The chiefs of Grant - Electric Scotland

1811.] SALi; OF I'oirrioxs of the i;.stat]:s. 451
fiither, the first »Sir James, the estates of Pluscardiiie, AUacliic, Allaiibuic,
Ballititoml), and Ariulill}- for .i'24,000. The total land sales of Grant estates
amounted to .£7('),r)00, which, with .{.'20,000, tin' price of I^ady Grant's own
estat',\ ;dso sold, made the wliolo sales i'OG.aOO.
dated
laml, '.'i.o law-a;'''nt of the fa.milv, In a state uf the sales i
•
N 0%\ •! ber 178', takes a gloomy viev.- of the Grant allairs, by addinq-, " tlie
plain eonsequence Is, that the fnaily of Grant has been mined by the
Revohition, and l)y its constant and uniform adherence to devolution
principles, and the pi-esent royal f imlly durhig the rebelhons of 1715 and
1745."'
But while Sir James Grant did not liesitate to part Avith a large
portion of his possessii.ins to disencumber the Grant estates, he made
strenuous effort to obtain from Government some compensation for the
large sums expended by his finnily in the pul)lic service. Yet, though the
justice of the claim had l)een admitted Ly successive administi'ations, and
various small sums as arrears of feu-duties and l)ishops' rents had been
from time to time I'emitted to him, 8ii' James ex]>crienced no little dillicnlty
in olitaining any substantial recognition from Ciovernment. In the wui'ds
of his friend Lord Gi'antham, '' Lord North (then Premier) was clliHcult to
deal with, and without ])arliamentary interest a|i}ilications were not mucli
attended to." -
Sir James Grant's brother-in-law, Mr. Henr}* Mackenzie, author of the
' III Sir James Grant's manageiiient of his estates,
he was much assisted by his law-ageiits, all of whom
were proiiiinent in their profession, aud merit a
short notice. They were— (1.) Laohlan Grant of
Gartcnbeg, writer in ICJinlniigli, who acted as agent
for Sir James's father and grandfather, and who has
already been referred to as. the writer of the account
of the part taken by the Lainl of Grant in tlie sup-
])ression of the rebellion in 1745. (2.) Ludovick.
Grant, a writer in Edinburgh, who was the chief
legal adviser of Sir .fames Gr.ant, after the death
of Lachlan Grant. (3.) Colquhoun Grant, W'.S.,
who chiefly aided Sir James in his affairs between
1773 and 17SS, was a well-known figure in E lin-
burgli society. His portrait and several curious
anecdotes of his life are preserved in Kay's Biof'ra-
I.hical Sketche.^', vol. i. |.p. 41S 4-22. (4.) Isaac
Grant, W.S., Edinbiirgh (also commemorated by
Kay, vol. ii. pp. 147-149), was a son of ..Tohn Grant
in Balliiitonib, and grand.^on of William Cuant of
Lurg. He was thus a descendant of the Grant family
itself. Isaac Grant was a man of high character as a
lawyer and conveyancer. Ho was long clerk to the
Commissioners of Teinds, ami died t27th December
1 794. (5.) Alexander Grant, W.S., who was partner
in business with Mr. Isaac Grant, W'.S. (l>.) Alex-
ander Innes of Lreda, an advocate, and commis.sary
of the Commissariot of Aberdeen. The correspon-
dence which Sir James Grant carried on witli his
difTereut agents was both extensive ami arduous,
owing to the complicated state of his affairs.
2 Letter, dated 12th May 17SI, vol. il. of this
work, p. 474.