Chapter XXX (6)

In 1695, the Estates passed an Act in favour of William Scot and his partners, for erecting a sawmill at Leith. It was stated that such a mill established at so convenient a port would be a great advantage to the nation, because there oak trees and all kinds of wood might be landed from abroad, for building ships and other great works in the kingdom, which before could not be done for want of skill in sawing wood. Another act authorised the erection of windmills for sawing all kinds of wood. Alexander Fearn, an engraver in Edinburgh, was granted the privileges of a manufactory for the practice of his art. It was stated that he had employed himself from his infancy in learning his art, “until by the blessing of God on his faithful endeavours, he has attained to such perfection in this art, once much admired and encouraged, that he can undertake to serve the people in that point of the art called sinking of seals in gold, silver, or steel, either cutting coats of arms, ciphering names, or other devices such as parties may order him to perform for them; and particularly that point of the art which is yet more singular――cutting or sinking the exact effigies of any person who pleases to sit three hours; and thus the people may be served with this kind of work as good, and as cheap, and much easier than when they were obliged to employ foreigners; and all the money that used to be spent on that account may be kept in the country.” In 1693, parliament passed an act in favour of William Scot, cabinetmaker, who proposed to build a manufactory for making coaches, chariots, harness, and other things belonging to that business, and also for grinding glasses of all kinds. He promised to bring home and employ foreign workmen, until the Scots themselves were instructed and capable of working at this trade. On these terms the usual privileges of a manufactory were granted to him. In 1695, parliament confirmed two former acts of the Privy Council, in favour of James Turner, a cabinetmaker and mirror-glass maker. The wrights of Edinburgh thought that Turner was encroaching upon their trade, and seized his tools and materials, and otherwise annoyed him; and Parliament therefore commanded that James Turner “should have the full and free liberty to exercise his calling and his art and trade within the burgh of Edinburgh in all time coming;” and forbade the deacons of crafts or their officers, or anyone else, to interfere with him and his work.¹ At the same time parliament passed an act in favour of John Holmes, Thomas Fershman, and William Park, combmakers in Leith. They, having formed a joint-stock company, were empowered to make all kinds of combs, and accorded the privileges of a manufactory. It was stated in the act that they had been practising this trade for several years, and successfully teaching apprentices; and that they were even then able to supply the whole kingdom with combs, at a cheaper rate than they could be imported.

¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages
490‒491, 321, 523.

James Lyell, of Garden, in 1695, obtained the privileges of a manufactory to make oil from lint seed and rape seed; and also for an establishment for preparing hare and rabbit skins and making hats. The same year, liberty was granted to erect a manufactory for making gun-powder and alum, and it was stated that there was no powder-mill in the kingdom, and that there had never been a work for making alum in Scotland. In 1698, a company was formed for casting shot, which obtained the usual privileges of a manufactory for nineteen years.

In 1697, James Ormiston and William Elliot, merchants, proposed to erect a work for winding, throwing, twisting, and dyeing all kinds of raw silk. They thought that the undertaking would prove to be beneficial to the nation, as this branch being the groundwork for all other silk manufactures would diminish the foreign import, and make the balance of trade much more favourable: “and also in time be the means of opening a trade directly from Scotland to Turkey, which is one of the most profitable and enriching known, and further tends to advance other manufactories which are dependent on it, such as buttons, silk stockings, and the like.” The Privy Council granted the usual privileges. In 1698, a number of men in Aberdeen petitioned the Privy Council for permission to erect a woollen manufactory, which was also granted. A cloth manufactory was in full operation at Gordon’s Mills, in the vicinity of Aberdeen, in 1703, and it was recorded that it was producing broadcloths, druggets, and goods of other kinds, such as half-silks, serges, damasks, and plush made of wool, “which looks nearly as fine as that made of hair.”¹

¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of
Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 419‒420; Volume X., pages 22‒23,
Appendix.

In these years also it is very remarkable that almost every seaport of any consequence in Scotland applied to parliament for permission to impose a tax for the purpose of building new harbours or improving the ones which they already possessed. At the same time the weekly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly markets, greatly increased all over the kingdom. Thus it is pretty evident that the energy which projected the colony of Caledonia-Darien was only a symptom of the awakening spirit of the nation, which was seeking vent in trading pursuits and in new commercial enterprises.

At the same period various notices of inventions for draining mines and other purposes occur in the records. In 1684, James Young, a writer in Edinburgh, represented to the Privy Council that after much labour and expense he had completed an engine for writing “whereby five copies can be had at once,” and he requested an exclusive right of making it, and the Council granted this for nine years. The next year he came before the Council as the inventor of a new lock, which was minutely described in the record, and an exclusive privilege of making it was also granted for fifteen years. In 1696, Young again appeared before the Council and stated that he had invented and perfected “an engine for weaving, never before practised in any nation, whereby several kinds of cloths may be manufactured without manual operation or weaving looms.” He affirmed that he had actually made cloth with his engine, and he believed that it would prove highly useful, especially for the “trade to Africa and the Indies; and therefore he petitioned the Council for the privileges of a manufactory, and for a patent,” and the Council granted to him an exclusive use of his engine for thirteen years.¹

¹ _Register of the Privy Council._

Nicolas Dupin, already mentioned as a paper manufacturer, came before the Privy Council in 1695, asking a patent for a new invention for draining water out of coal pits. He stated, “that in twenty fathoms deep we can raise in two minutes’ time a ton of water, provided the pit or shaft will admit of two such casks to pass one another.... The machine was calculated to be useful for all kinds of corn mills, where water was scarce or frozen, for we can grind by one man’s hand as much as any watermill does. It was adapted for draining lakes or for bringing water to any place where it was wanted, and for clearing of harbour mouths from great rocks or sand.” He had also a smaller engine, with economised power for lighter work, “as mincing of tallow for candles, a very exact way of cutting tobacco, for cutting tanners’ bark, and similar sorts of work, without the assistance of either wind or water.” It was stated that several gentlemen were ready to contract with the inventor for the draining of some flooded coal-pits. The Council granted him a patent for eleven years.¹

¹ _Ibid._ Occasionally a foolish proposal occurs in the records.
For instance, Robert Logan, a cabinetmaker, asserted that he
could make kettles and caldrons of wood which could “abide
the strongest fire, while boiling any liquor put into them,
as well as any vessel made of brass, copper, or any other
metal,” with the advantage of being more durable, and only
a third of the price. The Council granted him the exclusive
right of making such articles for nineteen years.

Scotland as yet had not many great ships¹ or much commerce, but it was manifest that the mind of the nation was turning more and more to secular and commercial pursuits than it had formerly been; and all that was wanted for the rapid development of industry and commercial enterprise was a field for the energy of the people. But, while Scotland was forced to continue in an antagonistic attitude to England this could not be obtained; and the difficulty was how to change the relations of the two kingdoms, and to place both upon a footing of equality and commercial freedom. The Union at length solved the difficulty; and, as already stated, it has proved an immense advantage to the progress of civilisation in Scotland, while it has contributed to the power and to the glory of the British Empire.

¹ See under page 303.

In concluding this exposition of the social state of the nation, let me briefly recapitulate some of the leading points. Commencing with the administration of justice and the powers of the executive, I proceeded to show the state of crime, the condition of the poor, and the means employed for their relief, and touched on the laws for suppressing and reforming the vagrant and idle classes. The ideas and the beliefs prevailing among the people, and the causes of their persistence, were indicated; and the social morality of the nation, the relations of the people and the clergy, the observance of Sunday and religious services, drinking habits, the relations of the different sexes, sumptuary regulations, and the sanitary condition of the kingdom, were explained at some length. Having noticed the state of the roads, and the introduction of postal communication, the shipping of the kingdom, and indicated the state of agriculture, I then traced the rise and slow progress of industry and manufactories, noting some of the obstacles which impeded their development in Scotland; the coinage, and the introduction of banking; and especially remarked that more energy began to be thrown into trading and commercial matters towards the end of the century. When all the distracting influences springing out of civil and religious war, and other adverse circumstances which the nation had to face, are taken into account, it is surprising that the people entered so soon upon the remarkable career of industry and rapid commercial progress which have characterised the succeeding centuries; and which, along with the rise and the diffusion of science, of invention, of literature, of philosophy, and art, constitute an era of true glory in the history of Scotland. Here, therefore, I may repeat, that there is hardly anything, hardly any difficulties, which will not yield “to the persistent energy of man.”¹ The intellectual and moral impetus of the Reformation continued till new influences came, and then one by one the links of tradition and the shackles of authority became weaker and weaker; a philosophy of surpassing vigour and boldness arose, far-reaching in its results, shaking the foundations of the received principles of belief and the current theories of knowledge to their core, thus inaugurating a new point of departure for the human mind. To elucidate the historical antecedents of this philosophy will be the special aim of the concluding chapter of this volume; and ultimately the whole movement of European thought will open before us with amazing clearness.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
I., page 17.