London were portraits of Sir Charles, afterwards Lord Hardinge, and
General Messurier, hereditary Governor of Guernsey. The latter picture
was executed for the States' Hall, in Guernsey, where it is still
exhibited. In 1855 he showed a portrait of Dr. Wardlaw in the French
Exhibition at Paris, and for which he was awarded a gold medal, being
one of three medals that were then secured by Scotch artists. The other
two fell to Sir John Watson Gordon, and Mr. Hamilton, the architect of
the High School of Edinburgh, respectively. Among other notable pictures
executed by Mr. Macnee we may mention his portrait of Lord Brougham,
which is now in the Parliament House, Edinburgh, and for which his
lordship sat only a few years before his death. Before being hung in the
Parliament House, this picture was exhibited in the Royal Academy of
London, and attracted a considerable amount of attention. A portrait of
Viscount Lord Melville, which he executed for the Archers' Hall, and
another picture of Lord Belhaven, painted for the County Hall, in
Lanark, are also considered two of his most excellent works. Since the
death of Mr. Graham Gilbert, Mr. Macnee has been without a rival in the
West of Scotland, and there are not more than one or two artists in
Edinburgh who have any pretensions to compete with him as a portrait
painter. In the painting of presentation portraits, Mr. Macnee's
services are largely called into requisition, both in London, where he
has been accustomed to spend three months during each summer for a
number of years past, and in the West of Scotland. Among his earliest
and most attached friends were Horatio M'Culloch, and Mr. L. Leitch,
also a Glasgow artist, and, perhaps, the most accomplished water-colour
painter of the day. It was Mr. Leitch who instructed Her Majesty in this
department of art, and he has been largely employed by the nobility both
of Scotland and of England, in imparting instruction in this study.
The Royal Scottish Academy, of which Mr. Daniel Macnee has for many
years been a prominent member, was established forty-five years ago.
Previous to that date an organisation, named the "Institution for the
Encouragement of the Fine Arts," founded on the 1st of February, 1819,
on the principle of the British Institution of London, was carried on
for the purpose of having annual exhibitions of pictures by the old
masters, as well as the works of living artists. This association
consisted of noblemen and gentlemen, who, by the payment of L50, became
shareholders or life members. By its constitution "no artist was capable
of being elected on any committee, or of voting as a governor, while he
continued a professional artist." This and the superscilious treatment
which they received in other respects caused great discontent among the
artists who were associate members. In the nature of things such a
disagreeable relationship could not last, and, consequently, in the year
1826, several of the associates, disgusted with the treatment to which
they were subjected, commenced making arrangements to found a Scottish
Academy. A document was handed round containing the proposal to found
this Academy, which, when published, had twenty-four names attached to
it, viz., thirteen academicians, nine associates, and two associate
engravers, the original number of the Academy's members. Mr. Macnee was
not one of the original promoters of the Academy but some of his works
were shown at their first exhibition, which took place in February,
1827. This opening exhibition was not so successful as might have been
expected. The Academy had to compete with the Royal Institution already
alluded to, which had many things in its favour, and was backed by the
influence of a large number of the nobility, from the King downwards.
The second exhibition, however, was more successful, and for the third
exhibition such energetic efforts were put forth that the Royal
Institution was fairly driven from the field. Ultimately, under the
award of Lord Cockburn and Mr. John Hope, afterwards Lord Justice-Clerk,
the two institutions amalgamated under the name of the Royal Scottish
Academy. It is one of the standing rules of the Academy that the members
shall not number more than thirty-nine, and those artists who are
ultimately admitted to membership are obliged to graduate as associates
for some time previously. Mr. Daniel Macnee and his friend Duncan were
exceptions to this rule. They were admitted at once as full members
without any previous association, an honour which was due to the great
promise they exhibited in their earlier career, and which both have
amply fulfilled in their maturer years. There are thirty members and
twenty associates of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Having said so much as to Mr. Macnee's professional career and
abilities, it would be doing him scant justice were we not to allude to
his excellent social qualities. Full of animal spirits and humour, he is
one of the favoured few who have been described by De Quincey as drawing
the double prize of a fine intellect and a healthy stomach, and having
none of what Burke has called "the master vice Sloth" about him, he gets
through an enormous amount of work, while he cultivates the social
amenities of life to the fullest possible extent. "Dan" Macnee is a
universal favourite. No dinner party in the upper circles of Glasgow
society is fully complete without him; and no one ever met him for the
first time without forming the impression that he was a "jolly good
fellow"--an impression which is strengthened by a more matured
acquaintance. He is one of the most amiable of men, having a benignant
smile and a kindly word for everybody, and many of the most
entertaining post-prandial jokes and stories are fathered upon him,
sometimes justly and at other times wrongly, simply because he is known
by all diners-out to excel in this form of entertainment. In short, Mr.
Macnee is exactly what Carlyle described Sir William Hamilton to be,
"finely social and human," and wherever he may chance to meet with
company he leaves behind him a pleasant memory.
MR. THOMAS CORBETT.
Practical philanthropy is a rare virtue. It is seldom that a Howard or a
Wilberforce is born into the world; yet there are few towns that do not
possess men more or less distinguished for their good offices towards
their less fortunate fellow-creatures. Of such men Glasgow has happily
had more than an average share. The number and variety of our
charitable, friendly, and educational institutions bears testimony to
the presence in our midst of a spirit zealous of good works. Our
merchant princes, too, subscribe most liberally to every movement
projected for the amelioration of the moral, social, or religious
condition of the lapsed masses. The story of our lives from year to year
is one that contains many bright spots in which the recording angel must
take pleasure, although it is also darkened by not a few stains so
black, foul, and ghastly, that we are led to despair of ever attaining
the ends for which the Church and the State are existent--for which laws
and religion are inculcated and enforced.
Mr. Thomas Corbett is a philanthropist of the most practical kind. He
does not distribute his means like milk spilled upon the ground, which
cannot be gathered up again; neither does he take cognisance of merely
speculative benevolence. Everything to which he has put his hand has
prospered, and he has thus laid the foundations of a good name, which is
better than all his riches--a name which the working men of his native
city will be slow to forget. It is with the establishment of the Great
Western Cooking Depot that Mr. Corbett's name is most prominently
identified. That institution, we believe, owes its origin to a very
simple and quite an accidental circumstance. While reading in the
_Cornhill Magazine_ the account of a scheme that had been launched by a
lady in England for providing poor and destitute children with food,
Mrs. Corbett was struck with the idea that something of the kind might
be attempted in Glasgow. She mentioned her thought to her husband, and
asked him if, out of their abundance, they could not do something to
relieve the wants of those to whom the lines had fallen in less pleasant
places. Mr. Corbett entered heartily into the project, and determined to
set apart a certain sum, to be vested in the way that his wife might
deem most likely to do good. At last, the idea of a cooking depot was
broached. Mr. Corbett foresaw with the eye of a political economist, as
well as with the eye of philanthropist, that the best and most effectual
means of doing good to the poor and needy in Glasgow, was to assist them
to help themselves. Upon this principle he resolved to proceed. Nothing
in the shape of the "Great Western" was at that time in existence. Mr.
Corbett sent a messenger to London and elsewhere with the view of
gathering information that would assist the carrying out of his scheme;
but nothing could be found to meet exactly his conception of what a
cooking depot should be. Proceeding, however, upon his own views of the
requirements of the city, he invested L300 in the lease and fitting up
of a cooking depot at the Broomielaw, beside the Sailor's Home. It was
given out that the establishment was to be conducted upon the principle
of supplying provisions at as nearly prime cost as possible. A tariff of
charges was prepared, contracts were entered into with butchers, bakers,
and other tradesmen, and the experiment was thus fairly launched. It was
a great success. The Americans have faith in the "almighty dollar." Mr.
Corbett had an equally firm belief in the efficacy of the "almighty
penny," as a circulating medium. He took care that, so far as it was
practicable, nothing should be sold for more than a penny. A bowl of
porridge, that might satisfy a hungry man for breakfast, was to be had
for what Montague Tigg would call this "absurdly low figure." A plate of
potatoes, an egg, or a cup of coffee, cost no more. The very novelty of
the thing drew thousands to the cooking depot who had no economical
purpose to serve. They were more than satisfied. Many who came, like the
scoffer to the church in Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," to criticise
and condemn the new institution, remained to admire and praise it. The
depot became so popular that other branches had to be opened up in a
very short time in the most central parts of the city. Mr. Corbett did
not hesitate to supply the funds necessary for the development of his
scheme. He bestowed his means ungrudgingly, stipulating only that the
books should be periodically examined by competent accountants, and that
the profits should be divided among the charitable and benevolent
institutions in the city. Beyond receiving a certain interest for his
money, Mr. Corbett has never fingered a farthing of the profits, and
when he left Glasgow a few years ago he had invested altogether upwards
of L8000 in the scheme. The accumulated profits, which have been
divided, according to his behest, for charitable purposes, amount to
upwards of L7000.
With the management and chief characteristics of the Great Western
Cooking Depot every citizen must be familiar. The cooking establishment
is situated in Pitt Street, from whence enormous supplies of victuals
are sent out every morning to all parts of the city. Including Glasgow
and its suburbs, there are now twenty-eight branches of the Cooking
Depot in operation. Most of them are in the immediate vicinity of public
works, and are largely taken advantage of by the workmen, who, in the
great majority of cases, reside at a considerable distance from the
works, and could only go home to dinner at great personal inconvenience.
The same tariff of charges prevails at every one of the branches, and
all of them are supplied direct from the Central Depot. The business of
the institution has become so gigantic that applications to establish
other branches in different parts of the city have had to be refused.
The principal branches are in Jamaica Street and Mitchell Lane. These
two buildings were built by Mr. Corbett himself; but the branches at the
public works have mostly been built by the employers, who rent it to the
manager of the Cooking Depot for a nominal sum. At the Mitchell Lane
branch from 1400 to 1600 people dine daily. The Jamaica Street branch
dines an almost equally large number. The milk of 140 cows, obtained
from four of the largest dairies in Scotland, is consumed at the various
branches every day; and the consumption of "cookies" and rolls averages
20,000 per diem. Some idea of the quantity of porridge consumed may be
gathered from the fact that the cost of oatmeal is from L90 to L100
monthly; and of eggs, butter, butcher's meat, and vegetables the
consumption is fabulous. The average daily number of visitors to the
depot at its various branches since the month of August last has been
10,000 to 12,000. The daily attendance at the present time is greater
than it has ever been before. The attendance is not confined to working
men, so called. Clerks, shopkeepers, and strangers to the city patronize
the depot most liberally. And well they may, for when eggs are selling
elsewhere at 1s 4d they can be had in the "Great Western" for a penny
each, and other provisions are sold in the same proportion. This result
is only possible by balancing one period of the year with another, so
that when provisions are much cheaper the difference will be made up.
The question has often been asked, why has the Great Western Cooking
Depot turned out such a marvellous success as compared with institutions
of a similar kind in other parts of the country? The most simple and
correct answer is that other cooking depots though similar were not the
same. An attempt was made in London some years ago to establish a
restaurant on the same principle, but although it was backed by the
advice and influence of Lord Houghton and some other leading men, it
proved a complete failure. It is a trite saying that "too many cooks
spoil the broth," but in this instance the saying was verified. A large
committee was appointed to take charge of the arrangements. A committee
means divided management and conflicting opinions. So far as the Great
Western is concerned, everything from the out set has been under the
control of one man (Mr. Jenkins) who still continues to preside over the
destinies of the institution. But the vigorous and able management of
the Great Western had not more to do with its success than the demand
which it was fitted to supply. There had been nothing of the same kind
previously in existence, and it was only necessary for the establishment
to be opened to command support. With regard to its moral aspects, the
depot occupies a high platform. Nothing in the shape of intoxicating
liquors is allowed to be sold on the premises. When counselled to
introduce beer as an adjunct to dinner, Mr. Corbett replied that sooner
than relinquish the principle of conducting the establishment on a
strictly temperance footing, he would shut it up altogether. The good
sense of this resolution has been proved by the results, for despite the
enormous number of working men who frequent it, there has never been a
police case arising out of a disturbance in any of the branches. In
Bradford, some years ago, Mr. Isaac Holden projected a cooking depot on
the principle of the "Great Western," but with this important
difference--that he made it partake of the dual character of a club and
an eating-house by introducing spirituous liquors and games of different
sorts. What between smoking and drinking, the place became too noisy and
rough for respectable men to have anything to do with it, and after
lingering for some months it died an inglorious death, showing that
"Whoever tries
To rob the poor man of his beer."
does a not injudicious thing, so far as institutions of this kind are
concerned. Before taking leave of the Cooking Depot, we may state that
it has been visited by many illustrious personages, who have manifested
a deep interest in its history and progress. Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone,
when they visited Glasgow some years ago, were shown all over one of
the branches, and had the _modus operandi_ thoroughly explained to them
by Mr. Melvin, who has always acted as Mr. Corbett's right hand man. The
Premier was very curious to see the kind of broth that could be produced
at a penny per bowl, and both he and Mrs. Gladstone, after tasting the
soup, pronounced it to be very excellent and wholesome. The commercial
aspect of the institution was, however, its most interesting phase to
Mr. Gladstone, who could hardly understand how such a gigantic
establishment could be made to pay with such small profits. Ultimately
it was explained to him that it was a fixed rule to have a farthing of
profit on every pennyworth sold, to which he replied that "he knew
something of the power of the farthing."
Mr. Corbett was the founder, along with his friend, Mr. Melvin, of the
Working Men's Club in Trongate. He expended a sum of L250 in furnishing
the club, and laid down certain conditions for its management, the most
important of which was that it should be conducted on strictly
temperance principles. Having got such a capital start, the Club has
never looked behind it. It is now worth fully L1100, and last year the
number of visitors was upwards of 100,000.
Under the auspices of the Central Club, a Working Men's Industrial
Exhibition was held during the winter of 1865-66 in the Polytechnic
Buildings, Argyle Street. The preliminary outlay for this exhibition was
considerable. Mr. Corbett was appealed to, and he at once gave a cheque
for L500 to start the exhibition, intimating that he should not expect
to be recouped if it was a failure. Happily it turned out otherwise, for
a sum of L1200 was cleared by the exhibition, and it gave the Central
Club an impetus that it has never since lost. Why has the experiment not
been repeated? Has the Central Working Men's Club lost its cunning?
The latest, but not the least important exhibition of Mr. Corbett's
philanthropy to which we shall refer is his bequest of L2000 to Mr.
William Quarrier, for the founding of a Home for Destitute and Orphan
Children. To the results of Mr. Quarrier's scheme allusion has from time
to time been made in the local prints. We need only remark here that it
is calculated to supply one of the most pressing and important social
and moral wants of the city.
The part which Mr. Corbett has taken in connection with the
establishment of a Seaside Home at Saltcoats is so generally known that
to refer to it is enough. For the permanent support of these homes, he
has built a number of model working men's dwellings at Whiteinch. The
architectural and other arrangements of these homes were planned by Mr.
Corbett himself. There are altogether sixteen dwellings from each of
which a rent of L10 per annum is drawn. Altogether, Mr. Corbett has
expended about L1500 upon the Saltcoats Homes, in addition to what he
has provided by way of endowment.
With reference to Mr. Corbett's family history, we have left ourselves
little room to speak. His father was a doctor in the Gorbals, and
Thomas, after having been educated at the High School of Glasgow,
commenced business as a tea merchant. While trading in this capacity he
turned his attention to shipping, and in the course of time he went into
the Australian produce trade altogether, freighting vessels on a large
scale to and from Glasgow. His Australian business has been so
prosperous that he was induced a few years ago to remove altogether to
London, where it could have more scope. He still continues to reside in
the Metropolis, although he retains a lively interest in the affairs of
his native city, which he visits at least once a year, while passing to
and from his beautiful marine residence at Kilcreggan.
EDWARD S. GORDON, M.P.
Mr. Edward Strathern Gordon, the member for the Glasgow and Aberdeen
Universities, is a son of the late Major John Gordon, of the 2d Queen's
Royal Regiment, by Catherine, daughter of Alexander Smith, Esq. Born at
Inverness in 1814, he is now in his fifty-seventh year, although he
wears so well that he would readily be mistaken for a much younger man.
After having received a very superior education, first at the Royal
Academy of his native town, and subsequently at the University of
Edinburgh, he was called to the Scotch bar in 1835, being then only in
his twenty-first year. He early discovered a peculiar aptitude for
mastering knotty points of law, and during the whole of his long and
distinguished legal career he has worked very hard, and spared no
effort, to acquire that knowledge of dry, technical, and abstruse
details with which the statute-books abound, and to be well grounded in
which is essential to soundness or eminence in jurisprudence. In 1858
Mr. Gordon entered upon the responsible duties of Sheriff of Perthshire.
In that capacity his decisions were awarded with an impartiality and
rigid adherence both to the letter and to the spirit of the _lex
scripti_ that caused them to be often quoted in the inferior courts. By
his superiors his talents were so far recognised that in 1866 he
received the appointment of Solicitor-General for Scotland, and his
place as Sheriff of Perthshire was allotted to Sheriff Barclay.
Mr. Gordon only held the Solicitor-Generalship for a single year, when
he was elevated to the still more distinguished post of Lord Advocate,
on the accession to political power of the Disraeli administration.
Coming in with the Tories, Mr. Gordon was likewise compelled to go out
with them; and as they were only allowed to hold the reins of office for
a year, his tenure of the Lord Advocateship was very short lived. Some
measure of compensation was, however, obtained for his loss of the
highest legal office in the Scottish administration, by Mr. Gordon's
appointment in November, 1869, as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. This
is one of the most honourable, if not one of the most lucrative offices
in Scotland, and Mr. Gordon's selection as the successor of many of the
most distinguished pleaders at the Scottish bar showed that, although
rejected by the country, he was not despised by his professional
brethren.
It is, however, for his political rather than for his legal abilities
that Mr. Gordon is known, although, of course, he could not have earned
such a reputation in St. Stephen's but for his knowledge of Scotch law.
Although short, his Parliamentary career has neither been uneventful nor
inglorious. Simultaneously with his return for Thetford, he was
appointed Lord Advocate for Scotland; and although some of his
detractors have argued that he was only selected to fill that post
because the Conservatives could not find another man, it is hardly
credible that the Court of Session is so barren of Tory talent and
leanings. Besides, the malicious insinuation has been completely
disproved by Mr. Gordon's zealous and efficient discharge of the duties
of his office, in which his conduct completely vindicated the choice of
his party. Unfortunately for his own peace of mind, Mr. Gordon
identified himself with a rotten borough. Thetford is a constituency on
the East Coast Railway, near to Norwich, which had in 1861 a population
of 4208, and returned two members to Parliament. At present the
constituency only numbers about 200. Although the ancient borough of
Thetford, which was in the seventh century the see of the bishopric of
Norfolk and Suffolk, had many claims to the veneration of Parliament,
and the affection of the Conservative party, to which it had been
faithful for generations, it was doomed by the inevitable decree of
destiny, of which--sad to tell! its best and most devoted friends were
the ministers, to political dismemberment; and Mr. Gordon, having been
dispossessed, at one blow, of his seat in the House of Commons and his
place in the Cabinet, was compelled to seek for
"Fresh fields and pastures new."