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STRIFE BETWEEN THE TRADES
AND MERCHANT COUNCILLORS REGARDING THE PROVOSTSHIP-THE RIVAL CANDIDATES,
CORBET AND GRAHAM-WAR OF CLASSES; THE RICH INHABITANTS FAVOURING CORBET,
THE DEMOCRACY DOING BATTLE FOR GRAHAM-PARTY NAMES ASSUMED: THE "PYETS AND
THE CROWS"-TUMULT IN THE COUNCIL AND RIOT IN THE STREETS-THE COUNCIL
CHAMBER STORMED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PYETS, AND THE ELECTION OF CORBET
FORCIBLY PREVENTED-THE TRADES CHOOSE GRAHAM AS CHIEF MAGISTRATE-CORBET
ELECTED AT A SECOND MEETING BY HIS OWN PARTY-CHURCHING OF THE RIVAL
PROVOSTS, AND EXTRAORDINARY FACTION FIGHT-TRIAL AND PUNISHMENT OF THE
LEADING RIOTERS.
BEFORE the Ale-duty Act was
reimposed, and whilst some of the schemes previously specified were in
progress, a civil broil broke out, by which the public mind was for weeks,
if not months, painfully absorbed. It arose partly out of a longstanding
jealousy that existed between the merchants and the Trades, and partly out
of the rivalry of two claimants for the provostship; and it found full
vent at the election of the magistrates in 1759. The first faint symptoms
of the coming storm were descried when, on the 29th of September, 1758,
Bailie James Corbet was chosen Provost by "a plurality of votes" only. The
merchant councillors supported him because he was favourable to their
pretensions; whilst the minority, consisting chiefly of craftsmen, had set
their affections on John Graham of Kinharvie, whom, though he was not
ostensibly a candidate, they would fain have placed in the civic chair.
On the following 2nd of
October, the Council met for the purpose of voting out of their body,
"according to the sett and constitution of the Burgh," four merchant
members, in lieu of four voted in prior to the magisterial election.
Before the business of the day was fairly begun, John Jardine,
deacon-convener of the Trades, rose, and in due form protested against the
proceedings, and withdrew, followed by all the other deacons, save the
deacon of the glovers, Nicholas Dickson. The gauntlet of defiance was thus
thrown down; but the Provost's adherents, taking the matter quite coolly,
went on to purge the Council as if nothing out of the way had occurred-the
gentlemen unanimously "voted off" being Gilbert Paterson, William M'Murdo,
William Burnet, late bailies, and Alexander M`Courtie, late treasurer.
The real "tug of war" commenced on the 22nd of
September, 1759, at which time four new councillors fell to be chosen.
Each party tried eagerly to gain thereby an accession of power; the
merchants being anxious to increase, or at all events maintain, their
supremacy, the deacons to render their minority more potential-to
transform it into a positive majority was scarcely hoped for, though they
were warmly supported by the popular voice. After the usual preliminaries,
ex-Provost Crosbie protested, for himself and all others who should concur
with him, that his voting at the election of new councillors that day was
no homologation of the claims of any whose election at Michaelmas last
remained under dispute. He thereupon took instruments in the clerk's
hands-ex-Provost Graham, Convener Jardine, and Deacons Patoun, Walker,
Gibson, Johnston, and Howat adhering to the protest. This interruption
over, Provost Corbet proposed that the meeting should choose William
Carruthers and James Bell, merchants, Gilbert Gordon, collector of Excise,
and Dr. Alexander Gordon. Deacon Howat proposed the election of other
four-William Kirkpatrick, James Clark, James Jardine, and James M'Whirter,
all merchants; but all, it is presumed, more favourable to the Trades than
the nominees of the Provost. The former were elected by a majority of
sixteen votes to eight.
Utterly beaten in the Council-house, the
craftsmenn looked for assistance out of doors. They accordingly made much
of the Dumfriesian democracy, who readily made common cause with them
against the patrician merchants and their chief. A battle of classes had
begun-those in the upper ranks of life enlisting on the Provost's side,
those in the lower strata declaring for that of John Graham and the
deacons; and at this ripe stage of the conflict, the former party, by a
play on their leader's name, were dubbed "Corbies," whilst their opponents
rejoiced in the name of "Pyets:" so termed, we suppose, because of the
antipathy cherished by these birds-the crows and magpiestowards each
other. On the 29th,
seven days after this fresh triumph of the Corbies, the streets of the
ancient Burgh presented an animated aspect. It was Michaelmas day-the day
of the annual election; and in view of this event flocks of Pyets
fluttered eagerly about anticipating a fray, longing to leave the impress
of their claws and beaks on the rival faction, who for the most part,
however, kept prudently within the shelter of their household nests. The
Mid-Steeple clock strikes the hour of three in the afternoon; and unless
the election be immediately proceeded with, the legal period for it will
expire, and the Burgh be disfranchised. At last the Provost and some of
his party are seen hurrying, as fast as the throng will permit, from the
George Tavern in Southgate Brae towards the place of meeting. Guarded by
the officers, they pass on unharmed, receiving nothing worse than hootings
and mock huzzas from the crowd; but three or four recreant tradesmen, who
afterwards try to slip up to the Council-house, are recognized, hustled,
mobbed; whilst, on the other hand, the Pyet voters are greeted with hearty
cheers. As the business proceeds, the crowd in the vicinity grows denser,
and seems increasingly bent on mischief. So deafening is the din, that the
town clerk, Joseph Corrie, is heard with difficulty by the burghal
senators as he reads the Parliamentary enactment bearing on the business,
which finishes with the following stringent provision:" It is hereby
enacted and declared, that it shall not be in the power of the magistrates
and Council of this Burgh at any time hereafter to alter or procure any
alteration hereof; and that no person or persons shall vote for or
endeavour the repealing or alteration of this present Act, directly or
indirectly, in time coming, under the penalty of two hundred pounds Scots
money, to be paid by each contravener tones quoties." This document having
been read, Graham, chief of the Pyet clan, arises and protests that by
their assembling, sitting, and voting in this Council, they do not
homologate the rights of any voter, disputed at the last election, or
rendered since disputable; and lie insists, therefore, that the clerks
shall take notice, for whom John Dickson, George Gordon, Andrew Wright,
and William Bell record their votes; to which protest ex-Provost Crosbie,
ex-Bailie Lawson, Convener Jardine, and the other deacons, adhere.
The buzz of excitement caused by this
combative display increases as ex-Bailie Paterson follows it up by
insisting and protesting that the four merchant councillors illegally
voted off on the 2nd of October, and who were there present, should have
their names entered on the roll. Provost Corbet thereupon protests in his
turn that these gentlemen had been lawfully removed from the Council; that
they cannot be allowed to vote; that if they will insist on going through
the form of offering their suffrages, their votes could be marked on a
separate paper, but that on no account could they be inserted in the
record. The excitement waxes warmer within-the clamour increases without;
the crowd is pressing menacingly up stairs, and it is with difficulty that
the halberdiers keep it from surging by and swamping the Council hall. At
this critical stage the Provost receives an intimation, which lie reads,
to the effect that Thomas Nairn, hammerman; James Harley, wright; Nicholas
Dickson, glover; and Charles Edgar, weaver, whilst on their way with
protests to the meeting, had been "obstructed or prevented by a mob of
common people, assembled in a tumultuous manner." "Let the Riot Act be
read, and the rabblement be dispersed!" cry several of the Corbie
councillors. The first suggestion is acted upon. From the Council-house
window, Mr. Corrie reads the said Act; Bailie Hepburn, more venturesome,
performs the same duty in the street : still the mob does not move; the
intercepted tradesmen cannot push through. It is well for themselves that
they at last give up the vain effort and vanish. "Gentlemen, let us
proceed with the election!" cries the presiding magistrate; and
accordingly the clerks begin by calling over the names of the voters,
omitting by order the names of the four outed councillors belonging to the
Pyet clan. Next the new merchant councillors and the Trades'
representatives qualify; after which ex-Provost Crosbie, resuming the
wordy warfare, denounces the Act of Election previously read, and gives
expression to views which the conservative Corbies cannot but deem wild
and revolutionary.
"By this Act," says the honourable gentleman, "a material change has been
made in the municipal constitution, at variance with the sett of the
Burgh, without the consent of the community, and that has never even
received the sanction of the Convention of Burghs. I protest against it on
these grounds, and because it contains a most arbitrary and direct
infringemerit of the liberty of succeeding Councils, in that clause which
enacts that it shall be unalterable, and guards against the repealing of
it by penalties upon councillors who should take steps for so doing. This
clause renders the whole Act null; but," continues the Pyet leader, waxing
warmer as he goes on, "not only this Act, but many particulars in the sett
of the Burgh, need to be corrected. In particular, a rotation ought to be
established in the merchant part of the councillors, in order to preserve
the liberty of the place, and to establish peace amongst the people. The
enormous power of naming proxies for absent merchants, now vested in the
chief magistrate ought to be removed, that the freedom of elections may
not thereby be brought into peril. A proper method ought also to be
thought upon of naming proxies for absent tradesmen who, in the present
working of the sett, lose their votes; though the sett requires that the
number of tradesmen should be eleven at all the steps of the election.
Many other matters need amendment. For all these reasons, I move that a
day be appointed for a general meeting of the community under the
authority of this Council, where all those who claim a right to vote, as
well disputed as disputable, may be present; said meeting to take place
about the end of October next, for the purpose of revising the sett, and
ordering ane application to the Convention of Burghs for the recording
either a new sett, or such an amendment of the existing one as shall be
thought necessary."
All the members of the Pyet party concur in the motion; and, as a matter
of course, the Provost sets his face as a flint against it. He affirms
that it has taken him by surprise; and that, as the observations by which
it was introduced were equally unexpected, he is not prepared to answer
them seriatim, "This, however, I am prepared to say," he continues, "that
the Act of Council condemned by Mr. Crosbie, and which has been long in
observance without being objected to, is calculated to answer very
salutary purposes in the government of this Burgh; and that the sett of
it, as approven by the Convention, needs no amendment." To this
anti-reform declaration all the merchant councillors adhere, except Mr.
Graham and Bailie Lawson. The Pyets are outvoted; and the mutinous mob, as
if conscious of the defeat and yearning to avenge it, besieges the
hall-door, and presses against it in battering-ram fashion, spite of the
protecting pikesmen and halberdiers. " Quick ! gentlemen, or the rabble
will be in upon us!" cries the Provost, now in visible terror. The Act
against bribery and corruption is hurriedly read; the Act anent
magisterial elections is hurriedly signed some of the signatures, as we
now see them, wearing a tremulous aspect, as if fear-shaken hands had
formed them, though that of "James Corbet" is boldly written in big
characters, and that of "John Graham" looks scholarly and refined.
Whether to open the door, with the doubtful
expectation of pacifying the populace, or to keep it closed, becomes a
question. At the instance of the Provost, a vote is taken on the subject;
and it is carried by a plurality that the door shall remain shut during
the proceedings. Remain shut! Comparatively easy it is to pass a
resolution to that effect, but how, ye sapient magistrates and merchant
councillors! is it to be enforced in defiance of such an angry multitude?
It cannot be done. The patrician Crows, with all their legal potency, are
not a match for the democratic Magpies, who, swarming at the top of the
stair, fiercely demand admission, and in order to enforce their own
summons, disarm the sentinel-officers, by main strength break down the
stout barrier that keeps them outside, and the next minute are occupants
of the hall, and masters of the situation.
Then ensues a scene of indescribable
confusion. The mob leaders have a method in their madness, however, and
that is to foreclose the election rather than see the man of their choice
defeated. "Graham for Provost!" is their war-cry, as they rush in, seize
several obnoxious Corbies and send them out well guarded, and prepare to
proceed with a mock election of their own. In vain the Provost and his
remaining friends remonstrate with the crowd. Coaxing and threatening are
alike unavailing: as well might they bid a Lammas flood not to flow over
the Caul, as command the intruders to withdraw and allow the lawful
business to go on. The Provost finding this to be the case, and fearing
that he might be called to suffer personal violence, formally protests
against the conduct of the mob, quits the chair, and retires with such of
his colleagues as have not been placed in durance vile-glad to get away
scathless and leaving the place of authority in the undisturbed possession
of the exulting Pyets.
Such is a faint sketch of this notable
election riot, in its earlier phases, as revealed by the records. [The
Minutes of Council supply the chief incidents narrated in this chapter.]
Other outrages followed the incidents we have narrated; and next day
-Sabbath though it was - saw the conflict renewed in a fiercer and more
systematic form. It must have been about five o'clock in the afternoon
when Provost Corbet and his friends beat a rapid retreat from the hall, to
reunite at a later hour in their favourite place of rendezvous, the George
Hotel. No sooner were they gone, than the rioters shut up certain electors
whom they saw fit to detain; and having thus in divers ways purged the
Council, they with little ceremony, but with acclamations that shook the
building, and found a hearty echo outside, joined with the deacons in
recognizing John Graham of Kinharvie as Provost of Dumfries. Whether Mr.
Graham was present or not does not appear; but that he was a party to the
proceedings admits of little doubt.
Daylight faded, twilight deepened into
darkness, but still the insurgents occupied the Council-house and crowded
High Street; and it was not till twelve o'clock, when Michaelmas day was
done, that they liberated their captives and dispersed; retiring to their
homes big with the fond idea that if they had not legally secured a chief
magistrate of their own, they had at least rendered the election of the
rival candidate impracticable, seeing that the set period for doing so had
now expired. Whilst the Pyets, well pleased but exhausted with their
exciting work and protracted vigils, were separating at midnight, the
Crows were preparing to hold a secret parliament in the George.
Thither their chief had gone, on being ejected
from the Council Chamber. Such of his adherents stealthily joined him as
had not been made prisoners by the mob, and the captives liberated at
twelve o'clock furnished a large and welcome accession to the party.
Though some of their friends, including the senior town clerk, Air. Corrie
(abducted during the day), were unwillingly absent, those present-nineteen
in all-conceived themselves numerous enough for going on with the election
that had been so rudely interrupted. The Provost having taken the chair,
availed himself of his arbitrary privilege (sanctioned by custom), to,
nominate proxies for the absent merchant councillors of the Pyet
feather-Graham, Crosbie, and Lawson; the substitutes named being birds of
the requisite dusky hue. Not so much as a solitary deacon was there to
represent the Trades element in the corporation, yet the election was
pushed forward; the apologetic minute of the meeting explaining, that
though the deacons and their led votes were absent, they had been convened
in the Council-house, " and it not being safe to make any open declaration
in face of the mob that the councillors were retiring to this house, nor
even to acquaint the said deacons of it, in respect it appeared from the
beginning and throughout that the same was raised and made by the Trades,"
and that, moreover, as the custom or sett of the Burgh did not require
votes for absent Trades' members, to name such was unnecessary. What
followed may be fittingly told in the language of the minute just quoted
from. The preliminary
steps having been gone through, "the electors now present proceeded to the
election of magistrates and officebearers; and the Provost having proposed
the persons following to go out in the leet for provost-to wit, Provost
James Corbet and Bailie Hepburn, for both of whom he gave his own votethe
roll was called and the votes of the other electors marked, by which it
appeared the whole electors unanimously voted the said Provost James
Corbet and Bailie Hepburn to go out in the leet; and these gentlemen
having removed, the roll of the other electors except themselves two was
called over, and the votes marked, by which it appeared that the whole
electors remaining unanimously voted the said James Corbet to be Provost;
and he and Bailie Hepburn being called in, they each of them gave their
votes for the said Provost James Corbet; and therefore the magistrates,
councillors, and electors, have unanimously elected the said James Corbet
to be Provost for the year ensuing; and he accordingly accepted of the
said office, and gave his oath de fideli administratione officii." The
other vacancies having been filled up, the proceedings terminated between
three and four o'clock on the Sabbath morning.
Was ever municipal election conducted before
under such extraordinary circumstances? The voters meeting like
conspirators, secretly, in a tavern, after the midnight hour, during a
season that ought, for a double reason, to have been devoted to rest. If
the rioters who stormed the Council-house during the day had dreamed of
this nocturnal gathering, there would have been more crows to pluck than
one-the entire Corbie's nest at the George would have received a rough
harrying at their hands. When, after day-dawn, the news of the secret
conclave and its doings was circulated through the town, much indignation
was felt by the Trades and the lower classes who sympathized with them.
They felt that they had been deceived - out-generaled; and they made ready
to exact revenge. "John Graham is our Provost!" they said; "and we shall
complete his election by kirking him in due form, in spite of all that has
been done by the cowardly Corbies!"
In these days the churching of the new
magistrates was looked upon as an indispensable sequel to the election;
and the merchant party also proposed in this way to give a sacred and
public impress to their hole-and-corner proceedings. When each of the
rival factions made arrangements of this nature, a collision was almost
sure to arise. So it turned out: the advent of the Sabbath did not hinder
the merchant councillors from voting their favourite into the civic chair;
and when that day's sun reached the meridian, the business of the early
morning led to an unhallowed riot. When the bells rang for worship, one
party-the Corbies - marched to the New Church, with their Provost guarded
by the Burgh officers; whilst the other - the Pyets-proceeded with their
chief to St. Michael's, the Trades forming nearly as strong a muster as if
they had been going to compete for the Silver Gun. Leaving the former to
hear the discourse of Mr. Wight, and the latter that of Mr. Linn - both
doubtless appropriate and pithy-let us look at what was meanwhile going on
outside, near the heart of the town.
In front of the crumbling New Wark, and
resting against its walls, stood the Cheese Cross, where on market days
the damsels of the district were wont to dispose of their dairy produce.
On this occasion it was occupied by many of the wives and other female
friends of the Burgh tradesmen, who from its elevated platform waited to
see the Pyet procession returning from church. Tradition affirms that they
were well supplied with whisky-punch, for the purpose of toasting the
health of Provost Graham when he made his appearance, and drinking
confusion to the Crows; but this may possibly be only a bit of scandal,
originated by some spiteful dame connected with the other side.
Prominent among the group on the Cheese Cross
stood Judith Kerr, a stalwart randy, noticeable by her impatient gestures
as much as by her amazonian height. "I wonder if the buirdly Pyets are
coming yet," she said, addressing a cronie, as one o'clock struck. "Run a
bit down the Hie Gate, woman Jean, and see if there are onie signs o' the
bonnie yellow pikes glistening i' the Southergate Brae ; for I'm weary o'
waiting on the lads." The same gossiping report already quoted from adds
to this authentic speech words designed as a stimulant to Jean's speed:
"Haste ye noo, woman; for, between ourselves, I'm turning unco drouthy."
The messenger ran as desired, and soon returned with the tidings that the
Pyets were appearing. "And so are the Corbies !" cried a voice from the
crowd. The parties met opposite to the New Wark, and stood for a minute
frowning defiance at each other, both " willing to wound, but yet afraid
to strike." No one offered to move till the spell of inactivity was broken
by James Dickson, a brewer, whose bold signature appears in the books as a
supporter of Provost Corbie. As if actuated by a destructive impulse, he
stepped from the ranks of his party, borrowed an axe from an officer at
its head, and attacked-not the rival force, but certain articles of
creature comfort, bread, cheese-shall we add, bottled punch?-with which a
corner of the Cross was garnished. The irate brewer, with one fell swoop,
made a sad mess of the refreshments ; some of the women-folks shrieking
wildly when they saw the produce of their aumries treated in this
destructive fashion. Not so Judith Kerr. That heroic female was above such
weakness; and instead of weeping, wailing, and wringing of hands, she
girded herself to carry on the war that had been so recklessly begun by
the Corbie faction. Indignant at the rude assault-especially wroth at
seeing the good whisky-punch spilt, says the tradition, which persistently
associates thee shedding of strong waters with blood on this memorable
day-she seized Dickson by the nape of the neck, took the halberd from his
feckless grasp, and gave him a push which made him embrace mother earth;
telling him, with grim humour, as he floundered downwards, to drink the
liquor where he had brewed it. Turning to the craftsmen, who seemed about
to second her efforts, she bade them stand by, and not to meddle with the
Corbies, for that the women were full match for such a crew.
The Pyets, however, advanced on their
opponents; whilst the latter, inferior in both numbers and courage, and
unable to get up or down the street for a surrounding mob, rushed through
the portals of the New Wark, and then tried to close its oaken door upon
their pursuers. Thereupon a gigantic skinner from the Mill-hole, named
William Trumell, by setting his shoulder between the door and the wall,
thwarted this device, and a terrific scene ensued. The chief belligerents,
cooped into a comparatively narrow space, pushed and struggled and fought
with each other like the wild tenants of a menagerie; and at the height of
the hurly-burly the rotten flooring gave way, and down went Pyets and
Corbies, sweating, bleeding, roaring, and raging, into the noisome vaults
below. Whilst this chaotic strife, and some minor affrays outside the Wark,
were going on, a sound contrasting strongly with the din of battle, and
one more in accordance with the sacred day, arose from the bartizan of the
building. A number of children had been placed there by their parents,
under the charge of two peaceful burgesses, one of whom, Paul Russell by
name, occasionally officiated as a precentor. When the fighting commenced,
with the view of engaging the attention of his juvenile charge, he gave
out for singing the hundred and fortieth psalm-probably choosing it as
embodying a pointed rebuke to the ungodly combatants, though we dare say
the respected "letter-gae of holy rhyme" did not desire to see the
following apposite passage of the same in any sense fulfilled:
"As for the head and chief of those
About that compass me,
Ev'n by the mischief of their lips
Let thou them cover'd be.
Let burning coals upon them fall,
Them throw in fiery flame,
And in deep pits, that they no more
May rise out of the same."
Such solemn verses sang the little children
from the top of the New Wark as the warring factions fought below, and,
falling into its deep pits, continued the struggle. It at length
terminated in the utter abasement of the merchant party. The Pyets, as has
been already stated, were more numerous than their opponents; and, on
being strongly reinforced, they succeeded in caging nearly the whole of
the Corbies in the vaults to which they bad made an unwilling descent.
There, with aching bones and moody thoughts, they lay till long after
midnight, when their wearied guards dropped off or relaxed their
vigilance, and the captives effected their escape. What deeds of daring
were performed during the conflict by Judith Kerr, are not recorded; but
it may be safely inferred that she would not rest satisfied without
consigning some more councillors to the kennel. Neither is it known
precisely what befel the rival chiefs; though there is reason to believe
that they suffered no personal violence, but escaped homewards, whilst
their infuriated adherents fought out the fray.
Months elapsed before the town regained its
composure, and magisterial government was fairly re-established. The law .
authorities of Edinburgh held that the election of Mr. Corbet, though
irregular, was a valid one; but the craftsmen offered a passive, many of
the democracy an active, resistance to his rule. On the 2nd of October
following, the councillors were summoned to meet in the usual place, for
the purpose of purging the roll. Once more a violent mob interposed. It
was known beforehand .that the favourite of the populace, with his
principal friends, was to be victimized by the dominant party. "Not if we
can help it!" screamed the indignant Pyets, who crowded the Council-house,
allowed ingress to birds
of their own feather only, and dared the Corbie senators to enter at their
peril. The latter, anxious to prevent a repetition of the Michaelmas riot,
prudently retired, and, assembling at the house of Mr. Corrie, town clerk,
voted off the Council John Graham, Andrew Crosbie, Hugh Lawson, and Andrew
Wright-an act dictated, some will say, by bitter vindictiveness; others,
by the natural instinct of self-defence. It was not till the 9th of
January-about fourteen weeks after the secret election at the George-that
the magistrates and their merchant followers durst show face in the
Council Chamber; and when they did convene there on that day, not a
solitary deacon was present to give them countenance.
In the minute of the business occur the
following significant entries:- "The Provost represented that Andrew
Black, workman, who was employed to light the lamps, was some time ago
threatened by certain persons concerned in the mobs and riots which have
of late prevailed, and was put in fear of his life, whereby he was obliged
to desist; and the Council, considering it is very necessary the lamps
should be still lighted through the remaining part of the winter season,
do therefore recommend to the magistrates to cause light the lamps
accordingly." "The Provost represented that the town's officers have been
stripped of the town's livery-clothes, and their halberts broke and
destroyed by the mob since Michaelmas last; which being considered by the
Council, they grant warrant to the magistrates to cause buy and make new
livery-clothes for the officers, and to cause make new halberts; and to
draw precepts upon the treasurer for the expenses thereof," Provost Corbet
retired from office at the ensuing Michaelmas term. On that day the
representatives of the Trades were present for the first time since his
appointment, and took part with the merchant councillors in electing his
successors. For going out on the leet as such, Mr. Corbet named Robert
Maxwell of Portrack, and Ebenezer Hepburn; while Convener Gibson, true to
the Pyet cause, proposed John Graham and Andrew Crosbie; and when it was
objected that these gentlemen were not members of Council, he contended
that they had been voted out of it by persons who had no legal
qualification so to do. The stanch convener was, however, overruled-Mr.
Maxwell was chosen Provost by a majority of eleven votes; and with his
election the fierce, protracted conflict between the Pyets and the Corbies
was brought to a close.
The judicial issue of the strife still
requires to be told. A solemn, tragical one it is; being, unlike the
affair itself, unrelieved by any features of revelry or frolic. The scene
is the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, where, on the first of
December, 1759, twelve men are placed at the bar, " indicted by the King's
Advocate for the crimes of riot and tumult at Dumfries, with a view to
obstruct the election of Magistrates and Councillors last Michaelmas day,
and to quash the authority of the magistrates then chosen." [Scots
Magazine, vol. xxii., pp. 667-8.] The prisoners are not of the sort
usually seen in such a humiliating position : they are for the most part
decent, respectable-looking tradesmen, who will bear a fair physiognomical
comparison with the fifteen jurymen on whose judgment their fate will
depend, after the witnesses 'for and against them have been examined, the
pleadings on both sides have been finished, and the Lord Justice-Clerk has
summed up the evidence and laid down the law bearing upon the case. At the
bar stand John Smith, deacon of the weavers; Thomas Gibson, deacon of the
tailors; John Paton, deacon of the weavers; eight other craftsmen, and one
merchant, William Kirkpatrick, the latter one of the four Pyet burgesses
who on the eventful twenty-second of September were proposed to fill up
the vacancies in the Council, and were rejected by Mr. Corbet's party.
Three more Dumfriesians figure on the indictmentJoseph Dyet and James
Hodge, tailors, and James Johnston, smith; but, failing to appear when
called upon, they are fugitated-that is to say, outlawed. Before the
tedious preliminaries are over, and the case is fairly entered upon,
daylight fades : candles are introduced; and all through the night, whose
gloom they only half dispel, the fierce municipal contest is fought over
again verbally; and the clock of St. Giles' sounds the hour of five in the
morning, before the judges pause, and the jury retire to consider their
verdict. At two
o'clock in the afternoon they gave it in, finding all the panels guilty
except Deacon Paton, whom they unanimously acquit. Counsel are heard on
the import of the verdict, the relevancy of which is so ingeniously
questioned that the judges adjourn the proceedings, and give no decision
till the Court resumes on the 15th, when all the cobwebs of casuistry spun
by the learned advocates for the defence are ruthlessly blown aside; and
the verdict being held good, sentence is pronounced. Poor Deacon Smith is
adjudged to banishment for life; John Gordon, tailor, is transported for
fourteen years, and William Ewart, shoemaker, for seven: all to be kept in
the tolbooth of Edinburgh till an opportunity offer for sending them to
his Majesty's plantations in America; "with certification, that if after
being delivered over for transportation they return to or be found in
Scotland-Smith during life, or Gordon or Ewart within the respective
periods specified in their sentence - each of them, as often as he shall
so return, shall be whipped and retransported; and Gordon shall remain
abroad fourteen years, and Ewart seven years, from the time of their being
respectively last delivered over for trial." Seven are sentenced to be
carried back to the Edinburgh tolbooth, there to remain-William Macnish,
tailor, three months; Thomas Gibson, flesher, two months, and till he pay
a fine of five hundred merks; William Wood, gardener, George Bell, nailer,
and John Rae, tailor, six weeks; James Thomson, smith, and Charles
Sturgeon, shoemaker, one month. A fine of nine hundred merks is imposed on
William Kirkpatrick, merchant; and all except the three persons to be
banished are required to find bail for their good behaviour for two
years-Kirkpatrick and Gibson in nine hundred merks each, and the rest in
three hundred merks each. Kirkpatrick, finding bail in Court, is set at
liberty; the others being carried away by the officers, we see them no
more: and the curtain drops on the last sad scene of this extraordinary
municipal contest. |
