“that the evils arising to Scotland from English control and centralising economy are aggravated in proportion to the distance from the Seat of Government, and fall with double weight upon this remote country.” – Orkney Commissioners of Supply, 1853.

Who were the Orkney Commissioners of Supply ? and what got them so agitated in 1853 with grievances over tax paid to the UK Government ?

The Commissioners of Supply were a non-elected committee of men in Orkney who collected cess (national taxation), rogue money (to apprehend criminals and prosecute them), financed asylums, and prisons. It was a form of what today is local government except to be a Commissioner required ownership of land valued at £100Scots per annum. They met regularly and their numbers had increased from 35 in 1731, to 70 in 1869.

Justice to Scotland.

Scotland as a whole was suffering from what it said was an unfair national taxation system compared to England. In Orkney, there was double the trouble.

The National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights met in the Music Hall, Edinburgh on 2 November 1853, claiming ‘Justice for Scotland.’ Chaired by the Earl of Eglinton . They declared:

“That the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England recognises the supremacy, asserts the individuality and provides for the preservation of the national laws and institutions of Scotland….

…that any attempt to subvert or place these institutions under English control and under the pretence of a centralising economy to deprive Scotland of the benefit of local action is injurious to her welfare and an infraction of the true spirit in which treaty was concluded.”

The organisation was very uneasy about the dominance of England in the Union, and one of the offices they wished restored was that of Secretary of State for Scotland, to have someone in Government who would represent the views of the nation.

The meeting also passed a resolution from James Gourlay, Bailie of Glasgow which pointed out the small number of MPs Scotland had in the House of Commons compared to England.

“that the representatives returned by Scotland to the House of Commons are not in the relative proportion of the number of her people, or the amount of her revenue, as compared to those of England.”

They wished to see an increase in the number of MPs from Scotland “to give the voice of Scotland its just weight in Parliament.”

Today there are 57 MPs elected from Scottish Constituencies, out of a total of 650 of which 543 represent English Constituencies. When the Justice for Scotland campaigners met in 1853 there were 654 MPs in the House of Commons. Scotland had 53.

The Orkney Commissioners of Supply full heartedly agreed with these resolutions, but they went further because the islands also had grievances particular to them.

Grievances Peculiar to Orkney

Passed by acclamation were the following grievances by the Orkney Commissioners of Supply on 22 November 1853.

1. the exaction of a double land tax, and in some instances, of a double teind.
2. the misapplication of the rents of the Bishopric of Orkney to English purposes in violation of ancient usage, and of the Royal Warrant of 3rd March 1825.
3. the oppressive and injurious extensions by the Officers of the Crown of English Law and Royal prerogative to the land rights of this County, and their consequent assertions of claims and exactions opposed and not known to the law of Scotland.
4. the totally defenceless state of this peculiarly exposed district against foreign aggression or internal disturbance.
5. the gross injustice of refusing to a country so unduly overtaxed an equality with the rest of the Kingdom in the advantages of Postal Communication, roads, bridges, and harbours.

The Orkney Commissioners published an account of their grievances, its historical background, and what they wished changed in a ‘Memorial’. It was sent to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasurer. The content of the Memorial was adopted at a meeting of Commissioners of Supply, Justices of the Peace, and Landed Proprietors of the County, held at Kirkwall on 22 December 1853.

What was the historical background to their grievances? did they have a just claim? and did they succeed in changes being made? Find out in Part 2.

Reference: Orkney Archive CO1/1/3, Orkney Commissioners of Supply, Minutes 1833 – 1853.

Fiona Grahame