[3] He was from 1903 to 1908 Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Revenue and Agriculture (having officiated as such earlier), and in early 1908 took second place to the lieutenant-governor in his old province, when he was appointed Financial Commissioner of the Punjab.

It was in this post that he conceived the idea of the Triple Canal Irrigation project, which he lived to see adding enormously to the economic wealth of the province.

[2] Wilson had an interest for dialects and folklore, and published several books while in India, including Code of Tribal Custom in Shahpur and in Sirsa and Grammar of Western Punjabi.

He continued writing after his return to the United Kingdom, writing books on Lowland Scotch as spoken in the Lower Strathearn district of Pertshire (1915), Farm-workers in Scotland, The Dialect of Robert Burns, Scottish Poems of Robert Burns, and Dialects of Central Scotland.

Lady Wilson was herself a noted author, publishing two books based on letters to friends and family during her time in India.