Broadside concerning the proceedings of the Circuit Court of Justiciary, Glasgow

Commentary

This account begins: 'An account of the Trials and Sentences of all the different Prisoners who have been tried before the Circuit Court of Justiciary, which met at Glasgow on Monday, September 15, 1828.' The sheet was printed in Glasgow by John Muir.

The National Library of Scotland holds another broadside by a different printer covering this particular session of the Circuit Court. It is interesting to note that this account includes more factual information, such as an explanation of the new, shorter 'mode of procedure', which apparently cuts out the Jury when a plea of not guilty is raised, thereby giving a different angle on the proceedings.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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