Lot Essay
The inscription reads:
By the Magistrates and Town Council of Kirkcudbright The freedom of this Borough is most respectfully presented To the Right Honorable Henry Dundas one of his MAJESTYS principal Secretaries of State. In testimony of their thanks for his great care and Attention in obtaining an Act of the Legislature; repealing the duty on Coals carried coastwise into SCOTLAND
Henry Dundas (1742-1811), distinguished legal advocate and statesman, was the most powerful man in Scotland for over thirty years. At the age of twenty-four, Dundas became solicitor-general for Scotland, and subsequently held numerous official posts, including Member of Parliament for the County and City of Edinburgh, Lord Advocate, Treasurer of the Navy, Home Secretary, first Secretary of War 1794-1801, President of the Board of Control for the Affairs of India 1794-1801, and first Lord of the Admiralty 1804. In 1802 he was created Viscount Melville of Melville in the county of Edinburgh and Baron Dunira in the county of Perth. In 1778, Dundas's support of the repeal of the Massachusetts charter enraged George III, who wrote in a letter to Lord North: "the more I think on the conduct of the advocate of Scotland, the more I am incensed against him; more favours have been heaped on the shoulders of that man than ever were bestowed on any Scotch lawyer, and he seems studiously to embrace every opportunity to create difficulties; but men of talents when not accompanied with integrity are pests instead of blessings to society" (Dictionary of National Biography). Dundas managed to regain favor with the King, and was a close friend of William Pitt. A persuasive speaker, Dundas was satirized in The Rolliad as follows: "His ready tongue with sophistries at will Can say, unsay, and be consistent still" (as quoted in The Complete Peerage).
Two other freedom boxes presented to Dundas in commemoration of the same event (the repeal of duty on coal in Scotland) and descending in the same family were sold by Habsburg/Feldman, Geneva, November 15, 1989, lots 258 and 259. The first, a gold and enamel box by James Morriset, was presented by the City of Aberdeen on June 9, 1793. The second, a parcel-gilt box, was given by the City of Dumfries on June 25, 1793. Like the present example, the two related boxes contained their original freedom documents. A freedom box presented to the 2nd Viscount Melville is offered as the following lot.
By the Magistrates and Town Council of Kirkcudbright The freedom of this Borough is most respectfully presented To the Right Honorable Henry Dundas one of his MAJESTYS principal Secretaries of State. In testimony of their thanks for his great care and Attention in obtaining an Act of the Legislature; repealing the duty on Coals carried coastwise into SCOTLAND
Henry Dundas (1742-1811), distinguished legal advocate and statesman, was the most powerful man in Scotland for over thirty years. At the age of twenty-four, Dundas became solicitor-general for Scotland, and subsequently held numerous official posts, including Member of Parliament for the County and City of Edinburgh, Lord Advocate, Treasurer of the Navy, Home Secretary, first Secretary of War 1794-1801, President of the Board of Control for the Affairs of India 1794-1801, and first Lord of the Admiralty 1804. In 1802 he was created Viscount Melville of Melville in the county of Edinburgh and Baron Dunira in the county of Perth. In 1778, Dundas's support of the repeal of the Massachusetts charter enraged George III, who wrote in a letter to Lord North: "the more I think on the conduct of the advocate of Scotland, the more I am incensed against him; more favours have been heaped on the shoulders of that man than ever were bestowed on any Scotch lawyer, and he seems studiously to embrace every opportunity to create difficulties; but men of talents when not accompanied with integrity are pests instead of blessings to society" (Dictionary of National Biography). Dundas managed to regain favor with the King, and was a close friend of William Pitt. A persuasive speaker, Dundas was satirized in The Rolliad as follows: "His ready tongue with sophistries at will Can say, unsay, and be consistent still" (as quoted in The Complete Peerage).
Two other freedom boxes presented to Dundas in commemoration of the same event (the repeal of duty on coal in Scotland) and descending in the same family were sold by Habsburg/Feldman, Geneva, November 15, 1989, lots 258 and 259. The first, a gold and enamel box by James Morriset, was presented by the City of Aberdeen on June 9, 1793. The second, a parcel-gilt box, was given by the City of Dumfries on June 25, 1793. Like the present example, the two related boxes contained their original freedom documents. A freedom box presented to the 2nd Viscount Melville is offered as the following lot.