Loudoun, and authorising the new collector to continue to rent, as the Custom-house, the same large chamber in the coffee-house kept by Mrs. Shields that his predecessor had so occupied, likewise the cellar for the King's Warehouse, all at the annual rent of six pounds, together with four shillings yearly to her servant for cleaning the office and putting on fires, which was certainly not an extravagant allowance, being only equal to about half-a-farthing per day. I cannot discover any notice of the place where the coffee-house was situated.

The next mention of the Custom-house is in 1757, and it was then situated in Stockwell Street, convenient for the bridge, and although the King's Warehouse was within a hundred yards of the office and fronting the street, it was broken open on the 9th April, 1761, about mid-day, and several casks of spirits and some tea carried off.

In 1765 the Custom-house and King's Warehouse were on the east side of Madeira Street,* described to be on the north side of the Broomielaw; which premises getting greatly out of repair, another removal took place, in 1779, to the second flat above the ground storey of the then new tenement fronting the Broomielaw, described to be opposite the middle of the Quay, and situated at the south-east corner of Madeira Street foresaid, with the King's Warehouse attached, which had been let with the former Custom-house, and which was situated higher up that street. The then described new tenement is still standing, but Madeira Street is no longer known, the more humble appellation of Wood Lane being now the recognised name of the opening.

As the tenements lately forming Madeira Court, in Argyle Street, were due north of Wood Lane, and as Jamaica Street was not formed till 1763, nor the bridge at the south end of that street opened till 1772, it is probable that Madeira Street, although previously laid out, was abandoned in consequence of the superior advantages which Jamaica Street acquired by the erection of the bridge; the intermediate space between Wood Lane and Madeira Court, being, for many years subsequent to the opening of Jamaica Street, occupied as an extensive wood yard. The opening of Ann Street through this property is comparatively of recent date.

The Custom-house was again removed, in 1791, to an apartment in the street floor of the northmost of the three self-contained lodg

Madeira Street is laid down in Barry's map of the city attached to Gibson's history, published in 1777.

ings, having a double flight of steps in front, then situated on the west side of Queen Street-the whole tenement had for several years previously been rented as a dwelling-house at £50 per annum. The removal at this time was made in order to suit the trade of the canal, as well as that of the Broomielaw; Queen Street being then the most centrical, as well as the nearest direct communication between these places; Buchanan Street then going no further north than what is now Gordon Street, and none of the streets westward went farther north; and it will be considered an extraordinary circumstance, contrasted with the state of matters in the present day, when I state that it was reported, 7th September, 1791-"there is not just now a house empty in Glasgow."

The next removal was in 1797, to a half-sunk apartment of about 18 feet square, in the south-east corner of the large lodging which stood at the head of Virginia Street, the site of which as well as of the garden behind, bounded by Ingram Street, is now occupied by the Union Bank.

In 1803 the Custom-house was removed to the south-west front apartment on the ground floor of the Assembly Buildings in Ingram Street, now possessed as the Athenæum.

Another removal took place in 1808, to a street flat in the large tenement in Union Street, at the south-east corner of that and Argyle Street.

In 1815 the Custom-house was again removed to a self-contained lodging on the west side of St. Enoch's Square. When this building was taken possession of by the Crown the rest of the houses in the square, with the exception of the Surgeons'-hall, were all private dwellings; and by the time the Custom-house was removed therefrom, in 1840, there were not any of the buildings therein occupied as dwelling-houses, all being converted into shops or places of business.

The last removal of the Custom-house was in 1840, as above mentioned, to the present premises in Great Clyde Street, the ground for that erection having been purchased by the Crown at £3 per square yard, free of feu duty or ground annual, and the house built expressly for the Custom-house. A government architect, however, was sent to Glasgow in 1836, in consequence of directions from the Lords of the Treasury, with the view of reporting fully to their Lordships upon a proposal for purchasing land and erecting a building capable of uniting the Customs, Excise, and Post-office departments under one roof; as, also, the sum which would be required to purchase land

and erect a Custom-house only. The local authorities disapproved of uniting all these departments, as suggested, considering that the two latter should be kept about the centre of the city. The Excise Office was then in Miller Street, and the Post-office in South Albion Street; and, consequently, the parliamentary vote of £14,800 on the 26th June, 1837, was restricted for the ground and erection of the Custom-house.

This building, according to the plans fixed upon, was erected, and, including the price of the ground, only cost about £13,000. It may, at same time, be proper to mention that the Crown was not indisposed to allow the erection to be made more ornamental than that fixed by the plans, provided the extra expense was furnished from local

sources.

The Custom-house and Excise Office at Greenock were erected in 1818, under one roof, at a cost of about £30,000; and parliament, in 1853, voted £45,000 for the erection of a Custom-house and Excise and Post Offices at Belfast, and it is believed that a larger sum will be necessary.

The ground so purchased for the Glasgow Custom-house formed, prior to 1736, part of the land occupied as a bottle-work, and so continued till after 1830. The bottle-work company purchased the same from the Town Council of Glasgow by disposition dated 14th May, 1742, wherein the land is described-" the plot of ground lying at the foot of the old green and the Broomielaw."

This old green is described by M'Ure, the historian, in 1736, as "lying close to the south-west corner of the city;" and it further appears, by the Glasgow Magazine, to have been then "the fashionable promenade;" while the Broomielaw Quay at that date extended eastward to the outlet of St. Enoch's Burn, which is now situate immediately west of Dixon Street. The bottle-work premises extended continuously from Jamaica Street, along Great Clyde Street, to the lodging built by Mr. William Gray, jeweller, (No. 72,) now possessed by Messrs. John Poynter & Son and others.

A military guard, consisting of a corporal and three privates, were continuously kept on the Glasgow Custom-house from 1785 till about 1818, and was only withdrawn on a reduction in the army.

From time immemorial, fresh and cured fish were mostly brought to the Broomielaw in open boats, and sold on board, or at the northwest end of Jamaica Street Bridge; but the Harbour Trustees having removed the market, about 1840, from the west to the east side of

the bridge, and the shed and stone tables of which partly extended to opposite the Custom-house, the Crown officers procured a perpetual interdict, dated 24th January, 1845, prohibiting the Trustees from constructing or using any erection on the ground between the River and the south side of Clyde Street, opposite the Custom-house, or opposite any part of the ground contained in the contract of ground annual entered into by the Magistrates and Town Council of Glasgow in 1804, "except such cranes, sheds, or other buildings of that nature, as may be necessary for the improvement of the navigation or the port of the River Clyde." The contract also contained a clause, introduced on the suggestion of the late Bailie Hood, that should the ground be afterwards required for harbour purposes, it was to be restored on the price paid under the contract being returned. This reservation greatly benefitted the Trustees when the ground was so required.

In connection with the sale of fresh fish at the Harbour, I may mention that, till about thirty years ago, the Water Bailie was furnished with a pretty liberal sample of each boat load, in order that he might decide whether the cargo was marketable; and when there were various arrivals at the same time and his honour got overstocked, it was usual for him to send the surplus for the use of the Town's Hospital; hence this civic functionary, who was a recognised magistrate in 1664, was familiarly known by the appellation of the "Skate Bailie.”

Salt made in Scotland after 1st May, 1714, was, by the eighth article of the Union, liable to a duty of 1s. per bushel of 56 lbs., and imported salt, 6s. 8d. The Custom-house officers were required to visit the salt market weekly, and cause the bagsters who pitched their sacks of salt in the market to produce proper permits for the same. The revenue therefrom, in 1788, yielded £18,043.

Port-Glasgow was constituted the head port of the Clyde towards the year 1700, Glasgow and Greenock being deputy or sub-ports thereof till 5th July, 1812, when each of them were declared independent ports. A great change has taken place since the latter date, as Glasgow has now become the port of most importance, Greenock next, and Port-Glasgow the least.

From the detections made little less than a hundred years ago, the smuggling of tobacco was then carried on here to a considerable extent, as in September, 1764, the Custom-house officers burnt at the Broomielaw, protected by a party of military consisting of a cor

poral and six privates, 4,605 lbs. of sound leaf tobacco, and 445 lbs. of snuff; and, in like manner, on the 5th July, 1765, 2,601 lbs. of tobacco, and 543 lbs. snuff; and, again, on the 17th January, 1774, 1,245 lbs. of tobacco. Such quantities, however, do not appear of great magnitude compared with the imports, as, in 1775, out of 90,000 hogsheads imported into Britain, Glasgow alone engrossed 57,143, and at one time, shortly after the commencement of the American War, there were thirty-two ships in Port-Glasgow harbour laden with tobacco, having on board in all 14,762 hogsheads; and what would now be considered a surprising event, 47 hogsheads were removed from Ayr to Glasgow in a coasting vessel in 1771. Such large importations are at least partly accounted for by the state of the law at that time, the Navigation Act (the then masterpiece of legislation) requiring the produce of all British Colonies, and which at that time included the United States of America, to be sent exclusively to the mother country.

The commercial distress in 1793 led parliament to authorise the issue of Exchequer Bills to aid private credit, and commissioners were appointed to grant the relief under certain prescribed regulations, the particulars of which were communicated to the chief officers of Customs at Glasgow in a letter from the secretary to the commissioners, dated 10th May, 1793, and Glasgow got aid accordingly to the extent of £319,730; and it was not considered necessary to remove the goods tendered in security from the warehouse in which they then were, if they could be put into the custody of Customs or Excise officers in such a manner as might satisfy them as to their safety. (Vide the concluding paragraphs.)

A general embargo was laid on all vessels in the United Kingdom by an order of King George III., in council dated 18th February, 1795, with the exception of those employed in river or canal navigation, and colliers, or any vessel laden with grain to be carried. coastwise; and so strict was it observed, that in the Clyde no vessel, except as aforesaid, was allowed to pass west of the Cloch and Dunoon; and even the small packets under thirty tons plying between Greenock and Rothesay with passengers and merchandise were prevented from sailing till 7th of March following, when the order was so far relaxed as to allow vessels to ply to places in the Clyde above the island of Cumbrae, but the embargo was not taken off generally till sometime after.

The high price of provisions in 1796, led to a bounty being