In testimony of the esteem of the Magistrates and Council for him as a citizen. In recognition of his brilliant career at the Scottish Bar, and in acknowledgment of his eminent public services as Lord Advocate, Secretary for Scotland, Lord Justice General, and Lord President of the Court of Session.
"I have always felt that Edinburgh occupies a unique position. There are some cities which have a present, but no past. Thev have a strenuous everyday life but there is no interest and no romance in their streets. There are others - here I think I may quote Bruges - where there is no apparent present, though there is a great past; and as we wander through those sad and silent streets we can weave romance and recall bygone scenes, but we think how intolerably dull it would be to live there in the present.
Edinburgh, it seems to me, combines both advantages. The past is with us always and yet, while we can remember the past we can appreciate the present. The city has changed, but it has grown like a human being, where we can recognise the boy in the man."