| Edward S. Gordon | 2120 |
| Archibald Smith | 1616 |
The result of this election was looked forward to with eager expectation by men of all shades of politics throughout the length and breadth of the land. In Glasgow, as we can well remember, the excitement was intense, although the proceedings were, upon the whole, of an orderly character.
Mr. Gordon has voted with his party on all the great questions that have come before Parliament since he entered the House of Commons. During the last two sessions he was very regular in his attendance to legislative duties, and made several telling speeches on Scotch questions, in which he is, perhaps, better informed than any other man in the House. He is always listened to with respect, if not with admiration, for he exhibits a mastery of details, and a perfect apprehension of the subject in hand, which enables him to speak with effect, when others, who possess greater oratorical powers, would be liable to "put their foot in it." Indeed, Mr. Gordon is not an orator, in any sense of the term. His legal training at the Scotch bar has stunted the development of his rhetorical gifts. In pleading before a judge or a jury he seeks to influence their judgments rather than their hearts, and this tendency is to a greater or less extent characteristic of all good Scotch lawyers, although it is fatal to those nicely rounded periods and soul-stirring appeals to the imagination and emotional faculties, that tell so forcibly upon an English jury. It is disappointing to listen to Mr. Gordon for the first time. His appearance is sufficiently distingué, for he is tall of stature, and he has a decidedly intellectual cast of countenance. But when he commences to speak there is an almost painful absence of embellishment or emotional feeling; his language is severely practical and argumentative; but his logic is unimpeachable, and he can summon to his aid no end of hard and dry, albeit telling, facts—
"Chiels that winna ding."
During the session of 1868, while he held the office of Lord Advocate, Mr. Gordon passed the Scotch Reform Bill, and it is to his efforts that the Universities of Scotland are indebted for direct Parliamentary representation. It seems, therefore, consistent with the fitness of things that a constituency which he himself had been the means of creating should become his own. To Mr. Gordon we are also indebted for the Titles to Land Act, passed during the session of 1868, by which the whole conveyancing system of Scotland has been consolidated, and placed on a more satisfactory footing. In the same year he succeeded in passing the Writs Registration Bill, which has affected beneficially the whole of the land system of Scotland. A bill for the purpose of amending the Feudal System of Scotland was introduced during the session of 1870, by Mr. Gordon, but although it was hailed with every symptom of approbation and encouragement by the leading men of the country, it had ultimately to be withdrawn. The same fate was reserved for a bill to abolish the feudal system altogether, which was brought in by Mr. Young, the present Lord Advocate of Scotland.
In ecclesiastical matters, no less than in matters political, Mr. Gordon has taken a conspicuous part. He has often appeared at the bar of the General Assembly of the Established Church of Scotland, of which he has always been a devoted adherent, both in a professional and in a private capacity. In the General Assembly of 1870, he seconded Dr Pirie's motion against the Law of Patronage in a speech of great argumentative power, and on the same and other occasions he has spoken effectively on behalf of union with other Presbyterian Churches, his leading ecclesiastical idea being in favour of the reconstruction of the National Church on such a basis as will enable her to co-operate and unite with other Churches, and thereby emphatically make her what she professes to be. His disposition is of a most kindly and generous tendency. He practises charity and toleration towards all mankind. At the time of the Disruption, he used all his influence with the late Lord Justice-Clerk with a view of maintaining intact the position and privileges of the parish schoolmasters, who had elected to leave the establishment and become members of the Free Church. He strongly urged upon the leaders of the Establishment that a measure so harsh as this, besides being unduly severe upon the teachers, could not benefit the Church of Scotland, and would only raise up enemies against her. This is only one of many proofs of his broad humanity that might be adduced.
It is almost unnecessary to remark that Mr. Gordon enjoys in a high degree the confidence and esteem of the political party with whom he acts. We happen to know that the present Earl of Derby values his counsel and co-operation very highly, and as for Mr. Disraeli he has long made it a principle to consult Mr. Gordon on questions specially affecting Scotland. He is regarded as a decidedly safe man. Prudent and unassuming, he never seeks to catch the eye of the Speaker unless he has something of importance to say, and hence he is listened to by both his own and the opposite parties with attention and deference. In the discussions that have taken place during the present session on the Scotch Education Bill, he has proposed several amendments all tending in the same direction—namely, that of preserving the element of religious teaching in our national schools. He is also strongly in favour of maintaining a high curriculum, and, as far as possible, improving the status and efficiency of the teachers.
We may add, in conclusion, that Mr. Gordon is a Queen's Counsel, and he has been rewarded for his splendid legal and literary acquirements with the degree of LL.D. by Edinburgh University. He is likewise Chancellor's Assessor for Edinburgh University, an office of considerable honour, and in virtue of which he is a member of the University Court. Mr. Gordon has taken a lively interest in the Volunteer movement, and at the present time he holds the commission of Lieut.-Colonel in the Queen's City of Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade.