Scottish Parliament and Sanquhar Representation. 125 



are references to a William Crichton, who represented Sanquhar 

 in the Scottish Parliament from 1690 to 1702. Where they got 

 their information from is, unfortunately, not mentioned, but this 

 person's name does not occur in the Records of Parliament, and 

 as there are other members mentioned as ha\'ing been the repre- 

 sentatives of Sanquhar in the years 1690-1702 I think we may take 

 it that a mistake has been made. Perhaps the error arose from 

 the fact that in 1689 the Convention ordered a new election of 

 Magistrates in the various Royal Burghs of Scotland, and ap- 

 pointed " William Crichton of Gorland " overseer of the election 

 in Sanquhar.] 



On Boswell's death in 1692 Sir Alexander Bruce became the 

 representative of the Royal Burgh in Parliament. He was in 

 some ways her most distinguished representative, but he appears 

 to have had but little connection with the Burgh w^hich gave him 

 his seat. Sir Alexander belonged to the Royal line of Bruce, 

 being a son of Lord Bruce of Broomhall, who was a Lord of 

 Session from 1649 to his deatji in 1652. His grandfather was 

 Sir George Bruce of Carnoch, Fife, who had extensive .coal 

 works in the neighbourhood of Culross, and who had been 

 knighted by James VI. He married a daughter of George Prim- 

 rose of Burnbrae, one of the family now represented by Lord 

 Rosebery, and was member for Culross for some years. Sir 

 Alexander succeeded him, though not immediately, in the repre- 

 sentation of Culross, for which burgh he sat for several years 

 previous to 1695. While member for Sanquhar he was appointed 

 Joint Receiver-General of Supply and Excise, an office which 

 seems to have had some resemblance to that of Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer. In 1695, on his motion. Parliament gave Sanquhar 

 the riglit to have a fair on the first Thursday of every quarter. 

 In 1702 Parliament met in the month of June, and on the 9th of 

 that month Sir Alexander Bruce moved that some be " appointed 

 for drawing an answer to the Queen's letter," which was agreed to. 

 On the 12th day of that month, however. Sir Alexander was by a 

 unanimous vote of the members expelled from the House. The 

 Records of Parliament give the following account of the affair: 

 June 12th, 1702. — Sir Alexander Bruce, commissioner for the 

 Burgh of Sanquhar, having said upon the reading of this Act that 

 the Act of Parliament did contain many things inconsistent with 

 the essences of monarchy, he vvas thereupon called to the Barr, 



