58 Transactions. 



" better as it," for " better than it." The word of is used for 

 some, e.g., " there were o' them," for " there were some." 



There is a marked difference in the pronunciation of 

 vowel sounds, and the transposition of letters in Dumfries- 

 shire from Renfrewshire, e.g. 

 Dumfriesshire hyame. Renfrewshire hame. 



PooK Laws in Dumfriesshike in 1750. 

 By W. R. M'DiARMiD. 



The existence of a portion of the population, either unable 

 or unwilling to work for their living, the latter with a con- 

 stant tendency to form part of the class not quite unwilling 

 to work, but working by taking the fruits of the industry of 

 others, has been a constant difficulty in almost every nation, 

 and especially in old and densely peopled countries. Even 

 in early times when the population of Scotland was sparse, 

 vagrancy became a serious evil, of which we have a vivid 

 description from the pen of Fletcher of Saltoun. In 1424 

 the Scottish Parliament passed an Act prohibiting all beg- 

 ging without a badge under the penalties of burning on the 

 cheek and banishment, and in 1535 these penalties were 

 extended to all who begged beyond the bounds of the parish 

 of their birth : a repetition of these offences involved the 

 extreme penalty of the law. About the end of the 16th 

 century the execution of these acts was entrusted to the 



