The corporation of Glasgow having persisted in its efforts to obtain a licence, the Treasury appointed Sheriff Andrew Jameson (afterwards Lord Ardwall) a special commissioner to hold a local inquiry in Glasgow to report whether the telephone service in that city was adequate and efficient and whether it was expedient to grant the corporation a licence.
As poet-laureate, his occasional verses did not escape adverse criticism; his hasty poem in praise of the Jameson Raid in 1896 being a notable instance.
In 1819 Brewster undertook further editorial work by establishing, in conjunction with Robert Jameson (1774-1854), the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, which took the place of the Edinburgh Magazine.
The first ten volumes (1819-1824) were published under the joint editorship of Brewster and Jameson, the remaining four volumes (1825-1826) being edited by Jameson alone.
After parting company with Jameson, Brewster started the Edinburgh Journal of Science in 1824, sixteen volumes of which appeared under his editorship during the years 1824-1832, with very many articles from his own pen.