122 THE TOLBOOTH—THE TOLBOOTH CHURCH [presb. of Superintendent of Police for the City of London 1885-90, and Commissioner 1890- 1901, C.B. 1869, K.C.B. 1897, born 15th Dec. 1835. Publications — Two Dis- courses preached before the Presbytery of Edinburgh (1844) ; Sermon (preached before the Governors of George Heriot's Hospital) (1854); The Sunday Question (Edinburgh, 1865). THE TOLBOOTH CHURCH (Q.S.). [By the Annuity Tax Abolition Act, 23 & 24 Vict., cap. 50 (1860), the whole rights of administration and custody of fifteen churches in Edinburgh, of which the Tol- booth was one, were transferred from the Magistrates and Town Council to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It was also enacted that the Annuity Tax which had been levied for the maintenance of the ministers of these churches should cease to be imposed, and that the Commissioners should, out of the moneys to be received by them in terms of the Act, make payment of stipend to one minister of each of thirteen of the churches above referred to. The Tolbooth was not one of those so provided for. The right of patronage or presenta- tion of ministers to five of these churches (of which the Tolbooth was one) was also transferred from the Magistrates and Coun- cil to the Commissioners, it being left to their discretion, on a vacancy occurring, to make a presentation or appointment either ad interim or permanent, or to make no presentation or appointment and to allow any charge becoming vacant to lapse and become extinct, as to them should seem most beneficial and expedient. On the death of Dr Smith in 1866, the Commis- sioners made no presentation or appoint- ment of a minister to the Tolbooth either ad interim or permanent. The parish, however, remained intact, and the Com- missioners sanctioned a temporary arrange- ment whereby two licentiates, in succession, undertook the duties of the charge. These were—Alexander Webster, afterwards min. of St David's, Edinburgh ; and Joseph Hunter, afterwards min. of Cockburns- path. By the Annuity Tax Abolition Amend- ment Act, 33 & 34 Vict., cap. 87 (9th Aug. 1870), it was provided that it.should not be competent to the Ecclesiastical Commis- sioners to nominate or present a minister to any of the five churches referred to above, and that these churches or charges should not be provided with ministers or " other- wise maintained as churches or charges endowed by law. ;) A proviso was, however, inserted in the Act, that nothing contained in it should prevent the Tolbooth from being provided with a minister of the Church of Scotland, who should be paid or endowed from voluntary sources, and in the case of a permanent endowment from voluntary sources being obtained and provision made for maintaining the church, all in such manner as to warrant the erection and constitution of a church and parish quoad sacra, the Commissioners were authorised and required to concur so far as might be necessary on their part, in the proper pro- ceedings before the Court of Teinds to attain that object. In this state of matters the Edinburgh University Missionary Association volun- teered, under the energetic leadership of Professor Charteris, to carry on the paro- chial work and to furnish a considerable part of the salary if the Presbytery would agree to the appointment of a licentiate to act as missionary. The Presbytery agreed, and appointed Professor Charteris to ad- minister the sacraments. Peter Thomson (afterwards min. of Dunning) was chosen as parish missionary, and was succeeded by George Wilson (afterwards min. of St Michael's, Edinburgh). In 1873 the Tol- booth was erected a parish quoad sacra, and as now constituted contains the greater part of the old parish.] GEORGE WILSON, first min. of the lg^„ parish quoad sacra, ord. 25th Sept. 1873; trans, to Cramond 11th July 1878. THOMAS NICOL, trans, from Kells, 1879 anC* a^m - 30tn Jan * 18 ~ 9 > res* 25th Oct. 1899. on app. as Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism in Aber- deen Univ.