surreptitious Act of the British Parliament. Other Scottish counties were relieved of the “AULD EXTENT” when the new Cess was imposed; Orkney and Zetland still pay both—to the Crown the British LAND TAX—to its Donatary the SKAT of Norway. The very enormity of such anomalies makes it hard to believe them possible in a place and time so near our own, and harder still to persuade the nineteenth century, in its self-complacent admiration of the just and enlightened rule of Britain, that much of the evil still exists uncorrected and unredressed in this the twenty-third year of Queen Victoria. On 8th September 1468, Christian I. of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, by the CONTRACT OF MARRIAGE between his only daughter Margaret and James III. of Scotland (after discharging the Annual of Norway, a tribute due by Scotland for Man and the Hebrides), engaged to pay a dowry of 60,000 florins—viz. 10,000 before the young Queen’s departure, and for the balance of 50,000, to pledge the islands of Orkney, to be held by the Crown of Scotland until he or his successors, kings of Norway, should redeem them by payment of that sum. In return, Christian stipulated for certain jointure lands and terce to the Queen, if left a widow, or at her option a payment of 120,000 florins, for 50,000 of which the restitution of Orkney should be counted as a discharge. Only 2000 of the presently promised 10,000 florins being paid, Zetland was also impignorated for the balance of 8000 florins under the same conditions (20th May 1469), and both groupes were thus mortgaged _sub firma hypotheca et pignore_ for 58,000 FLORINS OF THE RHINE of 100 pence each, or about £24,166, 13s. 4d. sterling.