SCOTLAND. 



683 



relating to private right are not to be changed, but for the evident utility of the people of 

 Scotland. As me municipal laws of Scotland are generally preserved, those of England are 

 not in force. Acts of parliament extend to Scotland, except when it is declared by express 

 proviso to be otherwise. 



Scotland was formerl}' but very imperfectly represented in the imperial parliament, and even 

 at present, the number of her representatives is small, although that of the voters has been ma- 

 terially enlarged by the reform act of 1832. It now has 53 members in the House of Com- 

 mons, who are returned by the inhabitants paying a yearly rent of 10 pounds, or possessing 

 property yielding that sum. Scotland has also 16 peers in the House of Lords, who are 

 elected from time to time by the whole body of the Scottish peerage. A few of the ancient offices 

 peculiar to the country, have been retained since the union, among which may be mentioned 

 the Lyon king at arms, or (jrand Herald of Scotland, formerly an office of great splendor. 

 The old custom of ivappen showing, in which the sheriff of the county mustered the militia, is 

 also retained, and the officers receive their commissions from the sheriff. 



24. Banks. The Batik of Scotland has a capital of a million and a half sterhng. No indi- 

 vidual can possess more than £ 40,000 of the slock. The Royal Bank has also stock of a 

 million and a half. The British Linen Company, and the Commercial Banking Company, are 

 similar institutions. The capital of the latter is three njlllions. They all issue notes ; but not 

 under one pound. There are several private banking institutions, but they do not generally 

 issue notes. Their transactions are confined to discounting. 



25. Laws. These have a similar origin with those of England, and much resemble them. 

 The jury is composed of 15, and a majority is sufficient for a verdict. 



26. Antiquities. The reformation in Scodand was attended with so much violence, that 

 among the antiquities are many ecclesiastical ruins ; Knox taught his disciples, that the best 



' way to exterminate the rooks, was to " pull down their nests," and many a noble abbey and 

 cathedral were destroyed. Some of these buildings remain entire, and of the ruins, Melrose 

 Abbey is the most visited. There are ancient castles of various forms, and different degrees 

 of preservation. Some are entire and occupied. There are a few circles of upright stones 

 as in England, though of less size, and there are circular Danish forts, and some round, narrow 

 towers, upwards of 100 feet in height. The vitrified forts are curious ; one of them in Ros- 

 shire is 120 feet in length, and 40 in breadth. It is glazed on the inside, but whether by art 

 or casual fires is not known. The Roman remains are indistinct. The fortified line, between 

 the Forth and Clyde, may be barely traced in many places. It is called Agricola''s Wall and 

 Graham''s Dyke. Roman highways may be traced as far north as Angusshire, and there are 

 several camps, though nearly obliterated. 



27. History. Little is known of the slate of Scotland before the 11th century. At 

 this time, the country had its king, and was engaged in wars with England. The aggressions 

 of the English kings were at first repelled, but Edward the First succeeded in bringing the 

 country into a state of dependence, and placing a creature of his own upon the throne of Scot- 

 land. The celebrated William Wallace roused his countrymen to resistance, and waged a 

 deadly war against the English, but was betrayed, taken, and beheaded in London. Robert 

 Bruce consummated the revolt begun by Wallace, and the victory of Bannockburn, in 1314, 

 reestablished the independence of Scotland. Noiwithstnnding this success, the kingdom was 

 long afterwards the theatre of perpetual turbulence, and the Stuarts, who shortly afterwards came to 

 the throne, were the most unfortunate monarchs that ever reigned, .lames the Sixth of Scotland 

 received the crown of England by legacy, from Queen Elizabeth, who had put his mother, the 

 celebrated Mary Queen of Scots, to death upon the scaffold. Scotland and England, though 

 distinct kingdoms, were from this period governed by a single monarch. In 1707, the two 

 kingdoms were, bv legislative acts, united, under the name of the Kingdom of Great Britain. 



