The principal railway systems are the Caledonian, North British and Glasgow and South Western, all of which have large modern termini in the heart of the city. There are underground railways, a cable subway, with a circular course passing twice under the river Clyde, and having convenient stations for vari ous parts of the city. In 1894 street tramways, formerly worked by a company, were con verted by the corporation into a municipal en terprise. In 1901 the whole system was changed from horse to overhead electric traction; ex isting length 196 miles of single track, and extensions proceeding, which will bring the total up to 238 miles; total capital expenditure to May 1913, $17,990,476; revenue to 31 May 1913, $4,907,265; passengers for a year, 311, 480,086, at fares of a cent and upwards. The free surplus of $160,724 was paid over to the common good of the city.
Industry and Glasgow is one of the greatest industrial centres of the king dom, and among its older industries are those connected with cotton, linen and wool, includ ing spinning and weaving, bleaching, calico printing, lace making and Turkey-red dyeing. But of late years the progress of textile manu factures has been slow compared with the rapid development of the iron and steel industries. Mechanical engineering, marine engineering and ship-building, with their connected trades. are in extensive operation while chemical in dustries, the manufacture of glass and pottery and brick-making are also actively prosecuted. Some 300,000 tons of shipping are usually built in Glasgow yearly. The commerce of the city is commensurate in extent with the importance of its manufactures. Tonnage entered in 1913, exclusive of coasting trade, 2,251,784 tons; cleared, 3,628,912 tons. The principal articles sent from Glasgow to the United States in 1916 were sulphate of ammonia, $147,712; cotton manufactures, $3,226,187; whisky, $1,707,680; paper stock, $443,140; carpets, $257,762; hackled flax, $300,160. The rental of Glasgow in 1913 14 was $32,639,281. The combined local rates, imposed on owners and occupiers together, amount to about one-third of the rental.
Banks.—All the leading banks of Scotland are represented in Glasgow by numerous branches, and the Union Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank have their head offices here; as also have the Scottish Amicable, the City of Glasgow and other insurance com panies.
Municipal affairs are ad ministered by a town council whose statutory designation is "the corporation,>) consisting of 111 members elected by the voters in 37 wards (numbering in cumulo 230.228), with the Dean of Guild (elected by the Merchants' House) and the Deacon-convener of the Trades (elected by the Trades' House) as ex 'officio members. The lord provost and magistrates, a river bailie and deputy river bailie, a treas urer (honorary) and a master of works (hon orary) are chosen by the councillors from their own number.
The origin of Glasgow and its earliest community is beyond the reach of his tory. Joceline, the 12th century biographer of Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow, speaks of wandering through the streets and lanes of the city, and in the course of his narrative re lates how its cemetery had been consecrated by Saint Ninian, the 5th century evangelist. More solid ground is touched in a legal document, which must have been compiled before the year 1124, setting forth the result of an inquiry made by King David, then Prince of Cumbria, into the possessions of the see of Glasgow, and from that time onward a fairly continuous outline of the city's history is obtainable. The bishops and archbishops possessed a large terri tory, called in later times the Regality of Glas gow, of which Glasgow was the judicial centre. In 1175-78 King William the Lion authorized the bishops to have at Glasgow a burgh, with a weekly market and all the privileges of a royal burgh. Twelve years afterward the same king granted right to the burgesses to hold a yearly fair in July, a privilege which still sur vives in Glasgow's annual holiday. The market cross of the new burgh occupied the spot where High street and Saltmarket intersect Trongate and Gallowgate. A chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary adjoined the market cross, and half a mile farther west, a few paces from the present Saint Enoch's station, another chapel was dedicated to Saint Tenew, the mother of Saint Kentigern. Saint Enoch is merely a cor ruption of Saint Tenew which local pronuncia tion reduced to the form of Sanct-enew (or -enoch). Another chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas the Martyr was situated in the same locality. On the higher ground, adjoining the site chosen for the cathedral, a British fort or rath probably existed in ancient times, giving name to Rattounraw, one of the most ancient of the existing thoroughfares; and, if so, the rath may be identified with the large earthen mound called "the know of grummell,” re moved in 1599 to fill up hollows about the town.
The rah, or what else served as a stronghold, was in or before the 13th century superseded by the Bishop's Castle, a structure which was not wholly removed till its site was required for the erection of the Royal Infirmary in 1792-94. The cathedral canons and Church dependents dwelt in the vicinity of the cathedral, while the industrial and trading community occupied the ground near the river, over which there was a primitive bridge at least as early as the year 1285. On the intervening space, somewhat pre cipitous, the Black Friars planted a convent and church in or before 1246. Between the years 1473 and 1479 the Greyfriars likewise settled in Glasgow, a little farther west, the site chosen by them being on the opposite side of the thoroughfare now called High street. A church or chapel in the Gallowgate, dedi cated to Saint Kentigern, was founded in 1500; about the same time another chapel was ded icated to Saint Roche on a site which is com memorated in the place name now transformed into Saint Rollox; and the collegiate church of Saint Mary and Saint Ann was founded on the site of the present Tron church about the year 1525. Of the four pre-Reformation "hospitals)" and their relative chapels, viz., the Hospital of Saint John of Polmadie, founded in or before the 13th century; the Leper Hospital, of an early but also uncertain date, Saint Nicholas Hospital, founded by Bishop Muirhead (1455 73), and Stablegreen Hospital, founded by Roland Blacader, subdean (1503-41), only some fragmentary endowments of Saint Nicholas Hospital survive, yielding small pensions to a few aged people. Glasgow was much pervaded by the ecclesiastical element, but this was to some. extent advantageous as many of the Church dignitaries were in favor at court, tak ing a prominent part in state affairs, and exert ing their influence for the good of the citizens. At first the Reformation changes produced dis organization and loss of trade. An attempt to arrest decay in the district deserted by the clergy, by the transfer of some of the markets to that locality, proved unsuccessful, on account of difficulty of access. The earlier charters of Glasgow were granted to the bishops who had the right to elect the provost and bailies. In 1611 King James VI granted a charter to the community direct, and subsequent charters kept to that form, but it was not till 1690, after the abolition of episcopacy, that the town council were allowed to elect their chief magistrates. Many of the inhabitants of Glasgow were op posed to the union, but the municipal authori ties, both at that time and during the risings of 1715 and 1745, remained loyal to the govern ment. Following the suppression of the latter rebellion, heritable jurisdictions were abolished and the regality courts were superseded by those of the sheriff, but the city retained its position as the judicial centre of the district. Shortly after this time the deepening opera tions on the river Clyde, to which reference has already been made, were commenced, and the city entered more fully upon that career of successful commercial prosperity which it has since continuously maintained.
The population of Glas:ow has increased as follows: (1560) 4,500; (1:1 7,000; (1708) 12,766; (1763) 28.300; (1791) 66,578; (1803) 81.484•, (1811) (1841 255,650; (1881) 511,415; (1891) 565,714; (1901 761,709; (1911) 784,496. In 1912 the burghs of Govan, Patrick and Pollokshaws, and the dis tricts of Cathcart, Scotstown, Shettleston and Tolcross were added to the city, which in creased the population to 1,010,805. The popu lation in 1914 was officially estimated at 1,032, 228.
Bibliography.— Several histories of Glas gow have been published, those of John M'Ure, printed by James Duncan who introduced type making to Glasgow, in 1718 (1736) ; John Gib son (1777) ; Andrew Brown (1795); James Denholm (1797) ; and Dr. James Cleland (1816), being the earliest. Original research is well represented in the publications of the Maitland Club and the Scottish Burgh Rec ords Society, and the materials thus accumu lated have been utilized in various works, such as Macgeorge's (Old Glasgow' (1880) ; M'Gre gor's 'History of Glasgow' (1881) ; Marwick's (Historical Introduction to Glasgow Charters' (1897), and (Early Glasgow' (1911): Prim rose's Glasgow' (1913). Glasgow,' edited by the town clerk, Sir John Lindsay, is well equipped with valuable statis tical matter and contains an excellent historical introduction by the editor (19f4, reprinted 1915).