Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Encyclopedia
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
PC and Baron Dunira
(28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811) was a Scottish
lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War
and the last person to be impeached
in the United Kingdom
.
(1685–1753), Lord President of the Court of Session
, and was born at Dalkeith
in 1742. He was educated at the Royal High School
, Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh
.
in 1763, he soon acquired a leading position in the Scottish legal system; and he had the advantage of the success of his half-brother Robert
(1713–1787), who had become Lord President of the Court of Session
in 1760. He became Solicitor General for Scotland
in 1766; but after his appointment as Lord Advocate
in 1775, he gradually relinquished his legal practice to devote his attention more exclusively to public affairs
.
for Midlothian, and joined the party of Frederick North, Lord North
; he was a proud Scots
speaker and he soon distinguished himself by his clear and argumentative speeches. His name appears in the 1776 minute book of the Poker Club
. After holding subordinate offices under William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
and William Pitt the Younger
, he entered the cabinet
in 1791 as Secretary of State
for the Home Department
. It was during this period that Dundas, without whose "skillful obstructions the slave trade would have been abolished in 1796, if not 1792", was influential in obstructing the abolition of the Slave Trade.
Appointed Minister for War on the outbreak of the Wars of the French Revolution, he was Pitt's closest advisor and planner for Britain's military participation in the First Coalition
. He's largely held responsible for the lack of organization and confused planning in the Flanders Campaign
, especially the aborted siege of Dunkirk
in September 1793. It was said that he was " so profoundly ignorant of war that he was not even conscious of his own ignorance".
From 1794 to 1801 he was War Secretary
under Pitt, his great friend. From about 1798 on he pleaded frequently to be allowed to resign on health grounds, but Pitt, who relied on him greatly, refused even to consider it In 1802 he was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom
as Viscount Melville
and Baron Dunira. Under Pitt in 1804 he again entered office as First Lord of the Admiralty, when he introduced numerous improvements in the details of the department. Suspicion had arisen, however, as to the financial management of the Admiralty, of which Dundas had been treasurer
between 1782 and 1800; in 1802 a commission of inquiry was appointed, which reported in 1805. The result was the impeachment
of Dundas in 1806, on the initiative of Samuel Whitbread, for the misappropriation of public money; and though it ended in an acquittal
, and nothing more than formal negligence
lay against him, he never again held office. This was the last impeachment trial ever held in the House of Lords
. Another reason for his retreat could have been Pitt's
death in 1806. An earldom was offered in 1809 but declined.
, in 1765. Almost all of his wealth (£10,000), as well as the castle, came to him through this marriage but, after leaving Elizabeth in the country residence while he remained in Edinburgh, she committed adultery with a Captain Faukener in 1778. Within days, she had confessed by letter to her husband and, approximately a month later. They were divorced. She never saw her children again, dying in 1847, aged 97, while Henry Dundas, as was the law of the time, kept all of the money and property.
After this divorce, he married again to Lady Jane Hope, daughter of John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun
, in 1793. He died in May 1811, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, Robert
. The Viscountess Melville later remarried and died in June 1829.
He was friends with John Graves Simcoe
, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
. Simcoe named the town of Dundas
, Ontario, in southern Ontario
after him. Owing to the town's short-lived prominence in Upper Canada, many important streets which align with historically important highways leading to Dundas are called "Dundas Street"; these include Dundas Street, Toronto (now Highway 5
), and many other streets along Highway 2
and Highway 8
. Dundas Street, Hong Kong, was also named for him. In 1792 Dundas County
, Ontario, was named in his honour.
Dundas Island
was named by Captain George Vancouver
in Dundas' honour. Vancouver originally believed it to be one island, Dundas's Island, but it was later determined that it was in fact a small archipelago. Other islands in the group, known as the Dundas Islands, were given the names Melville Island, Baron Island and Dunira Island in respect of Dundas' titles.
A monument to him, modelled loosely on Trajan's Column
in Rome
, stands in the centre of St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. Raised "by the voluntary contributions of the officers, petty officers, seamen and marines of these united kingdoms", it was designed in 1821 by William Burn
, who was advised by Robert Stephenson
after residents of the square expressed concern about the adequacy of the foundations to support a column of such height. A statue of Dundas, sculpted by Robert Forrest from a model by Francis Chantrey, was added to the top in 1828. The long-time headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland
, directly to the east, is correctly called "Dundas House", and was built in 1771 for his relative Sir Lawrence Dundas.
A statue (1818) of Dundas stands inside Parliament Hall in Edinburgh
against the north wall. This is by Sir Francis Chantrey.
The District of Dundas in New South Wales was named after the Colonial Secretary, Henry Dundas. The District of Dundas was abolished in 1889 although the name still survives in the Sydney suburb of Dundas.
In 1848, John Septimus Roe, the government surveyor (in the then colony of Western Australia), was searching for pastoral land and discovered the area around Norseman which he named Dundas Hills, after the colonial secretary. Gold was discovered there in 1893, the Dundas Field was proclaimed, and the town of Dundas established (ca. 40 km south of Norseman, later abandoned), which eventually led to the present Shire of Dundas
.
There is also a monument to him overlooking the scenic village of Comrie in Perthshire, Scotland.
's Aubrey-Maturin novels. As a major official favourably disposed to Jack Aubrey, Lord Melville's political interest is often helpful to the captain. O'Brian casts Melville's impeachment for malversation of public monies as a political attack using naval intelligence spending, the details of which cannot be disclosed for security and the safety of intelligence agents—such as Stephen Maturin. He is also a supporting character in the legal drama Garrow's Law
. As a leading figure of the establishment, he is a bitter enemy of the radical hero, William Garrow
. He is played by Stephen Boxer
. Also, a fictional reference was made to the former Lord Dundas in L.A. Meyer's sixth book in the Jacky Faber series, which was titled, "My Bonny Light Horseman". He was portrayed as 'bookish', although a sweet and sincere man otherwise. A reference was made to Henry Dundas and his role in the frustration of the abolition of the Slave Trade in the motion picture 'Amazing Grace' (2006) where he was played by Bill Paterson.
Viscount Melville
Viscount Melville, of Melville in the County of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1802 for the notable lawyer and politician Henry Dundas. He was made Baron Dunira, in the County of Perth, at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
PC and Baron Dunira
Dunira, Perthshire
Durnira is an estate of about in Perthshire, Scotland, about north-west of the town of Comrie and about north-west of Stirling. The estate is set against a backdrop of mountains, hills and rich lush lowland. Dunira was the home of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, although the house he built...
(28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
and the last person to be impeached
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Background and education
Dundas was the fourth son of Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elderRobert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder was a Scottish judge.The second son of Robert Dundas he served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 1717 to 1720 and as Lord Advocate from 1720 to 1725...
(1685–1753), Lord President of the Court of Session
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...
, and was born at Dalkeith
Dalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
in 1742. He was educated at the Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
, Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Legal career
Becoming a member of the Faculty of AdvocatesFaculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
in 1763, he soon acquired a leading position in the Scottish legal system; and he had the advantage of the success of his half-brother Robert
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the younger
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the younger was a Scottish judge.The eldest son of Robert Dundas , he was deducated at Edinburgh University and studied Roman law at Utrecht University....
(1713–1787), who had become Lord President of the Court of Session
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...
in 1760. He became Solicitor General for Scotland
Solicitor General for Scotland
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...
in 1766; but after his appointment as Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
in 1775, he gradually relinquished his legal practice to devote his attention more exclusively to public affairs
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
.
Political career
In 1774 he was returned to the Parliament of Great BritainParliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
for Midlothian, and joined the party of Frederick North, Lord North
Frederick North, Lord North
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...
; he was a proud Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
speaker and he soon distinguished himself by his clear and argumentative speeches. His name appears in the 1776 minute book of the Poker Club
The Poker Club
The Poker Club was one of several clubs at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment where many associated with that movement met and exchanged views in a convivial atmosphere. The Poker Club was created out of the ashes of The Select Society....
. After holding subordinate offices under William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
and William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, he entered the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
in 1791 as Secretary of State
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
for the Home Department
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. It was during this period that Dundas, without whose "skillful obstructions the slave trade would have been abolished in 1796, if not 1792", was influential in obstructing the abolition of the Slave Trade.
Appointed Minister for War on the outbreak of the Wars of the French Revolution, he was Pitt's closest advisor and planner for Britain's military participation in the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
. He's largely held responsible for the lack of organization and confused planning in the Flanders Campaign
Flanders Campaign
This feature refers to the conflict that took place during the Wars of the French Revolution 1792–1801.For the Low Countries campaigns of the War of the Grand Alliance 1688–97 see Nine Years' War...
, especially the aborted siege of Dunkirk
Siege of Dunkirk (1793)
See also the Battle of HondschooteThe Siege of Dunkirk took place in 1793 when British, Hanoverian, Austrian, and Hesse-Kassel troops under the command of Prince Frederick, Duke of York besieged the fortified French border port of Dunkirk as part as the Flanders campaign of the French Revolutionary...
in September 1793. It was said that he was " so profoundly ignorant of war that he was not even conscious of his own ignorance".
From 1794 to 1801 he was War Secretary
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
under Pitt, his great friend. From about 1798 on he pleaded frequently to be allowed to resign on health grounds, but Pitt, who relied on him greatly, refused even to consider it In 1802 he was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
as Viscount Melville
Viscount Melville
Viscount Melville, of Melville in the County of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1802 for the notable lawyer and politician Henry Dundas. He was made Baron Dunira, in the County of Perth, at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
and Baron Dunira. Under Pitt in 1804 he again entered office as First Lord of the Admiralty, when he introduced numerous improvements in the details of the department. Suspicion had arisen, however, as to the financial management of the Admiralty, of which Dundas had been treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
between 1782 and 1800; in 1802 a commission of inquiry was appointed, which reported in 1805. The result was the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of Dundas in 1806, on the initiative of Samuel Whitbread, for the misappropriation of public money; and though it ended in an acquittal
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
, and nothing more than formal negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
lay against him, he never again held office. This was the last impeachment trial ever held in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. Another reason for his retreat could have been Pitt's
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
death in 1806. An earldom was offered in 1809 but declined.
Family
Lord Melville married firstly Elizabeth, daughter of David Rannie, of Melville CastleMelville Castle
Melville Castle is a three-storey Gothic castellated mansion situated less than a mile west-south-west of Dalkeith, Midlothian, near the North Esk....
, in 1765. Almost all of his wealth (£10,000), as well as the castle, came to him through this marriage but, after leaving Elizabeth in the country residence while he remained in Edinburgh, she committed adultery with a Captain Faukener in 1778. Within days, she had confessed by letter to her husband and, approximately a month later. They were divorced. She never saw her children again, dying in 1847, aged 97, while Henry Dundas, as was the law of the time, kept all of the money and property.
After this divorce, he married again to Lady Jane Hope, daughter of John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun
John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun
John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun was the son of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun and Lady Henrietta Johnstone....
, in 1793. He died in May 1811, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, Robert
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville KT, PC, FRS was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was also Keeper of the Signet for Scotland from 1800...
. The Viscountess Melville later remarried and died in June 1829.
Legacy
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. Simcoe named the town of Dundas
Dundas, Ontario
Dundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
, Ontario, in southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
after him. Owing to the town's short-lived prominence in Upper Canada, many important streets which align with historically important highways leading to Dundas are called "Dundas Street"; these include Dundas Street, Toronto (now Highway 5
Highway 5 (Ontario)
King's Highway 5, also known as Highway 5 and historically as the Dundas Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The east–west highway travels a distance of between Highway 8 at Peter's Corners, north of Hamilton and Highway 6 at Clappison's Corners...
), and many other streets along Highway 2
Highway 2 (Ontario)
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
and Highway 8
Highway 8 (Ontario)
Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...
. Dundas Street, Hong Kong, was also named for him. In 1792 Dundas County
Dundas County, Ontario
Dundas County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario.Dundas was created in 1792 by the area's first settlers: German Loyalists who had fought with Sir John Johnson in the American Revolutionary War. The settlers, descendants of the Palatine immigrants to America in 1710, had immigrated to...
, Ontario, was named in his honour.
Dundas Island
Dundas Island (British Columbia)
Dundas Island is an island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of Chatham Sound to the northwest of Prince Rupert. It is the largest of a group of islands known as the Dundas Islands.-History:...
was named by Captain George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
in Dundas' honour. Vancouver originally believed it to be one island, Dundas's Island, but it was later determined that it was in fact a small archipelago. Other islands in the group, known as the Dundas Islands, were given the names Melville Island, Baron Island and Dunira Island in respect of Dundas' titles.
A monument to him, modelled loosely on Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, stands in the centre of St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. Raised "by the voluntary contributions of the officers, petty officers, seamen and marines of these united kingdoms", it was designed in 1821 by William Burn
William Burn
William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...
, who was advised by Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
after residents of the square expressed concern about the adequacy of the foundations to support a column of such height. A statue of Dundas, sculpted by Robert Forrest from a model by Francis Chantrey, was added to the top in 1828. The long-time headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
, directly to the east, is correctly called "Dundas House", and was built in 1771 for his relative Sir Lawrence Dundas.
A statue (1818) of Dundas stands inside Parliament Hall in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
against the north wall. This is by Sir Francis Chantrey.
The District of Dundas in New South Wales was named after the Colonial Secretary, Henry Dundas. The District of Dundas was abolished in 1889 although the name still survives in the Sydney suburb of Dundas.
In 1848, John Septimus Roe, the government surveyor (in the then colony of Western Australia), was searching for pastoral land and discovered the area around Norseman which he named Dundas Hills, after the colonial secretary. Gold was discovered there in 1893, the Dundas Field was proclaimed, and the town of Dundas established (ca. 40 km south of Norseman, later abandoned), which eventually led to the present Shire of Dundas
Shire of Dundas
The Shire of Dundas is a Local Government Area in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, between Norseman and the South Australian border generally along the Eyre Highway, between 700 and 1,500 kilometres east of the state capital, Perth...
.
There is also a monument to him overlooking the scenic village of Comrie in Perthshire, Scotland.
Fictional references
Lord Melville, as First Lord of the Admiralty, is present or a background character in several of Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
's Aubrey-Maturin novels. As a major official favourably disposed to Jack Aubrey, Lord Melville's political interest is often helpful to the captain. O'Brian casts Melville's impeachment for malversation of public monies as a political attack using naval intelligence spending, the details of which cannot be disclosed for security and the safety of intelligence agents—such as Stephen Maturin. He is also a supporting character in the legal drama Garrow's Law
Garrow's Law
Garrow's Law is a British period legal drama about the 18th-century lawyer William Garrow. The series debuted on 1 November 2009 on BBC One and BBC HD. A second series was announced on 7 July 2010 and aired from 14 November 2010...
. As a leading figure of the establishment, he is a bitter enemy of the radical hero, William Garrow
William Garrow
Sir William Garrow KC, PC, FRS was a British barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations today...
. He is played by Stephen Boxer
Stephen Boxer
Stephen Boxer is an English actor who has appeared in films, on television and on stage and is best known for appearing in the BBC One daytime soap opera Doctors...
. Also, a fictional reference was made to the former Lord Dundas in L.A. Meyer's sixth book in the Jacky Faber series, which was titled, "My Bonny Light Horseman". He was portrayed as 'bookish', although a sweet and sincere man otherwise. A reference was made to Henry Dundas and his role in the frustration of the abolition of the Slave Trade in the motion picture 'Amazing Grace' (2006) where he was played by Bill Paterson.
See also
- Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de CliffordEdward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de CliffordLieutenant Colonel Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford, OBE, TD was the only son of Jack Southwell Russell, 25th Baron de Clifford, and Eva Carrington....
, the last peer ever tried in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.