historical chronicle. 



Tlie consequences of this 

 ■verdict will be in some future 

 time made known to the pub- 

 lic. 



Scotland. 

 Besides the general reform 

 in parliament, and a reform 

 ■with respect to the royal bur- 

 roughs, there is another re- 

 form in agitation at present in 

 Scotland, that is more itkely 

 to obtain the general approba- 

 tion of the country, and the 

 sanction of parliament than ei- 

 ther of the others. 



For many years past a prac- 

 tice has prevailed, which was at 

 last becoming very general, for 

 men of great landed property 

 to give temporary dispositions 

 to the superiority of certain 

 lands, belonging of right to 

 themselves, to such persons as 

 they knew to be well affec- 

 ted towards them, by which 

 means a man of large landed 

 property, whcv can by law have 

 only a right to give one vote 

 in any county of Scotland, for 



, a member to serve in parlia- 

 ment, acquired the command 

 of a great number of votes j 

 ■which many persons believed 

 gave these great men an un- 

 due influence jin the county. 

 The votes thus acquired, as they 

 give no real pofsefsion, have 

 been called nominal ami fictiti- 

 ous votes. Many iiw suits have 

 been instituted with a view to 

 set these aside ; but the deci- 



. sions of the courts in Scotland 

 •have uniformly tended to su- 



stain them, until of late that a 

 decision of tlie house of peers 

 threw the validity of these 

 votes" into doubt. Since that 

 time the general sense of the 

 people in this country seems 

 to accord with that decision 5 

 and meetings of delegates, from 

 all the counties of .Scotland, 

 have of late been held in . E- 

 dinburgh, to devise a ^aw b/ 

 which this evil may be best 

 remedied, without making any- 

 hurtful encroachment on the 

 constitution. The proceed- 

 ings of this body have bee« 

 regular and temperate; and, 

 with 3 commendable caution, 

 they have resolved to submit 

 every proposition to the deli- 

 berate consideration of the 

 public at large, allowing due 

 time for reflection, before they 

 adopt any resolution. The 

 progrefs in this case is slow j 

 but it appears to be the only 

 rational plan by which the 

 real sense of the country can 

 be obtained, and therefore 

 may be deemed the wisest and 

 most constitutional mode of 

 proceeding. When they have 

 agreed as to the leadiiig pro- 

 positions, these will then be 

 submitted to the consideration 

 of parliament. At some fu- 

 ture period the conclusions 

 adopted in this case fhall be 

 communicated to our readers. 



In consequence of the. un- 

 common demand for operative 

 hands in every department of 

 bufincfs, in the present flou- 



