Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 44.djvu/216

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to interfere in religious matters, and to have upheld the doctrines taught in Locke's ‘Toleration,’ of which he was a disciple. In 1795 matters reached a crisis in the secession church. Peddie sided with the ‘new lights’ for toleration and liberty; and in the famous Perth congregation lawsuit, which continued from 1799 to 1815, and which decided the legal position of the party to which Peddie belonged, he was untiring in his zeal and energy. In the earlier days of the controversy attempts were made by opponents to associate the ‘new lights’ with the friends of the French revolution, and the government became suspicious. Peddie promptly communicated with Pitt through Pulteney with such success that shortly afterwards Lord-advocate Dundas referred to them as ‘loyal citizens, who had been calumniated.’ For his efforts Peddie received the thanks of the synod. But the most effective service which he rendered to his side of the dispute was his spirited reply to an attack by Dr. William Porteous [q. v.] entitled ‘The New Light Examined; or Observations on the Proceedings of the Associate Synod against their Own Standards.’ Peddie's reply—‘A Defence of the Associate Synod against the Charge of Sedition, addressed to William Porteous, D.D.’—‘was much admired at the time for its delicate yet keen satire, and the clearness, strength, and elegance of its reasoning. The late Dugald Stewart recommended it to his students as one of the most masterly pieces of classical sarcasm in our language’ (Kay, Portraits, ed. H. Paton, ii. 352). In 1818 Marischal College, Aberdeen, conferred upon him the degree of D.D. Peddie died in Edinburgh on 11 Oct. 1845.

Peddie was twice married: first, in 1787, to Margaret (d. 1792), eldest daughter of the Rev. George Coventry of Stitchell, Roxburghshire; and, secondly, in 1795, to Barbara, second daughter of Donald Smith, lord provost of Edinburgh, by whom he had nine children. He twice appears in Kay's ‘Portraits.’

Besides his pamphlet (supra) in reply to Dr. Porteous, Peddie's published works were chiefly sermons and lectures: 1. ‘The Revolution the Work of God and a Cause of Joy,’ Edinburgh, 1789. 2. ‘The Perpetuity, Advantages, and Universality of the Christian Religion,’ Edinburgh, 1796. 3. ‘Jehovah's Care to perpetuate the Redeemer's Name,’ London, 1809. 4. ‘A Practical Exposition of the Book of Jonah, in ten lectures,’ Edinburgh, 1842. After his death his son William published his ‘Discourses,’ Edinburgh, 1846, with a memoir.

From 1797 to 1802 Peddie was one of the editors of the ‘Christian Magazine,’ and to this and other theological publications he was a frequent contributor. He also edited the posthumous works of Dr. Meikle of Carnwath (Edinburgh, 1801, 1803, 1805, 1807, 1811).

William Peddie (1805–1893), minister, son of the above, was born on 15 Sept. 1805, and, after passing through the high school and university of Edinburgh, entered the Secession Divinity Hall at Glasgow, and was licensed to preach in May 1827. In October of the following year he was appointed colleague and successor to his father by the Bristo Street congregation. He edited the ‘United Presbyterian Magazine’ for several years, and was moderator of the synod in 1855. Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, conferred upon him the degree of D.D. in 1843. His chief interest in the church was in connection with missions in France. Beyond his contributions to periodical literature his only published work was the prefatory memoir to his father's discourses, Edinburgh, 1846. He celebrated his jubilee at Bristo Street in 1878, and died, the ‘father’ of the church, on 23 Feb. 1893.

[Memoir by Dr. William Peddie, prefixed to James Peddie's Discourses, 1846; Kay's Portraits. An obituary of Dr. William Peddie was published in the United Presbyterian Magazine, April 1893.]

J. R. M.


PEDDIE, JOHN (d. 1840), lieutenant-colonel, entered the army as an ensign in the 38th foot on 26 Sept. 1805. He became lieutenant on 26 Aug. 1807, and went with the first battalion of his regiment to Portugal in 1808. He took part in the action of Rolica, and the battle of Vimiera, in Sir John Moore's advance into Spain, and in the battle of Coruña. After serving in the Walcheren expedition he returned to Spain in 1812, was present at the battle of Salamanca, and lost his right arm. He was promoted captain on half-pay on 23 Sept. 1813, but was brought back to full pay in the 97th foot on 25 March 1824, and obtained a majority in the 95th regiment on 16 June 1825. After a further period on half-pay, he became lieutenant-colonel of the 31st foot on 26 Oct. 1830, and of the 72nd highlanders on 20 April 1832, and in the same year he was made a K.H.

In the beginning of 1835 the 72nd, then quartered in Capetown, were ordered to Grahamstown, in consequence of the incursions of the Gaikas, which gave rise to the first Kaffir war. At the end of March the British troops, under Sir Benjamin D'Urban [q. v.], entered Kaffraria in several columns. On 8 April, ‘Colonel Peddie, leaving the camp