"try, such as butter, cheese, eggs, nails, brinstane, "wild fools, aqua vita, oil, &c."

If this writer's authorities were good, it would appear that the Dean of Guild was originally Dean of Edinburgh; but it may be remarked, that his derivation of the term Guild is both too recent, (a Dean of Guild having been chosen at Aberdeen in 1428,) and too far fetched; and in answer to his assertion, that these merchants were not citizens of Edinburgh, it may be asked, If so, by what right did they interfere in its government, and become its Magistrates? the qualifications for which having apparently always been that they should be members of the Guildry a, and rated in the stent book as possessing a place of business in the

town.

It may be also observed as a well-authenticated fact, that the citizens of Edinburgh purchased the Port and Mills of Leith, from Robert Logan of Restalrig, in 1329; and if there were no merchants then existing in Edinburgh, what could have been the intent of such a purchase?

The chief business of the Dean of Guild and his court of assistants, now, is the granting the freedom of the town, both by the single or Burgess ticket, and the

a I am aware that Pennecuik, in his History of the Blue Blanket, asserts this to have arisen from a foolish request made by a Deacon Convener, to King James V. but as there is no proof of such an office being then in existence, and he quotes no authority, am inclined to believe his whole story of the rescue of King Jaines, and subsequent request of Convener Cuthbert, &c. to be a mere fiction, coloured by the existence of such a place as Cuthbert's well, which more probably derived its name from being dedicated to the saint so called.

higher or Guild ticket; the superintendence of all buildings, public and private, by compelling the owners to repair or pull them down, when necessary to prevent accidents; or adjusting disputed claims where encroachments in new erections are attempted; the controul of weights and measures, &c. &c.

The only other officer who is also a Magistrate is the Treasurer, whose office, from its very nature, must have originated with the first erection of the Burgh.

To these seven Magistrates, assisted by a Council, its whole affairs seem to have been for a considerable period entrusted; but what the original number of that Council was, or when their aid was first required, does not appear.

In all probability, as before observed, the Magistrates were originally elected from the Guildry, for in 1508 we find the holders of single Burgess tickets, then erected into separate Incorporations, petitioning to be represented, and seeking the privilege of being elected into the Magistracy. At this period, therefore, the whole Council, whatever number of persons it may have then consisted of, was certainly composed of merchants or Guild-brethren only, with the exception perhaps of the Provost, who being frequently a man of rank, it may be doubted whether or not he was a member of either class of the community. From whatever body taken, however, the Magistrates at least seem, if not originally appointed by the Crown, to have been always chosen by the free suffrage of all the Burgesses, but in what precise manner does not appear, until 1469, when the tumultuary proceedings in electing Magistrates of Burghs, had been such, that an Act of Parliament was passed, by which this mode of election was abolished, and their constitution in other respects

b

new-modelled. No set of Magistrates were to continue longer than one year in office; the old Council of each Burgh was to choose the new; and both together, assisted by a tradesman chosen out of each craft, had the appointment of the succeeding Magistrates, whereby the Guild-brethren or Merchants, as individuals not claiming to be represented as a particular craft, were deprived of any voice in the election. The clause ordaining this method of proceeding is as follows: " Item, "Touching the Electioun of officiars in Burrows, as "Alderman, Baillies, and other officiars, because of "great contentioun zeirly for the chusing of the sa"mine, thro' multitude and clamour of commons, "simple persons, it is thought expedient that na offi"ciars nor Counsel be continued after the King's "lawes of Burrows further than on Zeir, and that the "chusing of newe officiars be in this wise, that is to

66

say; That the Auld Counsel of the Town sal chuse "the Newe Counsel, in sik number as accordis to the "Town, and that the Newe Counsel and the Auld in "the Zeir aforesaid, sal chuse all officiars pertaining "to the Town, as Alderman, Baillies, Dean of Guild " and other officiars; and that the crafts sal chuse on

person of the samine craft that sal have vote in the " said Electioun of officiars for the time, in likewise "Zeir by Zeir."

The Companies of Arts, or the Trades as they are now called, derived their origin, or erection into bodies corporate, from an Act, or Acts of this Council, and afterwards requested to be admitted by their représentatives into the body which first gave them existence. None of their charters bear an earlier date

b Council Reg. v. 1. p. 26.

than 1475, and the first time they sought to be so represented was in 1508. At that period, they desired to have six or eight of their number received as representatives, and that they might be declared capable of being elected into the Magistracy; to which demands they then received this remarkable answer, "That "the Council would make no innovation upon the "Government of the Town, without advice from the "King and Parliament." At what subsequent period their representatives were first admitted, is now uncertain.

The powers of Handicraftsmen seem to have been, for a considerable period, extremely fluctuating through. out all Scotland. In 1424, James I. impowered them to elect a Preses for their different branches, who was called deacon or kirk-master". In 1426, only two years after, this office was utterly abolished, as being of general prejudice to the nation, and the former meetings of the deacons condemned as the assemblies of conspirators 8. In 1457, it was, however, restored with respect to Goldsmiths, for the purpose of inspecting their work, and ascertaining its standard fineness b, and soon after became again general among the different artificers. In 1469, each of the Crafts being impowered to choose one of their number, who was to assist at the election of the Magistrates. In 1493, some dis

f

c Maitland, B. 4.

d Council Reg. v. 1. p. 26.

e Ja. I. parl. 2. c. 39.

Probably from his having the charge of monies, given in Catholic times to found altars, each trade having their patron

saint.

g Ja. I. parl. 6. c. 86.

h Ja. II. parl. 14. c. 65.

i Ja. III. parl. 5.

turbances having arisen, the office of deacon was checked as being dangerous and the cause of great trouble in burghs, they being then required to confine themselves allenarly to the inspection of the work performed by their respective crafts; and in 1555, the office was again abolished entirely, as the cause of commo. tions and unlawful combinations. This last statute has never since been expressly repealed, and when or how the office of deacon was again revived does not appear.

It is certain, however, that in 1552 there were two Craftsmen in the Council, which then consisted of twelve; probably the Lord Provost, four Bailies, Lord Dean of Guild, Treasurer, three Merchants, and two Craftsmen; which latter appear to have held precisely the same rank and office with the present Trades Councillors m.

At the commencement of the Reformation, Queen Mary of Lorrain, then Queen Regent, with the view of obtaining Magistrates favourable to her cause, sent an order to the Town-council, on the approach of the Michaelmas election 1559, requiring them to admit the votes of no fewer than eleven deacons of crafts, in every step of the election?; these, together with the two Councillors who were already members, would have thrown the election entirely into the hands of the Trades. This order, besides being a palpable stretch of arbitrary power, advanced a manifest falsehood in asserting, that the Deacons of Crafts formerly had a right to vote in all the steps of burgh elections, whereas, even by the statute of 1469, (apparently repealed by that of 1555), it

k Ja. IV. parl. 4. c. 43. 1 Mary, parl. 6. c. 52. m Rec. of Conv. of roy. bur. Ap. 4. 1552. " Council Reg. v. 3. p. 24.