cers of the Burgh. There are some other provisions in the statute; but it is immaterial to attend to them, as they are now no longer in observance, being either abrogated by subsequent acts, controlled by an inconsistent practice, or gone into desuetude. This statute, passed in 1469, thus radically subverted the mode of election in all the Burghs, stripped the Burgesses everywhere of a franchise they had till then exercised, and forms the basis of the present practice, by which the Town-Council and Magistracy chuse their own successors.

What may have been the original policy of the statute, or the purposes it was intended to effect, we are hardly in a situa tion to decide. It was passed in the minority of James III, -a period during which the materials of Scottish history are extremely scanty. The circumstance best ascertained is, that his government was at once weak and arbitrary; and there seems little reason to doubt, considering the general course of his administration, that the rights of the Burghs were sacrificed to advance either the power of the Crown, or that of the great Lords. It may have been, that the ministers of James discovered the advantage of concentrating, in a few hands, the rights which had been exercised by the Burgesses at large-a measure which vastly increased the power of the Crown over its Burghs, by lessening the number of those who were to be gained or intimidated, and by ensuring the continuance of an influence that was once established. Or, perhaps, it is a better explanation to say, that the nobles, profiting by the character and situation of the government, took that method of extending and securing their own authority over the Royal Burghs, which was an object of the greater importance, that the Burgesses had been, long before this date, summoned to Parliament. The latter view may be thought, perhaps, to derive some plausibility from the frequent complaints that occur in the statute-book against the influence of strangers, and the various enactments made for the purpose of forcing such men only to be elected into the magistracy as were resident in the burgh, and substantially interested in its good management and welfare. But, however we may be disposed to account for the statute, it is evident enough that the good of the communities was not immediately consulted. The evils of a poll election might have been obviated in a much less exceptionable manner than by the introduction of a change, which, in truth, destroyed the freedom of the burgh, and placed its interests, almost irrecoverably, at the disposal of any faction that could once succeed in obtaining possession of the government.

Like most other ancient Scots acts, the statute of James laid

down only a general principle, leaving the mode, and, in some degree, the measure of its application, to be regulated by usage, by the agreement of the parties themselves, or by the competent courts. Hence it has happened, that the manner in which the Town-Councils eleet their successors in office varies considerably in the different Burghs; the Burgesses or minor corporations in some having apparently more power and influ ence than in others. In all of them, however, the existing Council has a complete control, more or less direct, in the choice of their successors; and in this way, under the authority of the statute of 1469, there has grown up, in all the Burghs of Scotland, a system by which the Burgesses are effectually exclud ed from any share in the choice of their magistracy, and by which one little junto, though miserable in point of talents, and displeas ing to a great majority of their fellow-citizens, is enabled to command the government of the town, to perpetuate their friends in office, and to set in a great measure at defiance, the opinions and sentiments of the other members of the Incorporation. Did our limits permit us, or were it proper, in this place, to enter into such details, it might be curious to examine the various 'sets' and 'constitutions' that have thus arisen; which terms, it will be remembered, signify the forms and details of the elections, or the deeds in which these have been fixed or recorded. All of them present a very complicated machinery, of no conceivable utility, and absurdly intricate and puzzling in its operation. The election generally lasts for several days; and the choice of the council and magistrates is made after a series of checks and counter checks,-several nominees being usually made for each office, and a sort of negative exerted on this nomination, previous to the ultimate election. It were of very little consequence to inquire, whether such a system came to be adopted from the idea that the exercise of a power of veto and selection insured the choice of the persons best qualified, or from a desire to conciliate the burgesses and subordinate corporations, by indulging them with some apparent share in the election of their own magistrates. Whichever of these theories be received, it is a certain fact, that the burgesses in general have no efficient control over the election, and that a party or interest being once established in the burgh, can scarcely be removed from its administration, however disagreeable to the citizens at large, and however unsatisfactory their conduct.

Such appears to be the history of the Scottish Burghs. The Burgesses were originally the electors of their own magistracy. They were deprived of that right by an act of Parlia

ment in 1469; and, since that period, they have never recovered their franchise, but continue to this hour to be govrened by Magistrates and a Council, in the choice of whom they are without a voice. Nay, to such an extent has the system of exclusion proceeded, that the subordinate corporations are not even entitled to elect their own heads. In those burghs that include a guildry and various trades, which is the case with the most considerable burghs, the heads of these societies, namely, the Dean of Guild, and the Deacons of the Trades, are generally constituent members, in whole or in part, of the Council. For this reason, these office-bearers are not elected by their respective companies, but are chosen, indirectly indeed, yet ultimately by the Town-Council, in order to preserve inviolate the rule, that the old Council should chuse the new. We have mentioned this instance, which is a very general one, in order to show the internal government of the Burghs, as they now exist, and the degree to which the power of election has been narrowed and restricted in favour of a few individuals, though to the evident infringement of the rights vested not only in the Burgesses in general, but in the various Corporations into which they are distributed.

The disadvantages resulting from such a system, and the expediency of restoring to the Burgesses the right of electien, seem to be in themselves so obvious, that they can only be denied by the persons, of whom there must always be many, who find their own interest in defending an order of things that may be hurtful to the community. It seems really almost impossible to consider the subject in any light, that does not show the mischiefs which must be occasioned by such a monopoly of power. One of the views that most readily suggests itself, is the importance of the Council and Office-bearers of a Burgh, considered as a part of the general police of the country. Perhaps there is no better way of managing the affairs of a town,-of providing for the accommodation, comfort and safety of its inhabitants, and generally of regulating its whole internal government,-than by an active and intelligent Magistracy chosen from among the inhabitants. Such men must be best acquainted with the necessities of the place, and be able most correctly to judge how they can be effectually relieved; while their own immediate interest, and an honest desire of meriting the approbation of their fellow-citizens, cannot fail to stimulate their exertions. Such a magistracy, however, can only be obtained, by suffering the voice of the community to be heard freely in their election, and no scheme can be figured more inexpedient than to render hem indepen

dent of the persons among whom they live, and erect them into a sort of junto, entitled to appoint their own successors. An administration so composed must be actuated by the spirit, as they possess the opportunity, of constant jobbing. They will create and retain, by means of an exclusive system, the few adherents necessary for their existence and continuance; and it is plain that the most efficacious method of prolonging their own authority must be, to sacrifice, on many occasions, the interests of the inhabitants to those of their own partisans. The necessity of living in the community over which they preside, though it may subject them to some indirect restraint, from the operation of public opinion, will be too feeble to prevent any but the grosser abuses, and must always be inadequate to secure a faithful and disinterested discharge of duty. In short, the management which now exists in every Burgh in Scotland, is of all others, perhaps, the least calculated to secure good magistracy, and is the more hurtful, that the authority must be generally vested in persons liable to many prejudices and contracted notions.

The result, accordingly, has just corresponded to what might have been expected. With the exception of some few places, and, we dare say, many individuals, the council of a Scottish burgh has almost become a by-word for a mean, corrupt, and interested government. It is quite plain, that for all this there is only one remedy. Besides the impossibility of making magistrates answer before a Court for all the details of their administration, it would not require great dexterity to avoid those more glaring breaches of duty, which would render them amenable to the laws. It is vain, in short, to look for any security for the good behaviour of Magistrates, except in the necessity of acquiring the esteem of their townsmen, in order to avoid their own expulsion from office, or to secure their advancement. Their fellow-citizens cannot be long imposed on. They will soon discover whether their welfare be truly and faithfully consulted; and, if they have the power, as they will certainly have the inclination, of investing those only with the civic ho nours who have the real interests of the town at heart, every chance will be afforded of obtaining an unexceptionable administration, while a very bad one cannot long continue in place.

this

To some, we may appear to have dwelt too long upon ubject; but it should be recollected, that most of the large owns in this country have been incorporated and chartered as Burghs; so that the formation of their magistracy becomes a natter worthy of general consideration. Even at the danger of eing thought to refine too much, we would add, that inany

5

other advantages, besides those now adverted to, visibly arise from election by the free suffrage of the citizens. It would place, in safe and in good hands, a great deal of patronage that is now very unconscientiously exerted; it would certainly have no bad effect upon the character of any candidate for such situations, that they were bestowed by a grateful community, in return for meritorious and distinguished service; and, above all, it would tend to create a character of independence and manliness in the people, by enabling them to exercise the power of judging and rewarding their own servants. These are benefits, perhaps, which might be easily overrated; but there is some danger also that they may be too much despised.

In addition to what has now been said, it ought to be considered, that the Magistrates of a burgh are not merely charged with the general police of the place, but are likewise the administrators of the common property, and entrusted with the disposal, in some instances, of very ample revenues. Nor is this all: For they are entitled, in that character, to contract debts, for which legal opinions of great authority have declared the property of the Burgesses to be liable; and they further possess the power of imposing taxes upon the Burgesses and inhabitants, to a very considerable amount. It would have been but reasonable to have afforded the greatest facility for legal redress against the abuse of powers so extraordinary and important as these; and we believe it will surprise most readers to learn, that there does not appear to be, at this instant, any means of calling the Magistrates of a burgh to account for their administration of its property and income. Their power indeed of taxation is very usefully checked, by the necessity of obtaining the consent of all the subordinate corporations to the assessment proposed: But, in all other respects, their own authority is sufficient; and there appears to be no jurisdiction to which they are amenable,the Court of Session having refused to interfere, at least where the action was at the instance of individual Burgesses,—and the Court of Exchequer, on whom some statutes seemed to confer the requisite authority, having declared themselves incompetent, except where the Crown was interested. As for the Convention of Burghs, a court composed of delegates from the various burghs, which succeeded to some part of the Lord Chamberlain's power, and meets annually for one or two days,—they are evidently incapable to try such questions as the misapplication or embezzlement of revenue; and their claim, accordingly, to such a jurisdiction, though sometimes brought forward, has ne ver met with much attention. Here, therefore, is an evil of great magnitude, that requires instant correction. The Magistrates of