connection with the railway system in the West of Scotland. He was the
first interim secretary of the Glasgow and Ayrshire Railway, which was
promoted in 1836, and he continued to act in that capacity until 1839.
Afterwards he became secretary of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, in
the promotion of which he was associated with Mr. Andrew Bannatyne, the
late Dean of Faculty, and the first solicitor to the company. It will be
remembered that the first bill of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was
thrown out of Parliament in 1837 owing to the strong opposition raised
against it. In 1838, however, the bill was reintroduced, and
passed--Lord Wm. Bentinck, the then member for Glasgow, being chairman
of the committee. Ultimately Mr. Watson relinquished the office of
railway secretary, but he continued to be associated in the management
of the Edinburgh and Glasgow and Glasgow and South-Western lines with
such men as the late Mr. M'Call, of Daldowie, chairman of the Ayrshire
company; Mr. Fleming, of Claremont; Mr. T. D. Douglas, Mr. Leadbetter,
and Mr. A. Smith, who now lives on the Gareloch, and who, we believe, is
the sole survivor of the original directorate, with the exception of our
townsman, Sir James Campbell. Prior to the establishment of the direct
railway communication with England, Mr. Watson was concerned with the
projection of a line of steamers between Ardrossan and Fleetwood--the
railway only having been carried the length of Sir Hesketh Fleetwood's
estate at that time. By means of this arrangement, in which Mr. Watson
had the cordial co-operation of the directors of the Ayrshire Railway,
passengers leaving London at 10 o'clock forenoon could break the
journey, and obtain the relief of a night's rest in the boat, arriving
in Glasgow at 12 o'clock next day. The vessels on this station were Her
Majesty and the Royal Consort, but they were discontinued when the
direct line to Carlisle was opened up.
The first model lodging-houses established in Glasgow, about 25 years
ago, owe their existence to the efforts of Mr. Watson, assisted by
ex-Provost Blackie, who, with a number of other directors, have since
carried on these establishments, very much to the benefit of the
community at large. There are altogether three of these model
lodging-houses, situated respectively in Carrick Street, M'Alpine
Street, and Greendyke Street, and the very large extent to which they
have been taken advantage of by those for whose benefit they were built
is the best possible justification of their origin.
Mr. Watson's services in connection with the various charitable
institutions in the city are too well known to require comment or
eulogium at our hands. Both in season and out of season he has always
been ready to aid the dissemination of charity and philanthropy, and
perhaps no gentleman in the city is more closely or more generally
identified with institutions of this kind.
In 1863 Mr. Watson commenced his municipal career, having succeeded Mr.
Thomas Buchanan as representative of the Eighth Ward. Two years
afterwards he was appointed a bailie, Mr. Blackie, then Lord Provost,
having invited his co-operation and assistance in the carrying out of
the City Improvement Scheme, which was then in process of being hatched.
Mr. Watson was the first deputy-chairman of the City Improvement Trust,
and he continued to fulfil that onerous and important office up to the
period of his election as Lord Provost, in November 1871. From the very
outset he has been a staunch and eloquent advocate of the improvement
scheme, against which, however, there was a great outcry raised, and
maintained for some time after its adoption by the Council. We may here
notice that the scheme embraced portions of the city covering between 50
and 60 acres, and containing a population of nearly 60,000--being equal
to the entire population of Glasgow and its suburbs 100 years ago. The
valuation of the property to be acquired amounted to L1,200,000, divided
into many small holdings. In the summer of 1865 the preliminaries were
adjusted and in the winter of that year application was made to
Parliament for the requisite powers, which were obtained in the session
of 1866. The Trustees were authorised to acquire the property within
five years, to levy an assessment on the inhabitants not exceeding a
sixpence per pound of rental, with further power to assess for ten years
at threepence per pound to meet the expense for the new streets, and to
provide for payment of the interest of the outlay as a whole. Power was
also obtained to purchase ground for a public park in the north-east
quarter of the city at an expenditure of L40,000. Up to the present time
the Commissioners have spent L900,000; and so successfully have the
affairs of the Trust been managed that there is now enough of revenue to
meet the expenditure, while a large extent of ground remains on hand to
be disposed of, so that it is expected the cost of the scheme to the
public will be even less than the original estimate. The total
properties demolished by the Improvement Trustees up to the 1st December
1871 number 1287 houses, with a gross rental of L7367. Of the usefulness
and sanitary importance of the Improvement Scheme, even those who were
its most determined opponents can scarcely now entertain a doubt. By the
demolition of badly-ventilated and miserable dwellings in the lowest
parts of the town, the Trustees have quickened the supply of low-rented
houses for the working classes, so that within the last two years there
have been erected within the municipal boundaries 1728 houses of one
apartment, 3921 of two apartments, and 1368 of three apartments. It is
not too much to say that from the outset, or at least since Mr. Blackie
left the Council, Bailie Watson has been the head and front of the
Improvement Scheme. He has taken the utmost pains both in and out of the
Council to inculcate its obvious advantages, and it is largely due to
his lucid and practical explanations that the public has been reconciled
to the Act.
When the exigencies of commercial misfortune compelled the late Lord
Provost Arthur to retire from the active discharge of his official
duties, in the autumn of last year, Mr. Watson was at once appointed
acting Chief. He continued to discharge the duties of the office in a
satisfactory and efficient manner until the November election, when he
was requested by the unanimous voice of the Council to allow himself to
be nominated for election to the place of Chief Magistrate. The honour,
we believe, was none of Mr. Watson's own seeking. His time had more than
an adequate demand made upon it in other ways; but he was induced to set
aside his own large and important business for the good of the city.
During the short time he has already sat in the Chief Magistrate's seat,
Mr. Watson has exhibited a marked capacity for public business; and it
is not too much to predict that his administration will be signalised as
one of the most successful and progressive in the annals of the
municipality.
REV. DR. WILLIAM ANDERSON.
The Scottish Pulpit since the time of the Reformation has always been
able to reckon upon some of the most eloquent and thoughtful preachers
of the age. It seems as if the genius of Scotchmen tended towards
ecclesiasticism. Religion, or, rather, theology--for there is an
essential difference between the two--impregnates their whole existence,
and mere children are imbued with pronounced views upon the minutiae of
doctrinal distinctions, when they might be supposed to know only the
practical bearings of hygienic laws. The Shorter Catechism instead of
cricket and football--the Confession of Faith instead of music or other
lighter accomplishments--have been inculcated by the early fathers of
the Presbyterian Church. Hence the Scottish character is instinct with
gravity, and pervaded by an earnestness that is strangely at variance
with the levity and looseness common to nearly all ranks and conditions
of Englishmen. But while their peculiar form of training has thus
exercised a powerful influence in moulding the character and stamping
the genius of the Scottish people with the sign manual of dogmatism,
otherwise called the _perfervidum Scotorum_, it has also assisted to
secure for Scottish preachers a world-wide reputation for eloquence and
power. Flippancy and sciolism may pass muster at the bar, or even in the
Senate House; but to be effective, the pulpit must possess in a high
degree the qualities of earnestness and an ability to "prove all
things." Few men have been more strongly fortified with these essentials
to success than Dr. William Andersen, minister of John Street United
Presbyterian Church, Glasgow. Born in the year 1799, Dr. Anderson is now
in his seventy-third year. His father was the Rev. John Anderson,
Relief Minister in Kilsyth, who lived to the great age of ninety-two
years, and was in some respects equally as remarkable as his more
celebrated son. Conspicuous for his extensive spiritual knowledge,
vigorous mind, and strong logical power, the father of Dr. Anderson took
a prominent part in the religious controversies of the early part of the
present century. Besides William he had other two sons, both of whom
became ministers of the U.P. Church, and one of whom became his father's
assistant and successor. After receiving the rudiments of his education
at the parish school, Dr. Anderson entered Glasgow University, where he
proved more than an average student. It is worthy of remark, too, that
he laboured under difficulties as a student, which, although by no means
uncommon in our own day, would likely tend to retard the progress of his
studies. His father having only a limited stipend could ill afford to
provide for the expenses contingent on the education of his numerous
family, and we find that William was not above eking out his limited
resources while at the University by undertaking private tuition. Almost
immediately after he was licensed as a minister of the gospel, Dr.
Anderson received a call to John Street U.P. Church, Glasgow--his first
and only charge. This was in the year 1822 when William was only in his
twenty-third year. At the time he entered upon the charge of John Street
Church, the congregation was in anything but a flourishing condition.
Rent by dissentions from without and from within, it was in a lamentably
disorganised state, and presented a decidedly uninviting sphere for the
maiden efforts of a young and inexperienced minister. But William
Anderson was neither disheartened nor dismayed. He approached the work
of reconstructing and assimilating his congregation in a spirit of love
and charity, which, mingled with tact and firmness, succeeded in
subduing the anarchy and mismanagement that had previously prevailed.
His victory over the turbulent spirits under his charge was as signal
and complete as that he had achieved over the Presbytery, which in
March, 1822, consented to his ordination, after having threatened to
ostracise him on the ground that he would persist, under all
circumstances, in reading his discourses. But that which George
Gilfillan has happily described as the "tender mercies of a Scotch
Presbytery," did not induce him to turn aside from his purpose, or to
make an abject and inglorious submission. From his first start in life,
Dr. Anderson showed that he not only held opinions of his own, but unless
there was some cogent reason to the contrary, he clung to them
tenaciously. So it was with the _casus belli_ of manuscripts in the
pulpit. Failing to understand that the use of "the paper" could
interfere in the remotest degree with the due and proper effect of the
pulpit, and knowing that he could not do either himself or his
congregation adequate justice by extempore preaching, Dr. Anderson
continued to adhere to written sermons, until the Presbytery at last
gave way, leaving him master of the situation. The feud between Dr.
Anderson and his Presbytery has been described by himself as "the eleven
months of anguish to which I was subjected by the prosecution--I do not
say persecution--of the Presbytery for my using my manuscript in the
pulpit, and for certain alleged errors and improprieties in my
preaching, such as--that in two of my sermons I had quoted Shakespeare."
This contretemps proves that the Presbyterian Church was as strongly
opposed to the use of manuscripts in the pulpit half a century ago as it
is now--or was until lately--to the introduction of organs as
accessories of public worship. Fortunately, we have fallen on more
tolerant and tolerable times.
If the interference of the Presbytery had no other effect, it tended to
secure for the subject of these remarks an exceptional amount of public
attention at a very early period of his ministerial career. People were
naturally solicitous to improve their acquaintance with the young man,
little more than out of his teens, who had had the hardihood to brave
the discipline and upset the prejudices of a whole Presbytery on a
question which, at that time of day, was considered to be of vital
importance. Contrary, in all probability, to his own expectations,
Anderson woke up one fine morning to find himself famous. Although there
were few outward and visible signs of approval with his rebellious
spirit, he yet retained in secret the countenance of many colleagues in
the ministry, who had long pined for a freer and more tolerable
ecclesiastical atmosphere, and the issue of Dr. Anderson's independence
had the proximate result of achieving their release from one of the most
grievous and galling fetters imposed upon them by the exacting and
puritanical spirit of the times--a spirit which, however well it may
have answered the requirements of a less enlightened age, was an insult
to the freedom of action that belonged to the nineteenth century. While
the Presbytery was left in anything but a dignified position, Dr.
Anderson could confidently say, "Veni, vidi, vici!" It was the old story
over again. It was not one of the pillars in Israel--it was one of the
weak things of the Church that was chosen to confound the mighty.
From the first, Dr. Anderson secured a rare measure of popularity as a
preacher. His zeal, energy, and power were acknowledged on all hands,
and it is no small tribute to his genius and popularity that in a city
where Dr. Chambers was still in the zenith of his fame, where Dr.
Wardlaw had built up his splendid reputation, and where, last but not
least, Edward Irving was making his magic influence felt, Dr. Anderson
was able, not only to hold his own, but to make fresh friends and
admirers every day. He seemed to have a special talent for drawing the
multitude about him. And yet it was not done by any dexterous shuffle of
the theological cards, or by pandering to the morbid passions and
tickling the vanities and weaknesses of his hearers. He never hesitated
to tell his hearers that they were poor, and miserable, and blind, and
naked. Thackeray has ridiculed the idea of a man with a long rent-roll,
and a comfortable cushioned pew, believing himself to be a miserable
sinner; but, he must have been obtuse indeed who would not wince under
this rough and _bizarre_, but terribly earnest and fervid preacher. For
a long period he gave a series of evening lectures which were crowded
to suffocation, and as the fame of him went abroad throughout all the
city, he was often the cynosure of eyes that were neither friendly nor
devout. But, if he sometimes failed to make a deep impression, he always
succeeded in persuading his hearers of the seriousness and importance of
eternal things, so that "many who came to laugh remained to pray."
In most of the great political and ecclesiastical controversies of his
day, Dr. Anderson has stood forward as the unflinching champion of
justice and mercy. He was a prominent and effective speaker on the
Voluntary question; and he rendered effective service to the movement
for the repeal of the slave trade. Besides these pet themes, Dr.
Anderson has always been a vigorous assailant of Popery, on which he has
spoken perhaps more frequently, and with greater effect, than any other
man of his time. During his crusade against Popery he received an
anonymous letter threatening that if he proceeded with his lectures on
the subject of the Mass, his life would be in danger. Nothing daunted,
however, he sent the anonymous letter to the head of the Roman Catholic
Church in Glasgow, with the intimation that it was still his intention
to persevere with his lectures despite threats and cajolery. About this
time he challenged to a public discussion the well-known Dr. Cahill, who
was then regarded as the champion of the Romish Church in this country.
His challenge was respectfully declined; but so bitter was the _animus_
raised against him that on more than one occasion he had to be escorted
to the platform of the City Hall by policemen. Finally, he overcame the
opposition of the Papists so far as to secure a patient hearing, and it
has since been admitted that his lectures were greatly instrumental in
arousing public opinion to a just sense of the errors and insidious
influence of the priests and the Papacy. There are, doubtless, not a few
still living in Glasgow who will remember Dr. Anderson's scathing
denunciations of American slavery and the strong sympathy which, from
the outbreak of the civil war, he expressed with the Federals. When
Henry Ward Beecher visited and lectured in Glasgow, he was supported by
Dr. Anderson, who spoke so bitterly and with such emphatic
disapprobation against the Southern States and their policy, that his
sentiments evoked the hisses of his audience. Nothing discomfited, he
pursued the even tenor of his way, until he reached the climax of his
argument, when bearing down upon his opponents with irresistible force,
he cried out, in a voice of triumph, "Hiss, noo, gin ye dare." On that
occasion he created a profound impression by his eloquent appeal to Mr.
Ward Beecher to interpose with his countrymen to avert from Britain the
consequences which her sympathies for the slave-holding States had
justly entailed.
For the greater part of his long ministerial career, Dr. Anderson was
without a colleague. About ten years ago, however, the congregation
called the Rev. Alex. Macleod (now of Birkenhead) to become his
assistant, and he was succeeded in 1865 by the Rev. David M'Ewan of
College Street Church, Edinburgh, upon whom the active duties of the
pastorate now devolve. Some years previous to Dr. M'Ewan's appointment
the old church in John Street was removed, and the present splendid
edifice was erected at a cost of upwards of L10,000. It is undoubtedly
one of the most handsome and comfortable churches in the city, and
presents some architectural features of a unique character.
Although Dr. Anderson has not been a very voluminous writer, some of his
works are well known and generally appreciated. His earliest
productions, issued in the shape of pamphlets on the subjects of the
hour, have not acquired any lasting celebrity; but one or two subsequent
publications, notably his "Treatise on Regeneration," and a volume of
sermons that appeared in 1844 (and now, we believe, out of print), have
placed him in the front rank as a theologian. Some time afterwards he
issued a second volume of sermons which were very favourably reviewed,
and elicited a complimentary notice from Lord Brougham. Among his later
literary efforts we may specify a "Treatise on the Popish Mass," a
"Treatise on the Millennium," and a volume on "The Filial honour of
God."
On the occasion of his jubilee Dr. Anderson was entertained by his
friends and admirers to a dinner in Carrick's Royal Hotel, and on the
same evening (March 7, 1871) he was presented, at a soiree held in the
City Hall (which was crowded in every part), with a cheque for L1200, as
a mark of esteem for his character and talents. On both occasions the
chair was occupied by the Rev. David M'Ewan, his estimable colleague and
successor, who made the presentation. Dr. Anderson declined to accept the
money for himself, but gave it back to be funded for scholarships in
connection with the United Presbyterian Church, to be called the
"William Anderson Scholarships." In acknowledging the gift the recipient
made a characteristic speech, remarking that "in '68, in the course of
one month, I preached (at canonical hours, observe) in an Independent
Church, an Established Church, a Free Church, and a Methodist Church. A
short time before that I had preached in a Baptist Church; and, latterly
I have preached in two churches of the Evangelical Union, and I have had
a Sabbath afternoon of more than common congeniality of feeling in
fellowship with a church of the Reformed Presbyterians."
REV. DR. JOHN KER.
Glasgow seems to be peculiarly favourable to the growth of United
Presbyterianism. It is the great stronghold of that body--the garrison
from which they send out skirmishing parties all over the world. Some of
the wealthiest congregations, as well as some of the ablest ministers in
Glasgow belong to this denomination. The "dissidence of dissent" has
found favour in the eyes of our merchant princes, and among all ranks
and conditions of men the views which, when promulgated by Ebenezer
Erskine, caused a shudder to pass through the lines of the hard and
fast, albeit not over conscientious theologians of his day, are now
hailed with toleration and cordial approval. The growth of United
Presbyterianism is one of the most remarkable chapters in our
ecclesiastical history. The principles upon which this particular form
of creed are founded must be sound at the core, otherwise they could
never have achieved such signal and lasting triumphs; but their
development was entrusted to men of rare energy, discrimination, and
ability--men who have left behind them no unworthy prototypes, although
the lines have fallen to the latter in more pleasant places, and their
heritage is of a more excellent kind.
The Rev. Dr. John Ker occupies, as his character and accomplishments
entitle him to do, a prominent place among the "reverend fathers and
brethren" of the United Presbyterian Church. He was born at Tweedsmuir,
in the upland pastoral district of Peeblesshire, where his father was a
farmer. Here he spent the first years of his childhood, a circumstance
which had probably more influence on his future character and tendencies
than might be supposed on the first blush. "The boy is father to the
man," and while he was yet a mere child, Dr. Ker was laying up a store
of memoranda bearing upon the romantic vicissitudes of the "good old
times, when George the First was King;" or, perhaps, long anterior to
that much vaunted period. The isolated condition of the peasantry and
agricultural classes generally in those days prevented the free and
constant intercourse which may now be found all over Scotland. Railways
had not yet been evolved from the matrix of the future, newspapers were
scarce and dear, books were few, the means of education and mental
improvement were limited, and thus in the rural districts the
reminiscences of the past were handed down in the form of traditions,
communicated orally from generation to generation, or assuming the less
perishable shape of ballad literature. Young Ker's mind, which was ever
ready to receive and retain impressions, became the conservatory of a
vast selection of ancient lore, written and unwritten, which he has
never forgotten. His memory is quite an encylopaedia of ballads and
stories, which it would probably be difficult, if not impossible, to
find elsewhere, and upon this rich storehouse he can and does draw _ad
libitum_ "for doctrine, for instruction, for reproof," or for the
entertainment of his friends. Dr. Ker's ancestors of five generations lie
buried in the little rural churchyard at Tweedsmuir, a spot, of which
Lord Cockburn says, "It is the most romantic in Scotland." Many are the
stories that are still told by the "ingle cheek" of farmers' houses in
that deeply interesting locality, relative to the Covenanters who lived
in the glens around, and the soldiers who went up there in the '45.