In recognition of his distinguished military services to the country.
"I am very glad to learn, both from the remarks which you, sir, have made, and also from the very practical proof furnished by the ceremony in which we are now engaged, that the citizens of Edinburgh take a special interest in matters pertaining to our Indian Empire. When I reflect on the very important stake which this great city and Scotland as a whole have in the commerce of our Eastern possessions, I look forward hopefully to the time when British capital will be more freely invested than it is at present in enterprises in India, whether these be of an agricultural, a manufacturing, or an engineering nature. This is a subject which appears to me to merit the closest attention at your hands, for to no part of the United Kingdom is it more necessary than to Scotland that the prosperity and civilisation of India should increase as rapidly as possible. And I am convinced that anything which tends to check the growth of our trade with India must produce an injurious effect on all classes in the British Isles."