This chapter considers aspects of Craig's formal, and informal, authority in his home town of Galashiels. Regardless of the offices he held, including in his youth that of lieutenant in the local yeomanry, he was a formidable character whose professional standing and relationships with local landowners ensured that he was often the first port of call when trouble arose.

BARON BAILIE

Craig was not only Gala's factor but held at his pleasure the office of baron bailie of Galashiels, having succeeded Thomas Paterson. Paterson drafted and witnessed Craig's grandfather's lease in 1778 for the sixth laird. He sometimes worked with Craig's father, William, who drafted a lease for the laird in 1781 which Paterson signed as factor. This proclaimed the laird's intention to encourage house building in Galashiels and leases and rentals, drafted or subscribed by Paterson, provide evidence of his success in feuing properties locally. Paterson and William Craig were the two biggest subscribers to the repair of the well at Galashiels Cross in 1802.

Paterson managed the Gala estate when the seventh laird, Col. Hugh Scott (1764–1795), went to America in 1791 and, after the laird's death on active military service, continued to do so during the minority of his son. Before Paterson died in 1813, Craig had taken over ‘as factor or doer for John Scott Esq of Gala’ due to Paterson's ill health and it was Craig who subscribed the rental of the estates of Gala and Torwoodlee in July 1813. Paterson had worked in conjunction with the Edinburgh lawyers, Tod & Romanes WS, a firm with strong Borders connections, and they continued as Gala's Edinburgh agents in Craig's time. As well as correspondence, Craig sent them his ‘annual book of account’ with the receipts evidencing his transactions.

Paterson relied for advice on Archibald Tod WS who, along with others including Dr Alexander Monro, was appointed curator for the laird in 1805 when he reached his minority. Despite Paterson's generally high standard of record keeping, Craig sometimes struggled to locate deeds which Paterson had sent to Tod. An example occurred in 1822 when he attempted to find a feu contract which had been granted by Scott's tutors in 1808 in favour of the Galashiels baker, William Ovens. It was one of the documents drafted in Edinburgh ‘after the Bailie could no longer write them’.