1918-19.] Obituary Notice. 245 
It is an admirable custom that the inhabitants of Edinburgh should 
show hospitality to ministers who come from a distance to attend the 
meetings of the General Assemblies of the Churches. Sir James’s 
father was in this way allocated to Woodville, Canaan Lane, the home 
of Miss Marianne Wilson, daughter of a well-known naturalist, Mr 
James Wilson, and niece of the celebrated Christopher North. Thus 
a friendship began between the families, which finally led to the 
marriage of Sir James to Miss Wilson in 1876. Having retired from 
the teaching of Anatomy the same year, and being now in a settled 
home, where he lived until his death, he was free to follow the natural 
bent of his mind, which, as has been indicated, was towards Medicine 
and General Science and their application to public life rather than to 
the more limited field of Anatomy. The next year was accordingly spent 
in France and England studying sanitation and the problems of Public 
Health, the scientific treatment of which was then in its infancy, hoping 
eventually to get a post as Officer of Public Health. 
Returning to Edinburgh in 1877, he inaugurated the class at the 
Heriot-Watt College on the Theory of Plumbing, especially in relation 
to sanitary work, and for several years he filled the position of lecturer, 
and in December of that year gave two lectures, afterwards published, 
on sanitary houses to builders and plumbers, under the auspices of the 
Royal Scottish Society of Arts. 
How greatly his work in this direction was appreciated is shown in 
the minute of meeting of the Local Council for Edinburgh and the East 
of Scotland of the National Registration of Plumbers, held shortly after 
his death. 
Alongside of this he carried on a practice as adviser in sanitary 
matters, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to plan and to 
supervise the carrying out of the sanitation and plumbing of a friend’s 
house. 
But the year 1880 was the real beginning of his public life. Elected 
to the Town Council that year, he became Bailie in 1885, and at the 
same time Convener of the Public Health Committee, of which he had 
previously been a member. Finally he was raised to the Civic Chair 
in 1891, and filled the position of Lord Provost with honour and accept- 
ance for the usual term of three years. 
From the date of his election as Town Councillor a new era began in 
the department of Public Health, which proved to be widespread and 
far-reaching in its results. It is not difficult to realise the effect of the 
entrance into a town council, largely composed of commercial men, 
