382 Proceedings of the Poyal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
Of the Church of Scotland he was a loyal son. He was an elder of 
St George’s Parish Church, Edinburgh, and a frequent member of Assembly, 
where he was a vigorous advocate of the union of the Churches. His life 
was the best testimony of the faith that was in him. No one ever heard 
him utter an unkind or uncharitable word ; to all who deserved it (and 
to many who didn’t) he was generously and unobtrusively helpful. He 
was conspicuously sincere, sympathetic, open-handed, and tender-hearted. 
It is not surprising, therefore, that he inspired affection amongst those 
with whom he came in contact, to a degree that is indeed rare. At the 
Bar he was the most popular man of his time throughout his long career ; 
on the Bench he was equally beloved by all his colleagues. When he 
died, spontaneous tributes of esteem and affection were published by such 
outstanding men as Viscount Cave, Lord Dunedin, and Lord Strathclyde. 
From his boyhood his whole life was one of strenuous, unremitting 
work. Probably there is no profession that makes such calls on a man’s 
energies as that of the successful advocate. When to that are added the 
constant claims of party politics, the burden is one that few can long 
sustain. Dickson bore it longer than most, but the strain had told upon 
him before he reached the Bench, and some of his energy had been sapped. 
He did not spare himself even then. During the last years of his life 
(apart from the War work which he undertook connected with recruiting, 
Red Cross, Child Welfare, and the like) he exhausted himself in taking 
long criminal trials which, consistently with even his high standard of 
duty, he might well have delegated to younger colleagues. When the 
summer session of 1922 closed and the Bench and Bar fled to the country 
to enjoy the long vacation, Dickson sat continuously as a member of the 
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council until the day before his death. 
He had just reached the country house which he had rented for the 
summer, when the overwrought system gave out, and he died during 
the night. 
Outside of his own profession Dickson received full recognition of his 
many eminent qualities. Thus both the Universities at which he had 
studied conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. 
As early as 1884 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of 
Edinburgh. At that time he was in the full swing of his practice as a 
junior counsel, and had no time for other occupations. As the years went 
on, his practice, along with his pursuit of politics, became more and more 
engrossing. It is not, therefore, surprising that he took little or no 
advantage of his opportunities as a Fellow, and it must also be confessed 
that science in the ordinary acceptation of the term had little attraction 
