the Geographical Position and Natural Resources, the Political Statistics, including the Government, Revenue, Expenditure, the Civil, Military, and Naval Affairs, the Moral Statistics, including Religion and Education the Medical Statistics, including Comparative Mortality, &c.; and the Economical Statistics, including Agriculture, Manufactures, Navigation and Trade, &c, of all Countries,' London, 1886, 8vo.
- 'The Commercial and Financial Legislation of Europe and America, with a Pro-forma Revision of the Taxation and the Customs Tariff of the United Kingdom,' London, 1841, 8vo.
- 'The Preference Interests, or the Miscalled Protective Duties shown to be Public Oppression, addressed to all classes and parties,' London, 1841, 8vo.
- 'The Commercial Treaties and Tariffs of Prussia and other States of the Germanic Union of Customs,' London, 1842, 8vo.
- 'The Progress of America from the Discovery by Columbus to the year 1846,' London, 1847, 2 vols. 8vo.
- 'Sketches of the Progress of Civilisation and Public Liberty, with a view of the Political Condition of Europe and America in 1848,' London, 1848, 8vo.
- 'Germany, her Resources, Government, Union of Customs, and Power, under Frederick William IV, with a Preliminary View of the Political Condition of Europe in 1848,' London, 1848, 8vo.
- 'Holland and the Dutch Colonies,' London, 1848, 8vo.
- 'Financial Reform, a Letter to the Citizens of Glasgow, with an Introduction and Supplementary Notes,' London, 1849, 8vo.
- 'Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of the Austrian and Ottoman Empires, including a Concise View of the Rise and Power of Prussia, and Remarks on Russia, France, and the remaining States of Europe,' London, 1861, 8vo.
- 'The History of the British Empire from the Accession of James I, to which is prefixed a Review of the Progress of England from the Saxon Period to the last year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth,' London, 1862, 2 vols. 8vo.
- 'A Synthetical View of the Results of Recent Commercial and Financial Legislation,' London, 1863, 8vo.
- 'The Madrai Case,' London, 1853, 8vo.
- 'The Nunnery Question,' London, 1863, 8vo.
MacGregor also edited, for Bonn's 'Standard Library, De Lolme's 'Constitution of England,' with a life of the author, and notes, London, 1853, 8vo.
MacGregor was an able and industrious compiler of statistics, a vigorous writer and a clear thinker. On the other hand, he was a utilitarian of the most extreme type, and, identifying civilisation with material prosperity, was as unfit to write history as to make it. He was a member of the Académie de l'Industrie Agricole.
[Times, 22 and 24 Sept 1856 and 27 April 1857; Scotsman, 29 April 1857; Ann. Reg. 1857, Chron. (App.) p. 304; Gent. Mag. 1857, pt. ii. p. 735; Badham's Life of James Deacon Hume, pp. 238, 247, 327 et seq.; Athenæum, 1832 p. 137, 1852 p. 248, 1847. p. 591, 1849 p. 269, 1851 p. 8, 1857 p. 569; MacGregor's Historical and Descriptive Sketches of the Maritime Colonies of British America; Haydn's Book of Dignities, ed. Ockerby, pp. 92-3, footnote; Greville Memoirs, pt. ii. vol. ii. p. 53; Hansard, 3rd ser. liii. 1308, liv. lv. and xcv-cxliii.; Parl. Papers 1840-8, Reports from Commissioners; Edinburgh Review, lxxxii. 204 et seq., lxxxviii. 514; Wilson's (Christopher North) Essays Critical and Imaginative, ed. 1866 t ii. 210; Blackwood's Magazine, xxxi. 907; De Gex and Jones's Reports, iv. 581; Irving's Book of Scotsmen; Cat. Libr. Board of Trade; Cat. Libr. Fac. Adv.; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
MACGREGOR, JOHN, commonly known as Rob Roy (1825–1892), philanthropist and traveller, horn on 24 Jan. 1825, was son of General Sir Duncan MacGregor, K.C.B. His mother was the youngest daughter of Sir William Dick, bart., of Prestonfield, near Edinburgh. Adventures came to him early: as a baby he was outward bound on the Kent, East Indiaman, which took fire in the Bay of Biscay. An account of the disaster was published by his father in 1825, and repubished by him in 1880. As a boy he was apt at mechanics, read hard, was a good climber, boxer, and horseman, and passionately fond of boating. His mind early took a strong religious bent, and he was with some difficulty dissuaded from becoming a missionary.
His schooling was interrupted by his father's constant changes of station, and he is said to have been at seven schools in all, among them at King's School, Canterbury. In 1839 he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he remained a year, taking a high position in mathematics. Thence he went to a tutor's, and in 1844 proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating as thirty-fourth wrangler in 1847 (M.A. in 1850). He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1851, and devoted himself for a time to 'patent' law; but, being possessed of ample means, threw aside the chances of a good practice and devoted the rest of his life chiefly to foreign travel or to active philanthropic work at home, with occasional diversions into literary and mechanical investigations.
MacGregor was in Paris during the revolution of 1848. In July 1849 he started overland across Europe to the Levant, and on to Egypt and to Palestine: his tour occupied
