Transactions. 49 



Academy of Sciences, 1880-1881 ; Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the 

 Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. i., 

 Session 1881-1882 ; Copy of Transactions of the Perthshire Society 

 of Natural Science, 1882. 



Exhibits. — A Cormorant, by Mr Rutherford, shot by him at 

 Jardington; Three Copies of the Psalter, dated 1580, 1623, and 

 1642, by Miss Gregan ; Eleven splendid cases of Beetles shewn 

 and described by Dr Sharpe. 



The Old Land Taxes. — A paper was read by Mr M'Dowall on 

 "Old Land Taxes of Scotland, with special reference to the 

 old Kirkcudbrightshire Valuation Roll of 1682." He gave 

 a brief sketch of tlie condition of this country in early pre-historic 

 times, when it was occupied only by wandering tribes who had 

 little idea of the value of property in land. At that primitive 

 period the wandering tribes had scarcely any more connection with 

 the soil than with the air which they breathed or the water which 

 they drank. A field of grass, as Lord Kames says, might be 

 looked upon as belonging to a horde or clan while they really 

 occupied it, but so soon as they struck their tents for pastures new 

 they had no longer any claim to the deserted field. He then pro- 

 ceeded to notice how in course of years this state of matters under- 

 went a thorough change. When William Duke of Normandy 

 conquered England, the entire soil of South Britain lay at his dis- 

 posal. Reserving the lion's share for himself, he i-e warded his 

 chiefs with large estates, and eventually what is called the feudal 

 system was set up by him, according to which he was recognised 

 as landlord-general over the whole kingdom, and his princes and 

 other nobles as Crown vassals, who, in virtue of the estates 

 assigned to them, were bound to render him military service, and 

 eventually also to bear a large proportion of the general expenses 

 of the government. A hundred years at least before Scotland had 

 had any experience of a land-tax the barons and the yeomen of 

 England had grown familiar with the impost, which amounted in 

 their case at one time to about one-half of the whole national 

 revenue. This very simple mode of making the land support the 

 State was seriously interfered with by a practice introduced by 

 Richard I. of selling out to the great barons the estates that they 

 had hitherto held as tenants in name of the nation from the king. 

 Thus it came to pass that the burdens on land were lightened and 

 taxation of another kind had to be resorted to, falling chiefly on 



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