Craig's concerns were usually local but that is not true of all of his correspondence. Analysis of a six-month sample of his letters suggests that as many as 5 per cent were addressed outside of Scotland. There were also matters dealt with in Scotland which had a foreign element, such as bills drawn abroad or foreign probate. Early nineteenth-century emigration, often associated with the Highlands and Islands, was also a factor in depopulation in the Borders. In his 1834 entry for Melrose in the New Statistical Account of Scotland, George Thomson noted not only the rise of the burgh's population, which he ascribed partly to agricultural improvements and the growth in manufacturing in nearby Galashiels, but also that this had been achieved despite emigration which ‘has of late years been uncommonly great’. As we shall see, Craig both facilitated emigration and had to manage the effects of it.

PROBATE

When Scots died in another jurisdiction, leaving behind property or legatees in their native country, this generated work for Scottish law agents. This type of work could be prolonged and complicated, made challenging by distance and unfamiliar procedures as well as the need to deal with foreign legal representatives. An example is the death of John Lindsay's stepbrother, Robert Haig, in Charleston, South Carolina, in December 1819. Lindsay only had news of this belatedly, in April 1821, and indirectly via family members (merchants named Leckie) in Dunbar. It transpired that the High Court of Appeals in Charleston had been required to determine which of two surviving wills left by Haig was valid. Lindsay was found to be the beneficiary of a share in the residue of the estate and a power of attorney had to be transmitted to Haig's executors in Carolina in order for this to be paid. While payment was eventually obtained, Craig threatened the Leckies with legal action for not communicating information about the case.

More straightforward was the case of Captain Ballantyne of Walthamstow who died in November 1822 leaving a widow in Scotland. Craig wrote to his then London agents, Robertson & Bullock, asking them to procure probate of the will from the appropriate court.