r of Natural
Philosophy, not from objection to Mr. Anderson, in whose election he
would willingly have concurred, but because he regarded the method of
proceeding as irregular and possibly establishing a bad precedent." As
patrons of University chairs, the professors were trustees for the
community, and ought each to be bound by a tacit self-denying
ordinance, at least to the extent of refraining from actively using
this public position to serve his private interest. Smith himself, it
will be remembered, was one of his own electors to the Moral
Philosophy chair, but then that election was uncontested, and Smith
was not present at the meeting which appointed him.

The other personal question arose also out of circumstances which have
their counterpart in Smith's own history. Professor William Rouet,
Professor of Ecclesiastical and Civil History, made an engagement in
1759 to travel abroad as tutor with Lord Hope, the eldest son of Lord
Hopetoun; but when Lord Hopetoun wrote requesting leave of absence for
Professor Rouet, the Senate by a majority refused to grant the
request. Smith was one of that majority, and took an active part in
the subsequent transactions arising out of their decision. Rouet
persists in going abroad in the teeth of the refusal, and the
University by a majority deprive him of office for his negligence of
duty. The Crown, however, at first refuse to appoint a successor, on
the ground of informality in the act of deprivation, and Lord Bute
tells the Rector, Lord Erroll, that "the king's orders" are that the
business must be done over again _de novo_, or "else it may be of the
worst consequences to the University." The University take the opinion
of eminent counsel, Ferguson of Pitfour and Burnet of Mountbodie
(Monboddo), and are prepared to face the consequences threatened, but
are eventually saved the trouble by the resignation of Rouet in 1761.
Now in these transactions Smith seems to bear a leading part. He was
one of the small committee appointed to draw up answers to the protest
tabled by the minority of the Senatus; it was to him Lord Erroll
communicated the intimation of Lord Bute, though he was not then
either Vice-Rector or Dean of Faculty; and it was he and Professor
Millar who were sent through to Edinburgh to consult the two
advocates.

Smith was probably on the best terms with Rouet himself, who was an
intimate friend of David Hume and a cousin of their common friend
Baron Mure, and it