The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-26 00:00:00

LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY,

SATURDAY, JUNE 26.

Whitehall, June 26, 1830.
A Bulletin, of which the following is a copy,

has been this morning received by Secretary Sir

ROBERT ,PEEL, one of his late MAJESTY'S

Principal Secretaries of State :

" Windsor Castle, June 26.

" It has pleased ALMIGHTY GOD to take from

this world the KING'S Most Excellent MAJESTY,

His MAJESTY expired at a Quarter-past Three o'clock

this morning without pain.

~ HENRY HALFORD.

" MATTHEW J. TIERNEY."

The following letter, from the Right Hon

SirROBERT PEEL tO the LORD MAYOR, has

just been posted at the Mansion-house :

WHITEHALL, JUNE 26, 1830.

" MY LORD,—It is my most painful duty to

inform you, that it has pleased ALMIGHTY GOD

to release his MAJESTY from his sufferings. His

MAJESTY died at about a Quarter-past Three

o'clock this morning.

I have the honour to be, my Lord,

" Your Lordship's obedient and faithful servant,

" ROBERT PEEL."

The melancholy event for which the nation
has been so long prepared, has at last take')
place, and the sceptre of three kingdoms has
passed from GEORGE IV. to his eldest surviving
brother the Duke of CLARENCE, now WM;
LIAM IV. At present little is known respect-
ing the last moments of one of the most fortu-
nate and enlightened Sovereigns that England
has ever possessed. Report states—but we do
not vouch for its authenticity—that the few
hours preceding his dissolution were spent
in great agony ; if so we ought to rejoice
'(since from the first appearance of the Bulletins
it was evident that there was no chance of reco-
very) rather than lament that his MAJESTY has
',exchanged an earthly for a celestial crown.
•
From 1812—the first year of the unrestricted
Regency, down to 1829, the memorable era of
civil and religious freedom—his MAJESTY'S
'reign has been one Of almost uninterrupted glory,
'as well as of solid lasting advantage to his subjects.
His MAJESTY himself was of a tolerant en,
(lightened character, no Monarch ever knew
loetterhow to concede gracefully to the feelings
of his people, or possessed a sounder and more
comprehensive knowledge of mankind. His
mind was early stored with elegant and. useful
:information ; he was a first-rate linguist,, a good
classical scholar, and by his numerous lighter
accomplishments, as well as by the singular fasci-
nation of his manners, justly earned the title uni-
versally conceded to him, of the first gentleman

in Eur Ope. Like his father he expired in the
Royal Castle of Windsor, %%hid], indeed, he,
seems to have entered only for the purpose of
drawing his last breath there.

Tu secanda marmora
Locas sub ipslm funus, et sepuichri
Immemor struis demos.

Since the above was written, we have obtained

the following further particulars, which state that!
shortly before death his MAJESTY became
wholly free from pain. The moment that the
1
intelligence of the demise of the Crown was :
il made known in the metropolis, the most prompt
(manifestations of sorrow were every where mani-'
Tested: the shops and private houses were all
.:
partially closed, as on the death of one of the '.
inmates—and every particular, however insigni-
cant, connected with the melancholy event, was'
caught at with the greatest avidity. We un-
derstand that yesterday, after the publica-
tion of the Bulletin, his MAJEsTr's breath-?
ing and expectoration became greatly increased,
so much so, and so suddenly, that, the Phy-
sicians anticipated almost instant dissolu-
tion. Indeed, so confident were they that the
Royal Patient could not survive the night,
that a Messenger was despatched to the Duke?
of WELLINGTON to request his Grace's imme-
diate attendance at Windsor. In conseqticnc:
of this intelligence the- Duke left town, In the
evening,' "and on his arrival was informed that
the demise of his Royal Master might be mo-
mentarily expected. At a quarter past
three o'clock, this distressing event ...took
place. We hear that a short time pre-
vious to his death, his MAJESTY became
perfectly composed and fice from pain.—
Nature was completely exhausted, and he died
almost without a struggle. Immediately on the
announcement of this event, the Duke of WEL-
LINGTON returned to town, and gave orders for
a Cabinet Council to be summoned at the Fo-
reign Office at ten o'clock. All the kinisters,
with the exception of the Duke, attended the
Council, which sate about half an hour, when
orders were given for issuing an Extraordinary
given above.
Gazette, a copy of which we have

The reason of the Duke's non-attendance at
the Council was in consequence of his Grace
having set off at nine o'clock for Bushey Park,
to communicate to his Royal Highness the
Duke of CLARENCE (now King WILLIAM
the Fourth) the intelligence of his brother's de-
cease. Immediately on receiving this informa-
tion, his MAJESTY set off for London, and
arrived at St. James's Palace, at eleven o'clock.
Shortly after his arrival all the Ministers of
State, in full dress robes, repaired to the Palace,
and were received by the KING in the State
apartments, where they respectfully tendered
their resignation of the Seals of Office, which
were most graci6usly returned. Previous 'to this
ceremony his MAJESTY had taken the oaths ap-
pointed to be taken by the Sovereign, which
were administered by the Archbishop of'CAN-
TERBURY, and the Bishop of LONDON. A.
Privy Council was then held, at which the
Councillors attended and took the oaths,'
and at which an order was issued for,
his MAJESTY'S Proclamation by the,
style and title of King WILLIAM IV. That,
ceremony, however, had not yet taken place up
to the moment we went to press.
On the intelligence of the decease of the
KING reaching London, a messenger was des-
patched from the Home-Office to carry the tid-
ings to the Lord-Lieutenant of IRELAND. A
telegraphic despatch was employed to announce
the same intelligence to the British Ambassa-
dor at Paris, by whom it will be forwarded to
the Ambassadors at the different Courts. of

Europe.
The usual mode in which the announcement
of the death of a KING of England is made to
the other Sovereigns of friendly Powers, is by
his successor writing them an autograph letter]
after the funeral.

The Houses of Lords and Commons met at
twelve o'clock, when the oaths of Allegiance
and Supremacy were administered.

In the Law Courts no business has been'
transacted with the exception of taking justifi-
cations of bail.

We know not whether it be worth while to
mention it here, but it is a singular fact, that the
three last Sovereigns of England, as well as the
Duke of YORK, all died on a Saturday.
At the hour at which we write this, immense
numbers of carriages of the Nobility and Foreign
Ambassadors are fast arriving at St. James's,
in order to pay their visits of condolence to his
MAJESTY.

TIIE JUVENILE LIBRARY, VOL. I. COL-
BURN AND BENTLEY.—The advantage of a connected
Series of Works hiving express and careful relation to the
instruction of young people, is too obvious to require more
than a simple allusion to it. We are glad to find this
laudable purpose taken up in a quarter that affords ample
promise of its satisfactory fulfilment. We have just re-
ceived the little Biographical Volume with which the un-
dertaking commences, and are enabled to speak well of
its contents, so far as a slight inspection has acquainted us
with them. The engravings which decorate the book (in-
cluding iMrtraits of the Princess VICTORIA, Sir TuoMAs
LAWRENCE, &C.) are of obvious excellence; and
the lives selected for illustration, (those of indi-
viduals remarkable for early talent) and are such
as may afford t 3 the youthful mind a study both
interesting and profitable, especially that of Sir T }togas
LAWRENCE, which is treated with a copiousness that may
recommend it even to maturer readers, during the absence,
as yet, of any regular biography of that eminent painted
and amiable man.