CRAIG CRAMER. 



507 



would appear that Craig, whatever be thought of his 

 reasoning, was still a believer. His tract was repub- 

 lished at Leipsic, 1755, 4to, by J. D. Titius of VVit- 

 temberg, with a refutation of his arguments ; which 

 were also combated by the abbe Houteville. 



CRAIG, SIR THOMAS ; a Scottish writer on juris- 

 prudence, was probably born in the year 1538. In 

 1552, he was entered a student of St Leonard's col- 

 lege, in the university of St Andrews, and left the 

 college in 1555, after receiving his degree as bache- 

 lor of arts. He then repaired to France, and studied 

 the civil and canon law in some of the flourishing 

 universities of that country. He returned about the 

 year 1561, and after distinguishing himself in a very 

 eminent degree as a classical scholar, he was called 

 to the bar in February 1563, and in the succeeding 

 year was placed at the head of the criminal judica- 

 ture of the country, as justice depute, under the he- 

 reditary officer, the justice-general, an honour vest- 

 ed in the noble family of Argyle. He pursued an 

 extensive practice at the bar for a period of upwards 

 of forty years. During the latter part of his career, 

 he devoted much of his time to the composition of 

 his learned treatise on the Feudal Law, upon which 

 his reputation principally rests. To describe the law 

 of our country, as he found it established by the prac- 

 tice of the courts in his own age ; to compare it with 

 the written books on the feudal law, and to impart to 

 it somewhat of the form and arrangement of a sci- 

 ence, demonstrating, at the same time, its congruity 

 in its fundamental principles with the feudal law of 

 England, such were the objects of Sir Thomas Craig 

 in this work, which he completed in 1 603, a period 

 when it might have been of signal service, if pub- 

 lished, in removing some of the prejudices which 

 stood in the way or a union between the two coun- 

 tries. The treatise, which was written in a vigorous 

 Latin style, was not, however, put forth to the world 

 till forty-seven years after the death of the learned 

 author. The enlarged and liberal mind of Craig ren- 

 dered him a zealous promoter of every object which 

 tended to preserve the mutual peace, or facilitate the 

 union of England. In January, 1603, he finished a 

 Treatise on the Succession, to further the views of 

 nis sovereign, upon the throne about to be vacated 

 by Elizabeth. This work was more immediately oc- 

 casioned by the celebrated Conference on the Suc- 

 cession, written by the Jesuit Parsons, under the 

 assumed name of Doleman, in which the right of 

 James VI. was contested in a manner equally able 

 and virulent. The treatise, probably on account of 

 the quiet succession of James a few months after, was 

 never sent to the press ; but an English translation 

 of it was published in 1703 by Dr Gatherer. 



It would appear that Craig either was one of those 

 who accompanied the king to England, or soon after 

 followed him ; as he was present at the entrance of 

 his majesty into London, and at the subsequent co- 

 ronation. He celebrated these events in a Latin 

 hexameter poem. In 1604, he was one of the com- 

 missioners on the part of Scotland, who, by the king's 

 desire, met others on the part of England, for the 

 purpose of considering the possibility of a union be- 

 tween the two countries. He wrote a work on this 

 subject, in which he warmly seconded the views of 

 the king. This treatise, written, like all his other 

 works, in Latin, has never been published. The 

 work upon which he appears to have been last en- 

 gaged, is one upon the old controversy respecting 

 the homage claimed from Scotland by the English 

 monarch. The De Hominio of Craig remained 

 in manuscript till the year 1695, when a translation 

 of it was published by Mr George Ridpath, under the 

 title, Scotland's Sovereignty Asserted, or a Dispute 

 concerning Homage. He died in 1608. 



CRAIG, WILLIAM, a Scottish judge, who contri- 

 buted largely to the literary paper styled The Mir- 

 ror, was the son of Dr William Craig, one of the 

 ministers of Glasgow; and born in 1745. He re- 

 ceived his education at Glasgow college, where he 

 attended the classes of Smith in moral philosophy and 

 political economy, and those of Millar in jurispru- 

 dence and civil law. He entered at the bar in 1768, 

 and was the contemporary and intimate friend of some 

 of the most distinguished men of the last age. Or 

 the death of lord Hailes in 1792, Mr Craig was ap- 

 pointed to succeed him on the bench, on which oc- 

 casion he assumed the designation of lord Craig. In 

 1795, he succeeded lord Henderland as a judge of 

 the court of justiciary. 



The first idea of starting The Mirror occurred 

 to Mr Craig, who, next to Mr Mackenzie, was the 

 most zealous contributor. The remaining persons 

 concerned were Mr Alexander Abercromby, Mr 

 Robert Cullen, afterwards lord Cullen, Mr Macleod 

 Bannatyne, afterwards lord Bannatyne, Mr George 

 Home, afterwards lord Wedderburn, Mr William 

 Gordon of Newhall, and Mr George Ogilvy, both 

 also advocates, but of whom the first died, and the 

 latter fell into bad health before having made any 

 contribution to the Mirror. Mr Mackenzie was the 

 only individual unconnected with the bar. The as- 

 sociation was at first termed the Tabernacle; but 

 when the resolution of publishing was adopted, it as- 

 sumed the name of the Mirror Club, from the title of 

 the projected paper. Among occasional contributors 

 were lord Hailes, professor Richardson, of Glasgow, 

 Dr Henry, author of the History of Great Britain, 

 and Mr Hume, one of the barons of exchequer. Some 

 other papers of no inconsiderable merit were suppos- 

 ed to be from ladies. The Mirror was commenced 

 on the 23d of January, 1779, and finished with the 

 110th number on the 27th of May, 1780. It appear- 

 ed in one small folio sheet, which was sold at three 

 half pence, and though not above four hundred 'were 

 ever sold of any particular number, the public appro- 

 bation was so high as to demand the immediate re- 

 publication of the whole in three volumes duodecimo. 

 Mr Craig's contributions to the Mirror, are indicated 

 in a later edition of the work. To the Lounger, 

 which was started some years after by the same club, 

 he also contributed many excellent papers. 



Lord Craig, who possessed originally a very weak 

 constitution, enjoyed so poor a state of health in his 

 latter years as to be obliged to resign his place on 

 the justiciary bench. He died on the 8th of July, 

 1813. He was much esteemed in his character as a 

 judge, his decisions being remarkable for their clear- 

 ness and precision, while his habits were of a singu- 

 larly industrious order, considering the state of nis 

 health. In private life he was beloved on account of 

 his gentle, unassuming manners, and his eminently 

 benevolent and sociable disposition. 



CRAIL, a parish of Fifeshire, commonly called its 

 east neuk or corner. The town of Crail is situated 

 ten miles S. E. of St Andrews. It is a very ancient 

 but now somewhat decayed royal borough. Popu- 

 lation of town and parish in 1831, 1824. 



CRAMER, JOHN ANDREW, born Jan., 1723, a 

 Joehstadt, near Annaberg, in the Saxon Erzgebirge, 

 where his father was a poor clergyman, studied 

 theology at Leipsic, in 1742, where he supported 

 himself by his literary labours and private instruc. 

 tion. In connexion with Ebert, Joh. Elias Schlegel, 

 Gartner, Klopstock, Rabener, and other young men, 

 whose labours had a favourable influence on the culti- 

 vation of the German taste, he was actively engaged 

 in editing the Bremischen Beitraege, and likewise the 

 Sammlung vermischter Schriften von den Verfussern 

 der bremischen Beitraege. In 1754, by the influence 01 



