William Forbes Gray

“ Watson's congregation raised, while he was minister, nearly 150,000l., and erected a church whose elegance and size has earned for it the title of 'the presbyterian cathedral of England,' as well as two large branch churches and a social institute. Watson's influence on the civic life of the community was considerable, no fewer than six members of his congregation becoming lord mayors of Liverpool, while others were prominent in the city council. ”

“ Matheson, whose learning was varied rather than profound, was a conspicuous representative of liberal theology. Despite his blindness, he was invariably radiant and cheerful. He died at Avenell House, North Berwick, after a brief illness, on 28 Aug. 1906, and was buried in the family vault in Glasgow Necropolis on 1 Sept. He was unmarried. He shared his home with his eldest sister, Jane Gray Matheson, to whom he attributed much of his happiness and success. ”

“ In 1861 he published 'Footnotes from the Page of Nature, or First Forms of Vegetation' (2nd edit. 1874, entitled 'First Forms of Vegetation') , the first of many popular volumes in which he brought study of scientific research to illustrate moral and spiritual truths. He was especially well versed in botany. In 1864 he accepted the pastorate of Free St. Peter's church, Glasgow. There, while faithfully discharging his pastoral duties, he continued his studies in natural history, which he supplemented by foreign travel. ”

“ Dr. MacDuff of Sandyford church, Glasgow, and on 8 April 1868 became minister of Innellan church on the shores of the Firth of Clyde, then a chapel of ease in the parish of Dunoon, but through Matheson's efforts soon erected into a parish church. There Matheson was minister for eighteen years, and his preaching gifts rapidly matured. For a time he grew dissatisfied with the calvinistic theology in which he was brought up, and according to his own account was inclined to reject all religion (cf. Life of Matheson, pp. 121-2) . But a study of the Hegelian philosophy saved him from agnosticism. ”

“ Charteris was mainly responsible for a marked revival of practical Christian effort within the Church of Scotland. He was the founder, and from 1871 to 1894 convener, of the general assembly's Christian life and work committee, which inaugurated many new forms of Christian enterprise. Under his guidance there were originated the Young Men's Guild and the Young Women's Guild. ”

“ In 1891 he received the honorary degree of D.D. from Edinburgh University, and in 1901 he declined nomination for the moderatorship of the general assembly of the United Free church of Scotland (formed in the previous year by the union of the Free and United Presbyterian churches) . Appointed in May 1907, on the death of Dr. Robert Rainy [q. v. Suppl. II] , principal of New College, Edinburgh, he was prevented by ill-health from entering on the duties of the office. He died at Edinburgh on 26 April 1909, and was buried in the Dean cemetery there. ”

“ At the disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, Mitchell, with his colleagues in India, joined the Free church and bore a leading part in organising the Free church mission. He succeeded in inaugurating a flourishing mission in the British cantonment at Poona, where Scottish missionaries had previously been forbidden, and began work among the Mangs and Mahars of Jalna and North Haidarabad. ”

“ Taylor steadily favoured a conciliatory attitude towards those who were opposed to the union, and with Robert Rainy [q. v. Suppl. II] he shared the burden of the work connected with the crisis of 1904, when a judgment of the House of Lords handed over the whole property of the undivided Free Church to a small minority who resisted the union. ”

“ From an early period he devoted much time to religious and philanthropic work. Like his parents, he was a staunch supporter of the Free Church of Scotland, took a prominent part in its affairs, and was a munificent contributor to its funds. ”

“ MACMILLAN, HUGH (1833–1903) , presbyterian divine and religious writer, born at Aberfeldy on 17 Sept. 1833, was eldest son in the family of six sons and three daughters of Alexander Macmillan, merchant of Aberfeldy, by his wife Margaret Macfarlane. After attending a school in his native place and Hill Street Academy, Edinburgh, he entered the university of Edinburgh, where he went through the arts course and also studied medicine. ”

“ With Gladstone's resignation in March 1894 legislative action was arrested. Gladstone's hesitating attitude to the Scottish disestablishment question disappointed Hutton, but friendly relations continued between them, and in May 1895 he was invited to Hawarden, and was cordially received.
Hutton also promoted temperance and educational legislation. In regard to education, he held strongly that a state system must be entirely secular. He strenuously opposed the provision in the education bill of 1872 for the continuance of 'use and wont' in regard to religious teaching. ”

“ From 1878 to 1890 Stewart chiefly devoted his energies to the consolidation and expansion of Lovedale, alike on its missionary and its educational sides. Sir George Grey [q. v.] obtained for him a government grant of 3000l. for industrial training there. He erected technical work-shops, initiated a mission farm of 2000 acres, and founded a mission hospital, the first in South Africa, where native nurses and hospital assistants might be trained, and a medical school begun. ”

“ He also encouraged the young men of Liverpool to volimteer for active service in South Africa. In 1901 ill-health led him to pass the winter in Egypt. On his return he delivered a short course of lectures at the Royal Institution, London, entitled 'The Scot of the Eighteenth Century: his Religion and his Life.' The lectures were repeated at Cambridge, and were published posthumously in 1907.
In February 1905 Watson celebrated the conclusion of twenty-five years' ministry at Sefton Park, and in October he resigned owing to ill-health and pressure of other work. ”

“ Though not a theologian in the technical sense, Dods brought wide and exact scholarship and an expository gift to the popularising of modern critical views about the Bible. In 1877 Dods published a sermon on 'Revelation and Inspiration,' which questioned verbal inspiration. The presbytery of Glasgow, while declining to enter on a process, advised withdrawal of the sermon with a view to some modification. Dods assented on conditions; the matter was brought in 1878 before the general assembly, which declined by a majority to intervene. ”

“ The book, which is based on Kirchhofer's 'Quellensammlung,' was commended by Hilgenfeld, Godet, and Professor Sanday. He also published 'The New Testament Scriptures : their Claims, History, and Authority' (Croall lecture, 1882) , and ' The Church of Christ : its Life and Work' (Baird lecture, 1887, published 1905) . ”

“ Stewart, who returned to Lovedale at the end of 1877, left Livingstonia, which he modelled on Lovedale, to the guidance of Dr. Laws. Its prosperity grew quickly. The mission now consists of a network of stations stretching for many miles along the western shore of Lake Nyasa as well as inland, while Livingstonia itself has become a city of modern type. ”

“ Geikie enjoyed a wide reputation as a writer of popular books on biblical and religious subjects. Spurgeon described him as 'one of the best religious writers of the age.' Scholarly, imaginative, and lucid, his chief writings dealt on orthodox hues with historical and practical rather than with theological themes. ”

“ In 1897 indifferent health led him to relinquish a portion of pastoral responsibility to a colleague, and the joint pastorate lasted until July 1899, when he finally retired. The later years of his life were devoted almost entirely to study and authorship. ”

“ Besides several lectures, contributions to periodicals, and admirable metrical translations from classical and Indian poets, he published:
'Letters to Indian Youth regarding the Evidences of the Christian Religion, with a Brief Examination of the Evidences of Hinduism, Parseeism and Mohammedanism' (Bombay 1850; 11th edit. 1894; trans, into several Indian languages) . 'The Conflict of Ancient Paganism and Christianity' (n.d.) . ”

“ The work has also been translated into several European tongues, and has been popular in Germany. In 1895 there followed in the same vein 'The Days of Auld Langsyne,' hardly inferior in execution and popularity. There was some falling off in workmanship in 'Kate Carnegie and those Ministers' (1897) , in spite of its geniality and easy command of the Scots vernacular. 'Afterwards, and Other Stories' (1898) shows the author's command of pathos ; 'Young Barbarians' (1901) is a delightful boy's book ”

“ Besides publishing a short biography of Dr. Alexander Duff [q. v.] for the 'Men Worth Remembering' series (1883) , and 'Mediæval Missions' ('Duff Missionary Lectures,' 1880) , he edited the 'Letters of Samuel Rutherford' (1881) . ”

“ In December 1869 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Hamilton, who survived him with one daughter.
[Memoir by H. R. Mackintosh, D.D., prefixed to Laidlaw's posthumously published 'Studies in the Parables, and other Sermons' (1907) ; Scotsman, 22 Sept. 1906; private information.] ”