Anniversary Address. IS 



one of the last threatened Border raids. It was, however, 

 not taken seriously by some of the inhabitants as we were 

 told that " Charles Jackson and William Cowthie in the time 

 the townspeople were out went to the Bell Tower and by 

 way of derision, rang the alarm bell there as if it had been 

 a great invasion to be made." 



The Guild, however, showed their feeling of dislike to 

 their northern neighbours in a very practical way, as by 

 several orders of Guild, burgesses were prohibited under 

 heavy penalties from taking any of Scottish birth as ap- 

 prentices. An order on this subject made at a General 

 Guild on 27th July, 1657, when Thomas Watson was Mayor, 

 is worth quoting. " Whereas there are divers ancient orders 

 that do prohibit any burgess to take any Scotch apprentices, 

 which of late have been very much broken and slighted, so 

 that divers of that nation are made freemen amongst us and 

 grown numerous and likely to exceed the numbers of the 

 English in a short time if permitted, there having three out 

 of five apprentices presented at the last Guild which were 

 Scotchmen, how bad the consequences thereof in general or 

 particular will be, may be feared. For preventing thereof 

 in time, it is by the general and free consent of this Guild 

 thought fit and so hereby ordered that no Scotch apprentice 

 shall be admitted or allowed an apprentice hereafter, and all 

 orders made for debarring them formerly are hereby re- 

 viewed and confirmed." In consequence of this order a 

 curious incident occurred twelve years afterwards, 1669, It 

 appears that " the Mayor acquainted the Guild that he had 

 heard that the Earl of Lauderdale, his Majesty's Com- 

 missioner for Scotland, intended, on his journey to London, 

 to come through the town, and that, having summoned a 

 private Guild (to consider what civil treat they should give 

 his Lordship) they resolved to send Mr Countor and the 

 Town Clerk to compliment his Lordship to accept of the 

 Town's kindness; but, it appeared that this having been 

 signified to his Lordship, liis answer was — " What could the 

 town invite him to but to make him a Scotch apprentice, 

 and until that order, made against taking Scotch apprentices, 



