The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-14 00:00:00

DEATh OF LIEUT. J. ROBERTS, R.N.

(Front the Derbyshire Courier.)
It is this week our melancholy duty to record the
death of Lieutenant John Roberto, Royal Navy, the
proprietor of this journal, which occurred on Sunday,
the 6th inst., after an illness of only a few days' duration.
This sudden removal from amongst us of one so univer-
sally esteemed will he long and sincerely regretted, and
a blank will be felt by the inhabitants of the town and
neighbourhood which cannot easily be filled up ; whilst
to his domestic circle the loss will be irreparable. He
was ever among the foremost to pr.maote and encourage
those institutions in this town which are conducive to
the general good, and more particularly such as are of a
charitable tendency. He was steadfast in purpose, pa-
triotic in principle, and the simple integrity of his life
caused him to be equally beloved and respected by all
—and they were many—who knew him : in his con-
scientious conviction of right and justice, the views he
has advocated in this newspaper have always been those
of a true and loyal gentleman, and their consistency
unimpaired when under the most trying political cir-
cumstances.

Foraperiod of 33 years Mr. Roberts faithfully served
the government in a civil capacity as postmaster of
Chesterfield, and it is now 28 years since he originated
and first printed and published this journal, and by his
untiring zeal and active care caused it to gain the re-
spectable position in the press which it now occupies.
Mr. Roberts was a director of the North of England Fire
and Life Insurance Company, and one of the leading
tradesmen of this town, and, though unmindful of office,
frequently shared in the duties of its Corporate body.
The services which Lieut. Roberts rendered to his
country in his naval career are thus recorded in O'Byrne's
Naval Biography :
"John Roberts entered the navy Bth May, 1808, as
Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Invincible, 74, Capt. Ross
Donnelly and John Hollinworth, the latter of whom he
followed as midshipman into the Resistance, 36, com-
manded afterwards by Capt. Philip L. J. Rosenhagen
and Charles Hole. In the Invincible he served in the
North Sea and at the blockade of Toulon ; and in both
ships he took an active part in the defence of Cadiz,
where he came into frequent contact with the enemy's
batteries, and was engaged at the siege, by the French,
of Fort Matagorda. After he had been for a time em-
ployed with Capt. Hole, in the Badger, 10, he returned
to England in the Resistance, under the command of
Capt. Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew. He served
subsequently in the Devonshire, 74, Capt. Ross Don-
nelly, fitting at Sheerness—Jason, 32, Capt. Hon. Jas.
Wm. King, flag-ship for some time of H.R.H. the Duke
of Clarence, under whom he escorted Louis XVIII. to
the coast of France—Centaur, 74, Capt. Thos. Gordon
Caulfeild, in which ship he made a voyage to the Cape
of Good Hope—Eridanus, 36, Capt. William Paterson,
lying at Plymouth—and Minden, 74, fitting for the flag
of Sir Rich. King, Commander-in-Chief in the East
Indies, previously to proceeding whither he fought
under the officer last mentioned as Admiralty-Midship-
man (a rating he had filled on board the Eridanus), at
the battle of Algiers. For his conduct on this occasion
he was promoted 16th Sept., 1816, to the rank of Lieu-
tenant. For his services at the battle of Algiers Lieut.
Roberts received the war medal with one clasp. His
last appointments were in June, 1317, and Feb., 1819,
to the Orlando, 36, and Malabar, 74, both commanded
by Capt. John Chasten, on the East India station,
whence he returned in Oct , 1819."