Image: Dr Webster sermon, c.1750

Description: John Kay's 'The Sleepy Congregation'. Dr. Alexander Webster, minister of the Tolbooth Kirk in Edinburgh and Moderator of the Church of Scotland in 1753, was responsible for providing the first reliable estimate of Scotland's population in modern times. Based on returns from parish ministers, mostly for the year 1755, he calculated Scotland's population at 1,265,380. His census did not, however, include most of the country's small Roman Catholic minority, figures for which relied on ministers reporting the number of 'papists' in their parishes. Internal evidence suggests that this was done inconsistently. [Note: The Tolbooth Kirk met in the north-west corner of St. Giles when that building accommodated four separate congregations and should not be confused with the later Victorian building of that name.]
Title: Dr Webster sermon, c.1750
Credit: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3298840&partId=1&searchText=sleepy+congregation&page=1
Author: John Kay
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No