WE much regret to have again to record the death of another tried friend and valuable supporter of, the Shipwreck Institution, in the person of Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, M.P., its late esteemed Chairman. Although he had occupied that office only for a period of about twelve months, his connexion with the Institution began at its formation in 1824, when he was elected a member of the Committee of Management, and one of the auditors. Since he assumed the post of chairman, he devoted himself with much assiduity to its duties, and worthily emuated, in this respect, his excellent predecessor and friend, the late Mr. THOMAS WILSON. At the time Mr. THOMPSON was seized with his fatal illness, he was engaged m making arrangements for celebrating the festival of the Shipwreck Institution, which had been fixed to take place on the 17th of May last, at the London Tavern, but which, on account of his recent demise, and of the continued absence from England of the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G., President of ;he Society, has been postponed to next year; and here it may not be amiss to state, that his lamented death has probably cot been more forcibly and feelingly expressed by any of the deceased's numerous acquaintances than it has been by His Grace, who, in a recent communication received from him, dated from Naples, thus alludes to the circumstance:—" I read with much concern the melancholy report of the death of Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, our muchvalued Chairman. His public and private character stood so high, that his loss will be great to the Shipwreck Institution, as it is sincerely regretted by me." The Alderman was the second son of JAMES THOMPSON, Esq., of Grayrigg, in the county of Westmoreland, where he was born in 1793. When about fifteen years of age he proceeded to London, where his uncle was at the head of the eminent iron firm of Messrs. THOMPSON, FORMAN, and HOMFEAT.

After finishing his education at the Charterhouse, he was taken to his uncle's countinghouse ;' he subsequently became a partner in the firm; and at his relative's death he was left in the possession of a large amount of capital, in addition to this share in fee business, which laid the foundation of the colossal fortune which his own commercial enterprise and sagacity afterwards raised on that superstructure. It would be foreign to our purpose to enter into any account of the deceased gentleman's enterprise in commercial transactions; suffice it, therefore, to state, that as an ironmaster and a shipowner, he wielded with great skill a large capital, and acquired much eminence in the mercantile world. His foresight in these matters was remarkable, and rarely did his tact fail to discover the right time requisite for success.

He also, at an early age, sought and obtained parliamentary honours, for we find •that in 1820 he was returned for Callington, in Cornwall. He did not, however, remain fur any lengthened period in the representation of that small borough. His business habits, and the commercial standing of his firm, pointed him out as a fit representative far London; and at the general election in 1826, he was accordingly elected one of its members. In the years 1828 and 1829 he WAS .consecutively chosen Lord Mayor of London, an honour of rare occurrence. He had been elected the alderman of the ward of Cheap in 1821, the gown of which he retained till the day of his death. He remained in the representation of London till 1832. In the following year he was returned for Sunderland, which he continued to represent till 1841, when he was returned for his native county, Westmoreland, where he had become the possessor of large estates.

Although endowed with considerable fluency of language, he was not a frequent speaker in Parliament. His energy and talents were, however, -duly recognized by the onerous share which was imposed upon him in the working of the legislative business; and he was often selected to take part in the most important Parliamentary Committees, especially those relating to monetary and commercial matters. Probably few men worked harder than he did, till the pressure of illness compelled him to pause. He was no doubt enabled to get through a large amount of business by his early rising, his punctual habits, and the systematic manner with which he pursued his object. His vigour, activity, and unremitting attention to his parliamentary duties, appear the more striking when the immense amount of labour is considered, which not only his own particular business required, but that of the great mercantile corporations in the direction of which he was actively engaged, must have entailed. We will enumerate a few of the leading companies in which he took an active part:—He was a director of the Bank of England, a director of the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, director of the Blaokwall Railway Company, chairman of the St. Katherine's Dock Company, chairman of the Society of Merchants Trading to the Continent, director of the Globe Insurance Company, and a director of the Marine Insurance Company.

Amongst his other offices was that of Chairman of the Royal National Shipwreck Institution, Treasurer of King's College Hospital, Deputy-Lieutenant of London, and Vice-President and Colonel of theHonourable Artillery Company. He was also for sometime Chairman of the Committee for Lloyd's. But one of the most important and honourable offices which he held, and in which he took peculiar pleasure, was that of President to Christ Hospital, which he filled with much advantage to that national educational institution for twenty-six years.

Mr. THOMPSON married in 1817, Amelia, daughter of SAMUEL HOMFRAY, Esq., late M.P. for Stafford, and niece of the late Sir CHARLES MORGAN, Bart., of Tredegar. He had but one child, a daughter, who married in 1842 the Earl of BECTIVE, who has succeeded his father-in-law in the representation of Westmoreland. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON died in the sixty-second year of his age, on the 10th March last, at Bedwelty House, Monmouthshire, in the neighbourhood of which his extensive iron-works are situated.

While there he caught a severe cold, which terminated fatally. His remains were interred at Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmoreland.

In his personal habits the Alderman was plain and unostentatious. None who ever had business to transact with him could fail to recognize the urbanity and kindness of his disposition, and the sterling integrity of his character.

At a Special Meeting of the General Committee of the Royal National Shipwreck Institution, convened in consequence of his lamented death, the following Resolution was unanimously passed:— " That the General Committee desire to record their deep regret at the demise of Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, M.P., V.P., whose cordial co-operation in the cause of humanity they had often occasion to appreciate, and by whose lamented death the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck has been deprived of a most esteemed and valued Chairman.

*' That the Committee do offer their condolence to the widow and family of the late Chairman on their recent bereavement.".