Robert Dundas of Arniston, the younger,
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
(18 July 1713 – 13 December 1787) was a Scottish judge. He served as
Solicitor General for Scotland
His 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 Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...
from 1742 to 1746, as
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...
from 1754 to 1760, and as
Member of Parliament for
Midlothian
Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
from 1754 to 1761. He was
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...
from 1760 to 1787, losing his popularity for giving his casting vote against
Archibald Douglas in the famous
Douglas Cause
The Douglas Cause was a cause célèbre and legal struggle contested in Great Britain during the 1760s. The main parties were Archibald Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas, Archibald Douglas (1748–1827) and James Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton, James Do ...
.
Life and career
Robert Dundas was the eldest son of
Robert Dundas of Arniston (1685–1753), Lord President of the Court of Session, by Elizabeth Watson, his first wife. He was educated first at home and at school, and then at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. In 1733, he proceeded to
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...
, then celebrated for the teaching of Roman law, and also visited
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Returning to Scotland in 1737, Dundas was admitted an advocate in 1738. He was quick, ingenious and eloquent, and had a retentive memory. Like his father, he was convivial and shirked drudgery. He is said, though a good scholar, never to have read through a book after leaving college. Being solely ambitious of attaining to the bench, he refused many cases, especially those which involved writing papers, and took only such work as seemed to lead to advancement. For his first five years, his fees only averaged £280 per annum. Through the favour of the
Carteret administration, he was appointed
Solicitor General for Scotland
His 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 Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...
on 11 August 1742, and, no change occurring in the Scotch department on
Lord Wilmington's death, held that post through the arduous and responsible times of the
Jacobite plots and the
rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fightin ...
. Being, however, unable to act easily with
Lord Milton, the
lord justice clerk
The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...
, he resigned in 1746 upon the change of ministry, but was at once elected
dean of the faculty.
On 16 August 1754, Dundas was appointed
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...
, having been returned for
Midlothian
Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
unopposed on 25 April at the general election. While in parliament, he opposed the establishment of a militia in Scotland, and, as lord advocate, was largely occupied in settling the
new conditions of the highlands, and in disposing of his great patronage so as to enhance the family influence. But one speech of his in parliament is recorded,
Dundas was appointed a commissioner of fisheries on 17 June 1755, and on the death of
Robert Craigie, he became lord president of the
court of session
The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
, 14 June 1760. He found upwards of two years' arrears of cases undecided, and having by great efforts disposed of them, he never allowed his case-list to fall into arrears again. He was the best lord president who had filled the office, short but weighty in his judgements, thorough in his grasp of the cases, indignant at chicane, a punctilious guardian of the dignity of the court, a chief who called forth all the faculties of his colleagues.
Having, on 7 July 1767, given the casting vote against the claimant, Archibald Stewart, in the Douglas peerage case, he became very unpopular, and during the tumultuous rejoicings at Edinburgh, after the House of Lords had reversed that decision on 2 March 1769, the mob insulted him and attacked his house. In his latter years his eyesight failed, and after a short illness he died at his house in Adam's Square on 13 December 1787, and was buried with great pomp at Borthwick on 18 December His tomb lis within Borthwick Church in the Arniston Aisle and was sculpted by
John Bacon of London.
[Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam]
Family
Part of a remarkable Scottish legal and political dynasty, his great-grandfather
James Dundas, Lord Arniston
Sir James Dundas, Lord Arniston (1620–1679) was a Scottish politician and judge.Although styled Lord Arniston like his son this was not an hereditary title but one assumed by them on becoming an ordinary lord of session (judge). He served as ...
(died 1679) and grandfather
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston (died 1726) had been MPs and judges, as was his father,
Robert Dundas of Arniston, the Elder.
Dundas married, firstly, on 17 October 1741, Henrietta Baillie, daughter of Sir James Carmichael Baillie of Lamington and Bonnytoun, who died on 3 May 1755; and, secondly, in September 1756, Jean, daughter of
William Grant, Lord Prestongrange. By his first wife, he had four daughters, of whom Elizabeth, the eldest, married
Sir John Lockhart-Ross, 6th Baronet; and by his second four sons, of whom
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
, the eldest, became lord advocate, and two daughters. The three younger sons all had notable careers:
Francis
Francis may refer to:
People and characters
*Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025)
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Francis (surname)
* Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
became a general and acting governor of the Cape Colony between 1798 and 1803,
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
became a lawyer and Member of Parliament, and
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
became superintendent of Bombay, a Member of Parliament, and governor of
Prince of Wales Island.
Notes
References
*
;Attribution
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundas, Robert
1713 births
1787 deaths
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
Senators of the College of Justice
Scottish lawyers
Robert Dundas
Lords President of the Court of Session
Founder fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
British MPs 1754–1761
Solicitors general for Scotland
Lord advocates
Paintings by Henry Raeburn