Francis Watt

“ Roger North describes him as ‘a person that had raised himself by his wits, and, bating some hardness in his character, which might be ascribed to his disease, the gout, he was a man of a polite merry genius.’ He believed the best form of government was ‘a republic, or, which was the same thing, a king always in check.’ He married Mary (d. 21 Sept. 1702) , daughter of Francis Thorne, by whom he had seven daughters and a son, Francis. ”

“ When Leigh Hunt, in April 1834, started the ‘London Journal,’ which seemed likely at first to prove a rival to ‘Chambers's Journal,’ Chambers, in a kindly letter, wished him all success as a labourer in a common field. He gave all the profits of a cheap edition of his ‘Life and Work of Burns’ for the benefit of Mrs. Begg, the poet's sister. These are but two of many like instances. As a writer Chambers is vigorous, instructive, and interesting. ”

“ It is the deadly power that makes
Bread dear and labour cheap.
They are free from the straining after effect, and from the rhapsodies, commonplaces, and absurdities which disfigure much of Elliott's other poetry. Representing the feelings of the opposers of the corn laws, the rhymes give us a truer idea of the fierce passion of the time than even the speeches of Cobden and Bright. Animated by somewhat of the same feelings as the 'Corn-law Rhymes' are 'The Ranter,' 'The Village Patriarch' (1829) , and 'The Splendid Village,' all vividly describing life among the poor in England. ”

“ The small space given to mercantile law in the work has been frequently remarked on. It has been pointed out by Professor Bell that at the time when Erskine wrote commercial enterprise in Scotland was at a low ebb. The failure of the Darien expedition, succeeded by the rebellions of 1715 and 1745, had turned the attention of the people to other subjects, while the great change in the possessors of landed property, due to the risings, made that branch of the law for a considerable period of preponderating importance. ”

“ Fergusson soon after his release emigrated to Calcutta, where he practised as a barrister. He acted from 1813 to 1818 as standing counsel to the government and from 1818 to 1825 as king's advocate, and in twenty years acquired a large fortune. He then returned home in 1826, stood in the liberal interest for the stewartry of Kirkcudbright against General Dunlop of Dunlop, and was successful by a majority of one. He vigorously supported all liberal measures, and advocated with eloquence and energy the cause of Poland. ”

“ Brown adhered to the more liberal view, and now began to prepare himself for the ministry, he studied theology and philosophy in connection with the Associate Burgher Synod under Ebenezer Erskine of Stirling, and James Fisher of Glasgow. In 1750 he was licensed to preach the gospel, and next year was unanimously called to the associate congregation of Haddington. His congregation was small and poor, but though afterwards invited to be pastor to the Dutch church, New York, he never left it. ”

“ The business management of what was soon a large publishing business fell on William [see Chambers, William] , and Robert was left to carry out his literary projects undisturbed. In 1840 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and having soon after removed to the comparative quiet of St. Andrews, he laboured for two years at the production of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation.' This well-known work is a clear and able exposition of a theory of development. When published in 1844 it excited great attention, and was bitterly attacked. The author had foreseen this. ”

“ Brown was a voluminous writer, but his works are somewhat commonplace in thought and expression, and without permanent value; yet they prove their author to have been a man of great industry and very wide and varied reading. ”

“ He spent all but the last three years of his life as a farmer in his native county, and did much by his skill as a practical agriculturist to improve the agricultural position of East Lothian. Hope's holding, Fenton Barns, was known in agricultural circles in America and on the continent as a model of what a farm should be. In 1875 Hope's landlord refused to renew his lease, and he left Fenton Barns, which had been occupied by his family for three generations, for Broadlands, a small estate which he had purchased in Berwickshire. ”

“ BROUN, Sir RICHARD (1801–1858) , miscellaneous writer, was the eldest son of Sir James Broun of Coalston Park, Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, who resumed the baronetcy in 1826 (Burke's Peerage, Baronetage, &c., title 'Broun.' Doubts have been thrown on the correctness of parts of this pedigree, see British American Association and Nova Scotia Baronets, Edinburgh, 1846, and Notes and Queries, various notes under title 'Broun' in 3rd and 5th series) . ”

“ Brown is always ready to give what he believes to be the only possible explanation of each verse, and to draw its only possible practical lesson therefrom. The style throughout is clear and vigorous. The book at once acquired a popularity which among a large class it has never lost. It has been read widely among the English-speaking nations, as well as in Wales and the Scottish highlands. ”

“ Following his father's example, he assumed the courtesy title of Lord Minto. He was named a lord of justiciary on 13 Sept. 1733 in succession to Sir William Calderwood of Polton, and succeeded Charles Erskine of Tinwald as justice clerk on 3 May 1763. He held both these offices at the time of his death, which took place somewhat suddenly at Minto on 16 April 1766.
Elliot was not specially eminent as a judge, but he was widely known and had great influence in his own day. He was an accomplished man, extremely well versed in Italian literature, and an excellent musician. ”

“ In 1758 he published 'An Help for the Ignorant. Being an Essay towards an Easy Explication of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism, composed for the young ones of his own congregation.' This 'easy explication' was a volume of about 400 pages. In it he had taken occasion to affirm that Christ's righteousness, though in itself infinitely valuable, is only imparted to believers according to their need, and not so as to render them infinitely righteous. In the following year 'A brief Dissertation concerning the Righteousness of Christ' expounded the same view. ”

“ BICHENO, JAMES EBENEZER (1785–1851) , colonial secretary in Van Diemen's Land, and a writer on economic and scientific subjects, was the son of the Rev. James Bicheno, a dissenting minister and schoolmaster at Newbury, Berkshire, who died 9 April 1831, and was the author of 'Friendly Address to the Jews' (1787) ; 'Signs of the Times' (1792-4) ; 'A Word in Season' (1795) ; and other politico-theological works. James Ebenezer was born in 1786. ”

“ Dr. Beeke had a wide reputation as a financial authority, and Mr. Vansittart, afterwards Lord Bexley, when chancellor of the exchequer (1812-1823) , frequently consulted him on questions connected with the duties of his office. He was a keen observer of the politics of the time, and from an unpublished letter, written to Sir Lewis Palk in August 1805, and discussing the condition and prospects of political parties, he seems to have known much of what was passing behind the scenes. ”

“ GIBSON, FRANCIS (1753–1805) , miscellaneous writer, son of Joseph and Mary Gibson of Whitby, Yorkshire, was baptised at Whitby 16 Jan. 1753. He became a seaman, voyaged to North America, and afterwards, as master mariner in a ship of his father's, to the Baltic. In 1787 he was, on the recommendation of Lord Mulgrave, appointed to the collectorship of customs at Whitby, which office he held till his death, 24 July 1805. He was twice married, and had issue. ”

“ CAUNTER, JOHN HOBART (1794–1851) , miscellaneous writer, born at Dittisham, Devonshire, 21 July 1794, went to India as a cadet about 1809. He was soon disgusted with oriental life, and ‘having discovered, much to his disappointment, nothing on the continent of Asia to interest him,’ he returned home. He recorded his impressions of India in a poem entitled the ‘Cadet’ (2 vols. 1814) . Caunter then studied at Cambridge for the ministry of the church of England. ”

“ Grant studied law first at Edinburgh, where he was admitted advocate 28 June 1796, then at Lincoln's Inn, where he was called to the bar 29 Jan. 1802. He sat in the parliament of 1812 for Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and in the two subsequent parliaments for Tavistock. In 1827 he went to India as puisne judge, first at Bombay then at Calcutta, where he was afterwards chief justice. Previous to leaving this country he was knighted. He died at sea on his passage home, 17 May 1848, and was buried in the Dean cemetery, Edinburgh. ”

“ He died at Torquay 9 March 1837. His chief work is entitled 'Observations on the Produce of the Income Tax, and on its Proportion to the whole Income of Great Britain (London, 1799; new and enlarged edition, 1800) . This was written to prove that whilst the lately imposed income-tax might not produce as much as was expected, this was not because the resources of the country had been overrated. ”

“ GRANT, JAMES (1840–1885) , Scottish antiquary, born in 1840 in Glen Urquhart, Inverness-shire, was educated at Aberdeen University, where he took the degree of M.A. He obtained the Grant bursary, and studied law at Edinburgh with a view to the Scottish bar; but his grotesque dwarfish figure and his odd voice making success in this wellnigh unattainable, he devoted himself to studies connected with Scottish antiquities. ”

“ Charlotte beguiled the time by practising English tunes on the harpsichord. On 7 Sept. 1761 she landed in England. The next day she saw George for the first time at St. James's. From that moment till the king's illness she said that she never knew real sorrow. They were married late that same evening. Their coronation took place on 22 Sept. of that year (a minute description is given in Richard Thomson's Faithful Account, &c., 1820) . Her appearance at this time is briefly described by Horace Walpole: 'She is not tall nor a beauty. Pale and very thin; but looks sensible and genteel. ”

“ HADFIELD, WILLIAM (1806–1887) , writer on Brazil, born in 1806, entered commercial life in South America at a very early age, and spent some of the most important years of his life there. He was the first secretary of the Buenos Ayres Great Southern railway, secretary to the South American General Steam Navigation Company, and both by literary and commercial effort did much to open up South America to British enterprise and capital. ”

“ Darwin (Historical Introduction to Origin of Species) says that the work, from its 'powerful and brilliant style,' immediately had a very wide circulation. 'In my opinion it has done excellent service in this country in calling attention to the subject, in removing prejudice, and in thus preparing the ground for the reception of analogous views.’
When the ‘Vestiges’ were disposed of, Chambers returned to Edinburgh and resumed the writing and editing of a number of useful works published by his firm. For about twenty years he worked with extraordinary activity. ”

“ HOBHOUSE, Sir BENJAMIN (1757–1831) , politician, born in 1757, son of John Hobhouse, merchant at Bristol, received his education at the grammar school there, and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he proceeded B.A. in 1778, M.A. in 1781. He was called to the bar by the society of the Middle Temple in the latter year. At the general election of 1796 he stood for Bristol without success, but in February 1797 was elected M.P. for Bletchingley, Surrey, in 1802 for Grampound, Cornwall, and in 1806 for Hindon, Wiltshire, which borough he represented till he withdrew from political life in 1818. ”

“ BROWN, JOHN (1722–1787) , of Haddington, author of the 'Self-interpreting Bible,' was born in 1722 at Carpow, parish of Abernethy, Perthshire. His father was a poor weaver, who could only afford to send him to school for a few 'quarters.' During one month of this time he studied Latin. Even at this early period he learnt eagerly, getting up by heart 'Vincent's and Havel's Catechisms, and the Assembly's Larger Catechism.' When he was eleven his father died. His mother did not long survive. ”

“ Though in 1798 he announced 'A Free and Impartial Inquiry into the Present State of Medical Knowledge' (a work apparently never published) , he does not seem to have practised his new profession, but to have devoted himself to literary work. At this period he wrote 'Odes and Miscellaneous Poems, by a student of medicine at the university of Edinburgh' (Edinburgh, 1796) , and also published some drawings of highland scenery made on the spot. Campbell's next work was 'An Introduction to the History of Poetry in Scotland' (Edinburgh, 1798) . ”

“ In 1846, the London and North-Western Railway Company was formed from a union of various companies, Booth was appointed secretary for the northern section, and in October 1848 he was chosen a director. He retired from office on 18 May 1859, after being presented (9 April 1859) with 5,000 guineas by the company as a token of gratitude for valuable and faithful service. He spent the remainder of his life in his native town, where for some years he acted as a borough magistrate. He died at his residence, Eastbourne, Princess Park, Liverpool, on 28 March 1869. ”

“ In criminal law he objects to the forced unanimity of the jury, the Latin record of the proceedings, the refusal of counsel to those charged with felony, the practice of pressing to death obstinately mute prisoners, capital punishment for trifling offences, ‘the oppressions and extortions of gaolers,’ and generally the bad management of gaols (Preface to State Trials) . ”

“ He has left some graphic pictures, drawn from his own recollection, of the state of a small Scottish burgh in the early years of the century, where nightly readings of Josephus excited the keenest interest and ‘the battle of Corunna and other prevailing news was strangely mingled with disquisitions on the Jewish wars.’ Here at the burgh and grammar schools of the place he got for a few shillings a quarter's instruction in Latin and the ordinary elements of an English education, as then understood. ”