The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-27 00:00:00

the destination of the Fleet is Constantinople,
which will be take' possession of in the name of
the Emperor NICHOLAS SO soon as the " little"
affair of the " reserve" is disposed of, and when
the Euxine has been made the grave of the 30,000
English, French, and Turkish troops. These
would unquestionably be very brilliant and very
important actions, but that a trifling impediment
exists in the shape of the Allied Fleets blockading
the port of Sebastopol, which will be prepared to
enter into a very decisive and satisfactory reckon-
ing with any Russian vessels that may venture to
emerge from under the guns of the fortifications at
Sebastopol.

The other matters relate to the Crimea, and
may be received quantum valeant ; that is to say,
there is nothing about them outrageously impro-
bable, and therefore they may be true, but inas-
much as they rest on no certain foundation they
may be taken as the embodiment of certain
vague guesses that have been hazarded. The
chief of these dicta is to the effect that " Prince
MENSCIIIKOFF had advanced with his troops to
Burliuk, on the river Alma, and had taken up a
position there, awaiting the attack of the Allies,
and awaiting reinforcements." This news comes
simultaneously from Berlin and Vienna—the for-
mer staking it as the intention of the Russian
General to meet the Allies on the Alma—the
latter stating that he had actually advanced to
Burliuk. As we have stated, it may be true,
but must be taken cum grano salis. There is also
a rumour in Paris that a battle had actually taken
place, in which the Russians were defeated with
great bloodshed. It was also rumoured that the
Turkishcorps had been routed by the Russians, who,
in turn, were put hors de combat by the French and
English troops. Another rumour was, that, in
the event of defeat, the Russians were resolved to
perish to a man in the ruins of their stronghold,
and that instructions had been given to the fleet
the moment that Sebastopol was invested to put
to sea and fight to the last, selling the ships and
their crews at as dear a rate as possible. All that
we can now say is, that these tidings are all de-
cidedly premature, and that we must patiently
await the issue of the important events now in
progress—an issue that rests solely in the hands
of the " LORD OF HOSTS."

A great man has passed from amongst us.
THOMAS Lord DENMAN is no more ! One who
delighted the Senate and the Bar by his brilliant
eloquence, and whose proved impartiality and in-
corruptibility added additional weight to every
sentiment he delivered, inasmuch as it was known
to be the truthful emanation from an honest heart,
has been snatched away by death, and has left no
nobler spirit behind. The ex-Chief Justice was,
indeed, no ordinary man, and the highest eulo-
gium that could be pronounced on him was, that
his great talents were ever secondary to the zeal
and energy, the independence, and the sincerity
of his character. A firm and unflinching
Liberal, he never bartered or even concealed
his firm convictions for the sake of political ad-
vancement. He never followed for a single
moment the path of expediency, or deviated in
the slightest degree from that of rectitude, but
acted on every occasion during his protracted,
useful, and honourable existence as in his heart
and conscience he thought in accordance with
justice, and heedless of consequences to himself
or others. Of this he gave many striking illustra-
tions, but two particularly attracted public
attention, in which his firm determination was
exhibited, and which redounded to his honour.
Many of the " Waiters on PROVIDENCE," those
seeking after the crumbs of patronage
that dropped from the Ministerial table,
predicted that his stern, unbending disposition
would prevent him from ever attaining the pro-
fessional honours to whidh he might otherwise
fairly have aspired. But he was elevated •to the
highest rank, while the " benders and crawlers,"
the "mac-sycophants and time-servers" remained
buried in merited obscurity, thus affording another
convincing proof that in politics as well as in every
other portion of the " battle of life" unflinching
" honesty" is indeed " the best policy."
The family or Lord DENMAN had long been
settled at Bakewell, in Derbyshire, a spot to which
the illustrious Chief Justice continued deeply at-
tached during his entire life. His father, Dr. Mos.
DENMAN, had achieved considerable eminence as a
physician, having had the honour of being one of
the attendants on Royalty itself. His mother
was ELIZABETH, daughter of ALEXANDER BRODIE,
Esq., and aunt to the present Sergeant-Surgeon
Sir B. COLLINS BRODIE, Baronet. Lord DENMAN
was the only son of this marriage, his two sisters
were married respectively to the unfortunate Sir
RICHARD CROFT—who perished by his own hand,
on the death of the Princess CHARLOTTE, while
under his care—and to Dr. BAILLIE, who acquired
the greatest eminence in his profession. The
young THOMAS DENMAN, who was born on the
23d July, 1779, was in due course sent to
school at Diss, in Norfolk, where lie was under
the care of the celebrated Mrs. BARBAULD,
whose hymns and other works for children are so
well known. He subsequently entered St. JOHN'S
College, Cambridge, but did not j achieve very
great collegiate distinction during his undergra-
duate career. In 1805 he contracted matrimony
with THEODOSIA. ANNE, daughter of the Rev.
RICHARD VEVERS, of Sexby, and Rector of Ket-
tering, to whom, for forty-seven years, he acted
as a faithful and loving husband, experiencing the
truest domestic felicity during this long period.
By her he has left a family of five sons, the
eldest of whom, THOMAS DENMAN, born in 1805,
now succeeds to the title his father so nobly and
honourably acquired.
In 1806 Mr. DENMAN, then 27 years of age,
was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society
of Lincoln's Inn, and soon got into respectable,
although not very extensive, practice. Owing to
his father's previous success, he was exempted
from many of the struggles to which too many
young barristers are subjected before they achieve
the substantial rewards of professional merit. He
pursued his course until 1818, when, being then
aged 39 years, he was elected to a seat for the
borough of Wareham, then under the influence of
the " CALCRAFT" family. He immediately took
a prominent part among liberal politicians, and
strongly opposed the old Tory clique that
misgoverned the country. In 1820 he was
appointed Solicitor-General to Queen CARO-
LINE, HENRY BROrGHAar being the Attor-
ney-General. In this position, by faithfully
discharging his duty to his client, he acquired
the animosity of GEORGE IV. and his Ministers,
and thus the " silk gown," to which he was so
well entitled, was withheld until the year 1828,
when a patent of procedings was wrung from the
reluctant Monarch, for his honest and conscienti-
ous opponent. If, however, by his strenuous
exertions, ho lost the favour of the Court, he
gained that of the people, and in 1822 was elected
by the Corporation of London to the honourable
position of Common Sergeant of the City. He
retained this situation until the appointment of the
Guy
Administration in 1830, when his illustrious
colleague, HENRY BROUGHAM, being appointed
Lord Chancellor, with a peerage, Mr. DENMAN
was nominated Attorney-General, and obtained
the honour of knighthood
deathof from his SOVEREIGN.
In 1834, on the Lord TENTERDEN, in
1834, lie was appointed
Lord Chief Justice of
England, which office he filled with • '
dignity and
impartiality for more than 16 years.
The most memorable case in which he was
engaged Ns-asof __TocicrkaLe If
that s
V. A NSA.R.D, in
which, to a Dertaiu extent, he came into collision
with the House of Commons, on account of the
important principle which helaid down that "neither
branch of the Legislature was supreme when acting
by itself ; and that he could not withhold re-
dress to the humblest citizen when claiming
justice at his hands, no matter how powerful

might be the party to whom he was opposed," Iu
this arduous struggle he displayed unflinching

t