246 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
of a man of culture and science, trained in Medicine, and who was young, 
ardent, capable in alfairs, single-minded in character and purpose, 
courteous in manner, and always easy of approach. Sanitary reform 
was beginning to stir in the minds of public men. The man had come 
for the hour, and his influence was rapid and decisive. 
His association with the Public Health Committee, and the assistance 
of other public-spirited men, among whom should be specially mentioned 
the late Sir Henry Littlejohn, led to slums being removed, streets widened, 
and housing improved. The Fever Hospital, now one of the largest and 
best of its kind, was initiated and personally watched over in the old 
Royal Infirmary buildings; and notably the 1891 Act, which is the City’s 
Magna Charta of Public Health, was passed, mainly owing to his foresight, 
sagacity, and knowledge. In 1881 the death-rate of the city was 18 - 8 
per 1009; it progressively diminished until in 1916 it fell to 14*5. 
The electric lighting of the city was installed during his Lord 
Provostship, and it was due to his scientific knowledge, and to his 
insistence that it should be kept in the city’s hands, that it was the 
most successful of all town installations. Further, that great improve- 
ment, the widening of the North Bridge and of the street between it 
and the High Street, as well as the coincident enlargement of the North 
British Railway Station, were accomplished by his courageous shouldering 
of a great responsibility at a critical juncture. 
These are probably the most prominent of his civic successes as Lord 
Provost. As a by-product of his term of office it has been pointed out 
by Sir Halliday Croom that during his Lord Provostship, “ The profession 
of Medicine in Edinburgh came to its kingdom, for to every medical 
institution and to all medical charities he gave, not only his own personal 
encouragement as Lord Provost, but that of the civic authorities as 
well, and the members of the profession themselves enjoyed his generous 
hospitality. He was among the first, if not the very first, medical Lord 
Provosts of Edinburgh, and it would be a very great advantage to that 
city, and not to that city only, if men of his calibre, with his scientific 
and medical knowledge, who had leisure at their disposal, would grace 
such chairs again.” The medical profession has always been held in 
high esteem by the Town Council, and, with a medical man as Lord 
Provost, its position reached high-water mark. 
But it was not only in civic matters that his services were pre-eminent. 
His keen mind found outlet in many activities. At an early period he 
made an effort to have all the children at sea-coast schools, not only at 
home but in the Colonies, taught signalling by the Morse alphabet, 
