The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-27 00:00:00

The tate Colonel Stewart, CA

(From the Levant Herald, Jan. 18.)
Often as it has been our painful duty to recordthe
blanks made by death in our small community,
never perhaps hasthe office been so sad as in the case
of this young but already very distinguished officer.
Though not strictly one of us, and personally known
therefore to only a few, to those few he had, during
the five or six short months of his residence on spe-

cial duty, not merely commended but endeared him-
self to an extent the full statement of which wouk
read like the common-place exaggeration of obituary
panegyric. Apart, however, from this rare love-
compelling personal worth, his professional emi-
nence—early as it has been cut short—was already
such as to entitle him to far more honouring tri-
bute than we can offer to his memory, and to render
his death regretfully noteworthy in any, even the
highest, social, or scientific circle of his countrymen.
Colonel Stewart entered the Military College at
Addiscombe in 1848, and at the completion of his
term in 1850, when passing out to join the Indian
Engineers, received a sword of honour and the prize
for high proficiency in mathematical and military
studies. From Chatham he proceeded to India, and
entered the Bengal (now Royal) Engineers, and
during the subsequent mutiny greatly distinguished
himself in the discharge of important staff duties.
He was placed at the head of the army telegraph,
and the wonderful regularity with which Lord Clyde's
force was kept in communication with Calcutta dur-
ing that critical time was mainly due to Captain
Stewart's great personal exertions. For these emi-
nent services he was promoted to a majority, and
was afterwards appointed officiating superintendent
of Indian telegraphs, and subsequently, when the
project of a Government Indo-European Telegraph
was matured, he was named director-general
of that service. In this capacity he shared last
year with Sir C. Bright the honour of laying the
submarine cable from Kurrachee to Bussora—f or
which he received the Companionship of the Bath
—and subsequently made an inspection of the Per-
sian land-line from Bushire to Teheran, and thence
round to the Turco-Persian frontier and Bagdad.
In June last he reached Constantinople to negotiate
the necessary arrangements with the Porte for the
working of the through service, and a few weeks ago
concluded the convention thereanent. This may be
nailed his last work ; for within, we believe, a week
of its signature there fell upon him the shadow of his
death-illness in a slight fever caught at Therapia,
where he and Mrs. Stewart incautiously lingered
for some weeks after the diplomatic colony had
gathered back to Pera for the winter. Partly
shaking off this, he came down to Misserie's some
six weeks ago, and had there so far recovered,4s to
have fixed his departure for London by the next
week's French mail. It was, however, to be other-
wise. The fever again developed, and in spite of
youth, an admirable constitution, and the best
medical care, the attack terminated fatally on Mon-
day morning.
Yesterdayhe was buried worthily, though without
the pomp of " military honours," in the British
cemetery at Scutari. Though the day was inclement
nearly all the chief members of our local colony
attended the funeral, which left the hotel shortly
after one p.m., the Rev. C. B. Gribble and Dr. Mil-
lingen preceding the coffin, and the Hon. W. Stuart,
her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires, Mr. Consul-Gene-
ral Logic, Colonel Goldsmid—the colleague of
Colonel Stewart—and Mr. Courtney, the local dele-
gate of the Indian Government for this service, fol-
lowing as chief mourners ; whilst the pall was held
by Agathon Effendi (director-general of the Turkish
telegraph), Messrs. E. Lafontaine, H. Hanson,
M'Coan, Smythe, and Staniforth. The company
crossed to Scutari by special steamer, and were met
at the barrack pier by Major Gordon, R.E., and
Mr. Lyne, the keeper of the cemetery. On landing
the cortege re-formed and proceeded in the same
order as before to the ground ; and there we buried
him, under the shadow of Marochetti's monument,
and in the kindred company of our honoured
Crimean dead, of whom none braver or nobler
sleeps well on that hero-peopled headland than
Patrick Stewart.

Death of John Fergu3, Esq., late M.P. for

Fifeshire•

(From the Scotsman.)
We record, as many personal and political Mends
will learn, with much pain the death of this well-
known and greatly esteemed gentleman. Mr. Fergus
died on Tuesday, at his villa near Plymouth, after a
short illness, of a bronchial nature, superinduced on
long-continued bad health. He was born near the
end of last century, and must have been about 68
years of age at his death. His father was Walter
Fergus, Esq., long Provost of Kirkcaldy, and an
extensive manufacturer and merchant in that town.
In his earlier years Mr. John Fergus was a mer-
chant at St. Petersburg ; but subsequently returned
home, and engaged on a very large scale in the
linen manufacture, chiefly as a spinner. His
chief works were and are at Prinlaws, near Leslie,
and are among the largest in the kingdom in
point of production, and without rival in point of
taste and completeness of arrangement. As an em-
ployer, he was not only zealous and kind, but lavish,
or even extravagant, in seeing to the comfort and
improvement of all connected with him, especially
in the matters of education and dwelling-houses.
In 1835 Mr. Fergus, who was always a stanch and
valuable member of the Liberal party, entered Par-
liathent for the Kirkcaldy burghs without opposi-
tion, and on the wish of the constituency rather
than his own ; but declined re-election in 1837.
At the general election in 1847 he was selected
as the Liberal candidate for the county of Fife,
and after a keen and somewhat costly contesi,
prevailed over the Conservative candidatei
rit D.lr
y.
11,
is very
and in
In 1852 he was re-elected without].an a
d itpo
jo
Balfour, of Balbirnie, by a handsome ma
1857 without opposition.county to
unusual, if not quite unprecedented, for
a
purely with trade,
return a representative connected
In Scot
and unconnected withmust, therefore, be
Fergus's election for
.F.riifbesute
to his position, cha-
regarded as a marked that land or. tehe landed class. Mr.
that that tribute was not
meter, and talents
]).
y the fact that allopposition to
ceased, and that .
d that some of his chief
oppo-
t election, including Mr. Balfour, the
vents at I?is
first
candidate, liimmislistoc
Iled is shown
appeared
among hig 511PP"te •
rs. At the general election of
then Conseevative subsequently
to return. to Parliament, and was succeeded
859, he declined, chiefly on the ground of failing
Werayss of Wemyss, who, alas ! has preceded
the tomb. After his retirement from Par-
bhliiimiyeaamittlretohnt Mr. Fergus resided chiefly in Italy, and for
the last two years in the south of England. His
chief ailment was a species of heart disease, aggra-
vated by occasional bronchitis, and for the last seven
or eight years he has been in varying it not precari-