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The war with Russia came
to an end early in 1856. In January proposals suggested in Vienna were
accepted as a basis of negotiation, and terms were arranged in a
Congress at Paris. On the 30th of March the treaty was signed, and
ratifications were exchanged on 27th April. The cost of the war to this
country was over £50,000,000. At the time of its cessation Britain was
in an exceptionally strong position for the continuance of the struggle,
a fact ascribed to the vigour of Lord Palmerston.
There was little legislative business during the year. An attempt to
establish the principle of life peerages was made in the case of Sir
James Parke, who was created Lord Wensleydale without right of
succession, but the proposal met with so much opposition in the House of
Lords that the Government gave way, and Sir James was made a peer in the
ordinary form. The crimes of William Palmer, a surgeon of Rugeley in
Staffordshire, known in criminal annals as Palmer the poisoner, excited
universal attention and indignation. There were also two sensational
cases of fraud, one by a man named Robson, on the Crystal Palace
Company, the other by Leopold Redpatn on the Great Northern Railway
Company.
The great event affecting the Highlands was the passing of the bill for
the construction of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway,
connecting the short line to Nairn with the Great North of Scotland
Company at Keith. This, by a> roundabout way, was to give Inverness its
first through railway communication.
From the “Inverness Courier ”
1856.
January 3.—A paragraph 6tate« that shortly after the despatch from
Lerwick of the Fairy R.M. packet, with the Shetland mails for Aberdeen,
it was discovered that a letter belonging to a large firm had not been
bagged with the rest of the mail.
“No sooner was the detention of the communication detected than the
smack, Arthur Anderson, was at once engaged at twenty pounds for the
run, to convey the document to the North of Scotland.”
January 10.—Sir Alexander Mackenzie, eighth Bart, of Coul, died on the
3rd inst., at the age of fifty-one, his constitution having suffered
from long residence in India. He retired from the Bengal Army in 1851,
after an uninterrupted service of more than twenty-six years. Sir
Alexander was not married, and his title and estates descended to his
brother William, born in 1806.
Ibid.—The estate of Dalmore was purchased by Mr Matheson of Ardross, M.P.,
the purchase price being given as about £24,700. The estate of Loch-Shiel,
in the district of Moidart, was sold by the proprietor, Mr Macdonald, to
Mr Hope Scott of Abbotsford for £24,500.
Ibid.—Ensign AEnoas Macdonell, second son of the late Macdonell of
Glengarry, was drowned, along with several companions, in the Medway. He
was in the Bengal Engineers, and was only twenty years of age. John
Fraser, son of the late Rev. Thomas Fraser, of Inverness, died at
Colombo in the previous October. He had resided in Ceylon for many years
as Under-Secretary for the Island.
January 17.—The Rev. Alexander Fraser, of Kirkhill, gave in a lecture an
interesting narrative of his sojourn in the Crimea as one of the
Presbyterial chaplains of the Army. Mr Fraser bore testimony to the mild
and courteous bearing of Lord Raglan and to his popularity in the Army;
and he mentioned that Sir Colin Campbell, before the attack on the Redan,
sent for the chaplains that they might be ready to administer
consolation to the wounded and dying after the assault.
January 24.—James Baillie Fraser of Reelig, widely known as an
accomplished Eastern scholar and traveller, and also as an author, died
at his residence, Moniack, on the 23rd inst. Born in June 1783, he was
in his seventy-third year. Mr Fraser went early to the West Indies, but
after a short residence there turned to the East, and became partner in
a mercantile house in Calcutta. A love of adventure, however, led him to
travel. Coming home about 1822, he married Jane, daughter of Lord
Woodhouselee, and sister of the late Sheriff Fraser-Tytler. Mr Fraser
again visited the East, and was employed in a diplomatic mission, in
course of which he rode from Constantinople to Ispahan, the fatigues and
hardships of the journey giving the first shock to his vigorous
constitution. When the Persian princes visited this country he was
requested by Government to accompany and take charge of them, and on
their return he went with them as far as Constantinople. Latterly, Mr
Fraser became a zealous improver of his Highland estate, adding to the
beauty of its woodlands and its fine gardens. Mr Fraser was the author
of numerous works of Eastern travel and adventure. The best known is a
fictitious narrative, “The Kuzzilbashi a tale of Ivhorasan,” in which he
describes the life and manners of the Persians. This is reckoned his
best work. It was reviewed and praised in the “Quarterly Review” by Sir
Walter Scott. Mr Fraser was also an accomplished artist, especially in
water-colours. The editor in his notice recalls that one of Reelig’s
brothers, William Fraser, was Commissioner in Delhi, where he was
assassinated by a native prince in 1835. An interesting account of this
affair is given in “Blackwood’s Magazine” for January 1878, written by
Lord Lawrence, who was tenant of Reelig in 1877.
Ibid.—The issue records a calamity which occurred the same week at
Dingwall at a private dinner party in the house of the Provost of
Dingwall. Three of the party (two Roman Catholic priests and a
neighbouring proprietor) took ill In course of the dinner, and within a
short time expired. Others were affected, but recovered. It turned out
that a servant who had been sent by the cook to the garden for radish
for the roast-beef took monkshood root by mistake, and this formed the
sauce. The plant is virulently poisonous.
Ibid.—The “Times” correspondent at the war pays a tribute to Dr
Macpherson, son of Mr Macpherson, at one time factor for Lord Lovat, for
his services to the Turkish contingent in the Crimea. Dr Macpherson, who
had served in India, organised the medical staff, and checked the
ravages of cholera.
January 31.—Two very large tracts of heath and a considerable extent of
wood, the property of Lochiel, were burned on either side of Loch-Arkaig.
The fire swept over three square miles of heath, and consumed many acres
of the fine old pine forest of Guisach. Investigation was going on as to
the origin of the fire.
Ibid.—A European Conference to discuss terms of peace was about to
assemble at Paris. The following paragraph from the London letter
affords curious reading nowadays : —“Prussia’s desire to come into the
Conference had been chiefly opposed, it is said, by England, but will be
achieved. I seem to hear Lord Palmerston in his place in the House
justifying it with a sort of good-natured contempt, and some commonplace
about ‘an important kingdom,’ and a wish that Europe should be unanimous
in the arrangement now meditated.
February 7.—Parliament had assembled on 31st January, and the Queen’s
Speech announced that conditions had been agreed upon between the Allied
Powers and Russia, which would prove, it was hoped, the foundation of a
general treaty of peace.
February 14.—The office of Town-Clerk of Inverness had become vacant
through the death of Mr Mactavish. The Town Council now elected Mr
Alexander Dallas, solicitor, to be Town-Clerk, and Mr Charles Stewart to
be law agent, the two functions being separated. Mr Dallas had been
previously a member of Town Council and a magistrate, but had resigned
on the occurrence of the vacancy.
Ibid.—Mr David Gray, Professor of Natural Philosophy in Marischal
College. Aberdeen, died a few days before. The deceased was a native of
Kirkcaldy, where his father was minister of the Original Secession
congregation. He studied at Edinburgh, and became Mathematical Master in
Dollar Academy, which he held from 1833 to 1837, when he was appointed
one of the Professors of King’s College, New Brunswick. After returning
to this country he became Rector of Inverness Royal Academy, and in 1845
was appointed by the Crown to the Professorship in Marischal College. Mr
Gray, says the paragraph, had been a most efficient and successful
teacher in Inverness, and continued to take a warm interest in the town.
Ibid.—Mr Chas. Urquhart Stuart, third son of the late Dr Stuart of
Grantown, died on the previous November while on his way from
Bloemfontein to Harrismith, in South Africa, to hold a Circuit Court. Mr
Stuart had been for many years in Ceylon, where he was for some time a
member of Council. He then went to South Africa, where he was appointed
by Sir Harry Smith resident judge at Bloemfontein.
February 21.—Air John Cameron, Corrychoilie, a well known and extensive
sheep farmer, died suddenly on the 16th inst. in his 75th year. His
strong individuality of character made him a conspicuous man in the
Highlands. At one time he was the largest holder of live stock in the
Highlands, probably in Scotland, owning between 40,000 and 50,000 sheep.
As he said, he did not know the exact number to a few thousands. Shortly
before his death he stated that he had “stood” the three yearly Falkirk
trysts, and the two Doune fairs, for fifty-five years without missing a
single market. Latterly Mr Cameron had given up many of his farms,
retaining little more than the one from which he derived his cognomen,
and the farm adjacent to it; but he purchased a small estate in
Stirlingshire, and one in Skye. Riding was his only mode of travel, and
he often rode long distances. Corrychoilie had the reputation of being a
kind and considerate friend of dealers and crofters. and was very
hospitable to friends.
Ibid.—The Rev. John Mackinnon, parish minister of Strath in Skye, died
on the 16th inst. in the seventieth year of his age. He was ordained as
minister of Sleat in 1812, and was appointed assistant and successor to
his father as minister of Strath in 1825. Mr Mackinnon was greatly
respected in Skye, and well known to the visitors of those times, whom
he liberally entertained. “All his visitors became his friends, and
carried away with them a lively recollection ot the well-stored mind and
cultivated taste of their hospitable entainer. Several of Mr Mackinnon3s
family have distinguished themselves in various parts of the world. One
is now a medical officer with the Army in the Crimea, and was publicly
thanked by the Duke of Cambridge for his conduct at the Alma; another is
joint-proprietor and editor of the “Melbourne Argue,” probably the most
respectable and widely circulated other colonial journals. One is
minister of the Gospel at Fearn; and several have carried the skill in
sheep-farming, acquired in the West Highlands, to the farthest corner of
our colonies.” Mr Mackinnon’s father, who was also minister of Strath,
died in 1831 in the 96th year of his age and the 62nd of his ministry.
Ibid.—General Patrick Grant, afterwards Sir Patrick Grant, had been
appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army. There was some jealousy
in the British staff at home, because an Indian officer had been
selected for the appointment, but the feeling was apparently confined to
a few in high places. “In General Grant’s case, the right man is
certainly in the right place. He has seen six-nnd-thirty years’ hard
service. During thirteen years he was really the Adjutant-General of the
Bengal Army, and for about half that time he held the chief place in his
department. That the military affairs of the Bengal Presidency were
never more efficiently com ducted than under his management, is well
known to all who had opportunities of judging, both at home and abroad.
We may add that he is the first Commander-in-Chief of an Indian Army who
could speak the language of the country—obviously an advantage of no
small moment,”
February 28.—The militia authorities had acquired a site for barracks on
the north side of Telford Road, on a feu from Mr Matheson, M.P. They had
previously contemplated a site above Godsman’s Walk.
March 6.—A humble old woman, named Margaret Munro, was found dead in her
cottage in Obsdale, near Alness, under circumstances that clearly
implied murder. She was believed to possess a little money, which she
kept in the house. The public authorities were busy making
investigation.
Ibid.—Mr Falshaw, of the firm of Brassey and Falshaw, contractors for
the construction of the Inverness and Nairn Railway, was entertained to
a public dinner in Nairn. Mr Falshaw had assisted in local affairs, and
exerted himself to get up a company to supply water to the town. The
firm had also become contractors for a considerable portion of the
proposed line to Keith.
March 13.—Objections had been taken to the settlement of a presentee to
the parish of Urray, and the Presbytery of Dingwall met on this date to
hear the debate by agents, and to determine. The Presbytery resolved to
sustain the call. In course of the preliminary discussion, Mr Stewart,
solicitor, agent for the presentee, said that “Urray was strictly a
Highland parish; the population was principally Gaelic, ninety-nine out
of a hundred speaking that language, and the bulk of them that language
only.” It would be interesting to know how many in the parish, little
more than fifty ^ears afterwards, now speak the Gaelic language. It
seems that the chief objectors to the presentee were not Highlanders.
Ibid.—A movement was on foot to erect a monument to the memory of Duncan
Ban Macintyre, the Gaelic poet. The “Courier” acknowledges receipt of
£19 8s for the fund, sent from Mr Angus Cameron, Hobart Town, Tasmania,
as “a cheerful offering of a few Highlanders resident in the colony.”
March 13 and 20.—At St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, on the 12th
inst., Mr Mackintosh of Raigniore was married to Grace Ellen Augusta,
youngest daughter of the late Sir Neil Menzies of Menzies. The marriage
was celebrated by the tenantry and friends at Raigmore, Strathdearn, and
in other localities by bonfires and entertainments. “The Culloden
tenantry also commemorated the joyous event, and The Mackintosh (now
resident in Inverness) gave directions that a bonfire should be lighted
at Moy, and refreshments distributed among the people. It may be truly
said that none of our proprietors can be personally more popular than
Raigmore
March 20.—The birth of a Prince Imperial excited joy in France. “The
Bonaparte dynasty may now be perpetuated—an heir at least has been
vouchsafed—and this event, calling forth the generous feeling9 and
chivalrous sentiments of the nation, has fixed still more firmly the
Emperor Louis Napoleon on his throne.” The war of 1870 and the sad fate
of the Prince Imperial in South Africa were in the distant future.
March 27.—Mr Waterston, manager of the Caledonian Bank, had received a
sum of £20 from Australia, in aid of the Ness Islands Improvement Fund.
The sum was collected and transmitted by a former townsman, Mr Donald
Urquhart, Melbourne. The paragraph states that the Island bridges were
now in excellent repair, and that only a few more subscriptions were
necessary to place the grounds in a satisfactory condition.
Ibid.—An ancient cairn had existed on the farm of Easter Golford, in
Nairnshire, measuring from 150 to 180 feet in circumference, and
enclosing, it is stated, stone coffins and clay urns. Comment is made on
the fact that the stones were blasted and removed in order to turn the
spot to account for agricultural purposes. Nothing apnears to have been
preserved.
April 3.—Peace was concluded with Russia, and we are told that the
announcement was “so fully and confidently expected” that it excited
less emotion than the greatness of tile event seemed u> demand. At
Inverness the bells were rung, and in the evening the pupils ol the
Academy got up a bonfire in the playground. At Fort-George the
Forfarshire Artillery turned out, and fired a salute of 101 guns. “The
salute was fired in seventeen minutes, and competent judges say that no
line regiment could have done it better.” At a later date there were
local rejoicings.
April 10.—Lord Saltoun, the owner of Ness Castle and adjacent grounds,
on the banks of the River Ness, had resolved to establish a pheasant
preserve and raise a stock of deer. To enable him to carry out these
changes he had ordered thirty-two persons to quit them holdings. The
“Courier” condemned this scheme, and urged Lord Saltoun to reconsider
it.
Ibid.—The Inverness Town Council conferred the freedom of the city on
General Patrick Grant, on his appointment as Commander-Chief of the
Madras Army. The ceremony took place in the Town Hall. The same issue
announces that Lieut.-General Sir George Brown had been promoted to the
rank of General, in recognition of his distinguished services in the
Crimea and while commanding the troops employed in the successful
operations against Kertch.
Ibid.—A week or two before a large stone was discovered in the river,
bearing the names of the Provosts and Magistrates associated with the
founding of the old stone bridge in 1681, and with its completion in
1685. The stone had fallen with the bridge in the flood of 1849, and was
found when workmen were blasting the stumps of the temporary wooden
bridge. “From the peculiar position of the stone in the old bridge, few
were familiar with its contents ; it stood above the centre arch facing
the west, and could not be read except with great difficulty, by persons
standing on the bridge. The stone is a large slab, of Elgin freestone,
of a peculiarly hard texture.” The Provost in 1681 was Alexander Dunbar
of “Barmucate,” and the Provost in 1685 John Cuthbert of Drakies. The
architects were James Smith, father and son, from Forres. The stone is
now on the stair of the Free Library buildings.
Ibid.—The congregation of the Free High Church were making an effort to
clear off the debt on the building. “The debt amounts to about £1700.
Nearly the half of this amount was subscribed in course of yesterday and
to-day.”
April 10 and 17.—The new Suspension Bridge over the Ness had now been
formally handed over to Mr Joseph Mitchell on behalf of the
Commissioners for Highland Roads and Bridges. The net cost of the work
amounted to £25,365 Is Id, and the sum raised to meet the cost was
£26,183 Is 9d, leaving a credit balance of £770. A report on the subject
is given by Mr Rendel.
April 17.—Mr Macdonald, a native of Fort-William, had been appointed
sub-manager of the “Times.” Mr Macdonald was previously on the staff of
the paper, and had earned cordial praise by his administration of relief
funds in the Crimea.
Ibid.—An enterprising ship-owner, Captain Lawrence, who had long taken a
lead in the shipping of Inverness, died on the 11th inst. “He has been
for about thirty years connected with Inverness, and has always been
esteemed a highly honourable and generous citizen.”—A schooner, of about
200 tons burden, was launched at Nairn for Mr Hugh Mann. She was named
the Mary and Elizabeth.
Ibid.—A dinner was held at Banavie on the 5th inst., on the occasion of
Lochiel attaining his majority. “The chair was taken by Sir Duncan
Cameron of Fassfern, Bart., who, though upwards of eighty years of age
and of infirm health, travelled twenty miles to be present, and
discharged the duties of president with great spirit and cordiality.”
April 24.—Lord Saltoun writes to explain the changes on his estate. He
says that thirteen or fourteen of the persons warned out were persons in
his own employment, who were merely changing their houses, and who would
in future have no rent to pay; that eight or ten were paupers, for whom
he was making provision better than they formerly possessed ; and that
the remaining four were either crofters who had not implemented their
engagements, and whose crofts were better suited for planting than for
agriculture, or “depredators and plunderers whose handiwork was patent
to any one passing through the woods on the estate, and whose eviction
would be a good riddance to any property.”
Ibid.—Lieutenant Cowell, R.E., had been appointed tutor to Prince
Alfred. Mr Cowell was educated at Inverness Academy and the Royal
Military Academy at Woolwich. In the Crimea he was appointed
aide-de-camp to Sir Harry Jones, and on his return acted as private
secretary to Sir John Burgoyne at the War Department.
May 1.—Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of Gairloch was appointed convener of the
county of Ross.
May 8.—The Rev. James Grant, parish minister of Cromdale, died on the
2nd inst. He was ordained in 1830, and after the Disruption retained a
large congregation. On a recent occasion nearly 400 persons partook of
the Communion.
May 15 to 29.—The contents of these issues are mostly of a general
character. Considerable space is given to the trial of Palmer, the
poisoner. The Inverness-shire Militia were disbanded, but before this
happpened they were marched in to Inverness and billeted on the
citizens. A movement was on foot for a new cemetery in Inverness,
various sites being suggested. Further improvements were being carried
out on the Ness Islands. The Rev. David Carment, Free Church minister of
Ross-keen, died on the 26th inst., at the age of 84, and in the 57th
year of his ministry. He was a man of great vigour and independence, and
oarried almost his entire congregation with him at the Disruption. Mr
Carment was a native of Caithness, and acted from 1803 to 1810 as
assistant to Mr Calder, of Croy. He was then called to Duke Street
congregation, Glasgow, and in 1822 was translated to the parish of
Rosskeon. In 1852 the Rev. Mr Fraser was appointed bis colleague and
successor.
June 5.—'Although the Militia were disembodied, from twenty to thirty
men of the permanent staff were billeted in public-houses in Inverness.
The cost, it was expected, would be defrayed from the burgh rates, and
the editor protests strongly against this fresh burden. “The members of
the staff are for the most part tradesmen or pensioners, having wives
and families, and having long rented houses in Inverness. Why they
should not be obliged to find permanent lodgings for themselves, without
help from the inhabitants, it is not easy to understand.”
June 12.—An unknown friend of the Northern Infirmary presented the house
with an invalid chair, which he said had belonged to the late Samuel
Rogers, the poet. The sender paid the freight and conveyance, amounting
to £1 1s. The following was the note announcing the gift: —“The packages
referred to in the enclosed receipt contain an invalid chair, with iron
poles, which belonged, and was an inestimable comfort, to the late
Samuel Rogers, Esq., and which a friend to the Infirmary has much
pleasure in sending for the use of that institution. It will be observed
that freight and all charges to the door of the institution are paid.
London, 7th June 1856.” There was no signature.
Ibid.—Lieutenant-General Duncan Macleod, late of the Bengal Engineers,
youngest son of the late Donald Macleod of Geanies, died at Brighton on
the 8th inst. He had carried out several very extensive and important
engineering works in India, and retired from the service of the East
India Company with honour and distinction.
June 19.—Two licence-holders in Inverness were fined under the Forbes
Mackenzie Act, one for allowing a ball in his house given by the Militia
officers, another for allowing an entertainment to the sergeants of the
regiment. In both instances the proceedings were protract ed beyond
eleven o’clock. Apparently special licences were not provided for at the
time. There was also a threat to prosecute a hotel-keeper because the
Provost had accepted an invitation from the Circuit Judges to dine with
them on Sunday.
June 26.—Mr John Bright, M.P., was staying at the Union Hotel,
Inverness. His health was not good, and he was instructed to refrain as
much as possible from reading and writing. Mr Bright was on his way to
Lairg, where the Earl of Ellesmere had placed his shooting-lodge at his
service. Prince Napoleon of France had also passed through Inverness,
with a party of friends, bound on a scientific expedition to Iceland.
July 3.—“Twenty years ago, a mail coach was placed on the Highland Road,
chiefly through the exertions of Mr Edward Ellice, jun., M.P., and after
much, resistance on the part of the Postmaster-General, who calculated
that he would lose £300 a year by having a coach on this line as well as
on the coast or Aberdeen road. There was a considerable loss, or rather
additional cost, but there was also great public convenience and
increased despatch. The extension of railways, however, has altered this
state of things. The mail bags are now to be sent by Aberdeen, the coach
taken off the Highland Road, and a mail bag for local postal
communication substituted. The bags will be conveyed between Inverness
and Nairn by the railway, and the Aberdeen mail-coach will not come
further north than Nairn. In less than two years the railway
communication will be complete between Inverness and Aberdeen, and then
the last of the mail-coaches will disappear in all but the counties
north of our Highland Capital. On Monday next the mail-coach will be
withdrawn from the Highland Road, but the same day the ‘Duke of
Wellington’ day coach commences to rim for the summer and autumn
months.”
Ibid.—The Mackintosh of Mackintosh had enlarged the holdings of
Bohuntine, in Lochaber, by adding to them the farm of Achavaddy. The
tenants held a1 holiday to celebrate the event.
Ibid.—On the 1st inst. Sir Colin Campbell received the freedom of the
city of Glasgow, and a sword of honour, subscribed for by contributions
limited to one shilling. A good many contributions came from the
Highlands.
Ibid.—The crinoline had come into use as part of ladies’ dress. A
sarcastic writer describes a drawing-room as like a camp. “You see a
number of bell tents of different colours, the poles sustaining them
appearing at the summit.”
July 10.—An old woman, a pauper, in North Uist, living in a cottage
about fifteen miles from Lochmaddy, had been found dead in bed with
marks of strangulation on her neck. Another woman was arrested on
suspicion of having committed murder.
Ibid.—An Inverness soldier. Colour-Sergeant Henry Macdonald, of the
Sappers and Miners, received an annuity of £20 for distinguished service
and gallant conduct in the field. His special service consisted in
beating back a Russian night attack on the rifle pits during the early
part of the siege of Sebastopol, when the officers in command had been
either killed or wounded.
Ibid.—Mr Brownlow North was beginning his career as an evangelist. He
preached in the hall of the Mechanics’ Institute, Forres, on the 8th
inst.
July 12 and 17.—These issues included the Wool Market. The market was
stiff. Wool was quoted as from 2s to 2s 6d per stone above the previous
year’s prices. In sheep there was no reduction on the best wedders, and
some showed an advance, but many were a shade lower, and on ewes and
lambs there was a fall of from Is to 2s 6d. The sales appear to have
been fewer than usual.
July 17.—The bill for the construction of the Inverness and Aberdeen
Junction Railway had passed the Committee of the House of Lords, this
being the final stage. In both Houses the bill had encountered
opposition on questions of compensation raised by the Duke of Richmond.
The House of Lords awarded the Duke £2500 for probable loss on tolls on
the Bridge of Spey.
Ibid.—Charles St John, author of “Wild Sports in the Highlands” and
other works, died at Woolston, near Southampton, on the 12th inst.
During his residence at Aldourie, on the banks of the Ness, and
subsequently in Morayshire, he had endeared himself to a large circle of
friends. His works are characterised as possessing in an equal degree
fine taste and feeling, and accurate and extensive knowledge. “To his
fluent and graceful pen we were indebted for many contributions; for no
natural phenomena in the scenes around him, and no trait of animal life,
escaped his observation ; and he was as liberal in communicating as he
was active in acquiring his various stores of information.”
Ibid.—The ministerial jubilee of the Rev. James Kennedy, of Fraser
Street Congregational Chapel, was celebrated by a public meeting and
presentation. Mr Kennedy had been twenty years in Perthshire and thirty
in Inverness. His son, the Rev. .John Kennedy, A.M., London, long a
well-known minister, was present at the celebration.,
July 24.—The discussion on a proposal for a new burial ground for
Inverness had resulted in postponement. It seemed clear, however, to
the. editor that a new cemetery was required, and that this would not be
disputed except for the dread of an assessment.
August 8.—The issue of the “Courier” was postponed for a day in order to
provide a full report of the show of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, held at Inverness. The show opened on Tuesday, 5th inst., and
closed on Friday, and the report occupies twelve closely-printed
columns. Although the total head of stock numbered 1047, showing an
increase of 41 on the previous Inverness show, held in 1846, there was a
considerable falling off in cattle, which numbered only 248, as compared
with 428. The explanation was that a change m the Society’s arrangements
shut out several important districts, such as Ro^s and Caithness. The
great business of these counties was the raising of cross cattle, and
the Society did not in 1856, as in 1846, offer premiums for crosses. In
all other classes—horses, sheep, swine, and poultry—there was an
increase, in sheep and poultry a large increase. There was also a large
exhibition of implements. The show was reckoned a great success.
Ibid.—Mr William Fairbairn, C.E., the eminent engineer, was presented
with the freedom of the burgh of Dingwall, In acknowledging the honour
Mr Fairbairn attributed a large measure of his success to the
instructions of a respected tutor, the late Mr Donald Fraser, of the
Parish School of Munlochy.—The first statutory meeting of the
shareholders of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway Company was
held at Inverness, with the Hon. T. C. Bruce in the chair It was
reported that 1he work of construction had already begun.
August 14 and 21.—General Gordon of Lochsdhu, C.B., died on the 11th
inst., at the age of 87. “To the end of his long distinguished career,
he was an active and enthusiastic man, who took an active part in the
affairs of Nairn, where he has ’ong resided, and was a, keen politician.
The gallant General has no less than six sons in the Queen’s service and
that of the East India Company.” General Gordon entered the Army in
1794. He served first in Holland, and was in the Walcheren expedition in
1809 ; in the Pininsular War he was at the battles of Fuentes d' Onor,
Vittoria, the Nive, etc. At Vittoria he was severely wounded in the loft
arm, and at the Nive he was also severely wounded, and had his horse
shot under him. For his gallant conduct on this occasion he obtained the
thanks of Lord Hill, and was raised from the rank of Major to that of
Lieutenant-Colonel. By subsequent promotions he obtained the rank of
Lieutenant-General.
August 21.—Mr James Bremner, engineer, Wick, died in his 72nd year. He
was born at Iveiss, in Caithness, and by native genius and sagacity
acquired a remarkable position. In course of his life he built fifty-six
ships, and planned or built nineteen harbours. In raising sunk and
wrecked vessels Mr Bremner obtained a special reputation. The number of
ships thus saved by him was stated at 236, including the “Great
Britain,” which he assisted to take off the strand in Dundrum Bay in
1847.
August 28.—A scheme for assisting crofters in Skye with fishing boats
had been in existence for some years. It originated with the Rev. Dr
Fletcher of London and the Rev. Mr Adam in Portree, and the funds had
hitherto been procured chiefly by Dr Fletcher, Miss Bird, and Mr Burn
Murdoch. No less than forty boats had been supplied at a cost of upwards
of £300. The recipients had repaid £130. A local society was mw formed
to forward the enterprise.
September 4.—Sportsmen appeared to be agreed that the grouse season was
the worst that had been experienced for many years. A correspondent from
Ross-shire wrote : —“The grouse are so scarce and diseased that we have
given up shooting. Every person ought to do the same, else there will be
none left to breed for next year.’’ The forests, however, were doing
well.
September 11.—The Royal British Bank, a London enterprise, founded by Mr
Hugh Innes Cameron, had suspended payment. The event caused great
excitement in the city.
Ibid.—Mr W. Falconer, son of Mr Falconer, Croy. was appointed rector of
the Nairn Academy.—A paragraph mentions that the celebrated lady
painter, Rosa Bonheur, attended the Falkirk Trvst, and bought two black
faced ewes and two wedders.— Among the arrivals in Inverness was Mrs
Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” who was on her way to
Dunrobin.
September 18 and 25.—A movement was on foot for the construction of an
Inverness and Ross-shire railway. One party, however, was meantime in
favour only of a line from Invergordon to Tain, as there was a prospect
of steam ferry-boats being established between Nairn and Inver-
September 25.—Mr Thomas Carlyle was on a visit to Lord Ashburton, at
Kinlochlui-chart, Ross-shire.
Ibid.—Mr Anderson, tenant of Meikle Tarrell, in Easter Ross, appears to
have been the first to introduce a reaping machine into the North. Many
farmers gathered to see the work, which was considered highly
satisfactory. The machine, it is stated, cut down twenty-five sheaves
per minute, equal to 15,000 sheaves in a day of ten hours.
Ibid.—A woman named Catherine Beaton was tried at the Circuit Court on a
combined charge of murder and theft. The charge arose from what appeared
to he the murder of a pauper woman in North Uist. The jury found the
charge of murder not proven, hut convicted the prisoner of theft, and
the presiding judge imposed a sentence of six years’ penal servitude .
October 2.—At the Northern Meeting, held the previous week, the weather
was very unfavourable, with cold wind and kioes-sant rain. The balls,
however, were never better attended. Several foreigners were present,
who were “much struck by the novelty of the scene, and by the character
of the Highland dancing.”
Ibid.—Workmen engaged' in digging a drain on the farm of East Grange,
Morayshire, turned up a piece of brass, which some persons believed to
be the head of a Roman spear. It was 7 inches in length. 2[ inches broad
at the point, and one inch square at the centre. It is noted that the
late Rev. John Grant, minister of Elgin, in a communication to the
Societies of Antiquaries of Edinburgh, dated 1792, reported the finding
of similar antiquities at Inshoch. Possibly archaeologists of the
present day would consider these relics to belong to the bronze age.
October 9.—Mr George Middleton, Fearn, one of the largest farmers in
Ross-shire, died on the 29th ult., at the age of fifty-four. A
correspondent 6ays that Mr Middleton not only farmed his own lands to
perfection, but by his counsel and even by his personal superintendence,
farmed thousands of acres belonging to others in the district. “The
amount of wealth created in Easter Ross by that one man, by his advice,
by his example, is perfectly incalculable.”
October 16.—The London correspondent writes that Lord Palmerston had
given a grant of £lfJ0 “for the benefit of your townsman, the gentleman
who preceded me as your London correspondent, from whom, I regret to
say, the power to exert his once brilliant faculties is still with-held
by the dispensation of Providence.” The writer adds that the influence
of Mr Thackeray had been exercised to procure the grant for Mr Reach.
Ibid.—The estate of Little Garve, the property of Sir James R. Mackenzie
of Rosehaugh, was purchased by Mr W. Murray of Polmahe, who had long
rented the shootings of Craigdarroch, near Contin. The price is given as
£14,500.
Ibid.—The line of the Great North Company to Keith was opened on the
10th inst.
October 23.—Gaelic poems had been sent in for competition in connection
with a Highland gathering held at Bonnington Park. The judges awarded
the first place to James Munro, schoolmaster, Kilmonivaig, and his poem
was to be published by the Highland Society.
Ibid.—Although grouse shooting had been a failure this year,
deer-stalking had given satisfaction. The forests had yielded an
abundant supply of fine stags.
Ibid.—A wooden building at Bridge of Oich, in the parish of Boletkine,
occupied by a woman as a retail shop for grocerery was burned down on
the 7th inst. There was a sum of £15 on the premises, and, as no fire
had been lighted in the shop before the occupant left, the case was
believed to be one of wilful fire-raising. A young man named John
Hastie, who had been prowling about the district, was apprehended on
suspicion at Fort-William, and a sum of £12 was found in his possession.
Ibid.—A respected citizen of Nairn, Bailie Donaldson, died on the 15th
inst., and Mr John Macdonald of Ben-Nevis Distillery, familiarly known
as “Long John,” died on the .9th inst. The latter was an active,
hospitable man, well known throughout the Highlands.
Ibid.—Mr Brownlow North was preaching in Inverness, drawing large
audiences. Mr Spurgeon was in the midst of his early popularity in
London, and this issue describes the unhappy accident which occurred
while he was preaching to a great gathering in the Surrey Music Hall,
London. Shortly after the beginning of the service an alarm of danger
was raised, and in the rush that followed seven persons were killed and
many seriously injured. It was believed that the alarm was raised by
theives. Mr Spurgeon at the time was only twenty-two years of age.
November 6 and 13.—Sir Colin Campbell arrived at Fort-George to
discharge his duties aa Inspector-General of Infantry. He was recognised
in passing through Nairn, and was heartily cheered. At Fort-George he
was met by ten pipers, who struck up “The Campbells are coming,” and
escorted him to his quarters. A few days afterwards Sir Colin visited
Inverness, and the Provost and Magistrates waited on him to offer him
the freedom of the burgh. Sir Colin, however, was obliged to decline the
honour, as he was leaving immediately for the South.—Mention is made of
Miss Martha Nicol, a daughter of the late Dr Niool, of Inverness, who
had given valuable service in the hospital at Smyrna during the Crimean
War.
November 13.—The Post-Office had withdrawn the mail coach from Perth to
Inverness after the opening of the Inverness and Naira line, and the
advance of the Great North. Strong representations, however, were made
on the subject, and the Department had now promised to restore the
Highland ooaoh.
Ibid.—“The portrait of Charles James Fox, which the great statesman
presented to the Corporation of Tain, on his return to Parliament as
member for the Northern Burghs, has been forwarded to Edinburgh to be
renovated and reframed The picture was for some time lost sight of.
November 20.—The Inverness Parochial Board had a long and excited
meeting discussing the mode of levying assessment. A change proposed by
the Rev. Mr Trail was adopted by a large majority, subject to the
approval of the Board of Supervision.
November 27.—A series of articles on the management of landed property
in the Highlands was appearing in the paper from time to time. The
fourth, contributed to this issue, deals with the management of woodsy
December 4.—Mr Angus B. Reach died in London on the 29th ult. He had
been for nearly two years in ill-health, incapable of mental effort. His
friend, the editor, pays him an affectionate tribute. Mr Reach was
barely thirty-five years of age, having been born on 23rd January 1821.
He began his literary work at an early age, contributing to the
“Courier,” when a student in Edinburgh, sketches of Macaulay, Professor
Wilson, and other celebrities. On his holidays he wrote reviews for the
paper, and thus obtained recognition from Dr Charles Mackay, then
sub-editor of the “Morning Chronicle.” In 1842 Angus went to London, and
speedily established himself as a brilliant journalist and litterateur.
“The London miscellanies of the day opened their columns to him, and
starting, as he did, with the general principle of affixing his name to
all his productions, the name or initials of Angus B. Reach in a very
few years became familiar to every reader of the current magazine
literature of England. His facility in dashing off readable, even
instructive papers on almost any subject was something marvellous. We
have known him frequently to sit down after breakfast and write the
greater part, if not the whole, of ai quiet reflective article for a
magazine, then visit some new exhibition or novelty in London, about
which a paragraph had to be written, block out the points of a review,
or if the book was one of no great note, actually write the critique as
it was to appear—and finish the day by producing half-a-column of lively
and graphic criticism on the opera of that evening.” Sparkling and
pleasant tales and serials, and a popular book on Southern France,
entitled “Claret and Olives,” proceeded from his pen. Mr Carruthers
testifies that, personally, Mr Reach was one of the most amiable and
generous of men. “He threw off squibs and pasquinades as profusely as
anv one; but it would be hard to find a bitter one, and impossible to
find a malicious one, among them.” When the collapse came, ready and
generous assistance was given by Mr Shirley Brooks, an old and fast
friend; by Dr Charles Mackay, Air Thackeray, Mr Albert Smith', Mr Munro,
sculptor, and many others. Mr Shirley Brooks took his place as London
correspondent of the “Courier,” allowing his friend to reap the benefit.
The remains of Air Reach were laid beside those of his father, Roderick
Reach, in the cemetery of Norwood.
December 11 and 18.—The former issue states that the Rev. James Mackay,
of St John’s Episcopal Church, Inverness (who lost the bishopric of
Moray and Inverness by a narrow vote), bad been appointed to a
chaplaincy in the Presidency of Bengal. The next issue records the
return of Dr Livingstone from Africa, after an absence of seventeen
years. At this time the Skye correspondent of the paper was sending
interesting notes, though they are of too general a character for
quotation. Mr Kenneth Murray, Tain, afterwards of Geanies, was also
sending at intervals an agricultural article. The contributions of both
these correspondents were continued for many years.
December 25.—Hugh Miller, famous as author and editor, died by his own
hand on the night of the 23rd, or the early morning of the 24th. The
circumstances were not fully known at the moment. Dr Carruthers
wrote:—“‘God of our fathers what is man!’ Here in the very noon and
vigour of life, by a miserable accident or momentary aberration of
reason, has been struck down a man who seemed to have many years of
honourable exertion awaiting his matured powers, and whose reputation
was daily brightening and extending. Through every hamlet and parish in
our northern counties this event will be received and felt as a private
calamity, no less than as a public and national loss Hugh Miller was a
noble type of the native self-taught genius—erect, independent, and
manly; with none of the pitiable weaknesses or debasing alloys which
sometimes mingle with the elements of intellectual vigour and success.
He achieved his literary and scientific eminence, and his position in
society, by careful and incessant study, and by a pure and spotless
life. He sought no meretricious applause and pandered to no bad passion;
and thus every advance he made, and every honour he won. was secured for
ever, and made the passport to other and higher distinctions.” After a
few more sentences, the writer adds—“But we cannot, at this moment of
grief and surprise, dwell upon the personal worth or the intellectual
gifts of Mr Miller. The recollections of nearly thirty years rise up
before us, clothed in the pull of a past friendship, and forbid further
utterance It is enough that the deceased ‘lived as ever in his great
Taskmaster's eye,’ and that his death will be mourned and lamented, not
only in the country which he loved so well and ennobled by his example,
but in foreign lands and distant regions, wherever science, literature,
and virtue have a friend and admirer.’’ Hugh' Miller was born in October
1802, and had thus completed his fifty-fourth year. |
