mathematics to the burden of the principalship, retaining the chair until 1904. In 1895 he took a prominent part in founding a department of mineralogy and crystallography at the college, and was himself the first lecturer, giving his services gratuitously. In 1890 the honorary degree of D.C.L. was conferred upon him by the University of Durham.
To meet the additional accommodation which the growth of the college made imperative, Gurney arranged an influential public meeting at Newcastle in 1899, where a strong committee was formed to collect subscriptions. In 1901, at Gurney's suggestion, the Armstrong Memorial Fund was devoted to the completion of the college, as a memorial of Lord Armstrong. The college thereupon took the name of Armstrong College. The new buildings were duly commenced in 1904.
Gurney died through a mountain accident in Switzerland on 13 Aug. 1904, having apparently lost his footing whilst out alone on La Roussette near Arolla. He was buried at Ganerew in Herefordshire. In 1872 he married at Whitchurch, Herefordshire, Louisa, daughter of the Rev. H. Selby Hele of Grays, Essex. He left a family of nine daughters; the eldest, Mary, is head mistress of the Newcastle high school for girls.
Gurney was essentially a teacher and an organiser of teaching, who combined great abilities as an administrator with a sound knowledge of scientific principles and marked powers of clear exposition. He acted as chaplain to the bishop of Newcastle, and warden and chaplain of the Newcastle diocesan house of mercy. For the first supplement of this Dictionary he wrote the memoir of Lord Armstrong. He also privately printed 'The Continuity of Life' (1876) and *A Sermon on Words' (1882), and contributed notes on geology to the 'Transactions' of the Institute of Mining Engineers.
There is a bust of Gurney by Mr. C Neuper in Armstrong College library, and an oil painting by A. H. Marsh in the hall.
[Mineralogical Mag., vol. xiv. Oct. 1904, No. 63, pp. 61-4; Newcastle Diocesan Gaz., Sept. 1904, p. 110; the Northerner, vol. v. No. 1. Nov. 1904, p. 2; Lady Clare Mag., vol. iv. No. 1, Oct. term, 1904, p. 7; City of London School Mag., No. 160, March 1905, p. 3.]
GUTHRIE, WILLIAM (1835–1908), legal writer, born at Culhorn House, Stranraer, on 17 Aug. 1835, was son of George Guthrie of Appleby, chamberlain to the earl of Stair, by his wife Margaret, daughter of Robert McDonall. Educated at Stranraer Academy and at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, he passed to the Scottish bar in 1861, but never acquired much practice in the courts. Devoting himself to the study of law, he became editor of the 'Journal of Jurisprudence' (1867-74) and an official reporter of cases decided in the court of session (1871-4). In 1872 he was appointed registrar of friendly societies for Scotland, and in 1874 one of the sheriff-substitutes of Lanarkshire. In 1881 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh University, and in 1891 represented the Faculty of Advocates at the International Law Association. In 1903 he was raised to the position of sheriff-principal at Glasgow, where he took a prominent and useful part in public affairs. He died in the house of his son, David Guthrie, C.A., Glasgow, on 31 Aug. 1908. He was buried in the Cathcart cemetery, Glasgow. He married Charlotte Carruthers, daughter of James Palmer of Edinburgh, by whom he had four sons and two daughters.
Guthrie was an industrious legal writer. His principal publications (all at Edinburgh) were:
- The fourth edition of Robert Hunter's 'Treatise on the Law of Landlord and Tenant,' 1876.
- 'Select Cases decided in the Sheriff Courts of Scotland,' 1878.
- Translations of Savigny's 'Private International Law' (copiously annotated), 1869, 1880.
- Editions of Erskine's 'Principles of the Law of Scotland,' 1870, 1874, and 1881.
- Editions of Bell's 'Principles of the Law of Scotland,' 1872, 1885, 1889, and 1899.
He also edited George Guthrie's 'Bank Monopoly the Cause of Commercial Crises' (1864 and 1866) and 'The Law of Trades Unions in England and Scotland under the Trade Union Act of 1871' (1873).
[The Times, Scotsman, and Glasgow Herald, 2 Sept. 1908.]
