115 



Historical Sketch of Pepys' Island, in the South Pacific Ocean, from 

 the work on the Rio de la Plata: by P. de Angelis. Buenos- 

 Aires, 1842. 8vo. — From the Author, 



Mr. J. R. Tyson, pursuant to appointment at a former meet- 

 ing, read an obituary notice of William Peter, Esq., a deceased 

 member of the Society. 



William Peter was born on the 22d March, 1788, at a country place, 

 called Harhjn, the seat of his forefathers in Cornwall, England. He 

 was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated as 

 Bachelor of Arts in 1807, and became Master of Arts in 1809. He 

 studied law and was called to the bar by the Society of Lincoln's Inn, 

 on the 28th xMay, 1813. 



Mr. Peter seems not to have been long engaged in the courts, as 

 a legal practitioner, but succeeding to the paternal estates upon the 

 death of his father in 1821, he devoted his time between literary and 

 domestic pleasures, and the discharge of those duties which devolved 

 upon him as deputy warden and deputy lieutenant of the county. 



Upon the death of his father-in-law in 1825, he removed to his 

 wife's place, called Chiverton, in the same county, where he continued 

 to reside for eight years. Here he acted for several years as a county 

 magistrate, chairman of the Quarter Sessions of Cornwall, and chair- 

 man of several political bodies known as reform associations. 



In 1832, after the reform act had enlarged the constituency, he 

 was elected to Parliament for Bodmin. This reform he contributed to 

 effect by unprecedented exertions in Cornwall. The opposition he 

 met with was commensurate with the magnitude of the interests in- 

 volved in the contest. Such was the inequality of representation 

 under the borough system which Mr. Peter aided so much to destroy, 

 that Cornwall alone returned only two members less to Parliament 

 than the whole of Scotland. He was the life and soul, the mind, 

 tongue and pen of the reform party in that county against a host of 

 talent, rank and wealth, arrayed against him. Owing to the ardour 

 and impetuosity of his character which admitted of no compromises 

 with his opponents, he became as much the mark of the tories as he 

 was the idol of the whigs. His popularity was such, that though the 

 election for the borough was contested by three candidates and all of 

 liberal politics, Mr. Peter was returned, without expense to himself, 

 by a large majority. 



After the dissolution of Parlament in 1835, Mr. Peter did not again 

 appear in public life. He withdrew to the continent, where he held 



