The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-02 00:00:00

THE LATE DR. CLELAND.

The following extract from a biographical notice of
the late Dr. Cleland, we copy from the " Popular Scot-
tish Biography," to which it was furnished by Henry .
Wilson Cleland, M,D., of this city, a son of the late
Doctor's. It supplies some particulars relative to this
eminent man, hitherto but partially known :
Cleland, James, LL.D., a distinguished statistical
writer, was born at Glasgow in the month of January,
1770. His parents. thoug highly respectable, were in
a humble station of life, his father's trade being that of
a cabinet-maker, to which his son was likewise brought
up. Although he himself had received but a scanty
education, Mr. Cleland, sen., who possessed great
shrewdness of character, had the good sense to be
aware of its advantages, and accordingly James was
early initiated in English grammar and the rudiments of
the Latin language, and had made considerable progress
in arithmetic. In the workshop of his father he continued
until 1789, when, in order to render himself perfect in
his business, he went to London, in which city he re-
mained for two years. On his return he entered into
partnership with his father, and from his peculiar tact
and straightforward mode of conducting business, he, in
a short period, rendered the trade in which he was con-
cerned one of the most flourishing in the city. It was
while thus engaged that he first exhibited his inclination
to figures ; the foremost of his printed productions being
" Tables for Showing the Price of Packing-Boxes of
sundry Dimensions and Thicknesses," an opuscule which
was highly thought of at the time, and which is still in
common use amongst tradesmen. In 1814 the office of
Superintendent of Public Works at Glasgow having be-
come vacant, Dr. Cleland was unanimously elected to it
by the Town Council, and in this situation he continued
until 1834, when, owing to some alteration in the distri-
bution of offices, consequent on the operation of the Mu-
nicipal Reform Bill, he thought it expedient to resign.
Many of his fellow-citizens, however, considering that
some compensation Should be afforded him, called a put,
lie meeting on the 7th of August of that year, at which
it was unanimously resolved, that a subscription should
immediately be set on foot, in order to present Dr. Cle-
land with some tangible mark of the esteem in which
he was held by them. This was accordingly done, and
in the course of a very few weeks, when the subscription
list was closed, the sum collected amounted to no less
than 4,6001., which it was agreed upon by a committee
should be expended on the erection of a productive
building, to be placed in a suitable part of the city, and
to bear the name of the " Cleland Testimonial." That
this very superb present, however, was not totally unde-
served, will be apparent even from the following isolated
trifling fact:—Previously to Dr. Cleland's election to
the office of Superintendent of Public Works in 1814,
the caravans of performers, who were accustomed to meet
in Glasgow during the fair week in July, had been
allowed to be pitched on ground belonging to the town,
without paying anything for such a privilege. But
when Dr. Cleland entered upon his duties he imitated
the example of the Corporation of London with regard
to Bartholomew Fair, and by charging a small sum for
each standing of ground, he was enabled, during the
period between 1815 and 1834, to pay into the hands of
the. City Chamberlain, from this source, no less a sum
than 2,509/. In 1821, Dr. Cleland was employed by
Government to draw up and classify the enumeration
of the inhabitants of Glasgow ; and, from the following
high eulogium contained in the Government enurnera-
don volume, it will be observed in what point of view
his services were regarded at head-quarters :—" It
would be unjust," observes the writer, " not to men-
tion, in this place, that Mr. Cleland has transmitted
documents containing very numerous and very useful sta-
tistical details concerning the city and suburbs of Glasgow,
and that the example has produced imitation in some other
of the principal towns in Scotland, though not to the same
extent of minute observation by which Mr. Cleland's
labours are distinguished." In 1831, Dr. Cleland again
drew up the enumeration for Government, and the very
flattering mode in which it was received, both at home
and in several of the countries of the European conti-
: nent, attests its value. From 1820 to 1834, the bills of

mortality for Glasgow were drawn up by him, and from
the following panegyric on them by the highest autho-
rity on the subject, we may judge of their accuracy and
value :—" Of the statements derived from bills of mor-
tality, and enumerations of the people," observes Joshua
Mylne, Esq., in the Encycloptediaßritannica, " only
those for Sweden and Finland, Dr. Ileysbam's for Car-
lisle, and Dr. Cleland's for Glasgow, have been given in
the proper form, and with sufficient correctness to afford
the information, which is the most important object of
them all, viz. that which is necessary for determining the
law of mortality." In 1836, a number of gentlemen hay-
ing united themselves into a Society for Promoting the
Advancement of Statistical Inquiry, Dr. Cleland was
unanimously elected President, and in the first part of
their transactions there appeared a paper written by
him on his favourite subject—the State of the City.
From the date of his resignation to his death, which
took place after an illnes-ss of nearly a year's duration.
on the 14th of October, 1840, Dr. Cleland never ceased
to entertain a lively regard for the interest and pros-
perity of his native city, and not a month before he
expired, he published a pamphlet " On the Former and
Present State of Glasgow." BY the University of
Glasgow he was honoured with the degree of Doctor
of Laws. He was .a member of the Society of Civil
Engineers of London ; a Fellow of the Statistical So-
cieties of London, Manchester, and Bristol ; a corre-
sponding member of the Society of Antiquaries al Scot-
land ; and, a short period before his decease, he was
elected an honorary member of the Societe Francois de
Statisque Universelle.

A very splendid carved table, with a model
built from the timber belonging to various parts of the
Royal George, were this week forwarded to her Ma-
jesty
at Windsor Castle, by Messrs. E. and E. Emanuel,
of Portsmouth, and which her Majesty was most gra-
ciously pleased to signify ploasure in accepting.