Urie.

his fortune the estate of Inches in Inverness-shire; Drumkilbo in Forfarshire and Perthshire; and Riccarton, near All these lands were entailed on his brother John and his heirs. He left £20,000 for religious and charitable purposes. Townhead Church, Glasgow, was built with a portion of this fund.

This church was endowed and erected into a parish by James Baird, the fourth son of the family, whose name is held everywhere in so deserved honour. He was born at Kirkwood in 1802, and died in 1876. His countenance was of marked power and individuality. Every feature was massive and strongly indicative of force rather than refinement, of sagacity rather than adroitness. But it was not stern, it was suffused with that kindly humanity which marks the tender and considerate heart. He was a storehouse of practical mechanical knowledge. He was initiated in the mysteries of all trades and the cunning handling of tools. On the hot-air blast he early began to exercise his ingenuity. When he found it as its original inventor Mr. Neilson, left it, it was only capable of raising the temperature to between 250 and 300 degrees. In 1833 he constructed a blast of greatly increased power. He raised the heat 500 degrees, and doubled the output of iron. But this did not satisfy him. He went on perfecting his invention till he obtained a heat of a 1000 degrees. Mr. Baird's hot-blast raised the production of a furnace from 60 to 250 tons per week. But he had not been allowed to pursue his improvements in peace. A case was raised against him for infringement of patent, which cost him before he was done with it £50,000. He also developed a coal-cutting machine, which is now in use in the Bothwell collieries of the company, and is of considerable practical utility. Seeking always to bless and prosper

others, he himself was greatly blessed and prospered. He became proprietor of a great number of valuable estates. He bought Cambusdoon, in Ayrshire, in 1853, -the estate where "Mungo's mither hanged hersel',"-for £22,000. He bought Knoydart in Inverness-shire, in 1857, for £90,000. In 1863 he bought Muirkirk for £135,000. On the death of his brother Robert he acquired the estate of Auchmedden in Aberdeenshire, which had been purchased by him for £60,000.

About this estate of Auchmedden there is a story that would appear to belong to the region of romance if it were not supported by the most authentic evidence. Before 1750, when it was sold to the Earl of Aberdeen, it had been in possession of an old branch of the Baird family. During the occupancy of the Bairds, a pair of eagles nested regularly on the rocks of Pennan, on Auchmedden. The prophecy ran-"There would be an eagle in the crags so long as there was a Baird in Auchmedden." When William, the last of the old Aberdeen lairds, parted with the estate, the eagles disappeared, nor did they return to their old haunt till Lord Haddo, the eldest son of the Earl of Aberdeen, married Miss Christian Baird of Newbyth. When the estate again changed hands by passing into the ownership of the Honourable William Gordon, the eagles once more left. When the estate once again came, in 1854, into the possession of the Bairds, the story had been forgotten by all, with the exception of the parish minister. He kept watch, and sure enough the eagles again came back to their eyrie. There they continued for some time, till the men of the coastguard having attempted to shoot them, they departed and never again returned !

A man of pure life and deep religious convictions, James Baird took the liveliest interest in the Church of

R

Scotland. He was an elder in her communion, and he was unceasing in his efforts to promote her welfare. His celebrated trust-deed was executed on the 24th July, 1873. When it became known that he had given half-amillion sterling to the Church, it was felt that Scotland was honoured by possessing a son who had given to the world, in a time of much spiritual perplexity, such a magnificent example of Christian philanthropy and unwavering faith in our old and well tried evangelical principles. Under the providence of God, the remarkable increase in life and usefulness vouchsafed to the Church in these past years has been owing to the abolition of Patronage and the operation of the Baird Trust.

But this was not all. On every religious problem James Baird had thought deeply and clearly. He took a firm grasp of the essential connection between secular and religious knowledge. He realised the folly of separating the two in the national schools. He saw how, amid the complexities of our modern life, it was clearly as important, if not more so, that our children should receive sound religious instruction, as well as sound secular instruction. He clearly saw how character had as much to do with individual and social progress as intelligence. And that while other things may increase a people's power, it is righteousness that exalteth a nation. "I have," he said, "a strong and conscientious objection that any of my money, whether exacted from me by rates and taxes, should be expended in teaching secular knowledge, unless it is permeated by religion, and I believe I shall be joined by an overwhelming majority of the people of Scotland in that objection." In connection with all their works, the Bairds established schools in which a good education was imparted by the most efficient teachers that could be found. Whilst

something in the way of fees was obtained from the parents for the upkeep of the schools, it is needless to say they had to make good a large portion of the expense.

But space would fail me to tell of all that James Baird did in the cause of religion and education. For many years he was a member of the General Assembly. He was also M.P. for the Falkirk Burghs from 1851 to 1857, when he retired. He was twice married, first to Charlotte, daughter of Robert Lockhart of Castlehill, and secondly to Isabella Agnew, daughter of Admiral James Hay of Belton.

Robert Baird, the fifth son, was born at Kirkwood, 26th April, 1806, and died unmarried at Cadder House, 7th August, 1856. He was educated for the bar, but after a short practice he abandoned it, and joined his brothers in business. He entailed Auchmedden estate in favour of his brother James. He was Lord Dean of Guild of Glasgow.

Douglas Baird was the sixth son. He was born at Kirkwood on the 31st March, 1808, and died at Closeburn, the 7th December, 1854. For the estate of Closeburn he paid the sum of £225,000. He married, July, 1851, Charlotte, daughter of Captain Henry Acton-of the Actons of Aldenham, Shropshire. He died intestate, leaving twin daughters as co-heiresses. Jane Isabella married Frederick Earnest Villiers, second son of the Bishop of Durham; and Charlotte married the eldest son of the Earl of Enniskillen.

George Baird, the seventh son, was born at High Cross on the 9th August, 1810, and died at Strichen, 24th August, 1870. For many years he managed the Ayrshire works of the firm. In 1855, he gave £145,000 for the estate of Strichen, Aberdeenshire. On the death of his brother David, he succeeded to the estate of

Coats. By his wife, Cecilia, daughter of tton of Clonard, in Wexford, he had one Alexander, born 1861.

chan Baird, the eighth son, was born 18th 816, and died, unmarried, at London, 1860. laughter and eldest child of the family was She was born at Woodhead, 6th December, first husband was Alexander Whitelaw of in Old Monkland. Her eldest son, Alex

Educated

o a position of great distinction. d, he travelled on the Continent, and studyand drawing, he first became a manager in ent of W. Baird & Co., and then a partner. lively interest in all matters referring to owment and extension and national educaould write and speak with equal facility. He me one of the best known, most respected, fluential men of the West of Scotland. He chairman of the first Glasgow School Board. was elected member of Parliament for the sgow. In 1870 he acquired the estate of and in 1873 the estate of Woodhall. He rbara Forbes, youngest daughter of Robert f Castlehill. His eldest son, Alexander, was October, 1862. A gentleman of many accomhe was married recently to a granddaughter sraeli, and a niece of the late Lord Beacons