Lord Minto.—The Rt. Hon. Gilbert John Murray Kynmond Elliot, fourth Earl of Minto, Privy Councillor, K.G., G.C.S.I., G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., died at Hawick, March 1, aged 66. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he served [as Lord Melgund] in the Scots Guards, 1867-70, saw some fighting during the Paris Commune, accompanied the Carlist army in Spain as Morning Post correspondent in 1873, was assistant military attaché in the Russo-Turkish War in 1878, and was with Lord Roberts in Afghanistan. He also saw service in the Egyptian War of 1882, and was chief of the Canadian staff in the second Riel rebellion, that of 1896, having gone out to Canada as Lord Lansdowne's Military Secretary. He was mentioned several times in despatches. In 1886 he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the Hexham division of Northumberland as a Liberal Unionist; during the following years he did much to improve the Volunteer force on the Border. From 1898 to 1905 he was Governor-General of Canada, in 1905 he was sent out to succeed Earl Curzon of Kedleston as Viceroy of India, when he was instrumental in carrying out, in conjunction with Lord Morley of Blackburn, a great scheme of constitutional reform, and coped successfully with serious unrest. In his management of the foreign relations of India, too, he was notably successful, inducing the Amir of Afghanistan to visit Calcutta. He had been a noted gentleman rider in early life, winning the Cambridge University Steeplechase on the afternoon of his degree examination, riding five times in the Grand National, and winning the French Grand National at Auteuil in 1874. He m., 1883, Mary Caroline, dau. of General the Hon. Charles Grey, and was succeeded by his only s.
Sir John Murray, K.C.B., the great oceanographer and naturalist of the Challenger Expedition, was killed while motoring at Kirkliston, Scotland, on March 16. B. at Coburg, Ontario, on March 8, 1841, he studied at Edinburgh University, went in 1868 on a whaling cruise in the Arctic Ocean, and from 1871 to 1876 was engaged under Sir Wyville Thomson in organising and accompanying the Challenger Expedition, which immensely extended knowledge of the ocean depths and their inhabitants. He had charge of the collections and edited the reports, himself paying large sums towards their completion, and writing on the cruise. He also did much research himself on his own steam yacht on the Scottish coast, established an oceanographic laboratory and marine laboratories in Scotland at his own expense, and paid for the Michael Sars North Atlantic Expedition in 1910, in which he took part. He had many honours and distinctions. He m., 1889, Isabella, dau. of Thomas Henderson, and left a family.
Cardinal (George) Kopp, Prince Bishop of Breslau, died at Troppau, Silesia, on March 4, aged 76. B. at Duderstadt, Hanover, in 1837, he began life as a telegraph official, but became a priest a few years later, and was made Vicar-General of the Diocese of Hildesheim in 1872, and Bishop of Fulda in 1881. He did much to mitigate the conflict between Church and State (Kulturkampf) in these dioceses, and to shape the laws which terminated it, and in 1887 he was translated to the important see of Breslau. He was an active friend of the Labour movement, favouring, however, the maintenance of separate trade unions for Roman Catholic workmen. Throughout his career he strove for conciliation and peace.
Sir Hubert von Herkomer, R.A., an eminent painter and one of the most versatile of artists, died on March 31, aged 64. Born at Waal, Bavaria, in 1849, the s. of a master joiner, he was taken to America in 1851 by his parents, who, however, settled at Southampton in 1857. Having shown artistic talent, he was sent in 1865 to study at South Kensington, and earned money by working for illustrated papers and by stencilling. He was thus enabled to visit Bavaria and depict peasant life, and in 1873 exhibited in the Royal Academy. His success was assured by his "Chelsea Pensioners" (Royal Academy, 1874), and he painted mainly portraits and groups. He became R.A. in 1879, F.R.A. in 1890, and was knighted in 1907, and was granted the use of the prefix "von" by the German Emperor. As Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford (1885-95) he left notable examples of rapid portraiture, painted as demonstrations to his class, and now in the Taylorian Galleries, among them portraits of Dean Liddell, Professor Westwood, and the President of Trinity. He built himself a magnificent house at Bushey, where he set up a School of Art. According to his obituary in The Times, he "could paint, etch, engrave, work in metal, enamel, play the zither and piano, compose music, write plays, and act them," and he had paid much attention to cinema work. He explained his principles in "My School and My Gospel" (1908), and also wrote a work on etching and mezzotint engraving. He was married thrice: (1) 1874, Anna, dau. of Albert Weise, who d. 1883; (2) 1884, Lulu, dau. of T. Griffiths, she d. 1885; (3) 1888, Margaret, another dau. of T. Griffiths, and left a family.
Frederic Mistral, the Provençal poet and chief reviver of the "Langue d'Oc" as a literary language, died at his home at Maillane, Provence, on March 25. B. there, September 8, 1830, he was sent to school at Avignon, where his taste for the Provençal language and its folk songs, already developed by his mother, was encouraged by a young teacher named Roumanille. He studied law at Aix, and published some Provençal verse in a collection of poems by Roumanille and others in 1852, and, having taken over his father's farm, tried to rekindle the Provençal sentiment of race by writing poetry in the native tongue. In 1854, he, with Roumanille and other associates, founded the Félibrige Society for this purpose, and in 1859 published his poem "Miréio," which was "crowned" by the Academy and welcomed by Lamartine. In 1866 he published "Calendeon," and in 1875 a volume of verse, "Lis Iselo d'Or." In 1876 the Félibrige, which had extended to part of Italy and Catalonia, was definitely organised with Mistral as its first President, and in 1884 he published "Nerto," which was also crowned by the Academy. After this he produced a great Provençal dictionary; in 1890 a drama, "La Reino Jano," in 1897 another epic, "Lou Pouèmo dou Rose," and in 1906 his autobiography. He divided the Nobel Prize for Literature with Echegaray and Sinkiewicz in 1906, and spent his share on founding a provincial museum at Arles. He was "a man of magnificent presence," and possessed many honours from learned bodies, and several decorations.
George Westinghouse, the eminent American inventor, died in New York on March 12, aged 67. B. at Central Bridge, N.Y., in 1846, and educated at Union College, Schenectady, he served in the Volunteer Cavalry and afterwards as a naval engineer in the War of Secession. In 1865 he invented a device for replacing derailed railroad cars, in 1868 he patented his famous brake; he also applied pneumatic and electric power to railroad switching and signalling, introduced the alternating electric current for light and power supply, established the practical use of natural gas, developed gas engines, and a form of marine turbine, with other inventions. Unlike most inventors, he had great business ability, and presided over numerous companies manufacturing his inventions. He m., 1867, Marguerite Walker, and had one s. He left some 7,000,000l.
On the 1st, aged 55, the Hon. Charles Ramsay Devlin, Minister of Mines in the Quebec Government since 1907, Nationalist M.P. for Galway City, 1903-6, Canadian Commissioner in England, 1897-1903. On the 2nd, aged 39, Margaret Fothergill Robinson, an able student of Poor Law questions; author of "The Poor Law Enigma," and "The Spirit of Association," a survey of guilds, co-operation, and trade union; her work was cut short by ill-health. On the 4th, Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna, Bengal Staff Corps, distinguished in the Mutiny Campaign and author of a series of books on Indian military subjects, among them "The Second Afghan War"; a strong Liberal. On the 4th, aged 56, Colonel Henry Lionel Pilkington, C.B., sometime 21st Hussars; commanded the West Australian contingent in the South African War; well known as a writer on Irish agricultural topics over the signature "Patrick Perterras." On the 4th, aged 69, Masakisa Matsuda, Minister of Justice in Japan, and one of the leaders of the Sei-yu-Kai party; had previously been twice Minister of Justice and once Minister of Finance. On the 5th, aged 69, at sea, near Colombo, the Rev. William Donne, Hon. Canon of Wakefield and Vicar of Wakefield, 1892-1909; Archdeacon of Huddersfield since 1892. About the 5th, aged 76, Sir William Samuel Seton, ninth Baronet; served as midshipman in the Indian Navy in the Persian Expedition of 1856-7; then in the Indian Army, in the Afghan War of 1880-1; Colonel (retired) Indian Staff Corps; succeeded his brother, 1884; m.,·1876, Eva, dau. of Sir Henry H. A. Wood; succeeded by his s. On the 6th, aged 61, Colonel Sir Charles Gervaise Boxall, K.C.B., originator of the City of London Imperial Volunteers in the South African War and an expert on the utilisation of railways for artillery. On the 7th, aged 82, Christian David Ginsburg, L.L.D., J.P., an eminent Hebrew scholar, who exposed in 1883 the forgery committed by a well-known dealer in antiquities named Shapiro of a MS. purporting to be part of the "sources" of the Book of Deuteronomy; author of important works on the Essenes, the Kabbalah, and the Song of Solomon. On the 7th, aged 63, Arthur Knatchbull Connell, sometime private secretary to Lord Goschen, and a Unionist candidate for a division of Edinburgh. On the 7th, aged 55, John Wykeham Jacomb-Hood, Chief Engineer of the London & South Western Railway since 1901; carried out many new branches and extensions. On the 7th, aged 69, Professor Antonino Salinas, C.V.O., Director of the Museum at Palermo and Professor of Archæology at the University of that city; a learned antiquary. On the 8th, aged 64, Frederick Townsend Martin, brother of Mr. Bradley Martin, and one of the best-known Americans in London society; active in philanthropic work in New York, and author of an interesting volume of reminiscences. On the 8th, aged 73, Sir George Ross, Premier of Ontario, 1899-1905, and liberal Leader in the Dominion Senate; previously Minister of Education; an able public speaker. On the 8th, aged 72, Sir Arthur Mackworth, R.E., C.B., sixth Baronet, distinguished in the Egyptian Campaign of 1882; m., 1865, Alice, dau. of Joseph Cubitt; succeeded by his s. About the 8th, aged 81, Sir Francis McCabe, Medical Commissioner of the Irish Local Government Board, 1888-98. About the 8th, José Luciano de Castro, Prime Minister (Progressist) of Portugal, 1904-6; had previously been Minister of Justice and of the Interior, and Prime Minister, 1886-90, and 1897-1900; a skilful Parliamentary tactician. On the 10th, aged 57, Alfred Charles Edwards, in spite of his name a thorough Paris journalist; founder of the Matin, 1883; connected largely with theatrical enterprises; husband of Mlle. Lantelme, the Paris actress, who was drowned on the Rhine in 1911. On the 10th, aged 69, Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Campbell Napier, C.I.E., Bengal Army, second son of the first Lord Napier of Magdala, and heir-presumptive to the Barony; had served as Assistant Commissioner of the Punjaub in 1867, and superintendent of Kaparthala State, 1885-7. On the 11th, aged 87, Sir Charles Champagne des Voeux, sixth Baronet, succeeded his brother 1894; m., 1853, Katharina, dau. of T. W. Richardson; she d. 1895; succeeded by his s. On the 11th, aged 80, Arthur Houston, LL.D., K.C., a prominent Irish barrister in civil (especially bankruptcy) and criminal cases; Liberal candidate for Derry (North), 1895; had practised at the English Bar since 1897. About the 11th, aged about 78, Mlle. Marie Chassevant, Professor at the Geneva Conservatoire 1895-1912, and founder of a new system of musical teaching. On the 11th, aged 65, George Ernest Herman, sometime President of the Obstetrical Society of London, an eminent obstetric physician. On the 12th, murdered at Philippopoli, Colonel Sadik Bey, originally one of the leaders of the Turkish revolution, subsequently opposed the Union and Progress movement and helped to found the Liberal Entente. On the 15th, aged 80, the Rev. Richard Rhodes Bristow, Hon. Canon of Rochester Cathedral, and Canon Missioner of Southwark Cathedral since 1905; Vicar of St. Stephen's, Lewisham, 1868-97, subsequently of St. Olaves, Southwark; long Proctor in Convocation, first for the diocese of Rochester and then for that of Southwark; sometime Chairman of the Lewisham Board of Guardians and a member of the London School Board, 1885-7; a preacher of some distinction and a prominent High Churchman. On the 16th, aged 67, the Ven. Edwin Price, Archdeacon of Bishop Auckland since 1908, and Rector of Sedgefield, Durham, since 1903; acted with Bishop Westcott in helping to settle the great miners' strike in 1892. On the 16th, aged 70, while addressing the Berne International Peace Bureau, of which he was Director, Albert Gobat, LL.D., a member since 1890 of the Swiss National Council and previously of the Federal Upper House; first secretary and one of the founders of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1902. On the 17th, Surgeon-General Sir Arthur Mudge Branfoot, K.C.I.E., Indian Medical Service; had been President of the Medical Board at the India Office; had served in Madras and Burma, and done much to improve the conditions of medical treatment of women in Madras. On the 17th, aged 55, shot by Mme. Caillaux, Gaston Calmette, chief editor of the Figaro, on the staff of which he had been for thirty years; had a valuable collection of engravings and caricatures of the period of the First Empire. On the 18th, aged 88, James Hope, of East Carns, East Lothian, for two generations one of the leading agriculturists of Great Britain; prominent in county affairs, as a Master of Foxhounds, 1870-7, and on the turf, 1866-1900; an Assistant Commissioner on the Royal Commissions on Agriculture of 1880 and 1894; had a large share in framing the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1883. About the 18th, aged 95, Charles Waddington, sometime Professor of Philosophy at the Sorbonne; author of works on the human mind and on Ramus; cousin of the French statesman W. H. Waddington. On the 20th, aged 53, John Brooks Close-Brooks, sometime a banker in Manchester, High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1911, and in the seventies of the last century (as J. B. Close) a famous Cambridge oarsman. On the 23rd, aged 82, General Sir Thomas Edward Gordon, K.C.I.E., K.C.B., C.S.I., distinguished in the Indian Mutiny; second in command of Sir David Forsyth's mission to the Amir of Kashgar, 1873-4; served in the Afghan War, 187982; Oriental and Military Secretary of the Teheran Legation, 1889-93; had published "The Roof of the World" (on the Kashgar Mission, 1876), "Persia Revisited" (1896), and his autobiography (1906); was the twin brother of Sir John J. H. Gordon, G.C.B., who d. November 2, 1908; the twins were promoted General on the same day and were known as "the Gemini Generals." On the 23rd, aged 68, George M. Minchin, M.A., F.R.S., sometime Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cooper's Hill, author of a number of important works on physics, and a researcher of some note. On the 24th, aged 74, Piers Egerton-Warburton, Conservative M.P., for mid-Cheshire, 1876-1885. On the 25th, aged 65, Robert James McMordie, Unionist M.P. for East Belfast since 1910, and five times Mayor of the City, in which he was a prominent solicitor. On the 25th, aged 65, Harry Maule Crookshank (Crookshank Pasha), Director-General of the Egyptian Prisons Administration, 1883-96, and Controller-General of the Daira Sanieh Administration, 1897-1907. On the 27th, aged 66, Lieut.-General Sir William Freeman Kelly, K.C.B., Colonel Royal Sussex Regiment; had served with distinction in the Egyptian Campaign of 1882 and the South African War. On the 27th, aged about 50, Harry Orbell, organiser of the Dockers' Union. On the 28th, aged 57, the Rt. Rev. Robert Fraser, D.D., LL.D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunkeld since 1913, and sometime Rector of the Scots College, Rome. About the 29th, aged 90, Eleanor Whyte, of the Women Bookbinders' Society, one of the pioneers of trade unions for women, and a delegate of the Trade Union Congress. On the 30th, aged 74, Tito Mattel, by birth a Neapolitan, a famous pianist and composer; had been for fifty years settled in England. On the 31st, aged 64, the Hon. Francis Albert Rollo Russell, a son of the first Earl Russell, and an authority on meteorology; had edited his father's early correspondence. On the 31st, aged 86, Timothy Daniel Sullivan, Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1886 and 1887; Nationalist M.P. for Westmeath (N.), 1880, for Dublin City, 1885, for West Donegal, 1892-1900; imprisoned under the Crimes Act, 1888; author of much patriotic verse, of which the best known was "God Save Ireland," and of some volumes in prose.
APRIL.
The Dowager Empress of Japan (Haruko, widow of the Emperor Mutsuhito, who d. 1913), d. at the Numadzu Palace, April 9, aged 63. The dau. of Prince Ichijo Tadaha, and a member of the Fujuvana clan, she m. the late Emperor, February 9, 1869. She was eminent for her love of art and literature, and, like her husband, successfully adapted herself to the transition from the old to the new order in Japan. She did much to raise the status of Japanese women, and was active in charitable work and in supporting the Red Cross organisation for the care of the wounded in war.
Paul Révoil, an eminent French diplomat, d. at Mouriez, near Arles, on April 27, aged 58. B. at Nîmes in 1856, he became a barrister and published a volume of verse, but in 1896 entered the public service, and was chef de cabinet successively to the Colonial, Agricultural, and Foreign Ministers, and in 1893 became Director of Consular Services at the Foreign Office. In 1895 he was made Assistant to the French Resident at Tunis, in 1900 Minister to Morocco; from 1901 to 1903 he was Governor-General of Algeria, where he created the "Southern Territories," and reformed the forest laws and the judicial system. In 1905 he was charged with the negotiations with the German Government which led to the Algeciras Conference, where he was first French plenipotentiary, and on its conclusion he was sent as Ambassador to Berne. Here he carried out important customs negotiations with the Swiss Government, and then was transferred as Ambassador to Madrid, but in 1910 he resigned and became a Director of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, retiring, owing to ill-health, in 1913. A hard worker and not of robust constitution, he spent himself in his labours, and it was to him as much as to any man that France owes the consolidation of her dominion in North Africa.