Apart from the dignity and importance of his position as Chief Magistrate of Glasgow, Mr. James Watson has unquestionable claims to be esteemed and honoured by the citizens of this our "no mean city." His uprightness and integrity of character, his business tact and ability, his sound judgment, and his rare administrative talents place him on an eminence rarely attained. Having received his education at Glasgow University, Mr. Watson entered a mercantile house in the city, where he remained for some years, and in which he acquired a considerable business experience. Subsequently he was connected with the Thistle Bank, which, as many of our readers will recollect, was ultimately incorporated with the Union Bank of Scotland. From the Bank he proceeded to the establishment of Messrs. John M'Call & Co., who were at that time among the largest grain merchants in Glasgow, and for some years Mr. Watson presided over their provision department—then of very considerable extent. When he assumed the profession of a stockbroker, there were no representatives of that business in the city. It is perhaps the most interesting feature in Mr. Watson's career that he was the first stockbroker in Glasgow; and it is no less interesting to contrast this fact with the position of the Glasgow Stock Exchange at the present time, when it occupies one of the finest buildings in the city, and its membership numbers not less than thirty large and influential firms. Besides these, there are fully a dozen firms of stock and sharebrokers not members of the Exchange. The first Stock Exchange in Glasgow was established two or three years after Mr. Watson commenced business in this capacity, its first local habitation being a building situated in Buchanan Street, on the site now occupied by the Bedford Hotel. Previous to that time there were very few joint stock companies in existence—investors being satisfied for the most part with the sweet simplicity of three-per-cents. Indeed, the only local companies that could lay any claim to the name of joint-stock or limited liability, were the Banks, the Gas and Water Companies, and the Garnkirk Railway. Mr. Watson continued the only stock and sharebroker in Glasgow for nearly two years, and in 1833 he took a prominent part in the establishment of the Glasgow Stock Exchange, of which he was the first chairman. For 22 years he continued to preside over the Stock Exchange, while that institution was laying the foundations of the high character and exceptional prestige which it has since acquired, and through which it regulates in no small degree the price of stocks and shares in other markets throughout the world. We may mention, also, that the Stock Exchange in Glasgow commenced its career with only twelve or fourteen members, and from this small nucleus it has continued to grow until it is now one of the most flourishing institutions of the kind in the three kingdoms.

About 15 years ago Mr. Watson's services were called into requisition in connection with the winding up of the Ayrshire Iron Company, of which he was a shareholder. The bankruptcy of this company, as many gentlemen on 'Change will well remember, was induced by the mismanagement of its affairs. The works of the company were extended far too rapidly, and, in order to compel business, iron was bought upon credit and sold for cash at a ruinous sacrifice. The result was that the concern became insolvent, with liabilities to the extent of £250,000, and without a copper in the shape of assets except the works at Dalry. It was a terrible dilemma, and very few of the shareholders were equal to dealing with the emergency. Mr. Watson, however, undertook the labour of extricating the company from its awkward position, and his efforts were ably seconded by those of the late Mr. James Dennistoun, and Mr. Mansfield, accountant, Edinburgh, assisted by one or two other gentlemen in Glasgow. On the bankruptcy of the company being announced, Mr. Watson called a meeting of subscribers, at which the late Mr. W. Brown, of the Standard office, was appointed to act as secretary. Time was allowed by the creditors, the money was called up by separate instalments, and with the aid of £60,000 borrowed from the British Linen and the Bank of Scotland Banking Companies the name of the concern was kept out of the Gazette. After a period of five or six years the whole affairs of the company were wound up, and the plant and premises were disposed of to the Messrs. Baird, of Gartsherrie, for the sum of £20,000, or fully £70,000 less than they had originally cost. Mr. Watson's efforts, his patient plodding industry and commercial skill in connection with this insolvency, were greatly commended at the time; and, indeed, as the affairs of the company were in a state of the greatest confusion, it required more than ordinary tact and perseverance to place them on an intelligible and proper footing.

It would be unpardonable to omit reference to Mr. Watson's intimate connection with the railway system in the West of Scotland. He was the first interim secretary of the Glasgow and Ayrshire Railway, which was promoted in 1836, and he continued to act in that capacity until 1839. Afterwards he became secretary of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, in the promotion of which he was associated with Mr. Andrew Bannatyne, the late Dean of Faculty, and the first solicitor to the company. It will be remembered that the first bill of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was thrown out of Parliament in 1837 owing to the strong opposition raised against it. In 1838, however, the bill was reintroduced, and passed—Lord Wm. Bentinck, the then member for Glasgow, being chairman of the committee. Ultimately Mr. Watson relinquished the office of railway secretary, but he continued to be associated in the management of the Edinburgh and Glasgow and Glasgow and South-Western lines with such men as the late Mr. M'Call, of Daldowie, chairman of the Ayrshire company; Mr. Fleming, of Claremont; Mr. T. D. Douglas, Mr. Leadbetter, and Mr. A. Smith, who now lives on the Gareloch, and who, we believe, is the sole survivor of the original directorate, with the exception of our townsman, Sir James Campbell. Prior to the establishment of the direct railway communication with England, Mr. Watson was concerned with the projection of a line of steamers between Ardrossan and Fleetwood—the railway only having been carried the length of Sir Hesketh Fleetwood's estate at that time. By means of this arrangement, in which Mr. Watson had the cordial co-operation of the directors of the Ayrshire Railway, passengers leaving London at 10 o'clock forenoon could break the journey, and obtain the relief of a night's rest in the boat, arriving in Glasgow at 12 o'clock next day. The vessels on this station were Her Majesty and the Royal Consort, but they were discontinued when the direct line to Carlisle was opened up.

The first model lodging-houses established in Glasgow, about 25 years ago, owe their existence to the efforts of Mr. Watson, assisted by ex-Provost Blackie, who, with a number of other directors, have since carried on these establishments, very much to the benefit of the community at large. There are altogether three of these model lodging-houses, situated respectively in Carrick Street, M'Alpine Street, and Greendyke Street, and the very large extent to which they have been taken advantage of by those for whose benefit they were built is the best possible justification of their origin.

Mr. Watson's services in connection with the various charitable institutions in the city are too well known to require comment or eulogium at our hands. Both in season and out of season he has always been ready to aid the dissemination of charity and philanthropy, and perhaps no gentleman in the city is more closely or more generally identified with institutions of this kind.

In 1863 Mr. Watson commenced his municipal career, having succeeded Mr. Thomas Buchanan as representative of the Eighth Ward. Two years afterwards he was appointed a bailie, Mr. Blackie, then Lord Provost, having invited his co-operation and assistance in the carrying out of the City Improvement Scheme, which was then in process of being hatched. Mr. Watson was the first deputy-chairman of the City Improvement Trust, and he continued to fulfil that onerous and important office up to the period of his election as Lord Provost, in November 1871. From the very outset he has been a staunch and eloquent advocate of the improvement scheme, against which, however, there was a great outcry raised, and maintained for some time after its adoption by the Council. We may here notice that the scheme embraced portions of the city covering between 50 and 60 acres, and containing a population of nearly 60,000—being equal to the entire population of Glasgow and its suburbs 100 years ago. The valuation of the property to be acquired amounted to £1,200,000, divided into many small holdings. In the summer of 1865 the preliminaries were adjusted and in the winter of that year application was made to Parliament for the requisite powers, which were obtained in the session of 1866. The Trustees were authorised to acquire the property within five years, to levy an assessment on the inhabitants not exceeding a sixpence per pound of rental, with further power to assess for ten years at threepence per pound to meet the expense for the new streets, and to provide for payment of the interest of the outlay as a whole. Power was also obtained to purchase ground for a public park in the north-east quarter of the city at an expenditure of £40,000. Up to the present time the Commissioners have spent £900,000; and so successfully have the affairs of the Trust been managed that there is now enough of revenue to meet the expenditure, while a large extent of ground remains on hand to be disposed of, so that it is expected the cost of the scheme to the public will be even less than the original estimate. The total properties demolished by the Improvement Trustees up to the 1st December 1871 number 1287 houses, with a gross rental of £7367. Of the usefulness and sanitary importance of the Improvement Scheme, even those who were its most determined opponents can scarcely now entertain a doubt. By the demolition of badly-ventilated and miserable dwellings in the lowest parts of the town, the Trustees have quickened the supply of low-rented houses for the working classes, so that within the last two years there have been erected within the municipal boundaries 1728 houses of one apartment, 3921 of two apartments, and 1368 of three apartments. It is not too much to say that from the outset, or at least since Mr. Blackie left the Council, Bailie Watson has been the head and front of the Improvement Scheme. He has taken the utmost pains both in and out of the Council to inculcate its obvious advantages, and it is largely due to his lucid and practical explanations that the public has been reconciled to the Act.

When the exigencies of commercial misfortune compelled the late Lord Provost Arthur to retire from the active discharge of his official duties, in the autumn of last year, Mr. Watson was at once appointed acting Chief. He continued to discharge the duties of the office in a satisfactory and efficient manner until the November election, when he was requested by the unanimous voice of the Council to allow himself to be nominated for election to the place of Chief Magistrate. The honour, we believe, was none of Mr. Watson's own seeking. His time had more than an adequate demand made upon it in other ways; but he was induced to set aside his own large and important business for the good of the city. During the short time he has already sat in the Chief Magistrate's seat, Mr. Watson has exhibited a marked capacity for public business; and it is not too much to predict that his administration will be signalised as one of the most successful and progressive in the annals of the municipality.