CHAPTER LXI. 



PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY. 



1st President, 1784- 1806. 



John, fifth Duke of Argyll, was elected President at the 

 first General Meeting, held on 12th March 1784, (having 

 been previously proposed at the first meeting held on 9th 

 February), and acted in that capacity till his death. His 

 Grace was born in 1723, and died 24th May 1806. He 

 held the rank of Field Marshal in the army. 



The sers'ices rendered by the Duke are shown in work 

 done during his tenure of office, as recorded in preceding 

 pages. In 180:? the Duke presented to the Society the 

 best executed map of Scotland which could then be had, 

 together with all the other approv^ed provincial or county 

 maps ; and it was with peculiar satisfaction that the 

 General Meeting of the iith January following expressed 

 to their venerable and much-respected President the So- 

 ciety's thanks for this liberal and appropriate donation. 

 Another and one of the last acts of his Grace was to place 

 in the hands of the Society's Treasurer the sum of ^1000 

 for the purpose of establishing a fund for the education 

 and maintenance of the sons of Highland gentlemen who 

 might be destined for the Royal Navy. At the General 

 Meeting in June 1806 attention was called to the loss the 

 Society had sustained from the death of their much-lamented 

 President, which, from his known worth and uniform liber- 

 ality, was generally felt and expressed. 



At the general meeting on loth January 1826, it was 

 unanimously resolved, with the highest approbation, to 

 place a portrait of His Grace in the Hall, and the Directors 

 were authorised to apply for permission to have a copy 

 taken from a picture at Inveraray Castle. The portrait 

 is a full length one. His Grace being in Ducal robes, and is 



