GLARUS, a town, the capital of the Swiss canton of that name, is situated under the mountain Garnish, which is nearly 9000 feet in height. It contains about 3000 inhabitants, who are employed in various manufactures. The general assembly of the cantons is held in a meadow near the town. Long. 8. 57. 50. E. Lat. 47. 2. 43. N.
A GREAT commercial and manufacturing city of Lanarkshire, in Scotland, situated on the northern bank of the river Clyde. According to the determination of Dr Wilson, formerly professor of astronomy in the university of Glasgow, the latitude and longitude of the Macfarlane Observatory, in the College Garden of Glasgow, are, 55° 51' 32" north, and 4° 17' 54" west. Glasgow is therefore nearly eight miles farther south than Edinburgh, and 1° 1' farther west. The difference between the clocks in Edinburgh and Glasgow is 4' 27" 4".
See of Glasgow.—There is no authentic record of the origin of Glasgow. Its name in the Gaelic language is interpreted by some as signifying a grey smith, whilst others think it means a dark glen, in allusion to the ravine near the cathedral, where a primary settlement appears to have been made. Although Glasgow was an early seat of the church, historians do not agree as to the time when the see was founded. That it was next to St Andrews in point of antiquity is beyond all doubt. With regard to its founder, Kennet, in his Parochial Antiquities, says, it was instituted by Kentigern or St Mungo, in the year 560. Dr Kelyn, speaking of the see of St Asaph in Wales, observes that "the see was founded by St Kentigern, a Scot, in 583," and that "St Kentigern was then Bishop of Glasgow." From these authorities it may be inferred that St Mungo founded the see of Glasgow, and became the first bishop;
and that when a cathedral of sufficient grandeur was finished, it would be dedicated to St Mungo. Baldrade, St Mungo's disciple, who founded a religious house at Inchinnan, is said to have succeeded him in the bishopric. There is no record of the town or of the see for more than five hundred years after this period. This great blank cannot be accounted for with any degree of certainty. Amongst other conjectures, there is one, that the church had been destroyed by the ravages of the Danes, who murdered or drove off the religious persons who had settled in Glasgow.
In the year 1115, David prince of Cumberland refounded the see; and having in the year 1124 succeeded his brother Alexander I. on the throne of Scotland, he promoted his chaplain, John Achais, to the bishopric in 1129. In 1138 the cathedral was solemnly consecrated in presence of the king, who endowed it with the lands of Partick. In 1165 Pope Alexander III. issued a bull commanding the faithful to visit the cathedral of Glasgow. In 1176 Bishop Joceline enlarged the cathedral, and rebuilt a part of it in a style more magnificent than formerly. In 1300 Edward I. of England, assuming authority in Scotland, appointed Anthony Beik to the see of Glasgow; and at the same period Earl Percy took possession of the episcopal palace. This had no sooner taken place than Sir William Wallace, with his friend James Cleland, and a few chosen followers, indignant at the usurpers, gave them battle in the High
Street, when Lord Percy was killed, and the English route. In the year 1426 Bishop Cameron established the commissary court, and increased the number of prebendaries of the cathedral to thirty-two. In 1450 Bishop Turnbull obtained a charter from James II. erecting the town and patrimony of the bishopric into a regality. In 1488, it is, in Bishop Blackadder's time, the see of Glasgow was made archiepiscopal. This bishop, along with the Earl of Bothwell, negotiated a marriage between King James I. of Scotland, and the Lady Margaret, eldest daughter of King Henry VII. of England, which they brought about, the mutual satisfaction of both kingdoms. This union laid the foundation of the title of the Scottish kings to the English throne, to which in right of proximity of blood King James VI. of Scotland succeeded upon the demise of Queen Elizabeth.
The revenues which had been granted from time to time in support of the splendour of the see of Glasgow were very considerable. The archbishops were lords of the lordships of the royalty and baronies of Glasgow; besides, there were eighteen baronies of land which belonged to them within the sheriffdoms of Lanark, Dumfries, Ayr, Renfrew, Peebles, Selkirk, Roxburgh, Dumfries, and the Stewartry of Annandale, including 240 parishes. There was also a large estate in Cumberland within their jurisdiction, which was named of old the spiritual dukedom. When the see was made archiepiscopal, jurisdiction was given over to bishops of Galloway, Argyle, and the Isles. At the Reformation in 1560 Archbishop Beaton retired to France, taking with him all the relics, documents, and plate which pertained to the see and the archbishopric. Since the reformation of the see there have been twenty-six Roman Catholic bishops; the first, John Achais, elected in 1129, and the last, George Carmichael, in 1483; and four Roman Catholic archbishops; the first, Robert Blackadder, in 1488, and the last, James Beaton, in 1551. From the Reformation till the Revolution the church in Glasgow was governed by fourteen Protestant archbishops; the first, James Boyd, elected in 1572, and the last, John Paton, in 1687.
Corporation of Glasgow.—Glasgow was governed by a provost and bailies as early as the year 1268. In 1605 the constitution of the burgh was settled in three distinct bodies, viz. the town council, the merchants', and the trades' houses. The town council consisted of certain persons from the ranks of the merchants and trades. In 1801 some alteration was made in the constitution; and from that period till 1832 the corporation consisted of a provost, five bailies, twelve councillors from the merchants and eleven from the trades, a master of work, and a treasurer; the provost and water bailie were chosen from the council, who elected themselves. One third went out of the council every year, and could not return for three years. The merchants' house sent a list of three persons to the council, from which they elected one to be dean of guild; and in the same manner the trades' house, when one of the three was elected convener.
In 1832, after the passing of the burgh reform bill, the town council was chosen by the parliamentary constituency, consisting of upwards of 7000 persons who paid an yearly rent of £10 and upwards. The city is divided into five wards, each ward electing six councillors. The dean of guild and convener are elected by their respective houses. When added to the councillors, they elect a provost, five bailies, a treasurer, and master of work; one third of the councillors go out of office every year, but may be immediately re-elected. The revenue of the city varies from £15,000 to £16,000.
Previously to the passing of the reform bill the burghs of Glasgow, Renfrew, Dumfries, and Rutherglen elected an individual to represent them in parliament; but since
that bill has been in operation, the above-mentioned constituency for Glasgow returns two members to parliament.
Progressive Population.—There is no enumeration of the inhabitants of Glasgow that can be relied on before the year 1610; but there are grounds for supposing that about the time of the Reformation, in 1560, the population amounted to 4500. In 1610 when the episcopal form of government was resumed in the church, Archbishop Spottiswood directed the population to be ascertained, upon which it was found to amount to 7644. In 1660, at the restoration of Charles II., it amounted to 14,678. In 1688, at the Revolution, the population had decreased to 11,948. This diminution has been accounted for by the civil war, during which a number of the inhabitants were driven into exile. In 1708, immediately after the union with England, it amounted to 12,766. In 1712 the convention of royal burghs directed a census of the population to be taken, when it amounted to 13,832. In 1740 the magistrates ascertained it to be 17,034. In 1755 the population was 23,546; this was ascertained for the Reverend Dr Webster, then preparing his scheme for the Widows' Fund of the Church of Scotland. In 1763 Mr John Woodburn, the city surveyor, found it to be 28,300. In 1780 it had increased to 42,832; but in this enumeration all the suburbs were for the first time included. In 1785, soon after the American war, the population amounted to 45,889. In 1791 the population having been ascertained for Sir John Sinclair's national statistical work, amounted to 66,578, including 4633, a part of the suburbs which had been omitted in the return. Previously to 1801 the general results only were preserved, but in that year government for the first time caused a census to be taken, and the population was found to be 77,385, viz. males 35,007, females 42,378. In this enumeration a part of the population of the suburbs was not included; but if it had been added, the amount would have been 83,769. In 1811 there was another government enumeration, according to which the population amounted to 100,749, viz. males 45,275, females 55,474. In 1819 Dr Cleland drew up the first classified enumeration of the inhabitants of Glasgow, according to which the population amounted to 147,197, viz. males 68,994, females 78,203. In 1821 there was another government enumeration, when the population amounted to 147,043, viz. males 68,119, females 78,924. In 1831, at the last government census, the population was 202,426, viz. males 93,724, females 108,702. The population of Glasgow and its suburbs may now, after three years increase, be taken at about 220,000.
Glasgow Bills of Mortality.—As the Glasgow bills of mortality, from which the probability of human life in large towns, and other important results, may be deduced, have met with unprecedented celebrity, we think it right to give a detailed account of the manner in which these bills have been prepared. Bills of mortality are understood to contain a list of births, marriages, and deaths, taken from parochial registers at stated periods, in connection with the population. The parochial register of births in Glasgow being so defective that no reliance could be placed on it, Dr Cleland, to whom the country is indebted for the Glasgow bills, obtained the necessary information in the following manner.
On the 6th of December 1829, he addressed a letter to each of the seventy-five clergymen and lay pastors in the city and suburbs who baptize children, requesting to be favoured with returns of the numbers they might baptize from the 14th of December 1829 to the 15th of December 1830, both days inclusive, being the year previous to the last government census. The letter was accompanied by a book, in which the sexes, and the particular parishes in which the parents resided, were to be inserted. He also requested the various societies of Baptists, the Society of
Glasgow. Friends, and Jews and others, who do not dispense the ordinance of baptism to infants, to favour him with the above particulars relative to children born to members of their societies; and at maturity he had the satisfaction of receiving returns from the whole; as also an account of the children of parents who, whilst disapproving of infant baptism, did not belong to any religious society. It appeared, that in the city and suburbs there were 6397 children baptized, or born to Baptists, &c. and of that number there were only 3225 inserted in the parochial registers, leaving unregistered 3172.
Although in Scotland there is no marriage act, as in England, restricting the solemnization of marriages to clergymen of the established church, this ordinance can only be regularly celebrated by persons duly called to the pastoral office, and not until a certificate of the proclamation of bans has been produced. Persons irregularly married are deprived of the privileges of the church till they appear before the kirk-session, acknowledge their fault, and be reponed or restored. From this circumstance, in connection with the solicitude of the female and her friends to have the marriage registered, the marriage-register of Glasgow and its suburbs may be held as correct for all statistical purposes.
The deaths are ascertained by the number of burials. The burying-grounds in the city and suburbs are placed under the management of fourteen wardens. These officers, who attend every funeral, enter in a memorandum book, at the grave, the name, age, and designation of the person buried, along with the amount of fee received, and the name of the undertaker. Having taken these and other particulars, the wardens afterwards enter the whole in a book, classified conformably to a printed schedule drawn up by Dr Cleland. At the end of the year they furnish him with an abstract from their books; and it is from a combination of these abstracts that he ascertains the number of deaths at the various ages. The abstract includes still-born children, and the deaths of Jews and members of the Society of Friends who have separate burying-places.
Dr Cleland having been appointed to take the sole charge of conducting the enumeration and classification of the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow and suburbs for the government census of 1831, he employed twelve parochial beadles, nineteen mercantile clerks, and one superintendent of police, to take the lists. Before the books were prepared, however, an advertisement was inserted in the Glasgow newspapers, requesting the inhabitants to favour him with their suggestions as to classification; and before the list-takers commenced their operations, bills were posted upon the public places and dwelling-houses of the city, informing the inhabitants of the nature of the inquiries, and that they had no reference to taxes, and, moreover, that non-compliance, or giving a false return, subjected them to a fine. When the books were returned to him, the public, through the medium of the press, were requested to call at an office appointed for the purpose, and to correct any omission or error which might have been made in their returns. The list-takers having made oath before the lord provost, that the name of every householder in the district assigned to them, his or her age, profession, religion, country, &c. had been faithfully entered in a book, and a similar description of his or her family taken down, he proceeded to classification, and formed tables and abstracts for each parish, containing numerous details not required for the government digest.