HISTORICAL SKETCH.

coffin was carried on shoulders of men to the town, and others of the mob were armed with stobs, making resistance of the authorities impossible. They were met by the Sheriff, Provost, and Magistrates, with a force of police, but were not able to stop the procession. The coffin was thrown down in Glen's Lane and broken to pieces. The mob then moved on to the corner of St James's Street and broke the windows and bottles of Dr Vessie. The windows of Mr W. Young and of Dr A. K. Young were next broken. The crowd then went to the Cholera Hospital, broke down the gates and seized the cholera bier and made off with it. The windows of Dr Kerr were next broken. After marching through the town with the bier for some time they laid it down and smashed it. The shattered vehicle was again carried through the town, and the windows of most of the doctors in town and some of the members of the Board of Health were broken. On reaching the Coffee Room some of the Bailies and members of the Board of Health stopped the mob and caused them to lay down the bier. Shortly after the military arrived, but it was not found necessary for them to act. The mob again visited the hospital and broke 40 or 50 panes of glass. They also broke into the hospital in search of the doctors, but they had escaped. On the following day the rest of the coffins in the Moss, 80 in number, were lifted, and two more found empty. An attempt was made to bring them into town, but that was prevented. The result of this riot was that the medical men in the town gave in their resignations as surgeons to the Board of Health. The number of panes of glass broken by the mob was about 420. The value of these and the medicines destroyed in the druggists' shops was valued at about £130. Several apprehensions took place.

CONTRIBUTED BY J. W. C.

XVI.

The Soup Kitchens were in continual operaThere tion from February till June, 1832. were five of these, and the following is a statement of their income and expenditure :

CAUSEYSIDE KITCHEN. - Expenditure, £163 128 11d; for soup, bread, &c., £81 6s 101d; from Relief Fund, £82 6s 11d.

GILMOUR STREET KITCHEN.- Expenditure, £196 11s 7d; for soup, bread, &c., £32 9s 3d; from Relief Fund, £164 2s 4d.

NEW TOWN KITCHEN.-Expenditure, £162 16s 8d; for soup, bread, &c., £59 16s; froin Relief Fund, £103 Os 8d.

BROOMLANDS KITCHEN.-Expenditure, £79 7s 6d; for soup, bread, &c., £27 19s 103d: from Relief Fund, £51 17s 8d.

TOWN HEAD KITCHEN.-Expenditure, £143 12s 94d; four soup, bread, &c., £48 4s 9d; from Relief Fund, £95 8s Old.

A quart of soup and a half-pound loaf were given for one penny. Mr James Carswell, baker, presented the Causeyside kitchen with one hun dred loaves.

Cholera commenced in Paisley on the 13th February, during cold east winds; and the following is a statement of its progress, counting from that date :

Cases. Deaths. Recoveries.

13

28

72

129

13.

354

202

143

H

1

In June, 1832, the Reform Society gavé a dinner to Mr Spiers in the Renfrewshire Tontine, Paisley, and presented him with a silver medal for his public-spirited conduct in granting them on several occasions a place of meeting. The following was the inscription on the medal:

To Archd. Spiers, Esq. of Elderslie,
for his zeal and consistency as a Reformer,
and particularly for granting the
Reformers of Renfrewshire

(when refused by all others applied to) a field for their celebrated Meeting in 1819; Also, for granting his Policies at Elderslie for the same purpose in May 1831, and May 1832, when from 70 to 80,000 persons were

assembled on each cccasion.

(And on the reverse.)

Presented as a Tribute of Respect,

by the members of the Paisley Reform Society, 4th June, 1832.

On receiving the medal Mr Spiers, in the course of a few remarks, said that he could assure them, as a man who had reached 75 years of age, that he valued the gift more than any. thing the King could bestow. Toasts and songs brought the meeting to a close.

The following are the sums for which the Cart dues were let from 1820 to 1832:--

1820, .....

In February, 1833, the magistrates authorised the collection of 80 per cent. of the amount of a year's assessment (exclusive of guard money) for the Board of Health, and 10 per cent. further for the damage incurred during the riots in the preceding year.

During the time of which we are now writing a great passenger trade was being done on the canal between Paisley and Glasgow. The fares between these two towns were-In the cabin 91, and in the steerage 6d. Children under five years free, and between five and ten half fare.

In November, 1833, a very serious fire occurred on the south side of the Cross, by which three large houses were destroyed and a fireman killed. The houses were a portion of those that had been rebuilt after the great fire a hundred years. before, and were in the Flemish style of architecture.

In 1834 the price of gas was 98 6d per 1000 cubic feet, subject to discount.

In 1834 a steam coach commenced to ply between Paisley and Glasgow. The carriage was

fitted up in splendid style, and held six persons inside, and, including the tender, twenty outside. The hind axle was driven by two engines, each of 14 horse-power, which were encased in a polished brass box. The boiler was encased in a non-conducting substance. On the 29th July the boiler of this carriage burst at the Half-way House, and the passengers were blown into the air. The wounded were taken to an adjacent house and doctors sent for. Four of the sufferers died. There were 14 people on the coach, including the men belonging to it, two only of whom were inside. The windows of the adja. cent houses on each side of the road were broken, and the cinders, smoke, and steam blown into them, by which some trifling damage was done.

In 1834 the Paisley and Renfrew Railway Company issued their prospectus, by which they proposed to construct a railway between Paisley and Renfrew Ferry and make a wharf there. The capital stock of the company was proposed at £15,000, divided into 1500 shares, power being reserved to increase the amount if found necessary. The survey of this line was completed by the beginning of November, and by the 10th of that month £11,000 had been sub. scribed.

It

In November, 1834, notice was given that application was about to be made to Parliament for leave to bring in a bill for an Act to.supply Paisley with water from Gleniffer Braes. was proposed that the capital stock of the com. pany should be £35,000, divided into 3500 shares. In four days the whole of these shares were taken up and the books closed. The necessary bill was obtained in the following year.

In 1834 cholera again broke out in the town, and several deaths occurred from it. It had not, however, the severity of 1832.

The number of patients admitted to the Dispensary and House of Recovery during 1834 was 1666; of these 1321 were cured, 123 died, 20 were relieved.

On the 25th of September the ceremony of commencing the construction of the Paisley and Renfrew Railway took place at Renfrew. Shortly after four o'clock the Provost of Renfrew, the Governor and Com. mittee of Management, Mr Granger, the engineer, and Messrs Barr and Brown and other gentlemen proceeded from the Black Bull Inn t the piece of ground known as the Stane Acre. There Provost Hutchison lifted a spadeful of earth, and expressed a hope that the undertaking would be successful. The day being unfavourable, after a deal of cheering the Company returned to the inn and sat down to dinner. After the loyal and patriotic toasts, the Chairman (Mr William Sharp), in the name of the Company, presented Mr Alexander Craig with a

CONTRIBUTED BY J. W. C.

silver tea set for his services to the Company in the passing of the bill through Parliament. The gift bore the following inscription:

"Presented to Alexander Craig, Esqre., by the Paisley and Renfrew Railway Company, 25th Sept., 1835."

In October, 1835, a fine monument was erected over the Martyrs' Grave. It is composed of Stevenston stone, and is formed of 13 pieces. The whole height is 20 feet 6 inches, and the weight of the stones about 12 tons. It bears the following inscription:-

"Here lie the corpses of James Algie and John Park, who suffered at the Cross of Paisley for refusing the Oath of Abjuration, February 3, 1685.

"Stay, passenger, as thou goest by,
And take a look where these do lie;
Who, for the love they bore to truth,
Were deprived of their life and youth.
Tho' law's made then, caused many die,
Judges and sizes were not free,
He that to them did these dilate,
The greater count he hath to make;
Yet no excuse to them can be,

At ten condemned, at two to die.
So cruel did their rage become,

To stop their rage caused beat the drum.
This may a standing wintess be,
'Twixt Presbyt'ry and Prelacy.

"Their blood is shed

In confirmation of the noblest claim,
Our claim to feed upon immortal truth,
To walk with God, to be divinely free,
To soar and to anticipate the skies.
Yet few remember them, they lived unknown
Till persecution dragg'd them into fame
And chased them up to Heaven.

"The stone containing the epitaph transcribed on this monument was erected over the grave on the Gallowgreen, the place of common execution; and on the occasion of the grounds being built upon it was removed near to this spot, along with the remains of the Martyrs, by order of the Magistrates-John Storie, John Patison, and John Cochran. MDCCLXXIX.

"Erected by the contributions of Christians of different denominations, in and about Paisley, to renew and perpetuate a memorial of respect and gratitude, with which posterity still cherish the memory of the Martyrs of Scotland. MDCCCXXXV.”

The year 1836 was one of great activity in the iron trade. This was owing to the increase of railways and the use of gas for lighting purposes. Iron in January of that year was £10 per ton, and in the previous August it was £5 10s per ton.