BAINES, MATTHEW TALBOT. 



BEAUFORT, REAR-ADMIRAL. 



970 



was carried on with a strict adherence to the same principles until the 

 close of his life ; we shall only say that ho was the principal means, in 

 his paper, of developing, in 1817, the conspiracy of Oliver and Castles, 

 the paid emissaries of the government to foment insurrections in the 

 northern counties, and that after his exposure there were no more plots. 

 In 1815 he made his first prominent appearance as a public speaker 

 at a meeting at Leeds to oppose the enactment of the Corn Laws, 

 and in 1817, at another in favour of parliamentary reform. In 1814 

 he commenced the publication of ' The History of tho Wars of the 

 French Revolution,' which met with such success that he continued it 

 under the title of a 'History of the Reign of George III.,' the whole 

 being a compilation of considerable impartiality and talent. In 1822 

 and 1823 he wrote and published 'The History, Directory, and 

 Gazetteer of the County of York/ in two thick volumes ; and in 1824-5 

 a similar work for the county of Lancaster, subsequently expanded 

 into a ' History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster/ 

 which was not completed till 1836. In 1834, on a vacancy being 

 made in the representation of Leeds by the appointment of Mr. T. B. 

 Macaulay (now Lord Macaulay) to be one of the commissioners in 

 India, Mr. Baines was choeen member in opposition to Sir John 

 Beckett, after a severe contest. In the House of Commons he main- 

 tained the character he had acquired as a journalist, and though 

 not a brilliant speaker, his integrity, independence, industry, and con- 

 ciliatory manners, with his close connection with the dissenting inte- 

 rest, made him an influential member. In January 1835 he was 

 re-elected, and again in 1837. Though generally supporting the 

 Whig party, he was opposed to them in their schemes for public 

 education, which he always contended would be best effected by 

 voluntary subscriptions, and he deprecated the assistance of the 

 State as tending to give an undue domination to the Established 

 Church. In 1841, his health having suffered from the sedulous per- 

 formance of his parliamentary duties, he retired from the representa- 

 tion, and proposed Mr. Hume as his successor, who however was 

 defeated. In September of that year his former constituency pre- 

 sented him with an elegant silver service as a testimony of their recog- 

 nition of his services. From that time he retired to some extent 

 from public life, but continued to take an active part in local affairs, 

 both as a magistrate and a poor-law guardian, in both capacities pro- 

 moting social improvements as far as lay in his power ; and he was 

 always ready to interpose as mediator between the men and their 

 employers in the many strikes that took place in the north, represent- 

 ing to the men the folly of their having recourse to violence in 

 endeavouring to effect their object, and to employers the desirableness 

 of placing the men in as comfortable a position as the circumstances 

 would allow. In 1845 the ' Leeds Mercury' warned the speculators 

 of the danger attending the railway mania, though fully acknowledging 

 the advantages of the railway system. He saw that though the facility 

 of communication was a great good, yet that if it became a mere traffic 

 for premiums, it was likely to produce much distress. In 1846, though 

 he had declined to accept the office, his fellow-townsmen chose him 

 for alderman as a mark of their respect, but he immediately resigned 

 the office. In 1847 he again opposed Lord John Russell's scheme for 

 state education of the poor, and the opposition of the dissenters was 

 so strong that the plan was withdrawn. On August 3, 1848, after a 

 long life of usefulness, and after a short illness, he died, and was 

 honoured by a public funeral. 



* BAINES, MATTHEW TALBOT, the eldest son of the preceding, was 

 born at Leeds in 1799. He was educated at various provincial 

 schools, and then proceeded to Cambridge, where he graduated with 

 honours in 1820. He adopted the profession of the law, entered him- 

 self at the Inner Temple, and was called to the bar in 1825. Hs went 

 the Northern Circuit as a barrister, and attended the West Riding 

 Sessions with considerable success. In 1837, on, the death of the 

 recorder of Leeds, he was recommended by the town-council to 

 succeed him ; but Lord John Russell, then secretary of state, thought 

 his intimate connection with the town an objection, and he therefore 

 removed the recorder of Hull to Leeds, and gave the recordership of 

 Hull to Mr. M. T. Baines. In 1847 he was elected member of parliament 

 for Hull, and towards the end of 1848 he was appointed to succeed 

 Mr. Charles Buller as President of the Poor-Law Board. In February 

 1852 he resigned office with the rest of the Russell ministry, and on 

 the election of a new parliament he was elected member for Leeds, for 

 which place he still sits. On the defeat of the Derby ministry in the 

 House of Commons on December 16, 1852, and the accession of the 

 Earl of Aberdeen, he was re-appointed to hia previous office, which ho 

 held till the ministry was re-organised under Viscount Palmerston 

 in 1855. He remained out of office till 1856, when he was made 

 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a seat in the cabinet. 



* BAINES, EDWARD, the second son of Edward Baines, was born 

 in Leeds, in 1800. He early became the assistant of his father in the 

 management of the newspaper, was taken into partnership in 1827, 

 and has conducted it since his death on the same principles that 

 governed it during his fathers life. It has always been an active 

 organ in opposing all schemes for state interference with the education 

 of the poor. Mr. Baines is the author of a valuable work, ' The 

 History of the Cotton Manufacture/ published as a volume in 1835, 

 but which was originally written as a part of his father's History 

 of Lancashire; and also a Life of his father, published in 1851, to 



which we have been indebted for many of the facts in the preceding 

 notice?. 



* BALFE, MICHAEL WILLIAM, a popular dramatic composer, 

 was born at Dublin in 1808. He showed precocious musical talent, 

 and at nine years old composed a ballad, called The Lover's Mistake,' 

 which was sung with great applause by Madatue Vestris in ' Paul 

 Pry.' He became known to the London public as a juvenile violin- 

 player, and obtained an engagement in the orchestra at Drury-Lane 

 Theatre, then conducted by Mr. Thomas Cooke. Having a fine bari- 

 tone voice, he appeared on the boards of that theatre with success. 

 He then went to Italy, where he resided a good many years, during 

 which he sang at the principal theatres of that country. In 1835 he 

 returned to England, and produced at Drury-Lane his first opera, 

 'The Siege of Rochelle/ which became highly popular, and established 

 his reputation as a composer. His next opera was ' The Maid of 

 Artois/ in which Madam Malibran achieved one of her greatest 

 triumphs in'this country. Since that time he has resided chiefly in 

 London, with lengthened visits to Paris, Germany, and Italy; and has 

 produced a long succession of Operas, of which the most remarkable 

 are, 'The Bohemian Girl' (which has gained an European celebrity), 

 ' Catherine Grey/ ' Falstaff ' (an Italian opera produced at the King's 

 Theatre), ' Keolanthe/ ' The Daughter of St. Mark/ ' The Enchan- 

 tress/ ' The Bondman/ and ' The Rose of Castille.' This last (written 

 in three weeks for the English Opera Company at the Lyceum under 

 the management of Miss Pyne and Mr. Harrison), was produced in 

 October of the present year, and is now (December 1857) "running" 

 with brilliant success. Mr. Balfe has also composed several operas for 

 the Parisian stage; particularly ' Le Puits d' Amour/ ' Les Quatre 

 Fils d'Aymon/ and ' L'Etoile de Seville/ which have had great success 

 at the Opera Comique. Balfe's style as a composer is light, melo- 

 dious, and animated. He strongly resembles Auber, with whose 

 works several of Balfe's may without disadvantage be compared. 



* BALFOUR, JOHN BUTTON, Professor of Botany in the Univer- 

 sity of Edinburgh, was born in Edinburgh, and educated for the 

 medical profession in the university of that city. Although intending 

 to practise his profession, he took a great interest in the study of 

 botany, and was one of the most distinguished pupils of the late 

 Professor Graham. After taking his degree of Doctor of Medicine 

 he commenced the practice of his profession in his native city. He 

 still however pursued the science of botany and in conjunction with 

 the late Professor Edward Forbes and other ardent young naturalists, 

 founded the present Botanical Society of Edinburgh. This society 

 has done much towards promoting the accurate study of British 

 plants by distributing amongst its members specimens as well as 

 publishing properly classified lists of British plants. On the appoint- 

 ment of Sir William Jackson Hooker to be superintendent of the 

 Botanical Gardens at Kew, the chair of botany in Glasgow became 

 vacant. Dr. Balfour offered himself as a candidate, and was eventu- 

 ally appointed to the professorship. On the death of Professor Graham 

 he became a candidate for the chair of Botany in Edinburgh, and 

 after a sharp contest in which he was opposed by Dr. Joseph Hooker, 

 he was elected to this position. Since his appointment Dr. Balfour 

 has shown great energy in the direction of the Botanic Gardens of 

 Edinburgh, which are placed under his superintendence, and also in 

 the instruction of the medical class in the science of botany. 



Dr. Balfour has written several works on botany. He contributed 

 the articles on botany to the last edition of the Encyclopaedia Britan- 

 nica. In 1849 he published a f Manual of Botany/ intended to be 

 employed as a text-book to his course of lectures on botany in the 

 university. Several editions of this book have since been published, 

 but not edited by the author, as from some misunderstanding with his 

 publisher, Dr. Balfour withdrew his interest from the work. He sub- 

 sequently, in 1852, published a 'Class-Book of Botany/ having the 

 same object in -view as the first work. An epitome of this work, 

 under the title of 'Outlines of Botany/ has also been published. In 

 addition to these works Dr. Balfour has published many papers in 

 connection with the Botanical Society of Edinburgh and the British 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a Fellow of the 

 Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, also of the Linneean Society 

 of London. 



* BEAUFORT, REAR-ADMIRAL SIR FRANCIS, K.C.B., F.R.S. 

 &c., late Hydrographer to the Admiralty, is the eon of the Rev. 

 Daniel Augustus Beaufort, rector of Navan, county of Meath, Ireland, 

 and author of a Map of Ireland, published with a Memoir, in 1792, 

 as well as of some theological publications. Francis Beaufort entered 

 the navy, in June 1787, as a volunteer on board the Colossus 

 74, stationed in the Channel. He was made midshipman in June 

 1790, and while holding that rank saw much active service, assisting 

 among other duties in the capture of several vessels. In May 

 1796 he was created lieutenant, and whilst acting as first lieutenant 

 of the Phaeton, 38 guns, he, having under his orders a barge and 

 two cutters, boarded and took the San Josef, a Spanish polacre 

 rigged ship of 14 guns and 56 men, which lay moored under the 

 protection of five guns of the fortress of Fuenzirola, near Malaga, 

 supported by a French privateer. Lieutenant Beaufort in this 

 brilliant affair received a wound in his head, and several slugs in 

 his body and left arm ; but was recompensed by obtaining, as a recog- 

 nition of his skill and courage, a commander's commission. During a 



