The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-03 00:00:00

THE LATE SIR W. REID, K. CB.

In our obituary of yesterday occurs the name of
Major-General Sir W. Reid, K.C.8., late Governor
of Malta.
He belonged to that corps of Royal Engineers
which furnished so many men to do essential ser-
vice to their country, not merely in the ordinary
routine of their duty, but by the voluntary exer-
tion of talent and energy of character.in the pur-
'suits of science, and in the government of the
dependencies of the British Crown.
Sir William Reid obtained his commission on the
10th of February, 1809 ; was a Captain-on the 20th
of December, 1814 ; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on
the 10th of January. 1837 ; Brevet-Colonel 'on the,
11th of November, 1851; and. Major-General on the
30th of May, 1856.
Within a year of his receiving his first commis-
sion he was sent to the Peninsula, and served to the
end of the war. He was at the three sieges of
Badajoz, the siege of Ciudad. Rodrigo, the siege of
the Forts and the battle of Salamanca, the sieges of
Burgos and San Sebastian, and battles of Vittoria,
Nivelle, Nive, and Toulouse, and was wounded at
Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, and San Sebastian. He
was present at the attack on Algiers under Lord
Exmouth in 1816. -

"looz h‘, employed at Barbadoes in re-
building the Government binicuugs which had been
destroyed by the hurricane ofthe
and then he first conceived the idea of endeavouring
to trace the laws which govern the movements of
these agents.
Subsequently, as Governor in Bermuda, Barba--
does, and Malta ; as chairman of the Executive
Committee of the Great Exhibition of 1831 ; and as
the author of the Law of Storms, he rendered ser-
vices to .this country which ought not soon to be
forgotten. Of the local improvements which he
effected in his several governments, and the vigour .
and spirit which he infused into his administration
of their affairs, we cannot speak in detail. His
government of Bermuda was the subject of an
article entitled " A Model Governor," in Household
Words, some years ago. His tenure of office at Bar-
badoes was short. Soon after his return he received
the command of the garrison at Woolwich, which he
held:until he was requested to take the chair of the
committee for managing the Great Exhibition,
with absolute power in case he should find it
necessary to exercise it. It is not too much to say
that the success of the Exhibition, at least in its
early stages, and, above all, its punctual opening at
the appomted time, contrary to the repeated decla-
' ration of the French that it could not and would
not be done, were in a great degree owing to his
tranquil energy and determination, which in some
instances refused even to yield to the highest in-
fluence, to which every one else had given way. At
the close of the Exhibition hee, was made a K.C.8.,
and the government of Malta was conferred upon
him, which he administered during the Crimean
war ; and there were not a few persons here who
sregretted that he had not the administration of the
war itself nearer to the scene of action. He only
returned last summer, at the expiration of the usual
period of colonial government. His well-known
work on the " Law of Storms"—that is, on the laws
of motion of the tropical whirlwinds—was founded
in a great measure on his own experience in, the
West Indies, where he had been on military duty
before his government of Bermuda. This work, it
may not be generally known, is not merely a
theoretical investigation, but of eminently practical
value to all who have to navigate in the seas both
of the East and West Indies. What was, in fact,
a second edition of it was published a few years
ago under the title of the " Progress of the Develop-
ment of the Law of Storms." It is remarkable that
such a work should have proceeded from a military,
and not a naval officer ; but Sir W. Reid's mind
was one that could not be idle, or fail to be im-
pressed with any phenomena either of the natural
or moral world'with which he was brought into
contact. He possessed the placid and calm temper
of a true philosopher, with a determination to avoid
all personal conflicts and disputes which is some-
times not an accompaniment of philosophy, com-
bined with a rare talent for conducting business
and in making his colleagues had subordinates do
their best. In private life he was one of the most
amiable of men, with a pleasant mixture. of gravity
and cheerfulness. His father was a Scotch minister.
Sir W. Reid was married to a daughter of the late
Mr. Bolland, of Clapham, of whom two others were
the wives of the present Bishop of Lichfield and of
the late Baron Bolland. His wife died a few
months before him, and he has left five daughters.

RE-MARRIAGE OF DIVORCED PERSONS.—In Prus-
sia clergymen frequently reuse to marry divorced persons,
and those persons are consequently obliged to go into
another state to be united. Recently a Prussian gendarme
wanted to marry a divorced woman, and as the clergy
his native place refused to celebrate the ceremony, he ap-
plied for leave of absence to go to Gotha to have it per-
-lormed. In compliance, however, with the request of the
alergy, his superiors refused leave. Thereupon the woman
petitioned the Prince Regent, and his royal highnesshaving
caused inquiries to be made respecting her, from which it
appeared that her divorce had not been caused by any fault
of her own, ordered that a fortnight's leave should be given
to him, and that it should be mentioned in the books that
it was expressly accorded to enable him to marry. ,
AN INFANT ACCIDENTALLY HANGED.--Yesterday
morning Mr. Carter held an inquest at the Royal Oak
Tavern, Bermondsey, on the body of Thos. James Arr' cue
taiy;
aged 12 months the son of a journeyman gas-'ltl
Friday last the mother and father retired to bed with their
infant, and about five o'clock the following_ .h". the
andpthen
former was aroused by her eldest child
UponcrgYoling to bed on
missed the deceased from her side.
the night hefore she took the prraeuelos-ned_to fallinga zeoautta;bwlehbeny
the side of the bed to prevent th de
she missed the infant she obtained a light, and found that
it was suspended by its neck between the table and the bed.
Medical assistance wa jury nce procured, but the poOr child
was quite dead. The returned a verdict, of ACciden-
tal death."