In June 1792 he was the cause and focus of the Dundas Riots, starting at his home in George Square.[3] Following the riots he made it a personal aim to prosecute and effectively destroy the Edinburgh lawyer, Thomas Muir of Huntershill, who he saw as responsible for most of the seditious mischief.[4]
He appeared for the crown in the great prosecutions for sedition at Edinburgh in 1793. In 1796 he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.[5]
He was joint-clerk and keeper of the general registers for seisins and other writs in Scotland from 1799 until on 1 June 1801 he was appointed chief baron of the exchequer in Scotland, but in 1801 and 1811 he turned down offers of the lord presidency.
In May 1787 Robert Dundas married his first cousin, Elizabeth Dundas, daughter of his uncle Henry Dundas. Together they had two daughters and three sons. Elizabeth died 18 March 1852. His heir, Robert, who lived at 69 Queen Street in Edinburgh,[9] died in 1838. Henry, the second son, was vice-admiral in the navy, and died 11 September 1863.[8][7] His daughter married John Borthwick of Crookston FRSE (1787–1845).[10]
Hamilton, J. A.; Fry, Michael (reviewer) (2004). "Dundas, Robert, of Arniston (1713–1787)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8258.
