housie had presided at the board. It was a transition period in our commercial history which the sudden development of the railway power had introduced, and when new plans, claims, emergencies, and expedients were enough to overwhelm or be wilder the strongest head. Amidst this subversion of an old world for the creation of a new, the diligence of the earl as vice-president, and afterwards as president, was so conspicuous, that his activity in work and power of endurance seemed to be unlimited. He was the first to enter the office of the board, and the last to retire, while he often continued all day at his labours until two or three o'clock on the following morning. It was a stern appren ticeship to that difficult and complex government which now awaited him, and for which none was judged so well fitted. This was nothing less than the office of governor-general of India, as successor to Lord Hardinge; and Lord Dalhousie, having accepted it, arrived at Calcutta on the 12th of January, 1848.

The history of his lordship's administration in India cannot as yet be dispassionately written, as its effects both for good and for evil have not as yet been fully developed. As ruler of our eastern empire, he entered it when its difficulties were of more than ordinary complication; and for the discharge of its duties he brought to it a perseverance that could not be tired, and a resolution that would not yield. Difficulties that would have daunted any other governor-general he fearlessly encountered, and the result of his rule during eight years was manifested in the general confidence it had inspired, the augmentation of our Indian empire, and the greater stability imparted to its government. But, on the other hand, all terminated in a bloody and widely. spread rebellion, by which our eastern possessions were all but lost. Had he gone onward in his innovations too boldly and too rapidly; and was this the inevitable reaction? The question is still one of doubt and discussion. In the meantime, to set himself right with the world, he drew up a minute of his administration in India from January, 1848, to March, 1856, a voluminous detail, occupying forty folio pages, and altogether composing one of the most remarkable state papers ever written. It is of course a justification of his proceedings, and as such is considered partial and one-sided; but even thus, it gives a distinct view both of the difficulties he surmounted and the improvements he carried out in India.

count Haddington, and afterwards created an English | the zeal and efficiency with which the Earl of Dalpeer by the title of Earl of Holderness. As he died without issue, his honours expired with him; but his elder brother George, who had been ennobled as Lord Ramsay of Melrose, obtained the king's permission to change his title into that of Lord Ramsay of Dalhousie. William, the second baron, was created Earl of Dalhousie in 1633. The subject of this memoir was the third son of George, ninth Earl of Dalhousie, but more commonly termed "The Laird of Cockpen" from enjoying the possessions, if not also a descent, from that memorable laird whose unlucky courtship is commemorated in the old Scotch song. His mother, who died in 1839, was Christian, only child and heiress of Charles Brown, Esq., of Colstoun, in East Lothian. By the death of his two brothers successively, he became, in 1832, the recognized heir of the family titles and estates. He was first educated at Harrow, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree with honours in 1833; and during his attendance at the university he had for his fellowstudents several who were afterwards to be distinguished leaders in the political world. Of these, it is enough to name Earl Stanhope, Sir George Lewis, Mr. Gladstone, the Earl of Elgin, and Earl Canning. On finishing his education the future governorgeneral of India, but at this time known as Lord Ramsay, threw himself into the congenial career of politics, and had not long to wait for an opportunity of action. In the elections for the parliament of 1835 he contested, along with the late Mr. Learmonth of Dean, the representation of the city of Edinburgh, against the Hon. James Abercromby, the speakerelect of the House of Commons, and Sir John Campbell, Whig solicitor-general, and afterwards lord-chancellor of England. With such influence arrayed against him, although it was a keen and closely-contested election, the result could scarcely be otherwise than unfavourable to Lord Ramsay, more especially as he was the open advocate of conservative principles, which were not in general favour with the citizens of Edinburgh. He was soon, however, consoled for his defeat, by being returned in 1837 as their representative to parliament by the important agricultural county of East Lothian, with which he was maternally connected. As a member of the Lower House he had only sat for about a year, when the death of his father, in 1838, called him to the House of Lords; but neither among the lords nor the commons did he distinguish himself as a master in the art of debating. It was soon perceived, however, that he had a peculiar aptitude for the hard laborious duties and substantial work of politics, and that he had only to bide his time in order to secure his advancement. Even already his own party recognized him as one likely to succeed to the premiership. In the meantime, the ebb and flow of politics could neither strand him on shore nor drift him out to sea. In 1843, when Mr. Gladstone rose to the presidency of the board of trade, Lord Dalhousie was appointed vice-president, and, on the retirement of Mr. Gladstone from the office in February, 1845, his lordship was called to the presidency. In this he continued during the rest of Sir Robert Peel's term of government, until Lord John Russell succeeded to the premiership, and although the latter wished that the earl should continue to preside at the board of trade, his lordship thought it a more honourable course to retire with his retiring patron. This desire on the part of a new administration to retain an opponent in such an important charge, was as unusual as it was complimentary; but the cause of this is to be found in

|

After stating his principles of foreign policy while governor-general, and the wars into which he was compelled to enter, he enumerates the kingdoms he had won to our eastern empire by conquest and annexation. In this way he had added four great kingdoms to the dominions of her majesty Queen Victoria; of which Pegu and the Punjab had been conquered, and Nagpore and Oude annexed; and besides these, were the smaller acquisitions of Satara, Jhansi, and Berar. But still more important than their acquisition, were the improvements he had introduced for developing their resources, and securing to them the blessings of a just and stable government. He pointed with honest pride to the 4000 miles of electric telegraph he had extended over India; to 2000 miles of road he had caused to be constructed from Calcutta to Peshawur; to the opening of the Ganges canal, one of the largest undertakings of the kind in existence; to the progress of the Punjab canal; to the many works of irrigation he had established over our eastern empire, and the reorganization of an official department of public

MARQUIS OF DALHOUSIE

ALEXANDER DALRYMPLE.

427

Nor had his

In

even though it should be in the grave.
distinguished services the while been forgot.
1849, when the Punjab had been annexed to our
Indian empire, he was raised to an English peerage
by the title of Marquis of Dalhousie, of Dalhousie
Castle and of the Punjab; and in 1852 he was
appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, on the
death of the Duke of Wellington, who held that
office. The marquis was married in 1836 to Lady
Susan Georgina, eldest daughter of the Marquis of
Tweeddale, by whom he had two daughters, but no
sons; and in default of male issue, his earldom de-
volved on Lord Panmure, who also inherits the
ancestral estate of Dalhousie. It was at Dalhousie
Castle, the place of his birth, that the Marquis of
Dalhousie died, on the 19th December, 1860, at the
premature age of forty-eight years.

This hydro

DALRYMPLE, ALEXANDER. grapher and voluminous writer was the son of Sir James Dalrymple, Bart., of Thirles, and was the seventh son of sixteen children by one mother. He was born at New Thirles, near Edinburgh, the seat of his father, on the 24th of July, 1736. His eldest brother was Sir David Dalrymple, better known by his judicial title of Lord Hailes, and his admirable writings in Scottish history and antiquities. At an early age Alexander was taught geography by his father-not, however, according to the dry routine of learning the names of kingdoms, capitals, and cities by rote, but by showing him their places on the maps, and teaching him whatever was worthy of notice in their form and situation; and to this was probably owing the direction of Alexander's studies by which he was subsequently distinguished. Otherwise, his education, owing chiefly to the political troubles of the period, was very limited, and finished before he was fourteen years of age; so that, beyond a competent knowledge of Latin, all he afterwards learned was owing to his own application. Before he had attained his sixteenth year he went out to India as a writer in the company's service, his choice of the East Indies being decided by reading Nieuhoff's Voyages, and a novel of the period called Joe Thomson. As the chief qualifications of such an Indian ap

works. Nor were these either the whole or the most important of his improvements. He had introduced a postal system similar to that of Rowland Hill, by which letters were conveyed at merely onesixteenth of their former charge; he had improved the training appointed for holders of civil offices; and he had introduced improvements into education and prison discipline, and into the organization of the legislative council. To these and other innovations of a similar character, he alluded as proofs of the wisdom and beneficial character of his governmentas the highest benefits bestowed by conquerors upon conquered provinces, in lieu of that liberty which they knew not how to use. This incessant working of an iron will within a naturally delicate constitution had impaired his health, for the recovery of which he went to the mountains; but in vain. While in this enfeebled state he had sent his wife, also an invalid, to Britain, in 1853; but she died on the voyage, and the first intimation he received of her death was from hearing the news-boys shouting the notice in the streets of Calcutta. It was a heavy blow added to sickness; and although he continued to hold on to his duties, it was in doubt whether he should be able to endure a voyage homeward, or even survive in India until a successor had arrived. While Lord Dalhousie was in this pitiable condition, he was unexpectedly summoned to the most difficult and obnoxious task that had ever yet occurred in his administration. A ravenous appetite for the acquisition of empire in India had been increased by late gratifications, until it had become a sort of disease, and the home authorities had resolved that the King of Oude should be deposed, and his territory annexed to our Anglo-Indian empire. It was a determination as impolitic as it was unjust. The kingdom of Oude was still free; its king and court were recognized as lawful authorities; and the country was strong in castles and a brave population, who, like the ancient Highlanders of Scotland, were ruled by their chiefs embattled among their mountain fortresses. It was from the natives of Oude, also, that the army of our Bengal presidency was chiefly recruited, and whom the deed might transform into dangerous and irreconcilable enemies. Even the native princes were astounded at the ini-pointment at that time were writing and book-keepquity and danger of such a barefaced purpose. It was a peculiarly trying difficulty to Lord Dalhousie, and he knew the disgrace which it would entail upon his character and the history of his rule. He might also transfer upon his successor the performance of the deed, with all its obloquy and danger. But strong in the sense of duty to his own country and the office he held, he would not shrink from such a trying responsibility; and feeling that the task would be too great for a successor still new to office and the country, he offered to remain in India until it was completed. It was a joyful intimation to the home government, who knew none so fit for the task as the Earl of Dalhousie; and from his energy, abilities, and experience of India and its politics, they had no apprehension of failure. How the annexation of Oude was accomplished, and at what a price, the mutiny of India is a terrible memorial.

Lord Canning arrived at Calcutta as governorgeneral in February, 1856, when his predecessor was all but exhausted by his exertions; and on the 10th of March Dalhousie left Calcutta, after bidding a sad farewell to a deputation of the principal inhabitants. On arriving in Britain, the situation of prime minister was supposed by many of his friends to be awaiting him; but, instead of indulging in such dreams of ambition, he retired to his native home, in quest of the repose which he so greatly needed,

ing, in which Alexander Dalrymple was deficient, he was first put under the instructions of the storekeeper, from whom he learned little or nothing; but having soon been removed into the secretary's office, he there fell under the notice of Lord Pigot, the new governor of Madras, who, perceiving that he wrote a very bad hand, kindly gave him instructions in penmanship, in which the youth made such proficiency, that his lordship often mistook his pupil's writing for his own. "To this instruction,' adds the pupil in his autobiography, "the public are in some measure indebted for whatever excellence there is in the writing to the maps and charts published by Alexander Dalrymple." Another excellent teacher whom he had at this time, was Mr. Orme, the distinguished historian, who was at this period a mem ber of council and its accountant. From an official note written to him by Mr. Dalrymple, he had conceived such a favourable opinion of his talents, that he proposed to have him appointed his sub-accountant, and put him through a course of training to qualify him for this important office. The application in Dalrymple's behalf having proved a failure, Mr. Orme gave him the free use of his valuable library, and among its rare and choice collection of books the disappointed candidate found ample consolation for his disappointment. In his boyhood Dalrymple had entertained such a hatred of France,

that he refused to study its language; but having | now become wiser, and finding Bouvet's Voyage in Mr. Orme's library, he applied himself to the book without a master, and with the aid of a dictionary persevered in his task until he had translated the whole work.

hands, he was deprived of the co-operation of those influential friends by whom he hoped his measures would have been carried out. The advantages which would have been derived not only by the East Company, but by Britain at large, from such an establishment in the eastern islands, were fully detailed in a pamphlet which he published, entitled, A Plan for extending the Commerce of this Kingdom, and of the East India Company, by an Establishment at Balambang. This pamphlet, although printed in 1769, was not published till 1771.

While he was employed in the secretary's office, Dalrymple had occasion to examine the old records, and among these he found papers illustrative of the great importance of the commerce of the islands in the Eastern Archipelago to the wealth and prosperity of our Anglo-Indian empire. To recover those Disappointments, which, like misfortunes, seldom islands and establish that commerce, was now the come singly, now crowded upon the bold and tagreat object of his enterprise; and notwithstanding|lented projector. After his commercial speculation, his prospect of succeeding to the secretaryship, and in which so much labour and energy were expended, the dissuasions of his patron Lord Pigot, he em- had been set aside, a movement was made by the barked on a voyage to these islands on the 22d of friends of Dalrymple for the establishment of a April, 1759. As proofs of his energy in the pursuit, hydrographical office in this country, to the superintenand his characteristic perseverance, Dalrymple dur- dence of which he should be appointed, with a salary ing this voyage received his first nautical tuition of £500 per annum. But although the negotiation from the Hon. Thomas Howe, an able navigator, went on so prosperously that the situation was proand captain of the Winchelsea, whose ship accom- mised to him, the appointment did not follow. panied, during a part of the voyage, the Cuddalore, in Afterwards, having communicated his collection of which Dalrymple had embarked. Finding also a col- papers on discoveries in the south seas, which had lection of Spanish histories of the Philippine Islands, been a favourite subject of Dalrymple's study, the he acquired Spanish without a teacher, as he had secretary of state to whom they were presented exdone the French language, that he might master pressed his regret that he had not seen them sooner, their contents. Furnished with secret instructions, as the appointment was already filled up. Some and a document insuring him of a share in the profits time after, when the Royal Society proposed to send of this adventure, Mr. Dalrymple first visited Sooloo, persons to observe the transit of Venus in 1769, with the sultan of which he established a commer- Dalrymple was thought of as fit for such a task, and cial treaty highly advantageous to the East India he was commissioned by the admiralty to examine Company. Soon afterwards, however, the political two vessels that were to be purchased for that espeaffairs of that place underwent such alterations, that cial service. But, by a change of the plan, a naval no benefit resulted from the enterprise. In the officer was appointed to command the vessel, with meantime, Dalrymple, in January, 1762, returned joint authority in the expedition; and Dalrymple, from his eastern voyage. In May, the same year, who was aware of the danger of divided councils in he returned to Sooloo in the London, a packet newly such an enterprise, declined to set out on that footarrived from England, as its captain, with a proper ing. One appointment, however, which gave him cargo, and a guard of fifteen sepoys; but although the highest satisfaction of any, was destined, by its he re-established the friendly understanding between failure, to be the worst affliction of all. The court the country and the India Company, unfortunate of India directors had appointed him chief of Balamcircumstances again interposed to render it ineffec- bang, and commander of the ship Britannia; and tual. Having obtained a grant of the island of thus employed in his favourite commercial scheme, Balambang for the East India Company, he took he might have been consoled in his eastern island possession of it in their name on the 23d of January, for the failure of his hopes in England. But his 1763, on his homeward voyage to Madras. As it commission was superseded, and an incompetent appeared both to him and his friends that the sucperson was placed in his room. In consequence cess of the Anglo-Indian government, in their inter- of the dissatisfaction of the directors with that funccourse with the eastern islands, would depend on tionary, they resolved to send a supervisor to Balamthe court of directors in London receiving full in-bang, and in this case Dalrymple offered his services, formation on the subject, Dalrymple resolved to proceed to England for the purpose. In consequence of this decision it was resolved by the president and council of Madras that he should go by the way of China, taking Sooloo in his voyage, and endeavour to open up in it communications anew; and there accordingly he landed, but only for twelve days, during which nothing important for the purposes of commerce could be effected. He obtained, however, for the East India Company a grant of the north end of Borneo, and south end of Palawan, with the intermediate islands. Sailing thence to Manilla, he there found the old Sultan of Sooloo, who had escaped from the Spaniards, and placed himself under British protection. Dalrymple was easily induced to carry back the dethroned sovereign, and reinstate him in his dominions, and obtained in return a grant to the East India Company of the northern part of Borneo. Having thus secured depots for the commerce with the East India Islands, Dalrymple proceeded to London, and submitted his plans to the board of directors; but the administration of the company's affairs having passed into other

to redeem the expedition from destruction. He also offered his services free of any present remuneration, except defraying his expenses, and that a small portion of the clear profits of the establishment should be granted to him and his heirs. This liberal offer, instead of being at once accepted, was referred by the directors to a committee of correspondence to examine and report. Whatever report they made, if any, is unknown; but the capture of Balambang soon afterwards, by some Sooloo freebooters, made the services of the committee superfluous.

From the time of his return to England in 1765, Dalrymple had been almost constantly engaged in collecting and arranging materials for a full exposition of the importance of the eastern islands and south seas, and was encouraged by the court of directors to publish various charts, &c. He also took every occasion to keep up his claim on the Madras establishment, and on the appointment of his patron, Lord Pigot, to be governor of Fort St. George, in 1775, he was reinstated in the service of the East India Company, and was nominated to be one of the committee of circuit. He accordingly

ALEXANDER DALRYMPLE

SIR DAVID DALRYMPLE.

429

went out to Madras, and entered upon the duties of to Lord North on the subject, and Plan of a Rehis office, until 1777, when he was recalled, with publican Colony," 4to, 1775. "Plan for Promoting others, under a resolution of the general court to have the Fur Trade, and securing it to this Country, by their conduct inquired into; but nothing appears to uniting the Operations of the East India and Hudhave resulted from the inquiry. Two years after-son's Bay Companies," 4to, 1789. "An Historical wards he was appointed hydrographer to the East Journal of the Expedition, by Sea and Land, to the India Company, and in 1795, when the Admiralty North of California in 1768, 1769, and 1770, when established a similar office, Alexander Dalrymple Spanish Establishments were first made at San was judged the fittest person to hold it. Of his Diego and Monterey; translated from the Spanish talent, indeed, as a hydrographer, the following MS., by William Revely, Esq.; to which is added, valuable testimony was given by the distinguished Translation of Cabrera Bueno's Description of the Admiral Kempenfelt, in a letter which he wrote to Coast of California, and an Extract from the MS. Dalrymple: "I have received your very valuable Journal of M. Sauvagne le Muet, 1714," folio, 1790. charts for particular parts of the East Indies: what A Treatise of Practical Navigation. (Of this work an infinite deal of pains and time you must have only three chapters were printed.) bestowed to form such a numerous collection! It seems an Herculean labour; but it is a proof what genius joined with industry is capable of. However, you have the pleasing reflection that you have successfully laboured for the public good, the good of navigation, and that your memory will live for ever.' Although he was already hydrographer to the East India Company, the court of directors made no objection to his holding the same office for the Admiralty, judging rightly that the two offices were not incompatible, but rather parts of each other; and accordingly, Alexander Dalrymple accepted the government appointment. The appointment, indeed, was only a tardy act of justice, as when the office of hydrographer to the Admiralty had been proposed nineteen years earlier, it had been promised to Dalrymple.

In this arduous and responsible situation he continued till 1808, when the Admiralty called for his resignation on the ground that he was superannuated. He was now in the seventy-first year of his age, and might be supposed too old for the duties of his office; but Dalrymple, with that habitual energy of purpose which in old age often hardens into obstinacy, refused to give in his resignation. He probably thought, like the Bishop of Grenada, that he had never been so active, so fit for his duties, and efficient as at present, although he had already finished the usual date assigned to the life of man. In consequence of his refusal to resign, he was dismissed, and his death, which occurred only a month after (June 19, 1808), may be supposed to have been hastened by vexation at his dismissal. He left a large library, which was especially rich in works on navigation and geography; and of these the Admiralty purchased the most select, while the others were disposed of by auction. His own works were numerous, amounting to fifty-nine volumes and tracts; but many of them were of a personal and political character, and therefore were soon forgot. Of those that were more important, and connected with his own scientific pursuits, we can merely select the titles of the following:-Account of Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean before 1764, 8vo, 1764. Plan for extending the Commerce of this Kingdom, and of the East India Company, by an Establishment at Balambangan, 1771. Historical Collection of South Sea Voyages, 2 vols. 4to, 1770-1. Proposi. tion of a Benevolent Voyage to introduce Corn, &c., into New Zealand, 4to, 1771. Proposition for Printing, by Subscription, the MS. Voyages and Travels in the British Museum, 4to, 1773. An Historical Relation of the several Expeditions from Fort Marlbro' to the Islands off the West Coast of Sumatra, 4to, 1775. "Collection of Voyages, chiefly in the South Atlantic Ocean, from the original MS., by Dr. Halley, M. Bouvet, &c.; with a Preface concerning a Voyage of Discovery proposed to be undertaken by Alexander Dalrymple at his own expense; Letters

Nor were

DALRYMPLE, SIR DAVID, a celebrated Scottish judge and antiquary, was born at Edinburgh, on the 28th of October, 1726. His father was Sir James Dalrymple, of Hailes, Bart., and his mother, Lady Christian Hamilton, a daughter of the Earl of Haddington. His grandfather, who was lord-advocate for Scotland during the reign of George I., was the youngest son of the first Lord Stair, and distinguished for ability even among the members of his own able family; and his father, Sir James, had the auditorship of the exchequer bestowed upon him for life. Sir David Dalrymple was sent to be educated at Eton, where he was eminently distinguished for ability and general good conduct. At this seminary he acquired, with a competent share of classical learning, a fine classical taste and a partiality for English manners and customs, which marked through life both his public and private conduct. From Eton he returned to Edinburgh, where he went through the usual course at the university; and afterwards went to Utrecht, where he prosecuted the study of the civil law, till the suppression of the rebellion in the year 1746, when he returned to his native country. From the sobriety of his character, with his ardour and diligence in prosecuting whatever subject arrested his attention, the highest hopes of his future eminence were now entertained by his friends. these hopes disappointed; although circumstances led him into studies not altogether such as he would have pursued, had he been left to the bent of his own genius. The study of antiquities and the belleslettres was the most congenial to his own mind, and in both he was eminently fitted to excel; but from the state of his affairs on the death of his father, who left a large family and an estate deeply encumbered, he found it necessary to adopt the law as a profession, that he might be able to meet the demands which lay against the family inheritance, and make suitable provision for those dependent on him. He accordingly made his appearance as an advocate, or, as it is technically expressed, was called to the Scottish bar, in the year 1748. Here, however, though he had considerable practice, his success was not equal to the sanguine expectations of his friends. In the science of law few men were more expert than Sir David Dalrymple, and in point of industry he was surpassed by no one of his contemporaries; but he had certain peculiarities, probably inherent in his nature, strengthened by study, and confirmed by habit, that impeded his progress, and rendered his efforts less effective than those of men who were far his inferiors in natural and acquired abilities. From natural modesty and good taste he had a sovereign contempt for verbal antitheses, rounded periods, and everything that had the semblance of declamation, for excelling in which he was totally unqualified-his voice being ill-toned, and his manner ungraceful. In consequence of these defects, his