LAWRENCE, WILLIAM. 



lODI in a \isitatioii throughout hh ex- 

 tended diocese. lie died calmly and peace- 

 fully, surrounded by numerous members of his 



. . after haxing received all the consolations 



of religion, lie had won, during \i'\< residence 



in l.om's\i]le, not only the love and confidence 



.of his oun clergy and people, but the esteem 



and respect of the citi/en* general! v. 



I AWKKNCK, Sir WILLIAM, Baronet, F. R.S., 

 M. 1,'. ('. S., Sergeant-Surgeon to the Queen, 

 a distinguished Kngli.-h surgeon and professor, 

 born in Cirencester, July 16, 1783 ; died in Lon- 

 don, of paralysis, July 5, 1867. He received a 

 preliminary education at a classical school near 

 (iloucester, and was afterward apprenticed to 

 the celebrated Ahernethy, of London. Before 

 three years of his apprenticeship Imd expired 

 he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy at 

 St. llartholoniew's Hospital, so decided wa> his 

 zeal in anatomical pursuits. He finished his 

 professional education, and .became a member 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons on the 6th of 

 September, 1805, was appointed assistant sur- 

 geon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in March, 

 1813, and succeeded to one of the principal sur- 

 geoncies in May, 1824. He had previously been 

 chosen one of the Professors of Anatomy and 

 Surgery to the College of Surgeons, and deliv- 

 ered the lectures there for four years. For sev- 

 eral years Mr. Lawrence lectured on surgery 

 at different medical schools, his celebrated lec- 

 tures on the Physiology, Zoology, and Natural 

 History of Man giving rise to the charge of 

 materialism, as well as being the subject of 

 severe criticism. The Governors of the Royal 

 Hospitals of Bethlehem and Bridewell request- 

 ed the author either to resign his appointment 

 as surgeon of those institutions or to retract 

 his convictions. In compliance with this de- 

 mand, he wrote a long letter, expressing regret 

 at having given utterance to the pernicious doc- 

 trines contained in the lectures, the published 

 copies of which he after Avard sold to a London 

 publisher for exportation to this country. Mr. 

 Lawrence's lectures always drew large classes. 

 His manner a.- a lecturer was a model of art ; 

 no man excelled him. His person, gestures, 

 countenance, and voice, were dignified, im- 

 pressive, and persuasive. A graceful ease, a 

 simplicity of style and statement characterized 

 hi> address. There was a clearness of method, 

 a terseness of expression, without being epi- 

 grammatic (for scientific subjects rarely allow 

 that), a perspicuity in his discourse, that made 

 it a pleasure to follow him. His surgical opera- 

 tions were remarkable for neatness, impertur- 

 bable sang-froid, celerity, and safety. All the 

 anatomical and physiological articles in Rees's 

 Encyclopaedia were written by Mr. Lawrence, 

 and in 1830-'31 appeared his well-known trea- 

 tise on " The Diseases of the Eye." In 1826 he 

 made himself conspicuous in his opposition to 

 the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 although two years subsequently he became a 

 member of the same Council, having been elect- 

 ed to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of 



LIECHTENSTEIN. . 429 



Sir P. McGregor, and in 1840 was promoted 

 to a seat in the Court of Kxamimr-. In 1884 

 and 1846 he delivered the llunterian Orations. 



Hi- was remarkable for the tenacity with which 

 he retained the offices which he held, notwith- 

 standing his severe denunciations of others for 

 doing the same thing. Thus he refused to re- 

 tire from the position of principal snrgeon to 

 St. Bartholomew's Hospital till he wasupward 

 of eighty years of age, although lie had held it 

 for nearly forty years, and did not resign his 

 appointment as a member of the Court of Ex- 

 aminers of the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 which he had held for twenty-seven years, until 

 he was stricken down with paralysis in May. 

 1867. He was a member of many learned and 

 scientific societies both at home and abroad, 

 and had obtained the highest honors which can 

 fall to the lot of a surgeon. In addition to 

 those already mentioned, he had been twice 

 elected president of the Royal College of Sur- 

 geons, viz., in 1846 and again in 1855. In 1864 

 he was chosen a corresponding member of the 

 French Institute. On the passing of the Medi- 

 cal Act and the institution of a Council of Medi- 

 cal Education and Registration, Sir William 

 was nominated by the crown a member of that 

 body. He was the senior sergeant-surgeon of 

 the Queen, and only a few months previous 

 was created a baronet. 



LIBERIA, a republican state of Western 

 Africa, founded in 1822 by free negroes from 

 the United States of North America, under 

 the auspices of the American Colonization Soci- 

 ety. As the frontier of the republic is not fixed, 

 its area cannot be ascertained. The extent of 

 the territory along the Guinea coast is about 

 225 miles. The population, in 1867, was es- 

 timated at 17,000 civilized and 700,000 un- 

 civilized negroes. The President of the re- 

 public is elected for a term of two years, and 

 may be reflected at the expiration of his term. 

 The republic has thus far had only three Presi- 

 dents, namely : J. J. Roberts (1848 to 1856), 

 Stephen A. Benson (1856 to 1864), and Dr. B. 

 Warner (1864 to 1868). At the presidential 

 election held in 1867, none of the candidates 

 received an absolute majority, and the election 

 would consequently devolve upon the Legisla- 

 ture. The Senate, which is presided over by 

 the Vice-President, consists of eight members 

 (two for each county), who are elected for a 

 term of four years. There are thirteen members 

 of the Lower House, who are elected for a term 

 of two years. The United States are repre- 

 sented in Liberia by a minister-resident and 

 consul-general at present, John Seys, who was 

 appointed in 1866. A communication to the 

 Almanack de Gotha for 1868 gives the receipts 

 of the last year ns $78,442, the expendi- 

 tures as $76,165; surplus, $2,276. The ex- 

 ports of the last year were estimated at $486,- 

 571. 



LIECHTENSTEIN, a German principality, 

 which formerly belonged to the German Con- 

 federation, but, since the establishment of the 



