The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-03 00:00:00

and the shareholders, who had gone a step farther and
taken foi their deposits those :piing of
,paper
which were called " shares." The shareholders were now
endeavouring to ascertain what every, one of their body
was worths, in °vie... that a common Rind' might be raised,'
to which each would be called on to liimtribute 'according
to his' mein's. They did not countenance the step which
Mr. Harding had taken, but, on the contrary, they desired
that the affairs of the bank might be-administered by the
Caul of Bankruptcy. (Cheers.)
In reply to a Shareholder,

The CiumorAN .stated that the 'Messrs. Linklater had
been indefatigable in their exertions on behalf of the de.
positors and shareholders, and that' if 'the affairs of the
bank were in the Court of Bankruptcy the whole estate
would be distributed in a few months..
The resolution was then put by the Chairman and una•
nirnously agreed to.

Mr. FOSTER then moved the next resolution :
,
" That the.earlv division of existing assets among the
creditors'of the Royal British Bank' and the immediate
cessation of further litigation on the part of the official
managoment is of paramount importaiKelrth to depositors
and shareholders, upon whoin exclusively the hardship of
delay and. the eventual payment of the law costs must fall;
and the depositors and shareholders, therefore,, concur in
denouncing the litigious conduct of the official manager,,
dictated with a view to his own interests o,ther than a re-
gard to those of the.depositors and shaiehoWerg."• • •
In regard to the statement of Dr. Goddard, he wished to
state (hat if the shareholders had been -anxious to effect a
compromise they ought to have met the depositors long
before this, and offered them so much in the pound. (Hear,
hear.) •

Dr. WARLEY seconded the resolution, which was unani-
mously ;greed to.
brougl4449,prp•
eee ing4 o a, Close: •

---
DEATH OF REAR•ADMIRAL F. TV. BEECHEY.

In our obituary of the 2d instant we have recorded the
death of this celebrated Arctic navigator. Admiral Beechey
was the sou of the late Sir Win. Beechey, R. A., portrait
painter in ordinary to their Majesties Queen Charlotte and
William IV. He was born Feb. 17, 1796, and entered the
navy at the early age of 10 years, under the immediate
patronage of Earl St. Vincent, in the Hibernia, 110. After
a brief service in the Minotaur he accompanied Sir Sidney
Smith in the Foudreyant, 80, to Rio de Janeiro. In 1811,
while serving in the Astrasa, 42, under Capt. Schomberg,
in company with the Phcebe, Galatea, and Racehorse, he
assisted, after a long and gallant action, in the capture of
the French frigates Renomme 3, Clorinde, and Nereide.
On his return to England after some Channel service he
was appointed to the Vengeur, 74, forming part of the ex-
pedition against New Orleans, where he served in the boats
which dashed across the Mississippi with a detachment of
troops, seamen, and marines, as a successful diversion in
favour of the general attack upon the America lines; and
his first commission bears date March 10, 1815. In Sept.
following he was appointed to the Niger, 33, on the North
American station. It was on the 14th of Jan., 1818, that
Lieut. Beechey commenced the first of those four voyages
to the Arctic regions, the hardships of which, we fear, laid
the foundation of that constitutional derangement which
subsequent years of indefatigable bodily and mental exer-
tion have brought to its present premature termination.
He was appointed to the Trent under Lieutenant and
Commander Franklin, with whom ho was thus oue of the
earliest companions, as he always remained his warmest
friend. An interesting account of the voyage of the
Dorothea and Trent on this 'occasion, which extended
in the direction of Spitzbergen and terminated in
both ships being compelled to enter the ice, by which
the Dorothea was so much disabled that Captain Buchan
of that ship (the senior officer of the expedition)
ordered its return, was published by Admiral Beechey in
1843. In January, 1319, he was appointed to the Hecla,
under the command of Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Edward)
Parry, with whom he ponetrated to long. 113 deg. 54 min.
within the Arctic ciecle, and wintered in Melville
Island. In both the above Arctic expeditions Lieutenant
Beechey rendered great service by artistic and general
observatione. On the sth of November, 1821, he was ap-
pointed to the Adventure? Captain W. 11. Smyth, who
was then preparing to resume his survey of the northern
coast of Africa. While attached to this ship Lieutenant
Beechey was promoted to the rank of commander, and ap-
pointed, in conjunction with his brother, H. W. Beechey,
Esq., to examine and report on the antiquities of the Cy-
re.naica, and of the ancient cities composing the Pentapo-
lie. Commander Beeches,- executed a survey of the entire
coast from Tripoli to Derna, and the narrative of the ex-
pedition and description of the country, ruins, and anti-
quities has been published by that officer and his brother.
In January, 1825, Commander Beechey was appointed to
the Blossom, 24, in which he proceeded to the Pacifio and
Behring Straits to co• operate with Ole 'Polar expoditionti
under Captains Franklin and Parry. During the three
and a half years that he was absent from England he pro-
ceeded twice to Behring Straits, and in August, 1826, pe-
netrated to a point northward of Icy Cape, whence the
ship's barge, under Mr. Elson, the master, reached lat. 71
23, long. 156 21, only 146 miles from the extreme point
reached by Captain Franklin overland. In the interval
he pursued his researches in the Pacific, thus passing more
than once from Arctic to tropical climates, where he dis-
covered and took possession of several new islands, among
which he once more brought to notice the crew of the
Bounty on Pitcairn's Island (lately removed to Norfolk I
Island.) It was in 1827 Commander Beechey, now pro-
moted to the rank of captain, discovered in the frozen
regions a spacious and commodious haven, south-east-
ward of Cape Prince of Wales, which he named after
his godfather, William IV., Port Clarence. After a
♦oyage of 73,000 miles, and rendering the most essen-
tial service to the science of navigation, the Blossom
arrived at Spithead in 1828. The narrative of this voyage
was also published by Captain Beechey. In 1835 Captain
Beechey was appointed to the Sulphur, for the purpose of
continuing the same valuable survey in the Pacific ; but
his health gave way before he reached Valparaiso, and he
was compelled to return home. From 1837 to 1847 Capt.
Beechey was continuously employed in the survey of the
Bristol and Irish Channels, and it is difficult to say whe-
ther his minute and accurate charts or his valuable tidal
observations have rendered the more useful service to his
country. From this important occupation Capt. Beechey
was removed by the Government to constitute and super-
intend the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, in
which he was actively and usefully employed at the date
of his deaths He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admi-
!ral in September, 1851, and filled the office of President of

the Geographical Society. He only lately delivered his re-
port of the proceedings of that society, and an interesting
obituary of those eminent members who had died during
the past year, leaving a name to be added to the future
list than which few can lay claim to the merit of a more
laborious, talented, and useful life in the service of his
country.