michael, eldest daughter of John, first earl of Hyndford; secondly, to an English lady, related to the duchess of Gordon, by whom he had a son named George. It is distressing to think that, about the year 1748, this great patriot was obliged, probably in consequence of his spirited exertions for the public good, to dispose of his estate to the earl of Hopetoun. He died at his son's house at the Navy Office, London, on the 12th of November, 1758. His son, who was a comptroller of the navy, married Caroline, baroness Forrester in her own right, and was the father of Anna Maria, also baroness Forrester in her own right, who died unmarried in 1808.—Patrick Cockburn, advocate, brother of the agriculturist, was married, in 1731, to Miss Alison Rutherford of Fernilie, a woman of poetical genius, authoress of the more modern verses to the tune of "The Flowers of the Forest," and who died in Edinburgh, November 22, 1794.
It would be difficult to do full justice to the merits of such a character as Cockburn of Ormiston, or to describe the full effects of his exertions upon the interests of his country. It may be said, that he lived at a time when the circumstances of Scotland were favourable to improvement, as it was the first age of re-action after a long depression. But, although the country would have no doubt made great advances without his aid, there can, in our opinion, be little doubt that he considerably anticipated the natural period of improvement, and gave it an impulse much greater than was likely to be otherwise received. On what other principle are we to account for the immense degree to which Scotland now transcends the agriculture of England—the country from which it so recently derived its first hints at the art?
COLQUHOUN, Patrick, a writer on statistics and criminal jurisprudence, was born at Dumbarton, March 14, 1745. His father, who acted as Registrar of the county Records, was nearly allied to Sir Robert Colquhoun, Bart, of Nova Scotia, and also to Sir James Colquhoun of Luss. Having lost his father ere he attained his sixteenth year, Patrick Colquhoun determined, like many others of his countrymen, to seek his fortune abroad. He settled on what was called the Eastern Shore, in Virginia, where for five years he carried on commercial pursuits. It was the general custom of the inhabitants of this district to cross the Chesapeake Bay twice a year, in order to transact business at the seat of government; and such were the qualifications for public business manifested even at this early period by Mr Colquhoun, that many were in the habit of trusting their concerns to him, instead of going to the general mart in person. Besides carrying on these trading speculations, he studied very hard at this period, and endeavoured, both by reading intelligent books, and conversing with intelligent men, particularly of the legal profession, to fit himself for public duties. In 1766, when twenty-one years of age, he returned to his own country for the sake of his health, and settled as a merchant in Glasgow, where he soon after married a lady of his own name, the daughter of the provost of Dumbarton. On the breaking out of the war with the colonies, Mr Colquhoun's sympathies leant to the side of the government, and, in 1776, he was one of fourteen principal contributors to a fund for raising a regiment in Glasgow, for his majesty's service in that struggle. By this and other means he became a person of some consideration in the eyes of the government, and succeeded, in 1780, in carrying through parliament a bill of great consequence to the trade of the country. In 1781, when occupying a place in the town-council of Glasgow, he suggested and carried forward to completion the design for building the coffee-house and exchange, in that city. Next year, he was elected provost of Glasgow. He now became the founder of that excellent institution, the chamber of Commerce and Manufactures at Glasgow, of which he was the first chairman. While holding these distinguished offices, he was also chairman of the
