George Barnett Smith

“ Forbes was one of the earliest to advocate the claims of women to the franchise. In the session of 1831 he asked upon what reasonable grounds they could be excluded from political rights, pointing out that ladies had the power of voting for directors of the East India Company, and maintaining that if the right of voting was grounded on the possession of property, there ought to be no distinction of sex. ”

“ John Banim has been called ‘the Scott of Ireland.’ He delineated the national character in a striking manner, and his pictures of the Irish peasantry will doubtless live for many generations. ‘Fault has been found with him on the ground that there is throughout the whole of his writings a sort of over-strained excitement, a wilful dwelling upon turbulent and unchastened passions.’ Of the strong writing thus complained of, which was characteristic of both brothers, an example is furnished in the story of ‘The Croppy,’ relating to the rising in 1798. ”

“ The intimate knowledge which Fremantle acquired of Irish affairs caused him to be named resident secretary for Ireland in 1789, and he remained in Dublin until 1800, when the resident Irish secretaryship was abolished. Fremantle had rendered valuable service during a very critical period. At a later date he held the office of deputy teller of the exchequer. When the administration of ‘All the Talents’ was formed by Lords Grenville and Grey in 1806, Fremantle was appointed joint secretary to the treasury, and entered parliament as one of the members for Harwich. ”

“ Buxton was an advocate of church reform, of disestablishment, and of security of tenure in Ireland. In general politics an independent liberal, he strongly advocated the system of cumulative voting; took a deep interest in the volunteer movement, but condemned all wars except those of defence.
Buxton inherited his father's intense affection for animals and his passion for outdoor sports. To these he added a love for architecture. ”

“ Forbes was educated at home until the age of sixteen, when he entered the university of Edinburgh, with a view to joining the bar. His natural bent, however, soon drew him to the study of physics, and at a very early age he contributed anonymously some able papers to Sir David Brewster's scientific periodical, the ‘Philosophical Journal.’ He avowed the authorship after a time, when Brewster encouraged his scientific zeal, and proposed him as a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. ”

“ Michael Banim travelled through the south of Ireland for the purpose of supplying the historical and geographical details for his brother's novel, the ‘Boyne Water;’ and in 1826 he visited John in London, making the acquaintance of many distinguished men of letters. When the struggle for catholic emancipation was at its height, Michael worked energetically for the cause. In 1828 he published the ‘Croppy,’ and the same year, after his return to Kilkenny, he had the honour of a visit from the Comte de Montalembert, who was then on a tour through Ireland. ”

“ Fox married in 1761 the eldest daughter of Jonathan Tabor, a Colchester merchant. Three years later he removed to London, and entered upon a large business in Leadenhall Street. Impressed with the degradation of the poorer classes of the population, he endeavoured unsuccessfully, by the aid of members of both houses of parliament, to move the government in their behalf. About 1784, when he became the proprietor of Clapton, he began his humanitarian work unaided, not only clothing all the poor of the parish—men, women, and children—but founding a free day school. ”

“ The scheme of the sinking fund, usually associated with the name of Pitt, was actually originated by John Lamb, the friend of Burges, and the latter unfolded the project to the statesman. Pitt warmly expressed the obligation he was under for the financial details furnished him on Lamb's behalf. When the existence of Pitt's ministry was threatened in consequence of the opposition to the mutiny bill, Burges virtually saved it by the discovery that the mutiny bill was not necessarily a money bill, and that many instances had occurred of mutiny bills being first introduced in the House of Lords. ”

“ In an elaborate preface to the 'Plays on the Passions,' Miss Baillie defended herself for this somewhat novel venture in dramatic writing. Having first shown that the study of human nature and its passions has always had, and ever must have, an irresistible attraction for the individual man, the writer proceeds to maintain that the sympathetic instinct is our best and most powerful instructor. ”

“ Godwin took an active part in the work of the Royal Literary Fund, of which he was a treasurer, and in the Newspaper Press Fund. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, and in 1881 he received the gold medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, of which he had been a vice-president. Godwin founded a scholarship in connection with the institute, known as the ‘Godwin Bursary,’ the holder of which was to study and report upon the architectural work and professional practice of other countries. ”

“ In January 1843 the African Civilisation Society was dissolved. At its closing meeting Sir Fowell Buxton defended himself from the charge of imprudence. The ill-fated Niger expedition ultimately proved to be far from fruitless. It gave a new impulse to the African mind, and induced the emigration from Sierra Leone, which opened the way into Yoruba and Dahomey, and placed even Central Africa within the reach of British influences. The communication established between the river Niger and England opened up an important trade in cotton and other articles. ”

“ Grimston's early years were spent at Gorhambury, the family seat, and as a boy he was distinguished for his love of field sports. After some time spent at a preparatory school at Hatfield he went to Harrow in 1828. He was a youth of determined will, and among the anecdotes related of him is one to the effect that at the age of fifteen he hired a postchaise and pursued a burglar from Gorhambury to London, securing his arrest and transportation. While at Harrow 'he saved more fellows a licking than most boys in the school.' In 1834 Grimston was entered as a commoner at Christ Church, Oxford. ”

“ Sketches soon followed each other in rapid succession, and in 1830 these were collected into a volume, and published under the title of ‘ Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry.’ Several editions were called for in three years, and a second series appeared in 1833. His sketches of the peasantry were followed by a collection of ‘Tales of Ireland,’ 1834. In some of the tales he evidently describes his own feelings and early experiences. Carleton produced in 1839 his ‘Fardorougha the Miser,’ which has been described as one of the most powerful and moving works of fiction ever written. ”

“ In 1865 also he was appointed director of public instruction for the presidency of Bombay. He infused new life into the department, extending and liberalising the methods of supervision and education. In 1868 he became a member of the legislative council. A government minute of 3 Oct. 1868 affirmed that he had 'undoubtedly set his mark on the history of education in India.' The Duke of Argyll, as secretary of state for India, testified to 'the solidity and reality of his administration;' and a minute of the university of Bombay spoke of Grant's administration in the highest terms. ”

“ As the result of evidence given by Gurney after a colliery explosion at Barnsley, the government enacted that all coal mines should have two shafts. He planned and superintended, by means of his steam-jet (in 1849) , the ventilation of the pestilential sewer in Friar Street, London, which could not be cleansed by any other means, and suggested to the metropolitan commissioners of sewers that a steam-jet apparatus should be placed at the mouth of every sewer emptying into the great Thames riverside sewer. ”

“ Buxton joined the committee of the newly formed Society for the Reformation of Prison Discipline. He had previously gone through the gaol at Newgate, and the results of this and other visitations were afterwards collected and published in a volume, entitled An Inquiry whether Crime and Misery are produced or prevented by our present system of Prison Discipline (London, 1818) . In the course of one year this work went through five large editions, and it had led to the formation of the Prison Discipline Society already mentioned. ”

“ After the conclusion of the Crimean war and the signing of the peace of Paris in 1856, the Ottoman Bank was formed through the efforts of certain great English capitalists. Farley accepted the post of chief accountant of the branch at Beyrout, which he assisted in successfully establishing. In 1858 he published a work on ‘The Massacres in Syria,’ warmly defending the cause of the Christians. In 1860 Farley was appointed accountant-general of the state bank of Turkey at Constantinople, which subsequently became merged in the Imperial Ottoman Bank. ”

“ Many of Bayly's songs are familiar wherever the English language is spoken. Amongst the most popular are ‘The Soldier's Tear,’ ‘I never was a Favourite,’ ‘We met—'twas in a Crowd,’ ‘She wore a Wreath of Roses,’ ‘I'd be a Butterfly,’ ‘Oh, no, we never mention her;’ and of humorous ballads, ‘Why don't the Men propose,’ and ‘My Married Daughter could you see.’ There is no lofty strain in any of Bayly's productions, but in nearly all there is lightness and ease in expression, which fully account for their continued popularity. ”

“ In December 1559 Grey was constituted governor of Berwick, warden of the middle marches towards Scotland, and warden of Tynedale and Ryddesdale. He went down to the border with two thousand men nominally to reinforce the Berwick garrison, but at first with large latitude of action. He was soon made general of the English army sent 'in aid of the Scots against the French, who had made an invasion there with great forces.' On 28 March 1560 Grey, with Lord Scrope, Sir Henry Percy, and others, crossed the Tweed with six thousand foot and two thousand horse. ”

“ Fox was a consistent advocate for economy in railway construction, and it was through his exertions that the ‘light railway’ clauses were inserted in the Railway Facilities Act. In conjunction with G. Berkley he constructed the first narrow-gauge line in India. He made a special study of the narrow-gauge system, and eventually constructed lines upon this principle in various parts of the world. While strenuously advocating the narrow-gauge system, however, Fox was strongly opposed to break of gauge, except under special circumstances. ”

“ On returning to England, he was elected to parliament for the borough of Beverley, and represented that place from 1812 to 1818. In the latter year he was returned for Malmesbury, and continued to represent that town until the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. As a member of the House of Commons he enjoyed the respect of all parties, for his love of justice, kindly feeling, and plain, straightforward honesty. ”

“ The Society of Arts awarded Findlay its medal for his dissertation on 'The English Lighthouse System.' Subsequently he published 'Lighthouses and Coast Fog Signals of the World.' At the time of Sir John Franklin's catastrophe he carefully sifted all the probable and possible routes, and as a member of the Arctic committee of the Royal Geographical Society materially assisted in preparing the arguments which induced the government to send out the Alert and Discovery expedition of 1875. ”

“ The writer in Chambers's 'Cyclopædia of English Literature' describes Bage's novels as decidedly inferior to those of Holcroft, with whom Bage had no little in common; and he expresses surprise that Sir Walter Scott should have admitted them into his 'Novelists' Library.' But the reader will feel inclined to applaud Sir Walter for granting them this distinction. As novels they may not interest strongly by their plot, but there is a distinct originality about them. ”

“ In 1845 Fitzgerald addressed a 'Letter to Sir Robert Peel on the Endowment of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland.' The Duke of Wellington and the writer were the only survivors of those who professed Pitt's politics in the Irish parliament, and Fitzgerald's letter, while partly explanatory of Pitt's views and pledges, also established the fact that this great statesman was the originator of the 'treasonable and sacrilegious scheme' of Peel. ”

“ In 1780 Betham founded and endowed a charity school in his own parish of Greenford, having previously erected a schoolhouse there. He gave 2,000l. for the better maintaining of the botanical garden at Cambridge. His affection for Eton was strikingly manifested in his will. He directed a marble statue of Henry VI to be prepared and erected at a cost of 700l. The statue was entrusted to the well-known sculptor Bacon, and it now stands in the chapel of Eton College, bearing the inscription : 'Posuit Edvardus Betham, collegii hujusce socius.' The king holds a model of the college in his hand. ”

“ Buxton laboured on, fortifying himself with facts concerning slave operations, and preparing documents charged with irrefragable statistics. Public meetings were held throughout the country in denunciation of the slave trade, and on 15 April 1831, the government having declined to take up the case, Buxton brought forward his resolution for the abolition of slavery. He showed that in 1807 the number of slaves in the West Indies was 800,000, while in 1830 it was only 700,000. In other words, the slave population had suffered a decrease in twenty-three years of 100,000. ”

“ There seems to have been some jealousy between Grey and the famous Earl of Surrey. Grey had been appointed chief captain of the army called 'the Crews,' and it was arranged in 1545 that this command should be transferred to Surrey, while Grey was to be appointed lieutenant of Boulogne in the room of Lord Poynings. Upon letters from Guisnes, however, the king ordered Grey to keep his old charge, while Surrey was sent to Boulogne. Secretary Paget speaks of the sinister means constantly employed to set these noblemen at variance. ”