Benjamin Truman was knighted by George III., and portraits of him and his daughter, by Gainsborough, still hang in the drawing room of the house in Brick Lane. In the same room is a portrait of Mr. Sampson Hanbury (the first of the name who joined the firm), a famous sportsman, who for thirty-five years was Master of the Puckeridge Hounds. He entered the firm in 1780, and was subsequently joined by his brother. Sampson Hanbury’s sister, Anna, married Thomas Fowell Buxton, of Earle’s Colne. This gentleman was High Sheriff of his county, and served the office with special credit. He died in 1792, leaving a widow, three sons, and two daughters. The eldest son, Thomas Fowell Buxton, was only six years old at his father’s death. This little fellow was destined to be, perhaps, the most distinguished partner in the firm. He was educated at Greenwich, and Trinity College, Dublin, at which latter place he carried off the highest honours, and when only twenty-one years of age received an influential requisition to represent the University in Parliament. This honour he declined. He had originally been intended for the Bar, but in 1808, when on a visit to the brewery, his uncles, Osgood and Sampson Hanbury, being struck with his undoubted abilities, offered him a situation in the business, and in 1811 made him a partner. The other members of the firm at that time were Mr. Sampson Hanbury, Mr. John Truman Villebois, and Mr. Henry Villebois. {357} To the young partner was soon given the work of re-modelling the Establishment, a task in which he succeeded admirably. A few years later he began to take an interest in public affairs, devoting himself more particularly to a consideration of subjects connected with prison discipline and the criminal code, into which his early training for the Bar gave him some insight. In 1818 he was elected for Weymouth, and, owing in a great measure to his exertions and co-operation, Sir Robert Peel carried his Bill for the abolition of capital punishment for trivial offences. Mr. Buxton’s great work was in connection with the Slavery question. Into the cause of Liberty he threw himself heart and soul, and to his unceasing endeavours were in great measure due the glorious results ultimately achieved. The Beer Act, passed in 1830, had Mr. Buxton’s approval. “I have always voted for free trade when the interests of others are concerned,” he said, “and it would be awkward to change when my own are in jeopardy. I am pleased to have an opportunity of proving that our real monoply is one of skill and capital.”