nuance of the worst weather that he had ever seen during thirty-four years' service in these seas. A heavy E. N. E. gale blew all the 23d; but, on the 26th, the wind became fair, and the Griper made great progress. On the 30th, her foretop-mast, already badly sprung, went in two places; the head of the foremast had been found much twisted, about seven weeks before, and there was every reason to believe that the bowsprit was likewise seriously injured. On the afternoon of the 7th of November, soundings were struck in seventy fathoms; and next day, at three P. M., the coast of Cornwall was seen; on the 10th, at ten A. M., the ship passed the Needles; and, considering her distressed state, Captain Lyon determined on running at once into Portsmouth harbour, where she was paid off on the 13th of the following month. Captain Lyon soon afterwards published a narrative of his voyage, with a reduced chart of his route, and an appendix, containing magnetic and botanical observations. In June 1825, the honorary degree of D. C. L. was conferred upon Captain Lyon, by the University of Oxford; and, on the 5th of September following, he married Lucy-Louisa, the younger daughter of the celebrated Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and the almost equally celebrated Pamela. Not long after, he went to Mexico, as one of the Commissioners of the Real del Monte Mining Company. Returning home, by way of New York, in the Panthea packet, bound to Liverpool, he was wrecked in a gale at Holyhead, January 14. 1827, and lost every thing belonging to him, including his journal, plans of the mines, &c. To add to his mortification, he heard, upon landing, of the death of his wife, which had taken place about four months before. Captain Lyon afterwards returned to South America on mining business, which he prosecuted with his wonted intelligence; and the specimens of South American minerals which he forwarded to this country are evidences of his taste. At length his sight began to fail him to an alarming degree, insomuch that he determined to revisit England for advice. He accordingly embarked for that purpose, but died, on board his Majesty's packet the Emulous, on her passage from Buenos Ayres, October 8th, 1832, at the age of thirtyseven; thus prematurely concluding a life of extraordinary adventure, attended by extraordinary misfortunes. Chiefly from "Marshall's Royal Naval Biography." 192 No. XI. WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, Esq. THE decease of this excellent individual, who will always be classed among the most eminent men of a period full of eventful circumstances, and illustrated by many striking examples of human genius, has not only excited deep regret in the minds of a large circle of public and private friends, but has robbed his country of one of its best patriots, religion of one of its most consistent ornaments, and the whole race of mankind of one of their greatest benefactors. The family name is of local origin in Yorkshire, being derived from Wilberfoss, near Pocklington, the manor of which was possessed by the family until sold by William Wilberfoss, Esq. in 1719. A branch of that family which flourished in the city of York in the seventeenth century retained the ancient orthography. Mr. Wilberforce had an uncle, William Wilberforce, Esq., of Wimbledon in Surrey, who, dying in 1777, was buried at Wimbledon, and left his house there to his celebrated nephew. His widow died at Blackheath in 1788; and she was aunt, not only to Mr. Wilberforce, but to Messrs. Thornton, the Members for Hull, Bridgewater, and Southwark. William Wilberforce was born on the 24th of August, 1759, in the handsome old mansion in the High Street, in which Messrs. Smith, Brothers, and Co., lately carried on their business, at Kingston-upon-Hull, where his ancestors were for many years successfully engaged in trade. His great-grandfather was one of the Governors of Beverley, in 1670. His grandfather, William Wilberforce, Esq., was twice mayor of Hull; first in the year 1722, and again in 1740. His father, Robert Wilberforce, Esq., married Miss Elizabeth Bird, a relation of the present Bishops of Chester and Winchester, by whom he had one son, William, and two daughters: one died unmarried; the other was married, first to the Rev. Mr. Clarke, and then to James Stephen, Esq., the late Master in Chancery. By the death of Mr. Wilberforce's father, while he was very young, his early education devolved on a prudent and affectionate mother, who seems to have been in every respect qualified for the undertaking. He was first placed at the free grammar school of Pocklington, and, about the year 1774, was entered at St. John's college, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. 1781, M.A. 1788. Here he was a contemporary, and formed an intimate friendship, with William Pitt and Dr. Isaac Milner, afterwards Dean of Carlisle, with both of whom, on quitting the University, he made a tour on the Continent. Having become of age only a few weeks before the general election of 1780, he was almost unanimously returned (in conjunction with Lord Robert Manners) as one of the representatives of his native town. He does not appear, however, to have taken any prominent part in the proceedings of Parliament till 1783, when he seconded an address of thanks to the Crown on the occasion of the peace. In the same year, he distinguished himself by very warmly opposing Mr. Fox's India Bill. At the general election of the ensuing year, which followed the summary dismissal of the Coalition Administration, and Mr. Pitt's accession to power, Mr. Wilberforce stood and gained a contested election for Hull, in conjunction with his friend Mr. Samuel Thornton, in opposition to Mr. David Hartley, an eminent partizan of Mr. Fox; but, being also chosen for the county of York, he made his election to serve for the latter. Mr. Wilberforce supported Mr. Pitt's plan of parliamentary reform. In the following year, he succeeded in carrying through the House of Commons a bill for amending the Criminal Law; the object of which is said to have been, to give certainty to punishment; but, being opposed by Lord Chancellor Loughborough, chiefly on technical grounds, it was rejected in the upper house without a division. Even at this early period of his career, Mr. Wilberforce's easy, persuasive style of oratory, sometimes mingled with the caustic and severe, together with the virtues of his character, and his intimacy with the premier, had gained for him the favourable ear of the house; and we find him encountering, in the open field, the giants of debate. It was at the particular solicitation of the celebrated Mr. Clarkson that Mr. Wilberforce was first induced to intercst himself on the subject of slavery. At their first interview, he appeared to doubt the justice of some of the charges contained in Clarkson's book on the Slave Trade; but, after further investigation, he satisfied himself of their correctness, and, at a dinner given by Bennet Langton, he consented to belong to a society which had been established with the view of carrying the benevolent object of Clarkson into effect. Having also undertaken to bring the matter before the House of Commons, he gave notice of that intention soon after the meeting of Parliament, in 1787. This was the first public notice taken of the subject; Mr. Fox, at the same time, observed, that it had been his intention to introduce the question for the consideration of Parliament. In consequence of Mr. Wilberforce's notice, a great many petitions were presented to Parliament, from the Universities of Cambridge, Glasgow, and Aberdeen; from the Society of Quakers; from the counties of Huntingdon, Leicester, Stafford, Northampton, Hertford, Middlesex, and Cambridge; from the cities of Bristol and Norwich; from the town of Birmingham, and from various other places, demanding the abolition of the slave trade. The petitioners stated, that they did not desire violently to interfere with the condition of our West India Islands; that they did not wish for the immediate emancipation of the slaves; but that they conceived no wise or salutary measure could be adopted short of the entire and instant abolition of our commerce to Africa for this purpose. Averse to slavery in itself, they, nevertheless, contented themselves with the hope, that to put a stop to the importation of slaves |