A Centurv's Changes. 53 



made up by £33 of voluntary subscriptions and .£20 in which 

 " the heritors voluntarily assessed themselves." This illustrates 

 the sort of times the labouring population of the parish was 

 passing through at the beginning of the century. There 

 were many dear years then, caused by bad seasons and the 

 war ; it would have been iiard to find a cheap year. In 1800 

 outs were 39s 6d per quarter ; in 1809, 36s 9d, falling for some 

 reason in 1802 to 20s 9d, but rising again in 1808 to 33s 8d, and 

 in 1812 to the enormous figure of 44s Id, to be succeeded by 

 39s 3d in 1813. These figures are taken from the Dumfries and 

 Gallon-ay Htrald of 1838. And at this time, according to the "Old 

 Statistical Account," labourers in the parish were receiving from 

 Is to Is 4d per day in summer and harvest, and lOd in winter. 

 The yearly wage of men ran from £7 to £8, and that of women 

 from £3 to £4. In his account book for the year 1801 the laird 

 of Shaw enters — "To my Mother to pay the 2 house servants' 

 wages £3." The regular poor, as distinguished from the 

 occasional, what would now be called paupers, were likewise 

 assisted by the heritors and by donations of money from the 

 Kirk-session ; and the principal mode of assistance seems to have 

 been grants of oatmeal. A widow left with a family, t.g., gets 

 50 stones of oatmeal, which, with an occasional donation from 

 the session and the charity of her neighbours, would form her 

 living ; a male pauper, an imbecile, is boarded out for 50 stones 

 oatmeal, with a small addition of money for clothing and the 

 like. The money for these donations was obtained by the Kirk- 

 session from the Sunday collections, charges for proclamations, 

 for regular marriages of persons in their own houses, the use of 

 the mortcloth, baptism, and from fines for irregular marriages 

 and other delinquencies. In 1762 there is the following entry 

 in the Session book : — " Received from Robert Manderson in 

 Balstack on account of Mr Barclay's (the minister) coming home 

 to marry him as per act of Kirk Session to be paid by every 

 couple married in their own houses 2s." In September 1760 a 

 pair of people, A. B. and C. D., "appeared before the congregation 

 for their irregular marriage and paid their fine, 10s." In a 

 similar case, presumably that of poor persons, the sum is modified 

 to 3s 4d. Another source of revenue whicli the Session had was 

 as money-lenders, employing in this capacity the funds that had 

 accumulated in the poor's box. As an illustration . — " Feb. 21, 

 1764. The which day the Session of Hutton lent to Mr Thomas 



