Kinross-shire Commissioners of Supply and related bodies

• Reference:GB 252 CC2/1
• Dates of Creation:1738-1929
• Physical Description:
  1.20 Linear Metres

• Scope and Content

  Kinross Commissioners of Supply: Minutes, 1812-1929; Finance committee minutes, 1861-1890; Cess rolls, 1828-1847; Prison and rogue money assessment book, 1846-1861; Prison and general purposes accounts book, 1861-1866; Valuation of heritable property in the shire of Kinross and parish of Forgandenny, 19th century.Kinross Preventative Police Committee/Police Committee: Minutes, 1837-1889.Kinross Prison Board and Prison: Minutes, 1840-1878; Cash book, 1840-1862; Papers, 1840-1879; Daily statements of prisoners, 1841-1878; Register of punishments, 1842-1877; Register of criminals, 1841-1847; Register of civil prisoners, 1840-1877; Register of sickness, 1840-1859; Surgeon’s journal, 1848-1859; Governor’s journal, 1860-1911; Chaplain’s journal, 1848-1878; Prison board inspection book, 1841-1875; prison board letter book, 1840-1855.Kinross Freeholders minutes, 1738-1815; Kinross registers of voters, 1832-1863; Kinross Clerk of Supply/Sheriff Clerk letter books, 1876-1883, and papers, 1782-1914; Kinross-shire Local Authority (Diseases of Animals Acts) minutes, 1866-1920.

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Commissioners of supply were first established in Scotland in 1667 to collect the cess, or national land tax, on a county basis. The Commissioners were themselves the substantial landowners of the county, defined after the Union as those possessing property, superiority or liferent of lands with a minimum annual value of £100 Scots. They gradually acquired duties other than tax collection, although that remained their main function. During the eighteenth century they collected various assessed taxes such as window and horse tax, and with the justices of the peace were responsible for county roads, bridges and ferries. They became an important institution of local government and provided a voice for the views and concerns of landowners. In some counties attention was paid to police and vagrancy matters, and taxes could be levied for prisons, asylums and county buildings. Almost all their functions were transferred to the new county councils in 1890, with one important exception. Commissioners of supply formed part of the membership of standing joint committees, which were the police authorities in counties until 1930, and also were required to approve all capital works undertaken by county councils. Both standing joint committees and commissioners of supply were abolished in 1930.

  Prior to 1832 members of parliament for counties were elected solely by freeholders, whose qualification was the tenure of 40s.of land of Old Extent or properties or superiorities with a valued rent of £400 Scots. The County Franchise Act 1681 required a roll of freeholders to be made up and revised annually. The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 widened the franchise and prevented the creation of new freeholders, but preserved the voting rights of existing freeholders for their lifetimes.

  A police authority was set up in Kinross-shire in 1836. The Kinross-shire preventative police was administered by the commissioners of supply and the justices of the peace. It adopted the Police (Scotland) Act 1857 in 1858 and appointed a chief constable, Mr Gordon who was also chief constable of the Perthshire Constabulary. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 transferred the powers of the former police committees or constabulary committees of the commissioners of supply to standing joint committees, to be composed of equal numbers of county councillors and commissioners of supply and the sheriff-principal.

  Kinross Prison Board was set up in 1840 under the terms of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1839. Each prison with the exception of the general prison at Perth was to be under the management of a county board. The board for Kinross-shire was composed of members of the commissioners of supply. The prison in Kinross was erected in 1826 and formed part of the county hall building. The prison was closed in 1878 under the terms of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1877 and the prison board disbanded.

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