P R E F A СЕ. Ir is, perhaps, of little importance to the public to know the motives by which I have been induced to publish the ANNALS of New and OLD ABERDEEN. To this step I have not been led either by the solicitations of numerous friends---by the expectation of emolument---or by the vain hope of acquiring literary fame. Of great intimacy with literary or scientific men I am not entitled to boast;-of the profits of authorship I am altogether independent;--and if vanity could prompt me to imagine that I possess any claim to genius or learning, I am well aware that a work of this nature is not the field in which either of these could be displayed to advantage. It is the mere offspring of dry, patient, and laborious research. If, therefore, a candid and indulgent public shall consider it as possessing any merit---that merit must consist entirely in the strength of the evidence by which facts are supported---in the accuracy with which these are detailed---and in the perspicuity of the narrative, and of the general arrangement. Though, for the attainment of these ends, I can honestly affirm that I have exerted my utmost abilities, I have not the presumption to think that a reader of discernment may not discover in my work many defects which have escaped my own observation. If mistakes, errors, omissions, or redundancies, of any kind, shall be brought to view, I hope I shall not be excluded from common indulgence. Conscious that I possess no claim to bright or eminent talents for composition, whatever I might have written for my own amusement, I should not have obtruded upon the public the fruits of my labour a 2 if I had considered them as unworthy of their attention. The avidity with which the Statistical Histories of many counties, towns, corporations, and public institutions, in the united kingdom, have been lately received by the British public, affords convincing evidence that the present age is well qualified to appreciate the importance of local narrative. Such narratives are evidently calculated to gratify the laudable curiosity of the Antiquary, and to furnish materials for the general Historian. They enable the latter to mark, with greater precision than he could otherwise do, the manners and customs of different ages; the peculiar effects of civil, religious, and municipal institutions, upon the characters, the opulence, and happiness of the people; to trace their influence in retarding or promoting the spirit of liberty and independence, the progress of the liberal arts, and the general diffusion of knowledge. Without the light derived from such sources, it is not easy to conceive how he could refer the various changes and events which he records, to their true causes, or exhibit them in their proper colours, and in their just combinations. If erroneous or defective in these respects, history might serve to mislead rather than to guide the statesman, who, conceiving human nature to be the same in all ages, would regulate his political measures, not by abstract and visionary theory, but by the actual experience of former times. Among merely local narratives, none can be of more importance in this country than those which describe the various institutions which have existed in our royal boroughs, the changes which have occurred in them, the prosperous or adverse events that have befallen them, and the effects of their influence in the state. Those boroughs may justly be viewed as forming an integral part of the British constitution, and as possessing considerable power in the administration of national affairs. As incorporated bodies in general, they derive their origin from the bounty of the sovereigns, who, impelled by gra titude for some signal service, or actuated by political motives, first bestowed upon them their respective constitutions; and afterwards confirmed, and, in many instances, extended their ancient rights and privileges. Depending entirely upon the will of the monarch for the security of the powers which they had thus acquired, and for a voice, by their representatives, in the general councils of the nation, they steadily supported, in their turn, the royal prerogative. Thus, in the more rude and barbarous ages, they became, in the hands of the crown, an useful and powerful counterpoise to the bold and ambitious usurpations of the restless Nobles and great Barons of the kingdom. Nor does their political importance in the earliest periods of their history arise only from their influence in enabling the sovereign to preserve the internal peace of the country and the steady operation of the law, by checking the insolence of a turbulent aristocracy. It was to them that manufactures and commerce owed their origin and their increase ;---in them that literature, and the arts and sciences, were first cultivated and cherished ;---and from them that the spirit of freedom, the blessings of order, civilization, and opulence, were gradually diffused among a servile, ignorant, and unruly people. By the accession of the Scottish kings to the throne of England, the regal power at last acquired that predominance in the state which enabled it effectually to overawe and controul the haughty chieftains of the land, even though it had been deprived of the aid of the royal boroughs. Still, however, their rights and privileges depended chiefly upon the pleasure of the sovereign, and, of course, their influence was still in no small degree subservient to his prerogative. By the union of the two kingdoms, in the year 1707, the sets or constitutions of the boroughs, and all the royal grants in their favour, were ratified, and declared inviolable, unless by legal forfeiture. This measure, whilst it served at once to diminish their dependence on the crown, and to engraft them more securely than ever into the state, as a distinct branch of the British constitution, gave a new direction to their political influence, and adapted it to the great changes which, with the progress of civilization, were gradually taking place in the circumstances of the nation. The agricultural interest still retains its proportional influence in the legislative body; but it is by the burgesses only that the manufacturing and commercial branches of the community, the great sources of the influx of wealth into the kingdom, and consequently of its grandeur and power, are properly represented in our imperial senate. While manufactures, navigation, and trade continue to flourish---and while they contribute by far the greatest share of the public revenue, the importance of these boroughs must be felt: their influence, with every wise administration, must be considerable; and they must command from government that protection and encouragement which are indispensable to their prosperity. If such be the importance of royal boroughs, surely the History of ABERDEEN, which, in population, rank, and opulence, is the third in the ancient kingdom of Scotland, cannot fail, if well authenticated and distinctly stated, to attract its due share of the public attention. The task, however, of compiling a history of this borough, I should most willingly have left to any man of better abilities than mine, if peculiar circumstances had not occurred which incidentally brought under my view many facts of essential importance in that history---facts which none ever had an equal opportunity of investigating, and to the labour of investigating which, few, I believe, would be disposed to submit. About six years ago, I was employed, by the town council of Aberdeen, at the recommendation of their present clerk, to compile an alphabetical index of the very voluminous records of the borough, |