The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-21 00:00:00

DEATH OF VICE ADMIRAL OVEN.

Accounts have been received of the death of Vice
Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen, at St. John's,
New Brunswick, on the 3d inst.
Admiral Owen was brother of the late Admiral

Sir Edward Owen, G.C.8., and was a veteran
officer of 69 years' standing, having entered the
navy so far back as 1778. Although undecorated,
it will be seen that during his active service of 34
years under the pendant he earned his various
grades by hard fighting. He was a "Ist of June"
officer, and was perhaps more acquainted with the
details of the Spithead mutiny—the real mutiny of
the fleet—than any survivor of those times. Ad-
miral Owen was in the receipt of the admiral's ser-
vice pension, which now reverts to the patronage
of the First Lord of the Admiralty. We subjoin a
sketch of the services of the deceas,-d.
This officer entered the navy June 4, 1788, as
midshipman, on board the Culloden, 74, and was
in that ship, under Captain Schomberg in the
famous action of June 1. On his return to England
from the Cape of Good Hope, whither he bad gone
in the Ruby, 64, Capt. Hon. Henry Edwin Stanhope,
he joined, in November, 1795, the London, 98, bear-
ing the flag in the Channel of Vice Admiral John
Colpoys. For his conduct during the mutiny at
Spithead he was promoted, June 12, 1797, to the
rank of lieutenant ; and at the same time placed in
command of the Flamer, gun vessel. He was next,
between Dec., 1798, and Oct., 1801, employed, prin-
cipally in the Channel, on board the Charon, 44,
Captain John 111‘Kellar ; Gorgon, Captain Robert ,
Williams ; and Namur, flag ship of Earl St. Vincent,
and for 7 months in command of the Nancy, fire
vessel. Assuming command, July 8, 1803, of the Sea
Flower, brig of 14 guns, Lieut. Owen, after serving
for a time on the French coast, sailed for the East
Indies, where he effected the capture, July 15,
1800, of Le Charles, French national ketch. In
the following September he explored part of the
Maldive Islands, and their separating cha,nuels,
which had never been invested and on November
10, in the same year, he cliscoveied an excellent
channel, now bearing the name of his brig, situated
between the islands of Sai Berout and Poulo Pore,
near the west coast of Sumatra. On the 27th of
the latter month, having conducted Sir 'Edward
Pellew's squadron through a very intricate naviga-

tion into Batavia Roads, he there distinguished
, himself by his gallantry in conem.end of a division
ttf boats at the capture and destruction of a Dutch
frigate, seven brigs of war, and about 20 armed and
other merchant vessels. We subsequently, Dec.
11, 1807, find him contributing to the dest, action
of the dockyard and stores at Griessee, in the island
of Java, and of all the men of war remaining to Hol-
land in India Iu September, 1807, Lieutenant
Owen had the misfortune to be taken captive by
the French, who detained him in the Mauritius
until June, 1810 ; from August, to November iu
which year he was employed, we believe, in super-
intending the transports sent from Madras to the
Isle of France. He then, having been awarded a
second promotal commission, bearing date May 20,
1809, obtained command of the Barracouta, 18,
part of the force employed in the summer of 1811
at the reduction of the Island of Java, where he
assisted at the debarkation of the troops at Chil-
lingching, and continued attached to the army
until after the surrender of Batavia. In December,
1811, Capt. Owen, who had been advanced to post
rank on the 2d of the preceding May, and had held
for a short time the command of the Piemontaise
frigate at Bombay, was appointed to the Cornelia,
32. In 1812 he took possession, with a squadron
under his orders, of the Island of Palembang. He
returned to England with a China convoy in June,
1813, and was subsequently appointed, March 27,
1815, to the surveying service on the lakes of Ca-
nada, whence he came home in May, 1816. On the
10th August, 1821, he was appointed to the Leven,
24, in which vessel he was for upwards of four
years employed in conducting a survey of the coast
of Africa ; and on the 2d Feb., 1827, to the Eden,
26, fitting for another expedition to the African
coast, where, prior to his departure for South
America, he was engaged in forming a settlement
at Fernando Po ; and having paid the last-men-
tioned ship off at the close of 1831, he was ap-
pointed, April 22, 1847, to the Columbia, steam sur-
veyingvessel, of 100 horse-power, stationed in North
America. Since Dec. 21, 1847, the date of his ele-
vation to flag rank, he has been on half-pay.
Assisted by various officers, Rear Admiral Owen,
during his command of the Leven, constructed the
following charts and views—viz , 22 of the west
coast of Africa, 31 of the oast coast of Africa, 12
of the east coast of Madagascar, 17 of the west
coast of Madagascar, and 1 of the harbour of Grand
Port in toe Mauritius. He also, we understand,
surveyed the coast of Asia from Cape Comorin
along the shores of Malabar and Surat. together
with the whole extent of the sea-side of Persia and
Arabia. In 1828 he constructed two charts of the
Seychelles and one of the port and bay in the island
of Mahe. He had executed a chart of the mouth
of the river Demerara, and published in conjunc-
tion with Captain Richard Owen, " Table of Lati-
tude and Longitudes by Chronometers of Places in
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans ; with an Essay on
the Management and Use of Chronometers."

We should have stated yesterday that Captain
John Elphinstone Erskine (1838), C. 8., A.D.C.,
the senior on the active list, obtains his promotion
to the rank of rear admiral of the blue, vice Rear
Admiral H. F. Greville, 0.13., to be vice admiral
of the white, vice C. Graham, C. 8., deceased.
Captain James Hope, C. 8., A.D.C. (1838) gets his
flag rank by the death of Admiral Owen ; and
Captain Superintendent Horatio Austin, C. 8., of
Deptford Dockyard, becomes senior and next in
turn for promotion.
In addition to the admiral's service-pension,Sir
Charles Wood has now at his disposal the nomme-
tion of two naval aides-de-camp to the Queen.