EARL SOMERS. Dec. At Brighton, aged 80, the Right Hon. John Somers Cocks, Earl Somers, Viscount Eastnor, of Eastnor castle, co. Hereford (1821), second Lord Somers, Baron of Evesham, in Worcester (1784), and Baronet (1772), Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Herefordshire, and Chief Steward of Hereford.

His Lordship was born on the 6th May, 1760, the eldest and only son by the first marriage of Charles first Lord Somers, by Elizabeth, sixth daughter of Richard Eliot, esq. sister to the first Lord Eliot, and aunt to the present Earl of St. German's.

At the general election of 1790, he came into Parliament for the borough of Reigate (for which his father was for many years a Member), and he was rechosen in 1796 and 1802. He voted at first with Mr. Pitt; but in March, 1791, on occasion of the dispute with the Empress Catharine, he declared that minister had entirely lost his confidence. In 1804 be spoke in favour of the abolition of the Slave Trade; and, in 1805, he addressed the House in favour of the impeachment 14th of Lord Melville.

He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father, Jan. 30, 1806. In the same year he was in the minority in favour of the Roman Catholic claims. He also voted in favour of Parliamentary Reform, on the decisive division of the 14th April, 1832.

Previously to the alterations made by the Municipal Reform Act, his Lordship was Recorder of Gloucester.

His

Lord Somers was twice married. first wife, to whom he was united on the 19th March, 1785, was Margaret, only daughter of the Rev. Treadway Russell Nash, D.D. the historian of Worcestershire, and editor of Hudibras ; she died Feb. 9, 1831, and his Lordship married secondly, June 3, 1834, Jane fourth daughter of his uncle, James Cocks, esq. and widow of the Rev. George Waddington. That Lady survives him. By his first marriage he had issue, three sons and one daughter: 1. the Hon. Edward Charles Somers Cocks, a Major in the army, slain at the assault of Badajoz, in 1812, in his 27th year; 2. the the Right Hon. John now Earl Somers; 3. the Hon. and Rev. James Somers Cocks, a Prebendary of Hereford and Worcester; and 4. Lady MargaretMaria.

GENT. MAG, VOL. XV.

The present Earl was born in 1788, and married in 1815, Lady Caroline Harriet Yorke, fourth daughter of Philip third Earl of Hardwicke, by whom he has Charles-Somers Viscount Eastnor, born in 1819, and three daughters. His Lordship is Colonel of the Herefordshire Militia; and, as Viscount Eastnor, sat in the present Parliament for the borough of Reigate.

GEORGE, FIFTH EARL OF ESSEX.

A monument to the memory of the late Earl of Essex (of whom a memoir was given in our number for June, 1839) has been erected in the private chapel belonging to the Capel family, in the parish of Watford. It was placed there by the Countess Dowager, with the sanction of the present Earl. The monument, which is mural, and remarkable for simple elegance of design, and beauty of execution, is the work of R. Westmacott, jun. It bears the following inscription, from the pen of Lord Holland, who knew him long and intimately; and whose kindness of disposition and liberality of sentiment were quite congenial with his

own:

To the memory

Of George, fifth Earl of Essex, who was
Born on the 13th November, 1758; succeeded
His father on the 5th March, 1799; and
Died on the 23d April, 1839.
Religious, compassionate, and charitable,
He maintained in his public conduct
The rights of conscience
And the principles of freedom,
Against exclusions, intolerance, and corrup-
tion;

And he cultivated in private life
The social virtue of hospitality,

Founded, in his instance, in kind affections;
Which, adding grace to rank,
Derived fresh lustre

From various acquirements of art,
Great cheerfulness of disposition,
And singular vivacity of mind.

It has been remarked, that "Those who knew him will appreciate how justly their lamented friend deserved this record of respect and attachment. They will, however, regret that the limits necessarily prescribed to an epitaph forbad a more detailed mention of his excellent qualities. It is not intended to enter into any lengthened narrative, but we cannot permit the opportunity to pass, without adding a few lines to the above summary of his worth.

"By the decease of Lord Essex, the Liberal party lost a valuable and most consistent supporter. He took no share in the debates of the House of Lords; 2 S

but, for a long series of years, his name appeared in every division whereby the happiness of the people was to be promoted; and his signature to every important protest against misrule. Rising su perior to the prejudices of his order, he gave his determined opposition to the Corn-laws. Convinced that the chief security for good government consists in an educated people, he not only supported all measures for public instruction, but provided ample means for local schools on his own property. He took the most anxious interest in the repeal of the laws against the Dissenters and the Catholics; and was strenuous in support of the great principles on which Lord Grey's administration was founded, watching with delight the advance of every measure for the security of constitutional government.

"It was a remarkable feature in his character, that age was not accompanied with its usual timidity and indecision. To the last he manifested his devotion to the cause of progressive reform, and bitterly lamented every instance of lukewarmness or backsliding.

"In private life, he enjoyed the most sincere and affectionate attachment. His hospitality consisted not in large convivial assemblies; his parties were small, and selected with the nicest discrimination. They comprised men the most eminent in the state, in the learned professions, in science, literature, and art. To these meetings his own presence gave a peculiar charm. He had lived much in the world, and had been no inattentive spectator of the eventful period of the last sixty years. His perception was quick, his memory singularly retentive, his style of narration remarkably pointed and pleasing. His correct and highly cultivated taste was conspicuous in all his arrangements, and his encouragement of the fine arts was munificent. His manners were graceful, ac. complished, and entirely unassuming; his politeness was of the best order, consisting not in mere compliance with conventional usage, but in habitual attention to the feelings and wishes of those about him, and in a punctuality which extended to all his engagements.

"Those who enjoyed the privilege of associating with him, will never forget the warmth of his attachment, and the sincerity of his friendship."-From the Morning Chronicle of Sept. 9, 1840.

DR. ALEXANDER, BP. OF MEATH. Oct. 21. After a protracted illness, the Right Rev. Nathaniel Alexander, D.D., Lord Bishop of Meath, and a Privy Coun

cillor for Ireland, cousin to the Earl of Caledon.

He was the eldest son of Robert Alexander, esq. elder brother to James first Earl of Caledon. He was one of the early pupils of Dr. Samuel Parr, when that eminent scholar kept a private school at Hanmore, together with his brother, the late Henry Alexander, esq. M.P., and their cousin Monsey Alexander. Some of his subsequent correspondeith Dr. Parr is printed in Parr's and Works, by Johnstone, vol. viii. PP. 305-317. He afterwards entered of Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he graduated B. A. 1783, M. A. 1787.

He was the senior Bishop upon the Irish bench, having been consecrated Bishop of Clonfert in 1801. He was translated to Down and Connor in 1804, and to Meath in 1823. The Bishop of Meath is said to have died exceedingly rich.

He married Anne, daughter of the late Right Hon. Richard Jackson, and by that lady, who died in Aug. 1837, he had issue six sons and four daughters. The former were-1. the late Ven. Robert Alexander, Archdeacon of Down, who died in 1830, having married in 1813 Catharine, youngest daughter of the late Right Hon. John Staples, by whom he left a numerous family; 2. the Rev. James Alexander, who married in 1833 Miss Doppin; 3. Nathaniel Alexander, esq., who married Sophia, widow of J. Young, esq. and daughter of William Hickey, esq., and has issue; 4. Henry Alexander,

esq. barrister-at-law; 5. George, in the Bengal Civil service, who married in 1833 Miss Molloy; and 6. William, in the same service, who married in 1834 Janet, eldest daughter of Brig. Gen. Charles Dallas. The daughters are-1. Anne, married in 1813 to the Rev. John Molesworth Staples, brother of her brother's wife; 2. Mary; 3. Eliza, married to John Nicholson, esq.; and 4. Henrietta, married to Robert Smythe, esq.

RT. HON. WILLIAM WICKHAM. Oct. 22. At Brighton, aged 79, the Right Hon. William Wickham, D.C.L.

This gentleman (a pedigree of whose descent from William Wickham, Bishop of Winchester in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, will be seen in the Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. iii. p. 371) was the elder son of Henry Wickhamn, of Cottingley, co. York, esq. some time Colonel in the 1st Foot Guards, by Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the Rev. William Lamplugh, of Cottingley, Vicar of Dewsbury.

He was sent Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss

Cantons in 1794; was afterwards Under Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1798; Envoy Extr. and Minister Plenipotentiary to the united Austrian and Russian armies from 1799 to 1801; Secretary of State for Ireland from 1802 to 1804; sworn a Privy Councillor Jan. 13, 1802; and a Lord of the Treasury from Feb. 1806 to March 1807. At the general election of 1806 he was returned to Parliament for both the boroughs of Callington and Midhurst, but made his election for the former. After the breaking up of the Whig Administration in 1807 he retired from public life. He was presented to the honorary degree of D. C.L. at Oxford on the 3d of July 1810.

Mr. Wickham married Eleonora-Magdalene, daughter of Mons. Louis Bertrand, Professor of Mathematics in the university of Geneva, and had issue an only child, Henry Louis Wickham, esq. a barrister-at-law, one of the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry, and formerly Secretary to Lord Althorp, when Chancellor of the Exchequer. He has married Lucy, youngest daughter of William Markham, Becca, co. York, esq. and granddaughter of Archbishop Markham, and has issue.

RT. HON. SIR SAMUEL SHEPHERD. Nov. 3. Aged 80, the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Shepherd.

He was the son of a jeweller in London, and his sister married Mr. Serjeant Runnington. He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple, Nov. 23, 1781. In 1814 he was appointed Solicitor General, and he received the honour of Knighthood on the 11th of May. In 1817 he was promoted to the office of Attorneygeneral; and from June 1819 to Feb. 1830 he filled the bench of Lord Chief Baron of the court of Exchequer in Scotland. He was sworn a Privy Councillor July 23, 1819.

His son Henry John Shepherd, esq. is a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, a Queen's Counsel, Recorder of Abingdon, and formerly a Commissioner of Bankrupts.

SIR JOHN TWISDEN, BART. Jan. 1. At Bradbourn Park, Kent, aged 56, Sir John Twisden, Bart. the eighth Baronet of that place (1666).

Sir John, with whom the baronetcy conferred in 1666 has expired, was descended from Sir Thomas Twisden, the second son of Sir William Twysden, the first Baronet, of Royden Hall in Kent, which title is still existing in the person of Sir William Jervis Twysden, Bart. The name was originally Twysenden ; the elder branch continued the orthography with a y, while the Bradbourn bouse, for distinction' sake, used an i.

Sir John was the only son of Sir John Papillon Twisden, the 7th Baronet, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Francis Geary, Bart. and aunt to the present Sir William Richard Powlett Geary. He succeeded his father in the title on the 9th Feb. 1810. On the 25th Feb. 1811, he married Catharine-Judith, daughter of the Rev. William Coppard, Rector of Graveley, co. Cambridge, who had been his tutor. This lady died on the 29th April 1819, without surviving issue. His property is left to his cousin-german Mrs. Hodges, wife of the Member for West Kent, and only daughter of Sir Roger the sixth Baronet.

SIR G. B. PRESCOTT, BART.

Oct. 25. At Paris, aged 65, Sir George Beeston Prescott, the second Bart. of Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire (1794).

He was born the 11th Feb. 1775, the eldest son of Sir George William Prescott, the first Baronet, by Sarah, daughter of Beeston Long, esq. of Carshalton Park, Surrey. He succeeded to the title on the death of his father, July 22, 1801 ; and married, first, in 1779, Catharine Creighton, second daughter of Sir Thomas Mills, Knt. Governor of Quebec; by whom he had issue two sons and three daughters.

He married, secondly, Flora-Theodore-Virginie, daughter of the late Baron Moucheron. This lady survives him.

ROBERT FERGUSON, ESQ. M.P. Dec. 3. At his house in Portman Square, after a protracted illness, Robert Ferguson, esq. of Raith, M.P. for the Kirkaldy district of Burghs, and Lord Lieutenant of the county of Fife.

He was the representative of an ancient family, and the eldest son of William Ferguson, esq. by Jane, daughter of Ronald Crauford, of Restalrig, and sister to Margaret Countess of Dumfries. Gen. Sir Ronald Crauford Ferguson, G.C.B. Colonel of the 79th regiment, and M.P. for Nottingham, is his brother,

Mr. Ferguson was elected to the Whig parliament of 1806 for Fifeshire, but was not afterwards elected until the time of the Reform bill, upon which he represented the Kirkaldy district of Burghs from 1831 to 1835, and in the latter year was returned for Haddingtonshire, defeating Mr. Hope, the Tory candidate, the poll being, for

Robert Ferguson, esq.
J. T. Hope, esq.

268 231

At the general election of 1837 he was in turn defeated by Lord Ramsay, who polled 299 votes to 205.

He then returned to the representation

of the Kirkaldy division of Burghs. He was a cordial supporter of the measures of the Whig government.

Mr. Ferguson married Mary, only daughter of William Hamilton Nisbet, esq. of Dirleton, co. Haddington, the divorced wife (in 1808) of the present Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, and mother of the late Lord Bruce, (who died unmarried two days before Mr. Ferguson,) and three daughters. There is no issue of this lady's second marriage.

W. JONES BURDETT, ESQ.

Oct. 5. At his villa at Twickenham, in his 66th year, William Jones Burdett, esq. only surviving brother to Sir Francis Burdett, Bart, M.P.

He was the fourth and youngest son of Francis Burdett, esq. (who died in the lifetime of his father Sir Robert the fourth Baronet, of Foremark, co. Derby,) by Eleanor, daughter and coheiress of William Jones, esq. of Ramsbury Manor, co. Wilts.

Mr. Jones Burdett married, Sarah, daughter or neice of Timothy Brent, esq. and has left issue a numerous family. His eldest son, Mr. Francis Burdett, is a Lieutenant in the 17th Lancers.

ADM. SIR H. WM. BAYNTUN, G. C. B. Dec. 17. At Bath, in his 75th year, Sir Henry William Bayntun, G.C.B. Admiral of the Blue.

This officer was a son of a gentleman who formerly held the office of British Consul-General, at Algiers. He served as a Lieutenant at the reduction of Martinique, in 1794, and was promoted by Sir John Jervis to the command of the Avenger sloop, from which he removed into the Nautilus, a vessel of the same class; and after the capture of Gaudaloupe obtained post rank in the Undaunted, of 32 guns, by commission bearing date May 4, 1794. He subsequently commanded the Solebay and Beaulieu frigates, on the West India station.

In 1796, we find Capt. Bayntun in the Reunion, of 36 guns, which ship was lost in the Swin, on the 7th Dec. and three of her crew perished. His next appointment was to the Quebec frigate, and in her he again visited the West Indies, where he removed successively into the Thunderer, 74, and Cumberland, of the same force. On the renewal of the war, in 1803, he was entrusted with the command of a squadron stationed off St. Domingo, where he cruized with great activity, and captured several armed vessels, among which was the Creole, French frigate of 44 guns, from Cape François, bound to Port-au-Prince, hav

ing General Morgan and staff, with 530 troops, on board. The crew consisted of only 150. On the same day the Cumberland and Vanguard took a schooner, from Cuba, with one hundred bloodhounds, intended to accompany the French army serving against the Blacks.

On returning from the Jamaica station, Sir Henry was appointed to the Leviathan, another 74-gun ship, and ordered to the Mediterranean, where he joined the fleet under Lord Nelson, with whom he went in pursuit of the combined squadrons of France and Spain. On the glorious 21st Oct. 1805, the Leviathan passed through the enemy's line, and had assisted in disabling and silencing the French Admiral's ship, as also the huge Santissima Trinidada, when Sir Henry found himself much galled by a distant cannonade from several others of the enemy's ships; at length, the Saint Augustin of 74 guns, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Cazigal, gave him an opportunity of closing with her, which was immediately embraced, and she was soon compelled to surrender. The loss sustained by the Leviathan was very trifling, considering how warmly she had been engaged: it amounted to only four men killed and twenty-two wounded. After the battle her prize was set on fire and destroyed. At the funeral of his lamented chief, in Jan. 1806, Sir Henry bore the Guidon, in the procession by water from Greenwich Hospital.

Towards the latter end of the same year, Sir Henry accompanied the expedition under Rear-Adm. Murray, and Brigadier-Gen. Craufurd, sent for the reduction of Chili; but which was afterwards ordered to Buenos Ayres, in consequence of the recapture of that city by the Spaniards. Sir Henry was directed to superintend the debarkation of the troops, which he conducted with the greatest regularity. He ultimately commanded the flotilla sent up the North river to Colonia; and the Rear-Admiral, in his official despatches, bore ample testimony to the zeal and activity displayed by him during that unfortunate campaign.

Sir Henry's subsequent appointments were, to the Milford of 74 guns, about June, 1809; to superintend the payment of ships afloat at Plymouth, in the Autumn of 1810; and in the ensuing year to the command of the Royal Sovereign yatch. His promotion to the rank of Vice-Admiral took place in 1812, to Rear-Admiral in 1821, and full Admiral in 1837. On the enlargement of the order of the Bath, the 2d Jan. 1815, he was nominated a K. C.B.; and on the

LT.-GEN. SIR W. H. PRINGLE, G.C.B. sty Dec. 23. In Stratford-place, Marylebone, aged 68, Lieut.-General Sir William Henry Pringle, G. C.B. Colonel of esthe 45th Foot, and a member of the Consolidated Board of General Officers.

He entered the army as Cornet, July 06, 1792, was made Lieutenant Feb. 1803, do Captain Oct. 1794, Major in the 111th hfoot, Sept. 1794; Lieut.-Colonel 1799; Capt. and Lieut.- Colonel in the 2nd foot guards 1802; Colonel in the army 1809; and Major-General, Jan. 1, 1812. In the last-named year he was and appointed upon the staff of the Peninsular army; and he commanded a brigade at the battles of Salamanca, Pyrenees, and Nivelle. He received the thauks of the House of Commons in person, after the battle of Salamanca, on the 10th Feb. 1813; and two votes of thanks on the 24th June 1814, for the battles of Pyrenees and Orthes, and Nivelle.

In Feb. 1814 he was severely wounded in France. On the 12th May following he was appointed Colonel of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles; on the 1st April 1816 he was promoted to the 64th foot; and in 1838 to the 45th, having attained the rank of Lieut.-General in 1825.

He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Bath on the enlargement of the order in Jan. 1815, and had subsequently been advanced to be Grand Cross.

Sir W. H. Pringle formerly sat in Parliament of 1820 and 1825 for the borough of Liskeard, which was in the patronage of his wife's family.

He married in 1806 Hester- HarrietPitt, only child of the Hon. Edward James Eliot, eldest son of Edward Craggs Lord Eliot, by Lady Harriet Pitt, second daughter of William first Earl of Chatham. This lady (who is neice to the present Earl of St. German's) survives him. His death was so sudden that a coroner's inquest was considered necessary, when it was found that it had been occasioned by disease of the heart.

COMMANDER HEWETT, R.N.

Nov. 13. Lost in the Fairy surveying vessel, of 10 guns, in the North Sea, Commander William Fairy, R.N.

He entered the service in 1805, passed his examination in June 1812, and was promoted into the Inconstant frigate, Capt. Sir Edw. Tucker, on the South American station, Sept. 10, 1814. During the late twenty years, he has commanded the Protector and Fairy surveying vessels, on the North Sea station. His promotion to the rank of Commander took place on the 8th Nov. 1826.

The Fairy left the port of Harwich on the 13th Nov. for the purpose of surveying some neighbouring sands, and must have encountered the tremendous storm which ensued. She had no design of proceeding beyond a few hours' sail, having only on board at the time two days' provisions. She had on board, as midshipman, a son of Sir Charles Adam, one of the Lords of the Admiralty. (See p. 110.) The following are extracts from an appeal which has been made to the public by Capt. Basil Hall, on behalf of Capt. Hewett's widow and eight orphan children.

"The silent, unseen, protracted, often perilous, and always arduous la bours, of the maritime surveyor are entitled, on many grounds, to a high place in our esteem. There are perhaps no exertions of any of her Majesty's servants, which produce more decidedly practical benefits to the communitynone, of which the good is more substantial at the moment, or more permanently useful in its character-none of which the results are more readily available in practice-nor any labours which require, at every stage of their progress, more skill, knowledge, patience, perseverance, and above all, good faith and genuine public spirit, than the works of the hydrographer. This will be understood when it is recollected that, in the course of almost every other branch of the public service, occasional inaccuracies or neglects may occur, without essentially vitiating the result. 'Success,' said Lord Nelson, speaking of war, hides a multitude of blunders.' But this will not apply to surveying—for no eventual gloss or pretension, no elegance of execution of the maps, will make up for the smallest autecedent blunder in the details. Accordingly, a conscientious surveyor, like Hewett, makes it a sacred duty to superintend every cast of the lead, to ratify every compass bearing by his own cye, to regulate and employ his chronometers with his own hands, and to observe the celestial bodies with instruments, the merits of which he has himself proved.