The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-27 00:00:00

Obituarg.

SIR G. CocxnunN died at Leamington Spa yester-
day week, aged 82. The deceased was senior officer
of the British navy, being Admiral of the Fleet,
Major-General of Marines, and Rear-Admiral of the
United Kingdom. lie was also a Grand Cross of the
Bath, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. In his
professional career he attained high distinction, and
his death removes another of the small remaining
band of companions in arms to Nelson, Jervis, Hood,
Hotham, and other naval heroes of the war :

Sir George entered the navy in 1781, under the auspices
of Admirals Sir doslma Rowley and Lord Hood. Having
passed for his commission in June, 1793, he served as
junior lieutenant under Lords Hotham anti Hood, by
whom he was promoted to the Speedy sloop. Having Rtlie•
ceeded in maintaining the blockade of Genoa when every
other vowel was blown off the port during a gale, he was
pasted to the Meleultr, 31. In this frigate, and in the
Minerre, 41, 1w obtained the acknowledgments of Nelson
for his conspicuous zeal, ability, and courage in co-ope-
rating with the Austrians in Piedmont and at Leghorn.
Whilst in command of the Minerre, Captain Coekburn, in
presence of the Spanish fleet, engaged the Sabina, 40, and
the Matilda, 34, in June, 1790. The former ship struck
her colours after a combat of three hours, and a loss, out
of 280 111(.11, of 14 killed and 44 wounded; the other was
compelled to wear and haul off at the close of a sharp ac-
tion of half an hour; the collective loss of the Minerre
R 1 11111 l wing to 7 men killed and 44 wounded. Captain
Cockburn also bore a very active part in the battle off Cape
St. Vincent, February 14, 1797. From this time to the
chew of that. war Captain Cockburn was incessantly en-
gaged, and his conduct presents a uniform course of gal-
lantry, seamanship, and good fortune. On the breaking
out of hostilities in 1803 he was employed in both the East
anal West Indies, and for his services at the capture of
Martinique received the thanks of both houses of Parlia-
ment. As commodore he commanded at the reduction isf
Flushing, anal subsequently served in co-operation with
the army in the Peninsula. In August, 1811, he was made
a colonel of ; and in the same month in the fol-
lowing year he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral,
with the eon:mond of the fleet engaged in the American
war. After conducting many operations on the coast of
the 17niteal States, he hoisted his Hag in the Nortlaintlier-
land, 74, as comma nder•in-ehief at St. Helena, being se-
lected to convey Napoleon Bonaparte to that island. Be-
coming a vice-admiral August 12, 1819, he afterwards, with
his Hag in the Vernon, 50, and Prreident,ll2, commanded
in chief on the North American and West India station,
from December 0, 1882, until February, 1830. Since the
latter date he has not been afloat. His advancement to
the rank of full admiral took place January 10, 1837. Sir
George Cockburn, from his long, varied, and extensive ex-
petienee, became naturally an officer whose great attain-
toeing would recommend him to high administrative posi-
tion in his profession. First he was a junior member of
the Board of Adilliralty SO early as 1818, under the Tory
ofieernment, in whose political principles he coincided.
In 1828 he was reappointed: and again, whilst commander-
in-chief in the West Indies, he was nominated senior mem-
ber of the Admiralty under Lord I/e Grey. Before he re-
turned to England, however, Sir 11. Peel had resigned, and
Sir George was out of office until the advent of Sir Robert
Peel to power in 1811. From that time until 1840 Sir
George was the senior naval lord, and upon him, it may be
said, devolved the chief business of the Admiralty, with
the Earl of Haddington for most of the time as the politi-
cal head. Sir George Cockburn first obtained a seat in
Parliament for Portsmouth, in 1818. He was next elected,
in March, 1821), for the borough of Weobly : was monied
for Plymouth in 1820; and since October, 1841, has held
a seat for Ripon. On April 5, 1821, he was appointed
major-general of marines ; and on April 31), 18'27, a privy
councillor. In the latter capacity Sir George attended the
funeral of King William IV. He married his cousin, Miss
Mary Cockburn.
MAJOR-GENERAL LORD SALTOrN died on the 18th
inst., at his shooting-seat near Rothes, N.B. The
noble lord hail been ailing for some months, lint
until a few days prior to his death no immediate
danger was apprehended. His lordship was in his
69th year, anal was highly esteemed by the late Puke
of Wellington for his gallant defence of Hougomont,
at. which place he was second in command of the
light companies of the Guards, and had four horses
killed under him. Lord Salton') served with Moore,
and throughout the Peninsula. His lordship was a
stanch patron of most of the musical institutions of
the metropolis, president of the Madrigal Society,
chairntatt of the Musical Union, it c. The Puke of
Welington had once publicly described the gallant
lord as a pattern to the army, "both as a man and a

SATURDAY,

soldier." His lordship is succeeded in his title and
estates by his nephew, Major Alexander Fraser. The
colonelcy of the 2nd Regiment of Foot becomes va
cant by the decease of Lord Saltoun.

The " mysterious" column in the Times paper has at
length yielded up one of its secrets. " Slmpi " and
" Doormat " may indeed still hide their meanings beyond
public ken, but to one of the analogous notifications,
though conveyed by a cipher at first sight apparently
intractable, a slight exercise of ingenuity, as our readers
will perceive, has furnished a ready key. The secret atter
all may be hardly worth the trouble of unlocking ; but
such as it is it runs as follows. In the Times of Monday
the conspicuous column of the first page appropriated to
such announcements was headed by this advertisement
Vb wziorintz—Mvvw rhzb sld wvortsgvw
111 rdzh gl ivxvrew blti ovggvl 2 wvzi ivnyizunv ltu nb
yrigswzb, liyvt blf nag gl garmp rdilgv lawn zmb rirgzgrha.
3 Ituvzi nb ovggrili yvrint ivzw yblgsvih 4 rklmuzinvw nblivou
gl uzxgh 2 vevingh—ltzu mld zg Zufoirv, nazi Wfinpvow,
Kvigshriv 3 blf szw yvggvi dirgv zh yvulw. ltwrw wig yoznv
bit uli zweivinut gl blii kilnrhy 3 uli nzprnarg rmblf pmvd
glb 2 tozwnivhh tint iivggvih yirtnt nv blf dlfow ulitrev zntb
szligrmeith Tlw yovhh blf uli zoo I prutwiuvidt 2 olev gsvh
nzturuvlig Itztt whim aviv ivzwnut zurw yrzfgrnfo hxvtuvlb.
nitro° xtoovxg 1 uvitult sld hszoo Rhvmw gsvn. Trev Nzt nb
olev 2 gvoo svi Rwlmgztww digs svi xlmwfxg—liszev wig hymn
lti wvzi uirvistw ovggvi wrw wig ziirev groo gay 13th,
hl ltxlfow tulg bylaw garli yruliv dirgv Wm 4 ltnzb zmhdvl
Int gay Ist ru kllthryor zh vevi bitilldm.
By simply transposing the alphabet, reversing the pre-
cedence of the letters, and reading a for s, b for y, e for
a., and so on, the above enigma will unroll itself into this
very commonplace letter :
yy darling A.—Need I say how delighted I
I was to receive your letter and dear remrmem]brance on
my birthday? 1 beg you not to think I write under irritation, but
I tear my letters being read by others that I confined myself to
filets mid events. I ant now at Aulttrie, near Duukeld, Perth-
shire, but you lted better write as before. I did not blame you
for adhering to your promise, but for making it.. If you knew
the joy and gladness your letters bring me you would forgive
all hastiness. God bless you for ell the kindness and love they
immilest. I am down here reading amid beautiful scenery.
will collect the fen's: how shall 1 send them? Give Meg my
love, and tell her I don't agree with her about her conduct. I
have not seen our dear friend. Your letter did not arrive till the
13th, so I could not send this before. Write soon, that 1 may
answer on the Ist if possible. As ever, your own.
- •

We are not surprised to find by a subsequent advertise•
went that "A.'s " correspondent fears their cipher is
detected and known, promising at the same time to send a
fresh one. May the next be more successful in baffling
tl►e curious Hobbses who seek to pick every lock of
mystery.

The ascent of Mont Blanc has been attempted, and
nearly accomplished, by Lieut. Murray, B.N. This feat
has been too often repeated with fuller success to command
special notice on its own account; but the narrative of his
adventures on the occasion communicated by the gallant
officer contains some graphic and striking details. He
says:—
" We attained the Gnus& Thgets in safety, and remained there
as usual for the night. At midnight we kik them, lighted by a
single lantern ; the wind increased from the time of our deorture,
until it became so terrific a gale that we could not protect' by
the new nth
usually pursued, so we determined to try the old
one. Following this route, we had successffilly advanced, not-
withstanding incessant storms of hail and snow which beat null
in our faces, nearly to the summit of the Rochera Rouges, when
suddenly an awful crevasse burst open before us with the crash
of thunder; our tuivanced guide at the seine instant disappeared,
and we all feared the poor fellow was lost, when to our joy we
heard him cry out, and succeeded in rescuing him by throwing
down our rope, which happily just reached hint on the jagged
fragment of ice to which he clung, a narrow escape, for on either
side of him yawned a porta utlieular chasm of some 150 feet in
del th. We still kept on, notwithstanding, with undiminished'
ardour, in spite of the constantly increasing fury of the storms of
wind and bail, until we finally managed to reach a small rock just
above the Petits Mulcts. under which the tempest now compelled
us to creep for shelter, absolutely timing us to cling to it with all
our strength to prevent our being blown away. All the difficul-
ties of the Recent were now overcome, and half an hour more
would have brought us with ease to the summit, which, had the
storm ceased, a child might with ease have surmounted. Itwas
tantalising to be so near, after enduring so much, without being
able to attain the absolute summit; but the chief guide, Jean
Tairraz, assured me that it was impossible to proceed without
the loss of all our lives, as the wind would infallibly blow us over
the adjoining precipice did we attempt it. Without giving a
second thought, under such circumstances, to the further ascent,
we decided ou descending without loss of time, every moment of
which was now becoming doubly precious. Throwing ourselves
at Mil length on the snow, and crawling to the edge of the de-
scent. we slid down in a few minutes what had taken as more
than an hour to surmount. Then commenced the labour of our
descent. as the snow hod fallen to such a depth that we were
half buried at every step. Worn out with fatigue, we finally
reached the (frauds 'Millets, where we were to spend the night;
and such a night came on-1 would not have lost it for worlds.
Even now it thrills through me, far surpassing in grandeur all
1 could ever have vonctived. The tearful hurricanes of wind,
the falling avalanches, the opening crevasses, the crash of
thunder, the tierce lightning, riving in vivid flashes the dark
clouds veiling the smunsit of Mont Blanc—all combined to form
a scene whirl' the absolute nothingness of man must truly see
111141 feel to conceive of. The next morning, when I looked in
search of our upward route, it was impossible to distinguish a
vestige of it, front the changes that hail taken place during the
night. What had been comparatively level was now heaved up
halo gigantic waves. linisserous and impassable crevasses like-
wise blocked the way. About 5 a.m. we recommenced our de-
scent, and tOrtunately arrived in safety at Chamounix. We com-
menced our ascent on the Ist of August, at seven a.m., and re-
turtle,' on the 3d, at nine a in."

All the enginc•houses left mantling since the failure of
the atmospheric system on the South Devon line, and
which involved an outlay of nearly half a million, are
beim: "blown up" by the contractors, to make way for a
doub'e line of rails from Newton Abbott to Plymouth.

AUGUST 27, 1853.

SECOND EDITION.

SATURDAY EVENING.

LATEST FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.
FRANCE.—The Journal des Ulnas contains a letter
from Prince Ghika, dated Ja.sy, the 14th inst. The
Prince contradicts certain rumours which have been
published respecting him and his relations to the
Porte. He says, that having been desired by the
Russian authorities to suspend his relations with the
Porte, and to stop the payment of the tribute to the
Sultan, such acts being incompatible with the occu-
pation of Moldavia by the Russians, he merely
transmitted the letters containing these instructions
to the Ottoman Cabinet, without any remarks of his
own. He adds that, according to his opinion, the
question involved in the Russian demands lay be
tween the two Courts, and that he himself was alto-
gether incompetent to decide on the subject.
The King of Hanover has determined to form a
camp at the Hague, where manoeuvres for the in-
struction of the troops will commence on Sept 1.
The Austrian Lloyd's of the 23rd states that
important measures are about to be adopted with
respect to Italy. The state of siege will be consider-
ably modified.
Riotous assemblages took place in Genoa on the
22nd, owing to the high price of bread. The troops
were called out to restore order, and tranquillity re-
stored by the ensuing day.
The inhabitants of Spezzia and the refugees have
complimented the American Commander Ingraham
for his energetic conduct at Smyrna.
The Queen of Spain has decreed that the copper
money now in circulation shall be recoined.
The King of Greece has appointed two General
Commanders of the army. The Eastern Corps is to
be under the orders of General Gardikiotis-Grivas,
while the Western Corps is commanded by General
Mamonais.
The crop of Corinthian grapes is almost wholly
lost, and the results of the grain harvest are by no
means satisfactory. The Government has presented
to the two Chambers a bill prohibiting the export of
grain up to the 31st of December, and at the same
time lowerinc, the duties on the importation of grain
and vegetables.

A United States mail arrived in Southampton late
last night, bringing intelligence from New York to
the 13th inst.
A frightful railway collision had taken place on the
12th on the Providence and Worcester Railroad, by
which twelve persons were killed, as far as at
present is ascertained, and probably three times
that number injured, besides a great many bruised
and wounded.
Despatches have been received from the fishing
regions which are of the most pacific and satisfac-
tory character.
From the very warm weather which has of late
existed at New York, and other places, many deaths
have taken place.
Large subscriptions were raised for the many
deaths by yellow fever which have taken place at
New Orleans. At one meeting in Philadelphia
27,000 dollars were collected.
A postal convention has taken place between the
United States and Bremen Governments.
At Philadelphia the barks were represented as
badly off for specie, which caused much excitement.

•
A fortnight's later intelligence from the Cape of
Good Hope has been received by the Lady Jocelyn.
The latest news from the frontier is of a p
sueaceful
character ; the Kat river Hottentots are ffering
great privation.
Active operations were making for the elections.
The registrations were to commence on the 22nd
of August, and would not close until the end of
September. There were several candidates for seats
in the Upper House, among whom was Mr. Ruther-
ford, possenger by the Lady Jocelyn.
The revenue continues to increase, and there will
be, apparently, a surplus in the year IMSB of 90,000/.
or more over the expenditure.
Prices of agricultural produce are high and rising.
Wheat had sold on the Cape Town market for 206
rix dollars (15/. 75. 6d.) per load of 10 maids, equal
to about three quarters and a half imperial measure.
A remarkable increase was also observed in the price
of lands disposed of at public sale.
High prices continued to be given for improved
breeds of sheep. At Graff Reint, in the centre of
the colony, two large sales had recently taken place
of improved imported rams. which sold briskly at
prices varying from 701. to 130/. each.
About 6,000 tons of shipping were loading in Table
Bay for the Australian colonies. Market commodi-
ties for that destination were scarce, and the wages
for skilled labour continued to rise.