The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-02-03
r, =, ~ cornnnodp Marry,

sisersble duration. Ee WIS horn In Spctsyi-
yania county, il this State, on the 14th jan
nary, 1906, aud had therefore just passed bis
sixty.seyenth year. .' '@'
While Commodore MAURY was still young
bis parents moved to Tennessee. In 1870 ne
entered the naval service AS midshlpmah'
and was appointed to tho Brandywine'
then fitting out to convey General LAFAYETTE
to France. He soon afterwards went on tle
yincennes, = which circumnayigateo the
globe. Her cruise occupied four years ana
although then not passed midshlpman, he
hec,u his treatise Oh navigation, which has
passed through. several editions, and IS SILL
used as O textbook in the navy. de was
afterwards on the ships Falmouth and Po'
tomac: and in 1886 was promoted to a lieu
tenantcy in the navy.
In 1889, while travelling on professional
duty, he met with an accident which resulted
in permanent lameness and untitled him for
acriye service afioat. Commodore MAuRY
was then made the custodian of the hydro
graphical Office at Washington, and in 1874
appointed superintendent of the National
Observatory. He had prior to this begun
series of Investigations in what HUMBoLDT
styled the "physical geography Of the sea-"
and had gathered number Of observations
of the ocean winds and currents from the
records Of naval and merchant vessels. These
were made the basis OF study, and further
observations were obtained through asystem
of los-books devised by him, used by naval
and marine ships, and from the observations
taken by vessels sent out for the purpose.
In 1874 he made known bis conclusions
respecting the Gulf stream, ocean currents,
and great circle sailing, in paper read be-
fore the National Institute. In 1853 mari
time conference, at the suggestion of tie
Federal Government, upon the petition OF
then Lieutenant MAuRY,) was held at Brus-
sells, and recommended form Of abstract
log to be kept on board ships, in which were
10 be recorded facts with reference to winds
and waves. Great Britain heartily co0pc-
rated in the project, as did the Royal Society
of London and the British Association. The
results were afterward embodied in the wind
and current charts and in the popular work
+" Physical Geography of the Sea- They
have proved invaluable 80 navigation.
Amoug the practical results of these ex-
plorations are claimed TO be the shortening
of the passage from the Atlantic to the Pa
citc ports of the United States by forty days,
and of voyages from America to Europe in
the same proportion; the discovery of the
telegraph ocean plateau, and the indication
of good whaling ground. ...
In 1856 tho then Lieutenant MAURY was
promoted to the rank Of commander. He
became a member of many of the principal
scientific associations Of Europe and Anne
RIGA, and received from foreign Governments
valuable testimonials Of the appreciation Of
his services. No compliment Of praise he
ever received was more valued by him than
a commendatory letter from the great HUM
BoLpT.
Besides his other works he was the author
of {" Letters on the Amazon and the Allan
tic slopes of South America" "Relation be-
tween Magnetism and the Circulation of the
Atmosphere" in the appendix to Washing
ton Astronomical Observations for 1S4s,"
" Astronomical Observations" 1853, and
Letters Concerning Laues for the Steam
ers Crossing the Atlantic" ....
In the midst Of his arduous scientific
| labors he found time to write many essays
relating to southern commerce, and through
his agency a ship-yard was builtat Memphis.
He was ardently devoted to the South, and
devoted himself enthusiastically to the ways
and means to enlarge her commerce. de
wrote great deal concerning the resources
| of the South-agricultural and mineral.
When the South seeded Commodore
MAuRY resigned bis Office under the Federal
Government and joined the Confederacy, re-.
ceiying the appointment Of commodore in
the Confederate navy. He was of great
service to the cause in many ways.
] At the close Of the war he. WAS appointed
to the Chair Of Physics of the Virginia Mill
tary Institute, and had charge of the physical
survey of the State of Virginia undertaken
by that institution.
| Commodore MAURY devoted himself as
siduouSly to his new duties. He prepared
some works for schools, which were pub
lished by the University Publishing Com
pany-the principal one Of which was his
physical geography. he was engaged on
another, upon astronomy, at the time Of his
| death.
| His industrious pen was actively employed
at every interval Of his duties in the promo.
| ton of the welfare Of his beloved Virginia
by calling public attention to her incalcula
BILE mineral wealth and general advantages,
and on the subject of immigration, His ex-
ertions in this respect were great, and he
seemed never TO tire in his labor of love-
Commodore MAURY has left all enduring
fame behind him, and has honored his native
land by the proud achievements which gave
| him worldwide reputation.
In his social and domestic relations he was
simple, gentle, and afectionate. In CONVEX.
sation interesting and instructive He leaves
a family of wife, four daughters, and two
sons. With their deep grief at their loss
are mingled the sympathies and regrets Of a
host Of friends of the deceased who uppre-
ciated as well his personal worth as his great
scientific attachments.
zHzzzza7a6zaSEEKEa
ThcfacV that the Pennsylvania Legislature
is opposed to the postal telegraph is re-
commentator in its behalf. The body that
elected SIMON CAMERON could hardly give an
honest opinion on great proposition like