60 Transactions. 



decided to provide for the home poor as well as meet the 

 case of vagrants. The provisions adopted in Berwick were 

 that every parish should maintain its own native poor by 

 means of an assessment, the management of which was 

 entrusted to the parish minister, and that all begging should 

 be prohibited : that all vagrants should be ordered to depart 

 by a certain day from the shire, and to enforce this district 

 constables were appointed whose main duty was to appre- 

 hend and take to prison any such vagrants as might be found 

 in the shire : the constables were also bound to see that the 

 parish poor were properly attended to, and note down the 

 names of persons who gave alms to vagrants. 



Dumfriesshire was accordingly divided into eight districts, 

 — two in the Presbytery of Penpont, two in Dumfries, three 

 in Annandale, and one in Eskdale, and a constable was 

 appointed for each district, at a salary of £4 sterling per 

 annum, 2s. 6d. for every vagrant apprehended and imprison- 

 ed, 3d. sterling for each mile they carry them, besides a 

 suitable allowance for any party that may be necessary for 

 their assistance. 



In September it was reported that at the different 

 parochial meetings for taking into consideration the prose- 

 cution of the scheme for the poor, it had been found imprac- 

 ticable to levy an assessment, in consequence of the valua- 

 tion of the lands of several considerable heritors being in 

 curaulo ; and it was in consequence resolved in the mean- 

 time that the poor of each parish should be allowed to beg 

 therein, being liable to be taken up as vagrants if they went 

 beyond the bounds. 



Peter Graham, in Hillside, was appointed riding constable 

 for the whole county in general and for one of the Annan- 

 dale districts in particular, and parish constables were also 

 appointed : each of the district constables had general 

 powers over the county. 



In September, 1752, in consequence of the riding con- 

 stables appointed for apprehending vagrants and strange 

 poor being put to great inconvenience and trouble in hiring 



