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Law and Order in Enlightenment Edinburgh |
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The Tolbooth
© Scran |
Andrew Wilson was a career smuggler who had lost large sums of money at the hands of Government forces. In 1736 he and two younger friends held up and robbed a Customs officer, in what they considered to be recompense for their own financial losses. The legal community saw things differently however, and sentenced Wilson and his two companions to death. Popular opinion fell on the side of Wilson and his cohorts, and a gathering, protesting about their execution, was guaranteed. As was customary, the Guard was on standby for any potential disturbances.
However, when the prisoners were being taken from the notorious Tolbooth Prison (known as the "Heart of Midlothian", which gave Scott's famous volume its title), Wilson somehow managed to impede the guards for long enough for the two younger convicts to escape. For his troubles, Wilson was scheduled for execution as soon as possible. Word of the daring escape spread, and his celebrity in the city led efforts to have his conviction overturned - or more realistically, have his sentence reduced to custodial time rather than death; despite these attempts, Wilson was executed.
A disturbance developed outside Tolbooth and Porteous ordered his men to quell the disorder by firing shots. This quickly got out of hand and six protesters were killed, with many more wounded, and Porteous himself was seen to be shooting at unarmed individuals. Given his record for firing on the public, particularly following a very similar incident four years earlier at St. Cuthbert's Church, the city Magistrates tried Porteous and he too was sentenced to death. This was not enough to appease the baying citizens who felt he should be subjected to rather more swift justice.
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