THE

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT

OF

SCOTLAND.

THE

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT

OF

SCOTLAN D.

DRAWN UP FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS

OF THE

MINISTERS.

OF THE

DIFFERENT PARISHES.

BY SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART.

VOLUME FIRST.

Ad confilium de republica dandum, caput eft noffe rempublicam."

CICERO de Orat. lib. ii,

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED AND SOLD BY WILLIAM CREECH;

IND ALSO SOLD BY J. DONALDSON, AND A. GUTHRIE, EDINBURGH,
T. CADELL, J. STOCKDALE, J. DEBRETT, AND J. SEWEL,

LONDON; DUNLOP AND WILSON, GLASGOW;

ANGUS AND SON, ABERDEEN.

M,DCC,XCI.

INTRODUCTION,

T is now about twelve months fince I first had the

honour of circulating among the Clergy of the Church of Scotland a variety of Queries, for the purpofe of elucidating the Natural History and Political State of that Country. My original idea was, to have drawn up from their returns a general Statistical view of North Britain, without any particular reference to Parochial districts. But I found fuch merit and ability, and so many useful facts and important obfervations in the answers which were fent me, that I could not think of depriving the Clergy of the credit they were entitled to derive from fuch laborious exertions; and I was thence induced to give the Work to the Public in its present shape..

It would have been more defirable to have had the accounts of the different Parishes arranged by Prefbyteries or Counties, for the purpose of connexion, and to prevent repetition, where the circumstances of the different districts were nearly fimilar. But it was not to be expected that complete information respecting any one of the larger divifions of the Kingdom, could be at once obtained. It was there

fore