British lawyer and statesman, born in 1829, and educated at Edinburgh and Oxford, where he graduated in 1853. He was called to the bar in 1854, and entered the House of Commons in 1857, as member for the Elgin burghs, continuing to represent that constituency in the Liberal interest till 1881. He was appointed Under-Secretary of State for India in 1868, and held that office till 1874. On the formation of Mr. Gladstone’s second administration in May 1880, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. This office he resigned in July 1881, on being appointed governor of Madras. During his successful administration of this great province, he made several tours from end to end of the presidency, in order to see with his own eyes what was requisite to be done. In 1886 he resigned the governorship. He was lord rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1866 to 1872. He is the author of Studies in European Politics, and other works. (See authored articles: John Duke, Baron Coleridge, Earls of Derby, Laurence Oliphant, Sir Odo Russell.)
