1926.] OBITUARY.-Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. perty which he had accumulated, including his furniture and wearing apparel, and above all the rest (a loss in which his own personal interest was greatly exceeded by that of the British public) his very valuable Scientific Collections. These consisted of many volumes of manuscripts and drawings relative to the civil and natural history of nearly every island within the Malayan Archipelago, collected at a great expence of money and of labour, and under the most favourable circumstances, during a life of constant and active research, and which were calculated to have materially advanced the state of knowledge, and to have promoted and extended the civilization of mankind. Sir T. S. Raffles, after his return to Fort Marlboro', did not resume all the functions of government. He remained there till April following, when he finally embarked for England in the ship Mariner, and arrived in London in the month of August 1824. After his return to his native country he lived much in retirement, on the property which he had purchased at Highwood in the neighbourhood of Hendon, Middlesex. Of a character possessing so much interest as the distinguished individual of whose public life a brief narrative has been attempted, it would be desirable to exhibit a full-length portrait, but of this neither the time, nor the space which can conveniently be allotted to the present article, will admit. It must suffice cursorily to observe, that his literary qualifications were highly respectable; that his style was elegant, his application to study intense, and his habits of research laborious. He also appears to have been a man of unquestion able benevolence, and to have been influenced by an enlightened policy. This he evinced by avowing and acting upon the opinion, that the relation between colonies and those which are in common parlance called their parent states, implies more than mere exaction by the latter, and obedience from the former. He considered it to be the first duty of Governors to cultivate and improve, as well as to defend, the people who were subjected to their authority; and in the Governments which he administered, he endeavoured, not unsuccessfully, to fulfil this first duty. Possessed of a comprehensive mind, in whatever situation he was placed he meditated great objects; some of which it was his good fortune to realize. The projects which he formed while he was at Prince of Wales Island, were calculated to benefit the whole Eastern archipelago. He there examined the Malay character, that he might improve it; and accordingly, when he had obtained the Government of Java, he essayed nothing less than its complete reformation, by the abrogation of some of the worst principles and practices which can deform society, and by the introduction of means of moral advance 85 ment, till then almost unknown, or long neglected, in that interesting part of the globe. The practices and principles which he sought to extirpate, were cruelty, tyranny, fraud, and ignorance; those which it appears to have been his wish to introduce were knowledge and justice, by the efficient administration of equal laws, the recognition of personal and relative rights, the total abolition of bond service and slavery, and by education. At Bencoolen he acted on the same principles, and with a view to the same ends. There also he found slavery; and, having there the power, he effected its destruction by an act of authority. He also found there a want of judicial institutions, and he supplied the deficiency by the best substitute which he could devise. The cock-fighting and gaming, which had long been patronised by the Government, he prohibited; and he revived, endowed, and extended institutions for general education. To this latter object he earnestly directed the attention of the European inhabitants in his last parting address to them before the destruction of the Fame. "We have here," he observed, "our schools, our press; our missionaries are working wonders; the very tone and state of society have essentially changed for the better: and in referring you to the reports this day delivered of the Agricultural Society, and of the Committee for superintending the Education of the Native Inhabitants, I have only to recoinmend a continuance of the same means which have hitherto proved so successful for exciting the industry and improving the moral condition of the inhabitants. The objects of our institutions here, though they may at present be confined to the immediate vicinity of Bencoolen, embrace the whole of Sumatra, a field too interesting and important for me to attempt any description of it on the present occasion.' In the establishment of Singapore he united a sound commercial policy, and the wisdom of a statesman, with an enlarged philanthropy. He had ascertained the causes which combined to separate the Chinese, the Malays, and the inhabitants of continental India, into three distinct and somewhat discordant branches of the human family. The project of an entrepot for the commerce of these countries had been tried at Rhio, and failed chiefly, as he felt assured, through the want of adequate protection for the persons and commerce of those who visited it. Perceiving that Singapore possessed all the local advantages of Rhio, and some which that island did not possess, and that it was easily obtainable, and as easily defensible, by the British Government, he hesitated not to charge himself with the responsibility of planting there the British flag. It appears by a paragraph in the same address, from which a quotation has already been given, that in the establishment of Singapore he designed to connect the greatest moral benefits with political and commercial advantages: "Europeans," he observes," have been permitted to hold land at Singapore, and if the measures which are in progress for the establishment of an independent magistracy, and equal and humane laws to all and every one alike, should succeed, we may hope that it will afford due security for person and property; and that, united with the efforts of the Singapore Institution, the objects of which are to maintain inviolate the just and Christian principles of its establishment, under all circumstances, and to diffuse light and knowledge to all around, according to its means, we may one day see Singapore, not only the centre of commerce, but the centre of civilization also." Considered as a whole, the character of the late Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles displays little, if any thing, to censure, and much to applaud. His name will live in British History, not among warriors, but among the benefactors of mankind, as a philanthropist and statesman of the very first eminence. Time alone can ascertain the extent of the debt which the nation owes to his memory and to his family: but it will be by all acknowledged, that to the Public he was a valuable servant, and, in connection with the British possessions in the East, a most powerful agent. There can be no doubt that the great designs which he formed, and the measures he pursued, if followed up as a part of her colonial policy, will exalt the character of Great Britain far more than her proudest victories have ever done. He was a Fellow of the Royal and Antiquar an Societies of London; President of the Zoological Society, and of the Asiatic Society of London; and a Vice President of the African Institution; also of the Language Institution. He was a Member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta; of the Literary Society of Bombay; and President of the Literary and Scientific Society on Java, of which he was the founder, as he afterwards was of the Singapore Institution. From his late Majesty his merit obtained for him the honor of Knighthood; he had also the honor of a share in the esteem of the reigning Sovereign; and he enjoyed the personal friendship of not a few individuals of eminence, both in Europe and Asia; some of whom were of exalted rank, and others of high literary character; the latter description includes Dr. Morrison, the author of the Chinese Graminar and Dictionary; Sir George Staunton, the author of the Embassy to China; Dr. Wilkins, the East India Company's Librarian ; and almost every other orientalist of celebrity. His own publications were, "The History of Java," already mentioned, which appeared in 1817, in 2 vols. 4to.; and "Finlayson's Mission to Siam, with Memoirs of the Author, by Sir T. S. Raffles," 1822, 1 vol. 8vo. He is also known to have left some literary projects unexecuted, particularly a Memoir T. F. of Singapore in manuscript. MARQUIS OF WATERFORD. July 16. At Carmarthen, on his route to London from his seat at Curraghmore, co. Waterford, the Most Noble Henry De-la-Poer Beresford, Marquis of Waterford, Earl of Tyrone, Viscount Tyrone, Baron De-la-Puer, originally by tenure and writ of summons, Baron Beverfordwest in Great Britain, a Knight resford in Ireland, Baron Tyrone of Haof St. Patrick, Governor of the County of Waterford, and Premier Marquis of Ireland. A victim to that cruel disorder the gout, this amiable and respected nobleman has been prematurely snatched from the exalted station that he filled here, to receive his reward in a better world. Suffering for some years under this malady, during which he displayed the most patient and religious resignation, he was debarred from an active participation in the duties of his high station, which, by nature as well as by attainments, he was eminently qualified to fill. But though thus unhappily restricted in the performance of his public duties, in the bosom of his family, and in the circle of his numerous connexions and friends, he was ever alive to their welfare and happiness; amongst them he lived tenderly beloved, and has died grievously lamented. It was impossible to know him, and not to be fondly attached to him. In all the relations of life, as a son, a husband, a father, a brother, and a friend, he was exemplary, a recollection which is the main support of his afflicted family, in submission to the will of the Almighty. Though high in honour and estate, he considered these conferred little advantages on the possessor, if not duly used and enjoyed. "Virtus sola, vera Nobilitas:" to this he rigidly subscribed. His feelings were truly those of a noble mind, and he did bonour to his race; to that long line of illustrious ancestors, alike distinguished for their virtues and their patriotism; and which have been for many generations acknowledged and rewarded by his bounty and its sovereign's. The Marquis was born in 1772, and in 1805 married the Lady Susan Hussey Carpenter, daughter and sole heiress of George, 2d Earl of Tyrconnel, who survives him, and by whom be bas left seven children. He is succeeded in his titles and estates by his eldest son, a minor. 1826.] OBITUARY.-Visc. Ingestrie.-John Bruce, Esq. F.R.S. VISCOUNT INGEstrie. May 23. At Vienna, aged 23, CharlesThomas Viscount Ingestrie. His Lordship, who had been travelling on the continent for nearly two years, was taking his usual ride on the Prater at Vienna. Passing under a tree, his hat was caught by a bough, and falling upon the spirited animal which carried him, terrified the creature so much as to cause bim to start off at full speed; nor did he stop until he had plunged him self and his noble rider into a pit or quagmire, in which they were both suffocated. His Lordship was born July 11, 1802, the eldest son of Charles-Chetwynd seeund and present Earl Talbot, by FrancesThomasin e, eldest dau, of Charles Lambart, of Bean Park in Ireland, esq. and niece of James first Lord Sherburne; and the deceased possessed those high endowments of understanding, and those good qualities of heart, which give a lustre to the distinction of birth and fortune. It is remarkable as a coincidence, that on the day after his Lordship's death one of his younger brothers met with an accident in the park at Ingestrie, whilst driving in a low four-wheeled carriage a borse unaccustomed to harness. The horse, as in his brother's case, having accidentally taken fright, set off at full speed, and attempted to leap a gate. In consequence, the shafts broke, and the young nobleman falling forward, received a severe fracture of the thigh. JOHN BRUCE, Esq. F.R.S. April 16. At his seat of Nutbill, co. File, in his 32d year, John Bruce, esq. of Grangehill and Falkland, F.R.S. of London, Edinburgh, and Gottingen; and formerly M.P. for St. Michael. He was the beir-male and undoubted representative of the antient family of Bruce of Earl's Hall, one of the oldest cadets of the illustrious house of Bruce; but he did not succeed to the estate of his ancestors, which was transferred by marriage into another family. He inherited from his father only the small property of Grangehill, near Kinghorn, the remains of a larger estate, which bis family acquired by marriage with a granddaughter of the renowned Kirkaldy of Grange. Mr. Bruce received a liberal education at the University of Edinburgh, where he was early distinguished for his abilities and extensive erudition; the consequence of which was, that at an early age he was appointed Professor of Logic in that University. He rescued that 87 science from the trammels of the Aristotelian school, and the syllogistic forms of arguing and teaching; and his lectures, particularly on pneumatology, were much celebrated. At the same time, during the absence of Dr. Adam Fergusson, he was prevailed on, at very short notice, to teach bis class of moral philosophy; and, during the greatest part of that winter, besides revising, and often re-casting, his own lectures, he actually composed in the evening the lecture which he was to deliver in the class next forenoon. Soon after this he resigned his chair in the University, having, through the interest of the late Lord Melville, to whose family he was distantly related, received a grant of the reversion, along with the late Sir James Hunter Blair, of the Patent of King's Printer and Stationer for Scotland; an office, however, which did not open to them for 15 or 16 years. Lord Melville was well aware of Mr. Bruce's abilities, and duly appreciated them; and, in order to give the public the advantage of them, he procured for him the office of Keeper of the State Paper Office, and Historiographer to the East India Company. Mr. Bruce was also, for a short time, Secretary to the Board of Control. In these various offices he was not idle. The place of Keeper of the State Paper Office had been made by his predecessors very much of a sinecure; the consequence of which was, that the valuable papers therein deposited were in the greatest confusion; but, by his indefatigable exertions and methodical ar rangements, the whole were soon brought into the greatest order, so as to be available to the different departments of the Government, whose chiefs had occasion to refer to them for precedents or information. Mr. Bruce was the author of several valuable works, some of which, though printed by Government, were not published for sale, and, therefore, are not so extensively known as they deserve; and it is believed he has left in manuscript, at the State Paper Office, several memoirs in relation to that department. His printed works are: Elements of the Science of First Principles of Philosophy, 1780, 8vo.; Ethics, 1786, 8vo. being the beads of his Lectures on Moral Philosophy. Historical View of Plans for the Government of British India, and Regulation of the Trade of the East Indies, 1793, 4to. Report on the Renewal of the East India Company's Exclusive Privileges, 1794. Review of the Events and Treaties which established the Balance of Power in Europe, and the Balance of Trade in favour of Great Britain, 1796. Report on Conjunct Expeditions to frustrate the Designs of the Enemy, by Attacks on his Foreign Possessions or European Ports, 1798. Report on the Internal Defence of England against the Spanish Armada in 1588, with a view to the Defence of Britain in 1798, on which Mr. Pitt grounded bis Measures of the Provisional Cavalry and Army of Reserve. Report on the Union between England and Scotland, with a view to the projected Union with Ireland, 1799. Annals of the East India Company, from their establishment in 1600 to the union of the London and English East India Companies, 1707-8. 1810, 3 v. 4to. Report on the Negociation between the East India Company and the Public, respecting the Renewal of the Company's Charter, 1812, 4to, Speech in the Committee of the House of Commons on India Affairs, 1813, 8vo. Mr. Bruce's intellectual powers were of the very highest order. He was equally distinguished as an accurate bistorian and an elegant scholar. The extent, the variety, and the correctness, of his general information, was astonishing. He was for some years the only surviving member of that great literary phalanx which adorned the Scottish metropolis during the middle period of the last century. In the more vigorous period of his life he was eminently distinguished by that qualification which is so rarely to be met with, in which great knowledge is combined with a shrewdness and pleasing urbanity of manners, which rendered his communications agreeable to every one. His conversational powers were captivating in the extreme, and his sallies of innocent humour, and flashes of wit, were irresistibly entertaining. During the latter years of his life he spent several months at his seat at Nuthill, on which estate, and his extensive purchases of Falkland and Myers, he was carrying on improvements on a most extended and liberal scale, giving employment to great numbers of tradesmen and labourers of all descriptions. He also laid out a large sum in repairing what remains of the palace of Falkland, so as to preserve, for centuries to come, that relic of royalty in Scotland. In short, he entered on the profession of a country gentleman with the same ardour and ability which he displayed in the various other situations which he filled; and his death wil! be deeply lamented by those friends who enjoyed his society, as well as by the inhabitants on bis estate, to whose wants and comforts he so materially contributed. REV. WILLIAM DAVY. June 13. After an active and useful life, extended to his 83d year, the Rev. William Davy, Vicar of Winkleigh, Devon, to which benefice he had lately been preferred, as a reward for his able defence of the leading doctrines of the Church, in a work lately published (reviewed in the last Volume of our Magazine, pp. 441, 617), being an abridgment compiled from 26 volumes of Divinity, which he printed with his own hands, at a press of his own constructing. In Mr. Davy received the first rudiments of his education at the Exeter Free Grammar School; and on returning from College obtained Priest's Orders. his examination for this sacred office he corrected one of the highest dignitaries of the church, on some theological point, and received great encomiums for his Biblical knowledge, a proof that his earliest attainments were directed to those subjects on which his pen was afterwards so perseveringly employed. He early commenced the compilation of a "System of Divinity," which he published in 1786, in six volumes. This was spoken of in the different reviews with considerable praise, but failed in bringing the author into the notice he deserved, as he still remained curate of the small parish of Lustleigh, with a yearly stipend of £30; and although the work was encouraged by a long list of subscribers' names, the actual receipts were far less than the expenses. His active and persevering mind, however, could not be deterred by small obstacles, and he continued to gather, from every source he could by any means command, fresh matter to extend his work, which in 1795 had increased to 26 volumes. Anxious that his labour should not be in vain, and unable to risk a second loss, he proceeded by a mode the most singular that was ever attempted, and one that evinces the most indefatigable exertion. He constructed a press himself, purchased some old types at a cheap rate, and in five months, by his own manual labour, produced 40 copies of a specimen, consisting of 328 pages, besides prefatory matter; and distributed 26 copies to such persons as he thought the most likely to appreciate his labours and assist 1 1826.] OBITUARY.-Rev. W. Davy.—C. M. Von Weber, him in the publication of the whole work. Not receiving, however, the encouragement he ought, and having 14 copies remaining, he recommenced his labours; and having taught a female domestic to compose the types, he proceeded, with her assistance, to print 14 copies of the remaining 25 volumes, which Herculean task he completed in 1807. The largest part of these were also distributed where he conceived they might be likely to excite attention; but still his labours, as far as regarded bimself, were in vain. No discouragement, however, could check his perseverance, and be began a volume of extracts from bis large work, on the "Being of God, Divinity of Christ, the Personality and Divinity of the Holy Ghost, and on the Sacred Trinity," with improvements and additions. This he also printed a few copies of, and presented to several emineut literary characters. Still little else but praise was gained; but a mind so organized for action as his could not rest in inactivity; and though well up to his 80th year, his vigour of intellect remained unimpaired; and conceiving more might yet be culled to add to this latter volume, in 1825 he had increased it so considerably, that on his determining to send it forth to the world, he found it sufficient to fill two octavo volumes. Being then in his 82d year he resigned the task of printing into other bands, and a neat edition was published, which procured for the author the living of Winkleigh. But this reward, though bigbly gratifying to his feelings, came too late to add to his comforts; for enjoying it only a few months, scarcely any pecuniary advantages could be derived from it. After saying so much of his literary labours, it would scarcely be supposed that any other pursuits had ever occupied his attention. In mechanics, how ever, he was a considerable proficient ; and after the sinking of the Royal George in Portsmouth Harbour, he proceeded there with the plan of a Diving Bell, to recover the property sunk in ber; and although his plan was afterwards acted on with considerable success, no kind of remuneration ever reached bim. In a pamphlet published in 1823, by the Rev. Mr. Jones, North Bovey, on the scenery, &c. round Moretonhampstead, Mr. J. after mentioning Mr. Davy's theological labours, says, "Mr. D. excels in Gardening and Mechanics, and is altogether a very ingenious man: he has constructed some clocks, and various other pieces of mechanism; his parsonage contains many specimens of mechanical genius; his garden, formed among the GENT. MAG. July, 1826. 89 rocks, is extremely curious."—In a note Mr. J. adds, "Mr. Davy has lately removed from Lustleigh to a farm called Wilmead, which he has purchased, in the adjoining parish of Bovey Tracey. Though advanced in years his industry continues unabated. On the hill above his house he has formed a garden, more curious even than the one at Lustleigh; the walls formed along the hill give it at a short distance the appearance of a fortification in miniature; and the view from the summit is one of the finest in the neighbourhood, taking in the whole extent of the vale towards Moretonhampstead. He has just made a handsome present of Communion Plate to the Church of Lustleigh, a flagon and two patens, with the following inscription: "The Gift of William Davy (aged 78), 36 years Curate of Lustleigh, to that parish, for the use of the Sacrament for ever: 1822." There being no school in the parish, he has likewise offered to endow a parish school, provided the parishioners would build a school-room. This liberal offer has not yet been acceded to, in consequence of objections to the education of the poor by some of the parishioners." We are happy to say those objections have since been surmounted. C. M. VON Weber. June 5. At the house of Sir George Smart, in Great Portland-street, in his 40th year, the celebrated musical composer, Carl Maria Freyheer Von Weber. He was born Dec. 16, 1786, at Eutin, a small town in Holstein. His father gave him a most liberal education, and the son evinced an early predilection for the fine arts, particularly painting and music. The first regular instruction he received on the piano-forte, the instrument on which he has gained such a high reputation as a player, was from Heuschkel, at Hildburghausen, in 1796; and it is to this severe and learned master that Weber owed his energy, distinctness, and execution. The more his father perceived the gradual developement of his talents, the more anxious be was to sacrifice every thing to their cultivation. He therefore took his son to the famous Michael Haydn, at Salzburg. In 1798 he published his first work, six fugues in four parts, which are remarkable for their purity and correctness, and received the praise of the Musikalesche Zeitung. At the end of that year, Weber went to Munich, where he was taught singing by Valesi, and composition, as well as the piano-forte, |