The death of Mr. Ward Hunt, the First Lord of
the Admiralty, at Homburg, was announced in London on Monday. He had long been seriously ill from a complication of diseases, of which gout was the least dangerous, and though he was reported better, his friends were seriously alarmed at his condition. He died on Sunday morning, from a failure in the action of the heart. He was a most creditable county Member, alert, decisive, and thoroughly up in agricultural politics, but his appointment to the Exchequer in 1868 rather took the country by surprise. He made, however, a fair average Chancellor, and in 1874 was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, in which capacity, however, he did not succeed. He was considered defective in maintaining discipline, he was a bit of an alarmist, and his celebrated declara- tion that the British Navy was only "a phantom Fleet," followed by a demand for only £150,000 to make it a reality, destroyed the confidence of the political public. He was, however, well liked in the House, where his good-humour, readiness, and courage gave him a certain ascendancy. No official hint has yet been given as to his successor, and it is possible that none will be named until the close of the Session.
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