The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-06 00:00:00

The Late Sir John Rateliff.

With deep regret, a day or two ago, we announced the
death of Alderman Sir John Ratcliff, and we feel that our
regret is shared by all who had the pleasure of his acquaint-
ance and by the inhabitants of Birmingham generally. Sir
John was a self-made man—by force of industry he ob-
tained a respectable, and in later years a high position
amongst his fellow townsmen. He was possessed of that
laudable ambition without which a man is scarcely worthy
of the name of man, and his success proves what may be
accomplished by integrity and perseverance, combined with
a kindly and generous disposition, and an earnest desire to
advance the interests of others while studying his own. To
the deceased Knight was reserved the honour of convey-
ing an invitation from Birmingham to our beloved Queen
—an invitation graciously accepted, and the visit will be
be ever memorable to those who had the pleasure of wel-
coming their Sovereign in the year 1858. No man in our
day has contributed so much to the material prosperity of
Birmingham as the late Sir John Ratcliff. Possessed of
a princely fortune, he spent it freely amongst those who
had contributed to make it for him. He was no absentee or
continental rover. Scarcely a movement, having for its
object the benefit of his fellow townsmen, or sections of
them, as the case might be, was set on foot that his name
was not in some way or other associated with. He was
ever at the service of the public—his assistance was valued,
and his only compensation was the satisfaction of knowing
he had done a service. The events connected with Sir
John's public life are so well known as scarcely to admit
of recapitulation, but a degree of prominence was attached
to some of them which cannot be passed over without
special notice.
Sir John Ratcliff was born at Birmingham in the year
1798, and was the eldest son of Mr John Ratcliff, a suc-
cessful Birmingham manufacturer of the last century, who,
after acquiring a competency in Birmingham, retired to
Herefordshire. Sir John commenced business at an early
age. His mercantile career was very successful, and he
was elected a Commissioner under the local Act for the
Government of the town, whose powers were in force until
1851, He also filled the office of low bailiff. In 1852 ;he
was elected a member of the Town Council, and subse-
quently unanimously re-elected. He was afterwards elected
an Alderman, and in 1856 he was elected Mayor. During
the first year of his occupying the office of chief magistrate,
eevoral ovonta nortirred to render him extremely popular.
Lord Calthorpe, the owner of the greater portion or the
parish of Edgbaston, and who at that time resided at Perry
Hall, made the generous offer of appropriating thirty acres
of land in the Porshore-road, as a place of recreation for
the inhabitants. The offer was readily accepted ,by the
Town Council, and Mr Ratcliff', tho Mayor, in order to give
greater eclat to the opening of this place of recreation—
Calthorpe-park—invited his Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge, to assist in the inauguration. His Royal High-
ness readily complied with the request. The lst of June,
1857—the day of the opening of the park—was cele-
brated as a general holiday. In the evening the Mayer
entertained his Highness, the municipal authorities, and a
large number of the principal inhabitants at dinner ; a free
concert was given in the Town Hall ; and about 700 sol-
diers aced pensioners were provided with a free dinner at
Bingley On the formation of the National Associa-
tion for the _Promotion of Social Science, the mayor, in con-
junction with hYs brother, Mr Charles Ratcliff, was instru-
mental in inducing the promoters of the movement to,,hold
their first meeting in the town. On that occasion Lord J.
Russell, Lord Stanley, and other distingtfehed members of
the association were the guests of Mr Ratcliff during the
week of the proceedings. lie also invited the members of
the association to a banquet at Dee's Hotel, in compliment
to their venerable President, Lord Brougham; and on an-
other evening in the same week he gave a conversazione to
upwards of 2,000 ladies and gentlemen in the Town Hall.
These and other acts of liberality on the part of the mayor
rendered him very popular, and at the end of the first year
of office he was unanimously re-elected mayor, During
his second year of office two other circumstances occurred
which called forth the hospitality of Mr Ratcliff. On the
25th of January, 1858, her Royal Highness the Princess
Royal was married to Prince Frederick William of
Prussia, and the mayor celebrated the occasion by issuing
tickets of invitation to upwards of a thousand poor and
aged inhabitants of the town to dinner in Bingley Hall. A
banquet was also given at Dee's Hotel to the municipal
authorities and other public functionaries, and a free con-
cert was held in the Town Hall in the evening, to which
about 6,000 persons were gratuitously admitted; A public
subscription was also entered into for the purpose of pre-
senting to her Royal Highness some articles of Birmingham
manufacture as a marriage gift, and Mr Ratcliff had the
honour of heading a deputation by whom the articles were
presented to her Royal Highness at Buckingham Palace.
Tho next occurrence was the project for the purchase of
Aston Hall grounds, as a plains of recreation for the use of
the inhabitants of Birmingham, and the Mayor, who was
one of the promoters of the undertaaing, considered that it
would give great popularity to the proe,:eding as well as be
most gratifying to the inhabitants if her id,-Ijesty the Queen
could be induced to visit the town and open tlh, park in per-
son. He accordingly took steps to bring about this desir-
able result, and it was announced that the Park would be
opened by her Majesty in person on the 15th of June. On
her Majesty's arrival at the station, from Lord Leigh's, at
Stoneleigh, she was received by the municipal authorities ,
at tho railway station, and thence proceeded to the Town
Hall, where an address was delivered from the Town Coun-
cil, the members of which were presented to her Majeety,
and the honour of knighthood was conferred upon the
Mayor. From the Town Hall her Majesty proceeded
through the principal thoroughfares to Aston Hall, where
an address was presented, and her Majesty afterwards
declared the park duly opened to the public. After par-
taking of luncheon, at which Sir John was present by com-
mand, her Majesty departed by railway for Stoneleigh,
Before leaving the railway her Majesty expressed her
opinion of the enthusiastic reception she had met with from
the people of Birmingham, by addressing Sir John Ratcliff
in the following words :—" I am very much pleased ; I am
delighted with all the proceedings of this day. It is the
finest reception I ever received." In the evening of the
same day, Sir John gave a banquet in the Town Hall to
about 400 guests, the galleries were filled with ladies, and
the health of the newly made Knight was drunk with the
greatest enthusiasm,
The members of the Town Council in November, 1858,
elected Sir John Ratcliff for the third time Mayor of Bir-
mingham ; but during the year 1859 no occurrence of
importance took place. On the completion of the third year
of his mayoralty, Sir John was re-elected an Alderman.
From that time Sir John retired to a great extent from
public life, though he continued to attended to the discharge
of his municipal duties. His death is lamented by the
inhabitants generally, and the charitable institutions of
Birmingham have lost a friend not easily replaced.

ANOTHER FATAL CRINOLINE CASUALTY.—Yes-
terday Anne Greenaway, housemaid to Mr Ilazeldine,
architect, Brompton-road, was attending to her duties,
when her dress caught fire, and in a moment she was en-
veloped in flames. Her burning germ ents were at length
extinguished by a wet blanket. Surgical assistance was
promptly obtained, but she expired in less than two hours
in great agony.
BADEN RACES.—The Grand prize of Baden was
won by Vermouth in a canter by two lengths. Dollar
second; Fillo de l'Air third. Betting-5 to 4 against Fille
de I'Air, ao 3 to 1 apt Dollar,