for the years 1862 and 1863. On the occasion of the award, Sir David
Brewster, the Vice-President of the Society, thus referred to the many
valuable papers he had communicated to the Society during the seventeen
years of his connection with it:--"These papers, and others elsewhere
published, relate principally to the theories of Electricity, Magnetism,
and Heat, and evince a genius for the mathematical treatment of physical
questions which has not been surpassed, if equalled, by that of any
living philosopher. In studying the mathematical theory of Electricity,
he has greatly extended the general theorems demonstrated by our
distinguished countryman, Mr. Green; and was led to the principle of
'electrical images,' by which he was enabled to solve many problems
respecting the distribution of electricity on conductors, which had been
regarded as insoluble by the most eminent mathematicians in Europe. In
his researches on Thermo-dynamics, Professor Thomson has been equally
successful. In his papers 'On the Dynamical Theory of Heat,' he has
applied the fundamental propositions of the theory to bodies of all
kinds, and he has adduced many curious and important results regarding
the specific heats of bodies, which have been completely verified by the
accurate experiments of M. Joule. No less important are Professor
Thomson's researches on Solar Heat, contained in his remarkable papers
'On the Mechanical Energy of the Solar System;' his researches on the
Conservation of Energy, as applied to organic as well as inorganic
processes; and his fine theory of the dissipation of Energy, as given in
his paper 'On a Universal Tendency in Nature to the Dissipation of
Mechanical Energy.' To these we may add his complete theory of
Diamagnetic Action, his investigations relative to the Secular Cooling
of our Globe, and the influence of internal heat upon the temperature of
its surface." Sir David Brewster, after referring to other works, added
that "the important conclusions which he obtained from 'The Theory of
Induction in Submarine Telegraphy,' have found a valuable practical
application in the patent instrument for reading and receiving messages,
which he so successfully employed in the submarine cable across the
Atlantic; and when that great work is completed, his name will be
associated with the noblest gift that science ever offered to
civilisation. By his delicate electrometer, his electric spark
recorder, and his marine and land relation galvanometer, he has provided
the world of thought with the finest instruments of observation and
research, and the world of action with the means of carrying the
messages of commerce and civilisation which have yet to cross the
uncabled oceans that separate the families of the earth."
In 1866, after the Atlantic Telegraph Cable had been successfully laid,
Sir William Thomson received the honour of knighthood from the Crown. On
the same occasion he was presented with the freedom of his adopted
city--Glasgow. The degree of LL.D. was conferred on him successively by
Trinity College, Dublin, by Cambridge and by Edinburgh Universities, and
that of D.C.L. by Oxford. He is a Fellow of the London Royal Society, as
well as that of Edinburgh; and he is an honorary and corresponding
member of several learned societies abroad.
On the loss of H.M.S. _Captain_, a Commission was appointed to
investigate the merits of designs for ships of war. Of that Commission
Sir William Thomson is a valuable and valued member, from his intimate
acquaintance with dynamical science and the theory of stability. Sir
William also conducts the operations of two committees appointed by the
British Association to investigate the subject of Tides and Underground
Temperature, the results of which are expected to settle many points of
physical theory. The circumstances of Sir William Thomson's election to
the presidential chair of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the remarkably able address which he delivered in opening
the late Edinburgh meeting, are of such recent occurrence that they need
not be recapitulated.
Sir William Thomson married, in 1852, a daughter of the late Walter
Crum, Esq., F.R.S., who has predeceased him. He is a Liberal in
politics, and no one has taken a more active part than he in forwarding
the interests of the Liberal candidates for the representation of the
Universities.
PRINCIPAL BARCLAY.
Cities that bear the dual character of seats of learning and marts of
commerce are comparatively rare. Who would ever dream of finding a
foundry on the Isis, or a factory on the Cam? These streams are sacred
to learning. They are not polluted with the vapours that are evolved
from industrial life. No sounds of the ponderous hammer, or screeching
"buzzer," are to be heard within the range of their pellucid course.
They are consecrated to more lofty, if not to more useful purposes. But
with the Clyde the case is different. It is almost a puzzle to say
whether Glasgow excels more as the seat of a famous University or as the
centre of a hundred busy, important, and prosperous industries.
Certainly, the decadence of the one has not followed the development of
the other. Learning and commerce flourish hand in hand, without the
slightest trace of incompatibility. No less an authority than Sir Robert
Peel declared, on the occasion of his installation as Lord Rector of the
University in 1837, "I do not consider it an exaggerated compliment when
I say that I doubt whether, of all cities existing on the face of the
earth, there be any one so remarkable for the combination of commercial
and active industry, with services rendered to science and literature,
as Glasgow." From the watch towers of Gilmorehill a hundred chimneys,
some of them rivalling the Pyramids of Gizeh in height, may be seen; the
din of a hundred hammers, employed in the service of the world's
merchant marine, may be distinctly heard; innumerable masts, denoting
our traffic with all parts of the globe, may be counted. And yet in
these same halls the budding genius of Scotland's sons is being
developed--the qualities that are henceforth to distinguish our
statesmen, and orators, and poets, and merchant princes, are being
matured. The _alumni_ of Glasgow University have not all blushed unseen,
albeit the fame of their _Alma Mater_ has sometimes been over-shadowed
by that of Edinburgh. To go no further back than the living members of
the _Senatus Academicus_, it will be admitted that Caird in Divinity,
Lushington in Greek, Sir William Thomson in Natural Philosophy, Allen
Thomson in Anatomy, Rankine in Mechanics, Grant in Astronomy, and
Gairdner in Medicine, are names to conjure with. For the Principal of a
seat of learning, that combines with an extraordinary amount of present
vitality and prestige the traditions of a glorious past, stretching
backwards until it is almost lost sight of amid the mists of the Middle
Ages, it is surely essential that he should be a man of piety, of
excellent governing and administrative powers, and, above all, of
extensive erudition. All these conditions have distinguished more or
less the predecessors of Dr. Barclay, the present Principal, and in
himself they are very happily combined, although he is "not so young as
he used to be," and his energy and usefulness have necessarily been
somewhat impaired by the lapse of years.
Principal Barclay is the son of the Rev. James Barclay, minister of
Unst, Shetland, and was born in the year 1792. After having been
educated at King's College, Aberdeen, which he entered in the year 1808,
and where he distinguished himself by carrying off the highest bursary,
young Barclay proceeded to London, pending his appointment to a
ministerial charge in the Church of Scotland. A spirit of adventure and
enterprise induced him to take this step. He could not brook the idea of
spending any of his time in a state of comparative idleness. Through the
influence of some friends, he succeeded shortly after his arrival in the
metropolis in getting an appointment as Parliamentary reporter to the
_Times_, and he continued in the gallery of the House of Commons in that
capacity during the four years commencing with 1818. It is not too much
to say that these four years embraced one of the most eventful and
exciting periods of England's history. The Reform agitation was being
carried on with a bitterness that almost eclipsed all subsequent
attempts to establish the five points of the Charter as the law of the
land. In these years, too, the memorable trial of Queen Caroline took
place, and it is one of Principal Barclay's most interesting
reminiscences that during his connection with the _Times_ he had
occasion to report not only a considerable amount of the evidence taken
in the House of Lords during the Queen's trial, but also the memorable
speech of Lord Brougham in defence of the unfortunate lady--a speech
which has only been eclipsed in point of length by the recent address of
the Attorney-General in the Tichborne trial, and by Burke's speech in
connection with the trial of Warren Hastings. Among his _collaborateurs_
on the _Times_, Principal Barclay can recall the names of Collier, so
well known for his knowledge and criticism of Shakespeare's works;
Barnes, who subsequently distinguished himself as the sub-editor and
leader-writer of the leading journal; and Tyas, who afterwards
introduced that special feature for which the _Times_ has long been
noted--the abridgement of the Parliamentary debates. The routine of a
reporter's duties at that time was pretty much the same as it is at the
present day, the main difference being that the work was, if anything,
more difficult and arduous at a period when shorthand was in its
infancy, and when the staff employed on the daily journals was much less
numerous than it is in our own day. Another feature that tended to make
more difficult the Parliamentary reporters' duties at that period, was
the long "takes" which they had to supply--a "take" being the share of
the work which each member of the reporting staff has individually
alloted to his charge. At that time every reporter who entered the
gallery was compelled to write out the proceedings of a whole hour, and
he had to do this with so much celerity and amplitude that the report
had to be as complete as the Parliamentary reports of the _Times_ have
ever been. It has since been found, however, that the labour of an hour
is far too much for one man, if he is to do himself or the report
anything like justice; and hence the "take" of reporters became very
much shortened, until they now seldom exceed a quarter of an hour or
twenty minutes. Another negative phase of Dr. Barclay's journalistic
career which may be noticed, is the fact that he never fell foul of the
Sergeant-at-Arms, into whose custody many an unlucky reporter, who was
accused of having misstated the speeches of legislators, was given.
Despite the fact that Collier was at that time the only shorthand writer
on the staff of the _Times_, it was his misfortune to undergo this
ordeal. He was summoned to the bar of the House, and, having fully
vindicated his report, he was immediately discharged from custody. The
fee of the Sergeant-at-Arms (eighty guineas) was paid by Mr. Walter. On
another occasion a complaint was made in the House of a report by a Mr.
Ross, one of the _Times'_ staff. The occasion was a speech delivered by
Canning, and the sentence which he was said to have misreported was to
the effect that the subject had never been under the consideration of
the Cabinet above five minutes. Ross, however, had the satisfaction of
receiving a letter from Canning himself, in which the great statesman
vindicated the accuracy of the report. Mr. Barclay was never a shorthand
writer. He was accustomed to use abbreviated longhand, and he became so
expert in the use of this system, that he could report without
difficulty any average speaker. After leaving the _Times_, which he did
at the close of the year 1821, Mr. Barclay received a call to
Dunrossness, in Shetland, and he continued to minister in that parish
until the year 1827, when he was translated to Lerwick, a parish in the
same remote region. Subsequently, in 1843, he was removed to
Petercoulter, in Aberdeenshire; and his fourth and last charge was
Currie, in Mid Lothian, to which he was translated in 1844. It was while
he was in the latter charge that the Principalship of the Glasgow
University became vacant, owing to the death of the late Principal
Macfarlan, and the office was conferred by the Government, with whom the
patronage lay, upon Dr. Barclay. The appointment was a good deal
discussed at the time, and it was said in some circles that it was
scarcely judicious, the fact being that Mr. Barclay's claims and
qualifications for such a high position were not fully known. But he had
really earned the honour by his ability and scholarship. It is
questionable whether any man in Scotland has a more extensive
acquaintance with languages, both modern and ancient. He is particularly
conversant with Icelandic literature, which very few people have
studied, but which is specially worthy of study, both for its historical
interest and its poetry. Indeed, from the Mediterranean to Iceland there
is, perhaps, no language spoken that Principal Barclay does not
understand. Besides this, however, he has devoted much attention to
Biblical criticism, and he was long distinguished as one of the ablest
and staunchest of the few advocates of reform and liberalism that during
his ministerial career adorned the Church Courts. Hence, although they
might be comparatively unknown, Dr. Barclay was not without due
qualifications for the office. One of the leading journals, in referring
to Principal Barclay's appointment, which was made in December, 1857,
declared "that to stand up as he did against a mass of brethren in
matters on which the _esprit de corps_ is morbidly strong, requires not
only the exercise of some of the higher moral and intellectual powers,
but the sacrifice of some of the weaknesses especially incident to the
clerical character, and those who in the Established Church Courts
perform such a duty in the interests of justice, of progress, and of the
public, have much need of the sympathy and encouragement that can be
given from without. Hitherto, however, there has been a sort of
impression that the support of liberal measures formed rather an
obstacle than a recommendation to the good offices of even liberal
dispensers of patronage, and there is matter for congratulation in so
much being done towards the destruction of this impression by the fact
of Dr. Barclay, being a Liberal in Church and State not having been
allowed to act as a counterbalance to his other qualifications for the
high office to which he is about to be raised." Principal Barclay enjoys
in his present capacity an _otium cum dignitate_ to which, after the
labours of a long life, he is well entitled. Although verging on his
eightieth year, he is still hale, hearty, and vigorous, and able to
converse intelligently on the most abstruse and recondite subjects.
Principal Barclay was married in 1820 to Mary, the daughter of the late
Captain Adamson of Kirkhill. They have had a large family, but only two
daughters and one son survive. Both the former are married, and the
latter is following the medical profession in China.
PROFESSOR RANKINE.
The Clyde is indissolubly connected with the history and progress of
naval architecture. It was on the Clyde that steam navigation was first
successfully applied. The Clyde may almost be said to be the cradle of
iron shipbuilding; and it is to Clyde engineers and shipbuilders that
the compound marine engine, and other improvements that have rendered
ocean navigation more easy, safe, and practicable, are mainly due. But
while the earlier history of naval architecture is bound up with that of
the Clyde, its ultimate development and its present high state of
perfection were brought about by the sustained and unflagging energy,
enterprise, and ability of men like Professor Rankine, Robert Napier,
and John Elder, who exerted themselves to maintain the pre-eminence
which, thanks to their discoveries and exertions, the Clyde has never
lost. The two latter gentlemen carried out in practice what the former
demonstrated in theory. Never having been directly engaged in commercial
pursuits, Professor Rankine could not earn the credit of building those
leviathans that have directly contributed to our commercial prosperity;
but in another, and not less essential way, he has assisted to build up
and consolidate our industrial supremacy, and his numerous writings and
discoveries in the science of mechanics will ever cause him to be
regarded as a pioneer, not less than Henry Bell or Robert Napier, of a
trade that has proved a source of untold wealth to the West of Scotland.
Professor William John Macquorn Rankine was born in Edinburgh. His
father was an officer in the Rifle Brigade, and afterwards a railway
manager and director. After receiving his education at Edinburgh
University, he studied engineering under his father, and afterwards
under Sir John M'Neill, who subsequently became Professor of Practical
Engineering in Trinity College, Dublin, and at the opening of the
railway from Dublin to Drogheda, which he constructed in 1844, received
the honour of knighthood from Earl de Grey, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
When we remember that Sir John was no less able as a teacher than as an
author, and that his knowledge of engineering was not bounded by mere
theory alone, we get a clue to the eminently practical turn of mind
which characterised his illustrious pupil. In 1844 Mr. Rankine commenced
business as a civil engineer in Edinburgh. His residence in Edinburgh
was unrelieved by any event worthy of being recorded in his biography,
if we except a project, which he brought before the authorities and
zealously promoted, for obtaining a more efficient supply of water.
After a two or three years' residence in Edinburgh, Mr. Rankine
determined to remove to Glasgow, where a more congenial sphere appeared
ready to receive him. Entering into partnership with Mr. John Thomson,
he took an active part in all great schemes of a scientific or
mechanical nature; and it was while here engaged in private practice
that he again called attention to the admirable source of water supply
afforded by Loch Katrine, thus reviving a project which had been
originated in 1845 by Messrs. Gordon and Hill. It was reserved for others
to carry to a successful issue the scheme thus earnestly advocated by
Rankine; but to him belongs the merit none the less of having urged it
upon the authorities of that day. After the lapse of several years,
during which he no doubt improved his time and opportunities by laying
the foundation of that series of text books which he produced with
remarkable fecundity in a marvellously short space of time, Mr. Rankine
was appointed in 1855 to the Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics in
Glasgow University. This Chair, we may explain, was instituted by Queen
Victoria in 1840, and is in the gift of the Crown. Its first occupant
was Louis D. B. Gordon, C.E., who subsequently devoted his whole time
and attention to the practical business of civil engineering and to
telegraphy, in connection with which subjects he has made a great
reputation. The curriculum of study imparted by Professor Rankine
includes the stability of structures; the strength of materials; the
principle of the actions of machines; prime movers, whether driven by
animal strength, wind, or the mechanical action of heat; the principles
of hydraulics; the mathematical principles of surveying and levelling;
the engineering of earthwork, masonry, carpentry, structures in iron,
roads, railways, bridges, and viaducts, tunnels, canals, works of
drainage and water supply, river works, harbour works, and sea coast
works. The engineering school of the University of Glasgow was approved
by the Secretary of State for India in Council as one in which
attendance for two years would qualify a student who had fulfilled the
other required conditions to compete for admission to the engineering
establishments of India. This recognition, however, came to an end when
the Cooper's Hill College was established. It is worth while noticing
that although Professor Rankine started on his academic career with only
some half-a-dozen pupils, his class now numbers between 40 and 50. This
is to be ascribed in a great measure to the establishment by the
authorities of the University in 1862 of a systematic course of study
and examination in engineering science, embracing the various branches
of mathematical and physical science which have a bearing on
engineering. While attending to his University duties he still continued
to carry on a private practice, and was frequently called in to consult
upon engineering schemes of great magnitude, in this and other
countries, and upon matters relating to shipbuilding and marine
engineering.