Scottish Life in the 17TH Century. 291 



Council retained in its own hands the power to try all such cases; 

 and we know from the black record of the persecution that that 

 court could be made, under despotic influences, to exhibit all the 

 vices of the Star Chamber and the High Commission Court. 



The Town Council of this period exercised along with the 

 magistrates the powers of judges. It was in the main a self- 

 elected body, the Council itself choosing those who should take 

 the place of the members whose turn it was to retire ; but it 

 included the Deacons of the seven Incorporated Trades, who 

 had something of a representative character. The magistrates 

 at least would receive a salary. They continued to do so until 

 some time after the passing of the Municipal Reform Act of 

 1833. And we shall see later on that the strict opinions with 

 regard to the expenditure of public money with which we are now 

 familiar did not then obtain. 



It is well known that at the time of which I speak, and 

 indeed until a recent date, no one could follow any trade in the 

 town, or could engage in any kind of business, unless he was 

 by birth a burgess or had by purchase acquired the privilege ; and 

 he must also be a member of one of the guilds or incorporated 

 trades, and therefore have served an apprenticeship. Even when 

 he had complied with these conditions he was by no means at 

 liberty to " do as he liked with his own.'' Marketing was fenced 

 about with a code of regulations establishing the three offences 

 of forestalling, regrating, and engrossing, which were the subject 

 of a learned paper recently contributed by Sir James Marwick 

 to the Scottish Antiquarian Society. The purport of them was 

 that you must not sell merchandise of any kind except in the 

 public market, within the hours officially appointed for the 

 holding of the market, and at the particular cross or other spot 

 appointed for the sale of the article in which you dealt ; that you 

 must not buy with the purpose of selling over again at a profit, 

 at least in that market or within four miles of it ; and you must 

 not buy large quantities with the purpose of forming what would 

 now be called a corner and so raising the price say of meal by 

 an artificial scarcity. To sell outwith the market was to fore- 

 stall ; to buy for re-sale was to re-grate ; to buy for the purpose of 

 holding up was to engross; and these were all punishable 

 offences. The Town Council also had a right of pre-emption 

 over goods brought to market, and they frequently, from con- 

 siderations of public convenience, bought large quantities of such 

 things as meal and fish, which were afterwards retailed to the 

 community. The price at which different commodities were to 

 be sold was arbitrarily fixed by the Council. I have made refer- 

 ence to the excise of bread and the excise of ale. On other 

 occasions they ordained that candles should be sold at 4s 6d 

 Scots money for "ilk pund Scots weight," and French wines at 

 five groats a pint. They exercised a close supervision of the 



