FITZROY, EGBERT. 



FLORIDA. 



359 





bearing in one hand a shield and in the other a 

 sword. At her side is the American eagle ; be- 

 neath her feet are stalwart men, some with the 

 torch of the incendiary in their hands, others 

 crouched by the side of cannon. She treads on 

 an ermine-bordered robe, and the whole is in- 

 tended to be typical of the downfall of tyranny. 

 The next group is the Arts and Sciences pre- 

 sided over by the Goddess Minerva. Franklin 

 and Fulton are prominent figures in this group, 

 and various emblems typifying the national ad- 

 vancement in Art and Science are introduced. 

 These descriptions indicate the general char- 

 acter of the whole composition, which is in the 

 classical allegorical style, with abundant illus- 

 trations derived from pagan mythology. The 

 work will probably be completed in the spring 

 of 1866. In connection with the subject of the 

 ornamentation of the national Capitol may be 

 mentioned the fact, that the Speaker of the 

 House of Representatives has considered it ne- 

 cessary to inform that body that the superb 

 bronze doors of the rotunda, designed by Craw- 

 ford, have been recently much mutilated and 

 otherwise injured, chiefly, it is supposed, by 

 relic and curosity hunters. In view of this 

 vandalism, it has been suggested that the doors 

 should be 'deposited in some less public place. 

 The art of polychromy has recently been ap- 

 plied to the ceiling of the great central hall of 

 the Patent Office in Washington, by Mr. Shulter, 

 an artist of some experience, The result is 

 described as very beautiful, and the general 

 effect as equal to that of any similar apartment 

 recently ornamented in this style in Europe. 



FITZROY, Vice-Admiral ROBERT, a British 

 naval officer, meteorologist, and author, born at 

 Ampton Hall, Suffolk, July 5, 1805, died by his 

 own hand, April 30, 1865. In February, 1818, 

 he entered the Royal Naval College, Ports- 

 month, where he was awarded a medal for his 

 proficiency in his studies. The following year 

 he was appointed to the "Owen Glendower," 

 then coasting between Brazil and Northern 

 Peru. Subsequently he served upon other ves- 

 sels, passing through the different grades of 

 promotion until in 1834 he was made captain 

 of the "Beagle," a vessel employed in survey- 

 ing the shores of Patagonia, Terra del Fuego, 

 Chili, and Peru. During these surveys he ex- 

 pended considerably more than 3,000 out of 

 his private fortune in buying, equipping, and 

 manning small vessels as tenders, to enable him 

 to carry out the orders of the Admiralty, an 

 outlay which was not refunded to him. In 

 1841 Capt. Fitzroy sat in the House of Com- 

 mons as member for Dunham, and in the fol- 

 lowing year was selected to attend the Arch- 

 duke Frederick of Austria, in his tour through 

 Great Britain. In 1843 he introduced a bill 

 into Parliament for establishing mercantile 

 marine boards, and enforcing the examination 

 of masters and mates in the merchant service, 

 and the same year went out as governor of 

 New Zealand. In 1854, upon the establish- 

 ment of the meteorological department of the 



Board of Trade, Capt. F. was placed at its head, 

 and to him are owing the storm signals and 

 other models of warning that are now in use 

 for the benefit of seamen. His own life, how- 

 ever, was the price of his devotion to his duties. 

 His brain became overtaxed, and while in an 

 unsound state of mind he deliberately cut his 

 own throat. He was the author of a work en- 

 titled " Narrative of the Surveying Voyages 

 of H. M. S. 'Adventure,' and ' Beagle,' " four 

 vols. ; "Remarks on New Zealand," 1846; and 

 "Sailing Directions for South America," -1858. 

 He was made Rear- Admiral in 1857, and Vice- 

 Admiral in 1863. 



FLORIDA. This State was so far removed 

 from the scenes of war, that no event of general 

 importance took place previous to the measures 

 for its reorganization under the Federal Gov- 

 ernment. On July 13, 1865, President Johnson 

 issued his proclamation appointing "William 

 Marvin Provisional Governor of Florida. This 

 proclamation was similar in all respects except 

 the date, name of the State and Provisional Gov- 

 ernor, with the one issued relative to Alabama, 

 to which the reader is referred. The Governor 

 soon commenced his duties, and on August 2d 

 delivered an address to the people of Jackson- 

 ville. He proposed to make known the plan 

 of the President, and to call their attention to 

 those subjects most essential to their welfare. 

 Confiscation, he said, had been practised on 

 both sides ; but, by the failure of the rebellion, 

 all property confiscated by the officers of the 

 Confederacy would now revert to the original 

 owners. Pardon was now offered, with a few 

 exceptions, to all. These exceptions were pre- 

 sumed to be persons of superior intelligence, and 

 with ability to make some effort to secure par- 

 don ; persons of greater responsibility and obli- 

 gations to the State. For himself, he should 

 take pleasure in recommending to the President 

 all who were truly penitent, and gave good evi- 

 dence of a determination to be good citizens in 

 the future. The decrees of confiscation of houses 

 and lands, which had been entered upon by the 

 Federal authorities in the absence of the owners 

 and without their appearing, would be opened 

 when these owners had been embraced in the 

 amnesty proclamation. They would be allowed 

 to appear and have a full hem-ing on their merits, 

 and might plead their pardons, if such plea 

 should be deemed admissible in their cases. 

 With the fail of the Confederacy, the black 

 man's bondage has been brought to an end, and 

 he can never be enslaved here again. He had 

 no authority to resuscitate the civil authorities, 

 or to appoint any one to an office beyond what 

 was necessary to the calling of the State Con- 

 vention. His business was to assist them to 

 inaugurate a State Government. He appealed 

 to them to lay aside all revengeful feeling, and 

 to enter with ardor and good faith upon the 

 new order of affairs. On the next day the Gov- 

 ernor issued the following proclamation to the 

 people, stating the details of the plan upon which 

 he intended to proceed : 



