Chalmers, Thomas (1780-1847) Collection of autograph letters signed, Edinburgh and Burntisland, 15 in total, all but one to Miss Rebecca Bell of Woodhouse Lee, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire (the remaining letter to George Bell of Leith), discussing the state of the church during the church extension campaign which culminated in the 'Disruption' and establishment of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843 ('I rejoice in your sympathy with our church, and your prayers for her deliverance'; 'It is of mighty importance in the way of facilitating the operations for a new and additional church, that you obtain the concurrence of the parish. I am not able to judge of the expediency of first communicating the prospect to the Duke of Buccleuch'), offering spiritual advice, and discussing Miss Bell's proposed foundation of a new school, the letters of various extents, many franked or stamped (1d red), a few seal tears (15)

Note: Chalmers's founding of the break-away Free Church in 1843 has been described as a 'glorious moment in the religious history of Scotland, a dramatic assertion of the rights of congregations to have a voice in the selection of their ministers and, more significantly, an assertion of the spiritual independence of the church under the sole headship of Christ. (ODNB). He also wrote on political economy and social theory, publishing in 1808 An Inquiry into the Extent and Stability of National Resources, and in 1832 On Political Economy, in Connexion with the Moral State and Moral Prospects of Society.