Wonders if his father might secure a loan of £200 against his Gas Company Shares should it be necessary. He mentions that the London Times of 5 April contains a good account of the case so far.
He praises the influence Scots settlers have had on Ulster, claiming "our superior condition in Ulster morally and materially is entirely to be attributed to the strong Scotch element in our constitution". He goes on to give his opinion of the Irish press, the Disendowment Bill, as well as news of a vacancy on the Navy Pension List
Thanks him for helping his son in Liverpool, and commiserates on the death of James Dalyell, referring to him as "a man with the kindest of hearts, and its twin, a kind and feeling disposition ...".
On the reverse is an advertisement of stations belonging to the Caledonian Railway Company's North-Eastern Section, and charges for telegraphs and porterage
Asks him if he would like to visit the college: "... the fresh mountain air of the Perthshire hills, in lieu of the smokey atmosphere in Dundee, would quite re-invigorate your lungs".
Includes advertisement for the Dundee Bouquet (page 12), which "can only be compared to a fresh nosegay of excelling sweetness. Acknowledged by all to be the very perfection of a scent for the handkerchief".
Enclosing extracts from Minutes of Meeting of the Angus and Mearns Rifle Association, 25 August 1865 concerning 'complaints against Lt. Dalyell and others as to their dress ...' at a recent competition in Montrose