Chapter 9.

Dissension and Disruption.

At Wanlockhead the final years of the Crauford partnership saw a decline in activity, and when Matthias Dunn, coal viewer and consultant, visited the mines in 1826 he reported that they had been starved of investment. The lease was in any event nearing termination and when the Marquis of Bute bought the tenancy in 1831 he was not disposed to embark on major works when the future was uncertain.

J.A.Borron was agent for the Marquis and at the time lived near Newcastle upon Tyne, so James Stewart was effectively in charge at Wanlockhead. Stewart had been sacked by young Borron for the mis-aligned crosscut at Leadhills, and he now found Borron senior questioning plans to improve operations at Wanlockhead. Stewart did succeed in getting rid of the old and expensive steam engines and instead water pressure engines were installed to work the pumps. But he was unable to get the badly needed investment in a new smelt mill and washing plant. The Pates Knows mill had been enlarged in the 1780s, but the hearths were old and the whole was obsolete.

In 1836 Borron was replaced by Jacob Wilson, perhaps the same Wilson who had made a fortune from the Hudgill lead mine near Alston in the 1820s. He seems to have considered that the bargain arrangements at Wanlockhead "encouraged indolence", and proposed increasing the shift time to 8 hours. But Stewart had previously disagreed with plans to cut labour costs at Leadhills, and he now "set his face" against Wilson's proposals so they were dropped at that time. Attempts to introduce 8 hour shifts were resisted at many British mines, and led to a strike at Talargoch, however William Borron succeeded in introducing them at Leadhills

The 1830s proved lean years at Wanlockhead and the number of men employed fell to 150. The end of the lease approached and a number of interests applied for the mines, among them William Borron, and also a William Beckwith, who had mines on the Isle of Man. None satisfied the Duke of Buccleuch and when the lease terminated in 1842 it seemed possible that mining on the Wanlock might cease altogether. Faced with the consequences of having the whole labour force out of work, the Duke took the operations into his own hands, trading as the Queensberry Mines Company.

The Duke's decision seems to have been greatly welcomed, and a celebration gala was held in the village on the 19th August, 1842. Those taking part were each given a "glass and a biscuit", and speeches praised the Duke as a "benefactor and supporter of every institution that assists the poor". However, the Duke had also been advised that, while most of the miners were "well behaved and industrious", there were a few "characters among them which it will be advisable to be quit of", and he did not prove a lenient employer.

Wilson disappeared and James Stewart was promoted to agent. In 1841 he had visited mines in Weardale and at Alston to familiarise himself with latest practice and, once in charge at Wanlockhead, he began a programme of development which was to double output within a decade, and which marked him as an able and determined manager.

The Duke's motive in taking over the mines may have had a social purpose, but he was prepared to make a large investment to get them profitable, and one of his first instructions to Stewart was to build a new smelt mill some 2.5 Km down the Wanlock. Taking it "so far down the glen" being dictated by the new site having "the greatest command of water" from the drainage adits. That it also moved the pollution of the fume away from the miners'

cottages was only a fortunate side effect.

There were also improvements in the village. A new school was built and its master, John McArthur, seems to have had advanced ideas on community education. In 1848 he made proposals for evening classes which would include "natural philosophy and the application of science to art". As he himself put it, a "sort of mechanics institute". He did arrange classes for those who had left the school, but there is no record that his grand design was put in hand.

The Duke may not have been enthusiastic about higher education, but he was president of "The Association for Promoting Improvements to the Dwellings and Domestic Condition of the Agricultural Labourers in Scotland". A grandiose body whose aim was to improve the labourers' "physical powers so that they would discharge their duties with greater diligence", and at Wanlockhead many cottages were re-built to incorporate the Association's ideas.

The Duke's role as noble entrepreneur was parallelled at many English mines and, in Scotland, the Marquis of Breadalbane took over the running of those at Tyndrum in 1838. He employed German managers but his approach to paternalism had a miserly quality. Nothing was done to improve the condition of the community, and there was neither a surgeon nor a school.

* * *

There was now a new smelter at Wanlockhead, and at Leadhills, the Scots Mines Company would have seen how improving the ore dressing and smelting could bring an immediate reward. In the eighteenth century there were five small smelt mills along the Glengonnar burn. All were of a type common on British lead mines with short chimneys whose draught was much dependent on the wind, and whose smoke and fume could "annoy" the smelters.

In 1806 a large smelter had been built down Glengonnar at Waterhead, with two cylinder "blowing engine" bought from Carron Company. This needed a powerful wheel and water from Gripps level was taken along the hillside to drive the machinery. This was now improved and by 1841 the mill had four Scotch ore hearths and a slag hearth, all connected by flues 300 yards long to a chimney on the hillside so that the fume-lead could be recovered.

The dressing floor was also re-furbished and instead of "knocking" the ore by hand, it was now crushed between metal rollers driven by a water wheel. This produced particles of a more uniform size and then more effectively separated from the dross. The rolls were 14 ins (450 mm) in diameter, and had an output of 6 tons per hour. The layout of the new plant was said to have been similar to that used by the Derwent Company, reflecting the long association with the Northern Pennines.

In 1838 W.G.Borron engaged a miner from Derwentdale, Harrison Bell, to manage the new plant. Bell had a salary of £75 instead of being paying on contract, perhaps another move to cut back on the opportunities for high earnings enjoyed by some washing masters in the past.

The heavy sieves, in which the fine ore was agitated in tubs of water, had needed men's labour, and in the new plant they were suspended from a rocking frame worked from the water wheel. This enabled Borron to use boys for all the work and by 1841 there were 40 of them, aged from 9 to 18 years.

In 1840, and following much outcry about the state of children working in mills and mines, Parliament appointed a Royal Commission to enquire into the conditions of their employment. In October, 1841, its secretary, Joseph Fletcher, visited Leadhills. By then winter had set in and Fletcher wrote that he found himself in a "shelterless vale .. enveloped in cold storms of wind rain and snow .. (blowing) from hills of upwards of 3000 feet." That he saw the Lowthers as much higher than is the case, perhaps reflected the extent of his discomfort. Fletcher spent two days in the village during which he visited one of the mines via "a series of wet, dirty, rude, and almost perpendicular ladders".

Unlike Scottish collieries, where "innumerable" children worked below ground as well as above, the only children employed about the mines at Leadhills were the boys on the dressing floor. They had no shelter, so their exposure to the weather was "sometimes very severe" and Fletcher was told that one was "spitting blood". He interviewed a washer, James Aitcheson, who was fourteen years of age and had worked for four years. Aitcheson described his work as "nice in summer but very bad in cold rough weather", when he was often "wet through". His nominal hours were 55 per week, for which he was paid 4/6 (22.5p), but in summer he might work longer for which he was paid an extra 4d. Aitcheson's earnings can be compared with the 3/- (15p), which the investigator who visited in North Wales reported some boys got at Talargoch. All ore dressing tended to be seasonal work and the earnings of the Leadhills washer-boys was similar to those others who herded the miners' cows, and who were equally exposed to the elements.

The Commission were much concerned about cases of brutality, but Fletcher found no evidence of harsh treatment of the boys at Leadhills. He was told by Bell that they were usually well behaved but could be "ferocious if exasperated" and might occasionally get "a bit of a bat (blow)". Bell also claimed they were more obedient than their English counterparts, and fifty years later a visiting schoolmaster remarked how a party of children raised "no cheer but made no impudent remarks" either.

Such seemingly docile behaviour probably impressed Fletcher, and he also reported: "in this poor and remote village . . they (the children) generally present an appearance of robust health", and "their intelligence (is) remarkable".

As with many such observations, the latter was something of a generalisation for a few years later John McArthur complained that there were lads in Wanlockhead who could not "copy a passage without mistake", and young women who "could scarce hold a pen".

Not all the inhabitants were in robust health either, as may be seen from the following figures of mortality from 1835 to 1841 which are taken from the "Medico-statistical" tables included in Doctor Martin's evidence.

Males. Females

Deaths by respiratory diseases. 16. 13.

By consumption. 5. 6.

By influenza. 4. 3.

By typhus. 2. 3.

By other ailments and fevers. 31. 33.

By decay of old age. 5. 4.

Killed in the mines. 5. -

Total. 68. 62.

His report also showed that, of the adults, 18 men and 8 women lived to be over 70 years, but 25 infants had died aged less than 2 years.

Fletcher made a brief visit to Wanlockhead, noting only that it "resembled Leadhills in every particular". He was especially impressed by the libraries, seeing them as a "means of moral improvement", and perhaps as contributing to the respectable and well conducted workforce which was regarded as essential to the country's well being.

In 1835 the Scots Mines Company had employed 217 men, but when Fletcher made his report in 1841 the total work force had been cut to 188. Many had found work in the lead mines at Cairsphairn, but the elderly and infirm would have suffered from a decline in the charity bargains which provided for their support.

Borron was trying to tighten the administration, but his miners were able to get some concessions, for by 1840 they had been granted official holidays at the New Year and on the Fair Days. They always had time to attend the days of Fasting on the Thursday prior to the annual, or sometimes biannual, communion service, but in 1841 Borron made a directive that the smelters would "get nothing" on Fast days. The bargain men could fit in a day off, but the smelters and the day-wage men must have lost a day's pay in attending to their devotions.

An apparent gesture was the opening of a new store, with a "sale" in May, 1840. The store extended the range of goods available on credit by keeping "every article a house needs." It was managed by Borron, who allowed a 5% discount to anyone with ready money but looked to make "a profit on all things". James Gibson wrote it was "kind to the miners but kinder to them (the company)". During the 1830s miners had run up debts of perhaps over £500 with local traders, and the Truck Commission were to note that credit "placed a miner in the power of somebody". The new store was to bring this power back to the mining company, and to Borron in particular. Gibson went on to remark "It's no for naught the gled whistles". A gled was the kite, but the word could also mean someone motivated by greed

* * *

After years of profitable operations, the Scots Mines Company was now losing money. But the future of mining at Leadhills probably seemed secure and in 1840 Borron applied to have the Company assign its rights to him. However, the Earl of Hopetoun refused to accept him as a sub-tenant. Some arrangement seems to have been reached nevertheless, for he did take over the smelting and may also have made some investment in the works. In September 1840 he applied for the lease at Wanlockhead, describing himself as the proprietor of the mines at Leadhills, but the ill feeling previously engendered by him and his father had probably not gone unnoticed, and his application failed to impress the Duke.

The Leadhills mines were now referred to as leased by the "Scots Mines Company and Mr Borron", and after March 1841 all bargains were written up as "Agreed with Mr W.G.Borron". It was clear that any labour problems would now be settled by him and him alone.

In the 1841 Census Borron described himself as "Lead Manufacturer", a title which reflected his move from the status of "administrator" to that of "proprietor". He also extended his business interests for soon afterwards he became a senior partner in Borron, Price & Kidston, Glass Manufacturers, with premises at Finnieston and Port Dundas in Glasgow.

To what extent the various changes at Leadhills were motivated by the two Borrons or were on the instruction of the London directors is uncertain, and it could be that when young Borron sought the lease for himself it was to effect a change in direction. On the other hand, the fact that the Borrons had the management of both Leadhills and Wanlockhead suggest the administration was left in their hands. Company agents seem to have always had considerable autonomy, and the available record suggests the management style at Leadhills was by William's dictate. However it was a style which failed to impress either the Earl of Hopetoun or the Duke of Buccleuch.

* * *

1841 was an eventful year in Leadhills and, as noted in a previous chapter, the 23rd November marked the centenary of the founding of the library. The library was an expression of social attitudes and community values, and the centenary celebration turned into a dispute between rival factions.

The committee of the Reading Society, led by the Preses William Gibson, planned to mark what it called the "jubilee" by dining "together with our friends in the Library House", and Robert Martin, the Earl's Baillie and then in his eighties, was to be the principal guest. After much deliberation a sub committee decided on the sum of 2/6 (25p) a head for a dinner. However, James Noble, the innkeeper, offered to arrange the meal for 1/6 (7.5p), so it was agreed the extra 1/- was to be spent on "liquor".

Borron had previously "instructed the clerk, David Reid to give £1 (to the library) each year so long as he is satisfied with the management", and his support was expected. But, since the Earl had blocked his plans for self-aggrandisement, Borron wrote to the Committee that he could not attend if the Baillie was present. The Committee hurriedly met and decided the Baillie's invitation should stand or the members would lose "that respect for ourselves as a body which we ought to have".

However some disagreed and a few days later a deputation called on Gibson with a request for an extra-ordinary meeting. This was refused on the grounds that the reason had not been clearly stated and, although Gibson's action was supported at the time, the Society's members later split into two factions; the one supporting Gibson, the other in favour of Borron being present at the celebration, and they secured the advantage by denying Gibson the library keys.

The result was that two dinners were held. Seventy of Gibson's supporters met in the Hopetoun Arms. The others paraded to the house of "the master, Mr Borron", led by the band and all in their "gayest attire", and escorted him to the library, which had been decorated for the occasion and where 170 dined. The number must have been accommodated with difficulty, but the arrangements were not mentioned. There is no mention either of women being present, but those who dined in the library were later joined in the school house by their "wives and sweethearts", and "skipped the light fantastic" late into the evening; with the result that none were at work the next day.

A record of those who were present in the inn show that, as well as the Baillie and William Gibson, they included Watson, the surgeon from Wanlockhead and once a suspected conspirator against Borron's father; the minister there, Thomas Hastings, who later led the movement for the Free Church, and Meikle, the Preses of the Wanlockhead Reading Society.

The toasts included "a cup of kindness each to his neighbour" and one to "our pious forefathers" who had founded the Society.

The Journals of the two overseers, Thomas Weir and William Russell, provided a further account of the occasion. Neither made mention of the dinner in the inn but Weir wrote that Borron"s

liberality was conspicuously displayed on the

occasion and over and above the entertainment

he .. gave 1/-(5p) to 56 of the village poor.

And Russell commented how Borron not only provided the "splendid dinner" but also the wine.

Borron's role in the celebration provided him with the opportunity not only to meet with his men in a convivial atmosphere, but also to create a situation where the community felt indebted to him. In February Charles Stewart had written to the Earl of "the usual complaints (in the village) of Mr Borron oppressing the people". Although Borron claimed all was well with his men, the 1836 strike and the ongoing unrest must have made him well aware of his unpopularity, and the jubilee offered an opportunity to ameliorate the situation by a show of generosity.

The centenary also enabled Borron to identify with an important village institution, and it is interesting to speculate if, to this end, it was he who promoted the tradition that the library was instituted by Allan Ramsay. Although the Library had long had an effigy of poet above the door, the reference to the specific connection can be traced back to about that time.

In an account of "The dinner in the inn" left by Hastings, he referred to William Gibson's toast to "our pious forefathers" who had founded the library, but the only mention of Ramsay was a toast to the memory of the poet. . Had the connection been accepted it would surely have been mentioned.

Details of the toasts at the rival dinner presided over by Borron are not recorded, but could the occasion have provided contrary claims, and the basis of the tradition ? If so it is likely that Borron would have encouraged the association. He had no cause to support a connection between the founding of the library and James Stirling, for the latter's legacy of paternal management was a barrier to the sort of control which Borron was trying to introduce. He might also have wished to discourage any notion that the library was instituted by the miners themselves. Any conceit, any notion of a "republican spirit", had to be curtailed, and an association with a national poet was something which could be encouraged with impunity.

Whatever the origins of the tradition, Hastings himself was later to repeat the claim that the library was "instituted by Allan Ramsay". But if it indeed reflected Borron's interest, then he probably did not realise Ramsay's liberal ideas were aimed at the sort of working class self-expression he was trying to discourage.

The numbers at the two dinners demonstrate that Gibson did not have the support of the majority of the members of the Reading Society, and after what seems to have been contentious meetings in December, he was voted out of office in January 1842.

The centenary of the founding of the library at Wanlockhead, was celebrated in November 1856. The nature of the support was not recorded, but those present made their views clear when they sang, perhaps to a metrical setting, the Miner's Song.-

Clearly the working classes speak of their toils.

Princes and Lords may flourish and may fade.

A breath has made them; as a breath has made.

But the bold peasantry, the Country's pride,

If once destroyed can never be supplied.

How are thy realms, triumphant Britain, blest.

Enriched with more than all the distant West.

Thrice happy land, whose indulgent womb

Such unexhausted stores of riches come,

Whose native mines a noble find maintain,

To humble France and curb the power of Spain.

Thy sons no more betrayed with hopes of gain,

Shall tempt the dangers of the faithless main.

Traffic no more for foreign spoil,

Supplied with riches from thy native soil.

By works impoverished Scotland mourns no more,

Her well wrought mines forbid her to be poor.

Again for age as want some what you may.

No morning sun lasts the whole day.

Get what you can, and what you get withhold.

Turn the stone that will turn all to gold.

And Hastings' address demonstrated the way tastes in books were changing -

We relish too much the light reading of the present.

Woe to the day when Milton, Ramsay, Burns, Burrow,

Erskine and Boston, give way to refined and elegant

writers.

* * *

William Borron was an ambitious man who sought to establish himself among the influential Scottish nobility. He was considered a fine horseman, and his love of greyhound coursing provided the opportunity to mix with the aristocracy for the sport was then dominated by the titled landowners. Borron joined the Lanarkshire Coursing Club in 1827 and went on to win the prestigious Waterloo Cup. He was elected to the committee of the National Sporting Club, and continued to race with the prestigious Altcar into the 1860s.

The "high degree of mirth" said to have been enjoyed at the library celebrations provided the Leadhills villagers with a ray of sunshine in what were bleak times. Many miners were out of work and those who had gone to seek employment elsewhere in Scotland left their families to get by as best they could. William Gibson may have been one of those with no work in the 1840s, and his was a family who depended on their small holding and the money his daughter Isabel earned making dresses and hats. As previously remarked, the Leadhills small holdings produced 10,000 stones (63500 Kg) of hay and almost as much potatoes, and there were 90 cows grazing on the hillsides. So milk and cheese plus potatoes and vegetables provided a basic diet for the crofting villagers, and the flowering and needlework provided ready money.

A correspondent to the Gentleman's Magazine, who signed himself "ABG", suggested that the small holdings, the "pendicles of land", were an in fact an inducement to accept low wages or unemployment. He was critical of the miners' lifestyle and wrote how the irregular labour on the land and at the flowering produced in the women an "idle and gossiping disposition" which led to a "fearful laxity".

In evidence given to the Children's Commission a decade before, Thomas Weir, overseer and kirk elder, made reference to the morality of the villagers, and complained of a "decline in principals and conduct". He made no reference to drinking, even although such douce families as the Gibsons were purchasing "strong whisky" by the gallon. However, he did point at the character of the girls, complaining two out of three of them "were in the family way before marriage". As previously noted, the situation in 1841 was little different from what it had been years before, but the remarks of Weir and "ABG" are of interest in so much as they suggest both men seem to have believed that social problems were linked with the morality of the village women.

The latter's place in the community at that time is also seen in the attitude of the Reading Society, for in 1850 when a Janet McLeod made a "written application" for membership, this was "opposed and laid aside".

* * *

In 1843 the Disruption in the Church of Scotland directly involved the congregations in both villages and led to further dichotomy and dispute. That year the established church at Leadhills required a new minister and the "heads of families" found they were being asked to sign a petition, drawn up by the incumbent minister, the Rev. John Hope, requesting that the guardians of the young Earl of Hopetoun should present a "Mr Russell" to the Presbytery as a de facto choice.

William Gibson described the action as "strange work", but in fact it was central to the disruption debate. From the early eighteenth century, the patrons such as the Earls of Hopetoun, had the right of nominating parish ministers. The Evangelicals wanted the minister to be "called" by the elders, and only appointed after he had preached, perhaps more than once, so that his character and doctrinal standards could be assessed.

At Wanlockhead the incumbent minister Thomas Hastings was a signatory to the Statement of Separation so, when the Evangelical party walked out of the General Assembly in May 1843 to found the Free Church, he walked out of his manse at Wanlockhead, sent his family to relatives, and led his followers to worship at a tent on the hillside. His incumbency was given to a Rev. Patrick Ross of Birkenhead, and he himself had to live in "one end of a widow's cottage".

At Leadhills, the dissidents, led by William Gibson, combined to form a Free Church Association, and in August its members met in an empty cottage to hear Hastings preach. Such action promised trouble with the Hopes, and Dr Martin, no doubt acting for his father the Earl's Baillie, advised Gibson the Association had "done far wrong" in holding such a meeting. But it was not to be daunted, and in October it applied to use the "library House on the sabbath to hear the Gospel".

The request caused great controversy among the Reading Society with Dr Martin asserting the Association "looked like a Combination", a word in fact synonymous with "Covenant" in old Scots. An extra-ordinary meeting was contrived and the request was dropped. This may have been less than a real expression of the Society's sentiments, for the Clerk noted in his Minutes that the Association would have to follow "their Master and worship amid the vales of the mountains as their persecuted forefathers had done".

Which was what they did, for they joined Hastings' congregation and an emotive illustration in the Annals of the Disruption shows the Free Church members going to their worship amid the rocks of the Mennock Hass. Such an example of "noble endurance" attracted great interest and prominent ministers came to preach.

It may be noted that the lead miners at Strontian also supported the Free Church and they too were refused ground for a building. Their remarkable response was to have a floating church built in Port Glasgow and to moor it in Loch Sunart.

The Duke of Buccleuch was not impressed by the worship at the 'Hass, and he criticised the visiting preachers in a speech in the House of Lords in 1846. Learning of this, the Elders and Deacons wrote of the "sorrow" they felt on hearing that he was "impressed with the belief that the Ministers were disseminating subversive views". They wrote how they believed he had been "mislead", and went on to assure him they were his "sincere and humble servants".

In 1845 a correspondent to the Dumfries Herald complained as to the way members of the Established Church were being "lured away by wily stratagems". And in the same year John Gibson, the Buccleuch factor, complained to James Stewart that he had reason to think that "members of the Free Church possessing influence are unduly biased in favour of those workmen of the same way of thinking". The Disruption clearly caused division and spiritual anguish, and for those worshipping at the 'Hass, a measure of physical discomfort.

Although the members of the Free Church sought to re-establish a democratic church administration, those at Leadhills seem to have had differing attitudes to the management. Gibson saw Borron's rule as "tyrannical", but James McQueen, who "repelled" Dr Martin's attack on the proposal to hold a service in the library, was among those who paraded to the house of "the master, Mr Borron", on the occasion of the library centenary.

The worshippers at the 'Hass believed in a spiritual path towards their salvation. A more secular road was provided by the temperance movement, who saw betterment through personal effort and whose influence swept Scotland after 1840. As already recounted, the reformer John Hope began a campaign in Leadhills where he held meetings, said to have been in the library, for the washer boys. Hope's advocacy of temperance seems to have had nothing of the socialist ethic about it for it was allied to a semi-militant, and exclusively Protestant, body called the British League.

An influx of Irish created tensions in the working communities in Scotland, and anti Catholic emotions were roused in 1845 when an Act was passed allowing the training of priests. The situation was worsened when diplomatic relations were established with the Vatican in 1848. A "No Popery" movement embraced the religious extremes of the Covenanters, and in 1851, the year of the Chartist Convention, there were "No Popery agitations" in Lanarkshire. There is no evidence of active sectarianism in Leadhills, but Hope added lectures on "Popery" to those he gave on the virtues of temperance.

* * *

In 1837 two miners had been killed when searching for ore in old stopes in Meadowhead vein, and in 1843 there was another tragedy. Among the works which Borron had re-opened was the Hopeful and neighbouring veins which lay to the north west of the village towards Wanlock Dod. In January 1836, Weir had recorded that he had tried to enter an old drift going north from the Glengonner shaft but had been forced back by the depth of water. A miner, James Williamson, had been given a bargain to lower the water but, as previously remarked, this was "attended with great difficulty" and seems to have been less than successful. Problems with flooded levels remained and in 1843 the terror the miners most feared was to become a reality.

Early that year a partnership of two of the Highland men, Allan and John Cameron, took a bargain to open a passage into old workings in the Hopeful vein by making a rise, an upward shaft. On the 4th February the Camerons broke into passages which in fact contained a huge volume of water. The deluge knocked them down the rise, quenched their candles, and drowned Allan as he lay stunned in the darkness. His partner escaped and was found "in an exhausted state" by Thomas Weir, who had belatedly gone up to inspect the work. In fact both Weir and his colleague, William Russell, were aware of the danger and the former later claimed he had intended to try the ground himself "with the utmost caution", on the day the accident occurred.

Reporting in his Journal how the two men had "precipitately loosed the water", Weir contrived to suggest the accident was due to the carelessness of the victims.

* * *

At Wanlockhead an accident had deprived James Stewart's brother of his sight, but under the Duke's administration the miners were living more comfortably than their neighbours. The investigator who visited the village in 1844, to report on the operation of the Children's Employment Act, claimed a skilled miner could earn £25 p.a by his bargains, and a further £8 or £10 by "extra" contracts. In addition the "females in the family" might earn from 3/6 to 6/- a week by "tambouring", flowering. In all a maximum of £42 to £50 p.a.. So "ready money" was available to purchase goods from Glasgow and such families might live in "comfort".

But not all were happy with their lot. The Duke's reign may have been paternal but it was not indulgent, and Stewart kept a tight hand on the labourforce and had no lack of resolution in his dealings with any who might voice their dissatisfaction. The eight miners who disputed the rate for a bargain in February, 1845, agreed to "stand together" to hold out for a better price. But Stewart refused to meet them and after a few days three of them, including a Deacon of the Free Church, backed down, leaving the other five, Charles Harkness, William Lorrimer, Hugh Nicol, William Murray, and James Moffat, isolated. They sought support via a notice they nailed on the smiddy door, but their fellows were unwilling to combine in any challenge to Stewart's authority, and the five were refused bargains and claimed they would have to

"leave our homes for no fault that we was

aware of but for pleading for a fair living".

In fact it seems they too backed down for the Census Returns show they continued to live in the village.

The situation cannot have been unusual. In a letter written while he was at Leadhills, Stewart referred to men there who had been "discharged and had forfeited their homes". As a Welsh miner remarked in similar circumstances, this was "the greatest oppression".

The need for "ready money" became more urgent as the century progressed, and as consumer goods came within reach of working people. Not all the Wanlockhead miners earned enough to purchase goods from Glasgow, and not all were sufficiently thrifty to manage between the yearly pays. In July 1846 some of them sent a petition to the Duke complaining that they were not able to "compete with other labourers in the purchase of small articles", and asking to be paid quarterly. It was a view echoed at other British mines, but a correspondent to the Mining Journal asserted "It is no fault of mining companies if men get into debt".

In fact many Scottish labourers were badly off at the time, so the comparison was perhaps less than valid. The Duke responded to the petition by remarking he believed the men's claim did not represent "the real situation", and saw no grounds to alter the existing bargain arrangements. He wrote that he might be prepared to make a quarterly cash advance, to be settled when the lead was smelted, but if men were not satisfied, then they were "at liberty" to leave his employment. However, if they did, then, he asserted, "they must leave this place".

In fact a number did, and in the years which followed families from both villages emigrated to America. In the 1850s John McArthur composed the song "Wanlock" which began

Some foolishly wander across the wide billows,

Allured by the gold-bearing streams of the West.

They dream California can yield them a pillow,

Whereon they in safety and comfort may rest.

His sentiments emphasise the differing attitudes in the communities, for while McArthur portrayed the emigrants as "foolish" the author of the "Miner's Song" saw them as "betrayed".

Trying to raise money for these journeys demonstrated the way the villagers were unable to realise the value of their cottages and small holdings. In August 1850, a miner named Law tried to sell his property to raise money to take his family to America and, on hearing of it, the Duke wrote to Stewart that it was "im-possible" to allow such an action.

* * *

Not all the lead miners were tied to their villages, and emigration may have been one safety valve which relieved social pressures. Another factor which must have influenced the situation at Wanlockhead was the ongoing development of the ore field coupled with imaginative technical innovation.

In the 1830s both mining grounds were being starved of investment, but in 1848, when mining at Leadhills was still largely confined to old wastes, Stewart re-opened the southern end of the New Glencrieff vein, which had been abandoned 70 years before because of water. The venture promised success but access to a deep and rich orebody required a pump at the distant reaches of the mine. A large water-pressure engine was available, but at first there seemed to be an insuperable problem in taking water to it. However, Stewart's son, Thomas Barker Stewart, hit on the ingenious idea of arranging a siphon in an old day level, and which enabled him to bring a supply of water to the engine via a surface leat from the Mennock and an inverted siphon across the 'Hass. Thomas was only 21 years of age, but the installation was seen as a remarkable one and was the subject of a paper he presented in 1857 to Royal Scottish Society of Arts. A model of engine can now be seen in the Wanlockhead Museum.

Another innovation to receive acclaim was a condenser at the smelt mill to increase the recovery of lead from the fume. The technique had been applied elsewhere, but the equipment at Wanlockhead was deemed of particular merit. It was remarked that the pollution from the fume had once "poisoned the neighbourhood, now sheep grazed within a stones throw of the chimney". Stewart sent a model to the Great Exhibition of 1851, where it was exhibited, along with a display of silver refined from the Wanlockhead lead, and was awarded a gold medal.

Any hardship could be endured if the mining promised a bonanza and, as the engineer John Taylor remarked, "A profitable work animates all the men". A few of the Wanlockhead miners may have complained and emigrated but most were content. A resolute and skilled manager, whose innovations met with the approval of his peers, must have been a major influence when labour relations at Wanlockhead are compared with Leadhills.

There, the escalation of a quarrel over water rights enabled Borron to so tighten his hold on the miners that none dare complain about his further oppressions.