History of corn milling .. - Centrostudirpinia.it

220 HISTORY OF CORN MILLING VOL. IV.
V.
JEDBURGH
CORPORA-
TION MILLS.
4. Soke
abolished by
Law, 1843.
heard of it.—Sometimes they tried to bring in a cargo of flour overnight?
Yes.— Secretly? Yes.— Without notice to the tacksman?
Yes.— Did they always escape ? Not always. —The tacksman was as
sharp as they were ? Aye, was he.—The tacksman. Gray, was pretty
sharp ? Yes, sometimes he had people for the purpose of watching
the avenues to the town.—What was the result ? They were taken
before the provost and had to pay the dry multure.— What was dry
multure ? As much as they paid for grinding at the mills.—
They
paid for the flour as though they had ground it at the mill, although
it was not ground there ? Yes.—That was all they made by trying
to it bring in in secret ? Yes.
John Currie, carter.—Were you at one time employed a good deal
by the bakers of Jedburgh ? Occasionally.—Where did you cart the
flour from ? Different parts out of the town.— Did you bring it in
openly ? I brought it in at all times.—Did you ever bring it in the
night time ? I have.— Why ? I do not know : whenever they bade
me go, I did as I was bid.—Was no reason given for bringing it in
at night? Not to me.—Did you know the tacksmen of the mills
were watching for you at night ? Yes, I knew they were.— Why
were they watching you ? I had nothing to do with that ; they have
attacked me on the road, but I cared nothing about it ; they came
to us and said they had catched us now.—And what did you say ?
Nothing but " come and get it " ; I had nothing
to do with it : it
was not my stuff.—Did the millers get it from the cart ? No, I went
straight home with it to the man that it belonged to the tacksman
;
of the mill came up and had some words about it I had ; nothing to
do with him, and delivered my goods.
John Young, baker.—Was the charge for grinding at the country
mills less than at the town mills ? It was 2s. a boll less, I think.
The Lord Justice Clerk definitely directed the
jury that the agreement made on February 1670
at the meeting of the council and burgesses was
insufficient in law to impose for the first time, for all
time coming, on the royal burgh and its inhabitants
the restrictions and servitude of thirlage to mills
acquired by the magistrates by purchase. A verdict
by the jury in favour of the defenders disposed of
the whole case ; decree being ultimately pronounced
against the corporation, who were cast in entire
costs.
The thirl of Jedburgh mills was no sooner thus
broken, and their value to the town lost, than four
of the late defendants published a report of the trial
sarcastically dedicated to the council and magistrates