Sanquhar Burgh Cross. 247 



It is constructed of Dalbeattie granite, and rises to a height of 

 twenty-two feet above the street. On the side facing the road- 

 way is the following inscription : — 



In Commemoration of 



the two famous 



Sanquhar Declarations 



which were published 



on this spot where stood 



The ancient Cross of the Burgh, 



The one by 



the Rev. Richard Cameron 



on the 22nd June, 1680; 



The other by 



the Rev. James Renwick 



on the 28th May, 1685, 



" The killing time." 



If you would know the nature of their crime 



Then read the story of that killing time. 



1864. 



The foundation stone was laid by the ex-Provost, Mr Samuel 

 Whigham, chairman of the committee, in presence of a great 

 concourse of people anxious to witness the ceremony. In a pre- 

 pared stone near the base of the monument was deposited a 

 bottle containing a number of documents, etc. It is to be 

 I'egretted, perhaps, that the committee did not attempt to restore 

 the ancient cross of the burgh. There were many people alive 

 in 1864 who remembered the ancient land mark and many of the 

 stones, including the shaft, capital and square block, were then in 

 existence. But the committee evidently thought that something 

 brand-new was preferable to that which was old, and so the street 

 was ornamented with a modern obelisk. 



Although the majority of the citizens of Sanquhar were en- 

 thusiastic over the project of erecting a monument to commemorate 

 the worthies of the Covenant, there was a small minority who 

 were not so. One of the minority, Mr Alexander Weir, published 

 a little book of 40 pages, entitled " Sanquhar Monument " (a 

 politico-religious and historic cantata). In this book Sandy (as 

 he was familiarly called) rails at the action of the Covenanters 

 and those who supported them. His little book is rather scarce 



