devoted
his life to analysing food and drugs. Coming to this town in 1854, he
obtained the assistance of Mr. Wm. Scholefield, by whose means the first
Parliamentary Committee of Enquiry was appointed; the revelations were
astounding, but it was not till 1875 that anything like a stringent Act
was passed whereby the adulterators could be properly punished. The
author of this great national benefit was allowed to die almost in
poverty, uncared for by his countrymen at large, or by his adopted
townsmen of Birmingham. Born October 21, 1820, Mr. Postgate died in
July, 1881.

_Ragg_, Rev. Thomas.--Once a bookseller and printer, editor and
publisher of the _Birmingham Advertiser_, and author of several works,
one of which secured for him the goodwill of the Bishop of Rochester,
who ordained him a minister of the Established Church in 1858. He died
December 3rd, 1881, in his 74th year, at Lawley, Salop, having been
perpetual curate thereof from 1865. His parishioners and friends
subscribed for a memorial window, and a fund of a little over L200 was
raised for the benefit of the widow, but a very small part thereof went
from Birmingham.

_Ratcliffe_.--Mr. John Ratcliffe, who had in past years been a Town
Commissioner, a Low Bailiff, a Town Councillor, and Alderman, was chosen
as Mayor in 1856, and, being popular as well as wealthy, got reappointed
yearly until 1859. In the first-named year, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge
was the Mayor's guest when he came to open Calthorpe Park. When the
Princess Royal was married, in 1858, the Mayor celebrated the auspicious
event by giving a dinner to more than a thousand poor people, and he
headed the deputation which was sent from here to present England's
royal daughter with some articles of Birmingham manufacture. On the
occasion of the Queen's visit to open Aston Park, Mr. Mayor received the
honour of Knighthood, and became Sir John, dying in 1864, in his 67th
year.

_Rennie_, John.--The celebrated engineer and architect, who built
Waterloo and Southwark Bridges, Plymouth Breakwater, &c., was for a
short time in the employ of Boulton and Watt.

_Roebuck_, Dr. John, grandfather of the late John Arthur Roebuck, M.D.
was born at Sheffield in 1718; came to Birmingham in 1745. He introduced
better methods of refining gold and silver, originated more economical
styles of manufacturing the chemicals used in trade (especially oil of
vitriol), and revived the use of pit coal in smelting iron. A