SCOTLAND.
The Corporation of Edinburgh has voted the freedom of that city to Sir -James Duke, the Lord Mayor of London, who has been paying a visit to Scotland; and Wednesday last was appointed for its presentation. In re- plying to the eulogistic speech from the Lord Provost, Sir James Duke alluded with pride to the fact that he had sprung from a very humble condition. He had nothing, he said, but his good name when he left Montrose, his native town, and went to London a perfect stranger. "I was not only totally unac- quainted, but I went there exposed to difficulties which nothing but the greatest perseverance could surmount. I continued, from 1819 up to the period of my taking office as Chief Magistrate, to carry on one of the largest businesses of that particular branch of trade with which I am connected that was ever carried on by any house in the world; and I have to tell you, that in regard to that particular branch of business with which I was associated, I was an entire stranger, while I had to contend with those whose local influence was great. Yet, notwithstanding all this, I ultimately gained the esteem and confidence of those who placed in my hands, for many years, the most extensive mercantile system ever carried on by any house in the same branch of business."
Previous page
