THIS WEEK'S GREAT DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 83, 9 April 1929, Page 6

THIS WEEK'S GREAT DAY.

APRIL 9.—DEATH OF LORD

BACON

(Copyrighted.)

Three hundred and three years ago, on April 9; 1626, Francis Bacon, Baron Yerulam and \ iscount St. Albans, one of the great outstanding figures in English history and literature, died at the age of sixty-five. He was the youngest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, who was the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in Elizabeth's reign, and he was born in London in 1361. At an early age his precocious intellect attracted the notice of Queen Elizabeth, who was charmed with the wit and gravity of the child. He was educated at Cambridge University, and at the age of sixteen he became a member'of the staff of the English Ambassador in France, where he remained for three years. His father's death in 1579 left him unprovided for, and, as it was necessary for him to earn a livelihood, he studied law and was called to the Bar in 1582. Two years later he entered the House of Commons, and although lie speedilv established a brilliant reputation both at the Bar and in Parliament it was not until <he accession of James T. in 160:5 that he was able to secure any lucrative public appointment. He worked his way into the favour of the new sovereign bv systematic flattery and was first rewarded"with a pension and a knighthood. His rise to greit power was rapid, and he advanced from position to another until in 1618 he was made Lord Chancellor, the most important post unde. the Crown, and was elevated to the peerage. All through his career Bacon had been unscrupulous and open to bribery, and as Lord Chancellor he was guilty of numerous acts of corruption, but he was no worse than the majority of his contemporaries, and his downfall \va> engineered solely for political reasons. TV' arbitrary government of .Tames and his Minister, was resented by the House of Commons, and members decided to make an example of oinof the Royal favourites. Bacon was the victim chosen, a.nd early in 1621 he was charged with twenty-eight cases of corruption, to which n > defence was possible, and he at once pleaded guilty. After a lengthy deliberation the House of Lords gave its judgment, and Bacon was ordered to pay a fine of €40,000, disqualified from pvor again sitting in Parliament or holding office under the Crown, and was sentenced to imprisonment at the King's pleasure. The King remitted tinfine and ordered his favourite to be set at liberty after four days' imprisonment,; but Bacon was deprived of all his valuable appointments and wa< compelled to retire in disgrace to his magnificent home at St. Albans, where he spent the" rest of his life in study and writing. His death wicaused by a chill, which he had contracted while \ making experiments in connection with the ant : - septic properties of snow, and he left behind him debts amounting to £50,000. Although Bacon discharged the duties of his various offices with great ability, and was also one of the great outstanding statesmen of his day, his fame rests entirety upon his eminent-:? as a scientist, a philosopher and a man of letters. His intellect was one of the most powerful and searching ever possessed by man, and his developments of the inductive philosophy revolutionised the future thought of the human race.