'M-i'i'^iimMI'vim^'^. 
 
 '^m'^m 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 352 
 
 hQ75 
 V34_ 
 
 EC0N0WIC8
 
 REVIEW 
 AND EXAMINATION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INHABITANTS' COMMITTEE 
 
 OF liSITII, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 THE "ACCOUNT CURRENT" 
 
 OF THEIR TREASURER IN RELATION TO THE 
 
 £13,543 ; 4 : 10 
 
 RECEIVED, AND SAID TO BE EXPENDED BY THE PATRIOTS 
 DURING THEIR EIGHT YEARS' REIGN; 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECENT PROCEEDINGS OF SOME OF THE 
 
 LEADING MEMBERS OF THIS BODY TO PERPETUATE 
 
 THEIR DOMINATION OVER LEITH, AND 
 
 LITIGATION AGAINST EDINBURGH. 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX. 
 
 " I'll mountebank their loves, cog their hearts from them, and come home 
 beloved of all the Trades in Rome." 
 
 " Look you now, he is out of his guard already ; 
 " Unless you laugh, and mijiister occasion to him, 
 " He is gagged." — Shakespeare. 
 
 LEITH: 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY R. ALLARDICE, 
 And Sold hy aO the Booksellers, 
 
 1834. 
 Price Sixpence.
 
 REVIEW 
 
 OF 
 
 THE REPORT 
 
 OP THE 
 
 IITHAIIITAIVTS* COMMITTHS 
 
 OF LEITH, &o. 
 
 That Redoubtable body, *' the Inhabitants' Commit* 
 tee," have at length found it convenient to break the si* 
 lence which they have so long and carefully maintained 
 respecting the esoteric mysteries in which they had heeu 
 enfraged. The fulness of time has at length come — the 
 period " has now," they tell us, " arrived when they can 
 zviih propriety render to their constituents^ (i. e. to thenu- 
 selves,) a final and suvimary account of their proceed- 
 ings." After having, for a series of years, systematically 
 refused to render any account to their " constituents," 
 or to afford the slightest information respecting the ap- 
 plication of the enormous sums of money which, upon 
 one pretence after another, they had managed to extract 
 from the public during the eight years of their reign ; 
 these men, who had sternly resisted every entreaty, pro- 
 vocation, or solicitation employed to induce them to lift 
 even a corner of the veil which intercepted all vision, and 
 screened their mysteries, have at length come forward, of 
 their own accord, to make what they are pleased to 
 
 A
 
 6 
 
 denominate **a final and summary" revelation of theif 
 proceedings." 
 
 The Inhabitants of Leith had long been dying with 
 impatience for insight into the transactions in which this 
 famous body were for years engaged ; and loud, fierce, 
 and frequent, were the demands for explanation, more 
 especially after the very gross and shameful misapplica- 
 tion of the Police funds, to an enormous amount, was 
 brought to light by the publication of an ABSTRACT 
 of the Accounts, referrible to this matter, in October 1829. 
 But the time, it seems, had not then arrived when the 
 Patriots could with propriety render to their constituents 
 any account of their " proceedings,'" far less explain 
 how ^6*6089 : 4 : 2 came to be charged upon the 
 Police funds as the expense of obtaining the Police Act, 
 or by what authority d£'4533 : 4 : 5 of this sum had 
 been illegally diverted from the special purposes to 
 which it was appropriated and expended on projects 
 altogether foreign to the objects to which alone it 
 could be legally applied. 
 
 ' By the document to which reference has just been 
 tnade, and by a careful analysis of the several accounts 
 and items of charge, it was incontestibly proved that 
 of the d£*6089 unblushingly charged upon the Police 
 funds, as the alleged expense of obtaining the Act un- 
 der which it was levied, no less than dt'iSSS had, as 
 already mentioned, been scandalously misapplied to pur- 
 poses best known to those who had been principally 
 concerned in this eminently characteristic and creditable 
 proceeding ; yet so far were the patriotic agitators of the 
 Inhabitants' Committee from then discerning the " pro- 
 priety" of rendering any account to their constituents, 
 or attempting to offer any explanation of the enormous 
 misapplication of public money which had been so incon- 
 veniently brought to light, that they exerted themselves 
 to the. utmost to quash and stifle all honest inquiry, and, 
 for the time, were successful in accomplishing their ob-
 
 jcct. The cry of the inhabitants was for investigation, 
 and more than enough had been made out to warrant so 
 reasonable a demand. But the men who called them- 
 selves the ''Inhabitants' Committee," and who professed to 
 be acting for, and solely responsible to the community, 
 set themselves in direct opposition to the wishes of those 
 whom they called their " constituents;" and by means 
 of their ubiquity, versatility, audacity, cajolery, manoeu- 
 vres, and, we fear we must add, misrepresentations, 
 succeeded in evading compliance with the loudly ex- 
 pressed demands of the public whom they professed to 
 represent, and of whose interests they impudently deno- 
 minated themselves the guardians. 
 
 It is right, however, before proceeding further, for us 
 to state, that when we thus speak of this Committee, we 
 uijust not be understood as includincr all who had the 
 misfortune of being selected or inducted into it. Several 
 of these, we are assured, knew, and do at present know 
 as little of the proceedings which we are to investigate, as 
 the rest of their fellow-townsmen. It is not them whom 
 we arraign ; — they were not of the Select, Secret, Caucus 
 Committee — they were not the Decemvirs who fabricated 
 such a chain of oppression for the necks of the People of 
 Leith, and contrived to make them wear it so long '* as 
 'twere lightly ;"" — their only fault is, and it is not a trivial 
 one, that they have allowed themselves to be so long con- 
 sidered as leagued with the " Inhabitants'" Committee" ia 
 those deeds of Darkness which we are now to endeavour 
 to bring io Light. 
 
 It is of essential importance, before we proceed far- 
 ther, that the precise position of this arbitrary and in- 
 defatigable Junto should be clearly and distinctly under- 
 stood. Until the present tiipe when " the propriety* 
 of making some disclosure, or at least offering some de- 
 fence of their proceedings has been suddenly impressed 
 upon their minds by the force of circumstances, to which 
 wo shall hereafter advert, they resisted all eatreaties,
 
 eV&,ded evety attempt, and defied all threats to bring 
 them to an accounting. Their Treasurer has been re- 
 peatedly called upon by subscribers to exhibit the sub- 
 scription papers in which their names appeared, and at 
 least, to satisfy the public upon one point, namely^, as to 
 the amount of money received by them. The leading 
 liiembers of the Body, too, have been applied to in pri- 
 vate, and arraigned in public, respecting the mysteri- 
 ous and dogged secrecy which they maintained in regard 
 to proceedings which, if right and proper, ought to have 
 been as open as day; but entreaties and denunciations 
 Were alike unavailing. They braved suspicion and set 
 public opinion at nought, vs^axing louder and louder in 
 their incessant panegyrics on their own patriotic disinter- 
 estedness, in proportion as the confidence of the cora- 
 ioaunity abated, and a different sentiment was generated 
 in its stead. 
 
 It is no doubt true that at one or more public meet- 
 ings, called for the express purpose of giving colour 
 and effect to some scheme of the Junto, it was found 
 absolutely necessary, in order to appease the malcon- 
 tents, who were becoming dangerous, if not formidable, 
 and also in order to carry those present along with them, 
 io promise a faithful account of their past stewardship ; 
 and on one occasion at least, solemn vows were made to 
 retuTn certain subscriptions which had been paid on the 
 express condition of accomplishing ends or securing 
 privileges which the Junto had failed in achieving. 
 But these promises were only made in order to be bro- 
 ken. The Junto seem to have thought with the infernal 
 spirits in Paradise Lost that «' vows made in pain are 
 violent and void ;" or with the Devil, when sick, that re- 
 pentance was necessary only so long as the danger was 
 fantnediate and urgent. 
 
 Accordingly, as might have been expected, no account 
 was given by these promising patriots ; and eight long years 
 passed away iirithout so much as a j^ot or tittle of informa-
 
 tion being aftbrded by them to their *' constituents, ' as 
 they were pleased to call the whole inhabitants of Leith, 
 as to the amount of monies actually received, and the ends 
 or purposes to which these sums had been applied ; — ia 
 fact, all information on the subject was repeatedly and po- 
 sitively refused. Such is a sketch of the course which 
 has, till very lately, been pursued by this " Inhabitants* 
 Committee," a body which we do not wrong by describ- 
 ing as one of the most secret, arbitrary, and despotic 
 which ever domineered over any community under the 
 mask of patriotism. 
 
 But as matters could not remain always in this state, 
 the Junto at length made the discovery that " the time 
 had arrived when they could with propriety render to their 
 constituents a final and summary account of their proceed- 
 ings.''' Nor is it difficult to divine how this revelation 
 came to be made to these extraordinary seers ; or how, at 
 last, they succeeded in finding out that the day of account- 
 ing had indeed arrived. Public opinion emancipated it- 
 self from the fetters by which it had for a time been in 
 some measure enthralled; the men had become known, 
 their designs had been fathomed and understood, and 
 their works, which bad all the appearance of following them 
 in a long and appalling scries, exhibited a spectacle of furi- 
 ous hostility on the one hand, and reckless mismanage- 
 ment on the other, which even the most staid and sober- 
 minded of the community could not contemplate without 
 serious misgivings and apprehensions. A general awak- 
 ening had taken place ; and neither threats, nor artifice, 
 nor humbug could any longer be practised with the least 
 chance of success. And what followed this decisive change 
 in the public sentiment ? Why, immediately prior to 
 the late popular election of Councillors and Magistrates 
 in Leith, the universal sentiment was, — Avoid the InhO' 
 hitants* Committee ;— down with the Junto who have 
 spent so much of the public money upon their own 
 worthless and reckless projects, who have brought upon
 
 19 
 
 us the highest Police assessment in the Kingdom, and be- 
 sides crippled the establishment by saddling a debt of 
 -C8000 or ^10,000 ujjon it ; who have involved the 
 town in a multitude of expensive and ruinous lawsuits ; 
 and who, to crown the whole, have again and again 
 refused to render any account of the oPl 2,000 or 
 i?l 3,000 which, from time to time, they have, on one 
 pretext after another, extracted from the pockets of the 
 community. 
 
 Such was the indignant language with which the civic 
 aspirations of these matchless and incorruptible patriots 
 were greeted ; and the appeal thus made to public opinion 
 produced an immediate and decisive effect. In fact, nq 
 sooner did an Inhabitants'-Committee-man appear in a 
 Ward, or Municipal District, soliciting the suffrages of 
 the electors than he was immediately scouted, as if som? 
 plague-spot was upon him ; and the ultimate result has 
 been that, with the exception of two or three who were 
 never considered as altogether thorough-going partizans, 
 and who, besides, as we have been informed, were com- 
 pelled to renounce their allegiance to the Junto before 
 they could make head in their canvass, none of the li)- 
 babitants'-Committee-men has at present the honour of a 
 seal at the Council Board. For once the characteristic 
 ubiquity of that inestimable body was completely at fault. 
 
 Now, we put it to the common sense of the pubhc of 
 Leith whether there can be a shadow of doubt that the 
 reception which the patriots met with on this occasion, or 
 rather the result of the civic elections, has alone led to the 
 grand discovery announced at the commencement of their 
 " Report" that " the time has now arrived vv^hen they 
 " can with propriety/ render to their constituents a final and 
 *' summary account of their proceedings." During eight 
 long years f when the money collected by various means 
 was in the course of being expended, and when the ap- 
 plication of some check would have been useful in at least 
 preventing part of the wasteful expenditure in whiclj
 
 11 
 
 they had indulged unrestrained, they were impenctrabhs 
 alike to entreaties, solicitations, and even menaces, and 
 resisted with all their soul, and all their strength, and 
 all their mind, every attempt to bring tliem to an ac- 
 counting. 
 
 But be it observed, that no sooner do they encounter a 
 rebuff which plainly told that they have not only forfeited 
 public confidence, but become objects of suspicion and dis- 
 trust to the community at large ; — no sooner are they made 
 to feel that their "occupation" and that any influence they 
 ever possessed are " clean gone," and that, unless they can 
 contrive to white- wash themselves, the avenues to civic ho- 
 nours must remain closed against them ; — no sooner is all 
 this emphatically obtruded on their reluctant and tardy 
 perceptions, than they incontinently contrive to make the 
 discovery that " the time has arrived when they can 
 with propriety render to their constituents a final and 
 summarv account of their proceedings !" Marvellous pro- 
 per judges of "propriety*' these same Inhabitants'-Com- 
 niittee-men must forsooth be, seeing that they only found 
 out what was their clear and imperative duty from the 
 very first, after the public had anticipated them in discover- 
 ing their scandalous dereliction of it, and when its " final 
 and summary" performance could not, in the very best 
 view, have any other effect than to convict them, on 
 their own showing, of all that has been laid to their 
 charge I 
 
 But what, after all, has actually come forth in " the 
 final and summary'' exposition of the "proceedings" of 
 this renowned body ? Why, an account showing in round 
 numbers that this Inhabitants' Committee have, on the 
 one hand, received from the public .£'13,54:3 : 4 : 10, 
 and, on the other, that the whole of this enormous sum 
 has been paid away, leaving a balance of £.^ : 15:3 due 
 to their Treasurer. This is the broad and general aspect 
 of the " final and summary account" which the " Com- 
 mittee have thought fit to exhibit to their constituents."* 
 * A Copy of the " Account Current" is appended #MMiiHii^M».
 
 IS 
 
 .£'13,543 :' 4 : 10 sterling have been collected and 
 squandered away, with a trifle more to boot, and that 
 is about the sum and substance of the information 
 afforded in this mock reckoning which, with bitter 
 though unconscious irony, has been denominated d " final 
 and summary account." Of its *' finality," indeed, there 
 can be no doubt whatever ; the money is gone, expend- 
 ed to the last fraction, with more besides, and that is, no 
 doubt, the finis, end, or, as it were, colophon of the 
 whole affair. 
 
 Nor is its " summary'* character in any degree less 
 striking or remarkable than its " finality.'* Dr. John- 
 son defines the meaning of " summary" to be " brief, 
 short, compendious j" and, most assuredly, if th^ re- 
 nowned author of the English Dictionary be correct 
 in his definition, no term could possibly have been 
 more applicable than that by which the Inhabitants' 
 Committee describe their own peculiar mode of account- 
 ing. For who that examines the *' Account Current," 
 embodied in the " Report," can doubt that it is " brief, 
 short, compendious ;"" so much so, indeed, as to leave 
 entirely unexplained every point in regard to which sped- 
 fie and detailed information was and still is most anxiously 
 desired. 
 
 Is there, we 'would ask, any satisfactory account 
 given either of the actual receipts or of the application 
 of the monies received at different times ? Is either side 
 of the account vouched in such a manner as would sa- 
 tisfy any merchant of Leith if it related to his own pri- 
 vate affairs ? Are the subscription papers produced to 
 instruct the particulars of the subscriptions, the various 
 amounts received, and the purposes for which the money 
 was subscribed ? All that the people of Leith have in 
 truth at last obtained in this precious exposition, an- 
 nounced as " final and summary," is a naked " Account 
 Current," " brief, short, and compendious," prepared by 
 •* James Reoch, Esq. Treasurer of Inhabitants' Commit-
 
 13 
 
 iee^ and " examined," " checked,'' and *< found to have 
 been most correctly kept" by four members of " Inhabi- 
 tants' Committee,"" who " cannot sufficiently express their 
 sense of the obligations the community or Leith are 
 under to that gentleman, — viz. " Treasurer of Inha- 
 bitants' Committee" — '* for his valuable and gratuitous 
 *' services, during the long-continued contests in de^ 
 ^^Jcndmg the interests of the Town and Port of 
 " Leith." This is the only reddendum which the inha- 
 bitants of Leith have received in return for the large 
 sums of money which have at different times, and on va- 
 rious pretences been wrung from them. 
 
 It must be obvious to every one, therefore, that in this 
 state of matters, and whilst the subscription papers and 
 other documents are withheld, it is nothing short of an 
 insult to pretend that the debit side of the Junto's *' Ac- 
 count Current" is satisfactorily instructed, or, we should 
 rather say, instructed at all. These papers constitute the 
 only documents by which the nature and extent of the 
 powers entrusted to the Committee can be established ; 
 and until these are produced, it is evidently impos- 
 sible that the Committee can be exonerated from the 
 weighty suspicions which at present attach to them, 
 or that the slightest regard can be paid to any state- 
 ment in figures which they may be pleased to exhibit, 
 or even to " authenticate" by the doquet and signatures 
 of some of their own number. Again, with respect to 
 the credit side of their *' Account Current" will it be 
 pretended or alleged that any voucher has been pro- 
 duced, or any information whatever has been tendered ? 
 On the contrary, has not all explanation been refused, 
 1st, respecting the services of Mr. William Bell to whom 
 there appears to have been paid the comfortable sum of 
 J/ 4569 : 3 : 1 ; — 2d, regarding those of Mr. John Richard- 
 son who is stated to have received £S^S^ : 12 : 7; — 3d, 
 as to the sum of £12^1 : 12 : 7 charged in name of tra- 
 velling expenses ;— 4th, respecting that of £15Q : 13 : 4 
 
 B
 
 14 
 
 stated to have been paid for printing, advertising, 
 &c. ; and, generally in regard to every item in this ex- 
 traordinary " Account.'' What living man, we would 
 ask, uninitiated in the sublime mysteries of the Inhabi- 
 tants' Committee, or unacquainted with the free masonry 
 of that celebrated body of local Exclusives, has yet been 
 blessed with the smallest insight into the arcana of its 
 management or the secrets of its financial concerns. 
 
 After this notable " Report" made its appearance, 
 a subscriber to the fund in medis, thinking himself 
 entitled as such to inspection of the subscription papers 
 and vouchers, made an attempt to be " wise above 
 what has yet been written," or, in other words, to 
 obtain access to these documents ; but his efforts were 
 altogether unavailing. The Patriots, who appear to 
 have a great talent in refusing inconvenient explanations, 
 and who will not even answer " on compulsion," nega- 
 tived his demand, how reasonable soever it may seem to 
 ordinary men, and left him no alternative but to record 
 the following memorandum^ dated " Leith, 3d January 
 '^ 1834 : " Mr. — — - called upon Mr. Reoch, Treasurer 
 *< of the Inhabitants' Committee, for inspection of the 
 " difTerent subscription papers of the monies received, 
 *' and also for inspection of the accounts of the expen- 
 ** diture referred to in the Report lately published ; and 
 ** Mr. Reoch having refused inspection of these Docu- 
 *' mentSi Mr. ■ leaves this memorandum, so as to 
 
 *' instruct that this demand was made by him, and re- 
 *^ fused by Mr. ReocJiT Was it for this, and similar 
 services that the truly *< conservative" person here named 
 was lately honoured with a dinner in the Exchange 
 Rooms, and a piece of plate besides presented by the 
 Forty Patriots who bacchified on that memorable oc- 
 casion ? 
 
 But in considering the grand question as to the 
 proper application of the monies collected from vari- 
 ous sources, we would again remark, that it is cspe-
 
 IT' 
 
 ciallj necessary to inquire what were the powers com- 
 mitted by the inhabitants of Leith, that is to say, 
 some hundred or two out of the thirty thousand of 
 Leith, to the renowned Committee who assumed their 
 name, and for what specific purposes did they authorise 
 the large sums levied by the Committee to be applied ? 
 Are there not, besides the subscription papers already 
 alluded to, such minutes or certified accounts of the pro- 
 ceedings of the public who were convened to g've in- 
 structions to their Committeee as would serve to throw 
 some light upon the subject ; and, if so, why are these 
 not appended to the Report? Or are they withheld 
 because they would instruct that the purposes for which 
 the funds were contributed were diametrically at vari- 
 ance with those to which the monies have actually been 
 applied? Why are the remits to the select and secret 
 Committees withheld ? Why, in short, has not the 
 Committee produced and founded upon the titles and 
 warrants, if any, of its procedure ? Why has it not 
 set forth articulately and authoritatively the powers 
 originally entrusted to it, and thus enabled its " consti- 
 tuents" to judge how far these powers have been obtem- 
 pered or the reverse ; more especially when presenting 
 to the public *' a final and summary account" of its 
 "proceedings?" Has it no minute or sederunt book? 
 In no other instance that has fallen under our ob- 
 servation has this indispensible method of procedure 
 been violated. The authority given, the powers con- 
 ferred, and the purposes contemplated in so doing 
 are first specified, and then comes the detail of the 
 " proceedings" which have taken place in virtue of 
 such power and authority, and in pursuance of the ob- 
 ject proposed to be attained. This, we believe, is the 
 natural and ordinary mode in which such bodies report 
 to their constituents. But have the Leith Inhabitants' 
 Committee observed it? By no means. Common rules 
 were not made for them, and, in fact, by their conduct,
 
 16 
 
 they plainly say, Nous avons cliange tout cela. They are! 
 a little clique of local autocrats, and they have acted 
 accordingly, that is, just as seemed good in their own 
 eyes. 
 
 Where, we would ask, is any information imparted in 
 the " Account Current" regarding, or to what other do- 
 cument will these Redoubtable Patriots refer us, for au- 
 thority to them from " their constituents," for raising 
 and carrying on actions at law against the City of Edin- 
 burgh, at the instance of Mr. Goddard, and nine or ten 
 other individuals and companies ? And yet, will they, 
 or can they, deny that, in point of fact, there are at the 
 present moment, and have been for some time past, 
 twelve or thirteen processes before the Court of Session, 
 which processes were raisedj^instigated, or maintained by 
 this body, the Inhabitants' Committee, without the know- 
 ledge or sanction of the inhabitants of Leith, against the 
 Corporation of Edinburgh ? Will they, or can they deny 
 that one of these processes is an action, originated nomi- 
 nally at the instance of the late Mr. William Goddard, the 
 sole object of which was to get the appointment of Mr. 
 Dall, the present superintendant of the Docks and Har- 
 bour set aside, and Mr. George Crichton appointed in his 
 room, that this action has depended for six or seven years, 
 and that an expense of ofc'lOOO, or thereabout, has been in- 
 curred in maintaining it ? Will they, or can they deny 
 that the expense thus incurred, and the whole charge or 
 cost of the numerous other actions brought or instigated 
 by them, have been paid out of monies drained from 
 the public of Leith, although good care has been taken 
 that this should not appear on the face of the " Account 
 Current'' now published ? Will they, or dare they deny 
 that the expense of printing Mr. Crichton^s testimoTiials 
 as a candidate for the office of superintendant of the 
 Bocks and Harbour, his Leith in MDCCCJ^XVI T 
 and various other pieces by the same celebrated author, 
 were transferred to, and admitted by the Inhabitants'
 
 17 
 
 Committee as legitimate charges on " their constituents," 
 the piibHc of Leith ? \S"\\\ they explain, too, what part 
 of the sura of <if 1400, charged in name of travelling ex- 
 penses, has found its way into the pocket of the Gentle- 
 man whose works have thus been printed at the public ex- 
 pense? Will they condescend to enlighten the public of 
 Leith as to the snug little sum of X^177o : 18 : 2, said 
 to have been laid out in the course of last year (1833), and 
 paid to various individuals in name of *' disbursements 
 " paid out in law proceedings, &c. in forcing imple- 
 *' ment of the Dock Commission Acts, and \n promoting 
 *•' the attainment of the separate Municipal Government 
 " of the Toxvn of Leith ?" 
 
 Farther, will the Patriots condescend to enlighten us, 
 if any part of this sum of £\llo : 18 : 2 paid, or 
 rather charged (for we have no evidence that any part 
 of it has been actually paid,) was expended in sending 
 a mandatory to London, in the person of their champion, 
 to oppose The Edinburgh Community Estates Bill ? Can 
 they produce a single inhabitant of Leith, not included in 
 their own clique, who will affirm that he knew of, or 
 authorised the expenditure of so much as sixpence of 
 the money upon this measure ? Were the people, the 
 ** constituency" of this Committee, consulted as to 
 the propriety of sending Mr. George Crichton to Lon- 
 don on this matter, with which, in fact, neither he nor 
 they had the smallest right or title to intermeddle ? 
 Did they, in truth, even so much as hear of this " goose 
 errand," as well as many others, until the ambassador 
 had been dispatched, with full powers from the Decem- 
 virate, of which he has ever been so active a member ? 
 And what has Leith received in return for the travelling 
 and other expenses of this redoubtable missionary ? 
 In good sooth, did they ever order him or others, either 
 directly or indirectly, to gallop or steam it to London on 
 all occasions, as it suited their taste or convenience, 
 and to fill up the measure of their fame, to charge it 
 against the good people of Leith !
 
 15 
 
 These are questions, one and all of them, upon which 
 not the slightest information is communicated in th6 
 " Account Current ;" or accompanying «* Report," but 
 they are, nevertheless, questions which, we apprehend, it 
 mightily imports the Inhabitants' Committee to answer, 
 if they can ; and which, in fact, when thus publicly put, 
 they cannot possibly evade without allowing judgment 
 to go by default, and a sentence pronounced against 
 them which would not by any means read pleasantly in 
 the annals of Leith patriotism. The time for sophistry 
 and humbug is past : They must speak out plainly and 
 directly, or the public will be at no loss what to think 
 of their "proceedings." Above all, they must, we fear^ 
 submit to be judged according to their " actions," and 
 they shall be so judged soon. 
 
 But, after all, it is some satisfaction to observe that 
 even the Patriots themselves tacitly admit the lamenta- 
 ble deficiency of their " final and summary"" Account, 
 They say, " It is true, that in the important rheasures ne- 
 *' cessarily adopted by your Committeej^r protecting the 
 '■^interests of Leith, they have incurred much responsibi- 
 " LiTY and GREAT EXPENSE, as will be seen from the abstract 
 *' of the accounts of the Treasurer," Now, whilst we en- 
 tirely agree with the Reporter that the Inhabitants' Com- 
 mittee " have incurred much responsibility and great ex- 
 pense,''^ we must at the same time deny they have done s6 
 *' for defending the interests of the inhabitants of Leith," 
 or, in fact, that any subscriptions were ever obtained for 
 so vague and indefinite a purpose. The war in which they 
 have been engaged has throughout been a war of aggreS' 
 sion on their part, " and during the long-continued con- 
 tests'" which they have carried on, they have almost in- 
 variably acted on the offensive. 
 
 With regard again to the subscriptions, it is confident- 
 ly believed that not so much as a shilling was subscribed 
 or obtained for any such general and indefinite purpose 
 as that stated in the Report. On the contrary, whenever
 
 an appeal was made to the public for a subscription, a 
 specific object was always held out, such, for instance, 
 as the necessity of going to Parliament to defeat some 
 measure brought in by the City of Edinburgh respecting 
 the Docks or Harbour, the importance of getting Leitli 
 erected into a free and independent burgh, a certain bub- 
 ble scheme for creating burgesses under the promised new 
 constitution, or some other project equally specific and 
 empirical. In a pamphlet not yet altogether forgotten, 
 entitled, '• Leith in MDCCCXXVI " and which is uni- 
 ersally ascribed to the champion of the Inhabitants' Com- 
 mittee, the j)lan and object of the subscriptions there 
 proposed is distincily and specifically set forth. After 
 stating that " it only requires the decided and unani- 
 mous exertions of" the inhabitants of Leith to get rid of 
 this injurious thraldom, and to get their Town placed 
 under an cjficient and independent municipal govern.' 
 menty"" the author proceeds as follows: — 
 
 " But these exertions must not be confined to mere 
 " public expression of opinion, they must be extended to 
 " the providing sufficient J'unds for counteracting any 
 " opposition with which such a measure may meet ; for 
 " while no liberal-minded inhabitant of Edinburgh will 
 " raise his voice against it, there is too much reason to 
 " fear that the contracted views of a self-elected few will 
 " lead them again to squander the funds of the communi- 
 '' ty, in opposing whatever is calculated to lower the im- 
 *' aginary importance of their own close corporation. 
 
 " In two of the recent instances in which places have 
 " been erected into independent burghs of barony in con- 
 " sequence of their large and increasing population, a 
 " plan has been followed in regard to the qualification of 
 *' those burgesses, in whom the annual elections of ma- 
 " gistrates are vested, which is well worthy of imitalion 
 " in ihc case of Leith, Those entitled to the character 
 " and privileges of burgess-ship must either have sub- 
 " icribed a certain amount toxcards the expense of obtain-
 
 20 
 
 f< ing the Act) or must afterwards have paid, in name of 
 " entry, a considerably larger sum towards the general 
 " purposes of the burgh. 
 
 ** It has been alleged that in Leith no such incentive 
 " is necessary to procux'e funds for p7-ompting the inter- 
 " ests of the community ; but it is a fair and equitable 
 " principle, that those who are to have a voice in the 
 " matter, should contribute towards the object in view ; 
 " and the boon^ when obtained, will be considered the more 
 " valuable^ Jor something having been given for it!" 
 
 *' Let the heads of a bill, then, j^r electing Leith into 
 " a free and independent burgh, be drawn up without de- 
 ** lay, and, for greater security, let means be therein 
 " provided for indemnifying the community of Edin- 
 " burgh for whatever loss it may be instructed to have 
 " sustained, either from being deprived of its supremacy 
 *< in the election of Magistrates, if its title thereto can 
 *' be legally and equitably established, or otherwise. 
 
 ** The heads of the bill should also contain, if neces= 
 " sary, qualifications as well for burgesses as for magis- 
 " Irates to be elected by them ; embodying in these quaii- 
 " fications the principle of subscription towards the mea- 
 " SURE. At the same time such amendments on the Dock 
 " and Harbour Acts, as are absolutely necessary for pre- 
 " venting the pernicious influence of the Town Council 
 " of Edinburgh, still predominating in the management 
 " of the affairs of the Port, should be prepared. 
 
 " Let the heads of these bills, when so prepared un- 
 " der the inspection of the Committee already appointed 
 " be laid before another general meeting of the inhabi- 
 « tants, to be called at an early day, for their observa- 
 " tion or approval, and their support by subscriptions !" 
 Can any language be more express, unequivocal, and 
 specific than this? Not a word here of such gener- 
 alities as " protecting the interests of Leith," or " defend- 
 ing the Town and Port of Leith," as if these had been 
 »4ibjected to a <♦ long-continued series of attacks." The
 
 21 
 
 plan proposed, such as it is, relates merely to the " erect, 
 ing Leith into a free and independent Burgh," coupled 
 with a bubble project for the profitable manufacture of 
 burgesses under the new municipal constitution held out 
 in prospect to the people ; and on this ground — and this 
 only — are the inhabitants called upon to come forward and 
 give the measure *' their support by subscription." Let 
 every " inhabitant of Leith," says the author, " come 
 forward according to his means ;" and for what purpose ? 
 Why, to contribute towards carrying through Parlia- 
 ment a bill " for erecting Leith into a free and independ- 
 ent Burrjh, and at the same time procuring such amend- 
 ments of the Dock and Harbour Acts as are absolutely 
 necessary.** These are the objects distinctly proposed to 
 the inhabitants of Leith, and for the attainment of which 
 they are called upon to lend " th«r support by subscrip- 
 tions ;" — and, in point of fact, it appears that of the sub- 
 scriptions of 1826, amounting as credited in the •* Ac- 
 count Current" to i?12I3 : 14, not less than ^^900 was 
 obtained solely on the condition of the Junto conferring 
 upon the subscribers the dignity of burgesses under their 
 promised new municipal constitution. Of this, although 
 the subscription paper is not forthcoming, there fortun- 
 ately exists the most irrefragable evidence. 
 
 What, we would ask, was the plea maintained by these 
 incorruptible Patriots when they were brought into Court 
 by the two Commissioners of Police who published the 
 Abstract of Accounts already referred to, upon the ground, 
 inter alia, That " the Commissioners of Police are charged 
 " with the whole expenses of the Parliamentary measures, 
 " while it is an admitted fact that to account of these 
 *' [expenses] a considerable subscription was raised in 
 ** Leith, with which, upon every principle of equity and 
 *' law, the Inhabitants' Committee ought to give them 
 " credit, especially as they [the Commissioners,] are 
 *' charged with the expense of collecting these subscrip- 
 " tions." Did the Patriots admit the validity of this 
 
 C
 
 22 
 
 inost reasonable and equitable demand ? By no means. 
 After conceding tliat " tlie subscriptions which were con- 
 tributed by the Inhabitants were not credited by the 
 Committee of Inhabitants,"" they contended " that the 
 *' Commissioners had no power or right to compel the 
 *' Committee of Inhabitants to make such a deduction. 
 *' For (they go on to sayj) these subscriptions were le- 
 ** vied upon the footing ab-eady mentioned of the suh- 
 *' scribers thereby acquiring the elective franchise in 
 ** the choice of their Magistrates, and that condition 
 
 ** NOT HAVING TAKEN PLACE, the SuhsCripHon FALLS TO 
 
 ** BE RETURNED t And, accordiugly, the Respondents un- 
 *' derstand that the Committee of Inhabitants have been 
 *' called upon to return these SiihscriiJtions.'" They main- 
 tained that the Subscribers were entitled to get bach 
 their money since the objects for which it was subscribed 
 had not been attained ; and, in support of this plea in 
 Jaw, they quoted and relied upon what they denominat- 
 ed the analogous cases of Bathgate and Airdrie. 
 
 How then, we would ask, does the statement thus main- 
 tained, tally with the present position of the patriots, that 
 the different subscriptions were obtained for, and " great 
 expense" as well as '< much responsibility"^ incurred in 
 " defending the interests of the inhabitants of Leith ?" 
 There it was most distinctly admitted that the money 
 was returnable to the Subscribers, in respect " the ob- 
 jects for which it was subscribed had not been altai7i- 
 e(i." There it was stated that the money was got condi- 
 tionally and for a definite and specific purpose. Now, we 
 are told it was got unconditionally, and for the gejieral 
 purposes of " defending the interests of the inhabitants 
 *' of Leith." By maintaining this plea, the Patriots 
 succeeded in defeating the claim of the Police Com- 
 missioners. All our schemes, said they, have come 
 to nought ; the objects for which the money was sub- 
 scribed have not been attained ; we have been com- 
 pletely baffled in our endeavours to erect Leith into 
 « free and independent burgh ; and as the money was
 
 i^3 
 
 subscribed on the express condition of our succeed- 
 ing, it must be paid hack to the difTerent contributors. 
 
 But /la.a tills repayment ever yet been made ? Have the 
 rights of the subscribers, which were so stoutly pleaded 
 and contended for against the claim of the Police Com- 
 missioners, been respected, or made effectual by the in- 
 comparable patriots composing the Inhabitants' Com- 
 mittee ? By no means. Repayment of the subscriptions 
 seems to have been very far indeed from entering into 
 the conception, far less the intention of the junto; and, 
 accordingly, after recognising in the fullest manner the 
 right of the subscribers to get back their money, since 
 the project for which it was raised had proved a miser- 
 able failure^ they have now the inexpressible effrontery 
 to affirm, in this " final and summary account of their 
 j)roceedings,*' that the different subscriptions were ob- 
 tained and expended " for defending the interests of the 
 inhabitants of Leith !' They are therefore reduced to 
 this dilemma : Either they stated what was untrue, in 
 resisting the claim set forth by the two Commissioners 
 of Police ; or the subscribers have been defrauded of 
 their money. On one or other of these horns the Junto 
 must be gored, and we should be sorry indeed to be 
 thought so uncharitable as to deprive them of their de- 
 lectus cornuum. 
 
 But now, let us pause for a moment, that we may sur- 
 vey, and we entreat " the entire community of Leith to go 
 along with us, and mark attentively what took place at the 
 meeting at which this notable document, the " Account 
 Current, James " Reoch, Esq., Treasurer of Inhabitants* 
 Committee," was approved of? A motion was made 
 and seconded that the accounts of which the Inhabitants 
 Committee's Report gives only a mere abstract should 
 be remitted to a special Committee to examine and re- 
 port thereon : a motion than which it is jiot possible to 
 imagine one less objectionable in itself, or whicJi men 
 conscious of fair dealing would have more readily and
 
 24 
 
 cordially acquiesced in. But was this most reasonable 
 demand assented to ? No. It was violently opposed 
 The meeting were told that the accounts had all beer 
 " examined, checked," and *' found to have been vios 
 correctly kept^'' and that this ought to content them 
 The patriotic preserve was not to be poached on. A 
 Committee of the Inhah'dants' Committee, appointed by 
 the InJiabitants' Committee, had reported to the Inhabi- 
 tants' Committee, that they *' had examined the accounts 
 of James Reoch, Esquire, with the InhabUants* Commit. 
 tee, and checked the same, and had found th^m to have 
 been most correctly kept ;" — and what more had any one 
 a right to require? 
 
 It Is not very common, we believe, for parlies inter- 
 ested to aadit and pass their own accounts; and there 
 are many general objections to such a practice which 
 nothing that has occurred in this particular case has 
 tended, in the slightest degree, to invalidate. But 
 ordinary rules are not made for such rarce aves as 
 Leith Patriots ; and, accordingly, in the face of a prac- 
 tice not more invariable than salutary, it was main- 
 tained, that it would be an insult to the honourable 
 men (" so are they all, all honourable men,") who had 
 *' examined" these accounts to have another Committee 
 appointed to do wlmt they had already done, or, in other 
 words, to make vexatious and inconvenient inquiries; 
 wherefore, a counter-motion having been made, that the 
 euxounts as already audited be approved of, it was carried 
 in the affirmative — and how ? — by the very votes of the 
 everlasting and "Omnipresent" Inhabitants' Committee 
 themselves. They are the beginning, the middle, and 
 the end of every thing where their own interest, real or 
 supposed, is, in any manner of way, concerned. Some- 
 times they appear as a sort of unity, or unum quid, as 
 the lawyers say ; at other times, the manifestation is 
 made only in fractional parts, or sections ; but, in one 
 shape or another, they maintain their characteristic ubi-
 
 «5 
 
 quity, and are ever ready by themselves, and under what> 
 ever circumstances they ajipear, to oppose any proposi- 
 tion l)aving for its object to let in the light of day upon 
 their extraordinary and anomalous " proceedings." Go 
 where you will, you meet them; say ^vhat you will, 
 they have a soj)hism ready for the nonce, hacknied and 
 threadbare it may be, but, when reinforced by matchless 
 efTrontery, and backed by their drilled satellites, is suffi- 
 cient for the time to bear them through. 
 
 It is true, we must admit, that the ^^ JnJiahitant^ 
 Comm'itlec'' has expressed its entire approbation of the 
 " Inhabitants' Committee.'" But while we make this 
 admission, we hesitate not to state, that this body, 
 whilst they have afforded no means of judging of the 
 boasted "accuracy" of their accounts, whilst they 
 have obstinately withheld the documents which alone 
 can instruct the correctness, or the reverse, of their 
 financial operations, — whilst they vehemently oppos- 
 ed any examination of their pecuniary " proceedings" 
 by those whom they call their constituents, and who, 
 as such, are the only party interested, — and whils.t 
 they have, since the famous vote of self-approval was 
 passed, persevered in refusing inspection of any docu- 
 ment whatever relative to their numerous transactions 
 and intromissions ; — this body, we say have, notwith- 
 standing all this, the consummate effrontery to hold 
 themselves forth tp the world as completely exonerated 
 and thoroughly while-washed, at the hands of the pub- 
 lic of Leith, and even to lay claim to infinite merit 
 for the undescribable " services" which, they say they 
 have rendered to their fellow-townsmen In one sense, 
 their conduct has been vierUorious ; it is unparalleled 
 in the annals of the closest and most corrupt corporation 
 in the kingdom ; and this is surely not saying little, espe- 
 cially for professional patriots. 
 
 But passing from the subject of the subscription money ^ 
 and the unprecedented conduct of the Junto in attempting
 
 20 
 
 to hoodwink the people of Leilh by their notable « Ac- 
 count Current," and by their approval of it, and latterly 
 by their refusal of any explanation regarding it to those 
 who, upon every principle of equity and law, had a right 
 to demand and obtain it ; we come to a mailer- which, 
 if possible, is still more extraordinary than any we 
 hitherto adverted to, but of which no trace whatever ap- 
 pears in their " Account Current," so often referred to. 
 It appears that, on the 31st December, 1S33, a mem- 
 ber, in terras of a notice given by liim at the pre- 
 ceding meeting, moved, in the Town Council of Leith, 
 *' for the appointment of a Committee to inquire 
 " as to an alleged illegal exaction in name of shore- 
 " dues, or in some other name, made by some of the 
 ** Smack Companies on goods brought by their vessels ;'* 
 and this motion having been seconded, and " unani- 
 ously agreed to," a Committee was accordingly appoint- 
 ed, which, on the 2int January 1834, gave in the fol- 
 lowing Report : — " Your Committee appointed a depu- 
 *' tation personally to inquire as to the alleged illegal 
 *' exaction made by some of the Shipping Companies in 
 ** name of shore-dues, or in some other name, on goods 
 " brought by their vessels, and have to report that they 
 *' have satisfactorily ascertained that, in addition to tlie 
 *' ihe 7'ates of freight ogreeahly to the printed lists pub- 
 *' lished bj/ said Companies, and, in addition to shore- 
 *' dues, and mark per ton legally exigible, and actually 
 " paid by them to your Collector, amounting to two 
 *' shillings one penny halfpenny per ton, they have been 
 '* exacting for some time past izvo shillings and eight- 
 *' pence, being an overcharge of sixpence halfpenny per 
 ** ton on all goods brought by their vessels : The Com- 
 *' mittee have also ascertained that the surplus has been 
 " paid over to the Shipowners' Society of Leith, the 
 " last payment being .£'432 : 16 : 4, and the same sum 
 «« is stated to have been paid to William Bell, W.S. 
 " * to account of lawsuits carried against the 
 " ' Town Council of Edinburgh.' "
 
 2f 
 
 These last words, which have been printed in small 
 capitalsj are all important as connecting, in the clearest 
 manner possible, the Inhabitants' Committee, through 
 the metlium of a large payment made to their law agent, 
 who acted for them in carrying on the war against Edin- 
 burgh, with this unprecedented and most illegal transac- 
 tion. It appears, indeed, that, since 1S29, the Smack 
 Companies of Leith have, at the instigation^of, or in 
 concert with the Inhabitants' Committee, levied upon 
 goods brought by them into the port of Leith sixpence 
 halfpainjj per ton moke than was by law demandable 
 by these Companies, or paid by them to the City of 
 Edinburgh ; and that the proceeds of this illegal and 
 extraordinary exaction have been applied to defray 
 the expenses of carrying on the war with Edinburgh. 
 This astounding fact, which we venture to say is 
 without precedent or example, has been instructed 
 by evidence that places it beyond all doubt. The sums 
 thus arbitrarily levied, do not of course appear in the 
 «' finaland summary" Report of the Inhabitants' Com- 
 mittee to the Inhabitants' Committee ; and no wonder ; 
 for the Impost thus exacted, in name of shore-dues, is so 
 notoriously twin-brother to imposition that it would 
 have been hazardous in the extreme to lift even a corner 
 of the veil which concealed it from the view of the pub- 
 lic : But, as already stated, the^c^ is nevertheless in- 
 disputable ; and it appears by the public papers, that 
 the subject has attracted general attention, and is about 
 to be taken up by those parties who have a direct and 
 immediate interest in putting a " final and summary" 
 stop to this patriotic method of " raising the wind." It 
 is supposed, indeed, that some hundred pounds annually 
 have been levied in this manner, a considerable addition 
 to the heavy shore-dues legally exigible, and one, too, 
 which, independently altogether of its arbitrary and ini- 
 quitous character, is eminently calculated to prove ruin- 
 ous to the trade of the Port. But this is a consideration
 
 28 
 
 which, after what they have already done, could not be 
 expected to have much weight with the Patriots. Their 
 grand object vras to carry on the war with Edinburgh ; 
 and when the " sinews" began to fail, the would-be 
 Hampdens of Leith had recourse to their *' ship-money" 
 reckless alike of law and of justice, provided they obtain- 
 ed the means of feeding their vexatipus litigations, and 
 maintaining the everlasting battle in the courts. 
 
 From this agreeable and characteristic episode, we rSr 
 turn for a moment to the meeting at which the compur- 
 gation of these celebrated Financiers is supposed, hy them- 
 selves, to have been "finally and summarily" accomplished 
 ty themselves. This meeting, which was called by the In- 
 habitants' Committee, and which, by a majority, approved 
 e/'their accounts, as already stated, was not a meeting of 
 the inhabitants generally, but solely of those who had 
 szibsci'ihed to carry on certain measures proposed as a 
 bait to catch subscriptions ; and it was attended, we 
 understand, by some thirty or forty persons, the great- 
 er part of whom were either connected with, or un- 
 der the direct influence of the clique. Yet, with this 
 and other similar facts staring them in the face, they 
 have the intrepid assurance to hold out everywhere 
 that they represent the whole inhabitants ; or, in other 
 words, the entire community of Leith ; and that their pro 
 eeedings have been approved and ratified by this broad 
 constituency ! From beginning to end, therefore, the 
 juggle is complete. No one can justly tax them with 
 inconsistency. Their whole conduct is in perfect har^ 
 Eiony and admirable keeping. For seven long years 
 humbug has reigned supreme ; and it is only now that the 
 people are beginning to open their eyes, and to discover 
 the " glamour' that has been cast over them. If we do 
 not greatly deceive ourselves, however, " the entire 
 community of Leith," whom the Patriots pretend 
 to represent, will, ere long, be broad awake, and fully 
 sensible of the systematic delusion which has been
 
 20 
 
 practised, for a series of years, by their self-styled repre- 
 sentalivea. The day of retribution is at hand. Public 
 opinion though, for a time, it may wander as it were 
 blind-folded, always comes round to the right path at 
 last. 
 
 But after what has been said, with a view to exhibit* 
 in their true light, the proceedings of the Body which 
 has so long domineered over Leith, and at once persecu- 
 ted and pillaged Edinburgli, it may seem strange that a 
 few individuals should, by any management, have been 
 able to carry on, for a term of years, the extraordinary 
 system which we have endeavoured to describe. 'The 
 apparent wonder is, however, easily explained. The 
 leading men of the Inhabitants' Committee were also 
 Commissioners of Police, they were Directors of the 
 Shipowners' Society, and Managers or Directors of the 
 different Shipping Companies ; and some of them were 
 Magistrates, and Masters of Incorporations. The first 
 Commission of Police contained about a dozen of these 
 worthies, and in succeeding Commissions enough of the 
 old leaven remained to leaven the whole lump ; whilst, 
 among the other bodies mentioned, they were diflfused 
 in such proportions, as generally enabled them to assume 
 a lead. In this way they identified themselves with al- 
 most every public body in Leith, and appeared " Omni- 
 present," stitling inquiry, and either by themselves or 
 their dependents originating and carrying through any 
 or every measure which they chose to suggest. They 
 wriggled or wormed themselves in everywhere, and, in 
 all situations, acted upon the same system, and displayed 
 the same Conservative horror of investigation. It would 
 be endless to attempt to give a detailed history of this 
 famous Body since the period of its first appearance in 
 1826, or attempt to trace its endless doublings, windings, 
 and manoeuvres, to evade inquiry on the one hand, and, 
 on the other, to obtain the means of carrying on ope- 
 rations, or to rovov ^xn^nses already incurred in the 
 
 D
 
 30 
 
 course of their campaigns. These circumstances have 
 all been brought out in publications with which " the 
 entire community of Leith" may be presumed to be well 
 acquainted, and therefore need not be rehearsed in this 
 place. 
 
 Before taking leave of the Report, we think it neces- 
 sary to advert to a circumstance which will serve to ex- 
 hibit in a strong light the consistency of the individual, 
 Mr. George Crichton, by whom that precious document 
 appears to have been framed. At page 28, it is stated 
 that " while the expenditure has undoubtedly been large^ 
 "your Committee cannot but remind their Constituents 
 *' of the IMMENSE ADVANTAGES which have been gained by 
 " this long-protracted and arduous struggle for their just 
 *' rights and privileges." Now, what is the first of "the 
 immense advantages" enumerated as having been gained 
 by this long-protracted and arduous struggle for just 
 rights and privileges ?" Why " the defeat of the Bill for 
 the sale of the Docks to a Joint Stock Company ;" that is 
 the " defeat of a measure originally proposed and Wrong- 
 ly urged by Mr. George Crichton himself. We have 
 now before us an autograph letter by that person, ad- 
 dressed to the late Provost Henderson, in which the 
 "writer says : — 
 
 *' As the enclosed Pamphlet is generally understood 
 " to be [to have been] written by a gentleman connect- 
 ** ed with the Magistracy of Glasgow, there is one 
 *' other part of it well worthy of your Lordship's atten- 
 " tion. Notwithstanding all that has been done there, 
 *' he appears to be of opinion (page 26,) that more could 
 " still be done by a Joint Stock Company^ with more en- 
 *• larged powers, than by the present Trustees. If this 
 *' observation is applicable to Glasgow, it must apply 
 
 *' WITH DOUBLE FORCE TO THE PoRT OF LeITH, wherC thc 
 
 *' superintendance must be so much more left to subordin- 
 *' ate servants, and where from the multiplicity of business 
 " thrown on the hands of the Magistrates of Edinburgh
 
 81 
 
 <* they have so seldom time to inspect the works or 
 ** operations going on at the Port, during the whole 
 " time they are in office." 
 
 This was the opinion of Mr. George Crichton in June 
 182^. He was afterwards "defeated"' in his attempt 
 to obtain the appointment of Superintendant under the 
 Dock Commission ; and from the date of his discomfi- 
 ture his viewson this, and indeed on every other subject 
 in which Edinburgh was concerned appear to have under- 
 gone a complete revolution. The project of a Joint 
 Stock Company, which " 7mist apply with double force 
 to the Port of Leith" as compared with Glasgow, was 
 accordingly denounced ; and, in the Report before us, 
 we find the very writer of the letter from which we have 
 made the above extract, stating as the first " immense 
 advantage" which has been gained by means of an " ex- 
 penditure undoubtedly large" the " defeat of the Bill for 
 the Sale of the Docks to a Joint Stock Company," — 
 the " defeat" in short of his own identical project an- 
 terior to the date of his grievous and never-enough-to-be- 
 resented disappointment ! 
 
 The discomfiture of Mr. Crichton, as an aspirant for 
 the office of superintendant under the Dock Commission, 
 may justly be regarded as causa tcterrima belli; and of 
 a surety it must be allowed that he has fought a long 
 f5ght, if not a *' good" one, and that the resentment, 
 originating in his disappointment on the occasion al- 
 luded to, appears to be wholly unextinguishable. The 
 love of power, too, — even of the power to be mis- 
 chievous, — seems to have taken possession of his soul, 
 and, like a certain celebrated personage he would ra- 
 ther " reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." Nor is 
 he at all singular in this. The whole clique are inocula- 
 ted with the same spirit — that of insolent domination ; 
 and they have been, upon the whole, so successful in 
 maintaining their septennial tyranny, that, now when 
 they ought to be " quite abolished and expire"— now
 
 32 
 
 when they have been white-washed and obtained the 
 viaticum at the hands of a Committee of their own Com- 
 mittee, they should, in all reason, " die and give no sign" 
 —they seek, as it were, to prorogate their despotism, in 
 order that they may still domineer over the Town, and, 
 if possible, controul the Magistracy and Council elected 
 under the New Municipal Constitution. This will be 
 made sufficiently evident by the following statement of 
 recent local history. 
 
 The late Mr. Charles White having, by a Codicil to his 
 Trust Disposition and Settlement, dated August 13, 18S3, 
 bequeathed a sum of ^^250 to be placed at the disposal of 
 the new Magistrates and Couiicil as a public fund to set 
 them a-going, until arrangements shall be made to defray 
 the expenses of the Establishment, — the Magistrates and 
 Council accordingly applied for this money : But al- 
 though the Provost is the brother of Mr. Charles White, 
 — although the Councillors have all been elected by the 
 suffrages of their fellow-citizens, " the inhabitants of 
 Leith," — and although they undoubtedly required the 
 money " to set them a-going," Mr. George Crichton 
 (of whom honourable mention has been so frequently 
 made already), Mr. Robert Philip, his chief support- 
 er in the Inhabitants' Committee, and Mr. John Hut- 
 ton, another member of that Body, the Trustees nam- 
 ed by Mr. White in reference to this bequest, have 
 not only refused to pay it over to the Magistrates and 
 Council, but (credat Judcsus !) have actually come 
 to the resolution of devolving it upon a Committee, of 
 •which they will of course be the leading members (!) 
 ** rather than that it should be given to the Magistrates 
 <* and Council, especially as they have the only legiti- 
 " mate claim to the common good levied within the 
 «' bounds of the burgh for all the necessary purposes of 
 <' the municipal government of the Town, and to secure 
 *' them in which the Commissioners of Police have aU 
 <' ready offered to adopt all necessary measures at their
 
 33 
 
 ♦* own expense." In other words, Messrs. Crichton, 
 riiilip, and Hulton, still desire to exercise a controul 
 over the pubHc bodies of Leith, to perpetuate tl)eir inu 
 perium in imperio, and to keep in retentis a nest-egg for 
 their own favourite and peculiar purposes of war with 
 Edinburgh. Of this they give the Magistrates and Coun- 
 cil of Leith a very significant hint, when they talk of the 
 alleged right of these " functionaries" to the " common 
 good of the burgh," which, at present at least, undoubt- 
 edly legally belongs to the community of Edinburgh, and 
 which must remain with them until an act of the legisla- 
 ture shall transfer it to Leith. 
 
 The creatures, therefore, are manifestly at their mis- 
 chievous work again ; and, what is not a little ominous, 
 as well as remarkable, they very lately attempted to ca- 
 jole their old allies^ the Commissioners of Police, into 
 the new league of hostility against Edinburgh, notwith- 
 standing that body have neither right nor power to inter- 
 meddle in such matters, or to squander their peculiar 
 funds in litigations for such purposes. 
 
 •It is no doubt a great evil for any Town to be cursed 
 with such a plotting, scheming, restless, untractable, 
 and, we may add, vindictive Junto as that which we 
 have signalised ; a Junto which seems to be infected 
 with an abstract love of strife and contention for its own 
 sake, and which appears resolved to rest satisfied with 
 nothing short of the establishment in their own precious 
 persons, of an absolute autocracy over the Town and 
 Port of Leith. To this end all their measures have a 
 direct tendency, unless we suppose] them to have been 
 actuated, in all their movements and pirouettes, by a 
 mere spirit of wanton and reckless diablerie. Let the 
 the reader compare their past with their present conduct, 
 and form his own judgment. Have they not, for years, 
 been resolving, publishing, spouting, and clamouring 
 " at the very top of their bent," and in every possible 
 shape and manner, against the alleged corruptions of
 
 34 
 
 Town Councils, and the never-enough-to-be-denounced 
 abominations of " the old system ?" For nearly a couple 
 of lustrums this has been their stalking-horse ; and many 
 a weary foot of ground they got over by its means. 
 Well ; *' the old system," with its sins real and imaginary 
 npon its head, has at length been consigned " to the 
 tomb of all the Capulets ;" it is dead, buried, and forgot. 
 ten ; — and what is the conduct now pursued by these tur- 
 bulent and strife loving agitators towards the public 
 functionaries, constituted and elected upon the very prin- 
 ciples of which they have long been the noisy advocates ? 
 Why, Mr. Crichton and his tail denounce them as good 
 for nothing, nay, as something worse— a positive evil ; 
 and, accordingly, they are at work, in their own peculiar 
 manner, to engender dissension, and distrust, and bad- 
 feeling between the Council and the community of which 
 they are the chosen representatives. This, we think, will 
 be sufficiently established by the following Extract from 
 the Minutes of the Town Council of Leith, dated 4th 
 February 1834, which has gone the round of the 
 Newspapers :— • 
 
 " Mr. Neilson laid before the Council a circular which 
 *' had been addressed to him, as Convener of the Trades, 
 ** by Mr. George Crichton, which, with its enclosure, 
 " namely, the copy of a letter from the same individual 
 *< to the Secretary of the Burgh Commission, Mr. Neil- 
 " son is requested to lay before the Convenery of the 
 " Trades, and the Corporation of Coopers, of which he 
 ** is the Deacon, — Mr Neilson farther stated, that he 
 ** understood that a similar communication had been 
 " made to each of the Corporations. The documents 
 *' he referred to, assumed that this Council, here styled 
 ** the Public Functionaries of Ike Town, had it in con- 
 " templation to make the attempt of imposing a Tax 
 " upon the Inhabitants of d^'GOO a-year to support the 
 <« Municipal Establishment, and urged the necessity of 
 " the Incorporations immediately bestirring themselves,
 
 53 
 
 "and adopting firm and decided measures as the onlj 
 «' efPectual means of putting down such nn nttempt, 
 '• Mr. Neilsou also stated that no such resolution as 
 " that imputed to them by Mr. Crichton having, so far 
 »' as he was aware, been entertained by this Council ; 
 ♦' and having learned from various quarters that the 
 " circulation of this statement had created a good deal 
 " of excitement in the community, to the prejudice of 
 * the Council, he had considered it his duty to bring 
 •* the matter before this meeting. 
 
 " After considerable discussion, in which every mem- 
 •' ber agreed that this statement of Mr. Crichton's had 
 " been got up, fx'om wiiatever motive, •without jhe least 
 "•^ fuundationy or the slightest authority from any of the 
 *' proceedings of the Council, — the Council felt it a duty 
 " they owed to themselves, as well as the public, to re- 
 " cord their sentiments regarding it. They cannot 
 " sufficiently deprecate the attempt on the part of the 
 *' Author of the commuuication referred to, by means 
 " of circulating statements which have not the least Jouii' 
 «< dution in truth, (and which there is too much reason 
 «' for believing is only a part of a system,) to bring the 
 '* Council into discredit with, and to engender feelings 
 *' of dissatisfaction and distrust between them and their 
 *' Constituents, — and thus prevent the beneficial effects 
 *' of the late measure of Reform, which it is the obvious 
 '♦ duty of every good member of the Community to 
 *» promote." 
 
 We cannot trust ourselves to make almost any com- 
 mentary on the proceeding which is signalised in this 
 document. In point of audacity it is unexampled in our 
 experience ; but it is not, on that account, the less cha- 
 racteristic of the quarter whence it has emanated. It 
 proves, however, that the Incorporations are the chosen 
 medium through which Mr. Crichton and his Tail pro- 
 pose henceforward to agitate. The Ten Pound Consti- 
 tuency have proved too many for him. They will not
 
 S6 
 
 follow his lead, or rather submit to his dictation i and 
 seeing that he can no longer hope to carry through his 
 projects by means of them, he turns to the Incorporations 
 •which he has wasted so much " foul breath" in vilifying, 
 and pronounces them indispensible pillars of municipal 
 government. The latter, we trust, will duly appreciate 
 the honour intended them by the Machiavel of Leith, 
 and in gratitude for the distinction of being selected as 
 his instruments, as well as for the evidence in their favour 
 which, with rare consistency, he gave before the Burgh 
 Commission, erect a statue of brass to the most intrepid 
 of political changelings. They cannot surely do less; 
 and what can Mr. Crichton wish for more than immor- 
 tality in bronze. To the brave Ten Pounders our honest 
 advice is to pursue the course which they so auspiciously 
 commenced at the last election, religiously to eschew 
 every unrepentant sinner of the Inhabitants' Committee, 
 and never permit one of them to be even so much as 
 named as a fit person to represent any municipal district 
 of Leith, until, after a long quarantine for his past mis- 
 conduct, he shall be found worthy of absolution at their 
 hands.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ACCOUNT CURRENT, 
 
 JAMES REOCH, Esq. 
 
 Treasurer of Inhabitants' Committee, 
 
 From 10th January 1825, to 30th November 1833. 
 
 1825. To amount of first Subscription for defending the 
 
 interests of the inhabitants of Leith £2830 17 
 
 To interest received from Bank .. ... ... 41 9 4> 
 
 182G. To amount of second subscription 1213 14< 
 
 To sum received on account of expenses of Dock 
 
 Commission Act 7G7 17 8 
 
 1827. To amount of third subscription ... ... ... 970 1 6 
 
 To interest received from Bank ... ... ... 21 16 8 
 
 To amount of Loan from William Goddard, Esq. 
 
 and others 1420 
 
 1830. To received from Commissioners 
 of Police, in repayment of ex- 
 penses of Municipal and Police 
 
 Act £6089 4 2 
 
 Less retained by them for contra 
 
 account with Mr. Veitch ... 217 9 4. 
 
 To interest received thereon 
 1833. To interest from National Bank .., 
 To interest to 7th Decembar 1833 
 To Balance due the Treasurer „> 
 
 - 5871 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 . 381 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 4> 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 £13,534 4, 
 
 10
 
 38 
 
 DISCHARGE, 
 
 1825. By disbursements paid out in de- 
 fending and maintaining the rights 
 of the community of Leith in op- 
 posing the Bill for the Sale of the 
 Docks to Joint Stock Company — 
 
 1. A. Stevenson, for expenses of 
 
 Action of Declarator — 
 
 2. W. Bell, W, S. as per accounts 
 
 3. John Richardson, London, do. 
 
 4. H. Veitch, Leith, per do. 
 
 5. James Ivory, advocate 
 
 6. Travelling expenses of Deputa- 
 
 tion to London 220 7 11 
 
 7. Paid for Printing, advertising, 
 
 and other incidental charges ... 153 6 5 
 
 £TZ 
 
 19 
 
 6 
 
 17G9 
 
 13 
 
 ir 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 20 
 
 IS 
 
 8 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 1826. By disbursements paid out in ob- 
 taining Government Loan, and 
 Dock Commission Acts— 
 
 1. W. Bell, W.S, paid him ... ^£452 10 
 
 2. John Richardson, London, do. 518 14 10 
 
 3. H. Veitch 33 10 10 
 
 4. Travelling Expenses of Deputa- 
 
 tion and witnesses 227 11 2 
 
 5. Paid for printing, advertising, 
 
 and other incidental charges ... 151 7 
 
 ^£2842 6 5 
 
 — 1383 7 5 
 
 1827. By disbursements paid out in pre- 
 paring and obtaining the Munici- 
 pal and Police Act — 
 
 1. W. Bell, W.S. as per account... 
 
 2. John Richardson, London, do. 
 
 3. A. Simson, solicitor, Leith, do. 
 
 4. H. Veitch, town clerk, Leith, do. 
 
 5. Travelling expenses of Deputa- 
 
 tion and witnesses ... ... 705 16 
 
 6. Paid for printing, advertising, 
 
 and other incidental charges ... 254 8 4 
 
 ;]720 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 2901 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 342 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 ^5944 10 9 
 Of which placed to account of H. 
 Veitch, with Commissioners of 
 
 Police 217 9 4 
 
 5727 1 5 
 
 Carry forward ^69952 15 3
 
 30 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 1829. By repayment of Loan 
 
 Interest thereon ... ... ... 
 
 1930. Interest to Bank ... ... 
 
 1833. By disbursements paid out in law 
 proceedings, &c. in forcing imple- 
 ment of the Dock Commission 
 Acts, and in promoting the attain- 
 ment of the separate IVlunicipal 
 Government of the Town of 
 Leith— 
 
 1. W. Bell, W. S. as per account 
 
 2. John Richardson, London, 
 
 3. William Gallaway, 
 
 4. John Taylor, solicitor, 
 
 5. .John Harvey, do. 
 C. Macritchie& Co. W.S. 
 
 7. John Phin, S.S.C 
 
 8. Daniel, Fisher, S. S. C. 
 
 9. Travelling expenses of Deputa- 
 
 tion, on Dock Acts' Suspension 
 
 Bill, &c ... 93 17 6 
 
 10. Paid for printing, advertising, 
 
 and other incidental charges ... 197 18 
 
 £9932 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 U20 
 
 
 
 
 
 SCO 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 unt 
 
 G2G 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 do. 
 
 G5 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 do. 
 
 59 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 do. 
 
 332 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 do. 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 do. 
 
 98 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 do. 
 
 93 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 do. 
 
 158 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 — 1775 18 2 
 je 13,534. i 10 
 
 We, the undersigned, have examined the Accounts of James 
 Reoch, Esq, with the Inhabitants' CoM.%riTTEE, and having 
 checked the same, have found them to have been most correctly 
 kept ; and cannot sufficiently express our sense of the obligations 
 the community of Leith are under to that gentleman for his va- 
 luable and gratuitous services, during the long continued contests 
 in defending the interests of the Town and Port of Leith. 
 
 (Signed) JAMES MILLER. 
 JOHN HUTTON. 
 JAMES SCEALES. 
 A. A. THOMSON.
 
 y^i>^^''^mMimm I