The night previous to the first lieutenancy-meeting at Tranent, for the purpose of ballotting for the militia, the mob, after visiting the Meadow-mill and the village of Seton, passed through the streets of Prestonpans, about ten o'clock, to the tuck of the drum, and carrying the session-books of Tranent by way of duty many complaints and threats were used against him. On the evening preceding the meeting of the lieutenancy at Tranent, on the 29th August 1797, he heard a drum coming down the town, accompanied by a mob, and being warned by some persons that it was not safe to remain at home, he took shelter in the minister's house, till the mob left the town, which was in course of half an hour. On his return to his house, he learned from his wife, that the mob had come to it, and threatened to tear him in pieces could they have got him ;-that they demanded the parish books and lists, along with the extracts of the young men's ages, and other papers relative to the business ;—all of which she was compelled to deliver except an uncorrected copy of the list, which had been left at the house of John Glen, where the lieutenancy were to meet next day :-they also threatened to burn his master's house (meaning Mr Anderson's of St Germains, one of the deputy-lieutenants.)

Paisley immediately went to St Germains, and acquainted Mr Anderson with what had happened, where he also met with Mr Cadell of Tranent, another deputy-lieutenant. As he considered himself in imminent danger, the gentlemen excused him from attending the meeting next day. He accordingly went to Bankton, a farmer's house in the neighbourhood: from thence to Prestonpans, and afterwards, for greater safety, to Edinburgh; and did not sleep in his house, nor hold a school, till one month had elapsed from the time of the riot. One reason that Paisley gave for being so much afraid of returning to his own house, was, from the excitement raised against him, by a paragraph which appeared in the "Scots Chronicle," (a paper lately started in Edinburgh,) as introductory to the account of the affair at Tranent, wherein it was mentioned in substance, that the deponent's wife had deceived the people in giving them a wrong book. Paisley afterwards called on Mr John Johnstone, the printer of the newspaper, and told him he was in danger of his life from that paragraph, upon which he promised to correct it in the next publication. Paisley, therefore, wrote a paragraph in the printing-office for insertion: but, in place of it, Johnstone substituted another, which did not answer the purpose. This was adduced as proof against the publisher of the "Scots Chronicle," in an action raised against him by the Lieutenancy of the County for a libel.

David Graham, schoolmaster of Salton, took up the lists of persons liable to serve in the militia for that parish. In the course of doing so, threats were used against him; and a day or two previous to the meeting of the lieutenancy at Tranent, about forty or fifty people assembled in the village of Salton, for the purpose of getting up the list and books from him; but keeping within doors, and some person informing the mob of the danger of their conduct, they desisted and retired. Graham continued teaching till the night previous to

triumph, but which they promised to take care of. They called upon the people to turn out, for the purpose of opposing the militia-bill, and threatened those who did not. The general interrogatory to those they met, was, "Were they for a militia, or not?" and, according to their negative, which in few cases they durst evade, were they left unmolested. Mr Anderson was under considerable alarm that the mob would burn his house; and sent off his children during the night to a farm-house in the neighbourhood; but, on coming near to St Germains, the mob turned to the left, and proceeded as above mentioned to Seton and the Meadow-mill.

The first symptoms of outrage appeared on the evening of the 28th, when an orderly dragoon, riding through Tranent, was assaulted by the people with stones, and driven out of the town, on the supposition that he was carrying some message relative to the militia business. In the course of the night, Mr Anderson of St Germains received a note from the Marquis of Tweeddale, the lord-lieutenant of the county, which he forwarded to Major Andrew Wight at Port Seton, commanding the latter to send his troop of yeomanry cavalry to Haddington, and to be present at the meeting at Tranent himself. Major Wight accordingly went up to St Germains early in the morning, where, along with Mr Anderson, he found Captain Finlay of the Cinque Ports cavalry, with a party consisting of about twenty-four of his regiment. In the course of the morning Mr Anderson's troop of yeomanry also assembled there, and Mr Cadell of Cockenzie, and Mr Gray of Southfield, two other deputy-lieutenants, also arrived in the course of the morning. Several people came in, confirm

the military-meeting; when, fearful of molestation, and that the lists might be taken from him, he went down to Tranent, and slept in the house of John Glen, whither he carried the lists: but left the session-books at home. Alexander Thomson, schoolmaster of Ormiston, took up the names, and made up the lists of the people liable to serve in that parish, which he affixed on the church-doors, during which he met with no threats or obstruction of any kind; but on the day of the Lieutenancy-meeting, when on the road to Tranent, and a little way from the village, he was met by a crowd of women, who demanded from him his papers. At first he told them that he had none; but the mob insisting, and saying that they would not harm him if he gave up these papers, and as he saw it was needless to resist, he allowed them to take them from his pocket, after which he was allowed to proceed to the house of John Glen at Tranent.

ing the opinion of the agitated state of the country, particularly Hugh Ramsay, the schoolmaster of Gladsmuir, who said he had been threatened, and turned out of his house. Meanwhile a great assemblage of people had taken place, and were increasing every minute at Tranent, which gave ground to suppose that great outrages would be committed. It occurred to Major Wight, that the small force assembled at St Germains, would scarcely be sufficient to enable them to carry on the business of the day without interruption, although it might be sufficient to protect them from danger, he accordingly proposed to Mr Anderson, that they should send to the camp at Musselburgh for a reinforcement, which the latter at first declined; but as it was represented to Captain Finlay, that, from the situation of Glen's house where they were to meet, and the narrowness of the street, a determined mob might drive his party out of the street, and by getting an opportunity of assaulting the house, break up the meeting, about eight o'clock in the morning an orderly dragoon was sent to the commanding officer at Musselburgh for a reinforcement.

The deputy-lieutenant left St Germains for Tranent a little after eleven o'clock. They were escorted by Mr Anderson's troop of yeomanry cavalry, and a detachment of the Cinque Ports light cavalry, commanded by Lord Hawkesbury. These were afterwards joined by a party of the Pembrokeshire Cavalry, about eighty in number. Mr Cadell, Major Wight, and the other gentlemen, rode in the rear of the soldiers. They passed several assemblages of people on the road, particularly women and child

ren.

When they came near the village of Seton, where the road strikes off to Tranent, they saw a congregation of women and children, among whom there seemed to be a good deal of talk. One of them in particular, who seemed to be the leader of the party, came up, and, in a very insulting manner, addressed Mr Cadell, saying, "John, take care of your head!"-and this woman's behaviour seemed to indicate that mischief was intended.

On arriving at Tranent the party and the cavalry proceeded to Glen's house, where the meeting was to be held. They found a

Afterwards Earl of Liverpool and prime minister. His lordship was blamed for remaining at Haddington, as his presence might have prevented the outrages of the soldiery-the opprobrium of which fell on Captain Finlay.

great concoure of people in the town; but still chiefly women, who were running about extremely clamorous and abusive. One tall thin woman, the very prototype of Meg Merrilees, acted a conspicuous part. She came running up to the head of the horses, holding out a great stone in her hand, and swearing that "she would have their heart's blood!" Much about the same place of the street, Major Wight and Mr Cadell passed some women sitting upon a wall, one of whom called out to them, "that they should have their brains knock'd out!" Upon which the gentlemen smiled, when another woman cried out, "Ay, you may laugh now; but it will be otherwise with you by and by!" Upon arriving near the head of the village, where the road joins with the high road from Edinburgh to Haddington, they heard a drum beating a little to the right, which they conceived to be some signal for assembling the people, or commencing a riot, as the mob had got possession of the town-drum the previous evening, upon which Mr Cadell and Mr Gray rode forward towards the drum; but shortly returned to Glen's, as the streets were now crowded with men armed with sticks and stones, and attended by a great number of women: one of whom, called Crookston, advised Mr Cadell to go home; and another told Mr Gray, " that he should not go home with his life if he entered Glen's inn."

Upon finding most of the schoolmasters assembled, the deputylieutenants proceeded to execute the business of the day. About this time a reinforcement arrived from the camp at Musselburgh, consisting of two troops of the Pembrokeshire cavalry, which were ordered to take post, with the other detachment, in the upper part of the town: the gentlemen studiously avoiding to post any of the troops in front of the house, lest it should have been said by the people, that they were interrupted or intimidated from coming up to the house with their objections.

After choosing Mr Anderson of St Germains, preses; and Mr Thomson, schoolmaster of Ormiston, clerk; it was thought proper to announce to the people, the mode in which the gentlemen intended to conduct the business. Major Wight accordingly went to the window, and, in an audible voice, announced to the people in the street, that the meeting were now ready to hear their appeals or objections against the lists, as given in by the schoolmasters; that they should do so, parish by parish; and

that, first, the name of the parish, and then the individual names of that parish, as they were called, should be announced to the people from the window." By this time the mob had commenced throwing stones, one of which struck the house, near the window, where the Major stood. Some of the people called out, "that they could not hear for the noise what he said; and that if he would come down to the street, that he should be perfectly safe." Upon this Major Wight went down to the street, in front of the inn, when the people formed a small circle around him ; and he repeated what he had told them from the window. Some of the people listened to him with great attention; but the majority were clamorous, and bellowed out: "That they would have no militia!—no militia !"

At the same time, a man of the name of Duncan, a collier, whose person the Major knew, came forward into the circle, and told him that the people wanted to make a proposition to the gentlemen. Upon which the Major asked him what that proposition might be? He said that the proposition was, "That if the gentlemen should agree that there should be no militia, that then the people should come to an agreement:" in other words, that if the deputy-lieutenants would go away, without attempting to carry the militia-act into execution, the mob would permit them to do so without breaking their heads! Major Wight told Duncan," that the meeting could listen to no such proposition ;that they had come there to execute the act by hearing appeals, which they were ready to do, but would attend to nothing else.’ Upon which Duncan replied, "They would have no militia!” in which he was joined by several of the people about him. The Major continued, "That the act must be executed; that they were determined to execute it; and warned the people not to oppose it at their peril." Duncan persisted: "That they would have no militia; for it was against the union." The Major answered, "That he (Duncan) knew nothing about the union, and was talking nonsense." He then left the mob, and returned to the meeting.

The deputy-lieutenants proceeded first with the upper parishes of the district: They began with Humbie and Salton, and then proceeded to Ormiston. From both of which various appeals were heard, and the names of several persons erased, who had