cate and fubtile argument, and could, on proper occafions, fuccefsfully push an abstract principle into all its confequences, and was ever difpofed to bestow the due fhare of praife on this fort of acuteness in others, yet few were fo little apt to be dazzled by new or fplendid notions, or lefs fubject to the impofition of falfe refinement. His natural good underftanding, joined to his knowledge of bufinefs, readily pointed out to him the real fources and objects of our customs and ftatutes, and the confequences to be dreaded, if these were at any time forgotten; and thus, occupying on all occafions a strong and fure ground, he was not eally tempted to abandon it.

To the fame conftitution of mind, he was indebted for his particular eminence in that article, wherein per haps lies the main difficulty of the Judge's tafk, the difcovering the precife application, or the inapplicability of the general precepts of law to the particular cafe in hand. He was no wife apt to haften to a sentence, but patiently fufpended his opinion till the due investigations had fully rip ened the cafe for judgment; which neceffary preparation once made, he then earnestly applied himfelf to underftand, and get poffeffion of, the peculiar circumftances and proper complexion of that cafe. Whence it came, that in the courfe of the many years he fat upon the Bench, the number of his judgments as an Ordinary, that were altered on review of the whole Court, was almoft incredibly fmall, and that, in a great proportion of the caufes brought before him, the unfuccefsful party acquiefced in his opinion, and carried the fu't no farther.

Hence alfo, in the deliberations of the whole Court, it often happened, (as many who now hear me remember), that, by detailing the caufe to the Bench, (which he did with great force and perfpicuity), and fixing upOn fpecial circumftances which others

had overlooked, or lefs attentively confidered, he was able to turn the tide of argument, and win his brethren over to his opinion.

Yet, though this was perhaps his peculiar excellence, he was the very reverfe of a minute or unfteady lawyer. He had, on the contrary, the firmest hold of the principles and fpirit of the law in every department, and on all occafions that gave scope for general reafoning, ever drew his opinion, not from the authority of books and precedents, (which hardly any judge ever dealt lefs in quoting), but from the fource and fountainhead of the law,-the ftrain of our ftatutes, and the reafon and fubftance of the thing.

But in reciting his qualifications as a Judge, we muft not forget one, which was in him amongst the molt en inent of any, and on no occafion forfook or mifled him,-the natural rectitude and pure honour of his own mind,-which, in the numerous clafs of caufes that depend on the judgement to be formed of the character and conduct of men, directed him with certainty to whatever was faulty in either, and enabled him to fhew, which he did with much energy and feeling, what the conduct of a truly honest man would there have been. Indeed, upon fuch occafions, where the intereft of morality, or the purity of judical proceedings, was concerned, he was fometimes led to expatiate at a length which just taste might perhaps have been difpofed to blame, had it been a lefs warm and pleafing proof of his native integrity and cordial attachment to the caufe of virtue.

With all thefe powerful afliftances, which fo well qualified him to judge with firmness and decifion for himfelf, he poffeffel the ftill more rare, and in a Judge ineftimable endowment, of the molt perfect candour, in liftening to and weighing the fentiments of others; which virtue was in him fo confpicuous, that it

might with truth be faid of him, that he had no predilection for any opinion, merely becaufe it had once been his own: So ready was he to reconfider his judgment, the moment he faw any caufe to doubt it, and with fuch perfect opennels and indifference did he abandon it, how ever firm his former perfuafion, upon being (from whatever quarter) convinced of an error.

These were his acknowledged merits as a Civil Judge. And his zeal for the public fervice as Prefident of the Jufticiary, was no lefs confpicuous and fuccefsful, as appears from more than one reformation, which the forms and practice of the Court underwent, during the period of his fitting at the head of it. Of thefe, the moit remarkable was the fuller eftablishment of the diftinction in our law between culpable homicide and murder; a distinction which feems to rest upon the strongest grounds in reafon and humanity, and even to be fupported by the language of our books and ftatutes, but which, neverthlefs, the older practice of the Court could fcarcely be faid to have thoroughly recognised, and which now, in a great measure, owed its reception into libels and verdicts to the weight of Mr Miller's opinion, who loft no proper opportunity to countenance and inculcate fo just a doctrine.

We may also mention among the improvements by him fuggetted, the late ftatutory difpenfation with the tedious, and often unneceffary procefs, of reducing the teftimony of the wit neffes into writing.

Nor muft we pass over his attention to the exterior decorum of this tribunal, fo important to the maintainance of its authority, and which he, in different ways, materially contributed to fupport; having abolifhed certain old, but unfeemly practices, and introduced various becoming obfervances, not before his time required; and, above all, having perfonally added to

the refpect and gravity of the Bench, by his rare and happy talent of fuitable, and earneft, and eloquent exhortation to the unfortunate convicts, which impreffed upon the bystanders, and rendered falutary to them, the examples of juftice which his duty constrained him to make.

Mr Miller continued, thus honourably to himself, and profitably to the public, to difcharge the duties of these ftations, without interruption, till the year 1781; at which time, his health being fomewhat impaired by fo long a courfe of conftant application to bu finefs, it was judged advifeable for him to difcontinue it, and make a fhort trial of a warmer climate. He accordingly spent fome months in vifiting different parts of France; and having thence paffed into Italy, he had there the fatisfaction of contemplating the magnificent remains of the grandeur of the people, for whose language and genius he entertained fo high an admiration, and of furveying with his own eyes many of the picturefque fcenes which had fo often delighted him in the defcriptions of their poets. He returned in perfect health, after being abfent for about a year, and refumed his former occupa tions with his wonted vigour and activity.

In the month of January 1788, on the death of Prefident Dundas, he was, to the entire fatisfaction of his country and the Bar, called to preside in the Civil Court. His Majefty, at the fame time, thought proper to requite his long fervices, by bestowing on him the title of a Baronet of Great Britain.

It was a very difficult task for any man, the youngest and mofi vigorous, to enter on the extenfive labours of this office, after the Lord Prefident Dundas; whofe fingular powers for the rapid dispatch of business will always be remembered with regret, whoever be the perfon that fills his chair. Yet of his fucceffor, during the short

time he held it, we may with truth fay, that he gained an acceffion of reputation, by his manner of conducting himself in this new station, though advanced to the age of Seventy before he attained it. And if he fometimes confulted with his brethren upon matters which he might have fettled without fuch deliberation, this was almost unavoidable upon the firft entry into of fice; at least in a perfon like Sir Thomas Miller, who, with the beft pretenfions to lead and direct, was free from all defire to exert his influence. This mildness of difpofition fecured to him, in an uncommon degree, the refpect and affection of the Gentlemen at the Bar; whom he always heard with fuch patience, and treated with fuch attention and good breeding, as fhould, more effectually than the harpeft animadverfion, reprefs all petulance and indecorum.

Having thus then gained the fummit of his honeft ambition, in rifing fucceffively, by his own talents and ufeful labours, to all the great offices of the law;—having obtained them all without blame or envy, and held them with credit and diftinction ;-happy in retaining, at an advanced age, the full poffeffion of health and of his faculties, and fortunate in his family and all his domeftic concerns; he had little elfe to pray for, (fince Heaven had ordered that he fhould now be call

ed from the fociety of perfons fo dear to him) but an eafy diffolution of his mortal state. And this Divine Providence thought fit to grant him.

He died upon the 27th of September 1789, after an illnefs of two days, at his feat of Barfkimming in Ayrshire, in the 72d year of his age, leaving no good man his enemy, and attended with that fincere and extenfive regret, which only thofe can hope for, who have occupied the like important ftations, and acquitted themfelves as we'l.

We have spoken of him in his public capacity, and noticed his great

temperance and folidity of judgment. Now, thefe qualities were in him the more to be praifed, that they did not proceed from any coldnefs or tardiness of nature, but were, on the contrary, united to a very warm and feeling heart; which was manifeft in his whole life and manners.

No man was perhaps a better citizen, or more genuine patriot, than the late Prefident; if we are to esteem him fuch, who not only takes an interest in the internal welfare and profperity of his country, but feels an honeft pride and warm concern in its glory and confequence as a ftate, and in the fplendour of the peoples fame. Of all thefe, the President had, and continued to have, even in his latest years, a moft lively fenfe; which was, at one period of his life, the foure of much joy and fatisfaction, and at a later period of fincere mortification and regret, and caufed him often to lament to the rifing generation, during the misfortunes of the late war, that they had only feen a glimpfe of the glory of their country.

That part too of the British dominions which gave him birth, he was attached to with all the partiality which a good man naturally feels; nor was there any fubject on which he dwelt more frequently, or with more pleafure, than its growing ftate of improvement in his own time.

He was, in like manner, a very focial and hofpitable man; to his family and connections, and indeed to all about him, full of gentlenefs, and kindnefs, and cordiality: and this uniformly and without exertion; infomuch that no perfon whom he had reafon to efteem or think well of, could ever fay of him, that he received him coldly, or treated him with referve. Good breeding indeed, (meaning by the term that kind and open manner which fets a ftranger or inferior at eafe) was in a manner natural to him; and he had it to all ranks and conditions of men ; fo that in a humane vifit to the house of a fervant or dependant, he equally

pleafed,

pleased, and was as furely directed to the very things that were fit and acceptable to be faid, as in his intercourfe with thofe of his own rank. Among whom too, and indeed in all fituations, he was distinguished for a rare fimplicity of manners and opennefs of fpeech; which flowed from a purity of thought and intentions, for perfect that it was not to be furpaff

ed.

He retained through life the higheft relifh of the beauties of nature, and every year spent a confiderable part of the recefs of bufinefs, in the enjoyment and improvement of the romantic fcenes at his place in Barfkimming. It was not, however, to the object of beauty alone, that his attention at those feafons was directed, but also to the better management and fubftantial melioration of his ef tate. And this purfuit engaged him in very numerous and extenfive operations, all of which he himself both

planned, and fuperintended the execution of, and fuccefsfully conducted; though in the hands of moft other men, having the fame avocations of bafinefs, without the fame activity, conftancy, and love of order, they were more likely to have proved abor tive, or even rainous.

Sir Thomas Miller was twice married. By his firft wife, Margaret Murdoch, daughter of John Murdoch, merchant in Glafgow, he left iffue, one daughter, and one fon, now Sir William Miller, who follows the fame profeffion in which his father rofe to fuch diftinguished honours. His fecond marriage, of which there is no iffue, was to Anne Lockhart, daughter of Mr Lockart of Cattlehill, who has the misfortune tofurvive him. His eldeft brother John haddeceafed fomeyears before him, and he fucceeded, on that event, to the family eftate of Glenlee, which, along with the eftate of Barskimming, has now devolved to his fon.

ENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Efq; L. L. D. and F. R. S. was born in 1706, and brought up in the profeffion of a printer; in which capacity he worked fome years as a journeyman with the late Mr Watts of London. Of his origin he made no fecret. In a converfation at Paris, in company with the Comte d'Aranda and the Duke de la Rochefoucault, he replied to an Irish gentleman, who had afked him fome queftions about the state of the paper-manufactory there," Few men can give you more information on that fubject than myfelf, for I was originally in the printing-trade." His love of fcience can be traced from an early period. A letter of his to Sir Hans Sloane, is dated June 2. 1725. He appeared in London in the line of his bufinefs;

but had procured letters to, and was well received by, Martin Folkes, Efq; afterwards Prefident of the Royal Society, and through him was known to Dr Clarke. He was not, however, gratified with a fight of Sir Ifaac Newton, which he often lamented, and which he had laboured to obtain. Great age and increafing infirmities prevented an introduction to Sir Ifaac. In 1735, Mr Franklin had a fevere pleurify, which terminated in an abfcefs on the left lobe of his lungs, and he was then almoft fuffocated with the quantity and fuddennefs of the difcharge. A fecond attack of a fimilar nature happened fome years af ter this, from which he foon recovered, and did not appear to fuffer any inconvenience in his refpiration from

thefe

thefe difeafes. His own idea of death may be collected from a letter which he wrote about 35 years ago to Mis Hubbard, on the death of his brother, Mr John Franklin of Bofton, who was father-in-law to Mifs Hubbard. "Dear Child, I copdole with you; we have loft a moft dear and valuable relation; but it is the will of God and Nature that thefe mortal bodies be laid afide, when the foul is to enter into real life; 'tis rather an embryo ftate, a preparation for living; a man is not completely born until he be dead; why then fhould we grieve that a new child is born among the immortals, a new member added to their happy fociety? We are fpirits. That bodies fhould be lent us, while they can afford us pleasure, affift us in acquiring knowledge, or doing good to our fellow-creatures, is a kind and benevolent act of God. When they become unfit for thefe purposes, and afford us pain inftead of pleasure, instead of an aid they become an incumbrance, and anfwer none of the intentions for which they were given, it is equally kind and be nevolent that a way is provided by which we may get rid of them. Death is that way. We ourfelves prudently chufe a partial death. In fome cafes, a mangled, painful limb, which cannot be reftored, we willingly cut off. He who plucks out a tooth, parts with it freely, fince the pain goes with it; and he that quits the whole body, parts at once with all the pains, and poffibilities of pains and difeafes, it was liable to, or capable of making him fuffer. Our friend and we are invited abroadon a party of pleasure that is to laft for ever his carriage was firft ready, and he is gone before us; we could not all conveniently ftart together; and why should you and I be grieved at this, fince we are foon to follow, and know where to find him? Adieu! B. F."

In 1773 he attracted the public notice by a letter on the duel between Mr Whately and Mr Temple. On the 29th of January, 1774, he was heard before the privy council, on a petition he had long before prefented, as agent for Maffachufetts Bay, against their governor, Mr Hutchinfon; when the pétition was abruptly difmiffed, and Mr Franklin removed from the office of deputy poftmastergeneral for the Colonies. Previous to this period, it is a teftimony to truth, and bare justice to his memory, to obferve, that he used his utmost endeavours to prevent a breach between Great Britain and America; and it is perhaps to be lamented that his counfels were difregarded. He from this time entertained fo ardent a refentment, that neither politeness nor moderation could reftrain the most pointed and bitter farcafms againft the conduct of England in mixed companies. It is certain that Franklin foretold all the confequences, with an almoft prophetic fagacity. In May, 1774, a difpute arose in the Affembly at Georgia, concerning his agency.

His conference with

Dr Fothergill, for negociating with America, 1774, may be fcen in Dr Lettfom's "Memoirs of Dr Fothergill," p. 163-176; and Dr Franklin's character of that phyfician, ib. 176-178: his correfpondence with Michael Collinfon, ib. 266. In the fummer of 1775 he returned, to Philadelphia, and was immediately elected one of their delegates to the Continental Congrefs. In December 1776 he arrived at Paris, and foon after took the house which Lord Stormont had occupied.

The teftimonies of Franklin's merit were conceived in the highest ftrain of panegyric. In the year 1777, Lord Chatham adverted, in a remarka le fpeech, to his diffuafive arguments against the war, and to the fagacious advice of the American New

ton.