GALASHIELS, a parliamentary burgh and manufacturing town of Scotland, built on both sides of the river Gala, about a mile above its confluence with the Tweed, and 33 miles south of Edinburgh. It is situated partly in Roxburghshire and partly in Selkirkshire, but for all judicial purposes it is held, by special Act of Parliament passed in 1867, as entirely within the county of Selkirk. The “forest-steading of Galashiels” is first mentioned in history shortly after the beginning of the 15th century, when it was the occasional residence of the Douglases, who at that time held the office of keeper of Ettrick forest. In 1599 it was erected into a burgh of barony, when it contained 400 inhabitants. For the next 200 years Galashiels remained a mere village, as the population in 1778 had only grown to 600. At that time, however, we find its inhabitants engaged—though in a limited way—in those manufactures by which it has since so greatly prospered. There were 30 looms and 3 waulk (or fulling) mills; and the cloth manufactured was a coarse woollen texture which sold at from Is. 6d. to 2s. a yard. In 1790 the quantity of wool used annually was 2916 stones, and the value of goods manufactured was about £1000. In the same year the first factory was erected, and advantage taken of the Gala wäter as a motive power; and from this time forward the woollen trade in Galashiels underwent steady progress, until, in 1879, the town contains about 20 factories with 100 sets of carding engines, using annually 220,000 stones of wool, and producing goods to the value of £750,000....