EDINBURGH.

Edinburgh, a city, the capital of Scotland, and chief town of Mid-Lothian, or Edinburghshire, is situated within two miles of the south shore of the Frith of Forth, at the distance of about 392 miles north from London, in 55. 57. 20. north latitude, and 3. 10. 30. west longitude· The situation of this ancient city is exceedingly romantic. It occupies a congeries of hills and elevated grounds, rising gradually from the shore of the Forth, and attaining in some parts to a considerable height above the level of the sea. The central elevation, which has been compared to nothing so aptly as a wedge lying flat upon the ground, is terminated at its highest or western extremity by a mass of rock, seven acres in superficies at top, and about two hundred and fifty feet above the surrounding country; on which stands Edinburgh Castle, the nucleus of the city. From the castle, along the descending slope towards the east, and for a mile in length, the original, or, as it is now called, Old Town, was built in the shape of a spacious street. In latter times, the city, by means of bridges, was extended to the grounds on the south and north.

The etymology of the name Edinburgh is obscurely but certainly found in the history of its origin. Subse[7:8:412]quently to the year 449, or the era of Anglo-Saxon dominion in Lothian, the Castle became the occasional residence of the chiefs of the Northumbrian dynasty; and from Edwin, the potent king of the territory, the appellation Edwin’s burgh was introduced. At a period coeva with or preceding the era of Edwin, the name applied to the fort was Mai-din in British, or Magh-dun in Gaelic which may either signify the fortified mount in the plain, or the good fort; but when the English language came inte use, some busy fancies conceived that Mai-din was the same as Maiden, and hence arose the title which it obtains in old writings, of Castrum Puellarum, the castle of maidens, and the fable that it had been the residence of the daughters of the British kings. The origin of Edinburgh can now with tolerable accuracy be traced to the beginning of the seventh century, or the era of Edwin, from which period it gradually though slowly increased in size. In the year 856 it is described as a considerable village; and, with the castle, it was often the object of contest in the wars which took place between its Anglo-Saxon possessors and the natives of Scotland. From the period of the cession of Lothian to the Scots, in 1020, the Castle continued to be the frequent residence of their monarchs; and here the widowed consort of Malcolm Ceanmore, the pious and worthy Margaret, died in the year 1093. In the reign of David I. the Castle continued a royal residence, and the town increased so much as to be considered one of the four chief burghs in the kingdom. Soon after his accession the munificent David founded the Abbey of Holyrood, on the plain at the eastern extremity of the rising ground on which Edinburgh was built. On the canons of this abbey he conferred the privilege of building a suburb westward from their church, along the ridge, in order to meet the burgh; and the new town thus reared by the monks received from them the name of Canonsburgh, or popularly Canongate, which title the eastern part of the old city still retains. For a considerable period after the reign of David, the houses of Edinburgh were all thatched with straw; but it nevertheless rose into importance, and in the twelfth century it was constituted a royal burgh by William I. surnamed the Lion.

The death of Alexander, king of Scotland, proved fatal to Edinburgh. In June 1291 the town and castle were surrendered to Edward I.; but in 1313 they were recovered by assault, under the conduct of Randolph earl of Moray, and the castle was destroyed. The English again took and repaired the castle under Edward III., who resided there and placed a strong garrison in it. In 1337 the castle, still in the custody of the English, was besieged by Sir Andrew Moray, the guardian of Scotland, though without success; and it was only by an ingenious stratagem, employed by Sir William Douglas, in 1361, that the fortress was secured by the Scottish patriots. I

From the era of the murder of James I. at Perth, in 1436-37, the origin of Edinburgh as a national capital may be dated. Neither Perth nor Scone, Stirling nor Dunfermline, being able to secure royalty against the designs of the nobility, Edinburgh and its castle were therefore selected as the only places of safety for the royal household and the functionaries of government. The infant sovereign was crowned in the chapel of Holyrood, in which sat the first parliament of his reign. James II. was particularly attached to Edinburgh, and bestowed on it a variety of grants as to the holding of fairs and markets, the levying of customs, and also rights to property. Besides, in 1450, he conferred upon the city the pre-eminent privilege of erecting walls and bulwarks for its defence. Throughout the turbulent reign of James III. Edinburgh was the seat of the court and regular parliament; and this king conferred additional immunities upon the city, especially one assigning sites for certain markets, which to the present day partly continue in the places thus fixed upon. I On account of the loyalty of the people in assisting him against Edward IV. he moreover granted the inhabitants I a banner, with power to display the same in defence of i their king, their country, and their own rights. This flag, , which is still esteemed a sort of palladium of the city, is called from its colour the Blue Blanket, and remains in i the custody of the convener of the trades. In 1497 Edinburgh being visited by a loathsome distemper, imported i from abroad, the king by a proclamation ordered the magistracy to put out of the town all infected persons, who, in order to free the city, were transported by boats to the island of Inchkeith in the Frith of Forth, which thus served as a lazar-house for the time. James III., in his latter years, made Edinburgh Castle the repository of his treasure, valuable effects, and ordnance. In 1488, when; this prince was murdered near Stirling, the whole fell into the hands of his rebellious subjects.

The first parliament of James IV. was held at Edinburgh; and in 1503, on the marriage of this prince with Margaret, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. of England, it was the scene of a gorgeous royal pageant, which is fully recounted by the historians of the time. In 1508 the king empowered the town to let the grounds of the Boroughmuir on the south; but the citizens were no sooner in possession of this grant, than they set about clearing the ground of its wood, and so many trees were cut down that they could not be disposed of; wherefore the magistrates enacted, that whosoever should buy as much as would form a new front to a house, might extend the same seven feet farther into the street. In consequence of this preposterous edict, Edinburgh was in a short time filled with houses of wood instead of stone, and the principal street was reduced fourteen feet in breadth. The year 1513 was the epoch of a dreadful plague, and also of the great national calamity, the defeat at Flodden. With James perished the magistrates and many of the burgesses; the privy council removed to Stirling for safety; the walls of the city were greatly extended to the south, and better fortified; and at the same time, 1514, the corporation of the burgh raised the civic military corps called the town guard, which remained in force till the year 1817.

Throughout the minority of James V. the capital was the constant scene of tumults, especially one between the Hamiltons or Arran’s party, and the Douglasses or party of Angus, which is known in history by the name of Clear the Causeway. May 1532 is the era of the greatest event in the annals of the Scottish metropolis. This was the establishment of the College of Justice, or series of supreme courts and their functionaries. The city now became a place of resort from all parts of the kingdom; and the magistrates for the first time had the High Street repaired and paved, and gave orders to the citizens to light it. In 1538 the town was the scene of rejoicings, on the entrance into the city of James, with his wife Mary of Guise.

In 1544 the regency having refused to ally the young Queen Mary to the son of Henry VIII., an English fleet and army were sent to ravage Scotland; and in prosecution of this object the Earl of Hertford landed with a force near Leith, and set fire to the city in several places. In 1548 Edinburgh was garrisoned by French troops under D’Esse, who prevented the English from committing any further serious damage.

Disturbances consequent on the change of religion in Scotland broke out in 1556, at which time a concourse of people assembled to protect John Knox from the violence of the ecclesiastical judicatory. During the struggle which ensued in effecting the reformation, Edinburgh formed the chief position of the reformers, as Leith was of the French [7:8:413]and Catholic party. By the assistance of a Protestant army sent by Queen Elizabeth, the reformers were finally triumphant, and the first assembly of the reformed kirk met at Edinburgh on the 15th of January 1560.

A new object of excitement soon appeared in the person of Mary, the young queen of Scots, who on the 9th of August 1561 arrived at Leith from France. On the 1st of September she made her public entry into the city. Darnley was proclaimed king at the market-cross in July 1565, and next morning was married to the queen in the chapel of Holyrood. In June following the queen was delivered of a son, afterwards James VI.; and in February 1567 Darnley was blown up by gunpowder in a house at the Kirk of the Field, on the site of which the college now stands. Mary’s marriage with Bothwell occasioned fresh disturbances in Edinburgh; and during the period of the irregular warfare which ensued between the king’s and queen’s parties, the city suffered very severely. At length the young king himself entered upon public life, and on the 17th of October 1579 arrived in the metropolis with a cavalcade of two thousand horse, and held his first parliament in person. In the year following, the Earl of Morton was beheaded in Edinburgh, by an instrument called the Maiden, which he had himself introduced, and which is now preserved in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. The character of the city was about this period greatly improved by the erection of the college, which was commenced in 1581, and its first professor appointed in 1583. The infatit institution was warmly patronized by King James, who, on the occasion of a temporary visit which he made to Scotland in 1617, desired that it should thenceforth be called King James’ College. In 1585-86 the city was visited by the plague, and suffered severely from that affliction. In 1591 the city was alarmed by an attempt of the Earl of Bothwell to seize upon the person of the king in Holyrood Palace. The attempt, however, was defeated by the promptitude and vigour of the citizens. Bothwell himself escaped, but eight of his followers were taken and put to death on the following day. In 1596 the clergy and citizens united in tumultuary resistance to an attempt made by the king to control the language of the pulpit. Unable to subdue or restrain the insurrectionary spirit which he had excited, James withdrew from the town, and ordered all the public courts to be removed from it. A reconciliation, however, soon afterwards took place, and the offended monarch returned peaceably to his capital. In 1599 the first regular dramatists appeared in Edinburgh. They were from England, and there is some reason to suppose that the immortal Shakspeare was amongst the number.

Three years after this the regal dignity of Scotland became extinct, or rather merged in that of England. On the 24th of March 1603, James was called to the throne of the sister kingdom. Two days before his departure, he addressed the citizens in St Giles’ Church, promising them a continuation of his countenance, and expressing the regret which he felt at leaving them. Amongst the marks of royal favour with which James visited Scotland after his accession to the throne of England, was his empowering the magistrates of Edinburgh, in 1609, to have a sword of state carried before them, and to wear gowns; this, it is believed, being the earliest appearance of magisterial robes in Scotland. In 1617 James paid a long-promised visit to his native country. He entered Edinburgh by the West Port, and was conducted through the city with great pomp, and every demonstration of rejoicing. On the 28th of June he convened his twenty-second parliament at Edinburgh. In this assembly there were several remarkable acts passed, and amongst these one for the restitution of archbishops, bishops, and chapterj. Four years after this, namely, in 1621, an act of the estates and town council was passed for coping houses with lead, slates, or tiles, instead of thatch, which had hitherto been the covering commonly employed. In the same year water was introduced by pipes into the city; and three new bells were imported from Campvere in Holland, two for St Giles' Church, and one for the Netherbow Port.

Edinburgh seems to have enjoyed uninterrupted tranquillity during the remaining period of King James’s reign. When he died, in 1625, the ministers of the city eulogised him as the “most religious and peaceable prince that ever was in this unworthy world.” After the accession of Charles to the throne, which was proclaimed at the cross by the officers of state, a convention was held; and the town council, in consequence of certain ships of war being wanted, and forts for securing the coasts, not only agreed to advance the assessment when called upon, but also to contribute towards the maintenance of 10,000 men. Some time afterwards, a subsidy for four years having, at the king’s desire, been granted by parliament, the inhabitants of Edinburgh generously advanced at once their quota, amounting to L.40,000 Scots. For these acts of kindness his majesty expressed his gratitude, by sending a sword and gown to be worn by the provost in the manner appointed by his father. Like his father, too, Charles resolved to visit his native country, and though prevented for some years from fulfilling his design, he at last accomplished it in 1633. He was received by the inhabitants with much pomp, and the celebrated Drummond of Hawthornden was appointed to address him on his arrival, which he did with all the characteristic poetical embellishment peculiar to the times. On the 18th of June, Charles was crowned in the Abbey Church of Holyrood, and on the 20th he assembled his first Scottish parliament in the Tolbooth. During his residence in the city on this occasion, Charles erected the bishopric of Edinburgh, a measure which was by no means popular, and gave rise throughout the country to a series of civil disturbances, the principal focus of which seems to have been Edinburgh. During the civil war in 1640, the magistrates fortified the town against the castle, and disciplined the citizens. The governor, on perceiving these demonstrations of hostility, fired upon the city; but being soon afterwards invested by General Leslie, he was compelled to surrender from want of provisions.

Charles visited the city a second time in 1641, and was received and entertained by the magistrates with the utmost deference and respect. A parliament met on the 15th of July, the result of whose proceedings was an entire change in the government, Charles retaining only the name of king, and the kingdom the appearance only of a monarchy. He agreed to an act of oblivion, by which his opponents were pardoned at the expense of his friends; and after a residence of four months in the northern metropolis, he returned to London, having entrusted his Scottish affairs to a committee of the estates. Two years after this, in the month of July, the Solemn League and Covenant for the extirpation of prelacy was signed in the High Church; and shortly afterwards the city raised and supported a regiment of twelve hundred men, to assist the English parliamentary forces against Charles, at a cost of L.60,000 Scottish money. For this and several other acts of hostility to the king, the town was in 1645 threatened with a visit from the Marquis of Montrose; but it was saved from this disaster by the presence of another. This was the plague, which committed great ravages amongst its population. It was, however, the last visit which this dreadful scourge paid to the metropolis. Shortly after this (such were the changes of these eventful times), the city borrowed L.40,000 Scots to raise troops for the national [7:8:414] engagement in favour of Charles. This debt they afterwards refused to pay, on the plea that it was contracted in an unlawful cause. The impartial justice of Cromwell, however, subsequently compelled them in 1652 to refund the money. In May 1650 the Marquis of Montrose was conveyed a prisoner into Edinburgh. Three days afterwards he was brought to trial, condemned to death, and suffered on a gallows erected at the cross. Two months subsequently Charles II. was proclaimed on the same spot; and in the end of September following, the town was in the possession of Cromwell. On this occasion the magistrates fled to Stirling, then the head-quarters of the king’s forces. The town was thus left without any other civic rulers than that of a body of thirty citizens, chosen by the inhabitants to discharge in part the functions of the magistracy, who absented themselves from the 2d of September to the 5th of December 1651. About this period the town council granted liberty to one Adam Woodcock to establish a stage-coach between Edinburgh and Leith; which is amongst the first notices of a public conveyance of the kind in Scotland, and on that account sufficiently remarkable.

On the 11th of May 1660, the magistrates sent the town-clerk to Charles, who was at Breda, expressing their concurrence in his meditated restoration, already agreed to by both houses of parliament in England, and their joy at the prospect of such an event. Their messenger “had a most gracious acceptance and, in the name of the burgh, presented “a poor myte of L.1000, which he did graciously accept, as though it had been a greater business." The feelings of delight which the arrival of the king in England excited in Edinburgh, were expressed in the customary mode of costly feasting, a sumptuous banquet having been served up by the town council at the cross. This attachment on the part of the citizens was ill requited by Charles, who, in settling the affairs of the kingdom, re-established episcopacy in Scotland, in opposition to the oath and obligation of honour by which he was bound. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Scottish people, so attached to presbyterianism, should have expressed their indignation at his conduct in the most open manner. But when the liberty of the press, and freedom in matters of religion, were in consequence also 6peedily infringed upon, the whole country rose in arms, particularly the western counties. The attempt, however, which was made upon the life of Archbishop Sharp in the streets of Edinburgh led that prelate to advise those milder measures which were soon afterwards adopted by government. In 1679, James, then duke of York, came to reside in Edinburgh, and took up his abode in the Palace of Holyrood, where he remained till May 1682. During this period he rendered himself extremely odious by his opposition to the Covenanters, and by his attempting the revival of the drama, and encouraging other amusements to which the people were exceedingly averse.

Two years after this, the magistrates set up for the first time a regular state carriage; and were so much pleased with the accommodation and conveniency of this novelty, that they ordered two coaches from London for their own especial use, with the addition of four horses. On the demise of Charles II. in 1685, the town council erected an equestrian statue to him in the Parliament Square, as a proof of their gratitude to and affection for that monarch. Soon after James’ accession, the unfortunate Earl of Argyll was brought a prisoner into Edinburgh; and after being ignominiously paraded through the streets, his head was struck off by the Maiden, this being the last time, it is believed, that the instrument was employed. After a series of disturbances and tumultuary proceedings, occasioned by the attempts of James VII. to restore the Roman Catholic religion, a convention of estates was held at Edinburgh, in which it was declared that James had forfeited the crown; a resolution which was followed in March 1689 by an offer thereof to William and Mary.

The next epoch in the history of Edinburgh is formed by the celebrated Darien expedition in 1696. The intervening period is not without interest, but it exhibits no event of any importance in relation to the city. The occurrences during that time were-wholly of a national character, and are therefore more properly to be looked for in the history of the kingdom. In the famous bubble alluded to, Edinburgh was deeply interested, and was full of the high anticipations which this speculation had diffused throughout Scotland. About L.400,000 sterling were subscribed in the country. Six ships of considerable force and burthen, and laden with various commodities, sailed from the Frith of Forth; and in 1699, when intelligence arrived of the settlement being formed, the rejoicings in Edinburgh were unbounded. On the other hand, the disappointment excited on learning in the following year of its failure, filled the streets for several days with tumult and riot; and the city altogether presented such a scene of lawless anarchy, that the commissioner and officers of state deemed it necessary, for their personal safety, to retire until the popular fury had somewhat abated.

In 1702 a similar commotion was excited, from an apprehension on the part of the populace that one Captain Green, and his accomplices, four in number, who had been condemned for piracy and murder on the high seas, were, through the connivance of the authorities, to be permitted to escape the consummation of their sentence. The Lord Chancellor, in passing from the privy council in his coach, was attacked at the Tron Church, the glasses were broken, and he himself was dragged from the carriage. He was rescued by some of his friends; but it was found necessary to sacrifice the seamen to the resentment of the populace. The following year was distinguished by its presenting the last exhibition of the ancient Scottish national pageant called the Riding of the Parliament. This parting show took place on the 6th of May 1703. In 1704 the inhabitants of Edinburgh were gratified by a ceremony quite in accordance with the spirit of the age. By an act of the privy council, a large quantity of vestments, beads, chalices, crucifixes, and other appurtenances of Catholic worship, were brought to the cross, and there publicly burnt before the eyes of a delighted populace.

The tumults to which the city bad been so frequently subject were revived in 1707, on the occasion of the proposed union of the kingdoms. This, as is well known, was at first an exceedingly unpopular measure in Scotland; and the consequence was a series of the most violent and outrageous proceedings on the part of the mob, in order to intimidate those members of the Scottish parliament who were favourable to the obnoxious project. The deed, however, was finally accomplished, though not without great danger to the lives of its most active promoters. A small summer house in the Regent Murray’s garden is still pointed out as the place where the last signatures were attached to the document which terminated the independence of Scotland as a separate kingdom.

In the civil war of 1715 Edinburgh was little further involved than from the circumstance of an unsuccessful attempt made by the Jacobites to surprise the Castle. About this period the provost received a regular salary of L.300 per annum in order to defray his expenses; and in 1718 the scheme which had for some time been framed of extending the pier and building docks at Leith was in part executed; the town’s debts, which even then amounted to L.25,000, being thereby, in the space of five years, nearly doubled.
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The next occurrence of any importance in the annals of the city, was the celebrated tumult designated the Porteous Mob, which took place in September 1736. The accounts of this remarkable affair are so numerous, so easily accessible, and withal in general so full, that it is deemed unnecessary to give more than a mere outline in this place. Porteous, whose name distinguishes the transaction, was captain of the city guard. At the execution of a criminal of the name of Wilson, whose fate had excited an extraordinary sympathy, Porteous, dreading a rescue by the mob, who suddenly became tumultuary, ordered the guard to fire on them. Six people were killed by the discharge, and eleven wounded. For this Porteous was tried and condemned to death; but he was afterwards reprieved by Queen Caroline, then regent. Resolved however that he should not thus escape the fate which they conceived he merited, the mob, on the evening of the day previous to that on which he was to have been executed, broke into the jail in which he was confined, and having dragged him out, led him to the Grassmarket, the usual place of execution at that period, and there hanged him by torch light on a dyer’s pole.

On the 17th September 1745 Edinburgh was taken possession of by the rebels under Prince Charles Edward. A party of the Highlanders secured the Netherbow port, and thus made themselves masters of the city. The main body of the rebel army arrived shortly afterwards at the King’s Park, headed by the Chevalier in person, who took up his residence in Holyrood, where he held open court, and was visited by great numbers of the inhabitants. The city remained on this occasion in the hands of the rebels till the 31st of October, when, finding it impossible to reduce the castle, they proceeded on their march towards England.

The public transactions of an historical nature which occurred in the metropolis after these events, are not, except in a few instances, such as to require a particular description. On the 2d of February 1779, an infuriated mob, under the influence of religious fanaticism, burnt one Roman Catholic chapel and plundered another. Twelve years later, on the outbreaking of the revolution in France, a considerable body of the inhabitants manifested their admiration of the new political principles which were then brought so prominently forward, by forming themselves into associations for supporting the cause of political regeneration. These societies, the members of which received the appellation of Friends of the People, at length drew down upon them the notice and vengeance of government. Several persons accused of having been concerned in spreading sedition, and engaged in treasonable practices, were arrested and brought to trial. One of them named Watt, was condemned and beheaded, whilst others were transported. Subsequently, during the war with France, the citizens showed great zeal in support of the government, by forming themselves into regiments of volunteers, consisting of yeomanry, artillery, and several corps of infantry. On the last night of the year 1812, being the season devoted to innocent festivity, the streets of Edinburgh were disgraced by a series of riots, outrages, and robberies, hitherto unparalleled. During almost the whole night, after eleven o’clock, a gang, principally composed of young men, armed with bludgeons and other weapons, infested some of the principal streets of the metropolis, and knocked down, robbed, and otherwise wantonly maltreated almost every person who had the misfortune to fall in their way. In the dreadful tumult and scuffles which ensued, one officer of police was killed and many persons dangerously wounded, some of whom died in consequence, whilst a great number received severe contusions. Several rioters were seized, and being brought to trial, three were condemned and hanged, whilst some others were transported. This fearful outbreaking of juvenile delinquency led to the adoption of several beneficial plans for the better instruction of the lower classes, the benefits of which still continue to be felt.

The most remarkable event in which Edinburgh was more particularly concerned since that period was the visit of George IV. to Scotland in 1822, when he spent upwards of a fortnight in the metropolis, inspecting its public institutions, and receiving the congratulations of his Scottish subjects. Being the first crowned head that had entered Edinburgh since Charles II. in the year 1650, his late majesty’s visit caused the greatest excitement throughout the country, and produced such an influx of people from the surrounding counties, particularly from the west and north, as never before perhaps took place in Edinburgh. His majesty arrived in Leith Roads on the 14th of August, and landed on the 15th, on which occasion he made a grand progress from Leith through several of the streets of the New Town to the Palace of Holyrood, and thence drove to the Duke of Buccleuch’s house at Dalkeith, where he resided during his stay in Scotland. On the 17th he held a levee in Holyrood Palace, and on the 19th received the addresses of the commission of the Gener^ Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Next day he held a drawing-room, and on the 22d he went in procession from Holyrood House to the Castle. On the 23d he reviewed a body of cavalry on Portobello Sands, and on the same evening attended a ball given in honour of the royal visit by the peers of Scotland. On the 24th his majesty presided at a banquet given by the civic authorities, and on this occasion conferred on Sir William Arbuthnot, then Lord Provost, the honour of baronetcy. On the 26th his majesty attended a ball given by the Caledonian Hunt; on the evening of the 27th he appeared at the theatre; and on the 29th, after a visit at Hopetoun House, he embarked at Port Edgar, near Queensferry, on his return to England.

In 1824 the city suffered from a series of conflagrations of a most destructive and appalling description. The first of these commenced on the 24th of June, when some of the private dwellings in the Parliament Square, with a part of the High Street, and several closes, were consumed. The second and the most extensive began on the evening of the 15th November, and continued for three days, destroying an immense number of houses, chiefly between the High Street and Cowgate, also several fronting the High Street at the Cross, another portion of the Parliament Square, and likewise the spire of the Tron church, which had accidentally caught fire from the flying brands.

In no part of the united kingdom was the passing of the reform bill more strenuously insisted upon, or received, when framed into a law, with more heartfelt demonstrations of joy, than it was by the citizens of Edinburgh. The first election of members of parliament under that act took place at the cross on the 2İst of December 1832; and never, except perhaps during the visit of George IV. was such a multitude of people collected upon its streets.

Edinburgh is surrounded on all sides, excepting on the north, where the ground slopes gently towards the Frith of Forth, by lofty hills. On the east, in the immediate vicinity of the city, are the abrupt and rocky elevations of Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Crags, and the Caiton Hill, the first of which rises to the height of 800 feet above the level of the sea. On the south are the Braid and Pentland Hills, and on the west the hill of Corstorphine. Salisbury Crags form a continued range of naked and perpendicular cliffs, which rise like a mural crown from the summit of the hill, and at a distance have a singularly wild and romantic appearance, the interest of which is heightened[7:8:416] by the contrast of the splendid city over which they tower majestically. The town stands on high and uneven ground, being built on three eminences, which run parallel to one another from east to west. The most elevated of these, on which the city was originally built, is terminated abruptly on the west by a precipitous rock surmounted by the Castle, whilst to the east it gradually inclines to the plain from which rises the lofty elevation of Arthur’s Seat. The valley to the north of this ridge, which was formerly filled with water, has been of late years drained, and is now laid out in public gardens. It still retains, however, its original name of the North Loch.

Till the middle of the eighteenth century, Edinburgh continued to occupy little more than the same space of ground which it had covered in the reigns of James III. and James IV.; namely, the ridge between the Castle on the west and Holyrood House on the east, with the hollow called the Cowgate on the south, and part of the rising ground beyond. In a great proportion of this Old Town the buildings are crowded and irregular, and the houses in some parts rise to the unusual height of eleven stories. The principal, or High Street, which is somewhat more than a mile in length, and is in some parts ninety feet in breadth, occupies the centre of the ridge, and extends, under different designations, nearly in a straight line from the Castle on the western extremity to the Palace of Holyrood on the eastern. Both sides of the ridge occupied by this street are covered with buildings crowded together in the closest array, and descending from the High Street, chiefly in narrow lanes, or closes as they are termed, which are seldom broader than six feet, and which, consisting of high houses on either side, are inhabited by numerous families, with little regard either to health or cleanliness. A proposal in the reign of Charles II. to extend the town over the lands to the north, beyond the hollow called the North Loch, having been frustrated, nothing was done till 1751, when an old building having fallen, by which one person was killed, a strong feeling regarding the inconvenience and decayed condition of the houses began to be expressed. The first decided step towards extending the city was taken by Provost Drummond, on the 21st of October 1763, when he laid the foundation-stone of what is now styled the North Bridge, in order to connect the town with the properties on the north. This edifice consists of three great central arches, each seventy-two feet in width and sixty-eight in height, with small side arches, making the total length 310 feet. In 1767, whilst this work was proceeding, an act for extending the royalty was obtained; and a plan for the New Town being then formed by Mr Craig, architect, the foundation of the first house was laid on the 20th of October the same year. By this plan the chief streets of the New Town of Edinburgh were disposed in three parallel lines from east to west; that on the south side, formed like a terrace, and facing the Old Town, being called Princes Street; a similar street facing the north, called Queen Street; and the third, which was named George Street, running up the centre. An elegant square at the west end of George Street, styled Charlotte Square, corresponded to another at its eastern extremity, designated St Andrew Square. Between Princes Street and George Street a narrow street of inferior houses runs along the whole length, and a street of nearly the same appearance is situated between Queen Street and George Street. Seven cross streets, namely, St Andrew, St David, Hanover, Frederick, Castle, Charlotte, and Hope Streets, intersecting these parallel thoroughfares at right angles from south to north, completed the plan. Coeval with the erection of these splendid streets and squares, a lofty street was opened from the extremity of the North Bridge and Princes Street, towards Leith Walk, or main road to Leith, opening an excellent communication with that sea-port. The whole of the new edifices according to Mr Craig’s plan were completed about the year 1815, but the greater part much earlier. Only one serious error was committed by the local authorities in connection with the building of the New Town. This was the formation of a huge mass of earth called the Earthen Mound, which was laid down in the valley of the North Loch, parallel to the North Bridge, and calculated to serve the purpose of a second bridge. It was begun about 1781, out of the accumulation of the rubbish from the excavations of the New Town, and has been recently completed. It is computed to contain upwards of two millions of cart loads, and now serves as a thoroughfare from Hanover Street to the upper part of the Old Town.

Such was the success attending the building of the New Town, that in time a second extension of the same nature was projected, still farther towards the north, beyond an open area in front of Queen Street. The design of this second town intimately resembled that of its predecessor, consisting of a terraće in front and rear, a large central street, with two intermediate narrow ones, and cross streets in continuation of those in the former New Town. This vast and splendid addition to Edinburgh was commenced in 1801, and was nearly finished in the year 1826. Its central street is entitled Great King Street, and, as in the case of George Street, it is terminated by large open areas: one of these, of an oblong form, is styled Drummond Place; whilst the other, of a circular shape, is called the Royal Circus. Since this portion of the New Town was completed, another extension, still farther towards the north, has been projected, and is now partially built; and between the new streets in this quarter and the sea, a distance of about a mile and a half, are now built a number of isolated villas and ranges of houses, of a similarly elegant style of architecture.

About the time when the second New Town approached its completion, a series of superb edifices began to be erected on its north-western confines, between Charlotte Square and the Water of Leith, on the property of the Earl of Moray. This magnificent part of Edinburgh was erected during the years Ì823, 1824, and 1825. Anopen space called Moray Place forms the chief cluster of buildings, and is considered as the most superb part of the modern extension of the metropolis. To the westward of Charlotte Square and Princes Street another series of beautiful streets and crescents have been erected, chiefly on the lands of Coates. As it is by a road through these new streets that persons from the west of Scotland enter the town, the appearance of so many structures on a scale of uniform splendour almost unrivalled in Britain, seldom fails to excite feelings of delight and admiration. This quarter of the town has latterly been considerably improved by the erection of a magnificent bridge of four arches, stretching across the deep dell or ravine at the bottom of which flows the Water of Leith. This bridge was completed in 1832, and will henceforth serve as the principal entrance to Edinburgh from the north.

The extension of the New Town to the north and west absorbed public attention till about the year 1813, when the idea was started of opening an entrance from the east. The foundation-stone of a bridge to form a connection with the Calton Hill, styled Regent Bridge, was laid in September 1815, and the work was completed in 1819. The arch of this structure is fifty feet wide, by about the same in height. On the top of the ledges of the bridge are arches and ornamental pillars of the Corinthian order, which on either side are connected with the houses in the line of street formed at the same time. The street, or [7:8:417] • Waterloo Place as it has been designated, is composed of very superb houses of four stories, and each is terminated at Princes Street by a pediment and pillars above the lower story. From Waterloo Place, the new road by which most of the vehicles and passengers from the east enter the city, proceeds by a sweep round the southern face of the Calton Hill. The entrance by this thoroughfare is not less commanding and beautiful than that by the west; and the semicircular range of houses forming the Royal and Regent Terraces, lately erected on the slope of the hill, have a very striking effect. From the northern and eastern base of the hill towards Leith, the rudiments of another New Town were simultaneously formed. At present (1833) only a few streets in this quarter have been completed, but these are on a scale not surpassed by many of the modern structures.

Some years prior to the foundation of the New Town, certain private proprietors began to build lines of houses, of a good style of architecture, on the grounds to the south of the Old Town, and in this way George Square, Argyle Square, and Brown Square were opened for the rece∣>- tion of the higher class of citizens. The erection of these and other edifices soon suggested the necessity of a proper communication between them and the High Street, on the plan of the North Bridge; and on the 1st of August 1785, the foundation-stone of a bridge crossing the Cowgate, styled the South Bridge, was laid, and the thoroughfare opened for passengers in March 1788. The South Bridge consists of twenty-two arches, all of which are concealed by the buildings along its sides, with the exception of one at the centre spanning the Cowgate. In later times the city has spread very considerably towards the south; and beyond the outskirts of the streets in this direction there have been erected towards Newington a variety of neat and beautiful villas, which form the residences generally of the more respectable mercantile classes. Front the period of the erection of the South Bridge in the year 1788, no further improvements took place in this direction, till after the opening of the Union Canal. The formation of this canal, to serve as a water communication with Glasgow, by joining the Forth and Clyde Canal, took place in virtue of an act of parliament procured in 1817 by a joint-stock company. Its eastern termination is about half a mile south-west from the Castle. Here the place of shipment, called Port Hopetoun, has been greatly improved by the erection of various new streets, one of which communicates directly with the west end of Princes Street or the New Town. In order to form an equally direct line of communication with the Old Town, and, generally speaking, that the High Street might be more thrown open to an approach from the southern districts, an act of parliament was procured by the inhabitants in 1827, vesting powers in certain individuals called Commissioners of Improvements, to open two lines of approach to the Old Town, one proceeding from the neighbourhood of Port Hopetoun on the south-west, and the other from the district on the south, adjacent to George Square and the open grounds or Meadow Walks in its vicinity. Both lines were calculated to render the destruction of many houses on the Castle Hill and in the Lawnmarket absolutely necessary, as well as to require bridges of an expensive nature; and the outlay for the whole was ordained by the same and by a subsequent act of parliament to be defrayed by assessments upon the inhabitants. These improvements are now (1833) in progress, and when finished will do much to renovate the more ancient part of the capital, as well as to form useful thoroughfares through the town.

At the present day the city extends about two miles in length and the same in breadth, and presents, when viewed from the Calton Hill, one of the most extraordinary panoramic scenes which can be conceived. On the right are the splendid lines of streets of the New Town, constructed of white sandstone, gradually spread out with a moderate descent towards the flat ornamental grounds adjacent to the sea. In front we have the vista of Princes Street, nearly a mile in length; and on the opposite side of the ravine of the North Loch, now disposed as pleasure-grounds, the huge unbroken line of tall structures forming the Old Town, terminated by the towers of the Castle. Beyond and towards the south, the town is seen to spread out in lines of streets and detached houses, till arrested by the fields and inclosures towards the Braid Hills, or on the east by the precipitous heights called Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags. The view from the Calton Hill in a northerly direction is also remarkably fine, comprehending a prospect of the whole Frith of Forth, and the hills of Fifeshire on its opposite shore.

We now proceed to notice Edinburgh in detail, commencing with a description of its more remarkable public edifices.

The Castle, as has already been stated, owes its origin as a regular place oľ defence to the Anglo-Saxon dynasty, 1 near the end of the fifth century; but its fortifications ap-; pear to be of comparatively modern date. The rock on which the fortress is situated rises to a height of three hundred feet, and is precipitous on all sides except the east, on which it is connected with the town by an open glacis or esplanade. The surface of the rock measures about seven acres, and is surmounted by battlements, lofty barracks, and other buildings. Amongst the buildings crowning the summit is that erected by Queen Mary as a palace, in a small apartment on the ground floor of which that princess was delivered of her son, James VI., on the 19th of June 1566. In the same part of the edifice is situated the crown room, where the regalia of Scotland were lodged in 1707, and found in 1818, after being lost sight of for upwards of one hundred years. These regalia consisţ of a crown, sceptre, sword of state, and lord treasurer’s rod; the former is supposed to be even more ancient than the time of Robert Bruce, though it has undergone several changes since that period; the sword was a present from Pope Julius 11. to James IV. The arsenal or storehouse of the Castle is capable of containing 30,000 stand of arms, and the whole buildings about 2000 men. In March 1829 an addition was made to the curiosities of the castle by the restoration of an ancient piece of ordnance called Mons Meg, which had been removed from the fortress and carried into England in 1754. This immense cannon, for it is of an unusual size, was fabricated in the year 1498, and is curious from its structure, being formed of bars bound together with rings. It was employed at the siege oľ Norham Castle, but was rent in 1682, when firing a salute in honour of James duke of York.

The charter of foundation of the Abbey of Holyrood is dated 1128. It was largely endowed by the founder David 1., and was considered as one of the wealthiest ecclesiastical establishments in Scotland. In 1544 it was sacked, and in part destroyed, by the Earl of Hertford when he invaded Scotland; and again in 1547. The chapel attached to it was desecrated and dismantled by the mob in 1688; and in 1768 the roof fell in, and thus left it in the ruined condition in which it now stands. Within this chapel were interred, amongst other illustrious remains, those of Queen Magdalen and Darnley. The royal palace is contiguous. It is not known at what time a palace was first erected on this spot. The more ancient parts of that which is now in existence were built by James V.; but it has since undergone many changes, and little if any of the [7:8:418]original building remains. In the time of Cromwell it was burnt by the soldiers of that usurper, and was rebuilt after the Restoration by Charles II. The architect on this occasion was Sir William Bruce, and the builder who carried his designs into execution was Robert Mylne. The edifice is of a quadrangular figure, with an open court in the centre, surrounded with piazzas. Amongst the curiosities exhibited in the Palace of Holyrood is the chamber of Queen Mary, in which may still be seen, though in a decayed state, the bed of that unfortunate princess. In a hall or gallery a hundred and fifty feet in length, twenty-seven and a half in breadth, and eighteen in height, and which is adorned with the portraits of a hundred and six Scottish monarchs, takes place the election of representative peers for Scotland. The most remarkable circumstance connected with Holyrood House is its privilege of affording a sanctuary to debtors. The limit of this privileged territory is marked in the direction of the town by a strand or gutter at the foot of the Canongate, and at the distance of about a hundred yards from the palace. Altogether the sanctuary describes a circle of about five miles, including Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat. The immunities of the sanctuary have existed since the date of the monastery. Considerable improvements were made on the exterior walls of the palace during 1832, and some years previously, at the expense of his majesty.

Edinburgh is now chiefly distinguished as a capital by being the seat of the Scottish supreme courts or College of Justice, which, as has already been mentioned, was constituted in 1532 by James V. This body consists of persons intimately connected with the various supreme courts, and comprehends the judges or senators, the faculty of advocates, writers to the signet, solicitors in the supreme courts, advocates’ first clerks, clerks to the judges, extractors, keepers of the different departments, and, in a general sense, may be said to include the principal professional gentlemen in Edinburgh. This influential body at one time possessed some valuable privileges, the chief of which now remaining are exemptions from certain local taxes, and non-liability to be sued before any inferior civil court of record.

The principal court connected with the College of Justice is the Court of Session, or supreme civil court. This judicature possesses all those peculiar powers exercised in England by the Courts of Chancery, King’s Bench, Common Pleas, Admiralty, and others, being a court both of law and of equity. The constitution of the court, during its continuance of three hundred years, has undergone many alterations, and is now established upon an improved plan, introduced by an act of parliament passed in 1830. There are thirteen judges, who are separated into the first and second divisions. In the former there are six lords, and in the latter seven. The presiding judge in the first division is the Lord President, and in the second division the Lord Justice Clerk, a title which he derives from being co-ordinately the presiding judge of the High Court of Justiciary. The two divisions form distinct courts, which, excepting on particular occasions, have no connection with each other. Popularly, they are each denominated the Inner House, from their meetings being held in inner apartments leading from the Outer House, or hall of the Parliament House. From the first division are detached two judges with the title of Lords Ordinary, and from the second there are detached three. Before one or other of these ordinaries all causes are brought in the first instance; and, in case of dissatisfaction with their judgments, the suits can be removed by appeal into the inner House, but always to that division before whose ordinary the case was primarily brought. The office of Lord Ordinary on the Bills, which is successively discharged by the judges, is of great im portance in a national sense, as, besides other duties, it includes that of supreme civil magistrate of the kingdom. Cases may be removed by appeal from the Court of Session to the House of Lords. The court has a winter term of four, and a summer term of two months.

Agreeably to certain acts of parliament, a civil jurisdiction, with the title of Jury Court, was instituted in Scotland, and subsisted under various modifications, between the years 1816 and 1830, when it ceased as a separate court. By the act 1 William IV. cap. 69, passed 23d July 1830, the benefit of jury trial in civil causes was united with the ordinary jurisdiction of the Court of Session. In virtue of this act, the lords president of the two divisions respectively try by jury all issues arising out of causes in these divisions, and otherwise discharge all duties previously assigned to the Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court. In certain circumstances, the ordinary lords of session may also discharge the same duties, and the Lord Chief Commissioner is still qualified to act as a judge in such causes. The juries who are impannelled under this branch of the jurisdiction of the Court of Session are twelve in number, as in England, and must be unanimous in their verdicts or findings.

Every alternate Wednesday during terms, the Teind Court of Scotland, instituted in 1707, is held in Edinburgh, in the apartment of one of the divisions. The judges ol the Court of Session are, by commission, judges also in this. It is the peculiar duty of the Teind Court to regulate the stipends of the clergy of the established church of Scotland, and other secular matters touching ecclesiastical polity. Nine judges form a quorum.

The High Court of Justiciary was instituted in 1672, It is composed of a president, styled the Lord Justice Clerk, an<l five other judges, who are at the same time lords of session. This supreme criminal court sits every Monday during term, and in the vacations of the Court ol Session, the commissioners of justiciary proceed, in small detachments, upon appointed circuits.

The Commissary or Consistorial Court, the duties ol which comprehended pleas relative to declarators of marriage and legitimacy, to divorce, adherence, and the like, was in 1830 amalgamated with the Court of Session. The head consistorial court of Scotland was thus almost entirely abolished. A certain number of commissaries, however, yet remain, whose duty consists in granting confirmation of testaments of persons dying abroad and leaving personal property in Scotland. They have also a special jurisdiction in the county of Edinburgh, the same as sheriffs in other counties.

The Dean of Guild Court consists of the Dean of Guild, Old Dean of Guild, and five guild counsellors. The powers of this court were formerly far more extensive than they are at present, having relation to causes between merchant and mariner, as well as to those between merchant and merchant. The institution, however, of the Admiralty Court, by the act 1681, cap. 16, superseded its interference with maritime affairs. Even yet, the functions of the individual who is at the head of it do not seem to be very distinctly defined; but he is independent of the burgh or bailie court. The Dean of Guild is chosen yearly, and with his council has power to regulate the buildings within burgh, agreeably to law. He alone is competent to grant authority, by his warrants, or jedges as they are called, for pulling down or erecting houses; and he gives directions as to keeping buildings and streets in proper repair. The provost and bailies have no power to review the decrees of the Dean of Guild, redress being only competent in the Court of Session, as in the case of judgments by the bailie court. For more specific information, see Guild.
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The Court of Exchequer is now abolished as a separate judicature, its functions being included in those of the Court of Session. The only remaining branch of the Scottish Exchequer establishment now consists of a variety of officers for conducting the business connected with the different descriptions of revenue drawn from the country, which pass through this channel. Amongst these is an officer of the crown, with the title of King’s Remembrancer for Scotland, whose duty it is to secure all fines payable to the king, all treasure found, and property falling to the crown as ultimus lueres.

The Lyon Court is now nearly extinct. The duties of the Lord Lyon, so named from the circumstance of the lion forming the armorial bearing of the kings of Scotland, are performed by two deputies. These duties consist in the ordering of proclamations, conferring armorial bearings, and superintending the management of state ceremonials and processions. He has besides a control over a large body of messengers at arms, and other officials, amongst whom are six heralds, and the same number of pursuivants. The fees payable at the lyon office for patents of arms are, for arms without supporters L.52. 10s., and with supporters L.84; but if the patent be granted as a favour, the price is L.115. 10s. The Lord Lyon receives a share of the fees to the amount of L.700 a year. Altogether his office is worth about L.1300 annually. It is enjoyed by the Earl of Kinnoull.

The Faculty of Advocates is an association of barristers entitled to plead before the supreme or any other courts of record. It consists at present of four hundred and thirty members, who are presided over by a Dean. All candidates for admission into this society must undergo an examination on the Roman and Scotch law, and every member on entering pays a fee of nearly L.300, one halt of which goes to support the library belonging to the Faculty. The appointment ofjudges of the Court of Session, and the thirty-three sheriffships of Scotland, together with several other government offices and dignities, are filled up exclusively from this body. The Faculty, however, possesses no charter of incorporation.

The Society of Writers to the Signet is also an unincorporated body, consisting at present of nearly seven hundred members, qualified to conduct causes before the supreme courts, and possessing the sole right of passing papers or warrants under the signet or seal of his majesty, from which circumstance their professional name is derived. The principal and most lucrative branch of their professional employment is that of conveyancing. In order to promote the study of this important department of legal practice, they, many years ago, founded a lectureship, which was, in 1825, erected into a professorship in the University. In order to gain admission into this Society, an apprenticeship of five years is necessary. At entering into his indentures, the apprentice must show that he has attended a university for two years; and, during the course of his apprenticeship, he must attend the law classes in the University. A thorough examination on the principles of the law of Scotland, and the practice of conveyancing, takes place previously to admission into the Society. Its affairs are administered at stated meetings. It possesses an extensive and very valuable library; and most of the members are associated in supporting a fund for widows, which, by act of parliament, must amount to L.20,000 for every hundred members.

The Solicitors before the Supreme Courts form a body of attorneys incorporated in 1797. Its members amount to between one and two hundred. With the exception of the power of passing papers under the seal of his majesty, their privileges are nearly the same with those of the Writers to the Signet. They have also office-bearers, a hall of 1 meeting, and a library.

Of the class of practitioners denominated Advocates’ First Clerks, there are not a great number. They are entitled to act as attorneys in the Supreme Courts on undergoing the usual examinations, and paying certain fees. Every advocate has the privilege of appointing a clerk.

The edifice which has been appropriated since the Union as the place of meeting of the supreme courts, is the old Parliament House of Scotland, situated in the centre of the Old Town, and separated from the High Street by the cathedral of St Giles. This structure was erected between the years 1632 and 1640, at an expense ofL.11,600 sterling to the civic corporation. In recent times, however, with the exception of the great hall, it has been almost totally renewed. It stands on the southern and western sides of the inclosure called the Parliament Square, a place formerly surrounded with the shops of tradesmen, but entirely remodelled since the destructive fires of 1824, and now exhibiting on the south and west sides splendid erections in the Grecian style of architecture, with piazzas underneath. These improvements, which extend over the front of the old parliament-house, or present court-house, have been executed chiefly by government, at a great expense. The entrance to the courts is at the south-west angle of the square; the great hall is 122 feet by 49, and has a lofty roof of carved oak, arched and disposed in the same style as that of Westminster Hall. In this hall or outer house generally sit two of the Lords Ordinary, and the floor during session is the daily resort of all persons connected with the courts. On a pedestal near the south end of the hall is a statue in white marble, of the late Lord Viscount Melville, executed in 1818 by Chantrey.

Adjoining the Parliament House are certain spacious apartments fitted up as libraries for the Faculty of Advocates and the Writers to the Signet. The Library of the former body was founded in 1682, at the instance of Sir George Mackenzie, then Dean of Faculty. The collection is now the largest and most valuable in Scotland, and is in every sense one of the noblest national libraries. By an act of parliament passed in the reign of Queen Anne, it is entitled to a copy of every work printed in Britain; and, with the sums annually disbursed in the purchase of useful and rare books, it is rapidly increasing. The library is under the charge of six curators, a librarian, and assistants. At present the collection is on the eve of removal to a large new building erected for its reception on the west side of the Parliament Houβe, and facing the new approach from the south.

The Library of the Society of Writers to the Signet occupies a βplendid modern erection of two stories, in the Grecian style of architecture, extending westward from the north-west corner of the Parliament House, and having a front to the Lawnmarket. This edifice contains two large and beautiful apartments, decorated in front of the book-presses with rows of columns, which produce a fine effect. These noble apartments have cost the society L.25,000. The library, like that of the Advocates, is under the charge of curators, a librarian, and assistants.

The Scottish Supreme Courts possess accommodations for their records, and the functionaries connected therewith, in a building styled the General Register House of Scotland, one of the most remarkable national edifices in the metropolis. It stan*ds at the eastern extremity of Princes Street, fronting the thoroughfare of the North Bridge. The foundation was laid on the 17th of June 1776, and L.1200 were given by George III. out of the money arising from the sale of the forfeited estates, to assist in its erection. It was fully completed in 1822, [7:8:420]at a very great expense, which has been defrayed by government. The building, which was planned by Mr Robert Adam, forms a square, with a quadrangular court in the centre, containing a circular edifice or dome fifty feet in diameter, which joins the sides of the court, leaving spaces at the angles for the admission of light. Viewed from the street, it presents a compact building of 200 feet in length, by a breadth of 120. Each of the corners is surmounted by a small turret, and the central tower is crowned with a dome. The interior consists principally of small fire-proof chambers, in which are deposited state papers, copies or records of all the title-deeds of property, and of all legal contracts, mortgages, &c.; also records of all suits at law from an early period.

The Post-Office establishment for Scotland is conducted in Edinburgh, and occupies a handsome new edifice of four stories in Waterloo Place. The duties of this well-regulated establishment are executed by a numerous body of individuals, amongst whom are a secretary, cashier, clerks, and letter-carriers. The produce of the Scottish posts is now upwards of L.207,000 annually, and the expense of management about L 55,000.

The Stamp Office for Scotland is also situated in Waterloo Place, a short way westward of the Post-Office, to which it bears a very considerable resemblance in point of architectural design. This establishment, which is under the superintendence of a comptroller, is subject to the Board of Stamps in London.

In looking along the noble line of Princes Street, the eye is arrested by a structure of modern date, occupying a situation at the northern extremity of the Earthen Mound, or that end adjoining the New Town. This edifice, which fronts the opening of Hanover Street, is entitled the Royal Institution Buildings, and is appropriated for the accommodation of a variety of institutions. It was founded in the year 1823, on a substructure of piles and cross bearers, rendered necessary by the nature of the ground, which consists of forced earth. The building is from a Grecian model, executed by Mr Playfair, and has a range of Doric columns on each side, and another range surmounted with a pediment in front. Owing to the opposition of the Princes Street proprietors, the structure is not sufficiently elevated. The interior accommodations consist of one large central hall for exhibitions, and an upper and lower range of smaller apartments on each side. Additions are at present making to the building by an extension in the direction of the Mound, which will very much improve its appearance. The Royal Institution, under whose auspices this edifice was founded, was incorporated by royal charter in the year 1827, for the purpose of encouraging the fine arts in Scotland. The primary object of the institution is the annual exhibition of pictures of modern artists, and the purchase of those which are deemed of sufficient merit to entitle them to a place in a regular gallery of paintings. The institution also occasionally offers exhibitions of paintings by the old masters. A separate establishment was founded in Edinburgh in 1826, by a body of artists, with similar objects in view, entitled the Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, which has now also regular exhibitions.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh was incorporated by royal charter in 1783, for the purpose of encouraging philosophical inquiry, and discussing matters connected with nature and art. Its meetings, which are very numerously attended, take place twice a month during winter and spring, and it has published twelve volumes of transactions. It is governed by a president, several vice-presidents, and twelve counsellors. It possesses very splendid apartments, an extensive library, and a small museum, in the Royal Institution Buildings

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland originated in 1780, and was incorporated by letters under the great seal in 1783. The society is governed by a president, three vice-presidents, and a council of nine members, with a treasurer, two curators, a general secretary, and a secretary for foreign correspondence. The king is patron. The fee of admission is three guineas, and two guineas annually, or a life premium of twenty guineas. Its meetings are held every alternate Monday during winter and spring. The society possesses a museum, in which there is a considerable collection of antiquities, principally Scottish. Its apartments are situated in the Royal Institution Buildings.

The Board of Trustees, which was instituted for encouraging trade and manufactures in Scotland, was erected by letters patent in the year 1727. On its erection it was endowed with the sum of L.3800, and an annuity of L.2000 from government. It has since then received various accessions of revenue, chiefly from the forfeited estates, which now amounts altogether to L.7961. 13s. 8d. annually. The management of this capital is vested in twenty-eight trustees, consisting of peers, judges of the supreme courts, the lord advocate, bankers, and gentlemen of property, all of whom give their services gratis. Vacancies are filled up by the crown; five members form a quorum; and meetings are held periodically throughout the year. The chief object of this institution has hitherto been the encouragement of the manufacture of particular kinds of linen and woollen cloths; but it now extends its patronage to other branches, and pays, besides, L.500 per annum to the Royal Institution of Scotland for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts. It has an academy for instruction in drawing, and possesses a noble gallery of casts from the ancient sculptures. It has apartments in the Royal Institution Buildings.

The Highland Society of Scotland originated in the year 1784. In 1787 it was incorporated by royal charter, and assisted by a grant of L.3000 from the forfeited estates. In 1789 it received a further and annual grant of L.800 from the treasury. Its members exceed seventeen hundred, und are admitted by ballot at public meetings, each paying a life subscription of L.12. 12s. or an annual fee of L.l. 3s. 6d. The society is under the management of a president, four vice-presidents, a treasurer and secretary, two deputy-secretaries and collectors, and a body of thirty ordinary and ten extraordinary directors. The object of this institution was originally confined to improving the condition of the Highlands; but its patronage is now extended over the whole kingdom, and embraces every species of improvement in agriculture, management of cattle, and general country produce. It annually awards premiums in money and medals to the amount of L.1200, for the best specimens of live stock, shows of which are every season made in some particular district. The society has a handsome hall, model-room, and other apartments in Albyn Place, at the west end of Queen Street.

The Caledonian Horticultural Society, the object of which is the promotion of improvement in the cultivation of the best kinds of fruits, flowers, kitchen vegetables, and the like, was established in the year 1809. It is supported by the sale of shares of twenty guineas in value, or annual fees of two guineas. Its affairs are managed by a president, four vice-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, an auditor, an artist, a council of twelve, a committee of prizes, and a garden committee. The society has an excellent experimental garden in the grounds of Inverleith.

The object of the Society of Arts, instituted in 1821, is to encourage the invention of machines calculated to improve manufactures, the discovery of chemical preparations of utility in the arts, and the exposition of facts tending to improve the natural products of the soil. The [7:8:421]king is patron. The society has honorary, associate, and ordinary members. The latter pay L.l. Is. annually, or a life premium - of L.10.10s. It distributes about L.80 every year in premiums for models, essays, and the like.

Nelson’s Monument occupies the summit of a rocky eminence on the Calton Hill, and is one of the most prominent, though at the same time most unsightly objects in Edinburgh. It was begun by subscription soon after the death of Lord Nelson, whose actions it was intended to commemorate, but it was not finished till 1815. It consists of a lofty circular turret, with a stair inside, and is battlemented on the top. Round the base is a low structure in the same style of architecture, divided into apartments.

The National Monument occupies a prominent situation on the Calton Hill. It was begun by a body of subscribers in 1822, and was intended to be an exact model of the Parthenon at Athens. Its object was to commemorate those Scotchmen who had fallen in the different engagements by sea and land during the wars consequent on the French revolution; but it has been arrested in its progress for want of funds, and only twelve massive pillars of exquisite workmanship have as yet been completed.

A monument of a singularly elegant description, designed by Mr Playfair, and which is a reproduction, with some variations, of the choragic monument of Lysicrates, was erected in 1830-31 on a prominent situation on the Calton Hill. It is commemorative of the late Mr Dugald Stewart, professor of moral philosophy in the university of Edinburgh. A monumental erection, commemorative of Professor Playfair, is also placed on the Calton Hill, at the corner of the enclosure of the Royal Observatory; and more recently another to the memory of Robert burns has been raised on an isolated eminence fronting the new High School. David Hume’s Monument, within the old Gallon Hill burying-ground, is also conspicuous.

Lord Melville’s Monument, an elegant fluted column, in the centre of St Andrew Square, was finished in 1828. It was raised by subscriptions chiefly among gentlemen connected with the royal navy. On the summit is a colossal figure of the above nobleman, cut in freestone. This beautiful column rises to the height of 136 feet, is modelled after Trajan’s pillar at Rome, and forms altogether a very prominent and striking object.

In George Street, at the crossing of Hanover Street, stands a pedestal, surmounted with a figure in bronze of George IV., erected in 1832, in commemoration of the visit of his majesty to Scotland in 1822. A similar pedestal and figure of Mr Pitt were erected in George Street, at the crossing of Frederick Street, in 1833. Doth statues are by Chan trey.

During the reign of episcopacy in Scotland, Edinburgh was the seat of a bishop. It is now the place of meeting of the General Assembly of the church, and the seat of a synod and presbytery. Ecclesiastically, the ancient and extended royalty comprehend thirteen parochial divisions, eight of which have one clergyman each, and five are double or collegiate charges. That portion of the town which is not within these divisions belongs either to the parish of Canongate, or to that of St Cuthbert's. Originally the city consisted of only one parish, of which the ancient church of St Giles was the place of public worship. This venerable fabric, which occupies a prominent situation in the centre of the Old Town, on the south side of the High Street, is of unknown origin and date. It has been presumed, however, that a church existed on its site as early as the year 854; but the first certain intelligence regarding it occurs in 1359, when a charter was granted by David II. bestowing some land on a chaplain who officiated at one of its altars. The building, previously to certain alterations which were made u∣*on it, was cruciform, and of Gothic architecture, but rather substantial than elegant. From the centre of the whole there rises a square tower, the top of which is encircled with open figured stone work, whilst from each corner of the tower springs an arch, and the tour meeting together produce the appearance of an imperial crown. These arches are highly ornamented with small pinnacles, and from the apex rises an equally ornamented short spire. This elegant object is prominent above the whole of the town; and being 161 feet in height, it may be seen at a great distance. After the Reformation, the church was divided by internal walls into separate places of worship. By these and other subsequent alterations, the choir or eastern division formed the High Church; the one occupying the centre of the building, was styled the Old Church; another entering from the south-west corner, the Tolbooth Church; and one at the north-west corner was named the New North Church. Between the years 1829-33 this extensive edifice was remodelled, and greatly improved in external appearance, by an entire casing of new walls. It now forms two churches; and contains also a spacious hall intended as a place of meeting for the General Assembly. The design of the remodelled church does great credit to its architect, Mr William Burn.

Trinity College Church, which is next in point of antiquity to St Giles, is situated on the low ground east from the North Bridge. It was founded in 1462, by Mary of Gueldres, widow of James II.; and in 1502 James IV. invested it with some additional revenues. At the period of the Reformation it shared the fate of the other ecclesiastical establishments of the kingdom. Its revenues were in 1567 given to Sir Simon Preston, provost of Edinburgh, who again presented them to the town council as a common fund. In 1587 the magistrates restored an hospital which had formerly belonged to the establishment, and which still exists. The body of its royal foundress lies interred in an aisle on the north side of the church, and within its walls are likewise the remains of many persons celebrated in Scottish history.

The Old Grayľriars Church was built in 1612, but it was not constituted a parish church till 1722. Previously to this, in May 1718, its spire was blown up by gunpowder, which had been lodged in it by the town authorities for security. The New Grayfriars Church was built in 1721. Both of these buildings, which are separated only by a wall, were erected on what was formerly the garden ground of the monastery of Grayfriarβ, in the south part of the town, and which, on the demolition of the friary in 1559, was conferred by Queen Mary on the town, to be used as a public cemetery. The Old Grayfriars Church is remarkable for being the place where the National Covenant was begun to be signed in 1638, and for having had the historian of Charles V. as its minister.

The Tron Church, which stands in the High Street, was begun in the year 1627, and opened for public worship in 1647. Its appellation is acquired from the circumstance of a tron or weighing beam having formerly stood upon the spot. Its steeple, formed of wood and covered with lead, was destroyed during the great fires of 1824, but has since been replaced by an elegant stone spire of 160 feet in height.

Lady Yester’s Church was founded in 1647, by Dame Margaret Ker, Lady Yester. This pious lady gave the magistrates fifteen thousand n>erks for the erection of the building, and made a bequest of a thousand merks per annum for the stipend of a minister. The original edifice having become ruinous, it was rebuilt in 1803. It is situated in Infirmary Street, and has no spire.

St Andrew’s Church was erected in the year 1781. The body of the building is of an oval form, with an exceedingly[7:8:422] handsome spire in front, partly resting on four Corinthian pillars, and rising to a height of 168 feet.

St George’s Church, which is situated on the west side of Charlotte Square, was founded in the year 1811, and opened in 1814. It is a huge square fabric, in a plain Grecian style, and is capable of accommodating about 1600 persons. From the centre rises a tower surmounted with a dome, 150 feet in height, somewhat in imitation of St Paul’s. The building cost L.33,000.

St Mary’s Church stands in Bellevue Crescent, and was opened in the year 1824. It is of an oblong figure, with a front of considerable elegance, ct>nsisting of a porticowith a range of pillars of the Corinthian order, supporting a pediment, from which rises a spire.

St Stephen’s Church, situated at the northern extremity of St Vincent Street, was opened in 1828, and cost L.25,000. It is ornamented with a square tower of solid proportions, 162į feet in height, terminated at the top with a balustrade. The church can accommodate 1600 persons.

The foregoing churches are all under the patronage of the civic corporation. The clergy, eighteen in number, are supported by an assessment, called annuity tax, levied within the ancient and extended royalty on all houses and shops, with the exception of the dwelling-houses of the members of the college of justice. The following table, drawn up from official documents, exhibits the amount actually levied for the church establishment, on an average of fourteen years, from Whitsunday 1820 to Whitsunday 1834.
[table]

Exclusively of the seat-rents, which in 1835-36 amounted to L.7098. 0s∙ 6d., and are appropriated to ordinary civic purposes, the foregoing sums afford a stipend to each minister averaging L.6C0. 13s.

St Cuthbert’s Church is situated in the low ground between the western extremity of Princes Street and the castle. There formerly stood on the same spot an ancient edifice, one of the earliest places of Christian worship in this part of Scotland. The modern church is a large plain building, with a spire at the western extremity; it is of date 1789, and stands in the midst of an extensive burying-ground. In modern times it has been popularly named the West Kirk, from its situation to the west of the metropolis. The populous parish of St Cuthbert’s has likewise at present (1833) five chapels of ease, one of which, in Clerk Street, erected in 1823, is a handsome building.

The church of the parish and subordinate burgh of Canongate is of date 1688, and was erected at an expense of L.24,000 sterling. It is situated in the midst of a burying-ground, on the north side of the Canongate, but having no spire, it is not conspicuous as a place of worship.

Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel, a simple square edifice, situated near the College Church, was founded and endowed by the pious lady whose name it bears, in the year 1772, and was opened in 1776. It is under the government of the established ecclesiastical courts.

The Gaelic Chapel, the only one in Edinburgh in which the service is conducted in the Celtic tongue, is situated in North College Street. It was erected in the year 1815, and is under the jurisdiction of the established church courts.

There are five chapels in Edinburgh belonging to the communion of the Scottish Episcopal church, to which a considerable number of the higher classes are attached. The most elegant of these perhaps is St John's, situated at the west end of Princes Street. This edifice was founded in 1816, and finished in two years, at an expense ofL.15,000. It is of the florid Gothic style, from a design by Mr Burn, measures 113 feet in length by sixty-two in breadth, and is terminated at the western extremity by a beautiful square tower, rising to a height of 120 feet. Another Episcopal chapel, of tasteful Gothic architecture, is that of St Paul’s in York Place. It was designed by Mr Elliot, founded in 1816, and finished in 1818 at an expense of about L.12,000. It measures 122 feet by seventy-three, and from each corner there rises a small circular turret. St George’s Chapel, a much smaller building, is also situated in York Place, and of date 1794. St James’s Chapel is erected in the line of houses in Broughton Place. St Peter’s Chapel is a similar plain edifice in Roxburgh Place. St Paul’s Chapel, Carrubber’s Close, is the oldest episcopal chapel in Edinburgh, having been erected about the end of the seventeenth century.

The Roman Catholic communion has a principal place of public worship, and a subordinate one. The former is a large structure, with a Gothic gable front, situated in Broughton Street, and was built in the years 1813-16, at an expense of about L.8000, raised by subscriptions and collections. The latter is situated in Blackfriars Wynd. Another Roman Catholic chapel is at present in the course of erection in Bristo Street, in the southern part of the town.

Edinburgh possesses a number of places of public worship belonging to the United Secession church, and other presbyterian dissenting bodies. The following are those of most note. Nicoson Street Chapel was founded in 1819, and was raised at an expense of L.6000. It has a broad and lofty Gothic front, with pinnacles rising to the height of ninety feet. Broughton Place chapel is a modern building, with a Grecian front, portico and range of Doric columns. Rose Street Chapel is a handsome structure of plain Grecian architecture, built in 1830. The Cowgate Chapel, now belonging to the Secession, was formerly occupied by an episcopal congregation, from whom it was purchased; a recess in the interior is decorated by some oil paintings of Runciman. The other chapels are at Stockbridge, Lothian Road, Bristo Street, Potterrow, and the Vennel∙

Edinburgh is the seat of one of the presbyteries of the Associate Synod of Original Seceders, and of two congregations. One chapel is situated at the foot of Infirmary Street, and the other in Richmond Street. The former was lately under the superintendence of the Reverend George Paxton, professor of divinity, and author of the Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures; and the latter under that of the Reverend Dr M‘Crie, author of the lives of Knox and of Melville.

There is also a congregation belonging to the Original Burgher Associate Synod, and one to the Cameronian communion, a representative remnant of the old Covenanters.

Edinburgh is likewise the seat of a presbytery of the Relief Synod, and there are in the city five places of worship belonging to that communion. Besides the foregoing churches and chapels in Edinburgh, there are three chapels of Scottish Independents, one of English Independents, four of Baptists, one of Methodists, one of Bereans, one of Unitarians, one of Glassites, one of the New Jerusalem Church or Swedenborgians, one of the Society of Friends, and a Jews' synagogue.

Edinburgh has long derived celebrity from its educational[7:8:423] establishments, the chief of which is the University. This institution dates its origin about the year 1583, when the first professor was appointed; and under the patronage of James VI. it soon assumed the character of an ordinary college. About the year 1660, by means of benefactions from public bodies and from private individuals, the establishment had attained a respectable rank among similar institutions. As a school of medicine it first rose into repute under Dr Alexander Munro, who became professor of anatomy in 1720; and in this branch of science it afterwards attained a distinguished pre-eminence, from possessing professors remarkable for their abilities and success as teachers. In the other branches of knowledge, its reputation was gradually exalted to the highest pitch by Maclaurin, Black, Fergusson, Stewart, Robertson, and other eminent men. The decay and insufficiency of the old buildings had long been complained of; and at length, in 1789, the foundation was laid of a new and extensive structure, the plan of which had been furnished, by Mr Robert Adam. But this plan, after it had been partly carried into execution, was altered and modified; and the building has been finished in conformity with a very skilful and tasteful design furnished by Mr William Playfair. It still (1839), however, wants a dome and other interior finishings, to render it complete. This splendid edifice forms a parallelogram, inclosing a quadrangular court. The sides of this court are occupied with the class-rooms, the museum, and the library. In the middle of the front are three entrances to the court, consisting of lofty portico penetrating the building.

The number of Professorships is about thirty, and these are divided into four Faculties, viz. Theology, Law, Medicine, and Arts. The latter includes all the chairs devoted to Literature and General Science. The Principal and Professors constitute the Senatus Academicus; and the Lord Provost of the city for the time being assumes the title of Lord Rector.

The magistrates and town council are the patrons of the University, and have the nomination to the greater number' of the chairs; the others are under the patronage of the crown, except three, the patronage of which is shared by the faculty of advocates, the writers to the signet, and the town council. The degrees it bestows are the same as in the other Scottish colleges, namely, those of doctor of divinity, doctor of laws, doctor of medicine, and master of arts. The terms of the college are a winter session of about six months, beginning in November, and a summer session of about three months, from May to August. During the latter term the lectures given are confined to botany, natural history, midwifery, medical jurisprudence, and clinical lectures on medicine and surgery. The total number of students who matriculated in the session 1829-30 was 2186.

The College Museum is particularly rich in objects of natural history, amongst which are specimens of upwards of three thousand birds foreign and British. The Museum occupies two large rooms, each ninety feet by thirty, besides minor apartments.

The College Library consists of upwards of 70,000 volumes. It is supported from a fund formed by a contribution exigible from every student who matriculates, five pounds payable by every professor on his admission, and a portion of the fees of graduates both in medicine and arts. It is besides entitled, along with the other libraries belonging to the Scottish universities, to a copy of every work published in Great Britain. There is also an excellent collection of books on theology and church history connected with the class of divinity, and which is supported by certain annual fees paid by the students attending the class. The principal apartment, called the Library Hall, is 198 feet in length by fifty in width, and is certainly one of the most spacious and elegant apartments in the kingdom.

The celebrity of Edinburgh as a place of education has been in some measure derived from the schools of a number of private lecturers of eminence in their several departments of science, particularly in medicine. These lecturers are chiefly members of the Royal College of Surgeons. This body, which was incorporated by charter in 1778, confers the same privileges on medical students as the University does, that of doctor of medicine excepted. The Royal College possesses a beautiful edifice in Nicoson Street, from a design by Mr Playfair. Towards the street it is adorned with a lofty portico which has a striking effect; and the details, though elaborate, are exquisitely finished, and in admirable harmony with the design. It cost the Royal College L.19,060, and forms several splendid halls for the accommodation of the members and the Pathological Museums. These museums, enriched by the collections of the late Dr Barclay and others, exhibit a valuable repository of preparations and objects calculated to advance the study of surgical science.

The Royal College of Physicians was established in 1681, by a charter of Charles II.; and the number of its fellows, resident and non-resident, is now about a hundred. The meetings of the body take place in the Physicians' Hall, a handsome edifice in George Street, of the Grecian style, and erected in 1775. It contains a good library.

The High School is the chief seminary in Edinburgh for classical education, and has long maintained an eminent place amongst similar establishments. Its origin may be traced to an early period in the sixteenth century; but it has been greatly extended and improved in recent times. It now occupies a splendid structure on the south side of the Calton Hill, facing the road that sweeps round that eminence. The design was furnished by Mr Thomas Hamilton, and the foundation-stone was laid on the 28th of July 1825. The main building extends about two hundred and seventy feet in front, and in the centre of the edifice is a magnificent hexastyle Doric portico On each side of the porticothere is a corridor, the entablature of which is supported by six Doric columns. The apartments, which are entered through a spacious play-ground, consist of a large hall of seventy-five by forty-three feet, and rooms for the accommodation of the various classes taught in the establishment. The cost of this extensive building was about L.30,000, which was partly raised by subscription. The patronage of the High School is vested in the town council of the city. The system of education is conducted by a rector and four classical masters, with teachers of writing, arithmetic, and mathematics. The usual number of pupils is from six to seven hundred.

The Edinburgh Academy is a similar institution with the High School, but its fees are higher. It was begun a few years ago by a society with a capital of L.12,900, which may be augmented to L.16,000, raised by proprietory shares of L.50 each. The superintendence of the establishment is vested in fifteen directors, chosen by the proprietors from their own body. The system of education is nearly the same as that pursued in the High School. There are here also four classical masters and a rector.

Besides the High School and Academy, there are a number of private academies throughout the city, several free schools, and many on moderate scales of charges. There are several sessional schools, which are entirely under the control and patronage of the kirk-sessions of the respective parishes where they are situated. The teacher is allowed a fixed salary from the funds of the church, so that the fees are extremely moderate. The private schools [7:8:424] of Edinburgh altogether are computed to amount to about two hundred.

The School of Arts was established in 1821. The students are young men belonging to mechanical and trading professions, and are divided into junior and senior classes. The session is from October to April, during which period there are given every evening lectures on arithmetic, algebra, mathematics, geometry, and other scientific subjects. The students are under the guidance of several regular lecturers, and the institution possesses a library and collection of apparatus and models. It is supported by the sale of tickets of admission, and by voluntary subscriptions.

An institution called the Edinburgh Association for Popular Instruction was established in 1832, for the purpose of affording information by popular lectures, on terms and at hours convenient for the middle classes of both sexes, particularly those who are actively engaged during the day. The association is distinguished from some other institutions for education, by being entirely dependent upon the fees of subscribers, instead of relying for support on gratuitous contributions. It is conducted by directors chosen annually from among the subscribers.

The Scottish Naval and Military Academy was opened on the 8th of November 1825. ĩts principal object is to afford to young gentlemen intended for the army, navy, or the East India Company’s civil or military service, a systematic course of education, in order to qualify them for any of these departments. The institution comprehends classes for fortification, military drawing, surveying, landscape and perspective drawing, arithmetic, algebra and geometry, the higher mathematics, natural philosophy and navigation, elocution, geography, ancient and modern languages, fencing, gymnastics, and military exercises. The establishment is supported by a body of proprietors, holding shares of L.10 each, subscribers who pay one guinea or more per annum, and donors. The management is confided in a body of honorary office-bearers, twenty-seven extraordinary and fourteen ordinary directors, with a chairman and trustees. The king is patron.

The Royal Academy, better known by the name of the Riding School, was established about the year 1760. The members were incorporated by letters-patent in 1764, with the title of the Royal Academy for Teaching Exercises. The directors of this academy are eighteen in number, and are persone amongst the most elevated in rank both in the city and county. The school is superintended by two masters.

The Botanical Garden is about twelve acres in extent. The first ground appropriated to this purpose was in St Ann’s Yards, a spot situated near the North Bridge. From this it was in 1767 removed to Leith Walk, and thence to its present situation in the h∣verleith grounds, on the road from Edinburgh to Newhaven, in 1822-24.

The new Observatory is βituated on the Calton Hill, and belongs to the Astronomical Institution. It is built after a design by Mr Playfair, in the form of a cross, and is sixty-two feet each way. The centre is surmounted with a dome.

The Wernerian Natural History Society is an unincorporated association, formed in 1808 for the promotion of the study of natural history. The name was assumed from Werner, the distinguished mineralogist. It has associate and corresponding members, and holds its meetings in the university buildings.

Besides those already mentioned, there are a number of other societies, namely, the tlinian Society, instituted in 1823; the Diagnostic Society, institutedin 1816; the MedicoChirurgical Society; the Royal Physical Society; the Royal Medical Society; the Hunterian Medical Society; the Harveian Society, instituted in 1782; the Speculative Society, for improvement in composition and in public speaking; the Select Forensic Society; the Juridical Society, instituted in 1773; the Scotch Law Society, instituted in 1815; the Philalethic Society, instituted in 1792; the Adelpho-Theological Society, instituted in 1758; the Theological Society, instituted in 1776; the Edinburgh Academical Club, instituted in 1828; the Phrenological Society, instituted in 1820; Edinburgh Harmonists’ Society; Edinburgh Royal Naval Club; Caledonian United Service Club; the Pitt Club; the Celtic Society, instituted in 1820; the Highland Club of Scotland, instituted in 1825; St Fillan’s Highland Society, instituted in 1819; the Six Feet Club, instituted in 1826; the Skaiting Club; the Duddingston Curling Society; the Edinburgh Company of Golfers, instituted in 1744; the Burntsfield Links Golfing Society; the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society; the Thistle Golf Club; the Royal Company of Archers, instituted in 1703 by a charter of Queen Anne, and now constituted the king’s body guard in Scotland; the Brunswick Cricket Club, established at Edinburgh in 1830; the Edinburgh Chess Club, instituted in 1822; the Edinburgh Quoiting Club; the Edinburgh Shakspearian Club; the Edinburgh Anatomical Society, instituted in 1833; and the Edinburgh Ethical Society, for the study and practical application of phrenology, instituted in the same year. There are various other societies and clubs, which have been established from time to time in the Scottish metropolis, but they are of a character too unimportant to require notice in this place.

ín addition to these, there are several associations of a literary nature. The principal is the Edinburgh Subscription Library. This library was instituted in the year 1794, and is the property of a body of subscribers, whose entrymoney is twelve guineas, and who pay an annual fee of one guinea. The others are, the Select Subscription Library, instituted in 1800; the Edinburgh Subscription and Circulating Select Library; the Edinburgh Mechanics’ Subscription Library, instituted in 1825; the Hope Park Library, instituted in 1816; and the Bakers’ Record Office and Library, instituted in 1828.

The chief of the associations for religious purposes is the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, instituted in 1701, and incorporated by a charter of Queen Anne in 1709. The others are, The Scottish Bible Society; the Edinburgh Auxiliary Bible Society; the Edinburgh Auxiliary Naval and Military Bible Society; the Scottish Missionary Society; the Edinburgh Auxiliary Church of England Missionary Society; Edinburgh Auxiliary to the London Missionary Society; Baptist Home Missionary Society; Society for Improving the System of Church Patronage in Scotland; Edinburgh Philanthropic Society; Edinburgh Association in Aid of the Moravian Missions; Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews; Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor; Highland Missionary Society; Edinburgh Religious Tract Society; Edinburgh Society in Aid of the Irish Evangelical Society; Edinburgh Society for Promoting the Religious Interests of Scottish Settlers in British North America; and a few others.

Besides these there are several societies who associate the promotion of education in particular places with religious purposes, and a number of branches of different English societies for the accomplishment of similar objects.

Heriot’s Hospital was founded about the beginning of the seventeenth century. The founder, George Heriot, ι was born in the parish of Gladsmuir, and in the year 1597 he was appointed goldsmith and jeweller to James VI. He died in London, whither he had removed on the accession of James to the English throne, on the 12th of February 1624, leaving a fortune, it is supposed, of not less than L.50,000.
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Of this sum L.23,625. 10s. 3∣d. were, by his bequest, appropriated to the founding and endowing of the hospital which bears his name, for the maintenance and education of children, the sons of burgesses of the city “who are not able to maintain them.” The magistrates, town council, and ministers of the town, were nominated the governors; and certain trustees were appointed to superintend the execution of the will. The building of the hospital, which is from a design by Inigo Jones, was begun in 1628, and, after some interruptions, completed in 1650, at an expense altogether of L.30,000. It was not however opened for its legitimate purpose till 1659, when thirty boys only were admitted. There are now one hundred and eighty on the establishment, all of whom are comfortably lodged, fed, and clothed, and every pains bestowed upon their education, which comprehends Greek, Latin, English, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, mathematics, and geography. On leaving the hospital they are furnished with a liberal supply of articles of dress, of their own choosing; and such of them as are apprenticed to trades receive an apprentice fee of L.50, besides an allowance of clothing at the expiration of their indentures. Boys who distinguish themselves by their literary attainments, and who are qualified to enter the university with a view to the learned professions, receive bursaries of L.30 per annum for four years. Ten other bursaries of L.20 each, for the same period, are bestowed upon young men unconnected with the hospital who give proofs of superior talents. Boys are not admitted under seven years of age, and generally leave it at fourteen. The hospital is situated in the southern part of the town, and is one of the most remarkable buildings connected with the city. It is three stories in height in the central parts, and four stories at the corners, with an interior quadrangle or court. In 1832-33, the structure was improved in its external appearance, and a lodge was erected at the principal entrance, which is a beautiful miniature of the hospital.

The founder of George Watson’s Hospital died in 1723, leaving the sum of L. 12,000 sterling for the erection of an hospital for the maintenance and education of the children and grandchildren of decayed merchants in Edinburgh. The will of the donor, however, was not acted upon till 1738, when the original sum had accumulated to L.20,000. In 1721 twelve boys were admitted: and these have now been increased to eighty. In point of lodging, education, and otherwise, they are upon much the same footing as in Heriot’s Hospital. On leaving the house they receive an apprentice fee of L.10 per annum for five years; and on attaining twenty-five years of age, if unmarried and able to show testimonials of good behaviour, they receive a premium of L.50. Boys preferring a college education receive L.20 per annum for six years. The managers are the master and twelve assistants of the Merchant Company, with the treasurer, four old bailies, the old dean of guild, and the two ministers of the Old Kirk parish.

In 1759 John Watson, writer to the signet in Edinburgh, bequeathed the whole of his property to trustees, to be laid out in such pious and charitable purposes within the city as they might think proper. In 1781 this fund amounted to L.4721. 5s. 6d. From that period, by the excellent management of the trustees, it accumulated to upwards of L.90,000. As the donor had not pointed out any particular mode of appropriating his bequest, the trustees originally contemplated the institution of a foundling hospital; but they finally determined on erecting an edifice appropriated “for the maintenance and education of destitute children, and bringing them up lobe useful members of society, and also for assisting in their outset in life such of them as may be thought to deserve and require such aid.” A splendid and extensive building, in the Grecian style of architecture, after a design by Mr Burn, has accordingly been erected for the purpose, on the Dean grounds, to the westward of the city. Children of both sexes are here maintained and educated; the girls, however, are only instructed in English, writing, and arithmetic.

The Merchant Maiden Hospital originated in 1695, and was incorporated by an act of parliament in 1707. Its objects are the maintenance and education of the daughters of merchant burgesses in the city, who are instructed in English, writing, arithmetic, geography, French, and needlework. It contains nearly a hundred inmates, who are received at from seven to eleven years of age, and who go out at seventeen. On leaving the establishment, each receives the sum of L.9. 6s. 8d. The new hospital is of Grecian architecture, and cost L.12,250. It was founded in 1816, and measures a hundred and eighty feet in length by nearly sixty in breadth, with a porticoin front, it is situated near the Meadows.

The Trades' Maiden Hospital, for the maintenance and education of the daughters∙⅛f decayed tradesmen in Edinburgh, was begun in 1704, and its governors were incorporated in 1707. It was founded and· endowed by the trades of the city, and since its institution it has supported about fifty girls.

The Orphan Hospital was incorporated by a charter of George II. granted in 1742. It receives orphans from all parts of the country, and generally maintains and educates about one hundred and fifty children of both sexes. A very elegant building, designed by Mr Hamilton, for this institution, has just been finished (1833), on the property of Dean, near John Watson’s Hospital.

James Donaldson, Esq. of Edinburgh, left at his death in 1830, about L.240,000 to six trustees, for the purpose of endowing an hospital for boys, to be called Donaldson’s Hospital. An establishment of this kind is therefore about to be commenced.

The Trinity Hospital, the oldest charitable institution in the city, was founded by Mary of Gueldres in the year 1461. The number of persons maintained in the house is at present forty; and there are besides about one hundred out-pensioners. The funds of the institution consist of lands in the county of Edinburgh, heritable property in the city and in the town of Leith, and money in bonds. The magistrates and town council are the governors, and there are regular office-bearers and house-directors.

James Gillespie, the founder of the hospital known by his name, was a shopkeeper in Edinburgh, and, by a will dated 1796, devoted the greater part of his property to endow an hospital for the maintenance of indigent old men and women, and for the elementary education of one hundred poor boys. A house for this purpose was accordingly erected in 1801. The number of its inmates is about forty. Its governors are, the master and twelve assistants of the Merchant Company, four old bailies, the old dean of guild, and the ministers of the Tolbooth and St Stephen’s Churches. The name of Gillespie has a preference in admission.

The principal resources for the support of the poor are an assessment, and the collections made at church doors. The amount of money collected for their use in 1833 was L.13,479. 19s. 4d., whereas in 1814 it was only L.6943. 19s. 10d. Edinburgh, as regards the poor, is divided into three districts, the ancient and extended royalty, the parish of St Cuthbert's, and the Canongate, each of which has a house for the reception of paupers, with peculiar funds and a separate board of management. The City Poors-house, which was erected in 1743, supports six hundred persons within doors, affords regular aid to upwards of a thousand, grants to others temporary relief, ana maintains[7:8:426] about five hundred and thirty children at nurse. The expense incurred for each individual in the establishment is about L.8 per annum.

Besides these public institutions for the relief of the poor, there are several other charitable associations of a private nature. The principal are, the Society for the Suppression of Begging; the Benevolent Strangers’ Friend Society, instituted in 1816; a Society for the Relief of the Destitute Sick, instituted in 1785; a Society for the Relief of Indigent Old Men, instituted in 1806; two similar institutions for the Relief of Indigent Old Women, instituted in 1797; the Edinburgh and Leith Seamen’s Friend Society, for relieving poor shipw recked or distressed seamen; and the Orkney and Zetland Society, for relieving such distressed natives of these islands as casually find their way to Edinburgh.

The Royal Infirmary was established in Edinburgh in the year 1736. The building, which is situated in Infirmary Street, consists of a body and two wings, all of four stories, the floors of which are divided into wards fitted up with ranges of beds sufficient to accommodate 230 patients. It also contains a theatre for chirurgical operations, in which 200 students can attend. All classes of persons are admissible into the Infirmary, on a guarantee being given that in case of death their bodies shall be removed. Patients suffering from accidental injuries are admitted without any stipulation. The expense incurred by this institution is liquidated by endowments, private subscriptions, post-mortem bequests, and collections at the doors of churches and chapels of all persuasions.

The Lying-in Hospital is adapted to the reception of all poor and unfortunate females requiring aid. and having no home at which they can be attended to. Besides this there are several other institutions of a similar nature, without hospitals, such as the Edinburgh General Dispensary and In-lying Institution; the Maternity Charity; the Edinburgh Lying-in Institution for delivering poor married women at their own houses, instituted in 1824; the Edinburgh New Town Lying-in Institution, instituted in 1825; and the Society for Relief of Poor Married Women of respectable character when in Child-bed, instituted in 1821.

The Public Dispensary, the oldest institution of this kind in the city, was founded in 1776. Besides this there are the following local dispensaries: The New Town Dispensary, instituted in 1815; the Western General Dispensary, instituted in 1830; the Eye Dispensary of Edinburgh; the Edinburgh Western Dispensary for Diseases of the Eye and Ear; and the Institution for Relief of Incurables. All these benevolent establishments afford medicines and advice to the poor gratis.

The Magdalen Asylum, which has for its object the reclaiming of unfortunate females, was founded in the year 1797. From fifty to sixty persons can be accommodated in the asylum, where they are all kept employed at useful occupations. The income of the house for the year ending in 1831 amounted to L.1183. The building is situated in the Canongate.

The Asylum for the Blind, situated in Nicoson Street, was opened in 1793, and is chiefly supported by voluntary subscription. Another for females, the former being confined to males, was established in 1822. The men are constantly employed in making mattresses, cushions, baskets, and other articles; the females in sewing and knitting. The number of inmates in these establishments is about 120, who receive instruction, partly according to the Abbé Sicard’s plan, and partly according to methods which have been devised in the institution. See article Blind.

The Deaf and Dumb Institution, occupying a large edifice in the northern part of the New Town, was established in 1810, and contains upwards of seventy boys and girls, who receive the elementary and most useful branches of education. See article Deaf and Dumb.

The Lunatic Asylum, situated at Morningside, was opened for patients in 1813. The expense of its erection was defrayed by private subscriptions, and a grant by government of L.2000 from the forfeited estates. The establishment is managed by a body of directors and two physicians and surgeons. Inmates are received on paving a board regulated in amount by circumstances.

The most prominent of the provident and insurance societies is the Ministers’ Widows’ Fund, instituted in the year 1744. From this fund the widows of clergymen receive annuities for life, regulated in amount by the annual contribution previously made, and which varies from L.3. 3s. to L.7. 17s. 6d. The management of this fund is entrusted to the presbytery of Edinburgh and the professors of the university. The next in importance is a society formed for the benefit of the sons of the clergy, instituted in 1790. Another has recently been formed for the benefit of the daughters of the clergy. There are, besides, a Friendly Society of the Ministers of the Relief Synod, instituted in 1790; a Friendly Society of Dissenting Ministers, instituted in 1797; a society for the management of the Episcopal Fund, for affording small additions to the stipends of the poorer clergy of the Episcopal communion; a Medical Provident Institution of Scotland, instituted in 1826; and a Society for Relief of the Widows and Children of Burgh and Parochial Schoolmasters, instituted in 1807. There are likewise a variety of humbler associations, on various principles, throughout the city, as well as a large number of insurance companies.

Although not an extensive trading or commercial town, Edinburgh exerts great influence over all branches of commerce in Scotland, by means of its banking associations, which supply capital to almost every seat of industry throughout the country. The oldest institution of this description is

The Bank of Scotland, which was established at Edinburgh in 1695, by charter from William 111. and the Scottish parliament. The capital stock of the company was originally L.10U,000 sterling, raised by shares differing in amount from L.83. 6s. 8d. to twenty times that sum. The capital has since been raised to a million and a half sterling. Notes were first issued by this bank in 1704. The establishment occupies a large and conspicuous building near the head of the Earthen Mound.

The Royal Bank of Scotland was instituted in 1727, by royal charter. Its original capital was L.111,000 sterling. In 1738 this capital was raised to L.150,000, and subsequently to L.2,000,000. The banking house is situated in St Andrew Square, in the building formerly occupied by the Excise Office.

The British Linen Company’s Bank was established in 1746, with a capital of L. 100,000. This capital has now increased to L.500,000. The banking house is also situated in St Andrew Square.

All the other banks in Edinburgh belong either to private persons or to joint-stock companies. Of the former there are seven, only two of which issue notes; these are, Sir William Forbes and Co. and Ramsays, Bonars, and Co. The joint-stock banks are, the Commercial Banking Company of Scotland, instituted in 1810; and the National Bank of Scotland, instituted in 1825, which now possesses a charter of incorporation.

The present Theatre Royal was built shortly after the commencement of the New Town, in 1768. Previously to this period the theatrical performances of the city were exhibited in the Canoniale, where a play-house was erected in 1746, in opposition to a rival establishment in the [7:8:427]Cowgate. The present house, although rather small, and externally of a very plain appearance, is in its internal arrangements one of the neatest and most commodious houses in Britain. The company of actors established here is generally considered as the best to be met with out of London. But, though for many years under able management, the fortunes of the establishment are by no means in a flourishing state. It is situated at the extremity of the North Bridge, adjacent to Princes Street. There is also a Minor or Summer Theatre, called the Adelphi, which is situated at the head of Leith Walk.

Assemblies and balls, under the patronage of ladies of distinction, are held every winter and spring in a large building in George Street, called the Assembly Rooms, erected in 1787. This ediĥce has a plain external appearance, relieved, however, by a porticoand pillars in front. Its principal apartment measures ninety-two feet in length by forty-two in breadth and forty in height, and is occasionally used for concerts, public meetings, and other purposes.

Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Edinburgh in its modern state consists in the highly ornamental pleasuregrounds which occupy the open spaces between the Old and New Town, as well as between the latter and the second New Town. The low grounds to the east and west of the Earthen Mound continued for about fifty years after the commencement of the New Town in a very marshy and unprofitable condition. At length, in 1821, under the authority of an act of parliament, the ground on the west was drained, inclosed, laid out, planted, and highly beautified with walks, and has since been opened to the proprietors or tenants of property in Princes Street, or others, on payment of an annual fee. In 1832-33 the ground on the east was similarly inclosed and beautified. Before the year 1820 the greater part of the ground north of Quecu Street was inclosed and laid out in gardens or promenades in the same tasteful and pleasing style.

In the year 1722 a marshy ground, part of the ancient Boroughmuir, in the southern environs of the city, was inclosed, drained, and traversed by extensive broad walks, skirted with trees, for the accommodation of the citizens. These public grounds, which receive the appellation of the Meadows, and bear some resemblance to St James’ Park in London, are bordered with extensive open downs, called Burntsfield Links, which are also open to the public, and form a place of agreeable recreation for youth.

Edinburgh has for some time been distinguished as a mart of literature, and as a place the inhabitants of which are noted for cultivated tastes and habits. This character, however, is not of much older date than the latter part of the eighteenth century. Previously to that time it seldom produced works of merit. The early editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica were the first large works which issued from the Edinburgh press. But the era of a new system of publishing commenced with the establishment of the Edinburgh Review in the year 1802. The person to whom Edinburgh has latterly been most indebted for an increase of its literary reputation was Sir Walter Scott, whose poetical productions appeared at intervals from 1802 till 1812, and whose novels and tales began to be published in 1814. The principal periodical works now published in Edinburgh are, the Edinburgh Review, the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, the Journal of Agriculture, and the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, quarterly; the Presbyterian Review every two months; Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine, the Christian Instructor, the United Secession Magazine, and the Christian Herald, monthly; and the Edinburgh Almanack annually. There are ten newspapers published in Edinburgh, namely, the Caledonian Mercury, and Edinburgh Evening Courant, on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday; the Gazette, the Observer, and the Advertiser, on Tuesday and Friday; the Scotsman on Wednesday and Saturday; the Weckly Journal on Wednesday; and the Weckly Chronicle, the Saturday Evening Post, and the Edinburgl⅛ Leith, and Glasgow Advertiser, a paper solely devoted to advertisements, and distributed gratis, on Saturday.

The public market-day is Wednesday, when there is a large open market held for the sale of cattle, sheep, corn, and other agricultural produce. The spacious street called the Grassmarket is the chief place to which stock is brought for sale. At its western extremity there is a large granary, the lower part of which is open for the exposure of grain in sacks. This edifice was reared in 1819, and is ornamented with a small spire and clock. Once a year, at the beginning of November, there is a large sheep, cattle, and horse market held in the vicinity of the city, called All Jiallow Fair, being the feast of All Sainis.

Edinburgh possesses excellent butcher-meat, fish, and vegetable markets. They are situated in the centre of the town, and consist of a series of descending open areas or terraces, connected by flights of steps from the back of the High Street to the bottom of the valley of the North Loch, below the North Bridge. These markets, all the property of the burgh, are exceedingly well supplied with the various articles of consumption for which they are respectively appropriated. There is another market of a similar nature, though on a more limited scale, in Nicoson Street; and a very spacious one, the property of a private individual, near Stockbridge, at the north-west extremity of the New Town.

The metropolis is abundantly supplied with coal, chiefly by means of the Union Canal, from pits in the west of Scotland, and by a railway leading from the pits near Ualkeith to its termination at St Leonards. (See Edinburghshire.)

Edinburgh possesses an abundant supply of water from the Crawley Spring in the Pentland Hills. This was effected by a joint-stock company, incorporated by act of parliament in 1819. The cost of laying new pipes, and other matters connected with the introduction of the new springs, amounted to nearly L.200,000. Families are supplied with small service-pipes, by paying to the company a certain duty on their rental.

Edinburgh is lighted with coal gas, manufactured by a joint-stock company associated in 1817, and incorporated in 1818, with a capital of L.1OÜ,UÜ(), raised by shares ol L.25 each. The streets and shops were first illuminated with this brilliant light in 1818. An oil-gas company, instituted in 1826, not having succeeded in its objects, was, after a short trial, incorporated with the coal-gas company.

The ancient civic establishment of Edinburgh was remodelled in 1833 by the act of parliament for reforming the royal burghs of Scotland. It possesses a town council, consisting of thirty-one members chosen by the qualified voters for members of parliament in their respective wards or districts; of a deacon-convener elected by the incorporated trades; and of a dean of guild, chosen by the incorporation of guildry. The council so composed elects a lord provost and four bailies, who compose the magistracy. The magistrates, in virtue of former privileges, hold certain civil and criminal courts, with the assistance of assessors or legal advisers. In 1833 the funds of the civic incorporation were placed under the control of a body of trustees appointed by act of parliament, for the behoof of creditors. In virtue of the act for reforming the system of parliamentary representation, passed in 1832, Edinburgh and its immediate suburbs return two members to parliament.
[7:8:428]

The merchants of Edinburgh form a body, called the Merchant Company, incorporated by a charter of Charles II. in 1681. It possesses the management of several charitable institutions, and is active in superintending measures connected with the commercial character of the city. Its business is conducted by a master, treasurer, and twelve assistants, and their hall of meeting is a spacious apartment in Hunter Square.

The High Constables are a body of individuals appointed to support the authority of the magistracy, and to assist in maintaining the public peace of the city. They are generally respectable shopkeepers, and are qualified by being burgesses, and having been in business for three years.

Till the year 1805 the city was protected only by a feeble body of old men in the garb of soldiers, entitled the City Guard, the remains of a civic defensive force originally raised in 1514, after the fatal battle of Flodden. In 1805 a regular police establishment was formed, and the city guard was finally dissolved in 1817. The police establishment was remodelled in 1812, and latterly in 1822 and 1832, by acts of parliament each time. The establishment consists of thirty-two general commissioners elected by the inhabitants of the same number of wards, qualified to vote by paying a certain rent. The body of general commissioners is increased by sixteen ex officio members, as the provost and magistrates, the sherifΓs, and certain other functionaries. Under this body there is an executive police, with a superintendent; and a criminal court is held daily on the plan of that at Bow Street in London, and in which a town bailie officiates as magistrate or judge, in all cases which occur within the ancient and extended royalty; whilst cases originating in that portion of the city included between the exterior limits of the royalty and the general police boundary fall under the cognisance of the sheriff-substitute. Edinburgh is now in all its parts well watched, lighted, and cleaned; and the expenditure for these and other public purposes amounted in the year ending at Whitsunday 1833, to L.31,038. 6s. 6d. An assessment on the inhabitants, of about Is. 2d. per ∣tound on the rental, supplies the ordinary revenue of the establishment. The head police-office is a large building within a small court near the Cross.

Since the destruction of the old tolbooth, an extensive building, situated on the Calton Hill, fronting the road which sweeps around that eminence, has been provided as the common town and county jail. It was erected in 1817, and is built in a castellated form, in the Saxon style of architecture, after a plan by Mr Archibald Elliot. It is 196 feet in length by forty feet in breadth, and is four stories in height. The interior exhibits a series of corridors opening upon small cells eight feet by six, and forty-eight in number; there is also a chapel on the second floor. This jail at present affords accommodation for debtors, as well as offenders of every description, who are to a certain extent classified, and furnished with airing grounds. A lock-up house, or jail for the confinement of criminals during short periods, adjoins the County Hall in the High Street.

The Bridewell stands adjacent to the jail on the east. It is an edifice of a semicircular form, within an open court, and was constructed in 1791, upon the panoptico principle, after a plan by Mr Robert Adam. The expenses of the establishment are defrayed partly by assessments, and partly by the work of the inmates.

The Canongate Jail is an old-fashioned plain edifice of the time of James VI. It is appropriated exclusively for the incarceration of debtors, and is under the jurisdiction of the magistracy of Canongate.

The public business connected with the civic establishment or corporation is conducted in the Royal Exchange Buildings. The public business of the county, and the sittings of the sheriff and justices, take place in the County Hall, adjacent to the Parliament House. It was erected in 1819, at an expense of L.15,000, but is shortly to be removed in order to make way for the approach by the bridge leading from the Lawnmarket towards the south.

The superiority of the Canongate jurisdiction, which formerly belonged to the abbot of Holyrood, was purchased by the town of Edinburgh from the Earl of Roxburgh, into whose hands it had fallen, in the year 1636. Since that period the burgh of Canongate has been governed by baron bailies appointed by the town council out of their own body, and by two resident bailies, also appointed by the same authority on the recommendation of the baron bailies. In a similar manner bailies are appointed to the subordinate districts of Easter and Wester Portsburgh. Edinburgh has likewise possessed for a long period a superiority over the port of Leith. See Leith.

In 1755, shortly before the commencement of the New Town, Edinburgh had a population amounting to 57,195; in 1775 it was computed at 70,430; and in 1791 it had risen to about 80,000. In 1801, by parliamentary census, the amount was 82,560; in 1811 it was 102,987; in 1821 it was 138,235; but in these latter enumerations the population of Leith was included. In 1831 the population was as follows:
[table]

The gross amount of the rental of dwelling-houses, shops, warehouses, &c. producing above five pounds of rent, within the bounds of police, for the year ending at Whitsunday 1833, was L.406,484. The number of householders paying ten pounds of annual rent and upwards, and qualified to vote for members of parliament for the city, in 1832, was 9382. (μ. μ. μ.) [7:8:429]