Glasgow, and appointed the last Provost of that burgh, to officiate as such, until the next election, conform to the use of that town in case of vacancies; and further ordained him to crave pardon, publicly, of the Lord St. Andrews at the Council bar upon his knees and committed him forthwith to prison in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, there to remain during the Council's pleasure; and, after his liberation, ordained him immediately to repair to Glasgow to acknowledge his said crime and injury done to the said Archbishop. And the said Provost Johnston being called in, and the said sentence being intimated to him, he (the word has been purposely deleted) craved pardon of the Lord of St. Andrews, conform thereto, and was sent to prison from the Bar.

Four days after this decree, on 29th June, 1686, while the Provost was in the Tolbooth, the Lords of the Privy Council by an act anent a Petition presented by the witnesses adduced against the Provost, who were cited to appear and did appear, by which they were put to charges and expenses, the Lords modified, decerned, and ordained the sum of 16/- Scots to ilk ane of the Petitioners, being horsemen, and the sum of 8/- Scots to be paid to ilk ane of them dailie for the space of six days by the Provost as their expenses in compearing and deponing, and they further decerned him in 100 merks Scots, as expenses of plea and £7 sterling as due to the Lords Secretaries upon account of the letters sent down from the King, which was occasioned by the Provost's fault, and in regard the Council passed from any fine upon that account, at the desire and earnest entreaty of the Lord Archbishop of St. Andrew's, the person caluminat, they ordained him to make payment to the Clerks of the Council before he be liberated.

The day following the Privy Council's decree of 25th June, the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow, being convened, in obedience to the order of the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Council, dated at Edinburgh, the 25th day of June instant, mentioning that the Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council in pursuance of His Majesty's letter, dated at Whitehall, 19th March. last, and the said Lords their sentence, for turning out John Johnston, of the Magistracy of Glasgow do thereby order John Barnes, late Provost thereof, to be presentlie installed Provost of that Burgh, and to officiate as such therein until the next election, conform to use in caise of vacancies, and recommends to His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Glasgow (Alexander

Cairncross) to write to the present Magistrates' and Council of Glasgow, to install the said John Barnes, their Provost, accordingly, as the said order subscribed by William Paterson, Clerk to the Council bears conform to which order and recommendation His Grace the Archbishop did direct ane letter to the Bailies and Town Council of the said Burgh, dated at Edinburgh, 25th inst. Shortly, the letter follows:

"Worthie Freends,-His Mātie and his Privie Council ordering the "removal of John Johnston, of Clathrie, from his office as being Proveist of "Glasgow, and that John Barnes, last Proveist, according as is usual in cases "of vacancies, be admitted again to the said office untill the next election. "These are therefore requiring you to receive the said John Barnes as Proveist "of your Council and the Toune of Glasgow. Whilk order is hereby intimated "to you by your affectionat friend to serve you. Sic sub. Alex Glasguensis." In obedience and command to said order and letter, the Town Council sent for John Barnes, who came and accepted office, gave his oath de fideli, as use is, and swore the oath and test and subscribed same.

On the last day of the same month of June, the Provost, who had in obedience to the Council's sentence, stayed prisoner in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, presented a petition shewing that he had stayed prisoner within. the Tolbooth of Edinburgh since Friday last; and, seeing that it was notour to all persons within the Tolbooth, who had occasion to converse with him, that he had been several times very sickly and his health endangered by imprisonment, the lords having heard and considered, granted order and warrant to the Magistrates of Edinburgh, and maisters of the Tolbooth thereof to sett him at liberty, in regard the Lord Archbishop of St. Andrews had interceded for that purpose, and in regard he had fulfilled the sentence passed, yesterday (the payment of witnesses and expenses), and had enacted himself to compear before the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow, betwixt and Saturday come seven nights, being the 10th of July, there to crave pardon in terms of the decreet, and that under the penalty of 1,000 merks Scots in case of failure.

The last act took place on 5th July, when the Provost presented himself before the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow, and craved pardon for his crimes and injuries done to his Grace the Archbishop of St. Andrews, in

the terms contained in the the said Lords of the Privy Council, their decreet pronounced against him there-anent, dated the 25th day of June last, whereupon the said Provost Johnston took instruments. This is with the exception of the recital of a deed, which he granted in favour of his son John, after referred to, the last reference I can find to the Provost, who died about the beginning of the year 1690.

This ends the story. Whether the Town Council sympathised with their Provost or not, I know not. Most probably they did, but like wise men in these times they took care not to put anything into their minutes which would implicate them in any way. It seems apparent, all the same, that in Provost Johnston's case he, as the head of the Council, was the scapegoat. They were wise, for in 1689 the old order was abolished, and the Magistrates and Council were thereafter elected by a poll vote of all burgesses—John Anderson of Dowhill, being the first real Provost.

Dr. Gordon says it was Archbishop Sharpe whom the Provost slandered. The terms of the decree quoted by me, clearly show that Archbishop Ross who held the See of Glasgow in 1679-84, and who was afterwards translated to St. Andrew's, was the person slandered, and that the slander complained of arose in connection with the action of reduction of the Tack of Teinds referred to, which was ordered in January, 1686, by the Council to be prosecuted.

This is confirmed by Lord Fountainhall, who in his Decisions under date 17th June, 1686, notes that the Archbishop had complained of the Provost for giving in a defaming and reflecting Bill of Suspension on him, and again on the 25th of the same month, he adds, John Johnston, mentioned 17th inst, is degraded, and Barnes appointed as Provost of Glasgow till Michaelmas, and he was ordained on his knees to crave the Archbishop's pardon, and sent to prison; yet "injuria anno et dissimulatione tollitur," and it was more than a year here, but this was injuria scripta.

Dr. Gordon then adds that the Provost's houses and lands were confiscated, and that he was ruined by the prosecution, the only property remaining untouched being his house in the Bridgegate, secured under his marriage contract. The decree says nothing about confiscation. Indeed, it expressly bears that at the intercession of the Archbishop he was not even fined; and

I have shown the the Press indeed is in yo The Provost's elder son Jan. 1 1 Nom eversed wh October, 1598, where be describes its son of angoll for Joalaton, lite Provost of Glasgow, 255.25 George Jonen, wedding Caser his brother-germaier 48. Soos mores, recand award soda by the Town of Glasgow, of ane 10comgt bereit them and im wiek be ind acquired from his ide by a spranon died rich July, 1985. This dôbe in all probability, represented the Provost's dim for exgenss neural a the proceedings relating to his removal from office, and s away s“ an outstanding obligation of the town

Another statement to the effect that the Provost refused to beg pardon on his knees, but was afterwards liberated on condition of his agreeing to acknowledge his fault in presence of the Town Council, is clearly disproved by the terms of the decree, which expressly bears that he had craved pardon conform thereto. Dr. Gordon then adds, "we have no means of ascertaining "whether Mr. Johnston complied with this condition (the acknowledgment of "his fault to the Town Council) or not, but in all probability he did." When he made this statement he had apparently forgot that in his own book, vol. 1, p. 215, he reprinted from the Memorabilia the minute of 6th July, 1081, containing the Provost's formal acknowledgment of his crime and injury, the foot note to which suggests the origin of the calumny.

It is not necessary for me to follow Dr. Gordon's remarks as to the relationship claimed by Miss Walker to the Parkers and others, farther than to say that I have heard her make the claims much in the way in which Dr. Gordon puts them. Amongst her papers I found a long Inventar of Writs of a back tenement of land (dated 11th November, 1682), quhilk is now ruinous through the last late accidental fire lyand within the Burgh of Glasgow, upon the south side of the Trongate thereof, which belonged to the Parkers in 1660, and which is interesting as containing the signature of John Anderson of Dowhill, the first of the reformed Provosts of Glasgow. My enquiries, have, however, been principally confined to the Johnston family, and to the interesting incident in the Municipal Government of Glasgow which happened during the last days of its archiepiscopal rule.

No. III.

THE EPISCOPAL SEALS OF THE ANCIENT DIOCESE OF

GLASGOW:
BY

THE MOST REVEREND ARCHBISHOP EYRE, D.D.

[Read at a Meeting of the Society held on 20th November, 1890.] A VALUABLE and interesting series of Scottish Episcopal seals may be found in the seals of the ancient see of Glasgow. This series begins with the seal of Jocelin (1175-1199), and ends with that of James Beaton, the last Archbishop. From Jocelin, the Bishops were twenty-four in number. Casts of ten of their seals were shewn at the late Glasgow Exhibition "Bishop's Castle," Nos. 1163-1172; and photo-lithos of twenty-three of these seals are given with this paper.

Scottish seals of all kinds have been well described and illustrated by the late Henry Laing, of Edinburgh, who published in 1850 and in 1866, two volumes quarto, containing a catalogue of 2608 seals, of of Scotch Bishops, and giving many illustrations of seals. fifteen seals of the Bishops of Glasgow.

which 233 are seals Amongst these are

A series of engravings of the seals is to be found in the Reg. Epus. Glas., published by the Maitland Club, vol. ii., plates 1-4. Also many of them may be seen in Dr. Gordon's Scotichronicon and in Macgeorge's Armorial Insignia.

The value of these seals, and the interest attached to the study of them. may be deduced from (a) the illustrations of ecclesiastical dress and ornament; (2) the armorial bearings, both official and family arms; (c) the showing the progressive lettering of the inscriptions, which are often of use in settling the epoch of other undated inscriptions; and (d) the ornamental work and canopics that correspond with the advances in architecture of the period.

Pre-Reformation Bishops' seals are divided into four main groups :

1. Seals of dignity, or great seals, of an oval shape, more or less pointed. at top and bottom; with