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PREFACE
In the latter half of the
twelfth century, if not, as is most probable, at a still earlier period,
there existed in Scotland burghs, holding of the Crown, possessing a
structure and constitution not essentially different from those of a
much later date, and enjoying various privileges and immunities, of
which a monopoly of trade and commerce was one of the earliest, and not
the least important.
In their general constitution, as in the minuter details of their
internal economy, these Burghs possessed many features of resemblance to
the English Burghs of the same, and of an earlier date. But, in England,
the Burghs do not appear ever to have entered into any confederation for
mutual advice and support. In Scotland, on the contrary, they seem to
have entered at an early period into combinations for these purposes.
One of these associations, known as the Hanse, was established to the
North of the Grampians, a century before the great Hanseatic
Confederation of the Baltic came into existence. Another, as old almost
as the original constitution of Burghs, existed in the South, and was
presided over by the Great Chamberlain of the kingdom.1 This association
included at first only Edinburgh, Stirling, Berwick, and Boxburgh, and
from these Burghs in their Court or Parliament, is supposed to have
emanated the code-of Scottish burgal regulations, known as the Leges
Quatuor Burgorum. But in 1368, when Berwick and Roxburgh had fallen into
the hands of the English, an Act of a Parliament of King David II.,1
held at Perth in that year, appointed Lanark and Linlithgow to take
their place as two of the Four Burghs. At that time the Four Burghs
appear to have met annually in Haddington for the purpose of disposing
of Appeals from judgments of the great Chamberlain in his Air or
Circuit. In 1405, however, they are found assembled in Stirling, at
which place they passed an Act extending their constitution, by
ordaining two or three sufficient burgesses of each Royal Burgh on the
south side of the water of Spey, having sufficient commission, to
compear yearly at their Convention, wheresoever held, to treat, ordain
and determine upon all things concerning the utility of the common weal
of all the Kings Burghs, their liberties and Court.2 Some years later,
Edinburgh was the place of the annual meeting of the Burghs, and King
James I, who reigned from 1406 till 1437, ordained, with consent of the
three Estates of his realm, that it should continue thenceforward to be
so. This ordinance was confirmed by King James II., who, by Letters
Patent under the Great Seal, dated 5th November 1454, commanded his
Great Chamberlain and his deputes to cause the Court of the Parliament
of the Four Burghs to be held at Edinburgh yearly, in manner used and
wont; calling together and summoning to compear thereat, the
commissioners of the four principal Burghs, to wit, Edinburgh, Stirling,
Linlithgow, and Lanark, with the attendants or assessors of the said
Court.
So, in all probability, matters remained till the reign of King James I
IL, when it was enacted by the Parliament held at Edinburgh in 1487,
“that zerely in tyme tocum certane commissaris of all burrowis baith
south and north convene and gadre togiddir, anis in ilk zere in the
burgh of Inuerkethin on the morne eftir sanct James’ day ” [25th July]
.... and quhat brugh that comperis not the said day, be thair
commiaaaris to pay to the costis of the commissaris five It., and zerely
to haue our Souerane lordis lettrez to distrenze thairfor and for the
inbringing of the samyn.
Notwithstanding this enactment, the Burghs still held meetings in
Edinburgh, and it seems that even so late as 1500/ these assemblies
retained the designation of “ the Parliament of the Four Burghs/* and
continued to be presided over by the Lnrd Chamberlain. How long that
high officer of State attended these assemblies, or bow long they
retained the title of the “ Court or Parliament of the Four Burghs,”
does not appear, but a minute in 1529, and all the minutes subsequent to
that date, refer to the acts set forth in them as having been passed by
the commissioners of the Burghs alone, and make no mention of the Lord
Chamberlain.2 Several of these Conventions, it may be remarked, seem to
have been held in obedience to royal letters issued to the Burghs,
requiring them to send commissioners to a particular town, at a
specified time, to treat of the several matters enumerated in the
letters.8 In other cases the commissioners of some of the Burghs fixed
the time and place of the annual meetings, and missives were thereupon
directed to all the Burghs requiring them to send up their commissioners
to the Convention so fixed.4 As regards the time and place of their
meetings, the Burghs seem to have acted without any reference to the
statute of 1487, c. 17.
No record of any meeting in Inverkeithing is now extant, and the
practice of holding annual Conventions there, if such a practice ever
existed, seems to have been speedily discontinued ; for an act of
Convention, held at Edinburgh, on 4th April 1552, referring to the old
statute merely as a matter of understanding, appointed the whole Burghs
of the realm, by their provosts or commissioners, to convene annually,
on the last day of July, in such place as might be appointed.5 This
resolution, however, seems to have been very imperfectly observed,
notwithstanding that, in 1555, the fine to be exacted from Burghs who
did not appear by their commissioners was raised by an act of Convention
to £10.6 The irregularity in the meetings of Convention arose in a great
measure no doubt from the unsettled state of the times, but sometimes
also, it appears, from the carelessness of the Burgh in which the
Convention was appointed to meet, who neglected to dispatch the missives
to the other Burghs, requiring their attendance at the time appointed.
With reference to St. Andrews, which appears as a defaulter in this
respect, an appointment to hold a Convention there, in January 1570, is
accompanied with the certification that, M gif thai failze thar sail
nocht be ony conventioun appoyntit to be in thair toun at ony tyme
heirefter, becaus thair was syndrie conventionis appoyntit to be in the
said toun abefoir, and nocht keipit in thair defalt. In 1578 the Burghs
were authorized by an act of a Parliament of King James VI. held at
Stirling,
“to convene four tymes in the zeir for sic materia as concernis thair
estait And that in quhat burgh it salbe thocht expedient to the maist
pairt of the saidis burrowis; Providing alwayis for eschewing of
tumultis that thair be present at the saidis conventionis for euerie
burgh in nowmer ane except the toun of Edinburgh to haif ane ma nor the
vtheris burrowis.”
It will be observed, however, that as previous to this act the Burghs
sometimes held two or more meetings in the course of a year, whenever
they chose to appoint, so after it was passed, they did not exercise the
power of convening four times a year. They seem just to have adhered to
their old custom of meeting at such times and places as best served
their purpose,—fixing their conventions frequently with reference to the
meetings of Parliament, of which the representatives of the Burghs
formed a constituent part.8 But no year between 1577 and 16314 passed
over without Conventions being held. The practice of the Burghs’ fixing
the time and place of their meetings to suit their own convenience is
referred to, and sanctioned, in the preamble of the Act of 1581, c. 26,
which ratified and approved the former Acts of Parliament, relative to
the Convention of Burghs,
"Forsamekill,” it says, “ as it wes found necessar to oure Souerane
lord, and his hines predicessouris, that the commissionaris of burrowis
convene at sic tymes as they suld think guid, in quhat burgh they thocht
maist expedient with full commission :......Thairfoir,” it proceeds, “
oure Souerane lord with aduise of his thre Estatis of this present
Parliament Ratifeis and apprevis the saidis actis. And for bettir
obseruatioun of the saidis conventionis be sic burrowis as hes
heirtofoir not send thair commissioneris at onie tyme thairto, hes
statute and ordanit that in tyme coming, quhen onie conventionis of
burrowis is appointit to the maist pairt of the saidis burrowis, or be
the burgh of Edinburgh, and onie sex or aucht of the rest, The burgh
warnit thairto be onie missiue bill of the provest and bailzeis of the
burgh, quhair the said conventioun is to be haldin, or vther wayis
lawfullie cytat thairto, and not compeirand be thair commissioner
sufficientlie instruct, sail pay to the chargeis of the burghis that
sail convene the sowme of twentie pundis. And ordanis the Lordis of
counsel! and sessioun, to grant and direct letteris of hornyng or
poinding aganis the burrowis absent, fra the same conventioun, and
adiudget be the remanent burrowis, to haue incurrit the said pane and
unlaw, and this at the instance of the burgh of Edinburgh without
farther proces and calling of pairtie thairto. The saidis Lordis seand
the act autentikle subscrivit be the clerk of that convention, that thai
ar absent and convict as said is.”
It is to be observed, however, that previous to the passing of this act
an act of Convention, held at Stirling in 1579,2 had increased the
penalty on Burghs who failed to attend to £20, and this fine was imposed
on absentees from the following Convention at Aberdeen in 1580.
In conformity with the act 1581, c. 26, the Burghs met from time to time
at such places as the majority were pleased to appoint. But in 15 86, an
act of Convention was passed whereby, to secure unanimity on the part of
the Burghs, they were appointed to meet previous to the assembling of
national conventions and parliaments, and to discuss by themselves
separately such business as might be set down for consideration thereat.
The Act 1581 c. 26 is still in observance, except in so far as it
directs letters of horning to pass at the instance of the burgh of
Edinburgh. After a time, the Clerk, Agent, or Collector -of the
Convention of Burghs was appointed to recover the penalties incurred by
absentees and in 1607, according to Sir George Mackenzie, an Act of
Parliament allowed execution to pass at the instance of the Agent, in
whose name the letters are now raised.
Sir George Mackenzie states that in his day the Burghs met in July at
Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Stirling. But if that statement
was intended to mean either that the Burghs met in these towns in
rotation, or that they assembled in those towns only, it was not
supported by the actual practice. AU the general and particular
Conventions between July 1676 and February 1692, both inclusive, were
held in Edinburgh; the general Conventions in 1657 and 1675 were held in
Glasgow; the general Convention in 1656 was held in Haddington; that in
1650 was held in Cupar; that in 1649 in Queensferry; that in 1630 in
Jedburgh; that in 1629 in Culross; that in 1627 in Ayr, and that in 1626
in Dunbar. Of the fifty-one general and particular Conventions recorded
between 1625 and 1656, both inclusive, three general and thirty-nine
particular Conventions were held in Edinburgh, one general Convention
was held in Glasgow, and one in Perth, the remainder being held as above
stated. Of the forty-two general and particular Conventions recorded
between 1657 and 1675, both inclusive, twelve general, and twenty-four
particular Conventions were held in Edinburgh, two general Conventions
were held in Glasgow, and one in each of, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and
Stirling. With the exception of the general Conventions in July 1692,
and in 1697, 1698, 1703, and 1704, which were held respectively in
Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, and twice successively in Glasgow, all the
other Conventions and meetings of Committees of Convention between 1692
and 1704, were held in Edinburgh. Since 1704 the meetings have been
invariably held in Edinburgh. Propositions to revert to the old custom
have been submitted to the Convention on two or three occasions, but
have never been received with any favour.
What were the precise functions of the Court or Parliament of the Four
Burghs cannot now be fully ascertained; but it is obvious that it
decided questions involving the usages of Burghs, and the rights and
privileges of burgesses, and even legislated in regard to such matters
as the principles of moveable succession. Accordingly, in a Parliament
held at Newcastle by King Edward I. in 129 2,1 it was ordered on the
motion of the parties in a private suit depending on the law and
practice of the Burghs of Scotland, that the Four Burghs should be
consulted. This having been done, judgment was pronounced in conformity
with their record and verdict. Again, in 12 ^5,2 the burgesses of these
burghs, assembled at Holy rood Abbey, are found issuing an ordinance as
to the division of moveables among heirs and other children. It also
appears from the Act of the Parliament of King David II., in 1368, that
the Four Burghs were in use to determine appeals from the judgment of
the great Chamberlain of the kingdom. At that time, as has been said,
both Berwick and Roxburgh were in the hands of the English, and are
referred to in the Act as towns “ quae sunt et esse debent duo de
quatuor burgis qui habent, ex antiquo, curiam facere camerarii semel in
anno apud Hadington, super judiciis, si quae forent, coram ipso in
itineribus suis ubicunque contradicta,” &c. At a somewhat later period
these Burghs are found exercising still more important functions. The
decree of the Court of Four Burghs held at Stirling in 1405, to which
allusion has already been made as having extended its own constitution,
also enacted a series of regulations of a general character, affecting
the rights, privileges, and duties of the burgesses. These functions, or
functions scarcely less important, appear to have been recognised and
indirectly sanctioned by the Crown somewhat later; for King James II.,
in his Charter to the Burgh of Edinburgh in 1454, already referred to,
defines the duties of the Parliament of the four principal Burghs of
Edinburgh, Stirling, Linlithgow, and Lanark to be
“Ad subeundum ordinandum et finaliter determinandum de et super judiciis
Burgorum vniuersalem regni nostri curiis datis siue contradictis ac
eciam mensuram vine ferlote siue bolle lagine et petre more solito
ligiis et communibus nostris dandum liberandum et recipiendum: Necnon
omnia alia et singula facienda et exercenda qui in huiusmodo curia
Parliament! secundum leges statuta et Burgorum consuetudines sunt
tractanda subeunda et finaliter determinanda.”
And the Act 1487 c. 17 empowered the whole Burghs, at their annual
Convention in Inverkeithing,
“To commoun and trete apoun the welefare of merchandes, the gude rewle
and statutis for the commoun profit of borrowis, and to provide for
remede apoun the scaith and injuria sustenet within burrowis.”
In ratifying the whole privileges of the Burghs, and empowering them to
convene four times in the year, in whatsoever burgh the majority might
determine, the Act 1578 c. 11 declared the object of their Convention to
be simply “for sic materis as concerns thair estait” The Act 1581 c. 26
again, in still farther enlarging their powers as to meeting “ at sic
times as they suld think guid, in qubat Burgh they thocht maist
expedient,” defined the object of their meetings to be
“To treat vpoun the weilfair of merchandis, merchandice, guide rewle,
and statutis for the commoun profit of burrowis, as at mair length is
contenit in the actis of parliament maid thairanent, and anent the
privelege of burrowis.”
But, after all, the Records of the Convention themselves afford the only
satisfactory materials for ascertaining what were the subjects dealt
with by the old burgal parliament of Scotland, and what were the nature
and extent of its action. Upon that subject it is not intended to enter
here. But a very cursory inspection of the present volume, will show
that scarcely anything affecting the Burghs of Scotland, in their
internal administration, or in their commercial relations at home and
abroad, escaped the cognizance of the Convention. It defined the rights,
privileges, and duties of Burghs; it regulated the merchandise,
manufactures, and shipping of the country; it exercised control over the
Scottish merchants in France, Flanders, and other countries in Europe,
with which from time to time commercial relations existed; it sent
commissioners to foreign powers, and to great commercial communities,
entered into treaties with them, and established the staple trade of
Scotland wherever this could be most advantageously done; it claimed the
right, independently of the Crown, to nominate the Conservator, and it
certainly did regulate his emoluments, and control his conduct; it
sometimes defrayed, and sometimes contributed towards, the expenses of
ambassadors from the Scottish Court to that of France and other foreign
powers in matters affecting the Burghs and the common weal; it allocated
among the whole Burghs of the kingdom their proportions of all extents
and taxes granted by the three Estates of the realm; it adjudicated on
the claims of Burghs to be admitted to the privileges of free Burghs,
and to be added to its roll; it took cognizance of weights and measures;
it submitted propositions to parliament in regard to all matters
affecting the interests of the country, and influenced to an
incalculable extent the national legislation, In a word, it formed a
complete and powerful organization for the protection of burgal rights
and privileges, and for the promotion of whatever the Burghs conceived
to be for their own interest and that of the country generally. Its
records thus contain much that throws light on every department of
Scottish history, and their publication will, it is believed, facilitate
the labours of the future historian.
In the early period of the Convention as has already been remarked, the
Burghs used to meet from time to time in various towns. As a rule, the
Provost of the Burgh in which the Convention was held presided over its
meetings, and the Town Clerk acted as its Clerk, and wrote and
appar-entlyretained itsminutes. Theinconvenience of this arrangement as
regarded the records induced the Burghs, in their Convention at Aberdeen
in July 1580, to pass an act whereby, “finding thame greitlie preiugit
be that inlaik of ane general! buke quhilk suldcontenethe haill lawis
and constitution of burrowis,” they unanimously empowered the Burgh of
Edinburgh to require all the Burghs in which Conventions had been held,
to send, previous to the 1st of September thereafter, and under a
penalty of £30, extracts of the whole laws, acts, and constitutions made
at these Conventions, in order that these extracts might be engrossed in
a general book to be made for the purpose. Edinburgh was further
required to produce the book, with all the extracts engrossed therein,
at the next general Convention, and also to require all the Burghs to
send their Commissioners “maist ancient and wysest, fullie instructed,
to the said next Conuention, for approbation ratification and
confirmation of the acts and constitutions used and registrat in the
general buke foirsaid.” The subject was again under consideration at the
next general Convention in Edinburgh on 18th April 1581, when the former
act was renewed, and every Burgh, “but speciallie Lynlythqu,” was
ordained to search out the acts of the Conventions held within it, and
to send them to Edinburgh with expedition, in order to their being
engrossed by John Guthrie. The minute of this Convention also bears that
Dundee and Cupar exhibited “sic acts as thai declarit was in thair
burchis, and nocht contenit in the buik of Edinburgh and delyuerit thame
to the said Ihon and thairvpoun askit instrumentis.,,2 At the following
general Convention in Perth, held in June 1582, John Guthrie presented
the book, prepared in terms of the previous acts of Convention,' when it
was unanimously resolved that it should be kept, during the pleasure of
the Burghs, by Edinburgh, the commissioners of which should bring it to
every Convention wheresoever held. And because the want of the book had
in times past been the cause of great ignorance and confusion among the
most part of the whole burghs, and to the effect that they might be
better informed as to the laws and constitutions made for the welfare of
their estate in years bygone, Edinburgh or its Clerk, was directed to
make and deliver to every Burgh wishing it, a book of the same size as
the general book containing the whole laws and constitutions of Burghs
mentioned therein up to that time, at a cost of ten merks for each
volume.1 John Guthrie was thereafter appointed common Clerk of the
Convention and keeper of the general book2 It is believed that the
office has since been held by the Town Clerks of Edinburgh, under an
obligation to attend the Convention wherever it was held, and to produce
the Records of the body.
There is every reason to believe that the first volume of the MS.
Records of the Convention is that prepared by John Guthrie in conformity
with the acts of 1580 and 1581, and probably it contained all the
minutes which were furnished to him, but it obviously does not contain
the minutes of all the Conventions which had been held. Reference, for
example, is made in pp. 10, 13, to acts of a Convention held at Perth in
August 1555, but the Record contains no such minute. A Convention was
also appointed to be held in Stirling on 31st July 1553, but the next
minute is that of a Convention in Edinburgh on 29th May 1555.4
Conventions were ordered to be held in St. Andrews on 30th June 1556 and
on Trinity Sunday 1567, or the next lawful day thereafter,6 but no
minute of either meeting exists in the Records. It is probable, however,
that neither was held owing to the negligence of the Provost and Bailies
already alluded to. It will also be observed that there are no minutes
of any Convention at Linlithgow in the Records previous to 1581, though
it appears from the act of the Convention in April of that year that
Conventions had been held in that Burgh, the minutes of which were then
specially called for.
In these circumstances, and while the present volume was passing through
the press, it was considered probable that minutes or other documents
connected with the Convention, of an earlier date than any of its own
records, might be discovered in the Registers of other Burghs. A minute
examination was accordingly made not only of the Council Records of
Edinburgh in the Archives of the city, but also of a MS. volume in the
Advocates’ Library containing extracts made in 1570 by Alexander Guthrie
Town-Clerk, from older Records not now extant, and among these were
found an Act of the Court of the Parliament of four Burghs at Edinburgh
in November 1500, minutes of Conventions held at Edinburgh in March
1533, Dec. 1539, April 1541, Feb. and March 1563, March 1583, and Jan.
1586, and Extent Rolls of the Burghs in 1535, 1545,? 1550, 1556, and
1557.
Communications were afterwards addressed to the Town-Clerks of Perth,
Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, St Andrews, Haddington, Linlithgow, and
Inverkeithing, asking them to assist in making the present publication
as perfect as possible, by causing a careful search to be instituted in
the Archives of these burghs, and by allowing copies to be taken of any
important documents or minutes connected with the Convention prior to
1600 which might be found in them. These communications were courteously
received, but in the case of Aberdeen alone has the result been the
discovery of any documents available for the present purpose. From Perth
the reply was that the Burgh records do not go farther back than 1597;
that there is no entry in the Council records relative to the Convention
prior to 1600; and that if any minutes of Convention are extant they
must be in some other volume unknown to the Clerk. In Dundee the records
are in a state which made it a work of labour on the part of Mr. Kerr to
afford the following information which, however, is of so much interest
as to justify its quotation.
“We have a volume of Acts of the Head Courts of the Burgh from 1554 to
1582, and Minutes of the Council from 24th September 1561 to 21st
January 1568. Then we have a volume of Minutes of the Council from 7th
March 1587-8 to 25th January 1603, and thence downwards, except that
there is a blank from 1653 to 1663,—a volume being astray.
“We have an early volume of Laws and Statutes of the Burgh enacted at
the Head Courts from 5th October 1550 to 30th September 1622.
“Earlier than these dates there are various minutes of the Town Council
to be found in the Register of Decrees, &c., of the Burgh Court, which
begun in 1520, and seems to contain Acts of the Head Courts and very
likely much curious matter.”
No minute book of the Town Council of St. Andrews exists, so far as is
known, prior to 1656. The minute books of the Town Council of Inver-keithing
previous to 1689 are all lost. There are older sasine records, and the
guildry minute book goes back to 1580, but no trace can be found in them
of any meeting of Convention as having been held in the burgh. It was
stated, however, that the house used to be pointed out where the early
meetings of Convention were held. The ancient records of Haddington2 and
Linlithgow remain to be examined, and it is believed that the Councils
of these Burghs will afford every facility for having this done. Mr.
Angus forwarded excerpts from the Index of the Council Records of
Aberdeen from 1491 to 1783, in so far as reference is therein made to
the Convention; and he afterwards most kindly caused the requisite
extracts to be made from the valuable registers in his custody,—the
oldest and most complete of any burgal records in Scotland. He has thus
not only supplied the Minutes of a Convention held at Edinburgh in April
1529, but has shown that commissioners were elected by the Burgh of
Aberdeen to attend Conventions in 1491, 1497, 1530, and 1555, no minutes
of which, however, have as yet been discovered. Other extracts from the
Aberdeen registers have also been given to illustrate the mode in which
the election of commissioners to the Convention of Burghs was made at an
early period.
Probably a minuter search than most of the Town Clerks, with their
multifarious official and professional engagements, can find time to
make among the old records of the more ancient Burghs of Scotland, might
bring to light many documents that would supplement in a very
interesting way the defective early records of the Convention. In such
records most valuable materials for local and national history are to be
found; and it is earnestly to be hoped that the various Town Councils
and other corporate bodies in Scotland may take means to have their
records put into such a form, and so preserved, as to be really
accessible. On the representation of the Town Clerk of Dundee, following
on the communication above alluded to, the authorities there have had
their attention directed to the matter. The subject was earnestly
pressed on the consideration of the representatives of the Burghs
present at the last Convention, and was then warmly received; and it is
to be hoped that subsequent volumes of the Convention Records may afford
pleasing evidence that it has not been lost sight of.
In explanation of the arrangement of the present volume, it may be
stated that the first 500 pages contain the proper records of the
Convention, as these are engrossed in its Minute Books from 1552 till
1597. The portion of the book extending from page 500 to page 533
contains supplementary extracts from other records of minutes of
Conventions, extent rolls, and minutes of election of Commissioners to
attend Conventions—all of them of equal authority with the earlier
records of Convention. The remaining portion of the book, extending from
page 535 to page 562, contains copies or abstracts of various documents
relating to the affairs of the Burghs, —the sources from which they have
been obtained being in every case specified.
To make the volume more serviceable, a chronological list of Conventions
has been prepared, with references to the documents in which the
Conventions are alluded to. Whether some of the Conventions to which
Commissioners were elected actually took place cannot be assumed, but it
is to be hoped that entries in the records of other Burghs may be
discovered and communicated which will throw light on this subject. A
table of contents arranged in chronological order has also been added.
Considerable progress had been made in the preparation of an index of
matters, to be appended to this volume; but the last Convention having
authorised the publication of another volume similar to the present, it
has been considered expedient to make the general index applicable to
the entire work.
Mr. Thomas Thomson, W.S., F.S. A. Scot., has contributed to the
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland an interesting “
Description of the oldest Council Books and other Records of the Town of
Haddington, with copious Extracts ” [Vol. II. 384], and from that paper
it appears tliat the two earliest volumes containing Acts of the Town
Council and Decrees pronounced in the Burgh Court, and Deeds of
Mortification and Bequest to the Church, extend, the first from 6th
March 1423 to 23d June 1463, and the second from June 1530 to 30th April
1555. The “Counsale Books or Acts and Statutes of the Counsale,” so far
as described by him, consist of three volumes, the first extending from
13th December 1554 to 3d March 1580, the second from 13th October 1581
to November 1602, and the third from 14th January 1603 till 24th June
1616. None of the extracts given in this paper, however, relate to the
meetings or affairs of the Convention.
Considerable progress had been made in the preparation of an index of
matters, to be appended to this volume; but the last Convention having
authorised the publication of another volume similar to the present, it
has been considered expedient to make the general index applicable to
the entire work.
J. D. MARWICK.
10 Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh, 15th May, 1866.
Records of the Covention of the
Royal Burghs of Scotland
With extracts from other records relating to the affairs of the Burghs
of Scotland 1295—1597.
Records of the Covention of the
Royal Burghs of Scotland 1597-1614
With extracts from other records relating to the affairs of the Burghs
of Scotland 1345-1614.
Records of the Covention of the Royal
Burghs of Scotland 1738-59
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