SCOTLAND.
The Glebe publishes the Duke of Sutherland's reply to a letter in which Mr. Fox ItIaule asked Lord Morpeth to persuade the Duke to grant sites for churches to the New Secession. The Duke considers that in point of fact the Established Church is the persecuted party, and that if he were to comply he should be understood to give his countenance to its opponents. In eases where an absolute deficiency of religious accommodation exists, he would not oppose the erection of a building; but he should require an acknowledgment to be regularly made until such time as it should come to be properly under the Establishment.
The Ross-shire Advertiser reports continued rioting at Rosskeen, caused by the Seceders who opposed the induction of Mr. Mackenzie to the living of Logie. He was to preach on Sunday week ; but the church was barricaded, and he was driven away. Lady Ross, of Balnagown, drove up, and was assailed with abuse and showers of stones, and a woman struck her on the arm with a stick. Eventually, the Sheriff was called in ; but he could not quiet the mob for some time. It is said that some of the people declared that if a site were given them for a church they would desist from further annoyance. A crowd collected also at Roskeen ; but, Mr. Mackenzie not showing himself there, they contented themselves with maltreating the precentor, who was with difficulty rescued. The officers of justice endeavoured to seize two of the rioters, at Invergordon, on the Tuesday ; but a large mob collected and rescued the prisoners.
Riots being apprehended at the settlement of Mr. Mackenzie at Resoils, in the presbytery of Chanoury and county of Cromarty, on Thursday, precautions were taken by the Lieutenant of the County, Colonel Hugh Baillie, M.P., to keep the peace. Apprehension was quieted by the peaceful settlement of the Reverend Mr. Mann, at Kilteam, on Wednesday. The way for that was prepared by Dr. M`Donald, a Seceding minister, who had preached in the neighbourhood on the previous Sunday evening : he strongly exhorted the people against having recourse to violence, or in any way interfering with the business to be transacted; forcibly pointed out the illegality, folly, and sinfulness of resisting the civil law ; and solemnly warned his hearers that the Free Church abjured all such aid and disavowed all such adherents. The first Assembly would no doubt pass an act on the subject, which he himself would be happy to prose.
The fears respecting Resells proved, however, to be but too well founded " Early in the day, and before the arrival of the Lord-Lieutenant and Sheriff Jardine, a crowd of men and women, well supplied with stones and sticks, surrounded the church. On the arrival of the authorities, they were refused even an approach to the church, and stones were thrown at them. The church-bell was kept constantly tolling, accompanied by a continual hurraing. Seeing it was impossible to obtain access to the church, the men on the Preventive Station, Cromarty, were sent (or; who, after some delay, arrived, under the command of Lieutenant Thomson. This, however, did not make things better. The pelting with stones continued; and we regret to say that Lieutenant Thomson, and Mr. Munro, Fortrose, who was acting as a special constable, are severely injured. The Lord-Lieutenant, in gallantly attempting to seize one of the stoutest and most active of the ringleaders of the mob, received a severe blow on the arm : the Sheriff was struck with a stone on the thigh ; and Mr. Cameron [a gentleman who is designated as "a celebrated flonintrusionist "] was struck several times, and the windows and one of the pannels of his carriage were broken. Matters proceeded to such an extremity, that the Sheriff at length came forward and read the proclamation in the Riot Act ; after which, the party of the Coast Guard fired their pistols, first over the heads of the crowd, and afterwards were obliged in self-defence to reload and fire at the mob. We are happy to learn that no person was wounded or struck by the shot. But as the party was so small, it seemed to their commanding-officer, who behaved most gallantly on the occasion, as well as to the Lord-Lieutenant and the Sheriff, that it would be inexpedient to continue the further use of fire-arms, as it would in all probability lead to the loss of life, without any reasonable prospect, considering the great number and determined resistance of the mob, that the object in view would be attained. The civil authorities, together with the Presbytery, and the gentlemen present who afforded them assistance, and who had been now on the spot for several hours, theu retired. A bold virago, one of the ringleaders, had been previously apprehended in the act of cheering on the rioters, and immediately sent off to Cromarty, an attempt at her rescue being successfully defeated. We understand there were none of the Secession ministers present but one ; who remained only a short time, and that among the mob, and went back without joining the civil authorities.
"The Presbytery went to Fortrose; where Mr. M‘Kenzie was, after certain forms, inducted in the inn. But the reverend gentlemen were, on entering and leaving Fortrosi, hooted and pelted with stones." There was more rioting on Friday. A mob collected, invaded the town of Cromarty, broke open the gaol, and rescued the woman who had been seized at Resolis; some gentlemen being much hurt in resist ing the rioters. • The Aberdeen Herald says—" The riots have assumed such a serious aspect, that we understand two hundred troops have been ordered to Ross-shire, and are at present on their march thither."
A "witch" was tried at Dingwall, in Ross-shire, on the 23d September, in the Sheriff's Criminal Court. Catherine Campbell or Beaton was prosecuted on two charges,—for having stolen 1/. from Donald Matheson, "tenant in Inverchoran of Strathconan," in May 1836; and for having stolen 2/. from Elizabeth Murchison, a widow, about ten weeks ago. Matheson went to consult the witch about some sheep that were dying and straying; and she took the opportunity of warning him that his wife was threatened with some ill through the machinations of "Miss Hay," another "witchcraft doctress." Mrs. Campbell, however, promised that the ill would be averted if he would procure her a 1/. note to put under his wife's pillow. He borrowed a note, and gave it to Campbell ; who handed to him a parcel, which she said contained the the note, to lay under his wife's pillow ; enjoining him to return it to her unopened. The wife, however, opened it : and it proved to contain only sand and brown paper. He never could get back his note ; though he paid the man from whom he borrowed it in a few days. In the other case, Mrs. Murchison, a widow, had lost 21. which had been stolen ; and Campbell sent her a message that she would recover it for her. The witch induced her client to give her 21.; which she appeared to wrap up in a parcel ; and she gave it to Mrs. Murchison, telling her to spit upon it "in the name of Providence "; and informing her that, if she would not sleep at night, she would see a person enter and place the 2/. that had been stolen in the window. The witch's fee for this spell was 2s. 6d., with the promise of one of the notes, when recovered, and a pair of stockings. Mrs. Campbell left Dingwall for Lochconan ; on which Mrs. Murchison opened the parcel, and found it to contain some crumbs of bread. The Jury pronounced the prisoner guilty of both charges. In passing sentence of three months' imprisonment, the Sheriff dwelt on the extraordinary circumstance that in a country such as this, where information is so general among all classes, and where the people are alike remarkable for their sagacity and intelligence, a superstition so absurd as that of witchcraft or divination—a belief in the powers of which led to the present prosecution—should still linger ; and he trusted that the example made by the conviction of the prisoner would have the salutary effect of lessening in future a belief which is alike disgraceful to the country and the age.
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