The Mill and the Miller. 151 



an object to get hold of a stranger soldier to lead 

 them toward improvement. 



An idea of the limited power of the mills of the time 

 may be gathered from statistics of their actual numbers 

 within particular areas. Thus, in the large central parish 

 of Fyvie, in Aberdeenshire, there were in the latter 

 part of the last century thirteen corn mills, in each of 

 which there was a " fanner turned by the machinery of 

 the mill," enabling the work to go on in all weathers, and 

 not leaving the winnowing dependant upon the natural 

 currents of the air of heaven. In the neighbouring 

 parish of Auchterless there were seven mills; while 

 King-Edward parish boasted of ten corn mills, with 

 two lint mills and two waulk mills. 



The origin of the thirlage system was natural enough. 

 When the quern driven by hand came to be reckoned 

 rather behind the time, the mill, such as it was, was 

 looked upon as "a masterpiece of machinery."* When a 

 mill was set agoing it was deemed needful therefore 

 that the laird and the miller should have assurance of 

 its being supported, and their own enterprise in 

 its establishment and working adequately rewarded. 

 Hence were the tenants and crofters bound to cast aside 

 their family querns, go to the public mill of their 

 sucken, and pay the statutory multures. The abstracted 

 multures were a fruitful source of litigation until an 

 Act was passed in the reign of George III. (39 George 

 III. cap. 55) authorising their conversion into money 

 payments. Subsequent to the date of that Act the 

 ground of complaint lay chiefly against the principle 

 of thirlage, which in certain cases was not readily over- 

 turned. 



A curious commentary on the utterly obsolete 



* As early as 1284, the Scottish Legislature tried to supersede 

 the quern by the water mill, the use if it being prohibited except 

 in the case of storm or where there was a lack of mills of the new 

 description. Querns were, however, largely used in Scotland down 

 to the end of the last century. 



