There are politicians and politicians. It is due to the varied opinions and characters of its members that the House of Commons is such an eminently representative a.s.sembly. It is not wealth alone, neither is it genius, that affords the "open sesame" to Parliamentary fame. The wheels of progress would probably move much slower than they do, if all who entered St. Stephen's were gifted orators. Eloquence is a great recommendation to a seat in Parliament; but there are other qualities which, without being so conspicuous, are perhaps much more solid, and in the long run lead to the accomplishment of a greater amount of really useful work. Talking and working are essentially different things; and it is well for Parliament, for the newspapers, and for the nation at large, that so many excellent legislators are compelled to confess, like Marc Antony, "I am no orator." The members for Glasgow have never made themselves famous in the direction of much speaking; their aim has been to gather much wool with little cry, thus reversing completely the well-known motto. The interests of a city like Glasgow are purely commercial and industrial, but they require to be constantly watched with the utmost vigilance. To guard and conserve them aright requires, also, a more or less practical and comprehensive knowledge of mercantile affairs. This Mr. Graham possesses in a marked degree, having been trained from his youth up in all the ramifications of commerce; and on this ground alone his claims to represent his native city in Parliament are not to be despised. But he has another, and, perhaps, still stronger, hold upon the sympathies and support of the "free and independent electors" of St. Mungo. He is recognised as the advocate and representative of the religious and educational interests in Parliament, and it was upon this basis that he was returned. Mr.

Dalglish has been so long and so closely a.s.sociated with the commercial and munic.i.p.al interests of the city, that it would be impossible to find one with a stronger hold in that direction. As for Mr. Anderson, he is, of course, the champion of the working cla.s.ses, and holds his seat by their suffrages. But there was still another important party not directly represented--the party to whom the city is indebted for much of its social, intellectual, and religious prosperity--and Mr. Graham stepped in to fill up the breach. Nailing his colours to the mast of the good ship "Nonconformity," he has all along contended for religious equality and toleration throughout the whole Empire; and if his _specialite_ is not that of "darkening counsel with vain words," he has given his best services since he entered Parliament to the advancement of the true and permanent interests of his const.i.tuents, by unremitting application to such duties as came within his reach.

Mr. Graham is the eldest son of the late Mr. Wm. Graham, of Burnshields, by Catherine, daughter of Mr. J. Swanston. He was born in Glasgow in 1817, and after pa.s.sing some time at a private school, was sent to Glasgow University, where he finished his education. He is married to Jane Catherine, daughter of the late Mr. John Lowndes, formerly of Arthurlie, Renfrewshire. Mr. Graham succeeded to his father's place as head of the firm of William Graham & Co., merchants. The princ.i.p.al business in which he is engaged is that of cotton-spinning, the firm owning the Lancefield Factory, which, if not one of the largest, is at any rate one of the oldest establishments of its kind in Glasgow, and carries the memory back to the days when cotton and not iron was the industrial King of the West. At the Lancefield Factory there are upwards of 1000 hands employed, princ.i.p.ally women, and the annual output of cotton is nearly equal to that of some of the largest mills in Manchester. Besides being a cotton-spinner, however, Mr. Graham is also a wine importer on a very considerable scale, and is largely engaged in the East India produce trade. Vintages of the choicest quality, and ports of the heaviest "body," are imported by the firm direct from Lisbon and Oporto, where they have branch establishments; and so conspicuous for their excellence are the wines which they import, that when _paterfamilias_ wants to impress upon his guest that he is enjoying an unmistakeable treat, he announces that the grateful beverage under discussion "was imported direct by William Graham & Co." In his father's days, Mr. Graham represented the house both in India and on the Continent, and since he became head of the firm, he has devoted himself with the utmost a.s.siduity to the management and direction of affairs at home. Thus, unlike either of his colleagues, Mr. Graham takes an active personal supervision of a large mercantile concern, at the same time that he earns the credit of being one if the most regular attenders in the House of Commons. Indeed, he makes it a matter of duty to attend the House closely, and it is a fair matter of doubt whether there are half-a-dozen members--not in office--who attend to their Parliamentary duty with more punctuality and unfailing attention than the three representatives for Glasgow.

On the retirement from Parliamentary duties, through commercial misfortunes, of Mr. Buchanan, who had for many years been the senior member for the city, Mr. Wm. Graham came forward as a candidate. His address to the electors, dated the 11th May, 1865, contained the following:--"A native of Glasgow, an alumnus of her University, and connected with the city by the closest ties of business and of friendship, I have felt that for the honour and usefulness of such a position the cares of business may well be, to some extent, relinquished, and the duties and responsibilities of public life undertaken; and should I be fortunate enough to secure your suffrages, my best efforts and most anxious attention shall not be spared faithfully to represent the views and advocate the interests of this great community.... I may at least say, in a few words, that from my earliest recollection I have been strongly attached to Liberal principles, and that nothing can ever alter my faith in the truth and wisdom of what are known as Liberal opinions in civil and religious politics, or diminish my deep interest in the social, civil, and religious progress of the country." On the following day Mr. Dalglish took his const.i.tuents by surprise by announcing that it was not his intention to seek re-election. On the 10th June, Mr. John Ramsay issued an address, in which he enunciated his advocacy of economy and retrenchment in the public expenditure, recommended a judicious extension of the franchise, and stated, in reference to the Maynooth grant, which at that time engaged at a considerable amount of attention, that he "would oppose any further grants from the national exchequer, either in favour of the Roman Catholics or any other body." Mr. Ramsay set forth, in conclusion, that "his business connection with Glasgow for nearly thirty years past had made him acquainted with local affairs, and it would be his pleasure, as he should regard it his duty, to give unremitting attention to every measure fitted to advance the interests of the city." The candidature of Mr. Graham was from the first looked upon with a great deal of favour by a large body of the more influential electors, and his general committee, of which Mr. Archibald Orr Ewing of Ballikinrain was chairman, and Bailie J. W. Anderson was deputy-chairman, comprised the names of Mr. Wm. Kidston, Sir James Lumsden, Mr. Alex. Dennistoun of Golfhill, Mr. Colin R. Dunlop, Mr. Alex.

Crum Ewing, Mr. John Orr Ewing of Tillichewan, Mr. W. J. Davidson of Ruchill, and Mr. J. C. Wakefield. At the nomination, which took place on the 12th of July, the show of hands was declared to be in favour of Mr.

Dalglish (who had been induced to stand again) and Mr. Graham--the latter, indeed, obtaining a larger display than either of the other two candidates. The poll, which was demanded on behalf of Mr. Ramsay, took place on the following morning, and from the outset Mr. Graham was a long way ahead of either of his opponents. At four o'clock the poll stood--

Graham, 8113 Dalglish, 6707 Ramsay, 5837

Thus giving a majority of 2276 for Mr. Graham, and a majority of 878 for Mr. Dalglish. On entering Parliament at the commencement of the session of 1866, Mr. Graham had the honour of being selected to second the Address to her Majesty, which was moved by Lord H. Cavendish. This he did in a singularly able and practical address, which was listened to with great attention by the House. The _Daily Telegraph_, in its Parliamentary summary, referring to this occasion, said:--"Mr. Graham, the new member for Glasgow, spoke like an _habitue_ of the House of twenty years' standing. He had caught the very manner of the place, spoke fluently, almost eloquently, and exhibited both political and commercial knowledge. It was an undoubted success, and Mr. Gladstone, who had listened attentively, warmly congratulated him when he sat down."

In reference to Mr. Graham's political tendencies and conduct, we may remark that although he has mainly been a supporter of the policy of Mr.

Gladstone's Government, he has at the same time, on questions of principle, held himself entirely independent of any Government or party.

He is more especially a.s.sociated with that section of the House which represents the English Nonconformists and the Presbyterians of all three countries. Next in importance to religious progress and toleration as a matter of Parliamentary policy, Mr. Graham advocates the reduction of the national expenditure, holding that the present scale thereof is excessive beyond any possible justification. Therefore, in every case where such a reduction appeared in his view to be honestly aimed at, he has been in the habit of acting with the economists.

Although he has never been a prominent speaker in the House, Mr. Graham is, in his own way, a very useful member, and he is specially called into requisition when any matter of an ecclesiastical or educational kind is under consideration. In many ways he has shown an anxiety to be useful, and to those of his const.i.tuents who make calls upon his time and services he is always most accessible and ready to oblige. Although a Liberal, he is not in favour of extensive changes, and he is opposed to any interference with religious questions, whether by endowments or State connection, by the Government.

Mr. Graham, we may add, is a magistrate and deputy lieutenant of Lanarkshire.

MR. GEORGE ANDERSON.

Mr. George Anderson, the junior member for the city of Glasgow, was born at Liverpool in 1819, and is thus in his 52d year. He is a son of George Anderson, Esq., of Luscar, Fifeshire, by his marriage with Miss Rachel Inglis. His father, who had been in early life in the navy, was for some years managing partner of the firm of Messrs. Dennistown & Co. at Havre and New Orleans, from which he left to be manager of the one branch of the old Glasgow Bank (with which the same house was largely connected) at Kirkcaldy, of which town he was afterwards for many years the highly-respected Provost.

Mr. Anderson was educated partly at Havre, partly at the High School of Edinburgh, and subsequently at the University of St Andrews. On coming to Glasgow in 1841, he entered the concern of Alex. Fletcher & Co., flaxspinners, St. Rollox, and was latterly managing partner of that extensive manufacturing establishment, employing nearly 2000 workpeople; and through his experience there, during 25 years, he acquired that knowledge of the grievances and wants of the working cla.s.ses which has enabled him to legislate for them since. Mr. Anderson had never taken any part in Munic.i.p.al affairs, but he had in other ways always done his fair share of public work. The Polytechnic Inst.i.tution, the Fine Art Exhibitions that preceded the present Inst.i.tute, the Art Union, the Philosophical Society, the Lock Hospital--of all of these he had been an active promoter or director. In connection with the West of Scotland Angling Club, of which he was a zealous member, he had successfully introduced the grayling into Scotland--an achievement in acclimatisation worthy of being remembered. While President of the Glasgow Skating Club he published a treatise on the art of skating, which is still the most popular manual on the subject, and has, we believe, reached a third edition. In 1859, on the starting of the Volunteer movement, Mr. Anderson took an enthusiastic part, and was among the original officers of the 4th Lanark, with which corps he has continued, being still its senior major; while he has repeatedly advocated, in the House, the claims of the Volunteers to increased a.s.sistance as an economical measure for national defence.

His candidature for the City of Glasgow, in 1868, was promoted by the local branch of the Reform League, conjointly with the trade delegates, who held a conference to deliberate on the matter. Previous to that time, our junior member was well known among the _proletariat_ for his well-timed efforts to effect the abolition of the arrestment of wages.

In 1852 he started the subject of wages arrestment by a series of letters in the _Reformer's Gazette_, _Daily Mail_, and _Herald_. The subject had long been felt to be a sore grievance and rock of offence among the working cla.s.ses, and periodical agitations had taken place without leading to any decided action. From the very first Glasgow took the initiative in seeking to modify or get rid altogether of a law which pressed with greater severity on the lower orders than, perhaps, any other enactment that ever found its way into the Statute Books of Scotland. The late Neale Thomson, of Camphill, gave great a.s.sistance in that agitation, and a very exhaustive and able pamphlet on the arrestment of wages was published by Mr. Anderson in 1853, which led to the appointment of a Royal Commission; but though the report was entirely favourable to Mr. Anderson's views, nothing came of it, as under the 10 franchise the small shopkeepers were too strong for them, and the work which they had been sanguine of completing in 1854 was left for himself to do alone in 1870. Mr. Anderson wrote frequently on the currency question. His most recent production (published in 1866) was a pamphlet ent.i.tled "The Reign of Bullionism"--having previously read a paper on the subject of the Bank Acts to the Social Science Congress at Manchester--in which he advocated a national issue of note currency, and the abrogation of the Bank of England charter, and all other banks'

monopoly. His literature was not all, however, of so practical a character; not long before he had edited, jointly with Mr. J. Finlay, a volume containing fifty of the best of the poems written on the centenary of Robert Burns--one of his own, which had been highly commended at the Crystal Palace compet.i.tion, being among them. The volume is, perhaps, the most fitting tribute to the memory of our national poet that has appeared, and we believe it is now out of print.

In the education question Mr. Anderson had always taken a keen interest.

Besides lectures and papers to the Philosophical Society, the Educational Inst.i.tute, and the Social Science Congress he published two pamphlets pointing out how utterly worthless the half-time education clauses of the Factory Acts had proved, and urging compulsory education, or, in default of that, a _quasi_ compulsion in the form of an educational test, in place of an age test, for youthful labour. He also came prominently before the public on the occasion of an agitation which took place in 1867 in reference to the subject of an education bill for Scotland. It will be remembered that two parties in the city sought to influence the Government of the day for different ends. One party was composed of the religious, while the other represented the unsectarian element, and by both memorials were sent to Parliament urging the claims of Scotland to a more comprehensive system of national education. Mr.

Anderson, of course, espoused the cause of the unsectarian party, who went in for compulsory education; and he addressed a meeting in the City Hall, at which several resolutions approving of an unsectarian as opposed to a religious scheme of education were pa.s.sed by a considerable majority of those present. The Reform Bill of 1868 gave Glasgow a third member, and Mr. Anderson was fixed upon as the most suitable representative of the interests of labour. His candidature, which as we have already indicated, had been invited by the Reform Leaguers and Trades Delegates of the city, was warmly supported by the working cla.s.ses. A three-cornered const.i.tuency, the electors of Glasgow could only vote for two candidates; and as there was a Tory in the field, in the person of Sir George Campbell, it became a rather nice question as to how the three Liberal candidates were to be returned. The Liberal party were equal to the emergency. They agreed to vote for the two lowest candidates on the list throughout the polling, irrespective altogether of personal predilections or sympathies in favour of either.

In this way the battle was won in the Liberal interest, and Glasgow vindicated her claim to be esteemed the most Liberal const.i.tuency in the kingdom. At the close of the poll, the return was as follows:--

Robert Dalglish, 18,287 W. Graham, 18,062 G. Anderson, 17,803 Sir G. Campbell, Bart., 10,812

Since he entered Parliament, Mr. Anderson has amply justified the choice of his const.i.tuents. He stands in the front rank of advanced Liberals, and is in favour of "Reform being carried to its fullest extent, by three-cornerism being abolished, by dispensing with the payment of rates, and by adopting the Ballot." Retired altogether from private business, Mr. Anderson has every facility, apart from his bent and disposition, for taking an active and intelligent part in public affairs, and he has approved himself a most industrious and zealous legislator. No man is closer in his attendance on the House of Commons.

During his first session in Parliament he was present at 128 out of 160 divisions; his second year in Parliament, though he was away ill for a month, was marked by a scarcely less scrupulous and regular attention to his duties, for he was present at 171 out of 264 divisions; and in his third session he was present at 262 out of 270.

Mr. Anderson made his maiden speech in Parliament on the 3rd day of March, 1869. The occasion was the second reading of Mr. Fawcett's Election Expenses Bill, which proposed to throw the expenses of elections on the ratepayers. In the course of his address, which was listened to with the utmost attention, Mr. Anderson said--"To the great bulk of those whom he addressed, the payment of 200 or 300 was in all probability a matter of trifling importance; but undoubtedly the necessity for incurring even that expense had a great effect in limiting the field from which const.i.tuencies might choose their members; and if the House were anxious to avoid the charge of desiring to keep Parliamentary honours and political power in the possession of one cla.s.s--namely, the cla.s.s of very wealthy men--they must legislate in the direction proposed by the hon. member for Brighton (Mr. Fawcett). It should be remembered that in limiting the field from which const.i.tuencies might choose their members, the House thereby tended to limit its own intellectual power."

Again, in Committee of Supply on the army estimates, Mr. Anderson addressed the House on the 11th March, 1869; and on the 17th June, 1869, he electrified the "Colonels" of the House by declaring, while speaking of the great expense of the non-effective services and pensions, that "he thought the whole system of pay and pensions in the army was rotten and wrong.... Officers ought to provide for old age out of their incomes, and even if their pay were proportionately increased, the service would gain in efficiency if the change made it less aristocratic, by throwing it open to men without private fortunes, who must live on their pay." Mr. Anderson has persistently, both in season and out of season, kept "pegging away" at the bugbear of Army Reform, and on the 2d August, 1870, he attacked the abuse of sinecure Colonels, and abuses in the higher branches of the army; such as the Colonelcies held by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the chief military secretary, and others. Mr. Cardwell, in his reply, alleged that these were honorary, but was afterwards obliged to admit that the Prince and the Duke were each paid for one colonelcy, the former 1350, and the latter 2200. He moved large reductions in the salaries of the commander-in-chief and the military secretary, in respect of their holding incomes from colonelcies, and repeated his motion in 1871.

Although he was defeated in these motions, the result has been the restriction of the salary of the military secretary by 700 a year, and a prospective reduction of the commander-in-chief's by 450 at next vacancy. But it is hardly to be expected that these reductions will induce Mr. Anderson to desist from further attempts in the same direction. In 1871 he was selected to second Mr. Trevelyan's motion on army reform, and in speaking on that occasion he again attacked the sinecure colonelcies and other abuses in the administration of the army.

He systematically opposes all increase of expenditure, particularly on the army, and in 1870, on the outbreak of the Franco-German war, when Government asked a vote of two millions for increased army expenditure, he was one of a minority of seven who opposed it. In the debate on the abolition of purchase, Mr. Anderson denounced the injustice of razing over regulation prices, and thus rewarding men for knowingly breaking the law. He pointed out that it would lead to officers getting not one, but two over regulation prices, and he afterwards supported Mr. Ryland's motion against that payment.

It is, however, to his Wages Arrestment Act and the Citation Amendment (Scotland) Act that Mr. Anderson stands indebted for his prestige and popularity as a legislator. The first of these is the bill which he introduced last session with the object of limiting the arrestment of wages. In Glasgow, and elsewhere throughout Scotland, the provisions of the measure were discussed with a good deal of personal feeling--one party arguing that the security afforded to shopkeepers by the power of arresting wages enabled them to give credit to working men when they could not otherwise venture to do so; while another cla.s.s contended that extravagance and distress were the results of too easy access to credit.

The general impression, however, appears to be that the bill will be productive of the most beneficial results both to the small shopkeepers and to their customers--the two cla.s.ses most directly interested in its operation.

In reference to the Citation Amendment (Scotland) Act, which has put an end to keyhole citations in small debt cases throughout Scotland, we may remark that Mr. Anderson aimed, in introducing this measure, at the amelioration of the poorer cla.s.ses, on whom the keyhole system pressed with undue severity. Previous to the pa.s.sing of the new Act the officer appointed to serve a summons was permitted--if he did not find the defender at home, or could not obtain access to his house--to place the summons in the keyhole, after six knocks at the door, or to affix it to the gate; and whilst many accidents might readily occur to prevent its reaching the hands of the proper party, it was also not unfrequent for some one interested to take it away, and thus a decree in absence was too readily obtained.

In the Trades' Union and Criminal Amendment Bills he attempted several amendments on behalf of the working man, and was successful in some, particularly in excluding the jurisdiction of Justices of Peace from such cases in Scotland, which renders that Act less oppressive in Scotland than it is in England.

We may briefly indicate, in reference to the rest of Mr. Anderson's Parliamentary career, that he has voted in favour of Mr. Mundella's motion against the increase of the Army Estimates. He has supported the bill for the legalizing of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and voted in favour of the Irish Church and Land Bills. On the 9th May, 1871, he voted in favour of Mr. Miall's proposed resolution for the disestablishment of the Church of England; while as cognate to this subject, we may add, that he has opposed Mr. M'Laren's Annuity Tax (Edinburgh) Bill, as well as the Church Rates (Scotland) Bill; though, in speaking to his const.i.tuents in 1871, he claimed to have been the means of bringing about the settlement of the Annuity Tax question.

During the last two sessions he has repeatedly called the attention of the Home Secretary to the prevalence and results of betting advertis.e.m.e.nts, and urged the need of further legislation. On mercantile subjects Mr. Anderson is considered somewhat of an authority, and in 1869, when the English Bankruptcy Bill came on, his knowledge of the Scotch system, which the English commercial members wished to adopt, was of some use, and enabled him to take a considerable share in the discussion of the clauses, and to carry a number of amendments, though failing in some important ones, he has taken an active part also in amending the a.s.surance Companies Bill, and in almost every discussion bearing upon the commercial relations of the country. Speaking against Mr. Delahunty's Money Law (Ireland) Bill in the session of 1869, he declared with reference to the proposed abolition of small notes in Ireland, that "if the House came to the conclusion that small notes ought to be abolished in Ireland, a proposal to abolish them also in Scotland would probably follow; and that it was only with the a.s.sistance of her small notes that Scotland had maintained her place in commerce and manufactures by the side of so enormously wealthy a country as England." It is worthy of note that Mr. Anderson is a convert to the abolition of the game laws, which until the session of 1870 he had wished to see only amended, not repealed. He is also in favour of the abolition of the laws of entail and hypothec. Mr. Anderson seems to have a thorough detestation of anything like jobbery. He has several times, by judicious questions in the House, succeeded in stopping a job--such, for instance, as the Colonel Shute scandal, and the proposed pension to the Military Secretary--and though he is a general supporter of Mr.

Gladstone's Government he never hesitates either to vote or to speak against them when he thinks them wrong; and as no Government can see any merit in merely supporting them when they are right, he is naturally no great favourite in high quarters.

Mr. Anderson voted against any grant to Prince Arthur, and explained that he "thought it unfair that savings by the abolition of old offices on the civil list should go to the Crown, while the burden of establishing new princes was to be thrown on the people." He has also voted in a minority of four in favour of Sir Charles Dilke's motion for enquiring into the expenditure, under the various cla.s.ses prescribed by the Civil List Act, declining to accept the general opinion that the vote was a Republican vote, merely because Sir C. Dilke moved it, and as a protest against the Government for refusing the information, and the Opposition Benches for endeavouring to howl down the motion.

Mr. Anderson's speeches are always short, unadorned, and practical. He has endeavoured, by moving a resolution, to reduce the inordinate length of the speeches in the House as the only way of saving time to get through the yearly increasing work of legislation, and he has proposed some other resolutions for facilitating the business of the House.

SIR JAMES CAMPBELL.

Glasgow cannot lay claim to a hereditary aristocracy. She has, however, what is infinitely better for the purposes of commercial, political, and social progress--an aristocracy of energy, talent, and moral worth.

There are very few of her merchants and manufacturers who have not been the architects of their own fortune. The pioneers of her industrial prosperity do not build their aspirations and hopes upon a few broad acres, or a pedigree stretching backwards to the time of William the Conqueror. These maybe fine things in their way, and, like an antique jewel, they may serve very well to wear on special occasions, or to treasure as an antiquary would do some rare coin or "auld nick-nacket."

But the magnates of Glasgow have a juster and more legitimate cause for pride; their ambition is of a less ornamental, but far more useful kind.

The Youngs, the Napiers, the Elders, the Campbells, and the Bairds are, after all, your true and permanent n.o.bility. All that is not the direct result of merit and industry can only induce vanity and vexation of spirit. It is no uncommon thing to hear men who have been pitchforked into an affluent position--whose progenitors may have taken part in the "forty-five"--to go no further back--look with disdain upon the pretensions of those who have, within the short span of a single lifetime, realised a colossal fortune. But Catullus has truly said that there's "nothing so foolish as the laugh of fools," and many men still require to be taught that--

"Honour and fame from no condition rise,"

although the fact is every day patent to the most casual observation.

Sir James Campbell belongs to a family who have secured a right to a permanent place in the annals of the West of Scotland. In commerce, in politics, in matters ecclesiastical, they have been alike conspicuous.

Born at the Port of Menteith, in Perthshire, Sir James is one of three brothers who went forth into the world and distinguished themselves, not less by their success as merchants, than by the honour and integrity of all their transactions. The father of the family was a farmer, who occupied the small farm of Inchanoch, in Menteith--as his ancestors for three generations before him had done--the produce accruing from which was scarcely sufficient to provide in an adequate degree for the maintenance of a numerous family. While his sons were yet young, he removed with his family to Glasgow, which was even then considered an inviting field for all who possessed energy, industry, and ability to work. Here James became connected in partnership with a tailor named Paterson, the father, we believe, of a well-known tradesman now in Glasgow. For some years they carried on business together in Brunswick Street, but fortune frowned upon their efforts, and the firm was dissolved. Subsequently James entered into partnership with his brother William, who had been engaged for some years in a small drapery shop in High Street, and the brothers established themselves in business in the Saltmarket. Their business was at this time in a very humble way--their operations being confined for the most part to supplying basket-women and hawkers with cotton goods, such as handkerchiefs and pinafores. By dint of unwearied energy and attention to business the brothers were enabled, in course of time, to extend their ramifications so far as to build a large warehouse in Candleriggs, which they continued to occupy for many years, and in which they conducted an extensive wholesale business as well as retail. The eldest brother, John, who had been for some years in America, had charge of the retail department of the concern. There are several features of the business as carried on at this time that deserve to be noticed. In the first place, they were the first to set their face against the objectionable system of "prigging,"

which up to that time had prevailed to a greater or less extent in every description of retail business. Their goods were all ticketed with a certain figure, the lowest that they could possibly be sold at so as to leave a fair margin of profit, and from this price nothing would induce them to make any abatement. Adopting the Horatian maxim, they "kept one consistent plan from end to end." The result was that goods which in another establishment would be quoted at 2s 6d or 2s 8d, were sold by Messrs. Campbell for 1s 6d or 1s 9d, being less than they could generally be obtained for elsewhere, even after a customer had spent his ingenuity and breath in half-an-hour's "prigging." The advantages to be obtained at Messrs. Campbell's establishment soon became known, and although it required a great effort to induce thrifty housewives to desist from attempting to cheapen and "prig" down their goods, Messrs. Campbell ultimately succeeded in putting a stop to the practice, so far at least as their own establishment was concerned. Since then, their example has been followed by all the other respectable drapers and warehous.e.m.e.n throughout the city, so that a child of tender years can now be entrusted to make a purchase without the slightest risk of being overcharged or imposed upon. In connection with their warehouse in Candleriggs, the firm for many years carried on warping mills in the upper flats, being thus manufacturers as well as merchants. Before leaving Candleriggs, however, and entering upon their present extensive premises in Ingram Street, which they opened in 1856, they had abandoned the manufacturing department of their business, and confined themselves exclusively to buying and selling. Such were the beginnings of a concern which, at the present day, is surpa.s.sed by none, and equalled by few in the city of Glasgow, and such were the circ.u.mstances under which the two brothers laid the foundations of a reputation for sterling integrity and worth, which has given their family a leading place in the West of Scotland. It may be mentioned that in 1842 they opened an additional retail warehouse in Buchanan Street, under the firm of Campbell & Co.--a business afterwards disposed of to Neilson, Shaw, & M'Gregor; and that the retail business in Candleriggs Street was disposed of to Donald & Sellar.

With reference to Sir James's public career a great deal might be written, and yet the gist of it might be comprised in a few sentences.

Both he and his brother William, so well known as Mr. Campbell of Tillichewan, were for a long time members of the Town Council, and Sir James occupied for the statutory period of three years--from 1840 to 1843--the position of Lord Provost. It was while Sir James filled the civic chair that the heir apparent to the Throne was born, and to mark the occurrence of such an important event, as well as in recognition of the active part which he took in connection with the festivities and demonstrations that happened in Glasgow to celebrate the same, he received from her Majesty the honour of knighthood. In 1837, he had come forward as a candidate for the representation of the city, conjointly with Mr. Monteith of Carstairs; but as he stood in the Conservative interest, and as Glasgow, even at that distance of time, was a Radical const.i.tuency, he was, despite his great local influence, defeated by a considerable majority. His opponents on this occasion were Lord William Bentinck, Mr. John Dennistoun, and Mr. Robert Monteith; and after a hard struggle the election terminated with the following result:--

Lord William Bentinck, 2767 John Dennistoun, 2743 Robert Monteith, 2121 James Campbell, 2090

Again in 1841, while Lord Provost, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the representation of the city, the poll terminating as follows:--

James Oswald, 2776 John Dennistoun, 2728 James Campbell, 2416 George Mills, 355

In every movement having for its object the promotion of the interests and well-being of Glasgow, Sir James has taken an active and useful part. Politically, his support and influence have had an important bearing upon the fortunes of the Conservative party in the West of Scotland; and to the Established Church, of which he has all along been a steadfast and warm adherent, he has contributed unwearied service.

On the 14th January, 1868, Sir James was entertained at a banquet in the Corporation Galleries in recognition of his private worth and his public services as a citizen of Glasgow. The banquet was so far official that the Lord Provost occupied the chair, and he was supported by most of the leading men of Glasgow. In proposing the health of Sir James, the Lord Provost (Sir James Lumsden) declared that he had "for many years taken an active part, and still takes a deep interest in all munic.i.p.al affairs;" and added, "he is well known as a warm and attached friend, a judicious counsellor, ever ready not only to lend his name and open his purse in the furtherance of all measures leading to the improvement of his fellow-citizens, but by taking such an active part in their management as shows his earnestness in accomplishing whatever he takes in hand." In the course of his speech, the Lord Provost also mentioned the interesting fact that, entering the Council in 1831, Sir James was one of the four surviving members of that body who presided over munic.i.p.al affairs prior to the pa.s.sing of the Borough Reform Bill--Mr.