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    reign of terror . He did not > however , think that just notions pf jiuman liberty were to be despised , because bad jnea had embarked in the cause , any more than he was of opinion that our religion was to be considered as contarpinated , because it had been for ages defiled by the impurities of superstition . He maintained , also , tj \ at Great Britain had no right to interfere

    in settling ^ ie French Government , and that the destructive war in which she afterwards engaged on that account , might have been avoided . The local politics of Scotland were at that period so virulent , and parties so much divided , that those who thought

    differently on these subjects , did not hesitate to brand him as an enemy to his country . Those , however , who knew Mr . Fleming ' genuine worth , and that he differed with them purely upon principle , continued their friendship , and never ceased to cultivate his

    acquaintance . " About 1793 , when political feeling was at his height , and Muir , Margaxot and others , were transported for the crime of sedition , under sentences of the High Court of Justiciary , Mr . Fleming ' s friends were not , for some

    time , without anxiety on his account , though he had certainly never attended any of the societies or meetings which were held at that period ; but as the free expression of liberal opinions could not be characterized as criminal , he was never on that account made

    the object of any hostile measure . "Mr . Fleming was , in 1804 , translated to the parish of Colin ton , within four miles of Edinburgh , on the unsolicited presentation of the Earl of Laudejxfcde , the patroa . This arrangement appears to have been , communicated by his Lordship tQ Mr . T 1 &

    miqg through the medium of a mutual friend , previous to the deatjiof 3 > r , Walker , the then incumbent . A copy of Mr . Fleming ' s letter to the Noble Earl on this occasion , has been preserved , and its insertion here may not be deemed unsuitable .

    " Primrose , Dec . 20 , 1802 . " * My Lord , nil * Our ve * y excellent friend , ' Mr ^ losoi ) , has sent mto your Lordship ' s let-** to him , dated 26 tihL of last month . * ae quaintttesa of Mcamtoliment h suited

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    to the dbaracter an 4 in £ c | € furseof *» ly vain arid frivolous men . For this reaispo the parade of verbal gratitude shall , on the present occ ^ on , h * tfomQrtfe L . ft is , however , a fact tob dbvfousto escape notice , that the unsolicited and spontaneous offer which yOtir Lordshrpbasbeen pleased to make me , furnishes a proof that there remains , eren among the Peers of Scotland , one whose liberal and

    disinterested mind considers an _ uniform adherence to thpse priuci pies and measures which are favourable to the liberty and happiness of in a u kind , though unsupported by any other claim , as deserving patronage and encouragement . Permit me to assure your Lordship of another fact , —that the satisfaction of mind arising

    from reflection on my conduct , and which has greatly overbalanced every inconvenience which the temper of the times may have occasioned , has been heightened by this testimony of your Lordship ' s approbation , and that it is one of the few things by which this effect could have been produced . < c ' Whether your Lordship ' s generous intention shall ever be realized , like every future event , depends upon contingencies , many of which are beyond the reach of human foresight or controuL But whatever may be the event , I trust the kindness and generosity of your Lordship ' s intention shall always be sufficient to keep in my mind a just sense of the obligation , and lead to an independence and propriety of conduct which will shew that your Lordship ' s favour has not been entirely misplaced / "

    " Mr . Fleming had previously to this been offered two other livings in the Church , which he did not accept We have reason to believe , that at first he was not very cordially received by his parishioners at Colin ton ; but the real worth of his character waa soon discovered , and during the re mainder of his life , he enioyed their full regard and esteem . . He thought that he could never serve God better than when doing good to men , and continued to make Limsfilfuseftil to his parishioners as a frteml and ad-r viser in their secular affairs , as ^ ttetl & ?

    in religion and morality . Being % scholar by education ana taste , and a man of business by habit , he was a fit companion for men in all ranks of life > and from the natural frat * ki | es $ of his disposition , hia society , irf ^ tif nued to be much courted . H ^ w ^ f often consulted by genttemen tOTfei 8 opinion oa the value of land , -m&Mfa

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    Mvnoir 0 / the late Mevi JaAn Fleming , yf Cr <* ig * t Minister of Coimton , 58 Jh

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1823, page 581, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1789/page/21/