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OF all the individuals that pass before us in our hasty survey of the old Glasgow Commercial Aristocracy, there are perhaps none more worthy of our respect and admiration than David Dale, who, from lowly circumstances, raised himself to independence and fortune; whose whole business life was most earnestly devoted to the moral and material welfare of this city, and who has left a reputation which constitutes the best memorial of his worth.
Mr. Dale was born at Stewarton, in the year 1739. His father was a small shopkeeper in that town. His first occupation outside of the little shop was that of a "herd laddie," a very common employment for the sturdy boys of the country towns at that time. The condition of the small farmers of Ayrshire at the period when David pocketed his first "penny fee," - if, indeed, he received anything at all in the shape of money compensation for an irksome and onerous task, - has been described graphically by Colonel Fullarton of Fullarton, Chancellor of the Burgh of Prestwick, and the description is worthy of reproduction. "In 1760 there was scarcely a practicable road in the country. The farm houses were mere hovels moated with clay, and having an open fire-place in the midst of the door - the manure heap at the door - the cattle starving and the people wretched. The land was overrun with weeds and rushes and gathered into serpentine ridges. The scanty soil gathered on the top of the ridge, and the furrows drowned with water. No straw yards - hardly a potato or any other esculent root; no garden vegetables, except a few Scotch kail which, with milk and oatmeal, formed the principal diet of the people; no hay, except a scanty portion of the coarsest quality gathered from the bogs. The quantity of manure produced was of small avail, and that portion, little as it was, the farmers dragged on cars or sledges wanting wheels, or furnished with what were called tumbler wheels, which turned on their wooden axletrees, the wretched vehicle hardly fit to carry and draw five hundredweight. The ground was scourged with a succession of oats after oats, as long as it could pay for seed and labour, and afford a small surplus of meal for family use, and then it was allowed to remain in a state of absolute sterility, or overrun with thistles, till rest had enabled it to produce another series of scanty crops.
"Many of the farm leases were granted for three times nineteen years. The rent was mostly paid in 'kind.' One-half of the crops went to the landlord, and the other remained with the tenant to support his family. The tenant was expected, moreover, to assist his landlord in ploughing, leading peats or crops, working hay, and other operations, which, from their nature, interfered with the attention requisite on his own farm.
"As there were few or no enclosures, the horses and other cattle were either tethered during the summer months or entrusted to the care of a herd and collie dog, by whom the poor starved beasts were kept in constant agitation, being impelled by starvation to fly from bare leys, and commit continual depredations on the growing crops. The cattle - starved during winter, hardly able to rise without aid in spring, and perpetually harassed during summer - were never in a fit condition for the market; indeed, very little butcher meat was used, excepting the 'Mart,' which was generally the most unsaleable of the flock, and which farmers generally salted at Martinmas, to serve for food through the winter. A small portion of this, with groats or home-made barley (1) and kail, was the usual dinner, and with porridge, oatmeal cakes, and milk, and, on rare occasions, the luxury of butter or a bit of cheese, formed the only food of the people. So small was the consumption of butcher meat at this time, that not more than fifty head of cattle were killed annually in the county town of Ayr, although it contained a population of from four to five thousand.
"There were no manufactures in the country, excepting bonnets at Stewarton, and shoes, and a growing trade in carpets at Kilmarnock.
"Exports and imports at the harbours of Ayr, Irvine, and Saltcoats, were very trifling. The finest lands were let for two or three shillings an acre; and as there was hardly any substitute for oatmeal, the people were entirely at the mercy of the seasons. If the seed-time was unfavourable, the summer bad, or the harvest late and stormy, a dearth or famine unavoidably ensued. In these seasons of misery, the poor people have not unfrequently been obliged to resort to such shifts as bleeding their cattle, that with the blood so obtained, boiled with oatmeal or herbs and roots, they might be enabled to eke out a scanty existence."
In circumstances such as are here described, young David Dale received his initiatory experience of life, and while he gathered health and strength at his solitary task, we doubt not that he was also slowly acquiring that shrewd and thoughtful character which constituted a marked feature in his career. The peasants of Ayrshire at this time were strongly imbued with a sound religious principle and feeling, transmitted down from the old persecuting times, when their fathers testified to the sincerity of their convictions at the risk of sacrificing worldly comfort, and even life itself; and although some "professors" did provoke, and might have deserved the bitter castigations of the poet Burns, yet we like to conjecture how much guiding and strengthening influence those good old God-fearing men and women exercised over the mind of the docile herd boy.
When the time came round that David must take an independent part in the battle of life, many earnest consultations, no doubt, were held in the back parlour of the little Stewarton shop. All sorts of work requiring strength of arm and limb were then miserably remunerated, and there were few openings in the poor little town of Stewarton for the well-conditioned and thoughtful lad. At length it was decided that David should be sent to the weaving trade, by which, in course of time, he might be enabled to earn his twelve or fourteen shillings weekly, or, if steady and dexterous, as he gave fair promise to be, a still greater rate of wages; nay, he might even aspire to the ultimate dignity, responsibility, and emoluments of a "bowl cork," or dealer in yarns.
Kilmarnock, as we have mentioned, was now growing in repute for its carpet manufactures, and it was probably matter of discussion also, whether David should become an item in the "creeshie nations" that "fidged and clawed" through the old town. It was finally determined, however, that he should go to Paisley, and in that ancient town accordingly he served his weaving apprenticeship. It is worthy of remark that this was long before the use in Scotland of the "fly shuttle," and all kind of weaving work was then accomplished by dexterously pitching from hand to hand a heavily-laden iron-shod shuttle, an occupation requiring strength, aptitude, and perseverance - qualifications, we may presume, with which the young man was largely gifted. After his apprenticeship was finished, he wrought for some time as a journeyman in Hamilton, and about the year 1763 we find him employed as a clerk in a drapery establishment in Glasgow.
This was the turn of his fortune, the outlet of that keen sagacity which was his prevailing characteristic. Shortly afterwards, guided by the experience he had acquired when a humble journeyman weaver, now fortified by further insight as to suitable markets and fair prices, the result of his habits of observation while employed as a drapery clerk, he ventured upon what might be esteemed a bold step on the part of a comparatively penniless lad, namely, to try his fortune, sink or swim, in the great whirlpool of Glasgow commerce. The boldness of the enterprise will be more apparent when we consider that the winning prizes of trade, as well as of social and civic standing, were in the hands of a distinguished caste, who had guardedly surrounded themselves by a distinctive circle, to which we have scarcely anything corresponding in modern society, and of which we can only form a vague idea. From this circle the small tradesman and the petty shopkeeper were rigorously excluded.
The adventure on the part of David Dale, however, was very unobtrusive. He took a small shop in an old-fashioned building, known as "Hopkirk's land," a few doors north of the Cross, in High Street. The shop rent was sufficiently moderate, being only five pounds yearly; and here he set up in a small way, as a dealer in yarns, a growing trade, the benefits of which he no doubt foresaw. And lest the shop rent should lessen too much his anticipated margin of annual profit, he contrived to portion off a fair division of the accommodation to a watchmaker, who in return paid an equal share of the rent. What a queer combination! We like to picture the round-faced, thick-set, brisk lad, bustling among his dusty yarn bundles, or haggling over their price, in one corner of the little low-roofed ware-room, and on the other side a solemn gentleman peering into one of those strange-looking turnip-shaped watches, while ranks of old-fashioned eight-day clocks, with their sober faces, are swinging their pendulums hither and thither along the walls. However incongruous the partnership might seem, there it continued for many a long year, during which Mr. Dale's speculations throve wondrously. He became one of the most extensive importers of French and Flemish yarns in the city, and year by year increased in riches and honours; and we cannot help surmising that it would be with feelings of deep regret he parted with his old companion the watchmaker, when he was appointed, in 1783, first agent in the city for the Royal Bank, and the watchmaker's shop was converted into a banking office.
We henceforth lose sight of the poor weaver lad trying his little shifts for the bettering of his fortunes in the busy city, and are now introduced to the prosperous Glasgow merchant, who, by virtue of pure force of character and intelligence, had fairly broken down that wall of distinction which once separated him from the great tobacco and sugar lords, and could now wear his cocked hat jauntily, display his silver knee buckles showily, and take the place of honour on the crown of the causeway with the proudest of them all. How we wish for some occult science that might enable us to lift the veil of intervening years, and peep into the back parlour of the "little store of a' things" in Stewarton, and there listen to the expressions of opinion and gratulation interchanged between the good old shopkeeper and his "vaunty" wife respecting the career of their weaver boy!
When the Chamber of Commerce was instituted in 1783, Mr. Dale threw the whole force of his energies into the scheme. He was one of the first board of directors; he officiated as chairman in 1786 and 1787; and for twenty-one years acted as one of its most honoured and trusted directors.
In 1783 the celebrated Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning jennie, visited Glasgow, and was invited to a banquet, got up by the merchants of the city, in honour of his visit. David Dale was present - it need scarcely be said with that sagacious head of his, filled with the prospective benefits likely to accrue from the wonderful invention. He afterwards persuaded Sir Richard to accompany him to the upper reaches of the Clyde, to find where the river could be most advantageously and easily applied, for the purposes of the new branch of industry. We are inclined to believe that the whole details had been arranged and forecast in Mr. Dale's practical judgment previous to the visit. Be that as it may, the result of the survey was, that a boggy hollow - the property of the notorious Judge Braxfield, situated within a short distance of the county town of Lanark, and described as a mere morass, utterly worthless for any other purpose - was fixed upon as a suitable site for the new industry; and so satisfied was Sir Richard with the advantages of the situation, that he voluntary offered to become a principal partner in the speculation, and held that position for some years.
No time was lost before operations were commenced. Land was cleared and building immediately begun, but owing to the difficulty of excavating a rocky hill that interfered with the necessary supply of water, spinning did not commence till March, 1786. The first mill in operation was accidently destroyed by fire, shortly after its erection, but was speedily rebuilt; and in the course of five years no fewer than four mills were in operation, employing 1334 hands. The manager of the works was Mr. William Kelly, father of the late Mr. Kelly, cotton broker, well-known in this city. Mr. William Kelly, in 1792, invented and patented a self-acting spinning machine, which was expected to supersede skilled labour entirely, and to require only such attention as could be given by children. The invention, however, turned out, in practice, a failure, and the patent machinery was found less profitable than the old system of hand guidance by trained spinners. Mr. Kelly, although he applied for, and took out a patent for his invention, never insisted upon his patent rights, and we believe that the principle of his machine has been applied successfully in the self-acting spinning machine of recent times. (2)
A great proportion of the population about the new working establishment were Highlanders. About the time that the Lanark mills commenced operations, sheep farming on an extensive scale was introduced by some of the Highland lairds in the northern districts of Scotland. This broke up many a little group of labourers' dwellings, whose inmates were obliged to seek for themselves employment in the large towns, or to cross the Atlantic and find homes in the wildernesses of Canada. Government took alarm at the prospective dearth of soldiers and sailors that this emigration threatened, and used all its influence to stay the exodus. David Dale and his friend George Macintosh, a gentleman of similar sympathies, as well as kindred force of character, exerted all their energies in the same direction, more, perhaps, from benevolent motives than from patriotic principle. A ship-load of poor Highland emigrants, numbering about two hundred, were put back by stress of weather, and landed at Greenock in very destitute circumstances. Mr. Dale prevailed upon them all to become helpers in his works. He made known his desire to receive poor Highland families, and grant them such sustenance as they required, until they had gained sufficient skill in the work to enable them to earn their own livelihood comfortably.
The greater part of the preparatory operations in the cotton manufacture were then done by hand, and as this kind of work (teasing, picking, &c.,) depended more on dexterity of fingers than strength of body, large numbers of children were employed in the work. Hundreds of poor children were apprenticed from orphan asylums and poorhouses in Edinburgh and elsewhere. A large boarding-house was erected for their accommodation. They were well fed and clothed, and their education and moral training were conscientiously attended to; yet we learn with pain that, of 795 boys and girls employed in the work, no fewer than 523 were under fourteen years of age, and of these, 297 ranged from six to ten years. Moreover, all these children, even the youngest, we are told, began work at six in the morning, and continued till seven in the evening, with an interval of half an hour for breakfast, and an hour for dinner. This was the daily routine, after which they were expected to attend school till nine o'clock each night. Poor little wretches! Yet it is testified that in seven years' time, notwithstanding the severity of the ordeal, only five of the small drudges had died. (3)
The concern proved highly remunerative. Spinning factories were established at the Firth of Dornoch, at Blantyre, at Catrine, at Lochwinnoch, and other places. With many of these Mr. Dale was connected. With his friend, Mr. Macintosh, he set up an establishment for dyeing turkey red, a new and untried industry. This work was further developed subsequently by the family of James Monteith of Anderston, till it became not only the first but the most important establishment of the kind in Scotland. Mr. Dale started an inkle factory also, which turned out highly remunerative. He became immensely rich; civic honours were showered upon him; he was appointed a city bailie in 1791, and again in 1794: and yet, with all the burden and temptation of honour and riches upon him, he remained plain unspoiled David Dale still. The little shop in Hopkirk's land, with its modest banking business and its dusty yarn bundles, was retained up to 1798, when Mr. Dale removed to St. Andrew's Square, then newly built, and esteemed the great commercial centre of the city.
Of Mr. Dale's works of kindness and charity many instances are preserved. In 1799-1800, there was a grievous failure of the crops in Scotland. The pressure of distress and want was sorely felt by all, but of course fell most heavily upon the working classes. The defective system of agriculture, to which we have already alluded, and the restrictions placed upon the importation of food by the iniquitous corn laws, intensified the distress. Old people still remember the stories which once formed part of the winter fireside entertainment, about the battling over the single "peck of meal" to which every family was restricted; of the weary waiting for hours on the precious dole; of the terrors of the military array which guarded the treasures, and kept the eager and hungry crowds at a distance. These were just the circumstances to call for all the energies of Mr. Dale. It is recorded that e chartered a vessel to proceed to America, with orders to bring home a full lading of grain - any kind that could most speedily be procured. When the vessel returned, the pressure of want was very severe. The bulk of the ship's cargo was Indian corn, then little known. This was received with demonstrations of joy and gratitude, and many a hungry family blessed the "benevolent Magistrate," as he was commonly named, for his much needed and highly prized "sma' peas." The Magistrates and Councillors most nobly responded to the appeal of want. Conjointly with the benevolent merchants of the city, they imported food to the value of £117,500. This they sold and distributed among the inhabitants, with a final loss to the contributors of £15,000, - a large sum in these days. The charity was long remembered with feelings of gratitude and love to the memory of those by whom the loss had been sustained.
In Jones' Directory of 1789, the following address is inserted:- "Mrs. Brown, dealer in cotton and cotton yarn, first flat. Lang's land, Prince's Street." Mrs. Brown was a widow, whose history is curious. Her husband was a shoemaker, who, when he died, left a large stock of leather and ready-made boots and shoes. As the widow had but little experience in the business, she applied to Mr. Dale for his advice as to how the stock should be disposed of. He suggested that the leather should be speedily wrought up into shoes, and consigned to a well-known American merchant, with instructions to return the value in raw cotton, for which he assured her she should find a ready sale and a good profit; and as the cautious widow expressed her fears respecting the risk she ran of losing her precious stock, Mr. Dale promised to take a share in the adventure. When the cotton arrived Mrs. Brown again waited on Mr. Dale for further guidance. He advised that it should be placed in the hands of a careful agent and sold. "Na, na," said she; "I'll juist sell it a' mysel', and that'll save commission, ye ken." So, providing herself with a stout leather pouch, which she filled with cotton samples, she sold her stock so advantageously that she was induced to enter into the cotton trade on an extensive scale, and soon became the first in that business. Dr. John Buchanan says - "She passed more value through her hands than any woman in Scotland." In the disastrous year 1794, Mrs. Brown was sequestrated, but she seems to have recovered, in a short time, the credit of her house, and, abjuring the conversation and sympathies of her own sex, she to the last carried round her samples, and made her sales in her own way - a queer specimen of the cautious and thrifty merchant of the period. The late Mr. Robert Henderson - of Robert and John Henderson, well-known Glasgow merchants - when a lad, was employed by Mrs. Brown as a clerk in her cotton warehouse.
However strange it may appear, Mr. Dale was a sectary in religious matters. He left the good old Establishment, and one of its most popular ministers, Dr. Gillies of the College church, and became a dissenter, and a dissenting preacher. Three gentlemen were the prime movers in this matter - Mr. Dale, Mr. Archibald Paterson, and Mr. Matthew Alexander, - the latter gentleman was great-grandfather to three well-known Glasgow merchants of the present day, viz., Edward, John, and George Alexander.
To account in some measure for this secession, it may be stated that, in the little New Lanark community, there lingered a strong flavour of the old Jacobite feeling, and of the old religious persuasion that gave it vitality. Mr. Dale and his friend, George Macintosh, both employed large numbers of Highlanders, who, no doubt, were trained from their earliest years to cherish these sentiments reverentially, and both these gentlemen stipulated that all their workers should enjoy full freedom of religious opinion. In the middle of last century, a crusade against Popery and everything tinged by this form of faith was got up in Glasgow. One of the town ministers received the thanks of the General Session for a violent speech which he fulminated against the doctrine and its professors, wherein he depicted "The awful signs of the Divine displeasure displayed in the encouragement given to the growth of that system whose distinguishing doctrines and usages are according to the flesh, after the working of Satan in all deceivableness of unrighteousness." We have a strong persuasion that Mr. Dale, although perhaps scarcely free from the prevailing prejudices of the times, felt that this want of charity, which had become incorporated with the very essence of Church polity, was more than he could patiently bear, especially when it evinced itself, as it did soon afterwards, in acts of violence and outrage.
This bigotry, conjoined with the cold morality of the pulpit, must have provoked in the mind of the good man involuntary comparison with the humble and simple thanksgiving for that love which bestowed the "unspeakable gift" so earnestly acknowledged in the nightly "exercise" at the Ayrshire farmer's fireside, or in the back room of the Stewarton shop; and the kindly sympathies of Mr. Dale impelled him to share with others the experience and blessing of an influence that he himself found could be the surest guide in life, and the greatest comfort at death. (4)
The ostensible cause of the rupture with the Established Church however, was the question of Patronage, the Magistrates and Council having appointed an unpopular minister to the Wynd Church, notwithstanding the repeated protests of the congregation. Mr. Dale at first connected himself with the Albion Street Church, (5) an offshoot of this disruption; but growing dissatisfied with several points in the practice of all Presbyterian churches at the time, and especially with that which he esteemed a neglect of the duty and privilege of Sacramental communion, which he thought should be partaken of more frequently, he, with a number of personal friends, hired a small room for their own social worship. The accommodation soon became too limited for the little congregation, and one of their number, about 1770, erected a meeting-house, in Greyfriars Wynd, capable of accommodating about 500 worshippers. The modest building, from the circumstance that it was got up by a wealthy candlemaker (Mr. Archibald Paterson), was then and subsequently known as the "Caunnel Kirk."
An inveterate prejudice existed at this time against the sad and sorrowful defection of Independency, arising from the belief, not yet wholly extinct, that soundness in the faith was somehow linked with Presbyterianism alone; so the new sect found but little public sympathy. The first teaching elders in the communion, Mr. Dale and Mr. Ferrier - who had been a minister in the old church of Largo - were hustled on the public streets, and found themselves often obliged to take shelter under some friendly roof. Even the modest "Caunnel Kirk" came in for a share of the common rough usage, till the authorities were called upon to interfere. The prevailing dislike then assumed another form. Crowds of mischievous lads filled the little church to turn the service into ridicule. On one occasion, it having been announced that a certain Mr. Smith was to take part in the services, some of these wicked wags got up a signboard in imitation of a country blacksmith's, which was fixed above the door of the church, with the inscription, - "Preaching done here by David Dale, Smith and Ferrier!" All these annoyances Mr. Dale soon lived down. The little congregation grew in numbers and influence, and some of its old adherents - for the Communion still exists, under the name of the Old Scotch Independents - tell with justifiable pride of the ranks of carriages that stood in the Grammar School Wynd, waiting on the "skailing" of the Candle Kirk.
But soon a more grievous influence for evil fell upon the little congregation, and one which might easily have been predicated as inevitable in a society of terribly conscientious individuals, each tenacious of his own convictions, and with no higher board of arbitration than brethren of similar earnestness and similar obstinacy. Questions arose regarding the frequent and regular use of the Lord's Prayer; about standing during the service of praise; about the audible repetition of the "Amen" after prayer, &c. On these and similar questions, Mr. Dale, as might have been expected, counselled forbearance, but a large party were obstinate, and, under the leadership of his co-pastor, Mr. Ferrier, broke off, and joined the Glassites, whose religious system enjoined the duty of holding love feasts; the washing of each others' feet; of abstinence from the use of things strangled and of blood, a duty that, in view of the time-honoured institution of the "Mart," was anything but acceptable. A community of goods was also enjoined; and what must have been esteemed as little short of sheer insanity in these Presbyterial days, the support and countenance of the sect were given to theatrical representations, and similar entertainments. Their place of meeting was known as the "Kail Kirk," that much esteemed dish forming an invariable item in the "love feast." There can be little doubt that this first secession grieved the kind heart of Mr. Dale, but greater perplexities were in store for him and his little church. The practical question arose whether a leading elder could lawfully marry a second wife. Paul had expressly said, "An elder must be the husband of one wife." Would not a second marriage, therefore, be a direct violation of an explicit Scriptural injunction? Besides, grave doubts arose, especially in the minds of the poorer brethren, regarding the inequality of worldly possessions amongst them, in view of the good Apostolical practice of having all things in common, a practice which, in the cautious mind of the founder of the church, seems to have been contemplated with little favour. The result was another break in the little congregation. But the saddest breach of all was yet before him. Controversy again rent the congregation, regarding their duty and obligation with respect to adult baptism, and in the dissensions which this question raised his own wife bore a part, and with blamable contumacy, as we think, took up the side of the argument in opposition to him whom she should have been the first to honour. With all these dissensions to vex his spirit, the good man, Mr. Dale, struggled on, comforted and strengthened by the grand old Apostolic philosophy, upon which he preached his first sermon, - "I am debtor both to the wise and to the unwise, so, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you; for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."
When Mr. Dale was first elected a magistrate for the city, it was the practice to attend in official state, on certain Sundays, at one of the City churches, accompanied and preceded by the town's officers in scarlet coat and cocked hat, bearing the glittering Lochaber axe, - "A terror to evil doers." Great perplexity took hold of the minds of the civic brethren as to how Mr. Dale was to be disposed of in the grand parade. Common courtesy forbade that he should be asked to the "laft seat" in the Tron, and their respect for him was far too sincere to permit even a shadow of neglect. A few of the guard of honour were therefore "detailed off," with instructions to convey Mr. Dale with due pomp and circumstance to the "Caunnel Kirk;" and doubtless the procession - the appearance of which it is by no means difficult to realize - would create a profound impression! It was the custom in the little church at that time (a custom which, with some modification, is still continued), to set before every member, at mid-day, a slice of bread and cheese, the dry morsel being washed down by continuous applications to a large tin flagon or "loving cup," well replenished with good cauldron ale or porter - tell it not in teetotaldom! - and circulated amongst them from lip to lip; and we have often tried to picture the sombre faces of the red-coated gentry, when, in those days of deep dramming, the sapless bite and sour browst was the only reward for their important and august services!
Mr. Dale, some years before his death, bought from Mr. John Dunlop, of Carmyle, the house and small estate of Rosebank; and here, on the banks of the yet unpolluted and beautiful Clyde, he spent the latter years of his active and useful life. Among his last appearances as a director of the Chamber of Commerce was to do honour to his old and tried friend, Mr. Gilbert Hamilton, the Secretary, when his brother directors presented him with a well merited testimony of respect for his long and faithful services. After the death of Mr. Henry Riddle, who died while chairman of the Chamber, his kindly countenance was seen no more at the meetings of the Board. He was able to walk about in comparatively good health till within a short time of his death. The late venerable Dr. Jamieson thus lovingly describes the last scene of all. "Feeling his end approaching, he sent for some leading members of his church, whom he exhorted to remain steadfast in their Christian profession, and gave them the dying testimony of his faith in the Gospel - asked them for forgivenness if on any occasion he had given them offence, and prayed for a blessing on them; after which, as the elders of Ephesus did to Paul, 'they all fell upon his neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words that he spake, that they should see his face no more.' Exhausted by this parting scene, he rapidly sank, and on the following day, the 17th April, 1806, he departed in the sixty-eighth year of his age, deeply regretted by all parties: by the church, who loved and revered him as their faithful pastor; by the poor, who largely participated in his liberal charities; and by the general community, who esteemed him both as a man and a Christian."
The following tribute to the memory of Mr. Dale was written by Dr. Wardlaw, whose father was a Glasgow merchant, and an associate in many good works with Mr. Dale. It appeared in an obituary notice inserted in The Glasgow Herald of 1806:-
"Mr. Dale had not, in the outset of life, enjoyed the advantage of a polished or liberal education, but the want of it was greatly compensated by a large share of natural sagacity and good sense, and extensive and discriminating knowledge of human character, and by a modest, gentle, dignified simplicity of manner peculiar to himself, and which secured to him the respect and attention of every company and of every rank of life. A zealous promoter of the general industry and manufactures of his country, his schemes of business were extensive and liberal, conducted with singular prudence and perseverance, and, by the blessing of God, were crowned with such abundant success as served to advance his rank in society, and to furnish him with the means of that diffusive benevolence which rendered his life a public blessing, and shed a lustre on his character rarely exemplified in any age of the world. His ear was never shut to the cry of distress; his private charities were boundless; and every public institution which had for its object the alleviation or prevention of human misery received from him the most liberal support and encouragement. Like the patriarch of old, he was 'eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and he caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.' In private life his conduct, actuated by the same principles, was equally exemplary; for he was a kind parent, a generous friend, a wise and faithful counsellor, a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, 'sober, holy, just, temperate;' and having thus 'occupied his talents,' he has entered into the joy of his Lord."
The denomination which Mr. Dale founded still exists. Their place of meeting is in Oswald Street. There are twelve churches in the connection in Scotland and England, and one in the United States. They profess no peculiarity of faith or doctrine, but preach the Gospel in all simplicity. They claim the privilege of managing their own affairs without control; they have a plurality of pastors and deacons, whose labours must be gratuitous, "except when circumstances require it to be otherwise;" baptism they administer to the infants of members in the usual way; the Sacrament of the Supper is dispensed every week; and the seats in the church are free to all.
Mr. Dale had one son, who died young, and five daughters, who all survived him. Two of these were married to clergymen of the Church of England, and one to the notorious socialist, Robert Owen, who for some time was manager of her father's Lanark mills, and was, at the date of their marriage, a principal owner.
It is pitiable to think how the handsome fortune left to Mr. Owen - the hard won fruits of the old man's industry - was literally thrown away in vain efforts to renovate society after a model which neither past experience, sound philosophy, nor even good common sense could sanction; and of which efforts not a single trace now remains, but such as demonstrate their utter folly, and exhibit to the world the whole life's aspirations of poor Mr. Owen as a miserable failure.
(1) The "knocking mell and stone," for the manufacture of groats and pot bailey, were, in old times, invariable adjuncts to the farmers' establishment.
(2) Mr. Kelly was an ingenious country watch and clock maker in Lanark, and was employed by Mr. Dale for his mechanical ingenuity. The appointment fully justified Mr, Dale's sagacity. Mr. Kelly not only managed the work faithfully and efficiently, but he also entered with enthusiasm into all the schemes which Mr. Dale organized for the well-being of the little Lanark community, and was a loving and persevering co-worker in all Mr. Dale's benevolent undertakings. A handsome clock of his own construction still points out the time, through so many years, in the warehouse, graced by his name at 23 Exchange Square. If the old thing were gifted with intelligence, what a tale of progress and of change it could unfold! The present respected head of the firm, Mr. Anthony Hannay, and the late lamented Mr. John Matheson, Jun., were both clerks in the counting-house of Kelly & Co.
(3) See Mr. Lockhart's article on New Lanark, in Sir John Sinclair's "Statistical Account of Scotland, 1796."
(4) "The truth is, a more decided idea of Evangelism than had been generally preached by the pastors of the Kirk of Scotland began to take possession of the public mind; and, consequently, where that peculiarity of faith was most insisted on - as was always the case in the pulpits of the Independent churches - it is not difficult to account for the number of proselytes which that body obtained." - Strang's "Glasgow and its Clubs," page 348
(5) The old dingy building still exists, and is now used as a leather store.
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