FARMERS' REGISTER— SIR JOHN SINCLAIR. 



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power, — as prom(jtino;its agricultural industry, — 

 or as an author, e.\tenilinf;- I'.is inllucnce over a 

 still wider circle, and by his advice and co-opera- 

 tion, advancing tlie march of civilization both at 

 home and in foreign countries. His self-selected 

 sphere of action is so happily chosen, that while 

 his industry benefits the whole world, every action 

 has at the same time an immediate bearing, on the 

 good of his country, of his native district, of his 

 private estate, of his own family, and of his indi- 

 vidual usefulness. Firmly poised upon a central 

 point, he animates at once all these concentric cir- 

 cles. 



Sir John Sinclair ^yasborn of distinguished and 

 wealthy parents in the most northerly district of 

 Scotland, at Thurso Castle, in the county of Caith- 

 ness, in the year 17-54. His mother, (a sister of 

 the Earl of Sutherland,) took upon herself, after 

 the death of her husband, the management of his 

 estates, and the care of superintending the educa- 

 tion of her orphan flimily. Sir John received the 

 first rudiments of learning at the High School of 

 Edinburgh, and afterv/ards prosecuted his studies 

 at the Universities of that City, of Glasgow, and 

 of Oxford, carefully improving the opportunities 

 which these seminaries afforded him. of increas- 

 ing both his knowledge and his friendships. In 

 the year 1775, he was called to the Scottish Bar, 

 chiefly with the view of obtaining a more intimate 

 practical acquaintance with the laws of his native 

 land. His attention, however, had been earl)^ di- 

 rected to the improvement of his paternal estate. 

 From this limited sphere, his mind extended itself, 

 first to tlie state of the landed interest in the shire 

 of Caithness, and soon discovering that essential 

 amelioration could only be attained by united ex- 

 ertions, in wider combinations, he succeeded in 

 awakening a kindred spirit in the neighboring 

 counties. Roads and bridges were constructed, 

 to facilitate the intercourse of a scattered popula- 

 tion, — villages and towns were called into exist- 

 ence, to serve as depots of merchandise, — manu- 

 factories were erected,^ — and harbors Avere formed 

 or improved. Above all, agriculture and pastu- 

 rage, in particular the management of sheep, were 

 encouraged : — obsolete and ineffective systems of 

 husbandry were made to give way to those which 

 were more productive, and in all these respects, 

 Caithness may now compete with the best culti- 

 vated districts in the kingdom. Thriving towns 

 also, (those of Wick and Thurso,) have grown up 

 on the site of paltry villages, and the fisheries on 

 the coast have become, perhaps, the most impor- 

 tant of any in the three kingdoms.* 



It would have been an endless task for the au- 

 thor of the work now before us, to have recounted 

 how these labors were emulated in other counties 

 in Scotland. It may be sufficient to state that 

 twenty out of thirty three counties of Scotland, on 

 different occasions, have thanked him publicly for 

 the obligations he had conferred upon them, by- 

 promoting the improvement of the country. His 

 labors afterwards received a new impulse, by be- 

 ing extended to England ; from which wider cir- 

 cle, however, his patriotism vuiiformly instigates 

 him to keep in view the interests of his native 

 country. 



* In carrying on these improvements, the author re- 

 cognises the important aid he received, from the Lord 

 Lieutenant and the Sheriff of his native county. 



In his six and twentieth year, he was unani- 

 mously elected, by the freeholders of Caithness, 

 their representative in Parliament, a situation 

 which he filled for about thirty years, in the course 

 of which he obtained the sanction of Parliament 

 for the establishment of a Board of Agriculture, 

 of which he was appointed to fill the presidential 

 chair, a situation by which he was enabled greatly 

 to extend the sphere of his activity. He origi- 

 nated several most important undertakings : and 

 notwithstanding the most vexatious opposition, he 

 was enabled, not only to influence the condition of 

 Great Britain and Ireland, but the progress of fo- 

 reign nations, even beyond the boundaries of Eu- 

 rope. The numerous di{)Iomas which flowed in 

 upon him from all quarters, proved the univer- 

 sal consciousness of his merits. Some of his plans, 

 that for instance, in the year 1796, for the cul- 

 tivation of waste lands, although approved of 

 by the Commons, was rejected by the House of 

 Lords ; but the impulse being once given, his ob- 

 ject gradually became successful. 



This inestimable man however, did not limit his 

 exertions to these matters, but, as a member of 

 Parliament, he took apart in every important dis- 

 cussion that occurred in that honorable assembly. 

 His principles led him in general, to support the 

 administration of ]\Ir. Pitt, whose personal friend 

 he was. Every question of finance, of trade, na- 

 vigation, and legislation, whether regarding the 

 mother country or the colonies, — every question 

 of peace or war, received his most serious conside- 

 ration ; and yet, amid this multiplicity of objects, 

 he never once lost sight of that great cause which 

 lay nearest his heart, the promotion of the true in- 

 terests of mankind, as individuals and as citizens. 

 When we learn that such a man was for a time 

 opposed to the suppression of the slave trade, we 

 may be enabled to ap|)reciate the difficulties with 

 which the involved relations of society at times 

 embarrass the judgment of the purest-minded 

 statesman. At a later period, he was raised under 

 the administration of Mr. Percival, to the rank of 

 Privy Councillor to the Crown, and was aflerwards 

 appointed to a situation in Scotland, which was in- 

 compatible with his retaining a seat in Parlia- 

 ment. 



When, in 1794, the external and internal dan- 

 gers of England increased to a formidable extent, 

 and the necessity of an increased military force be- 

 came apparent, Sinclair, at the request of (he 

 government, raised, principally from among the 

 Scotch Hio-hlanders, a battalion of 600 men, for 

 service in England, and soon after a corps of 1000 

 additional, for that of Ireland. They were the first 

 troops of the sort raised, for the purpose of being 

 employed out of Scotland. The most remarkable 

 circumstance connected with this undertaking, and 

 of which Sir John feels justly proud, was, the ab- 

 sence of all dissension, and the uniform good health 

 and exemplary conduct of these troops. 



Although an adherent of ministry, and capable 

 of every exertion and sacrifice for the state, Sin- 

 clair was too enlightened and bold a character ever 

 to become a mere party man. He knew the value 

 of the opposition, and when conviction dictated 

 such conduct, defended its measures. He was a 

 friend of Pitt, and an admirer of his great endow- 

 ments, but not blind to his weak points. He saw the 

 minister's ignorance of military science, his want 

 of intimate acquaintance with, and ability to ap-t 



