The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-28 00:00:00

~~~~~

/li:/~ F:~-~

/'%7

NEIVSPAPEIt
A
I-1
, •
• t
•
t
017 ij yrb
oeatiraWa
ts t 610 e
least
andst
in
920 0:
ryolurndasswbheot!oee-, *i„Az.
N. .1 S
•
\\‘ . 4:44' '4l*-11:Lik...-,•-
••• • _ 104,1/4
- -3 „, "/, It. • ~-.41113N' • 1.7
4- • •
REPORPED DEATH OF LORD EL 0:111.
• t
, , %.%) - , (),-T•1 4109 = - 4
„
-?„ .
, • Dr tiz,A., 16 DROIT•
f.ct.

—..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

Blanch, A Rpid, and W. Vaudrey, assistant-engi-
-.
Young, of
s the
2 :.ie
troL,oothe,2Conqueror ; Charles Hetherington, of
the a
bf orough ; J. R. Cooper, of the Cumber-
land Wilson,attr ;
David Lan
oftheFisagnaarid;
dWs,
of theilliam
Miller,Cir a do
o; Johnf the Rmoabjeersi,:i
c( ),Tohfothe a
Thomas
aErdYga.laurs,
Charybdis,P Smith,il o e
o;
tJ the
ehrnoro
Psyche
et iehndeg; t
oa( an )ed, n
Edmund
meteuhrnes
d; hydra;l.l\7.iailae; AD7sflfaifrt thee dBde
of the Curlew, promoted to acting-engineer.

Lord Elgin dead! The news comes with frig ht-
ful
Da
h speed in the wake of losses fresh in memo', l-
TrtheeouGsto.ev,etrhneohrsforednecraalhhining7CelaCesSti:llllfiarstELolgith,
fall sacrifices d
to our Indian empire. In the same
connection we think of Lord Clyde, of Mr. Wilson,
of Havelock, and many more. Still in this connec-
btielno belonged
to the toil
wgeeda rteothe painfullys
of office, reminded of another illustrious
victim
Sir George Lewis, who
same College, Christ Church, as the
last three Governors-Genera'
of
ichlia
; ''lnd Sir
s iss of his predecessor .;11 the
War-office, Lord Herbert.
George Lewis reminds
tive news of Lord Elgin's death;
office announces
but a tolegi •am
received yesterday at the Wehave not the posi.
what may be regarded as fatal, that on the 14th (1
this month his life was despaired o
nature of his complaint is not cst if. What was the'
r.
known. Al-
though the suddenness of the disasternlY
‘v
the supposition that Lord Elgin Wasotuld lead to
struck down
by - one of those rapid diseases which are incl.-
dent,al to the Indian climate, there is ground to
believe
that this was not the case, but that we
must atts.ibute his loss more directly to his public
cares. He is koown to have been suffering from
heart complaint; :iohad gone to the hills at that
period of the year wi:en [ndians genssrally seek for
relaxation ; he had just been over a pass 13,000 ft.
high ; and he had complained of the effect of the
mountain air on his breathing,' It was 3c:on after
this exploit that his ailment manifested its.e;f ; and
the inference is that it is in these circumstan'c'es we
are to look for an explanation of the un.expe,sted
calamity which we-now record. ''. ---- - ... —see,
Lord Elgin traced his descent to the Bruce whose
name he bore, and he was sou of that Earl who
brought the Elgin marbles to England. The son
of Scottish parents, he was born in London on that
20th of July, 1811. He was educated at Eton, and,
from Eton he went to Christ Church, where, as lately
Canning, and
that celebrated seat distinguished
too often had to repeat, he was one of the
band of scholars and statesmen, in-
eluding Sir George Lewis, Lord Dalhousie, Lord
first-class in
Mr. Gladstone, lhaidslteoanren,iwn
'earning.
wHeerewraesaroefd
thein
till
classics in 1812 and s b
known in
became a Fellow , 1 u sequently he
his
father'slifetime as Lord Bruce. We
hear little of him
and as a supporter of sairsßroernber for Southampton,
1841. In that year he married;
he entered Parliament
y which,
Peel ; and he suc-
ceeded to the earldom
House. The general election 1841,osfseat in the Lower.
raisedsecir Robert Peel
h, being. a Scotch peer -
age, did not interfere with
Lord Bruce to Parliament, s. which sent'
Colonies. Sir Robert Peel and Lord Stanley to power, with Lord Stanley as
for thee
both scholars and statesmen, trained yeivliTe.re,
Church, were both prepossessed in favour of th:
new-comer, and in 1842 offered him the Governor-
Generalship of Jamaica. In noting this fact, we •
are reminded of a scene which many years after-
wards took place in the House of Lords. It was
the first night of the Session of 1859, and the first
appearance of Lord Elgin in the Upper House after
his return from his succesful mission to China. In
the debate which then occurred, Lord Derby and:,
Lord Grey contended with generous rivalry for the
honour of having first introduced Lord Elgin to
official life. "My Lords," said Lord Derby,—
I cannot pass over the subject of the treaties that have
been concluded with China and Japan without expressing
what has also been so well expressed by my noble friend.
behind me, approval of the course which has been' pursued
by her Majesty's plenipotentiary. It is a peculiar satis-
faction to me to have seen Lord Elgin, who was appointed
to my predecessors in office, discharge his functions with.
so much zeal, skill, and ability, because it so happens that
I was the first person who had the satisfaction to introduce
Lord Elgin into public life.
Earl Grey—l beg your pardon, my lord—l made the ap-
pointment.
Earl of Derby—l beg my noble friend's pardon. I recol-
lect giving him his instructions before he went out.
Earl Grey said that it was not so. On his coming into
office he thought the state of Canada was such as to require
a person of civil experience to administer its affairs, and no-
cordinglySirSiegrge CatheattiOr recalled and Lord Elwin.
appointe&Goiernor. - ' - -----•-- ' "6'"
--..
Earl of Derby—Whether I am in error or not does not in
the slightest degree alter my feelings of satisfaction at the
manner in which he his discharged his duties or my per-
sonal
friendship for him.
It must have been not a little gratifying to Lord'
Elgin to be the object of this pleasant rivalry. Lard
Grey was quite right in cla;ming the honour of
having sent him to Canada ; but Lord Derby had,
sent him previously to Jamaica, and therefore was
the first to introduce him to public life. In Ja-
maica Lord Elgin had no easy task, but he acquitted
himself so well that when in 1846 the Whigs had
to seek out the ablest man they could find to be
Governer-General of Canada, theypitched upon Lord
Elgin, notwithstanding his Tory connections. The
truth is, that the Tory party was now for a season
broken up, and that the Whigs might without fear
turn to some of the Conservatives for
agricultural,
Lord Elgin fulfilled its duties with consummate
tact. He carried out in Canadatheevecroy possible),
conciliate
policy of his father-in-law, Lord Durham, and by
a
preserving a neutrality between parties, by deve-
loping the resources of the country,
wanadyctoomsmtuedryciathl,eawndishboyssoeefktihe colonists seeking in
reign that extended over eight years, did ,
m h
oree,than
in
any man to quell discontent and to knit the Cana-
dian provinces closely to the mother
office
Ambassador which he wasC :llwedasu honouredpon tci
with a British peerage.
fill
that in 1849 1., Country. He
was so successful
China. It was on his
atw wayaTos
Duos
oteeh thitherano tnest
lof
very
t h a
slendermutinies;ea
importance of the crisis,
divert to Calcutta and took upon himself to
the troops which had been
ordered to China in
This is one support of his mission there.
of those acts of rapid decision, of official
courage, and of unselfish thought, which historians
will ever delight to remember. He passed on to
China, and though, by this act of unselfishness, his
progress was delayed, yet in the end, as we all
know, he _
e succeeded in his aims; he saw Canton
taken, and he negotiated the important treaty of
Tientsin
with the Celestials, which forms the basis
of our present relations with them. It Was a great
triumph, and though there had been much bitter
contention as to the policy of Lord Palmerston in
prosecuting the Chinese gear, yet its successful issue
seemed to gratify all parties alike; and that scene
which we have described as taking place in the
House of Lords in February, 1859, will show that
the opponents of Lord Palmerston not less than his
supporters were anxious to do honour to the British
Plenipotentiary. Not to repose, however, did Lord
Elgin return to this country. In the summer of 1859
Lord Palmerston entered upon office once more, and.
ia binetth.
Lord Elgin became a member of h
the duties of Postmaster-General.
What followed
it is almost needless to recount. The brother of Lord
Elgin, Mr. Bruce, had been appointed our Envoy in
China, and in accordance with the treaty he ought
to have been received in Pekin. Access to the capi-
tal, however, was refused to him, save on conditions
which were considered derogatory to the British
representative, and when we insisted on the
rights
secured to us by treaty, there ensued the
disaster c
of
the Peiho. Forthwith, in 1860, Lord El
despatched once more to sustain the Englishgin 'was
autho-
rity, and he thoroughly fulfilled
entering Pekin in state, and his mission by
compelling the sub-
mission of the Celestial chiefs,
gained this triumph than w Scarcely had he
he a . ,
suc-
ceed Lord Canning as G s appointed to
°venter-General of India.
When he accepted the
how the two previous
post his friends remembered
Governors, his college friends,
had suffered from the severity of their labours in an
oppressive climate. It was felt at the same time
that so much
misfortune must have its interval of
brightness,
and it was hoped that Lord Elgin might
escape. lf, as we fear, he has .fallen, he has fallen
in harness; but he
has had the satisfaction of seeing
India
grow into prosperity .1
.
unuer his rule, and hold
out expectations which for years past we have not
dared to entertain. All through his life he was suc-
cessful in his undertakings, and ho was successful at
the last. He owed that success not so much to great
genius as to good sense, to social tact, and to a love
of hard steady work.