Market-Towns. - Denny is not a market-town. Arrangements were made, some twenty years ago, to have it erected into a market town, by the Honourable Charles Elphinstone Fleming of Cumbernauld. But the different dealers were not friendly to the proposal, and preferred petitioning for a baron bailie, before whom they might prosecute for payment of their accounts. The bailie was obtained, and has power to give judgment, and enforce payment to the extent of L 2.

Some idea of the business done in Denny, may be formed from the following statement, made from actual enumeration:-

There are 21 houses and grocery shops licensed to sell, beside groceries, ale and spirits, of these 19 sell spirits over the counter, the remaining 2 are common whisky-shops; 3 stationers; 4 bakers; 1 pastry-shop; 4 butchers ; 2 excise-officers; 7 wrights; 3 smithies; 4 medical practitioners; 4 schoolmasters; 1 writer; 2 ministers of the Gospel; 4 haberdashers and cloth shops; 10 shoemakers; 1 tinsmith; 1 gas manufactory; 2 coopers; 5 tailors, two of whom are clothiers; 1 messenger; 1 dame's school.

An intelligent member of the Total Abstinence Society has handed me a note, which shows what becomes of a great part of the wages of labourers in this parish: " In Denny village, and that part of Denny on the north of Carron, and between Denny and Fankerton, from October 1835 to October 1836, there were sold by the retailers of spirits, 10,600 gallons of spirits, at a cost to the inhabitants of this small district of upwards of L. 4300,- besides the value of the time lost while drinking, and in consequence of drinking, which I am sure would be underrated at L.800 more. This quantity of spirits, I understand, would consume nearly 700 bolls of barley. Add to this enormous amount, the quantity of spirits sold on the southern side of the parochial ridge, and it will appear that there are no less than L. 7000 annually spent in this parish, in the purchase of spirituous liquors; a sum nearly equal to the rental of the whole parish. " How easy a matter it would be," observes the gentleman referred to, " for the working classes to make grain cheap, without any alteration of the Corn Laws, and to make themselves most comfortable, without any reduction of taxation."

Villages - There are four, villages in the parish,- Denny, Hags, Fankerton, and Loanhead. From Broomage toll-bar to where the road strikes off right and left near flags to Glasgow, for the space of a mile, the houses are so thickly planted as to promise to become, in the course of twenty or thirty years, one continuous street.

There are about 190 parliamentary voters in this parish.

There is one post-office, the average revenue of which is annually about L. 300. The length of turn pike roads in the parish is ten miles and upwards. In winter, the number of public carriages which pass and re-pass daily through the parish, is 22. The bridges and fences within the parish are kept in good order.

Ecclesiastical State.-The parish church stands west from the old village of Denny. Its situation is sufficiently convenient for the parishioners on the north side of the parochial ridge; but not so for the inhabitants of Hags and Bankier. It was built in 1813, and cleaned and beautified internally, in 1838, by the voluntary contributions of the people, and is at present in good and comfortable repair. It contains 767 sittings, at eighteen inches for each sitter. On sacramental occasions, there may be 900 persons within its walls. Ordinary Sabbath days attendance 560. Communicants, on an average, 512. There are seven free sittings for the poor. The minister, elders, and schoolmaster have each separate accommodation; and their sittings, amount to 28. The manse was built in 1803, and is in good repair and comfortable. The glebe consists or four arable acres, worth L.10; and half an acre for manse, offices, and garden. The stipend is 16 chalders, one-half meal, the other half barley. L. 10 are allowed for communion elements.⁷

There are two Dissenting chapels in the parish, both now belonging to the United Secession Church. The one at Denny Loanhead is among the oldest and strongest, in point of wealth, in the Secession Church. When the Royal Commissioners for Religious Instruction were here on 27th February 1838, the minister of that church stated that the erection took place in 1738, and that the first minister of it was ordained in 1751. There was a dispute, as before noticed, in the parish, after Mr Watson's death in 1733 about his successor. The cruel operation of patronage was then beginning to be felt; and some of the people, by proceedings that took place during the vacancy, were reluctantly constrained to secede.

Another dispute arose after Mr Turnbull's death in 1765, -when, at length, the minister most unacceptable to the parishioners was intruded upon them, and then another party betook themselves to Loanhead. Since that time, the congregation there has not been augmented by any violent proceedings on the part of the Assembly. The minister farther stated before the Commissioners, that it is increasing but slowly; that the communicants are on an average 512; and that of the adherents to the congregation, 10 were resident in St Ninian's, 67 in Dunipace, and 250 in Falkirk,- in all, 357 beyond the bounds of the parish. His stipend, as understood to be reported to the Royal Commissioners, is, besides a manse and garden, L. 170, and L. 10 for the expense of two sacraments annually, and L. 2 for attendance at each synod. He said he had no bond or security for its payment. His church was stated to have 731 sittings, and the average, number of regular attendants to be 560.

The other Dissenting chapel is in the town of Denny. It was originally Burgher, as the other was Antiburgher; and both are now of the United Secession. It was established in 1797, when Mr Fergus, the parochial minister, was incapacitated for duty by old age. This chapel has about 500 sittings, as is supposed. The congregation, through no fault of the minister, who is the first that was placed in it, has fallen off to about 200 individuals in ordinary attendance on Sabbath. The communicants, he was understood to say to the Royal Commissioners, were once 320, but are now not more than 271. His stipend is L. 100 per annum. He has no bond or security for its payment. He has a manse, a garden, and small glebe.

There are not four Episcopalians in the parish but the Roman Catholics may amount to 50, nearly all Irish.

There is a Bible Society connected with the Established Church, for which there is annually collected and subscribed about L. 7. The four schemes of the General Assembly, and the new object for promoting the restoration of Israel to the Christian Church, are all less or more supported by the people of the Establishment. The Dissenting brethren do much in the way of similar works in their congregations ; in particular, the contributions to Christian objects by the congregation at Loanbead, are stated to be large and exemplary. The parochial contributions for these objects may be estimated at L.80 so annually. The church door collections are not more than one-fourth of this sum.

Ministers of the Parish of Denny since the Revolution 1688.⁸

Thomas Watson ⁹ ordination, time unknown ; death, March 1733.

William Bennet,¹⁰ 22d August 1738; translated to Duddingston.

Edward Anderson, 23d September 1747 ; died April 1749

James Tumbull, 14th August 1750 ; died 20th December 17O5.

Thomas Fergus,¹¹ 22d June 1769; died 25th January 1801.

John Dempster,¹² 25th April 1800.

Education.-The total number of schools in the parish is nine. There is one parochial school; one partially endowed; the rest are unendowed. Besides these nine, there is one dame's school for reading, sewing, &c. carefully taught.

The parochial teacher has all the legal accommodations. His salary is L.34, 4s. 4½d.

There are few of the young between six and fifteen years of age who cannot read a little. The schools are quite numerous enough, and sometimes injurious to each other. Two qualified and endowed teachers for the town, and three for the other parts of the parish, qualified and endowed also, would be sufficient, and might do more good than is done by all the ten at present.

The people are partially alive to the benefits of education; but the concern of parents for the education of their offspring seems on the decline.

Literature - There is one parochial library in Denny, containing at present 1100 volumes. Entry-money as members, L1, 1s.,- and 1s. every six months afterwards. It was instituted in 1806. Books are lent to non subscribers at the rate of 15. 6d. per quarter. There is also a Denny Religious Library. Number of volumes about 400; entry-money, 1s. ; out readers, 6d. per month ;-and Denny Loanhead Congregational Library, instituted in 1831; number of volumes nearly 500; dues, is. 6d. per quarter.

There have been several public reading-rooms, some for persons who were not artisans, and others for artisans; but, from different causes, they have failed, and at present there are none.

Societies.-The following are the names of the societies in Denny, besides those already mentioned: Denovan Printfield Friendly Society, instituted 1802 ; Herbertshire Printfleld Friendly Society, 1816; Herbertshire and Denovan Friendly Society, 1817; D. L. St Andrew's Lodge, 1825; Hags Friendly Society, 1830 ; Banknock Friendly Society, 1834; Denny Ploughman's Society, 1834; Denny Horticultural Society, 1836; Denny and Dunipace Total Abstinence Society, 1837; Denny and Dunipace Funeral Society, 1837; Denny Farmer's Society, 1838; Denny and Dunipace Mutual Instruction Society, 1838; Independent Order of Odd Fellows Friendly Society, 1838.

Savings Bank .-There was an attempt made, in l825, to set on foot a savings bank, which failed. Mr Gray, the Actuary of the Glasgow Savings Bank, and other benevolent individuals, renewed the attempt in 1837. There is a fear of consequences, if masters should know what gains their servants make. It failed also.

Poor and Parochial Funds.- The average number of persons receiving parochial relief is 32. The average amount allotted to each per month, 5s. 9d. The average annual amount of contributions for their relief, collected at church doors, L 14, 5s. 7d. ; assessment, L 72. No other regular mode of procuring funds.

Every winter, however, some benevolent persons give donations of coals, which the farmers lay down gratis at the doors of the poor. L.7 or L.8 per annum, on an average, used to be added to the poor's funds, by mortcloth dues. But there is hardly ever now a mortcloth put over the coffin.

One meets now and then with persons who, in the old Scottish spirit, refuse aid from the poor's funds. In general, however, they are abundantly clamorous.

When the new church came to be used as a place of worship in 1814, a dispute among the heritors arose as to the division of the sittings. This suit continued five years. Never was the parish happier than during these five years, and never was the church better or more regularly attended, and never were the collections at the church door more liberal. The people paid no seat rents, and they poured their money into the church plate; L.1, 6s. and L1, 10s. were not uncommon collections in these days, on ordinary Sabbath days. The average of each of the fifty-two Sabbaths of the year, was L.1, 2s. The plea was ended, and the heritors demanded seat rents. The people considered this unreasonable: but, rather than leave the Establishment, they came to an understanding that they would pay seat rents, but withheld their contributions at the church door. There was no assessement for the poor, at that time. The collections began gradually to diminish. Offence was taken at the session having sent a lunatic to the Glasgow Asylum. The lunatic was recalled and given to his relations. Objections were then taken to the payment of the wages of teachers for instructing poor scholars, - the payment of the presbytery and synod clerks, of the beadles of those courts, and of the precentor and parish beadle payments were resisted. The cleaning of the church considered an expense, that the heritors had nothing to do with. The session were prevented advancing money for any of these purposes, unless at their own risk, and the aliment of the poor woman that cleaned the church, was stopped. The session were even threatened with a prosecution, to cause them refund the outlays which had taken place; but happily, at every annual settlement of accounts in presence of the heritors, the accounts had been docqueted as approved. The session, however, were prohibited making any of these payments in future, out of the poor's funds. In these circumstances, the elders resolved no more to collect. The funds were wholly handed over to the heritors, who have them still in their hands, to the great relief of the minister and elders. The procedure of the heritors was not approved by others, and the collections continued to decline. For a while, the heritors, under the excitement of novelty, stood, at the collection plates: but at length they have, almost without exception, given up collecting: and the grave-digger, the servant or the heritors, sits commonly at the plate, and receives, it is said,1s. per day, for the discharge of this duty. While the session took charge of the poor's funds, the expense to the heritors was only L.1, 1s. per annum, as an acknowledgement to the session-clerk for acting as treasurer, beside his regular salary of L. 2, 2s. per annum, for discharging the duties of session-clerk. The state of matters now is instructive. The session did not interfere, after their surrender of the funds, to discourage the collections, except that they withheld their own contributions, understanding that the collections were to be employed in the prosecution against themselves Instead of L. 70 per annum of collections at the church doors, there is now only L. 14, if so much.¹³ Instead of L 1,1s. to the treasurer, a writer in Denny is paid L. 10 per annum for being treasurer and clerk, and the session-clerk's salary of L.2, 2s. is continued, as it must be, by law. Instead of there being no regular assessment, there is now a regular assessment of L. 72 per annum, which threatens to rise, notwithstanding all possible. care; and, moreover, there are hardly any seat-rents collected, for the people are utterly averse to the payment of such an impost. It is due to the memory of one of the kindest and most gentlemanly of characters, the late William Morehead, Esq. of Herbertshire, to say, that he had no hand in the ruinous proceedings which have been mentioned; and his successor, the present chief heritor, is far above such doings.

Fairs -There are two fairs held annually in the parish,-one about Whitsunday, and the other about Martinmas.

Fuel.-The fuel is chiefly coal from Banknock, and the neighbouring coal-pits.

Drawn up February 1839.

Revised April 1841.