[Foster's Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714, s.v. ‘Neale;’ Wood's Athenæ Oxon. (Bliss), iii. 902; Hearne's Itinerary of John Leland, 2nd edit. 1744, p. 144; Rigaud's Correspondence of Scientific Men, ii. 488, 608; Wallis's Letter on Neile's Invention (Phil. Trans. viii. 6146); Phil. Trans. Abridged, ii. 112 (Hutton); Birch's Hist. of the Royal Soc. ii. 460; Hutton's Mathematical Dict. 1815; Marie's Hist. des Sciences, v. 117; Montucla's Hist. des Mathématiques, ii. 353; Poggendorff's Biog. Lit. Handwörterbuch.]
NEILL. [See also Neal, Neale, and Neile.]
NEILL, JAMES GEORGE SMITH (1810–1857), colonel and brigadier-general, eldest son of Colonel Neill of Burnweill and Swendridge Muir, Ayrshire, was born in the neighbourhood of Ayr on 27 May 1810. He was educated at Ayr and at Glasgow University. He obtained an army cadetship in the East India Company's service, and arrived at Madras on 1 June 1827. Sir Thomas Munro [q. v.], governor of the Madras presidency, who had married a relative of Neill, took kindly notice of the boy, and he was posted on 5 June, with date as ensign of 5 Dec. 1826, to the Madras first European regiment, then quartered at Machlipatnam. He was promoted lieutenant on 7 Nov. 1828. He was appointed fort adjutant at Machlipatnam on 15 Sept. 1829, and held the office until the regiment marched to Kampti. On 1 May 1831 he was made quartermaster and interpreter to the right wing of his regiment at Kampti. On 7 March 1834 he was nominated adjutant of his regiment, and was afterwards selected to command the escort of the resident of Nagpúr.
On 1 Jan. 1837 he left Kolikod on sick furlough to Europe. He returned to Madras on 25 July 1839, before the expiration of his furlough, in the hope of being employed in the operations in Afghanistan; but in this he was disappointed.
On 23 March 1841 he was appointed to the general staff as deputy assistant adjutant-general in the ceded districts. While holding this appointment he wrote a short account of the history of his regiment, which was published in 1843 under the title of ‘Historical Record of the Madras European Regiment.’ On 5 Jan. 1842 he was promoted brevet captain, and on 25 June he was made aide-de-camp to Major-general Woulfe. Neill was promoted captain (regimental) on 2 Jan. 1843, and major on 25 March 1850.
When the second Burmese war broke out in 1852, Neill threw up his staff appointment and hastened to rejoin his regiment, which had been ordered to the seat of war. On his way he was met by the announcement that he had been appointed to the staff of Sir Scudamore Steele, commanding the Madras troops in Burmah, as deputy assistant adjutant-general. He did admirable work all through the campaign. On the conclusion of the war he was left at Rangoon in command of the Madras troops, and was actively employed under Sir John Cheape [q. v.] in suppressing insurrections near Thurygyeen, Bassein, and elsewhere. Constant exposure and hard work in a bad climate brought on fever, which nearly proved fatal; but he recovered, and was sent to England, arriving in June 1854. For his services in the Burmah war he was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel on 9 Dec. 1853.
When the war with Russia commenced, General (afterwards Sir) Robert Vivian, who had been adjutant-general of the Madras army, was selected to command the Anglo-Turkish force, called the Turkish contingent, and Neill was appointed his second in command. He was given the rank of colonel on the staff, and went to Constantinople in April 1855. On his arrival he was appointed to command a division stationed in camp at Buyukdere, on the Bosphorus, where he remained till July, bringing the force under his command into a state of efficiency and discipline. Owing to the excesses of the Bashi-Bazoukhs, commanded by General Beatson, a military commission, composed partly of British officers and partly of Turkish officials, was appointed, with Neill as president, to inquire into the outrages. The commission was opened on 27 July at the embassy, and full powers were given to it to try and to punish the offenders. Severe and immediate punishment for plunder was administered, and soon produced good effects, while Neill reported that the excesses committed were due to lax discipline, and indicated what steps should be taken to amend it. Neill received the thanks of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the ambassador, who directed General Beatson either to adopt Neill's recommendations or adhere to the resolution he had announced of resigning his command.
Neill displayed considerable ability in organising and reforming the Turkish contingent. He was determined to have no officers that were not fit for the work, and got rid of no less than twelve officers, including a brigadier-general, three lieutenant-colonels, and three majors. On the conclusion of the war Neill returned home, and, after spending the remainder of his leave with his family, sailed for India again on 20 Feb. 1857, arriving in Madras on 29 March. His regiment was away in the Persian Gulf, forming part of
