179?" LiTERAay intelligencer. 355 



piers of land have been aflefled to the ultimum j but in this, 

 and feme others, the affeffment has never been more than 

 6 s. for each 100 merks. The converlion money is very 

 well laid out in this parifh. The roads are put, and kept 

 in as good repair as the fum collefted can polGbly do j but 

 as the roads are extenlive, and as there is a thoroughfair 

 through the paridi, from a large and populous furrounding 

 country, to the markets at Dumfries, this ium is too fmall 

 to keep the roads in fufficient repair j and it \vould proba- 

 bly be cheaper in the end, to lay on the full alfeirment of 

 1 2 s. for a few years, till all the roads are completely finifli- 

 ed, and then to reduce the affeffment to 4 s. which would 

 be fufficient for keeping them in repair. Left the prefent 

 tenants ftiould be aggrieved by paying i 2 s. while their fuc- 

 ceffors, who would enjoy, the benefit of good roads, pay only 

 4 s. the landlords fliould pay the additional 6 s. and receive 

 it afterwards from the fubfequent tenants at 2 s. a year, till 

 the landlords be reimburfed. A great turnpike road is now 

 making between Carlifle and Glalgow, which runs through 

 the parifh. It will be completely finiihed in this county 

 before, or about the beginning of May next. The tolls up- 

 on it are moderate, and will be fully fufficient for making 

 and repairing it. This road, like all other turnpikes under 

 proper management, mult be highly advantageous to the 

 country. The bridges in the parilh are good. The only 

 large one in it was originally built, and is ftill kept in re- 

 pair by the county of Dumfries, and ftewartry of Galloway, 

 as it is built over the Cluden, which is the march between 

 the two counties. The fmaller ones, being all within the 

 parilh, were built, and are kept in repair by the pariih. 



Antiquities — There are no other remains of antiquity 

 than the Druidical temple already mentioned, and two old 

 houfcs built in the tower faftiion. There is one large 

 heap of fmall llones, a part of which was opened feveral 

 years ago, and fome human bones faid to have been found 

 in it. The Abbey of Holywood ftood in the fite of a part 

 of the prefent church-yard. About half of the head 01 the 

 crols of this abbey was (landing in the year 1779, when it 

 ferved for the parifh churCh. Thefe remains, however, 

 were then pulled down, and the materials ufed in part for 

 building the prefent new church. The vtftige* of the 

 old abbey are fufficiently evident the church-yard j and 



Y72 



