Ross-shire Constabulary Pay Sheet 1863 : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Ross-shire Constabulary Pay Sheet 1863 / conner395
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | SEVEN THOUSAND view on 14th March 20142,000 views on 30th September 20131,000 views on 23rd August 2013This is "just" a piece of paper, a single sheet mainly hand-written - but what a wealth of information (and a fantastic piece of social history from EXACTLY a century and half ago). This is a scan of a photocopy of the pay sheet for the Ross-shire Constabulary for the month ending 15th January 1863. The original is approximately A2 in size, so to get it here I had to photocopy both halves on to A3, then scan each half of the half (A4) then join them all up together into this one image! (If you look at it in "Original" size, it's nearly 3MB in size)The force at this time comprised a total of 20 men, and it would appear that Chief Constable George Cumming would have had to toddle along to the office of George MacKenzie, Clerk of Supply for the County, and uplift a sum of cash (£89:1:06d)(=£89.07 and a half pence), for which he signed. Presumably Mr MacKenzie did NOT have all the sums sorted out in little brown envelopes - that would have been Mr Cumming's problem. By my calculations, once all the 19 subordinates had been paid, that would have left Mr Cumming with £19 as his wage for the month. That equates to an annual salary of £228 - a fair increase upon his original salary (1858) of £200 plus £5 for upkeep of horse. As will be seen if you keep on reading this rather lengthy (but hopefully, interesting?) commentary, HM Inspector felt this was far too low, given his travel commitments for this, the second largest County in Scotland. One must feel sorry for the poor men in Lewis – not only having to take arrested persons to their own lodging (or a public house) – they did not get their wages until almost a month after they were due. If you look at the receipted stamps at bottom right, the 3 men on Lewis received theirs on 10th February.Did the form have to go round everybody, or did the Chief send the money out to each area (perhaps to Sergeant or Inspector) and they had to divide it up among the men – or did they have to wait for their money until the Chief made his periodic visit? It was certainly not a sinecure being a bobby in those far-off days! A really fascinating insight to the way things were a century and half ago this very month!The numbers opposite each man are also interesting. In those days the uniforms had hardly evolved, and numerals were likely worn only on the top coat (possibly even painted on) – so when you moved station you left your number (and your top coat) there and took over the number (and coat) of the man you were replacing at your new Station. Whether the Sergeants also wore their Letters (A, B or C) is debatable but possibly it was the only means of identifying them for their subordinate Constables. Given the shortage of men, it is highly unlikely that more than 2 men were ever in the same location at the same time anyhow! TEXT of Form:-WE, the undersigned Members of the ROSS-SHIRE CONSTABULARY FORCE, acknowledge to have received from the Clerk of Supply, through the hands of our Chief Constable, the sums opposite each of our Signatures, for the Month ending Fifteenth day of January 1863.1. DINGWALL. Donald McDowell, Superintendent (Sup)2. EVANTON. Nathaniel Cameron, Constable (#4)3. CONON BRIDGE. Donald Cameron, Constable (#5)4. FORTROSE. Donald Matheson, Constable (#6)5. NORTH KESSOCK. Donald McDonald, Sergeant (#C)6. CONTIN. Donald MacLean, Constable (#7)7. ULLAPOOL. Donald Stewart, Constable (#8)8. POOLEWE. John Stewart, Constable (#9)9. SHIELDAIG. James MacKenzie, Constable (#10)10. LOCHCARRON. Robert Blair, Constable (#11)11. LOCHALSH. Alexander Campbell, Constable (#12)----12. TAIN. James Gordon, Inspector (Insp)13. ARDGAY/ Hugh Fraser, Constable (#1)14. TAIN BEAT. Alexander Cameron, Constable (#2)15. HILL OF FEARN. Donald Forbes, Constable (#3)16. INVERGORDON. Duncan Cameron, Sergeant (#B)----17. STORNOWAY. William MacKenzie, Sergeant (#A)18. STORNOWAY BEAT. William Grant, Constable (#13)19. BARVAS. George Kemp, Constable (#14)CERTIFICATE OF CHIEF CONSTABLEI do hereby acknowledge to have received from George MacKenzie, Esquire, Clerk of Supply, the Sum of Eighty nine pounds one shilling and sixpence Stg, and have paid away the several Sums placed against the Names of the Superintendent, Sergeants, and Constables; and that the same contains a true and just statement of the Names of the Officers who have been effective and entitled to pay, as belonging to the said Police Force, for the complete or broken periods therein set down against their respective Names. (signed) George Cumming, Chief ConstablePay rates:Superintendent : £5:8:04d (= £65:0:00 p.a.)Inspector : £5:0:00d (= $60:0:00 p.a.)Sergeants A & C : £4:4:06d (= £50:14:00 p.a.)Sergeant B : £4:0:06d (= £48:6:00 p.a.)Constables : £3:7:02d (= £40:6:00 p.a)-------------ROSS-SHIRE CONSTABULARY – THE EARLY YEARS TO 1863 (by Dave Conner)The County of Ross at one time had TWO Police forces - one for the Western District (based on Dingwall) and one for the Eastern (centred around Tain), presumably due to the fact that both towns hosted a Sheriff Court and each had a Procurator Fiscal.Mr George Cumming set up the Western district force in 1850, and then became Superintendent for the whole County at Martinmas 1853. Whether his authority extended to the Isle of Lewis at that stage is unclear.Certainly the whole of the County was Mr Cumming's responsibility at the passing of the Police (Scotland) Act of 1857 - which requiredevery County in Scotland to establish an efficient Police force for the whole of the County.Mr Cumming successfully applied for the newly-created post of Chief Constable established by virtue of the Act. Within his application for the post he included references from Keith Stewart Mackenzie of Seaforth, who had been Convenor of the County of Ross until 1856, and from the Procurators Fiscal at Dingwall and Tain.The 1857 Act also created the post of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland The purpose of the Inspector was to inspect the various Police Forces of Counties and Burghs within Scotland (excluding Orkney & Shetland) and to report to the Government as to their efficiency. Only if reported as efficient would the Force receive a Government grant of 25 per cent of the upkeep of the Force in terms of wages and uniform.In the inaugural Report, produced in May 1859, and which covered the period from 15.3.1858 to 15.3.1859, the original Inspector, Colonel John Kinloch outlined his duty : to 'visit and enquire into the State and Efficiency of the Police appointed for every County and Burgh, and also into the State of the Police Stations, Charge Rooms, Cells, or Lock-ups, and other Premises occupied for the Use of such Police'.Mr Kinloch's first visit to Ross & Cromarty revealed that no less than FOUR Police forces existed. Ross-shire had a Force, as did the Burgh of Dingwall. Cromarty-shire (the Black Isle) also had two, one for the Burgh (Town) of Cromarty and one for the rural area.He reported that there was only one Constable in the Burgh of Cromarty, and that gentleman was in fact the only policeman in the whole of Cromartyshire. This was patently ridiculous and Kinloch was emphatic in recommending that the Burgh and county of Cromarty should both merge with Ross-shire.The Dingwall Town Council appeared to have realised that its small Force was of little effect, and Kinloch had been assured that the Burgh was about ready to unite with Ross-shire. It was also noted that "there is a lock-up under the old Town House, but more like a prison of former times". In other words there was a location in which arrested persons could be detained but it was devoid of any convenience and probably insanitary and disease-ridden as a result.So far as the Ross-shire Constabulary was concerned, one of the most important points which was raised was the Parish of Lochbroom, including the village of Ullapool. Only one Constable was stationed within that vast Parish. "When he is required to take a prisoner to Dingwall ....... it occupies him at least two days, if not three, the distance being above 50 miles."One year later, in April 1860, Kinloch again put pen to paper on completion of his year-long travels around Scotland. Nothing had changed. none of the three smaller Police Authorities in Ross & Cromarty were keen to relinquish their independence, a situation which obviously prevailed in various parts of Scotland, as witness this general comment from the Colonel:"There appears to exist a prejudice or jealousy on the part of many of the small burghs against uniting with their respective counties, encouraging the harbouring of vagrants and plying their trades and illegal vocations with impunity."Just how bad the problem with these itinerants was, is highlighted by Mr Kinloch, who would not have slow to point out that these groups could not travel from Caithness to the south within passing through Ross-shire. "There are 'gangs' or 'tribes' of tinkers who live principally in Caithness-shire, but make periodic tours through different parts of Scotland. A gang of these people, with horses and carts, after passing through Argyle and Perthshire a few months ago, were detected by the police in Forfarshire, where they were carrying on their depredations; in the carts were found some of their plunder from Perthshire and elsewhere; two of them were convicted of various acts of theft; and they are known at Aberdeen and Wick as 'habit and repute' common thieves. Another gang from Caithness-shire has lately been passed out of the same county by the police."Nonetheless the warnings fell on deaf ears. It had to be in everyone's best interests to pool resources, to deal properly with the problem, but while it appeared that lip-service was being paid to the Inspector's recommendations, nothing concrete was being done.By now Ross-shire had a total of 20 officers, for an extremely remote and scattered community. Chief Constable Cumming was on an annual salary of £200, plus an additional £5 per annum for the keep of his horse - his sole means of transport. This amount was seriously inadequate, given that the county was the "the second in extent in Scotland".There had been trouble among the herring fishing community at Stornoway. There were only three officers on the Island of Lewis, and they had to cope without anywhere secure to keep prisoners. Having arrested the rioters, they were obliged to simply keep them in the street for a time. This would merely serve to encourage the others to attempt to free them again. So in the end the police had had to take the their custodies back to their own private lodgings until a magistrate's warrant could be obtained to lodge them in the prison.Cromartyshire had no police officers whatsoever in its County Force. The Burgh Police appeared to making some efforts to merge with the County, with a view to getting a proper Force off the ground. Kinloch considered that one Constable in the Burgh and one in the County would do for the short term but the ultimate goal had surely to be to unite with Ross-shire.Dingwall Burgh were quite ready to unite with the County of Ross for police purposes but terms had not as yet been agreed.Mr Cumming was still in command of the Ross-shire Constabulary in July1860, when he informed the Chairman of his Police Committee of what has to be one of the earliest recorded instances of 'Mutual Aid’ - Constable John Mackenzie of Stornoway had been seconded to the Caithness County Constabulary for duty at Wick for the duration of the herring fishing season that year.Presumably a fluent Gaelic speaker, Mackenzie's being bilingual and having personal knowledge of the bulk of the Lewis fishermen working for the season out of Wick harbour would have been invaluable. Indeed he would most likely have sailed to Wick aboard one of the fishing boats - alternative travel arrangements would have been difficult if not impossible.In his 1861 Report, Colonel Kinloch cites 'a weak point of our Police management' in the failure to provide suitable housing for men in the County constabularies. He suggested that the Police Committee should provide loans over twenty years to enable the men to purchase housing. Police authorities appeared not to be grasping the nettle, in view of the expense involved. Delaying tactics were employed when Chief Officers raised the matter. The subject was deferred from one meeting to another, and all that happened was that the projected costs of providing accommodation for rural officers were simply rising year by year.Cromartyshire still had no men, and nothing had changed with its single Burgh either. Pleas from Kinloch for a merger had not come to fruition. Similarly Dingwall Burgh remained a separate Police entity, despite Kinloch's stated preference.Meanwhile the Ross-shire force was busy. The line of railway from Inverness to Dingwall was well under way and the contractors engaged in constructing the line were paying Ross-shire for two additional Constables. There were also three Constables employed at Stornoway by the 'Board of British Fishery' to protect the herring fishing. In 1862 it was reported that other forces on the west coast were also going in a similar arrangement with the Fishery Board. Cromarty Burgh and County had finally agreed to unite with each other. The two men in Dingwall Burgh Police had very poor working accommodation, and Kinloch considered the only answer to this situation had to be a union with Ross-shire.The Ross County Force had an establishment of 20 men, plus various additional staff. These 'extra' men comprised no less than four paid for by the Railway Company. It would be 11 July 1862 before the line opened between Inverness and Dingwall, and the plan had been that the Dingwall to Invergordon section would open simultaneously. Problems occurred however and it was to the following year before that stretch was open for traffic. The additional Police would play an important part in maintaining order in the construction, and preventing pilferage from the works.'Several' additional men were also employed on herring fishery protection duties, and they would likely all be based on Lewis although there might be some involvement in the mainland. Argyllshire had a considerable 'fishery' unit, some of whom were apparently deployed on Skye (which of course lies in Inverness-shire) so it could be that there was some considerable 'coming and going' across boundaries.Invergordon, probably largely because of the railway works, and Tain had now been provided with cells, but not so in Stornoway. The bobbies in Lewis were now having to take their custodies to a public house until a committal warrant could be obtain to consign them to prison.When Kinloch next put pen to paper for the year ending March 1863, he made special reference to the fact that five years had now elapsed since he had proposed the Burghs of Dingwall and Cromarty and the County of Cromartyshire should unite with Ross-shire. He bemoaned the lack of progress on the subject. He also remarked upon the fact that no less than 62,278 vagrants had been found in Scotland during the year, and 'a legislative measure to remedy this increasing evil is loudly called for.'The railway line as far as Invergordon opened to public traffic on 25 March 1863 and would be making travel much more popular along Easter Ross and into Dingwall and Inverness. In May of that year authority was also to be granted to extend the line on to Meikle Ferry, just beyond Tain (where the Dornoch Firth Road Bridge now stands). this would open up the County even more and encourage more people to travel to and from Sutherland.Cromartyshire still had no force, and Cromarty Burgh remained with one man and Dingwall with two. Ross-shire meantime seems to have had itsestablishment cut to just 14, and they were on the minimum rate of pay.Undoubtedly this was just one example of cost-cutting (to the bone) which many Police Authorities were exercising now that the initial novelty (and effect) of the 'new Police' was beginning to wear off.(Definitely a case of “Plus la change, plus la meme chose” as we see much the same situation 150 years on!!!)The pain was being felt by the rate-payers, in their pockets - but it was of course false economy, as they would soon learn when the force could not provide the expected level and standard of service. Kinloch also commented on the general scarcity of accommodation for the officers throughout the area.So Ross-shire received an 'inefficient' report, which meant no Government Grant in respect of 1863. It would thankfully not always be thus!(End of commentary) |
| 撮影日 | 1863-01-15 12:00:00 |
| 撮影者 | conner395 , Inverness, Scotland |
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| 撮影地 | Dingwall, Scotland, United Kingdom 地図 |