SCOTLAND. £75 



nually made was valued at 50,000/.; and that of silk gauze, which is 

 here afforded cheaper than in any other place, at 60,000/. ; which man- 

 ufactures, together with several others, have since considerably in- 

 creased, above 15,000 persons being employed and maintained by them. 

 Of the woollen manufactures of Scotland, that of carpets appears to 

 be the most successful and productive. 



The iron works at Carron, one mile from Falkirk, are said to be the 

 largest in Europe; above a thousand men are employed in them, and 

 all sorts of iron goods are made from the smallest article to the larg- 

 est cannon, a great quantity of which are exported to Germany, Rus- 

 sia, and other foreign countries. The short peace of ordnance- called 

 a carronade was first made hjere, and hence received its name. 



Constitution, government and laws.. ..The ancient constitution 

 and government in Scotland have been highly applauded, as excel- 

 lently adapted to the preservation of liberty ; and it is certain that the 

 power of the king was greatly limited, and that there were many 

 checks in the constitution upon him, which were well calculated to 

 prevent his assuming or exercising a despotic authority. But the 

 Scottish constitution of government was too much of the aristocratic 

 kind to afford to the common people that equal liberty which they 

 had a right to expect. The king's authority was' sufficiently restrain- 

 ed ; but the nobles, chieftains, and great landholders, had it too much 

 in their power to tyrannize over and oppress their tenants, and the 

 common people. 



The ancient kings of Scotland, at their coronation, took the follow- 

 ing oath, contaifiing three promises, viz. 



" In the name of Christ, I promise these three things to the Chris- 

 tian people my subjects : First, that I shall give order, and employ my 

 force and assistance, that the church of God, and the Christian people, 

 may enjoy true peace during our time under our government. Se- 

 condly, I shall prohibit and hinder all persons, of whatever degree, 

 from violence and injustice. Thirdly, in all judgments I shall follow 

 the prescriptions of justice and mercy, to the end that our clement and 

 merciful God may show mercy unto me and to you." 



The parliament of Scotland anciently consisted of all who held any 

 portion of land, however small, of the crown, by military service. 

 This parliament appointed the time of its own meetings and adjourn- 

 ments, and comittees to superintend the administration during the in- 

 tervals of parliament ; it had a commanding power in all matters of 

 government ; it appropriated the public money, ordered the keeping 

 of it, and called for the accounts ; it armed the people, and appointed 

 commanders ; it named and commissioned ambassadors ; it granted 

 and limited pardons ; it appointed judges and courts of judicature : it 

 named officers of state and privy-counsellors ; it annexed and alienated 

 the revenues of the crown, and restrained grants by the king. The 

 king of Scotland had no negative voice in parliament ; nor could he 

 declare war, make peace, or conclude any other public business of im- 

 portance, without the advice and approbation of parliament. The 

 prerogative of the king was so bounded, that he was not even intrust- 

 ed with the executive p*rtofthe government. And so late as the mi- 

 nority of James IV, who was contemporary with, and son-in-law to 

 Henry VII, of England, the parliament pointed out to him lib duty, 

 as the first servant of his people; as appears by the act still extant, 

 In short, the constitution was rather; aristocratical than monarchical, 



