SEPTEMBER, 1852.] SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL PROGRESS. during the night of the 17th, struck on the north end of the Long Bank, a little eastward of the Forth. The descriptions given by some of the sufferers of the scene which followed are horrifying. All the passengers were in their berths when the vessel struck, and it does not as yet appear whether any blame is to be attached to the captain or officers. On the calamity being known at Wexford, great exertions were made to send assistance to the passengers and crew; and, before the ship went to pieces, all the people on board were brought on shore, with the exception of five persons, who were unfortunately drowned. The Bhurtpore was a fine ship, and only on her second voyage. A shocking Accident has occurred at the terminus of the Brighton Railway. On the 21st, a widow lady, named Eastwood, who resided in Edward-street, had arrived at the Brighton terminus from London, and in stepping from the carriage next the break whilst the train was in motion, she missed the platform, and one foot went between it and the step of the carriage. She was immediately dragged under the carriage wheels, in spite of the attempt to rescue her, and one of the wheels passed over her left foot, and nearly severed it, whilst the other leg sustained very serious injury. She was also much bruised about the body. She was conveyed to the County Hospital, when it was deemed expedient to amputate both legs. The operation was skilfully performed, the patient exhibiting great fortitude; but she died on the following morning. Second Lieutenant Walter Scott Reeves, of the Artillery corps of Royal Marines, and a waterman, have been drowned while attempting to cross from Portsmouth to Ryde. Their boat was found by Major Martin while he was yachting, and she had evidently been upset; and a hat-case, labelled "Lieutenant Reeves, was also picked out of the sea: these were the first intimations of what had happened. While Mr. David Rees, a farmer, and his little grandson were standing at the door of the house during a storm, at Cevenmenrig, in Wales, they were struck by the lightning. Medical aid recovered the child, but the grandfather was dead. ̧ 203 presented in one month was 139 (November, 1819,) and the least number in one month was 26 (September, 1851). The greatest amount of property sold was situated in the counties of Galway and Cork. The British Association has had its meeting this year at Belfast. On the 1st inst. Captain Sabine, the president, delivered his inaugural address, which was of great length, and dwelt chiefly on topics drawn from the applicate sciences. On subsequent days sectional meetings were held, and scientific papers were read by eminent men. The most remarkable were, a paper on the census of Bombay, by Colonel Sykes; on the productive industry of Paris, by the late Mr. G. R. Porter, (read by Mr. McAdam); and on emigration and its reparative agencies in Ireland, by Mr. Locke; a highlyimportant paper. The session of the association was closed on the 8th, at a general meeting for the purpose, in Dr. Cooke's church. Mr. Hopkins is appointed president of the next meeting; which is to be held at Hull: the other towns competing for the honour were Leeds, Brighton, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Dublin. The total of money-grants recommended amounts to 355l., of which sum 2007, is appropriated for the maintenance of the Kew Observatory. The remainder is to be appropriated in small sums, principally for the prosecution of investigations already commenced. The establishment of an observatory in the Southern hemisphere is again to be pressed on the notice of the government. The financial success of the meeting at Belfast has been very striking as compared with the meeting at Ipswich. The total amount received for tickets at Belfast has been 11067.; at Ipswich it was 7117. The number of associates at Belfast has been 510, and of ladies 292; the respective numbers at Ipswich were 246 and 141. The Progress of the Cholera on the continent of Europe is giving rise to some measures of precaution on the part of our public bodies. The Board of Health have expressed their formal opinion to the government that two medical officers should be specially appointed to take such steps as may seem best calculated to meet and mitigate any attack of cholera upon this country. At a meeting of the committee of management of the Royal Free Hospital, it has been resolved, "That in consequence of the existence of malignant cholera in SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL the northern parts of Europe, it is greatly to be feared Total amount realised by said 772 estates. £7,215,083 Total number of purchasers 2336, of whom there were about 2,311 120 resident out of Ireland. that the disease may again visit this metropolis; and that, in order to afford every facility for the relief of the poor who may be afflicted with that malady, the premises belonging to the hospital, lately in the occupation of Mr. Seddon, which are capable of containing 300 additional beds, be not relet at present, but kept ready for the reception of cholera patients, in case of the emergency arising." The Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers have adopted the following important resolution, and have appointed a committee to carry it out: That inasmuch as it appears to the court that the cholera is rapidly approaching this country and metropolis, and it is urgently necessary for the public health that foul open sewers and ditches should be covered over, and other aggravated nuisances removed; and inasmuch as the commissioners have failed in their endeavours, under the existing law, to raise the sums required for the execution of such works by loan on the security of the sewer-rates, it is, in the opinion of this court, expedient and necessary that immediate application be made to her Majesty's government for a temporary advance of such a sum as will enable the commissioners to execute the works of urgent necessity above adverted to." Tottenham has set an example to the other districts of the metropolis, in the important matter of Drainage and Water-supply. There a local Board of Health has been formed, and has actually carried out the objects of houses in the district; and the necessary drainage and the Public Health Act. There are about 1500 inhabited water-supply for these have been completed at a cost of 75007. The charge for water will amount to about 2d. per week per house on an average. Glazed earthenware pipes have been substituted for the old brick drains; a constant current of water at high pressure will keep these thoroughly clean, and sweep away all noxious matter before the process of decomposition has even begun. The supply of "pure soft water obtained from the deep springs will be neither exposed in open reservoirs to the sun and the atmosphere, nor exposed in cisterns and water-butts to the dust and other worse The Commissioners of Customs have issued the following important notices, respecting the Redress to be obtained by the owners of vessels, &c., in the case of improper seizure: "The commissioners of her Majesty's Customs hereby give notice, that directions have been issued to the officers of the customs in the United Kingdom, that whenever they seize or stop a vessel, boat, or goods, they are to furnish the owner, when he is known, or his agent, with a written notice, specifying the grounds of detention. "The commissioners of her Majesty's Customs hereby give notice, that they will be prepared, in any case of seizure in London under the Customs laws, upon application being made to them in writing, and where the owner of the goods, &c., may be desirous of such a course, to appoint one of the members of the Board to take the evidence on oath of the merchants or other parties claiming the property, on the one side, and of the detaining officers on the other, supported by that of any witnesses that may be necessary for the proper investigation of the case, and to report the same for the Board's decision; agreeably to the practice at present observed in cases of complaints by merchants and others against officers." Bartholomew Fair was held in the first week of this month; but this relic of ancient barbarism is now reduced to a mere name. As lately as 1830, upwards of 200 booths for toys and gingerbread crowded the pavements around the fair, and overflowed into the adjacent streets. In 1852 only two stalls were to be seen. In 1830, Richardson, Saunders, Wombwell, were in the ascendant, with their menageries, equestrian, and melo. dramatic shows. Merry-Andrews, puppets, and fools in motley, abounded in all directions-the air rang with the din, and clangor, and thumping of drums and the blowing of trumpets. Public-houses and drinkingbooths were open until morning, challenged the night, and then only closed for a brief respite; while, by night as well as by day, pickpockets, rioters, and loose persons of both sexes, entered the arena, and woe waited upon any unfortunate wight who appeared amongst them without being qualified for the association, by belonging to one or other of these classes. In 1852, not a single In 1852, not a single show was to be seen on the ground, and the publichouses were as quiet and orderly as upon other occasions. This extraordinary change has been produced by mild means adopted by the corporation, in harmony with the | advancing spirit of the age, and the improving manners of the humbler classes For 300 years the Lord Mayor and aldermen had tried orders and proclamations, and juries, and presentments, but without effect. At length the Common Council set to work in earnest to put down a nuisance which brought disgrace upon the corporation. Having obtained entire control over the whole fair by the purchase of Lord Kensington's interest, they refused to let standings for shows and booths, they prevailed upon the Lord Mayor and sheriffs to give up the absurd practice of going to open the fair in grand state, with a herald to proclaim it, and officers of state to marshal the procession-the proclamation formerly stuck about the streets interdicting rioting and debauchery during the days of the fair and within its precincts were discontinued-they did but remind the evil-disposed of former practices which, when they ceased to be mentioned, ceased to be remembered. The consequence of this course of proceeding is now manifested by the altered condition of the fair. The Lord Mayor, who went in his private carriage to Smithfield to go through the necessary ceremony of reading the document reciting the charter under which the property is holden, was surrounded by a few good-tempered fellows, who lingered about the spot in which the "humours of Bartlemy fair" used to abound, and a few minutes after the ceremony the place was again deserted. A Museum of Practical and Ornamental Art, formed under the auspices of the Board of Trade, and now permanently arranged in a suite of rooms at Marlborough House, was opened to the public on the 6th inst., and will continue open on Mondays and Tuesdays to all persons not students, but on these days nothing can be removed from its case. On Wednesdays. Thursdays, and Fridays, persons, not students, are admitted on payment of sixpence, and any single example may be copied on payment of another sixpence. On Saturdays the museum is closed. The chief object which will attract To this colattention is the collection of fictile vases. lection her Majesty has contributed her unrivalled cabinet of Sèvres china, estimated to be worth 12,0007, though consisting of only forty-five pieces. Imitating the Queen's example, Messrs. Webb, Minton, Farrar, T. Baring, M.P., and Copeland, have sent similar collections and specimens of Sèvres, Indian pottery, and British pottery, the whole representing a value of 17,0007. The manufacturer and artist can here study ancient wonders and modern imitation's competitions with effect. The other branches of the museum at present classified are woven goods, metal works, glass, furniture, and the comprehensive miscellaneous. will be recollected that a Treasury grant apportioned 50007. to a committee of the Board of Trade to purchase suitable objects for this museum's purpose out of the Great Exhibition; and, judging by the display, the money seems to have been judiciously spent. In addition, there are articles, models, &c., which were bought for the School of Design, and which have been removed from Somerset House; and the presents from those who take an interest in this first step in a right direction are numerous. The collection of casts appertaining to the renaissance school of ornament is very interesting; and a chronological arrangement of the specimens greatly facilitates the inspection. It A meeting of the society for the establishment of Evening Classes for Young Men was held on the 6th inst., at Crosby Hall, to receive the fourth annual report; the Lord Mayor presided, and many clergymerd and gentlemen of the City were present. The Rev. C. Mackenzie, the honorary secretary, read the report (cf the committee, which urged the want of increased support from the public, and also the necessity of greater co-operation ainong young men. The last year's receipts were 4507., and twenty guineas more than that amount had been spent for the purposes of the institution, which could but prove of essential value from the advantages afforded to young persons who had received but limited education in their youth, and increased their value both to their employers and society generally. There had been eighty-four classes during the year, in fourteen different parts of the metropolis, which had These classes gave been attended with varied success. instruction in drawing, elocution, French, German, Italian, and vocal music. Of the various districts, that of Crosby-place had received the preference in numbers, which was in consequence of a library being attached to it; an attraction which other rooms did not possess. The deficiencies of the last year, it was expected, would be amply made up in the year ensuing, and the committee invited the public to aid them, observing, that had there been greater numbers of members the society would have been rendered self-supporting. One member had kindly lent 2000 volumes to the institution. A council of examiners had been appointed, who reported their results as very satisfactory, and creditable to the pupils. The report impressed upon the meeting the fact that the society was not one of sect or party, and that questions of a religious and political nature were altogether excluded. It was honoured with the patronage of Prince Albert, the Earl of Carlisle, the Bishop of London, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and numerous other members of the nobility. At the conclusion of the report, the Rev. J. Brown proposed a resolution, as follows: "That the meeting regards with interest the continued success of the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men; and it is impressed with the propriety of the committee extending its efforts, so as more and more to impart the benefit of education to the young men of the metropolis." The Rev. H. Mackenzie seconded the resolution, and it was carried by accla mation. Pauperism in Cuckfield Union, in the county of Sussex, has decreased to that extent that it is in serious contemplation to let the seven acres of land connected with the workhouse, in consequence of there not having been for some time past sufficient inmates to cultivate it properly. Nor is the diminution confined to ablebodied male paupers; within the last few weeks there have been upwards of twenty applications to the master of the union for female servants, not one of which could be complied with. The annual meeting of the East Suffolk Agricultural Society was held at Framlingham on the 24th. The show surpassed in number and excellence those of former years. After the show-yard was closed, about 250 members and friends of the association sat down to dinner, presided over by the Earl of Stradbroke. After dinner, the chairman having proposed the usual routine toasts, gave the health of Sir Edward Gooch and Sir Fitzroy Kelly, members for the division. The solicitor-general, though a Protectionist, gave the farmers sound advice: It is to yourselves," he said, "that you must now chiefly look. It is true that you may not in vain place great reliance upon the efforts which will be made in your behalf by the ministers of the crown, and by the legislature of the country: but it is to your own efforts to efforts like those which you have made, which you have proved in this very place this day-that you must mainly look for that relief, for that return to prosperity to which you are in justice entitled." Great efforts are being made at present to promote the Education of the Working Classes in Wales, and much good is done by the numerous schools which are being established throughout the principality. In North Wales new schools are being erected in the mining and slate districts; while care is taken to make those already established as effective as possible. In the very heart of the hills of Merioneth, with a thin and widely-scattered people, a school has been established which is carried on with remarkable vigour, but in the more northern counties, and particularly the level one of Anglesea, great good is effected, as there the schools can be established in less hilly and isolated spots, where the physical impediments are not so formidable, and the populace more numerous. The Training Institution at Carnarvon is in a state of great efficiency; the trained masters sent out into the dioceses of Bangor and St. Asaph having under their care many thousands of children. Energetic efforts are likewise being made to secure to South Wales the blessings of an enlarged education. Sir James Graham has taken a step in Relaxing the severity of the Game Laws. He has issued the following circular to the tenantry on the Netherby estate. "Sir James Graham, unsolicited, has pleasure in notifying to his tenantry that they have his permission to hunt and kill hares and rabbits on their several and respective farms, between the hours of sunrise and sunset-the time for killing hares being limited to the usual period, from 27th September to 27th February. Neither guns nor snares to be used. This permission will be continued from the present date until further notice. During its continuance Sir James Graham confidently expects and trusts that such a concession on his part will induce all his tenants, by themselves and their servants, to preserve the winged game on their respective farms to the utmost of their power, for the amusement of himself, his family, and friends. He hopes that they will cordially cooperate with him in putting down the baneful practice of poaching; and would suggest that every tenant, acting up to the spirit of the obligation contained in his agreement, should, when engaging his servants, make it a condition that any unfaithfulness discovered on their part, in respect to the preservation of game, will be considered sufficient ground for immediate dismissal." PERSONAL NARRATIVE. THE Queen, Prince Albert, and the Royal Family are residing at Balmoral, where they arrived on the 1st inst. Her Majesty's progress was attended by the The usual rejoicings and demonstrations of loyalty. Queen has been active in her excursions among the highland scenery of the neighbourhood; and the Prince in deer-stalking and other sports of the field. The Queen attended a torch-light ball on the 10th, where all the Highlandmen of the Duff and Farquharson clans were present. This ball was given at Corriemulzie Cottage, the seat of Mr. Duff, M.P. At the principal entrance a handsome triumphal arch was erected, composed of ferns, heather, and pine branches, and festooned with clusters of the mountain-ash berries. Highlanders were stationed on either side with torches. The Queen visited her "cottars on the 13th, and dispensed clothing for the winter season, which had already set in. A new palace is to be built for the Queen at Balmoral. The site selected is between the river and the present castle, fronting south; and the estimated cost is between 80,000l. and 100,000l. A new bridge is to be thrown over the Dee; the old road through the forest of Balloch Bhuie is to be shut up, and a new one made along the southern bank of the river. A noble bronze Statue of Sir Robert Peel, sculptured by Mr. Baily, has been erected in the market-place of Bury, his native town. It was "inaugurated" on the 8th inst. Mr. Frederick Peel, member for the borough, Dr. Peel, Dean of Worcester, and Mr. Lawrence Peel, the son and brothers of the great Minister, were among the guests. They met on the lawn of a house called Chamber Hall where Sir Robert was born; and thence, accompanied by a large and well-ordered procession, they went to the market-place. An enormous crowd, probably 20,000, witnessed and ratified the ceremony. The figure is ten feet high, and represents the statesman in his usual attitude when addressing the House. On one side of the pedestal the single word "Peel" is deeply cut; opposite the sentence so often quoted from his famous speech on leaving office in 1846. After the ceremony, there was a banquet, followed by oratory in the Town-hall. The principal speakers were Mr. E. Grundy, Mr. F. Peel, Mr. T. Bazley, Dr. Peel, and Mr. W. Brown. Lieutenant-General Viscount Hardinge has been appointed, ad interim, to the command of the army vacant by the death of the Duke of Wellington. " is in Baron von Humboldt celebrated his eighty-third birth-day at Berlin, on the 14th, by giving a feast to his friends and admirers. The "Nestor of Science excellent health, and is engaged daily for some hours on a fourth volume of the "Cosmos." Great efforts are making to obtain subscriptions to the Newman Defence Fund. On Sunday evening the 12th inst. a meeting of the co-religionists of Dr. Newman took place at the Roman Catholic school-rooms in Somers town. The chair was occupied by the Very Kev. Canon Rolfe, who stated that the object for which they were called together was to devise some plan that should give their poorer brethren an opportunity of contributing to the fund required to defray the expenses into which Dr. Newman had been forced in the Achilli trial, expenses which he would state, on good authority, amounted already to more than 10,000l., and which they had every reason to believe would be still further increased in the forthcoming term. Dr. Newman had already received notice that he would be called upon to appear and receive judgment; and it had been intimated in tolerably plain terms that he ought to hold himself in readiness to pass some time in one of the Queen's prisons. The fund had already received some princely donations, such as 1000/. from Cardinal Wiseman, several of 5007., and a long list of hundreds; but notwithstanding these donations, he could not forget that the pence of the working-classes had often accomplished more than the pounds of the rich, and he hoped that such would be the case on this particular occasion. Resolutions in conformity with the object of the meeting were then passed. A similar meeting has been held at Limerick, and the bishop and clergy present subscribed among themselves nearly 407.-The Archbishop of Cambrai, at the close of his diocesan synod, announced to the clergy that he had received a letter from Cardinal Wiseman, stating that the Catholics of England were unable to raise the funds necessary to pay the expenses incurred by Dr. Newman in the affair of Dr. Achilli, and accordingly soliciting relief from their brethren of the Continent. In consequence, the Archbishop intimated that he would be happy to receive offerings from the clergy and the faithful, and he himself 200f. The subscription opened for the same purpose by the Univers' amounts to between 7007. gave and 8007. The King of the Belgians has conferred the order of Leopold with the civil decoration upon Sir H. de la Beche, of the Geological Survey Office of London, as a public testimony of his Majesty's esteem and satisfaction for the eminent services rendered by him to geology by his numerous and valuable publications. The historian Ranke is now in Brussels, consulting the archives of the State for facts relative to French history in the seventeenth century. A monument to Titian was inaugurated at Venice on the 17th August by the authorities. The great painter is represented surrounded by the Fine Arts; below him are images of the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries; while the basement is adorned with basreliefs of five of the artist's most famous pictures. Mr. G. P. R. James, the novelist, has been appointed Consul at Norfolk in the United States. Mr. John Stuart, Q.C., has been appointed to the Vice-Chancellorship, vacant by the death of Sir James Ebituary of Notable Persons. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON died at Walmer Castle on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 14th inst. The event was somewhat sudden, as nothing had occurred in the usual state of his Grace's health to cause serious uneasiness, Preserving to the last those temperate habits and that activity for which he was so distinguished, on Monday he took his customary walk in the grounds attached to the Castle, inspected the stables, and gave directions with reference to a journey to Dover on the following day, where Lady Westmoreland was expected to arrive on a visit to Walmer. In other respects, the Duke's appetite had been observed to be keener than usual; and it was remarked that he looked pale while attending divine service on Sunday; but otherwise nothing had occurred to attract notice or to excite uneasiness, and after dining heartily on venison, he retired to rest on Monday night, apparently quite well. Lord and Lady Charles Wellesley were the only visitors at the Castle. Early on Tuesday morning, when his valet came to awake him, his Grace refused to get up, and desired that the "apothecary" should be sent for immediately. A note was accordingly despatched to Mr. W. Hulke, surgeon at Deal, who has been attached to the family for many years. Mr. Hulke hastened to the Castle, where he arrived at about nine o'clock. He found the Duke, to all appearance, suffering from indigestion, and complaining of pains in the chest and stomach. He was in the full possession of his faculties, and described his ailment very clearly. So slight were the When the members symptoms, that Mr. Hulke confined himself to prescribing some Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was the son of Garret, Earl of Mornington, and Anne, daughter of the first Viscount Dungannon. The family name was then Wesley. It is remarkable in the case of so great a man that there is some uncertainty as to the date and place of his birth. It has been generally said that the date was the 1st of May, 1769, and the place Dangan Castle, County of Meath; but it is more probable that he was born in the month of April, and in Dublin. He was educated first at Eton, next at a private school at Brighton, and lastly at the military school at Angers. He then entered the army as Ensign in the 73rd regiment of foot on the 7th of March, 1787, He had risen in the service to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel off the 33rd, when, in May, 1794, he embarked for the Low Countries to reinforce the army of the Duke of York. He commanded the rear-guard in the Duke's disastrous retreat, and did good service by driving back the pursuing enemy on several occasions. Very soon after his return to England, he was sent with his reginnent to the East Indies, where he arrived in February, 1797. His regiment formed a part of General Harris's army, engaged in the war with Tippoo. After the fall of Seringapatam he was made Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Mysore. When the Mahratta war broke out, Wellesley, now Major-General, was placed at the head of the English forces. The memorable battle of Assaye, fought on the 21st of September, 1797, broke the power of the Mahrattas, and put an end to the war. This splendid achievement was productive of honours and rewards. He was created an extra Knight Companion of the Bath, many addresses were presented to him by various public bodies in India, a splendid gold vase, valued at 2,000 guineas, was given to him by the officers of his division of the Indian army, and a sword, worth 1,000., was presented to him by the inhabitants of Cal cutta. Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to England in September, the coercive tendencies of his royal colleagues. By his advice, 1805. For three years he was now pretty well occupied as Irish | France was evacuated in 1818; and thus by bis own act he threw Secretary, Privy Councillor, and Member of Parliament. His up his lucrative and powerful post as generalissimo. At Verona, next military service was at Copenhagen, where he commanded in obedience to the instructions of Mr. Canning, who had the troops in the notorious foray of 1807, and conducted the become Minister for Foreign Affairs on the death of Lord negociations which resulted in the surrender of the Danish fleet. Londonderry, he remonstrated against the French expedition to In 1808, when the patriots in Spain and Portugal rose against put down the constitutional party in Spain. During Lord the French yoke, the English government resolved to assist Liverpool's administration he had a seat in the cabinet, and them; Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent to Portugal at the head took a share in the unpopular measures of the time. When of an armament, and landed in Mondego Bay in the month of Lord Liverpool died, in 1827, and Canning was called on to form August. He was opposed by Junot at the head of a superior a cabinet, the Duke, Peel, and others, resigned; and in a few force. Several minor encounters led to the battle of Vimiera, in months Canning died. The cabinet of Lord Goderich followed, which the French were completely defeated; but Sir Arthur was existing precariously for a few months; and then the Duke of prevented from following up his victory by the arrival of Sir Wellington was made Prime Minister of England: but his Harry Burrard, by whom he had been superseded. Sir Harry cabinet was not destined to survive long. Before breaking up, in his turn was superseded by Sir Hew Dalrymple. After re- however, the Duke of Wellington, yielding to his good sense and ceiving from Sir Arthur a brief but clear statement of his opera- perception of what the time demanded, accepted Lord John tions, Sir Hew gave the order to advance, but it was too late, Russell's bill for the Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, and the advantages which the victory would have conferred upon and triumphantly carried it through the House of Peers; and our army were thrown away. The treaty of Cintra, which con- then, with the aid of Peel, accomplished, in 1829, the great cluded this campaign, excited in England the utmost wonder measure of Catholic Emancipation. He remained, nevertheless, and disgust. Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had strenuously op- an enemy to Parliamentary Reform. In the new parliament, posed its principal provisions, in a fit of indignant chagrin had, on the accession of William IV., he delivered his memorable immediately after its completion, returned home-Sir Hew Dal- declaration, "that the country already possessed a legislature rymple was recalled, and Sir Harry Burrard resigned on the which answered all the good purposes of legislation; that the plea of ill-health; so that the command of the army devolved system of representation possessed the full and entire confidence on Sir John Moore. An inquiry was instituted by command of of the country; and that he was not only not prepared to bring the king, but the subject was suffered to drop. After the dis- forward any measure of reform, but would resist such as long as astrous campaign of Sir John Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was he held any station in the government of the country." These sent to co-operate with Beresford, to whom the Portuguese army few words decided the destinies of the government and the was intrusted. He arrived in the Tagus in April, 1809, and country too. The government was dissolved, and the Reform that series of operations followed which ended in the famous Act was passed after a long and stormy opposition. In 1834, passage of the Douro on the 12th of May, and the defeat of Soult when the Whigs were dismissed at the death of Earl Spencer, with the loss of his cannon and baggage. Then came the drawn and a messenger was sent to Rome for Sir Robert Peel, the Duke battle of Talavera, on the 28th of July; Sir Arthur Wellesley held for a while eight of the state portfolios, and was sole became Baron Douro and Viscount Wellington. But the Spanish minister ad interim. After this be disappeared from official generals were ignorant, vacillating, and obstinate; Wellington political life, although not from the arena of the House of could not get them to act with him; neither could he rely on Lords. When Peel returned to power in 1841, the Duke was their movements if he endeavoured to act with them. Napoleon with him. When Peel resigned on the Corn-law question, and now literally occupied Spain with great armies. There were Lord John Russell could not form a cabinet, the Duke came nearly three hundred thousand men in the field, commanded by forward to "stand by" Peel, and to assist in carrying on the Ney, Suchet, Massena, Soult, Mortier, Victor, and a host of Queen's government by carrying out Corn-law Repeal. With inferior but able officers. Ágainst these, when he opened the Peel ministry of 1846 the Duke's political career came to an the campaign of 1810, Wellington had nominally about end; though, to the honour of all parties, he retained the office one hundred and twenty thousand; of whom, however, of Commander-in-Chief. His last speech in the House of Peers not more than thirty thousand were British soldiers. Fol- was made at the second reading of the Militia Bill, on the 15th lowed by Massena, Wellington first fought and won the of June last, when he gave his support to that measure. battle of Busaco; then took refuge behind the strong intrench- The following letter, written by the Earl of Derby at the ments known as the lines of Torres Vedras; and remained there command of her Majesty and addressed to the Home Secretary, in perfect security. Massena waited a month before these lines, has excited great public interest: and then retired with Wellington at his heels. Massena was beaten at Fuentes d'Onor; Almeida fell; Ciudad Rodrigo was captured in ten days, in January, 1812; in April Badajoz was stormed; the army of Marmont was routed at Salamanca in July; and Wellington entered Madrid in August. The check before Burgos, in September, caused him to retreat to his former position on the Agueda, as the French marshals were closing round him. During the winter-months he obtained the sole command of the Spanish as well as British forces; and thus he opened the campaign of 1813 with improved prospects of success. He had good reason for his anticipations of victory. By an unexpected movement he got in the rear of the French defences; a retreat was inevitable; at Vittoria it became a flight, until the French were folded in the passes of the Pyrenees. Soult was now sent to retrieve the day; but it was too late. Wellington drove him from rock to rock in the Pyrenees; and on the 9th of November, 1813, slept for the last time on Spanish ground. How he crossed the Bidassoa, and the Nivelle-how Soult arrested his advance for a moment at Toulouse-and how Napoleon finally succumbed-are sufficiently well known. When the war was over, Wellington was employed as British Minister at Paris, royal adviser at Madrid, and Plenipotentiary at Vienna. When he returned to England, and took his place for the first time in the House of Lords, all the patents of his dignities were read in one day: Talavera had made him a baron and viscount, Ciudad Rodrigo an earl, Salamanca a marquis, and Vittoria a duke; while honours and orders were heaped upon him by all the kings of Christendom. The rest of the military life of Wellington is familiarly known. Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815; he reigned one hundred days, and Waterloo closed his career. Wellington was richly rewarded for his splendid services: foreign potentates had showered upon him rank, onders, presents, honours; he was at once a field-marshal in the British, Austrian, Russian, and Prussian armies. He was appointed Generalissimo of the Allied Forces occupying France in 1815; and the term of his command was originally set down for five years. Strathfieldsaye was purchased at the national cost; and the grand ceremony of opening Waterloo Bridge, when the Prince Regent rode with the Duke of York on his right and the Duke of Wellington on his left hand, and when 202 guns were fired in honour of the day, had been performed on the anniversary of Waterloo. War being finally terminated, Wellington entered upon a new career as a diplomatist and a statesman. At every great meeting of the Powers he was the leading representative of England-at Vienna in 1815, at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, at Verona in 1822; and his solid sense and sagacious judgment served to mitigate "Balmoral, Sept. 20, 1852. "SIR,-Her Majesty received with the deepest grief, on Thursday last, the afflicting intelligence of the sudden death of his Grace the late Duke of Wellington. "Although the Queen could not for a moment doubt that the voice of the country would be unanimous upon the subject of the honours to be paid to the memory of the greatest man of the age, her Majesty considered it due to the feelings of his Grace's surviving relations that no step should be taken, even in his honour, without their previous concurrence; and, accordingly, the same evening, in obedience to her Majesty's commands, I wrote to Lord Charles Wellesley (the present Duke having not then returned to England) to ascertain whether the late Duke had left any directions, or whether his family desired to express any wish upon the subject, and suggesting the course which appeared to her Majesty best calculated to give expression to those feelings in which the nation, as one man, will sympathise with her Majesty. "Having this day received letters from the present Duke and his brother, to the effect that the late Duke had left no directions on the subject, and placing themselves wholly in her Majesty's hands, I hasten to relieve the public anxiety by signifying to you for public information the commands which I have received from her Majesty. "The great space which the name of the Duke of Wellington has filled in the history of the last fifty years, his brilliant achievements in the field, his high mental qualities, his long and faithful services to the Crown, his untiring devotion to the interests of his country, constitute claims upon the gratitude of the nation which a public funeral, though it cannot satisfy, at least may serve to recognise. "Her Majesty is well aware that, as in the case of Lord Nelson, she might of her own authority have given immediate orders for this public mark of veneration for the memory of the illustrious Duke, and has no doubt but that parliament and the country would cordially have approved the step. But her Majesty, anxious that this tribute of gratitude and sorrow should be deprived of nothing which could invest it with a thoroughly national character- anxious that the greatest possible number of her subjects should have an opportunity of joining it-is anxious, above all, that such honours should not appear to emanate from the Crowu alone, and that the two Houses of Parliament should have an opportunity, by their previous sanction, of stamping the proposed ceremony with increased solemnity, and of associating themselves with her Majesty in paying honour to the memory of one whom no Englishman can name without pridc and sorrow. |