Foundation of Faculty of Law, 1707
The creation of a Regius Professorship of Public Law in 1707 led to the creation of the Faculty of Law.
Some controversy surrounds the creation of the Regius Professorship. It resulted from a sign-manual issued by Queen Anne, which amended the terms of an annual grant of £300 awarded by her predecessor William III. The grant had hitherto funded twenty bursaries in theology to supply ministers for the many vacancies in the Church of Scotland following the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. Anne's sign-manual stated that this purpose had now been met, and that it would be of greater public benefit to employ £150 from the grant to endow a chair of 'Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations'. The number of theology bursaries was reduce to five, and Charles Erskine, 1680-1763 was appointed to the newly created Chair.
This document stated that His late Majesty's pious intention in founding twenty Bursaries in Theology had been to provide qualified Ministers for the many vacancies in the Scottish Kirk after the Revolution Settlement ; — but that this end was already fulfilled, " most of the Kirks being now being supplied with learned and pious Ministers ; whereby, it now becomes of more use and benefit to our ancient king- dom to establish and settle a foundation for a Pro- fessor of the Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations." To this Chair ^150 a year was allotted as an endowment, and to provide that amount the Divinity Bursars were reduced to five in number. 1 Charles Areskine, " Professor of Philosophy in the College of Edinburgh " (z.e. one of the four Regents), was appointed the first Professor of Public Law. A certain amount of mystery hangs over the creation of the Chair ; it was either, as some have suggested, a job, Areskines influence at Court enabling him to obtain the diversion of Bursaries in order to create for his benefit a Professorship, which for a long time was of little or no use ; or, on the other hand, it may have been a measure suggested or approved by Carstares for providing a scientific and philosophical basis for a future Faculty of Laws, in imitation,
1 The Town Council protested against this alteration, but without avail. Dalzel (p. 294) denounces it as "a scandalous job, which ought not to have been consented to by Her Majesty's ministers, and which was resisted by the patrons, and the Principal, and Professors of the University." The patrons certainly resisted it, but there is no trace of Carstares, or any of the Professors, having done so.
1707] CHAIR OF PUBLIC LAW CREATED. 233
perhaps, of the Dutch Universities. Whichever was the case, 1 the Chair^afLEublic Law formed a new feature in the College of Edinburgh (though its possessor was for most of his time residing abroad, instead of lecturing to a class), and it was the last addition made to the^ establishment before the new start taken in 1 708. The staff then had grown to ) be as follows : Principal, who was also nominally Professor of Theology; Professors of Divinity, Hebrew, and Church History ; a Professor of Public Law ; a Professor of Mathematics ; four Regents of Philosophy ; and a Regent of Humanity,
As the College grew in its teaching powers and in importance, questions as to its constitution and government under the vague terms of King James VI.'s charter naturally arose. The Town Council having, as we have seen, declared it, by an Act of 1685, to have been created as a University from the
1 A curious fact relating to this matter may be here men- tioned, namely, that there is in the University Library a book entitled Hugonis Grotii De Jure Belli ac Pacts Librorum III. Com- pendium, Annotationibus et Commentariis SelecHs illustratutn. In usum studiosa Juventutis Academic* Edinensis. Edinburgi, A.D. MDCCVII. It is by William Scott, one of the Regents at that time ; it is dedicated to the Lord Provost and Town Council, and on the title page is written Liber Bibliotheca Edinensis ex dono Authoris, 410 Aprilis 17&J. In a Latin preface Scott tells us that the book had been printed for the use of a private class to whom he had previously dictated its contents as a preparation for wider studies, and he gives in full his opening address, delivered in his private class-room (in auditorio privatd), on the study of Grotius. This shows that there was some little demand among the Students of the College for lectures on the Law of Nature and Nations. It is possible that Carstares may have suggested the delivery of these lectures as a first step towards the foundation of a Chair. But under the circumstances it is remark- able that the Chair, when founded, should have been given to Areskine and not to Scott
The Faculty was further established during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Previous to this, many scholars intent on training in law had chosen to go to known centres of learning such as Utrecht, Leyden, Groningen or Halle.