The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,I TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 17, 1861.

Viscount Canterbury left town yesterday for
Doncaster for the rac) week.

Lady Hall has arrived at the Queen's Hotel,
Upper Norwood.

The Hon. Mrs. '..larleton and Miss Carleton have
arrived at Farrance's Hotel from Bognor.
Mr. and Mrs. .lobeit Steuart, of New York,
have arrived at Maudgy's Hotel from Italy.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Howard Wainwright have
arrived at Howchin'h Hotel from New York.

Mr. and Mrs. tames J. Bibby and the Misses
Bibby have arrived at Howchin's Hotel from Liverpool.
Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Elridge have arrived at
Howch;n's Hotel from New York.

Mr. and Mrs. John Colley have arrived at
Howchin's Hotel fran Suffolk.

DEATH OF SIR GEORGE BARKER.—The news by
the last Indian arrival of the death of Colonel Sir George
Robert Barker, K.C.8., commanding the Royal Artillery
in Bengal, has been received in England with expressions
of profound regret. The deceased officer, so suddenly cut
off in the prime of :ife, early distinguished himself in the
Eastern campaign of 1854, and attracted the especial notice
of Sir Colin Campbell, by whom he was taken by the hand,
and advanced to positions where his talent and skill found
an ample field for extension. He successively commanded
the Royal Artillery in the expedition to Kertch, and also
in the left attack on the fall of Sebastopol. In India,
during the late mutiny, he again met his old General, Lord
Clyde; and under him, as a brigadier-general, he com-
manded the siege artillery at the siege and capture of Luck-
'now. He likewise defeated the rebels in force at Jamo,
and captured the fortress of Bit wa, for which distinguished
services he was made a Knight Commander of the Bath.
We may venture to say that the prospects of few officers in
the service were more bril'iant, or more appreciated by
the country at the moment of his lamented death, than
those of the subject of ow brief memoir, whose loss has
cast a gloom over the headquarters of the regiment, with
which all who personally knew the peculiar courtesy and
urbanity which characterised him will sincerely sympathise.
Army and Navy Gazette.

PRESERVATION OF LIVES FROM SHIPWRECK.—
We are glad to learn that theßoard of Trade, in conjunction,
we believe, with the Admiralty, have decided to supply the
crews of the coastguard stations on exposed parts of the
shores of the United Kingdom with cork lifeboats, on the
same plan as those provided by the National Lifeboat Insti-
tution to its crews. The men of this important branch of
the public service, who have so often risked their lives in
attempts to succour shipwrecked persons, will, it may be
hoped, be thus enabled to perform still more efficacious ser-
vice when provided with this means of safety to themselves.
We are informed that at certain stations, where deemed ne-
cessary, they will be provided for use in the coastguard
boats, and that at other stations two belts, with small buoyant
lines attached, will be allowed, for the purpose of rushing
into the surf to the rescue of drowning persons.
REDUCTION OF WAGES IN LANCASHIRE. The

cotton spinners of Blackburn having decided to reduce the
wages of their workpeople, as well as to work short time,
the matter was discussed at a large meeting of delegates of
the Associated Operative Spinners a Lancashire and the
adjoining counties, held in Manchester on Sunday. A re-
solution was adopted, to the effect that the employers be
earnestly and respectfully requested to reconsider their de-
cision, "because, while all admit that the present scarcity
of cotton affords a well -grounded reason for the diminution
of its consumption, and of i he production of yarns and goods,
by running short time, this meeting of delegates cannot un-
derstand how a reduction of wages can be the means of pre-
venting an adequate supply of the raw material, or of find-
ing a profitable market for yarns, &c."
One curious feature in the state of New Zealand

(says a letter from Melbourne) is, that in spite of the war
the colony seems to be flourishing. For some years gold in
moderate quantities has been obtained in the province of
Nelson, and last year it was found in the interior of the
province of Otago, but it was in the high land, and the
winter there is so severe, and the snow so deep, that, like
the Snowy River, it could not be worked during the winter
months. Lately, however, gold has been found much more
abundantly at a place called Takaka, on the coast of the
province of Otago, and some experienced miners from Vic-

toria had •btained a large remuneration fur their labours.
In spite of the war the balance of migrators is al ways
against Victoria and in favour of New Zealand.

THE LATE MR. JOHN FRANCIS, THE SCULPTOR.

—This gentleman, whose death took place recently, was
very eminent in his day as a sculptor, and also as having
trained in their art some of our most rising sculptors. Mr.
Francis was another instance of self-teaching, although his
choice of a profession might almost be said to have been
accidental. Mr. Francis, who was a native of Lincoln, be-
came, at an early age, a farmer in that county, but with a
natural talent in the direction which ultimately determined
his career. His wife was a near relative of the great Lord
Nelson, and when he died Mr. Francis conceived the notion,
which he carried out, of carving in jet a funeral car of the
hero. This, and more especially a figure head of Victory,
attracted the notice of the celebrated Mr. Coke, afterwards
Earl of Leicester, who at once advised his going to London,
and who became and continued his steady patron. Mr.
Francis became a pupil of Chantrey, and was subsequently
introduced by Mr. Coke to the leading men of the Whig
party, of who he was during the whole of his career the
special sculptor. He was a great favourite with William
IV., and was patronized by the Duke of Sussex, the Dukes
of Bedford, Norfolk, Sunderland, the Vernon family, and,
generally speaking, the leading men of the Whig party.
The patronage of the late King was continued by her Ma-
jesty Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. When the
late Duke of Saxe Coburg died Mr. Francis was commis-
sioned to execute a bust from the most inadequate mate-
rials. He had, in fact, to imagine the likeness, and he
executed his task with such marvellous skill as to have com-
manded the warmest approval and acknowledgments from
both the Queen and the Prince. Mr. Francis closed an
honourable and successful career at the age of 81. He has
left behind him a valuable collection of life portraits in
marble, among which are those of her Majesty, Prince
Albert, Earl Russell, Lord Brougham, and many other dis-
tinguished personages. Mr. Francis lived to see his faveurite
pupils attain eminence. His daughter, Mrs. Thomycroft,
is especially known by her admirable figures of the Royal
children and grandchildren, which are remarkable not only
for the fidelity of the portraits, but also for their artistic
conception and execution. Mr. Thornycroft, her husband,
is also known as a sculptor, whose aims are directed in the
highest walks of his art. Matthew Noble and Joseph Dur-
ham, whose works are known far and wide, were also
favourite pupils of Mr. Francis.

A YOUNG LADY DROWNED AT ILKLEY.--The
inhabitants of Ilkley have been thrown into a state of pain-
ful excitement by the melancholy death, by drowning, in
the river Wharfe, of a young unmarried lady, 26 years of
age, named Eliza Scott, whose parents reside at Gomersal,
near Leeds, and occupy a respectable position in society. It
appeared that Miss Scott had been for some time labouring
under religious delusions, and was recommended by her
medical attendant to spend a few weeks at Ilkley, at which
place, accompanied by her mothcr, she arrived two or three
days ag ). Mrs, Scott having occasion temporarily to ab-
sent herself, left her daughter in charge of the person with
whom they lodged, whose vigilance, however, she unfortu-
nately contrived to elude, and was afterwards seen by two
ladies proceeding at a rapid pace, without her bonnet, along
the banks of the river. A splash was presently heard, and
she was seen in the water, but on being taken out life was
extinct. An inquest has been held, and there being the
possibility of the deceased having accidentally slipped into
the water, a verdict of " Found drowned, without any marks
of violence," was returned.—Leeds Mercury.

DREADFUL SEAQUAKE.--The Singapore Free
Press gives an account of the seaquake that devastated
Simo. one of the Batu group on the west coast of Sumatra,
on the 9th March last :—Simo before the occurrence had 13
campongs or villages, four of which, however, although they
bore the names of former campongs, only consisted of a
single hut, the rest of the houses having from time to time
removed to the other campongs. Besides these campongs,
there were huts here and there, inhabited by persons who
watched the cocoa nut trees, and by swineherds. Previous
to the disaster of the 9th March there were on the island
120 houses and a population of 1,045; on this unlucky day
90 houses were destroyed, and 675 of the inhabitants, besides
103 temporary residents, lost their lives. Of the campongs
nothing more is to be distinguished than the stones here
and there, on which the Batu islander places the posts of his
house, or serve as seats in the gatherings of the campongs,
and the wells which are found near each campong. On
some places were great piles of trunks of trees, beams, and
plrukks of houses, clothes, and furniture, and amongst them
the bodies of the dead, which had not yet been removed,
tome in a state of decomplsition, others completely stripped
of the flesh by the vultures, dogs, aid swine, of which last
many were also drowned, bat a number still wandered in
the jungle. These skeletons end bodies presented a dismal
sight, and rendered the atzlosphere intolerable. It is for-
tunate that most of the bodies were carried into the sea,
otherwise the tainted state of the atmosphere would pro-
bably have produced a contagious pestilence amongst the
remaining population. The sea appears to have been most
violent between the campongs Simo, Babanirege, and Lakao,
on the west side ar, the island, where the greatest number
of pet sons perished. According to the account of a survivor
of the campong Babanirege, an earthquake was felt at the
fill of the evening, shortly before the inundation. All the
inhabitants then assembled, by order of the pungulu, on
the open space in the middle of the campong, but a moment
afterwards they tried to make their escape from thence, as
they dreaded tlie fall of the houses, which were already tot-
tering. Thoy were driven back, however, by a rush of
water whifAr approached from the back of the campong.
Running back from this, they were overwhelmed by another
ter rifle wave, which, out of 282 poisons, swept off 206. The
itsformant lost his wife and three children, and was him•
self, with other persons, swept into the jungle inland,
where they were caught by the trees, or managed to hold
on. According to the account of this man, as well Ps others,
two waves met each other at this point, and wrought a
fearful destruction. Large masses of rock were carried
from the sea for 100 or 200 paces inland.