The New Statistical Account of Sscotland

PRESBYTERY OF LANARK, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR.
THE REV. WILLIAM MENZIES, MINISTER.

I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY.

Name and Boundaries.—Some trace the origin of the name of this parish to the Latin terms Lana and area, quasi the wool-chest; others to Lan-arig, the bank of the river; or to the Gaelic words Lan, signifying a house, repository, or church, and deare, a bilberry. A derivation equally probable is that given by Chalmers in his Caledonia; namely, from Llannerch, which in several places in Wales is applied to a slip of level ground, or a vale. [Several places in North Britain have the same name; thus Lendrich in Kilmadock; Lendrich in Dumblane; Lendrich in Callander; Lendrich Hill in Fossaway; and Drumlanrig, the former seat of the Duke of Queensberry; all these accord with the colloquial name of Lanerk, and are probably from the same British source.]

The parish lies pretty nearly in the centre of the county to which it gives its name. It is of an irregular oblong form; in the south about 3, in the north about 5 miles broad. It is from 6 to 7 miles in length; and stretches along the eastern bank of the river Clyde, which separates it on the south from Pettinain and Carmichael, and on the west from Lesmahagoe. The adjacent parish on the north is Carluke, from which it is partly divided by Mashoch burn. Carstairs bounds it on the east. The town of Lanark is situated in 550 34' of north latitude, and 3° 5' of west longitude from Greenwich. It may be considered as the central town of the Lowlands, being 31 miles distant from Edinburgh, 35 from Stirling, 23 from Glasgow, and 47 from Ayr.

Topographical Appearances.—The ground nowhere rises into any eminence deserving the name of a hill. It may be described in general as an elevated plateau, declining on the south and west towards the River Clyde, sometimes in gentle slopes, sometimes in steep declivities. From east to west, it is bisected by the deep and irregular valley of the Mouss. The flat uplands on either side of this valley, where they rise to the highest elevation at Lee moor on the north, and Lanark moor on the south, are pretty nearly of the same height,—being about 670 feet above the level of the sea. The same valley presents two very remarkable chasms. The river Tlouss shortly after it enters the parish, near Cleghorn, plunges into a deep ravine, which it seems to have formed through the solid rock as a channel for its waters. Lower down, and at little more than a mile from its junction with the Clyde, the river, abruptly leaving its direct course, although the comparative lowness of the ground seems favourable for its continuing in it, again, by a sudden bend, seeks its way in a deep chasm through the hill of Cartlane. This tremendous ravine is about half a mile in length. It is composed of two faces of irregular, precipitous and lofty rocks, and describes in its course a zig-zag line. Where-ever the cliffs come prominently forward upon the one side, there is a corresponding recession on the other. The north bank is about 400 feet high, the south is at least 100 feet lower. Various conjectures have been proposed as to the manner in which this remarkable chasm was formed, but these it is unnecessary to discuss or to notice in this place.

Meteorology—Climate.—Owing to the elevated situation of the parish, there is at times very intense frost. A gardener in the neighbourhood during several severe winters, comparing the cold here with simultaneous observations made at Edinburgh and Glasgow, generally found it to be 100 more intense than at either of these places. This applies, however, only to the uplands; for in the lower situations, the frosts are less severe, and the snow disappears much sooner than in most of the surrounding districts; and it is no uncommon thing to see the plough going on the banks of the Clyde, while the ground cannot be broken in the adjacent parishes. The seasons formerly varied with the soil along the banks of the river. Where the subsoil is a hard rock, and the soil itself light and gravelly, they were always remarkably early. But along the north and east sides of the parish they used once to be proverbially late; and there are persons still alive who have been known to engage themselves to do the harvest work consecutively in both situations in the same year. Since fencing, draining, and a better mode of cultivation, however, have been introduced, this variation has almost entirely disappeared.

Its central situation saves the parish alike from the fogs of the eastern, as from the superabundant rains of the western coast. The atmosphere is much less humid than at Glasgow, and even Hamilton. It has often been observed that not more than one out of five of the spring and autumnal showers which rise duly to windward pass over this parish, being either attracted by the range of mountains to the south, or by the high wet ground on the north-west ; and that the thunder storms which succeed the summer droughts commonly drench all the neighbouring districts before they reach this place. The prevailing winds are west and south. The latter is generally attended by rain. Any permanent drought usually begins with an east wind.

Diseases.—Lanark is celebrated, and deserves its reputation, as a remarkably healthy place,—an advantage for which it probably is indebted to its open, dry, and elevated situation, and the absence of all noxious effluvia. There is no endemical disease. Cases of wen sometimes occur, and at particular seasons, especially in spring and autumn, the variation of the temperature and the prevalence of rain occasion all kinds of catarrhal complaints, such as colds, sore-throat, &c. and likewise diseases of the viscera, chest, and abdomen often accompanied by fluxes and spasms. Typhus fever also prevails more or less at these seasons. Yet, on the whole, the quantity of disease is unusually small. In the village of New Lanark, where the inhabitants are exclusively employed in the manufacture of cotton yarn, and exposed many hours at a time to the inhalation of an atmosphere loaded with cotton flocculi and dust, numerous cases of pulmonary disease might be expected. Yet, on consulting the medical records of that extensive establishment, such cases are found to be much rarer, in proportion to the number of the inhabitants, than in the neighbouring town. This may arise partly from the equable temperature which is maintained in the rooms of the manufactory, and partly from the low and sheltered situation of the place, exposing the inhabitants less to the influence of those exciting causes which would bring the latent disease into action.

Hydrography.—There is no extensive sheet of water in the parish. Lang-loch, to the south-east, is the largest. There are places, however, which bear evident marks of having formerly been under water, particularly the low valley adjoining the house of Lee, amounting to more than 100 acres.

The River Mouss, which we have mentioned as traversing the parish from east to west, has its source in the northern parts of Carnwath moor. It draws its contributions principally from the adjacent mosses, the dark colour of whose waters it retains, and to that circumstance has probably been indebted for its name. It is in general an insignificant stream, but is occasionally swelled by copious rains into a powerful torrent. In summer, it is subject to such decrease, as scarcely to be sufficient for supplying the numerous mills erected upon its banks. Its course is irregular, westerly in its direction, with a slight inclination to the south. After emerging from the rocks at Cleghorn, it finds a more expansive channel through finely wooded banks, steep upon the south, and gently sloping upon the northern side. On issuing from the Cartlane Craigs, it pursues but a brief course before it falls into the Clyde, opposite the village of Kirkfield-bank.

Cartlane Craigs.—There are few specimens of rocky scenery in the country to be compared with the Cleghorn, but more especially the Cartlane Craigs. Even when seen from the walks which skirt the summit of the precipice on either side, they present the most romantic views of bold and lofty rocks, combined in endless variety with wood and water. But the traveller who visits this spot in summer, (at which season alone the passage by the bed of the river is practicable,) and will submit to the toil of an occasional scramble over rocks, will enjoy the highest gratification. At every turn of the river, a new and varying scene of rocky grandeur, heightened by the accompaniments of the stream, and a rich and varied foliage, bursts upon the view. The popular tradition, that a cave in this ravine once afforded a refuge to the patriot Sir William Wallace, gives additional interest to the scene. It also a few years ago received a new ornament by the erection of a bridge, which spans the chasm at its lower extremity, with three arches, and whose Roman simplicity and elegance are in the finest keeping with the scenery around.

Clyde.-The Clyde is here a large and beautiful river. It approaches the parish from the east with a scarcely perceptible motion, after flowing through a long track of holm land, which, being very little elevated above the bed of the stream, is liable occasionally to be overflowed, and seems to have once formed the bottom of an extensive lake, before the waters had worn their channel sufficiently deep to drain it. It then takes a long sweep towards the south and south-west with a more accelerated motion; the high grounds 'advance on each side, and the channel becomes uneven and rocky. But upon passing Hyndford Bridge, it assumes its former placid aspect, and, receiving a considerable augmentation from one of its principal tributaries, the Douglas Water, soon reaches the Boning-ton Fall, where, in a divided stream, it is abruptly precipitated over a ledge of rocks of about thirty feet of perpendicular height. Its channel from this point, for about half a mile, is formed of a range of perpendicular and equidistant rocks on either side, which are from 70 to 100 feet high, and which Mr Pennant has well characterized as stupendous natural masonry. At Corehouse it encounters another fall 84 feet in height, and immediately assumes a more tranquil character until it reaches a small cascade called Dundaf Lin, about a quarter of a mile farther down. The banks now slope more gently, sometimes covered with natural wood, and sometimes cultivated to the water's edge. This character it preserves for a distance of about three or four miles, until it reaches Stonebyres, where it passes through another rocky ridge, and projects itself in three leaps over a precipice of 80 feet in height. In its farther course, which extends about a mile and a-half in this parish, the stream in general flows quietly between gently sloping and beautifully wooded banks.

The breadth and depth of the river vary at different places. At the broadest a stone may be thrown across; and there is a spot between the Bonington and Corra Falls where the whole volume of its waters is so confined between two rocks, that an adventurous leaper has been known to clear it at a bound. There are fords which children can wade across, and pools which have never been fathomed.

The scenery along the banks of the Clyde is acknowledged to be scarcely equalled in this country, and rarely surpassed abroad. It has for a long period attracted multitudes of admiring visitors during the fine season, and still continues to be as much visited as ever. The country above the falls is comparatively tame and uninteresting. But from that point nothing can surpass the variety and beauty of the prospects, which successively present themselves to the eye of the traveller.

Waterfalls.—The waterfalls, however, are the chief objects of attraction. The uppermost, called the Bonington Fall, is about two miles and a-half distant from Lanark. The way lies for the most part through the beautiful grounds of Bonington; and, with a liberality worthy of imitation, the Ross family, to whom the property belongs, allow free access on every day but the Sabbath, and at all hours, to the public, who find tasteful walks kept in the highest order, and seats at every fine point of view for their accommodation. The upper is perhaps the least beautiful of the falls, owing to its smaller height, and to the bareness of the southern bank above it. Still, when seen from the point at which it first bursts upon the view, it is very imposing; and the present proprietor, Lady Mary Ross, by means of a bridge thrown across the north branch of the stream, immediately above the precipice, and points of observation happily selected, has secured some charming coups d'oeil to the admirers of nature. The Corra Lin, which is about half a mile farther down, is generally allowed to be the finest of the three. Until a few years ago, this splendid cascade could only be seen from above. But fine although it must ever be from whencesoever contemplated, all former views of it were greatly inferior to one which the present proprietor has opened up. A flight of steps has been formed along the face of the opposite rock. By this, the traveller descends into a deep and capacious amphitheatre, where he finds himself exactly in front, and on a level with the bottom of the fall. The foaming waters, as they are projected in a double leap over the precipice, the black and weltering pool below, the magnificent range of dark perpendicular rocks 120 feet in height, which sweeps around him on the left, the romantic banks on the opposite side, the river calmly pursuing its onward course, and the rich garniture of wood with which the whole is dressed, combine to form a spectacle with which the most celebrated cataracts in Switzerland and Sweden will scarcely stand a comparison. The lower or Stonebyres Fall, so named from the adjacent estate of Stonebyres, belonging to the ancient family of Vere, it is unnecessary to describe. It has great similarity in many of its features to the Corra Lin, and it is sufficient to say, that, in the opinion of many it is even superior in beauty.

Geology.—The parish lies upon a mass of old red sandstone, which probably forms the basis of the country to the south and east. This mass is composed of strata from a few inches to many feet in thickness, having a considerable declination towards the east, but upon the surface they generally follow the declination of the ground in which they are situated. It is also divided by perpendicular fissures, which become less perceptible as they descend below the influence of the sun and air. In some places it is likewise traversed by narrow dikes of trap rock, sinking perpendicularly, and cutting the general stratification nearly at right angles. The trap rock of these dikes is often disintegrated, or if solid, appearing composed of a congeries of elliptical balls, and has evidently been in a state of fusion at the time of its formation. Many of the internal crevices are filled with heavy spar, some of which is found in a state of complete crystallization. On the lands of Jerviswood, a thick vein of quartz, intermixed with small veins of rich iron ore, was discovered many years ago, which for some time raised sanguine expectations that lead or other valuable minerals would be found in its neighbourhood. But these expectations have not yet been realized. The surface of the rock is very rugged and uneven, consisting of several conical eminences, which sometimes rise with a gentle ascent, and sometimes abruptly terminate, forming precipices of several hundred feet in height.

No beds of coal have hitherto been discovered in the parish, excepting at the north-west end, where it encroaches for about half a mile upon a coal district, and where all the minerals common to that district are found to crop out, but in such shallow strata as to render their working impracticable, Carboniferous limestone is wrought in considerable quantities in Craigend-hill, on the north-west corner of the parish, accompanied by a small seam of coal, but which does not yield sufficient to burn the limestone. Nodules of clay-ironstone are likewise found here imbedded in clay. Specimens of petrified wood have also been met with in the limestone rock. Small detached pieces of jasper have been picked up in the bed of the Mouss, with ochre, and several other mineral productions, which have probably been carried down by the river from the upper part of the country. A detached and water-worn piece of limestone was found near the old bridge upon the Clyde, containing petrified shells resembling on a general view pholades and cockles. Masses of freestone are frequent near the Chapel on the lands of Nemphlar, and near Moussbank, where a quarry was opened some years ago, but which has since been abandoned. Several attempts have been made to discover coal upon the estate of Lee, and upon Lanark moor, hitherto without success.

Few places present more evident traces of a deluge than the parish of Lanark. hills of gravel, beds of clay, banks of sand, and large masses of mud, are heaped together in the wildest confusion. The uneven nature of the surface would naturally produce different currents, which, meeting together, would forum, at their junction, beds of gravel; and, in the eddies betwixt them, banks of sand. In more still water, mud or clay would be deposited according as the waters were charged with a greater or less proportion of sand. This arrangement is very conspicuous along the banks of the Mouss and Clyde, from the Hyndford Bridge on the latter, but more especially at their confluence. Where the waters flowed over a less rugged surface, a sort of hard till has been deposited, which is scarcely pervious to water, and consequently renders the soil more unproductive. Upon examining twenty stones taken promiscuously from a gravel pit, there were found ten of the common red sandstone, five of a hard kind of sandstone, and the other five of various kinds, some of which are not found in masses in any part of the neighbourhood. Detached pieces of granite are also found here, which, notwithstanding their hardness, have all the asperities rounded off, proving that they must have rolled from a vast distance ; and indeed no rocks of the kind are known to exist within many miles of the parish. These rocks are very much prized for curling-stones. Marl has also been found at Bonington and Sunnvside, but has not been dug to any extent.

Soil - From what has been said, it is obvious that the soil must vary with the subsoil. Accordingly, along the west end of the parish for nearly a mile in breadth, it is generally composed of a stiff clay. Along the banks of the rivers it is light and gravelly. In the east it is wet and clayey. Nemphlar and Cartlane moors consist of a hard till, and this soil prevails more or less in all high and exposed situations. It is the most stubborn of all kinds of soil, and has longest resisted the efforts of the farmer. But in every part of the parish, sometimes even in the same field, all the different varieties of soil are found. In Lanark moor, in the low grounds adjoining the house of Lee, and elsewhere, some inconsiderable beds of moss are met with.

Zoology.—The only cattle bred here are horses and cows, all of the best kinds, for draught and dairy, which are sold young. There are no sheep kept but by gentlemen for their private use.

The only fish in the Mouss are minnow and trout. In the Clyde, besides these, there are pike, eels, and very rarely perch. The Stonebyres Fall arrests the further ascent of salmon. Formerly two or three individuals in the town of Lanark used to pick up a livelihood by catching and selling fish, but their business has been much injured, and the sport ruined for amateur anglers, by the numbers, who, owing to the dulness of trade, now engage in it, and by the new and deadly tackle which they employ.

The common insects are wasps, gad-flies, gnats, and the gooseberry, apple, and cabbage caterpillar. The cabbage caterpillar is destroyed by sprinkling with powdered lime; the gooseberry caterpillar, by searching the centre of the bush near the ground at the time when the leaves expand, and picking off such as are found riddled, and full of holes. The apple and pear caterpillars are of two kinds, the one a small green worm, with a black head, that breeds in the blossom-bud and consumes its heart; the bud does not expand, but soon turns brown, and then the tree is said to be fired. The cobweb, or, as it is called in some places, the cotton caterpillar, is sometimes so very destructive, that the trees in the month of June appear as bare as in January; if picked off once a-day at the opening of the season they may be destroyed; as they surround themselves with a round ball of cobweb, they are easily seen, and a few boys would soon clear an orchard. The small black-headed caterpillar is less easily overcome; it does its mischief before the blossom expands. Mr Sinclair, late gardener at Bonington, discovered a method, by which for many years he effectually saved his trees and bushes from these destructive insects. It is to mix sifted lime in a tub with water, and by means of a gardener's engine to project this with force upon the plants ; in this manner, the moss upon the branches in which insects harbour is destroyed.

Botany.—The recesses of Cartlane Craigs present a rich variety of plants to the botanist'; among which may be named Berberis vulgaris, Pyrola rotundjfolia, Pyrola, minor, Saxifraga oppositofolia and granulata, Prunus padus, Bird Cherry or Hawk-berry, Spirea salicifolia, Bubus saxatilis, Cistus Helianthemum, Aquilegia vulgaris, Cardamine impatiens, Geranium lucidum, Oro-bus sylvaticus, Vicia sylvatica, Doronicum pardalianches. There are said to be a considerable variety of mosses of rare species above the falls.

There are several large plantations in the parish, consisting chiefly of Scotch, larch, and spruce fir. The grounds of Lee, Bonington, and Cleghorn are ornamented with fine old trees, such as oak, beech, larch, and lime. The banks of the Clyde and Mouss are covered with natural wood of various kinds, viz, oak, ash, hazel, birch, alder, hawkberry, hawthorn, and mountain-ash.

Close to the House of Lee are two trees which deserve particular. mention. The first is an oak of prodigious size. According to a late measurement; it was found to be 60 feet of perpendicular height, and 30 in circumference, and to contain 1460 cubic feet of wood. It is called the Pease tree; is understood to be a relict of the ancient Caledonian forest, and still continues to vegetate, although its huge trunk is hollowed to such a degree that ten persons .have been crammed into the excavation. The other is a magnificent larch, said to have been one of the firs brought into this country; it is 100 feet in height, and 18 in girth, containing 320 cubic feet of timber.

II.-CIVIL HISTORY.

Historical Notices.—There does not exist any ancient account of this parish. The town is acknowledged to be of very great antiquity; but all the information we possess with respect to it in former ages, consists in a few rare and incidental notice's scattered throughout the general histories of the country. It is supposed to be the Colaenia of Ptolemy; a Roman road having passed through, or near it, to its castle, on the south-west side. In subsequent ages, it must have been a place of considerable importance, as may be inferred from the fact recorded by Buchanan, that, in the year 978, Kenneth II. here held an assembly of the states of the realm. That it was a royal town at a very early period is certain; for Malcolm IV., in granting a toft in Lanark, speaks of it as in burgo meo; and William, the successor of Malcolm, also designates it his burgh. It possesses charters ; the original one erecting it into a royal burgh was granted by Alexander I.; there is also one by Robert I., dated at Linlithgow, the fourth year of his reign; another without date, by Alexander III.; a fourth by the same monarch in the thirteenth year of his reign; there are besides two by James V.; and afinal one, confirmatory of all the rest, given by Charles I., and bearing date 20th February 1632.

Chalmers is certainly wrong, when he says in his Caledonia, that "we hear nothing of any royal castle or place of royal residence in this city." On a small artificially-shaped hill, between the town and the river, at the foot of the street called Castle Gate, and still bearing the name of the Castle hill, there stood in former times beyond all doubt a royal castle. Tradition ascribes it to David I. It was the place from which the charter of William the Lion, in favour of the town of Ayr, was dated in 1197. In the treaty negotiated in 1298, respecting the marriage of the niece of King Philip of France, with the son and heir of John Baliol, the Castle or Castelany of Lanark was mortgaged as part of the security for the lady's jointure. We hear of it as being in, the thirteenth century in the hands of English soldiers. Besides, there are places in the neighbourhood of the town which, even to this day, bear the names of King-son's Know, King-son's Moss, King-son's Stane, which seems to favour the tradition, that it was once a place of royal residence.

We have already mentioned the circumstance related by Buchanan, although passed over in silence by Fordun, of Kenneth II. having in 978 summoned at Lanark a convention of the estates of the realm ; the first of which there is any record in history.

In 1244, Lanark was burnt to the ground; a fate which befell several other towns at the same period, and to which they were liable from having been then built of wood. In 1297 it was the scene of the first military exploit of Sir William Wallace, who there slew William de Hesliope or Heselrigg, the English she-, riff, and expelled his soldiers from the town. It seems to have been a garrisoned place in 1310, for we read of its having then surrendered to King Robert Bruce, with Dumfries, Ayr, and the We of Bute. On the 12th of January 1682, the Covenanters here published a declaration, which Wodrow calls the first essay of the "societies united into a correspondence." This act roused the indignation of the Privy-Council, who fined the town 6000 merks, and issued processes against the freeholders for not preventing it, nor seizing the parties concerned in it. Several persons were executed at the place about the same time, and among the rest William Hervie, who was charged with being at Bothwell Bridge, and publishing Wood's declaration. The grave of this person is still seen in the churchyard of the parish, and is an object of great reverence.

Lanark formerly enjoyed the privilege of keeping the standard weights of the kingdom. An act of Parliament in 1617 narrates, that of old, the keeping and out-giving of the weights to the burghs and others was committed to this town, and charges it again with the "care of the weights." The old standards are still preserved. They are stamped with a spread eagle, with two heads, the arms of the burgh, although some have supposed this to be a foreign mark. In -1790, they were measured by Professor Robison of Edinburgh; and, for the second time, about ten years subsequently, for the purpose of rectifying those of Edinburgh. It was then discovered that the pound had lost something less than seven grains English Troy, weighing 7613 instead of 7620 grains, which, in terms of the act of Parliament 1618, it ought to have contained. Dr Robison says, that this standard is better ascertained than any other in Europe, except that of Brussels, and its copy at Paris. At the time of the union, a new set of weights was sent from London to the burgh. They are of very, handsome workmanship, and are thus dated, "Primo Maii Anno Dom. 1707—A. R.—An. Regni vi." But by the act of 1826, these have been superseded by the introduction of the imperial standard, and the ancient prerogative of the town disannulled; every burgh and county having been enjoined to procure and keep a set of standard weights.

Eminent Men.—Sir William Wallace was connected with this parish, having resided in the town after his marriage with the coheiress of Lamington.—James Birnie, secretary to John Cassimir, King of Poland, was the son of Mr William Birnie, who was appointed minister of Lanark in 1597.—Sir William Lockhart of Lee, a great statesman and general under the Protector, and afterwards Lord Justice-Clerk, was born in the parish, and received the first rudiments of education at the school of Lanark.—The estate of Jerviswood was the family property of Robert Baillie the martyr. In the mansion-house, which is now fallen into decay, he found concealment from the pursuit of his enemies, and is said to have owed nis life upon one occasion, to a spider, which spun its web over the door of the oven in which he was lurking, thus averting the suspicions of the soldiers.—Lithgow, the traveller, was born in this parish, and lies buried in the churchyard ; but the site of his grave is unknown.—Dr William Smellie, the celebrated accoucheur; and the learned and ingenious General Roy, were both educated at Lanark school, to which the former left as a memorial his valuable library, with L. 200 to build a room for its accommodation. —Robert. Macqueen, Lord Justice-Clerk for Scotland, was born in the parish, and educated at the schools of Lanark.—Sir John Lockhart Ross, so renowned in the naval chronicles of Great Britain, as captain of the Tartar, although born in the adjacent parish of Carstairs, acquired by his marriage with the late Lady Ross Baillie, the beautiful property of Bonington in Lanark parish, where he built, the present mansion-house, and occasionally resided. —Among other celebrated men, we must not omit the excellent and pious Mr David Dale, founder of the village and manufactory of New-Lanark; nor his son-in-law, Robert Owen, who here excogitated and made an abortive attempt to reduce to practice, his wild theories for the renovation of society.

Land-owners.—The principal land-owners are Sir Norman Macdonald Lockhart., Bart. of Lee; Lady Mary Ross of Bonington; Mrs Elliot Lockhart of Cleghorn; George Baillie, Esq. of Jerviswood; Thomas Young Howison, Esq. of Hyndford; the Misses Carmichael of Smvllum Park; Walker and Company of New Lanark; Sir Richard Honyman of Huntly Hill; Archibald Nesbit, Esq. of Carfin; Alexander Gillespie, Esq. of Sunnyside. Besides these, there are 65 smaller heritors in the out-parish, and 100 in the in-parish, possessing burgh lands.

Parochial Registers.—The parochial registers consist of 14 volumes; 7 of births, and 7 of marriages. The date of the earliest entry is 1647. The session records reach no farther back than 1699.

Antiquities.—The Castle-Hill, which we have already mentioned as a small mount in the immediate vicinity of the town, towards the river, is supposed to have been originally a Roman castellum; and General Roy mentions a fine silver Faustina as having been found here. But at present there is scarcely left a single vestige either of the ancient Roman work, or of the royal castle, which in later times occupied its site. It has been converted into a bowling-green.

There are remains of two Roman camps in the neighbourhood of Lanark. The most considerable is not far from Cleghorn-house, and was thought by General Roy to `have been the work of Agricola. It measures 600 yards in length, and 420 in breadth, and at the south-west angle has a small post or redoubt. The other is situated upon the Lanark moor, on the opposite side of the Mouss, and is within a mile of one in the adjoining parish of Carstairs, apparently of later construction, and of which the vestiges are much more distinct. Through this passed the great Roman road from Carlisle to the wall of Antoninus, leaving the camp at Cleghorn upon the right.

About half a mile below Lanark, upon an elevated situation on the banks of the Mouss, stands the picturesque remnant of a lofty tower, of which little or nothing is known. The eminence is called Castle Hill, and from it the Lockharts of Cambusnethan take their title.

On the very brink. of Cartlane Craigs, and overhanging a precipice of above 200 feet of perpendicular height, are to be seen the vestiges of an old stronghold, called by some the Castle of the Quaw, probably from the Gaelic cuas or cave. Neither history nor tradition has preserved any record of what this was, or of the date of its erection. And it is only remarkable for certain subterraneous caves or arched ways of rather a singular description, which have probably given the place its name. One of them was explored by Mr Lockhart, who has given a description of it in the former Statistical Account. He there argues, from the absence of all traces of lime, that it must have been of a date anterior to the introduction of the use of mortar by the Romans. Another person to whom it was shown was of a different opinion, and says, that the arch appeared to him more like the work of some cow-herd boy than anything else.

Old Church.—About a quarter of a mile to the south-east of the town, and seen from all the country around, rise the beautiful ruins of the old parish church. There still remain traces to show that it must have been a building of great elegance. Six fine Gothic arches, supporting a wall which seems to have separated the body of the church from a side aisle, along its whole length, are at present standing. It is altogether unknown by whom, and at what exact period this fabric was erected ; but Chalmers, in his Caledonia, has collected some interesting particulars with respect to it which had previously fallen into oblivion. It appears to have been in existence at the beginning of the twelfth century, before the re-establishment of the bishoprick of Glasgow by Prince David, and was dedicated to Kentigern, the patron saint of that city, and founder of the episcopate. In 1150, David I. granted it, with its tithes and pertinents, to the monastery of Dryborough,—a grant which subsequent monarchs successively confirmed, and which was afterwards extended to a chapel at Cleghorn. In 1297, Blind Harry alludes to it, making his hero pass

"On from the kirk that was without the town."

The canons of Dryborough continued in possession of it, drew the revenues, and served the cure by establishing a vicarage until the period of the Reformation. In 1589-90, the presbytery passed a resolution "that the kirk of Lanark should be removed from the auld place to a situation within the town."—"Notwithstanding of this resolution," says Chalmers, "the kirk still remains in the old place, and continued to be the parish church until 1777, when a new one was built in the middle of the town." Long before this period, however, it had fallen into a ruinous state, and had ceased to be used for public worship. The inhabitants of the town attended Divine service in the chapel of St Nicholas, which devolved to the burgh at the Reformation, and in which the lofts and galleries were set apart for the magistrates and corporations. It seems impossible to ascertain at what precise period the old church was abandoned as a place of public worship. In former times it seems to have had various altars; one consecrated to the holy cross, was styled the Ruid Altar, and another to the Virgin, Our Lady's Altar. To the chaplain who served the latter, James IV. granted in mortmain a tenement in Lanark, which had fallen to him by royal right. The charter is thus noted in the general index of charters in the Register office. "Willielmo Clerkson, capellano moderno ad altare gloriosissimoe Virginis Mariae, infra ecclesiam parochialem de Lanark," dated Lanark, ].8th October 1500. In the reign of Robert III. John Simpson, a burgess of the town, founded and endowed a chaplainary in this church. The ground around it continues as of old to be the parish cemetery. For a number of years it was abandoned to shameful neglect; and the hands of mischievous boys co-operated with time in accelerating the destruction of the venerable ruin. Its appearance has also suffered very materially by the erection of an ugly square tower in the centre, for the accommodation of grave-watchers. But better feelings have lately prevailed. The churchyard has been enclosed with a wall; and a small fund was raised for the purpose of using means to prevent the total dilapidation of the ancient pile. Considerable repairs were made, which it is hoped will uphold it a century or two longer to grace the spot where so many generations of Lanarkers repose. [If the dead were conscious of what takes place above them, the ashes of at least one of the sleepers in this churchyard must have been disturbed by the profanations which used to take place in it. I allude to Mr William Birnie, of whom it is said in Nesbit's Heraldry, that when of age, and after three years study abroad, he was, upon the 28th of December 1597, presented by King James VI. to the parish of Lanark. An interesting reprint of an old and learned work of this person, entitled "The Blame of Kirk Burial, tending to persuade to Cemeterial Civilitie," has lately been made by William Turnbull, Esq. advocate. The author, in quaint but powerful language, inveighs against the practice of burying in the area of churches, but delivers many admirable sentiments on the honour due to the resting-places of the dead. It would appear that in his day the ecclesiastical profession required more various and extensive accomplishments than are now deemed necessary, or even becoming in clergymen. For it is said of Mr Birnie, "that he not only learnedly preached the gospel in this parish, but, because of the several quarrels and feuds amongst the gentlemen, was obliged many times, as he well could, to make use of his sword."]

Before the Reformation there were various chapels in this parish, of which, however, there remain at the present day scarcely any other memorial than the tradition of their existence, and the names which they have given to the spots at or near which they were situated. [Some notices respecting the chapels of St Nicholas, St Leonards, and the chapels at Cleghorn and East Nemphlar, will he found in the original MS. Among.the minor antiquities may be mentioned the church bell. It was removed from the old to the present parish church, and has been several times refounded. It bears the date of these. The first is so early as 1110; the second 1659 ; and the last 1740.]

In the Thansion-house at Bonington are preserved a few interesting relics of Sir William Wallace, of whose family the Rosses claim to be the representatives in the female line. These were brought from the old castle of Lamingt.on. A portrait there shows the chieftain in look and features much as lie is represented in the common pictures. There is also a broad oaken seat, which has borne from time immemorial the name of Wallace's Chair. The four large posts which compose its frame-work, and of which the two at the back are considerably higher than those in front, are the only parts which have any claim to antiquity, and certainly are sufficiently rude for the fourteenth century. All the rest together, with the bear skin with which it has been covered, are modern additions. A third object is a small oaken cup, called Wallace's quaigh, evidently of very great antiquity.

[Its history is thus recorded in verse upon the silver hoop which encircles the edge:-

At Torwood I was cut from that known tree,
Where Wallace from warres toyls took sanctarie.
For Mars's sonnes I'm only now made fist,
When with the sonnes of Bacchus they shall sitt.

Sir Walter Scott, in the Tales of a Grandfather, mentions his having forty years ago examined the roots of the oak here alluded to, which at that time were all that remained of it.]

Lee-penny.--The most celebrated antiquity, however, which we have to mention is the Lee-penny. This is a small triangular stone, of what kind, a lapidary, to whom it was shown, confessed himself unable to determine. In size, it is about half an inch on each side, and is set in a piece of silver coin, which, from the traces of a cross still discernible, is supposed to be a shilling of Edward the First. The traditional history of this gem is as follows :—King Robert Bruce had ordered, that after his death his heart should be carried to the Holy Land, and one of those who joined the expedition, appointed to carry the royal wish into effect, was Sir Simon Lockard of Lee. To defray his expenses, he borrowed a sum of money from Sir William de Lindsay, prior of Ayre, to whom he granted a bond of annuity for L. 10 upon his estate of Lee. This bond, bearing date 1323, is still preserved amongst the family papers. As a memorial of his services upon this occasion, the family name of Locard was changed into Lock-heart or Lockhart, and he obtamed for arms a heart within a lock, with the motto, Gorda serata pando. Sir Simon is said in this journey to have taken prisoner a Saracen chief, for whose liberty his lady offered a large sum of money. In counting it out, she happened to drop the gem from her purse, and showed such eagerness in recovering it as drew the knight's attention, and raised his curiosity to learn what it was. Being told of its remarkable virtues, he refused to liberate the husband, unless it were added to the ransom. With this demand the lady unwillingly complied, and thus the talisman came into the possession of the family with whom it has ever since remained. Formerly it bore a very high and extensive celebrity for extraordinary medicinal properties. Water in which it had been but dipt was supposed to be an effectual remedy for all diseases of cattle, and has been sent for as far as the northern counties of England. It was also considered to be a specific against hydrophobia. The most remarkable instance of its efficacy in that distemper was the cure of a Lady Baird of Saughton-hall, near Edinburgh, who, by using draughts and baths of it, recovered from the bite of a mad dog, after, it is said, hydrophobia had actually begun. When the plague was last at Newcastle the inhabitants borrowed the Lee-penny, giving a large sum in trust for the loan, and so convinced were they of its good effects, that they were willing to forfeit the deposit and retain possession.

[Various, of course, are the opinions held as to whether these virtues are real or imaginary, natural or miraculous. The following authority upon the subject is perhaps curious enough to deserve a place:—

Copy of an Act of the Synode and Assembly apud Glasgow the 25th of October, Synode Session 2d.

Quhilk daye amongest the referics of the Brethern of the ministrie of Lanark, it was propondit to the Synode, that Gawen IIammiltoune of Raploeh had preferit ane complaint before them against Sir Thos Lockhart of Lee, anent the superstitious using of ane stone set in silver for the curing of deseased cattel, qulk the said Gawen affirmed could not be lawfullie used,—and that they had deferit to give any desisioune therin till the advise of the Assetnblie might he heard concerning the same. The Asse:nblie having inquerit of the ivaner of using therof, and particularlie understood be examinatioune of the said Laird of Lie and otherwise, that the custom is onlie to cast the stone in sume water, and give the deseasit cattel theraf to drink, and yt the same is done wt-out using onie wordes, such as charmers use in their unlawful practissess,—and considering that in nature they are monie thinges scin to work strange effect, qrof no humane witt can give a reason, it having pleasit God to give unto stones and herbes a special virtues for the healling of mony infirmities in man and beast,—and advises the Brethern to surcease thair process, as qr-in they perseive no ground of ofi ncc,—and admonishes the said Laird of Lie in the using of the said stone, to tak heid it be unit heir after wt. the least scaudall that possiblie maybe.]

Modern Buildings.—There are several very handsome seats iii the parish. The lordly-looking mansion of Lee, the seat of Sir Norman Macdonald Lockhart, was renovated a few years ago, after a design of Mr Gillespie Graham. The style is castellated. Its principal ornament is the lofty Gothic hall in the centre, which replaces the open court of the old house, rises high above the rest of the building, and is lighted by twelve windows, three on each side near the roof.

Bonington, the jointure house of Lady Mary Ross, is an elegant modern mansion, delightfully situated within a quarter of a mile from the Corra Lin. It was lately much improved by the addition of a handsome porch in front, also from a design of Mr Gillespie Graham.

Smyllum, a spacious mansion of imposing appearance, was built about twenty years ago. It is in the castle style, and stands in a high and very conspicuous situation half a mile above the town.

Cloghorn is an old and comfortable dwelling-house, finely situated upon the north bank of the Mouss, and surrounded with fine wood.

Sunnyside Lodge is an elegant English villa, beautifully placed upon the steep bank of the Clyde, about a mile and a-half below Lanark. A particular point in the avenue commands one of the richest and most extensive prospects in the country.

Many of the houses in Lanark have been rebuilt within the last ten years, in rather a handsome style, which has greatly improved its appearance, although it has deprived it of its ancient title to be considered a finished town. The best house in it was built a few years ago by the Commercial Bank for the accommodation of a thriving branch of their business. The stones principally used are rag and freestone, the former from quarries near the town; the latter is brought from the adjoining parishes of Lesmahagoe and Carluke. The Auchinheath and Maingill quarries yield a stone which is found not to bear exposure to the weather. A new quarry has lately been opened at Pittfield, on the road to Carluke, the rock of which promises fair, but has not yet been sufficiently tried. Time is brought a distance of four miles from Craigend-hill.

Extract out of the Bookes of the Assemblie holden at Glasgow, and subscribed by Chair clerk at thair command.

M. ROBERT YOUNG,
Clerk to the Assemblie at Glasgow."

III - POPULATION

The great increase observable between 1781 and 1792 took place chiefly in consequence of the erection and prosperity of the cotton manufactory at New Lanark; but it is in some measure also to be ascribed to the improvement and extension of trade, manufactures, and agriculture in general.

The number of the population at present residing in the town, 4266; in New Lanark, 1901; in the country, 1505; total, 7672.

The nobility and persons of independent fortune in the parish amount to 10.

There are 16 persons who possess land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards,—besides the burgh of Lanark, and the Company at New Lanark.

Belonging to the parish are 4 insane persons kept in asylums; 4 fatuous; 6 blind, 3 of whom are resident, and 3 are kept in asylums; 2 deaf and dumb.

Families which have for several generations been domiciled in the town are remarked to be in general small in stature compared with the population of the country district, who are tall and robust.

Character, Habits, and Customs of the People.—Within the last forty years the language of the people has improved much, and especially of late among the young. The natives have a striking peculiarity of accent, which consists in lengthening the last syllable, raising the voice upon it, and adding the sound of an a.

Palm Saturday was observed as a holiday at the grammar school until within the last thirty years. The scholar who presented the master with the largest Candlemas offering was appointed king, and walked in procession with his life-guards and sergeants. The great and little palm branches of the Salix caprœa in flower, and decked with a profusion of daffodils, were carried behind him. A handsome embroidered flag, the gift of a lady in the town to the boys, was used on this festival. The day concluded with a ball.

On the Lanemar or Landmark-day, there are processions to inspect the marches of the town lands. As a method of impressing the boundaries upon the memory, all persons who attend for the first time are ducked in the river Mouss, in the channel of which one of the march-stones is placed: and horse and foot races take place upon the moor. It is a day of great festivity.

The people are, upon the whole, cleanly in their habits. But the late severe depression in the weaving trade has reduced great numbers to such a state of destitution as calls for the liveliest sympathy. They not only want decent clothing, but can hardly procure sufficient food. At the cotton-works the people are well dressed, and live in general very comfortably. In all parts of the parish, oat-meal porridge for breakfast, potatoes with herrings for dinner, and again porridge or potatoes for supper, form the usual diet of the labouring-classes. Tea is used whenever it can be afforded. Poaching prevails to a considerable extent, with its usual bad effects.

IV.-INDUSTRY.

Agriculture and Rural Economy.—As much of the land in the parish, both arable, waste, and in wood, has never been measured, it is only by approximation that the following results have been obtained:

Of late years there has been very little planting in this parish, and that little confined to the estates of Lee and Cleghorn. An intelligent nurseryman in the place says, that the forest trees planted in the whole of the upper ward of Lanarkshire amount to 700,000 and 900,000 annually for the last ten years. These have been in the proportion of two parts of larch to one of spruce and Scotch fir. The larch is found to grow best upon the high lands, and is of more value to the planter, and hence is now in far greater demand than about twenty-five years ago. Little oak, ash, elm, or hard-wood, of any kind is planted, except in the more sheltered situations, as it is found they seldom come to perfection on the light heathy lands.

Rent, Prices, Wages, &c.—The average rent of arable land is L. 1, 3s. per Scotch statute acre; the average price of a cow's grazing on good land, L. 4; on inferior, L. 1, 10s.; that of an ox varies from L. 3 to L. 3, 10s. The common labourer's wages is 9s. per week; women get is. per day.

Breeds of Live Stock.—There are no store-farms in the parish. The cattle are all of the Ayrshire breed, and, owing to the premiums given by the agricultural societies, they are greatly improved.

Husbandry.—A great part of the arable land is said to be unfit for green crop. After four or five years pasture, it is top-dressed and two crops of oats taken, with the last of which grass seeds are sown. It is then again pastured for four or five years. About a fourth part of it, however, is of a very superior description. It is cultivated with a rotation of four years-1st, oats; 2d, green crop, consisting of potatoes, turnips, or beans; 3d, wheat or barley; 4th, hay. It is then pastured one or two years, but in many cases not at all. The land of the orchards is generally cropped in a similar manner, but is dug instead of being ploughed; and, instead of its being pastured, a hay crop is taken.

A good deal has been done in the way of irrigation, principally at Cleghorn, and likewise in draining at the joint expense of landlord and tenant.

The leases being for nineteen years are favourable to the occupier, and the rents are in general well paid. The farms are all small, and the buildings and enclosures indifferent.

Quarry.—There is only one lime quarry in the parish, which is wrought partly by open cast, and partly by mining. It produces 7000 bolls annually, and has a seam of coal eighteen inches thick, capable of burning about one-third part of the lime.

Produce.—As various courses of cropping are adopted, and the land is of very unequal quality, the average value of the gross produce can only be given in a very vague approximation:

* Fifteen years ago, the orchards would have brought double the sum; but of late, the value of fruit has been gradually falling, partly owing to the larger quantities produced, and partly to its being brought from other districts to Glasgow by means of steam-vessels, with greater safety and expedition than formerly.

Manufactures.—Cotton-spinning.—The principal manufacture in the parish is cotton-spinning at New Lanark. The establishment formerly acquired very extensive notoriety, under the superintendence of Mr Robert Owen, son-in-law of David Dale, the original founder. But in 1827, that gentleman ceased to have any interest in the business, which has since been carried on under the firm of Walker and Company.

There are 1110 persons employed in this manufacture, of whom about 60 are mechanics and labourers. Children are not admitted into the factory under ten years of age. The hours of work are eleven and a quarter daily throughout the year, whatever be the state of trade. ` The people are very comfortably supported,—are in general healthy,—and, in comparison with other establishments of the kind, remarkably decent in behaviour.

Weaving.—Another extensive branch of manufacture in the parish is weaving, in which 873 persons are engaged; 702 in the town, and 171 in the country. This trade is at the very lowest ebb, and scarcely yields the means of support to those who are employed in it. There are a few of the weavers who, being in the prime of life, and endowed with superior strength and skill, can gain 8s. a-week; but to do this, they must sit from fourteen to sixteen hours a-day, and the exertion soon ruins the health of the most robust. The common wages scarcely average 6s. per week, from which a drawback must be made of 1s. 3d.; 10d. for loom-rent, 3d. for light, and 2d. for carriage of the web. Men advanced in life, dispirited by the remembrance of better times, may make about. 3s. 6d. The only addition to this miserable pittance is what their wives can earn by winding the waft upon pirns, and which varies from 6d. to 1s. 3d. per week. [Since the above was written, the condition of the weavers has been considerably improved,—in consequence of the cheapness of provisions, a greater supply of work, and a small advance on the price of the yard.]

When three or four in one family are employed, and the joint gains are under the management of a thrifty wife, they are able to make a tolerable shift. But nothing can exceed the misery of those who have themselves and a family to support by their single-handed industry. The misery they have suffered has had the unhappy but too common effect of plunging some of them into careless and dissipated habits; but the majority are well behaved and intelligent men, and bear their hardships with commendable patience. The following fact will illustrate the melancholy depression of this branch of industry. On Martinmas fair day 1812, a general strike took place, and continued for nine weeks, because a certain description of work, 1200 policuts, fell from 8d. to 6d. per yard. For the last three years, the same description of work has been, upon an average, at 1½d. Accustomed at the former period to better days, the weaver believed that 6d. was too low a rate to afford him a livelihood, and it is only because it came upon them gradually that they have been able to survive the present depression. Forced by the pressure of immediate want, they are accustomed to put their children of both sexes upon the loom at the early age of nine or twelve, by which means their numbers are continually augmenting, and the evil is increased.

Shoemaking, &c.—There are in the parish 96 shoemakers. This trade is at present in as flourishing a condition as was ever known. The weekly wages which a tradesman actually gains average 8s.; but, with steadiness and skill, he may easily increase them to 12s. Boots and shoes for foreign export are occasionally made here.

The tailors are 24 in number, and their wage is about 9s. per week. There are 51 wrights and 34 masons, who gain about 14s. per week. Occasionally more are required than live in the place, but they are easily procured from the adjoining parishes. Building is rather expensive, in consequence of the distant carriage of the materials. There are in the parish 13 smiths, 14 bakers, 8 butchers, 45 young females employed in mantua-making, 120 in embroidering gymp lace. Three brewers carry on business to a considerable extent in the town. There are three mills, two of which are for grinding flour.

V.—PAROCHIAL ECONOMY.

Town and Villages.—The town of Lanark stands in nearly the centre of the parish. It is under the government of magistrates; who employ five or six town-officers. A large body of constables can likewise be called out when occasion requires. Here the principal business transactions of the surrounding district are carried on. There are markets on Tuesday and Saturday; the former in general is very numerously attended. In Lanark, as the county town, the Sheriff and Justice of Peace courts are held, and the election of the member of Parliament for the county takes place.

New Lanark is a large and handsome village, lying on the southwest from the town. It stands low upon the river side, and is completely surrounded by steep and beautifully wooded hills. It owes its existence to David Dale, who built the first mill in 1784. It has always been and still continues a remarkably thriving manufactory.

There are, besides, three considerable hamlets,—Cartland in the north-west, Nemphlar in the west, and Hyndford Bridge-end in the south-east quarter of the parish.

Means of Communication.—The parish enjoys the most ample means of communication. There is a post-office ; fifteen miles of turnpike road traverse the parish in different directions. In the fine season, a stage-coach goes to and from Edinburgh every lawful day ; in winter, three times a-week. There is also a stage coach to Glasgow, in summer twice, and in winter once a-day,—besides a number of carriers.

There are two bridges over the Clyde. The old bridge, about a mile below the town, is of a very indifferent description. It was built about the middle of the seventeenth century, at an expense of L. 56, 11s, 7d., which was raised by private contributions and parochial collections. [The following extract from the presbytery records connected with this bridge is curious. "March 29th 1649.—It is ordained the act of Parliament which is granted in favour of the town of Lanark for building a bridge at Clydesholm,—a work of great necessity and public concernment, be presented to the synod that we may have the help and advice of the synod for the furtherance of the work. April 19th 1649. —The brethren, after their return from the synod, report to the baillies of Lanark being then present, law willing, all the brethren of the synod were to further the work of building a bridge at Clydesholm by a contribution of their several parishes,—and desires the baillies not to neglect speedily to go on with the work, which the presbytery will further all they can."]

The New or Hyndford Bridge, a little more than two miles from the town, is remarkable for its elegance. Over the Mouss, there are no fewer than five bridges, at Cleghorn, at Lockhartford, at Cartlane Craigs, and two at Mouss Mill. The Cartlane bridge was built in 1822, from a design of Mr Telford, engineer, and is one of the most beautiful in the country. The height from the bed of. the river to the parapet is 125 feet, and to the spring of the arch 84. It has three arches of 52 feet span each.

One of the bridges at Mouss Mill is very ancient and curious; it has a semicircular arch. When the new one was built, this was condemned to be demolished, but, being an object of considerable beauty, it was purchased for L. 50, and preserved by Michael Linning, Esq. and is a great ornament to his beautiful little property in the vicinity.

Ecclesiastical State—Patronage of the Parish.—The patronage is in the hands of the Crown ; but from the time of Charles II. it had been claimed by the family of Lee. The Laird of Lee, in 1748, granted a presentation in favour of the Rev. Robert Dick, one of the most pious and learned ministers ever belonging to the church of Scotland, the kin; presenting at the same time the Rev. James Gray. The people, unjustly prejudiced against the former presentee, tumultuously opposed his induction, for which several of them were tried. The civil question of right was at that time brought before the Court of Session, and decided in favour of the Laird of Lee; but, upon an appeal to the House of Lords, this decision was reversed, and the Crown has since exercised the patronage.

The parish church is situated in the middle of the town, and is in so far convenient for the large majority of the population, although a few families residing at the extremities of the parish may be between four and five miles distant from it. It was built in 1774. For many years back it had been in a very dilapidated state. During last autumn, however, it underwent considerable repairs, by which it has been greatly improved. *

Elegant silver communion cups were anciently presented to the church by the Laird of Lee. Lady Ross Baillie likewise presented the church with a handsome baptismal bason, a clock, and a pair of stoves, and in other ways also contributed to its comfort.

By the original contract, the church should have been seated to accommodate 2300 persons. But such a number would scarcely find room. There are about 100 free sittings, and these might easily be increased, if necessary, by benches along the passages.

The manse was built in 1757. It received repairs and an addition in 1811, and is now in a tolerably comfortable state.

The glebe is four acres in extent, and is worth about L. 16 per annum. The amount of the stipend is 19 chalders, half barley, half meal, with L.20 for communion elements.

There is no chapel of case attached to the Established church, although one is much needed, especially at New Lanark.

The dissenters have three places of worship in the town,—one Relief, the others belonging to the Burghers. One of the dissenting clergymen is promised L. 120, another L.100, and the third L. 60 per annum.

As many families and persons frequent the Established church as can procure seats; and here and at the Relief Chapel divine service is well attended. The average number of communicants at the Established church is 1100.

Religious Societies.—There is a Bible society and a ladies' Bible association in the parish. Previously to 1827, they were accustomed to send their funds to the British and Foreign Bible Society. But since that period they have deemed it more proper to employ them otherwise; and to different institutions and societies for the spread of the gospel, they have contributed the following sums:- In 1827, L.100; in 1828, L.70; in 1829, L.80; in 1830, L.40; in 1831, L.20; in 1832, L20.

There is likewise a missionary society; but neither this nor any other institution of the kind is now prospering as it ought, and what they have been able to effect has been in consequence of handsome legacies left them by a benevolent lady. Formerly, the private subscriptions and collections at the church door for religious and charitable purposes were wont to be liberal, but of late years they have unhappily very much decreased.

Education.—The number of schools in the parish is 12, none of which is parochial. One is endowed, and one is supported by a society.

The grammar-school once enjoyed high celebrity as a seminary of education. The rector's salary amounts to L.40; that of the assistant is L. 20. The wages are 4s. per quarter for Latin; and 2s. 6d. for English, writing and arithmetic Is. more. Connected with this school there are twenty-eight bursaries; nine of them were endowed in 1648 by Mr John Carmichael, commissary of Lanark, who mortgaged the lands of Batiesmains for the purpose. The rest were endowed by one of the Earls of Hyndford, by the family of Mauldslie, and by a former chamberlain of the name of Thomson. The patronage of these bursaries is in the hands of the magistrates. They are of different value, and, after the payment of the school fees, may leave about L. 2 or L. 3 over, for the support of each of the boys who enjoy them. This school possesses a library, which we have already noticed as having been left to it by Dr William Smellie; but, as the books are principally medical, it is of little use.

Some years ago a benevolent lady of the name of Wilson endowed a free school in the town of Lanark for the instruction of fifty poor children. The sum mortgaged was L. 1200.

The subscription school has long been well managed, and is a blessing to the place.

The teachers of the Nemphlar and Cartlane schools have each an allowance of L. 5 yearly from the heritors. At New Lanark there is a day-school, frequented by about 500 children, who receive instruction in the ordinary branches, more suitable to their rank of life than the ornamental accomplishments to which, under a former management, an exclusive attention had been paid.

In general, the people are alive to the benefits of education. There is no part of the parish so distant as to be out of the reach of a school, and no additional schools are required.

Libraries.—There is a subscription library on a small scale, which is tolerably flourishing. There are also two circulating libraries in the town. Several efforts have been made to set a weekly periodical agoing, but hitherto without success. A reading-room was attempted some years ago, but failed.Benevolent Societies.—There is at .Lanark a brotherly society, to which about 100 persons subscribe. Its object is the relief of members when in distress, and at the present moment five are receiving assistance from it. It would probably have declined like other institutions of the kind in this place, but the funds were laid out in the purchase of three roods of land in the vicinity of the town, which is advantageously feued, and to this it owes its continuance. There were once many more such societies; but two or three years ago a groundless alarm, that Government meant to seize upon their funds, produced their immediate dissolution.

At New Lanark, a sick society for the same benevolent object is in existence. The maximum contribution is 3d. weekly; rate of aliment when sick, 7s. 6d.; when recovering, 5s.; superannuated, 3s. Besides these there are 3 funeral societies in the parish, 1 in Lanark, and 2 in New Lanark. On the death of a member or his wife, the family receives L. 4, and L. 2 on the death of a child. The sum is gathered as occasion requires, the societies accumulating no funds.

There is a society in Lanark for the relief of sick, aged, and indigent females. It is supported by subscriptions, &c. amounting to about L. 40 annually, and has proved of signal benefit, in distributing pecuniary relief, coals, and clothing. This society is well conducted, and the objects carefully selected by the respectable females of Lanark.

Savings Bank.—In 1815, a savings bank was instituted, in which, for each of the last three years, there has been invested about L. 200; withdrawn L. 342. The deposits are all made by the working-classes, chiefly maid-servants. There is a sum amounting to L. 1400 in the bank belonging to about 410 depositors.

Poor and Parochial Funds.—The number of the poor amounts in the in-parish to 71, in the out-parish to 36. In virtue of a mutual agreement made seventy-five years ago between the two classes of heritors, each to support their own poor, the management of the former is in the hands of the kirk-session and in-town heritors, while that of the latter is in the hands of the kirk-session and outheritors. Paupers in the burgh are paid from Is. to 10s. per month, according to circumstances; country paupers on an average, 5s. per month.

The contributions at the church door now amount annually to no more than L. 37. Of this, L. 8 are, by agreement, paid to the landward heritors for the support of their poor. What remains after that and the other drawbacks, together with an annual assessment of L. 230, goes to maintain the poor of the in-parish; besides L. 70, the annual rent. of the hospital lands, is distributed by the magistrates among the poor of the burgh, and L. 40 by the corporation of shoemakers to the poor belonging to them.

The landward paupers are maintained by the L. 8 received out of the church collections, and an assessment. amounting to L. 100 annually, which has been levied for a period of seventy-five years, without undergoing any considerable increase.

Mrs Wilson mortified a sum which yields about L. 32 per annum, for the aid of indigent persons not upon the poor's roll; and for the same class of persons, the late Mr Howison of Hyndford, left L. 700, which is to be invested in land, and the produce annually distributed. Formerly it was considered disgraceful to receive parochial relief, but for some years past, this honourable feeling has been gradually wearing away.

Jail.—There is a jail in the town, under the government of the magistrates. But it has, for a long course of years, been in so insecure a condition, that none have staid in it but such as were prisoners de bonne volonte. An act of Parliament, however, has been obtained for the erection of County Buildings at Lanark, including a Prison for the Upper Ward; and the foundation stone was laid on 21st March 1834.

Fairs.—Seven fairs are held at Lanark every year. The one on the last Wednesday of May, old style, is for black cattle; that on the last Wednesday of July for lambs and horses; and the one in October, on the Friday after the Falkirk tryst, is for horses and black-cattle.

Inns.—There are 53 persons licensed to keep inns in the parish. Of these, however, 14 are merely spirit-dealers, and do not sell any kind of liquors but in the way of retail over the counter. The Clydesdale Hotel in this town is one of the handsomest and best kept inns in Scotland. A few years ago, the shareholders expended L. 2400 in adding to it an elegant assembly room.

Fuel.—Fuel is excellent and cheap. Coal is brought from the adjoining parishes, some of it six, and the rest nine miles distance, and is laid down in the town at an expense of from 4d to 4½d per cwt. A few peats are also cast in the adjoining moor.

April 1834.