sealed; as also the following inscription, engraved on a plate of gold; –
“To the memory of that illustrious Statesman,
Henry Dundas, Lord Viscount Melville,
“During the eventful and glorious reign of George III., successively Treasurer of the Navy, one of the Principal Secretaries of State, and First Lord of the Admiralty, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, whose unwearied and successful exertions to promote the interest of the British Navy, have justly entitled him to be ever esteemed The Seaman’s best Friend, this monumental column is erected by the voluntary contributions of the Officers, Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines, of the Royal Navy of these United Kingdoms, as a testimonal of admiration and gratitude, in the year of our Lord 1821, and in the second year of the reign of his Majesty George IV.”
There was deposited at the same time, and in the same manner, a plate of silver, with the names of the Committee of Management inscribed upon it. After the ceremony, a number of the friends and admirers of the late Viscount dined together at the Waterloo Tavern[1].
Sir David Milne married, first, in 1804, Grace, daughter of Sir Alexander Purves, Baronet. His present lady is a daughter of the late George Stephen, of Grenada, Esq.
JAMES YOUNG, Esq
Rear-Admiral of the Red.
This officer was made a Commander by Sir John Jervis, in 1794; and or his return from the West Indies, in the Reprisal, was appointed to the Comet fire-vessel. He subsequently
- ↑ The late Viscount Melville was the projector of the memorable expedition to Egypt. His lordship’s proposal for sending an armament thither, was strongly contested in the Privy Council. Mr. Pitt gave a very reluctant consent; and his late Majesty wrote, on the paper in which he signified his acquiescence, words to the following purport: “I give my consent to this measure with the greatest reluctance, as it tends to expose the flower of my army to perish in a distant, dubious, and perilous expedition.” At a subsequent period, the King breakfasted with his Lordship at Wimbledon; and when about to leave the table, filled a glass of wine, and drank “To the health of the Minister who dared to advise and press the enterprise, which terminated so gloriously, against the opinion of his colleagues, and the express disapprobation of his sovereign.”
