he concept of the Burgess oath belongs - Aberdeen City Council

In 1597, the Dean was required tosupervise the burning of a number ofwitches as well as the execution of fourpirates. In the same year he had tooversee the rebuilding of part of theTown House and was paid a specialallowance for carrying out these tasks.Above all, it was the duty of the Dean tocarry out the instructions of themagistrates and Council.It was about this time that the Dean ofGuild was empowered by statute toexercise the authority of a judge indisputes between merchants and alsobetween merchants and mariners. Withthe assistance of his Assessors,appointed by a Town Council somewhatjealous of this extension to the Dean’spower and authority, he could decide insuch cases in a summary manner.However, he never possessed the powerof judging any case with regard toproperty within the burgh, and there wasnever a Dean of Guild Court, ascommonly understood in Scotland, inAberdeen.The charter granted by Charles I to theburgh in 1638 specifically mentioned theresponsibility of the Dean of Guild formaintaining the standard weights andmeasures - a service absolutely vital tothe population. An inspector of weightsand measures, a paid officer of the TownCouncil, was appointed for this task inthe 19th Century.The Dean’s duties down the years wereindeed varied. In 1774, for example, hewas responsible for estimating the costof keeping the streets in repair andlighting, together with the cost ofsupplying water to the burgh - and all atan assessment of one shilling in thepound of house rents.Dean of Guild Accounts for burning witches 1597The Royal Burghs Reform Act of 1833brought a number of changes involvingthe Dean. Under it he was elected by hisBurgesses of Guild as the nineteenthmember of the Town Council to sit astheir representative. Over the nextcentury several Deans of Guild went onto serve as Provost, demonstrating thatthe Dean’s position remained asignificant one in local politics.Other outcomes of the 1833 Act wereless helpful to the Guildry. No longercould the Dean call upon the resourcesof manpower and finance which hadbeen his as an office-bearer of theCouncil.While the Act did not change therelationship between Guildrymembership and the exercise of tradingprivileges, the spirit of the age waseffectively undermining a situationwhere, throughout Scotland, smallgroups of individuals could claim tocontrol the wholesale and retail trade oftheir locality.The monopoly on trade had beeneroding since the late 18th Century andin 1846, on the recommendation of theDean of Guild, the Guildry offered noopposition to the proposal to abolish theright of exclusive trading by the