Based on a wide range of primary sources, including kirk session records, parliamentary papers, early newspapers, and first-hand accounts, Dr. Lindsay traces the legal development of the Scottish poor-relief system. She describes its practical operation in both urban and rural areas, giving special attention to the city of Aberdeen and the adjacent counties. She analyses the controversies and debates surrounding the English act of 1834 and Scottish Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845, including the arguments of the Glasgow minister Dr, Thomas Chalmers and the Ediburgh medical professor William Pulteney Alison.

In this work, John McCallum sets out the importance of charity in Scottish Reformation studies. Based on extensive archival research involving more than 30 parishes, he sheds new light on the practice of poor relief in the century following the Reformation.