His Lordship completed an excellent education by foreign travel,
which eminently qualified him for the distinguished part he was des-
tined to act in the field of philanthropy. In 1754, he was appointed
one of the Commissioners of Customs in Scotland, and in 1765 was con-
stituted one of the Lords of Police. He was one of the Trustees for the
improvement of Fisheries and Manufactures, and for the management of
the forfeited estates in Scotland, and attended to the business of these
Boards with the most exemplary zeal and assiduity. Li these truly pa-
triotic pursuits he succeeded to an extent altogether unparalleled in the
annals of industrial improvements, and his name is still a household
word over the north of Scotland, as one of the most substantial
benefactors of his species. His Lordship, during his- residence in Banff
Castle, having taken one of his farms into his own possession, deter-
mined to cultivate it after the most approved methods then known in
the kingdom. With this view he engaged an active and experienced
overseer from England, to whom he devolved the management of this
farm of South CoUeonard, and in a few years improved it and the Hills of
Boyndie in a style and manner then unknown in this country. The first
of these lies on a gentle declivity, opening to the south, and commands
a variety of pleasing prospects. The fields are laid out with much taste,
enclosed and subdivided with hedgerows and belts of thriving wood. It
bears a striking resemblance to a fine English farm.
The present Castle, or modem mansion, was built by this noble-



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man, and, at a distance, has much the appearance of a French chateau.
