Broadside entitled 'Glasgow Winter Assizes'

Commentary

This report begins: 'Glasgow, 22d December, 1828. This day the EXTRA Assize was opened here by the Hon. Lords Gillies and Alloway, and after the usual solemnities had been gone through, the Court proceeded to business.' The sheet was published in Glasgow, probably by William Carse, although it is difficult to be certain since the name has been torn off.

This is a list of all the cases which were heard that day, the charges and the outcomes. Most of the sentences seem harsh by modern standards. It is interesting to note that whilst James 'Keeky' Watt was sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing a watch, Robert Hay, found guilty of assault, received only three months in prison.

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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