ADAM, William, nephew of the preceding, was the eldest son of John Adam, Esq. of Blair-Adam (for a short time called Maryburgh), in the county of Kinross, in Scotland. He was born in Kinross-shire on the 2d of August 1751; and, after the usual courses at the colleges of Edinburgh and Glasgow, passed advocate at the Scotch bar in 1773. But he made no serious attempt to practise there, having very soon removed to England, where he obtained a seat in the House of Commons in 1774, and in 1782 was called to the English common-law bar. He continued in parliament till 1795, when he withdrew from it till 1806. Being then chosen to represent the united shires of Kinross and Kincardine, he resumed his seat, and continued in the House, but with some interruptions, till 1811.
His parliamentary life thus lasted about 30 years; during all which period he took a conspicuous part in most of the proceedings of the House. But it would be idle to detail his particular share in them here. It is only in the cases of the few men who leave permanent impressions on their age, that the details of parliamentary exertion, however honourable to him who makes them, and however interesting to his friends, are cared for by general readers. It is enough, therefore, to state that Mr Adam, though a popular speaker, was not an orator, and had far too much sense to try to be thought one. But he was one of the many members who do, by judgment and attention, what eloquence would in vain attempt to accomplish. He made himself of importance by good sense, industry, popularity of manner, and a firm adherence, though not without the incidental differences that will occasionally separate the steadiest partisans, to the Whig principles and the Whig party, which he had adopted, and from which he never swerved. Some inconsiderate words which occurred in a debate in 1779, produced a hostile meeting between him and Mr Fox, when the latter was slightly wounded; but neither before nor after could there be two better friends. They were both of the small but noble band who stood out for the practical exercise of the British constitution, against the encroachments which they thought that, under a real or pretended horror of the first French Revo-
Adam. lution, were making upon it by Government. None of his parliamentary exertions were more valuable, or more ably conducted, than those which he made in March 1794, against the shocking proceedings of the Scotch Criminal Court in certain trials for sedition; when that court, while sedition, how often soever committed, could, in England, be only punished by fine and imprisonment, punished a first offence by 14 years' transportation; and this without a statute, and solely in the exercise of judicial discretion, and at a time when New South Wales, where these unfortunate men were sent, as the court understood that they would be, was in a state of desolate and unapproachable barbarism.
After being called to the English bar, he prosecuted its business with the steady assiduity of one who knew that success was necessary for his independence. If he had given himself to this field exclusively, he would have risen still higher in it than he actually did; for this is a profession in which no one can give himself fair play who attempts to combine it with any other occupation. He was known to be deeply engaged with parliament, and with the management of the pecuniary affairs of several members of the royal family, particularly of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, to whom his practical sagacity was of the greatest use. But still he rose to very considerable practice, and became a king's counsel in 1796, counsel to the East India Company in 1802, and was successively Attorney and Solicitor General to the Prince, afterwards George IV., one of the managers of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, and one of the counsel who conducted the defence of the first Lord Melville, when he (as Mr Dundas) was impeached also. During the short period when his party was in power, in 1806, he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, and was afterwards a Privy Councillor, and Lord-Lieutenant of Kinross-shire.
In 1814 he withdrew from England, on being made a Baron of Exchequer in Scotland. This was preparatory to his last elevation as Chief Commissioner of the Jury-Court, to which he was appointed in 1815, and in connection with which institution he will be chiefly known historically.
The application of juries to the trial of civil causes was till then unknown in Scotland. The want of them had been long complained of, both by enlightened lawyers and by the public; and, though there were some haters of change to whom their introduction was offensive, it was recommended by all liberal legislators, legal and political, in both quarters of the island; and Baron Adam was selected to preside over the new tribunal. He continued to do so till 1830, by which time he had matured our jury practice sufficiently to enable it to be engrafted into the business of the permanent supreme tribunal, and to admit of his own separate jury-court being abolished.
The general problem of the fitness of juries for the decision of facts involving civil interests, and the success of the effort to introduce them into Scotland, are not questions for discussion here. There has recently been an apparent abatement of the idolatry of jury-trial in England, and there are some who hold the Scotch experiment to have totally failed. The truth probably is, that the English use civil juries too indiscriminately, and that the expectations of what they were to effect in Scotland were extravagant. But their total failure in Scotland is, unquestionably, not a fact. On the contrary, they continue to perform most valuable service in the administration of justice, and could not be given up without an instant revival of the unavoidable and intolerable evils, which, though now forgotten by many, produced the absolute necessity for their establishment.
But whatever may be now thought of the jury principle, there can be but one just opinion of the exact merit of the judge to whom its introduction into Scotland was entrusted.
His devotion to his task was ardent and constant. No man ever gave himself more earnestly to the achievement of a great judicial end. He did not bring profound law to the work; one good effect of which was, that it liberated his mind from exclusive addiction to the system in which he had been trained. Unstiffened by previous habits, he was able to relieve Scotch awkwardness by English experience, and to enlarge English narrowness by Scotch reason. His skill in directing juries was not so great as his judgment in the formation of rules for ripening the system. His candour, —the cheerful endurance of his patience, —his simple but dignified urbanity, and his uniform accessibility, were all perfect. He and his court were, at first, so much obstructed by prejudice, that without his protection the measure would have been defeated without ever having had a fair trial.
Personally, he was, in all practical matters an able manager; —and always kind and pleasant, —beloved by his family and a large circle of friends, —of excellent conversation, and delightful in society. His long residence in London, and his acquaintance with almost all the celebrated men of all classes of his time, supplied him with a never-failing store of well-told anecdote. His connection with his native country previously to his final return to it in 1815, had been kept up by regular visits; —as might have been expected of one who never ceased to consider the country of his birth and education as his home, and to whom Blair-Adam was Arabia Felix. It is now, through his tasteful management, adorned by judiciously placed and thriving wood. When his grandfather acquired it, the whole foliage it could boast of was supplied by a single tree. He was one of the very best depositaries of all the old and fast-fading peculiarities of Scotland; the dialect of which, and when he chose, its accent, he retained thoroughly; and remembered and enjoyed all the sayings and customs of the country, its local literature, and all its curious old characters and occurrences. His combination of the social knowledge of both kingdoms, added to his natural shrewdness of observation on all passing subjects, gave him great conversational advantages, and made him a most agreeable companion.
After maintaining a gallant battle against some personal infirmities, and preserving his mental powers unimpaired, he died at Edinburgh on the 17th of February 1839, in his 89th year. He had long survived his wife, a daughter of Lord Elphinstone, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Admiral Sir Charles Adam, governor of Greenwich Hospital; his only other remaining child now surviving being General Sir Frederick Adam. (H. C.)
Adam's Apple, a name given to a species of Citrus.
Adam's Bridge, or Rama's Bridge, in Geography, a ridge of sands and rocks, extending across the north end of Manar gulf, from the island of that name on the north-west coast of Ceylon, to Ramencote or Ramisseram island, off Raman point. The extent of this chain of shoals and islands is about one degree; but some of the sand-banks are dry, while much of it has not more than three or four feet below water; and it is divided by three or four deeper cuts, that in calm weather permit the passage of native boats and small vessels through tortuous and intricate channels.
Adam's Peak, the highest mountain in Ceylon, is stated by Dr Davy, who ascended it, to rise to the height of 6680 feet in a very steep acclivity, and to terminate in a point not more than 74 feet by 24 feet. On this small plain is the supposed impression of the foot of Boodhu, an object of high veneration to the Cingalese, who make frequent pilgrimages to this sacred spot, where a priest resides to receive the offerings of the devotees, and to bless them on their departure. The foot-mark is partly natural, partly artificial, and measures 5 feet 4 inches by 2 feet 6 inches. It has a margin of brass ornamented with some gems of small value, and is
Adamant covered by a roof. The mountain is wooded almost to the top, and is seen at the distance of twenty leagues from sea. The view from it is very sublime. Long. 80. 39. E. Lat. 6. 55. N.