404 The late John Turnbull. 



Governmeut Act of 1890 was passed, he was unanimously elected 

 first Chairman of the Provisional Council, and afterwards Con- 

 vener of the couQty. In both of these capacities Mr Turnbull 

 had difficulties to deal with, and an amount of work to do, which 

 even a less busy man might have hesitated to face. But as usual 

 he found time to do the work, and to do it well ; and probably 

 there was no county in Scotland in which the E.oad Trust was 

 more efficiently managed, or the provisions of the Local Govern- 

 ment Act introduced with less friction, than in Berwickshire 

 under the guidance of Mr Turnbull. 



" In politics Mr Turnbull was born and bred a Whig, and until 

 1885 he was a staunch supporter of the Liberal party. Upon 

 more than one occasion the Berwickshire Liberals would willingly 

 have had him for their representative, but he did not see his 

 way to embark upon Parliamentary life. He was always ready, 

 however, to work for his party in the county with the same vigour 

 as he displayed in everything which he took in hand. His first pro- 

 minent appearance in politics was in 1857, when Mr Hobertson of 

 Lady kirk contested the county in the Liberal interests against 

 his nephew. Sir John Marjoribanks of Lees. It was considered a 

 great triumph for the Liberal party when Mr Robertson won the 

 seat, which he did in a great measure (as he himself was always 

 leady to admit) through the influence and exertions of Mr 

 Turnbull. In subsequent years Mr Turnbull rendered similar 

 service to Sir William Miller and Mr Marjoribanks, when they 

 successively became Members for the county. In 18^5 Mr Turn- 

 bull resigned tlie Chairmanship of the Liberal Association and 

 Committee in Berwickshire. He could not accept the Irish 

 policy of Mr Gladstone, and he was also opposed to the Dis- 

 establishment of the Church of Scotland, which he foresaw was 

 likely to become a plank in the Liberal platform. Upon the 

 latter question he felt keenly, and one of his last public appear- 

 ances was as Chairman of a large Church Defence meeting which 

 was held in Duns. 



"Mr Turnbull, although engrossed as we have seen, in pro- 

 fessional and public work, was a man of wide reading and 

 general culture, and although essentially a man of business and 

 a busy man, no one enjoyed a holiday more, or had more 

 resources with which to employ a leisure hour. 



"As an Archseologist and a Naturalist, his acquirements were 

 far above the average, and he was no mean artist. When in 



