ORIGIN AND EARLY OBJECTS. 49 



person to be patronized as Professor of Gaelic to the Society. 

 He was duly elected, and held the appointment till 1799, 

 when the office was discontinued at the same time as the 

 bard. Afterwards, an office-bearer was appointed whose title 

 was ' Translator of the Gaelic Language.' John M'Arthur, 

 grocer in Edinburgh, was, in 1784, appointed piper to the 

 Society, and from the time of his death in 1792 till the post 

 was abolished, about 18 17, it was held by several parties. 



The efforts of the Society in connection with the 

 ' establishing of towns and villages ' in the Highlands were 

 mainly confined to the offer in 1790, and in subsequent 

 years, of premiums for plans for inland and coast villages, 

 or to proprietors who should grant the greatest number of 

 feus or long leases. Plans received in response to the 

 premiums are given in the first volume of the Transactions ; 

 but it does not appear that there were any awards to pro- 

 prietors for the granting of leases. Indeed, it was unlikely 

 that any proprietor would enter for the premiums. It is 

 right, however, to note that the Society was an instrument 

 in initiating a Joint Stock Company actually founded for the 

 express object of founding towns and villages in the High- 

 lands. A report of a Committee of the Society, presented 

 in February 1786, was transmitted to the Committee of the 

 House of Commons on the Fisheries ; and the result was 

 the introduction of a bill in Parliament incorporating * on 

 the most patriotic principle a Joint Stock Company, in 

 order to the founding of free villages or towns on the coasts 

 of the Highlands and Islands, particularly on such parts as 

 were best adapted for fishing stations.' The Society ap- 

 proved of the bill ; and having carefully introduced the 

 principle of limited liability into the measure, by suggesting 

 a clause that subscribers should only be liable to the amount 

 of their subscriptions, ' the Society subscribed for itself ten 

 shares amounting to ;^500 ! ' The Directors, it must be 

 admitted, combined wisdom with their patriotism. 



In order to impart stability to the Society, a Charter 

 of incorporation was sought ; and, on the 17th May 1787, a 

 Royal Charter was issued, erecting the Society * into one 

 body politic and corporate,' under the name and title of 



D 



