YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE DIVINITY SCHOOL MEMORIAL FOR THE BIBLE SOCIETIES SCOTLAND: CONTAINING REMARKS ON THE COMPLAINT OF HIS MAJESTY'S PRINTERS AGAINST THE MARQUIS OF HUNTLY AND OTHERS. WITH AN APPENDIX, CONSISTING OF MANY ORIGINAL FAFEJIS. EDINBURGH : PRINTED FOR THE EDINBURGH BIBLE SOCIETY. M.DCCC.XXIV. Printed by A. Balfour & Co. NOTICE. The Committee of the Edinburgh Bible Society-, who, in taking charge of this publication, have endeavour ed to fulfil their duty to their constituents, trust that all who are friendly to the cause in which they are engaged, will perceive the necessity of imposing a price on the copies sold, for the purpose of defraying the unavoidable expense already incurred. If any profits shall arise from the sale, they will be added to the amount of Subscriptions about to be opened for defending the interest, which not only the Bible Societies, but the public in general have in this question. Contributions will be received by the Secreta ries and Treasurers of the different Bible Societies in Scotland. Copies of the Memorial are sold at the Depo sitories of the Bible Societies, and at the shops of the principal booksellers in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, Arbroath, Cupar, Dumfries, Greenock, Paisley, Haddington, Jedburgh, Inverness, Kelso, Mon trose, Stirling, &c. CONTENTS. Introduction. Remarks on the Complaint of his Majesty's Printers. Appendix of Original Papers. Opinion of Counsel. . • INTRODUCTION. In the course of last autumn, the acting mem bers of the Bible Societies of Aberdeen, Arbroath, Ayrshire, Berwickshire, Brechin, Buchan, Dum fries-shire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Elgin and Moray shire, Fife and Cupar, Forres, Fort- William, Glas gow, Greenock, Port-Glasgow and West Renfrew shire, Haddington, Jedburgh, Inverness, Kelso, Kilmarnock, Lanark, Linlithgow, Montrose, Perth shire, Ross-shire, Stirlingshire, Stranraer, and Thurso, received printed intimations in the fol lowing terms : — BILL-CHAMBER. (FIRST DIVISION.) Bill of Suspension and Interdict, His Majesty's Printers against the Most Noble the Marquis of Huntly and. Others. Our Lords of Council and Session : — Unto your Lordships humbly complain and show your servitors Sir David Hun ter Blair, Bart, and John Bruce, Esq. His Majesty's VI Printers for Scotland, conform to letters patent under the Union Seal, bearing date 2d November 1785, of which a notorial copy is herewith produced, that they find it neces sary to complain of encroachments upon a privilege, exclu sively-annexed to their office, which it is not less their duty than their right to maintain inviolate. The complainers refer to the important trust delegated to them by His Ma jesty, of furnishing, within this part of the United. Kingdom, correct impressions of the Holy Bible, and other publications, of which the superintendence forms an inherent and import ant part of the Royal Prerogative. They also consider it proper to state in the outset, that it is more particularly their immediate object and their duty to prevent, by an in terdict from your Lordships, the introduction and sale of Bibles, and other Prerogative Books, printed by or under the authority of the King's Printers in England, or by;the delegates of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; who, whatever may be their diities, or their privileges in England, do not appear in a responsible capacity in Scot land ; nor have they any right or title to participate within the bounds assigned ' to the cdifiplainers in the profits and emoluments arising from the publications in question. Such profits and emoluments indeed must be regarded as being legally connected with the two-fold object of remunerating the official services and duties of the complainers, and afford ing to them an adequate compensation for the great-expendi ture required for maintaining the extensive establishment connected with their office, and for a large capital embarked in it, and which may be justly said, to a considerable extent, tq be sunk in the prosecution of the business. Nor can an Vll application intended for the security of those objects be justly ascribed to any improper motive, when it is peculiarly direct- cd against the unauthorized publication and sale in Scotland of books printed by or under the authority of individuals or corporate bodies, who are themselves privileged Printers in England, and to whom no concession is due upon the princi ple of reciprocal indulgence, as they are particularly rigorous in repressing, within the bounds of their own patents, what ever can be construed as an attempt to vend or publish the books of the complainers. The patent under which the complainers enjoy their office, was granted to the late Sir James Hunter Blair, Baronet, whom the first mentioned complainer now represents, along with the other complainer, John Bruce, before the expiration of a previous patent, which had been obtained by. the late Alexander Kincaid, about the middle of last century ; and His Majesty thereby appointed the said deceased Sir James Hunter Blair and the said John Bruce to be His Majesty's Printers in the following terms : ..'* Nominamus, constituimus, et ordinamus, memoratos Jacobum Hunter Blair, et Joannem Bruce, conjunctim, haeredes eorum, substitutos, seu assignatos, solos et unicos nostros architypographos, in ilia parte regni nostri Magna? Britannia:', Scotia vocat. Idque pro spatio quadraginta unius annorum, computand. ab et post expirationem diplomatis, pro praesenti existentis, praefato Alexandro Kincade, pro simi-li spatio quadraginta unius annorum, concessi : Cum plena potestate ipsis Jacobo Hunter Blair,- et Joanni Bruce, conjunctim, eorumq. haeredibus, assignatis, seu substitutis, antedict. praefato munere et officio, durante spatio antedicto, Vlll utendj, exerdendi, et gaudendi, cum omnibus proficuis, emo- lumentis, immunitatibus, exemptionibus, et privilegiis qui- buscunq. eidem spectantibus in quantum cum articulis Unionis, legibusq. Magnae Britanniae nunc existentibus, congruunt. Et speciatim, splum et unicum privilegium imprimendi, in Scotia, Biblia Sacra, Nova Testamenta, Psalmorum libros, libros Precum Communium, Confessiones Fidei, majores et minores Catechismos in lingua Anglicana; — necnon solam potestatem imprimendi, et reimprimendi, acta Parliamenti, edicta, proclamationes, omnesq. alias ch'ar- tas in usum nostrorum publicorum in Scotia officiorum, im- primendas: Et generaliter omne quod ibidem publicandum erit, auctoritate regali, imprimendi, et reimprimendi : Pro-- hiben. per prsesentes,;omnes alias personas quascunque, tarn nativos quam extraneos, imprimere, vel reimprimere, seu im- primi, seu reimprimi in Scotia causare, ,vel importare, seu importari facere in Scotiam, a quibusvis locis transmarinis, ullos diet, librorum, et chartarum publicarum, supra men- tionat. absq. licentia vel auctoritate a diet. Jacobo Hunter Blair, .et Joanne Bruce, haeredibus eorum, assignatis, vel substitutis, sub poena confiscationis omnium talium librorum, chartarumque publicarum, ita impress, seu importat. in Sco-'; tia ; unius eorund. dimidii ad nos, , alteriusq. in usum diet.' Jacobi Hunter Blair, et Joannis Bruce, eorumque antedict." By a separate patent, which it is unnecessary to reeite,- the grantees were at the same time appointed to be His Ma jesty's, Booksellers, Book-binders, and Stationers, for the like space of 41 years after the expiration of a corresponding pa tent which was then current in favour of Mr. Kincaid?5 re presentatives. IX The operation of the patents in question commenced in July 1798, when the preceding patents terminated; and the complainers may assert, without the least risk of contra diction, that the duties of their office have hitherto been dis charged with the utmost fidelity and correctness, and suita bly, in every respect, to the important trust committed to them. It is impossible to look at the extensive buildings in Edinburgh, where their business is carried on, without being satisfied that they at least have not been sparing in the ex penditure requisite for enabling them to perform their official duties creditably and effectually. The expense of these buildings, however, great as it has been, is not nearly equal to the other charges of various descriptions which the com plainers have had occasion to incur, from an impression that it is incumbent upon them to serve the public properly, and under the faith of their being entitled to enjoy the relative profits and emoluments without interference from any quar ter. In the outset of the undertaking there was little induce ment to investigate any transient encroachments^ through the sale in Scotland of Bibles printed, either by his Majesty's Printers in England, or under authority from the Universi ties of Oxford and Cambridge, who claim a concurrent right with the English Printers to print and publish Bibles. The complainers could have little to apprehend from any such en croachment, while they were conscious of bringing to market at least equally good and equally cheap articles, and while by a reciprocal tolerance of the sale of their own books in England, they were adequately compensated for any competi tion which could thus arise in Scotland. In the beginning of the year 1802, however, a bill of in junction was exhibited to the High Court of Chancery on behalf of the Chancellors, Masters, and Scholars, of the two Universities, against Messrs. William, John, and James Richardson, Booksellers in London, who were in the practice of selling Bibles and Books of Common Prayer printed by the complainers, and likewise against Messrs. George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, His Majesty's Printers in England, who had declined to join in the application, as plaintiffs, and whom it was therefore necessary, by the forms of the Court of Chancery, to call as defendants. The bill prayed, that Messrs. Richardson might be enjoined from selling or expos ing to sale any more copies or impressions of the said several Books printed in Scotland, or elsewhere,' without the consent or authority of the Universities, and of Messrs. Eyre and Strahan, or of some or one of them. Upon this bill, and be fore hearing Messrs. Richardson, the Court of Chancery, on 20th January 1802, granted an immediate injunction, in the terms prayed, until answer or farther order. In the se quel the complainers will advert more particularly to the dis cussions which followed. It is here sufficient to mention, that, after an answer had been made by Messrs. Richardson, and the parties heard at great length for three days, the Lord Chancellor was pleased to pronounce an order, on 3d March, 1802, " That the injunction be continued until the hearing of the cause;" — which order was, on 4th May, 1804j affirm ed in the House of Lords, upon discussing an appeal for Messrs. Richardson, and hearing counsel for six days. As the Universities, however, never insisted for an account of profits, for which their bill also concluded, and as the defend- XI ants in Chancery did not see any reasonable prospect of hav ing the injunction dissolved, no subsequent hearing of the cause took place. llL!. : From what cause it proceeded, that no application against any other Booksellers ever was made at the suit of the Uni versities, the Complainers do not know ; but as, in fact, they did not proceed any farther, the complainers did not, in con sequence of the injunction against Messrs. Richardson, imme diately, or till a comparatively recent period, experience any such interruption to, or diminution of, the orders which they had been accustomed to receive from Booksellers in England, as to render it necessary or expedient to inquire, whether, or to what ekterit, the Bibles or other Prerogative Books of the Universities-, or King's Printers in England, might be occa sionally vended in Scotland. Of late, hoWCver, a most essen tial alteration of circumstances has taken place. The King's Printers in England have recently directed their attention-to the printing of Bibles ; and they have concurred with the Univieiisities in adopting: most rigorous measures for the avowed purpose of completely excluding the sale of Scottish Bibles within that part of the United Kingdom. According ly, they have not only obtained injunctions against a great number of. venders of such Bibles or other Prerogative Books ; but very considerable sums of money, under the description of Penalties, or Compositions to avert Prosecutions, have been levied from a numerous body of individuals. The immediate consequence has been, an effectual and complete exclusion of the Books of the complainers from the English market. This, perhaps, i»- a consequence of which they might not be entitled to complain in a Court of Justice, if the English Xll Patentees were satisfied with having secured the exclusive command of their own market, and did not also indicate a manifest disposition to overstep their own proper limits, and to compete with the complainers in the market within Scot land ; but to be totally excluded from the English market, while, at the same time, their sales in Scotland are, to a very great extent, narrowed by the interference of unauthorized ri vals, was a hardship to which the complainers could not sub mit without endeavouring to obtain redress. With this view the complainers, in the month of June 1821, presented a Bill of Suspension and Interdict to your Lordships, against Messrs. Manners and Miller, Messrs. Waugh and Innes, and William Blackwood, all Booksellers in Edinburgh ; and Messrs. James Brash and Co., Messrs. John Smith and Co., and William Turnbull, all Booksellers in Glasgow, praying that they should be prohibited and in terdicted from, directly or indirectly by themselves, or others having their authority, selling, or exposing to sale within Scotland, or importing, bringing, or receiving, or causing to be brought or imported into Scotland, any Bibles, New Tes taments, Psalm Books, Books of Common Prayer, Confes sions of Faith, or Larger or Shorter Catechisms in the Eng lish language, not either actually printed by the complainers, or on their account, or sanctioned by their licence or authority in writing ; and, in particular, frqm directly or indirectly selling or exposing to sale within Scotland, or bringing, receiving, or importing into Scotland, (without the licence or authority of the complainers in writing,) any Bibles, or other such Books as aforesaid, printed by, or on account of, or Xlll under the authority of the Universities of Oxford or Cam bridge, or His Majesty's Printers in England. The bill having been passed, and -the letters expede, the cause came, in the course of the rolls, before Lord Gillies, when his Lordship pronounced the following interlocutor, Dec. 18, 1821 : " Having heard parties' procurators, repels the reasons of suspension, refuses the interdict, and decerns." A representation having been given in, which was followed with answers, and the cause having come to be advised by Lord Meadow bank, on Lord Gillies being removed into the Inner House, his Lordship pronounced the following interlo cutor, March 9, 1822 : " Having advised this representation with, answers, in respect of the decision, May 22, 1790, King's Printers v. Bell and Bradfute, recalls the interlocutor reclaimed against; and before farther answer, appoints the parties to prepare and box Informations on the whole cause to the Court by the second box day in the ensuing vacation." Informations having been lodged, the Lords of the First Division, on advising the same, ordered the cause to be heard in presence; and it was heard accordingly on the 21st, 28thj and 31st January, and 28th February, 1823. Several arguments, which were urged for the defenders in their information in this case, were given up at the hearing '¦ 1st, It was contended in the information, that, although the defenders did not absolutely dispute the Crown's exclusive privilege of printing the Bible, still they urged that this prerogative must be. viewed in the light of an odious mono poly ; that the Court ought to regard it with jealousy and suspicion, and do every thing in their power to limit and restrict it ; and that, therefore, they should apply the strictest XI V possible construction to the Crown's grants. At the hearing, it was admitted that the Crowns, prerogative, as to priaWfig the Bible, was an important and beneficial trust reposed in the Crown hy the constitution, for the preservation of the purity of the sacred Scriptures. 2t%, It was maintained in the information, that the King had the right of exclusive printing of the Bible only as King of England, as his right was derived from the circumstance of the English Government having been at the expense of translating the Scriptures from the original languages into the vulgar tongue ; and that, as the Government of Scotland had not contributed to, this, expense, the King, as King of Scot land), had no more power of printing the Bible than any other person.-^-At the hearing it was admitted, that the prerogative was founded on reasons of religion, policy, and state, and that the King of Scotland had the same prerogative, in this mat ter, as the King of England. Qdhj, In the information it was stated, that the importa tion of Bibles from England to Scotland had, at all times, both before the Union and since, been free and unrestricted, and that none of the Scottish Patents contained any power of preventing this. In the course of the hearing, reference was made to the first patent extant to a King's Printer in Scot land, which was that to Miller and Chapman, in the reign of James the Fourth; and also to another granted in 1672 by Charles the. Second to Andrew Andqrson, which was the one current at. the Union ; and to a third granted after the Union by Queen Anne to Robert Freebairn, all of which. were admitted :by the defenders to contain clear powers of XV exclusion of English Bibles from being sold in Scotland, and therefore the former statement was admitted to be erroneous. Atihly, In the information it was contended, that the 4th article of the Union was a bar to the complainers7 application ; for that that article having established a free intercourse of trade between England and Scotland, this, it was said, included the trade of Bibles as well as other trades. — At the hearing it was admitted, that the fourth article of the Union had no application to matters of prerogative, but only to the ordinary subjects qf a free trade, and did not afford any sup port to the argument of the defenders. The cause, therefore, was rested at the hearing on the terms of the prohibitory clause of the complainers' patent, which were contrasted with those of the other patents granted before the Union, or immediately after it. The terms of the prohibition of the complainers7 : patent have already been quoted. The patent in 1672 to Andrew Anderson, contains a power of prohibiting the importation of Bibles from all places out of the Kingdom qf Scotland, or from beyond sea. That granted to Robert Freebairn in 1711, is in the same terms ; but Freebairn's patent baying been supposed to be forfeited by his accession to, the rebellion in 1715, a new patent was granted to John Basket and Agnes Campbell in 1716, the terms of which are different from the former, as the prohibi tory -clause only^ in terminis, confers the power of preventing importation from places beyond sea. The two subsequent patents, one in 1747 to Alexander Kincaid, and the other in 1785 to the complainers, contain the same prohibitory clause as. the one granted to Basket in 1716 ; but all these three XVI last patents contain the clause already quoted, conferring on the Patentee all the powers conferred on former Patentees, so far as not inconsistent with the Act of Union and the existing laws of Great Britain. Upon this difference between the prohibitory clauses of the later patents, contrasted with those of the earlier ones, the ar gument of the defenders, at the hearing, was almost exclu sively rested. They urged, that no motive could be figured why the terms of the prohibition should be narrowed, in the later patents, except that the Crown had purposely and deli berately omitted in them the power of preventing importation from England, with a view of allowing English Bibles to be sold in Scotland ; and that this was done with the farther view of establishing a competition between the English and Scottish Patentees, and thereby keeping down the price. It was farther argued, that this was the more probable, as there does exist in England a certain degree of competition, from the power of printing the Bible being there vested in each of the Universities, as well as the King's Printer; whereas in Scotland there would be a complete monopoly, if the English Bibles were excluded. For the complainers it was stated, that it was impossible that this could be a sound interpretation of a patent, granted under the Great Seal of Scotland ; for that in respect to Scotland, the English King's Printer and the English Uni versities were entitled to no other consideration than any other printer. Their holding gifts or licences under the Great Seal of England clothed them with no authority whatever in Scotland ; for by the articles of the Union, the Great Sea! of England is declared to be altogether confined to England, in xvn matters of municipal law and patrimonial right ; and there- fore^if it were held that the English King's Printer could import Bibles into Scotland, it followed that any ordinary printer in England might print Bibles there, and send them into Scotland, which could not possibly be the meaning of the Scottish patents. There was also produced, by the complainers, an authenti cated copy of an opinion of Sir James Stewart, who was Lord Advocate in the reign of Queen Anne, from which it appear ed, that the doubt before alluded to, whether the fourth ar ticle of the Union did not operate as a bar to the Crown's granting a power of preventing importation of Bibles from England, in respect of the regulation as to a mutual free trade, had been originally started in the interval which elapsed between the granting of the patent in 1711 and the date of that in 1716. Sir James Stewart states it as his opinion, that the patent 1711, in as far as it contained that power of prohibiting importation from England, was a violation of the Act of Union, and that the patent was thereby rendered, if not absolutely void, at least extremely questionable. In mak ing out the patent 1716, therefore, it seems to have been thought better not to insert the power in express terms, but to introduce a clause, conferring on the Patentee, generally, all the powers possessed by former Patentees, and which the Crown could lawfully confer upon a subject, in relation to this branch of the prerogative. The words of the patent are these : .." Cum omnibus proficuis, emolumentis, immunitatibus, ex- emptionibus, et privilegiis quibuscunque eidem spectantibus, in quantum cum articulis unionis legibusque Magnae Britan- , ni* nunc cxistentihus congruunt ;** which words could have b XV111 no other meaning than that above stated, and. were amply sufficient to convey to the Patentee the power in question, supposing that it turned out to be a legal power. A clause to the very same effect being contained in Mr. Kincaid and the complainers's patents, and the power of preventing im portation from England being now admitted to be perfectly competent and legal for the King to grant, it was contended for the complainers, that this power of exclusion of English Bibles Was clearly contained in their gift. The complainers quoted as an authority, strongly bearing upon the present question, the decision of the Court of Chan cery in England in 1802, which was affirmed on appeal to the House of Lords in 1804, pronounced in the case before men tioned, at the instance of the Universities of Oxford and Cam- . bridge against Messrs. Richardson. The proceedings in that _ case had been taken in short hand by Mr. Gurney ; and a copy having been procured by. the complainers, they printed the speech of the Lord Chancellor in Chancery, and the speeches of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Ellenborough in s the House of Lords, and laid them before the. Court. From . these speeches, and from some extracts of the argument of the. Counsel, which were also printed, the complainers .showed that the rights of the English Universities were of an infi nitely weaker nature than that cpnferred.by the Scottish pa tent, as the Universities founded on titles which they ad mitted to have been originally mere licences to print all books. , in general, granted at a time when no person could print any , thing without the royal authority. These licences, however, had in the year 1758, in the case Basket v. the University;, of Cambridge, been sustained by the Court of King's Bench*. XIX as vesting in the Universities aright, concurrent with that of the English King's Printer, to print Bibles and Acts of Par liament. Having the right, therefore, delegated to them by the Crown, of exercising this important branch of the prero gative, the Court of Chancery and the House of Lords were of opinion that the right of exclusion followed of course, as a necessary adjunct to the principal right, for without it the office could not be exercised with effect. The King's right of printing the Bible being ex sua natura exclusive ; and it be-' irig the duty of the Crown to grant such powers to its officers, as should secure the effectual performance of the office, it was held, that whether this delegation was in the form of a licence or any other, the power of exclusion must be held to have been conferred, if this could by any interpretation be made consistent with the terms of the grant, and without the ne cessity of any express prohibition or exclusion of others. To this it was answered for Messrs. Manners and Miller and others, defenders, that these were not the grounds of the decision of the Court of Chancery in the case of Richardson ; but that the Court held, that the Universities, having a con current right with the English King's Printer, were entitled to the benefit of the prohibitory clause of the King's Printers' patent ; and as that gives a power of preventing importation from all places out of the Kingdom tif England, or from be yond seas, it was contended that it was under the operation of this prohibitive clause that the Universities obtained their injunction against Richardsons. It was replied, that it was quite clear from the terms of the Lord Chancellor's speech, that this was not the ground updh Which he proceeded, as he states distinctly that his 62 XX grounds were different. It is no doubt true, that the English Printers' patent contains such a clause as that stated, and it was tried, in the Court of Chancery, by the Counsel of the Universities, to avail themselves of the foregoing argument ; but it had no weight with the Lord Chancellor ; and, in the House of Lords, they found it so untenable, that they fairly gave it up, as appeared by a passage in the speech of one of them, (Mr. Attorney General Perceval,) printed by the com plainers in their appendix. The Universities admitted, that their licences being long prior in date to the patent of Messrs. Eyre and Strahan, the licences must either have conferred upon the Universities these exclusive powers from their own dates, or that they must give up that claim now ; but they contended that they would have had those powers although the King's Printers' patent had never been granted. The complainers also founded upon the authority of the decision in the case of the King's Printers v. Bell and Brad- fute, 22d May, 1790, where the same argument was used as in the late case, that the prohibitory clause in the Scottish patents being only a power of excluding importation a locis transmarinis, this did not include a Bible, printed in Ber wick, called Ostervald's Bible, as to which an interdict was craved. This argument is not alluded to in the report of the case in the Faculty Collection ; as the principal point upon which the decision turned, related to the power of printing the Bible accompanied by a commentary ; but it appears from the printed papers preserved in the Advocates' Library, that it was distinctly brought before the Court, and repelled by them, as they interdicted the Berwick Bibles, as well as XXI those printed in Scotland, wherever the commentary only bore a small proportion to the text. Reference was also made at the hearing, by the defenders to the usage which had taken place, of selling English Bibles in Scotland since the Union ; and it was argued, that as this usage had been uninterrupted, this fortified their in terpretation of the prohibitory clauses of the different pa tents. For the complainers, it was answered, that between the years 1711 and 1757, John Baskett was King's Printer both for England and Scotland ; and that no usage which took place under such peculiar circumstances could have any effect upon the present question. From the year 1757 till the year 1818, which comprehended the whole of Kincaid's patent, and the first half of that of the complainers, no interruption had been experienced by the Scottish Patentees in selling as many Bibles in England as they could get orders for, the in junction against Messrs. Richardson not affecting the other booksellers of England ; and they sold as many as the Eng lish printers sold in Scotland. It was not their interest, there fore, to stir the question while this lasted ; and the mutual tolerance was just a mutual licence granted by the English and Scottish Patentees to one another, which licences they were perfectly entitled by their several patents to grant ; and that therefore the usage being consistent with the grant, it was impossible that it could narrow the powers conferred on the grantee, and far less could it narrow the Crown's pre rogative. It followed, therefore, that as soon as the English Patentee withdrew his licence, the Scottish Patentee was en titled to do the same. XX11 Upon hearing this debate, the Court, of this date, 7th March, 1823, pronounced the following interlocutor : " The Lords having resumed consideration of the mutual informa tions given in for the parties in this case, and having heard the counsel for the parties in their own presence, they sus tain the reasons of suspension, suspend the letters simplici- ter, grant the interdict as craved, and decern accordingly ; but supersede extract until the first sederunt day in May next." No reclaiming petition has been presented against this interlocutor, but an appeal has been entered to the House of Lords. After so solemn a judgment as the above, pronounced upon such mature consideration and full discussion, the complain ers conceived that there could he no doubt of their right to have an interdict against every person engaged in the trade of bookselling in Scotland, to prevent the sale of English Bibles. The three firms of bookselling companies in Edin burgh, and three in Glasgow, against whom the interdict was granted, are not distinguishable in any way from, the other booksellers in Scotland. It was distinctly stated to the Court, that the first bill of suspension and interdict was pre sented for the purpose of establishing the right, and that if the application were successful, interdicts would be applied for against others in the same situation as the original de fenders. The complainers therefore presented a second bill of sus pension and interdict against upwards of two hundred, book sellers, being all those of the trade in Scotland whose names were then known to the complainers. This bill stated the 3 xxin fects and arguments of the case, exactly in the terms above set forth ; and prayed that all those persons might be prohi bited and interdicted from importing or selling Bibles print ed in England, in the same terms as the prayer of this bill after mentioned ; and upon advising the bill, the Lord Or dinary, (Lord Pitmilly,) of this date, 2d April, 1823, or dered it to be answered and intimated in common form, and granted the interdict. The bill, interdict, and order to answer, were accordingly intimated to all the parties, but no answers were put in ; and the Lord Ordinary passed the bill, and continued the inter dict. 1 The complainers have thus obtained the protection for which they applied, against the invasion of their privileges, !on the part of all those persons in Scotland who were engaged in selling Bibles in the way of trade, with a few exceptions, to be afterwards mentioned. They are still, however, exposed to a very heavy and constant loSs from the circumstance of many of the Bible Societies, which are established in all parts of Scotland, being in the habit of ordering large sup plies of Bibles, &c. from England ; and it is to this subject principally that they now find it necessary to call your Lord s-hips' attention. ' Nothing can be more benevolent and praise-worthy than the conduct of those numerous individuals after mentioned, of all ranks and classes, from the highest to the lowest, who compose the different Societies established in Scotland for distributing Bibles, and other religious books, at a low price, to those whose circumstances require such assistance ; but this consideration cannot, the complainers conceive, make the xxiv least difference in the question, as to the legality or illegality of circulating Bibles, printed without an authority which can be acknowledged . as lawful in Scotland. — The grounds upon which the Court has granted the interdict against the, booksellers, have no reference to the particular mode in which the Booksellers carry on their trade, but to the nature of the books which they sold. — The Court was of opinion that the sole right of regulating the mode in which the subjects in Scotland should be supplied with Bibles was vested in the Crown ; that the only way in which the King's will as to this matter could be communicated to his Scottish subjects, was by a Writ under the Great Seal of Scotland, a Writ under the. Great Seal of England having no more effect within Scotland, than one under the Great Seal of France, or one under the seal of a private individual ; that his Majesty, by. his patent granted to the complainers, has declared his will to be, that the complainers alone shall have the sole and ex clusive power of furnishing authentic copies of the Holy Scriptures for the use of the people of Scotland ; that all im portation of Bibles from England or elsewhere shall be pro hibited ; and that this prohibition comprehends the Bibles printed by the English King's Printers and Universities, which in Scotland must be considered to be as unauthentic as those printed by any ordinary printer. These principles, the complainers conceive, must be held as established by the foregoing solemn decision, unless they . shall be altered by a higher authority ; and, in the meantime, your Lordships will act upon them. It seems quite obvious that they are just as applicable to the case of the members of:; a Bible Society, who import Bibles and sell them at prime xxv cost, as to that of a bookseller who sells for a profit. The motives of the party importing do not enter into the question. In both cases, the lawful orders of the Crown are disobeyed, and the public is supplied with copies not printed under an authority which is legal in Scotland ; and, in both cases, those who are entrusted with the duty, and who incur the responsibility, of providing a supply of legal copies, are en titled to complain of an encroachment on their rights. It certainly would be highly unjust towards the Booksellers, after they have all been laid under an interdict, if the Bible Societies are not only to undersell them in the trade of lawful Bibles, but that they should be allowed to import books which the Booksellers cannot import. The complainers must also say that they think it a most severe hardship upon them, that the large sums of money which are annually received from the contributions of charitable individuals in Scotland, should be remitted to England, to purchase books which, according to the law of Scotland* must be considered as unauthentic copies of the Holy Scriptures, while it cannot be denied that there is an ample supply of Bibles legally printed in Scot land ; while it must be admitted that the books of the com plainers, equal in point of quality to those of the English printers, are at least 20 per cent, cheaper ; and while the most rigorous measures are adopted in England to prevent a single copy of the Bibles of the complainers from being cir culated there, either in the way of charity or trade. The complainers therefore submit, that they are entitled to an interdict, in the terms after-mentioned, against the persons after-named, members of the different Bible Sopieties after-specified, and" also against the Booksellers after-named, XXVI who were omitted in the former application, viz. the following persons, members of the Aberdeen Auxiliary Bible, Society, viz. the Most Noble the Marquis of Hun try; &c. Herefore the Complainers beseech your Lordships to appoint intimation of this Bill ; and upon advising the same, with or without answers, to grant letters of suspension in the premises, upon caution, in common form, accompanied by an interdict, prohi biting and discharging the whole persons before named and designed, as members of the foresaid Societies, or as individuals, from directly or indi- _ rectly, hy themselves or their branches, or others having their authority, selling or distributing ^with in Scotland, or importing, , bringing, . or receiving into. Scotland, or causing to be sold, distributed, imported, brought, or received, within or into Scot land, any Holy Bibles, New Testaments, Psalm Bodies, Books of Common Prayer, Confessions qf Faith, or Larger or Shorter Catechisms in the Eng lish language, not either actually printed by the Complainers, or on their account, or sanctioned by their license qr authority in writing ;: and, in parr ticular,from directly ar indirectly selling, distribuU ing, importing, bringing, or receiping, within or into Scotland,, (without the license qfthe Complain ers in writing,) any Bibles or other such Boolcs as aforesaid, printed by or on account qf, or under the authority of His Majesty's Printers for Eng land, or the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, XXV11 or any qf them; and also, in the mean time,, to .grant an immediate interdict against the whale per sons before named, in terms and to the effect before craved, to endure until this bill shall be ultimately advised. According to justice, &c. (Signed) John Bell. Edinburgh, 9.0th August, 1823. (Signed) Wat. Scott. Edinburgh, %0th August, 1823. The Lord Ordinary having considered this Bill, with writ ings produced, Appoints the same to be seen and answered within forty days ; but reserving consideration of the Inter dict till the Bill shall come to be advised with or without answers. (Signed) William Miller. This interlocutor, and the, order to answer, were intimated to the members of the Committee of the Edinburgh Bible Society on the 11th of Sep tember. It appeared to have been sent ten days sooner to some parts of the country, as at the monthly meeting of the Edinburgh Committee, on the 15th of September, various letters from distant places were produced, all expressing anxiety, and soliciting advice, in consequence of the' summons xxvni which had been served upon the members of vari ous Societies about the beginning of the month. At this time many of the members of the Edin burgh Committee were in the country, and the only step which the meeting ventured to take was to appoint a Sub-Committee to correspond with other Societies, and to prepare a case to be laid be fore counsel. This part of the task devolved on the Convener of the Sub-Committee, who, at a sub sequent meeting, read an abstract of a Memorial, which met the approbation of the Committee, at whose desire it was printed. Some delay was oc casioned by the difficulty of obtaining copies of se^ vera! material papers ; but before the end of De? cember a small impression of the Memorial was thrown off for the use of counsel and the members of the Committee. The Opinion of counsel was gi ven on the Slst of January. In the interval, how ever,' the bill was passed,' and the interdict granted; no answers having been put in. And now, on the 17th of April, the members of the Committee are warned to appear before the Lords of Council and Session on the 14th of May next, bringing with them " the whole grounds and warrants founded on by them and others, to be seen and considered by the said Lords, and to hear and see the same, whole effect and execution thereof, and all that has fol- 5 XXIX lowed or may follow thereupon simpliciter suspend ed." If answers be not given in then, the inter dict may become final on the 21st of May. The case, however, is not without remedy. The members of the Edinburgh Bible Society were dis suaded by their correspondents in the country from engaging in a law-suit till they had taken legal ad vice, and even after a favourable opinion was ob tained, they did not feel themselves entitled to ap ply a single farthing of the funds at their disposal to any other purposes, than those to which they were destined by the contributors. Important as are the rights involved in this question, it will be necessary to raise a separate fund for defending them. The Memorial, considerably enlarged, is now therefore laid befpre the public, in the hope that £he merits of the cause will be gravely and earnestly considered. The writer of it was requested to supply full information, and, though his own views are perfect ly decided, he has not felt himself at liberty to omit any particulars which occurred to his memory, however little they might appear calculated tq support the cause which he undertook rather to in vestigate than to defend. He is aware that several of the discussions will be considered in some de gree extraneous -r but he is persuaded that such of XXX them as are most liable to this objection, will be read, not Without interest, by many Who have not enjoyed the same access to the sources of informa tion which he has had occasion to explore. The paper has been written with much haste, in the midst of numerous avocations and hourly interrup tions, from which it was impossible for the author to escape, without neglecting his most sacred duties. While he has been most solicitous to avoid mis takes in matters of fact, he has not been in the smallest degree studious of expression, — and he would ill repay the confidence which has been re posed in him by a most respectable body of men, if he did not seize this opportunity of declaring that, with the exception of the statements concern ing the prices, (in pages 2, 3, and 4,) he holds him self individually responsible for all the facts and conclusions contained in the following memorial. On the question of price, as discussed in these paragraphs, it is necessary to premise a brief ex planation. The Edinburgh Bible Society, established iri 1809, was, in one respect, auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society, but in another inde pendent, as the members reserved the liberty of act ing for themselves/- both with regard to the home supply of Bibles, and occasional donations in behalf xxxi of foreign objects. Being, therefore, under no po sitive obligation to resort to England for copies of the Scriptures, the members would not certainly have failed to provide the articles wanted, if they bad found them duly executed, in their own city, so as to be obtained at a moment's notice, without the trouble of correspondence, and the expense of carriage. The truth is, however, that scarcely any such copies of the sacred volume as they, chiefly required, either in point of size or execution, had been printed in Scotland, at least for along series of years, Whatever improvements may have been made by his Majesty's Printers for Scotland in the editions which they have published since 1809, cer tain it is, that the Edinburgh Bible Society had no other alternative at that period than to resort to the English market, for books, which, in quality of paper and ink, clearness of type, and correctness of workmanship, have obtained so high a character for the editions of the British and Foreign Bible Society. But though the Edinburgh Bible Society thus began to purchase from England all the edi tions of *he English translation which they circu lated, with the exception of one pocket Bible, his Majesty's Printers for Scotland know very well that the Committee of Management, instead of having been indisposed to encourage the circular xxxn tion of Scottish printed Scriptures, have given the most substantial proofs of their approbation to every successive improvement. After having proceeded in this spirit for ten or twelve years, they are now suddenly compelled to make determined opposition to an attempt, which, if it were to succeed, would, in all time coming, prevent the importation of so much as a single copy of the English translation of the Scriptures, however desirable in point of size, of price, of correctness, and of beauty of execution. These prefatory notices will sufficiently prepare the public for the perusal of the following remarks, originally intended for the information of counsel. Edinburgh, April 19, 1824. ERRATUM. In part of the impression, p. 161, line 8, for excellent read excellen. REMARKS, &c. The importance of the question between his Ma jesty's Printers for Scotland, and the members of the Bible Societies, is much greater than any one would imagine who forms his judgment on the statements contained in the Bill of Suspension and Interdict. The issue of this cause must affect, in a very considerable degree, the funds of these associa tions. If it be true that " large sums of money, which have been annually received from the con tributions- of charitable individuals in Scotland, have been remitted to England for the purpose of purchasing Bibles and other religious books, so as to expose the complainers (his Majesty's Printers for Scotland) to a very heavy and constant loss," it is scarcely to be supposed that the directors of these societies, bound, as they are, to apply the money at their disposal so as to produce the great est amount of good at the smallest possible ex- pense, have, in an affair of such serious magnitude, been chargeable with wanton and capricious pro digality, in bringing from a distance copies of the Holy Scriptures, which they might have obtained by a much easier and less circuitous process at home, not only, as is asserted, of equal quality, but at least twenty per cent, cheaper than those which are furnished by the English printers. The thing is incredible. So far is this from being a fact consistent with the experience of the Edinburgh Bible Society, that they have been reluctantly, and with much inconvenience to themselves, compelled to resort to the English market, from a conscientious re gard to the interest of their constituents.., First of all, there is a considerable demand for various useful editions of the Bible, printed in a size of letter, to which nothing corresponding has ever been published in Edinburgh : for instance, the small pica royal octavo, the small pica octavo, minion crown octavo, and the minion pocket Bible, which last is an exceedingly convenient book, printed in a large character on a small page, and furnished by the English printers at the moderate price of 8s. 4d. in sheets. In the article of New Testaments, the long primer is not printed by his Majesty's printers in Edinburgh at all ; their bre vier duodecimo demy is at present out of print ; and 3 their pocket edition, minion letter, will not bear a comparison, in point of quality, with the similar edition printed in England. The prices of one or two editions printed in Scotland are a trifle lower than the corresponding! editions printed in England ; and it has been the invariable practice of the Edinburgh Bible Societl to purchase from the King's warehouse here, all such Bibles as could be procured on terms as fa vourable as if they had been imported from England. In this way, this single branch of the Bible Societies in Scotland has paid to the Coin- plainers, in the course of eleven years, the sum of £2158, Os. 2d. The purchases of the Edinburgh Society alone, from the King's warehouse here dur ing the last three years, have amounted to £11(93, Is. 7d. j and they have never ordered a supply of Bibles from England without previously ascertain ing that the cost would be less than in Scotland. It may be proper to contrast a few of the prices :~The nonpareil Bible, duodecimo, if purchased from his Majesty's Printers for Scotland, costs 2s. 9d. in quires; and a superior article, of the same sizeoFlet- ter, can be had from London at 2s. 4d. The brevier Bible, octavo, with marginal references, printed, at Edinburgh, costs 6s. 4d. ; the London edition, Su perior in every respect, (except in so far as it omits the references, which the plan of the Bible So- b2 cieties does not admit,) costs only 4s. 4d. ; the dif ference being 2s. each copy, or more than 45 percent. The Edinburgh New Testament, pica octavo, costs 2s. 3d.; the superior London edition 2s. The Edinburgh New Testament, brevier duodecimo, demy, costs Is. 2d. ; the London edition, which is superior, costs lOd. ; the difference on each copy being 4d. or, in other words, the Edinburgh edi- tion, though not so good, costing really 40 per cent. more than the London one. There is another Edinburgh edition of the New Testament, of a pocket size, only a penny dearer than the similar London one ; but the inferiority of the Edinburgh edition is very striking. Now surely it cannot be pretended to be a mat ter of small consequence in the purchase of 1200 co pies of the brevier New Testament,duodecimo, whe ther it shall be necessary to pay £70 for the Edin burgh edition, or only £50 for the superior edition furnished by the British and Foreign Bible So ciety from the English press. Nor is it a trifle to the most flourishing of our societies, whether, in giving an order for the same number of brevier octavo Bibles, we must calculate on paying £380 in Edinburgh, or £260 in London,* for an impres- * In other words, £880 would purchase 1753 copies in London, and only 1200 in Edinburgh. sion, which, even if it were not so superior as we account it, is much better adapted to the purposes of the Society. And if the disparity of prices be so great, while competition is open, who can tell what prices may be demanded, if the time shall come when the only supply of Bibles, in this part of the Island, must be obtained from the source which is even at present the most expensive ? The question, however, assumes a much more serious aspect when it is viewed as involving the religious interests of the community. The pro fessed object of the privilege conferred on his Majesty's Printers, (as set forth in their own " In formation" against the booksellers,) is chiefly for the preservation qf purity in the sacred text, * and they allege that " they would be certain of a se vere punishment, or even of the entire loss of their patents, if they were to betray their trust by sup plying the people of Scotland with inaccurate edi tions, or charging extravagant prices." + We trust that his Majesty's Printers for Scot land are men of too high character to require to be intimidated by the dread of forfeiting of fice, or incurring pecuniary loss on account of the unfaithful discharge of their duty. But * Information, p. 7, 25, &c. t Ibid. p. 26. 6 the public have certainly no reason to believe, that the conviction, either of inaccuracy or ex travagance, would be followed by the infliction of any penalty ; and, so far as can be judged ffOm what has happened in former instances, little cOrhfort can be derived from the pros pect of having correct and cheap impressions of the Scriptures secured, by the apprehension of losing the patent. His Majesty's Printers are at great pains to show that they are fully entitled to all the privileges, which were ever possessed by any of their predecessors, from Chepman and Millar, in the reign of James IV. to the heirs of Andrew Anderson, whose patent did not expire till after the Union ; and it is to be presumed, that they are not anxious to admit, that they act under a heavier responsibility. Now, it is certain that some of their predecessors never printed any edition of the Bible at all j one or two printed editions not adapted to general use, and more than one printed editions, so mean and contemptible in point of execution, and so grossly corrupt in the text, as to excite universal complaint and indigna tion. Yet it does not appear that any of them lost their patents, or were otherwise punished, either for the omission to print Bibles, or for printing them incorrectly, or for using such inferior paper and types, as rendered the productions of their presses almost illegible. If, therefore, it be true, that the King's Printers in Scotland have always possessed the power of preventing English Bibles from being sold in Scot land, it must have been in their power to exclude the people of Scotland from the privilege of read ing the Scriptures in their native tongue; and as some of the King's Printers received power to print the books of the Holy Scripture, in all lan guages, it must have been in the power of those individuals to interdict the sale of the Hebrew and Greek originals, and of all the versions of these inspired books into any language, either ancient or modern ; so that the very fountains of divine truth must have been sealed up, and rendered inaccessi ble to the learned as well as to the vulgar. In the time of Chepman and Millar, no translation of the Scriptures had been printed in England ; but these ingenious artists, whose press, established about the year 1507, is remarkable for haying produced the Aberdeen Breviary, and a few other admired specimens of typography, published no edition of the Scriptures in any tongue ; and, if the argument of his Majesty's Printers be well founded, might have completely put a stop to the introduction of a single copy of the Scriptures, among a people whose desire of religious knowledge was thwarted by the superstition of the monarch, co-operating with the intolerant bigotry and tyranny of the clergy. * * It is said in the Appeal Case for his Majesty's Printers that the patent of Millar and Chepman conferred on them the power of exclud ing English boohs. This assertion is too broad. The patentees had on ly the power of preventing copies of books from being taken out of the realm to be printed in other countries, and then imported and sold in Scotland, " to cause the said Walter and Andro tyne their great la bour and expense." As " mass-books, after the use of this realm," were to be printed, " with legends of Scottish Saints ekit thereto," books of Salisbury use were prohibited to be brought into the realm in time coming: but the Aberdeen Breviary, printed in 1509 and 1510, was a different formulary from that of Sarum ; and the exclusion of the latter was not more remarkable than if the adherents of the Scots Con fession, in the reign of Queen Mary, had protested against the impor tation of copies of the thirty-nine articles. It must be recollected, that, before the Reformation, the Missals, Breviaries, and other service-books of the Romish church, were very far from being uniform. Not only did the ritual of one country dif fer from, another, but almost every dioeese followed a model of its own. The earliest recorded attempt to reduce the order of divine worship to one common standard throughout a whole kingdom, (and that, too, by authority not purely ecclesiastical,) is found in the reso lution of James IV. and his council, to impose on all the realm the liturgy compiled by William Elphinstone, bishop of Aberdeen, and others, as soon as it could be printed and provided. The next legis lative provisions for a similar purpose, were the Act for the unifor mity of common prayer, and administration of the sacraments, iu the reign of Edward VI. and the Act for the abolishing and putting away of divers books and images, in 1549. The latter begins thus; 'c Whereas the King's Majesty hath of late set forth and established) by authority of Parliament, an uniform, quiet, and godly order of common and open prayer, in a book entitled, The Books of Common Prayer, and Administrations of the Sacraments, Tf> The Answere to the Preface of the Rhemish Testament, by T. Cartwright, was printed '¦' at Edinbvrgh, by Robert Walde-graue, Printer to the King's Ma- jestie, 1 602. Cum privilegio regis." 55 in 1602, was also subsisting in the heirs or assign ees of Smith, an appointment under the privy Seal was granted to Mr. Robert Cnarteris, (8th Dec. 1603,) nominating him, in the same manner with Waldegrave, to be, " during all the days of his life-time, printer to our sovereign Lord, with power to him, and none others, to print all acts of par liament, other acts, statutes, proclamations, letters, and charges concerning his Majesty and his estate,* as also all books approved by his Majesty, the pres bytery, or session of Edinburgh, and thereupon to sell and dispone at his pleasure." Importation was not prohibited ; but as Bibles are not expressly included in the grant, it is unnecessary to say more on this case, than that it does not support the claim of his Majesty's printer, to prevent the introduction of foreign editions of the works to which his right extends. While Charteris held the gift of King's printer, an edition of the Bible, following the Geneva translation in the Old Testament, but not so closely in the New, was printed at Edinburgh by Andrew Hart, in 1610. This, as well as Bas- sandyne's edition, was in folio, and, though well * The clerk-register appointed what printer he pleased to print all the acts, so far as concemes the common weill. The King s printer's power was limited to acts, proclamations, &c. concerning his Majesty and his estate. 56 adapted for the pulpit or for family use, could not be attainable by persons in humble circum stances. This edition was much admired, and it continued long to be accounted a high recom mendation, to be " conform to the edition print ed by Andrew Hart." A very handsome Bible, printed at Amsterdam in 1640, claims this distinc tion in the title page. We have seen formerly, that every parish kirk, though already supplied with a Bible, was required to provide a copy of Bassandyne's edition ; and it appears that a similar injunction with regard to Hart's Bible was imposed by the provincial assemblies. Thus in the records of the diocesan synod of St. Andrew's, which sat down on the 2d of April 1611, we find the follow ing minute : " Forasmeikle as it was thought ex pedient that there be in every kirk ane commoune* Bible, it was concludit that every brother sail urge his parochiners to buy ane of the Bybles laitlie printed be Andro Hart, and the brother failzing either to caus buy ane as said is, or ellis to gif in his exact diligens sail pay at the next synod 6 lib. money, (i. e. 10 shillings Sterling.") f * By a common Bible, we are probably to understand, the Bible which lay on the reader's desk, or on a shelf adjoining the pulpit, and which might be consulted by the parishioners in common. f The year before this meeting of the diocesan synod of Fife, the assembly at Glasgow had materially changed the government and dis cipline of the church of Scotland, and had required every person pro- 57 When this edition of the Bible was publish ed by Andrew Hart, who, though very eminent in his profession, never had the honour of be ing printer to his Majesty, another individual, be sides Charteris the King's printer, was in posses sion of a special license, enduring for twenty-five years after June 1606, to print the Bibles in the vulgar tongue or in Latin, with the Psalm Book, and a great many other works, some of them se rious, but most of them humorous or trifling. In the sequel of this paper, notice will be taken of some of the clauses of this remarkable grant, rati fying to Thomas Findlasone the accumulated pri vileges formerly bestowed on Mr. George Young, Gilbert Maistertoun, John Gibson, Robert Walde grave, and Robert Smyth, and purchased by him from their heirs, besides conferring on Findlasone vided to any benefice, to swear that " the right excellent right high and mighty Prince James the Sixth, is the only lawful supreme go vernor of this realm, as well in things temporal, as in conservation and purgation of the religion." In the following Parliament (Oct. 1612,) which rescinded the act (5th June 1592,) ratifying the liber ty of the true kirk and the Presbyterian church government, this oath of supremacy was approved with some essential alterations, tacitly in troduced. Thus after the words, " James the Sixth, King of Scot land, England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith," &c.it is added,' " is the only lawful supreme governor of this realm, as well in matters spiritual and ecclesiastical as in things temporal." It was therefore at the time when the King was acknowledged as supreme governor in things spiritual, that the Geneva Bible was thus requir ed to be used in churches, after a new translation had been published in England. 58 various additional privileges. It deserves, in the mean time, to be remarked,, that Findlasone and his predecessors had the power of importing Bi bles, and all the other books and articles of station ery specified in his gift, as well as of transporting and sending forth of the realm all such books, playing cards, maps, charts, and pictures, as he could not sell and dispone within the same. If the right of importing Bibles had not been enjoyed at all, during the long interval between Bassandyne and Arbuthnot's edition and the edition of An drew Hart, the population of Scotland must have heen very inadequately supplied ; and, if this right was enjoyed only by a succession of printers, or if the printers could then give permission to import Bibles,* (as it is presumed his Majesty's printers think they can at present,) how could the purity of the text be secured by their privilege, any more than it would have been by leaving it to the dis cretion of every individual to order whatever edi- * Lekprevik, Arbuthnot, Findlasone, &c. had power to cause certain books to be imprinted, not only within but without the realm, and in some of the licenses all other persons are prohibited to print, or cause to be imprinted, either within or without the realm. As the printers had the power of gelling or disponing the privileges of printing within the realm, they were equally at liberty to transfer the privilege of im porting in their names. No penalty was annexed to the abuse of this power, and every person who either purchased it, or obtained it as a favour,, must have exercised it suo periculo. How far the purity of the text was better secured thus than by freedom of importation, is not very easily demonstrated. 59 tion he might prefer ? The people had no stand ard edition with which to compare the copies which they purchased ; and if licensed printers suffered inferior or inaccurate copies to be brought into the market, it is difficult to perceive what redress could be obtained for an injury which cannot be com pensated by silver or gold.* * Though Andrew Hart's bible has been described as an edition of the Geneva version, it must not be considered as a reprint of Bas sandyne's, or of the edition printed at Geneva in 1560. The Old Testament is indeed the same both in the text and notes. But the New Testament is not of the Geneva translation, like Bassandyne's, ¦ but that which was published first in 1576, by Laurence Tomson, an under secretary to Sir Francis Walsingham, and which, though not varying very essentially in the text, contains quite a different set of annotations, (said to be taken from Beza, Joachim Camerarius, and P. L. Villerius,) generally much longer, and not always more valuable. The following specimen may give an idea of the difference. In the Geneva New Testament, or Bassandyne's, the exposition of the words, "poor in spirit," (Matth. v. 3,) is, " they that feel themselves void of all righteousness, that they may seek it only in Christ." In L. Tomson's, copied by Andrew Haft, the same words are para phrased thus : " Whose minds and spirits are brought under, and tamed and obey God ;" and in a separate note it is said, " Under the name of poverty are all such miseries meant, as are joined with po verty." On the next verse, " Blessed are they that mourn,'' Hart has no note ; but Bassandyne gives the Geneva gloss, " who feel their own misery, and seek their comfort in God." In the same manner, many of the verses, which are illustrated in Bassandyne's edition by marginal notes, have none in Hart's edition; and, on the other band, copious notes are often given by Hart, where Bassandyne has none. It would probably be a fruitless inquiry, if we were to attempt to ascertain by what authority this change was introdu ced in the Scottish bibles. Tomson's notes might be less disagreea ble to the king than those of the original Geneva New Testament ; ur, perhaps, as they had been generally adopted in the numerous edi tions of the Geneva bible, printed in England after the year 1576, 60 When we speak of the inadequate supply of Bibles furnished by the Scottish press to our fore- fathers in that age, it may be supposed that we possess no sufficient data entitling us to assume so material a fact. But though we cannot ascer- they might be considered as an improvement. We have not the least reason to believe that they were introduced in consequence of a revi sion by the direction of the church; although it is worthy of remark, that such a revision was at one time proposed. In the last session of the Assembly at Bruntisland, 16th May 1601, " it being meint be sundrie of the brethren, that thair wes sundrie errors that meritit to be correctit in the vulgar translation of the bible, and of the psalmes in metre, as also that there was sundrie prayers in the psalme buik quilk wald be alterit, in respect they are not convenient for the tyme, in the quilkis heids, the Assemblie hes concludit as follows: first, anent the translation of the bible, that every ane of the brethren quha hes best knawledge in the languages, employ their travels in sundrie partes of the vulgar translatioun of the Bible, that neides to be men- dit, and to conferre the same together at the next Assemblie. Anent the translatioun of the psalmes in metre, it is ordainit that the same be revisit be Mr. Robert Pont, minister of St. Cudbert's kirk, and his travells to be revisit at the nixt Assemblie,. &c." There is no reason to think that any such revision took place, as the record of the As sembly is silent on the subject. But we have more direct evidence that such a plan was never executed. Nearly thirty years after this period, an attempt was made to introduce the use of King James's translation of the Psalms, which Sir William Alexander received license to print about the year 1627. Among the " reasons why the Psalms of David in metre should be sung in the Kirk of Scotland as they have been since 1564," one is, that " in the Assembly of Bruntisland, May 1601, on occasion of a certain motion made by some brethren concerning our vulgar translation of the Bible, &c. it was ordered that Mr. Robert Pont should revise the Psalms, and that his labours should be revised at the next Assembly; but as the mo tion proceeded from personal respects, so it is to be supposed, that if that faithful man, who was both holy and learned, had found any just cause of alteration, neither he to whom the matter was recom mended, nor the Assembly who should have taken compt of his dili gence, would have suffered that matter to be buried in oblivion." 61 tain the extent of the demand, we can be at no loss to discover that it must have been much greater than is generally imagined. In the year 1542, when the importation of the Scriptures was first allowed, Knox says, " Then might have been seen the Bible lying almost upon every gentle man's table. The New Testament was borne about in many men's hands." Even at that early period we know that two editions of the Chroni cle of Scotland, a work which now fills two hand some quarto volumes, had been published in Scot land in the course of five years. Soon afterwards, Harrison's translation of the same work passed through two editions in England. Not to men tion the acts of the Scottish parliament, print ed by Davison, the impression commonly design ed the Black Acts, including all the parliaments from James I. to the accession of James VI. printed by Lekprevik in 1566, * was speedily ex hausted, and required to be supplied by another edition within thirty years, f Can it be for a * It has generally been affirmed that Lekprevik printed two edi tions of the Scotish Acts, one dated 12th October 1566, and the other 28th November 1566. The late John, Duke of Roxburghe, collat ed copies of each, and found that they corresponded exactly, in all respects, except this, that what is called the first contains some acts concerning religion, which have been cancelled in the second. f We are not ignorant of the singular statement contained in Bys- set's Rolment of Courtes, MS. mentioned by Dr. Leyden in the pre liminary Dissertation prefixed to the Complaynt of Scotland. " The 62 moment supposed that the demand for acts of parliament was greater than the demand for Bibles ? But as a surer criterion of the general prevalence of a taste for reading, we may stated that between the year 1565, when Lekprevik received a license to print part of the Bible, and the year 1610, when Andrew Hart's edition of the Bible was published, there were more than thirty foreign editions of Buchanan's Psalms, and not fewer than nine or ten Scottish editions of the collected works of Sir David Lyndsay, be sides two editions printed in France, and three in England, (chiefly for importation into Scotland,) and as in three times that period there had not been more than twelve editions of the works of Chaucer, we may conceive that the passion for reading in Scotland was greater in proportion to the population than it was in England. If, with this statement, we contrast the fact, that of the Geneva translation alone, nearly fifty editions were saidis actis, imprinted be ye said Lekprevik, war coft fra him in albis, unbund, be umq11 Mr. James Makgill of Nayir Rankeloure, Clerk of Register for the tyme, and for the maist part war distroyed, sua that within schort space therefter, few or nane could be fundin gettabill to buy and sell thareof be the lieges." We believe the destruction to have been confined to the suppressed acts, which occupied a consider able number of leaves. Perfect copies are exceedingly rare. That the others are not very uncommon, is well enough known. Within the last twenty years there have been two impressions of the cancelled sheets, one at the expense of the late Duke of Roxburghe, and another far better executed by the late Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck. 9, 63 published in England, in little more than thirty years, besides a vast number of Parker's, or the Bishops Bible, and several of Cranmer's, both of which, as well as the Geneva, were used in that national church, before the introduction of the present version, and that the Scots, though five times fewer in number, were much more generally educated, besides being a graver people than the English, we cannot help concluding that as be tween the year 1560, when the first General Assem bly met, and the year 1618, when Hart's Bible ap peared, England produced more than a hundred editions of the different versions, fewer than twenty editions would not have readily sufficed for Scotland during the period when it produced only one. At this time, it must be recollected, the Reformation had been established in Scotland fifty years, and the people had enjoyed the liberty of reading the Scriptures for the space of seventy years, and innumerable books had been published, not only by the King's printers already enumerat ed, but by many other printers, such as John Scott, Thomas Vautroullier, and Henry Charteris, before the entire Bible or even the New Testa ment came to a second edition. In the year 1611, Thomas Findlasone, former ly mentioned, received authority from the Lords of Secret Council " to print the haill Actis of Par- 64 liament, whilkis, as yet, has not bene putt to the presse ; as, alsua, the articlis concerning the Jus tices of Peace, and Constables, for twenty years." About a year afterwards, (17th June 1612,) the king, " understanding that the gifts of , the privi- lege to be his Hienes's Printer hes falljn and be- cum in his Hienes hands at his disposition, through being of Mr. Robert Charteris, to quhom the samyn appertenit, denuncit lauchfullie rebell, and put to his Hienes horn, at the instances of George and Margaret Smyths, for not payment to theim of certain soumes of money, and contemptu ously remaining thereat attour the space of year and day," was pleased to ordain a " letter to the said Thomas Findlasoun, makand, constituand, and ordainand him Printer to our Soverane Lord, and gevan the. privilege thereof to him in all lan guages, for all the days of his lifetime, togidder with the haill privileges of printing pertaining to the said Mr. Robert (Charteris,) with power to the said Thomas Findlaysoun and no utheris be himself and his seryands; for whom he sail be haldin to ans wer, to imprint and caus be imprintit, all and sun drie utheris actis, statutis,. proclamatiounis, letteris, and chargeis concerning his Mqjestie and his estait;* as also the buikis of Holy Scriptour,-con- tening the Auld and New Testamentis, in all lan- * See Note, p. 33. 65 guages, in haill or in pairt, and in quhatsumever volumes, grytt or small, approvit Cronicles of Scotland, in Latine and Inglis, and all and sindfie buikis, volumes, workis, and writtis, quhilkis sal be seine allowit and approvit be his Hienes, the holy fatheris in God, the archbischoppis of Sanct- andros or Glasgow, the presbiterie or sessioun of Edinburgh, and tliairupoun and all uther buikis aggriable with Goddis word, and liberall sciences, to buy, sell, and dispone at his pleasure." " And mair attour, becaus the Lordis of his Hienes secreit counsall, in speciall contemplatioun of the reddie and guid service done be the said Thomas to his Hienes and the said Lordis, at all occasionis, hes grantit and gevin speciall and onlie privilege, and licence to him, to imprint, and caus be imprintit, the articles concerning the Justices of Peace, and Constabillis, within the said realme, the buik of customes, rates, and valuation of merchandise", with certain uthers buiks particulate specifyit in the Actis of the said Lordis of Secret Counsall maid thairupoun. As also, the said Thomas FindlaysOun hes, be his Hienes gift, under the privie seill, rati- feit, approvin, and of new gevin to him for the space of twenty-five years next after the dait of the said gift, certain liberties and privileges for imprinting of diverse buikis, and furnissing neces- saris for printing, particularly expressit in the said 66 gift* of the dait at Edinburgh, 17th JunhV 1606 yeiris, his Hienes,^ with advice of the saidis Lordis of his Secret Counsall, ratifies, &c. for the space of twenty yeiris next to cum, the only privilege and license to imprint, and caus to be imprintit, the buikis contenin the saidis Actis of Counsall, and in the foirsaid gift, &c. discharging all printers, buiksellers, and all utheris his Hienes liegis, with- in his Hienes kingdom of Scotland, to print, or caus be printed, within or outwith the said realme, any of the saidis haill buikis particularlie specifeit heirin, in the said Actis of Counsall or gift foirsaid ; or to bring hame, or ony way to sell, the samyne within the said realme, during the said haill space of twentie yearis nixt and immediatlie following the dait of thir presentis, (exceptand alwayis the Byble, the New Testament, and the Psalm Buik, quhilkis sail nawayis be comprehendit under this present gift, but speciallie reservit and exceptitfurth thair~ of,) under the pane of five hundereth merkis," &c* It will be observed, that this license endured from the year 1612 to the year 1632 ; and it may here be mentioned, that, before it expired, Thomas Finlayson died, and his Majesty, " being crediblie informit that the relict and bairnes of the said * Appendix, No. XVI. 67 umquhill Thomas Finlaysone are abill sufficiently to use and exerce the said office and chairge, quberof they have given laitlie proof in his Ma- jestie's service," was pleased, on the 17th January 1628, to nominate " Walter Finlaysone, second lawr fill, son to. the said Thomas Finlaysone his aires and assignayis for the space of thirteen yeiris nixt and immediatelie following the dait of thir presentis, his Majesties Printers of all his Hienes Actis of Par liament, Actis of Secret Counsall, Commissiouns, Proclamatiounes, and utheris actis, statu tis and or dinances, maid be his Hienes or his predecessouris, or to be maid be his Majestie or his Hienes suc- cessours :" — and farther granted of new to Walter Einlaysone, his heirs and assignees for thirteen years, " speciall license, libertie and privilege, to imprint all and sindrie buikes, volumes, great and small, and utheris particularlie and generalise men- tionat, and set down in the said letteres of gift grantit be his Hienes said umquhill father, to the said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone and his abone written, with all and sindrie liberties, privileges, fees, casuallities, profeites, commodities, immuni. ties, and utheris therein exprest." * This prolonged grant was to continue in force till the year 1641, a.nd it comprehended all the * Appendix, No. XXII. F 2 68 extensive privileges which had been enjoyed by Thomas Finlayson during a long series of years. What these were it may be of some import ance to recollect. " The Bible, to wit, the Old and New Testaments in our vulgar tongue, or in Latin," was one of the books which he had license to print. But this, and the Psalm Book, was evidently not considered as being more within the range of the King's prerogative than the Dunbar Rudiments, (the production of An drew Simson,) the Colloquies of Corderius, the Works of Sir David Lyndesay, the Seven Sages, the Fables of Msop, Gray Steel, and several works of fiction, the importance of which can scarcely be alleged to have been so great as to induce his Majesty to grant an exclusive right of printing them for the sake of securing the correctness and pu rity of the text. Much less can we suppose, that this was the cause which moved the first king of Scot' land, who ever claimed the titles of Defender- of the Faith, and head of the church, to give Thomas Finlayson the special power and privilege for twen* ty-five years, to make, or cause to be made, and (to sell within the realm, or " transport" out of it, all sorts of playing cards, and pictures, and portraits qf men and women of ail sorts. The monopoly of these articles, and of maps and charts, might en rich the patentee ; but it would require much in- 69 genuity to prove, that the power of bestowing such an exclusive right was "a beneficial trust reposed in the crown by the constitution," or that the ex ercise of it was dictated by " reasons of religion^ policy,' and state." We may jjrobably be told that this is an unwar rantable misrepresentation of the position main tained by his Majesty's Printers for Scotland, and said to b*e admitted by the booksellers, (though we are not called upon to acquiesce in their con cessions, if they were indeed so rash as to make them,) with regard to the Crown's exclusive pri vilege of printing the Bible. The Crown does not now claim the ¦ sole right of printing iEsop's Fables and the Seven Wise Masters 5 nor does it insert the privilege of selling pictures1 and play ing-cards in the same patent with the liberty of printing the Bible and other books of devotion. But still it may be said, the right of printing these sacred books is inherent in the Crown ; and it is this only, which is described as being " founded on reasons of religion, policy, and state," and it is this branch of the prerogative which is " an im portant and beneficial trust reposed in the CroWn by the Constitution, for the preservation of the purity of the Sacred Scriptures." If it be an important and beneficial trust — if it be founded on reasons of religion, as well as policy '70 and state, and if it be necessary for the preserva tion of the purity of the Scriptures, all this must have been understood by the first Scotish sovereign, in whose name licenses to print the Scriptures' were ever issued ; and it is not to be conceived that he should have been so unfaithful to his trust as to renounce or limit this power, so as to endan ger the purity of religion and the spirituaMnterests of his subjects. But we have seen, in th*e licenses to the privileged printers, which have been hither to under our consideration, that when the importa tion, as well as the printing of books of mere se cular learning, was most strictly prohibited to all others, -they were not prevented from printing the Bible in the same terms as they were prevented from printing other books. And it now appears, from the second grant to Finlayson, in 1612, not only that the Bible, the New Testament, and the Psalm Book might be lawfully imported, (as these books must have been, without interruption, for more than forty years,) but that any printer, book- seller, or other individual, might lawfully print them, or cause them to be printed, either within or without the kingdom. For it is evident that the prohibitive clause is expressly and entirely abro gated, with regard to the printing of Bibles, Neto Testaments, and Psalm Books, as well as with regard to their importation, if importation was ever 71 prohibited. Government, therefore, must have thought it much safer to leave the printing of the Bible free from restraint, than to extend the same liberty to any other book. < That it was not thought, by any means, safe to allow the unrestrained publication of books in ge neral, appears from the " proclamatipun anent prenting of bookis," issued 2d July 1612, only a fortnight after the date of Finlayson's license.* It is there stated that great harm arises from printing and publishing of erroneous, heretical, slanderous, seditious, and treasonable books, whereas, if they were first perused, the divulging of erroneous opinions in religion, and slanderous, seditious,-, and treasonable reports in history and otherwise, might be prevented ; and therefore his Majesty com mands and inhibits all printers and booksellers, that they put no book of divinity or devotion to the press, except it be first perused and approved by one of the archbishops ; no book of history, or other part of humanity, except it be allowed by the .secretary ; and no book of law, without being perused by commissioners appointed by the chan cellor and College of Justice : and in every case it was to be testified, that the book to be printed contained nothing contrary to the truth, of sincere * Appendix, No. XVII. 72 religion, good manners, or the laws of the realm. It1 is added, and because many books are bought and sold in this kingdom, which are not printed within the same, therefore booksellers are no way to presume to utter any written by popish or sus pected writers, without license of the bishop of the diocese, or his Majesty's secretary.* None of the reasons of restriction here mentioned could possibly apply to the Bible. It was unnecessary, before printing an edition, to require the arch bishops to read it, to ascertain that it contained nothing contrary to the truth of religion. And, in the case of importation, it was equally unneces sary, before it was sold or uttered, to apply for license from a bishop, or a secretary of state, be cause it was sufficiently known that it was not written " be ony popish or suspect writer." At that time it was by no means uncommon to * Another " prqclamatioun anent the prenting of bookis beyond sea," in June 1615, was evidently aimed at such writers as Calder- wood, who, being unable to obtain license for their works at home, sent them to be printed in the Low Countries. It states that divers ministers and others have of late taken a course to send some books and pamphlets to be printed beyond seas, especially, at Middlebuigh, the same not being revised and allowed by those whom his. Majesty has authorized with that privilege, which, with time, may breed great inconvenience both to this estate and kirk. Therefore all are charged and inhibited: — "that pane send ony bookis, , wryttingis, or pam- phlettis, of quhatsumever subject, to be published and prented be yond the sea, except the same haif bene first revised and approved by the archbischoppis of Sanctandrois and Glasgow, and by his Majes ties secretaire of estate." 73 publish books in England for the express purpose of being imported into Scotland, without being subject to any revision by the public censors of the press. Thus a very celebrated Work was set forth by the royal authority, both in Latin and in English ; and the title page is sufficient to refute all that his Majesty's Printers now maintain with regard to their exclusive right, not only to print in Scotland, but to exclude from Scotland, all such authoritative publications as royal proclama tions, though printed at one of the privileged presses in England. The work to which we allude is " Deus et Rex.: sive DIALOGUS quo demon- stratur, Serenissimum D. nostrum Jacobum Regem, immediate sub Deo constitutum in Regnis suis, iustissime sibi vendicare quicqidd in juramento Fi- delitatis requiritur. Londini, Excussum cum speciali Regiae Majestatis priuilegio et mandato, pro regione Scotice, 1616." The English title runs thus, " God and the King : or a Dialogue shewing that our , Soueraigne Lord King James, Being imme diate under God within his Dominions, doth right fully claime fvhatsoeuer is required by the oath of Allegeance. London : Imprinted by his Maies- ties speciall Privilege and Command, to the only vse of Mr* lames Primrose, for the Kingdome of Scotland. 1616." This work, compiled and print ed by the command of King James* was, in sub- 74 sequent reigns, reprinted and published by his Majesty's Royal Proclamation, for the instruction of all his Majesty's subjects, and not one of his Majesty's Printers for Scotland could have dared to prevent its importation ; though this must have, been included among the proclamations, letters1 and charges concerning his Majesty and his estate, the right of printing which was conveyed to them in much stronger terms than the right of printing the Scriptures. The reservation of the Bible in the gift to Fin layson, in 1612, must probably have been dictated by the King's desire to facilitate the introduction of a new translation, Which had been published in England the year before, and thus eventually pro moting his favourite object of reducing the church of Scotland to an entire conformity with that of England, in government and worship, as well as in doctrine. It is now time to advert to the his- v tory of that translation. In the year 1603, on the second day of the con ference at Hampton Court, Dr. Reynolds, one of the puritan divines, moved his Majesty that a new, translation of the Bible might be undertaken^ The bishops, thinking the then authorized version sufficient, did not seem to relish the proposal. But the King declared that he could never yet see a Bible well translated in English ; and he < 75 pronounced the Geneva translation to be the worst of all.* So at least says Dr. Barlow in his Sum and Substance of the Conference. * He objected particularly to the notes, having found " annexed to the Geneva translation (which he saw in a Bible given him by an English lady) some notes very partial, untrue, seditious, and sa vouring too much of dangerous and traitorous conceits ; as for ex ample, Exodus i. 19, where the marginal note alio we th disobedience to kings ; and 2 Chron. xv. 16, the note taxeth Asa for deposing his mother only, and not killing her." This is Dr. Barlow's account of his Majesty's " grave and judicious" observations. But if there were no other reason for disputing Dr. Barlow's accuracy, this single pas sage contains internal evidence, sufficient to throw discredit on his whole narrative. First, it is inconceivable that King James should never have seen a Geneva Bible till he had one given him by an Eng lish lady. The only Bible which had ever been printed in Scotland was of the Geneva translation, and contained the offensive notes. Secondly, it is not very probable that the King would speak so dis respectfully of a translation which he had authorized to be printed for the instruction of his subjects, and it is incredible that, after this opinion was pronounced, he should have never, during the remaining twenty-two years of his reign, authorized the printing of any other version in Scotland. Thirdly, we cannot believe that his Majesty could be guilty of the inconsistency of complaining of annotations ex pressed in the very words of a book set forth by his own authority a few years before his accession to the English throne ; namely, in the Propositions and Principles qf Divinitie, — printed at Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, printer to the King's Majestie, Anno Dom. 1591. Cum Privilegid regali. Fourthly, it is almost incredible that King James should not have learned that the Geneva translation was so highly esteemed by many of the most learned divines in the Church of Eng land, as to be used in preference to what has been called the Bishops Bible. Thus Dr. Abbot, Professor of Divinity, and Master of Uni versity College, Oxford, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the translators selected by King James, in his Exposition of Jonah, contain ." in thirty sermons, preached in St. Mary's Church, Ox ford, in 1599, has always used the Geneva version. In the same manner, Dr. Gervase Babington, successively Bishop of Llandaff, Exeter, and Worcester, one of the Members of the Hampton-Court Conference, had been accustomed to use that version in his Sermons preached at Court, as well as in his Expository Works on the Creed, 76 According to Dr. Barlow, his Majesty proposed " that some special pains should be taken for one the Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer, and in his " Comfort able Notes on the Five Books of Moses." The same observation ap- : plies to Dillingham, one of the translators, and many others, whom it is unnecessary to name. We cannot, however, pass by Bishop Overall, whose Convocation Book was first printed in, 1689, with the Imprimatur of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Sancroft.) The Acts and Canons contained in this book were passed by the Convoca tion, which was summoned by James I. in the year of the Hampton- Court Conference, and which continued by adjournments and proro gations to 1610. They were read, three times in the Lower House of Convocation, and approved by unanimous consent. They were af terwards approved by the Upper House of Convocation, and passed with a few amendments, as appears from the attestation of Archbi shop Bancroft, who presided. In a very few instances, the quota tions of Scripture are taken from the Bishops Bible ; but in general they are taken from the Geneva version ; and any one who will take the trouble of comparing the passages quoted, as they are rendered in these two versions, will at once perceive the superiority of the latter. Thus, Eph. 6, 11, 12, thus translated in the Bishops Bible,—" we wrestle not against blood and flesh, but against rulers, against powers, against worldly governors of the darkness of this world, against spi ritual wickedness in heavenly .places," — is rendered in the Geneva, — " we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the worldly governors (the princes) of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickednesses (which are) in the high places." — We find, also Dr. Richard Montagu, (the least puritanical person of his age, and one of the greatest favourites of King James) who died Bishop of Norwich in 1641, using the Geneva version frequently in his Acts and Monuments of the Church before Christ, printed at London by Miles Flesher and Robert Young in 1 648. Lastly, it is truly wonderful that neither his Majesty norBisbop Barlow should have known, that the very notes which were so much reprobated had been adopted into the Bishops Bible, published in 1568 by Archbi shop Parker, whose respect for the Geneva version was very strongly expressed in his letter to Sir William Cecil, 9th March, 1565-6, apply ing for leave to John Bodleigh to print it. He says, that he and the Bishop of London "j thought so well of the first impression of; this 1 77 uniform translation, and this to be done by the best learned in both the universities, after them td be reviewed by the bishops and the chief learned of the church ; from them to be presented to the privy council, and lastly to be ratified by his royal authority ; and so this whole church to be bound unto it, and none other." This course is generally understood to have been followed. The translation was evidently intended for the use of the Church of England. It is not to be supposed that the king or the bishops understood the expression, this whole church, in any other sense. If there could be any i|pubt upon the sub ject, it is removed by the testimony of Mr. Pat rick Galloway, who was present at the Conference, Bible, and the review of those who had since travelled therein, that they wished it would please him (the secretary) to be a means that twelve years longer term might be by special privilege granted to Bodleigh, in consideration of the charges sustained by him and his associates in the first impression and the review since ; that though another special Bible for the churches was intended by them to be set forth as convenient time and leizure should hereafter permit, yet it should nothing hinder, but rather do much good to have diversity Of translations and readings." The notes of the Geneva Bible some times inculcate loyalty more strongly than the Bishops Bible, as Tit. iii. 1. "¦ Although the rulers be infidels, we are bound to obey them in civil policies, and whereas, they command us nothing against the word of God." Whatever may be thought of the notes, no man of sense will speak slightingly of the Geneva version. Even Dr. Geddes says that it is in general better than that of King James's translators. These translators have frequently inserted the reading of the Geneva Bible on the margin ; and it must be admitted that it is in many instances preferable to what they have admitted into the text. 78 and who wrote a relation of the proceedings, which (as he states in his letter to the presbytery of Edin- burgh, 10th Feb. 1604) he presented to his Majesty, who with his own hand mended some things, and added other things, which had been omitted. Of this corrected copy, Galloway sent to the presby tery ajusttransumpt. In the note of such things as shall be reformed, the second article is, " That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as con sonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek, and this to be set out, and printed without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches in JEng^din divine service."* * When the translation was published, it bore on the title, " Ap pointed to be Read in Churches." The words, " By his Majesty's Special Command," are printed in the early editions so as to make it evident that they are not connected with the appointment to be read in churches, but merely with the words, " newly translated,"— " compared," and " revised." It does not seem to be generally, if at all, known by what authority this version was introduced. Bishop Newcome does not pretend to any information on the subject. He quotes a writer in the Bibliotheca Literaria, No. I V. p. 72, A.D. 1 723, who says, that it "seems to have made its way by a general consent and approbation, without the interposition of authority to enforce it." Dr. Symonds, in recommending a revision of the present English version of the Gospels, &c. ' employs nearly the same words, saying, " The present version appears to have made its way without the interposi tion of any authority whatsoever ,- for it is not easy to discover any traces of a proclamation, canon, or statute, published to enforce the use of it." " The Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical, agreed upon with the King's License by the Convocation for the Province of Can terbury in 1603, and published for the due observation of them by his Majesty's authority under the Great Seal of England," are const. dered as the existing code of ecclesiastical law in England. They 79 At this time the King's Printer in England was in the custom of printing both the Bishops Bible and the Geneva Bible, and occasionally Cranmer's (the revision of Tyndale's) ; but that of Geneva, though disliked by the King, was much more po pular than any other, as nearly fifty editions of it were printed at London, besides great numbers at have passed through many editions. We. quote from that " imprint ed at London by Bonham Norton and John Bill, Printers to the King's Most Excellent Majestie, 1628." The eightieth Canon, enti tled " the Great Bible and Booke of Common Prayer to bee had in every Church," orders that " if any parishes be yet unfurnished of the Bible qf the largest volume, or of the bookes of homilies allowed by authority, the church-wardens shall within time convenient pro vide the same at the charge of the parish." On the words Bible qf the largest volume we find in Burn's Ecclesiastical Law the follow ing remarks taken from Bishop Gibson : " This was directed by the second of Lord Cromwell's injunctions under King Henry the Eighth ; and in the thirty-third year of the same reign it was enforced by proclamation and a penalty of 40s. The like order for this, and also for the paraphrase of Erasmus, was in the injunctions of Edward VI. and continued in those of Queen Elizabeth, and (together with the book of homilies) in the canons of 1571. But what Bible is here meant, by that of the largest volume, isnot very clear. King James the First's translation was not then made : Queen Elizabeth's Bible was called the Bishops Bible; and the translations and reviews, com monly called the Great Bible, were those of Tindal and Coverdale, in the time of King Henry the Eighth, and that which was publish ed by direction of Archbishop Cranmer, in the reign of Edward the Sixth." We can assign no other authority for using the present ver sion of the Bible, except that of the Conference at Hampton Court, in 1603. The conclusions of the Hampton-Court Conference might be binding on the Church of England; but it is well known that they gave no satisfaction to the Church of Scotland, and that their authority was never recognized by any ecclesiastical body in this kingdom. 80 Geneva, Amsterdam, and other places.* More than ten of the London editions are in folio, and the others are in smaller sizes ; whereas, of the Bi shops Bible, very few were ever printed on a small page. The reason of this, Mr. Lewis supposes, was, that this Bible was principally designed for the use of churches ; and that the Geneva transla tion was commonly used in families. It is certain, however, that both were used in churches. King James's translation, as it is generally call ed, was first published in a large folio volume, black letter, in the year 1611. In the course of that year, and the five following years, his Ma jesty's printers published six editions of the Geneva Bible, and three of the Geneva New Testament. It is not generally understood that above two edi tions (both of, a small size) of any part of the Bi shops Bible were printed after the year 1611, and these contained only the New Testament. The reprints of Fulke's Confutation of the Rhemish New Testament contained also the Bishops trans lation in parallel columns with the Popish ver sion. * If we include the edition's of the Geneva New Testament, and that which bears the name of L. Tomsoh, the number of London editions exceeds fifty* Dr. Newcome says that it was mostly uSed in private families, on account of the notes. Mr. Lewis had seen only one edition of the Bishops Bible in 8vo. but there were several others even smaller. 81 No edition of any of the older translations which had been formerly printed, or of any considerable part of them, continued to be published in Eng land, with the exception of the Psalms, Gospels, and Epistles in the Book of Common Prayer, all of which, till the reign of Charles II. remained unchanged from the time of the first com pilation of the liturgy. After the restoration of Charles II. the Gospels and Epistles were in. serted according to the last translation ; but the Psalter was retained in its original form, having been preferred by the Bishops and Clergy to all the other versions. This Psalter, used to this day in the Church of England, is adopted from that translation of Tyndale and Coverdale, which was declared by act of Parliament, in 1542, to be crafty, false, and untrue, and therefore ordered to be forthwith abolished. (The Gospels and Epistles read in the churches till the year 1662 were ex clusively Tyndale's.) This fact was thought so re markable by the author of the preface to Poole's Annotations, as to have drawn forth the following observations :— " To this day the Psalms in our service book are according to Tindall's and Cover- dale's Bibles, which should make us wary in our censures of that translation, though we see reason in many things to dissent from it. Only we hav ing a more correct translation established by au- 82 thority, why, (for the avoiding of the offence of the less knowing people,) we have not made use of that, but retained a translation not undertaken by any public authority, and confessed to be more imperfect, is what I cannot, nor count myself ob liged, to account for. Possibly God, for the ho nour of his martyr, hath so ordered it." This translation of the Psalms was made, not from the Hebrew, but from the Septuagint, which differs materially in various passages, sometimes containing several verses more than are to be found in the original. Thomas Findlasone, who was King's Printer for Scotland about twenty years, from 1&12 to 1632, never printed any edition of the Scriptures, though authorized to print them in all languages. There was a reservation, however, in the gift, by which he was prevented from obtaining penalties from such as printed or imported Bibles, New Testa ments, and Psalm Books. Psalm Books were often printed by Andrew Hart and his heirs. The heirs of Andrew Hart also printed an edition of the New Testament in 1628 ; being the first instance (so far as we know) in which King James's trans lation was published in Scotland. * And it is * This edition has a calendar prefixed, containing a much smaller number of holidays than were inserted in that of the Church of Eng land. The Table of Moveable Feasts includes only Whitsunday, 83 * quite clear, that, during the twenty years of Find- lasone's gift, the subjects of this kingdom must have been supplied with Bibles chiefly from England. It may be somewhat doubtful whether they were supplied more frequently with the Geneva trans lation or King James's ; but it is certain that in Findlasone's time no edition of either was printed in Scotland. Robert Young is said to have become King's Printer, 12th April, 1632; and, from the year 1641, he and Evan Tyler held the office jointly. Several peculiarities in the terms of this latter pa tent seem to have been overlooked. The patentees were to have the liberty of exporting and selling, in any part of the King's dominions, not only Psalms in every size of volume for the Church qf England, but various other books, and particular ly Bibles in all volumes, which they or their as signees had the sole privilege of printing ; and they were likewise to enjoy the common benefit of printing the Psalms then in use for the Church of Scotland, with Testaments and other books for the use of that kingdom, in the same manner as other Easter-day, and the beginning of Lentron. In this respect it corre sponds with the edition printed at Dort, for Andrew Hart and the Heirs of H. Charteris, in 1601, — with this difference only, that the first day of Lent is called in that edition Fasting-even. Both editions omit Advent Sunday, Ascension-day, Rogation-day, Septuagesima Sun day, &c. G 2 84 printers there enjoyed that benefit. The prohibitory clause forbids all other persons to print, or cause to be printed, any of the Psalms then in use in the Church of England, Concordances, Accidences, Calendars, Primers, Psalters, books of Common Law, used in the kingdom of England, or the Bible in any vo lume; or to import, or cause to be imported, any of these books from France, Holland, or any part beyond seas. There is a proviso also at the end of the commission, that nothing contained in it shall be construed to the prejudice or hindrance of any other printer within the kingdom of Scotland, to print the Bible in folio, or other books printed in the said kingdom at any time before the date of the first gift in favour of Robert Young. Here it appears, that the King's Printers, in 1641, though they obtained an exclusive privilege to print the Psalms for the use of the Church of England, and a right to export them,* did not ob tain an exclusive privilege to print the Psalms used in the Church of Scotland, with New Testa ments, and other books for the use of that king dom ; and that, before the date of the first patent to Young, in 1632, the right of printing the Bible in * This, by the way, is a sure proof that the government saw no danger in allowing the books used in one national church to be print ed in another kingdom. 85 folio at least was not confined to the King's Printer. The fact is, that, before that time, it had never been printed in Scotland except in folio, and that in two instances ; the first edition having been of the Geneva translation entirely, and the second, of that translation in the Old Testament, and of Tom son's in the New. The Psalms for the Church of Scotland had been printed by various printers, and in a great variety of sizes, for the convenience of binding with the English printed Bibles. Thus, there is an edition of the Psalms by Andrew Hart in 4to. printed in 1615, often found in the London Bibles of that year or 1613. Several editions were printed by Hart in octavo; for instance, one in 1611, another in 1615, both generally bound with the Book of Common Order. There is one by his heirs in 1632, another in 1633, a third in 1634, and a fourth in 1635, all after Young is said to have received his first patent. In 1633 two editions of these Psalms were printed by Raban at Aberdeen ; one of them often bound with English Bibles of that period ; and another con nected with the Book of Common Order, contain ing the original Confession of Faith of the Church of Scotland. In 1640, James Bryson, at Edin burgh, published the Psalms in quarto, besides a pocket edition in prose and metre. The prose is of the Geneva translation. And it may be ob- 86 served, that all the editions of the Psalms, print ed for the use of the Church of Scotland before this period, (with the exception of King James's,) were in general taken from the version by Thomas Sternhold and other English authors ; — not above one-tenth of the number having been versified by divines of the Church of Scotland.* • These psalms were introduced into Scotland soon after the Refor mation ; and it is probable, that the copies first used were imported either from Geneva or from London. In 1561, an edition of the Scots Confession of Faith was printed by John Scot, and another by Lekprevik ; the one in quarto, and the other in small 8vo. In the same year, it was printed at London by Rouland Hall, in Goldynge Lane; but. this edition is without Psalms, and it is men tioned only as affording a presumption, that the standard books of the Church of Scotland were frequently obtained from London. In 1564, it is said by Collier, (whose authority, in this instance, is supported by some papers among the Wodrow MSS.) that the Gene ral Assembly required every minister, exhorfcer, or reader, to have one of the Psalm Books lately printed at Edinburgh."" The Church had advanced different sums of money to Lekprevik, to enable-hira to execute this work ; which included the forms of public prayers, marriage, and administration of the sacraments. Among the numer ous successive editions, from the year 1564 to 1640, the writer of this' paper does not remember to have seen so much as one printed by his Majesty's Printers. In the same manner, out of fifty or sixty of the early English editions of Sternhold and Hopkins, not more than two or three appear to have been printed at the royal press. In the year 1615, the Stationers' Company had letters patent granted them by James I. conferring on them the sole right of printing Primers, Psalters, and Psalms, both in metre and prose, with or without mu sical notes. How this version was first introduced into the English Church is not clearly ascertained. Mr. Samuel Butler, (no great authority for a historical fact,) says of his " Assembly Man," He tore the Liturgy; yet he has mercy oh Hopkins and Sternhold, because their metres are sung without authority, (no statute, canon, or injunction at all;) 87 It is also worthy of remark, that, till about the year 1640, the Geneva translation of the Scriptures appears to have been at least as much used in Scot land as the translation executed under the autho- only, like himself, " first crept into private houses, and then into churches." It is a mistake to say, that the Assembly of Divines had a partiality for Sternhold. They recommended the introduction of Rouse's version ; but they did not treat the old translation so disre spectfully as the Episcopalians did. Dr. John Edwards, (in his Preacher, part 3d. p. 26,) says, " When Queen Mary was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth, these psalms were generally permitted to be sung before and after morning and evening prayer, and before and after sermons in all churches ; and they continued in good repute till about the middle of King Charles the First's reign ; at which time they began to be much disliked, and after that more and more to be slighted and disregarded, especially by our highest churchmen ; who were offended at their being sung in churches, because they thought they might in time exclude the singing of the reading psalms, which was practised in Cathedrals." About the same time, an attempt was made to supersede the me trical psalms, which had been used nearly seventy years in the Church of Scotland, by substituting the translation ascribed to King James. The privilege of printing this collection for thirty-one years was confer red, in 1627, on Sir William Alexander, (Earl of Stirling,) who was, in fact, the principal author of the work ; and about the year 1630, the national church was thrown into the greatest agitation, on learning that the new paraphrase was to be imposed. Many remonstrances were s framed, containing reasons why the psalms of David in metre, allowed , by the General Assembly, should be sung in the kirks, as they had been since the year 1564. One of these reasons furnishes us with a calculation of the number of copies supposed to be required. " The countryi shall be burdened with the loss of 300,000 books of thepld, and with the cost of 600,000 of this new metre, during the privilege which we hear is to be granted to the chief author.'' As this privi lege was to endure thirty-one years, the demand must have been com puted at 20,000 copies every year. An edition of these psalms in folio was printed at London in 1636, by Thomas Harper. It is ge nerally bound with the Scotish Service Book. Whether or not there had ever been any injunction for singing the tnetres of Sternhold and Hopkins in England, it is certain that they 88 rity of King James, and first printed in 1 611. If we look at the works of Scottish divines published from the time when that translation was first in- were allowed to be sung, and that no public authority was ever in terposed for suppressing them, or even for preferring any other ver sion. In the year 1696, Dr. Nicholas Brady, Chaplain in Ordinary, and Nahum Tate, Poet Laureat to King William, represented to the Privy Council, that they had completed a new version of the Psalms qf David in Metre, fitted for public use, and humbly pray ed his Majesty's royal allowance, that the said version might be used in such congregations as shall think fit to receive it. His Majesty was pleased to order in council, that the said new version be allowed and permitted to be used in all such churches, chapels, and congregations, as shall think fit to receive the same. About two years afterwards the Bishop of London recommended the use of it to all his brethren within his diocese. This version, as well as that of Sternhold and Hopkins, which about this time underwent considerable alterations, continued to be printed generally for the Company of Stationers; and, in many churches, both are occasion ally used. Dr. John Patrick's version had been published twenty years before; and when the altered Sternhold first appeared in 1694, it was said, in the Preface, that a report prevailed, " that there would be very speedily an act of parliament for annexing Bishop Patrick's version of the Psalms to the Bible." No such act was ever passed. Selections of Psalms have been published at different pe riods, and by various printers, for the use of particular parishes and chapels. Translations of the Psalms and other poetical books of Scripture, have been frequently published, and have been used in worship by various classes of Dissenters, and the authors or compilers have employed whatever printers they chose. While these things are so in England, we cannot but think it hard, (though it is not the affair in which we are principally interested,) that after his Majesty's Scottish subjects of all deno minations, whether of the established church or not, had enjoyed for a hundred and fifty years the liberty of providing themselves with Psalm Books, printed by any printer in Britain, the gentlemen who now hold the patent as his Majesty's printers in Scotland, should have been, the first to arrogate the exclusive right of publishing 89 troduced, till the rise of the Covenanters, we per ceive, that even those of them who were most dis posed to conform implicitly to the will, of the king, and to adopt, if he thought fit, the ritual of the Church of England, generally quote the Scriptures from the Geneva version. Thus Dr. William Guild, chaplain to Charles I. who published many works at London and at Aberdeen, from the year 1615 till the time of the Commonwealth, uses that ver sion, at least in his earlier works. It appears to be uniformly quoted by Sir James Sempill of Bel- tries, in a work printed at London in 1619, and dedicated to King James, entitled " Sacrilege Sa credly Handled, that is according to Scripture only ; for the use of all churches in general, but more espe cially for those of North-Britaine." William Cow- per, bishop of Galloway, whose " Dikaiologie" was printed at London in 16 14, and his " Triumph of a Christian" in 1615, and whose collected works were printed there in 1629, continued to the last to use the Geneva version in his quotations, and in the texts of his sermons. In the sermon, entitled, " Spiritual Marriage," preached at Westminster, the collection which is almost universally used in this part of the United Kingdom, where the King's allowance is not required for the use of any version. No doubt the Psalms were often very ill printed by printers who had no patent; but we can point out impressions, as bad as possible, the discredit of which must be borne by some of his Majesty's printers. 90 1626, by James Baillie, A. M. and printed at Lon. don, 1627, dedicated to nine peers and seven other courtiers, all of the Scottish nation ; the author quotes Scripture from the Geneva version in every page, as in Rom. xi. 25, " Partly obstinacy is come to Israel." Rom. xi. 22, " If thou continue in his bountifulness." Heb. xii. 33, " The congrega tion of the first born." In the same manner, Mr. William Struthers, minister of Edinburgh, who is always characterized by Calderwood as a servile follower of the court, quotes the Scriptures from the same translation in his " Christian Observations," and in " his Resolution for Death," both printed at Edinburgh in 1628. Thus, Phil. i. 21, « Christ is to me, both in death and in life advantage." 1 John iii. 14, " Translated from death to life." * We find the Geneva translation also used in Boyd's " Last Battle of the Soul," printed at Edinburgh in 1629. It is generally followed in the " Exposition of the Lord's Prayer, by Mr. William Wischart, parson of Restalrig, printed at London, 1633 ;" and when this writer adopts another version, it seems generally to be one of his own. f John Abernethy, * In his Looking Glass for Princes and People, printed at Edin burgh, 1632, Struthers uses King James's version, of which there had at that time been no edition in Scotland. t In 1633, Dr. Walter Balcanquall, Dean of Rochester, (a great fa. vourite of James VI. and of Charles I.) who had been sent, when a very young man, to represent the Church of Scotland in the Synod of Dort, 91 bishop of Caithness, in his treatise entitled " Phy- sickefor the Soule," printed at London, 1630, a quarto volume, abounding in quotations from Scrip ture, appears always to have used the Geneva version, as Jer. vi. 14, " They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people with sweet words." Phil. ii. 12, " Make an end o/your own salvation with fear and trembling." Eccles. vii. 5, <* Anger is better than laughter." * And so late as anno 1618, published by the special command of his Majesty Charles I. a sermon, preached before the king in December 1632, entitled, " The Honour of Christian Churches ; and the Necessitie of fre? quenting of Divine Service, and Publike Prayers in them." In this sermon he generally quotes the Scripture from the Geneva version, as Eccles. iv. 17, " Take heed to thy foot when thou enterest," &c. instead of Eccles. v. 1, " Keep thy foot when thou goest," &c. as in King James's translation. In the Bishops Bible, the translation is, Eccles. iv. 17, " When thou comest into the house of God, keep thy foot," &c. Balcanquall was so young when King James's translation was made, that he could not have been long familiar with any pre vious versibn. His contemporary, " the ever-memorable John Hales of Eaton," who was under twenty when King James's translation was undertaken, manifests no preference for it. Lord Hailes says of him, that he " sometimes follows the old version, and sometimes quotes from memory." Dr. Robert Skinner, who was born only twelve years before the accession of James to the throne of England, and who became Bishop of Bristol, then of Oxford, and last of Worcester, was for some time chaplain to Charles I. and published two sermons, one of which, preached before the king in 1634, and published by his Majesty's command, contains many quotations, almost all of which may be referred to the Bishops, or the Geneva Bible, but scarcely any to the version of King James's translators ; which, it is evident, from the numeration of the chapters and verses, that he was not in the habit of using. * The tract entitled, " A Blowe for the Popes, touching the Pope's Prerogatives," printed at Edinburgh by John Wreittoune, 1631, 5 92 the year 1639, the celebrated Alexander Hender son, in preaching before the General Assembly at Edinburgh, reads a long text from the Geneva Bible, as appears from the proceedings of that As sembly, still extant in manuscript. It has been al ready mentioned that the Psalms in prose, printed by Bryson in 1640, are according to that version. * might be referred to as an evidence of the same preference of the Ge neva Bible ; but as this little work is represented as being " extracted word for word out of the Booke of Martyres," it cannot very fairly be considered as an authority in this matter. • King James's translation was as much opposed in England as in Scotland. The translators themselves have taken notice of the cla mour raised both by the Romanists and the Puritans. There is not much reason to believe, however, that the Puritans made any great complaint, except in the apprehension of being deprived of the Ge neva annotations, which, as Fuller says, " had been printed with the general liking of the people, above thirty times over. Yea, (adds this writer,) some complained that they could not see into the sense of the scripture, for lack of the spectacles of those Geneva annota tions." The total suppression of the Geneva Bible was not attempted for several years; and when it was at last effected, it was ascribed in a great measure to the rising influence of Laud. His antipathy to this version was very early manifested, while he was president of St. John's College, Oxford. And it was afterwards one of the charges against him, that " one of the first books most strictly prohibited to be print ed, imported, or sold, by this archbishop, was the English Geneva Bible, with marginal notes and prefaces, though printed here in England,, not only without the least restraint, but Cum privilegio regies Majestatis during all Queen Elizabeth and King James their reigns, by the Queen's and King's printers ; and since our printers have neglected to print them for fear of hindering the sale of the last translation without notes, they have been sold without any con tradiction till this archbishop began to domineer ; yet, no sooner was he advanced to his papal see, but the printing, importing, and sale of all these Bibles, with notes, was most strictly inhibited ; the Bibles 93 It is quite certain, that during the period now referred to, the people of Scotland could not have enjoyed the advantage of reading the Scriptures according to the version now in use, in any other way than by importing them, and that they could not in general have had even the Geneva Bible in searched for, seized, confiscated ; the importers and sellers of them imprisoned, vexed, and some of them ruined, in the High Commis sion Court." It is asserted farther, that these Bibles, " formerly printed cum privilegio, had been freely vended, read, approved, and used, in our Church, for above sixty years space together." The ac count given of this matter by Dr. Heylin, the biographer of Laud, does not altogether agree with Laud's own defence, as preserved in the History of his Troubles and Trials. But the latter, in particular, is worthy of transcription; and is here subjoined accordingly. One of the charges against him was concerning stopping of books from the press. The first instance was about the English Bibles with the Geneva notes: " The Bibles with these notes, (says Laud,) were tolerated indeed both in Queen Elizabeth and King James his time, but allow ed by authority in neither. And King James said plainly that he thought the Geneva translation was the worst, c]c. (Confer, at Hamp ton Court, p. 47.) This passage I then read to the Lords; and withal told them, that now of late these notes were more commonly used to ill purposes than formerly, and that that was the cause why the High Commission was more careful and strict against th'em than before. Here Michael Sparkes the Elder came in as a witness, and said, he was called into the High Commission about these books. But he confesses, it was not only for them. He says, the restraint qf those Bibles was for the notes. But he adds, as he supposes ; and his supposal is no proof. Besides, he might have added here also, that the restraint was not for the notes only ; for, by the numerous com ing over of Bibles, both with and without notes, from Amsterdarr, there was a great and a just fear conceived, that, by little and little, printing would quite be carried out of the kingdom; for the books that came thence were better print, better bound, better paper, and for all the charges qf bringing, sold better cheap. And would any man buy a worse Bible dearer that might have a better more cheap ? And to preserve printing here at home, as well as the notes, was the cause 94 any other way. By this time, schools were ge nerally established in every corner of the king dom. * Before the restoration of Charles II. we of stricter looking to those Bibles." — Trials and Troubles qf Laud, p. 349, 350. To this it was replied by the Commons, " that the English Bible with the Geneva notes, was not only tolerated, but printed and re printed among us in England, cum priuilegio, during Queen Elizabeth and King James's reigns; and in 15th Jacobi (1618,) there was an impression of them printed here by the king's own printer ; since which time the new translation, without notes, being most vendible, (the king's printers forbearing to print them for their private lucre, not by virtue of any public restraint,) they were usually imported from beyond the seas, and publicly sold without any inhibition or punishment, till this archbishop's time, who made it no less than an High Commission crime, to vend, bind, or import them. His own inserting of popish pictures into our English, and of a popish index into our Latin Bibles, was far worse, more dangerous than any Ge neva notes. And his endeavour to hinder the importation of Bibles from Holland, discovers his vigilance, yea spite, against this transla tion, and the notes upon it." — Canterburies Doom, p. 515, 516, &c. * The registers of all the ecclesiastical courts, particularly those of the Presbyteries and Kirk-Sessions, prove what anxious attention was bestowed on the education of all ranks by the church of Scotland after the revival of presbyterian church-government in 1638. Some of the leaders of the Covenanters had distinguished themselves by their zeal and activity in providing the means of instruction. Mr. Alexander Henderson, about the year 1630, endowed a school in the parish of Leuchars, where he was then minister, and another in his native parish of Creich. Both endowments were liberal ; and others were afterwards made by ministers of this national church, on a scale not mtich smaller. Thus, Mr. Gabriel Semple, minister of Kirkp'a- trick-Durham, mortified 2000 merks, for maintenance of a school master in that parish. Measures were taken by the Kirk-Sessions to furnish education to the poor upon the common expenses, — and in cases of youths of promising ability and remarkable diligence, it was not un common to pay from the parochial funds, an additional sum to pre pare them for the university. The ornamental parts of education were not neglected. The General Assembly, in 1645, enacted, " that for the remedy of the great decay of poesie, and of ability to 95 are told by Kirkton, " every village had a school, every family almost had a Bible. Yea, in most of the country, all the children of age could read the make verse, and in respect of the common ignorance of prosody, no Schoolmaster be admitted to teach a grammar-school in burghs, or other considerable parishes, but such as after examination, shall be found skilful in the Latin tongue, not only for prose, but also for verse." Books were sometimes provided by .the Session for those who could not buy them. Thus we find in the Register of the pa rish of Ormiston, " Schrevelii Lexicon, for the school, 4 lib. 16 sh." Scots; (i. e. 8s. Sterling.) " Broune's Rhetorick, 10 s." Scots; (i. e. lOd.) So great was the encouragement for teaching schools in con siderable parishes, that various instances occurred of professors in the universities accepting those laborious situations. It was not merely in the low countries that education was vigilantly promoted. The Highlands (of Perthshire at least) partook of the same benefit. In 1654, John Hepburne, who had been previously schoolmaster of Kenmore, was appointed to teach the children of Logierait, and was allowed 80 merks a-year of salary. The English language seems- at that time to have been well understood in that part of the coun try. About this period, or soon afterwards, James Stewart was schoolmaster of Moulin. He was succeeded in 1683 by Duncan Men- zies, (afterwards minister at Weems,) at whose school were educated Lord George Murray, (son of the Marquis of Athole,) Mr. Adam Fer guson, (father of the late Professor Ferguson of Edinburgh,) and se veral other eminent individuals. A century before the period of which we are now speaking, reading and writing were evidently not very rare accomplishments in Argyleshire. John Carsewell, Bishop of the Isles, in his Gaelic version of the Book of Common Order, printed by Lekprevik in 1567, has lamented the misapplication of the gifts of writing and teaching, and says, that much of the superstition which prevailed, arose from the want of good books, understood by all who spoke the Gaelic tongue ; but he does not allege that reading and writing were very uncommon acquirements. (See Scottish Descrip tive Poems, edited by Dr. Leyden, Edinburgh, 1803.) For farther information with regard to the state of education ih Scotland about the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, see Dr. M'Crie's Life of Melville, vol. ii. Notes. It would not be difficult t» make additions to the interesting particulars there recorded. 96 Scriptures, and were provided of Bibles, either by the parents or their ministers." Now, whence did the supply of Bibles come ? It could not be from the King's printing press in Edinburgh ; for the editions which issued from it were very few in number. The first edition of any part of the Scriptures (according to the last version) which was pub lished in Scotland by any of the King's printers, was the New Testament, printed at Edinburgh in 1633. There were two editions of it, both of a small size ; the one " printed by Robert Young, printer to the King's most excellent Majesty for the kingdom of Scotland," — the other printed by the " Printers to the King's most excellent Ma- jestie." The impression of the latter (which is sometimes accompanied by the Old Testament) is said to have been extremely limited ; and some of the copies have plates. There can be little doubt that this is the edition referred to in a very remarkable letter contained in the Wodrow Col lection of Manuscripts in the Advocates Library, which has been printed by Lord Hailes in his Me morials and Letters, vol. ii. p. 42. " That you may taste a little of our condition (says the writer) I have sent you two of your own Scots Bibles, the New Testament only, wherein they have placed such abominable pictures, that horrible impiety stares throuhg them. These come forth by public 97 authority. Do you shew them to such as you think meet."* • These pictures are said to have been impressions from the plates of the book entitled, Imagines Vitas, Passionis et Mortis D. N. Jesu Christi, &c. printed by Boetius a Bolswert, anno 1623. It is as serted in one of the charges against Laud, that he had brought these popish pictures from foreign parts, and that with his good liking they were bound up in English Bibles, which were called the Archbishop qf Canterbury's Bibles. The number of plates in the original book is said to be seventy-four, most of them finely executed. The Edin burgh Bible of 1633, in which they have in some instances been in serted, is printed in double columns, and bears a great resemblance to some London editions of the same period. With regard to Young's New Testament of the same year, the types, paper, and ink, have never been surpassed by any subsequent edition. But in none of these respects is it superior, and in execution it is by no means equal, to the productions of several contemporary presses in Scotland, as those of Thomas Findlasone, John Wreitton, and Andrew Hart's heirs at Edinburgh, and Edward Raban at Aberdeen, — the last of whom was employed to print the " Canons and Constitutions Ecclesi astical, for Government of the Church of Scotland, ratified and ap proved by his Majesty's royal warrant, and published by authority/' in 1636. Robert Young was a printer in London, where he conti nued to carry on business long after his appointment as his Majesty's printer for Scotland. He was much in the confidence of Archbishop Laud, who seems occasionally to have consulted him, and who had frequent communications with him on the subject of the Scottish li turgy. It appears from the Archbishop's letters, that Young resided in London, whence he transmitted types and instructions to his ser vants in Edinburgh, The King's Large Declaration concerning the Tumults in Scotland was printed at London, by Robert Young, his Majesty's printer for Scotland, in 1639,— at which time many of the tracts professing to be printed at Edinburgh, bear the same name and designation. Robert Young's New Testament, in 1633, has not the king's arms on the title. This badge of authority adorns the titles of several books printed in the same year, at Edinburgh, by the Printers to the King's most excellent Majesty, e. g. " the Funeral Sermon preached H 98 Robert Young is less known by any of his edi tions of the Scriptures than by the Scotish Ser vice Book, printed in 1637. The Earl of Stirling, Secretary of State, writing to the Bishop of Ross concerning the Book of Canons, says, " I find some errors in the printer, and therefore have the more care in looking to that in printing of the Service Book ; for Young, the printer, is the greatest knave that ever I dealt with ; and therefore trust nothing to him nor his servants, but what of neces sity you must." * at the burial of the Lady Jane Maitland, by Mr. I. M." Who these printers were is not certain — most probably the heirs of Thomas Findlasone, though the devices and types are unlike his as well as Young's. * About this time the English press was not much celebrated for its accuracy. In his speech in the Star-Chamber, 14th June, 1637, at the censure of Bastwick, Burton, and Prynne, Laud blames the printers for an unauthorised change in part of the Common Prayer, and speaks of it as nothing wonderful in such a negligent press as we have in England. If we can credit Dr. Heylin, the archbishop had taken an active part in punishing a most serious blunder in the print ing of the Bible. " His Majesty's printers, at or about this time, (1632,) had committed a scandalous mistake in our English Bible, by leaving out the word not in the seventh commandment. His Ma jesty being made acquainted with it by the Bishop of London, (Laud) order was given for calling the printers into the High Commission, Tvhere, upon evidence of the fact, the whole impression was called in, and the printers deeply fined, as they justly merited. With some part of this fine, Laud causeth a fair Greek character to be provided for publishing such manuscripts as time and industry should make ready, for the public view ; of which sort were the Catena and Theo- phylact set out by Lyndsell." In 1638, a handsome edition of the Bible in folio was printed at Cambridge, by Buck and Daniel, containing a very material error of 99 Young published a very small edition of the Bi ble at Edinburgh in 1638, and he and Evan Tyler the press, by substituting ye for we may appoint over this business, in Acts vi. 3. This error has sometimes been imputed to the Inde pendents, and sometimes to the Presbyterians, by those who did not know that it first appeared in an edition, over which neither of these parties could exercise any control. The error was copied into nine edi tions, enumerated by Lewis, and probably into many more ; as the writer of this note observes it in three editions unnoticed by Lewis, all printed at London, one in 1660, another in 1671, and a third in 1682. It was admitted into some Edinburgh editions by Anderson, in 1673 and 1675 ; and hence probably arose the charge against the Presby terians of Scotland, by the Rev. Thomas Gipps, rector of Bury, that they corrupted the word of God, with design to support the people's power in setting up ministers over themselves ; a charge which occa sioned the Act of the General Assembly, 15th January, 1698, dis claiming the above-mentioned error of the press, and declaring that they do not own any other reading of that text, but " whom we may appoint," &c. Mr. Gipps might have known, that in the years 1673 and 1675, the Presbyterians had not the power to get a single page printed in Scotland, much less to interfere with any of the books printed by the royal authority. And even after the Revolution, they were constantly making unavailing complaints of the inaccuracy of the copies of the Scriptures. We have seen in a former note, that Archbishop Laud admitted that the Dutch printed Bibles had been prohibited, chiefly on account of their superior excellence. A few years afterwards, the importation of some foreign Bibles was prevented for a better reason. It appears from the Journals of the House of Commons, for 1644, (May3,) that some members of the Assembly of Divines acquainted the House, that there were divers gross corruptions, besides errors in divers Bibles, of an impression from beyond the seas, which they desired might be suppressed. It was ordered that it be referred to the Committee for printing, to take some course for the seizing and suppressing of all those Bibles, of the impressions from beyond the seas, complained of by the Assembly of Divines, in which there are so many, not only gross errors, but foul and dangerous corruptions, and likewise that they do consider of some effectual course to prevent the importation of such Bibles, or the dispersing, vent, or sale of them, &c. The result of the de- U 9. 100 published a handsome octavo New Testament in 1642. About .this time Young's name disappears liberations on this subject was, not that importation should be ex pressly prohibited, but that it should be subject to regulations. On the 20th of August, 1645, it was resolved that no foreign impressions pf any English Bibles, imported from beyond seas, shall be put to sale in any parts of this kingdom, until they have been viewed, perT used, and allowed by the Assembly of Divines, or such as they shall appoint; and it was referred to Mr. Selden and Mr. Maynard to bring in an ordinance to this purpose. It soon appeared, however, that the editions printed at home required to be as strictly watched as those which had sometimes been imported from the Continent. In November 1656, the Grand Committee for Religion made a report touching the false printing of the Bibles. Part of it is here extracted. " Among other late impressions of the Bible, yet under examination, this Committee have particularly examined the impression in 24to. printed in the year 1653, which is acknowledged by Mr. John Field, printer, to be by him printed, and that he printed to the number of about 2000 of them. That in the said Bible there are already disco vered these omissions and misprintings, viz. 1 Cor. vi. 9, " Know ye not that the unrightepus shall inherit the kingdom of God ?" (not omitted.) John ix. 21, these words are wholly left out, " or who hath opened his eyes we know not." Rom. vi. 13, " Neither yield ye your members instruments of righteousness," for unrighteousness 7— besides several other errata. Mr. Field hath alleged something in extenuation. The Committee have secured 7,900 of the said im printed Bibles in Mr. Field's hands till farther orders. We under stand that there are yet in the hands of several booksellers many of the said Bibles undispersed. The Committee have under examination Other Bibles, which are discovered very faulty ; and in one Bible, 2 Cor. last chapter, the 6th verse is wholly left out. Ordered, that the 7,900 Bibles in 24to. printed in 1653, be seized on to prevent the sale." See Journals of the Commons, vols. iii. iv. vii. At this time the patent of king's printer for England was in the family of Barkers, as it had been for 100 years. Field printed both for them and for the University of Cambridge ; and as it ap pears that Bibles were not then printed at Oxford, there was no com petition, till Thomas Guy, on account of the shameful manner in which the Scriptures were printed, contracted with the University qf 101 from the copartnery. In 1642, Evan Tyler printed a neat pocket Bible in parts, and in 1643 an octavo Oxford for their privilege of printing them, after he had been disap pointed in the execution of a project for printing them in Holland. After this period, Field's Bibles were incomparably better execut ed than they had been before ; and Guy's, though by no means very elegant, were far from contemptible. Some complaints against the king's printers may be found in a tract, entitled, " The London Printer his Lamentation, or the Press Oppressed or , Overpressed," dated September 1660. The au thor inveighs bitterly against Christopher Barker, John Bill, Tho mas Newcomb, John Field, and Henry Hills, as interlopers, and, under the King's patent, instruments of inflaming the people against the King and his friends. He says that Bill and Barker the patentees " had no skill or experience in the faculty or art of printing, and albeit they entitled themselves (by a very questionable and doubtful autho rity, both in law and equity) to be his Majesty's printers ; yet indeed they were but nominal and titular ; for that the manual work, as well of the late acts of parliament, as of his Majesty's proclamations, hath been actually performed by Newcomb, Field, and Hills," all of whom he characterizes as incendiaries and enemies against the King, and one of whom he represents as utterly scandalous both for his heresy in religion and the gross immorality of his life — He says that " their impieties and insolences have mounted as high as to become actual and professed traitors against the glorious crown and dignity of the King of kings, blessed for ever. Have they not intruded, and do still intrude upon his Majesty's royal privilege, prerogative, and pre eminence, and by the pusillanimous cowardice and insignificant com pact of Mr. Christopher Barker and another of his name, and not without probable suspicion, by the consent and connivance of Mr. John Bill, (though he was artificially defeated in his expectation of profit,) have they not obtained, and now keep in their actual posses sion the MS. copy of the last translation of the venerable and learned translators in King James's time, ever since the 6th of March, 1655 ; and thereupon, by colour of an unlawful and forced entrance In the Stationers' Registry, printed and published ever since, for the most part, in several editions of Bibles (consisting of great numbers) such egregious blasphemies and damnable errata, as have corrupted the pure fountain, and rendered God's holy word ' contemptible to multi- 102 New Testament in black letter. His other edi tions are not numerous, or any way remarkable. We have already expressed our conviction, that what is called King James's translation was not for a long period introduced into Scotland, or so much as recognized, by any ecclesiastical authori ty ; and we have mentioned that a number of emi nent divines, most of whom could not by any means be suspected of disinclination to accommodate them selves to the will of the Sovereign, even when it was at variance with the law and practice of the church, continued long to use the Geneva version in their sermons and writings. The new version appears to have been adopted by degrees, partly because many preferred it, and partly because those who did not, were unable to procure a regular sup ply of Geneva Bibles, after they ceased to be printed in England. The General Assembly at Aberdeen in 1616, though it ordered a new Confession of Faith to be received, and a new Catechism to be prepared, and a uniform order of Liturgy to be es tablished, and a book of canons to be formed by the Archbishop of Glasgow, and Mr. William Struthers, minister at Edinburgh, — and though it also recommended that the reading of a chapter tudes of the people at home ; and a ludibrium to all the adversaries of our religion ?" This is a small specimen of the benefits accruing to the public from the monopoly of Bibles. 103 should constitute part of the ordinary exercise in the houses of noblemen, gentlemen and burgesses, it does not appear to have enjoined the use of any one version of the Scriptures more than another. The still more memorable Assembly at Perth, in 1618, if it gave any direction on this subject, does not seem to have thought it worthy of being re corded or observed ; and it is remarkable that its most strenuous apologist, Dr. Lyndesay, Bishop of Brechin, in what he calls the 4rue narration of all the passages of the proceedings in that General Assembly, printed at London in 1621, has done homage to the Geneva Bible, by taking from it the motto which graces his title page, Prov. xxiv. 21, " My so^fear thou the Lord, and the King, and meddle not with them that are seditious." At this time, however, and even afterwards, we ob serve that the new version was occasionally used by writers of both parties in the church of Scot land, and fully as much by the Presbyterian party as by their opponents. The only direct authority (so far as we can recollect) by which the use of the new version was ever prescribed, is found in the " Canons and Constitutions Ecclesiasticall,'" published in 1 636, chap. xvi. ^ 1 ; where it is said, " In every church there shall be provided at the charge of the paro- chin, a Bible of the largest volume, with the booke 104 of Common Prayer and Psalmes,* newlie author ized. The Bible shall be of the translation of King James; and if any parochin be unprovided thereof, the same shall be amended within two monthes at most after the publication of this constitution." Now, if this constitution be law, it is a law re quiring every parish in Scotland to use imported Bibles, with the exception of such as had already imported them ; for we defy His Majesty's Print ers to point out any edition of the translation of King James, of what is called a Bible qf the largest volume, before the year 1636, or any edition larger than duodecimo. But his Majesty's Printer of that time does not; seem to have felt it to be in cumbent on him, or perhaps much for his interest to print Bibles of that size, though he produced, in the year 1637, a splendid edition in folio of the book of Common Prayer for the Church of Scot land. It is very certain that many parishes in Scotland were before this time provided with folio Bibles of King James's translation. Various co pies are still extant, not only in the principal towns, but in several country parishes : f some * King James's Psalms. + It would be tedious to enumerate all the copies which have been seen by the writer of this note. There are several copies of the earliest editions at St. Andrews and Aberdeen. One copy, printed at London in 1617, now preserved in the West Church of Aberdeen, has an in scription in writing at the beginning, mentioning that it was bought 105 Of them bearing inscriptions, from which the time when they were acquired can be exactly ascertain ed. We do not however affirm, that the Book of Canons ever formed a part of the ecclesiastical law of Scot land. The Acts of Council for establishing this book were annulled by successive royal proclama tions, 28th June and 9th September 1638. The General Assembly, in December 1638, rejected and condemned the book, and prohibited the use of it, as " contrary to the Confession of Faith, and repugnant to the established government, the Book of Discipline, and the acts and constitutions of our kirk." They declared that it had been devised, without warrant or direction from the General As sembly, to establish a tyrannical power in the per sons of the pretended bishops over the worship of God, men's consciences, liberties, and goods, and to overthrow the whole discipline and government at London by David Melvill in 1627. And, on the title both of the Old and' New Testament, as well as at the end, it has this printed note : Given to the Hospital qf Aberdeen, be Gilbert Hervie, burgess of said burgh, May 18, 1631. Another copy of the edition, print ed at London in 1634, which has been used, from time immemo rial in the Church of Alva, has the inscription, " Gifted by the Right Honourable Sir Alexander Bruce of Alva, July 20,. 1636." A copy of the firs$ edition, 1611, belonging to the church of Culross, was presented at an early period by Sir Alexander Bruce's brother. The writer possesses eight copies of this translation of an earlier date than the period now referred to, and some of them can be proved to have- been at least two hundred years in Scotland. 106 of the general and synodal assemblies, presbyteries, and sessions.* * It must not be inferred from anything here stated, that the Presbyterians, at this time, had any' antipathy to King' James's trans lation. On the contrary they preferred it greatly fo Tyndale's and Coverdale's, which they are supposed to have used before the Geneva version was introduced. An eminent individual of their number, in a Tract entitled, "¦ Brevis et fidelis Narratio Motuum in regno et ecclesia Scotica, &c. Dantisci, anno 1640," (1st edition, 4to.) when contrasting the English liturgy with the Scotish service book, says, " Dein cum in Anglia retineatur translatio versionis vulgatse Latins?, prsesertim in Psalmis, hie vero adhaeretur versioni postreme, quae di- citur Jacobi Regis ; atque hse sunt mutationes in melius — at in de- terius frequentissimse sunt." A similar expression occurs in the larger work of the same author, " Rerum nuper in regno Scotia; gestarum Historia, Dantisci, 1641," p. 28. " The Dispute against the English- popish Ceremonies, obtruded upon the Church of Scotland," publish ed in 1637, which is known to have been the production of one of the leaders of the Covenanters, speaks occasionally of " our English translators," and " our own English translation," in terms which are sufficiently respectful, and which, though they do not prove that the translation was universally adopted, may be considered as forming part of an argumentum ad homines, addressed to the Bishops and their adherents, with whom the author is at variance, and by whom no other translation is likely to have been acknowledged after His Majesty had signified it to be his pleasure that this should be receiv ed. In fact, the Church of England, for whose use this translation was made, by divines of great name, and all of its own communion, has received it with less deference than the Church of Scotland and the generality of dissenters, on whom it was no otherwise imposed than by the difficulty of being supplied with any other translation. We find respectable clergymen in England expressing themselves as jf they were less bound to use it than the version of the Psalms in the book of Common Prayer. Thus, Dr. Brett, in his dissertation on the ancient version of the Bible, published in 1760, and re printed in Bishop Watson's Collection of Theological Tracts, (vol. iii.) says, " In our liturgy the Psalms and Hymns are re tained according to the old translation of Tindale and Cover- dale, which was afterwards supervised and corrected by the Bishops 107 The Directory for the public worship of God, established by the General Assembly in the year Tunstal and Heath, though there be a very different translation of the Psalms and Hymns taken from the Scripture in our common Bibles, translated in the reign of King James I. And here it may not be improper to observe, that all we qf the clergy give our assent and consent to this old translation, but not to the latter which is in our Bibles. As, therefore, this translation (in the Common Prayer) is what we clergymen give our assent and consent to, and as it is also daily read in our churches, and our people are best acquainted with it, I cannot but wonder that the generality, when they choose a text out of the Psalms, take it from the translation in the Bible, and not from that in the Common Prayer.'' After the restoration of Charles II. a commission was appointed to review the book of Common Prayer. Among the exceptions of the Presbyterian brethren against some passages in the liturgy, the eighth is thus expressed : " In re gard of the many defects which have been observed in that version of the Scriptures which is used throughout the liturgy, manifold in stances whereof may be produced, as Rom. xii. Be ye changed in your shape ; Phil. ii. 5, Found in his apparel as a man ; Gal. iv. Mount Sinai is Agur in Arabia, and bordereth upon the city which is now called Jerusalem ; Luke i. This is the sixth month, which was called barren, and many other places; we therefore desire that, instead thereof, the translation allowed of by authority may alone be used." The archbishops and bishops, with their assistants, made no answer to this exception, and two or three others connected with it ; but at last, in their concessions, they said, " We are willing that all the Epistles and Gospels be used according to the last translation." To this the Presbyterians replied, " We still beseech you that all the Psalms and other Scriptures in the liturgy recited may, for the same reason, be used according to the last translation." This desire was not granted. Another concession however was, " That the Psalms be collated with the former translation, mentioned in Ruhr, and printed according to it." This laconic and obscure response was not satisfactory to the Presbyterians, who replied, " We understand not what translation or Ruhr, you mean." It is not very difficult to ascertain that — by the former translation, the vulgate was meant ; for no others are mentioned in the rubric, except the common Latin translation, and that of the great English Bible, which is understood 108 1645, requires the Holy Scriptures to be read in the congregation ; but does not expressly prescribe not to have been translated from the original, but from the Vulgate or the Septuagint. Another request of the Presbyterians (which shows that they were not very partial to Sternhold, though he did translate the Psalms from the Hebrew) was, " Because singing of Psalms is a considerable part of public worship, we desire that the version set forth and allowed to be sung in churches may be amended, or that we may have leave to make use of a purer version." The only answer to this was, " Singing of Psalms in metre is no part of the Liturgy, and so no part of our commission." It appears from this answer, that the Presbyterian brethren (Richard Baxter, Ed mund Calamy, and others) were not very well informed, when they spokp of the version of the Psalms set forth and allowed to be sung in churches ; and they might be equally mistaken in speaking of the translation of the Scriptures allowed of by authority, which the bishops call merely the last translation. (See " An Account of all the Pro ceedings of the Commissioners of both Persuasions, appointed by his Sacred Majesty, according to Letters Patents, for the Review of the Book of Common Prayer." Lond. 1661.) After the Revolution, the same matter was submitted to the Convocation, by the Ecclesiastical Commission for reviewing the forms of worship observed in the church of England. An improved version of the reading Psalms was made by Drs. Lloyd and Kidder, and an amendment was most earn estly wished by such men as Tennison, Stillingfleet, Tillotson, and Burnet ; but whether this new version, or that in King James's Bible, should be inserted in the prayer book, was wholly left to the Convo cation to determine. The Convocation, however, had previously re solved, (notwithstanding the royal licence) that they would admit of no amendments. (See Birch's Life of Tillotson, Baxter's Life and Times, and Calamy's Abridgment.) It is not possible for us to suppress our wonder at the disrespect with which King James's Bible has often been treated by eminent authors attached to the Church of England. Among other instances of unaccountable ignorance and prejudice occurring in a book which has been much praised, we may take notice of one connected with this subject. Bishop Hutchinson, in his Historical Essay on witch craft, after ascribing to his Majesty's influence the statute against conjuration, &c. passed in the first parliament of King James, adds, 109 the use of any particular version. " All the cano nical books of the Old and New Testament," it " that the translation of our Bible being made soon after, by King James's particular desire, hath received some phrases that favour the vulgar notions more than the old translation did. At that unhappy time was brought in that gross notion of a. familiar spirit, though the Hebrew word hath no epithet at all, and should rather have been translated into some of those words that signify a cheating ventrilo quist. Some other changes were made besides that ; and considering its excellence in general, I cannot but impute its disadvantage in this respect to the great reverence they had to the King's judgment, and the testimony he gave them of facts from Scotland." Dr. Johnson, speaking of the same subject, has said that " the ready way to gain James's favour was to flatter his speculations." We could mention other respectable writers who have hazarded a si milar insinuation, both with regard to the act against witchcraft and the translation of the Bible ; but we content ourselves with referring to the Commentaries and Annotations of the Rev. John Hewlett, pub lished in 1816. This author, following in the steps of Drs. Hutchin son and Johnson, alleges that the translators " introduced the terms familiar spirit, witch, and wizard, (which he seems to suppose have no thing corresponding to them in previous versions,) to flatter the notions of royalty." If these writers had made any inquiry at all, they would have seen that the terms witch, wizard, and witchcraft, are of rarer occurrence in King James's version than in those which if succeeded. Some of these words are found in one or other of the older versions but not in King James's in the following passages : — Deut. xviii. 14 - Isa. Ivii. 3; Eccl. xxxiv. 5; Acts viii. 9, 11; Rev. ix. 21 ; xviii. 22; xxii. 15. " The notion of a familiar spirit," too, had been na turalized in England long before the accession of King James, or be fore he was born. The writers of the middle ages appear to have derived this language from the venerable authority of St. Augustine, (De Civitate Dei, lib. viii. cap. 14.) We learn from Bulseus, (Hist. Univ. Par. torn, iv.) that the Faculty of Theology at Paris, in 1398, condemned as erroneous the following, among many other articles relating to the same subject : " Quod per artes magicas et maleficia et invocationes nefarias quserere familiaritates et amicitias et auxilia dffimonum non sit idololatria." In the rare book, entitled, Fortali- tium. Fidei, printed at Nuremberg, 1494, one of the titles in the 110 says, " shall be publicly read in the vulgar tongue, out of the best allowed translation." From these words, it may be concluded, that at this time it was understood in the Church of Scotland that there were more allowed translations than one ; and it does not appear that the church had absolutely de cided which was to be considered as the best. This part of the Directory was prepared by a Scottish di- chapter De Bella Dcemonum, is " De diversitate Dwmonum, et Si possunt habere spiritus familiares." We observe the phrase very fre quently in the old French translations of the Bible, as in La Bible Francoise Latine, de l'lmpremerie de Jaques Bourgeois, pour Loys Coloquemin, 1568. Thus, Levit. xix. 31, — " Vous ne vous destour- nerez point apres les esprits familiers." Deut. xviii. 11, " Ni homme demandant conseil aux esprits familiers," &c. Words of similar im port occur in the Act 33 Hen. viii. (1541,) and in Queen Elizabeth's Act, 1562; both of which assume as an incontrovertible position, that enchantments are effected by " invocations or conjurations of evil or wicked spirits." Lord Northampton's Defensative against the -"Poison of supposed Prophecies, published in 1583, twenty years be fore the accession of King James, mentions as one of the means of conveying unlawful prophecies, " Conference with damned spirits or familiars, as commonly we call them." That they were commonly so called, may be seen by any one who will look into the writings of Arthur Golding, Thomas Beard, George Giffard, and many others. , One of the versions of the Scriptures which had been used in England forty or fifty years before King James's accession, employs the ex pression familiar spirits at least seven times; and very often the synonymous phrases, " workers with spirits, consulters with fami liars, workers with familiars." — Several other complaints against the last translation may be found in " England's Reformation : a Poem, in four Cantos, by Thomas Ward." Lond. 1716. Some of these are exposed to merited contempt by Mr. Lewis, in his " History of the English Translations of the Bible ;" but others cannot be alto gether evaded, though the spirit in which they have been uttered eannot be too severely condemned. Ill vine, Mr. Thomas Young, the preceptor of John Milton ; and it is known that the Westminster di- vines, by whom it was approved before it was sub mitted to the Assembly of the National Church, contemplated a plan of translating the Scriptures anew, or at least revising the translations then in use ; in which important work they expected valu able assistance from another Scotsman, Dr. Patrick Young, whom at the very time they were recom mending to the parliament that he might be " en couraged in the printing of the Greek Testament, much expected and desired by the learned, espe cially beyond seas." At the suggestion of the As sembly, the House also gave an " order for print ing and publishing the Old Testament of the Sep- tuagint translation, whereof he had in his custody a famous ancient copy, if not an original manu script." No man in England (not even Selden) was better qualified for the task ; but the manuscript was lost in the troubles of the times, and Young, the most celebrated Grecian of his age, died of a broken heart, leaving behind him only a few frag ments of his labours, one of which occupies a pro minent place in Bryan Walton's Polyglot, a work of which he was one of the great promoters. The plan of improving the English version of the Scrip tures was not lost sight of under the Common wealth. In 1657, the Grand Committee for Re- 112 Hgion ordered that a sub-committee should advise with Dr. Walton, Dr. Cudworth, &c. to consider of the translations and impressions of the Bible, and to .offer their opinions therein, and that the Lord Commissioner Whitelocke should take care of this business. The Committee often met at White- locke's house, and consulted with the most learned men in the Oriental tongues, who suggested " many excellent observations of the mistakes in the trans lation of the Bible in English, which yet was agreed to be the best of any translation in the world." Great pains were taken in this consultation, but it became fruitless by the dissolution of parliament.* From this period, but not much sooner, the whole nation may be considered as having acquiesced in the translation which is now in general use. Yet others were not altogether rejected. The Geneva version was still published in Holland, and fre quently imported, particularly into Scotland, where it was much used, not only in families, but, there is reason to believe, not unfrequently in the churches,f • Whitelocke's Memorials of English affairs to the Restoration of Charles II. t Several pulpit Bibles printed in Holland are still in use ; but most of them are of King James's translation, with the Geneva notes. Till within the last forty years, a Bible of the Geneva translation, printed at London in 1583, was used in the church of Crail, as it had been nearly 200 years. It was there in the time of Archbishop Sharp, 113 When Young and Tyler were appointed joint printers to his Majesty for Scotland, in 1641, it is evident, from the patent which they received, that though importation of Bibles in all volumes (except folio) from France, Holland, or other parts be yond seas, was prohibited in the same manner as the importation of grammars, calendars, primers, books of the common law of England, and psalters for the Church of England, was prohibited, the restraint imposed upon the subjects of Scotland was less with regard to the Bible and the other books used in the national worship, than with regajd to such books as grammars and calendars, which are not of such sacred importance as to require to be protected by a royal patent against the risk of corruption in the text. The patent to Young and Tyler therefore proves sufficiently that the privi leges conveyed by it were not conferred, because it appeared that in no other way could the sacred writings be secured from error than by giving the exclusive right to print them to one or two indivi- and long before. It is now in the possession of a physician in this city. A copy of the edition, in folio, (conform to that of Andrew Hart,) printed at Amsterdam in 1640, now in the library of the Col lege of Edinburgh, was presented by the candidates for the degree of Master of Arts in 1641. A very neat quarto, scarcely distinguish able from those which were printed by the deputies of Christopher Barker about 1599, &c. was " imprinted at Amsterdam, for Thomas Crafoorth [[Crawford ?] by John Fredericksz Stam, dwelling by the South Church at the Signe of the Hope," 1633. 114 duals. In the preamble, indeed, it is said that Robert Young was at first appointed, because it was necessary, after the death of Finlasone, to supply a defect, im consequence of which his Majesty's ser vice had been much neglected, and the universities and schools had sustained great injury. * But not a word is said of any inconvenience or loss which had been suffered by the church through the want of such an officer as the King's printer. As to the usage under this grant, it is certain at least, that books of Psalms and New Testaments were at this period,. and long afterwards, printedby many individuals. Evan Tyler printed a pocket Bible in 1642, and afterwards a black letter New Testa ment. But the largest size which he is ever known to have printed, was an octavo, in 1649- When the version of the Psalms which is still used in the Church of Scotland was introduced by authority of the General Assembly in 1649, the Commission of the Assembly appointed it to be printed and pub lished ; and the Committee of Estates also inter- » It seems to have been intended that Young should establish presses in different parts of Scotland ; probably in the university towns. His ser vices, however, were not required in any of them. Aberdeen was suffi ciently served by Raban, Glasgow by George Anderson, both of whom were furnished with. Greek, Latin, and Hebrew types ; and Edinburgh had a great choice of excellent printers. After the patent was granted to Young and Tyler, the business seems to have been conducted almost en tirely in the name of the latter, who generally printed the papers for the church, always however by appointment of the clerk of the Assembly 6? the Commission. 115 posed their authority for its publication. Four edi tions of this book were printed by Evan Tyler in 1650, but it was printed the same year by Gideon Lith- gow, printer to the University of Edinburgh,* and soon afterwards by several others, — such as George Swinton, Thomas Brown, James Glen, and David French. The following editions are commonly bound up with Bibles printed in England : three by Evan Tyler, a quarto and octavo, and a smaller size, Edinburgh, 1650 ; one by Gideon Lithgow, in .quarto, Edinburgh, 1655 ; one by George Swin ton, 1671, in 12mo. bound with small Bibles, or with the Confession of Faith ; one by Andrew Anderson, in quarto, Edinburgh, 1669; and ano ther by Andrew Anderson, also in quarto, Edin burgh, l671.f The number of New Testaments printed about * Gideon Lithgow printed various neat editions of the Confession of Faith and Catechisms in 1650, 1652, and following years, with the psalms in metre. It is impossible now to determine whether his editions of 1650 or those of Tyler have the priority, or who printed the greatest number. + Copies of these quarto Psalms can easily be produced, bound with the Geneva New Testament in 4to. printed at London by Christopher Barker, 1596 ; and others, with the present translation, printed at Cambridge, by J. Field, in 1666 and in 1668. The writer of this note has two copies of Evan Tyler's quarto Psalms, and three copies of Anderson's quarto Psalms, all bound in English Bibles, one of which belonged to a family in the north in the year 1671 and more than half a century afterwards, having the names of the children, and several grandchildren, inserted from that year to 1731. All the others exhibit unquestionable traces of having been 1early imported into Scotland. •is 116 this period by persons not having the King's patent, cannot easily be ascertained. * In the year 1669, an edition, Which seems to have been generally ap proved, was printed in the letter called English Roman, by George Swinton and James Glen. About a year afterwards, Andrew Anderson, who had recently come from Glasgow, and had contriv ed to obtain the appointment of printer to the City and College of Edinburgh, thought fit to print a New Testament in black letter, as he was well en titled to do, if he had exercised the degree of care necessary for the proper execution of so serious an undertaking. How he succeeded in his task will appear from the following minute of the Privy Council : " Apud Edin. Feb. 9, I67I.— The Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council having considered the great danger which may ensue to the Christian religion from incorrect copies of the books containing the Holy Scriptures, and that of late the New Testa ment hath been printed at Edinburgh, in a black letter, by Andro Anderson, printer, for the use of children at schools, with many gross errors and faults in the impression, do therefor prohibit and discharge all the stationers and others of this king- * Evan Tyler printed Acts of Parliament and other public papers in 1670; butjwe do not linow of any Bible printed by him for many years before. 117 dom to vent and put to sale any of the copies, of that edition of the New Testament until the same he first amended, and a title-page prefixed thereto. And do ordane and command the printer thereof to receive from the stationers all the copies of the same remaining with them unsold, and before they be offered again to sale, to correct and amend the errors of the same, and to prefix a new title-page 'thereto, bearing that this edition is corrected and amended in the year 1671, and that under the pain of payment of one hundred pounds Sterling in case he fail herein. As also the said Lords doe prohibit and discharge any of the printers of this kingdom to publish the books of the Old and New Testa ment, or any part thereof, except the same be first carefully revised, and the errors and escapes in the impression, if any, be amended ; certifying any who shall do in the contrare, that they shall not only forfault the benefit of the copies of that im pression with their liberty and privilege of printing for the future, but shall be farther censured and punished as the Lords of Councill shall think fitting; and ordaines a macer or messenger at armes to make intimation hereof to the printers, booksellers, and other persons concerned, that none may pretend ig norance." It might have been expected that a permanent note of ignominy would have been attached to the 118 name of the printer, who was first convicted of hav ing, published any part of the Scriptures (especially for the use of children at schools) " with many gross errors and faults in the impression," — and that effect ual means would have been used to prevent the repe tition of a similar offence by an individual who had proved himself to be utterly unworthy of the pub lic confidence. The government of Scotland, how ever, though it judged it necessary to threaten others who should offend in the same manner, ap pears to have thought it enough to oblige Anderson to amend this edition, and to prefix a new title-page announcing the correction of the errors. Within three months, this most negligent and bungling printer, one of the very worst who had ever been known in Scotland, insinuated himself so much into the good graces of the directors of public affairs, that, " for payment of a composition in exchequer, and other weighty reasons," * he obtained a gift under the Great Seal which was soon ratified in par liament, appointing and constituting him, his heirs and assignees, to be his majesty's sole, absolute, and only printer, with power to print and reprint all books, whether divinity, law, or others mentioned in his gift, whereby all others were discharged* to do\he same without warrant from him, his heirs, for ' (rf * Vide Acta Sec. Concil. March 14, 1701. > , . frJ 119 assignees, — and ordaining him and his foresaids to have the supervising of the presses and printing houses of the kingdom. Some of the consequences of this extraordinary appointment are described in the following terms, by a person who afterwards succeeded to the same office. " By this gift, (says Watson) the art of printing in this kingdom got a dead stroke ; for by it no printer could print any thing from a Bible to a bal lad, without Mr. Anderson's license. He indeed printed the greatest part of a very good 8vo. Bible, anno 1679 [I676,] in which year he died. But no thing since that time has been tolerably well done by his widow and successors : For even their so much boasted of Poole's Annotations and FlaveVs Works, are, in the eyes of workmen, but two vo luminous botches. After printing of one small Bible by the widow and partners in company, they disagreed ; the booksellers apprehending themselves to be wronged in this copartnery, (the general fate of copartneries,) and all of thenf sold off their shares of the house and gift to Mr. Anderson's widow, except George Swinton. Mrs. Anderson, consider ing that her gift was now entirely* in her own per son, (except Swinton's share,) and that it was the most extensive that ever was heard of; and having by this time got money and friends, resolved to make the privileges of the gift entire to herself; she persecuted all the printers in Scotland ; Robert 120 Sanders (who succeeded Andrew Anderson in Glas. gow about the year 1668,) was fined and imprison ed. John Reid, (who set up with Patrick Ramsay about the year 1680,) was also imprisoned, and had his doors shut up. And John Forbes in Aberdeen, (who set up about the year 1-660,) was processed and put to vast charges. ". After this prosecution, Robert Sanders pur chased George Swinton's share of the gift, and as- - sumed the title of one of the Sovereign's Printers. He brought workmen and materials from Holland, and printed several books very well. In the mean time, nothing came from the royal press, (as Mrs. Anderson vainly termed it,) but the most illegible and incorrect Bibles and books that ever were printed in any one place in the world. She re garded not the honour of the nation, and never minded the duty that lay upon her as the Sovereign's servant. Prentices, instead of the best workmen, were generally employed in printing the sacred Word of God; and, in fine, nothing was studied but gaining of money, by printing Bibles at any rate, which she knew none other durst do, and that no body could warit them. " The whole nation being sensible how ill they were served, and the oppression of this monopolizer being the common discourse in most places of the kingdom, those who were formerly her friends, and 121 supported this unaccountable gift, began to be ashamed of her practices, and turned their back upon her. " At last, His Royal Highness the Duke of York coming to Scotland, 1680, John Reid informs him, by petition, of the persecution and oppression he, and others of his employment, had undergone through the extensiveness of Mr. Anderson's gift. And the matter lying then before the Privy Coun cil, His Royal Highness there declared, that it could only be the King's meaning and pleasure by that gift, that his printer should enjoy what privi leges his royal predecessors were in use to grant to their printers ; such as printing of Bibles, Acts of Parliament, &c. Therefore the Council allowed the printers to go on in their ordinary work, &c. " In 1688, Mrs. Anderson, finding herself baffled by the printers, fell tooth and nail upon the book sellers ; and, though she had then scarcely any Bibles that could be read, yet, under pretence of her gift, she seized a good quantity of Bibles brought from London by the Booksellers in Edin burgh. They complained of this to the Privy Council, and printed the Errata of one of her Bi bles ; and after three months close debate, the Bi bles were ordered to be given back, and all print ers and booksellers allowed to print Bibles. But the Clerk of Privy Council was ordered to revise each sheet before it could be cast off; which ren dered that privilege impracticable ; as, indeed, it would have been, however, for want of the Sove reign's Patent, who only can grant such a privi lege." (This last expression is the natural lan guage of a man who, when he published his book, had recently obtained a patent as King's Printer.) " In 1695," (adds Watson,) " I set up, and then Mrs. Anderson, notwithstanding of the above Act of Privy Council, prevailed with the Magistrates of Edinburgh, to discharge my working for some time ; and in 1701 obtained a warrant from the Privy Council, on a false representation, to shut up my workhouse. But, upon a full information, given in by me to the Lords of Privy Council, (wherein all the printers in Edinburgh concurred,) and a debate in the presence of their Lordships, she was so well exposed, that she made no attempt afterward of that kind." Mr. Watson proceeds to state, that, though the decay of printing in Scotland proceeded chiefly from Mr. Anderson's gift, there was no reason to dread ill consequences from the patent obtained by Mr. Freebairn and himself; which was far less ex tensive than Anderson's, and gave much greater liberty to all other printers. He owns that, not withstanding the removal of Anderson's exorbitant grant, other causes operated to depress the art of 123 printing in Scotland below the high standard which it had attained at an earlier period — such as the low wages given for pressmen, and the paltry sav ing of keeping no sufficient correctors. And it cannot be denied, that this individual was at great pains to obviate these and other defects in the practice of his art. But let us now inquire how the public were supplied with Bibles while Ander son held the patent. If we were to grant, that Anderson and his heirs furnished the whole of the Bibles used in this country, from the year I671 to 1712, it would be easy to show, that the supply was very incomplete. And if the patent of his Majesty's Printers at pre sent must be explained (as they seem to wish) by that of Andrew Anderson, it would be necessary to admit, that the King of Great Britain is the Head of the Church of Scotland.* The patent of , * Anderson and his widow, till the Revolution in 1688, uniformly designed themselves Printers to His Most Sacred Majesty. The persons who held the same office in England at that period, continued the former style, of Printers to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, — a style which Mrs. Anderson resumed after the Revolution. It is commonly said that the abstract title of Majesty was first applied to the kings of England in the reign of Henry VIII. Selden main tains that it was occasionally used so long ago as in the reign of Henry II.; but he admits that the title of Sacred Majesty began to be used in England in the memory of his contemporaries, or that of their fathers. It was borrowed from the appellation of the Eastern Emperors, *ym ficurlxu*. See Selden's Titles qf Honour, 1631; and Johnston's Account of Monarchical Government, 1712. 124 Anderson gave him a right to print the Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The King had previously (in Nov. 1669) obtained an Act of Parliament, asserting his supremacy over all persons, and in all causes ecclesiastical ; in vir tue of which, the ordering and disposal of the ex ternal government and policy of the church was declared to belong to him and his successors as an inherent right of the crown ; so that his Majesty might enact and emit such constitutions, acts, and orders, concerning the administration of the said government and persons employed in the same, as he should think fit. That Act, which Sir George Mackenzie represents as a renewal of the Act anent the King's Majesty's royal prerogative, (9th July, 1606,) was repealed after the Revolution, as incon sistent with presbyterian church government, along with all other acts contrary or prejudicial to, in consistent with, or derogatory from, the protestant religion and presbyterian government. * Under * In the Information for his Majesty's Printers, against Messrs. Manners and Miller, &c. p. 8, it is said, " the defenders are in error when they state, absolutely, that the King is not the Head of the Church in Scot land. Though in ordinary spiritual matters this may be true, yet the King is still the chief ecclesiastical magistrate in all ecclesiastical affairs. By the act 1584, c. 129, the King is declared to have supreme jurisdiction in all matters, ecclesiastical as well as civil. By the act 1584, c. 131, all As semblies of the Church, without his express authority, are forbidden; and although this last enactment was somewhat modified by the act 1592, c. 1 14, and notwithstanding that occasional disputes have arisen between the 5 125 the ecclesiastical constitution, established in 1690, the Church of Scotland was restored to the model of 1638, when that government was " received by crown's ministers and the clergy, as to the exact limits of the prerogative, still the exclusive power of furnishing the lieges with pure editions of the Sacred Scriptures, has never once been called in question by the Church of Scotland." In another paper, the same party speaks of the King as the pplitical head and protector of the Church, in which capacity it is said he is empowered and enjoined to act by various acts of parliament, and the Confession of Faith. This is language to which the inhabitants of this part of the island have not for a long time been accustomed. The Church of Scotland, now established by law, never acknowledged the King as in any sense its head. In the year 1568, Thomas Bassandyne printed a book, entitled, " The fall of the Roman Kirk," in which he named our King and Sovereign, supreme head of the primitive kirk; and about the same time he printed a Psalm book, having an immodest song at the end ; which books he had printed without license of the magistrate, or revising of the kirk. Therefore the General Assembly ordained him to call in the books that he had sold, and to keep the rest unsold till he altered the foresaid title, and deleted the song ; and to abstain in all time coming from printing any thing without license of the supreme magistrate, and revising of such things as pertain to religion, by some of the kirk appointed for that pur pose. In the mean time they appointed one of their number to revise the book, and to report what doctrine he found in it. A license by the go vernment was at that time considered indispensable before any publication took place, — but the Church insisted as strenuously upon its own right of revision of every religious book as upon the authority of the magistrate ; and the title of Head of the Church, as applied to the King, was utterly disclaimed. When we inquire what licenses were thought sufficient at that period, we shall find that those of the local magistrates were considered not less necessary than such as were granted by the Privy Council. Thus we observe, in the Records of the Town Council of Edinburgh, 2d June, 1570, that Nicol Fylder became cautioner for Robert Lekprevik, printer, under the pain of 100 merks, " yat ye said Robert sail no' fra yis furt prent bukis ballets or ony wark of consequence w'out ye license of ye pro- vest, bailies and counsale." With regard to the acts 1584, they were all most offensive to the Presby terians. The General Assembly, in 1592, thought it necessary to present various articles to the king, in the first of which they craved, that the acts of parliament made in the year 1584, against the discipline of the kirk, 126 the general consent of this nation." Now it is quite manifest, that the printing of the Confession of Faith, (to mention nothing else,) by any person liberty and authority thereof, be annulled ; and the present discipline, whereof the kirk hath had the practice, be ratified. The parliament, a few days afterwards, passed the act, 5th June, 1592, c. 114, entitled. Ra tification of the Liberty of the True Kirk, — an act which is regarded as the civil charter of this national church. The information for his Majesty's print ers represents the act 1584, c. 131 , as having been somewhat modified by the act 1592, c. 114 ; and quotes the act 1584, c. 129, as if it still existed in its full force. In fact, this last act was virtually repealed, not only in the general clause of the act 1592, annulling all acts made before that date against the liberty of the true kirk, jurisdiction, and liberty thereof, — but in the express approbation of the Book of Policy, or the heads of jurisdiction and discip line, said in the act to have been agreed upon by his Majesty, in confer ence had by his Highness, with certain of the ministers convened to that effect. As to the other act, it is declared in the act 1592, c. 114, "that the 129 act of the parliament halden at Edinburgh, the 22d day of May, 1584, sail nowise be prejudicial nor derogate ony thing to the privilege God has given to the spiritual office-bearers in the kirk, concerning heads of reli gion, matters of heresy, excommunication, collation, or deprivation of ministers, or any sic like essential censures, specially grounded, and hav ing warrand of the word of God." The act 9th July, 1606, c. 1, (the first, according to Sir George Mackenzie, that mentions the word prerogative, J asserts the King's supremacy, in ecclesiastic causes, in the most unqualified terms ; and the act 19th Oct. 1669, u. 1, is substantially the same. This act, however, was represented, in the articles of Grievances submitted to William and Mary, 13th April, 1689, to be inconsistent with the esta blishment of church government then desired ; and it was abrogated ac. cordingly by parliament, 25th April, 1690. The principles of church go vernment established in Scotland, must be sought in the Second Book of Discipline, the standard which was ratified by parliament in 1592 and 1690. Here it is declared, that the power ecclesiastical is different from the civil power, which appertains to the civil government — that it is spiritual, not having a temporal head on earth, but only Christ, the only Spiritual King and Governor of the Kirk — that the title head of the kirk, falsely usurped by Antichrist, ought not to be attributed to angel or man — " that the magis trate neither ought to preach, minister the sacraments, nor execute the censures of the kirk, nor yet prescribe any rule how it should be done that all ecclesiastical assemblies have power to convene lawfully for treating of things concerning the kirk, and to appoint times and places to that effect 127 not nominated by the Church, would be an invasion of the rights of the Church. In 1638, the General Assembly unanimously, by virtue of their ecclesias tical authority, discharged and inhibited all printers within the kingdom to print any of the Acts of the Assembly, or any Confession of Faith, &c. without warrant subscribed by their Clerk. It will surely be a matter of great hardship to the people of Scotland, if a claim of the Sovereign, which was recognized only for a very short period, and which —that the final end of all assemblies is first to keep the religion and doc trine in purity, without error and corruption — that they may abrogate and abolish all statutes and ordinances concerning ecclesiastical matters that are found noisome and unprofitable, and agree not with the time, or are abused by the people — that the National Assembly should take heed that the spi- ritual jurisdiction and civil be not confounded to the hurt of the kirk," &c. All these articles, and qthers to the same purpose, have been conceded by the parliament of Scotland ; and whatever may have been the power as sumed by Charles II. or other monarchs before the Revolution, the King's prerogative in this matter has been limited for more than a century, by the Act for securing the Protestant B-eligion and Presbyterian Church Govern ment, which formed a fundamental and essential condition of the union of the kingdoms, and by the Coronation Oath, which has been sworn and sub scribed by every sovereign since the decease of Queen Anne ; by which oath he solemnly binds himself to maintain and preserve inviolably the set tlement of the true Protestant religion, with the government, worship, discipline, right and privileges of the Church of Scotland, as established by the laws made there, in prosecution of the claim of rights. One of the laws referred to in this oath, is the act for Settling the Quiet and Peace of the Church, (Will, and Mary, Pari. 1, Sept. 4, act 23,) in which it was ordained that uniformity of worship, and of the administration of the or dinances within this church, be observed by all the ministers or preachers, as the same are at present performed and allowed therein, or shall be here after declared by the authority of the same. Here unquestionably the church is declared to have the right which is claimed for the King by his Majesty's printers. 128 was formally (and solemnly abrogated by Parlia ment, shall be interpreted by our courts of law as if it were still binding ; and if, in a matter so sa cred as the possession of the Scriptures, they shall be told, not only that the will of the King is the law, but that the will of his present Majesty must be explained by the arbitrary will, and unconstitu tional usurpations, of such a monarch as Charles the Second. The mischief and misery which must have re sulted from the necessity of purchasing such copies of the Scriptures as proceeded from the incorrect press of Mrs. Anderson, would have been intoler able ; but all her attempts to prevent importation, though frequently attended with hardship to indi vidual printers and booksellers, were ultimately in effectual. It is quite evident, from Mrs. Anderson's own showing, that the supply yielded by her press was not sufficient to preclude the necessity of importa tion. In October I676, she produced to the Privy Council, Bibles of three several volumes, (or sizes,) printed by her husband — " one in a letter called pereiU letter, with notes in the volume of 12, printed in the year 1673; another, printed in the said year, in the said letter, without notes, in the volume of 18 ; and the third, printed in the year I676, in a letter called the non-pereill, with 129 notes, in the volume of 8 ; of which Bibles, they have printed such a considerable number as may be able sufficiently to serve his Majestie's leidges with Bibles of that kynd, which is performed by his Majestie's said Printer, to their great expenses and the advantage of the kingdom, by hindering the export of great soumes of money, which are daylie taken furth thereof for forraigne Bibles; and have undertaken to serve the leidges sufficiently, at alse easy rates, in far better work than any forraigners can affoord." Here it is admitted, that, till the year I676, at which time Anderson had been King's Printer five years, and had been printing all manner of books of divinity, law, and miscellaneous literature, he had furnished no Bibles at all except two editions, both printed in the most diminutive type ; (of which a specimen is subjoined in a note ;*) and in the year I676, he left unfinished a small octavo Bible, with notes, in the letter called nonpareil, common ly used in pocket Bibles at that period.f If these editions were sufficient to serve the lieges with that kind, it is certain at least, that no provision had been made in Scotland during the sixteen previous years of the reign of Charles the Second, or, in deed, for fifty years before its commencement, for » Pearl letter.— AW Scripture U given by inspiration of God. t Nonpareil tetter.— Mercy and truth are met together. K ISO furnishing folio and quarto Bibles to such as want ed them. No wonder then, that great sums were daily exported for the purchase of foreign Bibles. The demand must have been very great to warrant that expression. And it must not be supposed that the traffic was contraband ; it was carried on with the express permission of the Privy Council ; by which Court it had been declared, (21st Dec. 16?1,) " that, until the King's Printer shall have an im pression of the Bible ready, it shall be leasom to any person to import any Bibles privileged by the King's authority ; and so soon as the King's Print er shall have ane impression ready, and seen by the Council, the saids Lords declares, that then all other persons are to be discharged to import any of that Utter or size, and so forth of any impression thereafter; and declares that the King's Printer shall not, under that pretence, import, or cause to be imported, any Bibles by himself, or by any other upon his account ; but that he shall be holden to serve the country with these, of his own printing, at such reasonable rates as shall be appointed by the Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council." The Council, at the same time, authorized Robert San ders to finish a New Testament in black letter ; and, with the consent of Andrew Anderson, declar ed, that any printer in the kingdom had as full liberty as his Majesty's Printer to print the New 131 Testament and Psalm Book in the letter common ly called the English Roman;* a size, which* having been used in schools, and by persons ad vanced in years, was in very great request. The decision of the Privy Council in I676 did not absolutely take away the right of importation ; — " The said Lords prohibit and discharge any per son whatsoever, after the first day of November. fiixt, to import, vent, or sell into this kingdom any Bibles of the aforesaid letteris or syse, (i. e. nonpar eil and pearl letter,) declaring hereby all such Bi bles as shall be imported after the said day confis cable." It appears from the same act, that all .books of divinity, commentaries, concordances,- books of canon or civil laws, school books of all sorts, grammars, rudiments, &c. if printed or re printed without warrant from his Majesty's printer, were equally liable to confiscation, besides such other penalties as the Council might think fit to inflict. In 1680, the heir of Andrew Anderson com plained to the Privy Council against Robert San ders, for having printed a variety of books, as to which he and all others, except His Majesty's Printer, were excluded ; and also, for " vending * English Roman.— Charity suilerfith long, and Ls kind. K 2 132 Bibles printed in, and imported from, Holland, contrare to a standing proclamation." The Lords having heard the libel and answers, and also hav ing heard the Lord Register, who represented that the printing or reprinting of the Acts of Parliament, and Acts of Convention of Estates, did properly belong to him, not only as a privilege inherent in his office of Clerk Register, but also by virtue of a special gift from His Majesty to that effect, which could not be prejudged by Anderson's gift, found, that His Majesty's Printer hath the sole privilege of supervising the press, and of printing proclama tions of state, Bibles, and all other books therein specified, except those contained in the concession granted by the said deceased Andrew Anderson, (New Testaments, Psalms, and about forty other books, including the New Testament in Greek, and many of the classics.) Sanders confessed that he had printed and reprinted several books of divinity without license, contrary to his Majesty's gift, and that he had vended Bibles printed in, and imported from, Holland, contrary to a standing proclamation. " The Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council do therefore prohibit and discharge the said Robert Sanders, and all other printers within this kingdom, to reprint or print any books which the King's Printer, by his gift, has right only to print, except those contained in the foresaid concession, under 133 the pain of confiscation thereof, to the use and benefit of the King's Printer." The copies of all books so printed were ordered to be delivered up to the pursuer ; but no other penalty was inflicted. Not a word more is said of the Dutch printed Bibles, as if any fine had been imposed, or any new prohibition thought necessary to exclude them from this kingdom. Vast numbers of them, of various editions, are still in this country, of a folio size, (which was not printed by Anderson,) and they have generally the Scotish version of the psalms, said to be printed at Edinburgh, by Evan Tyler, His Majesty's Printer, in 1679. But this must be a false imprint, though various editions of the Psalms bear the name of Evan Tyler, His Majesty's Printer, so late as 1698. If it could be proved that importation from England, or even from the Continent, was at this time prohibited, it would not follow that the pro hibition was legal. Many of the acts of the then Privy Council, and some of the judgments of the Lords of Session, were afterwards declared in the claim of right to be contrary to law. But though it had been otherwise, the inexpediency of such a prohibition is proved by the acknowledgment of the government of that period. In 1679, Sir Tho mas Murray of Glendoick obtained a license to print all the acts of Parliament, by whatsoever 134 printer in Scotland or elsewhere he might be pleased to employ. David Lindsay was engag ed to print the acts, and John Cairns bookseller to reprint them. In 1681, Lindsay printed the acts, in a splendid folio, in a style greatly supe rior to any thing which had ever been attempted by Anderson, his Majesty's printer. In 1682, David Lindsay was appointed one of the King's printers ;* and his patent shows that An derson's privilege had proved dishonourable to the king and disadvantageous to the country. It ap pears from it that much money which might have been kept in the country, was carried away for books printed abroad ; — and that, for many years, very few books of value had been printed at home, owing chiefly to the opposition of those to whom the office of king's printer in ordinary had been committed, and who seemed to think that they were entitled to the sole privilege of printing. It is farther stated to be inconsistent with justice and sound policy, that any one should monopolize the whole business of printing, and it is acknow ledged that the heirs of Andrew Anderson were by no means sufficient for printing all the books necessary to the kingdom. Lindsay, therefore, whose superior qualifications had been amply manifested by his recent edition of the acts of * See Appendix, No. XXVIII. ' 135 Parliament, already mentioned, received full power to print all kinds of books in every language, art, and science, (except proclamations, acts of Par liament and Council, not to be printed without special privilege,) provided they contained nothing inconsistent with the established religion, or the government, authority, or honour of the king; (Under this description Bibles could not be ex cepted.) In conclusion, it was declared, that this grant was in no way to prejudge the previous gift to Anderson, in so far as it could be extended to the privileges contained in the commission of Evan Tyler deceased, which did not prohibit im portation from England, (but only from France, Holland, and other places beyond seas,) and which farther allowed every printer in the realm to pub lish New Testaments and Psalm Books for the church of Scotland, as well as Bibles in folio. Mrs. Anderson (as we learn from Fountainhall) opposed this grant, on the ground that one press was sufficiently able to serve all Scotland, and that, as the regulation of the press, by the 27th act of Parliament 1551, is inter regalia, the king may give it to whom he will. The Lords, after due de liberation, found that Anderson's gift contained exorbitant clauses, restraining the liberty of print ing too much, and therefore they restricted his gift to the style, tenor, and books named in Evan 136 Tyler's gift. This gift is said by his Majesty's printers now in office, to have conferred on Tyler the sole privilege of printing the prerogative co pies, but not books in general ; and this decision is therefore said to have been an acknowledgment of the legality of the first of these powers, and a declaration that the other was illegal. This, how ever, does not appear to be the just construction of the limitation. Evan Tyler's patent conveyed to him, in general, all the privileges, liberties, profits, &c. which had ever been enjoyed by any former printer; but it did not give him the sole right of printing all the books which are now called prerogative copies. It gave him the sole right of printing within the realm, and exporting to any of the King's dominions, psalms for the church of England, concordances, grammars, accidences, calendars, primers, psalters, and books of common law, for the use of England, with Bibles in all volumes. Some of these are not now consi dered as prerogative copies. But Evan Tyler had only a common right of printing several books, which are now generally supposed to be prerogative copies, as the Psalms used by the church of Scotland, with New Testaments and other books for the use of that kingdom> (probably including law books.) And the restriction of Anderson's gift by the Privy Council, must have left the printing of these books as free as it was in the time of Evan Tyler. / 137 As his Majesty's Printers: have laid so much stress on Anderson's patent, under which they say there can be no doubt that the right of prohibit ing the importation of English Bibles was clearly conferred ; and as they have thought proper to say that a feeble attempt was made by the book sellers, to maintain that the right of exclusion ne ver was exercised under this patent, which attempt was founded upon a casual expression in an opin ion of Sir James Stewart, an expression which they are pleased to characterize as hasty and erroneous ; it appears to be necessary to remind them of a fact, of which it is difficult to suppose they can possibly be ignorant. A few years before Ander son's patent was granted, the first Parliament of Charles II. (Sess. 3, cap. 27,) declared, " that the ordering and disposal of trade with foreign na tions, and the laying of restraints and impositions upon foreign imported commodities, doth belong to his Majesty and his successors, as an undoubt ed privilege and prerogative of the crown ; and that by virtue thereof they may lay such imposi tions and restraints upon imported foreign commo dities, and so order and dispose upon the trade of them, as they shall judge fit for the good of the kingdom." Sir George Mackenzie informs us, that it was represented to the Parliament that the only motive for making this act was that English 138 commodities might be more effectually debarred, and thus both the nations brought to an equal ba lance of trade ; and it was alleged (he adds) that if this were allowed in its full extent, our kings might, by debarring us from necessaries of life, force us to any condescendences, or might by this prerogative grant monopolies at their pleasure. Sir George professed not to be able to see how this gloss was consistent with the general words of the act, or with our declaring that this, by the law of nations, belongs to all free princes, or with sub sequent parliaments allowing the privileges grant ed to the fishing company, the prohibiting of brandy, and several other things, which are found ed solely upon this act.* Whatever the purpose of * The account in the text is taken from Sir George Mackenzie's Observations on the Acts of Parliament. We are indehted to him for a curious paragraph on the same subject, in his History of Scot land, p. 133. He there says, " England had laid on great impositions upon our commodities that we carried into England ; and, in return thereof, Scotland had imposed 60 per cent, upon English cloth, and the other manufactures of England ; but, because that burden was too insupportable, and was designed to bring England, by treaty, to some equality with us in commerce, therefore it was represented to the Parliament, (as the Members of that Parliament still affirm, but I will not assert it,) that it was fit to empower his Majesty to order this, in the interval of Parliament, as he thought fit. But, in place of this, an Act was brought in, the last hour the Parliament rose, empowering his Ma jesty to impose upon, or restrain all trade, with foreigners, as he pleased, and was passed in a trice without any opposition; being glossed, as said is : And this is that Act which is now made the 189 the act might be, or whether the English ought to be comprehended under the word foreigners, (as Sir George thinks they ought to be in the matter of. trade,) we have Sir George's own authority for saying that the Duke of Lauderdale contrived to render the act subservient to the establishment of the most odious monopolies, lucrative to his friends and dependents, but insufferably injurious to the country. " It was declared (he says) by Rothes' Session of Parliament, that his Majesty might impose up on foreign commodities as much custom as he pleased, or might discharge the importation of them if he thought fit ; by virtue of which act, brandy was discharged to be imported, and the seizures of it were gifted to the Lord Elphinstoun, son-in-law to Hatton, who extended so far hisgift^ that he allowed the. importation of it, by transact ing with the importers for licenses to bring it in, and granted transires as openly as the king's cus tomers did ; so that, in effect, he had his own Ex- foundation of so many gifts and monopolies, such as these of the to- baccoj brandy, &c. and by which Act, it is alledged, that his Majesty may impose whatever impositions he pleases upon foreign commodi ties ; but this, being past in a prerogative, cannot be questioned with* out his Majesty's special warrant. — After the passing of this Act, the Parliament was ridden, and thus ended that Parliament which had so much burdened the country, and had so far counteracted their own proceedings ; the one of which may seem a punishment of the other. 140 chequer ; and there was so much brandy imported that the price of our barley fell considerably ; the strong waters, which formerly consumed a great part of it, being no more used ; and his Majesty's customs and excise, arising from Spa nish wines, were considerably diminished — brandy being now come to be drunk every where in place of sack ; which did irritate the people to a great height ; the Lord Elphinstone being a person who was too young, and, as some said, too insignificant to [deserve well~] receive so much of his country, and it was insupportable to see \_Hatton's daughter thrive at the public charge of the kingdom and~\ the laws of the kingdom, which were introduced for a public good, delivered over to the arbitrariness of a private person, who not only rendered them ineffectual, but, in effect, inverted them to an use contrary to what was designed. " Upon pretext of the same act likewise, Sir John Nicolson of Nicolson got great impositions upon tobacco ; and, though it was pretended that tobacco was an unnecessary and expensive drug, and that it was advantageous to the nation to have it discharged, and much more to have it burdened, yet this was a most fallacious ground ; for tobacco was become so necessary, that custom had made it as necessary as nature had made meat or drink, and, consequently, this imposition was as grievous 141 as if bread or ale had been burdened. Nor was the expense of the kingdom lessened, but rather height ened by this imposition*** ***. But that which. troubled the people most in all these gifts was, the apprehension they had of the consequences that might follow from their preparatives ; for it was daily expected that, upon the pretext of this act, there would be gifts procured upon iron, pitch, tar, and all other commodities, and that his Ma jesty might burden some and not others, and so parliaments would be unnecessary ; for his Majes ty might, by this act, impose as much as the peo ple could bear, since foreign commodities were absolutely necessary to this kingdom, which could not provide itself. And their jealousies were, in this, daily raised by the many monopolies daily granted ; as of a peck upon the boll to Seaton of Touch ; the fines of maltmen to Colonel Borth- wick ; and of unlawful and clandestine marri ages to one Rennet, the Commissioner's own ser vant; nor was there anything more ordinary than for such as were the commissioner's cousins, friends, or allies, to inquire what gifts could be granted, never doubting to obtain them if once named."* Of all the monopolies, however, by which the nation was at this time aggrieved, that which was * Mackenzie's Hist, of Scotland, p.343— 246. 142 most universally felt, was the monopoly on salt ; and it is worthy of notice, that the pretext for allowing it, was exactly the same with one of the reasons assigned by his Majesty's printers for wishing to prevent the admission of Bibles from England into Scotland. " They think it a most severe hardship upon them, that the large sums of money which are annually received from the contri butions of charitable individuals in Scotland should be remitted to England, to purchase books, which, according to the law of Scotland, must be consid ered as unauthentic copies of the Holy Scrip tures." Let us attend to the grounds assigned for the monopoly of salt, and the effects which resulted from it ; and, lest we should be supposed to give an unfair statement, let us take the ac counts furnished by a man who distinguished him self as an apologist of the government of Charles II. and who was himself one of the ministers of the Crown. "¦ A design had been driven on, for a long time, to get all the Scottish salt farmed by his Majesty. The Exchequer had proceeded so far1 in it as to transact with all the salt-masters, so that no salt was bought but from his Majesty's servants ; and all foreign salt was absolutely dis charged, save for fishes only. The reason pre tended for this was, because it was unjust that we 5 143 should bestow our money upon foreigners, when our own manufacture might serve us; and it was fitter to cherish our own manufacture, whereby 20,000 people were kept at work. Nor could, the coal works, which was one of the chief commodi ties, be kept up, except this encouragement were given to the salt, &c. The salt being thus settled upon his Majesty, it was found that the country, was not well served by public servants, who either made it not their business at all, or else made it only their business for their private gain. There fore the Earl of Kincardine farmed it from his Majesty at a considerable rate ; whereupon the- country was immediately alarmed by his and Lauderdale's enemies ; and the former just com plaints had now a way opened to them, by a let ter which was writ to his Majesty by the Exche quer, representing the inconveniences the people suffered " It cannot be denied, but that complaints thronged in daily ; some wanting salt altogether, as in Galloway, the west, and all the Highlands, Where our Scottish salt could not be carried, and so were forced to use salt water ; by which many of them died as of a plague ; others being forced to buy at intolerable rates, as sixteen shillings Sterling the boll, though they had it formerly for four. It was likewise represented that it did 144 melt in the carriage, and it could not preserve beef, hides, &c. for the hides preserved by it did all fall out in holes ; which, with many other in conveniences, were heightened by its being de livered over into the hands of a private person ; for whilst it was in his Majesty's hands, they ex pected still some redress from the Exchequer, be cause the members there were equally concerned with themselves ; and no single person being to expect advantage, it was easy to bring them to reason in a public concern. It is also very ob servable, that the subjects are less grieved at the payment of what goes into the public treasure, than of what goes to the advantage of any private party ; for the one seems to remain in some sense with the givers, since it is given to their Prince, from whom they expect protection, and who defends them by his treasure ; whereas the other breeds in them envy and malice against such as are enrichtby these spoils."* * Mackenzie's History qf Scotland, p. 241 — 243. It is remark able how exactly this statement coincides in the most material points, with the anonymous tract, entitled, " An Accompt of Scot land's Grievances, by reason of the D. of Lauderdale's Ministry, humbly tendred to his Sacred Majesty." On the article of salt, the writer says, " The first and great grievance then, mentioned in Parliament, was the monopoly of the salt, which being by my Lord Lauderdale procured to the Earl of Kincardine his friend, by his Majesties gift, allowing the preemption of inland and prohibition of foreign salt, was worth to the interested more than £4000 Sterling yearly ; but not only with twice as great a diminution of his Ma-i 145 Such were a few of the effects of an act which was in force when the exorbitant gift of printing was conferred on Andrew Anderson. Though the Declaration of the Estates of the kingdom of -Scot land in 1689 contained a complaint of the viola tion of the law by the giving of gifts or grants of raising money without the consent of parlia ment, this act continued in force twelve years after the Revolution, and was in force, so far as we know, as long as the Privy Council gave any decisions favourable to the claims of Andrew An derson; but on the 31st Jan. 1701, King William's first Parliament rescinded the act of Parliament 1663, asserting his Majesty's prerogative in the ordering and disposal of trade with foreigners, in all its heads, tenor, and clauses, and declared it to be void and null in all time coming. jesties revenue, but to the general and heavy distress of the whole country ; it being most certain, that the nation was thereby reduced to those straits, that in many places the poor people were necessitated to send several miles to the sea for salt water to supply their indi gence; and in other places, were constrained to give 18 or 20 shillings Sterling for the same, quantity of salt, which before the granting of this gift, they used to buy for 3s. 6d. or 4s. ; so that in effect the clamours of the people were ready to break out into uproars and tumults. Which grievance is so much the more chargeable upon ray Lord Lauderdale, because that when his Majesties chief officers, perceiving that the first design of this salt project could not take, and that the consequences of this gift would be very hurtful, did, by their letter, give full information to the court, of the prejudices and dangers likely to ensue upon it : instead of prevailing, they were ra ther chid and menaced for being so officious." L 146 * We have not thought it necessary to inquire minutely into the rights of certain individuals, besides Anderson and Lindsay, who took the title, of Printers to His Majesty for a few years before 1688. James Watson states, in his History Of Printing, that his father " went to Court anno 1685, to 'demand a debt due to his father, of mo ney lent King Charles II. in his exile; but-find ing it could not be paid at that time, and* having now too great a concern in printing, craved a gift of being the sole printer of Almanacks in Scot land, which he obtained; and was also made Printer to His Mqje$ty"s family and household, for which he Was to have a salary of 100 lib. Sterl. per annum. He kept a set of very good work- inen; and the books printed by him make a bet ter appearance than most of what was then done in the kingdom. He died anno 1687. In Octo ber 1687, Peter Bruce, (or Bruschii) an Engineer, a German by 'birth, who brought in the water to the wells ih Edinburgh, by an order from the then "Chancellor, took possession of my father's printing-house, ..and printed some small books, &c." We do not ! know what weight may be given to this authority, but we do know that Bruee re ceived a grant, dated at Whitehall, Sl'st Dec. 1687, which refers to the previous gift in favour of 147 Watson;* and we can point out several books printed at Holyroodhouse in l687and 1688; some " by James Watson, Printer to his Most Excellent Majesties Royal Family and Household, 1687," and others, " by Mr. P. B. Enginier, Printer to * A copy of this grant was intended to be inserted in the Appen dix, but has been mislaid. The following is an abstract of it. ". Whereas by, the deceas of James Watson, the place and office of printer to our family in, our ancient kingdom of Scotland, is now va cant in our hands, and at our gift and disposition, we have made, constitute, and ordained ; — Peter Bruce, to be Printer to our Family in our said kingdom during all the days of his life Giving ¦ — all. and sundrie fees, profits, benefits, casualties, immu nities^ freedoms, privileges, and others whatsoever pertaining, #c. as enjoyed by the said deceast James Watson, or any others author ised by him, with full power, liberty, and sole privilege to the said Peter Bruce, and. such persons as shall , he employed by and under him, of printing prognostications within our said kingdom, prohibit ing and discharging all other printers, and all other persons what soever, from presuming to print any prognostications ther without his speciall licens and approbation, as they will answer the contrail- at their perils. Given under our Privie Seall at our Court at Whyt- hall the 31st day of December 1687 years, and of our reign the 3d year." Before James Watson and Peter Bruce received the royal privi lege of printing Prognostications, books of that description, contain ing astrological predictions, had been published annually for at least thirty years, sometimes by John Hamilton Ldpicida, Edinburgh; sometimes by James Coras Philomath. Glasgow; sometimes by an an cient and expert astronomer, in the employment of John Forbes, Aberdeen; all stuffed with superstitious delusions. We do not know if. James, Paterson the mathematician, whose calculations enriched the Almanacks printed at Holyroodhouse, and who professed to teach more than sixteen branches of science, (such as Cosmography, Me- cometry, Embadometry, Stereometry, &c.) at the sign of the Sea Cross Staff" in the Cowgate, had more modesty than the others; but the Revolution in 1688 proved that the king's astrologer was not infallible, any more than the unprivileged star-gazers of that credu lous age. L 2 148 the King's, Most Excellent Majesty, for his Hous- hold, Chappel, and Colledge, 1688." Several of the number are popish books, such as " The Faith of the Catholick Church concerning the Euchar ist ;" " The Christian Diurnal ;" " A Pastpral Letter from the four Catholic Bishops to the Lay- Catholics of England," &c. We may further state, that one of the grievances complained of in the claim of right was, that James VII. had violated the liberties of the kingdom, " by allowing popish books to be printed and dispersed by a gift to a popish printer, designing him Printer to His Ma jesties household, colledge and chappel, contrary to the laws." This appointment was connected with another act of King James, which was also bitter ly complained of, namely, the erection of a popish seminary, or royal college, within the precincts of Holyroodhouse, for the purpose of training up the youth in principles which could not be taught in the protestant schools and universities established by law, without violating all the statutes in favour of the reformation. The royal prerogative appears to have been considered sufficient to supersede a long series of acts of parliament ; and, if it had not been resisted, would soon have overturned the re ligious establishment of the kingdom. For some time after the Revolution, Mrs. An derson and her son, though repeatedly cited to the 149 Privy Council, declined to qualify themselves for exercising the office of King's printer. The Jaco bite author of a tract, entitled, •« An Historical Relation of the late General Assembly, 1690," says that Mrs. Anderson claimed the privilege of print ing the Acts of the Assembly, by virtue of her gift from the king to print all public acts and pro clamations; and he seems to think it very hard that the church would not yield to her claim, espe cially as she is said to have " ever heretofore fa voured their party." The church appointed George Mossman to be the only printer to the assemblies ; and the privy council afterwards found that George Mossman had the only right to print the acts and other papers belonging to this church and her as semblies, and discharged all others from printing the same. On the same day, (21st November, 1690,) the council declared, that " albeit the heir of Andrew Anderson print the. proclamation of council adding the civil sanction to the General Assembly's act appointing a solemn fast through out the kingdom, it shall be no homologation of his right or gift to be their majesties printer." It does not fall within the plan of this paper to make any observations on the degree of fidelity and correctness with which Mrs. Anderson printed royal proclamations, by authority of the council, and acts of Parliament by appointment of the Lord 150 Register, both of which kinds of publications may be conceived to have been- indisputably included in her gift. But it appears that she continued to in sist, that it was part of. her right to prevent any printer from printing, reprinting, or importing any books printed, or to be printed, by her, under pain of confiscation. Thus, in the year 1701, (March 14th,) she represented to the Privy Council that she was engaged in printing Poole's Annotations on the Bible,, and Clark's Harmony of the Evangelists, which she asserted (without the shadow of truth) was " much better done, and on finer paper, than that done in the English nation ;" and that she had also begun editions of Durham and Flavel's works, Campbell on the Sacrament, and Craighead's Ser mons. She prayed that their Lordships might dis charge the printing, reprinting, or importation of any works printed by her, and particularly the works above mentioned. Their Lordships remitted the petition to a committee, and recommended to them to give Mrs. Anderson the sole privilege of printing Poole, Durham, Campbell, and Craighead, and to declare that any of these works printed by any other person within this kingdom shall be confiscated. But the Privy Council refused the desire of Mrs. Anderson as to Flavel's works, and allowed these works to be printed, imported, and sold by any person whatsoever. In fact, they did not prohibit 151 importation of any of the books, though it is evi dent, from her petition, that in the case of Poole's Annotations, the most important of all, it was not the reprinting, but the importing of the book that she dreaded, as well she might, for Watson has justly characterized her editions of Poole and Fla- srel as " two voluminous botches." It is impossible to calculate the injury done both to religion and learning by the monopoly enjoyed by Mrs. Anderson, even after it was limited by the Privy Councils In a very sensible Letter to a member of the General Assembly concerning the education of children*, it is said, that the most unsurmountable difficulty, which both teachers and learners must grapplewith daily, "proceeds from the scandalous ly erroneous printing of all manner of school-books whatsoever, which are printed here in Scotland, whether Latin or English, even from the Shorter Catechism to the classic authors, and grammar upwards. And finding few or none of these books to be printed by any other, but the relict of Andrew Anderson only, I made inquiry se veral times how this came about ; but never eoutd obtain any satisfaction, as to the reason of that abuse, till that of late I had occa sion to hear of a debate between her and the other printers, of Edinburgh concerning a monopoly of printing, to which (it seems) she pretends right 152 by virtue of some grant from Charles II. not only as to school-books, but extending likewise to Bibles, New Testaments, and all parts thereof: Nor in deed did the account which I had of the debate give me a clear notion of the matter, until I saw the printed informations hinc inde on that head, to which I refer you ; but lest they may not come so readily to your hand, I have excerpted out of the Printer's Information the hereunto subjoined er rata in Mrs. Anderson's New Testament* and by my next you may expect a large collection of many other errata, which I am, for my own farther sa tisfaction, picking out of her Bibles, &c. ; by which, in my humble opinion, it will evidently ap pear, that all these false impressions of her Bibles arid New Testaments ought to be utterly suppress ed by some public act, without which it is hard to tell how far the principles and opinions of well- meaning country people, and ignorant women, may * These errata fill six columns of very closely-printed quarto, and would occupy about twelve pages of this pamphlet. Several whole lines are omitted. Many of the errors are quite ungrammatical, and not a few materially af fect the sense, as righteousness for unrighteousness,— -lie killed foi.he is killed, —things for times,-— for tlrnt have sinned for for that all have sinned,— enticed in every thing for enriched in every thing,— we for ye,—eitlier for neither,— world for word, — loveth pleasure for liveth in pleasure, — perfect for priest,— their for your,— we know his commandments for we keep his commandments,— thou Itast slain for thou wast slain, — his testimony for their testimony. Se veral are ludicrous, and cannot very properly . be mentioned. And even those which do not obscure or pervert the meaning, or render the con struction ungrammatical, diminish the confidence of the reader in the in tegrity of the text. 153 be corrupted by them, besides the scandal of hav ing the word of God, (which is indeed the only standard of all truth,) so mangled and abused; under the colour of a pretended monopoly as to the right of printing. To pick and cull out all the errata of her grammars and classic authors, would make a volume apart."* " It is certain (says this author,) that while the right and liberty of printing is confined to one single person or society, the nation must expect to be grossly imposed upon, both as to the price and quality of the work, because the seller knows the buyer cannot go by him ; whereas, on the con trary, when all printers have an equal liberty to print, and know that he who blows best will carry away the horn, there must arise a certain emula tion among them to excel one another in the good ness of their work and reasonableness of their prices, which will likewise, of course, produce an improvement in the art itself: Yea, they will * In confirmation of this remark, it is stated by the author of " a character of Mr. Blaw's book, entitled, Suadela Victrix," that the errors of the press were nearly as numerous as the lines. Some, if not all, of these books were printed by Mrs. Anderson. Mr. Robert Blaw, the author of several school books, such as Praxis Oratorio, Vocabularium Duplex, seu Fraus Elusa, obtained the sole privilege of publishing them for 19 years, by act of the Privy Council, 16th September, 1C86. This man is said to have acted as a spy, and to have rendered himself otherwise subservient to the despotic measures of the govern ment to which he owed his license. 154 thereby become checks, on each other's work, and save any other person the drudgery of revising the correctness of any books printed by them ; andf be ing once thus indulged as to the benefit of their trade, they will 'be. much the warier not to print any thing that may offeaaid either chureh or state ; whereas, otherwise they will the more readihyxbe tempted to print any thing clandestinely; for: bread to their families. But if after such a general in dulgence, any of them should be found tripping, their having such a discretionary liberty allowed them, would be an aggravation of their guilt, and no doubt care would be taken to punish them ac cordingly." At this period it seems to have been universally understood, that it was incumbent, on the national chureh to exercise a vigilant inspection over the printing of the Bible, and other works relating to religion. At no period, indeed, (except when the original ecclesiastical constitution was subverted by such monarchs as claimed the title of head of the church,) was it ever conceived to belong to the civil power to assume an absolute control over the pub lication of such works ; and, in the earliest times, the lieense of the crown, if it had been in advertently granted to a book not approved by the church, would have been insufficient to pro tect it from condemnation. In the year 1563, the 155 General Assembly ordained, that no work should be set forth in print, or in writing, touching religion or doctrine, till it was approved by the superintend ent, and such as he should call of the most learned of the bounds ; and in the event of any doubt on their part, the Work Was to proceed to the General Assembly. In 1568, Bassandyne the printer (as al ready stated,) was censured for having printed twd books, one of them a Psalm Book, without license of the magistrate, or revising of the kirk, and was ordered to observe this rule in time to come, and in the mean time to call in the books sold, that they might be corrected. After Lekprevik was appoint ed King's Printer, he acted for some time as printer to the church, and received out of the funds at their disposal a salary of fifty pounds a-year, in consider ation of his great zeal to serve the kirk at all times. The approbation of the church was obtained by Arbuthnot and Bassandyne, before they applied to government for the license to print the Bible, -^a license which, it must be recollected, was equal ly necessary at that time, whatever the subject of any work might be.*' And in Several of the letters * Till the beginning of the 18th century the Privy Council of Scotland continued to give licenses for printing not only serious and useful books, but such as were altogether frivolous and fantastical. The objett of such licenses was chiefly to protect the property of the authors or publishers, as must appear from the following specimens :— " Apud Edinb. 26. Feb. 1685.— The lords of his Majestie's Privy 156 of privilege to his Majesty's Printers, we observe that the approbation of the presbytery or session Councill, Haveing considered ane address made to them by Mr George Sinclair, late professor of philosophie at the Colledge of Glasgow, and author of the book intitulled Satan's Invisible Works [^World^ Discovered, &c. Doe heirby prohibite and discharge all per sons wtiatsomever, from printing, reprinting, or importing into this kingdome, any copy or copies of the said book, dureing the space of eleven yearis after the date heirof, without licence of the author or his order, under the pain of confiscation thereof to the said author, Besydes what furder punishment we shall think fitt to inflict upon the Contraveeners.'' " At Edinburgh, the 7. of January 1696. — The Lords of His Maj. Privy Council do hereby allow George Mosman stationer in Edin burgh to print, vend and sell a Book entituled a true Relation of an Apparition, Expressions and Actings of a Spirit, which infested the House of Andrew Mackie in Ring-Croft of Stocking, in the paroch of Rerrick, in the Stewarty of Kirkcudbright. And discharges any other Persons whatsoever to imprint, vend, or sell the said Book for the space of one year after the date hereof Except the said George Mos man and his assigiieys under the penalty of having the said Book confiscat to the use of the said George Mosman & of paying to him the sum of 40 pounds Scots for each transgression besides the forsaid Confiscation toties quoties. Extracted by me, Gil. Eliot Cls. Sti. Cons." " At Edin. the 25. day of Nov. 1697 years.— The Lords of His Maj. Privy Council do hereby give full and sole power, liberty and war- rand to Gilbert Hall, Lieutenant of the town of Edinburgh's Company of Guards, or to such persons as he shall appoint, to print, vend and sell an Book, entituled, A Plain and Easy Explanation qf the Assem blies Shorter Catechism ; and discharges all other Persons whatsom ever to reprint, vend, sell or import the said book for the space of nineteen years, next after the day and date hereof, under the penalty of 500 merks to be payed to the said Lieutenant Hall, or his assig nees, by and attour the Confiscation of the saids Books to the said Lieutenant, and his representatives, for their own use and behoove. Extracted by me, Gil. Eliot Cls. Sti. Cons." 157 of Edinburgh, was regarded as not less essential than the approbation of his Majesty before any work was published. (This Book by the late Mr. Thomas Hall minr. at Enver, alias Lame, in the Kingdom of Ireland, was printed by George Mosman.) Exclusive privileges (with heavy penalties against such as violated them) were given particularly in the case of school-books. Thus the Grammar, and the second edition of the Rhetoric of James Kirkwood, schoolmaster of Kelso, were licensed by the Privy Council, 3d Dec. 1695; and all printers, stationers, and others, were " discharged to print, reprint, import, sell or disperse, within the kingdom, any of the said two books, for nineteen years, without the license of the said Mr. James Kirkwood, his heirs or assignees, under the penalty of 2000 merks Scots, to be paid by each contraveener, beside the con fiscation of the books so printed, imported, sold, or dispersed." In terms somewhat different, various books were licensed after the union. Thus the Grammar of Thomas Watt, A.M. and his Vo cabulary, were licensed by the Privy Council, 19th April, 1708 ; and all other persons within Scotland were " discharged to reprint the samen, or to import reprinted copies from any place without the kingdom of Great Britain, without the petitioner or his assignees' warrant, and that for. the space of nineteen years, under the penalty of ,£20 Sterling, to be paid by the contraveners, to the petitioner or his assignees, besides confiscation of the books so reprinted and im ported." The form of these privileges or licenses appears to have been original ly copied from the French. Indeed it was in France that they were first introduced about the year 1507. The following is a specimen, which may be worthy of transcription, as it relates to a very rare book, on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, by James Hume of Godscroft. Extraict du Priuilege du Roy. " Par grace & Priuilege du Roy, en datte du 5. Auril 1635. signe par le Roy en son Conseil, Le Gaos, & seelle du grand seau de cire jaune; II est permis a. Iacques Hume, Escuyer, d'iraprimer on faire imprinter, vendre & distribuer vri Liure intitule, la Trigonometric, ou Triangles Rectilignes St Spheriques, pendant le temps & espace de dix. ans entiers, a compter du iour qu'il sera acheue d'imprimer. Et 158 Mrs. Anderson was extremely anxious to obtain recommendations of her works from the General Assembly, and succeeded in one or two instances before the publication took place. Thus, in 1700 and 1701, it was recommended to noblemen, gen tlemen, ministers, and others, to encourage her in her undertaking to print Poole's Annotations, and some other works ; and she stated to the Council, that she had obtained this recommendation before she applied forthe sole privilege of printing them. The recommendations in these instances applied to the substance of the works, and not to the fide* lity or accuracy of the typography. One of the instructions of the General Assembly to its Commission in the year 1706, was to apply to the government to discharge the importing or print ing for common sale, any erroneous books, or any incorrect copies of the Holy Scriptures. In the course of that year, the Commission took this matter frequently into their consideration, and found that several acts of Parliament had been made against importing, vending, or dispersing erroneous books, deffenses sont faites a tous Imprimeurs, Libraires & autres de quelque qualite & condition qu'ils soient de l'imprimer, faire imprimer, ven- dre ny distribuer, sinon du consentement & de ceux dudit exposant, a peine aux contreuenans.de, cinq cens liures d'amende, confiscation des exemplaires, & de tous despens, doramages & interests, comme il appert esdites Lettres de Priuilege, donnees le iour & an que dessus. Acheue d 'imprimer le 20. Octobre 1635. 159 particularly act James VI. Pari. 7, c. 106, and James VI. Par. 11, c. 25, which last authorizes ma gistrates of burghs, with a minister, -to search for and destroy books against the true word of God, and the religion professed. But "being informed that Agnes Campbell, widow, of Andrew Anderson, had the; sole privilege of printing Bibles in this king dom, and that she had lately obtained an act of Council an her favour, and that she was desirous to be heard 'before any application should be made," they appointed three of their number to hear what she1 had to say in this affair. These individuals accord ingly met With Mrs. Anderson, and reported (26th Nov. 1706) " that she earnestly desired the Com mission would fall upon ¦ methods to hinder foreign impressions of the Bible to be brought home, and that for any of the impressions of the Scriptures done by her, she was heartily willing that the Com mission might appoint any body they thought fit to revise and correct the same atber press." The Commission, without taking farther notice of this communication, resolved next day to petition, and accordingly did petition, the Privy Council, showing them that there are a great many incorrect copies of the Holy Scriptures vended and dispersed through this kingdom, whereby the truths of Christ are in danger of being corrupted ; and entreating, that their Lordships would, in their wisdom, fall upon 160 some effectual way to prevent the printing, import ing, vending, or dispersing, any incorrect copies of the Holy Scriptures, or any part thereof. The Commission at the same time offered their service and assistance in so good a work, where their Lord ships might find it needful. It is quite evident from the terms of this petition, first, That either a sufficient supply of Bibles was not furnished, or that such as were furnished were sold too dear, or that they were thought inferior to such as were imported, otherwise.there could have been no temptation toimport. Secondly, Thatimportation must have been very common, otherwise it would have been unnecessary to petition against foreign im pressions; and Mrs. Anderson would not have been so earnest to hinder them from being brought home. Thirdly, That the royal press furnished incorrect Bibles; for it is stated, that no one. printed Bibles in the kingdom except Mrs. Anderson, and had she printed them correctly, it would not have occurred to the Commission to pray the Council to prevent the printing of incorrect copies of the Holy Scrip tures. It is not difficult to produce proof's of the de mand which prevailed at that period for English printed Bibles : Mrs. Anderson's own testimony can scarcely be refused. , She had the imprudence to perpetuate an indelible acknowledgement of 161 the inferior estimation of her editions in the eyes of the public. A pocket Bible was printed in the year 1707, in a style similar to some which had previously appeared ; and this edition bears on the title the following imprint, (here copied literatim) " London, Printed by Charles Bill and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb deceas'd, print ers to the Queen's most excellent Majesty, Anno Dom. I707. cum privilegio." In this title-page, however, a remarkable oversight was committed. Mrs. Anderson had for some time before enclosed the title-pages of the Qld and New Testament in an ornamental border, haying at the top the royal arms, as they were usually blazoned by His Ma jesty's Printers before the Union ; and at the bot tom the arms of the city of Edinburgh, (with the motto, Nisi Dominus frustra,) the badge of her of fice as Printer to the City and University. The plate bearing these and other emblematical deco rations (such as St. Andrew's Cross, the Thistle and the Pvose, &c.) happened to have been crack ed; and with this identical cracked plate was the title-page, containing the names of Charles Bill and the Executrix "of Thomas Newcomb, printed in I707. A fac simile of one of Mrs. An derson's titles of the New Testament, in 1705, with another of the title of the Bible already men tioned, may be seen on the accompanying litho- M 162 graphic engraving, which has been executed with sufficient accuracy to give a much more intelligi* ble representation than could be conveyed by any verbal description. Nobody who compares the two titles can entertain any doubt of the iden^ tity of the cut from which the impressions of the border were taken. It is not conceivable that Mr. Bill and Mrs. Newcomb should have fabri cated an imitation of Mrs. Anderson's wooden title plate, or that they should have bought or borrowed* or stolen it, after it was almost worn out; or that they should have sent to Scotland for coarser paper than they had ever been known to use ; or that, for the first time in their lives, they should have printed a Bible from a fount of types so defective, that some of their Roman letters were exhausted long before they reached the end of the first sheet, consisting of only ten leaves, (the first and second being occupied with the title and the dedication,) so as to occasion a deformity, such as cannot well be conceived by any one who never saw it. There are five columns - in which the Italic a occurs at least seven hundred times; instead of the Roman character. A spe cimen is subjoined in one of the foot notes.* It » And Abraham rofe up colly in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar (putting it on her jlhoulder) and the child and lent her away : and as coarse as Baskett's of the same year. Mosman and Brown, the assignees of the deceased James Watson, did not, by any means, rival him either in the beauty or the accuracy of their edi tions. About the same time very mean. editions 183 were printed by Robert Freebairn, his Majesty's printer; who, though he had joined the standard of the Earl of Mar in 1715, and had printed pro clamations against the government, was found to be entitled to resume the right, which, in the com mission to Baskett and Campbell in 1716, he was declared to have forfeited.* His duodecimo edi- * It is curious that Robert Freebairn should have been the fourth instance of a king's printer in Scotland having been charged with se ditious or treasonable, practices. Not one of the offenders lost his of fice. Lekprevik, whose crime was the slightest, was imprisoned ; Waldegrave was found guilty, but no sentence followed ; Evan Ty ler having printed for the usurper against the king, was forfeited at Scoon, and declared a rebel by Charles II. in 1650, but he returned to his office at the restoration of Charles II. and printed acts of par liament, &c. till 1670. There is some mystery in the case of Free bairn, which it is not of much consequence to resolve. His was not the last instance. Lord Auchinleck, in his speech on the question of Literary Property, published by his son James Boswell in 1774, says, " The king has a right to print certain books, and he has his own printer ; in the choice of whom great care ought to be taken, which is not always the case ;, for I remember, in the year 1745, the same printer qfflciatedfor the King and for the Pretender." Of these five printers, Freebairn was the only Scotsman. " 'Tis worthy to be observed (says Rae in his History of the Re bellion 1715) that, as that party had still made lies their refuge, so now, Mr. Freebairn, the king's printer at Edinburgh, being retired to Perth, and set up as the Pretender's printer there, with the in struments the rebels had brought out of the printing-house at Aber deen, this Earl caused print and disperse false news, to keep up the spirit of the people, and to persuade the poor misled Highlanders to come down and assist him. And among other falsehoods he told them, that their friends in and about London, had taken arms in such numbers, that King George had made a shift to retire." Notwithstanding all this, and more than this, King George and his successqrs continued to employ Mr. Robert Freebairn and his assigns as printers, till the. year 1752. The last of their works, we telieve, were some acts of Parliament, printed in 1752. 184 tions,;i730, 1733, and 173J, had indeed the ad vantage of being printed with better ink, and on better paper, than have been used by most of his ¦¦¦•. successors in printing Bibles of that size. His small octavo, 1736, with marginal references and notes, is much inferior to James Watson's of 1715, 1 and even to Anderson's of I676, both of which it resembles. Two or three editions, by Richard Watkins, as a favourite 24to. in 1743, and a well- known quarto printed in 1744, have a respectable appearance, but they are not models of correct ness. * Adrian Watkins printed a great number, * The Bibles of R. Watkins, so far as we have observed, are more correct than the common editions, of Baskett, whose octavo, printed at London in .1742, contains innumerable errors. The folldwing are taken from a few pages. Matt. ix..22. " thy faith hath made me whole," for thee. xviii. 29. " pay they all," for thee. xxvii. 50. " wherefore at thou come," for art. Mark ii. 21. " the rent is many worse," for made. John xvi. 8. " reprove the word," for world. xvi. 24. " ask and we shall receive," for ye. xvii. 2. " as to many," for to as many. Rom. ii. 26. " shall the deliver come," for deliverer. ii. 28. " sake" for sakes. Phil. iii. 12. " Now as though I had," for not as though, &c. 1 Pet. iv. 11. " to whom he praise," for be. Job xviii. 8. " be walketh," for he walketh. xx. 3. " causeth me no answer," for to, answer. Isaiahi. 9. " let us a small remnant," for left us, &c. iii. 9. " then soul," for their soul. xii. 3. (The Lord is become my salvation) " therefore with joy shall he draw water," instead of shall we draw water. xiii. 15. " Every one that it found," for is found; 185 some of them very indifferently, (as the duodecimo 1748,) and others not contemptibly, as the octavo, with numerous marginal references, printed in 1754. * The next patentee, Alexander Kincaid, never produced any thing that ranked above me diocrity, and some of his editions, particularly one in 1762, are described by those who have used them as being full of typographical blun ders. The very best of the printers whom we have named were greatly inferior to such contem porary artists as Thomas Ruddiman, and Hamil ton, Balfour and Neill, in Edinburgh, or Foulis and Urie in Glasgow ; whose presses produced works fully equal to any that were published at that time in England. And surely other means might have been devised, which would have much more certainly provided against the printing of incorrect Bibles, than by appointing, for a lengthened period, a printer, or a company of printers, who might, at their discretion, transfer Isaiah liii. 5. " burised" for bruised. lxv. 6. " since" for silence. Jer. v. 7. " then then," for they then. Baskett's folio Bible, printed at Oxford in 1717, is distinguished by the name of the Vinegar Bible, in consequence of an error in the running title at Luke xxii. ; where, instead of " the parable of the vineyard," the reading is, " the parable of the vinegar." * Adrian Watkins, who succeeded Richard in 1747, seems to have printed nothing after the expiration of Baskett's patent. He was killed by lightning while walking in the fields, on Sunday, July 13, 1766. .. 186 their privilege to any number, and for any period, within the limits of their own commission. Queen Anne's Solicitor General appears, therefore, to have been somewhat inconsiderate in his dictum concerning the necessity of conferring an exclusive privilege upon a printer, that the sacred books might not be corrupted, and that the subjects might be secured from being led into errors. If this gentleman was correct in saying, that the design of such a privilege is to guard against the corruption of the sacred books, it may easily be shown, that the provision is very incomplete. No translation, however excellent, and by whatever authority undertaken and approved, is to be consi dered as a standard in matters of faith. The doc trine of this National Church is well known to be, " That the Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God, are authentical ; so as, in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto them."* Now, if the King, in granting a patent to a printer, for publishing the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, is actuated by the desire of secur ing them against corruption, might it not be ex pected, that he would provide for publishing them in the original languages, lest the ancient text * Confession of Faith, chap. i. 8. 187 should be depraved by ignorant or heretical print ers, and correctors of the press ? But when was it ever known, that either the Old Testament in Hebrew, or the New Testament in Greek, was published by His Majesty's Printers for Scotland, even when they had the privilege of printing the Bible in all languages ? Perhaps the undertaking was not sufficiently lucrative to encourage them to engage in it. But other printers, with far inferior advantages, and without any exclusive privilege, have been in the constant habit of printing the Greek New Testament, and some of them have done it exceedingly well, though accuracy, in this case, is not nearly so easily attained as in the case ofthe English Bible, the language of which is uni versally intelligible ; and in this case, too, on ac count of the limited demand, and the variety of editions printed by every one who chooses, the profit must be inconsiderable. In speaking of the time which succeeded the expiration of Mrs. Anderson's first patent, it would be injustice to an enterprising and ingenious man, to pass over in silence his neat and carefully executed editions of the Bible — some of which have never since been excelled. James Watson, who had a share of Freebairn's patent, printed Bibles in all the sizes ever known. Four or five editions of small sizes, printed in 1715, 1716, 1719, and 188 1722, are deservedly in great request. His folio Bible of 1722 is also much esteemed.* This man did * The following are the principal editions printed by Watson. (1.) A quarto, printed 1714, produced in the House of Lords in' the case between Mr. Watson and Mr. Baskett; not very correct. (2.) A small octavo, 1715, with engraved title-page, and the original margi nal notes and references; well printed. (3.) A 24tq. printed 171-6. (4.) Another 24to. 1719. (5.) A third 24to. 1722. (6.) A folio, 1722. (7.) A small octavo, with notes and references, 1722, similar to the edition 1715, but inferior in appearance. In 1712, Watson reprinted the Scottish Service Book of 1637, with the Psalms, translated by King James. This was not only an unauthorized, but a prohibited book. He also printed (very beautifully) the Book of Common Prayer, for the use of the Church of England. His edition of 1719 is finer than that of Freebairn in 1713; but this is also very well printed. At this time many Prayer Books were sent from England into Scotland, by a Society, whose charitable contributions were managed by Dr. James and Dr. George Gordon, Mr- Greenshields, and other epis copalian clergy. From a recent communication by Alexander Thomson, Esq. of Banchory, to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, it appears that the Liturgy of the Church of England began to be used in the parish church of Banchory Devenick, Kincardineshire, on the 26th of October, 1712, and that " 200 Books of Common Prayer, given to the minister out of the charity books sent from England to be distri buted gratis," had been " given some weeks before among such of the parishioners as were capable to make use of them; as also' a folio book for the minister, and a quarto for the clerk." How long this form' of worship was permitted in that parish church, is not particu larly mentioned. But though it was provided by law that no preacher be allowed to continue in the church, unless he actually observed the uniformity of worship, which by the Treaty of Union was to continue, without any alteration, in all succeeding generations, we may observe that the complaints of the intolerance of the presby terian establishment cannot have been altogether well founded, if it be true that in March 1710 (more than twenty years after the Revolu tion) not fewer than 113 episcopal ministers enjoyed churches or benefices in Scotland, besides a great many others that preached in meeting-houses. This was before the act to prevent the disturbing of 189 not belong to the combination which was headed by Baskett ; and, having been persecuted by his rivals, he was provoked to do his utmost to excel those of the episcopal communion ill Scotland. ' Numerous references from presbyteries on the subject of innovations in worship by episco palian intruders, came before the General Assembly, as the case of Mr. Andrew Burnet, intruder into the Trinity Kirk of Aberdeen, Mr. David Henderwick, intruder in the College Kirk of Old Aber deen, " where he set up the organs, which manner of worship was never in use in this church ;" Mr. Alexander More, intruder into Fraserburgh, who " though he made use of the books of Common Prayer, yet passed over the prayers therein which concern the queen," &c. ; but it does not appear that many of them were removed, except such as were found guilty of disaffection to the existing government. One of the disorderly clergy was Mr. David Freebairn (father of Ro bert Freebairn, printer,) who, notwithstanding his Jacobitical. preju dices and other offensive peculiarities, was consecrated Bishop of Gal loway, and appointed primus in 1722. He died Bishop of Edinburgh in 1739. — (See Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, continued by Dr. M. Russell. Edinb. 1824. See also Seasonable Warning by the Commission of the General Assembly concerning the danger of Popery. 1713.) In 1714, Dr. John Sharp, an episcopal minister, presented by King's College, took possession of the church of Old Machar, and performed the English service. For many years before this, the copies of the book of Common Prayer, sent from England, must have been very numerous. The following postscript to an episcopalian tract, entitled " Some Seasonable Remarks upon the Seasonable Warning by the Commission of the Church of Scotland concerning the danger of Popery," in 1713, may give an idea of the num bers circulated about the end of the year 1712. " P. S. We have re ceived and distributed to the poorer sort of people in Scotland, sixteen thousand Common Prayer Books, which were bought with the money that was given for that end last Session of Parliament by the Lords and Commons ; by which it' will be found that that wise Par liament had much at heart the security of their church, and have given an additional strength to it, by the encouragement they gave to the propagating their Liturgy in Scotland. This will give the brethren 190 them. How much he surpassed them in the beau ty of his work is obvious at first sight. But he was also incomparably more studious of accuracy than any of his contemporaries in the same office. In the year 1717, the General Assembly instruct ed the Commission " to take the most effectual course to get the printing, vending, and importing of the other side such work at home, that they'll not find leisure to march {as formerly over the Tweed) to reform their neighbours." In the answer to this paper, it is observed that " it sounds harsh to speak of the English service in Scotland ; for it is the laws of Eng land and Church Canons that make it the English Liturgy, and they never pretended to carry it farther than their own nation ; but here there is no law for them, no appointment."— We may add, that the intentions of the noblemen and gentlemen who contributed for the prayer-books could not have been fulfilled if they had depended on an adequate supply from her Majesty's Printer in Scotland, at least before Freebairn's edition was published in 1713; and this, we be lieve, is the earliest Scottish edition of the English Liturgy. At the same period, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christ ian Knowledge was actively employed in circulating Bibles, Confes sions of Faith, Catechisms, and other pious books. In looking at some ofthe old accounts, from 1709 to 1721, we observe that several pur chases of Bibles, Catechisms, and Books of Proverbs, were made from the Queen's Printers in Edinburgh. The Confessions of Faith were all purchased from other booksellers, as well as a great number of Bibles, Catechisms, and Proverbs. The Bibles purchased from her Majesty's Printer were twenty-two pence each, and the Proverbs one shilling per dozen. The prices charged by Thomas Ferguson, bookseller, were twenty-one pence for each Bible, and eleven pence per dozen for the Book of Proverbs. We have not ascertained whe ther these Bibles were printed in England or Scotland; but we know that the Confessions of Faith were not printed at the royal press. , Many- contributions of Bibles, <&c. were furnished by individuals, and destined for the use of necessitous districts. For instance, the Earl of Mar, in 1713, sent 100 Bibles and 200 Psalm Books for the use of the schools and poor in the country of Mar. 191 of incorrect copies of the Holy Scriptures, and of our Confession of Faith, and Catechisms, stopped and prevented." The Commission having been in formed that certain individuals, who had a design of printing the Confession of Faith and Catechisms, were desirous that some members might be appoint ed to oversee the printing, and grant their assistance, nominated a Committee for that effect. The desire had been expressed by James Watson and some of his friends ; but it may be remarked, that the Church did not acknowledge him in his capacity of King's Printer, as having any right to print these stand ards.* The Confession and Catechisms here referred to were what are contained in the first volume of " A Collection of Confessions of Faith, Catechisms, Directories, Books of Discipline, &c. of public au thority in the Church of Scotland," commonly known by the title of Dunlop's Confessions. It is stated in the minutes of the Commission, 1718, and in the preface to the work, that by the direc tion of the committee it had been freed from the errors that had crept into former editions. An en larged committee was then appointed "to review and * A similar collection was printed at Edinburgh by Thomas Lumisden and John Robertson, in 1725. It omits the Book of Common Order, the Palatine Catechism, and Calvin's Catechism ; but it contains all the articles now considered as bearing public au thority, and a few others not included in Dunlop's Collection, though they had been approved "by the church. 2 192 correct the remaining parts of so important a work as a complete collection of books, publicly authoris- ed, relating to the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of this church. And the Commis sion being informed that James Watson, one of his Majesty's Printers, is earnestly desirous to use his utmost diligence and industry to have the Holy Scriptures printed pure and correct, and is willing to bind himself by the strictest engagements to print the Bible exactly, agreeable to a correct copy of it which this Commission shall order it to be re gulated by ; that therefore a proposal tending so much to the honour of religion, might meet with all due countenance and encouragement, the Com mission appoints the above-named ministers and elders, with the utmost diligence and accuracy, to correct a copy of the English Bible, by taking exact notice of any mistake, either as to words and sen tences, or the syllabication, and pointing, and amending it, which corrected copy they shall de liver to the said James Watson, that in exact agree- ableness thereto, the Holy Scriptures may be freed from those errors which many former impressions of them are stained by, and be published in such pu rity and exactness as becomes the infinite import ance and universal usefulness of these sacred oracles." The Commission of the General Assembly, 1719, " Considering that the work of the foresaid Com" 193 mittee is. not yet fully finished, and that it is fit that a proposal tending so much to the honour of religion as is the printing of the Holy Scriptures pure and correct, should meet with all due coun tenance and encouragement, renewed the instruc tions, directions, and powers given by the said for mer Commission to the foresaid persons, ministers, and elders." It was thus that Watson's folio Bible, printed in 1722, attained the degree of accuracy for which it has been generally valued ; and though it might have been improved, it is much to be regretted that similar appointments by the church have not been more frequently obeyed. The General Assembly has ever since that time made it part Of their in structions to the Commission, " to take care* that the impressions of the Holy Scriptures, the Confes sion qf Faith, and Catechisms, and such books as are authorised by this Church, relating to the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, be correct ; and give directions about printing the same."* Although this matter may not have been * In the year 1722, among the instructions given to some of the members of the General Assembly, we observe the following : " that the Assembly take means to stop the great numbers qf incorrect Bibles spread through the country." The Committee, to whose considera tion these instructions were remitted, made the following note: " The Commission is instructed as to this." But the Commission seldom meets, except for the dispatch of urgent business; and for O 194 altogether overlooked, it is not supposed to have occupied any particular attention. So lately, how ever, as the year 1793, the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr unanimously transmitted an overture to the General Assembly, of the following tenor: " Where as it is notorious that the late common edition of the Bible is printed so imperfectly, and on such bad paper, as to be almost illegible, it is overtured that proper means be used that the Bible shall be printed in such a, distinct manner, and on such pa per, that it may be read with ease by the common people." When this overture was brought before the Assembly, a letter from the king's printer to the moderator was read, and specimens of a new edition of the common Bible were produced. The Assembly declared that it was their bounden duty to pay every attention to the printing of the Bible ; but upon considering the letter from his Majesty's printer, and having viewed the specimens which were given in, they thought it unnecessary to pro ceed any farther in the matter at that time. Cer tain it is, that after that time, as well as before, the Bibles used in schools were printed so ill, that many pages had the appearance of being obliterat ed. The paper was said to be made of the refuse many years past, it has been extremely difficult to secure a quorum. Most of the instructions annually renewed may be regarded as a dead letter. • 195 of cotton, and the substance had so little tenacity, that part of it often stuck to the face of the types. In point of correctness, too, there was much room for complaint. It has been reported that one bad impression at least was sent out ofthe country ; but some of those which were circulated at home would have been a reproach to any people; and it must be admitted, that no school book would have been toler ated if printed in so wretched a style. Indeed, it cannot be denied, that the indistinct manner in which the Bible was printed for many years, con tributed ih no small degree to induce teachers to discontinue its use in schools ; and thus at a time when infidelity was most industriously employed in deriding all that is sacred, and rejecting the evi dence of things not seen, the youth of the country enjoyed fewer opportunities than heretofore of be coming familiar with the oracles of divine truth.* It * During the greater part of the last century, children were generally taught to read in country schools, by using first the Shorter Catechism, then the Proverbs, afterwards the New Testament, and, lastly, the Bible. The New Testaments (as well as the Catechism and Proverbs) used in schools, were very commonly printed at Glasgow. The edi tion printed at Glasgow in 1737, by Alexander Carmichael and Alex ander Millar in Company, and another in 1748, by John Robertson and Mrs. M'Lean in Company, appear to be correct as well as legible ; only the supplied words are not distinguished. As connected with this subject, ¦ the following act and resolution respecting the religious education of youth deserves to be quoted : — " At Edinburgh, the 26th day of May, 1794. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, taking into their serious consideration the O 2 196 may be said, Could not the Bible have been imported from England ? No doubt it could. But the English printers at that time furnished an inadequate sup ply of this kind of Bibles ; and before the establish ment of the Bible Societies, this traffic was not thought worthy of very great attention, as it was easy for the printers to occupy themselves in more lucrative work. The Synod of Glasgow and Ayr did themselves the credit of again calling the attention of the church and the nation to this subject in the following overture. — "Ayr, 12th April, 1796. Whereas it was overtured by the Synod of Glas gow and Ayr, (April 1793) that the common edition ofthe Bible was inaccurately printed, and growth of licentiousness, both in principle and practice ; and being fully persuaded that this evil, wherever it prevails, is in a great mea sure to be ascribed to the neglect of the religious education of youth ; and the Assembly being well informed, that the ancient and laudable practice of instructing youth in the principles of religion, by means of the holy Scriptures, and the Catechisms received and acknowledged by this Church, has been much neglected in many parochial and other English and Latin Schools, particularly in the cities and towhs of this kingdom : Wherefore, the General Assembly being resolved, -as far as in them lies, to provide a remedy for this evil ; did, and hereby do, strictly require and enjoin, that all parochial schoolmasters, and other teachers of schools within this church, shall cause the Holy Bible to be read as a regular exercise in their several schools, by the children under their care. The General Assembly do moreover require and enjoin, that the Shorter Catechism, agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and approved of by this church, shall be taught in all parochial and other schools ; and that the children be required to commit this Catechism to memory, and by frequent repe tition to fix it deep in their minds," &c. 197 in many parts illegible ; and whereas the Assem bly inquiring into this matter, had satisfying spe cimens laid before them of a new edition beino- in the press, and which it was by them understood was to be then soon published, agreeable to said specimens; and whereas it does not appear that his Majesty's printers have made any progress in said publication since that period, it is therefore humbly overtured to the ensuing General Assem bly, that they inquire into the causes of such delay, and appoint said publication to be made with all convenient speed, or otherwise proceed in this business as they shall see cause." The As sembly dismissed this overture, " in respect that the important object mentioned in it has already , been obtained by the printing and publication of a new edition of the Bible." The Assembly did not venture to declare that this new edition which appeared three years after it was understood to be ready, was either accurate or very legible. An edition, published in the course of that year, with Canne's notes, (of which copies may still be found in what is called the Old King's Ware house, and in many booksellers shops,) presents to the eye one ofthe most disagreeable specimens of typography in the world; and is so far from being legible, that it is difficult to say whether it is correct or not. A common duodecimo Bible, published in 1795, and a pocket Bible in 1796, 198 though not so very bad, are but a few degrees better. It is certainly not a little extraordinary, that, notwithstanding the prodigious demand for Bibles, there is scarcely any book of the least note, of which we have so few good editions, and so many bad ones, as the Bible. Of such classics as Livy, Horace, and Virgil, highly admired as they are, the number wanted must be a hundred fold less than the number of Bibles. It is easy to mention editions of these classics printed in this part of the island, which are not only beautiful, but almost faultless, and yet it would be esteemed an insuf ferable grievance if scholars could not import edi tions for which they happen to have a greater fancy. It is not incumbent on the Bible Societies, in representing the hardship with which they are at present threatened, to show that they could be nefit themselves materially by importing English printed Bibles. In England, monopoly does not take place, and is not likely to do so ; but even there the business is on an unsatisfactory footing, and has never yet attained the excellence of which it is susceptible. About the time we are speak ing of, a London bookseller * says, " Neither the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, nor the King's Printers at London, have distin guished themselves for their typographical exer- * Lemoine's History of the Art of Printing, 1797. 199 tions in publishing a pocket Bible ; an article very much wanted. The Cambridge Bible, in 24to. is too thick ; the London Bible islwpon bad paper ; and npthing can be said in favour ofthe Oxford pock et Bihle." The same author, says elsewhere, speak ing of , editions undertaken by private individuals, " The emulation produced, and the consequence of the exercise of the liberal arts, has never manifested itself more of late years than in this article of Bible printing; while the two Universities, and the King's Printers have brought out nothing above medjocrity. It would have reflected honour upoh their privileges and patents, had they exerted their superiority, and not left it to individuals to excel them in their own province." The author alludes not so much to the work of Macklin, which is ex ceedingly splendid, as to that of BaskerviUe, for the liberty of printing which he is said to have paid a considerable sum to the University of Cam bridge ; and the still more useful editions of Bishop Wilson,, printed at Bath, and of Mr. Heptinstall, Mr. Bowyer, and Mr. Ritchie, printed at London, as well as the cabinet and unique Bible, Lond. 1791, and the Bible printed by Pine of Bristol, which Le- moine says is far preferable to that of Scatcherd and Whitaker, Lond. 1790. The gentlemen who at present enjoy the patent in Scotland, are perhaps superior to any of their prede cessors during the last century, with the exception of 200 James Watson. But it cannot be denied that much of this excellence is to be ascribed to the competing interests with which they have hitherto contended, and which they hre so anxious to extinguish. And if, even while the competition exists, many of their editions are neither so good nor so cheap as simi lar editions published in England, (where, we must say, they are not in general so good or so cheap as they should be,) what may be expected if all rival ry were annihilated ? or even if these individuals be incapable of degenerating, though they were to have the people of Scotland at their mercy, what security have we that their heirs and assignees, or the next patentees, may not be as sordid and self ish, and regardless of professional character, as the heirs of Andrew Anderson, printer to Charles the Second ? And may we not retort one of the argu ments contained in the Information for his Majes ty's Printers? "It is easy to suppose that private individuals may, by some beneficial arrangement with the King's Printer, obtain leave to print Bibles. And there is no protection against an in undation of Bibles printed in the most incorrect and slovenly manner, and reduced, in all respects, to so imperfect a form as to be greatly injurious to the public."* * We do not know if any thing is paid for the liberty of selling in Scotland various editions of the Bible, which are hawked throughout 201 The members of the Bible Societies do not ad mire the prudence of the attempt to interfere with their operations, which they are sure have hitherto been beneficial in the highest degree to every one engaged, in the sale of Bibles. By their efforts to render the Sacred Volume more ex tensively esteemed and valued, they must have greatly increased the demand. They have, in the course of twenty years, done more than had been done in all the past ages of the church to furnish the means of reading the word of God to the in habitants of the British empire, as well as to the people of almost every other land.* They have printed and circulated among the Highlanders, among the Irish, the Manks, and the Welsh, a greater number of copies of the Scriptures in the language of each of these tribes, than had been pro vided for the whole people of Scotland by all the the country, and exposed in many of the shops ; and we do not un derstand how printers, who have no drawback allowed on the paper, can undersell the king's printer. * From March 7, 1804, to September 17, 1805, the British and Foreign Bible Society issued no books, as the Universities had not completed their stereotype editions. From September 1805 to March 31, 1823, (17^ years) their issue of Bibles and Testaments in Great Britain alone amounted to 3,151,837, and on the continent of Europe to 762,474. If we add the issue of the last year, we shall find the total not to be much less than four millions and a half. Besides this great circulation of the Scriptures by the parent society, other socie ties in connexion with it have printed above one million of copies of the whole sacred books, and about the same number of the New Tes- 202 monarchs of the House of Stewart, from the time of James IV. who first appointed a printer, to the Revolution in 1688.* Even the best of our kings tament. In addition to numerous reprints of at least forty received versions, about 100 new translations have been executed, either wholly or in part, under the direction and at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The following are a few of the languages in which the greatest number of copies have been printed or purchased by the Society, previously to March 31, 1823. English,Welsh,Gaelic, Irish, Manks, French,Spanish,Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, German,Greek, ancient and modern, Greek, modern, Hebrew, . Arabic, Arabic Psalter, Syriac,Malay, Ditto in Arabic character, Turkish, Hindoostanee,Ethiopic Psalter, 1,399,916 Bibles, 1,318,816 Testaments. 65,377 124,352 28,500 43,700 5000 17,801 5000 2250 57,500 189,000 5000 75,000 10,000 35,000 18,000 27,000 10,000 15,000 15,000 38,100 13,000 5250 . 4450. 3000 . 5000 . 15,000 . 3700 . 11,000 . 6000 . 10,000 . 10,000 , 5000 . 5000 , 2100 . * The New Testament ih Gaelic was never published till 1767. The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge pub lished 31,000 copies before the end of the eighteenth century; and since the commencement of the nineteenth, they have published 45,000 Bibles and 30,000 Testaments. The British and Foreign Bible So ciety, within the last seventeen years, have published about 30,000 Gaelic Bibles, and 45,000 Gaelic Testaments. As to the Irish, 4000 Bibles and 3000 Testaments were published in that language in the seventeenth century, chiefly for the Highlands of Scotland. In the 203 have not done so much for the spiritual welfare of the interesting portion of their subjects now re ferred to.* The same societies have obtained im pressions of the English Bible, greatly superior in eighteenth century, two small editions of the Irish New Testament are said to have been published, one of them exclusively for the Highlanders. Since the year 1806, 2000 copies of the Gospels and Acts were printed by Dr. Stokes, and subsequently the British and Foreign Bible Society have published 5600 Bibles and 17,800 Testa ments. All the others mentioned here were furnished by private in dividuals. Of the Welsh Scriptures, 800 Bibles and 800 Testaments were furnished by private individuals in the sixteenth century ; and since that period 28,000 Bibles and 4000 Testaments have been con tributed also by private individuals. Since the year 1718, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge have published 97,500 Bibles and 4000 Testaments. In seventeen years the British and Foreign Bible Society have published 65,377 Bibles and 124,352 Testaments. The Manks Scriptures were first published* in parts, by the Society for Pro moting Christian Knowledge ; and altogether about 6100 Bibles and Testaments have been furnished by that Society, and by private in dividuals since 1764. The British and Foreign Bible Society, since the year 1812, have published 7250 Bibles and Testaments in the Manks language. * After the Revolution, great exertions were made in England to . raise funds for the publication of the Scriptures in the Irish language, chiefly for the use of the Highlanders. In the year 1690, the agent for the church of Scotland received from London 3000 Irish Bibles, 1000 New Testaments, and 3000 Catechisms. The Lords of the Treasury in Scotland were authorized to give £1000 Scots (£83, 6s. 8d. Sterling) out of the vacant stipends of the churches of which the king is patron, for binding these Bibles. Other gifts from the king were applied by the General Assembly to purposes connected with the reformation of the Highlands. But in the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne, the Highlands were less indebted to the royal munificence, than to the good offices of private individuals and Christian associations. It is scarcely necessary to mention the Socie ty in England for promoting Christian knowledge, the contribu tions in Edinburgh for the erection of Highland schools about the year 1701, and the liberal donation of more than £1200 Sterling by 2 204 utility to the generality of editions which were ever printed before. The societies in Scotland cannot afford to print separate editions, without great waste of their funds, a large proportion of which is considered as destined by the contributors to the promotion of foreign objects. They know, too, that several beneficial regulations established for the printers of the Bible in England have never been enforced on the king's printers for Scotland. For instance, when complaint was made to George I. that the Bibles in the time of Baskett were print ed on bad paper and with bad letter ; that due nearly two hundred individuals in England, towards the establish ment of libraries in the Highlands. The queen was pleased to give £120 Sterling from the revenue of Scotland, to defray the charge of conveying the books from London; and thus in the year 1705, nine teen presbyterial libraries, an&fifty-eight parochial libraries were form ed in the Highlands. Considerable additions were made to these li braries in subsequent years. It is melancholy to reflect on the sudden disappearance of most of these useful repositories of piety and learning. The titles of the books, and the manner in which they were disposed, are recorded in the registers of the church. We observe among them numerous copies of the Scriptures in various languages, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Latin, French, &c. and particularly of different editions of King James's translation, all printed in London, from the folio 1611 to the quarto of 1702, of which last edition many copies were sent. Allihese books were destined to the use of ministers, preachers, arid school masters. In looking at the catalogue, we have noticed nearly fifty editions of the Scriptures, not one of them printed in Scotland. In 1725, George I. gave £1000, to be applied by the General As sembly for the reformation of the Highlands and Islands. This Royal Bounty has been annually repeated ever since, and of late years has been doubled. By an act of Parliament passed in 1718, it was pro vided that £20,000, arising from the sale of forfeited estates, should be appropriated towards erecting and maintaining schools in the High lands ; but this grant appears never to have been made effectual. 205 care was not used in correcting the press, and that the books were sold at unreasonable prices ; His Majesty issued an order, (dated Whitehall, 24th April, 1724,) that all Bibles shall be printed on pa per as good as the specimens, of which four copies were to be delivered; also that the' patentees shall employ such correctors of the press, and allow them such salaries as shall be approved of from time to time by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, and that they shall print on the title page of each book the exact price at which each book is to be sold to the booksellers. Such a regulation must have proved advantageous both to the booksellers and to the public, and whe ther it may have been uniformly observed or not, it is a satisfaction to the people of England to know that it is binding. If any part of it applied to Scotland, it is certain that the most essential clauses in the order have not been put in practice. The prices of the Bibles printed in Scotland have not been impressed on the title pages, and correct ors of the press have not been appointed with the approbation of any ecclesiastical authority ; for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lon don, having no jurisdiction on this side of the Tweed, would not have been the only names inserted in the order if it had extended beyond the kingdom of England. 206 Surely it will not be insinuated that the order was not extended to Scotland, because the Bibles had been printed in so perfect a manner in Scot land as never to have given occasion to any com plaint. No complaint may have reached the throne or the council-board, but it does not follow that no cause of complaint existed. The complaints had been frequent and loud, but the government had never given any effectual redress to the grievances which were again and again brought under the view of the Privy Council of Scotland. This ne glect of the public interest is not to be attributed to the temporary prevalence of any undue influ ence during a particular reign. It is chargeable almost equally on every successive administration, from the restoration of Charles II. to the accession of George II. We are anxious to give all due praise to the editions of the Bible which have of late been pub lished in Scotland, and we own that they are, in general, improved in their appearance within the last fifteen years.* But we do not think them * We do not hesitate to say, however, that some Edinburgh editions in duodecimo,, printed about 1808 and 1809, are very nearly as ille gible as those which were so, much complained of in the year 1793. The paper was not perhaps so very coarse, but the ink was as bad ; and in all respects these Bibles were so inferior to those which were printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1809, that the Edinburgh Bible Society instituted at that time, though they would have been glad to find, in their own city, a supply of Bibles for home 207 nearly so correct as they ought to be; and we could point out various mistakes in a considerable number of them, and some of them mistakes of no small importance. We have every reason to believe that his Majesty's printers receive with gratitude every communication which enables them to correct an error, however minute ; and in this respect we understand that they are more deserv ing of public confidence than some of the privi leged printers, whose successful efforts to exclude from the English market Bibles printed in Scot-. land, must be regarded as the origin of this omin ous act of retaliation on the part of His Majesty's printers for Scotland. We cannot bestow unreserv ed commendation on the Bible of Messrs. Eyre and Strahan. Some even ofthe stereotype editions, print ed forthe British and Foreign Bible Society, have admitted a few literal errors. The English universi ties do not print Bibles nearly so well as they print some other books ; and unless some stricter regu lations shall be enforced, they cannot be expected to print them better now, after they have succeed ed in excluding from England the Bibles of one of their rivals. Still, however, they are fully distribution, had no other alternative than to go to the English mar ket. The English Bibles which they circulated at first were all stereo typed at the press of the university of Cambridge, with the exception of one pocket edition printed at Edinburgh, which was considered to be good and cheap. 208 equal to most of our Scottish editions, the errata of which we do not wish invidiously to point out, though we think it is incumbent upon us to take notice of a few, to show what may be expected if all competition shall be prevented. In a quarto edition, (printed by Mark and Charles Kerr, in 1791,) we observe the 33d verse ofthe 119th Psalm printed thus : " Make me not to go in the way of thy commandments." In two quarto editions, 1811 and 1814, " the blast ofthe terrible ones is as a stone against the wall," instead of a storm. * In a New Testament, printed in a large type in 1816, instead of" let all things be done decently" (1 Cor. xiv. 40,) the text is printed "let all tongues be done decently." In a very pretty pocket Bible, printed in 1816, Acts i. 14, we find, " Mary the mother of James," for " Mary the mother of Jesus, f" An octavo Bible, printed in 1806, contains many errors, of which the following is a specimen : we looketh, for he,. (Numb. xxi. 8.) This fellows for his fellows, * The Psalms of one of these editions contain the following error : Psalm liiii 1. They are corrupt, their works are vile, That one of them doth good, Instead of Not one of them doth good. t In an English edition, the more indecent error of substituting the name of Judas for Jesus, is said to have been committed. But this we have not seen. 209 (Dan. vii. 20.) they pomp, instead of thy pomp, (Isa. xiv. 11.) te king instead of the king, (Isa. xxxvi. 2.) Moanites for Moabites, (Judges x. 12.) Son qf men for Son of man, (Ez. xii. 18.) Michael for Michal, (1 Chron. xv.) thy faith had for hath, (Mark v. 34.) after Esther for after Easter, (Acts xii. 4.) In two editions, both printed in 1818, we cannot turn the first leaf of the New Testa ment, without perceiving at least one error in each. In one we find, he saw the Spirit of God descending live (instead of like) a dove; and in the other, he saw the Spirit qf God descending like a dove, and fight ing (instead of lighting) upon him. We know of several mistakes in a later edition, some of which we believe have been corrected as soon as they were pointed out; but by greater care they might have been avoided. And whether these errors be in general of such magnitude, as to deserve exem plary punishment or not, we are sure that they would have been sufficient to depreciate the value of an edition of Caesar's Commentaries, or Ovid's Metamorphoses. We cannot divine with what remedy the public are to be favoured, if they shall be precluded from exercising their accustom ed right, enjoyed from time immemorial, of pu nishing a careless editor or printer of the Scrip tures, by purchasing editions more worthy of their 210 approbation, and leaving the unmarketable goods in the hands of the manufacturer. In reality* the mode of printing the Bible in Scotland, whether well or ill executed, has been under worse regulation during the last century than it had been originallyi When the first edition was undertaken by Arbuthnot and Bassandyne, the printers proposed and acted upon conditions the same in their effect with those which were after wards prescribed in England by George I. A price was fixed, which appeared reasonable to the church* ---the authentic copy was received from the church, and the church also appointed correctors. This great anxiety to attain accuracy, affords no pre sumption that the church would have been dis posed to exclude Bibles from the country which were not revised in the same manner. It would have been a matter of conscience with them to correct the work faithfully, although not a single copy had been destined for the use of their countrymen. They Would have considered themselves guilty of disseminating error, if they had suffered any part of the sacred oracles to go forth info the world in a state of incorrectness. With regard to such copies as they imported, they might generally be able to fall upon some method of ascertaining the quality of the editions. Andif, at any time,difficulties attended the importation from acoun- 211 try which was sometimes hostile, it was the more ne cessary to exercise the most scrupulous vigilance with regard to the correctness of the comparatively few copies which were printed at home, as it might often happen that no opportunity was afforded to the possessors of an incorrect edition tO' rectify it by another. '¦ The necessity for practising some such regula tion has not ceased. If importation were ever so free, and if the English editions of the Bible were much more decidedly preferable than they are, we may be assured,, that, as long as Bibles are printed in Scotland, (as we trust they will never cease to be,) they will find purchasers ; and if they are dis persed among the population with material- errors imbodied in them, it. is impossible to calculate how much the cause of truth may suffer. It would not be enough to excuse those who have the power of correcting, that the people have opportunities of procuring unexceptionable copies if they choose: Many people would look no farther than the qua lity of the paper and print ; and an edition must be read by persons of intelligence and principle be fore its character can be known. It is, of vast con sequence, therefore, that, though the traffic be per fectly free, the greatest care shall be taken to prevent any edition from being published before it has been duly examined. r 2 212 It was our intention to make some remarks on the points referred to in the Bill of Suspension, as having been at first maintained, and afterwards given up, by the booksellers. We do not sub scribe to those concessions, said to have been made on the part of the booksellers ; and some of them have already been incidentally discussed. On the alleged origin*of the Crown's prerogative we must be permitted to offer a few observations. This, it is said by his Majesty's Printers, is admitted to be the same in Scotland as in England ; and they refer, in their different papers, to the opinion of two English judges, namely, Mr. Justice Yates, and Lord Chief Baron Skinner. These opinions are quoted as follows : In' the famous case of Miller v. Taylor, Mr. Justice Yates thus explains the Crown's prerogative, as to printing the Bible. ' The grand argument that was drawn from these injunctions [injunctions upon grants and patents from the Crown, for the sole printing of what are called prerogative copies)] is this, that there are certain books, such as the Bible, Common Prayer Book, Acts of Parliament, and the like, which are usu ally called prerogative copies, which the Crown has the sole right of publishing ; and if the King may have a legal proper ty in these, there is no reason why private authors may not claim a sole right in their own compositions. — That there is. such a right in the Crown, is undoubtedly true ; but this is confined to compositions of a particular nature ; and to me seems to stand upon principles entirely different from the claim of an author. It is not from any pretence of dominion over printing that this prerogative right is derived ; for the Crown has cer tainly no right of control over the press. But it is to particular 213 copies that this right does extend ; and as no other person is per mitted to publish them, without authority from the Crown, tha King is said to have a property in them. This kind of proper ty has the additional distinction of prerogative property. The right is grounded on another foundation, and is founded upon a distinction that cannot exist in common property, and in the case of a subject. The books are Bibles, Common Prayer Books, and all extracts from them, ( such as Primers, Psalters, Psalms,) and Almanacks. These have relation to the national religion or government, or the political constitution. Other publications, to which the King's right of publication extends, are the statutes, acts of parliament, and state papers. The king's. right to all these is as the Head of the Church, and of the political consti tution." These maxims, (say his Majesty's printers,) apply to ScotT land equally as to England ; for though, in one sense, the King of Scotland is not the Spiritual Head of the Presbyterian Church, and has no direct control over it in matters of doctrine and discipline, still he is empowered and enjoined, by various acts of parliament, and the Confession of Faith, to exercise very extensive powers in calling General Assemblies of the Church, in acting as its political head and protector, and in suppressing heresy and schism. To the same effect as the foregoing opinion of, Mr. Jus tice Yates, the judgment of the Court of Exchequer was de livered in the case of Eyre and Strahan v. Carnan, in the year 1781, by Lord Chief Baron Skinner. His Lordship ob serves, as to the privilege of printing the Bible, " The privi lege of the patentee has in fact been always executed with the exclusion of all other printers. It is, therefore, in conside ration of law, a monopoly ; but it is a monopoly supported by long usage, and standing upon very special grounds of neces? sity and public utility : for it is of manifest public utility to place in proper hands the right of such publications, as well upon account of the special care and superintendence which a trust of such importance necessarily requires, as because the exclusive right of doing or authorising any acts, in which the public is interested, implies an obligation to exercise that right in such a manner as to answer the purposes for which it was 214 given; and, consequently, the right now in question imposes upon the Crown an obligation to publish and disperse as many books of divine service as the interest of religion and the de mands of the public require. It appears, then, that the right claimed by the ipkintiffs, under the grant to John Baskett, is founded in public > convenience, is supported by long usage, and that it has been acknowledged by the unanimous opinions of all the Judges. Under such circumstances, we think, it is not now to be considered as a doubtful right." Here we must be permitted to observe, that, if such an obligation be imposed upon the Crown of Scotland as is here stated to be imposed on the Crown of England, it would be desirable to know what redress the subjects are to procure, if the right of the -Grown be not exercised in such a man ner as to answer the purposes for which it was given? Is it to depend on the discretion of the CroWn, or of the officer to whom the Crown is said to convey its whole powers, for one or two genera tions, Whether the people are to have Bibles at all, or in what form they are to be printed ? And how are the demands of the public to be satisfied if the Crown (as has formerly happened) shall think fit to appoint no printer for this purpose in Scotland, and leave the people to be supplied from England, or any where else as they best can ? Is it in the power of the Crown to prevent a new translation of the Scriptures -from being published by any in dividual or association, by whose labours it may be executed ? And if new translations may be pub- 215 lished, and have been frequently published, ; by printers having no patents, where is the security that the text shall be preserved by the power of the Crown from all risk of being corrupted ? If, on the other hand, the King's Printers shall insist on printing all varieties of translations, how are the unlearned to know which is the pure text, and which the corrupt ? as in that case his Majesty would condescend, with inconsistent facility, to give equal countenance to every mode of faith, and every shade of religious opinion, as being a form of sound words ; so that all who looked up to the Sovereign as the guardian of orthodox belief, would be carried about with divers and strange doctrines. But it is more to our purpose at present to ob serve, that, though all the judges in England may have been unanimous, with regard to the existence of a right in the English Crown to publish what are called prerogative copies, they have not been all agreed with respect to the description of works included in this title, and much less have they been agreed with respect to the origin of the Crown's prerogative. With respect to the catena dar, it was found in the case of the Stationers Company against Carnan, — a case stated out of Chancery for the opinion of the Court of Common Pleas, (Blackst. Reports, 1004,) that the Crown had no prerogative or power to make such a grant 216 to the plaintiffs exclusive of any other ; and it is difficult to perceive on what grounds this decision proceeded, if it was not on the argument for the defendants, that the Crown was not at the expense of making the calendar as it Was of translating the Bible.* Mr. Justice Yates, however, included the Calendar (or Almanack, which is the same thing) in the number of prerogative copies, as being an ex tract from the Common Prayer Book, and, in sup port of his opinion, quoted several cases, which seem to have been considered afterwards by the Court of Common Pleas as unworthy of notice ; as, for in. stance, the case of the Stationers' Company against * In this ease it was argued for the Plaintiffs that the regu lation of time is a matter of state, — that the Calendar cannot be al tered but by act of Parliament, — that Almanacks are parts of an act of Parliament, — that the trial by almanack is a knowu mode of trial at common law, and the almanack printed by authority is the only one the Court could refer to. — It was answered for the defendant, That, as to their authenticity, none of the cases showed that the Cpurt was bound by the almanack, in case it were erroneous — but, if authentic, it did not follow that the King had a power to limit the right of printing it, any more than he has a power, because the London Gazette is authentic, to prevent other printers from printing other newspapers. " Their whole authority (it was added) depends on their correctness. The way to make them correct, is to permit an emulation and rivalship. Those printed by the Company are shame fully incorrect. For instance, in Rider's Almanack for this year (1775,) -Plow-Monday is said to happen on Saturday the 7th of January. The advertisement prefixed to Poor Robin is exceedingly immodest and in decent, and could never have passed under the revision of the Reve rend Prelates (the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lon don) named in the patent." 217 Partridge, which was never determined, and the case of the Stationers' Company against Seymour, which was determined in the days of high prerogative* soon after the licensing act, but no solid grounds of true prerogative were stated in the case. But with regard to the origin of the Crown's prerogative, how few of the Judges have expressed the same opinion with Mr. Justice Yates. Most of them have given a judgment which would de prive the Crown of Scotland of an exclusive right to appoint any one to print the present version of the Scriptures. Thus Mr. Justice Willes quotes Lord Hardwicke, as saying in the case of Tonson v. Walker and MercJiant, " Distinctions are taken upon the ground of the king's pro perty in Bibles, Latin Grammars, Common- Prayer, and Year- Books ; that they were made and published at the expense of the crown ; ergo the king's property. These arguments being allowed to support that right, infer such a property existing:" — Mr. Justice Willes then adds, " Lord Hardwicke laid great stress on the argument made use of to support crown copies, as presuming the property of authors. That argument has since prevailed: and it has been since solemnly adjudged, 'that there are copies of which the king is proprietor.'" — This court had no idea that the king, by prerogative, had any power to restrain printing, which is a trade and manufacture; or to grant an exclusive privilege of printing any book whatsoever ; except as a subject might, by reason of the copy being his property.— The Court agreed with Mr. Justice Powell, who said, in the case ofthe Stationers' Company v. Partridge, "You must show some property in the crown, and bring it within 218 the case of the Common Prayer Book.' Mr. Yorke argued if upon this ground. — It is settled, then, ' that the king is own er of the copies of all books or writings which he had the sole right originally to publish ; as Acts of Parliament, Orders of Council, Proclamations, the Common Prayer , Book.' These and such like are his own works, as he represents the state. So likewise, where by purchase he had the right originally to publish.; as the Latin Grammar, the Year Books, &c. And in these last cases the property of the crown stands exactly on the same footing as private copy-right : As to the Year Books, be cause the crown was at the expense of taking the notes ; and as to the Latin Grammar, because it paid for the compiling and publishing it. The right of the crown to these books is independent of every prerogative idea." — Mr. Justice Willes af terwards observes, " I can not distinguish between the king and an author. I disclaim any idea that the king has the, least control over the press, but what arises from his property in the copy." Mr. Justice Aston (in the same cause) said, " In the Stationers' Company v. Partridge, it seems that the crown's sole or original right to publish was founded in property. In S Mod. 75 — that the property vests in the king, where no in- - dividual person can claim a property in the thing. This argu ment shows that Pemberton thought he could rest the case and the right of the crown upon property only : For here, to get at such ground, the argument is far-fetched and misapplied ; because, in a case of this kind, if there is no private property, it would not belong to the king, but be common, like animals feroe natural, or air, water, or the like. And the case of Bas kett and the University of Cambridge is a solemn well-consider ed determination upon the ground of the original right of pub lication belonging to the king." Lord Chief Justice Mansfield concurred in the opinions of Justices Willes and Aston, and said, " The king has no property in the art of printing. The king has no authority to restrain the press, on account of the 219 subject-matter upon which the author writes, or his manner of treating it. The king can not, by law, grant an exclusive pri vilege to print any book which does not belong to himself. Grown copies are, as in the case of an author, civil property : which is deduced, as in the case of an author, .from the king's right of original publication. The kind of property in the crown, or a patentee from the crown, is just the same ; incor poreal, incapable of violation but by a civil injury, and only to be vindicated by the same remedy, an action upon the cas^, or a bill in equity. There were no questions in Westminster- hall, before the Restoration, as to crown copies. The reason is very obvious : It will occur to every one that hears me. The fact, however, is so j There were none before the Restoration. Upon every patent which has been litigated since, the counsel for the patentee, (whatever else might be thrown out, or what ever encouragement they might have, between the Restoration and Revolution, to throw out notions of power and prerogative,) have tortured their invention to stand upon property. Upon Rolle's Abridgment, they argued from the Year Books, which are there abridged, « that the Year Books having been compiled at the king's expense, -were the king's property, and therefore the printing of them belonged to his patentee.' Upon Croke's Reports, they contended, ' that the king paid the judges who made the decisions : Ergo, the decisions were his.' The Judges of Westminster-hall thought they belonged to the author ; that is, to the purchaser from, or the executor of, the author : But, so far the controversy turned upon property. In Seymour's case, 1 Mod. 256, (who printed Gadbury's Almanac, without leave of the Stationers" Company, who had a patent for the sole printing of Almanacs,) Pemberton resorted to property. He argued, (besides arguing from the prerogative,) ' that an Al manac has no certain author : Therefore the king has the pro perty ; and, by consequence, may grant his property.' It was far-fetched ; and, it is truly said, ' that the consequence did not follow.' For, if there was no certain author, the property would not be the king's, but common. Pemberton was a very able lawyer, and saw the necessity of getting at property if he could make it out. — All the decrees in Chancery, and the judg ments at common law upon Almanacs, are now out of the case, 220 and all the doctrine of prerogative rejected, by what was done in the case of the Stationers' Company and Partridge. — It came on, in the year 1709, before Lord Cowper, on continuing the injunction. There is no report of it, I believe, in print ; at least I have not seen any. I have read the . bill and answer. The bill puts it upon all the prerogative notions of power ; and insists, that the king's patentee had a sole exclusive right of printing Almanacs. The answer insists, that these were extra vagant illegal notions ; that they were taken up at times when the prerogative ran high, and when the dispensing power was allowed : And it insists, that the question* ought, since the re volution, to be argued upon proper principles, -consistent with the rights and privileges of the subject. The defendants denied the authority of all the cases stated by the bill, as far as they went upon prerogative right. Lord Cowper continued the in junction till hearing. I have office copies of all the orders and pleas that were cited ; I dare say I have thirty or forty of them. It appears that these decrees were all read, and that the judg ment of the House of Lords was read and gone through.. -Lord Harcourt afterwards heard the cause. He did not choose, in a case about Almanacs, to decide upon prerogative. He there fore made a case of it, for the opinion of this Court, Lord Parker being then Chief Justice. This Court, so far as it went, inclined against the right of the crown in Almanacs. But, to this hour, it has never been determined ; and the injunction granted by Lord Cowper still continues. I have Salkeld's ma nuscript report (and have had it many years) of what passed in this court in the course of the argument of this case of the Company of Stationers against Partridge. I do not know whe ther it is got into print; I have not seen it in print. Mr. Yorke had a copy of it when he argued the case of the University of Cambridge and Baskett. Mr. Salkeld argued for the defendant Partridge ; Sir Peter King for the plaintiffs. I will state to you, so far as is material to the argument, how they put it, and the only grounds that they thought tenable. Mr. Salkeld, after positively and expressly denying any prerogative in the crown over the press, or any power to grant any exclusive privilege, says, ' I take the rule in all these cases to "be, that where the crown has a property or right of copy, the king may grant it 221 The crown may grant the sole printing of Bibles in the Eng. lish translation, because it was made at the king's charge. The same reason holds as to the Statutes, Year Books, and Common Prayer Books.'— Sir Peter King, for the plaintiffs, argues thus, (throwing out, at the same time, the things that I have already mentioned, though he don't seem to be very serious in it,) 'I argue, that if the crown has a right to the Common Prayer Book, it has a right to every part of it. And the Calendar is a part of the Common Prayer Book. And an Almanac is the ssime thing with the Calendar,' &c— Mr. Justice Powell says, ' You must distinguish this from the common cases of monopo lies ; by showing some properly in the crown, and bringing it within the case of the Common Prayer Book.' And he rather inclined to think « that Almanacks might be the King's, be cause there is a trial by Almanacks' To which Lord Parker re plied, « that he never heard of such a thing as a trial by Alma nack.' They leave it upon this. It stood over for another ar gument, to see if -they could make it like the case of the Com mon Prayer Book. I don't know what happened afterwards : but there never was any judgment ; and though I have made strict inquiry, I don't find that there was ever any opinion given. " I heard Lord Hardwicke say what Mr. Justice Willes has quot ed, as to "these arguments from property in support ofthe king's right, necessarily inferring an author's. The case of Baskett and the University of Cambridge was then depending in this Court, when Lord Hardwicke made use of that expression or argument : It has «ince been determined. We had no idea of any preroga-. tive in the crown over the press, or of any power to restrain it by exclusive privileges : or of any power to control the sub ject matter on which a man might write, or the manner in which he might treat it. We rested upon property from the king's right qf original publication. Acts of Parliament are the works of the legislature, and the publication of them has always belonged to the king as the executive part, and as the head and sovereign. — The art of printing has only varied the mode. And, though printing be within legal memory, we thought the usage since the invention of printing very material. Whoever looks into Mr. Yorke's argument, upon which the opinion of the court in that case in a great measure went, (I do 222 not say throughout,; but in a great measure,) will see the great pains he takes to show the original property in the crown. " The copy of the Hebrew Bible, the Greek Testament, or the Septuagint, does not belong to the king ; it is common. But the English translation he bought ; therefore it has been concluded to be his property. If any man should turn the Psalms, or the writings of Solomon or Job into verse, the king Could not stop the printing or sale of such a work ; it is the author's work. The king has no power or control over the subject matter ; his power rests in property. His whole right rests upon the « foundation of properly in the copy by the common lavs. What Other ground can there be for the king's having a property in the Latin Grammar, (which is one of his ancientest copies,) than that it was originally composed at his expense?" The judgment of the Court of King's Bench in this case, finding that literary property is perpetual, came under the review of the House of Lords in the discussion of the Appeal from a decree in Chancery, in the case of Donaldson t\ Becket, founded on that judgment. The general principles expressed by Lord Mansfield were not affected by the final decision of the cause in the House of Lords, which proceeded upon the construction of the copyright act. Three questions were submit ted by the Lords to the twelve judges ; Lord Mansfield did not give an opinion, as the judgment under consideration had been pronounced by him self. Of eleven judges, it was the opinion of eight to three that, at common law, an author of any book had the sole right of first printing it for sale, and might bring an action against any person 223 printing it without his consent; of seven to four, that the law did not take away his right upon his printing and publishing such book, and that no person might reprint and sell it against his will ; and of six to five, that such action, at common law, against any one reprinting against an author's will, ^ has been taken away by the statute of 8th Anne ; so that he is precluded from every remedy except on the foundation of that statute. Lord Mansfield was known to have agreed with the eight on the first question ; with the seven on the second ; and with the five on the third question ; on which the judgment of the Court of King's Bench had rested. On this last point there was, in fact, an equality of opinions. But the principles maintained by Lord Mansfield on the subject of literary property, which had been opposed by Mr. Justice Yates, were support ed by a great majority of the twelve judges. And after this decision of the House of Lords, we find Sir William Blackstone, one of the judges whose opinion was given in the cause, still delivering it as law, that the King's prerogative copyright rests on the grounds assigned by Lord Mansfield, and the other judges in the Court of King's Bench, with the exception of Mr. Justice Yates. " There is," says he, " also a kind of prerogative copyright subsisting in certain books, which is held to be vested in the Crown upon different reasons, 224 Thus, 1. The king, as the executive magistrates has the right of promulging to the people all acts of state and government. This gives him the ex clusive privilege of printing, at his own press, or that of his grantees, all acts qf parliament, proclama tions, and orders qf council. 2. As supreme head of the church, he hath a right to the publication of * all liturgies and books of divine service. 3. He is also said to have a right, by purchase, to the copies of such law books, grammars, and other composi tions, as were compiled or translated at the expense ofthe Crown. And upon these two last principles combined, the exclusive right of printing the trans lation of the Bible is founded." It may not be improper simply to mention the case of Baskett against the University of Cambridge. (Blackst. 105.) Mr. Solicitor-General Yorke, whose argument is referred to by Lord Mansfield, as that upon which the opinion of the Court in a great measure went, states that the King has no power, at common law, over the art of printing; but he has several copyrights by prerogative, "1. Of all acts of state to promulge them to the people. 2. Since the supremacy has been established, of all books of the rites and services of the church. 3- The translation of the great English Bible under Graf ton was performed at the King's expense, which gave him another kind of right. 4. So the Year- 225 books; taken at the expense ofthe Crown, gave the king a property by purchase. Thus was Sey mour's case, 1 Mod. 256, argued by Serjeant Pem berton ; and it is the only rational Way of treating the subject." On the exclusive right to print these i copies, said to be incident to, and inherent in the * office of King's Printer, he says "The law knows no such officer by prescription, nor by act of Parliament; it will not therefore protect him, and say that the King (who made him) shall not grant the same con current privilege to another. Supposing printer- ship to be an office, the King may name as many printers as he pleases." Upon the head of usage, which is to be regarded as the exposition of time, he asks, " Have the King's Printers excluded all others? History will inform us to the contrary. Nay, statutes printed by others are noW to be pur chased. In 19 Henry VII. Bertholet was the King's Printer ;' but there are statutes of that date printed by Wynkyn de Worde and others. In 1553, the statutes are printed by Grafton, though Bertho let was then alive, and Grafton's patent did not take effect till Bertholet's death. So, in later times, the law patentees have exercised a concurrent right with the King's Printer." In support of the University's right to print Acts of Parliament, &c. 'Mr. Yorke says farther, " As to inconvenience to ft 226 the public, none can. arise by allowing two or three concurrent rights. An emulation will be excited, which will probably produce correcter, as well as cheaper editions ; for several editions by the King's Printer are so incorrect^ that the record has been fre quently resorted to, to guard against the infidelity of the copy. The public then will'be advantaged by it, and a dangerous monopoly overthrown, which con struction is the most consistent with law and rea son." Mr. Solicitor Yorke's arguments prevailed, — and the Court of King's Bench certified into Chancery the unanimous opinion of the judges, that " the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the Univer sity of Cambridge, are intrusted, with a concur rent authority, to print acts of Parliament, and abridgments of acts of Parliament, within the said university." Mr. Justice Foster, in a letter to a friend at Oxford, (Dec. 11, 1758,) mentioned that the words intrusted with a concurrent testimony were thrown in by way of an intimation to the univer sity, that the Court considered the powers given by the letters patent, as a trust reposed in that learn ed body, for public benefit, for the advancement of literature, and not to be transferred upon lucrative views to other hands. He added, " I hope both the universities will always consider the royal' 227 grants in that light."* This case is mentioned here, to show that the opinions of Mr. Justice Yates, concerning the origin of his Majesty's prerogative, have not been universally received by English law yers; and also that an exclusive right, vested in an individual, has not been found in England, any more than in Scotland, to insure correctness, which his Majesty's printers wish to be believed is the real object ofthe patent. His Majesty's Printer for England has a patent, giving him a right to print all Bibles and New Tes taments whatsoever in the English tongue, or in any other tongue whatsoever, of any translation, with notes or without notes ; — and in this patent all other persons are prohibited and enjoined, that none of them print any Bibles or New Testaments in the English tongue, of any translation, with * It appears to have been thought by the English Judges, that it was a great object to keep up a competition in the printing of the sta tutes. But though the competition in this case was open to the law patentees, as well as to the universities, it was impossible to prevent combination. In the case of Baskett against Cunningham and Others, the Lord Chancellor ordered an injunction to issue, to restrain the proprietors from printing at any • other than a patent press. This, as Blackstone observes, (Reports, 371,) was equivalent to a total injunc tion; as Woodfall and Strahan, the proprietors of the patent for printing law books, with whom Cunningham and the other booksel lers had contracted to print A Digest qf the Statute Law, with notes, were secretly in league with Baskett, and were at that time jointly concerned in a new edition of the statutes, and as these printers (Woodfall and Strahan) found means to elude their contract with Cunningham. ft2 228 notes, or without notes. Perhaps his Majesty's Printers for Scotland may claim the same exten sive right, as being implied in the terms Biblia Sacra, Nova Testamenta, &c. in lingua Anglicana. Do they claim, merely the right of printing what is called the authorised version, as being set forth by royal authority ; and, if so, are they prepared to bring evidence of the entire identity of the translation, as printed by them, with that which was executed under the authority of King James?* Or are they entitled to innovate, or * The first edition, printed in 1 611, is a good specimen of typogra phy, and" might have been expected to be peculiarly correct, as hav ing been published under the immediate inspection of the translators. But in many respects it would be a bad model to follow. The words supplied, often very unnecessarily, for the purpose of completing the sense, when the expression is more elliptical than appears to be per fectly consistent with the idiom of our language, are now printed in Italics, and were at first intended to be distinguished by being printed in a small Roman character, forming a very observable contrast with the black letter. But, though in some parts of the Bible, the dis tinction was attended to, it has in many others been almost totally overlooked. " To take an example at random : In the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to John, only one word bears the mark of being supplied in the first edition, and in some ofthe other early editions no such mark occurs at all. Some of the present editions have seven words in Italics, and others nine. The 11th chapter has nineteen words sup. plied according to the editions now in use. The editions 1611, 1613, 4to. 1615, 4to. and 1630, 4to. have not one mark of a supplied word in this chapter. The same observation applies to the 'first Edin burgh New Testament, 1633. In the 12th chapter, ten words mark ed in the new editions, as being supplied, are printed in the first in the same character with the rest ofthe text. Some ofthe Edinburgh editions by Andrew Anderson, have not a single word marked as sup plied in the whole New Testament. In the IQth chapter, (verses 28 229 to alter, or to adopt unauthorised variations,* or to blend different versions, — or to suppress or and 29,) the words ri; and .M*)?, now properly translated any and none, were in the early editions rendered any man and no man, without any mark to denote that the word man was supplied. The improvement was borrowed from the Geneva version, and was first introduced into the editions of the present translation in the time of the common wealth, a short time before the restoration of Charles II. Several late editions both in England and in Scotland have resumed the un necessary word man in both verses ; but it is more frequently omitted by the Scottish than by the English printers; The variations between the early arid the late editions are in many places greater than be tween the Geneva version and the version now in use. * It may appear a matter rather too trivial and minute to remark, that though many antiquated words' are still retained, various changes have beett tacitly admitted into our English Bibles- without any au thority, as fetched for fet, more for moe, since for sith, owneth for oweth, impossible for unpossibk. Some of these alterations are said to have been first introduced into Dr. Blayney's edition, printed at Ox ford 1769> which is now generally called the Standard Edition. In a very useful edition, published in 1690, by Mr. Samuel Clark, a presbyterian divine, on whose labours Mr. Lewis has bestowed high commendation, the marginal reading is occasionally transferred to the text, and other slighter alterations have been made. We.hayo already adverted to the exclusion of some supplied words in. the time of the Commonwealth. Other changes were ventured upon in the edition of Archbishop Tenison, 1701, but the amount of them cannot be ascertained, in consequence of the typographical errata, whidh were so numerous and so gross that the Lower House of Convoca tion thought it necessary to complain of them in a representation to the archbishops and bishops. Subsequent amendments have been sparingly hazarded in several editions. We may take notice of one, which we believe was first inserted in one of the editions by Alexan der Kincaid, and which has been generally copied into the Edinburgh editions ever since. In the original edition of King James's transla tion, and almost all the English editions to this day, the 32d verse of the xxiii. chapter of Luke's Gospel is read thus; " and there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death," It has been conceived to be an improved reading, to add * to other, and to interpose a comma between others and malefactors; thus, "And 280 add arguments and running titles at their plea sure,* or to insert new references on the mar- there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death." Some late editions, printed in England, insert the comma between other and malefactors, without any farther change. King James's translators have rendered this passage less happily than any other with which we are acquainted, except Archbishop Parker's, which has other two evil doers, and the translation of Rheims, which has other two malefactors. In all these versions, the Saviour appears to be represented as one of the malefactors; but though he was num bered with transgressors by his enemies, the words of the sacred historian are susceptible of an interpretation which gives no coun tenance to the idea which is apt to occur to the mere English reader. HyevTO 2e xai sts^m duo xaxovpyat ffvv abrrZ uvaips&fivai. The Geneva translation is, " And there were two others, which were evil doers, led with him to be slain." The more ancient English translation has merely, " And there were two evil doers led with him to be slain." Our translators appear to have followed the Rhemists, or the Vulgate, alii duo nequam. The change into two others, male factors, though an unauthorised emendation, was, we think, first sug gested by an English bishop, Dr. Zachary Pearce, in his Commen tary on the Evangelists, &c. published 1777. * The arguments of the chapters were very long in the early edi tions, and for many years they were inserted at full length, not only in bibles of large volume, but in those of a pocket size. They were totally omitted in most of Field's small bibles ; and in other editions they were much shortened. John Canne, a Brownist, who fled to Holland at the restoration of Charles II. published an octavo bible at Amsterdam, 1664, with marginal notes. In this edition, which was in great demand, the contents of the chapters were considerably abridged, and several of his alterations were soon adopted very gene rally. , . One of the most offensive of the arguments of the chapters in the original edition was that of Psalm cxlix. " at which (says Lewis) great exceptions have been taken." It is still to be found in many of the English editions, as follows : 1. The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to the church. 5. And for that power which he hath given to the church to rule the consciences of men. Mr. Lewis men tions the objections against this last expression by Benjamin Robin son, and then proposes an explanation of it, which does not display 231 gin,* or to print, under the sanction of His Ma jesty's name, Bibles containing notes which have ¦ much critical knowledge. He afterwards states, that in some octavo editions, these contents are thus altered. 1. The Psalmist voweth per petual praises to God. 3. He exhorteth not to trust in man. 5. God, for his power, justice, mercy and kingdom, is only worthy to be trusted; and in others thus,!. The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to the church. 5. And for that power which he hath given to the church. He might have added, that many editions since the reign of Charles II. have merely the words, " The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to the church," to which other editions add, and for his bene fits; and a very great number, instead of that power 'which he hath given to the church, say, that power which he hath given to his saints. The Edinburgh editions, in general, for nearly a century, have adopted this last form. We shall only observe, in general, that such arguments have often a tendency to mislead an imperfectly instructed reader from the true meaning. It seems to be less consistent with the general strain of the Gospel revelation, to ascribe the power of ruling the conscience, either to the church collectively, or to the saints individually, than to the word of God, which is " quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The two-edged sword in the sixth verse, can scarcely be supposed to denote carnal weapons of warfare, but " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," and which is '* mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." It would be out of place to discuss this point here. It was our purpose only to mention, that in this and many other passages, great alterations have been made, which essentially affect the sense, and which, whether they be improvements or not, are not only alto gether unauthorised, but often derived from sources which we are pretty sure His Majesty's Printers cannot trace, audwhichy if known, would be far from gratifying to the power to which they owe their commission. * Few particulars in the mode of printing Bibles can be said to be more important than the marginal references. These have varied prodigiously. According to Mr. Hewlett, the following are the num bers of such notes in a few remarkable editions. 9,000 in the first edition; . . Lond. 1611, folio. 23,895 in the edition by J. Hayes, • Camb. 1677, 4to. 33,1 45 by Dr. A. Scattergood, . Camb. 1 678, folio. 232 never received the approbation of any recogniz ed ecclesiastical body ? Because the notes happen- to bear a small proportion to the text, may they = 39,466 by Drs. Teriison and Lloyd, . Lond. 1699, folio. 64,983 by Mr. Blayney, Oxf. 1 769, folio and 4to. 66,955 by Bishop Wilson and Mr. Crutwell, Bath, 1785, 4to. Mr. Hewlett has not mentioned the number in Canne's editions, or in an1 edition printed in Scotland, of which he leads us to infer that he availed himself, though he does not favour us with its date. To give an idea of the proportion which these references bear to one another, we may take an example from 2 Cor. vi. a chapter con taining 18 verses. In the original edition, 1611, the margin refers to four parallel passages. The edition of Canine's Bible, London, 1698, refers to 31 passages, illustrative of the same chapter. The last Edinburgh 4to. 1822, which we understand to borrow Blayney's, or more properly, Crutwell's references, indicates 52 passages. — The Edinburgh edi- " tions 1727, 1754, and 1796, and several other Edinburgh editions, all professedly containing Canne's references, give 127 passages, — more than double the number of Blayney's, and four times the number of Canne's notes, according to the edition 1698. Most people will na turally conclude, before looking at the passages, that the most essen tial references will be the same in all. But this is not the case. For example, 2 Cor. vi. 1, in the London edition, 1698, refers to three texts, viz. 2 Cor. iii. 10, — Mat. xiii. 19, 23. — Heb. vi. 8. Not one of -these is the same with the Edinburgh 4to. 1822, which refers to 1 Cor. iii. 9, — 2 Cor. v. 20, — Heb. xii. 15. Both also differ from the three other Edinburgh editions already mentioned, two of which re fer to John i. 1 7, — 1 Cor.- iii. 9, — 2 Cor. v. 1 9, — Tit. ii. 1 1, — Heb. xii. 15 ; and Adrian Watkins, 1754, instead of Heb. xii. 15, erroneously refers to Heb. xii. 14. Indeed, there is little dependence to be placed on any of them ; and the doctrines deducible from one set of these references, will often be found completely at variance with those which are intended to be established by the references found in other editions. The Edinburgh 4to. 1822, at John iii. 5, refers to Mark xvi. 16, and Acts ii. 38, as if to identify regeneration and baptism. The other Edinburgh editions already mentioned, refer to Eph. v. 26, and Heb. x. 23, (a mistake for 22.) The London edition, 1698, refers to Ezek. xxxvi. 25, and Rom. vi. 3, *•. The references of the ast Edinburgh 4to. appear to be intended to support the notion^ of 233 (if they think fit) print one edition of the Bible with Calvinistic notes, another with Antinomian notes, a third with Arminian notes, a fourth; with Unitarian notes, and perhaps a fifth with the arguments, glosses, and annotations of the Po pish seminaries of Rheims and Douay ? Or, if it be in the exercise of his Majesty's duty to the Church of Scotland that their right is conveyed, are other religious bodies in this part of the is land to be precluded from publishing Bibles with notes, because the King's printer may not think them consistent with what he conceives to be his duty, as owing subscription to the established reli gion? for if it be an objection to the King's printer for England, that he owes no subscription to this the Church of Rome, which has been in a great measure adopted by' the strict Lutherans, that the external baptism with material water is absolutely necessary to salvation. The other references are more favourable to the views of the Calvinists, who represent baptism merely as a sign or seal of regeneration, and who consider the expres sion " born of water," as denoting the sanctifying operation of the Holy Spirit, whose influences on the soul are sometimes figuratively likened to the sprinkling of clean water. Not to dwell longer on the effect which may be produced by notes and references inserted by divines of discordant sentiments, and all apparently set forth by the same authority, we may take notice of a few other variations. In the year 1680, Archbishop Usher's Chrono logy was added at the head of the columns and on the margin. In 1701, Bishop Llyod's chronological notes were introduced in a differ ent order, and with much greater minuteness. The same Bishop added not only his collection of parallel passages, but the gospels and epistles, and the days of the months for the different Psalms, according to the order of the English liturgy ; also an index to the Bible, and Bishop Cumberland's tables of weights, measures, and coins. His Majesty's printers in Edinburgh print all these tables, as well as the Tables of Offices and Conditions of Men, which is full of inaccuracies. 234 religion, it must be admitted to be one of the qualifications of His Majesty's Printers for Scot« land, that they do owe this subscription. If they are so conscientious and discriminating as to print nothing inconsistent with the doctrines, worship, or government of the national church, they cannot print the Book of Common Prayer,* — they cannot print Catechisms different from those which have been approved by the church, — and, on this ground, they must cease to print the meagre, ungrammatical, and sometimes scarcely intelligi ble form of words, which they have thought fit * With regard to the Book of Common Prayer, it is curious that some of the most beautiful editions have been printed by persons who did not enjoy any patent. Some excellent editions have been printed in France. Didot's, printed at Paris 1791, with plates designed by Lavater, is in great request. In a common edition, printed at Ver dun by Lewis Christophe> 1810, we perceive no respect in which the Edinburgh editions ofthe same period can claim a superiority, or even equality, except one. The French edition omits the prayer, in the time of wars and tumults, and this clause in the prayer for the King's Majesty, " strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies ;" but it leaves blank spaces, in which the defects might be supplied with a pen. It was scarcely to be expected, that the French printers at that time would be allowed by their government to print this petition against themselves — " abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices." The censorship of the press does not however appear to have been very fastidiously or vigilantly exercised, as it has permitted the Litany to retain the prayer for giving. the king victory over all his enemies, and as among the forms of prayer to be used at sea, it allowed the prayer to be said before a fight at sea against any enemy to be inserted at full length. Perhaps it may be said, that by this time the French government had little to apprehend from the British navy, as the fleets of France had been previously an nihilated. 235 (on what authority they best know) to append to the Shorter Catechism. Probably, too, they will: perceive, that, without violation of their duty to It is proper to add, (what was omitted in a former note) that the edition of the Book of Common Prayer, printed at Edinburgh, by Robert Freebairn, in 1730, is one of the most beautiful which ever was published in a pocket size. It is not only finer, but more correct than the similar edition, published for Mr. Reeves in 1803. As it is possible that many persons, particularly in England, may suppose that the Book of Common Prayer has all along possessed some authority in Scotland, it may be necessary to explain how this matter stands. The introduction of the English "Book of Common Prayer into Scotland (according to Mr. Skinner, in his Annals of Scottish Epis copacy) took place in the reign of Queen Anne, and was acquiesced in from the facility with which the book was procured by the peo ple; whereas the Scottish Prayer-BoOk, from the ravages committed on it, and from its having been suppressed by legal authority ih 1637, had, in a manner, become extinct. From the period of its introduction, however, most of the bishops and clergy in Scotland had been in the use of not unfrequent verbal alterations in reading the English service. In a letter of Bishop Gleig to Bishop Skinner, Jan. 15, 1810, it is said, " every man in my diocese varied the form according to his own judgment or caprice:" and it is added, "to such a length was this (to me most unaccountable) rage for innova tion carried in some of the chapels of the diocese, that I was assured the very communion service was interpolated with lohg prayers, which from the specimens of them, repeated by different people to me, surely were unworthy of a place in that solemn service." It must "be observed that the Communion Office used by the Episcopa lians of Scotland, was not that of the church of England, but that which was authorised by King Charles I. in 1636. In the year 1804, the two Episcopalian parties in Scotland united; and from that period every clergyman officiating in Scotland, by virtue of or dination from an English or an Irish bishop, might, notwithstanding his union with the Scottish Episcopalians, be still at liberty to use in his own congregation the liturgy of the church of England, as well in the administration of the sacrament of the'JLord's Supper, as in all 5 236 the Presbyterian establishment, they will be un able to print several of the Commentaries on the Scriptures which are in common use. Have they the ofher offices of the church. In the year 1811, it was enacted hy an ecclesiastical Synod at Aberdeen, that the Scottish communion of fice is still to be considered as the authorised service of the Scottish Episcopal church in the administration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; but at the same time permission was granted to retain the English communion office in all congregations where it had formerly been in use. The Scottish Episcopalians never acknowledged the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England as their Confessional, till the year 1804, when they formed an union with most of the clergy of the church of England, officiating in Scotland. Till this time, indeed, they had no public Confession of Faith at all. It appears, therefore, that it is not quite twenty years sinqe the ritual of the church of England was any farther acknowledged by the Episcopalians of Scotland, than consisted with the discretion of every individual clergyman, who might alter, or suppress, or add prayers at his pleasure. Since 1811, they have bound themselves to the English forms, except in the administration of the Lord's Sup per. They.do not then hold themselves bound by the royal authori ty, or by the acts of uniformity of public prayers and administration of the sacraments. Indeed they seem to think it a mark of great moderation, that they have conceded to the English ordained clergy and their congregations, a liberty to use the English Communion Office. And they conceive that the church of England, in the Thir ty-Fourth Article, admits " the right of every national church to frame its own. ritual."— In this article it is said, " It is not necessary that traditions and ceremonies be in all places one or utterly like, for at all times they have been diverse, and may be changed according to the diversities of countries, times, and men's manners, so that no thing be done against God's word. Every particular or national church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites [jiot rights as, it is sometimes printed by Mr. Reeves]] of the church, ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying." 237 a right, then, to suppress these Commentaries, when they bear a small proportion to the text, — or must those who wish to publish such commen taries, lengthen them out so as to exceed the di mensions of the text, that they may have the privilege of employing whatever printer they may prefer? If this device shall be successful, how can the pri vilege of his Majesty's printers secure the purity of religion, as any one may safely print Bibles as incorrect as possible in the text, and stuffed with heretical expositions, 'provided the expositions be •not too brief? Is it alleged that commentaries, in general, which are not printed, by his Majes ty's printers, and which necessarily subject the publishers to an expense incalculably greater than that which is incident to the publication of the naked text, without the prospect of any consider able return to recompense the labour bestowed in correcting them, are the vehicles of an impure text? May not the people of Scotland soon be subjected to a very great hardship in being denied the use of commentaries, which they are anxious to procure ? Have his Majesty's Printers alone the power of extricating them from such a difficulty as this? Can his Majesty's Printers insist on printing Mr. Hewlett's Bible, in the same manner as they have been accustomed to print that of the late Mr. 238 Brown of Haddington ?* Or can Mr. Hewlett, whose work is entered at Stationers' Hall, insist that their patent does not entitle them to infringe upOn the privilege which an author derives'from the copyright act ? Are they then prepared to say that they will allow it to be imported, or that they -will allow any other to be imported which can be printed in England, otherwise than by his Majes ty's Printer there, or by the English universities — such as D'Oyley and Mant's, or Dr. Clarke's, or Ostervald's, which last they' may have the right to print Without finding it worth their while to exer cise that right ?f With regard to- the license or au thority to print, reprint, or import, which his Ma jesty's Printers consider themselves to be by their patent entitled to grant,— it may not be amiss to offer a remark. If it be expedient that the Crown shall not give the power of printing the Bible to more than one in Scotland, and shall refuse liberty to import it, as being an unauthorised book, when printed even by the English universities, or his * We believe indeed, that ten for one of the copies of this book sold in Scotland have been printed at Berwick, or in one or other of the provincial' towns of England. We do not know if any thing has been paid for the liberty of selling them. t A quarto edition was printed by Sir David Hunter Blair and James Bruce, in 1805. The title-page does not refer to his Majesty's special command, but to the recommendation ofthe Society for Pro pagating Christian Knowledge, at whose desire Ostervald's arguments and observations were translated. 239 Majesty's Printers in England, it is by no means clear how all the \ danger arising from the use of unauthorised copies can be averted by giving to the King's Printer a power greater than the Crown thinks it safe to keep in its own hands. Why al low the King's Printers to assign their right to one or more individuals, of whose fidelity they can have no perfect assurance ; and why allow them to grant a license to import ? Will their license be Sufficient to render the Bibles printed in England more correct than they have been hitherto when imported without any such license ? And if they gay that they must be responsible for the quality ofthe editions imported, it is to be feared that they will not be willing to grant the license with- out demanding some composition sufficient to se cure them against the risk of subjecting themselves to any penalty, and thus rendering it impossible to import, except at a price which many may be un able to afford. We may ask, farther, if the security against the corruption of the standards of our faith be not very incomplete, so long as no means are used to pub lish the pure original text, of which the Crown takes no charge} — or rather, as no danger has result ed from the universal liberty of printing the He brew Bible and the Greek New Testament, if it would not be safe to remove every restraint from ?240 the publication of the Scriptures in our own lan guage. We do not say that no penalty should be incurred by those who print incorrectly. But we rejoice to think, that. without the interposition of any.ordinance of man, thegovernment of God has, for thousands of ,ytars, and in periods of the deep est darkness, secured from destruction and from adulteration the lively oracles of his will ; and we trust that the same watchful Providence will con tinue to preserve in untainted, purity that word which "liveth and abideth for ever."* But if seen- * The Scriptures have never been published in the original tongues by any king's printers in Scotland. ' The Hebrew Bible has never been printed in Scotland at all ; at least the only cooiplete book of it (so far as we recollect) which was ever printed, was the Song of Solomon, with Bythner's notes, and other illustrations by David Ferguson, published at Edinburgh by Andrew Anderson, before he was King's Printer. • Neither he, nor any of his predecessors or successors, ever printed so much as an edition of the Greek New Testament. It may be sup posed, perhaps, that the poverty of Scotland affords no encourage ment to print editions of a book which is too little read in the origi nal. But if the complainers be correct in saying, that the Church.fias a king, not only for its nursing father, but its head, it might be expect ed that, in the fulfilment of his paternal duty to the Presbyterian esta blishment, care would be taken to supply correct editions, though, in stead of yielding any profit to the objects of the royal patronage, they ^ver'e to expose the government to considerable expense — an expense, purely, which would not be grudged by the serious population,, ^it could' be shown to be necessary to prevent an influx .of suspicious^r impure copies, not only from our sister church, whose articles jare sometimes supposed not to harmonize with ours, but from states. and cities, in which Arminianism, Socinianism, and Deism predominate, —or from Rome, and France, and Spain, where Popery -reigns tri umphant. We are left, however, to all the danger ,(if any danger .there be) of having our mincU, turned aside from.the truth by sthe 241 rity against corruption of the English version be necessary, how is it less necessary in the case of the other versions of the Scriptures in several use of the Hebrew Bible of Houbigant, or Le Jay's Polyglott, print ed at Paris, or the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglotts, the for mer, deriving contamination from the patronage of Cardinal Ximenes, and the latter from the special mandate of Philip II. ; and, besides many minor editions of the Greek Testament from all the countries of Europe, the elaborate collations of Wetstein and Griesbach might be dreaded as the vehicles of Unitarian tenets, if Christians were not required to " try the spirits whether they are of God," and to " prove all things, and hold fast that which is good." But we are not left to suppose that there is no encouragement for printing the original Scriptures in Scotland. Several useful and- correct editions, though none of peculiar value to the critical student, have been published, both at Edinburgh and Glasgow, since the year 1740, when Ruddiman ventured on the first Scottish edition. The Septuagint has also been published at Glasgow within the last two years. The publication of Scapula's Lexicon at Glasgow, and of Schleusner's Lexicon, both at Glasgow and Edinburgh, with in these few years, may be regarded as sufficient evidence of the en couragement afforded in this country for publishing expensive works illustrative of the original Scriptures. It is often alleged that biblical criticism has never made any con siderable progress in Scotland, and that, though perhaps cultivated by a few with no small success, it is at present particularly low. We do not perceive how it can be expected to be otherwise. Almost all the most valuable works which are required by the biblical critic must be imported from the continent; and the duty on imported books is so high,' as in many eases to amount almost to a prohibition. We mentioned, in a former note, that there was a time when, though there were printers in Scotland possessing the privilege of printing all manner of books, authors were under the necessity of sending their works to be printed on the continent. When some of these works are now imported, the cost amounts to three times the price they bear in France or Holland. It may be pretended that the duties were imposed to compel the natives of this country to write and publish such works as they find it difficult to bring from foreign countries. But learning will never be promoted by the exclusion of learned books, and emulation will R 2*2 of the languages spoken in the King's dominions, as for instance, in the Gaelic, a language in whichi many of the ministers of the established church be repressed when few opportunities occur of studying the choicest models of excellence. Very few clergymen in Scotland.-czm afford to purchase a tolerable collection of works on sacred criticism. Even so common a book as the Utrecht edition of Poole's Synopsis, (the work of a British author, printed originally in London, and afterwards re peatedly on the continent,) costs seven guineas, more than half of which sum is duty. Calmet'S Commentaire LUerale costs fourteen guineas. Two or three of the best editions of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, with one or two of the best lexicons and concord ances, and such books as the collations or various readings of Kennicott and-De Rossi, would cost more than the whole annual income of soma of our clergymen. A good edition of Stephens's Greek Thesaurus is worth £25. We know that some Presbyterian divines in Scotland, small as their livings were, possessed this book and others of the same kind, before the restoration of Charles II. But such books were not so high priced then as they are now; and though many1 books were well printed in Scotland, no difficulty was thrown in the way of importation. • Both the New Testament in the original Greek, and the Septra* gint version of the Old Testament, have often been printed at Oxford and Cambridge. Kennicott's Hebrew Bible was also printed at Ox ford. We do not recollect any other edition printed there, except Forster's in 1750. Many Hebrew Bibles have been printed in London, but none, we think by the King's Printer. The British and Foreign Bible Society has printed 5000 copies of the Hebrew Bible. From the time of Henry VIII. it has been the practice to grant a patent to a printer to the king, in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. The first who held this office was Reginald Wolfe. The family of Norton* held the patent for a very long period, and at last sold it in the reign of George II. to T. Buckley and T. Longman. None of that race, however, appears to have printed Bibles, and we are not sure- if they printed any thing in virtue of their privilege, except Lily's Gram* mar. The Polyglott of Bryan Walton, the greatest work of the kind ever published in England, was printed by Royston. It is lamentable that so few efforts have been made in Britain to 243 are rebuked to preach, and in which, within the last twenty years, more than 100,000 copies of the Scriptures have been furnished by two Societies? ¦or how are we to account for the total neglect on the part of the government to provide the Holy Scriptures at all for the use of that interesting and important portion of the British population, from which have gone forth in every successive cam paign so many thousands of warriors, whose bra* very and good conduct in the field have been signalized in the eyes of all Europe, and whose martial character has been, in many cases, height ened by the purification of their principles through the influence of the truth ? Again, is there not a great difference between the case of his Majesty's Printers for Scotland, and the privileged printers in England, in this respect, that the kingdom of Scotland has bor rowed a translation of the Scriptures from Eng land? The English did not borrow one from us. r If they had, there might have been greater reason for excluding from Scotland their editions of a bor rowed version ; • or, at least there might have beeri the same reason which they had for excluding from England Our editions of a version, for which we were entirely indebted to that nation. For produce an edition of the Hebrew Bible which may berelied upon as accurate. Some refer to Bomberg's edition at Venice, in 1525, as if it were the best ; but a correct standard text is Still a desideratum. R 2 244 though his Majesty's Printers for Scotland have denied the fact, it can be fully proved, that ** the present translation of the Bible was made entirely by the English government, and for the use of Eng lishmen." When it was adopted in Scotland, the people of this land, as appears from the license to Findlasone in 1612, and by subsequent patents, en joyed the right of providing themselves with copies of the Scriptures printed by other persons besides his Majesty's Printer ; and they have now enjoyed, for more than two centuries, the advantage of im porting copies of the Scriptures from England;, and if it be the design of his Majesty's patent to take away these rights, which have been univer sally conceived to be perpetual, it is at least to be hoped that the time will never come, when the exercise of that religious liberty, for which we^ above all other nations, have cause to be grateful, shall be so restrained, that we shall feel any diffi culty in procuring, if we shall see cause, an im proved translation ofthe sacred Scriptures, of which the Crown of Scotland will not be entitled to claim the property.* i - ¦¦'-- In our observations on this important cause, we have not confined our attention to the peculiar * As it is one of the fundamental laws and regulations of the Bri tish and Foreign Bible Society, that the only copies to. be circulated ih the languages of the united kingdom, shall be the authorized ver sion, it is not to be supposed that this Society will ever meditate such 245 Circumstances in which we are placed as members of Bible societies. It has rather been our object to show, what have always been the rights of the people of Scotland with regard to this matter, and bow seriously these rights would be affected in a scheme as the execution of a new translation into English. But it is not by any means improbable that an association may be formed for accomplishing this object; and in many respects the times are favourable for an undertaking of this magnitude and importance. We would deplore the taste of any person who does not perceive and feel the manifold beauties and excellencies of the translation now al most universally used by all bodies of Christians who speak the Eng lish language, not only in the British empire, but in the United States of .America, where, by the way, though there are no privileged print ers, it is printed with scrupulous and undeviating conformity, with out so much as the omission of the dedication to King James, and where it is impossible not to admire the great care which is bestowed in producing stereotype editions, at once cheap and elegant. We do not remember that any class of professed Christians have ever pro fessed a very strong antipathy to this version, with the exception of the Unitarians, and a strange set of enthusiasts, commonly called the Sweet Singers, who, in the year 1681, " renounced the impres sion and translation of both the Old and New Testaments, and that for additions put unto them by men, and other causes," and in testimony of their dissatisfaction at the abounding corruptions both qf translators and press, reformed their owu copies to the best of their power, in tile intention of publishing a new translation, free of all abuses. A new-or amended translation, notwithstanding the many obstacles in the way, has been seriously and earnestly desired by many more reasonable men, particularly in the Church of England. Bishop Newcome, whose anxiety to promote this object was wellknown^ has quoted the opinions of Dr. Wells, in his General Preface to the Old Testament, 1724; Mr. Blackwell, in his Sacred Classics, 1731 ; Dr. Waterland, in Scripture Vindicated ; Bishop Lowth, in his Visita tion Sermon 1758, and Preliminary Dissertation to Isaiah,177S; Durell in his Critical Remarks on Job ; Dr. Pilkington's Remarks, Cam bridge, 1759; Dr. J. White, Arabic Professor at Oxford, in a ser mon, entitled, A Revised oftlue English Translation of the Old Testa ment Recommended, 1779; Dr. Kennicott, in his Dissertation pre fixed -'to his Hebrew Bible, 1780, and in his Remarks, 1787; Green 246 time to come by the continuance of the interdict which his Majesty's printers in Edinburgh have obtained against the booksellers, and which, if we do not make a strenuous resistance, will probably in his Preface to Poetical Parts of the Old Testament Translated, Cambridge, 1781 ; Dr. Blayney,.in his Preliminary Discourse to Jere miah, Oxford, 1784; Dr. Symonds, in his Observations mi the Expe diency of Revising the present English Version of the Four Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles ; Mr. Ormerod in his Short Specimen for an Improvement in some Parts of the present Translation of the Old Testament, 1792. We can perceive that many more objections might be urged against the style of the translations of parts of the Scripture by the most eminent divines than any which have been offered against King James's translation, as against Lowth's Isaiah, Blayney's Jeremiah and Zechariah, Bishop Horsley's Hosea, Dr. Campbell's Gospels, and Dr. Macknight's Epistles ; but none of the partial failures of individuals can be considered as a proof of the im practicability of the undertaking, if conducted under due regulation by an association of men of piety, learning, and taste. The principal defect in our present version is to be ascribed to the imperfection of the copies of original text, which were used in its pre paration and revision. " During the long extent of years (says Dr. Kennicott) since our last translation was made, many imperfections and errors in it have been discovered by learned men. And several passages have been lately pointed out, in which the older English translations had better expressed the sense of the originals. But notwithstanding these blemishes, and even mistakes,, and though it is certain that great im provements might be now made in translating the whole Bible, be cause the Hebrew and Greek languages have been much cultivated, and far better understood, since the year 1600 ; yet we shall then only see the great expediency, or rather the necessity, of a more exact English Bible, when we reflect, that the Hebrew text itself is now found to be wrong in inany instances, some of which are of, con siderable consequence." Dr. William Hales, formerly Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Dublin, has stated in tiie advertisement prefixed to his New Analysis of Chronology, (printed in 1811,) that he found it necessary, upon the maturest consideration, to depart frequently from the authority ofthe received translation ofthe Bible, and to be guided 247 era the same grounds be obtained against us.* In the question with the booksellers, the real de fenders were represented and understood to be His Majesty's Printers for England. To them the object is of no great moment, as their other employment is more than sufficient to occupy them, and also exceedingly lucrative. But hu therto the interest of the party most deeply con cerned has been totally overlooked. The interest of the whole population of Scotland is at stake. We are not to regard the question as one which has arisen between two rival tradesmen, or two commercial companies. Tothe contending patentees it may appear to be the principal thing, whether the by the light of the original Scriptures. Among the difficulties of Scripture, this author accounts the imperfections of all the received translations to be none of the least considerable. " Our last trans lation (he says) is unquestionably superior in most respects to its pre decessors, at home and abroad. But it is far from being immaculate. It is not sufficiently close and uniform in rendering the originals; and though a good popular translation, in the main, of admirable plainness and simplicity of style, yet it is not calculated to convey precise and critical information, in difficult and mysterious passages, of the pro phecies especially, and poetical parts of Scripture, abounding in abrupt transitions, and perplexing involutions. Even in the Gospels, those perfect models of historical narration, mistranslations abound, arising from igjiorance of, or inattention to, the peculiar force of the Greek article ; as fully proved in Dr. Middleton's excellent treatise on the Greek article." These hints may be sufficient to show that the idea of a new trans lation is not perhaps so little entertained as some persons imagine. * By a- summons received on the 17th of April, we are charged to bring our whole grounds and warrants founded on by us before the Lords of Council and Session on the 14th of May next. 248 King's Printers for Scotland, or the King's Pru» ters for England> ishall have the greater profit. - And though the complainers against us, notwith- standing all that they have said of the vast im portance of excluding unauthentic copies of the Spriptures from Scotland, have admitted that they would have continued their tolerance of such im ported copies, if it had not been their interest to withdraw it; yet, as the English patentees and universities have so jealously vindicated their ex clusive right, "they think it but reasonable (as , they are pleased to say) to do unto others as others have done unto them." If this be the gold- » en rule of the printers of the Bible, it is not what we have learned from the Bible. Esteeming the purity of the word of God to be more valuable than > thousands of gold and silver, we feel ourselves im peratively called upon to obey this great command-* ment, " all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." If the attempt which is now made, had been made in the days of our fathers, We decidedly think that they would have done us the greatest injustice.if they had tamely stood still, and witnessed the inflib-i tion of permanent wrong on their descendentSj which they might, have averted by timely resist ance. It is our determination to do our utmost to prevent such a charge being brought against us by our posterity. Messrs. Eyre and Strahan 249 or the English Universities, may have no great cause to complain if Sir David Hunter Blair and Mr. Bruce follow the example which has been set them, and insist on every advantage which the law' shall grant them. Sir David Hunter Blair and Mr. Bruce no doubt think that the com. munity will be gainers by such an issue of the cause as, by increasing their profits* will enable them to execute their work in a superior style, at a moderate rate. But whatever may be the honourable purposes of Sir David Hunter Blair and Mr. Bruce, in printing better than- they have ever yet done, and in taking more moderate pro fits than are taken by their English competitors, they can give us no security that their successors in office will be equally honest and liberal. We are aware that they are making every exertion- to excel all their past performances, and to furnish the Bible at prices which nobody can deny to be reasonable. This is very well in the mean time • but it will be a national misfortune, if it shall in duce the country to delude themselves with the* hope of a perpetuifJy of good and cheap editions*.' If .the interdict shall become final, and if all com petition shall be- thus in future prevented, it will be-too late ^attempt a resistance, which, if at tempted now, would in all probability be success ful : ' We are astonished to hear, that some are so thoughtless as to say, that the honour of the coun- 250 try i$ concerned in upholding the interest of the Scottish patentees against their English rivals, and retaliating upon the privileged printers in Eng. land the indignity and injury which are supposed to have been inflicted by excluding Scottish editions of a book, the copy-right of which is commonly Considered by; English lawyers as being the pro* perty of the Crown of England. For the same reason, the people of Scotland should refuse to Wear English cloth and Irish linen, if the cloth and linen of Scotland were excluded from England and Ireland ; and it was upon some such pettish ground as this, that the Parliament of Scotland, in l6§3, passed an act, (now happily rescinded) which gave rise to a number of intolerable monopolies. If the pride of Scotland be such, that the people would rather have an inferior article which is produced at home than a better which comes from a distance, let them exercise it rather on any other commodity than on the standards of faith. We must take notice, also, of the grudge which the King's; Printers express, on account of the considerable sums sent to England for purchasing what they- call unauthentic copies of the Scrip tures. We do not see this hardship in the same light as they see it. The people of Scotland may Well consider it as an unspeakably heavier griev ance,- that such large sums are taken fk>m them for Bibles which many of them think inferior to 231 those which they could import from England at a lower price. What advantage is it to the Crown ofSootlao4 or to the people of Scotland, or to the religion of Scotland, or to the commerce of Scotland, that one individual, or two individuals, whether born in Scotland, .England, or Wales, (for more than half ofthe persons who have been King's Printers for Scotland appear not to have been natives of Scots- land, or residents in Scotland,) shall receive the whole profit arising from the sale of Bibles in Scotland ? If any one was ever yet selected for the appointment, either on account of his peculiar aptitude for the task, or on account of any signal public services, and if it could have been foreseen that every one who was so selected would continue during the currency ofthe patent, to be represented by persons possessing equal qualifications, and equal claims on the bounty of the public, it was quite unnecessary to secure the profits in any other way than by inducing, him to surpass his English rivals. And when these profits are once secured^ who can restrain the printer from spending the money in England, or France, or Ireland, or any where else? It has surely been a matter of indiffer ence to the people of Scotland all. along, whether the money which they paid for Bibles was spent by Mr. Robert Barker, or Mr.. John Field, or Mr. John Baskett, printers for the kingdom of 252 England, or-by Mr. Robert Young, or Mr. John Baskett, or Mr. John Bruce, printers for the king dom of Scotland, all of whom have equally resided in 'England, while they enjoyed their patents. The value of the appointment of King's Printer is known to be enormous, and the extent of the buildings occupied by the copartnery, whatever proof it may afford of the expense of the under taking, is equally a proof that their profits are not contemptible. One-half ofthe emoluments which are' realized would sufficiently recompense them for any risks -they have, ever run: and, wherever the money is spent, the nation has a right to expect that ample justice will be done in the execution of an office, for which the people are taxed in more ways than one. When so much has been gained in Scotland by individuals, whose duty, if well performed, has been as well paid for, many have thought that the ad vantage might have been much better applied^ If the right had -been given to the universities, of Scotland, and if they had been prevented- from forming a combination, the competition would have secured excellence and accuracy of workmanship, and the profits might have saved the walls of these venerable institutions from crumbling into ruin. The nation would universally acknowledge it to be reasonable, that the profits of printing the Scrip- 3 ¦: 353 tures should be dedicated to the support: of religiotl and learning. The professorships of divinity in particular are almost all miserably endowed ; and as fees are not paid by theological students, the emoluments of those who sustain the important and difficult office of training the candidates for the ministry of the word, are, in some instances,- infe rior to the stipends of the poorest of the country clergy. If; instead of supplying the deficiencies of their incomes, by presenting them to parochial charges, in which they have not leisure to labour so abundantly as others, and at the same time to do justice to their academical appointments, they were required to take an inspection of the accu racy of the editions of the Scriptures, not only in the spoken language of the country, but in the original tongues, the profit would be sufficient to compensate all the labour, though it were divided among the seventeen persons who are Principals, Professors of Divinity, Ecclesiastical History, and Hebrew, in the five universities of Scotland. But though such a distribution had been made of the patent of King's printer, greatly as we would wish to see these learned bodies prosper, we are sure that it would have been no benefit, either to them Or to the nation, to have shut out from Scotland Sti the Bibles printed in England. These faets are humbly submitted* to- the consi deration of counsel, and of the public ; and, though S'54 the subject is by no means exhausted, it is hoped that enough has been said, in the course of the in vestigation, to show that the whole country is inter* ested in the issue of this cause. We conclude by recapitulating a few ofthe po sitions which we think we have established. In our apprehension, it appears undeniable, That seventy years elapsed after the appoint" ment of the first printer to the king of Scotland before any effectual means were taken for printing the Scriptures in English, though in that period many other books equally expensive were published in this kingdom, and though it is certain that the demand for the Scriptures was very great. That from the time when the first edition of the Bible was printed in Scotland, to the Union of the kingdoms,— a period of nearly ISO years, a license for printing the Scriptures was not more necessary than a license for printing any other book ; and that every successive gift to his Majesty's Printers in cluded, a liberty to print many books which are not now considered as prerogative copies. That, during that long period, not only was the importation of Bibles allowed, but parts of the Bible, at least, and other books employed in the service of the church, (Psalms, New Testaments, Catechisms, &c.) were currently printed by persons who did not hold the office of his Majesty's Print er. The second edition of the Bible (the only one 255 printed in the course of fifty years after the first) was printed by an individual who was not King's Printer ; and the same person, as well as several others, printed numerous editions of the Psalms, whjle his Majesty's Printer did not furnish one* That if it W;as the principal object, or any part of the object contemplated by the sovereigns of Scot land, in nominating such an officer as the royal typo grapher, to secure correct editions of theHoly Scrip tures, that object has not hitherto been satisfactori ly attained; as many of the individuals whp h§ld the appointment never published any edition of the, Scriptures, and as the editions published hy others have been, incorrect in a degree to which there is, perhaps no parallel in the whole history of the art of printing.That whenever his Majesty's Printers have been. in any considerable degree supported by govern ment in their attempts to establish a monopoly, the editions ofthe Bible have been most incorrect. ., That it. is no part of the prerogative of the king of Scotland to prescribe what versions of the Scrip tures shall he used in the established church, or by any other body of Christians. And, finally, that it is the duty and the interest of all who wish well to the cause of religion, to re-, sjst every claim arising from any quarter, however respectable, the result of which may he to subject thecircuiatiotnof the Scriptures to restraints un? 356 known in this kingdom during the long period of two hundred and eighty years. The practice of importing copies of the Scrip tures, not by the connivance, but under the sanc tion of the legislature, is coeval with the very dawn of the Reformation ; and now when the great seal of ages is affixed to the privilege, and the statutes of antiquity interpreted by the unvarying use and experience of many generations, is it conceivable that the decision of any court of justice will deprive the people of a vested in terest, protected so long by our judges, our counsellors, and our kings, and, according to our apprehension, unequivocally recognised in the pa tents of the complainers, which prohibit no im portation, except from places beyond seas, — an in terest possessed by our fathers in times when Scot land and England were often in a state of hostility, and never till now disputed, since they formed one kingdom, — an interest which has been heretofore enjoyed in peace and quietness, to no man's preju dice, and to every man's comfort, and which the Bible Societies have least of all forfeited, while they have been adding greatly to the demand for the sacred books, by the circulation of which it has been their aim to make their fellow creatures better subjects of the kingdoms of this world, and better prepared for the happiness of eternity ? APPENDIX. No. I. Extract from the Fourth Annual Report qf the- Deputy Clerk Register qf Scotland, mdcccx. With some additional information concerning the. First Scottish Press. Xhe following privilege by the King to Walter Chepman and Andro Myllar, the first Scottish Printers, is a document of some importance in the literary History of Scotland :— " James, &c. To. al and sindrj our ofEciaris liegis and subdittis quham it efferis, quhais knawlage thir our lettres salcum, greting; Wit ye that forsamekill as our lovittis servitpuris Walter Chepman and Andro Millar burgessis of our burgh of Edinburgh, has at pur instance and request, for our plesour, the honour and prof- fit pf our Realme and liegis, takin on thame to furnis and, bring hame ane prent, with all stuff belangand tharto, and expert men to use the samyne, for imprenting within our Bealme of the bukis pf our Lawis, actis of parliament, croniclis, mess bukis, and portuus efter the use of our Realme, with addicions and le- gendis of Scottis Sanctis, now gaderit to be ekit tharto, and al ut,herjs. bukis that salbe sene necessar, and to sel the sammyn for competent pricis, be our avis and discrecioun thair labouris and experis' being consideritj And becaus we whderstand that this cannot be, pert urnist without rycht greit cost labour and expens, we have gruntit and promittit to thame that thai sail nocht be hurt nor preyenit tharon be ony utheris to tak copyis of ony bukis furtht of our Realme, to ger imprent the samyne in utheris cuntreis, to be brocht and sauld agane within our Realme, to cause the said Walter and Androu tyne thair gret labour and expens ; And alis It is divisit and thocht expedient be us and our consall, that in ty me cuming mess bukis, manu- alis, matyne bukis, and portuus bukis, efter our awin scottis use, and with legendis of Scottis Sanctis, as is now gaderit and ekit be ane Reverend fader in god, and pur traist consalour Williame bischope of abirdene and utheris, be usit generaly within al our Realme alssone as the sammyn may be imprentit and providit, and that na maner of sic bukis of Salusbery use be brocht to be sauld within our Realme in tym cuming ; and gif ony dois in the contrar, that thai sal tyne the sammyne ; Quharfor we charge, straitlie and commandis yow al- and sindrj pur officiaris, liegis, and subdittis, that nane of. yow tak apon hand to dp ony thing incontrar this our promitt, devise, and or dinance, in tyme cuming, under the pane of escheting of the bukis, and punising of thair persons bringaris tharof within our Realme, in contrar this our statut, with al vigour as efferis ©even under our prive Sel at Edinburgh, the xv day of Sep- tember, and of our Regne the xx" yer."— Books of the Privy Seal, iii. 1 29.— The only publications known to have issued from the press of Millar and Chepman, are a collection of pamphlets, chiefly metrical Romances and Ballads, in 1508, of which an imperfect copy is preserved in the Advocates Library ; * and the Scottish Service Book, including the Legends of the Scottish Saints, commonly called the Breviary of Aberdeen, in 1509 ; of which the copies are excessively rare. Additional Information. The following is the title of the Breviary of Aberdeen, com piled by Bishop Elphinston and others.— Breviarii Aberdonen- *i These pamphlets Were reprinted lately, under the ihspection of Mr. David Laing ; but as two-thirds Of the impression were destroyed by fire, the book will soon be almost as rare as ever. 8 sis ad percelebris eccles. Scotor. potisshnum usum et Consue. tudinem, pars hyemalis de tpe f^tempore^ et de Scis [^Sanctis] ac Davitico Psalterio, congfuenter per ferias diviso: Cum Invi- tatoriis, hymnis Antiphonis Capitulis Reponsoriis horis feriar. commemorationibus per anni curriculum necnon coe Scot, pin* rimarumque virginum et matronarum ac diversorum Scor. le gendis quae sparsim in incerto antea vagabantur : cum Kalen- dario et mobilium festorum tabula perpetua variisque aliis ad juncts et de novo additis sacerdotibus plurimum quam neces- sariis in Edinburgensi oppido Walteri Chepman Mercatoris impensis impressa Februariis idibus Anno Salutis nrae et gr* ix. M. supra et quingr.ntesimum. The work is concluded thus : — Laus deo cujus gracia finis adest presenti /jpusculo .Aestivalis partis breviarii divinorum ofticiorum de/ tempore et de Sanctis; ac Davitico Psalterio congruenter/per ferias diviso: cum Invitatoriis Hymnis An tiphonis Capitulis Responsoriis Horis Feriarum Commemo- rationibuj per anni circulum nee non Communi Sanc torum plurimarum Virginum et Matronarum cum Kalen- dario et Mobilium festorum Tabula perpetua: cum diversorum Sanctorum legendis: quae antea sparsim vagabantur, et non- nullis aliis adjunctis Sacerdotibus pernecessariis, per Reveren- dum in X°. patrem Wilelmum Aberdonen. episcopum studio. sius maximisque cum laboribus collectis non solum ad ecclesiae suae Aberdonen. verum etiam ad totius ecclesise Scoticanse usum percelebrem oppido Edinburgensi impresso jussu et impensis honorabilis viri Walteri. Chepman ejusdem oppidi Mercatoris quarto die mensis Junii Anno D. m.ccccc decimo. Before the Aberdeen Breviary was completely printed, Wal ter Chepman had occasion to complain of a violation of his privilege, by the importation of books of Salisbmy use. The deliverance of the Privy Council on this complaint is worthy of attention. January 14, 1509. Anent the complaint maid be Walter Chepman, that quhar he, at the desyre of our soverane lord, furnist and brocht hame ane prent and prentaris, for prenting of croniclis, mis- salis, portuuss, and utheris buikis within this realme, and to se at 2 elude salisberyis use; And to that effect thair wes lettres under our said soverane lordis priue sele direct, till command and charge oure soverane lordis liegis, that nain of thaim suld In- bring or sell ony bukis of the said use of salusbery under the pane of escheting of the samyn; Neuirtheless, Wilyam Frost, Francis Frost, William Sym, Andro Ross, and diuers utheris, merehandis within the burgh of Edinburgh, hes brocht haim, and sellis daly, diuers bukis of the said use sik as mess bukis, mannualis, portuiss, matinbukis, and diuers uther bukis, in the, dissobeing of the said command and lettres lik as at; mar lentht Is contenit in the said complaint: The saidis Walter, William, Francis, William, and Andro, being personaly present, And thair Richtis ressons and allegacions herd sene and understand, and thairwith being Riply avisit, The Lordis of Counsale for- saidis commandit and chargit the saidis William Frost, Francis Frost, William Sym, and Andro : Ross, personaly, that nain of thaim, in tyme to cum, bring hame, nor sell within this Realme, ony missale bukis, mannualis, portuiss, or matinbukis, of the said use of salusbery, under the payn of escheting of the samyn ; And that lettres be writtin in dew" forme to the provest and balyies of Ed? and to officeris of the kingis Sheriffes in that pairt, to command and charge be oppin pro clamation, all utheris merehandis and persons, that nain of thaim bring haim, nor sell within this Realme, ony of the bukis abonewrittin of the said use of salusbery, in tyme to cum, under the said pain, according to the said lettres under our souerane lordis priue sele direct thairuppon; And as to the bukis that ar ellis brocht hame be the saidis merehandis and uther persons, that thai bring nain to the merket, nor sell nain within this Realme, bot that thai have the samyn furth of this Realme, and sell thaim ; And that the saidis provest, bail.lies, and officiaris forsaidis, serche and seik quhar ony of the saidis manuale, bukis, mesbukis, matinbukis, and portuiss, of the said use beis brocht haim in tyme tocum, or sauld of thaim that ar ellis brocht hame, and eschete the samyn to our soverane lordis use: And als, that na persons tak copijs ofthe buikis abonwrittin and donatis, and Wlric in prsonas, or uther buikis that the said Walter hes prentit ellis for till haf thaim to. uther Realmes to ger thaim be prentit, brocht haim, or sauld, within this Realme In tyme tocum, under the pain of escheting of the samin ; And quha dois in the contrair, that the said pain be put to executioun on thaim, And that lettres be direct herapon, in dew forme, as said Is. . (Ada Horn. Cone. xxi. 70.) No. II. Licence to Robert Lekprevik, Imprentar in Edinburgh, Jan. 14, 1567. Ane Letter maid with awise and consent of my Lord Regent makand mentioun That thai understanding that it is not orilie neidfull in commoun welthis to have the commoun lawis quhilkts ar the rule of the subjectis in civile thingis imprentit alsweile for the commoditie of this present aige as of the posteritie to cum Bot alsua all sic godlie werkis and volumis as tendis to the glorie of God Thairfore Licencand and gevand to Robert Lek previk Imprentar in Edinburgh privilege and full powir to im- prent all and quhatsumever actis workis volumes and utheris necessaris alsweile in latine as in inglische for the weill and commoditie of this realme and liegis thairof And als all sic thingis as tendis to the glorie of God Induring all the space and termes of tuenty zeiris nixt following the dait heirof Chairgeing all and sindrie Imprentaris writtaris and utheris liegis within this realme That thai nor nane of thaime tak upon hand to imprent or caus be imprentit be quhatsumevir persoun or personis outhir within this realme or outwith the samyn in ony tyme heireftir during the said space the workis volumes, and buikis underwrittin or caus bring hither the same out of uthir cuntreis except onlie the said Robert Lekprevik quha salbe nominat during the said space our Soverane Lordis 6 Imprentar That is to say the buikis callit Donatus pfo pueris Rudimentis of Pelisso The actis of parliamentis maid or to be maid (except the actis of his hienes last parliament) The croni- klis of this realme The buik callit Regia Majestas The psalmes pf David with the inglis and latine catechismes les and mair The buik callit the Omeleyis for reidaris in kirkis Togidder with the grammer to be set furth callit the generall grammer to be usit within scolis of this realme for eruditioun of the youth And that under the panis of confiscatioun of the same workis and buikis that salhappin to be imprentit and payment of the sowme of twa hundreth pundis money of this realme With com mand and charge to all and sindrie provestis baillies and officia- ris of his hienes burrowis to serche and seik the contravenaris heirof and cause thir presentis to be put to dew executioun con- forme to the tennor thairof in all poinds during the space foir said And be thir presentis Our said Soverane with advice and consent foirsaid Ratifeis and apprevis the gift gevin and grantit be his umquhile derrest fader and his hienes moder under thair prive serll to the said Robert for Imprenting of the Actis of Parliament and psalmes ellis imprentit be him conform e to the tennour of the samin in all pointis of the dait the viijday of februar The zeir of God In v<= lxv zeiris And gif ony of our said Soveranis liegis tak upoun hand to imprent within this realme, or cause be imprentit outwith the samin ony of the foir- saidis workis volumes and buikis specialie abone expressit ex cept onlie the said Robert during the said space Ordains the samin to be confiscat and becum under eschete and the persone contravenand the samin to pay the said sowme of twa hundreth pundis money foirsaid That is to say The ane half to our sove- ranes use and the uther half to the said Robertis use frelie quiet- lie &c But ony revocatioun &c. At Edinburgh the xiiij day of Januare The zeir of God In vc Ix vij zeiris Per Signaturam No. III. ¦ Licence to Lekgnvik to Print the, Inglis BibUl, April 14, 1568. Ane Letter maid with awise of my Lord Regent Tp Robert -Lekprevik our Soverane Lordis imprentare Givand grantand and committand to him full licence priveJege and power To im» prent all and haill ane buke callit- the Inglis bybill imprentit of before at Geneva And that condnuallie induring the space of tuenty zeiris nixt following the dait heirof Chargeing all and sindrie imprentaris writtaris and utheris his hienes liegis within this realme That nane of thame tak upoun hand to imprent or caus be imprentit be quhatsumever persoun or personis within this realme in ony .tyme heireffcer induring the said space under the panis of confiscatioun thairof The said buke callit the In glis bibill viz samony as salhappin to be imprentit and payment ¦ofthe soume of twa hundreth pundis money of this realme &c At Glasgw the fourtene day of Aprile The zeir of God In ve lxviij zeiris. No- IV- Privilege to Mr. .George Young, to Print a Grammar, February 2, 1575. [Reg. Sec. Sig. xliii. 1575-1576.] Ane lettre maid to Maister George Young Gevand grant and and committand to him full power and priuilege that he allane and nane vtheris sail imprent or caus be imprentit the new grammer quhilk is now to be sett out to be vsit univer- 8 sallie throuchout this haill realme and sell the same to the lieges thairof induring all the space zeiris and term es of ten zeiris nixt following the dait heirof chairgeing and inhibeting all vtheris imprentaris and lieges of this realme quhatsumeuir That nane of thame tak upown hand to imprent or sell, or caus be imprent or sauld within this realme or outwith ony of the buikis foirsaidis or bring thame hame to be sauld except it be with the speciall licence and tollerance of the said Mr. George had and obtenit thairto within the space befoir exprimit vnder the pane of confiscation of the same &c. Provyding alwayis that the said Mr. George sell and caus the saidis grammeris to be sauld commonlie to the lieges of this realme at sie prices as our souerane Lord with auyse of the said regent and Lordis of Secrete Counsall sail imput thairupoun &c. At Halyrudehous the Secund day of Februare The zeir of God, Im vc lxxv zeiris. No. V. Licence to Alexander Arbuihnet and Thomas Bassenden to print Bibles, June 30, 1576. [Reg. Sec. Sig. xliii. 1575-1576.] Ane Letter maid to Alexander Arbuthnet burges of Edin burgh and Thomas Bassindyne prentare and burges of the said burgh Gevand grantand and committand to thame licence and priuilege to prent and caus be imprentit set furth and sauld within this realme or outwith the samin Bibillis in the vul- gare Inglis toung in haill or in partis with ane callindare to be insert thairin for the space of ten zeiris nixt and immediatlie following the first begynning quhilk was the xxvij day of Merche the zeir of God Imvc lxxvj zeiris of the said volume fra thynfwrth to indure ay and quhill the full completing and furthry nnyng of the saidis ten zcires allanerlie with power &c. Dischargeing all and sindrie his heines liegis of quhatsumeuir es tait or degre thai be of alsweill to burgh as to land as alsua strang- earis repairing within this realme That nane of thame tak vpoun hand at ony tyme eftir the publicatioun of this his hienes priui lege during the said space of ten zeiris To prent or caus be im prentit in ony carrecture or lettir translatioun or volume quhat sumeuir sell or caus be sauld brocht hame or distribute to ony persoun or persounes (except with the consent of the saidis Alexander and Thomas) vnder the pane of confiscatioun nocht onlie of the saidis volumes quhilk sal happin to be sua fund with ony persoun Bot alsua that the persoun offendane and contravenan of the premisses or ony part thairof To pay the sowme of ane hundreth pundis sa oft as thai sail happin to be apprehendit thair with The ane half of the said confiscatioun and soumes to be ressavit to oure soverane Lordis vse and the uther half to the saidis Thomas and Alexanderis vses And this priuilege to indure the foirsaid space Providing that thai sell the saidis bibillis to all oure souerane Lordis liegis accord ing to the prices appointit viz. everie bibill for four pundis xiij s iij d with all and sindrie fredomes commoditeis &c. No. VI. Gift under the Privy Seal to Alexander Arbuthnot to im prent the Psalme buik, cj-c. Apr, 1, 1579. [Regist. Sec. Sig. vol xlvi. / 43.] Ane Letter maid to Alexander Arbuthnot burges of Edin- burg Gevand grantand and committand to him privilege and full power To imprent and caus be imprentit the psalme buik in prois and meter with the prayaris and catechismes in eng- lische and latyne Induring the space of sevin yeiris nixt follow ing the dait heirof, &c. with command and charge in the same 10 to all and sjmdrie imprentaris wrytaris and uthers liegis within this realme That nane of thame tak upoun hand to Imprent sell or caus be imprentit be quhatsumever persoun or personis ather within this realme or outwith the same in ony tyme heirefter in during the said space the' said psalme buik in prois and meter 'with the prayaris and catechismes in inglis and latyne under the pane of confiscatioun of the same the ane half to oure Soverane Lordis use and the uther half to the said Alexander Arbutnot with command in the same alsua to all and sindrie proveistis baillies and officiaris of burrowis within this realme That thai serche and seik the contravenaris of this privilege and caus the samyn be put to dew execution conforme to the tennour thairof in all points during the space foirsaid &c. At Striviling castell the first day of Appryle The yeir of god I m vc threscoir nyne- tene y eirs. No. VII. Licence to Alexander Arbuthnot to Print the Bible. Aug. 24, 1579. [Regist. Sec. Sig. vol xlvi.] Ane Letter maid to Alexander Arbuthnot prenter burges : of Edinburgh makand constituand and ordinand him prentar to oure soverane Lord and gevand to him the office thairof for all the dayis of his lyftyme with all priviledges and immuniteis be- langing thairto vsit and wont To be bruikit occupyit and joisit be him als frelie in and be all things as ony prenter to his hienes or his predicessouris did of befoir during the said space with power to the said Alexander To imprent or cause be imprentit all sic workis and volumes as salbe thocht meit and expedient to his Majesteis estaitis and Lordis of his Previe Counsall set or to be set furthe in the Latyne Inglis or Vulgar Scottis toungis tending to the glorie of God and commoun weill of this realme 11 he obtening first special! licence thair vpoun as effeiris And like- wayis be thir presentis gevis and grantis special! licence and priuilege to the said Alexander to imprent or caus be imprentit set furthe and sauld within this realme or outwith the samin bybillis in the Vulgar Inglis Scottis and Lateine toungis in hail! or in paktis w&h ane Callendar to be set furthe thairin for the space of ten zeiris nixt and immediatlie following the dait heirof, and to hyre and bring hame quhatsumevir persoun or persounis it sail pleis him of quhatsumeuir cuntrey or natioun thai be of for imprenting and binding of the saidis workis pro- mittand that thai sail saulflie remane thairin during the said space, and frelie depairt furthe of the samin but ony trubill or molestatioun to be made to thame be ony of his hienes subjectis in thair cuming remaning or away passing they behaueand thame selfis dewtifullie and doand and attemptand na thing di- rectlie or indirectlie in hurt or prejudice of oure said souerane Lord his realme and liegis discharging all and sindrie his hienes subjectis of quhatsumeuir estait or degrie thay be of alsweill to burgh as to laud as alsua strangears repairing within this realme that nane of thame tak vpoun hand at ony tyme efter the pub- licatioun of this present priuilege during the said space of ten zeiris To imprent or caus be imprentit within this realme in ony carrectar letter translatioun or volume quhatsumeuir ony of the saidis bibilHs or ony pairt therof Except with, the consent of the said Alexander vnder the pane of confiscatioun not onlie of the saidis volumes quhilkis sal happin to be sa fund with ony persoun bot alsua that the persoun offeudar and contravenar of the premisses or ony part therof to pay the sowme of twa hun- drithe pundis money sa oft as thai sal happin to be apprehendit therwith the ane half of the confiscatioun and souro.es to be re- sauit to his Majesties vse and the vthir half to the vse pf the said Alexander and this priuilege for the said space to indure proyyding that he sell the saidis bibillis to be imprentit in, tyme cuming as said is to all the lieges of this realine according to the prices to be appointit be his hienes and the personis that sal haue commissipun of his Majestie to that effect at the compleit end ofthe samin in haill or in pairt with all and syndrie vthiris commoditeis fredomes &c. frelie quietlie weill and in peace but 12 ony reuocatioun or agane calling quhatsumeuir &c. command ing the Lordis of Counsall and Sessioun to direct Letters with executiouns heiron sa oft as neid beis in forme as effeiris and als commanding his hienes sheriffis proveistis bailleis and counsall of burrowis and all vtheris his Majesteis officiaris and sercheris that thai serche the contrauenaris of this present priuilege sa oft as thai sal be requirit thairto be the said Alexander under all hiest pane and charge that efter may follow. At the castell of Striuiling the xxiiij day of August the zeir of God Im vc threscoir nyntene zeiris. No. VIII. Gift under the Privy Seal to Robert Walgrave Prenter. Oct. 9, 1590. [Reg. Sec. Sig. Ixi. 58.] Ane Letter maid to Robert Walgrave makand and constituand him oure Soverane Lordis prentare and gevand to him the pri vilege thairof for all the dayis of his lyiftyme With power to him and na uthires be himself and his servandis for quhome he sal be haldin to ansuer To Imprent and caus be Imprentit all and sindrie actis of Parliament utheris actis statutis proclama tions letteris and chargeis concerning his Majestie and his estait As alsua all and sindrie buikis volumis werkis and writtis quhilkis salbe seine allowit and approvit be his Majestie the pres biterie or sessioun of Edinburgh and thairupoun to. sell and dis pone at his pleasure And to the effect he_ may the mair frielie use and exerce this present privilege His hienes hes alsua taikin and be thir presentis takis the said Robert under his Majesties speciall protectioun mantenance defence and saulfgaird As alsua hes exemit and be thir presentes exemis him fra all watching warding and fra all payment of taxt stent contributioun bering or sustening of ony uther charge within burgh or utherwyse 13 the said space And will and grantis that he nor his saidis ser- vantis sail nocht be callit nor accusit civillie nor criminallie be ony manner of way for the caus foirsaid nor incur na skaith nor danger thairthrow in thair personis or guidis notwith standing ony his hienes actis statutis proclamations inhibitionis or charges maid or to be maid and direct in the contrair Quhair- anent and panis contenit thairin his Majestie dispensis be thir presentis &c. With expres charge and command in the samin to all and sindrie Shireffis Stewards Provestis and baillies of burrowis and utheris his hienes officiaris and ministeris of his lawis liegis and subdittis quhatsumever To suffer and permit the said Robert to brouk and injoy the present privilege pro tectioun and exemptioun in all points And to do nor attempt nathing to the brek and violatioun of the samin As thai and ilk ane of thame will ansuer to his hienes upoun thair. obedience at thair uttermost charge and perrel and under all hieast pane cryme and -offence that they may commit ai?d Inrin agains his Majestie in that behalf &c. At Halieruidhous the nynt day of October the yeir of god Imvc fourscoir ten zeiris. Per Signaturam. No. IX. Licence to Zacharie Pont to be chief Printer. Oct. 28, 1590. [Reg. Sec. Sig. Ixi. 1590.] Ane Lettere maid to Mr Zacharie Pont Gevand and grant and full libertie freedom and licence to him to exerceis & use be himself his servandis and deputtis the office of chief impren- tare within his hienes realme and to imprent all kynd of buikis set furth in ony kynde of toung or language not forbiddin be the statutis and lawis of his Majesties realme With power to him and his foirsaidis to sell dispone and use the saidis buikis to be imprentit as he sail think expedient and to use all utheris liber- 14 teis pertenyng to the said office not prejudrciall to his hienes lawis in all tyme cummirig during his lyftyme but stop or im pediment, &c. At halierudhous the xxviij of October The zeir of God foirsaid. No. X. Licence to Jdhne Nortoun, Inglischeman, for Inbringing ^¦and selling (f Buhis. Jun. 25, 159,1. [Reg. Sec. Sig, Ixxii. 88.] Ane Letter maid Makand mentioun That oure Soverane Lord having respect to the singular hiife his Hienes beires to leira- ing and to all that may advance the samin amang his hienes subjectis for quhais weill he is maist caii-full willing thame to be furnist of all sortis of guid bukis, and that upoun guid and easye prices ; And being credablie informit That John Nor toun, Inglischeman, having be the space of four zeiris last by- past useit and exerceit himself in the tred and traffique of In- bringing and selling of buikis upoun easye prices within his Majesteis burgh of Edinburgh, and utheris his Majesties bur- rowis within this realme in ane honest maner, But ony offence to ony his hienes lieges, And his Majestie being willing that the said Johnne Nortoun continew in the said tred and traf fique of Inbringing of buikis and selling thairof as of befoir but ony trubill or impediment to be maid to him, his factouris and servitouris in his name be ony of his hienes Jugeis or liegis within this realme thairanent, &c. Geveand grantand and dis- ponand Lyke as his hienes Gevis, grantis, and disponis to the said Johne Nortoun, his factouris and servitouris in his name His hienes full power, libertie, and licence to exerce and use his said tred and traffique of Inbringing and selling of all sortis of buikis in all langeageis and provin scienceis within this realme 15 as of befoir within the said burgh of Edinburgh, and uther pairtis of this realme With command in the said letteris to the Provost and bailies of the said burgh of Edinburgh and utheris provestis and baillies of burrowis and Jugeis ordinar within this realme That thai nor nane of thame tak upoun hand to Inquyet trubill areist or mak impediment to the said Johne his factouris and servitouris in his name at ony wyis or at ony tyme heirefter during his lyvetyme In using and exerceing of his said tred and traffique of buikis selling, as of befoir within the said burgh of Edinburgh and utheris burrowis and pairtis within this realme Notwithstanding ony actis maid or to be maid in the contrair Quhairanent his Majestie dispensis with the said Johne for ever And that publicatioun be direct be the Lordis of Ses sioun and thair letteris of the said gift to be publischeit at the marcat croce of Edinburgh foirsaid and utheris burrowis and pairtis of this realme neidfull Swa that nane of oure Soverane Lordis liegis pretend ignorance thairof But obey the samin as thai will ansuer to our said Soverane Lord upoun thair obedi ence and uttermost perrell, &c At Edinburgh, the xxv day of Junij the zeir of God Im vc lxxxxj zeiris. No. XI. Andro Hart contra the Customaris. In Scaccario, primo Junii 1597. Sederunt vrq" blantyre Newbottle clericus registri aduocatus eglishame ormestcun Carmichaell elimosinar. , Anent the Supplicatioun gevin in befoir the saidis lordis of Chekker be Andro Hart burges of Edinburgh Makand men- tioun That quhair he haifing consJdderatioun quhat hurt the liegis of this realme sustenit throw the skairsitie of buikis and volumis of all sortis and to quhat exhorbitant prices the buikis 3 16 and small volumis wer rissin vnto qlkis war brocht hame frome lundoun and vtheris parttis of Ingland and sauld in this cuntrey at the third advantage he vpoun ernest zeall to vertew and vp bringing of youth within this realme interprysit a lang tyme bypast the hame cuming of volumis and buikis furth of alman- yie and germany fra the qlkis the maist part of the best volumis in Ingland ar brocht The said complenar menit him to his Ma jestie and Ibrdis of secreit counsall for the tyme and obtenit ane decreit aganis John Gourlay customar of Edinburgh Chairge ing him and all vtheris customaris of quhatsumeuir vtheris bur rowis and portis of this realme To decist and ceis fra all asking craving or suting of ony custome fra him for ony buikis or vo lumis brocht or to be brocht and sauld be him within this realme in tymcmningdischairgeing the saide customaris thereof and of ther offices in that part Provyding that he present all packis puncheonis and barrellis quhairin the saidis buikis and volumis salbe brocht hame to the customar q.uharthrow the same may be sene gif thair be any vtheris wairis or merchandice therin As the said decreit of the dait the xviij day of februar fourscoir nyne yeiris at mair lenth veiris Notwithstanding of the quhilk the said Johne gourlay contrar the tennour of the said decreit daylie trublis the said andro for payment to him of his custome of the said buikis and volumis To his havie dampnage and 'skay th Desyring thairfore the saidis lordis That thai wald chairge the said Johne gourlay customar foirsaid and all vtheris customaris of quhatsumeuir vtheiris burrowis and portis of this realme To decist and ceis fra all asking craving or suting of ony custome fra him for ony buikis or volumis brocht or to be brocht or sauld be him within this realme in tym cuming Dischairgeing tham thereof and of ther offices in that part Conforme to the tennour of the said decreit Lyke as at mair lenth is contenit in the said supplicatioun The said andro hart complenar foirsaid being per- sonalie present all his richtis ressonis being hard sene and vn- derstand and therwith being ryplie advysit The lordis auditouris of our souerane lordis chekker haifing respect and consideratioun of the foresaid supplicatioun and contends therof And how be diuerse thair allegeaces subscryit with thair handis CthaQ had gevin command to the said John gourlay customar foirsaid 17 and all vtheris customaris therof as alsua of all vtheris burrowis and portis of this realme To decist and ceis fra all asking crav ing or suting of ony custome fra the said complenar for ony buikis or volumis brocht or to be brocht in or sauld within this realme ffindis declaris and ordanis that thair salbe na maner of custome or customes askit sutit or tane fra the said complenar for tony buikis or volumis alreddie brocht in or to be brocht in be him within this. realme in ony tyme cuming And therfoir ordanis the said John gourlay customar foirsaid and all vtheris customaris of Edinburgh present or that salhappin to be for the tyme as alsua all vtheris customaris of quhatsumevir burrowis and portis of this realme To decist and ceis fra all asking crav ing or suting of ony custome fra the said andro hart complenar foirsaid for ony buikis or volumis brocht in or to be brocht in or sauld be him within this realme in ony tyme cuming dis charging tham therof and of ther offices in that part conforme to the tennour of the foirsaid decreit gevin be the saidis lordis of secreit counsall thervpoun of the dait abone specifiet Lyke as the samyn schawin and producit befoir the saidis lordis audi- touris of Chekker proportit and buir and ordanis lettres to be direct heirvpoun gif neid beis in forme as effeiris. Register of Exchequer. No XII. Licence to John Gibsoun to Prent Ane New Psalme Buik. July 31, 1599. [Reg. Sec. Sig. lxxi. 1599-1600.] Ane Lettre maid makand mention That his hienes being per- fytlie iriformit how Johne Gibsoun his hienes buik binder, hes vpoun his awin grit charges and be his priuate meane and de- uyse causit imprent within Middilburgh in Flanderis ane new psalme buik in litill volume contening baith the Psalmes in 6 18 verse as lykwayis the samyn in prose vpoun the margine thair of In ane forme nevir practizit nor devisit in any heirtofoir And tending gritlie to the fortherance of the trew religion and the particular weill of the professouris thairof within this realme Quhairfore to the intent he be not frustrat of the commoditie due to his said inventioun and debursement Thairfoir gevand and grantand his hienes full frie and onlie Licence and Libertie to him his airis and assignais To caus bring hame the said haill impressioun of the psalmes in the foirsaid forme Sell and Dis pone thairon to his hienes liegis at conuenient pryces and use thame euerie way to his behove Dischairgeing all vtheris his hienes leigis of quhatsumeuir tred or calling To by bring hame or sell anie of the said impressioun and forme without the spe cial Licence of the said Johne Gibsoun had and obtenit thairto And gif onie persoun or personis hes alreddie brocht hame the same to the speciall hurt and prejudice of the said Johne inhi- biteing and expresslie dischargeing thame thair seruandis or onie vtheris in thair names of all selling out making mercat or exchangeing thairof during the space of sevin yearis nixt to come eftir the dait heirof vnder the pane of confiscatioun of thair haill moveablis the ane half thairof to -be applyit to his hienes use and the other to the said Johnis use and behove Re- quyring the Lords of Sessioun to Grant speciall Lettres of pub- licatioun heirupon Conteining the discharge & inhibitioun be foir specifeit &c. At Falkland the last day of July The zeir of God ImvcLxxxxix zeiris. No. XIII. Licence to Robert Smyth to Imprent the Double and Single Catechismes, Psalme Buik, 8;c. i}c. Dec. 3, 1599. [Reg. Sec. Sig.lxxi. 1599-1600. Fol 86.] Ane Letter maid to Robert Smith librar burges of Edinburgh gevand grantand and disponand to him Licence and priviledge 19 to imprent be himself his servandis and vtheris in his name within this realme the double and single catechismes the plane donat the haill four pairtis of Grammar according to Sebastianie the dialogues of Corderius the eglect and familiar epistles of Ci cero the buik Callit Sevin Seagis the ballat buik the secund ru- dimentis of Dunbar the psalmes of Buchannan and psttlme buik als oft as occasion sail serve and as the said Robert sail think meit and expedient during all the space and zeiris of tuentie fyve zeiris nixt efter the day and date heirof With power to the said Robert be himself and vtheris in his name to use and exer- ce the airt and craft of imprenting of the saidis volumes and warkis with all and sindrie friedomes priviledges and immuni ties pertening and belanging to the airt and craft of imprenting sicklike and als frielie ih all respectis as onie vther heirtofor hes uset or may use and exerce the samyn in tyme turning. With express command and inhibition to all and sindrie oure Souerane Lordis Liegis and subjectis that they nor nane of thame presume nor take vpoun hand to imprent onie of the saidis buikis and volumes or to caus the samin be imprentit within this realme or outwith the samin or zit to by and bring with the 9'amen furth of onie1 vther pairtis' ony of the saidis warkis to Sell the same within this realme during' the space above written ilk persone vnder the pane of , fyve hundreth pundis and confiscatioun ofthe haill buikis that sail happin to be imprentit brocht hame or sauld be ony vther persone nor the said Robert according to the tennoure ; heirof The ane half of the samen to be applyit to oliresaide Souerane Lordis vse the Other half to the said Robert -for his labouris and painis Certe- fieing the saidis persones and everie ane of thame and they or ony- of thame do or attempt ony thing in contrair heirof tending to the hurt and prejudice of the said Robert the forsaid pain and confiscatioun salbe vseit and execute aganis thame with all ri gour and to this effect gevis and grantis speciall power and com- missioun during the space above writtin to the said Robert or onie vtheris quhome he pleisis to appoynt and nominat to search seik and apprehend the forsaidis warkis and volumes imprentit brocht hame or sauld within this realme be onie vther persone or persounes nor the said Roberts self and his foirsaidis And 62 20 ordanis vtheris Lettres gif neid beis tp be direct thairupoun be the Lordis of Sessioun Secreit Counsall or Exchequer for pub- licatioun heirof at the mercate croce of Edinburgh and vtheris places neidfull frielie quietlie &c. But onie reuocatioun &c. At Halierudhous the third day of December The zeir of God Im vc fourescoir nyntene zeiris. No. XIV. Gift under the. Privy Seal to Maister Robert Charteris, Prentar, Dec. 8, 1603. [Reg. Sec. Sig. lxxiv. 143.] Ane letter maid Makand constituand and ordinand Maister Robert Charteris printer to our Soverane Lord and gevand to , him the privilege thairof for all the dayis of his lyfetyme With power to the said Mr Robert (and nane utheris) be himselff and his servandis for quhome he salbe haldin to ansuer To imprent and caus be imprentit all and sindrie actis of parliament uther actis statutes proclamationes letteris and charges concerning his Majestie and his estait As alsua all & sindrie buikis volumes werkis and writtis quhilkis salbe seine allowed and approved be his Majestie the presbiterie or Sessioun of Edinburgh and thairupone to sell and dispone at his pleasure And to the effect that the said Mr Robert may the mair frielie use and exerce this present priviledge his hienes hes alswa takin and be thir presentis takis the. said Mr Robert under his Majesteis speciall protectioun mantenance defense and saulfgairde As alsua hes exemit and be thir presentis exemis him fra all watching ward ing and fra all payment of taxt stent contributioun bearing or sustening of ony uther charge within burgh or utherwayis dur ing the said space And willis and grantis that the said Mr Robert nor his servandis sal! nocht be callit nor accused civillie or criminallie be ony maner of way for the .caus foirsaid nor 21 incur any skaith or danger thairthrow in thair persones or gudis notwithstanding any of his hienes actis statutes proclamationes chargeis or inhibitiones maid or to be maid in the contrare Quhairanent and all panes contenit thairintill his Majestie dis- pensis be thir presentis With expres charge and command to all and sindrie shiriffis stewards provestis and baillies of bur- rowes and utheris his hienes officiaris and ministeris of his lawes liegis and subdittis quhatsumever To suffer and permit the said Mr Robert bruik and enjoy this present privilege protectioun and exemptioun in all pointis And to do nor attempt na thing to the brek and violatioun of the same as thay and ilkane of thame will ansuer to his hienes upoun thair obedience at thair uttermest charge and perrell and under all hiest pane cryme and offence that thay may commit and Inrin aganis his Majestie in that behalff &c. At Striviling the aucht day of December Im v jc and thre yeiris. Per Signaturam. No XV. Gift under the Privy Seal to Thomas Findlasone, June 17, 1606. [Regist. Sec. Sig. vol. lxxv./ 127.] Ane Letter maid Makand mentioun that his Majestie under standing quhow that Thomas Findlasone merchant burges of Edinburgh having a speciall regaird that the airt of prenting quhilk is sua necessar for the commoun weill of this realme micht be adwancit and sett fordwart within the samyn hes not only to his great charges and expenssis interprysit the practes- ing of that airt Bot in end cuming to ane fulperfectioun thairin he hes bocht the haill liberteis and privilegeis under writtein 22 quhilkis pertenit of befoir to the personis following and is pos- sessit with thair haill buikis and Irhes and Oure said Soverane Lord and Lordis of his hienes secreit- counsall willing that the said Thomas salbe assistit with all sick helpis and meanis as may forder and adwauce him in this his professioun and in spe ciall That) the liberteis and priviledges Quhilkis to his .greit chargeis ' he hes bocht as said is may be effectuall unto him Thairfbre His Majestie' with adwise of the Lordis: of his secjeit Counsall Ratifeis Approvis Confirmis'and of new Gevis to the said Thomas Finlaysoun his aMs and assignayis ane or ma for the haill space of tuenty fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait of thir pr«seritis>his Majesteis gift, grantit; and gevin be bis 'hienes To Maister; George Young archedene of Sanctandrps ofthe dait at Striveling the' tuentie day' of September Imvc fourscoir five yeiris Quhilk gift was disponit and assignit be the said Mr George to umquhile Gilbert Maistertoun burges • of Edinburgh upoun the fyftein day of Aprile the yeir of God Im vc fourscoir and sevin yeiris and he thairefter annaliet disponit and trans- ferrit the haill right of the samyn gift in the persone of umqu hile Johne Gibsoun buikbinder to his Majestie and quhilk was ratefeit approvit and confirmit and of new gevin be his Majes tie to the said umquhile Johnne Gibsone his airis and assig nayis ane or ma for the space of nyntein yeiris nixt efter the dait ofthe said gift quhilk was upone the tuenty day of Junij jm vc fourscoir nyne zeiris. and thairefter ratifiet and approvit be his Majestie at his perfyte aige to the said umquhile Johne Gibsone for prenting within this realme or causing to be prentit within or without the same of the Bybille To wit the auld and new testamentis in oure vulgare toung in haill or in peices and in quhatsumever volumes greit or small with the Psalme buik baith inprois and metour and in quhatsumever volume greit or small, the dowbill and singill Catechise, with the prognostica- tiouns and generallie all and quhatsumever buikis specefeit in dure said Soverane' Lordis privilege and licence grantit to um- q"uhile Alexr Arbuthnet prentar Lykeas the priviledge foirsaid grantit be his hienes to the' said umquhile %Johrie G-ibsoW con- tertte 'ane speciall prohibitioun and dischairge to all and sindrie his Majesteis' liegis to prent or caus Be prentit within or out- with this our realme ony of the saidis haill buikis contenit in the said umquhile Alex* Arbuthnetis priviledge and licence or to! bring hame or in, ony wayis to sell the same within this realme during the said haill ispace of nyntein yeiris nixt efter' the dait pf the said umquhile Johnne Gibsohis gift under the pane of Confiscatioun of thair hail! moveabill guidis and geir The ane half to oure said Soverane Lordis use and the uther halff to the ¦said umquhile Johnne and his foirsaidis use Notwithstanding pf quhatsumever gift grantit heirtofoir in the contrar of the said gift as the samyn of the dait foirsaid in the selff at mair lenth beiris And siclyke Ratifies Approvis - Confermis and of new gevis to the said Thomas Findlaysone his airis and assignayis ane or mae for the said haill space pf tuentie fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait of thir presentis his Majesties gift grantit to the said umquhile Johnne Gibsone upone the threttene day of Maij the yeir ,of God IP vc fourscoir ten yeiris for prentirig ofthe Bybele To wit the auld & new testamentis in oure vulgar toung or inlattyne in haill or in peices and in quhatsumever volume greit or small, Togidder with the psalme buikis in all sortis and in quhatsumever volume greit or small The first and secund Dunbar Rudimentis Corderinius Colloquies the hail! warkis of Sir David Lyndesay with ane buik callit The seavin seages with the haill heidis claussis and articulis contenit in his Majesties said gift grantit to the said umquhile Johnne, and als ane uther gift priviledge and licence gevin and grantit be his -Majestie to the said umquhile Johnne Gibsone anno Im y? fourscoir nyn- tene. upoun the last day of Juiij for the prentipg of ane psalme buik with the prose on the margend thairof in greit and small volume, and ratifeit and approvit be his hienes to James Gib sone sone and air to the said Johnne upone the tuentie sevine day of Apryle Im vj<= and tua yeiris Quhilkis haill giftis privi ledges and licences with the haill contends thairof and all let teris of publicatioun past and execute thairupone the said James Gibsone sone and air to the said umquhile John Gibsone for certane sowmes of money and utheris ressounis moveing him hes sauld annaliet and disponit and transferrit jn the persone of the said Thomas Findlaysoune his airis and assignayis ane or ma As the said dispositioun and translatioun ofthe dait the first day of Marche Im vjc and six yeiris and subscry vit be the said 24 James in the selff at mair lenth proportis Attoure Oure said Soverane Lord with consent of the saidis Lordis of Secreit Counsall gevis and grantis to the said Thomas Findlaysone his airis and assignayis ane or ma for the haill space of tuentie fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait of thir presentis speciall licence libertie and priviledge to imprent all and sindrie buikis sonnettis pamphlettis ballottis and volumes quhairof umquhile Robert Waldegrave prenter had priviledge speciall warrand and licence of his Majestie for the tyme Quhilkis haill licences war anna- leit disponit and the haill richt thairof transferrit in the persone of the said Thomas Findlaysoun be Marie Waldegrave relict of the said umquhile Robert Waldegrave with consent of hir bairnis as in the said dispositioun subscrivhUbe the said Marie of the dait the last day of Marche Im vjc and foure at mair lenth is contenit And siclyke Oure said Soverane Lord with advyse of the saidis Lordis of secreit counsall Ratifies approvis confermis and of new gevis to the said Thomas Findlaysone his airis and assignayis ane or ma during the said haill space of tuentie fyve yeirs nixt heirefter following The gift priviledge and licence gevin and grantit be his hienes under his previe seill to umqu hile Robert Smyth prentar in anno Im vc fourscoir nynetene and thairefter Ratified approved confirmit and of new gevin to Robert & David Smythis successive lauchfull bairns to the said umquhile Robert Smyth, in anno Im vjc and tua yeiris for the space of tuentie fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait of thair said gift for prenting of the dowbill and singill Catechismes, the plaine donat, the haill four pairtis of gramer according to Sebaustiane the dialogues of Corderius, the celect and familiar epissillis of Cecero, the seawen seages, the ballat buik, the secund rudi mentis of Dumbar, the psalmes of Buchannane, psalme buik, the feabillis of Esope, Gray Steill, the first rudiments of Dum bar, the testament of Cressed and the winter night, as in thair said gift contening dyvers liberties preveledges and conditiones at lenth is contenit Quhilkis giftis priveleges and licences with the haill heidis clausis articles and contentis thairof with letteris of publicatioun raisit publischit and registrat at the instance of the saidis umquhile Robert and his saidis bairnis thairupone war sauld annaleit and disponit to the said Thomas Findlay- 25 soun his airis and assignayis ane or ma be Jonet Gairdine relict of the said umquhile Robert Smyth and be James and Adame Gair- dines factoris and doaris to the said umquhile Robert his bair nis with adwyse and consent of David Smyth of Collace uncle and tutor to the saidis bairnis and with adwyse and consent of Johnne Gairdin guidsir to the saidis bairnis Johne Howy soun and Walter Hendersonefreindis and owersearis to the saidis bairnis as in the said dispositioun and translatioun subscryvit be the saidis pairteis of the dait the tuentie nyne day of October Im vjc and tua yeiris at mair lenth is contenit AttourOure said Soverane Lord with adwyse of the Lordis of Secreit Counsall gevis and grantis his hienes speciall power and priviledge to the said Thomas Fin- laysoun his airis and assignayis ane or ma during the said haill space of tuentie fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait heirof To mak or caus be maid all sortis of playing Cardes Cartes Mappes plattis and drauchtis of Cuntreyis Cities Townis Schyres and uther portrestis and pictouris of men and women in prent or in Tal- zeduce as the said Thomas sail think expedient of quhatsumever sort or faschpun greit or small and to that effect to bring or caus be brocht from uther Cuntries paper of all sortis prenting Ink and uther necessar materiallis belanging or that are necessar to him in the said airt of prenting making or playing Cairdis Mappis Cairtes plates and drauchtis of Cuntries Cities and Tounes piktouris and portraictis of men and women of all sortis or ony uther overturis to be maid be him during the said space of tuentie fyve yeiris nix to cum As also to sell within this realme or to transport and send furth of the same all sick buikis, playing Cardes Mappes Cairtes and pictouris as he can not sell and dispone within the samyn And Ordanis the said buikis Cairtes Mappis portraictis paper prenting Ink and uther mater iallis to be transportit furth of this realme or inbrocht within the same be him and his foirsaids to be frie of all custumes im- postis and uther charges to be takine thairof be quhatsumever custuinaris searcheris or uther officiaris of quhatsumever estait during the said space of tuentie fyve yeiris And-forder to the intent that the said Thomas and his foirsaidis may the mair frelie use and exerce this present priviledge and licence in all poyntis during the said space of tuentie fyve yeiris Our said 26 Soverane Lord hes also takin and be thir presentis takis the said Thomas Findlaysoun and his foirsaidis under his hienes speciall protectioun mantenance and. saulfgaird as alsua hes ex- emit and be thir presentis exemis him and his fpirsaids during £he said space of tuentie fyve yeiris nixt efter the dait of thir presentis frie fra all watching warding and .fra all payment of stent tax subsedie and contrabutioun and bering and sustening of ony uther chairge within burgh or outwith the-same or uther- wayis during the said space of tuentie fy ve yeiris and that he sail sell by and use his lauchfull trede frie without ony inquie- tatioun or molestatioun and willis and grantis that he his foir saidis nor thair servandis sail not be callit nor accusit civilie nor criminallie be onie maner of way for the caus foirsaid nor in cur na skaith nor danger thairthrow in thair persounes and guidis nochtwithstanding onie of his Majesties actis statutis proclamationis Inhibitionis or. uther charges maid or to be maid or direct in the contrare Quhairanent and all paines contenit thairintiU his Majestie dispensis be thir presentis .. With expres command and charge to all and sindrie Shiriffis Stewards Pro vestis and Baillies of Burrowis custumeris searchearis and uthers his hienes officiaris and ministeris of his lawis lieges and subjec tis quhatsumever to suffer and permit the said Thomas to bruik and joy se this present priviledge protectioun and exemptioun in all poyntis and to do nor attempt na thing to the brek and vio latioun of the same as thay and everie ane of thame will ansuer to his Majestie upoun thair obedience at thair uttermost charge and.perrill and under all hyestpane cryme and offence that thay may incur and commit^aganis his Majestie in that behalff Or daining letters of publicatioun to be direct heirapone in forme as effeiris AtEdinburgh the sevintene day pf Junij The yeir of god Imvjc and sex yeiris. 27 No. XVI. A Letter Constituting Thomas Fmlason his Mqjestie,s Print er, June 17, 1612. [Reg. Sec. Sig. lxxxii. 1612-1614.] Ane Letter maid makand mentioun That oure Soverane Lord understanding that the gift of the priviledge to be his hienes printer hes fallin and becum in his hienes handis at his dispositioun Throw being of Mr Robert Charteris to quhome the samyn appertenit denuncit lauchfullie rebel! and put to his hienes home at the instances of George and Margaret Smythis upoun the tuentie fyve day of: August The yeir of god Imvj* and nyne zeiris for not payment to thame of certane sowmes of money and contemptuouslie remaining thairat attour the space of yeir and day with the haill privilegis of printing pertening to him the tyme of bis rebellioun foirsaid As alsua that the said Mr Robert is altogidder unhable to exerce the said office and discharge that dewtie that appertenit to his hienes printer And hawing speciall consideratioun of the necessar and prof- fitable trawellis to the advancement of God his glorie his hienes service and to the greit weill of all his hienes guid and loveabill subjectis imployed and to be imployed be Thomas Findlasoun printer upoun his greit coist and charges quhilk may not weill be sustenit be him unles he be authorizit with the gift of the priviledges and immunities underwritten Thairfore with advise of the Lordis of his hienes Secreit Counsall Ordanis ane Letter &c. To the said Thomas Findlasoun makand constituand and ordainand him printar to oure Soverane Lord and gevand the priviledge thairof to him in all langages for all the dayis of his lyiftyme Togidder with the haill priviledges of printing pertening to the said Mr Robert With power to the said Tho mas Findlasoun and no utheris be himselff and his servandis for quhome he salbe haldin to ansuer to imprint and caus be imprintit all and sundrie vtheris actis statutis proclamatiounis 28 letteris and chargis concerning his Majestie and his estait As also the buikis of holy scriptour contening the auld and new testamentis in all langages in haill or in part and in quhatsum ever volumes grytt or small approvit Cronicles of Scotland in Latine and Inglis and all and sindrie buikis volumes workis and writtis quhilkis salbe seine allowit and approvit be his hienes The haly fatheris in God the archbischpppis of Sanctan- dros or Glasgow The presbeterie or Sessioun of Edinburgh and thairupoun and all uther buikis aggriable with Goddis word and liberall sciences to by sell and dispone at his pleasour &c. And Mairattour becaus the Lordis of his hienes secreit Counsall in speciall contemplatioun of the reddie and guid service done be the said Thomas to his hienes and the saidis Lordis at all occasionis hes grantit and gevin speciall and onlie privilege and licence to him to imprint and caus be imprintit The articles concerning the Justices of Peace and Constabillis within the ,said realme The buik of Customes Rates and valuatione of merchandice with certane utheris buikis particularlie specifyit in the actis of the saidis Lordis of secreit counsall maid thair upoun As also the. said Thomas Findlaysoun hes be his hienes gift under the previe seill ratifeit approvin and of new gevin to him for the space of Twentie fyve zeiris nixt eftir the dait of the said gift certane liberties and privileges for imprinting of diverse buikis and furnessing necessaris for printing particular. lie expressit in the said gift of the dait at Edinburgh the seven- tene day of Junii Imvjc and sex zeiris his hienes with advise of the saidis Lordis of his secreit counsall Ratifies approves and of new gevis to the said Thomas Findlaysoun his airis and as- signais for the space of tuentie yeiris nixt to cum eftir the dait of thir presentis The onlie priviledge and licence to Imprint and caus be imprintit the buikis contenand the saidis actis of Counsall and in the foirsaid gift quhilkis actis of counsall and gift forsaid haill clauses and articles of the samyne his hienes with adwyse foirsaid willis and grantis be thir presents to be of als gryt strength force and effect as gif they war in speciall insert heirin halding the samyne as speciallie repeatit and in- grossit in this present gift dischargeing all printeris buik selleris and all vtheris his hienes lieges within his hienes king- 29 dome of Scotland To print or caus be printit within or outwith the said realme any of the saidis haill buikis particularlie speci- feit heirin in the saidis actis of counsall or gift foirsaid gevin under his hienes previe seill to the said Thomas of the dait foirsaid or to bring hame or ony wayis to sell the samyne with in the said realme during the said haill space of tuentie zeiris nixt and immediatlie following the dait of thir presentis Ex- ceptand alwayis the byble the new testament and the psalme buik quhilkis sail nawayis be comprehendit vnder this present gift bot speciallie reservit and exceptit furth thairof vnder the pane of fyve hundereth merkis money of this realme The ane half to his Majesties use and the vther half to the use of the said Thomas Findlasoun and his foirsaidis by and attour the confiscatioun of the haill buikis so to be imprintit brocht within this realme or sauld The ane half to his hienes vse the vther to the use of the said Thomas and his foirsaidis &c. At Wan- stead The sevintene day of Junii The zeir of God Im sex hun dereth and tuelf zeiris. No. XVII. Proclamatioun anent Prenting of Bookis, Jul 2, 1612. Forsamekle as it is fundin be daylie experience that grite harme doeth aryse by prenting and publishing of erronious he- reticall sclanderous seditious and treasonable bookis wheras if the same wer first perused^ the divulgating of all erronious opi- nionis in religioun and sclanderous seditious and treasounable reportis in historyis and utherwise micht verie easilie and with litle diligence and cair be prevented, Thairfoir the Kingis Ma jestie with advise of the lordis of secrete counsell doeth hereby command charge and inhibite all prentaris and sellaris of bookis in this kingdome, That they onnawyce presome nor tak upoun hand at ony tyme after the publicatioun heireof to put to the 30 presse ony book of divinitie ordevodoun except the same be first perused and approved by one ofthe archbischoppis, and yf the same be of historie or ony uther pairt of humanitie, that it1 be sene and allowit be the secretary,, and yf law that it be perused be suche commissioneris as his Majesties Chancellor and College of Justice sail appoint and that it be testifeit under thair handis that the bookis to be prentit contene no thing contrarie to the treuth of sincere religioun good manneris or the lawis of the realme, And becaus mony bookis ar brocht and sauld in this kjngdome quhilkes ar not prented within the same Thairfojr his Majestie with advise foresaid doeth command; charge and Inhibite all booksellaris quhatsomever, that at quhat tyme thay bring home ony bookis to be sauld; thay do no way presbme to utter ony wrettin be ony popishe or suspect wreater without licence obtenit of the Bischop of the diocye or his Majesties secreter whiche, of thame salhappin to be for the tyme nixt'at hand, And ordanis letteris. to be direct to mak publicatioun heirof be oppin proclamatioun at the mercat croce of Edin burgh and utheris placeis neidfull quhairthrow nane pretend ignorance of the same And to command and charge all pren- taris and sellaris of bookis within this kingdome that they con forme thameselffis to this present act and ordinance and onna- wyse violat the same in ony point under the pane to be seveirlie puneist in thair persone and gbodis at the arbitrement of the counsell. Followis his Majesties Warrant for the Act abone written. No. XVIII. Proclamatioun anent_ the Prenting of Bookis beyond sea, Jun. 1615. Forsamekle as it is understand to the Kingis Majestie and Lordis of Secreit Counsaill That diverse Ministeris and otheris 31 subjectis of this kingdome hes of kite tane a course to send some bookis and pamphletis to be prentit beyond the seas especiallie At Middleburgh, The same not being revised and allowit by these whome his Majestie hes authorizeit with that priviledge whilk with tyme may breid grite inconvenientis bothe to this estate and kirk yf remied be not provydit Tbairfoir the saidis Lordis Ordanis lettires to be direct To Command charge and inhibite all and sindrie his Majesties liegis and subjectis alswele ministeris as otheris quhatsumevir be oppin proclamatioun at the mercat croceis of the heade burrowis of this realme and utheris places neidfull That nane of thame presome nor tak up oun hand to send any bookis wryttingsor pamphletds of quhat sumever subject to be published and prented beyond the sea, except the same haif bene first revised and approved by the Archbischoppis of Sanctandrois and Glasgw and by his Ma jesties secretarie of estate Certifieing thame that salbe £funduv| to contravene and transgres this his Majesties commandment That thai salbe accompdt and punished as raisaris of shisttie sedidoun and invaderis and contravenaris of his Majesties auc- toritie with all rigour to the example of utheris. No. XIX. Licence to Gilbert Dick for the space of 19 years to print two Catechisms, Feb. 10, 1618. [Registrum Secreti Si- giUi.] LXXXVII, 1617-1619. Fol. 67. Ane Letre maid be oure Souerane Lord with advys and con sent of ane reverend father in God John Archbischope of St Androis premet ofthe kingdome of Scotland and ofthe rema. nent Lordis his hienes commissionaris appointet for doing of his hienes effaires within the said kingdome Makand mentioun That forsamekill as be ane act maid in the Generall Assemblie 1 32 At Aberdeine within the said kingdome of Scotland be the, Archbischoppis Bischoppes ministeris and commissionaris of the; saipj kingdome vpone the day of August Im vjc and sextene zeires It was concludit statute and ordanitThat tua catechismeis sould be formed and set doun be certane of the bretherene and ministerie appoyntit for that effect to be taucht within the kirkes of the said kingdome of Scotland in all tyme comming And that the samen sould be Imprentit sua that the samen may be sould and distribute amongis his hienes leidges And in re spect that the saidis tua catechismeis ar now formit and set doun conforme to the said Act And that it is necessar that con form thairto the samin be Imprentit And that ane honest and discreit persoun quha is apt and able for the imprenting thair of And will be answerable to his hienes thairfoir be appoyntit thairto Thairfoir His Majestie with advys and consent foirsaid Gevand Grantand and Committand full power libertie and li-. cence to his hienes lovit Gilbert Dick librare burges of Edin burgh or ony otheris sufficient prentaris in his name and under his tollerance To caus Imprent the saidis tua catechismes ap- pointit and set doun be the said Generall Assemblie and thair commissaris in thair names to be taucht within the said realme of Scotland and kirkis thairof conform to the Act of General Assemblie forsaid and efter the Imprenting thairof With power to the said Gilbert Dick his aires executors and assignies to Sell and Distribute the samen throuchout the said haill realme of Scotland to the effect that all oure soverane Lordis Leiges may cum to the better knowledge Inhibitting and Discharging all and sindrie his hienes subjectis and leidges of the said king- dome and of the remanent his Majesties dominiones that nane of them take vpon hand to Imprent or caus imprent Sell or caus be sauld by or caus be bocht within the said kingdome of Scotland or outwith the samen ony of the saides catechismes appoyntit to be set doun formit and prentit be the said Act of Generall Assemblie in manner foirsaid induring the space of nyntene zeiris next efter the day and dait heirof without the spe ciall advys licence and consent of the said Gilbert Dick and his foirsaidis first had and obtenit thereto under the pane of the escheitting of the samen to the said Gilbert and his foirsaidis 33 and paying to him and them of the soume of ane hundreth pundis money to be takin up be them to their utilitie and prof- feit enduring the speace foirsaid fra ilk ane of the contraveneris of this hienes priviledge gift licence inhibitioun and discharge als oft and how oft it sail happin them or onie of them to brek or contraveine the samen Bot that they by the samen catechismes fra the said Gilbert Dick and his foirsaidis and vtheris having power fra him Willing also and ordaining the Lordis of his hienes counsall and sessioun to grant and direct Lettres of horn ing at the instance of the said Gilbert Dick vpone the simple charge of Ten dayis allanerlie for charging of all and sindrie ministeris scolemaisteris and vtheris persounes quhatsumever within the said realme of Scotland having charge of discipline thairintiU and all vtheris his hienes leiges to the effect forsaid lind to ansuer and obey the said Gilbert Dick and his foirsaidis anent the premises conform to the Act of Generall Assemblie and this his hienes gift and priviledge thairanent and na wayes to contraveine the samyne vnder the paynes foirsaidis And that somerlie vpone the sicht of this hienes gift and act forsaid And that Lettres of publicatioun and vthers neidfull in dew forme as effeiris be direct heirvpone At Newmercat the tent day of Februar the zeir of God Im vjc and auchtene zeiris. No. XX. Licence to Gilbert Dick for the space of 19 years to print the book of Common Prayer and two Catechisms, June SO, 1619. [Registrum Secreti Sigilli, Ixxxvii. 1617-1619, fol. 227.] Ane Lettre maid be our Souerane Lord with advys and con sent of ane Reverend father in God and his hienes trustie and familiar counsellor John Archbischope of Sanctandrois Primat 34 and metrapolitane of the realme of Scotland And ofthe rema nent Lordis of his hienes commissionaris for doing his Majes ties effaires within the said realme to his Majesties Lovit Gil bert Dick librarie and burges of Edinburgh Makand mentioun that his Majestie Considdering how by ane Act ofthe Generall Assemblie of the Churche keipit at Aberdeine the day of August in the zeir pf God Im vjc and sextene zeiris It was con- cludit by the archbischoppis bischoppis and vtheris Commis sionaris of the ministrie within the said kingdome That ane book of common prayer with tua catechismes ane greater and another smaller sould be formit and put in ordour by certane commissionaris appointit for that effect to be read taucht and vsit within all the churches and schoillis of the said kingdome Quhilkis tua catechismes being formit conforme to the said Act his Majestie with advys foirsaid be his hienes vtheris Lettres vnder the Privie Seall of the dait the Tenth day of Februar the zeir of God Im vjc and auchtene zeiris gave and grantit to the said Gilbert Dick or anie vther printeris in his name and by his tollerance full power libertie and licence to caus imprent the saidis tua catechismes and After the printing thereof to sell and dispone vpone the same at his pleasure Inhibiting all and sindrie his hienes leidges of the said realme of Scotland and his hienes vtheris dominiounes that nane of thame sail tak vpon hand to imprent or caus imprent or being imprented by any other to sell or caus be sold any of the saidis catechismes with out the advys licence & consent of the said Gilbert Dick and his forsaids first had and obtenit thairto vnder the pane of es- cheitting the same to the said Gilberds vse and payment to him of the soume of ane hundrethe pundis Scottis als oft as it sould happin any of them to contraveine the same As the saidis Lettres of gift of the dait foirsaid at mair lenthe beiris Nevertheles as zit the said gift has takin litle or no effect to the great hurt and prejudicie bf the said Gilbert Dick Thairfbr our said Soverane Lord with advys and consent foirsaid of new hes gevin and granted and by thir presents gevis and grands to the said Gilbert Dick or ony sufficient printer in his name and under his tollerance full power priviledge and licence to imprent and caus imprent als weel the said buik of common prayeris as the 35 tuo foirsaides catechismes appointed to be read taucht and vsit within the churches of Scotland and Schooles thairof And efter the samen sail be imprented with power to the said Gilbert Dick his aires executores and assignees to sell and dispone vpone the samyne to the effect his hienes leidges may be sufficientlie furnischit with boikis of that nature inhibiting and discharging all and sindrie his hienes leidges and subjectis of the realme of Scotland and the remanent of his hienes dominiounes That nane of them take vpon hand to imprint caus imprint sell or caus be sauld any of the foirnamet boikis of common prayer and catechismes imprinted by any vther or without the licence of the said Gilbert Dick within the kingdome of Scotland or out with the same induring the space of nyntene zeiris nixt efter the day and dait heirof vnder the paine of escheitting all boikes of that kynd imprehted without the said Gilbertis li cence and his forsaidis to the said Gilbertis and his foir saidis Vse and payment making to him and them of the soume of ane hundrethe pundes money of Scotland To be takin up of all the contravenaris of this his Majesties privi ledge induring the saidis nyntene zeiris als oft as it sail happin them or anie of them to break and infring the samyn with command in the said Lettre of Gift to the Lordis of his hienes counsall and sessioun vpone the sicht thairof to grant and di rect letters of horning at the instance of the said Gilbert Dick and his forsaidis vpone the simple charge of Ten dayis allen- arlie for chairging to the effect forsaid and to ansuer and obey the said Gilbert Dick and his forsaidis anent the premisses conforme to his hienes gift and privelege &c. and that Lettres of publicatioun be direct heiron in dew forme as effelris Given at our manor of Greinwitche the last day of Junij The zeir of God Im vjc and nyntene zeiris. c 2 36 No. XXI. Licence to Sir William Alexander for the space qf '31 years, to Print the Psalms qfKing David, translated by King James, Dec. 28, 1627. [Registrum Secreti SigilK, c. 1627-1628, fol 305.] Ane Letre maid makand mendownthat oure Souerane Lord considering how it pleised his late Royal father king James the sext of worthie memorie for many zeires togidder to have taken grit paynes in translating of the Psalmes of King David in meeter and in conferring thairof with the most approved Hebrue translatoris vpone that subject having in his said lyf- tyme brocht that work to gud perfectioun And His Majestie -well knowing how gud and comfortable the said wark will prove to all his hienes subjects by having those psalmes trans lated according to the trew meining and delyverie of that holy and princely authour and withall esteiming nothing more deir to him then to performe this said late royall fatheris intentioun for publishing the same that thairby his royal verities and graces may still be the more recent with the posteritie of all his royall successores & loving subjectis And his Majestie lykewayes considering the great paynes already taken and to be taken by his hienes right trusty and weill beloved counsel- lour Sir William Alexander knycht his Majesties principall se- cretarie for his kingdome of Scotland to quhais cair his Majestie hath speciallie entrusted the said work in collecting and re viewing of the same and in seeing the first impressioun thairof to be carefullie and weill done and withall being gratiouslie pleased that he sould reape the benefite of his travellis thairin Therefore his hienes with advice and consent of his counsell and exchequer of his said kingdome Ordaines a Letre to be maid vnder the Previe Seall thareof in dew forme Geving and granting Lykas his Majestie with advyce and consent foirsaid 37 gevis and grantis to the said Sir William Alexander his aires assignais pairtneris and associatis thair servantis and workmen in thair name and to nane ellis. full power libertie and sole licence during the space of threttie ane zeires nixt and imme- deatlie following the dait heirof to print and caus print the said wark ofthe psalmes to be entituled the Psalmes of King David translated by King James With power to him and the said Sir William Alexander and his forsaids (gif neid be) to erect and establish work houses in any part of the said kingdomes as thay sail think maist expedient and to provyd all things re quisite for that purpose and to print the said psalmes in quhat number they sail please during the said heall tearme of zeires And to sell bartar and dispose thairvpoune at quhat rait and after quhat forme thay sail thinke meitt throughout the haill kingdome & everie part thairof and that without any let trouble or molestatioun to be used against thame or any of thame be any of his Majesties subjectis or otheris quhat some ver and that during the space afoirsaid Prohibiting and discharging Lykas his Majestie by these presents speciallie prohibits and discharges during the said space of threttie ane zeires all and quhatsomever persones within the said kingdome als weill na tives as forrayneris other than the said Sir William and his foir saidis from printing selling and bartering thairin of the saidis buikis entituled the Psalmes of King David translated by King James without the speciall power and licence gevin to thame by the said Sir William or his foirsaidis and that vnder the pane of confiscatioun not onlie of the haill workis tootles and instru- mentis made for that purpose but lykewayes of the said bookes thameselffis so to be printed sold and bartered by thame or any of thame within the said kingdome the ane half of the benefite , thairof to come to his Majesties use and the other half to the vse of the said Sir William and his foirsaidis And the pairties contraveneris to be censured fyned or imprisoned at the seicht of his Majesties said Privie Counsell With speciall command to thame of his hienes said Privie Counsall and Exchequer for the tyme being to give out warrantis from tyme to tyme as they sail be requyred by the said Sir William or his foirsaidis to all Scherreffis Justices of peace Provestis Bayliffs Constables ( S8 and otheris his Majesties officeris tq be ayding and assisting to find apprehend and sais vpone the said workes tooles and others necessaries for printing As lykwayes vpone the said bookes thamselffis and vpone the bodies' of the transgressoures the gpodes and bookes to be furth cumming to the use afoirsaid And the saidis persones to be censured in maner above- writtin And, th,at the said Letre be further extended in the best forme with all clauses, neidfull Gqwin At Quhythall the twentie aught day of December the zeir of God Im vjc and tuentie sevin zeires. No. XXII. Licence to Walter Findlaysone, Jan. 17, 1628. [Reg. Sec. Sig. ci. 120.] Ane Lettre maid be our souerane Lord, vnderstanding that his Majesties umquhill dearest father of worthie memorie Be his hienes Lettres of gift under, the Privie Seall ofthe dait the day of Im zeires Gave and grant ed to umquhil Thomas Finlaysone lait printer to his Majestie The office and chairge of prenting of the actes of Parliament maid and to have bein maid be his hienes said umquhill darrest father or his predecessoris or be his hienes successoures of all commissiounes proclamatiounes actes of counsall utheris actes statutes and ordinances maid or to have bein maid be, thame with full and sole power to the said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone to bruik joys intromet with uplift use and exerce the said .office chairge and libertie of printing with all priviledges casualities profeites and immunities and utheris perteining and belanging thairto Siclyk and als frilie in all respectes as any of his Majes ties printares within this realme hes done or may doe in ony tyme bygaine or to come as the saides Lettres of gift of the dait 39 abone-wrettin at mair lenth proportes And his Majestie being crediblie informet that the relict and bairnes of the said umqu hill Thomas Finlaysone are abill sufficiently to use and exerce the said office and chairge quherof they have given laitlie^ proof in his Majesties service Thairfoire and for the guid trew and thankfull service done to his Majestie. and his hienes said um quhill darrest father in the said office and chairge Our said Soue rane Lord ordeines ane Lettir to be maid under his hienes privie seall in dew forme Makand nominatand an4 constituand Walter Finlaysone secund lawfull sone to the said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone his aires and assignayis for the space of thretteine zeires nixt and immediatlie following the dait of thir presentes his Majesties printares of all his hienes actes of Parliament actis of Secreit Counsall commissiounes proclamatiounes utheris actes statutes and ordinances maid be his hienes or his predicessoures or to be maid be his Majestie or his. hienes suecessouris Gew- and grantand and disponand to the said Walter Findlaysone and his foirsaides for the said space of thretteine zeiris eftir the dait heirof the foirsaid office with all fies liberties priuiledges casualities immunities profeittes and dewties whatsumeuir for- merlie perteining and belanging thairto With full and sole power to the said Walter Findlaysone and his foirsaides during the space abone wrettin To bruik joys intromet with uplift use and exerce the foirsaid office and charge of printing of all his hienes actes of Parliament actes of Secreit Counsall commissiounes pro clamatiounes utheris actes statutes and ordinances maid be his hienes or his predicessoures or to be maid be his Majestie or his hienes successoures with all fies liberties priuiledges casualities immunities proffeites commodities and utheris whatsumevir perteining or belanging or that may be knawin to pertein or belang to the said office Siclyk and as frilie in all respectes as the said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone or any utheris his Majes ties prentares have done or may doo in ony tyme bygaine or to cume And farder our said souerane Lord hes ratified and ap proval and be the tennor heirof ratifies and approwes the letteres of gift grantit be his Majesties said umquhill darrest father un der his hienes priuie seall to the said umquhill Thomas Finlay sone his aires and assigneyis ane or mae for the space of twentie 40 fyve zeiris next eftir the date under wrettin of the saides Let teres of gift for imprenting of all and sindrie the buikes and vo lumes and utheris particularlie thairin mentionat and contening diverse and sundrie liberties priuiledges immunities and utheris grantet be his Majesties said umquhill darrest father In favoures ofthe said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone and his foirsaides par ticularlie and at lenth specified and set downe in the saides Lettres of gift At Edinburgh the sevinteine day of June the zeir of God Im vjc and sex zeires In the haill heides articles clauses conditiounes and circumstances whatsumevir thairin contenit eftir the forme and tennor thairof And his Majestie be thir presentes declaires and for his hienes and his -succes- soures decernes and ordaines that this present general ratifica- tioune of the saides Letteris of gift is and sail be als sufficient in all respectis as gif the samene were at lenth insert heirintill notwithstanding the not inserting thairof Whairanent his Majes tie be thir presentes dispenses for ever And farder bis Majes tie for the causes abon specified and for diverse utheris guide causes and consideratioun moving his hienes Hes of new given and grantet and be thir presentes of new gives and grantes to the said Walter Finlaysone his aires and assigneyis ane or mae for the said haill space of thretteine zeires nixt eftir the dait of thir presentis speciall licence libertie and priuiledge to imprent all and sindrie buikes volumis great and small and utheris par ticularlie and generallie mentionat and set down in the saides Letteres of Gift grantet be his hienes said umquhill father to the said umquhill Thomas Finlaysone and his abone writtin with all and sindrie liberties priuiledges fies casualties profeites com modities immunities aud utheris therein exprest With power to the said Walter Finlaysone and his foirsaides during the space abone writtin To imprent all and sindrie the buikes volumes great and small and utheris particularlie and generallie exprest in the saides Lettres of gift and to bruik joys intromet with uplift use and exerce the said office of imprinting thairof with all fies priuiledges casualities proffeites commodities im munities and utheris thairin mentionat Siclyk and als frielie in all respectes as the said- umquhill Thomas Finlaysone did or might haue done be vertue of the saides Letteres of gift and 41 that the said Lettir be farder extendit in the best forme with all clauses neidfull Ordeining thir presentes to be past the priuie seall within fourtie dayes utherwayes to be null. Gevin at Halryrudhous the Sewinteine day of Jannuar Im vj<= tuentie aucht zeires. No. XXIII. Litera Roberti Young et Evani Tyller de Officio solius Typographi seu Typographorum, S.D.N. Regis, cj-c. 30th June, 1641. [Registrum Mag. Sigilli, Lib. iv. No. 270.] "(Paper Register.) Cabolus Dei Gratia Magne Britannie Francie et Hibernie Rex fideique Defensor Omnibus probis hominibus suis ad quos presentes litere pervenerint Salutem, Sciatis quia Nos post de- cessum quondam Thome Finlawsone nostri novissimi typogra phi infra regnum nostrum Scotie volentes istum defectum sup- plere unde servitium nostrum plurimum negligebatur universi- tates academie et schole multum damnum passe fuerunt Et nos sufficientem informationem habentes qualificationis honesta- tis et habilitatis dilecd nostri Roberti Young Typographi civis Londinensis et affectionis ejus erga dictum nostrum servitium et ejus opulentie ad erigend. prela domos excusorias et tabernas sive officinas librarias infra diversa loca predicti regni nostri qualia nostro servitio et emolumento nostrorum bonorum sub- ditorum in dicto nostro regno requisita et necessaria fuerint Et intelligentes quod nos cum avisamento et consensu predi- lecti nostri consanguinei et consiliarij Gulielmi Comitis de Mor- toun Domini Dalkeithe et Abirdour&c. nostri thesaurarij princi palis pro tempore Joannis Comitis de Traquair Domini de Lin- 42 toun et Caverstoun &c, nostri thesaurarij, deputati pro tempore et reliquorum dominorum commissionariorum nostri scaccarij dicti regni nostri Scotie sub nostro Magno sigillo Donationem et Literas patentes unici et solius typographi nostri infra prae- dictum regnum nostrum durante spatio viginti unius annorum cum omnibus privileges et feodis eidem spectan. in favorem dicti Roberti Young ejusque participum et assignatorum expe- diri curavimus prout in dicta nostra donatione de data duode cimo die mensis Aprilis anno Domini millesimo sexcentesimo trigesimo secundo latius continetur. Et ubi dictum officium nunc vacat in manibus nostris ex resignatione dicti Roberti Young pro nova donatione et literis patentibus dicti officii unius et solius typographi nostri cum ordinariis privileges eidem sequi usitatis in quibuslibet nostris dominiis in favorem ipsius Roberti Ac etiam dilecti nostri Evani Tyler et assignatorum eorum uniuscujusque dan. et conceden. Et cum nos abunde informati sumus de sufficientia honestate et habilitate prefati Roberti Young et Evani Tyller pro servitio nostro Nos igitur cum avisamento et consensu commissionariorum nostri scaccarij pro thesaurario nostro designat. fecimus nominavinius et con- stituimus necnon tenore presentium cum avisamento predicto facimus nominamus et constituimus prefatos Robertum Young et Evanum Tyller aut assignatos eorum uniuscujusque Typo- graphos existen. nostros, solos et unicos Typographum seu Ty- pographos nostros fore pro dicto regno nostro Scotie duran. spatio triginta et unius annorum post datam presentium dand. Concedend. et disponend. sicuti nos pro tenore presentium pro nobis et successoribus nostris damus concedimus et disponimus prefatis Roberto Young et Evano Tyller vei assignatis uniuscu jusque eorum typographis existen. prefatum munus et officium unius et solius typographi vel unicorum typographorum pro nobis infra dictum regnum nostrum cum omnibus privilegiis li bertatibus proficuis immunitatibus feodis casualitatibus et aliis emolumentis eidem spectan. vel que ad idem de futuro pertinere dignoscentur vel que tempore preterito exercebantur utebantur vel fruebantur per quemvis alium nostrum typographum ante hae et in tarn largo ample munifico modo ut aliquis alius prior typographus- prius eodem munerefungebatur vel fruebalur quovis tempore pre- 43 teriio Et hoc duran. omnibus diebus spatiis annis et terminis trigiuta unius annorum post diem date presentium plenarie completum et functum una cum antiquis et usitatis annuis feo dis et allocationibussolvend. etexigend. annuatim durante dicto. spatio e Scaccario dicti regni nostri per thesaurariosnostros vel per receptores nostros nostrorum reddituum pro tempore pro ejus eorumque laboribus et impensis post hae impendendis in nostris proclamationibus edictis atque publicationibus infra dictum regnum nostrum excudendis Cum potestate prefat. Roberto Young et Evano Tyller vel assignatis eorum quibusli- bet predict, aut eorum vel unuiscujusque eorum assignatis et sufficientibus deputato vel deputatis (pro quibus respondere tenebuntur) predictis munere et officio unius et solius Typo graphi vel unicorum et solorum Typographorum dicti regni nostri fungendi et fruendi et solum pri vilegium excudehdi in dicto regno nostro habendi cum libera potestate exportandi et vendendi in quibuslibet aliis nostris dominiis pro eorum meliore lucro et profiouo non solum psalmos in omnibus voluminibus pro ecclesia nostra Anglie concordautes gramaticas accidentias lie accidentis calendaria primarias lie prymers psalteria et libros juris communis pro usu Anglie cum bibliis in omnibus vol u minibus quo rum prefati Robertus Young et Evanus Tyller aut assignati unius cujusque eorum virtute hujus nostre specialis donationis solum et unicum privilegium excudendi infra dictum regnum nostrum habebunt Verumetiam habebunt commune beneficium excudendi psalmos nunc in usu pro ecclesia nostra Scotie cum testamentis aliisque libris pro usu dicti regni nostri ut alij typographi ibidem habent Prohiben. per presentes omnes personas tarn nativos quam alienos ab excudendo seu excudere causan. quoslibet psalmos nunc in usu in ecclesia nostra Anglie Concordantias grammaticas accidentias lie accidentis calendaria primaria lie prymers psal teria libros communis juris usitatos in dicto regno nostro An glie vel biblia in quolibet volumine aut importan. seu importare causan. predict, libros aut aliquos earundem partes ex Francia Hollandia aut aliis partibus ultra marinis cum libera potestate confiscationis aut aliarum penarum prout dominis nostri secreti consilij infligere videbitur super aliquos qui attentabunt excu- I sionem et importationem dictorum librorum specialiter privi- legiat. prefatis Roberto Young et Evano Tyller aut assignatis predict, uniuscujusque eorum a quibuslibet locis predict. Necnon recipien. predict, annua feoda et allocationes durante dicto spatio mandan. per presentes nostris thesaurariis aliisque receptoribus nostrorum reddituum et casualitatum pro tempore existen. quatenus prompte solvant vel persolvi faciant prefatis Roberto Young et Evano Tailler aut eorum uniuscujusque as signatis diet, annua et usitata feoda et allocationes duran. spatio predict. Requiren. etiam dominos et alios nostri scaccarij commissionarios predicti regni nostri quatenus eadem allocent annuatim prefatis commissionariis nostri thesaurarij et recep toribus in eorum computis de tempore in tempus visis accepti- latione seu acceptilationibus predieds Roberto Young aut Evano Tyller eorum predict. Proviso tamen quod presentes sint absque prejudicio aut impedimenta alicui alij typographo infra dictum regnum nostrum Scotie excudere Biblia in folio vel alios libros impresses in dicto regno nostro quocunque tem pore ante datam prime nostre donationis prescripte in favorem dicti Roberti Young concesse. In cujus rei testimonium pre- sentibus magnum sigillum nostrum apponi precepimus apud Whythall trigesimo die mensis Junij anno Domini millesimo sexcentesimo quadragesimo primo, et anno regni nostri decimo septimo. No. XXIV. Decreet of Privy Council, Robert Brown and others against Andrew Anderson, apud Edinburgh, Dec. 21, I67l. [Registrum Secreti Concilii.] Anent our Soveraigne Lords letteris raised at theinstance of Robert Broune James Miller John Menson Gideon Shaw and 45 John Cairnes stationers and booksellers of Edinburgh and Ro bert Sanders stationer bookseller i* Glasgow Makeand mention That where albeit be the lawes and customes of this and all other weell governed kingdomes the inhansing or monopolising of trade or manufactory be repute and holden a hie crime de structive of society and commerce and punishable with diverse paynes and penalties And that be the fourty act of his Majes ties first parliament entituled Act anent erecting of manufac tories The intysing resetting and entertaining of the ser vants or apprentices of the manufactories without consent of the master are discharged under the paynes contained in the acts of Parliament made against Coallheughers salters and their resetters And be the Elevent Act of the Eighteen Par liament King James 6 : The persones guilty of that cryme are to be fyned in one Hundreth pounds Scotts for ilk tyme they refuise to delyver them after they are requyred Not withstanding wherof it is of verity That albeit the saids compleaners and their predicessours booksellers stationers and printers of this Kingdome have past all memorie of man been in constant use and possession of binding importing buying selling printing and reprinting of bookes for the use and con venience of the Leidges and reput and holden a manufactory and had the benifit of the liberties and priviledges indulged to manufactories be the several Acts of Parliament without any trouble or molestation till of late that Andro Anderson printer in Edinburgh upon misrepresentation purchased a signatour un der his Majesties hand containing diverse powers heretofore unheard of much lesse practised to the utter subversion and de struction of that manufactory and ruine of a number of families to the publick prejudice of the wholg, leidges and ingrossing and monopolising of the same to himself and some few others he hes thought fit to joyne with him in so far as by the said signatour he is impowered to print all bookes and papers in any language learned or vulgar all bibles new testaments psalmes bookes of divinity bookes of the common or civill law all sorts of school bookes grameris callanderis &c. and all other persones expreslie prohibit to print or reprint import or cause to be imported any of these bookes without the said Andro his 46 licence tinder the payne of confiscation With sole power to him to regulat the press and order the printing of all bookes and papers so that no other person printer or bookseller shall print or publish any bookes in any language bot such as he shall or der And prohibiting all persones who have not served ane ap- prenticship in the airt of printing to sett up ane printing house or to imploy Journey-men printers And prohibiting all Jour neymen to instruct any in the said airt without warrand from the said Andro And containing severall unusuall clauses and powers besydes the ordinar and accustomed priviledges competent to his Majesties printers of printing Acts and Pro clamations of state and other papers of that natur concerning his Majesties service upon presenting of which signatour to his Majesties Exchequer George Swinton James Glen Thomas Browne and David Trench booksellers in Edinburgh compeir- ing and having offered severall reasones against the passing of the said Signatour The same was stopped until! that the said Andro Anderson upon making them partners in his gift pre vailed with them to passe therefrae without acquainting the rest of the compleaners who were equally concerned So that the same was passed without their knowledge which had never been done if they had been heard to give in their reasones there- against Lykeas in prosecution of these new powers contained in the said gift without any declaratour or other legall diligence done thereupon The said Andro Anderson accompanied with the said George Swintoun James Glen Thomas Browne and Da vid Trench his partners went to the burgh of Glasgow and in a disorderlie manner came to the house of Robert Sanders printer there and minaced and discharged his Journeymen and prentices to exerce the trade of printing anymore And partly by threats and partly by fair promises did cause the Journeymen and prentices desert his work and service in the midst of ane impression to his heavie losse and prejudice who are resett intertained and keep- ed in the service of the said Andro Anderson and his partners forsaid ever sensyne Which act of oppression being represented to the Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill upon the fou'rt of October last they be their Act did ordaine the said Andro Anderson and his partners forsaid to be cited to answer to the 47 premisses And in the mean tyme did allow the compleaneris to Continow in possession of all their former priviledges of print ing importing and selling of bookis which they had and were in use of before the granting of the forsaid gift And discharged the said Andro Anderson to trouble the compleaneris in the possession of their priviledges And ordained him to restore to the said Robert Sanders any prentices or Journeymen whom he had withdrawn from his service untill the said matter be heard and determined by the Councill Notwithstanding trew it is and of verity That the said Andro Anderson and his partners not only in manifest contempt of the forsaid Act of Councill have refuised to deliver to the said Robert Sanders his Journey men and prentices as instruments taken upon their requisition and refuisal produced beares Bot threattens and minaces to put the said gift to the utmost execution to the casting wast of the compleaneris presses trade and employment And inhansing and monopolising the same to themselves contrail- to all law and equity and his Majesties known inclination and intent And therfor in all equity and reason The said Andro Anderson and his partniers forsaid ought and should not only be decerned to have incurred the said penalty pf one Hundreth pounds Scotts and ordained to make (payment thereof to the said Robert San ders for refuising to dely ver him his Journeymen and prentices after they were requyred sua to doe conforme to the said Act of Parliament and Act of Councill besydesthe dely verie to him of his saids servants And discharged to extend or put the said gift in any farder execution then his predecessors his Majesties printers have been in use to doe viz. to the printing of all Acts and Proclamations of state and other papers of that nature concerning his Majesties service And to hear and sie it found and declared That notwithstanding therof the said compleaners ought and should continow in their possession of their present and former priviledges of binding importing exporting buying selling printing and reprinting of books for the use and conve nience of his Majesties leidges without any stop or impediment Bot otherwayis for the said oppression examplary punished in their person and goods to the terror of others to committ and doe the lyke in tyme comeing And anent the charge 48 given to the said Andro Anderson and remanent persones for- saids his partners to have compeired personally and answered to the premises and to have heard and seen themselves decern ed to have incurred the said penalty of one hundreth pound Scotts and ordained to make payment therof to the said Ro bert Sanders for refuising to delyver to him his Journeymen and prentices after they were requyred sua to doe conforme to the said Act of Parliament and Act of Councill Besydes the deliverie to him of his said servants and to have heard and seen themselves discharged to extend or put the said gift to any furder execution then his Majesties printers have formerly been in use to doe viz. The printing of all Acts and Proclama tions of state and other Acts of that nature concerning his Ma jesties service And to have heard and sein it found and de clared that notwithstanding thereof the saids compleaneris ought and should continow in the possession of their present and former priviledges of binding importing exporting buying selling printing and reprinting of books for the use and conve- niency of his Majesties Hedges without any stop or impedi ment or els to have showne a reasonable cause in the contrair With certification &c. As the saids Letters executiones and in- dorsationes therof at lenth proports Whilk being called and both parties with their procuratouris compeirand personally The Lords of His Majesties Privy Councill having heard and consi dered the forsaid Lybell and answers made thereto with his Majesties gift forsaid and what farder was alleadged be other party Together with a report of some of their owne number to whom the consideration of the said matter was remitted De- cernes and Declares the gift above wrytten granted to the said Andro Andersone to be his Majesties prenter is and shall be restricted to the particulars following as to the haill poynts thereof contraverted be the saids persewers viz. That he as Kings printer hath the sole priviledge of printing all acts of Parliament proclamationes and other acts and orders emitted or that shall be emitted by authority As also that the Kings prin ter shall have the sole and only priviledge of printing bibles in all the partes therof of all sorts and of all languages (except the New testament and psalme book in the letter commonly called 49 the English Roman conforme to a Copy produced printed by George Swintoune and James Glen in the year 1 669 or at or about the syse of that letter Which New testament, and psalme book of the letter forsaid The saids Lords declares that Robert Sanders or any other printer in the Kingdome shall have als full liberty to print as the King's printer In reguard the said Andro Andersone his Majesties printer hath consented thereto) arid sicklyke that' his Majesties said printer hath the only pri viledge of printing the bookes called the Confession of faith Larger and Shorter Catechismes and all bookes of Divinity and School books enjoyned or that shall be enjoyned to be read in churches or taught in Schools by publick authority And de clares that the Kings printer hath the supervising of the press as to the sufficiency of materialls and workmanship And farder declares that until the Kings printer shall have ane impression ofthe bible ready It shall be leasom to any person to import any bibles priviledged by .the Kings authority and so soon as the Kings printers shall have ane impression ready and seen by the Councill The Saids Lords declares that then all other persones are to be discharged to import any of that letter or syse And so furth of any impression therafter And declares that the Kings printer shall not under that pretense Import or cause any bibles be imported by himselfe or be any other upon his accompt Bot that he shall be holden to serve the countrey with these of his own printing at such reasonable rates as shall be appoynted by the Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill And whereas the saids Lords are informed that the said Robert Sanders hath a New testament of a black letter presentlie in the presse near compleat bpfor passing of the for said gift They declair That it shall be lawfull to the said Robert Sanders to compleat and sell the said Impressiorie And lastly the saids Lords declaires That the foresaid restric- tiones and qualifications shall on no wayes prejudge the Kings printer or any other person who have any particular coppy priviledged by act of Councill to be prented by them Becaus the said Lybell ansuers thereto and his Majesties gift forsaid with what was farder alleadged in behalfe of the said perseweris and the defender as his Majesties printer being at d 50 lenth debeat and considered be the saids Lords and They fully and ryplie advised therewith They land just reasone to decerrie and declair in manner forsaid. No. XXV. Act in favors of the Relict of Andro Anderson and his Air, Edinburgh, October 12, 1676. [Acta Sec. Cone] Forasmuch as the Kinges Majesty, by his Gift dated the tuelt of May 1671, did grant and dispone to Andro Anderson his Majesty's printer now deceast his aires assigneyes or substi- tuts to be his Majesties sole absolute and only mastir printer for The space of 41 yeares after his entry to that office with power not only to print his Majesties Acts of Parliament Proclama tions and other papers relating to the publik affaires of this kingdome Bot also to print and reprint bibles in all volumes with the psalmes thereuntil! thrie partes of the bible and new Testaments in all volumes all bookes of divinity commentaries concordances books of the cannon or civill lawes all sortes of school bookes school authores grammares rudiments psalms confessions of faith catechismes larger and shorter catechismes prymers &c. discharging all others so to doe without warrand and order from his Majesties printer under the payne of confis cation of all such bookes the one half to the king and the other half for the use of his printer and his forsaids besydes such other penalties as the Councill shall think fitt to inflict in case of faylie And whereas the relict and air of the said deceast Andro Anderson have exhibited and presented before the Lords of His Majesties Privy Councill bibles of three severall volumes. printed by the said Andro Anderson one thereof in a letter called the pereill letter with notes in the volume of Twelve printed in the year 1673 Another printed in the said year in the 1 51 same letter without notes in the volume of eighteen And the third printed in the year 1676, in a letter called the non-pareill with notes in the volum of Eight Of which bibles they have printed such a considerable number as may be able sufficiently to serve his Majesties leidges with bibles of that kynd which is performed by his Majesties said printer to their great expenses, and the advantage of the kingdom by hindering, the export of great soumes of money which are daylie taken furth thereof for forraigne bibles and have undertaken to serve the leidges suf ficiently at alse easy rates in farr better work then any forraign- ers can affoord The saides Lords of Councill doe therefore conform to his Majesties gift aforsaid hereby prohibit and dis charge any person whatsoever after the first day of November nixte To import vent or sell into this kingdome any bibles of the forsaides letteris or syse declareing hereby all such bibles as shall be imported after the said day confiscable the one half thereof for his Majesties use and the other half for the use of the relict and air of his Majesties said printer With full power to them or any haveing their order to seize upon take and confiscat the saides bibles wherever the same can be found they being al- wayes comptable for his Majesties part of the said seizour to the Lordis of the Thesaury Ordaining and commanding hereby the Tacksmen and collectours of the customes & excyse and their waiters to confiscat any of the saids bibles that shall happen to be imported after the said day to the use forsaid which is to be by and attour any other punishment his Majesties Councill shall think fit to impose upon the contraveeners and ordaines these presents to be printed & published at the mercatcroces of Edin burgh Glasgow and other places neidfull that none pretend ig- norance. d% 52 No. XXVI. Decreet of Privy Council in the Cause, Andrew Ander son, Printer, against Robert Sanders, Bookseller in Glasgow, and others, March 6, 1680. [Reg. Sec. Cone] ¦ Anent our Soveraigne Lords Letters raised at the instance of James Andersone air served and retoured to the deceast An drew Anderson his Majesties Printer and Sir George M'Ken- zie of Rosehaugh knight his Majesties Advocat for his High ness interest in the matter underwritten Mentioning that where albeit his Majesty by his Letter of Gift dated the twelfth day of May Im vjc seventy one yeares Did appoint and constitut the said deceast Andrew Anderson his aires and assigneyes to be his Majesties sole absolut and only Printer* with power to print and reprint all books whither divinitie law and others mentioned in the said Gift whereby all other persons are dis charged to doe the same without the said deceast Andrew his airs and assigneyes their warrands under the pain of confisca tion of all such bookes as should be printed by any others the one halfe to his Majesty and the other halfe to the said deceast Andrew and his foresaids and of such other paines as the Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill should think fitt to inflict Like- as by the said Letter of gift the said deceast Andrew and his foresaids are ordained to have the superviseing of the presse and printing houses of the Kingdome and to be answearable therefor And sicklike upon ane application made by Robert Sanders bookseller in Glasgow and some other persons to the said Lords of Privy Councill complaining of the said gift The saids Lords after hearing of both parties and of full considera tion of the said Gift and of what was alledged for and against the same Did by ane act of the date the sixteenth day of Sep- 53 tember Im vjc seventie two years find decerne and ordaine that the said Robert Sanders or any other printer within this King dom should only have the priviledge to print the new Testa ment and Psalm-book in the letter commonly called the Eng lish Roman but in no other letter nor syze then that conforme to a copy printed in the year Im vjc seventie nine by George Swintoune & James Glen which was then produced and Virgill with or without notes, Salustius, and the other books particu larly mentioned in the said Act and which priviledges was only granted upon the said deceast Andrew his voluntar consenting to the same for peace sake and his gift was ordained to stand in full force as to all the priviledges mentioned in the same and the said Act of Councill And albeit by the said Gift and Act of Councill the said deceast Andrew Anderson and the persuer the said James Anderson air served and retoured to him have the only priviledge of printing all other bookis save such as are mentioned in the said concession in the said. Act and the only priviledge of superviseing the presse and printing houses within this Kingdom Yet nevertheless the said Robert Sanders who was compeiring at the makeing of the said Act ' haveing contravened the same and his Majesties said Gift in printing venting and dispersing or causing print vent and dis perse severall bookis as to the printing of all which he and all others are by the said Gift and Act expressly excluded except the persuers deceast father his aires assigneyes & copartners And the persuers having thereupon intended process before the Councill against Robert Sanders in the year Im vjc seventie six and the same being remitted to a Committee ofthe Councill to report the state of that proces who haveing reported that they found the Libell founded on his Majesties Gift and Act of Councill foresaid in the year I™ vjc seventie two explaining the same Whereby after hearing of both parties then at great length it is determined what is proper to the Kings printer to print and what is proper to the rest of the printers to print and which all his Majesties printer doeth conced to severall particulars for peace sake The saids Lords of Privy Councill upon full consi deration of the foresaid haill matter Did by their Act in Fe bruary Im vjc seventie seven adhere to their said former act 54 And in regard the said Robert Sanders did refuse to depon upon the said Libell being referred to his oath did by their Decreet dated the sixth day of March the said year Im vjc seventie seven hold him as confest upon the Libell and com mitted him prisoner to the tolbooth of Edinburgh untill furder order and decerned and ordained him to obtemper the saids Lords of Privy Councill their said Act of the sixteenth of Sep tember Im vjc seventie two in all points notwithstanding where of and that the said Lords were favourably pleased to sett the said Robert Sanders at liberty he hath been so fare from re garding his Majesties said gift and the saids Lords their act and Decreet that he hath most contemptuously by himself his servants or others in his name by his command or at his direc tion ever since the saids Lords of Councill their said Decreit of the sixth of March Im vjc seventie seven years and particu larly upon the first second third and remanent dayes of Aprile May June and remanent moneths of the year lm vjc seventie seven upon the first second third and remanent dayes of Ja nuary February March and remanent moneths of the yeares jm vjc seventie eight and I™ vjc seventie nine last bypast and upon the first second third and remanent dayes of January and February Im vj<= and Eighty years or one or other of the dayes of the said moneths taken upon him to print sell and disperse or caused print sell and disperse to his behoofe the particular books after specified viz. Catechismes, Durhame on the Revela tion, Dyers works, Vincent on Judgement, Vincents Catechisme Brouns path and way to heaven, Durhame on the commands Flavell sainct indeed, Grammars, Rudiments, & vocables, New Testaments and Psalme books in another letter and different character then that condescended to by his Majesties said prin ter Confessions of faith, Rhetorica, Mr Brierlie Mr Grayes twenty sevene sermones The whole duty of man Doelittle on the sacrament with severall books of divinitie and schoole books As to the priviledge of printing all which the said Robert San ders and all others are by the foresaid Gift .and Act of Coun cill expresly excluded except his Majesties printer and his fore saids And which by the saids Lords their Decreet the said Robert Sanders is expresly ordained to obtemper and obey 55 Whereby the said Robert Sanders hath directly contraveened the tenor of his Majesties said gift and act and decreet of Privy Councill foresaid in high and proud contempt ofthe same and therefor ought and should not only be decerned in such soumes as the saids Lords shall think fitt for the foresaid contravention whereupon he is holden as confest by their said Decreet in March Im vjc seventie seven and to make payment of the pryces and value ofthe foresaids bookes so unwarrantably printed sold vented and dispersed ever since extending to------- the one halfe to the persuer as aire served and retoured to his said father as also to make payment of the damnage losse and prejudice sustained by the persuer through his being hindered to vent and sell the saids bookis which he caused print to that effect by the said Robert Sanders his unwar rantable printing venting selling and dispersing of the same as aforesaid But otherwise examplarly punished in his person and goods to the terrour of others to doe the like in time coming And anent the charge given to the said Rohert Sanders to have compeared personally and answered to the foresaid com plaint and to have heard and seen such order taken thereanent as appertained under the paine of rebellion &c. With certifica tion &c. As the saids letters executiones and indorsations thereof at length proports Whilk being called upon the twen ty-sixth day of February last and the said persuer compeirand personally As also Agnes Campbell relict and executrix to the said deceast Andrew Anderson his Majesties printer for her in terest and as administratrix to the said persuer her sone And the defender being also personally present And the said Li bell being remitted to a Committee of the Councills number to consider thereof and to hear the parties and report And the said Committee haveing heard the saids parties and this day made their report The Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill haveing heard and considered the foresaid Libell and answears made thereto and report of the Committee above written with his Majesties Gift in favors of the deceast Andrew Anderson and acts of Councill foresaid explaining the same And also haveing heard the Lord Register who represented that the printeing or reprinteing ofthe Acts of Parliament and Acts of 56 Convention of Estates did properly belong to him not only as a privilidge inherent his office of Clerk Register But also by vertue of a speciall gift from his Majesty to that effect which could not be prejudged b)r Andersones Gift and craved that his Gift might be solved and declared to be in no sort prejudged by any act or sentence in favours of the said James Anderson in this matter They doe find that his Majesties Printer hath the sole priviledge of superviseing the presse and of printing pro clamations of state, Bibles and all the parts thereof and all other books therein specified except these contained in the con cession granted by the said deceast Andrew Anderson his Ma jesties printer and act of Councill dated the said sixteenth day of September Im vjc seventie two years viz. the New Testa ment and Psalm Book in the letter commonly called the Eng lish Roman printed by George Swinton and James Glen in the year Im vjc sixtie nine years but no other size nor letter Virgill with or without nots, Salustius, Horatius, Quintus Curtius, Dialogi Sacrorum Orationes Ciceronis, Erasmi Colloquia majora, Ciceronis Epistolae, Erasmi Colloquia minora, Joannes Lodovi- cus vives Bellum Grammatical, Janua Linguarum Smetii Pro- sodia, Buchanani Prosodia Juvenalis and Persius Lucanus, Terentius, Cassaris Commentaria, Lucius Florus, Carmina Pro- verbialia blandianus, Cornelius Tacitus, Textoris Epistolae, Tolei Rhetorica, Vossii Rhetorica, Rami Dialectica Ursini Ca- techismus, .SSsopi fabulse, Thomasii Dictionarium, Sylva Syno- nimorum, Justini Historia, Burgesdicii Logica, Livii Orationes, Greek New Testaments, Seneeae Tragedian, Poetse Minores, Homers Iliads, Kemps de Imitatione Christi, and Plautus Co medies And which concession was granted by the Kings printer for peace sake And which books by that Act it is de clared that the said Robert Sanders or any other person printer in this Kingdom shall have as full liberty to print as the Kings Printer himself And which Act the said Robert Sanders was by Decreet of Councill dated the sixth day of March Im vjc seventie-seven years expressly decerned and ordained to obtem per in all points And finds by the said Robert Sanders his oune confession that he hes not only vended Bibles printed in and imported from Holland contrare to a standing proclamation 57 published and printed but reprinted and vended several books of divinitie without licence contrare to his Majesties Gift and Act of Councill forsaid The saids Lords of his Majesties Privy Councill doe therefor Prohibit and Discharge the said Robert Sanders and all other printers within this kingdom to reprint or print any books which the Kings Printer by his Gift hes right only to print except these contained in the foresaid con cession under the paine of confiscation thereof to the use and benefite of the Kings Printer And doe ordain letters of horn ing to be direct chargeing them to find caution acted in the bookis of Privy Councill to the effect foresaid under the penalty of five hundred merks Scotts money and in regard ofthe dam- nage sustained by the pursuer and his mother through the foresaid contravention and frequent processes for defending the Kings Gift The saids Lords doe ordaine the said Robert San ders or any other printer who have printed any books contrare to the Kings gift and the said decreet of Councill in the year Im vjc seventie two to deliver up to the persuer or his mother executrix and administratrix foresaid the haill copies thereof printed by them since the date of the said Gift and Decreet of Councill in recompence of some part of their damnage And ordaines letters of horning to be direct for that effect It is al- wayes hereby declared that these presents shall be but preju dice of any right or priviledge the Lord Register hes to imploy any person he shall think fitt for printing or reprinting the Acts of Parliament and Acts of Convention of Estates conforme to his Majesties Gift in his favours which the saids Lords declares to be no ways hurt or prejudged by this Act or any thing therein contained 58 No. XXVII. Ratification in favours of Andrew Andersone Printer to the College 8r City qf Edinburgh and his Co-Partners ofthe gift qf sole Sc chieff Printer to his Majestie. [Acta Pari. Scot. 1671.] Our Soveraigne Lord and Estates of Parliament taking to consideratione the lettirs of gift aftir specified and weightie causes wherby his Majestie was moved to grant the same, And likewise forseeing the great good and profeit that by the due observance and prosecutione therof will redound to his Majes tie and his subjects Have therefor Ratified Approven & Con firmed And by thir presents Ratifie Confirme & Approve the lettir of gift granted by his Majestie with consent of the Lords of his highnes Exchequer to Andrew Andersone printer to the Colledge & City of Edinburgh vnder his highnes great Seall of this his antient Kingdome of the dait at Whitehall the tuelve day of May One thousand six hundred sevintie one Wherby his Majestie Made Nominat and Constitut the said Andrew Andersone his highnes onlie sole principall printer, To Print and cause Print be himself his assigneys and Substituts to his or their journeymen Printers or servants all and sundry bookes or papers of anie language learned or vulgar With sole power to him and his Co-pairtners & assistants (whome he shall choose) assigneys & Substituts To governe direct & order the printing of all such bookes and papers Soe that it shall not be lawfull to any other persone printer or bookseller to print or publish or to cause print or publish any bookes or papers in any language learned or vulgar bot in the way & maner forsaid & allenarlie by these who shall be ordained by the said Andrew Andersone and his partners & assigneys to print & publish and that for the space of fourtie one years aftir the time therm spe cified of the said Andrew his entrie to the said office And Like- 59 Wise bis Majestie with consent forsaid Gave granted & disponed to the said Andrew & his aires co-pairtners assigneys and Sub stituts the sole absolute and vndoubted right of the said office & gift as onlie Masters Directors & Regulators of his Majesties office of Printing within the said Kingdome witff »he sole and onlie power dureing the said space not onlie of Printing his Ma jesties and his highnes Illustrious progenitors their acts of Par liament Proclamations Edicts & all other papers and concemes belonging to the said Kingdome Bot also of Printing and re printing (Notwithstanding of any act or acts of his Majesties Councill in favors of any others) of Bibles in all volumes, with the Psalms annexed therto, als wiel for the Churches of Ingland and Ireland as of Scotland, thrid parts of the Bible, and New- testaments of whatsoevir volume, all bookes of Theologie, Com mentaries, Concordances, Books of the Comon & Civill law, School authors Grammers Rudiments Psalms Confessions of faith Larger and Shorter Catechisms Kallendars &c. And to export and Sell the samine in anie pairt of his Majesties Domi nions for the use of his Subjects Prohibiteing therby alswiel Natives as forraigners to Print or re-print or cause print or re print import or cause to be imported from any place without the said Kingdome or from beyond seas any Bibles, thrid parts of the Bible or Newtestaments of whatsoevir volume or any of the foimamed bookes, papers or pamphlets without the speciall license of the said Andrew and his forsaids vnder the pane of confiscation of the saids bookes soe printed or imported Wherof the one halfe to belonge to his Majestie and the other halfe to be applyed to the use of the said Andrew and his forsaids and vnder other paines and mulcts which the Lords of his Majesties privie Councill from time to time shall be pleased to inflict up. on the contraveeners And with power to the said Andrew and his forsaids to erect or cause to be erected within the city of Edinburgh or any other City or Burgh within the said King- dome of Scotland, Presses Printing houses & Materialls And for that effect to take and sett to worke all workmen Journey men Printers & Correctors of the Presses neidfull for his Ma jesties service and benifite of the saiV Kingdome, Inhibiting that no persone who hes not served his Apprentiship in the Art 60 and vocation of Printing (and that is not soe made capable to be a Master Printer) shall erect or keip up any Printing houses, or print any bookes or papers whatsoever nor for that effect to imploy any Journeymen Printers : Moreover inhibiting all Journeymen Printers to take breed instruct or keip in service any Apprentice in the Arte of Printing, without licence of the said Andrew & his forsaids Attour his Majestie Gave and Granted to the said Andrew & his forsaids all other priviledges profeits immunities casualities fies emoluments and others what soever pertaining to the said office and contained in whatsoever gifts granted by his Majesties father or any other his Royall Progenitors to any other their Printers, at anie time bygone As -by thir presentis they are freed from publict taxationes, Stents, Watchings Bullione money for whatsoever paper or necessaries requisite for the said office of Printing, and from all annuities whatsoever dureing the said space to be bruiked vsed exerced & enjoyed by the said Andrew and his forsaids as fully & frielie in all respects and to all intents and purposes as any other Printer by vertew of their office have enjoyed or for the futur shall be knowne properlie to belonge to the same And lastlie Ordaining the Lords Commissioners of his Majesties thesaurarie & their Receavers present & to come to pay the fies due to the said office yearlie dureing the said space and which is Declaired to be allowed to them in their Accompts In the whole heads articles & clauses therof And admitts the forsaid Ratification to be als sufficient as if the said gift wer verbatim heirin insert albeit not soe done Wheranent Dispenses for ever Attour his Majestie and Estates of Parliament of New Makes and Consti- tuts the said Andrew his Majesties onlie sole and cheiff Printer With power to him and his forsaids to exerce the said office and to bruike possess & enjoy the same, With the priviledge of se cluding & debarring all others power of Confiscatione & whole other priviledges casualities freedomes and immunities above specified during the space above exprest Recommending heirby to his Majesties Privy Councill to see the said gift put to due executione, & made effectuall to the said Andrew Andersone & his forsaids according to the tennor therof in all pointes and upon complaints to redress all wrongs done to or encroachments 61 thereupon in anie time comeing dureing the said space It is all- wayes heirby Declaired that this present Ratification shall no wayes be prejudiciall to any acts of Councill maid anent the or dering of the said gift. No. XXVIII. Litera Davidis Lindsay de officio Typographi Regii, 23* Nov. 1682. [Reg. Mag. Sig.] (Paper Register) V. x. No. 343. Carolus Dei gratia Magna; Britanniae Francias et Hiberniae Rex fideique defensor Omnibus probis hominibus ad quos prae- sentes Literae pervenerint Salutem Noveritis nos considerantes artem Typographicam Eruditionum Scientiae et Artium profec- tuj summopere conducere et inservire Librosque accurate im- pressos maximum esse commercii domestici et externi subjec- tum, Et officinarum typographicarum in dicto antiquo regno nostro Scotiae stabilitionem, incitamentum et confirmationem, multum pecuniae pro libris externae Typographiae erogatae, in eodem regno posse servare, Nosque ex regia nostra cura erga commodum decus et emolumentum ejusdem regni nostri, omne commercium et singulas manufacturas in eadem incitare et con- firmare apud nos benigne statuentes atque etiam compertum habentes per plurimos retro annos paucos admodum libros bo- nos ibidem esse impressos Idque praecipue ortum esse ex oppo- sitione et debilitatione per illos quibus officium nostri Typogra phi Ordinary fuerat commissum eaedem arti illata quasi ipsi solo imprimendi privilegio fuissent potiti ; Cumque justitiae et prudentise nostris dictique regni politise minime conveniat, ut totum imprimendi officium unus quidem monopola possideat, cumque etiam propositum et intendo commissionis et privilegii 62 per nos Typographis nostris ordinariis concessi, alia praela, non ad libros communes sed proclamations acta concilii et id genus alia ad typographos nostros ordinarios jure pertinenda impri- mendum excludat ; cumque nobis manifeste constat hseredes de- mortui Andreae Andersone quondam nostri Typographi nullo modo sufficere ad omnes libros dicto Regno necessarios impri- mendos, Ac etiam per nuperam editionem Actorum Parliamen- torum nostrorum et serenissimorum nostrorum progenitorum plane sentientes Davidem Lindsay (qui eadem imprimenda cu- ravit) bonos et perspicuos typos et praela integra habere qui- bus eadem sunt correcte impressa : Noveritis Igitur Nos (ra- tione qua supra utque animus addatur prefato Davidi Lindsay quo in dicta arte typographica persistat et plures bonos typos praela et alios sumptus Typographiae necessarios preparet) cum avisamento et consensu fidissimi et dilectissimi consanguinei et consiliarij Gulielmi Marchionis de Queensberry summi riostri Thesaurarij ejusdem regni Joannis Drummond de Lundin The- saurarij,' nostri deputati et reliquorum dominorum aliorumque dominorum nostri Scaccarij ejusdem Regni Commissionariorum Dedisse Concessisse et Commisisse sicuti nos per praesentes pro nobis et Successoribus nostris Damus Concedimus et Commit- timus prefato Davidi Lindsay suisque heredibus substitutes et collegis plenariam potestatem et libertatem imprimendi seu per suos vel eorum servos et substitutos omnia librorum genera cu- jusciinque linguae artis seu scientiae imprimenda curandi (ex- ceptis omnimodo nostris proclamationibus actis parliamenti con- ventuum et concilij et id genus aliis per ilium vel illos sine spe- ciali privilegio minime imprimendis) eosdemque libros in qua- cunque parte dicti antiqui regni nostri vel extra idem publican- di et vendendi Idque durante Spatio quadraginta annorum post expedidonem presentis nostras Commissionis sub magno nostro Sigillo antedict. Proviso omnimodo quod dicti libri nihil con- tineant quod Religioni nostras stabilitae, , Regimini^ authoritati vel honori nostris deroget aut praejudicet Quodque iidem per illos permittantur qui ad prselum inspiciendum per nos vel no stri Secreti concilij dominos constituentur Ac ulterius Damus et Concedimus prefato Davidi Lindsay ejusque antedict. plenam potestatem officinas typographicas in quibuscunque dicti. regni 63 locis quibus ipsis visum erit pro meliori subditorum nostrorum accommodatione erigendi, et omnibus privileges juribus et im munitatibus quae per quosvis Typographos possidebantur vel officio Typographico seu cuivis alii manufactorio intra dictum regnum spectare et pertinere dignoscuntur Idque non obstante quavis donatione officii nostri Typographi ordinary per nos dicto demortuo Andreas Andersone concessa seu quibusvis actis nostri secreti Concilij in contrarium fact. Per praesentes porro declaratur quod haec nostra litera donationis aut quid in eo con tent, nullo modo prejudicabit donationi officij nostri Typographi per nos praefat. demortuo Andreas Andersone concessa; in quan tum extendi potest ad privilegia content, in Litera donationis ejusdem officij demortuo Evano Tailzeor concessu Ac ulterius declaratur quod haec clausula exceptionem prasdictam quod proclamationes et acta parliamenti nullam et vacuam minime reddat. In cujus rei testimonium prassentibus Magnum Sigil- lum nostrum appendi mandavimus. Apud Aulam nostram de Whytehall vigesimo tertio die mensis Novembris anno domini millesimo sexcentesimo octogesimo secundo Regnique nostri anno Trigesimo quarto. Per Signaturam manu S. D. N. Regis suprascript. necnon ma- nibus Thesaurarij principalis Thesaurarij deputati et reliquo rum dominorum Scaccarij subscript. No. XXIX. Act in favours of Mrs Anderson, Edinburgh, March 14, 1701. This booked under the 9,0th March per licet. [Acta Sec. Cone.] Anent the Petition given in to the Lords of His Majesties Privy Councill by Agnes Campbell his Majesties printer Shew- 64 ing That where the deceast Andrew Anderson her husband having obtained a Gift under the Great Seall for payment of a Composition in Exchequer and other weighty reasons giving him his heirs and successors the sole Right of printing within this Kingdom, and which was ratifyed in Parliament and often confirmed by decreets and acts of Councill upon Compearance and debate and all persones were discharged during the tyme limited in the said Gift, to Print or to Import into this King dom any books in whatever airt faculty or language, which he his heirs or successors, should. at any tyme print, without his or their licence except in sua far as the said Gift was restricted out of meer favour by his consent, as is more fully contained in the Gift and Decreets of Councill following thereon Their petitioner upon the faith and encouradgement of the forsaid ¦ Gift and severall acts and Decreets of Councill above mentioned hath so far advanced the art of printing, That although in our neighbour nation, the printers upon the very designing of any extraordinary and expensive work use not only to join together in the expenss, but also get considerable encouradgements and gratuities from the publick : yet their petitioner for the Credit of this Kingdom did by her self undertake, and hes now near finished the printing of Mr Mathew Pools annotations on the Holy Bible with Clarks Harmony on, the Evangelists not con tained in the English book which lies occasioned a great Ex penss, and which she has carryed throw, notwithstanding of many discouragements, and in some manner threats of the English and she may boldly say, That her work is better done and upon fyner paper, then that done in the English nation She hes also begun Editions of Durham and Flavells works, which the English are likeways carrying on at the same tyme, upon the faith and hopes of getting Subscriptions in Scotland to their proposals, thinking thereby to mine their petitioners design and consequently her press ; She is also printing a Trea tise by Mr Daniell Campbell on the Sacrament called The fre quent and devout Communicant, and some of Mr Craigheads sermons : And the encouragement she craves from their Lord ships is what she humbly conceived is her right from the Gift itself viz. That no Printer or other person whatsomever be al- 65 lowed to print reprint or to import into this Kingdom any of the forsaids books already printed or to be printed by her un der the pain of Confiscation, and such other punishment as their Lordships think fitt. Their Petitioner took only leave to repre sent to their Lordships That she hes so far improven the art of printing in this Kingdom, That her printing house is equall and perhaps exceeds any printing house in England, and the Encouradgement of her work tends very much towards the mantenance of a great many families. The General Assembly had so far considered the usefulness of this undertaking, That they have recommended to all Noblemen Gentlemen ministers and others within this Kingdom, to give her their concurrence & assistance, which is all she could demand of them. And therfore humbly CraVing their Lordships to consider the pre misses and discharge the printing or reprinting or the impor tation of any works printed or undertaken by their petitioner and particularly of the works above mentioned under the Cer tifications and penalties contained in her Gift viz. The Confis cation of the books so printed or imported, the one half to his Majesty and the other half to her, And to grant her warrand to seaze any books Imported Printed or Reprinted contrary to the said Prohibition, as also to discharge all Tacksmen of the Customs, Collectors Waiters Surveyers to suffer or Connive at the Importation of the saids books, and to appoint such other Certifications as their Lordships should find necessary to whom the said matter is recommended by the Gift and Act of Parlia ment ratifying the same, as the said Petition bears The Lords of His Majesties Privy Councill having heard the above Peti tion given in to them by Agnes Campbell, Relict of Andrew Anderson his Majesties printer read in their presence, They upon the Sixth day of March last, nominated and appointed, The Earies of Lauderdale & Leven, The Lords President of Session & Thesaurer deput, Mr Francis Montgomry and the Provost of Edinburgh to be a Committy to Consider the said petition with the gift in favours of His Majestys printer how far the samen doth or may Extend and Recommended them to meet the morrow morning at ten acloak in the forenoon, and declared any three of them to be a sufficient quorum", and Re- 66 commended to them to make their Report with the first con- veniency Which being again this day considered by the saids Lords pf His Majestys Privy Councill, they heirby Recommend to the Lords pf the Committy appointed upon the above peti tion given in by the Relict of Andrew Anderson His Majestys printer, to authorize and impower the said Mrs Anderson to print Pools Annotations, Mr Durhams work, Mr Daniell Camp bells books anent the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and Craig- heads Sermons, and Impowers the said Committy not only to give the said Mrs Anderson liberty to print the saids books, hut likewise to grant her the sole priviledge for printing of the same, and to discharge all persons whatsomever to print these books for such number of years as they think fit, the said Com mitty being always first satisfyed as to the fyness and sufficiency of the paper & types to be made use of and imployed by her in printing of the saids works or books, and to declare that if any of these works or books shall be printed by any other per son within this kingdom during the space forsaid the same shall be seased upon and confiscat by the said Mrs Anderson and applied to her own proper use, and behoove, And the saids Lords of Her Majestys Privy Councill have refused and here by refuses the desyre of Mrs Andersons petition given in to them as to FlayeUs works, and hereby allows these works to be printed imported and sold by any person whatsoever. No. XXX. Commissio MH Roberti Freebairn de Officio Architypogra- phi Regy, Hm0 Augusti 1711. [Reg. Mag. Sig. (Paper Register) xv. No. 388.] Anna Dei Gratia Magnae Britannia; Franciae et Hiberniae Regina Fideique Defensor Omnibus probis hominibus ad quos 67 praesentes Literae nostra? pervenerint Salutem. Quandoquidem nos ad memoriam revocantes Quod Carolus Rex Secundus Bea- tas memoriae per suas literas patentes sub magno Sigillo de data duodecimo die mensis Maij anno Domini raillesimo sex- centesimo septuagesimo primo fecit et constituit Andrasam An derson ej usque assignatos seu substitutos solos atque unicos Typographos suos pro antiquo Regno suo Scotias durante spatio quadraginta unius annorum post dictas donationis datam Et concessit illi ejusque prasdictis dictum Imprimendi officium pro Rege infra dictum Regnum cum omnibus privilegiis libertatibus proficuis immunitatibus casualitatibus mercedibus et Sallariis consuetis de Scaccario suo debitis cum omnibus aliis emolumen tis eidern spectantibus Eique ejusque prasdictis nullisque aliis potestatem dedit infra dictum Regnum Imprimendi et de eodem exportandi et in aliquibus dicti Regni Dominus vendendi Biblia sacra Psalmorum Libros aliosque Libros et volumina inibi con tent, et mentionat. modo in longum in dicta Donationis Litera specificat. Et nos perpendentes tempus inibi mentionat. brevitei* expiraturum et prasterea quam utile et necessarium fuerit nobis nostrisque subditis hujus partis regni nostri Magnas Britannia; Scotias vocat. in dicto officio tempestive provideantur Et Nos ex nostra regia et regali cura cupientes ut illi in quos dictum officium collaturas sumus Materiam et instrumenta typogra- phica comparent quo promptius et commodius nobis nostrisque subditis in ista parte Regni nostri inservient ac etiam quam- primum prior Donatio expiraverit Persona idonea et qualificata id munus suppleatur Ac nos intelligentes peritiam fidem fideli- tatem et diligentiam dilecti nostri M11 Roberti Freebairn Bibli- opoli et Typographi Edinburgensis qui pro se heredibus suis sociis assignatis aut substitutis suscipiet omnes libros sive ad res privatas sive publicas spectantes emendatius deinceps eden- dos quam antea a suis in dicto officio prasdecessoribus ple- rumque factum fuit Cumque etiam Nos sufficienter certiores facta; sumus de benemeritis dicti Mri Roberti Freebairn et in- concussa ejus fide In Regimen Monarchi cumque Regalem prerogativam deque ejus studio et peritia Scientiam et Erudi- tionem publice promovendi ejusque facultate Officinas Typo- graphicas omnibus necessariis instrumentis instructas erigendi e2 68 Noveritis igitur Nos fecisse nominasse et constitnisse seeuti per praesentes facimus nominamus et constituimus dictum M™ Ro- bertum Freebairn solum atque unicum Typographum nostrum in hae parte regni nostri Scotias vocata et hoc pro spatio qua draginta unius annorum post dicti Mri Roberti Freebairn ad dictum Officium Introitum quod per praesentes immediate post dictam donationis expirationem incipere et plenum effectum sortire. declaratur (haec praesens Litera absque prasjudicio tem- pori inibi specificat. Dan. et Conceden. illi ejusque praedict. non obstante quovis acto vel actis Concilij in aliorum gratiam) so lum privilegium Imprimendi Biblia Sacra Nova Testamenta Psalmorum Libros et Libros praecum communium in omnibus voluminibus juxta usum et consuetudinem quas in nostris Ma gna; Britannia; et Hibernias Dominiis obtinet Ac etiam solum privilegium Imprimendi et Re-imprimendi Acta Parliamento- rum ^Edicta Proclamationes omnesque Chartas pro publicorum officiorum usu Imprimend. Et generaliter quodcunque authori- tate emittetur Et similiter solum privilegium pro futuro omnes libros communium vel municipalium Legum Scotia; Imprimend. Ac etiam solum privilegium Re-imprimendi omnes Acta Par- liaroentorum Libros^ue communium et municipalium Legum Scotias quandocunque concessa eorundem nostro prassenti Ty- pographo aliisque particularibus personis respective expirave- rint Prohiben. per hanc Donationis Literam omnes tam nativos quam extraneos Imprimere vel re-hnprimere seu imprimi vel re-imprimi facere importare seu importari causare infra quem vis locum vel a quovis loco extra illam partem Regni nostri Magnas Britannias Scotias vocat. autalocis transmarinis (absque dicti Mri Roberti Freebairn ejusque praedict. mandato et licen- tia) Biblia Sacra NovaTestamentaPsalmorum LibrosLibros Prae cum Communium Acta Parliamentorum iEdicta Proclamationes libros communium et municipalium legum Scotias In quibusvis voluminibus vel quosvis supramentionat. libros Chartas et li- bellos specialiter dicto Mro Roberto Freebairn ejusque praedict. privilegio concess. Sub poena Confiscationis omnium talium li brorum sic Impress, vel importat. unum ejusmodi dimidium nobis et alterum ad usum diet. Mrl Roberti Freebairn ejusque praedict. Conceden. similiter per praesentes dicto Mro Roberto 69 Freebairn ejusque heredibus assignatis et substitutis solitas mercedes proficua et casualitates ad dictum Officium pertinen. Et content, in prioribus Donationis Literis per quosvis nostro rum prasdecessorum regiorum nostris vel illorum Typographo vel Typographis quovis tempore prasterito concess. sicuti per praesentes ab omnibus publicis vectigalibus vigiliis annuitatibus aliisque oneribus quibuscunque liberati sunt et hoc pro dicto spatio quadraginta unius annorum Fruend. Utend. et Gaudend. per dictum Mm Robertum Freebairn ejusque predict, tam plenarie ac libere in omnibus respectibus et ad omnes intentus et proposita quam nostri vel illorum priores diet. Typographi virtute suorum officiorum et locorum quovis tempore praeterito ad dictum officium proprie pertinere dignoscentur Prascipiend. per praesentes Barones Scaccarij nostri aliosve reddituum no strorum in Scotia Receptores praesentes vel futuros prompte respondere solvere et tradere dicto Mro Roberto Freebairn. ejusque praedict. mercedes solitas et consuetas in Computis Scaccarij annuatim Typographo nostro debitas durante termino annorum supraspecificat. Et ejus vel illorum desuper Syngra- phas ut eadem in computis Scaccarij nostri pro acceptis ha- beantur sufficientes erint. In cujus rei Testimonium Sigillum nostrum per Unionis Tractatum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco magni Sigilli ejusdem utendum Ordinatum appendi Man davimus. Apud Aulam nostram de Windsor Castle undecimo die mensis Augusti anno Domini millesimo Septingentesimo undecimo annoque regni nostri decimo. Per Signaturam manu S. D. N. Reginae suprascript. 70 No. XXXI. Commissio Joannis Basket et Agnetas Campbell, de Officio Conjunctorum Architypographorum in Scotia, &o Julij 1716. [Registrum Magni Sigilli, (Paper Register) V. xvi. No. 155.] Georgius Dei Gratia Magna; Britannia; Franciae et Hiberniae Rex fideique defensor Omnibus probis hominibus ad quos prae sentes Literae nostras pervenerint Salutem. Quandpquidem nos intelligentes Quod Carolus Rex ejus nominis secundus beatae memoriae per Literas suas patentes sub magno Scotias Sigillo de data duodecimo die mensis Maij Anno Domini millesimo sex- centesimo septuagesimo primo statuit etconstituit Andream An derson haeredes suos assignatos vel substitutos solos atque unicos Typographos nostros pro antiquo npstro Scotias Regno durante spatio quadraginta unius annorum post dicta; donationis datam quod nunc elapsum est Similiter nos per Literas nostras patentes de data octavo die mensis Decembris Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo decimo quarto Nominavimus Constituimus et ordinavimus Magistrum Robertum Freebairn bibliopolam et Typographum Edinburgi haeredes suos assignatos et substitutos solos atque unicos nostros Architypographos in ea parte regni nostri Magna; Britannia; Scotia vocata durante spatio quadra ginta et unius annorum ab et post datam dicti Diplomatis quod hunc irritum evasit per prodigiosam suam accessionem ad nu- peram perduellionem et se Typographum existentem aemulo nostrorum regnorum Perthi atque ex eo tempore fugitivum Nosque certioresfacti de facultatibus ef qualificationibus Joannis Basket Londipensis Typographi et Agnetas Campbell viduas prasdictas Andreae Anderson ad promovendum dictum opus Ty- pographias conjunctim Et nos ex proprio motu volentes (lauda- bili exemplo regiorum nostrorum prasdecessorum) profectui artis adeo utilis in ea parte dominiorum nostrorum favere benigne 71 percupimus ut tesseram regii nostri favoris in diet. Joannem Basket et Agnetam Campbell conjunctim novam donationem dicti officij conferre Igitur Nos supramentionat. Diploma in favorem dicti Magistri Roberti Freebairn una cum omnibus aliis donationibus et Uteris patendbus seu diplomatibus (si quae shit) ad dictum Typographias officium per nos aut regios nostros an- tecessores sibi confect. revocamus annullamus irrita cassa et vacua pronunciamus Et nominavimus constituimus et ordina- vimus sicuti nos prassentium tenore nominamus constituimus et ordinamus dictos Joannem Basket et Agnetam Campbell con junctim hasredes suos assignatos et substitutos nostros solos atque unicos Architypographos in ea parte Magna; Britanniae Scotia vocata idque ad spatium quadraginta et unius annorum ab et post datam prassentium cum plenaria potestate ipsis dictis Joanni Basket et Agnetas Campbell conjunctim eorumque hae- redibus assignatis seu substitutis prasdictis exercendi fruendi et utendi dicto munere et officio durante spatio prasdicto cum om nibus perquisitis emolumentis immunitatibus exemptionibus et privilegiis quibuscunque eidem spectan. in quantum consistunt cum Articulis Unionis et legibus Magnas Britanniae nunc in existentia et speciatim solum et unicum privilegium imprimendi in Scotia Biblia Sacra Nova Testamenta Psalmorum Libros et Libros prascum communium Confessiones fidei Majores et Mi- nores Catechismos in lingua Anglicana Nee non solam potesta tem imprimendi et reimprimendi Acta Parliamentorum Edicta Proclamationes omnesque alias Chartas in usum nostrorum pub- licoriim in Scotia bfficiorum imprimendas et generatim quod- cunque ibidem publicandum erit ex authoritate Regiminis im primendi et reimprimendi Prohiben. tenore prassentium omnes alias personas quascunque tam nativos quam extraneos impri- mere vel re-imprimere seu imprimi vel re-imprimi in Scotia facere importare seu importari causare in Scotiam a quibusvis locis transmarinis ullos dictorum Librorum et Cartarum publi carum supramentionat? absque licentia et authoritate a dictis Joanne Basket et Agneta Campbell eorum hasredibus assignatis et substitutis sub poena confiscations omnium talium Librorum et Chartarum publicarum ita impress, seu importat. unum ejus- modi dimidium nobis etalterumdimidium in usum diet. Joannis 72 Basket et Agnetas Campbell ipsorumque praedict. nee non una cum (pro spatio et termino praedict.) tali annua pensione qualis perprius statuta fuerit vel nos in posterum statuemus tanquam feodum et sallarium ad diet, officium pertinen. In cujus rei testimonium prassentibus Sigillum nostrum per Unionis Tracta tum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco Magni Sigilli ejusdem utend. ordinatum appendi mandavimus. Apud Aulam nostram de St James's sexto die mensis Julij Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo decimo sexto Regnique nostri secundo. Per signaturam manu S. D. N. Regis suprascript. No. XXXII. Commissio Alexandri Kincade de Officio Architypographi S. D. N. Regis in Scotia, 91st June 1749. [Regist. Magni Sig. (Paper Regr.) V. xix. No. 10.] Georgius Dei gratia Magnae Britanniae Francias et Hiber nian Rex fidei Defensor Omnibus probis hominibus ad quos prassentes Literas nostras pervenerint Salutem Quandoquidem nos intelligentes Quod nosteir regius pater Georgius Rex ejus nominis primus beats; memoriae per Literas suas patentes sub sigillo per Unionis Tractatum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco magni sigilli ejusdem utend. ordinat. de data sexto die Julij millesimo septingentesimo decimo sexto statuit et consti- tuit Joannem Basket Londini Typographum et Agnetam Camp bell viduam Andreas Anderson conjunctim haeredes eorum substitutos vel assignatos solos ejus atque unicos Architypo- graphos in ea parte sui regni Magna; Britannia; Scotia vocata durante spatio quadraginta unius annorum post datam diet. 73 Diplomatis Nosque certiores facti de facultatibus et qualifica tionibus Alexandri Kincade ad promovendtim dictum opus typographias Et nos ex proprio motu volentes (laudabili exem- plo regiorum nostrorum prasdecessorum) profecto artis adeo utilis in ea parte dominiorum nostrorum favere, benigne per- cupimus ut tesseram regii nostri favoris in diet. Alexandri Kincade novam donationem diet, officii conferre initio inde sumpto et effectum sortiente ab et post diem super quem pras- fatum Diploma memorat. Joanni Baskett et Agneti Campbell concessum expirabit. Igitur nominavimus constituimus et ordi- navimus tenoreque prassentium nominamus constituimus et or- dinamus memoratum Alexandrum Kincade haeredes suos substi tutos vel assignatos solum et unicum nostrum Architypogra- phum in ilia parte regni nostri Magnas Britannias Scotia vocata Idque ad spatium quadraginta et unius annorum incipiend. ab et post expirationem Diplomatis de prassenti existentis per re- gium nostrum patrem Georgium Regem illius nominis primum beatss memorias concessi sexto die Julij anno millesimo septin gentesimo et decimo sexto diet. Joanni Basket et Agnetas Camp bell vidua; Andreas Anderson conjunctim pro simili spatio qua draginta unius annorum cum plena potestate illi dicto Alexan dro Kincade suisque haeredibus assignatis vel substitutis pras dictis dicto munere et officio durante spatio praefato utendi ex- ercendi et gaudendi cum omnibus perquisitis emolumentis, im- munitatibus, exemptionibus et privilegiis quibuscunque ad ea dem spectantibus in quantum consistunt cum articulis Unionis et legibus Magnae Britannias nunc existendbus et speciatim so lum et unicum privilegium imprimendi in Scotia Biblia Sacra, nova Testamenta, Psalmorum libros et libros prascum commu nium, Confessiones fidei, majores et minores Catechismos in lin gua Anglicana necnon solam potestatem imprimendi et reim primendi Acta Parliamentorum Edicta, Proclamationes, omnes- que alias Chartas in usum nostrorum publicorum in Scotia offi- ciorum imprimendas Et generaliter quodcunque ibidem publi- candum erit auctoritate Regiminis imprimendi et reimprimen di Prohiben. tenore prassentium omnes alias personas quascun- que tarn natives quam extraneos imprimere vel reimprimere seu imprimi vel reimprimi in Scotia causare importare seu impor- 74 tari facere in Scotiam a quibusvis locis transmarinis ullos dicto* rum librorum et Chartarum publicarum supra mentionat. abs que licentia vel authoritate a dicto Alexandro Kincade hasredi- bus suis assignatis vel substitutis sub poena confiscationis om nium talium librorum et publicarum Chartarum ita impress. seu importat. in Scotia unum eorundem dimidium nobis et al- terum dimidium in usum diet. Alexandri Kincade ejusque prae- dictorum Una etiam (pro spatio et tempore praedicto) cum tali annua pensione qualis perprius statuta fuerat vel sicut nos in posterum tanquam feodum et sallarium ad dictum officium per- tinen. statuemus. In cujus rei testimonium prassentibus sigil- lum nostrum per Unionis Tractatum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco magni sigilli ejusdem utend. ordinat. appendi man davimus Apud Aulam nostram apud Kensingtoun vigesimo primo die mensis Junij anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo quadragesimo nono Regnique nostri anno vigesimo tertio. Per Signaluram manu S. D. N. Regis suprascriplam. No. XXXIII. Commissio Jacobi Hunter Blair, armigeri, et Joannis Bruce, armigeri, de officio Architypographi S. D. N. Regis in Scotia, 1785. Georgius, Dei gratia, Magna; Britannias, Franciae, et Hiber- nias, Rex, Fidei Defensor, omnibus probis hominibus, ad quos praesentes literas pervenerint, salutem : Quandoquidem nos in telligentes quod Regius noster avus, Rex Georgius, ejus nomi- nis Secundus, beatae memorias, per literas suas patentes, sub si- gillo per Unionis tractatum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco 75 Magni Sigilli .ejusdem utend. ordinal, datas vigesimo primo die Junii, anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo et quadragesimo nono, statuit et constituit Alexandrum Kincade, hasredes ejus, substitutos, vel assignatos, solum ejus atque unicum architypo- graphum, in ea parte regni sui Magnas Britannias Scotia vocata, — durante spatio quadraginta unius annorum, computand. ab et post expirationem diplomatis tunc existentis, per Regem Geor gium, ejus nominis Primum, dedat. sexto die Julii, millesimo septingentesimo et decimo sexto, ad Joannem Basket et Agne- tem Campbell conjunctim, pro simili spatio quadraginta unius annorum concessi : nosque certiores faetide facultatibus et qua lificationibus Jacobi Hunter Blair, armigeri, et Joannis Bruce, armigeri, ad promovendum dictum opus typographies conjunc tim ; Et volentes (laudabili exemplo regiorum nostrorum prasdecessorum) profectui artis adeo utilis, in ea parte dominio- rum nostrorum, favere, benigne percupimus ut tesseram regii nostri favoris in dictos Jacobum Hunter Blair, et Joannem Bruce, novam donationem dicti officii conferre, initio inde sump- to et loco habito, ab et post diem in quem antea mentionat. di ploma, diet. Alexandro Kincade concessum, expirabit. Igitur nominavimus, constituimus, et ordinavimus, tenoreq. pras sentium nominamus, constituimus, et ordinamus, memoratos Jacobum Hunter Blair, et Joannem Bruce, conjunctim, haeredes eorum, substitutos, seu assignatos, solos et unicos nostros ar- chitypographos, in ilia parte regni nostri Magna; Britanniae, Scotia vocat. Idque pro, spatio quadraginta unius annorum, computand. ab et post expirationem diplomatis, pro praesenti existentis, prasfato Alexandro Kincade, pro simili spatio quadra ginta unius annorum, concessi : Cum plena potestate ipsis Jaco bo Hunter Blair, et Joanni Bruce, conjunctim, eorumq. haere- dibus, assignatis, sen substitutis, antedict. praefato munere et officio, durante spatio antedicto, utendi, exercendi, et gaudendi, cum omnibus proficuis, emolumentis, immunitatibus, exemptio- nibus, et privilegiis, quibuscunq. eidem spectantibus, in quan tum cum articulis Unionis, legibusq. Magnas Britannias nunc existentibus, congruunt. Et speciatim, solum et unicum pri vilegium imprimendi, in Scotia, Biblia Sacra, Nova Testamenta, Psalmorum libros, . libros Precum Communium, Confessiones 76 Fidei, majores et minores Catechismos in lingua Anglicana ;— necnon solam potestatem imprimendi, et reimprimendi, acta Parliamenti, edicta, proclamationes, omnesq. alias chartas in usum nostrorum publicorum in Scotia officiorum, imprimendas : Et generaliter omne quod ibidem publicandum erit, auctoritate regali, imprimendi, et reimprimendi : Prohiben. per prassentes, omnes alias personas quascunque, tarn nativos quam* extraneos, imprimere, vel reimprimere, seu imprimi, seu reimprimi in Sco tia causare, vel importare, seu importari facere in Scotiam, a quibusvis locis transmarinis, ullos diet, librorum, et chartarum publicarum, supra mentionat. absq. licentia vel auctoritate . a diet. Jacobo Hunter Blair, et Joanne Bruce, hasredibus eorum, assignatis, vel substitutis, sub poena confiscationis omnium ta- lium librorum, chartarumque publicarum, ita impress, seu im- portat. in Scotia ; unius eorund. dimidii ad nos, alteriusq. in usum diet. Jacobi Hunter Blair, et Joannis Bruce, eorumque antedict. Una etiam (pro spatio et termino praedict.) cum tali annua pensione qualis perprius statuta fuerat, seu sicut nos in posterum, tanquam feodum et salarium, diet, officio pertinen. statuemus. In cujus rei testimonium, praesentibus sigillum nostrum per Unionis tractatum custodiend. et in Scotia vice et loco Magni Sigilli ejusdem utend- ordinat. appendi mandavimus, apud Aulam Nostram apud St. James's, secundo die mensis, Novembris, anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo et octoge- simo quinto, regnique nostri anno vigesimo sexto. Per signaturam manu S. D. N. Regis supra script. 77 No. XXXIV. Commission to John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, for the Office qf Printer to his Majesty for England,— 1799. George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, — to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting.— WHEREAS our royal ancestor, George the First, late King of Great Britain, &c. by his letters patent under his great seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the 15th day of December, in the second year of his reign, for himself, his heirs, and successors, did give and grant to his beloved and trusty John Basket, of his city of London, bookseller, his exe cutors and assigns, the office of printer to the said late King, his heirs and successors, of all and singular statutes, books, small books, acts of Parliament, proclamations, and injunctions, and bibles and new testaments whatsoever, in the English tongue, or in any other tongue whatsoever, of any translation, with notes or without notes ; and also of all books of common prayer and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and cere monies of the Church of England, in any volumes whatsoever theretofore printed by the royal typographers for the time being, or thereafter to be printed by the command, privilege, or authority of him, his heirs or successors ; and also of all other books whatsoever which he had commanded, or should command, or his heirs or successors should command, to be used for the service of God in the churches of that part of his realm of Great Britain called England, and of all other books, volumes, and things whatsoever, by whatsoever name, term, title, or meaning, or by whatsoever names, terms, titles, or meanings, they were named, called, or distinguished, or any of them was 78 named, called, or distinguished, or thereafter should be named, called or distinguished, theretofore printed by the royal typo graphers for the time being, or then already by the Parliament of Great Britain in the English tongue, or in any other mixed tongue, published, printed, or worked off, or thereafter to be published^ worked off, or put to the press, by the command, privilege, or authority of him, his heirs or successors, (except only the rudiments of the grammatical institutions of the Latin tongue) to have, enjoy, occupy, and exercise the said office, to gether with all profits, commodities, and advantages, pre-emi nences and privileges of the same office, in anywise belonging or appertaining to the said John Basket, his executors and as signs, by him or themselves, or by his or their sufficient deputy or deputies, for the term of thirty years/ to commence and be computed from and immediately after the expiration or other determination of the several and respective estates and interests in the said office, before that time, granted by Our Royal pre decessor, Ann Queen of Great Britain, by her letters patent, made under her Seal of Great Britain, bearing date, at West minster, the 13th day October, in the 12th year of her reign, to her beloved subjects Benjamin Took and John Barber, of her city of London, bookseller's, and each of them, their and each- of their executors and assigns, to have, enjoy, exercise, and occu py the said office, to the said Benjamin Took and John Barber, for the term of thirty years, to commence and be computed from and immediately after the expiration, or other sooner determi nation of the several and respective estates and interests before that time granted by Our late Royal predecessor Charles the Second, late King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, by his letters patent made under his Great Seal of England, bearing date ait Westminster, the 24th day of December, in the 27th year of his reign, to his beloved subjects Thomas New comb and Henry Hills, to have, enjoy,- exercise, and occupy the said office, to the said Thomas Newcomb and Henry Hills, for the term of thirty years, which last mentioned term of thirty years, begun at and from the 10th day of January 1 709, as by the said letters patent made to the said John Basket, amongst other things in the same contained, relation being thereunto 79 had, will more plainly and at large appear. Now know Ve, that We, for divers good causes and consideration, Us at this time specially moving, of Our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have given and granted, and by these pre sents for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant unto Oar beloved and trusty John Reeves, of Cecil street, within the liberty ofthe Savoy parcel of Our dutchy of Lancaster ; George Eyre, of Lyndhurst, in Our county of Hants ; and Andrew Strahan of our city of London, stationer, and each of them, their and each of their executors, administrators, and assigns, the office of printer to us, our heirs and successors, of all and singular sta tutes, books, small books, acts of parliament, proclamations and injunctions, Bibles and New Testaments whatsoever in the English tongue, or in any other tongue whatsoever of any translation, with notes or without notes, and also of all books of common prayer and administration ofthe sacraments, and other rites and ceremo nies ofthe Church of England, in any volumes whatsoever here tofore printed by the royal typographers for the time being, or hereafter to be printed,, by the command, privilege, or authority of us, our heirs or successors, and also of all other books what soever which we have commanded, or hereafter shall command, or our heirs or successors shall command, to be used for the service of God, in the churches of that part of our realm of Great Britain called England, and of all other books, volumes, and things whatsoever, by whatsoever name, term, title, or meaning, or by whatsoever names, terms, titles, or meanings they are named, called, or distinguished, or any of them is named, called, or distinguished, or hereafter shall be named, called, or distinguished, heretofore printed by the royal typo graphers for the time being, or by the parliament of Great Bri tain, in the English tongue, or in any other mixed tongue al ready published, printed, or worked off, or hereafter to be published, worked off, or put to the press by the command, privilege, or authority of us, our heirs or successors (except only the rudiments of the grammatical institutions ofthe Latin tongue): And them the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, and their executors and assigns, printers to us, our heirs and successors, of all and singular the premises, 80 We make, ordain, and constitute, ¦ by these presents, to have, enjoy, ocicupy, and exercise the said office, together with all profits, commodities, and advantages, pre-eminences, and privi leges to the said office,' in anywise belonging or appertaining to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors and assigns, by themselves, or by their sufficient de puty or deputies for, and during the term of thirty years, to commence, and be computed from, and immediately after the expiration or other determination of the estate and interest in the said office, before granted to the said John Basket, 'his exe cutors and assigns, or when, or as soon as the said office shall be vacant, and shall happen by any means whatsoever to be in our hands, in the same manner as if such grant had not been made : And Further, we, of our more abundant grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, do give and grant to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, and each of them, their, and each of their executors, administrators, and as signs, during the said term of thirty years last above mention ed, authority, privilege, and faculty of printing all, and all manner of abridgements, of all statutes and acts of Parliament whatsoever published, or hereafter to be published: And in order that no one do presume to impede, or in anyways dis- ( turb the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, or either of them, their, or either of their executors, admini strators, or assigns, during the aforesaid term to them granted in the said office, in rightfully and duly exercising their said office, or to do any thing whatsoever, whereby the profits which may accrue to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, or any of them, their, or either of their executors, ad ministrators, or assigns, by reason of the said office, may be diminished, — We Prohibit and enjoin, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, forbid all and singular the subjects of us, Our heirs, and successors whatsoever and where soever abiding, and all others whatsoever, that neither they nor any of them, neither by themselves, or by any other or others during the said last mentioned term of 30 years, print, or cause to be printed, within that part of our realm of Great Britain, called England, any volume, book, or work, or any volumes, 81 books, or works, the printing of which we by these presents have granted to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and An drew Strahan, their executors and assigns, nor any Bibles or New Testaments in the English tongue, of any translation, with notes or without notes, nor any books of common prayer and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremo nies of the Church of England, nor any other books by us, our heirs, or successors, for the service of God, in the churches of us, our heirs, or successors, commanded, or to be commanded to be used, nor import, or cause to be imported, sell, or cause to be. sold, any books, volumes, or works whatsoever, in the English tongue, or in the English, mixed with any other tongue whatsoever, printed in parts, beyond the seas, or in foreign parts, out of that part of our realm of Great Britain called. Eng land, being such as have been, or may be lawfully printed by the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, or either of them, their, or either of their administrators, executors, or assigns, or their, or either of their deputy or deputies, by yirtue of these presents, under the penalties and forfeitures by the laws and statutes of this realm, in that behalf made ajid provided, or that may be hereafter provided : Forbidding also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, firmly prohibiting and enjoining that no other shall in any manner, or by any colour or pretext whatsoever, presume or dare to. re print in any manner whatsoever, or purchase elsewhere printed, any book or books, or any work or works whatsoever, that may be printed by the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, or either of them, their, or either of their executors, administrators, or assigns, by virtue of these presents. And further, of our more abundant grace, we have granted and given licence, and by these presents we do, for us, our heirs and successors, grant and give licence to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, them, and each of them, and to their, and each of their executors, administrators, and as signs, that they, or any of them, during the aforesaid term, to them' above granted, may take, retain, and hire workmen, in the art and mystery of printing, to work in such art or mystery at the appointment, and by the assignment of the said John 82 Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors of assigns, for such time or times during which the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors or assigns, or any of them, shall want such workmen ; We have also, given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, and each of them, their, and each of their executors, administrators, and assigns, for ex ercising the said office, a fee or annuity of six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence of lawful money of Great Britain by the year, to have, and annually receive the said fee or annuity of six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors, administra tors, and assigns, at the feasts of Easter and St Michael the archangel, to be paid in equal portions during the said term of thirty years above by these presents granted, from the treasury of us, our heirs, and successors, at the receipt of our Exche quer at Westminster, by the hands of the Commissioners of our treasury, or the treasurer and chamberlain, of us, our heirs and successors, for the time being, commanding, and by these pre sents, for us, our -heirs and successors, firmly enjoining and or dering all and singular mayors, sheriffs, bailiffs, constables, offi cers, ministers, and subjects whatsoever of us, our heirs and successors, that they be, from time to time, when there shall be occasion, assisting, attendant, and aiding as they ought, to the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors and assigns, in the execution of the aforesaid office, and in the doing of all and singular the things specified in these our letters patent to be done: Provided always, and our will and pleasure nevertheless is, that these our letters patent are and shall be deemed to be made and granted, and to be valid and effectual, only upon condition that the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, their executors and assigns, from time to time, and at all times during the term herein be fore granted, and when and as often as they, or any of them, shall be required by our Lord High Treasurer, or the Commis sioners of our Treasury for the time being, or at his or their in stance, or by his or their order, to print for, and supply to lis, 83 our heirs or successors, or in any manner whatsoever, for or on our behalf, or for our service, any of the articles, matters, or things, which, by virtue of these our letters patent, and the office hereby granted, they, or any of them, are authorised to print ; and for or in respect of the printing and supplying of which, they can or may be entitled to require, demand, or re ceive any price or payment whatsoever, over and above the said fee hereby granted, shall, and do accordingly print for and sup ply to us, our heirs and successors, or in such manner for or on behalf, or for our service, all and every. such articles, matters, and things respectively, at and for such prices and rates of pay ment for the same respectively as to our said Treasurer, or Lords of our Treasury for the time being, shall appear to be just and reasonable. Lastly, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said John Reeves, George Eyre, and Andrew Strahan, that these our letters pa tent, or theinrolment of the same, shall be good, firm, valid, and effectual in the law, notwithstanding' the not rightly or fully reciting the before recited letters patent, or the not naming, or not rightly naming or mentioning the office and premises aforesaid, or any of them, and notwithstanding any other omis sion, imperfection, defect, thing, cause, or matter, whatsoever to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.' In wit ness whereof,- we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness ourself, at Westminster, the 8th day of July, in the 39th year of our reign. By writ of Privy Seal. f% 81 No. XXXV. Opinion believed to be qf Mr. Solicitor-General Kennedy, as to the validity qf Freebairn1 s Patent. [Not dated, but must have been in 1711 or 1712.] From a Collection of Papers, intituled " Law Papers, Attor ney and Solicitor General's Reports," &c. in his Majesty's State Paper office, Vol. VIII. page 150. Answers to Mr. Freebairn's Queries concerning his Gift of Queen's Printer in Scotland. There being a gift under the Great Scale, appointing Mr. Robert Freebairn Queen's Printer in Scotland for the term of forty-one years, to commence from the expiration of the, gift granted to Andrew Anderson, with a clause prohibiting the importation of Bibles, New Testaments, &c. from any place whatsoever, and with a right to all emoluments, fees, and .pro fits belonging to the said Office : The following queries as to the validity and sufficiency of that gift are desired to be answer ed. Q. 1st. — I f it was necessary that such a gift should have pass ed the Exchequer, and not " per saltum," though it is so or dained by the gift ? To this it is answered, That the gift of being Queen's Printer being but a commission, not requiring the payment of any com position, nor bearing any " reddendo," there appears to be no necessity of passing the same in Exchequer, but that it may pass " per saltum," by virtue of the warrant therein contained, as commissions of greater importance have usually passed. This is evident, first, from the precedent in Andrew Anderson's 85 gift, which was passed per saltum, as Mr. Freebairn's has done ; secondly, from the practice in other gifts : for not to mention all the offices of the Crown, the Commissions of Justiciary, Lord Advocate, Treasurer Deput, Justice Clerk, Director ofthe Chancery, and even commissions to Sheriffes, do all pass per saltum, even though they contain determined pensions and sa laries, and though the Sheriffes are accountable for a part of the revenues. The reason is plaine, because they pay no compo sition at granting, nor any reddendo while they are enjoyed : all they are bound to, is to the faithful administration of their respective trust, which is quite forreign to the management of the revenue. Q. 2d. — If it is any nullity in the gift, that the warrant of it is countersigned by the Secretary, and not by the Lord High Treasurer? Ans. — It is thought to be no nullity in the gift, that the war rant of it is not countersigned by my Lord Treasurer, the same being countersigned by the Secretary, as such commissions used to be. In this point Mr. Freebairn has acted conform to the present practice in such cases ; and if that matter has of late become disputable, it is humbly conceived that, while it remains undetermined, none of her Majesties subjects following bona fide the practice used before that point became controvert ed will suffer. And, with submission, it would seem that if any guifts be good without being countersigned by the Lord High Treasurer, this must be one, because it had no relation to any branch of the revenues. Q, 3d.— The former gift to Andrew Anderson of that office being shortly to expire, is it any nullity in Mr. Freebairn's gift, that it is granted before the expiration ofthe former, since it is onely to commence and take effect at the expiration of Ander son's gift? .. „ , _, * J Ans— It is thought that the former gift of that office for a certain number of years being shortly to expire, it is no nullity in Mr Freebairn's gift that it is granted before the expiration of the former, since it is only to commence and take effect at the expiration thereof; and it appears, that even the said former aift was granted before the expiration of a prior gift to another |erson for a certain number of years, but the entry and com- 86 mencement to, the said office declared-.to take effect after, aspir ing of the said prior gift. -;r)rro For clearing the above answer, it is proper to consider from whence that maxim, upon which this;querie is founded, :hn&ji&~'> rise, and to what cases it is applicable ; the maxim that every new gift ought to contain the way by which the former became. void, or as it is called in law the " modus vacandi,", had its rise . from the canon law, and was particularly calculated for.,chureh benefices; .these were considered, not to bee temporary, . but perpetual offices, as far as the life of man could make them soe,; and, therefore, the canons did provide, that no presentations could be made to a benefice before it was vacant, not even to take effect, when it should become soe. The design of this law, was to prevent the bad consequences that might attend such grants, which might prove a temptation to the expectant to wish for, if not attempt, the death of the present possessor : this law became afterwards to/be applied. to civill offices, where the case was paralell, that, is, where the offices were for liffei but to applyit to offices during ^pleasure, or for a term of years, is alltogeather inconsistent with the reason ofthe law, because it only takes place in a case where two gifts may come to inter fere or clash together, which cannot fall out in offices during pleasure, the last commission making the former void ; and in offices for a term of years, the two gifts can never meet in op position one to another, the last takeing its effectual commence ment only from the expiration of the former ; but in the pre sent case, the preamble of the last gift beareing that the former is shortly to expire is in place of a " modus vacandi ;" and. in this office of Queen's Printer, it seems to be necessary, that the gift should preceed-the time of its commencement, that mate- rialls suetable to the undertaking may be provided for carry ing it on, and no time lost in serving her Majestie and. the subjects.' Q. 4:th. — If that clause prohibiting the importation, from any part without Scotland, be contrary to, the Treaty of Union, by which the United Kingdoms are brought under the same regulations, and a full and free intercourse of trade is, esta blished > 87 Ans.-It appears that the clause prohibiting the importation from any part without Scotland, is not consonant to the (words) of the treaty, by which all parts of the United Kingdom are brought under the same regulations ; and a full and free in tercourse of trade is established, and to be under the same Prohibitions and restrictions. The prohibitory clause, though at"%st view it may indeed appear not consonant to the Articles of Union, yet, if the design of the treaty be considered, that clause will not seem inconsistent with it ; for, first, the general design of the treaty, in matters of trade, was to bring the Unit ed Kingdom to one equality ; that equality seemed in most cases to require a mutual freedom of importation and exporta tion, and a full freedom and intercourse of trade, which, for that reason, was established on the fourth Article. But if there is a case where the designed equality of trade does, for its pre servation, require a mutual prohibition, such prohibition) in that case, must be understood to be consonant to the design of the treaty. And if it be allowed that the Queen's Printer in England, ever since the Union, does enjoy the benefitt of the prohibitory clause in his gift, then to preserve the designed equality, the like prohibition ought to take place in Scotland, else certain commodities, as Bibles, &c. are importable into Scotland, but not from thence into England, which destroys the equality of trade ; and the only remedy is by the like prohibi tion on both sides : Secondly, By die sixth Article ofthe treaty, the United Kingdom is to be under the same prohibitions, re strictions, and regulations of trade, which on the present case, cannot take effect, without a prohibition in Scotland, answering to that in England enjoyed by the Queen's Printer there. Thirdly To take the case in another view, the commerce of books containing the sacred and civill lawes of a nation, must be managed by quite different regulations from other branches of trade. Her Majestie is guardian of these Sacred Volumes, and as such, may appoint such regulations as to her seem proper, for preserving those books from being corrupted, and to have them distributed among her subjects att reasonable rates ; and if, for attaining that end.herMajestie thinks it proper to have one Print er in North, and another in South Britain, with a mutual prohibi- 88 lion of incroaching one upon another, the United Kingdom must be subject to that regulation ;'and thismustbetaken,in thepresent case, to be the meaning of the sixth Article, declaring the Unit ed Kingdom to be under the same regulations of trade. Fourth ly, These local restrictions and prohibitions are so far consistent with a united state, that nothing is more ordinary then to'see one towne have the freedom of importing and exporting certain commodities, which are prohibited to be brought in or carried out in other. Thus market towns enjoy Certain priviledges in tradeing,, which are dfenyed to other towns and villages; the royal bourroughs in Scotland have the sole priviledge in selling (by wholesale) wines, wax, silks, spicerys, and all materialls for dying. Trade is often confined to companies and societies, and in a word, commerce, in many cases, could not be carried on without such methods : nor is it materiall to inquire by what authority such priviledges have been granted ; it is enough for the present purpose, that, from these examples; it appears they are not thought inconsistent with the state of a united nation ; and if her Majestie has power to make regulations of printing these foresaid volumes, why she may not putt restrictions upon the sale of them when it seems necessary, it is hard to con ceive. Q. 5th. — If that clause should be found contrary to the Union, will itt soe farr affect the gift, as to make it entirely void ? or, will it onely operat a restriction of the gift, as to that clause ? Ans.— Albeit the foresaid* clause appears contrary to the terms ofthe Union, yet it is thought the same will not make- the gift wholly void, but onely that the clause prohibiting the said im portation may be void, and of noe effect. For, supposing the clause to be inconsistent with the Union, what else can in rea son be supposed to be the consequence of it, than that it must fall, and cannot be executed. It is a principall in law, that utile per inutile non viliatur, and it is common sense too ; for though such a prohibitory clause is a very proper encourage ment to the Queene's Printer to enable him to carry on his tirade with better successe, yet it is not inseparable from the office ; and therefore, as the gift would have been good without it, soe the illegallity of that clause cannot affect the gift, of 89 wh,ch it is noe essential part: in a word, if there were a hundred such illegal clauses, they could not make void the office, which must stand good soe long as there is noe law to the contrary. Q. 6th.— This gift being now past the Great Seale as it stands, In what manner can it be reduced, and before what judicatory, and who has the title to pursue a reduction of it ? Ans. — The gift being passed, in manner aforesaid, it's thought the reduction thereof comes properly to be prosecuted before the Lords of Sessions, att the instance of her Majesties Advo cates. There is very little necessary to be said to support the answear to this querie ; the gift is now become Mr. Freebairn's property, and cannot be taken from him, without a fair tryall at law ; and if there does lye an action for making void any parte of the gift, noe person has right to prosecute it, except her Majestie, since noe person has suffered prejudice by it, nor can before the commencement of the gift, and her Majestie can not be prejudiced by any clause supposed to be illegal, for such clauses can never be putt to execution, and the very endea vouring to execute them, may be prevented by a proper deed, to be made by Mr. Freebairn, renouncing the benefitt of such clauses without the necessity of any action att law, since he is still master of his own gift, and soe long as he is soe, he may not only restrict it, but might obtain a new one in such termes as her Majestie should think fitt, containing such restrictions of the former, as were necessary ; because these two gifts, being in one person, could never come to clash together, and being relative one to another may very properly be said to bee but one gift. , . These queries doe exhaust all that can, with any shew of rea son, be urged against this gift in perticular ; but because some noise is made against all such gifts in general, as if they were unlawful monopolys, for clearing this matter, it's fit to consider ' the original design of such gifts with a perticular view to the jsapred bookes and books ofthe law. 'The great care that was necessary to be taken to preserve those books from being corrupted, for secureing the subject from being led into errors, either on their spirituall or temporall con cerns did certainly give rise to such grants ; for the most cer- 90 taine way of providing against this evill, was by the Sovereign's appointing such persons, for the management of that, trust, as would, be answerablerfor their behaviour, , being under, the im mediate hazard of the royal displeasure, and,of looseing the be nefits. of their, grants, if they did. not execute their office, so as by their attempting it, they were bound.to do, so that such a monopoly -is founded on good, and solid, reasons. As to .books of the, Jaw, .those that are already authors, haye no reason. to complain of this gift, because they have al ready obteined priviledges for printing their. own books for a term of years, and such as design to be . authors may take the benefite of the late Act of Parliament atra .small charge. The other branches. of Mr. Freebairn's gift cannot be quarrelled, be ing the Queen's own worke. No. XXXVI. Opinion qf Sir James Steuart as to the Validity qf Free bairn's Patent. [Not dated, but must have been in 1711 or 1712.] From a Collection of Papers, intituled " Lam Papers, Attorney and Solicitor General's Reports," cj-c. in his Majesty's State Paper Office, Vol. viii. page 152. MEMORIAL. I have considered the Patent under the Great Seal of Scot land, to Mr. Robert Freebairn, to be her Majesty's Printer there, after, the expiration of the gift formerly made to Andrew An derson, with the objections made to this new gift, relating to the legality of some clauses contained therein ; and do with all submission offer my opinion thereon as follows. 91 And Imo, Where it is objected that this Patent ought to have passed the Exchequer, and not be directed to the Great Seal "perSaUum ;" Such indeed was the former method of passing such Patents in Scotland, to the effect that both her Majesties interest, and any pretence that others might have against them, might be the better advised. But of late this custom hath not been so much observed, but gifts ofthe like, nature have been directed to the Great Seal " per Saltum."., Zdo, That this new Patent could not be regularly granted be fore the i former Patent was actually expired ; but seeing this new Patent, expressly provides that the same shall only begin and take effect after the expiring ofthe foresaid' former gift, this objection appears to be of no other import, save that until the former gift be expired, and this new Patent commence, the new Patentees have no jus qucesilum, but her Majestie in the meantime may review or reyock the same at her pleasure. 8lio,. It's objected, that this Patent grants the only privilege of printing Bibles, &c. as also of printing and reprinting Acts of Parliament, &c. and that notwithstanding of any Act or Acts of Council in favour of others; and yet with this express pro viso, When the respective grants of them to her Majesties pre sent Printer, and other particular persons, shall expire, which seems to be incongruous and inconsistent. 4/o, This Patent grants the sole privilege of printing and re printing, not only Acts of Parliament, &c. but in general of every thing to be published by authority ; which, considering that the government hath the superior inspection of the press, and authority over it, may be made a handle to hook in all books fpr which the publick authority may be obtained. 5lo, The Patent grants the sole priviledge of printing and re printing Acts of Parliament, and all public papers ; and as to the first printing, there can be no question ; but as to the re printing of Acts of Parliament already printed, and where the power of printing the same hath been either given or sold to any person by the officers empowered to do so, the first copies printed appear by the Act of Parliament a° 8° Annas Reginas to be now the property of such persons to whom they were so given or sold, so that after the 10th of Aprill 1710, they have the 9S sole right and liberty of printing thereof for the terme of one and twenty years, albeit there ber no such power provided in their respective grants, the only salvo expressed in this Patent. 6to, This Patent gr&rits the sole privilege of printing; for the future, all books of the law, viz. the Common and Municipal Laws of Scotland, which appears to be illegal, and against the just liberty both of autbots and printers, which; by no law or custom in Scotland, is restricted as to books of the law, more than to books of divinity or medicine, or any other science ; and though it should be limited with respect to the said Act of Parliament, a° 8° Annte Regime, giving to the authors of books to be printed the sole liberty of printing and reprinting them for the terme of fourteen years from the day of tfoe first pub lishing ; yet it seems still to be against law, that the just liber ty of authors and printers ofthe said law books should be thus restrained, it being the plain design of the said Act of Par liament to establish and enlarge the privilege of authors, but riot at all to restrain and limit the same, even after expiring of the said fourteen years. 7mo, This Patent expressly prohibits all persons to import, or cause to be imported, as well from England as from other places, any Bibles, Testaments, Acts of Parliament, and Books of the Law of Scotland, which prohibition may be thought illegal ; because, first, the prohibitirig or allowing of any goods or mer chandise to be imported seems to be a subject proper for an Act of Parliament ; and, 2°, it appears to be more directly con trary to the fourth Article of the Union, which gives a free in tercourse of trade through the whole United Kingdom; and, 3", if there be any speciality as to printing, which yet is not expressed in the Articles of Union, this prohibition should at least be regulated according to the use observed and provided in favour of the Queen's Printer in England ; but, for certain, the importation of Bibles from England hath not hitherto been prohibited in Scotland, whatever might have been the concep tion of former gifts. 8ro, This Patent prohibits the importation of Bibles from beyond sea, without Mr. Freebairn or his foresaids, their order and licence ; which seems to give allowance to this Patentee of 93 the power and privilege of causing print and import Bibles from beyond sea, which appears to be contrary to all good po licy, and to be of dangerous consequence. 9no, The Patent contains not only the pain of confiscation of all books printed or imported contrary to the same, but gives the half of the penalty to Mr. Freebairn or his foresaids, which seems to require the warrant of an express law. \Qmo, The Patent grants, in general, the usual fees, profiles and casualitys,. belonging to the said office, and contained in any former letters of gift thereof, which may be of too great an extent to includ libertys and privileges formerly granted, but which cannot now be allowed ; and therefore this general should at least be limited to such fees, profites, casualities and privileges, as her Majesties Printer is known to be lawfully pos sessed of. Which objections I, with all submission, humbly conceive do militat against this new Patent granted to Mr. Robert Free bairn, not as her Majesties deed, but as obtained from her peri- culo impetrantis, and therefore Seeing her Majestie is understood to do nothing against law, these objections do make the said • Patent void, and either oblige him to renounce and surrender it or at least subject it to be reviewed and rescinded, and so to make place for another more legal and warrantable. (Signed) Ja. Steuart 95; OPINION OF COUNSEL. We are of opinion that his Majesty's Printers for Scotland are not entitled to prevent the importation or the sale of Bibles in Scotland which have been legally printed in England. We have read with great attention the important and valuable de tail of facts contained in the Memorial. But, though every thing there stated will be of importance in the trial of the ques tion, it does not appear to us to be necessary, in merely giving our opinion on the case, to enter into the particulars of the his tory which is there so fully and ably detailed. We are humbly of opinion, that the right claimed by the King's Printers is of so peculiar a nature, both with reference to the object of it, when considered on general principles, and with a particular relation to the character and fundamental laws of the ecclesias tical establishment of Scotland, that nothing but the most ex press grant of such a right could be held to confer it, or to render it necessary for the Memorialists, or others, even to in quire into the competency or power of the Crown to make such a grant. We think that a great deal is said in this Me morial with regard to the legality of the grant of such an ex clusive privilege by the Crown, which might deserve very de. liberate consideration, if the case depended on that question, and which was not in the view of the Court when they decided the late case between the King's Printers and the Edinburgh Booksellers. But that is a question of great difficulty, espe cially in consequence ofthe long practice which has taken place; and it does not appear to us to be necessary to resolve it, in order to form a satisfactory opinion on the present case. For we are decidedly of opinion, that the Patent of His Majesty's Printers in Scotland, not only does not give any power of pre venting the importation and sale of Bibles printed in England, but that it is pointedly and cautiously expressed for the very purpose of excluding this power; and it farther appears to us, 96 to be very clearly made out, that this form of the grant was introduced into the later Patents dedita opera, from a direct consideration of the terms of former Patents, and of the distinc tion between the case of Bibles printed in England and Bibles printed elsewhere. On this ground, and although we certainly think that there is also great weight in the general views and historical inferences in the Memorial with regard to the nature of the right of the King's Printers as an exclusive privilege, we are of opinion that the particular privilege here claimed, is not at all given by the terms of the patent, which forms the title of the King's Printers. We are aware, that the First Division ofthe Court have decided otherwise ; and though this must, of course, render us less confident in our opinion than we should otherwise have- been, yet as that judgment was pronounced with great differ ence of opinion in the Court, and is now under Appeal ; and as the subject is besides much more fully investigated in this Memorial than it was in the discussion of that case, we hum bly think that, considering the great importance of the ques tion, the Memorialists ought not to be discouraged by that cir cumstance from again trying it for their own interest, or the interest of the public ; and that they may do so with considera ble probability of a favourable issue, even in the Court of Ses sion, and with very strong ground to expect that, if it shall be necessary to carry the case to Appeal, their plea will be sustain ed by the House of Lords. (Signed) Thomas Thomson. James Moncreiff. J. S. More. Edinburgh, January 81, 1824.