tian spirit. And now, as we dread the approach of another winter, bring- May it therefore please your Grace once more to take our case into THOMAS HASTINGS, Minister. JAMES MOFFAT, Elder. JAMES WEIR, Elder. JOHN MOFFAT, Elder. JAMES WEIR, Elder. Two of the elders, John Moffat and James Weir, took it to the Duke's residence to present it in person; but they did not see his Grace. A verbal message was sent to them that an answer would be sent. The following letter was received from Mr Maxwell, factor for his Grace, about three months after the petition was presented. CARRONHILL, 13th December 1847. GENTLEMEN,—The petition which you lately presented to the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, craving a site for Church and Manse at Wanlockhead in connection with the Free Church, is under his Grace's consideration. If his Grace should be pleased to send me any instructions on the subject, I shall communicate the same to you. I remain, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, Rev. Thomas Hastings and others, Wanlockhead. WM. MAXWELL. No further communication has been received, STRONTIAN (Argyleshire). Sir James Miles Riddell is understood to have intimated his intention to grant a site. TOROSAY (Island of Mull, Argyleshire). Colonel Campbell died on the 3d December 1847. He had been laid aside from business for some time, during which his Trustees had the management of his estate. One of them was asked regarding the erection of a wooden tent in the gravel pit, but he did not give the slightest hope that such a thing would be tolerated. COLL (Argyleshire). Mr Nicol, Free Church Minister of Coll, applied to Mr MacLean, proprietor of the Island of Coll, for a Site, but no answer has yet been received. KILMONIVAIG (Inverness-shire). Application made by Mr Dugald Shaw, Missionary in Glengarry, parish of Kilmonivaig, Inverness-shire, to Lord Ward, on 24th September 1847. No answer was given; and on 8th October the application was renewed. An answer was received. The letters are as follows: FAICHEM, 27th September 1847. MY LORD WARD,-I take the liberty of writing a few lines to your Lordship in reference to a matter of very great importance. I presume your Lordship is aware there are some people in this place that are adherents of the Free Church, and that they are very desirous of having a suitable place of worship for themselves. Hitherto they have not enjoyed that privilege, as unfortunately they have not succeeded in procuring a site for a church. But they are waiting patiently, and earnestly looking for it, and I do humbly trust that your Lordship will be pleased to take the subject into serious consideration, and that you will see it to be your duty to grant a site in some convenient spot in your Lordship's estate. I am aware of the high esteem and regard which all the people in this district cherish towards Lord Ward-I do not by any means regret that— I should rather rejoice that such a respectful kindly feeling exist, to such an extent; and I wish it may increase more and more. But I do regret exceedingly, in common with many others, that your Lordship's name is yet in the list of site-refusing proprietors in Scotland; and that you are still depriving the most intelligent by far the most pious, moral, and in short, the best portion of the people in your Lordship's estate of a privilege which they so much value, and which they have every right to expect at your Lordship's hands. I do sincerely wish that your Lordship but saw, for a moment, in the view of eternity, the very awful responsibility under which you lie as a site-refuser. Now, my Lord, I am done; but before concluding, I must humbly yet earnestly entreat your Lordship, as you value the spiritual as well as temporal interests of your affectionate people, and your own comfort at death, that your Lordship will be kind enough to grant a site for a Free Church without any further delay. Begging pardon for the liberty I have taken, I remain, my Lord Ward, your Lordship's most obedient servant, DUGALD SHAW. Faichem, 8th October 1847. MY LORD WARD,-I most respectfully request that your Lordship will be pleased to send to me an answer, as soon as possible, to my letter of the 24th ult., as I have to write forthwith to the Site Committee in Edinburgh, in reference to Free Church accommodation in the district of Glengarry. I do humbly trust that your Lordship has taken into serious consideration the important subject about which I had taken the liberty of writing at some length in my last, and that your Lordship's answer may be favourable. If it were convenient, I should be glad to have a conversation with your Lordship for a short time. I am, my Lord Ward, your Lordship's most obedient servant, To the Right Hon. Lord Ward, Invergarry House. DUGALD SHAW. GLENGARRY, October 9. 1847. REV. SIR,-I returned no answer to your first letter to me, because it was not written, I conceive, in a respectful tone. You now press for an answer, and I will give you one. As long as the law of the land upholds the Established Church of Scotland, I shall countenance no other—— nor will I do any thing for a body whom I hold to be Dissenters, stirrers up of strife, and most unchristian in spirit. Do not suppose that this is an opinion hastily formed. I was in Scotland when the question was first raised, and was thoroughly instructed in its meaning and tendency by a clergyman who has now seceded; but as I did not adopt my views hastily, neither shall I be induced to alter them. One word more and I have done: You reside in this glen by sufferance on my part. If there was a clergyman of the Established Church here to take care of my people, I should not permit you to stay here to thwart his labours. There is none at present-and I prefer your teaching to the knowledge that there is no pastor in the glen. You may forward this letter to the Committee of the Free Church, if you will, and express at the same time my determination to grant no site to the authors, aiders, and abettors of this movement on my property. And I am, Rev. Sir, your very obedient servant, The Rev. D. Shaw, Faichem, Glengarry. ISLE OF SKYE (Inverness-shire). WARD. The Presbytery of Skye instructed Rev. Roderick McLeod to bring the subject of Sites again under Lord Macdonald's notice, but the time when was left to be fixed according to circumstances. Mr M'Leod ascertained that any application would be useless, and besides, it is understood that certain contemplated changes relative to Lord Macdonald's property rendered in inexpedient to press the matter at present. HARRIS (Inverness-shire). Captain Sitwell, Commissioner for Lord Dunmore, on 27th July 1847, offered to Mr Norman M'Leod of Trùmisgarry a site at Manish in a letter which is as follows: : DUNMORE PARK, FALKIRK, 27th July 1847. DEAR SIR, After receipt of your letter of the 9th inst., I became aware that I should have a very early opportunity of seeing Lady Dunmore, so I delayed my reply till now. Her Ladyship requests me to state, that she adheres to her view of granting only one site for the erection of a Free Church in the Harris in the mean while; wishing to judge from the effect of one, to what extent farther to meet the wishes of the adherents of that Church among the population. Her Ladyship extends the grant to the erection of a manse and school-house, if such is required. Her Ladyship begs me also to state, that she has no objections to these sites being selected at Manish, or any other central point of the East Bays, if the site which has already been granted at Finsbay is considered by you situated too far from the population, as at present located and likely to remain so. For myself I would wish to state, that I think you have acted judiciously in abandoning your thoughts of erecting a church at Stroud, for if Lady Dunmore permits me to carry out my designs for changing the residences of the people to lands more suited for their culture, the first position I would select is the flat grounds between Obb and Loch Langavat, which would not be very far removed from the centre Bay on the east. I beg to remain, Dear Sir, your very obedient servant, The Rev. Norman M'Leod, Hallin, Lochmaddy. W. H. SITWELL. This letter was communicated by Mr M'Leod to the Site Committee, and he was requested to accept the offer, as he considered it suitable. CULSALMOND (Aberdeenshire). Mr Gammell of Sheilgreen, was applied to by the Moderator of the Presbytery of Garioch; but a refusal was given on 15th September 1847. It is as follows: 15th September 1847. SIR,—I have already given three decided answers to applications similar to the one which you have sent to me, and now decline all farther correspondence on the subject. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Rev. David Mitchell, Blairdaff. ANDREW GAMMELL. BALLATER (Aberdeenshire). The following letter from the Minister of the Congregation has been received. BALLATER, 20th December 1847. DEAR SIR,-A petition signed by the office-bearers of our congregation and myself, was forwarded to each of the Monaltrie trustees on the 6th of November. Two days thereafter, the following reply was received from Mr Farquharson of Invercauld : : "INVERCAULD, November 8. 1847. "SIR,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th, containing a petition from the office-bearers of the Free Church congregation at Ballater. I have communicated its purport to my co-trustees, and an answer will be sent to you by them. I am, &c. "To the Rev. D. Campbell, Ballater." "JAMES FARQUHARSON. The co-trustees referred to are Mr Thomas Burnett, advocate, Aberdeen, and Mr Farquharson of Whitehouse, and from neither of them has any answer been given to our petition. It is most desirable that an attempt should speedily be made to afford us relief; for here we are at present in a most deplorable plight. Owing to the great quantity of rain that has fallen during the last three days, our sheep-cot has been thoroughly inundated, and from painful experience we know will not be dry again till April or May. On arriving there yesterday (Sabbath) in order to conduct public worship, I found the elders and others busily occupied in placing some spare forms in a pool of water within our humble Bethel, that I might reach the pulpit with dry feet. Having succeeded beyond expectation, and on looking around me, I could conceive myself seated in a dropping cave. From above, and through the broom roof, the water permeated incessantly, wetting our persons and seats. Through the floor (which is lower than the foundation in order to afford standing-room) it oozed out so copiously as to produce a small stream in one of the passages which leads to the pulpit, and at the west end accumulated into a considerable pool. The aspect of the whole place was gloomy and chilling, and well fitted to excite in the mind feelings of the most painful nature. Indeed, though before this, while worshipping on the moor, we have been repeatedly exposed to pelting showers of hail, snow, and rain; I was most affected yesterday at seeing my sorely tried and peaceable flock placed in such painful and uncomfortable circumstances than on any previous occasion, and after praying that the Great Head of the Church would pity, pardon, and soften the hearts of our cruel persecutors, I dismissed them with a service of only half the usual length. It may be interesting to mention, that while, during the last three years, not one of our people has gone over to the Establishment, several have joined us out of it. I am, &c. |