PERTH

PERTH, the principal town of Perthshire, and the most central in Scotland, is situated on the banks of the river Tay, about 25 miles above its confluence with the German Ocean, in Lat. 56. 23. 40. N., and Long. 3. 26. 20. W. The city, eminent for the beauty of its situation, occupies the centre of an amphitheatre, varied, pleasing, and highly picturesque. Encircled by richly wooded and highly cultivated heights, sloping more or less proximally, sits embedded the "Fair City," with its splendid and spacious parks, the

Inches, extending their swardy expanses north and south, and its noble river flowing through its apparent confines.

From the rising grounds by which the city is surrounded, although none of them is of great altitude, some of the finest views in Scotland are to be obtained. Those from the summit of Moncrieff and Kinnoull Hills are of great extent, beauty, and variety. The prospect from Moncrieff Hill, described by Pennant as "the glory of Scotland," embraces on the west and south the vale of Strathearn; on the east

the curve of the Tay to the ocean; and in the distant north a noble sweep of the Grampian Mountains, with much of the Alpine scenery of Perthshire and contiguous counties. From Kinnoull Hill the view is less extensive, but scarcely inferior in beauty, variety, and interest. The height of Moncreiff Hill is 756 feet, and the height of Kinnoull Hill is 632 feet above the river.

The site of the town is only a few feet above the level of the sea; and hence it is exposed to partial inundation when the Tay is very much flooded. The height of the low grounds along the bank of the river varies from only 20 to 30 feet above the mean level of the sea; and the plain on which the town is built is still lower. Inconveniences of this kind of much consequence, however, are of rare occurrence.¹ Although lying low, the town is not by any means to be regarded as unhealthy; and though it is also closely surrounded by hills on all sides except towards the north, yet these being of moderate elevation, the hygroscopic state of the incumbent atmosphere is little affected by their vicinity, and the air is accordingly more dry and clear than might have been expected. Fogs are not more frequent than in the open plains; and the diseases resulting from a damp soil and a humid atmosphere are of rare occurrence, or rather altogether unknown. The gravelly and sandy subsoil of the district, and the perpetual change of air occasioned by the current of the river in all states of the weather, contribute to render the climate of Perth more salubrious than that of many towns possessing a greater elevation. The mean hygroscopic state of the air at Perth (as was ascertained, a good many years ago, by the late Professor Anderson) appears to be when the atmosphere is charged with about four-fifths of the entire quantity of moisture it is capable of holding in solution at the mean temperature. The hygroscopical means for 1857 were—mean of dry-bulb, 50°6; mean of wet bulb, 45°9. The quantity of rain observed to fall in the immediate neighbourhood of the town seems to correspond pretty nearly with the mean quantity for the latitude. In the year 1857 the fall was 30.464 inches, and the number of days in which it fell 164; so that against the number of wet or snowy days there were 201 fair days. The mean annual fall of rain, deduced from a period of six years—viz., from the year 1852 to 1857—was 30.30 inches. The mean height of the barometer, reduced to 32° for 1857, was 29.85 inches. The mean annual height, deduced from the same period of six years, as above in the case of the rain, was 29.67 inches. The mean temperature of 1857 was 51°1, and the annual mean deduced from the above period of six years, 46°5. The following are the observations of the wind for the year 1857, viz.:—N., 16 days; N.E., 21; E., 14; S.E., 59½; S., 15½; S.W., 63; W., 62½; N.W., 20½; calm, 93 days; mean force of the wind, 2½. The mortality tables for the years 1855, 1856, and 1857, show respectively somewhat under 2½, 2, and 3 per cent. deaths to the population. The deaths registered in the burgh, exclusive of Kinnoull, in 1855, were

577; in 1856, 490; and in 1857, 695,—being for 1855, 1 in 41; for 1856, 1 in 48; and for 1857, 1 in 34 of the population. For the whole burgh, the births registered in 1857 were, 390 males and 370 females; and the marriages 237.

The greater part of the parish of Perth rests upon the old red sandstone formation, which stretches through the valleys of Strathmore and Strathearn. It contains altogether about 3400 imperial acres, and exhibits much diversity of soil. As regards the town and its suburbs, considerable changes in respect of soil and elevation must from time to time have taken place, as abundant evidence exists, low as it still is, of its having, at one time, been very much lower. Excavations in all parts of the town are constantly exposing the remains of buildings and numerous other traces of a lower level.

Perth is one of the most ancient towns in Scotland, and its civil history, up to the sixteenth century, is deeply interwoven with the national annals. Its origin is buried in the obscurity of the past, and the very etymology of its name is uncertain. The latter is now generally supposed to be of Celtic origin—an opinion which receives considerable support from the analogy of names of other places in the same neighbourhood, as well as all over Scotland, clearly of Celtic derivation. Perth must have been a place of considerable note long before the period when existing history refers to it. The "House of the Green" stood on what for ages had been reckoned the site of an old British temple, which, on the authority of Geoffrey, who wrote his history in the beginning of the twelfth century, was believed at the time of Hollinshead to have been built by the son of Regan, second daughter of Lear, who governed Britain long before the birth of our Saviour. This tradition is so far supported by the fact, that in digging many years ago for a proper foundation for the house which now occupies the site, subterranean buildings were discovered answering the description of such structures. It is a generally received opinion, that Perth was built and fortified by Agricola, who erected a citadel to maintain his conquests, and check the wild spirit of the savage natives. In corroboration of this opinion, it may be stated that there are no fewer than four military or Roman roads from different quarters, all leading to, if not centering in, Perth. The town was early known by the name of St Johnstown, from the inhabitants, after their conversion to Christianity, having consecrated the church and bridge to John the Baptist, and having made him tutelary saint of the town. But there is no public document in which it is so designated, although the common seal of the burgh, which was in use in the year 1400, and of which many impressions are still in existence, represented the martyrdom of St John, and bore the legend, "S. communitatis ville Sancti Johannis Baptiste de Perth."

That Perth was a burgh in the reign of Edgar, 1106, appears from a charter then granted to a John Burgess, in which he was designated a burgess of Perth. The charter of confirmation by James VI. makes particular mention of one which had been granted by David I., who died 1153. King David's charter was renewed and by David I., who died 1153. King David's charter was renewed and by William the Lion, which is extant. From this confirmed by that of William the Lion, which is extant. From this point the authentic history of Perth may be said to begin. It enjoys the dignity of having been the ancient capital of Scotland. James II. was the first Scottish monarch crowned in Edinburgh, an event which happened in the year 1447. Soon thereafter the Parliament and courts of justice were removed thither; but it was not till 1482, in the reign of James III., that Edinburgh was declared to be the capital of Scotland. There seems good reason to believe, that when Edward I. ransacked the chartulary of Scone,

he also made free with the records and documents of public value preserved at Perth; hence the absence of, in a great measure, such papers, as were to have been expected in a city so prominent in the nation's history. The records of the burgh are, however, of very considerable antiquity, but unfortunately the oldest cannot now be deciphered. The earliest legible date is 1512. Cant, in his History, however, produces a full and uninterrupted list of magistrates from 1465 to 1785. From the ancient importance of the city, its annals are replete with incidents and events of more than local interest and consequence. In 1298, after the battle of Falkirk, Edward I. reduced all the fortresses in Scotland, but fortified Perth, and rebuilt the walls in the strongest manner. Such defences proved in these and subsequent times exceedingly necessary. In these rude ages it was surrounded by the feudal castles of several powerful barons, with some of whom the inhabitants appear to have been frequently at feud, whilst with others, as Chartres of Kinfauns, the Earl of Gowrie, the Earl of Atholl, Lord Scone, and Threlpland of Fingask, they were on such friendly terms as to have had one of their number for chief magistrate. Amusing evidence is to be found in the records of the burgh, of these alternate feuds and fraternizations. The worthy burgesses seem to have been men of mettle in those days; and on various occasions, sallying forth from behind their walls, set fire to the castles of their haughty neighbours, when the latter, probably in reprisal for some offence, had forbidden their vassals to carry provisions to the city. In the year 1311, Robert Bruce laid siege to the town, but was obliged to withdraw his troops, after various unsuccessful attempts to take it. Not discouraged, however, the Scottish hero, having selected a band of determined men, and chosen a dark night, led them on in person, scaled the walls, and carried the town sword in hand; the king himself being the second man who entered the place. About the beginning of the fourteenth century, the famous combat between the Clan Chattan and the Clan Quhele or Clan Kay, took place on the North Inch, and was decided in favour of the former, partly by the bravery of a citizen or burgess called Harry Wynd, whom the chief of the Clan Chattan had engaged on the spot to supply the place of one of his men who had failed to appear. This city has also been the scene of several of those social tragedies, in which the history of Scotland, in those rude times, was so prolific. In the year 1336, King Edward III. of England stabbed his brother the Duke of Cornwall, before the high altar of the church of St John; and in 1437, James I. was murdered in the monastery of Blackfriars, by Walter, Earl of Atholl, Robert Stewart, his lordship's grandson, and Robert Graham, their kinsman, with circumstances of the most savage barbarity. The murderers were executed in Perth, and the details of their punishment are of the most revolting character, reflecting but little honour on the good feeling and humanity of our forefathers. Perth appears to have been several times visited by the plague, particularly in 1512, 1585, 1608, and 1645. Its ravages during the last of these visitations were severe, 3000 persons having become its victims. In 1639, Margaret, queen of James IV. was interred in the Carthusian monastery, beside the tomb of James I. Her Majesty died at Methven Castle. In 1617, James VI. honoured the ancient capital of Scotland with a visit, the details of which, as found in the burgh records, are not a little graphic and entertaining. And in 1623, one of those exhibitions, of which James was so fond, and which leave a stain upon the national annals, took place in Perth; we mean, the burning of three poor women for witchcraft. In 1633, Charles I. in his tour through Scotland, visited Perth; and in 1651, Oliver Cromwell took military possession of the city, and erected a citadel on the South Inch. The year 1660 was rendered memorable by the occurrence of the famous Gowrie conspiracy; one of these events on which ingenuity and research have exhausted themselves, and which, in its origin and circumstances, still remains enveloped in impenetrable mystery.

In the ecclesiastical history of Scotland, Perth occupies a somewhat prominent position. Here, it may be said, the work of reformation in Scotland was commenced by Knox. In 1544, Cardinal Bethune having obtained an act in favour of the bishops and clergy to persecute and punish heretics, came to Perth, when an accusation was forthwith lodged against certain persons for interrupting a friar of the name of Spence while preaching. The accused were found guilty, and condemned, and on the following day were executed—four men being hanged; and one woman, whose offence was refusing to pray to the Virgin Mary, drowned. Other citizens were banished. Before the Cardinal left Perth, the Regent, at his instigation, turned Lord Ruthven, provost of the town, out of his office, and conferred it upon Chartres of Kinfauns. The citizens, however, resisted the attempt, and repulsed in a smart skirmish the Cardinal's nominee, who came to enter upon his duties at the head of an armed force. The means adopted here and elsewhere to suppress the dawning Reformation only served to spread it. Executions became general, and the people became

more and more alienated from the Church. The public exercise of the reformed religion having been introduced into Perth, the regent queen commanded all the Protestant preachers to be summoned to a court of justice to be held at Stirling the 10th of May 1559. The people resolved to answer the summons along with their ministers, in such numbers as induced the queen to feign an abandonment of the trial. The people dispersed, and the preachers, with a few leaders, remained at Perth. The disestablishment of her Majesty ended, on the said 10th of May, in the banishment of the still refractory ministers; the day after which John Knox appeared in Perth, and preached the famous sermon against the idolatry of the Church of Rome, which proved indirectly the cause of the first great outbreak of the Reformation. The indiscretion of a priest, who, after the sermon, was preparing to celebrate mass, precipitated such of the congregation as remained into action with tumultuary but irresistible violence. They fell upon the churches, overturned the altars, defaced the pictures, broke in pieces the images, and proceeding next to the monasteries, in a few hours laid these sumptuous fabrics almost level with the ground. The fury of the mob, however, was in a great measure confined to the edifices; little personal insult was offered to any one, and not a single Roman Catholic was put to death. This riotous insurrection was in nowise the result of premeditation, was not joined by the more respectable citizens, and was publicly censured and condemned by the ministers and leaders of the Reformation. Her Majesty heard of the destruction of the religious houses at Perth with much concern, and determined to inflict the severest vengeance on the Reformers. Both parties took the field; negotiations ensued; Perth was thrown open to the queen, and occupied by a French garrison. But no sooner was peaceable admission gained, than all the previous stipulations were disregarded; the whole town was oppressed; swarms of priests were introduced into it; Lord Ruthven and the ballies were superseded in their offices; Chartres was made provost; and the exercise of no other religion than the Roman Catholic was permitted. Relief from the insolence and exactions of the garrison was only obtained after a regular siege by the Reformers. On the 25th of June Lord Ruthven attacked the town on the west, and Provost Halybarton of Dundee fired into it from the bridge, and speedily obliged the garrison to capitulate. From this resulted the destruction of the abbey and palace of Scone on the following day. After the loss of Perth, the Queen endeavoured to seize Stirling. Argyle, and Stewart, prior of St Andrews, having received intelligence of her design, marched out of Perth with three hundred citizens, resolved to prosecute the Reformation, or perish in the attempt. That their determination might be the more apparent, they, instead of ribbons, put ropes about their necks, intimating thereby that whoever of their number should desert their colours should be hanged by the ropes. Hence the origin of the proverb of "St Johnston's Ribbons." The people joined them everywhere as they proceeded; and before they reached Stirling, their numbers had increased to five thousand. The gates of Stirling, and of every other town in their way, were thrown open to receive them. They, without violence, took possession of Edinburgh, cast the images out of its churches, and placed in them ministers of the Reformation.

Perth has long since been divested of almost every relic of antiquity, although at one time few places were so highly favoured in this respect. Hardly a trace is left of any of the numerous religious houses with which it abounded. The Parliament House and Gowrie Palace are also entirely removed. Two small portions of the ancient city wall, however, are still preserved; but the lud is the only work which has passed entire from ancient to modern Perth.

Claiming to be first noticed among the public buildings of Perth is the old church of St John. It is altogether unknown when and by whom this edifice was founded; but from such historical facts as can now be gathered, it must have been built about the middle of the fifth century. Stones were requested by King Robert Bruce in 1329 for its repair from "our beloved and faithful religious men, the abbot and convent of Scone." In the year 1410, the edifice was in good repair; all the old altars had been removed, and new ones erected. At the period of the Reformation, it is described as in a very high state of repair, containing rich altar pieces, images, decorations, and ornaments. But the fabric is of such very remote origin, and has undergone so many repairs, that it is difficult to say what or whether any of the original building now remains. There can be no doubt, however, that the tower

and the pillars of the East and West churches are of very ancient date. When it was divided, as at present, into three places of worship, is not precisely known. That part of it which is now occupied as the West church must have been separated from the rest about the beginning of the seventeenth century, for it is recorded that a public meeting of the inhabitants was held in it in 1608. A variety of other public transactions are recorded as having taken place there. Prominent among them is the meeting of the General Assembly in August 1618, at which the famous Five Articles of Perth were passed. In 1716 it was fitted up as a place of worship; and in 1771 the eastern division, or choir, now the East church, was separated from the old or Middle church. The present fittings of the churches are all modern. One of the bells bears date 1400, and another 1506. The only other church possessing any particular interest is the South United Presbyterian church, having been erected in 1740 for Mr Wilson, one of the four original seceders from the Church of Scotland.

Of the other public buildings, the principal are the bridge over the Tay, completed in 1771, at an expense of £26,631, of which government contributed £11,000, the city of Perth £2000, and the royal burghs £500; the County Buildings, erected in 1819-20, at a cost of £32,000; the General Prison; the military barracks, erected in 1793-4; the public seminaries, erected by public subscription in 1807, at a cost of about £7000, of which the city contributed £1050; Murray's Royal Lunatic Asylum, completed in 1827, and erected at an original cost of upwards of £40,000, bequeathed by Mr James Murray, a native of the parish of Perth, to which considerable additions have been made by the directors, including two contiguous properties; the monument erected to the memory of Provost Marshall, in which are accommodated the Perth Library and the library and museum of the Literary and Antiquarian Society; the water reservoir, erected in 1830; the infirmary, erected in 1836, at a cost of £6000; and the general railway station, partially erected in 1848, and still uncompleted. The only other building of much note is the hospital, founded by James VI. in 1569, and which has two royal charters.

Perth abounds in religious, educational, and charitable institutions. There are twenty-four churches, comprising six places of worship belonging to the Established, six to the Free, and three to the United Presbyterian Churches; in addition to these, there are Original Secession, Wesleyan, Independent, Baptist, English Episcopalian, Scotch Episcopalian, and Roman Catholic Churches; there is also a Glassite meeting-house. There are eighteen public schools, besides a considerable number of private schools; also three ragged or industrial schools. In eleven of the public schools education is afforded to the poorer classes at fees more or less small; and in one, under the management of the incorporated trades, to the sons of members gratuitously. The charitable institutions are no less abundant. The principal of these are the infirmary, which contains accommodation for 68 patients, and is maintained at an annual cost of about £1300; the Indigent Old Men's Society, which expended in provisions and clothing, in 1857, £165; the Indigent Old Women's Society, which similarly disbursed £170; the Destitute Sick Society, £52; and the Ladies' Clothing Society, £28. Besides these, there are the Lethendy Mortifications, the annuities of which amounted in 1857 to £723; and James VI.'s Hospital, affording outdoor relief to the extent of about £600 per annum. The incorporated trades also devote a large proportion of their funds to the assistance of their poorer members. In this way, in 1857, the trades expended the sum of £1062, and the guildry £1464. The poor's rates for the burgh amounted in 1857 to £6543.

Of the trade of the place a very vague estimate only can

be formed. The exports and imports by the river afford no index to it whatever, the great bulk of the traffic being carried on by railway. Perth cannot be said now, as in former times, to be famous for any particular manufacture or branch of business. Cotton goods for foreign markets are made to a considerable extent; so are gals, wincies, and hosiery, for home trade. The number of weavers employed by the Perth manufacturers is variously estimated from 1500 and downwards. Linen is made to a small extent by power-looms. A very large traffic, however, is carried on in wood. In this trade, seven saw-mills, driven by steam, of, in the aggregate, seventy-six horse-power, are constantly employed in cutting up the timber for the various purposes for which it is employed. The value of the wood changing hands at Perth is estimated at about £50,000 per annum; and the larger proportion of it is the produce of the county. The purposes to which it is principally applied, besides house and ship building, are pit-props, barrel-staves, railway-sleepers, and fences. Ship-building is also vigorously prosecuted, giving employment to about 150 to 200 carpenters and others. Agricultural produce, and commodities connected with agriculture, form perhaps the most prominent feature in the commerce of the place. The salmon caught in the river are also an item of some importance in this respect, the great bulk of them being exported from Perth for the London market; the aggregate rent of the salmon-fishings in the Tay being, for the year 1858, £11,487. The tonnage of vessels visiting the port for the year ending 1st November 1857 was 26,877 tons register; and 57 vessels, measuring 5000 tons, are owned in Perth.

The government of the city is vested in a lord provost, who is also sheriff and coroner; four bailies; a treasurer; the dean of guild, who is ex officio a member of the council; and nineteen councillors. There are two city clerks, a procurator-fiscal, and a chamberlain. The city sends a member to Parliament. After Edinburgh was constituted the capital of the kingdom, Perth stood second on the roll of burghs of the Scottish Parliament, and is still entitled to hold that rank. Its chief magistrate has for centuries enjoyed the title of Lord Provost, which was confirmed by a judgment of the Court of Session, 12th March 1836. The Circuit Court of Justiciary is held here twice a year, when the more aggravated criminal offences committed in the counties of Perth, Fife, and Forfar are tried. There are, besides the magistrates and council, two popularly-elected public commissions, the water and police commissions. Under the former, the city is abundantly supplied with water filtered and raised from the Tay, the whole expense of which was defrayed in 1857 by assessments of 2d. and 8d. in the pound upon places of business and dwelling-houses respectively. In police, paving, lighting, and cleansing, the latter commission expended during the year 1856-7, £14131. The general police assessment was 7d. per pound.

Although divested of much of their ancient political power, and shorn of much of their former state and dignity, the guildry incorporation and the incorporated trades still occupy a prominent and important place in the civic economy of the burgh. The incorporations are the hammermen, bakers, glovers, wrights, tailors, fleshers, shoemakers, and weavers. Several of the incorporations are possessed of considerable property. The dean of guild and the convenor of the trades are ex officio members of most of the local boards. Most of the trades possess interesting relics of departed greatness. The principal of these is a very old flag, called "the blue blanket," in the keeping of the convenor. This old banner, tradition saith, was borne in the Crusades by a body of burgesses from Perth. The glovers also have preserved in their repositories various interesting mementos; among the rest, a morris-dancer's dress, with

cap and bells, in which some worthy follower of St Bartholomew exhibited for the diversion of Charles I. on the 8th of July 1633. This incorporation also possesses an antique flag, bearing the date 1604, said also to have been borne by some of the craft at the Crusades. The chief memorial preserved by the gildry is the Incorporation Record from 1452 to 1631—a venerable volume in a complete state of preservation, in which are inscribed the autographs of James R., 1601; Charles R., July 24, 1650; Victoria R., 1842; and Albert, 1842.

The burgh has a very large property and revenue, the former derived chiefly from the favour and munificence of several of the Scottish sovereigns. The property of the burgh consists of lands, feus, fishings, mills and waterfalls, dues, seats in the churches, houses, &c.; and its estimated value is £97,600. The debt of the city, after deducting assets, was, at the 30th September 1857, £16,518, 2s. 8d. The revenue for the year 1856-7 was £6,052, 13s. 9d., and the expenditure £3,809, 11s. 7d.

In 1856 the navigation and harbour commission was merged in the town council, and the financial affairs of the one conjoined to those of the other (the accounts, however, of the two concerns being kept separate and distinct), by act of Parliament. This, although originally contemplated, was latterly necessitated by the untoward condition of the finances of the commission. In 1854 the obligations of the harbour commission amounted, in round numbers, to £82,000; while the revenue, in consequence of the successful competition of the railways, had fallen to a trifle over £14,000, being about £2300 short of its annual liability in the item of interest. The city, being by the Navigation Acts placed in the position of cautionary obligant for the commission, and the surplus revenue of the one not being equal to the deficiency of the other, an act of Parliament was obtained by the town council consolidating the two bodies, with their respective debts and revenues, and converting their conjoined obligations into bonds of annuity bearing a fixed annual interest of 3½ per cent., and also containing power to levy assessments upon the property within the ancient royalty not exceeding 4d. in the pound. The nett obligations on account of the navigation and harbour, at 30th September 1857, was £85,949, 8s. 2d. But so favourable a turn had the finances of the united bodies taken, that at the same date of the second year of the operation of the act the conjoined surplus revenue over expenditure amounted to £1,022, 9s. 9d.

The large obligations of the navigation and harbour commission were incurred in the construction of new quays, and in the deepening of the river. These works cost together about £65,000. Besides this, however, the sum of £31,500 was awarded to the proprietors for injury done by the operations to the salmon-fishings. There is now about 2000 feet of quay berthage at Perth; and ships of 300 tons register can easily ascend the river, the tide rising from 13 to 19 feet at the harbour. For several years the works of the commission fully realized the most sanguine expectations of their promoters; but, as already remarked, the trade of the place has of late been very much diverted from this channel.

The population of Perth, by the last census (1851), is 23,835; inhabited houses, 1991; parliamentary constituency, 933; municipal constituency (1856-7), 636; annual value of real property in 1855-6, £62,493.