Star.
London, England, 1831-03-02 00:00:00

THE LATE LORD CHARLES SOMERSET.

We had lately the painful task to record the death of the Right
Honourable Lord Camara HENRY SUMER/11T General in his Man
jesty's service, who departed this life at Brighton, on the 20th ult.
His Lonlshii) will be long regretted by his afflicted family and a
numerous circle of friends, to whom he had been endeared from
early life by an uniform exercise of those virtues which most com-
mand affection.
Lord Charles filled while in Parliament the office of Joint Pay-
master of the Forces, and held at various periods important military
conunands; but that by which he was best known to the public, and
wherein he was more eminently distinguished, was the high situation of
Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, which he held during several years,
with great advantage to the public interests and with equal credit to him-
' self. In the exercise of a wise and equitable, though at the same time finn
land vigorous administration it was the fate of his lordship to incur the hos-
tility of a faction,not less opp.wed to the control of all legitimate authority,
than reckless and unsentoulous 4n their efforts to impede its functions.
The bold assertions of interested parties, the unsparing use of personal
defamation and the dexterous use of topics butted to the vulgar taste,
though obviously inapplicable to the nature of a Colonial Government. I
succeeded for a while in propagating ignorant delusions respecting the
administration of the settlement at the Cape. Lord Charles Somerset
was represented to the British public its a man of stern and arbitrary
disposition, enforcing, in n spirit of harshness and severity, a system de-
trimental to the hest interests of the Colony, and obnoxious to the feel-
ings of its inhabitants. The firmness and energy of character which
Lord Charles Somerset fortunately possessed enabled him to withstand,
and finally to overcome, the current of porular injustice. It is indeed
too certain that the feelings of a mind, Julians of the untarnished he-
none he inherited from an illustrious ancestry, were lacerated by the
attacks of which he was the object into a state of nervous sensibility,
which latterly hastened his decline. Relying, however, with a noble
confidence on the candour and discernment of his countrymen, and
conscious that the accusations of his enemies would.prove eventu-
ally as false in fact as they were rancorous in spirit, he outwardly
maintained, under the calumnies by which lie was oppressed,
a mild and dignified composure. Like the immortal Hastings, who,
while encountering the rage of faction, and calmly braving the virulence
of invective, foresaw the sure though distant triumph which truth and
justice ultimately obtained, Lord Charles Somerset opposed the tenor
of his public life to the inveterate malice of his assailants. lie enjoyed
the satisfaction of having possessed the entire confidence anti approba-
don of his Majesty's governinent at home during the long period for
which he had presided over so important a dependency of the Crown.—
On such an acknowledgment of tiis services he might have been content
to stake his civil reputation ; but resting on the higher grounds of con-
scious rectitude and honour, be challenged inquiry with a calmness and
resolution which attested the integrity of his cause. The falsehood and
absurdity of the charges preferred against him became. on calm investi-
gation, apparent to his most prejudiced opponents. The candour with
which the present Lord Chancellor acknowledged the futility of various
allegations, on the faith of which he bad arraigned Lord Charles's con-
duct. must be fresh in the public recollection. His lordship subac.
quendy received a more complete and signal vindication on the return of
papers moved for in the House of Commons on 17th May and Bth June.
1827. In ;hem was found the most convincing evidence, not only of
Lord Charles Somerset's enlightened and comprehensive plans for the
Advancement of the colonial interests, but of his truly patriotic spirit in
sacrificing the emoluments of his office to the equity of those financial
regulations which it was one of' the earliest measures of his Government
to introduce. To the welfare of the Colony his time and faculties were
uniformly devoted ; and the extension of its resource', the improve-
ments of its agriculture, and the schemes of utility which he projected
and encouraged, to the occasional detriment of his private fortune, will
long attest the practical benevolence with which he laboured for the
public good. On resigning the Government of the Cape Lord Charles
Somerset received the most affectionate demonstrations of general grati-
tude and respect. The Addresses presented to him on that occasion by
numerous bodies of the settlers and inhabitants expressed their unani-
mous regret at his departure, their sense of his solicitude to improve
the prosperity of their condition, their lasting recollection of his private
trot* and the feelings of personal attachment inspired by his domes.
tie vittues.
In the more tender and intimate relations of society the character op
this lamented nobleman was truly estimable and engaging. He pos-
seued a generous nature, and a heart overflowing with kindness to the
numerous objects of his affection. His manners were elegant anti noble :
they bespoke the refinement of his feelings, and personified the dignity
of his descent. Among the moral graces which adorned his dispositior
his love of truth was honourably conspicuous. He was not a man of
indiscriminate profession, but he was ready to the attachments which
he formed, and inflexible in the performance of his promises. He des.
plan] the littleness of dissimulation, and, by the high-mirded sincerity
which regulated his actions, he preserved to his last hour the undivided
confidence of his friends. By them, and by all who had the happiness
d knowing' him, his loss will be severely felt. His memory will be
cherished with veneration by the Colony, of which he was the benefactor.
In the records of a county, so long the theatre of his exertions, his ta.
lents and ingenuity will find an honourable illustration ; and the town
which, created by his hand, was fostered. into importance by his pro-
tection will doubly answer his paternal wishes for Its welfare, if', while
im Leers the name and perpetuates the remembrance of its founder, it
teaches futute Governors to emulate his laudabie example.

On Friday the Hon. Colonel Tow nshend was elected one
of the Representatives for tie borough of Whitchurch, in the room of
J. R. Townshend, now Lord Viscount Sydney.
The reduction of Salaries' Committee have abolished the
salaries of Lord President of the Council and Lord Privy Seal. The
Secretaries of the Treasury are to have 2,5001., and the Under Secre-
taries of State 1,5001. a-year.
We understand that Lord Althorpe has given an assurance
to the dkillers in Edinburgh, that the subject of the repeal of drawback
upon spirits made from malt only will not be entertained by Govern-
ment without previously receiving every consideration.
There are now engaged in the trade to British North
America 1900 vessels, about one-third of the &With shipping ; and
ol:e folio.. ing table will show the number of cargoes or timber received
In the port of Liverpool from British North America during the last
ten years, each year ending the lit of February :-
1522... 31'7 Vessels... 82,499 'Tons 11127...328Vei5e15... 101,461 Tons
1623 3..18 .. 99.309 .... 1 1828 218 71.081 ... •
1824...348
1825.. 427 123,684 .... 1830. .206.. 85,474 ... • •
1826... 308 .. 89,363 1831.. 321.........106,392
;This Table shows at once the,pAtivky aed motet ssf this trade. MI
the ships employed in it are necessarily British, while the Baltic trade
in timber is almost exclusively confined to foreigners.