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    • Source 4: James Craig’s design for the New Town, 1768
    • Source 5: Map showing the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, 1780
    • Source 6: James Craig’s proposal for improving the eastern approach to the Old Town, 1786
    • Source 7: Description of Edinburgh from the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799
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    • Source 1: Title page to volume 1 of the first edition.
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    • Source 4: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, page 38
    • Source 5: Mechanics, volume 1 M-Z, plate CV
    • Source 6: Camelus or Camel, volume 1 A-B, page 13
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    • Source 8: Caricature of Andrew Bell and William Smellie by John Kay
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    • Source 1 : A list of Scotticisms by David Hume, first printed 1752
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    • Source 3 : A society for promoting the reading and speaking of English, 1761
    • Source 4 : Observations on the Scottish dialect by Sir John Sinclair, 1782
    • Source 5 : Teaching correct English to the young, 1799
    • Source 6 : The richness of the Scots language, 1792
    • Source 7 : In support of the Scots language, 1799
  • Statistical
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    • Source 1: Sir John Sinclair’s description of compiling the ‘Statistical Account’
    • Source 2: Sir John Sinclair’s discussion of the term ‘statistics’
    • Source 3: Part of the report for the Parish of Monymusk
    • Source 4: Part of the report for the Parish of Wick
    • Source 5: Statistical table for the Parish of Culross
    • Source 6: Report for the Parish of East Kilbride
    • Source 7: Report for the Parish of Smailholm
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    • Source 1: Preface to ‘Fragments of ancient poetry’, 1760
    • Source 2: Preface to ‘Fingal’, 1761
    • Source 3: Letter from David Hume, 1763
    • Source 4: Samuel Johnson’s opinion of the poems, 1775
    • Source 5: An enquiry into the authenticity of the poems, 1781
    • Source 6: ‘Poems of Ossian’ edited by Malcolm Laing, 1805
    • Source 7: Highland Society of Scotland report, 1805
  • Clubs and
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    • Source 1: List of members of the Select Society
    • Source 2: Questions debated by the Select Society
    • Source 3: The aims of the Edinburgh Society
    • Source 4: A description of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, 1754
    • Source 5: Members of the Cape Club
    • Source 6: An account of the Cape Club
    • Source 7: Extract from the Highland Society of London Minute Book, 1784
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Clubs and Societies

Source 7 : Extract from the Minute Book of the Highland Society of London, 8 March 1784

Manuscript (NLS reference: Dep.268/21)

The Highland Society of London was established in 1778 to preserve ancient Highland traditions, and is still in existence today.

Sir John Sinclair, compiler and editor of the Statistical Account, was a president of the society. James MacPherson, ‘translator’ of the Ossianic poems, was also a member. In 1807, the society published the ‘original’ Gaelic text of the Ossian poems. The early papers of the society, including this minute book, are deposited in the National Library of Scotland.

The Highland Society of Scotland was founded in Edinburgh in 1784. It is now the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

thumbnail of clubs-societies-source-7

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Transcript

Page 1

At a committee of the Highland Society

London, met at the Shakespeares Head Tavern

Covent Garden 8th March 1784.

Present Neil Malcolm Esquire Notary Public in the chair

Mr Archibald Campbell

Major James Campbell

Captain Campbell Lochnell

Mr William Forbes

Mr Simon Houston

Mr John Mackenzie

Mr Colin Mackenzie

Mr Secretary Mackenzie

Colonel Duncan MacPherson

Mr James Morison

Mr George Gun Munro

Mr Duncan Steuart

Mr George Steuart

The committee having taken into consideration

the expediency of members wearing the Highland

garb on a particular day in each year.

It was moved that it be recommended to the

Society to express their desire of shewing every mark of

respect to the garb of their ancestors, and that such

members, as appear in the Highland dress on the 19th

May, being the Queens birth day will be considered

as warm friends to the spirit of the Society.

Resolved that George Steuart Esquire be requested

to form an emblematical design proper for

distinguishing the presidents chair, and that Mr

Page 2

Mr Steuart be requested to report his ideas on this

subject at the next meeting of the committee.

The committee having taken into their consideration

the question referred to them by the Society, as to the

propriety of offering a reward for the best Gaelic poem

to be recited at the annual meeting of January

Resolved that it is the opinion of this committee

that such a measure will be productive of

happy effects in giving new energy to Gaelic

poetry, and is therefore highly worthy the

attention of the Society.

Resolved that it be recommended to the Society to

offer a premium of five guineas to be paid to

the author of the best Gaelic poem wrote on

such subjects as shall be given out annually

by the Society. The merits of the different

poems to be decided by a committee of gentle-

men conversant in the language, and the

premium to be paid in money or in such manner

as shall appear to be most acceptable to the

successfull composer.

The committee having taken into consideration the

state of the arrears of officers of the army and other members

who must have been necessarily absent out of the kingdom

found great difficulty in coming to any determination in

the same without having the ideas of the members

at large, and therefore

Resolved to advise with the Society thereon at

their next meeting.


Discussion Points

  1. How useful is this source for providing information about the aims and focus of the Highland Society of London?
  • Previous
  • Source 1
    List of members of the Select Society
  • Source 2
    Questions debated by the Select Society
  • Source 3
    The aims of the Edinburgh Society
  • Source 4
    A description of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, 1754
  • Source 5
    Members of the Cape Club
  • Source 6
    An account of the Cape Club
  • Source 7
    Extract from the Highland Society of London Minute Book, 1784

See the discussion points

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