Immediately adjoining to the Parliament Ifouse, and forming part of the new buildings, are several apartments for accommodating the court of exchequer, and a variety of offices under their controul, chiefly connected with the revenue. The pi incipal of these is a court-room, approaching a semicircular figure, with a handsome figured stucco roof, commodiously fitted up for exche quer trials. Other apartments are called the treasury chambers, where the barons of exchequer, who are five in number, sit as lords of the treasury, or determine causes without a jury; and various offices fill the whole building, under different denominations. The meetings of this court are held during short terms, four times in the year; but one of the barons is frequently present in the course of the vacations, to oversee and regulate such matters as may be necessary for the public interest. In some of the offices there is a great accumulation of busi uess, and a subdivision into subordinate departments would probably be attended with benefit.
Edinburgh is a royal borough, and the magistracy, collectively called the town council, consists of 33 mem bers, viz. a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, and treasurer, and the same officers of the preceding year, under the designation of old provost, old bailies, old dean of guild, old treasurer, three merchant councillors, two trades councillors, six ordinary and eight extraordi nary council deacons. All are elected annually ; but the provost may be re-elected a second year ; the old provost, bailies, dean of guild, and treasurer, are one degree lower in rank. than the officiating magistrates of this name, but precede the rest, and arc elected as a matter of course, after their own office expires. There are fifteen incorporated trades, fourteen of which have an interest in sending a member to the town council, and the council return a representative to parliament. The principal magistrates wear robes on public occasions; also gold chains always while in office, and the provost has a sword and macc borne before him. At present his office is more of a ministerial than a judicial nature; but by strict law, the jurisdiction of the magistrates extends to all crimes, except treason, committed within the city and liberties. In the year 1601, an offender was tried be fore one of the bailies, at Leith, for stealing a quantity of grain by means of false keys, and sentenced to have his hands tied behind his back, and to he immediately car ried out the harbour and drowned. Similar examples are of more recent date, and not long ago, the magis trates were accustomed to banish a culprit without trial by jury, which is a greater exercise of power than be longs to the supreme criminal court of Scotland. With in the city, the provost takes precedence of the officers of state, and all nobility ; he is, ex officio, lord lieuten ant of the city, and colonel of the town guard. His sa lary is 5001. per annum, and 3001. more to defray the expence of entertainments.
The bailies preside by rotation during a month, in a court called the bailie court, for trying inconsiderable causes, at which time they are assisted by an assessor, who is a lawyer by profession, and has a small salary annexed to the office. The dean of guild has an ex
tensive jurisdiction. He inspects the weights and mea sures used in the city : he restrains the citizens from erecting buildings, or making alterations on their pro perty to the detriment of the public, without being de liberately considered; and those that are ruinous, he orders to be examined by a jury of fifteen tradesmen, and pulled down.
The revenues of the city are managed by a chamber lain or factor, whose regular salary amounts to 600/. per annum.
Part of the Royal Exchange has been lately fitted up to accommodate the various offices and departments ne cessary for the town council. This building was de vised for the resort of merchants, and founded in the year 1753, on the northern bank of the ridge whereon the principal street of the Old Town is situated. From the great declivity, the back wall of the edifice is at least 100 feet high, while the front is only GO. The main body of the building is III feet long by 51 in breadth, the south front of a piazza projects, with four Corinthian pilasters, supporting a pediment, with the arms of the city sculptured in stone above. Within there is a spacious staircase, and the entrance is through a porch into a paved court.
There are many inferior judicatories in this city, of which very few are accommodated in public buildings specially appropriated for that purpose ; such as the commissary court, a remnant of ecclesiastical jurisdic tion, for trial of marriages and divorce, as also actions of scandal or defamation ; an admiralty court for trial of cases purely maritime ; and a sheriff-court, where almost every question occurring within the county may be brought under discussion. One of the most lauda ble institutions is the small debt court, wherein the justices of peace preside, and whose jurisdiction is li mited to cases not involving a greater interest than 51. and the expence is also limited to the merest trifle, not exceeding a crown. This court sits weekly, legal practitioners arc excluded, and the parties state their cause viva vote, unembarrassed by the subtleties of law. An immediate decision takes place, from which there is no appeal, or at least an appeal is attended with such difficulty, that it is never resorted to. This court has subsisted fourteen years on its present establishment ; during which it has decided 58,510 causes, involving an interest of 106,8201.17e. 84d. therefore its decisions are no less than 4179 annually, or about four times the number of those given by the supreme civil court, and the pecuniary interest of the parties is at an average only about 11. 16s. 6d. The benefit which it affords is therefore very great, especially on considering that it is no charge whatever to the nation ; that the services of the magistrates presiding are gratuitous, and the ex pences of their clerk and officers defrayed by the liti gants.