Jan. 21. able the executors of these laws to make use of one clafs of persons against another to fleece them at will, and then by siding with those who had been already weakened they might employ them for robbing, those who had already fleeced themselves; and thus they might go round and round, pillaging every clafs of inhabitants by turns.

This is a very important subject, and I hope few of my readers will judge it impertinent in me to endeavour to imprefs those who have not reflected upon it, with a sense of the necefsity of not hastily overlooking it as a trivial matter. With that view I fhall beg leave to state a few facts respecting this subject which actually did occur in the parish of South Leith; not with an intention to reflect on any individual but merely to fhow what has happened, and what may naturally be expected to occur in every such case.

The inhabitants of South Leith were called together by public advertisement to meet in the kirk on a certain day to consider of the means of providing for the poor. When they did meet, it is natural to suppose that most of them were totally unacquainted with the poors laws. They were told that the ordinary poor's funds of the parish were not sufficient to supply the wants of the poor, and that there was a necefsity of providing for these wants by an afsefsment. The person who took the lead on this occasion was prepared to point out the way in which they ought legally to proced; and the proclamation of 1692 was them as the law which fhould regulate their conduct on that occasion. By this law the heritors, minister and elders are authorised to afsefs the parish, one half of which afsefsment was to be born by the heritors, and the other half by the house holders, (who on this oc

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373 casion were confounded with the tenants) of the parish. As a vast majority of the heritors present, were mercantile people, and others pofsefsing small property in the burgh, it no doubt would appear to them a trifling matter to submit to an assessment that would seracely affect them at all, while it would be principally paid by three or four men of great landed property in the country parts of the parish, and their tenants. The proposition was therefore readily afsented to by a great majority, in number, of the proprietors present; and an afscfsment of one filling in the pound of real rent was instantly decreed; which was afterwards found to amount to about L. 700 per annum, though the greatest alleged deficienof the poors funds did not exceed L. 50.

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Several meetings were afterwards held in prosecution of this plan before any objections were made to it in form. At length the tenants in the country parts of the parish presented a petition and remonstrance against the inequality of the afsefsment, pointing out the hardships to which they were thus subjected in comparison of others, and praying, that if a poor's rate was to be continued, a mode of assessment might be adopted that should more equally affect all the inhabitants according to their substance. The petition appeared so reasonable to most of the considerate persons in the meeting, that they exprefsed their sense of the willingness with which they thould agree to it, if they were not prevented by the letter of the law from complying with it. A person present, took that opportunity of remarking that the afsefsment had been made quite contrary to the mode that the law required for Royal burghs, which if adhered to, would have removed the evil complained of; and having taken up a printed copy of the proclamations of the privy council above quoted, that was lying on the table, he read the clause in that of

Jan. 21. 1693, ordering that they should be there assessed accor— ding to their stent. This seemed to operate on the whole meeting like a fhock of electricity; and the cry from every quarter was "where is that law." They were showed the law, and were told it was in the very next page to that which they had followed for two years past (for so long the poor's rate had continued) with such implicit obedience.

I quote this fact as a striking proof of the facility, with which men in similar circumstances may be induced to adopt a conduct that, in the end, may prove ruinous to themselves and others, without perceiving it. The inhabitants of South Leith are, many of them, sensible intelligent well disposed men --Men, however, who though well acquainted with mercantile affairs, and attentive to their own proper business, cannot be supposed to be well versed in the niceties of legal discriminations, or deeply read in the laws of the land. They had relied, on this occasion, as must ever happen in similar cases, on the justnefs of the information of the person who had taken the lead in this businefs, and who had not thought proper to embarrass them with any other law than that which he thought the most convenient to inforce. They were wise enough, however, on this occasion to see, that at a future period it might happen that this last quoted act might come to be inforced; and they were clear enough sighted to perceive at once, that if ever this thould happen, it would alter their circumstances very much to the worse in regard to the poor's laws. And from that moment a sensible diminution in their zeal for enforcing the poor's rate was percep

tible.

Nor did the people in the parish of South Leith act on this occasion in a manner different from what might have been expected. On such occasions, some individual, in

fluenced by motives of self interest, pique, or caprice, will always take the lead, and be at pains to pave the way for effecting his purpose, while the majority of the people, regardless of him, and attentive to their own concerns, are at no pains to trace his mode of procedure. This person contrives to get the people convened-represents to them the necefsity of the case-points out the means that he says the law has provided for remedying the evil complained of, and afks the opinion of the meeting, what is to be done. The persons he has secretly prepared, propose that the law which he has pointed out should be enforced : others support the motion, and it is adopted; though perhaps not one individual there present knows whether the law mentioned be contradictory of other laws, or indeed knows any thing more about the matter than has just been mentioned to them.

By these means certain persons are invested with powers of exacting money from individuals, which the majority of the people in the parish must naturally deem legal, and which cannet of course be resisted but by a legal discussion. In general, a committee vested with full powers, will be appointed to act in absence of the meeting; and persons of the most respectable character in the parish will be nominated as members of that committee, with liberty for all other heritors who fhall choose it to attend its meetings (this at least was the case in South Leith); but persons of the highest rank and greatest businefs, soon become tired of attending such committees, and they naturally come in a fhort time to be attended only by the projector and a few creatures of his own, who by being owners of a house, perhaps of five pounds rent, come within the description of heritors, and under their sanction, the projector, who is the sole manager and director of these his humble dependants, and who on this oc

Jan. 21. casion are proud of being made to act the farce of his superiors, is authorised to do just what he pleases.

In South Leith the rate afsefsed was 1 Shilling in the pound of real rent; one half to be paid by the heritors and the other by the tenants. A committee thus constituted however, upon the representation of different persons, took upon them to moderate the rates at pleasure. One principal tenant, on such representation, got his rate mitigated to that of threepence in the pound. Another who it fhould seem happened not to be quite so great a favourite, was rated at somewhat more than three pence half penny. A third was made to pay a fraction more than fourpence. And from a fourth, a widow woman, the full sixpence was rigidly exacted. When the members of the committee were civilly afked by one of those concerned, to give a reason why these persons, who were all confefsedly under the same clafs of tenants, were not all rated alike, no other answer was given but that such was the pleasure of the committee.

It required no depth of legal knowlege to perceive in this case that the committee must have exceeded their powers, but it required much prudence and sagacity to perceive how this evil could be remedied without creating a greater. To attempt to seek redrefs at law would be attended with great difficulties; because the person aggrieved must bear the whole expence of the law suit himself, whereas those complained of, would have the public money to apply in their own defence, as they could plead that they were acting merely in obedience. to the directions of the committee. In this way thousands may be opprefsed without being able to seek a remedy, even if they knew that the law would certainly afford them that remedy, and tens of thousands may continue to be for years aggrieved without having the