The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-29 00:00:00

INTERESTING NEW BIOGRAPHICAL WORK,
New ready, 2 vols., with Illns.tration., 21s. bound,

LIVES of the PRIN'CES'SES
OF ENGLAND.

By MRS. EVERETT GREEN.

Editor of the 11 Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladles.

" As a companion to Miss Strickland's Memoirs of the English
Queens, this work may claim a similarly wide audience, and help to
popularize historical tastes.' —Examiner.

These memoirs are richly fraught with the spirit of romantic ad-
venture. The vast utility of the task undertaken by the gifted au-
thor of this interesting book can only be equalled by the skill, inge-
nuity, and research required for its accomplishment. Mrs. Green is
entitled to the respect and gratitude of the country."—Mornlng Post.
Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

THE QUARTERLY REVIEW,
No. CLXXI , is published This Day.

CONTENTS:
I. Natural History of Man.
H. Clergy Relief Bill.
111. Agriculture—Draining.
IV. Memoirs of Lord Cloncnrry and Mr. John O'Connell,
V. Free Trade.
VI. Venice.
VII. Lord Clarendon and the Orange Institution.
John Murray, Albemarle-street.

rAGErs HUNGARY COMPLETE.

A New Edition, with Coloured Map, and 80 Illustrations. 2 vols,

Bvo , 245.
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA ; with
Remarks on their Condition, Social, rolitical, and Econo-
mical. By JOHN PAGET, Esq.
John Murray, Albemarle-street.

NEW WORK BY AUTHOR OF " BERTIIA'S JOURNAL."
Now ready, 2 vals. 12m0., las.,
rrHE HEIRESS IN lIER-MINORITY ; or,
I. The Progress of Character. A Work for Young Persons. By
the Author of " Bertha's Journal."
John Murray, Albemarle-street.

NEW WORK BY LORD CAMPBELL.
This day is published, 2 Yoh!. Bvo., 30s.
LIVES of the CHIEF JUSTICES of ENG
By LORD CAMPBELL,

Also, litely published, 7 vols. lino., 102 s.
Lord CAMPBELL'S LIVES of the LORD CHANCELLORS
New edition, revised.
John Murray, Albemarle-streot.

FRASER,'S MAGAZINE for FEBRUARY,
Price 2s. Gd., or by post, Ss., contains :
1. State and Prospects of the 7. The Drainage of the Metro-
Country. polls.
2. Ruskin', Seven Lamps of Ar- 8. Southey's Life and Corre-
ehitecture. spondence.
3. Leaves from the Note-book of 9. The Mlcraac's Bride. Part 11.
a Naturalist. Part 11. 10. The Pat-office.
4. Aliwal. 11. Linne, the Woodland Flower.
•5. North Devon. (Concluded). 12. Touching Opinion and Evi-
Clovelly—Lundy. dance. By Morgan Rattler.
G. Dom of Dautzic. (Concluded.), 13. Ireland.
Lordon : John W. Parker, West Strand

Hula WATER AT LONDON' iIitIDGE.
True DAY orning, 37 min. after 2 I Evening, 3 min. after 3
To-Moanow rydrK, 2G ann. atter 3 I Evening, 43 min after 3

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, JAN. 29.
LIERMOMETER, Lowest, 37, Higheit, 46 Noon 45,

BAROMETER, 30 OR.
Wier.—The wind has shifted from S.W. to N., with a
dull atmosphere.

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EtTrelxin,a 2''1111;
LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1850

A brilliant intellect has become extinguished in the
demise of one of the most celebrated men, who, by
their writings, have, in our days, adorned the ar,nals
of English Literature. Although the illustrious
critic, whose sudden dissolution was briefly announced
in our impression of yesterday evening, had attained
the ripe age of seventy-seven years before the day of
his departure, it is impossible to receive the intelligence
of his decease without experiencing some feelings of
regret, or without giving utterance to some words of
subdued and unaffi cted lamentation. No age, how-
ever abounding with men of distinguished genius, can
witness unmoved the disappearance of a mind so com-
prehensive in capacity, to agile in versatility, so
subtle in sensibility. Especially have we r anon
to mourn over the death cf a man thus
cd, when we remember that but one solitary
representative is left of that glorious group (five in
number) in the midst of which the &parted eAnayist
shone bright beside the brightest. A single tnembf,r
of that renowned circle alone remains to us, the un-
dimmed splendour of whose abilities still continues
to afford the fittest attestation of the character of his
remarkable contemporaries. &stained, however, as
that eminent gt:nitis cannot fail to be, in the midst of
all his severa-I recollections, by a consciouincss of the
full appreciation of his great powers by the more
discriminating observers of this generation ; consoled,
in the midst of all his breaking bonds of friend-
day, as he- must inevitably be, by the absorb-
ing in:errst of his profound and scientific re-
sc.rches into the abstruser branches of natural
philosophy- (retouches sufficiently important tc
elicit the eulogiums of the astronomer ARAGo)—
he cannot fail at times to lament over the departure
of those days of his auspicious and memorable youth,
when his charest emotion?, his most ardent sympa-
thies, hit loftiest aspirations, were shared in, and re-
p to, by the kindred emotions, sympathies, and
aspiration? of his !liar noble competitors for celebr

He must sometimes at 11:_et sigh fur the return of that
golden rimming of his career when his thoughz,
communed with theirs in the city rendered classic by
their presence. Particularly at this moment, when
death roust have revived a thousand of his most
cberi-hed associa!ions, he will remember, doubtless,
with sorrow the successive disappearance of those
congenial and contemporary intellects—. the astute
rrceptions and varied aceemplishmf nts of JAMES
MACKINTOSH ; the depth and lucidity of intelligence
tcquired by the iadefatigable FRANCIS HORNER ; the
Hudibrastic ard sarcastic jocoseness of that true dis-
ciple of PANTAGRUEL 7 SYDNEY SMITH ; and " last,
but not least " among them all, the grace, the wit,
the eloquence, the fervour, the acumen, the erudition,
and the philosophy which characterised the genius of
the most recently deceased—FßANClS JEFFREY.
Elsewhere, in this evening's impression of our
journal, will be f nand a brief but agreeable sketch
of the life of this distinguished ornament of the
legal and literary professions a sketch which
will serve as the outline or ground-work
for a future and more detailed biography. From
that rapid retrospect of the principal incidents in his
career it will be seen that no inconsiderable amount
of labour was accomplished by him between the dates
constituting the alpha and omega of his existence,
Letvveen the morning of his birth, in 1773, on the
231 c f October, and the evening of his death in 1850,
on the 26th of January. As soon after the time
when his eyes first opened to the light (in that por-
tion of the Old Town of Edinburgh called the Lawn
Market) as the perceptive and reflective faculties
began to manifest themselves, his education corn,
menced at the High School, and, as the record o.

It is by no means surprising that :a docu-
ment so framed, and of such consummate ability,
should have attained the most extensive publicity.
It was, we believe, reprinted
..in extenso, or at least in
substance, by journals of every shade and variety cf
political feeling, and " wafted on the wings of the
press throughout the length and breadth of the land.'
It was subsevently published in the form of a pam-
phlet,* with 'introductory remarks and explanatory
notes, which, as it justly merited, received a ready
demand. Circumstances prevented the full discus-
sion in Parliament of the New Budget, but there can
be no doubt that it will fjrm the basis of many ame-
liorations that will from time to time be introduced
and receive the legislative sanction.
This year the Honourable Gentleman has addressed
another, and no less useful epistle, to the inhabitants
of the important district he so ably represents in the
popular branch of the Legislature, and which, with a
due regard to the democratic principle, and the " ex-
tension of the suffrage," which the rapidly approach-
ing session must witness ere its termination, he has
directed " to the electors and non-electors of the city
of Glasgow." It is of a totally different
character and tendency from that of last
year, but we venture to predict that it
will not be received with less approbation, or have a
lower circulation than its predecessor. The former
indicated sound and practical ameliorations in the
existing fiscal and financial systems- that might readily
be carried into effect. The present is essentially
" Conservative" in its nature—" Conservative," not
according to the old Tory cant, that meant dogged and
pertinacious adherence to ancient prejudices, and a
stubborn and obstinate resistance to the removal
of abuses of long standing, of " aged vices,
grey iniquities " but a firm and unflinch-
ing determination not to relinquish the free•
trade policy, which has fortunately been adopted by
a large and' decisive majority of the representatives
of the people, with the general concurrence and as-
sent of the community.
Mr. MACGREGOR is resolved that that there shall
be no retrogression or reaction—that the nation shall
not be deceived by the fallacies of the Protec-
tionists—that there shall be no resuscitation
of monopoly. He has, therefore, entered I
into a calm consideration of the entire
question of protection, more especially as it relates
to a " bread tax," and duties on the importation of
foreign corn, and by a concise history of the enact-

his scholastic progress sufficiently indicates, pro-
ceeded from that period with extraordinary
rapidity. Insomuch so that having remained a
. .

student at Glasgow University during four years,
beginning with 1787 and terminating with 1791, in
the latter year he entered Queen's College, Oxford,
and in 1794 was formally called to the bar of Scot-
land. Although subsequently to the assumption of
that position he maintained for forty years his cha-
racter as an advocate, and during the latter portion of
that interval acquired a large and increasing renown
through his successes in fßensic oratory, the real
field of his abilities was elsewhere, his true and most
memorable achievements were altogether of a different
description. Those achievements were wrought by
the pen, not by the voice : that field was not dis-
coverable in the law courts, but in literature. It is with
the opening of his literary enterprises indeed that the

history of FRANCIS JEFFREY actually commences.
Until then the riches of his critical aptitude had been

frittered away in desultory conversations, the scope

of his fluent and rhetorical genius had only evidenced

itself in discussions carried on at the " Select

Society," or the " Speculative Society,"' cr similar
debating aw,ciation9, With the dawn of 1802,
however, dawned alto the intellect of JEFF2EY ; for
in that year appeared the first number ( f the re- ,

nowned periodical with which his abilities
as a
critic have become for ever associated, we mean ne-
cesiarily the foremost among all serial rublications
—the Edinburgh Review. Although the four
opening numbers of that great quarterly
were superintended by the reputed originator of the
speculation, the witty and earnest "PETER PLYM-
LEY," Fiwicis JErrazr Laud always be regarded as
its.fizst editor, his hibours 41 that capacity beginning

ments relating to the food of the people, and by the

* Financial Reform : a Lotter to the Citizens of
Glasgow, by John Macgregor, M.P. London; James
Ridgway,

NEW NOVEL BY THE AUTHOR OF E3IILIA WYNDHAM. with 1803 and ending only with 1828 having ex-
Now ready, at all the Librarie,, in 3 vols., ,
T HE W ILMINGTONS.
tended over a period of no less than a quarter of a
By the Author of ,
century. To pronounce any opinion on the papers
"Emil:a Wyndham, " Two Old Mem s Tales," &c.
" ' The Wilmirgtons' contains scenes which no living as her save which throughout that interval emanated from his
the writer of 'lv o Old Men's Tales' could have writte.i so well. own hand individually would be little less than an
Few will be able to escape from this new story' when they I ave once
entered on it."—Athenienm. impertinence at this particular time, when his
Henry Colbum, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-iireet.
honoured ashes are not even as yet sepultured, and
would, moreover, be an effort of criticism
wholly and entirely superfluous, seeing that
their merits are universally recognised, having
elicited the panegyric of all the chief
literary organs in the United Kingdom. Collected
together in three noble and inestimable volumes,
these works, forming altogether a perfect repertory
of learning, eloquence, and criticism, have bees, some
time since, published in a splendid edition by the
Messrs. LONGMAN ; and we doubt not that the unex-
pected demise of the illustrious author will lead to
their re-issue in a more popular form, for example,
in a one-volume edition uniform with those recently
issued of the works of SYDNEY SMITH and the essays
of THOMAS MAcenner. Whenever consulted,
those brilliant effusions of the fancy, ale book
lore, and the intellectual judgment of FRANCIS
JEFFREY cannot but excite sentiments of admiration
at talents so versatile, information so copious
and dissimilar, eloquence so fervid and classical, wit
so keen, subtle, and sparkling, taste so exquisitely
refined, and learning so repeatedly yet so unosten-
tatiously exhibited. It was the appreciation of
these remarkable abilities, and the recognition of their
generally judicious and magnanimous employment
which deadened literary jealousy and disarmed poli-
tical opposition. Hence it happened that, not-
withstanding the duel with Moosz and the
attack on BYRON, the distinguished critic
to whose manes we are dedicating these
syllables of deserved and spontaneous homage,
acquired and retained the friendship, not only of those
bards of immortality, but of almost every one of
their illustrious contemporaries.!
Chosen Lord Rector of Glasgow University in
1821 ; made Dean of the Faculty of Advocates of
Scotland in 1825 ; elected to a seat in the Imperial
Parliament, first for the burghs of Forfar, Perth,
Dundee, Cupar, and St. Andrew'e, in 1630 ;
secondly, in 1831, for the borough of Melton, where
he succeeded Sir James SCARLETT, afterwards Lord
AI INGER ; and, thirdly, in 1832, far the city
.of
E linburgh, as the representative of which capital
FRANCIS JEFFREY remained two years in the House
of Commons, with his colleague Mr. ARERCROMBY,
now Lord DUNFERMLINE—he was, in 1834, on the
death of Lord CRAIGIE, appointed one of the Lords
of Sessior, having previously, in 1830, been nomi-
nated Lord Advocate of Scotland. Throughout
the discharge of his duties in these several
posts he obtained for himself a respect similar
in degree to that acquired by him amongst
his own immediate circle by the dignity, the ardour,
and the devotion manifested in all his domestic rela-
tions. Married in 1802, to CATHERINE, a daughter
of the Rev. Dr. WILsoN, of St. Andrew's, FRANCIS
Lord JEFFREY, on her decease was subsequently
united, in 1813, to CHARLOTTE, a daughter of CHARLES
WILKES, Esq., of New York,. and grandniece of
JOHN WII.Kns, the celebrated democrat and alderman
of London. Particulars such as these, uninteresting
with regard to the majority of mankind, are of immense
interest in connexion with a personage like Lord
JEFFREY ; and they will not fail to be preserved for
the contemplation of posterity—the chips and straws
embalmel in the amber of his reputation.

Thirteen months since, on thn 28th November,
848, the Hon. Member for Glasgow addressed a
etter to his numerous and influential constituency, in
which the clearest and most statesman-like views of
the fiscal and financial reforms, so urgently required
and anxiously desired by the overtaxed, overworked,
and under-fed population of the United Kingdoms,
were distinctly and intelligibly put forward. Tlere
were no specious fallacies, or ad captandum argu-
ments contained in that admirable epistle. It was
directed to the reason, rather .than to the pas-
sions and prpjudices of the people. It did
not propose to render Great lgritain an Utopia,
or to attain an ideal perfection, such as never existed
save in the excited fancies of some day-dreamer
—but it dealt with stern realities. It regarded things
as they were, and not as they ought to have been. It
did not contemplate the restoration of the golden age,
when " the lion should lie down with the lamb," and
" swords should be converted into ploughshares." It
lid not suggest an universal disarmament or a ge-
neral submission of all international disputes to the
awards of peaceful arbitration. It did not propose
that taxation should be dispensed with, faith broken
with the public creditor, or our great
wional establishments carried on and maintained
without any adequate provision. It was in every
respect eminently practical. Abuses, although of
ancient standing, which had flourished during suc-
cessive ages, were thoroughly and unsparingly ex-
posed. The v, heat was sifted from the chaff, and it
was shown how our national expenditure could be
materially reduced, without impairing the efficiency
of our national establishments ; how the most impo-
litic and inequitable imposts might be either altoge-
ther abolished, or so far modified as to greatly alle-
viate the pressure, and render the burden tolerable to
those whose galled sides were wincing under the un-
equally distributed weight.
Its principal recommendation, its chief excellence,
consisted in its very simplicity. There was nothing
that could not easily be accomplished, which the
taleated propounder would not himself be prepared
to carry into operation, if invested with sufficient
power—if appointed the financial Minister of this
mighty empire. Others might put forward schemes
calculated to embarrass the Government, or displace
the Ministry, but Mr. M tCGREGOR made no proposi .
ti m that could possibly injure the Liberal Cabinet,
to which he rendered a general and most disinterested
support.