Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/590

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OBITUAEY.

(Sept.

sions of distinguishing himself. In 1876 he succeeded to the post of Lord Advocate, and was at the same time returned as member for the Univer- sities of Glasgow and Aberdeen. During his period of office he was engaged in the prosecution of the Directors of the Glasgow Bank, and in many civil cases arising out of the bank failure. In 1880, on the eve of the resignation of Lord Beaconsfield's Government, Mr. Watson was ap- pointed to be a Lord of Appeal in ordinary as Lord Watson of Thank- erton, a life peer, in succession to Lord Gordon, and from that time he sat in the House of Lords with Lords Cairns, Selborne and Blackburn. Although at first his opinion had pre- dominating weight in Scotch appeals, he speedily made himself master of English law and equity, and even made excursions into the special domain of

ecclesiastical law and marriage law. In several appeals arising out of matri- monial causes he pronounced weighty judgments which settled points a long time left obscure. His decisions on the interpretation of the Employers* Liability Act, 1880, on various points of company law and bankers' rights and responsibilities were remarkable for their clearness and weight. He sat for many years also as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and for upwards of five and twenty years was constant in his attendance and close in his attention to every case brought before him. He had for some time enjoyed the reputa- tion of being the profoundest lawyer on the Bench. He married, 1868, Margaret, daughter of John Duguld Bannatyne, of Edinburgh, and died at Sunlaws House, Kelso, on September 14, after a short but severe illness.

On the 1st, at Farnborough, aged 74, Colonel Robert Bruce, C.B., son of Sir James Bruce, second baronet. Entered the Army, 1844 ; served with 23rd Welsh Fusiliers through the Crimean Campaign, 1864 ; the Indian Mutiny, 1857-8, and was present at the relief of Lucknow and capture of Cawnpore ; Deputy Inspector- General of Royal Irish Constabulary, 1872-80 ; Inspector-General, 1880-7. Married, 1859, Mary, daughter of Sir J. Montagu Burgoyne, ninth baronet. On the 1st, at Dorking, aged 89, Colonel Robert Aldworth, son of Robert R. Aldworth, of New- market. Court, Co. Cork. Entered the Army, 1829; served with 94th Regiment. Married, 1867, Louisa M., daughter of Major-General H. D. Tolley, C.B. On the 2nd, at Alexandria, aged 108, His Holiness Sophronlns, Pope and Patriarch of Egypt. The head of the Greek Church in Egypt. On the 4th, at Crosswood, Cardigan, aged 87, The Earl of Lisburne, Ernest George Henry Arthur Malet, sixth earl. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. Married, first, 1858, Gertrude, daughter of E. Burnaby, of Baggrave Hall, Leicester; and second, 1878, Alice Dalton, daughter of Edmund Probyn, of Huntley Manor, Gloucester. On the 4th, at Belgrade, aged 68, Jovan Ristitch, a distinguished Servian states- man. Born at Kragujevatz ; educated at Berlin, Heidelberg and Paris ; appointed to a post in the Ministry of the Interior, 1849; gained the favour of Prince Milosch and sent on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople, 1860, where he was Servian Agent until 1867, rendering great services to his country; appointed Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regent after the assassination of Prince Michael, 1868-72 ; revised the Servian Constitution, 1869 ; resigned the Premiership, 1872, but returned, 1876-8; represented Servia at the Berlin Con- ference. On the abdication of Prince Milan, 1889, he again became Regent until 1898, when he was arrested with the other Regents at a dinner party by order of the young King, who declared himself of age. On his release he became the leader of the Liberal party, and was the advocate of a Balkan Confederation. Od the 4th, at Ardfert Abbey, aged 82, William Talbot Talbot-Orosble, son of Rev. John Crosbie, and great-nephew of the last Earl of Glandore. An enlightened landowner, who devoted his life to the improvement of the condition of his tenants, and a successful cattle-breeder. Married, first, 1889, Susan, fourth daughter of Lindsev Merrik Peter Burrell ; second, 1854, Emma, third daughter of the same ; and third, 1868, Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B., and widow of Sir R. Abercrombie Anstruther, fourth baronet. On the 5th, at Bombay, aged 47, Dr. Peter Peterson. Educated at Edinburgh and Oxford; entered the Education Department of India, 1873 ; appointed Professor of Sanscrit in Elphin- stone College and Registrar of the Bombay University ; took an active part in the search for Sanscrit manuscripts in Western India and published several books on the results of his labours. On the 5th, at Heidelberg, aged 66, Sir Robert Baret Stokes, C.B., son of R. D. Stokes, of Dromullon, Co. Kerry. Entered the Army, 1851; served in 54th Regiment; appointed Resident Magistrate in Ireland, 1870; Divisional Commissioner (Midland), 1887-98, and (South- Western), 1893-8. Married, 1854, Marjorie Augusta, daughter of J. Simpson, of Oakfield, Ontario.