152 Some Incidents in Troqueer Parish. 



and one of them " returns Mr Hutcheson's edict duely endorsed," 

 the presbytery officer then goes to " the most patent door of the 

 Kirk, and calls thrice if there were any to object to the ordina- 

 tion." There being no objectors present, a sermon is preached 

 and the ordination preceeded with. 



On June 9, 1701, we have a Presbyterial visitation. The 

 Heritors, the Heads of Families, the Elders and Members of 

 Session, are successively called in and questioned as to the 

 minister's doctrine and conversation, the conduct of the session 

 or any member thereof, and about the provision of manse and 

 school. Nothing exceptional transpires in this case except regret 

 at the minister's non-residence and the smallness of the session. 

 The minister is then called in, examined on these matters, and 

 advised to augment his session and appoint deacons, and " to 

 settle himself some way or other wtin the bounds of his paroch 

 or thev would proceed against him, conform to the Acts 

 of the Gen. Ass. annent non-residing minrs." 



Mr Hutcheson died on the 2nd November, 1704, aged 28. 

 Two months later the Presbytery are requested by the people of 

 Troqueer to give permission to a call to Mr David Wightman, 

 minister of Terregles. The Presbytery refuses "there are so 

 manv pregnant and every way well deserving youths probationers 

 for the Ministerie." The Heritors thereupon send a lengthy 

 appeal to the Synod, and this gives a good resume of the con- 

 dition of the parish. The appeal is based mainly on the grounds 

 that " lo . . . the parish is not only very large and popu- 

 lous, but also because of its vicinitie to Dumfries it is much 

 resorted to by strangers and passengers ... so thereby 

 there are more immoralities and outbreakings in it than in any 

 other Paroch within the Synod of Dumfries." " 2o . 

 that a great part of the Inhabitants of Caregane, Carruchan, 

 Mabie-side, Crook-Thorn, Green-Merse, and Kirkconnel are 

 papists, and in some Country Touns there is not a Protestant, 

 and their number is increasing and spreading over the hail, even 

 to the Holm of Dalskerth and the head of the Paroch where 

 there was none befor. And further, yt now and of late a great 

 number of Protestants have been seduced and perverted by 

 trafficqueing Jesuits and other Paj^ists their fair insinuations, 

 promises, and gifts, their ordinarie haunt being in this Paroch, 



