has handed down various accounts of the origin of the name. By one of these, it is derived from one of Haco's generals, called Neill, who, with his routed division, flying from the battle of Largs, was overtaken, in a field near Kirkton, by the Scotch army, and slain. A tumulus, according to the fashion of the times, was raised over his grave, and a stone set up to mark the spot, which was called Neilstone;—and hence the origin of the name. Another account is, that, in the reign of Malcolm III., Donald, Lord of the Isles, having raised an insur- rection against his sovereign, was met by Malcolm, and, after a se- were conflict, was routed at a place called Hairlaw, on the bor- ders, or, as some say, in the parish;-that Neil, one of the clans- men of Donald, fled with the remnant of his islanders from the plain to the hills, whither he was pursued and slain, and a stone, set up near the village to mark the spot where he fell, was called Neilstone, which gave the name to the surrounding district. Both these accounts are pure fiction. We find the name of Neilstoun given to the district, 103 years before the battle of the Largs, and 251 years before the days of Malcolm III. The bat- tle of the Largs was fought in 1260; and the battle of Hairlaw in 14ll : but, in the chartulary of the Abbey of Paisley, we find, that, in the year 1160, Robert de Croc of Crocstoun, assigns over the patronage of “ NEILSTOUN” to the monks of the Abbey of “Paisley,” on consideration that mass be regularly said there, * In the former Statistical Account, the parish of Neilston is made to hold a con- spicuous place. It was selected by Sir John Sinclair as one of the three parishes which he had translated into French, and transmitted to the Prench Chamber of Commerce, in order to shew the progress which manufactures had made in some of our land- ward parishes. Whether Neilston—from its vast population, its large and numerous manufactories, its copious springs of purest water, its streams, rivulets, and water- falls—holds still, amongst the landward parishes of Scotland, the same high rank it held in 1792, is now to be seen. 308 REN FREWSHIRE, “ pro salute animae suae.” The orthography of the name, in this chartulary, leads to the conclusion, that Neilston took its origin from a person called “Neil,” its first inhabitant; and the termi– nation “tun”—now pronounced town—denoting the dwelling of the proprietor, naturally enough gave to his place the name of “ Neil'stum,” or “ Neilstoun-the town of Neill. Situation, Eatent, &c.—Neilston lies in Latitude 55° 47' 15" north; and in Longitude 4° 21' 35" west. Its form is that of a wedge or dovetail expanded, its narrowest part being to the east, and its broadest to the south and south-west. Its length, by measurement is, 8% miles, and its breadth 4% fully ; it con- tains 36 square miles, or 24,320 imperial acres. There is nothing in which those who have written about this parish dif- fer more than in its length and breadth. Some make it 9 miles long from east to west; and three miles broad on an average. Others make it 7 miles from S. E. to N. W., and nearly half as much in breadth, in a cross direction. Some make it to contain 13,570 Scotch acres; others only 12,500 English acres. One copies the errors of another, and makes it “7 and 8 miles in length; and, across, its averages, about 3% miles; containing 19.56 square miles, or 12,500 acres;”—whilst others make it 10% in length, and 5% in breadth. - All these computations seem to be mere guesses. The last of them does not refer to Neilston, as it now is, but as it was in an- cient times. In this view, the last measurement, 10; x 5+, is nearly correct. Neilston proper, in olden times, included the baronies of Knockmade and Shutterflat, which, though now dis- joined from Neilston, and annexed to Beith and Dunlop parishes, in Ayrshire, are, nevertheless, still in Renfrewshire, and pay into that county all their public burdens of cess, &c. Though dis- joined from Neilston, their civilia still belong to it, being a dis- junction “quoad sacra tantum.” From the eastern extremity of the parish, at Robert Young's of Parkhouse, to the Bridge of Coldstream, or Shutterflat, which separates the old parish from that of Beith, the distance, by measurement, is 10% miles fully; and taking its average breadth from the Long Loch to Cawpla'- Dam, it will be fully 5 miles. But the accurate length and breadth of Neilston, as it is at present, is that noted above. Boundaries.—On the east, Neilston is bounded by Eastwood parish ; on the south by Mearns; on the S. W. by Stewarton and NEILSTON. - 309 Dunlop ; on the W. by Beith and Lochwinnoch; and on the N. by the Abbey Parish of Paisley, which runs parallel to it for about eight miles. Topographical Appearances.—Properly speaking, there are no mountain ranges in this parish, though it has quite a Highland sce- nery to the west. The surface is exceedingly irregular and uneven. On its eastern boundary, the land is flat; in the south and west parts, it is hilly, having an elevation from 400 to nearly 900 feet above the level of the Clyde, at the Broomielaw. Here and there, the ground rises into small hills of considerable height. The highest hills are the PAD, and Corkindale-law, which rise from 820 to about 900 feet above the sea. These are separated by a narrow valley, or ravine, through which the great turnpike road from Glasgow and Paisley runs till it enters Ayrshire. The Pad range of hills extends for about two and a-half miles; and the Corkindale-law range, with those of the Fereneze, stretch from east to west, fully four miles. The Pad range gradually slope to the valley or ravine, and has a northern exposure, as does also that of Corkindale-law, whose declivities have a southern exposure of very great beauty. Through this valley, the water of Levern flows for miles to the east. To the west, the valley leads along the lovely banks of Loch-Libo, which, in our opinion, ex- cells in picturesque scenery, Rydal water in Cumberland From the Pad, the view to the east is as grand as it is extensive. But it is from Corkindale-law where a view presents itself, unri- valled in beauty and extent by any in the west of Scotland, from a similar elevation. It commands, in a fine clear day, the half of the counties of Scotland. The spot on which you stand is a small piece of table-land, not more than forty yards square. From this, the hill slopes in all directions. On looking north, you have Dumbarton rock; the vale of the Leven; Smollet's monument ; Loch Lomond, and some of its islets, and Benlo- mond in the back ground, with the whole range of the Gram- pians ! Looking east, the city of Glasgow and its suburbs : and the whole vale of the Clyde, from Hamilton to Kilpatrick, with the hills of Kilpatrick, Campsie, and top of Dunmayock : the western Lomonds of Fife, Bathgate, and Pentland hills, and Tinto from his base to the top. From thence you have the tract of the whole run of the Clyde, from its source till it joins the Atlantic ocean. On looking south, you have the Lead, Cumnock, 3 l () REN FREWSHIRE. and Sanquhar hills, with others in Kirkcudbrightshire; whilst far in the distance you have, on a very clear day and in a humid atmo- sphere, the tops of Skiddaw and Saddlebackin Cumberland. These are distinctly seen in this state of the atmosphere, through theravine which stretches onwards between Tinto and the Cumnock hills. Turning to the south-west, a rich and variegated prospect meets the eye: The pleasure groundsof Eglintoun; the extended plain of Ayrshire, with its many noblemen’s seats, and princely lawns, Irvine spire, the Troon and the mouth of Ayr harbour, with the lands around it; Brown Carrick hill, Lochryan, some of the hills in Galloway; the mountains of Morn and Newry, in Ireland, and the beautiful rock of Ailsa standing like a sugar-loaf, in the midst of the ocean, with the whole sweep of the waters from Donagha- dee to Irvine harbour. In a fine, bright, calm, Summer, or autumnal evening, nothing can surpass the splendour of the scene; especially when there is added the multitude of fishing-boats plying on its waters and about its harbours; the stately steamers going to and returning from Liverpool, Dublin, and Belfast; and at times the West India fleets, with all canvas set, hastening to their destined ports. These, with the romantic island of Arran, and its lofty Goatfield as a skreen to it, on the west south-west, form a scene, unparalleled by any with which we are acquainted, or have ever beheld in Scotland, En- gland, or Ireland. Meteorology.—The temperature of the atmosphere here is, at all times, very various. In the parish, there are three distinct cli- mates, and, therefore, to have an exact account of the weather in it, an observatory would be necessary in each of them. But though we have no public artificial observatory, with its ther- mometers, to mark the various degrees of heatin the parish, we have a natural one, which never deceives, viz. the leaf of the poplar tree. In the neighbourhood of Barrhead, and all the level district around it on the east, which is the first climate, the weather is much milder. There, the leaf of the poplar appears ten days before it is seen in the second district, which begins at the parting of the roads to Neilston and Irvine, a little above Mr Cunningham’s re- servoir, and stretches on to about a mile to the west of Neilston village; and in the third district, the leaf of the poplar is not seen for a fortnight after it is out at Neilston. In all these three districts, the change of climate is remarkable. No one ever came NEILSTON. 3| 1 to the separation of the two roads above-mentioned, who did not feel immediately a sensible difference, let the weather be what it may. The consequences are, the farmer, in the first district, has his operations finished three weeks earlier in spring than those in the third, and the same interval, nearly, takes place in harvest. Owing to its geographical position, the rain that falls here, with the high winds, storms, and tempests, which accompany it, is greater than in most of the parishes around. The parish stands, as it were, on an isthmus, between the Friths of Forth and Clyde. From its great elevation, it has the whole sweep of the east winds from the Frith of Forth to the Atlantic Ocean; and which, in April and May, frequently traverse it with great violence. But it is from the S.W. and W. whence our storms and tempests, and delu- ges of rain, generally come. From these quarters, the wind prevails nearly three parts of the year. At times, especially in winter, its power is tremendous, and strikes with such force as if it would overturn by its fury, not only trees and houses, but mountains from their base. It seems, on such occasions, to be the land of Storms. - - The cause of these storms and tempests here is very obvious. The parish lies, as already noticed, between the two Friths, or ra- ther between the Atlantic and German Oceans. The temperature of the German Ocean, owing to its shallowness and narrowness, gets sooner cooled and sooner heated than the Atlantic, with its great breadth and depth of water. Hence the cold winds, rush- ing from Mount Caucasus in Spring, along the Baltic, cool the German Ocean with great rapidity, and, hurrying to the Atlantic, to keep up the equilibrium of the temperature there, give us those cold, chilly eastern blasts in April and May, which, with their hoar, are so unhealthy. The converse of this takes place, so soon as the German Ocean and Continent get heated, to a higher temperature, than the At- lantic. The colder winds of the Atlantic, rushing to the east, where the atmosphere has become rarified, create the storms and tempests so common in the higher districts of this parish. Rushing from the S. S. W., there is not a single obstacle to break their sweep from Donaghadee to the Neilston-hills. Hence it happens that no extremity of weather continues for more than twelve hours, without modification. Possessing such a variety of climate, it is natural to suppose that the parish must be very unhealthy. That it is not more so than HR, ENIFR.E.W. X. 3 12 REN FREWSHIRE. the parishes around, the following tables, constructed in 1828, by Charles Ritchie, M.D., will demonstrate. Whilst the state of the parish remains the same, as then, they may be considered as appli- cable to its population, and must be valuable, to the statist and ac- tuaries of Life Insurance offices. * It is true that the state of disease will be modified, increased, or diminished, by the nature of the seasons; by the different kinds of food, clothing and lodging; by moral, or immoral habits, and by the affections, or temperament of mind which are cherished or indulged in. Making allowance for all these, the amount of sickness and deaths may be pretty accurately ascertained from the following tables. No. I. Abstract of amount of Sickness in Friendly Societies. º Yearly Average ||{ate per cent. s * 3 ... # Number. " per annum. Average. £ to |.S. ;#| || 8 .# , |} : | * Q) * †: º ºs ºff #| ##| # | 3 || || 3 || 3 | #### z - || 5 || 5 | E tº Q 32. Q -:4 °5 |º 'g tº 2 || 2: § 5 |.S. 2 2. tº CD Q CO 1. A Male Society of 30 years' standing, . 3930|4|4|45 131||13.80 | 1.50| 10.53 l. l 4 2. A Male Society 27 - - years' standing, g 1943|18 || || 8 72| 6.70 || 0.66 9.30 || 0.92 3. A Male Society 26 years' standing, . |314 ||360|39. I20.80|13.84 | 1.50 1 1.46 | 1. 24 4. A Male Society 20 years' standing, . || 605 || 47 9 80.25 7.35 | 0.45| 9. 15 0-56 Total of Males, 404. 41.69 |4. 1 || 40.44 || 3.86 || 0. l l .96 5. A Female Society 6 . . .” years’ standing, º 328 l8] 2 54.66 2.66 || 0.33| 4.86 0.60 6. A Female Society 6 - years' standing, 564| 66|| 9| 94. || 1. 1.50 l 1.70 | 1.59 Total of Females, i48.66|| 3.66 | 1.83) 16.56 2.19 || 8.28 | 1.9 No. II. Comparative Sickness in different Trades in Neilston Parish. Number inz Vazmeber Trades. societies. sick. Proportion. Wrights, • 463 25 J in 18.52 Calico-printers, 852 49 - l in 17.4 Farmers, e 354 27 l in 13, 1] Cotton-spinners, 754 59 l in 12.7 Iabourcrs, * 1629 170 l in 9.58 Smiths, . t 132 l 5 l in 8.8 Bleachers, * S25 94. l in 8,77 Weavers, . . 3325 377 l in 8.77 Tailors, e 254 42 l in 6.2 NEILSTON. 3.13 No. III. Comparative Numbers of Adults and Children treated in General Practice during Two Years. 1825. 1826. Males. | Pemales. Children. Males. Females, Children. Sick |Died Sick, Died Sick ||Died Sick. Died Sick. Died Sick. Died January, | 13 || 2 || 28 || 1 || 9 || 1 | 8 || 0 | 12 | 1 || 5 || 0 February, Q 0 || 24 0 || 25 || 4 5 || 0 || 3 || 0 || || 0 l March, . | 1 | | | 3 0 || || 8 || 2 | 8 || | | | | () || || 0 } April, e 15 2 || || 5 0 8 0 | | 2 || 0 8 || 0 || 15 l May, . 14 || 2 | 19 || 0 || 13 || 0 4 || 0 || || 3 || 0 || 25 | 1 June, . 16 3 29 1 || 13 2 9 || || 0 | 12 0 | 8 0 July, . 9 | || 23 2 U2 0 10 () || 8 || 0 | 16 || 0 August, . 17 | 0 | 16 2 24 2 10 | | 20 || 0 | 20 l September, | l 0 | 1.4 1 || 15 l 10 | | | 1 () 18 0 October, . 12 1 | 10 l | 1.4 || 3 | 5 || 0 || || 0 | | | 5 l November, 10 || 0 | [6 || 0 || 1 | 2 I I l 4 1 | 15 2 December, 12 ] 9 || 0 || 7 || 0 | 2 || 0 || 13 || 1 || 12 l 273 || || 7 ||34 || | 12 |338 26 No. IV. Abstract of Burials in Neilston for Four Years. 1823. 1824. | 1825 1826. T § { H; 3 #|. § #| = |a|é| – ->< | Gºd cº; I cº cº ov, GD | cº º s: |#| 5 |E|| || 3 |G| 3 || 5 |*|| 3 || 5 F|#| 5 |=|s|≤|H|#| || |#| || # January, ă 3| 8 |4|7||1|4|9| 13 |4|10, 14 February, 2| 2 4 || 5 || 3| 8 || 6 7 13 || 7 || 6 || 3 March, g 3| 5| 8 || 4 G|10| 9|10| 1Q 3| 7 || 0 April, . . 8 8, 16 || 4 3| 7| 4 6 lo 2 7 9 May, . . . 3| 1 || 4 || 4 || 3| 7 || 6 || 4 || 10. 2|l l| 13 June, e 3| 3| 6 || 4 || 3| 7, 2] 2 4 |3| 4 7 July, 3| 0 || 3 || 2 || 3 || 6 2 8 || 3 2 5 August, 4| 3| 7 || 5 || 2 || 7 || 5 || 5 10 || 2 4 6 September, 5| 6 || | | 3 4 7| 7| 4 || 1 || || 7| 8 October, 5| 8 13 || 0 5| 5 4 6 10 || 2 || 3 November, 6| 4| 10 || 7| 4 || || 0 || 10 |2| 6| 8 December, 7| 8 15 || 0 2. 2 5. 7 12 || 3| 8 || || 545 l/105 |42|43856763||130 |34,73107 314 RENF REWSHIRE, Of these there Died. 1823. 1824. 1825. | 826. * |& | – |g|É|- i. 3 | – || |{ | – ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă Under 1 year, 0 || 0 || 0 5| 5 || || 0 || 6 || 5 || 1 | 1 and under 2, 10 || 9 || 19 3| 8 || || 6 || 5 || 8 || 13 , 9|10| 19 5| 3 || 8 || 5 || 8 || 13 5 10, 2 || 2 || 4 4|| 3 || 7 || 2 || 4 || 6 10 20, 4 || 3 || 7 4|| 6 || || 0 || 3 || 5 || 8 20 30, 6|| 5 || 1 l 3| 4 || 7 || 2 || 7 || 9 30 40, 3| 7 || 10 2|10| 12 || 0 || 4 || 4 40 . 50, 3| 0 || 3 6|| 4 || || 0 || 0 || 6 || 6 50 60, 5| 1 || 6 5| 2 || 7 || 2 || 4 || 6 60 70, 4 || 5 || 9 | l | 8 || 19 || 3 || 6 || 9 70 75, 1 || 3 || 4 2| 2 || 4 || 3 || 6 || 9 75 80, 2| 1 || 3 5| 3 || 8 || || 3 || 4 80 85, 0 || 4 || 4 2| 2 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 85 90, 4 || 0 || 4 4|| 2 || 6 || 2 || 4 || 6 90 95, 1 || || 2 0|| 1 1 || 0 || || l 95 100, 0|| 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 2 54 (5 l || 05 67|63||130 |34||73 || 07 From these tables, the following remarks are warranted : In 1823, the number of funerals amounted, in a population of 7000, exclusive of still-born children, to 129; giving a mortality of one in 54.26 persons annually. In 1824, it was 110, being one in 63.64. In 1825, it stood at 130, or one in 53.84; and in 1826, it fell to 107, being one death to 65.42. In 1825, the number of still-born children was 14, being as one in 9.28. In 1826, to 6, or one in 17.83. These included, the real bill of mortality of this parish will amount, during these two years, so high as one death in every 54.47 persons per annum. It appears from the registers, that a most important difference obtains in the relative mortality of the upper and lower districts of the parish. In the former, it amounted in 1825 to 50, and in 1826 to 37 deaths, or to one death only in 66.11 persons per an- num; while in the latter (the lower district,) the deaths were 74 in 1825, and 76 in 1826, or as high as one in 48.51 persons per 9.I]ll Ull]]. - - - The facts which account for this mighty difference, are the greater density of the population in the lower than in the upper district; the greater poverty of the inhabitants, a greater propor- tion of them being Irish, and almost exclusively occupied at public works, in trade, or as common labourers. These will perhaps suffi- ciently account for this striking contrast in the rate of mortality, NE I LSTON. 315 without obliging us to seek for its causes in those differences of climate which are peculiar to each district in this extensive parish. “The inequality between the males and females is no less strik- ing. In the former, the deaths during four years were 197; in the latter, 280, exclusive of children still-born. In the three years previous to 1826, the number of female deaths, according to the lists, was 157, or six less to the corresponding number of the other sex; while in that year, in reality, they amounted to 73, or 39 more than the males. Of these, one-third took place below 10 years of age, and one-half below 30. This difference arises per- haps from registration being neglected. “The proportion of deaths under 10 years of age in 1825 and 1826 in the parish, was, exclusive of 20 still-born, as 104 to 257, or 1 in 2.47, or about 40 per cent. of the whole deaths. From all these facts, it is obvious that the probability of human life here is not great, seeing that two-thirds of the whole population are cut off below thirty years of age. The average of all the persons dying here in 1825 and 1826, exclusive of still-born children, was as high as 34.79. - - “Important differences also appear in the different classes of which the population is composed;—the average ages of the persons belonging to the agricultural population dying in 1825 and 1826 being 60.05; the Scotch manufacturing population being 33.67, whilst the Irish population was so low as 30.19.” Yet in the upper wards, many attain to a great age. * Hydrography.—This parish, being inland, has no friths inter- secting it; but it abounds with streams and springs of the purest water. Some of these bubble up from the soil, others from the solid rock. They are almost all perennial, though, in the end of very dry summers, there is, in a few of them, a less abundant sup- ply. At Neilston there are three wells on the glebe, one at the Kirkhill, and one at the Butter Well, which have withstood the most prolonged droughts, and are of the finest water. The largest spring in the parish is that one “Aboon the Brae,” which issues from the solid rock, discharging no less than 42 im- perial gallons every minute, 2520 in the hour, or 60,480 a-day, or 22,146,200 imperial gallons per annum. It is the chief spring which supplies the Waterside Bleachfield, belonging to Andrew * I'or a tabular view of the prevalent distempers connected with the district, sco the Glasgow Medical Journal, Vol. i. 316 RENF REWSHIRE. Chalmers, Esq. who himself carries on the work, and who has a long lease of it. Streams and rivulets abound in the parish ; but the chief of them are the Levern, Kirkton-burn, the Brock, and Cawpla Rill. The lochs are three, the Long-Loch, Loch-Libo, and Caw- pla-Loch. The extent of the first is about a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, with an average depth of from 16 to 18 feet. Loch-Libo, in figure nearly an oval, contains about 16 acresin length and 14 in breadth. Its depth is unknown; but it is very consider- able in the centre. It is the source of Lugton-water, which runs west, and, after beautifying the country and extensive pleasure- grounds of Eglinton, it falls into the Garnock, a little way below Kilwinning. The Cawpla-Loch is tolerably large in winter, but small in summer. Neither about it nor the Long-Loch is there any scenery; but Loch-Libo presents a scene of unparalleled beau- ty. Its lofty hills, on both sides, are wooded with fine old trees to the water's edge. Its oblong or oval figure pleases the eye, while its smooth and glassy surface, disturbed only by the heron, wild and teal-duck, swimming and fishing upon it, give it animation. Standing at the turn of the road, as you ascend northward, above the Shillford toll-bar, and looking west, when the sun, in a fine summer evening, is pouring his rays upon it, its effect is enchanting. Besides these lochs, there are other large artificial collections of water called reservoirs. The Hairlaw reservoir covers 72 acres of flow-moss, and is 16 feet deep. Comore reservoir covers 16 acres, and is about 24 feet in depth. The reservoir to the north of the Pad covers 14 acres, and is 16 feet deep. To these we add the Kirkton and Walton dams, each of which contains a consi- derable body of water. The source or feeder of Hairlaw and Comore is the Long-Loch ; the source of the Pad is a small stream to the west of it. The Kirkton- dam rises to the south of the Pad, and is fed by the streamlets that descend from that hill, and the moors to the south-west. The Walton-dam has its origin from a small rill that takes its rise be- tween the Snypes farm and Upper Walton. - The chief stream, however, is the LEVERN, which has its source in the Long-Loch, and which divides the parish for nearly four miles into two parts. Its direction is first to the north, then to the north-east, and, finally, from Crofthead to the east, till it enters the Abbey parish, west of the Hurlet. It passes Neilston and Barr- head on the north, the Hurlet on the south, and falls into the White NEILSTON. 317 Cart near Cruikston Castle, so famed from Mary Queen of Scot- land having fled from it after the battle of Langside. The banks of this stream, from Waterside Field to the Dovecotehall, is thick set with population and public works. On its banks, are three large bleachfields, four printfields, a corn and chipping mill, and six large cotton-mills, giving employment to a vast number of men, women, and children, all active and industrious. On the stream flowing from the Kirkton dam, there are four bleachfields, two of them amongst the largest in the county,–one printfield for Turkey red dyeing and calicoprinting—containing 112 tables, and employing, in all, 500 hands; two coal-pits, one mill for net working, which is now enlarging to double its former size, one corn mill, and one iron-foundery. On the banks of the Wal- ton stream, called the Brock, after leaving Walton dam, there is one bleachfield, and two extensive printfields for calicoes of all kinds, garments, silkshawls, &c. &c. Both these streams join the Levern. The Kirkton, at Cross Arthurlie, after a run north-east of about two miles, the Brock, after a run north-east, falls into the Levern, about six or seven miles from its source. The velocity of all the three streams till they reach the level ground is very consider- able. Being shallow, their temperature is at times as high as from 40° to 45°. Owing to the height of their sources from the plane, there are on them some fine cascades. Above Midgehole, on the Levern, there are two splendid ones. There is another above South Arthur- lie field, and a third at Brownside. But the loveliest of them all are those at the Killock-Glen. There, in perfect miniature, are seen the three falls on the Clyde, Bonnyton, Corra, and Stonebyres. Geology and Mineralogy.—The minerals are the same here in general as in the parishes around. Lime and ironstone are found in great abundance, both in the east and west extremities of the parish. Ores of no kind save ironstone are found here. In truth, beyond the usual appearances of trap-rocks, this parish affords nothing new or interesting to the geologist. But, if it con- tains nothing peculiar, it has long been known as a rich field to the collectors of mineralogical specimens. The most numerous and interesting of these belong to the zeo- lite family. They are to be seen in various parts of the parish, but are more especially found in the greatest plenty and variety near Hartfield. Prehnite is the most common of all these minerals to be met 3.18 - TEN FREWSHIRE. with near Hartfield. It is there found beautifully crystallized, hav- ing abroad, rectangular, four-sided prism, rather flatly feoilled in the extremities. The first specimen, examined by Werner, was brought from the Cape of Good Hope, by Colonel Prehn; hence the name of Prehnite, by which it is distinguished. It was then not suppos. ed to be found in Great Britain, but some time afterwards it was found near Dumbarton by Mr Grotche;” and since, abundance of it has been picked up in the Hartfield moss. That the specimen picked up by Grotche at Dumbarton was carried down, with others, by the Cawpla stream into the Clyde, and by the Clyde, rolled down to Dumbarton, is extremely probable, as prehnite is not found in any other parish in the West of Scotland, known to us. It is curious, indeed, that its formation should be in the middle of moss. We have found large specimens of it so imbedded,—and not very many years ago, sent a most splendid specimen of it, picked up by us, to the late amiable and talented Professor of Natural History in the University of Glasgow, Mr Lockhart Muirhead. The cele- brated Brochant, it is said, could not rest satisfied till he visited the place of its formation, Hartfield Moss, and took away with him some of the finest specimens he could find. + Analcime, or Hexahedral zeolite, is the most common of all those minerals found at the same spot. That it has also been carried down by the waters from Hartfield, though picked up at Dumbar- ton, is probable. In general, this crystal presents only one modifi- cation, viz. the twenty-four-sided crystal with trapezoidal faces of greater or less regularity. The primitive form of its crystal is a cube; sometimes it is found crystallized in cubes, in which each solid angle is acuminated by three faces. It is often found some- what transparent. One beautiful crystal of this primitive form was found by Lord Greenock in a quarry near Caldwell. This crys- tal, though at times seen transparent, is generally opaque. A few specimens occur of a red flesh-colour, but these are very rare. Chabasite, or Rhombohedral zeolite, is found in the same situa- tion, but it also is comparatively of rare occurrence. The primi- tive rhombohedral crystal is by much the most common. The most frequent modification consists in the truncation of one, two, or three angles; the truncation itself being often very deep. It is usually found white, and somewhat transparent, with a streak of green running through it, which renders it very pretty. Red Stilbite, or Heulandite, is of frequent occurrence. * Wide Ann. de Chim. i. 213. & f Brochant, i 295. N E I LSTON. ,” 3.19 Thomsonite, or Orthotomous zeolite, occurs in great abundance at the same fertile spot. It presents the usual radiated structure, with occasionally beautiful terminations. Laumonite, or Diatomous zeolite, one of the least common of the zeolite family, is found at the same place. Ores imbedded in the trap rocks which abound here, are scarcely ever found. Assuredly no veins of manganese, lead, or copper, are known to us. When examining some stone dikes built of olden time, with the late lamented and talented Walter Moody, Esq. of Glasgow, we found stones in which were imbed- ded rich specimens of copper ore. In none of the rocks we have examined have animals, shells, or plants been found imbedded or buried. The only thing found, deeply imbedded in some of ou coal mines and mosses, are trunks of large trees, in the transition state to coal. Soils.-These are as diversified as the climate. There are three marked and distinct soils in the parish. That on the eastern division (which is flat land,) is of a dry loamy nature, mixed occa- sionally with gravel, and resting here and there upon freestone, but generally upon a substratum of stiff till or clay. It is fit for all kinds of crops. The middle district, which is hilly, has for its sub- soil chiefly rotten rock, or porphyry. Hence its surface is com- monly dry, and free of wet standing on it. It is fitter, however, for pasture than cropping; and hence the dairy is the first and greatest care of the farmers there, as by its produce they chief- ly pay their rents. The soil is of the same nature as that of the Mearns, and produces the finest butter. Its pasturage is ex- cellent. The third district is composed of bent moor and deep black moss; much of which is capable of greatimprovement, under a proper system of draining and planting. The sides of the hills afford good grazing, and produce as fine cattle for the shambles as any in the country, whilst the table-lands on the hill tops with the ‘moors are excellent for rearing young cattle. A very few sheep are kept in the parish. Many swine are reared, but goats are un- known. The improvements made on the Hartfield estate show what can be done on our mosses, moors, and hill-sides. From a few hundred pounds of rent, when Robert Fulton, Esq. of Maxwel- ton, the late highly respected proprietor of Hartfield, purchased it from the Milliken family, its rent is now raised, by his improvements and other means, to about L. 2000 yearly. * * I'ive hundred acres of the moss and moor of IHartfield, formerly yented at L. 30, 320 R EN FREWSHIR E. By dividing these mosses and moors into fields of fifty acres broad, and 60 or 70 long, throwing around each field a strong, broad belt of planting; by draining it till it is perfectly dry, and then laying upon it from 110 to 130 bolls of lime per acre, to lie two or three years on the sward, before the ground is broken up, and when it is broken up, (which should be done in November at the latest, that so the frosts and thaws of winter may operate upon it;)—by such or similar means, much of it may, by seed-time, be brought into mould. By this management, crops of corn, barley, rye, potatoes, carrots, cabbages, turnips and cole-seed, may be plentifully obtained; and, under judicious and well conducted im- provement, a return had, not of 10, but of 30 or 40 per cent. per annum. More than this has been frequently realized from the out- lay; whilst from such improvements, many advantages are derived, such as enlarging the rent-roll; beautifying and ornamenting the estates, and increasing their value; exciting industry among their ten- antry; multiplying the means of human food, and thereby produ- cing cheaper markets. If he was deemed a patriot who made two stalks of grass to grow, where only one grew before, he certainly has a better title to the name, who makes abundant crops for hu- man food to rise from the barren heath. We bid Colonel Mure and Mr Speirs look to what has been done by the late and pre- sent worthy and respectable proprietors of Hartfield and Fereneze. They have done much ; but they, too, have still much to do, ere their moors be reclaimed and made productive. Mines.—Saving those of coal, free and whinstone, there are no other mines in this parish. Freestone is wrought at Upla-moor, —it is a fine pillar, and of great depth. Whinstone is wrought at Brownside to a considerable extent. More than 6000 yards are taken out of it yearly. ... . Žoology.—In this department, there is nothing that is rare. We have all the domestic animals, and of the best kinds. The un- domesticated quadrupeds are, the fox, the polecat, the weasel, and the hedgehog. The otter and badger make their appearance but rarely. Grouse abounds in the higher district of the parish. The blackcock is to be met with, as also pheasants; and in the middle and lower districts, partridges are often abundant. Snipes, wild teal ducks, plovers, and herons frequent all our mosses, and are now, in consequence of these improvements, says Mr Wilson, 1812, “ let at * xx - - - e ſº L.495.” Mr Fulton persevered, “ and out of 675 acres of very deep and soft mCSS, 450 acres have been reclaimed.” Hence the rise of the rental, as above, NE II, STON, - 32 l moors, and Jochs. The common migratory birds make their an- nual appearance at their proper seasons. The cuckoo and swal- low, the curlew, lapwing, and stonechat in spring ; and in the end of autumn and beginning of winter, the woodcock and field- fare. The Birds are, the sparrow, sparrow hawk; the thrush and blackbird ; the lark, grey and green linnet; the bullfinch and yel- low-hammer ; the golden-crested wren; the blue titmouse, the chaffinch, and starling; which last, though rare for many years, has again appeared in considerable numbers. f The water-crow and stonechat are disappearing; and the long- eared, brown, and barn owl is found only inhabiting some lone- ly tower. The raven, crow, jackdaw, and magpie abound. The last is the most ferocious and destructive of all the other birds; and, though rewards have been offered for every one of them that is shot, they cannot be rooted out. This parish is not famous for the breed of any species of cattle. The only thing in which it is remarkable is its breed of milch- cows. Every thing has been attempted for their improvement. The Ayrshire cow was crossed for a time with the Alderney and Guernsey breed. This produced more butter, but less milk, and the breed was given up. Now the chief attention of farmers here, in the middle district, is to improve, as much as possible, the Ayr- shire cows in all their varieties.* - The fishes in our lochs are perch, pike, and trout. Trout is found in abundance in the Long-loch : pike and perch, large, and very fine and abundant, in Hairlaw reservoir and Loch-Libo ; and trout is found also in Cawpla-Loch. In the streams, trout of a par- ticular kind are found, equal in all respects to the char in the lakes of Cumberland. Great abundance of these, and of the common species of trout, with uncommonly large and fine eels, are found in the small reservoirs attached to the mill-lades of cot- ton-mills, and other large bleaching manufactories. When these reservoirs are drained for cleaning, trout are taken in great num- bers; some of them from 12 to 16 inches long, and thick in pro- portion. For a time after the printfields were set down the fish | * The writer of this article sold one of the mixed Alderney, or Guernsey breed, to the late William I?inlay, Esq. Senior, of Trees, in this parish. She produced, per week, for the three flush months, cleven pounds of butter but comparatively little milk in proportion. At the same time, the present minister of Dunlop had a large fine cow, of the pure Ayrshire breed, which gave, during the three flush months, twenty-one Scotch pints of milk in the day, as taken from the cow. These facts are well ascertained, and mark the peculiar difference between the cross and the pure Ayrshire breed. 322 RENF REWSHIRE, deserted the Levern. The first emptying of their dye-stuffs and other debris into the stream poisoned them; they were found dead next morning on its margin in great numbers. They have, how- ever, long ago returned, though not feeding in that part of the Levern wherein the debris is thrown. The salmon left it entirely, and have never, so far as known, made their appearance since the water was thus polluted, though before they came in numbers to spawn at the season. * > All the insects injurious to vegetation in general, and to fruit- trees, and to currant and gooseberry bushes, in particular, are as abundant here as in the parishes around. Every method has been employed for their destruction, but all in vain. Last year, the grub and the wire-worm produced dreadful ravages. Botany.−All the plants used for culinary purposes are grown with us, and need not here be specified. Those for medicinal purposes are, foxglove (Digitalis purpurea,) Valerian (Valeriana officinalis,) hemlock (Conium maculatum,) tormentil (Tormentilla erecta.) The first is found growing on a bare and rocky soil, small and stunted in its form and appearance, but most powerful in its application as ame- dicine. Thesecond is commonly the inhabitant of the low andmarshy grounds about Barrhead. The third delights, like the foxglove, in a bare and rocky situation, or loves the shelter of an old dry dike, where it rises into great vigour; and the fourth, like the moorfowl, loves the heather, and is found flourishing amongst the heath in great plenty and luxuriance. The plantations are few and scanty. The timber which grows to the greatest size is the beech, the plane, the ash, and the spruce. Some of these latter kind are found about Caldwell and Glander- ton, both of considerable age and size. It is much to be regret- ted that plantations at once so profitable and so ornamental, are so few in this parish. II.—CIVIL HISTORY. In this department the parish is rich. From one of its ancient proprietors the present reigning family has sprung. In the twelfth century, Stewart of Darnly married the sole heiress of Robert de Croc, who at that time held the Lordship of Neilston, Darnly, and Croc- ston. These he made over to his daughter, from whom sprang the Earls and Dukes of Lennox, and of whom was Darnly, the husband of Mary, father of James VI. of Scotland, and first of England. For long, it was a parish of gentlemen, noted for their prowess and amenity of manners. Crawford, in his “History of Renfrew- 4 N E I LST ON . . +. 323 shire,” published in 1710, gives a very full account of the families in or belonging to it in olden times. Passing from the house of Stewart, the Lordship of Neilston, he says, came by marriage into that of Cunningham of Craigends. It soon went from them, and was, in the course of years, divided, as now, amongst a num- ber of proprietors. A cadet of the noble family of Darnly held Arthurlie; Glan- derston was possessed by the ancient and highly respectable family of the Mures of Caldwell; Neilston-side was held by a descend- ant of Sir William Wallace's family of Elderslie ; the barony of Side belonged to a cadet of the honourable house of Skelmurlie ; Cowdon-hall was long possessed by the distinguished family of the Spreulls, and by Sir William Cochrane, afterwards first Earl of Dun- donald. Not one of all these have now a house in the parish, nor an acre of land in it, saving Lord Glasgow and Colonel Mure. All has changed hands. Whatastrikinglesson “Sic transit gloriamundi.” One remarkable trait of character in the inhabitants of Neilston from its earliest history is their ardent love of civil and religious liberty. In the Reformation they took an active interest. The persecution of the Presbyterians by the infamous and profligate Charles II., roused Colonel Wallace, a descendant of Neilston- Side, to march with his followers to Pentland. William Mure, then of Caldwell, felt his spirit stirred within him at Charles's cruelty, and, placing himself as captain of a company of horsemen, who met at Shutterflat, resolved to march forward to join the army of the Covenanters at Pentland. The traitorous conduct of Max- well of Blackston broke up this meeting; each returned to his home, and though not near Pentland, all who attended it were either driven into exile, or had their estates forfeited. The large estates of Caldwell were given to General Dalziel. Sentence was passed in absence, and this good and worthy per- son died in exile, leaving his pious lady and four orphans, destitute of all visible means of subsistence.” Rising in 1819.-With this affair of Shutterflat, we connect * Of the sufferings of this eminently devout lady and her family after the exile and death of her husband,—of their retiring to Glasgow, and supporting themselves by their own industry, of their being transported to Blackness Castle, and kept in close confinement for years, under a false accusation of keeping conventicles, of the harsh treatment they met with there, of the Council refusing liberty to Lady Caldwell to go to Mr Sandilands of Hilderston to see her dying daughter,-of her offer to take a guard with her, yea, to maintain the whole garrison as a guard if they pleased, while she was doing her last sad duty to her child; of all these facts, we leave Wod- row to tell, only remarking on the tyranny and cruelty which could refuse so hu- mane and so reasonable a request to a mother, 324 REN FR EWSHIRE. the modern history of an event, the results of which should afford a lesson of useful and awful import to those who fear not God, nor honour the King, but meddle with them who are given to change. The 1st day of April 1819 was on a Sunday. Associations for reform had, on that and the preceding years, been frequent in England, and Ireland, and Scotland. A regular system was form- ed, and an active correspondence carried on amongst them all. The wildest theories about liberty and equality were broached and promulgated, with ardour and unwearied diligence. The different Associations had their times and places of meeting regularly fixed. In these, the Spencean doctrines found willing, and resolute advo- cates. This Spencean plan was to divide the whole lands in the nation among the people; perfect equality in the division being the rule of distribution, so that no one should have more than another. In the meantime, rumours of a general rising of the people through- out the empire to obtain this end, were circulated with great indus- try by the radical reformers. Whether the director of the move- ment intended only a hoax, according to the custom of foolery on this day of the year, is best known to himself; but this is certain, that during the night, or early on the Sunday morning, a flaming proclamation, announcing the rising, was placarded upon all the church doors in town and country, stating that the insurrection was to begin that day in London, and in the chief towns of England and Ireland, and calling upon the reformers here to be ready to join them, threatening instant death to all who opposed them. On that Sunday morning, the writer of this could not understand what attraction was about the church gate. He saw the chiefs of reform in motion, hastening to the gate, and looking mighty big when turning away from it. Understanding that the cause of this excitement was the proclamation referred to, the minister preach- ed a sermon from the following text: “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.” This produced the happiest consequences in the parish. Except by the musical band, and a few wrong-headed men like themselves, the operatives resolved to attend their work as usual. To their ho- nour and credit be it told, they did so ; and it was very remark- able, that whilst the whole works of the same kind in Lanarkshire, Dumbartonshire, Renfrewshire, and Ayrshire stood still that week, not one of all the twenty-two large public works stood idle for a 3 NEILSTON. 3.25 moment in Neilston parish. The events of that week will long be remembered by many. The whole of the west of Scotland was in agitation and alarm, save Neilston, which was comparatively quiet, peaceable, and orderly. This effect we mention with exultation, as an instance of the in- fluence of the pulpit, and the necessity of having not only an ac- tive and Gospel ministry, but also an Established Church suffi- ciently large to admit a considerable number of the parishioners for hearing divine service. Eminent Men.—The eminent men connected with this parish in ancient times have already been noticed. Those in recent times are scanty ; yet a few have arisen who have done honour to them- selves and their native place. The whole of the talented family of the Mures of Caldwell have their family crypt or vault here. The late Baron Mure, who was eminent in his day, was a Baron of Exchequer, Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire, a pro- found lawyer, and an eloquent man, long the Melville for Scot- land, was born and buried here. His grandson, the present Co- lonel Mure of Caldwell, promises to be his superior in literary fame. His “Disertation on the Calendar and Zodiac of Ancient Egypt,” exhibits profound research and extensive reading, and places him high as an astronomer, and eminent as a scholar. His worth, talents, and literary acquirements must soon raise him high in his country's estimation, and give him a name and a place in society to which his birth and accomplishments deservedly entitle him. - The late George Monteath, M.D., son of Dr Monteath, for- merly of Neilston, now of Houston, is another individual of whom the parish has reason to be proud. His attainments in science were considerable; but it was in his profession where his great powers were seen and appreciated. His knowledge of the structure of the eye and its diseases, was minute and extensive, and his many operations upon it eminently successful. His quick perception and discrimination of disease was the admiration of his brethren in the profession, and gained for him a well-earned reputation. He died early in life, in the midst of extensive practice, honoured, respect- ed, and regretted by all who knew him. We might say all this of his great rival, Dr William Young, who was born in the same village, and about the same time, and started with him in the same professional race. This very distin- guished individual is now enjoying in Glasgow the most extensive 3.26 - RENF REWSHIRE. patronage, admired for his skill and ability by his brethren, as an anatomist and pathologist, and highly esteemed by all. * Not a few ingenious men, skilled in the combination of the mechanical powers, have appeared in this parish. Some of these had heads to contrive, but wanted hands to execute. The late James Dunlop, Esq. of Linwood, united both in himself. He was allowed by all who knew him to be a man of great ingenuity, skill and contrivance, and of admirable taste in mechanism, and success crowned his well merited reputation. His son, Wil- liam, promised fair to equal if not excel his late father; but ill health, for a time only we trust, has stopt his career. Should health again return, we doubt not to have from him some of those splendid and useful combinations which have immortalized a Ro- berts and an Arkwright. * * But one of the greatest of those ingenious artisans and mecha- nics to which this parish has given birth, was the late Mr John Robertson, foreman to James Orr, Esq. of Crofthead. A self- acting mule had long been a desideratum in cotton-spinning for more than half a century. What neither Crompton of Bolton; nor Kelly of Glasgow; nor Buchanan of Catrine ; nor Eaton of Derby; nor M. de Jonge, an ingenious Frenchman; nor Roberts of Manchester; nor even the talented Mr Smith of Deanston works, could do with all their skill,—Mr Robertson, single-handed and alone, accomplished. The process of backing off, which is one of the most difficult to accomplish in “the self-acting mule,” Mr Robertson contrived and finished. Mr Smith of Deanston had, in 1833, renewed his mechanical labours, resolved, if possible, to contrive and finish a self-actor. He had failed in 1792, with Mr Buchanan of Catrine, to perfect the self-acting mule which they had then contrived; and though, in 1826, he succeeded to contrive an effective machine for spinning low numbers, yet he found it could not be applied to mules of various descriptions in the trade, as they then were and still are in general use. He therefore applied his vigorous powers to contrive one, and was making rapid progress when he came to hear of Mr Robertson's contrivance respecting * Since the above was written, this eminent physician has fallen a victim to his profession. As physician in the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow, he had been in the Fever Ward for about two hours, examining about seventy fever patients, when he caught concentrated typhus, and in a few days thereafter was no more. Thus fell this skilful practitioner in his 47th year, lamented by a city which had long known and appreciated his worth. His funeral was one of the largest almost ever seen in Glasgow. To his worth and abilities all the Glasgow papers of the day bore ample testimony. NEILSTON. - 327 the great facility of his machine in the backing-off motion. On seeing the simplicity and efficacy of the contrivance, and the faci- lity of Robertson's “self-actor,” Mr Smith was struck with ad- miration,--what all his ingenuity had not contrived was there. A proposal for combining the powers of the two machines was made, and a copartnery entered into by Messrs Smith and Orr for thatpur- pose. Hence, by the ingenuity of Mr Smith combining the two, he has made a perfect self-acting mule, which will, in that trade, carry his name with that of Robertson's down to posterity. Great advan- tages will be derived from this machine, by the trade. By it, the full-grown operative is dispensed with, and only children required for piecing up the threads, who are now paid one-half more than formerly. Another advantage is obtained, by the mule producing about one-fifth more yarn, whilst the saving upon the wages will be about two-thirds. A third advantage it gives is, that it brings the workers more under the control of the master. The vexation given to the masters by the union of the workers was great. By these unions, under the plea of protecting their trade, they annoyed and distressed their employers time after time, with insolent and un- warranted interferences and restrictions. It was to get rid of this annoyance, by a “self-actor,” that the masters were led to make so many attempts to dispense with their services altogether. This they have now accomplished,—the service of children only is re- quired. This is generally the result of all combinations; they ul- timately injure themselves. Another important result of this “self- actor” is, that by diminishing the wages two-thirds, it will enable the spinners of Great Britain to compete successfully in the foreign market with the cheap labour of the continent. These advantages must commend this machine to the trade, which, from its simpli- city, is not liable to breakage, nor to much tear and wear, nor to much expense in the repair. Land-owners.-The chief land-owners are, Alexander Spiers, Esq. of Elderslie ; Colonel Mure, of Caldwell; The Right Honour- able the Earl of Glasgow; Sir Robert Pollock of that ilk; Colonel Fulton; John Graham, Esq. of Craigallian and Fereneze ; James Dunlop, Esq. of Arthurlie ; William Craig, Esq. of Kirkton ; Peter Sawers, Esq. of Craigingal; and Captain Anderson of Broadlie. TABLE of PROPERTY of the whole Heritors of Neilston, great and small, with their valued rents respectively. Glanderston and Neilston side; Caldwell part of Neilston side ; Neil- ston side; four different parts of Comore; Glanderston dike ; part REN FREW. - Y 328 RENFREWSHIRE. of the I. 17 land of Arthurlie; ditto, ditto, ditto—Alexander Speirs, Esq. of Elderslie, sº * gºs tº- L. 1729 19 4 Easter Caldwell; Wester Caldwell; Cowdon Common—Col. Mure of Caldwell, tº *-*. gº - l 096 13 6 Hartfield—Col. Fulton, º tºg º *s ($33 6 8 Auchinback, Dubs, Park and Boghall, Laigh Lyon Cross—Earl of Glasgow, {-, tº- tº wº- 55l 13 4 Maxwell's Lyon Cross—Sir Robert Pollock, º tº | 20 6 8 Fereneze—Messrs Grahams, tº -º es 440 0 (0 Pollock's Arthurlie; part of Airstan's do. ; part of L. 17 land of do.— James Dunlop, Esq. of Arthurlie, gº &=º sº 190 13 4 Part of the L. 17 land of do.—William Craig, Esq. of Kirkton, 109 0 0 Do. do.— Mr Wylie of Carsewells, * º 108 5 0 Do. do.— Mr Stewart of Carsewells, tº º 47 6 8 Do. do.— Peter Sawers, Esq. of Netherkirk, &c. &c. wº 44 () 0 Do. do.—Formerly Andrew Spreuls, Esq.-John Gemmel, Esq. 34 0 0 IDo. do.—Captain Anderson of Broadlie, tº * 30 0 () Anderson's part of Caldwell–Heirs of Wood, • , * 30 0 0 Part of the L. 17 land of Arthurlie—Mr Young of Snypes, * 25 0 0 Do. do.—John Cuthbertson, Esq. of Carsewells, º 23 15 0 High Lyon Cross–Heirs of Mr Cuthbertson, * {- 20 0 0 Iširkland's part of Arthurlie—John Craig of Foreside, º }3 6 8 Do. do.—John Pollock, Esq. of Greenhill, tº º 6 13 4 Part of Pollock's Arthurlie in possession of William Lowndes, Esq. 69 3 4. Total of the valuation of Neilston Parish, as it now is, º L. 4823 6 8 Add the Annexations from it to the Parishes of Beith and Dunlop. In Beith Parish ; Shutterflatts—Mr Stevenson, - 59 6 0. Do.— Peuars, & t- 103 7 8 In Dunlop parish, also Knockmade Barony—Col. Mure of Caldwell, 662 16 8 Amount of valuation in Neilston before annexation, se L. 5486 3 4 Parochial Registers.-Our oldest register is one of births and baptisms. It commences in 1689, and is continued on to 1735. It is in very bad condition, and two years are wholly awanting. The se- cond register of births and baptisms, begins 15th May 1737, and ends June 6, 1784. The third register of births and baptisms begins 8th June 1784, and ends 14th March 1813. The fourth register of births and baptisms commences 21st March 1813, and is now be- ing filled up. The first register of proclamation of banns begins 29th January 1737, and ends 10th December 1791. The secondbe- gins 5th January 1792, and ends 21st September 1833. The third begins 27th September 1833, and is being filled up. There is no re- gister of deaths, on which any kind of reliance can be placed. There is great backwardness to registration here of any kind. Regu- larity never will be attained, till a Parliamentary enactment enforce it under penalties. s Antiquities.—In this parish, there are none. Tradition has transmitted an account of other two religious houses, before the Re- formation, besides the parochial kirk. One of these had been placed at the “chappell,”—and another, at the sequestered spot called “Boon the Brae,” near Waterside bleachfield. The springs N E ILS TON. \ 329 at both places are exceedingly fine. They were the holy wells of the Papists in former times, and, if purity of water could confer holiness, that name they deserved. The spring, “ Boon the Brae,” issues from the solid rock, and is one of the finest and most copious in the parish. It is perennial. Of these chappells no traces remain. Even the walls and foundations of them cannot be discovered. Tradition speaks also of a curiously carved Danish stone; of tumuli on the Fereneze Braes ; of battles lost and won; of human bones dug up, enclosed in square freestone urns; of petrified shells, and impressions of trees and animals, especially shell fishes; but all these have now vanished. Large trees, imbedded deep in the mosses or mines, are occasionally found, passing into the coal formation; but than this no other kind of fossil is dug up. That these have been found in the parish, in ancient times, is most likely; but if ever they existed, they are now among the things that were. Modern Buildings.-There is abundance of building going on in the parish; but there has been none of late of any conse- quence, saving Crofthead House, the property of James Orr, Esq. and Company; and James Dunlop's, Esq. of Arthurlie ; both of which are handsome and elegant buildings. There are a few other good houses in the parish; such as Mr Lowndes's, the Chappell, and Trees. None of the castles of the old and ancient Nobility remain. Lord Glasgow, Sir Robert Pollock of that ilk, Col. Mure, Col. Fulton, and Mr Speirs are non-residents; and, with the exception of a few of the smaller he- ritors, the parish is inhabited chiefly by the proprietors or owners of large manufactories, their foremen and operatives. Additions have been made to different mills and public works in the parish, some of which have been increased to nearly double their original size. A new printfield, for all kinds of calicoes, was erected in 1835 at South Arthurlie at great expense. At Cross Arthurlie field, another large print-shop was built; and additions have been made to others. But the most splendid addition is that of the Levern mill in 1834,-which consists of five storeys, 10 feet high, a sunk flat, and a garret, and is 113 feet long, and 46 feet wide, and which, joined to the old mill, makes an immense pile of building. The materials used in these buildings are generally freestone, though sometimes whinstone, both of which are at hand in great abundance. 330 REN FREWSHIRE. III.-PoPULATION. TABLE I. The following is the state of the population at different times. Years. Souls. 1695 Families 263, l 180 1755 * g e 1274 Males. Females. 1791 1187 1143 2330 1801 1702 2094 3796 1811 2205 2744 4949 182} 264] 3908 6549 1831 3569 4477 S046 1836 - 91.87 Table II.-Particulars in census of 1831. Inhabited houses, s G s 712 By how many families occupied, - • e 1518 Houses now building, º º e 5 unoccupied, º e 13 Families chiefly employed in agriculture, - e 165 manufactures and handicrafts, º 1319 All other families not included in these classes, º © 34 Persons, including children of all ages, males, 3569; females, 4477; total of persons, e o ſe e º © S046 Males employed in Agriculture. Number of males 20 years old, and not older, • e .* tº 1679 Occupiers of land employing labourers, tº * º 77 not employing labourers, © e te 67 Labourers employed in agriculture, º e º 180 Males employed in manufactures, or in making machinery, Q e 624 Males employed in manufactures, trade, and commerce, &c. Males employed in retail trade, or in handicraft, as masters or as workmen, 4ll Number of wholesale merchants, bankers, professional men, and educated per- SOnS, * • e © -> 36 Number of labourers employed in labour not agricultural, - º 204 All other males 20 years old, (excepting servants) including retired tradesmen, superannuated labourers, and males diseased in body or in mind, º 7| The causes of the unparalleled increase of population are, the command of water power for driving machinery; the abun- dance of the purest spring water; the nearness to coals; and to the great storehouses of manufactures in Glasgow and Paisley. In this parish there are no towns. The population in the vil- lages can only be given. Families. Individuals. Neilston village, º e 392 & 1879 Dovecothall, Barrhead, and Newton Ralston, 564 º 273S West Arthurlie, e e gº - 79 º 414 Grahamston, º - ſº º 120 e 595 Gateside, and Chappell, º º - 140 & 748 Crofthead, e e º º 11S º 627 Upla moor, º • e - 5] & 215. No. of population residing in the country of all classes; as farmers, cottars, handicrafts, &c. e 272 º 1392 Such were the numbers at the end of the year 1835 and be- ginning of 1886, when the census was carefully taken by the elders NEILSTON. 331 of the parish, assisted by Roman Catholics and sectarians. Then the whole population was, as stated, 9187, making an increase in five years of 1141 souls. The average of births for the last seven years, is • ‘e 1534 of deaths, º * * 1554 of marriages, º e e 77; number of persons under 15 years, 2807 of individuals, or families of independent fortune not known ; many appearing to have independent fortunes, who, in reality have less than nothing, though mak- ing a great show. The number of the proprietors of land above the yearly value of L. 50 are, 16 families in 1831, e e º 1518 Average number of children in each family, 3. o o '5 Number of inhabited houses in 1837, e º e - 935 of uninhabited houses and others now building, e º 27 The number of insane ll, fatuous 5, blind 8, deaf and dumb 9 ; total 33 The strength, size, and complexion of the original inhabitants have long been remarkable; and some of their descendants, as the Spreulls, Craigs, Andersons, Cochrans, Gilmours, Muirs, Stew- arts, &c. still possess these qualities in a great degree. They are, many of them, tall, stout, able-bodied men; some with fair, and others with dark complexions, but intelligent features. “It was asserted,” says the writer of the former Statistical Account, “by a late military gentleman of this neighbourhood, who was well informed, accurate in his observations, and who had opportunity during many years of his life, whilst in his Majesty's service, to see the subjects of most of the different powers, and some of the finest troops in Europe, that John Stewart of Moyne was, for stature, strength, and exact proportion, and good looks, the completest figure of a man he had ever seen.” In the hilly part of the country, the offspring of the original inhabitants are still robust, strong, healthy, and intelligent, often living to a great age. In a kirk-session of thirteen members, there are seven whose present ages are 495; of these, two are 81 each, two from 76 to 78. Two persons not in the session died at the advanced age of 104 and 105. The latter was father to Mr James Fulton, one of the elders, who is now 81 years old. The habits of the people in general are sober and industrious; one class, that of the sober, intellectual, and moral, is exceedingly cleanly; the immoral and irreligious just the reverse. The clothing of the men is warm and comfortable, and every way bespeaking good conduct; whilst the style and manner of dress of the virtuous and well-behaved females, is not only in good taste, but, owing to the purity of the muslims they wear, peculiarly clean and neat. Considering the wages which the people receive, they can, ac- 332 RENFREWSHIRE. cording to their condition in society, enjoy, in a reasonable degree, all the ordinary comforts of life, with many of its luxuries. A great number of the operatives have from 16s. to L. 1, and from L. 1 to L 1, 10s. ; and some from L. 1, 10s. to L. 1, 15S. and L. 2 per week. Yet true it is, though strange, that those who have only from 16s. to L. I are more independent, and infinitely more com- fortable in their clothing, furniture, and supply of the table, than those who have from L. 1, 10s, to L. 2, aye L. 2, 10s. a-week. The one class is generally frugal, sober, and contented with their situa- tion and circumstances. The other is dissipated, prodigal, literally wretched and poor; ill fed and ill clad, discontented with their condition, and with every thing and every body around them. Those of the one class give themselves to the duties of religion, the other to politics. The latter would reform every thing, yet re- fuse to reform themselves. Amongst a people given to politics, the moral and religious character is lost. The one absorbs the other, and the magnitude of eternity is lost in the littleness of time. The squabbles of factions are preferred to the peace of God, and the party howlings of this world's policy to the Songs of Zion. In a parish abounding with cotton-mills, printfields, and bleach- fields, where men, women, and children are cooped up together from five in the morning till seven at night; where indecent language is often heard, and evil example often set before them ; where no op- portunity is afforded the children to acquire solid knowledge, and where time is wanting for the adults to improve their minds by reading and reflection, how is it possible that such a population can in general be intellectual, moral, and religious? If we are to enjoy a healthy state of morals, the present and future generations must be trained up in the fear oft he Lord, and obedience to his commandments. If these are neglected, every generation will grow worse and worse, till society become wholly corrupted and debased, and we sink, as a moral and religious people, from among the nations of the earth. Indeed a radical change of system must take place throughout all the branches of the cotton trade, where, at present, children are employed, if ever we are to become an intellectual, moral, and religious people. Government must inter- ſere, our old religious system of education must return,-children must be taught, and none permitted to enter into any of these works below the age of twelve or fourteen years, and until they have learned to read their Bible and say their catechism. NEILSTON. 333 IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.— The number of acres, standard imperial measure, in the parish, which are either cul- tivated, or occasionally in tillage, º {- l6602 2 9 The number of acres which have never been cultivated, and which re- main constantly waste, or in pasture, º tº-3 4240 3 30 The number of acres that might, with profitable application of capital, be added to the cultivated land of the parish, whether that land were afterwards to be kept in occasional tillage, or in permanent pasture, mosses, &c. g º tº . º 3478 () () Number of acres under wood, natural or planted, &c. Eº S65 0 0 The kinds of trees planted are in general indigenous, saving the larch and spruce, and a few others. The management of them is very much approved. Periodical thinning and pruning, &c. is general. Rent of Land.—The average rent of all arable lands in the pa- rish is L. 1, 10s. ; the average rent of grazing, is at the rate of L. 4, 10s. per ox or cow grazed, and at the rate of 9s. per ewe or full-grown sheep, pastured for a year. Rate of Wages.—The rate of labour, winter and summer, for diſ- ferent kinds of farm-labourers and country artisans—is, for farm- labourers, 10s. per week, in winter,-in summer 12s. ; for country artisans, masons in winter, 2s. 6d.,-in summer 3s. 6d. ; carpenters from 2s. 6d. to 3s.6d. per day; tailors, from 9s. to 10s, with their meat per day; shoemakers, 12s. per week; hand-weavers from 8s. to 10s. per week; Smiths from L. 1, 1s. to L. 1, 10s. The price of the raw material, March 1837.-Meal per peck, 1s. 4d. and L. 2, 6s. per quarter; oats per boll, L. 1, 2s. ; barley per boll, L. 1, 9s. ; wheat, imperial quarter, L. 1, 13s. ; potatoes, L. I a boll, Renfrewshire measure; turnips, L. 2 perton; rye-grass, L. 5 per 100 stones; meadow hay, L. 4 per 100 stones; manure from 4s. to 5s. a ton; lime, 16s. per chalder. Live-stock.-The Highland or black-faced sheep and the Lei- cester are the only ones bred here. In the whole parish, there are only about 100 of the one, and 50 of the other. No attention is given to their improvement, as the farmer depends nothing upon them for his rent. - Husbandry.—The same kind of husbandry is here pursued as in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. The chief thing attended to is the dairy; and for the improvement of it, ingenuity, skill, and exer- tions, are perseveringly directed. There is little land in the pa- rish which is not susceptible of great improvement. Accordingly a Society, in 1826, was instituted, called the “Neilston and neigh- bourhood Agricultural Society,” of which Captain Anderson of 334 - T EN FREWSHIRE e. Broadley is treasurer, and who is setting a noble example on his own farm of what skill and capital can do with industry, and per- severance. Formerly, it was the garden of the sluggard; since he began his improvements, it has become a fertile field, delightful to look on. By draining the waste land, where it is wet and spongy, as also the moss and moors, and throwing broad belts of planting, as no- ticed already, around them at the distance of fifty acres, and plant- ing clumps upon the knolls and sides of the hills, making the sur- face of the mosses and moors level, and then throwing on them, after being thoroughly drained, from eight to nine chalders of lime, and letting them rest in this state for two or three years, and at the end of the third, in October or November, turning them up with the spade, so that the frosts and snows of winter may form a soil on them, and then in spring sowing your seeds,- a crop of oats, or potatoes, or turnip, &c. would amply, in two years, repay the outlay, with profit. Where it is dry bent moor, this is not necessary. In this case, irrigation, clumps, and belts of planting, with six or seven chalders, would, after the heather has been burnt, and the surface cleaned, and roots of heath rooted out, be all that was necessary to secure an ample return for expenditure. The general term of leases here is nineteen years. The farm-buildings and enclosures here are generally good. Coal Mines.—Coal is found at various depths, and of very different quality and value. In one of them there was found, 1st, a coal of 7 inches, 7 fathoms from the surface; 2d, coal of 12 inches, 10 fathoms farther down; 3d, coal of 6 inches, 19 fathoms farther down ; 4th, coal of from 3 feet S inches, to above 5 feet at 21 fathoms, which is the main coal. There is also great variety in the quality of the coal. In a coal of 2% feet thick, the following varieties were found: 8 inches of it gas coal, 8 inches smithy coal; and 8 inches of fine coal; the remaining 6 inches were bad, indeed. The dips are also various. The leve, dip is first due E.; then turns to the S. E.; then takes another turn, and dips to the N. The dip to the S. W. gives the best coal, where it lies generally in troughs; but the splint or hard coal is that which is most sought after by the public. The thickness of the coal in the one pit is 4% feet, and in the other about from 3 feet 8 inches to 5 feet. No veins, or dikes, or NEILSTON, 335 troubles have yet been met with in the working of the coal; never- theless, all of them to the east seem to be a troubled field, where the metals are found in all directions. The quantity of coals put out per week by the three pits may be above 1200 tons, at 7s.6d. per ton. The wages of the colliers are all equalized. The worst as well as the best pitmen receive 5s. per day, or L. 1, 10s. a week, or L. 78 Sterling per annum ! Produce.—The average gross amount of raw produce raised in the parish, as nearly as can be ascertained, is as follows:— Produce of grain of all kinds, cultivated for the food of man or the domestic animals is e & & L. 58,211 7 4 Potatoes, turnips, cabbages, beet, and other plants cultivated in the fields for food, g 12,757 0 0 Hay, whether meadow or cultivated, • tº 9640 0 0 Land in pasture, rated at L. 4 per cow, or full-grown ox, grazed for the season, and 9s. per ewe or full grown sheep pastured for the year, 95 0 0 Cows 1088, average milking seven pints a day for eight months, at 3d. per pint, º e º . 21,283 I 0 Coals per year, and quarries, &c. o e 24,960 0 0 Miscellaneous produce not enumerated under any of the foregoing heads, g e º g e 412 10 0 **- Total yearly value of raw produce raised from lands, sheep and cows, L. 127,358 18 4 Manufactures.—These form the chief distinction of this parish. About the year 1767 or 1768, the idea was entertained of making the parish a manufacturing one. The Rev. Mr Henry Miller, a man of great spirit and enterprise, having succeeded to the fine fortune of his late brother, the celebrated bookseller in the Strand, London, projected an inkle factory, and established it, with some of the influential heritors, as copartners. Shortly after that, about 1773, the printing of calicoes was begun at Fereneze, on the banks of the Levern. It was at that time deemed a great work. Its extent may be easily conceived from the excise duty paid, and its yearly expenditure. The first was about L. 3000 Sterling, and the second about L. 2000 yearly. It con- tinued long the only printfield in the parish. Bleachfields became the rage, and these in their turn,-many of them, at least,-have become printfields, so that now the bleachfields and printfields, as seen above, are equal in number. - Bleachfields.-The first bleachfield was formed about 1773, by thelate Peter Adair, Esq. of Cross Arthurlie. He had been bleacher at some of the Lismore fields in Ireland, his native country. De- sirous of change of place, he came to Scotland. In Sailing up the Clyde, nothing struck him so much as not to see a single bleachfield on its banks. To set down one, he thought, would be a good specu- 336 RENE REWSHIRE, lation; and, looking out for a suitable spot, he pitched upon that one at Cross Arthurlie, which is still in the family. The site proved at once his discernment, taste, and sound judgment. He was soon followed by an host of imitators. t Cotton-spinning.—Cotton-spinning began here in 1780. The first mill was set down at Dovecothall, on the banks of the Levern, on the site of the old corn-mill there. It is a small building, (still standing,) containing three storeys, 8 feet each in length; is 54 long within, by 24 broad. This mill was the second cotton-mill in Scotland, and was built by Stewart, Dunlop, and Co. The success of this mill induced the building of others. Gate- side mill followed in 1786; Broadlie in 1790; Arthurlie in the same year; Crofthead in 1792 : and Mr Graham's in 1801. These mills were originally of considerable size; but since their first erection, some of them have been built anew, and others have had large additions made to them. By these additions, most of them are twice as large as before. Take an instance; the old Le- vern mill, the second in Scotland, was built, as said, in 1780, and, according to Mr Wilson, was 78 feet long and 28 broad. To this there was added another mill in 1800, of 123 feet long by 32% broad, having five storeys in it, and to this there was, in 1834, added another addition, of 113 feet long by 40 broad, the whole forming now an immense pile of building. - JBut an idea of their extent, and the value of the produce put out by them, will be best seen from the following statement, fur- mished partly by James Orr, Esq. of Crofthead, William Craig, Esq. of Kirkton, and others, spinners on the water. Number of mule spindles in all these six mills, e 77,826 throstle spindles, e º * 1344 looms, e º g 230 Annual value of produce. Mule yarns, 1,583,556 lbs. No. 46, at 1s. 5d. per lb. ſº L. l 12, 168 l l () Throstle do. 69,888 24, 1s. 2%d. 4,222 8 0 1,653,444 L. l 16,390 10 0 Produce of 230 looms per year. 1,447,160 yards at 33d, is, & 22,611 17 6 Total average produce annually of mules and looms, tº L. 139,002 16 6 The number of hands, men, women, and children, employed in the several branches of cotton-spinning, bleaching, and calico- printing, with their respective ages, will be clearly seen from the following table:— NEILSTON. 337 TABLE I. Shewing the men, women, and children, employed at the cotton mills, power-looms, printfields, and bleachfields. Under 12 yrs. Under 18 yrs. Above 20 yrs. - Total of all Males. Fem. Males. Fem. Males. I'em. ages. Cotton-spinners and —— — — —— power loom weavers, 37 39 220 445 296 622 1659 Printers, &c. gº 290 139 195 122 5l 1 86 1343 Bleachers, e te |7 29 49 232 126 259 712 * tº sº sºme *** * {ºsº Amount of each age, 344 207 464 799 933 967 3714 - TABLE II. - Abstract of the whole capital of the different works, with their rents, amount of wages paid per annum. Capital. Rental. Wages. Of Printfields, . 26 28,650 0 0 2| 0 23 18 2 13 6 l Bonyton, º º 78 2 9 19 3 23 |S 3 Bogside, e tº (33 3 28 3 0 26 10 2 North Floors, . 82 2 0 3 15 14 3 Ross Mill, near Windhill, . 109 3 l I 8 2 39 18 3 South Floors and ſaigh Tofts, 84 0 35 15 3 18 22 3 Crosslees and-part of 13oreland, 101 2 32 3 2 97 20 3 Brakenrig. &c. p I 40 || 6 4 () || 7 24 4 Laigh Boreland, & 89 || 25. 5 () 35 8 2 Holehouse, e - 64 3 21 7 2 13 l6 2 South Kirklands, © 69 I 5 4, 2 32 } 6 2 Walkers, &c. e & 73 2 18 0 0 0 lò 3 Mains, tº 52 0 18 4 2 29 } 0 2 Stepend, º º 30 3 18 3 0 30 8 2 Polnoon, o dº 52 0 16 4 0 37 1() 2 Broadflat, • º 34 2 | 9 6 || 9 8 2 Woodhouse, 3. º 58 0 || 0 4 3 24 14 2 Park, & • , 54 l 32 25 3 36 14 2 Netherton, tº e 7l 3 9 4 || | | 6 18 2 Over Enoch, • . 108 l 29 7S 2 18 24 3 West, Ardoch, t- 80 0 () 33 0 || 4 18 2 Jºast Ardoch, tº 107 3 31 73 0 8 24 3 Mid and Nether Enoch, . 44 2 l ; G 1 25 14 2 Damhead, e º 2| 3 || 4. 4 | 6 6 I Nethercraig, e º S7 | 6 4. () 3} 18 3 North High Craig, 1 * 95 2 2.5 3 3 2 16 3 West and South High Craig, 50 0 20 | | 28 S l East High Craig, o 53 3 36 7 3 39 12 2 Temples, º e 7| 2 || 7 || | | 1 14 2 Stonebyres, e - I 18 l 34 23 3 ] ] 24 3 Upper Threepland, º 93 l 2 757 I 38 14 2 Nether Threepland, º 59 2 35 17 3 24. 14 2 Drumduff, & © 2 3 ] 5 427 | 9 6 I Scots acres, . 2705 2 12 1697 3 O 557 88 In addition to the above forty farms, there are in the parish twenty-two besides, of which one contains 214 acres of arable land, another 116, a third 105, one 99, another 93, also one 94 acres. Some are as low as one or two acres, and from that up to 56. The cows kept on these twenty-two additional farms are 350, and the horses 40. In the whole parish there are 1057 cows, be- sides young stock, which may amount to 300 more. There are 152 horses besides those rearing; in all about 200. In 1791, the R.E.N FREW. D d 400 R. EN F. R. EWS HIRE, number of horses was 120, and of cows 756. There are about 4000 old sheep in the parish, besides a proportional number of young ones. The horses increase in the spring when the ploughing begins in March; but the smaller farmers sometimes join two and two to make up the number of horses necessary for ploughing their lands, which, in the language of the country, is termed marrowing. The Glasgow market supplies those who purchase in spring, or beginning of the working season, and sell again when the labour is over. In the higher parts of the parish, however, the tenants plough little. Their great dependence, as formerly stated, is on sheep, and the rearing of cattle. In the lower part of the parish, where the soil is drier, and the climate more favourable, when the land is allowed to lie four years, it produces two excellent crops of oats, with a very slight application of lime or manure, and generally re- pays the labour of the farmer. The farmers in that quarter only plough a fourth part of their arable ground, and oats is the princi- pal grain they raise. Ever since Glasgow has risen to its present importance, the great dependence of the farmers in this quarter, as in Kilbride, and the neighbouring parishes, is on their milk, butter, and cheese, particularly on their butter-milk, which, with the butter, is driven into the Glasgow market, once or twice, or oftener a week. On this account they have few horses, but a great many cows, all of the Ayrshire breed, but, owing to the soil and climate, not of the largest size. In the beginning of winter they are fed chiefly on oat straw ; but, in the latter end of winter, and till the pasture springs up, with hay, and a little grain or oats once a day. Milch cows are generally set a bowing at from L. 8 to L. 9. The rate of grazing a cow about the village is L. 5, but less farther up the county; a sheep is about 5s. The rent of arable land varies from L. 5 to 10s. per acre per annum. Some of the lower parts of the parish let at L.2 per acre, as Millhall and Borland. A great deal lets at L. I and 15s. per acre. Ploughmen are hired at from L. 9 to L. 10 for six months, or from L. 18 to L. 20 per annum, with board and washing; female servants at from L. 6 to L. 9 and L. 10 per annum. In 1791, the fees of men-servants were from L. 6, to L. 9, and of female servants from L. 2, 10s. to L. 4, 10s. per annum. The number of farmers at the same pe- riod was 63; at present the number is nearly the same. The ge- neral duration of leases is nineteen years. A good deal has of late been done by way of improving or reclaiming waste lands, particu- * E A G L E SHAY1. 40 I larly about Threepland, the Ardochs, Kevochs, Greenfields, Kirk- tonmuirs, Lochcraig, Binning, &c. A great many of the farm- houses have been recently rebuilt, and are on greatly improved plans; the old ones, however, are very bad. The great obstacle to improvement on the part of the tenants is want of capital, and perhaps the proprietors of large estates, generally, do not give the encouragement required. As this property is at present situated, the Earl of Eglinton has no blame to be attached to him on that SCOl'C. - Produce.—The average gross amount of raw produce raised in the parish, as nearly as can be ascertained : - 3000 bolls of oats for meal, at L. 1 per boll, L. 3000 0 0 2000 for other purposes, e - 2000 0 0 Dairy produce from 1000 cows, e 9000 0 0 All other produce, te e 6000 0 0 4. L. 20,000 0 || 0 In this estimate the young stock and sheep are not included, and several other items, which may raise the whole L. 1000 or L. 2000, but as the author has no precise data to proceed upon, he cannot form an exact estimate. Manufactures.—There are two cotton-mills in the parish, one at Eaglesham, and one at Millhall on a much smaller scale. The mill at Eaglesham village belongs to the firm of Maclean and Brodie, Glasgow. It contains 15,312 spindles, and spins yarns from No. 50 to No. 60. The machinery is driven by a magnificent water-wheel of iron forty-five feet in diameter, and of fifty horse power. It was planned by the late James Dunlop, Esq., and was manufactured by Murdoch and Aikin, engineers, Glasgow. About 740 cubic feet of water fall on the wheel per minute, and yet it is so artfully introduced and carried away, that no water is seen within the walls where the wheel is erected. The following is the number of hands employed. * Males. Females. Below 13 years of age, e • . 16 12 at 13 do. do. g 12 19 14 do. do. º º 10 | 1 16 do. do. e 8 16 *- 18 do. do. & © 5 12 20 do. do. e 2 5 Above 20 do. do. . . º 34 38 87 | 13 This mill was built at different periods, and has once or twice been burnt down. It is confined entirely to mule-spinning. There is no throstle-spinning nor power-looms. The mill at Millhall 402 R E N F I& E W S : H IR E. contains 620 spindles, and employs 64 hands, 24 of whom are males. The water-wheel is twenty-four horse power. The work belongs to Ludovick Gavin, Esq., and is employed chiefly in spin- ning shuttle cord for power-looms, and candle-wicks. A consider- able quantity of wad for the use of the infirmary is also manufac- tured, of the most approved sort. Persons ought to be aware of that purchased in the shops with a glazed surface, strengthened by glue, as it is manufactured with arsenic to preserve it from insects, and often proves hurtful when applied to open wounds. These works are all under the new factory arrangements. There is also a corn-mill in the village with three pair of stones. It grinds 3000 bolls per annum, at the following prices, 10s, for oatmeal; ls. 6d. for barley; and 1s. 6d. for pease. No sucken, but tenants bound to grind there at the above prices. - V.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. The only town in the parish is Eaglesham. In 1672, in the reign of Charles II. it had a weekly fair and market established by act of Parliament, as formerly mentioned. In 1796, Alexan- der, tenth Earl of Eglinton begun a new town upon a very ex- tensive and elegant plan. It consists of two rows of elegantly built houses, all of freestone, with a large space between, laid out in fine green fields, interspersed with trees, with a fine gurgling streamlet running down the middle. The rows of houses at the top or west end are 100 yards apart, and those at the bottom or east end, 250 yards. The village is in all two furlongs and thirty. falls in length. Towards the higher end, and on the rivulet, the cotton mill stands which was in the course of being built when last account of the parish was written. The feus or tacks are for 999 years, at the moderate rate of 3d. per fall, or L. 2 Sterling per Scots acre. Each house has a rood of ground for a garden. The villagers have, besides, 70 acres and 22 falls of ground free of rent, of which 3 acres, 2 roods, and 26 falls, are covered with wood, and I rood and 18 falls are in waste or meadows. This is let out at an annual rental of about L. 16, with which sum and some other small perquisites, a committee or body of directors are annually chosen for the management of the affairs of the township. A baron-bailie also resides on the demesne. Besides cotton spinning, there are about 400 weavers in the village. About 1790, there were 63 silk-looms at work in Eaglesham; in a few years after they sunk down to 33; and at present that branch of trade is ex- |EAGLE SHAM. 403 tinct, and has been entirely replaced by the weaving of cotton goods, the materials for which are furnished by the Glasgow and Paisley manufacturers. The village is about nine miles from Glas- gow, eleven from Paisley, and twelve from Hamilton. There is a two-horse coach to Glasgow every Wednesday and Saturday, from the head of Main Street, Gorbals. There are also 3 car- riers to Glasgow on the same days. The village has also a post- office and daily post. There are about seven miles of parish roads, and seven of turnpike. The bridges on the great thorough- fares are all good. So far back as the end of last century, the enclosure of farms had been begun, and now nearly the whole of the lower part of the parish is well fenced. Ecclesiastical State.*—The parish church is situated on the south side of the village, near the middle of it. It is of an octa- gonal form, very compact, and well fitted up within. It was built in 1790, and contains 550 sittings. The lower part, containing 350 sittings, has never been divided, but, by the kindness of the Noble Earl, is not rented, and is left free to the villagers. The liberality of the Eglinton family in this respect ought to be pub- licly recorded as an example worthy of imitation. The manse was built in 1832, at an expense of about L. 1200, and is very ele- gant and commodious. The glebe consists of 7% acres, and is let at L.25 per annum. The stipend is 17 chalders, half meal, and half barley, with L. 10 for communion elements. There is also a congregation belonging to the United Associate Synod. The church was built in 1782, and contains 480 sittings. The con- gregation is collected not only from this parish but also from Kil- bride, Carmunnock, and Fenwick. The present incumbent, the Rev. William Carswell, was ordained in 1827. There is also a con- gregation belonging to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The meeting-house was built about 1825, and contains about 400 sit- tings. The present incumbent, the Rev. Robert Winning, A. M. was ordained in 1826. Divine service is remarkably well attended * The patronage of the church of Eaglesham has belonged to the Eglinton family from the middle of the twelfth century. Thomas de Arthurlie, perhaps a relation of Wallace, was rector of Eaglesham, 1388. In 1429, the parish church was constituted a prebend of the Cathedral of Glasgow. It was taxed L.3 yearly for the use of the diocesan church. In Bagimont's Roll it is taxed at L. 10, 13s. 4d., which, being a tenth of the estimated spiritual revenues, the whole would be L. 106, 13s. 4d. At the Reformation the parsonage of Eaglesham produced 14 chalders, 13} bolls, which were let for L. 186, 13s. 4d. yearly. A small Popish chapel was used for the parish church before 1790. 404 -R EN F. R. E. W. S. H I R F , in the Established Church, and, by the faithful and diligent mini- strations of their present pastor, the congregation is steadily in- creasing. The communicants are on an average 250. From causes already alluded to, but, perhaps, principally from the un- godly jealousies of parties, the number of the communicants in the Secession church cannot be ascertained. No list was taken for the Church Commission; but the population, according to the best and most careful estimates, is about equally divided among Church- men and Dissenters. Among the latter is included Roman Catho- lics, Episcopalians, and all sectarians whatsoever, and also those who attend no place of worship. Mr Carswell’s stipend is L. 110 per annum; and Mr Winning's about L. 60. The average an- nual collections in the parish church for religious and charitable purposes is about L. 12. Education.—There are three schools besides the parish school. Mr Smellie, the parochial teacher, has lately got a very able and popular assistant, who has raised the present number of scholars to about 80, and his pupils are still increasing. At another school 90 children are taught, of whom 20 or 30 belong to the cotton factory; at a third 15; and at the fourth about 9; in all 184 scholars. The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is L. 30 per annum with about L. 7 of perquisites. The branches taught, with the prices, are—for reading, 3s. per quarter; for writing, 8s. 6d. ; for arithmetic, 4s. ; for Latin, 5s. A new school-house was late- ly erected, capable of containing 150 scholars. Literature.—There is a small library in the village containing about 240 volumes. The entry money is 3s. and the annual con- tribution also 3s. Friendly Societies.—There is in the parish what is termed a “Penny Society,” from that small sum being paid at stated periods, for which a fund is procured for the sick, at the rate of 5s, or 6s, per week. There is also a burial society. Poor—The average number receiving parochial aid is about 30, at 6s. per month each. The annual sum collected is about L. 140, of which sum the heritors and tenants pay L. 120, and L. 20 is obtained from the collections at the parish church. The assess- ment is entirely voluntary. . Fairs.-There is one, as already stated, on 24th April, O. S. at which there is generally a cattle-show, and another on the last Thursday of August, established by use and wont, at which the G REEN GC ſº, - 405 feuars have a procession, which generally terminates with a horse race for a Kilmarnock bonnet. Alehouses.—There are 15 public-houses in the parish. They are rather on the decrease. Fuel.—Coals are brought from a considerable distance, namely, from Glasgow, Wellshot, and Hamilton. They are laid down at 7s. for 12 cwt. March 1840. PARISH OF GREENOCK.* PRESBYTERY OF GREEN OCK, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REV. PATRICK M*FARLAN, D. D., Minister of the Old o?' West Parish. THE REV. J. SMITH, A. M., Middle Parish. THE REV. WILLIAM MENZIES, A. M., East Parish. THE REV. N. MORREN, A. M., Worth Parish. THE REV. J. J. BONAR, St Andrews. THE REV. A M A CBEAN, A. M., South Parish. THE REV. WIJ.LIAM LAUGHT ON, St Thomas'. THE REV, JAMES STARK, Cartsdyke. I.—Topo GRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name, Boundaries, &c.—GREENOCK, originally one parish, de- rives its name from the estate on which the old church was built, when the parish was disjoined from Inverkip in 1592. That estate, it can scarcely be doubted, received its name from the Castle of Wester Greenock, the mansion of the proprietor at whose solici- tation the parish was disjoined or erected; or, to speak more cor- rectly, from the hill or rising ground on which the castle was built. The word appears to be Celtic, and, perhaps, is compounded of two Gaelic words,-Grian, signifying the sun, and cnoc, signifying a hill; in composition Grian-chnoc, the hill of the sun, or the sunny hill. If this conjecture be well founded, the name is peculiarly appropriate to the site of the Castle of Wester Greenock, which is never thrown into the shade at any hour of the day, and is strik- ingly contrasted in this respect with the adjoining hills to the south and east of Greenock, especially the latter, which, for four or five weeks in winter, are not at all visited with the cheering rays of the * Drawn up by the Rev. Patrick Mº Farlan, D.D., Minister of the West Parish. 406 R EN FIREWS III IRE • sun. Some etymologists have supposed that the word signifies the sunny bay. But Celtic scholars are agreed in opinion, that the last syllable cannot be rendered bay. Besides, there is no bay. in the neighbourhºod with which the bay of Greenock may be con- sidered as put in contrast : and, as it can scarcely be doubted that the town received its name, not from the bay on which it stands, but from the ancient castle on the elevated ground above, the con- jecture that Greenock signifies the hill of the sun seems the more probable of the two. The parish extends along the river Clyde about 5 miles, from the immediate vicinity of Port-Glasgow on the one side, to within a few hundred yards of the town of Gourock on the other. It is bounded by the river on the north and north-east; by the parishes of Port-Glasgow and Kilmacolm on the south-east; by Kilmacolm and Houston on the south; and by Inverkip and the recently erected parish of Gourock on the west. From the shore or brink of the river there is a gradual ascent of upwards of 600 feet, interrupted only in the western portion of the parish by a lower ridge, termi- nating in a rocky abrupt hill, called Binmans, from which there is a commanding view of the bay of Gourock, and the Highland lochs on the opposite side of the Frith. Beyond the second or highest ridge, there is a moor stretching a considerable way into the interior, and giving rise to the Gryfe, one of the tributary streams of the Black Cart. There is nothing peculiar in the as- pect of the ground of which the parish is composed. There are no caves, caverns, or fissures worthy of particular notice. The shore of the river or Frith is flat and sandy, without any remark- able headlands, unless we except Binnans, formerly mentioned, and which, standing at a short distance from the shore, is a very striking land-mark to vessels coming up the river, and rounding the point which forms the northern termination of the bay of Gou- rock. Greenock has no picturesque beauty in itself, except what it derives from the elegant and tasteful villas in its eastern and western suburbs. There is hardly any coppice in its ravines; the plantations of forest trees are few and of small dimensions; the hills are sadly destitute of clothing, and when compared with those in the neighbouring parish of Inverkip are tame and monotonous. But these deficiencies are, in a great measure, compensated by its having some of the finest land and sea views which are to be seen in Scotland, or, perhaps, in any part of the globe. It is impossi- ble to walk out of the town of Greenock in any direction without GREEN OC K. 407 having our eyes feasted with some portion of the rich and magni- ficent scenery which is produced by the combination of nature and art; of the heath-clad mountains with the grassy hill and culti- vated field, and extensive pleasure-ground, and of the broad ex- panse of water with the multitude of the whitening sails which be- deck its surface. From the rising ground the views are peculiarly splendid, including in their range the opposite coast from Bowling and Dunglass to Dunoon, with its towns, villas, and numerous in- dentations, and a considerable part of the south bank of the river, with the towns and harbours of Port-Glasgow and Greenock. Meteorology.— For some years a register of the state of the wea- ther has been kept at the Infirmary. The following report for 1838 has been furnished by Mr Mackinlay, the apothecary and clerk of that excellent institution. The observations were made at noon, and the degrees of the thermometer and barometer mark- ed indicate the highest and lowest degrees in each month. “January. Thermometer ranged between 24 and 49; baro- meter between 29.32 and 30.64; pluviometer .95 of an inch. Wind for the most part E. and S. E. Frosty weather, with snows. February. Thermometer, 26 and 39; barometer, 29.12 and 30.70; pluviometer, 4.30. Wind E. during the whole of this month, with continued frost and some snow. March. Thermometer, 37 and 54 ; barometer, 29.44 and 30.74; pluviometer, 3.10. Wind and weather very changeable. E. and S. W. the prevailing winds. Dull, soft, and windy. April. Thermometer, 40 and 56; barometer, 29.41 and 30.41; pluviometer, I inch. Wind, E., W., and S. W.; very variable. When S. W. windy and rainy. Some frost occasionally. Fine. May. Thermometer, 50 and 70; barometer, 29.70 and 30.60; pluviometer, 1.85. Wind E. and S. W. Very fine weather. June. Thermometer, 43 and 71 ; barometer, 29.52 and 30.50; pluviometer, 3.50. Wind E. and S. W. Weather very change- able, but sometimes very fine. July. Thermometer, 57 and 75; barometer, 29.65 and 30.39; pluviometer, 3.20. Wind E., S., and W. Some very fine wea- ther. S. and W. soft and squally; E. fine. August. Thermometer, 57 and 67; barometer, 29.30 and 30.36; pluviometer, 4.90. Wind W., S. W., and N. W. Wea- ther exceedingly changeable ; soft, dull, and windy. September. Thermometer, 54 and 67; barometer, 29.50 and 408 - R E N F RE WSHIRE, 30.60; pluviometer, 3 inches. Wind E. and S. W. Some very fine weather; occasionally very still, heavy, and soft. October. Thermometer, 45 and 62; barometer, 29.30 and 30.82; pluviometer, 4 inches. Winds E., S. W., and W. Soft and windy. Fine weather at the beginning of the month. November. Thermometer, 35 and 52; barometer, 28.26 and 30.57; pluviometer, 2.80. Wind E. and S. W. Some fine weather; frost and snow. End of month windy. December. Thermometer, 34 and 50 ; barometer, 29.06 and 30.63; pluviometer, 3inches. Wind S. W., E., and S. E. Very changeable, with tremendous gales. ! Polar lights occasionally seen since September.” From the foregoing report, it appears that the quantity of rain which fell at Greenock in the year 1838 was 35.60 inches. In 1836, according to Crichton’s pluviometer, it was 41.89. In 1837, it was 32.39. In 1838, it was 31.75. The average of these three yearsis&5.34 nearly.” This is greatly below the quantity which falls annually in Westmoreland and Cumberland, and nearly eight inches below the annual amount at Manchester. From the same report, it appears that the thermometer did not stand lower than 24° in a winter of unusual severity, and that its highest degree in the same year was 75°. It is still more remarkable that, in the months of May and June, the thermometer ranged between 50° and 70° and 43° and 71°. When it is considered that the year 1838 was one of the most ungenial which has occurred for a long while, it must, we think, be admitted that the climate of Greenock will bear com- parison, in respect of mildness, with that of almost any other portion of the mainland in this part of Britain. From the vicinity of this parish to the high mountains in the Cowal district of Argyleshire, and to the Arran range, it may be expected that it should be vi- sited with more frequent showers than the inland parts of the island. But, on the whole, the atmosphere is far from being humid; the air in the landward portions of the parish is remarkably salubrious; * Mr James Leitch, merchant in Greenock, has mentioned to the writer of this Account the following important fact, proving the necessity of choosing an open and exposed position for the receiver of a pluviometer. A pluviometer, constructed by Crichton, was placed with its receiver on the roof of the Infirmary ; another, con- structed by Thom, was placed in the garden behind. The one showed a total, during the year 1836, of 41.89, the other of 62.10. In 1837, the one showed a total of 32.39, the other of 49.15. In the course of last year both receivers were placed on the roof, close to one another, and they very nearly correspond. This fact throws a great de- gree of uncertainty over the conclusions drawn from a comparison of the quantities of rain alleged to have fallen in different districts of the country. s GREEN O C K. 400 and neither in them nor in the town is sickness more frequent or more fatal than in other places similarly situated. Hydrography.—Under this head, the river Clyde is the only object deserving of notice in a statistical account. The Shaws water, being an artificial accumulation, appears to fall more pro- perly under another head, and will be treated with the minuteness which its great importance deserves. The Clyde at Greenock, and for several miles above the town, is a frith or estuary rather than a river,-the width from the Ren- frewshire side to the opposite coast varying from three to four and a half and five miles. In the middle of the frith there is a sand- bank, which, commencing almost immediately below Dumbarton Castle, or about nine miles above Greenock, and running longi- tudinally, terminates at a point nearly opposite to the western ex- tremity of the town, well known to merchants and others by the name of the “tail of the bank.” During spring-tides, part of this bank opposite to the harbour is visible at low water; and the depth of the channel on each side of this bank is such as to admit vessels of the largest class. Between Port-Glasgow and Garvald point a remarkable promontory, about a mile and a half to the east- ward of Greenock, the high part of the bank to which we have referred, is separated from the upper portion, (part of which, oppo- site to Port-Glasgow, is also dry at low water,) by a narrow chan- nel significantly called the “Through-let,” through which the tide, passing from the lower part of the frith in a north-easterly direction, and obstructed in its progress by Ardmore, a promontory on the Dumbartonshire side of the river, rushes with such impe- tuosity as to produce high water at Port-Glasgow a few minutes earlier than at Greenock. The submarine island which is thus formed, and which is commonly called the Greenock bank, to dis- tinguish it from the high part of the bank opposite to Port-Glas- gow, was granted by His Majesty's Government to the corpora- tion of the town of Greenock, during the magistracy of the late Mr Quintin Leitch. The charter by the Barons of Exchequer is dated 30th September 1816, and contains the following words expressive of the object which the corporation had in view in ap- plying for the grant:-‘‘ Pro proposito aedificandi murum, vel acqui- rendi ad ripam antedictam ex Australi latere ejusdem quantum ad Septentrionem eaderm possit acquiri.” It may be necessary to mention, for the information of strangers, that the southern channel is the only one for vessels passing to and from the different ports on the river, the greatest depth of water in 4 10 R EN FREWSHI R E. the “ Through-let” being quite insufficient in its present state to admit of vessels of any considerable burden passing that way. The width of the channel, opposite to the harbour of Greenock, does not much exceed 300 yards. Ascending it rapidly diminishes in width, a circumstance which, but for the application of steam to the towing of ships, must have presented for ever an insuperable obstacle to the progress of the trade of Glasgow. It is supposed that, of late years, the sand-bank has increased, in consequence of the operations necessary for deepening the upper part of the river, and that the channel has been contracted proportionally. No ex- act survey having been made till very recently, the truth on these points has not yet been ascertained. The subject, however, being one of the greatest magnitude, with reference to the trade of the river generally, has most justly attracted the attention of the cor- poration and town of Greenock. Besides employing a civil en- gineer to take the soundings minutely, Her Majesty's Government have consented, at their solicitation, to make a complete survey of the river, at the public expense. In a very short time it will be known whether the deposition of Sand from the upper part of the river be producing any perceptible change in the state of the chan- nel. Meanwhile, it is understood to be in contemplation to erect a break-water on the island above described, to protect the har- bour from the north-easterly gales; and also to adopt such mea- sures as may be deemed expedient for arresting the evil with which the trade is supposed to be threatened from the other cause which has now been mentioned. Geology and Mineralogy.—Greenock is situated in that extensive district of floetz-trap rocks, which stretches almost from the river Cart downwards to the neighbourhood of Saltcoats —a distance of nearly fifty miles. The stratified rocks which form the basis extend in some places to a height of more than 100 feet above the level of the sea, and are there met and overtopped by the secondary greenstone of which all the eminences in the neighbourhood are composed. The strata generally dip at a very small angle towards the south or south- east, and present no remarkable dislocations. They are, however, in several places, as, for example, in the neighbourhood of Fort Ma- tilda,” intersected by dikes both of greenstone and a peculiarly soft claystone. In the upper part of the parish, we find beds of a red, and also of a greenish marly clay, alternating with the sandstone * A fort or battery on the shore near the western extremity of the parish, GREEN OCK. 4 | 1 strata, and containing in some places considerable masses of lime- stone. There is, however, but little of this important rock to be found either in situ, or in such quantities as to encourage the working of it. The sandstone rocks have been quarried to a consi- derable extent, and appear to be well adapted to the purposes of the builder. They do not contain, so far as we have heard, any traces of organic remains—almost the only foreign substance which is found in them being a soft unctuous clay, and a few small portions, lately discovered, of gypsum. The conglomerated strata are chief- ly composed of rolled pebbles of quartz, with an admixture of frag- ments of mica-slate, and clay-slate, firmly bound together by a basis of silicified iron-shot clay. The secondary greenstone, of which the surrounding hills are formed, is of so very friable and splintery a nature, as to be fit for scarce any economical purpose. It con- tains, however, a considerable number of interesting minerals, though the specimens found of them are, from the nature of the rock, so much weathered as to be of no value. Thus, we possess almost every member of the zeolite family: viz. analcime, stilbite, heulandite, and some beautifully delicate specimens of mesotype; also calcareous spar, quartz crystals, sulphate of barytes, prehnite, and rare but distinct specimens of a very fine greenish lithomarge. We need hardly mention that there are no traces of coal in this parish. s - The soil in general is bad. On the shore it consists chiefly of clay, mingled with sea-shells and gravel. In the higher ground immediately adjoining, there are a few fields of excellent loam. With these exceptions, the soil is stiff and clayey, or consists of a thin surface of vegetable mould, resting on a subsoil of clay, or on the solid rock, and consequently wet and ungrateful, and in some places scarcely capable of draining and cultivation. Here and there, even in the lowest elevations, there are spots of peat-moss, or soil mingled with peat, and the highest ground consists principally of soil of that description. - There are no mines of any kind in the parish. Copper mines were worked for some time in the neighbouring parish of Gourock; but it is the universal belief, that there is none of that or any other workable mineral in Greenock. - Botany.—There is nothing peculiarly interesting in the botany of this parish. It comprehends, however, two plants of conside- rable rarity, viz. the Bartsia viscosa and the OEnanthe pimpinelloi- des, besides the following more frequent, yet uncommon species, 4 2 - RE N F [? E W S H 1 R E. Anagallis tenella, Campanula hederacea, Sison verticillatum, CEnan- the fistulosa, Polygonum bistorta, and Botrychium lunaria. Two rows of fine plane trees, and a clump of beech, near the mansion-house of Greenock, and some old timber around Carts- burn House, the property of William Crawfurd, Esq., are the only trees of considerable girth we can boast of. * II.—CIVIL HISTORY. The earliest historical account of this parish is to be found in Crawfurd's History of Renfrewshire. A work, entitled “ History of the Town of Greenock,” was published in 1829 by Mr Daniel Weir. In Mr Wilson's View of the Agriculture of Renfrewshire, published in 1812, there is a great variety of valuable statistical information respecting the agriculture and commerce of Greenock, as they existed at that period, of which the writer of this account has freely availed himself. There are several maps of the town, but none, so far as the compiler knows, of the parish. Mr Mac- farlane, land-surveyor in Glasgow, is engaged at present in pre- paring a more accurate and extended plan than any which has yet been published. - Parochial Registers.--The records of the kirk-session do not extend farther back than 1694, and the registers of births and marriages commenced with April 1698. Until a very recent date no register of burials has been kept. The kirk-session records have been shamefully mutilated. Happily the oldest volume con- tinues entire; but, except to the inquirer into the history of ec- clesiastical discipline-in the end of the seventeenth and the begin- ning of the eighteenth centuries, it does not contain any very inte- resting information. Greenock, as will afterwards be mentioned more particularly under the head of “Ecclesiastical State,” is divided into eight parishes. In treating of its civil history we shall consider these as one, and, after a brief account of the principal heritable pro- perties of which it is composed, we shall confine ourselves almost exclusively to the history of the town of Greenock. At the erection of the parish in 1592, and for a considerable time before that period, the estates of Wester Greenock, Finnart, and Spango were in possession of the Shaws of Greenock, one of the oldest and most distinguished families in the West of Scotland. On the death of Sir John Shaw, the last of that name, in 1752, Mr Shaw Stewart, afterwards Sir John Shaw Stewart, eldest son of Sir Michael Stewart of Blackhall, succeeded to these estates G R E E NOC K. 4 13 in right of his mother and grandmother then deceased, the latter, wife of Sir John Houston of Houston, being the daughter and heiress of entail of Sir John Shaw, the father of the baronet of that name above-mentioned, and sister of the last Sir John. Sir John Shaw Stewart died in 1812, and was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, at that time Mr Nicolson of Carnock. On his death in 1825, he was succeeded in the possession of his estates by his eldest son, the late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, and at his death on the 19th December 1836, he was succeeded by his eldest son, the present Sir Michael Robert Shaw Stewart, a IQII) Ol’. - The lands of Easter Greenock and Crawfurdsburn or Cartsburn, belonged at the time of their annexation to the Crawfurds of Kil- birny. But in 1669, Dame Margaret Crawfurd, Lady Kilbirny, with consent of her husband, disponed the barony of Easter Green- ock to Sir John Shaw, and the lands of Cartsburn to Thomas Crawfurd, son of Cornelius Crawfurd, of Jordanhill. These two estates are now in the hands of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, and Mr Crawfurd of Cartsburn, the heirs and lineal descendants respec- tively of the said Sir John Shaw and Thomas Crawfurd. * Mr Hamilton of Garvock is the only other heritor superior. At one time Lord Cathcart, whose ancestor Charles Lord Cathcart, was married in 1718 to a daughter of the last Sir John Shaw, was in possession as a descendant of that marriage of sub-feus to a con- siderable amount in the town of Greenock, in consequence of which, when Lord Cathcart was elevated to the earldom, and be- came a British Peer, he took the title of Lord Greenock along with that of Earl Cathcart, which title is assumed accordingly by his eldest son. - - Robertson, in his continuation of Crawfurd’s History of Ren- frewshire, gives the valued rent of this parish as follows:— Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, e ſº * L. 1933 6 8 William Crawfurd, Esq. g e & 223 6 8 William Charles Hamilton, Esq. ſº te 129 2 0 L. 9285.15 4 Greenock and Crawfurdsdyke are the only villages or towns of any considerable size in this parish. Both of them are situate on the sea-shore, the latter at a very short distance to the east- ward of the former; and both may lay claim, as villages, at least to some antiquity. It is evident that they have had their origin in their vicinity to the mansion-houses of the respective proprietors of 4 l 4 R E N F 18 EWSHIRE. Greenock, and Crawfurdsburn, and that at one time they were cherished by these proprietors, not without some degree of rival- ship, from motives of patriotism, or as the means of increasing at once their wealth and their influence. At first they were probably nothing more than fishing villages; but, at an early period, each appears to have had its harbour capable of receiving and mooring vessels of considerable burden. Part of the expedition to Darien, in 1697, was fitted up at Cartsdyke. In the year 1635, John Shaw of Greenock, obtained a charter from Charles I., erecting the lands of Wester Greenock, and the town and village of Greenock, into a burgh of barony. That charter was ratified in the Scottish Par- liament in 1641. In the year 1669, Crawfurdsdyke was in like manner erected into a burgh of barony by a charter from Charles II. And in 1670, another charter was granted by him in favour of Sir John. Shaw, son of the above-named John Shaw, annexing the lands of Finnart, belonging to him, to the barony of Wester Greenock, and erecting both into one barony, under the name and designation of the Burgh of Greenock, the title given to the first barony in the charter of 1635. These circumstances afford strong presumptive proofs of the ri- valry to which we have alluded. And, when we compare some of the ancient dwelling-houses in these two towns, it is evident that the time was when Crawfurdsdyke was not unworthy of being the competitor of Greenock, and when it must have equalled, or per- haps surpassed its sister burgh, in the respectability and the wealth of its inhabitants. That time, however, is long gone by. Green- ock and Crawfurdsdyke, each increasing in population, are now one town; their interests are the same ; and no rivalship can exist, or, at least, ought to exist between them. It may confidently be pre- dicted that, if at any future period, Crawfurdsdyke shall attain to any measure of its relative magnitude and importance, it will owe its revival or increase chiefly to the extension of the port and trade of Greenock; and its name will become obsolete, and will give place to that of its wealthier and more fortunate competitor. The trade and town of Greenock having rapidly increased dur- ing the first half of the last century, Sir John Shaw, with a libe- rality which reflects the highest honour on his memory, gave power by charter, in the year 1741, to the feuars and sub-feuars, to meet yearly for the purpose of choosing managers of the public funds of the town, the said funds arising at that time from a voluntary as- sessment upon all malt ground at the mills of Wester Greenock. GREEN OCK, -- 4 : 5 Nine years, thereafter, an act of Parliament was obtained, impos- ing a duty of two pennies Scots on the pint of all ale brewed in the town of Greenock, and that for repairing the harbour of Greenock, and other purposes mentioned in the said act, the act to continue in force for thirty-one years from its commencement on the first day of June 1751. • - The passing of the act now mentioned, and the great increase of the trade and town, appear to have suggested to Sir John Shaw the idea of giving still greater powers to the feuars than had been conceded to them by the charter of 1741. Accordingly, on the 2d day of September 1751, he was pleased, as baron of the barony of Greenock, and burgh of barony thereof, to grant a new charter, in which the feuars and sub-feuars, and burgesses to be afterwards ad- mitted, are authorized to meet yearly, to elect nine persons to be magistrates and councillors of the burgh, whereof two to be bailies, one to be treasurer, and the other six to be councillors, with power to the said bailies and their successors in office, to administer jus- tice to the inhabitants; and to the bailies, treasurer, and council- lors, to manage the funds and common good of the town and ba- rony; to make laws for the better government of the same; to ad- mit burgesses on payment of not more than thirty merks Scots, on the admission of each burgess; and generally to use and exer- cise all privileges and jurisdictions as freely as the magistrates and council of any other burgh of barony in Scotland do, or may do, —the baron bailie for the time being having a cumulative juris- diction with the bailies to be chosen by the inhabitants. i It is, we believe, a singular provision in this charter,-singular we mean at that period, that it gave to the electors not only the right of choosing the nine persons who should be invested with the power of administering the affairs of the town, but also the right, within certain limitations, of fixing and determining by their vote, which of that number should hold the offices of magistrate and treasurer. When we consider the period at which this charter was grant- ed, the unwillingness which men feel to resign into other hands the power which they and their ancestors have possessed, and the universal prevalence of the close or self-election system in the royal burghs of Scotland, it is scarcely possible for us to exceed in our admiration of the enlightened liberality and disinterested- ness of the man by whom this precious boon was conferred. Of the wisdom and sound policy of the measure, as it respects the in- terests of the town of Greenock, and we may add, its baron supe- REN FREW . E 6: 416 R EN FREWSHIT E. rior, it is impossible to entertain a doubt. The charter of 1751 may justly be regarded as the foundation-stone of the prosperity of Greenock. The privileges which it bestowed gave to the in- habitants an interest in its welfare, and a security in the prosecu- tion of their mercantile undertakings, which they would not other- wise have felt and enjoyed: And though the right of electing their own civic rulers has given rise occasionally to feuds and animosi- ties, these evils have been far more than counterbalanced by the advantages which flowed from the exercise of their newly acquired privileges. More recently, Greenock has become one of the Par- liamentary burghs, with the right of sending a member to Parlia- ment; and the constituency has undergone a very considerable change, some of the feuars and sub-feuars being deprived of their elective franchise in consequence of their being below the ten pound valuation, whilst a large addition has been made to the list on the ground of occupancy. It is imposible to say, after so short an ex- perience of the working of the new system, whether the change is for the better or the worse. A sober and dispassionate exercise of long-desired and newly obtained rights can scarcely be looked for all at once. But, comparing abstractly the principles of the charter of 1751, and the Burgh Reform Act, it would not, we think, be difficult to prove that the principle of the former, name- ly, that of confining the right of election to proprietors and bur- gesses, is far wiser and more safe, than that of extending it to the dependent and less educated classes of the community. A discus- sion like this, however, does not come within the range of a Sta- tistical Account. The following is a list of the magistrates of the town from the year 1751 to the present date: 175l. Robert Donald, James Butcher. 1782. Hugh Moody, Robert Lee. 1753. James Butcher, John Alexander. 1783. Hugh Moody, Robert Lee. 1755. John Alexander, Gabriel Mathie. 1784. John Kippen, Wm. Fullarton 1757. John Alexander, James Watt. . 1786. Wm. Fullarton, Robert Lee 1759. Hugh Crawford, Robert Rae, 1787. Robert Lee, Roger Stewart. - 1761. Nathan Wilson, John Campbell. 1788. Roger Stewart, Duncan Campbell. 1763. John Campbell, James Donald. 1790. Duncan Campbell, Jas. Hunter. 1765. James Donald, Archd. Crawfurd. 1791. James Hunter, James Anderson. 1767. Archd. Crawfurd, John Campbell. 1792. James Anderson, Francis Garden. 1769. James Donald, James Wilson. Sept. 9, 1793. Francis Garden, Gabriel 1771. James Donald, James Gammel. - lang. . 1773. James Gammel, Archd. Crawfurd. Sept. 27, 1793. Roger Stewart, Ga- 1774, James Gammel, Joseph Tucker. briel Lang. . i 1775. Joseph Tucker, Robert Lee. 1795. G. Lang, Hugh Crawfurd, sen. 1777. Robert Lee, William Donald. 1797. Hugh Crawfurd, Arch. Campbell. 1778. Robert Lee, James Gammel. 1798. H. Crawfurd, George Robertson. 1779. John Buchanan, Hugh Moody. 1799. Geo. Robertson, Walter Ritchie. 1781. John Buchanan, Robert Sinclair. 1801, Walter Ritchie, Hugh Crawfurd. GREEN OCK. 4 || ? 1803. Hugh Crawfurd, John Hamilton. 1805. John Hamilton, Alex. Dunlop. 1807. Alexander Dunlop, James Fairrie. Sept. 22, 1809. James Fairrie, Hugh Crawfurd. Oct. 6, 1809. Hugh Crawfurd, Duncan Macnaught. 1811. Hugh Crawfurd, Wm. Fullarton. Jan. 13, 1813. H. Crawfurd, Alan Ker. Sept. 24, 1813. Alan Ker, Quintin Leitch. 1815. Quintin Leitch, Robert Ewing. 1835, 1836. 1832. Robert Baine, Thomas Turner. 1833." Robert Baine, Provost. Tho. Turner, James Watt, Wm. Macfie, James Stewart, Bailies. 1834. James Watt, Provost. William Macfie, James Stuart. Jas. Stewart, John Ker, Bailies. William Macfie, Provost. James Stewart, James Stuart. John Ker, Adam Fairrie, Bailies. William Macfie, Provost. J. Stuart, Adam Fairrie, Adam 1817. Quintin Leitch, John Denniston. Macleish, James Scott, Bailies, 1819. John Denniston, Arch. Baine. 1837. Adam Macleish, Provost.f J 821. A. Baine, Gabriel James Weir. James Scott, Andrew Muir, Wm. 1823. Arch. Baine, James Ramsay. Martin, Robert Steele, Bailies. 1825. James Ramsay, William Leitch. 1838. James Scott, Provost, died March 1826. William Leitch, John Denniston. 1839, and was succeeded by 1827. William Leitch, James Hunter. Adam Fairrie. 1828. William Leitch, Robert Ewing. Andrew Muir, Alex. Macallum, Sept. 25, 1829. R. Ewing, Jn. Fairrie. William Martin, W. A. Lindsay Oct. 14, 1829. John Fairrie, John Bailies. Thomson. 1839. Adam Fairrie, Provost. Oct. 20, 1829. Jn. Fairrie, Ro. Baine. William Martin, W. A. Lindsay, Aug. 31, 1831. Ro. Baine, Ro. Steele. Sept. 23, 1831. Robert Baine, Thomas Turner. It may be proper to mention here, although it belongs more to the history of the county than of a particular parish, that, in the year 1815, the three parishes of Greenock, with the parishes of Kilmalcolm, Port-Glasgow, and Inverkip, were constituted the lower ward of Renfrewshire, and placed under the jurisdiction of a sheriff-substitute, who holds his courts in Greenock, as the chief town of the district. Claud Marshall, Esq. the present highly re- spected sheriff-substitute, was the first person appointed to that office. • * Eminent Men.—There are few parishes which can boast of being connected with so great a number of eminent men as Greenock. In the family of the Shaws, besides the public-spirited individual the last of that name, to whom we have particularly adverted, one of his an- cestors, towards the end of the sixteenth century, distinguished him- self by his zeal for the Protestant religion; another by his bravery in the wars of the Commonwealth, fighting on the King's side. The last Sir John acquired no less renown by his vigorous exertions in favour of the House of Hanover and the existing Government, during the Rebellion in 1715. In the family of Shaw Stewart, the descendants, as we have seen, of a female branch of the Shaws of Greenock, there have appeared some of the most accomplished Walter Baine, jun. and Thomas Carmichael, Bailies. * The first election after the Burgh Reform Bill. - * - i Mr James Stewart was elected Provost this year, but died on the day after his election, deeply lamented. Mr Macleish was elected in his room. 418 RENF REWSHIRE. men of the age in which they lived. Members of both these fa- milies have represented the county of Renfrew in Parliament. Sir John Shaw sat in that capacity in the first British Parliament, in 1708-9–10. He was returned again for the same county in 1727, and continued in the representation till 1734. Mr (afterwards Sir John) Shaw Stewart was chosen member for Renfrewshire in 1780, and again in 1786 and 1790; and the late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, father of the present Sir Michael, was commis- sioner for that county in several successive Parliaments. James Watt.—Other persons might be mentioned whose literary fame and scientific acquirements shed no small degree of lustre on the town and parish of which we write. But it is no disparagement to them, or to the men of high birth and ancient pedigree whose charac- ter and history we have briefly recorded, to affirm, that Greenock has had the transcendant honour of giving birth to a man whose fame far exceeds that of all the warriors and statesmen whom Scotland has ever produced. That man is the late celebrated and amiable James Watt, the improver of the steam-engine. He was the son of James Watt, wright, ship-builder, and builder, in Greenock, and was born in that town on the 19th January 1736, in a house which, though somewhat altered, still continues to stand. He spent the earlier years of his life in Greenock, and received the rudiments of his education there. Discovering a strong inclina- tion to the study of mechanics, he went to London in his eight- eenth year, and remained a year under the tuition of a maker of mathematical instruments. Soon after his return from London, he resolved to establish himself in that profession in Glasgow, and after encountering some difficulties in the accomplishment of his object, the professors gave him apartments within the college as mathematical instrument maker to the university. He thus be- came acquainted with Dr Black, and Mr (afterwards Professor) John Robison, who held him in the highest esteem, and had fre- quent conversations with him on scientific subjects. There he continued till the year 1768, when he took up his residence in the town, and soon after married his cousin, Miss Miller. In the year 1761, he commenced that series of experiments which terminat- ed in 1765 in what may be termed his great discovery, and in the improvements which that discovery suggested, namely, the condensing of steam in a separate vessel exhausted of air, and kept cool by cold water injection, and the moving of the piston by steam instead of atmospheric pressure. While engaged in mak- GREEN OCIK. 419 ing the experiments which led to these improvements, he ap- proached very near to Dr Black's celebrated discovery of latent heat, which was then for the first time communicated to him by Dr Black. In the year 1769, he secured, his title to his im- provement for saving steam and fuel in fire-engines, by patent, —Dr Roebuck of the Carron Iron Works, who assisted him in the practical application of his invention, having a share of the patent. After this Dr Roebuck was induced, for certain considerations, to transfer his share of the patent to Mr Boulton of Soho, near Bir- mingham, and Mr Watt entered into partnership with Mr Boul- ton as a steam-engine manufacturer. An act for prolonging the patent for twenty-five years was obtained in 1775, and the busi- ness was commenced under the firm of Boulton and Watt. The steam-engine had hitherto been applied only to the pumping of water. His inventive genius was next employed in applying the power of steam to giving a rotatory motion to mills; and his con- trivances for this purpose were secured to him by patents in the years i781, 1782, 1784, and 1785. He brought the steam-en- gine to its perfection by the application of the centrifugal regulat- ing force of the governor. The discoveries and contrivances which we have thus briefly de- tailed, entitle Mr Watt to the name of the inventor, as Mr Jeffrey has justly observed, rather than the improver of the steam-engine. “It was,” says that eloquent writer, “by his inventions that its action was so regulated as to make it capable of being applied to the finest and most delicate manufactures, and its power so in- creased as to set weight and solidity at defiance. By his admirable contrivances it has become a thing stupendous alike for its force and its flexibility—for the prodigious power which it can exert, and the ease, and precision, and ductility with which it can be va- ried, distributed, and applied. The trunk of an elephant that can pick up a pin, or rend an oak, is as nothing to it. It can engrave a seal, and crush masses of obdurate metal like wax before it— draw out without breaking a thread as fine as gossamer, and lift a ship of war like a bauble in the air. It can embroider muslin, and forge anchors, cut steel into ribbands, and impel loaded vessels against the fury of the winds and waves.” In the earlier part of Mr Watt's life, and before he entered in- to partnership with Mr Boulton, he was employed as a civil en- gineer, and in that capacity made surveys for the Criman, the Ca- ledonian, and other canals, which have since been executed with 420 R EN FREWS H I [RE, some variations. In these surveys he made use of a new micro- meter, and a machine for drawing in perspective, both of his own inventing. These, with other ingenious contrivances, will be found explained or detailed in the Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica, (Art. Watt,) from which the facts stated in this brief memoir have been derived. In 1800, upon the expiry of the act of Parliament passed in his fa- vour, he withdrew from business, resigning his shares to his two sons. He continued, however, to the close of life to interest himself in the pursuits of his former years, and gave proofs of the undiminish- ed powers of an uncommonly vigorous and active mind. With faculties little impaired he reached his eighty-fourth year, when, after a short illness, he expired in the bosom of his family, at Heathfield, in the county of Stafford, on the 25th August 1819.” Mr Watt was elected a Member of the Royal Society, Edin- burgh, in 1784; of the Royal Society of London in 1785; and a Corresponding Member of the Batavian Society in 1787. In 1806, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by the Uni- versity of Glasgow; and in 1808 he was elected first a Corre- sponding, and afterwards a Foreign Member of the Institute of France. * Since writing the preceding paragraphs, the compiler of this account has seen a translation of the life of Mr Watt, by M. Arago, Perpetual Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences, in which he claims for Mr Watt the honour of being the first to discover the composition of water. He states, that, in the month of April 1783, Dr Priestley had proved that the weight of water deposited on the sides of a vessel in which oxygen and hydrogen have been detonated, is precisely the same as the weights of the two gases, and that Priestley communicated this result to Watt, who wrote to him in return—“What are the products of your experiment 2 They are water, light, and heat. Are we not thence authorized to conclude, that water is a compound of the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen, deprived of a portion of their latent or elementary heat; that oxygen is water deprived of its hydrogen, but still united to its latent heat and light? If light be only a modification of heat, or a simple cir- cumstance of its manifestation, or a component part of hydrogen, oxygen gas will be water deprived of its hydrogen, but combined with latent heat.” This passage was taken from a letter of Watt's, dated 26th April 1783. The letter was communicated by Priestley to several of the scientific men in London; and was transmitted imme- diately afterwards to Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society, to be read at one of the meetings of that body. M. Arago states, that circumstances retarded the reading of the letter for about a year; but that it appears in the seventy-fourth volume of the Transactions, with its true date April 26th 1783. The memoir of Cavendish on the same subject was read on the 15th January 1784. Sir Charles Blagden, defending the claim of Mr Cavendish in opposition to M. Lavoisier, says, that Mr Cavendish arrived at the conclusion contained in his memoir during the spring of the year 1783, and that “about the same time the news reached London that Mr Watt of Birmingham had been led by some observations to a similar opinion.” The facts contained in this statement afford very strong reasons for assigning the honour of this brilliant discovery to Dr Priestley and Mr Watt. It is a very singular circumstance in the history of the discovery, that a considerable time elapsed before Dr. Priestley was persuaded of the soundness of Mr Watt's conclusion, insomuch that he (Dr Priestley) actually set himself to disprove it by experiments carried on expressly for that purpose. GREENOCK. 421 He was married twice, and had children by, each marriage, but only one survived him. His youngest son, Mr Gregory Watt, died soon after he was admitted to a share in his father's business, but not before he had given splendid proofs of literary and philo- sophical talents. A daughter was married but predeceased him, leaving two children. He left a widow, the daughter of Mr M*Grigor of Clober. She died in 1832. - The character of Mr Watt has been drawn with inimitable beauty by the pen of Mr Jeffrey. After referring to his varied and exact information on almost all subjects, and to his astonishing memory, and his power of digesting and arranging his information, the writer proceeds thus:– * - “It is needless to say that with those vast resources his con- versation was at all times rich and instructive in no ordinary de- gree ; but it was, if possible, still more pleasing than wise, and had all the charms of familiarity with all the substantial treasures of . knowledge. No man could be more social in his spirit, less as- suming or fastidious in his manners, or more kind or indulgent towards all who approached him. #: * º: His talk too, though overflowing with information, had no resem- blance to lecturing or solemn discoursing, but, on the contrary, was full of colloquial spirit and pleasantry. He had a certain quiet and grave humour, which ran through most of his conversation, and a vein of temperate jocularity which gave infinite Zest and effect to the condensed and inexhaustible information which formed its main staple and characteristic. % $ * His voice was deep and powerful, though he commonly spoke in a low and somewhat monotonous tone, which harmonized admirably with the weight and brevity of his observations, and set off to the greatest advantage the pleasant anecdotes which he delivered with the same grave brow, and the same calm smile playing soberly on his lips. Sk “K. Sk He had in his character the utmost ab- horrence for all sorts of forwardness, parade, and pretension; and never failed to put all such impostors out of countenance by the manly plainness and honest intrepidity of his language and deport- ment. In his temper and disposition he was not only kind and affectionate, but generous and considerate of the feelings of all around him, and gave the most liberal assistance to all young per- sons who showed any indications of talent, or applied to him for patronage or advice.” §§ % % Mr Jeffrey closes his eulogium with these words: “All men 4 22 RENF REWSHIRE, of learning and science were his cordial friends; and such was the influence of his mild character, and perfect fairness and liberality, even upon the pretenders to these accomplishments, that he lived to disarm even envy itself, and died, we verily believe, without a single enemy.” - * To this beautiful eulogium by Mr Jeffrey, of which we have given only an abridgement, we add the following paragraphs from the conclusion of the Life of James Watt by M. Arago. “Such is a very brief sketch of the benefits bequeathed to the world by that machine of which Papin had in his works deposited the germ, and which, after so many ingenious efforts, Watt has brought to an admirable perfection. Those benefits posterity will never compare with works which have been far too much vaunted, and the real influence of which, at the bar of reason, will remain for ever confined to a limited circle of individuals, and a small number of years. - “Men formerly spoke of the Augustan age, and the age of Louis XIV. Some great men have ere now maintained that it would be right to say the age of Voltaire, of Rousseau, of Montesquieu. For my own part, I have no hesitation in predicting, that when to the immense services already rendered by the steam-engine shall be added all the wonders which it yet holds out in prospect, grateful nations will also speak of the ages of Papin and Watt.” ” The estimation in which Mr Watt was held by his fellow- countrymen, and the value that was attached to his discoveries, were evinced by the public meetings which took place soon after his death in almost every great town in the empire, with the view of doing honour to his memory. A meeting was held for this pur- pose in the metropolis, at which Lord Liverpool, Mr (now Sir Robert) Peel, Mr Brougham, Mr Huskisson, Mr Wilberforce, and other eminent statesmen were speakers, and resolutions were passed honourable alike to the living and the dead. A similar meeting was held in Glasgow, and attended by its most distinguish- ed citizens. The birth-place of Mr Watt did not fail in these demonstrations of respect for his character and attainments. A meeting was held there on the 20th July 1824, at which it was resolved to erect in Greenock a monument to his memory; and a subscription was opened, which amounted in the course of six umonths to upwards of L. 1500. A second general meeting, called * Historical Eloge, by M. Arago; translated by James Patrick Muirhead, Esq. Pn. 151, 152. GREEN OC K. 423 by public advertisement, was held in the Assembly Rooms on the 30th August 1826. Sir Michael Shaw Stewart presided, and Mr James Watt, son of the deceased Mr Watt, being in Greenock, and having expressed a wish that the money subscribed (then amounting to L. 1703,) should be expended in procuring a statue by Chantrey, and having promised on that condition to give a li- beral donation towards the erection of a building for its reception, the subscribers, though of different opinions respecting the kind of monument to be erected, acquiesced unanimously in this propo- sal, and resolved accordingly. Mr Watt being then invited to attend the meeting, the resolution was read to him by the chair- man—whereupon he (Mr Watt) stated that his father had enter- tained a strong desire to contribute to the only institution which Greenock possessed of a literary and scientific description, namely, the public library, and that, following out his father's intention, he purposed to give the sum of L. 2000,” “to be employed in the erection of a building for the library, of which the statue should form the principal ornament,” leaving it open to others to add to that sum if their views should extend farther. At the same time he expressed a wish that the site and plan of the building should be fixed by himself, but did not insist on that as part of the stipu- lation. The committee appointed to carry the resolution into effect most willingly left it to Mr Watt to decide on the plan. He procured a plan accordingly. After some delay on fixing on the site, the library was erected on the south-west side of Union Street, The statue was brought from London, and under the eye of Sir F. Chantrey himself, was placed in an alcove, prepared for it op- posite to the principal entrance. The building is after a plan by Dr Blore. It is in what is called the old English style of architecture, and when finished will pro- bably have a fine imposing appearance. But the middle is the only part yet executed. Two wings have yet to be built, the one to contain a reading-room, and the other a house for the librarian. No steps have yet been taken for completing the execution of the plan. But we cannot believe that a public building, which will ul- timately prove so great an ornament to the town, will be permitted to remain long in its present unfinished condition. The statue is of white marble, and is regarded by competent judges, not only as one of the best of Sir Francis Chantrey's pro- * This handsome donation was afterwards raised to L. 3000. 424 - R EN FR E W S HH R.E. ductions, but as one of the finest specimens of the art. The distin- guished and venerable philosopher is represented in a sitting pos- ture, as in the statues erected to his memory in Westminster Ab- bey, and at Glasgow. With one hand he is grasping a double sheet of paper, supposed to be a plan, with the other he is apply- ing a pair of compasses to the paper before him. The statue is placed on a high pedestal, with a tablet in front, on which there is the following inscription, composed by Mr (now Lord) Jeffrey : - The Inhabitants of Greenock Have erected this statue of James Watt, Not to extend a fame Already identified with The miracles of steam, But to testify The pride and reverence With which He is remembered In the place of his Nativity, And their deep sense Of the great benefits His genius has conferred On mankind. Born xix January MDccxxxvi., Died at Heathfield, In Staffordshire, August xxv. MDCCCXXI. Historical Events.-Neither the town nor the rural part of this pa- rish has been the scene of any important events in the history of Scot- land. The ruined towers, the remains of ancient castles and places of strength which are known to have existed, or still continue to standin this neighbourhood, too clearly show, that, like other parts of Scot- land, Greenock and the surrounding country were scourged by those petty and often sanguinary struggles which were the disgrace of the feudal age, as well as by the predatory incursions of the inhabitants of the mountains on the opposite shore. But it does not appear, either from history or tradition, that any signal battle was fought within the boundaries of this parish. The compiler does not know of any pieces of ancient armour being dug up. There are no obelisks, no tumuli, no ruins of ancient camps or forts, leading us to infer that the soil has been the field of any long-continued war- fare, or even of any very bloody conflict. It is somewhat surpris- ing that, except the remains of the old Castle of Wester Greenock, which are in a great measure concealed from the eye by the addi- tions which have been made to it in comparatively modern times, ...G RE EN C C K. 425 we have no antiquities of any description. The name Kilblain, applied to a part of the town, would seem to indicate that, at Some former period, a religious house did stand on the spot which has received that appellation; but no ruins of convents or monas- teries, or even of Popish chapels, exist, or are known to have ex- isted in this place. The author of the first Statistical Account affirms that a chapel, dedicated to St Laurence, once stood near the bay of Greenock and Crawfurdsdike, which, he says, was an- ciently called St Laurence Bay, from the chapel near it. But he has not given his authority for this statement, and its accuracy is, to say the least of it, extremely doubtful. Modern Buildings.-The only modern buildings requiring to be noticed under the head of Civil History are : 1. The mansion-house of the Greenock family on the eminence overhanging the town. A small part of this building, as we have already mentioned, appears to be of great antiquity. The remain- der consists of additions made in the earlier half of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is said that the last of these addi- tions was planned and executed by Mr Watt, the father of the ce- lebrated philosopher, whose life and history we have briefly re- corded. 2. The Town Hall, built in 1766, after a plan by Mr Watt. It appears from the burgh records, excerpts from which have been kindly communicated to the compiler by Mr George Williamson, writer, that, before the erection of that building, the magistrates had held their courts in a wooden shed in William Street, which served the three-fold purposes of town-hall, post-office, and fire- engine house. We mention this circumstance for the purpose of showing how far behind the town of Greenock was at the middle of last century, and how rapidly it has grown since that period. 3. The Jail or Bridewell, erected in 1810. It contains 30 cells for criminals, and 5 for debtors. 4. The Sheriff-Court House, almost contiguous to the jail. It was built by militia reversion money, and subscriptions from the county and private persons; and was completed and first occupied in 1834. It consists of a very handsome, well-proportioned hall for a court-room, apartments for jurymen and witnesses, and chambers for the sheriff and sheriff-clerk. Before its erection, the sheriff-substitute held his court in the town hall. - At the same time that the sheriff-court house was built, there 426 RENFREWSHIRE. were built, attached to it, apartments for the Post-office and Pro- vident Bank. - It does not appear to be necessary to mention particularly the erection of the Exchange Buildings, and Assembly Rooms; of the Tontine ; the News-room in Cathcart Square, and other public buildings of minor importance. In the news-room in Cathcart Square, there is a very well drawn portrait (a copy) of Sir John Shaw, the founder of the commercial prosperity of Greenock. The original appears to have been drawn when he was very young. - - III.-PoPULATION. Mr Wilson* mentions that, according to a survey for the pur- pose of a general poll-tax in 1695, there were in all Greenock, 367 families, which, reckoning 4% for each family, made the po- pulation 1651. The number of births registered in 1700 was 86. Taking these two sources of information together, we may confidently conclude that the population of this parish, at the be- ginning of last century, was about 2000, and rather below than above that number. - A second census was taken in 1735, apparently with a view to the erection of a new parish ; and the following is the copy of a document affixed to one of the volumes of the records of the town council. In the town of Greenock, above 8 years, sº - 2433 under do. º º 550 Country parish, Sir John Shaw's tenants, above 8 years, º 326 under do. - 72 Cartsdike, town and country, above 8 years, tºp - 500 under do. * - 129 4100 The population, therefore, of the whole parish had more than doubled in the first thirty-five years of the last century. Supposing the enumeration in 1735 to be correct, and we have no reason for doubting its accuracy, the population must have de- creased during the next twenty years, for, according to the return to Dr Webster in 1755, it was as follows: - In the old parish, e e 1886 In the new, © te 1972 Total in both parishes, . © 3858 “About the year 1760,” says the author of the former Statis- tical Account, “the town began to increase rapidly, and continu- * General View, GIREEN OCK. 427 ed to do so till the American war, which occasioned almost an en- tire stagnation of its trade.” Accordingly, the population of the old and new parishes in 1781, is declared by Semple in his con- tinuation of Crawford's Renfrewshire, to be 12,000: in other words, it had, according to that authority, more than tripled in twenty-six years. We think the number exaggerated. The births registered in 1782, were 403, from which we should be inclined to infer that the population did not then exceed 10,000; at the same time, it must be admitted that the registration of births is so imperfect, that it scarcely affords ground for any certain conclusion. In 1790, we find the births registered to be 508, indicating an addi- tion of one-fifth to the population, during the nine immediately pre- ceding years. An accurate enumeration of the inhabitants was taken in January 1792, from which it appeared that there were in the two parishes, 3387 families, or 14,299 persons, of whom 6,766, were males, and 7,533 were females. This enumeration was exclusive of seamen abroad at the time of the census; these included, the population had nearly quadrupled from 1735 to 1792. - Since that period, the increase of the population, according to the Government census, is as follows: Males. Females. Total. In 1801, e 8, 196 gº 9,262 * 17,458 1811, wº 7,978 º l 1,064 g 19,042 1821, g 9,381 . 12,707 iº 22,088 1831, . 11,973 . I5,598 © 27,571 It is not easy to say how many ought to be added to each of the sums total in the numbers now given, on account of seamen, carpenters, coopers, and others on shipboard at the time of the enumeration. The amount differs by many hundreds at different seasons of the year; but we shall not greatly err by taking it at 2000, which, added to the population of 1831, makes the num. ber of males at the time of that census, 13,973, and the whole population, 29,571, or about fifteen times greater than it was at the commencement of last century. By the census in 1831, there were in the three parishes into which Greenock was then divided, 6,358 families, distributed as follows: ... • - . Agriculture. Handicraft. Other employments. East parish, . 1047 o 51 & 688 © 30S Middle or New, 1882 * O e 1534 © 348 Old or West, . 3424 * 51 e 1599 º 1754 tºmmis 6353 102 3s2.i. 2410 428 R E N F REWSHIRE, Taking the population at 27,571, the average number in each family is 4; ; ; ; ; but adding seamen and others not at home at the time of the census, and making the whole population 29,571, the average number is 4%; ## - Looking to the first of the tables which have now been given, the reader can scarcely fail to observe the great inequality of the sexes in point of numbers. Even when we add the absent sea- men, the disproportion is considerable. In 1811, there was, with , this addition, an excess of females amounting to 1086. In 1821, the excess with this addition was 1326; and in 1831, there was a similar excess, amounting to 1625. The disparity is occasioned chiefly by the casualties inseparable from a sea-faring life. The inequality, however, is not so great as in some manufacturing towns. Paisley may be taken as an example. In 1801, there were in that town, and in part of the Abbey parish adjoining, 14,413 males, and 16,766 females, the disparity amounting to 2353. In 1811, there were 16,457 males, and 20,265 females, or an excess of fe- males of 3808. * From this comparative statement, it appears that the disproportion between the sexes, occasioned by the un- healthful occupations, and the vices of a manufacturing town, is considerably greater than in the sea-port town of Greenock. About 600 of the whole population reside in the landward or country part of the parish, and in villages so small as to be scarcely worthy of the name; the remainder in the towns of Greenock and Crawfurdsdike. Both in town and country, there are a considera- ble number of persons upwards of seventy. A short time ago, a person belonging to the town of Greenock died in his hundredth and fourth year. His name was John Shannon. He was a native of Campbelltown, but spent the latter part of his life in Greenock, pursuing at different periods the occupations of pilot and fisherman. He was a remarkably hale stout old man, and when past his hun- dredth year, walked with ease upwards of two miles in a forenoon, the wind blowing a hurricane. It is scarcely necessary to add, that he was an object of considerable interest to those who knew him, and a great favourite with many of them. He continued in full possession of all his faculties till a short time before his death. . - Character of the People.—The population consists of persons of very different degrees of wealth, and of very different habits * It is a singular fact, that the disproportion is less by census 1821 and 1831. G RE EN O C R • 429 and character. Of the three proprietors of land between whom the parish is divided, none ever reside in it. But some of our ship- builders, merchants, and manufacturers, are men of large and in- dependent fortune, constantly residing within the parish, and dis- tinguished for their liberality and beneficence. Of the class next to them in affluence, it may be said with truth, that there is a very large proportion of very high respectability, both in point of intel- lectual cultivation, and moral character, and attention to the duties and ordinances of religion. In the working-classes, there are not a few of the same description, exhibiting in the neatness and clean- liness of their dwellings and persons, strong presumptive proofs of sound religious and moral principle, and of their enjoying the com- forts which flow from these, and from the prosperity of the town in which they live. It is deeply to be lamented, however, that, as we descend in the scale, we meet with the most mournful signs of moral deterioration—infidelity shedding its baleful influence over the minds and habits of the poor; intemperance laying waste their bodily frame, and destroying the peace of their families, and both together inducing a habitual disregard of the Sabbath day, and a sullen contempt of the house of God, and the truths and so- lemn obligations of Christianity. If there be any truth in the de- scriptions given of the character of our Scottish peasantry, and ar- tisans, fifty or a hundred years ago, the change which has taken place during that period is such as to awaken the sorrow, and to call forth the enlightened zeal and beneficence of every friend of reli- gion and of his fellow men. - Proofs of these mournful statements will be given under a fu- ture head, and the causes of the degeneracy referred to will be pointed out. Meanwhile it is no more than justice to the inha- bitants of Greenock to remark, that where the population is dense, intemperance and licentiousness are too frequently the vices of persons of all ranks; and sea-port towns are more than others ex- posed to that moral contagion. To this we may add that associa- tions for other purposes, by bringing together men of very different and opposite principles, have exerted a most injurious influence on the working classes; and the immigration from other quarters, of families, unaccustomed from their infancy to the habits of a well- conditioned Scottish population, has tended not a little to lower the standard by which they were wont to regulate their con- duct; yet it may be fairly questioned whether, notwithstanding 430 R EN FREWS HIRE, all these unfavourable circumstances, there has been as great a moral deterioration here as in other towns equally populous, and exposed to the same temptations. * . g It is satisfactory to be able to state, that neither poaching nor smuggling prevails to any extent. * Pawnbroking is a trade which can thrive only when the people are unprosperous either from losses in trade, or want of employ- ment, or vicious habits. The first pawnbroker in Greenock began business about nine years ago. There are now four licensed pawn- brokers carrying on a very extensive business; and upwards of thirty, many of whom are not licensed, who purchase clothing and furniture, which they re-sell to the original owners at a large pro- fit, or remove out of the reach of the lawful creditor. The last of these practices is evidently the same in effect with pawnbroking. It is an ingenious method of evading the law, and the expense of license. The rapid increase of both affords a melan- choly proof of declining morals. For it is to intemperance chiefly that pawnbroking owes its growth, and its present flourishing con- dition. Pawnbroking in its turn affords great facilities to the in- dulgence of that vice, and presents a strong temptation to theft with a view to the gratification of intemperate habits. We are compelled to add, that in families where the pawning of goods is practised, the wife is in general the offender. The dis- solute habits of the husband may on some occasions leave the wife and family so destitute of the means of subsistence, as to present to the sober wife the plea of necessity; but more frequently the intem- perance of the wife not only consumes a large portion of the hard- wrought-earnings of the sober, industrious husband, but strips his once comfortable and well-furnished dwelling of almost every ar- ticle belonging to him. There are houses in Greenock, and pro- bably in every large town in Britain, where, in consequence of the intemperance of the husband or wife, or both, and the practice of pawning in connection with it, there is no furniture of any descrip- tion—no bedstead, no table, no chair; nothing but a wretched stool, a chest containing all the property of the inhabitants, and some dirty wood-shavings, on which to repose their weary limbs. Cobbet remarked, with regard to the poor in Ireland, that the pigs in England were better lodged and accommodated than they. The remark may be applied to some of the working poor (not all Irish) in Greenock, and elsewhere; and the root of this degrada- tion and misery is intemperance. Tee-totalism, with its ostenta- (G RE ENO C. K. 43 i tious and imposing machinery, substituting, as it does, responsibi- lity to man for responsibility to God, will never prevail against that hideous vice, or remove this pestilential scourge of Scottish society. The blessing of God resting on the diffusion of pure re- ligious knowledge, and the persevering efforts of masters, heads of families, and others, to abolish what have been called the “drink- ing usages,” can alone avail to the restraining of the vice of in- temperance, and realize the wish of every Christian philanthropist for the revival of the sober industrious habits of Scottish artisans. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—Robertson, in his Continuation of Crawfurd’s His- tory of Renfrewshire, states the total number of acres (Scotch) in this parish to be 6365; of which 2315 were arable; 930 in sound pasture; 2780 moor land; 300 were taken up for sites of houses, roads, &c.; and 40 were covered with wood, natural or planted. Robertson published his Continuation in 1818. Since that time, with the exception of a few acres of thin soil, which have been planted, and perhaps an equal number recently taken up as the sites of villas in the neighbourhood of the town, scarcely any change has taken place in the distribution of the ground of which the pa- rish is composed. It is evident, from what has been already said of its general aspect, that little or no addition can be made to the land now under cultivation, with any prospect of an adequate re- turn. It may, indeed, be questioned whether it might not be pro- fitable to drain a part, at least, of the meadow-land now devoted to the raising of winter fodder. With that exception, and per- haps it ought not to be made, it is obviously the wisest course to permit the uncultivated ground to remain in its present state, at least, to abstain from bringing it under tillage, applying to it only that valuable improvement of modern times, surface-draining, and such other means of cultivation as may be suited to the nature of the soil, and afford the reasonable expectation of an early and suf- ficient return. - Rent of Land.—The compiler has not been able to ascertain with any degree of accuracy the average rent of arable land within the parish. The greater number of the farms having a proportion of pasture and meadow land joined with arable, it is impossible for the landlord to make even an approximation to the truth on this subject. Mr Wilson states the average rental in the whole county in 1795, to have been 10s. 2d. per Scotch acre, and supposes 18s. 3d. to be very near the average in 1812. The rent of land has R EN FREW. * - F f 432 - R EN FREWSHIRE e. fallen considerably since that period ; but the rent of arable land in the neighbourhood of a populous town like Greenock, if taken separately, would probably be found considerably above the highest average. In making this computation, we exclude the rental of small parcels of ground within the burgh, or in its immediate neigh- bourhood. The fixed rent of ground of that description is 1s. per fall, or L. 8 per acre. Rate of Wages.—Farm-servants receive of wages from L. 6 to L. 8 in the half-year, with bed, board, and washing. The wages of day-labourers are, for good workmen, in winter, 2s. and in sum- mer, 2s. 6d. per day. - - Live-Stock, &c.—The black-faced, or Highland breed, is the only breed of sheep in this parish. The cattle are of the Ayrshire breed, and of late years have been greatly improved. An annual cattle-show, under the auspices of a committee of the Highland Society, has contributed much to the amelioration of the stock. Mr Marshall, our worthy Sheriff-substitute, is the moving spring of that committee. - - The practice of furrow-draining has recently been applied with much success to land under tillage. Lime, procured from a great distance, is used as a manure to a considerable extent. The land is let in general on a lease of nineteen years. The late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart applied himself with great zeal, and at very considerable expense, to the improvement of the farm-buildings and enclosures on his estate, particularly the former. We are not aware of any special obstacles in the way of farther improvement in the branch of industry to which these observa- tions refer. - - -. Quarries.—The only quarries worked in the parish of Greenock are of sandstone. Even these are not worked to any great extent. The red sandstone in the neighbouring parishes of Gourock and Inverkip is preferred ; and the finer kinds of white or gray sand- stone for polished ashlar are brought by water from quarries on the banks of the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals. The Shaw's Water-Works.-Before proceeding to give an enumeration of the manufactories in this parish, we would call the attention of our readers to a most ingeniously contrived plan for the creation of water-power, a plan we believe, altogether sin- gular in the history of manufactures in this or in any other country ; executed at a comparatively small expense, and in actual operation during the last thirteen years. in *. GRE ENOCK. 433 About twenty years ago, the inhabitants of Greenock were ex. tremely incommoded by the scarcity of water for domestic and other purposes; and the attention of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, the lord of the manor, and grandfather of the present Sir Michael, being directed to that subject, Mr Robert Thom, civil-engineer, and proprietor of the Rothesay Cotton Works, a man of great fertility of invention, and extraordinary mechanical genius, was re- quested by Sir Michael, to inspect the grounds and streams in the vicinity of Greenock, in order to ascertain the resources they afforded for supplying that town with water. Mr Thom's inge- nuity having been successfully exerted in conducting and econo- mizing a supply of water for his works at Rothesay, it was sug- gested to him by Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, that he should also report whether a similar supply might not be obtained for manu- factories in the town of Greenock. Mr Thom undertook the sur- vey with these two objects in view. It was executed early in 1824; and a report was drawn up by him, addressed to Sir Mi- chael Shaw Stewart, which has since been printed, and is to be found in the appendix to the “Brief Account of the Shaw’s Water Scheme.” In the commencement of the report, Mr Thom states that a plen- tiful supply of water for thetown and its public works, as they then existed, was “a matter of comparatively easy accomplish- ment.” The remainder of the report is occupied entirely with a general outline of the plan for the creation of the water-power. The following brief description will, we trust, make it intelligible to strangers. . On the south-west side of the highest rising ground above Greenock, and between two and three miles from the town, is the source of the “ Shaw’s Water,” a small rivulet, which, uniting with other streams, falls into the sea between Ardgowan House and the town of Inverkip. Mr Thom proposed to form by embankment, a large reservoir at the source of this rivulet, and thence to con- duct the water round the hill by an open aqueduct, till it should reach at as high a level as could be afforded a small reservoir at Overton, on the face of the rising-ground above-mentioned. From the last of these reservoirs he proposed that the water should be let down in two diverging branches, one descending on the west- ern, and the other on the eastern extremity of the town, each con- taining falls of different degrees of power, to suit the convenience of manufacturers. The large reservoir, he proposed, should cover upwards of 200 Scotch acres, and contain 200,000,000 of cubic * 43.4 RENF REW3 HIRE. feet of water ; the length of the aqueduct, between it, and what may be called the terminating reservoir, he computed at about six miles and a-half. Besides these, he proposed, if necessary, to form six small reservoirs in the hollows of the rising ground above the aqueduct, to ensure an abundant supply of water in the driest sea- SOI.Y.S. This splendid scheme has been carried into execution, except- ing the formation of the western line, or branch of falls; and of four of the small reservoirs, found to be superfluous. In June 1825, “the Shaw's Water Joint Stock Company, with a capital of L. 81,000, was incorporated by Act of Parliament, and in less than three years from that date, the grand reservoir began to send r forth its supply of water; and mills for various purposes were erected on the line of its descent. The experience of thirteen years has more than realized, in one respect, the most sanguine expec- tations of the projector. During that period, there has not been the slightest deficiency of water-power for a single day. It has been uniform and unvarying, far more so than any other power in use for impelling machinery.” -- It may be necessary for the information of some of our readers, to explain the manner in which this water-power is made available. The aqueduct or water-course, from the reservoir at Overton to its termination at a short distance from the Clyde, is one continu- ous mill-lead cut out of the sloping-ground between Overton and the river. There are no mill-dams or embankments; the plan does not admit of any. The declivity down which the water is conducted is more or less steep at different places. At these the engineer has placed his falls ready for being thrown upon the wheel. Between each fall, the water runs with a slight inclination downwards; a sufficient space being left between them for the erection of the buildings requisite; and thus of 512 feet, the height of Overton reservoir, from the lower termination of the line, there is not a foot of fall which is not made available for the pur- poses of machinery. There are nineteen falls of different degrees of power on the eastern line, and thirteen on the plan for the Western. In computing the amount of water power obtained by this in- genious contrivance, let it be observed, that the company have at command, on each of the two branches of the line, a quantity of water, sufficient, with a fall of thirty feet, to give a power for im- pelling machinery, equal to that of 54 horses. Applying this GREEN OC K. 435 power to the whole line of falls, or to somewhat more than 1000 feet, the water-power acquired is equal to 1782 horses. Whether Mr Thom was well-founded in the remark with which he con- cludes his report, namely, that, if all the water-power which Greenock possesses were actually applied to machinery, Greenock would be in possession of nearly as much power from water as was then (in 1824) given by steam to all the public works in and about Glasgow, the compiler of this account will not pretend to deter- mine. But one thing is undeniable, that the water-power furnish- ed by the company is far cheaper than that which is procured from steam. The expense of the latter, even in Glasgow, in the immediate neighbourhood of coal, is not less than L. 30 a-year for each horse power. The Shaw’s Water Company let out their water-power to manufactories at the rate of from L. 2 to L. 4 per horse power per annum, with this advantage additional, that there is no tear and wear, as in steam-engines, and no risk of failure or deficiency in the supply. The quantity of water guaranteed by the company is 1200 cubic feet per minute on each branch of the line for twelve hours every day during 310 working days in the year. The Act of Parliament provides that there shall be an an- nual inspection of the grand reservoir on the 1st of April. At some of these inspections, it has been found that, making large allowance for leakage and evaporation, there was a supply of water sufficient to fulfil the engagements of the company for a whole year, though not a drop of rain should fall in the interval. The certainty, there- fore, of a uniform and abundant supply, not only at present, but after the formation of the second branch of the line of falls, is fully established. The genius of Mr Thom as a civil-engineer and mechanic has been most successfully displayed in the construction of the embank- ments, the self-acting sluices, and other machinery connected with this splendid undertaking. The great reservoir covers nearly 295 imperial acres, and contains 284,678,550 cubic feet of water. Its embankment is 60 feet high from the bottom of the Shaw's water rivulet. The compensation reservoir, immediately adjoining to the great reservoir, and in connection with it, covers about 40 im- perial acres, and contains 14,465,898 cubic feet of water. Its embankment is 23 feet high from the bottom of the rivulet. Both embankments have stood the test of time, and at this moment dis- cover a firmness and solidity which inspire the most unmingled 436 REN FREWSHIRE. confidence in their durability.” A description and drawings of the self-acting sluices would occupy too much space in a Statistical Account ; they may be found in “A Brief Account of the Shaw's Water Scheme,” printed at Greenock in 1829. They are inge- nious contrivances for economizing the water. They indicate ar. insatiable avarice of water power. While they continue to act, none of it can go to waste; the wet weather of one week lays up in store for the drought of another,-nay, the works and the me- chanical contrivances connected with them, may be so enlarged, that the abundance of one year may be made to provide against the deficiency of the year following; to which we may add, that so complete is the economizing system of Mr Thom, that not only is the issue of water from the two principal reservoirs carefully re- gulated, but the water is measured once more at the Overton re- servoir, so that not a foot more or less than the 1200 cubic feet per minute can issue to the manufactories below. In Mr Thom's report in 1824, he contemplated the construc- tion of a reservoir, capable of containing only 200,000,000 of cubic feet of water. He, therefore, estimated the expense of the whole works, exclusive of what might be paid for the ground, at L. 16,000, When the plan was finally adjusted, it was determined that the great reservoir should contain 284,000,000, and, in addition to this,. it was found necessary to form the compensation reservoir for the benefit of the mills on the Shaw’s Water rivulet, and streams con- nected with it. It cannot, therefore, be matter of surprise, that the works already completed have cost, purchase of ground in- cluded, the sum of L. 51,000. This sum includes also the whole expense of providing the water for domestic purposes, aqueducts, filters, pipes, &c. to be afterwards mentioned. The subjoined list of the falls already taken has been furnished by Mr John Thom, the inspector of the works. It will convey to the reader some idea of the facility with which the company can modify or increase their supply of power, so as to meet the wishes and objects of manufac- turel'S. “Fall, No. 1.4 of 26 feet, or 47 horse power, possessed by Tas- ker, Young, and Co. as a sugar-house. Fall, No. 2 of 24 feet, or 44 horses, possessed by Mackenzie and Walker, as flour and corn mills. Fall, No. 3 of 17 feet, or 31 horses, possessed by the * The embankment which broke out some years ago with such fatal consequences to the inhabitants of Cartsdike, was not connected with the works of which we now speak. † The numbers are counted from the lowest fall. CREEN OC 1. 437 Bakers' Society as a flour-mill. Part of No. 4 of 10 feet, or 18 horses, possessed by Mr William Houston as a wool-manufactory, spinning, &c. Do. do. of 18 horses, possessed by Messrs A. and W. Johnston as an iron foundery. Do. do, of 10 horses, possessed by John Poynter as a chemical work. Fall, No. 6, of 19% feet, or 35 horses, possessed by Mr Thomas Dodson as a rice-mill. Fall, No. 7. of 28 feet, or 51 horses, possessed by Muirs, Mar. tin, and Co. as a flax-mill, spinning, &c. Fall, No. 18. of 30 feet, or 54 horses, possessed by James Walkinshaw and Co. as a paper- work. * Besides the above, there is now erecting on Falls No. 8 and 9, of 115 horses, very extensive cotton-works by the Cotton-Mill Company; and on part of Fall, No. 11, of 18 horses, a woollen- manufactory is now erecting by Mr Robert Houston; and on Fall No. 12, of 53 horses, a manufactory for spinning fine wools is now erecting by Messrs Neill, Fleming, and Reid. - A power of 20 horses has also been taken by John Gray, Esq., and another of 20 horses by Mr W. A. Macfie. There are still 8 falls unlet on the eastern line of leads, com- prising a power of 386 horses ; and the whole of the western line is still unopened, which contains the same amount of fall, and the same power as the eastern line.” When the whole of the falls shall be possessed and manufacto- ries erected on both lines, events perhaps not far distant, there will be one of the most singular spectacles presented to the eye, which it is possible to imagine. There will be seen from the river, or from its opposite bank, an immense crescent or semicircle of ma- nufactories with one end of the arch resting on the eastern ; the other on the western extremity of the town of Greenock; the most distant point of its circumference, 500 feet above the level of the sea, and the greater part of the space included in this semi- circle occupied as corn-fields and pasture. ”, Whether the increase of our manufactories by these means will add to the good morals and real happiness of the people is another and an infinitely more important question. On this subject, the compiler is happy to learn that the managers of the cotton-works now erecting on Falls No. 8 and 9, by far the largest of the works, have made it a part of their plan to provide sound religious in- struction on a truly liberal scale to the persons, especially the young, whom they expect to receive into their employment. It is devoutly to be wished that the proprietors of similar establishments would follow their example. * - 438 RENF REWSHIRE, Before concluding this article, we must not omit mentioning the fulfilment of the original object of Mr Thom's survey, namely, the providing a sufficient supply of pure water for domestic purposes, and for public works in the town of Greenock. The water for these purposes is procured from springs, and from a surface-water reser- voir distinct from those which have been already mentioned. It is conducted to filters immediately above the town by a stone aque- duct fifteen inches square, perfectly water tight, and sufficiently deep in the earth to avoid the frost of winter, and the heat of summer. Cess pools are formed in the aqueduct for the deposit of sediment before the water enters the filters, or rather a basin ad- joining the filters large enough to contain rather more than a day’s supply of water. There are three filters each 50 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. They have this peculiarity, that they are self-cleansing. We shall describe them in Mr Thom's own words, taken from a letter to Sir M. S. Stewart in the Appendix to the “ Brief Account,” p. 86. “I cannot now enter into a particular or detailed account of the construction of these filters. In the meantime, I may state that the water is made to pass through a body of very fine, clean, sharp sand, of about five feet deep, and by a very simple contri- vance the water is made to enter either at the top, that it may per- colate downwards, or at the bottom, that it may percolate upwards, as we please; and when in filtering it percolates downwards, then, whenever the quantity of pure water falls short by the lodgement of sediment among the sand, the water is made to enter for a little at the bottom, and, passing upwards with considerable force, carries the sediment out at and over the top, after which the filter goes on as before, producing the full quantity of pure water. In the same way, if the water usually percolates upwards in filtering, the sediment is removed by making the water for a few minutes enter at the top, and carry the sediment downwards into the waste drain. “To say that these filters must continue for ever to produce the same quantity of pure water, would be going too far; but, from the experience we have had, there appears no reason to doubt of their continuing to do so for a very long time.” Manufactures.—The chief branches of manufactures prose- cuted in Greenock are, ship and boat-building, iron-founding and forging, sugar-refining, rope-spinning, sail-cloth manufacturing, and sail-making, paper-making, straw-hat making, tanning, and currying of leather, earthen-ware manufacturing, woollen-cloth, GREENóCK. 439 and yarn-making, coopers' and joiners' work, cabinet-making, and upholstery, chipping of logwood, flour and oat-meal manufactur- ing, brewing, distilling. A cone, and relative buildings were at one time occupied as a bottle-work, and crystal manufactory ; but they are not in operation at present. Referring to the first cf these, there are seven ship-build- ing companies in Greenock and Crawfordsdike, giving employment to about 1200 persons, men and boys. Two of the companies have commodious dry docks, their own property. One has a dock belonging to the corporation, in lease ; one has a patent-slip dock; and all have access to the large dry dock belonging to the town. One of the companies has a chain and anchor work at- tached to the building yards, and two of them have saw-mills for their own convenience. The situation of the town, and the depth of water at high tide, afford every facility that can be desired, for building and launching. From 6000 to 7000 tons of shipping are launched yearly ; and repairs, which are the most profitable to the trade, are executed to a great amount. If the demand were greater, more work might be done. Boat-building is a distinct business from ship-building. There are four companies in this department, who employ about 40 workmen; and launch from 700 to 800 tons annually of all de- scriptions of boats. The wages of ship and boat-builders are the same. For car- penter work, men receive L. 1, 1s. and boys 6s. weekly. Sawyers have L. 1, 5s. ; all of them work ten hours every lawful day, and in winter from sunrise to sunset. Their work is liable to inter- ruption from the weather. It is a healthful employment, and has nothing in it peculiarly unfavourable to morals. In most of the ship-building yards the drinking usages have been abolished; and the money formerly spent in that worse than brutal gratifica- tion is now expended in the purchase of tools. 3. Iron Works, &c.—There are three iron founderies and forges, employing about 1050 persons, boys included, who work ten hours every lawful day. In these there are made to order all sorts of cast iron-work and machinery : but steam-boilers and engines, and the iron-work connected with these, are their principal manufactures. Of steam-engines, there have been manufactured from 2000 to 2500 horse-poweryearly. One company alone since it started has furnished machinery for more than 40 steamers of the largest class. A considerable number of English-built steamers have been sent to 440 - RENFREWSHIRE. Greenock to receive their machinery; of these are several of Her Majesty's steam-frigates. The average weekly rate of wages for grown men in this department is 18s., for boys 5s. - Distinct from the iron-works now mentioned are two chain-cable and anchor manufactories, employing from 105 to 110 hands, and a work for forging iron bars, employing 16 hands, and about to be enlarged. - Sugar Works,—Sugar refining is carried on to a very consider- able extent. There are in the town and parish eleven works of this description, giving employment to upwards of 350 persons, and refining yearly 14,000 tons of the raw material. All these are conducted on Mr Howard’s patent for boiling in vacuo. The extracting of raw sugar from molasses, and the making of loaf su- gar, are the objects of the sugar-refiner. One of them refines exclusively for exportation, and with this view the sugar is re- ceived in bond, and afterwards exported without draw-back. Su- gar refiners work ten hours daily. Their average wages are, for men, 16s. ; for boys, 5s. weekly. - Sail-cloth Manufactory.—There is a sail-cloth manufactory, giving occupation to about 270 persons, male and female, and manufacturing yearly from 500 to 600 tons of the raw material. Wages to males, from 8s. to L. 1, 4s. ; and to females, from 2s. 6d. to 7s. weekly, according to age and skill. They work twelve hours per diem. To this manufactory there is attached an extensive rope-work, producing a large quantity of cordage; besides which, there are other three rope-works, giving employment to upwards of 80 persons, and manufacturing yearly from 600 to 700 tons of cordage. Wages per week, men, 15s. ; boys, 5s. The intro- duction of chain-cables has materially affected this branch of our manufactures. - Tan-Works,—There are four tanning companies, employing in all 45 hands, and turning over stock to the amount of L. 18,000 yearly. The largest work is very complete. It was erected and fitted up at great expense by a joint stock company some years ago. The company became insolvent, and the manufactory has not been occupied since to its full power. Operative tanners work ten hours daily in summer, and eight in winter; curriers eleven hours. Wages, 15s. weekly. Potteries.—Two potteries give occupation to upwards of 200 persons, male and female; and manufacture yearly about 100,000 potters' dozens of white and printed earthen-ware. Wages for GREEN OC [. 44t men, from 10s. to L. l a week, according to age and skill; women, 7s. ; boys and girls, 2s. 6d. They work ten hours a-day. Woollen Manufactories.—Besides the woollen manufactories now in the course of being erected on the Shaw's Water Aqueduct, there is one already in operation for the manufacture of woollen yarn, in which fartans and tweelled cloths are also made. About 25,000 stones of wool are annually converted in this manufactory into woollen cloth and yarn. The number of persons employed is 22. Wages, males, 15s. ; females, 4s. weekly. Straw Hat Manufactory.—A, straw hat manufactory (Messrs Muir, Connell, and Co.,) gives employment to 70 hands in the workshop, and to 150 additional in their own houses. They work ten hours a day, and receive of wages, men, about L. l ; fe- males, working piece-work, may earn 10s. weekly. They manu- facture straw hats and bonnets of all sorts. Messrs J. and A. Muir, the former partners in this business, received from the High- land Society and the Institution for Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures, several medals and premiums for specimens of hats of rye-straw, grown in Scotland, in imitation of Leghorn. Messrs Muir and Connell employ about 1500 persons in the Orkneys in the making of straw-plait. - - Grain Mills.-There are four grain mills, in which upwards of 20 hands are employed, and from 40,000 to 50,000 bolls of all kinds of grain are ground annually. One of these was ori- ginally built for manufacturing paddy (the Indian name for un- shelled rice). It was supposed that rice imported in that state would suffer less in the voyage, and would bring a higher price, if freed from the husk in this country. But the speculation has been found to be an unprofitable one, in this town at least; and the machinery referred to in this paragraph is employed partly in the manufacture of paddy, and partly in chipping dye-wood. Wages, 15s. weekly. Breweries.—Three breweries afford employment to about 45 persons, and manufacture L. 30,000 worth of malt liquor for home and foreign consumption. Wages for men, 15s. weekly; boys, 4s. They work eleven hours daily. Distillery.—A distillery affords employment to 20 persons, boys included; pays to the Excise L. 21,000 annually, and sells about L. 50,000 of malt whisky. A dairy, containing from 40 to 50 cows is attached to the distillery, which, at the favourable season, yields daily from 250 to 300 Scotch pints (600 quarts) of milk. Wages to men, 15s, a week. 442 RENF REWS H II: E, Paper-Manufactory.—A paper manufactory at Overton, on the Shaw's Water Aqueduct, affords employment to about 40 persons, male and female. About 300 tons of packing and co- loured papers are manufactured yearly. Wages to men, 16s, ; to women, 6s. weekly. They work eleven hours daily. Cooper-Work.-Upwards of 500 men and boys are employed in cooper-work. Wages, men, 17s. ; boys, 5s. weekly. They work the same number of hours as ship-carpenters. Gas-Works.-The coal gas-works are in the hands of the corporation. They were commenced by a joint-stock company, which was formed in 1827, and began its operations in 1829. In 1836 they were transferred to the corporation, to which they bring an ample revenue. They afford occupation to 20 men, of whom 12 work six days in the week, and 8 seven alternately, ten hours a day. Wages, 13s. weekly. The works produce nearly 16,000,000 cubic feet of gas per annum. - Cotton- Work.--To the enumeration which has now been given of the manufactories of Greenock, we add the following descrip- tion of the splendid cotton-work recently erected on the Shaw's Water by a few gentlemen residing in the town, who feel a lively interest in promoting its prosperity. The mill, measuring inside 263 feet long, 604 feet broad, is divided into three separate apartments, viz. east end, built of fire-proof materials, 36 feet by 60 feet; centre, 191 feet by 60% feet; and west end, 36 -- 60 feet. The first flat is occupied in the fire-proof end as a mechanics shop, being contiguous to water-wheel and great gearing; the centre part contains about 14,000 throstle spindles, spinning numbers from 14 S. to 30 s. power-loom warps; the west end, used as a throstle-yarn ware- house and winding-room. The second and third are divided as the first. The fire-proof rooms are intended for the blowing ma- chines; the centres for preparation machines, viz. carding-en- gines, drawing-frames, slobbing fly-frames, and finishing fly- frames; the end apartments for warping and winding. The top flat, fire-proof end, is used as a cotton mixing-room, the centre will contain 10 pairs of mule jennies, of 1000 spindles each, all working on the self-acting principle, spinning power-loom warps, numbers 40 s. and 50 s. ; the end apartment to be used as a mule yarn warehouse and winding-room. Each flat has a proper supply of spring water. The height of ceiling in the first flat is 12 feet 6 inches, and the other three l l feet 6 inches. Each flat has properly constructed fans, and ventilators to the top of the house. The mill C. R. E. F. NOC K. 443 is heated by steam, and the pipes so constructed, that, in the event of fire, they can be used with the same effect as a fire-engine. There are twelve branches in each flat, with hose and pipe attached, at all times ready for use if required. The whole mill could be flooded in half an hour, by attaching a force-pump to the water-wheel. It is expected a considerable saving will be effected on the insurance, owing to the blowing and cotton-rooms being fire-proof, and the heating apparatus being fitted up as described. The mill is built entirely of ashlar. A gas-work and comfortable houses for the workers are being erected in its neighbourhood. The number of hands required for the work will amount to about 350 or 400; the majority females, from 18 to 22 years of age; males from 16 and upwards. The amount of wages paid yearly will be about L. 6000 Sterling; and the consumption of cotton about 70 bales weekly, principally American and Bombay. The water-wheel is at present in course of erection by Mr Smith of Deanston, Perthshire. From his known talent and experience as a practical mechanic, and his liberality as a contractor, it is expected that this magnificent wheel will be constructed, and put together in such a manner, as will be satisfactory to the mill- owners, and reflect the highest honour on Mr Smith. The wheel is 70 feet in diameter, and 12 feet broad within bucket: the axle in the centre is 4 feet 6 inches diameter, and weighs 11 tons. The two centres or flanges, on axle where the arms spring from, are 11 feet each in diameter, and weigh each 6; tons. The wheel is made of malleable and cast-iron, and when put together will weigh about 180 tons. The seat or arke of the wheel is built entirely of cube material, each stone measuring from 15 to 130 cubic feet, the entire weight of stones being about 4000 tons. The advantages possessed and expected by this company in erect- ing a work of this description at Greenock are, a cheap and constant supply of water at all seasons; viz. a power equal to 120 horses, at the yearly rent of L.1, ls. Sterling per horse power; a railway con- veyance in one hour to Glasgow, the principal market for the con- sumption of our yarn, and also a market for the purchasing of cot- ton; and the power of attending the Liverpool markets, by a sail of sixteen or seventeen hours; to which may be added an abundant population for carrying on the work, and an excellent port for im- porting cotton, or exporting yarns to the continent or India. It is believed that most of the manufactures above described afford a fair remuneration to the capitalists engaged in them. If * 444 RENF REWSH 1 RE. there be any exception to this remark, it is to be found in the sugar refining, which, it is alleged, has suffered materially from legislative interference, and perhaps has been over done. Two of the largest sugar-refineries have ceased working for some time past. Tanning and straw-hat making are the only occupations of those which have been mentioned which are unfavourable to health. Habits of intemperance are not necessarily connected with any of them; although it cannot be doubted that these are more frequently to be found in some of our manufactories than in others; and particularly among those workmen who receive the highest wages. It is satisfactory, however, to be able to state, that intemperance, as the vice of the working-classes, is on the decline; and that many of the masters are exerting themselves, with the most praiseworthy activity and perseverance, for the en- couragement of sober and industrious habits. * Navigation.—In the Literary Rambler for October 1832 there are some curious excerpts from a manuscript in the Advocates’ Library, purporting to be a report by Thomas Tucker, one of Cromwell’s servants, who was appointed to arrange the customs and excise in this country; from which we may form some con- ception of the state of commerce in Greenock and the neighbouring towns two centuries ago. The report is addressed “To the Right Honourable the Commissioners for Appeals,” and is dated No- vember 20, 1656. After describing Glasgow as “a very neate burghe towne,” all whose inhabitants except the students were traders, “ some for Ireland, with small smiddy coales in open boates from four to ten tonnes . . . . some for France with plad- ding, coales, and hering”—and some venturing as far as Barba- does, but discouraged by the loss they sustained “ by reason of their going out and coming home late every year”—the reporter proceeds to describe the towns of Port-Glasgow and Greenock in the following terms: “The number of ports of this district are, 1st, Newarke, (Port- Glasgow,) a small place where there are (besides the laird's house of the place) some four or five houses, but before them a pretty good roade, where all the vessells doe ride, unlade, and send their goods up to the river Glasgow in small boats; and at this place there * Several branches of manufacture have greatly increased since the preceding ac- count was drawn up. The increase has taken place chiefly in ship-building. There are now on the stocks five steamers building for the “ Royal Mail Steam Packet Company,” so large and substantial as to be able, in addition to carrying guns of ordinary dimensions, to mount each four 68 pounders.-September 1840. GREEN OCK. 445 is a wayter constantly attending. 2dly, Greenock—such another— only the inhabitants are more, but all seamen or fishermen, trad- ing for Ireland or the isles in open boates. Att which place there is a mole or peere, where vessells in stresse of weather may ride and shelter themselves before they pass up to Newarke ; and here likewise is another wayter.” Crawfurd wrote his History of Renfrewshire about fifty years after the date of the report from which the preceding excerpts are taken. During that short period the trade and town of Green- ock appear to have made rapid progress. For Crawfurd describes it as the chief town upon the coast—well built—and having be- longing to it a great many vessels employed in trade to foreign parts, and one of the largest harbours in the kingdom. The growing prosperity of Greenock at the period to which we refer is to be ascribed to the enterprising spirit of its inhabitants, and the liberal and enlightened policy of Sir John Shaw, the Lord of the Manor. We have seen that, at the beginning of the last cen- tury, the population of the whole parish did not exceed 2000; yet in the year 1700, the inhabitants of the town petitioned the Scottish Parliament for a fund to build a harbour, and were refused; where- upon they entered into an agreement with the superior to raise the money by a voluntary assessment of 1s. 4d. Sterling on each sack of malt brewed into ale within the limits of the town. The building was commenced in 1707, and the work was completed be- fore Crawfurd wrote his history in 1710. The harbour then built inclosed ten acres of ground—a large space for that period in the commercial history of Scotland; and cost 100,000 merks, or L. 5555. A heavy debt was incurred by the erection; but the trade of the port increased so rapidly, that, in the year 1740, the whole debt was extinguished, and there remained a surplus of 27,000 merks, or L. 1500. The author of the former Statistical Account mentions, that, from the union with England, till the beginning of the American war, “a very great trade was carried on from Greenock, princi- pally by the Glasgow merchants, who were owners of almost all the ships sailing from that port.” The American war, as has been al- ready stated, occasioned an almost total stagnation of its trade; but trade again revived, and increased with rapidity till a recent period, when it began to be affected by the deepening of the river, and the consequent removal of a part of the trade to Glasgow. The mer- chants of Greenock have for a long time been the principal owners 446 REN FREWSH 11& E. of vessels sailing from this port. The following reports will en- able the reader to form some conception of the state of the trade in the years to which they refer. - - - The Statistical Account published in 1791 gives from the Cus- tom-house books a comparative view of the state of the tonnage of this port in the year 1784, the first year after the American war, and the year 1791. “ Entered at the Port of Greenock, Vessels. Tons. Total Tons. In 1784, Inward British, * 23] 153] * 2626 - Foreign, $º 7 1095 Outward British, - 196 14,911 - Foreign, - 2 478 15,389 18,015 In 1791, Inward British, - 406 39,626 Foreign, º 2] 3,778 43,404 Outward British, – 30 ! 31,721 w - Foreign, - - 14 2,390 34, lll Coasters inward, – 593 15,434 outward, – 627 16,270 31,704 109,219. To this comparative view Mr Wilson has added the following for 1806:# e - Wessels. Tons. Inward foreign trade, tº 346 º 49,256 coasting do. . . 354 e 19,75l fishing vessels, g 302 • 10, 120 Outward foreign trade, . . 326 t; 47,710 coasting do. { } 545 º 25,440 fishing vessels, . 238 * 8,275 2] 1 I 166,552 The same author gives a still more minute account of the trade at the Port of Greenock in the seven years ending January 1810, with their tonnage and number of men, to which we refer the reader, giving only the first and last of these years. Inwards 1804. From foreign parts and Ireland. Coasters. Fishing vessels. Ships. Toms. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. 406 53,546 3183 384 21,536 1396 346 12,996 1751 Outwards 1804. - To foreign parts and Ireland. Coasters. Fishing vessels. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships, Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. 352 50,366 3678 739 35,155 2438 277 7S54 888 - Inwards 1810. From foreign ports and Ireland. Coasters. Fishing vessels. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. 433 60,936 4008 363 19, 168 1220 J5 I 5486 52] * Mr Wilson makes this 21,531, which is probably the correct account. If so, the total tonnage in 1784 was 38,015. - f General View, p. 209. C RE ENO C R. 447 * Outwards, 1810. To foreign parts and Ireland. Coasters. - Fishing vessels. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men. Ships. Tons. Men, 422 58,943 4327 450 23,082 1369 142 4868 552 The decline in the coasting-trade and in the fishing vessels, which appears from this comparative view, may be ascribed chiefly to the same cause, namely, the deepening of the river, and the transference of these branches of trade to Glasgow. The success of the river trustees in their improvements has begun to injure the foreign trade of Greenock, though not to so great an extent as might have been anticipated. There are persons living who have forded the Clyde on horseback below the Broomielaw at ebb-tide; now the river steamers can sail at all hours, and some ships of the largest class can pass at full tide, and lade and unlade at the port of Glasgow.” With such facilities for the transit of goods to Glasgow, in consequence of these improvements and the towing of vessels by steam, it were unreasonable to expect that either the coasting or foreign trade of Greenock should continue as great as formerly. That the latter has suffered so little, as will appear from a re- port from the Custom-House, about to be laid before the reader, can only be accounted for by the growing prosperity of the coun- try at large, and the encouragement which is thus given to trade in all parts of Scotland. - Before giving this report, we may present another criterion of the state of trade at Greenock at different periods: In 1783, the revenue from the harbour was e & & L. l l l 4 S 1792, e gº º e * ſº 812 9 0 The average revenue for six years ending 5th January 1809 was . 3,547 19 8 For the year ending 5th January 1810, º * 4,219 14 5 2 3 6th September 1830, * . e 9,114 l l 10 22 8th September 1835, g & li,101 13 4 22 September 1839, g . . 12,079 0 4 The progressive increase of the harbour revenue is the result not only of the increase of the trade, but of the improvements which have been made under the authority of successive acts of Parliament, particularly of the extension of the harbour, the build- ing of new quays and warehouses, and of dry docks for graving and repairing vessels. These improvements, suggested by the growing commerce of Greenock, and executed at an immense ex- * While this was passing through the press, a paper was read at the meeting in Glasgow of the British Association by Mr Bald, civil-engineer, stating, the mean rise and fall of the tide in the harbour at Glasgow, at 6 feet 9 inches, while in I755, Sumeaton stated the tide to be only sensible at Glasgow Bridge. RENF REW. G. g. 448 RENF REWSHIRE. pense, will, it is hoped, ultimately justify the expectations, and re- ward the zeal and enterprise of the projectors. - The following additions and improvements have been made to the harbour since its first erection, viz. 1. The taking down, and rebuilding and enlarging the west quay, com- mencing in February 1807, and renewing the breasts from thence to the Custom House quay, completed in 1811, at a cost of - L. 14,520 0 0 . 2. The new east harbour, comméncing December 1806, and finished in 1811, at an expense of º º as . 35,786 0 0 3. Erecting sheds, commencing in 1806, increasing the same, and keep- ing in repair up till August 1819, at a cost of tº tº- 11,600 0 0 4. The dry or graving dock east, commenced in August 1818, and - completed in September 1825, at an expense of - i-º 21,331 0 - 0 According to Weir, the gross receipts of the customs at the port of Greenock were, - In 1728, . L. 15,231 4 4% 1745, g 15,831 3 9, 1770, tº 57,336 6 10% Mr Wilson states the total amount of Custom-House duties to have been, - For the year ending 5th January 1804, . L.208,490 12 0; 1805, • 248,674 17 8 1806, tº 272,973 4 64 1807, & 369,433 10 l); 1808, tº 355,095 9 114 1809, * 326,104 17 64 1810, g 489,275 3 3} The fluctuations in trade, visible in the immediately foregoing statement, are not more remarkable than those which are apparent from the first chapter in the following valuable report, obligingly communicated to the compiler by the late lamented Mr Saun- ders, collector of the customs here, and presenting a full and sa- tisfactory account of the present state of Greenock in all its branches. • - An Account of the number of Ships and Ves- Account of Gross Receipt of sels registered at the Port of Greenock, with Custom Revenues. the number of Men employed. - . Ships. Tons. Men. In 1829, L.432,440 9 0 In 1829, 36] 35,976 2619 | 1830, 554,972 1 0 1830, 341 . 32,668 2304 1831, 592,009 4 6 1831, 346 34,563 232S 1832, 564,548 5 6 1832, 362 37,539 2527 1833,” 450,425 9 6 1833, 366 38,740 2633' 1834, 482,138 4 0 1834, 367 40,733 2658 1835, 448,661 11 0 1835, 368 42,862 2732 1836, 374,467 14 0. 1836, 378 44,719 ‘2900 1837, 380,703 13 0 1837, 386 47,421 3039 1838, 4.17,673 10 6 1838, 398 54,633 3365 * In this year Glasgow was made a warehousing port for tobacco. The importa- tion of tobacco went accordingly to that port, and affected the revenue of Greenock. G R EEN 449 O C R. Account of the Number and Tonnage of Ships and Vessels en- tered Inwards and cleared Outwards to Foreign Ports with Cargoes. INWARDS. OuTWARDS. British. Foreign. British. Foreign. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. In 1829,” 211 55,649 10 2572. 205 53,475 7 2] 30 1830, 199 49.887 15 4100 226 54,236 13 3405 * 1831, 253 64,966 21 5056 253 61,752 16 4092 1832, - 268 66,638 16 3632 268 67.283 15 3756 1833, 277 69,843 9 1964 284 71,698 8 2140 1834, 254 67,634 20 5430 273 67,959 10 3080 1835, 248 68,317 20 4615 269 66,423 10 3135 1836, 230 64,016 17 4453 23] 59,953 8 2807 1837, 229 59,014 25 8267 216 58,714 17 652]. 1838, 225 65,864 | 2 3095 235 63,582 9 34] I Account of the Number of Vessels, with their Tonnage, entered Inwards and cleared Outwards, coastwise. INWARDS. No. Tons. In 1829, - 684 gº 67,884 1830, , - 632 * 65,072 1831, * 596 ºg 64,516 1832, tºº. 640 tºº 67,542 1833, - 709 $º 68,045 1834, tº- 999 - 103,185 1835, * * 896 sº 83,468 1836, sº 981 - 113,523 1837, - 101 | - 118,330 1838, 9] I wº- 99,430 The following Statement I I OUTwARDs. No. Tons. 346 * 34,892T 300 gº 24,251 362 º 25,288 299 * 21,344 272 gº 19,205 f * . 320 = 25,179 Šiš - 34.343| 356 - 26,435 354 tº- 169,907 all 222 - 128,017 } incl. this Port, with the quantity. shows the leading articles of Import at ==="w 1820. 1829. 1830. 1837. 1838 Sugar, 209,480 cwt. 1328,995 cwt. 298,860 cwt. 299,312 cwt. 301,240 cwt. Molasses, 2,769 cwt. 152,939 cwt. 58,670 cwt. 258,672 cwt. 390,741 cwt. º: * | 15,667 cwt. 10,508 cwt. 8,497 cwt. 4,747 cwt. 5,088 cwt. 2 º" so evi. 235 eve || 416 ewe is ow. || 695 cwt spirits, 514,487 galls.333,068 galls. 249,167 galls 207,099 galls. 248,330 galls, Wine, 41,369 galls, 57,648 galls. 51,542 galls 58,084 galls. 53,049 galls. Tobacco, 138,755 lbs. 535,544 lbs. 647,410 lbs. 24,451 lbs. 1, 120 lbs. Tea, *E. tºº — 107,185 lbs. 149,858 lbs. Corn, | 13,495 qrs. 5,097 q's. 20,695 qrs. 8,508 qrs. 2,944 qrs. Flour, 17,344 cwt. 4,216 cwt. 10,618 cwt. 7,524 cwt. 16,340 cwt. Timber, 5,838 loads, 21,840 loads. 16,716 loads. 20,658 loads. 24,301 loads. º 127 hundred, 181 hundred. 304 hundred. |820 hundred, 1937 hundred. Cottonwool 7,494,866 lbs.(6,858,455 lbs.[10,411,933 lbs12,136,566 lbs|| 1,597,653 lbs Mahogany, 430 tons. 1,583 tons. 819 tons. 982 tons. 499 tons. Dye-wood, 761 tons. 482 tons. | 1,017 tons. 4] 1 tons. 818 tons. Oil, 1,328 tons. 534 tons. 1,190 tons. | 1,434 tons. | 1.084 tons. Brimstone, 10,133 cwt. 22,086 cwt. 1.971 tons. 5,024 cwt. 13,780 cwt. * Ending 5th January 1830. + Vessels with part of cargoes having previously cleared outwards at Glasgow are not included in the return from 1829 to 1836. . . . 450 & R EN FREWSHIRE. b An Account showing the value of the under-mentioned British goods exported from Greenock in the following years : I820. 1829. 1830. 1837. 1838. Woollen Manufact. [L. 31,148|L. 41,965|L. 55,267|L. 45,275|L. 46,881 Cotton, Yarn, &c. 927,187 875,316 933,526 60,696.1 | 1,021,710 Linen Manufactures, 261,456] 112,442 122,327 90,385 7,633 Silk Manufactures, 7,644 2,029 21,308 9,740 6, 129 Hardware, * 4,053 10,687 9,032 9,695 10,053 Earthen-ware, - 4,393 7,967 7,762 4,528 59,35 Glass, te 8,449 37,982 22,537 19,314 20,450 Iron, ge § 17,848 44,443 24,449 44,461 45,704 Copper, . . 1,647 3,132 6,319|| 4,657 4,554 Lead, & e 4,448 94.0 783 306 337 - Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Coals in Tons, . 12,644 11,617 | 12052 20,436 18,598 - Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt, Cwt. Refined Sugar.—cwt. 28,293 9,689 30,529 39,484 73,615 Emigrants embarked at Greenock for the countries undermen- tioned : Australia. North America. U. S. of America. In 1821, ſº 0 & 4348 tº . & 232 1822, ſº O & l 186 • . 232 1823, . I 1 e 853 t * 244 1824, e O wº 512 º e 165 1825, º O 540 e • 196 1826, () 1256 g º 16] 1827, ſº 7 & 173] iº g 716 1828, e 2 * 2241 tº ſº 980 1829, e 0 * 1601 tº ſº 72I 1830, * 20 tº 263] & e 137] 1831, , 96 & 3923 º . 1453 1832, * 8 ū 3277 & ſº 1676 1833, . 41 e 1903 g . 1419 1834, ſº 14 º 1390 tº tº 2160 1835, . 22 § 995 * . 1401 1836, e 20 * 1321 * e 12S2 1837, . 821 te 1455 wº © 840 1838, . 1632. • . 241 sº e 181 Before concluding this part of the statistics of Greenock, it may be mentioned that, in 1714, it became a custom-house port as a branch of Port-Glasgow. More recently it has been in direct communication with the Board in London. The business of the customs, originally transacted in apartments at the west or old quay, is now carried on in a spacious building, one of the greatest ornaments of the town, erected, at the public expense, on what is called the Custom-House Quay, and occupied for the first time in May 1818. Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures.—This association was incorporated by Royal charter in the year 1813, Merchants, trad- GREEN OCIC, 451 ers, and manufacturers residing in Greenock and its vicinity are eligible as members. There are twelve directors, three of whom go out of office annually by rotation. Like other institutions of a similar kind, it has for its leading objects the redress of grievances affecting any particular branch of trade or manufactures, the re- moval of all obstructions to trade, and the pointing out of new sources of wealth and industry and commercial enterprise. With these views, the directors maintain a friendly intércourse and cor- respondence with the Members of Parliament for the district, and the various Government boards, and with the other chambers of commerce and manufactures throughout the kingdom. It is also part of the duty of the directors to act as arbiters in disputes aris- ing among members of the chamber, and to watch over the pro- ceedings in Parliament in all questions affecting the interests of trade and commerce. - º The proceedings of the chamber appear to have been charac- terized by great judgment and energy, and to have been produc- tive of the best effects. V.—PARochIAL EconoMY. Market-Town.—Greenock is the market-town not only to the surrounding country within the parish, but also to the neighbour- ing parishes of Inverkip and Kilmacolm. Part of the produce of the last of these parishes is disposed of in Port-Glasgow, which is the nearest market-town to the eastern portion of the parish of Kilmacolm, and to which there is the readiest access by turnpike and parish roads. The communication between the middle and western portion of that parish and Greenock is by roads made and upheld by the respective parishes, in one part of them not yet completed. Police.—The police establishment of Greenock has long been felt to be altogether inadequate to the extent and population of the town. Assaults and street robbery are of comparatively rare occurrence, and are instantly made the subjects of judicial investi- gation. But theft and house-breaking, and depredations on pro- perty of various kinds, are often practised with impunity in the town as well as in the suburbs, not from any want of vigilance and ac- tivity in the public Prosecutor, but from the insufficiency of the police force at the disposal of the Sheriff and magistrates. The subject is at present (in 1839) under consideration; and it is hoped that the truly liberal and enlightened portion of the community will unite with the public authorities in the adoption of measures, 452 R E N F RE W S H I RE, the expense of which would be more than repaid to the inhabitants by the protection afforded to persons and property.” Greenock has only one post-office, without any receiving- houses. Mails for the following places are made up and dispatched daily: for Glasgow, 3; for London, 2 ; for the north of Scot- land, 2.; for Edinburgh and the east and south of Scotland, 2.; for different places in Argyleshire and Buteshire, l ; for Ayrshire, 2. There are three deliveries daily, namely, at 8 A. M. at 3, 15. P. M.; and at 8, 10 P. M. The length of the turnpike-roads within the parish, all of them included, is about eight miles; the whole, excepting a small part of one of the roads to Gourock, in excellent repair. The only public carriages on these roads are omnibuses to Port-Glasgow and Gourock, which in summer ply hourly from 10 o’clock A. M. till late in the evening. Steam-boat travelling has long ago put a stop to the running of stage-coaches on the Paisley and Largs roads from Greenock. Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railway.—The success of rail- way enterprise in England encouraged the expectation that simi- lar undertakings might be followed with similar results in Scot- land. Among the railways proposed to be executed in this part of the island was one from Glasgow to Greenock, via Paisley and Port-Glasgow. When this proposal, was first discussed, it was plausibly objected, that it was vain to expect that such a mode of communication could compete with a navigable river like the Clyde, which the improvements of the river trustees had already rendered capable of receiving ships of the largest class, as far as the port of Glasgow. Such an undertaking, it was imagined, could not possibly succeed, and must of necessity be accompanied with great pecuniary loss to the shareholders. The capitalists of Greenock and Liverpool were not deterred by these objections. In a very short time after the project began to be entertained, the requisite number of shares were subscribed, and an act of Parlia- ment was applied for and obtained. That act was passed in the summer of 1837. The work has now made rapid progress, and will be completed in the course of next year. The high price of the shares, when compared with stock of a similar kind, sufficient- ly indicates the confidence which the shareholders and the public entertain of the ultimate and early success of the undertaking. The line sanctioned by the act was selected by Joseph Locke, * Since this was written, an act has passed the Legislature, providing, among other things, for the introduction of a more extended police, GREENOCK. 453. Thomas Grainger, and J. U. Rastrick, Esqs. civil-engineers. The whole length is 22 miles, 4% furlongs. The intermediate stations for the first-class trains are Port-Glasgow and Paisley. The grounds on which the projectors rest their expectations of success are the following:— First, It is computed that the greater rapidity of railway tra- velling, and its certainty as to time, will induce a great many pas- sengers who now travel by water between Glasgow and Greenock to go by land. In the estimate of their probable revenue from this source, the railway directors make the computation, that one- half will prefer the latter mode of conveyance. Of the passengers between Glasgow and places beyond Greenock, they compute that one-third will go by the railway. Of the cabin-passengers between Glasgow and Paisley by the canal, it is computed that one-half will go by railway ; and of the steerage passengers by the canal, one-tenth. It is assumed that the number of travellers will be in- creased by the opening of the railway. Taking them at a small average, the number is doubled as the probable increase. - Secondly, The proportion of goods assumed to be carried by the railway, is taken in a similar manner. The total quantity of goods carried between the above towns being about 352,650 tons, 144,600 tons are computed to be sent by railway. - Passengers will be carried between Glasgow and Greenock at an average charge of not more than 2s., and from Paisley to Greenock, at an average charge of ls. 8d. Goods will be carried from Glasgow to Greenock at 4s. per ton; the river charge being at present, on an average, about 6s. 6d., and from Glasgow to Paisley for 2s. 6d., the canal charge being on an average about 7s. The following table, taken from a prospectus published by the directors of the railway, shows the amount of income expected from the sources which have now been mentioned: Description of Traffic. Bxpected Income. Proportion. Passengers by land, L. 6,379 15 0 Passengers by water, 29,416 l l 8 L. 35,796 6 8 Add for increase, 35,796 6 8 ———-L. 71,592 13 4. Three-fourths and upwards, Goods, * sº gº 21,918 8 0 One-fourth nearly. The expense of the construction of the railway is considerably under L. 18,000 per mile, but including stations, engines, car- riages, &c. L. 22,000. After making ample allowance for keep- ing the railway and works in repair, the directors anticipate, from the sources which have been mentioned, a clear dividend of 12 per cent, 45.4 . REN FREWSHIRE, It may be the opinion of some, that, like most projectors, the shareholders in this railway are too sanguine in their expectations. In a little while the truth of their predictions will be brought to the test. One thing must be obvious—whether the shareholders gain or lose, the public at large must benefit by the scheme. Every addition made to the means of communication is a boon conferred on the districts to which it is applicable. Paisley and Greenock are the towns which will profit most by this spirited en- terprise; for, it can scarcely be doubted, that when the railway is completed, Greenock will be the chief port of Paisley. If the di- minution of the foreign trade of Greenock, by the deepening of the river, should be arrested by the completion of the railway, the port of Glasgow has nothing to dread from such a competition ; and its inhabitants generally will profit by an additional and more rapid mode of conveyance to the towns and summer residences on the banks of the river, and on the sea coast. When the Edin- burgh and Glasgow Railway shall be opened, the number of tra- vellers will be still more augmented ; the communication between the east and west coasts will be more frequent, and all the towns on the whole line of railway will profit by this beautiful invention of modern times. º Ecclesiastical State.—The whole of the parish of Greenock, as has been mentioned in the beginning of this account, was origi- nally part of the neighbouring parish of Inverkip. The lands of Greenock, Finnart, and Spangok, were disjoined from that parish about thirty years after the Reformation in Scotland at the in- stance of Sir John Shaw, one of the ancestors of that family whose enlightened liberality and patriotism we have had occasion to no- tice repeatedly in this Account. A copy of the Royal Charter, authorizing this erection, will be found at the end of this Account. It is an interesting document, as an illustration of the spirit of the times. The “great river” referred to is the Kipp, a compara- tively small stream, near the village of Inverkip, but at that time without a bridge, and doubtless frequently swollen by the heavy rains, so as to be impassable. This charter bears date 18th No- vember 1589. It was ratified by acts of Parliament in 1592 and 1594. In the year 1618, the lands of Easter Greenock and Craw- furdsburn, were annexed to Greenock by decree of Court of High Commission. In 1650, the Court of Teinds and Plantation of Kirks disjoined the estate of Garvock from the parish of Houston, and annexed the lands of Lees, Duras, Darnemes, and Fallow-hills, 4 G REEN OC K. 455 being one-half of said estate, to Greenock, and the other half, namely, Rodgertown and Wester Garvock, to Inverkip. This decree was confirmed by another in 1669. 2. After that date no change took place in the ecclesiastical state of the parish till 1741, when the Court of Teinds disjoined the New, or, as it is now generally called, the Middle Parish, from the Old. Sir John Shaw, the patron of the latter parish, con- senting that the patronage of the New Church and parish should be vested in “the bailie of Greenock, and managers of the fund for building and endowing the said church, and the feuars and elders for the said new erected parish for the time being;” but with this proviso, that “Sir John Shaw of Greenock, and the other heritors of the parish of Greenock, their heirs and succes- sors in their respective lands and heritages, nor the teinds thereof, shall not be liable in the payment of any stipend to the minister of the New parish, or for building, upholding, or repairing the kirk, manse, or school-house thereof, or any other parochial bur- dens whatever.” The New or Middle parish is entirely burghal, and is situate, as its new name indicates, in the heart of the town. 3. The East parish was disjoined from the Old, and erected into a separate parish by decree of the Court of Teinds in 1809, on nearly the same principles with those which were adopted in the erection of the New parish in 1741. The patronage was vested, with consent of Sir John Shaw Stewart, patron of the Old parish, in the magistrates and town council of Greenock, and a committee of seven, to be named by and from the proprietors of seats, each individual having a vote, and the eldest magistrate of Greenock in case of an equality having the casting vote. The East parish is partly burghal, partly landward. Besides a large portion of Cartsdyke, it includes all the landward part of the parish lying between Cartsdyke and Port-Glasgow, together with the farms of Lees, Darnemes, Burnhead, Glenbrae, Stron, Inglis- ton, Berry-yards, and Hayfield on the south, and between Greenock and Kilmacolm. - 4. and 5. The North and South parishes were erected quoad spiritualia under the authority of an act of the General Assembly of 1834. The erection was by the presbytery of Greenock, which had been in the same year disjoined from the presbyteries of Paisley and Irvine, and constituted a separate presbytery. Both these parishes were taken from the Old, or, as it is sometimes called, the West parish. 456 RENFREwsHIRE. 6. St Andrew’s parish was in like manner disjoined from the Old parish in the year 1835. - - These three parishes are contiguous and in lines parallel with the river; the North parish being bounded by the river on the north, and by the South parish on the south, St Andrews lying to the south of both. 7. St Thomas' parish was erected by the presbytery quoad spiritualia in 1839. It was taken partly from the Old and partly from the Middle parish, but chiefly from the former. The pres- bytery at the same time annexed a part of the Middle parish to the Old quoad spiritualia. - 8. In the same year, the parish of Crawfurdsdyke was disjoined from the East parish, and erected by the presbytery quoad spiri- tualia. It was taken from the centre of the burghal part of that parish. - - The population assigned by the presbytery to each of these five newly erected parishes was from 2000 to 3000 souls. The election of the minister is more or less popular in all of them. • * In the North parish church it is vested in the male heads of families communicants, the preses of the managers having a deli- berative and casting vote. - * In the South parish—in the proprietors. - In St Andrews parish in the male heads of families communi- cants, from a leet of three selected by the committee of manage- ment, unless four-fifths of the congregation shall be agreed in fa- vour of the candidate first proposed, in which case there shall be no competition. In St Thomas’ parish—in the male heads of families communi- CantS. - In Cartsdyke parish—in all the communicants, male and female. Having enumerated the parishes into which Greenock is now divided, and the date of their erection, we have next to state the provision which has been made for them in respect of church ac- commodation, stipend to the minister, manses, &c. and the names of the ministers who have presided over these parishes since their erection. The present church of the Old parish appears to have been built very soon after the granting of the Royal Charter mention- ed above; probably in the year 1590 or the year following. It was originally built for the accommodation of Sir John Shaw's GREEN OC K. 457 tenants only; but Easter Greenock and Cartsburn being afterwards annexed to the parish, it was found necessary to add proportion- ally to the size of the church. That addition was made accord- ingly about the year 1670, since which time the walls remain as they stood at that period. Agreeably to ancient practice a certain amount of area was all that was provided by the heritors. Each heritor and feuar erected his own pew, according to his own taste, so that the whole presented a very motley appearance, till about forty years ago, when the seats in the lower part of the church were renewed. The church is capable of containing about 850 persons at 18 inches to each, but, on sacramental and other occasions, it has been made to accommodate considerably more than that number. - - Complaints having long been made of the low and unhealthful site of this church, the subject was brought under consideration of the heritors and presbytery; and, after a tedious process before the presbytery, a decree was granted for the erection of a new church, to contain not fewer than 1200 persons. It is now build- ing in an elevated part of the town, after a very beautiful plan by Mr David Cousin, architect in Edinburgh, and will accommodate 1400 persons. * The stipend from teinds is 18 chalders, half meal and half bar- ley, with L. 10 for communion elements, besides which the minis- ter is entitled, under the authority of a decision of the Court of Session, to an annuity of L. 25, originally secured by bond volun- tarily granted to one of his predecessors by the town of Greenock, and now paid out of the funds of the incorporation. The manse is in very bad repair. About seven years ago the presbytery de- clared it to be insufficient, and ordained it to be rebuilt; but cir- cumstances have hitherto prevented the decree from being car- ried into effect. The whole of the glebe is feued, excepting the ground occupied by the manse and manse garden. The amount of feu-duties payable is L. 424, 8s. 4%d. The following are the names of the ministers who have officiated in this parish since its erection, so far as this can be ascertained. In 1602, John Lang, who appears to have continued minister till 1628. In 1640, James Taylor. In 1679, Neil Gillies was privately called by the parish. In 1688, John Gordon officiated, and continued to do so till 1691, when he returned to Inverary, his former charge. In 1694, John Stirling was transported from the parish of Inchinman to Greenock, but resigned in 1701, on 458 R.E.N FREWSHIRE. being appointed Principal of the College of Glasgow. He was succeeded in 1704 by Andrew Turner, then minister of Erskine, who died in 1719, and was succeeded by his son, David Turner, who continued minister till his death in 1786. He was succeeded by Allan M*Aulay. In 1792, Robert Steel was ordained succes- sor to Mr M*Aulay. Mr Steel died in 1831, and was succeeded by Patrick M*Farlan, D. D., the present incumbent, in 1832. The Middle Church was built in 1757. It cost L. 238S, 17s. 8%d., of which L. 1058, 5s. 9d. was defrayed by subscriptions, and the remainder paid by the corporation. It is capable of accom- modating upwards of 1500. The seat-rents are paid to the burgh, and amounted, on an average of five years ending 1835, to L. 554, 2s. 0}d. The minister's stipend is L. 275, with L. 20 for communion elements. They are paid from the funds of the burgh. At the erection of the parish a manse and garden were provided for the minister, at the expense of the liberal- minded Sir John Shaw, the lord of the manor. At a later period these were sold by the corporation, and a new manse, with a gar- den attached, was built by them in a more eligible situation. John Shaw was the first minister of the New or Middle parish. He was succeeded in 1771 by John Adam, minister of West Kil- bride. Dr Scott succeeded him in 1793. In 1830, Mr William Cunningham, now minister of Trinity College Church, Edinburgh, was ordained assistant and successor to Dr Scott. On his removal to Edinburgh, James Smith, A. M. minister of Alva, in Stirling- shire, the present incumbent, was admitted assistant and successor in 1835. Dr Scott died in March 1836. The East Church was built in 1774 as a chapel of ease. It is seated to accommodate 976, at 18 inches to each sitter. The average of Seat-rents paid annually to the burgh is L. 280. When converted into a parish church, the property of the building was transferred to the corporation,—the magistrates and council be- coming chargeable for its maintenance, minister's stipend, and other expenses, but acquiring a right to levy an annual ground- rent (not exceeding 7s. 6d. per sitting), on the seats reserved by the proprietors, and to let the remaining seats at what they may bring. The minister's stipend is L. 200, with L. 20 for commu- nion elements. An addition of L. 50 was recently given by the corporation, but in terms of the grant, it is restricted to the pre- sent incumbent. He has a manse provided by the community, and kept in repair at the expense of the corporation. G R F EN O C K . . 459 * The ministers in this church were, Mr Peter Miller, Mr Archi- bald Reid, Archibald M*Lauchlan, now one of the ministers of Dundee, Dr John Gilchrist, now one of the ministers of Canon- gate, Edinburgh, and Mr William Menzies, the present incumbent. The South Parish Church was built as a Gaelic chapel in 1791, and cost L, 1300. It is seated to accommodate 1800. The stipend of the minister is L. 260. He has no manse provided for him. Mr Kenneth Bain was the first minister of this church. He was succeeded by Mr Angus M*Bean, the present incumbent, in 1821. The service in the forenoon is in Gaelic, and in the after- noon in English. The North Parish Church was built as a chapel of ease in 1823, by a joint-stock subscription in 600 shares of L. 5 each, on which a farther payment was made of L. 1, 2s. 6d. on each share. The num- ber of sittings is l165. The minister's stipend is L. 200, with L. 20 for communion elements. He has no manse. Nathaniel Morren, A. M., the present incumbent, was the first ordained minister of this parish. - St Andrew’s Church was built in 1836 by private subscription, aided by the grant of L. 350 from the General Assembly's Church Extension Fund. The expense of erection (school-house includ- ed) was L. 2602, 2s. It is seated to contain 945. The minister's stipend is L. 150. John James Bonar, the present incumbent, was the first ordained minister of St Andrew's parish. St Thomas's Church was built in 1889 by private subscription, aided by a grant from the Church Extension Fund. It is capable of accommodating about 800 sitters. Mr William Laughton, the present incumbent, was ordained in July 1839. For the mi. nister's stipend L. 80 is secured by bond. The congregation is steadily on the increase. The managers make such additional allowance as the state of the funds and the revenue of the church may afford. Crawfurd’s-dike Church was originally erected in connection with the Secession in the year 1745; it was rebuilt on the same site in the year 1828, and contains 906 sittings. The first mi- mister was Mr Cock. He was succeeded by Mr Richardson, whose ministry was of short duration. Mr William Willis, afterwards minister in Stirling, was successor to Mr Richardson. After Mr Willis, the late venerable Mr Moscrip was pastor, and at his death Mr James Stark, colleague of Mr Moscrip, the present incumbent, received the sole charge of that congregation. A school-house is 460 RENFREwsHIRE, attached to the church. The church and school-house cost L. 1052, 4s. 3}d.* - The stipends of all the recently erected parish churches in Greenock are secured either in whole or in part by bond, except- ing the last. But, much to the honour of the managers of that church, it is provided in the constitution, granted by last General Assembly, that, on the occurrence of a vacancy, a bond shall be granted to the minister succeeding to the charge. When the new church for the old parish shall be completed, the total number of sittings in all the places of worship connected with the Established Church will be about 9042—of which at present 548 are free or set apart for the poor. It appears from the Eighth Report of the Commissioners for Religious Instruction, that, of the whole population of Greenock, 19,493 belong to the Established Church, and 21.17 are of no denomination of professing Christians. Adding these two sums together, they amount to 21,610, of which about 14,000 belong to the poor and working classes. It also appears from the testimony of one of the minis- ters of Greenock, recorded in the same report, that he had ascer- tained the number of sittings held by the poor and working classes in his parish to be as 1 to 3 nearly ; and by the wealthier classes as I to l;..f. Supposing the proportion to be the same in the other parishes, then of 9042, the total number of sittings in the places of worship connected with the Established Church, there are in round numbers 4600 held by the wealthier classes, leaving only 4450 to the working classes and the poor—a number greatly below the legal allowance, though taking into account only the population connected with the Established Church to the ex- clusion of Dissenters. With the growing population there will, it is to be hoped, be an addition to the number of our churches with seat-rents so moderate as to be accessible to the poorest persons in the community. Nothing can be more gratifying to the church extensionist, and, we may add, to every enlightened and liberal- minded Christian, than the success of the experiment in this town, so far as it has been already made. If the Church Exten- * In a preceding part of this Account the writer has expressed his doubts of the accuracy of the statement in the first Statistical Account, respecting an ancient chapel near the east end of the town, said to have been called St Lawrence's Chapel. On more minute inquiry, he finds that the ruins of that chapel did exist near the site of what is now the East Church. Some of the old men of the last generation, now de- ceased, remembered to have seen them. f Eighth Report, p. 305. G RE EN OCR. 461 sion Committee and other contributors to the building of our new churches had no other reward than the increase of the number of church-goers in poor but sober and industrious families, that reward is a sufficient return to them for the labour and money which they have expended in this great and good cause. If they have not had all the success which they desired in reclaiming men from the irreligious habits into which they had fallen, they have the Sa- tisfaction of knowing that they have in some measure arrested their progress. It is to irreligion, the result, we may say the ne- cessary result, of inadequate church extension and deficient pas- toral superintendence, that the intemperance and profligacy, and wretched condition of many in the working classes is to be as- cribed. Nor can it reasonably be expected that the population in our large towns should be restored to its once boasted moral ele- vation until religious instruction be accessible to all, and our sys- tem of pastoral superintendence be brought again to its former completeness and efficiency. * The deficiency to which we have now alluded has long engaged the attention of the Christian philanthropists of this place. For the seamen, whether strangers or belonging to the port of Green- ock, the Seamen’s Friend Society long ago provided a small chapel, in which there is divine service and sermon twice every Lord's day, by a licentiate of the Church of Scotland, which is numerously at- tended; besides which, every Wednesday evening, a sermon is preached in rotation by the Protestant ministers of all denomina- tions in Greenock and Port-Glasgow. An agent is employed by the Society to inform the seamen in port that they may enjoy this privilege, and to invite them to attend. - There is another class of persons whose destitute condition long ago attracted the notice of a merchant in this town," who is not less distinguished for his unwillingness to proclaim his own good- mess, or to have it proclaimed by others, than for the number and extent of his charities. He had observed very many children amusing themselves on the streets and highways on the Sabbath, ill-clothed, and evidently neglected by their parents or guardians. He found that a considerable proportion of these were attending the charity-school. It occurred to him that they might be induced to come to the school-room of that institution, if not to hear ser- mon, at least to receive religious instruction in a form as interest- ing to them as might be devised. He commenced the experiment * Thomas Fairrie, Esq. 462 * RENFREwsHIRE, himself, snd succeeded beyond expectation. But finding his bodily strength unequal to the exertion requisite, he has for the last five or six years employed, at his own expense, a young man, whose office it is to assemble the children on the forenoon of the Sab- bath, and superintend a Sabbath school in the evening, and to visit the parents or other relatives of the children through the week, with the view of insuring a regular attendance at the fore- noon meeting, and in the school. A probationer of the Church of Scotland is now engaged in this interesting, and, it is hoped, useful department, and is regularly attended in the forenoon by upwards of 300 poor children, who would otherwise be wandering through the streets or the fields, corrupting one another and pe- rishing for lack of knowledge. - The minister of the old parish has for six years past employed a parish missionary at his own expense, to aid him in the over- whelming duties of that large and populous parish ; and similar means have been employed at various times by the congregations of the Middle and East Churches. t Divine service at the churches connected with the Establish- ment is generally well attended. • Adding to the returns of communicants given in to the Com- missioners of Religious Instruction, the communicants in the new Church of St Thomas’, the number on the roll of the eight pa- rishes is about 4680. The average number actually communicat- ing may be stated at 300 or 400 below that sum. The following enumeration of the churches of Evangelical Dissenters in Greenock is taken from the Eighth Report of the Commissioners of Religious Instruction : - I. There are three connected with the United Secession. 1. Inverkip Street Church, the Rev. Sutherland Sinclair, mi- nister. The congregation was first established in 1740. The present place of worship was built in 1803, and contains 790 sit- tings, of which 50, provided by the congregation, are set apart for the poër. - 2. Nicholson Street Church, the Rev. Robert Wilson, A. M., minister. The congregation was established in 1790, and the church was built in 1791, and contains 1106 sittings, of which 40 are set apart for the poor, and 6 are free. The poor are permit- ted to occupy them on application to the managers. 3. Union Street Church, the Rev. Thomas Finlayson, minis- ter. The congregation was established in 1833, and the church GREEN OC K & • 463 erected in 1834. It contains 950 sittings. The unlet sittings are free to all who choose to occupy them. II. The Relief Church, Sir Michael Street, the Rev. William Auld and James Jeffrey, ministers, was erected in 1807, and con- tains 1498 sittings. III. The Independent Church, Sir Michael Street, the Rev. Alexander Campbell, minister, contains about 600 sittings. A new and very elegant church is at present being erected in George Square, Kilblain, for the Independent congregation now assem- bling in Sir Michael Street. IV. The Baptist congregation, first established about the year 1809, assembles in a chapel in Tobago Street, built in 1821, and containing 550 sittings. - V. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, West Stewart, the Rev. Andrew Gilmour, minister. The congregation was first es- tablished about the year 1824, and assembles in a church built in I838. It contains 447 sittings. In 1824, a chapel was built in Union Street, for the families belonging to the Church of England, containing 400 sittings. The Rev. G. T. Mostyn is the present minister. The Wesleyan Methodist congregation was established in or about 1811, and the present chapel was built in 1814. It contains 400 sittings. There is one Roman Catholic congregation, in which the Rev. Dr Andrew Scott and Alexander Smith officiate. The congre- gation was established about the year 1809, and the chapel, which contains 761 sittings, was built in West Shaw Street in 1814. There is a small congregation of Universalists, of which Mr William Scott is deacon; and an equally small number of persons designating themselves “ The Holy Apostolical Congregation,” but generally known by the name of Irvingites, on account of their holding the opinions of the late Mr Edward Irving. The Unitarian or Socinian congregation, amounting to about 200, have a small place of worship in Sir Michael Street. Mr James Forrest is the present minister. The following is a list of societies for religious and beneficent purposes, with the average annual income, as nearly as that can be ascertained : RENFREW. II h 464 R EN FREWSHIRE, 1. The Greenock Bible Society, ge º L. 70 2. Ditto Bible Association, • & 100 3. Gaelic Schools Society, © # . 70 4. Female Society for the Conversion of the Jews, . 35 5. North American Colonial Society, tº e tº 85 6. Society for Education of Females in India, & 70 7. Seamen's Friend Society, tº tº º | 70 8. Female Benevolent Society, e ge & 260 9. Female Missionary Society, © e © 80 10. Irish-readers' Society, te • e 40 11. Parochial Associations, * . e 335 - L. 1055 To this sum may be added the annual subscriptions to the Cha- rity School and the School of Industry, amounting to L. 161, 13s. nearly. - - - Some months ago Mrs Fry paid a visit to Greenock, with the view of directing the attention of the ladies and others to the state of our prison, and of impressing on them the duty of making per- sonal efforts for the instruction of the prisoners. The result of this visit was the appointment of a committee for the purpose con- templated by Mrs Fry; and also the formation of a scheme for the erection and maintenance of a house of refuge. A conside- rable sum has been subscribed, but no fixed plan has been adopt- ed for its application. According to returns made to the Commissioners of Religious Instruction, the average extraordinary collections for religious and charitable purposes, of which an account has been kept, amount- ed, in the churches of the Establishment, to L. 403, 2s. 10%d., at the date of the making up of that report. It is believed that the returns now mentioned were exclusive of collections made at meet- ings of societies and other public meetings, which, on some occa- sions, have been very liberal. - - - The returns of extraordinary collections at the Dissenting churches, contained in the same report, do not, in most cases, diš- criminate between collections for behoof of the church and cha- pel, and for other religious and beneficent purposes. It is due, however, to one of these congregations, the United Secession church in Inverkip Street, to mention, that the extraordinary col- lections “for purposes beyond the bounds of the congregation,” rose progressively from L. 11, 8s. 4d., which was their amoun in 1831, to L. 152, 8s. 4d., the amount in 1836. Education.—Greenock, though a landward as well as a burgh . parish, has no parish school. A seminary of this kind appears to have existed till towards the middle of last century, when, the 3 G RE ENOCK. 465 grammar school being instituted, the heritors by some agreement, of which no record can be found, were released from the burden of supporting a parish school; and the education of the youth was left to the grammar school teacher or teachers, and to such teach- ers of English reading and arithmetic as might venture to com- mence an undertaking of that nature at their own risk. Since that period the population of Greenock has increased to such an amount, as to render the want of a parochial school a se- rious evil to the community. The instruction of the children of the poor and working-classes being entirely in the hands of adven- ture teachers, it is not surprising that the school-fees were at one time so high in all of them as to present a serious obstacle in the way of a working-man's obtaining the unspeakable blessing of an elementary education to a numerous family. Accordingly, about five years ago, it was ascertained that not more than one in thir- teen of the whole population was in attendance at the schools of every description within the parish, in other words, the propor- tion of young persons receiving education was scarcely one-half of the proportion found in our country parishes, ... • This growing evil has been in some measure palliated by th erection of the Highlanders' Academy—a handsome building commenced and finished about two years ago in the south-west part of the town, having apartments and masters for two schools, an infant and a juvenile school, where the ordinary acquirements of reading, writing, &c. may be had at a comparatively moderate rate. This excellent seminary owes its existence to the indefati- gable exertions of a few individuals. It was built, partly by subscription, and partly by a grant from Government, the late Sir Michael Shaw Stewart generously giving the ground at the lowest feu-duty permitted under the deed of entail. No expense has been spared in making the establishment as perfect as pos- sible. A large space has been enclosed for play-ground, and the usual apparatus of infant and juvenile schools, both within doors and without, are liberally furnished. The directors have been eminently successful in obtaining highly qualified teachers, and have thus attracted to the Academy a considerable number of the children of families in the middle ranks. It is called the “Highlanders' Academy,” because originally intended for the child- ren of Highlanders; and by the rules of the institution a prefe- ‘rence is given to these in the event of an overflowing attendance. Long before the erection of the Highlanders' Academy, a 466 RENFREWSHIRE. school existed, at first called the “Trades' School,” and more re- cently the “ Seamen’s School,” because intended for the educa- tion of the children of seamen. It was built in 1813, entirely at the expense of the late Mr Alan Ker, merchant in Greenock, a man of eminent and enlightened piety and beneficence. His ob- ject was to provide education at a moderate price for the children of tradesmen; and the school was maintained by him with this view at a considerable annual expense. At his death it was leas- ed to the Seamen's Friend Society, as a school for the children of seamen. It continued in that position till about eighteen months ago, when it ceased to be retained by the society; and the family of Mr Ker, from respect to the memory of their father, and following out the object which he had originally in view, ge- nerously transferred the property of the school-house to the kirk. session of the New Parish, as a parochial school. They on their part cheerfully accepted the gift, and undertook to provide a teacher, and to guarantee his salary. The school has now been open on the new footing for more than fifteen months, and educa- tion in the elementary branches is communicated to upwards of 200 children, with great effect, and at a very moderate price. We must not omit to mention, that Sir Michael Shaw Stewart and his son, the grandfather and father of the present Sir Michael, cordially seconded the benevolent intentions of Mr Ker, and de- manded no feu-duty for the ground on which the school-house is. built. It has become common of late years to build school-houses in connection with churches. The Relief Church, the Popish Cha- pel, Crawfordsdyke Church, Nicolson Street Church, (United Secession,) St Andrew’s Church, and the Independent Chapel, have all of them schools attached to them, or built in their imme- diate vicinity. The gentlemen who erected St Andrew’s School have the honour of being the first to introduce efficient teaching into Greenock at a cheap rate. The establishment and success of these schools, however, and of others supported by the charity of private individuals, does not supersede the erection of a parish school. An endowed school is a privilege secured by law to the inhabitants of all land- ward parishes, and seems to be essential as the means of in- suring to their children the blessing of a cheap religious education. If the population of this town increase as rapidly as it has done for some years past, the Highlanders Academy and New Parish GREEN OCK, 467 school, granting that the directors should continue the school fees at the present moderate rate, will furnish a very inadequate supply of the means of cheap education and moral training; many of the children of our working-classes will grow up in ignorance, irreligion, and crime; pauperism will yearly increase, and Green- ock, like other overgrown towns, will be noted for its discontent- ment, and turbulence, and misery. It is the interest of all, and most of all of the heritors superiors, to erect and endow one or more parochial schools, or one large school, to be erected in a central position above the town, so as to accommodate the inha- bitants of the town and of the landward parts of the West and East Parishes. The general sessions of Greenock have exerted themselves most earnestly to procure this invaluable boon; and it is hoped that the time is not far distant when their efforts shall be crowned with success. - Meanwhile, there are in all seventeen unendowed schools for the children of all ranks, in which the reading of English, writing, arithmetic, and geography, are taught with different degrees of talent and success. In most of them, the modern improvements in the arts of teaching and youthful training have been adopted. In almost all of them the Bible is used as a school-book; and in many the teachers assiduously endeavour to instil into the minds of their pupils the knowledge of the principles and duties of revealed religion. - For orphans there are two schools built at the expense of the burgh—the Charity School and the School of Industry; the first for giving an elementary education gratis to orphan children, or children neglected by their parents; and the second for teaching girls from the Charity School, needle-work, knitting, and other handicraft occupations gratis, preparatory to their going to domestic service. The salary of the teacher of the Charity School is raised by subscription; that of the schoolmistress of the School of In- dustry arises partly from private subscription, and partly from the profits of needle-work done in the school. - There are two burgh schools; one in which Latin, Greek, and French are taught; another, in which instruction is given in writ- ing, arithmetic, geography, drawing, and mathematics, compre- hending Euclid, plane and spherical trigonometry, practical geo- metry, and algebra. - The grammar-school was established, as we have already men- 468. TEN FREWSH 1 R.E. tioned, before the middle of last century. Mr Robert Arrol, the author of an elegant translation of Cornelius Nepos, was the first master. Under him the celebrated Mr Watt received his educa- tion in the classics. Mr John Marr, who lived at the same pe- riod, was Mr Watt's instructor in mathematics. Mr Arrol’s suc- cessor, Mr John Woodrow, was nominated in 1751. He was succeeded by Mr Bradfute, who continued in office for about four years. On his removal to the Grammar-School of Glasgow, Mr John Wilson, author of a poem entitled Clyde, reckoned of so great merit as to be republished in 1803, was chosen master. He died in June 1789, and was followed by Mr Thomson. Mr Da- niel M*Farlane was appointed his successor in 1794, and conti- nued to teach with distinguished ability for thirty years. On his resignation in 1824, Mr Potter, a young man of singular learning and talents, was chosen master, but did not live to perform the duties of the office. W. L. Brown, LL.D., is the present mas- ter, of whom it is no more than justice to say, that if the late la- mented Sir Daniel Sandford, one of the most eminent scholars of his age, was a competent judge, Dr Brown has few if any equals among the teachers of the Greek and Roman classics in the pre- sent day. It is lamentable to observe, that, possessing such a teacher, the inhabitants seem to be insensible to the value of a literary education. Out of a population of 30,000, the number of scholars in all Dr Brown's classes seldom exceeds 60. The mathematical class is taught with very great ability and success by Mr Robert Buchanan, son of the late Mr Colin Bu- chanan, for many years a teacher in this town enthusiastic in his profession, and justly respected by all who knew him. Mr R. Buchanan has a numerously attended school. Some of the young ladies under his tuition, much to their honour, have made consi- derable proficiency in geometry and algebra. Mr Colin Lamont was Mr Buchanan’s immediate predecessor. It is believed he was the first in Scotland to introduce into public schools the applica- tion of modern astronomy to navigation. So early as in the year 1785, he gave instructions in nautical astronomy, and the use of the instruments necessary for ascertaining a ship's place at sea, by lunar observations and chronometers. With this view he had a place fitted up at his own expense, and provided with suitable in- struments, including a 34 feet telescope, astronomical circle, clock, &c., for which, so far as we have learned, no remune- ration has yet been made to him. He retired some years ago, GREENOCK. 469 after having for many years discharged the duties of his office with great credit to himself and advantage to the public. - It is somewhat singular that no school-rooms have been pro- vided by the corporation for either of the teachers now mentioned. They receive each L. 25 per annum in lieu of school-room rent. The magistrates and council ought to be the best judges of the propriety of this arrangement. Perhaps looking to the growing prosperity of the town, they may be of opinion that a grammar- school establishment on a larger scale than the present, may be- come necessary, and that, on that supposition, it would be unwise to expend even the small sum of L. 1000 or L. 1500 in making provision for the now existing classes. If the taste for Greek and Roman learning should revive amongst us, the corporation judge rightly in deferring for a short time the erection of a grammar school, or, to speak more correctly, of an academy. If, on the other hand, the taste for classical literature shall continue to de- crease, a small building, comprising one apartment for the classi- cal teacher, and a larger one for the teacher of arithmetic and ma- thematics, will suffice for many years for the accommodation of the young ladies and gentlemen of this prosperous town.” Each of the grammar school teachers receives from the corpo- ration L. 30 per annum as salary. School fees for the burgh schools are, 12s. 6d. for Latin ; 15s. for Greek; and 12s. 6d. for arithmetic and mathematics: and in the adventure schools for the wealthier classes, 10s. 6d. per quarter. In the other schools where the teachers have a salary, they vary from 2s. 6d. to 3s.6d. perquar- ter. Where the teachers have no salary, the fees vary from 8s. 6d. to 7s.6d., according to the branches taught. The total number of scholars in all the schools above-mentioned is 2450, or some- what less than one in twelve of the whole population. This as- tounding fact demands the serious attention of every friend to this town and to the country at large. Literature. — It must not be inferred from the facts which have been stated in the preceding section, that the inhabitants of Greenock have little or no taste for literature, or, that they are more inclined to that unprofitable and often pernicious reading commonly called light reading, than to the perusal of books fitted to expand the mind, and to cultivate and refine the * In making these observations the compiler hopes that he will not be accused of undue severity, or of applying specially to Greenock, what is perhaps still more ap- plicable to Glasgow and other mercantile towns. 4' 0 RENFREWSHIRE. better feelings and affections of the heart. Doubtless there are some amongst us whose vitiated taste must be fed inces- santly with the worse than unsubstantial food of novels and ro- mances. But there are, we trust, a still greater number who, though not profoundly versed in the learning of antiquity, are eager in the pursuit of useful knowledge, and have acquired the habit of spending their leisure hours, with satisfaction and enjoyment to themselves, without having recourse to the gaming-table or the tavern, or to ceaseless feasting and merriment. The following facts afford presumptive evidence that this is the character of a large portion of our population. The public library in this place was commenced about 60 years ago, and now consists of upwards of 10,000 volumes. It is under the management of the proprietors or shareholders, who meet an- nually in the month of January and elect a committee, whose duty it is to purchase books, and transact all the other business of the library. The members of the committee continue in office for two years. The proprietors and others have the privilege of reading on payment of the annual sum of 13s. ; subscribers having a double privilege, L. 1, 1s. Connected with the library, and forming a part, though a distinct part of it, is a collection of books in foreign lan- guages, to which access may be obtained on payment of a small sum additional to the annual subscription. Before the erection of the house for the reception of the statue of James Watt, the books were kept in a hall in Cathcart Street, belonging to the free-ma- sons of Greenock. They are now placed in the building recently erected in Union Street, by the son of Mr Watt, for the reception of the statue of his venerable and illustrious parent. From the constitution of the library, it being in fact to a certain extent a circulating library, it is evident that the committee must be under temptation to meet the wishes and gratify the taste of different classes of readers; and, consequently, it is not surprising that in the 10,000 volumes of which the library consists, there should be a considerable infusion of frivolous and ephemeral pro- ductions. But that is by no means the character of the library as a whole. It contains many of the best standard works in all the languages of Europe; and little or nothing that can offend the taste or poison or pollute the mind of the most cultivated and intelligent Christian. It is earnestly to be desired that the present and future committee should feel the importance of the trust reposed in them in this point of view ; and also, that, considering the magnitude GIREEN OCK. § 471 of the library, and the literary reputation of the town as involved in it, they should lay it down as a rule fixed and unchangeable, that they will regard, not so much the nominal price of the book, as its real value; and will rather be contented with a smaller num- ber of books of merit than load their shelves with those which in a few months or years will fall into merited oblivion. The working-classes here, as in other towns, are treading fast on the heels of their rich neighbours. About seven or eight years ago, a considerable number of the mechanics formed themselves into an association for the establishment of a Mechanics Library. It was commenced in 1832, and now contains nearly 2000 volumes. In 1836, the same persons formed themselves into a society for the establishment of a Mechanics’ Institution, and have made rapid progress in the accomplishment of that object. A handsome build- ing, now almost completed, has been erected by subscription in Sir Michael Street. The ground-floor contains apartments for the library, apparatus, reading-room, &c. The second floor is en- tirely occupied with a hall 62 feet long by 39 broad; and capa- ble of accommodating from 600 to 700 persons. It is estimated that the building when completed will cost about L. 1300. The plan and execution of the whole building reflects no small honour on the mechanics, by whose efforts chiefly it has been erected. If they shall succeed in the ulterior parts of their pro- ject, namely, in procuring a complete philosophical apparatus, and a popular course of lectures on chemistry and mechanics, and if the whole institution be pervaded and imbued by the healthful spirit of true Christianity, it will not only prove a source of inno- cent gratification, but the means of intellectual and moral improve- ment to the mechanics of Greenock and many others in this grow- ing community. At the present moment, the great majority of the mechanics are, we believe, sound in their religious principles, and will not suffer the institution which they have cherished so suc- cessfully, to become a tool in the hands of noisy, active, and rest- less infidels and anarchists. In some institutions of a similar kind, religion has been unwisely and improperly excluded, on the plau- sible ground that men cannot, or will not agree on the subject of religion; Men of no religion are not so tolerant. If they obtain the ascendancy, they will show, as they have already done in too many instances, that, if Christians will not contend earnestly for the faith, the enemies of religion will seize on every means they can lay hold of for the promotion of infidelity. 472 R EN FREWSHIRE. The Mechanics Library, and Institution, though under the management of the same persons, are separate foundations with distinct and separate funds. It is in contemplation to unite them when the building above-mentioned shall be finished, and the books removed to the apartment intended for them.* The mechanics of Cartsdyke have also a library, consisting of 1465 volumes. It was the first library of that description in this place; but the books being kept in the Infant School at Carts- dyke, and consequently at an inconvenient distance from many of the subscribers, a new library was formed, called the “Trades Library” for which the magistrates provided accommodation in Cathcart Square. Various efforts were made to unite the two li- braries, but in vain; and on the 18th September 1832, the two parties came unanimously to a mutual adjustment, in virtue of which the “Greenock Mechanics Library,” formerly called the “Trades Library,” and the “Cartsdyke Mechanics Library,” were finally separated, and have ever since continued disunited. The general character of the books contained in the Greenock Mechanics Library, may be gathered from the following statement, laid before the seventh annual meeting of the subscribers on the 3d October 1839, and printed under their authority. After stat- ing that the library contained at that time about 1650 volumes, the president proceeds to say,+“ 560, or 35 per cent. of these wolumes are history and biography; 430, or 27 per cent. natural philosophy; 172 or 11 per cent. novels and romances; 124, or 8 per cent. voyages and travels; 106, or 6 per cent, periodical litera- ...ture; 66, or 4 per cent. poetry; 30 or 2 per cent. theology.” A larger infusion, not of controversial or polemical theology, but of books on practical religion, is evidently a desideratum. The former does not come within the range of every man’s business, and would be out of place in a public library; the latter unquestion- ably does, and ought to form a large portion of every such institu- tion; without it no library can be considered as complete. Besides the large public and circulating libraries which have been enumerated, there are libraries connected with several of the churches in town for the use of the members of the respective congregations; and juvenile or class-libraries for the use of the young persons attending the Sabbath-evening or week-day even- ing schools. These libraries do not consist exclusively of books on religion, but of books of all kinds adapted to the minds of ordinary readers, and tending to their intellectual and moral improvement. * The books are now removed.—October 1840, GREEN OCK. 473 There are three circulating libraries in Greenock, one contain- ing 1500 volumes, another 1000, and the third about 500. An association for the study and encouragement of the arts and sciences, open to the community at large, especially one for the cultivation of astronomy, and other sciences peculiarly in- teresting to a maritime town, is much wanted in Greenock. No. association of this kind at present exists, and it can scarcely be otherwise, so long as our only educational establishment continues on so narrow a foundation. All men, even in the birth-place of Watt, are not self-imbued with mechanical genius and a taste for the arts and sciences. The few individuals amongst us who have completed the curriculum of a university education cannot be expected to inspire a taste for scientific research into the rest of the community. Our two burgh schools are quite inade- quate to the accomplishment of such an object. But let the people of Greenock unite with our civic rulers in extending our educational establishment, (why should it not be equal at least to the Perth Academy?) and we shall not despair of seeing the town of Greenock become as distinguished for its literary and scientific acquirements as for its commerce and enterprise.” A Medical and Chirurgical Association was instituted in 1818, for promoting professionalintercourse and improvement. The mern- bers are medical practitioners in Greenock and the neighbouring towns. They meet at stated intervals for the purpose of reading papers, and holding discussions on professional subjects. There are two public-reading-rooms, one in Cathcart Square, and another in the Assembly Rooms, Cathcart Street. . The only periodical work printed and published in Greenock is the Advertiser newspaper. Messrs Mennons and Scott are understood to be the editors, as well as the publishers of this Journal. It has long kept its ground among the provincial pa- pers of Scotland, having been commenced in the year 1799, and retained its acceptability till the present date. It is conducted with very considerable talent ; its politics are moderate, or * We must not omit under this head to notice the “West Renfrewshire Horti- cultural Society.” It has existed for fifteen years, and was for some time encouraged chiefly by the market-gardeners. Of late it has received more general encourage- ment, chiefly in consequence of the exertions of John Gray, Esq. merchant in Green- ock, himself a zealous horticulturist. His Royal Highness Prince Albert has ex- pressed his willingness to become patron of the society. The committee have re- solved that one-half of the nett proceeds of the exhibitions of fruits and flowers shall be given to the charitable institutions of Greenock. The donations from these sources have amounted this year to about L. 50 ; the other half of the proceeds is devoted "to premiums and the current expenses of the society. The children of the various schools are admitted gratis to the exhibitions,— October 1840. g - 474 REN FREWS HIR F , Conservative-whig. Unlike many papers professing to hold these opinions, it has, ever since the commencement of the Non-intru- sion controversy, consistently and ably advocated the popular side of that question. It is characterized by a manly and fearless independence, by a determined opposition to Radical and revo- lutionary movements, and by its assailing principles and public conduct, without indulging in personalities. It is published on Tuesdays and Fridays. Some years ago another periodical of the same kind was print- ed and published in Greenock, under the name of the “Greenock Intelligencer.” Its principles were non-establishment and Radical. But it was carried on with great loss to the proprietors, and, not- withstanding the utmost efforts on the part of those who were connected with it, it existed for little more than three years.” Charitable and other Institutions.—Under this head we have to notice, 1. The Greenock Hospital or Infirmary. Dr Walker, a respectable medical practitioner in this town, has furnished the compilet with a statement of the facts connected with the history of this institution, of which the following are the most important. Before the erection of an infirmary in Greenock, there was a dispensary for the sick poor. By its constitution the indigent sick, when unable to attend, were visited at their houses by one of the medical attendants. It was established in 1801, and continued in operation for about eight years, during which period the num- ber of poor who availed themselves of this charitable provision amounted to 1715. * The attention of the public in Greenock was first directed to the erection of an hospital by the prevalence of an infectious fever in 1806, believed to have been introduced by the seamen of a Russian prize-vessel brought into the harbour in that year. In 1807, measures were taken for the accomplishment of the object: in 1808 the building was commenced ; and on the 14th day of June 1809, it was opened for the reception of patients. About the same time, the Dispensary was united to the Infirmary, and ceased to exist as a separate charitable institution. The building thus erected was capable of containing 32 pa- * During the present year another attempt has been made to obtain circulation for a paper of the same opinions in state and church-politics, by the publication of the “Greenock Observer.” It is printed at the Chronicle office, Glasgow. Whether the saving of expense by that arrangement will enable it to maintain its ground longer than its predecessor, will soon be ascertained. We do not think that it has any chance of success from the progress of Radical politics, which, if they be making pro- gress at all, are advancing at a very slow pace. - GRE EN OCK. 475 tients. It cost, furniture and other expenses included, L. 1815, 18s. 6d. , Sir John Shaw Stewart, the Lord of the manor, gave 40 falls of ground, valued at L. 10, 10s. per fall, for the site of the building. The other expenses were defrayed by subscriptions obtained, with the exception of L. 120 from Port-Glasgow, chiefly from persons residing in Greenock. The amount of subscriptions was L.2357, lls. 7d., of which L.500 was set apart for building a bridewell. The airing-ground being found insufficient, Sir Michael Shaw Stewart gave, in 1815, an additional sum of 40 falls of ground, at the same valuation as the former. From the report of the managers for the year ending May 1829, it appears that fever was then so prevalent among the poor, that the hospital was incapable of receiving all the applicants for admission. The number of fever cases in that year was 487. The greatest number in any previous year was 260. To meet this emergency a temporary fever-hospital was fitted up; but the insufficiency of the hospital accommodation for fever patients be- ing thus pressed upon the attention of the public, a new subscrip- tion was immediately commenced for the purpose of making an addition to the Infirmary. The sum of L. 1032, 15s. was thus obtained; two wings were built, and in the year 1830 were fit for the reception of applicants. The whole building is now capable of receiving about 100 patients. - An abundant supply of water is obtained gratis, through the li- berality of the Shaw’s Water Company. The Gas Works, with equal liberality, afford a sufficient quantity of gas for lighting the hospital. - * The average annual number of patients admitted for the last five years is 585. Fever cases are of most frequent occurrence. Of these, the average annual number during the last five years is 402. The average of deaths from fever is 1 in 8. In 1838, the number of fever patients admitted into the Infirmary was greater than in any year since its institution. It amounted to 760. The injuries of most frequent occurrence are fractures of the extremi- ties. The average annual number of out-door, or what may call- ed dispensary patients, during the last five years, is 207. The average annual expenditure for the same period is about L.958. This sum is obtained from annual subscriptions, collec- tions at the churches and chapels, and contributions from the workmen at several of the manufactories. It is somewhat surpris- 476 REN FR EySHIRE. ing that legacies to this excellent institution are few in number and small in amount. 3. There are four medical attendants elected by the managers, and an apothecary or clerk who resides in the hospital. The me: dical attendants hold office for four years. One retires every year; and the managers may either re-elect him or appoint another. Two of the surgeons visit the hospital during one-half of the year, and the other two during the succeeding half. One takes charge of the fever wards for the first quarter, while his colleague takes charge of the surgical department and the other medical cases, and at the end of the quarter they exchange. Their services are gratuitous. . * To this statement of facts the compiler has to add, that the evangelical ministers of all denominations visit the hospital in rota- tion, and exhort and pray with the patients, excepting those in the fever wards. Each minister undertakes that duty for a month, and during that time visits the infirmary sick more or less fre- quently, as his other avocations will allow. - On the whole, we may venture to affirm, that there is no town of the same extent and population in Scotland, possessing an hos- pital for the poor, under better regulations than Greenock, or one in which the comfort and recovery of the patients are more faith- fully attended to by the surgeons and apothecary, and the matron of the house. The patients themselves bear willing testimony to the truth of this statement, and the annual contributions from the workmen, though not in general so liberal as they ought to be, show the impression which they have of the importance and the value of the infirmary to themselves and their families. . º There is no public asylum in Greenock or in the upper ward of Renfrewshire for lunatics. The want of such an institution for the poor and working-classes of this district has been long felt, and, it is hoped, may be supplied at no distant period. A privaté. establishment of this kind has existed for some time at Fancy- farm, in the neighbouring parish of Gourock, to which the heritors and kirk-session of Greenock engage to send their lunatic paupers at a fixed rate of board. This establishment is about to be re- moved to Hillerid, in the East Parish of Greenock. The fixed rate of board for pauper lunatics is L. 16 per annum. - . . Mason Lodges and Friendly Societies.—About twenty years ago masonry declined considerably in this town, but has somewhat re- vived of late years. Of the four lodges which existed twenty years ago, only one is now open, and in the receipt of income from GREENock. 477. entries. Two other branches of higher degrees, formerly unknown here, have recently been established, and are increasing. . The Old Lodge is at present in a prosperous condition. But the com- piler is informed, on the authority of a gentleman who has been at the head of it directly or as a proxy, for the last five years, that there are none who now seek to become members with a view' to the benefit department, social intercourse and the gratification of curiosity being the chief inducements, and many sea-faring men. joining for the sake of the introduction it gives them in foreign countries. Our informant adds, that the masons are perhaps less nu- merous now than when the town was at half its present population. The St John's Lodge paid this year to poor members and wi- dows, L.85, 17s. 6d. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, though a private yet not a masonic body, is well known in England by its extensive ra- mifications, and the large sums which it distributes amongst it sick and indigent members. About two years ago, a branch of this or: der was established in Greenock, under the name of the “Banks of Clyde Lodge, No. 1586 of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, M. U.” (Manchester Unity). The members becoming ra- pidly very numerous, two other lodges were established,—the one designated the “James Watt,” the other the “Highland Mary.” There are in all from 500 to 600 members, and their number is increasing weekly. The initiation money is as follows: persons of 18 and under 30 years of age, L.1, ls. ; 30 and under 35, L.1, lls. 6d. ; 35 and under 40, L.2, 2s. ; 40 and under 42, L.5, 5s. None are admitted under 18 or above 42, except as honorary members. The contribution money is 9d. fortnightly. A sick brother receives 10s. weekly during the first six months of his sick- ness, thereafter 6s. A medical adviser is appointed by the lodge, who receives 8s. yearly for every efficient member, and attends the sick and gives them medicine without farther payment. At the death of a brother, L. 10 is paid to his widow or nearest relative, and L.7 on occasion of the death of the wife of a brother. Drunken- ness and the striking a brother are visited with severe penalties, and members convicted of violating any of the laws of the country are expelled. There are funds set apart for the special purpose of affording assistance to poor members travelling from place to place. The average number of such persons is four or five week- ly. A widow and orphan's fund is about to be established. The profits of a quarterly magazinc, published by the order, are to be devoted to this object. 478 T EN FREWSHIRE. The Rechabites, another society recently established in Greenock, resemble the Odd Fellows in every respect, it is believed, except that they take the temperance or tee-total pledge, and forfeit claims on the funds by breaking it, in the same manner as if they failed to pay their entry-money and dues. The associations last mentioned, whatsoever may be their pe- culiarities in other respects, are virtually and in effect benefit or friendly societies. Besides the above, very few friendly societies, commonly so called, now exist in Greenock. Some of them were dissolved in consequence of miscalculation and inability to make good their engagements. The rest do not appear to be transact- ing business to any great extent. - We are informed that the Master Wrights' Society distributed this year L. 78, and the Master Coopers' L. 67. The entry- money to the former is L. 2, 2s. ; annual payment, 1s. Old men and widows receive each L. 2 per annum. There are 66 widows on the list of pensioners. Provident Bank.—This excellent establishment commenced its operations in September 1815. The following table will show the uniform and rapid progress which it has made since that period. 9 8 || NUMBER of Accounts. YEARLY AMoUNT, # = 3 Year º - i: ; ; ; ending|# #: Opened Remaining ă ă ă 5 Sept. § a #|during the open at last Deposited. Drawn. 3 ;I. #3 < *s Year. Balance. - 3.5° 5 1816 || 31 384 296 262,535 2.É829 26 1,706 1817 26 I20 292 1,927 1,015 2,618 1818 25 163 367 3,168 1,591 4, 195 1819 29 156 440 3,948 2.817 5,326 1820 | 29 93 416 2,483 2,270 5,539 1821 || 34 183 515 4,050 2,636 6,953 1822 || 41 168 524 4,288 3, 192 8,050 . 1823 39 198 , 567 || 4,230 || 3,475 8,805 1824 || 46 198 643 4,098 3,653 9,250 1825 || 43 246 765 4,625 3,087 10,788 1826 || 52 289 840 || 5,112 4,709 11,190 1827 53 324 899 5,351 4, l l I 12,430 1828 || 8 | 434 1050 6,900 4,250 15,080 1829 90 547 I327 8,703 6, 108 17,675 ]830 || 97 465 1440 9, 193 6,663 20,205 1831 96 510 1643 10,814 7,839 23, 180 1832 || 104. 669 1809 13,721 9,00] 27,900 1833 || 123 790 2026 14,961 9,671 33,190 1834 || 137 732 2247 15,975 l 1,530 37,635 I835 | 175 992 . 2663 19,138 13,523 43,250 1836 | 201 948 2956 21,452 15,692 49,010 1837 181 968 3031 22,125 21,005 50,130 1838 200 1096 3315 24,853 19,103 55,880 1839 22] 1266 3586 28,268 24,433 59,715 G R E E N O C R , 479 The money deposited is lent to the three trusts of the town of Greenock, from whom interest is received at 4 per cent. - The balance due by the bank is now so large that the directors at one time contemplated placing the institution under the Act of Parliament. But the anticipated increase of the trade of Greenock rendering additional harbour accommodation necessary, it is pro- bable that the bank deposits may be taken up by the Harbour Trust for some time to come. . The regulations of the bank are few and simple, like those of other establishments of the same kind; and the rates of interest are so adjusted as to encourage the poorest artisan to deposit his smallest savings; and at the same time to prevent the abuse of the institution by the more prosperous portion of the community. The rates of interest on deposits are: 44 per cent, on all sums under L.5 4 do. do. from L.5 to L.30 3% do. do. L.30 to L. 100 3 do. do. above L. 100 The annexed statement, laid by the directors before the an- nual general meeting on the 26th October 1839, presents a very pleasing aspect of the successful working of this admirable insti- tution. At last balance, the amount due by the bank to 3315 deposi- tors, was § sº * In the course of the year now ended, 1266 new accounts have been opened, and cash has been received in 6938 different deposits, amounting to gº * L.26,015 18 4 Interest received from the different trusts, 2,251 I5 ll. L.55,880 0 0 - L.28,267 14 3 995 persons have closed their accounts, which, together with 3594 partial repayments, make in all 4589 transactions, amounting to L.24,432 14 3 Showing an increase this year on the deposits of . L. 3,835 0 0 And making the balance now due to 3586 persons, * I .59.75 0 0 Of these, 1184 have sums under I.5 due to them, amounting to L. 2,432 0 0 - 619 above L.5 and under L. 10, º 4,439 0 0° 722. . tº 10 g 20 & 10,065 0 0 504 & & 20 & 30 º 12,263 0 0 354 • * 30 & 50 tº 12,903 0 0 17| . * 50 e 100, g 11,568 0 0 0 0 32 & ge º above 100 º 4,408 It is stated farther by the directors in the report from which the above excerpt is taken, that the years 1838–39 presented an in- crease greater by one-fifth of the whole than has taken place in any former year, both in the number and the amount of the trans- R. EN FREW. 1 i 480 R EN FREWSHIRE. actions, and that the increase has taken place chiefly on that class of accounts having balances under L. 10 due to depositors.” - It can scarcely be doubted, that, with growing habits of industry and temperance, and a more general acquaintance with the nature and advantages of the Provident Bank system, the number of the depositors may be greatly augmented. It is evident from the statements to which we have referred, that the directors have se- cured the confidence of the working-classes, and that this excel- lent institution only needs to be universally known to be almost universally embraced by those for whose benefit it is intended. Next to the diffusion of pure religion and sound moral principle, there cannot be conceived a better or a more powerful check to the growing pauperism of Scotland, or a more powerful instrument of promoting the personal and domestic happiness of the poorer classes, and, we may add, of those also who profit by their indus- try. He must be a weak-minded alarmist, and little acquainted * Since writing the above, the report of the directors for the year 1840 has been published in the Greenock Advertiser, and contains the following very interesting StatementS : - The amount due by the bank to 2586 depositors at last balance In ºurse of the year 1839–40, new accounts have been opened, and cash has been received in 7616 different de- posits, amounting to º L.28,342 l l 7 Interest due by the town of Greenock at 4 per cent. .9 - & 2,401 4 4 L.59,715 0 0 L.30,743 15 Il 1002 accounts have been closed during the 'year, which, with partial repayments in 3671 diffe- rent sums, make in all 4673 transactions, * amounting to e © 24,708 15 11 Showing an increase this year in the deposits of – L.6,035 0 0 Making the balance now due to 3984 persons, ' • L.65,750 0 To Of the above, 2056 deposits have been made in sums under L. 1, L.774 O To 3710 ditto above L.1 and under L 5 ſº 7,420 0 0 1039 º te 5 tº 10 e (3,342 () 0 550 & 10 º 20 & 6,807 \0 0 175 t 20 ſe 30 © 3,795 0 0 68 * 30 e 50 . . 2,342 0 0 I5 © 50 ſº 100 & 862 0 0 sº © - L.28,342 0 0 Whence it appears, that one-third as to the number of the deposits have been in sums under I. l, or, on an average, of 7s, each,-two-thirds in sums under L.5,-and nearly one-third of the large sum received into the bank this year has been in sums varying from 1s, to J. & Nine-tenths of the number of deposits, and more than the haif §f the amount lodged, has been in transactions under L. 10. The increase on the whole amount deposited is nearly 10 per cent. beyond that of any former year, and the number and sum of transactions exceeds nearly in the same ratio. J GREEN OC K. * 481 with human nature, who imagines that the accumulation of L. 50 or L. 100 in a provident bank by a working-man will induce him to strike for a rise of wages. We appeal to the working-man himself, when we say that it is felt to have the very opposite effect. It places him in the position in which, since the repeal of the Combination Laws, he ought to stand with reference to his em- ployer. . If the employer knows, and there is no reason for keep- ing it secret from him, that his workmen have their tens, and twenties, and fifties in the Provident Bank, he knows that, however strongly inclined, he dare not reduce their wages below the true market- price of labour. On the other hand, a workman in his sound mind, with money in the Provident Bank, will not strike in order to ob- tain more than that price, with the certainty of exhausting in a few weeks or months all the little wealth which he has acquired. In point of fact, the strikers, or at least the originators of strikes, are, perhaps, without any exceptions, the reckless and improvident,- men who have nothing to lose, and who will not think: the sober and industrious are seldom or never engaged in these combina- tions. The cruel and oppressive system of trades' unions is, it is believed, approaching to its dissolution; and the sooner it is dis- solved, the better for the workmen and their families. Let the Provident Bank be more generally resorted to, and it will do far more for the industrious mechanic than trades’ unions have ever been able to effect, with this immense advantage, that the me- chanic, in his struggle with his employer, will not have the pain of looking on the pale and emaciated faces of his wife and chil. dren crying to him for bread, whilst he has none to give them. The public are deeply indebted to Mr Lamont the cashier, and the other gentlemen in the direction, for their zeal in promoting the interests of the bank, and the cheerfulness with which they devote no small portion of time and labour to the transaction of its affairs. Poor and Parochial Funds.--In the earlier periods of the his- tory of Greenock, the poor who were dependent on parochial aid were few in number; and the revenue from church-door collec- tions, proclamation of banns, mortcloth-fees, donations, &c. was more than sufficient for the supply of their wants. After a care- ful examination of the records of the kirk-session of the old pa- rish, it does not appear that any difficulty was experienced in mak- ing provision for the poor of that parish from the ordinary sour- ces of revenue, till about fifty years ago, when the population of the 482 REN FREWSH 1 RE. two parishes having risen to 15,000, and the paupers being more nu- merous in the old than in the new parish, the heritors and kirk- session of the former held a special meeting for the purpose of devising the means of checking the growth of pauperism, or, if necessary, of adding to the permanent revenue for supplying the wants of the poor. The account-books of the old parish, previous to the year 1807, have been mislaid or destroyed—and a similar fate has befallen those of the new parish for a considerable period subsequent to 1791. But the compiler has now before him the account books of that parish from its erection in 1741 to the year 1791—from which it is evident, that for many years the kirk-ses- sion had been adding to stock; and that at the latest of these pe- riods they were able to meet the growing demands upon them out . of a liberal collection at the church door, and the other ordinary sources, without having recourse to any unusual expedient. When at length the wants of the poor appeared to the two kirk-sessions to be greater than they could provide for by the or- dinary means, both they and the heritors seem to have been ex- tremely reluctant to have recourse to a legal assessment. First of all, it was attempted to make up the deficiency by a voluntary or self-impossed assessment on heritors, superiors, feuars, and others. Afterwards, they had recourse to quarterly collections at the church door, and voluntary subscriptions united, which for some time produced a very considerable revenue. But both these modes of raising the necessary supplies ultimately failed of success, in consequence, as was alleged, of the burden being unequally im- posed ; and in the year 1812, the kirk-session concurred in re- questing the heritors to make provision for the poor by an assess- ment in terms of law. In 1814 the system of legal assessment came into operation. In 1817, an Act of Parliament was passed, uniting the three parishes, (the East parish was then erected) so far as respected the management of the poor funds. That Act rendered it imperative on the heritors and elders of the said pa- rishes, to meet at least twice a year, to receive statements of the receipts and disbursements of the several kirk-sessions, and at one of these meetings to assess the heritors and other inhabitants of the three parishes, and out of the money so levied, to pay to the kirk-treasurer of each parish what the meeting may judge neces- sary, together with the income of the parish from other sources, for supplying the wants of the poor. - - *- The following excerpt from the records of the new parish ses- G RE EN OC K. - 483 'sion is worthy of being recorded, both as giving a distinct state ment of the efforts made to ward off what the heritors and elders regarded as a last resource, namely, a legal assessment, and as in- dicating the causes of the failure of the two expedients of a self- imposed assessment and quarterly collections. It is taken from a minute of that kirk-session, dated 1st February 1812. “On considering the state of the poor, the session find that the ordinary funds are deficient about L. 400; that the usual modes of supplying the deficiency, out of a fund common to the three pa- rishes of Greenock have been abandoned. Namely, an assessment voluntarily entered into about twenty years ago, was abandoned, on account of a misunderstanding between the principal heritors of the landward part of the old parish and the smaller heritors and other inhabitants of Greenock. Afterwards quarterly collections at the church-doors, and latterly voluntary subscriptions, have been dis- continued, because the burden of supporting the poor was unequal- ly borne, and the measure had sunk into utter inefficacy. And, last of all, the again proposed assessment of the heritors and inha- bitants according to their means, to be managed as the subscrip- tion fund was, has been relinquished, on the alleged ground that each parish must assess, and apply its own funds to the main- tenance of its own poor. . . . They, therefore, unanimously resolve to fulfil the painful but only duty imposed on them by the law of the land. In compliance with these laws, the session ap- pointed their moderator, on the first Sabbath, to intimate to the whole heritors,” &c. Mr Wilson, quoting from a report of the committee for the management of the affairs of the poor, gives a statement of the receipts and disbursements under the plan of voluntary contribu- tion in 1810. Revenue. * - “Ordinary collections at the churches, & & & L. 433 13 8 Quarterly do. §at do. g ſº e - & 83 19 10 Fees on proclamation for marriage, e * e e 121 4 0 Do. on mortcloths, tº e * * > 29 5, 6 Donations, chiefly from fees collected by the Justices of Peace, on affi- davits, . e & * • 94 14 1 Interests and small fines, & gº gº tº 34 0 2 L. 796 17 3 Deduct necessary expenses, ſº & 84 5 3 The sums contributed by subscription were * L. 712 12 0 Tax or contribution from the heritors, one per cent, up- on their income, . P . & g º L. 96 15 0 484 - R EN FIRE WSHIRE. - Brought over, º L. 96 15 0 L. 712 12 0 And from the inhabitants, 7 subscriptions of L. 10 10 0 - 3 do. 8 8 0 3 do. 7 7 O 4 do. 6 6. 0 14 do. 5 5 0 48 . do. 4 4 0 .34 do. 3 3 0 90 do. 2 2 0 183 do. I l 0 216 do. from 4s. to 20s. 95 10 0 I,. 1004 16 0 —— L. l 101 ll 0 - a L. 1814 3 0 Expenditure. To 477 ordinary poor, (who have wives, children, and other persons dependent on them, 326) with 5 insane paupers at from 1s. 6d. to 16s. per month, L. 1149 18 9 To 305 persons relieved by occasional supply, & © 304 12 6 To 21 orphan children at from L. 1, 10s. to L. 5, per quarter, º 122 5 0 Funerals of paupers, clothing, &c." º º º 53 ll 5 L. 1630 6 11 Mr Wilson, writing in 1811, when the plan of providing for the poor by voluntary contribution had not yet failed of success, de- clares himself decidedly favourable to this method. Let us now attend to the mode of making provision by legal as- sessment. We shall first of all show its amount in the years af- ter the union of the three parishes, when the raising of money by assessment was finally established ; after which we shall compare the expenditure in its various items under that system with the ex- penditure in 1810 already noticed—requesting the reader to bear in mind, that the assessment money is only a part of the revenue, and that the managers of the funds for the poor continue to re- ceive as before the ordinary Sabbath-day collections, proclama- tion-fees, &c. It is also necessary to mention, that in 1817 a larger sum than usual was required to defray the expense of a pro- tracted litigation, in which the heritors were engaged, before the passing of the Act of Parliament prescribing the mode of imposing the assessment.* The population by Goverment census in 181 I was 19,042. The three parishes were assessed in the following years in the sum of, In 1817, e L.3100 In 1822, ſo L.3300 1818, e 2696 1823, © 2800 1819, e 2909 1824, & 2750 1820, e 2925 1825, g 2700 1821, population 22,088, 3155 1826, & 1630 * Wilson's General View, p. 309. f The assessment is on the real rental, deducting one-fifth for repairs. For the last three years it has been 64d per pound, GREENOCK. - 4S5 In 1827, te I,. 1920 ln 1834, & L. 2600 1828, e 2200 - 1835, * 2572 1829, e 2300 1836, tº 264() 1830, e 228() 1837, . 3|85 1831, population 27,571, 2325 1838, * 3578 1832, * 2430 1839, º 3418 1833, * 2750 1840, g 3582 In 1838 a return was made by all the parishes in Scotland, to certain queries proposed by Her Majesty's Government, with the view of obtaining information respecting the state and manage- ment of the poor in that part of the island. Referring to the an- swers for Greenock, let us now compare the numbers of the poor, and the money expended for their relief in 1837, with the num- bers and expenditure in 1810. - In 1810, the population was 19,000, and the total expenditure L. 1630, 7s. 11d. In 1837, the population was 28,000, expendi- ture L. 8668, 15s. 10d. In 1810, the number of poor on the per- manent roll was 503, on whom were expended L. 1272, 3s. being on an average L. 2, 10s. 6d. to each pauper—dependent on them, 326. In 1887, the number of the same class was 1061, on whom were expended L. 2993, 15s. 9d., being on an average L. 2, 16s. 5d. to each pauper—dependent, 527. In 1810, the number of poor receiving occasional relief was 305, on whom was expended L. 304, 12s. 6d., being at the rate of L. 1 to each. In 1837, the number of persons of the same class was 981, among whom was distributed the sum of L. 895, 17s. 5d., being on an average 8s. to each. In 1810, the number of orphan children was 21. In 1837, 178. In 1810, the income from ordinary collections at the churches was L. 433, 13s. 8d., and the income from all sources, L. 1814, 3s. In 1837, the income from ordinary collections was L. 323, 3s. 4d., and from all sources, L.3158, 16s., leaving L.509, 19s. 10d., the excess of expenditure to be provided for out of the assessment of 1838. z We are not at liberty to draw any sweeping conclusions from ex- periments in the management of the poor funds in any particular town or parish. But the writer of this account, attaching no more than their due weight to the facts which have now been stated, trusts that he may be permitted to make the following very obvi- ous remarks on the comparison which has now been instituted. In the first place, the increase of the population between 1810 and 1837 was about one-third. If, therefore, there was a wise and effective administration of the affairs of the poor in the former of these periods, the increase of the expenditure and of the num- 486 T E N F RE W S H I [R E. ber of paupers in the latter, catteris paribus, ought to have been ex- actly in the same proportion ; whereas both (we speak of the poor on the permanent roll) are more than doubled. Nay, if we look to the assessment in 1818, and add to it L. 600 as the income from other sources, the expenditure at least appears to have more than doubled in eight years. And, if it was right that the expen- diture should be doubled in 1818, when the population was 20,000, assuredly it ought to have been much more than doubled in 1837, when the population had risen to 28,000. The writer of this ar- ticle is fully aware that the current of public opinion is running strong in favour of assessments, and that there are many who would plead for a much larger increase of expenditure. He, on the other hand, is humbly of opinion that the error is in the assess- ment principle. Its tendency is to increase the number of pau- pers without adding to the comfort of those already on the roll— to weaken or extinguish the manly independent spirit which in for- mer periods distinguished our Scottish poor—and to substitute for the fruit of their honest industry the miserable deceptive allow. ances of a parochial assessment. The difference between the average allowance in 1810 and 1837 is only 5s. I d. ; or, if we se- parate L. 192, the sum expended in 1810 on 5 insane persons and 21 orphans, and the sum of L. 1174, 3s. 1d., expended in the last of these years on 178 orphans and 24 insane paupers, the average allowance to the other poor on the permanent roll was, in the first of these years, L. 2 nearly, and in the latter, L. 1, 8s. 2%d. It is not pretended that any inference can be drawn on either side from the extraordinary—may we not say, the monstrous in- crease on the number of poor receiving occasional relief, as appa- rent from the preceding statements. The error here is in the ad- ministration. One of the best parts of the Scottish system is its plan of occasional or temporary relieſ—in other words, the prac- tice of giving pecuniary aid to families in time of sickness or other emergencies, to enable them to weather a passing storm, with the distinct understanding, or the express announcement that the al- lowance is to be withdrawn when the occasion of giving it has ceased. On this ground, occasional relief, if given at all, ought to be given liberally. With all deference to his fellow-workers in Greenock, the writer is of opinion that nothing can be more absurd than to give to 981 persons in the way of occasional relief, pittances so miserable, that the average scarcely exceeds eight shil- lings per annum. One thing, however, may be presumed from the G R EEN OCK. 487 immense increase on this class of poor, namely, that the assessment has created a host of mendicants who would be on the permanent roll, if they could, and whom good-natured elders and deacons imagine it is necessary to appease with a crust of the large loaf which they are employed in dividing among their more needy brethren. The next observation on the comparative statement now made respects the singular fact, that the assessment in 1826 amounted to no more than L. 1630—in other words, to less than one-half of the assessment in 1822. The reduction was occasioned by the murmurings of the heritors and other rate-payers at the increase of the assessment; and the consequent reduction of the number of pensioners, and the amount of their allowances. About twenty years ago, a similar murmuring took place in Glasgow from the same cause, and an inspector was appointed, with almost absolute power, to diminish the pension-roll and restrain the expenditure. But there is nothing in nature so elastic as the assessment princi- ple. Press down an assessment as you may, when the pressure is removed, it instantly starts back to it former magnitude. In two years from 1826, the assessment for Greenock rose nearly L. 600, and since that time it has risen gradually to L. 3500. The most mournful fact recorded in the preceding statements is the immense increase in the number of orphans. If the increase had been in proportion to that of the population, the number of orphans ought to have been in 1837, about 30, whereas it was J78. The writer of this account has acertained that of that number 50 were deserted children, namely, 22 deserted by their fathers; 22 by mothers;” and 6 by both parents. Of the total excess in 1837 98 remain to be accCounted for ; and it cannot be doubted that these were orphans, who, if there had been no assessment, would have been adopted by relatives, or taken up and provided for by the charitable and humane. Since the year 1837 the number of deserted children in the parish, of which the writer of this account is minister, and, he believes, in all the parishes of Greenock, has increased to a most alarming extent. It is impossible to escape from the inference which has so often been drawn from this and similar facts in the history of other parishes in Scotland, namely, that assessments have the effect, we do not say, of destroying natural affection in parents, for that principle cannot previously be strong in those * Widows or wives of absent or runaway scam.cn. 488 - R EN IFIRE WSHIRE. who desert their children—but of separating parent from child, and of casting into the comparatively cold lap of a public provision those who ought to be cherished with the warm affection of pa- rents, or the enlightened Christian compassion of private persons. Increase your provision, says the benevolent Dr Alison;” lay an assessment of L. 800,000 on the whole of Scotland; give liberal- ly; elevate the poor in the scale of society, and parents will cease to be dissolute; they will not leave their children in despair of obtaining subsistence ; the poor will become moral, contented, and happy, when you have made adequate provision for them in food and raiment. This is not the place for replying at length to these proposals and arguments. We shall only say, therefore, that a more ex- tensive acquaintance with human nature, and the actual working of institutions for the relief of mendicity, will probably induce the benevolent author of the “Observations” to change his opinion. Increase the allowances to the poor five, six, seven fold; and many who are now ashamed to beg, either from private persons, or from the administrators of our public charities, will think it no dis- grace to stand on a poor roll, and twice L. 800,000 will not suf- fice for the supply of the wants of the Scottish poor. Increase as you please the allowances to the poor, and you will not change the dissolute habits of unnatural parents, whilst the effect of an in- crease will undoubtedly be to destroy in adult children, the feeling of obligation to support their infirm and aged parents, and in every Christian man and woman the sense of obligation under which they lie to communicate to the relief of the poor and needy around them. In Greenock, as elsewhere, a legal assessment has had a power- ful effect in diminishing the amount of church-door collections. In proof of this, it may be mentioned, that in 1832, the collections at the Middle Parish Church—the largest in this town—amounted to L. 151, and in 1837, without any diminution in the number of the congregation, they amounted to no more than L. l l 1, 16s. 8d. The history of the progress of pauperism in Greenock proves, in so far, at least, as the history of one town or district is suffi- cient for that purpose, that the neglect of church-extension al- most necessarily leads to a departure from the ancient Scottish mode of providing for the wants of the poor. Greenock, with a population of 15,000, and only three places of worship at which collections were made, was able to relieve its own poor without an * Observations on the Management of the Poor in Scotland. G REEN O C R. a 48%) assessment, and, we have every reason to believe, placed them in a more comfortable condition than they are at present. In pro- cess of time, the population and the number of Dissenters increas- ed, an assessment was resorted to ; it increased the number of paupers, but not the means of subsistence; it lessened our church door-collections, and our private charity, and last, and worst of all, it encouraged parents to turn a deaf ear to the call of instinctive parental affection, and to desert their own offspring. Mr Monypen- ny has clearly shown, that the only cure to these evils is to be found in an extension of the parochial system, that is, in the sub- division of our overgrown parishes, and the providing of a suffi- cient amount of pastoral and parochial superintendence.* The vo- luntary assumption of the care of their own paupers by the ma- nagers of the several congregations of all professing Christians,— a plan which has been sometimes talked of, might, in Some mea- sure, mitigate the evil which the assessment is intended to remedy: but there is no effectual cure but the dissemination of sound reli- gious principle, and the creation of moral habits, by a faithful, af- fectionate, and zealous ministry. Prisons.—The following abstract is taken from a Report to Her Majesty's Government, by the Governor of the Greenock Jail, for the year commencing 1st August 1838, and ending 31st July 1839:— Received during the year, as above computed, 1062, of whom there were 700 males, 362 females. The greatest number of criminals in jail at any one time during the year was 75; of whom there were, 44 males, 31 females. The average number of pri- soners during the year was about 46 ; of whom there were 28;#3 males, 18 females. Distinguishing debtors and prisoners for offences against the re- venue from other prisoners, the average number of the first two classes, was as follows: imprisoned for debt, 5 ; for offences against the revenue, 3. - - Excluding these classes, the ages of the total number of pri- soners received during the year are shown as under: Under 14, wº males, 16, females, 13; total 29. 14, and under 17, males, 76, females, 55; total 13]. 17, and under 30, males, 320, females, l89; total 459. 30, and under 40, males, 133, females, 91 ; total 224. 40, and under 50, males, 86, females, 39; total 125. 50, and under 60, males, 35, females, 15; total 50. 60, and upwards, males, 7, females, l l ; total 18. * The Claims of the Established Church of Scotland, by David Monypenny, Esq. 490 R E N F RE W SH I R. E. º Of the last-mentioned class of prisoners, 71 males and 53 fe- males could neither read nor write ; 144 males, and 87 females, could either read or write, or could read and write imperfectly ; 119 males and 64 females could read well; but either could not write at all, or could write only imperfectly. The gross produce of prisoners’ work during the year was - L. 61 la l; Portion of earnings paid to prisoners, & - *- 6 12 6 Nett profits, gº *-* {-º * tº - L. 55 1 7 Nett expense of the prison during the year, - * L. 421 6 53 Average cost of each prisoner during the year, gº - L. 10 14 l; Average profit from each prisoner, - - tº 1 4 9 Nett average cost of cach criminal prisoner, º * L. 9 9 4% In addition to his other duties, the chaplain teaches the younger prisoners daily. The members of the Greenock Ladies' Associa- tion visit and converse with the female prisoners six hours in the week. It is the opinion of those who have the best opportunities of being informed on the subject, that offences against person and property are on the increase in this district, owing partly to the increase of the native population, and partly to the influx of arti- sans and others employed in the manufactories in the town and neighbourhood. \ The health of the prisoners seems to be carefully attended to in respect of diet and lodging. It is to be regretted, however, that the site of the prison is low and confined ; and that the air- ing ground is not more extensive. The prison is well secured. There is a communication between it and the sheriff-court room which is almost immediately adjoining. Fairs.-There are two fairs yearly, one on the first Thursday of July, and the other on the fourth. Tuesday of November. Inns, Alehouses, &c.—There are 31 inns and taverns in Gree- mock, and 275 houses for retailing ale and spirituous liquors. Taking the last of these separately, and computing the population of the whole parish at 30,000, there is a spirit or beer-shop to every 25 families, or thereabouts. The total number of licenses for inns and alehouses of all descriptions in 1821, was 233; it is now 306. The increase, it is satisfactory to think, is not in pro- portion to the increase of the population; yet it cannot be denied that the number of spirit and ale-shops far exceeds the real wants of the inhabitants of the district, and affords a lamentable, but ob- 3 * GREENOC K. 49 | tº vious explanation of the disproportionate increase of the poverty and wretchedness of the lower classes. Fuel.—It is almost unnecessary to observe, that coal is the spe- cies of fuel universally used in this parish, except in the moorland part of it, where peat or turf is in common use. The coal is im- ported from Glasgow, Ayrshire, and other places. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. On a general review of the facts stated in the preceding account, it appears that, with the exception of improvement by draining and better cultivation on the arable ground, and the erection of more commodious farm steadings, very little alteration has taken place during the last forty-five years, the period which has elapsed since the writing of the last Statistical Account—on the rural orlandward part of this parish. But the increase of the population and wealth of the town and suburbs, during the same period, has been immense. In 1793, the population was about 14,000; it is now more than double that amount. It was then confined almost entirely to the level ground in the vicinity of the river; it is now spreading itself rapidly over the rising ground above. The harbour revenue was then little more than L. 800 per annum ; it is now L. 12,000. There was then only one banking establishment in Greenock : now there are six.” The real capital was comparatively small, and the principal part of the trade in the hands of merchants in Glasgow; the real capital is quintupled, and our principal ship- owners and merchants are resident in Greenock. The writer of the last Statistical Account complains that sea-port towns are by no means favourable to manufactures, and mentions a rope- work, several cordage and sail-cloth manufactories, soap and candle- works, and two sugar-houses, as the only considerable manufactories of which Greenock could then boast. Now its manufactories are multiplying and increasing to such an extent, as to place it at no mean height in the list of the manufacturing towns of Scotland. In 1793, there were two parish-churches and two chapels of ease; including the latter there are now eight churches connected with the Establishment. Two commodious places of worship with se- veral smaller edifices, have been added during the same period to * The Greenock Bank Company, the first native bank, was established in 1785. Mr James Millar, afterwards Professor of Mathematics in the University of Glasgow, was the first cashier. The Renfrewshire Bank began to transact business in 1802. The branches of the Glasgow Union Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank, and Western Bank, have all been opened within the last ten years. It is in contemplation to es- tablish another banking establishment under the designation of the Greenock Union. 492 R. E.N FREWS H I R.E. the churches of the Evangelical Dissenters. Schools have been erected, and a mechanics’ institution house has been built. And, lastly, the town of Greenock, which not long ago had no share of the representation in Parliament, has now the privilege of sending one Member to the House of Commons. If we extend our retrospect to the beginning of last century, the progress which this town has made is still more remarkable. It was then a small fishing village; it is now a great commercial town. Under a kind and merciful Providence it owes its commer- cial prosperity to its local advantages; to the liberal and enlight- ened policy of its barons superior in former and later times; and, above all, to the enterprising spirit of its inhabitants. To what elevation it is yet destined to rise in this respect, is known only to Him to whom all His works are known from the beginning to the end. The improvements which are now making on the means of communication are so rapid and extraordinary, that no man can presume to calculate what will be the result to the several manu- facturing and commercial towns throughout the kingdom. Green- ock may decline. Its commerce and manufactures may be injur- ed, perhaps annihilated, by the successful competition of other places. Like Tyre it may one day become a place for fisher- men to spread nets upon : or it may be bereft of its greatness without returning to its former simplicity. One thing is certain, that the continuance and increase of our commercial prosperity depend essentially on the causes which gave it birth. The acti- vity and enterprise of our merchants and manufacturers must, and, we doubt not, will be stimulated and directed by the judicious ar- rangements of our civic rulers on the one hand, and the fostering care and liberal policy of the Legislature and Her Majesty's Go- vernment, and the principal landed proprietors, on the other. Enjoying these advantages, Greenock will, we trust, continue to hold her place in the mighty competition, which, if it has not already commenced, is fast approaching, and will rise to still higher eminence than she has yet attained. That this may be her lot is the earnest wish of the writer of this Account. To that wish he would add his fervent prayers for better and more en- during blessings. It is a fine sentiment which is embodied in the motto of a neighbouring city, “Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word.” Sound religious and moral principle is the only solid foundation on which the prosperity of nations, and cities, and families can rest. It is the only pledge which men can GREENOCK. 493 have for the continuance of national and domestic prosperity. Take away from the mass of the community the fear of God, the belief of a future judgment, and reverence forthe Scriptures of truth, and what is proudly called “ the majesty of the law” will prove but a feeble restraint on the fierce and unruly passions of the human heart. Diffuse the knowledge of pure religion, let its healing virtue descend on the dwellings of the rich, and the humbler habitations of the poor, and to the higher spiritual bles- sings of which it shall be productive, there shall be added the con- tentment, the peacefulness, the temporal prosperity which are its natural fruits, and in the good providence of God its gracious and blissful reward. Copy of Charter referred to in page 414. “JAMES Be the grace of god king of Scotts To or collectors and vthers vnder ressaveris of the stentis taxationis subsydis and impositionis ordiner and extraordinar to be raisit and imposit with- in this realme and all or officeris executors of ony or wther ltez to be dirict thairvpoun lieges and subdites quhome it efferis quhais knawlege thir or l'ez sall cum gretin WIT YE WS being movit wº the ernest zeill and grite affection o’louit Johnne schaw of grenok hes ay had to goddis glorie and propagatioun of the trew religioun sen the first professing of the same within o' realm And that he continewing in that godlie mynd and gude intentioun vpoun sindrie ressounable considerationis moving him of conscience and reuerence he beiris to goddis Name Is willing not onlie on his awin coist to Erect and big one parroche kirk vpoun his awin he- retage Bot also to appoynt and designne mans and gaird to the samyn wº the haill proffitte and comoditie he hes of teind belang- ing to the kirk for the help and supporte of the sustentatioun of ame minister thairat Sua that the puir pepill duelling vpoun his lands and heretage qlkis ar all fischers and of a ressounable nowmer duelland four myles fra thair parroche kirk and having ane greit river to pas over to the samyn May haif ane ease in winter seasoun and better comoditie to convene to goddis suice on the sabboth day and rest according to goddis institutioun Beand weill allowit of to proceid in the samyn weirk baith be the generall assemblie of the kirk and synodall assemblie of the provine qin he remanis 494 R EN FREWS HIRE,. And we vnderstanding that the accomplisheing of the said godlie and gude wark Will be large coist and expense and grite panes and travellis to the said Johnne and his tenentis THAIR FOIR, that thai fasche not nor be hinderit thairin bot rather be encourageit and haif gude occasioun to performe the samyn WE efter of lauch- fuil and perſyte aige of Tuentie ane yers compleit and generall re- vocatioun maid in or parliament Haif gevin grantit and comittit and be thir of lrez gevis grantis and comittis to the said Johnne Schaw of grenok Oure full power speciall libertie facultie and li- cence To erect and big the said kirk and designne mans and gaird thairto In and vpoun ony pairt or place within the bounds of his awin lands and heretage quhair he sall think maist comodious and convenient quhairat his haill tenentis salbe haldin to convene to heir goddis worde and Ressaue the sacramentis in all tyme cum- ing and ordanis the samyn to be callit the parroche kirk of gren- ok And thairfoir exeme him his airis and tennentis of his lands and heretage now had and to be had be him and thane fra all keping and convening to their auld parroche kirk in ony tymes cuming Bot at thair awin will and ples be thir of lrez And de- clairis thame to be frie and perpetuallie exonerit and dischairgit of all charge and burding of the samyn in stent taxatioun bigging beitting or ony viher manner of way in tyme cuming And forder vpoun the cause and considerationis foirsaidis we ermeistlie willing the said Johnnes godlie intentioun foirsaid and being of gude mynd to move him thairto and recompance him for the samyn Be the tennor of thir o' l'ez Exemis the said Johnne his airis and tennentis pnt and to cum duelling vpoun his proper lands and here- tage of grenok fynnartie and spangok with thair pertinentis extend- ing all to twenty aucht pund xiijs worth of land of auld extentlyand within the parochin of Innerkipe and or sreflome of Renfrew fra all payment of ony pairt of ony taxatioun stent subside charge and impositioun qtsumeuir to be raisit or imposit within this realme in ony tymes heirefter ather ordiner or extraordiner for ony caus or occasioun that may happin, &c. &c. Gevin vnder o' privie seill AT halyruidhous the auchtene day of Nouember The yeir of god Jº vº fourscoir nine yeiris And of or Regnne the twentie thrie yeir per signaturam munibus SD N Regis ac cancelarij subscript.” December 1840. PARISH OF CATHCART. PRESBYTERY OF GLASGow, SYNOD OF GLASGow AND AYR. THE REV. JAMES SMITH, MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name, Boundaries, &c.—The original name of this parish ap- pears to have been Keth or Karthkert, and Carcart is still the vulgar pronunciation. The word is of Celtic origin, denoting the Castle of the Cart, or fertilizing stream. The parish is of great antiquity; the kirk of Kerthkert, with its pertinents, having been appropriated by Walter Lord High Steward of Scotland in 1160, to the monastery of Paisley. The larger portion of the parish is situated in Renfrewshire, but the extensive estates of Aikenhead and Dripps are in the county of Lanark. The lands of the latter estate, which lie about a mile apart from the rest of the parish, were annexed quoad sacra to the parish of Carmunnock in 1725, by an amicable arrangement among the parties interested, to which the Lords Commissioners for Plantation of Kirks gave their sanc- tion. The reason of this disjunction was the greater proximity of Dripps to the parish church of Carmunnock, and a consequent regard to the convenience of its inhabitants in the enjoyment of church privileges. In the map of Renfrewshire, published by Ainslie in 1796, the lands of Polmadie, which touch the Clyde at a point opposite the Flesher's Haugh in the Green of Glasgow, are included in the parish of Cathcart. There is no doubt in the writer’s mind, from many circumstances, that they originally be- longed to it and do so still, although now annexed quoad sacra to the parish of Gorbals, and paying their teind to the College of Glasgow. If this be the case, the parish of Cathcart, quoad civi- lia, extends in length from north to south, about five miles, while its breadth from east to west averages little more than a mile. It is bounded on the east by Rutherglen and Carmunnock; on the north, by Gorbals and Govan; on the west, by Eastwood; and on the south, by Mearns and Eaglesham. Topographical Appearances.—The undulating surface is beauti- R ENFREW. K k 496 I? EN FREWSHIRE. fully diversified with hill and dale, wood and water. None of the hills rise to any considerable height, and all of them are cultivat- ed to the summit. Through its rich and fertile fields, the river Cart winds its way in romantic beauty, sometimes dashing onwards overhung by precipitous and woody banks, sometimes passing smoothly through holm lands, whose prolific alluvial soil it former- ly enriched. How very different must the present appearance of Cathcart be from what it was ages ago, when consisting of wood and marsh, as is intimated by the names of places throughout its whole extent. There are, for instance, Aikenhead, Hagginshaw, Woodside, Williamwood, Woodend, Muirend, Bogton and Moss- side. - Meteorology, &c.—The temperature of the parish is comparative- ly mild, owing, in all probability, to the numerous plantations, which give shelter from the storms, and to the system of draining which has been generally adopted, by which the rain, instead of lying on the surface to evaporate, is immediately carried off to the river. The climate is accounted most salubrious, and there are no dis- tempers indigenous to the district. Very few infectious diseases have been known to spread among the inhabitants, with the excep- tion of cholera, which visited the northern part of the parish in 1832, and, to a much more alarming extent, the village of New Cath- cart in 1834. In that village alone one in seven of the population was assailed, and one in twenty-four was carried off by that oriental plague. From the proximity of Cathcart to the densely peopled city of Glasgow, where disease is ever revelling, the complaints prevalent there are frequently imported, but seldom, even in the case of typhus fever, extend themselves in the neighbourhood to which they are unhappily introduced. The village of Langside is con- sidered to be peculiarly healthy, and although the writer has known many instances of fever patients returning to their families there, he is not aware that there is any instance of the malady being communicated by infection. The most insalubrious wind to which the parish is exposed, and during the continuance of which disease is most prevalent, blows from the north-east, but a westerly wind is much more frequent, as appears from the general bend of the trees towards the east. Hydrography.—The springs are numerous, and may in general be called perennial. In a season of long protracted drought, those in the higher grounds usually fail, but there is seldom any reason to complain of a plentiful supply of good drinking water. Some CAT FIC AIR.T. - 497 springs which formerly existed have disappeared, more especially in the vicinity of coal mines, which in all probability have either interfered with their flow or reached their source. The river Cart, which rises in the hills above Eaglesham, flows through the parish, passing into Eastwood at Pollokshaws, and receiving in its course a few small tributary rills, but augmented in a much higher proportion by the drains, both open and covered, which the pro- prietors, in the praiseworthy spirit of agricultural improvement, have made to pour into it on every side. It is said at one time to have abounded with trout, but their number is now very much di- minished, and this diminution is attributed partly to the general use of lime in husbandry, and partly to the diligence of poachers in the faithful prosecution of their calling. The waters contri- bute much to the industrial resources of the inhabitants, as they keep no less than four public works in constant operation. In the former Statistical Account of this parish, mention is made of a stream falling into the river a little above the old bridge, and having a petrifying power upon vegetable substances. The writer has never been able to ascertain its existence, nor even to discover any tradition regarding it. - Geology.—It is unnecessary to enter into any minute account of the geological character of the parish, which is exactly similar to that of those around it. Cathcart covers part of the great coal basin, which extends from the trap hills of Campsie on the north to those of Cathkin on the south. Mines of coal and lime have frequently been worked with success, although there are none at present in operation. There is abundance of ironstone of the very best quality on the estate of Linn, and probably in other places, which is likely ere long to turn to the good account of the pro- prietor, in consequence of the number of blast-furnaces which have recently been erected in the immediate vicinity of the parish. At Crosshill there is a large quarry of excellent freestone, which is regularly contributing to the ornament of Glasgow, and to the comfort of its inhabitants. Minerals of various kinds are to be found in the channel of the Cart, a valuable collection of which, made by Lord Greenock in this and the parishes adjoining, has been presented by his Lordship to the Hunterian Museum, con- nected with the College of Glasgow. # Žoology, Botany and Soil.-The parish abounds in hares of a very large size; and of late, to the terror of all who wish well to agriculture, rabbits have made their appearance. Foxes are too 498 RENF RE WSHIRE. plenty in the neighbourhood, even, it is believed, for the taste of the sportsman, and their predatory incursions are far from encourag- ing the people to increase the number of their poultry. There are still a few trout in the river to reward the patient angler, who can derive pleasure from an occasional nibble, and those who love the gastronomic delicacies of the eel, when subjected to culinary skill, cannot complain of insufficient materials for the indulgence of their inclination.—This parish has long been a favourite place of re- sort to the botanical student, from the great variety of its natural vegetable productions. On the banks of the river are to be found the finest specimens of the greater number of those wild flowers which are indigenous to Scotland. Those botanists who are ac- quainted with Sir William Hooker's Flora Scotica know well how frequently reference is made to the borders of the Cart. The author of the last Statistical Account of Cathcart complains grie- vously of the war waged with the ancient forests of our country, and of the consequent scarcity of trees here as in other parts of Scotland. In so far as this parish is concerned, the ground of former complaint is now removed ; as, besides the venerable re- mains of native woods still surviving the general wreck, we have very many thriving plantations growing up in every direction, and, by their judicious arrangement, adding at once to the ornament of the country, the productiveness of the soil, and the comfort of the inhabitants. The soil is very various in quality. In the lower lands it consists of a deep rich alluvial loam with a gravelly sub- soil, and the higher of clay, occasioning a great variety in the fer- tility of the several farms within the parish, notwithstanding its li- mited extent, and consequently a great disproportion in the value of the several estates to their territorial dimensions. In all parts of the parish, however, in consequence of those improvements which science has suggested being universally adopted, and in conse- quence also of its proximity to Glasgow, that great metropolis of manure, the soil is rapidly improving ; and acres, forty years ago, untouched by the plough, are now giving annually to the people the most abundant crops of grain of every kind. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. There is an account of this parish to be found in the History of Renfrewshire, published by Crawford in 1710. - Family of Cathcart.—More than 700 years ago, the parish be- came the property of a family which is now represented by a noble- man who bears at once the surname and the title of Cathcart, and who CAT II CA IRT 499 has increased the splendour of a name always illustrious by his deeds as a soldier in the field of action, as a senator in the House of Peers, and as the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of his country on a most mo- mentous mission. In the register of Paisley we find Rainaldus de Cathcart in 1179 a witness to the donation of the church of Cath- cart, with all its pertinents, to the monastery of that town, by Alan, the son of Walter, Dapifer regis Scotiae. . In 1447, the fa- mily was ennobled by King James II., who declared Sir Alan, then the head of the house, to be Nobilis et Magnificus Dominus de Cathcart, Dominus ejusdem. In 1546, the ancient family estate was alienated by Alan, the third Lord Cathcart, and passed into the possession of the noble family of Semple, with whom it conti- nued for many generations. The history of this house gives weight to the opinion that religious zeal, forensic talent, and military va- lour are hereditary. The first great inroad on the property of the family, in so far as this parish is concerned, was occasioned by their donations to the monastery of Paisley, and in Paisley Abbey the principal pillar, still decorated with the Cathcart arms, was wholly built at their expense. Three of the family fell at Flod- den in 1513. Their noble nephew fell at Pinkie in 1547. His successor, the fourth Lord Cathcart, was distinguished by his ener- getic efforts to promote the reformation of religion in Scotland, and by his valorous conduct at the battle of Langside. The eighth Lord Cathcart, as Colonel of the Scots Greys, contributed to the victory achieved at Sheriffmuir over the army of the rebels, and died commander of the forces in America. The present Earl commanded the military forces at the taking of Copenhagen in 1807, being in that expedition the superior officer of the Duke of Wellington, whose name before illustrious in India, then appeared for the first time in European warfare, and earned by his services not only the gratitude of his country, but new honours from his King. The venerable Earl now lives, the repossessor of the castle of his fathers, senior on the list of advocates at the Scottish Bar, and of generals of the British empire; and no less than two of his sons enjoy the enviable distinction of having fought the battle of their country on the field of Waterloo. The more ancient families of the parish have disappeared, or are now disappearing, with the exception of the Noble house above alluded to, who have returned to the dwelling of their fathers after centuries of absence. The. Blairs of Bogton, now represented by the family of Blair, have no longer any pro- 500 R.E IN FR E W S H [R E. perty in the parish. The plough passes annually over the foundation of their once formidable castle, the stones of which form the garden wall of a retired Glasgow merchant. The same may be said of the Maxwells of Williamwood, the traces of whose family seat, which appears to have been built in the style of Saxon architecture, are now with difficulty to be discovered. The estate passed into the possession of a gentleman of the name of Stewart, and is now the property of his son. The Hamiltons of Aikenhead, cadets of the ducal family of that name, were at one time very extensive proprietors, holding the lands of Langside, Holmhead, and others. The last representative of the family is the present Miss Hamilton, with whom the name must terminate, and to whom Holmhead is the whole now left of their once wide domains in this parish. The largest heritor at the pre- sent day is Sir John Maxwell of Pollok, whose residence is, how- ever, in Eastwood, so that to the statistical historian of that pa- rish belongs the pleasing task of recording the many distinguished services rendered to their country by the successive generations of that most ancient and honourable house. The largest resident heritor is Gordon of Aikenhead, who is also the patron. About twenty years ago, a splendid mansion- house, highly ornamental to the parish, was erected by the father of the present proprietor; and of late years the estate, extensive from the first, has been greatly augmented by the acquisition of the very beautiful and romantic property of the Linn. The heri- tors of the parish are now about thirty in number, and the princi- pal of them are, in addition to those already mentioned, Graham of Dripps, Brown of Langside, Thomson of Camphill, Clark of Crosshill, the hill on which, there being no natural boundary to the parish at that place, the cross, according to the practice in Catholic times, was erected to mark the limit. Parochial Registers.-There is no parochial register of an ear- lier date than the year 1707, although it appears from a minute of heritors about sixty years ago, when a session-clerk was chosen, that there was a more ancient record then in existence consigned to his charge, which has unfortunately been lost. The session minute-books which remain have been kept in extremely good or- der, and, instead of being deficient, are, perhaps, too abundant in their detail of the cases of scandal which were occurring in the pa- rish during the last century, with one exception in the case of the Rev. Mr Adam, on whose too true tale is founded the deeply in- 4 CATH CART. 5(; 1 teresting work of fiction which one of the most talented authors of . the age gave to the public some years ago, under the title of Adam Blair. The matter is alluded to in very few words, and simply referred to the presbytery—a circumstance which, while it disap- points the reader, gives the strongest evidence of the tender regard of the elders to their unhappy and erring pastor, who, after a tem- porary suspension, during which he gave the most convincing evi- dence of sincere repentance, was restored to his charge by the su- perior church court, in answer to the earnest and affectionate pe- titions of the people, and soon recovered, by increased fidelity and diligence in the discharge of his sacred duties, a place in the esteem of his parishioners as high as that which he had enjoyed be- fore his fall. Antiquities.—About thirty years ago, on the farm of Overlee, which lies on the north bank of the river Cart, in the south-west angle of the parish, Mr Watson, the proprietor, on removing the earth from a quarry which he wished to open, discovered a great many subterraneous houses ranged round the slope of a small swel- ling hill. Each house consisted of one apartment, from eight to twelve feet square. The sides, which were from four to five feet high, were faced with rough undressed stone, and the floors were neatly paved with thin flag stones which are found in the neigh- bourhood. In the centre of each floor was a hole scooped out as a fire-place, in which coal-ashes still remained, and seemed to in- dicate that their occupiers had left the place on a sudden. That coal and not wood or peat had been employed as fuel, seemed at first an argument against the antiquity of the houses, until it was remembered that many seams of coal crop out on the steep banks of the river in the immediate vicinity, which may have been pick- ed out for firing by the aboriginal inhabitants, as is still done to a limited extent by a few of the poorer classes in the neighbourhood. Near the fire-places were found small heaps of water-worn pebbles, from two to three inches in diameter, the use of which it is diffi- cult to conjecture. They may have been used as missiles for at- tack or defence in the rude warfare of ancient days, or more pro- bably they served the purposes of an equally rude system of cook- ery, by which meat was prepared for being eaten by heated stones placed round it, as is still done in many of the South Sea islands. The floors of the houses were covered to the depth of about a foot with a rich black vegetable mould, which was in all likelihood the decayed remains of the roofs mixed with soil filtered from the sur- face. As was gathered from the different appearances of the soil, 562 R EN FREWS HIRE, in and over them, the houses were partly excavated from the hill and partly built above ground, and a level approach to the en- trances was dug out of the slope. The number discovered amounted to forty-two, of which thirty-six formed the arc of a lower and larger circle, and the remaining six, also circularly ranged, stood a little higher up the hill. The writer is informed that the ruins of villages of a similar description have been disco- vered in several parts of Scotland; and there is an account of one very much the same as the above, recorded in the third volume of the Transactions of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland. About twelve querns or small hand-mills were found near the site of these houses, and a grave lined with stone containing a rude urn filled with ashes. These latter relics, however, may have belonged to a still distant but less remote antiquity. The old castle of Lee or Wil- liamwood was erected near the place, and it is not improbable that, in procuring materials for the building from the freestone, of which the hill consists, the soil, which for so many centuries concealed the remains of the village, was thrown down upon it. Several years ago, the proprietor, in cleariug away the old foundations of the castle, which interfered with the rectilineal operations of the plough, found within the square which they enclosed many hu- man bones, which he avers were of almost superhuman magnitude. If the natives of the village, described above, deserted their homes hastily, as may be conjectured from the fact of the fuel re- maining on their hearths, it may have been in terror of the Romans, —one division of whose invading army must have passed not far from the place. In a direct north-east line from this hill, without any intervening eminence, and at the distance of about two miles, there are still very distinct traces of a small Roman encampment on the summit of a hill, the name of which, from the circumstance, is Camp Hill. It must have been the station of some small subdi- vision of the Roman army placed there, at once to keep the na- tives in check, and to perform the duty of sentinels. For these purposes the site was admirably chosen, as it commands an exten- sive view, not only of the country for many miles round, but also of the counties of Argyle and Dumbarton, over which the power of ancient Rome never triumphed. May not our villagers of Overlee, in their yearning after liberty, have made some movement to excite the special hostility of this garrison, and to occasion their being compelled to a hasty flight from their homes by the well-disci- plined and experienced troops of the Imperial army. The camp is circular, with a diameter of about 100 yards. The vallum, which S CATHCART. 503 is still very perfect, is 7 feet high on the outside, and 4 feet wide on the top. There seem to have been three entrances to the camp, nearly trisecting the encircling rampart, but of these the ap- proach from the north-west was the principal, leading directly to the praetorium or general's tent, the position of which is still marked by a slight elevation of the ground on which it was pitched. About thirty years ago, a Roman vase, of elegant form and exqui- site workmanship, was found by the late minister of the parish, in preparing for the foundation of an addition to the house on his property at Woodend, and is now in the possession of the Hunterian Museum of Glasgow; but, in so far as the writer has discovered, this is the only existing specimen of Italian manufacture left by the Roman soldiers during their sojourn in this parish. To the south-west of the eminence on which the remains of the Ro- man encampment are to be seen, and nearly on the ridge of the same long hill, whose other elevated extremity is crowned by Langside House, stands the village of Langside, rendered ever me- morable in Scottish history, by the fatal day when the lovely but ill-starred Mary appeared for the last time as a queen and a free woman. A sufficiently accurate detail, to which tradition now can add nothing, of the battle fought on that eventful day, the 13th of May 1568, fraught with so many real blessings to Scotland, —yet even now contemplated with mixed feelings of pleasure and of pain by every leal-hearted Scotsman, is given by every writer of Scottish history, and the minute discrepancies which appear in their several narratives would not probably have existed, had they been better acquainted with the localities of the scene of action. The writer has no intention to describe the battle, but, as modern innovation is ever removing ancient landmarks, it may be well to record a short account of the field as it existed when the battle was fought, according to his best judgment formed on the spot, with the various authors in his hand, elucidated by traditionary report of the nature of the old roads leading through the parish, and of the general condition of the ground. The high road from Hamilton to Dumbarton either passed through Glasgow, crossing the Clyde at a ford near Dalmarnock, which was the way the Re- gent expected the Queen to take when, on the morning of the 13th, he drew up his troops at Barrowfield to meet her; or through Ru- therglen, entering this parish at Hagginshaw, HPassing along the ridge of the hill now known as Mount Floridon, then coinciding with the road from Glasgow to Ayr, which wound round the south side of the Clincart Hill, from which, about 100 yards to the 504 RENF RE WSH1 RE, west of the present Ayrshire road, it again diverged to the right, —proceeded along the bank of a morass, by what is now called the Bushy-Aik-Lane, and then conducted directly to the village of Langside, while the road to Ayr proceeded south, crossing the Cart at a bridge near the old castle, which still remains. In crossing Mount Floridon, Queen Mary's generals must have seen the enemy's forces rapidly forming after their hurried march from Barrowfield on the opposite hill, and preparing to dispute their further advance. It was determined to give battle, and, on reaching the Ayrshire road, the cavalry deployed into line on the northern face of the Clincart Hill, there being then no fences to the fields, but only native furze to impede the operations of the horsemen. The infantry pursued their way with impetuosity by the common road already described, while the Queen with her personal staff proceeded along the road to Ayr to an elevated position, long noted by a thorn, now marked by a small clump of trees, near the Castle of Cathcart, whose lord had recently parted with the poš- session of it, and was that day fighting in the ranks of her adver- saries, but with the usual success of the family in military mat- ters, on the winning side. A division of Murray's horse drew up on the ground where the farm-house of Pathhead now stands, and another about half-way between that and Langside, while in the latter village were stationed the great body of the infantry and artillery, whose cannon,-planted in the village gardens, and raking the direct road up which the Queen's infantry had to ad- vance,—would, in the more scientific hands of modern gunners, have effectually prevented that close and almost pugilistic fight, which, when blades were shivered, was for some time maintained at the entrance to the village, until the Royal troops were assailed in flank by the horsemen of the enemy. That the shock of ca- valry took place in the hollow between the two hills on which the opposing troops were at first drawn up, is probable, and the more so from many relics of the sharp though short conflict having been found by the present intelligent occupier of the farm, in opening a trench some years ago for the peaceful purposes of agriculture." When the unhappy Queen, from her station on the Court Hill of Cathcart, which commanded a view of the whole scene of action, saw the tide of battle irretrievably turned against her gallant defenders, she, with her attendants, galloped off by a lane which joins the road to Rutherglen at the Hagginshaw, and which, from the difficulty she experienced in bringing her horse through its muddy avenue, is still known by the name of Mal’s Mire, CATHCART. - 505 . Sir Walter Scott, in one of his magnificent semi-historical works of fiction, which will be read by ten for one of those who study true history, has placed Mary as a witness of the fight at Cruik- ston Castle, to which she could not have come without passing through the opposing army, from which also flight would have been impossible, and at which no part of the field of Langside is to be seen, -an error to which the writer would not have alluded, as it heightens the interest of the novel, were it not again repeated in the Tales of a Grandfather, which are deservedly admitted as au- thentic history, and few there are in Scotland who are not will- ing to receive, without cavil, any national narrative whatever upon the mere authority of that illustrious man 1" Small earthen pots filled with foreign silver coin of the seven- teenth century have, from time to time, been dug up, chiefly on the farm of Newlands. For what reason, and by what per- son, they were buried in the earth, it is impossible to say, and no local tradition throws any light upon the matter. It is not im- probable that some cavalier of fortune, some Dugald Dalgetty, returning from service on the Continent, and taking part in the struggle which then agitated his native country, had sought in this manner to secure by concealment his mercenary gain, till a peace should be restored which he did not live to witness. III.-Pop ULATION. * * The population of this parish can scarcely be considered on the increase. The new village of Cathcart owed its existence to a new line of rºad into Ayrshire, formed about forty years ago, and crossing the river by a bridge built in 1800, about 300 yards be- low the old one, over what was formerly a ford, on the road from Carmunnock to Pollokshaws : and the inhabitants were increased in number by the opening of a coal mine, which gave employment to many families. The working of the mine has been disconti- nued for some years, and is not likely to recommence; and the new high road from Glasgow to Ayr, opened six years since, pas- ses to the north of the parish, only touching it at one point. The direct tendency of removing, in a great measure, this crowded thoroughfare, is to interfere with the callings of many whose pros- perity was connected with its continuance, and thus to diminish * In a note to the last edition of the Abbot, published under correction of Sir Walter, the mistake pointed out to him by Mr M*Vean of Glasgow is acknowledg- ed. In the same note there is given from an ancient writer a short and spirited ac- count of the battle. In the sentence which concludes the note, however, the word Rutherglen must be substituted for Renfrew. 506 R EN FR F W S H I [RE, the number of residenters. Although, therefore, the general cen- sus, lately taken, shows an apparent increase of the population within the last ten years, that increase would have appeared much more considerable had the list of the inhabitants been made out five years ago. The writer uses the word “apparent,” as the late census was made at a season of the year when many families, usu- ally resident in Glasgow, take houses in this parish for the benefit of country air. 1841. 1st District. Old Cathcart, with the country Families. Males, Females. Total, around it, . º 72 | 67 173 340 2d do. New Cathcart, &c. e 89 193 212 405 3d do. Clarkstone Toll, &c. e 63 166 164 330 4th do. Langside, &c. tº * 93 237 242 479 5th do. Westfield, &c. • e 124 283 304 587 - In the Renfrewshire portion of the -— * *- smºm ammº & parish, there is a total of 44l l()46 1095 2141 6th do. Estate of Dripps, * | 6 59 46 105 7th do. Estate of Aikenhead, e 18 49 54 103 In Lanarkshire tº 34 I08 100 208 In both counties exclusive of I'ol- madie, included in the Govan census, tºº &= 475 ll 54 l 195 2349 Population in 1821, sº gº 2056 Population in 1831, e- 44] l 145 | 137 2282 Habits and Character of the People.—The proximity of this pa- rish to Glasgow, and the diversified nature of the pursuits in which its inhabitants are engaged, chiefly, however, agricultural and ma- nufacturing, render it extremely difficult to form a correct estimate of their general character. It must be admitted, however, that, in point of morality and attention to religious duty, the inhabitants of the parish may well bear comparison with any of the people in the surrounding country. Comparing the session record of the present day with that of the last century, there is a very marked improvement in the morals of the parishioners. - - IV.-INDUSTRY. Agricultural Economy.—The number of acres in the parish is 2950 imperial measure, almost the whole of which are under a re- gular rotation of tillage. There may be about sixty acres laid out as lawn in permanent pasture around the houses of some of the principal heritors, but these may at any time be, and occasionally are, cropped to advantage. There may also be about ninety acres covered with thriving wood ; but there is almost no land in the pa- rish that can be called uncultivated, although, not forty years ago, there was not one farm within its bounds which did not contain more or less of waste ground—which successful cultivation has now caused to disappear. About twenty of the acres of growing wood CATH CART". 507 are natural copse on the estate of Langside, and the rest consists of plantations, including ornamental belts of every description. Upwards of twenty acres of the above number occupy the farm of Merrilee, the property of Sir John Maxwell, and the only portion of the parish unfit, from its rocky nature, for profitable cultivation. The ground was planted with firs by the proprietor about forty years ago, a part of which has recently been cleared, yielding a fair return upon the original outlay, and is again replanted. The average rental of the lands of the whole parish is L. 2, 0s. 10}d per imperial acre, and the total rental amounts to L. 6013, 14s. 3d. There is a very great variety, however, in the value of the several farms, according to the quality of the soil and the relative advan- tages of the locality for manure and markets. Very great im- provements have taken place since the commencement of the pre- sent century, in the mode of cultivating the soil, resulting from the rapid progress of agricultural science. A regular rotation of cropping, completed in four years, is generally practised with much success. Oats, potatoes, wheat, and hay, follow each other suc- cessively, the potato crop being always well manured. The greater proportion of the lands which required it have, within these few years, been thoroughly furrow-drained, either with tiles or stones, and thus made capable of producing potatoes of good quality and fair crop in despite of untoward seasons. At the date of the last Statistical Account, there were scarcely thirty acres fit for the produce of this most valuable root. There are now about 300. Many acres also of rich alluvial soil have been reclaimed within the above period from a state of utter worthlessness by deep open sewers, brought to a lower level, and carrying off to the river the superfluous water which had formerly flooded them throughout the whole course of the seasons. Very little of the land is kept by the farmers in pasturage, and in the few instances where it is so, it is again broken up by a five instead of a four year’s rotation. Upon the whole, this parish will bear a compa- rison to its hononr with any part of Scotland, in local improve- ment, industrial management, and the diligent promotion of every scheme which science can suggest and practice can accomplish for the prosperity of agriculture. It is perhaps more the consequence than the cause of this happy state of matters, that a Farmer's So- ciety has recently been instituted, for the purpose of awarding prizes at an annual competition to those who approve themselves the most skilful in those practical operations, on which the success of husbandry so much depends. 508 R EN FREWSHIRE . Manufactures.—There are upwards of 100 families in the parish whose subsistence depends on hand-loom weaving; but as there is no public establishment for the manufacture of cloth, the webs, partly for plain, partly for harness-work, are furnished by the warehouses of Glasgow and Paisley. At Netherlee, on the Cart, there is a very extensive printfield, capable of giv- ing employment to 300 persons, including children, to which very large additions were built about two years ago; but from the stagnation of trade, the work is at present discontinued, and the property is now in the market. A little farther down the river, at Milholm, is a paper mill in full operation. The manufacture of paper was introduced into this parish about the year 1690, by Ni- cholas de Shan, a Frenchman, and one of those Protestant refu- gees, who, by the impolitic and unjust revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, were driven into foreign countries, and carried with them the arts which might have enriched their own. A part of the original building, enlarged from time to time, is supposed still to remain, and from its origin, until now, with very few and short interruptions, the work has been continued. Lower down, and at the end of the old bridge, is a mill for the manufacture of snuff, which affords employment to several families. On the river at its lowest point in Cathcart, and just before it enters the parish of Eastwood, there is an extensive bleachfield at Newlands, but the workers, who are very numerous, are, with a few excep- tions, resident in the adjoining town of Pollokshaws. To the resources of the same stream, the inhabitants are indebted for an excellent corn mill, as they also are for another at its upper extre- mity on the estate of Dripps. Those mills are principally sup- ported by a considerable sum which the tenants are obliged to pay annually under name of multure. The erection of a cotton mill on the Cart, whose machinery might be propelled by its waters, has occasionally been contemplated; but the idea seems, of late, to be abandoned, very much to the gratification of the writer, who has cause to congratulate himself that none of the public works now existing has been the means of introducing that sort of promis- cuous and floating population which is so apt, from its irresponsible character, to demoralize a neighbourhood. V.- PARoch IAL EconoMy. The distance of the most remote part of the parish from Glas- gow is not more than five miles and a-half, and the facility, there- CATHCART. 509 fore, enjoyed by the inhabitants of choosing their market in that great city, accounts for the fact that butchers'-meat has never been sold in the parish, and baking only attempted on a very small scale. An omnibus starts every morning from Clarkstone toll, the most distant point, for Glasgow, and returns in the evening. Ecclesiastical State.—The old parish church, a miserable build- ing, erected in 1707, and capable of containing, with comfort, not more than 150 sitters, was taken down in 1831, and a new one built of very elegant structure at a cost to the heritors of L. 2500, and seated to accommodate with ease about 1000 persons, which is very nearly the legal allowance of seat-room for the whole popu- lation. The sittings are allocated to the heritors according to their several valuations; but no seat-rent is charged from those who occupy them. A new and most commodious manse was built in 1818, and is in good repair, together with the offices, which were repaired and enlarged a few years ago. The garden ground around the manse amounts to about one acre and a-half, and the glebe, which is let at a rent of L. 16, 10s, consists of three acres and a rood. A very fair average of the annual value of the living is given in the report of the Parliamentary Commissioners, who state it to be L. 276, consisting partly of surrendered teind, and partly of oatmeal and barley, payable in money at the highest fiar price. There is no Dissenting meeting-house in the parish, but a considerable number of Dissenters, who have no difficulty in find- ing accommodation for public worship in the chapels of Pollok- shaws, Mearns, Rutherglen, and Glasgow. A majority of the inhabitants are connected with the Established Church. The average number of the congregation, which varies very consider- ably at different seasons of the year, may be about 500; and the number of communicants on the roll is about 100 less. About thirty young persons have, for some years past, been admitted andually to the communion-table for the first time. Education.—There is an admirably-conducted school near Clarkstone, but, from its situation, it is of more benefit to the populous village of Busby in Mearns than to this parish. There is also one in the new village of Cathcart, well taught and well attended; and till of late, there was one in Crossmyloof, but, the teacher’s merits having procured him promotion, it is now closed. These three schools were each on the masters' own adventure. It may be worth while to mention that some years ago, when the regular teacher in the last-mentioned village fell into a decline, 5 J () R EN FR EWS III R.E. and the place became vacant for upwards of two years, the more respectable of the inhabitants, who are mostly weavers, formed themselves into an educational society, to be managed by twelve directors, under the presidency of the minister. A certain number of the more intelligent of the villagers who were willing to undertake the task of teachers, were selected ; a room was hired for the pur- pose, and a school opened from eight to ten o’clock at night, in which the teachers, two by two, in monthly turn, gave gratuitous instruction to whatever children were committed to their charge. The duty of the directors was principally to visit the school, and to wait upon careless parents to urge upon them the propriety of securing to their children the advantages which it offered. The plan was attended with the greatest success, and continued in ac- tive operation until rendered unnecessary by the arrival of a regular teacher. An excellent parish school and schoolmaster’s house were erected in the year 1830, at an expense approaching L. 500. It is thinly attended, and the parochial schoolmaster has stated to the writer that, in his opinion, the cause of this may be its proxi- mity to the river ! The salary is about L. 31 ; and the office, con- nected as it is with that of session-clerk, affords a very comfortable competency. Societies, &c.—There is in the parish a Ladies’ Society for cloth- ing the children of the poor, and other purposes. By them a girl’s school, formed very much on the model of the schools of industry, has been instituted. A salary is given to the teacher— appointed by them, who is bound to receive and instruct gratui- tously a limited number of girls recommended by the Society, while she is allowed to receive the fees of those who are voluntarily placed by their parents under her tuition. The same ladies pro- vided last year for the complete clothing of no less than fifty-two poor children, and are this year still further extending their gene- rosity, in the exercise of which, they are handsomely supported by the wealthier classes of the parishioners. Under the same friendly auspices, a Sunday-school has been instituted, over which the minister presides, and in the management of which he is ably assisted by twelve of his congregation. For the use both of the girl’s school and of the Sunday-school, the old parish school-room has been kindly appropriated by the heritors; and through the liberality of one of their number, it has been placed in such a state of repair as to be inferior to few school-rooms in Scotland, either in point of accommodation or comfort. The number of children 3 IN N E R K II?. *499 about 1000; in undivided common, about 200; under wood, about 30. In the same district, the average rent of land is about L. l per acre. The real rental of the quoad sacra parish of Gourock is L.2500. The land on all the estates in Innerkip has been considerably improved during the last forty years. Furrow-draining has been carried on with great spirit; and the late Sir Michael S. Stewart and Mr Wallace of Kelly have given liberal encouragement to that and other improvements on land. The Shaw's water aqueduct, of which a description is given in the Account of Greenock, passes through the parish, and a part of the reservoir is in it. But the principal improvement since the beginning of the century, has been the making of the new turnpike road from Greenock to Innerkip. Manufactures.—There is a rope-work in the parish belonging to the Gourock Rope Work Company. 180 tons of cordage are here manufactured yearly ; value of a ton, L.42. 23 spinners, 3 apprentices, and 9 boys are employed at this work. - Fishings.--The produce of the fishings of salmon, trout, ling, cod, haddocks, whitings, &c. in Gourock parish, may amount to about L.300 per annum. * - Navigation.—Two sloops and a few small herring wherries be-, long to the village of Gourock. V.—PARocIIIAL EconoMy. Ecclesiastical State.—The amount of the stipend of the minister of Innerkip is L.278. The district of Gourock has been erected into a separate parish quoad Sacra ; and the minister's stipend is L. 160 per annum. He has neither manse nor glebe. - There is a parish library connected with the church at Gourock, containing nearly 600 volumes. . - - Education.—There are two schools in the parish ; salary of the parochial teacher, L.30, 15s.; amount of his fees, about L.26 per annum. In Gourock parish, there is a school endowed by George Rainy, Esq. with the handsome sum of L.500. Poor—In the Gourock quoad sacra parish, there are 12 regu- lar paupers, besides 20 who receive occasional aid of from L. 1, 16s, to L.4 per annum. The poor in this place have great advantages from the strangers who resort to it for sea-bathing quarters, who are very kind to them. The total amount distributed among the poor is about L.60 per annum; of which about L.30 is from church collections, and the like sum from alms and legacies. January 1842. R EN F.R.E.W. * R k PARISH OF ERSKINE. PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK, SYNoD OF GLASGow AND AYR. THE REV. ROBERT WALTER STEWART, A.M., MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name Erskine was in earlier times written Irskyn, and seems to claim a Celtic origin, being compounded of the words Eris-shyne, which signifies “on a knife.” Tradition tells that the founder of the ancient family of Erskine of that Ilk, now Ers- kine of Mar, having slain in the battle of Murthill, Enrique, one of the Danish generals, and having presented the bleeding head upon his dagger to King Malcolm II., with the exclamation “Eris- skyne,” was, on account of his valour, immediately sirnamed Ers- kine by that monarch. Whether the castle and the lands derived their name from the surname thus imposed upon their proprietor, or whether, as other antiquarians seem to suppose, the proprietor derived his surname from his estates, is a matter of little conse- quence for the present purpose, as there seems no doubt that the church and parish derived their name from the Castle of Erskine, which stood on the south margin of the river Clyde, on the same site which the old mansion-house of Erskine now occupies. Extent and Boundaries.—The parish stretches from east to west, inclining southward, in the form of an irregular oblong, the eastern being considerably broader than the western extremity. Its length, between the extreme points, is about 8%, and its ave- rage breadth from 2 to 3 miles; and it is believed to contain about 20 square miles of surface. It is bounded on the north, by the river Clyde; on the west, by the parish of Kilmalcolm, into which, indeed, its western ex- tremity juts so far as to reach within a mile of the parish church; on the South, by the united parishes of Houstoun and Kilallan, and a narrow stripe of the pairsh of Kilbarchan; and on the east, by the parish of Inchinnan. Topographical Appearances.—The surface in the east end of ERSR IN E. *501 the parish, towards the Clyde, presents much the same appear- ance, from its numerous diluvial rising grounds, as the neighbour- ing parish of Inchinnan. Between the new mansion-house at Ers- kine, and the West Ferry, opposite Dumbarton rock, along the banks of the Clyde, there is a coñsiderable quantity of low-lying alluvial land, which has evidently been gained, in former times, from the river, by successive depositions of loam and mud left by the stream, and by means of dikes and jetties, which have been con- structed for deepening and rendering navigable the Clyde,-a si- milar formation of alluvial land is now slowly going on. At the west end of the parish, however, there seems to have been little alluvial soil gained, the ground rises rapidly from the banks of he river until it joins that chain of hills which intersects the pa- rishes of Kilmalcolm and Lochwinnoch. The coup d'oeil presented to a passenger sailing down the Clyde, between Erskine and Old Kilpatrick, has been very well described by the Rev. Mr Barclay in his account of the latter parish, to which the reader is referred. There are in this parish two points on the old post-road between Greenock and Glasgow, from which may be had most enchanting views of the far-famed lake and mountain scenery of the west of Scotland. from Crosshill, above Bishopton House, there is a view westward, down the Frith of Clyde, as far as the mouth of the Holy Loch, which is bounded by the chain of hills called from their peculiar shape, “the Farrel of Cakes,” rising beyond Dunoon and Kilman, towards Loch Echt. In the foreground lies Dumbarton Castle, and further distant, on either side of the river, the towns of Port Glasgow, Greenock, and Gourock, the village of Cardross, and the town of Helensburgh, the view in the direction of the latter being bounded by that high and rugged chain of hills which rises abruptly from the shores of Loch Long and Loch Goil, and ends in Ben Ann, or “the Cobbler,” as it is most usually called. The view from this spot northward is, however, the more interesting of the two. The beautiful and classic vale of Leven lies straight before the spectator, studded with the towns of Dumbarton, Alex- andria, (where Smollet the historian was born), and Bonhill, and with villas innumerable; at the upper end of it, the waters of Łochlomond, from which the Leven takes its rise, are visible on a clear day, and the King of the Scottish hills, Benlomond, is distinctly seen surrounded by his humbler satellites.* * At the spot from which this beautiful panorama is seen, stood formerly the iun, t 5.02% IR EN FREWSH I 18. E. The view from another point further west, called Undercraig, is still more extensive, because it not only embraces the mountains Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, and Ben More, on the north, and the hills above Holy Loch and Loch Long on the west, but also a splendid view of Loch Gare and the peninsula of Roseneath, “the Holy Isle,” as it was formerly called. On a summer evening, the sunset viewed from this point is most lovely and imposing; Camp- saile Bay and the Gare Loch present the appearance of molter gold, until the sun sinks behind the horizon, when the long dark shadows of the neighbouring mountains become immediately visible on their placid waters. - - Climate and Diseases.—The climate, as in the neighbouring pa- rishes, is moist, but on the whole salubrious, for though rain falls in considerable quantity, it is immediately absorbed by the gravel- ly subsoil, and there are no marshes or stagnant pools in the pa- rish to contaminate the air. It must, however, be confessed that, from the quantity of rain that falls, and more especially from the clouds of vapour which rise constantly from the Clyde, the atmo- sphere is not so light and elastic as it is further inland, and rheu- matism is, consequently, of not unfrequent occurrence. There is no disease that can be called endemic. Typhus fever seldom makes its appearance, and when it does, from the immediate removal of the patient to the nearest hospital, it rarely spreads. The natu- ral small-pox has more than once appeared in the parish, but last year, on account of the crowded state of the houses,” it prevailed to a great extent among persons of all ages. . When vaccination had previously taken place, it was uniformly mild, but to infant. children, and unvaccinated persons, it proved very fatal. Con- sumption is a very common disease, arising from neglect of colds, brought on by exposure to the weather, in following agricultural pursuits. When Asiatic cholera visited our country some years ago, there were two cases in this parish, both of which proved fatal. Springs and Rivers.-There are abundance of strong and ex- cellent springs in this parish ; some of these in the western part. are entirely devoid of any mineral faint; but the wells are gene- called the Half-way House, at which, about forty years ago, travellers who left Greenock in the morning by coach were in the habit of dining, as they never reached Glasgow till late in the evening, twelve hours being the time allowed for twenty-four miles. Travellers now accomplish that distance by railway in less than one hour. * The workmen on the Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railway, to the amounts of 1500, were lodged in the parish, much to the detriment of cleanliness and good morals. - - 4 El{SIR 1N E. *503 rally more or less chalybeate, and there is one particularly on the farm of Drumcross, the mineral qualities of which are very strong. The Clyde, opposite the mansion-house at Erskine, still retains its original appearance and beauty, whilst everywhere else it has been changed and narrowed by the walls, and embankments which the river trustees have made, under the advice of eminent engi- neers, for deepening the channel. What changes the Clyde Bill, now passing through Parliament, may make on the appearance of the river, and consequently on the amenity of Lord Blantyre's park and pleasure-grounds, it is impossible at present to say ; but it is a fact worthy a place in such an account as the present, that the Bill has been rendered necessary by a complete change in the opinion of the engineers of the present day, with regard to the best manner of deepening the channel. For nearly a century past, but particularly for the last thirty years, the plan which the engi- neers recommended, and the trustees followed, was to narrow and deepen the channel, in the hope that the body of water at ebb- tide would effectually scour it, jetties being, at the same time, run out from the shore, at convenient distances, to intercept the sand thus brought down ; and all who recollect the former navi- gation of the Clyde can bear ample testimony to the success of this plan, from the certainty and rapidity with which the passage up or down the river can now be made. The engineers of the pre- sent day, however, have given their opinion very decidedly on the advantage to be derived from widening the river, and cutting off as much as possible the angles, or turnings on the banks, as well as deepening the channel, under the idea, that the greater the body of water, conjoined with the fewer resistances it has to contend with, will make the ebb-tide scour much more effectual. Geology and Mineralogy.—The geology of this parish very much resembles that of the neighbouring parishes of Inchinnan and Old Kilpatrick. The diluvium is in many places found extending to the depth of six feet, consisting chiefly of loose gravel, though sometimes containing a considerable quantity of clay. It is inter- spersed with immense boulders of granite, graywacke, &c. which seem to have had their original habitat to the north-west, in the Argyleshire hills. The strata in the south-eastern part of the pa- rish generally seem to belong to those rocks of the secondary kind which are known as carboniferous, or the coal formation. Some fine specimens of fossil plants and trees were found in them a few 50.4% REN FREWS HERE. years ago on Lord Blantyre's property, while quarrying the mate- riel for building the new mansion-house at Erskine. Towards the west end of the parish, these strata are superimposed by hills wholly composed of trap rock, of a porphyritic and amygdaloidal charac- ter, containing crystals of felspar, and amygdaloidal portions of calcareous spar, green earth, &c. While the workmen employed on the Glasgow and Greenock Railway were engaged in cutting through the West Ferry Hill, opposite Dumbarton Castle, they opened up some splendid basaltic columns, very regular in shape, and of immense size, which have since gratified the curiosity of many visitors. Many of the minerals of the zeolitic family have been found in the trap rocks on this side the Clyde, as well as in the Kilpatrick hills, which have long been famed for them. The species Prehnite, Thomsonite, Mesotype, and Cuhecite, have all been found,—the first mentioned, in great abundance and remarkable beauty. Some of the specimens of mesotype, also, were exceed- ingly rich and beautiful, but their texture was so friable and deli- eate that few of the finest could be preserved. There have also been found some fine specimens of amethystine quartz,-a thin, but pure vein of dendritic native copper, some modules of fortifi- eation agate of inferior value, and great quantities of common calc-spar. But the most interesting feature, under this head, is a new mi- neral, which has been discovered only a few months since by Lord Greenock, in the Bishoptoun ridge of porphyritic trap, and which, in honour of him, has been called Greenockite. It has been as- certained, by chemical examination, to be a protosulphuret of eadmium, and is therefore a species of a new genus, which stands next in order to the zinc blendes. The specimens which have hitherto been discovered are so small, that it is very difficult to ascertain its characters so correctly as one could desire. In the fifty-sixth number of the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, for April 1840, Professor Jameson describes the Greenockite as prismatic in form; but the following extract from a letter received from Lord Greenock, shows, that further experiments and exami- nation have led to the conclusion that its form is rhombohedral. “The only addition it may be necesssary for me to make to Pro- fessor Jameson's description is, to state, that Professor Forbes has since satisfactorily ascertained by his experiments, that the sul- phuret of cadmium is a crystal with one axis, and therefore its primitive form is rhombohedral and not prismatic, as some persons ERS KINE, *505 had previously been led to suppose.” Its colour is between honey and orange yellow, rarely inclining towards brown, and the colour of the streak reddish orange. Its lustre is shining resinous, some- what inclining to adamantine. It varies from semitransparent to semitranslucent. Its hardness is about 3.5 ; its specific gravity 4.842, —and, so far as is known, it is the only separate ore of cadmium hitherto discovered. Soil.-The soil in this parish may be classified under the four following heads: . 1. A light friable damp soil, incumbent on till, or hard stoney clay. . 2. A light sharp dry soil, incumbent on whitestone rock or trap. 3. A wet heavy soil, incumbent on clay. 4. A peaty or vegetable soil. Of these the two former are by far the most prevalent, and may occupy about ºths of the whole surface in about equal portions; the third class may occupy about a têoth part; and the fourth class ſºuth part of the surface of the parish. Žoology.—The fox, the hare, and the mole are the three great- est enemies the farmer has to contend with here, they are so abundant; and the rabbits have been increasing in number rapidly of late years. Pheasants are preserved by several of the landed proprietors, and are very plentiful. The roe-deer, from the Kil- patrick hills, have been known to swim across the Clyde to the park at Erskine; but they will not settle there, preferring the high grounds further inland. The grouse and woodcock are found oc- casionally in the parish ; but the partridge, snipe, wild-duck, wid- geon, water-hen, and plover are tolerably abundant. In the woods at Erskine, which overhang the Clyde, opposite the old Roman fortress of Dunglass, there is a large heronry, which has existed there for a great length of time, and which is the more interesting, as it is alleged, there are only one or two more to be found in Scotland. It is a fine sight to observe these noble birds fishing in the river at ebb-tide, and their success may be estimated from the fact, that the walks under their nests are often strewed with flounders and other fish, which they have not been able to use. There are also two large rookeries in the parish. The owl and the starling are found haunting about old mansion-houses and ruins, and the common varieties of singing-birds, from the black- bird to the wren, frequent the gardens in most destructive abund- all] C62. . 506% . R EN FREWSHIR E. Botany.—There are no plants which are indigenous, or if there ever were, they have disappeared as cultivation extended itself over the parish. The following herbs are commonly met with : Myrrhis odorata, Gnaphalium dioicum, Menyanthes trifoliata, Are- warża peploides, Statice armeria, Silene maritima. In the gardens at Erskine, vines, mulberry and fig trees may be seen growing on the open wall, and the fruit of the former, both as regards quality and size, is far superior to that which grows in the hot-houses. When this garden was made, about twelve years ago, the gardener, adopting Sir James Stuart of Allanton's plan for transplanting full-grown trees, removed with the most perfect success all the most valuable fruit-trees from the old garden, and one of these, a Mayduke cherry, is not only the pride of the gar- dener, but likewise the admiration of every visitor. The first ripe fruit is gathered from it about the second week of April, and it yields with annual regularity large supplies till the end of July, producing in the market an income from L. 20 to L. 25 yearly. In the pleasure-grounds, about the new house at Erskine, there are found growing in the richest profusion, not only the rhododendron, and other common evergreens, but also many valuable exotics, which need no protection even in the depth of winter. Among these is a tree of the Magnolia tripetala, which has been mention- ed by Loudon in his Arboretum Britannicum as the largest spe- cimen he had seen in Scotland,-the Calmia latifolia, the Cal- mia glauca, and the Calmia angustifolia, the Passiflora carulea or pasion-flower, the Acacia affinis, the Gum cistus, the arbutus, and the tulip. - • * * - There are about 500 acres of land covered with woods and plan- tations, which consist chiefly of oak, elm, beech, ash, larch, Scotch, spruce and silver firs, and horse-chestnuts, though there are also in the woods near Erskine some fine old walnut and sweet-chest- nut trees, the latter producing in dry and favourable seasons fruit which may vie in quality, if not in size, with the famed chestnuts of Spain. In the immediate neighbourhood of Dargavel House, there stands a yew tree, which, from its size and circumference, seems to have been planted by some ancient representative of the family of Maxwell, and which is confessedly one of the greatest ornaments and antiquities of the parish. - II.-CIVIL History. Historical Notices.—This parish does not appear to have been at any time the scene of actions or events sufficiently memorable E R S K I N E . . *507 to call for a separate history, if only we except the proceedings of the witches in the end of the seventeenth century, at Bargarran House, which have been published along with a narrative of their trial in a small duodecimo volume, entitled “ The Witches of Renfrewshire.” As the event refered to forms one of the only interesting antiquities connected with the parish, the leading par- ticulars may be shortly mentioned, although they have been al- luded to in the former Statistical Account. John Shaw of Bar- garran had a daughter called Christian Shaw, who appears, from her earliest youth, to have been a person of a very delicate con- stitution, which naturally led to a state of irksome weakness and ill health, and as these did not readily give way to the common re- medies, it was concluded in these times, when the mind was still considerably under the influence of superstition, that she was be-, witched. The suspicion of bewitching her unhappily fell upon three men and four women who lived in the neighbourhood, one of whom, Margaret Lang, or “ pinched Maggie,” as she was called, lived at a hamlet called Cartimpen, the site of which is still marked out by three trees growing in a field next to the pa- rish school-house, on the north side of the Greenock road. These unhappy creatures, (who seem by their own confession to have borne no good character,) were brought to trial at Paisley in the year 1697, and after a solemn inquest, they were found guilty of the crime of witchcraft, and sentenced to be burnt alive, which sentence was carried into effect at the Gallow Green of Paisley on Thursday the 10th June 1697, in the following manner: They were first hanged for a few minutes, and then cut down and put into a fire prepared for them, into which a barrel of tar was put, in order to consume them more rapidly. , - - - Miss Shaw’s case excited very general attention, and produced a deep sensation, more particularly in the vicinity of the place where she lived. Several ministers were sent for in succession to converse and pray with her; and the most influential persons in the county were either directed by government, or were invited to pay atten- tion to the case. “A particular account, or journal,” says Dr * From a pinch said to have been administered by the devil to each of them, as they gave themselves up to his service, called in the course of the trial his “invisible mark.” Her arm chair with initials is now in possession of the governor of the Glas- gow jail, and stands in the entrance to the court-house. - The thread-mill and pirns used by Christian Shaw were preserved at Bargarran for upwards of a century, and have only fallen into complete decay within the last six years, and some bedsteads marked with the initials J. S., 1640, the last memorials of that family, were set up to the hammer last spring. 50S* REN FREWSHIRE. Young, “ of the extraordinary circumstances of this case, was drawn up at the time it happened, every paragraph of which is affirmed to have been originally subscribed by witnesses, among whom we find the names of almost all the noblemen and gentle- men, and many of the ministers of the neighbourhood.” Miss Shaw is also celebrated as being the first person that in- troduced the manufacture of fine linen thread into this country. “Having acquired a remarkable dexterity in spinning fine yarn, she conceived the idea of manufacturing it into thread. Her first attempts in this way were necessarily on a small scale. She exe- cuted almost every part of the process with her own hands, and bleached her materials on a large slate in one of the windows of the house. She succeeded so well, however, in these essays, as to have sufficient encouragement to go on, and to take the assist- ance of her younger sisters and neighbours. The then Lady Blan- tyre carried a parcel of her thread to Bath, and disposed of it advan- tageously to some manufacturers of lace, and this was probably the first thread made in Scotland that had crossed the Tweed. About this time, a person who was connected with the family, happening to be in Holland, found means to learn the secrets of the thread manufacture, which was carried on to a great extent in that country, particularly the art of sorting and numbering the threads of different sizes, and packing them up for sale, and the construction and management of the twisting and twining ma- chines. This knowledge he communicated, on his return, to his friends in Bargarran, and by means of it they were enabled to conduct their manufacture with more regularity and to a greater extent. The young women in the neighbourhood were taught to spin fine yarn, twining-mills were erected, correspondences were established, and a profitable business was carried on. Bargarran thread became extensively known, and, being ascertained by a stamp, bore a good price. From the instructions of the family of Bargarran, a few families in the same neighbourhood engaged in the business, and continued in it for a number of years. It was not to be expected, however, that a manufacture of that kind could be confined to so small a district, or would be allowed to remain in so few hands for a great length of time. The secrets of the busi- ness were gradually divulged by apprentices and assistants. A Mr Pollock in Paisley availed himself of these communications, and laid the foundation of the well established and extensive manu- facture of thread, which has ever since been carried on in that , &^* x. 3. ERS KINE. *509 town.” Miss Shaw was afterwards married to Mr Miller, the minister of Kilmaurs, about the year 1718, but died at Bargarran, and was interred in the church-yard here, though it is to be re- gretted that no monument has been erected to indicate the precise locality. - - Mr Maxwell, younger of Dargavel, has kindly furnished, from documents in possession of the family, the particulars of the last pass of arms which took place in the parish, arising from a quar- rel between the lairds of Dargavel and Orbistoun. Dargavel, ac- cording to immemorial usage, claimed right to door, seat, and bu- rial-place within the old church of Erskine; to this, Hamilton of Orbistoun, then laird of Erskine, objected. In 1692, the matter seems to have been referred to Sir John Maxwell of Pollock, who decided it in favour of Dargavel, and he accordingly employed workmen to strike out a door. Orbistoun then resorted to force, in consequence of which he was served with a criminal complaint by Sir William Lockhart, Solicitor-General, which, after stating the crime of invading a man’s property in a military manner with armed men, drums, and trumpets, thus proceeds, “Nevertheless, it is of verity that Dargavel, naving a good and unquestionable right to ane door, and seatt, and a buriall-place in the east end of the kirk of Arskine, and whereof they and their predecessors had been in peacable possession past all memory of man, and since the first reform from Popery, by building, repairing, and sitting in the Seatts, and by burruing the dead of their family in that place of the kirk, yet true it is that William Hamiltoune of Orbistoun; George Maxwell, baillie of Kilpatrick; Mr Adam Wilsone, clerk; Robert Lang, miller in Duntocher; Shaw of Bargarron; Walk- ingshaw of that Ilk, (and a long list of other names,) shaking off all fear of God, respect to us, our authority and lawes, have presum- ed to comitt, and are guilty of the foresaid crymes, in so far as on the 25th day of Apryle last, or ane or oyer of the dayes of the said month, they did in a most treasonable manner, convocate them- selves and several oyer their accomplices, to the number of ane hundred persons, all armed with guns, pistolls, swords, baganets, and oyer weapons, and having appointed George Maxwell, Or- bistoun's oun baillie depute, to be their commander, and march upon their head, as their captain, they did come, marching in mi- litary manner, with drums beating and trumpets sounding, (and which can admit of no oyer construction than a downright defiance of our authority and lawes,) to the parish kirk of Erskine, and in a * Former Statistical Account, article “ Erskine.” *510 R EN Flt. EWSHIRE, most insolent and violent manner, did, at their own hand, and with- out any order of law, remove and take away Dargavell's seat and dask in the church, whereof he and his predecessors had been in immemorial possession, as said is, and did 'sacraligiously remove and carry away stones that were lying upon the graves of his pre- decessors, and did strike and wound severall of his servants.” The matter was ultimately settled in Dargavel’s favour. Parochial Registers.-The parish registers extend no farther back than the year 1703, and they are tolerably well kept, but those prior to this period are supposed to have been lost through decay, which is the more to be regretted, as many curious ex- tracts might no doubt have been made from them, tending to throw light on the character of the witches and other suspected persons. - Land-owners with their respective valuations.— The Lord Blantyre, gs *-> L.2397 13 4. Lieutenant-General Darroch of Drums, 82] 13 4 W. C. C. Graham of Gartmore, * 333 6 8 Mrs Aytoun of Inchdarmie, º *-> 243 6 8 William Maxwell of Dargavel, tºº 286 || 3 4. . The Lord Douglas, gº * * 183 6 8 Matthew Rodger of Wester Rossland, 94 () () . Messrs Orr, Alison, and Wood, & 46 4 () Captain King of Millbank, wºg tºº 30 l 6 O John Holms, of Little Crosshill, wº 14 0 0 L.4451 0 0 Family Descent.—The paternal ancestor of the family of Blan- tyre was Sir Thomas Stuart of Minto, in Roxburghshire, one of the younger sons of Sir William Stuart of Dalswinton and Garlies, (ancestor of the Earl of Galloway), in the reign of King James III. Lord Blantyre is representative of the Stuarts of Minto, which family failed in the direct line in the person of Sir John Stuart of Minto, who died in the expedition to Darien, about the year 1669. . s His Lordship derives his title from the priory of Blantyre, in Lanarkshire, which was about the year 1580, bestowed “in com- mendam,” by King James VI., upon Walter Stuart, son of Sir John Stuart of Minto, by Margaret, his wife, daughter of James Stuart of Cardonald, and was afterwards erected into a temporal barony. . This Walter Stuart was, in 1582, appointed one of the Privy- Council to King James VI., and keeper of the privy-seal, and subsequently an extraordinary Lord of Session, and one of the eight Commissioners of the Treasury and Exchequer, called from ERSKINE. - *511 their number Octavians. He was afterwards promoted to the of fice of Lord High Treasurer, and was one of the commissioners for a treaty of union with England in 1604, (which did not take effect), and in 1606 was created a Peer of Parliament by the title of Lord Blantyre. He was grandfather of Frances Teresa Stuart, swife of Charles, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, (the last male descendant of the ancient Dukes of that title), and also of Sophia, Stuart, who, by her husband, the Honourable Henry Bulkeley, (fourth son of Thomas Viscount Bulkeley), was mother of Anne, second wife of James, Duke of Berwick, from whom, by this lady, is descended the Ducal house of Fitzjames in France. The Du- chess of Richmond and Lennox survived her husband, and, dying in 1702, bequeathed her fortune to Walter, eldest son of Alexan- der fifth Lord Blantyre, under an injunction that the lands to be bought with it should be called “Lennoxlove,” which was accord- ingly carried into effect with respect to the lands and castle of Lethington (or Leddington), in the county of Haddington, which formerly belonged to the Lauderdale family. * - . The late Robert Walter, Lord Blantyre, was accidentally shot during the Revolution at Brussels, in September 1830. He was Major-General in the British army, and served in Egypt, and in the expeditions to Holland and Copenhagen, and commanded the second battalion of the 42d Regiment for several years, during the campaigns in Portugal and Spain, under the Duke of Wellington, He was Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and was so highly es- teemed by the gentlemen of that county, that, shortly after his death, they erected, on a conspicuous situation on his estate of Erskine, an elegant column in the form of an obelisk, as a tribute of respect to his memory. g - His son, Charles, the present Lord Blantyre, has lately come of age; and, after having served for a few years in the Grenadier Guards, has retired from the army, and is residing upon his eState. - Lieutenant-General Darroch of Drums is representative of the family of Darrochs of Gourock, whose early patronymic was M*Ili- riach. When the estate of Drums was offered for sale on the death of the late Thomas King, Esq. of Millbank and Drums, it was bought for the father of the present proprietor, and immedi- ately entailed, as was also the estate of Barscube, formerly belong- ing to Mrs Aytoun of Inchdarnie. The mansion-house at Drums 51.2% * REN FREWSHIRE. is in good repair, and is occupied by Captain Darroch, his eldest son, and next heir to the estates of Gourock and Drums. Mr Cuninghame Graham of Gartmore is now proprietor of the estates of the ancient Earls of Glencairn, (originally Cuning- hames of Kilmaurs), being their lineal descendant and represen- tative. Mr Bontine of Ardoch, his eldest son, occasionally resides at Finlaystone. \ The present mansion-house is of modern date, but is built on the site of the ancient castle of Finlaystone, where, under the pa- tronage of Alexander, Earl of Glencairn, the famous John Knox administered, for the first time, the sacrament of the Lord's Sup- per after the Reformation. The cups which were used on that occasion were carefully kept by the family, and were lent on sa- cramental occasions for the celebration of the Lord's Supper in the parish church of Kilmalcolm. Whether these valuable relics are still extant, and if so, in whose possession they now are, is not well-known; report, however, says, that the last Lady Glencairn on leaving Scotland took them with her to England. Mrs Aytoun of Inchdarnie, only daughter of Dr James Jeffray, Professor of Anatomy in the University of Glasgow, and Mary Brisbane, his first wife, is the representative of the family of Pa- tersons of Craigton, having succeeded to the property in 1817, on the death of her aunt, Miss Anne Paterson, at the advanced age of ninety-seven. - Mr Maxwell of Dargavel is the representative of two very ancient families in Renfrewshire, the Maxwells of Dargavel, and the Halls of Fulbar. The family of Hall obtained possession of Fulbar by charter, from James, High Steward of Scotland, the grandfather of King Robert II, which was confirmed by a corroborative char- ter from Robert II. in 1370; and one of its descendants followed £ing James IV. to the ill-fated battle of Flodden, and fell there. The family of Maxwell was a cadet, but now represents the house of Newark. The eldest son of Patrick Maxwell of Newark, by his second wife, obtained a charter of the lands of Dargavel, along with those of Rashilee and Haltonridge, in the neighbouring pa- rishes of Inchinnan and Kilmalcolm, from his father in 1516. One of his descendants was slain, in the desperate conflict which took place at Lockerby, between the rival clans of Max- well and Johnstone. John Maxwell, the proprietor of Dargavel, at the beginning of last century, entailed that estate, but, as both he and his brother, William Maxwell of Freeland, died without ERS KINE. *513 issue, the next heir of entail, John Hall, second son of Robert Hall of Fulbar, and Margaret Maxwell, his wife, the sister of the entailer, succeeded under the title of Maxwell of Dargavel, and eventually he became, by the death of his elder brother, the pro- prietor and male representative of the house of Fulbar. The pre- sent proprietor married the eldest daughter of John Campbell, Esq. of Possil, Dumbartonshire, by whom he has a numerous fa- mily. The present house of Dargavel was built in the year 1584, as appears from a stone in the front wall bearing that date, with the name and arms of the family. It is an excellent specimen of the style of French architecture, which was introduced into Scotland in the reign of Queen Mary, by which the old square keep was supplanted; and having undergone little alteration, it affords a good idea of the dwellings of the Scottish gentry towards the end of the sixteenth century. The lower storey is strongly vaulted, and the flanking towers are loop-holed for musketry, so as to command a range both of the sides and gables. - Lord Douglas is the descendant and representative of the house of Douglas, so well known and highly famed in Scottish history. His Lordship has no mansion-house on his property in this parish. Mr Rodger of Wester Rossland is the representative of a family of that name, which obtained a charter Ör title to the property of Wester Rossland, or Fergushill’s Rossland, so far back as the year 1599, and which also, about a hundred years since, increased it considerably by the purchase of the lands of Hay Hill, Long Meadows, and Gladstone, formerly belonging to the Brisbanes of Bishoptoun. On this property there was discovered accidentally, a few years ago, a shilling of the reign of Philip and Mary, coined in 1553, but no other relics have since been discovered which could in any way account for its being there. Captain King of Millbank is the son of the late Thomas King, Esq. of Millbank and Drums, at whose decease the property of Drums, being unentailed, was sold, leaving only the entailed es- state of Millbank in possession of the family. Captain King is not a resident heritor, being at present with his regiment in England. The family of Sempill claims also a passing notice under this head as having been at no very remote period possessed of con- siderable property in this parish, viz. a large portion of the estate of Northbarr, and the entire estate of Bishoptoun, the latter of which, Miss Dunlop, heiress of that property, and mother of Hugh, 5.14% REN FREWSH 1 R E. thirteenth Lord Sempill, brought into that family. That noble- man sold both these properties, and left the family of which he was the representative, once the most powerful in Renfrewshire, without a rood of land in it. This Hugh Lord Sempill is repre- sented, in the account of Lochwinnoch, as the last of the family. This statement, however, is incorrect, as Hugh Lord Sempill, who sold Castle Sémpill, was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son, Selkirk, fifteenth Lord Sempill, who died on the 4th of May 1835, when the title devolved upon his eldest sister, Maria Janet, present Baroness Sempill, who married Edward Candler, Esq. of Morton Pinkney, in Northamptonshire, Deputy- Lieutenant of that county, son of Henry Candler, Esq., who was paternally descended from the Irish family of Candler of Callan Castle, in the county of Kilkenny, and maternally from the emi- ment Yorkshire family of Vavasour, now extinct in the male line. Eminent Men.—The two last incumbents of Erskine have both acquired considerable celebrity, though in different ways. Dr Wal- ter Young was famed as the most splendid private musician of his day; he performed with equal grace and effect on the piano, the violin, and the flute, and it is said that the Church of Scotland is indebted to him for the arrangement of some of its most beautiful Psalm tunes. Dr Andrew Stewart is famed as being the author of the bracing, or antiphlogistic mode of treatment in pulmonary and consumptive complaints, which is known by his name, and is now almost universally adopted, as the most successful in diseases of the breast, though it was keenly opposed by the leading medical practitioners, both in Scotland and England, at the beginning of this century. ; Modern Buildings.-Happily for the peace and morality of the people, no mills nor manufactories can be numbered among the modern erections. The chief of these are, the church, a hand- some modern Gothic building, erected in 1813, which has since served as a model for several new churches in different parts of the country;-a new parish school, built in 1839, which is larger and more commodious than any yet built in this county, and bears testimony at once to the liberality of the heritors, in increasing the schoolmaster's accommodation, and to their regard for the health and comfort, as well as the education of the children of the lower orders;–and a column, in form of an obelisk, 80 feet high, already referred to, as raised by the gentlemen of the county, in memory of the late Lord Blantyre, about the year 1833. £ATH CART • § 1 || attending on Sundays is about 120. There is a Cathcart club which dines once a year in Glasgow; when, immediately after din- ner, a hat is passed round from hand to hand under the table to receive charitable contributions, in such a manner that no man can tell what sum is given by his neighbours. The party consists generally of about twenty, and the sum received averages about L. 25, which is distributed among respectable families, which, al- though poor, are not in the receipt of regular parochial relief. There are also two Friendly Societies in the parish, which, in the writer’s estimation, are founded on Sound principles, and at present in a flourishing condition. The writer has much reason to be thankful that in every season of manufacturing distress he can rely on the prompt liberality of many among his parishioners to provide relief for the destitute, by affording them employment in works of public utility, and thus to preserve the honest workman above the abject spirit of pauperism, which money given without value re- ceived is too apt to engender. - Poor. — The number of regular paupers on the poor-roll is about 30, and the average allowance is little more than five shillings per month. To meet this expenditure, there are the collections made at the church-door, which amount to about L. 45 per annum ; and a voluntary assessment imposed upon themselves by the heritors, in proportion to their valued rent, to make up the deficiency. There are many poor people in the pa. rish well entitled, by the indigence of their circumstances, to parochial aid, who, being animated by the independent spirit which was once a characteristic of the Scottish peasant, although now too rapidly disappearing, refuse to receive parochial assistance by having their names placed upon the poor-roll. There is no savings' bank or public library in the parish, although attempts have been repeatedly made to establish both with evanescent success. Perhaps the proximity of Cathcart to Glasgow accounts for the failure, and renders it less a matter of regret. We have neither inns nor fares, but great abundance of both within easy reach. MiscellANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. - Since the date of the last Statistical Account of this parish, the face of the country has undergone a very marked improvement. Few new mansion-houses have indeed been erected ; but there is from the soil more than a quadruple produce to minister to the wants of the people, and to supply the superabundant population of the neighbouring city. R E N FR EW. L 1 PARISH OF MEARNS. * PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. | THE REV. DONALD MACKELLAR, MINISTER. I.—ToPogFAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name of this parish first appears in authentic form in the Chartulary of Glasgow, and in Prynne, as far back as the year 1296, the eventful period when Edward I. of England made his celebrated attempt to wrest from the hands of Scotsmen their rights and privileges, and to annex Scotland’s ancient crown and sceptre permanently to the throne of England. The power of Edward’s arms was felt and acknowledged throughout the better portion of the Lowlands of Scotland, and many a wealthy eccle- siastic and proud noble, were constrained to bow the neck and to swear fealty to the common enemy. Among the many victims to the power of England, John Petit of the Meirnes is mentioned in the records of the times as one of the Barons of the day who swore fealty to Edward I. The spelling of the name of this parish, like all other ancient names, varies exceedingly, according to the prevailing fashion at the several periods when the various MSS. were written, or according to the tastes and opinions of the scribes who wrote them. The oldest form is Meirnes, as above, but it is also frequently styled Mernes, Mearnis, Mernes, and Morness. O’Brien in his “Word-Book” derives the modern name Mearns from the British Maeronas—a name exactly de- scriptive of this parish, which, in ancient times, and in some measure at the present day, as far as one of its peculiar features is concerned, is still a “ district inhabited by herdsmen.” From the time of Camden, down to Crawford, the Historiographer of Scotland for Queen Anne, and the late minister, Dr Macletchie, this parish has ever been distinguished as a district for pasturage; and at the present day the produce of the dairy, including chiefly butter and butter-milk, obtains a ready and favourite market in the neighbouring city of Glasgow. A continuation of the same sort of pasturage runs into Stewarton and Dunlop ; which * Drawn up by the Rev. William Patrick, Hamilton. M E ARN S. - 513 --- last place gives its name to the best sort of cheese manufactured in the west of Scotland. Perhaps, originally the name was not applied to any particular place, but was a general appellation applicable to an indefinite extent of pastoral country, which, in later times, took the names of the Kirk Towns, or more con- spicuous villages with which the several places composing it were respectively connected. That somewhat extensive district lying between the rivers Dee and North Esk, now better known by the name of Kincardineshire, was anciently, and is still occasionally known by the appellation of “the Mearns.” This parish, with East- wood and Eaglesham, and part of Cathcart, constitute the south- eastern district of the county of Renfrew. - Extent and Boundaries.—The parish of Mearns has, upon the whole, an excellent eastern exposure ; indeed the general rise of the parish is decidedly from east to west. This, from the nume- rous swells and irregularities of which its surface is generally com- posed, may not be observed everywhere; but if we take the sur- face on the great scale, we shall find that it dips eastward to La- narkshire, and rises to the west in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. This sort of ascent is not in general favourable for cul- tivation in this part of Scotland, as it shows that the land is rising to its maximum height above the level banks of the Clyde on the one hand, and the flat and sandy shores of the ocean on the other. We shall presently see, however, that the richness of the pasture lands is dependent not so much on climate and exposure, as upon soil and subsoil. The geological features of the district insure a warm, dry, and porous soil, which here carries off the surface moisture, and in this almost constantly weeping and dripping cli- mate, also the superfluous rains. The greatest length of the pa- rish, from its eastern to its western extremity, is about seven miles and one-quarter; and it is about three miles and a quarter in breadth. There are five parishes in the county which are larger; but none superior to it in the properties already described. The parish of Mearns is bounded on the west by Neilston; on the north by Eastwood; on the east by Eaglesham and Carmunnock, in the county of Lanark ; on the south by Fenwick; and on the south- west by Stewarton,-the two last in the county of Ayr. - Meteorology.—The meteorological features of this parish are the meteorological features of most other parishes in the west of Scot- land. It derives some advantages certainly from its relative posi- tion, its peculiar exposure, and rock formation; but at the same time, has to contend with the inequalities of climate, and the cold 5 14 RENF RE WSHIRE, raw humid atmosphere, which is too often suspended over the bleak and austere landscape lying within the sea-bound shores of a country situated in this far northern latitude. The gradual swells and inequalities of surface, including an endless succession of heights and hollows, are no doubt favourable for shelter, and we accordingly find that, although some of the principal dwellings in the parish are seen glittering in crested pride, and rearing their proud battlements on the summit of what is occasionally a sunny hill or eminence; yet by far the greater number court the lowly shade or sheltered valley, more anxious to shun the hurricane of . the west, than to court the only occasional glimpses even of the summer's sun. A few statistical facts in the shape of a journal, kept by an aged man in the neighbourhood, now dead, will, how- ever, afford more information as to the general aspect of the wea- ther at different seasons of the year, than could be elicited by a more general description, however well conceived or happily expressed. We shall take a few months at different seasons of the year, dur- ing the first twenty years of this century, and these are selected so as to show the average state of the weather. We begin with Ja- nuary 1800. 1. Keen frost, dark, like snow. 2, Great fall of snow, high tremendous wind with drift. 3. Thaw, great rain, earth ex- tremely wet above. 4. Thaw still. 5. Good fresh day. 6. Dark rainy day. 7. Frost. 8. Ditto, dark, like snow. 9. Fresh mild day. 10. Frosty dark day. 1 1. Keen frost, cold, and like snow. 12. Rain and sleet. 13. Frost and some thaw. 14. Fresh mild day. 15. Snow and sleet. 16. Snowy morning, fresh day. 17. Dark day and frost. 18. Keen frost. 19. and 20. Ditto. 21. Keen frost, Sunny. 22. Snowy dark day. 23. Thaw, tremendous rain, wind, snow, and sleet. 24. Good mild fresh day. 25, 26, and 27. Fresh agreeable days. 28. Day wet. 29. Do. 30. Snow and sleet. 31. Frost. Owing to the great wetness of the previous harvest months, meal rose to 2s, and 2s. 6d. per peck; potatoes, 1s. 4d. per peck; hay Is. 4d. per stone. For seed-time we select April 1804—giving also the directions of the wind. e - sº 1. Fine fresh sunny day and warm ; planted potatoes. W. 2. Dry forenoon, wet afternoon. S. 3. Wet dirty day. S. 4. Snow, rain, and hail, ground very wet, Variable wind. 5. Snow, sleet and rain, dirty weather. Wind variable. 6. Fresh dry day; oat- meal 1s. 4d. per peck; no field-work done this week. S. 7. Good ME ARN S. - 515 fresh day. W. S and 9. Soft fresh days. S.W. 10, 11, and 12. Seed-time again begun, fresh, but little drought. W. 13. Show- ery morning, dry day; sowed onions. E. 14. Dry sunny day, troubled atmosphere like a storm. E. 15 and 16. Good dry days. E. 17. Fine growing fresh day. E. 18. Warm sunny day. W. 19. Ditto ditto. W. 20. Warm mild showers. W. 21. Mild dark day. E. 22, Warm and sunny. E. 23. Warm sunny day, cold night. E. 24. Cold blowy day like snow. E. 25. Very cold blowy winter-like day. E. .26. More mild, great drought, cold night. E. 27. Very cold rainy day. E. 28, 29, 30. Severe frost, hail and snow showers. N. wind. - The succeeding May was also a cold bad month, and also part of June; but after some mild warm showers about the 20th, th oats were looking well, notwithstanding the cold. - - As a specimen of summer weather we may take July 1812– giving also the direction of the winds. . 1. Very wet day. E. 2. Wet morning, dry day. E. 3. Dry and warm. W. 4, 5, and 6. Dry. W. 7, 8, 9, Exceeding warm. W. 10. Frosty morning, warm day—also the 11th and 12th. W. From 13th to 17th, inclusive, warm and dry fine summer weather. W. 18. Very warm fine showers. W. From 19th to 22d, inclusive, fine growing weather. Variable winds. 23, 24, and 25. Ditto, ditto. W. 26 and 27. High winds and cold blue sky. N.W. 28 and 29. Mild warm weather. W. 30 and 31. Ditto, ditto. W. The crops were far behind, but looked well. At the end of August, meal was 3s. 4d. per peck; potatoes 10d. to 1s. per stone. A great crop, but late. We select for a harvest month September 1818—giving also the winds. -- 1. Dark cloudy day, rainy afternoon. S. 2. Dry sunny good day. W. 3. Mild warm day; began to cut oats this day, ‘forty days earlier than last year; a fine crop. S.W. 4. Dark soft day. S.W. 5. Dry cloudy day. W. 6, Do. do. Some showers. W. 7. Frosty morning, sunny and showers. W. 8. Good warm har- vest day. W. 9. Dark cloudy day, and showers. S.E. 10, 11, and 12. Agreeable harvest weather; harvest far advanced. W. 13. Dry good day, wet at night. W. 14. Very wet day. S. 15. Stormy, rain and sunshine, hail, equinoctial blast; full moon. W. 16. Frosty morning, sunny day. W. 17. Do. do, good harvest day. W. 18 Dark soft day; finished harvest. S. 19. Very wet forenoon, dry afternoon. S. 20. Wet disagreeable day. E. 21. 516 - REN FREWSH 1 R E. Frosty shining morning, rainy dark day. E. 22. Tremendous gusts of wind and rain ; dry afternoon ; carting in corn in good or- der. Variable wind. 23. Fine dry sunny day; much corn car- ried in; high wind and rain at night. S.E. 24. High wind, great drought; harvest home. S.E. 25. Good harvest day. S.E. 26. Wet morning, dry day. W. From 27 to 30, inclusive, good wea- ther. Wind variable. * There is no well authenticated record of the average annual quantity of rain falling in the parish. Indeed, from the way in which water-guages are usually kept, they are but uncertain in- dices by which to ascertain the real or even comparative dryness or moisture of a climate. Their results depend to a great amount on situation, altitude, exposure, and a variety of other causes, which frequently render them at best but lying chroniclers. There are no authentic parochial registers either of the thermometer or barometer. Hydrography.—This parish, in the strictest sense of the term, constitutes an “inland district.” It is not within sight, by many miles, of the sea shore, and is watered by no great or stately river. The White Cart, here little more than a mountain-stream, al- though it swells to something like a river at Paisley, divides Mearns from the parish of Carmunnock. The Earn is also a brattling brisk stream, from 10 to 15 feet broad, passing between this pa- rish and the parish of Eaglesham. There are, besides, several in- considerable streamlets, scarcely worth mentioning. There are four lochs of inconsiderable size. The chief is the Brother Loch, and also the Little Loch and Black Loch; besides which there is also the White Loch, a small sheet of water in the lands of Pollock. The fish in these small lakes are excellent, particularly the trout. The Salmo salvelinus has been long a denizen of the lakes of Mearns. This is the Tarrag-heal of the Highlanders. It is a very excellent and savoury fish, distinguished by the first rays of the ventral and anal fins being white. It is of a black pur- plish-blue colour, passing into silvery yellow and scarlet on the scales and belly, with red spots. The flesh is red, and the fish is generally about a foot long. Upwards of a century ago, Anne Duchess of Hamilton caused a number of live trout of this sort to be taken out of the lakes at Mearns, and put into the Avon at . Strathavon, where she then resided. The breed is still extant, and goes by the name of the Duchess Anne trout. The Salmo jario, or common trout of our rivers, is a distinct species. The - 4 M EARN S. 517 former occurs chiefly in the alpine lakes of Wales and Scotland. It spawns in January. - Geology and Mineralogy.—We have nearly exhausted this sub- ject in our Account of the parish of Eaglesham, the geological features of which are nearly identical with those of Mearns. That district in the south-east of Renfrewshire, from near the village of Neilston to the south-east extremity of Eaglesham, is entirely com- posed of igneous rocks. To the north of Mearns in the parish of Eastwood, the coal measures come in, an arm of which dips south- wards by Neilston; and a mile and a half to the south-west at Head of Side, the Ayrshire coal-field almost meets that of Ren- frewshire, the intervening space being part of the trap rocks which run throughout the greater part of this county. The junction be- tween the trap and the coal formations occur immediately to the north of Mearns, but is nowhere seen owing to the thick coverings of alluvial and diluvial matter, The trap itself is mostly of that description, known in this country by the name of “rotten whin.” To afford some sort of idea of the effect which this mouldering and readily decomposing rock may have, in reference to the for- mation of the soil, it is only necessary to remark, that, in various proportions, and under considerable modifications, we find for the most part that it consists of a large proportion of silica with a lesser proportion of alumina and oxide of iron, and sometimes a sprink- ling of lime, or magnesia, or of oxide of manganese and soda. These various matters, under favourable auspices, crumbling down and suffering a continual diminution and subdivision of parts and particles under the chemical influences of air, light, and moisture, soon form a peculiar soil, and, in favourable circumstances, are of considerable depth and fertility. In Mearns the soil is chiefly of what the late minister termed a “light quick kind,” lying on rot- ten rock, except in some small tracts in the lower portions of the parish, which lie on a bottom of clay. It is worthy of remark, that the clay bottom is chiefly found in those quarters where the lower members of the coal measures approach the trap. The traps themselves are chiefly greenstone, trap-tuff, wacke, and claystone; and we saw the roads made in one part with a sort of porphyritic greenstone. The medium elevation of this quarter of the county of Renfrew may be estimated from 500 to 600 feet. To the east the land is much higher. As the average quantity of rain through- out the county, for many years, was only 29.65, less is to be feared rom the quantity, than from its frequency. But this last tendency 5, 18. REN FREWSHIRE • of the air to deposit moisture from the clouds, is in some measure counteracted by the absorbing nature of the soil, and the porous- ness of the subsoil. Žoology.—As to the quadrupeds or mammalia race of animals, none are to be found here except such as are common and univer- sally known in the west of Scotland. The same remark is appli- cable to the birds, with the exception of one or two of the hawk species mentioned in the account of Eaglesham. There is searcely a doubt, however, that, by careful research, many discoveries or novelties might be found among the molluscous tribe of animals, particularly in the department Pulmonifera, including both the Terricola and Aquatica. The warm grassy slopes, moist mea- dows, ditches, and pools seem to swarm with these animals. The Arion and Limax of both sorts are well-conditioned and active here, considering the family to which they belong. The Helia erice- torum in fine weather comforts itself on many a sunny bank; and on turning up a stone, or along with a handful of moss, we often meet with H. rufescens. To these there might be added the ni- tida, rotundata, costata, and also memoralis and hortensis. The beautiful Vitrina pellucida is also common, and also several species of Pupa. In the waters, lakes, and stagnant pools we noticed se- veral species of Limnea. The Physa fontinalis may also frequently be seen slowly moving on the face of the waters, with the surface of its shell delicately folded up in its transparent robe. Botany.—In the higher and moister places of the parish we have Narthecium ossifragum, some species of Polygonum, the Erio- phorum, and various Carices, but very little of the blue or star- grass (Carew panicea), so common in the higher clay lands of Clydesdale. The common varieties and species of Scirpus, Jun- cus, and of the Sphagnums, &c. occur abundantly. There are, however, no species of plants so rare as to attract the attention of the curious in these matters; and to repeat the names of common species, is only to retail the most unfavourable and least attractive portion of the science of botany, its harsh and unmusical nomen- clature. w The soil here is well adapted for the Scots fir and spruce, and particularly for the larch. - - II.—CIVIL HISTORY. * The old chronologers, Crawford and others, generally carry back the history of this parish, and of the principal persons who have figured in it, to the time of Alexander II, or about 1214. Chal- 3 ME ARN S. - 5 i 9 mers states somewhere in his learned work, that he has invariably found the local recorders of the past confounding the reign of Alexander III, with that of Alexander II. Crawford, in his His- tory of Renfrewshire, has evidently fallen into the same mistake as Ure in his “History of Rutherglen and East Kilbride,” so that for 1214 we may read 1240; about five years before the dreadful interregnum in 1245. It is stated, that, before the last of the above dates, the barony of Mearns came by marriage with an heiress, named Macgeachin, to one of the Maxwells of Caerlaverock. This may be so, although there is no authentic records of the Maxwells of Caerlaverock, at a date so early in history. The family came into notice only about 1455, on the downfal of the Douglasses in the time of James II. Their chief sphere of action was not in the parish of Mearns, but in the border counties, particularly in Dumfries-shire. They acquired the estates of Eskdale, and seve- ral other great possessions in the south, where, about 1529, with James V., one of the same Maxwells, with Johnstone, was busily engaged, according to Ramsay in his Evergreen, in fitting “cordis, baith greit and lang, " Quhilk hangit Johnie Armstrang!” It is evident, however, that this great family had estates in this quarter, for we find the King (James VI.) commanding Lord Max- well to live in Clydesdale, and not to come within Dumfries-shire. But, probably finding his castle at Mearns a cold place, he return- ed home in summer 1601, it is believed, plotting the death of his rival Johnston. Maxwell was attainted in Parliament, 24th June 1609, as may be seen from the printed acts now in Paisley Li- brary, when his estate here would no doubt change hands. The history of that family now resolves into that of the Maxwells of Pollock. What relationship Rolandus de Mearnes was of to the Maxwell family, or if any, is not known. He flourishes at an early period as a witness in that donation which Eschina de Mol- la, wife of Walter High Stewart of Scotland, founder of the mo- mastery of Paisley, gave to the monks of that abbey. After that period, it is chiefly to the chartulary of Paisley that we are to look for any brief glimpses which we obtain of the civil or ecclesiasti- cal condition of this parish. That document goes as far back as 1165, telling us that William confirmed the monks of Paisley in the church of Mearnes, which was granted by Helias of Perthie, with consent of his brother, Peter of Pollock. Shortly after 1306, Herbert Maxwell granted to the same monks 8 acres and 28 perches of land in Newton of Mearnes. One Alan was then 520 RENFREWSHIRE. perpetual Vicar of Mearns. In 1227, the vicar had 100 shillings yearly, or the altarage, and some lands near the church. The church lands here passed into lay hands after the Reformation. Chalmers says this barony only came into the hands of the Max- wells in the time of Robert I. ; and that in 1670 Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackhall obtained a charter of the barony of Mearns, with the burgh of barony of Newton of Mearns, the church lands, the right of patronage, with the parsonage and vicarage tithes. The principal proprietors in the parish, with the respective va- luations of their properties in Scots money, is as follows: Sir R. C. Pollock, gº L. 1409 5 10 Sir M. S. Stewart, sº tº 493 5 6 Mr Cunningham of Southfield, º 205 15 10 Mrs Brown, Caplerig, º 182 6 8 Mr Gilmour, Hazleden, º * * 212 10 8 Mr Hamilton, Greenbank, - 165 5 8 Mr Harvie, Hazleden, º sº 112 17 8 Mr Pollock, Newfarm, - 187 5 8 Messrs Pollock and Brown, Roadenhead, 66 0 0 Miss Henderson, Middleton, - 13] § 0 Mr Pollock, Faside. sº º 25 0 0 Mr Gilmour, Watten, º tº º 137 l 8 Mr Pollock, Blackhouse, º 97 7 8 . Mr Pollock, Titwood, sº gº 87 5 O Mr Harvie, Burnhouse, * 40 14 8 Mr Mather, Waterfoot, - ſe 33 6 8 Mr Herbertson, Shaw, sº 78 10 8 Mr Herbertson, Crook, gº. * 53 12 6 Mr Herbertson, Stewartfield, * 25 0 (0 Mr Graham, Itobshill, tºº *- 75 3 0 Mr Speirs, Fingleton, - as 90 0 0 Messrs Herbertson, Townhead, tº 72 () 0 Mr Carslaw, Humbie, s 57 3 4 Mr Faulds, Broadlees, = tº 53 l 3 4 Mr Watson, Kirkhill, gº 5] 12 0 Mr Pollock, Walton, º gº 43 15 0 Mr Allison, Maletshaugh, gº 43 13 4 Mr Muir, Cartsbridge, tº tºº 42 17 4 Mr Carsewell, Dunearnoch, & 42 17 2 Captain Harvie, Maletshaugh, tº 35 15 0 Mr Craig, Broom, wº 56 3 8 Mr Allison, Coatbridge, *- {- 35 6 S Mr Russell, Craigton, tºº , 29 3 4 Mr William Russell, Do. gº tº 27 3 4 Mr Lithgow, Broom, * 27 0 0 Mr Gilmour, Hillhead, * !- 26 13 4 Mr Clark, Kirkhill, sº 25 0 4 Mr Valance, Cairn, ... tº tºº 12 IO () Mr Harvie, Do. tº 12 10 0 Mr Faulds, Hillhouse, sº * 25 0 0 Mr Douglas, Maidenhill, &- 20 0 0 Mr Craig, Flook, tºº * 18 15 0 Mr Pollock, Kirkhill, * I5 0 0 Mr Kippen, Bonyhouse, tº .- 12 0 () Mr Stirling, Newton, gº 12 0 0 Mr Everart, Busby, gº -- ] ] 0 0 Mr Harvie, Greenlaw, tº 8 0 0 ME ARN S. -- 521 There are in all about 47 heritors in the parish, yielding a va- luation of L. 4725, 6s. 6d. Scots money. The real valuation is about L. 5000. The heritors are mostly resident. The princi- pal properties are, Pollock, Southfield, Caplerig, Greenbank, Fingleton, Netherhouse, &c. Many of the richer heritors have excellent modern mansion-houses. The principal proprietor is Sir R. C. Pollock, Bart. Upper Pollock is the chief messuage of that barony. The house stands on a rising-ground, with a good exposure, and commanding an extensive view of the country around. His family are said to be descended from Peter, the son of Falbert, who lived in the time of Malcolm IV., and is mentioned in ancient records as an early donator to the monastery of Pais- ley. In former times, a chapel stood at Upper Pollock, which disappeared after the Reformation. Southfield is a very pleasant residence, and is well sheltered with wood and plantations. This property was purchased by Mr Urie in 1680 from the Stewarts of Blackhall, afterwards by Mr Gilchrist in 1750, and by Alexander Hutchison, Esq. of Jamaica in 1771. It is now the property of Mr Cunningham. The Kirk rivulet rises a little to the west of this. Caplerig was an ancient seat of the Knights Templars ; it now belongs to a family of the name of Brown. An ancient square tower is still pointed out, which passes under the name of the Old Castle of Mearns. This was formerly the chief seat of the Max- wells. It has lately been roofed in, and is surmounted with a flag- staff. The roof is so contrived, that, being invisible from without, it does not in the least disfigure the building. On a late occasion, the ancient echoes of this antique warlike fortalice were awaked after a sleep of centuries to the voice of music, and the nimble cadences of the “light fantastic toe.” III.—PopULATION. The first authentic account which we find of the population of this parish is that taken by Dr Webster about 1755, when it was only 886. In 1841, 3188,-giving an increase, in eighty- six years, of no less than 2202 souls. The population since the above period may be stated thus: In 1755, & 886 1791, e l 430 1801. tº 1714 1811, o 194] 1821, * 2295 1831, º 2814 1841, * 3088 Number of families in 1831, • º & iº 456 - chiefly engaged in agriculture, sº sº 149 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, 284 522 REN FREWSHIRE, During the period from 1755 till the present date, the increase has been somewhat more than 25 per annum. In the thirty-six years that elapsed between 1755 and 1791, the total increase was 544, or nearly at the rate of 16 per annum. In the ten years be- tween 1791 and 1801, the total increase was 274, or at the rate of 27 per annum. In the ten years between 1801 and 1811, the population increased by 227 souls, or at the rate of 22 per annum. From 1811 to 1821, the increase was 354, which gives the in- crease at the rate of 35 per annum. Since 1821 the increase up to this date has been 805, which is within a little of the total population in 1755. The increase in this last period is at the rate of 40 per annum. The number of births in the parish for the last seven years is about 80,—of which 40 are recorded by the parish teacher. The deaths are about 62, and the marriages 26. No regular re- gister except that of births is kept in the parish. The procla- mations are scarcely a proper test for the marriages that take place in the course of a year. The number of children to a family is about 4. The parish contains an unusually large number of wealthy and respectable individuals, and of families of independent fortune. These will be seen by referring to the list of proprietors with their properties, and the valuation of each attached. About 90 might be named as having upwards of L. 50 per annum. As this is strictly a rural district, the people are characterized, to a certain extent, by simplicity of manners, and by an absence of many of the vices that are more common and more fashionable in populous manufacturing districts. They are nearly surrounded on all hands with a manufacturing population, which is attended with the advantage of affording them a ready and sure market for all sorts of agricultural produce. • - IV.- INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—The soil, as already hinted, is of a light dry qua- lity, quick and stimulating, and lies mostly on a porous, much fractured and rapidly decomposing foundation of trap, gene- rally termed in the west of Scotland rotten whim. There are only a few exceptions, and these apply to some of the low- er tracts of land in the parish, which rest chiefly on a hard till or clay. Owing to the vicinity of the parish to the two great trad- ing marts of the district, Glasgow and Paisley, there is a ready market for all sorts of agricultural produce; and the manufactur- ing districts again, in their turn, yield the chief material for agri- cultural purposes, in abundance of manure, of which the farmer is enabled to avail himself from the comparatively small distances at ME ARN S. - 523 which it may be procured, and the excellence of the roads. Mr Wilson in his “View of the Agriculture of Renfrewshire,” some- what artificially divides its soil and surface into high, middle, and low. If we adhere to his division, we must place the Mearns in the high district, which lies on gravel and rock, and contains in all about 101,578 English acres. Except when the soil is very alpine, there is everywhere a thick covering of excellent herbage mixed with Trifolium repens, and other rich and valuable accom- paniments of good pasture. But the farmers here are also well skilled in the higher and more scientific branches of the agri- culturist’s art, in levelling, straightening, and laying out the crook- ed ridges into more profitable shapes, and more sightly forms, and also in draining and manuring. Formerly the farmers in this dis- trict began their operations at or about a stated period, and that period was in general too late in the season. The late Mr War- ner of Kilbarchan had the merit of first pointing out the mistake, and now it is very generally remedied. The dairy cows are all of the Ayrshire breed, are finely formed, and of the best sort. But- ter and butter-milk are here manufactured in a style not surpassed in any other district in the west of Scotland. The Mearns but- ter is farmed in Glasgow and Paisley, and families are anxious to lay in their winter butter, the veritable produce of the celebrated dairies of the Mearns. In the farming operations, summer-fallow- ing is not much practised. Instead of this, the ground has long been better prepared by planting it with potatoes or green crops. The potatoes thrive excellently here, yielding often 200 stones to an acre, or 260 or 280 for a succession of years. Turnips are not so much cultivated as they might be. The grain chiefly raised is oats and bear; some little barley, and also wheat, beans and peas. The latter are now not so much sown as formerly, especially since the introduction of ryegrass and pulse, which some suppose to be unfavourable to the cultivation of pulse. The average rent of land is L. 1, 6s. per acre, although some properties rent as high as L. 2, 4s. and even much higher. - Manufactures.—There are pretty extensive cotton works at Bus- by, which were first erected there in 1780. There are also a printfield and bleachfield at Wellmeadow, and a printfield at Ne- ther Place. V.-PARoch IAL EconoMY. The principal village in the parish is Newtown, situated about half-a-mile north-west from the parish church. It is a burgh of 524 - R EN FREWSHIRE, barony, and has the right of holding a weekly market, and two annual fairs. It contains about 500 or 600 inhabitants, and is formed chiefly of two rows of houses on the Glasgow and Ayrshire road, with a good inn. The centre of the parish is about eight miles both from Glasgow and Paisley. This district was long destitute of good roads. Even so late as 1770, lime, coals, grain, and other bulky articles were generally conveyed on horses' backs. It is only since 1792 that good roads began to be known here. Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church contains about 600 sittings, is in good repair, and is centrically enough situated. The glebe contains about 4 acres. A new manse is at present being built. The expense will be about L. 1300. About L. 1653, 7s. was raised by assessment on L. 4725, 6s. 6d. Scots money—the additional sum going for repairs on the parish school-house. There is what was formerly termed an Antiburgher-meeting house at New- ton. It was first built in 1743, but has lately been completely re- erected. It has a glebe of five acres. Education.—The parish school-room is one of the largest and airiest of any in the west of Scotland. Mr Jackson, the very able and excellent teacher, has long laboured with much success in his very important and useful sphere as parochial teacher. Accord- ing to the last official returns, the number of children attending the parish school was 103—attending other schools, 150. The branches taught in the parish school are, Latin, geography, arith- metic, English grammar, reading and writing. The salary of the parochial teacher is L.34, 4S., school-fees L.63, with L.4 annual- ly from other sources. There is a school at Busby, and a small country school besides. There are few, if any, natives above fif- teen years of age who cannot read the Scriptures, and who have not been taught to write. Poor.—There is no parochial assessment. At one period An- drew Sim, heritor, left 1000 merks to the poor of the parish. At present they are chiefly supported by donations and collections at the church door. Alehouses.—There are a few of these in the parish, principally connected with the thoroughfares and the public works. Fuel.-This essential article is obtained in abundance from the adjacent coal districts, at a moderate rate. x + January 1842. PARISH OF INNERRIP. * PRESBYTERY OF GREENOCK, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. THE REW. THOMAS BROWN, MINISTER. I.—Topogſ. APHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name, Extent, &c.—THE name of the parish denotes its posi- tion at the mouth of the River Kip. It is bounded by the Clyde on the north and west. It it is about seven miles in length and six in breadth. About two centuries ago, it comprehended the parishes of Greenock. The surface of the country, in general, is no less pleasing to the eye, than the situation is conducive to health. From the shore to the south-east there is a gradual ascent, beautifully varied with plains, gentle declivities, and eminences clothed with furze and broom, intersected by small rivers or burns, which are sometimes lost in deep glens, shaded with wood, and sometimes water rich and fertile meadows. On one side, the pa- rish is surrounded with lofty mountains, covered with heath ; on the other, washed by the Frith of Clyde, constantly crowded with the foreign and coasting trade to and from Greenock : and the towering summits of the Isle of Arran terminate the view to the south-west. Soil and Agriculture.—The soil upon the shore is light, sandy, and of quick vegetation; farther in the country, it is a little wetter, and more inclined to a red gravel. The moor-grounds are covered with heath, and in some places afford moss of a considerable depth. More than one-half of the parish is moor, and a great part of that a common undivided; a considerable part natural meadow, and the remainder arable. From the appearance of the country, it may be supposed that more land was in tillage fifty years ago than at present. (Old Stat. Account.) - Geology.—The geology of the parish is, in every respect, the same with that of the neighbouring parish of Greenock. These stratified rocks belong to the old red sandstone series, which are met and overtopped at a height of from 50 to 100 feet above * From notes furnished by the Rev. Donald M'Leod, Minister of Gourock. 526 R EN FIRE W S HIRE, the sea, by the secondary trap, of which all of the eminences in this district of Renfrewshire are composed. They are in many places, particularly in the neighbourhood of Wemyss Bay, intersected and upheaved by narrow dikes of the trap rock. In the immedi- ate neighbourhood of these dikes, the sandstone is hardened to a remarkable degree, and partially discoloured, incontrovertible evi- dences that the trap which composes them was originally injected in a fluid state. The rocks in this parish have been quarried to a very considerable extent. The most abundant stratified rock is conglomerate, but there is a finer kind of sandstone in the upper part of the parish, which is well adapted for building. Many of the trap dikes supply metal for the roads of excellent quality. II.-Civil. History. Land-owners.-Sir Michael Robert Shaw Stewart; Robert Wallace of Kelly, Esq.; and William M*Fie, Esq. of Langhouse; and in the Gourock district, Lieutenant-General Darroch, the valuation of whose property is L. 600,—are the chief land-owners. Mansion-houses.—The mansion-houses are, I. Ardgowan, the seat of Sir M. R. Shaw Stewart; 2. Kelly, the seat of Robert Wallace, Esq.; 3. Langhouse, the seat of William Macfie, Esq.; and 4. Gourock House, the residence of General Darroch; 5. Fancy Farm. House, at present unoccupied ; 6. Ashburn, the residence of An- drew Ranken, Esq.; 7. Gourock Castle, the seat of J. F. Zollar, Esq.; 8. Leven House, belonging to Mrs M*Inroy ; and Leven, £he seat of Mr Crooks. - Antiquities.--There is an old tower, the venerable remnant of £he ancient mansion-house of Ardgowan: also, a very old and vene- rable looking bridge lying across the Dunrod burn, a stream flow- ing down to Innerkip. These are both curious relics, and well worthy of preservation. - III.-PopULATION. Amount of population in 1801, . 1367. 1811, - 1632 182], º 2344 1831, e 2088 1841, c 3403 The village of Gourock, including Ashton, contains a popula- tion of 1200. IV.-INDUSTRY. * *- Agriculture.—In the Gourock district of the parish, the num- ber of acres cultivated or in tillage, and on the Gourock estate, is about 2000; uncultivated, about 1500; capable of cultivation, E R S K IN E. * *5.15 But the most attractive building of which the parish can boast is the new mansion-house of Erskine, erected by the late Lord Blantyre, from a plan furnished by Sir Robert Smirke of London. “This building,” says a modern publication, “is erected in the manorial or domestic Gothic of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, with perpendicular windows, many of them large, and of great beauty. The splendid irregularity of this style of building has been seldom displayed, in modern times, to greater advantage than at Erskine House, and particularly when seen from the water, its effect is rich and striking. The house is of great size, extending in front 185 feet in length, besides its kitchen, court, and nursery wing ; the principal part rising in height to two storeys, is terminated by rich cornices and decorated pinnacles. The internal arrangements are exceedingly magnificent. The house contains upwards of seventy-five rooms, of which seven are public rooms of large size and beautiful proportions. The picture gallery is 118 feet in length. The vestibule, hall, and gallery open from one into the other with folding doors; and the whole of their extent can be seen at once from the grand entrance, presenting a splendid per- spective of 196 feet.” III.-PopULATION. In 1750, the parish is said to have contained tº 829 1771, e tº S70 1792, when the last Statistical Account was written, 808 1801, tº - p g º 847 1811, & e o 963 1821, &= e w º 973 l831, . * ge 973 It is a curious circumstance, and one well worthy of remark, that this parish is the only one in Scotland in which the number of in- habitants has undergone no change between the census of 1821 and that of 1831. The census of 184] will probably show a very great increase in the population of this parish, as the Glasgow and Greenock Railway, which has brought an immense influx of la- bourers into it, will not, in all probability, be finished before that time.* The following table will show the average amount of births, marriages, and deaths, which annually occur here : Average number of births for the last seven years, e 20 - marriages, e ſº | | deaths, gº e J.5 The register of births, however, is not absolutely correct, owing * By the census of 1841, the population was found to amount to 1407, REN FRE W. *L | 51.6% ſº REN FREWS HIRE, to the occasional neglect of parents in registering them ; the above- mentioned number, therefore, may be reckoned a little below the truth. A register of deaths seems never to have been kept in this parish, and the number mentioned has been supplied by the sex- ton. The average number of persons below the specified ages are, as nearly as can be ascertained, the following: Number below the age of 15, e 309 between the age of 15 and 30, * 286 30 and 50, & 258 50 and 70, g 98 above the age of 70, * g 22 The average number of families in the parish is 195, of which there are 38 resident in the small villages of Blackstoun and Ross- land, and 157 in the country districts, living at considerable dis- tances from one another. The average number of children in each family is 3 unmarried men, both widowers and bachelors, abovo 50, 21 females above 45, gº º 30 Number of fatuous persons, * º & tº tº | houses inhabited, º & g ſº | 70 uninhabited, * * e º 0 The excess of families above the number of houses is easily ac- counted for, from the circumstance, that one house often accom- modates two, and even three families. * Character of the People, Customs and Habits, &c.—There is no- thing remarkable in the character of the people, except it may be the preservation of their simple, kindly, and respectful manners, notwithstanding their proximity to the large manufacturing towns of Paisley and Johnstone. They are very regular in their atten- dance on divine ordinances, and are, for the most part, steady and sober. - IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture and Rural Economy:— A. R. I”, The extent of the parish in standard imperial acres, is 7.108 S 30 Number of acres arable land, sº wº 512] 2 24 waste land, pasture, moss, &c. 1431 | 28 wood, iº * - 554 0 27 There are only a few acres of natural copse-wood, which, though picturesque in appearance, is of little value. Great attention is paid by all the proprietors to the management of their woods, both in the way of pruning and thinning them. * There is not much land still in a waste and unproductive state, if we except about 200 acres of moss land, which the proprietors, E R S K IN E. * #5 I 7 Lord Douglas and Mr Maxwell of Dargavel, are gradually clear- ing away, and about 400 acres of shore ground on Lord Blan- tyre's and General Darroch’s estates. - * Rent of Land.—Grain rents are still common in the parish, and these are regulated by the fiat prices; but money rents have also been introduced, and seem to be preferred both by tenant and landlord as more certain. The average rent of arable land is about L. 1, 13s. per Scotch, or L.1, per imperial acre. Rent of Grazing.—The average rent charged for grazing is as follows—for a cow, summer-grazing, L. 4, winter do. L. 6, 10s. ; per annum, L. 10, 10s. Black-faced sheep per annum, 10s. 6d. ; white-faced pets per do. L.1, 7s. - Rate of Wages.—The rate of wages for labourers, plough- men, &c., is the same as in the parish of Inchinnan. Ploughmen with bed, board and washing, per half year, L.9; married do. with a house and garden per half year, L. 12, 10s. ; female servants per do. L.4 to L.5 ; labourers per week, 10s. to 1 1s. ; women, 1s. per day, but in harvest from 1s. 6d. to 2s. ; per week, 6s. to 12s. ; quarriers per week, 13s. ; wrights per do., 16s. ; masons per do., 18s. ; but at present, owing to the demand for masons on the rail- way, their wages are as high as L. l per week. Mason-work, how- ever, is more frequently executed by contract at the following prices—ruble-work per rood, L.7, 10s. ; coursed-work per do., L. l l ; ashlar-work per do., L. 16. Many of the young women are kept in constant employment by sewing muslins and embroidering crape shawls for manufacturers in Paisley, by which they make from 10d. to Is. 8d. per day, according to the demand for the fol- lowing articles: Victoria stitch upon cotton muslin, averaging per day ls. 8d. ; French opening stitch on do. 1s. 8d.: French vein- ing on do. 1s. ; sewed silk shawls with satin boards, 1s. ; Thibet wool shawls sewed with twined silk, ls. Husbandry.—The first innovations on the old system of farm- ing in this parish were made about the year 1775, by Alexander the tenth Lord Blantyre, and have been very accurately described by Dr Young in the former Statistical Account. The system of a rotation in crops, introduced by that nobleman, was in particu- lar, a source of great annoyance to the farmers, who could not at first appreciate the value of such a change. Now, however, that system is observed, not only on Lord Blantyre's property, but likewise by the tenants on the other estates. The following is the rotation of crops which is followed on the best managed farms: 51.8% REN FREWSHIRE. 1st year, oats after lea; 2. potatoes or turnips; 3. wheat, barley, or oats; 4. hay ; 5. and 6, pasture : and lately, on some of Lord Blantyre's farms, an eight-shift course, as it is called, adding two years more of pasture, has been adopted, with every prospect of success. The nature of the soil will not admit of repeated crop- ping without a falling off in the produce, and a considerable rest in grass seems requisite, in order to preserve fertility, except on the heavy land, which forms too small a proportion of the whole parish to affect its general features. The propriety of persisting in making wheat a general crop seems very doubtful,—neither the soil nor the climate being adapted for bringing this valuable article to maturity; in addition to which the wheat crop seems to be by no means a good nurse for the young grasses sown down with it. Barley is not a general crop, but might take the place of wheat with advantage, as it is much better adapted to the soil and cli- mate, and produces no bad effects upon the young grasses sown down with it. The greatest improvement introduced into the parish, of late years, is the tile-draining on the parallel or furrow system; and, as all the soils of the first, second, and fourth classes, above-men- tioned, require to be freed from superfluous moisture attendant on an impervious subsoil, much yet remains to be done in this depart- ment. From the interest taken, both by landlord and tenant, in this system, it is to be expected that a great change will have taken place in the course of ten or twelve years, both in the aspect and produce of the parish. On the Erskine estate the landlord provides the tiles, and is at the expense of draining in the first in- stance, the tenants paying five per cent. interest on the outlay dur- ing the continuance of their leases, and the same plan has been adopted by the other proprietors. Two tile-works have been lately erected in the parish,-one by Lord Blantyre on the lands of Glenshinnoch, and the other by Mr Rodger on the lands of Gledestane, on both of which there is found abundance of excel- lent clay for the manufacture of tiles. The subsoil plough, which has been introduced into East Lothian with great success for the purpose of turning up the subsoil, and mixing it with the surface soil, is to be introduced, during the course of this year, into this parish for the same purpose; and, meanwhile, deep ploughing af- ter draining has been successfully practised, with that end in view. The leases of farms vary from fifteen to nineteen years, a num- ber of the more recent being of the former period. There are 4 ERS KIN E. 5.19% also some farms let on a lease of seven years. A lease of fifteen or nineteen years must, in general, be reckoned favourable to the occupier, except where the farm has been taken at too high a rate, and where there is a deficiency of capital on the part of the tenant; but, in such cases, it is neither the interest nor inclination of land- lords to keep a tenant against his will. A lease is beneficial both to landlord and tenant,-the former is not exposed to the risk of losing a good tenant on every occasion, and the tenant has a some- what permanent interest in this farm which stimulates his exertions to improve it, and certainly, without leases, one-half of the im- provements lately effected would not have been undertaken. The farm-houses are, for the most part, commodious and good, and the few uncomfortable old-fashioned structures which still re- main, are gradually giving place to neat and comfortable dwellings. The enclosures are generally formed by hedges of hawthorn, pri- vet, or beech, or by dry-stone walls of five feet in height. Live-Stock.-There are not many horses reared in the parish, and those employed in agricultural labour are generally of the Clydesdale breed. The average number of farm-horses is 135, The cows are generally of the Ayrshire breed, though some of the farmers prefer a cross breed between the Guernsey and the Ayr- shire, as securing the good qualities of both. The average num- ber of milk cows usually kept in the parish is 355, in addition to which there are of young cows and black-faced cattle about 445. Produce.—The produce of the parish may be estimated annual- ly as follows: • Grain of all kinds, - & H.7596 0 0 Potatoes, turnips, &c. tº- gºs 6862 0 0 Hay, gº sº gº 3.165 0 0 Dairy produce, gº gº 6074 0 0 Pasturage, º 4- tºº 2500 () O Tile manufacture, {- sº 1000 0 0 Thinnings of wood, tº * = . 500 0 0 Peats, †º se gº & 100 0 0 L.27,797 0 0 If this estimate of produce is compared with that which is given by Mr Lockhart in his account of Inchinnan, it will be found that there is a considerable difference in the proportion of grain to green crop and pasture in these contiguous districts; but it must be remembered, that Inchinnan is much more a corn-growing pa- rish than Erskine, the latter being chiefly devoted to green crops and pasture. * - Quarries.—There are two freestone quarries about a mile east 5.20% R E N F REWSH 1 RE . from the church, on Lord Blantyre's property, which have afford- ed building materials for the new mansion-house at Erskine, for the church, and an addition made to the manse in 1816. There is also a freestone quarry on Mr Rodger's property, and several whinstone quarries throughout the parish, which are chiefly wrought to obtain metal for the parish roads. + : Fisheries.—There are two or three salmon-fisheries on the banks of the Clyde, as it passes along this parish, but they are not taken by any of the inhabitants; indeed, the produce of these is so small as scarcely to repay the expense of the necessary fish- ing apparatus. The right of all the salmon-fishings on the Clyde belongs by ancient royal charter to the town of Renfrew ; and the magistrates of that burgh, or friends authorized by them, occa- sionally amuse themselves by a day’s fishing at the different sta- tions. Spirlings or smelts are now very rarely found, and the large red trout and shrimps, which Dr Young mentions as being formerly caught here, are now unknown. The salmon when caught is sent to the Glasgow market, and sells from 6d. to 1s. 2d. per pound. - V.—PARocłłIAL ECONOMY. * Markets.--The nearest market-town is Paisley, which lies about six miles distant from the east end of the parish. The inhabitants of the west end usually frequent the markets of Port-Glasgow or Greenock, which are respectively three and six miles distant from them. Willages.—There are only two villages in the parish, both of them on the Rossland estate, one called Blackstown, in honour of the mother of the present proprietor, and the other called Easter Rossland, which scarcely, indeed, deserves the name of a village, as it consists of five houses, containing in all twelve families. They are both situated on the line of the new Greenock road. Means of Communication.—At the post-office of Bishoptoun there are three arrivals and three departures of mails daily, viz. arri- vals, from Glasgow, 6 morning, Paisley, 2P. M., Greenock, 3 P. M.; departures, to Greenock, 6 P. M., Glasgow, 8 P. M., Paisley, 8 P. M. In addition to this post-office, Lord Blantyre and his factor, the minister, and several of the inhabitants in the eastern part of the parish, get their letters at the post-office at Old Kilpatrick, on the north side of the Clyde, as this arrangement in many respects proves most convenient to them. The mail is conveyed by gigs. E R S K [NE, #52 | The public road from Glasgow to Greenock passes through the whole length of the parish, and there are other parish roads kept in good repair by the statute labour trust, which lead to Inchin- man, Houston, and Kilmalcolm. The communication with Glas- gow and Greenock is now carried on chiefly by the steam-boats, which put out and take in passengers at Erskine Ferry, every half hour, in their passage up and down the river, and no week passes without some of the farmers taking advantage of this mode of conveyance on their way to market. The steam-boats have long since put an end to posting and running of coaches between Glasgow and Greenock, and in all probability they will in a great measure be superseded in their turn by the Glasgow, Greenock, and Paisley Railway. The determination lately come to by the directors of that Railway to prevent all travelling along it on Sabbath, is such as warmly to recommend it to the patronage of all connected with this parish, which, from its beauty, and its vicinity to Glasgow and Paisley, would, but for that determination, have been overrun every Sabbath with visitors little likely to improve either the tem- poral or spiritual interests of the people." t There are two ferries in the parish, both belonging to Lord Blantyre; the one called Erskine Ferry forms the mean of com- munication with the parish and village of Old Kilpatrick; the one called the West Ferry, affords a communication with the castle and town of Dumbarton. The former is under the management of an excellent and careful tenant, and the inn connected with it has, from its neatness and comfort, become a favourite resort for dinner parties from Glasgow. At present, this is the lowest ferry on the river at which carriages and horses can cross from Ren- frewshire to Dumbartonshire and the Western Highlands, and, on that account, there is always a considerable traffic going on. The following is a table of the freights charged — A four-wheeled chaise, with two horses, 2s. 6d. ; a gig, with one horse, ls. 6d. ; a cart going and returning with one load, 1s. 2d.; a horse, 4d. ; a cow, 2d.; sheep per score, 1s. ; passengers crossing, Id. ; pas- sengers going on board steamers, 2d. The West Ferry has hitherto been ill kept and little used; but the Glasgow and Greenock Railway Company have recently been empowered to purchase it from Lord Blantyre, and have got an act of Parliament for erecting quays and other works, in order to make a communication with Dumbarton, the * The rates for luggage on the Railway are so moderate, that the farmers now ge. merally prefer it to any other mode of conveyance for heavy goods, 1842. 522* RENF REWSHIRE. public works on the river Leven, and the Highlands generally, by means of a steam ferry-boat. As this will afford a passage for carriages six miles further down the river than the Erskine Ferry, it must diminish considerably the traffic now carried on there, though it will prove a great convenience to the public generally. Ecclesiastical State.—There can be no doubt that Erskine was originally erected into a separate parish in the days of Popery, as we find mention made of the Popish vicars and parsons who held the living, such as “Robert Sempill, Vicar of Erskine,” mentioned in Hamilton’s History of Renfrewshire, and “David Stewart, par- son of Erskine,” mentioned by M*Lure in his History of Glasgow, published in 1739. In this treatise, which is a very curious one, the author informs us, that “the incumbent of Erskine, previous to the Reformation, was one of the thirty-two prebendaries who constituted the chapter of the archbishopric of Glasgow, whose office it was to be electors of the archbishops and council for the administration of the offices of their function, both with respect to the temporality and spirituality thereof, for the prebendaries of the Episcopal see had a vote in the chapter, and a stall in the choir, and had vicars under them, who served the cure in their several parsonages and paroch churches, or parsons who had their full tithes.” Bishop Cameron, who was appointed to the see of Glasgow in 1426, compelled the thirty-two canons of the metro- politan church to build manors in the vicinity of his own castle, and it is in giving an account of these that we find the author al- ready mentioned adding, “ The prebend of Erskine had his house at the foot of the Rotten Row, which belonged afterwards to James Fleming by purchase of Mr David Stewart, parson of Ers- kine, before the Reformation. The lands of Blythswood belonged to the parsons of Erskine, as a charter still extant bears, granted by Queen Mary to David Stewart, parson of Erskine, and sold to George Elphinstone, son of a burgess in Glasgow of the same name, and to this day the minister of Erskine receives the feu- duty of the lands, though the proprietor be a vassal of the Crown.” This feu-duty, amounting to the annual sum of 5s. Sterling, was paid at stated intervals to Dr Young, the incumbent before the last, till about the year 1799; and the late incumbent having al- lowed upwards of twenty years to pass after his induction here without claiming it, during which time, the persons employed by Dr Young to collect it died, the proprietor of Blythswood, through his agent, has lately refused to acknowledge the claim of the mi- ERSKIN E. #523 nister to draw this feu-duty. The sum, indeed, is sufficiently trifling, yet, it is to be regretted, that any thing belonging to the cure, and tending to establish its antiquity, should, through care- lessness, have been lost. The stipend paid to the minister, pre- vious to 1831, was 15 chalders, half meal, half barley; at that time, however, it was raised to 17 chalders, with L. 8, 6s. 8d. for communion elements. - There has been no regular register kept of the incumbents of Erskine, and it is therefore impossible to say whether the following list includes all who have served the cure since 1600 : “ Robert Sempill, vicar of Erskine, deceist in the moneth of December in the zier of God 1600.” He seems to have been succeeded in 1602 by William Brisbane, parson of Ers- kine, a son of John Brisbane, laird of Bishopton, the first Protest- ant minister. In 1642, he was succeeded by his son, Matthew Brisbane, a man of great worth and abilities. In 1649, Thomas Hall, from Ireland, was appointed minister, and after him William Thomson, though in what year is uncertain. William Houston was appointed in 1660, and was ejected two years afterwards in 1662. In 1692, William Turner was appointed; but was trans- lated to Greenock in 1704. Walter Menzies succeeded in 1705, and died in 1741. In 1742, James Lundie was presented, and in 1772, he was succeeded by Walter Young, D.D., who died in J814. His place was supplied by Andrew Stewart, M. D., who was translated from Bolton in 1815, and died in December 1838. The present incumbent was ordained assistant and successor to his father on the 16th March 1837. The old church, which was supposed to have been built in Pop- ish times, having become ruinous, was pulled down in 1813, and the benelier, which held the holy water at the principal entrance, is still to be seen lying in the church-yard. It was situated in the middle of the church-yard; but the new one has been built at a little distance from it, on a site granted by Lord Blantyre. It is to be regretted, that, when a new church was about to be built, the heritors had not fixed on a more central situation for it, and one which would have proved more convenient to the majority of the parishioners, for, situated as it is, at a distance of one mile from the eastern, and seven from the western extremity of the pa- rish, the inhabitants of the last-mentioned quarter cannot usually attend their own parish church in winter, and have to seek accom- modation in the parish church and Cameronian chapel at Kilmal- 5.24% R EN FREWS HIRE, colm. The number of sittings in the church is 500, and the sit- tings at the communion table are appropriated to the poor. No seat-rents are exacted either by the heritors or kirk-session. There are twelve elders at present in the kirk-session, to each of whom a separate district has been allotted, which he statedly visits twice a year, and reports diligence to the session. The number of communicants is about 320; and the roll of male heads of families, made up in terms of the regulations of the veto act, contains 93. The average amount of collections for the poor an- nually is L.35, 14s. 8d., in addition to which the collections for the Assembly’s schemes amount annually to the average sum of L.20. The relative number of persons belonging to the Esta- blishment and to the different bodies of Dissenters is as follows: Establishment, 957; Cameronians, 3; United Secession, 3; Re- lief, 4; Episcopalians, 2.; Papists, 4. * The manse was built about sixty years ago; but a large addi- tion was made to it by the heritors on the appointment of the last incumbent in 1815, and some small additions were also made to it lately, which render it a commodious dwelling. The glebe is small, containing only five acres of arable land. Education.—There are two schools in this parish, the parochi- al school, a handsome building, which has only been a few months completed, and a subscription school, which was built about thirty years ago, in the western district of the parish, but which, being now ruinous, is about to be replaced immediately by a larger and more comfortable edifice. The parochial schoolmaster has a good house, containing six apartments, and the legal amount of ground for a garden, but he only receives the medium rate of sa- lary, amounting to L. 30 a year, which is too small a remuneration for an efficient teacher such as this parish at present happily en- joys. In addition to the ordinary branches, he is qualified to teach Latin, Greek, and practical mathematics, and the fees vary from 3s. to 7s. per quarter, according to the branches taught. As the people generally seem alive to the great importance of educa- tion, there are no children above nine or ten years old unable to read, and, generally speaking, all can write. The children of the poor are educated gratis. The two last parochial schoolmasters here are now clergymen in the Church of Scotland, viz. the Rev. Archibald Maconechy of Bunkle, in East Lothian, and the Rev. James Allan of Paramatta, New South Wales. There is also a E R S K IN E . *525 Sabbath school in the parish taught by the minister, schoolmas- ter and elders. - Library.—A parochial library was instituted about four years ago by the late incumbent, which already contains between 300 and 400 volumes. The inhabitants of the parish become mem- bers by paying 2s. 6d. at entrance, and an annual subscription of ls. thereafter. The interest in it seems unfortunately already in great measure to have died away. - Poor and Parochial Funds.-The number of persons at present on the poor’s roll is six, but the average may be taken at eight. The allowance given to each pauper varies according to circum- stances; the highest rate now paid is 14s, a month, and the low- est 4s. The funds requisite for the support of the poor are pro- vided partly by the collections at the church door, which amount on an average to L. 35, 14s. 8d. yearly, and partly by a volun- tary contribution, to which the heritors agree, the minister and heritors being alike opposed to a legal assessment, the invariable tendency of which is to increase the number of paupers, and to ba- mish that spirit of independence for which the Scotch were once so remarkable. * Friendly Societies.—A Friendly Society was instituted in the pa- rish about twelve years ago, for the purpose of assisting those mem- bers who should be unable from illness to support themselves, with- out having recourse to parochial aid. The number of members is limited to sixty, each of whom pays 5s, as entrance money, and ls, 6d. every quarter. The amount of charity bestowed is as follows: 5s. a week, provided the invalid member be confined to bed, and if not, 3s. a week. This society has been of considerable use in im- parting well-timed pecuniary assistance, and deserves the encourage- ment and support both of the heritors and people. Savings Banks.-One of these useful institutions, in connection with the Paisley National Security Savings Bank, was begun in May 1838, and the result has proved more successful than could have been imagined, considering the population of the parish. It were an act of injustice not to mention, that much of its success is attributable to the kind attention of Mr Duff, the schoolmaster, who acts as secretary and treasurer, and willingly receives depo- sitors at any time they are disposed to come, instead of fixing them down to particular days and hours. There are 38 depositors at present, eight of whom only are strangers connected with the rail- way. The amount deposited is as follows: 526% - . B EN FR EWS HIRE. From May 1838 to May 1839, ſº e L. 325 15 0 Do. 1839 do. 1840, e * 302 0 0 Do. 1840 to July 1840, • e 52 16 0 * L.680 l l 0 Amount withdrawn from May 1888 to July 1840, 170 0 0 Leaving in the bank, & & fº L.510 I I 0 Ale-houses.—There is a nice inn in the parish, kept by the fer- ryman at Erskine ferry, and, in addition, there are no less than five public-houses in the parish, one or two of which are by no means well conducted. In a country parish such as this, the prac- tice of licensing any one who applies to the quarter sessions, with a certificate from a justice of peace, without requiring from the kirk-session a certificate of moral character, is felt to be an into- lerable nuisance. * - - Fuel.-The fuel chiefly used is coal and peat. The latter is cut in this and the neighbouring parish of Inchinnan, in the moss belonging to Messrs Maxwell of Dargavel, and Alexander of Southbar, and is partially used both by cottars and others; but coal is also used in every house, however poor, and is sold at 9d. per cwt. There is no coal fit for use to be had nearer than Paisley, but, as the Glasgow coal is equally cheap and of a better quality, it is generally preferred. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Since the last Statistical Account was written, there has been a decrease in the number of public-houses to the amount of three, and there is certainly much less drinking now among the inhabi- tants than formerly. Since then, however, it is matter of deep re- gret, that family worship, formerly almost universal in the parish, has been very much neglected, or discontinued, and that the num- ber of illegitimate births has been on the increase, while the pledge of marriage usually given in such cases is rarely redeemed. The scenes of drunkenness, Sabbath profanation, and horrid blasphe- my, with which an unsophisticated country population has been fa- miliarized, by a residence among them of the very worst descrip- tion of English, Irish, and Highlanders, to the amount of 1500 or 2000 persons employed on the railway, for the last two years, have been productive of the most blighting and pernicious effects, both on old and young, which it is to be feared, in many cases, will never be fully eradicated. August 1840. Revised April 1842. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS GENERAL OBSER, WATIONS. ON THE COUNTY OF RENFREW.* Geography, &c.—THIs county, with Strathclyde, Ayr, and Stir- ling, was, at the time of the Roman dominion, possessed by a Celtic race, termed by their conquerors the Damnii, their chief town here being Vanduaria, which some suppose to have been near the site of Paisley, while Camden in Ptolemy's Randvara, thinks he sees the Renfrew of modern times clearly indicated. The whole was within the Roman province of Valentia. The angular point of land at Renfield, formed by the junction of the rivers Clyde and Cart, seems, in the descriptive language of the Celts, to have given name to the town in its neighbourhood, and the town ultimate- ly to the whole county. The word rin or ren signifies a neck-land, as O'Brien in his “Word-Book” has so clearly shown. Our rinns of Galloway is an example in point. The frew or frau signifies a flux or flow of tide. The Rinn of Renfrew, now Renfield, has a double flux, one up the Cart and another up the Clyde, and in good modern English may be termed the “tidal cape or peninsu- la.” In a charter of David I., preserved in the chartulary of Kelso, No. 1, the spelling is Renfru. In the Rotuli Scotorum, a printed copy of which is in the Paisley Library, the name occurs for the first time in 1811, and is rendered Reynfreu–in other charters connected with the early history of the Stewarts, the spelling is Renfreu, Reinfreu, and Ranfreu. Should Rhon be interpreted a division or portion, as it sometimes is, Ronfreu will signify the por- tion connected with the flow of the tide—still pointing to the land near the junction, of the Clyde and Cart. Some render the name Rein Froach, or the north-easterly division. That district bound- ed on the east by the Black Cart, and comprehending the country lying westward to the Clyde, was formerly termed Stragryfe, being watered by the Gryfe; and Chalmers seems to think the Lever- nani of Hailes's Annals, i. 78, who fought at the battle of the Stan- dard, were the men of Levernside, the sons of the noisy stream, * Drawn up by Ivey. William Patrick, Hamilton. COUNTY OF REN FREW, *565 º tons of coal are consumed annually at Port-Glasgow and Greenock. The jurisdiction of the “River Trust” terminates at Toward-point. At Cloch-point, on the brow of the rock, stands the Cloch light- house, a circular tower 80 feet high, with a stationary stellate light. It bears N. E. four miles from the point of Wemyss, and six miles N. E. by E. from Toward-point. TABLE I.—Showing the number of persons committed for trial or bailed in the county of Renfrew in the year 1840: Offences against persons, sº - 1 6 property, with violence, º 60 property without violence, sº 360 Malicious offences against property, * º 8 Forgery, and offences against the currency, tº 15 Other offences, * - - º 94 Total, 653 TABLE II, shewing Ecclesiastical State, &c. of Parishes in the County of Renfrew. # Ecclesiastical State. #| Par. Schoolmasters' Emoluments. Annual Amount of Contributions to the Poor. § 3 ;|2 s s a 3A 5 th- From as- - Pari -> #3 š Č a 3.3| 3 G Amount of = r SeSSment Or From From Alms, - arishes. . 29 |-5 ..Sº gº 5 |-5 Parochial ||2 S g * & 3.5.3 ºf := # 3 |'s Ministers' | 8 alary. Fees. Total. voluntary | Church col- Legacies, Total. g 39;|3 & |3; &# 3 & inend 3 contrib. by lections. &c. ſ: 3 ſº | H S 3 P = | = & stipend. 3 Heritors. * +: C, ſº S |→ C. Cſ, €TItOrS Renfrew, See text. ... [18 chalders. 6 tº º º tº º º • * * . ... L. 147 0 0|Int. of L.60. tº º ºs Eastwood, 367 | ... 652 | ... [16 chalders. 5|L.34 4 4|L.36 0 0|L.70 4 4|L.335 0 0| 24 0 0 tº de C. L.359 O 0 Houston, tº e is • * * ê º G ... 16 chalders. 5. 34 4 4 28 0 0| 62 4 4, 20 0 0) 58 0 0|In.of L. 190&c. 89 19 0 Kilmalcolm, is º ºs & © º tº ſº º 30|16 chalders. 6. 34 4 4 tº e º tº º te $ tº º 18 0 0 tº gº º tº ºn tº ... Port-Glasgow, ... 5580 ... 1845|L,250. 8 as º ºs tº ſº tº 410 0 0 * e & tº is ſº Lochwinnoch, ... 3730] ... 789|16% chald. |10| 34 4 4 tº gº º tº º & 207 0 0 93 17 4 20 14 0 32] 17 Inchinnan, e e g See text. ... 16 chalders [...] 34 4 4; 31 0 0 65 0 0 tº º ſº 30 0 0 gº º tº tº ſº tº Paisley, ... 27959] ... (24009|L.300 each. [... Seetext. tº º tº tº e º Seeltext. tº tº gº Neilston, 1226, ... 504 ... 16 chalders.[13] 34 4 4 518 l 5 0 16 15 0| L.60 1 1 0 395 12 Kilbarchan, * * * I e º e i e & © ... 18 chalders. 7| 34 4 4 * g e Seeltext. tº gº º Eaglesham, tº tº 1214 ... 1214 * 4| 30 0 0 120 0 0| 20 0 0 |40 0 8 ch. - L.275 200. - Greenock, ... 19493 ... ... # 260. See|text. gº tº º tº as tº Seeltext. 200. - - - 150. + - 80. - Cathcart, • • * : * ~ * | * * * ... [L.276. ...] 31 0 0 e tº e ... • * * 45 0 0 Mearns, & © º tº e º | tº º º ... 262. 3| 34 4 4|L.63 0 0 97 4 4 tº ſº º Innerkip, © tº º * tº º º e & * tº ſº e tº º tº º ſº © tº º tº º º & º & tº º º Erskine, tº gº & 957) ... 16|17 chalders. 2, 30 0 0 ) 35 14 3 INNERRIP. --- 527 about 1000; in undivided common, about 200; under wood, about 30. - *... - In the same district, the average rent of land is about L. 1 per acre. The real rental of the quoad sacra parish of Gourock is L. 2500. * The land on all the estates in Innerkip has been considerably improved during the last forty years. Furrow-draining has been carried on with great spirit; and the late Sir Michael S. Stewart and Mr Wallace of Kelly have given liberal encouragement to that and other improvements on land. The Shaw's water aqueduct, of which a description is given in the Account of Greenock, passes through the parish, and a part of the reservoir is in it. But the principal improvement since the beginning of the century, has been the making of the new turnpike road from Greenock to Innerkip. Manufactures.—There is a rope-work in the parish belonging to the Gourock Rope Work Company. 180 tons of cordage are here manufactured yearly ; value of a ton, L. 42. 23 spinners, 3 apprentices, and 9 boys are employed at this work. Fishings.-The produce of the fishings of salmon, trout, ling, cod, haddocks, whitings, &c. in Gourock parish, may amount to about L. 300 per annum. ret Navigation.—Two sloops and a few small herring wherries be- long to the village of Gourock. - V.—PA RocBIAL EconoMY. Ecclesiastical State.—The amount of the stipend of the minister of Innerkip is L. 278. The district of Gourock has been erected into a separate parish quoad sacra ; and the minister’s stipend is L. 160 per annum. He has neither manse nor glebe. There is a parish library connected with the church at Gourock, containing nearly 600 volumes. Education.—There are two schools in the parish ; salary of the parochial teacher, I. 30, 15s. ; amount of his fees, about L. 26 per annum. In Gourock parish, there is a school endowed by George Rainy, Esq. with the handsome sum of L. 500. Poor.—In the Gourock quoad sacra parish, there are 12 regu- lar paupers, besides 20 who receive occasional aid of from L. 1, 16s. to L. 4 per annum. The poor in this place have great advantages from the strangers who resort to it for sea-bathing quarters, who are very kind to them. The total amount distributed among the poor is about L. 60 per annum : of which about L. 30 is from church collections, and the like sum from alms and legacies. January 1842. REN FREW. M1 Ill GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE COUNTY OF RENFREw.” Geography, &c.—THIs County, with Strathclyde, Ayr, and Stir- ling, was, at the time of the Roman dominion, possessed by a Celtic race, termed by their conquerors the Damnii, their chief town here being Vanduaria, which some suppose to have been near the site of Paisley, while Camden, in Ptolemy's Randvara, thinks he sees the Renfrew of modern times clearly indicated. The whole was within the Roman province of Valentia. The angular point of land at Renfield formed by the junction of the rivers Clyde and Cart, seems, in the descriptive language of the Celts, to have given name to the town in its neighbourhood, and the town ultimate- ly to the whole county. The word rin or ren signifies a neck-land, as O'Brien in his “Word-Book” has so clearly shown. Our rinns of Galloway is an example in point. The freu or frau signifies a flux or flow of tide. The rinn of Renfrew, now Renfield, has a double flux, one up the Cart, and another up the Clyde, and in good modern English may be termed the “tidal cape or peninsu- la.” In a charter of David I., preserved in the chartulary of Kelso, No. 1, the spelling is Renfru. In the Rotuli Scotorum, a printed copy of which is in the Paisley Library, the name occurs for the first time in 1311, and is rendered Reynfreu–in other charters connected with the early history of the Stewarts, the spelling is Renfreu, Reinfreu, and Ranfreu. Should Rhon be interpreted a division or portion, as it sometimes is, Ronfreu will signify the por- tion connected with the flow of the tide—still pointing to the land near the junction of the Clyde and Cart. Some render the name Rein Froach, or the north-easterly division. That district bound- ed on the east by the Black Cart, and comprehending the country lying westward to the Clyde, was formerly termed Stragryfe, being watered by the Gryfe ; and Chalmers seems to think the Lever- nani of Hailes's Annals, i. 78, who fought at the battle of the Stan- dard, were the men of Levernside, the sons of the noisy stream, * Drawn up by Rev. William Patrick, Hamilton. OBSERVATIONS ON THE COUNTY OF RENFRE W. 529 (for such is the meaning of Levern,) who mustered round the Pad. Renfrewshire, by way of pre-eminence, is often termed the Baro- ny of Renfrew, because, being the ancient inheritance of the fa- mily of Stuart, it gives the title of Baron to the heir apparent of the Crown. The greatest length of the county from Drumduff in Eaglesham to the Cloch, is about 3.1% miles. The extreme breadth, from a bridge near Kilbirnie Loch to Erskine House, is 13% miles. Lanarkshire bounds it on the east and north-east; Ayrshire on the south; and the Frith of Clyde, separates it from Dumbarton, on the north, and from Argyleshire on the west. . This important district lies between 55° 40' 40", and 55° 58' 10" north latitude, and be- tween 4° 15' and 4° 52' 30" longitude west of Greenwich. The county town is 50 miles west of Edinburgh. The area of this shire is 241 square miles, or 154,240 English acres. It is entirely si- tuated on the southern side of the river Clyde, with the exception of the King's Inch near the town of Renfrew, amounting to about 1294 acres, which lies on the northern side of the river. It appears, from the late Dr Burns's account of the parish of Renfrew, that, in the course of last century, the Clyde left its usual bed, nearly opposite to Scotstoun, took a semicircular direction, leaving the King's Inch upon the north side, and running along by the bottom of the garden belonging to the manse, came into its present direc- tion, near to the place where the ferry now is. A much more in- convenient addenda to the county of Renfrew consisted in the an- cient attachment of the lands in the parish of Bathgate in West Lo- thian, to the jurisdiction of the sheriffdom of this county. This jurisdiction continued till about 1530; and so completely was Bath- gate, after that disjunction, isolated from other counties in Scot- land, that it continued a separate sheriffdom till the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in 1748, when it was united to Linlithgow. This county was probably very early divided into wards or districts, like Lanarkshire. In 1616, William Cunningham of Craigans was served heir to the office of coroner and mayor of fee, in the west ward of Stragryffe, and in the upper ward of Renfrew, as ap- pears from the Inquisitio Specialis now in Paisley Library, 38. In 1815, when a Sheriffs’-Court was first appointed to be held at Green- ock, the judicial district assigned to him, consisting of Greenock, Port-Glasgow, and Innerkip, was termed the Lower Ward of Ren- frewshire; and that which is under the jurisdiction of the sheriff at Paisley was termed the Upper Ward. The Sheriff Court has been held at Paisley since the reign of James VI. 530 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE The general declination of the surface of Renfrewshire, taken on the great scale, is towards the Frith of the Clyde, and the trough or outlet of nearly all its waters centres in a point at Inch- innan. There are only one or two remarkable exceptions, which, like some other exceptions, serve to confirm the general rule. When the Frith of the Clyde takes its noble sweep southwards by Gouroek and Innerkip, presenting an easterly flow of wave towards the shore, the little water of Kipp, (hence Inver-Kipp,) and Hous- ton Burn, with the usual devotion of the smaller to the greater streams, run directly west to add to the Clyde the tribute of their diminutive waters, these being almost the only streams of the smal- lest note in Renfrewshire, with an exception to be afterwards not- ed, which do not find their way directly or indirectly to Inchinnan Bridge. The most elevated lands are in the south-west and south- east. There is nothing in the whole shire approaching the moun- tainous. The chief range of hills is at the west—stretching along the coast at various angles, from Greenock to Ardrossan. The greatest elevation of this ridge, which seems as if set down near to the shore, as the great barrier between sea and land, are at Misty Law and the Hill of Staik, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, or upon its borders. The Misty Law is generally supposed to be about 1250 feet high, and the Hill of Staik is probably still more ele- wated. But these points of dispute here and elsewhere will be speedily set at rest by the publication of the Trigonometrical Sur- vey of Scotland, now going on by the appointment of Government. The other considerable elevations are on the south-east of the county, in the parish of Eaglesham, such as Balageich, Dunwan, Mires, &c. Towards the centre, the general features are striking and picturesque, in many places being well-wooded, and varied by fine undulations, knolls, and rising-grounds. Some of these knolls, although of no great elevation, command extensive views. The whole of the less elevated district is, in short, a sort of table-land, full of irregularities, but all cultivated or capable of cultivation. There is, besides the above, a considerably elevated tract of land passing from Paisley along by the eastern parts of Lochwinnoch, and running on towards the western coast. The vallies in this county are extensive and beautiful, and lying as they do in the centre of a manufacturing district, they are still more valuable than seemly. The great vale of Renfrewshire is unquestionably Strath- gryffe. Connected with this is another vale which runs through Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, and along by Kilbirnie and Dalry COUNTY OF RENFREW. 53 l There are, besides, many other small but delightful vales amidst the hills, and by the courses of the smaller streams. The side vale going by Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch, is the site of the principal inland lakes in the county, viz. Barr and Castle-Semple, lochs in- cluding Kilbirnie. At one period, this valley seems to have been very extensively covered with water. Meteorology.—The county of Renfrew may be regarded as the counter-part of Lanarkshire, the one lying on the north, and the other on both sides of the upper Clyde. Renfrewshire being nearer to, and more under the influence of the Western Ocean and Frith of Clyde, is certainly more moist than Clydesdale. In several of the New Statistical Accounts of the parishes of Renfrewshire, figures and tables are employed by their authors to show that the climate is not so rainy as is generally supposed. This is certainly a meteorologi- cal fact worth ascertaining, even independent of the apparent desire to screen themselves, at the expense of their neighbours, by at- tempting to prove that there are moister skies not far off than that which hangs over the shire of Renfrew. Certainly in a me- teorological point of view, the atmosphere and climate of this part of Scotland are shrouded in as little mystery as any other dis- trict in the whole island. On either side of the county we have the very accurate, comprehensive, and scientific tables kept at Glasgow, both during the late and present centuries, besides those of Sir Thomas Brisbane at Largs, both places, to use a vulgar but expressive phrase, but a “cock-stride” from the north-eastern and south-western extremities of the shire—exactly corresponding, in this respect, with the grand geological directions, by which the more active phenomena of nature in former times were exercised, in giving shape and form to the present structure and surface of the globe. A very careful and important meteorological journal seems to have been kept for many years past at Castle Semple, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, giving the results of the barometrical and thermometrical movements, and differences in that quarter, for a definite portion of time, together with the conflicting results of two rain-gauges, kept in the gardens at the same place. In the account of the parish of Greenock, and also in the account of Paisley, some extracts and calculations are given from registers of the state of the weather, kept by Mr Mackinlay, the apothecary and clerk of the Infirmary at Greenock, and Dr Rodman of Paisley. In the Greenock account, and in the account of the pa- rish of Loch winnoch, all the statistical facts respecting the climate §32 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE of this district, worth depending upon, may be obtained. The difference between the Greenock and Lochwinnoch pluviometers is very remarkable. The years of observation are unfortunately not the same; but we repeat them as follows, for the sake of a few observations to be engrafted upon them. - Greenock. - Lochwimnoch. 1836, - 4.1.89 1828, {- 54,94 1837, te 32.39 1829, Gºs 39.85 1838, - 31.75 1830, º 55.51 The pluviometers of Lochwinnoch are said to yield between themselves very different results; and at Greenock, Mr James Leitch, merchant, is stated to have remarked that a pluviometer placed on the roof of the Infirmary, and one in the garden, behind it, showed in 1836 the one 41.89, and the other 62.10, and in 1837, the one 32.39, and the other 49.15. When afterwards placed on the roof beside each other, they nearly corresponded. In reference to the above statements, it is only necessary to re- mark, that it has been long known as an established fact in me- teorology, that if a rain-gauge be placed on the ground, and an- other at some height perpendicularly above it, more rain will be collected into the lower than into the upper; a proof that the quantity of rain increases as it descends, owing, perhaps, to the drops attracting vapour during their passage through the lower strata of the atmosphere, where the greatest quantity resides. Although Dr M'Farlane very justly concludes, that the above dis- crepancies throw “a great degree of uncertainty over the conclu- sions drawn from a comparison of the quantities of rain alleged to have fallen in different districts of the country,” it is proper, by way of caveat, to remark, that the results are not always such as above stated. Long ago, Mr Copland of Dumfries showed clearly that the quantity of rain collected in a higher and lower guage, was regulated by a law, and in particular, that when the quantity of rain collected in the lower guage was greatest, the rain commonly continued for some time ; and that the greatest quantity was col- lected in the higher guage only, either at the end of great rains, or during rains which did not last long. These are important con- siderations. It is not said whether the greater quantity of rain. was collected in the upper or under pluviometer at Greenock—it was probably the under, and that because of the continued mois- ture of the under strata of the atmosphere. To make observa- tions aright, two pluviometers ought to be kept, at least, the one much higher than the other; the average struck between both will COUNTY OF REN FR E.W. 533 come near the truth. The average annual fall of rain at Greenock is said to be 35.34, and here a comparison is made between West- morland, Cumberland, and Manchester. As the tables referred to in England are now some of them very old, and as the mode of conducting these things formerly was different from that adopted at present, less reliance can be placed upon them. - Very accurate tables were published in the Manchester Tran- sactions, Vol. iv. including observations made at Chatsworth, 27.865; Liverpool, 34.40 ; Lancaster, 40.3 ; Kendal, 61.223; Dumfries, 36. 127; Manchester itself being 43.1. As the rains of the west are so much celebrated, it has been thought worth while to dwell somewhat at length on the subject. The other meteorological phenomena will be found in the accounts of the several parishes. Dr Fleming of Neilston’s “poplar-leaf” is not a bad thermometer, or rather index to the weather. Hydrography.—First in importance under this head is the frith or arm of the sea which bounds so considerable a portion of Renfrew. The Clyde, in its upper course, is not a large river, and only sends its tide up to Rutherglen, a short way above Glas- gow. Although, on its first approach to the shores of Renfrew, it is not picturesque in itself, yet it soon becomes so as soon as it begins to swell into a frith. At first the shores are flat and some- what marshy, but are beautifully studded, both near and at a dis- tance, with thriving villages, villas, and gentiemen’s seats. At length the hills of Dumbarton and Argyleshire appear, rendered more interesting in their blue and misty distance, as yet but im- perfectly defined to the eye. As the breadth of the frith expands, a curious isolated rock with a mitred summit springs up like the presiding genius of the Leven and the Clyde. Here they both cease to be rivers. This curiously formed and obtrusive rock bursting upon the sight all at once with an effect so piquant to the imagination, is the rock of Dumbarton; Port-Glasgow and Green- ock soon appear upon the Renfrew shore; and at length the frith, now a small sea, breaks into numerous arms or lochs, the main branch turning southward along the western shore of this county, on its way to the Ayrshire and Irish coasts, the North Channel, and the Atlantic Ocean. Renfrewshire runs with a sort of elbow into the Clyde at Greenock and Gourock. This noble frith, like all the seas either surrounding or intersecting this island, seems to have been subject (and still is so,) to great and progressing changes. Mr Montgomery, in his very excellent account of the geology of - 534 GENERAL observâTIONS ON THE Renfrewshire, when treating of this subject, remarks, that “it is al- most impossible for the most heedless observer to travel along that part of the coast (composed of old red sandstone) without being for- cibly struck by the marks which it affords of the former higher level of the sea.” Mr Montgomery does not pretend to say whether the water has receded, or the land has been elevated, but Sup- poses the water had once extended to cliffs thirty or forty feet above the present level of the sea. There are abundance of rounded boulders of primitive and transition rocks at the foot of these cliffs, and the level land which intervenes between them and the frith is “full of shells exactly similar to those which are still plentiful on the adjacent shores;” or, as is very graphically stated in the account of Greenock parish, where no theory was in view, when speaking of the soil, it is affirmed that, “on the shore, it con- sists chiefly of clay, mingled with sea shells and gravel.” Nu- merous holes, formerly occupied by the pholas, are also seen in the rocks far above the present level of that animal’s habitations. Mr Stevenson, in a paper read before the Wernerian Society in 1816, takes a somewhat different view of this subject, and is at great pains to illustrate, in that and a subsequent paper, the “wasting of the land by the encroachment of the sea,” instead of its recession. He remarks that “all along the coast of Galloway, and shores of the shires of Ayr, Renfrew, and Bute, the wasting effects of the sea are equally remarkable.” At the town of Stranraer, the houses along the shore had formerly gardens between them at high-water- mark, but, of late years, the inhabitants have been under the ne- cessity of erecting bulwarks to secure the walls and approaches to their houses. At the village of Kirkholm, a neck of land called Scar-Ridge, extended into the loch about half-a-mile, on which cattle used formerly to be grazed, is now nearly washed away, and in high tides is laid wholly under water. Observations of a similar nature occur on various parts of the Frith of Clyde, which do not exactly agree with the theory of a former high level, or the pre- sent recession of the waters of the ocean from our coasts. Mr Stevenson attributes the process of waste and decay going on along the shores of our friths and seas to the impulse and action of the sea, and this, he supposes, is, in a great measure, owing to the im- mense quantity of debris accumulated, and accumulating, at least, to a certain depth, in the bottom of the sea. This theory is in some measure confirmed, by the fact of a submarine island hav- ing been formed in the neck of the Frith, after losing the charac- county of RENFREw. 535 ter of a river or running stream, at Port-Glasgow and Greenock. This bank, divided into two by a “through-let,” is supposed still to be increasing, and so anxious are the merchants and magistrates of Greenock on this point, on account of the commerce of the Clyde, that they have instituted means for ascertaining whether or not this detrital bank be on the increase, and if so, we may soon expect to hear farther accounts of “wars with the sea.” Probably both theories are partly correct. Mr Montgomery, following in the walk of many eminent geologists, endeavours to trace out marks of the “former higher level of the sea.” As to time, no person can say how long it may have been since this subsidence took place; the data of geology are only relative. Mr Stevenson, as a civil-en- gineer, had occasion to observe causes and their present effects, and had to employ means for meeting or remedying them—so both parties are partly in the right. But of this more in another place. Perhaps there is no Frith in the world so completely land-locked, and sofully sheltered from the full swell of the ocean tide, as the Frith of Clyde. The consequence is, that the tides are so languid, as to rise only from nine to eleven feet perpendicular, while the corresponding tides on the eastern coast of Great Britain, rise from fourteen to sixteen feet. The channel of the frith, with its extensive and wide spread arms, its angular evolutions, and its great matural break- waters Arran, Bute, and the Cumbrae isles, is quite the reverse of funnel-shaped ; a form most favourable to the flow of tides, and remarkable for that peculiar phenomenon the bore. The Clyde at Port-Glasgow is about two miles broad, and at Greenock it varies from three to five miles. Afterwards it expands greatly. In the account of the parish of Renfrew, there are some interest- ing remarks on the deepening of the river, and the appearance which it exhibited in the middle of the seventeenth century, as de- duced from the details of a map published at Amsterdam in 1654. In the west or sea-coast of Renfrewshire, sea and land seem to run much into that peculiar form termed bays. The principal towns, Port-Glasgow, Greenock, and Gourock, are all situated on the shores of bays. Port-Glasgow is separated from Greenock by the Garvald Point, and Greenock from Gourock by Kempoch Point. Fairley road or rade, extending beyond the limits of the county, still preserves the character of the coast. It could contain any number of ships, likely to seek for shelter in it, free from every storm, and having firm anchoring ground. The united bay of Greenock and Crawfordsdyke was formerly termed the bay of St Lawrence. Greenock harbour was first built in 1707, by a tax on 536 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE malt. A peep at the frith from Corlie, the highest ground in the parish of Greenock, as given by the Rev. Mr Reid, once one of the ministers of Greenock, and afterwards of Mauchline, is at once piquant, graphic, and striking. “From this height, those who are fond of the varying scenery of nature,” says he, “will some- times observe the smooth surface of the frith beginning to be ruf- fled with the wind, which here and there seems to pour down up- on it, moving the water in all directions. At other times they will mark the shadow of thick stationary clouds, which appear as so many islands; and at times a light fleecy vapour, frequently mentioned in Gaelic poetry, suspended over, or by a gentle breeze slowly moving in the direction of the Clyde.” This smooth and placid surface, it must be recollected, seems to be at the feet of the spectator, its arms stretching in different directions far into the Highlands, and besides the county of Renfrew, includes Bute, Arran, and Argyle, with the striking and majestic accompaniments of the western part of the Scottish Alps, the Grampian mountains of Perth, Stirling, Clydesdale, and Ayr. Sometimes, also during a severe frost, a very thick fog overhangs the trough of the Clyde from above Glasgow far beyond Greenock. This fog seldom rises more than 400 or 500 feet above the level of the sea, and to a per- son perched on the summit of Corlie, which is much higher, the scene is peculiar, and to those who crawl through life in the lower regions of the atmosphere, is not a little instructive. The mist keeping a certain well defined level, covers all the hollows on both sides of the frith. While people in the low grounds, all bespatter- red with hoar frost, pass a dark and disagreeable day, a serene sky may be enjoyed on the neighbouring heights, without the least speck of a cloud. The surface of the vast mass of vapour on which you look down, is so exactly defined, and seems so compact and firm, that one might think they could, from the brow of the hill, step upon it, and safely walk over to the hills on the opposite side of the river. These waves of vapour exhibit the swellings of the waves of the sea without their motion; and, according to their situation, form, and density, are variously tinged with the rays of the sun; while a breath of wind now and then detaching the top of a wave, spreads it on the azure sky, to assume whatever shapes the fancy of the beholder leads him to suppose. It has already been stated, that the waters of Renfrewshire, with trifling exceptions, have nearly their entire outlet by the Cart be- low Inchinnan Bridge. The whole shire, indeed, seems to have COUNTY OF RENFREW. 537 been set off at first not so much by artificial and well-defined boun- daries, as by the water-courses, all the burns, rivulets, streams, and the drainage of the fields finding their way by some route or other to Inchinnan Bridge. The only exceptions worth mention- ing are the Kipp, already alluded to, and Lugton Water, which last, ungratefully forsaking the bosom of Loch Libo, the gem of lochs in the west of Scotland, leaves the county which gives it birth, and falls into the Garnock a little below Kilwinning. It has been justly remarked, that rivers are the channels which moun- tain streams would maintain, and these in time sensibly extend the land by their deposits, and raise the level of the sea on all other coasts. The Greenock-bank, or submarine isle, at the mouth of Clyde, is equivalent to the deltas formed by the mud at the debouches of mightier and more formidable rivers. The carses or valleys of Renfrewshire, great and small, are evidently the tribute of its wafers, as the cultivated soil is all evidently either transport- ed or deposited ; and unless a person were specially directing his attention to the subject, it is impossible to conceive how much the “ soil grows” in a few years. The lakes in the valley of Loch- winnoch and Kilbirnie, now three in number, are said formerly to have been one. This is not merely a fact, but it is likely to be so. The mastery of the land over the water, now so apparent, may arise from two causes, drainage, and the accumulation of de- trital matter, which ultimately becomes soil, and in time, how long it is impossible to say, the soil may supplant the water alto- gether. The principal streams of Renfrewshire have their sources in its lakes or its hilly ridges. The parish of Eaglesham stretches far to the south, between Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, yet if included in the water-runs of the district, is a faithful and integral part of Renfrewshire. It is here that the White Cart first springs into existence. At Millhouse in Lanarkshire, Tor-burn and Thriep- land-burn meet, amid formidable rocks of great height and thick- mess. These are all of Osmond-stone. The Thriepland-burn comes from the west. It is the junction of these two burns that forms the White Cart. After receiving the Reoch-burn, the Earn, and a host of smaller tributaries, the Cart hastens with all convenient speed to the lower country, where it is greeted on its way by the Levern, and several other streams of importance, and is ultimately hurried on towards Inchinnan Bridge, deepened and fitted for the navigation of small craft, at an expense which has almost ruined the town of Paisley. The Gryfe, a stream of very 538 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE considerable note and importance, has its sources in the moors and high lands situated between Kilmalcolm and the Largs. It receives the chief body of its waters by a combination of various streams at Duchal House. At first, its course is rapid, sprightly, and impe- tuous, rushing heedlessly over precipices, or hastening on in foam- ing rapids. In other places, it appears as a clear and picturesque stream, flowing between lofty banks and stately enclosures. It receives the Black Cart at Moss Walkinshaw, and as it winds through the rich and highly cultivated vale of Renfrewshire, it seems only anxious how to prolong its journey by its numerous and fantastic windings, and at length sweeping past the church of Inchinnan, it reaches what may be termed the “spout of Ren- frewshire” at Inchinnan Bridge, and under the name of Cart quietly falls into the Clyde. The Calder rises on the borders of Ayrshire, and, pursuing a winding circuitous route in a south-eastern direction, falls into Castlesemple Loch, keeping up, it is asserted, “ a constant current through it, and maintaining its salubrity.” Its name, however, is lost in the lake, and when it again issues from it, the new stream becomes the Black Cart, dividing the shire nearly into two halves. It of course hastens on, (like most lake streams,) in a dark, level, slow-running current, to Inchinnan Bridge. The Dubbs is the slow meadow-stream flowing from Kil- birnie Loch to Lochwinnoch or Castlesemple Loch. The Auld- house-burn and Brockburn are feeders of the White Cart. The latter flows from the Brother Loch in Mearns. The Levern is also a feeder of the White Cart. It has its source in the Long Loch, in Neilston parish. Its direction is first north, then north- east, and finally from, Crofthead to the east. It enters the Abbey parish, after leaving Neilston, a little west of Hurlet, and finally falls, as before stated, into White Cart. The Levern is a rivulet of considerable breadth and flow, and in many parts of its course from the south-east, exhibits scenes of “sequestered and even romantic beauty.” In the lower and mercantile districts, like all the principal waters in Renfrewshire, it becomes the drudge of machinery, Dovecothall, and a host of auxiliaries, which may all be termed Levernani, such as Gateside, Broadlie, Arthurlie, and Crofthead Mills are dependent on its waters. The Gryfe has its Gryfe Grove-Mill, Gryfe-Mill, and Crosslie-Mill, with several other works on the Houston-burn. Johnstone is iden- tified with the Black Cart, and Paisley with the White Cart. Various streams, such as Espedair and Alt-Patrick, proceed from the braes south of Paisley, and lose themselves in the lar- COUNTY OF RENF REW, 539 ger currents. The lakes are of two sorts, natural and artificial. Castlesemple Loch or Lochwinnoch is a fine sheet of water, beautifully situated and ornately embellished by the extensive and tasteful scenery, natural and artificial, connected with the gardens and pleasure-grounds of Castlesemple. The Bar Loch is now nearly drained, and in dry warm summers bears excellent crops of oats and hay. In moist wet seasons, and after heavy rains, it is, however, still apt to be flooded. Long Loch, in Neilston, besides giving birth to the celebrated Levern, is the feeder also of the re- servoirs at Comare and Hairlaw. Cawpla Loch depends as much upon the accidental supplies it receives from the clouds, as from its native springs and other external resources—overflowing in winter and wet seasons, but shrinking in its dimensions in the droughts of summer. Loch Libo is a small sheet of water, of an oval form, encompassed with lofty hills, with ancient forests mod- ding to the water’s edge. The lakes in Mearns are by no means picturesque. The artificial sheets of water in this county form a striking and peculiar feature. The most remarkable of these is the Shaws Water-works, so fully described in the account of the pa- rish of Greenock. The source of this great reservoir is the Shaws Water, a small streamlet, eschewing Inchinnan Bridge, uniting with other streams used to fall into the sea between Ardgowan House and the town of Innerkip. For a complete account of this great and difficult undertaking, resulting in converting a tiny stream pursuing an idle and useless career into an enormous water- power, we again refer to the very full and satisfactory account fur- nished in this work by Dr Macfarlane. The following are some of the principal artificial reservoirs in Renfrewshire, with the num- ber of acres covered by each :— Shaw's Water } Great reservoir, & e 295 imperial acres. º: civvi 2 Compensation do. * 40 Hairlaw do. . ** * 72 Neilston, } Comare do. & * 16 Kirkton, Walton, &c. ge 40 Picketlaw and Kirkton, º 26 Eaglesham Dunwan, Greenfield, &c. º 64 glesnam, Dunwan, Blackwood, &c. - 96 - Binend Loch, © tº 50 699 Besides the above, several large dams, leads, and smaller re- servoirs, &c. cover about 200 acres more. The country almost everywhere abounds with excellent springs of water, except in some places towards the sea shore, where it is brackish. The “Aboon the Brae,” in Neilston, is a remarkable spring, yielding 540 GENERAL OR SERVATIONS ON THE about 22, 146,200 imperial gallons per annum. In the glebe at Eastwood, there is also a spring which discharges about 11 impe- rial pints per minute. There is a remarkably strong spring in a bank, a little west from Barr Castle, Lochwinnoch. When first hit upon, in some mining operations, it sprung like a vein when touched by a lancet, and rose several feet into the air. It is now subjected to the control of a water-pump. There is a saline spring at Candren, near Linwood village, on the right banks of the Cart, of a saline nature, which Dr Lyall endeavoured to write into re- pute. At present, however, it is held in small estimation. There is a spring strongly impregnated with the carbonate and sulphate of lime, on the banks of the Locher in Kilbarchan, which yields beautiful pettifactions, or incrustations of vegetables with lime. The two mineral springs in Eaglesham, the one at Menzie Hill, the other at Bonninton, have long been famous, but in the opinions of the best judges much overrated. There are numerous cas- cades among the hills, but none of them deserving particular no- tice. The fall of the White Cart, above Seedhill Bridge, is too urban to be picturesque. Geology and Mineralogy.—This is a large subject in such a county as Renfrewshire, but it is one of great moment. Having lately drawn up the account of the geology of Lanarkshire for the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, and having also paid some attention to the geology of Dumbartonshire and Stir- lingshire, we may take the experience acquired in these analogous, and yet in some respects very different and diversified fields of re- search as a key to the geology of the county of Renfrew. That we may be enabled to throw as much light as possible on this very dark and intricate branch of inquiry, we will try it first on the large scale, and in connection with the geology of the neighbouring districts, and then we shall be prepared to master more effectually its details. The relative position of the county of Renfrew, in the geological map of Scotland, is the north-west corner of the great coal-field of Scotland, which runs from north- east to south-west from the Frith of Forth to the Frith of Clyde. The trap or whin connected with it runs through Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and in a thin line along by Stirling to St Abb's Head. It is needless, therefore, to consider Renfrewshire as an isolated field. It is a part of a great whole, and is united to that whole by many links and connections, seen and unseen. Dr Fleming, in a paper on the “Mineralogy of the Redhead” in Angusshire, in the - 4 COUNTY OF RENF REW. 54 I zº Wernerian Transactions, read February 1815, has these remarks: “The fact of the red sandstone being the fundamental rock of the coal-field of the Forth was first pointed out to me by Mr Bald.” From researches in Lanarkshire, Dumbartonshire, and Renfrew- shire, it appears also to be a demonstrable fact, that the old red- stone is the foundation of the coal-field both of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire, and, moreover, these coal-fields, although in differ- ent counties, are one. Of this red sandstone or foundation rock there are two formations, one, the oldest, rests immediately on grey- wacke or granitic rocks, the other on mountain limestone. There is . no mountain limestone in Clydesdale or Renfrewshire; but whether they might or might not have been there, are questions not so easily answered. The limestone above alluded to of both sorts may be ab- sent, and then the two sandstone formations will come to rest on each other, or the newer or the older formations may be wanting, and from those and other circumstances it may be difficult to distinguish the one from the other. The red sandstone here is unques- tionably of the older formation, or that which rests on the older rocks, chiefly greywacke. The great coal field between the two friths is flanked with it completely on the northern boundary, and in the south, although it only appears in continuous patches, yet we have sufficient proof that it is there, and that it is the foundation rock of our coalfields. But there is no need of trust- ing to general principles to establish particular facts. From ocu- lar demonstration we can show, that the Lanarkshire and Renfrew— shire coal-basins are one, and that this great field, which may be termed independent, rests in its lower members on the old red sandstone. This latter formation in this district begins at Largs in Ayrshire, runs directly north along that coast and the sea coast of Renfrew to Port Glasgow, where it is cut off by the presence of the whin or trap rocks. At Ardrossan, however, it comes imme- diately into contact with the south-western extremity of the great coalfield of Ayrshire, and here there is a junction of the two for- mations first noticed by Dr Fleming of Aberdeen in 1807. The old red sandstone strata here stretch nearly north and south, and dip to the east at an angle of about 30°. Over these strata of red sandstone are deposited beds of white coloured sandstone, slate-clay, limestone, slate, coal, clay-ironstone, and greenstone, or, in other words, the lower members of the independent coal formation. These are unconformable as they stretch from east to west and dip to the south. The Doctor observed, that “near the line of 542 G ENER A L OBSERVATIONS ON THE junction, the newer strata are much inclined, but they ap- proach nearer to the horizontal position as they recede from the red sandstone.” This is a precious disclosure, and such as very seldom occurs to gratify the inquisitive researches of the geological inquirer. In connexion with this district, but com- pletely at the opposite side of its coal measures, in the south-east, we find the independent coal formation lying often in the hollows of what the Wernerians term the transition rocks, as at Sanquhar and Chapel-hill near Moffat, and in various places besides. Ad- hering still in our inquiries to the foundation rocks in Lanark- shire, we may state that the old red sandstone is cut off from im- mediate apparent contact with the coal fields, by immense ridges of porphyry, which run from the Clyde at Carfin through Lesma- hagow to Auchrobert. This porphyry and the old red sandstone often come into contact and even alternate. This renders it ex- tremely difficult to observe the point of contact between the lower members of the coal measures and the old red sandstone. In Renfrewshire, there is an immense interval between the bottom of the coal measures and the old red sandstone, and this interval is entirely filled up by igneous rocks of various sorts. The porphyry here chiefly forms the highest hills, such as Misty Law, Hill of Staike, and Queenside Hill. The outskirt of the porphyry here is much intersected by dikes of greenstone, and is occasionally also intersected by veins of the sulphate of barytes, as in Lanark- shire. The porphyry and whin, as connected with and cutting off the coal measures from the old red sandstone here, have their counterparts very strikingly developed in the county of Lanark. These preliminaries being settled and set aside, we now come to the coal measures. With regard to the coalfield of Renfrewshire, there can be no doubt but that it forms the lowest member or mem- bers of the great coal field stretching between the old red sandstone at Lanark and Douglas, and the old red sandstone with its barrier of porphyry along the Frith of the Clyde in Renfrew. In this wide compass there are two distinct coal fields, the one lying on the top of the other. The higher coal field has for its basis the first band of lime- stone rock. The lower coal is that which alternates with numerous bands of limestone, till both limestone and coal are found lying on the transition or older rocks. The upper coal is confined entire- ly to Lanarkshire, or if it enters Renfrewshire at all, it is for a short distance about Cathcart and Langside, or with an apex near to Strabungo. The Lanarkshire coal-field to the south, and that G COUNTY OF RENF REW. - 5 4 3 W in Ayrshire at Muirkirk, in all respects resemble the Renfrewshire coal-field. No person who has paid attention to the coals in the bot- tom or among the lower members of the limestone formation at Pon- feich, Glespin, Auchenbeg, and Brokley, can fail to identify them with the coal-fields at Hurlet, How-wood, and Bridge of Weir. It is true no limestone is found at Quarrelton, Garpel, Kerse, and some other places where coal is found in Renfrewshire. But this proves . nothing. As well might we assert, that because the ten principal seams of coal in the upper coal-field are not found every where in the middle ward of Lanarkshire, that there the upper coals are not all to be found. Members which, taken as a whole, are necessary for completing the integrity of a particular formation, are not found in all places in that formation. The absence of limestone in some instances seems to have greatly staggered the opi- nions of Mr Montgomery, but unnecessarily; and certainly there is no ground for the remark, “Although that part of Scotland where coal is found is often called from that circumstance, the coal-field of Scotland, yet the name is in one sense ill applied ; for it is apt to convey an erroneous impression of its being one continuous coal-field; whereas in reality it is composed of nume- rous coal-fields, lying within a certain tract or zone.” This is part- ły true, and partly not. Almost every coal-field has some pecu- liarity, some member or members superfluous, and some deficient. But, notwithstanding, there is a connection between distant fields. To give the general theory here, we may remark, that, supposing we were to bore in the centre of the upper coal-field, we would, af- ter piercing through the coal metals in the upper formation, come to the coals connected with the limestone; and were we to penetrate to the bottom of that lower formation, we would reach the field of which the Renfrewshire coals are a continuation on the one hand, and those of the upper ward of Lanarkshire, a regular and continu- ous extension on the other. It is where the whole of these coal me- tals are cropping out, that we come into contact with them at Pon- feich and Hurlet. Having established the relative positions of the coals of Renfrewshire, it may save much idle research and super- fluous expense, to assure the landlords and proprietors of property in that county, that it is in vain to attempt to find the upper La- narkshire seams of coal in Renfrewshire. They are all run out be- fore reaching them. Wherever posts of limestone are found, we are quite in another field. The coal-field of Renfrewshire extends from near Bishopton, along the Clyde, till beyond Glasgow; a dis- R. E N FR EW. g - N Il 544 GENERAL observations on THE tance of about sixteen miles. It is cut off entirely from the Ayrshire field by the whin which extends from Beith to Stanley, but forms two very narrow stripes or necks at Castle Semple and How-wood, and the village of Neilston and Head of Side. From these two points the coal-field is about ten miles broad, and in the middle between Stanley and the Clyde only six or seven. To give a general idea of its extent and limits, it extends from near Bishopton till near the source of the Black Cart, and from thence in an undulating line till a point a little north of Mearns Kirk, and then keeps the boundaries of the shire northward to the Clyde. Beyond these limits, there is no coal in Renfrewshire. There is one peculiarity in the coal-fields of this extensive district, viz. in the trap-beds which in many instances overlie the coals, especially towards the south-western wing of the coal-field. This peculiarity is more appa- rent here than in most other districts, particularly in the Johnstone coal-field. This has not escaped the notice of MM. Defrenoy and Elie de Beaumont in the “Voyage Metallurgique en Angleterre.” Mr Bald, in the “Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History So- ciety,” Vol. iii. p. 137, says, “We can only remark here, that in the Johnstone coal-field the upper stratum of rock is compact green- stone, above 100 feet in thickness, not in conforming position with the coals, but over-lying; then a few fathoms of soft sandstone and slate-clay, alternating and uncommonly soft.” Under this in one place there are no fewer than two beds of coal lying immediately the one above the other. There are also ten beds of coal at the bottom of the limestone series at Ponfeich in Clydesdale; a strong proof that these are the same coals edging out at the north and south sides of the same great coal-field. Mr Bald gives two sections of the Quarrelton coal in the work above quoted, to which we refer, and also two vertical sections of the same field. The occurrence of greenstone in the coal-measures was some forty years ago look- ed upon as an extraordinary circumstance, so much so that some geologists were inclined, from an appearance so unexpected, to in- clude the whole series of strata that accompanied these beds under the floetz-trap formation of Werner. At the kirk of Shotts, coal is found below trap; it is plentifully mixed up with the coal measures in some parts of the New Monkland coal-field; and limestone is wrought below it near Kilmarnock. The descriptions of the various collieries in this county will be found under the ac- counts of the several parishes. We particularly refer to the ar- ticle Paisley, for some very interesting and valuable information on this subject. COUNTY OF REN FREW. 545 Rocks, &c.—The coal measures occupy all the north-eastern di- vision of the county; the old red sandstone girdles it on the sea- shore from Kelly bridge to Port-Glasgow; all the rest are traps or igneous rocks of various descriptions. If a line be drawn from the Cloch Lighthouse to the extremity of Eaglesham, a dis- tance of about thirty-one miles, the whole is of the whin formation. The thickest part of the old red sandstone is between Kelly bridge and the Cloch. Between the sea shore at Innerkip and the Shaws-water reservoirs it is about five miles broad; but from Kem- poch Point to Port-Glasgow, it is a mere stripe. Dunrod hill and the heights behind Gourock, are of trap, but much surrounded by the old red sandstone. A very good description is given of this sandstone in the old account of Greenock, which, from its simpli- city and truth, we cannot refrain from quoting : “Along the coast, freestone, mostly of a red colour, and sometimes beautifully varie- gated with regular spots of a light-gray colour, occasionally inter- mixed with a great variety of what is called sea-pebble, (conglo- merate), of different shapes and hues, is most common. The stra- ta of this stone on the shore, and a great way above it, as if the vaults of caverns below them had some time failed, are very irre- gular, scarcely ever horizontal, but dipping or inclining at different angles in every direction, and chiefly towards the south.” Perhaps the whole formation which, in this treatise, we term old red sandstone, might as well be termed conglomerate, although the term is gene- rally applied to that sort which Mr Reid, with no pretensions to science, describes very graphically as “occasionally intermixed with a great variety of what is called sea-pebble of different shapes and hues.” The entire formation is in fact a conglomerate, either granular or rolled. The fine granular is composed of quartz, felspar, and mica minutely aggregated, in some varieties without a base, and in others with a cement of clay. The rolled conglo- merate is a fragmentary rock, containing angular pieces and rolled masses of quartz, felspar, greywacke, clay-slate, jasper, flint-slate, &c. The rolled conglomerate is seen to great advantage in the parish of West Kilbride, in those remarkable eminences composed of porphyry flanked by conglomerate, termed the Three Sisters. The fine granular is the most common, but, if carefully examined, it will be found everywhere to contain large quartz balls, smooth and rounded like “sea-pebbies,” showing it to be all one forma- tion. Indeed, the old red sandstone and its adjuncts are emi- nently fragmentary. Even the limestone which is occasionally 646 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE found in its cliffs and flanks at Innerkip and Gourock, is not so much a calcareous tuffa as a limestone conglomerate. A deposit resembling that at Innerkip, occurs near the Rumbling Bridge, in the county of Perth. It was mentioned long ago by a competent authority, that in the steep banks of some of the numerous rivulets from the hills along the Renfrewshire coast, and in a thick bed of schistus, there appears a “thin seam of limestone, divided into pieces about the size of a man’s head, and of excellent quality.” These as they fall (for the expense of ground and labour would far exceed their value) are carefully collected, and used with good effect by the attentive farmer. The old red sandstone or conglomerate is penetrated almost everywhere by dikes, consisting ofgreenstone, often highly crystalline, amygdaloid, wacke, porphyry, and trap-tuff. A particular description of that sort of wacke termed osmond-stone will be found in the account of Eaglesham. From Clune Brae till near Bishopton, the shore of the Clyde is of trap rocks. The highest hills in the county are, however, of porphyry, such as Misty Law, Staik Hill, and Queenside Hill. In this last hill, there is a vein of the sulphate of barytes, as before stated, and, according to Mr Montgomery, a “well-defined dike of a peculiar kind of porphyry passes through the common porphyry.” The porphyry is mostly flanked with greenstone. Generally speaking, the highest lands in the most hilly districts of Renfrewshire are composed of igneous rocks, in- cluding the parishes of Lochwinnoch, Innerkip, Greenock, Kil- malcolm, Houston, and Kilbarchan. Werner long ago observed that trap hills are well calculated, by reason of their naked sur- faces and compact texture, to attract and condense vapour, and from their numerous perpendicular rents, and the bed of clay on which they usually rest, to conduct the condensed vapour to form springs. In many parts of this county, the whin lies on the tran- sition and other rocks in the form of mountain caps. Workmen in Lanarkshire term this “floating whin.” At Dunrod hill the old red sandstone is covered with trap; this is frequently the case about Greenock, and in some places dikes of greenstone spread over the same formation. Trap covers the coal formations in the north of New Monkland, and here it is observed that the rains penetrate the trap, and the springs, all burst from the freestone rocks below. This is perhaps one of the causes why Renfrew- shire is so well replenished everywhere with lakes, rivers, streams, and springs of water. Some time ago, a good deal of money was County of RENF REw. 547 spent about Greenock in a vain attempt to procure coal. There is certainly no coal nearer Greenock than Garpel in Lochwinnoch, which forms the north-west wing of the Ayrshire coal-field, and is entirely separated from the Renfrewshire field by the trap, and the nearest point of the carboniferous group in the county is the Bridge of Weir. All the country to the west of Bishopton, Bridge of Weir, the villages of Kilbarchan and How-wood, is trap, with the exception of Garpel, as above stated. There is certainly a mistake in treating the trap as a sedimentary or strati- fied rock, and in representing it lying as if stratified above and below the coal measures. It appears pretty obvious that the trap is newer than all the coal measures; that is to say, the great body of the common whin of the coal-fields in Ayr, Lanark, and Ren- frew shires. If any person doubts this, he may have his scruples. removed and his doubts dissipated at Dechmont-hill, near Cam- buslang, where he will see that enormous mass of igneous rock tearing up the carboniferous strata of the newest sort on the north and south, the rocks on both of these sides of the hill dipping away from it, contrary to their natural dip at a high angle. The trap rocks at Ballageich and Dunwan in Eaglesham reach an elevation of 1000 feet; the porphyry at Misty Law 1200; but the greatest elevation of the coal measures at High Craig, near John- stone, is scarcely 240 feet. The dip of the conglomerate is gene- rally to the north, but often north-east, and occasionally south and south-east. Ores, &c.—The green carbonate of copper or mountain-green of Schmeiser and Kirwan, has been found in the red sandstone near to Gourock, in small granular particles dispersed through the stone. It was wrought for some time, but without the least pro- spect of success, and after some money was expended, was aban- doned. A carbonate of copper has also been noticed at Kaime in greenstone. Ironstone is chiefly found about Kilbarchan, Houston, and Johnstone, and along the White Cart and Levern, and at Blackhall, near Paisley. It is, however, an entirely different for- mation from that which is found among the upper coals in the Lanarkshire fields. The Dalkeith coal-field, for example, is nearly destitute of iron, and so is that of Newcastle. The iron found here is that alternating with lime ; and from the above authority, such is the position in which its principal beds are found. The geological position of Renfrewshire is so far favourable ; but 548 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE where are her blast furnaces? Perhaps the new iron-works of Dalry will test both the extent and quality of iron that are to be found in the neighbouring fields. Notwithstanding occasional boastings about the extent of the Renfrewshire supply of iron, it seems pro- bable that this country will never be notable for its manufactures in iron; and even its coal is not of the very best quality, although in many respects excellent. Simple Minerals found in Rocks.-In the parishes of Paisley, Neilston, and Lochwinnoch, there is an amygdaloidal porphyry, forming a sort of table-land, eight or nine square miles in extent, very rich in zeolites. The same sort of rock occurs in the upper ward of Lanarkshire, about Edmiston and other places, chiefly to the west. The simple minerals found in Renfrewshire are most abundant about Hartfield, near Paisley. These are most- ly “calcareous spar, aragonite, stilbite, chabasite, &c. and occa- sionally large cavities occur lined with prehnite in reniform and botryoidal forms, of a green or straw colour, sometimes smooth, and in other instances crystallized on the surface. Preh- nite, too, is frequently found imbedded in, or constituting an integral part of the rock.” Some remarks on the prehnite of Hartfield moss will be found in the account of Neilston. The very able writer of that account, however, makes one remark which must be corrected, where he says, “ prehnite is not found in any other parish in the west of Scotland known to us.” For the accuracy of this work, it is but right to say that it occurs plentiful- ly on the Kilpatrick hills. A white prehnite is found in Loch- winnoch; it also occurs in Abbey parish, Paisley. We refer to the table of minerals found in Lochwinnoch parish as at once cu- rious and valuable. The red foliated stilbite at Clovenstane in that parish, and several others, are very interesting. The parish of Kilmalcolm is famous for its chabasite and yellow stilbite. Needlestone, analcime, and other similar minerals, also extend to the parish of Erskine. In the light-blue-coloured porphyry forming Kempoch point, there is found brown-spar, fluor-spar, the oxide of manganese, and small rock crystals. Near the village of Kil- barchan, specimens of white carnelian were found in claystone, con- nected with a remarkable rock consisting of pieces of chalcedony united by an argillaceous cement. s Žoology.—The following is a list of the principal whales and fishes found in the Clyde, and its frith or estuary. ÜOUNTY OF REN FREW. 549 CETAcEA. Balaenoptera musculus Delphinus orca - ~~~~~ melas ~~~~~~ Phocoena Physeter microps CARTILAGINoUs FISHEs. Petromyzon marinus fluviatilis Squalus maximus Mustelus lavis Spinax acanthias Raia clavata batis Acipenser sturio Osseous FISHEs. Syngnathus acus MALAcoPTERYGIous FISHEs. Salmo salar Salmo fario Osmerus eperlanus Coregonus lavaretus Clupea harengus ... alosa 2 Esox lucius Leuciscus rutilus ... phoxinus Gobitis barbatula Liparis vulgaris Cyclopterus lumpus Morhua vulgaris * aeglefinus Molva vulgaris Gadus tricirratus Merlangus vulgaris pollachius ~~~~~~~ carbonarius Pleuronectes maximus … rhombus Platessa vulgaris flesus **** Platessa microcephalus Hippoglossus vulgaris Anguilla vulgaris ~ Conger Ammodytes tobianus AcANTHOPTERYGIO Us - FISHEs. Pholis laevis Gunnelus vulgaris ~~~~ viviparus Callionymus lyra Crenilabrus tinca Pagrus vulgaris Perca fluviatilis Cataphractus Schomeveldii Cottus scorpinus Mugil cephalus Atherina hepsetus Scomber vulgaris ~ thynnus Gasterosteus pungitius The molluscous or shell-fish animals are too numerous to be repeated. The principal fisheries are the Gadusidae, including cod, ling, and haddock; Salmonidae, including chiefly salmon and sea-trout ; Clupeadac, the most prolific of all, including chiefly herring ; Scomberoidae, including mackerel, only in particular places ; Raiadae, including rays and skates, only occasional or ac- cidental; Anguilladae—the eel and conger—scarcely made use of in this district of country. Mr Wallace of Kelly has done much for the salmon-fisheries of the Clyde. - - Botany.—Under this head, it will only be necessary to mention a few of the rarer plants, with their habitats. - OEnanthe pimpinelloides, shores of the Frith Polygonum Bistorta, below Greenock Paris quadrifolia, Cathcart Mill Andromeda polifolia, Paisley Moss Cotyledon umbilicus, Renfrewshire Coast Rubus suberectus, between Govan and Renfrew Rubus saxatilis, about Greenock Nymphaea alba, fresh-water lochs Bartsia viscosa, Greenock Battery Lathraca Squamaria, Cathcart Castle. Hippuris vulgaris, Lochwinnoch Loch Sherardia arvensis, Cathcart Castle Radiola millegrana, Barr Loch Convolvulus arvensis, Cathcart Campanula hederacea, Greenock Verbascum Thapsus, Clyde below Ren- frew Hyoscyamus niger, Cathcart Atropa Belladona, On White Cart Samolus valerandi, Renfrewshire Coast Sison verticillatum, about Greenock OEnanthe fistulosa, shores of the Frith Civil History.—This shire was separated from Lanark by Robert III. who died 1406. The early authentic history of Renfrewshire is intimately connected in all its principal features and leading events, with the history of the descendants of the first of the Stewarts, Walter, the son of Allan, who fled from Shropshire in England, into Scotland, in the troublous times of Maud and Stephen. Chalmers, with his usual industry and accuracy, has traced the 550 G EN I. R A L Q. ISS Elk WATIONS ON THE early history of that high and fortunate family, and has established it, as in the case of the Douglasses, on the “evidence of charters.” Much information will also be collected on this subject in Craw- furd’s History of Renfrewshire, and in Andrew Stewart's General History of the Stewarts. It appears that, up to the era of David I. in the twelfth century, this district was chiefly inhabited by Celts, from whom, according to the chartulary of Glasgow, the King obtained an annual Kane of swine, and other animals; a Celtic tax, payable to the sovereign or the superior, by the occupiers of land. Next to the arrival and planting of the sons of Allan in the district of Renfrew and Stragryffe, was the settlement by Walter, in 1164, of a colony of Cluniac monks from Wenlock in Shrop- shire, who became the founders of the Abbey of Paisley ; and car- ried with them from the south into these regions of Celtic rude- ness and barbarity, the light of knowledge, and the influences of religion and morality. One of the earliest monuments of these times was a mount or tumulus, between Renfrew and Paisley, sur- rounded by a fosse at the base, and having an upright stone on its summit, said to be the spot where Somerled fell, a ruthless sea- king, who arrived in the Clyde in the same year as the monks, and landing at Renfrew, fought, and fell by the hands of the heroes of Stragryffe. It is probable that the people of this district had a task to perform, not less formidable, and equally hazardous, when in 1263, under the banners of Alexander, the Steward of Scotland, they marched against the Norwegians under their leader, Haco, at the Largs, and gallantly drove the haughty invaders back into the sea. In 1296, when Edward I. of England attempted, partly by intrigue, and partly by force of arms, to deprive Scotland of her regal independence, a great many individuals in the barony of Renfrew swore fealty to him ; but the noble and distinguished family of Stewart always adhered to the Bruce. From the par- liamentary records, it appears that property was so much depre- ciated by the troublous and unsettled state of the country, that Renfrew “per verum valorem” was then only estimated at L.535, 9s. 8d. Among those who swore fealty to Edward were “John Hunter of the forest of Paisley; Hugh the Hunter of Stragryffe ; Richard the Hunter of Stragryffe ; Thomas the Brewster of the forest of Paisley; Thomas the Wright of the Blackhall ; John Petit of Mearns; and William Knightesson of Eglisham.” The lords of the barony of Renfrew in 1871 gave a king to Scotland in the person of Robert II. His successor, Robert III. erected COUNTY OF RE N FR E. W. - 55 I the barony into a principality in 1405, which, with some other lands, was granted in free regality during the life of his son. The tenures of land in this county were only changed from ward to blench after the 25th of March 1748. The battle of Langside in 1568 was another trying period for the people of Renfrewshire, who naturally felt an interest in the cause of the Stewarts, of whom Defoe in his Caledonia thus sings, Stewart, ancient, as the hills from which they sprung; The mountains still do to the name belong : From hence they branch to every high degree, And foreign courts embrace the progeny. The Castle of Crookstone in this county is intimately connected with the history and fate of Mary Queen of Scots. Wilson in his Clyde thus happily groups some of the most striking circum- stances connected with that royal lady's first and last abode in her ancestorial domains in the west. The passage is so beautiful and striking, and the poem being somewhat scarce, we the more rea- dily submit it to the perusal of the reader. “ By Crookstone Castle waves the still green yew, The first that met the Royal Mary's view, Where, bright in charms, the youthful Princess led The graceful Darnley to her throne and bed : Embossed in silver, now, its branches green Transcend the myrtle of the Paphian queen. But dark Langside, from Crookstone viewed afar, Still seems to range in pomp the rebel war. Here, when the moon rides dimly through the sky, The peasant sees broad dancing standards fly, And one bright female form, with sword and crown, Still grieves to view her banners beaten down.” During the reign of Mary’s son, the inhabitants of the barony, in common with many, or perhaps all of the western counties, partook of the insecurity and inconveniences connected with these turbulent and unsettled times. In the printed Acts of Parliament, we find that, on the 29th June 1598, the inhabitants of Renfrew, Bute, Dumbarton, and Carrick, were summoned by proclamation to meet at the town of Dumbarton, concerning “the disobedience of the inhabitants of Kyntyre and uthris partis of Iles and Heelan- dis of this realme, committing vyle and beestlie murthur, slaugh- teris, reiff, thiſt, open herschipps, oppressionis and depredationis, upon the hail inhabitantis of countries next adjacent.” And, as if their personal services and bodily presence at Dumbarton had not been enough, all having an yearly rent of 300 merks in heri- tage, or annual rent, if residing within the above districts, are or- dered to furnish the King with “feir of weir, with schippis, cre- 552 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE avis, boittis, and all utheris veschellis and provisioun requisite for transporting them to saidis Heelandis.” In 1617, the lairds of Pollock Maxwell, and Castlemilk were commissioners to Parlia- ment for the barony, and William Somerville for the burgh of Renfrew. In 1633, in the reign of Charles I., domestic troubles, and popular complaints, seem to form the predominating features of the times. In a curious paper, where the inhabitants of Dun- dee complain of the great extortion used in “exacting a ladell full of all kynd of victuall, grund and ungrund, presented to the mer- cat, Dundie having no definite measure or quantitie, whilk is ane heavie oppressioun,” and where Maister David Wedderbourne, “ Maister of the Grammar Skole Aberdeine,” desires that his “short and facile grammar may be ordained to be taught through Scotland,” a band of genuine corn-law repealers from Renfrewshire came into the field of action with as much confidence, and nearly the same sort of arguments used by their genuine descendants in the same localities at the present day. The repealers of 1633 came to Parliament with a petition and complaint, in which they sug- gest that “ All actes and impositiones maid aud imposit for re- straining and inbringing of victual may be dischairged, it being without example in any part of the world, and soe much the more that the haille scheriffdomes of Dumbartoune, Renfreu, &c. are not able to enterteine thanselffes in the most plenteful zeirs that ever fell out without supplie from foraine parts. And seeing victual is become the greatest comoditie now in Europe, that it may be de- claired lawful to merchands to import the samyne frielie within this kingdom at all times without any imposition.” About the same period, the fisheries of Renfrew seem to have been important, as we find them mentioned and designated among the “ loches, frithes, and bayes,” reserved to the natives for fishing. So early as 1641, the people of the burgh of Renfrew began to look with a jealous eye on the rival pretensions of the town of Greenock. In the above year, the provost, bailies, council, and community of Renfrew, understanding that John Shaw of Greenock is to obtain in this Parliament a ratification of his infeſtment for erecting Green- ock into a burgh of barony, “doe protest that any ratificatione be grantit.” The protestation was taken by John Spruill, com- missioner to Parliament for Renfrew. Renfrewshire suffered con- siderably during the covenanting times. In 1662, Mr John Nor- ry, and Alexander Dunlop, minister of Paisley, were banished. A few years after, the clergy jegan to inveigh publickly against COUNTY OF RENFIRE W. 5.53 the king in their sermons and prayers, and the people often met at conventicles. About the end of the year 1676, a memorable event befell Renfrewshire in common with the other western dis- tricts of Scotland, when the Highland Host was let loose among them to live at free quarter. Cleland in his poems forcibly de- scribes the all-devouring rapacity of this famous Celtic Host, so well represented by the Pandours and Cossacks of more modern times. He says, They durk our tenants, shame our wives, And we're in hazard of our lives ; They plunder horse, and them they loaden With coverings, blankets, sheets, and plaiden, With hooden gray, and worsted stuff; They sell our tongs for locks of snuff: They take our cultors and our soaks, And from our doors they pull the locks : They leave us neither shools nor spades, And takes away our iron in laids : J They break our ploughs even when they're working; We dare not hinder them for durking. My lords ! they so harass and wrong us There's scarce a pair of shoes among us; And for blue bonnets they leave non That they can get their clauts upon. If any dare refuse to give them, They durk them, strips them, and so leaves them. They ripe for arms, but all they find, Is arms with them, leaves nought behind. The Presbyterians, on the other hand, had their poetical foes, who inveighed with abundant virulence against what they termed the “ Souterkin of Reformation.” In the Bellum Bothwellianum it is asserted that during the engagement - Fama refert, stolida captum vertigime coetum Sublimen erixisse crucem, de sorte futurá Non dubium, quae hostes posset suspendere captos. Mr Andrew Guild, Colvile, and Meston, were the most promi- ment of the poets who were hostile to the cause of the Covenant. Mr Leyden somewhere remarks, that “it must have been a great satisfaction to a Presbyterian of the old school, to see so much virulence expressed in such bad language.” In 1682, Mr Andrew Aitchison was appointed Sheriff of this county, for the express pur- pose of suppressing the Covenanters; and in the following year several inhabitants and proprietors of some consequence were pro- secuted, fined, and brought into great trouble. About the end of the seventeenth century, this county was agitated and disgraced by the celebrated “Impostor of Bargarran,” the notorious Christ- ian Shaw, daughter of John Shaw of Bargarran, who was the di- 554 s G E N E R A L OR SERVATIONS ON THIS rect cause or accessary to the legal murder of three men and four women, who were tried, convicted, and executed, for the crime of witchcraft. The people of Renfrewshire cordially fell in with the Revolution of 1688; but were hostile to the Union, the greatest blessing ever conferred on Scotland. Since that period, Renfrew- shire has been chiefly remarkable for the rapid strides she has made in arts and manufactures, in her foreign and domestic trade, her turnpikes, railways, her harbours and shipping. Under these and other favourable combinations of causes and circumstances, the descendants of the ancient Celts, who, on the arrival of Walter, the son of Allan, among them had neither churches, castles, or charters for their lands, have now scarcely their equals any where for industry, skill, and the application of capital to trading and mercantile pursuits. At the present moment, however, a sad blight has come over Paisley and some of her most busy and en- terprising neighbours, such as Barrhead and Kilbarchan. In these three places alone the number of the unemployed amounts to not less than 14, 138. The individuals who feel the distress most are those connected with the shawl trade, and weavers of all descriptions. In Paisley 12,703 are entirely without employment; in Kilbarchan 976; and in Barrhead, 456. Many of the most respectable and influential houses in the manufacturing line in Paisley have stop- ped payment. Munificent donations from all parts of the country are pouring in for the relief of the present distress; the latest is L. 1000, the product of a lady's bazar in Glasgow. To add to the distress, two bubble banks, termed savings banks, planned and puffed into repute by the present magistrates of Paisley, are now at a stand, by which the poor and industrious of the town and neighbourhood are in danger of losing about L. 19,000. The corporation of Paisley itself has become bankrupt. The debt at last balance was L. 43,086, 14s. 9d. ; and as matters now stand, the expenditure exceeds the income of the burgh by about L. 500 per annum. This does not include the last defalcations. In Paisley, out of twenty-seven respectable firms twenty failed; and out of fifty-two houses, with but one head, thirty-six have failed, in all fifty-six failures. Population.—As few of the parochial accounts contain the po- pulation of the several parishes and principal towns, as taken up at the periodic census of 1841, the following tables will prove in- teresting:— 4 COUNTY OF RENFREw. 555 1791. 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. *=mºse ºmºsº ºsmºsºme ºsmºs Beith (part of,) s - 67 65 45 Cathcart (part of,) - 697 1050 1449 J885 2082 2141 Dunlop (part of,) * = . 68 56 76 Eaglesham, - tº- 1000 ll 76 1424 1927 2372 2428 Eastwood, - * - 2642 3375 4845 5676 6854 7965 Prskine, - sº *-* 808 847 963 973 973 l 144 Govan (part of,) - º 550 710 1528 Greenock, sº - 15000 17458 19042 22088 27571 38846 Houston and Killellan, 1034 1891 2044 2317 2745 2817 Inchinnan, * sº 306 462 64 l 582 642 678 Innerkip, - tº- - 1280 1367 1632 2344 2088 3399 Kilbarchan, - *º- 2506 375] 3.563 42] 3 4806 5595 Kilmalcolm, & – 951 | 130 1474 1600 1613 | 6 || 6 Lochwinnoch, º 2613 2955 3514 4130 45.15 4706 Mearns, $º º - 1430 | 714 1941 2295 2814 3088 Neilston, tºº $º 2330 3796 4949 6549 8046 10577 IPaisley, - *º - 1:3800 17026 19937 26428 31 460 32582 Paisley (Abbey,) - 10792 14146 16785 20575 26206 28381 Port-Glasgow, - - 4036 3865 5l 1.6 5262 5.192 7377 Renfrew, * tº- 1628 2031 2305 2648 2833 3076 62853 78056 92596 112175 133493 158075 The population in 1841, of portions of Renfrewshire, situated in the parish of Govan, not accurately ascertained, is given on the authority of a very respectable and able statist, John Wilson, Esq. of Thornly. The total population, according to the same autho- rity, is as above 158,075. It is proper, however, to remark, that according to another statement, which seems to be upon authority, the general population of the county in 1841 stands as follows: males, 72,725; females, 82,030 ; total, 154,755. Thus, taking the population in 1831 at 133,448, there is an increase in ten years of 15.9 per cent. In Lanarkshire the increase during the same period was 34.8; in Dumbarton, 33.3; Clackmannan, 29.7; Forfar, 22; Wigton, 21.5; Selkirk, 16.9 per cent, so that Ren- frewshire is only seventh rate. In Argyle, Dumfries, Hadding- ton, Kinross, Peebles, Perth, and Sunderland, there has been a small decrease in the number of inhabitants. Out of the above population, there were committed, during the year 1840, to prison for trial or bailed, 653, of whom 440 were tried, 53 by the Cir- cuit Court of Justiciary at Glasgow; 64 by sheriffs with a jury; 97 by sheriffs without a jury; 158 by burgh magistrates ; 68 by Justices or other Courts; convicted, outlawed, or insane, 394. There was no person executed belonging to the county during the above period. The total committals in Lanarkshire during the year 1840, was only 529, and in Edinburghshire 604. Indeed, no other county in Scotland except the above rivals Renfrewshire in this painful sort of pre-eminence by many hundreds. The in- 556 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE habited houses in 1841 were 24,626, and the parliamentary con- stituency 2336. - The following will show the amount of population of four par- liamentary burghs within the county of Renfrew, viz. - Houses. Persons. ,- __*~ ~ _- —, Inhabited. Uninhab. Bmilding. Males. Females. Totals. Paisley, ... 101.33 671 9 22064 2606] 481.25 Greenock, . 7052 226 67 17440 1848l. 35921 Port-Glasgow, . 1884 51 3 3.134 3804 6938 Renfrew, . 445 20 I 945 1064 2013 19014 968 so T35ss 494.10 62997 The above tables include the population only within each par- liamentary boundary in 1841. Paisley and Greenock send each a representative to Parliament, and Port-Glasgow and Renfrew, with Kilmarnock, Rutherglen, and Dumbarton, send another. The following tables will show the amount of the population in the most active and stirring districts of this county according to last census, irrespective of parliamentary limits. Increase Families. Males. Females. Totals. in 10 years. Paisley, tº . 12359 28098 32865 60903 3497 Greenock, ſº 7330 19502 19344 38846 1 1278 Port-Glasgow, . 1383 3556 3821 7377 2185 Renfrew, . e 633 I 50l 1575 . 3076 243 Neilston, gº . 1989 4784 5793 10577 2531 Eastwood or Pollockshaws, lê08 3737 4228 7965 1 | | 1 The following farther particulars may not prove uninteresting: Numbers in Average to 1000 of both seases. Ratio per cent Inhabitants to a family. Males. Females. for ten years. the square mile. Paisley, e 4.93 461 539 6 per cent 24.15 Greenock, . 5. 16 502 498 4l do. 3904 Port-Glasgow, 5.33 482 518 20 do. 55SS Renfrew, . 4.86 488 5|2 8.6 do. 521 Neilston, . 5.3] 452 548 31.4 do. 541 IEastwood or <) Pollockshaws, } 5.28 469 53] 16 do. 935 Paisley has increased during the last fifty years, 36,351, or 147 per cent. : Greenock in the same period, 23,846, or 159 ber cent. ; Port-Glasgow, 8841, or 82.7 per cent. ; Renfrew, 1448, or 89 per cent. ; Neilston, 8247, or 354 per cent. ; Eastwood or Pollock- shaws, 8247, or 354 per cent. In these estimates, we must reco!. lect that, previous to 1841, the population lists contained neither COUNTY OF RENE REW, 557 soldiers in the army or militia, nor seamen either in the navy or merchant ships. Agriculture, &c.—The county of Renfrew contains about 154,240 acres, of which about 100,000 are cultivated ; 20,000 un- cultivated ; and 34,240 unprofitable, The valued rent in 1674 was L. 69,172 Scots; the annual value of real property as assess- ed in 1815 was L. 265,534 Sterling. It is well known that this shire at one period constituted a part of Lanarkshire. Indeed, from its position on the north bank of the Clyde, it may still be regarded as part of Clydesdale. In soil and climate they much resemble each other. Mr Wilson, in his account of this shire, di- vides it into the high, middle, and lower districts, thus describing them : English Acres. The high district, lying chiefly on gravel or rock, contains g 101,595 Middle do. mostly of thin earth, gravel, or stiff clay, • . 40,595 Lower do, mostly of a rich loam or clay, ſº g g 12,067 e 154,240 The high district above designated, is chiefly noted for its ex- cellent pasture, and its extensive and well-managed dairy establish- ments. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the upper ward of Lanarkshire, the soil of which lies upon greywacke, but the soil here lies chiefly on what the farmers term whin, or rotten whim. In some places, this upper region is chill and damp, but it also af- fords in several parishes excellent pasture. The middle district is not so famous for its pasture, but, owing to its vicinity to so many populous and busy marts of trade, the farmers here receive great encouragement to exert themselves in the culture of their land; and the abundance of manure yielded by the towns in return en- ables them to rear all sorts of crops with the best advantage. The same remarks apply to the low, flat, or carse lands, which are farm- ed with great skill and success. In deference to the very excel- lent work of Mr Wilson, entitled “A General View of the Agri- culture of Renfrewshire,” published in 1812, the usual division of soils is given as above, but this division is very artificial, and is scarcely correct. Perhaps we may distinguish them as follows: Diluvial, or mixed transported soil, abounds chiefly in valleys and by the sides of the rivers and streams. It is of various depth, from a few inches to many feet. It is composed of almost all sorts of rocks, with an admixture of vegetable matter. That connected with the river Clyde contains shells, and in inland places trees, and sometimes the horns of the stag, and various other animal remains. 558 GENE IRAL OBSEIRVATIONS ON THE The diluvium abounds in the coal district, which is included chiefly in the valleys of the Black Cart and Levern, with their expansions. It is a strong heterogeneous mass, termed by the farmers till, and is composed of particles of all the rocks found in the coalfields. Mr Bald, we believe, was the first to remark, that “these frag- ments of Sandstone, slate, and coal, have sharp angles, and have not in any degree suffered from attrition, though comparatively very soft.” . It is also remarkable, that it contains no traces of ani- mal or vegetable remains. The soil approaching the alluvial and carse clay in fertility, is that produced from the decomposition of trap-rocks. It abounds chiefly in the parishes of Eaglesham, Mearns, Lochwinnoch, Innerkip, Greenock, Kilmalcolm, Hous- ton, and Kilbarchan. This sort of soil in favourable positions pro- duces excellent pasture, but it is in general found in a mixed state with clay and other sorts of soil. The soil produced by the de- composition of porphyry is also favourable for yielding good grass. It has been cultivated with success about Hartfield near Paisley, and at Muirshields, in the parish of Lochwinnoch. But this sort of rock affects in general lofty situations, such as Misty Law, Queenside, and the Hill of Stake, where it is exposed to wasting rains and inclement skies, very unfavourable for the accumulation of soil and growth of vegetables, so essential for the practice of the agriculturist’s art. The worst sort of soil is that situated on the conglomerate of the coast, including more particularly the tract of country between Innerkip and the Shaws Water reservoirs. As these rocks, however, contain lime conglomerate, calcareous tuff, and limestone, the task of reclaiming the soil reposing on them is anything but hopeless. These calcareous deposits form a peculiar feature in the character of these rocks, in which they differ widely from those in Clydesdale. The farms in Renfrewshire are gene- rally let on leases of nineteen years. The average value of land is about L. 1, 15s. Some acres, however, of cultivated land, and of land in pasture, are not worth 10s. per annum, and others worth L. 10 and L. l l Sterling. In the lower district of the county there are four great mosses, including about 1900 acres. Much of it lies on good carse clay, and might be profitably removed. There are also extensive mosses in the south-east and middle districts of the county. A good deal of information on agricultural subjects in general, very accurately given, will be found in the various pa- rochial Accounts. - Trade and Means of Communication.—In the excellent account COUNTY OF REN FREW, . 559 of Paisley by Dr Burns, and in the accounts of the parishes of Greenock, Port-Glasgow, Renfrew, Kilbarchan, &c. there will be found very full, accurate, and interesting information, respecting the trade, merchandise, and commerce of this extensive and opti- lent county. About a century ago, the chief manufacture of the district was linen, which in 1828 amounted to 85,527 yards, of the value of L. 6852, 14s, 9d. Sterling. In 1784, it increased to 1,922,020, valued at L. 164,386 Sterling. When the cotton trade came to be more generally cultivated, the produce of the linen trade in 1821 had fallen to 50, 162 yards. The cotton-mills now form a striking feature in the manufactures of Paisley. Mr Robert Frame, in his Considerations on the Interest of the County of La- mark, published in 1769, says, “when there was lately a proposal to allow the importation of French lawn and cambrics, what a cry did it not justly raise in the country. We all then foresaw the ruin of our infant manufactures established at Paisley. Will not Pais- ley in a few years be able to dispute the market with any people in Europe?” At the present moment, she still experiences a for- midable rival in France. Mr Frame, in following up the above re- marks, concludes: “Is not the case quite the same as to subsist- ence, at a time when our agriculture is in its infancy 2 Is not the raising of grain a manufacture to all intents and purposes, as well as weaving * At the early stage of our manufactures, when our commercial and trading towns first began to feel their importance; there was a great outcry against the high prices of food, and the rise in wages. Stewart of Coltness, the political economist, who wrote about the same time, alludes to the unreasonable outcry of the selfish and conceited artisans, who were then just springing from “the dunghill and rising into prosperity P’ “ Nothing,” says he, “is more hurtful to trade, than transient years of extraordi- nary plenty and low prices of subsistence. If manufacturers do then continue diligent, the high profits upon their industry en- gage them to a better way of living, and when high prices of sub- sistence returns again, they complain as much as if they were de- prived of the necessaries of life.” This is the key to much of the noise which we hear at the present day about high prices for food. Let these people look back to the condition of their forefathers, not a hundred years ago. A writer who knew these times well, thus alludes to them : “What a change must it be to the whole class of labourers, who used to live their year out, they did not well know how ; to be receiving four shillings a-week for their REN F. R. E. We O O 560 GENERAI, OBSE RVATIONS ON THE daily labour. Had you asked them formerly how they lived, they would have told you ‘ by the providence of God.” The answer was good and proper. Their industry was then so miscellaneous, the employment they found so precarious and uncertain, that they could not give it a name ; now they know the fund they have to depend upon, and they know what they can afford to pay for their peck of meal.” What will the labourers, workmen, and artisans, of various sorts now gaining three or four shillings a-day, say to this P. Even our weavers with their 8s, or 10s. a-week, and our labourers with 10s. or 12s., are much better off than those who re- joiced in four shillings, and looked back to shudder at former times. The people were never so miserable as when the oatmeal was 8s. or 10s. per boll. Trade at all times has been subject to great fluctuations. Then, as now, it was a sort of cant phrase that the “manufacturers, not the country labourers, are the first made to feel the distress of high prices.” That they are first heard to complain, is certain, but that they are those who first suffer is ques- tionable. They are assembled in bodies, they reside in consider- able towns, where every individual, whether he be in want or not, joins them in the cry for cheap provisions. The sorrows and com- plaints of the poor half-starving day-labourer cannot be heard, buried as he is in his miserable cottage, and surrounded by those who have an immediate interest in stopping his mouth. In a “Six weeks' Tour through part of England,” published in 1768, the truth of this position is fully substantiated, where it is asserted, that “all riot and revolt on account of high prices has constantly broken out among the higher classes of the industrious, whose wages far exceed what is found necessary for the lower labouring and manu- facturing classes. They do not cry for want, but because they wish to live at a cheaper rate than the farmers can afford to sup- ply them.” Considering the great privileges with which the people of this country have been blessed, the success with which their ex- ertions have been crowned, and the Superior luxuries and com- forts which they in general enjoy, it is astonishing that we do not oftener hear the voice of thanksgiving, and less of popular mur- muring and complaint. We are certainly at the present moment the most ungrateful people on record,-the greatest murmurers under Heaven. The Israelites murmured in the barren waste and howling wilderness; but we murmur in the land of Goshen. This vile temper will sooner or later work its own punishment or its own cure. The manufacturing classes, like the rest of their fellow men, COUNTY OF RENF REW. • 561 would they always be comfortable must “make hay when the sun shinesſ” and thus be prepared for the day of adversity, when it arrives, and submit like those— - “ qui Dei Muneribus sapientur uti. Duramgue callet pauperiem pati.” -- Means of Conveyance, &c.—The first decided improvement of the roads in this county took place after the passing of two acts of Parliament in 1792, the one for converting the statute labour, the other for making certain new roads. According to Mr Wilson's estimate, upwards of L. 100,000 had been laid out in this county upon roads before 1812. The sum is much greater now. As far back as 1753, a turnpike act was passed to facilitate the commu- nication with Glasgow. Afterwards Inchinnan Bridge, an import- ant undertaking, was built, and the Kilmarnock and Greenock roads were formed. These remained in an indifferent state of re- pair till after the above period, 1792. The magistrates of Green- ock laid out upwards of L. 12,000 in forming the road along the shore between that town and Kelly Bridge on the confines of Ayr- shire. But her turnpike roads, once the boast of Renfrewshire, are about to be eclipsed by her railways. Of these, there are five within the county, or immediately connected with it, viz. 1. The Pollock and Govan Railway was authorized by two acts passed in 1880 and 1831, with a capital of L. 26,000. Part of it extends to Rutherglen, and another terminus is at the quay at Glasgow. It was intended to connect the coal-fields in the South- east of Glasgow with that city. 2. The Paisley and Renfrew Railway was authorized by an Act passed in 1835, with a capital of L. 23,000. It forms a direct communication between Paisley and the River Clyde at Renfrew Ferry. It is only three miles and a quarter in length. It was opened in May 1837. - 3. The Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railway was autho- rized by an Act passed in 1837, with a capital of L. 533,333. It is twenty-two miles and a half in length, from the north end of Glasgow Bridge to the harbour at Greenock. It passes through Paisley and has a branch to Port-Glasgow. It was opened 31st March 1841. The joint railway between Glasgow and Paisley, common with the Glasgow and Ayr Railway, was opened on the 14th of July 1840. The capital has been raised to L. 666,666, for making new branches and other improvements, and erecting a pier opposite Dumbarton. 562 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 4. The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway was authorized by an Act of Parliament passed in 1837, and has been executed at an expense of L.812, 137, 15s. 6d. It extends forty miles, and the branch to Kilmarnock eleven miles. Near Dalry the line parts into two branches, the one running to Kilmarnock as above, the other passing on to Kilwinning, where it joins the Ardrossan Railway. The whole line was opened on 12th Au- gust 1840. New branches are projected. 5. The Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway was authorized by an Act passed in 1840, which separated it from the management of the proprietors of the Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnstone Canal. The capital is L. 80,000. A junction has been effected with the Ayrshire Railway at Kilmarnock. Passengers go by this line to Ardrossan, and from thence by steam-boats to Ireland, Liverpool, and Fleetwood, on the direct railway line to London Since the opening of the Glasgow and Greenock Railway, a reduction of more than fifty per cent. has taken place in the fares of steam-boats on the Clyde. According to the report of the di- rectors of the above railway for the half-year ending 30th No- vember 1841, the receipts for that period have been to the amount of L. 25,205, 10s. 6d, being at the rate of L. 969, 8s. 10d. per week. The disbursements on account of revenue within the half- year were L. 13,273, 9s. 2d. The cost of locomotive power has been 12.84d. per mile, being a reduction of eleven per cent. on the same item in the preceding half-year's accounts. The greatest number of passengers carried in one day has been 8510, and the average during the summer season, carried down to the watering- places on Saturday, and brought back on Monday, about 4000. The total number carried in the half-year was 402,241. The numbers travelling on the railway amount to forty-seven per cent. more than were computed in the Parliamentary tables. Should the railway from Dumbarton up the Leven valley be completed, it will add to the traffic of the railway. Already several saw-mills have been erected adjoining the line, and the large cotton-mill and other works on the Shaws Water, having now commenced operations, will much benefit the line. All the lines here have suffered much from the late failures and stagnation in trade. It is well known that an increase of thirty per cent, and upwards has taken place almost universally, on English railways between the first and second years of their opening, but, from the above cause, the whole numbers travelling by canal and on the joint railway, between Glasgow and Paisley, are now three per cent, less than COUNTY OF RE N Flt. E. W. 563 during the corresponding period of 1840. The passengers who travelled on the Ayr line during the year preceding 80th August 1841, were upwards of 900,000. *- There are three canals connected with this county. 1. The Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnstone Canal, extending be- tween Glasgow and Johnstone, about eleven miles. It was at first pro- posed to carry the cut as far as Ardrossan. It was opened in 1811. By the application of lightly constructed passage boats, dragged at a rapid rate by horses, the revenue of this canal has been greatly increased ; the number of passengers conveyed during the year ending 30th September 1840, was no less than 396,248, besides 76,393 tons of various sorts of goods. 2. The Forth and Cart Junction Canal, was suggested by Dr Boog in the last Statistical Account of Paisley, Vol. vii. p. 78. It is one mile and a half in length, forming a branch from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Clyde, terminating nearly opposite the mouth of the Cart. The company was incorporated by an Act passed in 1836, with a capital of L. 10,000. The canal is now completed, and is now chiefly used for the transport of coals, ironstone, and miscellaneous goods, from districts connected with the great canal to Paisley. 3. A canal, particularly mentioned in the former Statistical Ac- count of Paisley, was cut to avoid the shallows of Inchinnan Bridge. It was finished at an expense of L.4000. The tonnage in 1835 brought L. 260 per annum. Improvements have of late years been carrying on to a conside- rable extent in the river Cart. In the account of Paisley, it is said, “ these, when finished, will greatly increase the revenue aris- ing from it, as well as improve the commercial interests of the place.” Unfortunately, these generous anticipations have not been realised. The affairs of the river Cart are now a complete wreck, and, like the revenues of the corporation of Paisley, are verging to insolvency. In the last report of the income and expenditure of the river Cart Trust it appears that, while the expenditure in the year 1841 was L. 1667, 11s. 9d, the revenue was only L.937, 6s. 8d. being an excess of expenditure over income, amounting to L.730, 5s. I d. One of the most melancholy features in the case is the item of debentures, L.9296, due sundries, for savings banks. This, with an equal sum, at least, raised in the same way, upon the credit of the town’s funds, comes entirely out of the pockets of the industrious and working-classes. We cannot believe the surmise that these bubble banks were set up in the spirit of extreme 564 G E N E IRAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE reform, by which the majority of electors in Paisley have long signalized themselves, merely out of spite to the Government sa- vings banks. If so, if they have been accused of entertaining high opinions in politics, they have paid a high price for them. The present magistrates of Paisley are, John Henderson, Provost; Da- vid Murray, Robert Paton, James Barr, John Smith, Bailies. But, notwithstanding their present depressing circumstances, let the community of Paisley take courage from the circumstances in which the people of Greenock were placed at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Their harbour was first erected, as formerly hinted at, by a tax of 1s. 4d. Sterling, upon every sack of malt brewed into ale; but the expense amounting to upwards of 100,000 merks, the magistrates became alarmed at the greatness of the debt incurred; and we are told that “ on Sir John Shaw’s agreeing to take it upon him, they resigned to him the harbour and assess- ment above mentioned.” In 1740, there was a surplus of 27,000 merks, the foundation of the present town’s funds. Thus did the people of Greenock drink themselves into wealth and importance. We trust that prudence, and the avoiding of extreme measures, may yet bring a sister corporation out of all her present difficulties, not by a malt-tax, but by the force of honourable pursuits and honest industry. A great deal of information will be found respecting this shire in Mr Wilson's work, before alluded to ; in Crawfurd’s Renfrewshire, with its continuation by Robertson; also in Hamilton of Wishaw's MS.; and Principal Dunlop’s “ Description of Renfrewshire.” In ancient Scottish story, it stands forth prominent as the ancient residence of the Stewarts, and the birth-place of Wallace. Here Wallace shone, a race of matchless might, Gentle in peace, but terrible in fight ! The ſame of Wallace never can expire, While Scottish breasts heroic deeds admire. And friendship hither Roes from England drew The royal Bruce's fortune to pursue : And hence the faithful race of Erskine springs, Marr's lords, the guardians of our youthful kings; To whom an ancient nation dared intrust Their future hopes, and ever found them just. We have abstained from offering any remarks respecting the na vigation of the river Clyde, referring to the statistics of Greenock, Port-Glasgow, Renfrew, and Glasgow. We may here only state that it has been ascertained from custom-house returns, and other sources, that upwards of 200,000 tons of coal and timber alone passed up and down the Clyde last year. and that about 100,000 COUNTY OF RENF RE W. 565 tons of coal are consumed annually at Port-Glasgow and Greenock. The jurisdiction of the “River Trust” terminates at Toward-point. At Cloch-point, on the brow of the rock, stands the Cloch light- house, a circular tower 80 feet high, with a stationary stellate light. It bears N. E. four miles from the point of Wemyss, and six miles N. E. by E. from Toward-point. TABLE I.—Showing the number of persons committed for trial or bailed in the county of Renfrew in the year 1840: Offences against persons, tº & - 116 property, with violence, g 60 property, without violence, * 360 Malicious offences against property, e tº 8 Forgery, and offences against the currency, * 15 Other offences, * g e 94 Total, 653 TABLE II. showing Ecclesiastical State, &c. of Parishes in the County of Renfrew. Ecclesiastical State. à Par. Schoolmasters' Emoluments. | Annual Amount of Contributions to the Poor. # * =|is ſº # #|43 |A off: From as- Pari * 5|g 5 a 3.3 || 5 c |*.*|= SeSSIO ent Or From From Alms, arishes. bo . -5 T |.; E 3 |-5 Parochial 2 Sal F T - l- L - 2.É.-3 | "E FE # 3 || > Ministers' | Q alary. GéS. otal. voluntary | Church col- egacles, Total. 㺠#|# 3 |###|# 3 tipend. |} contrib. by lections. &c. ă ă ă ă ă ă a s] = 5 | *P* |} Heritors. Renfrew, Seeltext. tº º te ... [18 chalders. 6 - - - - - * G - tº e - L. 147 0 0|Int. of L.60. - © tº Eastwood, 367 ... 652 ... 16 chalders. 5|L.34 4 4|L.36 0 0|L.70 4 4|L.335 0 0| 24 0 0 © tº e L 359 0 0 Houston, tº 9 tº tº º º & º e ... 16 chalders. 5. 34 4 4 28 0 0 62 4 4, 20 0 0) 58 0 0|In.of L.190&c. 89 19 Kilmalcolm, tº e º e 9 º' 30; 16 chalders. 6] 34 4 4 - - * - tº tº ſº tº 18 0 0 tº º o * - - Port-Glasgow, 5.530. ... 1845|l. 250 | 8 © & © - © e - a 410 () 0 e tº º * - tº Lochwinnoch, 3730, ... 789|164 chald. |10| 34 4 4 • * *, tº tº - 207 0 0 93 17 4| L.20 14 O. 321 17 0 Inchinnan, See text. ... 16 chalders.[...] 34 4 4ſ 31 0 0 65 0 0 G tº - 30 0 0 tº Q - • - - Paisley, ... 127959 ... (24009|L.300 each.|... Seel text. * - - * - - See text. • * * |Neilston, 1226. ... 504 | ... [16 chalders.[13] 34 4 4 tº º e 518 15 0 16 15 0| L.60 l 1 595 12 0 Kilbarchan, * @ 9 • * * | * * * ... [18 chalders. 7| 34 4 4 tº º º See text. tº e tº Eaglesham, 1214 ... 1214|17 chalders. 4 30 0 0 120 0 0| 20 0 0 140 0 () ſ 18 ch. L.275. 200. Greenock, 19493 # 260. See text. See text. 200. | # L. 80. Cathcart, L.276. ...] 3} 0 0 - & º - 45 0 0 Mearns, 262. 3| 34 4 4|L.63 0 0 97 4 4 Innerkip, tº º & & © tº & © tº & . . . . I N D E X. Abbey of Paisley, 206—parish, 225 Abbots of Paisley, the, 210 - “Aboon the brae” spring, the, 539 Alexander, W. M. Esq: 18 Agricultural Society, Renfrewshire, 260 Agricultural and rural economy, 20, 39, 50, 59, 126, 255, 333, 373, 397, 431, 522, 525, *516, 527. Antiquities, 17, 94, 123, 193, 328, 365, 395, 50l., 506, 526 Ardgowan Mansion house, 526 Ashburn house, 526 Auchinbathie Wallace, 87—tower, 95 Auldhouse, water of, 34— bleaching-field, 40 Ayr and Renfrewshire Friendly Society of Weavers, 44 Bagimont's Roll, 131 Balagich hill, 384 Banks, Provident—the Port-Glasgow, 72—the Paisley, 294—the Greenock, 478—the Ersking, “525 Black Book of Paisley, the, 165 Black Cart river, the, 47 Blackhall house, 194 Black loch, the, 516 Blackstoun house, 362 Blackstoun, village of, *520 Blackwood hill, 384 Blantyre, family of, *510 Blawerthill, 7 Bleachfields, 24, 35, 51, 52, 102, 281, 317, 335 - Blythswood house, 19 Bonninton Spring, 385 Botany, 9, 47, 85, l 17, 160, 322, 361, 390, 411, 497, 518, *506, 549 Bredieland, 197 Bridewell, Paisley, 297 Bridgend, the bridge of, 96 Bridge of Weir village, 378 Brig o' Johnston, the, 202 Brock burn, 34—river, the, 316 Brother loch, the, 34, 516 Buck Inch, the, 5 Calder river, the, 82 Camp hill, 502 Callal, the Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardros- san, 277 - Candren spring, 35.5 Castle hill, the, 10 R E N FREW. Castle Semple house, 77—loch, 8'ſ Cathcart, parish of, 495—civil history of, 498—family of, 498—character of its inhabitants, 506—miscellaneous obser- vations on, 511 Cawpla Rill, 316 Chamber of Commerce and Manufacture, 450 Charlestori, 200 Churches and chapels—Established, see Ecclesiastical statistics — Dissenting, see Dissenters Climate and meteorology, 3, 63, 77, 114, 140, 310, 356, 384, 407, 496, 513,. *502, 531 - Clippens house, 370 Clochoderick stone, the, 367 Clyde, the river, 4, 63, l 15, 409, 533 Cockle hill, 7 - Collieries, 36, 359 Communication, means of, 26, 41, 104, 128, 276, 839, 378, 451, ’520, 558 Corkindale-law, the, 309 - Cotton-mills, 103, 273, 336, 377, 442 Cowglen colliery, 36—friendly society, 44 Crawfurdsdyke, village of 413 Crockston castle, 193, 351 Crosslie mill, 51 - Cuninghame of Craigends, family of 369 | Dargavel House, "513—and Orbistoun, feud between, “509 Darnley bleachfield, 35 r Darnley bridge, 35 . * Darroch, Lieut-General, family of, *51 Dissenters and Dissenting chapels, 42, 60, 7], 106, 227, 345, 379, 462, 509 Distillery, Greenock, 441 - - Dog Row, the, 12 Dovecothall, 200 Douglas, Lord, 18. Duchalſ water, 57 Dunlop, James, Esq., of Linwood, 326 Dunwan hill, 384 Eaglesham, parish of, 383—civil history of, 391 Earn river, the, 516 Easter Rossland, village of, * 520 Eastwood or Pollock, parish of 33– civil history of 36—miscellaneous GU- scrvations on, 45 lº b 568 R E N F REW SH 1 R E. w Ecclesiastical statistics, 27, 41, 52, 60 70, 105, 128, 203, 341, 378, 403, 454, 509, 524, #499, #522 Education, statistics of 29, 43, 53, 60, 71, 107, 133, 244, 346, 380, 404, 464, 509, 524, #499, "524 Eldersly, house of, 5–village of, 201 Fºlliston Castle, 95 - Erskine, parish of, *500—its civil his- tory, *506–land-owners in, "510– house, *515–ferry, *521 Espedair burn, 281 Fairs, 32, 45, 54, 61, l l 1, 128, 275, 349, 404, 490 Fancy farm.house, 526 Female union society, 292 Ferguslie, 197—castle of, 198 Finlayston house, 58 Fishes, 10, 57, 115, 146, 321, 360, 516, *499, *520 Fleming of Barrochan, family of, 48 Florist and agricultural societies, 260 Founderies, iron and brass, 274 Fulbar lands, 197 Funeral friendly society, 44 Garscadden seat, 8 Gas company, the Paisley, 282 Gas-works, Greenock, 442 Geology and mineralogy, 6, 34, 47, 57, 82, 116, 147, 317, 358, 385, 410, 497, 517, 525, "503, 540 Giffnock quarry, 35 e Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Rail- way, 452 . Glen of Barr, family of, 92 Gleniffer, the braes of, 140 Glentyan house, 370 Gourock rope-work manufactory, 67— house, 526 . .” Grahame of Gartmore, family of, *512 Greenbank dye-work, 40 Greenock, parish of, 405—civil history, 412—town of, 413—town-hall, 425– character of its inhabitants, 428-mis- cellaneous observations on, 491 Greenockite, the mineral, *504 Grove mill, 51 Gryfe river, the, 46 Hawkhead, house of 12, 194 Herring yair, the, 8 . . High Church, Paisley, 225 Hope Temple Museum, 294 Hospital, the Paisley, 286 Househill, 198. Houston and Killallan, parishes of, 46– civil history of, 48—character of inha- bitants, 50— miscellaneous observa- tions on, 54 - Houston cotton-mill, 52 * Inchinman, parish of 113—civil history of, l 18—church of 124—character of its inhabitants, 125—miscellaneous ob- servations, 134 Infirmary, Greenock, 474 Innerkip, parish of, 525— civil history of, 526 Inns and alehouses, and their effects, 32, 45, 54, 61, 110, 134, 190, 349, 404, 490, 524, #526 Iron-works, Greenock, 439 Johnstone castle, 198 Johnston village, 201 Jordan, hill of, 2—house of 19 Kelly mansion-house, 526 Kenmure, hill of, 76 Kevoch burn, 385 Kilbarchan, parish of, 352 – civil his- tory of, 362—village of 362—charac- ter of its inhabitants, 372 Kilbirnie loch, 75 Killock glen, the, 317 Kilmalcolm, parish of, 56—civil history of, 57—library, 61—friendly society, 61—miscellaneous observations, 61 King's Inch, 5–meadow, 12 Kirkton village, 378 Knock hill, 2 Land, rent of, 21, 39, 50, 59, 100, 126, 256, 333, 374, 431 Lang, Margaret, execution of, for witch- craft, *507 Langhouse, 526 Langside village, 503 Leven house, 526 Levern, water of 34, 147, 316–mill, 329 Libraries and literature, 31, 44, 53, 61, 72, 108, 133, 299, 348, 404, 469 Linen thread, first manufactory of, in Scotland, *508 Little loch, the, 516 Locher spring, 355 Loch-libo, 316 Lochwinnoch, parish of 74—civil his– tory of, 86—village of 97—tract so- ciety, 107—miscellaneous observations on, Ill - Long Loch, the, 316 Lonwood village, 378 Mal’s mire, 504 - Manufactures, 23, 40, 67, 101, 26.1, 264, 335, 376, 401, 438, 508, 523, #499 Markets, see Fairs . Marlin ford, 5 Masonic lodges, Greenock, 476 Maxwell of Dargavel, family of, *512 Maxwellton, 200 Mearns, parish of, 512--civil history of, 518 - Medical faculty, the Paisley, 299 Meteorology, see Climate Milliken mansion-house, 370 Millerston, 200 IND EX. 569 Minerals, manufacture of, 157 Mineralogy, see Geology Mires hill, 384 Misty law hill, 75 Monteath, George, M. D. 325 Munzie hill spring, 385 Muslin weaving, 23 Muirdykes, battle of 86 Napier of Milliken, family of, 3C8 Neilston, parish of, 307—civil history of, 322—character of its inhabitants, 331 —agricultural Society, 333—miscella- neous observations on, 349 Newspapers and periodicals, 299, 473 Newton estate, 197—village, 523 . Nitshill village, 200 f Orbiston and Dargavel, feud between the families of, *509 Qverton village, 201—reservoir, 434 Padhill, the, 309 Paisley, town and parishes of, 135, 199, 225—civil history of, 165—ancient re- cords of, 181—police establishment, 186—county buildings, 199—charac- ter of theinhabitants, 251—water com- pany, 280—gas company, 282—dis- •pensary, 292—miscellaneous observa- tions on, 300 - Paper manufactory, Overton, 442 Parochial registers, 18, 38, 49, 58, 121, 240, 328, 370, 395, 412, 500 Plantations and planting, 20, 38, 47, 99, l 17, 162, 361, 506 Pollock, family of 392 Pollockshaws cotton-work, 40—town of, 41—jail of 45 Polmoon, the castle of, 395 Population returns, 19, 38,49, 58, 65, 97, 124, 248, 330, 371, 396, 426, 505, 521, #515, 554 Porterfield farm, 8 Port-Glasgow, parish of 62—civil his- tory of,64—town of 64—revenue of, 65–character of its inhabitants, 66– harbours of, 69—miscellaneous obser- vations on, 74 Potteries, Greenock, 440 Prisons, 297, 425, 489 Produce, average annual, 59, 101, 127, 258, 335, 401 Puddough, the, 5 Quarrelton, colliery of, 151—village of, 201 Quarries, 35, 101, 127, 376, 432 Queen Blearie's stane, 14—tomb, 219 Queenside loch, 82 - Railways, 279, 561 Rebellions of 1715 and 1745, the, 179 Renfrew, parish of, l—civil history of, 10—miscellancous observations on, 32 —general observations on the county of, *52S Rising in 1819, the, 323 - Rivers and waters, 5, 34, 47, 57, 75, 315, 357, 385, 516 | Robertson, Mr John, the inventor, 326 Ross, Sir John of Hawkhead, 13 Row island, the, 5 - Rossland, village of, *520 - Sail-cloth manufactory, the Greenock, 440 Sailor's library, the Port-Glasgow, 71 Sailor's society, the, 31 Sand Inch, the, 5 Sempill, family of, 88 Shaw, Christian, "507 Shawl manufacture, 264 Shaw's water, 433 Shipping, 25, 67,278, 439, 444, 527 Societies, 28, 31, 44, 61, 71, 106, 108, 248, 260, 289, 296, 346, 381, 404, 510, #525 Speirs, Alexander, Esq. of Eldersly, 18 Staik hill, 75 Stanelie castle, 194 Stead stone cross, tlie, 196 Stewart, family of 10 Stewart, Dr Andrew, *514 - Stewart, Walter, Esq. of Pardovan, 37 Stewart's Raiss tower, 193 St Bride's burn, 354—chapel, 366 St George's church, Paisley, 226 St Mirin's Aisle, 217 Strathclyde, kingdom of, 98 Sugar-works, Greenock, 440 Tan-works, the Greenock, 440 Thorn village, 201 Thornliebank calico-printing establish- ment, 40 - Towns and villages, 41, 52, 59, 97, 104, 128, 200, 378, 413, 503 Trust establishment, the river Clyde, 25. Vale of Tempe, the, 76 Wages, rates of, 21, 23, 24, 36, 39, 52, 67, 126, 159, 256, 331, 374, 432, 441, *517 Walkinshaw house, 19 Wallace, Sir William, 87 Water company, the Paisley, 280 Water works, the Shaw's, 432 Watt, James, 418–Statue of, 423 Wellmeadow print and bleachfield, 523 White Cart river, the, 34, 145 White loch, the, 516 Widow and Orphan Society, the, 296 Witches of Renfrewshire, the, *507 Williamsburgh village, 200 Wilson, Alexander, the American Orni- thologist, 93 Woodrow, Mr, 37 57 () R EN FREWSH 1 R E. Woodside, 197 Zoology, 9, 47, 57, l 17, 162, 320, 360, Woollen manufactorics, Grecmock, 44] 389, 497, 518, "505, 548 Young, Dr Walter, “514 PR IN TED BY JOHN STARK, OLD ASSEMBLY CLOSE, EDINBURGH, A R G Y L. E. C O N T E N T S. ARD CHATTAN, * tº PAGE 468 ARDN AMURCHAN, e e (* } 17 CAMPBELTON, te * © 453 CRAIGN IS H, tº tº g 45 DUNOON AND KILMUN, . ſº e 567 GIGHA AND CARA, e . ſº 394 GLASSARY, º * tº 675 GLENURCHY AND INIS HAIL, . & º 82 INVERARY, * tº tº * 1. INVER CHAOLAIN . e tº * 108 JURA, º . ſº 534, IZILB RAND ON AND KILCHATTAN, g • * 7] KILCALMION ELL AND Kll,BERRY, . g 4.08 I(ILCHOMAN, e • & * 644 I(ILCHREN AN AND DALAVICI1, . . t 372 IILD ALTON, te * * * º 659 I(ILFINAN, , . tº we ſº 359 KILFINICHEN AND KILVICEUEN, t § 296 KILLA ROW AND KILMENY, w º 668 KILLEAN AND KILCHENZIE, e t 376 KILMAD AN, ſº wº . 672 KILMARTIN, g tº ſº g 547 KILMORE AND KILBRIDE, ë * 522 KILNINIAN AND KILMORE, e e 339 KILN.INVER AND KILMELFORD, tº . 6 : I(NAPDALE, NORTH, g § tº 631 KNAPDALE, souTH, & © * 257 I.ISMORE AND A PPIN, * * e e 223 LOCH GOILHEAD AND KILMO RICH, . tº 701 MORVERN, e * º & 163 MUCKAIRN, to tº tº 509 NORTH KNAPDALE, * * . 631 SADDELL AND SKIPNEss, e * 436 souTHEND, g e tº & 4, 13 SOUTH KNAPDALE, * º * 257 STRACIl UR AND STRALA CHILAN, . te } 03 TIREE AND COLL, º º g 195. TO ROSAY, e te e 277 is H S *|| | - s | | | - |S. *|| | º, y |S| *... Tº | º ºl's ** *śl | | º | º, º, * - Sºlº _ - --~~ - --- - --~~ º º ºšš V. Sºº-ºº: º º - - : 3. º PARISH OF INVERAIR.Y.” PRESBYTERY OF INVERARY, SYNoD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. COLIN SMITH, Ministers REV. DUNCAN CAMPBELL, ... •. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE parish of Inverary was at one period called Kil- milieu, and also Glenaray; or probably these names were applied to districts which formed distinct and separate parishes, now unit. ed. Kilmilieu is now applied to the burying ground only, and Glenaray to the north-east portion of the parish. The records of the synod of Argyle, and of the presbytery of Inverary, as well as those of the kirk-session, mention Glenaray and Inveraray as united parishes; but as there is no territorial division corresponding to these names, Inverary, when spoken of as a parish, includes the whole district placed under the spiritual superintendence of the two collegiate ministers. º The parish takes its name from the river Aray. The old town of Inverary was situated upon its banks, at its junction with the sea, and as the plain formed by the deposition of mud and sand at the mouth of a river is called in the Gaelic language In-aor or Inver, the burgh took its name from its site, and was called Inverary, or in Gaelic Inaordora. Different opinions may be formed of the etymology of the word Aray or Aora. The two principal streams or rivers in the parish are the Aora and Shira, and the contrast in their character and course is supposed to have suggested their names. The waters of the Aray or Aora rush rapidly over a rug- ged and rocky bed, while those of the Shira flow gently, for the most part, on a pebbly channel, and, therefore, some, among whom was Dr Fraser, the writer of the last Statistical Account of this parish, think that the Aray or Aora means ad-reidh, not smooth, and the Shira, sigr-reidh, always smooth. Extent, &c.—The parish is from 15 to 16 miles in length, and from 3 to 6 miles in breadth. It is bounded on the south- * Drawn up by the Rev. Colin Smith, minister of the parish. A R GYLE. A. 2 AR GY LES III RE. west by the parish of Kilmichael Glassary; on the south and South-east, by Lochfyne; on the east, by Lochfyne and the pa- rish of Kilmorie; on the north and north-east, by the parish of Inisail; and on the north. west and west, by the parishes of Kil- chrenan and Dalavich. It stretches along Lochfyne for about ten miles, presenting an undulating outline of projecting rocks and re- tiring bays. Its form appears that of a crescent, constituted by mountains based by plains of greater or less declination, and cleft by two valleys running along its whole length, which meet and bisect each other at the burgh of Inverary. These valleys are formed on the north east end of the parish by Glenshira and Glen- aray, and the eye may easily trace the continuation of these to the south-west, by each side of the hill which divides that district into two parts. - The parish has not been surveyed and measured, but it is said” to consist of 52 square miles, or 26,000 Scotch acres, which there is reason to believe is much short of its real extent. It is divided into l 16 merk lands. Topographical Appearances.—The general appearance of the parish is mountainous, presenting that diversity of form which is al- ways the result of the meeting and mingling together of two dif- ferent mountain rocks. Here a mountain of micaceous schistus may be seen rising upwards to the height of 2000 or 3000 feet, a huge and isolated mass; or stretching along in uniform height and unbroken surface, with its sloping sides clothed with heath and verdure; and there, collected around the base of their prouder and older brethren, ridges of porphyry are grouped, some- times in masses of naked rock, 700 or 800 feet high, and some- times in low and gentle hillocks, mantled with trees or covered with soft succulent herbage. The result of the whole is an out- line so diversified, so waving, and so beautiful, as is of itself suffi- cient to delight the eye, and to give noble and characteristic fea- tures to the scenery of the parish. - Benbui is the most lofty of the mountains, being about 2800 feet high; and Dunchuaich with Duntorvil, which rise perpendi- cularly in front of the Duke of Argyle's Castle to the height of 700 and 800 feef, are the most remarkable of the porphyritic ele- vations. The coast is for the most part sandy and flat, excepting the * Sumith's View of the Agriculture of Argyleshire, MN V E R A lº Y. 3 southern portion, which is high and rocky. There are two head- lands remarkable for the view which they command of the parish, the one called Kenmör, the other Stronshira. f Climate.—The climate of the country may be described as va- riable. Heavy rains, hail, and snow alternate with frost and warm sunshine sometimes in the course of the same day. The generally moist state of the atmosphere implies a climate rather mild than severe, and accordingly frosts are for the most part of short dura- tion; the snow seldom continues upon the plains above two, or, at most, three days, and melts off from the greater number of our mountains without doing much injury to the sheep. The undulat- ing outline formed by height and hollow with the woods which are spread everywhere, affords protection from every blast, and some- times evaporation is so slow that the straw with which the cottages are thatched, rots much sooner than in more exposed situations. For the same reason, every tree and shrub is overgrown with nume- rous mosses and lichens, which clothe the stem with their ever- green leaves, or hang in festoons from the highest branches. The following is a table of the weather, as taken from a record kept at Inverary, from 1st January 1833 to 1st January 1836. The pressure of the atmosphere was ascertained by means of Adie's sym- piesometer ; an instrument exceedingly delicate, but so nearly ac- cordant with a good wheel barometer which stood beside it, that the whole difference between them consisted in the quicker indi- cations of the former. Both stood about 25 feet above the level of the sea. The thermometer was placed at a window with a north- west aspect, and as much removed from radiation as possible. The observations on both were taken at 9 o'clock A. M., at 2 P. M., and at 9 P. M. The rain-gage used was also of Mr Adie's construction, and was placed in the Duke of Argyle's garden, by permission, on the top of a wall about twenty feet high. It was removed in Ja- nuary 1834, to Glenaray, about 300 feet above the level of the sea. Both situations were carefully chosen, with a view to ren- der the observations as accurate as possible. f l 833. Sympiesometer. Thermometer. Rain. Morn. Noon. Even. Morn. Noon. Even. Jan. 30.31 30.3 | 30.3 34.3 39. 35.4 1.75 Feb. 29.51 20.46 29,4,7 39.1 43 40.8 G.90 March, 30.05 30.04 3().().] 40.8 46.4 38.3 1.55 April, 29.78 29.76 29,77 47.5 5 1.5 4.3 7 3.55 4. AR GYLE SHI I& E. Sympiesometer. Thermometer. Rain. Morn. Noon. Even. Morn. Noon. Even. May, 30.09 30.08 30.1 ! 57.7 62.4 53.2 2.75 June, 29.76 29.75 29.73 59.3 62.8 53.8 7.65 July, 30.03 30.03 30.03 52.4 67. 58.5 4.50 Aug. 29.96 29.96 29.96 . 59.3 63,9 54.1 4.40 Sept. 29,88 29.87 29 88 54.7 59.2 51.6 6.30 Oct. 29,76 29.75 29,73 49.5 53.5 48.1 9.65 Nov. 29.74 29.7] 29.73 42.7 45.6 42. I 6.40 Dec. 29.48 29.45 29.46 40.3 44.6 39.5 9.50 . 64.90 1834. º Sympiesometer. Thermometer. Rain. Morn. Noon. Even. Morn. Noon. Even. Jan. 29.50 29.51 29.50 42.6 43.6 4, 1.2 I ().80 Feb. 29.94 29.93 29.9] 40.7 43.8 39.6 8.80 March, 30,03 30.01 30.04 42. I 47.6 4.1.1 6.30 April, 30.19 30. 17 30. 17 48.2 53.7 45.5 1.50 May. 29.92 29.91 29.92 55.9 61.6 5.2.1 3,55 June, 29.79 29.79 29.79 59.2 63.2 55.2 3. * 0 July, 29.82 29.86 29.86 64.2 70,3 61 6. Aug 29.70 29,69 29.70 60.9 66.2 57.5 2.40 Sept. 29.91 29.89 29.9] 57. 62 52.2 * 3.15 Oct. 29.82 29.86 29.84 49.4 52.8 47.1 6.30 Nov. 29.78 29,76 29.77 43.7 46.5 42.3 7. Dec. 30.08 30.08 30.09 43. 45.2 42.9 5.20 64. 1835. Sympiesometer. Thermometer. Rain. Morn. Noon. Even. Morn. Noon. Even. Jan. 29.85 29.83 29.84 * 38.4 40.3 38.2 3.90 Feb. 29.44 29.42 29.40 40.2 43. 40.8 1 2.79 March, 29.71 29.71 29.7 E 42.5 46.2 40. I 8. 14 April, 29,93 29.92 29.90 48. 5 l.] 47.2 5,79 May, 29.63 29.61 29.62 52.2 56.2 48. 1 8.73 June, 29.83 29,81 29.85 60.2 66.2 66. 1 3.30 July, 29.70 29.67 29.72 61. I 65. 1 57. I 5.1 1 Aug. 29.71 29.70 29.71 61.2 66.3 58.1 4.30 Sept. 29.33 29.30 29.33 55. 59. 5 !. 10.37 Oct. 29.46 29.45 29.47 45.1 50.2 44. l 5.04 Nov. 29.60 29.59 29.59 43. 1 45.2 4.2.2 5.99 Dec. 29.85 29.80 29.86 38. I 41. I 39.1 7.09 80.55 It will be seen from the preceding table that the quantity of rain which falls in this parish is prodigious. Thunder storms are frequent but seldom injurious. The quan- tity of solar light is small, and the sun is often obscured by clouds for days together. Catarrh, haemoptysis, phthisis, rheumatism, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, dyspnoea, ophthalmia, inflammatory fevers gradually assuming a low and nervous, or more frequently a typhoid or putrid form, with scro- fula, suppression of urine, paralysis, dropsy, flow of blood to the HN V E R Alt Y. 5 head, with the phlegmasiae in general, are the most usual com. plaints among the inhabitants of this parish. Hydrography. — Lochfyne, which forms the south and east boundary of this parish for several miles, constitutes its principal feature in a hydrographical point of view. It is one of those nu- merous arms of the sea by which this county is so peculiarly in- tersected, and by which it enjoys such remarkable maritime ad- vantages. Its waters receive those of innumerable mountain streams, by which they are rendered brackish ; and its colour varies from bright sea-green to black. Its luminousness is small ; and, surrounded by mountains, it is protected in a great measure from the storms which agitate the ocean. The tide rises to the height of 16 feet on ordinary occasions, but subject, of course, to variations on account of the weather. That portion of it which bounds this parish is generally free of rocks and sand- banks, with one exception, which occurs opposite the western end of the burgh of Inverary; and the force of the tides is at no time great. The breadth of the loch varies from 2 to 3% miles; and the depth corresponds in some measure to the character of the coast, being, at the head of the loch, about 14 fathoms; and at Dun- deraw, 18 do.; near Stronshira, 40 do. ; between St Catherine's and Inverary, 60 do. ; at Inverary pier, 60 do. ; opposite Cromalt and Dalchenna, 73 do. ; opposite Cromalt and Dalchenna, near the shore, 6 do. ; between Strachur and Creggans, 84 do. ; from Creggans to Kenmore, 32 do. ; from Creggans to Kenmore, near the shore, 19 do. ; opposite Kenmore, 70 do.; opposite Penny- more, 52 do. ; opposite Furnace, 44 do. The general character of the shore is smooth; but towards the southern extremity of the parish, the rocks rise from the water's edge to a considerable height, and give the coast a bold and rug- ged appearance. Bays, varying in size and character, occur at short distances, forming such an undulated shore as greatly en- hances the beauty of the scenery. The principal lake in the parish is the Douloch or black lake, so named from its deep and dark-coloured waters. It is situated to the N. E. of the burgh in Glenshira, about one-fourth part of a mile from Lochfyne, and elevated only a few feet above it. Though this lake is so near the sea there is no appearance from which it can be inferred that the latter recently extended into the valley, and receded, leaving the former in possession of its bed. The 6 ARGY LESH 1 R E. soil of the intervening field is, indeed, gravelly, and such as either the river or the sea might form; but iſ, at any former period, the sea entered into the basin which the Douloch occupies, it must have been remote; and the trees, which were planted near 200 years ago, from one beach to the other, show that there have been no recent changes. . The river, which communicates between this lake and Lochfyne, is called Gear-ambuinn, or short river, and is the channel of fresh and salt water alternately, regulated by the flowing and ebbing of the tide. It is tenanted by abundance of salmon, trout, white fish, &c.; and the common crab, with other sea fish, have been fre- quently found in it. Salmon-trout, herring, cod, and flounders, &c. are often taken here in the same net. There are also many mountain lakes in the parish, which abound in fish. The most remarkable of these are in the hill of Killian, and their banks are generally clothed with the white water-lily. The two principal streams which flow into Lochfyne in this pà- rish issue from the two valleys of Glenshira and Glenaray. The former of these, called the Shira, rises in Beñbui, Stranmore, and the mountains bounding the parish on the east, about nine miles from its confluence with the sea. During the first five miles of its course, it, as well as its tributary streams, make their way through narrow passes, and over rocks of great height, cutting deep into the soft schistus, through which they may be half seen from their steep and wooded banks, rushing along in foaming torrents and falls, often of great height and beauty. The father of the present Duke of Argyle made a carriage-road to some of the most remarkable of these. In the latter part of its course, the Shira is peaceful, winding its way gently through the valley until it enters the Douloch, to be immediately discharged into the sea if it be ebb-tide, or to be stemmed for a time in its course if it be near high-water. The tide affects the river two miles from the sea; and in wet weather, much injury is done to the surrounding crops by the waters thus stemmed overflowing their banks. * The Aray is the other stream. It gives its own name to the glen through which it runs, as well as to the parish. It rises in the mountains above Lochawe, and, after a course of eight miles through a picturesque and beautiful valley, enters the sea near the burgh. Its bed is rugged, and broken by several falls, two of which are of considerable height. One of these is a mile and a- I IN VE IRA R Y. 7 half from the burgh ; the other, which is three miles distant, is the most remarkable. The water rushes towards the precipice through a narrow and broken aperture in the rock, then dashing from ledge to ledge, sometimes in an unbroken, sometimes in an interrupted course, down a height of about sixty feet, it collects below into a circular basin, where it curls and eddies for some time before it finds its way down the narrow and fringed opening through which it is again hurried. In this pool, salmon and grilse collect in numbers, and they may often be seen struggling in vain to surmount the fall, lashing the stream with their whole might, and gaining the first ledge only to be thrown back by the force of the overwhelming mass of waters. Trees and shrubs of various kinds and sizes surround and overhang both the fall and the basin below ; and a rustic bridge has been cast across the rocks imme- diately above, which shows how art may contribute to enliven and beautify the magnificence of nature. After passing the lower fall, the character of the river changes, and it glides rapidly along ar- tificial cascades, with wooded and verdant banks, through the po- licies and past the castle of the Duke of Argyle. Two wooden and three stone bridges are cast across the Aray. The smaller streams are very abundant in this as in every mountainous coun- try. The most considerable of these streams are, the Douglas, the Kilblaan burn, and others in Glenshira, all of which are worthy of being visited. Springs are numerous, pouring forth their waters perennially at a thousand different places. Several of these are slightly chaly- beate, and considered salutary by many. Their temperature is various. - Geology.—The district generally is composed of mica-slate, which is nearly intersected by porphyry, and throughout it are in- terspersed roof-slate, limestone, chlorite rock, and greenstone, with quartz, iron pyrites, common schorl, &c. The mica-slate towards the top of the mountains is harder and heavier, containing the quartz in more abundance than in the valleys. In the former situations, accordingly, the rocks abound with garnet, especially in Glenaray, and occasionally with felspar; while in the latter, as in Glenshira, they exhibit more of the fine slaty structure bor- dering on clay-slate, and are so soft and friable that, not only do the little rills cut their way deep into the mountain, but the trail- ing fibres of the Rhizomorphon penetrate with ease, and extend 8 A R GY LESH 1 R E. for several yards throughout them. The direction of the strata is N. W. and S. E.; the dip is N. E., and the inclination varies. The mica-slate formation would, if alone, give the form of the letter y to the arable portion or valleys in the parish, by the meet- ing of Glenaray and Glenshira near the burgh; but about four miles N. N. E. of the town, Glenaray is suddenly contracted by a mass of rock, which appears overlaying the mica-slate, and thus changes the character of the valley, giving it that waving and varying outline of height and hollow which distinguishes a por- phyritic district. This rock is red felspar porphyry, and it stretches along through the whole extent of the parish to the S. W., some- times disappearing, sometimes jutting up far above the schistus. The consequence is, that the form of the parish is changed,—that the porphyry forms a valley on each side of it, and divides the in- habited portion of the parish into the form of the letter X, The junction of the porphyry with the mica-slate may be seen at many points. Sometimes, as on the east side of the mass of porphyry which overhangs the village called the Furnace, they appear together, the mica-slate changed in colour from grey to yellowish-brown, and, in consistency, from firmness to friableness and brokenness of aspect; while at other times, as two miles above the burgh of Inveraray, in the channel of the river, immediately above the third stone bridge over the Aray, the porphyry appears through the mica-slate, leaving the latter unchanged in colour and unaltered in position. At the latter place, masses of the mica- slate seem enclosed in porphyry. & The porphyry varies in character. Sometimes it is composed wholly of felspar, with only a few crystals of quartz or lighter-co- loured felspar; at other times it is found with hornblende, quartz, and small portions of mica. Sometimes also, it is of a red, and at others of a grey colour. The limestone occurs frequently in beds in the mica-slate. It is also found interposing with mica-slate. A remarkable instance of this occurs in the channel of the Water of Douglas, above the high-road, where a section of the mountain, of about 100 feet in height, is exposed, consisting entirely of al- ternate strata of limestone and mica-slate, the strata varying in thickness from five inches to as many feet. A variety occurs at the foot of Dunqhuaich, which is used as a marble. Weins of greenstone also traverse the porphyry and mica-slate, but scarcely appearing through them. I 1NW E R A R Y. - 9 Chlorite rock occurs frequently ; masses of it are strewn over the mountains, and it is found in beds of great extent. Sometimes it appears very soft, so as to yield to the tools of the carpenter, and feels soapy, showing that it is passing into talc slate. Beds of this description are frequent, and the Duke of Argyle's Castle is built of it. As a building stone, its only fault seems to be its liabi- lity to crack. It is not otherwise affected by the weather, and oil prevents this defect from amounting to any serious evil. The soil near the shore consists, for the most part, of a thin light loam on a gravelly bottom; at the base of the mountains in the valleys, and especially in Glenshira, it is a deep and dark loam on a sandy or clayey bottom ; and much of it is moss with a small quantity of earth washed down from the higher soils, oc- casionally mingled with it near the surface. The plants which these soils yield, depend much upon their elevation above the sea, but in general, the first may be said to yield species of Anemone, Hyacinthus, Cynosurus, Phleum, Leontodon, Rhinanthus, &c.; the second, species of Trifolium, Plantago, Bellis, Alopecurus, Poa, &c.; and the third, species of Scirpus, Carex, Juncus, Vac- cinium, Eriophorum, &c. - 200logy.—The following animals from among the mammalia, are here common. Lepus variabilis, or mountain hare ; Mustela Martes, pine martin ; M. Putorius, or polecat; M. erminea, or ermine, but it is considered as a state only of the M. vulgaris, or weasel ; Ursus Meles, or badger; Felis Catus, or wild cat; Cer- vus dama, or fallow-deer ; C. capreolus, or roebuck; Phoca vitu- lina, seal; Lutra vulgaris, otter; Balaena Musculus, or Lochfyne whale; Delphinus Phocana, or porpesse ; D. Orca, or gram- pus. In ornithology the parish may be considered rich. The follow- ing is a list of the birds which either inhabit or have occasionally been killed in it. Falco ossifragus . Falco Subbuteo Yunx torquila fulvus Nisus Sitta Europea … Albicilla Strix otus Alcedo ispida … chrysaetos … flammea Certhia familiaris … Milvus … stridula Corvus Corax … Buteo … ulula Corone … teruginosus … brachyotos ~~~~ frugilegus … peregrinus Lanius excubitor … Cornix ~~~~ CyaneuS Picus viridis Monedula ~~~~. pygalgus major glandarius … Tinnunculus ~~~~ minor Pica 10. A R GYLES H J R F , Cuculus canorus Alauda arvensis … pratensis … arborea Sturnus cinclus Turdus pilaris … musicus merula torquatus Ampelis garrulus Loxia pyrrhula … chloris … enucleator Emberiza nivalis … citrinella ~~ schoeniclus ~~~~. miliaria Fringilla Coelebs ~~~~~ Montifringilla ~~~~. Carduelis -** Linota ~~~~~ Linaria … … domestica - Montium Muscicapa grisola Motacilla modularis … hippolais … Sabicaria ~~~~ Sylvia alba ~~~~~~ flava Rubetra ~~~~ Cenanthe … rubicola sºre- atricapilla ~~~~~~ rubecula * ** *** Reptiles and Serpents.— Rana Bufo temporaria Lacerta aquatica Sterna hirundo Colymbus minoi: ~~~~ troile ~~~~. Septentrio- nalis - ~ stellatus Immer cristatus auritus arcticus Larus tradactylus ~~~~ hybernus ~~~~. CaſillS cinerarius … fuscus … ridibundus Pelecanus carbo ~~~~~~. Bassanus ~~~~ graculus Procellaria pelagica ~~~~ puffinus Anas Cygnus ~~~~ Olor … Tadorna Anser … Segetum ~~~~ erythropus … Clangula Penelope Crecca Boschas Mergus Merganser ~~~~ Serrator … albellus Alca arctica … torda - - * * * Coluber berus Anguis fragilis Fishes.—Fishes are so important in an economical point of view, either as food or creatures of prey, that it is difficult to omit any of the following, the existence of several of which in this parish is stated upon the authority of Mr Drew, a gentleman who has paid much attention to this subject. Syngnathus Acus ~~~~~ Typhle … Ophidion Cyclopterus lumpus ~~~~ Montagui OSSEOUS FISHES. 1. APODES. Motacilla troglodytes **** regulus ~~~~~ trochilus Parus caeruleus ~~~~ ater ~ major caudatus Hirundo rustica ~~~~ riparia ~~~~ urbica ~~~~ a puS Caprimulgus Europaeus Columba palumbus Tetrao Tetrix ~~~~ Lagopus ~~~~ attagen ~~~~ perdix Ardea major ~~~~ stellaris Scolopax arquata rusticola ~~~~~ gallinago ~~~~~gallinula limosa Tringa vanellus ~~~~ hypoleucos ** morinella … interpres ~~~~ alpina Charadrius Hiaticula … Morinellus Haematopus ostralegus Fulica chloropus atra. Rallus crex aquaticus wº- Lacerta agilis ~~~~ vulgaris CARTILA GINOUS FISHES. Petromyzon Marinus … fluviatilis … branchialis Raia Batis Oxyrinchus .… clavata Grºw" * wº ~~~~ maximus ~~~~~ Mustelus ~~~~ lelanonius Squalus Acanthias Camicula Catulus piscatorius Acipenser sturio# * There is a tradition that there was a regular sturgeon fishery on Loclifyne at one period. IN VE R A R Y. | 1 Muraena anguilla 3. Tho RACICI. Gasterosteus pungitius conger Gobius niger Scomber scomber Anarhichas Lupus ~~~~ minutus … thynnus Ammodytes Tobianus Cottus cataphractus Trigla gurnardus Xiphias gladius … scorpius ~~~~ hirundo ~~~~ gobio ~~~~ cuculus 2. JUGULARES. Zeus faber - Callionymus lyra ~~~ luna 4. ABDOMINALRs. … dracunculus Pleuronectes hypoglossus Cobitis barbatula Gadus AFglefinus *** … platessa Salmo salar … Morrhua e flesus ... trutta luscus ~~~~-limanda ~ fario ~~~~ \{erlangus ~~~~~~ solea ~~~~ lavaretus - Carbonarius *** * maximus Eperlanus Pollachius ~~~~~~ rhombus ~~~~ alpinus ~~~~ virens Sparus auratus Esox lucius ~~~~ Molva Raii ~~~. Belone … tricirratus Labrus Tinca Argentina sphyraena ** Merlucius * bimaculatus Atherina hepsetus --~~~~ Mustela * trimaculatus Mugil cephalus Blennius Gunnellus Perca fluviatilis - Clupea harengus … viviparus Gasterosteus aculeatus Sprattus grº Pholis **** … spinachia … alosa Among the Crustaceae, the Carcinus moenas, or partan; the Can- cer depurator, C. araneus, C. serratus, or prawn; Astacus gammarus, or lobster; and Crangon vulgaris, or shrimp, are frequently found. The most remarkable among the Testaceae, as well as the most es- teemed, is Ostrea edulis, or common oyster, which is found towards the southern end of the parish. The most common are, Lepas anatifera, Cardium edule, or cockle; Mytilus edulis, or common mussel; Cyprea pediculis, Bulla fontinalis, Helia memoralis, pa- lustris, &c.; Buccinium lapillus, Patella vulgata, Sabella alveo- tata, &c. &c. - The entomologist may be richly rewarded here for his toils. Every stone gives shelter to some tiny inhabitant; every shrub and flower has its own gay visitant ; the sun shines at noon on swarms of Papilios in full splendour of costume; the evening is welcomed by the silent soft gliding of the Phalaenae ; and the Lampyrus noc- tilucus, (or glowworm,) avails herself of the darkness of night to set forth the attractions of a phosphoric garb. Among numerous in- sects which have been found here by Mr Drew, the following may be mentioned as rare in Scotland : Carabus catenulatus Poecilus cupreus Leptura quadrifaciata … clathratus Broscus cephalotes Chrysomela cariaria Initens JDromius rufescens ~~~~~graminis arvensis Geotrupes vernalis marginella Harpalus obscurus Cetonia aurata Clythra quadripunctata - ferrugineus Apoderus coryli Melitaea Euphrosyne Blethisa multipunctata Clytus arietis Saturnia pavonia 12 Alt (3 YLE SH 1 R E . Botany.—This parish is not distinguished for a great variety of cotyledonous plants, neither is it remarkable for many rare alpine species. Of dicotyledonous plants, the following are worthy of notice, as occurring more or less abundantly. Rubus suberectus ~~~~. Saxatilis Nuphar lutea Anemone memorosa Stachys ambigua Hieracium alpinum ~~~~ sylvaticum Rhodiola rosea Juniperus communis Polygonum Bistorta Azalea procumbens Saxifraga stellaris Convolvulus sepium Jasione montana * ... oppositifolia Atropa Belladonna **** Inivalis Lobellia Dortmanna Vaccinium Myrtillus Ligusticum meum ~~~~~~ Uliginosum Viburnum opulus uva-ursi Epilobium angustifolium.… Vitis Idaea … alsinifolium Arbutus Uva Ursi ~~~~~~ alpinum Lychnis Flos Cuculi *.* The following moncotyledonous plants also occur: . Hyacinthus non-scriptus Listera Nidus-Avis Allium ursinum Tofieldia palustris Habenaria viridis In acotyledonous plants the parish is rich. Several species of Lycopodium are found abundantly. The Osmunda regalis, Ophio- glossum vulgatum, Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, Aspidium lobatum, &c. are very frequent. z The constant rains, deep fissures, shady banks, and aged trees are favourable to the growth of Musci, which accordingly abound. It would serve no purpose to mention them all; but the following list will be interesting to the muscologist. - Scirpus lacustris Andrea alpina … rupestris Tetraphis Browniana Conostomum boreale Gymnostomum viridissi-Tortula gracilis Encalypta streptocarpa --~~~~... Crista castren- 1.Illi ſīl I) Ull]] … Donia. Weissia Templetoni Dicranum fulvellum Adipodium Griffithianum Zygodon conoideum - The Jungermanniae are also abundant, such as J. julacea, J. juniperina, J. bicuspidata, J. complanata, &c. Lichens cling to every aged tree and mottle every stone and rock with grey. Neckera pumila Hookeria lucens Hypnum rufescens SIS Bryum julaceum This did not escape the notice of the first and great- est of Gaelic poets, whose remembrance of the past was awaken- ed by the graves of the dead marked by “four grey stones,’ “ with their heads of moss.” (Ossian.) 2 The following, with many others, are found here. Lecidea mycrophylla ** luteola Solorina crocea Variolaria amara Lecanora erythrella **** tartarea. Parmelia glomulifera Parmelia plumbea rubiginosa ** omphalodes Cetraria fallax ~~~~ Islandica Sticta pulmonaria ~~~~ sylvatica Sticta fuliginosa Peltidea scutata Nephroma resupinata Usnea florida Collema Burgessii I NW E R A R Y. I 3 Algae.—The most common are, Scytonema atrovirens Ceramium tomentosum Fucus vesiculosus Zygnema quininum Hutchinsea fastigiata - serratus Conferva ericetorum Ulva Linga Delesseria sanguinea **** rivularis … intestinalis Ceramium rubrum Fucus nodosus Fungi.-The fungi abound in the woods, covering every rotten stump, and mottling the ground. The following may be mention- ed as of frequent occurrence : Sphaeria multiformis Agaricus elephantinus Thelephora laciniata * pugiformis adul--~~~~... squarrosus Polyporus squamosus ta. * lacteus … sulphureus tºº coccinea ~ acris ~~~~~~~~ fomentarius Bovista nigrescens Boletus bovinus ~~~~~~ igniarius Lycoperdon giganteum - edulis ~~~~~ perennis Agaricus campestris Hydnum paradoxum Cantharellus cibarius Woods.-In an economical point of view, the woods form a very important feature in this parish. They are extensive and valuable, covering almost all the subalpine district. The number of acres enclosed cannot be ascertained with perfect accuracy ; but it is be- lieved that they cannot be fewer than 9000 acres. Perhaps 12,000 may be a nearer approximation to the truth. Much of the ground enclosed, however, has either never been planted or has ceased to yield trees of any kind; much of it is covered with brushwood, heath, Vaccinium myrtillus, V. uliginosum, &c. Much has also been injudiciously managed, so that from the acres enclosed, a great number must be subtracted as unproductive. - The earliest plantations are said to have been made by the Mar- quis of Argyle and the Earl, his son, who, in laying the founda- tion of the plan for improving and beautifying this property, have left evidence of the enlarged minds and cultivated taste they pos- sessed. The portions planted by them are said to be Dunchuaich, the heights above the castle, the lawn, and the beech avenue at the entrance to Glenshira. The trees planted were principally oak, Scotch fir, ash, beech, and plane. The wages of the labour- ers employed, as seen by a jotting of the operations then carried on, which is dated 1674, were “40. or one peck of oatmeal per day.” The next extensive plantation is supposed to have been of Leachdan Mor, Dalchenna, &c. by Archibald Duke of Argyle, who, in 1746, sowed and raised from seed the noble trees which grow on these farms. There is an individual now living in Glen- aray who remembers that event, and points out a Scotch fir at the west end of the Foal's Bridge, or Drochaig an tshearraich, as the 14 A R GY LESHIRE, only remaining tree of a long avenue of the same kind which extend- ed towards the Duke's office-houses, and which was also supposed to be planted by the Marquis of Argyle. - º, In 1771, another great addition was made to the plantations. John Duke of Argyle (father of the late and present Duke) plant- ed in 1805 the hill above the Douloch, on the north-west. The late Duke in 1807 and 1808 planted the whole of that hill called Stron-shira, an important and valuable addition to the woods. From that period till 1831, the woods were less attended to, but at that date draining was begun as a preparative to further plant- ing, and since, they have been rapidly increasing in extent, bean- ty, and quality. The vacancies which time or former partial planting caused in the enclosures are now in the course of being filled up, and it was proposed by the late Duke to go over the whole in about twenty years. The course of improvement was be- gun in the spring of 1832, and was carried on annually” at the following rate : Trees planted. |832. J833. 1834. 1835. 1836. Oak, 55,000 37,000 30,000 35,000 15,000 Larch, 12,000 15,000 20,000 15,000 17,000 Scotch fir, 18,000 12,000 13,000 10,000 10,000 Norway spruce, 5,000 5,000 * White American spruce, 5,000 10,000 8,000 10,000 2,000 Black American spruce, 5,000 5,000 5,000 lo,000 Silver fir, 3,000 5,000 5,000 Plane, * * 2,000 2,000 5,000 2,000 Turkey oak, * 2,000 2,000 500 Oriental and occidental pl , 1,000 500 Laburnum, 500 5,000 Scarlet oak, 50 Lime, • 50 Total planted for 5 years, 108,000 94,000 76,000 78,000 59,100 The plan is still carried on, and its completion will add much to the value and beauty of the parish. The lands on which these were planted were formerly enclosed and supplied with many seedlings and stools. For the most part also, they were heathy moor soil, more or less precipitous and rocky, being peat moss incumbent on clay, or a sandy loam, or a light gravelly siliceous earth. The only preparation of which such soils are capable, are fen- cing and draining. They receive both. The plants chosen are * Under the management of Mr Robert Campbell, to whom I am indebted for al- most all the facts connected with this subject. 1N WI5 RARY, 15 at different ages, according to circumstances. Oaks for planting among long herbage are taken from the nursery, at three years old transplanted; if the herbage be shorter, at two years transplanted. Firs are generally taken after one year transplanted. Nursery plants are chosen as a cheaper and surer plan, than raising from seeds on the timber site, on such soils as are found here. Slit planting is that pursued for firs, as being the most simple and practicable on soil in its natural state. Oaks and all hard woods are pitted in by holing. The holes are dug about eighteen inches square, and the trees are set immediately while the earth is fresh, because it has been found by experience, that when the holes are long open, or exposed to the influence of the weather during the winter, they fill with water, become encrusted with clay or other earth, which retains so much moisture as to prove pre- judicial to the tender fibres of the plants. The plants are set at the rate of 3500 in the acre, or four feet apart. After nine years, they get the first thinning, and at from fifteen to eighteen years they are thinned out to nine feet apart or 676 in the acre. Mixed planting is preferred as the most profit- able as well as the most ornamental. - Oaks are also raised by selecting the straightest and strongest shoots of coppice stools, as are also ash, elm, and others posses- sing a reproductive power. These coppices are thinned at the age of eight years, about which time the brushwood growing among the plantations is also cut down. These thinnings are all either employed on the estate for fences or sent to market, and the pro- duce defrays the expense of keeping the woods clean. Owing to the number of standards left at former cuttings, nineteen years are considered sufficient to render the copsewood again fit for cutting, though standards have not recently been kept to become timber trees, except in situations where it was necessary to consider what was ornamental rather than what might be useful. - When the woods are cut and the trees barked, the bark is dried on what is termed lofts, being forked stakes driven into the ground in two rows, and from two to three feet in height, and by laying bars across on these forked bearers, floors are made on which the bark is laid ; that of the branches and youngest wood being placed beneath, and the broader pieces of the larger timber over them. After remaining in this state for some time, it is stored in bark barns, formed of the straightest and smallest of the trees, so placed | 6 A R GYLE SHIRE, as to admit the air freely and to support a thatched roof. The quantity of bark produced here by an acre of coppice varies with the age and crop of the trees, but generally it takes from 100 to j60 feet of oak timber to yield one ton of bark. The larch is not barked. The timber is conveyed to the shore or saw-pit at an expense of 2}d. per cubic foot. Much of it is used for various purposes on the estate, and much is also sent to market, where it commands a ready sale. The closeness of its fibrous texture may be estimated by its weight, according to the following table : Cubic feet. Ton. Cubic feet. Ton. Oak, {} e 25 l Scotch fir, g 26 l Ash, e 30 I Larch, " * te 30 l Beech, s 20 | White American spruce, 26 l Elm, g 26 I Black do. tº 23 I Alder, tº 32 to 33 1 Birch, ſº * 28 I The climate, though variable, is favourable to the growth of trees,” and when the nature of the soil in which they are planted is considered, their increase must be deemed rapid. When the summer is cold, the sap must flow in a diminished quantity, and the circular lines exhibited on the transverse section of the trees is a sure indication of the season in which it became wood. The following table exhibits the growth of a few of the trees planted in 1674 or afterwards, first from that period to 1798,+ and again, from 1798 to this date, and manifests the rate of their in- crease. The table exhibits their circumference five feet above the ground. Planted in Meas. in Meas. in . Meas. in Meas. in 1674. 1798. I833. 1835. I836. Oak, . g 9.4 feet. 10'10+ feet. 10 l l feet. 10-113 feet. Plane, e e 9-4 12.5 12.7 smºs Scotch fir, . 10° 10:7; 10-9 10.9% Beech, tº |4" | 6’ *º-º-º: 16°4, Ash, . . 10° 10 tºr-º- *===s I2'5 Spanish chestnut, 12.6 16.0% 16:3}. 16-5 Larch, e 6'6 9. wº-sºº *º-e Silver ſir, © 9:0 **==e * - I I-84, English elm, s 8:0 *- sº- id: The tallest of these trees has a stem of sixty feet; the others are all lofty. The following table exhibits an average of the circumference of four trees, measured from clumps planted in 1771, 1805, and 1808. * In the neighbouring parish, Glenurchy. and on the farm of Achalader, there was, some years ago, a decaying oak of great length, which, after it had lost both the bark and white wood, was 16 feet in circumference. + See Dr Smith's Agricultural Report of Argyleshire. IN VE IRA R Y. - 17 These trees were taken, not as the largest, but as the most con- venient, on entering the several clumps. They are marked as the above in feet and inches. They were measured in 1836. Planted in 1771, larch, 8.0% feet; Scotch fir, 5.5%; spruce, 6.2}; beech, 6.2; oak, 5.6; laburnum, 5. I. Planted in 1808, larch, 3.11% feet; Scotch fir, 2.6; silver fir, 3.8%; spruce, 2.11+ ; beech, 2.4%; ash, 3.3% ; oak, 2.2} ; laburnum, 2.8; alder, 2.9}. The above plantations are fair specimens of the increase or growth of trees in this parish. There are several avenues of great beauty, the principal of which are, a lime avenue, which leads from the castle to Essachosan ; a beech avenue leading to Glenshira, and another of the same kind behind and parallel with the burgh. - There are also many trees worthy of notice on account of their great size and beauty. There is a lime growing near Essachosan called the marriage tree, on account of the union of its branches, which is often visited by travellers. From a bole of considerable size, it throws out two principal branches a little above the ground, which are firmly knit together at about twenty feet above the point of separation, by a bar or branch formed of a process issuing from one, or probably from both. It appears like a cross bar for hold- ing the two branches together, and is a provision of nature against the destruction of such trees as grow in this forked manner, which is by no means uncommon. It may be seen on numberless spruce firs which frequently grow in this form, and which, with their long stems, heavy tops, and ever-green foliage, present a large surface to the winter storms. It is worthy of remark, that wherever the Wych elm grows, it stretches its principal branches towards the prevailing wind, and even when growing on the shore, that it seems to court and luxu- riate in the breeze, thus pointing out the means of planting those bleak shore lands where every other tree perishes. It may at least be worthy of trial in such situations. - - II.-Civil. History. - The early history of this parish may be presumed to correspond in a great measure with that of other Highland districts, which were, like it, possessed by many small proprietors. We can only conjecture from imperfect traditions what were the social habits of its early inhabitants; but every account would lead us to consider them warlike and turbulent, yet faithful, friendly, and hospitable, A R GYLE. B 18 ARGY LESHIRE. mingling generosity with implacability of temper, and superstition with piety. - - It was not till the fourteenth century that the family of Argyle settled in this parish, and since then it has been principally dis- linguished as their residence. By what right, whether of purchase or the Sword, or by grant from the sovereign, they first obtained their possessions here, is uncertain ; but it was not till a recent date that the whole parish became their property, by that gradual and natural process by which talent, intelligence, and power extend their influence. - As the names of the early possessors of the soil may soon sink into oblivion, it may not be improper to record them here in so far as they can be traced. The MacIvers held part of the lawn on which the castle is built, and a large stone standing erect there is said to have been in part the boundary between them and the MacVicars, who held the other portion of the lawn, with Kilmilieu, Stronmagachan, Upper Kench reggan, Leachd-nam-ban, Kilmun, Salachary, Achnabreck, Dalchenna, and Achnagol. * The MacNaughtens held all the east side of Glenshira, con- sisting of Kilblåne, Ellerig, and Benbhui; also Tullich in Glen- aray. They sold Kilblane, or granted it to the MacKellars. The MacNicols held Elerig Mör and Elerig Beag. The Clerks possessed Braleckan, Craleckan, Claonary, and, it is supposed, Kenmöre, and Pennymór. The MacKellars, Maam, Lower Kenchreggan, and Kilblaan and Stuchdasgardan. The Munros, -Stuchdaghavi. The Turners, –1)rimlee. The Fletchers, Drimfearn. Of the above families, the M*Naughtens, who were by much the most powerful, with the Fletchers and M*Ivors, have now no descendants in the parish. The Turners, MacNicols, MacKel- lars, and Clerks possessed their lands till towards the middle or end of the last century. Little is known of the history of this parish during the four- teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries; but we may suppose that the feuds by which many other portions of the Highlands were torn could not exist here along with the unrivalled power of the family of Argyle ; and, as the practice of that family was to extend their authority by policy rather than by violence, their in- 1N WE R A RY, 19 fluence would be felt less degrading, and their arbitration accept- ed with less reluctance. Their frequent residence here must also have modified the views and softened the manners of their depend- ents; and probably also the military operations, in which they were frequently engaged, might be the means of diffusing among their retainers and followers an acquaintance with the habits of their southern and more civilized countrymen. But, whatever the reason may be, so it is that we have no accounts of petty warfares, and jealous chieftains, and cruel oppressions connected with this parish. - Any movements here seem to have arisen rather from religious than civil causes. Archibald, the fourth Earl of Argyle, succeed- ed to the estate and titles of his father in 1542,” and embraced the principles of Protestantism at an early period of the Reforma- tion. His influence and example, it is believed, kindled the war of opinion speedily among the people, and, on his death-bed, he bequeathed to his son Archibald, the fifth Earl of Argyle, those principles which he himself valued so dear. The son possessed the wisdom, and followed the councils of his father, giving thereby steadiness to the impulse which the cause of truth had here received. About this time, also, Mr John M*Vicar, a native of this pa- rish, and proprietor of Stronmagachan, renounced Popery. He was educated at Rome, and received orders from the Popish church, but, embracing the principles of the Reformation, he mi- nistered in this parish, seemingly with the charity and the wisdom that are so proper and so valuable during times in which the views of men are undergoing any great transition. A man of command- ing talents and devoted piety, surrounded by many family connec- tions, and with strong convictions in his own mind, the parson of Kilmilieu, as he is still familiarly called, feared not to avow his views of truth, and to maintain them in the face of rank and power; while, by being all things to all men, Roman Catholics and Pro- testants vied with each other in their respect for him. The writer has obtained a large stone, about thirteen inches in height, and two feet in diameter, cut into an octagonal form, with a font above and below, once the property of Mr M*Vicar, and which he used in the baptism of Protestants and Roman Catholics, by turning either side, for water or holy water, according to the opinions or prejudices of his people. The fact may instruct us in the religious * Life of John Duke of Argyle, page l 1, 20 • A R G Y LES II I I? I’, condition of the people. His memory is still respected, and his sayings deemed oracular. In 1644, this, like other portions of Argyleshire, was ravaged by a body of Irish, sent by the Marquis of Antrim, under the command of Alexander M*Donnel, aided by Montrose, and nei- ther age nor sex formed any security against the savage and in- discriminate fury with which they butchered. During the short time that the Marquis of Argyle was employed in collecting a force to repel this sudden incursion, houses and woods were burnt, cattle were destroyed, and the sword spared none whom it could reach. The sufferings of this country at this period were great, per- sonal security could not be enjoyed, in the midst of the disturban- ces that prevailed. Thus, in October 1644, the synod of Argyle could not convene at Inverary or elsewhere, according to appoint- ment, nor yet in the month of May following, as was usual. So the record of their meeting at Inverary, in 1645, states, “ that, in regard to the diverse and manifold distractions wherewith it pleased God to suffer this province to be troubled thir years by- past, it was impossible to keep the dyet appointed by last pro- vincial or any else before this present, which was appointed by the moderator.”* Their next meeting, for the same reason, was not till September 1646, when it is said, “All the absents are excus- ed, because of the troubles of the country, and of their being scat- tered and chased frae their dwellings. The presbytery of Cowal having gone for shelter to the Lowlands, the presbytery of Kin- tyre being under the power of the rebels, and none being re- sident in the presbytery of Argyle and Lorn, but such as were sheltered in garrisons, and no ruling elder present.” In 1650, circumstances were so far changed, that many per- sons came here from the low country, probably as a place of re- fuge, and it became necessary that the English language should be preached to them. Accordingly, in November of this year, a second minister was appointed for the Lowland congregation, when “the Marquis of Argyll and Lord Lorne were chosen el- ders.”4 After the execution of the Marquis of Argyle, in 1661, for his stedfast adherence to the principles of the Reformation, the mi- nister of the Lowland congregation was outed by a particular sen- * Record of the Synod of Argyle. # Record of kirk-session. IN V E R A {: Y . 21 tence of Parliament; but there remains a small volume of the re- cords of the kirk-session of the Highland charge, extending from September 1677 to 1683, in the jottings of which, the minister of that congregation is represented acting as moderator until 1679, when the business seems to have been transacted without a moderator. During the period from 1661 to 1687, the parish, it is sup- posed, was placed, under a curate named John Lindsay, whose presentation to be minister in the kirk of Inverary, signed James R., and dated 29th October 1685, is among the papers of the synod of Argyle. After the Revolution, he conformed to Presbyterianism, and became minister within the bounds of the synod. In 1685, when the Earl of Argyle fell, like his father, a sacri- fice to his love of his country, this parish became the head quar- ters of soldiers, placed here by the order of the Marquis of Athole, to whose protection this country was entrusted by his sovereign. Among many acts of lawless violence committed during nearly three years that they remained here plundering and oppressing, they executed, without the form of a trial, seventeen gentlemen of the name of Campbell. A small but simple and chaste monument of chlorite is erected close to the church to commemorate their death. In 1687, the synod of Argyle availed itself of the Act of Tole- ration passed in July of that year, and met at Kilmichael Glas- sary. The melancholy words with which the record begins, re- late the state of the country during the prevalence of Episcopacy. They are these : Sederunt, “The small remnant of the Presby- terian ministers yet extant after the public troubles, and residing within the bounds of the synod of Argyle.” That remnant was six, and three are mentioned as living in Glasgow. The Rev. Patrick Campbell, minister of the Highland congregation of In- verary, was of the former number, and the Rev. Alexander Gor- don, of the Lowland congregation, was of the latter. From the Revolution to the present time, the history of this parish presents few incidents worthy of notice. In the troubles of 1715 and 1745 the whole population manifested a spirit of loyal- ty. With these exceptions, the voice of war has not been heard, and the parish has been gradually undergoing those changes which peace, a paternal government, and a succession of proprietors who have been at all times the friends and patrons of their people 22 A R G Y L E SHIRE. with an established system of religious truth, could not fail to pro- duce. – Eminent Men.—The eminent characters of which this parish can boast appear principally in one distinguished family. In the family of Argyle, there has been, from time immemorial, a succession of men, almost all of whom have been great and dear in the estimation of their country. “I know of no family in Europe of this eminen- cy,” says Wodrow,” “whom the Lord hath honored so much as this of Argyll.” Among such men, whose reputation is the property of their country, and engraved on every page of her story, the martyred Marquis and his martyred son cannot, and ought not, in a publication of this nature, to be omitted; “for, to all persons of consideration and reflection,” says the same historian, “they both shine brightly as martyrs for religion and their country, and it is beyond contradiction the Lord owned them both, and sealed a deep sense of his favour upon their souls.” Equally improper would it be not to particularize Archibald, the first Duke of Ar- gyle, with his two sons, Duke John, and Duke Archibald, who were among the most accomplished statesmen and distinguished generals of their times. - The memory of the Rev. John MºVicar, a native and mi- nister of this parish, is cherished by the people, and is worthy of being preserved. - The Rev. George Campbell, Professor of Divinity in the Uni- versity of Edinburgh, a man called by Wodrow “singularly mo- dest and excellent,” was also a native of this parish, and the son of George Campbell, the first Writer who settled here, and after- wards Sheriff-substitute. The Rev. Claudius Buchanan, so much and justly estimated, spent his early years in this parish, his father having been teacher of the grammar school. * .. The late Major-Generals Charles Turner, Dugald Campbell, and Duncan Campbell, were also natives of the parish ; and so is Mr William Napier, known throughout the world for his improved printing-press, &c. Parochial Registers.-The parochial registers consist, 1st, of the records of baptisms and marriages, Vol. i. extending from 1651 to July 8, 1688. ; Vol. ii. from December 1699 to Decem- ber 1763; Vol. iii. from January 1764 to January 1790; Vol. iv. * History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland. Fol. ed. page 545. - 4 iN V E R A R Y. 23 from July 1790 to December 1817; and Vol. v. from January 1818 to the present time. There is also a volume in bad order, which belonged to the kirk-session of the Highland congregation, extending from 1730 to 1735. . 2d, The records of the kirk-sessions of the Highland and Low- land congregations, these being, 1st, the records of the former in one volume, extending from May 1701 to February 1729; and, 2d, the records of the latter, Vol. i. extending from November 25, 1650, when that congregation first obtained the services of a separate minister, to August 29, 1662; Vol. ii. a small 4to, in bad order, from 1677 to 1683; Vol. iii. from 1699 to 1724; Vol. iv. from 1724 to 1745, is lost. * 3d, The records of the United Sessions of the Highland and Lowland Congregations, Vol. i. extending from May 1745 to March 1755; Vol. ii. lost; Vol. iii. from August 3, 1777 to December 8, 1813; Vol. iv. from 1814 to January 26, 1831 ; and Vol. v. from 1831 to the present time. 3. The records of the presbytery of Inverary, and of the synod of Argyle, though not limited to this parish, may, perhaps with propriety, be here stated to be as follow : The records of the presbytery of Inverary, before the Revolution, are lost, having probably been removed during the troubles of the times, or been taken, like those of the synod of Argyle, into the keeping of the Bishop of Argyle, though not recovered as the latter were:- The oldest record, beginning October 13, 1691, is the tenth after the restoration of presbytery, but the minutes of the previous nine meetings are torn out. It extends to the 25th February 1702. Vol. ii. begins April 1715, and is complete, 27th September 1725, when there is a chasm to 7th August 1731, and it ends January 15, 1745. Vol. iii. is from March 26, 1745, to 17th May 1763; Vol. iv. from April 27, 1769, to 12th September 1828; Vol. v. from that period to the present time. The records of the synod of Argyle are, Vol. i. from April 1639 to October 1651 ; Vol. ii. from May 1652 to May 1662; Vol. iii. from September 1687, to October 1700; Vol. iv. from 1 Ith June 1701, to 29th July 1707; Vol. v. from 12th May 1708, to Au- gust 7, 1727; Vol. vi. from 7th August 1728, to 11th August 1755; Vol. vii. from August 4, 1756, to August 11, 1755; Vol. viii. from 7th August 1776, to August 3, 1809; Vol. ix, from August 4, 1809, to the present time. The three first volumes 24 A R GYLE SH 1 RE. have been copied in a more legible form, and in a modern hand, and of these the synod possesses duplicates. The proceedings of the Committee of Parliament, appointed for the valuation of the teinds of Argyleshire, which sat in Inverary in 1629 and 1630, once formed a part of the records in posses- sion of the synod of Argyle, as did also the report of the Commis- sion for Plantation of Churches appointed by an unprinted Act of Parliament,” dated January 21, 1649, and which met in Inverary. Both were removed to the Teind Office, Edinburgh. It is believed that the only papers now in the possession of the synod that re- spect the actings of that commission are nine acts, extracted under the hand of John Yuill, clerk to the commissioners, dated 17th October 1750, continuing the summons raised before them for planting, dividing, and dismembering of the parishes of Kilchrenan, Clachandysart, and Inishail, Lochgoilhead, Kilmorich, Kilmaglass, and Kilmore, Kilmichael and Glassarie, Kilchattane and Kilbran- don, Kilmichall, Inverglussay, and Kilmadocharmuk, Kilmaluag, and Kilcallmikill, and Kilmore, and Kilbryde. The lowland congregation of Inverary was formed into a sepa- rate erection or cure by a decreet of modification and locality, pro- nounced by the commissioners, dated 26th December 1651. The following Presbyterian ministers officiated in Inverary : Undivided Congregations.—Donald MacIlvory, inducted 1688. Gaelic Congregation.—Patrick Campbell, inducted 1657, died 1700; Alexander Campbell, inducted 1701, died 1734; Alex- ander Campbell, inducted 1734, translated 1745; Patrick Camp- bell, inducted 1745, died 1773; Archibald Campbell, inducted 1774, died 1805; James M*Gibbon, inducted 1807, died 1830; Colin Smith, inducted 1831. English Congregation.—Alexander Gordon, inducted 1650, died 1713; Daniel Mackay, assistant, inducted 1699, translated 1711; James Getty, assistant and successor, inducted 17 II, died 1745; Alexander Campbell, inducted 1745, died 1764; John M'Aulay, inducted 1765, translated 1774; Alexander M*Tavish, inducted 1775, died 1787; Paul Fraser, inducted 1788, died 1827; Angus M“Laine, assistant and successor, inducted 1825, translated 1827; Colin Smith, inducted 1828, translated 1831 ; Duncan Campbell, inducted 1832. t Antiquities.—The only vestiges of ancient buildings in the pa- * See former Statistical Account of this parish. 3 IN VE RARY, 25 rish are those of an old fort at Dunchuaich ; those of the castle of the Laird of MacNaughten, on the banks of the Douloch, with those of religious houses at Kilbryde and Achantiobairt. At the latter place, there were lately several stone crosses of considerable size, and in good preservation. Nothing is found there now but the fragments of a cross of roof-slate, which fills up a chasm in a turf fence. It bears no inscription. It seems to have been a sta- tion of some importance. It is elevated above Lochſyne about 500 feet, and commands an extensive view. At the base of the hill on which it is situated, and close to the present farm-house of Pennymore, there was also a few years ago a curiously construct- ed stone stair which, it was supposed, was intended to lead to the religious house above. -- There is also a stone cross in the parish, which was probably brought from Iona, and which was for many years the town cross of Inverary. It was removed when the old town was knocked down, and lay long neglected, but it is restored now to its former office, and stands at the end of the principal street. On one of its narrow sides there is an inscription in Lombardic characters as follows: “ Haec est crux nobilium virorum videlicet Dondeani M*Eugyllichomghnan Patrici filii ejus et Maelmore filii Patrici qui hanc crucem fieri faciebat.” f In the burial-ground there are also three flags, which are sup- posed to have been taken from Iona. They were probably remov- ed after the act of the convention of estates, in 1561, for demo- lishing all the abbeys of monks, &c. On two there is no impres- sion but a two-handed sword. The third is more curiously carved. Would it not be right that such relics as these, wherever found, should be returned P A large stone, resembling the relics of Druidical times, stands in the lawn close to the castle. There is no tradition regarding it, farther than that it marked at one point the boundary between the lands of the M'Ivors and M*Vicars, as already mentioned. There is a round mound of earth between the present burial. ground and the river Array, which was the old burial-ground of Kilmilieu, consecrated in Popish times. The present site was chosen, it is said, by the Protestants after the Reformation, in con- sequence of being prevented by the religious prejudices of the Roman Catholics, from burying their dead in the same dust. A few trees are now growing on the top of the mound; and near to 26 A R GYLE SHIRE, these, bones have been found in the memory of an individual lately living. - There were in the parish several places of burial in ancient times, and in which children and infants were interred in the last century. These are Kilmun, (called after St Munde), Glenaray Kilblane, (after St Blane), Glenshira, Kilbryde, and Kilian, (named in honour of St Bride and Kilian), and Achantiobairt. There is a bridge over the water of Douglass, on the road which leads to the house of Claonary, three miles and a-half to the west of the burgh, so ancient that the date of its building is unknown. The arch forms a segment of a circle, and it is there- fore called the Roman Bridge. The house in which Rob Roy M“Gregor received wood and water from the Duke of Argyle while he lived at the expense of the Duke of Montrose, still stands on the farm of Benbuy, the most remote house in the parish. Modern Buildings.-Inverary Castle was begun in 1745, and finished a few years after. It stands a few yards to the west of the site of the former castle, and is built of chlorite slate passing into talc,-a stone which stands the weather well, and the colour of which accords with the scenery. It is a square building, three stories in height, with a tower at each corner, and a high glazed pavilion shooting from the centre. There are two churches under, one roof, which are divided by a wall. It is a long and inelegant structure, with a spire rising from the centre of the roof. It looks well, however, at a distance, and forms a handsome termination to the street, on approaching the town. The jail and county house are built of the porphyry of the district. - III.-PoPULATION. There are no means of ascertaining what the population of this parish was in ancient times. The quantity of land in cultivation was indeed greater formerly than at present, and farms were in many cases smaller,-facts which, on first consideration, would lead us to infer that the population was proportionably more numerous ; but, when it is remembered that the outfield and poorer soils formed the excess of the cultivation ; that farming was not understood; that the seed was seldom changed ; and that potatoes, as well as the present breed of sheep, were unknown, it must be granted that the greater quantity of land formerly in tillage forms no just ground for imagin- ing that the population has decreased. Glenshira has, indeed, been depopulated by forming large sheep-walks, but the villages have increased in number and extent; and otherwise the noble proprie- IN V E RARY. 27 * tors, one after another, have manifested a decided reluctance to add to their own wealth by removing the smaller tenants. The census in 1755 gave 2751, while that in 1792 gave only 1832; but the former was taken during an unusually crowded state of the population, and the latter, when, owing to some temporary causes, it appears to have been below the average. The following table shows the state of the population by the census of 1811, 1821, 1831, and 1841. Population of the landward district, Population of the burgh. Males. Fem. Families. Total. Males. Fem. Families. Total 181 l, 407 481 | 74. 94.8 . 492 621 258 | 1 || 3 1821, 542 535 195 |077 . 5 19. 6 || 8 252 | 137 1831, 542 474 1.83 | 0 || 6: . 520, 597 24,7 | | | 7 1841, 345 499 | 98 104.4 . 592 64. I 262 1233 Of the above numbers there live in the village of the Furnace, 75; in the village of Kenmore, 137; in the village of Achan- draine, 76; in that of Claonary, 52; and in Achnagol, 86,- making the total population of the villages, 373. The remain- ing are scattered in single families, or nearly so, throughout the parish. There is no register of deaths. The average of births and marriages is as follows: e 1790–1800. , 1800—10. 1811—20. 1820–28. 1829–35. Births, º 70%; 77%; 59; $2} Marriages, 14%; 13 14 ºf 13# 15; There are insane or fatuous, 6; blind, 3; deaf and dumb, 1. The language generally spoken is the Gaelic. Among the agri- cultural labourers it is almost exclusively used; and as many of them, for various reasons, remove from the country into the burgh, they naturally continue to speak their mother tongue, and to teach it to their children. The English language is, however, gaining ground. - The people are rather shrewd than intellectual, and owe more to native sense than to the acquirements of education. They are also a moral rather than a religious people. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—Though many of the farms havebeen surveyed, yet there is no plan of the whole from which an accurate state- ment of the extent of the parish in acres can be made. It has been rated at 52 square miles and 26,000 Scotch acres; but pro- bably 65 square miles and 41,600 imperial acres may be a more accurate estimate. The proportion of these which is in tillage cannot be ascertained ; the number capable of improvement is al- so uncertain. In the middle of last century, the land was nearly in its original state, and it was difficult to procure tenants who 28 A R GYLE SHIB E. would risk their capital in farm produce, or who possessed suffi- cient wealth to stock, or industry to cultivate the soil. John Duke of Argyle (father to the present and late Duke) laid out large sums on the farms which he held under his own management ; but still agriculture has not made that progress which could be wished or might be expected, and much land that might be cul- tivated with advantage remains covered with heath, or yielding crops of cotton grass, deer's hair, or rushes. Large sheep farms are principally valuable for grazing. Some of them contain very little ground capable of being advantageously brought into tillage ; and while the tenant naturally directs his attention to the source from which he expects to be benefited, he is not led to engage in the more laborious and expensive employments from which he may not receive due remuneration. . When farms are divided, as here, among a number of joint te- nants who share the land under culture, and feed their sheep and cattle in common on the pasture, the inducements to raise as much crop as possible for the support of their families has issued in the turning up of the poorer dry soils, rather than in the improvement of those which are by position more fit for cultivation. On these farms, consequently, the old system of ploughing outfields or pas- ture lands till they are exhausted, and then leaving them to rest, is practised ; while the infield or winter town, consisting of the best fields around the dwelling house, is in perpetual tillage, and re- ceives the whole manure. In dividing the land the ridges are either taken alternately, or portions of a field are allotted. It is gratifying to be able to say, that a spirit of improvement has lately been infused into the tenantry which promises to banish these evil practices. . It is the general opinion, that the farmer in this country should give his attention principally to his hay crop, as that which is most suitable for the climate, and of greatest utility in feeding his cat- tle during long and inclement winters. For whatever improve- ments may be made in agriculture, pasturing must continue to be the support of this district. The rearing of cattle is much attended to, and though the breed has declined much since the Dukes of Argyle promoted this object by farming some of their own lands, it is still considered good. The most esteemed is that known by the name of the West High- land or Argyleshire breed, which is almost exclusively reared. They fatten here to from thirty to forty stone imperial, and when JNV E R A R Y. 29 removed to better pasture reward the feeder by growing to a great size. The dairy does not occupy much of the attention, or contribute much to the profit of the farmer, as the milk is given to the calves. The butter, however, is uniformly rich and good, and when the cheeses are made large with sweet milk, they are of excellent quality. Prizes have for some years been given in this coun- ty by the Highland Society, for the best imitation of Dunlop, Che- shire, &c. cheeses—forgetting the fate of imitators in every art. Would it not be better to bring the Highland cheese to perfec- tion than to attain to mediocrity of imitation ? When the nature of the milk is considered, it may safely be affirmed that attention and quantity would render the native cheeses different, indeed, in character, but inferior to none in relish. The black-faced sheep is the only breed in the parish, and great attention is paid to their improvement, by purchasing tups of the best stamp, keeping none above four years old, and by careful ma- nagement otherwise. From June 10th to 15th the lambs are cut, and yield ewes clip- ped. Early in July the milk ewes are clipped. About the 1st of August the lambs are taken from their dams, and in large flocks herded separately from the rest of the flock till January; but in small flocks, after being fed for a week or ten days, on grass pre- viously preserved, they are allowed to mingle with the flock. About the 20th of October the tups are separated from the flock and herded apart till about the 20th of November. They are smeared when separated, as are the whole flock afterwards, with salve composed of about 10 pints imperial of tar and 28 lbs. but- ter imperial. The breed of horses is generally mixed, being a cross between the native mare and a larger horse from the south. The old High- land breed is yet to be found. Prizes have been given also by the Highland Society for the improvement of the native horse, by bringing entire horses from Clydesdale and other places, thus to substitute a larger breed instead of the native; but the slightest consideration is sufficient to convince any person acquaint- ed with the pasture, that this mode of improvement must end in disappointment. The proprietor and large storemaster may, in- deed, be thus supplied with large horses, but they will be such as cannot live on the short pile of grass which the best heath pas- 30 & AR GY LE SHIRE, tures yield ; and in the hands of an ordinary tenant, who turns his horse to the field or moor when his work is finished, they do, and they will become long-legged, hard-boned, and slow, ever hungry, ever unseemly, and never fit for labour. No horse can surpass the native breed in hardy endurance; he will be fat where the larger horse will perish ; he may be taken from the moor to trot ten or even twelve miles an hour, and turned out to grass again ungroomed. And he is fit for carrying twelve or thirteen cwt. along the Highland roads. Give him more size by better food, IOOI’e beauty by attention to the breed, and for all the purposes of the Highland farmer, he will not be surpassed in usefulness by any horse in the world. * - The poorer and richer order of tenants rear pigs, and the pre- judice against them only exists among aged persons. The farm buildings are, in some instances, of great extent— the Duke” of Argyle having built office-houses upon the most commodious plan on one farm, F and also supplied others where they were required. Generally, however, it is only the indepen- dent tenant that is provided with a commodious dwelling-house or good office-houses. The houses, barns, &c. of the smaller ten- ants are thatched with rushes, which endure two years, or with ferns, which endure for seven, and that, in some instances, when the houses are built on a bed of roof slate. - In some cases the tenants hold leases of nineteen years; in others their right is restricted to nine years; and very many hold their lands from year to year. - The rents are generally equable and fair. There are three ways in which the value of lands in lease is calculated, and by which a farmer, on taking the average prices of the past year, is guided. The first of these is by an actual survey of the lands and an estimate of the value in acres; the second is by the amount of gross returns which may be annually expected, deducting in- terest, wages, and expense of management, which are supposed equal to one-half of the produce : and the third is the market price of grazing a cow or sheep, and one-third of the arable produce. Thus to give an example of each of these methods, and first, of the value per acre, on the supposition of the accuracy of the measurement, let a farm be supposed of * Father to the present Duke. + For a description of these admirable barns, &c. see Smith's Agricultural Survey, or Garnet's Tour. iſ NWE RARY, - 31 º A. R. F. l 12 2 5, arable and meadow, averaging 14s, per acre, equal to, sº * & 4 sº L.78 15 5 186 3 24, moor, wood, and moss pasture, averaging 3s., equal to, sº ſº tº- * = 28 0 3 1091 2 24, hill pasture, averaging, Is. 6d., equal to - 8 || 17 8 3. . L. 188 13 4 or second, value per gross produce ; suppose the same farms. holding t 20 cows' produce from butter, at 15s. each, L. 15 0 0 20 two years old cattle at L.5, * 100 0 0 40 young cattle summered at L. 1, e L.40 0 0 350 fleeces of wool, at six to the stone, and 8s. per stone, tº &= - tº a " - 23 4, 0 170 lambs at 4s. per head, - tº , 34 0 () 80 draught ewes, at 8s. per head, & 32 0 0 30 acres of oats, three returns, or 90 bolls, at 16s., * , - tº tº º 72 0 O 10 acres of green crop, at L.5 per acre, - 50 0 0 L.366 4 0 Divided by 2, for management, risk, interest, and expenses, *-*. Rent by produce, L, 183 2 () or third, rent per head of stock. 350 sheep at 2s. 9d, each, +- L.48 2 6 20 cows at L.2, 10s. each, e 50 () () 40 young cattle summered, at 12s., 24 0 0 One-third of arable produce, 40 13 4. L. 162 15 10 Medium of the three valuations, º L.l78 3 8 The above example of the application of the principles by which both tenants and proprietors are guided in taking or letting farms is not applicable in its details to every case. The value or amount must vary with the nature of the soil and the quality of the pasture; but in this parish the estimated rent of a cow varies from L.2, 10s. to L.5,-and that of a sheep from 2s, to 8s. In some cases the grass of a cow may not be worth more than L. 1, 10s., nor of a sheep more than ‘ls. 6d. Wages.—The rate of labour is as follows: masons per day, 8s. 6d. ; dry stone masons, 2S. to 2s. 6d. ; carpenters, 3s. ; wheel wrights, 2s. ; tailors, 2s. ; shoemakers, 2s. ; farm labourers, 1s. 6d. to 2s. 2d.; do. female, 9d. to 1s. 2d.; men servants, per year, L.9 to L.12; maid do., L.5 to L.6; shepherd, victualed, L.9 to L.12; married shepherds, L, 18 to L.20, with cows' grass and potato land; married ploughmen, L. 16 to L.19, with cows' grass 32 A R GY LESHIR E. and potato land. Labour is not very often performed by piece work; when it is sheep drains cost là, per fall; dry stone walls, from 4s. 6d. to 10s. the fall, according to circumstances. Fishing.—The fishing forms a source of considerable wealth, and though the herring fishing, which affords employment to every individual who is disposed to labour, has for some years been un- usually unproductive, it has contributed greatly to aid the soil in supporting those families who derive part of their sustenance from the pursuits of agriculture. It affords a cheerful and exciting oc- cupation to the young. - The herring fishing generally commences about the end of June, and continues, if the weather permit, till the beginning of Janu- ary. The congregating of a few gulls into one place, or the pro- longed visit of “the whale,” as the sail fish is called, sets every hand to work to get boats and nets into order. The boats used vary in size, being from 18 feet keel, and 8 feet beam, to half dec- kers of 22 feet long by 9 broad. The former cost about L.20, the latter L.40. The train used also varies in length, according to the size of the boat. The ordinary train, however, consists of 36 nets, each net being formed of smaller nets called breadths or dippens of twelve yards in length, and two in breath. The whole train is thus 486 yards long when stretched to its full length ; but when dropped into the water so that the meshes become ex- tended, its breath is 10 yards, and its length is greatly diminished. Each dippen costs, at an average, about 2s., and each train L.18. The fishermen can seldom afford to purchase the whole. They and their children generally manage to net a considerable portion, as well as to repair whatever is torn or decayed, and for these pur- poses they prefer the twine twisted at a rope work to that spun at home. The train is suspended in the sea, by attaching a blad- der inflated with air to the end of every net, and a small buoy to every fourth net. . In the beginning of the season the herrings swim near the sur- face; but about the end of August they often retire towards the bottom, and they are fished for by affixing the buoys to long strings which mark the place where the train is set, while the blad- ders, when the netis taken down by its weight, serve to keep the whole perpendicular. In fishing near the surface, it is customary to remove from station to station during the night as occasion requires, and to examine the nets lest the herrings, if any, become the prey of other fish; but when the long or ground string is used in deep sea fish- INW ERARY. 33 ing, the time necessary for removing or examining the train is so great that it is considered more advisable to leave it till the morn- ing. The boats employed in fishing herrings in 1835 amounted to 55, and the general number averages from 50 to 60. In that year, the boats, men, boys, coopers, labourers, or gutters, and cur- ers, were, according to the following table, from the different parts of the parish, and it may form a fair average of the general num- bers. The employment of the labourers and curers is only occa- sional. - Districts. Boats. Men. Boys. Labourers. Coopers. Curers. Total. Gearan Bridge to burgh of Inverary, 23 44. 22 60 5 O 138 From burgh to Ken- & more, includ. A ch-> 26 52 26 4.() 2 3 1:20 nagol & Claonary, Ş From Kenmore to the Furnace, in- cluding Achan- ; 6 drain and Achan- tiobairt, gº I 2 6 I 5 3 2 38 *-mºs ºssºs tºmºsºme *-mº *sº ºs ºse 55 108 54 l 15 14 I O 296 It is impossible to state with any degree of accuracy the quan- tity of herrings caught. Many are eaten in a fresh state in this and the neighbouring parishes; many are also sent fresh to the Glas- gow and Greenock markets, and the remainder only are salted. It is supposed” that one-third of the herrings caught are not cur- ed. The number cured for the last four years was, in 1832, 965 barrels; 1833, 1851; do. ; 1834, 2147; 1835, 1798; 1836, 1.206. The average of these five years is therefore 1593 barrels cured. Two bushels of salt are allowed by law for curing each barrel; but the quantity required varies with the condition of the herrings. The poorer herrings are cured with less salt. The old and the most intelligent of the fishermen do not con- sider that the improvement in the condition of the herring, which take place after its entrance into Lochfyne, consists so much in greater size or more fat, as in higher flavour. The cause ascribed for the entrance of the herring and its advance upwards to the head of Lochſyne, is its desire of depositing its span in the mud- dy grounds, which frequently form the bottom of the loch, and that especially near the head. * This is the opinion of Mr Sutherland, the fishery officer at Lochgilphead, who supplied the statements in the above table, many of which are also consistent with the writer's knowledge. C 34 A tº G Y LE SH 1 R E. There is no regular cod, ling, or hake fishing, but a few indi- viduals endeavour to supply the market of the burgh with these and other fishes. The shores were let by the late Duke for salmon fishing, at a rent of L. 50 per annum, and stake nets were employed ; but they are fished now by the servants, and for the use of the present Duke. Few fish of the salmon tribe are caught till the month of June. V.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. Burgh of Inverary.—Iſ Inverary existed prior to the four- teenth century, it was probably nothing more than a fishing vil- lage. When the family of Argyle fixed their residence here, their retainers and friends would naturally arrange their dwellings round the castle of their chief, both to give and to receive protection. The earliest mention known of it is in the fifteenth century, when, on the 8th May 1472, a charter was granted to Colin, first Earl of Argyle, erecting Inverary, “Inoureyra” into a burgh of barony. It was erected into a royal burgh by charter from Charles I. in 1648, with a territory extending from the Cromalt burn on the south, to the green and yard dikes of the Duke's castle, the lands of Kilmilieu, and the burn of Auchareoch respectively on the north; Lochfyne on the east; and the Duke's park and the com- mon moor on the west. In 1742, the causes which led to the building of the burgh so near the castle having ceased to operate, the old buildings were pulled down, and houses were erected by the Duke for the inha- bitants, on ground given them at a nominal rent, under lease of three nineteen years on the present site, then called Ardrainich. By the charter, the council is declared to consist of a provost and four bailies, and the inhabitants possessed the right of elect- ing the former from a leet of three, and the latter from a leet of four, supplied by the Duke of Argyle. By the reform bill, the magistrates consist of sixteen councillors, one provost and two bailies. The magistrates possess both a criminal and civil jurisdiction over the boundaries of the burgh ; and whatever police regulations are necessary for watching, lighting, cleaning the streets, manag- ing the supply of water, &c. are framed by them in council. The population of the burgh in 1831 was 1117; in 1841, 1233; and the number of persons resident within the royalty whose rent in property or tenantry amounted to L. 10 or upwards, was 63, IN VE R A R Y. 35 while those whose rent amounted to L. 5, but fell below L. 10, were 23. Of the former class there were also 5 more resident beyond the parliamentary boundary. The property of the burgh consists, 1st, of a right of pasturage on the contiguous moor of Auchinbreck, conferred by disposition, granted by the Duke of Argyle in 1750. 2d, L. 20 per annum, conferred by the same disposition, by the Duke, for the necessary uses and support of the community. 3d, The right of harbour, with anchorage dues, shore dues, and a right to petty customs within the burgh. 4th, The right of ferrying passengers and cat- tle across Lochfyne. The income of the burgh may be thus stated : rent of the com- mon moor, L. 86; annuity by the Duke of Argyle, L. 20; rent of petty customs, L. 80; rent of ferry, L. 40 ; average amount of fees for admission of burgesses, L. 5; grant by the commissioners of supply for the support of the grammar school, L. 5; total, L. 186. The last sum is given during pleasure only, as is sup- posed, and the burgh has no formal right to it. * The annual expenditure averages L. 160. By the charter, power is given to hold a weekly market on Fri- day, with three annual fairs, the first on the 17th day of May, the second on the 15th July, and the third on the 16th of September. It seems as if the framers of the charter intended that these should be fairs for the county, as each of them was to be held for eight days, and it is declared that there shall be no other markets or fairs in Argyleshire, except in Kintyre, where another royal burgh was ordered in the reign of James VI. The markets held in the burgh are in May, July, and Novem- ber, the first and last for cattle, and the second for wool. The burgh has undergone many changes since 1830, and the magistrates have from that period made great exertions for the be- nefit of the public. Among other things of less importance done during the last twelve years, are a common sewer; the extension of the pier; water plentifully provided in 1836; and gas light in- troduced in 1841. The burgh of Inverary, with those of Irvine, Campbelton, Rothesay, and Oban return a member to Parliament. Means of Communication.—Inverary reaps its full share of the progress made in the means of communication, and instead of one way of travelling to Glasgow in two days, there are now four * See Report on the Municipal Corporations in Scotland in 1835. 36 - A R GY LESHIRE. ways in summer, and the journey may be performed in less than seven hours. The first, and at present the most regular and speedy of these is by Lochgoil, the second by the Kyles of Bute, the third by Cairndow and Lochlomond, and the fourth by Loch- eck and Kilmun. The first and second of these continue through- out the year. During the summer, there is also a daily coach to Oban, and the means of posting are abundantly at command. There are also daily posts to and from Inverary, south by Cairndow, north by Cladich, and west by Lochgilphead. There are no turnpike roads in this parish, or indeed in the county. The highways were originally the military roads, and these are now maintained and improved at the expense, partly of the public, and partly of the county. The Commissioners of Sup- ply for the county provide two-thirds of the money required for these purposes, and the government one-third. In addition to the third paid by government, the expense of superintending and in- specting these roads is defrayed, and they are entrusted to com- missioners appointed “ for highland roads and bridges.” The length of the miltary road thus maintained in this parish is tem miles, and the length of another road, not military, and, therefore, maintained altogether at the expense of the county, is eight miles. The Duke of Argyle has made and maintains many miles of road also in all parts of the parish, the length of which, exclusive of walks and paths, cannot be less than thirty-six miles. The harbour is not suited for ships of heavy burden. Previous to 1809 there was no pier worthy of the name; but it was then enlarged and improved; and in 1836, L. 1200 were expended in extending it, forming a slip to suit every state of the tide, &c.; L. 800 was supplied by the fishery board, and the remainder, partly by the Duke of Argyle, and partly by the burgh. Ecclesiastical State.—There is reason to believe that this pa- rish was, in the days of Popery, provided with places of wor- ship at Auchantiobairt, Kilbryde, Kiimilieu, Kilblaan, and Kil- mun; so that no person within the bounds was more than two miles from a church. Now there are two parish churches, one for the Gaelic, and another for the English congregation in the burgh, as the most central site for the population at large. Thus, the churches are distant from the north and east end of the parish above six miles, and from the south-west extremity eight miles. On the north and east ends of the parish, not more than five families are situated above five miles from church; but on the I N V E R A R Y. 37 south-west extremity the population is numerous, and, therefore, in 1840, the presbytery of Inverary used means for supplying that destitute locality, along with a portion of the parish of Kilmichael Glassary, with the means of religious instruction, by endeavouring to erect a church at Camlodden, in the latter parish, but in a situation so convenient to that of Inverary, that 350 of the population should be within three miles of it, and no family of that portion of this parish above four miles, either from the proposed or the parochial churches. The Committee of the General Assembly on Church Extension, along with the Duke of Argyle and Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart., two proprietors whose tenants were to be principally benefited, en- tered into this plan, and contributed generously for its execution, by subscribing thus: the Duke of Argyle, L. 200; Sir Archibald Camp- bell, Bart., L. 100; the Church Extension Committee, L.225; to- tal, L.525. The church was erected, accordingly, in 1841, for above 300 sitters, at an expense of L. 548, and the presbytery engaged Mr Jackson, a probationer, to preach in it, and to visit the surround- ing district. His salary, guaranteed by the presbytery, has been hitherto paid, by a gratuity of L. 20 from the scheme of the Ge- neral Assembly for the employment of probationers; by L. 10 annually from Sir Archibald Campbell; and the remainder by con- tributions or subscriptions from several individuals connected with the presbytery or the district. The population of the district is not able to give much for his support, with the exception of a few families, who subscribe liberally. The sittings are free. The parish churches were built in 1794, but were much injured in 1837 by lightning. They were repaired in 1838 at great ex- pense; and the English church especially is seated and fitted up elegantly and comfortably. The Gaelic church is seated for 470, and the English for 450. The sittings in both are free. The minister of the landward charge, or Gaelic congregation, as the first or oldest charge, has a right to a glebe ; but the only church lands being those of Kilmilieu, immediately adjoining the Duke of Argyle's castle, the sum of L. 45 has been for many years given as an equivalent for a glebe. The minister of the lowland congregation has right to a manse and garden, and he has L. 30 per annum from the Exchequer, as the minister of a burgh without a glebe. As in times past, each minister had a servitude of grass for two cows and a horse, granted them by the Duke of Argyle, and the present Duke disponed to the minister of the lowland congregation two acres and a-half of arable 38 A R G Y L E SH II&R. in lieu of his claim. * The manse of the minister of the Gaelic congregation is old, small, and not in good repair, situated in the burgh; the manse of the lowland charge was built in 1842, to the west of the burgh, and is both a commodious and handsome building. The amount of the stipends is as follows: - 1. Gaelic or parochial charge,_110 bolls 3 firlots 2 pecks of oatmeal, of 140 lbs. per boll; money stipend, L.l 1, 0s. 6d. ; al- lowance for glebe, L.40; for grassmail and hay, L.5; for com- munion elements, L.3, 6s. 8d. ; from Exchequer, L.54, 5s. 4d. 2. English or burgh charge, 30+ bolls oatmeal, of 140 lbs. per boll; money stipend, L. 1, 10s. 6; 3d. ; from Exchequer, L. 127, Ss. 10d. ; ditto in lieu of glebe, L.30; communion ele- ments, L.3, 6s. 8d. The only chapel in the parish is in connection with the United Associate Synod, and the minister officiating is supported wholly or principally by a congregation of that body in Glasgow. The number of individuals in the parish belonging to any class ” Dr Fraser obtained a small farm from the late Duke and his father at a no- minal rent, instead of servitude, and the agents of the late Duke, when the writer became minister of the lowland congregation in 1828, informed him of the fact, but he declined to apply for it, as he considered it a grant rather than a right. f By the original establishment of this charge, it was distinct from the old parish, and the minister did not preach Gaelic. The stipend, also, was allocated by the Mar- quis of Argyle and others, Commissioners for the Plantation of Churches in Argyle- shire in 1654, from the revenues of the bishoprics of Lismore and the Isles, to the amount of three chalders of victual, two parts meal and one part bear, to be paid out of the first and readiest of the teinds of the Isle of Bute, and 900 merks to be paid out of the first and readiest of the surplus teinds of Kilbride, in Lorn, Kilcolm-kill, Killintag, in Morven, the isles of Mull, Coll, and Tiree, &c. These teinds had been previously granted to the Marquis of Argyle, and thus transferred by him. In 705, the synod of Argyle obtained a grant of the vacant revenues of the bishoprics of Argyle and the Isles for pious uses; and though from 1651 downwards, the mi- mister of the second charge held the above modified stipend as a right, the synod seem to have considered these teinds granted to them, and to have continued it as a favour down to 1724, when the Crown granted the teinds of the Isle of Bute to the Earl of 3ute, but without consent from Parliament. The synod acquiesced, and so did the minister thus deprived, till 770, when a process was brought by the latter for the recovery of these three chalders thus granted and withheld. In that process, the pursuer maintained that his stipend was modified by the Commissioners of Parlia- ment for Plantation of Churches in 1651, not distinguishing, however, between the high commission for that purpose, and the special commissioners, appointed by an unprinted statute for Argyleshire. The High Commission did not sit in 1651, con- sequently sentence was given against the pursuer, on the ground that “ the decreet of locality, if not a forgery, was a gross imposition.” The 900 merks are not now paid to the minister of the second charge ; but, in 1792, it was found that several farms in Glenshira, reputed to belong to Lochgoilhead, pertained to Inverary. The Duke of Argyle brought a process of modification, craving these teinds for the two ministers, though, till then, the first minister alone was considered to have a right to the parish teinds. Contrary to the usual practice of the Court of Tcinds in such cases, an interlocutor was pronounced to that effect in 1792, and adhered to by the court in 1794, by which each minister received thirty bolls of victual, and L. 15, 16s. 8d. Scots. For a history of this case, see Connel on the Law of Parishes. IN V E R A R Y. 39 of Dissenters is inconsiderable. There are two Roman Catholic families, and other two families in which the heads are of that persuasion. There are also two families of Baptists, and two fe- males in other two families. Eight families belong to the Seces- sion, and several individuals, making their numbers amount to 24 or 25. All the remaining population belong to the Establishment. The numbers attending stated ordinances in the Established churches are, on an average, about 700, the members of many families, among the population of the country and burgh also, going to church on alternate Sabbaths, or to alternate diets. The number of communicants in the Established Church varies from 600 to 630. - The Secession chapel is well attended in the evenings by mem- bers of the Established Church. -- The collections at the doors of the two parochial churches were, for the last four years, thus: 1839, L.86, 2s. ; 1840, L. 129, 3s. 1d. ; 1841, L. 120, 13s. ; and 1842, L. 101, 15s. 7d. The amount collected during the same years for religious and charitable purposes was, in 1839, L.21, 13s. 4d. ; 1840, L.22; 1841, L.26, 8s. 5%d. ; 1842, L.35, 6s. 1d. Education.—The erection and maintenance of schools were ob- jects of careful attention to the early Presbyterian ministers of this county, and the records of the synod of Argyle state a unanimous resolution come to by that body in 1640, to erect and maintain schools at their own expense; and their plan, when more fully developed, was, that there should be one good school in every pa- rish ; that the schools placed at the seats of presbyteries should be of a higher order, and maintained by the ministers and elders composing these presbyteries respectively ; that at Inverary there should be a grammar school, to which, as to a provincial seminary under the superintendence of a doctor, the youth might resort from all parts, within the bounds, for instruction in those branches which could not be taught so well in the parish schools. To maintain this head school, it was resolved that “ilk brother shall pay ten merks yearly.” Two thousand merks of voluntary contribution were given inº 1648, for a foundation to it; and, in 1649, the Marquis of Argyle mortified 600 merks yearly for its use. Several sums were afterwards mortified for the benefit of this school, by Campbell of Stonefield and others, to the amount * Records of the Synod of Argyle, Vol. i. pages 161 and 199. 40 AR GYLE SH 1 RE, of L.283, 6s. 8d. Sterling, of which the kirk-session were consti- tuted the guardians, together with L. 112, 2s. Sterling, being the price of teinds in the parish of Appin, purchased from the Duke of Argyle by Mr Seaton, then of Appin, and made payable by the Duke of Argyle to the burgh, for behoof of the grammar school. For many years, also, and until the teinds were evicted by a late augmentation of stipend, the tack-duty of the treasury teinds of the parish of Lismore were made payable by the Duke of Argyle to the town for behoof of the school. From these se- veral sources of revenue, the grammar school was supported ; and the scholars were so numerous, that, in the eighteenth century, application was made for permission to place all the children learning the elementary branches under the charge of a second teacher, so that the other teacher might be at liberty to de- vote all his time to instruction in the higher departments. In 1803, the second school thus formed became the parochial school, with the salary appointed by statute, and the teacher retained, and has since received the interest of the mortified sum of L.283, 6s. 8d. which were probably allowed him in consideration of the labour imposed on him as second teacher. The salaries of the two teachers at present are, 1. The Grammar School Teacher — - 1. Granted by the Commissioners of Supply for Argyleshire, L.5 0 0 te e 5 2. Interest of L.l 12, 2s. as stated above, | | 1 8. Granted annually by the town-council, . * . 9 9 l 1 - L.20 l () 2. ſarochial Teacher :— 1. Maximum salary, g g L.25 13 4 2. Interest of L.283, 6s. 8d. º 14 3 4 L.39 16 8 Each of the teachers has a house and garden, and right to the pasturage of a cow on the town’s common. - In addition to these two schools, there are also two female schools in the burgh; one of long standing, and supported by L.20 a-year from the Duke of Argyle, and L.4 a-year from the council; the other, established as a school of industry in 1841, by the present Duchess of Argyle, and supported by a salary to the teacher of L.26 per year, with coal, free house, and other perquisites. - - - There are also five teachers in rural districts. One parochia), with the statute salary of L.25, 13s. 4d., a free house, garden, fuel, and grass for a cow. His station is three and a-half miles west of the IN VE [& ARY. 41 burgh. A second is stationed seven miles west of the burgh, with a salary of L.8 a-year; and a third, five miles south-west of the burgh, with a salary of L.8 a-year from the Duke of Argyle. A fourth school is placed in Glenaray, four miles north of the burgh, supported by a salary of L. 15 a-year from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and by a free house, cow's grass, and money to the amount of L. 15 from the Duke of Argyle. The fifth is a female school, four miles south-west of the burgh, supported by a salary of L.5 from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and a free house from the Duke of Argyle. Five Sabbath schools are taught in the parish. Library.— A parochial library was formed in 1832, but the books are little read. The principal Sabbath school has also a juvenile library attached to it. - Savings Bank.-A-savings bank was established in 1829, and the present amount of the sums deposited is L.232, 19s. 9d. Poor.—The poor of this parish are principally composed of fe- males, who have become unable, through years or ill health, to maintain themselves, with occasionally an old man, whom misfortune or misconduct has reduced to want. Their numbers have ranged for many years from 46 to 56, according to the season of the year, the price of meal, or the difficulty of procuring labour. The ma- jority of these are always found in the burgh, where the system of letting or giving a single apartment to a family is favourable to their settlement. In the rural district, for several years, the num- ber of paupers has ranged from 10 to 16, and they are always more easily satisfied, and make fewer demands on the session than such as live in the burgh. In addition to the collection at the church doors already mentioned, several sums of money have been at different times left to the poor, and placed at the disposal of the kirk-session. Much of the money thus left has been distri- buted among the indigent in times of pressing want, or lost. Above L. 260 still remain, bearing interest; and above L. 100, lent out on personal security, bears no interest, and is either doubtful or lost. The inhabitants are very charitable to the poor, and much money is given in alms, or collected by sales of work and penny- a-week subscriptions for their relief; but the principal source of their support is the Duke of Argyle, who, as sole heritor, never refuses or fails to give whatever is necessary for them. The amount given annually by the present Duke, whether in pensions, free-houses, meal, coals, soup kitchen, or in sundry other ways, 42 A R GY I,ESH [[R E. exceeds L.500. Notwithstanding all these means of supply to the poor, and their amount, destitution is frequent, and so also are complaints. The disposition to ask relief varies with the amount of the relief proposed or disposable. Prisons.—The debtors' gaol consists of five apartments, and the criminal gaol was made with eight cells and one large hall, but was altered in 1841, and formed into ten cells. The expense of maintaining the improved management under which it has been pla- ced, has also increased from an average of L.60 per annum, the great proportion of which was defrayed by the burgh, to L. 180,0s. 9d. for 1841; and L. 258, 5s. 6d. for 1842. It is proposed to make an addi- tional prison, to consist of twelve cells, the present number being found insufficient. The average daily number of criminal prisoners for the year 1841* was 8269; in 1842, 1 1,663; and for the past four months of this year, 193, or upwards, showing a great increase either of crime or of legal vigilance. The average cost of each prisoner was, in 1841, L. 9, 15s. 4d. ; and the average annual earning of each, 4s. 2d.; in 1842, L. 9, 3s. l I d. ; and the average annual earning of each, L.3, 2s. The gross profits arising from such la- bour was, in 1841, L.1, 15s. ; and, in 1842, L.25, 2s. 2.; d. The following statement shews the number of prisoners confin- ed in the prison of Inverary, and which serves for the whole county, with the nature of the crimes with which they were charged, from the 1st July 1840 to 1st September 1842. * Certified return of prisoners confined in the prison of Inverary, with their classes and crimes from Ist July 1840 to 1st Sep- tember 1842.É. . Number of criminals, 246; debtors, 14; theft, 50 males, 20 fe- males; assault, 118 males, 15 females; vagrancy, 14 males, 12 females; hawking, 1 male, 3 females; murder, 2 males, 2 females; violating sepulchre, 1 male, 2 females; forgery, I male; contempt of court, I do. ; crown witness, I do. : revenue prisoners, 3 do. In 1834, the total number of committals to the several gaols of Argyleshire was 66. In 1835, 50. It has been ascertained that nineteen out of twenty committals have arisen, during the last two years, from indulgence in intoxicat- ing liquors. * See Fourth Report of the General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland. # Return by Malcolm Thomson, keeper of Inverary Prison. INVE, RARY. 43 Inns, &c.—The number of inns in the parish is two ; of ale- houses and dram-shops, or shops licensed to sell spirits, &c., 12, all of which are in the burgh. Among these a great quantity of spirits is sold; and the following statement shows the amount of gallons sold, exclusive of wine, porter, ales, &c. in the last quarter of 1841 and the first quarter of 1843. These quarters may be considered as the maximum and minimum for these years. Number of gallons of spirits sold or taken out of stock in Inve- rary, from 5th October 1841 to 5th January 1842, and from 5th January to 5th April 1843:*—Last quarter of 1841, home spirits, 2525 gallons; brandy, 46; foreign gin, l l ; rum, 26; cordial, 96; total for the quarter, 2704. First quarter of 1843, home spirits, 2156; brandy, 21 ; foreign gin, 5; rum, 15; total for the quarter, 2197. Total for a year, 9802 gallons. It is difficult to conceive how such a quantity of spirits is con- sumed, or whence the money comes for paying it; but it requires no exercise of credulity to believe that it cannot be used without much abuse of time, means, and understanding. Fuel.-The fuel used in the burgh is coal brought from Glas- gow, Ardrossan, and other places, and sold here at prices varying from 12s. 6d. to 15s. 6d. per ton of 24 cwt. In the rural districts coal is also used by the principal farmers and gentlemen ; but turf or peat continues to be in general use. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Time has made its changes, its ravages, and improvements on this as on other parts of the country since 1792, when the last A few of these may be noticed : In 1843. Statistical Account was written. In 1792. Three heritors. Much of the land farmed by the Duke of Argyle. A woollen manufactory at Claornary. A blast furnace for smelting iron at Furnace. The quay not worthy of the name. No regular market for butcher-meat. The cattle of persons resident in the burgh grazed on Stronshira, Yearly wages of men servants, L. 5 to L. 7 l}o. of women, L. 2 to L. 3. All the people of the Established Church. One heritor. A few acres. None. No furnace, but a quarry from which Stones are taken for paving streets in Glasgow, &c. The quay is formed into a low water pier, and is good. The flesh-market well provided. Stronshira is now an extensive and valuable plantation. L. 9 to L. 12. L. 5 to L. 6. A few Baptists, Papists, and Seced- (ºl"S. * Return by Duncan M*Intyre, officer of excise. 44 A R GY LESHIRE, No chapel, A Seceding Chapel. Growing disregard to religion Growing regard to religion. Burgh ill provided with water, and Well provided with water and gas, rio gas, &c. &c. The following table is found in Smith’s Statistical Survey of Ar- gyleshire, written in 1798, and which, though it may be consider- ed not perfectly accurate, as such returns can scarcely be so, af- fords a still further view of the difference between the present and past condition of this parish. The table in its later details is only to be considered to be as an approximation to the truth. º * ºn Q = ~ . 92 . 2 C - tº º .* T. & Ç) Q) O ~ Cº- º *—t *— º +4.3 #3 Real ā-ā 8 § 3. § #3 & # 8 g : ; 5 : & 3 Rent. £ 3 : Pop. § 3 9.2% $3 33 & # > -s; P- P+ H- * 3–s P- 3-4 F | Z G | < |Qo || 2 | Gº | < |Q) < |O Jan, 38 40 || 38 || || 3 || ||7 1 32.2 |36.1 |33.2 19 || || 0 2 ... Feb. 36 || 39 36 9 4 3 || 12 29.3 |35.2 |30.5 || 25 3 ... . ... March, 32 || 42 | 35 | 10 7 | ... 4 ||37. 42.8 |39.1 || 1 || | | 3 3 4 April, 35 | 47 | 40 | 16 || 14 ... ... 39.7|47. 41.1 14 || || 1 3 2 May, 46 || 53 || 49 || 19 || 1 || | ... | |45.8 |56.4 |48.2 22 7 | ... 2 June, 54 || 63 || 56 | 19 || 1 | | ... ... 34. 61.7 54.6 || 7 || 17 I 5 July, 58 | 66 59 || 13 || || 7 | ... 1 56.3 63.2 |56.3 || 8 || || 6 2 5 Aug. 53 || 63 57 18 8 l 4 53.4 |61.1 |53.4 || 7 || 12 2 || 10 Sept. 50 | 58 53 | 17 | 10 | ... 3 48.8 |57.2 |49.5 || | | | | 0 2 7 Oct. 48 || 53 || 49 4 || ||2 | | || 4 ||42.5 |50.4 |42.3 || 9 || || 3 2 7 Nov. 40 || 43 | 40 9 9 | . . . . 12 ||37.6 #42.() |38.8 || 1 || | || 7 | ... 2 | Dec. 44 || 46 || 44 | 12 13 2 4 |41.1 |43.9 |40.8 || 7 || 17 I 6 44.5, 51., 46.3, average temperature of year, 43.2, 49.7, 43.9, aver. temp. of year. Ll SMORE AND A PPIN. 23] 1839. - Quant. rain ||Rainy Thermometer. Barometer. Fair. . . Rain. fallen. days. & Grt. Grt. - - Morn. | Even. All pt. of All pt. of Morn. Noon. Even. at 9. at 9. day. day | day, day. |Inches. Jan. 35.9 || 38.4 || 36.3 |920.17 |920.77|| 6 || 8 || 5 || 13 2.45 l 4 Feb. 38.1 || 41.8 || 39.2 [83].05 (829.57 || 7 || 2 || 3 || || 5 || 2.92 | 20 March, 34.8 || 42.2 || 37.7 |919.98 |9| 9.90 || || 3 || || 4 || 2 | | | 3,2] 12 April, 40.9 || 49.2 43.3 900.35|899.98 || 20 || 4 | ... || 6 | 1.17 9 May, 38.0 55.2 || 49.8 |928.68|929.39| 24 || 4 || 2 | | | 1.62 8 June, 55.5 | 61.4 57.3 |895.40 |895. 16 27 | ... l l 2.45 | 2 July, 56.6 || 62.7 58.3 |9| 7.39||917.29 || || 5 || 3 || 4 || 7 || 2 91 15 Aug. 53.5 | 68.8 || 56.1 |920.85 |922.01 || || 7 || 7 || 2 || 4 || 2.33 17 Sept. 31.2| 57.6 53.3|881.96 |882.11 9 || 7 || 3 || 9 || 7.31 2] Oct. 47. I | 51.8 || 49.1 |927.77||927.96 19 || 3 || 5 || 2 || 4.29 | 6 HNov. 44.0 || 48.9 || 48.1 |888.30 (888. 3 || || 4 || 7 || 3 || 5 | 1.48 15 Dec. 39.6 || 41.6 | 40.1 |915,5() |915.56 | 15 || 7 || 4 | ... 3 06 14 510.52 (613.66 |565.36 Average during the year, 42.54, −5l. 13,-47. l. l. Climate.—The climate in this district is rather damp, owing to the constant falls of rain, which are noticed above ; but at the same time that it is damp, it is also mild. The winter months are ge- nerally soft and mild, without much snow, except on the high grounds; but there are continued deluges of sleet and rain. The climate being so damp has the effect of producing rheumatisms, colds, and influenzas, which may be called the prevailing com- plaints of the parish. Hydrography.—The Coe (Fingalian Cona) and the Creran are the principal rivers, the former running through Glencoe, and discharging itself into Lochleven at Invercoe, the residence of Mr Macdonald of Glencoe ; and the latter, running through Glencre- ran, receives the Ure and other tributary streams in its progress, and empties itself into the head of Lochcreran below Druimvick, the residence of Donald Campbell, Esq. of Bailevelolan. On each of these rivers, there is excellent salmon fishing. - Next to these in importance are, the river of Coinich, in Kin- gairloch, with those of Duror, Laroch, and Leven, and in each of these there is salmon and fine trout in season. The parish abounds with beautiful perennial springs. The springs in Lis- more are so numerous, that no country is better supplied with this important necessary of life. The island is all on limestone, and the rock is full of fissures and subterranean passages that serve as so many reservoirs, which discharge their 232 ARGY LESH 1 RE, contents at the foot of almost every knoll ; and, in many instances, the discharge is so copious, that one would think it nearly suffi- cient to drive a mill. The water, too, is of first-rate quality, for, having its residence in the caverns of the lime rock, it is exceed- ingly cold, thin, and clear, and is so impregnated with the mineral nature of the rock from which it springs, as to render it necessary for strangers, who are not accustomed to it, to drink it with cau- tion. The climate is mild, the soil is good, and, these blessings combined, produce excellent crops, so that the island is strictly a grain country; but, as there is no running water, except the flow from the springs above-mentioned, there could be no mills but for the three fresh-water lakes which the island contains; but these serve as reservoirs for three mills, and thus the inhabitants are sav- ed the inconvenience of being under the necessity of sending their grain to other places to be ground. These lakes are all nearly of the same dimensions, being about half a mile in length, and a few score yards in breadth. “Two of them contain fine trout, which are said to have been carried to them about 90 or 100 years ago, and which preserve their distinction perfectly clear to this day; that is, their shining silver scales. Their flesh is as red as that of any salmon, and they taste differently from the yellow trout.” The other lake is deep and muddy, and is full of eels. Indeed, the waters of all these lakes appear drumly, and of a leaden co- lour, owing to their resting upon the deep beds of marl which lie at the bottom of the lakes. There is a violent current between the west end of Lismore and the Island of Mull, well known to seafaring men, at the dangerous rock of Carraig, which is covered with the tide at high-water; but there is now a light-house, which was erected about eight years ago on the island, or rather rock, of Musdale, in its immediate neighbourhood, and this light-house is of much importance in guiding vessels past these dangerous rocks. There is also between the west end of Lismore and Morven a a meeting of three currents, in consequence of contrary tides, which, in tempestuous weather, cause a mighty jumble, and dan- gerous broken seas. This place is called Buinne nam biodag, “ the current of dirks ;” from a tradition that some Lochaber men, who were navigating these parts, disagreed about what should be the proper mode of managing the vessel under such circumstances, when the quarrel ran so high that they appealed to the dirks for a decision, and great slaughter ensued. LISMORE AND AP PIN. 233 Žoology.—There are no animals found in this parish that are not common to all the neighbouring parishes. The migratory birds are the woodcock, which visits our woods in winter, particularly during snow and in frosty weather. The cuckoo, the swallow, water-wagtail, corncrake, and lapwing all appear at their stated periods. “In severe winters, a few swans visit the lochs in this parish, but they do not remain long in this country; and a few wild geese also hatch about the islands of Lismore. Eagles abound in Kingairloch, and in the highest parts of Appin, toge- ther with ptarmigan, blackcock, and grouse, with abundance of common and mountain hares.” The former are said to have appear- ed in this country not until after roads were made, which opened a communication with the low country, and afforded them an easy access to the fastnesses of our Highland glens. Among the woods of the lower part of Appin, there are roe in great abundance. In Lismore, there are neither moles nor foxes; but there are otters and wild cats. Appin and Kingerloch abound with moles, foxes, martins, wild cats, and fumarts; the two last are very destructive to poultry. There existed formerly in this parish animals which are not now to be seen, such as red-deer, wolves, wild boars, and bisons. Two skulls of the latter species were found, some time ago, in a peat-moss in Lismore. The following are the dimen- sions of the larger skull, as given in the old Statistical Account : Extent from the extremities of the bend of the horn, 2 feet I l inches; circumference of the roots of the horns, 1 foot 5 inches; length of horns following the curvature without, 2 feet 8 inches; distance between the eyes, 1 foot of an inch; length of skull from the snout (not entire) to upper part of head, 2 feet 2 inches; circumference of the eye socket, 10} inches. The Argyleshire cattle are considered to be among the best specimens of the Highland breed, and in no part of the country are there better specimens to be found than in some parts of this parish; nor do I think that there is in the county any district bet- ter adapted to the rearing of fine cattle than this district, owing to the nature of its soil, and the richness of its pasture; and a par- tial proof of this is found in the circumstance, that drovers visit it before other places, to purchase stock for the south country mar- kets, and give high prices at the same time. We have also ex- tensive sheep farms, and the stock is of superior quality. The number of sheep in the parish when the old Statistical Account 234 AR GYI, E.S.H.II& E. was written, is there stated to have been 25,000, and I believe that the number has not been much altered since; but undoubtedly the quality must be superior to what it was then, as improvements have been made in the mode of managing sheep farms. This was, at one time, a country abounding in goats, but they are now become scarce, for as these creatures are great enemies to growing wood, the proprietors, in order to save their plantations, found necessary to proscribe them; there are, however, a few still to be found in Kingerloch. Lismore is famous for its grey and dappled horses, and the in- habitants are famed for their skill as jockeys, in which occupation they are often employed. They traffic much also in pigs, eggs, and poultry, of which they export great quantities yearly. The fishes which most abound here, and are most important in an eco- nomical point of view, are cod, ling, haddock, whiting, rock cod, lythe, mackerel, and flounder, with several other kinds of grey fish. Salmon and herring are caught in considerable quantities in their season. The salmon fishers seldom dispose of much of their fish here, as they generally send it to the south country market, and consequently, no accurate quotation of prices can here be given. They are caught with stake-nets in Lochchorey in Kingerloch, and in several places along the coast of Appin, and in Lochcreran. There are a few beds of oysters in Lochcreran, and the shores all around produce abundance of other shell-fish of every description, which is used unsparingly as food by the common people, parti- cularly during the summer season. *- Botany.—The parish of Lismore and Appin affords the bo- tanist an ample field for profitable research. This is proved by the many botanical discoveries made by the late indefatigable bo- tanist, Captain Dugald Carmichael of the 72d Regiment of foot, who within the last twenty years, discovered on the shores of Lis- more and Appin many land and sea plants which were formerly unknown in the botanical world. The following list of those plants was obligingly supplied by Lieutenant-Colonel Fleming of Kinlochlaich in Appin, who is himself a botanist, and was former- ly in the enjoyment of Captain Carmichael's friendship; and for further acquaintance with the botany of this parish, the reader is referred to Sir W. Jackson Hooker’s “ British Flora.” Musci. Grimmia maritima Fontinalis antipyretica Gymnostomum fasciculare Entosthodon Templetoni Dicranum flavescens pyriforme Weissia curvirostra —— polycarpum I, 235 ISMORE AND APPIN. Funaria Muhlenbergii Orthotrichum Hutchinsiae Anomodon viticulosum Batramia arcuata Hypnum cordifolium Bryum androgynum palustre Filices. Aspidium lobatum Asplenium viride Scolopendrium vulgare Ophioglossum vulgatum Botrychium Lunaria Lichenes. Endocarpon smaragdilum Lecanora varia Squamaria lanuginosa Parmelia cycloselis Collema sinuatum Peltidea scutata Scyphophorus parasiticus sparassus - deformis Pycnothelia Papillaria Algae inarticulatae, Hooker. Stigonema mammillosum Fucus vesiculosus - Sel'l’:ltuS Himanthalia lorea Lichina confinis Sporochnus villosus Asperococcus castaneus pusillus Turneri Punctaria tenuissima Striaria attenuata Padina deusta Polyides rotundus Delesseria sinuosa Nitophyllum punctatum Gigartina confervoides Phyllophora rubens Gelideum corneum Ulva furfuracea calophylla Tetraspora lubrica Enteromorpha Cornucopiae. Belonia torulosa Grecta —— clathrata Bangia ciliaris Laminariae lacustris Bryopsis hypnoides Vaucheria velutina marina Algae confervoideae, Hooker. Coryncphora marina Sphacelaria oleracea velutina JEctocarpus crimitus Polysiphonia fruticulosa t - sphaerophorus —— Polysiphonia Carmichae- liana ——— fibrata 4- — spinulosa — — Agardhiana ———— violacea – elongata Dasyoe coccinea Ceramium ciliatüm Griffithsia corallina Calithamnion polyspermum – granulatum —— corymbosum ——- Rothii *=. – mesocarpum *º — sparsum — securidatum Conferva vesicata — I)] Ui COSã. — ulothrix perreptans a VCI) OS21 Cál I’ll Gºal al"Cta riparia — ceramicola Mougeotia coerulescens Scytonema minutum —— cirrhosum —- — — COntextu nil Calothrix luteola rufescens interrupta hydnoides Lyngbya muralis —— Carmichaelii speciosa Rosaria lentigera Oscillatoria Friesii lucifuga chthonoplastes littoralis COntexta rupestris spiralis — spadicea – alata sºsºmsºmº ſºmeºmºmsº * *ºmsºmº Chroolepas ebenea — meloenus Mesogloia multifida capillaris --— virescens Batraschospermum monili- forme Chaetophora longaeva pellita Mynonema punctiforme clavatum Rivularia botryoides — applanata ——— plicata: Rivularia calcarea – granulifera — Crustacea —- Pisum Rhaphidia angulosa Protococcus nivalis Haematococcus sanguineus Palmella hyalina rupestris – rivularis pumosa Nostoc muscorum foliaceum microscopicum —— humifusum pruniforme —— sphaericum Desmidium Swartzii —— cylindricum Fragilaria pectinalis aurea striatula Achnanthes brevipes — — Carmichaelii Diatoma unipunctatum — striatulum ——— brachygonum fenestratum crystallinum fasciculatum Styllaria cuneata f Licmophora Jurgensii —- splendida — flabellata Meridion circulare Gomphonema ampullaceum minutum paradoxum Berkeleya fragilis Schizonema quadripuncta- tu In *sº * — Dillwynii — spadiceum ——— obtusum Smithii Cymbella cymbiformis Fungi. Amanita muscaria Agaricus granulosus tuberosus — — squarrosus —— micaceus Merulius Carmichaelianus Polyporus Armeniacus Boletus luridus Hydnum farinaceum Radulum orbiculare Phlebia radiata Thelephora avellana —— miniata -—— sulphurea gigantea viscosa 236 A R GYLESH 1 RE. Thelephora granulosa . corrugata Geoglossum glutinosum viride Leotia lubrica Vibrissea truncorum Peziza leucoloma coccinea vitellina calycina hispidula —— Schwmacheri rufo-ollivacea — casia Rosa: —— fusca —— bolaris —— Buccina —— ochracea —— vinosa —— atravirens –— meluxantha —- compressa —— flaxella —— agaricana -— sclerotioides ——— acicularis subtilis Patellaria atrata Ascobolus ciliatus Trifolii Tympanis ulnea fraxini Cerangium Aucupariae Stictis pallida ——— Sicrostoma Cryptomyces versicolor Tremella clavata Naematelia encephala Agyrium rufum Pyrenium lignatile Sclerotium rubi — durum pustula Sphaeria multiformis — gelatinosa — citrina – rubiginosa - - -*s There are large quantities both of natural and planted wood in Appin, which serve both for ornament and for use. Sphaeria atropurpurea *—--- Serpens – luteo-virens —— spiculosa — finneti abietis – cinnabirina ——— dioica - Trifolii – aurantia – rosella aquila - Can CSCC11S — strigosa — hispida – affinis —— mammaeformis -- Spermoides — sordaria — pilifera – cirrhosa – rostellata — livida – rudis - clypeata — pinastri ——— strobilina —- obturata — pellita - SetaCea — Hedera – Dianthi Lophium ‘mytilinum elatum Spheronaema subulatum Dothidea rubra Rhytisma salicinum Phacidium coronatum Hysterium Carmichaelian- Ul]]] ——— Fraxini ——— Vaccinii ——— Rubi ——-—- Pinastri – foliicolum Scleroderma vulgare Lycogola Epidendrum Reticularia olivacea Diderma vernicosum - Carmichaelianum nitens cyanescens — deplanatum Didymium pertusum cinereum Serpula Physarum rubiginosum hyalinum Craterium mutabile Dictydium umbilicatum Trichia seratina Perichaena strobilina Myrothechium roridum Erysiphe communis penicillata Stilbum tomentosum - bicolor ——- pellucidum Helminthosporium subula- tunn velutin- ll. I)] Botrytis cana Oidium monileoides Sepedonium roseum Fusisporium griseum flavo-virens Melanconium sphaeroideum Aregma mucronatum Torula cylindrica Puccinia Campanulae —— clandestina Heraclei (Grev.) AEcidium Periclymeni —-— leucospermum — Grossulariae — Pini Uredo oblongata — utriculosum Primulae — Polygonorum — Rhinanthacearum —— Vacciniorum —— Hypericorum —— effusa - gyrosa. On all the properties in that part of the parish, there are considerable tracts of natural grown wood, consisting of oak, ash, birch, hazel, &c. and of planted wood, consisting of ash, elm, beech, plane, and many varieties of the fir tribe. Throughout the woods of Airds, there is a large sprinkling of hollies, which, with their deep-green colour of perpetual duration, add greatly to the beauty of the land- scape, especially in winter, as they maintain their summer appear- ance during that period, when the other trees around them are Ll SM ORE AND A PPIN. 237 stripped of their foliage. In Appin all sorts of wood seem to flourish; but the soil in Lismore, from its richness, appears more congenial to hard than to soft timber; and, accordingly, the few trees that ornament the island are of hard wood, such as plane, beech, and ash. Formerly, there were in Lismore several small proprietors, and around their mansion-houses and gardens were planted rows of trees of the above descriptions: these are now be- come tall and stately, and being scattered in small clumps here and there over the island, they break, in a pleasing manner, the continued uniformity of green surface, of little knolls and dells which forms the general characteristic of the place. The last in- cumbent planted on the glebe a few larch trees, but they appear stinted, the rich soil in which they are settled not being suited to their nature. Up to about the middle of the last century, the hill sides of that district were thickly covered with full-grown natural wood, which must have given a splendid appearance to the coun- try; but unfortunately, over these woods the Lismore people had a servitude, in virtue of which they were entitled to carry off yearly six loads of a felucca or six-oared boat, of any kind of wood they pleased, except straight hazel and rowantree. The former would probably be preserved on account of its fitness for making hoops and fishing-rods, and the latter for its beautiful red berry, which was considered as wholesome fruit, or, perhaps, on account of its sacredness as a charm against witchcraft,-a virtue which, accord- ing to ancient superstition, it was supposed eminently to possess. The reason which dictated this reservation, we cannot new deter- mine further than by conjecture ; but one thing is sure, that the Lismorians made the best of their privilege, and carried off from the woods of Kingerloch their six boat loads yearly, as their legal due, and were by no means scrupulous about making further drafts, until at length, the forest being unable to withstand the combined efforts of time and of spoilers, entirely disappeared, hazel, rowan- tree and all; and as the servitude is still in existence, the proprie- tor has no encouragement to plant, as he could not prevent his best trees from finding their way to Lismore in a six-oared boat.* * Since writing the above, I have been informed that the right was constituted in the year 1686, under a deed granted by Duncan M'Lean, younger of Kingerloch, in favour of the Earl of Breadalbane, who was then proprietor of lands in Lismore, and who in his turn assigned it over to Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine in the year 1734, when the Earl's lands in Lismore were excambed for certain lands belonging to Bar- caldine both in Lorn and in Perthshire. The servitude is now redeemed ; the present proprietor of Kingerloch having agreed to pay Barcaldine a sum of money as an equivalent, arid to commence plant- ing in spring next. 238 ; A R GYLE SH 1 RE. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. The civil history of this parish is possessed of a considerable degree of interest, both on account of its being the residence of powerful opposing clans, and on account of transactions of which it had been the scene. The Stewarts of Appin were, for a very long period, the proprietors of that part of the parish, and from their power and influence were of no small importance in the scale of political rivalship. In the commotions which agitated the country during the Montrose wars, the Stewarts of Appin were conspicuously engaged, and rendered that nobleman no inconside- rable assistance at the battle of Inverlochay; and, like many of their countrymen, espoused the cause of Prince Charles Edward in 1745. At each of those eventful periods, the Stewarts and the cause which they espoused, were opposed by the Campbells, who possessed the south side of the parish, and who ranged themselves on different sides of politics, both in the religious wars in the time of Montrose, and in the civil commotions in the time of Prince Charles. In Strath of Appin there is a small rivulet called Con ruagh, or red bog, from the swamp through which it runs, and this rivulet is still pointed out as the line which separated the lands of the supporters and of the opponents of Prince Charles; and one cannot help viewing Con ruagh with interest, when it is considered, that, in those days of commotion and strife, a single step from either side to the other brought the individual into the territory either of a friend or of a foe. Happily these days are gone by, and the sound of the warlike trumpet has given place to the more peaceful toll of the church bell, and the inhabitants of either side of Con ruagh meet on its northern bank, not in hostile array, to dispute the proprietorship of an earthly, but in perfect amity, to employ the means of obtaining a heavenly crown. In 1745, some lands in Appin were forfeited, but they were after- wards restored. &s: - The valley of Glencoe and its neighbourhood are rendered classic by Ossian, who, with poetic pathos, sung the Voice of Coma. From the Palace of Selma, in the parish of Ardchattan, or from the Hall of Shells, in Morven, the Fingalian heroes made fre- quent excursions to Lismore, to Glencoe, and the braes of Appin on hunting expeditions, and thus, in passing and repassing, they must have traversed the length and breadth of this parish. The massacre of Glencoe, perpetrated under aggravated circumstances, I, ISMORE AND AP PIN. • 239 is so well known in history, that it is not necessary here to say any thing on the subject. Eminent Men.—Among the eminent characters connected with this parish, the first that we shall mention is Donald Stewart, commonly called Domhnull nan ord, Donald of the hammers, who was the son of Stewart of Invernahyle, in Appin. Between the family of Invernahyle and Cailein Uaine, i. e. Green Colin, who was the Dunstaffnage of the day, there subsisted a feud which led to the destruction of the family of Invernahyle by that of Dun- staffnage, at the time that Donald was a child; but he escaped sharing the fate of his family by the fidelity of his nurse, who fled with him to Ardnamurchan, where her husband, who was the blacksmith of the district, resided.” He lived some time during the beginning of the seventeenth century, and died an old man at Invernahyle. He was buried at the back of the church of Lis- more, and his grave is marked by a plain stone, with a two-edged sword engraved on it. . . The Right Honourable Thomas Babington Macaulay, M. P. for Edinburgh, is grandson of the Rev. John Macaulay, who was minister of this parish previous to the year 1766. Captain Dugald Carmichael, whose name is mentioned above under the head Botany, was a native of Lismore. His knowledge of natural history in general was very extensive. After serving for a time as surgeon in the 72d Regiment of foot, he accepted a commission in the same regiment, where he continued to distin- guish himself until the conclusion of the late war. He then re- turned to his native parish, and spent the remainder of his life in * This humble mechanic soon bare for Donald an affection equal to that which he had for any of his own children, and, having no hope of ever being able to restore him to Invernahyle, resolved to bring him up as his son, to his own trade. Donald grew rapidly in stature and in strength; so much so, that, at sixteen years of age, he could wield a sledge hammer in each hand, and work at his foster father's anvil, and, at the same time, displayed a power and magnanimity of mind and sentiment far superior to any of the class with which he was associated. The blacksmith laid up these things in his heart, and from them predicted that his foster son would yet arrive at an eminence more suited to his mind and lineage than the hammer and the anvil, and resolved to give him all the assistance in his power in a two-edged sword which he made for him. When the sword was presented to Donald, he was told of his birth and lineage, and of the circumstance which brought him to Ardnamurchan; upon which he burned with rage, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to the man whom he always believed to be his father, he sallied forth from his obscurity, breath- ing revenge agrinst Cailein Uaine and his kindred, and, taking with him twelve of his companions from Ardnamurchan, he reached Corpach in Lochaber, where he forged in a smithy a two-edged sword for each of his followers, and with these he proceeded to Dunstaffnage, where he slew Cailein Uaine and fifteen of his retainers. After this he carried on an exterminating war against the Campbells, and could not be recon- ciled to them till the day of his death. 2.40 . A R GYLE SHIRE, the prosecution of his favourite studies. He died in Appin, and was buried in the churchyard of Lismore. The Rev. Donald M*Nicol, who was minister of Lismore before the last incumbent, was noted in his day for his learning, but par- ticularly on account of his admirable “Remarks upon Dr John- son's Tour through the Hebrides.” He was also an excellent Gaelic poet, and several of his pieces are preserved and repeated here. Land-owners.-The landowners in this parish are, Sir John Campbell of Ardnamurchan, Bart. who has lands both in Appin and Lismore; Robert Downie, Esq. of Appin; Messrs Stuart of Bailechelish ; Stewart of Ardsheal; Stewart of Fasnacloich ; Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern and Callart; Mr M*Donald of Glencoe ; Colonel Fleming of Kinlochlaich : Colonel Stewart of Achnacone; Mr M*Donald of Dalness; and Mr M*Call of Mine- field. The above are proprietors in Appin, and the following are proprietors in Lismore, viz. Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine; Mr Campbell of Baileveolan; Mr Campbell of Lochnell; Mr Cheyne of Kilmaron in Fifeshire, and Mr Levingston of Bachil. The whole of these land-owners, both in Lismore and Appin, ex- cept the last, have more than L.50 of yearly income. Parochial Registers.--The parish registers in this parish are by no means voluminous, nor do they seem to have been well-kept. The first volume contains sixty pages of foolscap quarto, sewed in a cover of brown paper. The first entry is dated at Kilmaluag, the 23d day of November 1757, and the volume served exactly for ten years. - Antiquities.—There are in this parish several ruins of ancient castles, but it is much to be regretted that little is known either of their dates, their builders, or the purposes for which they were erected. The first that we shall mention, is the castle of Island- stalker or rather Elein an stalcaire, which signifies the Island of the falconer. The founder was Duncan Stewart of Appin, who built it for the accommodation of James IV. who used to frequent these parts on hunting expeditions. Duncan of Appin himself was ap- pointed hereditary keeper of this castle, which is a square tower built upon a small rock in the Sound that separates Lismore from Appin, and is the property of Sir John Campbell of Ardnamurchan, his predecessor, Sir Donald Campbell having purchased it from Stewart of Appin for a small wherry. It appears to have contain- ed three storeys, and has the usual appendage of a prison vault LISMORE AND APPIN, 24+ dug in the rock underneath. It was new-roofed and floored by Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan in 1631 ; but some years previous to the Revolution of 1688, Airds (the proprietor) was de- prived of it as a dangerous person, and it was committed to the cus- tody of the tutor of Appin, (Stewart of Ardsheal,) who was after- wards reluctantly induced to restore it to the owner. It is pretty entire, as the roof was allowed to fall off, only a few years ago. Castle Shuna is an ancient ruin situated in the island of that name, the property of Mr Downie of Appin. It appears to be much older, and is much less entire than the one already men- tioned; yet I am told that it is by no means of so ancient a date, and that its appearance of antiquity arises from the circumstance of its never having been completed. The prison, in this case, is an arched vault, built above ground, and serves as the foundation on which the superstructure is reared. About the door of the vault is a circular tower, which must have served at once for a lobby and staircase leading up to the second storey, on which were the main apartments of the building. - On the property of Donald Campbell, Esq. of Baileveolan, in Lismore, stands Castle Coeffin, a very ancient building, whose ivy-covered walls present a singular appearance. From its style, it appears to be coeval with Castle Shuna, and the only tradition connected with it is, that it was built as a place of defence by a Danish Prince, called Coeffin. It is built upon a point jutting out into Linne-Sheilich, or Linne Loch, the arm of the sea that separates Kingerloch from Lismore, and commanding fully that sound. There is nothing remaining of it but broken walls. Right opposite, on the Kingerloch coast, is Castle Mearnaig, otherwise, the Castle of Glensanda, built upon the summit of a conical rock close to the shore, and about 150 feet high, and whose top is not broader than the base of the castle. This castle, from the style of its arehitecture, seems to be of less ancient date, and is more entire than Castle Coeffin. The flight of stairs mounting to the second story still remains, as also the fire-place and chimney- stalk of what appears to have been the principal apartment. It is an oblong building, 45 feet by 20, and 33 feet in height, and the side walls are entire. There is a beautiful echo in this castle. A person standing at a particular spot, about 350 yards from the castle, hears eight syllables distinctly repeated after he has ceased speak- ing. The Castle of Achinduin, in Lismore, on the property of Mr Campbell of Lochnell, was one of the places where the Bishop ARGYLE. Q 242 . AR GYLE SHIRE. of Argyle resided. It is a square building, of which nothing re- mains but the outward shell. It has an echo, but it is much less distinct than the one in the castle of Glensanda. - The oldest of all these ancient buildings in this parish is the eastle of Tirefoor, in Lismore, on the property of Sir John Camp- bell, as appears from its being built with dry stones without any Jime or mortar. It is formed of two concentric circles, the diameter of the inner one being about 20 feet. The space between the two circles is no more than sufficiently large to ad- mit of a man walking through, and is covered with flags placed across the tops of the walls, but it is now greatly filled up with rub- bish. It was evidently intended for a “beacon or watch-tower, and, accordingly, it is built upon an eminence commanding a most extensive view, so as to be seen from neighbouring towers and heights.” . The ruins of religious houses were already described in our at- tempt to give the etymology of the word Appin. They are the church of Island muncill-challum-chille ; Annaid and Clagh-chu- Tiollan. - The obelisks in the parish are only two ; one of them stands on the farm of Achar in Duror. It is an erect pillar, thirteen feet high, and gives its name to the farm on which it stands, i. e. Acha, a field, and Carragh, a pillar, the field of the pillar. The other is on the farm of Inverſolla in Strath of Appin. It is of the same size with the stone at Achar, but, having been by some means or other upset, it is now lying on the spot where it once stood. There was another on the glebe of Lismore, but it has been broken, at the height of three feet from the ground. Near it are the re- mains of some ancient walls, and tradition says that they were the walls of a sanctuary, whither malefactors of every description fled for refuge, during the darkness of past ages. The stone is called in Gaelic, Clach na h’eala, “ the stone of the swan.” And it is said that the malefactor fleeing to the sanctuary was safe, when once he laid his hand upon the horn of the altar, Clach na h’eala, and after remaining a year and a day within the walls, he came out absolved from all his crimes. The burying-ground of Lismore, which is a small knoll near the church, is commonly called the Cross, from the circumstance of a stone cross having once stood upon its summit, the pedestal of which is still seen, being a square block of stone, sunk in the earth until its upper face is level with the surface, and having a tenor or square socket dug out of its J I, ISMORE AND AP PIN. 243 centre, into which an upright slab was put down and so made to stand. It was at this cross, that marriage banns used to be pub- lished, and the custom was continued until about twenty or thirty years ago. The friends of both parties assembled at the cross, to the number of perhaps forty or fifty people, on Sabbath morn- ing, and it did not signify whether there was a sermon in the church or not ; the clerk issued the proclamations amid the huz- zas of the company, after which they all retired to the public- house, and spent the remaining part of the day in drinking, and frequently concluded the scene with a battle. Happily the last incumbent succeeded in abolishing this unseemly practice, and the cross of Lismore is now only a name. Near the cross there was, at some remote period, a small church or chapel built; and close to the place where it stood, there were dug out of a grave, about nine years ago, a pair of brazen candlesticks, of plain workmanship, and in good preservation, and as they were found by some of Lochnell's tenants, they were carried to Loch- nell House in the parish of Ardchattan. In a piece of new trench- ed ground near the church, there were found, within the last few weeks, two silver coins ; the one is about the breadth of a four- penny piece of the present day, but very thin. On the one side there is a cross, formed by lines intersecting one another at right angles at the centre, and extending to the rim, and the point of intersection is the centre of a circle smaller than the coin, and formed, as it were, of a string of beads. On the reverse there is a smaller circle enclosing a head wearing a crown, and on the space between the circumference of these circles and the edge of the coin there are some characters, but so much corroded that it is impossible to decypher them. The other coin is nearly similar, but larger than a sixpence, and the head on it wears a large wig under the crown. There were also found some cop- per pins resembling small skewers, and a small copper key, ex- ceedingly simple, and of a very rude form, and a stone needle about four inches long and four-sided ; the eye is quite entire and considerably worn, as it would appear, by the thread. These things are now in the minister's possession. There were also found among the trenches, querns, grindstones, and pieces of red deer's horns, and along a certain line there were spikes of black oak about the shape and size of a ploughshare, driven headlong into the earth at about three yards distance from one another. There ‘244 ... ARGYLESHIRE. were half a dozen of them, and the upper end of each was a foot below the surface. - There are some Druidical cairns or conical heaps of stones in several places in this parish. One them, which is of a considera- ble size, and of a regular conical shape, stands near the church, on the farm of Bachil, the property of Mr Coll Levingstone. It is called Cnoc aingil, “fiery knoll,” as tradition, or rather supersti- tion says, that it used to foretell an invasion, by appearing “all in a lowe.” There are several of these tumuli on the property of Mr Stuart of Bailechelish, who, a few years ago, began to remove one of them with a view to clear the field in which it stood, of what he believ- ed to be merely a heap of stones, but, as the workmen proceeded, they found in the centre of the tumulus a rude stone coffin con- taining nothing within it, and instead of removing the whole, as was first intended, Mr Stuart, with proper feeling, ordered the sa- cred relic to be left undisturbed ; built a wall round the place, planted some trees within the enclosure, and reared a stone pillar, on which is engraved the time when, and the circumstances un- der which, they were found. - The quern or ancient hand-mill is still in use in some parts of this parish. The writer lately saw it in full operation in Kinger- loch, grinding corn, and he never tasted better oatmeal than that which it produced. It was a very simple apparatus, consisting of a nether and an upper stone, and a hand to drive the latter round. In the centre of the nether stone, which was about two feet in dia- meter, there was a wooden peg firmly fastened, and through the centre of the upper stone there was a hole sufficiently large to re- ceive easily the foresaid peg when the stones were laid upon one another in working order. The purpose of this peg was to keep the upper stone from flying off by its centrifugal force during its revolutions. On the upper surface of the upper stone, and near its edge, there was another hole bored half through, into which was inserted another stick, which is the hand by which the mill is driven. - III.-PopULATION. . The population of this parish has increased considerably, since the last Statistical Account was written. The parish at that time contained 3526 souls, of whom 1121 were in Lismore; but in 1831 the population was 4865, and of these 1497 were in Lismore. I, ISMORE AND AP PIN. 245. Since 1831, however, the population of Lismore has decreased to 1430 Souls, owing to emigration, while the population of Appin remained stationary. - There is no register of burials kept. The average number of persons under 15 years of age, is . I 600 between 15 and 30, gº | 200 30 and 50, . ... 1008 50 and 70, e 485 upwards of 70, & ge 88 The number of landed proprietors having more than L. 50 a- year, 16. Average number of children in each family, 6. Num- ber of fatuous persons in the parish, 5. - The language generally spoken is Gaelic, and there are many of the natives who understand no other, particularly those who are somewhat advanced in years. Marriage ceremonies are always performed in the church, par- ticularly in Lismore; and the only music that is used, either at weddings or balls, is that of the bagpipe. The violin is used in Appin and Kingerloch on such occasions. Baptism is also gene- rally administered in the church, but not always on Sabbath, that salutary practice being yet only partially introduced. The child is brought to the church on week-days; and there is this peculiarity, that, whereas in most other places there is only one godfather and godmother, in Lismore every person that is present, when it is done on a week-day, stands in that relation to the child. The father goes round the company with the child, dipping, it upon their arms as he passes along, and then they are all goistidhs, i. e. godfathers and godmothers, together. There are 1430 peo- ple in Lismore, and these are so closely connected by blood rela- tionship and intermarriage, that they are all near relations to one another. A Lismore man seldom takes a wife from any other place; but although, as a body, they are relations and friendly to one another, yet there is a remnant of ancient feudalism still lin- gering among them. Every sept or clan stands by itself, to sup- port one another against any other sept or clan that may wish to encounter them; but although they sometimes in this way quarrel at home, yet when abroad at markets they are very faithful to one another, and woe betide the unfortunate stranger who may attempt to insult the least of them. The same customs prevail in Appin as in Lismore, 246 -- A R GY LESHIRE, IV.-INDUSTRY. - Agriculture.—The number of acres standard imperial measure, in the parish, which are either cultivated or occasionally in tillage, may be stated, as nearly as it can be ascertained, at about 4000, which, subtracted from 357,760, being the number of acres in the parish, leaves 349,760 acres which never have been cultivated; and it is believed that not more than 250 acres could, with a profitable application of capital, be added to the cultivated land in the district. It is true, that there are in the parish large tracts of waste land that could be brought under the plough, but the ex- pense of doing so would be greater than the profit that could rea- sonably be expected to arise from it. The number of acres under wood may be reckoned at about 4000, and these woods consist of oak, elm, ash, birch, hazel, holly, and the different species of firs. It is difficult to state with accuracy the average rent of the parish per acre of arable land, but an approximation to it may be stated at about L. 1, 2s. 6d.,-bearing, however, in mind, that some lands, particularly in Lismore, where there is no hill pasture, pay at the rate, perhaps, of L. l, 10s. per acre of their surface; while some farms in Appin and Kingerloch, owing to the vast extent of waste land they contain, do not pay more, perhaps, than ls, the acre of their surface. The rate of grazing in the parish is about L. 2 Sterling a-year per ox or cow grazed, and 3s. per ewe or full- grown sheep that is pastured for the year. The black-faced Highland sheep are the most common in the parish, but there are a few Cheviots now beginning to be intro- duced. Mr Downie of Appin, and Mr Stuart of Bailechelish, have considerable flocks of these; and the former of these gentle- men is now experimenting on crossing them with the Leicester tup, in full expectation of improving them materially. Various improvements have lately been made in the husbandry of the parish by way of reclaiming waste land, draining, enclosing and top-dressing. Sir John Campbell of Airds has, within the last few years, been at considerable expense in reclaiming waste land, and further operations of the same kind are in progress. Colonel Stewart of Achnacone is also engaged in the same way, and has introduced tile-draining with great effect, and Mr Forbes of Kingerloch has, like his neighbours in Appin, added of late a considerable portion to his cultivated lands. Nor are the Lis- more people altogether inactive. Draining and enclosing are commenced, and the rotation system is partially introduced. But T, ISMO RE AND A PPI N. 247 although some improvements were made in these respects, yet there is room for a great deal more, and by the application of ca- pital in this way, the value of property might be greatly increased. Farm-houses and steadings were formerly of the most ordinary description; indeed, they were far from being comfortable; but these are also improved, and in every instance where new ones are erected, they are constructed on a more comfortable scale. Quarries and Mines.—There are several appearances of lead mines to be found in Appin, but only one of them on the property of Mr M*Coll of Minefield was attempted to be wrought, and it did not turn out to any advantage. There is also some appearance of marble in Appin, but no attempt was ever made to work it. There is at the foot of Glencoe, on the farm of Laroch, the pro- perty of Charles Stuart, Esq. of Bailechelish, a slate quarry, which has for many years been extensively wrought, and from which large quantities of the best slates are yearly manufactured. The fol- lowing information relative to the management and manner of working the quarry of Bailechelish was obligingly communicated by Henry Stuart, Esq. the proprietor's brother. “Some time previous to 1760, the grandfather of the present proprietor opened a vein of slate on his property, and wrought it suc- cessfully for many years. Another adjoining to that which was first wrought, possessing greater natural facilities for quarrying, having been discovered, the works were gradually removed to it, where they have been in operation for upwards of fifty years. These veins are on opposite sides of a valley, and are of such extent that they may be said to be inexhaustible, the one now quarried being the lesser of the two. The quality of the slate in both is the same. The quarries now wrought are on the side of a high mountain, which rises out of an arm of the sea called Lochleven, a branch of the Linnhe loch. The vein of slate, which is at an angle of about 80°, commences at the shore, and stretches southward along the side of the mountain for a short distance, and then runs into the centre of it. The face of the rock is laid open by workings fronting the west, the inclination of the vein being towards the east. The workings are conducted in three levels, rising above each other as steps of stairs. All the levels are entered from the north, that end of the vein which abuts upon the sea. The total height of the works from the bottom of the lowest level to the extreme height of the rock, is about 216 feet, and the rock wrought ex- 248 A 18 GYLE SHIRE. tends to about 536 feet in length. The first or lowest level enters from the high road, which passes between it and the sea, at a height of about 28 feet above half-tide mark. A tram road ex- tends from along the whole face of the rock to a bank formed in the sea by the rubbish of the quarries thrown over. Along this road, the whole quarried rock is carried by means of trains of wag- gons, and the blocks which contain workable slates are manufac- tured into their various sizes on the bank, and the unproductive part, or rubbish, is tumbled into the sea. - The second level is 66 feet above the bottom of the first, and communicates in the same manner with another bank, also formed in the sea by an arch thrown over the high road, where the produce is disposed of in the same way as in the first. - The third level is 74 feet above the bottom of the second, and rises to the extreme height of the hill in that part, which is 76 feet from its bottom. The produce of this third level is conveyed down an inclined plane, by means of a fly-wheel, to the same bank where the second is emptied. It is in contemplation to open a lower level, from the level of half-tide mark, to be wrought in succession to those now in opera- tion, to reach which it will be necessary to tunnel under the high road. It will be observed, that all these levels being above the level of the Sea, and open to it, no interruption to the work can ever arise from an accumulation of water, as it is drawn off into the sea, as it arises. - The slates are all manufactured by contract, the rock being let annually to several parties, consisting generally of four men, each party being called a “ crew,” and paid at a stipulated rate for the number of slates which they make within the period of the agreement. The workmen keep up their tools, and pay for the powder that is used in blasting the rock, and the master maintains the tram roads, and furnishes waggons. The blocks of rock which contain slate are separated from the rubbish within the quarries, and are conveyed from thence to sheds on the banks, where they are split to the proper thickness, and shaped into the various sizes that are made. When the rock is friendly, one man splitting gives full employment to the cutter, and a crew is said to do well when two men quarrying can keep the other two employed in splitting and shaping. The proportion of the whole rock which is convertible into roof slate is, on an average, one to seven of refuse or rub- bish. I, ISMORE AND A PPIN. 249 The harbour, which is safe and commodious, is formed by the banks of rubbish projecting into the sea on each side, which com- pletely shelter it from all winds. There is an extensive wharf for shipping, alongside of which vessels of any size can lie to receive their cargoes. The manufactured slates are conveyed for shipment from the banks by tram roads on inclined planes, to the vessel's side. The distance to the farthest off part of the rock which is wrought, to the shipping wharf, is 650 yards. The colour of the slate is deep blue, spangled with pyrites cal- led by the workmen “diamonds,” and these gold-coloured drops are so firmly incorporated with the slate, that they can never be separated from them. The slates are allowed to possess, in a pre- eminent degree, all the qualities of permanence of colour, and du- rability of material essential to roof-slate. The various descrip- tions of slates manufactured are as follows: Duchesses, 24 in- ches by 12 inches; Countesses, 20 do. by 10 do. ; sizeable, aver- aging 14 do. by 8 do. ; under size, do. do. The nature of the rock does not admit of an extensive manufacture of the larger sizes, the chief production being the sizeable and under-sized. The quantity produced annually of the above-mentioned kinds va- ries from about 8000 to 11,000 tons; or in numbers, from five to seven millions of slates of all kinds. They are shipped to almost all the sea ports in Scotland and Northumberland, from which they find their way to most parts of the kingdom. Occasional shipments of them are made to America and the West Indian co- lonies, not directly from the quarries, but from ports trading to these countries. Besides the various kinds of roof.slates enume- rated above, pavement, gravestones, and soles for drain tiles are manufactured; but the production for those purposes is limited, and the consumption local. The whole number of persons employed in the works is about 300 of all ages, including blacksmiths, carpenters, and other tradesmen. The average rate of wages earned by the quar- riers is about 12s. each per week, but this is unequally distri- buted among them, as the earning of each individual depends, from the nature of the contract, on the productiveness in slate, of the part of the rock in which he works, and very much on the col- lective energy of the crew to which he belongs. It frequently hap- pens that an able and well-matched crew earn individually L.1 per week, and occasionally even more. As the most efficient men find employment as quarriers, and the nature of the other work not be- 250 A R \, Y LESH IR. E. . . ing laborious, the wages of a day-labourer vary from 1s. 6d. to 1s. 10d. per day. A particularly able workman, when required, re- ceives 2s, and sometimes 2s. 6d. per day, but the number employ- ed on day's wages at the latter rate is small and occasional. Lads from fifteen to twenty years of age earn ls, to ls. 6d. a-day, and boys from ten to fifteen years, 6d. to 1s. These rates of wages are applicable alike to the summer and winter seasons. Besides those day-labourers employed by the master, crews are frequently in the habit of hiring in men and boys to assist them when they find it their interest so to do, but all are under the control of the master as if directly hired by himself. With a very few exceptions, the workmen are all the descendants of the original inhabitants of the immediate neighbourhood of the quarries, such as are not being chiefly from the adjoining districts; and as employment can be obtained at an early age, the boys generally follow the calling of their fathers, and a very effective body of workmen is thus kept up. Indeed no man can become dexterous in the various depart- ments of the manufacture of slates unless he is trained to it from his youth, for nothing but experience can enable a man to judge of the quality of the rock on which he is engaged, and understand the best way of working it; and it requires early and continued practice, to become expert at splitting and cutting slates. Upwards of three-fourths of the men employed in the quarries have their houses on the Bailechelish estate, and the houses are built with stone and lime, and slated. The accommodation in each is three apartments, all plastered, with chimnies and grates in the principal one, and an open garret above. To most of them a cow- house is attached, as almost every man with a family has a cow, which is pastured on the adjoining hill, and also a piece of ground, which produces annually from two to two and a half tons of pota- toes, as well as a small vegetable garden. A man occupying a house of the best description of those just mentioned, pays of year- ly rent for the house, L.2, 5s. ; pasture of cow, L.1, 6s. ; potato ground, &c. 15s. ; total, L. 4, 6s. It is, perhaps, worthy of re- mark, that the land occupied as potato ground has been exclusive- ly planted with that crop ever since its introduction to this country upwards of seventy years ago, and that at this time, the produce, both in quantity and quality, is equal, if not superior, to that of ad- joining lands which undergo a rotation of crops. The fuel used is entirely coals, which are brought in at a moderate freight, by vessels coming for slates. • LISMORE AND A PP] N. - £5 1 On the whole, the condition of the quarriers is, in most respects, superior to that of the people in the same station of life in the sur- rounding country. They are sensible of the advantages which they enjoy, and are an orderly and generally a well-behaved body of men in every respect.” - W.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. Market-Town.—The nearest market-town to the parish is Oban, which is ten miles by land from Appin, and seven miles by sea from Lismore. Here there is a ready market, to a consider- able extent, for every kind of produce, and here also can every kind of supplies be obtained; but since steam navigation bas been established on the western coast, the principal trade is with Glas- gow and the south. \ Villages.—The villages in the parish are Clachan and Port- ramsay in Lismore ; Port-Appin, Tayribbi, and Portnacroish in Appin, on the slate quarry of Laroch in Glencoe. In each of these three small villages there is a public-house, a shop, and a smithy, except Portramsay, which is rather a fishing village; and there are shoemakers, carpenters, and weavers in or in the imme- diate neighbourhood of each. The population of the largest of these villages does not amount to 100, with the exception of La- roch, which contains about 500, and is a growing place, owing to its trade in slates. Means of Communication, &c.—There is a great improvement in the post-office since the old Statistical Account was written. It was about that time that the post-office was first established in Appin, and the mail came only three times a week from Inverary; but now there is a daily post, contributing greatly to the improve- ment of the parish; and there is a penny-post at Lismore, to which there is a runner twice a week from Appin. There is also a penny-post in Kingerloch, to which there is a runner twice a week from Strontian. So easy and expeditious is now the com- munication with the south, that the newspaper that is published in Glasgow in the morning is in Appin that night, and may be, and often is, in Lismore next morning. Another easy mode of commu- nication is by the steamers, which pass twice a week through the pa- rish during summer, and once a week during winter, and to Glas- gow, Inverness, Mull, and Skye. By these steamers, passengers and goods are conveyed speedily, and at a cheap rate, to and from every part of the country. There are no tolls in this parish. The roads are kept in excellent order, particularly in Appin, by con- 252 AR GYLE SH 1 R E. verted statute labour. The roads in Lismore are not so good, and there are scarcely any roads at all in Kingerloch, if we except two or three miles, which the proprietor made near the mansion house. . - Ecclesiastical State.—The Duke of Argyle is patron, and the parish church of Lismore is situated about three miles from the east end of the island, and seven miles from the west end. Ac- cording to the old Statistical Account, it was the chancel of the old Popish cathedral, and received its present roof in 1749. The fabric is supposed to have been placed so near the Appin end of the island, for the purpose of accommodating the Appin people, when there was no church in that part of the parish. The church of Appin, which is situated in the district of Strath, was built in 1749. It is conveniently situated, being not farther than three miles from the extremities of the district attached to it all round. The church of Lismore accommodates 550, and the church of Appin 400 sitters. The seats are all free, as is generally the case in all country parish churches. The area is apportioned among the heritors, according to their valued rents, and the tenants of each have a right to free seats in the portion of the church be- longing to their landlords. Paupers have an equal right, and strangers are never refused admittance into any seat in which there is room. - The manse was repaired about thirty years ago, and is at pre- sent receiving further repairs, and a large addition. Both churches were repaired during the incumbency of the late minister. The extent of the glebe is ten acres, between arable and pas- ture, and is valued at L.20 Sterling. The amount of the stipend is 134 chalders of victuals, half meal half barley, paid in money according to the fiar prices of the county ; besides this, there is also a little money. - • * There are no chapels of ease attached to the parish; but there is a Government church at Duror, a district of Appin, situated about nine miles from the church of Appin ; and to it are attach- ed the districts of Duror and Glencoe, quoad sacra. There are two missionaries on the Royal Bounty establishment in the parish. One of them is in Kingerloch ; but his services are equally di- vided between Kingerloch and Achaghavil, a district of the pa- rish of Morven. He officiates alternately at each station; but there is no church at either. The people of Kingerloch assemble in the inn, and those of Achaghayil in one of the neighbour's - 4 * LISMORE AND AP PIN. * 253 houses. The other missionary is placed between Glencoe and Glencreran, in the parish of Appin, and Glenetive in the parish of Ardchattan. His services are intended to be equally divided between the three glens. His charge is exceedingly difficult, ow- ing to the great distances over hill and dale, that he has to travel; and it often happens in stormy weather, that he is not able to ob- serve the regular rotation. - There are two Episcopalian chapels in this parish; one near the slate quarry in Glencoe, and the other at Portnacroish, in Strath of Appin, and these are served by the same minister who offici- ates alternately in each, to respectable congregations. The ma- jority of the heritors of Appin are of this persuasion, and I am glad to have this opportunity of bearing testimony to their good wishes to the Establishment, as well as their kindness to its minis- ters. I do not think that there is a parish in Scotland in which, the Episcopalian heritors deserve at the hands of the Establish- ment more honourable mention to be made of their names. The Roman Catholic Seminary, which was planted in Lismore in 1801, was removed from the island in 1881, and left no vestige of that religion behind them; but there is a Catholic chapel and priest's house near the slate quarry of Bailechelish. There are fifteen fa- milies of them in that locality, of people who came there origin- ally from other places, to work in the quarries, and eventually got themselves established there with families. The priest of Fort- William visits them frequently and remains among them for a short period at a time, and I believe that there is a priest about to be, if he is not already, established permanently among them. Bishop Scott, otherwise Bishop of Eretria, residing in Glas- gow, is their Bishop. Besides these, there are no other Dissen- ters or Seceders in the parish, except three or four Anabap- tists in Lismore. The number of communicants in the Es- tablished Church is about 900, and divine service is generally well attended. Formerly the sacrament used to be dispensed al- ternately in Lismore and Appin, but for the last three years it has been dispensed both in Lismore and in Appin yearly. Education.—There are eight schools in the parish, and of these six are parochial, of which two are in Lismore, the parochial stent being divided among them. From the principal school in Appin, there emanated three branches, one of them is in Glen- creran, one in Gleneoe, and the other in Duror, and each of the teachers gets a portion of the parochial salary. Besides these, 254 ARGY LESHIRE, there are two schools taught on the teacher's own adventure; one in Lismore and one in Appin, but these are not of a perma- nent character, as the teachers are employed from time to time by the parents. The branches of education usually taught in all these schools, are Gaelic and English reading, writing, arithmetic, and book-keeping, also English Grammar and Latin, and oc- casionally the elementary parts of mathematics. - Schoolmaster’s Salaries.— Principal School of Lismore, stent, L.17; Queen Anne's mortification, L. 10 ; probable amount of school fees, L. 10:—Second school of Lismore, stent, L.19; pro- bable amount of school fees, L. 12:—First school of Appin, stent, L.20; Queen Anne's mortification, L. 10; probable amount of school fees, L. 10:—School of Glencoe, stent, L. 18; probable amount of school fees, L8:—School of Duror, stent, L.8; pro- bable amount of school fees, L.6:—School of Glencreran, stent, L.6; probable amount of school fees, L.5. The expense of edu- cation per quarter, ranges from 1s, to 2s. 6d. for common branches of instruction. For book keeping and mathematics, 3s., and La- tin 5s, a quarter. The people are better educated now, than they were forty years ago. There are few, if any, in the parish be- tween six and fifteen years who were not at school; indeed, there are few under forty who cannot read and write, but there may be 200 above that age who have got no education whatever. Poor—The number of persons on the permanent roll is 78; and although there is but little money to be divided among them yearly, yet they are upon the whole pretty well supported. The people are very attentive to their wants, and give them both food and raiment where most wanted: a duty which is indispensable, as the pittance which they receive in money, being not more than about 10s. 6d. for each person yearly, would go but a short way to maintain them. This sum arises from collections at the church doors; from donations given by some of the heritors at the time of dividing the poor's money; from benefactions of a few benevo- lent people deceased, and from mortcloth dues, and other dues levied in the parish. The late Mr Stewart of Fasnacloich has mortified L. 100 for behoof of the poor of Appin, the interest to be divided among them yearly, and this is done by the present Fasnacloich, who is the donor’s grandson. The late Dr Stewart of Kil, in Appin, who died about fifteen years ago, bequeathed L. 100 Sterling to the poor of the parish, with instructions that, at all events, the interest, and if need be, part of the capital should LISMORE AND APPIN. 255 be given yearly, so long as the legacy lasts. This money is in the hands of Mr Downie of Appin, who implements regularly the testator's will, and, as drafts are made upon the capital, the money is now more than half expended. Besides these there is no other mode of providing funds for the benefit of the poor. There is no prison in the parish, and there is but little use for any such erec- tion, for although many of the people are poor, yet they are honest, and otherwise well behaved, so that the police is a sinecure and the constable only a name. - Fairs.—There is only one fair held annually in Lismore, on the last Tuesday of October, but few strangers resort to it. It is held for the purpose of selling off any cattle that may remain unsold to the drovers who come to the island during the year to purchase stock for the south country markets. Such remains of stock as may be exhibited at this fair are generally either not sold at all, or exchanged among the people themselves, so that the Lismore market is but of little consequence. There are two fairs held yearly at Duror, in Appin: the one takes place in April, and the other in October. There are also cattle markets held in that locality, in order that the cattle from the neighbouring districts may be brought there to meet the drovers on their way from the north to the south country markets. Inns.—The public-houses in the parish are numerous, and more so than they ought to be. There is an excellent inn at the ferry of Bailechelish, on the north; and there are also inns at Shian ferry, on the south; at the ferry of Port Appin; and at the ferry of Crigan, on Lochcreran. A few miles north of these, is the inn at Portnacroish; and still farther north, and within five miles of the inn of Bailechelish, there is the Duror inn; and there is also a small public-house at the farm of Clachaig, in Glencoe, which is very useful to people passing through the glen. These seem to be necessary, as the most of them are at the ferries; but there are, besides these, several other little dram-shops, which are by no means necessary. - Fuel.—The fuel generally used in this parish is peats, and “the process of making them in Lismore is very difficult, as they are first tramped and wrought with men's feet, and then formed by women’s hands, all which is necessary, as the moss or stuff from which they are made, contains no fibres to make them cohere or stick together. This tedious operation consumes much of the farmer's time, which, in a grain country, might be employed to 256 AR GYLE SHIRE, better advantage in manuring and improving his land.” The peats are now become scarce in Lismore, and consequently the people are under the necessity of going to a great distance for them over seas to Kingerloch, and Benderloch, in the parish of Ardchattan, so that, from the time, and trouble, and expense which are requir- ed to make and bring home the peats, first by boats over the seas, and then by carts overland, it would be cheaper for the people to burn coals. In Appin and Kingerloch the peats are made at much less expense, as they are found near at hand, and, from the fibrous and adhesive quality of the moss, are capable of being easily cut by an iron instrument made for the purpose. MiscELLAN Eous OBSERVATIONS. . It appears to me that Lismore is well calculated for a manufac- turing district, and I have little doubt that an establishment of the kind would be very beneficial to the parish, as it would open a source of employment and gain to the superabundance of the po- pulation. There is a never-failing supply of water to drive any machinery; abundance of excellent and peaceable work people would be got in the parish ; and the land, if attended to, would produce ample provision for a large establishment, which would bring money into the country ; and as steam communication is so easy, the raw material might be brought from Glasgow. in four-and-twenty hours, and the manufactured goods might be landed there in equally short time. Liverpool, too, is within two days' voyage of Lismore, so that, in every point of view, I think that capital in the hands of enterprising parties might be turned to good account, at the same time that the country would be be- nefited by the establishment of some manufactory in Lismore. 184 l. PARISH OF SOUTH KNAPDALE.” PRESBYTERY OF INVERA RY, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, MINISTER. H.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—IN Gaelic “ Knap” means hill, and “Daill” a plain, a field, or a dale. “ Knapdale,” therefore, signifies a district of country composed of hills and dales. . The name is derived from, and is very descriptive of, the ap- pearance of that part of the country of which South Knapdale forms a portion. The district of Kuapdale is divided into two pa- rishes, the one north, the other south, to distinguish them accord- ing to their relative geographical position. Boundaries.—South Knapdale is bounded on the north by North Knapdale; on the north-east, by Kilmichael Glassery, and Lochgilphead ; on the east and south-east, by Loch fine, East Loch Tarbert, the isthmus of Tarbert, and West Loch Tarbert; on the south by the parish of Kilberry; and on the west, by the Sound of Jura. * Extent.—From Daill on the north-east, to Barnellan on the south-east, the length, by following the line of the public road, is about 24 miles. From Lochfine to Lochsween, the breadth of the parish is about 10 miles, so that the superficial extent may be computed at 240 square miles ; of this surface, however, a space of 80 square miles or thereby is occupied by Locheaolis- port, leaving an area of about 160 square miles. As there has been no regular survey of the parish, this is merely an approxima- tion to the true extent. Topographical Appearances.—The surface of the parish is ex- tremely hilly, approaching rather to the mountainous. The hill of Lliabh Goail, which extends from Inverneill to Barnellan, a distance of twelve miles, is the highest in the parish. The view from its summit is varied, extensive, and interesting. No * Drawn up by the late incumbent, the Rev. Duncan Rankin. ARGYLE. tº R. 258 A R Us YLE SH 1 R F • smooth or undulating outline meets the eye at any point, but all is sharp, rugged, and abrupt. The many lochs and arms of the sea give a character to the whole, which no inland view can ever possess. The mouth of the Clyde, the Kyles of Bute, the Sound of Kilbrannan, the North Channel towards Ireland, West Loch Tarbert, the Sound of Jura, Lochcaolisport, and Lochfine are distinctly visible from the top of Lliabh Gaoil; and yet so completely is the distance occupied by the islands which are in- terspersed in every direction, that the Atlantic is nowhere wi- sible. - º Turn the eye to any point you choose, and the prospect from the top of this hill is most extensive ; Bute with the Cumbray Isles, and the coast of Ayrshire are seen in one direction; Arran with its splintered peaks is a most conspicuous object; Kintyre is visi- ble throughout its whole extent; Ireland with the Isle of Rathlin, are so distinctly seen, that few people would believe them to be fifty miles distant. The northern parts of Ireland appear high, and in exact keeping with the other objects around; Gigha, and the little isles at the point of Knap come next; Isla, as seen from this- hill, has not a striking appearance, but its neighbour, Jura, amply makes up for its deficiencies; Scarba appears, what it is in reality, a high mountain rising at once from the sea; Mull is seen very high, and there is a bolder swell about its mountains than those of Arran, which gives it a grander appearance. Ben Cruachan and Ben Lomond are boldly in relief, as well as many of the Perthshire mountains, the tops of which are clearly seen from Lliabh Gaoil. Other hills of less height and interest run parallel with Lliabh Gaoil, and are separated from one another by deep and well-sheltered dales. * The extent of arable land bears but a small proportion to the pasture, and is very much intersected by hills and marshy grounds. With regard to the pasture in the valleys, it is very good; but to- wards the summits of the hills, it becomes rather coarse and scanty. e” Hydrography.—There are five or six lakes in the parish, most of which abound with salmon trout of good quality and flavour. These lakes, however, add very little beauty or interest to the landscape, as, with the exception of one or two, they are not to be seen, except from the summits of the highest hills in the parish. The parish abounds with rivers and streamlets, all of which are fordable in summer. During the floods of winter, the larger ones - | SOUTH KN APDALE. 259 in many parts are impassable, and even the smallest assumes a formidable appearance. Most of them afford some amusement to the angler, but the best trouting streams are the Ormsary and Lochhead rivers. Such of them as pass in the direction of the principal roads, have bridges thrown over them. k Lochcaolisport is an arm of the Atlantic, which intersects the western part of the parish for five or six miles. The western shore of the loch is bold, abrupt, and rocky; the eastern side rises gradually from the water's edge; and both sides are richly clothed with copsewood. There are several beautiful hays in the loch, which afford safe anchorage. The best anchorage, however, is at the head of the loch, within Ellanfada. This island affords shel- ter from the heavy swells occasioned by the south-west gales. From the northern blast, the anchorage is protected by the am- phitheatre of hills which surround the head of the loch. The water is shallow, and the beach extends a considerable distance from high-water mark, and is still receding. This appears from a stratum of shell-land, which is met with in the glebe about two feet under the surface. The same stratum is distinctly seen on the banks of the Lochhead river. By an artificial embankment, a considerable addition might be made to the arable lands of Balla- gheamhragan, and Clachbreck, the properties of Mr Campbell of Ormsary and Mr Campbell of Kilberry respectively. There are several islets in the loch and on the coast off the point of Knap, Ellan-fada, already mentioned, Ellan-na-muick, and Lea-Ellan. Close to the point of Knap there is a rock, on which the M*Mil- lan's charter to the lands of Knap is said to have been engraved in Celtic characters. Of this no trace now remains, nor do the M‘Millans possess any part of the lands of Knap. To the south- west of the point of Knap, there is a dangerous sunk rock called Bow-Knap, the top of which is seen at low-water during spring- tides. Near the coast, on the north-west side, is Ellan-na-leek. All these are the property of Duncan Campbell, Esq. of Ross. There are also Ellan-more, Ellan-na-gambna, and Core-Ellan, the property of Neil Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch. All these islands are famed for the quality of the beef and mutton produced by them. In this loch, a great variety of fish is caught, viz. Sal- mon, trout, haddock, whiting, sethe, ling, skate, turbot, hallibut, flounders, sole, &c. The John T)ory is occasionally caught in it. Formerly herrings regularly frequented the loch, but, for some years past, they have mostly deserted it. When they do appear, 260 A R G Y LESH 1 RE, they remain but a very short time, disappointing the hopes of the fishermen. For some seasons, there had been a salmon-fish- ery at Corie. It was found not to pay, and has been given up. The quality of the salmon was excellent. Mussels are found in great abundance, but are not of a good quality, and are used only for bait. Oysters are found in small quantities. A few cockles, limpets, and spout-fish, are also to be found about the shores of the loch. - - Woods,--There is a considerable extent of ground under wood, both natural and planted. The plantations consist of larch, Scotch spruce, and silver firs, ash, beech, plane, and willow of many kinds. The natural and indigenous trees are chiefly oak, ash, birch, hazel, and holly, &c. The natural wood is both orna- mental and useful,-useful for its timber and bark, and also be- cause of the shelter it affords wintering cattle. There is a good deal of young plantation put down, which, in process of time, will tend much to beautify the landscape, and in- crease the value of property. The oldest, largest, and finest trees are to be seen at Achindarroch, Inverneill, and Barmore. The young plantations at Ormsary are very extensive, and (except on the tops of the hills) very thriving. When Mr Campbell com- pletes his plan of continuing them to the shore on the south, and laying down some clumps to the north of the house, Ormsary will be one of the best sheltered and beautiful places of residence to be met with. There is an excellent garden and tasteful shrub- bery near the mansion. The old garden, now forming part of the shrubbery, was, in the days of yore, from its productiveness, called the orchard of Caoliside. - Botany.—All the principal residences in the parish have their gardens, their flower-plots, and shrubberies, in which may be seen the ordinary flowers and plants, both indigenous and exotic. The rarest plants noticed in the parish are the following, viz. Nuphar pumila Nymphaea alba Epipactis ensifolia Listera Nidus. Avis Rumex maritimus Samolus Valerandi Drosera Anglica Cotyledon Umbilicus I obelia Dortmanna Parnassia palustris Pinguicula Lusitanica ——— rotundifolia cordata Corallorhiza innata Habenaria bifolia Pyrola media Hypericum elodes Anagallis tenella Lycopus Europaeus Jasione montana — vulgaris Saxifraga stellaris Hypericum Androsaemum Chrysosplenum alternifo- — quadrangulum lium Convolvulus sepium *- —— oppositifo- Circaea lutetiana lium Alchemilla alpina vulgaris Saxifraga azoides Lythrum salicaria Aster trifolium Crithmum maritimum Žoology.—There is nothing remarkable in the zoology of this SOUTH KNAPDALE. 261 parish. Roe deer, hares, and the common sorts of game are found in it. Pheasants have been lately introduced, and are in- creasing. Immense flocks of widgeons annually visit Lochcaolis- port, and remain from the month of October till the month of April, In, severe winters, a few swans are seen in the loch, and remain for some time. Insects.-The rarer insects found in the parish are the follow- ing, Viz. - Circumdila campestris Geotrupes sylvaticus Helodes Philandrii Carabus nitens Phylopertha horticola Helops pallidus glabratus Celasua aurata Aloptrus trigultatus avensis - Lamia textor Rhagium bifasciatum —— clathratus Elater Heloseiceus Eliosiocampa nuestria Tachypus Andreae Lampyris noctiluca Xerene hastata Nicrophagus humator Donacia micans Plychopoda marginata, &c. II.-Civil, HISTORY. + The district of Knapdale appears to have been originally in possession of two clans, now nearly extinct in that quarter, the MacMillans and the MacNeills. Professor Skene, in his work on the Highlands of Scotland, states, that the greater part of South Knapdale was possessed by a branch of the clan Gille Mhaoil, where their chief was known by the name of MacMillan of Knap; and though the fa- mily is now extinct, many records of their former power are still to be found in the district. One of the towers of that fine ancient edifice, Castle Sween, in North Knapdale, bears the name of MacMillan's Tower; and there is a stone cross in the old churchyard of Kilmory Knap, upwards of twelve feet high, richly sculptured, which has upon one side the representation of a High- land chief engaged in hunting the deer, with the following inscrip- tion in ancient Saxon characters underneath the figure : “Haec est Crux Alexandre MacMillan.” In later times, the Campbells had possession of the principal parts of Knapdale, and were chiefly retainers of the family of Argyle. & Land-owners.--The land-owners of the parish are, Duncan Campbell, Esq. of Inverneill and Knap ; Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Achindarroch; John Graham Campbell, Esq. of Shirvain ; William A. Campbell, Esq. of Ormsary; John Campbell, Esq. of Stonefield; Lachlan M'Neill Campbell, Esq. of Kintarbert and Drimdrissaig; John Campbell, Esq. of Kilberry; William Camp- bell, Esq. of Dunmore; Neill Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch; the heirs of Sir Charles M*Donald Lockhart of Largie; William 262 A R GYLESH I R. E. Furlong, Esq. of Erines. Three of these, viz. Alexander Camp- bell, Esq. of Achindarroch, William A. Campbell, Esq. of Orm- sary, and William Furlong, Esq. of Erines, are resident, and oc- cupy plain substantial mansions. The house of Achindarroch is situated on the banks of the Criman Canal; the grounds about it have been tastefully laid out by John MacNeill, Esq. of Oakfield, the former proprietor; and we have no doubt the beauty of the place will be greatly enhanced under the skilful management of the present public spirited proprietor. There are good substan- tial mansions on the properties of Inverneill, Erines, Ormsary, and Drimdrissaig. Mr Campbell of Stonefield has built a large and elegant house at Barmore in this parish. Parochial Registers.-Registers of births and marriages have been kept in the parish since 1771; though entries appear to have been correctly made, the book containing the registrations has not been well taken care of, some of the leaves having been lost, and the whole much sullied. Since the appointment of the pre- sent incumbent in 1806, every attention has been paid to them. Antiquities.—At one time, there were the remains of seven an- cient chapels to be found in this parish; now there are but three to be seen, one in Ellan-more vic-O‘Charmaig, one at Kilmory Knap, and one at Cove. The chapel in Ellanmore was built by Mac O‘Charmaig, an ancient proprietor of this island; it is arch- ed over and covered with flags, and, notwithstanding its antiquity, is in a wonderful state of preservation. Within the chapel in a recess in the wall, is a stone coffin, in which the remains of the priests are said to have been deposited. The figure of a naked man is cut on the lid of the coffin ; the coffin, also, for ages, served the Saint as a treasury, and this, perhaps, might have been the purpose for which it was at first intended. Till of late, not a stranger set foot on the island, who did not conciliate the favour of the Saint, by dropping a small coin into a chink between the lid of the coffin and its side. On an eminence not far off, is a pedestal, with a cross and the figure of a naked man; and near to the cross is a cave, which, as tradition says, at one time produced wonderful effects upon such as had the hardihood to enter it. It seems now to have lost its wonderful properties, as people seem to go into it, without dreading any fatal consequences. Saint Cormaig also founded the church of Kilvie O'Charmaig, the mother church of the two Knapdales; and after a life spent in acts of piety and devotion, he was buried in his native island. His tomb, S0 UTH KNA PDALE. 263 a little oblong building, elevated about three feet above the ground, remains uninjured by time. The saint is said to resent with the most summary vengeance any indignity offered to this mo- nument. The chapel of Kilmorie Knap seems to have been the most considerable in South Knapdale. Its walls are almost en- tire ; a beautiful obelisk or cross stands on the west side of the burying ground. - The chapel at Cove, built, as tradition says, by Saint Colum- ba, had, till of late, undergone but little dilapidation. Near this chapel, is a consecrated cave, which gives its name to the farm on which the chapel is situated. Its altar and font still remain, and over the former, a cross is cut on the solid rock by no unmaster- ly hand. It was after St Columba left this place, that he sailed for Iona and built his famous seminary there. Among the antiquities of the parish it may be mentioned, that at Stronchullin on the coast of Lochfine, and not far from the church of Inverneill, there is a thatched cottage still standing, and in perfect preservation, which is at least two hundred years old. The walls are thick and substantial ; the cupples are of oak, very massive, and still perfectly sound. This cottage is situated at the foot of the hill, over which, at that time, went the road to Tarbert. It is said, that when Alastar Macdonald (son of Colla Ciotach,) was ravaging Argyleshire in 1648, on his way to Kintyre, he came to this house, faint with hunger, and that wearied with his journey, he demanded of the landlady of the house something to eat, when the poor woman gave him a drink of milk, the only thing perhaps which the house could afford. Alastar received the draught very thankfully, and in token of his gratitude, ordered his men to spare this house where he had been so kindly entertained. “ Caomhain,” (says Alastar in the language of his country,) “Caomhain am Bothan beag ain buin na beinne, far an dfhuair mi an deoch bhainne,”—(spare the little hut at the foot of the hill where I got the drink of milk.) - III.-PopULATION. The population in 1755, according to Dr Webster, was tº ge I292 in 1772, according to Mr Hyndman, it was º &º l600 By Government census in 1821, males, * º 966. females, * *Eg 875–184L Do, do. 1831, males, * sº º 1098 females, -- gºg 1039–21:37 Do. do. 1841, gº gº ſº 1537 The population of that district of the parish, which has been annexed to the parish of Lochgilphead was in 1881, between 500 264. A R (; YLE SHIRE, and 600. That of the district attached to the mission of Tar- bert might be from 600 to 700 souls. - The Gaelic is the language generally spoken throughout the parish. Most of the young people understand the English, as greater pains are taken with them in school, and as it is now more generally used than formerly, Many of the youth are in the practice of resorting to the low country for service. Divine service is always conducted in English and Gaelic. - IV.- INDUSTRY. - As the soil of this parish is not very productive, and as the cli- mate is cold and variable from its nearness to the Atlantic Ocean, the occupiers of land find it more convenient and profitable, and less expensive, to convert some of their inferior arable to sheep walks, and pasture for black-cattle; and consequently the number of persons employed in agriculture is comparatively small. The possessions are generally so small, that the tenants and their fa- milies are able to perform all the labour requisite, without the ne- cessity of engaging servants or labourers to assist them. The black-cattle are of the West Highland breed, and in the larger stocks are of the best quality. At the cattle shows in the district of Argyle, prizes have been frequently awarded to proprietors and tenants connected with this parish. The sheep are of the black- faced kind, which are found to suit the climate and rough pasture of this parish, better than the Cheviot or any other breed, and the store-masters pay particular attention to improving their stocks. The crops usually cultivated are, oats, bear or barley, pease, beans, turnip, and potatoes. Clover and rye-grass are sown with barley and oats after potatoes. The culture of potatoes is well understood, and much attended to. It was found impossible to obtain such returns of the quantities sown or planted, as could be of any use in a statistical point of view. The returns are, oats, 3; bear or barley, 6 ; potatoes, 10; in a few instances they have been equal to 20. A considerable quantity of this valuable root is annually exported, from the price of which the tenants pay a part of their rents. In winter, there are great quantities of tangle cast ashore all along the coast of Lochcaolisport, which is care- fully collected for land intended for potatoes and bear. There are belonging to the parish between forty and fifty boats, employed in the herring fishery on Lochfine. Each boat is man- ned by three of a crew, and may be worth, nets and all, about L. 60 or L, 70 each. Some of the new boats, which are partially SOUTH KN APDALE. 265 arº, - - º decked, and larger than the old ones, cost L. 120 Sterling before they are fully equipped with masts, sails, anchors, nets, and cord- age. In favourable fishing seasons, they make at an average L. 70 Sterling; but, from their improvident habits, and occasional failures in the fishings, and expense of keeping their boats and tackling in repair, the fishermen are generally very poor. In many instances, they are very indolent; and when the fishing fails they are quite unfit and disinclined to engage in any other kind of labour. - Rent.—The average rent of land per acre may be stated at 1s. The average rate of grazing a cow per year may be estimated at L. 2, and of a sheep, 4s. on the hill pasture. The average rent per acre may be thought very low, but it will be recollected that the proportion of moor pasture in this parish is much greater than in any of the surrounding parishes; at the low rate of 1s. per acre, the parish would yield a rental of L. 5371 Sterling or thereby. Dwelling-houses of Tenants.-On some of the larger properties, the houses of the tenantry have been much improved, and sub- stantial farm-steadings erected for them. At Lochhead, the property of Mr Campbell of Shirvain, there is an excellent dwel- ling-house, with a new and complete set of slated offices, and a thrashing-mill, worked by water (the only one in the parish). At Ballyheamhragan, the property of Mr Campbell of Ormsary, there is a slated dwelling-house and offices, built by the proprietor, He and Mr Campbell of Kintarbert have built several comfortable cottages, which have separate sleeping apartments; an accommo- dation which the old cot houses do not afford. It is a vast im- provement, and conduces to the health, comfort, delicacy, and morals of the people. It is hoped that this example will be fol- lowed. W.— PA Roch IAL EconoMY. Crinam Canal.”—The Criman Canal was undertaken and comi- menced under the auspices of John Duke of Argyle, (in which, I think, Breadalbane acquiesced,) who obtained reports, surveys, and estimates from the late Sir John Rennie, civil-engineer, favour- able to the execution of the work, in connection with nautical re- ports from Captain Joseph Huddart; the result of which was the formation of a Company under an Act passed in 1793, authoriz- ing the formation of the canal, and which accordingly was com- menced that year. e * This part of the Account furnished by William Thomson, Esq. Ardrissaig, 266 ARGYLESHIRE, The course of the canal from where it unites with the sea in the Lochgilp branch of Lochfine, passes for about two and a-half miles about due north, for the most part along the shore of South Knapdale on Lochgilp, and from thence it continues to skirt the parish in a north-west direction for two and a half miles farther, passing through the vale of Dail, which forms the summit level of the canal; and where it forms the march between South Knapdale and Glassary parish, the remaining four miles of the canal passes along, and for the most part forms the north boundary of North Knapdale along the shore of Inner Loch Criman, till it enters the sea at Crinan. The whole extent is nine miles. The lochs are fifteen in number, eight of eight feet rise, ascending from Loch- gilp to the summit of the canal, and seven on the west side of the summit of nine feet rise, falling down to Loch Crinan. The two lochs at the Criman entrance are 108 feet long by 27 feet wide, all the others are 96 feet long by 24 feet wide, the increased di- mensions of the former being with the view of admitting vessels to a projected graving dock never carried into effect. Depth of wa- ter in the canal is only required and maintained at 10 feet, but 12 feet might be carried. - The canal is principally supplied with water by two small reser- voirs, of about six acres each, in the parish of North Knapdale, and by six principal reservoirs, all marching between the parishes of North and South Knapdale—varying in depth from eight to twenty-five feet, and in extent from fifteen to forty-five acres each; and the whole so arranged by natural and artificial means, that the water is directed to waste from the one to the other, until all are full, and ultimately to send the overplus water to Loch. Sween in the Sound of Jura, which formerly found its way to Loch fine and Loch Criman. The rise and fall of tide at Ardrissaig is eight to nine feet during neaps, and from ten to twelve feet during springs. At Crinan, the rise and fall during neap-tides is only four to six feet, and during springs, six to eight feet. The level of high water at Crinan is three to four feet higher than the level of high water at Ardrissaig, High water at Ardrissaig at full and change of the moon takes place at twelve noon, and at Crinan four hours later. The more immediate object of the Crinan Canal was to enable the coasting and fishing trade of the West Highlands and the Clyde to avoid the dangerous and circuitous route by the Mull of Kintyre, in their mutual intercourse; a matter of no small import- ance, not only as regards the preservation of life and property, but SOUTH K NAPD A LE . 267 in facilitating the intercourse between a manufacturing and mer- cantile community, with a great extent of isolated coast and coun- try in the West Highlands, much to their mutual benefit. Had the execution of the canal been limited to these views, it would not only have realized all that at the time ought to have been anticipated from it, but in all probability would have produced at least some part of that pecuniary benefit to the subscribers, to which they were entitled; but in place of limiting the dimensions and consequent expense of the canal to the above legitimate ob- ject, it entered into the speculation of a number of those who em- barked in it, to form the canal sufficiently capacious, to admit the Baltic and West India trade,-a view that was begun to be acted on, and subsequently departed from, but in a degree that, while it produced a canal inadequate to the enlarged view, a canal was at same time produced, larger than necessary for the local and more legitimate objects of the undertaking, and which, from the imperfect or incomplete execution of some parts, could not be taken full advantage of, even had the trade required it; and this conse- quently led to an expense which has burdened and embarrassed the canal ever since, an embarrassment, no doubt, much increased by natural difficulties in the execution of the work, leaving nothing to the subscribers but the merit of conferring an important public benefit at their individual and private expense. The stock of the Company was intended to consist of 2400 shares of L. 50 each, creating a stock of L. 120,000, which was subscribed for to the extent of 1963 shares, equal L. 108, 150; but ultimately, from the withdrawal and forfeiture of shares, they settled down to a capital of L. 92,550, in 1851 shares of L. 50 each, a great part of which were obtained within the county and other places in the west of Scotland, and the remainder were fill- ed up from England. Many of the former may be considered to have derived some benefit in return for their subscriptions in the improved value of property adjacent to, and to the westward of the canal; but to all others their subscriptions have produced no- thing. After experiencing difficulties from natural causes imped- ing and increasing the expense of the work so as to lead to pecu- niary difficulties, which probably again affected the due and pro- per execution of the work, the canal was opened for the passage of vessels, incomplete as it then was, in the month of July 1801, to effect which a loan was obtained in 1799 from the Barons of Exchequer in Scotland, of L.25,000, on an assignment of the tolls 268 ARGY! . E SHIRE. of the canal in security. And in the same year in which it was opened (1801,) a farther loan of L.9810 was raised among a num- ber of the original subscribers on transferable securities, bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, on none of which has the interest been paid or the capital liquidated. In January 1805, an accident occurred creating an interruption to the canal, and leading to an expense in repair, by the pressure of water in the canal blowing up a part of the canal embankment passing through a moss on the estate of Oakfield, which led to an application to Government for a further loan of L. 25,000; which was obtained from the Exchequer in England that same year, and was expended in repairing this damage, or rather in altering the course of the canal for about a quarter of a mile into firmer grounds,- forming a freestone pier at Ardrissaig, the eastern entrance to the canal,—strengthening and otherwise securing an embankment at Bellanach Bay, in the west tract of the canal, which, from the soft, silty foundation on which it is formed, had greatly subsided,— securing an increased supply of water with which the canal had previously been very inadequately supplied,—and on otherimprove- ments which the work stood in need of. In January 1811, an- other serious accident occurred by the breaking down of the em- bankment of a recently formed reservoir, which occasioned serious damage to the lock gates, embankments, and other works on the canal adjoining the summit level, which was flooded and injured to a great extent, and for the repair of which L. 5000 was applied for and obtained from government; but this proving inadequate, and all other sources having failed, a credit of L.2000 to L.3000 was obtained from bankers in Glasgow, on the private security of the Duke of Argyle and his late brother, who, with the disinterested li. berality inherent in that noble family, came forward on this occasion to secure the benefit of the former expenditure to the public, and which loan, it is inferred, has been paid by and remains a debt due to the Argyle family. - The above presents a view of the state and pecuniary circumstan- ces of the Crinan Canal, down to 1814, when the Company was bur- dened with a debt of L.67,810, exclusive of interest. It was under these circumstances that the writer's connection with the canal in 1814 took place ; and shortly after, he took an opportunity to draw up a Report for the governor and directors, which detailed the state of the canal, and pointed out the repairs and improve- yments that appeared to be required to render it more secure, effi- SOUTH KNAPDA LE. 269 cient, and better adapted to the trade than it had hitherto proved. This led to a renewed application to Government for farther aid, and to an Act in 1816, empowering the Barons of Exchequer in Scotland to advance the sum of L.19,300, to repair and improve the state of the canal; but which sum Government saw proper to direct to be expended, under the management of the Commission- ers for the Caledonian Canal. Previous to the expenditure of this sum, means were, in 1815 and 1816, adopted to renew the em- bankment of Glen Clachaig, which had occasioned the damage in 1811, and to enlarge other reservoir embankments, so as to increase the supply of water, previously very inadequate. The expenditure of the grant of L. 19,300 took place in 1817, under the direction of the late Thomas Telford, Esq. civil-engineer, principally by contract; and included an extensive repair and renewal of lock- gates, cutting down acute rocky bends, and straightening portions of the banks, new bridges of cast iron, with a breakwater to en- large and increase the shelter and extent of harbour at Ardrissaig, &c. Afterwards, by order of the Treasury, the pecuniary affairs of the canal were placed under control of the Barons of Exchequer at Edinburgh, to whom all accounts and vouchers are statedly for- warded,—while the management of the canal is by the same au- thority confided to the Commissioners for the Caledonian Canal, to whom stated monthly and all other reports are made and in- structions received, regarding the work and the management of the canal. After the above repair, the annual revenue of the canal has been sufficient for its support, and for improvements and renewal of works; still the canal requires and admits of improvement, which, under the pecuniary circumstances in which it is seen to be placed, can only be effected at the public expense. The ave- rage annual outlay on the canal for ten years preceding 1839, in salaries and wages of officers, lock-keepers, and others, and in furnishings and labour for ordinary repairs, is L. 1254, 12s. 1d. ; and for extraordinary works, being improvements and important renewals of decayed works, L.570, 0s. 6d. ; besides which, up- wards of L.2000 of previous reserved revenue was expended in extraordinary repairs in 1835, and upwards of L.1000 in 1837 for a new steam-boat pier and slip in the harbour of Ardrissaig, The canal was originally formed of larger dimensions than the trade which could be reasonably expected to take advantage of it, required ; but the change which has since taken place in the 4. 270 A R GYLESH 1 RE. coasting trade of the country by the introduction of steam Da- vigation, renders it now much too small; and when the trade between Clyde and the north-east of Scotland through the Cale- donian Canal, which passes through the Criman Canal, is viewed in connection with the trade of the Crinan Canal between Clyde and the extensive range of coast and country, islands, &c. of the West Highlands, an enlargement of the Crinan Canal on public grounds is certainly much called for. The number of passengers conveyed through the Crinan Canal by steam-packets has in- creased from 2400 in 1820, to 21,406 in 1837, notwithstanding the impediments which stand in the way of this trade, and which have been partially removed during the past season, by the intro- duction of a passage-boat on the canal, which greatly promotes the speed of the passage between Greenock and Oban, and In- W6 FI) eSS. The local benefit which has accrued from this canal is also deserving of notice. At the harbour of Ardrissaig, a village of respectable appearance, and containing a population of about 400, has grown up since the canal commenced ; the resident feuars and other inhabitants of which, attracted by the canal and the harbour, are supported principally by the Lochfine herring fishing, and by the general resort of travellers by steam-packets frequenting this harbour from the Clyde. During the fishing sea- son, there are at times upwards of 100 fishing-boats frequenting the harbour, and in summer there are usually two, sometimes three steam-boats daily from Glasgow, conveying goods, and passengers to and from the adjacent country, with a daily boat, and frequent- ly two during winter. The number of passengers who are land- ed and shipped at Ardrissaig throughout the year, exclusive of those passing through the canal, is estimated from pretty correct data to be at present about 24,000; and the cattle, sheep, and lambs shipped here are also considerable. Both Ardrissaig and Lochgilphead owe their rise and present circumstances to the fostering care and interest which John M'Neill, Esq., late of Oakfield, with his late father (whose property these villages were) took in promoting the interests of individuals, and of the communities of these places. - - The average annual amount of revenue derived from the Crinan Canal from 1st January 1802, to 31st December 1816, inclusive, is L.999, 1 1s. 4d. ; and from 1st January 1818, to 31st Decem- ber 1838, inclusive, L. 1770, 17s. 1%d, ; and as it may be inte- 3 SOUTH IKN APDA LE. 27 resting to observe the number and tonnage, &c. of vessels passing, and the sources of revenue derived from the canal, there is sub- joined a statement exhibiting these particulars on an average of seventeen years, down to 31st December 1838. & From the year 1822 to the year 1838, both inclusive, seventeen years: number of boats, 340; vessels, 1006; tonnage, 33,545. Dues from slates, -- * º L.269 12 11, coals, tº tº 216 9 6, fishing trade, * * 195 16 14 boats, - * 162 12 10 general goods, t e 170 l l l l ; kelp, t * 36 4 4 barks, de te 21 10 1 steam-boats, ſº º 399 || 9 | vessels in ballast, º 142 7 7 harbour and wharf, * 1 l l O 11 Rents, * * º 37 lºſ 5 Total, * L. 1764 2 10 Ecclesiastical State.—The ancient name of the parishes of North and South Knapdale when united, was Kilvicocharmaig. They were disjoined about the year 1730. By the deed of disjunction the minister of this parish was appointed to preach alternately at Achoish and Inverneill, and every sixth Sunday at Tarbert. About the year 1775, a mission was established at Tarbert by the Committee for the management of the Royal Bounty, comprehend- ing the south part of South Knapdale, and the north part of the parish of Kilcalmonell. A church was then built at Tarbert, and a missionary appointed to preach there every Sabbath. Thus (ex- cept during vacancies) the minister of South Knapdale was relieved from preaching at that station. But in terms of the deed of disjunc- tion, he continued to officiate alternately at Inverneill and Achoish until the year 1829, when, in consequence of the annexation of the north part of the parish to the quoad sacra parish of Lochgilphead, and the smallness of the congregation that was to attend pub- lic worship at Inverneill, he was directed and authorized by the Presbytery to preach there every third Sabbath, and at Achoish two Sabbaths successively. - . There are two churches in the parish, the one at Achoish near the manse, the other at Inverneill, six miles distant. The road between the two churches is excessively hilly, ill lined, and not kept in good repair. Both churches were built about the same time, in the year 1775. A few years ago, they were seated, and are in tolerable repair. Including the communion table seats, they contain 250 sitters each. In the church at Achoish, there are no 272 A R G Y LE SHIRE, galleries. A gallery in the west end would be a great accommoda- tion, for though on ordinary occasions there is sufficient room for the congregation, yet in summer the church is sometimes crowd- ed, and the hearers feel uncomfortable. The expense of erecting a gallery would be but trifling. - . In the church of Inverneill, there is room enough and to spare. In the year 1828, a government church was built at Lochgilphead, and a district of this parish including Ardrissaig, and the farms to the north of it, were annexed to that quoad sacra parish. The inliabitants of that district now attend public worship at Lochgilp. head. There are about thirty families within a reasonable dis- tance of Inverneill. On the west side of Inverneill hill, there are about 180 communicants, and on the east side attached to Inver- neill district, about 20. Within that section of the parish annexed to the mission of Tarbert, there are about 120 communicants. The manse, offices, and garden wall were built in the year 1808, soon aſter the admission of the present incumbent. Having been built by contract, and no person appointed to superintend the work while in progress, the walls of the manse were found to ad- mit damp during the winter season; they have lately undergone a repair; but the evil has not been remedied. The minister is au- thorized by the heritors to give any partial repair that may be oc- casionally required for the manse, offices, and churches. The glebe is about fourteen acres in extent. By draining and clearing away brushwood, nearly the whole is rendered arable. The soil is partly mossy and partly sandy. During the storms of winter, it is liable to be flooded by the high tides, and the over- flowing of the river, which forms the southern boundary. By these inundations, the parts that had been under green crops (potatoes or turnips) the preceding season are much injured. To make the stipend L. 150, with L.8, 6s. 8d. Sterling for communion elements, the minister draws L. 18, 6s. 10d. Sterling from Exchequer. The crown is patron, and the incumbents who have officiated in the pa- rish since its disjunction from North Knapdale, have been, 1. Mr Patrick Pollock; 2. Mr Hugh Campbell; 3. Mr Daniel Hynd- man; 4. Mr Duncan Rankin, who was admitted on the 26th No- vember 1806; 5. Mr Alexander Mackenzie, the present incum- bent. - Education.—There are five permanent schools in the parish, four of which are parochial, and one on the General Assembly's Scheme. Besides these, there are occasionally, during the winter SOUTH IKN A.P D A LE. - 273 season, Some side schools taught by young men who are both paid and maintained by the parents of such children as may attend them. At present, there are about 300 attending the different schools. The branches taught are, English and Gaelic, reading, writing, arithmetic, and book-keeping. At two of the sehools, Latin, geography, and navigation are taught. At all the schools the Scriptures are daily read, and the children are taught to trans- late portions of them from Gaelic to English, and vice versa. They are also taught the Shorter Catechism. As the maximum salary is allowed and divided among the four parochial teachers, the heritors do not consider themselves bound to provide either dwelling-house or school-house for any of them. Two of the teachers have no accommodation whatever. Of the other two, one has a school-house ; and for his dwelling-house and cow's grass, and small patch of ground which yields him po- tatoes and meal for his family, and fodder for his cow, he pays a moderate rent. The other has a school-house; but the dwelling- house he occupies he was obliged to build at his own expense. The teacher employed by the General Assembly’s Committee has a good dwelling-house, school-house, croft, and cow's grass, barn and byre provided for him by Mrs Campbell of Ormsary, a lady who pays the greatest attention to the temporal and spiri- tual wants of the poor. - Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of poor on the roll is about 20. This is exclusive of those residing in the district of the parish annexed quoad sacra to Lochgilphead. The annual amount of contributions for their relief is from L.20 to L. 25 Sterling, arising from collections in the church, and fines for de- linquencies. This sum, minus salaries for session, presbytery, and synod clerks, is divided among the poor twice a year. One dis- tribution is made annually after the communion, and the other about the beginning of January. The funeral expenses of the poor are paid out of this fund; occasional aid is afforded to such as from bad health or any other misfortune may stand in need of re- lief, though they are not on the roll. From the failure of the po- tato crop in 1837, and scarcity of 1839, the heritors voluntarily contributed in each of these years L.25 for the relief of the poor. Roads.—The road from Daill, the north-eastern extremity of the parish, to Barnellan, on the south, is excellent, and always kept in the best possible state of repair. This road for the distance of ten or twelve miles is called the Lliabh Gaoil road, from its A R GY LE. S 274 A IK G Y ll. SH 1 R E. leading along the eastern base of the range of hills which occupies the space between Lochfine and Lochcaolisport, and is known by the name of the forest, or hill of Lliabh Gaoil. Before the open- ing of this road, the district of Kintyre was quite insulated from the rest of Argyleshire. The only path by which any communi- cation between the two places could be maintained, was almost quite impassable. It ran along hills and dales, which were inter- sected by water courses without any bridges. In summer, these waters were fordable, but in winter the attempt to cross them was . both difficult and dangerous. - The Iliabh Gaoil road, which was so useful before the intro- duction of steam, and conferred such a boon on the country ge- nerally, and on Kintyre particularly, was obtained through the in- strumentality of Sheriff Campbell, one of the ancestors of the present family of Stonefield. The line was surveyed by an Eng- lish engineer. It is said that he attempted to travel over the ground; but the rocks were so precipitous, the ferns so gigantic, the Englishman so unwieldy, and so unaccustomed to travel such rough grounds, that, after much tumbling and scrambling, he was obliged to betake himself to his boat, and finish his survey by row- ing along the shore. On arriving at Barmore House, the resi- dence of Sheriff Campbell, he remarked to the Sheriff, that it was quite a hopeless thing to attempt opening a road along the projected line, that it was an undertaking fit for the Empress Ca- therine of Russia, and not fit for private individuals. The Sheriff ordered his clerk or treasurer to pay the English surveyor for his trouble, and, with that determination and resolution which so much characterized that gentleman, the Sheriff set about the mighty task of opening the Lliabh Gaoil road, and persevered till it was finished. It is one of the best lined roads in the county ; and, whether for the purpose of pleasure or of utility, it is one of the most interesting roads imaginable. Since the introduction of steam, it is now much less frequented than formerly; but still, it is extremely serviceable, as forming the only inland channel of com- munication between the peninsula of Kintyre and the other parts of Argyleshire. Market-Town.—There are no market-towns in the parish. At Ardrissaig, the eastern entrance of the Crinan Canal, there is a village of considerable size. The village of Tarbert is partly si- tuated within the parish, In this village, the inhabitants of the south end of the parish can be supplied with such articles as they SOUTH R N A P D A LE, 275 require to purchase. Here, also, they find a ready market for any thing they have to dispose of, partly to supply the wants of the villagers, and partly for exportation to Glasgow. It is to Lochgilphead, a large village in the parish of Kilmichael Giassary, that the inhabitants of the north end of the parish repair for dis- posing of fowls, eggs, butter, &c., and for purchasing tea, sugar, dye stuffs, &c. - Means of Communication.—In summer, no less than three steam-vessels arrive and depart daily to and from Glasgow and the intermediate ports on the Clyde. During winter, there is a daily arrival and departure of at least one steamer. The com- munication with Oban, Fort-William, and Inverness, as well as Tobermory, Strontian, and the Isle of Skye; also from West Lochtarbert to Jura and Islay, is regular, cheap, and convenient. To and from Lochgilphead, the post-town nearest to the north and west districts of the parish, the post arrives and departs daily to and from Inverary. Shortly after the arrival of the mail from Inverary at Lochgilphead, it was, till lately, despatched by land to Tarbert, the post-town most convenient for the in- habitants of the south end of the parish. Now, the mail is forwarded by steam from Ardrissaig to Tarbert, and vice versa. Thus, a link is struck out of the chain of communication by land, —a circumstance which occasions much inconvenience to many in the parish, not only to those near the line of road from Ardrissaig to Tarbert, but also to all residing at the western side of the pa- rish, nor is there any saving to the revenue. It is expected, how- ever, that, upon a representation being made to the proper quar- ter, this anomaly will be remedied, and that the mail will be for- warded as formerly by land, between the offices of Tarbert and Lochgilphead, and vice versa. t Inns.—On the western side of this parish, along Lochcaolisport, there is but one public-house, which is all that is necessary. On the eastern side, at Ardrissaig, and that part of the mission of Tarbert connected with this parish, the number is much greater. Fuel—The fuel chiefly used is peat. On the eastern side of the parish, coals are very generally used. They are procured from Glasgow and Ardrossan, and the general price is about 14s. per ton. - Savings Bank.-By the exertions of Mr Campbell of Achin- darroch, Sir John P. Orde of Kilmory, and other gentlemen connected with the district, a Savings bank was established at 2, 6 A R G Y LESH 1 RE. Lochgilphead in August last, for the benefit of that village and country adjacent. Deposits to the amount of several hundred pounds have already been made, but it is much to be regretted that those for whom the bank was intended, should be so tardy in availing themselves of its provisions and advantages. MiscellANEOUs OBSERVATIONS. - Since 1794, the date of the last Statistical Account, the value of lands has increased very much in this parish, owing principally to the high price that is obtained for black-cattle, sheep, and wool. The rental in 1972, was L. 1003 Sterling; in 1796, it was L.2335 Sterling; in 1840, it was considerably above L.4000 Sterling. The lands have been much improved during that period by drain- ing, enclosing and clearing away brushwood ; but a great deal of land still remains in a state of nature, which is capable of great improvement, and on which capital might be profitably laid out. . The non-residence of heritors is a great bar to the improve- ment of this parish; of eleven there are at present only three re- sident heritors. It would be a great improvement, and an incalculable advantage to the people, to have the church at Inverneill removed to Ardris- saig, and that section of the parish erected into a separate parish, with a suitable endowment; or, if this cannot be speedily ob- tained, to have it erected into a mission station, and placed under the superintendence of an ordained missionary. The erection of the district of Knap, and the portion of the parish of North Knapdale thereunto contiguous, into a parish, with the suitable machinery, would also be a most desirable object. It is much to be regretted that the lower orders enjoy the comforts of life in so scanty a measure. Pauperism is daily increasing. This may be ascribed in a great degree to early and imprudent marriages. Such marriages are greatly encouraged by the prac- tice of giving a house, and the planting of a couple of barrels of potatoes, free of any pecuniary rent, but exacting services from the cottar, every day, and at any season of the year when it may be required. The system of subsetting land is not yet discon- tinued. Drawn up 1840. PARISH OF TOROSAY. PRESBYTERY OF MULL, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. DUNCAN CLERK, MINISTER. I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE derivation of Torosay, or, as it is sometimes writ- ten, Torasay, cannot be given with any certainty. Perhaps it is compounded of these three Gaelic words Tor, agus, (contracted a’s,) and a. Tor signifies a hill or mountain of a conical form, Agus or a’s is the copulative conjunction, and a is an obsolete word sig- nifying water.” Torosay in this view may signify a district diver- sified with hills of a conical form, and lakes, either of fresh or salt water. This diversification is certainly a characteristic feature of the parish at large, for the hills, which are numerous, almost all acuminate at different elevations to as many peaks; and, besides the picturesque indentation of the country by several arms of the sea, it is studded with many fresh water lakes, forming the sources of some considerable streams. Extent and Boundaries.—The length of the parish from south- east to north-west, is 20 miles; and its breadth from north-east to south-west, is 12 miles. It contains about 160 square miles of dry land. sº It is bounded on the north, on the east, and on the south, by the Sound of Mull; on the west, by the parish of Kilfinichen; and on the north-west, by the parish of Kilninian. - Topographical Appearances.—It is of an oblong figure, having its sides in some places projecting into headlands of various shapes, some rounded, some acutely angular, and in other places as irre- gularly indented. A chain of peaked mountains runs along its whole length, hav- ing a common base, with the exception of Benmore, (the great mountain,) and Bentealluidh, (Prospect mountain,) which rise se- verally from very low ground, and are of considerable height. Ben- more, the highest mountain in the island, is about 3000 feet above * See the Highland Society's Gaelic Dictionary, p. 2. 278 A R.G Y LES IHI It E. the level of the sea, and commands an extensive view of the most of the Hebridean islands. Bentealluidh is about 2800 feet high. This mountain, with its perfectly conical shape, elevating itself to such a height from nearly the level of the sea, and in a pass which forms so singular an interruption of the chain of mountains in the same line, presents itself as a most magnificent object to voyagers making the Sound of Mull from the north. On nearing it, the idea of grandeur in the mind of the beholder is agreeably blended with that of beauty, from its verdant appearance even to the summit, where none of that excoriation of surface by avalanches is seen, which so often inflict deforming gashes in the sides of mountains not nearly so high. - - Besides this chain, there are several others running nearly paral- lel to each other, in a transverse direction. These also have bases in common, with the exception of Benmaigh, which is isolated. This is a splendid mountain at the head of Lochbuy. It is much about the same height as Bentealluidh. Its name is evidently derived from Ben, a mountain, and Magh, a plain. There is an extensive plain at its base, giving the distinctive name of Magh to the farm on which Lochbuy House is built. Hence Benmhaigh, the moun- tain of the plain. - The interior of the parish is so hilly as to contain very little flat ground; but, though the bases of the mountains approximate the sea, still, owing to the great length of sea coast, there is a good deal of low-lying land in the parish. - There are three valleys, bearing the names of Glenmore, Glen- forsa, and Glencaimail. The first derives its appellation from its length, which is about ten miles. The mountains on either side seem, in general, to dispute every inch of its breadth, so that it is only a long pass winding its tortuous way, where best it can, in the narrow defile left by the opposing mountains as neutral ground. The bottom of the valley, where it is highest, is about 300 feet above the level of the sea. Its sides have an acclivity ranging from 40 degrees to nearly the zenith point. Though the princi- pal outlet for the inhabitants of the populous parish of Kilfinichen to other parts of the country was through this glen, yet, till within these few years back, there was no road in it. Through the pub- lic spirit of the proprietors of the island, aided by the rest of this county, this great want is now supplied, there being a tolerably, good road formed to join the principal line between Tobermory and the ferry of Auchenacraig. This new road will prove of the TOR () SA Y. 279 utmost benefit to the inhabitants of Kilfinichen, as it facilitates their communication not only with the parish of Torosay, wherein the principal fairs of the island are held, but also with the main- land by the above-mentioned ferry. There is a prospect of this line being soon carried forward through Ross to the Sound of Iona. When it is finished, it is more than probable that many of those who come from a distance to visit the interesting ruins of Iona, will prefer taking this route to encountering the risk of sea sickness, from the heavy swell of the Atlantic on the west side of Mull. The voyage is practicable by steamers only from the beginning of June to the autumnal equinox, whereas, by going through Glen- more, the tourist's curiosity could be gratified at any season of the year. - Glenforsa is about five miles long, and three-quarters of a mile broad. The average height of the bottom of the valley is about 160 feet above the level of the sea. Its direction is north-east and south-west. The hills which form its sides rise with an accli- vity of about 30 degrees, and are covered with grass, bent, and heath. It commences on the coast of Mull, near Salen, and ter- minates in Glenmore, at the base of Bentealluidh. Glencainail, situated three miles farther west, runs parallel to it, and is of the same breadth; but it is about two miles shorter. Its south-eastern side is formed by the hill which separates it from Glenforsa. Its north-western side is a part of Benmore, whose base, taking a sweeping Gürve to the south-east, terminates it. The character of the interior part of it is similar to that of Glen- forsa; but the lower part of it embosoms a fresh-water lake of con- siderable extent. - * On the south side of Lochbuy, at the extremity of Laggan Point, there is a spacious cave, evidently an excavation in the rock by the action of the Atlantic waves. It is 300 feet in length. Its breadth, for the first hundred feet from its mouth, is 20, and its height 40 feet. It widens then abruptly to 45, and its height be- comes 120 feet. These dimensions it retains to its termination. At the expansion point, there is a narrow and difficult descent to another cave, branching off, in the direction of the sea, at an angle of 30 degrees. It is 150 feet in length, 12 in breadth, and 24 in height. Its termination is nearly parallel to the entrance of the main cave. At its extreme point, there is every appearance of its having had a separate entrance, which was shut up by the detritus of the rock that contains it. The whole cavity is called Odin’s 280 A [R GYLE SHIR E. cave, a name given to it probably by the Danes when they had possession of the Hebrides. Its spaciousness might lead them su- perstitiously to regard it as one of the abodes of their principal deity. The floor of the inner cave is covered with rubbish, in which the bones of terrestrial animals abound. They bear no marks, however, of having been gnawed, so that it is probable the animals to which they belonged, particularly as they are of exist- ing and indigenous genera, were devoured by outlaws or banditti living in the cave. Meteorology.—The climate in this parish, like that of the rest of the island, is mild in the habitable parts of it, which are chiefly situated on the coast. The summits of the mountains, however, owing to their great altitude, are seldom free of snow, from the beginning of November till the middle of April. The mean tem- perature is 47° of Fahrenheit. The mean pressure of the atmo- sphere is 29.75 inches. The prevailing winds are the south-west, the west, and the north-west; and very often, during a hard gale, it blows successively from all these points in the order above-stated. Rainy weather may be prognosticated, with a good deal of cer- tainty, when the tops of the mountains become enveloped with thick clouds in motion. On the other hand, fair weather may be expected, when thin and broken fleeces of white mist appear slowly ascending from the sides of the mountains, and when the summits are but partially covered. * Where so many high mountains intercept the vapour waſted by the prevailing wind from the face of the ocean, a considerable quantity of rain, as might be expected, falls, but not more than the nature of the soil requires. Monthly state of the rain-gage, at Achnacroish, near the centre of the parish, for 1835, 1836, and 1837. IS35. }836. 1837. January, 6. l Inches. January, . .9, l Inches. January, . 5.5 Inches. February, 9.7 February, . I l.2 February, . 4.8 Wlarch, 6.5, March, . 9.2 March, ... 2.6 April, 7.3 April, . 6.7 April, . 3.4 May, | (). \lay, .4 May, . 2.9 June, ... l.2. June, . 6.3 June, . 4.1 July, 8. , July, . 9.7 July, . 2.4 August, 7. August, . 7.8 August, , 4.4 September, . 12.3 September, . 9.6. September, . 5.4 ()ctober, 9.4 October, .. 8.] October, . 11.9 November, . 6.9 November, . 10.9 November, . 12. I I) ecember, .. 6.2 December, . 11.9 December, . 7.5 90.7 2. 100.9 67. In winter, strong gales and storms are often preceded, twenty- TO ROSAY. -- 281 four hours before they come on, by a brilliant appearance of au- rora borealis in the northern regions of the heavens. The cli- mate seems not to be rendered unhealthy by the great quantity of rain which falls; for, as the soil, in general, is very porous, little of it remains in a stagnant state. There is no particular distemper prevalent in the parish. Cases of typhus fever occa- sionally occur; but, in general, they can be traced to infection imported from the low country. - • Hydrography.—Besides being washed on two sides of it by the Sound of Mull, the parish is indented by several lochs and bays. These are, Lochbuy, Lochspelve, Lochdon, the Bay of Duart, Craignuire Bay, MacAlister's Bay, and Corinahenchar Bay. Lochbuy is three miles long and two broad; Lochspelve is six miles in length and one and a-half in breadth; Lochdon is four miles long. At its mouth, near the ferry of Auchenacraig, it is half a mile in breadth, but it contracts itself immediately to a few yards, and juts itself, in this state, windingly to its termination. MacAlister's Bay is about two miles broad. The other three bays are each about a mile in breadth. There are many fresh water lakes; the principal are, Lochstranamban, near Lochbuy House; Lochba, near Jarviesſield House ; and the chain of lakes near the line of road through Glenmore. Ilochstranamban is five miles in circumference : Lochba is seven ; but each of the three in the chain of lakes is of much smaller extent. The steepness of the banks of Lochstranamban, producing much acuteness in the angles of incidence, causes every object upon them to be re- flected ; and their height, excluding much of the atmospheric glare, favours the distinctness of the vision, so that nearly equal in vividness to the grandeur of the surrounding scenery, is the picture of it reflected from the bosom of the lake when it is un- disturbed by the breeze. The rivers are, the Lussa, the Forsa, and the Ba. The Lussa issues from the chain of lakes already noticed. For the first two miles, it runs in a north-easterly direction, afterwards it bends to- wards the south-east, and, after a rapid course of six miles, it falls into the sea at the east end of Lochspelve, where it is thirty yards broad. The Forsa, which is four miles in length, takes its rise at the base of Bentealluidh, and, after receiving all the rain which falls in Glenforsa, it discharges itself in the Sound of Mull, at Pennygown, where it is twenty-two yards in breadth. The Ba issues from Lochba, and, after a course of two miles, it falls into 282 A l? (; Y LESH 1 R F • an arm of the sea called Lochnanceal, on the west side of Mull. It discharges as much water as the Forsa. - Geology and Mineralogy.—The general direction of the strata of rocks is north-west to south-east. Their dip, for the most part, is 10° north. In many places, the strata are deranged by veins or dikes, which have a dip of 45° north. The rocks are prin- cipally trap, sandstone, and a coarse kind of limestone. These all enter into the composition of the hills, and they are also to be met with in plains of any extent. Granite is found, but it occurs only in blocks near the shore. Whence these have been trans- ported, and by what agency, are subjects, regarding which it would be difficult to form a conjecture. The fossil organic remains which are found, are of the testaceous order. They occur in limestone. The minerals found in the rocks are, rock-crystal, calc-spar, and fluor-spar. The alluvial de- posits are rolled blocks mixed with gravel, sand, clay, and peat. The various soils, in low situations, seem to have been trans- ported from the neighbouring hills. There appears to have been no affinity in any of the soils, in their deposition, for any particular kind of rock as a substratum; for, whether they be gravelly, sandy, clayey, or loamy, they located themselves on all the kinds of rock indiscriminately. Though there is a considerable quantity of loamy soil throughout the parish, gravelly soil and peat abound most. In alluvial depositions of loam and peat in other parts of the country, the loamy soil is deposited, in general, near the shore; and behind it, with a higher elevation, is found the peat; but in this parish, frequent instances of a deviation from this order occur. The loamy soil often appears at a distance from the sea, and on an elevated bed; whereas the peat often forms the mar- gin of the sea, being separated from it only by a narrow dike of trap or coarse limestone. Zoology.—Though red deer are not so plentiful in the parish as they were fifty years ago, still there is a good number of them. As an end has been put to deer stalking, and as all the proprietors have shown a desire of late to prevent their extermination, they are at present rapidly on the increase. During the rutting season, which is about the middle of September, the hart lays aside his native shyness, and assumes a fierceness which renders it unsafe to approach him. A few years ago a young man, in going through a copse wood on the Lochbuy estate, was met by a hart, which chased him. Fortunately a strong tree or standard was near him which TO ROSA Y. 283 he climbed ; but for a whole hour he was detained in this unpleasant situation, the animal laying siege to him at the root of the tree, and defying all the efforts of a colley dog to drive him away, till he was inclined himself to walk off. The deer in Mull are not so large as those to be met with on the mainland. Their insular situation preventing the crossing of the breed, is suppos- ed to be the cause of their degeneracy. When the former Statistical Account was drawn up there were foxes in the parish, but now there is not one, neither is there any other kind of ground vermin. So late as fifty years ago, there were no moles in the island. They first made their appearance much about that time in the parish of Kilninian, having been im- ported into it from Morven, by a vessel that discharged an earth- en ballast near Tobermory. They are now spread over the whole island. - - It is rather singular that there should be no partridges in this or in any other of the parishes of the island, though they are mu- merous enough in Morven, which, at the narrowest part of the Sound, is not distant more than a mile and a-half from Mull. Ichthyology.—The sound of Mull, with its lochs and bays, abounds, at all seasons, in cod, ling, whiting, plaice, flounders, skate, and lythe ; and, periodically, in herring, mackerel, and gur- net. There are native trouts, of a small size, in all the fresh wa- ter lakes. In all the rivers, salmon grilse and sea trout abound. They come up to spawn in October, and return to the sea in the end of November. When rivers have their sources in accessible lakes, the fish remain in these lakes till the end of spring, they then revisit the sea, and about midsummer they return in good . condition to the fresh water again. In Lochspelve there are oys- ter and muscle banks. Mya truncatae abound in Duart and Craiguuire bays, where also the Mya arenaria devastans is to be met with. This shell fish is as large as an ordinary sized oyster, quite circular, and not so deep, in proportion to its diameter, as the common cockle. It is smooth and covered over with a hard warnish of a brownish colour; hence its Gaelic name, donnag. Like the hose or razor-fish, it is only to be found at very low wa- ter. Though one would be apt to consider it not very digestible, it is eaten with relish by the natives. In all parts of the coast there is abundance of welks, (Turbines littorei,) which in some places are found lying in heaps. There is little or no use made of them, except in seasons of great scarcity. 284 A R GY LESH 1 R E. Botany.—The greater part of the parish must at one time have been under wood, as in all the peat bogs, large trunks and bran- ches of trees occur. There is a good deal of copse still in exis- tence, consisting of oak, ash, mountain-ash, holly, hazel, and birch. - - The rarer plants that are found in the parish, according to Mr Middleton at Achnacroish, who is considered a good botanist, are the following: Osmunda regalis Solanum Dulcamara Saxifraga granulata Adoxa moschatellina Arenaria maritima Soldanella alpina Aster var. Selenum palustre Stellaria 3 var. Avena var. Glaux maritima Trientalis Europaea Briza var. Nymphae var. Lythrum salicaria Digitalis alba, Pyrola uniflora Cardamine pratensis Draba aizodes … rotundifolia * Erica alba - Saxifraga hirsuta II.-Civil HISTORY. 'amily of Maclean.—It is said that, about the middle of the four- teenth century, two young men of the name of Maclean, who were brothers, came from Ireland on a visit to the Lord of the Isles, whose principal residence was at Aros, in the neighbouring parish of Kil- minian. In process of time, they became his sons-in-law, and obtain- ed from him, besides other possessions, all the lands in the parish of Torosay, with the exception of that part of it that is adjacent to Lochbuy, a territory which belonged to a native chief of the name of Macfadyear. While one of the brothers fixed his residence at Duart, the other obtained permission from Macfadyean to build a fortalice or keep at the head of Lochbuy, on a rock close to the sea. Availing himself of the advantage which this position gave him, he was soon able to wrest all his lands from Macfadyear, and to add them to his own. In a succeeding age, the families sprung from the two brothers, regardless of their consanguinity, were very often engaged in mutual feuds; but neither of them obtain- ed any considerable advantage over the other, till it happened that a chief of Lochbuy died, leaving his estates to his only son, at the time an infant. Maclean of Duart, judging this to be a favourable opportunity for annexing the lands of Lochbuy to his own, invad- ed the territory of his young kinsman, and accomplished his object, but was disappointed of seizing his person, he having been conveyed in Safety to Ireland, and placed under the protection of his maternal uncle, the Earl of Antrim. After attaining to manhood, he re- turned, attended by a few resolute followers, with the view of re. covering his paternal possessions. Landing near Lochbuy, Mur. TORO SAY, 285 ragh Gear, for so was he designated from his low stature, set out alone to reconnoitre. Oberving a woman engaged in milking cows not far from the keep, he went to her, and requested a little milk to quench his thirst. In the meantime, the cow that was in the act of being milked, started, which made the woman utter an ex- clamation, in which she made use of the name Murragh. Maclaine —for such is the orthography of the name adopted by this branch —asked her reason for uttering that name. She told him that she had been nurse to the young heir of Lochbuy, and that such was her affection for him, that she at times, without being aware of it, repeated his name. Would you know him yet, were you to see him? asked Murragh Gear. Her reply was, that, from a mark on his breast, she would have no difficulty in recognizing him. He bared the mark, when she embraced him with all the affection of a mother. After telling her of his design upon the keep, she recommended to him to place his men in ambuscade near it, how soon the shades of night would conceal their approach, at the same time to send one of his followers to the inclosure where the calves were kept, and to drive them to their dams. When the low- ing of the cattle—which in these circumstances usually takes place—should be heard in the keep, she having the charge of them, would cause her husband, who was door-keeper, to open the gate, and would call some of the guard to her assistance; then is your time, says she, to rush in and to put the remainder to the sword. But how, asked Maclaine, can I do this consistently with the preservation of my foster father P As to that, replied his nurse, “Leig an tearbull leis a chraicionn”—(let the tail go with the hide.) The stratagem succeeded, and Murragh Gear soon reco- wered, along with the fort, his estates, which have ever since con- tinued in the family. The present representative is Murdoch Maclaine, Esq. who is the principal heritor of the parish. The representative of the Macleans of Duart is Lieutenant-General Sir Fitzroy Grafton Maclean of Morvaren, Bart. It is not known which of the founders of these two families was the elder brother, consequently the representatives of both always claimed the dis- tinction of being regarded exclusively as the head of the whole clan. t The two brothers were sons of an Irish chief, called Gillean- na-Tuaidh, from his ordinary weapon a battle-axe, which to this day, his posterity bear as their crest, betwixt a laurel and a cypress branch, with the motto, “vincere aut mori.” Gillean-na-Tuadh 286 AltGYLESHIRE. was descended from Aonghus King of Ireland, who ascended the throne in the consulship of Cicero and Caius Antonius. Mr John Beaton, the last of the Highland Senachies, and a man profoundly skilled in Irish antiquities, gives a catalogue of forty-seven names between Gillean-na-Tuaidh and King Aon- ghus, but as these names abound in consonants, I will not, by re- cording them here, subject them to the risk of being mispro- nounced. Other Landed Proprietors.-The estates of the chief of Duart were long ago forfeited to the crown, and given to the noble fami- ly of Argyle, as a reward of services performed by them. The present Duke sold the lands of Torosay proper to the late Colo- nel Macquarie of Ulva, who, in his turn, disposed of them to the present proprietor, Colonel Campbell of Possil and Torosay, who ranks as the second heritor. The remaining heritors in the order of their valued rent are, Lachlan Macquarie, Esq. of Glenforsa; His Grace George William Campbell, Duke of Argyle; and Duncan M*Intyre, Esq. of Burg. Parochial Registers.—These do not go far back. The first entry in the register of baptisms was in the year 1793, and the first in the register of marriages in 1807. They are not of course voluminous; but since their commencement, they have been very regularly kept. . . * * 4 * - * Antiquities.—On the promontory of Duart, the most easterly point of the island, stands in majestic ruin its ivy mantled castle. —It consists of a strong tower at the north end of it, with a long projection of buildings overhanging a precipitous rock, which ren- ders it inaccessible on the side next the sea. At the end of this projection, and at right angles with it, another building forms the south side of the castle, and where this terminates, a high wall connects it on the west side with the tower, inclosing a large square in the centre. The entrance was from the west, through a pos- tern gate, with portcullis, and defended by a barbican. The tower is evidently much more ancient than the rest of the build- ing. It corresponds in character with the architecture of the thirteenth century. Its walls on two sides are 14 feet thick, and on the other sides 10 feet. The stair, which is still entire, winds up through the wall which separates it from the centre square. In this wall, along the course of the stair, are crenells opening upon the square. The tower consisted of two tiers of apartments, sup- ported by beams resting on corbels. The windows are deep re- 'I' () ROSAY. 2S7 cesses, forming acute angles towards the entrance of the light, and on either side of each window is a long flat stone or flag, raised by rubble work to the height of a chair or sofa, the purposes of which, it is probable, it was intended to serve. The interior of the tower is 44 by 22 feet. The rest of the building is comparatively of a modern date. On the lintel of one of the doors is engraved the crest of the Macleans, and the year 1663. The whole building on the exterior measures 75 by 72 feet. This castle was the residence of the heroine in Miss Baillie's drama of the Family Legend. . - As mentioned in a preceding part of this Account, there is a tower or keep at the head of Lochbuy. Though bearing marks, in the lower part of the building, of nearly as high antiquity as the tower at Duart, it is in a more perfect state of preservation, owing to the attention that had been bestowed in keeping the roof always entire. It is a square tower built upon a low rock near the sea. This circumstance deprives it of much of the pro- minency and bold aspect of Duart Castle, though, estimating from the foundation of each, it is much higher. It has three tiers of apartments, of which the two lower ones are arched. On the east or land side is the gateway, near which a fosse, drawn in the form of the segment of a circle, having its centre in the tower, can still be traced. In the middle of the ground flat, a spring of excellent water issues from the solid rock. A bason four feet deep was ex- cavated for it, which it never overflows, but which it takes no time, after being emptied, to replenish. About a century ago, the keep was discontinued as the family residence. At Killean and at Laggan, there are ruins of two small chapels built before the Reformation. In the burying-grounds adjacent to them, are a few richly-carved tombstones, taken, it is supposed, from Iona. Near the small village of Salem are the ruins of a cell which belonged to the monastery of Iona. A rivulet which runs past it, is called the Preacher's Burn, Ald-an-tsearmaniche, and tradi- tion affirms, that it got this name from the circumstance of St Co- lumba's coming there occasionally to preach. It is said that the want of good water alone prevented his settling there. The vil- lage is called Salen-dubh-Challum chille, i. e. Malcolm of the cell’s black bay. There have been, within the last ten years, stone coffins found in different parts of the parish, where excavations have been made 28S A R GY LESH IR E. for building or for road-making. Some of them contained a few bones, some ashes, and some a small quantity of black mould. Three years ago, some road-makers found, at the depth of a foot under the surface, an old leathern purse containing three silver coins. One of them is a Spanish dollar. On one side of it is this inscription, Phil. IIII. D. G. Hisp. et Indiar. Rex, 1647. On the reverse side, A. R. C. * * * Dux. Burg. Domitor. Another is a shilling of Queen Elizabeth, and its in- scription is, Elizab. D. G. Ang. Fr. et Hib. R. It has on the reverse side, Deus est meus adjutor, 1595. Both of these coins are much worn. The third, which is about the size of a franc, is a coin of Charles II., as entire as when it came out of the mint. g Modern Buildings.-Since the last Statistical Account was written, the father of the present Laird of Lochbuy built a large, commodious, and handsome house, at the head of Lochbuy, about 200 yards from the tower. It commands a fine view of the sce- nery on both sides of the loch, and also of the island of Colonsay in the Atlantic, bearing from it south by west, and distant four- teen miles. Colonel Campbell of Possil has, within these few years, made a considerable addition to Achnacroish House. He has also built a fine set of offices. The stone used is blue gneisbache, found on the spot; but, owing to its extreme hardness, the cutting of it was attended with more expense than ashlar work would have cost. A few years ago, there was a large corm-mill erected on the es- tate of Torosay. It has two pair of millstones. From the strength of the machinery, and the abundant supply of water, it might ma- nufacture all the grain grown in the island. But though, in the meantime, it is more than adequate to the district thirled to it, there is every probability that, owing to the progress which hus- bandry is making in the district, there will be soon much more corn to grind than at present. III.-PopULATION. The population of this parish in 1755, was 1012; in 1790 it was 1733; at present it is 1889. Of the five heritors, only two are at present resident in the parish. - - Language.—The language spoken in the parish is Gaelic. Though English is beginning to be pretty generally understood, the natives seldom use it, when cºvering with one another. They ToRosay. 289 reserve any knowledge they may have of it, till they have occasion to address those who do not understand Gaelic. So far, there- fore, as they are concerned, the language has neither gained nor lost ground, for the last forty years. How long it may remain in this stationary condition is uncertain, especially as there are seve- ral families from the lowlands of late settled in the parish. These, having no inducement to study the Gaelic, as they find themselves generally understood in English, may, through time, habituate the natives to speak this language, even among themselves. At school, children are taught to read in both languages. Though the teach- ing of them thus to read Gaelic would seem to tend to its perma- nency, the contrary effect, in all probability, will ensue. By being able to compare both versions of the Scriptures, they daily add to their vocabulary of English words, so that the Gaelic in this man- ner forms to them a key for the acquisition of the English. So long as the native Highlanders understand Gaelic better than English, religious instruction must be communicated to them in that language, even if this circumstance should have the effect of postponing the day when English shall be the universal language of the empire. For, however desirable that event may be, it would be making too great a sacrifice to attempt to expedite it by suffer- ing, in the meantime, even one soul to perish for lack of that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation. The people are remarkably quick in apprehension ; and a great improvement has lately taken place in their moral and religious cha- racter. An illegitimate birth is now a matter of rare occurrence, and, when it does take place, it is rather remarkable, that, for the last eight years, one or other of the parties happens to be a stranger. Poaching and smuggling have entirely ceased. IV.-INDUSTRY. - * Agriculture.—The number of acres standard imperial measure which are in tillage may be computed at about 7500. To the cultivated land of the parish there might, with a profitable ap- plication of capital, be added 5000 acres more; but, instead of keeping this addition to the cultivated land in occasional tillage, it would be more profitable to allow it to lie out in permanent pas- ture. In such a climate at this, and having but an inferior soil to work upon, cropping must be but a secondary consideration with the agriculturist. As his chief dependence is upon grazing, any AR GYL E. T g30 AR GYLESHIRE. improvements that he makes ought to be done with the view of meliorating his pasture. - Plantations.—These are of recentformation in this parish. They chiefly consist of larches, spruce, Scotch and silver firs, elms, alders, beeches, and planes. Planes seem to reconcile themselves best to the disadvantages of unfavourable soil and climate. At Fishinish, in a very exposed situation, on that part of the Lochbuy estate which lies on the Sound of Mull, a few large planes are in a thriving state, while there is not a vestige of any other kind of tree, or even shrub, seen making its appearance in the surrounding landscape. Rent of Land.—It is impossible to ascertain the average rent of an acre of arable land in this parish, as the farms are all let as grazing farms. The grazing of a full-grown cow or ox is L.2 for the year, and for a ewe or full-grown sheep, 2s. - s Wages.—The wages of men-servants are from L.7 to L. 10 per annum with board ; of women servants, from L.3 to L.4 for the same period. The wages of a shepherd who lives in his master's house, are between L.8 and L. 12, or an equivalent in grazing. If he have a house of his own, his wages consist of the grazing of two cows, a horse, and twenty sheep, with potato land, and ground for raising as much crop as will fodder his cattle. Day labourers, occasionally employed, receive Is. 8d. in summer, and ls, in winter. A mason gets 2s. a day; a carpenter, 2s. 6d. ; and a tailor, Is. 6d. Smiths do not contract for work. The price of a set of horse shoes is 3s. Other work is in proportion. Husbandry.—The rotation of crops, on land possessed by pro- prietors or tacksmen that have their arable subdivided, is gene- rally as follows: 1. Oats ; 2. a green crop, either of potatoes or turnip ; 3. Oats or bear, sown down with grass seeds; 4. hay ; 5. second crop of hay ; 6. pasture. * - The arable possessed by crofters or small tenants, paying a rent of between L. 10 and L.30, is in constant tillage. Two white crops and a potato crop have long succeeded each other on their patches of ground, without intermission. Improvements—Much has been done of late in the parish in the way of reclaiming waste land, straightening the channels of rivulets, and draining wet, arable, and hill pasture; but these im- provements have been chiefly executed by proprietors. - The tacksmen are beginning to follow, on a small scale, the good example thus set before them ; but the shortness of their TO RO SAY. - 291 leases, which do not exceed nine years, does not hold out a suffi- cient inducement to them to apply much capital in this way. If short leases are thus unfavourable to improvements, the giving of no leases at all is much more so. This class having no certainty one year that they shall be in occupation the next, endeavour to make the most of their crofts with the least possible labour and expense. Hence the constant poaching of the same piece of ground that is already brought to their hand, and the constant application, in its pure state, of the scorching stimulant of sea- ware to it, in order to force it to yield all its fertility in the pro- duction of the present crop, as being possibly the last which they shall be permitted to grow upon it, instead of manuring it proper- ly, and giving it occasional rest, so as to insure future crops. Live-Stock.-The stocks of sheep are of the black-faced kind, and much pains are taken to improve them by the annual impor- tation of tups from the southern counties of the kingdom. Some farmers import, also, a certain number of ewe lambs every year, either from stocks of high character on the mainland of Argyle- shire, or from the south. - The black-cattle are of the West Highland breed, and from a lately formed Association of the gentlemen of the district for en- couraging their improvement, much good is expected to result. The Mull ponies were for a long time famed for their metal. Their superiority in this respect, it is said, had been owing to a few entire horses of the Andalusian breed, landed from one of the ships of the Spanish Armada, that had put into Tobernory in distress. Of late years, the breed has been improved in size; but what it has gained in this respect, it has lost in point of har- diness. - Farm-Buildings.—On farms let to tacksmen, suitable dwelling houses and offices have in many instances been lately built; but the crofters, as yet, are but poorly accommodated in this respect. With the exception of the farms in the hands of proprietors, the instances of other farms having enclosures or subdivisions are very far G, - Fisheries.—The various kinds of these carried on are for salmon, cod, ling, herrings, and mackerel. The salmon fisheries are let at a rent of L.55 for the season. - Produce.—The average gross amount and value of raw produce raised in the parish annually, as nearly as can be ascertained, may be thus stated:— - * - 292 AR GY LESH 1 R F , Produce of grain of all kinds, º e • L.5500 0 0 potatoes, turnip, and beet, e tº & 4360 0 0 hay, c º e de 670 0 0 gardens, º e e 150 0 0 annual thinnings, and periodical felling of woods and plan- tations, o • e 250 0 (0 fisheries of all kinds, e g 256 0 land in pasture, rating it at L.2 per cow or full-grown ox graz- ed, and at 2s. per ewe pastured for a year, - 4270 0 0 wool, 5260 stones at 8s. e & 2104 0 0 L.17,560 0 0 W.—PARoch IAL EconoMY. .* There is no market-town in this parish. The nearest to it is Oban, separated from it by the Sound of Mull, and distant ten miles. g Means of Communication.—These are, 1st, The post-office at Auchenacraig, where the arrivals and departures of the mail are three times a week. 2d, The district road between the ferry of Auchenacraig and Tobermory, which passes seventeen miles through the parish, and the road to Kilfinichen, which passes eighteen miles through it. 8d. In summer one or more steam- boats ply almost daily through the Sound of Mull, taking on board. and landing passengers and goods at different points of the coast of the parish, 4th, The bridges are numerous, and are all in good condition. All the bays in the parish, with the exception of that of Pennygown, are frequented by vessels, as being safe harbours. 5th, There are three ferrying stations, one for ferrying to Mor- ven, one to Nether Lorn, and one to Kerrara. The last station is the principal channel of communication with the mainland. The Sound between Auchenacraig and Kerrara is about four miles and a half broad. When the former Statistical Account was written, there were more black-cattle ferried at Auchenacraig than now. At that time, the Coll and Tyrie cattle were landed at the back of Mull, and driven to this ferry; but now the smacks that take them first on board, proceed with them direct to the main- land. - Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church is conveniently situ- ated. Its distance from the extremities of the district remaining attached to it quoad sacra, is only six miles on either hand. It was built sixty years ago. In 1828, it underwent a thorough re- pair; but new repairs were rendered necessary in 1832, in conse- quence of its having been struck by lightning. It is at present in good condition. It contains sittings only for 280 people, and these sittings are all free. w TO RO SAY. - 293 The late Mrs Maclaine of Lochbuy, mother to the present laird, presented the parish, about forty years ago, with two hand- some communion cups. In 1829, Colonel Campbell of Possil made a present to it of a church bell. Prior to 1831, the incumbents had manse money in lieu of the legal accommodations. In that year a manse was built at Craig- nurie ; but, not being water-proof, it stood in need of considerable repairs two years thereafter. These repairs it received, and the evil that rendered them necessary, was completely checked by the harling of the walls with Arden lime. - The glebe is 27# acres in extent, and if let might draw about L. l l of rent. The stipends are permanently fixed at L. 172, 19s, 41%d. Prior to 1828, the minister preached alternately in the parish church, which is at Craignuire, and at Kinlochspelve, which is twelve miles from Craignuire. A missionary officiated at Salen, the other extremity of the parish. In the course of that year, a Parliamentary manse was built there, and the church, which had been erected about sixty years ago, for the use of the Mull mis- sion, was given over by the heritors to the Parliamentary commis- sioners, when it was enlarged, and a minister appointed to it. An- other Parliamentary church and manse were built a tRinloch- spelve, and a minister was inducted there that year also. Each of them has a glebe of about two acres in extent, and L. 120 of stipends, payable out of the Exchequer. Of the population of the parish about 1000 are attached, quoad sacra, to the two Government churches, and to the parish of Kil- finichen. All the families in the parish, with the exception of five, attend the churches of the Establishment. Of these, two are Roman Catholics, and three Anabaptists. With the exception of one, they are not natives of the island. A few years ago, two families of Dissenters, from the low country, came to reside in the parish. One was in connection with the Associate Synod, the other with the Relief body. They both joined the Establishment. Education.—The number of schools in the parish is seven. Of these four are parochial, one an Assembly's school, one is sup- ported by the Glasgow Auxiliary Gaelic School Society, and one is a subscription school. Three of the parochial teachers have each a salary of L. 15, 8s. 10}d. The fourth, who only teaches a branch of the parochial schools in a sequestered glen, has only 294 ARGYLESHIRE. L.5. The teachers of the Assembly’s school and of the Gaelic Auxiliary School have each about L.20 of a salary. The teacher of the subscription school is boarded by the parents of the scholars in rotation, and receives a few pounds of money as wages. None of the teachers realizes more than L. 5 per annum by the quarter fees. These fees, in the parochial schools, which regulate the others, are as follows: for reading, Is. 6d. per quarter ; for writ- ing, 2s. ; and for arithmetic, 2s. 6d. As the maximum salary is given and divided among several teachers, the Schoolmaster’s Act, as it is at present interpreted, renders it not compulsory on the heritors to give any accommo- dations, or even to build school-houses. The consequence is, that there is not a proper parochial school-house in the whole pa- rish. The children in the depth of winter are often up to the ancles in water, and frequently the teaching of them is interrupt- ed altogether, when the ill-thatched hovels allotted to them as school-houses are stripped bare by high winds. This shows a de- fect in the Act which loudly calls for its revision. If advantage continue to be taken of the l l th clause of the Act, which ex- empts the heritors, in those parishes where the salary is divided, from building even school-houses, it would be more for the inte- rest of education to have them assessed in the minimum salary only. For one teacher, having a proper school-house, would surely do more good in a parish than any number without places to teach in. The legal accommodations with the whole parochial stent would secure the services of a well qualified person. Boys of promising parts would be sent from the remotest parts of the parish to attend the school, and an opportunity would thus be afforded them of receiving that measure of education which would enable them to emerge from obscurity. Whereas at present the bright- est genius may remain undiscovered for want of the means of bring- ing it to light. The part of the parish in which the school would be placed would undoubtedly have the chief benefit of it; but it would not absorb it all. The school would emit a beneficial influ- ence that would reach to the farthest off corner of the parish. Un- der a proper schoolmaster, so many good scholars would be formed in the school, that the parents of children, in the remote parts of the parish, could easily find boys, with higher qualifications than the present teachers, who would be ready to engage as teachers to their children for little more than they receive at present for act- ing as herds. It is to be hoped that some of the heritors who TO ROSAY. 295 are at present availing themselves of the exemption alluded to, will soon take into consideration the good that might be effected with the stent, which they are in the meantime paying to no pur- pose; and that they will of their own accord apply to the Legislature for a revision of the Act with a view to its amendment. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of persons receiving parochial aid, within the district attached to the parish church, calculated for the last six years, is 27. The average sum allotted to each is 12s. per annum. The average amount of the church collections, calculated for the same period, is L. 17. From this statement, it is obvious that the paupers derive their chief support from the source of private charity, which, to the credit of the parish, pervades all ranks of people in it, not excepting even those bordering upon pauperism themselves. This benevolent spirit has hitherto rendered unnecessary the adoption of a com- pulsory mode of assessment. -- ** - - Fairs.—There are three annual fairs held on the farm of Fish- inish, which is about eleven miles from Auchenacraig Ferry. Two of them are for black-cattle, viz. on Tuesday before the se- cond last Wednesday of May, and on Tuesday before the second last Wednesday of October, and one is for horses, viz. on the first Friday after the 20th of August, or on the 20th if Friday. Inns.—There are four licensed public-houses. Being situated at equal but considerable distances from each other, their existence is necessary as places of refreshment. As few resort to them for the mere purpose of drinking, they exercise no unfavourable in- fluence on the morals of the people. - Fuel.—The fuel chiefly used in the parish is peats, and, as every family makes a sufficient quantity for their own use, peats are not a saleable article. Coals, before the late sudden rise in the price of them, could be procured, from vessels passing through the Sound of Mull, at 12s. per ton. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Since the former Statistical Account was written, a great change has taken place in the parish with regard to farming utensils. At that time, there was not a cart in it; but now, there is not a croft without one. Then, the ploughs used were extremely rude in their materials and construction; but now, they are of the most approved kinds. At that time, the harrows had only wooden teeth; but now, they are all toothed with iron. The consequence is, that a much greater productivenes is effected on the same ex- 296 ARGYLESHIRE. tent of ground tilled. So far the change is to the better. But we have now, in conclusion, to advert to a change to the worse. The manufacture of kelp was carried on formerly to a consider- able extent, and gave employment to many hands for a great part of the summer months; but it declined much, when the duty on barilla was taken off; and it has now ceased altogether, as it is found not to afford a fair remuneration. The class of people who were thus supported at home, are forced to seek employment wherever they can find it. z August 1843. PARISH OF KILFINICHEN AND KILVICEUEN.* COMPREHENDING THE QUOAD SACRA PARISH OF IONA, IN THE ISLAND OF MULL. PRESBYTERY OF MULL, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. DONALD CAMPBELL, MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name—THIS parish derived its name from two places of pub- lic worship ; the one in the district of Airdmeanach, called Kilfi- nichen ; the other in the district of Ross, named Kilwiceuen. The numerous parishes into which the Island of Mull was divided in the days of Papal ascendency, were, at the Reformation, united into one, under the destination of the Parish of Mull, and, at that era, this large parish of Mull formed a part of the presbytery of Lorn. In 1688, or thereby, all that part of Mull to the north of the isthmus where this large island is almost cut into two equal parts towards Aros, by an estuary from the Atlantic named Loch- man gaul, was erected into a parish called the United Parish of Kilninian and Kilmore, and for forty years thereafter, the rest of the Island of Mull continued to be one parish, under the deno- mination of the Parish of Ross, when another parish was erected, called the Parish of Torosay. The remainder, still a very ex- tensive tract of country, obtained the name of the Parish of Kil- * Drawn up by Francis William Clark, Esq. of Ulva. KILF IN ICHEN AND KILV 1 CE U EN. 297 finichen and Kilviceuen, from the two places of worship before alluded to, although, in the country, it is more generally known by the name of the Parish of Ross. In the year 1828, the Par- liamentary Commissioners, under the Act 4 and 5 George IV., built a Government church and manse in the Island of Iona, and a quoad sacra parish was thereto attached. Eatent, Boundaries, &c.—Exclusive of the Islands of Icolmkill, Inniskenneth, and Eorsa, which belong to it, the extent is very great, Situated in the south-western part of the Island of Mull, it is bounded on the east and north-east by a ridge of mountains which separates it from the parish of Torosay ; on the south, an arm of the Atlantic, running up towards Oban, separates it from the Islands of Colonsay, Jura, and Isla, and the main land of Ar- gyleshire; on the west, by the Atlantic ; and, on the north, an estuary from that ocean, called Loch-nan-gaul, separates if from the parishes of Ulva, and Kilninian, and Kilmore. The Islands of Inniskenneth and Eorsa, belonging to the parish, lie in this estuary. From the confines of the parish of Torosay, to the Sound of Icolmkill, which is its extreme length, exclusive of the Island of I or Icolmkill, in a straight line, it may measure about 24 miles. Its greatest breadth is where it meets the parish of Torosay, and may be about 13 miles. Exclusive of its islands, the parish, quoad civilia, may be set down about 170 to 180 square miles. The parish, quoad civilia, is divided into four di- visions or districts, namely, Icolmkill, Ross, Brolas, and Aird- meanach. The three first lie to the south of Lochscridain, an arm of the Atlantic that runs twelve miles from west to east into the parish. Airdmeanach, the fourth district, lies north of Loch- scridain, and parallel to Ross and Brolas. The Island of Ilies in the Atlantic, and is separated from Ross by a narrow channel called the Sound of I. This latter district will be described at greater length in the sequel. The districts of Brolas and Ross are nearly of equal extent, and separated from one another by a ridge of hills of no great height. From the Sound of I to the parish of Torosay, these two districts extend to about 24 miles, which, as already mentioned, is the greatest length of the parish, and their breadth may be from 3% to 7 miles. Airdmeanach joins Brolas at the head of Lochscridain, and may be about 18 miles in length, and from 3 to 6 in breadth. Ross signifies in Gaelic a point of land jutting out into the sea, or a peninsula; Brolas, a grey ridge, or a rugged ridge; and 298 A R G Y LESHIRE, Airdmeanach, the middle point or middle quarter, and received this name from its lying in the middle between the points of Ross and Tresnish. e Topographical Appearances.—Taking the parish in general, it presents but a barren appearance, although, on a more nar- row inspection, much fertile land and kindly and sweet pasture agreeably surprise the inquirer. The greatest part is hilly, and adapted rather for grazing than for raising crops. Part is low and flat, consisting of heath, green pasture, rocks, and arable ground. Ross in particular is flat, excepting where it marches with Brolas, and the greatest part of its surface is moss and heath. Its arable land is formed of clayey and sandy soils; but where it marches with Brolas, the soil is thin and light. The grass is in general soft and good, and even the heath of this district is con- sidered good feeding for cattle. The arable land is very fertile. Brolas, rising in a gentle ascent from Lochscridain, has a north- ern exposure. The greatest parts of the surface consist of heath and rocks, and the soil light, dry, and rather barren; but that part of this district which faces the south, and is called Carsaig and Inimore, is more fertile, and produces good soft grass for pasture. Airdmeanach, facing the south, rises to a considerable height from Lochscridain, and in surface and soil similar to that of Brolas. Mountain Ranges, &c.—The only mountains are those which divide the parish from that of Torosay. The most remarkable of these is Benmore, reaching to an altitude of 3097 feet above the level of the sea, and is the highest land in Mull or the adjacent islands. This is a beautifully formed mountain, and of a conical figure. According to St Fond, it resembles much the famous volcanic mountain Vesuvius. Its summit presents all the appear- ance of a crater, and richly repays the traveller whose curiosity has led him to toil up the ascent. The writer of this narrative has been on the top on a fine day, with a serene sky, and the at- mosphere uncommonly clear. The emotions and feelings in the mind of a beholder arising from the grandeur of this scene, cannot be excited by any description. As far as the eye can reach, there is a prospect of land and sea. Here, spread out as it were at the beholder’s feet, he sees Staffa, Iona, the Treshnish Isles, Coll and Tirie, Monk, Rum, Skye, &c. and the headland of Ardna- murchan ; and nearer, Ulva, Gometra, Colonsa, Eorsa, and other objects, beautifully diversifying the broad face of the west- ern sea, distinct as in a map. While, to the eastward and south- KILF IN ICHEN AND KILVICE UEN. 299 ward, he sees the whole alpine country of Argyleshire, (the an- cient Albion,) with its thousand hills; together with Scarba, Islay, and Jura, with the smaller isles of the Argyleshire coast; and, in the extreme distance, Ireland. The bold headland of Burg rises to a considerable height from the sea. All the mountains and hills in the parish are covered with heath. Basaltic columns, similar to those of Staffa, but not so large, regular, nor elegant, are to be found in the headland of Burg, in the farm of Ardtun, in Ross, and in many parts of Bro- las, and more particularly in Inimore, facing the south channel. In this last place, the rocks rise almost perpendicular from the sea, and to a great height; and in the face of these rocks the columns in some parts of four ranges, and in others of five, present them- selves with strata of rock between each range; but the pillars are small, and the ranges irregular, and seams of coal appear in some places. As a whole, the appearances are very picturesque, par- ticularly in storms, when the sea rages beneath, and numberless cascades tumble down the precipices and broken rocks above. Caves—Caverns.—Among the many caves in Airdmeanach, there are two deserving of particular notice. One is called the Ladder Cave, to which there is a passage of about 80 feet, open at the top, and affording space for two men to walk a breast. At the entrance of the cave, there is a small breastwork, by way of defence, and to this was placed a ladder for the people to get over; and hence its name. . Within, there is a space for about eighty armed men. Here is a large flagstone, said to have been used as a table, and some other conveniences ; and tradition says the country people took shelter here in troublous times. The other cave is in Gribun, in Airdmeanach, and much more capacious than the Ladder Cave. It is called Mackinnon’s Cave, from a tradi- tion that a gentleman of that name, whose curiosity had been ex- cited by various reports of its amazing extent, went in to explore it, and was never again heard of. As the place has been investi- gated with better success in latter times, the conclusion is, that he must have been killed by persons who had taken shelter there, and who considered him as a spy or intruder. In the autumn of 1773, Dr Johnson, accompanied by his faithful Boswell, visited this cave. The great lexicographer on that occasion seemed not to be in so snarling a humour as was his wont, with Scots and Scotland. This cave is considered by the people to extend across the coun- try, and it is said that Mackinnon, before alluded to, when 300 AR GY LESHIRE. going in search of its end or bottom, had bewildered himself in its mazes, and was lost. Some people might have found it their interest to propagate this story, and impress upon the vulgar mind a frightful. idea of the cave, there being little doubt of its being repeatedly used for safety and shelter in times of trouble. Its formation has arisen in all probability from the wasting of a trap vein. The mouth is fortified by vast fragments of stones, which render it rather difficult of access, and the bot- tom, as far as the tide beats in, is covered with shingle and quan- tities of cast ware or sea-weed. Farther in, it is spread over with smooth sand. The breadth at the entrance may be about 45 feet, andthe roof, rising almost in a regular arch, is so high and lofty, that the torches and lights used are insufficient to show it distinct- ly; and, from its general depth or length, it is not very possible to form a notion of its dimensions from any point of view. Pass- ing inwards from the sea to a great depth on the right hand side, is a narrow passage, about six feet wide, obstructed by large stones, over which, having passed, there is a second cave of about 25 feet in breadth; and here is a square stone, called Fingal’s table. Onwards still the cave leads, until tokens of a feculent or corrupted atmosphere beginning to affect the lights, warn the tra- veller as to the propriety of returning. This cave is much visited by tourists. • In Inimore, there is a cave called the Nuns' cave, and consi- dered to have been the habitation of Nuns. Tradition is silent as to the time when they resided here ; but most probably, it was subsequent to the demolition and dissolution of the nunnery at Iona, that they sheltered themselves in this sequestered place. Several crosses are cut in the sides of the cave, and there are many initials of names; but these last seem modern. Islands.-Passing over Iona, which will be treated of afterwards, there are two islands attached to the parish, and both in the es- tuary of Loch-nan-gaul. These are Inniskenneth and Eorsa, the former a very fertile little island, separated from Gribun by a sound of half a mile. This island is about a mile long, and less than half a mile broad, and supposed to take its name from Ken- neth, a friend of St Columba, whom he is said to have rescued by prayer from drowning during a storm “in undosis Charybdis Bre- cani.” This Kenneth is supposed to have died abbot of Achabo, in Ireland, in 600. According to Donald Monro, Dean of the Isles, and who visited this, amongst other islands, in 1549, Innis- KIL FINICH E N AND IS II,VICE UEN. 30 li kenneth at that time belonged to the prioress of Iona. Thus he proceeds, as related in Macfarlane's MS., Advocates' Library : “On the north and north-north-eist of Colmkill lyes an Iyle be 12 myles of sea, till within the entres of Locheseaford foresaid, callit Inchekenzie, half ane myle in lenthe, and not fully half a myle in breadthe, a fair Ile, fertile and fruitfull, inhabit and man- nurit, full of cunnings about the shores of it, with a paroch kirk, the maist parochin being upon the main shoar of Mull, being onlie an half myle distant from the said Ile, and the haill parochin of it pertains to the Prioress of Colmkill.” - The ruins of this parish church, or it may be chapel, are still very entire; they stand about 60 feet in length by 30 in breadth. Near to the ruins are the remains of a cross. The cemetery around the chapel is covered with tombstones of chieftains and other personages, and still continues to be used as a place of sepul- ture. The remains of Sir Allan Maclean's cottage, where, with his two daughters, he so hospitably entertained Dr Johnson and his friends, are yet to be seen. The description which their learned guest has given of his visit is one of the most interesting and pleasing passages in his narrative. The ashes of Sir Allan rest near the spot where he related to the Doctor his American campaign; but the estate has long since gone from the family. It is now the property of Colonel Robert Macdonald, who has built a mansion house on the island; and, like Sir Allan, resides there in agreeable retirement, after having fought and bled in the cause of his country. Close to Inniskenneth is the small islet of Sandi- land, visited likewise by the Doctor, and capable of grazing a few sheep. . Farther up Loch-na-gaul is Eorsa, which is thus described by Dean Munro in 1549, in the MS. before alluded to : “Within this Iyle of Inch Kenzie, in the said Loche of Seafort, be an myle of sea, lyes an ile callit Eorsay, ane fertile ile, full of corne and grassing, mair than a myle lange, pertaining to the Prioress of Colmkill.” There are no inhabitants here now, and no crops of any kind raised, it being used solely for feeding sheep, and it be- longs in property to the Duke of Argyle. Sea Coast, &c.—In a parish so very extensive, almost surround- ed by the sea, and indented by its arms, it is no exaggeration to say that, including its islands, the whole sea coast may be comput- ed to be nearly one hundred and twenty miles. The shores are bold and rocky, presenting an iron bound appearance throughout 302 A R GY LESH IIR E. almost their whole extent. Upon the south side of the parish, there is only one creek or anchorage ground, and that in Ross, called Portuisgen, where a vessel of 30 tons may anchor, but not in safe- ty, if the weather be stormy. Upon the Ross side of the sound of Iona, there are two creeks, the one called the Barachan, and the other Poltairve or the bull pond, where vessels of considerable burden may anchor in great safety, with proper pilots. In the sound of Iona, there is a sand bank almost in the middle of the channel, so that vessels passing through it, must keep within one- third channel of Iona. Lochlahich lies east of the sound of Iona, at the distance of about three miles; an island or rock at the en- trance must be kept by the vessel entering the loch upon the star- board quarter, but with a leading wind a vessel may safely enter between this small island and the Rossland on the west, as this channel, although narrow, is deep and free of rocks. After enter- ing the loch, a small island at the bottom of it must be kept upon the larboard. Between this island and the mainland, vessels in general anchor, but there is no danger in anchoring in any part of the loch. This loch runs about two miles from north to south into Ross, and is considered very safe anchorage. A small arm of it runs westward, and is called Lochcaol, but is too shallow for any vessel to anchor in. The whole of Loch Scridain may be called a road, but the best anchorage ground is at Kilfinichen and another place at the head of the loch, called the Narrows, where vessels may ride in safety from all storms. The headland of Burg in Airdmeanach, and the whole north coast of that dis- trict, is exceedingly dangerous, the coast being bold, full of rocks, and no harbour. - Meteorology.—The climate of the parish is temperate, but ra- ther moist, arising either from its being surrounded by the Atlan- tic, or the high hills which separate it from the parish of Torosay. The prevailing gales are from the west and south-west. The in- habitants are healthy, and attain to great age. Even in Ross, where it is low and marshy, the inhabitants are healthy and long- lived, for the gales from the mountains purify the air, and contri- bute much to the health of the inhabitants. Few diseases are known except ſevers, which are generally brought from the low country by labourers returning from the harvest and other works they are employed in, during the summer and harvest. ** Hydrography.—The only lakes in the parish are three incon- siderable ones in Ross; the largest of them is not above a mile 3 KIL FIN ICH E N AND KIL VI CE UEN. 303 and a half in length, and about half a mile in breadth. In Bro- las and Airdmeanach, there are six rivers, but having no lakes for their source, and the run short, they are not considerable except in time of rain, and then a great quantity of water is rolled down the sides of the hills with prodigious force, the banks become over- flown, when it is dangerous for travellers to attempt crossing them either on foot or on horseback, and frequently they cannot be cross- ed either way. Besides these, there are a number of rivulets which swell in time of rain, and cannot be crossed. During rain storms, a thousand streams fall down the rocks of Burg and Gri- bun, and those of Inimore and Carsaig. Burg forms a circuit of several miles facing the Atlantic to the west, and Inimore and Carsaig a continued ridge of rocks of five or six miles in length facing the south channel. The rocks of these being in some places perpendicular, and in all places nearly so, and some hun- dred feet in height, the streams rushing from their tops form very magnificent cascades; and should a high wind be blowing against them, the water is whirled up in columns like smoke to- ward the skies, and presents a scene of uncommon sublimity. Geology and Mineraloffy.—A portion of the parish is composed of rocks of the trap and oolite formations,and they evenform part of many of the high hills. The primary strata are to be found in Ross, and in a small patch on the shores of Loch Scridain. Professor St Fond says that Benmore is composed of lava, and Jameson agrees pretty nearly with his observations. The lofty crags of the whole shores are composed of basalt and wacken strata, traversed by basaltic veins which run in very different directions, and contain much zeo- lite. The island of Inniskenneth is composed of red-coloured sandstone and limestone, and on the shores of Gribun opposite, are to be found argillaceous sandstone and sandstone breccia. The same appearances are presented at Carsaig, where there is limestone, and where freestone is quarried of good quality. Ja- meson found the granite of Ross disposed in beds, and that it would split into rhombs, and, what is more uncommon, into co- lumns not unlike basalt. Dr Walker, many years previous, ob- served the same disposition of the granite not only in Mull, but in many other parts of Scotland. The whole south side of Ross is formed of granite and micaceous schistus, until it arrives upon a line with Bunessan, where the basaltic rock commerces. Of this granite the Sceryvore light-house is being erected. Mines.—There are several appearances of brown coal upon the 304 A R GYLE SHIRE • coast, but the most remarkable is that upon the hill called Bein-an- Innie. This hillis composed of horizontal strata of basalt and wacken, which alternate and rise to the top of the hill, like great natural terraces. The coal appears in the bed of a rivulet upon the side of the mountain, and is about three feet thick, and immediately covered by basalt. Jameson thinks it one of the greatest beds of coal that has as yet been discovered in the western Highlands, and as such worthy of particular attention. Several trials have been made with a view to the working of it, but of a nature so trifling, that they only deserve notice as showing how little the importance of the subject has been understood. Sir David Mur- ray of Stanhope, about 120 years ago, was the first gentleman who seems to have been aware of its consequence, for he then pur- chased the hill solely on account of the coal; he proposed to open the bed in a very extensive manner, and to work it until he should be satisfied whether it was practicable to continue it to ad- vantage. This scheme was unfortunately frustrated by a failure in his affairs, and the working was stopped a short time after he be- gan. Since then, the property changed hands, and several at- tempts have been made to work it; but the business appears to have been committed to persons who were satisfied with making very superficial and unsatisfactory trials. Sir James Riddel of Ardnamurchan, about fifty years ago, then the proprietor, made a trial; but after some coals were dug, he also gave up the work. The quality of the coals is said to be good. A seam of about eighteen inches thick appears on the sea coast of Ross, the property of the Duke of Argyle. Coals also appear in Brolas and in Gribun, and Mr Maclean of Pennycross is presently boring for coal in his lands of Carsaig with every prospect of success. 200logy.—In the lakes and rivers, are to be found trout, and in the former pike. Great shoals of various kinds of fish surround all the coasts of the parish; such as herring, cod, ling, mackerel, laith, codling, Seth, gurnot, rock fish, &c. Of the flat fish, there are flounders, plaice, soles, turbot, skate, &c. The shell fish are, oysters, clams, cockles, muscles, welks, crabs, lobsters, and vari- ous others. Seals frequent the coast, porpoises often ; and some- times whales come after the herrings. The wild quadrupeds in the parish are deer, rabbits, and hares; the deer during harvest frequently leave the mountains, to eat the corn in the low grounds 4 Kl L.F INICHEN AND KILVICE UEN. 305 of Ross and Brolas. All the varieties of land birds are to be found in this parish which are generally met with in the Highlands, such as eagles, hawks, kites, wildgeese, pigeons, moor-fowl, black- cock, ptarmigan, &c. The sea-fowls are as numerous as the kinds are various; such as cormorants, scarts, teals, shieldrakes, ducks of various kinds, &c. The migratory are, Swans, swallows, lap- . . wing, woodcock, plovers, Solan geese, curlews, wigeons, &c. Botany.—Along the shores, the Pulmonaria maritima, or sea bugloss, is to be found. In the marshy grounds, the Menyanthes trifoliatum, or marsh trefoil, appears: and the Juniperus communis, or juniper tree, is common on most of the hills. Woods and Plantations.—The only plantations in the parish are those about Kilfinichen and Pennycross, and these not to any extent. In the district of Airdmeanach, are to be found oak, ash, and birch, all natural, but not attaining to any thing of size or dimensions. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Land-owners.-The chief landholder in the parish is the Duke of Argyle; the others are Dugald Maclachlan, Esq. of Killimore; Colonel Robert Macdonald of Inniskenneth ; Murdoch Maclaine, Esq. of Lochbuy ; Archibald J. Campbell, Esq. of Kilpatrick; John Auljoe, Esq. of Pennyghail; Alexander Maclean, Esq. of Carsaig; and Donald Maclean, Esq. of Kinloch. The valued rent of the whole parish amounts to L.207, 6s. 5d. Sterling. It contains 37% penny lands, and is thus divided among the proprietors: The Duke of Argyle, º * L. 113 9 6 Dugald Maclachlan, Esq. of Killimore, g 19 0.11 Colonel Robert Macdonald of Inniskenneth, e 16 6. 0 Murdoch Maclaime, Esq. of Lochbuy, tº 13 16 8 Archibald J. Campbell, Esq. of Kilpatrick, e 1 1 7 9 John Auljoe, Esq. of Pennyghail, Alexander Maclean, Esq. of Carsaig, o 33 5 7 Donald Maclean, Esq. of Kinloch, -* Sterling money, º L.207 6 5 Antiquities.—A monastery is said to have been in the island of Inniskenneth, but no traces of the building are now to be seen. The ruins of a small church, said by Buchanan to be a parish church, and referred to by Dean Munro, and before alluded to, are pretty entire. In the parish there are many of the round towers of Norwegian or Danish origin; these are all upon the sea-coast and in sight of AR GYLE. U 306 ARGY LE SHIRE, one another; they are supposed to have been watch towers to give notice of an enemy's approach, which was done from the bat- tlement by a smoke in the day time, and a fire at night. They are small; most of them would not contain twenty men. There are, in many parts of the parish, long stones standing on end. The country people call them Carra, which signifies friend- ship, and they seem to be set up at the head of the graves of emi- ment men; or as memorials of some remarkable transaction carried on in these places. Since the Reformation, the parish has produced none eminent for learning, excepting the Betons of Pennycross, who were cele- brated medical men. The family has been long since extinct, but they are still spoken of in the country with admiration for their skill in physic. Tradition says, that, on the occasion of one of them being sent to attend on a king of Scotland, the country people flocked around him for advice as to their health during his absence, when he give them this short rule, “Bhi gu stigach geanmmuidh mochaireach,” i. e. “To be cheerful, temperate, and early risers.” The Druids are said to have had a temple at the head of Loch- scridain, in a farm called Rossal, which in Gaelic signifies judg- ment or justice, and here they held their courts. This temple is but small, and several of the stones have fallen down. Parochial Registers.--There was no register of any kind kept in the parish until the year 1780, when the then incumbent com- menced one, but that only extended to marriages and baptisms. There being no less than thirteen burial places in the parish, and at a great distance from each other, and from the incumbent’s re- sidence, deaths were not recorded. Mansion-Houses.—These are, Kilfinichen House, the property of Dugald Maclachlan, Esq. of Killiemore, who resides there; Pennycross House, belonging to John Auljoe, Esq. of Penny- ghail, and occupied by Alexander Maclean, Esq. of Carsaig; and Colonel Macdonald’s residence in Inniskenneth. These are neat modern buildings, suitable to the estates and the nature of the country and climate. III.-PopULATION. There are no certain data by which a comparison can be drawn between the ancient and present state of the population of the pa- rish ; for, as already said, no register of any kind was kept until the year 1780. Some suppose the population of the parish, in ancient times, to have been much greater than now; and it is put KILF IN ICHEN AND KILVICE U EN. 307 forward, as one amongst other facts, that seven score men from the two districts of Ross and Icolmkill were at the battle of Inver- keithing. The destruction occasioned by the civil wars in the days of Charles I. and Cromwell, and a famine and pestilence dur- ing the reign of William and Mary, almost depopulated the whole parish. In King William's time, people died for want upon the high road, and were buried where they lay down,-their few sur- viving relatives having neither strength nor means to carry the bodies to the common burying places. Upon the whole coast of Brolas, it is said only two families survived, and very many parts of the other districts were, by the same causes, desolated. The return made to Dr Webster in 1755, including Iona, was 1685. In the month of February 1791, Mr Dugald Campbell, the then incumbent, numbered the whole parish, and a return was given of 3002; thus nearly doubling the population in forty-six years. Amount of population in 181 1, & 3205 - * 1821, g 3967 1831, e 38 9 1841, . 4102 Language.—The Gaelic language is chiefly spoken, and pre- vails in the parish, although there are not many who cannot speak or understand the English. Within the last forty years, a bet- ter knowledge of the English tongue prevails, from its being taught in the schools, and from the greater intercourse opened up with the low country by means of steam-boats. The Gaelic of this parish is considered very pure, supposed to arise from its con- nection with the learned characters who flourished in Iona. Character of the People, &c.—The inhabitants in general are quiet, sober, humane, kindly towards each other, and religiously inclined. They are healthy, and capable of undergoing much fa- tigue; but the habits of many of them are not over-industrious, which is to be regretted, as something more of this kind infused into their general character would be much to their advantage. A dash of superstition is mixed up with their feelings, and may be traced to some opinions handed down by their ancestors, per- haps from the time of the Druids. Among these, it is, by some of the common people, believed, that the spirit of the last person who was buried, watches round the burying-ground until another body is interred, to the spirit of which he delivers up the charge of watching, and so on ad infinitum. 308 AR GYI.ESHIRE, They make expert and hardy seamen, being accustomed to the sea from their infancy; and they make no less efficient soldiers. When his Grace the Duke of Argyle, in 1793, raised the Ar- gyleshire Fencibles, commanded by the Marquis of Lorn, very many of the youth of the parish joined these ; and many of them enlisted in the 74th Regiment, then under his Grace's patronage. During the continuance of the late war, many of them were found in the line ; and they made no mean appearance in the volunteer corps, sustaining at all times, and under the most trying circum- stances, the exalted character of the Highland soldier. IV.-INDUSTRY. Several individuals pay rents of L.70 or thereby; but the bulk of the population, consisting of crofters possessing small patches of land, agricultural labourers, cottars, and fishermen, pay rents from L.4 to L, 12 annually. These have no leases, occupying only from year to year. The large tenants have leases, varying in duration according to agreement. Agriculture.—The different kinds of manure made use of are shell sand, which is found in Ross, dung from the housed cattle, and sea ware, with which every part of the coast abounds. The plough is made use of where the nature of the ground will admit of it; but where the ground is broken and full of stones, and in soft and mossy parts, the old Highland spade is used; the crops which places so worked by the spade produce, seem, in a great measure, to compensate the toil. - Small tenants or crofters plant their potatoes in the lazy bed way. Those raised by sea-ware in this mode are not so dry as these planted or dibbled in the same kind of beds, and are ma- nured with dung. Others in the parish drill their potatoes, where the ground is accessible to the plough. The other crops raised are oats, and bear or Scots barley. The former is made into meal, or used in the straw, during winter and spring, for feeding the cattle ; the latter obtains a ready sale at the Tobermory and Oban distilleries. Turnip on the large farms is being grown, and clover and rye grass are not unfrequently sown. The parish does not produce so much meal and potatoes as to support the inhabitants. The meal imported comes gene- rally from the Clyde ; and the parish of Ulva supplies to those requiring it the quantity of potatoes awanting. The sowing be- gins generally about the 20th of March, and is finished about the 4 K LF IN ICHEN AND KILVICE UEN, 309 middle of May. In good years, the crop is cut down in Septem- ber; in bad seasons, some of the crop has not been cut down un- til November. Live-Stock.-This parish, as well as the whole of Mull, is dis- tinguished for a hardy breed of black cattle, that can be easily fattened, and whose flesh is fine-grained, juicy, and well tasted. The larger farmers keep a few low country cows for furnishing milk; but to this use alone are they confined. The horses are hardy and full of mettle, and sure-footed upon the roughest roads. There formerly were goats; but about fifty years ago, they were banished from the Duke of Argyle's property, and only a very few now are to be seen in other parts of the parish. The sheep, until within the last forty years, were of the small Highland breed; but now the hills are covered with Cheviots and low country sheep. Kelp.–This manufacture has entirely disappeared, with the exception of a very little made at Inniskenneth and Gribun. Be- fore barilla was allowed to enter our market duty free, and thereby exclude the kelp, there were no less than 150 tons annually ma- nufactured in this parish, and of course it, in common with the Highlands in general, have felt, and do still feel, the loss; for kelp cannot now be sold so as to bring the wages of the workers, as the former consumers of kelp prefer, to work from barilla and other substances admitted duty free. In previous years, this ma- nufacture employed and gave bread to many thousands in the Highlands and islands, and the price it drew brought money to the country, and this being again circulated through the kingdom at large kept that money at home, which now goes to enrich the foreigner at the poor Highlander's expense ; a measure of policy which cannot be too strongly condemned,—for whether it arose from ignorance on the part of Government, or from any other cause, the Highlands have, since the admission, duty free, of ba- rilla and other substances, presented scenes of much distress, bankruptcy, and poverty. - Fisheries.—To render beneficial to the natives the bounty which Providence freely offered them at their doors, the Duke of Ar- gyle, about fifty years ago, divided a farm in Ross, convenient for the white fishing, into a number of crofts. His Grace planted fa- milies there, and sent people to instruct them in the proper modes of curing and fishing. They likewise were provided with boats and 310 ARGY LESH 1 RE. lines gratis, and had every encouragement and indulgence given. But, after every exertion, his Grace's benevolent and patriotic in- tentions were frustrated. The fishing answered not the idea en- tertained of its success, and, after much money sunk by his Grace, it was abandoned; and those who now follow the pursuit merely do so as a bye job, and when they cannot otherwise be employed. In Lochscridain and Lochlahaich, herring are to be found. Lochscridain abounds with herring of the most excellent quality; that of Lochlahaich is not so good, and no great quantity of them to be had at a time; but the fishing in Lochscridain is in general favourable, and, in 1840, the success met with was very great. V.-PARoch IAL ECONOMY. - Market-Town.—There is no market-town in the parish. Village.—The village of Bonessan contains about 250 souls. In this village, there are no less than five merchants or shop-keep- ers, who may be termed general dealers. - Means of Communication.—Aros, in the parish of Kilninian and Kilmore, is the head post-office for this parish; but there is a sub-office at Bonessan, and a receiving-house at Gribun, and re- gular foot-runners convey the mail bags. This parish, therefore, now enjoys the same advantage with any other place in Mull of hav- ing three dispatches and three arrivals of the mails weekly,–an ad- vantage which it did not enjoy in former years, for the inhabitants were then under the necessity of going to Aros, a distance of about twenty-four miles from the point of Ross. There are no turnpike roads in this parish, or in Mull, nor any Government roads, as in Skye and other parts of the High- lands. Communication, however, is much facilitated to and from the low country by steam-boats, especially in summer and au- tumn, when clouds of tourists and visitors come to view Staffa and Iona. Ecclesiastical State.—There are two churches in the parish— one at Bonessan in Ross, and the other at Kilfinichen, both built in 1804, and repaired in 1828. The former church contains about 350 sittings, and the latter 300. Public worship is performed on two out of every three Sabbaths at Bonessan, on the third at Kil- finichen, and once a quarter at Torran, in Brolas, where there is no church. There is no manse, but the incumbent receives, and accepts in lieu thereof from the heritors, L.42 annually. The glebe has not been measured, but is supposed to contain from se- KILF IN 1 CHEN AND KIL WIC EU EN. 3]. I wenty to eighty Scots acres, and its annual value, as land lets in Mull, may be about L. 15. The stipend is L. 180, 10s. 31%d Ster- ling. All the parishioners are of the Established Church, with the exception of forty, who are Baptists and Indepedents. About two- thirds of the gross population are in the habit of attending the churches, although difficulty of access prevents many of all ages from attending regularly. There are 374 communicants connect. ed with the church of Kilfinichen, and 514 with that at Bonessan. The Duke of Argyle is patron of the parish. Education.—About fifty years ago, there were only two schools in the whole parish, including a charity school at Iona. Now there are two parochial schools, one with a salary of L.30, and the other with a salary of L. 21, 6s. 6d. There are besides an As- sembly school, two charity schools, two Gaelic schools, and two female schools. The schools are well attended, for the people are in general much alive to the benefit of education. All the male teachers keep Sabbath schools. Poor—The ordinary collections for the poor at both churches, when put together, may average L.11 annually; this and occasional fines for immoralities imposed by the kirk-session are the only funds available to the poor. They otherwise dependentirely upon the humanity of the people. Fairs.-There are two fairs held at Bonessan in the year; one in the month of May, on the Friday before the May Mull market; and the other in the month of October, on the Friday before the Mull market in that month. At both fairs, black-cattle are brought for sale. Fuel.—The only fuel in common use is peat, and at times heather. The gentlemen and better class of farmers burn coal which, in general, comes from the Clyde, and the price varies from 14s. to 17s. per ton. Miscell,ANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. With the exception of the loss which the parish annually sus- tains by the discontinuance of the manufacture of kelp, the parish does not seem to have undergone much change since the year 1792, when the former Statistical Account was written. An im- provement since then in black-cattle stock and the introduction of Cheviot sheep, and of husbandry, by drainings and rais- ing of green crops, has no doubt taken place. The facilities of egress to the low country by steam-boats have been a great advan- 312 A R GYLE SHIRE. tage; and a considerable trade, in one shape or other, is now car- ried on between this parish and Glasgow, where the people send many articles to be disposed of, and from whence, in return, they are supplied in many of their wants. About twenty years ago there was only one shopkeeper in Ross; at present, there are not less than five in the small village of Bonessan alone ; besides others in the districts of Ross and Iona, who sell goods. There are now at least a dozen of boats trading between this part of the country and Glasgow, but most of these are small, open, and very insufficient, in which goods are frequently injured, and at times completely damaged or totally lost. A tolerably sized packet or vessel that would go regularly at stated periods,-say once a month or six weeks, with a proper person in charge, would benefit not only this parish and Iona, but the surrounding district; and, from the traffic now carried on, there is every reason to be- lieve there would be a sufficiency of employment. IoMA, includes the whole island of that name, and the following five farms in the district of Ross, viz. Fidden, Knockvolagan, Po- tée, Creich, and Caitchionn. These farms, however, as being in the district of Ross, and so included in the description of the quoad civilia parish, have been already spoken to. Name, &c.—This island has received various denominations. By Bede, who died in 762, it is named Hii or Hy, for the punc- tuation of vowels had not then been introduced. In the annals of Ulster, written at a later date, it is put down I. Hi, Ioe, and Aoi. According to Toland, I signifies in Irish an island, and is often written Hii, Ii, Hu, to avoid making a word of one letter. But Hu, Dr Jamieson suspects, must, in the first instance, have been merely an inaccuracy, in consequence of the double i being mistaken by some transcriber for u. In the Transactions of the Antiquarian Society, published in 1792, the Earl of Buchan names it Aemona; and Pennant tells us that Iona derives its name from a Hebrew word, signifying a dove, in allusion to the name of Columba; he seems to have followed Keith, who, in his Catalogue of the Scots Bishops, while treating of the see of the Isles says, “as the Cathedral church of Icolmkillowes its name to a Greek word, so that island it- self, called also Hy, Y, Iona, Ionah, derives that last name from the word Ionah which, in Hebrew signifies a pigeon ; and is so called, KILF IN ICHEN AND KILVICE UEN. 3 13 from St Colum, the founder of the monastery here, whose Gallic or Celtic name Colum, and Latin name Columba, are both of the same signification, Sanctus Adamnanus Abbas de Hy, in vita Sancti Columba.” Martin gives the etymon of the word Hii, from a tra- ditionary account among the natives, that one of Columba's fol- lowers in their voyage thither, having espied the isle at a distance, cried joyfully to him in the Irish language, “Chimi i"—I see her; and that the saint answered, it should from henceforth be called Y. Pinkerton callsit Hyona in all parts of his History of Scotland where he has occasion to speak of it. Some etymologists say that, as in Irish, I-thon signifies the island of waves, which is very characte- ristic of it in times of storm, and as the “th” of that word, in pro- nouncing it, is not sounded, the monks readily Latinized it Iona and Hyona. By some of the old Irish and Danish writers, it is called the Insula Sancta or Holy Island. In the records of Scotland down to the middle of the sixteenth century, and in inscriptions still to be seen upon the island, and contemporary with that period, it is simply called Y or I. It appears to admit of no doubt that its ancient Latin name was Iona, for it is so termed by Adomnan, the most early writer we have concerning it. To the Highlanders of the present day, Iona is known as “In- mis-man-Druidhneach,” or the Island of the Druids—as “Ii-cholum- chille,” or the Island of Colum, of the Cell, or Cemetery, from whence the English word Icolymkill is derived; and, par excellence, by I, or the island pronounced by the sound of ee in English, and which is the most general name it goes by, in the parish and sur- rounding neighbourhood.” * In Macfarlane's MS., Advocates' Library, there is a description of this island by Dean Monro, who travelled through the Western Isles in 1549. “ Colmkill.–Narrest this be twa my les of sea, layes the Isle the Erische call it I. colmkill, that is, Sanct Colm's Isle, ane faire mayne Isle of twa myle lange, and maire and ame myle braid, fertill and fruitfull of corn and store, and guid for fishing. Within this ile there is a monastery of Mounkes and ane uther of nuns, with a pa- roche kirke, and sundrie other chapells dotat of auld, be the kings of Scotland, and be Clandonald of the Iyles. This abbay forsaid wes the cathedrall kirk of the Bischops of the Iyles sen the tyme they were expulsed out of the Iyle of Man by the English- men; for within the Iyle of Man wes the cathedrall kirke, and living of auld, as I have already said in the description of that ile. Within this ile of Colmkill, there is ane sanctuary also, or kirkaird, callit in Erische Religoram, quhilk is a verey fair kirkzaird, and weill biggit about with staine and lyme. Into this sanctuary ther is three tombes of staine formit like litle chapels with ane braid gray marble or quhin staine in the gavile of ilk ane of the tombes. In the staine of the tomb there is writ- ten in Latin letters Tumulus Regum Scotia, that is, the tomb ore grave of the Scotts kinges. Within this tombe, according to our Scotts and Erische Cronickles, ther layes forty-eight crowned Scotts kings, throughe, the quhilk this ile hes beine richlie dótat be the Scots kinges, as we have said. The tombe on the south Syde foresaid has 3] 4 AR GYLES II I It [.. § Eatent, &c.—Iona is situated in 56° 59' of north latitude, and divided from the Ross of Mull by the Sound of I on its eastern this inscription, Tumulus Regum Hybernia, that is, the Tombe of Ireland Kinges; for we have in our auld Erishe cronickells that there wes four Irland kinges eirdit in the said tombe. Upon the north syde of our Scotts tombe, the inscription beares Tu- mulus Regum Norwegia, that is, the Tombe of the Kings of Norroway; in the quhilk tombe, as we find in our ancient Erishe Cronickells, ther lays eight kings of Norroway; and als we find in our Erische Cronickells that Coelus, King of Norro- way, commandit his nobils to take his bodey and burey it in Icolmkill, if it chancit him to die in the iles. Bot he was so discomfitit, that ther remained not so manney of his armey as wold burey him ther : Therefor he was eirdit in Kyle after he stroke ane field against the Scotts, and wes vanquisht be them. Within this sanctuary also lies the maist pairt of the Lords of the Iles with ther lynage, Tuo clan Lynes with their lynage, Mº Kynnon and M*Guare, with ther lineages, with sundrie uthers in- habitants of the hail iles, because this sanctuary wes wont to be the sepulture of the best men of all the iles; and als of our kings as we have said ; because it wes the maist honorable and anciend place that was in Scotland in thair days, as we reid.” In the same manuscript, there is another description of Iona, but anonymous, bearing date 1693, and is as follows: “This ile lyes straucht in lenth to the south south-west two myles in lenth, one in breadth, full of litle hillocks, pleasant and healthfull, with a store...of common me- dicinall hearbs naturally growing; and some monks transplanted thither from other places both esculent and medicinal. The ile is fruitfull, and hes plaine arable ground in gud measure interlyned betwixt the little green hills thereof. The product and cheif commoditie is barley. Its seveared from the south end of Mull by a narrow sound, 3 part of a leg, which makes it verie commodious for fishing, and all water and sea foules. This ile hes been famous, first, by Columbus his dwelling there; 2do, by the large and curious church, abbacie, and nunerie founded there. A consider- able citie was in the ile of old, called Sodora, the vestiges whereof is yett visible by the port and streets thereof. It lay in the midst of the ile, upon the east cost, weel stored with naturall fontanis in great abundance, great many gardens, yett vi- sible, and many chapells, of whose particular uses (state that they served for Divine worship) we can give little account. One of these was dedicated to the Saint Oranus, commonly called Oran. It is situate neer the great church and abbacie, vith a par- ticular precinct, in which many of our kings, and the kings of Irland and Danemark, lyes buried, with severall other tombs of the heads of clans. 3tio. By Columbus his buriall there, in a litle chapel be himself, though the Irish alledge he is buried with them. Their credulative fancie is founded on a verse forged by some flattering priest : * Hi tres sunt una, tumulo tumulantur in uno Brigida, Patricius atque Columba pius.” But I have seen his life extracted out of the Pope's librarie, and translated in Irish by a priest verbatim as it was in Latin in the said librárie, shewing he died and was buried at I. The priest was Caal O’Horan. Ther hes been many inscriptions upon the tombs and pillars. The most is obliterat. Many curious knotts of mosaick work yett to be seen, though many is overgrown and covered with earth. The burial-places of the nuns is about the nunerie. No women is yett toleratt to be buried neer the great church or where the men are buried. This is alledged to be by Collumbus' speciall order. In this ile was a great many crosses, to the number of 360, which was all de- stroyed by one provinciall assembly, holden on the place a little after Reformation. Ther fundations is yett etant; and two notable ons, of a considerable height and excellent work, untouched. In this iland is marble enouch, whereof the late Earle of Argyle caused polish a piece at London, abundantly beautifull. In a particular place of the iland, neer the sea, ebbing and flowing thereinto, is found transparent Stones of all collours, but more ordinarily green, much resembling agatts. They yeild to the file and toole, and I have severall sealls of them. In this ile was a socie- tie of the Druids when Columbus came there; but it seems they were mom of the best, for he banished them all. Here is yett a few people upon the ile called Ostiarij, from their office about the temple, who is observed never to exceed 8 in number, which is said to be fortold by Columbus to be their judgement for some atro- KILF IN ICHEN AND KILVICE U EN. 3] 5 coast. This sound is about half a-mile broad, and has already been spoken of, in regard to its navigation. On all other sides, Iona is washed by the Atlantic. The island is about three miles in extreme length, by one and a-half in breadth, and may contain a superficial area of 2000 imperial acres. Dr Walker guessed its superficies at 3840 English statute acres; but this seems evidently a mistake. Of its supposed number of 2000 imperial acres, 600 are in occasional cultivation, the remainder being hill pasture, morass, or rocks. The surface is unequal, rising into eminences or small hills; but the most elevated part, called Dun-ii, does not exceed 400 feet above the level of the sea; and the boldest shore lies upon the south-west side. The ridges of these hills run in the direction of the length of the island, and shoot out at its extremities cious fault committed by their progeniter. The registers and records of this ile was all written on parchmen, but all destroyed by that assembly that destroyed the crosses.” Immediately following that description in the foresaid manuscript, is one by John Praser, Dean of the Isles,—the same Fraser who, in 1688, gave Sacheverell, Governor of Mann, various particulars regarding Iona when the Governor, in that year, visited the island. The paper in the manuscript is thus described : “Ane Answer to Sir Robert Syball's Quaeries for the Iyls of Tirry, Gunna, Colle, and leolmkill, all lying within the Sherydome of Argyll and the Bishopwrick of the Iylls; marked on the back, ‘A Description of Tyrie, Gonna, Colla, and Icolmkill,” given into me by the Bishop of the Isles.” After describing the islands of Tiree, Gunna, and Coll, Fraser proceeds thus with Iona : - “Icollumkill, antiently called Iona, layes from Colle to the south and south-east about 36 mailes of sea, and is distant from the south end of Mull about 1 maill of sea. It is 2 miles in lenth, and almost from east to west; and 1 mile in breadth. It is very fertile; commodious for fishing and fowling. It has two fresh-water lochs; guid springs and medicinal herbs. Here the sea casteth up in ane place a number of small stones of divers collours and transparente, verij fair to looke upon. They realy are peculiar to the place, for the longer they lay upon the shoar, they reapen and turns more lively in their coulors. They yield to the file, and admits of gouid polishing and engraving. Marble also of divers collours and with beautyfull vains is found in this island. It has bein counted renouned, pairtly for the goujd discipline of Columbus, who is buried in it, and partly for the monuments of the place. In it is two monastryes, one of monks, another of nuns; a church of considerable dimen- sions, dedicated to Columbus. This has been the cathedrall of the Bishops of the Ills since Sodora in the Ill of Man came into the Inglishe's hands. In this illand are many other small chapells. The vestiges of a citie is zit visible in it, which, as sum old manuscript testifies, was called Sodora. Many of the kings of Scotland, some of the kings of Irland and Noroway was buryit heer. Many tombs, appropriat to the families of the Illanders, as their inscriptions, though now almost obliterate, do testify. Heer the famous Columbus himself was also interred. . The coast round about Iona is very bade, full of rocks and violent tyds. The whole illand is church- land; so is also a gouid part of Tyrie, the ile of Gonna wholly, and the two ends of Collé. It is remarkable that there is in Iona a few people called to this day Ostiarij, from their office about the church in Columbus’ tyme. This people never exceeds the number of 8 persons in perfyte age. This is found to had true ; and there is a tradition, that, for some miscarriage of their predecessors in Collumbus’ tyme, this malediction was left them. The inhabitants of all the said illands is naturally civil} and bountifull, right capable of all gouid instructions. All thir illands hes bein pos- sessed be M* Leane and the cadette of his family.” 316 AR GYLE SHIRE, into many small rocky heads, which form a number of rugged in- accessible creeks. The coast, however, along the two sides of the island, lies more in a straight line, and forms in most places a low sandy beach; and, where it is interrupted with rock, the rocks do not shoot out into the sea, as at the extremities of the island, but run along shore. - - Harbours.-Iona cannot boast of the hospitality of its shores, or of anything done by nature or art to facilitate foreign inter- course with it. Properly speaking, there is no harbour belonging to the island; but, in a small sandy bay below the ancient abbey, anchorage ground in five-fathoms water, within two cable-lengths of the shore, is to be found. There is another landing place for boats, but a very dangerous one, except in good weather, upon the south-west part of the island. This is a creek lined with perpen- dicular rocks of serpentine marble, and exposed to the western swell of the Atlantic ; it is called Port-na-Curach, or the harbour of the boat, by way of distinction, it being here that Saint Columba landed, when he arrived from Ireland. The word curach signifies that sort of boat which the ancient Irish and Caledonians con- structed with ribs of wood and covered with hides, and which is to be seen on some of the rivers of Wales, at the present day. On one side of this harbour, is an oblong heap of earth, the supposed size of Columba’s curach, presenting the form of a boat with the keel up.” - A vast tract near this harbour is covered with heaps of stones of unequal sizes, and these, it is said, were the penances of monks, who were to raise heaps, of dimensions equal to their crimes; “and to judge by some of these heaps,” Pennant says, “it is no breach of charity to think, there were among them enormous sinners.” Climate.—Sheltered by the island of Mull from the cold east- erly winds, and surrounded by the ocean, Iona enjoys a very tem- perate climate, remote from the extremes of heat and cold. It is seldom that, in winter, the freezing degree takes place; and if * In the Wodrow MS., Advocates' Library, under date 1701, the following appears relative to this: “In I. Callimkill (alias Ionia) there is a harbour, a mile distant westward from the buildings of the place, where stones may be found, as clear many of them as some glasses. This harbour is called Port-a-churrich, from the ship that Calimkill and his associats came upon from Ireland to that place. The length of this curachan or ship is obvious to any who goes to the place, it being marked up att the head of the harbour upon the grass, between two little pillars of stons, set up to show forth ye samain, between which pillars there is three score of foots in length, which was the exact length of the curachan or ship.” - }{ II, FINI CHEN AND KILVICE UEN. . 31 7 there happens to be a little snow, it is by the lowness of the land, the warmth of the sea and of the sandy soil, quickly dissolved. There is, however, a great dealof broken weather, even in the midst of summer. On the whole, the mildness of the climate is more evident in winter than in summer; but such is the heat of the summer and the warm nature of the soil, that Iona produces more early crops than most parts of Great Britain; for although the inhabitants do not conclude their barley-sowing until after the middle of June, they have harvest in August.* Springs.—The island is supplied in abundance with the finest springs. They are very small; yet a number of them collected form a rivulet that runs past the ruins of the ancient nunnery. There is no lake of any consequence; but on a plain adjoining the gardens of the abbey, and surrounded by small hills, there are vestiges of a large piece of artificial water, which has consisted of several acres, and been contrived both for pleasure and utility. Its banks have been formed by art into walks, and though now a morass, the remains are to be seen of a broad green terrace passing through the middle of it, which has been raised considerably above the water. At the place where it had been dammed up, and where there are the marks of a sluice, the ruins of a mill are still to be seen, which served the inhabitants for grinding their corn. Mineralogy.—Dr Garnet remarks, that the greater part of Iona is formed of limestone, and that the strata are all of secondary formation. Jameson is not inclined to be of that opinion; and the investigations and experiments made by him bear him out in this. Jameson is also supported in his views by Professor Walker's ob- servations. The rocks opposite Ross appear to be composed of quartz pretty intimately combined with chlorite and hornblende. It is, however, subject to much variety; passing, on the one hand, to hornblende rock and clay slate; and, on the other, into a silice- ous talcaceous slate. The rocks are traversed by veins of the Granites garbenbergensis of Linnaeus. These strata continue to * Adomnan, in his Vit. Columb. Lib. ii. cap. 2, relates, that Columba having ordered a quantity of barley to be given to some person, in compensation for a damage which he had sustained, desired him at the same time to sow it, though it was then about midsummer, assuring him, contrary to his expectation, that he would, the same season, reap a plentiful harvest. In obedience to this mandate, the man, committed the seed to the ground on the 12th of June (which now answers to our 24th of that month,) and he reaped a crop from it, in the beginning of August. Although this fact is regarded by Adomnan with admiration, and recorded by him as one of Co- lumba's miracles, yet it is not surprising that it happened in Iona, considering the mature of its climate and soil. 3 i8 AR GYLE SHIRE. the north-east extremity of the island, when they give place to hornblende slate, sienite, and hornblende rock, having much the appearance of serpentine. These rocks alternate with each other, and are to be observed traversed by basalt and granite veins. To- wards Dun-ii, the hornblende and sienite strata continue forming, upon some parts of the coast, cliffs of considerable height. This hill is composed of primitive rock, and principally of hornblende slate. Marble Quarry.—Fine white marble, of that species now called dolomite, semi-pellucid when reduced to a thin plate, exists in strata of about forty feet wide, running N. N. W. and S. S. E., and bounded by nearly vertical strata of a rock which, in some parts, is of the nature of talc, or passing to chlorite slate. This marble, as it approaches the other strata, is more or less mixed with talc, which causes it to become scaly or fibrous, with a yellowish-green colour, thus assimilating with talcaceous slate. This marble cuts freely, receives a good polish, and, except for the loss of colour, which is converted into a yellowish cast, resists the action of time. The quarry was opened about fifty years ago, under the Duke of Argyle's patronage, and a con- siderable quantity of marble quarried and sent to Leith and Lon- don; but after much money laid out, the working of it was aban- doned and never afterwards resumed. e There are extensive rocks of sienite on the south-west shore, which afford blocks of any dimensions of vivid colour, extreme- ly hard and susceptible of a high polish. Of this substance all the remnants of antiquity upon the island are constructed. Rocks of beautiful serpentine also stretch along the southern ex- tremity of considerable hardness, an agreeable green clouded with other colours, and suitable for slabs or sculptures. Its quality has been compared to that of the ancient serpentine, but although mas- ses of large dimensions might be procured, it would not be without much labour on account of the solidity of the rocks. In Port-na-cu- rach, there are cliffs of considerable height, composed of horn- blende rock, having much the appearance of serpentine and sienite; here there are found nodules of nephriticus from the size of a pea to that of an apple; these are of a green colour, of a smooth soft ap- pearance whenpolished, and they are made up into trinkets of various kinds. Many are worn as amulets, sometimes set in silver. The children of the island collect and dispose of them to the nume- K! I, FIN ICIHEN AND KILVICE U EN. 3.19 rous strangers and tourists whom the steam-boats bring to Iona, and who readily give a penny or twopence to the little urchins for a handful of them as remembrances of their visit. The shore is otherwise bare and rugged, and the strata do not differ from those already described. At a short distance, there are several islets and rocks entirely composed of red granite, which circum- stance renders it probable that the island was formerly joined with the granite coast of Ross Mull. Soil-A light sandy soil, but very fertile, prevails over the whole island, except where cultivation and abundance of manure have converted it into a black loam. Upon the shores, there are some small plains exceedingly pleasant, that afford good crops of bear and oats. The hills are covered in spring, summer, and autumn with a fine verdure, and their pasture is famed over all the dis- trict. Some of the hills are arable to the top, but those on the south end of the island are overrun with heath; yet the small valleys interspersed among them, are filled with grass of the finest quality. Zoology and Botany.−For the former, reference is made to the description given previously in the quoad civilia parish, which is quite applicable to Iona; and as to the latter,-on the north shore, between Port-na-curach and the hill of Angels, is found in great plenty the Pulmonaria maritima, or sea bugloss, a beauti- ful plant, the blossoms of which are pink before they expand, but immediately change into a fine blue: the Eryngium maritimum, or sea holly, occurs here in equal abundance; and the fatal Bella- donna is also to be found. Among the ruins in almost every part, both of the nunnery and cathedral, grows the Cotyledon umbilicus, or navel-wort; the Menyanthes trifoliatum, or marsh trefoil, one of the most beautiful of our native flowers, and distinguished by its woolly petals, grows in great plenty in the pond above the ca- thedral. A considerable part of the skirts of Dun-ii is covered with the Anagallis tenella, or purple-flowered money-wort. The Juni- perus communis, or juniper tree, is common on most of the hills, though of a dwarfish size. The Salix lapponum, or Lapland wil- low, a very scarce shrub, grows not far from the marble quarry. Small quantities of a fine kind of sponge are produced here, and some rare shells are cast up on the shore. Several Fuci of rare species are found in the surrounding sea. There are no trees nor plantations of any kind in the island. 320 AR GY LESHIRE, II.-Civiſ, HISTORY. It is said that the Druids had possession of Iona before the birth of our Saviour, -that they had there a college or school of theolo- gy, and continued to flourish until their expulsion by Columba. The most authentic history of Columba is that written by Adomnan, who was preceptor to Eugenius VI., and was likewise Abbot of Iona in 665, being the fourth abbot in succession from Columba, and that only sixty-seven years after his death. His history was first published by Canisius from a manuscript pre- served in a monastery in Bavaria, and since republished by Bas- nage. He is likewise mentioned by Bede, and allowed to be au- thentic by Usher. Columba was certainly a man of much piety and goodness of heart; and his manners, although austere, were well calculated for the people of the age in which he lived. He had been the disciple of St Patrick; was of royal extraction, being the son of Felim, the son of Fergus, who was grandson to the celebrated Niall of the nine hostages, supreme monarch of Ireland. His mother was Aithne, the daughter of Macnave, and he was nearly related to Conal, King of the Dalriad Scots, who, by some, is styled the fifth King of Argyle. From this, and from the autho- rity of his character, he possessed great power and influence in both kingdoms. He was born in Ireland in 521, and educated under Finian, Bishop of Clonard, Fenbar, Gemman of Leinster, and the far-famed St Ciaran ; and, when he was about twenty- eight years of age, he founded the monastery of Dairmeagh, in Ireland. This remarkable man, in the forty-second year of his age, left Ireland in or about the year 563, with the noble and generous intention of dissipating the ignorance which then covered the He- brides, and was accompanied by twelve followers, whose names are given by various authors. According to the annals of Ulster and of Tighernac, Iona was given to Columba by Conal, or Conval, son of Comgal, King of the Dalriad Scots or Picts. But there ought to be some very powerful reason for rejecting the express testimony of Bede, who was so well versed in the history of this monastery, especially as Adomnan nowhere asserts that this island was the gift of the Dal- riadic Prince. Dr Jamieson, however, supposes, that, as it lay in the confines of both kingdoms, it might possibly be claimed by both ; and what the one sovereign had given, the other might pretend to confirm. kILF IN ICHEN AND KII, VICE UEN. 32 I. Columba and his companions made first the Island of Oronsay, and thereafter arrived at Iona upon the eve of Pentecost.* The distinguished sanctity of his manners, in so remote an age, would necessarily be corroborated by the imputation of miraculous power. Kings listened with reverence to his admonitions; armies, when ready to engage, stopped at his command; and he maintained not only much influence in the councils of the kingdom where he lived, but among the Irish and Saxons. As his worth and fame increased, his institution accordingly became richly endowed ; and the poor huts and church of slight materials gave place to edifices of more durable composition. It soon became the first, as it was for several ages, the only university in Great Britain ; and so much famed was it for the philosophy and theology of the times, and for the severe manners and discipline of its founder, which were long kept up, that it became a general place of education, not only for the Scots, but for the British and Irish churches.; Soon after his settlement in Iona, he made a journey into the Pictish territories, being some parts of Inverness-shire, and preach- ed to them the gospel, to which they had hitherto been entire strangers, Adomnan calls them gentiles barbari, barbarian hea- thens, but that upon seeing Columba's works, they glorified the God of the Christians. He likewise observes that Columba preach- * They laboured during two years erecting huts and a church of very slight ma- terials. For several years after his settlement here he would suffer no females to re- side on the island, and so great was his caution that he even prohibited cattle, and would not allow a cow to be kept, for, according to his syllogistic adage, “where there is a cow there must be a woman ; and where there is a woman there must be mischief.” Martin says, “that all the tradesmen who wrought in it were obliged to keep their wives and daughters in the opposite little isle, called on that account Wºo- men's Isle.” f He is the first on record who had the faculty of second-sight, for he is said to have told the victory of Aidan over the Picts and Saxons on the very instant it hap- pened. - # When Columba first attempted to build on Iona, the walls, it is said, by the ope- ration of some evil spirit, fell down as fast as they were erected. Columba received supernatural information that they would never stand unless a human victim was buried alive. According to one account, the lot fell on Oran, the companion of the saint, as the victim that was demanded for the success of the undertaking. Others pretend that Oran voluntarily devoted himself, and was interred accordingly. At the end of three days Columba had the curiosity to take a farewell look at his old friend, and caused the earth to be removed. Oran raised his swimming eyes, and said, “There is no wonder in death, and hell is not as it is reported.” The saint was so shocked at this impiety that he instantly ordered the earth to be flung in again, uttering the words, Uir ! uir 1 air beal Orain ma'n labhair e tuile comh'radh,” that is, Earth ! earth ! on the mouth of Oran that he may blab no more. This passed into a proverb, and is in use in the Highlands at the present day. It is not improbable but this story was invented by some of Columba's Druidical enemies, in order to expose him and the Christian doctrine to ridicule; especially as the savage rite imputed to him was only practised by the heathens. A R GYLE. X. 322 - A R GYLE SHI. It E. ed to them by an interpreter, which is a curious fact with respect to the dubious origin of that memorable people. It argues their language to have been different from the ancient British, which was the language of Columba, and they themselves of some other original. Usher supposes the Picts and Caledonians to have been the same people. Cambden, and other great antiquaries of the present, as well as of former times, consider the Picts only as the remote part of the uncivilized, unreduced Britons; but Bishop Stillingfleet seems rather to be (according to Dr Walker) better founded in thinking them a separate nation. - All the inhabitants of Scotland are said to have been converted during the life of Columba; and, according to Spottiswoode, he founded 100 monasteries and 365 churches, and ordained 3000 priests or monks. This is asserted by Jocelin and other writers. It is certain that the greatest respect was paid to him at the Na- tional Council or Parliament of Drumceat, in Ireland, where he appeared as the representative of the clergy of North Britain. Aidanus, the lineal heir of the Crown of Scotland, was brought out of Ireland by Columba, in the reign of Kinatellus, at whose death he was by Columba installed King of Scots in the Island of Iona, Full of years and of honour, this great man died in Iona upon Sabbath night, on the fifth day of the Ides of June 596, in the thirty-fifth year of his ministry, and seventy-sixth of his age, and was there buried. Here, too, are buried the remains of forty-eight Scottish kings, four kings of Ireland, eight Nor- wegian kings, and one king of France; most of the Lords of the Isles and other chieftains of note ; so that a sepulchre in it be- came generally coveted by the great families in Scotland, and the grandees of Norway and Ireland. Iona being thus viewed as con- secrated ground, it became as one vast cemetery, to which the illustrious characters of ancient times were carried for inhumation by their own desire, or the pious wish of surviving relatives.” Among the honours bestowed by the kings of Scotland on Iona, * This preference given to Iona, as a place of Royal sepulture, may be accounted for generally by its early reputation for sanctity, and to an ancient Gaelic prophecy, which has been translated and paraphrased by Dr Smith of Campbelton, thus, - Seven years before that awful day, When time shall be no more, A watery deluge will o'ersweep Hibernia's mossy shore. The green clad Isla, too, shall sink ; While, with the great and good, Columba's happy isle will rear Her towers above the flood. K}LF IN ICHEN ...AND KILVICE UEN. 323 we find the origin of a custom which has continued in other places ever since, namely, the dedication of the trophies of war as orna- ments, though very strange ones surely to Christian churches. After the signal victory which Aidanus, installed by Columba be- fore-mentioned, gained over the Picts and Scots, he sent the ban- ners of his vanquished enemies to Columba, to be preserved in his abbey; the victory obtained by Aidanus being at the time en- tirely ascribed to the prayers of Columba. Kenneth Macalpine, also, after the final overthrow of the Picts, devoted the sword and armour of Dunstrenus, the Pictish monarch, to the church of Iona. In 632, Oswald, King of Northumberland, applied here for a bishop who might teach the Northumbrians Christianity, and he received a monk from the establishment, who was followed from it by several others. In the year 765, Neil Frasach, King of Ireland, abdicated his sovereignty and retired to Iona, where he died; and, in 777, we read that Asglal, the son of Cutald, King of Connaught, became a monk of Iona, where he died also ; and that Aulaf, King of Dublin, died during a pilgrimage to this island in 980. Here, too, the young princes of Scotland and North- umberland were sent to obtain the necessary rudiments of educa- tion; and the island received frequent visits from the neighbouring potentates of ancient times. For several centuries, the inhabitants of the monastery continued under the absolute authority of their provost or abbot, exclusive of any other; not subjected to vows, but governed alone by the laws of Columba. This code of laws was denominated Riaghailt Ii, that is, the Rule of Iona, composed by him, and founded upon the government and discipline of the apostolic churches. During this period, they were what is called Culdees; and all accounts agree in their being renowned for their learning, their high con- templative piety, and austerity of life. When afterwards the Papal power was established in Iona, a great alteration took place; and monachism having found its way there and into the rest of Scotland, they became an abbey of Benedictines, which was of the most baneful consequence both to their learning and virtue. The doctrine of the Culdees, so far as we may judge from that of Columba, was at least comparatively pure. As he was himself given much to the study of the Holy Scriptures, he taught his disciples to confirm their doctrines by testimonies brought from this unpolluted fountain, and declared that only to be the divine 324 ARGYI.E.S.H.I.R.E. counsel which he found there. His followers, as we learn from Bede, would receive those things only which are contained in the writings of the prophets, evangelists, and apostles, diligently ob- serving the works of piety and purity. Hence it has been said that, “for several generations, with the errors which at that time prevailed in the Church of Rome, they seem not to have been in the least tainted.” Wide Smith's Life of Columba, p. 114. After the example of the fathers, Bede says they lived by the labour of their hands, and, after the usage of the eastern churches, had wives; and, so far were they from reckoning the connubial relation inconsistent with their character, that it seems to have been held in honour. - In each college of the Culdees, there were twelve brethren, and one who was their provost or abbot, and they chose their abbot or president from themselves. *. Among the many extensive privileges granted to the abbey of Iona, the jurisdiction of its abbot was remarkable. Bede says, that in his time Iona had a sort of supreme government over ałl the other monasteries in Britain and Ireland, which had been pro- pagated from that seminary. And though never more than a pres- bytery had, notwithstanding a jurisdiction of the whole province, to which even the Bishops themselves were subjected after an un- usual order, “ordine inusitato,” as he expresses it. The northern pirates were accustomed to ravage the island, and commit many cruelties on the defenceless monks. By them the monastery was burned in 797; and in 801 they killed sixty- eight of the ecclesiastics. Besides other calamities, it was rifled in 985, and the abbot, together with fifteen of his learned asso- ciates, put to death. Tighernac writes, that the monks of Iona were expelled beyond Drumalbin, by Nectan, King of the Picts, in 716 or 718 ; and in 1069, the monastery was destroyed by fire. Historians relate that Magnus Nudipes, the Norwegian conque- ror of the Hebrides, notwithstanding all the cruelties of his incur- sions in the year 1098, moved by the reputed sanctity of the place, spared Iona and its inhabitants from the devastations that, in all other parts, attended his progress. Yet it was afterwards plun- dered by a fleet of twelve sail of Norwegian pirates, which com- mitted many depredations in the Hebrides. . Between the years 1172 and 1180, William the Lion (its im- portance then probably declining) took away a number of churches KIL FIN ICHE N AND KI LVI C E U EN. 325 and chapels in Galloway, with large estates annexed, and granted them to the canons of Holyrood House.” The first Papal Legate visited Scotland in 1126; but it does not appear that any material change in the institution of Iona took place until 1203, down to which period there continued to be monks and abbots. But in that year Ceallach built in Iona a monastery, “ in opposition to the learned of the place,” which was afterwards demolished and suppressed by a synod of the Irish clergy. The power and influence of Iona appears to have declined after the last Danish invasion, when the island came under the domi- nion of these conquerors; and this event must have been accele- rated by the loss of its extensive revenues in Galloway, which were taken away and granted to the canons of Holyrood House, as be- fore noticed. - During the time of the Norwegian reign, which lasted near two hundred years, the bishops were chosen without respect to country, for we find French, Norwegian, English, and Scotch among the prelates. After the cession of the Hebrides by Mag- nus to Scotland, the patronage of the Bishoprick of Iona was, ac- cording to Sir David Dalrymple's Annals, reserved by treaty to the Archbishop of Drontheim. While the Hebrides were under the Norwegian domination, they divided these islands into two districts, called Nordureys and Sudereys, the first embracing all the islands to the north, and the other all those which lie to the south of the promontory of Ard- namurchan. But the whole two divisions of islands belonged to the diocese of the Bishop of Ebude, and his cathedral and resi- dence being in the Island of Man, one of the Sudereys, he was from thence styled Episcopus Sodorensis; hence the origin of the title Sodor; and when the Isle of Man was, in the reign of Ed- ward I. of England, reduced under the English Government, the bishoprick of Sodor was preserved, but its limits being circum- scribed to that single island, its bishops assumed and bore the united title of Sodor and Man. All the other Western Islands remaining under the Government of Scotland, were then erected into a separate diocese, called the Bishoprick of the Isles. The * If space permitted, we might here give excerpts from the Irish annals of Tighermac, Innisfallen, Buellan, and Ulster, relative to Iona, commencing with the birth of Columba, and ending with the twelfth century. 326 AR GY LESHIRE, bishops usually resided in Iona, and the great church belonging to the abbey served as the cathedral of the diocese. There has been great diversity of opinion concerning the ancient Sodor from which the bishops of the Isle of Man still derive their title, some supposing that it was the name of a town there so late as the fif- teenth century, and others that the town in Iona was the ancient Sodor. It is now generally conceded that the foregoing account is correct, according to Torffaeus, the Danish historian, and ex- plained by Dr Macpherson. In the year 1507, John, Bishop of the Isles, and who was a privy-councillor to King James IV., obtained the annexation of the abbey of Iona to his see. - - We now come down to the Reformation. In 1561, the Con- vention of Estates passed an act, at the desire of the Church, “for demolishing all the abbeys of monks and friars, and for sup- pressing whatsoever monuments of idolatrie were remaining in the realm,” the execution whereof in the west was committed to the Earls of Arran, Argyle, and Glencairn. The learning of ages which had been treasured up in Iona, the records of nations, and the valuable archives of remote antiquity, which had been safe there under the fury of barbarians, now fell at once a sacrifice. Autho- rized by this, and by an ill-judged decree of the synod of Argyle, the zealous mob fell upon Iona, as the most valuable and venerat- ed seat of the Popish clergy, and nothing escaped destruction, but such parts of the building and such solid monuments as were proof against the hands of rage. Of three hundred and sixty crosses said to have been standing, only three were left. Some were thrown into the sea, many carried away, and to this day some are to be seen as gravestones in every churchyard in Mull and the surrounding islands. Pennant says, that the cross at Campbleton was transported there from Iona. Spottiswoode writes, that “the very sepulchres of the dead were not spared, but digged, ript up, and sacrilegiously violated. Bibliothecks were destroyed, the volumes of the fathers, counsells, and other books of human learning, with the registers of the church, cast into the streets, afterwards gathered in heaps and consumed with fire.” * Not a little has been written with respect to the library at Iona. Pennant says, the public was greatly interested in the preservation of the buildings at Iona, being the repository of most of the ancient Scotch records; and that the library must have been invaluable. According to Boethius, Fergus II, assisting Alaric the Goth in the sacking of Rome, brought away, as share of the plunder, a chest of books, which he presented to the monastery of Iona. And Aeneas Sylvius (afterwards KII, FINICHEN AND KILVICEUEN. 327 Torffaeus says that in the year 1210, a squadron of piratical ships to the number of twelve, under Birkibein and Bagli, taking advantage of the intestine divisions of the Princes of the Hebri- des committed many depredations, and plundered the Holy Island, or that of St Columba. Bishop Nicolson, speaking of the library at Iona, says, “our King Edward the First, having claimed the sovereignty of Scot- land, made a most miserable havock of the histories and laws of that kingdom, hoping that in a short time nothing should be found in all that country but what carried an English name and face;” and, according to the bishop's mode of enumeration, “the second great loss of the Scottish records happened upon the mighty turn of the Reformation; when the monks, flying to Rome, carried with them the register books, and other ancient treasures of their respective monasteries.” - Pope Pius II.) intended, when he was in Scotland, to have visited the Iona library in search of the lost books of Livy, but was prevented by the death of King James I. And farther, a small parcel of them were, in 1525, brought to Aberdeen and great pains taken to unfold them, but through age and the tenderness of the parch- ment, little could be read; however, from what"the learned were able to make out, the work appeared by the style to have rather been a fragment of Sallust than of Livy. Dr Jamieson doubts this statement of Boethius:—the Doctor writes, “ Fergus must have made his donation to the monastery of ſona about 160 years before the founda- tion stone of it was laid. For Boece says that Alaric sacked Rome A. D. 412. Now Columba did not land in Iona till the year 563 or, as some say, 565. While Archbishop Usher scouts the idea of their being brought from Rome by Fergus, he admits the narrative of Boece as far as it regards the fragments; and Gibbon in his Decline and Fall, has no hesitation in saying that Iona was distin- guished by a classic library which afforded some hope of an entire Livy.” Abdom- man tells us that Columba spent much of his time in writing, that he employed his disciples in the same-manner, and was at pains that they should transcribe with the greatest accuracy; and Dr Smith, speaking of his successors, says, how well they stu- died the languages appears from the excellent Latin of Cumin and of Adomnan, who discovers also his knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, and wrote a Geography of the Holy Land ; and this work Bede not only ascribes to Adomnan, but highly com- mends. Many works both in Latin and Irish are said to have been written by Co- lumba himself, and among these the life of the patron saint of l reland. Columba's life was also written in Irish-metre, by Baithen his cousin, disciple, and successor. To Abbot Cuſhmin several writings are ascribed, besides his life of Columba. Of all these, together with the writings of Adomnan and other abbots who succeeded him, there is every reason to believe that copies would be carefully preserved in the mo- mastery; and men who were so much devoted to writing would strain every nerve to increase the number of their books. Dr Jamiesom, therefore, asks “what, then, has become of this library 2 How can it be accounted for that it should entirely disap- pear 2" The learned and acute Doctor answers this by ascribing it to the inroads of the Danes, which were so frequent and fatal; they burned the monastery in 797; a second time in 801 ; and in 1069 it was again destroyed by fire; in 805, the pirates of the same nation destroyed sixty-eight of the family of Iona; and in 985 they rifl- ed the monastery, killing the abbot and fifteen of his disciples. . According to the in- formation of Pennant, it would appear that while the Norwegian princes were sove- reigns, they might judge it proper to carry some of the more valuable MSS to a place of security in their own country, for he says, “I am informed that numbers of the records of the Hebrides were preserved at Dronthcim, till they were destroyed by the great fire which happened in that city.” 328 - AR GY LESHIRE. Tradition says that, at the visitation of the synod of Argyle be- fore referred to, the monks and inmates of Iona made their escape the best way they could, carrying with them the most precious and portable relics, MSS. and chartularies, which were deposited in the colleges of Douay and Ratisbon. From the opinions of Scots- men resident or trained at the Scottish colleges on the continent, it would appear that there is far less ground for this assertion than has been generally imagined, and Dr Jamieson is inclined to think that, “if an accurate search were made by such travellers as really possessed a literary character, and took an interest in the ancient history of our country, more, perhaps, might be discover- ed among the treasures of the Vatican than anywhere else.” In the last Statistical Account, the writer says, “that some of the MSS. were carried to Inverary, and that a Duke of Montague found some of them in the shops there, used as snuff-paper. If any of them were in the library of the family of Argyle, the per- secution that family underwent in the time of Charles II. accounts for none being there now.” What is here said receives consider- able support from a circumstance mentioned by Governor Sache- werell, who visited Iona in 1688, in relation to a book which had certainly been brought from Iona. “The Dean of the Isles, Mr John Fraser, an honest Episcopal minister, told me his father who had been Dean of the Isles, left him a book with above 300 inscrip- tions, (taken from the monuments of Iona,) which he had lent to the Earl of Argyle, a man of incomparable sense and great curiosity, and doubts they are all lost by that great man's afflic- tions.” . In this monastery, particular attention seems to have been paid to the science of medicine. “ The Olla Ileach, and Ola Mui- leach,” says Dr Smith, “the ancient and famous line of physi- cians in Iay and Mull, must, no doubt, have derived their first knowledge from this seminary.” Dr Smith received from Major Maclachlan of the Island of Luing, a MS. in the Irish character and language, on the subject of medicine and surgery, which he thinks was written by some of the learned men of Iona. Mr MacNicol says, “ of what has been written at Iona,” there is a translation of St Augustine De civitate Dei, and a treatise on Physic. This last is to be seen in the Advocates' Library. A full account of this manuscript is given by Dr Jamieson, who mentions that this folio bears the following mark of property, “Leabhar Giolla Coluim Meigbeathadh,” and also “Liber Malcolmi Be- KI LFINICHEN AND KILVICE Uf N. 329 thune,” showing that the MS. was once the property of one of these Betons of Pennycross, the celebrated physicians formerly mentioned. The MS. contains eighty-six folios in vellum, of a quarto size, besides some slips inserted, and thirty-six folios in pa- per. The first three folios in vellum are part of a Gaelic MS. on astronomy, with figures of the signs of the zodiac. The other vellum MS. seems to be mostly on physic, and is in Gaelic or Irish character, with many contractions. There is part of an obituary, consisting of two folios in vellum, beginning with 1360, and carried on to 1402. * Many copies of the life of Columba appear to have been dis- persed through the islands in the vernacular tongue. One copy was found in Barra, and another in Benbicula. Dr Macpherson says, we are informed by Lloyd in his Catalogue of Irish Manu- scripts, “that there is still in the Bodleian library at Oxford, an Irish manuscript entitled,—The Works of Columbcille in Verse, containing some account of the Author’s Life, together with his Prophecies and Exhortations to Princes.” The same industrious writer observes, that there is in the li- brary of Trinity College at Dublin, some most curious and won- derful ancient MSS., containing the four gospels and a variety of other matter. The MS. is “called the Book of Columbcille,” and thought to have been written by Columba's own hand. Flann, King of Ireland, ordered a very costly cover to be given this book. On a silver cross, which makes a part of that cover, is still to be seen an Irish inscription, of which the literal meaning is, “the prayer and blessing of Columbcille to Flann, the son of Mail- sheachnail, King of Ireland, who made this cover.” After Iona was shorn of the fairest portions of her revenues by William the Lion, as before noticed, she still held many extensive possessions. Dean Monro says she had thirteen islands, and he gives the names of seven, which he calls Soa, Naban, Moroan, Reringe, Inch Kenzie, Eorsay, and Kannay ; three of these seven have changed their appellations, so that it is now impossible to guess at them.* * Canna, Soa, Eorsa, and Inchkenneth are the other four; and from the internal evidence afforded by the remains of cells or other establishments, MacCulloch thinks there may be added the three Shiant Isles, the three Garveloch Isles, and the Isles of St Cormac, which, with Rasay, will nearly make up the number ; of which latter island the Dean says it belonged to Iona by heritage, but was then “perteining” to MacGilliechallum “by the sword.” It is probable the Treshnish Isles and Colonsa belonged also to Iona, and it is believed that Tirie at one time did, as well as the two ends of Coll. 330 . A R GYI,ESHIRE. Since MacCulloch wrote in 1824, considerable light has been thrown upon the revenues of Iona by the transactions of the Iona Club, instituted in 1833. - This club, in their Collectanea de Re- bus Albanicis, have published the “Rentale of the Bishoprick of the Ilis and Abbacie of Ecolmkill,” which interesting document was discovered in the charter-chest of Sir John Campbell, Bart. of Airds and Ardnamurchan, in 1834; and, although there is no marking to that effect, it appears to have been a copy made in the reign of James VI, from the certified rental drawn up in 1561, which, by some omission, was never registered. The club have, in the same work, also published a precept, under the privy seal of James VI., of a royal charter of novodamus, with augmentation of the rental to Hector Maclean of Dowart, son and apparent heir of Lachlan Maclean of Dowart, of the “ Island of Iona and many other lands formerly belonging to the Abbot of Iona, 1587–88.” The club have also published a Report by Thomas Knox, Bishop of the Isles, of the state of his diocese in 1626. At the Reformation, the Island of Iona and the principal lands belonging to the monastery, fell into the hands of Lauchlan Mac- lean of Dowart, the most powerful chief in the neighbourhood, and his son Hector, as we have already shown, was confirmed therein by the charter of novodamus, granted by King James VI. in his favour in 1587–88. - - In 1567, John Carswell was Bishop of the Isles, as we find from a renunciation, by Lauchlan Maclean, in his favour thereof, and of the Abbacie of Iona. In 1573, John Campbell was Bishop, as appears from an obli- gation by Roderick Macleod of the Lewis in his favour. In 1609, Andrew Knox, then Bishop of the Isles, (he was af- terwards succeeded by his son Thomas in the Bishoprick), held a court at Iona, which was attended by the principal men of the Isles, whereat two statutes were enacted for forwarding religion, morality, and education among the islanders. In 1617, King James VI. annexed the Abbey of Iona to the Bishoprick of the Isles. In the same year, an act of Parliament was passed nominating a chapter for the Bishoprick of the Isles. In 1681, Charles I. writes the Lord Advocate regarding cer- tain actions depending before the Court of Session for restoration of the temporalities of the Bishoprick. * In 1632, Charles I. writes to the Treasurer Depute of Scot- IKILF IN 1 CHEN AND KILVICE UEN. 33.1 : land regarding the payment of a pension formerly granted to the Bishop of the Isles. In 1633, Charles I. writes to the Dean and Chapter of the Isles recommending Mr Neil Campbell to be elected as Bishop. In 1634, Charles I. writes to the Lords of Session to hasten their decision in a law-suit between the late and the present Bi- shop of the lsles. * - In 1635, Charles I. writes to Sir Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart and Morvern, Knight, Baronet, desiring him to restore the Island of Icolmkill to the Bishop of the Isles. In the same year, his Majesty writes to the Court of Session in favour of the Bishop of the Isles, and particularly regarding the tithe fishes of the Isles. In that year, his Majesty farther writes to the Lords of Exche- quer directing the payment of a grant of L,400 Sterling to the Bishop of the Isles, for repairing the cathedral church of Icolm- kill. All these documents are published at length by the Iona Club in their Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis. In 1688, Governor Sackeverell visited Iona, and from him we find that the cathedral church and other buildings were then in ruins, from which it may reasonably be inferred, the L.400 refer- red to above was never expended in their repair. Then we have the Statistical Account of Iona in the Macfar- lane MS., before given as in 1693; thus carrying the history of the island down to that period, at or about which time Iona came into the hands of the Dukes of Argyle, in whose family it has since continued. His Grace is likewise proprietor of the whole quoad sacra parish. t - Antiquities.—We will begin with the cathedral or church of St Mary, as being the most conspicuous object amongst the ruins; and, although inferior to many other Gothic cathedrals and ab- beys of a more recent date in Scotland, it has been very magnificent for the remote period in which it was built. Boece says that it was built by Malduinus in the seventh century. It is extremely remarkable for the materials of which it is constructed, being built of sienite or red granite, brought from the opposite coast of Mull. There the stone is procured in abundance and of the best quality, equal, indeed, to the famous red granite which the Romans brought from Upper Egypt, with which they erected their most superb monuments. It is nowhere polished in any part of the building, but painfully formed, by hammering, to a plain surface ; 332 ARGY LESHIRE. and there are many fine blocks of it, five or six feet long, both in the walls and in the rubbish. The labour of quarrying and form- ing such a quantity of this stone as so great a building required, is, Dr Walker says, “a piece of work like the Egyptian obelisks, whose execution must strike with surprise the people of modern times.” The rock is solid, the stone of almost impenetrable hardness. The windows, doors, cornices, arches, pillars, and other monuments of the church, many of which have been ex- quisitely carved, are all of a fine gray freestone, brought from quarries in another part of Mull at a considerable distance. The cement of the building, like that of other ancient structures, is so strong, that it is easier to break the stones than to force them asunder. It is of lime that has been calcined from sea shells, and formed into a very gross mortar, with coarse gravel in a large pro- portion, and a great quantity of the fragments of white coral, which abounds upon the shores of the island.* Monastery.—Along the north side of the cathedral, and imme- diately adjoining it, is the monastery, consisting of a number of buildings of different sizes, and evidently built at different times. Boece gives this monastery a very early antiquity. He says, that after the defeat of the Scots at the battle of Munda, A. D. 379, the survivors, with all the religious, fled to this island, and were the original founders of the monastery. But the account given by Bede seems much more probable, that Columba was the original founder, as has been before related. In the monastery were the cells and apartments of the religious, but now so perfectly ruinous that they convey no distinct appearance. * We must here again regret that space does not allow a particular description of this cathedral, &c. Vide MS. in retentis. It is said that there were in the cathedral, a fine peal of bells, which were re- moved to Glasgow at the time of the Reformation ; but by a letter from King Charles I. to the Bishop of Rapho in Secretary Stirling’s MS. Register, it would appear that one of Iona's own bishops gave a helping hand in plundering the cathedral, and that he had removed two of the principal bells and placed them in some of the Rapho churches, where, in all probability, they still are. The letter is in these terms:— “Reverend Father in God,-Whereas we aſ informed that Andro late Bischop of Rapho at his transportatioun from the Bishoprick of Yles did, without just cause or aney warrant frome our late royall father or us, carie with him two of the principal 'bells that were in Icolmkill, and place them in some of the churches of Rapho; to which purpois we doe remember that at the tyme of yowr being Bischop of Yles you were a Sutter to us for effectuating that thing at your predicessour the Bischop of Raphoe's hands, which we now requyre of yow. Therefor, and in regard we have gevin ordour to the present Bischop of Yles for repairing the cathedrall church of that Bischoprick, and that it is fit that such things as do properlie belong thereunto be restored ; it is our pleasour that you cause delyver unto the said Bischop these two belles for the use of the said cathedrall church with such tymlie convenience as may be ; which we will acknowledge as acceptable service done unto us.--Whythall, 14 March 1635. - KILFINICHEN AND KLIVICEUEN. 333 Among the ruins of the monastery were the sacred black stones. They are no longer to be found; but the spot where they were is pointed out. On these the ancient Highland and island chieftains, when they made contracts and alliances, used to make oath, which was considered more sacred than any other obligation, and not to be violated without incurring the greatest infamy. - Bishop's House.—Upon the north side of the monastery, stand the remains of the house which was the habitation of the Bishop of the Isles, after the Isle of Man was separated from them. This event, as already mentioned, happened in the time of Edward I. of England. On the arrival of the bishops in Iona, the abbots allowed them the use of the abbey church, for they had there no cathedral of their own. *s. * Reilig Ourain, or the burying-place of Oran, a vast enclosure, and the great place of interment not only for the monarchs whose remains were deposited here, but for the chiefs and poten- tates of every isle and their lineage, who were all ambitious of lying in this holy spot. This place is, in a manner, filled with grave and monumental stones, either covered with weeds and moss, or half-buried in rubbish. The Iona Club, in 1833, by permission of the President, his Grace the Duke of Argyle, made some search- es in this ancient cemetery, for such tomb-stones as might have been concealed by the accumulation of rubbish; and the result of their operations was, that a considerable number of finely carved tomb-stones were brought to view, which none of the in- habitants had ever before seen. These were placed upon the surface of the cemetery. Several of them bear inscriptions, which, although not at present very legible, may ultimately be decipher- ed and give some useful imformation. Oran's Chapel.—The Chapel of St Oran stands at a little dis- tance from the Cathedral, and to the south-west of the building, which is said to have been the first building attempted by Colum- ba. It is 60 feet long and 22 broad within the walls, and filled with monumental stones. This was the burial-place of the Macdonalds, Kings of the Isles and Lords of Isla, of the Mac- kenzies, Macquaries, Macleans, Macleods, and other great fami- lies.* * There is here one monument still entire having a ship upon it with hoisted sails, a standard, and four lions with the following simple inscription. “Hic jacet Corpus Angeusii Filii Domini Angusii MacDonuil de Yle,” i. e. Here lies the corpse of An: gus, the son of Angus MacDonald Lord of Islay. This is probably the monument of that Angus who was Lord of Islay in the reign of Robert the Bruce, and the steady 334. • ARGY LESHIRE . The Sepulchre of the Kings differs from all the other monu- ments in this cemetery, by being built, the rest being all single stones. In this shrine, as described by Dean Monro in the ear- lier part of this narrative (and in which he is followed by Bu- chanan and Martin) there were three little chapels: in the one inscribed “ Tumulus Regum Scotia” were deposited the remains of forty-eight Scottish monarchs, beginning, as Boece says, with Fergus II., and ending with the famous Macbeth ; his suc- cessor, Malcolm Canmore, having decreed that for the future Dunfermline should be the place of royal sepulture. Of the Scottish monarchs interred in Iona, sixteen are said to be of the race of Alpin. Fergus is supposed to have been the founder of this mausoleum. The next was inscribed Tumulus Regum Hibernia, and con- tains four Irish monarchs. According to the Annals of Ulster in A. D. 765, Beatus Nial, King of Ireland, who had abdicated his kingdom, and had been for eight years in Iona, died there ; and B. Artgall M*Catheld, King of Connaught, who likewise abdi- cated, died at Iona in 786; and according to Dr Keating in his Notitia Hybernia, Cormac M*Aird, one of the kings of Ireland, was buried here. The third little chapel was inscribed Tumulus Regum Norwegia, and contained eight Norwegian Princes, of whom the annals of Ulster tell us, that in 980, Amulabh or Aulay, son of Stirick, Prince of the Normen of Dublin, after his defeat in the battle of Tarah, took refuge in Iona, where he died. The Chronicles of Man say, that in 1187, on the 4th of the ides of November, God- red, King of the Isles, departed this life ; and the summer fol- lowing, his body was conveyed to the island of Hy-and in 1228, according to the same chronicle, Haco-Uspac, King of the Sodo- rian Islands, was killed with a stone in the taking of a castle in Bute, and was buried in Iona. friend of that monarch in his greatest misfortunes. This monument is without any date, it not being customary ever to add a date even to a charter, till the days of King Robert the Bruce. In another place lies the grave-stone of the celebrated Ailean-man-sop, whose history is given under the Statistical Account of Kilninian and Kilmore, as head and founder of that branch of the family of Maclean In OW re- presented by Mrs Clephane Maclean of Torloisk. This stone is ornamented with a carving and a ship. A Macquarie of Ulva also appears; a Maclean of Coll; a Mac- lean of Dowart; and a Maclean of Lochbuy ; a Mackenzie of Kintail ; and Macleod of Macleod. A considerable space of ground is covered with the monumental stones of the chiefs and principal families in the Highlands. Each stone lies flat upon the ground, and is seldom larger than the dimensions of the grave it covers. It was the ancient custom. as it still is in some places, to bury the whole family, or at least the heads of it, under the same stone. KII, Fl NICH E N AND KILVICE UEN. 335 * lº This building, like all other monuments over the graves in this place, faces the east,-its walls are about four feet high, very rudely but strongly built. It is yet entire, except at one corner where the roof has fallen in, but there is now no vestige of an in- scription upon any part of it. * The remains of so many kings, and some of them very great ones, reduced to such a span—the dust of Achaius, of the Don- alds, of the Constantines, of Kenneth II., and Gregory the Great, each of them, the conqueror of a kingdom, all confined within the walls of this narrow house, in the solitary island of Iona, is such a curiosity, as is perhaps nowhere else to be met with in the world; and to a contemplative mind, the most melancholy spec- tacle of human greatness. About seventy feet south of the chapel, is a red unpolished stone, beneath which lies a king of France. Both history and tradition are silent as to who this king was. Near the tomb of the kings is an inscription upon a stone, writ- ten, it would appear, before the use of surnames, and in a charac- ter more ancient than that of the others, thus, Or doman Fa- taric, or the tomb of Patrick. Not far from this, there is an- other inscription, written in a similar character, upon a stone half sunk in the earth, Coromac Ulphada hic. This is said to be one of the Irish kings before referred to. Upon the west side of the church, there is the following in- scription, “Hic jacet Johannes Betonus Maclenorum familiae medi- cus, qui mortuus est, 19 Novembris 1657, at. 63. Donaldus Be- tonus fecit 1674. Ecce cadet jaculo victricis mortis iniquae : qui to- ties alios solveral ipse malis. Soli Deo Gloria.” This is one of the celebrated Mull physicians referred to in the earlier part of this narrative. Crosses.—In a field upon the west side of the church, there is a cross which appears to be of very ancient date. It is of one stone, near eight feet high and twenty inches broad, set on a pedestal of granite. It is of the hardest whin rock, and though it has the ap- pearance of great age, it is but little impaired, except at the top where a part of it has been broken off by violence. Adomnan seems to mean this stone, when he informs us that in Columba's time, there was a cross which stood midway between the monas- tery and the granary, and which was afterwards, he says, fixed on a pedestal. This is the precise situation of the cross we describe, for there is a very ancient ruin of the granary about the same dis- 336 - ARGYLESHIRE. tance west from it that the church is distant from it to the east. This cross is of a different form, and apparently of a different era from any others to be seen in the Hebrides or Highlands; and no wonder, as it appears to be contemporary with Columba and the oldest monument extant in the Island of Iona, and probably the most ancient Christian monument in Scotland. At a little distance from this cross to the south, there stands another of a much larger size, and more entire. It is also one solid column of the hardest whin rock, 14 feet high, and yet only 18 inches broad, and six inches thick. It is fixed in a pedestal of one stone, which is about three feet high, and hewn quite round into three steps. Though very probably posterior to the former, it appears to be very ancient. The labour and art of quarrying such a column, of transporting it to the island, and of polishing and erecting it when it was brought, are circumstances really astonishing, when one considers how inadequate the powers and skill of that part of the country would be at present to the exe- cution of such a work. The Hebrides, and this part of them in particular, must have at some former epoch been possessed of re- sources, wealth, power, and civilization totally incompatible with the ideas usually adopted in regard to their ancient history. From this cross to another ancient building which was a nun- nery, there runs a causeway about 300 paces in length, and about 15 feet broad. It is joined by two others, one of them called the Royal Street, and the other Martyr Street, leading to the bay of Martyrs. - Nunnery.-The successors of Columba did not, it would ap- pear, adhere to his strict prohibition for the exclusion of females from the Island. We are sure there were no monastic establish- ments for females during the times of Columba's discipline, nor under the Culdees. The proper monastic establishments of Iona belong to the age of the Romish influence. Indeed, there were no nunneries in Scotland until the introduction of the regular Popish clergy, and, therefore, the date of this building is brought down to a period later at least than 1200. The architecture is purely Norman. - - The chapel has been a very neat building, and is said to have been the burial-place for ladies of high rank, as St Mary's church and Oran’s chapel were for men. ** At the eastern end of the chapel is the tomb of the last prioress, which is now much defaced. - - KILFINICHEN AND KILVICEUEN. 337 There are some other monuments on the floor, but they are so defaced as to be almost undistinguishable. This nunnery is said to have been liberally endowed; besides the islands of Inniskenneth and Eorsa formerly mentioned as be- longing to the prioress, there were lands in Mull which it enjoyed, and some of which go by the name of the Nuns' lands to the pre- sent day. - The precincts of the tombs in Iona were held.sacred, for, ac- cording to Fordun, they enjoyed the privilege of girth or sanctu- ary. . "But these privileges did not, by the ancient Scotch law, in- discriminately shelter every offender. All atrocious criminals were excluded, and only the unfortunate delinquent, or the penitent sinner could here deprecate the rigour of justice. They were re- quired to make restoration of any property they had stolen, and to make oath that they would steal no more. The manslayer was enjoined, on pain of banishment, to surrender himself to the law, in order that it might be decided whether the slaughter commit- ted amounted to murder. Penalties were enacted, to defend those refugees entitled to Sanctuary, from all molestation during their retreat. sº The Bay of Martyrs takes its name, according to tradition, as being the place where the bodies of those who were to be inter- red in the holy ground, were received during the period of Ro- mish superstition. - - Hill of Angels, or Cnoc-man-Aingeal, is a little hill with a small circle of stones, and a little cairn in the middle, considered by Pen- nant as Druidical. Here, it is said Columba, after his arrival, had a conference with angels, from which tradition it derived the name. - - Clach-na-bróth.-This Druidical talisman is said to have con- sisted originally of three globes of white marble, placed in three basins, but these, like the crosses, were destroyed at the Reforma- tion. There is still a single stone pointed out, and which the boys of the village take care to preserve, so as to make it serve the same purpose. - Iona has been called the Rome of Scotland and Ireland ; but the comparison does not render justice to Iona, she being, while under the discipline of Columba's laws, in the hand of the Cul- dees, the seat of a far purer Christianity; for Iona preserved the opinions and practices of the oriental church in comparative sim- plicity, and preached the gospel with purity long after the cor- ARGYLE . * * **. Y 338 AIt GYLE SHIRE. ruptions of Rome had diffused themselves like a leprosy over the surrounding countries; and while under the Culdees, she vigorous- ly opposed the errors, and resisted the encroachments of the Ro- mish interest. - III.—PopULATION. • In 1688, Sacheverell found the number of families in Iona to be about 80. In 1755, there was a return made to Dr Webster of 277 souls. In 1791, the census taken by the then minister of Ross gave 323. In 1808, according to Macdonald, they amounted to 386. In 1824, MacCulloch found them to be 450. In the present year, 1842, the population of the island has advanced to 500. - - The population of those parts of Ross Mull, joined quoad sacra to Iona, give 620, which, added to that of the island, makes the whole population of the parish to be 1 120 souls. This popula- tion consists of agriculturists and fishers. The whole belong to the Established Church, with the exception of 4, two of which are Roman Catholics and the other two Baptists. Kelp was manufactured here, but discontinued for the same causes which, as described in the quoad civilia parish, compelled its being given up there, much to the loss of the population. The village consists of about 40 houses, none of them slated. The remaining part of the population is scattered over the island on the croft system. When Pennant visited Iona, he found this village or town to consist of about 50 houses; but the whole po- pulation of the island, at that time, was clustered there. - IV.-PARochIAL ECONOMY. As already mentioned, there is a Government church and manse. The minister's stipend, including allowance for commu- nion elements, is L. 120. There is a glebe, which is valued at L. 1, 10s. yearly ; and he has a privilege of cutting peats. The communicants upon the roll are about 200. A Government school has been built by the present Duke of Argyle, who takes a lively interest in all things connected with this island and district. There are likewise, in this quoad sacra parish, a charity school, a Gaelic school, and two female schools. The teachers keep Sab- bath schools. There is no peat in Iona, but the inhabitants obtain their fuel from peat-mosses set apart for them on his Grace's property in Mull, opposite to Iona. - The poor are supported by the charity of their neighbours, and KILN IN IAN AND KII, MORE, 339 the collections made at the church-door, which average yearly from L.8 to L.4. - During the summer and harvest months, steam-boats come regularly with crowds of strangers and tourists from almost every country and clime, to visit this celebrated island. The antiqua- rian, the historian, the tourist, and even the fashionable, are to be found among the number, some to explore or examine, and others to behold and admire; for here they find themselves surrounded by the graves of those who were royal, and noble, and holy, in Cale- donia and Hibernia a thousand years ago; while the thick walls, the massive arches, and the finely-wrought columns of the various sacred edifices, which in remote ages flourished in this sanctified isle, supply the deepest reflections, and awaken the most solemn feelings. - Drawn up 1842. Revised September 1843. UNITED PARISH OF KILNINIAN AND KILMORE.” COMPREHEND ING THE QUOAD SACRA PARISHES OF ULVA, - TOBERMoRY, AND PART OF SALEN, IN THE DISTRICT OF MULL, PRESBYTERY OF MULL, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REv. D. MARTHUR, D.D., MINISTER, I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THIS united parish is supposed to have derived its name from a reputed saint called Ninian, but of whom there is now no tradition remaining in the place, but who was probably the famous St Ninian or Ringan, who is said by Bede to have converted the southern Picts to Christianity. There are still places and parishes in Scotland which, to this day, bear his name. Extent, Boundaries, &c.—Exclusive of its numerous islands, it is of great extent, and forms a broad peninsula, lying north-west from the isthmus where the large island of Mull is almost cut into two equal parts, by a deep bay or estuary from the Atlantic named Loch-nam-gaul. In the mouth of Loch-nam-gaul lie the islands - * Drawn up by Francis William Clark, Esq. of Ulva. - 340, - AR GY E, ES HIRE, of Ulva, Gometra, Little Colonsa, and Staffa, which belong to the united parish. Beyond these, to the westward, and likewise appertaining to the parish, are the Treshinish Isles, consisting of Fladda, Linga, Bach or the Dutchman’s Cap, and the two Cairn- burghs. Exclusive of these various islands, the united parish may be about 150 to 160 square miles, and is surrounded on all sides by the sea, excepting at the isthmus already mentioned, which, together with Loch-nam-gaul, divides it from the parishes of To- rosay and Kilfinichen on the south. To the south of Staffa is Iona or Icolmkill; and to the west of the Treshinish Isles, are the islands of Tiree and Coll. At a greater distance to the north are seen the isles of Canna, Rum, Eigg, and Muck; and, nearer, is to be seen the point or headland of Ardnamurchan, the Westmost extremity of the mainland of Scotland. To the east, the Sound of Mull divides the united parish from that of Morven. The pa- rish lies about 171 miles W. N. W. of Edinburgh, 62 N. W. of Inverary, and 30 N. W. of Oban. Topographical Appearances.—The general appearance of the land is hilly, and the hills are, for the most part, covered with heath. The arable land lies generally near the shore. The more inland parts are good pasture intermixed with moss and heath. The state of agriculture would be much farther advanced, were the roads in better order. There is great want of proper roads in this parish. - Meteorology.—The climate may be characterized as very healthy. Many persons live to the patriarchal age of between eighty and nine- ty, and a few have exceeded ninety years. There is at present in the island of Ulva a woman who has attained to 100, with her faculties entire. An impression has prevailed, that rain falls here to a greater extent than in the low country; there is reason to doubt the accu- racy of this, especially in the Ulva parish, judging from a regis- ter of the weather kept by Mr Clark at Ulva House for the last seven years. The prevailing gales are from the west and south- west. The winters are much more temperate and mild than in the inland parts of Scotland, the grounds being seldom covered with snow, and the frosts never of long continuance. Geology, Soil, &c.—Athough the appearance of the land is hilly, yet there are no mountains of remarkable height. The basalt and wacken strata, traversed with basaltic veins, seem to pervade the whole. The wacke affords many beautiful specimens of zeo- lite, and also the rarer fossil prehnite. The zeolite is frequently KILN INIAN AND KILMORE. 341 fibrous, and sometimes appears passing to chalcedony. The soil is commonly of a light-reddish earth, or a mixture of moss with little depth, and, in some places, much under water. &oology.—There are five lakes in the parish, all of them abounding with excellent trout and pike. The streams likewise furnish trout, and, at the mouth of them, salmon. The game consists of grouse, blackcock, snipe, and plover. Rabbits and hares are abundant; and deer are to be found. The salt water fish, shell-fish, and sea-fowl, &c. are particularized under the guoad sacra Ulva parish. w II.-CIVIL HISTORY. - There are eleven landed proprietors, whose names and valued rents in Sterling money are as under: d. Hugh Maclean, Esq. of Coll, te wº L.82 14 l l Mrs Clephane Maclean of Torloisk, w e 59 4 4 Francis William Clark, Esq. of Ulva, . * 49 5 : 3 Hugh MacAskill, Esq. of Calgarry, o . 40 4 2 F. W. Caldwell, Esq. of Tobermory, and John Stewart, Esq. of Achadashenaig, for Mishnish, º * 33 16 || || John Stewart, Esq. of Achadashenaig, e 6 16 10 Hachlan Macquarie, Esq. of Glenforsa, . e 27 15 2 British Society, º e o 10 2 4 Misses Macdonald, e º * 13 16 8 John Forman, Esq. W.S. of Staffa, & 2 9 2 Kenneth Campbell, Esq. of Ardow, e g 2 17 3 Total valued rent, ge L.329 3 0 Before the Reformation, there were no less than eight places of worship in this parish, the ruins of which are still to be seen, although, after the Reformation, and down to the year 1827, only one clergyman was left to serve the cure ; a lamentable want of spiritual instruction, therefore, necessarily existed, as, from the great extent of the parish, and its numerous islands, it became im- possible for the parishioners to attend, with anything like regula- rity, the parish church; and to any one clergyman, however zea- lous, serving the cure of a charge so extensive and divided, the duty became more than physical strength could perform. In the year 1827, the Parliamentary Commissioners, acting under the exe- cution of the Act 4 and 5 George IV., erected two parishes quoad sacra in this parish, and planted a church in each. A part of the united parish was likewise cutoff, and added to the new Government charge of the parish of Salen. Government, by these wise arrange- ments, have conferred a lasting and truly valuable boon on the numerous inhabitants of this populous district; and if to each Go- vernment church be added, as is in contemplation, a school, the boon will become a double blessing. 342 A R GYL E SHIRE, As the united parish is thus now divided into three distinct pa- rishes, viz. Kilninian, Ulva, and Tobermory, having separate and defined charges, with a church, manse, and clergyman for each, the purpose of this narrative will be best attained by taking up these parishes in detail. - . f KILNINIAN. - Eatent.—It extends, quoad sacra, to from 60 to 70 square miles, as from the line which separates it from the parish of Tobermory on the north to the shore of Torloisk, the southern boundary, the dis- tance is not less than ten miles; and from the south-west extremity to Esse-forse, the distance will be from six to seven miles ; or, taking the line on the north side, from the shore of Benalbanoch to the east march of the farm of Letirmore, which separates it from the parish of Salen in that direction, the distance will be about seven miles. On the north, the parish is bounded by that of Tobermory; on the north-east, by the parish of Salem; on the east, by the pa- rishes of Salen and Ulva; and on the south and west, by the At- lantic. The Treshinish isles are attached to this parish, but not included in the foregoing measurement. - Autiquities.—On the height above Kilmore, there are five large stones disposed in a kind of circular form, and supposed to have been a place of worship in the times of Druidism. Cairn- burgh or Cairnbulg, one of Treshinish isles, was anciently consi- dered a place of great strength, and supposed to have been fortified in Norwegian times. It is a high rock, of some considerable ex- tent on the top, and inaccessible on all sides excepting by one narrow pass. In 1715, it was garrisoned by the Macleans, and was taken and retaken more than once during the rebellion of that year. It was attacked and taken by Cromwell's troops in the days of the Commonwealth; and here, it is fancied, were the res- cued books of Iona burned. Little Cairnburgh is a smaller rock near it, and separated by a narrow sound, to which the same de- scription applies. These rocks are said to have been the boun- dary of the two governments into which the Hebrides were divided when subject to the Crown of Denmark, called the Nodorees and Sodorees, or northern and southern isles; and tradition bears, that the two governments not unfrequently contended for the possession of this stronghold. Mansion Houses.—Calgarry Castle, the seat of Hugh Mac- Caskill, Esq., is a meat modern building, and appears to considera- KILN.INIAN AND KIIMORE. 343 } ble advantage from the sea. Torloisk, the beautiful seat of the late Mrs Clephane Maclean, is situated amongst thriving planta- tions, and commands a fine view of the Ulva north loch, and the Treshinish islands.” * The origin of the founder of this distinguished branch of the clan Maclean is thus given in traditionary story : Maclean of Duart having had an intrigue with a beautiful young woman of his own clan, she bore to him a son. The child being born in a barn received the name of Allan-a-sop, or Allam of the straw. Allan being a natural son had no inheritance to look to, saving what he might win for himself. Maclean of Torloisk afterwards married the boy's mother, and took her to reside with him at his castle of Torloisk. Allan paid his mother frequent visits at her new residence, which were by no means acceptable to her husband. The lady one morn- ing looking from the window saw her son wandering down the hill, and hastened to put a cake on the fire for his breakfast. Her husband noticing this, snatched the cake from the girdle, and, thrusting it into his step-son’s hands, forcibly closed them on the scalding bread," saying, “Here is a cake, Allan, which your mother has pre- pared for your breakfast.” Allan's hands were severely burnt, and, resenting this mark of his step-father's ill will, he came not again to Torloisk. At this time the western seas were covered with piratical vessels sent out by the Danes. Allan entered as a mariner on board one of these, and, having attained to the command first of one galley, and then of a flotilla, he made his name both feared and famous in the western seas. At length thinking of his mother, he proposed paying her a visit, and, setting sail for this purpose, anchored one morning in the Ulva north loch, and in front of the house of Torloisk. His mother was by this time dead; but his step-father hastened to the shore to receive his now formidable son in-law with great apparent kindness. The crafty old man succeeded so well, as he thought, in securing Allan's friendship, that he began to think it possible to employ Allan in exe- cuting his private revenge on Macquarie of Ulva, one of his neighbours, with whom he had some feud. With this purpose he says to Allan, “You have now wandered on the seas long enough ; it is time you should have a footing on land, a castle to protect yourself in winter, a village and cattle for your men, and a harbour to lay up your galleys. Now here is the Island of Ulva lying ready for your reception, and it will cost you no trouble, save that of putting to death the present laird, a useless old carl, who has cumbered the world long enough.” - Allan, acting on so happy a suggestion, set sail next morning to put it in execu- tion, and, appearing before Macquarie's house, the old chief of Ulva was much alarmed at the menacing apparition of so many galleys. Having no effectual means of resistance, Macquarie, who was a shrewd man, saw no alternative but to receive the invaders, whatever might be their purpose, with all outward demonstrations of joy and satisfaction. He caused a banquet to be prepared as splendid as circumstan- ces admitted, hastened to the sound to meet the rover, and welcomed him to Ulva with such an appearance of sincerity, that the pirate found no pretence for picking a quarrel. - They feasted together the whole day, and, in the evening, Allan, being about to retire to his ships, thanked the chief for his entertainment; but remarked with a sigh that it had cost him very dear. “How can that be,” said Macquarie, “when I be- stowed this entertainment upon you in free good will 7” “ It is true, my friend,” said the pirate, “but then it has quite disarranged the purpose for which I came hi- ther, which was, to put you to death, seize your castle and island, and Scttle myself in the world. This island would have been most convenient for me ; but your hos- pitable reception renders it impossible for me to execute my purpose. I, therefore, must be a wanderer on the seas a short time longer.”—“My Dear Allan,” replied Macquarie, “I am sure this never arose from your own generous nature, but from your father-in-law, old Torloisk, who made an indifferent husband to your good mo- ther, and an unfriendly step-father to you. Consider this matter better, Allan, and you will see that the estate and harbour of Torloisk lie as conveniently for you as those of Ulva, and, if you must make a settlement by force, it is much better you do so at the expense of the old churl who never showed you kindness, than of a friend like me who always loved and honoured you.” - 344 AR GYLE SHIRE. III.-PopULATION. By a private census taken in 1837, the population was 1920. Adults, about two-thirds. - - The number of males and females nearly equal. Number of families, 328. IV.—INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—In agriculture, considerable improvement has been made since the last Statistical survey, and there is a greater quantity of crop now produced, arising from the different system of management which now prevails, especially on farms of any ex- tent. Besides, there has been of late years, in different parts of the parish, a considerable quantity of waste ground brought under cultivation; and the cultivation of turnips and clover, formerly unknown in this corner, is now making rapid progress. The Che- viot breed of sheep were, some years ago, introduced by Mr Ca- meron, one of Mr MacCaskill's tenants, and they are thriving be- yond all expectation. - - Formerly, kelp used to be manufactured on the different pro- perties in this parish, which contributed considerably to the sup- port of the population; but, of late years, this source has entirely failed, as no kelp is now made. - - W.—PARocRIAL ECONOMY. - Ecclesiastical State.—There are two churches, one at Kilninian, and the other at Kilmore, at the distance of about seven miles from each other. Both these churches were built in 1754, and are kept in tolerable repair. Last year they underwent a thorough repair. - There are five schools in the parish; one the parochial school, another the General Assembly’s, a third supported by the So- ciety for Propagating Christian Knowledge, a fourth by the Gae- lic School Society, and the fifth by the Glasgow Auxiliary. On Allan-a-sop being struck with the justice of this reasoning, and the old offence of his scalded fingers being suddenly recalled to his mind, said, “I have not forgot what a hot breakfast my father-in-law treated me to one morning. Farewell for the pre- sent; you shall soon hear news of me from the other side of the sound.” Having said this much, the rover went on board, unmoored the galleys, sailed back to Torloisk, and prepared to land in arms. His father-in-law hastened to meet him, in the expecta- tion of hearing of the death of his enemy, Macquarie. But Allan greeted him in a very different way from what he expected : “You hoary old traitor,” said he, “ you instigated me to murder a better man than yourself;—have you forgotten how you scorched my fingers, twenty years ago, with a burning cake 2 "The day is come that that breakfast must be paid for ;” so saying he raised his battle axe, cut down his ſa- ther-in-law, took possession of the castle and property, and established there that branch of the clan Maclean now represented by Mr Clephane Maclean. & TJIL VA. - 345 the north side of the parish, are the creeks of Laotin, Lockmin- gary, Pollach, Croig, and Bay of Calgarry, which last opens to- wards Tirée. - PARISH of ULVA. According to Dr MacCulloch, animals were a frequent source of the names given to many of the Hebridean islands, and, amongst others, he gives, as an example, “Ulva” as of Scandinavian ety- mology, taking its derivation from the Scandinavian word Ulffur, the Isle of Wolves. This parish consists of the Islands of Ulva, Gometra, Little Colonsa, Staffa, and a portion of the mainland of Mull, and ex- tends to about 60 square miles, exclusive of those parts occupied by sea. The Island of Ulva, occupying 18 square miles, is se- parated from the mainland of Mull by a narrow channel of about 100 yards, called the Sound of Ulva. To the west of Ulva is Gometra, and to the south and south-west of Ulva, Colonsa and Staffa. • , Dr MacCulloch, in treating of the basaltic columns of Ulva, says, “they are often as regular as those of Staffa, although on a much less scale, and pass gradually from that regularity of form into the most shapeless masses. In many places they afford ele- gant and picturesque compositions, which, although passed every day by the crowds who visit Staffa, appear to have been unnoticed. If either their numbers, extent, or picturesque appearance be con- sidered, they are more deserving of admiration than even those of the Giants' Causeway; and had they been the only basaltic co- lumns on this coast, they might have acquired the fame they merit. But Ulva is eclipsed by the superior lustre of Staffa ; and while the mass of mankind is content to follow the individual who first led the way, its beauties will probably be still consigned to neglect.” On the south side of Ulva, and near a place called the Castles, being a collection of columns resembling fortalices, is the farm of Cove, so named from an extensive cave about a quarter of a mile from the shore. In the face of an abrupt rock, rising perpendi- cularly to a height of 90 or 100 feet, is the entrance of this cave, presenting the appearance of an arch, having a span of 37 feet; from the mouth of the cave to its extremity, the length is 60 feet, the breadth 58, and the height at an average 30 feet; the roof and interior exhibiting as much the appearance of art as nature ; the bottom of the cave being covered with dry earth, and no water 346 ARGYLESHIRE. entering from the top. It occupies an area of about 3480 square feet, and the cattle grazing on this farm use it as a place of shelter from the inclemency of the weather in the winter, and the heat of the noon-day sun in summer. Amongst the numerous islets and rocks which skirt the Ulva shores, many covered with verdure, and tenanted by sheep or black-cattle, are to be seen not far from this cave, and on the shores of Ormaig, “Sceair Caristina,” or Chirsty's Rock, regarded by the people of Ulva with peculiar feelings, as being in olden times the scene of a melancholy drama. It would appear that a custom prevailed in this country, even so recently as forty years ago, of the inhabitants setting off to the hills with their flocks at the be- ginning of summer, and bivouacking in the vicinity of the best upland pastures, and where all the families of the district took up their residence till it became necessary to descend to the low grounds in the month of August, when the hill pasture became bare, and when their crops required attendance. Frequently has the writer of this listened with delight to the tales of pastoral life led by the people on these occasions,—when free from care, they tended their flocks among the pastures of the upland common. The men occasionally visited the low grounds to attend their simple husbandry then in use, or to procure some of the delicious fish which abound along the coast; some engaged in the chase, or followed the game; and richly did they deem themselves rewarded for their toil. When returning to the family circle, the produce of the flocks and dairy were put before them, and the feast enlivened by the pure essence of mountain dew, joined to the heart-stirring strains of the bagpipe. Nor in this pastoral encampment were the women idle; much of their time was occupied in the labours of the dairy, in preparing an abundant stock of butter and cheese for winter. When “baughting time” was over, the females used the distaff and spindle, and, congregating on the sunniest bank, enlivened the task of providing the tartan clothing for the family, by the simple yet innocent strains of their mountain songs. * * Travelling one day among the Ulva hills, oue of these pastoral encampments was pointed out to me, known by the name of Ari-chreag-nah-ighinn, the Shieling of the Maiden's Rock. A countryman, who accompanied me, seemed to regard i. with peculiar interest, and remarked that it was once the scene of a tragic tale. An industrious Woman; visiting her dairy one day, missed a kebbock, one of the fairest and best. Suspecting a young girl, she accused her of the theft. The maiden del nied the charge, and pled innocent; but the gudewife, chagrined at her loss, and, in order to extort a confession, seized the girl, and, wrapping a “tonag” or plaid round her neck, dragged her to a small rock near the encampment, and ſet her down U LVA, - - a+7 Stretching up Loch-man-Gaul, and giving name to the grounds where the Ulva mansion-house is situated, is the promontory of Ardnacallich, or old wife’s point. This appearance of the rock forming the termination of the promontory in the very extraordi- nary figure of the bust of an old woman, is only to be seen from a certain point sailing out of the Sound of Ulva towards Inch- kenneth or Gribon. The point being past, the resemblance is lost. At the point, a more perfect and well-defined figure of an old woman's head and face, with all the features distinct, cannot well be conceived, standing forth, in strong alto relievo, as the guardian genius of the strand. Ardnacallich Bay and the Sound of Ulva are safe and com- modious anchorage ground. On the north side of the island, the bay of Soribi, and on the south side, that of Crakaig, are like- wise considered good anchorage for vessels, particularly that of Soribi, for shipping of any tonnage. Glackingdaline bay, in the sound separating Ulva from Gometra, is another harbour for shipping. - - The soil of Ulva is superior, of a sharp but fertile nature, pro- ducing the best crops, and the grazing rich and wholesome for cattle. The shores around the island furnish lime-shell sand in abundance, and which, being applied to the land, produces a very rich manure. Sea-weed or wreck is likewise used for manure. The fineness of the climate, and the earliness of the harvest, in- duced Mr Clark, the proprietor, in the spring of 1837, to try wheat and peas by way of experiment. They both succeeded to admiration. Seven bolls of fine wheat were raised, a sample of which, as considered the first wheat raised in the Hebrides, being sent to the Highland Society, has been by the Society transmit- ted to their Agricultural Museum, under the charge of Messrs Lawson and Son, for the inspection of the curious. In this mu- from the verge, with the view of extorting a confession, or deterring her from com- mitting like depredations in future. Unfortunately, the tonag tightened, and stran- gulation took place, and the scene which followed may be more easily imagined than described. The gudewife became inconsolable, for the girl was a near relative of the family, and could scarcely believe the vital spark had fled, while her neighbours col- lecting to the fatal spot, regarded her, with the utmost abhorrence, as a murderess. In these days, the administration of justice was summary, and investigation took up little time. Nothing she could urge in extenuation would avail, and an awful ex- ample was left to future ages of her punishment, and the detestation in which her conduct was regarded. No formal trial took place to restrain the popular indigna- tion. They bound her in a large sack, amid the execrations of her people, carried her to the Ormaig shore, and there placed on a rock covered by the sea at high wa- ter, she slowly terminated existence by the rising tide. The rock still bears her name, and is the Scair Caristina before noticed. 348 A R GY LESHIRE, seum are likewise to be seen three potatoes, raised this season in a field on the Ulva Home farm, weighing when dug up about two pounds each. In this field, Mr Clark had nearly 900 barrels of potatoes. Turnips are found to answer well, and attain a great size. The farms in the island are divided and fenced with stone- dikes; each man's possession, however small, is defined and pro- tected. Near the shores the arable land generally lies; more in- land, the pasture; and beyond that again, separated by a stone- dike running round the island, is the sheep-walk, or hill grounds where the tenants' sheep and horses are grazed, each tenant, ac- cording to the extent of his holding, being entitled to place in the sheep-walk a certain number of these. About 100 tons of kelp are annually manufactured in the island, and the kelp, from its strength and manufacture, is allowed to be the best in the Western Highlands, and always commands the highest price in the market. Some years ago, it carried the Highland Society’s premium. The other produce of the island are, pota- toes, oats, and bear or Scots barley. The tenantry sell consi- derable quantities of potatoes, and find a ready market at the To- bermory distillery for their barley. Ulva is considered admirably adapted for the rearing of black-cattle and horses, and this forms ańother branch of the products of the island. - Formerly, the tenants held their possessions from year to year on tacit relocation, but the present proprietor has introduced leases, and gives an allowance for every acre of waste ground brought under cultivation. The tenantry are beginning to see the advantage of this ; and draining, clearing of stones, and laying on of lime shell sand, are going forward. . By a private census taken in 1837, the island contained a po- pulation of 604 souls. In this population there are shoemakers, square-wrights, boat-carpenters, tailors, weavers, blacksmiths, dry- stone masons, and two merchants, all more or less engaged in agricul- ture. Each tenant has a boat, some two, this being as necessary an accompaniment of an island farm, as the cart to a low country farm : the boat is in never-ending requisition, the using it for fish- ing being only one of the many purposes it serves. In seed time, it collects the wreck and manure, and in harvest time, takes home the grain, potatoes, and peats;–in a word, next to his horse it be- comes, in the management of his farm, the islander's right hand. Around the Ulva shores, shell-fish of every description are to be Ulva. 349 found, including the oyster and clam, lobsters, crabs, spoutfish, limpets, welks, &c. Skate, flounder, lythe, plaice, soles, turbot, seath, perch, mackerel, and dog-fish, &c. are abundant; herring, cod, ling, girnot, &c. and large quantities of salmon have been found in Soribi, and the Ulva North Loch. There are also otters, seals, porpoises, and most of the sea-fowl that are common on the west of Scotland, whether as natives of this district, or birds of passage, such as cormorants, scarts, teals, scale drakes, ducks of various kinds, &c.; and the migratory are swans, swallows, cuc- koos, lapwings, woodcocks, solan geese, curlews, wigeons, &c. Be- sides these, eagles, hawks, kites, and geese, wild pigeons, ptarmi- gan. Blackcock, grouse, plover, and snipes are to be found, and rabbits and hares are abundant. Were Government to restore the bounty formerly allowed, ling, cod, and herrings would be fish- ed to much profit, and Ulva, from its centrality and good har- bours, would become a station where a fishery might be advantage- ously planted. When the celebrated Dr Johnson visited this island, no plan- tations were to be seen. Wood, young trees, and planting are now making great progress, and the room where the Doctor spent the night in Ulva, indulging his bile against the then unclothed appearance of the landscape, is yet to be seen in the old Mac- quarie mansion house. - At Kilwiceuen, the ordinary burying-ground of the island, which, as the name imports, was a place of worship during the domina- tion of the Roman Church, there were, some years ago, found in the ruins, the bell of the chapel. In Glackingdaline Bay, and upon a high and steep rock are the ruins of Glackingdaline Castle, but whether of Norwegian or Danish origin cannot be determined. The outward works are yet very entire, and the mounds and walls on the summit, although covered with a rich sward of grass, can be plainly traced. At high water, the sea surrounds the rock; but at low tide, it can be reached on foot from the Ulva shore, where the remains of a pier or causeway, leading from the castle to Ulva, are distinctly visible. Several large stones, supposed to be relics of Druidism, are to be seen in the island, two at Crakaig, and others at Achacharra. - The only mansion-house in the parish is the seat of Mr Clark, in the island of Ulva. It is a large modern building, and placed in an extensive park, about 400 yaſs distant from the old man- 350 ARGYLESHIRE. sion-house of the ancient Macquaries, the earlier proprietors of these estates; the natural beauties of the grounds interspersed with thriving plantations; the splendid panoramic view of Ben More, and the other Mull mountains; and the Sound, with its green islands,-all tend to create in the scenery around the mansion house, beauties of a peculiar and very high order. From the drawing-room windows of the mansion, looking towards Mrs Cle- phane Maclean's, and Mr Clark’s property in Mull, and about two miles to the north, is to be seen, on Laggan Ulva, the sin- gular cataract of Esse-forse. A stream collected in the mountains seems to make way with impetuosity down the hill side, and de- scribing in its tumbling course two minor waterfalls, it descends in one unbroken sheet from a precipice, 90 feet high, into the Ulva North Loch. - * - The Ulva garden, containing about two acres, is well stock- ed with every kind and variety of fruit, and so early are the productions, that strawberries are ripe here as soon as that fruit appears in the Edinburgh market. The Ulva church and manse, two neat and fine-looking build- ings, erected in 1827, are distant about five minutes walk to the north of the mansion. Towards the Sound, and beside the Ferry, are the Ulva Inn, Smithy, merchant's shop, ferryman's and other houses. The inn, during last year, was put by Mr Clark in an ef- ficient state of repair, and a new innkeeper having taken the esta- blishment, every accommodation can now be given to parties on pleasure-trips coming to visit Staffa, and the scenery around,-boats and men being at all times in readiness. - The usage, or fine known by the name of “Mercheta mulierum,” it is said, lately existed in Ulva, and Doctor Johnson having re- peated the tale, it has attracted somewhat more notice than it me- rits, and has become a favourite source of debate with tourists and antiquarians. Johnson says, “Enquiring after the relics of for- mer manners, I found that in Ulva, and I think nowhere else, is continued the payment of the Mercheta mulierum; a fine in old times due to the laird at the marriage of a virgin. This payment, like others, was, for want of money, made anciently in the produce of the land. Macquarie was used to demand a sheep, for which he now takes a crown.” The same is told of Sark, where a similar fine was said to be claimed and paid. Macolm III, is supposed to have abolished it. Craig maintains it was imported from France. ULVA. 351 with the feudal law, and Blackstone denies that the Gavel kind tenure originated in such a practice. . The Irish maintain that the Danes introduced the practice into this country, and the High- landers allege that it was a power actually exerted by the Lords of the Isles. - The smaller island of Gometra, separated from Ulva by a very narrow channel, contained, by the annexed census taken in 1837, 168 souls, the soil and character of its products being nearly the same as those of Ulva. It has two harbours, the one facing the south, and the other the north. - The still less island of Collonsa has only a population of six souls, and the soil is not so fertile as either that of Ulva or Go- metra. Staffa is uninhabited, and is about one mile long, and a quarter of a mile broad; but to give a minute detail of the natural beauties which attract the annual crowds of strangers from every quarter of the globe to view this isle of columns and caves, would occupy larger space than these limits permit. Referring, therefore, to the many publications and works by men of science and know- ledge on this very interesting subject, which are already in the hands of the public, it may be only necessary to mention here that its Scandinavian name means “ the Island of columns.” Its highest point is 144 feet above the level of the sea. Westward, the cliffs are generally low, rude, and without much beauty; but in the north-east quarter, there are five small caves, remarkable for the loud reports they give, when the tide enters, resembling the distant discharge of heavy ordnance. The northernmost point is columnar, and nearly level with the water. The highest point of the great face is 112 feet from high-water mark, and be- comes lower as it proceeds towards the west; the greatest height above Mackinnon's cave being 84 feet. The same takes place at the Clamshell cave, where the vertical cliffs disappear, and are replaced by an irregular declivity of a columnar structure, beneath which the landing-place is situated. Here the columns are placed in irregular directions, being oblique, erect, horizontal, and some- times curved : where they reach the grassy surface of the island, they gradually disappear, but are sometimes laid bare, presenting the appearance of a geometrical pavement, where their ends are seen, and in other places displaying portions of their parallel sides. At the Clamshell cave, the columns on one side are bent, form- 352 AR GYLESHIRE. ing a series of ribs not unlike an inside view of the timbe, , of a ship; the oppū'ite wall is formed by the ends of columns bearing a general resemblance to the surface of a honeycomb. This cave is 130 feet long, 30 feet high, at the entrance 18 feet broad, and the lateral dimensions gradually contracting to its termination. The noted rock Buachaille, or the herdsman, is a conoidal pile of columns, about 30 feet high, lying on a bed of curved horizon- tal ones, visible only at low water. The average diameter of the jointed columns here, and in Fingal's cave, is about two feet, but sometimes they attain to four ; hexagonal and pentagonal are pre- dominant, although they are intermixed with figures of three, four, and more sides, extending even to eight or nine, but rarely reach- ing ten. The Cormorant, or Mackinnon's Cave, is easy of access, and terminates in a gravelly beach, where a boat can be drawn up. The height of the entrance is 50 feet, the breadth 48, and the length, 224 feet. - The Boat Cave is accessible only by sea. Its height, about 16 feet; breadth, 12 feet; and length, 150. - Fingal’s Cave is perpendicular at the sides, and terminates in a contracted arch. The height from the top of the arch to that of the cliff above is 30 feet; and from the top of the arch to the sur- face of the water at low tide, 66 feet. The pillars y which it is bounded on the western side are 36 feet high; while at the east- ern, they are only 18. Towards the west, the height of the co- lumns gradually increases, as they recede from the cave to the altitude of 54 feet. The breadth of the cave at the entrance is 42 feet, and this continues to within a small distance of the inner extremity, when it is reduced to 22. The total length is 227 feet. With the morning sun only can the great face of Staffa be seen in perfection. Instead of the short space of one hour, which the steam-boats can afford to the crowds of strangers who come to visit it, many hours and days would be required. And even after the accomplished traveller has surveyed it to satiety, he may re- turn again and again; and, at every new visit, this extraordinary scenery will rise in his estimation, thus presenting the strongest proof of merit which can exist, either in the works of art or nature. To make up for the short time steam-boats give travellers, an op- *. portunity is afforded them of remaining behind, and, after having ULVA. 353 at leisure examined the island, they may proceed in the evening to the " ,wa inn in any of the Gometra or Ulva boots, which at all times attend the steamers; and next day they may either return to Staffa and again embark, or proceed by land to Tobermory, passing by the cataract of Esse-forse before noticed; or, varying the route, they may proceed by land or water up Loch-nam-gaul coast towards the village of Salen, where the steam-boats touch. III. — PopULATION. - The following census of the population of the parish of Ulva was taken in 1887 with great care, and its accuracy can be de- pended on : Island of Ulva. Total souls, de 604 From 5 to 10, g 73 - Families, . g | | 6 10 to 20, . . 120 Males, & . 296 20 to 40, gº 140 Females, . § 308 40 to 70, . . I 44 Under 5 years, ... 103 Above 70, * 22 Mainland of Mull. Total souls, ë 222 From 5 to 10, . . 35 Families, ë . 40 10 to 20, & 33 Males, © * | 13 20 to 40, . . 56 Females, * ... 109 40 to 70, g 54 Under 5 years, t 32 Above 70, is . 12 Gometra. Total souls, . 168 From 5 to 10, . . 26 Families, * * . 26 10 to 20, & 42 Males, tº jº 87 20 to 40, . . 41 Famales, ſº . 8] 40 to 70, . . 31 Under 5 years, tº 25 Above 70, . & 3 Colonsa. Total souls (one family,) * g * 6 Total souls in parish, º g 1000 The people of the Ulva parish are very healthy, and capable of undergoing much fatigue. The language chiefly spoken is Gaelic, although there are few, if any, but can speak or understand the En- glish. The habits of many of the people are not over industrious. Their ordinary food is porridge and milk, potatoes and fish, some- times varied with a little mutton or beef. Too much snuff and tobacco are used; and the females have of late been indulging in tea, which they readily get in exchange from the merchants for eggs. Very few instances occur of habitual inebriation. Taking them in mass, their general character as a people may be stated as shrewd and calculating; they are also peaceably disposed, and religiously inclined. All attend the parish church. There are four Dissenters in the parish, and one Roman Catholic. A R GYLE. Z 3.54 A R GYLESH 1 RE. There are three schools in the parish, one on the mainland of Mull, and two in the island of Ulva. One of these is supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge; the other two are branches of the parish school. There is a post-office in Ulva, at which the letters received and dispatched for the last year amounted to upwards of 2600, and 340 newspapers. - PARISH of Tobe RMoRY. Name, &c.—Tobermory, or “the Well of Mary,” takes its name from a well hard by the village, called after the virgin. This parish extends to about six miles in length and nearly two in breadth, and may contain fully twelve square miles. It stretches' along the Sound of Mull, by which it is separated from Morvern on the east, and from Ardnamurchan on the north. Kilmore pa- rish bounds it upon the west, and Salen on the south. The town of Tobermory, which is a thriving sea-port, encircles the extremity of a fine sheltered bay, and is one of the safest har- bours among the western isles, being protected from the Sound of Mull by the small isle of Calve, which stretches nearly across the entrance, but leaves ample room at its northern point for the largest vessels to enter the harbour, though none but small craft can effect this at the south-east point, even at high water. The British Society for extending the Fisheries and improving the Sea Coast of the Kingdom, commenced the town in 1788; and so well has the village prospered, that at that time there were only two houses where, at present, there is a population of nearly 1500. The British Society and Frederick William Caldwell, Esq. of Mishnish, are the proprietors of the village. The town is well built, and possesses two good quays. The new quay was begun in 1835 by the late Colonel Campbell, and now nearly com- pleted, which gives four feet of depth at low water, being two feet deeper than the old quay. The former is a little to the north of the latter, and nearer to the entrance of the bay. The town has increased considerably on Mr Caldwell’s side, of late years; and the harbour is much frequented, both by steamers and sailing vessels. The church, which was erected in 1827–28, stands in a fine prominent situation behind the principal part of the town, and overlooks the bay. There are at present two schools in operation in the village, one a Government or Parliamentary school, and at- tended, in the winter season, by about 100 scholars; and the other a school of industry foryoung females, attended by about 90 scho- ars, supported chiefly by the bounty of Her Majesty Queen Ade- TO BE RMOR Y. - 855 laide. A Sabbath school is likewise kept, where about 200 boys and girls receive religious instruction. There is likewise a pub- lic news-room. - In the immediate neighbourhood of the village is a beautiful loch called Mary's Lake, situated between two finely wooded hills, extremely precipitous in their descent. This pleasing spot be- longs to Hugh Maclean, Esq. of Coll, who has improved it in a manner highly creditable to his taste and judgment, and erect- ed the elegant mansion of Drumfin, on the banks of the lake. Tobermory is the only village in Mull or the neighbouring islands of any consequence. Its trade is chiefly domestic, with a tolerably good herring fishery. Here the Sheriff substitute holds a court, and it is the polling place at county elections for all elec- tors residing in the islands of Mull, Ulva, Iona, Tiree and Coll, and in Morvern. A branch of the Western Bank is established here. In the sixteenth century, during the northern retreat of some ships forming part of the Spanish Armada, the Florida, one of these vessels, was blown up and destroyed off the harbour of To- bermory, a plot for that purpose having been planned and executed under the direction of Maclean of Dowart, for which he obtained a remission under the Privy Seal, as the records thereof bear, dated 20th March 1588–89. The timbers of the Florida are still occasionally brought up, Part of the wood of this vessel was pre- sented by Sir Walter Scott to his Majesty George IV., on his visit to Edinburgh. Several attempts were made to recover the sunk treasure : one in 1688, by Sacheverel, Governor of Man, who fit- ted up diving-bells, and tried them with success at the depth of ten fathoms. The report of the country goes, that he got up and recovered much treasure. Another attempt was made in 1740, by Sir Archibald Grant and Captain Roe, to weigh her by means of divers and machinery. This attempt was unsuccessful, but some guns were brought up. In this harbour, the good but unfortunate Earl of Argyle may be said to have wrecked both life and fortune, in the year 1686; for, at this place, he made the first landing with his followers, in their fatal invasion, in con- cert with the unhappy Duke of Monmouth. On the west side of the town, are the remains of an ancient chapel, dedicated to the Virgin, and of a fortalice of a circular form, understood to be of Norwegian order. About two miles north from Tobermory is 356 ARGY LESHIRE. Bloody Bay, so named from a great sea fight about the year 1480, betwixt the then two powerful contending factions in the isles, in which the adherents of John were routed with great loss by his brother Angus and his followers. - - The population of this parish in 1837, was 1520, and they all belong to the Established Church, with the exception of thirteen individuals connected with the Anabaptist denomination, who have had a preacher stationed in Tobermory for the last twenty years. There are also twelve Roman Catholics, and one Independent. There are in the village two writers, one banker, three surgeons, two agents for insurance offices, one distiller, thirteen grocers, of which five are spirit-dealers, ten woollen and linen drapers, four mer- chants and general dealers, one nursery and seedsman, seven inn- keepers, two joiners and cabinet-makers, four tailors, five boot and shoemakers, two bakers, besides Smiths, plasterers, and masons. The great majority of the population consist of the poor and working-classes. The original settlers in the village were pretty comfortable, as they possessed as much land, at a very low rent, as was sufficient to maintain their families for the whole year, if properly cultivated ; but, owing to some late arrangements, and the increase of population, the original allotments have been sub- divided, so that very few of the villagers at present can procure from their lands a subsistence for their families, beyond eight or nine months of the year. The population are in general of an industrious disposition; but the want of regular employment is too favourable for indulging in indolent habits, and to this may be ascribed much of the misery to which they are often subject. As they cannot get employment at home, many of the young people go to the south country, and a few of them are engaged in the herring fishery. Notwithstanding the different descriptions of character that take up their residence in the village, when turned out of their te- nements in other parts of the country, it is very seldom that any gross crimes are committed; and as an evidence of this, it may be mentioned, that although there is a lock-up-house or jail in To- bermory, yet none of the inhabitants of the parish have been con- fined there for the last four years, and the upper flat of that jail is occupied by the school of industry before noticed. There is a considerable proportion of arable land in the parish, which in general yields a tolerably good crop of oats and pota- SALEN. 357 toes, and much waste land has been brought into a state of culti- vation by the Tobermory settlers, since the formation of the vil- lage. There are thriving plantations on the estates of Hugh M“Lean, Esq. of Coll, and Mr Caldwell of Mishnish in, the immediate neighbourhood of the village. PART OF THE PARISH of SALEN. e That part of the united parish of Kilninian and Kilmore which was cut off to be annexed to the government parish of Salen, con- tains a population of about 300 souls, and is bounded nearly as fol- lows, by the Salen burn as far as the bridge on the new line of road leading to Knock; and an imaginary line drawn from the said bridge to the head of Loch-man-gaul, separates Salen from Kil- minian and Kilmore; and then taking Salen for the centre, and with a radius of four miles, describing a segment of a circle from Ardnacross, on the Sound of Mull, to Kellan Mill, on Loch-nam- gaul, we have the extent of that part of the united parish of Kil- ninian and Kilmore, which, quoad spiritualia, is attached to, and forms a part of, this Government parish of Salen. The Bay of Aros is by no means deficient in beauty, though of a wild character; and the valley, like the bay, derives an in- terest from its castle, pitched in a very picturesque manner on the summit of a rocky hill, and said to have been built by Mac- Donald, Lord of the Isles, who lived and kept court there. It bears the evident traces of being a place of strength, built upon a steep rock towards the sea, and looks as if it had been secured on the land side by a moat and drawbridge. On the rising ground, and overlooking the bay, is the house of Mr Stewart of Achadashenaig. Having given, seriatim, detailed accounts of the three parishes, and part of a fourth, the observations and remarks following apply to the whole. Summing up the population of each parish, from a private census taken in 1837, there appears in Kilminian and Kilmore, tº - g = I9 Ulva, & © & 1000 Tobermory, ë. e e 1520 Part of Salen, ſº & 300 - . Total souls, # 4740 According to Dr Webster's account, the population in 1755, was only 2590 Making since then an increase of 2150 And at the period when the last Statistical Account was framed, viz. 1792–8, by a census then taken, the population amounted to e 3281 358 A R GYLE SHIRE. - Brought over, t 3281 Which, when deducted from this year’s census, e e 4740 Exhibits an increase of g 1459 Population of Kilninian in 1841, • 1794 Tobermory, g ſº 1371 Ulva, º g g 858 The whole teinds of the united parish are valued, and exhaust- ed, and drawn by the present incumbent, the same being modified to him by the Court of Teinds on 23d May 1827, amounting to L.230, 19s. 31%d. Sterling. Besides this, he receives from the heritors a sum of money annually in lieu of manse and glebe. The Duke of Argyle is patron. The language commonly spoken is Gaelic, although almost all understand or speak the English. The exports are, kelp, black-cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, and wool; potatoes, bear, and eggs ; and the imports, oatmeal, seed, corn, leather, salt, and a variety of merchant goods. The roads are extremely bad, and the improvement of them proceeds but slowly; the funds allowed are so disproportionate to the extent and surface, and to the expense requisite, that, unless aid from Government is obtained to assist proprietors in their laudable exertions to benefit the community, in opening up new lines and repairing old, there is no hope of any thing like an im- provement being made for many years to come. However much proprietors may be disposed to come forward, such is the extent of the evil, that their individual and unaided efforts are, by the magnitude of the lines, and extent of accommodation required, completely paralysed. It is humbly thought a little of the public money might be advantageously and profitably employed, even in a national point of view, in forwarding this very desirable object. From what has already been said of the soil, agriculture, and population, it will be readily believed, that many of the people are poor, and the only common fund they have to look to for assist- ance, is what is collected for them at the respective churches on Sabbaths, together with occasional fines exacted for immoralities; yet such is their spirit of independence, that very few indeed will apply for relief to this source, unless under the pressure of actual Want. - - Wages.—The wages of a man servant for a year may average L.6, and a maid servant's L.4 ; labourers, 1s. to 1s. 8d. per day; and tradesmen, is. 6d. to 2 s. There has been a decided change for the better, on this part IKILF IN AN. 359 of the country, since the preparation of the last Statistical Ac- count ; then, the writer thereof prophesied, “ there seems to be little ground to hope for a speedy increase of its population or prosperity, but rather the reverse.” By the census before noticed, this prediction will be seen not to have been realized; and the rent- als of estates have been in some instances doubled, nay even al- most tripled since then. Much of this is no doubt to be ascribed to steam navigation, and the facilities thereby afforded of intercourse with all parts in the low countries; and were the necessary lines of road made, and bridges built, low country capital and enter- prise would find their way more readily than they have been doing, into this district; the face of the country would undergo a tho- rough and beneficial change ; and this portion of the empire, hitherto so much neglected, would assume and hold that position which the capabilities of its soil, sea coast, and climate so justly entitle it to. September 1843. PARISH OF KILFINAN. PRESBYTERY OF DUNOON, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV, JOSEPH STARK, MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. - Name.—KILFINAN is one of the parishes comprehended in the district of Cowal. Its name is derived from St Finan, an eccle- siastic of the seventh century, and a disciple of St Columba; it signifies the church or burying-place of St Finan. It is also well known in the district by the name of Kerry, or Ceathramh, which is a Gaelic word, signifying the fourth part of any thing ; but why this name was given to it, I have not been able to learn. Eatent, &c.—The parish is about 17 miles in length, and va- ries from 3 to 5 or 6 miles in breadth. It stretches from South to north, its southern extremity being Aird Lamont, or the pro- montory of Lamont, so called because it forms part of the estate of Lamont of Lamont, whose mansion house is also in the imme- 36() ARGY LESHIRE. diate vicinity. This southern point is bounded by the sea, which separates it from the Island of Arran, the distance being between three and four leagues. On the west and north-west, it is bound- ed by Lochfine ; on the north and north-east, by the parishes of Stralachlan and Kilmodan; and on the east, by Loch Riddon and part of the Kyles of Bute. . . Topographical Appearances.—The hills in the parish, though numerous, are not remarkable for height. The highest are those which form the boundary between this and the adjoining parish of Kilmodan or Glendaruel. From the summit of this ridge of hills, a beautiful view can be obtained, not only of the scenery along the Kyles of Bute and the lower part of Lochfine, but also of several of the Hebrides, rearing their dark mountain- ous heads out of the western ocean. The hills generally run in a direction from north to south, and are interspersed with valleys containing low and arable lands. - The parish being bounded on the west, south, and east by wa- ter, has a great extent of coast, parts of which are steep and rocky towards the water; and other parts consist of low lands or gradual declivities, which are mostly arable. Along the coast, there are several beautiful bays, though not of great extent, the principal of which are the following, viz. Kilfinan Bay, immediately below the plac where the church is situated ; Achalick Bay, about three miles farther south; and Kilbride Bay, near the southern extre- mity of the parish. There are also several headlands by which these bays are embraced. The most notable of these is Airdla- mont, or the promontory of Lamont, previously mentioned. Near the north end of the parish, there is a very remarkable and beau- tiful sand-bank, which juts out in a serpentine form almost into the middle of Lochfine. This bank is said to be about 1800 yards in length, from the shore to its extremity at low water. It goes out in an oblique direction, forming with the land on its south side an acute angle, and with that on its north side an obtuse angle. In spring-tides, it is entirely covered at high water, and at three hours after the turn of the tide till low water, it is wholly uncovered to within a few yards of its extremity. It seems to have been formed by the force of the ebbing tide, which has a straight run of ten or twelve miles before it strikes the projecting land which forms the root of this bank, when it naturally sweeps along and around the little promontory, carrying with it quantities {{IL FINAN. 361 of sand and gravel, with which the shore abounds, and depositing these, in its course, till the bank has thus been extended in the form above described. This theory is supported by the fact, that, close along the north or upper side, the water is very deep, while on the south or under side it is very shallow, and the ebb is con- sequently great, especially at the time of spring tides. As the word, in the Gaelic language, descriptive of a projecting ridge or bank in the sea, is Oitir, hence the origin of the name, Otter, given to an adjoining estate, and also the title of the family to which it belongs, Campbell of Otter. - - Climate.—The climate is generally mild. In winter the frost is seldom severe; and the snow soon disappears from the low grounds, as it does also from the higher lands in the vicinity of the loch. - Quantity of rain which fell at Ballimore, by Thom's gage. 1833. 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887. 1838. 1839. *-*-* *= *-* *=ºs ºs-e-º ºr mºsºm-º: s ===== January, tº •70 9:30 2.85 8'50 3-40 I '60 4-40 February, . . 6'40 3•50 7.20 3. 10 6-40 1 - 10 5-10 March, tº I 20 4-30 4-65 6-90 I -30 4-10 5-50 April, e ſº 2-40 •40 1.90 3-8 1-80 2.5 2.20 May, . 3 2-80 7. •20 2:40 I •] 0 2:40 June, 5. 3.80 1-60 4. 2.80 5'50 2.80 July, 2.30 2.80 4°50 6-30 3. 10 5-60 4-90 August, . © 3-5 4'45 6-10 3.60 3:30 5-90 5. September, 7.5 3:60 6'50 7-50 3. 4-50 8.50 October, 6 6'50 5. 5. J 0 7. 7. 6-70 November, 8. 7.30 7.25 6'50 7.30 5- 4:30 December, e 10:30 4' 3:45 5-70 4-90 5-60 4.90 Total each year, 55-40 52.75 58. 60°48 46-70 49. 56-70 At Greenock, . 49-35 52.50 62.10 62.10 Thermometer. Highest Lowest Highest Lowest Highest Lowest 1837. 1S37. 1838. 1838. 1839. 1829. January, 45 . 26 d 48 . . 19 e 49 * 25 February, 49 e 32 tº 40 e 19 g 49 * 26 March, 45 ſº 29 ſº 56 © 24 e 54 e 25 June, . 69 & 35 ſº 64 g 35 e 72 tº 40 July, . 72 . 45 te 73 g 46 º 66 & 46 August, 70 e 39 e 63 e 41 . 64 g 39 December, 50 tº 30 te 50 te 30 * 48 e 3] The weather is very changeable. Rains are frequent, and sometimes heavy. This may be owing, in some measure, to the high hills in the surrounding districts, viz. those of Arran on the south, and those of Sliabh Ghoil, on the west side of Loch- fine, which attract the clouds, and cause them to discharge their 362 AR GY LESHIRE, contents abundantly on all the adjacent country. Rains come most frequently with a south or south-west wind. A west wind sometimes brings heavy and frequent showers, but seldom conti- nued rain. The weather is usually cold and dry with a wind from the north or east; and if rain commences from the east, it gene- rally continues for five or six hours without intermission. Changes of the wind are frequent, particularly from south to west and north-west; and these are usually accompanied with changes of weather. The prevailing wind is from the south, as are also the severest gales which are experienced in this part of the country; but sometimes, very high and hurtful winds come both from the west and east. Hydrography.—There are two small fresh water lochs or lakes of nearly equal size in the inland part of the parish. They are under half a mile in length, by 200 or 300 yards in breadth. The one is three and the other six miles south from Kilfinan. In both of them, there is abundance of common yellow trout of moderate size. There are four streams or burns, besides several smaller rivulets. The largest is that which runs from east to west into Lochfine, at Kilfinan Bay. In dry weather, there is but little water in it; but with heavy rains, it swells to a considerable height, and rushes from the hills with great rapidity. This is also the character of all the other streams, one of which joins the loch about four miles above Kilfinan, towards the north. The remaining two are south from the church, and enter Lochfine at the bays formerly men- tioned. - Geology.—The rocks throughout the parish are almost all of one character. They consist chiefly of the mica-slate rock, in- termixed with white quartz, regular veins of which are to be met with in the rocks along the coast. The whin or trap rock is scarce, being only found in two or three places; but limestone rocks of secondary formation abound in the north end of the parish. The lime is of good quality, and is suitable both for land and for building, though hitherto it has been but little used for either pur- pose, except by Mr Campbell of Ballimore, and one or two of the farmers in his neighbourhood. It is to be hoped, however, that it will soon be more generally used for both purposes, as new and comfortable houses for the tenants are much required, and without these there cannot be much improvement made in the cultivation of the land. 3 KIL FINAN, 363 Soil.—There is a considerable variety in the quality of the soil throughout the parish, according to the different situations of the land. In low and level ground near the sea, there is generally a fine light sharp soil, lying on a subsoil of pure gravel. This soil, though not deep, produces good crops; and, when pro- perly laid down, it yields excellent grass. There are in several places of higher situation, and farther removed from the sea, pretty extensive tracts of a kind of mossy soil, parts of which are already cultivated, and all of which are capable of being made good land by draining and labour, with the addition of a suitable quantity of lime. Improvements of this nature have, for several years, been carried on to a considerable extent on the estate of Mungo N. Campbell, Esq. of Ballimore; and though these are attended at first with no small expense, they promise to repay it abundantly. - -- 200logy.-In all the streams and lakes, there is abundance of the common small trout. The streams, however, are not suffi- ciently large to admit of sea trout going up for spawning; though it is said, that, in former times, salmon of considerable size were much more frequently seen in the pools near the mouth of Kilfinan burn, than they have been for many years past. On the south side of the Otter sand bank, noticed above, and towards the extremity of it, there is an excellent oyster bed, whence are ob- tained considerable quantities of oysters of superior quality, which are known by the name of Otter oysters. Besides herrings, the loch abounds with the common kinds of white fish, such as whit- ings and cod; but these are very little sought after, as the her- ring-fishers do not think this kind of fishing worth their trouble, even when not employed at the herrings. Botany.—Under this head there is scarcely any thing worthy of notice, the plants in this parish being such as are common in almost every part of the Highlands. Among the rarer specimens may be mentioned the white foxglove (Digitalis alba.) Nor is there any thing remarkable in reference to the woods. In seve- ral places, there are enclosures of oak coppice, which are sold and cut every twenty years. These are generally on rough grounds, and on the sides of hills which could not be brought under culti- vation. Formerly these woods were valuable to the proprietors as a source of income, but of late years bark has fallen to about one- half only of what it used to bring. Mixed with the oak there are 364 ARGY LESHIRE. also considerable quantities of ash, birch, and hazel. In other places, birch coppice abounds; but this, being reckoned of little or no value, has never been enclosed and protected, and conse- quently has not attained to any size. There are also numerous plantations throughout the parish, some of which are of older growth, and others more lately planted. They consist chiefly of larch, silver-fir, oak, ash, and other usual kinds, all of which seem to thrive well where they have soil of sufficient depth, without be- ing mossy or wet. II.—CIVIL HISTORY. Land-owners.—The number of heritors or land-owners is ten. Of these the chief are the following, viz. Archibald James La- mont of Lamont, patron, whose property comprehends above one- third of the parish; Mungo Nutter Campbell of Ballimore ; Mrs Ann Campbell of Otter; John M*Iver of Ardmarnock ; and Alexander M*Alester of Loup. Parochial Registers.—The parochial registers are not of very old date, and they were not, in former times, carefully kept. They consist of different volumes, containing the minutes of ordi- nary meetings of session, register of births and baptisms, and re- gister of proclamations and marriages. They have been pretty regularly kept since June 1742 till the present year, with the exception of the marriage register, which commences in March 1779. - Antiquities.—On the margin of the largest of the lakes, or lochs already mentioned in the southern division of the parish, stand the ruins of an ancient castle, part of the walls of which is still pretty entire. It is situated on the estate of Lamont, and was formerly the residence of a cadet of that ancient family. It was destroyed by order of the Marquis of Argyle, in the reign of Charles II., as was also the castle, which at that time was the seat of the family of Lamont, on the point of Toward, opposite Rothe- say ; because Sir James Lamont of Lamont supported the cause of that unfortunate monarch. The taking and destroying of these castles formed part of the indictment upon which the Marquis was afterwards tried and convicted, as appears from the State Trials. In this parish there are several of those ancient duns which are common in many parts of Argyleshire. These are composed of a row of large stones, generally placed in a circular form on some hill or eminence. They are supposed to have been places 4 IK ILF IN AN, 365 where fires were kindled in former times for the purpose of warn- ing the country and summoning the people to assemble for the common defence, on the sudden appearance of an enemy. There are also to be seen the remains of what are called borradhs or cairns. These were composed of large piles or heaps of stones, in the heart of which were a great number of tall broad stones set on end in two rows, and covered above with a roof of other flag- stones. The largest of these borradhs, which was about two miles north from the church, is thus described. It was near forty yards long, and of considerable breadth and depth. At the bot- tom, from the one end to the other, there were several small apartments, or cells, end to end, each made up of five or seven large flags. Each cell was about six feet long by four feet broad, and about five feet high. One broad flag made up each side, and another covered it above, as a roof, so as to support the stones which were heaped above the whole. The cells were not always in a straight line from end to end of the borradh. The pile of stones has long ago been completely removed for the purpose of building dikes; but a considerable number of the flags are still standing, showing distinctly the covered way above described. I am not aware that any bones or relics of any kind were found when the stones were removed. The remains of another of similar construction, but smaller in its dimensions, are to be seen about three miles south from the church. It is not known with certainty for what purpose they were constructed, or to what use they were applied. It has been said by some, that they were places where public worship was performed. In several places are to be seen large stones standing in a perpendicular po- sition. These are sunk to a considerable depth in the ground, and are sometimes six or seven feet above it. Perhaps they were designed originally to commemorate some important action or event which had taken place near to the spot where they are erected. In some places, there are to be seen rings or circles of stones of a similar description, which are supposed to have been Druidical temples or places where worship was performed. Mansion Houses.—The principal mansion houses are the fol- lowing: Aird Lamont House, the seat of Archibald James La- mont of Lamont, Esq. near the southern extremity of the parish; Ballimore House, the residence of Mungo Nutter Campbell, Esq. of Ballimore, a chaste and elegant mansion, built about eleven 366 ARGY LESH 1 RE. years ago, and situated near the shore of Lochfine, three miles north from the church ; Otter House, the residence of Mrs Ann Campbell of Otter, about half a mile below the church on the bay of Kilfinan; and Ardmarnock House, belonging to John M‘Iver, Esq. of Ardmarnock, near Lochfine, about four miles south-west from Kilfinan. These are all commodious and com- fortable houses, having been erected (with the exception of Otter House) within the last twenty-five years. The church of Kilfi- nan, which is presently in a very uncomfortable state, is a plain building, long, low, and narrow, according to the ancient mode of constructing churches. It is in no respect an ornament to the pa- rish. An additional church, neat, comfortable, and commodious, has been erected within the last two years, in the south end of the parish, on the property of Lamont. This church is eight miles distant from the church of Kilfinan. It was built by private sub- scriptions from heritors and others connected with the parish; by contributions from friends to the cause of Church Extension in Rothesay, Greenock, Glasgow, and Paisley ; and by a grant of L. 174, 10s. from the General Assembly’s Church Extension Committee. It contains 330 sittings, and its erection has cost up- wards of L.600. For some years past, a missionary has been em- ployed to labour in that populous district of the parish; and this arrangement, together with the comfortable accommodation pro- vided for public worship in the new church, promises, by the bles- sing of God, to be highly beneficial to the best interests of the population. In the parish there are three corn mills. The only manufactory is that of gunpowder. During the course of last year, a company in Glasgow erected suitable buildings and ma- chinery for this purpose, at a place about six miles south from Kil- finan, not far from the Kyles of Bute. The manufactory has been in full operation since the end of the year 1889. III.-PopULATION. It appears that the population of this parish in 1755 was 1793 1793, | 4 || 7 1821, 1839 1831, 2004 1841, 1816 No register has hitherto been kept of deaths in the parish. Number of persons of both sexes under 7 years of age, 428 under 12, e 587 families in the parish, 380 Proprietors of land of the yearly value of L.50 and upwards, 10 Gaelic is the language generally spoken, though it may be KI L I, IN AN, 367 considered as having lost ground in some measure during the last forty years, in consequence of increased facilities of intercourse with people of the low country, and also in consequence of a con- siderable number of families from the low country having of late settled in the parish. IV.-INDUSTRY. * Agriculture.-By far the greater part of the parish is hilly ground, unfit for cultivation, and only adapted for the feeding of sheep and cattle.* On each farm there is generally as much ara- ble land as supplies the tenant or tenants with food for their fami- lies, and with provender for their cattle during winter. Few of the tenants understand or practice the improved methods of cul- tivating the ground, so as to raise good crops of any thing but po- tatoes. They are slow in adopting the modern improvements in husbandry, and, indeed, the greater number of them want the means of doing it. By a proper system of cultivation much bet- . ter crops might be produced; and had they the necessary means of draining and enclosing, much land that has hitherto been un- cultivated might be rendered available for crops. The average rent for grazing a cow or ox during the year may be stated at L.2, and for a ewe or sheep, 3s. - Wages, &c.—The rate of wages for common labourers is, in summer, 1s. 6d. per day, and in winter, 1s. 3d. The fees of farm- servants, exclusive of lodging and victuals, are from L. 5 to L. 7 per half year. Those of female servants are about L. 3 per half- year. The duration of leases, which generally does not exceed nine years, is too short for inducing tenants with capital to lay out much of it in improving their farms. Another hinderance to im- provement is the want of enclosures to protect the arable lands from the cattle, both during summer and winter; as without enclo- sures and subdivision of fields, there can be no proper adherence to a rotation of crops. Indeed little attention has hitherto been given to the cultivation of crops, the chief dependence of the larger tenants being on the prosperity of their sheep and cattle, while others who have smaller farms depend chiefly on the pro- duce of the herring-fishing, in which they engage during summer. Extensive improvements, however, are in course of being made on the estate of Mr Campbell of Ballimore in regard to draining, in- closing, and planting; and it is probable that the other proprie- * It is computed to contain an area of about 64 square miles, or 40,960 imperial acres, one-twelfth of which, at least, may be considered arable. , 36S A R GYLE SHIRE. tors, imitating his example, will soon commence and encourage si- milar improvements on their several estates. To have improve- ments carried on, it is necessary that each farm be let to one re- spectable tenant only, and that for a period of nineteen years, in- stead of the old system, still generally followed, of letting a farm to two or three tenants jointly for a period of seven or nine years. It is necessary that suitable farm-buildings be erected instead of the old black huts which are now on the farms;–and that due en- couragement and assistance be given by the proprietors to their tenants in draining and enclosing the arable land. The sheep reared in this part of the country are mostly the black-faced breed; and they are in general of a small size, owing to the pasture on the hills not being of the best description. Of late years, sheep drains have been introduced on some farms for the purpose of im- proving pasture, and considerable attention has also been paid to the means of improving both sheep and cattle stock. • Fisheries.—The principal fishery connected with the parish is the herring-fishing in Lochfine, which furnishes employment to the greater part of the people during the summer, and is the chief employment on which they depend for subsistence. There are l II fishing-boats belonging to the parish, each of them requiring three men to manage it. The original cost of each boat or wherry is about L.40 or L.50, and the full quantity of nets costs nearly as much, so that it requires a capital of L. 100 to furnish a boat properly for this fishing, A considerable annual outlay is also ne- cessary to keep the boats and nets in repair, in consequence of the tear and wear to which they are exposed. For upwards of twenty years, with the exception of an occasional year, the fishing has not been so abundant, and consequently not so productive as it for- merly was, so that the greater number of those depending on it have been reduced to poverty. The average produce of each boat during the above period may be estimated at from L. 50 to L. 60 per annum, which, being divided into three shares, affords but a small sum for the maintenance of a family, and for providing an outfit for another season. And with regard to many boats, the sum to be divided is much smaller than what has been stated above. In the lower end of the parish, in the Kyles of Bute, salmon- fishing with bag-nets has been tried for some years past, and with considerable success. Those caught are usually of good size and quality. This fishing has been under the management of one KILF IN AN, 369 man and his family who came from the low country, and who pro- secutes this kind of fishing only. The nets used are said to cost about L. 10 each, and it is generally necessary to provide new ones every season. . * V.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. There is no market-town, and, strictly speaking, no village in the parish—the only kind of villages being the clachans on the se- veral farms inhabited by the farmers and their cottars. Some- times, however, these clachans contain twelve or fifteen families, including a population of fifty souls and upwards. There is a post-office at Kilfinan, which was established about three years ago. It is a sub-office to Cairndow, from which place it is dis- tant about thirty miles. Two runners, paid by Government, are employed to convey the mail bags from Cairndow to Kilfinan; which they do three times a-week. In this part of the country, and indeed throughout Argyleshire, there are no turnpike roads. The roads are commonly called county roads, which are made and kept up by statute labour; but they are neither well-made nor kept in good repair. They are much injured by the heavy rains which fall during winter, Suitable and sufficient bridges are built where they cross any of the streams above-mentioned. There are no quays nor harbours in the parish, except a small pier at Otter Ferry. This pier seems to have been built previous to the introduction of steam-boats for the convenience of the ferry-boats, as this was the principal ferry for the people of the Knapdale dis- trict of Argyleshire when going to the low country. Since the in- troduction of steam-boats, however, travelling by the ferries has entirely ceased. . Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church is beautifully situated at a little distance from the head of Kilfinan bay. It commands a pretty extensive view of Lochfine which, at this place, is at least five or six miles broad. Its situation is as convenient as it could be for the majority of the people, though there are but few com- paratively within two miles of it. The northern or upper end of the parish contains a population of 1000 and upwards. These are scattered on each side of the church to the distance of between five and six miles. The southern or lower end contains a popu- lation of 800 and upwards. For the accommodation of these, some of whom are as far as eleven miles from Kilfinan, the addi- tional church formerly mentioned was built. The parish church is a long, low, narrow building, according to the old plan of con- A R GY L. E. . A ºl 37{} A l; G Y L E SH 1 l{ E. structing churches. On a corner of the burial aisle belonging to the family of Lamont, and which is attached to the church, there is a stone bearing date 1633. The church was repaired, however, or almost wholly rebuilt in the year 1759. It is again in a very uncomfortable, state, and stands greatly in need of extensive re- pairs. But as no repairs can ever make it a comfortable church, it is to be hoped that, at no distant period, it will be taken down, and a new one erected. It affords accommodation for upwards of 400 persons: and all the sittings are free. The nianse was built about forty years ago, and is a good substantial house. It was re- paired in the year 1832 on the admission of the present in- cumbent; but it is again in want of other repairs. The glebe consists of four acres of arable land, together with a servitude on the adjoining farm, of grass for two cows and a horse in common with the other cattle. The stipend, as localled and modified in the year 1837, is 135 bolls, 2 stones, 5 pounds, meal; 64 quarters, 3 bushels, 3 pecks, 2% qts. bear, at the annual fiar prices of the county ; and L. 10, 3, 11%d. The teinds are exhausted,—the whole being granted by the court when the stipend was modified as above in 1837. *, Besides the parish church, the only other place of worship is the new church, formerly alluded to as having been erected lately in the south end of the parish. It was opened in May 1839. It is supplied at present by a missionary, who is supported by contri- butions from heritors and parishioners, together with a sum of from L. 10 to L. 15 granted by the synod of Argyle from their funds. A missionary has been employed in that district of the parish for above four years; and, as it has hitherto been found impracticable to raise a salary adequate to secure the whole services of said mis- sionary for this parish, he has officiated on alternate weeks here, and in a similar situation, on the other weeks, in the district of Toward, parish of Dunoon. The whole population belongs to the Established Church. There are no Dissenters of any denomina- tion in the parish. When the weather is good, Divine service is in general well attended, though the majority of the people labour under many disadvantages in regard to regular attendance. The number of communicants is 305. There is an annual contribution for behoof of the General Assembly’s five schemes, which will average from L. 10 to L. 15. There are also occasional collections for other charitable and religious objects. Education.—There are six schools in the parish, three in the Kl L. F IN AN. 37 | .* upper, and three in the lower end. The branches taught in them are English and Gaelic reading—writing, arithmetic, and some- times book-keeping. One of the above is the parochial school, which is close by the church of Kilfinan. The salary granted by the heritors is the maximum ; but L. 6 of it are allocated to two of the branch schools, viz. L.3 to each. Hence the salary received by the parochial schoolmaster is L.2S, 4s. 4d. In addition to which, he receives the interest of L. 95, 10s., being a sum be- queathed by one of the Lamont family about a hundred years ago, for behoof of the teacher of the parish school. Of this money the kirk session are trustees. The teacher has the other legal ac- commodations. He is also session-clerk, kirk treasurer, and pre- centor, for which a small salary is allowed. The highest rate of School-fees is 3s., second rate 2s. 6d., and the lowest rate 2s. per quarter. Including several other small sources of emolument, the income of the parochial teacher may be estimated at about L. 50 per annum. All the schools in the lower end of the parish are unendowed, except that one of them, which formerly was on the scheme of the SQciety for Propagating Christian Knowledge, has an excellent croft attached to it, sufficient to keep a cow during summer and winter. This is granted by Mr Lamont of Lamont, It is hoped that this school, which numbers seventy or eighty scholars during the winter and spring quarters, will shortly be admitted on the list of schools endowed by the General Assembly. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The number of persons regularly receiving parochial aid is 34. The funds are distributed half- yearly. Sums are allotted to each, according to their circum- stances, varying from 8s. to L.1 : average about 15s. The ave- rage annual amount of church collections for the poor is from L.25 to L. 30. The other funds are interest of L. 275, mortcloth dues, and marriage money. The sum divided each half-year usually amounts to L.25 and upwards. There has hitherto been no occasion for procuring funds by any other means. The people in general are in poor circumstances; so that, when disease or old age comes upon them, they not unfrequently require parochial aid. It is chiefly to the aged who have no near relatives able to main- tain them, that such aid is given. They do not apply for it till need compels them, and they receive with thankfulness whatever sum is granted to them. + - Market.—There are no fairs held in the parish : except that 372 AR GYLE SHIRE . twice a-year, viz. about the end of May and October, there is a small cattle market held at Otter Ferry. Inns.—At present there are five public-houses in the parish. Three of these are such as may be called inns, viz. at Otter Ferry, which is four miles north of Kilfinan: at Kilfinan, and at Millhouse, which is six miles south of Kilfinan. The two others are ferry houses on the Kyles of Bute. Fuel.—The fuel most commonly used by the farmers and their cottars, is peats, which are generally to be got on the several farms. April 1843. UNITED PARISHES OF KILCHRENAN AND DALAVICH. PRESBYTERY OF LORN, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. WILLIAM FRASER, MINISTER. - I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Names.—THE names Kilchrenan and Dalavich are of Celtic etymology; the former signifying “the burying-place of Chreman,” the tutelary saint of the parish, according to ancient tradition; the latter signifying “the field of Avich,” in allusion to a tract of level ground lying in the vicinity of a river called the Avich, and near one extremity of which flat the parish church is situated. The parish is entirely inland, touching in no point upon the sea. It stretches along both sides of the well-known lake Loch- awe, which, with its numerous creeks and wooded islands, to- gether with the mountain scenery around it, forms a landscape which probably exhibits as rich a combination of beauty and grandeur as is to be met with in the Highlands of Scotland. The land rises by a gradual ascent on the east side of the lake, four miles to the summit of a range of hills, called the Muir of Leckan ; and on the west side by a similar ascent, four miles to the summit of another range, called the Mid-Muir. The Muir of Leckan is 24 miles in length, and lies in the divi- sion of Argyle. The Mid-Muir, also 24 miles long, lies in the RILCH RENAN AND DAL AVICH. 373 district of Lorn. The length of the parish is 15 miles, and the medium breadth 8. The surface is much diversified with heights and hollows, in- tersected by numerous streams, all flowing into Lochawe. Near the shore of the lake, there is good natural pasture, much valua- ble wood, and some improvable moss. . II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Antiquities.—Opposite to, and in sight of, the parish church of Dalavich, lies the beautiful island of Inish-Chonnel, on which stands a majestic ruin of great antiquity, covered over with ivy, and which was for several centuries the chief residence of the fa- mily of Argyle. Near Inish-Chonnel lies Inish-errich. In this isle are the ruins of a chapel, together with an ancient burying- ground, still used as such. Not far from this is Eilean ’n tagart or Priest's Isle, so called from having been the residence of the priest. Lochavich, anciently called Lochluina, and which discharges it- self into Lochawe by the stream or water of Avich already noticed, is a beautiful sheet of water, of a triangular form, about eight miles in circumference, full of trout, having one castle and se- veral islands, the resort of gulls, cranes, water-eagles, and wild- ducks. Near this lake lay the scene of an ancient Celtic poem, translated by Dr Smith of Campbeltown, called Cathluina, or the conflict of Luina ; and in the lake is an island, the scene of an- other poem, called Laoi Fraoich, or the Death of Fraoch. Many places in this neighbourhood are still called after the names of some of Ossian's heroes. Parochial Registers.-The session records or minute books are from 1707 to 1731, and from 1755 to 1843. Register of births, from 1710 to 1723, and from 1751 to 1843. Registers of mar- riages, from 1707 to 1723, and from 1755 to 1843. Poor's roll book, from 1803 to 1843. Cash book, from 1788 to 1843. They have all been regularly kept since 1803. Principal Land-owners.-These, with their valuations, are as follows : - The Marquis of Breadalbane, º L 5] 7 6 Neill Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch, g 73 2 9 Robert Campbell, Esq. of Sonachan, & 25 17 11 Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Monzie, º 15 5 0 N. B. The whole valued rent of both parishes, 230 13 9 Mansion Houses.—These are, Eridine House, the seat of Mal- colm of Poltalloch; and Sonachan House, the seat of Campbell of Sonachan. - 374. ARGY LESHIRE. III.—PopUI, ATION. Amount of population in 1801, e 1052 8] 1, * 109S 1821, gº 1071 1831, t 1096 1841, & 894 - IV.-INDUSTRY. - Agriculture.—Draining has been lately carried on to some extent. Manufactures.—There is in the parish a work for the manufac- ture of pyroligneous acid, in connection with an extensive secret work, at Camlachie, in the suburbs of Glasgow. The work is conducted by Stewart Turnbull, Esq. Bonhill Place, Dumbarton- shire, and is erected on the property of Mr Campbell of Sonach- an, from whom Mr Turnbull has a lease of the ground on which it stands. - V.—PARocFIIAL EconoMY. Ecclesiastical State.—The whole population belongs to the Es- tablished Church, with the exception of one family, consisting of two or three individuals. Teinds or victual stipend, 131 bolls, 1 firlot, oatmeal. Vicarage or money stipend, L. 18, 13s. 74%d. The glebe is about 10 acres in extent; value, as returned in 1836, to the Religious Instruction Commissioners, about L. l I. The manse was built in 1802. It is very damp, and falling much into decay. . Education.—There are three parochial schools, and at present two private ones. One additional school is required. Salary of Kilchrenan parochial schoolmaster, L. 17, 2s. ; salaries of the two Dalavich parochial teachers, L. 17, 4s. 0#d. ; L. 17, 10s. Kilchre- nan school-fees, L.3; Dalavich school-fees, L. 10; L.7. The Kilchrenan parochial teacher has, besides the above, L, 11, 10s., L. 10 of which sum is the interest of mortified money for which he is bound to teach as many of the poorest of the children upon the Marquis of Breadalbane's property, as it will educate. The Dalavich parochial teachers have, besides the above, L. 1, 15s. ; and L. 1 respectively. Poor—The average number of persons receiving parochial aid is 20. They receive on an average 12s. per annum. The average annual amount of contributions for their relief is L. 15, whereof L. 5 is from church collections, and L. 10 is the interest of morti- fied money. - Inns.—There are three inns. Their effects on the morals of the people are most injurious. - Libraries. Two parochial libraries, one in each of the united rº. Fºx - I& II, CHR E N AN AND DAI, AVIC II. ... 375 **~. parishes, and consisting entirely of theological works, were esta- blished in 1832. The one consists wholly of Gaelic publications; the other contains both Gaelic and English works. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. The practice of illicit distillation prevailed at one time to a very great extent. The present incumbent used every endeavour to put a stop to it, both by private and public remonstrance, and by the exercise of church discipline; but all his efforts proving fruitless, he had no alternative but to represent the matter to the Board of Excise, who effectually put it down in 1829. It has, however, of late, (but to a very slight extent) been resumed. He has always found it not merely to have a most demoralizing effect upon the parishioners—being the fruitful source of drun- kenness, Sabbath desecration, and other vices, but to be most ruinous to the temporal interests of those engaged in it. There are two churches, upwards of nine miles distant from each other, whereof the one was erected about seventy-two years ago, and the other a year thereafter. Both are in good repair, and comfortable. In each there is service every alternate Sab- bath. Thus, all of the parishioners, (with the exception of a very small portion of them, who reside about half-way between the two churches, and who, although not legally entitled to sittings in both of them, yet in general avail themselves of the opportunity of attending both, which their local situation affords them,)—are de- prived of the means of public worship and religious instruction to an extent which operates most injuriously on their moral and spi-, ritual interests. The present incumbent occasionally preaches in both parishes on the same day; but from the distance, and the state of the roads, can do so but seldom. The manse is situated between the two churches, being a mile distant from the one, and about eight miles from the other. It stands in a sweet and sequestered spot upon the summit of a slope close by the lake, embosomed in wood, the planting of the father and immediate predecessor of the present minister. From a list of the parishes of Scotland, arranged under the heads of the presbyteries to which at the time they respectively belonged, appended to Dundas of Philipstown’s Abridgement of the Acts of the General Assembly, it appears that the parish of Innishail, which borders upon that of Kilchreman, was then annex- ed to it and Dalavich, and included along with them under the pastoral superintendence of one clergyman; and, moreover, that 376 AR GYLE SHIRE, all the three, with the parish of Clachan Dysart, generally and better known by its modern appellation Glenorchay, lay within the bounds of the Presbytery of Inverary. At what period In- mishail was disunited from Kilchrenan and Dalavich, and conjoin- ed with Clachan Dysart into one parochial charge; and at what period all of them were detached from the Presbytery of Inverary, and transferred to that of Lorn, the writer of this has not the means of ascertaining. April 1843. UNITED PARISH OF KILLEAN AND KILCHENZIE. PRESBYTERY OF KINTY RE, SYNOD of ARGYLE. THE REV. D. MACDONALD, MINISTER. I.—ToPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. - Etymology.—KILLEAN probably derives its name from St Kil- lian, who, in the latter end of the seventh century, travelled from Scotland, the place of his nativity, and preached the gospel with such success among the eastern Franks, that he converted vast numbers of them from Paganism to Christianity.” The denomi- nation of the parish is also very descriptive of the local situation of the old parish church, whose walls, of a crucial form, are still entire, -the name being, in this view, compounded of Cil and Ab- hainn, a river, and signifying river churchyard. A small river or rivulet forms the northern boundary, which, together with a tributary stream, surrounds the site of the church and burial ground. Kilchenzie, in Gaelic Kilchaoinich, is evidently derived from St Kenneth, to whom the church must have been dedicated as its tutelar patron. Of his history I have no knowledge, there being neither oral tradition nor any written records in the parish to throw light upon the subject. He must, however, have been a Saint of considerable celebrity, as there is a small * See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, Vol. ii. Part 1. KILI,EAN AND KILCHENZIE. 377 island upon the coast of Mull, called Kenneth’s Isle, with a ruin- ous chapel, where, it is said, he lies buried. In this event, he must have been one of those zealous missionaries who issued from the celebrated monastery of Iona to propagate the gospel through Scotland and its adjacent isles. Boundaries, Eatent, &c.—The united parish lies on the west- ern coast of the peninsula of Kintyre, and contains the most valu- able and improvable proportion of the soil on the west side of the district from Tarbert to the southern extremity of the parish. Its length, by the measurement of the only high road in the parish, which leads from Tarbet to Campbelton, is 18 miles, and its breadth may be safely computed at 4% miles. The parish con- tains an area of 81 square miles, or 51,840 acres, of which it is calculated 5000 or 6000 acres are arable, and occasionally sub- jected to the operations of the plough. The general aspect of the parish is rather tame and uninterest- ing, with very little variety of scenery, destitute of woods and in- closures, gradually rising from the level of the sea to the height of 700 or 800 feet,_diversified and intersected by some heights and hollows, three narrow glens, and various streams. The lower part of the hills sloping towards the shore, occasionally half-a-mile in ascent, is uniformly cultivated, and produces plentiful crops of oats, bear, potatoes, pease, and beans. The higher ground beyond the region of cultivation is naked, bleak, and sterile, covered with stinted heath, generally interspersed with detach- ed spots of coarse grass, sheep fescue sprits, rushes, and gall, a species of alpine myrtle. The hills range from north to south, and are pretty uniform in height, with the exception of Beinn-an-tuirc, or Wild Boar's Mountain, at the head of Glen Barr, which elevates its heath-covered summit 2170 feet above the level of the sea, being 306 feet lower than the Paps of Jura, which lie to the north-west. The gradual ascent of Beinn-an-tuirc makes it appear, at a distance, less conspicuous than other hills of the same altitude, which rise abruptly from their base. In the northern extremity of the parish, Runahaorine point, a narrow neck of mossy land, highly improvable, projects one mile into the sea, immediately opposite to the north end "of the Island of Gigha, which, together with an adjacent promontory in the op- posite parish of Kilberry, forms the entrance into West Loch Tar- bet from the Atlantic Ocean. As the coast gradually stretches 378 AIR GYL ESH 1 R. E. to the south, it occasionally exhibits to the view sandy bays and low rocky headlands, the latter of which are frequently composed of red sandstone, alternating with puddingstone, mica imbedded with veins of quartz, veins of basalt, and a few detached blocks of the same scattered along the shore, whinstone, alter- nating with basalt, sandstone, and red shiver. Towards the southern extremity of the parish, at the termina- tion of Bealochintie bay, and which comprehends nearly a circuit of two miles, the coast begins to assume a more bold and rugged aspect. A promontory of detached rocks and loose stones of im- mense magnitude project into the sea, which seem, since the crea- tion, to have set the utmost efforts of the waves at defiance. It may be generally observed, that, wherever the coast is most exposed to the billows of the ocean, nature has opposed the strongest barrier. Thus, in as far as protected by the adjacent islands of Gigha, Cara, Jura and Islay, the coast is low, and the sea, by a gentle undulation, gradually exhausts its violence on a sandy beach, or dashes its sprays against low rocky headlands. But, beyond the reach of such protection, nature has opposed a more bold and elevated front. In the immediate vicinity of the sea, and throughout the whole extent of the parish, a narrow stripe of low alluvial land, edged by an indented declivity, bears evident traces of having been at one period occupied by the sea. The general belief among the aged inhabitants is, that the sea is gradually retiring from the land. In confirmation of this belief, the bank or sloping declivity which forms the boundary of the level land occasionally assumes a shelving appearance, and in such places as the sea has encoun- tered obstruction from projecting precipitous rocks, they have formed an irresistible barrier against any encroachment of the ocean; but where no such interruption occurs, the waves seem to have forced a passage farther inland. Along the shore, the remains of some rude circular inclosures are still visible, which, from their appearance and position, must have been at one period surrounded by the sea. In the centre of the parish, and in the immediate neighbour- hood of the sea, an aggregate of pyramidical rocks occur, from which the ocean has evidently receded. In the fissures of these rocks, several acres beyond the sea-mark, quarriers have fre- quently dug out fossil bivalved shell fish, of a species not now to 3 I ILLE AN AND KILCH5, NZIE, 379 be found along the coast of the parish, but abundant in Loch Tarbet, and the eastern shores of the peninsula. - A few caves are to be met with along the shore, but do not me- rit any particular description. Bealochachaochean, one of the largest, contains a spring of excellent water, without any visible outlet. As no division of the parish is indented or intersected by an army of the sea, neither harbour nor safe anchorage is to be found along its coast, particularly when the wind, as it frequently does, blows from the west. In this event such vessels as venture upon the coast in the spring and summer seasons to land coals, and ship potatoes for the English and Irish markets, are abruptly obliged to weigh anchor and sail to the opposite island of Gigha, where they lie in security till such time as the wind blows from a more favourable direction. The sound between the mainland and the adjacent islands of Gigha and Cara abounds with sunk rocks and shelves which some- times prove fatal to vessels. Climate, &c.—The climate, owing to the proximity of the parish to the Atlantic Ocean, is rather humid, but less so than the north- ern and mountainous districts of the county, which are sometimes, during the spring and autumn seasons, deluged with torrents of rain. From the want of shelter, however, the western peninsula of Kintyre is more subject to stormy weather, and sudden changes of climate. During the winter season, and the vernal and autum- mal equinoxes, a mild day is frequently succeeded by furious and tremendous tempests of north or north-west winds. The sudden changes of the weather affect the constitutions of the natives with various diseases, such as inflammations, pulmo- nary affections, and rheumatism. Typhous fever and other epi- demic diseases are becoming prevalent, which, it is believed, have been introduced into the parish by Irish vagrants who are conveyed by steam-boats to Campbelton, and itinerate though the parish, begging their way from house to house. . It is universally admitted that the natives were much more healthy, thirty years ago, than at present, and that many of them are attacked with diseases which were then only known by name. However, a few instances of longevity occasionally occur. One woman died, three years ago, at the advanced age of 103 years; and five venerable old men are just now in life whose unit- ed ages amount to 435. 380 ARGY LESHIRE. Hydrography.—The moors abound with lochs or lakes, but none of any extent or celebrity; and the few rivers in the pa- rish, which collect in the hills, and issue from ravines and tribu- tary streams, ought properly to be denominated rivulets. The largest, which runs through Glenbarr for a course of three miles, and falls into the Atlantic, abounds with small salmon and grilse. Mineralogy.—No mines of any description have hitherto been discovered in the parish ; but it is supposed, from the appearance of the soil, that it contains coal. A discovery of this nature would prove a great blessing to the natives, as peats or turf, the only fuel, are scarce, and at a great distance. - - Veins of limestone frequently occur both in the hills and along the shore, of a bluish granular texture, sometimes reposing upon a bed of granite. Žoology.—It cannot be said that the parish of Killean is re- markable for breeding any species of cattle of peculiar quality, size, or value. The black-cattle uniformly consist of an ill-shap- ed, small-boned breed of the Highland species, always housed at night, and of course not in such repute for the market as those outliers reared in the upper districts of the county. They are, however, easily supported, and, when well fed, very profitable for the dairy. The small breed of the old white-faced Highland sheep, whose flesh was considered so tender and delicate, and wool so Superior in quality, is now extinct, and the prevailing stock consists of a black-faced breed, said to be originally imported from Moffat. Very few hogs are reared in the parish, and such as the far- mers fatten for the use of their families seem to have been origi- nally imported from Ireland, and are more distinguished for size than any peculiar shape or quality. The farmers have been, within the last twenty years, very inde- fatigable in improving their breed of horses, by introducing into the parish heavy low country stallions, and have succeeded well in rearing powerful and large draught horses well adapted for farming operations. - The wild quadrupeds of the parish are, hares, badgers, wild- cats, martens, polecats, otters, weasels, small white ermine similar to the weasel in shape and habits, but of a lesser size. The mole has not as yet made its appearance in the parish ; but having, several years ago, passed the narrow isthmus of Tarbet, it 4 KIL LEAN AND KILCHENZ I E. 381 is gradually progressing to the south, and will, in all probability, ere long overrun the whole peninsula of Kintyre. Although a few roes are to be seen in the woods of West Loch Tarbet, yet none of them have found their way farther south, at least, on the west coast of Kintyre.” Ornithology.—Wast flocks of granivorous birds congregate, in the winter season, from the northern and woody districts of the county, to pick up such wild seeds as nature has liberally provided for their sustenance,—a wise provision of the All-bountiful Creator, not only to feed the fowls of the air, but perhaps to prevent the increase of noxious weeds. Many migratory birds and some indigenous to Scotland do not frequent the district, which may be attributed in a great measure to the scarcity of wood.—The following catalogue comprehends all the variety of this beautiful part of the creation which visit the parish, and may serve as a specimen for all Kintyre. Rock-eagle Fieldfare Sedge warbler Osprey or sea-eagle Blackbird Pettychaps Goshawk Song thrush Whinchat Sparrow-hawk Throstle or missel thrush Wheatear Gentil falcon Red-wing throstle. Reedsparrow Buzzard Ring-ouzel - Blackcap Kite or glede Waterouzel . Bullfinch Merlin Baldcoot Chimney swallow Gray owl Snow flake Martin swallow Raven Skyelark Swift swallow Carrion crow Titlark Sand swallow Hooded crow • Rock-lark Swan Jackdaw - Goldfinch Wild-goose Cornish chough or red- Chaffinch Barnacle legged crow Greenfinch Solan goose Rook - - Grey linnet Tufted duck Magpie Larger redpole Long-tailed duck Cuckcoo Lesser redpole Mallard Landrail Twite or moor linnet Teal Partridge Yellow hammer Wigeon Blackcock Mountain finch Red-headed wigeon Moor grouse or red-cock Bunting Heron w Golden plover Hedge sparrow Shieldrake Lapwing House sparrow Cormorant Woodcock Cock of the north Shag Common snipe Common wren Gulls of various sorts Jack snipe Golden-crested wren Puffin Curlew Yellow or willow wren Stormy petrel Whimbrel Tom tit Auks, as puffin, razor-bill, Sanderling Long-tailed titmouse guillemot Sandpiper White or pied wagtail Scaup duck Rock-pigeon Yellow wagtail Golden-eye duck Wood-pigeon Gray wagtail Sea-parrot * Since writing the above, the mole has advanced into the parish. It is a very sin- gular circumstance in the natural history of the mole, that it travels by the hills, and colonizes the sterile districts before it attacks cultivated land. 38.2 - A R G Y LESH 1 R F , Turtle dove White throat Eiderduck Starling * Three species of serpents occur in the parish, viz. the ringed- snake, destitute of poisonous fangs; the Coluber berus, adder or viper, extremely venomous, and sometimes more than two feet in length ; and the Anguis fragilis, commonly known as the slow worm, but apparently harmless. The most destructive and pernicious reptile to young corn, after it begins to germinate, is the grubworm, generated by cockchaf- fers, particularly after clover lea and a moist spring. Several ex- pedients have been attempted to extirpate them, but hitherto with- out effect. In some seasons, they commit such ravages as to com- pel those who suffer most from their depredations to plough up fields that have been sown with bear or oats, and substitute pota- toes instead of a culmiferous crop, which disarranges their ordinary rotations. Ichthyology.—A considerable variety of trouts abound in all the moor lakes, but they furnish no species which are of any importance in an economical point of view. Neither charr, pike, nor perch, are to be found in any of the Kintyre lochs, rivers, or streams. But the sea along the west coast furnishes a great va- riety of nutritive fish, such as red rock cod of the largest size, ling, tusk, skate, plaice, lythe or white pollock, haddocks, whitings, mackerel, Seath, coal fish, conger eels, and, to all appearance, turbot and soles, were the people acquainted with the particular banks which they frequent, and the proper mode of fishing for them. Shoals of herring are occasionally observed in the months -of July and August, passing to the south, pursued by aquatic birds, whales, porpoises, and the all-devouring cod. The natives of the parish never engage in the herring-fishing, and allege as an excuse that the currents are too strong and rapid for nets to remain steady. It must, however, be acknowledged, that they are very unskilful fishermen; and that the great impediment against prosecuting fisheries with any prospect of success, is the poverty of the inha- bitants, and want of capital to commence the lucrative business. * Occasionally migrating to the Western Isles. The nocturnal goatsucker does not occur on the west side of Kintyre, but plen- tifully on the east. The bittern, which old people remember as common forty years ago, has utterly forsaken the parish ; a proof that marshy land has been well-drained. Within the last three years, a few detached quails have been seen in autumn, proba- bly migrating to a milder climate. The pheasant, which was introduced to the woods at Largie by the late proprietor, promises to multiply. After a few years' trial, the pheasant is not multiplying. It is supposed that its eggs are destroyed by black game and vermin. K J L L E AN AND KILCH E N Z I E. 383 Lobsters and crabs of the largest size are numerous, and gene- rally used as bait for fishing cod. One family in the parish have of late made it their sole business to catch lobsters, and send them by steamers to the Irish and Liverpool markets, from which they have derived considerable profit. With the exception of a few large brown mussels adhering to sunken rocks, no bivalved shell- fish of any description are to be found along the coast. In shallow bays, a few prawns and shrimps occur, and great shoals of sprats and herring fry. Botany.—No plants are to be found in the parish, but such as are occasionally to be met with in every district of the Highlands bordering upon the Atlantic Ocean. The botanist will-sometimes find along the rocks of the shore, Crambe maritima or sea-cale, Eringium or marine holly, Epilobium, crane-bill geranium, creeping convolvulus, Scarlet poppy, starworts, rose campions, St John’s wort, musk roses, bog pimpernel, sea bind-weed, scurvy grass, maiden-hair, celadine, and many others. - With the exception of a little brushwood in hollows and glens at a distance from the sea, the parish is destitute of natural wood. Within the last thirty years, a considerable extent of land has been laid down with plantations of larch and other forest trees, upon the properties of the late Sir Charles M*Donald Lockhart, and Mr Macalister of Glenbarr, and are succeeding beyond ex- pectation. They are regularly thinned, and kept in good order. The thinnings from the plantations at Largie now supply the ten- ants of the parish with wood for building houses and some farming utensils. The soil of the parish is well adapted for the growth of forest trees; but, except in situations such as Largie and Glenbarr, pro- tected from the influence of high winds and sea air, the climate is very ungracious for raising timber of any description. The want of shelter, and the nipping cold which accompany north-west winds in the end of spring and beginning of summer, and check early vegetation, appear to be more pernicious to the growth of trees than sea air. The trees which thrive best are, ash, plane tree, elm, beech, mountain ash, alder, and black Italian poplars. In all pro- bability, the marine pineaster would suit the climate, because in the opposite island of Gigha, which is exposed to every blast that blows across the Atlantic, a few which have been planted among larches, &c., seem to have retained their foliage, and flourish with vigour among other trees of a dwarfish and withered appearance. :384 A R GYLESHIRE • It is a well-ascertained fact, that it is now a vain attempt to rear trees, even in places where, at some former period, they had come to perfection, and obtained a great growth. Some bogs and morasses in the immediate vicinity of the sea still exhibit immense trunks of oaks, and fir trees imbedded several feet below the sur- face. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Antiquities.—It is believed, and pretty well authenticated by the ancient history of Scotland, that the peninsula of Kintyre and ad- jacent isles were at one period the property of the Macdonalds, Lords of the Isles. In the centre of the parish, upon His Grace the Duke of Ar- gyle's property, the rude remains of Dundonald, or Macdonald's Castle, are still visible, from which, if any credit can be attached to a kind of doggerel rhyme in the Celtic language, the potent and turbulent proprietor was in the habit of granting charters for land to his obsequious vassals and dependents; and where tradition says he resided, when he annually visited the parish, to collect his rents in kind, and administer his arbitrary commands. In the neighbourhood there is a projecting cliff, called stac-a chrochaire, or hangman's rock, where, it is said, criminals were suspended by the neck with very little ceremony.” Such are the traditions which were in circulation through the parish, thirty years ago; but now, as the people are becoming more enlightened by education, instead of Swallowing with avidity legendary tales, their leisure hours are occupied in the rational amusement of reading. A few obelisks, of rude unpolished stone, and evidently sepulchral monuments, are scattered through the parish. The most conspicuous has been erected in the neigh- bourhood of a ruinous building, and measures 16 feet from the surface; a grave at the base of the obelisk, covered with turf, is 18 feet 7 inches in length, and 4% in breadth ! Barrows or tumuli are sometimes to be found not far from the shore. In one or two which have been opened, nothing was dis- covered but a few human bones, almost reduced to ashes, and * The great Macdonald’s charters or grants of lands are said to have run as follows: Tha Mise Mac Dhomhnuil a-M'Shuidhe air Dun Domhnuil a-tabhairt coir dhuit-se air do bhaile o'n diugh gus a'mairich agus na h’uile la na dheigh coffiad' i's a bhios lön agad do Mhac Dhomhnuil mór man eileana. I, MacDonald, sitting upon Dundonald, give you a right to your farm from this day till to-morrow, and every day thereafter, so long as you have food for the great MacDonald of the Isles. KI I, L., E AN AND KII, CHENZ I E. 385 some chips of burned wood, which sanctions the belief that our forefathers were in the practice of burning their dead. In the recess of a soft freestone rock, not far from the sea, where a farmer was lately preparing to erect a cart shade, and had commenced to level the bottom, he met with a great collection of sea shells, and discovered in the face of the rock several aper- tures, or square holes, crammed with human bones. He imme- diately desisted from his operations, and left undisturbed the re- positories of the dead. In the south division of the parish, two circular inclosures, com- monly known as Dùn flinn, or Fingal's fort, and Dān-na foghmhar or Giant's fort, attract the attention of the traveller. They seem to have stood for many ages, and baffle conjecture to account for their origin. The vulgar, who are fond of the marvellous, con- sider them ancient residences of Fingal and his giants, and the an- tiquary, Druidical places of worship. At this distant period of time, without written records to throw any light upon the subject, it is very difficult to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion with re- gard to their original design. As inclosures of a similar nature frequently occur in the Highlands of Scotland, and have been uni- formly erected upon elevated situations, it is by no means impro- bable that they might have been originally intended as places of temporary retreat and security for some of the domestics and cattle of the natives, when engaged in battle with their enemies. III.-PoPULATION. Year. Males. Females. Total. 1801, * | 198 1322 2520 1811, e 14 l] | 523 2934 1821, º | 639 1667 3306 1831, g 1414 1452 2866 1841, 2401 Baptisms have annually averaged 84 for the last three years, and marriages 22. Present number of families, 466; bachelors upwards of forty-five years of age, 6; and old maids do. 57. The causes of the decrease of population can only be attri- buted to emigration and the suppression of smuggling. Emi- gration has been partially carrying on since 1821. Prior to the year 1821, a majority of cottagers and day-labourers supported large families by the profits of smuggled whisky, —a trade which, though iucrative in itself, proved very inju- rious to their morals. A professed smuggler could clear, free of all expenses, 10s. per week, which enabled him to keep a horse and an additional cow. The necessary assistance of a wife could ARGYLE, B b 386 # ARGYLESHIRE. not be dispensed with ; hence, early marriages became general, and rapidly increased the population. But, fortunately for the morals of the lower orders of the community, the evil has in a great measure been remedied, and smuggling almost suppressed, by the vigilant exertions of excise officers, aided in the discharge of their duty by crews of revenue cutters. * Character of the People, &c.—The natives of the parish are, in general, a tall, raw-boned, plodding, persevering, and robust race. From constant exposure to a variable climate, rather sallow in complexion. In their habits, they are sober, honest, and very in- dustrious; liberal to the poor of the parish as well as itinerant beggars. In cases of emergency, when a neighbour has been re- duced by untoward circumstances to a state of privation and po- verty, they have been often known to contribute, without any so- licitation, a sum of money for his relief.” The farmers, with a few exceptions, enjoy, in a reasonable de- gree, the comforts and advantages of society. They are, upon the whole, comfortably enough lodged, and well fed with whole- some and substantial food. Within the last three years, a few have become discontented with their lot and circumstances. They complain of high rents, and apparently with some reason. At the same time, it is but an act of justice to the landlords to say, that the majority of them are disposed to show their tenants every indulgence. It may be said that servitude is nearly abolished. The residing tenant has the first offer of a lease for an equivalent rent, and it is seldom that a case of insolvency occurs. If some farms have been set beyond their value, and the fact cannot be denied, the tenant himself is more to be blamed than the pro- prietor of the land. When the lease of a farm expires, it is a common practice to offer a higher rent for a neighbour's farm than the produce of the land can afford to pay. Little blame can be attached to a landlord for setting his lands to the best advan- tage, particularly when a substantial farmer, possessed of capital, comes forward with a higher offer of rent. But, when the sea- Sons are adverse, and markets low, tenants frequently complain of oppression, because reductions of rent, which they have often ob- tained, are not permanent. The most numerous class of the community are cottagers, or * Since the unfortunate disruption in the church, a section of the people have be- come discontented with their lot, and hostile to religious establishments. 3 IKILLE AN AND K LCH E NZ I E. 387 day-labourers, and the fact cannot be concealed, that the privations under which they labour are truly deplorable. Three or four poor families frequently congregate into one farm, live in wretched hovels, rudely constructed without any mortar, one division of which is occupied by the family, and the other converted into a kind of byre, and often no partition in the hut to separate the human from the brute creation. They hold their dwelling-houses from year to year, and the tenants, who are their landlords, can dispossess them at pleasure. A rent of L.4 or L.5 Sterling is exacted for a house kept in bad repair, a small kail garden, the scanty pasture of a cow, and some ground for planting potatoes, in the outskirts of the farm. Their meagre diet consists of potatoes, sour milk, and, when they can afford it, a little oat bread and porridge. Animal food is a luxury in which they seldom indulge. Such as can salt a little fish occasionally use a change of diet. Their sole dependence for payment of rent is upon the earnings of their children, whom they hire out as servants through the dis- trict. For the honour of human nature, it should be recorded, that their sons and daughters would conceive themselves deficient in gratitude and natural affection, did they not reserve a portion of their wages to pay house rent for their parents. - For culinary purposes, they sometimes use a species of wild leek, which grows among the rocks of the shore; the juice of bogbean for rheumatism, and wild thyme for headaches. They also ascribe great virtue to the essence of ground ivy and cen- taury. At one period, whisky was considered a sovereign remedy for every disease; but now, after having experienced its fatal eſ- fects, they have recourse to a physician. IV.—INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—It has already been observed that the united pa- rish contains an area of 81 square miles; of which it is supposed that 5000 or 6000 acres at least are arable, or subjected to the operations of the plough. It must therefore be obvious that the arable soil bears but a small proportion to the uncultivated and mountainous regions. The elevation of the moorish land, toge- ther with its sterility, will for ever set at defiance the utmost ef- forts of human industry; and such detached fields as might be cultivated with great labour and expense, are much better adapted for pasturage than tillage. 388 A R GYLES [[l R E. Although the farmers have been, within the last twenty years, very industrious and indefatigable in improving and draining waste land, and clearing fields of rocks and stones, by which they have greatly increased the bulk of crops in their stack-yards, yet the want of inclosures and subdivisions is a great obstacle to a . regular rotation of crops, and precludes the possibility of adopting that judicious system of husbandry practised in the more cultivat- ed districts of Scotland. - Under existing circumstances, the tenants confine their labour to the cultivation of oats, bear, potatoes, pease, and beans. Bear is cultivated to a great extent, and may be considered as the staple culmiferous crop. A considerable proportion of bear land is annually laid down with clover and rye grass, and cut green for stall-feeding milk cows and horses, but seldom seasoned for a hay crop. A great extent of land is planted with potatoes, and it may with justice be said, that the farmers of Kintyre excel any other diviº sion of Scotland in the cultivation of this valuable root. It has been calculated that, at an average, upwards of 50,000 bolls are annually exported from the district of Kintyre. Since a commu- nication has been opened with the English and Irish markets, where Kintyre potatoes are in great demand and repute for seed, the tenants have for some years back, chiefly depended upon them for payment of their rents. But the prices are so fluctuating as often to disappoint the most sanguine expectations. The following rotation of crops is frequently practised in the parish by the most judicious and substantial farmers: 1st, pota- toes; 2d, bear ; 3d, clover and rye-grass; 4th, oats without ma- nure, or bear well manured with sea-ware; 5th, potatoes,—and SO on in succession. Outfield land, after lying two years lea, is generally manured with a compost of earth and lime, or shell sand, and cropped two years in succession with oats. Such fields, as have a poor and shallow soil, are often allowed to rest four years, before they are turned up with the plough. The system of summer fallowing has never been attempted, and very few of the tenants pasture clover land, or allow it to rest for more than one year. In the immediate vicinity of the sea, the soil of the parish is of a very sharp and Sandy nature, but as it recedes some distance from the shore, it assumes a loamy texture of a chocolate colour. Upon the whole, it may be said that the west side of Kintyre con- KILLEAN AND KILCHENZIE. 389 sists of a great variety of soil, such as clay, moss, loam, sand and gravel. But light loam, with a mixture of gravel, seems to be the most prevalent. In the near neighbourhood of the sea, such fields as are most accessible to sea-ware, have been, time immemorial, without any cessation, alternately cultivated with bear and potatoes, and never fail, except in seasons of long and continued drought, to yield fair returns. The wraic, as it is termed, or Alga marina, furnishes an unlimited fund of excellent manure. But by too frequent ap- plication, it acts as a caustic, pulverizes and weakens the soil to such a degree as to nourish weeds of diverse sorts, particularly wild mustard (provincially scilloc). Noxious weeds will continue to multiply till such time as a greater extent of land is laid down with grass seeds, and allowed to rest for several years. Bear yields at an average 7 seeds, oats 6, beans 8, potatoes 16, and sometimes 20 seeds. . From the difficulty of obtaining accurate information regarding the annual return of money to the parish from the sale of grain, black-cattle, sheep, horses, potatoes, butter, and cheese, it can only be said in general, that the sum of capital floating through the parish may at an average amount to L. 20,000 or L. 25,000 Sterling. As there are no mills in the parish for dressing flax, the te- nants who clean and manufacture it in their own houses, do not consider yarn or linen an object of traffic, and only raise as much as is sufficient to supply their own families. Oats and bear are sold by imperial weight, eight bushels in the boll; beans and peas 6 do. ; meal, old Kintyre measure, 124 stone per boll; and potatoes by the old standard of five straked barrels in the boll. - The great defect in the present system of husbandry is, besides the want of enclosures and subdivisions, and a more judicious ro- tation of leguminous and culmiferous crops, that a great propor. tion of the farmers are in the practice of ploughing more land than they can afford manure to keep it in heart, and do not recruit, by pasturing, such fields as have been sown with clover and rye-grass seeds. - In terms of leases, which are generally for nineteen years, the majority of landlords bind their tenants to follow a regular rota- tion of white and green crops, to sow grass seeds along with bear, 390 - AR GYLESHII&E. and not to take more than two crops of grain from the same field in succession. But, except by such as are in easy circumstances, the above system is seldom adopted. A great proportion endea- vour to study what they conceive to be their own interest and con- veniency, and are very reluctant to lose two successive crops. The natural consequence is, that the succeeding tenant finds his farm so much exhausted and impoverished, that, in spite of all his efforts to improve his lands, his lease has nearly expired before he begins to reap the benefit of his expenditures. At the termina- tion of the lease, another tenant steps forward and outbids his offer; or, should he be permitted to retain possession for an equi- valent rent, the great increase discourages him, and holds out no temptation to expend more money upon improvements. The residing tenant is also bound, in his lease, to pay all pub- lic burdens imposed, or to be imposed, over and above the minis- ter's teinds in kind, the latter of which is universally reckoned a very grievous burden, similar to the oppressive tithe system in a neighbouring island. They believe, and with justice, that the he- ritors themselves should pay the teinds agreeably to the decree of modification and locality, and not burden the poor tenants, who can, with difficulty, scrape together their rents. It would, there- fore, tend to promote the interest of all concerned, if the he- ritors would be liberal enough to pay the stipend of the parish in money, conformably to the county fiar prices. This sim- ple arrangement, which has been often proposed, but in vain, would not only gratify such as are burdened with the ipsa corpora, but save the incumbent the disagreeable necessity of becoming a grain merchant, to the great loss of his interest, and interference with other more solemn and important avocations. As no market is held in the parish for the sale of raw produce, the farmers are subjected to great trouble and expense, by carting the produce of their lands to Campbelton, which is twenty-two miles from the north end of the parish. At one period, when intimation was given by agents or factors, for a collection of rent on a specified day, it frequently happened that the poor tenants had not converted a particle of the produce of their farms into cash. In this event, their only remedy was, to draw upon their customer, as he was usually termed, that is to say, a Campbelton maltster, who advanced a sum of money upon promise of getting all the bear which the borrower could sell during the * K IL LEAN AND KILCHENZIE. 39 I. course of the winter and spring. No fixed price was stipulated but such as was going in town after the ensuing Candlemas, or, in other words, such a price as the purchasers agreed among themselves to give the tenants in general. The latter, therefore, had no alterna- tive but to accept of such a price as was offered, or otherwise lose their customer. - This was the practice fifteen or sixteen years ago, but now, as distilleries have multiplied in the burgh of Campbelton, where the price of grain varies according to weight and quality, the farmer obtains a fair remunerating price, every Thursday being a market day, and the practice of dealing with customers is abolished. All the lands in the parish are possessed by ten heritors, and let in lease to 111 tenants, only six of the latter are graziers, who solely depend upon the sale of black cattle and sheep for pay- ment of rents. t The valued rent of the parish is L.453, 13s. 1d. The present rent, in Sterling money, L.9483. When the last Statistical Ac- count was written, it appears, that the rent-roll did not exceed, in toto, L.3705 Sterling. The subsequent rent-roll, taken down from the verbal report of the tenants, cannot be far wrong. Duke of Argyle, g e tº I,2516 0 0 Keith Macalister of Glenbarr, & I800 0 0 Macalister of Loup and Glentangy, e 1278 0 0 Miss Macdonald of Largie, te e 1343 0 0 George M*Niel of Ugadale, . & 4]{) 0 0 Captain J. Fleming of Muasdale, * 837 0 0 Malcolm M*Niel of Killean, e 744 () 0 Dugald Campbell of Kildaloig, * * 310 0 0 John Campbell of Glensaddell, wº 80 () () Mr Faulds of Drummore, g ſº l65 0 (0 L.94.80 0 0 Owing to the depreciation of grain, and the low price of cattle, there is reason to believe that the rents have considerably dimi- mished. Only two of the preceding heritors have family seats in the parish, viz. Macdonald of Largie, and M*Alister of Glenbarr, —the former occasional visitors, and the latter a constant residenter. After perusing the preceding rent-roll, and comparing it with the rents of the parish forty years ago, it may be reasonably in- ferred, that the mode of cultivating land is not only progressively improving, but that a considerable extent of soil, which was for- merly waste and useless, has been subjected to the operations of the plough. Much still remains to be done in the way of enclo- sures and subdivisions, and adopting a more judicious rotation of white and green crops. 392 - ARGY LESH 1 RE. The heritors would not only improve the general appearance of the parish, but advance their own interest, were they to encou- rage farmers to enclose their fields, either by remunerating the tenant at the termination of his lease for improvements and expenditures, or by being themselves at the expense of enclosures and subdivisions, and charging interest for the money expended to accommodate the farmer. - A few fishing villages established along the coast of a parish which abounds with a variety of nutritive fish, and a small croft of land, with pasture for a couple of cows and a horse to each family, would not only support the superabundant population of cottagers, but prevent a spirit of emigration, which is becoming too prevalent among the Highland peasantry; not an individual of whom would relinquish their hills and glens, to which they are attached by the dearest ties, could any reasonable prospect of employment and support be held out to them in their native land. - - Since education has become more generally diffused, the majo. rity of the natives can converse a little in the English language, but Gaelic is the prevailing dialect, in which all business is trans- acted. , V.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. - Education.—The parishioners have, within the last ten years, manifested an ardent desire to give their children a liberal educa- tion; and the advantages resulting from it are beginning to produce a perceptible change upon their morals. Six-and-thirty years ago, scarcely three out of ten could write or sign their names; but now, as the old generation are gradually dying away, their descendants are rapidly acquiring those branches of education taught in the parish schools, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, English grammar, geography, and sometimes navigation. Eight schools are at present taught in the parish, viz. two pa- rochial, with the maximum salary divided between two teachers; one supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Know- ledge, with a salary of L. 17 Sterling, a free house, and two and a-half acres of mortified land; one endowed by the Committee of General Assembly, to which is attached a free house and glebe, and a salary of L. 25 Sterling per annum; and four unendowed schools, supported by individual subscriptions. Ecclesiastical State.—The united parish is provided with two churches, kept in a good state of repair, conveniently enough si- 4 KILI, E AN AND KILCHENZIE. 393 tuated for the majority of the population, and fit to accommodate all the hearers. As there are neither Government churches, nor chapels of ease, nor Episcopalians, nor Roman Catholics, nor any Dissenting chapels in the parish, public worship is regularly and well attended in good weather. The number of communicants have annually averaged 500 for the last seven years. - The minister's manse was built in the year 1808. It is situated . upon a low projecting headland, in the immediate vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean, exposed to every blast that blows. The incum- bent is annually involved in very considerable expense for repairing the damages it sustains from winter storms; and as the heritors do not consult their own interest by repairing the tear and wear of time and weather, it is becoming very ruinous and uncomfort- able.* The glebe attached to the manse measures 7 acres 3 roods of dry sandy soil, which, except in a moist summer, hardly defrays the expense of seed and labour. The tides of 1880 swept away nearly 1% acre of the glebe. The stipend, including communion element money, amounts to 7 chalders, 2 firlots, 2 lippies bear ; 14 bolls, I firlot, 3 pecks, 2 lippies meal, Kintyre measure ; and L.25, 12s. 7d. money. Poor and Parochial Funds.-Over and above such as receive temporary supplies, the number of paupers at present upon the parish list, and receiving parochial aid, is 67. The yearly collec- tion in church for the last three years has averaged L.29 Sterling, chiefly contributed by farmers and cottagers. The session have also at their disposal the interest of L. 1000 Sterling, being a legacy bequeathed to the poor of the parish by one of the heritors of the parish.t Thirty years ago, it was considered degrading to seek parochial aid ; but now these laudable feelings of pride are suppressed. Paupers conceive themselves entitled to an aliment by the laws of the land; and, since the Reform Bill passed in Parliament, * Since writing the above, the heritors have thoroughly repaired the manse. f In the year 1810, Colonel Norman Macalister of Clachaig, Governor and Com- mander-in-Chief of Prince of Wales Island, East Indies, and who was drowned on his return home, bequeathed, inter alia, L. 1000 Sterling to the poor of the parish, to be invested on heritable security, and the principal never to be touched. To com- memorate his generosity and their gratitude, the heritors and kirk-session erected a handsome marble monument in the parish church, with a suitable inscription. 394 AR GYLE SHIRE. of which the lower orders of the community seem to entertain a very erroneous idea, they have become very troublesome and-im- portunate in their demands for a livelihood. Notwithstanding their unfortunate spirit of discontent, the session have been hitherto enabled to support them by weekly and extra collections, and avoid any assessment, which, they have every reason to believe, would do more harm than good. The poor upon the estate of Largie, now the property of the Honourable Mr Moreton Macdonald, are principally supported, fed, and clothed by Lady Macdonald Lock- hart and the other members of that benevolent family, who fre- quently extend their charity beyond the bounds of their own pro- perty. - Fairs, &c.—Only one annual fair is held in the parish, where very little business is transacted, except hiring servants for the harvest quarter. Within the bounds of the parish there are three public inns and seven licensed alehouses. As they are seldom frequented but by travellers, they have no pernicious tendency upon the morals of the people. . Revised October 1843. PARISH OF GIGHA AND CARA. PRESBYTERY OF KINTYRE, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. JAMES CURDIE, MINISTER. I.—ToPog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—IN the former Statistical Account, the name of this parish is said to be derived from the two Gaelic words, Eilean, island, and Dia, God, written in the Gaelic Eilean Dhia, sig- nifying God’s Island. It is, however, more likely that the name Gigha is derived from the Gaelic word Geodha, a “creek,” since the island abounds in creeks and bays favourable for keeping boats in ; whereas the opposite coast of Kintyre, to a great extent, is much exposed to the Atlantic, and without any creeks or ports where vessels could lie in safety. Cara is supposed to signify a monastery. GIGHA AND CARA. 395 Eatent.—The extreme length of Gigha from north-east to south-west nearly is seven miles, and its extreme breadth two and a half miles. Its coast is very irregular, being much indented by the sea. Its contents do not exceed five and a half square miles. South of Gigha, at the distance of a mile and a half, lies the island of Cara, which is nearly a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. Cara and the neighbouring islet Gigulum contain nearly a square mile. Topographical Appearances.—Gigha and Cara are both low islands, the highest point in the former, which is called “Creag bhan,” or the white rock, not exceeding 400 feet above the level of the sea. * The coast on the west side is bold and rocky. Near the mid- dle of it, there are two caves, called the Great Cave and the Pi— geon’s Cave. The latter has a coating of calcareous spar, and derives its name from the circumstance of its being much frequented by wild pigeons. On the farm of Leim, at the south-west end of Gigha, there is a subterraneous passage, 133 feet long, into which the sea flows. About the middle of it, there is an aperture 8 feet long and 2 broad, and near the end, there is another 20 feet long and 4 broad. When there is a surf, a perpetual mist issues from these apertures, accompanied with a great noise, caused by the rolling of large stones, which are carried backward and forward by the agitation of the wa- ter. A storm from the west causes the sea to rush in with such vio- lence, as to discharge itself with a thundering noise, in the form of intermitting jets. Hence its name, “Sloc an leim,” the squirt- ing cave, or literally, the jumping or springing pit. It gives its name to the farm on which it is. The shore of Cara is high and rocky, except at the north-east end. At the south end is a perpendicular rock, 117 feet in height, called the Maoil or Mull of Cara, which is much frequented by sea fowl; and the real game hawk is said to nestle here. Coast.—The coast of Gigha is not less than 25 miles in ex- tent, there being many points running out into the sea, and nu- merous bays of various extent, which cause the coast to be of a very winding character. The greater part of the coast, and espe- cially on the west side, is rocky; but at the two ends, and on the east side, there are various sandy bays, which are most favourable for sea-bathing. The sand is of a very pure white colour, and at 396 A R GY LESHIRE, a former period, great quantities of it used to be carried to Dum- barton, to be manufactured into glass. - Between Gigha and Cara lies the uninhabited islet Gigu- lum, with a range of breakers running south-west. Between Gigha on the north, and Gigulum on the south, there is a sound which affords good anchorage for large vessels, and is frequented by Her Majesty’s cutters, and by vessels going to and returning from the North Highlands, as well as by vessels from England and Ireland, which come to take away seed potatoes from this and the neighbouring parish of Killean. - About the middle of Gigha, on the east side, is the Bay of Ardminish, which is frequented by vessels taking away the pro- duce of the island, or bringing coals, lime, &c. The church and manse are at the head of this bay. A little farther north, on the same side, is the Bay of Drimyeonbeg, which is of considerable extent, and affords good holding ground; and within a mile of the north-east end, is the Bay of Tarbert, which, like all the bays in the island, affords good holding ground, the bottom consisting chiefly of blue clay. Though a great part of the east coast is rocky, it is not high in any part. The point which extends farthest into the sea is called Ardmi- nish point, on the north side of the bay of that name, from the Gaelic words Ard, a height, meadhon, middle, and ness, (Danish.) a point going out into the sea. There are rocks outside of all the above-mentioned bays, so that persons frequenting them would require to be well acquainted with their position. The principal entrance of the Sound of Gigulum is from the east, between Gigulum and Gigha. The passage from the west, which is not so easy or so safe to strangers, is between the rocks and the Gigha side. The prevailing winds are south and south-west. The natives prognosticate the state of the weather from the appearance of the Mull of Kintyre and the Paps of Jura. If these are capped with clouds, rain is expected ; and if the clouds are of a whitish ap- pearance, a gale of wind. Sea-fowls, such as gulls, coming about the houses and on the arable land, are supposed to indicate very stormy weather. The climate, though humid, is mild, the sea breeze blowing over the parish in every direction. Snow and frost are but of rare occurrence and short duration. Gigha is visited with less rain than the neighbouring parishes and islands, owing to there being no G I G H A AND C A R A. 397 high hills in it to attract the clouds, while those of Islay and Jura, on the one hand, and of Kintyre on the other, attract the clouds to themselves, and conduct them past this low-lying parish, which suffers less from a wet than from a very dry season. The in- habitants are very healthy, and seldom need medicine or medical aid. There is no medical man in the parish. The ailments of the people generally arise from exposure to wet or cold on sea or land. Pectoral and rheumatic complaints are not unfrequent with elderly people. Fevers are rare. - Hydrography.—The strait between Gigha and Kintyre is three and a-half miles in breadth. Between the two shores, a pretty strong current runs, especially at, and a day or two after, the new and full moon. The average rise of the tide is about four feet. It seldom rises above six feet. The stream is an eddy that strikes off from the great and more rapid stream which runs be- tween the Mull of Kintyre and the Sound of Jura. The sea about Gigha is very clear and pure, free from mud or fresh water. The island is abundantly supplied with perennial springs of fresh water, issuing from hornblende rocks, chlorite, and mica slate. Geology and Mineralogy.—The rocks in the parish are all pri- mitive, except a few basaltic dikes which are found to traverse the other strata in general at right angles. The direction of the strata is north-east and south-west, and the dip to the west at an angle varying from twenty to forty degrees. The varieties of slate seen in Gigha are, mica slate, felspar slate, chlorite slate, and hornblende slate or rock. The strata of these, though regular in direction, observe no uniform relation to one another, each being found several times repeated, after its place has been taken up by another rock. - From the regular direction and dip of the strata, and the great extent of outcrop exposed to view, the geologist has here an op- portunity, rarely afforded him elsewhere, of tracing the sequence and alteration of these strata. But although each of these is se- veral times repeated, it may be observed that the mica-slate and felspar slate are almost wholly on the east side of the island, while the veins of quartz and hornblende are distributed nearly equally through the whole parish. - These rocks exhibit different characters, which impart peculiar features to different parts of the island. The mica-slate and fel- spar-slate, being friable and easily affected by the ordinary decom- posing agents, have been washed down so as to form various fruitful 398 ARGY LESH I l; E, valleys; and where the sea has had access to them, it has scooped out considerable bays and creeks, which afford, as has been already observed, good anchorage for vessels of any size, and ports in which smaller boats can be kept, and, at the same time, a sheltered re- treat to the numerous shoals of cuddies or coal fish, Seythe, &c. which frequent the coast almost at all seasons of the year, and supply the poor with much sustenance. The hornblende rock, which forms great part of the more cen- tral parts of the island, is sometimes found of a schistose descrip- tion, but oftener of a prismatic, and exhibiting many of the cha- racters of an overlying trap; and being of a very hard consistence, it has withstood the action of wind, rain, and waves. On shore, it stands up by itself in high relief, forming several ridges and hills, varying in height from 50 to 400 feet; and, owing to the same cause, it continues to form numerous reefs, headlands, little islands, and half-submerged rocks, which serve as a natural break- water round the greatest part of the island. The rocks, which stand alone in the sea, are rounded and smoothed on their sum- mits by the incessant action of the sea, and those on shore present a great extent of bare surface, which, owing to their elevation above the more fertile parts, give the island, viewed from the sea, a bar- ren and rocky appearance. These rocks and eminences, how- ever, are useful, as they afford shelter to the adjacent lowlands and valleys. The chlorite slate is almost exclusively confined to the west side of the island, forming a coast of considerable eleva- tion, which, presents many fantastic appearances from the une- qual decomposition of the rock. The dip of the strata is here very considerable ; hence the sea along the greater part of this coast is deep enough to permit vessels to sail near the coast. Wherever this rock comes in contact either with whin or trap dikes or with hornblende rock along the coast, considerable decomposition of both is observed to have taken place. The oozing of water from above between the rocks, and the action of the sea beneath, have scooped out several caves and fissures, which are frequented by wild pigeons, starlings, and goats. On the shore of Leim, a little to the east of the jetting cave, there are some appearances of copper. At the South end of Cara there are some appearances of iron ore. Soil, &c.—The soil of Gigha is a rich loam, with a mixture in some places of sand, moss, and clay. It is fertile, and favourable for the growth of potatoes, turnips, bear, and oats. Vegetation is quick. GIGHA AND CAR A. 399 Numerous rolled stones of hornblende are found in the ground, and near the surface, two and three feet in diameter. The great- est part of them could be removed on a sledge by a pair of horses. In general the soil is not deep, though the quality is good, and in many situations the rock is so near the surface, that it is not so easy to drain the sand as thoroughly as could be wished. The land, which rests on felspar, is particularly difficult to drain, the rock being near the surface, itself almost impervious to water. . Many fields stand much in need of draining, though there are abundance of stones in the land itself, which are at present cumbering the ground. At a former period, much had been done in the island in the way of draining, blasting rocks, and building dikes, but a great deal re- mains yet to be done, and there is no doubt but the grateful soil would make an ample return for any labour and expense that might be judiciously bestowed upon it. Fishes.—Cod, and ling, and large haddocks are found on the banks, two or three miles from the two ends of the island. Mac- kerel, Sea perch, rock cod, lythe, seythe, and cuddies abound near the coast. - The banks of shells and shell sand which are found in the bays show that, at no very remote period, large oysters abounded along the coast, but the species is now nearly extinct here. The large dog welk, called buckie, is found in vast quantities on the banks between the island and the mainland. It is the bait used in the cod and ling fishing. This year, twenty boats, having each from 800 to 1000 hooks, which require to be baited, if possible, every day, were engaged in this fishing. Hence it is evident that the quantity needed is very great. Creels, in form like the wire mouse- trap, having heads or entrails of fish in them, are sunk on the banks, and are emptied of the buckies which enter them as often as may be. - The extensive surface of rock exposed through this island is crusted over with various species of lichen, such as the Sphaerophe- ron, Sticta Ramalina, Parmelia, and Lecanora. The three last afford valuable dyes. These lichens, in the course of time, form a crust, which affords shelter and sustenance to the roots of the juniper and stunted heaths which grow upon the rocks. The juniper abounds on the east coast, and bears numerous clusters of berries, which become ripe in July and August. When put into whisky, the berries give it much of the colour and taste of gin, and they are said to add to its diuretic quality; and, therefore, .# 00 A R (GY I, ES III R.E. such whisky is recommended to persons afflicted with gravel. There are no flowering plants here, which are not to be met on the neighbouring coast. Moss roses abound on every hillock. Tangle is cast on the shores of this island, and is extensively used as ma- nure for the land. The other species of fuci or sea-weed, com- monly used for making kelp, are also applied to the land as manure, since the low price of that article will no longer pay for the labour of making it. The Ulva latissima, which makes a pickle called “laver,” is found on the coast, as well as the various species of Chondria that constitute what is called Carigean moss. II.—CIVIL History. Land-owners. — The land-owners of this parish are, Captain Alexander M'Neill, younger of Collonsay, and the lady of the Honourable A. H. Morton and Miss Macdonald Lockhart, daugh- ters of the late Sir Charles Macdonald Lockhart, Bart., of Lee and Carnwath. The parish is divided into thirty-one merk-lands. Of these, twenty-five belong to the former, and six, of which Cara forms one, to the latter, who have also a large and valuable estate called Largie in the neighbouring parish of Killean. e Parochial Registers.--No register of births, marriages, and deaths of an earlier date than 1793 is to be found. Since that pe- riod the register has been kept with tolerable regularity, except in the years 1824 and 1825, in which years the register of births is incomplete. There is a separate book for keeping an account of money received for the poor, as well as of disbursements; and a third volume for recording the proceedings of the kirk-session in matters of discipline. Antiquities.--About the middle of Gigha is Dun Chifie, Keefie’s hill, which appears to have been astrongfortification. Tradition says that Keefie, the King of Lochlin's son, who occupied this strong- hold, was killed there by Diarmid, one of Fingal’s heroes, with whose wife he had run away. At the north end of the island, on the top of a hill, there is a circular heap of stones, called “Carn-na-faire,” or watch cairn. As the name implies, it must have been intended to give the alarm in case of invasion, for it commands a very ex- tensive view of the sea. There is a signal post upon it now to in- timate when it is wished that the Islay steamer, when passing either way, should come near the island for passengers. The walls of the old church, in which there is a stone font, stand in the middle of the burying ground, about a mile from GIGHA AND CA.R.A. 40] the present church; and the remains of a chapel, with a Gothic arched door, still exist in Cara. g Mansion-houses.—There are two mansion-houses in the parish which used to be occupied occasionally by the late proprietors, but they are now occupied by tenants. III.-PopULATION. In 1811, males, 276—females, 274–550 1821, 287 — 287—574 1831, 286— 248–534 1841, 294– 256–550 The enlarging of farms is the chief cause of the decrease of population. Very few have emigrated from Gigha to a foreign country. There is no town or village in the parish. Yearly average of births for the last seven years, g tº † 13 deaths, Do. e e & e 5} marriages, Do. g e * º 3} Number of unmarried men, bachelors and widowers, above 50 years of age, ... J. l. women upwards of 45, e g tº te 14 Average number of children in each family, e o 2 5} There is one fatuous man in the parish, and a young man from another parish who is boarded here. There are none who were born blind, but there are two who lost their eye- sight, after they were considerably advanced in years. There are two deaf and dumb children, a brother and sister, who are at the Deaf and Dumb Institution, Edinburgh, one of them being maintained there partly by the parents and other benevolent friends, and the other by a society of ladies in Edinburgh. Gaelic is the language generally spoken ; English, however, is much better understood by young and old than it was forty . years ago, but there are not above ten persons in the parish who do not understand and speak Gaelic. The habits of the people are improving. The limited accom- modation in their houses is unfavourable to cleanliness, yet they are gradually improving in this respect. The ordinary food of the inhabitants is potatoes and oatmeal, potatoes and fish or milk, generally twice in the day, and often three times. Fish being easily got, there is very little animal food used by the greater part of the population. But though they often complain that they have not the food and other comforts and conveniences which they conceive they ought to have, such of them as leave the island generally embrace the first opportunity of returning to it. Here they can bring up a family more easily than in most parts of the Highlands or Low- ARGYLE, C C 402 - Al{GY LESHIRE. lands. Sea-weed for manuring potato ground is easily obtained, and fish may be had almost all the year round. Upon the whole, the inhabitants of Gigha are more favourably situated than the ge- nerality of Highlanders. As they go much from home as sailors, or farm servants in the low country, they see more of the world and its ways, and are in general more intelligent, than a great pro- portion of the inhabitants of the Highlands, and even than the same class of persons in the low country. The number of indivi- duals who cannot read is but small now. The rising generation all learn to read, but there are still between twenty and thirty of the oldest of the people who unhappily cannot read or write. The young men and women leave home for service at an early period, and are absent, in many instances, for years, and generally for one-half of the year, a circumstance which is highly unfavour- able to their acquiring regular habits of attending Divine ordinances. Yet they are improving in this respect, and are becoming better acquainted with the Scriptures. They are homest, kind, obliging, and very grateful for any ser- vices rendered them. There is but little poaching in those islands. Illicit distillation of whisky is still carried on occasionally on one of the properties, but the principal heritor has, much to his credit, effectually suppressed it on his property. Any tenant or cottar found guilty of smuggling on his lands forfeits his lease, or will be removed from his possession, of whatever kind it may bap- pen to be. In this way heritors and their factors might put an end to the pernicious practice of smuggling all over the country. Some individuals, who had no license to retail spirits, have here- tofore been in the practice of retailing whisky, but steps are being taken at present by the same excellent heritor above alluded to, to prevent this being done in future, at least on his property, that there may be only one public-house in the island, and that one under proper regulations. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—The parish consists of about 4000 imperial acres, more than one-half of which is arable, and of what is in pasture, probably one-half might be cultivated with a moderate outlay, so as to give a good return, whether it were afterwards to be kept in occasional tillage or in permanent pasture. Almost the whole of the Island of Cara might be cultivated with advantage, though only with the view of improving the pasture. There are about GIGHA AND CA R A. 403 ten acres of planted wood in the parish, consisting of oak, ash, plane, larch, Scotch fir, pineaster, &c. The pineaster is less affected by the sea breeze and the prevailing winds, than any of the other kinds mentioned. Rent of Land.—Average rent of arable land per acre, 16s. Average rate of grazing per cow for twelve months, L.2, 10s. Average rate of grazing sheep per year, 5s. Wages–Rate of wages for a man, 1s. 3d., and for a woman, 1s. without victuals. In autumn, victuals are given in addition, and at that season Is. 6d. are given to particularly good hands. House- Carpenters get 2s. ; boat-carpenters, 2s. 6d. and their board; ma- sons, 2s. 6d. ; shoemakers and tailors, 1s. 6d. and their victuals. The prices of agricultural produce, as well as of all farming im- plements, are much the same as at Campbelton. The average rate of wages of farm-servants per half-year, men, L.5, 15S., wo- men, L.8 in summer, and L.2, 10s. in winter. Live-Stock.-There are but few sheep reared in this parish, the limited extent of the farms not admitting of there being many in the summer half-year. The few that are reared here are of the Cheviot kind. It is found that the parish is particularly well adapted for wintering sheep and hogs, and therefore about 1000 of the latter are annually brought in the end of autumn from Jura and the neighbouring parishes, to be wintered here at the rate of 2s. 6d. each for five months. Of the arable land, the greater part is cropped without inter- mission, though the system enjoined on the tenants on the larger property is a five years' shift. The soil is particularly well adapted for raising turnips; yet potatoes are preferred, in consequence of the demand for them for seed from Ireland; and the difficulty of sending fat cattle or sheep to market, owing chiefly to the want of a quay. - The late most intelligent and spirited proprietor of the principal part of this parish, as well as his father before him, did a great deal, many years ago, in the way of draining, blasting and removing rocks, and building dikes and houses. By having an extensive and valuable arable farm in his own hands, and on which he had overseers from the lowlands, he was enabled to set an excellent example before his tenants; and under his judicious management, the island got considerably in advance of a great part of the Highlands. He introduced a good breed of Argyleshire cattle, suppressed smuggling, and made the inhabitants turn their atten- 404 AR GYLE SHIRE, tion more to agriculture and fishing than they had been accus- tomed to do. And the present holder of that property gives good encouragement to his tenants, by aiding them in draining and enclosing, the materials for which are to be had in abundance almost in every field. It will not be his fault, if his tenants do not keep in advance of their neighbours in this quarter of the country. - There are some leases of seven, others of fifteen, and three of nineteen years’ duration. Short leases are certainly unfavourable to the tenant. In the greater number of instances, farm-steadings are thatched, and of an inferior description. The farms are en- closed by march dikes, but subdivisions are still much needed, to enable the tenants to preserve the land sown down with grass- seeds from being poached by the feet of cattle in the winter. The sea air is supposed to be injurious to hedges, yet there are a few good hedges in the island which make excellent fences, while they afford much shelter to crop and cattle. The principal improvements which have been recently made, are, a new road to the mill, which cost L. 250, repairing the mill, draining the mill dam loch to enable the people to take turf out of it for fuel, building two good slated farm-houses and several good slated farm-offices. All these improvements were made at the sole expense of Captain M'Neill. Want of capital has been a great obstacle to improvement, and is still. The most of the farms, too, were held by the very un- certain and unsatisfactory tenure of from year to year, for a con- siderable period of years, and while that state of things lasted, no considerable or expensive improvements were undertaken by the tenantS. Fishery.—During three or four months, beginning about Can- dlemas, twenty boats, and sometimes more, each having four men in it, are employed in the cod and ling fishing, on banks two or three miles from the two ends of the island, towards the north- west and south-west. The quantity cured and sent to market averages about fifty tons, which is sold in Glasgow, Greenock, and Campbelton at from L. 10 to L. 14 per ton. L. 10 per man, after paying all expenses, are considered good wages for the time they are engaged at the fishing. Their families are, at the same time, supplied with abundance of fish and oil for their own use. At other seasons of the year, these men work their potato ground, make their peats, work at days' wages, or engage in coasting ves- GIG HA AND CARA. 405 sels. But this want of proper subdivision of labour is, as may be imagined, very unfavourable to their acquiring habits of regular industry. The young men, in general, prefer a seafaring life to working on shore. They are excellent seamen. As so many of the men are engaged at the fishing in spring, agricultural labour- ers are not easily got, at the time they are most wanted; and those that are to be had, demand higher wages than are given in Islay and the more northern islands. About 400 tons of potatoes, 400 quarters of bear or big, and 150 quarters of oats are annually exported from Gigha ; besides black cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep, butter, cheese, and eggs. Navigation.—There is one vessel belonging to the island, which registers 30 tons, and another 14 tons, which are employed in car- rying the produce of the island to market, and bringing coals and lime, &c. to it. Besides the fishing boats already mentioned, which carry from three to four tons each, there are at least 20 other smaller boats for fishing small fish near the coast. Large vessels come from Ireland, the north of England, and the Clyde for potatoes, and occasionally for cod and ling fish. V.-PARocłIIAL EconoMY. Market-Town. — Campbelton is the nearest market-town. The produce of the island, however, is carried by water to Islay, Ireland, and the Clyde; but the price of agricultural produce is much the same here as at Campbelton. * Means of Communication.—A steamer, which plies between West Loch Tarbert and Islay, passes the north end of Gigha, thrice in the week in summer, and once in winter, and a boat at- tends for the purpose of landing passengers. . There is a ferry to the mainland from each of the properties. The fare of the boat is 2s., or 6d. each, if there should happen to be more than four passengers. There is no post-office nearer than Tarbert, which is eighteen miles from Tayinloan, a small village near the ferry on the main- land, where there is a receiving house for letters, &c. To Tayin- Joan there is a post from Tarbert on the one hand, and Camp- belton on the other, six times in the week. There is also a car- rier between Campbelton and Tayinloan once in the week. There is a carriage road made for five miles in Gigha, besides two miles of a cross road from it to the corn-mill ; and a further extension of the public road to the north end is contemplated. A 406 A R GY LESHIRE, quay is greatly needed at both ends of the island, and also at Tay- inloan on the Kintyre side. Ecclesiastical State.—The parish church is well situated as to distance from the different parts of the parish. With the excep- tion of the family in Cara, there are only three families in the pa- rish three miles from the church. It was built upwards of sixty years ago, accommodates 260, and is in a tolerable state of repair; but, as the floor of it is considerably lower than the ground out- side, it is damp and uncomfortable in winter, and at all seasons in wet weather. The sittings are all free. The manse was built in 1816, was repaired in 1828, and is in a habitable state at present. The glebe contains nine acres (Scotch measure), six of which are arable, the rest good hill pasture. The present incumbent has increased the value of the glebe considerably by draining, blast- ing, and removing rocks, and improving the fences. It is worth L.20 of annual rent. There is a money stipend of L.247, 4s. 9d. and about 18 bolls of grain. The stipend for crop 1838 was L.267, 8s. The teinds are exhausted. All the families in the parish attend the parish church. There is only one Dissenter in the parish, a Baptist, who came to it from a neighbouring parish three years ago. His wife and children be- long to the Established Church, and they are regular attendants of the church. - In good weather the church is well attended. The average number of communicants is 145. The average amount of church collections for charitable purposes is L.8. Education.—The parochial is the only school in the parish, The branches taught are Gaelic and English reading, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, geography, and Latin. The salary is the minimum, and the school fees amount to about L.12. The schoolmaster has the legal accommodations. The school fees are, for reading, 1s. 6d. ; reading and writing, 2s. ; arithmetic, 2s. 6d. ; Latin, 5s. per quarter. There are several in the parish between six and eight years of age who cannot read, because many of the children in this parish, and particularly those who are at some dis- tance from school, do not go to school till they are about eight years of age ; but there are none between nine and fifteen who cannot read, though there are some girls between those ages who cannot write. The number of persons above fifteen years of age who can neither read nor write is between 20 and 30, chiefly old people. GIGHA AND CARA. 407 Parents wish their children to be taught, yet many of them do not send them to school, till they are seven or eight years of age, and but irregularly even after that age. Many of the children are en- gaged in herding for one-half of the year. The average number of persons receiving parochial aid, 9; ave- rage sum given to each, 18s, per year. The church collections, the interest of L.40, and a few fines constitute the fund from which the poor are relieved. Only two of the poor on the roll at present live in houses, by themselves; the rest live with their rela- tions, and the most needful are assisted in various ways by tenants and others resident in the island. None of them ever seek cha- rity out of the parish. A few are reluctant to ask parochial aid, but the greater number seem to have no such feeling. Inns.—At present there is only one inn allowed in the parish. Fuel.-The fuel chiefly used is turf, which is becoming SCarce, therefore many burn coals, which are brought from Ayrshire. The carriage of the ton costs 5s. besides the price paid for the coals in Ayrshire : 13s. per ton here is about the average price. Coals of an inferior description are brought from the west coast of the parish of Campbelton, which may be had here for 10s. 6d. per ton. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. - In the course of the last twelve years, the tenants and cottars have fallen off greatly in their circumstances, owing to the fall in the price of agricultural produce, the failure of the potato crop and of the fisheries for several successive years, and the with- drawal by Government of the bounty on cod and ling fish. To the young men in the parish who are sailors in their tastes and habits, the low price of ardent spirits has been injurious. Great progress has been made in knowledge and industry within the last forty years. Making good roads, and building more dikes on the dif- ferent farms, and building one or more quays, would greatly en- courage industry. October 1843. UNITED PARISH OF KILCALMONELL AND KILBERRY. PRESBYTERY OF KINTYRE, SYNoD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. JOHN MARTHUR, MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name Kilcalmonell is of Gaelic derivation, and signifies the burying place of Malcolm O’Neill. Kilberry, the name of the other division of the parish, we think, is compound- ed of Cill a-Mhairi, the burying-place of Mary. Kilcalmonell is situate in the peninsula of Kintyre, extending from the parish of Killean, on the west, to Lochfine, at Tarbert, on the north-east. Extent, &c.—Its length is about 16 miles, and its breadth 3 miles. It is bounded, almost along its whole length on the north- West, by West Loch Tarbert and the Atlantic Ocean ; and on the south-east, by the parish of Saddel and Skipness. Kilberry is situ- ate, properly speaking, in the district of Knapdale, is separated from Kilcalmonell by West Loch Tarbert, and bounded by the Sea on all sides excepting on the north-east, where it is met by the parish of South Knapdale. The form of it is triangular, and nearly equilateral. Topographical Appearances.-Kilcalmonell rises sometimes with a gentle acclivity, at other times with greater abruptness from the Sea to its greatest elevation. The general altitude of the range of hills in which it terminates on the south-east, does not exceed 1500 feet, whilst the few valleys by which the uniformity of the ac- clivity is disturbed, rise not more than 100 or 150 feet above the level of the sea. Kilberry is bisected from west to east by a ridge of hill which rises gradually till it is lost in the cloud which fre- quently envelopes the lofty Sliobh-ghoil, one of the two bases of which extends out into considerable breadth of soil, well fitted to reward the labours of the husbandman; while the other, posses- sing equal extension, is of a more moorland character. The coast of Kilcalmonell is not remarkable for variety of aspect, ex- 4 Kll, CALMON E L L AND KILBERRY. 4.09 cepting along the shore of Loch Tarbert, which is overhung, along a considerable portion of it, by the birch, the alder, and the oak, growing in careless profusion towards the summit of the abruptly ascending hills. The shore is chiefly sandy. The sea coast of Kilberry presents a bold front to the billows of the Atlantic. The only bay worth noticing in the united parish is Stornoway, in the neighbourhood of which is the headland of Ard Patrick, where tradition affirms Saint Patrick to have landed on his way from Ireland to Icolmkill. Climate.—The climate of this parish is very variable. The exhalations which are constantly rising from the surface of the Atlantic are attracted, when the wind blows from the west, by the upland of Kintyre. The prevailing wind is the west, and a sure prognostic of rain is afforded by the cloud-capped Paps of Jura. When we consider the variableness of our temperature, it may be surprising that the climate should be so healthy as it in ge- neral is. Hydrography.—West Loch Tarbert, a branch of the Atlantic, separates the two divisions of the united parish, measuring in its length about nine miles, and in its breadth one mile. The depth of the water is by no means uniform, varying from three or four fathoms to ten or fifteen. There are several fresh water lochs in the parish, but, neither in regard to magnitude nor adjacent scenery, are they entitled to any particular notice. Geology and Mineralogy.—This parish does not furnish an in- teresting field to the investigation of the lovers of those sciences. The direction of the strata along the sea is from west to east. There are beds of limestone from north-east to south-west (but of inconsiderable thickness) to be found in several localities in the parish. - zoology.—In addition to the ordinary variety of the feathery tribe, we have the wigeon in great numbers every winter, taking shelter from the northern blasts, on the comparatively smooth sur- face of Loch Tarbert. The barnacle comes now and then in- to close juxtaposition with them; and on a clear frosty morning, it is not uncommon to hear the wild melody of the Swan echoing from shore to shore. Some of the Loch Tarbert oysters are of great size, and all of good quality. II.-Civil, HISTORY. Land-owners.-The principal land-owners are: John Campbell, 4 10 AR GYLESHIRE. Esq. of Kilberry; John Campbell, Esq. of Stonefield; and Miss Macdonald, Lorgie. Parochial Registers.-Parochial registers do not seem to have been kept till the year 1780. - Antiquities.—There are tumuli on the property of John Camp- bell, Esq. of Drimnamucklach, in one of which some pieces of a rudely adorned helmit were found, in a tolerable state of preser- vation, three years ago. The forts of Dunskeig, mentioned by my predecessor, and belonging to a chain of forts built at certain distances from each other along the coast of Kintyre, appear to have been erected at a very early period in the history of this kingdom. The castle of Tarbert, though very ancient, is not nearly so much so as is the line of forts already mentioned. Dun- skeig is admirably adapted by nature for being a place of defence. The view it commands is varied and extensive. It rises almost perpendicularly from the level of the sea to the height of 400 feet. The remains of the vitrified fort are not very entire, but suffi- ciently marked to prove that its magnitude was considerable. III.-Po PULATION. The population has not increased since 1821, owing in a great measure to the extent to which emigration to America has been carried on within these few years past. Of the whole population of the united parish, about 1200 reside in villages, and the remainder in the country. Four or five families of independent fortune re- side in the parish ; and the number of landed proprietors whose properties yield upwards of L.50 per annum, is nine. Language, &c.—The Gaelic is the vernacular language of the parishioners; but the English is displacing it, and the sooner it overmasters it the better. The peasantry endeavour to better their condition by having recourse to smuggling. It is impossible to calculate the amount of evil that this unholy and unpatriotic traffic is the cause of IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.-There are a few very well cultivated farms in this parish. Potatoes form the principal article of farm produce; and, in the case of a purely arable possession, if the holder does not pay one-half of his rent by the sale of this root, his lease cannot be regarded as a very advantageous one. A large quantity of pota- toes is exported annually for the English and Irish markets. Kintyre is not distinguished for the excellence of its breed of black-cattle. KILCALMONELL AND KILBERRY. 411 * On some of the estates there are no leases at all, the tenants continuing from year to year, as tenants at will; and it is surpris- ing how few removals occur within the space to which leases are generally extended. Such a system, however, cannot but ope- rate as a drawback upon agricultural improvement; and the fact is, that there is but little progress in this department. Mr Camp- bell of Stonefield has proved, on his farm of Crear, in Kilberry parish, how much the outlay of money can accomplish towards beautifying the aspect of a country, and procuring, at the same time, a fair remuneration for the expenditure of the capital. The landholders of this united parish have lent their sanction, for time immemorial, to the establishment of a cottage and vil- lage system over their estates. A farm is let to a tenant at a giv- en rent, and he is subjected to no restrictions as to the manage- ment. He has cottagers in two or three places on his farm; each of whom engages to pay a rent of from L. 2 to L. 5 per annum. But this is accomplished very frequently, by having recourse to il- licit distillation, and the evil practices therewith connected. The evils again, of the village system, are lamentable in the extreme. If the inhabitants can command a meal or two of potatoes per diem, their ambition rises no higher. In the parish of Kilcalmo- nell alone, exclusive of Tarbet, the burden laid upon the heritors for the maintenance of the poor is L. 50 this year. But the vices engendered directly by this system are still more to be deplored : and most earnestly would I beseech all my heritors to annihilate, as speedily as the laws of humanity permit, a system so fraught with such incalculable evil. V.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. The village of Tarbert contains a population of 700 or 800; the inhabitants depending mainly on the herring fishing. This village is probably the ancient county town of Argyle ; and is still a thriving little place. Tarbert is a post-town, the mail being transmitted thereto every lawful day from Glasgow, per one of the steamers, from whence it is forwarded, by land, to Campbelton. Ecclesiastical State.—The Kilcalmonell church was built about eighty years ago; the Kilberry one in the year 1821. The seats are all free, to the extent of 600 in the former, and 700 in the latter; there is also a chapel at Tarbert, supported by the Royal Bounty. There is an Independent meeting-house, erected some twenty or thirty years ago, where the minister officiates every al- 412 ARGY LESHIRE, ternate Sabbath. The number of members belonging to this body may be somewhere about twenty. The stipend of this united parish, for the last three years, has been about L. 170. The clamant ecclesiastical destitution in the lowlands is the want of churches. We have a sufficiency of the material building, but we lack pastors to preach in our churches. In other words, we stand in much need of a State provision for additional ministers in this parish as in others in the Highlands. Education.— In this united parish there are two parochial schools, five or six supported by private subscription, and two So- ciety schools. The two parish schoolmasters have each about L.25 per annum, without the house accommodation. We would require, at least, three additional endowed schools to meet the de- mands of our people. Poor—The number of paupers on the parish roll may vary between 40 and 55, many of them receiving 12s. per annum, whilst a few get from L.1 to L.2, 10s. We do not observe any growing disinclination on the part of the people to have recourse to paro- chial aid : but the contrary. Ale-houses.—There may be about twelve public-houses in the united parish ; not an unreasonably large number, considering the magnitude of its population. When the foregoing statement was written a few years ago, agri- culture, with the exception mentioned, was, as a science, almost unknown in the parish. Since that period, however, a consider- able change has taken place, I may say, in all the departments of this most useful branch of industry. The old system of cropping the same field successively by father, son, and grandson, without . a pause, has been partially uprooted. Mr Campbell of Kilberry is experimenting on the opposite principle, on rather an extensive scale. Some of the chemical manures have been introduced. The cottage system of ancient times has received a check. And Alexander Morison, Esq. the new laird of Balnakill, is about to beautify the glen of his habitation there. On the estate of Loup also, the same improvement is taking place. Within the last few years Mr Campbell of Stonefield has planted an immense extent of land between Tarbert and Whitehouse. October 1843. PARISH of souTHEND. PRESBYTERY OF KINTY RE, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THIS parish lies at the extremity of the peninsula of Kintyre, and consists of what were formerly the parishes of Kil- colmkill and Kilblaan. Kilcolmkill literally signifies the cell of Co- lum of the Cells, or, in other words, the Church of St Columba, the founder of Churches. The remains of the former chapel, Kilblaan, the church of St Blaan, are still visible. No vestige whatever re- mains of St Blaan's chapel. These two parishes of Kilcolmkill and Kilblaan are now united, under the modern name of Southend or South Kintyre, which the parish has borne since the Reforma- tlon. º Extent, &c.—The extreme length of the parish is l l miles, and greatest breadth 5; the whole being about 50 square miles. It is bounded on the east and south, by the Frith of Clyde, and the North Channel; on the west, by the Atlantic ; and on the north, by the parish of Campbelton. Topographical Appearances.—Its figure is polygonal. There are no considerable ranges of mountains in this parish. The highest mountain, called Knockmoy, (or Hill of the Plain,) is 2036 feet above the level of the sea, and is the most remarkable for its height in the district of Kintyre ; it is a conspicuous object to all ves- sels coming from the westward. There are some valleys that intersect the parish with small streams running through them, the principal of which are Coni- glen and Glenbreckry, and which run at nearly parallel lines with each other. Caves.—This parish abounds with many caves; some of these situated at Keil, are of considerable dimensions, and have a very striking appearance. There is one of these caves from which, according to the tradition among the country people, a subter- * Drawn up by late incumbent, the Rev. Daniel Kelly. 414 • A R GYLE SH 1 R E 6 raneous passage extends six miles from the mouth of the cave to the Hill of Killellan. There is also another situated near the fort of Dunaverty, which was the resort of that very pious man, the Rev. James Boes, and whose memory is still held in very deep veneration. He here retired for meditation and prayer, and in consequence, it still retains the name of Boes' Cave, although he lived as far back as the time of the Revolution. Coast.—The sea-coast forms a circuitous course of nineteen miles. The shore is chiefly sandy towards the east coast, but to the west is high and bold, and very rocky, and has a fine appearance from the sea. The coast is indented with several bays abounding in coral banks, and where vessels may occasionally anchor. The names are as follows: Dunaverty Bay, Carskey, and Machririoch. The principal headland is the Mull of Kintyre, called by the Ro- mans Epidium Promontorium, where nature rears a strong barrier to resist the waves of the Atlantic. It is the nearest point of the whole island of Great Britain to Ireland, the distance being com- puted to be only eleven and a-half miles between the promontory and Tor Point, in the county of Antrim. At this place (the Mull of Kintyre) the wild and varied magnificence of the rocks projecting into the ocean, and exposed to all the fury of the waves, and the outrage of tempests, is peculiarly striking to the eye of a stranger. The solitude of the place is broken upon only by the hoarse murmuring of the waves. From the summit of the adjoining mountain of Knockmoy, an admirer of the sublime in nature may delight his imagination with one of the grandest scenes in North Britain. The green isle of the ocean is spread in all its magnificence before him. The islands of Islay, Rathlin, Jura, Gigha, and the distant mountains of Mull are in view. On the east, there is a magnificent prospect of the Frith of Clyde, the lofty hills of Arran, the coast of Ayrshire, and the Carrick and Galloway mountains. In the extreme horizon, Ailsa forms an ob-, ject peculiarly striking. Island of Sanda.-Southend not only includes the two ancient parishes of Kilcolmkill and Kilblaan, but also the Island of Sanda, with two very small ones close to it, (Eilean nancaorach), the Sheep Isle and Glunamore. The principal island, Sanda, is di. vided by a channel of three miles broad, from the south-east coast of the parish. It is of an irregular form, and about four miles in circumference, forming a single sheep farm, and covered with excellent grass. Buchanan, in his History of Scotland, re- souTHEND. 4l 5 fers to its ancient importance as the station of the Scandinavian fleets in their excursions to these coasts, aud during their contests for the possession of Kintyre and the neighbouring islands. At the time it was the rendezvous of the Danish fleet, it was called Avona Porticosa; and is still called Aven by the High- landers. Sanda, however, is the more ancient name, as appears from the life of St Columba, written by Adomnan, Abbot of Iona, in the year 680. The anchorage is still much frequented by the smaller classes of vessels that navigate the Frith of Clyde. Paterson's Rock.-This is a large flat rock about one-sixth of a mile in length, which lies to the east-south-east of Sanda, and, from not having been correctly laid down in some of the charts, as well as from the rapidity or current of the tide, which flows di- rectly over the rock, and thereby causes vessels to deviate from their course, it has occasioned many shipwrecks during the last twenty years, attended with the loss of not a few lives. This very dangerous rock is always covered at high water; but at spring- tides, when there are, of course, low ebbs, the top of it is per- fectly dry. During neap-tides, it is covered with water to the depth of four feet. Meteorology.—The medium height of the thermometer, taken from daily observations, amounts, on an average, to 48 degrees; and the pressure of the atmosphere, as ascertained by daily ob- servation by the barometer, is 29.54 inches. The following is the quantity of rain which fell in this district in the year 1831 ; but it may be mentioned, that the rain-gage by which it was mea- sured is situated on the western extremity of the parish, and on rather a high level, for which reason it may indicate a greater fall than in some other parts of the parish. That year, 1831, may be considered as giving an average fall of rain. January, e ] '74 August, ſº 2-93 February, . 2.63 September, . 3:34 March, e 5-46 October, & 6-19 April, g 0.93 November, . 6-61 May, . tº 1 40 December, . 4.76 June, * 2-53 *ºmmº July, . g 2'54 Total inches, 41.06 Hydrography.—The Frith of Clyde bounds the parish to the extent of above fifteen miles. The depth is variable in several places. At the distance of three miles from the shore, twelve fathoms of water are sometimes found. The tides along the coast run, at spring-tides, at six miles an hour, but at neap-tides at the rate of three. Off the Mull of Kintyre, there is a very 416 AR GYLESHIRE, great peculiarity in the tide. Within a mile and a-half of the promontory, there runs an eddy tide like a whirlpool, and much stronger than that which runs in the channel, as, when the tide runs to the westward, this eddy tide runs to the eastward, along shore. Vessels have often been driven on shore from ignorance of this peculiarity in the tide. Rivers.—The two most considerable streams are, Coniglen and Breckry, the latter stream rising from Knockmoy and falling into the sea at Carskey bay. The Coniglen is the most considerable of the two, and is subject to sudden risings; its direc- tion is about south-east. . It joins the Frith of Clyde at Duna- verty bay. .* Geology and Mineralogy.—1. Dip and Direction of Strata.— The most general dip of the strata in this parish may be stated south and south-east. The general direction of the principal formation is north-east and south-west. The intrusion of trap and porphyry causes several derangements in different localities, as on the shore below Machririoch, forming the western portion of Bailmhuilin bay, in connection with the Arran-Man's Barrels and the Otter More. Here the strata of the new red sandstone and limestone are intercepted and altered in the dip, direction, and actual constitu- tion. In fact, the whole of the Pennyland seems to be caused by the rising of the trap rock in almost every form and constitution through that secondary formation. The general dip of this seems to coincide with the general dip of the strata of the district, though the angle of inclination is much lower. In different parts of the ridge of the Pennyland, the variegated red marly limestone, passes into gritty limestone and sandstone. The basaltic mass at Dunhian, in passing through this marl and sandstone, has altered them into reddish basaltic tufa, containing nodules of basalt with the same general tinge. In some places, the basalt assumes the columnar concretionary structure, and in the lower part of the dun, the altered marl or tufa shows the same tendency. There is a very distinct basaltic vein intercepting the old red sandstone and conglomerate strata at the shore, near the burying-ground at Keil. This does not appear to have al- tered or deranged the strata there. - The rocks comprising the mountain ranges, are not very nu- merous. The western portion of the parish is almost entirely composed of mica-slate, a portion of the great mica-slate forma- S O U THEN D. 41 7 tion of the central or Grampian range, passing through the whole of the district of Kintyre. This includes Glen Breckry and all to the westward. The dip and direction is the same as noticed, In the upper part of the valley of Glen Breckry, the mountain- sandstone or quartz rock appears subordinate to the mica-Slate. At Achnaslisaig, it is of the same colour and character as the limestone of Askomil, in the neighbourhood of Campbelton, on the north side of the loch. The Coniglen district is principally in porphyry and the old red sandstone formation. The mountain range, forming the division between Glen Breckry and Coniglen, is composed principally of mica-slate, as already mentioned; but at different parts of the side next Coniglen, there are considerable hills both of claystone por- phyry and old red sandstone (transition). The porphyry of Kil- irvan, and the old red of Kilblaan and Keil, rest on and form the western boundary of the valley of Coniglen. The mica-slate is found in a small part at the Blecklate wood, and in the bed of the river, near the junction of the Coniglen and Caoran waters. At Kerrafuar, it again forms the ridge enclosing the glen on the western side. The opposite side of the valley, at Killellan, is formed by claystone and claystone-porphyry, which supports a small por- tion of the variegated red marly limestone and sandstone forma- tion. The porphyry extends from Killellan Hill through Ach- naclach. The lower part of the valley, as far as Dunglass Hill and Machrimore, is entirely of the old red. At Dunaverty, the coarse conglomerate of the old red sandstone appears extending from Brunerican. Kildavie Glen lies between the old red sandstone range above described, which is bounded in this parish on the west by Coni- glen; east, by the sea ; on the north, by the continuation of the same formation in the adjoining parish of Campbelton; and on the south, by the Kildavies. The Pennyland forms the opposite side of the glen. This is already noticed as composed of basalt greenstone in almost an endless variety, and new red sandstone formation. - I am inclined to think that we have primary transition, se- condary and alluvial formation. The mica-slate and subordinate varieties with limestone occupy the western portion of the parish, and about three-sevenths of the whole extent. - The old red sandstone formation occupies about three-sevenths of the parish in the north-east. From the appearance of the rocks, ARGYLE. - D d 4.18 AR GY LESH II: E, and the high angle of inclination, from 40° to 50°, all the varieties of form usually met with are found here, from the coarsest con- glomerate to the finest flag, with a slaty structure. The hardest sandstone appears to be finely granular in a clay or wacke basis or ground. - - In Kintyre, the beds of mica slate, on its eastern shore, have an eastern dip, while those on the opposite side dip to the westward. The angles of the strata rise to about 25°, and are in some places considerably less. A tract of micaceous slate succeeds the chlorite series towards the north, and is con- tinued in that direction as far as the Mull of Kintyre. At that place, it is immediately followed along the shore by the west of the Mull up to Ballachantuy and Killean by the red sandstone, without any interposed substance,—a fact easily explained by con- sidering the unconformable relation of this rock to the primary strata and the irregularity of its margin, consequent upon the pe- culiar situation which it occupies with respect to these. The secondary formation is principally found in the Pennyland above described. This forms about one-seventh of the parish. The summit of the range is composed of rocks of the trap series, and the shoulder at different places is formed of the new red or variegated marly lime and sandstone. At the eastern side, the trap rocks rise into the sea, forming dangerous submarine reefs at the Arran Man’s Barrels and Rhua Mac Sheanaig, and in this bold head- land there is a very extensive cave. But, as far as has been exa- mined, there are neither stalactitic nor organic remains. Near the entrance, there is a pretty highly raised mound of rolled stones, such as are found on the beach. The structure of the island of Sanda corresponds very much with that of the opposite shore of Kintyre, and, as in many other similar situations, the geological continuity of the strata between the two serves to indicate the alterations which have taken place in the sea line, and the encroachments of the ocean on the bor- ders of the great estuary of the Clyde. The island of Sanda is composed chiefly of sandstone, and the sandstone of which it is composed is elevated to the north, the dip being to the southward, and varying from 15 to 20 degrees. It thus forms hills of about 300 feet in height, which, on some of the shores, are broken into cliffs of moderate elevation. One of these forms a very picturesque object, presenting a natural arch of considerable dimensions. The rock is reddish and grey, and is interstratified with slaty clay 4 SOUTHEN D. 4 l 9 of various colours, but chiefly of a grey hue. It has been largely used in the building of the parish church of Southend, and several principal houses in the country. The catalogue of simple minerals is extremely brief. Quartz being universally diffused is to be found in veins and imbedded masses in the mica slate formation, and it is sometimes found in druses of the porphyry crystallized, and inclining to amethyst. Calc spar is also found in the limestone districts. In the amygda- loid and basaltic rocks near Ballyshear, we have the cubicite in veins and also steatite, analcime, and allied minerals. The alluvial deposits afford a very interesting example of a subaqueous deposit of sand and gravel, along the different valleys of Glenbreckry, Kildavie, and Machrimore, more especially near the sea. As these are generally under cultivation, and have long been so, they do not exhibit so very mathematical a coincidence as the plains and outlines of Glenrey and other pastoral districts, yet it is very easy to trace a level at from 20 to 30 feet above the level of the sea. This plain being formed of gravel and sand, has, of course, been hollowed out by the courses of the different rivers. There are no organic remains in this alluvium. At the Keil rocks there are several instances of a small portion of a fragmentary al- luvion resting on the small pinnacles of rock as on the margin. On all the mountain ranges, both of the primary and transition districts, there are extensive peat bogs. These, as usual, contain numerous trunks of large trees, imbedded several feet below the surface in this mossy ground, showing that this country was once under a forest garb, although now almost entirely bare of trees. There have been found, at different times, arrow-heads and other implements of war, and also querns, &c. There is considerable variety of soil, but I think that, on the slopes of the hills, the light gravelly soil on a till bottom is the most predominant. Towards the sea coast on the east, a light loam is mixed with sand or gravel. The light and gravelly soils, and sometimes clay and an occasional intermixture of mossy or peat earth, most frequently occur. The earlier cultivation of the soil seems to have occupied solely the higher parts of the ridges, and on almost every hill top on the eastern portion, at least the furrows and enclosures of fields, are easily traced in the old sward. The depths of the furrows plainly indicate that the tillage had not been casual, or merely experimental, but frequent and successive. 420 AR GYLE SHIRE. Of late years, the spirit of agricultural improvement has carried the cultivator into the low rich lands of the valleys; and draining has enabled him to reap the reward of his enterprise. Still, how- ever, there is a great want of a more extended system of perfect draining. - - The soil of the pasture ground is no less diversified than the arable. Some of it is dry and kindly, and produces a sweet and fine pile of grass; some of it wet and spongy, and covered with coarse grasses and rushes. Some of the flat grounds are marshy and some mossy, and a very considerable proportion of what is hilly, is covered with heath. Where these lands approach the sea, the growth of such plants is checked, and at last destroyed, a fine green pasture succeeding, which, under proper management, is capable of producing good crops of oats and sometimes bear. The shores afford striking examples of the fertilizing powers which the vicinity of the salt water possesses, and of the influence it exerts in preventing the growth of bog plants and the consequent gene- ration of peat. The same effects are produced by the application of calcareous manures, under which treatment the useless plants disappear, and are succeeded by verdant pastures. The gravel and boulders along the shore are generally composed of the neigh- bouring rocks. Great large sandstones, as they are called, are found to consist of a kind of porphyritic granite, to which I know none similar in this district. There is another variety with smaller crystals of adularia or moonstone, something like specimens I have seen from Arran. There are also on the hills considerable blocks of mica and chlorite slate, basalt, clay stone porphyry; and the coast-gravel contains all these kinds in small sizes, along with quartz nodules, evidently afforded by the conglomerate of the old red. All the trap rocks on the shore afford gravel and detached blocks close to the beach. There are two or three instances of banks formed and forming by drift-sand blowing from the beach along the Pennyland, Brunerican, Machribeg, and Strathmore. This last is a very interesting barrier between the marine and flu- viatile depositaries, and every year the lower part to the westward of Strathmore is in some degree altered. The sand and gravel thrown up by the powerful tide rolling round the Mull of Kintyre into Carskey Bay, forces up an embankment which causes the Glen Breckry water abruptly to turn its course to the westward, and to run parallel to the sea coast till it reaches another stream from the Strone Glen, and their united streams fall into the sea 3 SOUTHEND. 42I at the margin of the mica slate emerging from the surface. It sometimes happens that a great fall of rain swells the Glen Breckry water, and if this happens at low tide about the end of autumn, the river of Glen Breckry forces its way to the sea in the middle of Strathmore bay; and this course it generally retains, at least during the rainy and boisterous months of winter. There is a bank of fine coral between the farm of Keil and Machribeg, which, if made use of by the farmers, would be found to be a superior manure to lime for cold clayey soils. This trea- sure has been much neglected, and its value will never be fully or properly estimated, until a demand arises for it from other places. A great deal has been said of the advantages which have been derived from the use of bone as a manure. The quantity of that material which can be had in this country, or even imported from abroad, is extremely limited; but corals, to which there is scarcely any limit, might be found more valuable than even bones. They are both of them animal substances, and consequently con- tain much value in a small compass. Tried as a manure, the quantities of corals found on the shores of Machribeg and Keil has been and would be found highly useful for gardens and outfield lands, and cold soil of every description. After being scattered on the land, it takes a long time to dissolve; but the good it does from year to year is permanent, and nothing is more excellent for grass. - No mines of any value have been discovered in the parish. We have excellent quarries of limestone and whinstone for building dikes. It is of infinite benefit to the progress of agriculture, that the parish abounds with limestone, which the farmers make use of as manure upon ley ground, finding it very profitable in decom- posing heath and other vegetable substances upon outfields which were never before subjected to the operation of the plough. By following this mode of cultivation, the farmers are annually en- larging the extent of their cultivated soil, and bulk of stackyards. In the neighbourhood of the minister’s manse, there is a large bank of Fuller's earth, which is exposed to view by the depreda- tions of the river during heavy rains, but has never been made use of either in an agricultural or commercial point of view. It is found in some of the glens, and particularly at Auchnaclach and Lagna- craig, partly white, but generally a mixture of white and brown. The white, however, is the best. Like the coral mentioned above, its value is not sufficiently appreciated, although the kind to be 422 A R GYLE SHIRE, found here is of great use in cleaning oil out of cloth, and tar out of wool. The writer has learned, that, on the Duke of Bedford’s property, it has been of great value as an article of commerce, and considerable quantities have been exported to foreign countries. Along the sea shore, there is abundance of cod, ling, and whiting; but although such is the case, their value is far from being appre- ciated. + - Botany.—The almost total absence of wood gives the country that air of bleakness and sterility which, to the painter's eye, is never compensated by flowery meadows or fertile fields. The farm of Keil has assumed a very improved appearance, since it be- came the possession of the late Dr M'Larty. When he entered into possession of this property about twenty-four years ago, it was absolutely in a state of nature. He improved it in every possible way by draining and inclosures, planted some thousand of larch, poplars, and forest trees about his farm. house and gardens; de- corated the place with a variety of beautiful shrubbery, which has rendered it an ornament to this part of the country; and his rising plantations will ultimately prove a most valuable acquisition to his property. Mr MºMillan of Levenstrath has also improved his property in a similar way. Mr M*Donald of Ballyshear deserves great praise for his exertions in improving and beautifying his pro- perty, encouraging his tenantry; and his exertions have been un- remitting ever since he settled in the parish. He has interspersed his lands with belts and clumps of planting, inclosed them with hedges, built a range of the most splendid office-houses to be seen in the country, improved, drained, and limed waste land, and opened up a handsome approach to his elegant mansion-house. II.-CIVII, HISTORY. The Mull of Kintyre is the place where the Dalriads land- ed and settled in 503, under the direction of Lorn, Fergus and Angus, sons of Erc, Lorn acquired possession of the northern division of the county of Argyle, which still retains his name. Fergus remained in Kintyre, and Angus is supposed to have colo- nized Islay. In 718, one of the descendants of Fergus, named Duncan, was styled king of Kintyre. According to Pinkerton, the whole ancient territories of this tribe did not exceed the limits of the present Argyleshire; but there is no portion of history so obscure as that of the Irish Scoto Kings, from the period of their landing in this parish, till their accession to the Pictish throne in 843. In 1158, Somerled, Lord of Kintyre, married a daughter of SOUTHEN D. 423 the King of Man, and the Chronicles of Man inform us that by this Princess he had four sons:—Dugald, of whom came the M‘Dougalds of Lorn ; Reginald, the progenitor of all the M‘Donalds, and other two sons, Angus and Olave, of whose issue history has not recorded any thing memorable. After the battle of Methven, the illustrious Bruce fled to Kintyre, and was hospita- bly entertained by Angus, Lord of Kintyre, at the castle of Saddle, and on his way to Ireland he took refuge in the fortress of Duna- verty, in this parish, where, according to Archdeacon Barbour, he remained for some nights. That fortress, the remains of which are still visible, was built on the top of a tremendous precipice, hanging over the sea, which nature, assisted by art, rendered im- pregnable. The sea nearly surrounds it; and the fosse cover- ed with a drawbridge, (after which two or three walls, one within the other,) fortified the ascent. From this fortress Bruce was sent by Angus to the island of Rathlin, distant about twenty miles, and there he remained in concealment until after the death of Edward I. of England. On the island of Sanda, distant about three miles from Dunaverty, is a hill still known by the name of Prince Ed- ward's hill. The only Prince of that name connected with the his- tory of Scotland is the brother of Robert Bruce, and the tradi- tion in the parish is, that he was placed there to give timeous notice to the king of the approach of danger. At the battle of Bannockburn, Angus and his followers fought on the right flank of the army, and, as a mark of distinction for his gallant con- duct on that memorable day, Bruce assigned to him and his de- scendants, the same honourable position in the royal army on all future occasions. This Angus, who was buried in the monastery of Saddle, was, after his death, denominated the Great M*Donald ; but his grandson John abandoned the interests of David Bruce, and espoused the cause of Edward Baliol. He afterwards, how- ever, returned to his allegiance, and was married to the daughter of Robert II. Of this marriage there were four sons, Donald Lord of the Isles, John of Antrim, Alexander and Allan. Donald, in right of his wiſe, succeeded to the earldom of Ross, and his son Alexander was designed Earl of Ross and Kintyre and Lord of the Isles. John, the son of Alexander, died without lawful is- sue, when John, the son of Angus, his natural son, claimed his estates. The earldom of Ross was taken possession of by the Crown, and James IV. held a Parliament in Kintyre in the year 1493, and emancipated the vassals from their connection with 424 AR GYLES HIR E. those who claimed to represent the Lords of the Isles, and grant- ed them, de novo, charters holding of the Crown; but the descend- ants of John of Antrim claimed Kintyre, and their vassals still adhering to the representative of their ancient Lords, James V. found it necessary, in 1536, to make an expedition to Kintyre to subdue the Macdonalds; he built the castle of Kilkerran, and placed a garrison in it, but James Macdonald, then chieftain of the clan, destroyed the garrison, and demolished the walls. His son Angus, and M'Lean of Duart, carried on a savage feud of ex- termination against each other, and being prevailed on in 1591, to go to court for the purpose of having their differences reconcil- ed, they were both committed prisoners to the Castle of Edin- burgh, but were afterwards released on payment of a small fine. Angus, however, continued to display his innate cruelty in acts of the most cold-blooded murder. He resided chiefly at the Castle of Lochhead (now Campbeltown). He put the forti- fication of Dunaverty, in this parish, in a state of repair, as it was the principal channel of communication between him and Antrim. He repeatedly resisted and defied the Govern- ment, and being complained of by his Protestant neighbours, the Earl of Argyle, who was in arms after having suppressed an in- surrection among the clans in the north, was ordered to march against him. On his approach, Angus and his son James, with their followers, fled to Ireland, when Argyle obtained quiet pos- session of Kintyre. The lands of Macdonald were then forfeited to the Crown, and gifted by King James VI. to the Earl of Ar- gyle. In the course of a few years thereafter, Angus was par- doned for all his crimes, and a pension was bestowed on his son, who was knighted, but the lands were never restored. Sir James died without issue, when Kintyre was claimed by Coll Macdo- nald, commonly called Coll Kittoch, from his being left-handed. Some writers say he was a natural son of the Earl of Antrim, and a late author of the History of the Highlands and of the High- land Clans, calls him a native of Iona; but the tradition in this parish is, that he was the nearest and lawful heir of Sir James Macdonald. Coll Macdonald, who was noted for his strength and prowess, left no means untried to harass Argyle, and recover possession of the lost territories of his family. He, with the aid of his partizans, took violent possession of the Island of Collonsay, and, aided by his clansmen in Islay, frequently invaded Kintyre for the purpose of plunder. His son, Alexander, commanded the SOUTHEN D. 425 auxiliaries sent by Lord Antrim to assist the royal cause in the struggle between Charles I. and his Parliament. Alexander served under Montrose as his major-general; and immediately after the battle of Inverlochy, where Argyle was defeated on the 2d of February 1644, his father, Coll, invaded Kintyre, and took possession of it as his inheritance. When Montrose was appointed Captain-General of Scotland, he conferred the honour of knight- hood on his major-general; and, after the battle of Philiphaugh, the Earl of Huntly in the north, and Sir Alexander Macdonald in the south, were the only chieftains that remained in arms against the Covenanters. After subduing Huntly, Lieutenant- General, Leslie marched south, and being joined by the Earl of Argyle at Inverary, they invaded Kintyre, and, after a skirmish which took place at Rownaherine, in the parish of Killean, on the 25th May 1647, they retreated to Dunaverty. Sir Alexander placed his kinsman, Archibald Macdonald of Sanda, a very gal- lant and experienced officer, who had also served under Montrose, assisted by Archibald Og, or Young, his son, with 300 men in the fortress, with a few of the clan Macdonald who had joined them, and went himself with his father and the remainder of his forces, to Islay. General Leslie having been joined by the Mar- quis of Argyle and a vast number of his clan, who collected to his standard, as he went along, proceeded to Dunaverty, and re- gularly invested the castle, which was for a considerable time most gallantly defended against an army ten times the number of the garrison. During the month of June, several desperate as- saults were made upon it, but the assailants were always repulsed with considerable loss. About the 10th of July, however, the besiegers discovered that the garrison was supplied with water, by means of pipes communicating with a spring without, and a well within. These were cut off, and when a party from the fortress made an attempt to supply themselves from a stream near the base of the rock, they were all slain. The want of water, in the dry sultry month of July, drove the besieged to despair; and, as it was impossible to hold out any longer, a flag of truce was sent to General Leslie and the Marquis of Argyle, offering to surrender on such terms as might be agreed on, and, after seve- ral stipulations proposed by Archibald Og Macdonald of Sanda had been rejected, the garrison at last surrendered to the mercy of the kingdom. General Leslie afterwards made a nice dis- tinction, that the besieged had yielded themselves to the king- 426 AR GYLES H I R.E. dom's mercy and not to his, and, availing himself of this infamous casuistry, he caused as disgraceful, bloody, and indiscriminate a massacre to take place as the pen of history has ever recorded. The whole garrison were put to the sword, except one young man of the name of M*Dugald, saved by Sir James Turner, and the infant son of Archibald Og Macdonald of Sanda, who was carried by stealth out of the fortress by his nurse, before the mas- sacre commenced. In the indiscriminate carnage, both Archibald More Macdonald of Sanda, and his son, Archibald Og, a young man of great gal- lantry, fell, and with them the power of the Macdonalds of Kin- tyre and Islay, who, from this period, may be said to be no more a clan. After leaving Dunaverty, Coll Kittoch took the command of the fortress at Dunniveg, in Islay ; and Sir Alexander pro- ceeded with part of his forces to Ireland, and there joined the Royal army, where he was soon afterwards killed in a battle fought against the Earl of Carlingford. Coll was taken prisoner at the siege of Dunniveg, and afterwards hanged at Dunstaffnage. Nei- ther Coll nor his son left issue, and Kintyre was never afterwards claimed by any of the descendants of the Lords of the Isles. Sir Alexander Macdonald’s uncle, Archibald Mor Macdonald of Sanda, would have succeeded him ; but he, as well as his gal- lant son and heir, fell on that day. This Archibald Og was suc- ceeded by his only son, Ronald Macdonald of Sanda, then an infant at the breast. He and his nurse, Flora M“Cambridge, had been taken to the garrison as a place of safety on the approach of the enemy; and, during the shocking massacre which ensued, when the child’s father and grandfather were slain, this faithful nurse made her escape with her charge naked in her arms to a cave in the Moil. - This Ronald became a person of considerable consequence. He married Dame Anne Stewart, sister to the first Earl of Bute, thereby strengthened the interest of his family, and obtained char- ters to some of his lands from the Bishop of Whitehaven; it being the policy of the Argyle family to prevent the Macdonalds ob- taining charters from any others than themselves; but, at this time, the Argyle interest was low,-the Marquis having suffered on the scaffold, A. D. 1661.” * Archibald Mor Macdonald of Sanda, and his son, Archibald Og, the father of Ronald above-mentioned, were interred in the middle of a field on the farm of Ma- chribeg, not far from the shore. The place where their remains were deposited, along SOUTHEND. 427 The peninsula of Kintyre, which we have seen was possessed by the Macdonalds for ages, was gifted by James VI. to the Earl of Argyle in 1613; and, when Angus Macdonald and his son James, with their vassals, fled to Ireland, in consequence of the overwhelming force which Argyle brought to bear upon them to effectuate their expulsion, after Argyle had thus obtained posses- sion, he imported a colony of agriculturists and graziers to occupy the deserted lands. These people being kindly entertained en- couraged others to follow ; and, in the course of a few years, Kin- tyre was principally inhabited by strangers. But, on the defeat of Argyle by Montrose, 2d February 1644, Macdonald again reco- vered possession of the country, when the lowlanders precipitately fled to Ayrshire, and soon after swelled the ranks of the Cove- nanting army. Coll Macdonald then divided the again deserted lands among his followers; but, on the total defeat of the Roy- alists after the battle of Dunaverty in July 1647, Argyle again ultimately recovered possession of the country. In 1648, shortly after Argyle and Leslie left Kintyre, the plague broke out, and depopulated the greatest part of the country. When the plague had subsided, the Marquis of Argyle imported a colony of agri- culturists from Ayr and Renfrewshire. • In 1662, when the Act Recissory was past, and Prelacy restor- ed, and the persecution soon thereafter raged with great violence in these counties, a number of the inhabitants fled to Kintyre, where they were cherished and sheltered by their countrymen and relatives who had previously settled in the country. The noble family of Argyle, to their immortal honour, gave an asylum, during those perilous times which intervened between the Restoration and the Revolution, to several Ayrshire and Renfrew- shire gentlemen of the Covenant, when cruelly oppressed by the Government,-among others to the Laird of Ralston, Maxwell of William wood, Maxwell of South Barr, Hamilton of Wishaw, and Maxwell of Milnwood, and Dunlop of Garnkirk; and when these gentlemen could return home in safety, their farms remained in the with those of another chieftain, it is said, of Largie, is marked by three large flagstones, which are now sunk considerably into the earth. Though the field where they lie has been regularly ploughed and cultivated for more than a century past, yet, much to the honour of the feelings of the people, this spot still remains untouched, and is regarded with a solemn respect to the memory of the brave. In the year 1822, after an uncommon high tide, accompanied with a gale of wind, the sand was drifted from a bank in the farm of Brunerican, which lies in the imme- diate neighbourhood of Dunaverty; and there thus became exposed to view an im- mense charnel house of human bones, skulls, with the bones of legs, arms, &c. scat- tered about in every direction, 428. AR GYLESHIRE. hands of their followers, who now constitute the lowland class in this parish, and who still possess peculiarities belonging to the period of their removal to Kintyre. Their descendants still occupy a number of the best farms in this parish. They are a sober, hard- working, industrious class of people, who have very rarely amalga- mated themselves by intermarriages with the Highlanders. So far, indeed, do they carry this unsocial feeling, that they have a place of sepulture for themselves, detached only by a strand from that of their Highland brethren. The names of the principal fol- lowers of the gentlemen above-mentioned who settled in the coun- try, were Ralston, Dunlop, Colville, Reid, and Huie. In the latter end of last century, the Lowlanders complained of the occasional absence of the parish minister, and as many of them did not understand the Gaelic language, they, in the year 1798, built a church of their own in connection with the Relief Synod, where English alone is preached. The Duke of Argyle, principal proprietor and patron of the parish, gave them ground for their chapel, and accommodation for their minister. Although they joined the Relief body, they do not consider themselves dissenters from the Church of Scotland. Land-owners.-The land-owners of the parish are seven in number : Names. Rental. Duke of Argyle, o e º L.5000 0 0 William M*Donald, Esq. of Ballyshear, * | | 00 0 0 John MºMillan M'Neill, Esq. of Carskey, º 600 0 0 Donald MºMillan, Esq. of Lephenstrath, e 600 () 0 George M*Neill, Esq. of Ugadale, • º 200 0 0 William M*Donald, Esq. of Sanda, tº l 60 0 0 John M*Larty, Esq. of Keil, e º ] 50 0 () *- Total rental of the parish, L.7810 0 () Parochial Registers.-The parochial register extends no far- ther back than the year 1765. The old registers were unfortu- nately destroyed by a fire which accidentally took place in the study of the gentleman who was then clergyman of the parish, the Rev. David Campbell; but since that period, the register has been regularly kept. Antiquities.—There are some obelisks in the parish, the erec- tion of which tradition assigns to the Picts. Many urns of rude manufacture, and filled with bones, have been dug up a little to the east of Machrimore Mill. - - The ruins of a religious house of St Columba near the shore of Keil are still pretty entire. The tradition connected with souTHEND. 429 this is, that St Columba landed here on his way from Ireland to the Hebrides. Here also is the pedestal of a large stone cross, no doubt dedicated to the memory of the saint, but which has been removed from its proper place, and now lies neglected at Inveraray. On the lands of Machririoch, near the mansion-house of Mr M*Donald of Ballyshear, are also the remains of a religious edifice called after, and dedicated to, St Coivin. In the island of Sanda, are also situated the ruins of a chapel dedicated to St Ninian, together with two crosses of very rude design. In this burying-ground, there is a superstitious story, universally be- lieved, respecting an alder tree growing over the reputed grave of the saint, over which should any one walk, even by chance, he is doomed to die before a year expire. Like the former reposi- taries of the dead, this burying-ground also shows every mark of neglect, being unenclosed; the grave-stones are broken and de- faced, and betoken that want of affection and respect for the dead which is cherished by the rudest nations. No vestige remains of the parish church of St Blane. Here also neglect is conspicuous. The chapel was carried away by the water of Coniglen, which passes close by it, as was also the whole of an extensive cemetery attached to it, with a very small exception, which now forms the bank of the river, and human bones may now be seen bleaching in the Sun. We must not omit to mention the ruins of St Cathe- rine Chapel, situated in a lovely spot on the banks of a stream in the secluded pastoral vale of Glena.dle, where, close to the cha- pel, there is a cemetery and holy well, frequented by diseased per- sons to a late date. In this parish are situated the remains of what are usually denominated Danish forts. The principal re- mains of one of these are situated on the farm of Balemacumra, which is near the Mull of Kintyre. The situation is almost inac- cessible, being on the head of a perpendicular rock 180 feet in height, the base of which is about 100 feet from the sea. The fort is surrounded by three walls. The inner is 12 feet in thick- ness, the second 6 feet, and the outer wall 3 feet. The space be- tween the inner wall and the edge of the precipice is 66 feet in length, and its medium width 22 feet. Ministers.-Mr Duncan O’May was minister of this parish in the year 1631. Mr David Simson was settled in 1655, and outed in 1663; afterwards indulged ; in August 1685 banished, by orders of Government, to New Jersey, where he died. He was succeed- ed by his son, Mr David Simson, who conformed to the Prelatic 430 A R GY LESH [RE. establishment; but, at the Revolution, recanted, and was minister of Killarow, in Islay, where he died, May 1700. Mr Dugald Campbell was ordained minister of Southend I Ith May 1696. Mr David Campbell, ordained 22d September 1742. Mr Donald Campbell, admitted 3d September 1794, and translated to Kilmin- ver, in the Presbytery of Lorn, in 1798. Mr John Mº Keich, ad- mitted the 8th May 1799; died the 16th June 1815. Mr Da- niel Kelly, ordained 12th June 1816, and translated to Campbel- town 23d January 1833. Mr Donald Campbell, ordained 9th May 1833. Modern Buildings.-Since the publication of the last Statistical Account, there have been several new mansion-houses built by the residing heritors, and particularly those of Mr M*Donald of Bal- lyshear; Dr M'Larty, Keil; Colonel M’Neill at Carskey; and Mr M*Millan at Levenstrath. There has also been built a new manse and school-house. The most valuable public building in the parish is the light house at the Mull of Kintyre. Light House at the Mull of Kintyre.—The Mull of Kintyre light-house was begun to be built in 1786, and was finished in the year 1788, and is a work of great utility and importance for the navigation of the channel between Scotland and Ireland. This establishmentisone of the extensive range of light-houses erected on the coast by the Board of the Commissioners of the Northern Light- houses, instituted by Act of Parliament in the year 1786, whose jurisdiction extends to the entire coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man. The Light-house Commissioners by their first Act were authorized to collect small duties upon shipping, and in the first instance to erect only four light-houses upon the principal head- lands of the coast, of which the Mull of Kintyre was one. The site of this building was very inaccessible, both by sea and land, as it is perched on a cliff about 280 feet above the level of the sea, and near to those rocks, known to mariners by the familiar name of “ the Merchants.” Towards the sea, a landing is opposed by the strength and current of the tides, and the almost continually bois- terous state of the waves dashing upon this iron-bound shore, which consists of immense masses of mica-slate and quartz. The light-house on the opposite side is environed by mountains and morasses, and is about five miles from the nearest habitation. The buildings were erected by Mr Peter Stuart of Campbelton, but the light-room and the reflecting apparatus were brought from Edinburgh, and carried chiefly upon men's shoulders over the SOUTHE NI). 431 mountains. The work having in this arduous manner been com- pleted, the light was exhibited for the first time on the night of the 1st day of December 1788. The new road formed through the mountains of the Mull com- menced in 1828, is found to give great facilities in communicat- ing with the light-house, and conveying every necessary article. The Mull of Kintyre light, according to the description in the “ British Pharos,” is known to mariners as a stationary light, “appearing like a star of the first magnitude at the distance of six or seven leagues,” but it is to be regretted that dense fogs occa- sionally rest upon the high land of the Mull, while it is clear be- low ; by which the light is at times obscured. Mills.-There are two mills in the parish, one on the property of the Duke of Argyle, and the other upon the property of Mr M“Donald of Ballyshear. III.-PopULATION. In the year 1755, the number of souls in the parish was computed at 1391 93, A. * tº 1300 1795, & * * > 1625 1802, * ſº e 1825 1811, tº * te 1899 1821, e * g 2004 1831, ë g tº 2120 1841, * g 9. 1598 There is one village in the parish, situated near the shore off Dunaverty, with a population of 98 souls, and which has not much increased since its first commencement. Number of deaf, l ; deaf, dumb, and insane, 1 ; blind, 2; fa- tuous, 3 ; total, 7. Language.—The language generally spoken by two-thirds of the people is Gaelic; but, from the establishment of schools and the intercourse with Campbelton, and the Lowland districts of Scot- land, the English language is beginning to be universally under- stood. Families who understand Gaelic best, 210; do. English best, 145. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—The parish consists of 25,000 Scotch acres. The Duke of Argyle possesses of these 18,625 acres, 10 poles. It has been ascertained that the proportion of arable to pas- ture is nearly as one to five. The parish consists of 89 merk lands. A third might be added to the now cultivated land with a profitable application of capital. Old valued rent of the parish, L.409, 3s. 4d. Sterling. 4.32 A R GY I., E SH 1 R E. From 100 to 150 acres may be under wood, either natural or planted. - I.ive-Stock.-Throughout Kintyre, in general, and the parish of Southend, the principal breed of sheep is the black-faced. It was introduced by store-masters from the south, who brought their own sheep,-the Linton along with them. It is much to be regret- ted, that the Cheviot had not been introduced in place of the Lin- ton. This kind is indeed hardy, and well adapted to a moun- tainous region; but their wool is coarse, loose, and shaggy, and they are subject to a very fatal disease,_the braxy,+which, before the introduction of these sheep, was totally unknown in this coun- try. Several, however, of the more substantial tenants are in the practice of rearing English sheep for the use of their fami- lies, and allow them to pasture along with their black-cattle. Some considerable attention has been paid to the improvement of the native sheep of the district by the introduction of black-faced tups. The new Leicesters have lately been introduced upon the lowlands, and the soil appears to agree admirably with them, though, from the dampness of the climate, they must be housed during winter. . - In this parish, and throughout Kintyre, the cattle are of an inferior description to those in the upper part of the county of Argyle, being a cross between the Irish and West Highland, and have merely a faint resemblance to the original breed of Highland cattle. Mr Stewart of Glenbuckie, the Chamberlain of Kintyre, has very much improved the breed of cattle by introducing hand- some bulls into the district; and he has also established a dairy of forty-five low country cows upon one of his own farms, as an example to the inhabitants of the district to excite them to pay more attention to that breed of cattle. He has been very success- ful in the making of imitation English cheese, and obtains for this article the highest English price in the Glasgow market. The general agricultural management is good. The soil is of a light loam and Sandy nature along the sea coast; but produces potatoes in great abundance, and yields from sixteen to twenty seeds. Turnips grow well when properly managed. Bear or big thrives well ; but the soil, particularly in the eastern dis- trict of the parish, is considered too light for wheat, barley, or beans. But, in many parts of the parish, where there is deep loam and strong land, could good enclosures be obtained, wheat SOUTHEN D. 433 would be found to answer well. It is not, however, cultivated ; but beans are now raised in great abundance. - The tenantry have been industrious in draining to a very great extent, which, from the nature of the soil, is much required ; and their mode of doing so is by cutting the drains three feet across and four feet deep, and piping with stones. In this way, within the last twelve years, nearly a third has been added to the arable land. The Duke of Argyle has straightened and embanked the water of Coniglen. The undertaking was one of great extent, and although attended with the expense of L, 1600, has added much to the value of his Grace’s property. Leases.—Leases are generally for nineteen years. - The tenants generally build their own houses, but the proprie- tors in some cases give assistance. The houses of some of the inferior tenants are built with clay, and are generally low, narrow, and cold. This is the more inexcusable, as stone and lime are at no great distance. There has, however, been lately a farm-steading erected on the Duke of Argyle's lands of Machribeg, which will compete with most in any part of the king- dom. - The farm-houses of nearly all the better class of tenants are ex- cellent and substantial. Their roofs are indeed thatched with straw, which is a disadvantage ; and were slate roofs introduced, it would be of great advantage. - Quarries and Mines.—There are excellent quarries of lime and whinstone; the latter used for farm-buildings and dikes. The use of lime as a manure is pretty general, and has been found most highly useful for the purposes of agriculture. V.—PARoch IAL ECONOMY. The distance from Campbelton, the nearest market-town, is nine miles. There is one village called Newton Argyle. The nearest post-town is Campbelton. There are no turnpike roads in this parish; but those we have, owing to the vigilant care of Mr Macdonald of Ballyshear, the principal residing heritor, have been greatly improved. Several good and substantial bridges have been built, and many places straightened and levelled,—in- deed, the state of the roads is creditable to the district, consider- ing the small means at the disposal of those who have the super- intendence of them. & Ecclesiastical State.—The church stands on a beautiful bank, ris- ARGYLE. E 6 sº 434 AR GYLE SHIRE. ing gradually from the stream of Coniglen, which flows past it on the south-east. It was built in the year 1774, and is at present in a good state of repair. It is capable of accommodating 600 persons. The sittings are all free. - The manse was built in the year 1818. The extent of the glebe is 8 acres 1 rood, Scotch measure, and may be valued at L. 15 Sterling. The amount of the stipend is L. 58, 9s. 9}d., paid by the heritors, with an allowance of L. 8, 6s. 8d. for com- munion elements; and L.91, 10s. 7d. more is allowed from the Exchequer. There is also, as already stated, a Relief meeting-house, which was built in 1798, when a number of the lowland tenants who did not relish sermons in the Gaelic language, applied to the late Duke of Argyle for ground to build a place of worship, which he was pleased to grant; but as the bulk of the population are High- landers, and as many of the Lowlanders have emigrated to America, it is but thinly attended. Education.—There are four schools in the parish, a parochial school; one connected with the Society in Scotland for Propa- gating Christian Knowledge; one in the east side of the parish, at Glenhervie, to which His Grace the Duke of Argyle gives L.4; and an unendowed school. Parochial schoolmaster's salary, L.34, 4s. 4d. ; fees, L.30: total, L.64, 4s. 4d. Society schoolmas- ter, L. 16 from the Society; from the Duke of Argyle, L,5; fees, L. 10: total, L.31. The parochial schoolmaster has the legal ac- commodations.” * I beg to mention one well authenticated circumstance, for the purpose of show- ing how high our privileges are, compared with those of our forefathers in this country. About one hundred and forty years ago, there appears to have been a great scarcity of Bibles in the parish. There was an Irish Bible, the property of the kirk- session, the gift of the illustrious Boyle. I find in the old records of the presbytery of Kintyre, an urgent application from Mr M'Neill of Tirfergus, a respectable he- ritor of the parish, for the use of this Bible. The following particulars are extracts from the records of presbytery. “At Campbeltown, 3d August 1692, for as much as John M'Neill of Tirfergus addressed the presbytery for the loan of the Irish Bible gifted by Sir Robert Boyle to the parish of Southend, in Kintyre, for the use of the ministers that shall be in the said parish, promising that he will have special care of it, and that he shall return it upon demand,-the presbytery considering the pre- sent vacancy of Southend, the presbytery condescends that Mr Robert Duncanson (in whose custody the said Bible is at present) deliver the same to the said John M“Neill, he being obliged to return the same in as good order as he now received it to the future minister of the said parish, or to any other whom the presbytery of Kintyre shall appoint, under the penalty of such a sum as the presbytery shall no- minate.” - “At Campbeltown, the 14th December 1692, forasmuch as the presbytery con- vened at Campbeltown, the 3d day of August 1692, allowed Mr Robert Duncanson to give to John M'Neill of Tirfergus the use of the Irish Bible bestowed by Mr R. Boyle on the parish of Southend, the said John M'Neill giving in his obligation to be accountable for the same, Mr Robert Duncanson declared that he did deliver SouTHEND. 43 ºf Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of persons receiving parochial aid is 40, and the yearly average sum allotted to each person is 10s. per annum. The annual amount of contri- bution for the relief of the poor arising from church collections, L.24; hasty marriage money, L.5: total, L.29. Inns.—There is one inn in the parish, situated near the village; and four other houses in which spirits are retailed. Fuel.—The operation of manufacturing and carrying home peats for fuel is attended with great expense of time and labour. There is an inferior kind of coals in the neighbouring parish of Camp- belton; but they are at the distance of ten or twelve miles from the most populous districts of the parish. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. In the year 1793, the rental of the parish was L.3000: it is now nearly L.8000. And nearly double has been added to the arable land by draining and cultivation. The disadvantages to which the parish is liable are, want of timber and want of inclosures, scarcity of fuel, leases too short. The culture of wheat, in a certain proportion, ought to be adopted into the agriculture of the parish, since, where barley grows, wheat may very often be successfully produced. Cottagers ought to be more encouraged. The Mull of Kin- tyre has been converted into an immense sheep-walk, under one Company, and is now occupied by 6000 sheep. This was half-a century ago, a great pastoral country, which then reared and sup- ported thirty or forty families, whose ancestors had occupied that remote and extensive region for ages. The erection of a pier or quay at Dunaverty bay would not only prove a lasting benefit to the parish, but also greatly enhance the value and sale of the raw produce, by enabling tenants to ship their grain, potatoes, &c. direct for the Clyde and other places, where there is always a ready market, instead of being exposed to the said Bible to the said John, and that he received his obligation for the same, of the date the 16th day of November last, which obligation was produced in presence of the presbytery, and appointed to be recorded in futuram rei memoriam.” Followeth the tenor of the obligation granted by the said John M*Neill for the above-mentioned Irish Bible : “I, John M'Neill of Tirfergus, grants me to have received from Mr R. D., minister of Campbeltown, (according to the appointment of the presbytery of Kintyre), the church Bible of the Irish character, bestowed by the Honourable Sir Robert Boyle on the parish of Southend of Kintyre, which Bible I oblige me to restore sound and entire, and to deliver the same to the mi- nister of the said parish or to the presbytery when required, under the penalty of . . In witness whereof, I have written and subscribed these pre- sents at Campbeltown, the 16th November 1692 years. Sic subscribitur Jo. M*NEAI.1.” ... 436 Ab G Y LESHIRE • the necessity of taking the produce of their farms to Campbelton by land carriage, and there often compelled to dispose of it at a sacrifice of value. The erection of this pier would also enable the parish to be supplied with coals direct from the ports of Ayr and the Troon, or from Ballycastle in Ireland. November 1843. THE UNITED PARISH OF SADDELL AND SKIPNESS. PRESBYTERY OF Kt.NTY RE, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. JOHN MACFARLANE, MINISTER. I. —Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—SADDELL is found in ancient chartularies written in the various forms of Saundle, Sandel, and Sandale, which, in the Scandinavian language, signifies sandy plain. Skipness, in the same language, signifies ship-point, and was applied to this locality from its having been a central station for the fleets of the Normen during their struggles for conquest upon this and the neighbour- ing coast. Saddell, disjoined from the parish of Killean, and Skip- ness, from Kilcalmonell, were erected into a united parish in 1753. Boundaries.—The parish is of an oblong irregular form, mea- suring as its extreme length 25 miles, and 3 as the average breadth. It is bounded on the east by the Sound of Kilbrannon, which separates it from Arran; on the west, by the parish of Kil- lean; on the north, by the parish of Kilcalmonell; and on the south, by Campbelton. - Topographical Appearances.—In the general aspect of the pa- rish, especially when viewed from a distance, the spectator ob- serves nothing remarkable. Undulating groups of heath-crowned elevations mark the rising ground, whilst the declivities are either shaded with patches of straggling coppice wood, or subdued by par- tial tillage. A nearer view, however, especially from the south, dis- closes a beautiful and imposing landscape, consisting of deep and expansive valleys, decked at their entrance near the sea with the mansions of the land-owners, whose lawns and enclosures are im- SADDELL AND SKIPNESs. 437 proved with judgment and embellished with taste. Each valley has its winding river, copiously supplied by the streams that score the mountain sides, and slowly coursing along its green banks and pebbled bed towards the sea, as if reluctant to depart from the scene; whilst, in the distance, and on every side, nature rises in magnificence and repose as the heights swell into huge and ma- jestic proportions; thus exhibiting at once a rare and varied com- bination of much that constitutes the charm of Highland and low- land scenery. The highest mountain in the parish is Benintuirk (upon the estate of Torrisdale), elevated 2170 feet above the le- vel of the sea. From no point of the same altitude in the county is the view more grand, extensive, or picturesque. In the fore- ground is the Island of Arran, to the south the Frith of Clyde, the Craig of Ailsa, and the Irish Channel. From the Point of Corsil in Wigtonshire, the eye can range along the intervening counties, until arrested by the “ lofty Benlomond.” Hence the transition is easy to Bencruachan, and Benmore in Mull. To the north-west is the horizon line of the Atlantic, presenting portions of its blue surface through the openings of the different islands with which it is indented, from Mull to the Giants’ Causeway. In this range are embraced portions of seven Scottish and two Irish counties, and the circuit is supposed to be little less than 300 miles. - Meteorology.-The atmosphere is naturally moist, from being impregnated with the floating vapours of the Atlantic, which are constantly carried about by the prevailing winds. To these are added the humid exhalations which arise from the lochs and marshes in the interior. The dry east winds, however, operate as a counteracting element in dissipating these vapours, and in re- storing the equilibrium of the atmosphere. The climate, though changeable, is thus rendered temperate and salubrious, insomuch that invalids from a distance have, after a few months sojourn, found their health perfectly restored. As a proof of the mildness of the climate, many of the most rare and delicate green-house shrubs flourish in great profusion in the open air, with no other protection than a thin matting during the winter months. The prevailing diseases are asthma, influenza, inflammatory sore throat, and affections of the chest and lungs. A few formidable and fatal cases of cancer have occurred of late years. Fevers are almost unknown unless when engendered by infection. This often happens from the frequent intercourse of the inhabitants with the 438 ARGYLES HiR iſ... maritime towns upon the opposite coast. There is no resident medical practitioner in the parish. - - Hydrography.—The parish possesses a considerable extent of sea coast, consisting chiefly of low promontories of different forms and dimensions; all jutting towards the south-east. The more prominent of these are separated by expansive bays flanked at the entrance with mural ridges of rock, whilst the fine sheet of water that intervenes, usually terminates in beaches of brilliant sand. The remnant of the coast is composed of numerous indentations, forming in miniature those peculiar beauties of creeks, harbours, and other inlets of the sea, which refresh and delight the eye up- on a larger scale. The moors abound with lakes whose margin is tame and uninteresting. They generally teem with trout. Those found in Lochnabreck on the estate of Cour, weigh from two to four pounds, and are of an exquisite quality. The rivers take their rise from lochs or marshes at the distance of five or six miles from the sea. They are Skipness, Claonaig, Crossaig, Sunadale, Carradale, Torrisdale, and Saddell. Of these Carradale is by far the most considerable, affording to the angler ample sport, from the par to the full-grown salmon. Pe- rennial springs of pure and delicious water are frequently to be met with. Two or three possess chalybeate qualities. Geology and Mineralogy-By far the greater part of Kintyre is mica-slate, and in this parish it strikingly predominates. The usual dip of the rock is toward the north at an angle of 45°, ex- cept when disturbed by basaltic trap veins which intersect it. Quartz in veins and modules everywhere abound, which generally run parallel to the mica slate, though they occasionally cut it at right angles. Several of these dikes contain nodules (apparently filled up cavities) of very fine olivine of considerable size. In the neighbourhood of these the character of the mica-slate is consi- derably altered, partaking of the features of an aggregate rock filled with small spheroidal quartzose masses, of a reddish colour. Of rolled masses the district does not present much variety. The most conspicuous deviation from the ordinary geological character of the parish is the occurrence of large detached blocks of granite, of an extremely hard texture. In a quarry at Carra. dale, about two years ago, were found some small but perfect spe- cimens of obsidian, a species of volcanic product or lava. In the mass it was almost black, but in thin fragments it became semi- transparent, and presented the appearance of green bottle glass. There are no minerals of the precious order in the parish. SAD DE L L AND S KIP N ESS. 439 Soils.—The soil on the upper grounds is light and gravelly. Along the banks of the several streams it is alluvial and composed of a sort of sandy slime. In the meadows it is generally moss or a rich and deep loam incumbent on a bed of clay. The subsoil is usually rock, clay, or gravel, but in the mosses near the sea it presents layers of pure white sand. Žoology.—The only animal of the deer tribe now found in a wild state in this parish is the roe (Cervus capreolus). They were formerly numerous, as they still are in some parts of the country. Agricultural improvements, however, and the conse- quent extirpation of natural coppice-wood, have driven them from their native haunts, so that only a few stragglers are now to be seen among the plantations. Hares (Lepus timidus) are pretty numerous. Rabbits have been turned out, but did not succeed. The wild cat (Felis catus) may still be met in the wooded glens, and among the rocky cairns upon the sea coast. But their num- bers are fast decreasing, and, in a few years, this animal will pro- bably be unknown in this district. The badger (Meles vulgaris) is found in considerable numbers. The country people have an idea that there are two distinct varieties of the badger; one with claws and a nose like a dog, and another with the snout of a hog and cloven feet. But, as we have never yet encountered this lat- ter prodigy, we can only vouch for the existence of the Meles vul- garis. Animals of the genus Mustela, or weasel tribe, are numerous, and very destructive to game and poultry. Of these we have the pine, or yellow-throated martin (Martis vulgaris,) the winter fur of which is little inferior to the sable. The polecat or fumart (Mustela Putorius); the common weasel (Mustela vulgaris); and the stoat (Mustela Erminea,) which in winter assumes a white garb and becomes the ermine, are all numerous. The mole (Talpa Europea) had commenced its ravages in the northern district of the parish, about twenty-one years ago. It has now, however, found its way nearly to its southern extremity. The common tradition concerning them is, that, when they have found their way to the Mull of Kintyre, they will drive all the Campbells out of the country, and take possession of their estates. The otter (Lutra vulgaris) is found in considerable numbers along the sea coast, and in the moor lakes, where they bring forth their young. * Fishes.—The common seal (Phoca vitulina) is found upon the coast, but they are not very numerous. Several varieties of the 440 AR (; YLE SH I R. E. order Cetacea or whale tribe frequent the coast during the her- ring-fishing season, but disappear on the approach of winter. Of these we may mention the Greenland whale (Balana Mysticetus,) the grampus (Delphinus Grampus,) the great dolphin (D. Tursio,) from twelve to fifteen feet in length, with a pointed muzzle or beak; and the common porpoise (D. Phocaena,) with a rounded muzzle, seldom exceeding six feet in length. In the year 1817, a whale was found dead off Portree, and towed to the shore, which measured ninety feet in length and fifty-two in circumfe- rence. The breadth of the tail was eighteen feet. Fishes.—Trout abound in the streams and lakes, and Salmon in the bays and rivers; and almost every kind of British fish may be taken off the coast. Cod, ling, coalfish or stanelock, hake, mackerel, haddock, and whiting are found in shoals upon the banks in every direction. Birds.--The birds of prey are, the golden eagle (Aquila Chry- saëlos,) the common or white-tailed (A. fulvus ;) the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus,) the merlin (F. Aesalon,) the kestril (F. Tinnunculus,) the sparrowhawk (F. Nisus,) the kite or fork-tailed gled (F. Milvus,) the common buzzard (F, buteo,) the hen-harrier (Buteo Cyaneus,) the harpy or moor buzzard (F. rufus;) the raven (Corvus Coraz,) hooded-crow, magpie, &c. Of the owl tribe we have two species, the barn owl (Strix flammea,) and the brown owl (S. Brachyotos,) which is a bird of passage. Game birds are, black game, which are numerous; red grouse, which are less abundant since the improvement of the moors by burning and draining ; partridges are still scarce, but rapidly increasing; golden and green plover, snipe and wood- cock, which are abundant in winter. Wild-duck and teal are to be found in the moor lakes. Botany.—There is here a good and varied field for the botanist. The Osmunda regalis, the pride of the British ferns, is scattered in frequent patches among the common bracken, more especially on the Skipness estate. The Bidens tripartita or bur-marigold, which is an uncommon plant, grows abundantly on the mossy ground. In the salt marshes, there is the water dropwort (OEnanthe pimpinelloides.) The Sedum anglicum grows thickly on the rocks fronting the sea. Some of the larger St John's wort (Hypericum - Androsamum) is found among the wooded cliffs; and on the dry sand in Carradale bay, above high-water mark, are some plants of great beauty and interest. The bright-blue-flowered oyster plant (Lithospermum maritimum,) and the Convolvolus Soldanella are fre- 8A DD E L L AND SKIPN ESS. - 441 quent on the natural pastures near the sea. The purple loose- strife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora) is common near the ditches and streams. The smaller pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) spreads in the moist sunny spots on the hill sides; and, farther back, in the peat-bogs and tarns on the elevated moors, the resort of the wild duck and her brood, there is the white water lily in abundance (the Nymphaea alba.) In different parts of the parish, there are natural woods of oak, ash, hazel, birch, and alder. On the estate of Saddell, there are plantations of remarkably fine old forest trees. There are several trees of a similar kind in the glen near Skipness Castle. On the estates of Auchnabreck and Torrisdale, where planting has been extensively carried on, the growth of it has been singularly rapid, especially among Scotch fir and larch. Though other species progress more slowly, they are generally in a very healthy and promising state of vegetation. II.-Civil, HISTORY. ‘Eminent Men.—1. The ancient history of this parish is involved in much obscurity. The first notice taken of it in history is in 1158, when Somerled erected his standard as an independent chief, and, with a fleet of fifty-three sail, wrested Kintyre and the Western Isles from the crown of Mann. Intoxicated by a series of great and decisive victories, he entertained the vain project of subjecting all Scotland to his sway. In an encounter, however, with the army of Malcolm IV. at Renfrew, he was, along with one of his sons, discomfited and slain. His body was, according to the best and most authentic traditions, conveyed to Saddell, and there buried by Reginald his eldest son. In the Chronicle of Melross, to be seen in the College Library of Glasgow, the event of his death is recorded thus: “Sumerledus Regulus Argatheliae per duodecem annos contra Regem Scotiae Malcomum, douminum suum natalem, impié rebellans, cum copio- sum de Hibernia et diversis locis exercitum trahens, apud Renfrew applicuit: tandem ultione divina cum filio suo ibidem occisus MCLXIIII;” i. e. “Somerled, Prince of Argyle, wickedly rebel- ling for twelve years against Malcolm, King of Scots, his rightful lord, bringing with him a numerous army from Ireland and other places, arrived at Renfrew, and was there at length, by Divine vengeance, killed, together with his son.” It has been maintain- ed, that the High Steward of Scotland, who commanded the king's army, bribed one Maurice MacNiel to assassinate our hero, and that, by this wicked and cowardly project, he had met with his death. 3 442 ARGYLESH lit E. 2. Reginald succeeded his father under the title of King of the Isles, and Lord of Argyle and Kintyre. He finished and formally endowed, as will afterwards appear, the monastery at Saddell, be- gun by his father Somerled, and assumed to himself, as perhaps he virtually might, the merits and the designation of its founder.” This is established by a charter of confirmation extant in Reg. Mag. Sig, 1st January 1507. The charter confirms a deed granted to the Bishop of Lismore by Reginald, where he is de- signed “Reginaldum filium Sorlett qui se regem insularum domi- narum de Ergile et Kintyre dicti monasterii fundatorem.” The historians of Norway (Torſeus and Torfaei Orcades, p. 146,) describe him as a warrior of distinguished note. In conformity with a common practice among the Scandinavian Sea Kings, he is said to have lived for three years without entering under the roof of any house where a fire had been kindled, and thus accus- tomed himself to every species of privation and hardship. The same historian informs us, that, at the request of William the Lion, he undertook to recover Caithness out of the hands of Ha- rold, Earl of Orkney, and had the good fortune to succeed. Con- sidering the tribute exigible by the Crown of Norway too extra- vagant, and the lord of his allegiance at too great a distance to enforce his claims, he shrewdly subjected his dominions to the Pope, who generously claimed a mere nominal tribute of twelve merks (Foedera, Anglia, Tom. i. p. 234.) The petty kings of Ireland always appealed to him in seasons of difficulty, and his very name often suppressed their quarrels. He died after a reign of thirty years. ſº 3. Angus Og, i. e. the young. He obtained this title in contra- distinction to his father, Angus Mor, son to Donald the son of Reginald, from whom the Macdonalds adopted their surname. His brother and immediate predecessor, Alexander, had, unfor- tunately for himself, opposed the claims of Robert Bruce, who, after defeating the Lord of Lorn at Lochow, made a second de- scent upon Argyleshire, and crossing over the isthmus of Tarbert, besieged him at Castle Swen, and, after forcing him to surrender, carried him away prisoner to Dundonald Castle, where he died. Angus had, from the first, taken a decided part in support of the interests of Bruce. When that illustrious prince, after the unfor- tunate battle of Methven and Dalry, was forced to retreat, he gladly availed himself of the hospitality of his friend; and, crossing over from Arran, he landed at a place called Portree (the King's * Seo Douglas's Peerage, p. 358, t See Chartulary of Paisley, p, 377. SADD ELL AND S K IPN ESS, 443 port,) accompanied by Sir Nigel Campbell of Lochaw, Sir James Douglas, and Sir Robert Boyd. The party were at first enter- tained at Saddell Castle, and afterwards at Dunaverty, until An- gus found means to convey them in safety to his island of Rathlin upon the coast of Ireland. He then set about organizing a body of troops, who took a decided part in all the future proceedings of the Bruce. In the successful attacks upon Carrick, where “the Bruce won his fathers’ hall,” Angus and his followers were fore- most in the combat. At length, when the whole English army of Edward II. assembled at Berwick, composed, according to Bucha- nan, of 200,000 men,-according to Robertson, of half that num- ber, Bruce anxiously awaited the arrival of Angus, whom some of the leaders now suspected of treachery. Immediately, however, on his arrival at Torwood near Falkirk, where the army stood en- camped, Bruce addressed him in a loud tone, and, as a proof of his confidence, observed, “My hope is constant in thee,” which is still the motto of the lineal representatives of the Lords of the Isles. No stronger proof of the sincerity of this declaration could have been given, than the appointment of this fine body, along with the men of Carrick, as the reserve, of which the King him- self took the command. On the 24th of June 1314, the two armies met at Bannockburn. The Scots at first suffered so severely from the English archers, that victory was for a time extremely doubt- ful, when the brave reserve were summoned into action, and speed- ily decided the fate of a day on which depended the liberty and independence of Scotland.* The King generously acknowledged his deep sense of these important services, by granting to Angus the extensive territories of the Comyns, together with that of their allies, the Lords of Lorn. He granted, besides, the lands of Du- rour and Glencoe. Though in justice he considered him en- titled to these tokens of his consideration, yet, in adding to his already too extensive territories, he saw he was strengthening the hands of a dangerous and powerful rival. Accordingly, he took the precaution to build the Castle of Tarbert, the ruins of which still stand near the village of that name on the estate of Stonefield. The effects of this arrangement, in the hands of Bruce's successors, proved a successful engine to ruin the ascendancy of the Lords of the Isles.; - - 4. Thomas, Abbot of Saddell, who flourished about the year 1207. Dempster eulogies him both for his austerity and chas- * See Abercrombie's History, Vol. ii. p. 440. f See Robertson's Index, p. 2, No. 5). # See Chamberlain's Roll, 444 Al GYLESHIRE. tity. He calls him “Vir magna vitae austeritate et continentia celebris.” The same author informs us that he wrote several works, preserved in the Library of St Andrews; but, as Keith ob- serves, there are none to be found at present penned by his hand. 5. The Rev. James Gardiner. This eminently godly man was minister at Saddell from 1655 to 1662. He had, from his learning and piety, been appointed chaplain to the devoted Mar- quis of Argyle, who suffered upon the scaffold in June 1661, and had thus incurred a suspicion which led to his ruin. Ac- cordingly, as appears from the register of the Privy Council, he was summoned to appear before that tribunal in Edinburgh, along with Mr Alexander Gordon, minister at Inverary, and Mr John Cameron, minister at Kilfinan, upon the 9th day of December 1662, to be interrogated. His appearance, pursuant to citation, is recorded as having taken place, and upon refusing to satisfy the Council, he and Mr John Livingston, minister at Ancrum, had sentence of perpetual banishment pronounced against them. His “Act,” as is the title of it in the register, runs thus, “I, James Gardiner, late minister of Kintyre, oblige me to remove myself out of the King's dominions, within the space of a month from the date hereof, and not to be seen within the same, under pain of death, and that in the meantime, I shall not repair to any place within the bounds of the diocese of Glasgow, Galloway, or Argyle. Subscribed at Edinburgh, the 11th of December 1662, James Gardiner.” The following account is given of him by Mr Boes, minister of Campbelton, in a letter to Wodrow the historian, and lately dis- covered by Dr Burns of Paisley. “ 1705, Mr James Gardner, a steadfast and sincere Christian, was minister in the parish of Saddell, banished to Holland at the Restoration, and returning privately to Scotland, died in Glasgow. He was very useful to exercised Christians, both in preaching and conference.” 6. Campbell, usually called “the Captain of Skipness.” Ac- cording to the spirit of the times, he studied the art of war under that powerful monarch Gustavus Adolphus, the terror of Austria, and the bulwark of Protestantism in Europe. Devotedly attach- ed to the Presbyterian cause, he took a prominent and decided part in the sanguinary struggle between Charles I. and the Cove- nanters. His military genius, which shone in many memorable engagements, his firmness and decision in the hour of difficulty * See Wodrow, Vol. i. page 313, Burns' edition. SADDELL AND SKIPNEss. 445 \ and danger, together with his high sense of honour, soon raised him to the distinction of a formidable leader. He particularly distinguished himself in arresting the progress of the forces of Montrose, and was actively engaged at Philiphaugh, where they were cut to pieces. Under the command of General Lesslie, he pursued a body of the Macdonalds, in their retreat to Ireland, as far as the Castle of Dunaverty, where he fell on the first day of the siege. This so enraged the besiegers, that they soon after- wards compelled the Macdonalds to surrender unconditionally when they were to a man put to the sword. The mother of the captain of Skipness, who was daughter to the chief of the Mac- farlanes, hourly expecting her son's arrival, and observing a per- son approach at a quick pace, supposed he might be him, and went out to meet him. He proved, however, to be the messenger en- trusted with the tidings of herson’s death. Upon hearing the mourn- ful intelligence announced, she fell into a swoon, from which she never recovered. His body was conveyed to Lochend, (now Camp- belton,) and interred in the old Gaelic church. The stone that covers his grave is still to be seen. The inscription which of late - years is quite obliterated, stood thus: “A Captain much renowned, Whose cause of fight was still Christ's right, For which his soul is crowned. So breifly then to know the man, This stone tells all the storie ; On earth his race he ran with grace, In Heaven he reigns in glory.” 7. Mr Donald Macnicol, an eminent scholar and antiquarian, was minister in this parish in 1758, whence he was translated to the Island of Lismore. He brought himself into notice by the publication of an able and interesting review of Dr Johnson's “ Tour to the Hebrides,” which still retains its popular character. When the great moralist saw the work, he is said to have growled hideously. But upon perusing it, he observed to a friend “Really these Highland savages write the English language wonderfully well !” Antiquities—Monastery at Saddell.—This celebrated monastic institution, which was originally organized by Somerled, was car- ried on and completed by Reginald, his son and successor. The site of the monastery itself is one of surpassing interest. It is a sweet and shaded spot, close by a well-wooded stream, near the base of one of the mountains that bound a broad and beautiful valley. The ruins are embosomed amid the foliage of the elm, the ash, and other stately trees which now wave their branches 446 AR GY LESHIRE, over the sacred remains. After it had for centuries withstood the violence of the solstitial rains and equinoctial gales, the hands of a modern Goth converted it into a quarry, out of which he took materials to build dikes and offices,—paving some of the latter with the very grave-stones. He did not, however, long survive this sacrilegious deed, as he soon afterwards lost his life by a tri- fling accident, which the country people still consider a righteous retribution, and the estate passed into other hands. As to the original building, tradition affirms, that Reginald, af- ter his father’s death, sent to Rome for a quantity of consecrated dust (uir naomhichte na Roimhe), and made the building com- mensurate with the extent to which it could be scattered. Be that as it may, the fabric was both large and capacious. It was in the form of a cross, which lay in an exact position towards the four cardinal points. The length from east to west was about 136 feet by 24, and of the transept from north to south 78 feet by 24. The south end of the transept was extended from the gable to a distance of 58 feet, and from this projected another building run- ning parallel to the body of the church, which was crossed in its turn at the termination westward at right angles by another erec- tion; thus giving the whole the form of a quadrangle or square. The body of the church itself, from east to west, measured 60 feet, and the height of the side walls 24 feet. Order of the Monks,—They were of the Cistertian order, who, in 1088, quitted the Abbey of Molesme in France, and took up their abode at Citeaux or Cistertium, a remote and desolate loca- lity in the diocese of Chalons in Burgundy. They were called Monachi Albi, in contradistinction to the Benedictines, whose ha- bit was entirely black, whereas the Cistertians, whilst they wore a black coul or scapular, had all their other clothes white, as an emblem of their reformation and superior purity. The Chronicle of Man, written by the monks of Ruffin, and published by Cam- den in his Britannica (Gibson’s edition), speaking of Hacc’s expe- dition from Norway in 1260 against Alexander III., thus writes: “During Haco's stay at Gudey (God’s island), now Gigha, an abbot of a monastery of greyfriars waited on him, begging protec- tion for their dwelling and holy church, and this the king granted in writing. Friar Simon, one of the priests in Haco's train, had lain sick for some time, and died at Gudey. His body was after- wards carried up to Kintyre, where the greyfriars buried him in their church (undoubtedly Saddell). They spread a fringed pall over his grave, and called him a nint." The power of the order SADDE L L AND SKIPNESS. 447. was so increased by St Bernard, that they governed the greatest part of Europe for a whole age, both in things spiritual and tem- poral; and one may easily judge of their influence in this country when, at one period, they had no less than fourteen convents in Scotland. Endowments—The monastery of Saddell was richly endowed by Reginald and his successors. He granted to it the lands of Glen Saddell, the twelve merklands of Ballibean, in the lordship of Kin- tyre—the lands of Cheskin, in Arran, and unum denarium ex qua- libet domo.” Donald, his son, confirmed the whole of his father's grants, and added some of his own, as did also Angus. Pennant in his travels informs us that the lands of Kilmorie, Tortin, and Benans in Arran were annexed to it, and also Inchmarnock, in the county of Bute. Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochow, founder of the collegiate church or provostry of Kilmun, who was created Lord Campbell in 1445, was a great benefactor to it. He mortified for its use the lands of Blarintiobairt, in the shire of Argyle, “pro salute animae suae.” - - - Churchyard.—Here are some of the most interesting tombstones in the kingdom, with an endless variety of figures and inscriptions. One of the most conspicuous is that of the Lord of the Isles him- self in the character of a warrior, sculptured upon the stone as large as life, with the “claidheamh dalaimh” (the two handed-sword) lying sheathed by his side. Others of the same kind have a monk in miniature beside them, to recommend them, it is thought, to the keeper of the keys. The Abbot’s tombstone, which lies somewhere. among the ruins, has been described as a remarkably fine one. He is drawn at full length,-his head shaven, and his pontifical robs reaching to his heels. His hands are closely clasped, raised very high, and resting on his breast, as if in the attitude of prayer. On the lower part of his breast is the seal of the monastery, re- sembling not a little the arms of Canterbury; the sand-glass and the trumpet to represent the lapse of time and the approach of judgment. On the lower part is a label filled with Saxon or Runic characters, but so effaced, as to be almost illegible. Here several persons of distinction from all parts of the country, including some of the collateral branches of the Macdonald fa- mily, had their sepultures. A grave-stone, close by that of the chieftain himself, contains the figure of a warrior, said to repre- * Chartulary of Paisley, page 377–Douglas' Peerage. 448 AR GY LESH I R. E. sent one Mackay, to whom Robert Bruce made a grant of the lands of Ugadale, still retained by his descendants as the reward of his hospitality. Here is also the grave of Archibald Campbell of Carradale, who was killed at the battle of Inverlochy, whilst en- gaged with the forces of Montrose; and also the graves of many other eminent men, whose fame is passed into oblivion “carent quia * vate sacro.” The late learned and pious Dr Smith of Campbelton, in a letter to General Hutton, the antiquarian, written in 1789, in giving an account of his visit to this sacred spot, speaks with exquisite beauty and touching tenderness of “the melan- choly soothing pleasure with which the mind is entertained in viewing these monuments of our forefathers’ piety.” “We,” he adds, “ see, hear, and converse with them,-nay, we feel our hearts glow with their devotion, and before we are aware, bear a part in their prayers, psalms, and anthems. Were I to judge from my own feelings when I view these sacred scenes, I could so- lemnly declare that there is such a thing as local sanctity l’ King James IV. annexed this monastery to the Bishopric of Argyle in 1507.* - Castles, &c.—The castle at Skipness is a venerable and majes- tic pile, evidently of great antiquity. It is of a square form, with a court within. The outer wall is 35 feet in height, 7 feet thick, and 450 feet in all. There are two projecting towers, one at the south- east end, and the other, called Tur in tºsagairt (the priest's tower,) at the north-east end, which was evidently the keep of the castle. The western side is flanked by a small tower about the centre. The wall at the entrance projects slightly on the south side, so as to form, by means of loop-holes at its junction with that side, a slight flanking defence to the east and west. There has been also a portcullis to protect the gate. - The castle at Saddell is a square tower of considerable dimen- sions, which is said at one time to have been entirely surrounded by water. This, joined to the circumstance of its being flanked with a strong range of battlements all round the top, must have rendered it an impregnable fortress. From these battlements one of the Macdonalds, who had a gun which he facetiously called the cuckoo, let her voice be heard to the destruction of any sus- picious person who unwarily approached his dwelling. Upon several of the headlands near the sea coast, there are ruins of small forts, which probably served as watch-towers or stations for telegraphic signals. * See Spottiswood's Religious Houses. SADD ELL AND S KIPN ESS. 449 There is one at Aird of Carradale, which must have been of some importance. It is built on a high rock fronting the sea, whence it is inaccessible, and was defended on the land side by a broad and deep ditch. It is 240 feet long, by 72 broad. Nothing now remains but a portion of the outer wall. About a mile south- west from this, on a small peninsula, stand the ruins of a vitrified fort, of an ovoidal form, and still in a state of tolerable preserva- tion. The peninsula itself is indented with abrupt rocks on all sides, and the wall of the fort is adapted to the elliptical form of the eminence. Its circumference is about 150 yards, and its greater and less diameter 60 and 25 yards respectively. There are a few cairns or tumuli in the parish, similar in cha- racter to those usually met with in the Highlands. One, at the burying-ground at a place called Brackley, is the largest in the district. There is at Glenristle, near Claonaig church, a Druidi- cal circle, very entire, and of the usual formation. - Land-owners—There are six land-owners in the parish, viz. Captain Walter Campbell of Skipness; Mr Lauchlan Macniel Campbell of Kintarbert; Mr Richard Campbell of Achnabreck; Mr John Campbell of Stonefield; Mr Alexander MacAlister of Torrisdale; Mr Keith MacAlister of Glenbarr. Four of these are resident, the other two have their seats in the adjoining pa- rishes. - Parochial Registers.-There are two separate parochial registers kept in the parish, one for the Skipness and the other for the Sad- dell district, generally under the management of two of the school- masters. Of late years they have been kept with great accuracy, but formerly they were much neglected, and a portion of them either lost or destroyed. The date of the Skipness register com- mences in the year 1783, and that of Saddell in 1746. III. –PopULATION. The population in 1755 was l860 792, 1431 1801, 1658 1811, 1985 1821, 2191 1831, 2152 1841, 1798 The average number of births that have been registered within the last seven years, is . * - 53 Do. do. marriages, gº * l; The number of families in the parish is tºº 35S Of these not more than one-fifth are engaged in purely agri- A R GY I, E. F 450 AR GYLE SHIRE. cultural pursuits; 52 are supported by handicraft, and the rem- nant live in the double capacity of croſters and fishermen. The decrease in the amount of the population of late may be accounted for in various ways, such as emigration to America and other places; the erection of subdivided farms into one; and in some instances it is owing to a system adopted by a few of the land-owners, of farming or grazing portions of their own estate. Language.—Gaelic is the language universally spoken by the natives. Most of them, especially the young, can converse in English with tolerable accuracy. Character and Habits of the People.—In both the character and habits of the people, there has been a very decided improvement. Smuggling, which at one time was the chief employment of the crofters and fishermen in winter, is now almost entirely suppressed and abandoned. The fierce and daring encounters of the Skipness men with the officers of the excise, were long proverbial. It was no uncommon exploit with them to overpower a whole crew of cuttersmen, then to carry off their oars and tackle, and coolly set them adrift in their own boats. The stated weekly services of the sanctuary, by the aid of a missionary instead of every alternate Sabbath, as formerly ; the appointment of an efficient body of elders; the establishment of the Assembly’s schools, with their admirable teachers, joined t() the influence of the resident gentry, have all combined to improve the character and morals, not less than to promote the happiness and comfort of all classes of the people. . IV.-INDUSTRY. Husbandry.—As no general survey or measurement of the pa- rish has, for many years, taken place, and as many acres of waste land have lately been reclaimed, it is impossible to state with ac- curacy the relative quantity of arable and pasture land. The mode of tillage, from the mixed employment of the majority of the people, has, until lately, been but partial and defective. Within the last few years, several of the land-owners have introduced the most approved system of manuring, stone and tile-draining, toge- ther with the proper rotation of crops, and the results have been such as to convince their tenants of the great capabilities of the soil, when under judicious management. Fishery.—The herring-fishing has long been the occupation of the families who reside upon the coast. A great improvement has of late years taken place, both in the size of the vessels, and the SADDEL I, AND S K IPNIESS. 45 l quality of the materials employed in it. The train of nets is usual- ly made up of six barrels 240 fathoms in length. On board the larger class of vessels they have been multiplied in a few instan- ces fourfold. - The number of boats connected with this parish is 65, with a crew of three men for each. The quantity of fish caught this season has been unusually large, but from the prices being at one time so low as Is. 8d. per hundred of 120, the clear profits do not exceed the average of former years. The salmon-fishing, both at Carradale and Skipness, has been successfully followed. In the very few instances of white-fishing, cod and ling have been caught in large quantities. Lobsters are also numerous, and of the finest quality. Rent of Land.--The general extent of the farms in the parish is from 250 to 1500 acres. The rent is determined more by the soums” the hill pasture will keep, than by the value of the arable land, the average rent of which may be taken at 17s.6d. per acre. From the variable quality of the hill pasture, it is extremely diffi- cult to estimate its value. Whilst some of it in the glens is luxu- riant and of great value, other portions are not worth more than 2s. 6d. per acre. The original valuation of this parish was L.212, 10s. 8d. Scots, but, owing to the quantity of land under the immediate manage- ment of the land-owners themselves, the amount of the present rental cannot be ascertained. The price of meal varies from 13s. to 18s, per boll of 140 lbs. ; potatoes, per Kintyre boll of 532 lbs., from 6s. to 16s. ; coals are from 12s. to 14s, per ton, of which there is no great consumption, the principal fuel being peat or turf. . Wages.—The wages of a ploughman is from L.14 to L. 17 with board and lodging; shepherds, from L. 12 to L.14, with house, garden, and grass for one or two cows; servant-maids, from L.5 to L. 10. The wages of able-bodied labourers is from 1s. 2d. to ls. 6d. per day; of artisans, from 1s. 6d. to 3s. per day; women are hired at from 8d. to 1s., and children from 6d. to 8d. per day. V.—PARocBIAL ECONOMY. Ecclesiastical State—There are two parish churches, thirteen miles apart. That at Carradale is in a state of good repair; that at Clonaig requires immediate inspection. The manse is large * A soum is the keep of a milk cow, or two heifers, or three stirks, or ten sheep. 452 ARGYLESHIRE. and commodious. The glebe is twenty acres in extent, and may be valued at from L. 12 to L. 15 a-year. The teinds are exhausted, and amount to 49 bolls of bear, 15 bolls of meal, and L. 17 Sterling in money. The Exchequer pays L.57, 13s.5d, to make up a minimum stipend. Education.—There are two parochial schools, with a salary of L.25, 13s. 4d. each, and two Assembly’s schools with a salary of L.25 each. The Assembly’s schools are quite a model of edu- cational economy, and have given a tone to all the surrounding Seminaries. º Poor and Parochial Funds.—The poor are supported partly by the collections at the church door, and partly by the voluntary contributions of the heritors. The average allowance for each pauper is L.1, 5s. annually. The voluntary sums raised last year amounted to L.40 Sterling, and the collections at the church door to L.46, 6s. 0#d., making in all L.86, 6s, 0#d. There is no le- gal assessment. - The number of paupers on the permanent roll is 58; those re- ceiving temporary aid amount to 1 1. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. It is a fact worthy of notice, that neither public nor parochial school existed in this parish before the year 1821. The only instruction given was by very young men, who were but imper- fectly acquainted with the elementary branches of education. This, coupled with the want of the stated ordinances of religion on every alternate Sabbath, or during one-half of the year, left young and old in a state of great destitution, both religious and educational. The parochial economy, with regard to the young, is now in a very promising and satisfactory state; but, in regard to the adults, no permanent advantage can be given them, until the parish is disunited. Much good has been done by means of talented and laborious missionaries; but this can only be regarded as a mere temporary arrangement. - Nothing can be more plain than that, where there are two pa- rishes, two churches, two congregations, a duplicate of session, beadles, and precentors, there should also be two ministers. I, each of the inferior and less difficult departments require the ser- vices of two men, so must, a fortiori, the more difficult and im- portant; and hence the obvious inference, that, where this neces- sary supply is wanted, the work can be overtaken but in part. Should the contemplated act now in the hands of Her Majesty's 3 CA M PI3 ELTON. 453 Government make no provision for the disunion of unwieldy pa- rishes like this by an endowment, the evil will be prolonged, the advantage of it enjoyed alone where the teinds are unexhausted, and its benefits withheld from those destitute districts where they are most required. If, on the contrary, it embrace and make provision for parishes like this, where the population is scattered over a surface of wider extent than some of the lowland counties, then would the people of the Highlands hail the boon with rapture, as calculated to give them permanently those high and holy pri- vileges so long recognized as the birthright of the people of Scot- land, and the vital source of that “ righteousness which exalteth a nation P’ 0. November 1843. PARISH OF CAMPBELTON. PRESBYTERY OF KINTY RE, SY NOD OF AR GYLE. I. —Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE ancient name of this parish, which it still retains in the language of the country, is Cecean.nloch chille Chiaran, the head of the loch of Kilkerran. It consists of the ancient pa- rishes of Kilkerran, Kilmichael, Kilkerran and Kilchousland. Soon after the Reformation, they were united, and called the parish of Lochhead, that being the name of a burgh of barony in the parish of Kilkerran. The oldest record extant of the presbytery of Kin- tyre commences on the 16th August 1655, and from that date to the 6th March 1660, the united parish is there called the parish of Lochhead. There is no entry in the record for twenty-seven years thereafter, but from the justiciary books of Argyleshire and the isles, it appears that a Circuit Court of Justiciary was held at Campbelton in August 1680. This is the earliest period the mo- dern name has been found in any writing ; and the first time there- after that the presbytery of Kintyre met, it was at Campbelton, on the 9th November 1687, and the change in the name of the burgh and parish from Lochhead to Campbelton is said to have been an act on the part of the people of these days, to mark their 454 A R GYLESHIRE. respect and affection for the noble family of Argyle. A Royal Charter was granted by King William III., dated 19th April 1700, raising the old burgh of barony of Lochhead to the dig- nity and privileges of a royal burgh. Extent.—The parish comprehends a large extent of the penin- sula of Kintyre. According to a map published by a late land- surveyor to the Duke of Argyle, the extreme length of the parish from north to south is twelve and a-half miles; its greatest breadth at the north is about six miles; the whole being eighty-seven and a-half square miles. It is bounded on the north, by the parishes of Killean and Saddell; on the south, by the parish of Southend; on the east, by the sound of Kilbrandon; and on the west, by the Atlantic Ocean. There are no ranges of mountains in this parish; but it may be worthy of remark, in the way of illustration, that there are several words in the Gaelic language which express various degrees of elevation on the earth’s surface. Thus, Cnoc signifies a small surface, eminence, or little hill; Sliabh, a hill of considerable ex- tent and elevation; and Beann, a mountain of the largest magni- tude. The district of Kintyre abounds in hills of the first of these orders; of the second there are several also ; but to the lat- ter appellation there is only one in the Mull of Kintyre, which rises to the height of 2036 feet above the level of the sea. Heights, however, of considerable elevation, from 800 to 1000 feet, over- hang the south and north sides of the bay or loch of Campbel- ton. Both ends of the parish to north and south are hilly. The low ground consists chiefly of a large plain, four miles in length, by three in breadth, lying between the town of Campbelton and bay of Machirhanish, called the Laggan of Kintyre, which has some appearance of being alluvial. From the small height, (forty feet above the level of the sea,) and the appearance of the soil, it is not improbable that the two seas united here at a former very remote period. The hill of Bengaillin lies about a mile from the town, and is the highest land near it. From the top of this hill an admirable view can be obtained of the neighbouring country, embracing Islay, Jura, Gigha, to the north-west; Ireland, with the island of Rathlin, to the south-west; with Arran and Bute, Cowal and the Frith of Clyde, to the north-east; the lowlands, as far as Lochryan, to the south; with the picturesque rock of Ailsa in the foreground. Caves.-In Island Devar, at the mouth of the loch, the sea has CAM P B E LTO N, - 455 gradually worn its way into many places, and has formed a great number of caves, many of which are highly interesting. Commu- nications have been formed between some of them, so that the ex- plorer comes out at a different place from whence he entered. There is a remarkable cave about four miles from Campbelton, by Kilkerran and Devar, situated on the shore of Achanatonn, (the Jield of the waves.) Here, where the waters keep an everlasting murmur to the crags and precipices that overhang them, is a wild and dreary cavern, hollowed from the rock. - The coast may be reckoned at twenty miles in extent. The shore, towards the north, is chiefly rocky ; on the west, almost entirely sandy; and the south-east it presents a bold and rocky appearance. The beach, on both sides of the Bay of Campbelton, is sand intermixed in many places with pebbles, chiefly formed of quartz. e Bays.-The Bay of Campbellon is land-locked, beautifully si- tuated, and sheltered on the north and south by lofty hills, and on the south-east by the Island of Devar, which is joined to the south side by a bar of sand nearly half a mile long, and visible at low water, which has the effect of intercepting the violence of the waves, and thereby rendering the anchorage peculiarly safe. The entrance to the bay is from the north, by a deep and nar- row channel. The bay is nearly two miles in length, by one in breadth, with a depth of from three to fifteen fathoms water. There is a small bay at Ardnacross, distant six miles north-east from Campbelton, where vessels may occasionally anchor. The only other bay is that of Machirhanish, lying about four miles north-west of Campbelton, on the Atlantic Ocean. There are few bays in the united kingdom that can compare with this, ex- tending, as it does, in a beautiful curve for nearly six miles, while the beach is composed of a fine white sand, of great breadth, and so firm, that it affords a most delightful ride. Each extremity of the bay is composed of a huge headland, which projects its dark and sable rocks into the sea, over which the waves dash conti- nually, even in the calmest weather; but, when a westerly wind prevails, the Atlantic Ocean then rolls in its mighty billows to the shore, breaking upon the beach with a loud and stunning noise, which is said occasionally to be heard upon the Ayrshire coast, a distance of thirty miles. The islands of Islay, Jura, and Gigha are distinctly visible from this, and add to the beauty and gran- 456 AltGY Ll2S Hllt E. deur of the scene. These, together with a boundless expanse of the mighty ocean, form the main features of the landscape. Meteorology.—The medium height of the thermometer, taken from daily observation, amounts, on an average, to 48°; and also the pressure of the atmosphere, as ascertained by daily observa- tions with the barometer, is 29.54 inches. The medium fall of rain, for the last twenty years, has been about four inches every month. The climate is mild; but we have frequent rains. Snow lies 'arely above two or three days at a time upon the sea-coast, nor does frost make any long continuance. Hydrography.—The Frith of Clyde bounds this parish to the extent of twelve miles from north-east to south-east. The stream of flood comes from the north-west; the ebb-tide runs with strong easterly winds nine hours to the westward; but, in moderate wea- ther, takes its regular course of six hours. In blowy wet weather, with streams running into the sea, it assumes a reddish colour; depth from 16 fathoms to 24 in channel course; the ground soft blue clay. - - Springs.-There is a delightful spring of water from Crosshill, situated half a mile above the town of Campbelton, flowing from limestone, and by which the inhabitants of Campbelton are al- most wholly supplied with water, which is conveyed thence in pipes. Lakes.—There are three small lakes, situated two, three, and four miles to the north of Campbelton, and one in the hollow of the high hill of Bengaillin to the south. Ičivers.-There are two considerable streams, one ſlowing into the sea at the Bay of Ardnacross, and the other into the Atlantic at the Bay of Machirhanish. Geology and Mineralogy.—The principal rocks are, mica-slate, quartz, ironstone, porphyry, Sandstone, limestone, greywacke, and the trap rock. The dip of the strata may be stated south and south-east; the general direction of the principal formation north- east and south-west. Great part of the Sound of Kilbrandon seems to be caused by the rising of the trap rock, in almost every form and constitution through a secondary formation. Within two miles of the harbour of Campbelton, the trap rock forms, about a mile and a quarter from the shore, a dangerous marine reef, about a mile in length, called Smerby rocks, in a north-east and south-west direction, and accidents sometimes, although rarely, occur to vessels by striking upon them. There is a fine quarry of w CAMPI3 E LTON, 457 porphyry on the estate of Kilkivan, which is much used in the erection of buildings in Campbelton and the neighbourhood. The Island of Devar produces some beautiful varieties of green as well as of brown porphyry, easily wrought, and to be obtained of any size, and extremely ornamental when polished, but as yet neglected. Far superior in beauty and variety to any in the dis- trict, this rock produces not less than ten or twelve different kinds. The old red sandstone extends to the estate of Killellan. The catalogue of simple minerals is extremely brief. Quartz being universally diffused is to be found in veins and imbedded masses in the mica-slate formation. It is sometimes found in the druses of the porphyry, crystallized, and inclining to amethyst. Calc spar is also found in the limestone districts and in the amygdaloidal and basalt rocks in the south-east district of the parish. The only mineral, however, which has been wrought here is coal, and this has been done to a considerable extent. The works are situ- ated within three miles of Campbelton, to which a canal has been cut for the purpose of carrying the coal. The coal is of an infe- rior quality, and, on this account, the distillers import a large por- tion of that used by them from the low country. It is supposed that thirty tons a day are consumed of this coal in the town of Campbelton. The mine was wrought, since its commencement, by a Company; but within the last year has been let at a rent to a single tacksman. Fishing.—All the white fish formerly taken on the coast were, un- til these few years, caught by what are called hand-lines, that is single lines lowered into the sea by the hand and pulled into the boat when the fish is hooked ; and, were it not for the prolific quality of the fishing ground, this never could have remunerated the hardy fisherman. But a very superior method has lately been adopted; two families from Morayshire, having lately come to reside in Campbelton, introduced the long-line which has proved so very successful. This is a line floated by buoys on the surface of the water, and from it are suspended from ten to fifteen hundred lines, with a baited hook on each, and of such length as to reach that certain depth where the fish are known to congregate. The fishermen do not require to abide by this line as they did by the hand one. Being supplied with two sets, whenever one which has been in the water eight or ten hours is drawn they shoot the other, and immediately proceed to land the fish This method has been adopted by almost all the fishermen of Campbelton and 458 AIR GYLES EI I R.E. the fertile banks between the Islands of Devar and Sanda have amply rewarded the labours of these enterprizing men. More than 500 families derive their support from the produce of this fishing. * - Plantations.—The mansion-house of Limecraigs is embosomed in trees, some of which are upwards of 150 years of age. They con- sist of ash and plane-trees. Plantations have also been formed within the last twenty years on the estate of Knockrioch, the pro- perty of John L. Stewart, Esq. of Glenbuckie ; on the estate of Drummore, the property of D. L. Galbreath, Esq.; on Oatfield, the property of Colin M*Eachran, Esq.; on Lossit, the property of George M'Neal, Esq. of Ugadale; on Killdalloig, the property of John Eyton Campbell, Esq.; and on Askomil, the property of Miss Campbell, heiress of the late Captain Peter Campbell, H. E. I. C. S.; all of which thrive well, and consist of larch, Scotch fir, elm, ash, plane tree, spruce fir, mountain-ash, and a variety of willows. te * II.-CIVIL HISTORY. - The late Dr Smith has given, in the former Statistical Account, so full and interesting an account of the Dalrbudinian monarchs, who reigned in this country, that we shall do nothing more than advert to the subject. The three sons of Erc, called Lorne, An- gus, and Fergus, who came from Ireland to this parish in 503, were the founders of this kingdom of the Scots. Of all these Dalreudinian Kings, Aidan was the most renowned ; he car- ried his victorious arms from Ireland, where he fought many battles, to the Isle of Man. He was interred, according to For- dun, in Kilkerran in the year 605. After the union of the Scots and Picts, when Kenneth had removed the seat of his government from the western to the eastern coast of Scotland, this remote and deserted corner soon became a prey to foreign invaders, the Danes and Norwegians. The visitations of this restless and mer- ciless people were looked upon with horror. - Somerled, a powerful chief in Kintyre, formed a matrimonial alliance with King Harold, by marrying his grand-daughter. His son, Reginald, was even a more powerful prince, for he formed alliances with the kings of England. He was the an- cestor of the M*Donalds, who, as Lords of the Isles, reigned for centuries. Angus M*Donald, Lord of the Isles, was the friend and protector of the gallant Bruce in his adversity. His grand- son, John, at first espoused the cause of Baliol, but returned to CAM P B E LTON. 459 his allegiance, and was married to a daughter of Robert II. King of Scotland. Of this marriage there were four sons; Donald, Lord of the Isles, John of Antrim, Alexander and Allan. Donald, in right of his wife, succeeded to the earldom of Ross. A century after- wards, James IV. held a Parliament in Kintyre, where he eman- cipated part of the vassals of the M*Donalds, and granted them de novo charters, holding off the Crown; and, in 1536, to curb the license, and subdue the haughty spirit of the chieftains and their vassals, James V. found it necessary to make a voyage to the Isles. During this expedition, the King repaired the fortalice of Kilkerran, and left in it a garrison to overawe M*Donald of Kintyre; but the bold chieftain and his followers were not to be thus intimidated. Before the King had got clear of the harbour, they added insult to rebellion, took possession of the fortalice, and hung the governor from the walls as a signal of their conquest. The policy of a weak government was then adopted,—that of commissioning one tribe to subdue and chastise the other. With this view, the lordship of Kintyre, then in the possession of Sir James M*Donald, was granted to the family of Argyle. Before we conclude this subject, we may observe that the place in which the castle of the M*Donalds stood is now occupied as a church, in which the ministers of Campbelton enjoy the satisfaction of preaching that gospel which speaks peace on earth, and good will to the sons of men, on the same spot where the Lords of the Isles issued their stern and arbitrary mandates; and it was from this castle that the unfortunate Earl of Argyle issued his declaration of hostilities, in 1685, against James II. From the close connection subsisting between this country and Ireland, it is probable that the light of Christianity shone in the fifth century on these lands, long before St Ciran in 536 became the Apostle of Kintyre. He took up his humble residence in a cave, situated four miles from Campbelton, which still retains his name. In the centre of the cave, is a small circular basin, which is always full of fine water, supplied by the continual dropping from the roof of the cave. There is also a rudely sculptured cross, on a stone, upon which the saint is said to have sat and prayed. This St Kiaran was highly esteemed by his contempo- rary, St Columba, who wrote a sacred ode upon his death, in which he celebrates his virtues. This ode is still extant : it com- mences,—“ Quantum Christe Apostolum Mundo Misisti Ho- minem. Lucerna hujus insulae,” &c. The Church of Kilkerran, 460 A R GY LESH II&E. in this parish, was well endowed and supported by the M*Do- nalds; but the number of its officiating ministers, and the amount of its revenues, cannot now be ascertained. Keith, in his Cata- logue of Bishops, mentions that, in the year 1261, Laurence, Bishop of Argyle, annexed this church to the Abbey of Paisley, with the consent undoubtedly of M*Donald. The reasons of this annexation are unknown, as at that period there had been recently erected a monastery at Saddell by the M*Donalds. Argyle having declared himself on the side of the Covenanters, in the General Assembly 1638, instantly set about raising an army for their defence. The M*Donalds, the followers of Mon- trose, having swept Kintyre, giving many of the inhabitants to the sword, and their houses to the devouring flames, were in their turn checked, turned back, and, at Dunaverty, defeated by Leslie and Argyle. So completely were the estates of Argyle wasted by the scourge of war, that a sum of money was voted by the Estates of Parliament for the support of himself and family, and a collection was ordered throughout all the churches of Scotland for the relief of his plundered people. Kintyre was left a desert; its few inhabitants became the prey of a fearful pestilence which followed in the train of all their other calamities. In this wilderness, where a smoking chimney was scarcely to be seen, the lowlanders, who had joined the standard of Argyle, were encouraged, after the war, to settle. Others came from the opposite mainland, and bringing with them their servants and dependants, a considerable part of this parish, which admitted of being cultivated and ploughed like Ayrshire, was speedily occu- pied by a thriving colony of pious and industrious inhabitants. Rent and Land-owners.-The average real rent of the landward part of the parish has been estimated at twenty times the valued rent, and the valuation, according to the cess books of the county, in Sterling money, is as follows, viz. – The Duke of Argyle, - º L.466 13 4 M‘Neil of Ugadale, g * e 142 19 6 Galbreath of Machirchanish, e tº 95 4 9 Campbell of Askomil . te e 61 9 0 Kilpatrick of Chescan, - tº 30 10 10 Stewart of Glenbuckie, for Knockrioch, &c. º 27 5 | 1 Campbell of Kildalloig, º º 2] ]] 2 M“Taggart of Rilkevan, ; e 2] 4 9 M“Neil of Ardnacross, e º - 21 3 ]. Harvey of Killellan, & tº - 18 7 4 Carry over, L.906 9 8 CAM PB E LTON. 461 Brought over, L. 906 9 8 M“Eachran of Oatfield, &c. | | 15 9 Mackay of Eigle, wº º * 10 5 4 Total valuation, L. 928 10 9 which gives of real rent, L.18,570 15 O The burgh is not valued in the cess books, and the whole parish being assessed for the poor's rates, on a real rental of L.23,000, the rental of the burgh will therefore be about tº * 4,429 5 0 g & tº - L.23,000 () () About two-thirds of the parish is under tillage, and the re- mainder green pasture and brown heath. Arable land, in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, lets at from L.2 to L.4; and in the other parts of the parish, at from L. 1 to L.3 per acre. The summer grass of a milk cow in town is about L.3, and, in the country, L.2 on average pasture. Parochial Registers—The date of the earliest entry of pa- rochial register is 1682; of the cash-book, 1744; and it has been regularly kept since that period. Antiquities.—In the centre of the main street of Campbelton, an ancient cross forms a principal feature of attraction. It is richly ornamented with sculptured foliage. It has on one side this in- scription, “Haec : est: crux Domini : y Vari : M ; K: Eachyrna : quondam : Rectoris: de Kyregan ; et: Domini: Andre : nati: ejus : Rectoris de Kil-coman : qui hanc crucem fieri faciebat.”—“This is the cross of Mr Ivar M. K. Eachran, once Rector of Kyre- gan; and Master Andrew, his son, Rector of Kilcoman, who erected this cross.” Gordon, in his “Itinerarium Septentrionale,” mentions, that it is a Danish obelisk; but Mr Pennant, who visit- ed this town in 1770, and who was the first to decipher the in- scription, gives it as his opinion that it came from Iona. This is in accordance with the tradition that has prevailed for ages in the place. It is certainly a great ornament to the town, and is as old as the twelfth century. Of the four parish churches, the ruins of two only exist. There are several small chapels, of which a part of the walls are still standing, besides some others, probably of a more an- cient date, which having mouldered away into heaps of rubbish over- grown with moss, may still be traced, whilst tradition points out their locality, and has carefully preserved their names. During the civil wars to which we have alluded, this country having suffered so much from the ravages of Alexander MacDonald, called Alister MacColl, who came over with a party of Irish to assist Montrose, the Earl of Antrim was expected at the same time, and a battery, 462 x AR GY LESHIRE, commonly called the Trench, was raised for his reception on a point, at the entrance to the harbour of Campbelton. Ministers before and since the Restoration. — In the first charge, Mr Dugald Darroch, Mr John Cameron, Mr Robert Duncanson, Mr Lachlan Campbell, Mr Charles Stewart, Mr Wil- liam MacLeod, Dr John Smith" and Dr Norman MacLeod, Dr Allan MacNaughton, Mr Donald Smith, and Mr Duncan Mac- Nab. In the second charge, Mr Edward Keith, Mr James Boes, Mr John MacAlpine, Dr George Robertson, Dr Allan Mac- Naughton, Mr Donald Smith, Mr John MacDougall, and Mr Daniel Kelly. Of these ministers, two, Dr Allan MacNaughton and Mr Smith, were translated to the first charge, as also Mr Duncan MacNab, who was assistant and successor in the second. By the fifty-ninth act of the sixth Parliament of James IV., in 1503, “the Tar-bar of Loch Kilkerran” (Lochhead of Kilker- ran) was declared to be the seat of justice for the South Isles. Previous to the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions, circuit courts of Justiciary sat in the burgh of Campbelton; but the last held there, was on the 16th December 1712, when Donald Campbell of Clachaig, Sheriff substitute, and James Cunnison, Provost of Campbelton, sat as commissioners of justiciary, and, after a re- gular trial, with an assize, condemned to death the last man exe- cuted in this part of the country. - At the south corner of the now roofless Loland kirk are interred the remains of Elizabeth Tollemache, Duchess of Argyle, mother of the great Duke John, and Duke Archibald, and Lady Anne, who married the Earl of Bute. She lived for more than twenty years at Limecraigs, during the early part of the eighteenth cen- tury, having Kintyre as her jointure. III.-PopULATION. The population of whole parish, according to Dr Webster, in 1775, was 4597 Dr Smith, in 1795, 8706 the census in 1821, 9016 1831, 9472 184], 9539 Average yearly births for seven years preceding 1843, . o 236 marriages, & e 60 at which males have married, 27 5 and females, 23. There are twelve heritors in the parish, of whom nine are resi- dent. The Duke of Argyle, who is the principal heritor, and other two, are non-resident. * A man of varied and distinguished literary talent, as well as a most faithful mi- mister. 4 CAMP BE LTON, 463 The language generally spoken, in the town of Campbelton is English; and Gaelic prevails in certain parts of the landward pa- rish ; but the Highlanders, with few exceptions, understand and can carry on business in the English language. IV.-INDUSTRY. The number of males employed in agriculture as farmers, cot- tars, and servants, is 390; masters and workmen employed in ma- nufactures and making machinery, shopkeepers, and dealers, 520; proprietors, wholesale merchants, ship-owners, capitalists, bankers, and professional men, 100; artisans, colliers, and miners, 710; but the number of sailors, fishermen, and jobbers, cannot be cor- rectly ascertained. The average wages of servants hired for farm- ing work by the year may be stated as follows: married plough- men, from L.8 to L. 10 of money, with a cow’s grass, 52 stones of meal, and 6 bolls of potatoes; unmarried ploughmen, first class, L. 14; second class, L. 10. Women’s wages are from L.4 to L.6, with victuals. Average wages of agricultural labourers, 1s. 8d. ; women, during nine months in the year, 1s., and in harvest, 1s. 2d. per day, without victuals. The average wages of colliers, blacksmiths, joiners, and cartwrights, 14s, per week; masons, shoemakers, and maltmen, 12s., and tailors, 9s. The weekly wages of the lowest class of labourers and artisans, who have no parochial relief, is 6s. Children are employed in such field labour as they can be sent to at 6d. per day; and boys in the town find employment in fishing for the Glasgow and home markets, and about distilleries. Fisheries.—The herring fishing, at one time, employed a num- ber of vessels and men belonging to this place; but, owing to the withdrawal of the Government bounty to encourage seamen for the navy, the greater part of the capital formerly embarked in that trade by the merchants of Campbelton, is now invested in distil- leries; but it is now again prosecuted to a considerable extent by the fishermen themselves, particularly within the last three years, owing to their peculiar success in having adopted a superior de- scription of boats and nets, (the latter being manufactured by ma- chinery,) and their finding a ready sale for the fish while fresh in the Glasgow market, which are easily transported thence by steam- ers. During the months of June, July, and August last, 150 boats, with crews of four men in each, were employed fishing her- rings in the Sound of Kilbrandon, which were carried to Camp- 464 A R GY LESHIRE, belton; and, from the official report by the “Commissioners for the British Fisheries,” it appears that 1897 barrels were “gutted and packed within twenty-four hours after being caught.” Cod and ling are also caught in great quantities,—partly sent fresh to the Glasgow markets and partly dried for exportation. Distilleries.—The great staple commodity of this place, is the distillation of malt whisky. The whisky, which is of excellent qua- lity, is sold wholesale, principally, by agents in Glasgow, there is a considerable part of it also sent into the Ayrshire markets, and a portion of it sometimes finds its way into England, and to foreign parts. The number of distilleries is 25, which, from 1st January to 31st December 1842, both days inclusive, consumed 308,711 bushels of barley, chargeable with a duty of 2s. 7d. per bushel, and 79,508 bushels of bear, chargeable with a duty of 2s. per bushel. There were manufactured in the same time, 747,502 gallons of whisky, of which there was sent to England 12,978, at a duty of 7s. 10d. per gallon; to Ireland, in bond, 34.13 gallons; and to foreign parts, duty free, 4346 gallons; and the remainder, be- ing 58,760 gallons, was consumed in Scotland at a duty of 3s. 8d. per gallon. The officers of the establishment are as follows, viz. one collector, three supervisors, two clerks, and fifty inferior officers. Navigation. — There are thirty-three registered sloops and schooners belonging to this place, employed in the coasting trade, besides a number of fishing-boats. There is also a ship of 515 tons' register, the property of Messrs Nathaniel MacNair and Company, employed in carrying timber from Canada. In 1840, five ships, and in 1842, two ships from foreign parts landed cargoes at Campbelton. In 1842, there were 646 vessels with cargoes in- wards, and 365 with cargoes outwards, and, besides these, two steam-boats belonging to the port ply regularly between Glasgow and Campbelton with goods and passengers. The principal im- ports are barley, yeast, coals, timber, iron, and general merchan- dise, and the exports are whisky, malt, draft, black cattle, sheep, and horses, potatoes, turnips, beans, butter, cheese, and fish. The quantity of barley and bear imported in 1842, was 41,735 quarters, 5 bushels. V.- PARocRIAL EconoMY. The Burgh.—Campbelton is situated in longitude 5° 36' west, and in latitude 50° 26' north. It encircles the bay or loch of Kilkerran in the form of a crescent, and a number of gentlemen's CAMIP BE LTON. 465 villas and cottages are ranged along the north and south shore. It is also well protected from the weather, as it lies at the bottom of a beautiful salt water lake or inlet of the sea, of about two miles long by somewhat less than a mile in breadth. From the town the loch appears completely land-locked, by reason of the conical island of Devar which lies at the entrance of the bay, and intercepts both the view and the violence of the waves. The municipal government of the burgh is vested in a provost, two bai- lies, dean of guild, and twelve councillors. The magistrates, she- riff, and justices hold courts regularly within the town-house, which is a respectable looking building, with a handsome spire, and con- tains, besides the town-council chambers, a large hall, in which the courts are held. The custom-house department consists of a col- lector, comptroller, and two tide-waiters; and the excise depart- ment, of a collector, two clerks, three supervisors, and fifty officers. The population of the burgh within the Parliamentary boundary in 1841, was 6797, and the constituency 245. This burgh joins Ayr, Irvine, Inverary, and Oban, in returning a Member to Par- liament. There is a weekly market in the town every Thursday, for the sale of grain and other farm produce. The gross amount of the revenue of the burgh is L.988, 3s. 7%d. Willages.—The village of Dalintober is included in the Parlia- mentary boundaries. There is a small village situated five miles from Campbelton, at the southern extremity or headland of Salt Pans, Machrihanish Bay. It is composed of a few cottages, inhabited chiefly by fishermen; and is famed for the excellent quality of cod-fish caught here. The village is called Salt Pans, and takes its name from the neighbourhood of a work established here at a remote period for the manufactory of sea-salt, but which for many years has been disused. Turnpike Roads.--There are no turnpike roads in this parish, The roads and bridges are kept in excellent order principally by Statute labour. - - Ecclesiastical State.—Campbelton contains two parish churches; in one of which Gaelic is preached, and in the other English ; the former was built in 1803, and the latter in 1780. The Gae- lic church is capable of accommodating 2000 sitters, and the English, or Castle Church, situated where once stood the castle of the Lord of the Isles, contains from 1000 to 1200 sittings. The manse of the first or Highland charge was built in 1835, at an expense of L, 1800; but there is no manse at present for the ARGYLE, G g 466 A R (; Y LES III 18. E. minister of the second charge. The stipend of the minister of the first charge is L. 150 ; but he has three glebes, the rents of which, including houses in the burgh, amount to L.92 yearly. The stipend of the minister of the second charge is also the minimum, with a glebe let at L. 25. There are within the burgh a Relief church, seated for between 1000 and 1100; a Secession church, seated for about 600; an Independent meeting. house, seated for about 300; and a Roman Catholic chapel, seated for about 200. * Education.— In the burgh and parochial school, English reading and grammar, writing and arithmetic, book-keeping, geography, mathematics, navigation, Latin, Greek, and French are taught. The salary of the rector is the maximum, payable by the landward heritors, and L.20 from the burgh, with a large school-house, and commodious dwelling-house for boarders, and a garden, rent free ; and the fees paid to him, independent of his boarders, may awe- rage from L. 120 to L. 180 yearly, according to the number and quality of his scholars; but he is obliged to keep and pay one, and if necessary, two or three qualified assistants, approved of by the magistrates and town-council. º Miss Campbell of Gowan Bank, who died in January 1843, it her lifetime built two schools at Dalintober, which is a suburb of the town, at an expense of L. 1150, and by her will she left for their endowment to the session of the Established Church, and certain other trustees, the sum of L. 4600. One of these schools is for the education of poor boys, and the other for the education of poor girls. This benevolent lady also left to the female school of Industry, the sum of L. 600; to aid in supporting a parochial mis- sionary, the sum of L. 300; for Sabbath schools, L. 300; to the poor of the parish, L. 500; to the Female Benevolent Society, L. 600. In the landward parts of the parish, there are two schools supported by the General Assembly, and one by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and in the burgh there is another school supported by the same Society. Besides these, there are six unendowed schools in the parish, five in the town and one in the country. In two divisions of the parish, thinly peopled, endowed schools are very much wanted. No fees are now charged from poor scholars attending the Dalintober schools. There are eleven Sabbath schools in the town attended by above 1000 children. Societies.-There are a Parochial Association for education ge- CAMPB E LTON, 467 nerally; Tract Society, which has been in existence for the last fifteen years; Sabbath School Society; Ladies Clothing Society; Destitute Sick Society. There has been collected for the last three years, L.245, 6s. 9d., for the five Schemes of the Church. There are also four Friendly Societies, which assist members in distress or sickness, and give small pensions to widows. - Literature.—There are two circulating libraries in the town, one belonging to the Relief Society. - Poor and Parochial Funds.-Previous to 1818, the poor of this parish was supported by alms, and collections at the church doors; but in that year, typhus fever was very fatal, and it having been ascertained that the disease was carried into many houses by beg- gars, moderate sums were raised, by voluntary subscription, for the purpose of serving the poor at one particular place, so as to stop the contagion; but some of the heritors having subscribed inadequately, and others having withdrawn their subscriptions too soon, a legal assessment became necessary, which has since been continued. During the first two years, the assessment was between L.300 and L.400, and few complained of it, not being more than was given in alms; but now it amounts to nearly L. 1000. The legal assessment for the poor in the year 1842 was *- L.986 I 3 I Collections at church doors, - º - - I25 I 9 L. l l l l l 4 10 Distributed among 286 paupers on permanent roll of parish, wº º - *- L.783 l l 5 And among 84 on temporary roll, * - 119 8 4 Coffins for paupers, s - - 10 l l 6 Medical attendance and medicines, * - 4 3 () Salaries for collecting and distributing, to kirk-treasurer, 35 0 0 to two beadles * - - IS 0 0 *- 970 14 3 Arrears and cash on hand at the end of the year, - º L. 141 0 7 The parties relieved, whether on the temporary or permanent roll, were as follows, viz. Males. Females. Total. Children of widows relieved with their parents, - 13 20 33 Wives whose husbands were in prison, sº - * *-*. 3 3 Children of such wives relieved with their parents, - I 2 3 Orphans, - - *s * 5 8 J3 IFoundlings, – * - - - - 2 l 3 Insane persons confined, - º - - 3 5 8 not confined, - - - - 3 5 8 Persons wholly disabled from work not included in the above, 50 160 210 partially disabled, - * - - - 14 66 S0 Able-bodied persons relieved on account of temporary sickness, 4 5 9 Total, - 95 275 S70 The burgh and landward parish are regarded as one parish, 468 AR GYLE SH 1 R E. and the rates are levied, without reference to distinction of town. and country, on the real rental of the proprietors, and the means of the inhabitants. The magistrates of the burgh, with the landward heritors and the kirk-session, lay on the assessment, and appoint a committee to superintend the collection and distribution of the funds. - Prisons.—There is a prison or jail, with two apartments for debtors, and three for criminals, superintended and managed by one jailor. There are two police-officers for the district, one paid by the county, and the other paid by the county and burgh jointly. Fairs.-There are four fairs annually, viz. at Whitsunday, Lam- mas, Michaelmas, and Candlemas. Inns, &c.—There are 76 public-houses and two excellent inns in the town. - Fuel-Peat is used by the country people; but coals are used by the inhabitants of Campbelton, brought partly from the coal- work here, but principally from Glasgow and Ayrshire. - November 1843. PARISH OF ARDCHATTAN.” PRESBYTERY OF LORN, SYNOD of ARGYLE, I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. THIS parish had, till lately, the district of Muchairn united to it ; and the minister serving the cure preached on alternate Sab- baths in the church built for each district. After the legislative enactment for endowing additional places of worship in the High- lands, (4th and 5th Geo. IV. c. 79 and 90), Muckairn obtained the benefit of a minister for itself, having, in 1829, been erected into a parish quoad sacra. But the church of Muckairn is at pre- sent vacant; and, besides this, the two districts are separated by an arm of the sea: it appears more natural, therefore, to describe them separately. * - .. Name.—One of those devoted Christian ministers who accom- panied Columba to Scotland, in the year 563, was Catan, and * Drawn up by the late Incumbent of the parish, the Rev. Hugh Fraser. ºf See Adomnan's Life of Columba. - A R D CHATTA N. 469 * from him, this parish derives its name, Ard-Chattan, signifying, in the Gaelic language, “the height or promontory of Catan.” Ardchattan parish was at one time known by the name of the parish of Bal-Mhaodan, that is, the residence of “Maodan” or “ Modan,” some saint of the Popish calendar, in whose honour a church was erected in that subdivision of the county of Argyle called Cowal, and from which church the parish of Kil-Modan derived its name. - The entire tract of country which forms the parish of Ardchat- tan, exclusive of that section of it which commences at the in- flux of the river Awe, and stretches to the north-east of Loch- etive, is, in common parlance, called “ Benderaloch,” or “Ben- derloch,” a name sufficiently descriptive of its physical aspect, for it signifies in Gaelic, (“beinn-eadar-dhā-loch”) “ the mountain range between two arms of the sea,” here called “ lochs.” These lochs are Loch-etive, (from the Gaelic “eite” “wild,”) towards the south ; and Loch-creran towards the north. Eatent, &c.—The length of the parish from the extremity of Glen-etive on the north-east, to the point of Garvard (“garbh- drd,”) on the west, is more than 40 miles. In figure it is very ir- regular, and from this circumstance it varies much in breadth. From the head of Ardmucknish bay to Loch-creran, the breadth at high water is scarcely half a mile, while this breadth increases to at least sixteen miles from the river Creran to the point of Dris- saig, on Loch Awe. The average breadth of the parish may be estimated at 10 miles. - Ardchattan is bounded on the south and east by Loch-etive, the river Awe, and Loch Awe, till where the mountain-stream Molla discharges its waters into that lake. This stream separates the parish of Ardchattan from Glenorchy. Loch-creran, and the river of that name, form its northern boundary, and divide it from the parish of Appin; while, towards the west, it is bounded by the Llhinne-loch. - Besides several uninhabited islets, consisting generally of un- productive rocks, without even a covering of vegetation, there are two inhabited islands in the parish, Eriska, situated at the entrance into Loch-creran, and Elan-duirnish, in Loch-etive, opposite to Bunawe. The former of these is a well-wooded and interesting island, containing, besides some good pasture land, a considerable proportion of arable, and forming a compact little farm. Elan- duirnish, the other, is inhabited only by the ferryman, supports no 470 ARGY LESHIRE, more than a couple of cows and a few sheep, and is connected with the mainland by a stone bulwark, along which is conducted the pub- lic road, which, beyond the ferry, diverges to Inveraray and Glen- orchy. The prevailing features of the parish are most conspicuously mountainous. Its aspect, however, is agreeably diversified by ro- mantic valleys, rivers, plains, and wooded hills. Towards its west- ern extremity, on both sides of the Benderloch range, there is a considerable extent of cultivated land, though the south-west side. still presents a wide waste of unreclaimed moss and moor. With the exception of the plain at Glenure, and a few patches besides, the arable land commences towards the north, below Barcaldine House; stretches thence by Shean ferry, Lochnell-house, and Keil, on- wards to Connell ferry, and then from Connell eastward, with par- tial interruptions, to the ferry at Elan-duirnish. Proceeding up- wards from this ferry, along Loch-etive, little cultivation is to be seen on either side. Lofty mountains bound there, in all direc- tions, a very circumscribed horizon; and, excepting at Cadderlie and Ardmaddy, these high grounds rise so abruptly from the margin of the loch, as to leave no level land to be subjected to the plough. - * Mountains.—Ben-cruachan.—This is the highest mountain in the county of Argyle. It is said to tower to a height of 3669 feet. Its base describes a circumference of more than twenty miles. Towards the north, from the vale of Glencoe, its acclivity is precipitous; but from the south, behind Inverawe, its ascent is more gradual, and, besides lesser eminences, it terminates in two conical summits, which command a panorama of surpassing magni- ficence. r Ben-cochail, which is next to Ben-cruachan towards the north, would, in most situations, be regarded as a lofty mountain; but, overshadowed as it is by its gigantic neighbour, it seems to dwindle into a moderately sized hill. Ben-starive is situated still farther up the loch. It forms a noble object in the landscape as the traveller advances, and attains an elevation of at least 2500 feet. Its base is of great amplitude, but its furrowed sides and rocky summit exhibit indications of total sterility. Among the debris on its sides and in the channels of its waters, specimens of crystallized quartz, of great size, and sus- ceptible of a high polish, are found by the solitary shepherd, and these are turned by him occasionally to good account. The Ben- ARD CHATT AN, 47 i starive crystals are sometimes clear and colourless, at other times of a dark and yellowish hue ; and by lapidaries, they are consi- dered not inferior to those found in the Grampians, and well known by the name of Cairngorms. . Ben-man-aighean, or “the mountain of the heifers,” lies south- east of the former, and its swelling sides and peering top are seen to most advantage when viewed from near to the Glen-etive chapel. Of great height, even among these high mountains, it yields but very indifferent pasture; nor is there a single particle of vegetation to be met with after ascending half-way up to its granite peak. As in the case of Ben-starive, rock-crystals are found about its base, and in the channels of its many streams. Ben-chaorach, or “the mountain of the sheep,' proximity to Ben-starive. Inferior to the latter in altitude and extent, it is yet a nobly-shaped mountain, and, as the name im- ports, seems to have been always considered well adapted for pas- turing the fleecy race. - Ben-ketlan is situated to the north of Ben-chaorach, exceeds it in height and in the beauty of its outline, and, what most prac- tical men will be disposed to regard as of at least equal importance, excels it also in productive qualities. The Alt-chetlan stream forms its boundary on the one hand, and Alt-chaoran on the other. We now come to the two most striking of all the masses in this wilderness of mountains, those to which the significant names of Buachail Etive, or “ the keepers of Etive,” have been given. These mountains may be seen in the distance by the traveller, soon after he has left Bunawe, but they assume a bolder aspect in pro- portion as they are approached; and, a little beyond the termina- tion of the loch, they seem to frown in solemn sullenness on the puny mortals who venture to encroach on the solitudes over which they have for ages so patiently kept watch. They are distinguished by the names of the greater and the lesser, or Buachail-mor and Buachail-beg, not so much from their comparative elevation as from their extent; the former stretching eastward for six or seven miles till near to “King's House,” and terminating in that direc- tion as precipitously as towards Loch-etive, while the Buachail- beg does not extend to more than half that distance. Neither of them is supposed to be less than 3000 feet in height. Ben-védan, distinguished also by the adjunct of “Nambian,” or “ of the deer skins,” from the many deer killed there, is sepa- rated from Buachail-beg by the “láriº,” or “mountain pass” of ’ rises in close 472 A R GYLE SHIRE, Larig-aoilt, which opens into Glencoe. It is a stupendous mass; so much so, indeed, that, by the inhabitants, it is alleged to be not inferior in elevation to Ben-cruachan. - Ben-treelahan is situated directly opposite to Ben-starive, and, on the west side of Loch-etive, which washes its base for five miles, or nearly as far as the head of the loch. Here Loch-etive is greatly narrowed, and the high rugged sides of Ben-treehalan, on the one hand, and of Ben-starive, on the other, impart a wild and sombre character to the place, rarely parallelled even in mountain scenery. There is a formidable array of mountains on the Appin side of the parish, and it remains that the names of some of these be mentioned. * * Ben-aulay is the highest mountain in this north-east district, and is a well-shaped, rounded mountain, which will at once attract at- tention. Ben-scoullard follows next to the south-west, and is equally cal- culated to interest, from its size and its shape. Ben-wreck succeeds, a mountain range intervening, of some miles in length; and then follows, - Ben-molurgan and Ben-vean, which form the last links in the chain which connects the Glen-creran mountains with Ben Duir- mish. Glens—Glen-noe.—Formed by the northern side of Ben-crua- chan, and the south side of Ben-cochail, this verdant glen is four miles in length by about one in breadth. It is watered through- out by a stream, which becomes finely wooded as it approaches the sea; and, as a commodious dwelling-house has been erected near the opening of the glen by the respectable tacksman who now farms it, a sweeter and more sequestered summer residence can- not readily be met with. Glen-noe was, for many generations, held in wadset by a family of the name of M*Intyre, the head of which was considered in this country as the chieftain of that sept. Glenkinglas.-Though but a small portion of this glen can be seen from Loch-etive, owing to a curve in the course of the river, and the projection of a portion of the neighbouring mountain, its length is not less than nine miles, and the general breadth exceeds considerably that of Glen-noe. Its north side is bleak and rocky, but the south yields pasture of excellent quality. Excepting a few alder trees which grow along the river, and brushwood of little alue, Glenkinglas is now almost bared of wood, though it was once adorned with firs equal to A R D CHATT-AN. 473 - * “ the tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast Of some great ammiral.” And though the quality of its timber was not inferior to the best Memel. But these woods were, almost a hundred years ago, let to an Iron Smelting Company from Ireland, who erected a furnace, the ruins of which are still visible, near the mouth of the river, levelled a great proportion of the trees to the dust, and converted them to charcoal. The axe has since recklessly felled what re- mained. - Glen-hetland opens from the river Etive, opposite to Inver- charman, about three miles beyond the head of the loch, the mountain of the same name forming one of its sides. It does not exceed two miles in length, partakes of the character of the surrounding scenery, and adds considerably to the effect produced by the whole. - Glen-etive exceeds in length any of our other glens; for, from the head of the loch, where this glen commences, to the King's House, near to which it terminates, the distance is not less than sixteen miles, the tract throughout being marked with the impress of sublimity and loneliness. The whole district was once a royal forest, and the proprietor of Dalness is said to claim exemption from public burdens, on the ground of his being hereditary for rester. A part of Glen-etive, and an extensive range contiguous, which forms a section of the parish of Glenorchy, has been again stocked with red-deer by the Marquis of Breadalbane, and some thousands of this noble race of animals now roam among these mountains. Mr Campbell of Monzie has likewise laid out a por- tion of his property in Glen-elive for the same purpose. Like its neighbour Glenkinglas, Glen-etive, throughout its length and breadth, was once clothed with majestic firs and spreading oaks. Glen-ure, or “the Glen of the yew trees,” opens from the river Creran, and stretches to the south and east for about three miles ; its remote extremity being characterized by sterile grandeur. The respectable family of Glenure once resided near the opening of this glen; and the buildings, now falling into a dilapidated state, are superior to what would be expected in a locality so secluded. The plain in front of the mansion-house, though low, is of ample bounds; and the adjacent farm of Bar- namuck, “ or Height of the wild boar,” the highest farm in the parish in that direction, has always been noted for the excellence of its pasture. 474 AR GYLE SH 1 RE • Glentendal, or Glendow, is seven miles distant from Glenure, and nearer by that distance to the Atlantic. It is scarcely three miles in length, its direction being from east to west, and its lower section is luxuriantly clothed with wood. This glen is te- nanted by some hundreds of fallow-deer, which were first brought thither about eighty years ago, and have since continued within the limits of the glen and its near neighbourhood, without either an inclosure or a keeper. Glensalloch runs nearly from south to north, is the most ele- wated of our glens, and forms the opening betwixt Loch-etive and Loch-creran, distant six miles from each other by this route. The views presented from this glen, when in sight of either loch, are very interesting. Coast, Climate.—In consequence of the irregular form of the parish, the extent of sea coast is not less than 65 miles. Towards the western extremity, the coast is comparatively low, though in- terspersed occasionally with rocks and projecting headlands of considerable altitude. The shore is sandy, generally over a clayey bottom ; and towards the head of Loch-etive, where the adjacent mountains are composed of granite rock, the particles of sand on the shore are uncommonly large, and are formed of com- minuted granite. There are several bays and indentations of unequal size, some of them forming fine sweeps. The Bay of Ardmucknish, which extends from beyond Lochnell-house to Connell Ferry, will at once arrest attention, from its ample range, its finely pebbled beach, and the noble view which it commands. In so far as a judgment may be formed from the instances of longevity among us, our weeping climate exercises no unfavour- able influence on the health of the inhabitants. Many years have not elapsed since one man died here who attained the patriarchal age of 112 years. More recently, another reached his 108th year. In a cottage within a short distance eastward of the manse, an aged sire resides now in his 96th year; while at about the same distance in the opposite direction, there live a venerable couple, whose united ages amount to 177 years, the husband having completed his 90th, and the wife her 87th year. It is but a few months since a woman in the next house, and within twenty yards of this pair, departed this life in her 98th year. Our winters are comparatively mild, and do not usually com- mence before the middle of December; and though our moun- tain tops are clothed in a snowy mantle for at least five months of 3 ARDCHATTAN. 475 the year, it is not usual for snow to continue on our low grounds for more than a few days. * Hydrography.—Loch-etive and Loch-creran, the two arms of . the sea by which so large a proportion of the parish is bounded and intersected, have already been noticed. The former branches from the Llinnhe loch at Dunstaffnage castle, and, after passing “Connell and Bunawe, bends towards the north, and stretches into the interior among the mountains, till it terminates at Kinloch- etive, its entire length being twenty-two miles. In breadth it va- ries from less than a quarter of a mile to a mile and a half, and, in consequence of the high grounds and projecting points along its shores, it seems in several places as if land-locked, and thus presents the appearance of so many inland lakes. The depth of Loch-etive varies from twenty fathoms, which may be given as its medium depth, to upwards of a hundred fathoms, that being its depth a little beyond the base of Ben- cruachan. The anchorage in its bays is safe and good; and it is regularly navigated by vessels of from sixty to a hundred tons register. The saltness of its waters decreases above Connell, in consequence of the quantity of fresh water received from the many rivers and streams which empty themselves into it; and this fact, while it is perceptible to the taste, is indicated also by the diminished size of the Algæ along its shores. The tide rises fourteen feet at Connell, and beyond that, towards the mountains, only ten feet. At Connell ferry the channel of Loch-etive is narrowed by the form of the land and projecting rocks, from a breadth of up- wards of a mile, to a space of no more than two hundred yards; while a ledge of rock, the top of which becomes visible at about half-tide, runs across two-thirds of this narrow space. The con- sequence is, that, at certain times during the ebbing and flowing of the tide, a striking marine fall is exhibited. The tide rushes over the ledge of rock, and through the narrow channel left, with a rapidity which is quite resistless, and with a noise which, dur- ing spring-tides, in calm weather and in certain states of the at- mosphere, is heard at the distance of several miles. Yet with all this, though terrific to a stranger, Connell is by no means a dan- gerous ferry even when the tide is most impetuous, and the roar- ing of the stream most deafening; for the boatmen, aware of the peculiarities in the current and eddies, manage accordingly, and contrive to make what would at first appear to be an insuperable 476 A R G YI, E SHIRE, obstacle, contribute to the facility of the passage across. The tide continues to flow at Connell only about four hours and a half, and to ebb upwards of seven hours; and it is singular, though easily accounted for, that the tide begins to flow below the fall an hour, or rather more, before it does so above the fall; and the strange phenomenon is thus exhibited of the tide flowing in one place, and ebbing strongly in another, within a few yards, at one and the same time.* Loch-creran, like Loch-etive, is connected with the Llhinne- loch, from which it separates at the island of Eriska. Its length is twelve miles, and its average breadth is one mile and a-half, though there is a strait near to Dalchülis, when it narrows to less than 150 yards ; and then the current becomes rapid, as it does likewise at the ferry of Shean. The average depth of Loch-cre- ran is 15 fathoms; the rise of the water at spring tides is from * Before leaving this arm of the sea it will gratify every reader of taste to peruse the account given of Loch-etive and the surrounding scenery, by an author who has repeatedly trod its shores, and who is one of the most powerful writers, both in poetry and in prose, of the age in which he lives, “Loch-etive,” observes Profes- sor Wilson, “between the ferries of Connel and Bunawe, has been seen by almost all who have visited the Highlands but very imperfectly; to know what it is, you must row or sail up it, for the banks on both sides are often richly wooded, assume many fine forms, and are frequently well embayed; while the expanse of water is suf- ficiently wide to allow you, from its centre, to command a view of many of the dis- tant heights. But above Bunawe it is not the same loch. For a couple of miles it is not wide, and it is so darkened by enormous shadows, that it looks even less like a strait than a gulf, huge overhanging rocks on both sides ascending high, and yet felt to belong but to the bases of mountains that, sloping for back, have their summits among cloudsof their own in another region of the sky. Yet are they not all horrid, for nowhere else is there such lofty heather,-it seems a wild sort of brush-wood; tall trees flourish single or in groves, chiefly birches, and now and then an oak, and they are in their youth or their prime,—and even the prodigious trunks, some of which have been dead for centuries, are not all dead, but shoot from their knotted rhind, symptoms of life unextinguished by time and tempest. Out of this gulf we emerge into the upper loch, and its amplitude sustains the majesty of the mountains, all of the highest order, and seen from their feet to their crests. Cruachan wears the crown and reigns over them all,—king at once of Loch-etive and Loch Awe. But Bu- achail-ctive, though afar off, is still a giant; and in some lights comes forward, bringing with him the Black Mount and its dependents, so that all seem to belong to this most magnificent of all Highland lochs. ‘ I know not,’ Says MacCulloch, that Loch-etive could bear an ornament without an infringement on that aspect of solitary vastness which it presents throughout. Nor is there one. The rocks and bays, on the shore which might elsewhere attract attention, are here swallowed up in the enormous dimensions of the surrounding mountains, and the wide and ample ex- panse of the lake... A solitary house, here fearfully solitary, situated far up in Glen. etive, is only visible when at the upper extremity; and if there be a tree, as there are in a few places on the shore, it is unseen, extinguished as if it were a humble mountain flower by the universal magnitude around.’ To feel the full power of Glen-etive, you must walk up it till it ceases to be a glen. When in the middle of the moor, you see far off a solitary dwelling indeed,—perhaps the loneliest house in all the Highlands,-and the solitude is made profound as you pass by, by the voice of a cataract, hidden in an awful chasm, bridged by two or three stems of trees along which the red deer might fear to venture, but we have seen them and the deer-hounds glide over it, followed by other fearless feet, when far and wide the forest of Dalness was echoing to the hunters' horn.” A lit D CHATTA N. 477 15 to 16 feet; and, as the bottom is clayey, the anchorage in the bays is safe and good. The waters possess more saltness than they do in Loch-etive, from causes which have already been stated. - Springs.--The parish abounds in perenniäl springs, which afford constant supplies of the finest water. Some of these springs, in the days of other years, obtained notoriety, and were resorted to by in- valids in consequence of the sanative properties which they were supposed to possess, though these are now-a-days greatly at discount. Of this description of springs, it may be mentioned, that there is one about midway up the hill behind Achnacree (Aonach-dral-o- heragan,) named tobar bhile-na-banna. At this well votive offerings were wont to be left, a practice which did not wholly fall into de- suetude till within the last forty years. & About fifteen years ago, a well was discovered in marshy ground near the farm-house of Achacha, the waters of which contained, in considerable quantity, sulphuretted hydrogen. It disappeared not long afterwards.-There are several fresh-water lakes within our bounds, but none of them of great extent. One, near to Con- nell, may be mentioned, named lochan-na-bedich, or “the lake of the beast,” from some frightful animal said to have been of old seen in or near its waters. The banks of this lake, throughout its whole extent, are about twelve feet higher than the surface of its waters; and though there is a considerable stream flowing in, there is none running out of it, the surplus waters being absorbed, and finding their way by some subterraneous passage to the sea, which is distant only a short space. Two other lakes, of a similar size, or rather larger, are situated in the moor above Achnaha; and a third in the upper or Glen-etive district, called Lochan-ma’r-Eite. All these lakes are occasionally resorted to by the angler, whose pains are rewarded by trouts of a darkish-red colour, but of no great size. Rivers.-As Ben-cruachan is the loftiest mountain, so the Awe, which washes a section of its base, and forms our south-east boun- dary, is the largest river in the county. This noble stream is discharged from Lochawe at the strikingly wild and romantic pass of Braindir (braigh-ºn-t-sºuth,) and, after a short course westward of no more than four miles, it falls into Loch-etive at Bunawe. The average breadth of the river Awe is forty-three yards; and its average depth at its fords, not calculating the depth of the fords, may be given at three and a-half feet. Owing to the de- 478 A R GY LESIHR E. clivity in the land, it flows from its outlet till its termination with great impetuosity over rocks and granite boulders; and from the rapidity of its course, and the volume of its waters, it is believed that few of our Scottish rivers discharge so great a quantity of water within the year into the sea. Having Lochawe as its source, the flow of the Awe is more equable than that of most other streams; for, though greatly enlarged after continued rains, it does not rise so rapidly nor fall so suddenly as rivers generally do. Its banks, particularly from a little above the bridge of Awe down- wards, are richly wooded; and throughout its interesting course, there are few rivers where the expert angler, who does not object to wade as well as to ply his fishing-rod, may calculate on meeting with better success. The Etive, next to the Awe, is our largest river. It flows in a . westerly and south-west direction, and its length, from its source near to King's-house to the head of Loch-etive, is sixteen miles. An inconsiderable rill at its commencement, it receives in its course the confluence of numberless tributaries, and thus swells to the dimensions of a pretty broad river before it mingles its waters with Loch-etive. By competent judges who have tested the fact, the Etive is represented as a good fishing stream, though little known to anglers; and the tourist, in ascending its banks, will be gratified with the view of two fine cascades, the first near to Coinletter, and the other, more striking still, close by Dalness. The Kinglas is considerably less than the Etive, though after rain it becomes a very formidable stream. Its course is south- west; its length about twelve miles; and, as it flows in a channel composed of shelving rocks and granite stones, its waters are per- fectly clear, a remark which holds as to all our rivers. Salmon are pretty numerous. The use of stake-nets in Loch-etive has been allowed. The Liver is less than the Kinglas, and is situated towards the south from that river. Its length is six miles, its direction is westerly, and, as the name of that farm imports, it falls into Loch- etive at Inverliver. The Noe lies south of the Kinglas, and is nearly equal to the latter in size. Its direction also is similar ; and throughout its course, of four miles, it waters the valley already described under the name of Glen-noe, exhibiting, about a mile beyond its conflu- ence with Loch-etive, a cascade, the sight of which can scarcely fail to gratify, especially if seen when the Noe has been swelled ARDCHATTAN. 479 after rains by the torrents which are then poured into it from the rugged mountains on each side of it. There are other streams of considerable magnitude in this sec- tion of the parish, “rivers unknown to song,” but which it would be improper not to mention. Among these are the Guisachan, which, as indicated by the name, falls into the sea at Inverguisa- chan ; the Carnan, which meets the river Etive at Invercharnan ; and, beyond it, the Eolan, another tributary of the same river. The Creran, which rises between Corra-vein and Bein-Aulay, and flows in a westerly direction at least twelve miles. In its syl- van course it passes through the beautiful fresh water lake of Fas- nacloich, and after having scooped out for itself, a little beyond that lake, a channel resembling a natural canal, which is navigable by small boats for a short distance, it falls into the sea at the head of Loch-creran, having previously attained the size of a respect- able river. - The Ure is not much more than seven miles in length, runs in a northern direction, and passing westward of Glenure House, falls into the Creran a little below. - The Buie is not nearly so large, nor above three miles long. The Buie discharges itself into Loch-creran. The Tendal, pronounced Tā’il, waters the glen of that name, flows in a westerly course for about six miles, and is in several places well fitted to command admiration from its picturesque falls, its wooded banks, and the splendid and diversified views presented wherever a sight of Loch-creran can be obtained from its chan- nel or its banks. The Dergan” rises in the heights of Glensalloch, and after a short northern course, through that glen and the woods above Barcalaim-house, it falls into Loch-creran at Inver'ergan. There are two other streams of some magnitude, which flow in a southerly direction, and empty themselves into Loch-etive, and with the mention of these we will conclude the account of our rivers. These are the Esragan-more and Esragan-beg, or the greater and lesser Esragan, separated by the mountain called Ben- vean, and terminating, the larger at Inveresragan, and the other below the farm-house of Blarcreen. The length of the Esragan- more is not above five miles, that of the other is hardly so much. Cascades.—The largest, in so far as relates to the body of wa- ter, are the falls of Dalness in Glen-etive, and those of Coinletter * Dearg—amhuinn, i. e. “the red river.”. 480 Alk GY LESHIRE, on the same river. The highest are the cascades formed by the streams which rush down the precipitous sides of Buachail-etive. One of these, the cascades of “Wrogie,” “ Eas-a-bhrogieh,” situ- ated two miles beyond the house of Dalness, is very remarkable, not merely from its elevation, but also from the peculiar character of its channel. At about 300 feet from the bottom of this cascade, the rock is so formed that there is a natural recess of at least 50 yards, to which there is a winding access. When arrived at the interior of this recess, one is surrounded on every side by high and almost perpendicular rocks, while the light of day can be seen only through a narrow vista of more than 600 feet high. About a mile onwards, in the same glen, is another lofty cas- cade called Eas-an-fhir-mhoir, or “the cascade of the great one;” —and, at a distance of two miles farther, in the same direction, another called “ Eas-a-bhodich,” or “the hermit’s cascade.” On Ben-treelachan in Glen.etive many falls are to be seen,- “Eas-doire-Dhonachie,” or “the fall of the grove of Duncan,” be- ing the most conspicuous. On the larger Esraganan, two pretty falls, though on a comparatively small scale, and on the lesser stream of that name, there are several, among which, one will be found to possess considerable boldness and beauty. Some of the cascades on Ben-cruachan, are to be seen in travelling the road from Glenorchy to Bunawe, and will naturally attract the notice of the traveller. Geology and Mineralogy.—The few following remarkson geology are from a paper by Dr MacCulloch, on the Geology of Ben Cru- achan, published in the Transactions of the Geological Society, 14th December 1814. “ The rocks of which our mountains are composed are chiefly the mica-slate, penetrated in various directions by veins of quartz, granite or micaceous granular quartz, and por- phyry, of which the Buachail Etive mountains consist. The junction of the granite with the schistus is seen at the base of Ben Cruach- an above Bunawe. Large veins may be seen proceeding from the great mass of the mountain, and ramifying into innumerable small divisions, penetrating and traversing the schistus in all directions.” The immense masses of granite along the shores of Loch-etive might, it is believed, be turned to some account by the proprie- tors. This kind of stone, it is well known, may be dressed so as to acquire a good polish. It can now be cut with wedges to any di- mensions. When dressed it has a fine appearance, and in dura- bility it is surpassed by no other stone. Persons who have seen 4 ARD CHATT AN, 481 both prefer decidedly the Glen-etive granite to the blocks lately shipped at Dalbeattie, in Galloway, for building the new docks at Liverpool. There is lead ore in a part of the hill near to Baleweolan- house, and something was at one time done in the view of open- ing a mine there; but, although appearances were not unpromising, the necessary expenditure in mining concerns is great, while the speculation is rather a hazardous-one, and, on these grounds, ope- rations were soon discontinued. A bed of marble, it is also said, is to be found on the same farm; but the quality is not considered to be superior, and it has been allowed to remain undisturbed. The general character of our soil is a light loam on a gravelly subsoil. Such a soil, it is well known, soon becomes exhausted by cropping, and from its absorbent quality requires the frequent application of manure. Clay exists in many places near the sea, which is capable of being manufactured into bricks and tiles. Žoology—Under this department it may be stated, that we have a goodly share of those animals which are to be found in moun- tainous and wooded regions. That the wild boar and the wolf, though now exterminated, were once common here, is indicated by their names being still incorporated with some of our localities. Thus, we have Bar-nam-muc, or, “ the wooded eminence of the boar;” Drim-mhuic, “the boar's ridge;” Ard-mhaduidh, “ the wolf's promontory;” Ard-mhucinnis, “the boar's peninsular height.” Nor is there reason to doubt that the stately capercailzie once re- joiced amongst the fir forests of Glen-etive. Of quadrupeds there are the following ferae naturae:—Red- deer, (Cervus Elaphus); fallow-deer, (C. Dama) ; roe-deer, (C. Capreolus); common hare, (Lepus timidus); white or alpine hare, (L. variabilis); fox, (Canis Vulpes); otter, (Lutra vulgaris); bad- ger, (Meles Tavus); wild-cat, (Felis Catus); marten cat, (Mustela Foina); polecat, (M. Putorius); weasel, (M. vulgaris). Though the red-deer abound in Glen-etive, they occasionally visit other parts of the parish, especially in winter. The fallow-deer confine them- selves to the woods in the neighbourhood of Barcaldine. The roe- deer are found in considerable numbers, wherever there is cover, over the whole parish. The white of alpine hare frequents our high grounds, generally the tops of our mountains. Badgers, foxes, wild-cats, martens, polecats, though not so frequently to be met with as in former times, are considered to be still too numerous. Our game are, red grouse, (Lagopus Scoticus); partridge, A R GYLE, H h 482 ARGYLESHIRE. (Perdia cinerea) ; blackcock, (Tetrao Tetria) ; ptarmigan, (Lago- pus albus); with such waders as the following, most of which are migratory, “ knowing their appointed times, and observing the time of their coming :”—Woodcock, (Scolopax rusticola); jack- Snipe, (S. gallinula); common snipe, (S. gallinago); golden plo- ver, (Charadrius pluvialis); gray plover, (Squaterola cinerea) ; curlew, (Numenius arquata); fieldfare, (Turdus pilaris); lap- wing, (Vanellus cristatus); corncrake, (Ortygometra crew). t Of birds of prey we have, the eagle, (Aquila), two kinds, hav- ing their aeries in the mountains of Loch-etive and Loch-creran, viz. the sea eagle, (Aquila Chrysaëtos), and the common or brown eagle, (A. albicilla); buzzard, (Buteo vulgaris); kite or glead, (Milvus vulgaris); kestrel, (Falco Tinnunculus); sparrow-hawk, (Falco misus); peregrine falcon, (Falco peregrinus); barn owl, (Stria flammea); long-eared owl, (Otus vulgaris); screech, (Stria: stridula) ; raven, (Corvus corax); jay-pyot, (C. Pica). Besides the common singing birds, which, from the extent of our wooded district, are numerous, we have the following land birds not yet mentioned : Missel-thrush, (Turdus viscivorus); green linnet, (Coccothraustes chloris); kingfisher, (Alcedo ispida); goat-sucker, (Caprimulgus Europaºus); blackbird, (Turdus me- Tula.) It is said that a white crow is sometimes found in a rook- ery, and a white specimen of this last mentioned bird, Hibernicé, a white blackbird, was seen at Barcaldine in 1837. Of the Waders it may be stated, that the heron, (Ardea ci- nerea), is very common; and also the water-rail, (Rallus aquati- cus), common water-hen, (Gallinula chloropus), the whimbril, (Numenius Phacopus), and the oyster-catcher, (Haematopus ostra- legus), are, though more rarely, to be met with. The Water-birds, or Swimmers, which frequent our coasts, friths, and lakes, are numerous, especially when increased by those which come to us about the end of October, and leave us in March for colder climes. We have the shag or scart (Phalacro- coraw Graculus); cormorant (Phalacrocorax Carbo) ; common mallard or wild-duck (Anas boschas); wigeon (Anas penelope); teal (Anas crecca); golden-eye duck (Anas clangula); the tern (Sternſ, hirundo); wild swan, rare, (Cygnus ferus); tufted duck (Fuligula cristata); gray lag, or common wild goose (Anser ferus); northern diver (Colymbus glacialis); speckled diver (C. septem- trionalis); dun diver (C. arcticus); little grebe or dobchick (Po- diceps minor); tippet or crested grebe (P. cristatus); razor-bill ARD CHATT AN. 483 auk (Alca Torda); guillemot (Uria Troile) ; puffin (Fratercula arctica); tern (Sterna hirundo). There are also several kinds of gulls. - - - - Ichthyology.—The following varieties of fishes are to be found; Some of them in abundance in our seas, lakes, and rivers. Cod (Morrhua vulgaris) ; ling (Molva vulgaris); whiting (Mer- langus vulgaris) ; rock cod or red cod; mackerel (Scomber vulgaris); dog-fish (Spinaw Acanthius); gurnard (Trigla gur- nardus); flounder (Platessa flesus); sole-fish (Solea vulgaris); tur- bot (Pleuronectes maximus); skate (Raia batis); haddock, rare, (Morrhua AEgleſinus); sand-eel (Ammodytes Tobianus) ; cat- fish (Anarrhichas lupus); John Doree (&eus Faber); minnow (Leuciscus phowinws); stickleback (Gasterosteus aeuleatus) ; common burn-trout (Salmo fario) in all our rivers. There is a large species of trout peculiar to Loch-awe, which sometimes weighs thirty pounds and upwards. Pike is also found there. There are varieties of shell-fish on the shores of Loch-creran, and in Loch-etive, below Connell. Oysters are to be found in Loch-creran, but in no great numbers; and there are crabs (Can- cer pagurus); lobsters (Cancer grammarus); shrimps (Cancer crangon); mussels (Mytilus edulus); clams (Pecten opercularis); spout-fish (Salen siliqua); lady-fish; limpets (Patella vulgata); periwinkles (Turbo littoralis); cockles (Cardium edule). The seal (Phoca vitulina) and welks frequent both our lochs; and the grampus and porpoise are sometimes seen. Of the reptile tribe, we have the lizard (Lacerta agilis); and the common viper or adder (Vipera communis). The glow-worm is not uncommon. - Botany.—Our parish forms a wide, and, it is believed, an in- teresting field for the botanist to explore, especially as regards some of the rarer mountain plants. The following are pretty ge- neral :— Hypericum montanum Geranium molle Saxifraga tridactylites — pulchrum Drosera rotundifolia Hirculus Jasione montanum Parnassia palustris Trollius Europaeus Saponaria officinalis Lysimachia nemorum Veronica fruticulosa Saxifraga hypnoides The fresh water lakes produce Nymphaea alba, N. lutea, and other aquatics; and the Silene maritima, and Verbascum virgatum are found along our beaches. Woods and Plantations.—The climate is particularly congenial to the growth of trees in all situations where there is depth of 484 - AR GYLESH IR E. soil; and it will excite wonder to observe the size which trees have attained in some situations, when the shallowness of the soil is most evident; this is to be ascribed in a great measure to the humidity of the climate. Our indigenous trees are, oak (Quercus robur and sessiliflora); ash (Frawinus excelsior); Scotch fir (Pinus Sylvestris); mountain-ash (Pyrus aucuparia); elm (Ulmus mon- tana); holly (Ilex Aquifolium); yew (Tawus baccata); alder (Alnus glutinosa); birch (Betula alba); bird-cherry (Prunus Pa- dus); hazel (Corylus avellana); hawthorn (Cratagus oxyacantha :) aspen (Populus tremula); and at least three kinds of willow (Sa- lia). The plantations in the parish are on the Barcaldine, Lochnell, Ardchattan, and Inverawe estates. They consist chiefly of larches (Laria vulgaris); spruce fir (Abies vulgaris); silver fir (Pinus picea); Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus.) Near the mansions of the proprietors are the lime-tree (Tilia Europaea 9randifolia); beech (Fagus sylvatica); poplar (Populus alba); plane or sycamore (Acer pseudo-plantanus); laburnum (Cytisus laburnum); gean (Prunus avium); Spanish chestnut (Castamea vesca); horse chestnut (AEsculus hippocastanum); a few walnut trees (Juglans regia); and golden willow (Salia vitellina). The extent of ground covered with wood probably exceeds 3000 acres. At Condallich, near Barcaldine house, are the remains of an oak, honoured, from its antiquity, with the name of Fingal’s oak, which, though much decayed, measures 23 feet in girth. When first measured (1835) the Fingal's oak was 29 feet in circumfe- rence, and then not more than half of it appeared to remain. A considerable portion fell afterwards, which reduced its girth to the size mentioned. On the Hill of Invercharnan, and a little above the farm-house, there is another oak which has been lying on the ground for ages, and the girth of which, twenty feet from the root, is 18 feet 9 inches; and another, not far from it, the girth of which, at the same distance, is 15 feet 3 inches. The trees, the girth of which is given below, are still in vigorous growth, and these dimensions were taken three feet from the ground: a silver fir, 13 feet 6 inches; larch, 8 feet II inches; weeping-birch, 9 feet 6 inches; beech, 10 feet 6 inches; gean (at Glenure) 8 feet; do. (at Blar- creen) 7 feet 6 inches; ash (Barcaldine) 10 feet 6 inches; do. (at Ardchattan) 9 feet 10 inches; elm (Barcaldine) 8 feet 2 ARDCHATTAN. - 485 inches; cherry, 7 feet 2 inches; hawthorn (Lochnell) 6 feet; walnut, do. 4 feet 8 inches; Spanish chestnut (Barcaldine) 7 feet 2 inches; holly (Kennacraig) 5 feet 7 inches; yew (Blarcreen garden) 6 feet 9 inches; plane or sycamore (at Ardchattan) 9 feet 6 inches; cherry (Glenure) 7 feet 2 inches; Carnock pear, 5 feet 8 inches; green yar pear, 6 feet; tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) 4 feet; a hawthorn with seven stems growing from one root, three of these stems measure 3 feet 9 inches; other three, 6 feet 9 inches; and the last, 1 foot 10 inches; in all, 17 feet 10 inches. The yew tree appears to have of old grown here luxuriantly, and in abundance. Glenure received its designation from the yews that adorned, and would still adorn, the sides of that valley, were it not stocked with sheep, which devour the young plants whenever they appear; and the yews of Easragain were considered, by Celtic warriors, superior to all other for their bows. * The garden at Barcaldine contains three acres within the walls, and about nine acres within the outer fence, containing orchard, shrubbery, and other pleasure ground. The figure is a square, with the south-east and south-west points cut off, forming six sides for the figure, but not in the proper hexagonal shape. The height of the walls is 13 feet 15 inches, 16 feet 3 inches, 18 feet 3 inches, and 20 feet. It contains five divisions of Scotch acres, 30 feet each. Three of these are occupied by vines and peaches, one is used as an orange house, and the other as a camellia house. There are 76 feet of glass besides for exotic plants, rearing of pine apples, and other ornamental tropical plants. The situation for a garden is first-rate, with terrace banks, fish-ponds, and ser- pentine walks, ornamented with the stately Pinus picea, and other flowering shrubs. It is supplied with a fine stream of water, fal- ling from a neighbouring mountain over precipices, and winding * This is proved hy Gaelic verses, which are still ſo ndly repeated by our old people, and which Dr Smith of Campbelton introduced into his Collection of Sean Dâna, with the following remark: “Every body knows the bow to have been made of yew. Among the Highlanders of latter times, that which grew in the wood of Easragain, in Lorn, was esteemed the best. The feathers most in vogue for the arrows were furnished by the eagles of Loch Treig, the wax for the string by Baill-na-gail-bhinn, and the arrow heads by the Smiths of the race of MacPheidearain. This piece of in- struction, like all the other knowledge of the Highlanders, was couched in verse : “Bogha dh'inghar Easragain, Is ite'firein Locha Treig, Cèir bhuidhe Bhaile-na-gailblinn, Sceann án cheard Mae Pheiderain. 486 ARGYLESHIRE. through a steep romantic glen, along which are walks which lead to many interesting scenes. Some of nature's sweetest views are discovered from the high ground. - II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Historical Events.--The western extremity of the district ap- pears to have been the theatre of sanguinary conflicts betwixt the Aborigines and their Scandinavian invaders and plunderers. Vague traditions do not constitute our only ground for believing this. The names of several of our localities attest it ; our many cairns and detached obelisks also attest it, exclusive of the heroic poetry of the son of Fingal and of the songs of many a later bard. But, passing over these, there were other occurrences in our bounds which come within the range of authentic history. Mac- Phaidan, an Irishman, who was serviceable to Edward I. When engaged in his attempt to subvert the independence of Scotland, and to whom that monarch, in 1297, made a grant for his ser- vices of the lordship of Argyle and Lorn, was attacked by Sir William Wallace, and defeated, A. D. 1300, at the north-east side of Ben-cruachan, near to the pass of Brainder. Wallace, on his way to Argyleshire, was met in Glendochart by Sir Niel Camp- bell, Knight, of Loch Awe, with 300 men. They found Mac- Phaidan posted at Ben Cruachan. The onset is said to have been keen. Many hundreds of MacPhaidan's followers were driven to the lake and drowned ; and though he himself, with fifteen men, fled to a neighbouring cave, his retreat was discovered, and he was there slain. - After Robert Bruce was overpowered at Methven by the army of Edward I., under Aylmer de Valence Earl of Pembroke, he set out, with his few remaining followers, for Argyleshire, to join his connection, Sir Niel Campbell. In these circumstances, Bruce was attacked at Dalry, near Tyndrum, by Alexander Mac- dougall Lord of Lorn, who was married to the aunt of Comyn, whom Bruce had killed in the Greyfriars' Church at Dumfries. As might be expected, Bruce was discomfitted; but not till he had given renewed proofs of personal valour. Two brothers, adhe- rents of Macdougall, vowed if they met Bruce that they would either dispatch him or perish in the attempt. They were both slain by Bruce's own hands. This happened in 1806. tº In 1808, Bruce returned again to Argyleshire, with the view of chastising the Lord of Lorn. The Macdougalls lay in ambush to A R D C H A TT AN, 487 surprise him at the pass of Cruachan; but Bruce used the pre- caution of ordering Douglas to make a circuit towards the summit of the mountain,_his own troops having Loch Awe on their left, and Bencruachan on their right. On entering the pass, Bruce was attacked by the men in ambush, which, when Douglas ob- served, he rushed down on the assailants sword in hand. The event was not doubtful. Lorn's troops, headed by his son, were totally routed. Bruce then made himself master of the whole country, took possession of Dunstaffnage Castle, the chief resi- dence of the Lord of Lorn, and made a grant of it and of a large extent of territory to his relative Stewart, afterwards called Lord of Lorn. Macdougall and his son were permitted to retire to England, where he soon after died.* During the devastations occasioned by Montrose in the reign of Charles I., this part of Argyleshire was ravaged by his barbarous Irish auxiliaries, under the command of Alexander Macdonald, better known here by his patronymic Alaster Maccoll. Macdo- nald entered this parish in the winter of 1644–5 by Loch Etive; and visited all who bore the name of Campbell with the pains of fire and sword.t Eminent Characters.-Colin Campbell, for many years minister of Ardchattan, appears to have been one of the most eminent men of his age for attainments in mathematics and astronomy. I am in- debted to his respectable descendant, John Gregorson, Esq. of Ard- tornish, for the short account of him which follows: Mr Campbell was son of Patrick Campbell, ancestor of the family of Barcaldine, then of Inverzeldies, in Perthshire, and of Beatrice or Bethia, daughter of Patrick, seventh in the line of the respectable family of Ochtertyre. He was born in 1644, studied at St Andrews, and afterwards, as Mr Gregorson thinks, at one of the English univer- sities, either as companion or tutor to his relative, Robert, after- wards Sir Robert Campbell of Glenorchy, one of the ancestors of the present Marquis of Breadalbane. Mr Campbell is mentioned as an “expectant,” in the records of the presbytery of Lorn, in 1666; and, in the following year, he was admitted minister of Ardchattan and Muckairn. In 1668, he was appointed presbytery clerk, which office he held till his death, —a period of nearly sixty years, discharging his duties in that ca- * Lord Hailes' Annals. # See narrative given in Chambers's Journal for December 1835. 488 * A R G Y L E SHIRE, pacity with singular correctness and propriety. Two of the vo- lumes of the records, during his incumbency, have unfortunately been lost, those, namely, which contained the minutes of Presby- tery from 1681 till 1704, and from 1714 till the period of his death in 1726. From his father Mr Campbell inherited the farm of Drimvuick, in the upper part of this parish ; but, on being ad- mitted to his charge, he exchanged these lands with one of his re- lations for the farm of Achnaba, which, though inferior in value, lay more contiguous to the great body of his people, and which he improved and embellished to an extent, at that time, uncommon in this part of the country. Some of the silver firs, lime, and other trees which were planted by him still remain, and are of great size and beauty. As a minister, Mr Campbell appears to have been laborious. “He often travelled,” says his descendant, “to Mull, Morven, and Ardnamurchan, in order to preach the gospel of Salvation to the inhabitants of these remote parts of the country.” “Next to his professional studies, his chief delight were the mathematics and astronomy, though comparatively few of the many manuscripts which he left at his death, are now to be found.” * “I saw,” adds Mr Gregorson, “an essay, in the handwriting of Mr Campbell, * On the Being and Attributes of God;’ the argument seeming to be the same as that employed by Dr Clarke, though written before Dr Clarke's was published. This essay was lent many years ago to a friend now deceased. It has never been return- ed. Mr Campbell corresponded in Latin with Sir Isaac Newton. The letters were taken away from his papers before they came to my possession; but the late Mr Macdougall of Gallanach, Mr Campbell of Achlian, grandson to Mr Colin Campbell, and the late Rev. Mr M*Nicol, minister of Lismore, frequently told me they had seen a number of these letters. I believe many of them were burnt through care- lessness, when the papers of the family were removed on the sale of Achnaba. The annexed list of papers will show some of Mr Campbell's literary and scientific corre- spondents. Some of the papers I gave to Principal Baird, and they were perused by him, Dr Lee, and Professors Leslie and Wallace with much interest. I may state that some of Mr Campbell's correspondents write to him, that, “if it were not for his vicious modesty, he might publish what would make them ashamed of their poor productions.” “ Parcels of letters and of papers belonging to the late Rev. Colin Campbell ; - 1. Eight letters from A. Pitcairn, physician in Edinburgh, relative to the scientific and mathematical publications of the day. One of these letters incloses a MSS. by a Mr Campbell, advocate, Edinburgh ; arguing the descent of the British nations from the Gauls, fom the identity of language. 2. Letter supposed from Dr Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury. 3. Letters from Professor Simson of Glasgow Univer- sity. 4. Letter from Colin M*Laurin,-one of them containing an essay, “De Viri- bus, &c. 5. Letters from Edward Llhyd. 6. Letter from Dr Cheyne, &c. 7. Letter from Donald Campbell, son of Mr Colin : Solution of a problem, in the handwriting of Mr Colin ; Letter from Lord Murray requesting Mr Campbell to calculate the nativity of a remarkable child born in Holland. 8. Paper On the Immortality of the Soul; to which is stitched a disquisition “On Meteors;” on “the Lawfullness of Episcopacy;” “Demonstration of Existence of God;” “Theological Treatise on our Knowledge,” &c. 9, Scientific papers : on Dialling, Problems, &c. 10. A parch- ment bound volume of tables and problems, and containing a variety of papers, A R D CHATT AN, gº 489 One of Mr Campbell's sons, Mr Gregorson states, inherited his father's taste for mathematical investigations, and was offered the chair of Mathematics in one of the English universities, which he declined, preferring to pass his days in the retirement of his na- tive country.* - - - In the family burial-ground at Ardchattan a monumental stone is erected over the remains of the father of Mr Campbell. The inscription is in Latin, and is understood to have been written by his son. It is now nearly obliterated, but is as follows:—Around the margin of the monument, HI& . JACET. PATRICIUS. cAMPBELL. DE . INVERZELDIES . QUI OBIIT . VEG. PRIM . DIE . MARTIs . ANNo. Dom , 1678 ANNo . ALT .. 86. In the centre, and placed betwixt emblematical representations of our frail mortality above, and the family armorial bearings below, the inscription runs thus: - Vir probus hic situs est, cautus, providus, per honestus, Judicio claro promptus et ingenio. In apothymatibus Communis sermo fluebat * Facta suis dictis consona semper erant Prole, parente, toro, rebus, virtute, Senecta, Justitia, et meritis, laude, beatus obiit. There is no stone to mark the place where Mr Campbell's own remains were laid. among which are a small MSS. against Popery, copy of a letter to Leibnitz. Mr Gregorson mentions other papers, in the communication with which he fa- voured me, and adds, “ These are not the one-half of the papers left by Mr Colin Campbell and in my possession"; but the rest are in great confusion ; many were lost and others burnt before the above came into my possession. Many were ab- stracted, and among these were the letters from Sir Isaac Newton written in Latin. A great many letters from the Gregorys of Aberdeen and Cambridge, which are now in the hands of Mr Gregory of Edinburgh, throw light on Mr Campbell's ardent pursuit of knowledge, and prove his extensive acquaintance with science.” In the third volume of the Transactions of the Antiquarians of Scotland are pub- lished three letters from Professor Gregorie of St Andrews, afterwards of Edinburgh, to Mr Campbell, dated in 1672 and 1673, containing solutions, written in Latin, of problems sent to the Professor by Mr Campbell, and in which the Professor speaks of Mr Campbell in terms of high respect. The letters are accompanied with notes by Professor Wallace. In the same volume of the Transactions, there appears an- other letter from Mr Murray, minister of Comrie, to Mr Campbell, dated 2d July 1717, giving an account of the escape of Rob Roy after his apprehension by the Duke of Athole. * Contemporary with Mr Colin Campbell was the Rev. Donald or Daniel Camp- bell, minister of Kilmichael-Glassary, in Argyleshire, an able and devoted Christian minister. This excellent man published a valuable treatise “On the Lord's Sup- per,” which is now exceedingly scarce, but which well deserves to be republished, To the volume is prefixed Latin verses by Mr Colin Campbell. 490 AR GY LESH [IRE, Daniel Corrie, late Bishop of Madras.--This truly apostolical man, whose name is associated with the progress of Christianity in India, and whose memory will long be regarded there and wherever he was known with love and veneration, was a native of this parish, though his ancestors resided in Dumfries-shire. His father, when a student of theology, was appointed parochial school- master of Ardchattan, and married more than sixty years ago a respectable young woman of the parish of the name of MacNab, by whom he had a family, Daniel being the eldest. My inform- ants, some of whom were Mr Corrie's scholars, think that Daniel, or, as they named him, Donald, was between six and seven years of age when the father was induced to leave this place, and to settle in England. He there obtained ordination, and a living in the Eng- lish church. While at the University of Cambridge the son gave indications of no ordinary piety and talents, and was appointed a chaplain in the East India Company’s establishment in the pre- sidency of Bengal, the duties of which office he discharged with singular fidelity, zeal, and success. Corrie was the friend of Brown and Buchanan, aid Henry Martyn, of Bishops Middle- ton, Heber, and Turner, and of the other devoted men whose lives and labours in the east shed such a lustre on our sister church, and, after having long “borne the burden and heat of the day,” he was, to the credit of all concerned, raised from being Arch- deacon of Calcutta to the see of Madras. That high station he was permitted to adorn but for a short period, having, soon after his consecration, been released from all his labours, and called to the enjoyment of that rest which remainéth to the people of God. General Campbell of Iochnell established strong claims to ho- nourable notice in any enumeration of the eminent characters con- nected with this parish. In very early life he succeeded his uncle, Sir Duncan Campbell, Knight, seventh in succession of the Loch- nell family, a gentleman highly and deservedly esteemed in his day, and who long represented in Parliament the county of Ar- gyle. After finishing his education, the General, then Mr Camp- bell, entered the army, and received, when an officer in the Guards, about the year 1793, letters of service for raising a Highland re- giment, which he soon completed, a goodly proportion of the men being from his own estates. In command of his regiment, now numbered the 91st or Argyleshire, he served at the Cape of Good Hope; and on his return to Britain was appointed to the com- ARDCHATTAN. 49 1 mand of a district in Ireland. On retiring from active military duties, with the rank of Major-General, he sat in two successive Parliaments for the burghs of Inverary, Ayr, &c., and for twenty years represented the Presbytery of Lorn as their Ruling-elder in the General Assembly. The latter years of his life were passed by the General at Lochnell-house in this parish; and it can be stated with all the confidence of truth, that he and his lady prov- ed, pre-eminently, blessings to this part of the country. Distin- guished for urbanity of manners, they were each equally distin- guished for Christian benevolence of heart, and their presence served to elevate the tone and character of society among us. They were the warm friends of education among their own people and elsewhere, and the munificent supporters of those institutions which have for their objects the amelioration of the moral and re- ligious condition of our race. Esteemed and lamented, General Campbell died at Edinburgh A. D. 1837, in the 75th year of his age.” * - Thomas Babington Macaulay, M. P. for Edinburgh, will be deemed by Highlanders at least, who are said to trace blood re- lationships to sixteenth cousins, to be not very remotely connected with this parish. His grandmother, the daughter of Mr Camp- bell of Inveresragan, in our close vicinity, married the Rev. John Macaulay, minister of Lismore and Appin, to which parish he was translated from South Uist in 1755. From Lismore, Mr Macaulay was, in 1765, translated to Inverary, and afterwards, he left Inverary for the parish of Cardross. The property of In- veresragan, which consists only of two farms, was afterwards dis- posed of to the proprietor of Ardchattan, otherwise it is believed the family of the Rev. Mr Macaulay being the nearest heirs would have succeeded to the inheritance. James, the last of the MacIntyres of Glenoe, who resided in * The military profession appears to have for ages possessed powerful attractions for our young gentlemen ; and it is a singular fact, that there were, a few years ago, three general officers, each having a regiment, who were connected with the parish. These were, General Alexander Campbell of Monzie and Inverawe, Co- ionel of the 32d Foot; General Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, Colonel of the 91st Foot; and Lieutenant-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, (the son of one of my prede- cessors,) who succeeded His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, now King of Hanover, as Colonel of the 15th Hussars, and who was by competent judges con- sidered one of our ablest and most gallant cavalry officers. It may be mentioned also, that Lieutenant-General Sir Itobert MacFarlane, Colonel of the 89th Foot, passed some of his youthful days here, when he resided with his uncle, the late Mr Campbell of Ardchattan. t 492 - ARGY LESHIRE. that valley, was a man of much acuteness, intelligence, and talent. His knowledge of the Gaelic language was extensive and accurate, and he was engaged, in conjunction with the Rev. Dr Smith of Campbelton, Dr Donald Smith, his brother, the Rev. Mr Camp- bell of Kilfinichen in Mull, and other learned Celtic scholars, in preparing a dictionary of that language, which, it is to be regret- ted, they did not complete and publish. Mr MacIntyre, who died about fifty years ago, had a poetical talent, and composed some good Gaelic songs, which are still favourites with our amateurs in that particular department.” Land-owners.--The parish is divided among six heritors, pay- ing parish rates, and all are of the name Campbell. Arranged in the order of their valued rents these are, * Valued rents. Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine and Glenure, Bart. L. 131 3 4 The Marquis of Breadalbane, e • . 88 3 0 Archibald Campbell, Esq. of Lochnell, & • .85 2 8 Robert Campbell, Esq. of Ardchattan, & tº 65 7 0 Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Monzie and Inverawe, e 35 9 9 Donald Campbell, Esq. of Baleveolan, gº e l I 2 2 Mr Macdonald, proprietor of the farm of Dalness, claims ex- emption from public burdens, on the ground of his being heredi- tary keeper of the royal forest. Mr Campbell of Baleweolan is a minor. The proprietors of the Lochnell estates have been connected with the parish during a longer period than any of our other land- holders. They are descended from Colin, third Earl of Argyle, and have uniformly sustained a high character for patriotism and worth. About the year 1594, James VI. issued a commission to the then Earl of Argyle to attack Huntly and the other insurgent Popish Lords. They met at Glenlivat, Argyle having a force of 10,000 men under his command. The Highlanders, who were * But our best poet, in later times at least, was James Shaw, better known as Lochnell's bard. Shaw was quite illiterate, and, like many votaries of the lyric muse, thoughtless and improvident to a very culpable degree. But his natural powers : were of a high order, his imagination was lively, and his kindlier feelings strong, though, as a satirist, it was no enviable position for any one to have incurred his re- sentment. His songs and other verses would, if published, form a moderately sized volume, and many of them have already found their way into published collections of Gaelic poetry. Shaw died about twenty years ago. His talents, if cultivated, could not have failed to obtain for him consideration, and had his deportment been correct, he might have enjoyed independence, and lived in comfort. But his irregular habits lost him the favour of those who were able and disposed to befriend him, left him an impoverished and degraded object, and brought him at last to an untimely grave. + There are now seven heritors, the property of Glenure having recently been purchased by Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern, Bart. ; and Barcaldine by D. C. Cameron, Esq. of Foxhall, (1843.) 4 - ARDCHATTAN. 493 unaccustomed to artillery, became panic struck when some pieces of ordnance were brought against them, and fled, leaving Argyle, then only eighteen years of age, weeping with indignation at the disgrace of his clan. In this engagement, Campbell of Lochnell and his brother fell in the act of gallantly encouraging their men." The present proprietor of Lochnell is the tenth in succession. The first of the Barcaldine family was Patrick Campbell, known by the sobriquet of Patrick Dubh-beg, it being customary then, as it is in the Highlands to some extent still, to designate individuals by other than their own names, in order to distinguish them from those of the clan or family bearing the same name. This Pa- trick was descended of one of the Glenorchay family. His suc- cessors were, 2. John, 3. Alexander, i. (Alastair MacIainvic Phdrübig), 4. Patrick (Paruig-dearg), 5. John (Ian dubh), 6. Dun- can of Glenure and Barcaldine, 7. Alexander, and S. Sir Duncan Campbell, Bart. of Glenure and Barcaldine. The families of Monzie and Inverawe, and of Baleweolan claim kindred also with the Marquis of Breadalbane. - The Ardchattan family are sprung from Campbell of Calder, now Lord Cawdor, a branch of the house of Argyle. They pro- cured a grant from the Crown of certain church lands attached to the ancient priory here. John Campbell, of the house of Calder, * When, long after this, it was determined that, for suppressing insurrection and maintaining peace in the Highlands, six independent companies should be raised, to be stationed in detachments over the country, and placed under the command of the more influential Highland proprietors, one of these companies was given to Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell. This body, when completed, was known by the name of the “Black Watch,” the first company being given to the notorious Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, who always assigned as a sufficient reason for entering into the Rebellion in 1745, that his company was taken from him. They were subsequently formed into a regiment, now well known as the 42d or Royal Highlanders. f The above named Alexander accompanied to Caithness his relative John (lan glas), first created Earl of Caithness, afterwards of Breadalbane. This Earl John was a creditor to a large amount of George Sinclair, sixth Earl of Caithness, who died without issue, and who, in 1672, executed a disposition of his property and titles in his favour. He married also George Earl of Caithness' widow, who was the third daughter of that enlightened patriot and Christian martyr, Archibald, Marquis of Argyle, whose great and good qualities her Ladyship seems to have inherited. George Sinclair of Keiss, the nearest collateral heir, opposed the claims of the Camp- bells, tand was supported in this by his clan. Earl John, therefore, with his follow- ers, proceeded to Caithness to take possession of the lands, orders having been issued by the privy-council to General Dalzel, notorious for his cruelties towards the Cove- nanters, to assist the Campbells with a part of his Majesty's troops. They met, and fought near Wick, when victory declared in favour of the Campbells. This event is piously recorded by her Ladyship in one of the blank pages of her Bible, an interest- ing antique, published by John Bell and Christopher Barker, anno 1663, and still in the possession of the Barcaldine family. † Wide Douglas's Peerage under “Caithness” and “Breadalbane.” 494 - AR GYLE SHIRE, is designed “Electus Sodorensis et Prior de Ardchattan” in 1558. Fm 1573 he became bishop of the Isles.* Parochial Registers.-The registers of births and marriages do not commence at an earlier date than 1758, and, owing to the me- gligence of parents and parties concerned, they have since been often irregularly kept. The same observation holds as to the poor's roll and poor's funds, and no records of the kirk-session were kept prior to 1819. These matters are now better attended to. Antiquities.—Nearly half way betwixt Connell and Shean, and a little to the west of the high road which connects these ferries, there is a verdant isolated eminence of some extent, the base of which is partially washed by the Atlantic. It is known by the name of Dun-mac-Smiachan, that is, “ the fortified hill of the son of Sniachan,”—and is accessible from the east by what would ap- pear to be an artificial opening made through the rock. It forms one of those vitrified forts which have engaged the attention and exercised the ingenuity of antiquarians, and, in regard to the vitrification of which, the most plausible theory seems to be, that it was occasioned by beacon fires lighted there to warn the inhabi- tants of the approach of an enemy. The remains of a Druidical circle can also be traced on the summit of this eminence.—It has been conjectured that near this hill stood the famous city of Bere- gon or Beregonium ; and it is held also that Dun-Mac-Sniachan is the identical Selma of the poet Ossian, and the site of the pa- lace of the Fingallian dynasty. Without presuming to dogmatise on a subject on which a difference of opinion ought to involve nothing heretical, one may be permitted to say that this lo- cality may advance claims to the honour in question quite as powerful as those of any other in the Highlands. “Selma,” (Seal- la'ma,) signifies, in Gaelic, “the fine view,” and certainly a nobler and more magnificent prospect than that from the top of this hill cannot easily be obtained in any country. The noisy Connell, a little to the south, has, with no little verisimilitude, been considered as Ossian’s “falls of Lora,” lora signifying in Gaelic, “ loud;” and the adjacent widely extended moss of Achnacree, * “He dilapidated,” says Keith, in his History of the Scottish Bishops, “most part of the benefice in favour of his relations.” What had been appropriated for ages to the support of religion, was thus dishonestly converted into private property, a common occurrence at the Reformation in Scotland; and a few individuals were enriched by that which should, on no principle of justice or of expediency, have be- longed to them. These remarks do not, of course, in any degree apply to the present respectable proprietor. ty - 3 ARD CHATTAN. + 495. Studded with ancient cairns, rude Druidical temples, obelisks, and other relics of the olden time, has aptly enough been regarded as the celebrated “plains of Lora.” g - Ardchattan Priory will always be regarded by the ecclesiastical an- tiquarian as an interesting object, serving, like other buildings of the same description, to show the vicissitudes of human affairs, and the instability of human institutions. This once celebrated monastic es- tablishment is now little better than an ivy-mantled ruin; and the roots of ash and plain trees, which grow profusely on its fragments, and which act like so many wedges in separating its component parts, must hasten the time when all that remains of it will be levelled with the dust. It was founded in 1231, by Duncan M*Coull, sup- posed ancestor of the Lords of Lorn ; and belonged to the order of Wallis Caulium, a reform of the Cistertians, and the strictest of that class of Monks which followed the rules of St Benedict. It appears that, by their constitution, none of the inmates, excepting the Prior and Procurator, was permitted, on any pretence, to go beyond the precincts of the monastery. The entrance to the pri- ory was from the west, but dilapidated as the whole now is, a cor- rect judgment can scarcely be formed of the architectural design and details, and there are no ancient drawings from which these may be learned. The site of the church, or chapel of the order can still be distinctly traced. It was 66 feet in length by 28 feet in breadth within walls ; but the basis of the pillars which supported the arches of the aisles on each side of the middle avenue, if these at all exist, as it is likely they may, are buried be- neath the rubbish. The transept was beyond this, a part of its wall being pretty entire, while, at the centre of the cross, and over the main entrance to the church from the west, a square tower was erected, the double walls at that entrance being 9 feet in thickness. The cloisters, the arched outward entrance to which is still visible, though built up, were situated to the north, and from these there was a private door to the church about the middle * The names of localities in this neighbourhood may also be considered corroborative of what has thus been alleged : the name of a bay beyond Lochnell House, for in- stance, is Camus-Năthwis, i. e. “the bay of Nathos;” this Nathos being the son of Us- noth, and nephew to Cuchullin, regent of Ireland, celebrated in Ossian's poem of “Darthula.” The name of one of the farms in Muckairm is Caill'-Năthuis,” i. e. “ the wood or forest of Nathos.” In Loch Etive, above Bunawe, we have Ellan Uisncach- aim, that is, “the island of Usmoth ;” and beyond Dalness, Grianan Dearduil, “the little plain of Darthula,” while there is a rising ground near Barcaldine Castle, named Tom-Ossian, “the hill of Ossian,” the tradition bearing that this was a favourite seat of the aged bard. - 496 ARG Y LESH I R.E. of its north wall. At the south-east corner of the church, a taste- ful arch in the wall still remains, divided into three compartments, two of which seemed as if intended for images or relics. Part of the outside tracery of this arch is also yet entire ; and, at its lower extremity on the west side, is to be seen one of those grotesque figures of animals which were so common on the ornamental works of such buildings. The prior's residence was situated to the south-west of the monastery, and, after having been fitted up and undergone certain necessary changes, has long been, as it still is, the dwelling-house of the proprietor. Its walls are very massive, the gables being seven feet in thickness, including the scarce- ments, which reach to the first floor, and five feet in thickness above that. In a recess on the first floor there is a singular apart- ment, with a fine groined roof, called the Friar's closet. Behind the Prior's house there was a court, extending fifty feet westwards from the principal entrance to the monastery ; and the garden, which lay to the north, and is now part of an inclosed field, may still be distinguished by its black loam when the ground is turn- ed up by the plough. The cemetery of the order lay to the south of the church, but the more honoured of the dead appear to have been interred within the walls. Indeed, human bones and other sepulchral remains have, at no distant period, been dug up in the present garden and where the offices are erected; for when burial ground within the cemetery could not be obtained, it was, under the reign of Romanism, superstitiously deemed a privilege that the dead should be laid as near as possible to their churches and convents. It is said that a part of the building of the monastery was destroyed some time before the restoration : at all events there is no ground for alleging that our reformers, to whose ruth- lessness it is deemed convenient to ascribe the demolition of the ancient ecclesiastical buildings, ever displaced a single stone here. A portion of the materials of the chapel appear to have been em- ployed, appropriately enough, by the resident heritors, more than a century ago, in erecting the parish church : other portions were used for building fences and out-houses, the carved freestone having, at the same time, been discovered by house-maids to be, in a pounded state, admirably suited for their purposes when clean- ing their floors and passages. The once handsome and richly arched outer doorway has in this manner been rudely and thoughtlessly mutilated. No precise information can be obtained of the revenues of this ARD CHATTAN. 497 priorate, though there are reasons for believing that they were considerable. The present family were, at one time, titulars of the teinds, and held the patronage of several neighbouring parishes; those patronages have long since been disposed of. If any valu- able historical records or other manuscripts existed here of old, they have all perished. In the burial ground, which still continues to be used for that purpose, there are several ancient tombstones, composed chiefly of blue slate. Most of these have no inscrip- tions, but bear the effigies of monks attired in the habits of their order, and represented in a devotional attitude. But there are others which do bear inscriptions, though it be no easy matter to decypher some of them. Of these, there is one about the centre of the church, which has been broken longitudinally, and on which the following letters appear in the old Saxon characters:— “FUNALLUS SOMHERLE MACDoug ALLUS, PRIOR DE ARDCHAT- TAN McCCCC.” It was alleged that the inscription on this stone was written in the Gaelic language,_an allegation which is clearly groundless; nor was it supposed that any thing had been cut out on its lower side,--but it has recently been discovered that it bears, on that side, representations of wild beasts well executed and preserved. It would seem that what remains is but a part of the original monument, and that it was intended to be placed in an upright position, and probably was so at first. At the south- east corner of the church, there is a flat stone, on which the fol- lowing inscription is finely cut:-‘‘Hic JACET VENERANDUS ET EGREGIUs VIR Rope RICUs ALEXANDRI, RECTOR QUONDAM FUNNANNI INSULE, QUI obi IT ANNO DOM : ,” the date not mentioned. The inscription was probably finished before the Rector’s death, the blanks to be supplied after his interment, and this was omitted to be done. Under this monument there is a stone coffin. . - - The inscription on another tombstone, beyond the church, to the south, is written in a character which cannot be decyphered : it is very ancient:—but the most interesting monument in the cemetery, and a finer is not often to be met with, is one which was discover- ed, several years ago, under a mass of rubbish, and is situat- ed within the church, near the east end of its northern wall. The quality of the stone of which the monument is composed is excellent, and the representations of two dignified ecclesiastics in the monastic costume, and of a warrior in full coat of mail, cut out in separate niches on its lower section, and of two weeping nuns, ATRGYLE. I l 498 AR GYLE SHIRE, between a human skeleton, in similar compartments on its upper section, together with the entire ornamental drapery, are all exe- cuted with much skill, and taste. This monument is also placed over a stone coffin. The inscription on its sides and margin is in the old Irish characters, and, in so far as it can now be traced, is as follows:—“HIC JACENT NATI SoMERLEDI MACDoug ALL DüNCA- NUS ET DUGALLUS, HUJUS MONASTERII SUCCESSIVE PRIORES, UNA CUM EORUNDEM PATRE, MATRE, ET FRATRE ALANO, QUO- RUM DUGALLus HUJus Monument FABRICAton, opiſt ANNo DoNINI McCCCCII.” Church of Bal-maodan.—About ten minutes' walk from the pri- ory, and on the brow of the hill behind it, stand the remains of this old parish church ; its site, and particularly an adjoining knoll, commanding a view which will amply compensate the toil of the ascent. Indeed, one striking peculiarity of the West High- lands is the diversified character of the scenery, the doubling of every headland, the ascent of every eminence, and almost every curvature on the road presenting a new picture to the traveller. Tradition will have it that the church of Bal-maodan is more an- cient than the priory, but tradition is, probably, in this instance not correct. It was a very plain building, 54 feet in length, and 22 feet in breadth, within walls; having two small square recesses at the east end, and only two windows, one in each gable, but so narrow as to admit only a very dim light. The area of the church, and a piece of ground around it, is still used as a burial ground, though, from some unaccountable neglect, it has been long unen- closed. Modan's” well is in the close vicinity, at the upper end of a wild and wooded ravine. Kilcolmkill, that is, “the church dedicated to Columba,” better known by its contracted name of Kiel, is situated in the lower end of the parish, and a little to the northward of Craignook. The vestiges of this building are all that now remain, though the small plot of burial-ground around it continues to be used by a few fa- * It is not unlikely that this Modan was the same who, in 522, was elected abbot or bishop of Kelso, and who was a person of profound piety and devotional habits. He is said to have spent five or six hours of every day in meditation and prayer. Ardent in the cause of the Redeemer, he made frequent incursions into the remoter parts of the country, especially to the banks of the Forth and Clyde, preaching with much eloquence. He retired at times to a lonely locality near Dunbarton, then Alcluyd, where he continued in meditation 30 or 40 days, and where he spent the last of his days. A church was dedicated to him at Roseneath, and he was what was called patron or tutelar saint of the high church of Stirling. His name is said to be still traditionally remembered about Dunbarton and Falkirk—See Morton's Monastic Annals of Teviotdale. A R D CHATTAN. 499 milies as a place of interment. It is contiguous to Dun-mac- Sniachan, or the ancient Selma; but, with the exception of the extensive and delightful view from it, there is nothing now about it deserving of particular notice. It is obvious to remark, that our remote ancestors were more 2ealous and successful in planting churches in the Highlands than their successors, though they possess an incomparably purer faith. These churches and chapels appear to have been in the ratio of more than two to one to those of the present day, while the po- pulation is much greater. * Barcaldine Castle.—This baronial residence is the only remnant of feudal times among us; nor has it much to boast of either as regards its design or its architecture. It was built in the latter part of the fifteenth century by Sir Duncan Campbell, Knight of Glenorchy (Donnachadh dubh,) who is said to have built, or at least to have been the possessor, of seven castles, and is therefore distinguished by the cognomen, of “Duncan of the seven castles” (Donnachadh man seachd Caisteil.) Unlike the other castles in the country, which are built on rocks on the margin of our seas or inland lakes, Barcaldine Castle stands on a rising ground a short distance from the sea, on the neck of land which divides Loch Creran from the bay of Ardmucknish, and close by the road which leads from Shian Ferry to Connell. The family removed from Barcaldine to the present mansion-house more than a century ago, and the castle has in consequence been allowed to fall into decay. “But the views from it and near it,” says Dr MacCulloch, “are magnificent, and it is, with all its deformity, an important and in- teresting object in the picture. The scenery here,” (betwixt Connell and Shian,) “is beautiful; but everything is beautiful between these two ferries. These are but five miles, but it is a day's jour- ney for a wise man. The castle is the only one of this particular style which I have seen in the remote Highlands; but, with its freshness and its living trees, it carries us back to the habits of past times with more vividness than most of those buildings that I have met with.” Druidical temples or circles, formed of large granite stones placed on end, are found on plains in all parts of the parish, and in different states of entireness. In some of these there are two or more concentric circles, with an entrance, the stones on each side of which are of larger dimensions; but in many instances the stones have been removed to build houses or fences, and the circle 500 - A R GYLE SHIR. E. consequently can be less distinctly traced. A little to the west of the farm-house of Achnacreebeg, there are two small stone circles of unequal diameter; and there are not wanting grounds for sup- posing that these were enclosed within a larger circle, the stones of which have been removed. On the top of the stones composing the smaller circles, large slabs of granite were laid; and the cause of wonder is, how masses so large could, without the aid of machinery, be conveyed to the places where they now are, and raised up so as to be laid over the stones which form the circles. They pro- bably present the remains of Druidical superstition. There are also a number of cairns, or artificial collections of stones of various sizes, throughout the parish. The largest perhaps in the country is in the moss of Achnacree. It was enclosed, more than twenty years ago, by General Campbell, and trees have been planted around it. Beside it, and within the enclosure, there seem to have been two or more Druidical circles, composed of very large stones. Stone coffins, as they have been called, are still occasionally found, and in situations where no one would expect to meet with them. On the farm of Kiel, near Lochnell House, a coffin of this kind was lately discovered, some feet below the surface of gravel which formed the subsoil of a moss at least four feet in depth. It con- tained a rude urn, in which were human bones, and which, though they probably lay there for more than a thousand years, were won- derfully entire, and resisted the influence of the atmosphere when exposed to it. Similar urns have been found in tumuli in other places of the same district, one in particular, near to the Loch- nell school-house. Among the calcined bones in this urn, some- thing was observed of a lighter colour than the other substances enclosed. This turned out to be a flint arrow-head, with which, probably, the individual whose remains were deposited in the urn had been transfixed. The arrow-head is now in the possession of Professor Pillans of Edinburgh. Ancient coins have likewise been found where few would think of searching for them. In the year 1829, a party were digging a grave in the burial-ground at Bal- maddan, it being no uncommon thing here, when such parties come from a distance, that the grave is not prepared till they come with the interment. When the diggers had reached a depth of more than four feet below the surface, they observed several shin- ing substances at their feet, which some said were shells, and others maintained to be old buttons, but which turned out to be small silver coins of the reign of Edward, and presenting on the , ARD CHATTAN. 50 l reverse the names, London, Cambridge, Oxford, all in good pre- servation. What has since become of them has not been ascertain- ed.—Among the wilds of Glenetive, near the river, and on the farm of Invereolan, there is a large uprightstone, to which cattle and their keepers often resort, finding that here they can have “in cold ashel- ter, and in heat a shade.” To this place, in the year 1830, a shep- herd betook himself; and while the tempest was spending its fury around him, he thought of amusing himself and beguiling the time by striking the point of the walking-stick which he held in his hand in the ground beside him. To his surprise, he threw up something which proved to be a silver coin; and on searching with some care, he found about thirty others. These coins were also of the reign of Edward, and similar to those picked up at Balmaddan. Some of them were given to the late Mr MacDonald of Dalness, and others were obligingly offered to the acceptance of the parish mi- nister. It is not unlikely that they were deposited in the place where they were found, before the owner set out on some predatory excursion, from which he never returned. - - Modern Buildings.--The most extensive of these is Lochnell House. It was originally built by Sir Duncan Campbell, but ad- ditions were made to it by his successor, General Campbell, on which he expended upwards of L, 15,000. It is now a spacious and handsome building.—Barcaldine House, embowered in woods, is, from its recent alterations and additions, rendered a commodi- ous residence,—The House of Inverawe is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Awe, and at the base of Ben-cruachan, and is surrounded with fine old trees; but as the family lived in Perth- shire, the house and garden here have been less attended to than they would had the proprietor been resident.—Drimvuick House, the residence of Mr Campbell of Baleweolan, though not large, is a comfortable dwelling-house.—The church, opened for Divine service in 1836, without any pretensions to elegance, is a commo- dious place of worship.–There are a few good farm-houses; and where school-houses have lately been built, there is a manifest im- provement on the poor concerns which formerly went by that name. III.—PoPULATION. The population of Ardchattan in 1841 announted to laj9 Of these there were males, • te 725 females, tº 727 The population of Ardchattan in 1831 amounted to 1650 Of these there were males, e & 85 l females, • 79) 5{}º AR GYLE SHIRE, The decrease in the population, as above, may be ascribed, in some measure, to the uniting of farms, especially in the upkand districts of the parish, where sheep-farming prevails; and to the enlarging of the Marquis of Breadalbane's deer forest in that di- rection. The non-residence of our heritors, who, with their fami- lies and establishments, resided upon their properties in the parish when the former census was taken, contributed to the same result. With the exception of two, who pass a few months of the year on their properties here, the heritors, for some years back, have been non-resident; a circumstance which operates unfavourably on the interests of the parish.” The Gaelic language is that which prevails, and it is spoken with much purity. More than nine- tenths of the people prefer religious instruction in the Gaelic, while a majority can receive such instruction through the medium of that language only. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture and Rural Economy.—Although a pastoral rather than an agricultural district, the extent of ground in the parish cultivated or occasionally in tillage is considerable. Minute accu- racy of admeasurement is not attainable, but it is believed the amount exceeds rather than falls below 1650 standard imperial acres. The soil consists chiefly of a light loam, requiring, from its absorbent qualities, frequent manuring, but yielding, when ju- diciously managed, fair crops of oats and bear, with potatoes, at once prolific and of superior quality. It seems desirable that tur- nip husbandry, which succeeds well, was more generally intro- duced; but this is scarcely to be expected till the arable ground is better enclosed and subdivided than at present. Besides an extent of pasture and waste land, which cannot with accuracy be ascertained, there are large tracts of moss. It is very problema- tical whether, provided means could be obtained, the reclaim- ing of these dreary tracts would prove a profitable application of capital, though it would doubtless greatly improve the appear- ance of the country. But there is no great likelihood of the thing being attempted.—There are fully 2700 imperial acres under wood, seven-eighths of the whole, if not more, consisting of oak coppice, which is carefully attended to, and cut at the end of every twenty or twenty-one years. The plantations consist of Scottish fir, larch, * Colonel Campbell of Ardchattan has recently become a residing heritor, with his son-in-law and daughter, Mr and Mrs Popham. 3 ARD CHATTAN. 503 spruce, ash, beech, elm, and sycamore, all of which are found to thrive well. It is not easy to say exactly what is the average rent of arable land per acre, because a portion of hill-pasture is usually rented along with the arable land, and the whole is estimated, not so much by the extent in acres, as by the number of cows, horses, or sheep which the place can support. The maintenance of each cow throughout the year may be said to range from L. 3 to L. 4 ; and of each sheep, from 2s. 6d. to 8s. 6d. The value of the larger farms is often reckoned by the number of cows “with their fol- lowers” which the farm will support, understanding by this last expression all the calves of the fold till they are a year old, or stirks, selling one-half of the males at that age, and retaining the young cows, for keeping up the stock, till they are heifers of three years old. The cows are disposed of to cattle-dealers, or sent to market, generally when seven or eight years of age. With the exception of some cows of the Ayrshire breed, kept for supplying the dairy, the breed of cattle is the true native or Argyleshire, justly admired for their symmetry, their aptitude to fatten, and the quality of their beef, especially after they have been fed for a time on the pastures of the south. Great attention is paid to rearing. The calves are allowed to suckle their dams, and get, in most cases, all the milk, and, for the first winter at least, are supplied with the best hay the farm produces, care being taken also that they are not stinted as to quantity. The small white Scotch sheep have been completely superseded by the black-faced, which are found to suit the country and the climate, and to remunerate bet- ter than any other kind. The Cheviot breed has been introduced only partially; and in regard to sheep and to cattle, the overstock- ing of farms is now felt to have been a great, though it was a pre- valent error. The breed of horses has been improved as respects size, strength, and action, and hence fewer are required, while the work is done sooner and better. Rate of Wages.—The usual rate of wages to farm-servants, say a good ploughman, is from L.10 to L. 12 a-year, with their food; or if a house and cow's grass are given to married men, there is a proportionate deduction in the money wages. Maid-servants re- ceive from L. 5 to L. 6, according to their qualifications. Shep- herds were formerly allowed to keep a certain number of sheep, with one or two cows, on the sheep-walk; but that mode of paying them is now being given up, and they get from L. 10 or L. 11 to 504 - AR GYLE SHIRE. L. 13 a-year. Labourers employed only occasionally are paid at the rate of 1s. 8d. per day in summer, and ls. in winter. Masons, carpenters, and slaters, are paid 2s. 6d. per day, wages being mo- dified, of course, by the demand, and the character and expertness of the artisan. - The duration of leases extends, in comparatively few instances, to nineteen, and varies generally from seven to nine years, a per riod too short for effecting any material agricultural improvements. Though there are farm-houses within the parish which are sub- stantial and commodious, and which thus keep pace with the pro- gress of improvement in other respects throughout the kingdom, it must be confessed that these form the exception, and do not constitute the rule. We have tenants who pay hundreds of pounds of annual rent, who yet inhabit very mean houses, and whose farm- steadings are entirely in keeping with their residences. Slates of the best quality might be had at a cheap rate from the neighbour- ing island of Easdale, or from Balicheilish, but these dwellings still continue to be thatched with straw, an employment which occupies much of the tenant's time, consumes the provender which would help to feed his cattle, and add, besides, to the quantum of his manure. Such houses are in danger of being laid bare by the gales that sweep the country in winter. Quarries.—We have no freestone quarries in the parish, but there is abundance of granite boulders, which, when split and dressed, form substantial and beautiful materials for building. Lord Breadalbane has opened, and is working successfully a gra- nite quarry on his farm of Barrs, on the upper shores of Loch Etive, where stones of a large size, of very superior quality, and susceptible of a high polish, are obtained. For works in which firmness and durability are necessary, finer materials can no where be found. - Mines.—Lead ore has been found on the farm of Drimvuick, in Glencreran, but no mine has been opened there as on the op- posite farm of Mynefield, in the parish of Appin. Fisheries.—The salmon-fishing at Bunawe is by much the most extensive carried on in or near the parish, though, in so far as the Awe is concerned, that fishery is connected rather with the parish of Innishail. There is also a salmon-fishery at Guala- challin, near the upper end of Loch Etive, and another on the farm of Dalachellish, near the head of Loch Creran, but these, comparatively, are inconsiderable. ARDCHATTAN. - 505 Produce.—The average gross amount of raw produce annually raised cannot be specified with minute accuracy. It is believed the gross rental may, in round numbers, be stated to be L.6600. Now, if two rents be added to this, we have L. 19,800, which may, perhaps, represent the yearly value of the grain, potatoes, hay, wool, pasturage of sheep and cows, fisheries, and thinnings of wood throughout the parish. Live-Stock.-There are 32,000 sheep in the district, 720 cows with their followers, and 250 horses of all ages. The number of imperial acres under coppice, which consists of oak, ash, birch, mountain ash, &c. may be estimated at 2600 acres. At each hagg or felling, or, at the end of every twenty or twenty-one years, these, valuing the oak bark, after deducting charges for manufacturing and freight, at L.4 per ton, the char- coal at 10s. per dozen bags, and adding to this the value of the unmeasurable timber, may produce the sum of L.9000. There is no manufacturing establishment within the bounds, nor does any part of the population belong to the manufacturing classes. - - - . It may be mentioned, before concluding this section, that our proprietors and principal farmers are members of the Lorn Agricul- tural Association,-an institution which, as the name imports, has for its objects the encouragement of agriculture, and the improve- ment of stock of all description. Premiums are adjudged by this association for agricultural improvements, and for the best horses, cows, and sheep; and it may confidently be stated that salutary ef- fects have resulted, and are likely still to result, from the spirited operations of this institution. . W.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. There is in the parish no market-town, the nearest being Oban, which is eight miles distant from the parish church, and separated from the district of Benderloch by Loch Etive, which is crossed at the ferry of Connell. The post-office is at Lorn Furnace, and is designated Bonaw. It is also beyond the bounds of the parish, and is cut off from it besides by Loch Etive. The course of the Fort William post, however, is through a section of the parish, and in this way a considerable portion of the population is tolera- bly well accommodated. There are no turnpike roads in the district, nor indeed hitherto in any part of Argyleshire. It is due to all concerned to say, that the county roads and the state of the bridges are well attended to. 506 ARGYLESHIRE. Ecclesiastical State.—The present parish church was opened for divine service in 1836. A new church having previously been found to be necessary, it was erected about three miles from the manse and site of the former building, and is now nearer, by that distance, to the body of the parishioners, though, in a parish so ex- tensive, some of the people must necessarily be inconveniently si- tuated in reference to the means of grace. The church may ac- commodate 430 sitters, and is a commodious and well-finished place of worship. The sittings are all free, and are divided among the heritors in the ratio of their valued rents. The application of this law, if it be a law, has been found practically unsuitable, at least here, the upper districts of the parish being very thinly peo- pled, while the lower comparatively are the reverse. Hence some of the heritors have had ten times more church room allocated to them than the people on their lands can occupy, while others, on the contrary, have a great deal less adjudged to them than the population requires. Ministers of the Parish.--Some notices of Mr Colin Campbell, minister of the united parish of Ardchattan and Muckairn, or, as there sometimes designated, Balvaodan and Kilespickerrell, have already been given. The names of the incumbents from the Re- formation till Mr Campbell’s appointment cannot be ascertained. Mr Campbell was succeeded, in 1731, by Mr Archibald Banna- tyne. Mr James Stevenson succeeded Mr Bannatyne in Fe- bruary 1732, and departed this life September 1751. The Rev. Ludovick Grant was admitted on the 29th day of April 1756, and departed this life in November 1795. The Rev. George Campbell was admitted the minister of the united parish, Sep- tember 1796, and died at Long Ashton, near Bristol, whither he had gone for the recovery of his health, January 1817. The Rev. Hugh Fraser was admitted October 1817, and demitted the charge, along with nearly 500 other ministers, in consequence of the control claimed by the civil courts in matters spiritual, June 1843. The manse of Ardchattan, which is pleasantly situated on the northern margin of Loch Etive, was built in 1772. It received a large addition in 1814, besides partial repairs since that time, and is now, in point of accommodation, not surpassed by any in this part of the country; the offices attached are equally commodious. In commendation of the glebe, much cannot be said. The pasture for milch cows is inferior in quality, and though considerable ARDCIIATTAN. 507 sums have been expended in improving the patch of arable ground, it is a physical impossibility to render it valuable. The stipend, as modified in 1816, amounts, as since paid by the heritors, to 253 bolls, 1 peck, #ths of a lippie of meal; 9 bolls of barley, estimated by the Linlithgow measure ; 6 stones of cheese, and L.37, 9s. 10d. of money, including L. 8, 6s. 8d. for commu- nion elements. The patronage of the church belongs to Camp- bell of Lochnell. The number of communicants is above 300. Till the late disruption there were not above ten Dissenters from the Established Church throughout the whole parish. A parish missionary association was established nearly twenty years ago, when there were several resident heritors, and the an- nual contributions amounted to between L.30 and L.35 a year. That association has since merged into the collections in support of the five Assembly’s schemes for the spread of the gospel at home and abroad; but owing to the absence of the heritors, and the increased poverty of the people, the yearly sum collected now does not amount to one-half of that sum. What is thus collected is, of course, irrespective of the ordinary Sabbath-day collections, which, on an average of the three last years, 1840, 1841, 1842, amounted to L. 18, 18s. A place of worship in connection with the Free Church of Scotland is now being built about six miles distant from the parish church, and is nearly roofed in. When completed, it will accommodate 354 sitters. Education.—There are three schools in the parish, one the pa- rochial, and the other two on the scheme of the General Assem- bly. There is also a sewing mistress, who has a small salary from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. The benefits of education are generally appreciated by the people, and the consequence is, that there is a desire to avail themselves of these, since the Assembly’s scheme was set on foot, to an extent previously unknown. The effects on their conduct and morals are decidedly beneficial. The salary of the parochial teacher is the minimum, together with L. 4, 3s. 4d. interest of mortified money, payable by Mr Campbell of Ardchattan. The upper district of the parish is unfavourably situate in reference to education, from the distance at which the comparatively few families there reside from one another. By the late Dr M'In- tyre, surgeon, 53d Regiment, who bequeathed several sums for promoting benevolent objects, L. 200 were appropriated, the interest of which was to be laid out in educating the poorer 508 ARGYLESHIRE. * children in “ the Mission of the Glens.” This money could not be laid out in the manner specified by that excellent man, in a codicil to his latter will, and the amount, after deducting legacy duty and other charges, is, meanwhile, vested in herita- ble security. The end, contemplated by Dr M'Intyre will pro- bably be best attained by setting up an ambulatory school in the district. - - Poor and Parochial Funds.—The number of persons on the poor's roll at present is 49, who receive at the half-yearly distribu- tion of the funds from 10s. to L.1, 5s. per annum, a sum now very inadequate to their necessities, even though aid is given occasionally to the more necessitous during the intervals between each distri- bution. Till within the last eight or ten years, when five out of seven heritors might be regarded as resident, the church collec- tions were not only sufficient, but more than sufficient, for the supply of the wants of the parish poor. This arose, not so much from the amount of the church collections, though that was com- paratively liberal, as from the kindly attentions of the landholders and their families to the poor on their properties, with whose cir- cumstances they made themselves minutely acquainted, and whose necessities they failed not to relieve. The inadequacy of the church collections has rendered voluntary contributions on the part of the heritors more than ever necessary of late years; and, how- ever much to be deprecated, will, in all probability, soon render compulsory assessments indispensable. This presents a greatly altered state of affairs from what recently existed, when, besides supplying the wants of the indigent, a sum amounting to L. 120 was accumulated under the management of the kirk-session, and which is now laid out at interest for the payment of the parish. beadle and precentor, that the parish collections might, without these deductions, be divided among the poor. Inns.—There are five inns, or houses for the retail of ardent spirits in the parish. With one exception, all these are ferry- houses; and, on this ground, it has been alleged that spirits should be sold in them. The distance between two of these fer- ries, Connell and Shean, is less than five miles; and, on each side of these ferries, there are inns; yet, a house where whisky is retailed invites the traveller and the neighbouring population about midway. The effects of all this on the morals and the means of the community are the reverse of beneficial, MUCKAIRN. - 509 Fuel.—The fuel commonly used is peats, supplemented in some parts by brushwood. By the higher classes, coals are used. - * & . - - MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Little remains to be stated under this head additional to what has already been noticed. Though a good deal has been done, much remains still to be done, in the way of opening the internal communication. In particular, roads are required on both sides of Loch-etive, and to be carried on from the head of that arm of the sea to King's House, to unite there with the great road from Fort- William to Stirling and Edinburgh. Another line is much wanted along the south side of Loch-creran, already formed partially as far as Crigan ferry, that road to be connected also with the great Edinburgh line.—The law of entail has operated unfavour- ably, in so far as relates to the improvement of the country; and though its evils have of late been mitigated, it must continue in some measure so to operate. High rents, and still declining prices for our staple commodities, press heavily on many among us; and if relief be not obtained by a deduction of rents, or a rise in prices, serious consequences may be anticipated. But, let it never be forgotten that the master remedy for the thousand ills that flesh is heir to is, that all classes of the community be brought under the influence of the faith and the hope of the gospel. MUCKAIRN, ANNEXED QUOAD CIVILIA TO ARDCHATTAN.” (A PARLIAMENTARY CHURCH PARISH, PRESBYTERY of Lof N, SYNOD OF ARGYLE.) THE REV. LACHLAN M*KENZIE, MINISTER. I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL PHISTORY. THE Statistical Account of the district and Parliamentary church of Muckairn, as connected with Ardchattan, may aptly be introduced by inserting a description of that district copied from a MSS. probably a century and a half old, which was furnished to the writer of these notes by the late General Campbell of Loch- nell. The name of the writer of the manuscript is not known; * From notes furnished by the Rev. Hugh Fraser, A. M., minister of the Free Church, Ardchattan, 5 i () ARGYLESHIRE. and his derivation of Muckairn, with some other immaterial re- marks made by him afterwards, must be received with some grains of allowance. But, with these abatements, the account given of the locality, its history, and its products, is correct and graphic ; and, altogether, the contents of the venerable document are too interesting not to obtain a place here. “The country of Muckarn got its name, as is storied, thus: One of our queens of old being long without children, desires the public prayers of the Church to Almighty God for obtaining the blessing of the fruit of the womb : and, some time after these means were used, having born a son named Evarn or Edgar, in testimony of her thankfulness for such a blessing, doted this coun- try to the Church, calling it maodh-Edharan, that is, the valley or field of Edgar ; whence, through tract of time, it came corruptly to be called Meucearn or Muckarn, and to be kirkland. “It is situated about the middle of Lorn, which is one of, if not the largest of the lordships of this kingdom, having one arm of the Deucaledonian sea, called Loch Etive, on its north side, which divideth it from Benderloch, Appin, Duror, and Glenco; on the east and south-east side, by the water or river of Neaunnt, which falleth into Loch Etive near the foot of the river Awe and Lochneaunnt, out of which that river Neaunnt floweth. It is divided from part of that which is called by a special name the division of Argyll, which part cometh up betwixt Lochow and Lochneaunnt, till it comes to Lochetive at the foot of both these rivers. On the south side, it is limited partly by a rivulet that runs into the west end of Lochneaunnt, and partly by hills, till the marches of it fall into the water Lonan betwixt Cliffnamacrie and Strontvilleir, not far from the east end of Lochnell; and from thence, on the west side, by the wood called Gasgan and the wa- ter of Lusragan, it is divided from that which is specially called Mid Lorn ; so that its length from Neaunnt water to Lusragan water is five miles, according to the ordinary estimation, but some more than six good metrical miles, of 1000 paces to the mile, and five English foot to the pace, and its breadth much about the same measure. . “This country lieth leaning to the north, whence the soil is not altogether so fertile in grain nor the grass so kindly as the rest of Mid Lorn marching with it, except in some tenements that lie near the shore side; yet it hath such plenty of grain as not only 3 s M UCKAIRN. 51 to suffice itself, but also some every year to sell to the neighbour- ing glens above it. But its chief increase is in cattle, with which it is furnished plentifully of all sorts, cows, horses, sheep, and goats, and hath this singular advantage, that every rown or farm a part hath woods, moss for fuel, grass, corn, and barley land commodiously mixed, so that every singular tenement hath all conveniency within itself. The woods, whereof it hath as yet great plenty, are oak, birch, and alder, are much impaired, especially the oak, which is generally old stocks, so knotty and cross-grained, that it is of little use but to shelter cattle in bad weather, and to entertain some scores of roes that frequent them. In the lower places of the country, are good store of hares, and everywhere more than is wished of foxes, which can hardly be destroyed for woods and so many rocky dens as they have to defend them. There is also plenty of badgers or brocks in many places of this country; particularly, there are two places in Sandy Hills so haunted by them, that the ground is all undermined by them, and above forty or fifty entries in each place, all having communication under ground, so that a terrier or little dog trained to hunt them may enter at one end of these hills and come out at another, and these are impregnable strength to defend them; for in case they be hard besieged either by terriers or by digging, they work so with their feet, throwing the sand behind them, and so closing the passage, that they elude the labour of their pursuers. But the surer way of hunting them, is to watch them in the moonlight nights about Michaelmas, for then they use to frequent fields on which the folds of cattle used to lie through summer and harvest, whereby the place so manured and fattened yields against that time of the year a rank soft kind of grass, which the badgers, as is alleged, gather and carry to their holes, and feed on in winter; but it is more probable, that they feed on the worms and roots of the grass on the fields, and carry some of the grass alongst to their holes, with which they make warm couches whereon they sleep for the most part all winter over. “In this country, there are few of these moorfowls called red cocks and their hens, but great plenty of blackcocks and heath hens. Of old there were here in the woods these fowls called capper- coillies, which was a large fowl about the bigness of a turkey hen, of a grayish mixt colour and round body, much of the shape of the blackcock, but bigger, of good taste; such of them as fre- quented the birch woods, tasted better than those that haunted the 512 ARGYLESHIRE, fir woods; but there hath none of them been seen in this country these sixty or seventy years bypast. “Besides the greater rivers or waters, Neaunnt, Lonan, Luach- ragan, Lusragan, there are a great many small rivulets or brooks, all replenished with small trouts at all times, and betwixt Michael- mas and Hallowmas with greater trouts, of the bigness of herring, or rather larger, which come in from the sea to spawn; and on these greater rivers, there come in good store of salmon fish, some of the largest sort, but most of the smaller, which are grilses. The otters frequently haunt these rivers and brooks, and follow them to their very original, near to the tops of hills. “There is no considerable take of sea-fish here, only at the Con- nel, and the little island near it called Glash Island, there is good store of young seathes, codlings, and other small fish, caught with rods all summer over. “This country is designed by the name of Baronry of Kilmaro- nag, from a village in it of that name, signifying, in the Irish lan- guage, the cell of the Holy Cross, where as yet remain the walls of an old church. This, it seems, of old, was esteemed the chief place of the country, for here were the courts held; but, shortly before the Reformation, there was another church built in Kile- spikeril, now called Kirk Town, which now is the parochial church. In the place where it stands, there was of old (and still as yet used) a burial-place, and hard by it a standing, cross, with a crucifix. The stone is yet extant, without any inscription, ex- cept the image of Christ extended, and it lieth in a grave instead of a tomb. It seems there was a cell or chapel here of old, be- fore the building of the church, denominated by or dedicated to Bishop Cyrillus, or rather the old Scottish saint Coriolanus, whence it retaineth the name of Kilespikeril. º “There is one single roum of land, or plough of land, in this country, called Achnacloich, with the adjacent small isle Elina- nabb, or Abbot’s Isle, which is not within the said baronry, but is holden of the abbot of Inshaffrey of Strathearn, belonging of a long time by-past to the Laird of Lochnell, Campbell, and now to a cadet of that family. Of old, because of the frequent incur- sions of the English into this kingdom, and other commotions, it was usual that men of quality, whose interest lay in the low countries, did purchase some small parcel of lands in the High- lands, into which, in time of these public calamities, they used to withdraw for a while, when they could not, without hazard, reside MUC [AIRN. 513 at home; and it seems that this room was, for that use, kept by the Abbot of Inshaffrey. All the rest of the country, being twenty-five ploughs of land, are a regality by themselves, and have the privileges and immunities usually belonging to regalities, appertaining in property to the Right Honourable the Knights of Calder, Campbells, for the space of 200 years ago, and came to be theirs in heritage after the manner following:— f “This country, after it was doted to the Church by King Mal- com Kenmore, and his religious Queen, Margaret, in testimony of her thankfulness for the prayers of the Church, by which she, ob- tained from the Lord her son Edgar, so named after her brother Edgar, King of England, who was expelled by King William the Conqueror, whence it got the denomination of Maodh-edgarn, or Meucarn corruptly,–it belonged to the Bishops of the Isles; and one of these bishops called Ferquhard, sett the same in tack to MacDougall of Lorn, who was at that time very powerful in thir countries. MacDougall, for some considerable time, paid his tack duly to the bishops in victuals, which was received at a place on the shore side, near Kilmochronag, called Cregan-a-Mháil to this day; but MacDougall, either through insolence, or some private discontent, became an undutiful vassal, and an ill payer of his dues, till, in the end, he refused to pay any thing at all. “At this time Sir John Campbell, Knight of Calder, and second son to the Earl of Argyll, a valiant, witty, and active man, by the instigation and unwearied endeavours and mediation of one Priest MacPhail, his foster father, (a relation at that time among the Highlandmen no less obliging than that of blood,) did obtain from the Bishop of the Isles a right to this barony and regality of Kilmaronag, or country of Muckairn, which the said priest did carefully manage, both in assisting the advance of the money that was given for it to the bishop, and in obtaining the Pope's confir- mation to the right, which was done by his legate, Sylvester Darius, the last legate from the Pope in this kingdom. Thus, having obtained a legal right, MacDougall, as he * - the bishop out of it, thought also to do the same to the knight, and by force to retain the possession of the country in his own hand, many of his kindly men and followers inhabiting the same, and himself very powerful in these bounds. After several civil messages to MacDougall to no purpose, the knight, being clothed with legal right and authority, is necessitated to possess himself by force, and, having gathered a considerable party of * Illegible in the original manuscript. AR GYLE. K k 514 & AR GYLE SHIRE. men, was met, in his entry to the country, by a numerous party under the command of MacDougall's son, and, both parties en- gaging, MacDougall's son and some of his adherents were slain, and the rest pursued till the night and woods did separate them. There are yet cairns or some heaps of stones remaining, which were made in the places where the dead were found, denominated from the persons killed. Thus the knight got possession. Not long after this, MacDougall, hearing that the knight had sent a few men to take up the rents in the country, sent a party to surprise them, and cut them off; but they, getting intelligence hereof, were in readiness to receive them, and repelled them with the loss of two of MacDougall's men. A third encounter they had, but without blood; for, the knight on the one side, and MacDougall on the other, both well appointed, and accompanied with their fol- lowers, as they were ready to fight, fell on a treaty, and by mes- sage betwixt them they were reconciled : MacDougall yielding up and passing from all his pretensions, desiring only as a favour that the knight would be kind to his clansmen and followers dwell- ing in these lands, which his successors performed to that degree, that, within a short time, they forsook their dependence on Mac- Dougall, and depended absolutely on the Knight of Calder, of whom there are several branches yet remaining in the country, as the MacCalmans, MacNackands, MacAndeoras, and others. “Ever since it hath been peaceably possessed by the Knights of Calder as their proper heritage, without any intermission, and go- verned by their baillies and chamberlains in their own absence, who always were cadets of their own family. “This country being a parish by itself, although it lies in the midst of the diocess of Argyle, and, by an act of Parliament, in the year 1687, annexed to be one charge, together with the parish of Ardchattan or Baillevaodain, on the other side of Loch Etive; yet was a part of the diocess of Dunkell, and the Bishop of Dunkell, titular of the whole tithes, parsonage and vicarage, within the same, and patron of Killesbuigkerill, it being one of his mensal kirks; but the knights of Calder were always tacksmen of the tithes, and paid a certain feu-duty to the bishop, besides the mi- nister's stipend. The knights of Calder have other lands adjoin- ing to this country, for besides the lands of Ichrachan, Barafail, and Tayinluin, which are disjoined from it only by the river Ne- aunnt, and are a part of the estate which the first knight got from the Earl of Argyle, the rest of it lying on Lochowside; the supe- MU CKAIRN. 515 riority and feu thereof they still retain. They have the lands in Benderloch called the priory lands of the monastery of Ard- chattan, all contiguous, lying by the shore side over against Muc- kearn, from Ardachy to Dailchaderly inclusive, holden in feu of them by two cadets of their own family, whose titles are Ardchat- tan and Inveresragan, whereof Ardchattan has the lands of Ard- chattan, Inion, Ardachy, Craig, and Caidderlies, and Inveresra- gan, the lands of Inveresragan, Blarcreen, and Kinnacraig, only the monastery and what is contained within the precincts thereof, which is not above five or six acres of ground, Ardchattan holdeth of the king. “This monastery was founded about the year 1231, by M*Cul- lo, a race of people who once had a great part of Benderloch ; but now there are few of them in that country. The Monks here were of the order called Vallis Caulium, or Wallis Umbrosa;-they were a branch of the Cistertians, and were kept in great strict- ness, being wholly intent on their devotions, and confined within the walls of the monastery, so that it was only lawful for the prior and one of the order to go abroad upon necessary occasions. They were duly employed in dressing of orchards for fruit, and gardens for herbs, for the use of the monastery. Not long before the Reformation, there were some of the MacDougalls priors here, whose tomb is yet extant, with an inscription in old characters.” To the information communicated in the above document, it is not necessary to make many additions. The following observa- tions may suffice. Name.—It is not unlikely that the name Muckairn is derived from the Gaelic Muc, “ the wild hog or boar,” and Cairn, “ dens,” the compound signifying “ the wild hogs' dens.” The names of other localities in the neighbourhood indicate that these formidable animals were at one time numerous in the country, as the Gaelic reader will at once infer, from the following names of farms in the parish of Ardchattan, “Bar-na-muc,” “Ard-mhuc- innis.” The whole race, it is superfluous to add, has many years ago been extirpated. Extent and Boundaries.—The parish is about 9 miles long from its eastern to its western extremity, of an irregular figure, with a medium breadth of from 5 to 6 miles. Its western section from Achnachloich, now Stonefield, onwards, is distinguished by the name of the strath,” and its eastern, as the heights of Muck- airn ºf and the whole is bounded on the north by Loch Etive; on * Mucairn-an-tsrath, f Bràigh-Mhucairn. 5 i 6 A R GYLE SH 1 R E. the west, by the small river Lusragan, which divides it from the parish of Kilmore; on the south, by the parish of Kilmore ; and on the east, by the river Nauntan and the lake of that name, which separate it from the parishes of Innishail and Kilchrenan. Topographical Appearances. – The Mallore (Celtice Maol- odhar) range, stretching from north-east to south-west, is the only chain of mountains in the parish, and none of the eminences there, it is believed, attain an elevation greater than 1100 feet. Exclu- sive of that range, the mountain Deechoid is the highest in the pa- rish,--a distinction which has been embodied in a Gaelic couplet, often in requisition when that mountain is referred to, “Dichoine- head, Siorchoimhead Mhucairn.” From Mallore northward, the surface, with occasional elevations, slopes gradually, forming sequestered vales and corries, with finely wooded high grounds, till it reaches the sea. The coast, which is generally low, in some parts rocky, extends, including windings, to a distance of nine miles. It is indented with creeks and headlands, and there are two fine bays, the bay of Stonefield, and Aird’s-bay, with its ample sweep. In the former of these, snugly sheltered, is situated the Abbot's Isle, robed in its mantle of green, and exhibiting still a few aged sycamores, the relicts of the days of the years that are past. Both the bay of Stonefield and Salen-ruá, a little farther on, furnish secure and commodious anchorages. Hydrography.—The principal river is the Naunt, and along the source of this stream there are more than one waterfall, which, with the luxuriant coppice woods adorning its lofty banks on either side, will for many a mile attract the attention and excite the ad- miration of the tourist, as he wends his way from port Sonachan to Taynuilt. Though the river Naunt be so near to the Awe, fishermen and anglers allege that there is a marked difference in the temperature of these two streams, the water of the Naunt being sensibly colder than that of the Awe. The writer of these notes had no opportunity, or failed to avail himself of it, for test- ing scientifically the correctness of this observation. Next in size to the Naunt is the Lonan. After pursuing the noisy tenor of its way from east to west for a few miles, and wa- tering in its course the meadowy glen, from which, perhaps, it de- rives its name, * this stream discharges itself into that beautiful expanse of water in the parish of Kilmore, the lake of Lochnell, noted as having given its title to that ancient family. Lochnell * Glen-lonan, i. e. “ the glen of meadows.” CŞ {\{U C R AIR.N. 5 17 signifies “the lake of swans,” and hence, in the armorial bearings of the family, a swan forms, appropriately enough, one of the Sup- porters. - The Luachragan and Lusragan, the one so called, as the names in Gaelic import, from the profusion of rushes, the other from the herbage on their banks respectively, are next in dimensions to the Lonan. The Luachragan intersects a good part of the parish; and both flow from south to north, the one falling into the sea about the centre of the parish, and the other at its western bound- ary, a little above Connall. On what earthly ground, mere cour- tesy apart, either of these insignificant streams should be dignified with the name of river, ordinary ingenuity must be at a loss to dis- COWC P. The principal lakes are the Lochandow to the west,--a chain of lakes not less than two miles in length, abounding in reeds, but well stocked with trout; and Loch Naunt to the east, scarcely half the extent of the other. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. - Exclusive of the MSS. already referred to, there are no ancient or modern accounts of the history of the parish, nor have there been any historical events of importance within the memory of man. With the exception of the farm of Achnacloich or Stone- field, part of the estate of Campbell of Braegleen, in the parish of Kilninver, the whole of the district of Muckairn is the property of Campbell of Lochnell, having nearly a century ago been pur- chased by that family from Campbell of Calder. Parochial Registers.-The earliest entry is in 1760. These registers have been kept irregularly during the greater part of that time; more recently there has been an improvement in this respect. Antiquities.—There are not many objects here which claim the attention of the antiquarian. During the reign of popery, there were several religious buildings within the district, more than enough, indeed, to put to shame that cold and criminal indiffer- ence as to the worship of God and divine things generally, which has characterized later times, though it is to be hoped a better day begins to dawn. Near the western boundary of the parish, we have Kilcarie, i. e. the burial ground or church of Marie, or the Virgin Mary. About a mile north-east of this is Kilmaronag, “ the church dedicated to Marónag,” selected also as the patron saint of another church in Dumbartonshire, which gives its designation to the parish there of that name ; and we have, besides, near the east- 5 18 ARGY LESHIRE. ern boundary, Kilespickerill, “the church or burial ground dedi- cated to Bishop Cyril,” or Kerill. At the two last-mentioned of these localities, particularly at Kilmaronag, the ruins of the ecclesiastical buildings may still be traced. As in most other dis- tricts of the country, there are several Druidical circles, more or less perfect, but none deserving of special notice. On a plain near the rising ground on which the present church is built, there was a detached obelisk, erected probably before the introduction of Christianity into the country, to commemorate some remarka- ble event. On the arrival of the intelligence of the victory obtained by Lord Nelson over the French fleet at Aboukir, the workmen at the Lorn Furnace, not in the best possible taste, removed this obelisk to the neighbouring hill, where it yet remains,—having been the first monument probably raised in commemoration of that victory.* Eminent Men.—There do not appear to have been any distin- guished characters connected with this district.* * There is an eminence near Kilmaronag named “Cnoc-na-michomhairle,” that is, “ the hill of the untoward conference,” a name, tradition states, given to it for the reason which follows:–Two hostile bodies, tradition has failed to tell who they were, met on a neighbouring plain, and were on the point of giving battle, when the leader of one of the parties proposed a friendly conference to his opponent, in order to pre- vent the shedding of blood. That proposal was acceded to, and they agreed to settle their differences, if possible, on an adjoining hill, leaving their followers on the plain below. Before retiring to this hill, it was agreed, that, if the two chiefs could not come to an amicable understanding, they should, on the hill, attack each other,-and this was to be the signal to their followers that their differences had not been adjusted, and the two bodies were then to engage on the plain. The chiefs met accordingly, —came to an understanding, and were just returning to their men, when a large ser- pent made its appearance out of a bush beside them. Both leaders at once drew their swords to destroy the serpent. Their followers regarding this as a signal for them to attack each other, did so most furiously,–and the two chiefs, accusing one another of treachery, followed the example of the parties engaged in battle, till both were mortally wounded, with the great majority of their followers. Hence, it is said, the appropriate name of that hill till this day, Cnoc-na-michomhairle. + Unless we except a native poet, more noted for his wit than for his gallantry. There is one production of his, quite of a local character, which is yet occasionally re- peated, though the author has, many years ago, been numbered with the dead. To un- derstand its point, it will be remembered that the Mallore mountains are the highest in the parish, the river Lonan washing their base for some miles. At a short distance is situated Strontoiller, a large farm, forming part of the Lochnell property, occupied of old, as it still is, by several tenants with their cottars, and having the mountain Toamnamone in its close vicinity. These remarks will serve to explain the jeu d'es- prit, which, in the original, is as follows: 'Siomadh sneaahd th’air a Mhaol-odhar, 'Siomadh sruth tha ruith do Lonnan, *Siomadh Ceò th'air Toamnamome, ’Siomadh óiseach th'an Srondoillar.” Attempted to be done into English thus: Full many the snow-flakes that fall on Mallore, And many the streams that rum, Lonan, to thee; Around Toamnamone's sides many thick vapours lous, So—many great glakes in Strontoiller there be. MUCKAIRN. 5 19 III.-PopULATION. There are no accounts of the population on record here previ- ous to the year 1801. In 1801, the population was - 893 1811, - - 873 1821, - - 831 1831, º- - 770 1841, - * - 812 When the last census was taken, the number of males was 386, and of females, 426; but, besides these, there were about 50 males absent from the parish when the census was taken, thus making the actual population 860. The increase since 1831 may arise from more workmen being wanted for employment in the woods, and at the Lorn Furnace Company. The average of births for the last seven years, as appears from the records, is 14%, and of marriages, 4}. No register of deaths is kept. The average number of persons under 15 years of age in 1831 was, 300 15 to 30, * - 174 30 to 50, * - 142 50 to 70, - - 120 upwards of 70, º - 34 770 There are no resident noblemen, or families of independent for- tune, residing in the parish, and but two proprietors of land of the yearly value of L.50. There were, in 1831, 13 males unmarried, and 20 women un- married who were upwards of forty-five years of age, and three in- sane persons. - The social condition of the parish is not, to any very marked ex- tent, inferior to that of the neighbouring districts, and the same ob- servation applies, perhaps, to their religious and moral state. It should be mentioned, however, that, so far back as the year 1753 and 1757, a great part of the district of Muckairn was let in lease to an English Company for the sake chiefly of its woods, which are manufactured into charcoal, used in making pig-iron. The ore is imported from Lancashire, smelted with the charcoal, and the iron thus obtained is considered equal in quality to any made in the kingdom. But the employment of a great proportion of the population during a considerable portion of the year at the smelt- ing furnace, and, in the case of both sexes, in the woods, is the reverse of favourable to the observance of the Sabbath, to purity of morals, or to due attendance to religious instruction and religi- ous duties. The expiration of the lease will take place in 1863. 520 ARGYLESHIRE, - IV.-INDUSTRY. It has already been stated that the great body of the people are employed in works connected with the smelting furnace at Bunaw. As the operations there are carried on with charcoal, the growth of wood is, as might be anticipated, carefully encouraged, and this circumstance exerts an unfavourable influence on the cultivation of the land. But still agricultural improvements in the district are progressing rather than retrograding, both on the Company’s lands, which generally are laid out in small patches for their workmen, and on the other fine farms in the parish, which are not included in the Company’s lease. - There are about 350 acres of arable land in the parish, with about a fourth part more of meadow land, while the extent of land under coppice wood, consisting chiefly of oak, birch, and moun- tain ash, is not less than 1900 acres. - Live-Stock.-The number of sheep in the district rather exceeds 3000. There are 280 cows and their followers, with 220 head of cattle besides, and from 50 to 60 horses. The great obstacles to improvement are, the short duration of the leases, the want of capital on the part of the people, and the little encouragement given for building accommodations, and for enclosing, draining, and improving the lands.” Rent.—The gross rental of the parish is not below L.2000, though the actual rent paid by the Lorn Furnace Company to the proprietor for their lands in the district, including the valuable farm of Icrachan, on which they have erected the iron-works, and which is situated in the parish of Innishail, does not amount to L.440. The value of each hagg or cutting of the woods (once say in twenty-four years), and calculated, as stated in the Account of the parish of Ardchattan, amounts to L.8260. - Manufactures.—The charring of wood excepted, which is ef- fected in the usual way, there are no manufactures in the parish, nor are the moral consequences which result from the getting up of that article, such as would justify us in wishing that there were any more. There is a tolerably regular intercourse maintained between Lorn Furnace and Ulverstone,—vessels from the latter port being employed in conveying ore for the furnace, and carrying back the iron in the form of bars. V.—PARoch IAL EconoMy. Market-Town:-There is no market-town in the parish, the Q * . MUCKAIRN. 521 nearest being Oban, which is twelve miles distant from the church. - Means of Communication.—The line of the great county road from Oban and the western isles to Inverary is conducted through the parish, a distance of eight miles; but it is to be regretted, that, with this exception, there are no other roads which deserve the name. The nearest post-office is Bonaw; and a coach plies betwixt Inverary and Oban daily during the summer months, and on alternate days, Sundays excepted, in winter and spring. Ecclesiastical State.-The church, which is situated near the eastern extremity of the parish, and inconveniently for a consider- able portion of the people, was built in 1829, after the passing of the enactment for endowing additional churches in the Highlands, the manse and offices being built by Government. It is a plain but commodious place of worship, capable of accommodating 350 sitters, and having, in terms of the Act of Parliament, a portion of the seats let at a low rent, in order to uphold the manse and offices. The incumbent has also, as the act requires, a piece of land for garden ground, with a salary from Government of L. 120 per annum. Till the late disruption of the Church, there were not half a-dozen of Dissenters in the district; but that event occa- sioned a very material change. - - Education.—There are two schools in the parish, the one paro- chial, and having attached to it the minimum salary allowed by act of Parliament. The other school, situated at Auchlevan, in the west end of the district, is unendowed, though there was till of late a salary of L. 17 per annum allowed by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge. A handsome school-house, capable of accommodating 180 scholars, with superior accommoda- tions, was erected for the parochial teacher in 1836, by the lady of General Campbell of Lochnell, while the General himself built a neat and commodious school-house, besides giving a house and piece of ground, for the other teacher. It is due to the present proprietor of Lochnell to mention, that, in consequence of the with- drawal of the salary by the Society, he has himself, for the last two years, given L. 12 per annum to the Auchlevan schoolmaster. Poor and Parochial Funds.—The number on poor's roll is 26. Till the vacancy in 1837, the collections and mortcloth dues were found insufficient for the poor, besides enabling the kirk-session, with the aid of a sum of L.30 bequeathed for the purpose, to lay up more than L60 of a fund for such emergencies as might oc- 522 AR GYLESHIRE. cur. Since that vacancy the whole of this sum of L.60 has been called up and distributed among the poor, while the collections now are totally inadequate to their wants; nor it is easy to see how compulsatory assessments can be avoided. Inns.—There are two inns in the parish, one of which is neces- sary, while the other, it is believed, might, without any inconveni- ence, be dispensed with. February 1844. UNITED PARISH OF KILMORE AND KILBRIDE. PRESBYTERY OF LORN, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. DUGALD N. CAMPBELL, MINISTER. I.—ToPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name, Boundaries, &c.—KILMORE is derived from the Gaelic words, Kil, signifying a burying-place, and mor, large, or Kil and Muire, a burying-place dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Kilbride signifies a burying-place dedicated to St Bridget. Kilmore and Kilbride are supposed to have been united soon after the Reformation; the former was a parsonage and the latter a vicarage. Kilmore is the presbytery seat. The united parish is bounded on the east, by the parishes of Kilchrenan and Muckairn ; on the north and west, by Lochetive and the Sound of Mull; and on the south, by Lochfeochan and the parish of Kilninver. Its extent from east to west is about 12. miles, and from north to south 9 miles. The island of Kerrera, which forms part of the parish, is situated to the north-west, and separated from the mainland by a narrow sound. Its length is 3 miles and breadth nearly 2. Topographical Appearances.—The general appearance of the parish is hilly ; the hills, however, are not high, and the valleys between them are cultivated and fertile. The soil is in general light and sandy. A considerable extent of moss remains still un- * improved; part of it might be ºlivated with advantage. KILMORE AND KILBRIDE, w 523 The pasture is good for black-cattle or sheep. The coast is indented with bays, and on the west presents a bold and rocky ap- pearance. - II.—CIVIL HISTORY. Alexander II. of Scotland died in the island of Kerrera. “An- gus of Argyle had been wont to do homage to the King of Norway for certain islands. Alexander requested that homage to be done to himself, and it being denied he resolved to force it. While engaged in this enterprise he was seized with fever and died in the island of Kerrera, near the Sound of Mull, 8th July 1249, in the 57th year of his age and 35th of his reign.” Tradition says that Alexander died in a field in Kerrera called Dalree, or the King's field, near the Horse shoe harbour, where his fleet lay at the time. Castles.—Dunstaffnage—“If romantic and magnificent scenery, if the pleasing interchange of mountain and valley, of wood and water, of sea and land, of island and continent—conjoined with all those recollections borrowed from the earliest ages of our his- tory, which are most gratifying to national feeling,-be viewed as inducements in selecting the site of a royal residence, it may well be questioned if Britain could present one more desirable than the vicinity of Dunstaffnage. - “This ancient palace is seated on a rock washed by the waves of the Atlantic. It is skirted on the right by that beautiful arm of the sea called Loch Etive, which runs far inward, and which must be distinctly remembered by all who have crossed it at Connal ferry, so appalling to strangers, where the body of water is so much confined by the narrowness of the sound, that at particular times of the tide, it forces its way through with great noise, like an im- petuous river over a rocky bed, forming a great variety of small whirlpools. s - “The form of the name of this seat of royalty has been consi- derably varied by different writers. There has not been less va- riety in regard to the etymon given of the name. Dunstaffnage has been rendered by those best acquainted with the Gaelic lan. guage, Dun agus (pronounced) ta inish, as signifying “ the for- tified hill with the two islands,” descriptive of the local situation, the place having been denominated from the two islands which lie north of the castle.” “The builder of this castle,” says Grose, “and time of its con- struction are unknown. It is certainly of great antiquity, and was 524 * AR GYLE SHIRE. once the seat of the Pictish and Scottish princes; here for a long time was preserved the famous stone, the palladium of Scotland, brought, as the legend has it, from Spain. It was afterwards re- moved by Kenneth the Second to Scone, and is now in West- minster Abbey, brought thither by King Edward I.” The castle is of a square form, 87 feet within the walls, having round towers at three of the angles. The average height of the walls is 66 feet; 9 in thickness. The external measurement of the walls amounts to 270 feet. The circumference of the rock on which it stands is 300 feet. It has its entrance from the sea by a staircase, but it is supposed that in former ages this was by means of a drawbridge. Only part of the building is habitable, the rest of it being in ruins. The masonry is considered as very ancient. At the distance of about 400 feet from the castle are the remains of a chapel, formerly appropriated to the religious services of its inmates. This in length is 78 feet, in height 14, and in breadth 26 feet. It is said that some of the ancient regalia were preserved here. Pennant has given a drawing of a small ivory figure found here, which, he thinks, “was certainly cut in memory of the celebrated chair, and appears to have been an inauguration sculpture: a crown- ed monarch is represented sitting in it with a book, ‘ rather a scroll,’ in one hand, as if going to take the coronation oath.” About the year 843 Kenneth M*Alpine transferred the seat of government to the palace of Forteviot in Perthshire. We lose sight of Dunstaffnage for several centuries, till it again rises up to view, during the eventful reign of Robert Bruce. It was then possessed by Alexander of Argyle, father of John, “the Lord of Lorn.” + - - From the evidence of old charters, the castle and lands of Dun. staffnage were, A. D. 1436, granted to Dugald, son of Colin, Knight of Lochaw, the direct ancestor of the family in whose possession, as “Captains of Dunstaffnage,” it has remained to the present day. Dunstaffnage continued to be carefully maintained as the principal stronghold of the clan Campbell in this part of Argyle- shire, as a defence against the incursions of the warlike and hostile clans in the Isles and the north, down to the Rebellions in 1715 and 1745, when it was garrisoned by the royal forces. Among the various interesting relics of antiquity now at Dunstaffnage, may be mentioned the ivory image, and battle axe described by Pennant, and the spurs and stirrups of Robert Bruce. * Wide Browne's Views of the Royal Palaces of Scotland. K1 1, M O RE AND KII, BRIDE, - 525 Dunolly, Gylen. — Neither history nor tradition say when the Castle of Dunolly was built. Somerled, Thane or Prince of Herigadiel, who flourished in the beginning of the twelfth century, divided his great territories betwixt his sons Dugal and Reginald. Dugal he placed over those on the mainland, then erected into a principality, and named Argadia, or Ergadia, with the chief's seat at Dunolla, now Dunolly. Dugal’s successors as- sumed and are known by the patronymic appellation of M*Dougall. Allaster M*Dougall, or, as he is called in the writings of the times, Allaster de Argadia, married the third daughter of John, called the Red Comyn, who was slain by Bruce. Hence Allaster became the mortal enemy of that prince, and defeated him in battle at Dalree near Tyndrum. The vanquished prince retreated, leaving his brooch and plaid, as memorials of victory, in the hands of his conqueror. When Bruce obtained an ascendancy in Scotland, he amply re- venged his defeat at Dalree, at the pass of Awe in Argyleshire, where the M“Dougalls under John, son of Allaster, were routed with great slaughter. Bruce thereupon laid waste Argyle, and laid siege to, and took the Castle of Dunstaffnage. From this period, the representatives of Somerled are no longer styled de Argadia. Their title thereafter is Lords of Lorn, and the Castle of Dunolly, with its dependencies, was the principal part of what remained to them. These they continued to enjoy until the year 1715, when the representative incurred the penalty of forfeiture for his accession to the insurrection of that period —“thus,” as Sir Walter Scott says, “ losing the remains of their inheritance, to replace upon the throne the descendants of those princes whose accession their ancestors had opposed at the expense of their feu- dal grandeur.” The estate was afterwards restored to Alexander, grandfather of the present proprietor, John M*Dougall of M*Dougall, Cap- tain in Her Majesty's navy. A better picture of the site of the house of Lorn cannot be presented than that drawn by the pen of the great bard himself, who visited the ruins of Dunolly in 1814. “ Nothing,” says Sir Walter, “can be more wildly beautiful than the situation of Dun- olly. The ruins are situated upon a bold and precipitous promon- tory, overhanging Loch Etive, and distant about a mile from the village and port of Oban. The principal part which remains is the donjon or keep ; but fragments of other buildings, overgrown with ivy, attest that it had been once a place of importance, 526 Al3. G Y LESHIRE, as large apparently as Ardtornish or Dunstaffnage. These frag- ments inclose a court-yard, of which the keep formed probably one side; the entrance being by a steep ascent from the neck of the isthmus, formerly cut across by a moat, and defended, doubtless, by outworks and a drawbridge. Beneath the castle stands the present mansion of the family, having on one hand Loch Etive, with its islands and mountains, on the other two romantic emi- mences tufted with copsewood. There are other accompani- ments suited to the scene; in particular, a huge upright pillar or detached fragment of the sort of rock called plumpudding- stone, upon the shore, about a quarter of a mile from the castle. It is called Clachna-can, or the Dog's Pillar, because Fingal is said to have used it as a stake to which he bound his celebrated dog Bran. Others say, that, when the Lord of the Isles came up- on a visit to the Lord of Lorn, the dogs brought for his sport were kept beside this pillar. Upon the whole, a more delightful spot can scarce be conceived; and it receives a moral interest from the considerations attached to the residence of a family once power- ful enough to confront and defeat Robert Bruce, and now sunk into the shade of private life. It is at present possessed by Pa- trick M*Dougall, Esq. the lineal and undisputed representative of the ancient Lords of Lorn. The heir of Dunolly fell lately in Spain, fighting under the Duke of Wellington, a death well be- coming his ancestry.” Robert Bruce's brooch, better known in song as “the Brooch of Lorn,” carefully preserved by the M*Dougalls, did not, how- ever, escape all the vicissitudes of the family. At the period of the civil wars, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, Gylen Castle, a stronghold of the M*Dougalls, romantically situated upon a rocky promontory in the Island of Kerrera, was beleaguered and taken by a detachment from the main army despatched into Ar- gyleshire, in 1647, under General Leslie. Robert Bruce's brooch happened at this period to be deposited in Gylen Castle, and be- came the spoil of Campbell of Inverawe, then serving in the de- tachment sent to Lorn under Colonel Montgomery, the captor of Gylen Castle. By the descendants of Inverawe, the brooch was carefully preserved down to 1826, when it was purchased from the representatives of that family by the late General Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, who, with a generosity which much dis- tinguished him, restored the long lost brooch to the present pro- * Note to the Lord of the Isles, KILM OR E AND KILB RI DE . 527 prietor of Dunolly. A few other relics of olden times are still preserved in the family :—a finely executed bronze equestrian figure of Eian Bacach, or lame John, who was defeated by Ro- bert Bruce at the Pass of Awe ; a brass gun, presented by James VII. to Allan M*Dougall of Dunolly; a medal given to John, the son of Allan, by the Chevalier St George, for whom John led his clan to the unfortunate field of Sheriffmuir ; and, what was once perhaps more highly estimated than all these, a pair of transparent crystal balls, about the size of pigeon's eggs, and which reflect light in all the hues of the rainbow. Tradition says, a Lord of Lorn, who joined the Crusaders, brought these stones from the Holy Land. They were for centuries supposed to possess great healing virtues, particularly in curing diseases of cattle, when it is said they were dipped in water which the cattle received to drink. It is not a century since they were sent for by express, a distance of forty miles, to stay the ravages of an epi- demic. These stones used to be regarded with reverential awe; but, since the schoolmaster came abroad, they are less sought after. Land-owners.-The land-owners are, Captain M*Dougall of M“Dougall; Archibald Campbell, Esq. of Lochnell; the Most Noble the Marquis of Breadalbane; Sir Donald Campbell of Dunstaffnage, Bart. ; Dugald M*Dougall, Esq. of Gallanach; Ro- bert Campbell, Esq. of Sonachan; Miss Campbell of Glenfeochan; Dr Campbell of Lerags ; James Forsyth, Esq. of Dunach, and Hugh Munro, Esq. of Soraba. Parochial Registers.—The parochial register commenced in October 1783, and has since been regularly kept. III.-PopULATION. By Dr Webster's Account in 1755, the population was 1200 In 1791, there were in the landward parish, e l300 in Oban, o § e 586 —1886 In 1811, & & . 2729 In 1821, there were in the landward parish, tº 1381 in Oban, & e e 1359 2740 In 1831, there were in the landward parish, * | 356 in Oban, g tº 1480 —2836 In 1841, sº 4327 In 1831, the number of families in the parish (including Oban,) WaS * e & Of these were employed in agriculture, tº e 160 various trades, g The average number of births for the last seven years (including Oban,) has been annually e The average number of marriages, tº ſº 16 528 - ARGYLESHIRE. In the landward part of the parish, there have been three ille- gitimate births within the last three years. It appears from the preceding statement, that a considerable in- crease has taken place in the population of Oban for some time past, while in the same period the population of the landward pa- rish has decreased. This decrease may be attributed to the system recently adopted by some of the proprietors, of letting to one, farms that were formerly occupied by several tenants. The prevailing language is Gaelic, but English is generally un- derstood and gaining ground. . IV.—INDUSTRY. * Agriculture.—Of late considerable improvement has been made in agriculture. A rotation of crops is encouraged, and in some cases insisted upon by the proprietors. Draining of land is carried on to some extent, partly at the expense of the landlord, and partly at the expense of the tenant. Leases varying from seven to nineteen years are usually granted. This practice is productive of beneficial effects. The certainty of having possession for a de- finite period frequently encourages the tenant to undertake and execute improvements which afford himself immediate profit, and render the land more valuable for the proprietor. Rent of Land, &c.—The average rent of arable land per acre may be estimated at about L. 1, 10s. yearly. The rent of grazing a cow, L.2, 15s. ; a sheep, 3s. The valued rent of the parish is L.363, 15s. 6d. Sterling. The real rent of the landward part is, L.6750 ; of Oban, L.2200 ; total, L.8950 Sterling. Barley, oats, potatoes, and turnips, form the crop usually pro- duced. Black-cattle of the West Highland breed, and black- faced sheep are the principal stock reared. They are thought best adapted to the climate and soil. Ayrshire cows are kept by a few individuals. One of the proprietors lately stocked part of his land with South Down sheep. - . Rate of Wages.—A ploughman receives from L. 9 to L. 12 a year with victuals; a maid servant from L.4 to L. 6 a year with victuals; a day-labourer, 1s. in winter, and ls. 6d. in summer, without victuals. Wrights and masons receive from 2S. to 3s. per day. * Quarries.—There is a slate and freestone quarry on the pro- perty of Mr Macdougall of Gallanach. The freestone is of a su- perior quality. - Fisheries.—There are several salmon-fishing stations in the pa- KILMORE AND KILBRIDE, 529 rish. Lochnell, the largest lake in the parish, and also the river running from it, afford salmon and trout-fishing. The sea along the north and west of the parish abounds with a variety of fish. Herrings are frequently caught in Lochfeochan and Lochetive. Different kinds of shell-fish are found on the shores. Navigation.—Thirteen vessels, whose united burthen is 360 tons, belong to the port of Oban. Last year there was an Association formed for the improvement of stock, and the encouragement of agriculture. V.—PAROCHIAL EconoMY. - Markets.-The principal market in the parish is held at Oban, in May and October for black-cattle, and in March and Novem- ber for horses. There is also a fair held four times a year at Kil- more; but there is now very little business transacted at it. Harbours.-The Bay of Oban is a spacious and commodious harbour for vessels of considerable burthen. The Horseshoe, in the Sound of Kerrera, and the Bay of Dunstaffnage also afford safe and excellent anchorage for vessels of large size. Ecclesiastical State of the Parish (exclusive of Oban).—There are two parish churches, one at Kilmore, and the other at Kil- bride, in each of which divine service is performed on alternate Sundays, always in Gaelic, and generally in English also. The church of Kilmore was built about 350 years ago. It was lately repaired, and now affords comfortable accommodation to above 350 persons. The church of Kilbride, which was erected at a later date, is about to be repaired, and will then contain above 300 sittings. - The attendance in both these churches is usually good, consi- dering that the population is scattered over a wide extent of coun- try. The average number of communicants is about 200. There are about 15 Dissenters, who are either Baptists or Independents, and attend the places of worship belonging to these sects in Oban. The manse, which is large and commodious, was built in 1828. The extent of the glebe may be computed at 35 acres. The sti- pends are eight chalders of meal, and eight chalders of barley, with the usual allowance of L.8, 6s. 8d. for communion elements. The Duke of Argyle is patron. * Education.—In addition to two parochial schools there is one for girls, which is supported by the lady of one of the proprietors, who erected a comfortable school-house and dwelling-house for the school mistress. A R GYLE. - L l 530 ARGY LESHIRE. The salary of one of the parochial schoolmasters is L.25 Ster- ling. His other emoluments, arising from school fees, and from his office as session-clerk, amount to L.12. The salary of the other is L.21 Sterling, with about L.6 of school fees. Both have a dwelling-house and school-house provided for them by the he- ritors. It is in contemplation to establish a third parochial school, which is much required. There are three Sabbath schools. Quoad Sacra parish of Oban.-The quoad sacra parish of Oban comprehends the town of Oban, and a small landward district, extending in one direction about two miles, and in another about two miles and a half from the town. The whole population, as ascertained by a census taken within the last four years, is 1620 souls, of whom about 1400 reside in the town, and the remainder in the landward part of the parish. . The quoad sacra parish of Oban was erected in 1834, in accordance with the General Assembly’s Act respecting cha- pels of ease. The present church is the first that was erect- ed in the parish in connection with the Establishment, and was built in 1821. Prior to its erection, Divine worship used to be conducted, for a number of years, by ministers of the Esta- blished Church, in a small and inconvenient building now occu- pied as a school-room. The church affords accommodation for 580. Though this, compared with the population, is apparently inadequate to the wants of the parish, it is not really so, in conse- quence of the number of inhabitants who do not understand the Gaelic language, or who prefer English. These attend public worship in the afternoon of Sabbath, the service being then con- ducted in the English language, while that part of the inhabitants who understand and prefer Gaelic attend in the forenoon; so that there being two almost entirely distinct congregations, the church accommodation is in effect greatly increased. The minister's stipend is L. 100 per annum, which sum is raised by means of the seat rents, assisted by an annual grant of L.20 from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. At present no catechist is employed in the parish. For several months of the year 1839, there was one in the employment of the United Secession body. Dissenting Chapels.--Ist, One connected with the United Se- cession. It was built about five years ago. The minister’s sti- pend is believed to be L.90 per annum, which is guaranteed to him by the United Secession Congregation in Glasgow, of which IC I L MORE ADD KIL. B R IDE. 531 . the Rev. Mr King is minister; the congregation in Oban being re- quired to hand over to it the seat rents and collections they receive. 2d, One Independent or Congregational Chapel, erected about the year 1820. The minister receives no fixed stipend from his congregation; but the members contribute to his support as they may be able and disposed, and the collections are chiefly applied to his use. The Congregational Union give him a sum of L.20 or L.25 per annum. - There are a few Baptists, who have no chapel, but meet for worship in each others houses. Their minister is chiefly employ- ed in itinerating throughout the surrounding district. He receives a salary of L.40 per annum from a Baptist Society in Edinburgh. The Episcopalians number from 9 to 12, and consist principally of officers of Excise and their families from England. There are about 15 Roman Catholics in the parish. The average number of communicants in the parish is 287. Education.—There are five schools in the parish, three of them for males and females indiscriminately, and two for females alone. Of the former class, the best attended is the school connected with the United Secession Chapel. It was opened four or five years ago, and has been taught almost exclusively by young men preparing for the ministry in connection with that denomination. Besides the ordinary branches of an English education, Latin and geography are taught in it. Another of this class is taught in a school-house built by sub- scription many years ago, on a lease granted by the late Duke of Argyle, and which has been occupied for several years by the present teacher, without payment of rent. The third school of this class is taught in a room rented by the teacher. One of the female schools is a lady's boarding and day school. The ordinary English branches, geography, French, music, and drawing are taught in it. The attendance is 30. The other female school is for the children of the labouring classes. It was established towards the end of 1831, chiefly by the exertions of a benevolent lady, for the purpose of training the female children of the labouring classes in habits of industry, be- sides imparting to them the elementary branches of a useful Eng- lish education. The average attendance is from 35 to 40. The teacher has a salary of L.20 per annum, besides a free house and coals. The fees are applied to the payment of the teacher’s sa- lary, and of the rent of the dwelling-house and school-room, and 532 A R GYLE SHIRE, to the purchase of coals. As they are inadequate for these pur- poses, the deficiency is supplied by mgans of a sum of L.5 grant- ed annually to the school by the Society for Propagating Christ- ian Knowledge, and the interest of L. 100 collected for the pur- pose of erecting a building for the institution. The fees are, for reading alone, 2d. per week, and for reading, writing, and arith- metic, 3d. per week, payable in advance. In common with many other towns throughout Scotland of re- cent origin, and at some distance from the parish churches, Oban has been but indifferently favoured as to the means of education. The whole sum appropriated by the heritors of the parish of Kil- bride, in which it is situated quoad civilia, to the purposes of educa- tion in it, is L.8, 6s. 8d. per annum, and even this is not enjoyed by any of the present teachers. There is, however, a favourable prospect of the deficiency being supplied. A grant of L.150 has been pro- mised by Government towards the erection of a school-house, and subscriptions to the amount of L.310 have been received, by means of which, and additional subscriptions that are expected, it is pro- posed to build a superior school-house and dwelling-house for a teacher. The Marquis of Breadalbane has liberally countenanced the undertaking, by promising a handsome subscription, and ground for the site of the building. Village of Oban,—This village is situated on the north-west shore of the parish. Its neat and picturesque appearance cannot fail to please the traveller, whether he approaches it by sea or land. The view, from the bay, of the town and surrounding coun- try is peculiarly striking. Oban is the property of the Most No- ble the Marquis of Breadalbane, and of Robert Campbell, Esq. of Sonachan. It is indebted for its present appearance to the en- couragement afforded by its present and late proprietors to house- building, by giving stances on payment of a small feu-duty; also to the enterprising spirit of two brothers named Stevenson, who settled there about the year 1778, and engaged in ship-build- ing and various branches of trade. At that time there were few slated houses in the village; now there are streets of good and commodious houses. - Owing to its centrical situation in the Highlands, its safe and commodious harbour, and good quays, it is visited almost daily in summer by steamers with passengers to and from Glasgow, Inver- ness, Iona, Staffa, and Skye. There is also, at that season, a daily coach running to and from Inverary, a distance of thirty-two KI LMORE AND KILB RI DE. 533 miles. The scenery along the road by which the coach travels is seldom surpassed for grandeur and romantic beauty. A good hotel and several boarding-houses afford comfortable accommodation to the numerous travellers who visit Oban. Post-Office.—There is a post-office, where a mail arrives and is despatched daily. º: Banks.—A branch of the National Bank of Scotland has been in operation here for about fifteen years, and a savings' bank has been established for two years. The deposits in the latter in 1840 amounted to L.415, of which was withdrawn L.58, 2s. 6d. In 1841, the sum deposited amounted to L. 1193, 6s. 8d., of which L. 199, 15s. 6d. was withdrawn. - Oban is a parliamentary burgh, and, along with Ayr, Irvine, Campbelton, and Inverary, returns a Member to Parliament. There is a Sheriff-court for small debts, held quarterly, and a Justice of Peace court monthly. Poor and Parochial Funds.--The number of paupers in the whole parish (including Oban) on the roll is about 60, who re- ceive at an average about L. 1, 10s. yearly from the collections made in the parish churches and chapel of Oban, and from do- nations by the heritors. They are principally supported by beg- ging through the parish. The heritors at present support three pauper lunatics, one of whom is in the Royal Lunatic Asylum, Glasgow ; another in the Town Hospital, Paisley; and a third in the parish. - Inns.—In the landward parish there are four inns, which do not seem to have, to any extent, an injurious effect on the morals of the people. In Oban, in addition to the principal hotel, which is well and regularly kept, there is a number of public-houses, some of which afford too many facilities for indulging in the use of ardent spirits. Fuel–Coals, brought from Glasgow and the coast of Ayr, at an expense of about 13s. per ton, and peats found almost on every farm, afford a sufficient supply of fuel. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. Since the last Statistical Account of this parish was written, land has been much improved; a better system of cultivation adopted ; and a considerable extent of ground planted. The rental of the parish is now more than double what it then was. The mansion-houses of the proprietors are enlarged and more commodious, and the people in general are more comfortably lodged than formerly. January 1843. PARISH OF JURA. PRESBYTERY OF ISLAY AND JURA, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. ALEXANDER KENNEDY, MINISTER. I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE original designation of the parish was Kilearna- dale and Kilchattan, names of burying-grounds in Jura and Co- lonsay. It comprehends seven inhabited islands, viz. Jura, Co- lonsay, Oronsay, Scarba, Lunga, Belnahua, Garvelloch, or Holy Islands. The islands of Gigha and Cara were disjoined from this parish about 100 years ago, and the disjunction of Colonsay and Oronsay was at the same time in contemplation; a committee of the presbytery of Kintyre, including several gentlemen acquainted with the localities, having been appointed to give in a report to the presbytery. This was done, but no ulterior steps were taken to- wards the disjunction of these islands from the parish of Jura. Jura signifies the island of Red Deer, from Deera, a red deer, and I, an island. It still retains its ancient character, its deer being inferior in point of size and other qualities to none in Scotland. The number at present on the island is from 400 to 500. Extent.—The island of Jura from Freughilein below Jura House, to Breacan’s Cave in Kenuachdrach, is 36 miles in length; its mean breadth is 7 miles. A sound, l; miles in breadth, called the Gulf of Corrywrecan, separates it from the island of Scarba, which lies to the north of Jura. Scarba is 3 miles in length, and nearly the same in breadth, containing a surface of about 8 miles square. The island of Lunga, separated from Scarba by an estuary named “Bealach a Chumbainn Ghlais,” contains a surface of about three miles square. The Garvelloch, or Holy Islands, are remarkable for having been once the residence of the monks of Iona. The remains of what appears to have been a dwelling-house and cha- pel, with a cemetery or burying-ground attached, are still extant. Here also is a marble quarry, which had been wrought at some distant period: a specimen of the quality of the marble may be seen at Inverary Castle. These islands are now valuable solely J U R A. * 535 on account of the excellence of their pasture, and the shelter they afford for sheep and black-cattle. They yield an annual rent of L.150 Sterling to Mr Campbell of Jura. '•, Belnahua, about one mile in circumference, is almost a barren rock, valuable on account of its slate quarry. It contains a popu- lation of 150 souls, and is the property of Mr John Stevenson, Oban. - Topographical Appearances.—The island of Jura presents to the eye a rough and rugged appearance: its conical mountains, called the Paps of Jura, are seen from a great distance, and form conspicuous land-marks to mariners. These mountains are three in number; their names are “Beinn a Chaolais, Beinn an Oir, and Beinn Shianta;” their difference in height above the level of the sea is trifling. Beinn an Oir, considered to be the highest, is about 2700 feet high. The whole population, with but few exceptions, reside on the east side of the island, where consider- able agricultural improvements have lately been made, the west side presenting in its whole length a bold, rocky, and rugged as- pect. Upon this side of the island, there are at least fifty of the most magnificent caves which can be met with in any part of Scotland, the least of them capable of furnishing comfortable and dry lodging to the traveller. - The largest of these, Uaghlamaich, is, at its opening facing the Atlantic Ocean, 33 feet in height, and contains an area of 1312 square yards; its beautifully arched roof scarcely admits a drop of water. Its floor is level and dry; amid the raging of the highest tempest, scarcely a breath of wind stirs within it. The opening of this splendid cave is about 38 feet about the level of the sea. There are other caves spacious in their dimensions, and comfort- able in their accommodation: two of them are called corpachs, i. e. places where the inhabitants of Jura and other countries, on their way to Oransay and Iona to bury their dead, were in the habit of depositing the corpses of their friends, until a favourable oppor- tunity of prosecuting their voyage to Iona and Oransay occurred. One of these corpachs is in Rhuintalen, opposite to Colonsay: the other, called the corpach of I Columkill, is several miles to the north-east, along the coast. * & * The island of Jura has ever been proverbial for the longevity of its inhabitants. Instances are on record of many who attained the advanced age of 100 years, in the full possession of their faculties until the last. - 536 Al{G YLE SHIRE. Hydrography.—The number of moor lochs in this island has never been, I believe, ascertained: such of them as the writer has seen, abound with trout of excellent quality and flavour. The streams which issue from these lochs, form, in their progress to the sea, rivers of considerable depth and volume, the whole of them well stocked with trout and salmon. The principal rivers in Jura, are, first, the Knockbreck river, where Mr Campbell of Jura, the proprietor, has established a salmon fishery. The next in point of depth and volume is Avin Lussa, passing through the property of Captain M'Neill, younger of Colonsay, which also abounds with trout and salmon. - - Corran river, about two miles from the manse of Jura, takes its rise from the countless clear springs that issue from the conical mountains of Jura. It receives in its progress the streams of Loch an Debe, Loch na Cloiche, &c. and empties itself into the sea below Corran House. In addition to these there is a variety of streams bearing the same character, in reference to trout and Salmon : they fall, with the exception of one or two, into the sea on the east side of Jura. Coryvrechan.-Betwixt the north point of Jura and the island of Scarba is the-famous whirlpool of Coryvrechan.* There are also in the neighbourhood many smaller and dangerous whirlpools, and rapid currents. The following account of Corywrechan is taken from MacCulloch's Highlands and Western Isles. “The hazards of the Coryvrechan are of the same nature as those of the other narrow channels of the Western Islands, as well * According to a tradition still believed in the Hebrides, Corryvreachkan, or the Cal- dron of Breachkan, received its name from a Scandinavian Prince, who, during a vi- sit to Scotland, became enamoured of a Princess of the Isles, and sought her for his bride. Her wily father, dreading the consequences of the connection, but fearful to offend the King of Lochlin, gave his consent to their marriage, on condition that Breachkan should prove his skill and prowess by anchoring his bark for three days and three nights in the whirlpool. Too fond or too proud to shrink from the danger, he proceeded to Lochlin to make preparations for the enterprise. Having consulted the sages of his native land, he was directed to provide himself with three cables, one of hemp, one of wool, and one of woman's hair. The first two were easily procured; and the beauty of his person, his renown as a warrior, and the courtesy of his manners had so endeared him to the damsels of his country, that they cut off their own hair to make the third, on which his safety was ultimately to depend; for the purity of female innocence gave it power to resist even the force of the waves. Thus provided, the Prince set sail from Lochlin and anchored in the gulf. The first day the hempen cable broke; the second day the woollen cable parted. There still remained the gift of the daughters of Lochlin. The third day came ; the time had nearly expired; his hopes were high ; his triumph was almost achieved ; but some frail fair one had contributed her flaxen locks; the last hope failed, and the bark was overwhelmed. The Prince's body was dragged ashore by a faithful dog, and carried to a cave that still bears his name, in which the old men point out a little cairn, where tradition says the body of Breachkan was interred. From that time, as the legend tells, the whirlpool was called Corrivreachkan. l - . J U R.A. - 537 as of the Pentland Firth; and if greater, they may still be avoid. , ed, with similar precautions. But as this passage is seldom used by boats, and never by vessels, it has received, in addition to the exaggeration, the further ill character which attends all untried dangers. Had it been as necessary a channel as the Kyle Rich or Hoy Mouth, we should have heard far less of its horrors. Like those of the Mahlström, they shrink before the boldness of a fair examination. The leading cause of the turbulence of the sea here, is the narrowness of this passage, with the constraint thus produced in the tide-wave. To this must be added a pyramidal rock, rising with a rapid acclivity from the bottom, which is about a hundred fathoms deep, to within fifteen of the surface. The Mahlström is indebted for its whirlpools, to a rock precisely simi- lar, at twenty fathoms. The course of the tide-stream is thus di- verted, so as to assume numerous intricate directions, as in the Pentland Firth; while a counter-current or eddy being also pro- duced, chiefly on the Scarba side, the return of this into the main stream, produces those gyrations, resembling the wells of Swona and Stroma, which romance has magnified into a whirlpool capa- ble of swallowing ships. One of these appears more conspicuous than the others; but, in smooth water, the whole stream is full of those whirling eddies so common in all similar tide-straits. “When there are wind and sea both, and more particularly when the former is opposed to the swell, or to the tide, or to both, the danger then becomes real, as the water then breaks high and short in every direction, and with frightful violence. It is this short, breaking sea which might swallow up a vessel, unless every thing were well secured on deck; not the whirlpools, which only impede the steerage. One vessel only, a foreigner, is remem- bered to have passed inadvertently through it at an improper time. From the alarm of the crew, she lost steerage, and became un- manageable ; but was thrown out into the eddy, and carried away, unharmed, along the Jura shore. I have seen both Hoy Mouth and Coryvrechan in gales of wind of equal violence : and, if I mistake not, the former was fully as terrific an object as the latter. The flood-tide runs through this gulph from the eastward; and though the rapidity cannot be twelve miles in an hour, as it has been computed, it must be very considerable. The violence of the sea is also greatest with the flood, because of the general op- position of the western swell. In neap-tides, there is an hour or more of repose at the change ; and, in springs, about half as much. 538 A R GYLESHIR E. At those times, and in moderate weather, even small boats may pass through without difficulty.” Geology.—The prevailing rocks belong to the primitive class. The formations are mica-slate and quartz-rock, occasionally tra- versed by veins of trap or whinstone and quartz. 200logy.—Game, in all its varieties, abounds in Jura from the stately red deer to the humble snipe. The hills abound with red grouse, ptarmigan, green and grey plover, black- cock, and woodcock, in their season. Hares are numerous; pheasants and coveys of partridges, which have been lately intro- duced, are occasionally seen. Teal and wild ducks of every kind and name known to the writer, including the large Scotch and eider-duck, frequent our bays and our lakes. There are several flocks of wild-geese which haunt about Loch Tarbert. There are two kinds of eagles, the sea and the golden eagle. Martins, polecats, badgers, and foxes, et hoc genus omne, if they ever did exist, are now extinct in this parish. Otters are numerous about the small Isles of Jura and the unfrequented shores of Tarbert. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Land-owners and Heritors.-Colin Campbell, Esq. of Jura, is proprietor of all the island, excepting the property of Ardlussa, in the northern part of the island, which belongs to Captain M'Neill, younger of Colonsay. - Parochial Registers.-The earliest entry in these registers is dated January 1810. Those prior to that date were lost. The poor's funds register bears the same date. From that period they have been regularly kept, with an addition since the year 1825, of an obituary and register of discipline, in which the proceedings of the kirk-session are recorded. The register of births and marriages in Colonsay bears an older date. Antiquities.—It were an endless task to enumerate the tumuli or cairns which are to be met with in this parish, by each of which “hangs a tale.” Stones of immense magnitude, requiring the united efforts of such a number of men as could gather about them, to raise and place them in the perpendicular position in which they are now found, meet the eye, even in the most remote and unfrequented parts of the parish. The greatest number, however, are near the shore, and in the neighbourhood of safe landing places. The account given of them by the inhabitants is, that: they are commemorative of feuds and battles between rival clans; but these traditions are often so much at variance with each other, l - J U R A • 539 that, without any written record to guide him, the writer finds the attempt would be fruitless to remove the obscurity in which they are involved. *s In digging the foundation of Lagg Inn some years ago, several stone-coffins were discovered, each containing calcined or half- burnt bones. In forming the line of road from Lagg to Feolin Ferry, many urns were met with by the workmen, each of them containing what appeared to be ashes. About fifty years ago, a number of silver coins, of the reign of Charles I., was discovered on the farm of Sannaig in Jura. The value of this hoard, deposited only eighteen inches below the surface, could never be ascertained, the strictest secrecy having been maintained by the fortunate finder, who lost no time in converting it into modern currency. Specimens of these coins may now, or might lately be seen at Jura House. A few years ago, there was found in a peat moss on the farm of Ardfarnal, (five feet below the surface,) a complete specimen of the Caledonian Club, or Backuill—(Latine Baculum.) From its form and shape, it must have been a very formidable weapon, a powerful argumentum baculinum, when wielded by an offended Highlander. The ruins of many chapels are still extant in this island; their names, Kilmorie, Kilchianaig, Kilchattan, and Killearnadale, fur- nish indications of their having been built at a period, when the saints in the Romish calendar were held in higher repute than they are, at the present time, in the parish of Jura and Colonsay. III.-PopULATION. Amount in 1801, * 2007 18ll, & 1943 1821, tº 2228 1831, {e 2205 1841, & 2299 The population of this parish is scattered over an immense sur- face. The people are separated from each other by gulfs, broad ferries, and dangerous estuaries, including the Linne Tharsing, Gulfs of Corivreckan and Bealach a Chumbainn Ghlais, dividing Scarba from the Island of Lunga. It is an amiable feature in the character of the parishioners, that, throughout the length and breadth of a parish of such extent, the minister, in his do- miciliary visits, is hailed and welcomed in every family with the utmost cordiality; that his diets of visiting, catechizing, and preaching have been regularly attended; that even in the remotest districts and islands, his appeal on behalf of the moral and religi- ous instruction of their children has been readily responded to, by 540 te ARGY LESHIRE, the parents themselves, in poor circumstances, hiring teachers for the winter and spring months. - R By a census taken in 1835, the island of Jura contained, males, 598; females, 630; total, 1228 Scarba, O ſº 2 tº-º-º-º-ººmsºmº, Lunga, * 10 te 14 • 24 Belnahua, . 77 74 e 151 Colonsay and Oronsay, & ſº 839 Garvelloch or Holy Island, • * . . 7 Total, . . 2297 - IV.-INDUSTRY. Improvements and Modern Buildings.-Since the publication of the former Statistical Account, much has been done in the way of turning waste and pasture lands to the very best advantage. Considerable sums of money have been expended in making sheep drains in hill and dale, by which means several extensive tracts of land, where nothing but stunted heath, sprits, and underwood was to be seen, now present an improved surface clothed with a ver- dant covering. Bridges have been constructed, comfortable farm- steadings erected; and throughout the whole extent of the parish, sunk fences with whin, black and hazel thorn hedges, substantial and well built stone dikes, judiciously laid out, now intersect the Island of Jura. Judging from the progress already made, and from the zeal displayed by the principal proprie- tors in this work, it may not be too much to expect that, in a short time, the yearly value of the lands may be much enhanced, and the landlords amply remunerated for their outlays. Among the recently erected buildings in this parish, may be reckoned the additions made to the mansion-house of Jura,—a complete set of offices and coach-houses, and a splendid mausoleum in the church- yard of Killearnadale, all designed and executed by Mr Burn, architect, of Edinburgh. On the property of Ardlussa in Jura, which belongs to Captain M'Neill, an elegant and comfortable man- sion, with offices, has been built by his brother, the Right Hon. HDuncan M'Neill, Lord Advocate of Scotland, in a situation of great beauty, adorned by banks of natural wood, extending seve- ral miles, and by recent plantations of forest trees. A great deal has been done by the proprietor towards improving the property, not only at Ardlussa House, but by a large extent of hill-draining. Live-Stock.-Horses, though generally small in size, are exceed- ingly hardy and active. The breed of black cattle, the staple com- modity of the country, is considered to be superior: it is rear- ed solely for the market, at which it meets a ready sale; much attention is therefore paid by landlord and tenant to the J U R A. 54] improvement of it, the payment of their rents being made to de- pend upon the produce of their cattle; but few of the tenants send corn to the mill, the produce of their harvest, (bear and potatoes excepted,) being for the most part expended upon their stock, dur- ing the months of winter and spring. There are from 1000 to 1200 head of black-cattle annually sold out of the Island of Jura, one-half of these by the tenants; average value, L. 5 Sterling. The other half consists of four-year-old stots and heifers, sold by Mr Campbell of Jura, and Captain M'Neill, younger of Colonsay; average value at the present prices, L. 10 Sterling. Previous to the year 1800, the Island of Jura was stocked with the small white-faced Highland breed of sheep, which was highly valued on account of the flavour of the mutton, and the superior quality of the wool; at that time, the black-faced breed was introduced, which in its turn is likely to give place to Cheviots, now prosper- ing in the extensive tenement of Tarbert. The quantity of grain annually sown in Jura may fluctuate be- tween 400 and 500 bolls of oats, and from 80 to 100 bolls of bear. V.-PARocBIAL EconoMY. Harbours.-There are two good road steads in the Island of Jura. Daillghall in Jura, or Lowlandman's Bay, is a capacious basin, two and a-half miles in circumference; its depth of water from five to six fathoms; its entrance, which is at the south end, is in breadth above 570 yards. The other harbour in Jura is formed by four islands, and has thence obtained the appellation of Small Isles Harbour; it is considered safe and convenient; depth of water from four to six fathoms; it is furnished with a sub- stantial quay. Besides these, there are several inferior road-steads. Willages.—Miltown, including Craighouse, is the only . place possessing the character of a village in Jura. There is a corn- mill and Smithy. Weavers, shoemakers, and other tradesmen, have of late years taken up their abode in it. Craighouse inn was rebuilt and enlarged about nine years ago; and a distillery, capable of producing 720 gallons of whisky per week, was erected by Mr Campbell of Jura about the same time. - Ecclesiastical State.—There are two parish churches, one in Jura and the other in Colonsay. The parish church of Jura, built about sixty-three years ago, was at first roofed in, furnished with doors and windows, seated in part, but never fully finished. For many years during the writer’s incumbency, it was allowed to fall into a miserable state of disrepair. It is now otherwise, con- © 542 AR GYLE SHIRE. siderable sums of money having been expended upon it in the course of the last year. A spacious vestry, a gallery and comfort- able apartment for the accommodation of the Jura family, were furnished, chiefly at the expense of Mr Campbell of Jura. The passages were paved with freestone slabs from the quarry of Air- dantallin near Oban. The interior of the church in Jura now ex- hibits such an air of comfort and elegance, as is surpassed by no other in the islands of Argyle. The sittings in both churches are free. . A new manse and office-houses, with garden wall, were built last year, and are now occupied by the minister. The extent of the glebe is about nine acres Scotch measure. The soil, though poor, is not unproductive, the crops being forced by means of enormous quantities of sea-ware annually heaped upon it. Calculating by the average value of land in its neighbourhood, its value may be stated at L. 10 per annum. The stipend is L. 200, burdened with the payment of L.50. yearly for an assistant in the island of Colonsay. The teinds are understood to be exhausted. The stipends are paid in money, - L.69 by the Exchequer, the remainder by the heritors. Divine service in the church is generally well attended, many coming from distances of ten, twelve, and sixteen miles. Education.—The maximum salary is divided among three pa- rochial teachers, two in Jura and one in Colonsay. The defect in the act 1803 anent parochial schoolmasters is, in this parish, amply provided against by the liberality of the principal heritor, Mr Campbell of Jura, who has expended a large sum of money in the erection of two commodious school-rooms, with accommoda- tion for the teachers and their families. He has also allotted to each a garden and a small pendicle of land, sufficient to maintain a cow and to grow potatoes to serve their families. There are besides, two schools upon the establishment of the Society for Pro- pagating Christian Knowledge, one in Colonsay, and the other in Jura. There are also three unendowed schools in the parish. Average income of the teachers, L. 12 per annum. The number of scholars attending all the schools, 347. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The number at present upon the poor's roll is 22. They are divided into three classes, and relief proportioned to their necessities is afforded them. The amount collected at the church, for the last four years, varies from L. 12 to L. 14 Sterling. J U R A • 543 Mr Campbell of Jura, about four years ago, acted in the most liberal and exemplary manner towards the poor resident upon his property in the parish. At that time, he invested the sum of L.260 in the purchase of shares in the Edinburgh Gas Light Company (old stock,) which yields at present a yearly dividend of I.7, 10s. He has also, by liberal donations to the Royal Infir- mary and Asylum of Glasgow, made these benevolent institutions accessible to every poor and distressed patient residing on his pro- perty. Whatever additional sum is given for the support of the poor is supplied by voluntary contribution. Time was, and the period is not far distant, when a noble spirit of independence pervaded even the lowest and the most indigent class of the inhabitants of this parish ; when application for pa- rochial relief was considered by poor individuals as degrading. The writer is sorry to say, that this spirit seems to be fast dying away. - Means of Communication.—There are three established ferries in the Island of Jura, each of them furnished with quays, and what is usually denominated slips, to facilitate the shipping and landing of cattle. Two of these communicate with the mainland. There is the ferry at Kenuachdrach, to Craignish; the ferry of Lagg, to North Knapdale; the ferry of Feolin, at the Sound of Islay, situated at the south end of Jura, and directly opposite to Portaskaig, in Islay. From Feolin Ferry to that of Lagg, (a distance of seventeen miles) there is a Government road, which is kept in the best state of repair, and is of incalculable advantage to the island. Of late years, the attention of Mr Campbell of Jura has been directed to the advantages resulting from the erec- tion of bridges, and the construction of roads leading to the prin- cipal farms on his property; and good substantial roads, equal- ling the Government road, are either now finished or in pro- gress. - The mail from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other places is con- veyed over the Sound of Jura, and landed at Lagg, thence by a runner to Feolin Ferry, at the Sound of Islay. Letters from London arrive here in the short space of four days. There is a sub-office or receiving-house for letters at Lagg. Inns and Public-Houses.—There are two licensed public-houses in Jura. Only a small proportion of the means of the parish- ioners is now expended in the deleterious practice of dram-drink- ing, and in spirituous liquors. Weddings, funerals, and pub- 544 AR GY LESHII: E. lic meetings, which at one period exhibited scenes of revel- ry and drunkenness in this parish, are now conducted in such a way, as to show a decided improvement in the habits of the people. Illicit distillation of whisky and other kinds of smuggling, which at one time were carried on to an alarming extent, are now all but suppressed. - - October 1843. COLONSAY AND ORANSAY. I.—TopogFAPHY AND NATURAL PHISTORY. Name.—THESE islands form one island when the tide retires, but are separated at flood-tide by an arm of the sea a mile broad, where it is usually crossed. At the point where they approach nearest, the islands are not above 100 yards apart. By the Highlanders, the name of Eilean tarsuing is given to the whole island, and it is so called with reference to its apparent position to the eye of the mariner, (tarsuing meaning in Gaelic oblique); but the two islands are generally known under the names of Colonsay and Oransay. These names are evidently Scandi- navian, and signify the islands of St Columba and St Oran, a companion of St Columba's, well-known to tradition. Pre- viously to the occupation of the Western Islands by the Scan- dinavians, the larger island, (if not both,) seems to have been called Hymba. There is an old tradition, that St Columba had an establishment in Colonsay before he went to Iona; and as Adomnan, in his life of St Columba, frequently mentions Hymba as the name of an island in which the saint resided before he went to Iona, and that Ernanus, the Oran of tradition, was the first Abbot of the monastery he established there; and as the smaller island is called the island of St Oran, and the old church in Colonsay was called Killoran, or Church of Oran, there seems little doubt of the identity. Colonsay may therefore boast of being the first of the Western Islands in which the Christian church was established. Extent.—The Islands of Colonsay and Oransay are from the southern end of Oransay to the northern of Colonsay, about 12 miles long and from 1 to 3 broad; the superficial contents are about 9000 Scotch acres, of which one-third are meadow or ara- ble ground. 6 CO i, ON SAY AND OR ANSAY. 5 4 5 II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Land-owners.—John M'Neill, Esq. of Colonsay, is proprietor of both islands. The M'Neills have now been in possession of these islands for nearly 150 years, Doual M'Neill, the first pro- prietor of that name, having received them from the Duke of Ar- gyle in exchange for property in South Knapdale. The old pos- sessors were the M*Duffies or M'Phies of Colonsay, who possess- ed it under the Lords of the Isles. The last of them, viz. Mal- colm M*Duffy of Colonsay, was put to death by Gillespie M*Do- nald, commonly called Colkitto, whose family possessed the island for two generations. Mansion-houses.—There are two mansion-houses. That of Killoran, in Colonsay, was built in 1722, on the site of the old Culdee establishment there : the present laird of Colonsay has added two wings, making a most comfortable house for the ac- commodation of a large family. The mansion-house at Oransay was built in 1772, and is a commodious dwelling-house. Antiquities.—There is in these islands one of the most exten- sive and interesting remains of the monastic establishments in the Western Isles, viz. the ruins of the priory of Oransay. There was a Culdee establishment in the island, and, as we have reason to think, the first founded by St Columba. The priory of Oran- say was founded by the Lord of the Isles, and filled with regular canons brought from the Abbey of Holyrood, upon which abbey it was dependent. With the exception of those at Iona, these are by far the finest of the ecclesiastical remains in the West High- lands. There is a church in which the tombstones of the ancient possessors of the islands are to be seen, considerable remains of the cloisters and of the monastic buildings usually attached to it, and near the church an ancient cross, part of the inscription on which is still legible, and contains the words, “Haec est Crux Colini Prior. Orisoi obiit M.Dx, :::” The ruins are close to the mansion-house, and form a venerable and interesting feature in a scene of wild and solitary beauty. - In a loch in Colonsay, there are the ruins of an old castle or fort upon an island in the middle of it, and to this stronghold the lairds of Colonsay used to retire, when threatened with danger. III.—PopULATION. By the census taken in 1835 the population amounted to 839. IV.-INDUSTRY. Improvements.-There are, perhaps, few estates in Scotland on A R GYLE. M In 546 ARGY LESHIRE. which so much has been done in improvement, (and that by the exertions of one individual alone,) as the estate of Colonsay. The present proprietor, Mr M'Neill of Colonsay, (who retains the greater portion of the island in his own hands,) has not only turned the land formerly in tillage to the best account, but he has also re- claimed a vast extent of moors, hills, and peat mosses from a state of absolute waste to that of productive soil. He has introduced theim- proved system of husbandry, in the utmost latitude of the expression, into Colonsay, and his crops are among the best in the West of Scotland. Of late years he has drained a great extent of meadow land, and every year more of the barren land has been brought into cultivation, and several thousand roods of stone dikes have been built. No roads were made in Colonsay till the present proprietor commenced them, and the island is now intersected by an excel- lent road, made entirely at his expense, with the aid of the statute labour. Mr M'Neill has thus, by judicious, persevering, and well-directed efforts, not only brought his estate into a high con- dition of cultivation and productiveness, but he has likewise much improved the condition of the small croſters, and afforded constant occupation to a numerous and comfortable population. In addition to this, Mr M'Neill has much improved his stock of black-cattle, and brought them to a degree of excellence which has never been surpassed. By good management and great at- tention to breeding, his stock are now the best in the market. The bulls bear a very high value for breeding, and have sold for L.200. He breeds about 200 calves yearly, and winters about 1000 head of black-cattle. The principal exports, besides cattle, are bear and potatoes. Of the latter, Mr M'Neill raises about 1000 bolls (4000 sacks) annually. V.—PARoch IAL ECONOMY. Harbours.-There is an excellent harbour in Colonsay, called Portnafeamin, where a substantial quay has been built by the proprietor, and from which a good road leads into the island. Rise and fall of tide fits it for repairing vessels of considerable burthen, and it is considered the best harbour for this purpose in the Hebrides. There are also two good road-steads; one called Stursanaic and the other Coulismore. Cod-fishing is carried on to a considerable extent by the people of the island, and its banks are frequented by the fishing boats of Islay, Gigha, and Kintire. The flat fish on the banks nearer the shore is also abundant and of the best quality. - KII, MAYRT IN. 547 Mr M'Neill has planted a considerable extent of ground; and the forest trees, especially the elm, ash, and sycamore, are in a very thriving condition. The alder trees about the garden at Colonsay House have attained a size unequalled in any of the neighbouring islands. Ecclesiastical State.—The islands of Colonsay and Oransay have not been ecclesiastically separated from the rest of the pa- rish, but there is a permanent assistant at Colonsay, who was placed there by the exertions of the present proprietor in 1833. There is a good church, and the proprietor furnishes the assistant with a house and garden and other accommodations. - Inns, &c.—Near the harbour is a small but neat inn; and, at a short distance, the smithy. : February 1844. PARISH OF KILMARTIN. PRESBYTERY OF INVERARY, SYNoD OF ARGYLE. THE REW. DONALD MACCALMAN, MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—THE name of this parish is derived from Kill, which, in the Gaelic language, signifies a burial-place, and Martin, or St Martin, the patron saint to whom it was dedicated. This parish is situated about the centre of the district of Ar- gyle proper, and is nearly co-extensive with the ancient barony of Ariskeodnish,_a name signifying a shealing and sheltered valley with good pasture. The river which flows through the valley of Kilmartin, is still named the river of Skeodnish. In a direct line, Kilmartin is about 18 miles south-west of In- verary. The high road from Lochgilphead to Oban passes through the parish. It is 8 miles north-north-west of the former, and 29 south of the latter place. - Eatent and Boundaries, &c.—The form of the parish is oblong, extending in length, from north-east to south-west, about 12 miles, and in breadth, about 3% miles. It is bounded on the south- west by Loch Criman, the northern entrance into the Crinan Canal; on the north-west, by Loch Craignish and the parish of .** 548 - ARGY LESH J R E. Craignish; on the north-east, by the parish of Dalavich; and on the south-east, by Lochawe and the parish of Glassary. - Topographical Appearances.—The upper or north-east end of the parish stretches, for about five miles, along the north bank of Lochawe, and is much diversified by hill and dale. The land rises abruptly from the margin of the lake to the elevation of about 1000 feet, and the descent is equally steep on the other side, where it marches with the parish of Craignish. Along the base of this range of hills, there is a thriving belt of copsewood, con- sisting of oak, ash, birch, hazel, &c., which, together with the projecting headlands, and rich verdure reaching to the very sum- mit, presents to the eye of the spectator a strikingly bold and beautiful outline, particularly in sailing along Lochawe. The same continuous ridge of hills—bounded by Craignish and Loch Craignish on the one side, and by the valley of Kilmartin on the other—extends westward about seven miles, until it terminates at Duntroon, near the entrance to Loch Crinan, Most of the higher eminences in this parish command remark- ably beautiful and extensive views, particularly Craiginterave, or the Bull rock, about a mile west of the Ford of Lochawe-Benvan, adjoining the hill of Kilmartin, which is 1200 feet above the level of the sea, commanding a view of Ben Cruachan, Benloi, hills of Glencrow, Cowall, the coasts of Ayr and Kintyre, and the Island of Arran—the Cairn of Duchara, on the property of Mr Campbell of Glenmore, which commands a view of the whole western coast, for about sixty miles. But undoubtedly the finest prospect which this district affords, is from the hill above Poltalloch, the ancient seat of the Malcolms of Poltalloch, on the south-eastern shore of Loch Craignish. The view from this point extends from the Island of Islay to the mountains of Mull, Morven, Kingarloch, and Appin. But it is not so much its extent, as the variety and picturesque forms of the objects seen within it, and especially the very happy manner in which they are grouped and placed before the eye, that constitutes the great charm of this splendid panorama. The coast is singularly indented with long peninsular ridges, and islands run- ning in the same north-easterly direction; thus forming a succes- sion of narrow inlets that give a peculiarly picturesque character to the scenery. One of the most remarkable of these, Loch Craignish, lies in all its length, immediately beneath the Spectator. Its southern shore is steep and rocky, and for several miles is clothed with luxuriant woods, interspersed with full-grown trees, KILMART IN. 549 .* and rocky comes, crowding upon each other, and presenting an endless variety of forms. The opposite coast being flatter, exhi- bits here and there smiling corn fields; and is terminated by the plantations that enclose Craignish Castle, the seat of Mr Camp- bell of Jura. Parallel with the shores of Loch Craignish, lie se- veral islands, the two principal of which, Island Righ and Island Macasken, both belonging to this parish, are pleasantly diversified with broken knolls and scattered woods, divided by little dells of the richest verdure. Numerous other islands and islet rocks, with creeks between, gleaming in the sun, occupy the centre of the picture; beyond which, in front of the spectator, rises the huge rounded mass of Scarba, separated from the sister island of Jura, by the far-famed gulf or whirlpool of Coryvreckan. From this place, too, may be seen, along the extended line of coast, every variety of sea craft, from the stately ship under a cloud of canvass, to the slender skiff, floating like a sea-gull on the surface of the ocean, —each pursuing its devious course, or safely moored in some shel- tered bay, as wind and tide, or the will of the mariners, may de- termine. - -- Indeed it is hardly possible to fancy a spot more suited to awaken the associations so forcibly expressed by the bard of Hope, who is said to have spent some of his early years in this immediate neighbourhood.— “ But who is he a dearer land Remembers, over the hills and far away? Green Albin, what though he no more survey Thy ships at anchor on the quiet bay, Thy Pellocks” rolling from the mountain bay, Thy lone sepulchral cairn upon the moor, And distant isles that hear the loud Coryvreckan roar.” Gertrude of Wyoming, V. Far to seaward, the low islands of Colonsay and Oransay appear across the gulf, and the view is closed to the left by the lofty and picturesque cones, named the Paps of Jura. To the right, a large portion of the Mull is seen, rising behind a multitude of smaller islands, such as Lunga, Shuna, Luing, Seil, Easdale, Garvallach, and Elachanove. Its very noble and well-shaped mountains form, perhaps, the most striking feature in the scene; and the bold promontory with which its southern coast abruptly terminates, the Ross of Mull, is particularly striking. In the extreme distance to the north, a few blue summits mark the moun- tains of Morven, Appin and Glencreran. * The Gaelic appellation for the porpoises. 550 AIRGYLE SHIRE. Such is a meagre detail of the principal objects seen from above Poltalloch; but it is scarcely possible to convey an adequate idea of the picturesque forms, the happy combinations and contrasts, —the beautiful play of tints and colours, which this view presents. The atmospheric changes, and the consequent variety of lights and shades over so vast a picture in so changeable a climate, in- vests it with a new charm, each time it is enjoyed. But at no time, perhaps, does it look more magnificent than in the depth of win- ter, when the mountains of Mull are covered far down their sides with a dazzlingly brilliant mantle of snow, giving to them an al- most Alpine appearance. . . Were this view better known, or if it lay more in the usual track of tourists, there can be little doubt it would be classed among the finest panoramas of its kind, that our Scottish Highlands can boast. The valley of Kilmartin may be traced from Loch Ederline, about a mile from the west end of Lochawe. For the space of three miles westward to the village of Kilmartin, it is confined within a very narrow space, by two side long ranges of hills, rising in some places almost perpendicular from the base; and, notwith- standing of several windings, maintaining their relative distance and elevation with singular exactness. At Kilmartin, it gradually widens into a level plain of from 5000 to 6000 acres, including the moss of Criman, a considerable part of which lies in the ad- joining parish of Glassary. The rising ground on both sides of the valley of Kilmartin is tastefully ornamented with thriving plantations intermixed with open glades and green knolls, giving to the whole the appearance as well as the reality of a clothed and cultivated country. Geology.—The district in which the parish of Kilmartin is si- tuated, belongs geologically to the mica slate formation, and has been usually classed, (according to Dr M'Culloch,) in that divi- sion of this extensive and intricate group of rocks, which is named chlorite slate. Chlorite slate is found in considerable abun- dance ; but associating and alternating with it are a number of rocks of very different texture and hardness, from the softest ar- gillaceous shale to the hardest hornblende slate. Occasionally, mica slate occurs; but much more frequently the rock has a granular silicious character, and sometimes becomes purely quartzose. In short, the rocks, even within the confined district of this parish, offer examples of most of the varieties common to the mica slate l{I LMA RTIN. 551 family, while no order of succession, calculated to throw light on this obscure class of rocks, is apparent. The hard hornblende slate, where found, is easily split into large slabs for building, &c. and no doubt roofing slate might be obtained from the chlorite slate; indeed a similar rock has lately been quarried with suc- cess on the banks of the Crinan Canal, just beyond the limits of the parish. As usual in the mica slate formation, limited beds of crystalline limestone are met with in many parts, interstra- tified somewhat irregularly, within the slaty beds. They afford no trace of organic remains, but frequently seem to bear evidence of igneous action. The rock has sometimes quite a calcined ap- pearance, and fragments of the limestone are often observed lying some distance within the adjoining schist, as also fragments of the slate within the limestone. These calcareous beds occasionally contain more or less silex, but the purer varieties are extensively burned for building and agricultural purposes. The strata within this district are highly inclined, seldom less than at an angle of 45°, much more frequently nearly vertical, as may be seen along the road near Kilmartin, also on the western shores of Lochawe and elsewhere. The dip is generally to the south-east; the strike, with little variation, is north-east and south- west, or east-north-east and west-south-west. It may be con- cluded that this elevation of the strata is due to the action of the trap, which shows itself in many parts of the parish, as well as of the adjoining district. This intrusive rock sometimes appears in the form of vertical dikes twelve or fourteen feet in width, running often at nearly right angles to the strike of the sedimentary beds; at other times, it is found in roundish irregular masses, and not unfrequently is split in horizontal fractures, displaying an imper- fectly columnar structure. Whenever the neighbouring rock can be observed, it is almost always found to be much indurated near the trap, while occasionally the traces of stratification are so en- tirely obliterated, as to require a well-practised eye to decide whe- ther it belongs to hornblende slate, for instance, or basalt. In conclusion, it may be observed, that the rocks in this parish pre- sent most of the varieties and phenomena common to the mica slate series elsewhere, while the area is too small to afford much opportunity of elucidating any of the difficulties that confessedly attach to this little known formation, which still requires the at- tentive study of our best geologists. These rocks, though appa- rently so hard, seem to decompose readily by the action of the 552 A R GYLE SHIRE, atmosphere, in consequence, probably, of the oxidation of the iron they so abundantly contain. The result is, that even the highest hills are covered with a deep rich friable soil, affording fine herb- age for the cattle and sheep, for which this district is so celebrated. Iron is not only found disseminated through the rocks, but occa- sionally also in the condition of a rich dark red ore, though not in sufficient quantities to authorize its being worked. The only mine within the parish that is known to have been opened, is one of copper, on the side of a hill, about a mile above Poltalloch. No very certain account of it can be obtained, but it is believed to have been discontinued about a century ago. Several of the shafts, adits, &c. still remain open, and from an examination lately made, it appears that the miners followed a vein of remarkably rich ore, (judging from the specimens picked up on the spot,) un- til it worked out at no great distance from the surface. Several thread-like veins of copper may still be traced along the walls of the passages, but they are too trifling to encourage the proprietor to incur the certain expense of ascertaining whether they may possibly lead to beds of more productive ore. There remain two comparatively modern deposits of too consi- derable interest to be passed over without notice; although one of them (the peat-moss of Crinan) lies partly in the adjoining parish of Kilmichael-Glassary. It is computed to extend over 5000 acres, of which 3000 are in the parish of Kilmartin. This extensive peat-moss has been, for many years, under a course of drainage by its proprietor, Mr Malcolm of Poltalloch,-so that its depth and composition are pretty well ascertained. It may be reckoned from 2 to 17 feet deep; average about 5 feet. A con- siderable part of it consists of what is called flow moss, and has sunk, by draining, from 3 to 8 feet. Large roots of trees, princi- pally oak, alder, birch, and hazel, are not unfrequently found se- veral feet beneath the surface. Below this mass of vegetable matter is found a bed of usually fine gravel, from 2 feet to 2% feet in depth; beneath which is a blue tenacious clay, the depth of which has never been ascertained. This clay abounds in beds of large muscles, cockles, &c., which seem to attest the former pre- sence of the sea; and leave little room for doubt that the salt wa- ter must have once extended over this wide flat as far at least as Kilmartin, and the entrance of the valley of Kilmichael-Glassary. The other comparatively modern deposit, before alluded to, is a very remarkable succession of broad and elevated terraces, com- K I [., M. A. RTI Ns 553 posed of rounded stones and gravel, and presenting a nearly uni- form level, which occupy the upper part of the valley of Kilmar- tin on both sides, but principally on the western. The village of Kilmartin itself is built on one of them. They may be traced for about seven or eight miles from the Castle of Carnassary down to- wards the Bay of Crinan ; and, though they have here and there been partially washed away by lateral streams from the hills, they exhibit such general proofs of continuity, and uniformity of level, as force the conviction, that they owe their origin and form to the action of a large body of water. The average height of these singular terraces may be estimated at from 50 to 60 feet above the present level of the valley, to- wards which they dip at an angle varying from 30 to 45 degrees, with as much regularity almost as if dressed by art. The widest of them, in front of Lergie House, measures about 300 yards, at right angles to the valley. Wherever they have been examined, they are found to be entirely composed of rounded stones and gravel, mixed with a little soil. Many of the boulders are of very considerable size and great hardness; but all are so completely rounded, as to prove they must have been subject to the long-con- tinued action of water. The greater number of them perhaps are identical with the rocks of the neighbouring valley; but others must evidently have been transported from a distance, especially some large blocks of a red syenitic porphyry, which would appear to have come most probably from the neighbourhood of Ben- cruachan. - An examination of that part of the valley which extends from the ford at the west end of Lochawe to the village of Kilmartin affords very strong evidence, that this fine body of water formerly emptied itself by this passage into the Bay of Crinan. The bed and embankments of a large river may yet be traced in all its windings for several miles; and it is worthy of remark, that, in three different places, where a mass of rock obstructed the direct course of the current, a circuitous course has been scooped out for its passage in the opposite bank ; while, on the other hand, the lateral gorge at the foot of Bencruachan, by which Lochawe now discharges its waters into Loch Etive, bears as evident marks of its having been violently disrupted by some subsequent convulsion of nature. No other considerable Scottish lake empties itself by a lateral channel so near its head or principal feeder; whereas, the alteration of a very few feet of level would even now cause Loch- 554 A R GYLESHIRE. awe again to escape by its natural channel at the south-western end, after the manner of all other similar bodies of water. The terraces, therefore, above spoken of may surely, with great proba- bility, be attributed to the agency of this lake, during the far-dis- tant period when it passed through this valley into the sea, bring- ing along with it, and rounding in its course, fragments of the rocks found along its upper shores. The only other solution seems to be, either that these terraces are raised sea beaches, which their height above the present sea level and the absence of marine shells seems to refute ; or that they may be attributed to the agency of primeval glaciers, which, it is supposed, even the most zealous advo- cates of that now fashionable theory would hardly assert, were they to examine the condition in which they are found on the spot. Žoology.—Black game, grouse, partridges, snipes, and wood- cocks (in their season) are abundant in the parish. Pheasants have lately been introduced, and are now becoming very nume- rous. Water-rails, Scotch duck, widgeon, teal, and other ducks, together with a variety of divers, and other sea-fowl, are plentiful along the coast and in Lochawe. Wild geese and swans occasion- ally visit the coast, during severe winter weather. The landrail is common in summer and harvest. Roes and hares are very plen- tiful, and have abundance of cover in the plantations. Foxes were formerly very numerous; but, of late, their number has been very much diminished by trapping. Otters and seals are occasionally found along the coast. Badgers, wild cats, martens, polecats, and wea- sels are sometimes to be met with ; but not so frequently as for- merly. Rats, mice, and moles are very numerous. Adders and lizards are rarely seen. In the Bay of Crinan and Loch Craig- nish, herrings are taken both with nets and the fishing-rod, as also all the other kinds of fish common to the west coast. There is a very valuable salmon fishing at Crinan; and the river of Add, which flows into Loch Crinan, affords excellent angling for salmon and trout. In Loch Ederline, char is very plentiful. Lochawe is celebrated for salmon and trout fishing. Oysters, mussels, and crabs, are found in Loch Craignish ; but they are now rather scarce. Fresh-water mussels, containing pearls of great value, have also been found in Loch Ederline. Botany.—Few or no rare plants are found in the parish. The woods and plantations in the parish cover a space of 1189 acres, and consist principally of ash, oak, birch, alder, hazel, Scotch fir, . I ILMA 18.T IN. sº 555. larch, silver fir, elm, poplar, beech, plane, lime, and holly. The whole is in a very thriving state. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. The early history of this parish, like that of many of our High- land districts, is derived in a great measure from fragments of legendary tales, and a few scattered documents, more or less re- lating to the parish, which tend to illustrate the ancient character and condition of the people. The old proprietors of the parish were the Campbells of Duntroon, the Campbells of Rassly, the Campbells of Kilmartin, the Malcolms of Poltalloch, the Mac- lachans of Craiginterave, the Campbells of Eleanree, the Camp- bells of Ormaig, the Campbells of Auchanellan, the Campbells of Barbreck, and the Campbells of Inverliver. With three excep- tions, (Malcolm of Poltalloch, Maclachlan of Craiginterave, and Campbell of Auchanellan,) all these properties have passed from their original owners, and very few of their descendants are now to be found in the land of their fathers. - Bishop Carswell, one of the superintendent bishops appointed after the Reformation from Popery, and whose name is associated with the well-known controversy regarding the authenticity of the poems of Ossian, resided at Carnassary Castle, (now in ruins,) which stands on an eminence at the head of the valley of Kilmartin, an- ciently called Strathmore. * It is said that he was a native of Argyleshire, and educated at the College of St Andrews about the year 1548; that he first obtained a presentation to the Bi- shoprick of the Western Isles, and the Abbacy of Icolmkill, and that he was afterwards translated to the Bishoprick of Argyle, com- prehending Kintyre, Argyle proper, and Lorn, when he esta- blished his residence at Carnassary Castle. He is reputed to have been a man of great piety and learning ; which, together with his wealth and official power, has made his name familiar throughout the Western Highlands. When the Highland Society of London were engaged in the controversy regarding the authenticity of the poems of Ossian, they sent their librarian, Mr Donald M*Intosh, to the Western Highlands in quest of evidence to disprove the assertions of Dr Johnson, Mr Hume, Mr Laing, Mr Pinkerton, &c. Mr. M'In- tosh found in the Island of Arran a religious Gaelic book, pub- lished by Bishop Carswell in 1560, dedicated to the Earl of Ar- gyle. In his dedicatory letter in Gaelic, he introduces the names * See Kennedy's Tracts on the Reformation, &c. 556 AI: G Y LESH [I3 E. of the two leaders who commanded the Fingalian army, Fionn and Goll. The former commanded the Irish tribes, the latter the Ca- ledonian. In this letter he expresses his sorrow “ that his people paid more attention to the idle tales and songs of Fionn MacCu- thail and Goll Mac Moirnna than to the word of God.” He died at Carnassary Castle in the year 1575, and ordered his re- mains to be deposited in the Priory of Ardchattan, about forty miles distant from Carnassary. The day of his interment was marked by a violent storm, which occasioned much distress to the great concourse of people who attended the funeral, carrying the bier on their shoulders, according to the custom of the times; so that to this day, when there is a tempest of more than ordinary violence, there is a common saying among the people, “there has not been the like since Carswell’s funeral day.” - After the death of Bishop Carswell, Carnassary Castle became the property and occasional residence of the Campbells of Auch- inbreck, one of the most powerful families of their day in the whole county. In 1685, Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck joined the Earl of Argyle in the unsuccessful invasion of the Duke of Monmouth, when he entertained the Earl and his followers for some days at Carnassary Castle. Not long after the failure of that unfortunate undertaking, Auchinbreck’s estates in this and the neighbouring parishes were confiscated, and the property be- longing to himself, his tenants, friends, and vassals, was plundered by some of the neighbouring clans; as will appear more fully from the subjoined curious document, one of the rescinded Acts of the Scottish Parliament.* * Unto my Lords Commissioners, his Grace, and the Estates of Parliament, the Petition of Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck, for himself and his distressed friends, tenants, and vassals in Knapdale, Glassary, and Kelislait; Humbly shew. eth,--That your petitioner having, in anno 1685, taken arms with the deceased noble Earl of Argyll in defence of the Protestant religion, and in opposition to Po- perie and arbitrary power; and your petitioner, by the singular care and providence of Almighty God, having, after a narrow search made for him, escaped the hands of his enemies, he was forſaulted of life and fortune, himself and family put to the great- est hardships; all imaginable cruelty, rapine, violence, and oppression committed on his near relations, friends, vassals, and tenants; and after capitulation and assur- ance given, no faith kept; his friends killed and hanged at his gates; his houses burnt to ashes, all the goods secured by said assurance, robbed and taken away,+all other unparalleled barbarities committed ; and more particularly, your petitioner hav- ing, from the sense of the justice and necessitie of the said Earl, his undertaking, and for the defence of the countrie, caused man and garrison his castle of Carnassary, —the same was besieged, and in treatie for surrender, being in dependence, the deceased Lachlane M*Laine of Torlisk, Lauchlane M“Laine of Coll, M*Laine of Ard. gour, M“Laine of Kenlochalin, M*Laine of Lochbuy, Donald M'Neil of Collachie, Archibald M“Lachlan of Craiginterave, and M'Kechrhie in Kintyre, corſlie and seally, with their barbarous accomplices, did, in the first place, cause hang Dugald Ki LMA RT IN. - 557 At the south-west extremity of the parish stands the Castle of Duntroon, the ancient seat of the Campbells of Duntroon. Sir Mactavish, fiar of Dunardarie, at the said Castle of Carnassarie, and immediatelie after the surrender thereof, did barbarously murder Alexander Campbell of Strondour, the petitioner's uncle, and without any regard to any conditions of faith given, they did fall upon and wound about twentie of the soldiers of the garrison, plunder and carrie away out of the said house three-score horse, led by goods and plenishing, and after all their cruelties and robberies, the said deceased Lauchlane M*Laine of Torlisk, with his above-named followers and accomplices, did set fire to the said house of Car- nassarie, and burn it to ashes,—and after all, your petitioner's estate being annexed to the Crown, the rents thereof were intromitted with, and uplifted bie William Stewart of Craigtown, as having commission from the Lord of the Shire, since the year 1685 to Martimmas 1689, and the same are yet in his hands; and during this space the saids friends, tenants, and vassals were, by the arbitrary exactions of the deceased Viscount of Strathallan, and Sir John Drummond of Machonie, oppressed, leised, and damified in certain great sourms of money. Lykeas the said Donald M“Neil of Callachie and Archibald M“Lachlan of Craiginterave did intromit with, and take up out of the parochins of Knapdale, Kelislate, Glassrie, and Ariskeod- nish," the number of 2000 kows belonging to the petitioner, his friends and te- mants; and the said M. Kechrnie in Kintyre did seize upon the hail goods and ple- nishing within the petitioner's house of Lochger, wherethrou your petitioner, his said friends, tenants, and vassals, are disabled, leased, and damified in the sums of money and avails following: viz. by the burning of the said house of Carnassary, in the sum of L. 20,000 Scots; by the taking away of his said goods, as will appear by a particular list, in the soum of L. 12,000 money foresaid ; by his laying out of his estates, intromitted with bie the said William Stewart, in the soum of L. 24,000 money foresaid ; by the said arbitrary exactions of the said Viscount Strathallan and Sir John Drummond of Machonie, in the soum of L. 12,000 money foresaid ; and by the said Donald M*Neill and Archibald M*Lauchlan of Craiginterave, their in- tromitting with and taking up of the said 2000 kows, in the soum of L. 40,000; money foresaid ; and bie the said M'Kechrnie, his taking away of the plenishing of the house of Lochger, in the soum of L. 2000 money foresaid ; which damages and losses the foresaid persons, acters and committers of the cruelties, robberies, and oppressions above written, and the representatives of such of them as are dead, ought and should repare and restore to your petitioners, and their estates made liable in payment thereof; and in regard your petitioners are greatly disabled thereby,–necessitie and justice calls for speedie relief. May it therefore please your Grace, and flordships to grant warrant to cite the foresaid persons, and the representatives of so many of them as are dead, and their tutors and curators, if they any have, to compear before this honourable Court of Parliament at such dytes as your Grace and Lordships shall think fit; and in case of not sitting, to nominate and appoint some of your Lordships' number, who shall cog- noce and finallie denounce and determine the said matter, to hear and see the said damages proven ; and they decerned to make payment thereof in manner above writ- ten ; and in regard there is no access to cite them personally, nor at their dwelling- places, to grant warrant to cite them at the mercat-cross of Edinburgh, or the shire in which they lie ;-and to cite witnesses,-and your petitioners shall ever pray. (Signed) l) UNCAN CAMPBELL. Edin., 8th July 1690. - Their Majestie's High Commissioners and the Estates of Parliament having heard this petition, doe grant warrant-order to messengers, massers, messengers-at-arms, to cite the persons condescended on in the petition, and the representatives of such of them as are dead, to compear before them within fifteen days after the charge, with continuation of days, to answer to this petition, in case the Parliament be sitting :- or otherwise, before the Commission appointed by an Act of this Parliament, entitled “Act for rescinding fines and forfeitures,” to which Commission they remit, to hear the parties,—to take trials and probation upon the poynts of the complaint, and to report to the next session of this or other ensuing Parliament—and grant warrant * Kilmartin. i From this it would appear that the price of a cow was then estimated at L.l., 13s. 4d. Sterling : –the average price may now be valued at L.8 sterling. - 55.8 AR GY LESH I R. E. Neil Campbell, late governor of Sierra Leone, and son of the last proprietor, was born at Duntroon. A handsome marble tablet is erected to his memory, and another to the memory of his father, in the church of Kilmartin, by his surviving brother, Lieutenant- Colonel Patrick Campbell, R. A., late British Consul at Egypt. This castle withstood the ravages of the celebrated Coll Macdo- nell, alias Colla Ciotach, i. e. left-handed Coll, and his followers, when he invaded Argyleshire. The general account given of this desperate and ambitious man is, that either his father or grandfather had carried off a daughter of the Earl of Argyll, whom he married. Payment of her dowry having been refused by Argyll, in consequence of her elopement, and her having married a person below her rank, without consent, Coll applied to his namesake and chief, the Earl of Antrim, for assistance to enforce his claims. Antrim, who bore no good will towards Argyll for joining the Covenanters, and on account of other private quarrels, aided Macdonell by raising 3000 men in Ulster to invade Scotland, but in particular Argyleshire. With this force he landed in Kintyre, and proceeded northward, de- stroying the residences, and pillaging the property of every Camp- bell that lay in his way, with the exception of one, viz. Campbell of Auchanellan in the parish of Kilmartin, whom he spared on ac- count of his being a minister of the Established Church. From Castle Sween he proceeded by sea with his forces towards the Bay of Crinan, intending to attack and destroy Duntroon Castle. He sent his piper forward by land, in order to procure information. The piper was admitted into the castle, when he found, by the narrowness of the stair-case, that only one person could enter at a time to attack the place, and that it was otherwise sufficiently strong to repel the invaders; and being himself suspected, he was confined to one of the upper turrets of the castle, where, seeing Macdonell's forces approaching, he contrived to warn him of the danger of making the attack, by playing on his bagpipes the well- known pibroch, . to messengers to cite witnesses to the effect foresaid ; and in regard there is no tutus access for citing the persons complained of personallie, or at their own dwelling- places, it is hereby declared that a citation at the market-cross of the head burgh of the shire, within which their ordinary is—shall be sufficient. . (Signed) CRAwford, C. . By a separate list of depredations given in at the same time, it appears that not only the Laird of Auchinbreck, but likewise the families of Inverlivar, Kilmartin, Poltalloch, Rassly, and Duntroon, together with a number of others in the neigh- bouring districts, were subjected to the same wholesale plunder by the above-named parties. 4 KILMARTIN. 559 A cholla mo run seach aim an tur, seach an an tur, A cholla mo ghaoil seachan am caol seachan an caol, Tha mise an laimh ; tha mise an laimh. —i. e. Dearest Coll, shun the Tower, shun the Tower; My beloved Coll, shun the Sound, shun the Sound; I am in hand, I am in hand, or, I am a prisoner. This warning was understood by Macdonell, who, finding that Duntroon Castle was impregnable, left his faithful piper to his fate, and with his forces proceeded northward, along the strath of Kilmartin towards Athnacra, near the ford of Lochawe, destroy- ing and plundering every thing in his way on the estates of Dun- troon, Rassly, and Kilmartin, and carrying away all the cattle, with the exception of one dun cow that happened to escape his no- tice, being hid in a thicket of birch in a hollow below Kilmartin. This cow is still known by the natives by the name of Bo-Mhaol othar Achabhean, i. e. the humel dun cow of Achaven. It was this cow, by her lowing for her calf, which had been carried away with the rest of the cattle of the Strath, that is said to have sounded the first note of lamentation and wailing among the inha- bitants, when they ventured from their hiding places in the hills, to behold the destruction of their dwellings, and the devastation of every thing valuable that belonged to them. Duntroon Castle has been put into a complete state of repair by the proprietor, Mr Malcolm of Poltalloch, so that it is now a com- fortable residence, and cannot fail to attract the notice of a stran- ger in passing through the Crinan Canal. On the bank immediately to the north of the village of Kil- martin, stand the ruins of the old castle of Kilmartin, anciently the residence of the rectors of Kilmartin. The descendants of one of them, the Campbells of Auchanellan, still retain the heredi- tary property in the parish, and the ancient Caibeal or burial-place of the rectors in the churchyard of Kilmartin ; and the family are sometimes called by the natives Slioch an Easbuig, i. e. the de- scendants of the Church Superintendent. Land-owners.-There are seven land-owners, viz. Neill Mal- colm, Esq. of Poltalloch; Colin Bell Maclachlan, Esq. of Craigin- terave; Captain Donald Campbell, R. N. of Barbreck; the Rev. Dugald Campbell of Auchanellan; John Campbell, Esq. of Glen- more; Mrs Campbell of Askenish ; Mrs Johnston of Dunchol- lagin. - Parochial Registers.-The earliest date in the kirk-session re- cords is the 25th May 1691. Down to 1751 it is imperfect; from that date to the present time, it has been regularly kept. 560 AR GYLE SH 1 [& E. The earliest date in the register of baptisms and marriages is 1747; but the record is very imperfect down to 1774. From the latter date to 1819, there is no record of baptisms and marriages extant. From 1819 to the present time, it has been regularly kept. Antiquities.—Along the valley of Kilmartin, and in some other parts of the parish, there are a number of large circular cairns of stones. Some of them have been explored and found to contain stone coffins about four feet long by two broad, so that the body must have been doubled up or burned, and the bones and ashes deposited in them. The latter supposition is the more likely, as urns or earthen vases rudely ornamented, and containing a small quantity of red ashes, are generally found at the one end of the coffin, and human bones of a larger size than such as are now com- monly met with, are deposited in the centre. A few silver coins, and one in particular, bearing the name of Ethelred, has been found in one of those stone coffins ; and in another a spear head about ten inches long, composed of a mixture of brass and iron ; as also a polished stone shaped somewhat like a battle-axe, which seem to indicate that some of the persons whose remains have been there deposited, were men whose “trade was war.” Contiguous to these cairns are occasionally to be found open circles of stones placed on end, and large single pillars of stone standing upright, from nine to twelve, and a few to the height of seventeen or eight-. een feet above ground. - Various opinions are entertained regarding the origin of these rude monuments of antiquity, which, like the Egyptian pyramids, have outlived the names and events they were doubtless designed to commemorate. Some think that they have been the work of the Druids; while others, with more probability, believe that this extensive plain must at some distant period have been the scene of a succession of bloody contests between the natives and some invading tribes, and that these monuments were raised by the survivors, to the memory of those who had fallen in battle. The name of the district, too, of which the valley of Kilmartin is nearly the centre, viz. Aragaidheal,- i. e., the battle-field, or slaughter of the Gael,—seems to favour the latter supposition. . At Ardafure, near Duntroon, there is a remarkable ancient circular building, enclosing a considerable space of open ground within. The wall is of great thickness, having one narrow entrance, and apparently a covered way in the centre. It is supposed to KILM A RTIN. 561 have been built as a place of safety for the cattle and other pro- perty of the inhabitants, to which they were sent when any danger was at hand. - . Modern Buildings.-Kilmartin House, the residence of Neill Malcolm, Esq., of Poltalloch, the principal heritor in the parish, is about half a mile to the north-west of Kilmartin. The church of Kilmartin was erected in 1835. It is an ele- gant Gothic building, of an oblong form, having a square tower at the end, with front and side galleries supported by hewn stone pillars, and surmounted with Gothic arches to correspond. The internal arrangements are very complete, and afford comfortable accommodation. The manse, which is contiguous to the church, was built in 1789. It is now in a very decayed state. - The village of Kilmartin has been entirely rebuilt and re- modelled within the last few years. Instead of the rude and ill- assorted thatched cottages, all of which are now removed, the proprietor has put down substantial slated cottages, having garden and shrubbery ground enclosed and railed in for each, the whole having an air of neatness and comfort formerly unknown in this part of the country. - - - . A considerable number of similar slated cottages, and some commodious farm steadings, have been recently built in other parts of the parish, for the accommodation of the tenants, trades- people, and labourers on the Poltalloch estate. III.—PoPULATION. In 1755, according to Dr Webster's account, the population amounted to 1150. - - . Males. Females. Total. In 1795, 760 777 1537 1801, 734 767 1501 1811, 680 773 1453 1821, 744 748 1492 1831, 736 739 1475 . 1841, 6] I 602 1213 No. of families, . . º t 220 Do. under 15 years of age, • , & tº 507 Do. from 15 to 30, . * 293 Do. from 30 to 50, e g & tº 239 Do. from 50 to 70, . dº e e 130 Do. upwards of 70, & t 44 Do. of unmarried men, bachelors and widowers, upwards of 50, 20 Do. of unmarried women upwards of 45, e 3 Abstract of births and marriages for the last seven years :— Births. Year. Males. Females. Total. Marriages. 1837, .16 19 35 1838, 23 - 29 42 8 AR GYLE. N In 562 AR GYLE SHIRE, Births. Year. Males. Females, Total. Marriages. 1839, 17 16 33 10 1840, 9 l4 23 11 l841, | 6 15 3] 9 1842, | 6 14 30 14 1843, I 1 ' 14 25 8 Average, 15; 17; 31} 114 Number of illegitimate children born in the parish during the last seven years, 7. - The decrease of population has been caused, 1st, By emigra- tion to North America; 2d, The joining of two or more posses- sions together, and letting the whole to one tenant; 3d. The principal heritor in the parish having taken several large farms into his own hands, for the purpose of improving the same. There are two blind old women, paupers, belonging to the parish, but not residing in it. There are no insane, fatuous, deaf or dumb persons in the parish, or belonging to it. The Gaelic language is spoken, and preferred by all the natives as the medium of communication; but from their intermixture with strangers, and the facility of intercourse with the low country, it is fast losing ground, particularly among the young people. . The introduction of new slated cottages, and the prizes given by the Highland Society for the neatest and best kept houses and gardens, have already effected a considerable improvement in pro- moting a taste for cleanly habits, and shows how much may be done in this respect, if the means and encouragement were af- forded. Their clothing is plain, but comfortable; and in general they are intelligent, moral, and religious. Drunkenness and quar- relling is now, comparatively speaking, a matter of rare occur- rence. Poaching and smuggling have been entirely, or almost entirely, suppressed. - o IV.-INDUSTRY. No. of males employed in agriculture as farmers, te 52 Do. of farm servants and shepherds 20 years and upwards, e 43 Do. of do, do. from 15 to 20, º e 24 Do. of cottars, 40—crofters, 9, e g tº 49 Agricultural labourers, . ſº e º 50 Tradesmen, 47—apprentices, 5, te & º 52 Boys employed in herding, tº & s 23 Female servants, e º e e e 39 Agriculture. — Great improvements have been made in the draining, cultivating, and subdividing of the arable and pasture land in the parish, within the last forty years, as well as in the mode of farm management and husbandry, particularly on the Poltalloch estate. Tile draining is now practised by Mr Malcolm KILMART IN. 563 on a large scale; and for that purpose a tile-work has been erected in the valley of Kilmartin, where suitable clay is found in abun- dance. Under the judicious management of Mr Gow, the super- intendent of improvements on the Poltalloch estate, about 1500 acres have already been drained, 700 of which are now under cultivation or pasture, and from 700 to 800 more prepared for the plough, which, from total, or nearly total unproductiveness, is made to yield an average yearly return of L. 1, 5s. per acre. The expense of these improvements may be rated at L.8 to L.9 per acre. Two thousand acres more of the same description of waste land yet remain to be reclaimed; but from the systematic and ex- tensive operations carried on by the proprietor, the time may not be very far distant when the whole of this magnificent flat will be prepared for the plough, the sickle, and the scythe. Potatoes and turnips are extensively cultivated, for both of which the soil and climate seem to be well adapted. Oats, bear, and barley are also grown, but for these the climate is not so fa- vourable. -, * Live-Stock.-The common breed of cattle is the West High- land, to which much attention is paid. The Ayrshire, Galloway, and Durham breeds have been partially introduced, and seem to thrive, when proper care is bestowed on them. The black-faced Highland sheep is common in the parish, and is by much the most hardy breed for enduring the inclemencies of the winter, and subsisting on the hill pasture. The Cheviot, Leicester, and South Down breeds have been introduced, and fatten kindly on good pasture. An Association for encouraging the improvement of the different breeds of cattle and sheep, as well as for agricultural and horticultural produce, is established in the district, and has already been productive of much good. Produce.— Number of acres arable, - 3,456 Do. meadow, - - 396 Do. pasture, - 19,488 Do. woods and plantations, 1,189 Total, • 24,529 Yearly Gross Returns.— 8600 sheep grazing, valued at 2s. 6d. each, * L. 1075 0 0 1976 cattle of all ages, averaged at L.2 each, sº 3952 0 0 Horses not valued, being used for agricultural work. Oats, 17,556 bushels, at 2s. 8d. - - * 2194 10 0 Bear, 276 bushels, at 3s. - * - 41 8 0 Potatoes, 1897 tons, at L.1, 5s, each, - - | 736 5 0 Turnips, 700 tons, at 10s. º - 350 () () Carry over, L. 9349 3 [j64 AR GYLE SHIRE, - . . . - Brought over, • L. 9349 3 0 Hay, 26,000 tons, at 7d. per stone, gº &= } 758 6 8 Wool, 1393 stones, at 6s. per stone, - sº 4.17 18 0 Total, ſº L. 10,525 7 8 Real rental, º • * * L.5101 0 9 Valued rent, * - º 327 (\ 0 Wages.—The rates of labour are, viz. farm-labourers, from 8s. to 9s. per week in summer, and 7s, in winter; ploughmen, with board, about L. 12 a-year; shepherds, with board, from L. 10 to L. 12; maid servants, with board, for house and farm work, about L.6 a-year; tradesmen, from 2S. to 2s. 6d. per day. W.—PARocBIAL ECONOMY. There are four yearly markets held in the parish, viz. two at Kilmartin on the first Thursday of March and the fourth Thurs- day of November, principally for horses, engaging servants, and settling of all country transactions; and two at the Ford on the first Thursday of August and the first Thursday of September, principally for horses; besides which, considerable sales are made of lambs, sheep, and wool, though none are exhibited. There is a private runner from Kilmartin to the post-office at Lochgilphead, every day, Sunday excepted, where there is a daily arrival and despatch. - . . There is also a regular steam communication between Loch- gilphead and Glasgow, and the intermediate ports, once a-day in winter, and twice every week-day in summer and autumn. The road from Lochgilphead to Kilmartin is kept in excellent order, a large outlay having been expended on the improvement of it within the last few years. . Lochcrinan is a good harbour and affords safe anchorage; it is much frequented by vessels in stormy weather. Ecclesiastical State.-The parish church is situated about four miles from the south-west extremity of the parish, which is the most populous part; and eight miles from the north-east end, where there are only a few sheep farms, which are thinly peopled. Upon the whole, the situation of the church is the most eligible that could be selected. It affords sittings for 520; the accommo- dation is most comfortable. Gaelic and English are preached every Lord's day, and the people generally attend well when the weather is moderate. All the sittings are free. The average number of communicants for the last seven years is 168. * There are two families Baptists in the parish, and six families Separatists, some of whom occasionally attend the church, but are not members of the congregation. R II,MART IN. 565 The first Presbyterian minister settled in the parish was Mr Donald Campbell in 1689. He was one of the Campbells of Auchanellan. He was succeeded by Mr John Duncanson in 1655. —The next incumbent was Mr William M'Lachlan, an Episco- palian, who died about the year 1686. A tablet bearing his name and that of some of his family, together with the fore-mentioned date, is still extant in the churchyard of Kilmartin.—Mr Dugald Campbell was ordained and admitted minister of Kilmartin by the synod of Argyle, on the third of January 1690.-Mr Duncan Campbell, translated from the parish of Kilchrenan, was settled at Kilmartin on the 3d June 1724, and died on the 28th September 1736.-Mr Archibald Lambie, his successor, was ordained and admitted minister of Kilmartin on the 12th July 1738, and died in 1767.-On the 9th August 1768, Mr Hugh Campbell, trans- lated from the parish of South Knapdale, was settled minister of this parish. He was one of the Campbells of Islandree, and died 1st February 1803—His successor, Mr Hugh Dewar, was ad- mitted minister of the parish on the 17th April 1804, and died 19th April 1836.-The present incumbent was ordained and ad- mitted on the 28th September 1836. * The glebe is four and a half acres arable, with the grazing of four souns on the farm of Kilmartin, in lieu of which, the pro- prietor gives a piece of land contiguous to the glebe. . The whole may be valued at L. 15 Sterling yearly rent. The modified stipend is twelve chalders, half meal, half bear, with L.8, 6s. 8d. for communion elements. The teinds are not exhausted. . Education.—The parish school is situated at Kilmartin, near the church. The schoolhouse and schoolmaster’s dwelling-house are under one roof, and are very commodious and comfortable. The salary is L. 34, 4s. 5d. Sterling, with L. 2, 15s. 74d., being the yearly interest of a sum mortified by the late Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Kilmartin, in support of the parish school. The branches usually taught, are English and Gaelic reading, writing, arithmetic, and book-keeping. Geography and naviga- tion, as also Latin and Greek, are occasionally taught. There are, besides, two schools, one at each extremity of the parish, for the accommodation of the younger children who are unable, from the distance, to attend the parish school. Both the teachers of these schools receive a yearly allowance from Mr Malcolm of Poltalloch, in addition to the school fees. A girl school of industry has lately been established by Mr 566 A R G Y LESH 1 R E. Malcolm of Poltalloch, within a mile of Kilmartin, for the benefit of the children of the tenants and people on his estate. The chil- dren of some of the people from the neighbouring properties are also allowed the benefit of attending. In addition to the ordinary elementary branches of education, the children are instructed in all the useful varieties of needle-work; knitting, laundry work, &c. This school, though only in operation for a few years, has already proved a great boon and blessing to the children of the district; and promises, from the judicious manner in which it is conducted, to afford lasting benefits to the rising generation. The school- house has been erected at an expense of from L. 800 to L. 1000 Sterling; besides which, Mr Malcolm gives from L. 70 to L. 80 a-year for education in the parish, in addition to his legal obli- gations. There is a library about to be formed for the use of the people on the Poltalloch estate, in this and the neighbouring parishes. A savings bank has been established in the parish in connec- tion with the National Security Savings Branch Bank at Loch- gilphead. Poor.—The average number of persons receiving parochial aid is about 26; and the average sum allotted to each per year, about L. 1, 10s. All the poor on the Poltalloch estate are allowed a monthly supply of meal according to their circumstances; and all who apply for work, such as knitting, spinning, &c. are paid therefor: There is one inn and two change-houses in the parish, viz. the Inn of Kilmartin, which is well kept, and two public houses at the Ford, which are more orderly and better provided than formerly. The moss of Crinan affords abundance of turf for fuel. Coals are generally used by all who can afford to purchase them, being cheaper and more comfortable than peat, according to the present rate of labour. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. This parish, in common with the surrounding district, has un- dergone a great change in the way of improvement, within the last fifty years. Instead of the rude-formed wooden plough drawn by four horses all abreast, and the driver with his face to the horses going backwards, as there described, the well-modelled and neatly con- structed iron plough, drawn by a pair of horses, and easily managed by one man, performs double the work, and doubly better done, in half the time. Instead of the stated number of days’ work exacted by the proprietors from their tenants, crofters, and cottars, as servi- tude, in addition to the money rent, which was generally perform- DUN OON AND KILM UN, 567 ed in the most slovenly and irregular manner, with implements the most unsuitable, and which was generally called for when they had most to do at home; day’s wages are now paid, regular hours for work are kept, and proper implements employed. The old fences, constructed partly of stone and partly of turf, which were kept up in a hanging and standing condition, and required a thorough repair every year, are replaced by substantial stone dikes with stone coping. The practice of letting farms to four or eight tenants in common, the evils of which are well known, is almost entirely discontinued ; and the advantages of subdivisions, and a regular rotation of cropping, are fast developing in the im- proved condition of the land, and stock fed thereon. The absence of middlemen or gentlemen farmers, who would be admissible to the society of the landlord, and, at the same time, share in the sympathies of the people, is sensibly felt in this and the adjoining districts. Wherever this link between the upper and lower classes has been found wanting, throughout the Highlands, jealousy, distrust, and discontent are almost always found to prevail, what- ever other means may be used to promote the well-being of the people. March 1844. UNITED PARISH OF DUNOON AND KILMUN. * PRESBYTERY OF DUNOON, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. THE united parish of Dunoon and Kilmun, in the county of Argyle and district of Cowal, lies on the northern side, or, as our Lowland neighbours term it, the Highland side of the Frith of Clyde. Strictly speaking, its sea-shore boundary forms the north- ern coast of that frith only from the point of Strone, in Kilmun parish, to the point of Toward, in Dunoon parish, this range also embracing the arm of the sea called the Holy Loch. From the point of Strone, the coast line of the parish runs along and forms the west- ern shore of Loch Long, extending nearly to the entrance of Lochgoil, where that arm of the sea branches off from Loch Long: and from the point of Toward, its coast line, to the parish boundary in that direction trending north-westward, forms the eastern shore * Communicated by Rev. M. Mackay, LL. D., late minister of the United Parish, 568 - AR GY LESH II&E. of the frith or channel separating the Island of Bute from Argyle- shire. The village of Dunoon lies about 31 miles west-north-west from Glasgow, and about 10 miles, more directly westward, from Greenock, Name.—In the Gaelic language, the word Aoidh signifies a stranger or guest : its plural is Aoidhea ; and there is no etymolo- gical conjecture on the subject perhaps more matural than to sup- pose, that the name Dunoon originated in its being denominated thus in Gaelic, Dún-man-aoidhean, or Dún-aoidhean, the Dún or place resorted to by strangers or guests. Its modern pronunciation in Gaelic does not, at least, contradict this theory, which also receives additional confirmation, if it be thought, that, in such ancient times, the region of Argyle was considered worthy of being subjected to hostile or predatory incursions from the lowland regions opposite; and that in those times, whatever was the fencible force on “the High- land side” of the frith would be here assembled, to ward off such attacks, or to watch them. It may be also observed, that the ob- ligation of maintaining a ferry at this point across the Frith of Clyde, forms a part of the feudal tenure by which a neighbouring proprietor holds certain of his lands. Another theory on this point, and only confirmatory of this one, will be offered when the antiquities of the parish come under review. As to the name Kilmun ; it must be left to controversial etymo- logists to determine whether the word Kil be merely the Latin Cella, or a primitive Celtic term signifying death or the grave. There is no doubt, that, from an early period, the place now call- ed Kilmun had its place of worship and of burial. The writer professes no such acquaintance with the Romish calendar of saints as would entitle him to deny that a St Mund, Munde, or even Mun may have had even here “a local habitation and a name” long before the proprietor of a Glasgow steamer, connected with the place, made his vessel to bear the name St Mun. The existence of the saint is considered doubtful; and, should it even be proven, it does not by any means follow that his existence, or even his merits, can establish the real signification of the name. In Gae- lic, it is invariably pronounced Cill-a'-mhuna. Muna, or Munadh, in that language signifies instruction or teaching, and, by common figure of speech, learning; and the word Muin, to teach or in- struct, is still used in versions of our Gaelic psalmody. Cill-a'- mhuna, therefore, anglice, Kilmun, latine, Cella doctrinarum, the sacred place of learning or instruction, may be considered the real signification of this name. D UN OON AND KILMUN, 569 The name of the united parish of course dates its application from the union of both ecclesiastically. Boundaries.—Its sea-coast boundary is the Frith of Clyde, as stated ; or, more particularly described, that frith from Strone point to Toward point; Loch Long from Strone point to the ex- tremity of Kilmun parish, near the entrance of Lochgoil; and the channel dividing Bute from Argyleshire, from Toward point to the extremity of Dunoon parish in its sea-coast line, close to the stream of Ardyne, to the westward of Castle Toward. Its inland boundaries touch more or less all the parishes of the district of Cowal, except Kilfinan,—having Inverchaolain on the west and north-west, taking the meridian line at Dunoon; touching Kilmodan to the north-west; and having Stralachlan and Strachur to the north-west and north; and the parish of Lochgoilhead on the north. Figure. —This is very irregular, and not easily defined in ma- thematical language, unless it be termed an irregular polygon. Its sea-coast line runs direct scarcely to the extent of one mile in any one portion, and its inland boundary is equally irregular. Eatent.—From the extremity of Kilmun parish, near the en- trance of Lochgoil, to that of Dunoon parish, near the stream of Ardyne, the sea-coast line, following its several bendings, and in- cluding the Holy Loch, extends, between these two points, to up- wards of 30 miles. This has not been submitted to regular mea- surement. Its inland boundary presents an equal extent fully. Any estimate of its contents in square miles, considering the ex- treme irregularity of its figure, and its very unequal surface throughout, must be a mere approximation to fact. But, having recourse to the usual methods in such cases, it has been estimated about 180 square miles,—the breadth varying from 9 miles to 2, and downwards, toward the two extremities. Topographical Appearances.—The general aspect of the ter- ritory embraced within the boundaries of the united parish, when viewed from the Frith of Clyde, or from its opposite coast, pre- sents a bold and even grand collocation of hill and valley, with a smoother sloping aspect toward the sea coast, along the greater part of its extent. Its wild grouping of hills, scarcely in general aspiring to belong to the mountain class, as at least compared with many other portions of Highland scenery, may be said more to possess dignity than grandeur. Taken in detail, its fea- tures become more interesting and perhaps singular. These are found to be formed, taking the general lineaments, by five separate or distinct hilly or mountainous ranges. There is, first, that to the north of Glenfinart, running nearly from east to west ; next, 570 AR GYLESHIRE, the range running almost at right angles with the former, em- bracing a considerable portion of Kilmun parish, diminishing gradually in height towards, and terminating in, the point of Strone, separating Loch Long from the Holy Loch, and present- ing its steepest acclivity immediately behind the village of Kil- mun, lying on the eastern shore of the Holy Loch. We have; as the third of these ranges, Benmore, with its neighbouring hills stretching to the north-west and south-west, rising abruptly and boldly from the valley of the Eachaig and the place of Benmore, forming in part the steep and wild western banks of Loch Eck, and the northern side of Glenmassan. The fourth range, run- ning nearly from east to west, forms the south side of Glenmassan, and the northern side of Glenlean. The fifth of these groups runs southward from Glenlean, forming the summit range of the territory comprising the parish of Dunoon proper, rising to its highest elevation towards the centre, westward of the village of Dunoon, in the hill denominated the Bishop's Seat, and termi- nating abruptly in the striking hill of Buachaill-ithean, on the es- tate of Castle Toward : both the latter, as well as Benmore, com- manding a magnificent view of the neighbouring counties and the Western Islands. The most striking feature of these mountain or hilly ranges is their wild and bold irregularity, both of position and appearance. Benmore is considered the highest of the hills of Cowal, and has been estimated at 2500 feet above the level of the sea; and Buachaill-ćthean, by measurement, has been found 1220 feet. The whole of the other ranges in the parish are of inferior height to Benmore ; but their steep acclivities, and the abrupt and rugged breaks occurring, both separating and inter- secting them at numerous points, render their appearance impos- ing, and, on more detailed inspection, exceedingly interesting. Taking these ranges as the more prominent leading features which the parochial territory presents, the corresponding valleys present another feature still more diversified and interesting, pre- senting in detail local scenery of softer shades and of milder forms than could be anticipated from a more distant view of the general aspect of the territory, as seen from any point beyond its own li- mits. The parochial bounds comprise also five separate valleys or glens, corresponding to the five different mountain ranges de- scribed. In describing Highland scenery, it may not be imper- tinent to state the distinction properly holding between glen and valley. The latter is always supposed and seen to have egress as well as entrance, and both equally patent; while the former, according to the use of the language whence the word is borrowed, T) UN OON AND KILM UN. 57.1 always presents at the termination opposite to its entrance some hilly or rocky barrier, rendering egress in that direction either difficult, or, in the apparent aspect of the scene, impracticable. Of the five valleys or glens now referred to, as embraced within this parochial territory, the most important by far, in point of ex- tent, diversified appearance, and relative position, is the valley of the Eachaig, so denominated from the river Eachaig, to be af- terwards mentioned. This valley is formed by the space between the second and third of the mountain ranges already described. Commencing at the inland extremity of the Holy Loch, and bound- ed at its commencement there on the western side by the fourth mountain range mentioned, and on the other side by the second, the Kilmun Hill, and presenting here an expanse of nearly two miles in breadth, it stretches till it reaches Loch Eck, a dis- tance of about four miles, and narrowing as it approaches that lake. Loch Eck forms its continuation for seven miles or upwards, when the same valley, continuing its progress in a north-western direction, pretty uniformly, from the inland extremity of the Holy Loch, strikes into Loch Fine at Strachur Park, in the parish of Strachur, and at an angle somewhat acute, and on the Cowal side of Loch Fine, about five miles nearer the entrance of that arm of the sea than the town of Inveraray. Thus viewed, the valley of the Eachaig, with its continuation along Loch Eck and Strachur, forms a leading and very interesting feature in the topography of the district of Cowal. Its summit level, shewn by Loch Eck, is not more than about 18 feet above the level of the sea ; and, while geological phenomena indicate sufficiently, that at some remote and unknown period the sea flowed along the whole of this valley, forming the portions of Cowal to the westward of it into an island, it may be of more importance practically, and in a commercial age, to hint that this valley presents by far the shortest, easiest, and most agreeable line of communication between Inveraray, the county town of Argyleshire, and the southern parts of Scotland, the distance between Kilmun and Loch Fine at Strachur not ex- ceeding thirteen miles, along a level far from being impracticable to the genius of the railway engineer. From the inland extremity of the Holy Loch to the southern end of Loch Eck, a distance of about four miles, this valley presents a very considerable space of level surface, ranging between the mountain groups that bound it on each side, a space which, were adequate means employed to straighten and embank the course of the river Eachaig, flowing from Loch Eck till it falls into the Holy Loch, the valley might present, in this portion of its extent, a scene of no ordinary land- 572 Alt.G.Y LESHIRE, scape beauty and interest. At the entrance to Loch Eck, at the southern extremity, the boundaries of this valley on either side combine to form one of the grandest scenes to be met with in the Highlands of Scotland. The rocky and shattered face of the mountain range on the eastern side present to the imagina- tion the appearance of some huge interminable Babel-like ruin, its summit retreating and lost in the distance; while on the west- ern side of this entrance, the eye is constrained also to rest in turn on the very striking appearance of hill and corries, forming the dark and mysterious recesses of Coire-an-ti, Glenfinart may next be mentioned, taking its commencement at Ardentinny from the western shore of Loch Long, running in a west- erly direction between the first and second mountain ranges already described, to the extent of upwards of three miles in length, till met by a hill barrier secondary in height to the two side boundaries,— this range separating it from Loch Eck and the valley of the Each- aig. This glen is, like the valley last described, well wooded both by copsewood and planting, and embraces a considerable space of level ground as its base, increasing in width toward the sea-coast, and is now undergoing the highest improvement in the hands of its present proprietor. Both the valleys now described are in the bounds of the parish of Kilmun proper, which also embraces the third falling to be mentioned,—Glenmassan. This opens from the western side of the valley of the Eachaig, about two miles from Kilmun, running almost at right angles with that valley, and continuing its course westward, bounded on either side by the third and fourth mountain ranges mentioned; at first narrowing into a gorge about two miles from its entrance, and then expand- ing its Alpine bosom into a very uncommon and well-defined level flat of arable alluvial soil many acres in extent, it is seen closely bar- riered at its upland extremity by the transverse range of the hills of Garachra. When thickly wooded on both sides, as this glen ap- pears to have been, according to Highland song and tradition, and indeed on one side to a comparatively recent date, as is quite appa- rent, Glenmassan must have formed a singularly romantic and se- cure Highland fastness, the very birth-place of song and romance. Towards Dunoon from the glen last mentioned, and separated from it by the fourth mountain range mentioned formerly, com- mences Glenlean, from the western side of the Holy Loch, at its extremity inland, running nearly parallel with Glenmassan, and extending nearly six miles from its entrance; it mingles the dis- tinctions between a glen and a valley, and narrowing at its inland extremity, brings the traveller along an excellent road abruptly DUN OON AND KILMUN. 573 into view of the highly interesting and wild scenery of Loch Striy- en, an arm of the sea running inland, in the parish of Inverchao- lain. It is a glen of less interest in its features than any of the three formerly mentioned, but sufficiently alpine in its general character. The three valleys last enumerated may be said to meet, and to blend themselves unitedly into the smoother and extended surface surrounding the Holy Loch at its inland extremity, forming there, with the surrounding mountain ranges, when viewed from any spot of the level, a coup d’oeil which may be termed magnificent;-the agricultural improvements now for some years in progress here, on the estate of Hafton, embracing a large portion of this level terri- tory, and bringing into pleasing contrast and connection the native ruggedness of these mountain ranges with the cultivated and cheer- ful aspect of fields, plantations, and comfortable homesteads at their base. The fifth leading valley in the parish is at its western extremity, where bounded to the westward by the parish of Inver- chaolain. Commencing at the embouchure of the stream of Ar- dyne, to the westward of Castle Toward, bounded on the eastern side by the gentle and well-wooded acclivities of Buachaill-ithean, and on the western side by the lower and well cultivated and wooded hills of Ardyne and Knockdow, in the parish of Inverchao- lain, it assumes a north-western direction, narrowing almost into a gorge about two miles from the coast, when it again opens up into a wide alpine valley, stretching across northward, and presenting magnificent mountain scenery, especially on the eastern side, till, after a continuation of fully three miles in extent, it is intercepted by the hills of Glenlean. The general aspect of the lower or sea-coast range is compara- tively smooth, presenting more or less acclivity throughout the greater portion of the coast line along the parish. This lower range is generally well wooded, showing either the variegated shades of natural copse, in which the oak prevails, or the richer appearance of planting and enclosures, with well cultivated fields. The acclivity from the coast-line is, in general, more steep along the coast of Kilmun parish, corresponding with the facts usually presented in similar geological territories. Those along the coast of Dunoon parish are of a gentler slope. Considerable spaces, however, comparatively level, occur at the commencement of the several valleys mentioned, near the point of Toward, at the extre- mity, inland, of the Holy Loch, and in the vicinity of Dunoon. This general appearance is increased in interest, and contrasting more strongly with the higher inland and more alpine territory, by 574 AR GYLE SHIRE, the village of Dunoon, stretching, as it does, including the villas in its neighbourhood, to an extent of upwards of five miles from the entrance of the Holy Loch, on its western side, onwards to- wards the point of Toward; and by the village of Kilmun, on the eastern shore of the Holy Loch. The extent of sea coast has been mentioned already. Its margin is generally tame, though not flat, consisting chiefly of clayey slate, with certain interruptions. It can scarcely be said that any rock occurs, except that which forms the hill on which Dunoon Castle stood; and the frith is remark- ably free, near its margin along this coast, from what seamen term reefs, the only ones occurring being two, the one near the coast at the point formed by the Castle-hill of Dunoon, and the other to the eastward of the point of Toward. On both these, beacons have been erected of substantial mason-work. The frith gene- rally becomes shallow, as it approaches the coast. The principal bay is the Holy Loch, diverging from the Frith of Clyde in a north-westerly direction, and running inland about two miles from its entrance at Strone point. There is scarcely any other curvature of the coast-line forming any bay properly so called, except on a small scale at Ardentinny, and on both sides to the north-east and south-west of the point formed by the Castle-hill of Dunoon. The retreat of the tide exposes generally along the coast a considerable extent of shingly beach and sand, especi- ally at the inland extremity of the Holy Loch. The principal headlands are the point of Toward and the point of Strone, the former opposite the island of Bute, and forming the angle where the strait or channel, dividing that island from Argyleshire, di- verges from the Frith of Clyde; the point of Strone also forming the angle where both Loch Long and the Holy Loch commence to take their respective names as locally distinguished from the Frith of Clyde. On the point of Toward, a light-house, showing a revolving light, has been erected, and has contributed greatly since its erection to the safety of shipping when working up the frith. On the sides of Benmore, there are several very remarkable fis- sures or chasms, running parallel with the acclivities of its sides, varying in width from ten inches to fifteen feet. The one found to be deepest, is about three feet wide. A stone dropped into it (striking, of course, against the sides in its descent,) takes fifty- eight seconds to reach the bottom. Its last fall is distinctly heard to be long, and sounds as if terminating in a body of water. Climate.—The mildness of the climate is indicated by the vi- gorous healthy growth of evergreen shrubbery, many kinds of DUN OON AND KILMUN. 575 which appear to luxuriate in the open air during the winter, and which may be called exotic kinds to most parts of Scotland. The Arbutus ripens its scarlet berries in several places; in well- kept pleasure grounds the myrtle is frequently seen in blossom in the months of December and January; and Fuscias not only sur- vive the winter in the open air, but may be seen, where special attention has been paid to that beautiful deciduous shrub, reared into a hedge or garden fence. In the more elevated parts of the parish, indeed, along the hilly and mountainous ranges described, snow generally makes its appearance early in winter, and is fre- quently seen to continue for several months. Meteorology.—A very regular and accurate register of meteoro- logical observations has been kept at Castle Toward for twenty years past by the late Kirkman Finlay Esq., and is still continued by the present proprietor, Alexander S. Finlay, Esq. The situa- tion where the thermometer, barometer, and rain-gauges are placed, is about 120 feet above the level of the sea, and at the distance of about half a mile to the north, the hill of Buachaill-ćthean rises to the height of 1100 feet above that level. A table of the general monthly results for the last three years preceding 1843 is here introduced.* . Atmospheric State of the wind taken] Atmospheric |Extern. therm. variations. at 9 o'clock A.M. pressure. in the shade. *c. . g >, > 3 -e -- ...e #|Fall of c. P-, : 123 º +: . 24 F ..., |2 ..., |zi . 43 | "rain & 5 & > E. * : i: G Tº || 3 - Tº : º 'º || 3 c 3 & § 5 .E 3| 3 ſº > | . P | |3|5 : 3 |5 § 3 || 3 || 3 || 5 § 3 1840. ##| 3 |##| 3 |}|a|2|=|z|z|z|######|###### Jan. 20 | 9 || 6 2 5 || 0 8 9| 3| 4 || J| 29.45|29.40 || 38% 41 7.6 Feb. l() || || 6 || 7 3| l; 3| 3 4. 2 2 2 0] 29,86|29.66 30 4| 3.2 March, 5 26 ||10|0|| 14 || || 0 0 || || || 3 30.26|30.27 || 41 43 0.6 April, 9 21 |2| 0 || 2 || 0 5, 6 5 0|2|0| 28.96 |30.04 || 49 47% | 1.2 May, 16 || 15 || 0 0 16 || 0 |2|3|2| 2 6 0| 29.86|29.85 51} | 54 || 3.6 June, 18 12 || 0 0| 3 || || || 3 5 4| 2 || 29.72|29.79 || 55% 53% 3.6 July, 17 | 14 |0|0|| 1 || 0 5 5, 6, 8 6. 0 29.75|29.83 54% 56% 3.8 Aug. 16 || 15 O| 0 || 6 || || 9 5 4|4|2|0| 29.74|29.67 58% 58% 3.7 Sept. 22 || 8 || 0 0|| 7 || 0 || 4 5) 5 6' 2" || 29.68|29.64 || 51, 54 7.3 Oct. 13 | 18 || || 0 || 6 || 2 || 2 5|10|5| 0| 29.77|29.86 47, 47 2. Nov. 16 || || 4 || 6 || 0 | 9 || 4 || 3| 4 || 2 0 8 0| 29.83 29.53 || 43 41; 4.2 Dec. Il 19 || 9 || 9 |4|4| 3 || 5 4 || 29.92. 29.91 || 393 || 393 || 3.3 173 |187 |44. 6 96 ||6|5549|4||56|4||7 43.3 * It may be observed with respect to this table, that the situation of Castle Toward, facing the S. W.W. and N.W., with a very large and open expanse around in these several directions, may in some measure tend to produce results more equable than might be found by similar observations in any other locality of the united parish. The rain-gauge chiefly used is one of very simple construction by Mr Thom of Ascog, in Bute. Mr Finlay, however, to ensure the greater accuracy, employed gauges of different constructions, comparing the results. His superintendence of this register 576 AR GYLE SHIRE, TABLE—continued. Atmospheric State of the wind taken Atmospheric |Extern, therm: variations. at 9 o'clock A.M. pressure. in the shade. *C. . . * e.o. 3|-e āje.* 3|-º g|Fall of ; : 2,123 tº 3 ºf E . 4/5 - 3 ||= 2 + | rain. ~ : . . ; tº g g : j : E Tº : º 'º I tº c. 9 | E c 3 - § 5| 3 ||3|3| | | | |E|, |z| |His ##|É ##|É ##|É #3 1841. 3 #| 3 ||3|7 || 3 |2|+|2|= |z|z|z|= à è |= # 5 ||= 5 & 2, § 3 Jan. 9 || 9 || S 6| 4 || || || 4 || 4 || 4 9 4, 29.75 29,64 || 35% 36} | 3.0 Feb. 12 lé 7| 4 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 29.83 29.80 || 36} | 37% 3.3 March, 17 | 26 || 0 0| 5 || 3|18 || 5-4 2 G| 29.75 |29.79 || 43 42% 3.2 April, 20 || 2 || 3 0| 6 | I] 7 || 4 8 3| 0 29.84 29.75 || 46 49, 2.8 May, I | 15 || || 0 9 || || 8 O 9|2| 2 0 29.72 |29.77 || 50% 55 3.6 June, 13 | 12 U| 0 | 9 || || 4 || 4|8 3|0| 29.92|29.94 || 56} | 58 2.8 July, 16 || 14 |0|0|| 3 || || 4 || ||19|2| 0 29.92 |29.85 55 56} | 3.6 Aug. 14 15 || 0 0|| 2 || 2 5 2. 5:12; 2 || 29.89 |29.82 56% 57 5.6 Sept. 16 || 8 || 0 0 14 |3| 8 || || 3| 0 0 29.56 |29.89 55% 62 4.l Oct. 15 | 18 || 0 || || 1 || 0 || || 0 | 8, 2] 7| || 29.59 || 29.60 || 45 47 5.8 Nov. 14 || || 4 || 6 || 9 || 3 || 2 6 0 8| l 29.55 29.57 || 41% 43 3.2 Dec. 23 l9 || 3 0|| 3 || | 3, 7, 2 s. 6 | 29.60 29.59 || 38} | 394 | 5.4 180 ||73 2312 8s 17652)||9|7|4|9 46.4 |S42. Jan. 13 || 9 || 3 2 10 |2|7| 0 || 2 | 8 || 29.74 |29.99 || 36|| || 38 || 4.3 Feb. 13 | 16 || 3 2 3 |2|12| 6| 3 || || 0 29.74 |29.63 || 38} | 38% 5. March, 21 26 || 2 3| 0 |2| 5 6' 5| 8|4| || 29.75 29.78 42} 43 6. April, | 0 || 21 || 6 || 19 || 0 2 0 0|5|4|0| 30.30 30.38 || 48 52 0. May, 17 | 15 || 0 0 1 1 |2|13 O 2 3| 0 || 0 29.74 29.69 || 51} | 53 2.7] June, 11 | 12 || 0 0 13 || 0 7|2| 0 & 0 0; 29.99 || 30.0l 59 62 3.39 July, 13 || 14 |0|0| 10 || 0 4| 5 0|| || || 0 29.96 |29.87 57 6] 0. Aug. 14 | 15 |0|0|| 6 || 0 4|4|| || 3| 5 || 30.05 |30.03 || 60% 61% 4.71 || Sept. 13 || 8 || 0 0 12 || || 4 0 6 2 5| 0 29.96 29.97 || 55 53% 2.76 Oct. 10 | 18 || 6 0|| 4 || 0 0|2| 6| 7|12| 0 29.69 |29.70 || 44} || 44} | 1.54 Nov. 9 || 14 || 5 || 17 | 0 4| 0|2|0|7| 0 29.69 |29.65 42} | 45 2.96 |Dec. 21 19 || 0 || 4 || || 7 9| 4 || 5 || 0 29.90 |29.94 || 44} | 42% 6.27 | 55 w 25||0|09 ||0|76||34 |30|55|48| 3 39.37 While the above table distinctly enough shows, that, according to the number of days throughout the year on which it occurs, the east is the prevailing wind, yet it must be also considered that, throughout the greater part of the year, the winds are exceedingly variable, and the south-west is by far that most experienced, as bring- ing both rain and heavy gales. During the winter and spring months, till towards the end of March, it may be said that the south-west, varying to west and north-west, prevails; and during the month of April, sometimes commencing earlier, onwards to the middle and frequently till the end of May, easterly winds pre- vail, when the winds again become very variable till the com- was unwearied and constant, and its accuracy may be most fully relied upon. The register itself is a daily one; and the average results of each month, as exhibited in the table, have been very carefully drawn out and collated. The term “frosty” is to be understood as indicating a day on which there was any frost, the thermometrical ob- servation of the day showing the degree of it. T) UN OON AND KILMUN. 577 mencement of the winter season. The east wind, though not ac- companied here with the same depression of atmospheric tempera- ture as it brings on the east coast of Scotland, is, notwithstanding, keenly felt ; and the months of March, April, and frequently a considerable portion of the month of May, may be said to be the coldest period of the year. - Judging from results, both in ordinary and extraordinary cir- cumstances, the climate of this parish may be considered highly conducive to health. - - Hydrography.—The Frith of Clyde, immediately opposite Dunoon, is about three miles across to the opposite shore. There is a regular ferry, now, indeed, not so much in demand since the introduction of steam navigation. The landing place of the ferry on the opposite coast of Renfrewshire, is at about a quarter of a mile toward Gourock, from the Cloch Light-house. This is the narrowest part of the frith to the westward of Gourock, expand- ing as it does from the point of Gourock northward into more spacious width, as it sends off the branches of Loch Long and the Holy Loch ; and widening again beyond Dunoon, the coasts of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire trending pretty rapidly southward, and that of Argyleshire on the northern side, maintaining its direc- tion westward to the point of Toward, trending slightly north- ward. Opposite Dunoon, the depth of the frith in the centre, and increasing towards the Renfrewshire coast, till approaching close to the coast, is about sixty fathoms. From the point of Strone, a bank is raised, and extending to a considerable distance across the frith in the same direction as the point, and occasioned by the tides flowing into and from Loch Long and the Holy Loch, on which the depth, in ordinary tides, is only sixteen fathoms, and suddenly increasing to thirty-two and upwards on either side. The current in the portion of the frith opposite Dunoon runs, in neap tides, at the rate of # knots an hour, and in spring tides, about 1} knots, – increased here no doubt by receiving the branch currents from Loch Long and the Holy Loch in ebb tides, and supplying those arms in flood tide. The tide at Dunoon rises and falls, in spring tides, about fourteen feet perpendicular, and in neap tides, from nine to ten feet. The highest and lowest tides generally occur at the period of the vernal equinox. A very extensive and highly picturesque view of the frith is pre- sented from almost any part of the coast in the neighbourhood of Dunoon; but from the Castle-hill, Dunoon, it is particularly in Alt GYLE. O O 578 A R GY LESH I R. E. teresting and extensive, ranging from Helensburgh in Dumbarton- shire, and extending seaward to Ailsa Craig, that object being from this spot clearly discernible by the naked eye in a clear state of the atmosphere, the same view embracing the islands of Cum- brae, and portions of Bute and Arran. At any point of considerable elevation above the coast, near Dunoon, the same view of the frith is prolonged inland to Dumbarton Castle. The Holy Loch is the only arm of the sea that intersects the united parish. From where it branches off from the frith at the point of Strone, it runs inland a distance of about two miles direct, and is about a mile broad at its entrance, narrowing at the village of Kilmun, oppo- site which, the currents both of the frith and of the streams emptying themselves into the loch have thrown up an extended shingly bank on both sides;–beyond this, inland, it again widens, and maintains its breadth to its inland termination. It divides in its length the parishes proper of Dunoon and Kilmun. The Holy Loch affords convenient and accessible shelter to the coasting trade of the Clyde, and not unfrequently to its foreign shipping. It has good anchorage in from fifteen to seventeen fathoms water, with good holding ground, the most secure being beyond the nar- rowest part inland, where again the loch expands. The only fresh water lake of any extent is Loch Eck, and of it this united parish claims not the whole extent, nearly one-half of it lying within the parish of Strachur. Loch Eck is about seven miles in length, its general breadth being pretty uniform, and about half a mile. It extends southward and northward nearly. Its depth varies; toward the banks on each side it is shallow, but increases suddenly in depth toward the middle ; and toward the place of Bernice, lying on its western bank, its depth is about sixty fathoms. Its scenery is interesting, pre- senting precipitous and well-wooded banks on the western side, from its northern extremity nearly to its southern, and embrac- ing on that side the picturesque and beautiful spot of Bernice, the property of Mr Fletcher, where the landscape is softened by thriv- ing plantations of larch, and well cultivated fields,--a picture of cultivated Highland retirement and seclusion. Its eastern bank is more tame and level, but varied in appearance and interest by copse, planting, and sections of arable land, with their humble re- sidences. - The only stream in the united parish which can aspire to the name of river, is the Eachaig, which issuing from Loch Eck at its D UN OON AND KILMUN. 579 southern extremity, and running a course of nearly four miles along the valley bearing its own name, empties itself into the Holy Loch. It is joined in its short course by its two tributary streams, the Massan, which, issuing from the glen of that name, joins the Eachaig near the place of Benmore, and the stream call- ed the Little Eachaig, issuing from Glenlean, which joins the Eachaig immediately before its junction with the sea at the inland extremity of the Holy Loch. The parish abounds, as may be supposed from its central, hilly and mountainous aspect, with minor streams and rivulets, all sub- ject to sudden rises in rainy weather, and many of them, when flooded, forming cascades, though none of these can be termed perpetual ones ; except where the Massan, passing through the gorge of that glen, and over a ledge of rock, has worn out for it- self a rugged and diversified course, where, especially when flood- ed, this stream presents a very picturesque and impetuous fall. There are no springs in the parish meriting any particular no- tice, though excellent spring water abounds in every part of it. Geology.—The whole parish consists of the mica-slate and clay- slate system, which stretches across the breadth of Scotland, from Kincardineshire on the east, to Argyleshire, Bute, and Arran, on the west. The oldest and most extensive formation in the parish is mica-slate. With the exception of the southern part of the Kil- mun hill, from the old mansion-house on Mr Campbell of Monzie's lands, near the church of Kilmun, to the point of Strone, the whole of Kilmun parish, extending from near the entrance of . Lochgoil, including Glenfinart, the bold and rugged sides of Loch Eck, Glenmassan, and Glenlean, consists of this rock. The mi- ca-slate is highly indurated, contorted into curves and every va- riety of form, and is traversed by veins of compact quartz. It ranges generally from north-north-east to south-south-west, and dips south at various angles from 85°, or nearly vertical, as at In- verchapuil, near the entrance to Loch Eck, and at Benmore, to 70° and 45°. The mica-slate passes into clay-slate, which forms the southern portion of the Kilmun hill, and by far the greater por- tion of the parish of Dunoon. The transition from mica to clay- slate is well marked by the aspect of the territory; the former forming the bold, broken, precipitous, and highly picturesque outlines of Loch Eck, Glenfimart, and Glenmassan hills, and the latter, the more even and regular outline of the hills behind Dun- oon. The clay-slate is greenish, grayish, and bluish in colour, - 580 A R GYLESHIRE, sometimes it occurs finely laminated and firmly grained. It dips south, and mostly at an angle of 45°. It has been quarried and used as roofing slates, both on the estate of Toward and in the vicinity of Dunoon, and is still occasionally used, or has recently been, at the latter place. Builders, however, have considered it inferior to Balachulish and Easdale slate; and the latter are al- most always preferred. - The clay-slate, again, passes into greywacké at the point of Strone, and at Toward. The greywacké is coarse-grained, and alternates, at the junction, with the clay-slate in inconsiderable strata. - The old red sandstone skirts the shore from the farm of Ine- land, five miles and a-half to the west of Dunoon, to within a mile or upwards of Toward Castle. The whole of Toward point be- longs to this formation, excepting where, on the west side of the point, a considerable bed of limestone occurs. The red sand- stone lies inconformably to the primary rocks below. Its lower strata consist of a coarse conglomerate, made up of the fragments of the adjacent schists, and its upper strata are of a deep-red co- lour, and not very firmly granulated. Its position is nearly hori- zontal, or dips to the north at very low angles. The red sand- stone has been quarried at different periods, more or less, and used in building. The old castle of Toward appears to have been built mostly of this stone; but it is found to be somewhat porous, aud not of such firm consistency and adaptation to building pur- poses as that occurring abundantly on the opposite shore of the Frith of Clyde, in Renfrewshire. - A narrow bed of limestone, as noticed already, occurs near the Light-house at the point of Toward, superimposed upon and con- formed, as far as can be seen, to the red sandstone. The work- ing of this limestone was begun, several years ago, by a former proprietor of lands in the neighbourhood, but was abandoned as an unprofitable speculation, the mineral proving impure, and loose- ly aggregated. Another limestone bed occurs on the face of the hill rising westward of the point, on the lands of Castle Toward, which has been occasionally wrought for farming purposes, and the quality found sufficiently good. Certain provisions of statute, or in the navigation code of the country, prohibiting the use of lime-kilns within certain distances, or within view of Light- houses, this quarry has ceased to be wrought since the erection of the Light-house on Toward point. Limestone again occurs on the ¥) UNOON AND KILMUN, 58 H lands of Castle Toward toward the boundary of the parish to the westward. This bed has not been closely examined in detail; but has been pronounced by competent judges to approach to the consistency of good marble. - Igneous rocks are of frequent occurrence throughout the united parish, but nowhere in great mass. The Castle-hill, Dunoon, is formed of a very dark greenstone, and a section is laid bare on the shore, beneath which there is exhibited, even to the unscientific observer, a very interesting junction,-the protrusion of the igne- ous rock through the clay-slate, and the manifest disturbance, dis- colouring, and crystallization of the latter by the former at the point of contact. The Gantocks, a partially sunk rock, a few hundred yards, here, distant from the shore, is also of the same. igneous origin. - - Dikes of porphyry and other trap traverse the red sandstone in the neighbourhood of Toward point, upraising and discolouring it, and at several points they cross each other. . - No kinds of the more valuable minerals or ores have been found to occur. Coal was at one time supposed to exist below the flat or basin portion of land occurring between Toward point and the more elevated rising banks in its neighbourhood. Attempts made towards its discovery by a former proprietor of those lands, failed of success. Serpentine, susceptible of high polish, occurs in con- siderable quantity at the coast, about four miles westward of Dunoon. * - The soil of the parish generally is a light, and, for the most part, rather shallow, sandy loam, lying upon the kind of bed that has been already described. Where depressions of the surface occur, beds of sandy gravel are found to occupy them beneath the cover- ing of soil; and either these or moss, more or less deep, in the smoother or more level parts of the parish. In portions, indeed, of the several valleys which form the local features of the terri- tory, the soil is deeper, and favourable to the purposes of farm hus- bandry. What in agricultural language is denominated a “hanging soil,” where not cultivated, is generally found covered with copse, the oak, birch, hazel, and ash prevailing, the first chiefly; and where cultivation has been promoted, or enclosures formed, the ordinary crops and plantations thrive successfully. Botany.—The geological structure, which is known so well to exert a considerable influence on vegetation, being but little varied throughout the parish as a whole, its botany may be supposed to 5S2 AR GYLES HERE. have no very great diversity. The hills, though rising to a height approaching to 3000 feet above the level of the sea, are not suffi- ciently lofty to produce the rarer species of Scottish alpine plants, yet several plants do occur which are highly interesting to the botanist. The sea shore affords two plants that cannot fail to strike the attention of one who walks upon the sandy or shingly portion of the beach between Dunoon and Toward. The first is the yel- low-horned poppy (Chelidonium majus), with its large yellow blos- soms, and singular seed-vessels; the other, a plant indeed peculiar to northern coasts, is the sea-side Gromwell (Lithospermum mari- timum). It sends forth from a perennial central root a number of procumbent stems, clothed with bright, purplish, blue flowers, and fleshy leaves of a sea-green colour, observed to possess a flavour, when eaten fresh, exactly similar to that of oysters. The scurvy- grass (Cochlearia officinalis), and the grass wrack (20stera marina) so much employed in the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Iceland, for stuffing beds, are also common on the beach. Moist and marshy grounds present us with the pale butterwort (Pinguicula lusitanica), a species first found in Portugal, whence its specific name, and which has since been ascertained to be a native of the western side of England, Wales, and Scotland; while, strange to say, it grows no- where in the interior of our island, nor can it be discovered on the eastern coast. It yields in beauty to the common butterwort (P. vulgaris), but its rarity recommends it to the plant collector. In the same kind of localities is found the Gipseywort (Lycopus Euro- paeus); the black bog rush (Schoenus nigricans); the curious and minute thyme-leaved flax-seed (Radiola millegrana), which latter grows at Toward Point; Myosotis palustris, with its turquoise-co- loured blossoms, which is the true “forget me not;” brook-weed (Samolus Valerandi); marsh-violet (Viola palustris); the grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), affording a beautiful example of nectaries, or honey-bearing glands in a flower; the long-leaved sun- dew (Drosera longifolia); the great bilberry, or bog whortleberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), of which the fruit is large and esculent, and the foliage used by the Icelanders, mixed with the alpine club moss, to produce a yellow dye for woollen stuffs; the yellow moun- tain saxifrage (Sawifraga aizoides); and higher up the hills the starry saxifrage (S. stellaris); the large-flowered bitter-cress (Cardamine amara), in the glen near Mr Malcolm's beautiful villa in the vicinity of Dunoon; the marsh dandelion (Leonto- don palustre). Also, among orchideous plants, the early purple * DUN OON AND KILMUN. 583 orchis (Orchis mascula); marsh orchis (O. latifolia); and spotted orchis (O. maculata); and butterfly habenaria (Habenaria bifolia), with its deliciously scented flowers, which, with many other cream- coloured, or pale greenish-white blossoms, become much more fragrant on the approach of evening; and lastly, as pre-eminently indicating a moist and boggy soil, may be mentioned the sweet gale or Dutch myrtle (Myrica Gale), the badge of the clan Camp- bell, a shrub remarkable for the aromatic fragrance of its foliage, which, together with the elasticity of its young twigs, recommend- ed it for beds among the population of the Highlands— “Gale from the bog shall waft Arabian balm.” Fresh water pools and minor lakes in the parish yield the marsh and waterspeedwells (Veronica scutellata and anagallis). There, too, The water-lily to the light, * Her chalice rears of silver bright; and nowhere, perhaps, in greater profusion and loveliness than in the loch of Dunloskin, on the Hafton estate, near Dunoon. Its roots are used in different parts of Scotland, for producing a black or deep purple dye : the bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris), its leaves furnished with little vesicles or bladders. These, by a beau- . tiful provision of nature, are filled with air during the summer season, when the plant rises to the surface of the water, and ex- pands its flowers in the free atmosphere. Afterwards the air es- capes from these vesicles, and the plant, by its own specific gra- vity, then sinks to the bottom of the water, there to ripen its seeds. This interesting and beautiful production is found in pools near the Bull-wood, westward of the village of Dunoon. The water lobelia (Lobelia Dortmanna) abounds in Loch Eck. Its leaves are constantly submerged. If these leaves are cut through transverse- ly, they will be seen to be each of them composed of two parallel tubes, like a double-barrelled gun, a structure not known to exist in ...any other plant. In the same lake, and always near the shore, may be seen in profusion the plantain shore-weed (Litorella lacustris), matting the edge of the water with its velvety green tufts. Dry and open banks and fields are adorned with the poor man’s weather-glass (Anagallis arvensis); the common centaury (Ery- thraea Centaurium), and field gentian (Gentiana campestris), both which are remarkable for their powerfully bitter principle, and may be safely used as stomachics; the bistort or snake-weed (Polygo- num bistorta), and viviparous alpine bistort (P. viviparum), in more mountainous situations; the awl-shaped spurrey (Spergula 584 AR GY LE SHIRE. subulata); the smooth field pepper-weed (Lepidium Smithii); the trailing and upright St John’s wort (Hypericum humifusum and pulchrum); the charming sweet-scented gymnadenia (Gymnadenia conopsea); the green and the white habenaria (Habenaria viridis and albida); and, finally, the common and the heart-leaved tway- blade (Listera ovata and cordata.) - Stone walls afford sufficient nourishment for the pellitory of the wall (Parietaria officinalis), especially at Achenwillin, and at the old Castle of Toward. The stamens of this plant are of a most curious structure, jointed and elastic, so that in fine warm weather they may be seen, as the buds expand, to unroll themselves with a jerk, and scatter little clouds of pollen or fertilizing dust to a considerable distance. The wall pennywort (Cotyledon Umbili- cus) is nourished in the same situations. • Woods and coppices, especially if moist, produce the common and alpine enchanter's nightshade (Circa a Lutetiana and alpina); the daffodil (Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus), is seen on banks near Dunoon, apparently wild; and the lesser winter gum (Pyrola minor), and the tutsan (Hypericum Androsaemum), grow at Kil- mun and Ardentinny. | - In rocky places are observed, the northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), and, among the hills, the mountain sorrel (Oxyria reni- formis), whose leaves have an agreeable acid taste; also the stone bramble (Rubus sawatilis). The higher mountains of the parish, such as Benmore, not being of sufficient elevation to hold out the prospect of a rich harvest of alpine plants to the botanist, have not been examined with the attention which they perhaps deserve. But the following alpine productions may be mentioned: the dwarf cornel (Cornus suecica); procumbent Sibbaldia (Sibbaldia pro- cumbens), which is named in honour of Robert Sibbald, who wrote a natural history of Scotland so early as the closing part of the se- venteenth century, and who then published a figure of this plant; spiked mountain woodrush (Luzula spicata); the purple moun- tain saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia), a lovely flower, well adapted for adorning artificial rock-work; the alpine rasp or cloud- berry (Rubus Chamamorus), which bears a beautiful and finely flavoured large orange berry ; the alpine meadow-rue (Thalictrum alpinum); the rose-root (Rhodiola rosea); and, lastly, the least alpine willow (Salia herbacea), a genus of which many of the kinds possess an arborescent character, while the present minia- ture species, of which little forests, if they may be so called, are DUNOON AND KILMUN. 585. seen clothing considerable patches of the otherwise bare grounds on the highest summit of Benmore, only attains the height of one or two inches, yet bears its leaves, its catkins, and its flowers as perfect as those of its brethren in the willow tribe, which, on our plains and valleys, constitute real trees. - - The nature of the soil, the moist rocks, and shady glens of the parish are highly favourable to the growth of cryptogamic plants, particularly of ferns, which, in the form and structure and colour of the foliage, far exceed the flowering plants. Not fewer than four species of club-moss have been found: the common club- moss (Lycopodium clavatum), of which the excessively minute dust-like seeds, being highly inflammable, are used to produce ar- . tificial lightning on the stage; the fir club-moss (L. Selago), and lesser alpine club-moss (L. Selaginoides), and upon the higher mountains the savin-leaved club-moss (L. alpinum). We must be permitted to point particular attention to the noble fern, the Osmund royal (Osmunda regalis), which abounds among moist copsewood in several situations in the parish, and especially near the road, from Ineland to Toward Chapel, and in the Bull wood, near Dunoon; the moon-fern (Botrychium lunaria): this is found on dry grassy banks above Mr Malcolm's residence, near Dunoon; the pale mountain and the three-branched polypody (Polypodium Phegopteris and calcareum), in woods near Dunoon; the close-leav- ed, prickly shield-fern, and heath shield fern (Aspidium lobatum and Oreopteris); the brittle bladder fern (Cistopteris fragilis); the green and the wall rue spleen-wort (Asplenium viride and Ruta-mw- raria); the hart’s tongue (Scolopendrium vulgare), which grows among the woods at Ardentinny ; the curled rock-brake (Crypto- gramma crispa); whilst among the smallest, but certainly the most delicately beautiful of the fern tribe, are the Tonbridge and the Scottish filmy ferns (Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense and Wilsoni). The latter is a recent discovery in Britain, and was first detected in Scotland, growing in the same spot with the former species, in the beautiful grounds of Professor Buchanan at Ardfillan, in the Bull- wood. It has since been found, in great abundance, in this and other parishes, but nowhere, perhaps, growing more luxuriantly than in the singular rents and chasms of Benmore, the picturesque property of George R. Wilsone Esq.” We cannot dismiss the subject of the vegetation of the parish, with- * Obligingly communicated to Dr Mackay by Sir William J. Hooker. 586 ARGYLESHIRE. outremarking how admirably a great extent of it is calculated for the growing of timber, not only of the fir kind, but of oak and other kinds of hard-wood. The extensive and beautiful plantations of Archi- bald Douglas Esq. of Glenfinart, James Hunter Esq. of Hafton, George R. Wilsone Esq. of Benmore, and, on a still more exten- sive scale, those of Alexander S. Finlay Esq. of Castle Toward, amply attest this fact, as do many individual older trees here and there throughout the parish. An avenue of limes near the church of Kilmun contains specimens of a very superior order; and must be, it is supposed, upwards of 200 years old, and all of them still showing perfect vigour and healthiness. Among the beautiful .native trees which grace the district, the holly must not be passed without notice. Perhaps in no part of Scotland are the unpro- tected groups of this handsome and hardy evergreen seen larger in size, or more perfect in form, than on the farm of Orchard on the Hafton estate in this parish,--some single specimens near the farm-house there showing a trunk of about three and a half feet in circumference, and a height of more than 23 feet. Plantations.—In the united parish, the plantations cover 2167 imperial acres. Larch and Scotch fir are in these by far the pre- vailing kinds of timber, and all of them may be said to be in a most thriving condition. The oldest larch is on the lands of Glenfinart ; and around the house of Glenfinart, and in the lawn, there are oak, sycamore, and beech trees of great age and size, which form a fine contrast to the bold and rugged scenery around. The most extensive of those plantations, taken separately, are those on the estates of Castle Toward and Glenfinart. On the estate of Castle Toward, the plantations were begun by the late Kirkman Finlay Esq. on his purchasing those lands in the year 1818. Down from that period till 1841, there were planted . by him nearly 5,000,000 of trees, now covering about 900 impe- rial acres in this parish, besides about 30 acres in the parish of Inverchaolain, into which the lands of the Castle Toward estate extend. The planting here, though begun chiefly with larch, ex- cept on the pleasure-grounds, where every variety of tree and shrub suited to the climate has been introduced, was intended, by a judicious arrangement of hard wood intermingled, especially oak, to be brought ultimately to contain, in most parts of the extent, the oak and other hard-woods exclusively. This inten- tion is in course of being followed out, and the oak and other hard T) UN OON AND KILM UN. 587 woods seem to vie with the larch in vigorous and healthy growth. Some of the other plantations mentioned have rather suffered from want of attention to early thinning; but they have all of them been, for several years past, attended to with great care, and the favourable results are very manifest. It would, indeed, be dif. ficult to say to which of the kinds of timber planted the soil and climate appear to be most adapted, where all kinds may be said to thrive so prosperously. The comparative value of the different kinds in the market must vary with circumstances, over which land- owners locally can have no control. But there can be no ques- tion, that the soil and climate are adapted to the rearing and growth of the oak,-the royal timber of Great Britain, for which timber its markets will always afford demand, while it continues to be the great maritime power of the civilized world. But little of the parochial territory adapted to planting as much as the parts of it planted already, has yet been turned to that use. Of the ornament and shelter, not to speak of profitable returns which planting affords, the lands of Castle Toward, Glenfinart, and Haf- ton, in this united parish, are very striking instances. The late Mr Finlay of Castle Toward pursued the system throughout of planting the arable soils of inferior quality, while he improved, by liberal and judicious expenditure, the richer portions, bringing these into the highest state of cultivation by systematic farm hus- bandry. Žoology.—There are none of the rarer species of animals found in the parish ; and the zoology is generally the same with that of all other portions of the west of Scotland. Among quadrupeds, the mountain red deer may be said to have become extinct, both in this parish and in the whole district of Cowal; though, down to a very recent period, the parish of Kilmun embraced a deer forest, Coir’-an-Ti, on Benmore. The system of sheep farming has no doubt conduced to this, causing the hills in the district to be more frequented than formerly, both by men and dogs, distur- bances which that noble animal brooks not. The late Kirkman Finlay Esq. of Castle Toward, among his many improvements, introduced a species of American deer into his grounds at Castle Toward, where they thrive prosperously. It is an animal growing apparently to the size and weight of an ordinary red deer, or nearly, and is of a lighter colour, but not possessing (and what animal does?) the noble symmetrical form and bearing of the red 588 ARGYLESHIRE, deer; and seems to have predilection for park shelter and pasturage, Hares are very numerous; and the alpine hare has also been frequently found in the higher grounds. Foxes, martens, pole- cats and wild cats, otters, and weasels are also frequent. The roe is common, though not very numerous, in the plantations and copse- woods throughout the united parish. Of domestic and agricultural zoology, there is no uncommon species or kind to be noted. The parish sustains an equal charac- ter with the other districts of Argyleshire and the west Highlands, for rearing the particular kind of black-cattle, denominated in the markets, “West Highlanders,” the qualities and appearance of which are sufficiently known. This breed, indeed, has, within the last twenty years or upwards, in this parish, yielded very much to the Ayrshire breed,—dairy produce having become more an ob- ject of attention, as forming a part of systematic agricultural pur- suit. There is no doubt, however, that the West Highland breed claim stronger alliance to the climate and soil; and it appears a question among experienced farmers, whether these might not, in the whole district, upon the whole, form a more profitable stock. The black-faced sheep, of which there are several and considera- ble flocks, is almost the only species reared. Cheviots were con- sidered for a long time to yield better returns in Scotland to the sheep farmer; and both from the nature of the pasture and com- parative mildness of the climate, one would suppose this district much more adapted to the rearing of that breed of sheep, than the more northerly and mountainous parts of Scotland, whence the largest flocks of them are now annually driven to the markets of the south ; but the humidity incident to the western coast is judged to be unfavourable to them, inducing disease. There is no particular breed of horses. The native Highland pony may be said to have disappeared, and to have given way to the more profitable working animal, this of course varying in value and quality, according to the circumstances of the owner, and the de- gree of system with which, on the different properties in the parish, agricultural pursuits are conducted. On several of the farms, cattle of this kind are to be seen equal to any that can be met with in the most highly cultivated districts of Scotland. Two small flocks of goats are still kept in the parish. Ornithology.—There are no rare or uncommon species of birds. The common birds of prey are not very numerous; the attention DUN OON AN ID KILMUN, 589 paid to the rearing of sheep-stock has diminished the number of the more powerful of these, though the eagle may still be seen claiming its right to the fastnesses presented in the uplands, and especially along the south-eastern side of Loch Eck. The minor kinds are also diminished in number, by the attention paid to the preservation of game. Of game, partridges, grouse, and black- game are pretty numerous; the last-mentioned said to be increas- ing. Ptarmigan are found on the highest hills in the parish, though their number is but small, and their race thought to be almost extinct. Pheasants were introduced several years ago, and have become pretty numerous in the several plantations and pleasure grounds. The snipe, the gray and green plover, the woodcock, and the landrail, in their season are numerous. Of birds of passage, the two last-mentioned and the cuckoo, the common swallow, the lapwing, the water-wagtail, are numerously seen. The heron is frequent along the coast ; it haunts the marshy grounds in the parish, and frequently nestles. Not many years since, they formed a regular heronry in a clump of Scotch firs, not far from Hafton House, but they have latterly again abandoned it. The curlew is very frequent, and may be seen al- most daily in considerable numbers, especially at the inland ex- tremity, and along the shores of the Holy Loch. It does not ap- pear to be considered as game ; nor is it nor the heron, in this part of Scotland, considered as fit for the table, while, in other parts of the country, both are highly esteemed. The kinds of aquatic birds frequenting the coast are not very numerous. With respect to the sea-coast, indeed, the constant traffic and passing of steamers is more than sufficient to scare such tribes. Large numbers of aquatic fowls during the winter are frequently seen to frequent the Holy Loch, at its inland extremity, but seldom are allowed to remain long unmolested. On the small loch at . Dunloskin, the water-hen or water-coot may be frequently observ- ed, interesting in its apparent love of solitude, and of solitary play- fulness ; but it is still more remarkable for its architectural skill, and is said to build its nest on the water, floating and moveable. From the season of the year at which it is seen frequenting this lake, it most probably builds, though neither its young, nor any specimen of its nest have been discovered. The ordinary species of smaller birds are common and numerous; while the thrush, the blackbird, and the robin contribute their share, with the sky-lark 590 AR GYLE SHIRE. *. and the cuckoo, to the music of the gladsome seasons of the year. The blackbird levies tribute, which horticulturists consider oppres- sive in the fruit season; and the spurious breed of it, described by the author of “the Manse Garden,” has, of late years, become so abundant, as to be considered a positive annoyance. The com- mon rook, though not inhabiting the parish, frequents it, in the seasons of spring and harvest particularly, in great numbers, and to such a degree as to render its visits scarcely welcome to the agri- culturist. - Insects.—There are no species particularly destructive to vege- tation or cultivated crops, except the caterpillar, to small fruit and other kinds of garden produce. Midges, during the earlier autumn months, are considered to be both numerous and offensive, espe- cially in the more wooded and sheltered localities along the coast. The glow-worm is frequently seen in the autumn evenings, fre- quenting sheltered banks along the public roads, and appears to have predilection for soft herbage, as its retreats are in the neigh- bourhood of marshy grounds. Bees are cultivated, but not very generally, throughout the parish; and though, in some seasons, they prosper abundantly, the general humidity of the atmosphere seems to prevent their regular prosperity. Reptiles.—The common viper is sometimes seen, but is by no means frequent. The common lizard is also a native of the dis- trict, but is far from being numerous. t Ichthyology.—The fresh water species in this department are generally those common to all parts of the country. Salmon has free access to Loch Eck, along the river Eachaig, from the Holy Loch, and does not ascend that stream in any number till a com- paratively late season of the year, towards the end of June, in July, and August. The fishing of this river is owned by Mr Campbell of Monzie, and that of Loch Eck by the respective pro- prietors along its banks. The resort of salmon to this stream and lake must be considerable. The fishing at the entrance of the river into the sea, at Kilmun, is usually let to a tenant; and the unhappy river itself is sadly punished, day by day, during the open season at least, by innumerable aspirants to the triumphs of this species of sport, not all certainly of the Isaac Walton school; and yet considerable numbers of the noble fish, braving, no doubt, many a fright on their way to the lake, fall there to the drag-net and the rod. Grilse and sea-trout are taken on the Eachaig at - l DUN OON AND KILMUN. 59 pe I an earlier period of the year than salmon. Pike occurs on the small lake at Dunloskin, and only there in the parish. Loch Eck abounds with the small fish commonly called the fresh water her- ring, (the Gwyniad of Pennant, and Salmo Lavaretus of Lin- naeus,) and by the country people the powan. Its resemblance to the proper herring, in shape, colour, and, so far as an eye not specially skilled in ichthyology can detect, in scales and fins, appears perfect. Its size is smaller, seldom exceeding six or eight inches in length. Its fish tastes differently also from that of the real her. ring, and is considered rather insipid. Another small fish is also taken on Loch Eck, though not frequently, or in any numbers, called by the country people the Goldie, which is said to be uncommon. It is in length not more than four or five inches, and of a beautiful golden hue when taken out of the water, and changes its hues of colour in interesting and beautiful variety. When held up by the hand, it appears almost transparent, and seems a creature of peculiarly delicate structure. No specimen of it has happened to be seen by the writer; but it is supposed to ‘have become a tenant of this lake under the auspices of the eccle- siastics, in former times holding considerable possessions at Kil- mun and along the Eachaig. Another minute fish abounds in Loch Eck, not exceeding in size a common minnow, called by the country people the stickleback. Its peculiarities, as distinguishing it from the minnow, are long thorny prickles on both sides of the head, and also in its dorsal fins, which it has the power of raising erect when pursued or threatened, and thus it protects itself from its more powerful neighbours. Flounders and eels are also common in Loch Eck; and the lamprey eel is also taken, but not frequently. The ordinary kinds of common trout are numerous in the minor streams in the parish, seldom exceeding a pound in weight, and not very commonly found at that size.* - The salt water kinds of fish are also the common ones. Had- dock, cod (the species of the last commonly called rock-cod,) skate, flounder, eels, the conger eel, frequently of very large size; the cole fish, at a certain stage of its growth popularly called seathe along the west coast, in great abundance during the summer and autumn; whiting, sea perch, mackerel, gurnet, and sole,—are all taken, the last mentioned not frequently, though they are known * A considerable number of gold and silver-fishes have been, within the last few years, introduced into Loch Eck by Mr Wilsone of Benmore. The species is found to thrive in ponds, in pleasure grounds near Dunoon. They may probably do so. in Loch Eck; and their origin there merits to be recorded. - - 592 ARGY LESHIRE, to inhabit the Frith of Clyde in abundance. Scarcely any syste- matic pursuit of this important branch of industry is followed in the parish. It may be said, that scarcely any of the population are fishermen by trade, except a few who confine their attention to the herring fishing in its season; and the few persons resorting to the occupation of fishing doing so rather from necessity than from choice or habit, and with but indifferent findings, and only in the more sheltered parts of the frith. The quality of the fish caught is but inferior generally, and the market in Dunoon but indifferently supplied. Salmon fishing along the sea coast, with a kind of net recently introduced, called a bag-net, has been fol- lowed for the last few years, and with considerable success, by an enterprising respectable family in the neighbouring parish of Kilfinan, the Messrs Scoular. The shoals of herring annually resorting to Loch Fine and the neighbouring arms of the sea, seldom visit the coast of this parish or the Holy Loch. For the last eleven years, no considerable take of them has occurred but once. Individual herrings, sometimes to the number of a few dozens, in the early part of summer, are frequently taken by the rod, and with the ordinary fly bait used for the seathe. The her- rings thus taken are considered inferior in quality,+apparently stragglers from the aquatic camp of the great bodies of that rather mysterious fish. Shell fish.-Lobsters and crabs are found frequently, but not in great numbers, the fishing of the former not being systematically pursued, though there is no portion of the coast of Scotland more likely to yield a good return to that special department of fishing occupation, and within such easy access to the Glasgow market. There are no beds of oysters meriting notice, though they are found mostly along the whole coast of the parish, but thinly scat- tered, and considered to be of excellent quality. In the Holy Loch, towards its inland extremity, and the bay of Ardentinny, there are mussel scalps of natural growth and of very considerable extent. In the former place they are now begun to be preserved by the proprietor, Mr Hunter of Haſton; and, by careful preser- vation, may speedily be extended over a surface of many acres. Along the sands in the same place, laid bare at every tide, the common cockle abounds. It is not considered here as an article of food, and scarcely so used at all; while, in certain parts of Scotland, it is considered a delicacy, and is found of considerable importance as an article of food. It is quite certain that this de- DUNOON AND KILMUN. 593 licate shell-fish is capable of being cultivated; the more the sand which it inhabits is turned up in searching for it, giving it in pro- cess of time a consistency and degree of hardness which seems to favour the growth and increase of the cockle. Considerable quan- tities might, even now, at every tide be gathered; and it might ... afford profitable occupation to many a humble individual, were but local prejudices surmounted. At spring-tides, and especially those occurring about the time of the vernal equinox, when the greatest extent of sea-sand along the coast is laid bare, spout-fish, or razor- fish, are found in great numbers. The ordinary minor tribes of shell. fish abound along the coast. . . - II.-CIVIL HISTORY. - No ancient history of this district is known to exist. But there are not entirely wanting notices and references, in writings of un- doubted antiquity, indicating that, in the earlier centuries, there was close and constant intercourse between Ireland and the dis- trict of Cowal. The tradition of the Lamonts being the posses- sors of the whole district of Cowal is still universal among the native inhabitants. And whatever may have been the fact, as to whether that clan sprung from the Dalriadic colony, or whether they were the descendants of a still earlier race of occupants, it is obvious, so far as tradition can go to establish it, that the La- monts assumed the superiority of this district at a very early period. Mr Skene, in his very valuable work, “The Highlanders of Scot- land,” remarks, “there are few traditions more universally believed in the Highlands, or which can be traced back to an earlier period, than that the Lamonts were the ancient possessors of Cowal. And it is abundantly clear, from historical notices connected with the district, that they continued to be the possessors of the district, and their name the prevailing one, down to a period comparatively late, the middle of the seventeenth century.” Our notices on this head must be necessarily brief. The general result of inquiries directed to this subject is, that the extension of the power and rights of the Scottish monarchy evidently operated as a disturbing force on the more ancient order of things in this district, issuing in the event, too frequently still the concomitant both of conquest and colonization,-the dislodging of the native inhabitants, and the rapid obscuration of their actual history. It appears that Crown charters were unknown in Cowal down to the time of Alexander II. The first of the Stewart family is admitted, to have been Walter ſilius Alani, who had the island of Bute given A R GYLE, P p 594 AR GYLE SHIRE, him by. David I., A. D. 1135, and was created High Steward of Scotland by Malcolm IV. ; and it farther appears as if he had ob- tained the lordship of Cowal, not by royal charter in the first in- stance, but by marriage with an heiress of the Lamont clan. And while the events of Scottish history which first placed the Stewart dynasty on the throne, form so important a portion of that history in general, it is pretty obvious that those events were the means of extending over the greater part at least of the district of Cowal the sway of the ancestors of the house of Argyle, the Campbells of Lochawe, who were among the first and the most active supporters of “Robert the Steward.” Their services were requited by grants: and while it may be considered capable of his- torical demonstration that the first royal grants affecting the supe- riority or lordship of Cowal did not immediately tend to the up- rooting of the more ancient possessors, the Lamonts, the same cannot be said of the superiority acquired by the Campbells. Va- rious portions of the district of Cowal and of this united parish are traced, in times almost immediately subsequent, into the pos- session of individuals and families of the name of Campbell, the allies and the relatives of the house of Lochawe and Argyle. This later subdivision of the territory of the greater portion of Cowal under the sway of the Campbells has continued, partially, down to present times. And in times, more strictly speaking, re- cent, the tenure of property in this united parish has undergone more of transference than perhaps has occurred, within the like period, in any other portion of the Highlands,-issuing into the subsisting result, from aggregate causes, of landed property in this parish commanding as high a market price as in any district of Scotland at large. And modern improvements, liberally con- ducted, promise, with the operation of the same causes, to main- tain the value of land at the same rate. The revolution may be said, here, to be completed, of the age and times commonly called feudal having passed away, and the commercial age, bringing its own benefits doubtless, having been established in its stead. Antiquities.—Commencing the brief notices of these which our assigned limits permit, it is felt due to the memory of a period unknown, or at least not fully ascertained, to notice the frequency of what are commonly called, “stone coffins,” which are found generally not far from the sea shore. No striking rude obe- lisks or pillars anywhere in the parish mark the scenes of bat- tles and slaughters, and the fall of leaders and chiefs. But the DUNO ON AND KILMUN. 595 frequent occurrence of these depositories of the dead indicate that the times of old were not always times of peace to the ancient in- habitants. Within the space now occupied by the villages of Dunoon and Kilmun, and on the lands of Castle Toward and other localities, and where no indications whatever occur of those spots having been dedicated exclusively to the use of ordinary se- pulture, these resting-places of a race unknown are found to be very numerous. The stone coffin is formed of three rude slabs of the native schistose slate, one laid flat forming the bottom of the coffin, the other two placed over this at an angle to make them meet at top, and no other security appears to have been sought. The earth is levelled around, and the coffin not much more than barely covered by the shingly soil, where they are most frequently found to occur. The skeleton is generally found entire. The writer regrets not having had personal opportunity of examining many of these interesting depositories, proclaiming as they do the passing nature of this world's history. There is reason, however, to believe, that they are found showing that no special position of the body was studied, the extremities lying towards the east, west, south, or north, as convenience appeared to dictate. On opening one of these graves lately, the skeleton was found beautifully “laid out,” every bone, to the smallest, occupying its natural anatomical place; the tibial bones indicating a person five feet ten inches high, or thereabout. The skeleton is found reposing upon gravel or sea-beach shingle, clean and pure as if washed by the last sea- tide, while evidently no disturbing force had ever visited “the nar- row house.” Whether this effect may have been produced by the ordinary process of percolation of moisture from the surface, or whether, indeed, as does appear the more probable conjecture, the grave being situated not more than fifteen feet above the present level of the sea, that this level may have both risen and again fallen since the period of inhumation, is not easily decided. The writer feels inclined to adopt the latter theory, and thus a very re- mote period must be assigned to this mode of sepulture. The bones are found perfectly entire, tinged of a pretty deep brownish hue, but friable almost to the touch. What appears evidently to have once been a Druidical altar, or Crom-leac, occurs on the farm of Ardnadam, on the Hafton es- tate. Popular story had elevated it to the rank of a royal grave, and of royalty bearing the name most illustrious of all for anti- quity, Adam but a diligent search at the foundation, proven 596 A R GYLE SHIRE, by the result not to be sacrilegious, has negatived the popular story, no disturbance of the subsoil manifestly having ever before taken place. The top-stone of the crom-leac is seen still oc- cupying its proper place; and the pillars indicate a place of highly respectable order in its day; and the native oak still, amidst all vicissitudes, continuing to claim alliance with the soil, points out that this spot, not improbably, formed the grove of the district, where Druidic priesthood and worship- pers had once their resort and their orgies. On the farm of Ardinslat, on the Hafton estate, there is presented, what no one, who has had occasion to see and mark any number of such acknowledged remains, can doubt for a moment to be Roman. It now presents itself as a green mound, an oblong square, about 90 feet in length, by about 73 in breadth, raised about ten feet above the surrounding level; the fossa clearly traceable around it, as well as the entrance, though the latter has been partly obli- terated by the erection of some modern enclosures. The sides of the mound are seen bearing, as indeed the whole of it does, that compacted smoothness and finish which is always found mark- ing the labour of the Roman soldier, and the same slope on all the sides, which is always seen characterizing their military labours of the same description. That Agricola, on one occasion, ran his fleet up Loch Fine, to the westward of the district of Cowal, is well known. Traces of the soldiery having landed at the place of Otter, on the side of Loch Fine, have been discovered, though there is no evidence of their having formed any regular encamp- ment there. And whether any division of that army penetrated ac- ross the district of Cowal to the Frith of Clyde, is not certain. In such a march, indeed, exceeding twenty-five miles by modern com- putation, it may be supposed they would have marked it by some other military works, less or more distinct, had they crossed this territory. None such, we believe, has been noticed along any route by which they could have marched. And the most probable con- jecture to be formed regarding this mark of their operations is, that, while engaged in the important labour of erecting their wall from Abercorn to Dunglass, on the Clyde, they would station an outpost here, to communicate with the main body by signal, giving alarm of any danger approaching seaward. The spot selected for the station, for such it may be called, appears at once particularly well chosen for such a purpose, situated at the foot of a consider- able eminence, the summit of which could be gained from the - (, DUNOON AND KILMUN. 597. station in two minutes, and whence a clear and extensive view of the frith is commanded, both seaward from its entrance, and in- wards uninterruptedly to the rock of Dumbarton. The spot cho- Sen would thus have suited the purposes of a modern military picquet far better than Dunoon Castle, which, though commanding the best seaward view of the frith, does not command the inland view so far as to Dumbarton Castle. - Dunoon Castle.—There is ample evidence on record of this castle having been in existence in the twelfth century, when the influence and power of the Scottish monarchy, properly so called, began to be practically exercised in this portion of the Scottish dominions. But we are inclined to ascribe to it an origin by many centuries earlier than that period. Were we to follow conjecture, or to form a theory founded upon tradition, language, and local usages,—not always in inquiries of this kind without their value, we would assign to this fortalice, as the probable latest date of its foundation, the period of the Dalriadic colony obtaining possession or sovereignty in Cowal in the sixth century. * *. * The uses of the word Dún, in the native language of Scotland, are sufficiently well known. Nor can it be questioned, whatever may have been the origin of the building or its remote date, the native language would so designate any defensive erection as well as the rock itself. One theory of the etymology of Dunoon has been already offered. But it may now be ventured, on grounds to be stated immediately, to fix a particular signification to the word “aoidheam,” here, i.e. strangers. With- out any prejudice to the theory already submitted, it is considered that foundation exists for supposing that “ aoidhean,” strangers, of a particular class, did at one time obtain possession or mastery over this Dün. They have fixed, in local history and usage, traces of themselves. While in the Scottish dialect of the Gaelic language, a stronghold of this kind is called Dān; in the Irish dialect, the word Mür, or Múir, has the same signification. Both the terms, no doubt, occur in ancient writings, unquestionably Irish ; but it is sufficiently known that the term Mūr, for a fortress, was never, so far as known, the appellative popularly used in Scotland. Another word constantly occurring in Irish writings, and never, so far as known to us, in the popular Scottish dialect of the Gaelic, is lawn, signifying in the Irish dialect any inclosure, such as a garden or field. And we cannot doubt but the term bord- land, or borde-land, occurring in several charters connected with Dunoon, is derived from, or rather is a corruption of the Celtic mür-lann, the labial consonants ºn and b continually interchanging even in the same language. This term bord-land is found in charters, designating certain lands around Dunoon Castle, as in the charter under the Great Seal, granted January 18, 1472, “to Colin Earl of Argyll, Lorne, and Campbell, Master of our Household, granting him the keeping of our Castle of Dunoon, with power to appoint constables, janitors, jailors, and other officers for the keeping of the said castle,” and granting and conceding “the lands of Borde-land and their pertinents, extending to twenty-seven merks current coin of our realm.” This term appears to have puzzled certain of our Scottish antiquarian etymologists not a little; whereas its meaning in Gaelic, or at least in the Irish dialect of that language, is perfectly obvious, Mār-lann, i. e. the enclosures or fields attached to the castle, or appropriated to its more immediate uses. It also appears by similar evidence of charters, that the same term was extended to designate a still wider range of lands in and near Dunoon, than those meant in the particular charter cited. These lands being held of the castle or its occupants, the occupiers of the lands would naturally fall to be considered vassals. And what decides, to our apprehension, both the ety- 598 - A R GYLESH 1 RE. The small portions of the walls still exposed do not indicate a period earlier than the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The castle shared in the tumultuary events of its country's history. It was be- sieged and taken by Baliol in 1833, and again retaken by “Robert the Steward” in 1834, and it may be supposed to have been first raised to the rank of a palace when he ascended the throne. The royal charter already quoted proves the Argyle family to have acquired the lordship of it in 1472, as they most probably did indeed a consi- derable time before that date, both of this castle and of most of the lands in the district, denominated “ King's Cowal,” or “Steward’s Cowal,” excluding, it is believed, the district of Kerry (now the parish of Kilfinan), and Stralachlan and Strachur. The castle was again besieged by the Earl of Lennox, in his descent on the west of Scotland in 1554, when the Earl of Argyle was obliged to abandon it with considerable loss. Most probably, the more modern masonry, which portions of the walls disclose, may have been executed subsequently to that event by the Argyle family, and previously to 1563, when it was visited by Queen Mary. Charters are extant, granted by Queen Mary, on occasion of this visit. It appears to have continued to be a residence of the Ar- gyle family, till the earlier part of the seventeenth century. The political convulsions of that period, in which that noble family shared and suffered so deeply, appear to have caused, with other effects to them, their ceasing to reside in Dunoon Castle; and the last public event connected with its history occurred in connection with their interests in 1646, when deeds of barbarous atrocity were mology and its origin, is a usage of the district and of its dialect, now almost for- gotten. The inhabitants of the village of Dunoon, as it formerly existed, and of a certain space around it, were styled by their neighbours in Cowal, Mir-lannaich, i.e the men or the race of the Mir-lann, the castle “pertinents,”—the term being used as a kind of jocose taunt, implying against them some reproach of vassalage or ser- vility. And however groundlessly applied in more modern times, the inhabitants of this particular locality being equal in all respects of good fame to their neighbours using the taunt, yet its application indicated the origin of the appellative. And though this may appear to some but slender foundation for a historical theory, yet, when considered with the ordinary local usage and speech, the term, in its compo- ment parts, being foreign to the native dialect, and manifestly Irish, together with the popular idea attached to it, amounts, in our apprehension, to no mean historical evi- dence, that this castle had its remote period of Irish, or rather Dalriadic sway ; and that that colony very probably were the strangers after all, who gave to Dunoon its present existing name. The real signification of the term Mir-lanmaich appears, 1more recently at least, to have become unknown to those employing it, while still its usage continued to prevail, showing both the antiquity and the foreignness of its origin. It is indeed but natural to suppose, that a conquering colony would have their attention directed to such a spot, and that one of their first measures would be to put it in proper defensive condition ; and hence, most probably, it had become a place of importance in the district, several centuries previous to the period when we find it gifted to the High Steward of Scotland. D UN OON AND KILMUN. 599 committed by certain leaders of the Campbells, in the vicinity of the castle. The statement of those atrocities, as exhibited in the indictment against the Marquis of Argyle, may fairly be consid- ered as not at least underrated. The public prosecutor of the day has recourse even to popular superstitions to aid in vilifying the character of the accused party. But, making all allowances for exaggeration, it is too abundantly certain, while the noble de- fendant pleads his having been no party to these atrocities, that they were of no ordinary type; and, whatever may have been the innocency of the Marquis of Argyle personally in this most infa- mous transaction, it is but too evident, that the leaders of his clan took advantage of existing turmoils to wage a war of extermination against the clan Lamont. The indictment of the Marquis of Argyle bears, that certain of his clan having besieged and forced to a surrender the houses of Toward and Escog, then the property of Sir James Lamont, having violated the terms of the capi- tulation on which the surrender was made, “ did most treacher- ously, perfidiously, and traitorously fetter and bind the hands of near 200 persons of the said Sir James's friends and followers, who were comprehended within the said capitulation, detaining them prisoners with a guard, their hands being bound behind their backs like thieves, within the said Sir James's house and yards of Towart, for the space of several days, in great torment and misery;” and, “in pursuance of their farther villany, after plundering and robbing all that was within and about the said house, they most barbarously, cruelly, and inhumanly murdered several, young and old, yea, sucking children, some of them not one month old.” And again, “ The said persons, defendants, or one or others of them, contrary to the foresaid capitulations, our laws, and acts of Par- liament, upon the day of June 1646, most traitorously and perfidiously did carry the whole people who were in the said houses of Escog and Towart, in the said boats, to the village of Dunoone, and there most cruelly, traitorously, and perfidiously cause hang upon one tree near the number of thirty-six persons, most of them being special gentlemen of the name of Lamont, and vassals to the said Sir James.” And, after enumerating these persons, the in- dictment proceeds to enumerate others, who were likewise “bar- barously, inhumanly, and unchristianly murdered with dirks, and cut down with swords and pistols;” and “ John Jamison, then Provost of Rothesay, who, being shot thrice through the body, 600 A R.G YLE SHIRE. finding some life in him, (they) did thrust several durks and skenes in him, and at last did cut his throat with a long durk.”—“And to manifest their further cruelty, they did cast some of the afore- said persons into holes made for them, who were spurning and wrestling, whilst they were suffocated with earth ; having denied to them any time to recommend themselves to God, albeit ear- nestly desired and begged by the said murdered persons. Inso- much that the Lord from heaven did declare His wrath and dis- pleasure against the foresaid inhuman cruelty, by striking the tree whereon they were hanged in the said month of June, being a lively, fresh growing ash-tree at the kirk-yard of Denoome, among many other fresh trees with leaves, the Lord struck the said tree immediately thereafter ; so that the whole leaves fell from it, and the tree withered, never bearing leaves thereafter, remaining so for the space of two years, which, being cut down, there sprang out of the very heart of the root thereof a spring like unto blood, popling up, running in several streams all over the root, and that for several years thereaſter, till the said murderers, or their fa- vourers, perceiving that it was remarked by persons of all ranks (resorting there to see the miracle), they did cause howk out the root, covering the whole with earth, which was full of the said matter like blood.” That such a document as this, especially in the times, and in the circumstances in which it was drawn up, should exaggerate, cannot be doubted. But it is evident that too much of it must have been matter of fact, and is to be viewed, and happily, as the last outbreak of fierce misrule, occasioned perhaps by a long course of mutual provocations between a party, the La- monts, who considered themselves the original possessors of the territory, and another party, the Campbells, who, it is historically evident, had been obtaining the ascendency in the district, ever since the transference of its lordship from the hands of the Stew- ards to those of the house of Argyle. It does not appear that Dunoon Castle was ever inhabited after this period, but was al- lowed to fall into decay. - The old Castle of Toward, the residence of the chief of the Lamonts, or at least of some principal cadet of the family, desig- nated in the indictment now cited as the house of Sir James Lamond, is a ruin, apparently of no earlier date, as a building, than the fourteenth or fifteenth century, of the style common to that age. It does not appear to have been inhabited at any time sub- DUN OON AND KILMU N. 60 A sequent to the period when it was the scene of the cruelties set forth in this indictment. In ecclesiastical antiquities the parish is not particularly rich. Besides the churches of Dunoon and Kilmun, there was but one chapelry, of which any traces remain. This was dedicated to the Virgin, and situated on the farm of Toward-an-willt.* The ecclesiastical establishment of Dunoon appears to have been but an ordinary parochial one ; though popular tradition places an Episcopal residence there. There is no evidence extant, so far as known to the writer, that any of the bishops of the olden time had their residence here. Certain graves are pointed out in the burying-ground as those of bishops, and the fact is not im- probable. They appear but of comparatively late date, and the * There is a special interest traditionally connected with its place of sepulture (now scarcely discernible), from its containing the grave of MacGregor of Glenstrae, whose burial occurring here is connected with a story of the times, indicating that, as they were periods of anarchy and blood, neither were they without their manifes- tations of a natural generosity. The Lamont of the day occupying the Castle of Toward, had gone, during his early life, on a hunting excursion, and to visit MacGregor of Glenstrae. The only son and child of this MacGregor, a youth of Lamont's own age, was his companion in the forest during the visit, and, accom- panied by the necessary number of MacGregor's retainers, they had occasion to spend a winter's night in some cave or shelter, no uncommon practice among Highlanders of the time when following the chase. During the night, unhappily, the two had a quarrel, when the young MacGregor fell, mortally wounded, under the sword or the dirk of Lamont. Lamont, as may be supposed, betook himself to flight, to evade the immediate vengeance of MacGregor's retainers. Wandering in the dark, and a stranger in the bounds where he wandered, espying a light, he made for it, and did not, in his perturbation, perceive till he had entered the house, that it was the house of the father whose only son had fallen, but a few hours before, the victim of his unhappy anger. The old MacGregor-intuitively perceived, by the perturbation of I amont, what it was that had happened. To his honour he commanded his feel- ings, and said to Lamont, “Here, this might, shall you be safe.” On the retainers arriving, Lamont was protected from their fury by the bereaved and heart-stricken, but manly and generous father. During the might he accosted Lamont, and address- ing himself to a journey, commands Lamont to follow him, and conducting him from his residence of Glenstrae, near Glenorchy, across hill and mountain, till they arrived at the place of Dún-da-rámh on Lochfine;—MacGregor secures a boat and oars for Lamont to ferry him across to Cowal—“ Go,” said he, “flee for your life—land in your own country, and there shall we pursue you—save yourself if you can.” For many years, Lamont, having escaped the vengeance of the bereaved father and clan, was safe in his castle at Toward. Events of a different kind pursued the bereaved MacGregor of Glenstrae. By rapacious and more powerful neighbours, he was not only stripped of his lands, but pursued as a culprit under show of offended justice,— the common stratagem of the times on the part of powerful and unprincipled oppres- sors. MacGregor made for Cowal and for the Castle of Toward, and, arriving there, forsaken and scathed by the world, he sought protection and refuge from Lamont. This was most cordially and heartily granted. The venerable and bereaved MacGregor of Glenstrae lived for years the guest of Lamont, the one forgiving, the other joyful not only in the forgiveness received, but in the power of shielding and cherishing his venerable deliverer. The aged man breathed his last in peace under the roof of La- mont, and was buried, as tradition reports, with all the honour due to his rank, and his grave is still pointed out in this burying-ground, or very recently was, by tho aged inhabitants of the district. 60%2 AR GYLE SHIRE, exposure of the burying-ground for several years without inclo- sure, led to the defacing of any inscription which might have marked these graves. It is most likely that certain of those whose designation has been fixed in history as Tulchan Bishops, and others perhaps of an earlier day despoiled of their revenues, may have found shelter and protection here, under the sway of the Ar- gyle family, and ended their days in personal comfort. The re- mains of a house are pointed out, to which the name has been as- signed of the bishop’s palace. There is, however, nought belong- ing to such an establishment pointed out in history as having ex- isted in Dunoon,_and most probably the residence so denomi- nated might be a dwelling-house, assigned by the Argyle family, after the Reformation, to individuals of the order. Neither is there any trace to be discovered, to show that any nunnery ever existed in Dunoon,_the story of its existence being merely found- ed, apparently, on the assumption, that the name Dunoon must signify some connection with a nunnery ! The ancient parish church, replaced by the present so late as the year 1816, appears to have been built in a style superior to most of the parish churches of the same period,—a fact easily accounted for by its proximity to the castle, and that being possessed for such a period of time by a noble family, disposed to liberality toward the ex- isting establishment of their day. The place of Kilmun is, ecclesiastically, of higher repute than Dunoon. Tradition ascribes the origin of a church in that place to the circumstance of a ship bearing a precious cargo of consecrat- ed earth from the Holy Land, or Jerusalem, having been stranded in the Holy Loch, and the cargo having been discharged, that the church of Kilmun was erected on the spot where this earth had been deposited, or the portion of it saved from the wreck. The ship, tradition bears, had been destined for Glasgow, and its cargo in. tended for the purpose of erecting upon it some ecclesiastical edi- fice of more than ordinary sanctity. Tradition ascribes this event to the times of St Kentigern, and points out the Cathedral of Glasgow, as the building for consecrating the foundation of which this earth from Jerusalem was intended; and that the catastrophe gave its name to the Holy Loch. For the latter of these tradi- tional assertions there is some apparent foundation in the Gaelic name by which this arm of the sea is designated,—“an Loch séan- ta,” the charmed loch; and while it certainly does not appear in DUN OON AND KILMUN. 603 what the virtue of the charm consisted, there can be little doubt, that the name must have arisen from some specific event, to which the spirit of the times would ascribe some mysterious influence. It does not appear that any ecclesiastical relation subsisted at any period, so far as elucidated in the history of religious houses, be- tween Kilmun and the Archiepiscopal see of Glasgow. But will- ing to save the credit of traditional story, it may not be uninter- esting to observe, that the chartulary of Glasgow, recently pub- lished by the Maitland Club, as the donation of Mr Ewing of Le- venside, records the fact of John, bishop of Glasgow, about the year 1122, having gone to the Holy Land;” but the next year, by order of the Pope, that he returned to his see. His procuring a gift of such supposed value, to be carried to Scotland, has nothing improbable, at least, to discountenance the belief, that such an event might even have occurred as this precious consignment having been subjected to the catastrophe which this tradition re- cords. It is certain that the first, or at least a preceding church to that of which we shall presently notice the foundation, stood, not upon the spot where the more recent erections have stood, but close to the sea-shore, on the site now occupied by the villa and grounds of William Graham Esq. at Kilmun. A collegiate church for a provost and six prebendaries was founded at Kilmun, by Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochawe, who was also afterwards the first of that family who assumed the title of Argyle. His grant is dated 4th August 1442, and this munificent gift to the church, stated to be “pro salute animae quondam Marjoriae con- jugis meae, et modernae consortis meae, et quondam Celestini filii mei primogeniti.” Other grants of land to the church of Kilmun by the family of Argyle, are found recorded in the chartulary of Paisley, to which abbey Kilmun appears to have been ecclesiasti- cally attached or subject. The foundation thus granted to the church of Kilmun appears to have raised it to some rank of im- portance in the vicinity. The tower of the church, indicating it, by the style of its architecture, to have been erected about or subse- quently to the period of the grant constituting it a collegiate church, still stands almost entire ; the plan, form, and size of the body of the church itself have been obliterated by more recent erections; but, so far as can be traced, the church formed a building of pretty * “ Sed cum episcopus : cognita infelicis populiferocitate et abhominabili vitiorum multiplicitate: uptote perterritus Jerusalem proficisci disposuisset.” 604 A R GYLF SHIRE's extensive dimensions, and to correspond with the portion of it extant, the tower, the style of its architecture must have been respectable. The tower is square, and stands about forty feet in height, and contains within a stair of peculiar construction, built on geometri- cal principles, of which it is thought there are but very few speci- mens to be found in the architecture of the period. It is partly ef- faced by the gradual decay of the masonry. The place of Kil- mun is also known as the place of sepulture of the Argyle family. According to Douglas, in his peerage of Scotland, Sir Duncan Campbell, afterwards Lord Campbell, and grandfather of Colin, the first Earl of Argyle, is stated as the first of the family in- terred at Kilmun. But even from the terms of the grant found- ing the collegiate church, there is ground to believe that it had been the family’s place of burial prior to the date of this grant in 1442. There is evidence of Sir Gillespick or Archibald Camp- bell of Lochow having obtained a grant of the lands of Kilmun, prior to 1343; and his son, Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow, ap- pears to have received “from King Robert II, a charter of se- veral lands in Cowal, which had pertained to John Stewart of Auchingown, his Majesty's natural son, dated 20th June 1404. He had also from Robert, Duke of Albany, a charter of the lands of Strathachy, (evidently Strath-eachaig, forming the greater part of the parish of Kilmun, according to designation in popular local usage,) within the barony of Cowal Stewart.” While these proofs evince the time and manner of the Argyle family obtaining pos- sessions in this district, popular tradition ascribes the commence- ment of the family’s sepulture at Kilmun to a still earlier period, while yet the Lamonts held the territorial ascendency of Cowal undisturbed. A rude verse, in Gaelic, uttered on the occasion of this right of sepulture being granted by Lamont to the family of Lochawe, is still repeated by the Seanachies of the district. In this verse, Lamont describes himself as “the great Lamont of all Cowal,” and the right is granted “ to the knight of Lochawe- side,” in consideration of present necessity, for the interment of the knight's son, who is reported, by the same traditionary evi- dence, to have died in the low country; and his remains having been carried by sea to Kilmun, and a continued snow storm hav- ing rendered its conveyance to the family burying-ground at home impracticable, this grant was sought by the knight of Loch- awe, and conceded by “the great Lamont of all Cowal.” This tradition receives some countenance in the fact of the family of DUN OON AND KILM UN. 605 Argyle, after having received Dunoon Castle, and making it, at least one, if not the principal residence occupied by them for the time, showing preference of Kilmun as their place of family se- pulture, and bestowing more liberally on the ecclesiastical foun- dation there. The place of interment was within the ancient church; and the access to it continued to be through the body of the parish church till the year 1793 or 1794, when the cemetery now standing was erected. It is a simple square building, pavi- lion roofed, without any architectural ornament, and the family of Argyle still continue to use it as their place of sepulture. The hill of Benmore was long appropriated to the purposes of a deer forest; and traditions are not wanting of the family of Argyle having particularly prized it, as affording the exercise of that sport, and their having and exercising certain servitudes over places at a considerable distance, the holders of which were, by their tenure, bound to assist in the battue, when the members of the family visited this forest. The remains of mounds erected for the purpose of driving the deer into certain passes, are still visible on this hill, and it continued to be preserved as a forest till near the close of the last century. In this forest a cave is shown where some of the charters and papers of the Marquis of Argyle lay con- cealed, while he was under the ban of his persecutors of the day; and the cave has since been designated and known by the title of the Paper cave. An inhabitant of the parish, within the last twenty years, had in his possession some staves of one of the casks in which these papers were held in the cave. The introduction of sheep-farming into the district soon banished the deer from this forest, as it has done from the whole district of Cowal, and the hill forms a part of the property of George R. Wilsone, Esq. of Benmore. - The last occurrence connected with political events which dis- turbed the peace of this district, was the invasion of it, as well as of those in its vicinity in Argyleshire, by “the Athol men,” upon the execution of the Earl of Argyle, in 1685. The Marquis of Athol, who had obtained the royal authority “to protect” Argyle- shire, appears to have entrusted the exercise of his protectorate to hirelings or vassals, who distinguished themselves and their noble employer by the most lawless and cowardly treatment of the inhabitants. The events characterizing this invasion, (for by no other name can it be properly designed,) are still borne in memory by the descendants of those who suffered at the time, 606 ARGYLESHIRE. in their property and effects, if not in their persons. A printed record of the losses sustained by the several proprietors of the dis- trict, has many interesting notices indicative of the usages and habits of the people at that period, and demonstrative of the change that has since taken place. The violences of the Camp- bells toward the Lamonts appear in this visitation of the Athol men to have met with retributive visitation, Fixing their head- quarters at Inverary, they seem to have taken into their own hands the powers of “pit and gallows,” and no inconsiderable number of the Clan Campbell perished by their hands. While ravaging this parish, they were not permitted altogether to go unmolested. A na- tive inhabitant, of the name of Archibald Whyte, is recorded in story, as the daring and brave head of a kind of guerilla party, who hung upon the rear of the Athol men, whithersoever they went ; and he is stated, on more occasions than one, to have di- minished the number of the lawless invaders. No events of any special public importance appear to have cha- ,racterized the civil history of the parish, from the latter part of the seventeenth century down to the beginning of the present. The introduction of the system of sheep-farming, about seventy years since, began gradually to work changes on the condition of the rural inhabitants, larger sections of the soil coming to be appro- priated to that pursuit, and the people to be driven into smaller holdings, bordering on the cottar system, to some extent. The application of steam to the practical purposes of naviga- tion, it is sufficiently known, began on the River and Frith of Clyde, and no portion of Scotland perhaps, certainly none of the Highlands of Scotland, has more witnessed or experienced the manifold results traceable to that triumph of scientific and mechan- ical genius and skill. It has tended, within the last twenty-five years, to change, it may be said, wholly, the physical aspect of this territory; and in many respects, far from being immaterial, moral consequences have also resulted from the same immediate operating cause. In the year 1822, the village of Dunoon presented but the appearance usual in Highland clachans : there were not more than three or four slated houses, besides the parish church and manse. As the power of steam became subservient to the pur- poses of navigation, and the first steamers built begun to venture beyond Greenock, and to dare the dangers of crossing the frith,- esteemed no ordinary measure of boldness at that time, indivi- duals, and a few families from Glasgow, began to resort to 4. DUNOON AND KILMUN. 607 Dunoon as a summer residence. The number was but small, in- deed, who could find any accommodations to suit them. In the year mentioned, James Ewing Esq., then of Glasgow, and now of Levenside, in Dumbartonshire, commenced building the ma- rine villa called, since, the Castle House, on the grounds imme- diately adjoining Dunoon Castle. The taste displayed in the erec- tion of his villa, and in the laying out of the grounds around it, pointed out to others the advantages of the locality, of which several individuals of respectability soon availed themselves ; and the vil- lage has since gone on increasing. About the same period, but a few years earlier, the pur- chase of the estate of Auchavullin, and other neighbouring lands now forming the estate of Toward, by the late Kirkman Finlay Esq., formed an era in the agricultural history of the pa- rish, and in all its rural economy. Not more successful and dis- tinguished as a British merchant was Mr Finlay in his commercial pursuits, than he became here as an agriculturist, and an improver of lands presenting no particular attractions nor promise of easy conquest, when he became their proprietor. With many local dis- advantages and local prejudices to combat, Mr Finlay had been but a few years the proprietor of those lands, when, in the several departments of inclosing, draining, planting, tillage, and systema- tic husbandry, not to speak of ornamental landscape improvements, more strictly so termed, his estate became a pattern, the benefits of which, it may be affirmed, without prejudice to the claims of other proprietors to the like merits, were felt and appreciated, and his example followed throughout the whole district. In the de- partment of planting, indeed, within the bounds of the united pa- rish, a good deal had been previously done on the estate of Glen- finart by the late Earl of Dunmore. But success had scarcely yet been demonstrated, when Mr Finlay commenced his operations on the Toward estate. About the same period, also, the late James Hunter Esq. of Hafton became proprietor of that estate in the neigh- bourhood of Dunoon, and, in building, planting, and other im- provements, set the same beneficial example, which has since been still more extensively followed up by his son, James Hunter Esq. the present proprietor of the same estate, now considerably enlarged. The picturesque village of Kilmun on the Holy Loch was be- gun about the year 1829, by David Napier Esq. of Glasgow pur- chasing an extensive feu of lands running along the eastern shore of that arm of the sea, from the late General Campbell of Mon- 608 ARGYLESHIRE. zie. This village has also risen rapidly into considerable extent; and though its appearance, and the disposal of the houses of which it is now composed, might have been much more advantageously arranged had the whole been done under the eye of a proprietor owning the whole of the lands adjacent, as well as the space now feued, still the village of Kilmun forms a favourite summer resort, and is rapidly increasing. While the territorial aspect of the united parish has thus undergone, both by the erection of villages and by agricultural improvements, a very remarkable change, during so brief a period as little more than twenty years, the whole must be attributed to the wonderful powers of the steam- engine applied to the purposes of navigation. Previously to the era of this discovery (not of steam power, but of steam navigation,) the access from this parish and from the neighbouring districts to the low country and towns on the Clyde was tedious, uncertain, and sometimes dangerous.* - The passage by steam from Dunoon to Glasgow is now made on average in three hours. And the same marvellous power of steam now applied to inland travelling, the transit from Dunoon to Glasgow is accomplished in two hours, and to Edinburgh in four. Parochial Registers.—These consist of several manuscript vo- lumes and scattered fasciculi of scrolls and portions of minutes and registers, irregularly kept, down to a comparatively modern date. The session book of the parish of Dunoon commences December 6, 1692, and, while designated as the session record of the parish of Dunoon proper, some of its sederunts show the heritors of the parish of Kilmun to have been also present, indicating that Kil- * The contrast in facility of intercourse between the two periods may be best il- lustrated by an instance or two. The late minister of the parish of Rothsay men- tioned to the writer, his having, in the summer season, not longer ago than twenty- four years, been three days nearly in making good a passage from Rothsay to Green- ock. A gentleman resident in Glasgow has also mentioned, that, about thirty-two years ago, desiring to convey his family for summer residence to the village of Gou- rock, three miles beyond Greenock, on the Clyde, they set out from Glasgow in the morning in one of the passage-boats at that time plying on the river, and denomi- nated, not very appropriately, “ Flies.” The whole of that day they were occupied in making good their way the length of Bowling Bay, not nearly half way from Glas- gow to Greenock, and there came to anchor for the night. Weighing next morning and proceeding to sca, the wind being contrary, after spending the whole day in buf- feting the waves of the Clyde, they were forced to put back, returning the second night to Bowling Bay. The third day they made the next attempt and succeeded in making Port-Glasgow, in the afternoon, where he took post-horses, leaving the fly in disgust ; and having seen his family housed in Gourock, he returned by land on the fourth day to Glasgow, weary, sick, and exhausted; the voyage and journey, he ad- ded, costing him L.7, 14s. At present, any modern steamer makes the passage from Rothsay to Greenock in two hours ; and the passage is made from Glasgow to Gou- rock in a quarter more than two hours, in any weather not absolutely tempestuous; and the expense of either passage is not more than one shilling, DUN OON AND KILMUN. 609 mun had not then any separate ecclesiastical standing. Another session record of the united parishes of Dunoon and Kilmun com- mences anno Domini 1695. This appears to be regularly kept till 1699. A hiatus then occurs from that period down to 1753, from which last date these records have been regularly kept. The register of births commences with the date of 1754, and appears during the earlier years after that date to be but irregularly kept, and is consi- derably mutilated. The register of marriages commences in 1742, and appears kept but imperfectly till 1754, and pretty regularly from that date till 1800, from which date both these registers are kept with perfect regularity. Interesting local notices occur in the earlier minutes of the kirk-session, and of the meetings of that body and the heritors jointly. Among other notices, there is one of the proposed endowment of a grammar school at Dunoon so early as the year 1697. The endowment is stated to be made up of a cer- tain stent upon the bishop's rents in several parishes of Argyleshire, not confined to the district of Cowal. The minute does not bear upon what authority this arrangement had been made; and, what is of greater moment, it does not appear to have taken effect, while it demonstrates, at the same time, the necessity felt of having one of the schola illustres established in Dunoon, as the leading place of the district of Cowal. - Land-owners.—The principal land-owners in the united parish, and in the order of their respective valued rents, are, Alexander S. Finlay Esq. of Castle Toward; James Hunter Esq. of Haf- ton; John Campbell Esq. of Dunoon; Archibald Douglas Esq. of Glenfinart; John MacArthur Moir Esq. of Milton; Alexan- der Campbell Esq. of Monzie; William R. Campbell Esq. of Ballochyle; Alexander Lamont Esq. of Knockdow; Donald Fletcher Esq. of Bernice; and George R. Wilsone Esq. of Ben- more. The valued rent of the united parish is L. 420, 1s. 10d. ; and the real rent at present is above L9000, exclusive of feu- duties. . Modern Buildings.-Of these, all classes united, there is no inconsiderable number. In the class of mansion-houses may be ranked first Castle Toward, built by the late Kirkman Finlay Esq. It is considered by competent judges that there are few specimens of the modern Gothic more happily conceived, and more adapted to the circumstances of situation. If, when criti- cally examined, it be judged deficient in massive grandeur, its lighter and more ornate features harmonize with the surrounding ARGYLE. Q Q 6|| 0 Aft G YT, ESH 1 RE. scenery. The design is by the late David Hamilton Esq.; and there was none of that talented architect’s plans which he himself considered more satisfactory. Hafton House, of the mixed mo- dern Gothic, is equal in size to Castle Toward; and its situation on the western shore of the Holy Loch adds a pleasing feature to the coast view; while, from its low and sheltered situation, and its extensive park attached, it commands an extensive inland view of the Frith of Clyde. Glenfinart House, built by the present pro- prietor, Archibald Douglas Esq., in the mixed English manor- house style, is beautifully situated in the glen by which it is named, and occupies the site of the former mansion-house for many years occupied by the late Earl of Dunmore. The mansion-house of Benmore, the residence of George R. Wil- sone Esq., situated at the foot of the lofty hill whose name this property bears, presents an interesting feature in the al- most alpine scene around it, and its well arranged and finished grounds surrounding it, both please and surprise as the grounds are entered, presenting so perfect a contrast to the ruder features of the scenery which the eye had been resting upon, while ascend- ing the valley of the Eachaig, on the verge of which it is situated. The villas around and in the neighbourhood of Dunoon present a very pleasing and cheerful appearance, and among them it might be deemed almost invidious to make any distinctions. The Castle House, already mentioned, now the property and summer residence of Robert Eglinton Esq., is, in point of situation and interest, closely allied to the old Castle of Dunoon, and graces the village; while the house itself, as if sprung from the ruins of the scarce discernible walls of the ancient fortalice, presents an emblem of the change that has passed over our father-land. - The parish church of Dunoon is a modern erection, from a design by Mr Gillespie Graham : it was erected in 1816. Its order is Gothic, and there are perhaps few modern parish churches occupying so commanding a position, or more success- fully designed. It has been recently enlarged, by a consider- able addition to it in length, under the superintendence of the late David Hamilton Esq., in 1834. In 1839, farther additions were made. Subscriptions having been entered into for procuring a proper clock and bell, suited to the altered state of the village and neighbourhood, the tower was raised eight feet, which brought it properly to correspond with the increased length of the build- ing, by the recent addition made to it. The clock was presented DUN OON AND KILMUN. 61 by William Campbell Esq. of Tullichewen, at that time the proprietor of the Castle House, and is recorded in the minutes of the meetings of heritors, as having been presented by Mr Camp- bell, “to the parish and village for the public use of the inhabi- tants.” - The present church of Kilmun was erected in 1841, from a design by Thomas Burns Esq. architect, Glasgow. It is in all respects an excellent building, and its appearance not unpleasing nor un- suitable to the surrounding scenery. More ambitious in the ele- Vation of its tower than its aged neighbour, the ancient tower of the collegiate church of Kilmun, which still stands in the immedi- ate vicinity, it may, to the taste of some, present a contrast more abrupt than satisfying. The church, however, corresponds with the modern village in its vicinity; and only betokens the change which the old tower itself silently but impressively proclaims, as having passed on the affairs and prospects of men, since the more ancient days of its own erection. Two chapels have been erected in the united parish within the last few years, one near the point of Toward, and the other at Ar- dentinny in Glenfinart, partly by subscriptions, and partly by the funds of the Church Extension Scheme. They are both substan- tially and not inelegantly built and finished, and while supplying needful accommodation for divine worship to those two portions of the parish population, situated remote as they are from the parish churches, they present a feature in the parish scenery, not detracting, at least, from the interest which its other features awaken. A dissenting chapel in connection with the Associate Synod was erected in Dunoon in 1829, and is a building of highly respecta- ble appearance and style. Among modern buildings in the united parish may be classed a Lazaretto, connected with the quarantine station in the Holy Loch, erected by Government, on the Dunoon side of the Holy Loch, about forty years ago. The buildings consist of an ex- tensive and complete range of stores, suited to receive infected goods of every description. The buildings are surrounded by a high wall; and close to them is erected a range of houses for the use of the superintendant of the quarantine, and the men em- ployed in its service. The general opinion prevails of this qua- rantine station not having served its purpose; or rather, it has been proven that it had no adequate purpose to serve; and it is 612 - AR GYLE SHIRE, . believed that Government intend to discontinue the establishment wholly. - - - - - - The only manufactory in the parish, if it may be properly so designated, is a gunpowder mill, or works, erected a few years since in the parish of Kilmun, at Glenlean, by Robert Sheriff Esq. These works are carried on with spirit, on a limited scale, and the quality of gunpowder manufactured is said to be equal to any pro- duced in any other similar works in Scotland or England. The trade is said to be profitable, and employs about thirty persons or upwards. Their charcoal is made from alder, and the erection of these works has enhanced the value in the district of a species of timber otherwise mostly of no value at all, nor the tree one of the ornamental kind. The quantity of this timber required, in propor- tion to the quantity of gunpowder produced, is very large. Other two works of the same kind have since been erected in the county ; and it is worthy of notice, that alder wood from Norway is now offered to be supplied by contract to one of these works, at a lower price than it can be purchased in the immediate vicinity. Some years ago, there were erected within the bounds of the parish not fewer than three distilleries for the production of whisky. They have been all abandoned as unprofitable speculations; and were the abandonment of places for the sale of whisky to follow, the moral benefit would be the more complete. .. . . - III.-PopULATION. . . . . . . Perhaps in no parish in Scotland is the population more vari- able, comparing one year with another. By this is meant the more permanent population, exclusively of the numerous families who are visitors during the summer and autumn months. While building and other improvements proceed actively, numerous fa- milies of tradesmen from the towns on the Clyde, and labourers, reside for a year or two, and again remove. Families also some- times reside during the winter months in villas or houses, either their own property, or occupied for the time. The residence of such is made of course to suit convenience and taste; and trans- fers in such kinds of house property are of frequent occurrence; and altogether, there may be said to be an irregular and varying condition of the population as to actual amount. In the following enumeration, the families are not included who reside in houses of their own within the parish during the summer and autumn months only, although legally they might be considered parish- | Ol) GI’S, - - - DUN OON AND KJ LMUN, 6 || 3 | Population of the united parish, º tº 2853 Of these, there reside in the village of Dunoon and immediate vicinity, 1296. Kilmun and immediate vicinity, 215 The population of the parish of Dunoon proper, g s 2|36 - - Kilmun proper, - — 717 Population residing in the country; parish of Dunoon proper, ... • 940 . - * , Kilmun proper, - 502 Average yearly number of births for the last seven years, - 58 marriages for the last seven years, ſº 20% Averagé number of persons above 80, - - ºs * 27 In the above statements, it may be remarked that the village of Dunoon is reckoned as embracing the whole population from Hunter's Quay at the one extremity, to the place of Buthkolidar at the other; and the village of Kilmun is reckoned as embracing the whole population from the point of Strone to the bridge across the Eachaig. During the summer and autumn months, the po- pulation of both these villages is considerably more than doubled. It is also proper to record that there are - In the parish of Dunoon proper, speaking the Gaelic language, 850 Kilmun proper, sº * 526 It is also necessary to remark, with respect to the average num- ber of births, that Dissenters are not in the habit generally of re- cording their baptisms in the parochial register. There is no register of burials kept. The number of families of independent fortune, permanently residing in the united parish, does not exceed six or seven, though several such families having villas in the vicinity of Dunoon, and in the villages of Dunoon and Kilmun, make these places gene- rally their summer residence. -> The number of proprietors at present is 13 of L.50 and up- wards of income, derived from lands in the united parish. { Number of houses in the village of Dunoon, reckoned as above, and counted as separate buildings, some inhabited by more than one family, is e= 342 *4 Number of houses in the village of Kilmun, * - 56 The rental of houses in the village of Dunoon, deducting feu- duty, has been estimated at L.3525. The price of feus varies from L4 to L.30 per imperial acre, according to situation and circumstances. The average rate of feuing at Dunoon may be stated at L. 12 per acre, annual feu-duty, and from L. 10 to L. 12 at Kilmun. There are ten houses in the village of Dunoon in progress of erection this year, and three at Kilmun. Building has not increased so rapidly for the last four or five years in these villages as previously. The depression experienced during the last two years in manufacture and commerce in Glasgow and the other towns on the Clyde has evidently produced this effect, and both these villages being now, from facility of intercourse, and the 614 AR GYLE SHIRE, nature of circumstances causing their erection and increase, it may be said, suburbs of Glasgow and the other neighbouring towns, causes affecting the prosperity of those places will naturally affect the villages on the coast. The number of families in the united parish is 520, perma- nently residing. It has been found that the average number in a family is 5% members. The number of insane, fatuous, blind, deaf and dumb, amounts at present to 6. ' The people enjoy, on the whole, in a reasonable degree, the ordinary comforts of life; and their standard of comfort, as to dwellings and diet, is much above that to which many other por- tions of the population of the Highlands have, by hard necessity, , fallen. The peasantry are here spoken of. And, so far as en- couraged or permitted to live in the habits proper to a well-condi- tioned rural peasantry, or encouraged to improve that condition, contentment with their situation and circumstances is a virtue pe- culiarly exhibited in their character. - The demoralizing business of smuggling has entirely ceased in the parish, and, it is believed, entirely throughout the district of Cowal. There are instances of poaching in game, though not numerous. There is no public pawnbroking. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—By estimate carefully made, though without ac- tual survey, the number of imperial acres in the united parish, either cultivated or occasionally in tillage, amounts to 2743. Of these, 1856 are in the parish of Dunoon proper, and 1387 in the parish of Kilmun. The number of acres which have never been cultivated is what remains of the estimated superficial contents of the united parish, supposed to be about 180 square miles, deduct- ing the number of imperial acres stated above, and, perhaps, one- third part of what has been devoted to planting within recent years. In judging of the extent to which tillage might be still carried in such soil, climate, and circumstances as the surface of this parish presents, much skill and practical judgment are demanded in form- ing any opinion to which weight might be justly attached. But grounding our opinion on the testimony of experienced persons acquainted with the localities, it is thought, that, with a profitable application of capital, nearly as many acres more as are now in til- lage might be added to that number, which might at least yield more profitable returns than now, by occasional tillage, and by DUNOON AND KILMUN. 615 being devoted more usually to the purposes of pasture. There is no portion of the parish in a state of undivided common, the boun- daries of each property being ascertained. The number of acres under timber has been already stated under the general head of na-. tural history. The extent of copsewood in the parish amounts to as many acres as there are of planting. Both planting and copse are carefully tended with respect to yearly thinning, periodical felling, and pruning. The oak is unquestionably the prevailing native tree, with other kinds already specified. Larch and Scotch fir prevail in most of the plantations. • . - Rent of Land.—The average rent of arable land per imperial acre may be stated at L.1, 4s. in the parish of Kilmun proper, and at L.1, 16s, in the parish of Dunoon. The difference in these two average rates arises from capital having been more liberally applied to the improvement of land in the latter than in the for- mer parish, of late years. This difference, it is not improbable, may soon cease, improvements of this kind being in progress now in the parish of Kilmun, which promise to be successful. The average rate of grazing may be stated at L.3 per ox or cow grazed for the year; and of sheep, at from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per head. Rate of Wages.—The rates of labour may be stated as under : farm-servants, with board and lodging, L.7; female house-servants, do. L. 3, 10s, to L. 4 per half-year; farm day-labourers, per day, without board or lodging, 1s. 8d. ; country artisans, 2S. to 2s. 6d. ; journeymen tradesmen, 2s. 6d. to 3s. - Live-Stock.-Of sheep, except where Leicesters, South Downs, and other kinds are reared in limited numbers on gentlemen’s grounds and enclosures, the black-faced is that universally reared as farming stock. With respect to black-cattle, as has been stated al- ready under the head Zoology, the Ayrshire breed has come to prevail, while it is questioned by farmers of experience whether the West Highland breed might not make better returns. Husbandry.—The proportion of the parochial territory, strictly speaking, devoted to agricultural purposes, has been stated already, the whole of the territory besides, except what is occupied by en- closures and planting, being devoted to the rearing of sheep stock, or rather, indeed, chiefly to that purpose, and partially to the rear- ing of cattle. The agricultural system pursued on grain farms has come to be regulated, as it always ought to be, by terms of lease, in each particular case. The system generally pursued on 616 AR GY LESHIRE, these farms is that denominated a seven years' shift, varying, how- ever, in particular instances. Ley ground, on being broken up, is sown with oats; the year following, with green crop; it is then sown down with grass seeds, together with barley or oats; one or two crops of hay in successive years follow, according to soil and cir- cumstances; and two, three, or four years of pasturage, when the ley is again broken up to undergo the same rotation of cropping. The principal crops raised are oats, potatoes, turnips, and hay. Barley is not now so much cultivated as some years ago, it being found that oats yield a better return. Wheat was tried, and cul- tivated to a considerable extent on the better farms in the parish some years since; but its cultivation has been abandoned, the soil being found not of sufficient strength to withstand this species of crop; and while the farms on which it was raised, yielded beautiful crops in favourable seasons, the climate was found, from its humi- dity, unfavourable to the securing of it in perfect condition. On the estates of the resident proprietors, the state of farm husbandry may be mentioned now as approaching that of the best cultivated districts of the lowlands of Scotland. On the estates of Castle Toward, Hafton, and Glenfinart, especially, this statement may be safely ventured. On the first, indeed, the agricultural improvements of which it is susceptible may be said to have been brought to their full bearing several years ago. On the two latter, improvements, liberally conducted, are every year making progress successfully, in the reclaiming of waste land and draining, as well as in the im- portant matters of farm-buildings and enclosures. Furrow and tile-draining are systematically pursued. The late Mr Finlay of Castle Toward first introduced the practice of furrow-draining, and is said to have been among its first promoters in Scotland. There were strong prejudices against it in the minds of practical agricul- turists, but its manifest benefits soon dispelled those prejudices, and either that or tile-draining may now be said to be universally adopted on the lands of all proprietors in the district who deem agricultural improvements an object deserving of their attention. Indeed, this system of draining, with that of regular enclosures, are the improvements which have the first place in changing the appearance and in advancing the value of any lands susceptible of being improved at all; and, in this parish, they have of late years been greatly advanced. A striking and not pleasing contrast is now exhibited between the lands of heritors permanently residing upon them, and those of heritors who entrust the management of DUNOON AND KII.MUN. 617 their lands to law agents rejoicing in the name of Factor. Farm- buildings present the same contrast. The duration of leases varies; but, on improving leases, is generally understood to be nineteen years; and, with the resident heritors, they are considered to be on terms, generally, favourable to the occupier. The greatest obstacle to improvement is with proprietors themselves, who dele- gate their duties to, and throw their responsibilities upon others. Quarries.—There are quarries sufficiently fit for purposes of ruble work building in the neighbourhood of Dunoon and Kilmun, those in the former vicinity being owned by Mr M*Arthur Moir of Milton, and Mr Hunter of Hafton, both of whom are liberal in granting the use of them. Those in the vicinity of Kilmun are owned by Mr Campbell of Monzie. There are both slate and freestone quarries, but they have not been much wrought of late, or rather have been abandoned, it being found that those building mate- rials can be procured elsewhere of better quality and at no higher expense. There are no mines of any kind in the parish. Fisheries.—There are no fisheries, except one salmon fishing on the Eachaig at Kilmun, and that carried on along the coast, as already described, under the head of Ichthyology. A few of the inhabitants pursue the herring fishing on Loch Fine during the summer and autumn months. There are eight boats usually en- gaged in this occupation belonging to the united parish, each em- ploying during the season four men. Its profits are precarious, and its effects, morally, not beneficial, unless when those engaged in it have Christian principles to restrain them from the dissipation and excesses too lamentably common among those following that pursuit. Iław Produce—It is considered unnecessary to present in any tabular view the average gross amount of produce raised in the parish, nor is it easily ascertained, so as to secure accuracy, without which, any such statement would be destitute of value. To ascertain it accurately involves a system of personal question- ing, not pleasing to either party. The quantity of land under cultivation has been stated, and, it is hoped, with a pretty close ap- proximation to fact ; and the value of all kinds of farm and dairy produce, as already stated, command fully or nearly the value of the most public Scottish markets. The average sheep stock reared in the united parish has been estimated, by competent judges, at 20,000; black cattle at 1130; horses employed in agriculture and other uses, 200. Sheep for the butcher market have of late been 618 AR GY LESHI 18. E. frequently shipped at Dunoon for Liverpool, where they arrive in fifteen or eighteen hours. - There are no manufactures of any kind conducted in the pa- rish. - - Navigation.—Neither Dunoon nor Kilmun has hitherto been known as a shipping port. As an instance of parochial enterprise, and the first of its kind locally on record, it is not unworthy of notice, that this year a schooner of upwards of 80 tons burthen was built, rigged, and launched at Dunoon, by Messrs Dugald, Malcolm, and Daniel M*Larty of this place, and is now employed in foreign trade, ranking as a first-class vessel at Lloyd's, appro- priately named the Spokesman, the English signification of her builders' surname. Under this head too, though not strictly be- longing to it, it may be noticed, that to obviate the inconvenience of landing from steamers in open boats, a private joint-stock Com- pany was entered into in the year 1835, for the object of erect- ing a pier or jetty, at which steamers might touch at all states of the tide. The object has thoroughly succeeded. The jetty extends 130 yards from the shore into about 4% fathoms water, and has seven feet water at its extremity at the lowest tide. A pontage of one penny is levied on every passenger landing or embarking, and proportional rates upon goods, furniture, &c. Though requiring pretty extensive repairs annually, it is under- stood to yield a good return for the capital invested. It is an im- mense accommodation and benefit to the village and parish. A more substantial quay, of solid masonry, has been erected by Mr Napier at Kilmun, rendering the landing there easy and comfort- able at every state of the tide. - Associations,— There is an Association for the encouragement of cottage gardening, established for the last five or six years. It is countenanced and encouraged by the landed gentlemen of the neighbourhood,—annual exhibitions of flowers and veget- ables are held; and the same Association also contemplates the improvement of dairy produce and system of management. It has had already very beneficial effects, in promoting the neat appearance of cottages in the village and neighbourhood. A Farmers' Society has been also established for many years past, in the district of the parish of Dunoon commonly termed Nether Cowal, and embracing a portion of the neighbouring parish of Inverchaolain. Its object is the relief of members fallen into indigent circumstances; and with limited funds, it has been, on many occasions, found benefi- 3 DUNOON AND . [ILMUN, ($19 cial. A Fisherman's Society also existed in Dunoon for many years past, but has recently been dissolved, there being but few of the inhabitants, scarcely indeed any, following that occupation exclu- sively. - - V.—PARochIAL EconoMY. There is no market-town, properly so called; and the two vil- lages supplying their place to every practical purpose, have been already described. . With respect to means of communication, the parish enjoys them abundantly. There are three post-offices in the united parish, Dunoon, Kilmun, and Ardentinny. At Dunoon there are, in the winter season, two arrivals and despatches of mail daily, and in summer three a-day. The other two post-offices have one daily receipt and despatch. Properly speaking, there are no turnpike roads, there being no turnpikes or tolls within the county of Argyle hitherto. The length of roads in the parish is reckoned at forty-nine miles. A road now runs alongits whole coast from one extremity to the other; the portion of this road extend- ing from near Strone point, to the boundary on that side of the Glenfinart estate, having been executed last year by private sub- scription, and affording much benefit to the parish at large, espe- cially to its visitors in the summer season, to whom this road opens up a most interesting and extensive drive. Another road from the southern extremity of Loch Eck to the place of Whistle- field on that lake, was also executed a few years ago by private subscription, and opens up a direct line of communication with Strachur, Inveraray, and the western parts of Argyleshire. On the road from Kilmun to Loch Eck, was run the first steam car- riage on a common road, it is believed, in Scotland. It was an enterprise of Mr Napier; and though no catastrophe, happily, marked its operation, the enterprise was abandoned, as was a steamer on Loch Eck, to the great deliverance from scandal of that peaceful and interesting Highland scene. Substantial wooden bridges have been recently erected on the Eachaig, the Little Eachaig, and the Massan, and afford much-needed accommoda- tion, making the lines of communication throughout the parish complete. The roads are generally kept in good order and re- pair. The exactions of statute-labour money under the present Act of Parliament are accounted burdensome, and pressing too unequally both on residents for a time merely, and on the poorer classes. The provisions of an Act about to be passed 620 AIRGYLE SHIRE. during the present session of Parliament, are expected to bear more lightly and equally on the inhabitants. - The Holy Loch is the only harbour or good anchorage along the coast of the parish. While the internal communication in the parish is complete by good roads and bridges, the com- munication by sea, and by steam navigation with Glasgow, Greenock, and the other towns on the Clyde, is, it may even be said, superabundant, both from Dunoon and Kilmun, but especially the former. The passage to Greenock from Kil- mun or Dunoon is scarcely an hour in ordinary weather, and three hours to Glasgow. There is daily communication during the winter season between Glasgow and Kilmun, once a-day, and in summer at least twice. From Dunoon there are, in the winter season, generally four opportunities of conveyance by steam to and from Greenock and Glasgow, as well as to and from Roth- say, and once daily to and from the western parts of Argyleshire. During the summer season, the opportunities of conveyance by steam in most of these directions amount at least to sixteen daily. Ecclesiastical State. —Dunoon and Kilmun being a united parish, it may be proper to remark, that there is no distinct or separate management or administration of the affairs of each, either quoad civilia or quoad sacra.” The parish churches both * There is a singular uncertainty as to the date of the annexation of Kilmun to Junoon. A grave-stone in the churchyard of Kilmun bears the name of “John Campbell, minister of Kilmun, who departed this life 20th December 1690,” and yet, in the presbytery records there are indications, as well as in minutes of session, that the annexation must have taken place many years previous to that period. In 1659 it appears, from the presbytery records, that the presbytery had to perambulate the bounds of each parish, so as to ascertain them, with a view to a proposal then made by the Marquis of Argyll, “to separate the said parishes in two distinct cures, and settling a stipend for them.” This proposal seems not to have been carried into effect, for on the 19th March 1660, “the presbytery appoint ane letter to be written to the parishioners of Dunoune and Kilmoune, to press them to be diligent and active in dealing with my Lord Marquis, and in backing the presbytery's lettre sent to my lord anent the settlement of the stipends of the said parishes.” On 18th April of the same year, the presbytery refuse to translate the minister of Kilfinan to Dunoon, “ because” (for Dunoon) “there is no localitie of ame thousand merks mortified out of the bishop's rent, neither gleib designed, neither is ther ane manse builded.” In June, the year following, 1661, the presbytery record thus—“James Frissell having exercised his gifts amóngst us this year bypast, and the parishioners of Dunoone and Kilmune having given him ane call to be their minister, the pres- bytery did admit the said Mr James minister at the said kirk, according to the said call.” In September of the same year it is stated, “ that Mr James Fraser (formerly Frissel), present minister of Dunoone and Kilmund, wants the Irish, and, with con- sent of the heritors and elders, gets ane assistant to help him at Kilmund two Sab- baths, and each third Sabbath at Dunoone, in Irish.” “The presbytery declaring this to be in the interim, till it be known in due time how these kirks may be con- stantlie served for the future, whether by divisoune in two distinct charges, or oyrwise.” The “interim” has, unfortunately, proved a long one. The glebe was designed at Dunoon, with reference to the two parishes, and the manse built, - l - - - DUNOON AND KILMUN. 621 of Dunoon and Kilmun are pretty centrically situated, as to ter- ritorial bounds, respectively; but the distance of each from the further extremity of each parish, is too great to admit of the attendance from those parochial districts being regular or general; the distance of the church of Dunoon from the further boundary of the parish to the westwards being upwards of ten miles; and that of Kilmun fully eight miles from the boundary of that parish to the northward. In each of these districts, the nearest of them situated beyond four miles from the parish church, is a population of upwards considerably of three hundred and two hundred re- spectively. The present church of Dunoon was built, as already stated, in 1816, and is a very handsome edifice in the modern Gothic style, with a tower, and is strikingly situated on the highest ground in the village, the castle-hill excepted. It is at present in a very thorough state of repair, comfortable, and hand- somely finished within. There are no important benefactions on record; but by the judicious management of small benefactions, and from other sources, an accumulation of poor's funds took place, during the incumbency of the last minister of the parish, Dr John Campbell, amounting to upwards of L.700. At the date of its erection, the church was considered to afford ample accommodation to the parishioners, being seated for 500. The rapid increase of the village of Dunoon, and the accession to the population, especially in the summer months, rendered it insufficient to accommodate the resident population ; and to obviate this inconvenience, while the state of the law prevented additional accommodation being demanded or granted in the circumstances, it was judged, as the most expedient and safe plan, that the accumulated poor’s fund should be invested in building an addition to the church, and that seat-rents should be levied on those additional sittings, to replace the capital thus invested, and its interest while so invested. It was further considered, that the additional amount of weekly col- lections arising from increased accommodation, would in the meanwhile more materially benefit the parochial poor, than any interest which could be expected from any safe investment of this accumulated fund. The accumulated fund, amounting at that time (1834), to L.607, 5s. 6d., was accordingly lent by the heri- tors and kirk-session to two of the heritors on their personal secu- rity, -the late Kirkman Finlay Esq., of Castle Toward, and James Hunter Esq., of Hafton, — they voluntarily and gene- rously agreeing to take the risk of repayment; and that the 622 - AR GYLE SHIRE • money thus invested for the public accommodation and religious benefit of the community, as well as for the advancement of the interests of the parochial poor, should be forthcoming on any emergency which might occur in course of Providence to render its immediate application needful for the relief of existing pauper- ism. The changes which had been occurring in the parochial economy for some years prior to this period, had increased the pauperism of the parish, with certain of those changes having their tendency to raise the demands of pauperism. The addition to the church was accordingly built, needed church accommoda-. tion supplied to the extent of 278 sittings; and hitherto the scheme has fully justified the expectations of those interested in its success. From fifty to sixty pounds, the proceeds of letting those.seats, go annually to replace the capital, besides paying the interest of the investment; and the collections for behoof of the poor, meanwhile, have so increased, as beyond doubt to exceed any amount of interest which could be safely realized from the fund by any other mode of investment. As a landward parish, the whole sittings allocated to the heritors are free, and occupied by the landward population. The sudden rise of the village has created, however, a class of parishioners who have no claim on heritors for such accommodation; and the heritors whose allo- cations of sittings more than supply the occupiers of their own lands, are in the habit of letting the surplus sittings at a rea- sonable rate, the proceeds being generally applied by them to re- ligious and charitable uses. Further accommodation, to the amount of sixty sittings, has been more recently still provided, by an alteration in one of the galleries, so that the accommodation provided is now about 838 sittings. The present church of Kilmun was built in 1841. It pro- vides ample accommodation, being seated for 450, and capable of admitting galleries should they yet be required. The manse and offices of the united parish, situated near the village of Dunoon, were erected in 1803. They underwent a thorough repair, and an addition was made to the manse, in 1833. The glebe extends to about twelve imperial acres, with an addi- tional small pendicle situated in the village, where the manse, offices, and garden formerly stood before the erection of the present. The glebe has been valued at L, 18 annual rental. The pendicle of glebe land in the village, with the old manse, and a servitude on the Castle Hill, let at L.2, 2s., make an addition D UN OON AND KILMUN. 623 to the stipend of about L. 12 or L. 14 annually. The stipend of the united parish consists of 258 bolls, 3 firlots oat-meal, Linlith- gow measure, and 2 bolls, 2 firlots bear, at the county fiars prices, and L.31, 4s. 74d. vicarage dues, all payable in money. The teinds are exhausted. The Duke of Argyle is patron.* Two chapels of ease, or preaching stations, have been recently erected in the united parish, as already stated. Probationers of the church, acting as parochial missionaries, officiate at those sta- tions; on alternate Sabbaths at Toward chapel, and each Sabbath throughout the year at the Ardentinny chapel. The missionaries are paid by an annual collection, made on that behalf, at each of the stations, and in each of the parish churches. The annual ex- pense for thus supplying religious ordinances to a portion of the population, otherwise almost in point of fact excluded from that privilege, and from many others of the same kind, is L.90, with certain allowances for travelling expenses. The Sabbath collec- tions at each of those chapels are appropriated to the use of the parochial poor, and have formed a considerable source of that re- venue since the commencement of those missions, averaging from L.25 to L.31 annually, from both together, while it has not been found, that the erection of those much-needed places of worship has diminished, by any means, the ordinary Sabbath collections at the parish churches. It is but just to state, that the heritors more immediately interested in those portions of the parochial territory have manifested liberality in supporting these preaching stations. In addition to the two missionaries thus parochially employed, the minister of the parish officiating alternate Sabbaths at Kilmun and Dunoon during the summer and autumn half-year, and during the winter and spring half-year, two Sabbaths at Dunoon, and every third at Kilmun,-another missionary or assistant, hitherto unordained, is employed, to alternate with the parish minister at Dunoon and Kilmun, and to take the more active weekly superin- tendence of the population of Kilmun parish. He resides at Kil- mun. His salary is guaranteed by the parish minister to the amount of L.70 per annum. This salary is made up by voluntary contributions from the parishioners, and many of our summer visi- tors contributing liberally to this object, as to all other charitable * By act of the Scottish Parliament, passed 8th day of November 1641, a morti- fication of l?00 merks by the King to the minister of Dunoon is ratified; but under the burden of 200 merks Scots money, “to ane schoolemaster who shall remane at the said kirke of Donoone.” The mortification is “out of the reddiest of the teindis, teind duties, and vpr, rentis of the bishoprick of Argyle.” 624 ARGYLESHIRE. and religious objects connected with the parish. The assistant's Salary hitherto has never been under L.70, and has been rather in- creasing annually than diminishing, amounting the last two years to L.90, L. 100, and upwards. There is one Dissenting chapel in the united parish, situated in Dunoon, in connection with the Associate Synod. This is the only Dissenting place of worship. Within the last year, a mause has been built for the minister of this congregation. t The whole of the families in the parish, with the exception of those adhering to the Dissenting congregation, are in the habit of attending the Established Church; and excepting also a few in- dividuals and families in the two villages, either fugitives from dis- cipline, or not professing to belong to any religious denomination. The average attendance of persons of all ages attending the ES- tablished Church varies, as in the statement following, from the circumstance of the villages being watering-places of considerable resort during the summer and autumn months : average attend- ance at Dunoon during the winter and spring, 450 ; at Kilmun, 220; at Dunoon during summer and autumn, 860; at Kilmun, 3S0; at Toward chapel, alternate Sabbaths, 180; at Ardentinny chapel throughout the year, S0. ** - There are four or five families, Episcopalians, permanently re- sident at present in the parish. Respectable persons of that com- munion generally attend the services of the Established Church, whether permanently resident or resorting to it as visitors in sum- mer and autumn, and probably some also the Dissenting chapel. Frequently fugitives from discipline, here as elsewhere, profess to belong to that communion. There are at present, so far as known, only three Roman Catholics resident in the united parish. The attendance upon Divine service at the different places of worship connected with the Establishment through- out the parish may be called good; but is less so in the village of Dunoon than it might be. It is believed that the attendance at the Dissenting chapel is equally good in proportion to the num- ber adhering to that communion. - . The average number of communicants in the united parish is 627. - - There are no societies for religious purposes established in the parish : the annual contributions to the schemes of the Church are made parochially. The united parish has, in this manner, con- tributed to the several schemes of the Church, during the last four D CNO ON AND KILM UN. 62.5 years, –1839, L.205, 5s. 6d. ; 1840, L.126, 14s. 6d. ; 1841, JL. 112, 19s. 2d.; and 1842, L.70, 8s. 0d. Education.—There are, in the united parish, three parochial schools, one at Dunoon, one at Toward, and one at Kilmun. There are also two schools on the scheme of the General Assem- bly’s Education Committee,_one at Dalilongard, in the parish of Dunoon, the other at Ardentinny, in the parish of Kilmun. There is a school taught also in connection with the Dissenting congregation in Dunoon. Within the last few years also, a fe- male school of industry has been set on foot in Dunoon, with the object of instructing the rising female generation in the necessary and useful departments of knowledge. It owes its commencement and support to an Association of ladies resident in the parish, and usually resorting to Dunoon in the summer season. It has been attended with very gratifying success, is well conducted by a com- mittee of ladies annually chosen, and is very efficiently taught. This seminary promises to be a very great benefit and blessing to the female youth of the village and its neighbourhood. Of the three parochial schools, Latin is taught only in that at Dunoon, and the higher branches of education at none of them. These are, however, taught at the General Assembly schools men- tioned. The parochial teachers have the full legal accommoda- 'tions. The school-house and teacher’s accommodations at Toward have been liberally granted and erected at the sole expense of the late Kirkman Finlay Esq.; and, at Ardentinny, a house for the teacher has been provided by Mr Douglas, and adjoining to it, a neat and comfortable school-house has been erected at the sole expense of Mrs Douglas of Glenfinart. The accommodations are fully equal to the average of parochial schools, and a mere nominal rent is charged. The rates of school fees are as follow : in the parochial and Assembly schools per quarter,-beginners, 2s. ; reading and writing, 3s. ; arithmetic, 4s. 6d. ; Latin, 5s. ; book-keeping, 10s. ; Greek, French, geography, mathematics, and navigation, (where taught,) 10s. - The salaries of the several teachers are as follow : Dunoon, L.30; Toward, L.22; Kilmun, L.25, and L.2, 2s. allowance in lieu of garden ; Assembly school at Dalilongard, L.25; Assembly school at Ardentinny, L.25; salary of teacher of Female School of Industry, Dunoon, L.30, with house and garden; salary of teacher of school connected with Dissenting chapel, not known. The amount of school ſees received by each, it would be difficult to state with accuracy; but, generally speaking, such fees are 626 - A R GYLE SHIRE, well paid, and they afford, it must be acknowledged, but very in- adequate compensation for the amount and the importance of the labour bestowed. - It may be stated that there are scarcely any of the young within the parish, excepting in cases of culpable neglect on the part of parents, and these, happily, are but few, who are not able to read and write, between the ages of six and fifteen, or who are not un- der instruction. The people are certainly becoming more alive to the benefits of education, With the schools that have been men- tioned, as now instituted and maintained in the united parish, there cannot be said to be any parts of the parish, containing a population adequate to justify the establishment of additional schools, so distant from school as necessarily to prevent attend- ance. In the more upland portions of the parish, indeed, indivi- dual families are so situated, as to exclude their children from at- tendance on school, and the parents, in such cases, generally ma- nifest a laudable desire to supply this, by employing young men to instruct their children. An aid school, during the winter months, for the benefit of the younger children, might be advan- tageously placed in one or two situations. The number of schools in the united parish, as has been now stated, is seven. The average attendance on the whole of them, by comparison of lists furnished at the annual examinations for the last four years, may be stated at 290 or 300. It is to be regret- ted, that, taking recent improvements as the standard in the quality of the instruction communicated, it is not such in the parochial schools generally as is to be desired. The teachers of these show, most of them, diligence and faithfulness in the exercise of their im- portant trust, according to their ability; but there is assuredly need that the standard should be raised. -- The beneficial effects of educational facilities are certainly be. gun to be seen and felt, and, it is to be hoped, will increase. Sabbath schools are taught in connection with the several schools mentioned. . Literature.—There is a parochial library instituted within the last two years, its property vested in the majority of the annual subscribers. The rates of contribution are, 1s. of entry-money, and 1d. per month. It already consists of about 300 volumes, and promises to be beneficial. Visitors to the place during the summer season are admitted on the same terms as permanently residing parishioners to the use of this library. There is also a library for the use of the Sabbath schools, and small libraries are DUNOON AND KILMUN. - 627 supplied by the General Assembly's Education Committee for the benefit of the youth attending them. Savings’ Bank.-One of these most beneficial institutions, being a branch of the Glasgow National Security Savings' Bank, was established in Dunoon in October 1839. Its success has fully justified the anticipations of its promoters, and it promises to be of essential benefit to the labouring classes. The amount depo- sited the first year was L.248, 9s. 1d. ; second year, L.250 ; third year, L.177, 1 1s. ; and the fourth year, L.581, 9s. It is superintended by a committee of management, and certain of the gentlemen interested in its success, guarantee the safety of the deposits, in their transmission to and from the head institution in Glasgow. The whole sum deposited till December 1843, is L.1257, 19s. 1d. Of this sum there has been drawn L.489, lls. 8d., leaving a balance in favour of depositors of L.768, 7s. 5d. Another branch of a Savings’ bank has been commenced at Ar- dentinny. . - Poor and Parochial Funds.--The average number of persons receiving parochial aid for the last seven years, is 68%, not includ- ing the children in families receiving this aid. Of this number, some are not permanently placed on the poor's roll, but receive occasional aid. The altered circumstances of the parish, chang- ing as it has done, within the last twenty years, from being compa- ratively a retired and rural one, to a state bordering so much on the circumstances and habits of town life, has, no doubt, with be- nefits, produced the evil of an increased parochial pauperism; and has had its manifest tendency, as might be anticipated, to increase the demands of pauperism; the feelings and views of individuals being influenced by the local current of the times; and many in- dividuals formerly resident in towns, obtaining settlement in the parish, and not influenced by the feelings peculiar to a rural and Highland peasantry. The highest rate per week given to single paupers is 2s. 6d., with frequently house rent besides, and occa- sionally some supply of clothing. The highest rate to widows with children, varying of course according to the number and age of the children, is 4s. per week, and generally house rent, with as- sistance for clothing. The annual amount of contributions for their relief from church collections during the last seven years, (1842 inclusive,) is as follows: 1836, L. 116, 19s. 33d. ; 1837, L. 129, 19s. ; 1838, L. l 10, 17s. 10#d. ; 1839, L. l 18, 9s. 63d. ; 1840, L. 109, 3s.6d. ; 1841, L. 124, 19s. 63d. ; 1842, L. 128, 3s. 6;d. The other 628 ARGY LESHIRE. sources whence contributions are derived, are the interest on ac- cumulated fund, invested (as noticed) in erecting the addition to the Dunoon church, mortcloth dues, and dues on proclama- tions of bans for marriage, with occasional donations from heritors and benevolent individuals; and during the seven years mentioned above, there have been distributed from these sources cumula- tively,–in 1836, L.46, 8s. 64d. ; 1837, L.33, 12s. 7#d. ; 1838, L.38, 7s, 73d.; 1839, L.34, 18s. 74d.; 1840, L.31, 14s, 3%d.; 1841, L. 28, 14s. 7#d, ; 1842, L. 30, 8s. 7#d. The highest amount of annual church-door collections at Dunoon has been, in 1842, L. 101, 8s. 9%d.,-and at Kilmun church, the highest has been, in 1841, L. 31, 1s. 0}d. - The sums here stated have been found barely adequate to sup- ply the wants of the existing pauperism; and during the period mentioned, it has been found necessary, on two occasions, to draw to a small amount upon the accumulated fund. The amount of pauperism varies from year to year; but its tendency has un- doubtedly been, during the period now under review, to increase. There is no other mode used in procuring funds for the poor besides that of church-door collections and the other means mentioned. The disposition to refrain from seeking parochial relief is very swiftly passing away; instances of it are met with, and in the rural parts of the parish they are more frequent ; but among those ac- customed to compulsory modes of relief in towns, no such feeling can be expected to exist: and their example here must be ex- pected to have its effect. The facility of obtaining parochial set. tlement is felt to be a special grievance, not beneficial to the poor at large, and highly injurious, even oppressive, to individual parishes; and in a country like Scotland, where local changes are continually progressive, an extension of the period necessary to make good parochial settlement, from three to seven years at least, would assuredly be an improvement in this difficult branch of na- tional legislation,-and would unquestionably be conducive to the interests of morality among the poor themselves. Prisons and Police.—There is no jail nor place of confinement in Dunoon, or the united parish. It has been in contemplation for some time past to erect a lock-up house at Dunoon. The ru- ral police established in the county has been found beneficial here, in suppressing vagrancy, and in checking petty delinquencies. There are no fairs or markets of any general resort held within the parish. y • Inns, &c.—Under this name may be classed, two in Dunoon, one DUN OON AND KILM UN. 629 at Kilmun, and one at Ardentinny. But it is not the most pleas- ing task to record that there are not fewer than eighteen places besides, within the united parish, licensed for the sale of spirituous liquors. In the year 1841, the amount of spirits imported into the united parish for consumpt in those places, amounted to 2958 gallons. It is obvious that so many places of resort, for the consuming of ardent spirits, is altogether out of proportion to the population of the parish. - - Fuel.—The fuel now almost universally used is coal, procured generally at Glasgow, and sometimes from mines on the Ayrshire coast. The general cost is from 1 1s. to 14s, per 24 ewt. Peats are still used by the inhabitants in the more upland parts of the parish; but even in such situations coals are preferred. Presbytery.—Dunoon being the seat of the Presbytery bearing that name, it may be proper to remark, that the presbytery em- braces the six parishes in the district of Cowal, viz. Dunoon and Kilmun, Inverchaolain, Kilmodan or Glendaruel, Kilfinan, Stra- chur and Stralachlan, and Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich or Cairn- dow, with the two parishes in the island of Bute, Rothsay and Kingarth. To these are added the quoad sacra parishes of New Parish, Rothsay, and North Bute. - The presbytery records consist of eleven volumes, including the separate register. The first volume begins 1st 1639, and ends on first Wednesday of May, 1686. This volume be- coming decayed, and the writing in danger of being obliterated, has been transcribed at the expense of the members, and contains many interesting notices of the manners and events of the period. The second volume begins 26th November 1689, and ends 24th March 1707. The third volume begins 20th May 1707, and ends 12th October 1716. The fourth volume has been recently re- covered by the presbytery, and consists of minutes in scroll, com- mencing 4th December 1716, and ends 5th October 1731. The fifth volume begins 1st February 1737, and ends 30th March 1761; down from which period the records are regular and complete. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. The variations betwixt the present state of the parish and that which existed at the time of the last Statistical Account, are cer- tainly striking and great. The rise, progress, and advancement. of the villages of Dunoon and Kilmun, are in themselves changes of local importance, and their progress has been unusually rapid. The one fact of steam communication with the Lowlands and towns: 630 AR GYLE SHIRE. of Scotland, having brought this portion of the Highland national territory to be but virtually a rural adjunct of those towns, espe- cially of Glasgow and the towns on the Clyde, is a change singu- lar enough in itself; and the conjoint influence of the two facts now mentioned must necessarily have had an effect upon the manners and habits of the native and resident population. Land- ed property also has undergone several transfers since the period of the last Statistical Account. It is believed that there are only two estates in the parish similarly situated as at that period, all the others having undergone transfer, diminution, or change. Landed property has also undergone very great and material improvements within the same period, in the greater portion of it embraced by the united parish. This also has tended so far to influence the habits and manners of the population. The rural portion of the population has decreased in number, while what now, in every practical sense, may be called the town popu- lation, has greatly increased. The general effect, morally and re- ligiously considered, it is not perhaps easy to estimate. It must be so far matter of opinion; nor, in these respects, would it be- come the writer to institute any comparison between the two pe- riods, not having been acquainted with the former of the two, and having witnessed only a few years of the change which may still be said to be in progress. The progress is one which has its ten- dency to assimilate the population more to the standard of their lowland neighbourhoods in habits and manners, and also to the town population of those districts of Scotland. The villages in the parish may be said to have locally the same influence as towns have upon the population of the territory around. The change produced and in progress still, must fall under the general problem which perhaps has too largely been solved, that such circum- stances are more unfavourable than otherwise to an advance and improvement in morality, and the desirable ascendency of vital and practical religion among the bulk of a population. The state of this parish, too, falls in with that generally of our country at large in a period of progressive physical improvement, or at least change, —calling for and demanding additional and enlarged appliances of those means which, by the Divine blessing, conduce to the nur- ture and establishment of sound moral and religious principles, which alone can conduce to the true happiness of any community or country. It may be borne as a testimony to the population in general, that they avail themselves of such means, in the measure NO HTH KN APDA LE. - 631 in which they are placed within their reach; that there is a gene- ral desire of improvement, and, it is to be hoped, a degree of it manifested. PARISH OF NORTH KNAPDA.L.E. PRESBYTERY OF INVERARY, SYNOD OF ARGYLE, - THE REV. D. MACLACHLAN, MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. - Name, &c.—THE whole district of Knapdale formed originally one parish, called Cil mhic O charmaig, the burying-ground of the son of O'Carmaig. This O'Carmaig is said to have been an Irish saint, who founded the first church in Knapdale. In 1734, the district of Knapdale was divided into two parishes, called North and South Knapdale. *. Knapdale is compounded of two Gaelic words, Cnap, a hill or an eminence, and Daill, a dale or field. The name is very der scriptive of the local aspect of the parish, which is beautifully di- versified by plains and valleys separated by hills, and watered by a multitude of small rivulets. - Extent and Boundaries.—It is about 13% miles in length from north-east to south-west, and about 6 miles in breadth, including a narrow arm of the sea, which divides the parish into two nearly equal parts. From the extreme irregularity of its surface, it is difficult to specify its precise extent; but we are not perhaps far from the truth in estimating it at 76 square miles. It is bounded on the south and south-east by the parish of South Knapdale; on the east and north-east, by the Crinan Canal and Loch Crinan; on the west and south-west, by the Sound of Jura, which separates that island from the mainland. Topographical Appearances.--It is of an oblong form. Its ap- pearance is diversified by an agreeable variety of hill and dale, and thriving plantations, by numerous lakes, and by Lochswen, an inlet from the Atlantic. This arm of the sea is about ten miles in length, bearing north-east from its entrance. Its breadth at the entrance is about a mile, but towards its northern extremity it widens to nearly three miles, and then divides into three parallel 632 * ARGYLESHIRE. branches, which continue their course in a north-easterly direction two and a-half miles farther. The average depth of the Frith is twelve fathoms. The extent of coast washed by the sea, includ- ing all the indentations of Lochswen, cannot be less than fifty miles. The coast from the point of Ardnoe, near the harbour of Crinan, to the promontory of Keills, is bold and rocky, in many places ris- ing precipitously to the height of 300 feet; on the west side of Lochswen it consists principally of low rocky ledges, and on the east side it subsides into a sandy beach. From Castle Swen to In- Verlussay the ground rises with a gentle slope from the water, for the distance of nearly half a mile. It is then succeeded by gentle acclivities, forming the slopes of hills of moderate height, which are themselves the flanks of a chain of hills running north-east and South-west. The highest of these hills is called Cruachlusach. It is 2004 feet above the level of the sea. Next to Cruachlu- sach, the hills of greatest note in the parish are those of Dunar- dary, Duntaynish, Ervary, and Arichonan; the last of these is about 1200 feet above the level of the sea. From the summit of Cruachlusach, which commands a most extensive prospect, are seen the Cowal and Arran hills, the peninsula of Kintyre, and the north of Ireland; towards the west, the islands of Isla, Jura, Scarba, and Mull; towards the north, Bencruachan, and a large number of rugged and dusky mountains,—altogether presenting a scene unsur- passed perhaps in any other part of the Highlands. But to be seen to advantage, it must be viewed from the rising ground near the southern extremity of Lochanfad, or from the hill of Ervary. From either of these points, you behold a succession of delightful pro- spects breaking at intervals on the eye, over sea, and lakes, and dales, and hills. The rocky and towering mountains of Jura in the dis- tance,—the brightgreen islands of Ellanmore and Danna at the ex- tremity of the parish,_woods scattered here and there decorating the sides of grassy hills and the margin of the shore, and the waters. of Lochswen, now hid, now revealed to the eye, -exhibit a scene seldom surpassed in variety, novelty, and grandeur. - In Dr MacCulloch's Letters to Sir Walter Scott the following description is given of the scenery of Lochswen : “Lochswen it- self is a very deep, though narrow inlet, utterly different in cha- racter from any thing that I have seen in Scotland, and as pictu- resque as it is singular. The shores are very deeply and remark- ably indented in many parts, while, on both sides, they are covered With fine wood ; being thus productive of much beauty as well as NORTH KN APDA LE, A º 633 unexpected variety. But, towards the upper extremity, the hills. become abrupt and rocky, while they are, at the same time, richly wooded even to the water's edge, and high up along their acclivi- ties. In many parts, also, they descend in steep rocky precipices, divided by ravines and enlivened by cascades, the trees springing out of the rocks in a manner as wild and romantic as it is orna- mental. The land here is also dispersed in narrow and projecting promontories, separated by deep and equally narrow bays, inter- mingled in a manner that no words can describe, and productive of the most extraordinary scenery. Loch Katrine may convey a faint idea of this spot; nor is it less romantic than many parts of that beautiful lake.” - Winds—Climate.—The prevailing winds are south-west and west; and the climate, though humid, is mild and salubrious. The people now enjoy much better health than formerly, and ge- nerally attain a greater age. Since 1840, there have died three individuals, whose united ages amounted to 285 years; and about ten years ago, a female died at the very advanced age of 107 years. Soil.—There is a great variety of soil in the parish. In se- veral places close to the shore it is sandy, in others it is of a grä- velly loam, in others mossy. At the south-western extremity of the parish it is rich and friable, and very productive. Springs—Lakes.—The parish possesses many excellent springs of water, some of them strongly impregnated with lime. The Dunrostan, Auchnamara, and Kilmichael waters are the streams of most importance in the parish. The last of these is the most considerable. It rises in Kilmichael Moor, about a quarter of a mile to the north-east of Cruachlusach. It runs principally in a north-westerly direction, and pursues a very winding course. About 300 yards before it falls into the sea, it forms a beautiful cascade at the bridge of Kilmichael Inverlussay. The parish contains twenty-one water lakes, all of them abounding in fine trout. The largest of these lakes is about a mile and a quarter in length, and upwards of a quarter of a mile in breadth. 200logy and Botany.—No rare animals, occur in the parish. Roes are found in considerable numbers in the plantations on the Poltalloch and Ross properties. Hares are numerous. We have, besides, foxes, badgers, otters, martens, wild cats, weasels, moles, and rats. - - Birds.-The thrush, blackbird, bull-finch, robin red-breast, and other warblers exist in great abundance. The game con- 634 - A R GYLE SHIRE. sists of red-grouse, partridge, snipe, black-cock, wood-cock, wild duck, and the water-hen. Of migratory birds, the wild-goose, . the swallow, the land-rail, and the cuckoo pay us an annual visit. During the winter months, immense quantities of wid- geons frequent Lochswen, and in severe winters, swans also visit the parish. - Fishes.—The Sound of Jura abounds with fish of various kinds, such as seathe or cole fish, cod, haddock, mackerel, gurnard, gray mullet, lythe or pollack, skate, and flounder. The shore, from Dunie to Castle Swen, abounds likewise with crabs and lobsters. Oysters of large size and excellent quality are found in abundance on the eastern and western shores of Lochswen, and there is an extensive bed of mussels on the shore of Inverlussay. Botany.—The botany of this parish has little to distinguish it from that of the neighbouring parishes. Among its rarer plants the following occur: Pinguicula vulgaris. Convolvulus sepium Agrimonia Eupatoria Hypericum elodes Aster Tripolium Lycopus europaeus Jasione montana Crithmum maritimum Nymphaea alba Cotyledon Umbilicus Drosera anglica Nuphar minima Lobelia Dortmanna Alchemilla alpina Epipactis ensifolia The following plants exist in great abundance: Rubus fruticosus Juniperus communis Nasturtium amphibium Fragraria elatior Lonicera Caprifolium Ranunculus Flammula Glechoma hederacea Prunus spinosa Agaricus campestris Tussilago Farfara Vaccinium Myrtillus Il.—CIVIL HISTORY. Parochial Registers.-The earliest date of the parochial register of births is 1775; the earliest date of the register of proclama- tion of marriages is 1784; but both registers are exceedingly de- ſective. From 1816 they have been regularly kept down to the present time. Eminent Men.—Of persons connected with the parish who at- tained eminence, is the late Major-General Sir Archibald Camp- bell, K. B. Sir Archibald, after studying at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, where he greatly distinguished himself by his proficiency in the various branches of erudition to which he directed his attention, was sent to the Royal Academy at Wool- wich, where his abilities became so conspicuous that he was soon appointed an engineer; and in 1757 he served upon three expedi- tions on the coast of France; in all of which services he proved him- self an able and gallant officer. The India Company having received favourable accounts of Sir Archibald's merits as an engineer, ap- *- 6 NORTH KN APIDA LE. 635 pointed him their chief engineer to Bengal, where he acquired fresh reputation by the very masterly designs he gave in for the works of Fort-William, and for reducing the expense of erecting that immense fortress to a sum half a million of money less than to what had been originally intended. He was subsequently employed in the American war; and his judicious and gallant con- duct in that expedition was duly appreciated by his sovereign, who appointed him Governor of Jamaica. And while he held the go- vernorship of that island, he stood conspicuous for his enlarged and statesmanlike views, the strength and decision of his mind, and courage in the most critical and arduous circumstances. On his return to England, the India Company appointed him their Governor for Madras, and the King honoured him with a red riband. He died in 1791, regretted and admired for his eminent civil and military services to his country. He was possessed of distinguished endowments of mind, inflexible integrity, with every social and amiable virtue. 'Antiquities.—At Keills, near the south-western extremity of the parish, stands the ruin of the chapel of St Carmaig. The walls are 40 feet in length by 20 feet in breadth, and 12 feet in height. Close to the chapel stands a cross of remote antiquity: it is 9 feet high, 1 foot broad, and 6 inches thick. On Drimna- creige, near the church of Inverlussay, are seen the ruins of an- other religious house; and at Kilmahunaig, about a furlong north- west from the banks of the Crinan canal, there was a richly-en- dowed chapel, Öf which no vestiges now remain. Near to the site of this chapel, which is indicated by the burying-ground with which it was surrounded, there is a conical eminence 120 yards in circumference at the base, and about 80 feet in height. This mound is called Dun Domhnul (Dundonald,) on which, according to tradition, the Lord of the Isles used to hold courts of justice, and inflict severe and summary punishment on those whom he ad- judged guilty. A culprit, who was arraigned and condemned to death at this dread tribunal, contrived to effect his escape while the officers of court were making preparations to put the sentence into execution. The Lord of the Isles, who was greatly exaspe- rated at the escape of the criminal, ordered one of his vassals, who was in attendance, and who was remarkable for strength, prowess, and swiftness of foot, to pursue the culprit, and bring him back, either dead or alive. He was hotly pursued, and soon overtaken, and, after a short though desperate struggle, was carried back to 636 AR GYLES H 1 R E. the place of execution, where he suffered a cruel and ignominious death. The Lord of the Isles, to mark his approbation of the promptitude and bravery which his vassal displayed in capturing and carrying back the fugitive from punishment, gave him, as tra- dition asserts, a charter of the lands of Kilmahunaig in the follow- ing words, which indicate that he was no admirer of prolixity in conveyancing :— “Mise Domhnul nan Domhnul A’m shuidh air Dún Domhnul 'Toirt coir do Mhac Aoidh air Kilmahunaig O'n duigh gus am maireach ’S gu la bhrāth mar sin.” i. e.—I, Donald, chieftain of the Clan-donald, sitting on Dundo- nald, give a right to Mackay to Kilmahunaig, from this day till to-morrow, and so on for ever. - Forts.-On a small green hill near the mansion-house of Ard nackaig, there are some remains of a fort or watch-tower. It is about fifty yards in circumference, and the remains of the surround- ing wall are twelve feet in thickness. About two miles to the south-east, on the hill of Barmore, there is another watch-tower of the same form and dimensions. And on a hill near the church of Tayvallich, there are the remains of a fortification called Dún a bheallich, or the fort of the pass. This fort was probably intend- ed to secure the pass leading from the bay of Carsaig to the bay of Tayvallich. There are several others in this parish, all in ele- vated and conspicuous situations. But by far the most interesting monument of antiquity in the parish is Castle Swen, which stands on a rock close to the sea, and commands a very extensive view of the surrounding country. The date of its erection is not known ; but it is evidently the work of different ages. The walls display great strength of masonry. They are about 7 feet in thickness, 35 feet in height, and, including Macmillan’s tower, 105 feet in length. Probably Macmillan's tower was built much later, as its walls are considerably thinner. In Macmillan's chamber there are traces of windows, and two vents. Immemorial tradition bears that the castle was built by Suine Mac righ Lochlan,—Swein or Sweno, Prince of Denmark,+towards the beginning of the eleventh. century; and if this be correct, it must have been the residence. of successive races of warrior chiefs, during the eventful struggles between the Scandinavians and the Scots, and the not less bloody. conflicts between the Scottish Kings and the Lords of the Isles. This fortress commanded the entrance to Lochswen, and was re- l * TN ORT H K N AT D A LE. - 637 garded as the key of the districts of Knapdale and Glassary, and as such it was deemed a position of the greatest importance. “In the end of the thirteenth century, Knapdale appears in the posses- sion of a certain Swenus de Ergadia, known in tradition as Swen Ruadh, or Swen the red, Thane of Glassary and Knapdale, and from him it is said the castle took its name; and there are strong grounds for thinking that he was ancestor of the Macneills. John his son took an active part with Baliol, and was forfeited by Bruce.” Swenus de Ergadia appears to have been a descendant of the house of Lorn, which was intimately connected by marriage with the Comyn and Baliol party, which not only strenuopsly opposed the claims of Robert I. to the Scottish throne, but, on more than one occasion, was the means of reducing him to great straits. When the Bruce obtained possession of the crown, he found himself threat- ened by the strength of the descendants of Somerled, as by that of an enemy who had gradually grown up into the possession of a power which frequently defied royal authority, and which had more than once shaken the stability of the Crown under Somer- led. He therefore determined to proceed in person into Argyle- shire for the purpose of crushing the power of the Lord of Lorn, which he soon effected. After the defeat of the Lord of Lorn at Lochawe, King Robert besieged Alexander of the Isles in Cas- tle Swen, his usual residence. Alexander, for some days, de- fended himself with the most determined bravery, but was obliged to surrender himself to the King, who forthwith imprisoned him in Dundonald Castle, where he died. “ Bruce granted Knap- dale to John de Menteth, recorder to the Earl of Menteth, from whom it descended to his eldest son, Sir John Menteth, Lord of Arran and Knapdale. Sir John disponed the greater part of South Knapdale to the Earl of Argyle in 1853, and, on his death in 1860, the rest of Knapdale fell to the Crown, by whom it was granted, in 1872, to John Lord of the Isles, and remained in that family until the forfeiture of the last Lord of the Isles in 1476, when it again came to the Crown, and was granted in 1480, with the keeping of Castle Swen, to the Earl of Argyle. Although Swenus de Ergadia and his descendants were deprived of Knap- dale, they seem to have retained actual though not feudal posses- sion; for, in 1472, we find Hector Mactorquil Macneill in pos- session of the greater part of North Knapdale, and heritable keeper of Castle Swen. This passed, with an heiress, to Mac- 638 A R GYLE SHIRE. * millan of Knap.” The family of Argyle retained possession of Castle Swen from 1480 to 1644, when it was besieged and burnt by Sir Alexander Macdonald, better known in the Highlands by the name of Alastair MacCholla, who ravaged the whole district of Knapdale with fire and sword. III.-PopULATION. p Amount of population in 1755, - tºº 1369 At the date of last Statistical Account, - 1009 By the census of 1801, * * sº ass 2401 1811, * * * 2184 1821, tºº * =% & Cº. 2654 1831, * gºe sº 2583 1841, * * sº 2170 From this table it appears that between 1755 and 1792, the population had decreased 360. This decrease seems to have been occasioned by the uniting of several small farms into one. In the last Statistical Account, it is stated that “there are single men who occupy some eight and some ten tenements, upon each of which there is only one herd.” The large increase of the po- pulation, in 1801, is easily accounted for. The Crinan Canal, which bounds the north-eastern extremity of the parish, was be- gun in 1798, and completed in 1801. Strangers were attracted from distant parts of the country in quest of employment, and many of these settled in the parish, and were included in the cen- sus of 1801. One of the principal causes of the gradual decrease from 1821 to 1841, has been emigration. A large number of families emigrated to Upper Canada, while many others have settled in Glasgow, Greenock, and Paisley. f The number of persons residing in villages is :- Males. Females. Total. In Bellanoch village, . is 50 62 1 12 In Tayvallich and Kintallin, , & 93 97 190 Total in villages, wº 302 Residing in the country, ę . 925 943 1868 The yearly average of births for the last seven years is 51} marriages, 15 The average number of persons under 15 years of age is 804 between 15 and 30, 644 30 and 50, 403 50 and 70, 245 upwards of 70, e 74 ** - Total population, tº 2170 The number of unmarried men above 50 years of age is . . 23 females above 45 years of age is • 21 widows, e º tº e te There are no insane, fatuous, blind, deaf, or dumb persons in the parish. • M.S. in possession of Neill Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch. NORTH, KNAPDAI.E. 639 Proprietors, &c.—The proprietors of the parish, with their va- lued rents, are the following:— Neill Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch, * L,231 3 || 1 James A. Campbell, Esq. of Inverneill and Ross, 183 3 4 Colonel J. D. B. Elphinstone of Carsaig, * 12 2 5 James Ranken, Esq. of Ardnackaig, gº 7 3 2 The Honourable Mrs Moreton and Miss M*Donald, 5 3 4. Miss M'Kay of Blarintibert, te e O 3 L. 441 l (; 5 Language.—The language of the common people is Gaelic, but almost all the young, and most of the old inhabitants, under- stand English. The Gaelic is evidently losing ground. Character and Habits of the People.—The people for the most part are decent, orderly, and industrious in their habits; the greater part of them apply themselves to husbandry, or to a sea- faring life. Their ordinary food consists chiefly of potatoes and fish, oatmeal and milk. Poaching in game or salmon is very rare, and the degrading and demoralizing practice of smuggling is totally unknown among them. IV.-INDUSTRY. Agriculture.—The number of standard imperial acres in the parish, which are either cultivated or, are occasionally in tillage, is about 3400. The number of acres which have never been cultivated, and which are in pasture, is 22, 126. The number of acres under natural or copse wood is 1925, and there are about 256 acres under planted timber. The common indigenous trees are, oak, ash, mountain-ash, willow, birch, alder, hazel, and holly. The trees usually planted are, oak, ash, spruce, larch, Scotch fir, silver fir, elm, and beech. The plantations are skilfully ma- naged, and in a very thriving condition. Rent of Land, &c.—The average rent of arable land is about 18s. per imperial acre. The average rent of grazing a cow or full-grown ox is L.2 for the year, and of a sheep, 2s. 6d. Wages.—Labourers engaged by the day receive in summer Is. 4.d. to 1s. 8d., and in winter, from 1s. 2d. to 1s. 6d. daily, the la- bourers furnishing their own victuals. Farm-servants are hired at from L.4, 10s. to I.6 in the half-year, with bed and board, and females from L.2, 5s, to L.3, 10s. The common wages for ma- sons, carpenters, and slaters are from 8s. to 8s. 6d. per day, with. out victuals. - Agriculture, &c.—In a parish having a surface so very varied, and principally pasture, less attention is bestowed on agriculture 640 AR GY LESH 1 R E. than on the management of live-stock. Although the low pas- ture is much encumbered with brushwood, yet it and the hill graz-. ing are sound and healthy; but both would be much improved by surface drains. The sheep reared are all of the black- faced kind. The cattle are of the pure West Highland breed, and, in point of size and symmetry, are considered equal to the best that are exhibited at the local markets. Many of the farms are let to three or four tenants, and as the land is cul- tivated according to what is called the runrig system, it is scarcely possible to obtain unity of purpose, or exertion to prosecute those measures by which improvements are effected. There are, how- ever, many instances, where draining, liming, and most approved measures of improvement are prosecuted, and a regular rotation of cropping observed, by which grain and green crops of good quality are raised. The several possessions are generally sur- rounded by stone dikes; but, although a few of the farms, which are under regular management, have their arable ground pro- perly subdivided with stone fences, yet, in very many cases, these subdivisions are temporary erections to preserve the crops for a single season from trespass. - Raw Produce.—The average gross amount of raw produce raised in the parish is estimated as follows: . 6,000 bolls oats and bear, at 16s, per boil, º s L.4800 0 0 4,500 tons potatoes, at L. l per ton, º º 4500 0 0 30,000 stones hay, at 7d. per stone, © 875 0 0 Grazing for 940 cows, at L.2 each, ſº º 18SO 0 0 Do. 1220 head of young stock, at L. 1, 5s. each, ... • 1525 0 () Pasture for 3600 sheep, at 2s. 6d. each, . e 450 0 0 Wool, º e e e 2] () () () Annual thinning and periodical felling of woods, plantations, and copse, 200 0 0 Fisheries, . - o e 100 0 0 Dairy produce, . • º º 300 0 0 Miscellaneous, - º t º 150 () 0 Total yearly value of raw produce raised, e . . L. 14,990 O Rent of Land.— The annual value of the real property of this parish, in the year 1815, as assessed for the property tax, Was e - e I,.4797 0 0 The annual rental at present is º - 5446 0 0 The number of tenants qualified to vote at the election of a Member of Parliament for the county is 20. Navigation.—There are five decked vessels, averaging about thirty tons’ burden. They are chiefly employed in trading to Greenock, Liverpool, and the coast of Ireland. W.—PAROCHIAL EconoMy. * Market-Town.—There is no market-town in this parish. The nearest to it is Lochgilphead, which is at the distance of eight and NORTH KNAPDALE. 64 i eleven miles respectively from the churches of Kilmichael Inver- lussay and Tayvallich. - - Means of Communication.—There is a sub-post-office to Loch- gilphead, in the village of Bellanoch, from which letters are de- spatched and received three times a week. The road between Lochgilphead and Keills, where there is a ferry to the Island of Jura, passes for fifteen miles through the parish, sending off a branch at the farm of Barinluasgan to the church of Kilmichael Inverlussay. There is a new line of road in progress from Inver- lussay to Castle Swen, which, when completed, will be of essential benefit to the whole of the east side of the parish, and to the dis- trict of Knap in the parish of South Knapdale. The communi- cation with this parish is easy by means of steam-boats, which, in summer, ply daily between Glasgow and Inverness, passing through the Criman Canal, which bounds the parish at its north- eastern extremity for four miles. Ecclesiastical State.—The following is a list of the ministers of Knapdale as far back as I have been able to trace them : In 1639, the Rev. Dugald Campbell was minister of Knapdale; in De- cember 1658, the Synod ordered him to transport himself to Lochaber, which was his first charge before he went to Knapdale. In May 1661, he was allowed, at his own request, to return to Knapdale. To him succeeded, in September 1687, the Rev. Duncan Campbell, who died in March 1711. The Rev. John M“Gilchrist was ordained and admitted minister of Knapdale on the 12th April 1715, and, as the parish was so extensive, on the 20th of the same year, the Rev. Patrick Pollick was ordained and admitted second minister of the parish. The 'former died on the 7th February 1723; the latter was appoint- ed to South Knapdale in 1784. Mr Patrick Campbell was or- dained and admitted minister of North Knapdale on the 28th September 1725, and was translated to Inverary on the 27th No- vember 1745. On the 10th June 1746, the Rev. Neill Campbell was presented by Sir James Campbell of Auchnambreck, but was rejected by a majority of the heritors and people. The Rev. Da- niel Campbell was admitted on the 14th June 1748, and was translated to Ardnamurchan on the 19th July 1756. He was succeeded by the Rev. Archibald Campbell, senior, who was or- dained and admitted on the 3d October 1759, and was translated to Inverary on the 9th June 1774. To him succeeded the Rev, AR GYLE, S S 642 - AR GYLE SHIRE • Archibald Campbell, junior, who was ordained and admitted on the 14th July 1778, and died on the 27th April 1810. The Rev. John Campbell was translated from the parish of Kilfi- nan, and was admitted on the 9th May 1811, and died on the 7th May 1815. The Rev. Colin Campbell was ordained and ad- mitted on the 2d May 1816, and died on the 27th February 1834. The present incumbent was translated from Berriedale, and ad- mitted minister of this parish on the 27th September 1836. There are two churches in the parish,_the one at Kilmichael Inverlussay, near the manse; the other at Tayvallich, three miles distant by sea, and ten miles by land. The church of Kilmichael was built in 1820, and is capable of accommodating 450 sitters; the church of Tayvallich was built in 1827, and contains 700 sit- ters. Both churches are kept in excellent repair. The sittings are all free. The manse was built in 1820, and is in good repair. The garden is very productive. . It is well stocked with apple, pear, cherry, plum, and peach trees, and with an abundance of gooseberry and currant bushes. The glebe, which is at the dis- tance of a mile and a half from the manse, contains about ten or twelve acres arable land, with pasture for twelve cows, twelve sheep, and four horses. The amount of the stipend, including L.8, 6s. 8d. for communion elements, is 223 bolls, peck oat- meal, of 140 lbs. per boll, and 56.93.14 imperial quarters of bear; money stipend, L. 18, 13s. 4d. The last augmentation took place in the year 1822. The teinds are exhausted. Education.—There are nine schools, three of them parochial, and six on the teachers’ own adventure. There are about 420 children in attendance upon these schools from the 12th Novem- ber to the 1st March. The three parochial schools are this year attended by 204, and the six side schools by 215. In the paro- chial schools the usual branches of education are taught, includ- ing Latin, geography, and practical mathematics; in the others, Gaelic and English reading, writing, and arithmetic. The paro- chial teachers have each a salary of L.17, 2s. 2d.; but, as the maximum salary is given and divided, the heritors are relieved, according to the construction put on the Schoolmasters’ Act, from any obligation to provide school-houses or dwellings. The fees for the different branches of instruction are not the same in all the schools, but vary from 1s. 6d. to 5s. per quarter. The school fees are seldom well paid, so that the teachers do not realize more than L. 10 each from this source. There is no child above nine years TNORTH IKN APDA LE. 643 of age unable to read; above fifteen, there are I 13 who cannot read or write. Poor and Parochial Funds.-The average number of paupers receiving regular aid is 42. The sums allowed to each vary from 10s. to L. 2, 5s. per annum. Besides those admitted on the poor’s roll, there are other persons to whom occasional aid, during sickness or distress, is administered. The annual amount of collections, from the year 1837, to 1843, averages L.20, 6s. ; and the deficiency during the above period has been supplied by the voluntary contributions of the heritors, who cheerfully concur in every measure calculated to increase the comfort, and improve- ment of the poor in the parish. It is with regret the writer ob- serves that the old Scottish spirit of independence, inducing a re- luctance to ask relief from the parish, is fast giving way in this part of the country. Inns and Alehouses.—There are six of these, of which at least two might, with advantage, be abolished. Fuel.-The fuel chiefly used is peats, procured at a very great expense from mosses, in some places two or three miles distant. Wood is also not unfrequently used for fuel by the poorer classes; but coals, which can be procured from 12s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. a ton, are now generally used by such as can afford to purchase them. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. There is a striking difference between the present state of the parish and that which existed when the former Statistical Account was drawn up, in respect of population,-the number of the inha- bitants since that time having more than doubled. Their houses are generally better built and better furnished, and the comfort of the people has undergone a similar beneficial change. The establishment of schools for the education of youth, the forma- tion of upwards of twenty miles of public roads, the opening of the Crinan Canal, whereby facilities are incalculably increased for exporting or importing produce, have all contributed to excite emulation and industry, to enlighten the minds of the inhabitants, and to render their situation, in many respects, more comfortable. April 1844. - ISLAND OF ISLAY, PARISH OF KILCHOMAN.3% PRESBYTERY of ISLAY, SYNoD OF ARGYLE. I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—According to tradition, Kilchoman has obtained its name from being the burying-place of Chomanus, who is supposed to have come from the monastery of Iona to establish the Gospel in Islay. The parish is situated on the west side of the island of Islay. - Extent.—Boundaries.—Its length is 20 miles. It averages about 5 miles in breadth, and contains about 100 square miles. At a former period, it was an island, and it is still nearly surrounded by the sea, there being only a space of about one mile between the high-water mark of Lochindaal, and that of Lochgruinard. These arms, with the intervening space, formed, till two farms were annexed to it, the boundary on the south, south-east, and east sides. From the north-east point to the south-west extremity, it presents a line of coast, extending thirty miles, to the unob- structed swell of the Atlantic Ocean. Each end of the parish terminates in a point; and at each point, there is a small island, separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. Near to the south-west point, an undulating ridge of hills rises, which runs in a north-eastern direction until it terminates with a gentle slope in the level ground below Sunderland House. To the north of this flat it again rises, but with a somewhat lower elevation, and may be traced until it dips into the sea at Ardnave. The highest hill of this ridge does not exceed 500 feet. With an elevation so small, there can be no deep valleys; and the flats are either covered with moss or formed into lakes, some of which are within the range of a former level of the ocean. A great part of the coast is bold and precipitous. The east side abounds with creeks, yet the general feature of the shore is rocky. From the point of the Rinns to the point of Ardnave, the coast is * Communicated by the Rev. Alex. Cameron, late minister of the parish. KII, CHOMAN. 645 ye rugged, in many places with high perpendicular cliffs, and with a few bays, where fishing-boats are kept; but, from the incessant heaving of the Atlantic, they must be hauled above the high-water mark. The largest bay is that of Kilchoman. It is about a mile in length, with a south-western aspect; but, being without head- lands, it offers little or no shelter. - Lochgruinard, on the north-east side, runs inland about four miles. A great part of it is dry at low-water, and is a place of safety for small vessels. There is a bar, but with sufficient depth in the channel, which is rather intricate. Lochindaal, which forms the eastern boundary, is of consider- able extent. At its entrance, between the point of the Rinns and the Mull of Oa, it is eight miles broad; and it is twelve miles in length. It forms a good roadstead, and is much frequented by shipping during the stormy season. - - Meteorology.—The temperature of the atmosphere is mild. Neither the extreme heat of summer nor the intense cold of win- ter is felt here. The prevailing winds are west and south-west. The heaviest rains fall with the wind at south-east, south, and south-west. Whenever it veers round to the west and north-west, the weather becomes showery, and clears up. The climate is mild, but may be called damp. The chief difficulty which the agriculturist has to contend with arises from the heavy gales of autumn. In places not exposed to their in- fluence, luxuriant crops may be grown, and delicate plants suc- cessfully cultivated. The climate is also favourable to the duration of human life. Persons who lived temperately have attained to a good old age; yet, as illicit distillation prevailed so generally, few men have passed the meridian of life without contracting diseases incident to free indulgence in ardent spirits, many of whom are cut off suddenly by inflammatory diseases; but, from the suppres- sion of smuggling, these diseases are abating in intensity. Hydrography.—The only frith that needs be mentioned is the one that separates Isle-Orsay from the point of the Rinns. It is less than half a mile in breadth. At certain states of the tide the current, which runs northward for ten hours and a-half, is very rapid; for an hour and a-half it runs in the contrary direction; while, outside the island, the set and run of the tide are regular. At the village of Portnahaven there is a strong chalybeate spring. There are several lakes. The largest is Lochgorum, which covers 600 acres. Its depth is from five to seven feet. It 646 AR GY LESHIRE. abounds in small trout; and, from the extent of surface which it exposes to atmospheric influence, and from the smallness of the streams flowing into it, its water is nearly as light and pure as dis- tilled water. - g - The only stream approaching in size to a river, flowed into Loch- gruinard. But the late proprietor, Mr Campbell of Shawfield, conceived the idea of embanking a large portion of the head of this estuary, which made it necessary to cut a channel of about a mile and a-half in extent for this river, and thereby turn its course into Lochindaal. From that time, it ceased to be a sal- mon stream; and the few sea-trout which frequent it, ascend only in the end of autumn. Geology.—The prevailing rock is clay slate alternating with greywacke and thin beds of quartz rock. The inclination is to the east, and the dip varies considerably in different places, from the almost horizontal to the vertical. The strata are occasionally intersected by beds of basalt, greenstone, and porphyry. At Sanaig, on the north-west coast, the clay slate is seen to al- ternate with fine-grained greywacke slate in a bed of upwards of 100 feet in depth, and over this is placed a thick bed of quartz rock. Here a series of cliffs, nearly perpendicular, occurs, extend- ing a distance of above two miles: it is full of deep fissures and eaverns, which afford every facility for obtaining a satisfactory view of the stratification. - At Octofad, on the south-east side, the clay slate alternates with gneiss. This stratification may be traced for several miles, and round the point of the Rinns northwards, on the western side, till beyond the farm of Lossit. Both rocks are well defined, and do not appear in any instance to pass into one another. The clay slate retains its strongly-marked blue colour, while the gneiss is of a dingy red or brown colour. In several parts of the west coast, where the rocks assume a precipitous form, they show great de- rangement in their stratification; the strata generally retain an al- most horizontal position, yet many masses have been so far dis- placed as to exhibit a perpendicular stratification. No limestone has been discovered; but, as if to compensate, the agriculturist for this want, every creek and bay contains inexhaustible beds of bro- ken shells, intermixed with particles of clay slate and quartz. Every description of soil may be found in this extensive parish. From the point of the Rinns, on the west shore of Lochindaal, there is a succession of low rock and rich alluvial land, terminat- 3 KILCHOMA N. 647 ing in the mossy flat below Sunderland House. This tract, ex- tending twelve miles, has a south-eastern aspect, with a gentle slope, and being in a great measure sheltered by the rising ground to the west, is very fertile and safe for any kind of crop. In many parts it has been partially drained; but, being chiefly in the hands of tenants, who do not possess skill enough to avail themselves of their facilities, the land, from exhaustion, and the non-observance of rotation in cropping, is comparatively unproductive. The west- ern side presents a less favourable aspect, and a less productive soil. The arable land is generally at a higher elevation, forming a sort of table land on the top of a high rocky coast. From the frequent, and heavy gales, crops raised here are more uncertain; but the land is well adapted for pasture. - Slate of a good colour and quality are made at Kilchiaran. The quarry is now wrought to a great extent. The parish is divided into two unequal parts by a flat, which consists of several hundred acres, narrow in the middle, but ex- panding at each end. At the east end, it extends to the head of Lochgruinard in one direction, and to Lochindaal in another, at an elevation little above the high-water mark. At the west end it communicates with the Atlantic in the bays of Kilchoman, Saligo, and Sanaig, having the high lands of Coull, Smaal, and Sanaig between them. Through this valley the sea must have made a full sweep, at some period beyond the era of authentic history. It is now covered with moss, varying in depth from three to nine feet. Below this is a bed of gravel and sand, containing such marine shells as are still to be found on the shores of the adjacent bays. Un- derneath this stratum lies a bed of strong blue clay, in which no animal remains have been discovered. Where the bed of gravel is of moderate thickness, and partially mixed with clay, large trees are exposed to view, lying in various directions; and where the moss has been removed, many roots may be seen in situ, giving rise to the supposition, that the trees were broken over at the for- mer surface of the ground. - To the north of this valley the land is less elevated. It undu- lates without rising high, or forming Valleys, until it terminates at the point of Ardnave. The west side of this point is compa- ratively unproductive, from want of drainage. Nevertheless, the soil in certain localities is good, consisting of a thin bed of moss, interspersed with clay and sand, lying on a bed of claystone rock. The east side of this point is well adapted for cultivation or pas- 648 A R GYLESHIRE. ture. Lochgruinard, which forms the boundary of this point, co- vered more land at a former period than it does now, and the pro- cess of filling up seems to be progressing. We have already alluded to the reclaiming of a portion of the head of the loch by the late proprietor. This he partly effected, by raising an embankment to keep off the tide, and partly by directing the course of the river which discharged its waters into it, by a new channel into Lochin- daal. Drains of sufficient depth and extent were formed to re- ceive the surface water, and to contain the streamlets which fall from the ground adjacent, during the period of full tide. The outlet of these drains is secured with a sluice, which opens and shuts by the pressure of the water. Several hundred acres of rich loam, incumbent on a bed of shells and clay, yielding abundant crops, have been by these means redeemed. The part of this basin that was above the reach of the tide, and farthest removed from the bank of the river, is deeply covered with moss. Žoology.—The Dean Munro, in his account of the Hebrides, has noticed that Lochgruinard abounded with seals. In the sum- mer and autumn, a few may still be seen, though their number is evidently decreasing. Otters are found about the lakes and shores, and the whole coast abounds with various kinds of fish. Cod, ling, coal-fish, turbot, soles, and plaice, are in their season caught on the different banks. Shoals of herrings are annually seen on the coast, and at times some enter Lochindaal, but do not remain so long as to become a source of profit to the fishermen who live on its shores. Oysters, mussels, buckies, cockles, limpets, lob- sters, and crabs, are to be had on various parts of the coast. In the months of May, June, and July, the people use mussels and cockles to a considerable extent as articles of food; the crabs and limpets, with a species of worm found in the bays, are sought after by the fishermen for baiting their hooks. The insects most destructive to vegetation are, a small fly that attacks the young shoots of the turnip ; a caterpillar, that feeds on the gooseberry and white currant bushes; and a small aphis, that fastens on the fruit-trees and hedges. A strong infusion of hellebore sprinkled on the bushes, arrests the progress of the ca- terpillar, and a weak solution of soap is equally fatal to the aphis. Flocks of wild geese, barnacles, teal, and widgeon, with wood- cock and Swans, take up their abode in the marshes and open wa- ters during the winter months. In summer, the lapwing, the IKILCHOMAN. 649 swallow, the landrail, and the cuckoo, form the chief birds of pas- Sage. The native birds are, the heron, grouse, black-game, snipe, plover, various species of the bunting and finches, the thrush, blackbird, and the starling. The Cornish chuff, and myriads of wild pigeons occupy the rocks and the caverns along the shore. The birds of prey are, the raven, the hooded crow, and the hawk; eagles are seen at times, but they have ceased to breed here. Of sea birds, there are various species of the gull, Scotch duck, and cormorants. Hares are numerous, and the Sandy downs abound with rabbits. - - Botany.−The variety of plants is not numerous. A great pro- portion of the highest land is covered with short heath and coarse herbage. Red and white clover, with the common grasses, cover the finer pastures. The marshes contain the water lily, buckbean, and hemlock, and the lakes are generally fringed with bulrushes. Sea-kale grows on the islands of Ardnave. The buckbean and hemlock are used medicinally. From the appearance of the marshes, it is obvious that, at some remote period, trees grew abundantly, notwithstanding their being exposed to the unbroken force of the Atlantic gales. Man does not seem to have done much to promote the growth of timber, though soil and climate concur to favour it, in every spot sheltered from the prevailing winds. The interior of the island contains a few plantations of recent formation, to which the present proprietor is adding exten- sively. About Sunderland House, the plantations are promising in situations naturally unfavourable. The growth is always vigo- rous; and were a sufficient breadth planted, and well inclosed, wood might be made to grow both for ornament, and for use. - II.—Civil History. The writer is not aware that any written record of the civil transactions of this parish is extant. But, from a fort, or place of defence being found almost on every promontory, or rock diffi- cult of access, and on the islands of the several lakes, one may safely conjecture that, at some period of its history, it formed the theatre of many a sharp conflict. It was long in the hands of the Danes and Norwegians, and many places still retain their Scan- dinavian names. In more recent times, it formed part of the pos- sessions of the Macdonalds, Lords of the Isles, the site of whose palace is now occupied by the manse and garden. Their right was challenged in the year 1588. A hostile party of the Macleans 650 A R GYLE SH 1 RE. from Mull, who effected a landing, were met by the Macdonalds on the side of Lochgruinard, when a bloody, and to the Macleans, a disastrous, battle was fought. Their leader fell in the action, his followers gave way, a party of whom took refuge in the church of Kilnave, at a little distance from the field of battle. To this asylum they were pursued by the victorious Macdonalds, who, setting fire to the church, and at the same time preventing the escape of the Macleans, effected their destruction with the build- ing, which stands to this day a roofless monument of the event. Maclean's body was buried in the church of Kilchoman ; but, by a partial change in the site of the new church, his grave-stone is outside, and close by the south-east corner. Land-owners.-Walter F. Campbell of Islay, M. P. : Walter Campbell of Sunderland; Colin Campbell of Balinaby. Parochial Registers.-These have been kept in this parish only since 1822. For several years a register of marriages and bap- tisms was regularly kept; but since the Parliamentary churches, with the districts annexed, were erected into parishes quoad Sacra, the minister at Portnahaven baptizes and marries without having the names of parties entered in the parish register. Antiquities.—A very handsome cross stands in the churchyard. On one side is a representation of the Saviour on the cross, with 2 I) illegible inscription underneath. On the other is a beautifully cut Runic knot. Its history is unknown. There are five churches in ruins in the parish; to each of these a burying-ground is attached, some of which are used as such to this day. At one or two of them there is a cross, and the fonts are in their original position. One of these ruins is on Island-nave, at the north point of the parish, and distant from it about one mile. To this a very extensive burying-ground is attached. The grave stones are made of clay slate, handsomely formed, many of them beautifully cut, and several with figures in relief. These mark the resting-place of persons of some note in their day, but of whom no other memorial is known. There are also several obelisks. The one on the hill near Ba- linaby house is the largest ; it bears no mark of sculpture; it is 18 feet above the surface. Above forty years ago, Captain Bur- gess of the Savage Sloop of War, with a party of his crew, dug up part of the sand-hill near it, where they found one or two swords, a pike-head, and many human bones. The arms they carried away : the ground has since lain undisturbed. RILCHOMAN. 651 There are several points along the coast detached by deep ra- vines and fissures, which render them almost inaccessible. To ap- proach them by water was a perilous undertaking, and where access on the land side could be conceived possible, they were fortified by walls strongly built of stones, laid regularly, but without mortar. Buildings of the same description are found on the different lakes and on the top of several conical hills. In one instance, on the farm of Smaal, a mound and ditch formed the means of de- fence. Tradition has assigned these to the period when the Danes had partial possession of the island. - - Two gold ornaments of a singular description were found lately near to Sunderland House, under a large stone, which evidently at one time stood erect, but had fallen down, and which, in the process of levelling and trenching for agricultural purposes, was blasted and removed. In the black mould which it covered, were found a broad fluted ring of the size of an armlet, and a bar or rod, bent in a semicircular form, the ends of which are rounded out into a cup-like hollow. It would appear by a paper publish- ed lately by Sir William Betham, that they are some of the gold ring money of the Celts, and that similar ones have frequently been found in Ireland. Mr Campbell carried them to London, where it was ascertained that they were very pure gold. They weighed 224 sovereigns. They are now in his possession. - During the last ten years, several stone coffins were discovered in the conical hills below Sunderland Farm: they were in length from 2% to 3 feet, from 20 inches to 2 feet wide, and from 16 to 18 inches deep. They were formed of slabs of the clay slate of the district. Some contained one or two urns of rudely formed un- , baked clay; others contained skulls, and other human bones. Modern Buildings.-The mansion-house of Mr Campbell of Sunderland was built about twenty years ago, when he retired from the E.I.C. service. The situation is an elevated declivity, a mile distant from the shore of Lochindaal. The place chosen was covered with strong heath, and the low ground was an unpro- ductive marsh. The heath has given place to thriving plantations and luxuriant crops, and thorough drainage has converted the morass into good pasture land. The Commissioners of the Northern Lights erected, in 1824, 2. lighthouse on Isle Orsay, at the point of the Rinns. This erec- tion, and the houses and offices for the keepers, have been built in a substantial and commodious manner. 652 AR GYLESHIRE, A Parliamentary church and manse have been built at Portna- haven; an entire village at Port Charlotte, with an extensive distillery. Port Wymss, another village in the neighbourhood of Portnahaven, has recently sprung into existence. Within the same period, several substantial farm-houses, with suitable offices, have been erected by the proprietors. III.-PopULATION. The state of the population is as follows:– In 1801, . . 2050 1811, . . . 313| 1821, . . 3966 1831, . . . 4822 1841, . . 4505 Gaelic is the language universally spoken by the natives in their intercourse with one another. The English language is very generally understood; and from the number of families and individuals from the low country settled in the parish, it is much spoken. In proportion as the natives are becoming more enlight- ened by education, the Gaelic is decidedly losing ground. The custom which obtained of assembling neighbours and kin- dred, to attend at funerals, marriages, and baptisms, led to many, and grievous irregularities. This of late years has been giving place to a more orderly, and decorous mode of conducting fune- rals. At marriages, it is nearly discontinued, and at christenings entirely so. - In their personal and domestic habits the people are not cleanly. In many instances, the cattle occupy the same apartment with the family; and though fond of dress, and of appearing well attired when they go abroad, at home they are slovenly. Their ordinary food is potatoes, with milk and fish. During a great part of the year, very little oatmeal is consumed. In their culinary arrange- ments, there is great want of economy. They are improvident in the use of their food, and wasteful of their clothing. As a people, they are shrewd, fond of gossip and story-telling; there is amongst them a strong bias to cunning, and a want of truth- fulness. Of the grown-up population the majority are unable to read; —their minds are, therefore, comparatively uninformed,—and it cannot be said that they are either a moral, or a religious people; and from the influence which their confirmed habits are producing on the rising generation, who are receiving a moral and religious education, a very immediate and decided change is scarcely to be expected. Till of late years, illicit distillation was universal; this KILCHOMAN. 653 led to the neglect of field labour, and to the destruction of the social virtues. IV.-INDUSTRY. Extent of Kilchoman parish in imperial standard acres, as nearly as it has been ascertained, is e te g e 0,000 Cultivated, gº e º 4,500 That may be cultivated, e 20,000 Wood, , tº e & 20 In pasture, . e e 25,480 - — 50,000 The average rent of arable land is about 11s. per acre; grazing of a cow for the year, 40s. ; and of a sheep, 3s. . Male farm-servants are paid at from L.8 to L.10, with food and lodging; or, in lieu of these, an allowance in meal, potatoes, milk, or the keep of a cow, and a house and fuel. Female servants are paid at from L.3 to L.6 per annum. - In spring, summer, and autumn, day-labourers are paid from ls. 2d. to 1s. 4d., in winter, 1s. In winter, work is generally done by contract, and at prices which enable an expert labourer to earn from Is. 3d. to 1s. 6d. Carpenters and masons are paid from 2s. to 2s. 6d. - Live-Stock.- The cattle are chiefly of the West Highland breed. Great attention has been paid to this description of stock by the proprietors, and by several of the tenants. Various means 2.Te being used for effecting this purpose, such as selecting the best bulls, raising green food for winter keep, and improving the herbage on the pastures by draining, ditching, and inclosing. A good deal has been done in these respects; but in comparison of what may be done, such improvements may be said to be only in their infancy. So far as draining and fencing have been carried into effect, the produce has, in many instances, been more than doubled; and where the land is generally so wet, and in so humid a climate, a vast extent of moss and of unproductive marshes may be made available for feeding stock. The stock in the possession of the small tenants is of a very inferior description. It has greatly deteriorated of late years, the partial failure of the pota- toes had greatly diminished the quantity and quality of their food in winter, and the limited sales which they were able to make during the low rate of the markets, compelled them to dispose of the best of their young stock to meet their augmented rental; this produced a pernicious effect upon their stock, and a ruinous one upon their means. The sheep kept, with the exception of one or two lots of the 654 - AR GYLESH 1 R.E. black-faced breed, are of a very ordinary kind,—being chiefly in the hands of small tenants, who keep them as an overstock, and they are so badly managed as not to prove a source of profit. Husbandry.—The duration of leases is for nineteen years. To such tenants as know the value of land, and are in possession of capital and enterprise, it may be said, that the conditions of the leases are decidedly favourable. The farms are generally let to a number of tenants who live to- gether on one spot, cultivating the arable on the runrig system, grazing the pasture land in common. A change in this system is being effected, though it still obtains to a considerable extent, and must continue to endure till the end of the current leases, where all the parties do not concur in making a regular subdivision. The obstacles which this mode of holding land presents to persons of skill and industry, in clearing and improving their lands, need not be detailed here;—to say that the system obtains is enough to sug- gest them to every enlightened, and intelligent mind. - Farm-Buildings.-The farm-buildings, and stone dikes are for the most part the property of the tenants occupying the farms. In some instances, they are kept in a state of thorough repair, though generally this corresponds with the means possessed by the occupants, and with their ideas of order, comfort, and eco- nomy. The principal improvements which have recently been made, have been effected by Mr Campbell of Sunderland, whose place of resi- dence and landed property are situated in thisparish. He considers that, within the last twenty years, by enclosing, draining, and other- wise improving waste land, he has more than tripled the original value of his property. In cultivating moss, he has the water taken off by open and wedge drains; the surface is then delved and levelled; shell-sand is spread on it at the rate of eight tons the imperial acre, and it is then manured for potatoes, or sown down with oats and grass seeds. What, previous to these operations, produced only heather, or very coarse herbage, has now become a close green sward. Many hundred acres have been improved after this man- ner, and the operation is still in regular progress. The pasture land he has had surface-drained and sanded at the rate of eight tons per acre. - . The increased value obtained from drainage on crop and pas- ture land appears to be pretty generally understood by the ten- antry, some of whom have been exerting themselves to render KIL CHOMAN. 655 their farms more productive; but on the whole, there is great lack of capital, industry, and enterprise among them. One spirited young man from Ayrshire entered lately into an extensive farm, and has commenced with the most promising and encouraging results, furrow draining the strong clay land, which constitutes the chief part of his arable. Fisheries.—During the summer and autumn, the people of Port- nahaven occupy themselves in fishing cod, ling, and coal-fish, which they cure and dispose of at a high rate, in the Irish market. As every farm has its creek an its boats, a great quantity of fish is taken for supporting their families; but, except at Portnahaven, they do not fish for the market, nor even for the maintenance of their own families, to the extent to which it might be carried. Be- ing partly fishers and partly agriculturists, they pursue neither vo- cation with proper energy. - Produce.—The average gross amount and value of raw produce yearly raised in the parish, as nearly as can be ascertained, is as follows: 41 lº quarters barley, at 26s., ge * L,5350 16 0 4802 do. oats, at 18s., ë & 4321 16 0 50,880 barrels of potatoes, at 2s., e & 58SS 0 0 40,000 stones rye grass hay, at 6d., & & 1000 0 0 12,000 do. meadow hay, at 4d., © * 200 0 0 2,500 tons turnips, at 8s., º ... • 1000 0 0 Peas and beans, e & gº 150 0 0 2,058 cows kept, at 40s., & & 4 106 0 0 2,744 sheep, at 3s., g e e 4] I 12 0 Fish, & -- • & 1000 O 0 L.23,428 4 0 There is an extensive distillery at Port-Charlotte, which, from having passed through a number of hands for the last few years, has not been kept in regular operation. The people manufacture cloth for their own use, though, from the high price of wool, and the difficulty of procuring it, much use is made of cotton fabrics by the working classes. - V.—PAROCHIAL EconoMy. Villages.—There are three villages in the parish,_Portnaha- ven, Port-Wymss, and Port-Charlotte. The first two are partly fishing and partly agricultural villages; the latter is entirely agri- cultural. Means of Communication.—There are twelve miles of a Parlia- mentary line of road in the parish, and thirty-four miles of statute labour road, all kept in a state of good repair. With three excep- tions, the public road passes through every farm in the parish. 656 AR GY L E SHIRE, Bowmore, the nearest market-town, is twelve miles distant. The post-office is at Bridgend, nine miles distant. The letters are brought thence by a private runner. The mail is received and despatched four times weekly,–twice by a steam packet, and twice through Jura by the ferries. - Portmahaven is the only place where a vessel of any draught of water can be kept, and even there only during settled weather. In stormy weather, the swell of the ocean breaks in with such tremen- dous force and violence, that no vessel can ride with safety, and the fishing-boats, which are of the size and description used at Newhaven, must be hauled up on the beach. Ecclesiastical State.—The church is built in a central situation, being about nine miles from the most distant part of the popula- tion. It is, however, inconveniently situated for the great part of the parishioners who are located near to each extremity, and, on the east side, at a distance of five miles from the church. In win- ter the attendance is necessarily limited; but, in favourable wea- ther, the number who attend is considerable. The church affords accommodation for about 700. The sittings are all free. The church and manse were built in the years 1825 and 1826. They are handsome and commodious, substantially built, well fi- nished, and are kept in a state of good repair. The glebe con- sists of 26 acres, and may be worth from L. 12 to L. 15. The stipend is the minimum. - - - There is a Parliamentary church at Portnahaven. Two addi- tional churches are much wanted,—one at Port-Charlotte, with a population of about 800 within two miles of it, and all above five from the parish church; another at the head of Lochgruinard, where the population is about 900, and all within three miles of the proposed site, and all above five miles from the parish church. A church here would accommodate a part of the population of Killarrow and Kilmeny, who are from seven to nine miles distant from their respective churches, and would be within three miles of a church at Gruinard. A The average number of communicants is about 240. There are eleven elders in the parish. There is an Independent chapel at Port-Charlotte; but, there being only ten families of Dissenters in the parish, the congregation is small. The church collections for religious and charitable purposes average from L. 12 to L. 15 per annum. Education.—Besides the parochial school, which is very ineffi- 4 Kll, CHOMAN, 657 ciently taught, there are two schools on the General Assembly’s Scheme, one supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, one by the Edinburgh Gaelic School Society, and six schools taught by persons on their own adventure. During the winter half-year, these schools are numerously attended. The branches taught are of the most ordinary description. None of the teachers received a classical education. The rates of pay- ment per quarter are 1s. 6d., 2s., 2s. 6d., and 8s. 6d. The young people, are all taught to read, -the boys to write and figure. The salary of parochial teacher is L.25, with house and allowance for garden. There are six Sunday schools, which are well at- tended. Of the grown-up part of the population, above one-half are unable to read. They are, however, alive to the benefits of education, and make considerable exertions to get the children instructed. The change produced by the more general diffusion of education is perceptible in the conduct of the younger part of the population, which contrasts strongly, in some respects, with that of persons of middle age. ; - Poor.—The average number of persons receiving parochial re- lief, including regular and occasional poor, is about 25. The sum paid to each per annum varies from 5s. to L. 1, 10s. The funds for their support arise from collections in the church—from part of the fee paid on publication of bans—from mortcloth dues—from interest of a small sum in stock—and from fines recovered by the kirk-session from delinquents. The applicants for relief are in- firm aged persons, whose means of support have failed, and whose relations are either dead or in indigent circumstances. Re- lief is occasionally afforded to widows having young children. A feeling of independence still obtains, and it is considered a degra- dation to have one's relatives partially supported by the parish. The wants of the poor are frequently supplied by neighbours. The parish finds bedding when necessary; food and fuel are easily procured, and it is rarely any house-rent is exacted. The kirk-session have the privilege of recommending patients to the Royal Infirmary at Glasgow. *. Inns.—There are seven public houses; three of these are kept by respectable persons who are in the habit of lodging travellers. The other four being mere tippling houses, are a great public nui- sance, and exercise a pernicious influence on the morals of the peo- ple. AR GYLE, "I t 658 AR GYLE SHI R.E. Fuel,-Peat is the chief fuel used. Coal is preferred by some, which may be brought from Glasgow at a freight of 5s. per ton. - MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. At the time the former Statistical Account was written, flax was cultivated to some extent; when prepared, it was spun by the fe- males into fine yarn, for the market; but the superiority of the flax imported from the Baltic, with the more general application of machinery, has entirely superseded this branch of domestic eco- nomy. A great improvement has taken place in the facilities of communication. A powerful steam packet plies regularly between the island and Tarbert. Districts almost inaccessible are now opened up by means of good roads; but the houses and mode of living appear to have undergone no great change. The altera- tion in the habits of the people has arisen, it is to be feared, more from the compulsory suppression of smuggling, than from their own conviction of its evil effects, for were the restraints which are imposed by law removed, it would in all probability become as prevalent as at any former period. One class oftenants were from the extent of land occupied by them, and from their better educa- tion, at that time very influential, but are now nearly extinct. They held extensive tracts of the best pasture on very reason- able terms, which, during war, when prices were high, placed them in comparative affluence; but unfortunately their prosperity became the cause of their ruin. They adopted the style and ex- pensive habits of landed proprietors; and when, after the peace, the markets fell, they did not alter their habits to meet the change in their circumstances, and they have been since compelled to give place to strangers, and to a class of tenants of more economi- cal habits. A dislike to continuous labour prevails extensively among the working-classes. The inquiry, then, is, How is this to be changed? As their natural wants do not seem to be sufficiently stimulating to produce a change, a more efficient moral influence, by means of the force of education on the female mind, must be brought to bear on the general character. In the year 1825, only 1 in every 22% of the females above six- teen years of age knew the letters of the alphabet. As the feel- ings and habits of the young are necessarily formed to a great de- gree by females, it is reasonable to suppose that the impressions which they communicate, modify the character of the future man. When their mind is so totally unenlightened with the knowledge 6 KILD ALTON. 659 of Divine things, they cannot convey correct ideas of moral obli- gation, or of relative duties, or of the place which personal labour holds in the scheme of God’s moral government. Idly disposed, and exhibiting a conduct governed by prejudices handed down from past generations, they not only do not contribute to the means of supporting the family, but they do not use judiciously or economically what is committed to their trust, nor easily adopt the suggestions of persons who are better informed. It is anticipated, that, as these habits and feelings give way to the force of Scrip- tural education, the comfort, morals, and happiness of the labour- ing classes will be promoted. w Drawn up in 1839, Revised 1844. ISLAND OF ISLAY. PARISH OF KILD ALTON. PRESBYTERY OF ISLAY, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. ARCHIBALD MACTAVISH, MINISTER. I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL PHISTORY. Name.—TRADITION says that this parish derives its name from a step-son of one of the Macdonalds of the Isles, a young man of great promise, who was killed in early life, and who was buried in the parish church. Kildaltan, or Kildalta, signifies the bury- ing-place of a step-son or foster-son. . - Eatent, &c.—The parish extends along the south-east side of the Island of Islay. It is about 24 miles in length, and 7 in breadth. It is bounded on the north-east by the Sound of Islay, and on the south-west, by the Atlantic Ocean. The centre of the parish is nearly of an equal breadth, but it becomes considerably marrower towards each end. There is a range of hills extending along the centre in a parallel course with the sides, which gradually be- come higher as they approach the Sound of Islay. Their height, as far as I understand, has never been ascertained. Benvigory 660 AR GYL E SHIRE. is the highest, and is celebrated for a severe engagement which was fought there by the Macdonalds and Macleans, who, for se- veral years, disputed the possession of the country. The Mac- leans were beaten and pursued to the coast, where a number of them were killed by the Macdonalds, and others of them were drowned in attempting to reach an adjacent island, separated from the main by a narrow channel. This was one of the last. bloody attempts made by the Macleans to recover the Island of Islay from the Macdonalds, who continued for several years afterwards in the undisturbed possession of it. Next in height to Benvigory is M*Arthur’s Head, a bold high headland at the en- trance of the Sound of Islay. To the east of this hilly range, there is a considerable extent of arable and pasture ground, which is much intersected with rocky eminences. The valleys are very fertile, and yield good crops of oats, barley, and potatoes. Upon the north-west side of the hills, there is a considerable extent of level land, which is very partially cultivated; but the present spi- rited and enlightened proprietor intends to farm it out in suitable divisions, from which we may expect, in the course of a few years, to see splendid crops of oats and barley waving where little is now to be seen but heath and fern. The valleys, with few exceptions, run from east to west. - Caverns.—There are many places along the coast, where caves and fissures of various forms and dimensions are to be seen, but none which merits any attention, with the exception of a large basin which was formed by some violent convulsion of nature, or worn out of the rock by the boisterous waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Its circumference is about 300 feet, and its depth from 150 to 200. The sea flows into it by two openings; one of them a splendid arch of considerable span, the other a narrow deep open cut. Directly opposite to the arch, is another cave of considerable depth, from which the surge is thrown back with such violence, that it is carried over the mouth of the basin to a considerable dis- tance. The whole outline of this part of the coast is peculiarly grand. . . t Coast.—The extent of the coast of this parish is fifty miles, in- dependently of the curves which are formed by the innumerable inlets with which the coast is indented. It is in general low and rocky. Along the Mull of Oa, it is high and rugged. Bays–The principal bays are Portellen, Lagamhulin, Loch- KILD ALTON. . 66] knock, Lochintallin, Ardmore, Kenture, Aross, Claigean, Ard- tealla, and Proaig. The principal headlands are, the Mull of Oa and M*Arthur's Head. - Islands.-There are several small islands along the coast, but the only ones of any consequence are, Texa, Ellan nan Caorach, Ellain, Imersay, the Ardelister Islands, and those off the point of Ardmore. The temperature all along this coast is mild. There is very little frost or snow, but generally a good deal of rain during the winter and spring months, though it rarely happens that the crops of active and industrious farmers are much injured by it. West- erly and southerly winds are the most prevalent. The approach of southerly wind is known when the Irish coast appears higher, nearer, and more distinct than it does at other times, excepting when there is north wind and frost. The approach of westerly wind is indicated by a deep swell which rolls in from the Atlantic: north wind and frost, by the arrival of birds of passage, which migrate from the cold and stormy regions of the north to the more genial climate of the south. In hard winters, large flocks of swans and wild geese, with several varieties of the duck species, make their appearance here, and sometimes extend their flight to Ireland. The wild fowl which are indigenous, prognosticate the approach of severe weather by descending from the high to the low grounds, by assembling together in numbers, by approaching nearer to dwelling-houses, and by a restlessness which is not ob- servable at other times. Sheep and black-cattle also collect to- gether when a storm is at hand, and betake themselves to a place of shelter. From the variableness of the climate, the inhabitants are liable to colds, sore throats, and rheumatic complaints, but not more so than the people of the neighbouring islands. There are no distempers peculiar to the district; and there are few places in which the people enjoy better health, upon the whole, than in this parish. - Hydrography.—The water in the bays and along the coast is salt and luminous, but not deep. The currents are frequent and rapid, from the number of islands and rocks which extend along the shore. - - There are many excellent springs in the parish, which never dry up. Some of them spring from limestone, and others from granite. 662 AR GYLE SHIRE, There are several small lakes, in which there are a number of trout, many of which are reported to grow to a large size. Pike also abound in some of them. - Geology.—The rocks are principally composed of granite and slate, occasionally intersected with whin dikes, which run from south-east to north-west. There is a slate quarry near the harbour of Portellen. The quality of the slate is very good, and there seems to be a considerable body of it. Along the centre of the parish there is a great mass of excellent limestone, which is easily quarried, and is used for manure by those farmers who are at a distance from the shore. The limestone rock runs from north-east to south-west about six miles in an unbroken line. There are appearances of ironstone in different places. Rock crystal is found in many parts of the parish; some of it is of a deli- cate purple hue. The rocks, in general, incline to the west and north-west, and are covered with loam, clay, or moss. Soil.—The soil is various. A considerable portion of it is rich loam; but sandy, gravelly, and clayey soils are also frequently to be met with. The sea has receded considerably from many parts of the coast. There are many fields at present in tillage, which were at one period covered with water. - - Live-Stock. —There are some very good cattle bred in the pa- rish; but they differ in no particular respect from the cattle reared in the country. - Žoology.—The only animals which formerly existed in the pa- rish, but are now extinct, are red-deer and foxes. The only spe- cies of shell-fish which is of any importance is the buckie, num- bers of which are fished in spring and summer for bait for cod- fishing. There are also lobsters and crabs caught. Peri- winkles and limpets are found in many parts of the coast, and razor fish in the bays of Ardelister and Ardmore. Botany.—The only plants used for culinary purposes are cole- wort, cabbage, and wild spinage. The medicinal plants are valerian, trefoil, gentian, thyme, maidenhair, coltsfoot, juniper, foxglove, furze, ground ivy, broad and narrow leaved plantain, daisy and docken. - - H.-CIVIL HISTORY. - Land-owner.—Mr Campbell of Islay is sole proprietor. Parochial Registers.-The first registers kept were lost, and those now in existence were very irregularly kept, until within the last fifty years; but the present register is regularly kept. KILDA LTON. 663 Antiquities.—There are two crosses near the ruins of the church of Kildalton; one of them very handsome, with a va- riety of ornamental figures carved upon it. They are both formed of gray granite, and fixed in plain blocks of the same stone. The ruins of four places of worship are still to be seen. The walls of three of them are still quite entire, though they have been unroofed for many years. They were evidently built by Roman Catholics. The font, and the remains of the altar, are still to be seen in each of them. There are also the ruins of three forts; one at the Mull of Oa, one above Portellen, and another at the north-east side of the bay of Lagambulin. The fort at the Mull of Oa is said to have been built by the Danes. It was erected up- on a high rock, separated by a broad deep chasm from the adjoin- ing land, and was inaccessible on all sides, except by means of a draw-bridge. From the apparent strength and solidity of the building, it might have stood for ages yet to come, had not Camp- bell of Calder, who had been sent by Argyle to take the command in the island after the M*Donalds were dispossessed of it, found it necessary to rase it nearly to the ground, as some of the M*Do- nalds who were disaffected towards him fled to this fort, and kept possession of it for some time, from whence they made frequent incursions, and harassed the inhabitants in their neighbourhood. Calder at lastsucceeded in dislodging them, and demolished the walls and filled up the chasm. The only tradition regarding the ruins above Portellen is, that it was a fort built by the Danes. It was erected upon one of the highest hills in that neighbourhood, and appears to have been very strongly built. The fort at the bay of Lagamhulin is called Dun-naomhaig, and is supposed to have been built by the M*Donalds. It was the last stronghold that power- ful clan possessed in Islay. It was so well fortified that the Camp- bells were never able to dislodge them from it, until the leaden pipe which supplied them with water was cut. The only modern buildings of any note in the parish, are, a cottage built by Mr Campbell of Islay, a Parliamentary church and manse, which were insufficiently executed, and a handsome light tower, eighty feet high, erected also by Mr Campbell, to the memory of his much lamented, and most amiable and respected lady. There is a public road in the parish. - - III.-PopULATION. The population of the parish has increased considerably. This is caused partly by the gradual improvement of the land, by which 664 - A R GYLE SHIRE, a greater supply of food is raised, but principally from a practice which was allowed to go on for some years, of parents dividing their land with their children, which is fraught with many evils, is highly injurious to the people, and detrimental to the proprietor; but in all the leases which have been lately granted subletting is strictly prohibited. A number of people have also congregated in the village of Portellen, which contains at present a population of 673. Amount of population in 1801, * * 1990. l8l. 1, d • 2269 1821, e & 2427 1831, & © 3065 1841, te ... tº 331.5 The language generally spoken is Gaelic, which does not ap- pear to have gained or lost ground for the last forty years, as far as can be ascertained. - - The customs and amusements of the people are similar to those which generally prevail in the Highlands. - - - IV.—INDIISTRY. - Agriculture.—The extent of land in the parish which is under cultivation bears but a small proportion to what is waste, and might be rendered productive by the judicious application of capital. There are a great many acres under brushwood in the north-east end of the parish, and a good many have been lately planted by Mr Campbell, which are succeeding very well. The kinds generally planted are, oak, ash, fir, plane, alder, horse chestnut, and beech. Those which are indigenous are, birch, alder, oak, ash, holly, ha- zel, and willow. - There are raised in the parish from 800 to 900 bolls of barley; 1800 bolls of potatoes. . Rent.—The average rent for grazing a cow or ox, is from L. 1 to L. 1, 10s, a year, and from 1s, to 2s. 6d. for a sheep. Wages.—The average rate of wages for farm-servants is from L.6 to L.8 per annum, with boarding. The wages of mechanics are generally is. 6d. per day if fed by the employer, if not, 2s. A few years back, there were several hundred pounds worth of lint yarn sent annually to the low country, but there is little more sown now than the people require for their own use. Husbandry.—The system of husbandry which is now adopted generally over the island, is much the same with that followed in the low country. The late proprietor gave every encouragement to his tenantry, and set them a very laudable example in his mode KILDALTON. - 663 º of managing the farms which he occupied ; and his successor is pursuing the same course. As a proof that the country is rapidly improving, it may be stated, that formerly there was generally two or three thousand pounds worth of meal imported annually into the island, but there is now a considerable quantity of oats ex- ported. There has been a great extent of waste land reclaimed, but there are still many thousand acres which might be rendered capable of bearing good crops at a moderate expense. Few coun- tries are possessed of such facilities for improvement as this island. In the inland farms, lime, soft and hard, abounds, and on many parts of the coast there is an abundant supply of shell sand, which is found to be an excellent manure for all kinds of soils. Nineteen years is, in general, the period for which leases are granted. There are several good farm-houses, but few enclo- sures. The principal obstacles to improvement were smug- gling, the subdivision of land, bad roads, and the want of enclo- sures; but as some of these are now removed, and all the rest likely to be so in a short time, it is to be hoped that improvements of various kinds will go on rapidly. There are no regular fisheries carried on, but there are cod and herrings caught occasionally on the coast. I have not been able to ascertain the quantity of raw produce raised in the parish : it is however very considerable, and increasing every year. There are six sloops belonging to the pa- rish. W.—PARoch IAL ECONOMY. There is no market-town in the parish, and the distance to Bowmore, which is the nearest market-town, is fourteen miles from the centre of the parish. Portellen is the only village. There is a runner, who is paid by the country, from the post-office at Bowmore to the receiving house at Lagamhulin. There are two harbours, Portellen and Lochknock. The harbour of Portellen is large and well sheltered, and a convenient outlet for the west of Ireland. The channel is wide, and may safely be entered by the largest vessels in the darkest night, as the lighthouse which is erected there directs the proper course to be taken. This lighthouse is calculated to be of very essential service to all mariners who fre- quent this coast. The parish church is built nearly in the centre of the parish, and is conveniently situated for the greater number of the pa- rishioners, since the parish has been divided, but a good many of the inhabitants are from eight to ten miles from it. It was built 666 - ARGYLESHIRE, about twenty years ago, and is in pretty good repair. It affords accommodation for 450, and all the sittings are free. The manse was built about fifty years ago; but there was an addition made to it about twenty years ago. The glebe contains sixty-five acres, some of which are very good; but a considerable portion is rock and wet land. The value of it may be reckoned about L.30 a- year. The stipend is L. 150, with L. 8, 6s. 8d. for communion elements. There is a Government manse and church in the west division of the parish. Divine service is generally well attended, though it must be admitted that many still show a lamentable in- difference to this ordinance. The average number of communi- cants is 350. The average amount of church collections is L.23, 10s. - - Education.—There are eleven schools in the parish ; one paro- chial, eight unendowed schools, and two supported by Societies. The people are in general very much alive to the benefits of education, and most desirous to get proper teachers. There are three places in the parish where schools are very much required, namely, Kenture in the north end of the parish, Glenigidale and Portellen. In both these places, the people engage young lads to teach their children, who are very seldom possessed of the necessary qualifications, but they cannot afford to get pro- per ones. The parochial teacher has the legal accommodations; the school fees amount to from L. 8 to L. 10 a-year.-Number of young betwixt six and fifteen years of age who cannot read or write, 93; number of persons upwards of fifteen years of age who cannot read or write, 129. -: Three additional schools are wanted to supply the rising gene- ration with the proper means of instruction. Poor.—The average number of persons receiving parochial aid is 40, who receive from 2s. 6d. to L. I per quarter, according to their necessities. The annual amount of contributions for their relief is L.28, 5s, in which is included L.4, 15s., being the inte- rest of L. 100 Sterling bequeathed to the poor of the parish by Major M'Neill of Ardnacross. Church collections are the only regular mode of procuring funds; but Mr Campbell gives free houses to many of the poor, and liberally contributes to the sup- port of those who are represented to him as proper objects of his charity. - - There is a strong feeling of reluctance to apply for parochial relief, still displayed by many ; but it is yearly diminishing. A few K1 LDALRON. 667 are yet, however, to be met with, who avoid it is as long as pos- sible. & Fairs.-There are fairs held in Portellen for the sale of black- cattle in the months of June, July, August, September, and No- vember. Inns.—There are three licensed public-houses in the parish, and many licensed retail shops. The tendency of such houses is here, as in other places, injurious to the morals of the people; but it must be admitted, that drunkenness is not at all so preva- lent, since smuggling was suppressed. The introduction of legal distilleries has been of great advantage in this respect, and also in giving employment to many of the people. There are six distil- leries in the parish, all in active operation. - Fuel-Turf is the fuel principally used in the parish ; but coals must be used in a few years, as some of the mosses have been improved and others cut out. Turf cost from 1s. 6d. to 2s. per cart, and coals from 12s. to 16s. the ton. - MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONs. The most beneficial improvements would be, draining, enclos- ing, and making good roads to the different farms, all of which would promote the industry and comfort of the people; and good schools in the remote districts would add much to their welfare. The principal variations betwixt the present state of the parish and that which existed at the time of the last Statistical Account, are, first, in the additional number of schools established in different parts of the parish ; the suppression of the demoralizing practice of smuggling; the sure and ready markets which the farmers have for their bear and barley in the different distilleries; the improve- ments made in the system of husbandry, by which a greater supply of food is raised with less expense and labour. Another improve- ment, which is very advantageous, is the superiority of the stocks of black-cattle and sheep now in the parish, to those formerly kept in it, and the better methods of rearing and feeding them, in con- sequence of which they can be sent to market much earlier in the season than formerly. - April 1844. ISLANT) OF ISTAY. TINITED PARISHES OF KILLARROW AND KILMENY. PRESBYTERY OF ISLAY AND JURA, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. ALEXANDER STEWART, MINISTER. I. —Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—KILLAR Row took its name from St Marrow, whose cell or burying-place was in the parish : and Kilmeny has doubtless had a similar derivation. Killarrow is now frequently called Bow- more ; the old church at Killarrow having been thrown down, and the present church built at the village of Bowmore. Extent, &c.—The parish is of great extent, being seventeen or eighteen miles long, and eight broad. The lands are generally low ; the hills are not very high, nor rocky, but covered with heath and fern. The river. Luggan, where there is a salmon fishing, is one of the largest in the district, emptying itself into a bay of the same name, in the south corner of the parish. The river of Killarrow runs a great way in the country, and empties itself into the bay or harbour of Lochendaal, which harbour runs from the Mull of Islay and the Runn's Point, about 12 miles to the pleasure grounds of the proprietor, Walter Frederick Camp- bell, Esq. It is an excellent harbour for shipping, is very much resorted to, and of late more than ever; as the proprietor has built a fine quay at the village of Bowmore. Soil, &c.—The soil varies in most of the farms. The farmers plough too much ground. Mr Campbell has improved large tracts of moor ground, within view of his own house, which lies about three English miles from the village; and, from his method of cultivation, they have produced large crops. He spares neither pains nor expense ; and in this respect, several of his tenants at- tempt to imitate him. - K I L LAIR ROW AND KILM ENY. 669 Climate, &c.—The air is generally moist. The prevailing winds are the west and south-west. * * II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Parochial Registers.--There are four parochial registers, 1st, Marriage register, commencing November 15, 1789; 2d, Bap- tism register, commencing November 17, 1789; 3d, List of poor, and state of poor's funds, commencing June 13, 1819; 4th, Kirk- session minute-book, commencing March 6, 1823; all regularly kept from the respective dates of their commencement. Any- thing previous to these dates consisted of mere scraps. - Land-owners.-W. F. Campbell, Esq. of Islay, is the sole pro- prietor. Mansion-house.—The only one in the parish is Islay House. Antiquities.—About the beginning of the seventeenth century, the feuds which had long subsisted between the Macdonalds of Islay and the Macleans of Mull, ended in the transference of the inheritance of the island to the Campbells of Argyle. “The remains of the strongholds of the Macdonalds, in Islay, are the following. In Loch Finlaggan, a lake about three miles in circumference, three miles from Port Askaig, and a mile off the road to Loch-in-Daal, on the right hand, on an islet, are the ruins of their principal castle or palace and chapel; and on an adjoining island the Macdonald council held their meetings. There are traces of a pier, and of the habitations of the guards on the shore. A large stone was, till no very distant period, to be seen, on which Macdonald stood when crowned, by the Bishop of Argyle, King of the Isles. On an island, in a similar lake, Loch Guirm, to the west of Loch-in-Daal, are the remains of a strong square fort, with round corner towers; and towards the head of Loch-in-Daal, on the same side, are vestiges of another dwelling and pier. “On Freuch Isle, in the Sound, are the ruins of Claig Castle, a square tower, defended by a deeper ditch, which at once served as a prison and a protection to the passage. At Laggavoulin Bay, an inlet on the east coast, and on the opposite side to the village, on a large peninsular rock, stands part of the walls of a round sub- stantial stone burgh or tower, protected on the land side by a thick earthen mound. It is called Dun Naomhaig, or Duni- vaig. There are ruins of several houses beyond the mound, separated from the main building by a strong wall. This may have been a Danish structure, subsequently used by the Macdonalds. There are remains of several such strongholds 670 - AR GYLE SHIRE, in the same quarter. The ruins of one are to be seen on an inland hill, Dun Borreraig, with walls twelve feet thick, and fifty- two feet in diameter inside, and having a stone seat two feet high round the area. As usual, there is a gallery in the midst of the wall. Another had occupied the summit of Dun Aidh, a large, high, and almost inaccessible rock near the Mull.” III–Populati ON, Amount of population in 1811, - 4635 - 1821, - 5778 1831, * 7105 1841, * 7341 In Bowmore village, per census. Total. Males. Females. 1841, 1274 607 667 Country part of the parish, *se s * 2753 133] 1822 Total population of Killarrow, inclusive of Kilmeny, 1841, 4027 1938 2489 IV.—INDUSTRY. Agriculture.— The number of acres, either cultivated or occasionally in tillage, is 15,000, Scots measure. - About 18,000 acres are constantly waste or in pasture. A large proportion of these 18,000 acres might be cultivated with a profitable ap- plication of capital. The present proprietor has planted to a large extent, and con- tinues to do so. There were few or no planted trees, till he suc- ceeded to the property. About 1000 acres may be stated as un- der young thriving wood. Hard-wood grows best. - Rent.—Arable land may be stated at from 15s. to L. l per acre; grass land from Is. to L. 1. The farms are not let by mea- surement. The real rental of the parish is L.8400. - - The pasture lands have been much improved of late years by surface drains. Furrow-draining has also been carried on in the arable land. A tile-work has lately been erected for making drain-tiles. In short, the tenants are encouraged in every way to improve their lands by draining and liming, the landlord bearing the expense, in most cases, of opening the drains. A local Agricultural Society has been established for some years, and prizes are awarded for the improvement of the breed of black- cattle and sheep, and for the encouragement of green crop hus- bandry among the Small tenants. . The only manufacture is distilling, which is carried on to a considerable extent in the island. There are three distilleries in this parish, -Lossit, Talant, and Bowmore, producing above I& ILL ARROW AND KILMEN Y. - 671 60,000 gallons among them. The whisky of the island being very much famed for its fine quality, commands the highest price in the market. Fishing.—There are no regular fishings in this parish. Salmon and all kinds of white fish are abundant on the coast. Fishing, however, has never been carried on as a trade; but Mr Campbell is now treating for letting the salmon fishings. V.—PARochIAL EconoMY. t Ecclesiastical State.—The stipend is L.150, with L.5 for com- munion elements, in Bowmore. That of the minister of Kilmeny parliamentary church, is L. 120. There are also quoad Sacra par- liamentary churches at Oa and Portnahaven, endowed with the usual stipend of L. 120. . - The manse was built about the beginning of the present century. It is a comfortable house and in good repair. Education.—There is a parochial school in Bowmore, and a parliamentary school in Kilmeny parish. Two Gaelic Society schools are at present in Bowmore parish. There is a female. school near Bridgend, to the teacher of which, besides accommo- dations, Mrs Campbell of Islay gives a salary of L. 12 per annum. There are, besides, about a dozen of adventure schools through- out the parishes, almost all of them of a temporary nature, not gene- rally taught during summer months, and generally inefficient. Two permanent additional schools are much required. The pa- rochial schoolmaster has the maximum salary. Schoolmaster fees about L. 25 per annum. House and glebe worth about L. 12. The teacher is also session-clerk; and Mr Campbell of Islay has allowed him, in addition to salary, a gratuity of L.9, 7s. 4d. per annum. The salary of the parliamentary schoolmaster of Bally- grant, parish of Kilmeny, is L.35 per annum. - Poor.—The average number of poor is 45. Thirteen of them have as nearly as possible an average of 2s. per week, and the re- maining 32 occasional poor may be said to have about L. 20 a- year dispensed among them. Average annual amount of con- tributions, about L.70; from church collections, about L. 60; from legacies, I.10. Mr Campbell of Islay, when the session are short of funds, supplies what meal or money is required for the poor. April 1843. PARISH OF KILMAD AN. PRESBYTERY OF DUNOON, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REv. WILLIAM GRANT, MINISTER. I.—Topography AND NATURAL HISTORY. - Name, Situation, Soil, &c.—THE most ancient name of this parish is said to have been Glenduisk, signifying the “ Glen of the Blackwater.” A battle was fought between Meckan, son of Magnus, King of Norway, and the Albuns or Gails, where it is said the Norwegians were slaughtered on each side of a river called Ruail, which runs through the middle of the glen ; and their bodies being thrown into the river, gave the colour of blood to it. Hence the parish got the name of Glenderwell, and the river the name of Ruail, which signifies the “ Glen of Red Blood.” Though the epithet red is unnecessary to be added to blood, yet it is very often done in Gaelic. After the introduction of Christianity into the country, the place of worship was conse- crated to St Modan, and called Cella Modani, or Kilmadan. The parish is 12 miles long, almost contained in the bottom of the glen, and a little more than a quarter of a mile broad. It is bounded by Kilfinnan, Inverchallen, Dunoon, and Strachur. The parish is almost a flat, bounded by hills, covered mostly with heath. The air is moist, the soil deep and fertile. The extent of the sea coast is about three miles. The shore is sandy and flat for the most part. (Old Statistical Account.) - II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Eminent Men.—This parish gave birth in 1698 to a very able mathematician, Colin Maclaurin, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Edinburgh, and also to a very eminent divine, the Rev. John Maclaurin, both sons of John Maclaurin, once Mi- nister of this parish. Parochial Registers.-That of births and baptisms commences in 1787; marriages in 1737; church collections in 1745; church KILM AD AN, 673 discipline in 1745. They have been regularly kept for the last fifty years. . - Land-owners.-These are, with their valuations, as follows:— Angus Fletcher, Esq. of Dunans, . § . º L. 18 16 S Archibald Campbell, Esq. of Glendaruell, e . 90 0 1 Donald M*Chananich, Esq. of Auchadachiranbeg, . 4 || 8 Mungo N. Campbell, Esq. of Ballimore, tº . I l 9 3 Robert N. Campbell, Esq. of Ormidale, • * e 34 9 6 John Campbell, Esq. of South Hall, te *} . 28 14 10 Total, * L. l88 2 0 Mansion-Houses.—The only mansion-houses in the parish are those of Dunans, Glendaruell, and Ormidale. Antiquities.—Various traces of the invasion by the Danes still exist in this parish. Rude cairns or tumuli can, at this day, be pointed out; and several very perfect stone coffins have, from time to time, been discovered, in which, it is believed, the ashes of their chiefs slain in battle were buried. r III.-PopULATION. Amount of population in 1801, 502 1811, 622 1821, 731 º - 1831, 648 1841, 678 During the last three years, there have been 3 illegitimate chil- dren in the parish. - IV.-INDUSTRY. - Agriculture.—The number of acres under cultivation is 1301. There are 19,527 mostly in moorland pasture. 975 acres are under wood, a considerable portion of which is natural copse. The planted wood consists chiefly of larch, which thrives re- markably well, beautiful specimens of which are to be seen at Dunans and Glendaruell. The late proprietors of Ormidale did much to adorn that beautiful and romantic spot by planting; and there is no place in the parish, in which all the different tribes of firs thrive so well. -, Rent.—The average rent of arable land is L. l ; and pasture, 2s. Real rental of the parish, L.3240. Of late years, a change has taken place in the system of agri- culture throughout the parish. A more regular rotation of crop- ping has been observed, with the modern system of furrow-draining. • The sheep pasture has been much improved by surface-draining, which, combined with the inducements more recently held out by a Pastoral Association formed in the district, has tended greatly to improve the quality of all kinds of stock. A R G Y LIE. - U Ul 674 AIl GYLE SHIRE. The fishing of salmon and trout in the river Ruel was formerly remarkably good, but of late, in consequence of the prevalence of netting along the arms of the sea, the number of fish of all kinds in this river has very much decreased. Several smacks belonging the parish, which are employed in summer at the herring-fishing, trade from the mouth of the Ruel to the adjacent ports on the frith of the Clyde in the export of potatoes (for which this parish is famed,) and generally return laden with manure for the farmers. The average tonnage of these vessels is from 12 to 30 tons. V.-PARoch IAL EconoMY. Ecclesiastical State.—Forty-eight families belong to the Esta- blished Church; 41 do. are Dissenters. The stipend amounts to L.160. The glebe contains 13 acres; value L.20. The manse was built in 1773. - ** * Education.—There are three schools in the parish. The pa- rish teacher has a salary of L.27, 10s. ; fees, L. 10; other emolu. ments, L.4. s Poor. — There are 11 on the roll. Each receives about L.2, 12s. 10%d. per year. The total amount distributed is L.33, 15s. 6; d. annually; whereof L.24, 19s. 54d. arise from church collections, and L.8, 16s. 1d. from mortcloth, marriages, and other sessional funds. June 1844. PARISH OF GLASSA.R.Y. PRESBYTERY of INVERARY, SYNoD of ARGYLE. THE REV. DUGALD CAMPBELL, MINISTER." I.—TopographY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—GLASSARY has been saidſ to be “evidently derived from Glastra,” or rather Glas-Srath, a greyish strath, as being “ descrip- tive of the lower end of the parish.” It may be so; but Glas- a?ridh, or the Grey Pasturage or Shealing, seems a less forced and still more descriptive etymology, characteristic alike of the pasto- ral habits of the past ages, and of the general appearance of the whole parish, whose surface of rugged uplands rather than of lofty mountains, renders it naturally more fitted for pasturage than for tillage. - Boundaries, &c.—It is bounded by Lochfyne on the south and south-east; by Lochawe and part of the parish of Kilmartin on the north-west and north; by the parishes of Inverary and Dala- vich on the east and north-east; and by those of Kilmartin, North Knapdale, and South Knapdale on the west and south-west. It varies from 8 to 10 miles in breadth, and from 12 to 16 miles in length. It is said f to consist of 150 square miles, or 75,000 Scotch acres; and it is divided into 225+ merk lands. It stretches along Lochfine for 16 miles, from the stream called Leachdan at the Furnace, which divides it from the parish of Inverary, to the stream south of and close to the village of Lochgilphead, which separates it from South Knapdale on the one side ; and on the other it extends along the banks of Lochawe for 8 miles, from the stream on the east side of the farm of Brabhealaich to the Ford. On the west the valley of Glassary extends nearly from side to side of the parish. This valley varies in height from 200 to near 600 feet above the level of the sea; also in breadth and in ferti- lity, having its acclivities on either side partially wooded, and a * Drawn up by the Rev. Colin Smith, Inverary. f Vide Old Stat. Account. † Smith's Agricultural Survey of Argyleshire. 676 . AR GYLE SHI [R E. small lake, called Lochan Leamhan, near its centre. It also varies the character of the parish scenery, by terminating or interrupting the extensive tract of hill and moss which reaches from the shores of Lochfyne to those of Lochawe. Meteorology.—The weather in this parish is of that changeable character which its geographical situation indicates. The prevail- ing winds are from south-west to west and north-west, and coming from the Atlantic charged with vapour, which is formed into clouds by contact with the mountains, they fail not to supply rain abun- dantly. It is remarked, however, that when a south-west wind continues for some time, it is accompanied by the finest and most settled weather. When the wind is north-east, the weather is al- most always dry, though often cloudy and cold. A daily register of the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere is kept at Kil- mory, the residence of Sir John P. Orde, Bart. From observations made for several years with the rain-gauge in that place, the quan- tity which falls annually may be considered to be from 60 to 70 inches. - Quantity of rain, as ascertained by the Rain-Gauge on the leads of Kilmory House,” in the parish of Glassary, for the years 1835–6–7. - - 1835. 1836. 1837. Average. January, • . 3.20 12.30 4.20 6.563 February, . 6.60 3.35 6.30 5.413 March, © 4. 8.75 2.65 5.13% April, º 2.50 4,85 3.20 3.733 May, . © 8.90 0.06 2.15 3.89% June, ... • 2.30 4.50 2.20 3. July, . tº 3.80 9.15 2.10 5.013 August, & 5.40 || 4.50 5. 4.963 September, . 5.90 7.85 3.75 5.83% October, gº 4.10 5.20 8.30 5,863 November, . 9. 8,95 5.10+ 7.68% December, . 5.30 6.80 6.13+ 6.073 Total, . 6l. 76.26 51.08 || 62.78. * Communicated by Sir John P. Orde, Bart. + November 1827 is taken to 7th December. # December only to the 27th in 1837. GLASSARY. 677 Thermometer, as noted at Kilmory House.* Morning. - Night. 1837. Highest. Lowest. Mean. §: Highest. | Lowest. |Mean. §: Feb. 46 30 || 38. 18 48 30 || 37}} | 18 March, 42 28 3533 26 43 27 343% 27 April, • * * - * * • * * : * ~ * tº s º tº º º * e º • ? & June, 63 46 55.2 | 20 60 41 51.3%r | 19 July, 61 52 58 || 26 || 59 42 54}} | 27 Aug. 62 39 53}} | 21 60 42 52}+ 24 Sept. 54 42 48#r 14 52 42 47# 17 Oct. 54 35 451's 15 56 36 45% 14 Nov. 50 30 39;; 24 5i 32 394; 28 Dec. 47 33 41% 30 50 30 42# 30 § { 46 36 413 || 7 || 46 40 || 423 || 6 68 30 60 30 | Barometer, as noted at Kilmory House.f sº sº is sº ºf tº Q) • *t º * # & > 2 || 3 || 3 | # ; # # ; |February, f | 30.03 || 28.32 29.223 55 ... l l || 4 || 3 || 5 - March, 30.1 4 || 28.77 29.732 70 || 1 | | 6 || 18 || 5 | ... - - April, e - - - - - e - - * * * r * * * r * ~ * i s a s -> º ºr - - - June, 30.0i 29.07 || 29.63 62 ... | 7 | 16 ... . . . . . . . . July, 30.06 || 28.88 || 29,6264 72 | ... | | 4 | 16 | ... . ... ...} August, 30.06 || 29.06 || 29.59 73 | ... | | 3 || || 8 | . . . . . . . e - - September|| 29.98 || 28.90 29.53 49 ... 12 18 ... l 5 October," 30.3| || 28.54 || 29.52 44 |... 13 || 4 | ... 5 5 November, 29.9l 28.45 29.35% 87 || 4 | 18 || 6 l 4 S December, 30.15 28.68 29.43% || 10 || 8 || 20 | | | | ... . ... 6 Jan. 1838, 30. . . 28.69 29.45} 2 l ... 5 l 5 2 | Total 30.31 |2832 29.509465643 Hydrography.—Two sides of this parish, as has been seen, are bounded by water, and it contains numberless fresh-water lakes, the principal of which is Loch-Ederlin, situated beautifully about a quarter of a mile from the north-west end of Lochawe, and only a few feet higher, embosomed in mountains, and adorned with plantations, whose lights and shades are enshrined in and reflected There are also many others in the by its calm unruffled surface. * Communicated by Sir John P. Orde, Bart. + Ibid. j: | l 7, a 2, 8, 9, 10, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 31, not observed. From the llth to the 28th only. Thunder. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, not observed. 678 AR GYLE SHIRE. moors, as Lochglaissean and Lochshineach, from which the Ad, the principal stream in the parish, flows. This stream runs to the south-west through the valley of Glassary, and is liable, during heavy rains, to overflow its banks, and do much injury to the sur- rounding fields. It discharges itself at Crinan, and there is a sal- mon fishery on it, which is under the management of the proprie- tor. * w - The depth of the lakes generally is unknown. That of Loch- fine is ascertained, however, and while many variations must be supposed to occur in the land under as above the level of its wa- ters, it may serve every useful purpose merely to state, that at Camlodden its depth is 35 fathoms; between Minard and the op- posite side at Castle-Lachlane, 12 to 15 ; opposite Lochgair, 40, and at Airds Point, 15 to 50 fathoms. Lochgilp and Lochgair are two small branches off Lochfyne, about six miles distant, the latter being little more than a well-protected bay, while the for- mer is about a mile and a-half in length, but so shallow as not to be navigable for boats of any burden during low water. “The springs with me,” at least those which are perennial, rise mostly from the veins of hard siliceous limestone. They are very clear, but contain a good deal of lime and a little iron. I have tested them all roughly, and discover little difference in them ; nor do they contain a notable portion of any other ingre- dient. I have never found the temperature of those near my house to vary sensibly from 48°. --- “Tides.—The current of flood and ebb set strongly up and down Lochfyne, on the Argyle shore. From Silvercraigs, the ebb sets across to Caoldhu, along which line there is a bank of rock, on many parts of which there is very shoal water, particu- larly at a point called An Sgor Mhór, opposite to Inverniel. In Lochgilp, the tide is much less strong. A great change has taken place in the ebb at the head of Lochgilp during the last twenty or thirty years. From being a firm sand, it has become soft and muddy, and is seldom or never dry. I had to extend my slip or landing causeway several times, in consequence of the bank always growing out at the end of it; but this might possibly be caused by the slip itself.” • - Geology.—The rocks are slaty. On the north-east end of the parish they are micaceous, becoming harder and less ragged in * I have been indebted to the kindness of Sir John P. Orde, Bart., Kilmory, for this and much valuable information throughout this report. GLASS ARY. - 679 the fracture towards the tops of the hills. They are often speckled . . with red, in consequence of partial decomposition. Masses of por- phyry, several miles in extent, jut through the prevailing rock to a height of 700 or 800 feet at Camlodden, and at the points of junction the slate appears redder in colour and friable. - Towards the west and south-west part of Glassary, the slate be- comes less micaceous by degrees, the porphyry disappears, and the hills soften down both in form and height. Clay slate and chlorite slate, of a dark green colour, and abounding in pyrites, form the rocks of this district, frequently interstratified with grey felspar of varying thickness, containing oxide of iron, and traversed at different angles by veins of greenstone. - On the shores of Lochawe, sections of the rock have been laid open in forming the road, which exposes at some points the junc- tion of the slate with the granitic rocks on which it is superincum- bent. These sections are also important in an economical point of view, showing that, from the slate of this district, flags of any size and suitable for any purpose may be found with the least pos- sible trouble; while the antiquarian may also learn from them how easily the stones which formed the Druidical circles, the flags which roofed ancient castles, and formed the stone-coffins of the dead, might have been obtained. - The strata extend in the direction of south-east and north-west, with occasional contortions, such as are generally found in schis- tose rocks, and they dip south-west. Limestone is found abundantly interspersed through the schistus in many parts of the parish ; and a copper-mine was opened by the present Duke of Argyle on the farm of Brainchaoille, which, though the ore was excellent in quality, was not found to occur in such quantity as to remunerate the working, and was therefore abandoned. Boulder stones of various sizes are met with, of a rounded form received by attrition, and consisting of the granite and porphyry, &c. of the neighbouring hills. The soil varies with the character of the subjacent rocks. Along the banks of Lochfyne, towards the south-east part of the parish, it is gravelly, reposing on rock or clay, or sometimes mingled with peat; while on the south-west end, and along the banks of Lochawe, the soil is a deep and dark loam for the most part, and of a fertile quality. Peat occurs at all elevations, and in all parts of the parish. 680 . AR GYLE SHIRE, zoology.—This parish is favoured zoologically by having the sea for its boundary on the one side, and Lochawe, one of the largest of the Scottish lakes, on the other. Its hills are lofty enough to be the habitation of the snow-bunting (Emberiza nivalis), and the ptarmigan (Tetrao Lagopus), and its woods warm enough to shel- ter the wren and the throstle (Turdus musicus). The teal (Anas crecca), and the widgeon (A. Penelope), with the water-hen (Fulica chloropus), and coot (F. atra and F. aterrima), are found on its lakes; and varieties of the gull (Larus), and diver (Mergus), on its shores; while Lochſyne, on the one side, supplies herrings, and Lochawe, on the other, trout such as cannot be surpassed. It is not known that any rare species of animals are to be found in this parish. It is said that the wolf was, till a late period in the British history of that animal, an inhabitant of these houseless wilds, and that it was usual to fortify the roofs of the solitary huts and shealings against his depredations by wattlings of strong brush- wood. It is told that the last of them which was seen in this pa- rish followed in the track of a female who was crossing the coun- try from Lochawe to Lochſyneside. She was seen ascending the hill above Braveallaich with confidence, and, after passing through the moor, had almost obtained the road which leads to Inverary, at the mill of Craleckan, but was found close by it, on the Glassary side of the stream, a corpse. Her right arm was protected by an apron which she had rolled around it, and her hand grasped a knife which she had lodged deep in the heart of a wolf that lay dead beside her. It was supposed that when she discovered the animal on her track, she had fled in the hope of reaching the houses that were nigh at hand; but that being unable to escape, she had as- sumed the defensive in despair, and died terrified and exhausted by the effort which left her nothing to fear. “We have a considerable herd of the small Zebu, or humped Indian cattle, both of the long and short-horned breeds. The crosses between these and Ayrshire or Highland cows have proved very hardy, and most remarkable for their disposition to fatten, and also for the juiciness and flavour of the meat. One bullock weighed 960 lbs., but they are not often much above a-half or two-thirds of that weight. The crosses are so wild, that it is dif- ficult to do any thing with them. We have also a few of the larger or Guzorat breed of humped cattle, and I got some years' ago, a white bull of the aboriginal Scotch breed, which, I under- stand, came from the Duke of Atholl's stock, and having selected © O GLASS ARY. 681 white or dun Highland cows to breed with him, he has left many with the characters of the wild race. These, however, have not the whole ear black as the Hamilton, or red as the Chillingham cattle, but only edged with black hairs. “I tried two or three pairs of alpacas and llamas; but the former died, and the latter met with accidents, and I gave them up. I do not think them suited to our climate, or likely to be profitable. Mr Stevenson at Oban had the llama for many years, and they did well with him; but their fleece is not to be compared with that of the alpaca, which, I fear, is a much more tender animal, and which certainly has no more disposition to fatten than a goat.” Fishes.—“ Lobsters have lately been caught, and some lobster pots have been introduced from Guernsey and elsewhere. Pearls are often found in the oysters and mussels, but small and of no value. If the oysters and mussels could be protected, they might become valuable.” . - Botany—Trees.—“The ash grows very fast when young, but the trees are apt to decline, or even canker and die, when twenty- five or thirty years old. The Scotch fir, too, often fails when it has become a large tree. The Balm of Gilead fir invariably does so. The silver fir succeeds better than any other tree; but the larch and all hard-woods, except the ash in some cases, thrive well and grow rapidly. Larch may be removed and transplanted after ten years' growth, with a loss of no more than 1 in 100, and at an expense of about L. l 1, 10s. per acre.” We know of no rare plants found in this parish. Its hills are not sufficiently lofty for the habitats of the rarer alpine plants, and the plains do not afford a variety. The botanist may form an es- timate of what is generally met with, when it is stated that the heaths abound with Azalea procumbens, Epilobium montanum, Tormentilla officinalis, Parnassia palustris, Thymus Serpyllum, Empetrum nigrum, Hypericum montanum, &c.; the bogs with Pinguicula vulgaris, Eriophorum vaginatum, Scirpi, Junci, &c.; the sides of the rills with Saxifraga stellaris, Chrysosplenium alter- nifolium, Nasturtium officinale, &c.; the lakes with Potamogeton natans, Nymphaea aſba, Nuphar lutea, Ranunculus aquatilis, &c.; the woods with Primula vulgaris, Lonicera Periclymenum, Ribes alpinum, Allium ursinum, Ovalis acetosella, Prunus spinosa, Ru- bus fruticosus, Geum urbanum, G. rivale, Trollius Europaeus, Ajuga reptans, Geranium phaeum, Hypericum calycinum, &c.; the gra- * Communication from Sir John Orde, Bart. 682 . ARGYLES HIRE, velly fields and shores with Erythraea centaurium, Eryngium mari- timum, Statice Armeria, Arenaria peploides, Sedum anglicum, &c.; and the meadows with Lychnis dioica, L. Flos Cuculi, Ranunculi, Caltha palustris, Centaurea nigra, Orchis maculata, O. albida, &c. The plague of the cultivated fields is various species of Rumex or dock, which grow everywhere as if the seeds had been sown with care. - There are plantations of oak, fir, &c., of various extent, through- out the parish, though it cannot by any means be said to be wood- ed. On the estates of Camlodden and Minard, Kilmory and Auchandaroch, and with few exceptions throughout the whole district, they are well fenced, are kept clean, and thrive well. There is also a considerable portion of natural wood, as oak, hazel, birch, &c., along Lochaweside. II.-CIVIL HISTORY. There is no written account of the history of the parish known to us, by which we can learn any thing of its ancient condi- tion. Neither are there documents, papers, or pictures known to be in the possession of any one, illustrative of its past his- tory. Much must, therefore, be left to conjecture; but it is probable that the south-west portion of the parish must . have been of importance, when the Scots held their seat of govern- ment in Argyleshire, and when the frequent feuds between the two branches of the regal family, living the one in Kintyre and the other in Lorne, rendered this their pathway in their mutual incursions, and probably their battle-field.* - In the eleventh, twelfth, and early portion of the thirteenth cen- tury, it is probable that the inhabitants of this district were kept in continual alarm by the near proximity of the Danes, who had possession of all the western coast, and had settled in great num- bers in the neighbouring parish of North Knapdale. The remains of ancient buildings, intended, as their form and sites evidently in- dicate, as watch-towers, built in order to convey the most rapid intelligence of the movements of any party on the coast to the in- ternal parts of the country, give countenance to this opinion. These are still three in number. One is called Tor a Bhlarain, on the top of a hill called Barnafuar, near Kilmichael, and it * Early in the eighth century, a division was made of lands lying between Lorne and Kintyre, whereby the portion of the King of Dal-ruadh was separated from that of Lorne. There is in this parish a farm called Ruadh-dal, contracted Ru-dal. Can it º the limit of the part of Ruadh, the Reuda of Bede, according to the above division 4. GLASS ARY. 683 commands a view of the hills of Knapdale, the coast, and Loch- Crinan. Another is called Tunnan, and is placed upon a rock called Creag na'n Tun in Glenaireidh, and within sight of Dun- chuaich, another watch-tower in the parish, and above the Castle of Inverary. The third is on Gortain Rainich, by the side of Lochglaissean, and it commands a view of the two former, being in the centre between them: The whole thus forming one line of communication, by which any tidings might be intimated from either district to the other. Tradition states that a great portion of the parish was in pos- session of the MacDonalds, and that the chief who held the sur- rounding district in subjection lived on Lochaweside. There is a ruin on the northern banks of that lake, called Fionn-chairn Castle, which is pointed out as the residence of Mac Mhic Jain. It stands upon a rock, which rises up from the waters of the lake on one side, and is all around steep and rugged, without a pathway, so that it is entered by climbing with some difficulty. It is a square building, of small dimensions, having an area in the centre, sur- rounded by what appears to have been rooms, or rather cells, one tier above another, and the uppermost of them roofed in by flags of a large size. Tradition says it was destroyed by fire, and the account given of its fall is illustrative of the times. Mac Mhic Jain was ac- knowledged by all around as the chief, and he demanded the services and submission which were supposed due to him in that capacity. The fair Una was the daughter of a powerful vassal in the neighbourhood, who was about to give her in marriage to a youth who was worthy of, and who had won her heart. The marriage day was fixed, and only one bitterness was mixed in the cup of their ardent expectations. The chieftain, by cus- tom, possessed privileges which he exacted, but which God and nature teach to be the right of the husband alone. Una plead- ed and wept; her lover remonstrated with the chief to spare them the pain and disgrace; but he was inexorable. The mar- riage party assembled; the knot was tied; and the supper was spread in the hall. Mac Mhic Jain had arrived, as was usual, to share in the feast. One, however, was absent from the board, and he was the bridegroom. No sooner was he missed than the alarm was raised that Fionn-chairn Castle was on fire. The truth flash- ed on the mind of the chief, and he rushed forth the first to have vengeance. This happened as the youth expected, who had avail- 684 A R GYLESHIRE, ed himself of the prevailing mirth to go forth unperceived to ap- ply the burning torch, and who was now hastening back. The two met, not unwilling foes, in an intervening wood. They fought. The chieftain fell, and Castle Fionn-chairn was not built again, nor the sway of the Mac Mhic Jain any more submitted to. - The Knights of Lochawe in all probability obtained the influ- ence in this district which the MacDonalds had lost. For they lived at Ard-chonnail Castle, in the parish of Dalavich, and only a few miles distant. There is, however, no relation known to us of the time in which they became possessors of the land, though the fact is certain that their clansmen were long, and till lately continued to be, nearly the sole proprietors. Several powerful families of that race were resident in the pa- rish. Campbell of Achnabreck was only second to Argyle in the county. This family lived at Lochgair in a mansion of great size,_ but which was cast to the ground when the property went to other hands. They held their baron bailie courts at Kilmichail, then a populous village, and a place of considerable importance, not only in the parish but also in the county. The Campbells of Eder- line also held large possessions in this parish. But now Kilmory alone remains to the descendants of the former, and Achaneilain to those of the latter." Among the old heritors also, were the Campbells of Kirnan, who appear by the records of the Pres- bytery of Inverary to have been, for one generation after another, supporters of the Reformation and elders in the Church. Their valued rent was L.37, 1s. nearly one-nineteenth of the whole. From them Thomas Campbell the poet was descended. And it is said that it was in the old manse of Kilmichail, after visiting the old house and garden of Kirnan, which are about a mile and a half distant in the valley of Glassary, that he wrote the beautiful lines, “On visiting a scene in Argyleshire.” The two first stan- zas are descriptive of many such other places in this parish, to which descendants may look with similar feelings.” * The Rev. Dugald Campbell, minister of Glassary, is this descendant. + At the silence of twilight's contemplative hour, I have mused in a sorrowful mood, On the wind-shaken weeds that embosom the bower, Where the home of my forefathers stood. All ruin’d and wild is their roofless abode, And lonely the dark raven's sheltering tree; And travell'd by few is the grass covered road, Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode, To his hills that encircle the sea. GLASS AIRY. 685 A century ago the number of heritors in this parish was twenty, of whom thirteen were Campbells and three were MacLachlanes. There was one MacKellar, one Lamont, one MacTavish, and one MacCallum. Now there are fourteen heritors, seven of whom are Campbells. There is neither a MacLachlane, a MacKellar, nor a MacTavish among them, and the descendants of MacCal- lum having assumed the name of Malcolm, their heir is now the principal heritor, manifesting their hereditary enterprise, judg- ment, and prudence. The ancient ecclesiastical condition of this parish is made known to the present generation, only by the ruins of chapels or churches scattered over it. There are Kilbride in the west-end, Killèvin, near Crarae on Lochfyneside, and Kilmory near Loch- gilphead. There is also a fine ruin of a church, with an oratory close by it, at Kil-neuair on Lochaweside. This seems to have been an important station, as is indicated by the beauty of the workmanship and the traditions connected with the church. The date of the building cannot be given; but it is related that, as in building the temple in Jerusalem, so in the erection of this church, —not a hammer was laid on a stone at the site of it; that the stones were found in and dressed at a quarry close to Killèvin, on Lochfyneside ; that on a particular day duly appointed, people at- tended in such numbers as to form one close rank from Killèvin to Kil-neuair, a distance of twelve miles, and that each stone, as raised at the quarry or hewing station, was handed from one man to another along the whole rank until it was fixed by the last of them in its place in the building. +. º This church was held in superstitious veneration long after it ceased to be used as a place of worship, and it was imagined that the spirits, either of the Saints or of the dead unemancipated from purgatory, haunted its walls.” A village once was ranged round Yet wandering, 1 found on my ruinous walk, By the dial-stone aged and green, One rose of the wilderness left on its stalk, To mark where a garden had been. Like a brotherless hermit, the last of its race, All wild in the silence of nature, it drew From each wandering sun-beam, a lonely embrace; For the night-weed and thorn overshadow’d the place Where the flower of my forefathers grew. Sweet bud of the wilderness 1 emblem of all That remains in this desolate heart &c. &c. - . * It is of this church that a story is told, to which we have often listened with wonder and awe in childhood, and which has obtained a wide circulation. The tra- 686 AR GY LESH IIR.E. it, and it was the station in which a market called A’margadh Dhu was held ; but now the ruins stand alone by the side of a road which few travellers frequent. “The foundations* of the old chapel or cell at Kilmory were visible till within the last few years, and I still possess a stone which has formed part of a very handsome moulding, probably that of the door architrave. I have been told, that, according to tradition, Kilmory and Kildusclan, which is on the opposite side of Lochgilp, were served by one priest. - “The precincts of the Kilmory chapel are still used by the country people as a burying ground; the most rigid Presbyterians having a most uncalvinistic prejudice in favour of the old papisti- cally consecrated ground. “When the Parliamentary church was built at Lochgilphead, it was wished that people should be buried in the ground round it, but it was many years before any one could be induced to pa- tronise it. A vagrant having been found dead in the neighbour- hood, it was proposed to break the charm by interring him there; but even the authors of the proposition relented before it was ac- tually carried into execution, saying it was too hard to put him there, because he had no relations. “Somehow or other a beginning has since been made, and many are now buried round their place of worship. “A very neat monument, an obelisk of Ardantallin stone, is there erected to the memory of their first pastor, the late Mr M“Kichan, a man universally beloved and regretted by his flock.” Heritors.-The resident heritors in the parish are four, and all of them living in commodious mansions. The principal of these is Kilmory. “It is said to have been a mansion-house for 500 years; but, in those days, this distinction was more easy ditionary tale is, that a tailor who was sceptical on the subject of apparitions, ventur- ed to bet that he would make a pair of trews, (the dress of the time,) within the walls of the church during the midnight hours. He went with his torch bravely to redeem his pledge; but he had not sewn much when a sepulchral voice directed his attention to a hand of gigantic size arising from some of the graves in the area of the church, and he heard the words, “Am faic thu a chrög mhör liath so a thailleir P” (Seest thou this huge hoary hand, tailor 2) “Chi mi sin 's fuaighidh mi so, thubhairt an taillair.” (I see that, but will sew this, said the tailor.) The voice again utter- ed, “Am faic thuan ceann mêr liath so a thailleir 2" (Seest thou this large grey head, tailor P) “ Chi mi sin 's fuaighidh mi so thubhairt an täillair.” (I see that, but will sew this, said the tailor.) Thus the conversation proceeded until all the members of the skeleton appeared. Then the tailor fled; and it was time, for the bony hand that was stretched out to seize him, struck and left its impression on the wall. - * * Communication by Sir John Orde, Bart. + Ibid. GLASS ARY. - 687 of attainment. It was thatched within the memory of man, and, when I first knew it, the corner stone of the oldest part, project- ing considerably from the wall, had a hollow in the top for grind- ing or pounding barley in. This I was unwillingly obliged to blast away, as it projected considerably into the new addition. Peter Campbell, Esq., the late proprietor, added to it in 1816 or 1820. Since 1828, when I came into the possession of it, fur- ther additions have been from time to time made to it, and the old, part is incorporated, so as not to be distinguished from the IlêW. - “ The principal feature of the house is a large octagon tower of blue stone ashler, which forms the south-west angle, contain- ing a dining-room 15 feet high, and an octagon drawing-room, 21 feet high, and having, besides three windows at the usual height, a window in each of the eight sides. These rooms are 29 feet in diameter. An anteroom, about 12 feet square, connects the octagon with another, the Chinese drawing-room, which is 57 feet long by 27 wide, and 16 high. This room ex- tends over the entrance-hall and the kitchen, between which is an archway or covered entrance, 40 feet long by 15 wide, which ad- mits a carriage and four to drive into it. It is closed by sliding gates at either side, and is a perfect protection in this stormy cli- mate. The principal staircase, which is much admired, is circu- lar, with the steps all alike, while the walls are octagon, and it is lighted by a circular sky-light. A great portion of the house is flat roofed, covered with lead, and surmounted by a flagstaff 48 feet high. Most of the house is built of the blue flag found on the property, either rough or hewn ; but most of the chimney cor- mices and copes are freestone, from the Garscube and other quar- ries. The floors in the public rooms are of polished oak, as are also the doors, and in some cases the wainscoting. The furni- ture of these rooms is all antique, and a good deal of it was taken from the Palace of Belew, in Portugal. The damask coverings and the paper-hangings were manufactured expressly for us in China. “The view from the tower is most picturesque, extending from Ben-ghoil, in Arran, to the mountains of Mull, and commanding a great part of Lochfyne, with the opposite hills of Cowal.” III.—PopULATION. . The oldest account which we have of the population of this parish is dated in 1755, when the number of souls in it was 6SS AR GYLES H II: E. 2751. In 1792, it had diminished to 2568. In 1831, it had increased to 4054, and, in 1841, to 5869. The number (in 1841) residing in the original parish of Glassary, was, males, 1355, and females, 1295; total, 2630. Families, 504. At- tached to the Government church of Lochgilphead, were, males, 1345, females, 1894; total, 2739. Families, 562. Making in all, males, 2690, females, 2689; total, 5369. Families, 1066. The increase in the population shown by the above returns has taken place entirely in the village of Lochgilphead, which has in- creased rapidly within the last thirty years, and is still increasing. The rural population, there is reason to believe, has been dimi- nishing rather than increasing, as not only have emigration and the enlargement of farms so operated, in this as in other parts of the Highlands; but the principal proprietor has taken upon himself the management of a great portion of his lands, placing workmen and managers in them instead of tenants and cottars; an experi- ment which may require to be watched, lest it give rise to a population which may eventually be as poor, and not more easily maintained or more beneficial to the community, than that which has been dispensed with. The cottar and the crofter systems are liable to much abuse, and where unrestrained must ever bring down the character of the peasantry to the low- est level; but it is difficult for the farmer to carry on work where he can find no extra labourer of whose aid he can avail himself at a busy season ; and it might therefore conduce to the interests of all, if the building of a cottage or the allotment of a piece of ground to a poor man were carefully considered rather than altogether prevented. - Very often the cottars who leave the rural districts here take up their abode in the village. The average" number of baptisms registered annually in Glas- sary for the three years ending January 1844, was 103; and of marriages for the same period, 26 annually. It is believed that these returns are not strictly accordant with the actual number, especially of births, because there is an impression that the regis- ters are purely ecclesiastical documents, kept by order of the ec- clesiastical and not of the civil authorities,—and that if the offi- ciating ministers insist not upon it, the interests of the parties do not render the expense necessary. * Return made by Mr John Campbell, teacher and session-clerk, G LASS AIR Y. 689 The number" of proprietors having a rental above L.2000, is one ; having above L. 1000, and not L. 2000, two ; hav- ing above L.500, and not L. 1000, four; having above L.100, and not L.500, six. In Lochgilphead, again, the number of proprie- tors having an annual income from houses of L. 100 and upwards, is three; from L.50 to L. 100, three; from L.20 to L.50, nine- teen ; from L. 10 to L.20, thirty-two; under L. 10, twelve. There are several persons in the parish, of independent though not of large means. The style of house-building in Lochgilphead has been greatly improved of late, but this is principally owing to the proprietor, Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Achandaroch, who will not now give feu or lease unless the plans are submitted to his own approval. Illicit distillation scarcely exists in this parish ; at least it is not brought to light. - The character of the people varies in different districts of the parish, which are so far separated that they have not much inter- course together. Along the banks of Lochfyne, they are an ac- tive hardy race, of fishermen principally, who are capable of en- during much wet and cold ; but more rude than the inhabitants of the less frequented Lochaweside. - - * We have ever been led to question the benefit of herring- fishing, as carried on in Lochſyne, to the community either in a moral or economical point of view, by observing its effects upon the habits of the people that pursue it. Habits of excitement are not favourable to the mind or body, and unfit men for the steady and common avocations of life. “The almost universal; con- nection between herring-fishing and whisky-drinking makes it ra- ther a curse than a boon to the people, and the pursuit is so un- certain, and partakes so much of the nature of gambling, that it is believed, in most instances, the money is not more ‘hardly got' than “lightly gone.’” The Gaelic language is generally spoken, but is gradually dis- appearing. Upon the whole, the people may be said to enjoy, ia a reasonable degree, the comforts and advantages of society,+ though truth requires it to be said, that more self-respect and more brotherly love would greatly elevate them above their present condition. * According to the assessment made for roads in March 1844, and returned by Mr George MacCombie. - + See MS. of Statistical Account of Inverary. f Communication by Sir John Orde, Bart. AR GYLE, X X 600 AR GY LESHIRE. *. IV.—INDIISTRY. * Agriculture. —The parish has not been so surveyed that the num- ber of acres cultivated and uncultivated can be stated. Much, however, remains waste that might be profitably improved for oc- casional tillage or permanent pasture. There are several proper- ties on which great improvements have been made, and conse- quently the rate of rent per acre varies exceedingly. Generally speaking, the rent may be considered to range from L.3 to L.5 for a cow, and from 2s. 4d. to 8s. 6d. for a sheep, for a year, ac- cording to the quality of the soil and local circumstances. The close or furrow draining system is that which is ordinarily pursued in reclaiming or improving the land. Drill husbandry is usually practised, and leases are generally from year to year, though there are several exceptions to this. The farm-buildings are generally of an inferior description, and there is a great want of enclosures, though much has been done in these respects also, or is now being done by Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Achan- daroch, N. Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch, Sir John Orde, Bart. Kilmory, William Campbell, Esq. of Ederline, and Colonel MacNiell of Achnaba, on their respective properties. “The breed of cattle generally raised is the Argyleshire or West Highland, and of sheep, the black-faced. There is at Kilmory a considerable” flock of South Down sheep, which do well on the low grounds, and make excellent winter mutton. They are much more hardy than the Leicesters, and make also a good cross with the black-faced. An Agricultural and an Horticultural So- ciety have been established here in connection with the parishes of Kilmartin, Craignish, and North and South Knapdale. They have been” very successful, and there has been considerable im- provement in the cattle and sheep. That of horses is more ques. tionable, and any great improvement of them is out of the ques- tion till we have, or will use, improved means of keeping them. Some years ago I brought a large stallion ass, near 15 hands high, from Malta, and have several good mules, which do very well, and some superior half-bred asses from him.” - While some progress is thus making, and some facilities for im- provement given, the want of capital is felt by many of the tenan- try, and must be considered as the principal obstacle to improve- ment in this as probably in every other country. The Highland farmer is not without enterprise, neither is he always indolent; but * Communication from Sir J. Orde. G LASS ARY. 69 l the generally short leases are not calculated to awaken confi- dence; the frequently mean accómmodation for the families in- creases, if it engenders not slovenly habits; defective fences, which expose expensively raised crops to the nightly depredations of cattle, discourage, if they do not disgust him; and insufficient office-houses, giving neither security to the crop nor comfort to the stock, leave him little in a climate changeable beyond calcula- tion, that he can rejoice in as the fruits of his labours. It must also be said, that too much is often expected of the farmer in this quarter. It appears that, so far back as 1792,” the tenants paid seven and a half per cent for money expended in im- provements; and it is understood that, on some properties at least, they do so still. The proprietor has a right to expect that the possessors of his lands shall render them better rather than worse, going on with the spirit of the times; but he has not a right to expect that that class of men who have no permanent interest in the lands shall improve them for his perpetual benefit. Reason, religion, and justice, teach that he who is able and rich, and whose property receives the advantage, should make some sacrifice for the benefit of the tenant, rather than that the resources of the latter should be exhausted to penury in increasing his stores. The slightest consideration shows that the advancement of money at seven and a half per cent., if legal, is, to say the least, an exaction which is intolerable; for at this rate, on an eighteen years' lease, the proprietor who advances L. 100 receives, first, compound in- terest at five per cent, for his money; he then receives his whole capital advanced, and somewhat more; and he lastly receives his farm improved to his hands for nothing. Or, in other words, the farmer gives him five per cent. for his money, pays it to him all back, and improves his land for him,-conferring every obligation, and receiving nothing. * Fisheries.—The principal fishery in Lochfyne is that of her- rings, and it is carried on with varying success. Much may pro- bably be yet done in advancing the knowledge, facilitating the labours, diminishing the casual losses, and improving the condition, pecuniary and moral, of the fishermen. As it is, some advances are making. Their boats are becoming larger and better; and the Ayrshire fishermen have brought in a good style of skiff, with a single lug-sail. A few years ago they were all wherry or schooner- rigged. They change the colour of the paint frequently, the men * Last Statistical Account. 692 AR GY LESH 1 R E. of one place generally painting alike. All of them have abandoned bark for tanning their nets, and use catechu. It is worthy of notice, that, a few years ago, a train of 50 or 60 nets was consi- dered long; now they often have trains of 300 nets. The number of boats employed in this parish “in the herring fishing, and in the cod and ling fishing, is 108, manned by 326 men and boys; 167 persons are employed in gutting, packing, &c.; and there are 7 coopers and 4 curers.” - Manufactures.—The only branches of manufacture carried on are, a distillery at Lochgilphead, which makes about 19,000 gal- lons of whisky, quarterly ; and a powder-mill, erected lately on the confines of the parish, adjoining Inverary, but of which the returns are not known. V.—PARoCHIAL ECONoMY. - Market-Town.—Lochgilphead is the principal, indeed the only market-town in the parish, as Kilmichael, though once populous, cannot now be called a village. The trade of Lochgilphead de- pends entirely on the surrounding district, and it has great facili- ties alike for its imports and exports by steam-boats, which daily arrive at and depart from Ardrisaig, which is nearly two miles dis- tant, and the sea-port of this town, though in the parish of South Knapdale. The benefit conferred on this country by steam navi- gation is indeed incalculable, and only in the course of being de- veloped. From Lochgilphead, the traveller may go southward to Glasgow; north, to Mull or Inverness by the Crinan Canal, which forms part of the boundary of this parish, on the south-west, at some points; or to Inverary, up Lochfyne, by steam-boats; and they convey sheep and cattle to market at a small expense of time, labour, and money. There are daily posts to Inverary, Glasgow, and Campbelton, and three times a-week to Kilmartin. - The means of communication are extending and improving in every respect. There are no turnpikes, and the roads are both made and repaired by assessment within the county; yet they are very good, and 21 miles in length. They also require to be much more extended, in order that the north portion of the parish may have easier access to market, &c. There are now several roads which scarcely deserve that name, also maintained at the public expense, over and above that mentioned above, i.e. one through the valley of Glassary, another across the moor from the ford to * Return by Mr Sutherland, Fishery Officer, Ardrisaig. f Stated on the authority of Mr Borthwick, Supervisor of Excise. GLASS ARY. 693 Inverary, and a third from Bravealaich to Inverary. The fine road along the banks of Lochawe, extending from Eritinn, in the parish of Dalavich, to Fionchairn, in this parish, eight miles, was completed last year at an expense of L. 1500; and, it is under- stood, was offered gratuitously to the road-trustees by the pro- prietor of the lands in that district.* “The bridges are not remarkable, but they are in good order, and that over the Ad, having four arches, is the largest. Not- withstanding that it has been enlarged and repaired at different times, it is still very narrow, steep, inconvenient, and almost dan- gerous. A new bridge lower down would require a mile of new road; but would shorten the distance to Kilmartin considerably, and ought to be built. One of the swing bridges over the Criman Canal, that at Carn-ban, is in this parish; but none of them is quite trustworthy, and when vessels are passing there is a long deten- tion. - - “Of harbours there are Lochgilp, which has good anchorage, but not much shelter from the south: the two bays of Silver- craigs, in one or other of which boats find shelter except from the south: Lochgair and Minard Bays; these are in the state of na- ture, but there is a small pier built by the road trustees at North Ottar Ferry, and I have a small pier for my own use below the house, with a causeway or ‘hard,’ 300 yards long down to the lowest low water mark. I have also rather a larger pier at the village for the accommodation of herring wherries, coal smacks, &c. from whom I take a small toll. These are only accessible at high water. The tide rises here from 8 to 10 feet. The high water at full moon and change is at about 12 o'clock in Lochgilp.” Ecclesiastical State.—Neither this parish nor any other in this county has the ecclesiastical advantages of church accommodation and frequent ministerial services possessed in papistical times be- fore the Reformation. The destitution of this and other portions of the Highlands arose rather from circumstances than from ne- glect, and has been perpetuated by custom or untoward events. During the early period of the Reformation, no good result would be considered to arise from the multiplication of places of worship, as the paucity of ministers was such, that the people were seldom called together for worship. There were only a few ministers scattered over the extensive bounds now constituting the two * Niel Malcolm, Esq. Poltalloch. + Communication by Sir John Orde, Bart. 694 A R GYLESHIRE. Synods of Argyle and Glenelg, the two being then comprehended under the name of the Synod of Argyle; and much of the business of the members constituting their meetings consisted in hearing applications from destitute parishes for the means of grace, and in appointing supplies, which were necessarily few and inadequate. From 1638 to 1660, notwithstanding the troubles of the times, the extension of the church attracted the attention of the minis- ters and of the Marquis of Argyle, that stedfast friend of Scotland and its church, whose patriotic acts and efforts are exhibited not more in the annals of the country than in the more obscure re- cords of our synods, our presbyteries, and our kirk-sessions. In 1650 and 1651, a private commission of Parliament, of which he was the chairman, was appointed for the plantation of kirks within the province of Argyle, whose acts, in dividing the united parishes and constituting them into separate parishes, anticipated what it is now the warmest wish of the friends of the Church of Scot- land to see accomplished. This parish was also under their con- sideration, and there is now among the MS. papers of the Synod of Argyle,” an act extracted under the hand of John Zuill, clerk to the Commission, dated 17th October 1650, continuing the summons raised before them for the planting, dividing, and dis- membering of “ Kilmichael and Glassary,” having on the back of it the execution of its due intimation. The events which occur- red soon after this prevented the accomplishment of the object contemplated in these proceedings. After the restoration of Pres- bytery, in 1690, the ministers and elders of the Synod of Argyle, with the concurrence of the General Assembly, applied to the Commission of Parliament for plantation of kirks and valuation of teinds for an order on their clerk to give extracts+ of the “ haill decreets.” In the same year, dated 4th August, the Synod of Argyle received a letter from Sir Duncan Campbell of Achna- breck, proposingi the convenience of planting a church at Loch- gair, where he designs the residence of his family, and promising for the advancement thereof to dedicate the tithes that he hath about that place for the use foresaid, as a part of the stipend of the minister to be there, and offering himself ready to build a church fit for the place upon his own expenses.” And the Synod * These MSS., among the papers of the Synod of Argyle, were found in Darleith with Mary Crawfurd, relict to the deceased Alexander Zuill of Darleith.—Synod Records, Vol. ii. p. 97. + MSS. among the papers of the Synod. : Records of Synod, dated 6th August 1690, Sess, 10, Vol. ii. p. 58. 3 G LASS ARY. 695 answer that they have “appointed the Presbytery of Argyle, after they have considered the decreets of plantation for disuniting the said parish of Kilmichael from the lands about Lochgair, to ob- serve what rectification these new erections would require, in or- der to the erecting and planting of the said new church, and this with concurrence of the said Sir Duncan Campbell and other gentlemen in the parish.” - In 1696, the Synod, “ considering they now have in their cus- tody the principal minutes of the decreets of plantation,” recom- mend means to petition the Lords of Commission and Plantation to sustain and approve these ; which petition they seem to have formally made at a later period.” In 1697, the people of Glass- ary petitioned the Synod to recommendí to the Lords of Planta- tion to make the decreet of plantation, passed in the year 1650, effectual; by which decreet the parish of Glassary, as it now stands, was divided into three distinct charges, viz. the parish of Kilineuair, parish of Lochgair, and the new parish of Kilmichael; and the Synod unanimously concurred in the prayer of the petition, and agreed to recommend accordingly. It thus appears that pro- vision was made for improving the ecclesiastical condition of this parish; and, in 1707, the ninth act of the Parliament of Scotland, held in that year anent plantation of kirks and valuation of teinds, enacted, that any authentic extracts from the records and other proceedings of former commissions, brought in and presented to their Lordships, should be recorded in a particular register, and be reputed as valid and authentic as if the principal warrants themselves were extant. Yet, for reasons unknown to us, the par rish of Glassary was not divided. In 1828 a Government church was erected in a corner of the parish where the village of Lochgilphead had arisen ; and in 1841 a church was built by the Committee of the General Assembly for church extension, aided by the Duke of Argyle and Sir Ar" chibald Campbell, Bart. at Camlodden, for the benefit of that portion of the parish, and the adjoining district of the parish of Inverary, wherein a probationer officiated for some time. The par rish church is well situated for the district in which it is placed, but is too large. It was built in 1827, was struck by lightning, and much injured in the winter of 1829–30, and was afterwards well repaired and improved. The Government church at Lochgilp- * MSS, among the papers of the Synod. - + Records of the Synod of Argyle, Vol. ii. p. 287. 696 e AR GYLE SHIRE, head is seated for 480, having one-third of the seats free; and the new erection at Camlodden for 300, the seats being all free. The Committee of the General Assembly on the royal bounty em- ployed a missionary, who preached alternately at Lochaweside and Lochſyneside in this parish; but at present the mission and the new erection at Camlodden are vacant. The manse of Glassary was built in 1841, and cost L. 1200. The glebe is very good, consisting of more than twelve acres, situated close to the church and manse, descending from them by a gentle declivity to the river Ad, which forms the boundary. In 1691, when a minister had been settled in it, in connection with restored Presbytery, the following minute is in a separate register of the Presbytery of Inverary; and records the history of this and many other glebes. “According to the appointment of the last Presbytery, the he- ritors in Kilmichael in Glassary have taken the following method in settling the minister’s manse, yard and glebe, viz. they have stented themselves in 800 merks, the half thereof to be paid at Candlemas next, and the other half at Whitsunday thereafter, to Mr Daniel Campbell. Of the which 800 merks, 300 to be given to Achanbreck, (Sir Duncan Campbell) for the stance of the manse and yard; and the same Sir Duncan Campbell hath se- questrate the piece of ground called Gortain na Kirk, for the stance of said house and yard; the other 500 is allowed for Mr Daniel Campbell for building the manse. And in regard the pa- rish, by reason of the late troubles and vastations, is not put in ca- pacity to buy a sufficient glebe, they have therefore stented themselves in fourtie pounds each merk land to be paid yearly into the small books to the said Mr Daniel Campbell, in lieu of his glebe, aye and until they be able to buy the same, the which money so payable out of the parish, the said Mr Daniel is to pay to Achanbreck yearly for the acre of old called John Damsone's acre, adjoining to his yard and house, betwixt the east end of the church and the water, the which acre the foresaid heritors have obliged themselves to buy within four years of the date of their putt to be a glebe to their minister. Of the which acre Achan- breck lately granted a tack to the said Mr Daniel, and put him in actual possession thereof, aye and until the parish buy the same by paying the rent thereof as aforesaid.” The ministers of Kilmichael" Glassary, were Mr Daniel Camp- * This and the preceding extract were supplied to me by the Rev. Duncan Camp- bell, clerk of Presbytery. G LASS Alt. Y. e 697 bell,” admitted on the 1st day of December 1691, and died 28th March 1722. Mr Robert Fullerton, admitted 5th of July 1727, and died 20th July 1762. Mr Peter Campbell, admitted 26th July 1764, and died day of February 1779. Mr Dugald Campbell, admitted on the 28th September 1779, and died 5th December 1826. Mr Dugald Campbell, the present incumbent, who is now also patron of the parish, was admitted September 9, 1830. There is an Independent meeting-house in Lochgilphead of se- veral years' standing. Another was erected by the new secession in 1843. A minister of the Scotch Episcopal Church officiated here for some time, but he left it at Whitsunday last. At present it is impossible to state with any accuracy the num- bers who attend the various churches; but a vast majority of the communicants belong to the Established Church, and in the re- mote portions of the parish, it is understood that there are few Dissenters, if any. . Education.—The schools of this parish are not in a prosperous condition. The parochial salary is divided, and consequently there is one teacher, who, though appointed to a school, can neither ob- tain school room nor house at the station which was assigned to him, and is living at Lochgilphead doing no parochial duty. There are several private schools, none of which can be held as worthy of much approval,+ and there are several stations to which teachers might be profitably appointed. There is also a charity school. “We employ ; a female teacher ourselves for a girls’ school in the village of Lochgilphead, where, besides reading, writing, &c. they learn needle-work and the like. They used to be twenty-five, but we are increasing the number. It has, I hope, already done good, more particularly as to work, and improvement in their man- ner and habits.” r In the Camlodden district there is a school supported by the General Assembly with a salary of L.25 per annum, exclusive of the accommodations of house, garden, and a cow's grass, given by Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart, the proprietor, and it is no more * He was the author of several excellent works on doctrinal and practical theo- º It is due to the proprietor of Lochgilphead, Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Ach- andaroch, to say, that he has shown the most laudable earnestness for the advance- ment of education, that he gives a school-house and School-room, rent free, to the principal teacher, and that it is considered to be owing to the rejection of a most li- beral proposal on his part by the villagers, that Lochgilphead is not provided with a very qualified teacher. + Communication by Sir John P. Orde, Bart. 698 * A R GYLE SHIRE • than justice to its teacher" to say that it is judiciously and success- fully conducted. The respect of the people for the advantages of education varies in different portions of the parish, as it must ever vary according to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the means of instruction. This, like all things else, is measured by some stan- dard; and in those districts, where there is no person of superior attainments with whom they can compare themselves, they cannot be much alive to the benefits of education. The qualifications of the teacher are generally the measure of the ambition of the young; as they generally are also of the attainments of the old ; and few arguments can be adduced for the necessity of well-in- structed teachers stronger than the fact, that, whether owing to a desire on their part to communicate what has cost them much to acquire, or to a wish on the part of the pupils to imitate and equal them whom they respect or admire, or to both combined, there are in every well-peopled district children found who are, or soon become, willing to learn whatever branch the master can teach. Some years ago a reading-room was set up, but it did not flourish. There are two branch-banks, and a savings bank which has done much good. Charitable Institutions.—We know of none such in the parish; but last winter a clothing society, chiefly supported by ladies, and conducted by Mrs Campbell of Achandaroch at great personal trouble and considerable personal expense, did much good, and contributed largely to the comforts of the poor.f - Poor and Parochial Funds.-The poor are relieved partly by collections at the church doors and partly by voluntary contribu- tions on the part of the heritors. The sums collected at the church of Kilkmichael and at Camlodden are inconsiderable, and given in these localities to such poor as are able partially to sup- port themselves. The sum collected at the church of Lochgilp- head for the benefit of the poor, during the last year, was L.108, 10s. 0}d.S These sums collectively do not meet the neces- sities of the poor, and instead of an assessment, the heritors, for various reasons, prefer contributing to this purpose in pro- portion to their valued rents, a mode to which all of them have agreed except one, and he undertakes to relieve all the poor on * Mr Morrison. - + Stated on the authority of the Rev. D. Jackson, late minister of Lochgilphead. i Stated on the authority of John Hunter, Esq. Surgeon, Lochgilphead, who dis. tributes the contributions of the heritors. § On the authority of the Rev. D. Jackson. GLASS ARY. 699 his own property. Thus relief is given to all who are not provided for out of the church door collections. The amount contributed is L. 150 yearly, and the number of poor thus relieved are 52. Fairs.-There are four fairs held annually in the parish. In May there is a cattle fair at Kilmichael, and another on the next day at Lochgilphead. In October the same take place; and, in both May and October, these and the Inverary markets at the same periods are so regulated that the cattle not sold at either of the former may be driven to the latter. These fairs are not cor- rectly inserted in the almanacks. Inns and Alehouses.—The number” of these in the parish is 30, of which 23 are in the village of Lochgilphead. About 1400 gallons of whisky are sold in them quarterly; or about 5600 gallons yearly. The number of licensed houses is mischie- vously great, and it is a most difficult matter to diminish them. For though the justices are not unwilling to make abstract regu- lations, yet, when it is a question whether they ought to be en- forced in any particular instance, difficulties in some way occur and exceptions are made. There is, however, an improvement; for, some years ago, when all the houses in Lochgilphead were only 90, 32 or 34 of them were licensed to sell spirits, &c., while now, though more houses have been built, the number licensed is only 23. This is still too great a proportion; and it is, moreover, feared that the number selling without license is considerable. Probably nine-tenths of the criminal business here has its origin in whisky. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. The valued rent of the parish, according to which the land-tax, minister's stipend, &c. were imposed, was made in the year 1751, and was then half the real rent after deducting all public burdens. It was then L.7l 1, 19s. 1d. In 1793; the real rent was L.5700. It is now L.8002, lls. 7d. ;S and the rent of houses in Lochgilp- head is L.1698, 19s., making together a gross rental of L.9701, 10s. 7d. In 1793, a male servant fed by his employer had from L. 5, 15s. to L.6, 6s. yearly ; now he has from L. 10, 10s. to L.12, 12s. Then * Stated on the authority of Mr Borthwick, Supervisor of Excise, Lochgilphead. f ſºr Smith's Agricultural Survey of Argyleshire. : The former Statistical Account. § Return by Mr MacCombie, Lochgilphead, of the amount of rental of Glassary, as assessed under the Road Act in March 1844. | The former Statistical Account. 700 A R G Y LESH R E. a femaleservant had from L.3to L.3, 10s. yearly, and now from L.5, 10s. to L.6, 10s. Then a married workman, with house, garden, peats, two cows' grass, and potatoe-land, had L. 1 of money; now he gets from L.7 to L.8. Common labourers had from 1s. 2d. to 1s. 4d., and tradesmen from 2s. to 2s. 4d. per day; now the for- mer have from 1s. 6d. to 2s., and the latter from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per day. The improvements of which the parish is susceptible cannot be here stated, even in the most general way. Much of it is in a state of nature, and requires draining, enclosing, &c. The cottages are often deficient in every comfort, and farm-houses and stead- ings ill constructed and difficult to maintain. Lochgilp ought to be dredged, so as to permit steam-boats and other vessels of bur- den to go to the village. These and other improvements may safely be entrusted to the self-interest of parties. There is a re- markable bank, formed of sand and debris from the hills on each side of Lochfyne at Ottar. This bank, with the other depositions by which the bed of Lochfyne must necessarily be raised in its level from year to year, by the disintegration of rocks, the carrying away of banks, &c., may possibly effect great changes upon the character of the loch above Ottar on some future day, by obstructing the ingress of the tide, and converting that upper portion into a fresh water lake with its river entering the sea; and would it not be worthy of the heritors to take some measure of making such observations on each side of the Ottar, as may be necessary to ascertain the rate of increase of this bank, if any ; whether there be a tendency to the formation of a similar bank down on the north side, &c. &c. 2 November 1844. UNITED PARISHES OF LOCHGOIL-HEAD AND KILMORICH. PRESBYTERY OF INVERARY, SYNOD OF ARGYLE. THE REV. JOHN M-DOUGAL, MINISTER. I.—Topog RAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Name.—The old name of this parish was Kil nam brathairn- kill, which, in the Gaelic language, signifies a spot of ground upon which a church or chapel was built. During the last 250 years, the parish has been generally known by the name of JLochgoil-head, from Lochgoil, an arm of the sea ; at the head of which the church is situated. The parish of Lochgoil-head, of old, was very extensive, and comprehended not only Kilmorich, but also the greatest part of Kilmaglass, now called Strachur. In the times of Popery and of Prelacy, Lochgoil-head was an archdeanery ; and not only the re- venues of Lochgoil-head itself, which were them very considerable, but part of the tithes of several other parishes contributed to sup- port the dignity of the arch-dean. But after the Reformation, so few places of worship were permitted, and these consequently so distant from one another, and so divided by mountains, rivers, and arms of the sea, as to render it extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, for the ministers to perform the duties of their office, or for the people to attend on their instructions. This was par- ticularly the case in the province of Argyle. In order to remedy these inconveniences, an Act of Parliament passed, anno 1649, empowering certain persons to disjoin the old, and to erect new, parishes in that province. In consequence of these powers, the commissioners dismembered the old parish of Lochgoil-head, and formed it into three separate and independent cures, One of these is the present parish of Strachur ; Kilmorich was another; and the mother church made the third, which, from its situation, retained the old name. 4 702 AR GYLES II IR E. Situation and Extent.—This parish is about 35 miles long, and from 6 to 20 miles broad. - Figure and Surface.—Of the figure of this parish it is impossi- ble to give any adequate description, as it is intersected by three arms of the sea, divided by mountains, and indented by creeks and promontories. The east part of it is situated on the westward of Lochlong, an arm of the sea, which strikes off from the Frith of Clyde, at first in a north, and afterwards in a north-east direction, and separates the counties of Argyle and Dumbarton. It is about 24 miles in length; but the parish of Lochgoil-head occupies no more than 12 miles of its coast. Lochgoil is a small arm of the sea, which strikes off from Lochlong in a north-west direction, and intersects the south division of the parish for six miles. The north-west part of the parish is divided in the same manner by Lochfine. Upon the west side of Lochlong, and upon both sides of Lochgoil, the coast is bold and steep, and the hills high and craggy. The shore, upon both sides of Lochfine, as far as this parish extends, is more flat and accessible; the land is very high, but not so rocky or steep. The barrenness of the ground along the coasts of Lochgoil and Lochlong is partly concealed, and the tremendous wildness of the scene agreeably diversified by exten- sive natural woods, which cover the land near the coast, and rise to a considerable distance from the shore. The surface of the country in general is very unequal ; some of the mountains which form the western extremity of the Grampian hills are situated in this parish. Particularly Bein una, so called from the richness of its grass; Bein-an-locham, from the fresh water lake which washes its base; Bein luibhain, abounding in herbs; Bein thiolaire, re- markable for its springs and water-cresses; and Bein Donich, call- ed after a saint of that name. These, and some other hills in this parish, rise to a great height. Some of these mountains are in- terspersed with huge rocks, caverns, and frightful precipices; in others scarce a rock is to be seen. Till of late they were covered with black heath ; but, since they have been chiefly pastured with sheep, they begin to exhibit the pleasing appearance of verdure ; and some of them are already green to the very tops. The low lands and valleys form a delightful variety in the surface of this parish. * Soil and Climate.—The soil in the hills is, for the most part, thin, dry, and firm to the tread of cattle. The high glens are generally wet and spongy, and in some places abound with deep LocIIGol L-HEAD AND KILMoRICH. 703 moss. The land, upon the coast, is light, sharp, and sandy; and some of the low valleys are rich and fertile. The face of the Heavens is generally louring and cloudy ; a serene sky is seldom to be seen. The tops of the mountains are most frequently co- vered with clouds, and, during winter, with snow. The rain is heavy and frequent. The winds, prevented from a free circula- tion, rush through the glens with irresistible violence; and, at the bottom of high hills and in narrow valleys, the transitions of heat and cold are sudden and excessive. Caves.—There are in the parish a great number of natural caves, vaults, and grottos, of different forms and dimensions. One of these caves is situated a little below a very high and tremen- dous rock, from which a great number of smaller rocks seem to have been torn by some convulsion. Among these smaller rocks is the cave already mentioned. The entry to it is in the form of an arch, about 4 feet high and 3 broad. The cave itself is very spacious, of a circular figure, but not perfectly regular. It is more than 70 feet in circumference, and about 10 feet in height. All around the cave there are smaller vaults, resembling cellars; and, from one part of it, a narrow passage leads to a small apartment, not unlike a sleeping chamber. The cave is covered above by a great number of large rocks, which appear to have been thrown upon one another without any order or regularity; within, it is perfectly dry, but rather dark, having no light but what it receives through the passage already mentioned. This cave is remarkable for having been the sanctuary of one of the lairds of Ardkinglass; who, according to the tradition of the country, having been de- feated and oppressed by some powerful neighbour, was obliged to conceal himself, and a few followers, in this cave for a whole year; during which time his vassals and tenants found means to supply him with provisions so secretly, that his retreat was not discovered by the enemy. It is called from this incident, Uamh mhei Sain Iłeoich.” But the most remarkable of all the numerous caves in this country is one which is called Uamh na plundarain. In the face of a steep hill there is a small area between two rocks. At the bottom of this area is a small opening, the mouth of which is covered and concealed from the eye by thick heath and ferns. This narrow and troublesome passage, through which a person of an ordinary size is with great difficulty able to creep, is about 6 feet * Hai Sain Reoich, the son of Swarthy John ; the patronymic name of the family of Ardkinglass. 7:04 ARGYLESHIRE . . long, and leads to a small subterraneous apartment, about 10 feet long, 6 broad, and 8 high. Four feet above the bottom of this cave is a small opening, between two rocks, which must be ascend- ed by a ladder, and which leads to a second apartment, about 15 feet long, 12 feet high, and of an irregular breadth. From this there is a narrow and rugged passage to a third apartment, which is also dark. This place is about 24 feet in length, 15 in breadth, and as many in height. The rocks all around are covered with petrified water. The bottom, which is also rock, is perfectly dry. Two large rocks meeting, cover it above, exactly like the roof of a house. Beyond this there is another dark cave, nearly of the same dimensions with the first. These, and a great many other subterraneous apartments in this parish were, in former times, often the residence of a banditti who committed depredations on the neighbourhood. They were also of great service in preserving the persons and the property of the inhabitants, during the deadly feuds and predatory wars which prevailed of old in this country. A few years before the Revolu- tion, the powerful families of Argyle and Athol were attached to opposite parties in the state ; in consequence of this, and prompt- ed to revenge by the memory of former injuries, the vassals of the latter made an irruption into Argyleshire. Upon that occasion, the inhabitants of this parish retreated, with their wives, their chil- dren, and the most valuable part of their portable effects, to their caves, their strong-holds, and hiding-places, from whence they surprised the enemy in several successful sallies, but could not prevent them from burning many houses, nor from carrying away and destroying much cattle. There are in this parish two small fresh water lakes, which afford abundance of trout, of a small size, but of a most delicious taste and flavour. These trouts are killed with the rod, and take the hook readiest in the months of May and June. In the rivers Goil, Fine, and Long, there are burn trouts of different sizes; and, near the coast, Sea trout and salmon. Lochfine, Lochlong, and Lochgoil abound in great variety of excellent fish. At all sea- sons of the year there are haddocks, whitings, and codlings. They are killed either with the hand line or with the long line. The haddocks in Lochgoil are more numerous, and of a larger size, than in those parts of Lochfine and Lochlong which belong to this parish. The Lochfine herrings are well known; and the her- rings killed in the two other lochs are nearly of the same size and quality. LOCHGOIL-HEAD AND KILMO RICH. 705 II.-CIVIL HISTORY. Antiquities.—There are three castles in this parish. The castle of Dunduramh" is a large and strong tower, of an irregular figure, with small turrets above the angles in the wall; but, as it is built in a low situation, it could only be a defence against the cursory attacks of hostile neighbours, or of thieves and robbers, who fought or plunder, and, when repulsed, fled away. The castle of Ardkinglassfis composed of three separate towers, each of them fronting an area within. The space between the towers is defended by a strong wall about fifteen feet high. In the course of this wall is the great gate, which is defended by small round turrets in flank, with apertures, through which those who assailed the gate might be annoyed with arrows or with small fire- arms. The gate is also defended by a small tower immediately above it, called the gate-tower. Around the area, and within the walls, are smaller buildings for lodging servants, for holding arms, and for storehouses and cellars. This castle is also built in a low situation, and could not stand out against a regular investment. The time in which this castle was built is not known ; but there is certain evidence of its having been repaired in the year 1586. The old residence of the family of Ardkinglass, of which the ruins can now scarcely be traced, was at a small distance from the present castle, but in a more commanding situation. The place of greatest strength in this district, is the castle of Car- rick. This castle is built upon a rock, which was formerly surrounded by the sea by means of a deep ditch. The entry to the castle from the land was by a drawbridge, which was defended by a strong wall and two small towers. The castle itself is of an oblong figure, but not perfectly regular, as the architects in laying the foundation kept in some places by the very edge of the rock; it is 66 feet long and 38 feet broad over the walls; the side-wall is 64 feet high and 7 feet thick. Between the castle and the sea there is a part of the rock unoccupied, which was surrounded by a * Donduramh, the fort of the two oars. This castle was built close to the sea; and as the access to it by land was in these times very bad, the most frequent communi- cation would probably be by boats. + Ardkinglass, probably Aird achoinghlaiss, the residence of the gray dog. The great extent of plain ground around Ardkinglass permitted the proprietors to indulge in the pleasures of the chase, the favourite amusement of the times. Aird generally means the residence of a great family ; it seems to express the same meaning which the word place conveys in some parts of the low country of Scotland. Ard signifies high. In former times, powerful families usually built in high situations, particu- larly on promontories, for defence; and the name is still continued, though the cir- cumstance which first gave rise to it has ceased to exist. :: Carraig, a ſtock, A ſl GYLE, Y y 706 AR GYLESHIRE. high and strong wall built round the edge of the rock. Within this space 100 men might conveniently stand, for the defence of the castle, if it was attacked by sea. Before the invention of gunpowder, the castle of Carrick could only be taken by surprise; it was scarcely possible to storm it; nor could it be taken by block- ade, as it had always a free communication with the sea, for a vessel of any burden will swim along the side of the rock. The time in which this castle was built does not seem to be ascertained. It can be traced up as far as the end of the fifteenth century, but it is probably much older. The tradition of the country is, that it was built by the Danes. It was a king's house, and the Duke of Argyle is heritable keeper of it. It was burned by the Athol men. III.-PopULATION. From a survey of the parish, which was finished the 24th day of March 1791, it appears that the number of inhabitants at that time was 1012. By census of 1801, * 1145 1811, * 1072 1821, § | 130 1831, • | 196 1841, & 1 100 IV.-INDUSTRY. Rent.—The valued rent of the parish is L.4392, 1s. Scots; or L.366,0s. 1d. Sterling. - V-PA Rochi AL Economy. Lochgoil-head is now one of the principal thoroughfares to In- verary,–a steam vessel plying daily betwixt Glasgow and the head of the loch, the passengers being thence conveyed by a stage- coach to Inverary, a distance of about eight miles. - Education.—There are nine schools in the parish, one of which is the parochial. The salary attached to the latter is L.30, and the fees do not exceed L.5 per annum. * Ecclesiastical State.—There are two churches in this parish, one at Lochgoil-head, where the manse is, and the other at Cairndow, near Kilmorich, upon Lochfine side. The minister preaches two Sabbaths at Lochgoil-head, and the third Sabbath at Cairndow. The stipend amounts to L. 167. Mr Callendar of Ardkinglass is patron and chief heritor. Poor—The average number of poor of all classes is 26. The average amount of collections for their behoof is L.22, 18s. 9d. ; of other voluntary contributions, L.5, 13s. ; of mortifications, mortcloth dues, &c. L. 14, 3s. December 1844. County of ARGYLE. THE mainland of this county is situate between 55° 21', and 57° north latitude; and between 19 22, and 3° 25' longitude West from Edinburgh. It is bounded on the north, by the county of Inverness; on the east, by those of Perth and Dumbarton; on the south, by the Irish Sea; and on the west, by the Atlantic Ocean. The Firth of Clyde forms its boundary on the south-east. It ex- tends from the Point of Ardnamurchan to the Mull of Kintyre, a distance of 115 miles; and its breadth is about 68 miles. The county contains about 2,432,000 acres, of which it is computed that 308,000 are cultivated. The valued rent in 1751 was L.12,466, 5s. 10d. Annual value of real property, as assessed in 1815, L.227,493. Population in 1841, 97,371. The Parlia- mentary constituency 1749. The county comprehends the districts of Argyle, Lorne, Cowall, Knapdale, and Kintyre, besides the Islands of Mull, Islay, and Jura. TABLE–Shewing the Ecclesiastical State, &c. of Parishes in the County of Argyle. Ecclesiastical State. Par. Schoolmasters' Emoluments. Annual amount of Contributions for the Poor. .F. th . - § a . g { {}|{3,3|8 |3.3 P+ From as- Parishe 3 º;|... 3 # # P i. 3 ga * .E. SeSSment Or From From Alms, S. # 3|# spälä # £3 Mijstill: Salary. Fees. Total. voluntary | Church col- Ilegacies, Total. # = #3|E 3|# *|† : d 3 contrib. by lections. &c. & 3 ##|55|É;3|E 5 pend. ..? Heritors. L.150. L.25 13 4 Inverary, 14 | ... . | 9|". ; : - - - - - e. See text. - - - * * Craignish, 150. 25 13 4 |L. 10 0 L. 35 13 4 - * * L. 12 0 0 |L. 12 0 0 |L.24 0 Kilminver, 150. : } : L.44 9 0 0 0 18 () 4 0 Kilbrandon, 150. ; : } ... • * - * * 20 0 0 25 13 3% ) 8 0 0) || 33 13 3% - * Glenurchy, 12 chald., &c. 25 13 3% 8 0 0 33 13 3} 59 13 0 0 1 8 0 5 8 34 4 5 20 0 0 44 4 5 Strachur, 297 . |L.150. 26 10 0 14 0 0 40 10 0 10 12 0 0 2 10 - 400 merks. 0 Inverchaolain, l 50. ;” | ; : } - * * 13 20 0 0 Ardnamurch., - - - e º º . See text. L.25 13 3 10 0 () 35 13 3 18 0 0 See text. Morvern, 370 10 : Do. See text. ; | - - e. 14 0 0 • L.22 4 5) || 6 0 0 ) 28 4 5 Tiree, Do. 22 4 *} 6 0 0 28 4 } 3 10 0 31 0 27 () 0 10 0 0 37 0 0 Lismore, See |13 chald, &c. 19 0 0 11 () 0 30 0 0 18 28 0 0 4 30 () () 20 0 0 50 0 0 s Knapdale, s ºr . . (L.150. See text. - - • sº tº 25 0 0 - - TABLE—Shewing the Ecclesiastical State, &c. of Parishes in the County of Argyle.—Continued. - g Ecclesiastical State. H Par. Schoolmasters' Emoluments. Annual amount of Contributions for the Poor. • * ſ ſ -> cº - a .1% #4;|2 g|'s #|43 ſºn- From as- Parishes #: ºs # #a §§ ga * .8 sessment or . From From Alms, - |33 |# spää Hälä |Ministers sti- # Salary. Fees. Total. voluntary | Church col- Legacies. Total. g ā-ā. ;|3.3 ă e # c end 3| e contrib. by lections. &c. * |& ##|55 ## H C pend. 3. Heritors. - L. 15 8 10 - 15 8 10 Torosay, 1889 ... ... | 5 | ... [L. 172 19 4 || 7 |: ; i. L. 17 0 0 5 0 0 - |Kilfinichen, |3819. ... . ... . ... 40 180. 9| | | || - - • * * 1 1 0 0 Kilninian, 4830ſ ... e e s s • * * * * * © tº tº 5| 25 0 0 L.2 10 0 |L.27 10 0 28 4 4 |Kilfinan, |2004] ... ... . ... . ... 135 bolls, &c. 6 3 0 0 27 0 0 • ‘s e L. 50 0 3 0 0 \ . 17 2 0 ) || 3 0 0 ) 20 2 0 - Kilchrenan, 851 ... . ... 1 ... 131 bolls, &c. 5, 17 4 0 } | 10 0 0} | 27 4 0 - - - 5 0 0 |L. 10 0 0 || 25 () 17 4 0 7 0 0 24 4 0 |Killean, 2866 ... . . . . . ... see text | 8 || || } e - e. - - - 29 () 0 Gigha, 534] ... e e º º º º 1 |L.267, 1| 25 13 0 12 0 0 || 37 13 0 * * * 40 0 0 Kilcalmonell, 3388 ... . ... . ... 20 170. 9 : ; } - «» a ... [L. 16 0 0) 56 0 0 gº º c Southend, 2120 ... * * * * * * * * * * * l60. 4| 34 4 4 30 0 0 64 4 4 • ? e 24 0 0 5 0 0 29 0 - 25 13 4 * |Saddell, 2152 ... . ... . ... . ... 150. ' ' ' || 25 13. # 40 0 0|| 46 0 0 86 Campbelton, 19472] ... Seetext. #! ... sº 0 o' so o 0 |204 0 0 | 986 o olios o 0 TABLE—Shewing the Ecclesiastical State, &c. of Parishes in the County of Argyle.—Continued. Ecclesiastical State. Annual amount of Contributions for the Poor. F: H Par. Schoolmasters' Emoluments. • *. th - º cº - # , | # F# 5||73 s s 3|23 & P- From as- - Parish #: ºs É #F 3% ga 4.# .5 |SeSSment Or From From Alms, - 3.T.SI)0S. # *|† sp5 = |} % E | Mi : "sti- # Fees. voluntary Church col- Legacies, Total. 3. ## Aft: 3 ă ... 33 . S 3 contrib. by lections. &c. ſºn- &## 5 § # 5 § pend. J. Heritors. Ardchattan, 2420 ... 253 bolls, &c. 5 } tº tº e text. Kilmore, |2836 16 chalders. | 8 } * } } L.8 0 OL28 0 2 Jura, 2205 . L.200. # 13 () - 2 |Kilmartin, 1475 12 chalders. 5 0 0 17 0 0 Dunoon, 2416 . .258 bolls, &c. : 128 0 L.30 8 0 0 2 N. Knapdale, º . .223 bolls, &c. 2 20 6 2 Kilchonan, 4822 . L.150. 0 - - e. 27 0 9 0 0 * - - Kildalton, 3065 150. 4 9 0 4 • * * ... L.28 5 0 º 7105 150. 4 25 0. 4 60 0 10 0 0 || 70 0 0 Kilmadan," | 648 160, 0 || 10 0 0 - - - 24 19 8 16 0 || 33 15 0 Glassary, 4054 • * * - * * 0 0 103 10 {- * - 253 10 0\, Lochgoil-head, 1100 0 5 0 0 5 13 0 22 18 14 3 0 42 14 9 ADDENDUM TO THE ACCOUNT OF LOCHGOIL-HEAD. Civil, HISTORY. THIS parish being in the neighbourhood of Inverary, and Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, at that period almost sole proprie- tor, having made common cause with the Argyle family, the in- habitants are known to have suffered much from the feuds which prevailed, before the Revolution, between the powerful chiefs Argyle and Athol, attached to opposite parties in the state. The people often speak of the harryings which repeatedly took place, and of what their forefathers on these occasions suffered from the adherents of the Marquis of Athol. They boast, on the other hand, of the feats of retaliation they achieved; which may be well supposed to have been the case in a mountainous district, and by people well acquainted with the passes. Wodrow, giving an account of the unsuccessful attempt made by the Earl of Argyle upon his re- turn from Holland in 1685 to recover Inverary from the Marquis of Athol, mentions that, as a preparatory step, Colonel Rumbold with 500 men took possession of the Castle of Ardkinglas ; and that the Earl himself, having come up soon afterwards, advanced to the head of Lochfine, where the Marquis of Athol, with some regiments he had taken from Inverary, awaited him. The histo- rian describes a conflict which there took place, in which Argyle succeeded in driving the Marquis off the field. The royal forces, however, increasing, and the frigates and men of war advancing up Lochfine, he was afterwards speedily obliged to retire. The his- torian farther states, that in that year “ the whole shire of Argyle was dreadfully depopulated; and when Providence was pleased to send relief to the starving people by a remarkable take of herring, especially about Lochgoil-head, and the poor people were making some shift to support themselves, the Marquis of Athol’s men came down upon them, and brake their boats, and destroyed their nets.” Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas was at this period in confinement, having some time previously been seized in his own castle on suspicion of having been corresponding with the Earl, and transmitting money for his use when abroad. At first he and some others were sent to prison to Perth, but that place and the * This Addendum is extracted from a statistical account furnished by the minister - of the parish, which unfortunately came too late to hand. AR GYLE. Z Z 712 AR GY L E SHIRE, district around manifesting a strong feeling in their behalf, it was considered unsafe to allow them to remain there, and they were in consequence conveyed to Blackness Castle. From thence Sir Colin was conveyed under a strong guard to Edinburgh, for trial before the parliament on the charges just mentioned, and also for harbouring Presbyterian ministers. “After the most exact in- quiry nothing of moment was evidently proven against him; how- ever, his trouble continued a good while, because in principle he was against Prelacy, and did not swear the test.” t? - It may be interesting to state, that Mr John Munro, who had been Presbyterian minister of the parish, went to Ireland upon the breaking out of the troubles under Charles II., and became pastor of a congregation in Antrim, but returned again to his charge as soon as the Presbyterian church government was restored. He afterwards, to the great regret of the people, accepted of a call to Rothesay, and died there in 1696. “He was very useful,” says a contemporary minister, who was well acquainted with him, “ to our synod, as he was to the whole Church, being a man of a public spirit, and fit to deal with quality.” During Mr Munro's absence the parish was supplied by several Episcopalian incum- bents. - - Archdeacon Lindsay first became minister, but was soon after- wards translated to Inverary. After the Revolution, he conform- ed to the Presbyterian discipline, and died minister of Kilchreman. To him succeeded Archdeacon M'Lean, who was translated from Dunoon in 1686. He also, though with obvious reluctance, con- formed to the Presbyterian discipline, and became minister of Kil- bride in Arran. He was repeatedly reproved in public for negli- gence in attending church courts, and finally demitted his charge, and removed to Ireland. F Eminent Men.—The writer of the last Statistical Account, Dr MacDougall, a native of the parish, may be mentioned as a per- son of great abilities and attainments, as indeed his Statistical Ac- count shows. His talents for business rendered him useful not only in the inferior courts of the Church, but also in the General Assembly. . Land-owners.-These, according to the extent of their respec- tive properties, are, James Henry Callander, Esq. of Craigforth and Ardkinglas; Archibald Douglas, Esq. of Glenfinnert; Mrs Campbell of Drimsynie; and John Campbell, Esq. of Strachur. * Wodrow'. f Records of Synod of Argyle. ADDENDUM To LoCHGOIL-HEAD. . 7|3 Parochial Registers.-The parochial registers commenced in 1692, and for a considerable time were diligently kept. After- wards the entries, excepting for marriages and baptisms, became more irregular. t Modern Buildings.-The mansion-house of Ardkinglas was unfortunately destroyed by fire a few years ago, as the tradesmen were just finishing extensive repairs it had undergone. The other mansion-houses are that of Drimsynie, near the head of Lochgoil, and that of Ardgartan, on the west side of Lochlong. INDUSTRY. - The sides of the lochs are much skirted with oak coppices, adding greatly to the beauty, as well as the value of the land. There is a plantation of some miles around the lodge at Ardking- las, and Mr Douglas of Glenfinnert has lately planted a good deal along the south side of Lochgoil. The trees indigenous or plant- ed are, oak, chestnut, ash, lime, beech, pine, larch, spruce, moun- tain ash, &c. . The coppices are cut down in succession every twenty-first year, and are inclosed for the space of seven years. They are twice thinned to admit the free circulation of air, and to encourage the growth of the best shoots. Farm-servants are generally hired for the year, and at least for the half year. The average wages of men servants is L. 12, of women servants L.6. Day labourers have Is. 6d.; artisans, Is. 6d. and their victuals. Wool is the principal article of raw produce used for the purposes of domestic economy. It is generally sent to a mill to be carded, and blankets and plaidings are in principal request. Stuffs in- tended for men's clothing are sent to the waulk-mill to be dressed. Tartans are seldom made, and the lint-wheel is almost driven off the field by the cheapness of the cotton manufacture. Cattle.—The Argyleshire breed of black-cattle is considered very handsome, though not large. They are much valued in the market for the fine quality of the beef. They are generally sold off in the third year of their age; and a large proportion of them are sent to England, where they acquire a great increase in size and weight on richer pastures. Much attention is paid by the graziers as to what breed they admit into their stock, and high prices are given for bulls of the proper description. It is, however, upon the sheep stock the grazier places his principal dependence for his annual returns, and the proportion of black-cattle has been greatly diminished of late, to make room for these useful creatures, which all ſurnish a yearly ſleece, and so many of them a lamb, 71.4 A.B.G.Y. LESHIRE. and which, when killed, are considered to be of superior flavour. The black-faced sheep are found to suit best. In summer they climb to the top of the highest mountains, and are remarkably durable in weathering the storms of the tedious winter. Repeated experiments have been made with the view of introducing the Che- ' viots, whose fleeces are still more valuable; but they were found not to answer, partly on account of the roughness of the surface, partly on account of the severity of the springs, and more still, it is believed, on account of the wetness of the climate. Assiduous attention is paid to the improvement of the breed, chiefly by the frequent introduction of a fresh supply of rams. It was long the practice also to import young sheep, hogs, as they are called, from favourite stocks; but the breeds are now so much improved, that this practice has been discontinued. All the sheep are smeared in the beginning of winter, which, between the wages of the bands employed, and the cost of the materials, is a very expensive process, 5d. a-head being considered a moderate estimate. But this trouble and outlay are more than repaid, by the beneficial effects of smearing in killing vermin, in preventing scab, in fortifying the animal against the effects of cold, and in pro- moting the growth and weight of the wool. Archangel tar and Irish butter are the materials held in best repute for this process. No effectual remedy has yet been found for the deadly disease called brawy, which seizes principally upon sheep of a year old, and generally upon the fattest and best of them. Sudden changes of weather, especially to hoar frost, in- crease the number of deaths. Its movements are often very ca- pricious, sometimes one side of a hill being affected by it, and sometimes another. It is evidently inflammatory, and is consider- ed by the graziers to be incurable; and, accordingly, as soon as a sheep is observed to be seized with it, it is bled, not with the hope of effecting a recovery, but for the purpose of improving the car- case. The flesh is considered by the people to be quite wholesome, and if the sheep die in the beginning of winter, before it becomes lean, half the price of regularly killed mutton can be got for it. It is also a happy circumstance that, as the sheep get lean, their liability to the disease diminishes. To obviate this calamity, ex- tensive graziers are in the practice of sending off their young sheep to lower grounds, often at a considerable distance from their own farms, in the beginning of winter, and bringing them back in spring. By this means they generally escape with but a very few deaths. l ADD ENDUM TO LOCHGOIL-HEAD. 715 This, however, adds much to the expense of management, especi- ally as a careful person must be hired to take charge of them. Two and sixpence a-head is generally the demand for this winter grazing. Though it is to grazing that the chief attention of the agri- cultural population is devoted, some progress has been made in draining and improving the lower grounds with obvious advantage. Indeed one of the most interesting things connected with the pa- rish, is the regularity with which the high and the low grounds are proportioned to one another. Almost every farm residence has as much arable land attached to it as is sufficient for the support of the family, and many farms have much more. How far it would be profitable to pay more attention to agriculture, properly so called, is a question that may be safely left to the intelligent occupiers to decide. Certainly to one conveyed hither in an hour or two from an agricultural district, the idea will occur that the lower grounds might be turned to more advantage than what they appear to be ; but, upon farther inquiry, he will probably find that he has not taken into account the expense of the improvements he desiderates, the smaller returns which at the best the soil would render, and the casualties to which crops are liable in so precari- ous a climate. For the purposes of grazing, draining the lower grounds, and cropping them occasionally would be useful; but this is an expense which the tenant cannot be expected to be at. The general duration of leases is 19 years, with one or two breaks, in favour of the tenant, so that he has nothing to complain of on this score. The state of farm-buildings has been greatly improved of late, and may be said to be excellent. Al- most every farm is furnished with a good dwelling-house, and a commodious set of office-houses. Enclosures to a great extent have also been executed, and are now in progress. It is to be hoped they will be continued, as the lower grounds would be greatly improved by more of them. Quarries—There are quarries of limestone in several parts of the parish, and they are occasionally worked by those in the neighbourhood; but, in general, it is found more advantageous to use Irish lime, and a good deal has been imported of late years with very satisfactory results. It is observed that the native lime con- tinues for a longer period to be beneficial to the ground. Fisheries.—The white fishing has repeatedly been tried of late years, but with no encouraging success, and the expectations of productive industry from this source are not likely to be realized. 716 - ARGYLESHIRE. There are several Salmon fisheries also; they pay no rent, and do not cover the expense of pursuing them. They are found to have declined much of late, from the means, it is supposed, which have been successfully employed of intercepting and securing the fish in deep waters before they enter these lochs. But the fishing of principal importance is the herring fishing. Lochfine, from time immemorial, has been celebrated for it, and in an inferior degree Lochgoil and Lochlong. The people, however, are not nearly so extensively occupied in this business of late as formerly, owing to the failure of the fishing, particularly in the upper parts of Loch- fine, and in Lochgoil and Lochlong. The necessary outlay for the fishing is so great, that when it is unsuccessful, the fisherman is soon reduced to poverty. Still, the scarcity of other employ- ment, the habits he has acquired, and his having his capital, such as it is, invested in fishing implements, render it difficult for him to change his mode of life; and this class of people are often ob- served to swell the lists of the poor. There are but few, however, who now pursue the fishing as their only employment. They oc- cupy themselves at some handicraft or as day-labourers during the greater part of the year, and go only in the summer and har- vest months to pursue the fishing. A complete equipment, boat, train, &c. costs about L.70. Young people, however, commence with shares, and according to their success and good conduct, make progress in getting boats of their own. It is by means of machinery that nets are now manufactured, which has effected a great improvement on the trains. Formerly each net was divided into several pieces for the conveniency of working; but these, how- ever skilfully joined, did not run so regularly, nor stand so well in the water, as when the whole net is one entire piece. The trains now used are double the size of those in use some years ago. This year the fishing has been uncommonly successful. Several boats have realized L.150, and the average is from L.60 to L.70. This employment is attended with the great advantage of training young people to handle the rudder and the sail, and to encounter the wind and the wave, but it is attended with many drawbacks. So much depends upon chance and good luck, as it is called, that the pur- suit is calculated to unsettle the minds of the young, and to give them a distaste to regular every-day employment. It is well known also, that fishermen are in the daily practice, while they are engaged in this occupation, of drinking several glasses of ar- dent spirits, the curers, in order to secure a speedy cargo, rivalling ADDENDUM TO LOCH GOIL-HEAD. - 717 one another in plying them with this dangerous indulgence. It will scarcely be believed, that 10 per cent. of the price of the fish is expended in whisky, yet this is the estimate formed by persons thoroughly acquainted with the business. Many of the fishermen are beginning to see that so many drams are not given them gratis, but are paid for out of their own industry, and would willingly give up the practice. This happy step has been taken to some extent in the northern lochs; and it is to be hoped the good example will be followed by those in the south. • . Rent of Land.—The valued rental of the parish is L.357, 12s. lla. ; the real rental is L.,5250. - Produce.—The average amount of raw produce, as nearly as it can be ascertained, is as follows: - 1. The produce of grain is, bolls of corn, 774, at 15s. per boll, L.580. But of this the one-half is used for provender, and estimated accord- ingly, leaving a balance of tº e tº L.290 5 0 2. Potatoes, bolls, 1872, (3) 8s. = L.748, 16s. But of this one-fourth is * used in feeding cattle, and estimated accordingly, leaving a balance of 561 12 0 3. Hay, 38,000 stones, (a) 5d. per stone, - L. 791, 13s. 4d. All of this is reserved for the wintering of cattle, and estimated accordingly. 4. Pasture, rating it at L.3 for a full-grown cow or ox, and at 3s. 6d. for a full-grown sheep, e * - 7000 0 0 5. Thinning and periodical felling of woods, s 450 0 0 6. Fisheries, * © de tº 420 0 0 L.S721 17 o PARoch IAL ECONoMY. - Villages.—The principal village is Lochgoil-head, which only contains a population of 117 persons. Several neat cottages have been built last year at the head of the loch, and as the locality is de- sirable, and the proprietor disposed to feu, it is probable that the village will be soon considerably increased. Ecclesiastical State.—Both the churches are in an excellent state of repair, and afford accommodation for 800 sitters. The present manse and office-houses were built in 1841, and, it is believed, there are not any in Scotland more complete. The glebe and servitude attached to it may be valued at from L.30 to L.40. The amount of the stipend is, meal, 90% bolls, money, L.34, 7s. 2}d. Exchequer allowance, L.42, 15s. 10d. The average amount of collections for religious purposes is from L.6 to L. 10. MiscELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. '. Enclosing and draining the low grounds to a greater extent would not only impart an increased air of civilization, but also be of substantial benefit both for grazing and agriculture. In com- paring these two lines of business, greater progress appears to have been made in the business of grazing than in agriculture. The 7 18 - • ARGYLE SHIRE. rearing and management of cattle, the staple trade, is carried to a high degree of perfection. In the fishery the principal changes that have taken place of late are the great length of the trains now used, and their being manufactured in the loom. As to the coppices the principal change is the great fall in the price of bark consequent upon the peace, and the opening of the continental ports. This year the price of this article was L, 7, 10s. per ton, whereas during the war it was more than double that amount. But the most striking variation between the present state of things and that which existed a few years ago, is occasioned by the arrival of steam vessels in the parish itself, and in the neighbourhood. Black-cattle and sheep, instead of being driven a long distance, greatly to the deterioration of their condition, are put on board a steamer, and arrive in a few hours in Greenock and Glasgow. The herrings fished near the head of Lochfine, instead of being “carried by horses in creels to Lochgoil-head, a distance of eight or ten miles, and injured by frequent handling,” are now sent in boxes by steam to the market, which they reach on the same day they were caught. r These boxes, again, are put on board the Liverpool steamers in great quantities, and the fresh herrings of Lochfine are sold there on the following day. From Liverpool they are sent by the rail trains to Manchester, &c. The fishermen are sanguine, and not without grounds, that herrings will always continue in great demand in these lochs from the growing conveniency of dispos- ing of them. This year they averaged 2s. 6d. per hundred. As to the convenience of travelling, the favourable change is well known to the public. Formerly persons going to the low country required to climb the Duke of Argyle's bowling green, or to sail in an open boat from one headland to another, exposed to all the vicissitudes of the weather. In was in fact a serious undertaking, especially in the winter season, to go by water to Greenock; but now people not only go with ease, but can calculate upon the number of minutes they will spend on the way. Progress might be made, without great expense, in improving in some places the internal communication of the parish. It is fortunate for the peace and contentment of every new generation that it sees itself so far in advance of those which came before it, and does not possess the means of comparing its condition with that of those which are to follow. There is truth also in the doctrine of compensation, “In balance true Weighing the mischief with the promised gain.” January 1845. IND EX. Abbot's isle, the, 516 Achacharra, Druidical remains at, 349 Achadashenaig house, 357 Achalick bay, 360 Achallader castle, ruins of 96 Achandrane, village of, 27 Achaneilan moss, 127 Achantiobairt, remains of monastery at, 25 Achar, obelisk at, 242 Achindarroch house, 262 Achinduin castle, ruins of 241 Achleck, falls of, 166 Achnacroish, harbour of 230—house, 288 Achnagol, village of, 27 Ad water, the, 678 Adomnan, account of Iona by, 320 Agricultural associations, Glenurchy, 100 —Sunart, 155 * Agriculture and rural economy, 27, 55, 69, 76, 99, 105, 112, 149, 188, 210, 246, 264, 289, 308, 348, 356, 367, 374, 387, 402,410, 431, 450, 463, 502, 520, 528, 540, 546, 562, 614, 639, 653, 664, 670, 673, 690 * * Aharcle, quoad Sacra parish of, 158 Aidanus, king, 322, 323 - Ainart, loch, 122 Airdlamont, headland of, 360 — house, 359, 365 Airdmeannach, district of 297—cavesin, 299 Aird's house and bay, 228, 516 Airi-Innis loch, 166 Alder tree in Southend, superstition re- garding, 429 Allan-a-Sop, traditions regarding, 343 Amhain mhor water, 49 Angel's hill at Iona, the, 337 Angus, Lord of the Isles, 442 Angus Mhor, death of, 137 Antiquities, 24, 53, 68, 74, 96, 105, l l 1, 145, 181,204, 240, 286, 305, 331, 342, 349, 355, 364, 373, 384,400, 410, 428, 445, 461,494, 517, 538, 545, 555, 560, 594, 635, 650, 663, 669, 673, 685, 705 Aora water, l, 6–falls on, 7 Appin, district of, 225—house, 228 Aray water, l, 6, 7 Archimedes screw, inventor of the, 79 Ardchattan, parish of, 468–priory, his- tory and ruins of, 495 - ARGYLE, Ardelister isles, the, 661 Ardgartan house, 712 Ardincaple house, 474 Ardkinglass castle, ruins of, 705—house, 2 Ardlussa house, 540 Ardmaddy, bay of, 73—castle, 74 Ardmarnoch house, 366 Ardminish bay and house, 396 Ardmore bay, 661 Ardmucknish bay, 474 Ardnacallich, headland and bay of 347 Ardnacross bay, 455 * Ardnafuaran, ruins of church at, 147- village of, l A9 Ardnamurchan, parish of 117—district of, 118—headland of, 129, 130 | Ardnave point, 644 Ardpatrick, headland of, 409 Ardrissaig, harbour and village of, 270, 274 Ardsheal cave and hill, 227 Ardtealla bay, 661 Ardtoe bay, 156 Ardtornish castle, ruins of, 184—bay, 190 —falls of, 166—freestone quarries of, 170 Ardvrecknish house, 85 Argyle, family of 18, 22—landing of the Marquis of, in 1686, 355, 711 Argyleshire, summary of the statistics of, 70 Arichonan hill, 632 Arinangour, village of, 217—harbour, 218 Arisaig, district of, 118, 120–headland, 130—house, 148 Aros bay and castle, 357, 661 Auchnamara water, 633 Avich water and loch, 373 Avon Lussa water, 536 Awe water, 89, 477—loch, 85, 372 Ba loch and water, 281 Bach isle, 340 Bailechelish mountains, 225 Ballimore house, 105, 365 Ballyshear house, 430 . Balmaodan church, ruins of 498 Balvicar, village of, 79 Barachan creek, 302 Barbreck, defeat of the Danes at, 51– house, 54—valley, 46 3 A 720 A R GY LESHIRE, Barbreck's bone, tradition regarding, 51 Barcaldine castle, 499—family of 492— house, 501—gardens at it, 485 Barmore house, 262—fort on, 639 Barr, glen, 377 Barschastaillain, ruins of fort at, 96 Basaltic columns of Ulya, the, 345—of Staffa, see Staffa. Bay of Martyrs, the, 337 Bealochintie bay, 377 - Belnahua isle and slate quarry, 535 Benabhuiridh hill, 83 Bemanlocham hill, 702 Bemantuirk hill, 377,437 Benascriodhain hill, 227 . Benbui hill, 2 Benchaorach hill, 471 Benchapull hill, 62 Bencochail hill, 470 - Bencruachan, mount, 83, 470 Bendonich hill, 702 - Bendourain hill, 83 Beneaddan hill, 165 Bengaillin hill, 454 Benheinish hill, 196 Benketlan hill, 471 Benlaordh hill, 84 _-Benlubhain hill, 702 Benmacmonaidh hill, 83 Benmaigh hill, 278 Benmore hill, 277, 298, 570—house, 610 Ben-na-hua hill, 165 Ben-nan-aighean hill, 471 Benstarive hill, 470 Bentealluidh hill, 277 Benuna hill, 702 Benvan hill, 548 Benveedan hill, 471 Benvigory hill, 659 Beoraig loch, 124, 126 Beton of Pennyross, family of 306 Bishops of the Isles, list of the, 330 Bishop's house in Iona, ruins of the, 333 Bishop's seat hill, 570 Blackmill, bay of 73 Blar Seine, battle of 142 Boat cave at Staffa, the, 352 Boe's cave, 414 Bonessan, village of 310 Botany, 12, 92, 104, 175, 234, 260, 284, 305, 319, 363, 383, 399, 422,440, 483, 554, 581, 634, 649, 662, 681 Bow Knap rock, 259 - Bowmore, village of, 668, 669 Braes of Lorn, the, 62 Brallaig loch, 64 Brandir, pass of, 88 - Bººm bay, 199—ruins of castle at, Breckry water, 416 Bridge, ancient, in Inverary, 26 Bridges, see Roads Bruce, notices of 423, 442, 486, 525 Buachaille, rock of, 352 - Buachaille Etive, hills of, 471 Buchanan, Rev. Claudius, 22 Buie water, 479 Bulvicar, bay of 73 . Bunawe, iron works of 100, 519, 520 Burg, headland of, 299 Caillich Wearor, stone called, 105 Cairnbulg, remains on, 342 Cairnburgh isles, the, 340 Cairn-challein, tradition regarding, 68 Cairns in Ardchattan, 500—in Coll, 199- —in Jura, 538—in Killean, 384—in Kilfinan, 365—in Kilmartin, 560—in Lismore, 244—in Saddell, 449 Caitmish, falls of the Urchayat, 89 Caldwell, F. W., Esq., of Mishnish, 354 Calgarry castle, 342 Calve, isle of 354 Cameron, Messrs, bequests by, 161 Campbell, General Dugald, 22—General Duncan, ib.—Professor George, birth- place of, ib.—of Barbreck, family of, 51,–of Craignish, family of ib.-Cap- tain Donald, ib.—John, bequest by, 59 —General John, and Colin, bequests by, &b-Archibald, the mathematician, 67 —Admiral Sir Patrick, ib.—Sir Colin, Žb.-Colin, of Carwhim, bequest by, 101 —Sir Donald, of Ardnamurcham, 138 —Mr, of Ballimore, 362, 363, 367—of Skipness, career of,444—Miss, bequest by, 466—Rev. Colin, 487—General, of Lochnell, 490—of Lochnell, family of, 492—of Barcaldine, family of 493– Sir Archibald, 634—of Islay, 668—of Achnabreck, family of, 684—of Eder- line, ib.—Thomas, the poet, ib.—Sir Colin, of Ardenglass, 711 Campbelton, parish of, 453–bay of, 455 —town of, its trade, &c. 464 Canal, the Crinan, 265 Caol loch, 302 Caolchurn castle, 86—its history, 87 Caolisport loch, 257, 259 Cara isle, 379, 395 Carmichael, Captain Dugald, 23 Carna isle, 121, 165 . Carman water, 479 Carnassary castle, ruins of, 555 Carn-na-caillich, tradition regarding, 170 Carradale water, 438 Carraig, rock of 232 Carrick castle, ruins of, 705 Carskey bay, 414—house, 430 Carswell, Bishop, 555 Cascades in Ardchattan, 478, 479 Castle Coeffin, ruins of 241 Castle Craignish, 54 Castle Mearnaig, ruins of 241 Castle house of Dunoon, the, 607, 610 Castle of Dogs, the, 75 Castle Shuna, ruins of 241 - Castle Sween, ruins and history of 261, 636 INDEX, 72 I Castle Toward house, 609 Castle Tyrom, ruins of, 147 Castles, remains of fort at, 97—cave at, 345 Caves, various, in Campbelton, 454—in Gigha, 395—in Jura, 535—in Kildal- ton, 660—in Kilfimichan, 299—in Kil- lean, 379—in Kilninver, 6.3—in Lis- more, 227—in Lochgoil-head, 703—in Southend, 413—in Staffa, 351—in To. rosay, 279—in Ulva, 345 Ceann-a-Mhara hill, 196 - Chapels, remains of, in Craignish, 53—in Gigha, 400—in Glassary, 685—in Jura, 539—in Kilchoman, 650—in Kildal- tom, 663—im IXilfinichen, 305—in Kil- minian, 341—in Knapdale, 262—in Tobermory, 355 Charles, Prince, notices of, 129, 142 Chirsty’s rock, tradition regarding, 346 Churches, see Ecclesiastical statistics Clachan, Sound of 71—village of 251 Clach-na-brath, remains of the, 337 Claig castle, ruins of, 669 Claigean bay, 661 Clamshell cave at Staffa, the, 351 Clanranald, origin of the family of, 141 Claonaig water,438 Claonary village of, 27 Clark, Mr, of Ulva, 347 Climate and meteorology, 3, 47, 63, 73, 108, 131, 165, 199, 230, 280, 302, 316, 340, 361, 379, 396, 409, 415, 437, 456, 474, 633, 645, 661, 669, 676, 702 Clyde, frith of, 415, 456, 574, 577 Coal, workings for, in Kilfinichen, 303 Coe water, 231 Coeffin castle, ruins of 24l Coins, ancient, found in Ardchattan, 500, 501—in Coll, 207—in Jura, 539—in Kilmartin, 560—in Lismore, 243—in Tiree, 206—in Torosay, 288 Colipol, village of 79 Coll, island of 198, 199 Coll Kittoch, traditions regarding, 52, 67, 424, 558 Colonsay, island of, 340, 345, 351, 534, 544 Columba, St, 320 Cona water, 23i - Coniglen, valley of, 413—water, 416 Connell ferry, 475 Copper mines in Ternate, 170—in Glas- sary, 679 Coral, bank of, 421 Corellan isle, 259 Corinachencher bay, 281 Cormaig, St, tradition regarding, 262 Cormorant cave at Staffa, the, 352 Comeach house, 229—water, 231 Cornletter, cascade at, 478, 479 Corram water, 536 - Corrie, bishop of Madras, 400 Coryvrechan, whirlpool of 536 Cove, cave at the, 345—ruins of church at, 262, 263 - Craignish, parish of 45—castle 54—loch, Craignuire bay, 281 Crakaig, Druidical remains at, 349 Creach Bhunn, mount, 124 . Creran, loch, 475, 476—water, 231, 479 Crime in Inverary, statistics of, 42 Criman canal, the, 57,265, 638—moss of, 550, 552 Crosses, various, of Campbelton, 46 lº-in Inverary, 25—in Iona, 335—in Kil- choman, 650—in Kildalton, 633–of Lismore, 242—in North Knapdale, 635 Crossaig water, 438 - Crosspol, bay of, 199 Cruachan, mount, 83, 470 Cruachlusach, mount, 632 - Cuan, parish of, see Kilbrandon—Sound of, Cuil, bay of, 229 Culdees, origin and history of the, 323– their establishment in Colonsay, 544, 545 Cur water, 104 Dail house, 54 Dail-man-ceann, battle of 52 Dalintober, village of 465 Dalness, cascade at, 478,479 Dalriads, landing of the, in Scotland, 422 Danes, defeat of the, at Barbreck, 51 Danish remains in Coll, 207—in Craig- nish, 53—in Glenurchy, 96–in Kil- dalton, 663—in Kilfinichen, 305—in Rillarow, 669—in Morvern, 183—in Southend, 429—in Tiree, 205—in To- bermory, 355 - Daoire-nam-mart loch, 166 Deechoid hill, 516 Dergan water, 479 Devar, island of, 455 Diseases prevalent in Ardnamurchan, 132 —in Inverary, 4 . . Dissenters and dissenting chapels, 38, 58, 70, 79, 107, 158, 191, 219, 253, 293, 311, 353, 356, 374, 393, 406, 411, 434, 466, 507, 529, 530, 564, 611, 624, 656, 674, 697 - Distilleries in Campbelton, 464—in Glas- sary, 692—in Islay, 670—in Kilminver, 69—in Kilchoman, 655 - Donald Conallach, death of 137 Donald of the Hammers, 239 Dorus Mòr, strait of the, 47 Douglas burn, 7, 8 - Douloch, the, 5—remains of old castle at, 25 Draining, 76,246, 367, 433, 563, 653,670 Drimdrissaig house, 262 Drimnin castle, ruins of, 184 Drimree, battle at, 51 Drimsymie house, 712 Drimvuick house, 50l. 799 ARGYLESHIRE. & Drimyeonbeg bay, 396 Druid's bridge, the, 98 Druidical remains in Ardchattan, 494, 500—in Dunoon, 595—in Iona, 25, 337—in Kilfinan, 365—in Kilfinichen, 306—in Killean, 385—in Kilmartin, 560—in Kilminian, 342—in Lismore, 244—in Morvern, 183—in Muckairn, 518—in Saddell, 449—in Ulva, 349 Drumfin house, 355 Duart, bay of, 281—castle, ruins of 286 Duchoille, ruins of castle at, 96 Dum Aidh, ruins of 670 Dunanbuiaig, cairn of, 68 Dunan Aula, tradition regarding, 52 Dunans house, 673 Dunardary hill, 632 - Dumaverty bay, 414—castle, ruins of 423 —village of, 431 Dunborveraig, ruins of 670 Dun Chifie, tradition relating to, 400 Dunchuaich hill, 2–remains of fort at, Dundonald castle, ruins of, 384 Dunduramh castle, ruins of, 705 Dunii hill, 314 Dunloskin loch, 583 Dun-Mhi-Raonaill, remains of 68 Dunolly castle, ruins of 525 Dunoon castle, ruins and history of 597 —village of, 568, 574 Dunoon and Kilmun, united parishes of, 567 Dumrostan water, 633 Duns, various, in Coll, 207—in Glenur- chy, 97—in Kilfinan, 364—in Tiree, 205 - Dunskeig, remains of the forts of, 410 Dunstaffnage castle, ruins and history of, 523 e Duntaynish hill, 632 Duntorvil hill, 2 , Duntroon castle, 557 Duror water, 231 Eachaig, valley and water of 104, 571, 578 e Easdale, island of 71—Sound, 72—har- bour, 73—slate quarries, 77—village, 78 Ecclesiastical statistics, 36, 58, 70, 79, 100, 107, 114, 157, 190, 219,252,271, 292, 310, 338, 344, 354, 369, 374,392, 406, 411, 433, 451, 465, 506, 521, 529, 530, 541, 547, 564, 620, 641,656, 665, 671, 674, 693, 706—general, of the county, 708 Eck loch, 104, 571, 578 Ederlin loch, 677 Education, statistics of, 39, 59, 70, 80, 102, 107, ll 5, 160, 191, 220,253,272, 293, 311, 354, 370, 374, 392,406, 412, 434, 452,466, 507,521, 529, 531, 542, 625, 642, 656, 666, 671, 674, 697, 706 —general, of the county, 708 Eilan-mor island, 198 Eilein Finman, remains of church at, 147 Eilein-nam-Gobhar, vitrified fort of, 145 Eleanmunde, ancient parish of, 223 Elein-loch-Oscar, isle of 230 Ellain isle, 661 Ellandheirrig castle, ruins of, Ill Ellan-duirnish isle, 469 Ellan-fada isle, 259 Ellanmore, ruins of chapel at, 262— island of, 259 Ellan-na-leek isle, 259 Ellan-na-muick isle, 259 Embanking of the Urchay, the, 99 Entomology, see Zoology Eolan water, 479 Eorsa isle, 297, 301 Eridine house, 373 Erinis house, 262 Eriska isle, 469 Ervary hill, 632 ESragan water, 479 Esse forse, fall of 350 Etive, loch, 475—water, 478 Euchar water, 62, 65 Fairs, see Markets Famine, depopulation of Kilfinichen by, 307 Farm-buildings, 30, 44, 99, 106, 191,265, 433, 504, 664, 665 Feuchan, loch, 63, 64 Fine, loch, 104, 677, 678,691—water, 704 Fingal's cave, description of 352—fort, in Killean, 385 — Griddle, antiquity called, 147—oak, 484—steps, 165 Finlaggan castle, ruins of 669 Finlay, Kirkman, Esq. of Castle Toward, 586, 607 Fionn-chairn castle, ruins and history of, 683 - Fisheries, Herring, 33,750, 69, 78, 106, 110, 154, 173,234, 264, 310, 368,450, 463, 689, 691—Salmon, 69, 100, 154, 173, 234, 291, 368,451, 504,528, 617, 674–Sea, 204, 214, 234, 309, 399, 404, 457, 463, 655 *… Fishes of Inverary, list of the, 10—see : Zoology Fladda isle, 340 Florida, destruction of the, 183, 355 Forbes, Patrick, Esq. improvements by, 106 Forest, ancient, in Glenurchy, 92 Forsa water, 281 Forts, ancient, in Glassary, 682—in Kil- dalton, 663—in Killarrow, 669 — in North Knapdale, 636 Friendly societies, 116 Fuel, 60, 71, 81, 103, 116, 194, 218, 255, 275, 295, 311, 372, 407, 435, 468, 509, 533, 566, 629, 643, 658, 667 Fuller's earth, bank of, 421 Furnace, village of, 27 Gairloch, the, 678 . l N DEX, 723 Gardiner, Rev. James, 444 Jarbhreisa, island of, 47 Garvelloch, island of, 534 Gear-abhain water, 167 Gear-ambuinn water, 6 Geology and mineralogy, 7, 49, 90, 110, 133, 169, 201,282, 303, 317, 340, 345, 362, 380, 397, 409, 416,438,456,490, 538, 550, 579, 646, 662, 678 Gerloch, the, 229 Giant's fort, the, 385 Giant's grave, the, 205 Gigha isle, 377, 394 Gigha and Cara, united parishes of 394 Gigulum, isle of, 395, 396 Gilp, loch, 678 - Glackingdaline castle, ruins of 349 Glaissean loch, 678 Glaschoiren hill, 124 Glassary, parish of, 675 Glenaheurich, 125 Glenaladale, 125 Glenaray, 2, 6 Glenbrantor house, 105 Glenbreckry, 413 Glencainail, 278, 279 Glencoe, mountains and scenery of, 225 —massacre of 238 Glendaruell house, 673 Glendow, 474 Glendubh, lead mines of, 170 Glenetive, 473 Gleneuchar, 62 Glenfinart, 572–house, 610 Glenfinnon, tower at, 148 Glenforsa, 278, 279 Glening, 126 Glenketland, 473 Glenkinglas, 472 Glenlean, 572 Glenlochay, 84 Glenmassan, 572 Glenmeuble, 126 Glenmore, 278—bay, 156 Glennoe, 472 Glenorchy, Lady, bequest by, 102 Glensalloch, 474 Glensanda castle, ruins of 241—hill of, 227 Glenshellis house, 105 Glenshira, 2, 6 Glenstrae, 84 Glenurchy agricultural association, 100 Glenurchy and Inishail, united parishes of 82 Glenure, 473 Glunamore isle, 414 Goil, loch, 702—water, 704 Gometra, island of, 340, 345, 351 Great cave of Gigha, the, 395 Gribun, cave at, 299 Gruinard, loch, 645 Guisachan water, 479 Gunna, island of, 198 Gunpowder mills in Dunoon, 612—in Glassary, 692—in Kilfinan, 366 Gylen castle, ruins of 526 Hafton house, 610 Hamilton, Rev. Mr, imprisonment of, 146 Harbours in Ardnamurchan, 156—in Co- lonsay, 546—in Craignish, 57—in Jura, 541—in Morvern, 190 Heynish, bay of, 197 Herdsman, rock called the, 352 Herring fisheries of Lochfine, the, 33, 691, 715, see also Fisheries. Hill of Angels at Iona, the, 337 History, civil, 17, 51, 66, 73, 93, 105, lll, 134, 177, 204, 238,261,284, 305, 341, 355, 364, 373, 384,400, 409, 422, 441, 458, 486, 517, 523, 538, 545, 555, 593, 634, 649, 662, 669, 682, 705 Holy loch, 571—tradition regarding, 602 Husbandry, system of 28, 44, 55, 77, l 13, 290, 308, 367, 388, 403, 432,615, 639, 654, 664, 673 Hydrography, 5,47, 64, 72, 104, 109, 121, 166, 201, 258, 281,302, 317, 362, 380, 397, 409, 415, 438,456, 475, 516, 536, 577, 633, 645, 661, 677 I, island and sound of 297 Icolmkill, island of, see Iona Imersay isle, 661 Inimore, cave at, 300 Inishail, island of, 82—nunnery, 97 Inish-Chonnel, island of, 373 Inishdrynich house, 98 Inish Errich, ruins of chapel in, 373 Innis Kenneth, island of, 297, 300– house, 306 Inns and alehouses, 43, 59, 70, 103, 108, 116, 162, 194, 218, 255, 275,295, 372, 374, 407, 412,435,468, 508, 522, 533, 543, 547, 566, 643, 657, 667, 699 Insects of Inverary, list of the, ll Insh, sound of, 71 Inverary, parish of, l—ancient proprie- tors of, 18—castle, 26—old town of, l —town of 34—comparison of, in 1792 and 1843, 43 Inverawe house, 98, 501 Inverchaolain, parish of 108 Invercharnan, remarkable trees at, 484 Inverneil house, 262 Inverfolla, obelisk at, 242 Iona, island and quoad sacra parish of, 297, 312—its various names and their origin, ib.—history of its religious in- stitutions, 320–description of its anti- quities, 331 Island-nave, ruins of church on, 650 Island-Stalker, ruins of the castle of, 240 Islands, various, belonging to Craignish, 4 Islay, island of, 644, 659, 668–house, 669 Johnson, Dr, 299, 301 724 AR GYLE SHIRE, .* Jura, island and parish of 534 Keil, cave at, 413—house, 430—ruins of church at, 428 Keills, headland of, 632—ruins of church at, 635 - Kelp, manufactory of, in Craignish, 57— in Kilfinichen, 309—in Kilminver, 69 —in Ulva, 348 Kenloch, falls of 166 Kenlochaline castle, ruins of, 184 Kenmore, headland of, 3–village of 27 Kenneth's isle, 377 Kentailen, bay of, 229 Kenture bay, 661 ,” - Kettle stone in Tiree, the, 206 Kiaran, St, 459 Kiel church, ruins of 499 Kilblaan burn, 7–church, ruins of, 413 Kilbrandon and Kilchattan, parish of 71 Kilbride bay, 360—chapel, ruins of, 685 —remains of monastery at, 25 Rilcalmonell and Kilberry, united pa- rishes of, 408 Rilchiaran, harbour of 230 IXilchoan, harbour of, 156 Kilchoman, parish of, 644—bay, 645 IGilchrenan and Dalavich, united parishes of, 372 Kildalton, parish of, 659 Kildavie glen, 417 Kilfinan, parish of 359—bay, 360—burn 362, 363 * IGilfinichen house, 306 Kilfinichen and Kilwiceuen, united pa- rishes of, 296 - Išilian, St., 376 Killarow and Kilmeny, united parishes of, 668 Killean, ruins of chapel at, 287 Killean and Kilchenzie, united parishes of 376 - Killevin chapel, ruins of, 685 Killian, lochs at, 6 Rilloran house, 545 Kilmadan, parish of, 672 IKilmaluag, ancient parish of, 223 Kilmaria, ruins of church of 147 Kilmartin, parish of 547—castle, ruins of, 559—house, 561—village, ib, Rilmichael water, 6.33 Kilmilian, ancient burial ground of, 25 Rilmore and Kilbride, united parishes of, 522 JKilmorie, ruins of old churches at, 45, 262, 263, 685—house, 686–meteoro- logical observations taken at it, 676 Kilmun, village of, 607 Kilneuar, ruins of church at, 685 Kilninian, quoad sacra parish of 342 Kilminian and Kilmore, united parishes of 339 Kilminver and Kilmelford, united parishes of, 6 Killundine castle, ruins of, 184 ) Rilvarie church, ruins of 517 Kilviceuen church, ruins of 349 Ringerloch, district of, 225 Ringlas water, 478 - Kinloch Moidart, district of, 125 IKintra, moss of, 127—sands of, 131 Kintyre, Mull of, 414—its history, 422– lighthouse on, 430 Kirkapol, bay of, 197 Kirkton water and cascade, 65 Knapdale, North, parish of 631 Knapdale, South, parish of, 257 Knockbreck water, 536 Knockmoy hill, 413 Ladder cave, the, 299 . Laga, chapel at, 158 Lagamhulin bay, 660 Laggan point, cave at, 279—ruins of cha- pel at, 287 Lahich loch, 302 Lamont house, 359, 365 Lamonts, ancient power of the, 593—mas- Sacre of, by the Campbells, 599 Landing of Charles Edward, the, 142 Landowners, 53, 67, 73, 95, 105, lll, 180, 240, 261, 286, 341, 364, 373, 391, 400, 409, 428, 449, 460, 491, 527, 538, 545, 559, 609, 639, 650, 662, 669, 673, 689, 712 Langal moss, 127 Language, see Population, character of the Laroch, village of, 251—water, 231 Lazaretto at Dunoon, the, 611 Leachdan water, 675 Lead mines of Lurg, the, 170—of Stron- tian, 134, 154 • Lea-Ellan isle, 259 Leamham loch, 676 Leases, 30, 56, 69, 77, 99, l 13, 152, 188, 212, 291, 308, 367, 389, 404, 411,433, 504, 654 | Leslie, General, massacre of the Macdo- nalds by, 425 Leven water, 231 Levenstrath house, 430 Libraries and literature, 41, 102, 108, 161, 374, 467, 566, 626 Lighthouses on Musdale, 232—on Isle Orsay, 651—on the Mull of Kintyre, 430—on Skerryvoré, 198—on Toward point, 574 Limecraigs house, 458 Lindsay, Archdeacon, 712 Line, loch, 64 Linga isle, 340 Lismore, island of, 225 Lismore and Appin, united parishes of, 223 Little Colonsay, isle of 340, 345, 351 Live stock, breeds, &c., of 27, 66, 99, 106, 113, 150, 171, 188, 203, 213, 233, 246, 264, 291, 309, 367, 380, 403, 410, 432, 520, 528, 540, 563, 615, 653, 690, 713 6 INDEX. 725 Liver water, 478 Lliabh Goail hill, 257 Lochalin, 168—freestone quarries of, 170 —harbour, 190—village, 189 Lochandow, 517 Lochavich, 373 Lochawe, 85, 372 Lochbuy bay, 281—castle, ruins of, 287 —cave at, 279—house, 289 Lochcaolisport, 259 Lochden, bay of 281 Locheck, 104 Lochfine, 2, 5, 104, 677, 678—herring fisheries of, 33, 691, 715 . Lochgilphead, village of, 275, 688– church at, 695 Lochgoil, 702 Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich, united pa- rishes of, 701—addendum to, 711– village of, 717 Lochgorum, 645 Lochindaal, 645 Lochintallan, 661 Lochknock bay, 660 Lochlahich, 302 - Lochlong, 702 Loch-man-uamh, 122—caves at, 128 Loch-man-gaul, 300, 339 Lochnell, 516—house, 50l. Lochoscar, 229 Lochswen, scenery of 632 Lochspelve bay, 281 Loch Teagus, Vitrified fort at, 183 Lochtolla, 85 Lonan water, 516 Long, loch, 702—water, 704 Longevity, instances of, in Ardchattan, 474—in Jura, 535—in Killean, 379– in Kilninver, 63—in Ulva, 340 Lorn, braes of, 62—Agricultural Associa- tion, 505—furnace company, 519 Luachragan water, 517 - Luggan water, 668 Luing island, 71 Lunga isle, 534 Lurg, lead mines of, 170 Lusragan water, 517 Lussa water, 281 Macalister, Colonel, bequest by, 393 Macalister's bay, 281 - Macarthur's head, 660 Macaulay, T. B., Esq., 239, 491 Macdonald, Alexander, (Coll Kittoch,) notices of, 52, 67, 424, 558—Alexan- der, the Gaelic poet, 144—Sir Alex- ander, 425—Angus, 423—Ronald, 426 Mr, of Ballyshear, improvements by, 422—Mr, of Drimantarraw, improve- ments by, 152—Mr, of Lochshiel, 153 —Mr, of Morar, bequest by, 161 Macdonalds, massacre of the, 425 Macdougall of Lorn, defeat of, by Bruce, 486—l)r, 712 Macfadyen's cave and stone, tradition re- garding, 85 M*Farlane, Rev. Alexander, 67 M*Gregor of Glenstrae, story of, 601 Machirhanish bay, 455 Machrimore hill, antiquities found at, 428 - Machririoch bay, 414 M*Ian Ghur, exploit of, 140 M“Inneses, conflicts of, with the Norse- men, 179 M*Intyre, Dr, bequest by, 507–Duncan, the poet, 83, 94—James, 491 M“Kichan, Rev. Mr, 686 Mackinmon's cave at Staffa, 299, 351, 352 M“Larty, Dr, improvements by, 422 M“Larty, island of, 47 Maclaurin, Colin, birthplace of, 672– Rev. John, ib. M“Laine of Lochbuy, family of, 285 M“Lean, origin and history of the family of, 284—of Duart, ib.—of Torloisk, 343—Sir Allan, 301—Dr Donald, 141 —Lachlan, of Duart, tradition regard- ing, 183—Archdeacon, 712 . Mac Mhic Jain, death of, 182, 683 M“Millan of Knap, family of 261—Mr, of Levenstrath, improvements by, 422 M*Neill of Colonsay, family of, 545– Mr, improvements by, 546 M“Nicol, Rev. Donald, 240, 445 M“Niven, islet of 47 Mac Phaidan, death of, 486 M*Vicar, Rev. John, 19, 22 Malcolm, Mr, of Poltalloch, improve- ments by, 562 Mallore hills, 516 Malocus, St, tradition regarding, 223 Manufactures, 57, 100,216, 366, 374,670, 692 Marble quarries of Iona, the, 318–in Tiree, 202 Markets and Fairs, 35, 70, 103, 108, 116, 162, 194, 218, 255, 295, 311, 371, 394, 468, 529, 564, 667, 699 Martyr's bay at Iona, 337 Mary's lake, 355 Massan water, 579 Mºngºing a Norse chief, death of 35 Mearnaig castle, ruins of, 241 Melfort loch, 63, 64 Meteorology, see Climate Millbay, village of, 79 Miltown, village of, 54l Mineralogy, see Geology Mingary, ruins of the castle of 145—its history, 146 Ministers of Ardchattan from 1731, 506 —of Campbelton from the Reforma- tion, 462—of Craignish from 1698, 58 —of Glassary from 1691, 697—of In- verary from 1650, 24—of Kilmartin from 1639, 565—of North Knapdale from 1639, 641—of South Knapdale from 1730, 272—of Southend from 1631, 429 726 A R GYLE SHIRE. Mioble water, 124 Moidart, district of 118, 120–loch, 121 Monastery of Iona, description and his- tory of, 332—of Saddell, 445 Monuments, various, in Iona, 333 Monro, Dean, account of Iona by, 313 Morir loch, 118, 123—water, 124 Morvern, parish of, 163 Muckairn, parish of 509—ancient ac- count of, 510 - Muir of Leckan hills, 372 Mull, island of, 277, 296, 345 Mull of Cara, the, 395—of Kintyre, see Rintyre—of Oa, 645, 661 Munro, Rev. John, 712 Murragh Gear, exploit of, 285 Murray, Sir Alexander, of Stanhope, 140, 144, 170 Musdale, lighthouse on, 232 Nan Uamh, loch, 122 Napier, David, Esq., improvements by, 106—William, 22 Na-Reaull, loch, 122 Naunt river, 516–loch, 517 Neil Mor, exploits and death of 207 New Inverawe house, 98 Newton Argyle, village of, 433 Ninian, St, 339 Noe water, 478 North Knapdale, parish of, 631 Northmen, defeats of the, by Somerled, 179—ravages of, in Iona, 324 Nunnery of Inishail, the, 97—of Iona, 336 Nun's cave, the, 300 Oa, Mull of 645, 661 Oban, bay of, 529—town and quoad Sa- cra parish of, ib. 530, 532 Obelisks in Kilchoman, 650—in Killean, 384—in Lismore, 242 Ocal, cave at, 129 Odin's cave, 279 Olave, a Dane, defeat of, 51 Old Wife's point, the, 347 Oran, burial-place and chapel of 333 Oransay, island of, 121, 165, 199, 534, 544 – mansion-house, 545 — priory, ruins of, 545 Orde, Sir John P., 676, 678 Organic remains found in Lismore, 233 Ormidele house, 673 Ormsaig, cairn at, 147' Ormsary house, 262 Ornithology, see Zoology Orsay isle, light-house on, 651’ Oscar's bay, 229 Otter house, 366—sandbank, 360—oys- ters of the, 363 Oude water, 65 Paps of Jura, the, 535 Parish registers of Inverary, extracts from the, 22 Parson's lake, the, 65 Paterson's rock, 4.15 Pauperism, see Poor Pennycross house, 306 Pigeons' cave, the, 395 Plague, ravages of the, in Kintyre, 427 Plantations and planting, 13, 55, 69, 92, 104, 150, 176, 236, 260,290, 305, 363, 383, 432,458, 483, 520, 586, 639, 670, 673, 681, 712—of Inverary, history and account of the, 13 Pollock water, 124 Poltairve, bay of 302 Poltalloch, view from, 548 Poor, management of the, 41, 59, 70, 80, 102, 108, 115, 161, 193,221, 254, 272, 295, 311, 338, 371, 374, 393, 407,412, 435, 452, 467, 508, 533, 542, 566,627, 643, 657, 666, 671, 674, 698, 7.06— summary of, 708 Population, returns of the, 26, 54, 68, 75, 98, 105, 112, 148, 185, 208, 244, 263, 288, 306, 338, 344, 348, 353, 366, 374, 385, 401, 410, 431,449, 462, 501, 519, 527, 539, 545, 561, 612, 638,652, 663, 670, 673, 687, 706—language, charac- ter, and habits of the, 27, 55, 69, 75, 98, 105, 112, 187, 209, 245, 264, 288, 307, 353, 356, 358, 366, 386, 401, 410, 431, 450, 463, 502, 519, 528, 539, 562, 614, 639, 652, 688 Port of the Atholemen, the, 52 Port Appin, village of, 251 Port Charlotte, village of, 652, 655 Portellen bay, 660—village of, 664, 665 Portmaluag, tradition regarding, 223 Portmacroish, village of, 25] Portnahaven, village of, 651 Portnamurloch, harbour of, and tradition connected with it, 229 Portramsay, harbour of, 229—village of, 251 * Portuisgen bay, 302 Port Wyms, village of, 652, 655 Pretender, the, notices of, 129, 142 Priest's isle, the, 97, 373 Prince Edward's hill, tradition regarding, 423 Priory of Colonsay, ruins of the, 545 Prisons, 42, 468, 628 Proaig bay, 661 Produce, average annual, 56, 100, 106, 155, 189, 216, 291, 505, 563, 617, 640, 654, 717 Quarries, freestone, 170, 528–granite, 154—limestone, 106, 362, 421, 433– marble, 202, 318—slate, 77, 247 . Quern, the, as used in Lismore, 244 Reef of Tiree, the, 196 . Reformation in Ardnamurchan, the, 143 Reginald of the Isles, 442 - Reilig Ourain, the, 333 Rent, rates of, 30, 56, 76, 150, 181, 246, 265, 290, 308, 403, 451, 460, 503, 520, 528, 615, 639, 640, 653, 664, 670, 673, 690, 706, 716 - Riddan loch, 109 INDEX. 727 Af Rinns point, 644—lighthouse, 651 Risga isle, 121 Roads, bridges, and means of communi- cation, 35, 57, 70, 79, 106, 114, 155, 189, 217, 251, 265, 273, 292, 310, 358, 369, 405, 411, 433, 465, 505, 521, 532, 543, 564, 619, 641, 655, 665, 692 Rob Roy, relic relating to, 26 Rockhill house, 98 Ronaldson's tower, remains of, 68 Roman bridge in Inverary, the, 26– camp in Dunoon, 596 Ross, district of 296 Runahaorine point, 377 Rusepol Ben, 124 Saddell castle, ruins of, 448—monastery, ruins and history of 445—water, 438 Saddell and Skipness, united parishes of, 436 St Carmaig's chapel, ruins of 635 St Catherine's chapel, ruins of, 429 St Ciran, 459 St Coivin's chapel, ruins of, 429 St Columba, notices of 181, 320, 428 St Cormaig, traditions regarding, 262 St Finan, 359—island of, 123 St Kilian, 376 St Mary's chapel, ruins of 331 St Munde, island of, 223 St Ninian, 339 St Ninian’s chapel, ruins of, 429 St Oran's chapel, &c., ruins of, 333 St Patrick, 409 Salem, district of 357—harbour of 230– ruins of chapel at, 287 Salt Pans, village of, 465 Sanda isle, 414 Sandeland isle, 301 Savings banks, 41, 81, 275, 566,627, 693 Scair Caristina, the, 346 Scamadale loch, 64 Scarba isle, 534 Schools, see Education Scour Choinich hill, 124 Scour Dhonich hill, 124 Scridain loch, 302 Seil island, 71—loch, 64 Selma of Ossian, the, 494 Sepulchres of the kings at Iona, the, 334 Shana or Shuna, see Shuna Shaw, James, 492 - Sheep, effects of the introduction of, into the Highlands, 93 Sheep isle, the, 414 Shiel loch, 122—water, 124 Shineach loch, 678 Shipping belonging to Campbelton, 464 —to Coll, 217—to Oban, 529—to Tiree, 216 Shira water, 1, 6 Shuna castle, ruins of 241—island, 71, 130—sound, 73,228 Si-ain-na-Rapaich hill, 165 Si’ain-Sluagh hill, 105 A R GYLE, Skipness castle, ruins of, 448—Water, 438 Skerryvore lighthouse, the, 198 Slate quarries of Bailechelish, the, 247– of Easdale, 77 Sliobh-goil hill, 408 Smith, Dr Donald, 94—Rev. John, 93 Smuggling, prevalence of, in Kilcalmo- nell, 410—in Kilchrenan, 375—in Sad- dell, 450—in Tiree, 209 Soay, island of, 197, 198 Somerled, Thane of Argyle, notices of, 134, 179, 422,441, 458 Sonachan house, 373. Southall house, 1}l Southend, parish of 413. South Knapdale, parish of 257 South Morir, district of 118, 120 Springs, remarkable, in Inverchaolain, 109 Staffa, island of, and its scenery, 340, 345, 351 Stewart, Dr, of Kil, and Mr, of Fasna- cloish, bequests by, 254 Stewarts of Appin, the, 238 Stob-an-daimh hill, 83 Stone coffins found in Ardchattan, 500— in Dunoon, 594—in Inverchaolain, 112 —in Jura, 539—in Kilchoman, 651— in Kilmartin, 560—in Knapdale, 263 —in Torosay, 287 Stonefield bay, 516 Stornoway bay, 409 Strachur, hills and strath of, 104—bay, 107—house, 105 - Strachur and Stralachlan, united parishes of, 107 - - Strachurmore house, 105 Strae water, 84 Stralachlan, strath of 104 Stranamban loch, 281 String loch, 64 . Striven loch, 108, 109 Strome point, 574 Stronshira headland, 3 - Strontian, lead mines of, 134, 154—quoad sacra parish of, 158—valley of, 124 Sumadale water, 438 Sunart, district of 118, 119—loch, 119, 12] Sunderland house, 651 Swen câstle, ruins and history of 261, 636—loch, 632 Taocheillein castle, 85 Tarbert bay, 396—castle, ruins of 410– loch, 409—village, 274, 411 Tayribbi, village of, 251 Teagus loch, 168 Tearnate, ancient copper mines of, 170— loch, 166 *. Tendal water, 479 Texa isle, 661 Thomas, Abbot of Saddell, 443 Tides in Loch Craignish, the, 47—in Loch- fine, 678 - Tiree, island of, 195 3 B 728 ARGYLESHIRE. Tiree and Coll, united parishes of 195 Tirefoor castle, ruins of 242 Tobermory, quoad sacra parish of, 354– . village of, ib. Toberonochy, harbour at, 73—village of, 79 Tolla loch, 85 Torloisk house, 342 Torosay, parish of, 277 Torrisdale water, 438 Torsay, island of 71 Toward castle, ruins of, 600 — point, lighthouse on, 574 Trees, remarkable, in Ardchattan, 484— in Inverary, 16 Treshinish isles, the, 340 Tumuli in Ardchattan, 500—in Inver- chaolain, 1 12—in Jura, 538—in Kil- calmonell, 410—in Kilfinan, 365—in Rillean, 384—in Kilmartin, 560—in Lismore, 244—in Morvern, 183—in Saddell, 449 Turner, General, 22 Tyrom castle, ruins of, l?2, 147 Uaglamaich cave, 535 Ulric, a Dane, monument to, 52 Ulva, isle of 340, 345—house, 349— quoad Sacra parish of 345—sound, ib., 3 * Unimore, valley of, 168 Urchay water, 82, 84, 89 Ure water, 479 Urns found in Ardchattan, 500—in Jura, 539—in Southend, 428 Vitrified forts in Ardnamurchan, 145— of Dunskeig, 410—at loch Teagus, 183 Vrogie, cascade of, 480 • Wages, rates of, 31, 76, 214, 249, 290, 358, 403, 451, 463, 503, 528, 564, 615, 639, 653, 664, 713 - Wallace, victory of, in Lorn, 486 Watch-towers, ruins of, in Glassary, 682 Watson, Rev. Mr, death of 146 Weir, Rev. Mr, death of, 146 Whale, large, found in Saddell, 440 Wheat, first growth of, in the Hebrides, 34 Whyte, Archibald, exploits of, 606– John, inventor of the Archimedes screw, 79 - Wilson, Professor, description of Loch Etive by, 476 Wolf, death of the last, in Glassary, 680 Woods of Inverary, the, 13—see also Plantations . Zebus, herd of, in Glassary, 680 Zoology, 9, 50, 66,91, 104, 110, 171,203, 233,260, 282, 304, 319, 341, 348, 363, 380, 399, 409, 439, 481, 538, 554, 587, 633, 648, 662, 680 ERRATA. 21st line from top of page 119, for “having been” read “who having been.” 10th line from top of page 121, for “Lochoramua.” read “Lochnamua.” 19th line from top of page 122, for “Reaull” read “Keaull.” 15th line from top of page 123, for “Lochshiel” read “Lochiel.” 6th line from bottom of page 126, for “Brosaig” read “Beoraig.” 11th line from top of page 127, for “Kinkan” read “Kintra.” 14th line from top of page 133, for “limestone of" read “limestone, and of.” 5th line from bottom of page 134, for “Maruin” read “Morven.” 12th line from top of page 138, for “Baslerick” read “Barbreck.” EDINBURGH : PRINTED BY STARK AND COMPANY., * OLD ASSEMBLY CI.OSIC. ſiliili 5 ºf ... º º: ºf , . & tºº, , - : º º . . . . * † º ºº: sº º ~ gº as .* : **** 3 ºf . ; *- : f º: : º # asiº *::::: * 3. *::: *_s;* , . tº: 3 t. $ 5. &#, **.*. - +. *…* ** A. . . . . • Tra. º: ** . *... 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