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concluding the treaty that opened that country to foreign commerce and civilization. In September, 1855, he was appointed secretary and interpreter to the U. S. legation in China. His " Tonic Dic- tionary of the Chinese Language in the Canton Dialect " was finished in August, 1856, eight years from its beginning and just before the destruc- tion of the foreign factories at Canton, which with his press and more than 7,000 books, were burned in December of that year. He resigned his connection with the American board in 1857, and in the following year assisted the American envoy, William B. Reed, in negotiating a new treaty and the settlement of claims of Americans upon the Chinese government for losses at Canton and else- where. To Mr. Williams's abiding interest in the cause of missions was due the insertion in this treaty of a clause tolerating Christianity in China, a stipulation which was borrowed from his draft and inserted by each of the three allied European powers there assembled. The next year he ac- companied Mr. Ward to exchange the ratifications on the first visit of Americans to Peking. When the legation returned to the south, Mr. Williams made a second visit to the United States. In 1862 he went with Anson Burlingame to Peking, where he resided with his family several years, in the course of which he built at his own expense and from his own designs the buildings that ai - e still occupied by the U. S. legation in that capital. Besides his official duties, he found time to complete in these years his great work, " A Syllabic Diction- ary of the Chinese Language," a quarto volume of 1336 pages, containing 12,527 characters and their pronunciations in four dialects. In order to superintend the printing personally, he spent the year 1873 in Shanghai, where it was stereotyped and published (1874) at the Presbyterian mission press, from the font of Chinese type, the funds for which he was instrumental in raising in 1846-'8. Much impaired in health, he returned in 1875, go- ing back to China in 1876 to close his affairs there and resign his office of secretary and inter- preter, the oldest commission at that time in the U. S. diplomatic service. During his term he had acted as charge d'affaires nine times, amounting to nearly five years of service as acting minister. He was the oldest foreign resident in China at the date of his departure. In 1877 he was appointed professor of the Chinese language and literature in Yale, being the first professor of the sort in this country. In 1881 he was elected presi- dent of the American Bible society, and later in the year president of the American oriental society. In 1848 Mr. Williams received the degree of LL. D. from Union college. Besides the works already mentioned, he published " Easy Lessons in Chinese " (Macao, 1842) ; " English and Chinese Vocabulary " (1843); "Chinese Topography " (1844) ; and "Chi- nese Commercial Guide, based on a previous work (1844: 5th revised ed., Hong Kong, 1863); and completely rewrote, enlarged, and brought down to date his important work on " The Middle King- dom" (2 vols., New York, 1883). See "The Life and Letters of S. Wells Williams," by his son, Frederick Wells Williams (New York, 1888).

WILLIAMS, Sir William Fenwick, bart., Canadian soldier, b. in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, 4 Dec, 1800 ; d. in London, England, 26 July, 1883. He was graduated at Woolwich in 1821, and in 1825 became 2d lieutenant of artil- lery. In 1829 he was transferred to the East Indies, and was stationed in Ceylon, where he secured an appointment in the surveyor-general's office, and superintended the construction of several public works. He travelled much through India, visited Egypt, Syria, and Constantinople, and in 1839 he returned to England and rejoined his corps. He became captain in 1840, was sent to Turkey, and afterward was British commissioner to the confer- ence at Erze- roum to settle the boundary- line between Persia and Tur- key in Asia. In 1848 he was ad- vanced to a lieu- tenant - colonel- cy. During the Crimean war, when the Rus- ' sians had driven the Turks un- der the walls of Kars, and it was feared that Prince Betutoff

might follow up

his success in Asia, Col. Williams was despatched as commissioner, and, going to Kars, proceeded im- mediately to reorganize the troops. He was ap- pointed a lieutenant-general in the sultan's army under the name of Williams Pacha. After defend- ing Kars for four months against the Russians, he met their commander, Gen. Mouravieff, at the head of a large force, on the heights above the city, and defeated him with great slaughter. Assisted by the Hungarian General Kmety, he did all in' his power for the defence of Kars ; but on 14 Nov. he capitulated. When the war was over, Williams returned to England. The queen created him a baronet, and decorated him with the ribbon of the Order of the Bath. A pension of £1,000 was granted him, and both houses of parliament thanked him. The sultan of Turkey conferred on "the hero of Kars" the rank of a pacha of the highest order, and the decoration of the Medjidieh. Napoleon III. created him a grand officer of the Legion of honor, besides presenting him with a diamond-hilted sabre. Oxford gave him the de- gree of D. C. L., the corporation of London in- vested him with the freedom of the city and a costly sword, and his native province of Nova Scotia gave him a sword costing 150 guineas. In July, 1856, he was given the command of the gar- rison at Woolwich, and elected to parliament for Calne. At the general elections in the following year he was again returned, but he retired in 1859. In the latter year he was appointed commander-in- chief of the forces in British North America. He was administrator of Canada from 12 Oct., 1860, to 22 Jan., 1861, during the absence of the governor- general, Sir Edmund Head. When Lieut.-Gov. Sir Richard Graves Macdonnell left Nova Scotia in 1865, Sir Fenwick Williams administered the gov- ernment of that province. He was the first lieu- tenant-governor of Nova Scotia after the union of 1867, which post he held three months. On 2 Aug., 1868, he was made a full general, and in Au- gust, 1870, he was appointed governor-general of Gibraltar. That post he resigned in 1875. In Oc- tober, 1877, he retired from the army, and in 1881 he was appointed constable of the Tower.

WILLIAMS, William George, engineer, b. in Philadelphia, 1 Jan., 1801 ; d. in Monterev, Mexico, 21 Sept., 1846. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1824, and entered the 7th infantry as 2d lieutenant. He was promoted 1st lieutenant,