The Raid ai Dumi-riks on Lammas K\ i:\. 8:i 



familiar to us.^^ It must be uiuirrslood that ue liav«- ikc 

 continuous rcioitl ot our hurj^'-li durino- ilu-se years, and thus 

 are unable to say that the Proxostship was represented con- 

 tinuously in the persons of the M'Hrairs, vel the remark- 

 able point is that no other Proxosls than M'Brairs aj)pear 

 from 1453 to 15^1, wlien the continuil\ was broken, until 

 Archibald reached his majorit\. Of Nicholas we shall dis- 

 cover that, like Aytoun's IVoNost of Kdinburg-h, 



'■ lie ever for the townsmen's rights 

 Stofxl up Vainst prince and peer." 



On the morning- of July 31st, 150S, Lord Robert Crich- 

 ton of Sanquhar rode into the burj^h of Dumfries with a 

 considerable body of men. His officer had been there before 

 him summoning- certain persons, burg-esses of the bur^h, to 

 a court of justice, so his arrival was expected by the inhabi- 

 tants. About nine o'clock in the morning- one of his deputy- 

 shcrifi's, John Crichton of Hartwood, went to the Tolbooth, 

 which stood on the east side of the High Street on a site 

 occupied later by the old Council Chambers, ^^ and proceeded 

 to hold a court of " bloodwits," or of cases of as.sault to 

 the effusion of blood. ^^ About him were gathered Mr 

 Herbert Gledstanis, rector of Dornock ; \\'illiam Cunning- 

 ham and David Welsh, burgesses of Dumfries; William 

 Dalzell of that Ilk whose family afterwards became Earls 

 of Carnwath ;^^ and John Carmichael,^^ son of William Car- 



15 Tnittsactioii.i. Duntfriesiihire (iiid (•(ilhurnij Natural llidnry 

 and Antiquarian ^Society, N.S.. XXIII. (1910-11). p. 219. 



16 Now the printing office of Thomas Hannavy, 94 High Street. 



17 "Bloodwits: /.f.. riots where blood is .spilt, from wyte, » 

 Saxon vocable, which, according to Spelman. signifies a fine, and 

 which is used in our ancient statutes to denote blame oi- culpa." 

 (Krskine's Institutes. 1.. 77.) 



18 On December lo, L508, M. William Baize, doctor in medicine 

 .'ind prebendare of Pro\and, was the recipient of the gift of ward 

 and nonentries of William Dalzell's estate, also of the marriage of 

 l?obert Dalzell, " nevo and ayr " of William Dalzell, uinnarried 

 fReg. Sec. Si<j.. I.. No. 1780, p'. 270.) 



19 Some confusion exists as to the genealogy of the Carmichaels 

 at this period. K. G. M. Carmichael, in Thr Scots Peerage. IV., 



