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68-461: The Statistical Accounts of Scotland are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The Old (or First) Statistical Account of Scotland was published between 1791 and 1799 by Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster . The New (or Second) Statistical Account of Scotland published under

136-632: A biography published in 1856 see For a description of the "Old Statistical Account" (and the "New") see For more on the history of the term "statistics", see the entry in James Meek (minister) James Meek was born the son of John Meek and Janet Millar of Fortissat House in Shotts . He was baptized in Shotts Parish Church on 21 March 1740, according to the Parish records, two years after

204-510: A brother John. His family were minor landowners, or lairds who had held land in the area since at least the 17th century. Several of his ancestors had been cautioned, imprisoned and bonded, and finally had their land confiscated for Covenanting activity during the reign of King James VII . There is a so-called Covenanters Stone still at Fortissat, and the Mains Farm still exists, as does Fortissat House. The family lands were restored with

272-739: A leading part in the formation of the African Association , founded to promote knowledge of Africa. In 1794, Sinclair raised the Rothesay and Caithness Fencibles, the first of the Highland Fencible Corps which could be called to serve in the entirety of Great Britain and not merely Scotland. He later raised a second fencible unit, the Caithness Highlanders, who would go on to serve in Ireland during

340-692: A long process through the Courts of the Church . The charges were In 1774, the General Assembly ordered the Presbytery of Hamilton to proceed with Meek's induction. Accordingly, Mr Park, of Old Monkland, served the edict upon the congregation, and summoned them to state what objections they might have to the life and doctrine of the presentee, at a meeting of the Presbytery to be held in

408-411: A national survey in his "Enquiry into the principles of Œconomy" and this was taken up in 1781 by David Erskine , Earl of Buchan . However, by the time this came to fruition in 1792, it had been overtaken by the work of Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster . Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster had studied German state surveys and wished to use what he called for the first time these "statistical" methods to measure

476-699: A paper on agriculture to the British Association for the Advancement of Science , but this was found to lack "facts which can be stated numerically." Around 1790 he wrote about analysing the "quantum of happiness" in the people of Scotland. Sinclair's works sometimes were the first recording of details of archaeological monuments of Scotland . For example, the first recorded mention of the Catto Long Barrow in Aberdeenshire

544-570: Is a letter from Dr Meek, which, by order of the Senate of the University in 1792, was to be “securely” bound to the manuscript. The letter was to Professor George Jardine , dated 20 December 1791. It provides some information about the manuscript's likely origins. Meek thanks "the Faculty" for allowing him to see the manuscript and states that "About the year 1699, Mr William Dunlop Principal of

612-456: Is an extensive corrigendum to this important manuscript, presumably why the University authorities were anxious that it was "securely" bound with the original document. Meek considered that, in general, the language of this manuscript was clearer than that of Calderwood and so, with his corrections, would be a better reference point for settling legal or historical matters. It shows once again Meek as

680-710: The High School in Edinburgh. After studying law at the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and Trinity College, Oxford , he completed his legal studies at Lincoln's Inn in London in 1774. He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland in 1775, and also called to the English bar , although he never practised. He had inherited his father's estates in 1770 and had no financial need to work. In 1780, he

748-594: The Irish Rebellion of 1798 . His reputation as a financier and economist had been established by the publication, in 1784, of his History of the Public Revenue of the British Empire; in 1793 widespread ruin was prevented by the adoption of his plan for the issue of Exchequer Bills ; and it was on his advice that, in 1797, Pitt issued the "loyalty loan" of 18 millions for the prosecution of

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816-541: The Manse of Cambuslang on 1 September 1774. The objectors asked the Presbytery "to find that Mr Meek was unworthy of the character of a minister, therefore to depose or lay him aside from preaching; at least, to find that he cannot be settled in Cambuslang, etc., etc." Many of the ministers in the Presbytery knew Meek and his work, so it dismissed these objections, and even threatened the objectors. They declared some of

884-709: The Moderates over the Evangelicals . The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland met in Edinburgh on 21 May 1795. One of its first tasks was to elect a moderator, or chairman. There was only one candidate, Meek, and he was elected unanimously. The Assembly met for nine sessions, ending on Monday 1 June 1795, with a sermon and prayer by Meek. The minutes of these sessions take up 100 pages of closely written manuscript. (GUL Reference GB 0247 MS Gen 1159). The Assembly humbly received King George III’s Commission, which

952-639: The Moderator of the General Assembly , the Rev Robert Wallace organised the distribution of questionnaires, aimed at finding out how to devise a scheme for the support of the widows and orphans of clergy. This work helped to develop actuarial methods, and explains the involvement of a society for ministers’ widows and orphans in later work. The Rev Alexander Webster produced a population census of Scotland in 1755, based to some extent on Wallace's work. In 1767, Sir James Denham-Steuart suggested

1020-696: The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland , and sat as president of the Highland Society of London in 1796. Also, in 1796, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1797. Originally a supporter of Pitt's war policy, Sinclair later joined the party of "armed neutrality." In 1805 he

1088-599: The Slave Compensation Act 1837 , but died before any payment was issued. MacDonald and his wife Jane Campbell received compensation after Sinclair's death. He died at home, 133 George Street, in the centre of Edinburgh's New Town . He is buried in the Royal Chapel at Holyrood Abbey . His stone sarcophagus lies towards the north-east. Sinclair, who was made a baronet in 1786, married twice. On 26 March 1776 he married his first wife Sarah Maitland,

1156-453: The living of the ancient parish of Cambuslang . This was an act of Patronage , dating from an Act of Parliament from Queen Anne's reign (1712). It is said that only about a dozen parishioners agreed to sign the formal call to the parish, while others lodged objections on theological grounds. These were set out in a pamphlet and later laid before the Presbytery of Hamilton . The objectors were local farmers, coal miners and weavers and show

1224-540: The 1620s and 1630s, using the network of about 900 ministers of the established Church of Scotland . The time and resources involved, not to mention the troubled times of the Civil Wars , led to limited results. However, the Geographer Royal for Scotland , Sir Robert Sibbald took this forward between 1684 and the early 1690s. Sir Robert circulated some "General Queries" to parish ministers, but again this

1292-458: The 1720s draws upon local and documentary (pamphlets, etc.) evidence. He is not convinced that the enthusiastic conversions reported were genuine manifestations of the supernatural , though he balances the arguments on both sides. He is familiar with the geological formation of the area and gives an account of it in the scientific parlance of the day. Where appropriate he gives precise measurements for areas, land values, prices, breadth and depth of

1360-462: The 1790s. He gives a very extensive and detailed comparison between life in the Parish in 1750 and improved circumstances of 1791. He gives precise prices of commodities and clear descriptions of the farming and industrial methods used. He was familiar with ecclesiastical history and had read recently published works on local early history . His account of the great revival meetings in Cambuslang in

1428-591: The Barbers and Hairdressers of Edinburgh had profaned the Sabbath. Apparently, not technically, or at least, legally, but the Presbytery of Edinburgh was urged to use all persuasive means at its disposal to encourage respect for the Sabbath. Meek's library, now in the National Library of Scotland , show that he was keenly interested in the improvements in roads, canals, etc., taking place all over Britain at

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1496-581: The Clergy , with the blessing of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , took Sir John's work further. It was to be more modern (including maps for each county) and was to draw upon the specialist knowledge of local doctors and schoolmasters. It very self-consciously set out not to produce a new statistical account, but a statistical account of a new country – one that the revolutions mentioned above had changed rapidly. It was, however, very much

1564-731: The College Chapel from 1763 until 1765. Edmund Burke was Lord Rector of the University at that time. Thomas Reid the great Common Sense philosopher had recently taken over from Adam Smith. On 25 September 1766, Meek was ordained "Minister of Second Charge" (that is, assistant minister) in Lesmahagow , where his preaching also attracted notice. In 1805 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . His proposers were James Finlayson , Hamilton and John Playfair . Meek died at Cambuslang manse on 21 June 1810 and

1632-608: The North Sea, British Isles and Northwest Europe , H. H. Lamb & Knud Frydendahl, CUP 1991. He complained about the state of repair of the church and manse , but is proud of the parish school and the treatment of the poor. He is moved by the unparalleled view of the Clyde valley, Bothwell Castle and well-tended counties from a nearby hill, and especially the view of Glasgow , including its cathedral , College and church spires. Meek's manuscript volume of Journal and register of

1700-494: The University bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity . The extensive entry for Cambuslang in the First Statistical Account of Scotland shows "Dr Meek" to have been a man of wide interests and a meticulous scholar with "reasonable" opinions in religion. He consulted many Parish documents and talked to many parishioners before submitting his report to John Sinclair on the state of Cambuslang in

1768-462: The University of Glasgow, got this work transcribed from a copy that seems to have belonged to the General Assembly, which copy was lost, or more probably burnt about two years after... by a fire, 28 Oct[obe]r 1701, in the house of Mr Nicol Spense sub-clerk to the Assembly. This circumstance renders your M.S. more valuable; for notwithstanding its imperfections it ought now perhaps to be considered, as

1836-445: The auspices of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland between 1834 and 1845. These first two Statistical Accounts of Scotland are among the finest European contemporary records of life during the agricultural and industrial revolutions . A Third Statistical Account of Scotland was published between 1951 and 1992. Attempts at getting an accurate picture of the geography, people and economy of Scotland had been attempted in

1904-706: The child of the "Old Statistical Account". Indeed, the Rev Dr John Robertson , the Minister responsible for of the new account for Cambuslang , was the former assistant to the writer of the old account . Following a grant of some £8,000 from the Nuffield Foundation in 1947, the Third Statistical Account was initiated, and followed a similar parish format to the earlier accounts. The first volume, covering Ayrshire ,

1972-415: The day and night time there was to many almost insupportable.". Meek produced these tables and summaries for almost 24 years, until the year before his death. Until 1792, he took readings three times a day, at 8am, 10am and 8pm. After 1792, he only took one reading at 10am. The Journal continues for 388 pages until 30 April 1809. His summary of that month is short "Dry days 18 - Wet and windy do. 12". He died

2040-447: The effects on crops, harvests, markets, etc. His first remark, for Saturday 1 January 1785 was "Cloudy with some slight showers of snow". His first month summary, January 1785, for example, noted "Fair days 12- rainy or snowy days 19. A pretty good weather month. Not much high wind. Some snow but little rain. Thow was very little ploughed after harvest, & thow have been only 10 or 12 days this month, on which ploughs could go. The rate of

2108-792: The eve of both the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution . In 1790, Sir John sent structured questionnaires to over 900 parish ministers, covering the whole country. This contained 160 questions in 4 sections, namely There were follow up questions in Appendices – six new questions in 1790 and four more in 1791. The general response was excellent, though the length and quality of submissions varied greatly, as can be seen by comparing those for two East Lothian parishes: Whittingehame (19 pages with detailed tables) and Stenton (2 pages of minimal information). Since

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2176-477: The following year. This detailed and scholarly document is still consulted and quoted by modern climate historians search for evidence of climate change . Extracts from Meek's observations were quoted in the Sixth (1823) Edition of Encyclopædia Britannica Vol 13 Ch IV Article on "Meteorology" Page 723. He became Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 21 May 1795, where he tended to favour

2244-637: The hands of Parishioners who saw themselves as the heirs of the Covenanters and him as their enemy. His brother William inherited the estates and James carried on a family tradition of going into the Church. Meek completed his education for the ministry of the Church of Scotland at Glasgow University at a time when many of the great Scottish Enlightenment figures were teaching there, or had recently retired, notably Adam Smith . His intellectual abilities were recognised early, and he served as preacher in

2312-416: The high esteem in which Mr Meek continued to be held. He preached from Luke xxiv. 26, and in his sermon repeated some of the doctrines which the objectors had raised. The Assembly considered the case on 31 May 1775. During the debate, Meek had some heavyweight support, including that of a previous Moderator of the General Assembly , namely the famous historian Principal Robertson , whose nephew John Robertson

2380-468: The inquiry: "Many people were at first surprised at my using the words "statistical" and "statistics", as it was supposed that some term in our own language might have expressed the same meaning. But in the course of a very extensive tour through the northern parts of Europe, which I happened to take in 1786, I found that in Germany they were engaged in a species of political enquiry to which they had given

2448-577: The lapse of time between the fieldwork and publication. One account, the parish of Livingston in West Lothian, was revised twice and all three versions appear in the published volume. The account for the parish of Currie went missing by the time the Midlothian volume was put together and the book appears without it. Although the project was more secular than before, sections of the accounts continued to focus on religious life, and several of

2516-421: The lingering influence of the ' Cambuslang Work '. In particular, they objected that Meek seemed not to accept that faith alone made one worthy in the face of God or that Man was utterly depraved. Worse, he gave too much weight to reason and suggested that men cooperated with God in their own salvation . Alleged quotes from Meek's sermons were put forward as proof of his heresy . Meek denied all of this, so began

2584-456: The markets of Glasgow - best wheat 19 shil per bol. Best of oatmeal 13 pence per peck, peasemeal 9½ per peck." He later noted the particularly cold weather - there was skating on the Rhone at Avignon in the south of France . June, though, was very different. "A remarkably warm and pleasant month. In this climate, nobody remembers so many extraordinary warm days in succession. The heat both during

2652-544: The means of its future improvement; but as I thought that a new word might attract more public attention, I resolved on adopting it, and I hope it is now completely naturalised and incorporated with our language." For Sinclair, statistics involved collecting facts, but these were not necessarily, or even typically, numerical. Sinclair was a proponent of new agricultural methods, and large tracts of land on his Caithness estate were let out to tenants who kept new breeds of livestock such as Cheviot sheep . This plan meant evicting

2720-537: The most authentic Register of the proceedings of the Kirk of Scotland for almost 60 years after the Reformation." Meek then reports that he has compared the document with the manuscript of David Calderwood’s History of the Kirk of Scotland (completed about 1650). Meek is amazed at the "blanks" and "mistakes" and proceeds to list his very extensive corrections in his characteristic small, clear handwriting. In fact it

2788-405: The name "statistics," and though I apply a different meaning to that word—for by "statistical" is meant in Germany an inquiry for the purposes of ascertaining the political strength of a country or questions respecting matters of state—whereas the idea I annex to the term is an inquiry into the state of a country, for the purpose of ascertaining the quantum of happiness enjoyed by its inhabitants, and

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2856-488: The objections frivolous and unworthy of notice, others absurd and unintelligible; and all of them irrelevant, and that not a single habile (that is, competent) witness was offered for the proof of them. An appeal was lodged with the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr . This, on the 12th of October, ordered the Presbytery to investigate the objections thoroughly, which it did by means of a committee. It restated its earlier findings (that

2924-635: The objections were groundless) and issued a lesser form of excommunication on some of the objectors. The objectors appealed again to the Synod, which, in October 1774, overturned the judgement of the Presbytery. It was then referred to the following year's General Assembly . Mr Meek had been invited to preach to the Lord High Commissioner , the King's emissary to the Assembly - an indication of

2992-588: The only child and heir of Alexander Maitland of Stoke Newington. Together they had two daughters, Hannah and Janet , who became a religious writer. His first wife died in 1785. In 1788, Sinclair married Diana MacDonald, daughter of Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald , and together they had 13 children. His eldest son, Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet (1790–1868), was a writer and a Member of Parliament , representing Caithness at intervals from 1811 until 1841, and married Lady Catherine Camilla Tollemache. His son, Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet ,

3060-545: The parish accounts were still written by Church of Scotland ministers. The tone of the comments in the 'Way of Life' often appear surprisingly judgmental to a modern reader, and there can be ill-concealed exasperation with the behaviour of working-class parishioners. For example, again and again, spending on football pools is denounced, as are other ways of spending money and leisure time. Judgmentalism turns to plain insult in remarks like 'The people of Dura Den can be extremely ignorant' (Parish of Kemback , Fife) and 'Singing in

3128-538: The project took over forty years to complete, with a gap of more than a decade following the publication of Edinburgh in 1966. It was not until 1992 that the last volume, The County of Roxburgh , was published, under the auspices of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations . Another consequence of this delay was that the later volumes covered administrative divisions which no longer existed. Several parish accounts had to be revised or rewritten due to

3196-400: The quantum of happiness that existed in the nation and find ways of improving this. In this he was a remarkable example of Enlightenment idealism at work. He stressed the empirical ideal of that age by lauding its anxious attention to the facts and he set about completing the work left unachieved by the previous attempt mentioned above. The results are crucial to an understanding of Scotland on

3264-689: The response by the Rev Dr James Meek for the Parish of Cambuslang in Lanarkshire ). The finished volumes were published in Edinburgh by William Creech . As mentioned above, early attempts at producing an accurate statistical account of Scotland were related to schemes to support the widows and orphans of the clergy. In 1832 the Committee for the Society for the Sons and Daughters of

3332-489: The river, etc. He gives meteorological measurements taken (presumably by him, or under his instruction) twice a day at the manse for seven years and reports them with averages and maxima and minima . (His measurements were quoted throughout the 19th century, for example in the six-volume The Gallery of Nature , London 1821, [1] and the 26-volume The London Encyclopaedia London, 1839. The data were also used for 20th century histories of weather, such as Historic Storms of

3400-412: The schools and the church is painful to an educated ear' (Parish of Inch, Wigtownshire ). Note: each volume is entitled either County of... or City of... . Sir John Sinclair Colonel Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet , PC , MP , FRS , FRSE , FSA (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a Scottish politician, military officer and writer who

3468-480: The sitting tenants and giving them smaller plots of land to work, often in harsh coastal areas such as Badbea . Eventually many of the displaced tenants emigrated. Sinclair was a member of most of the continental agricultural societies, a fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Edinburgh , as well as of the Antiquarian Society of London , a member and sometimes president of

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3536-407: The so-called Glorious Revolution , when William of Orange invaded England and drove King James VII from is throne. Meek's coat-of-arms incorporated the family motto Jungor ut implear ("I am joined that I may be complete", or "Unity is Strength") and all the heraldric colours and elements of the family - crescents, duck proper and boar's head. James Meek later experienced great difficulties at

3604-434: The survey was not complete, Sir John sent out Statistical Missionaries in 1796 . The project was finished by June 1799, though much had already been published, and Sir John was able to lay before the General Assembly a detailed portrait of the nation. Taken as a whole, the reports are of inestimable historical value. Some are excellently written by ministers who were themselves meticulous Enlightenment scholars (see for example

3672-614: The time. Documents owned by Meek include: In the Special Collections section of the Library of Glasgow University , there is an extensive, bound manuscript of An abstract of the proceedings of the General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland, from 1560 to approximately the 1630s. (GUL Reference GB 0247 MS Gen 1132). The title page of the manuscript bears the name of Sir William Dunlop , 1699. Inside

3740-653: The war. From 1800 until 1816, he lived with his family at 6 Charlotte Square (now known as Bute House ) in Edinburgh. During his life, Sinclair served as trustee for a marriage settlement for Archibald McDonald, his brother-in-law, which included slave plantations in Saint Vincent and 610 slaves . After Parliament abolished slavery in British Empire with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 , Sinclair filed for partial compensation under

3808-429: The weather, kept at Cambuslang 1st Jan. 1785 to 30 April 1809 , bound in leather, is a detailed record of daily notes taken by Meek of barometer and thermometer readings, wind direction, rainfall and remarks about the weather and the conditions for farming. At the end of each month and year there are tabulatd summaries and general remarks on weather in different parts of the country and world, notes of unusual conditions and

3876-498: Was a member for the same constituency from 1869 to 1885. The first baronet's third son, also named John (1797–1875), became Archdeacon of Middlesex ; the fourth son was Captain Archibald Sinclair RN; the fifth son, William (1804–1878), was Prebendary of Chichester and was the father of William MacDonald Sinclair (1850–1917), who in 1889 became Archdeacon of London ; the fourth daughter, Catherine Sinclair ,

3944-527: Was an author. Sinclair's services to scientific agriculture were conspicuous. He supervised the compilation of the Statistical Account of Scotland (21 vols., 1791–1799) which was drawn up from the communications of the Ministers of the different parishes '. This became known as the "Old Statistical Account." In volume XX (p. xiii) Sinclair explained the choice of name and the purpose of

4012-567: Was appointed by Pitt a commissioner for the construction of roads and bridges in the north of Scotland, in 1810 he was made a member of the privy council and, next year, received the lucrative sinecure office of Commissioner of excise . When the Statistical Society of London (now the Royal Statistical Society ) was founded in 1834, Sinclair at 80 was the oldest original member. In the same year he presented

4080-587: Was in Latin, and replied to it loyally and fulsomely. It also received the king’s news that his son, Prince George (later, the Prince Regent ) was to be married to Princess Caroline of Brunswick . They decided not only to debate this and congratulate the King, but also to send extensive congratulations to the Prince. Most business related to receiving reports from, or setting up committees. One item much debated

4148-434: Was made by Sinclair in 1795. He was the author of the books Statistical Accounts of Scotland ; History of the Public Revenue of the British Empire 1784; The Code of Health and Longevity 1807; Code of Agriculture 1819. After a tour of agricultural inquiry in Flanders in 1815 he wrote a pamphlet: "Hints Regarding the Agriculture State of the Netherlands, Compared with that of Great Britain", Mc Millan, Londen, 1815. For

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4216-407: Was one of the first people to use the word " statistics " in the English language in his pioneering work, Statistical Accounts of Scotland , which was published in 21 volumes. Sinclair was the eldest son of George Sinclair of Ulbster (d. 1770), a member of the family of the earls of Caithness , and his wife Lady Janet Sutherland. He was born at Thurso Castle , Caithness . He was educated at

4284-460: Was published in 1951. Ultimately it was more rigorous and wide-ranging than either of its predecessors, covering industry , transport , culture and demographics . Volume editors ensured a more generic approach than before, but even so the spirit of the originals was retained, even if idiosyncrasies remained. The scale of the project, ongoing difficulties with funding and finding publishers (which included Collins and Oliver & Boyd) meant that

4352-423: Was returned to the House of Commons for the Caithness constituency , and subsequently represented several English constituencies, his parliamentary career extending, with few interruptions, until 1811. Sinclair established at Edinburgh a society for the improvement of British wool , and was mainly instrumental in the creation of the Board of Agriculture , of which he was the first president. In 1788 he played

4420-466: Was succeeded by his assistant, John Robertson . He married Grizel (Girsy) Weir (1745-1815) of Lesmahagow on 7 February 1770 in the Parish Church there, and had two sons (John, who died at 19, and Thomas, a lawyer in Glasgow, who died at 41) and two daughters (Elizabeth, who married a lawyer, James Davidson, and who died aged 25, and Frances, later Stuart, who died at 88 in 1867). In 1772, Commissioners of Douglas, 8th Duke of Hamilton presented him to

4488-426: Was the "Religious Education of Youth". It also examined in detail the "probationers" - or trainee ministers - in place throughout the country. As a court of the church, it dealt with disputes between parishes and ministers - the Orkney Grievances was a major issue that year - and various other matters of public morality. One issue, which a previous General Assembly had referred to the Crown Lawyers related to whether

4556-415: Was the unsettled time of the Glorious Revolution and, though progress was made, the results provided a very incomplete picture of the nation. The General Assembly proposed a "Geographical Description of Scotland" and took some action on this between 1720 and 1744, again during troubled times for the country, latterly involving the Jacobite rebellion under Bonnie Prince Charlie . Nonetheless, during 1743,

4624-453: Was to become Meek's assistant and successor. Its judgement was "The General Assembly having reasoned on this affair, did, and hereby do dismiss the process... and sustain Mr James Meek, minister of Cambuslang." This ended the formal objections to Meek becoming minister at Cambuslang. Meek served as Dean of the Faculties at the University of Glasgow in 1780–82; 1784–86 (when Edmund Burke was Rector ); 1788–90;1792–94 and 1798–1800. In 1781,

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