Western Worthies | Page 3

wife. The present Duke is the thirty-second Knight of
Lochow, and the thirtieth Campbell in the direct line of descent. He
showed from an early age the remarkable aptitude for business and the
literary capacity which have since distinguished him in so eminent a
degree, his first work being published before he was 20. While Marquis
of Lorne he took an active part in the great controversy relating to
patronage in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which culminated in
the Disruption of 1843. His Grace was one of the first to denounce the
obnoxious system of patronage, and he lent his great influence and high
social position to the party of which Dr. Chalmers was the recognised
head, giving it an importance which it might never otherwise have
acquired. But his Grace did more than aid the Secession by his social
influence; he also rendered yeoman service to that movement by his
able pen. One of his first productions was a brochure "On the Duty and
Necessity of Immediate Legislative Interposition on behalf of the
Church of Scotland as determined by considerations of Constitutional

Law." In this publication the writer gave an historical view of the
Church of Scotland, particularly in reference to its constitutional power
in matters ecclesiastical. In another pamphlet, written in the course of
the same year, and entitled "A Letter to the Rev. Thomas Chalmers,
D.D., on the present position of Church affairs in Scotland, and the
causes which have led to it," his Grace vindicated the right of the
Church to legislate for itself, condemned the movement then in
progress among certain members of the General Assembly to establish
the Free Church by a secession from the Establishment, and expressed
his dissent from Dr. Chalmers' view that "lay patronage and the
integrity of the spiritual independence of the Church has been proved to
be, like oil and water, immiscible." In an essay entitled "Presbytery
Examined," published in 1848, the Duke entered upon a critical and
historical review of the ecclesiastical history of Scotland since the
Reformation, which was favourably criticised at the time, and received
from every theological party in Scotland a good deal of attention. His
"Reign of Law," may, however, be considered his chef d'oeuvre as a
literary effort. First contributed to the pages of Good Words, the "Reign
of Law" was re-published in a separate form in 1866, and since then it
has enjoyed a large sale and a high reputation.
As showing his unflagging industry and his love of letters, it is worth
mentioning that he still contributes from time to time to the leading
magazines of the day. As a rule, his articles receive the place of honour.
They may not be so profoundly metaphysical as the contributions of
Professor Maurice, neither are they so appallingly scientific as the
propaganda of Huxley; but they are at least as entertaining, as
instructive, as able as the best literary efforts of our most popular
writers. One of the Duke's most recent contributions, which appeared in
the Contemporary Review for January last, on "Hibernicisms in
Philosophy," shows that to Sidney Smith's stale joke about the
obtuseness of Scotchmen there is at least one illustrious exception. It is
one of the best things of its kind that has ever appeared in a magazine
that can command the greatest literary talent of the day.
The Duke of Argyll's political career has been long and illustrious. He
first took office as Lord Privy Seal under Lord Aberdeen's

administration in 1852. After Lord Palmerston had assumed the reins of
Government he was continued in this place until, in 1855, he
exchanged it for the office of Postmaster-General. In the following year
he went out of office; but in 1867 he was again induced to accept the
Lord Privy Seal, an appointment which he continued to hold until 1859.
In 1860 he was restored to the slightly more lucrative (there is a
difference in salary of £500) but much more responsible and useful
appointment of Postmaster-General. When the present Administration
was formed, the Duke was elected to the office of Secretary of State for
India, the Under-Secretary being Mr. Grant Duff, the member for the
Elgin Burghs, than whom no man alive has a more thorough
acquaintance with Indian affairs.
In 1851 the Duke was elected Chancellor of the University of St.
Andrews, and in 1854 he was elected Rector of Glasgow University. In
September, 1855, His Grace presided over the twenty-fifth meeting of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science, which was
held that year in Glasgow. On that occasion, as well as at other times
throughout his career, His Grace displayed scientific knowledge and
antiquarian research of more than ordinary depth; and his remarks on
the subjects brought under discussion were listened to by the savants
with