I WAS fascinated by your front-page picture and page four story of a suspected but unconvicted alleged assassin of the 18th century, the notorious Allan Breck Stewart ("Book hero at centre of historic murder mystery", The Herald, September 4).

While I accept that it is possible that the conviction of James Stewart of the Glen for the murder of the highly unpopular Colin Campbell of Glenure aka the Red Fox might have been a miscarriage of justice, such things have not been unknown in recent British judicial history. The Birmingham Six leap immediately to mind, as do Paddy Meehan and the Christie case. The fact is that juries do make mistakes.

The trial of James Stewart was conducted by the High Court of Justiciary on Circuit in its competent circuit location of Inverary and the jury randomly selected from the local populace, which comprised a substantial number of Campbells, as would be the case even today. The case was tried before the Lord Justice General himself who, as it happened before the abolition of heritable jurisdictions came into full effect, was the Duke of Argyll. The prosecutor was none other than the Lord Advocate, indicating the seriousness with which the matter was regarded by the authorities, as would be the case today if a senior government official were assassinated while engaged on official business. The Lord Advocate at the time was indeed a Campbell, which merely reflects the importance and respect in which Clan Campbell held the law.

It is apparent from the proceedings that if James Stewart did not actually fire the fatal shot he most certainly was guilty art and part. To paraphrase Robert Louis Stevenson, nae doobt he wis a worthy chiel but nane the waur o' a guid hingin.

Who can say that in similar circumstances the same result would not be achieved today? There is little doubt that the influence and pressures from the pro-Hanoverian government had their effect on the case. Would that be any different today, with the new Supreme Court in London picking over decisions in Scottish criminal law? And what of the case of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi? What external influences were there then on the senior judges who presided? What forensically skilled images are there of the other suspects?

One further point is that your article refers to the Campbells as Hanoverians: they were and are not. The important leaders of Clan Campbell were opposed to the absolutist monarchy of the royal Stewarts and therefore tended to support the established oppositions. This Campbell has time for neither the Hanoverian nor Jacobite cause. But he is quite clear that the Appin murder and its tragic aftermath were the direct consequences of the persecution of the clans following the Forty-five and the contempt that a London government had for our indigent people.

K M Campbell,

Bank House, Doune.

WHETHER or not one would agree with the Rt Rev Lorna Hood, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, that John Knox would not have approved of women holding prominent positions in the Kirk ("Knox would not approve of me says Moderator", The Herald, September 4), there were some other statements in your report which require correction.

John Knox was not a founding father of the Church of Scotland which was reformed, not created, in the 16th century. For guidance, refer to the 1921 Church of Scotland Act and the associated Articles Declaratory). Further, to imply that he was predominant in the Scottish Reformation overlooks the input of all the other Reformist heroes (and martyrs) including, for example, the other five Johns, who, with Knox, contributed to the Scots Confession of 1560 and the (First) Book of Discipline of 1560-1561.

Presbyterianism, with general assemblies, synods and kirk sessions, was an early feature of the Reformed Church of Scotland, with the new feature - as initiated by Andrew Melville and others in the (Second) Book of Discipline and adopted by the General Assemblies of 1578 and 1581 - being presbyteries.

John Knox was also well acquainted with privy kirks - the precursors of Kirk Sessions - which included women. And many of his correspondents were women, including his first mother-in-law.

Finally, although the women of the reunited Church of Scotland had to wait until 1966-1970 to be admitted as ministers, elders and readers, women could always act as patrons and had a say in the settlement of ministers in the secessionist churches, in the original Free Church and, from 1844, in the Church of Scotland.

Dr Alexander S Waugh,

1 Pantoch Gardens, Banchory.