Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1903, Part 2 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland ... (Royal National Directory of Scotland.) With ... map, etc

DIRECTOEY.]
EDINBURGH.
gardens, ■whilst the summit of the Calton hill is crowned
■n-ith monuments. In a line with Princess street is a grand
approach to the city from the east by the Regent's bridge,
which passes over the unsightly district called the Low Calton.
The Act of Parliament authorising the erection of this bridge
and the formation of the road, the greatest and most useful
of the architectural improvements of Edinburgh, was passed
in 1814 ; the bridge was finished in March, 1819. The arch
over the Low Calton is 50 feet wide, 45 in height on the
north side and 54 on the south. In connection with theNew
Town the city has recently extended westward, on the
Glasgow road, where Murrayfield, at first a cluster of villas,
at some distance from the city, may now be regarded as a
suburb. Towards the north, also, the New Town is com-
pletely connected by groups of villas with Granton, Trinity,
Newhaven and Leith.
The Old Town of Edinburgh extends a slight distance to
the northward and southward of the central ridge occupied
by the High street, which is itself prolonged up the acclivity
westward, under the names of Lawnmarket and Castle hill,
to the gate of the castle ; eastward it assumes the name of
Canongate, and terminates at Holyrood Palace. Canon-
gate was formerly a separate burgh, but is now municipally,
as well as for parliamentarj' representation, incorporated
with Edinburgh. Many of the nobles of Scotland once had
residences in the Canongate. The old burgh of Portsburgh,
to the south-west of the Old Town, is now also incorporated
with the extended city.
The Old Town, rendered quaint and picturesque by the
height and crowding of the buildings, was in a sanitary
point of view somewhat defective, especially in the narrow
closes which radiate like the small bones of a fish from either
side of the High street and which contained in their lofty
tenement houses a very dense population. The comprehen-
sive scheme of Old Town improvement proposed and matured
by Dr. William Chambers, and authorised by an Act of 1867,
consisted in opening up new streets, widening some of the
closes and leaving open spaces. Several of the crowded
d.stricts were cleared out and new streets formed. The
accounts of this scheme were finally closed in 1889.
The Cowgate is a narrow street to the south of the High
street, and nearly parallel to it, at the bottom of the ridge.
Of the streets leading southwards from the High street, the
two principal ones are carried over the Cowgate by bridges.
South Bridge street is the chief outlet from the city to the
south. Its prolongation receives the name of Nicolson
street and Clerk street, and terminates in the road to
Penicuik and Peebles. It is a street of godd houses and
shops, and in it are the University, Surgeons' Hall, and other
tine buildings.
About the time the New Town began to be built, an ex-
tension to the south took place, of which the chief evidence is
to be found in George square, closely adjacent to the densely-
populated parts of the Old Town, "i'o the south, Newington,
00 the Penicuik road, is a pleasant suburb ; the village of
Morningside, more to the west, is incorporated with the
town ; and between Newington and Morningside is the well-
built Grange district, while to the west the district of
Merchiston is covered with villa residences. These quarters
have a milder climate than the New Town, being sheltered
from the cold easterly winds by the Salisbury crags.
MUNICIPAL.
Before the Scottish Burgh Keform Act, passed in 1833, the
Corporation of Edinburgh was of a close character, though
not altogether without an admixture of popular representa-
tion. The city has since been divided into thirteen wards
for municipal and parliamentary elections, and the city
returned two members to Parliament, but under the " Be-
distribution of Seats Act, 1885," the parliamentary burgh
was extended to the same limits as the municipal city and
separated into four divisions, and was given two additional
representatives.
Under the provisions of the " Edinburgh Extension Act,
1896," the whole of the "burgh of Portobello" was added
to the city of Edinburgh. Under subsequent Acts the
whole parish of Duddingstou (of which the burgh of Porto-
bello formed a part) and a portion of the parish of Leith
were added to the city of Edinburgh, for municipal pur-
poses, and these districts now form one municipal and
parish ward of the city, which is known as Portobello ward.
The old burgh of Portobello still forms one of the Leith
districts of burghs for Parliamentary purposes.
The administration of the municipal and police affairs of
the city of Edmburgh is vested in the Town Council, now
consisting, by the extension, of fifty members. Of this
number, one (the Dean of Guild) is annually returned by
the Guild brethren ; one (the Deacon Convener) is annually
returned by the Incorporated Trades, and forty-eight are
aijpointed by popular election — three for each of the sixteen
wards into which the city is divided. The Council appoints
from the ward-elected members a lord provost, six bailies and
a city treasurer. The Lord Provost is Lord-Lieutenant of the
county of the city, and his oflice, as respects dignity and
duties, resembles that of the Lord Mayor of London, while
the functions of the bailies are analogous to those of the
aldermen. Of the ward-elected members of Council one-
third must retire annually, but the Lord Provost and the
City Treasurer hold their offices for three years from the
time of appointment. The magistrates of Edinburgh hold
criminal and civil courts, and along with the Sheriiis of
Edinburghshire are judges in the police court. The Dean
of Guild presides in the Dean of Guild court, which exercises
jurisdiction in matters relating to the erection, alteration and
sanitary arrangement of buildings, and is possessed of con-
siderable powers for insuring the public safety in regard to
removal or reconstruction of insecure and dangerous build-
ings within the city. The City Treasurer is chairman of the
Treasurer's or Finance Committee, and represents in the
Town Council the financial department of the Corporation
business. Of the principal officers of the Corporation there
are — the Town Clerk, who is the Council's secretary and the
recorder of its minutes ; the City Chamberlain, who has
the accounting with the Council's revenues ; and the City
Assessors, who are the legal advisers of the judges in the
several city courts : the ordinary income of the city is about
;/^3o,ooo. There were formerly fourteen incorporated trades
in the city, but now there are only thirteen, the Surgeons
and Barbers (who had a " seal of cause " from the Town
Council in 1505) having ceased to exist as an incorporation
connected with the city trades. The following are the
thirteen existing incorporations : — i. The Goldsmiths, for-
merly attached to the Hammermen, were constituted in
1581, and have their hall in South Bridge street. 2. The
Skinners or Glovers were incorporated in 1586. 3. The
Furriers were constituted by Act of Council in 1593. 4.
The Hammermen were incorporated in 1483, and consisted
at first of blacksmiths, goldsmiths, lorimers, saddlers,
cutlers and armourers, but the goldsmiths were separated
from them in 1581 ; they meet in the chapel of St. Mary
Magdalen, in the Cowgate. s "nd 6. The Wrights and
Masons were constituted in 1475, but by a decree of the
Court of Session in 1703 the bowmakers, glaziers, plumbers
and upholsterers were added to the masons ; and to the
Wrights were attached the painters, slaters, sievewrights
and coopers ; this incorporation is known also by the title of
the United Incorporation of St. Mary's Chapel. 7. The
Tailors were incorporated in 1500. 8. The Bakers were in
existence as a corporate body before 1522, but the exact
period of their constitution is unknown. 9. The Fleshers
(or butchers) were incorporated before 1488. 10. The Cord-
wainers (or shoemakers) in 1449. 11. The Websters (or
weavers) in 1475. 12. The Waulkers (or cloth workers)
were incorporated in 1500, and the Hatters were united with
them in 1672. 13. The Bonnetmakers were incorporated
in 1530, and in 1640 the trade of Lilster (or dyer) was
united with them. The Candlemakers were chartered by
the magistrates in 1517, although they are not one of the
incorporated trades, and have no vote in the election of the
Deacon Convener. Scottish trade incorporations formerly
possessed exclusive rights of trading within their respective
burghs, but these privileges were abolished by statute in 1 846.
The incorporated trades or " craftsmen " of Edinburgh
possess considerable properties and funds, and they maintain
and manage an institution (the Maiden Hospital) for the
education and upbringing of daughters of freemen craftsmen.
The Police Establishment was remodelled in 1822, and
several important changes have been made in it since from
time to time. ^Vhen the boundaries of the city were ex-
tended in 1882, a considerable addition was made. The
police force; now numbers 619 men. The chief police
office is situated in High street, and there are 14 sub-offices in
different parts of the city, three of these being handsome
buildings in Pleasance, \N'est Port and Causewayside. A
Police Court is held daily, the judges being the bailies and
the sheriff substitute, who preside in alternate months. A
Burgh Court is held daily, presided over by justices of the
peace for the county of the city of Edinburgh. The Lock-
up House is at the Ijack of the Parliament House, and is for
the reception of offenders under examination.
The present water supply, under the management of
trustees elected by Edinburgh, Leith and Portobello, comes
from the Pentland and Moorfoot hills, where reservoirs have
been constructed, from which it is brought by pipes. The
supply is constant, and almost entirely of spring water.
There is a large reservoir in the city for the purpose of
regulating the constant service. The original water com-
pany, incorporated in iS 19, was transferred tn the Edinburgh
and' District Water Trust under the "Edinburgh and
District Water Act, 1869," and the " Edinburgh and District
Works (additional supply) Act, 1S74," and the Acts 1876,
1880 and i88g ; but in order to secure a larger supply a
scheme has been sanctioned by an Act obtained in 1895, and
kno^vn as the "Talla Water Scheme." Under the first