Norfolk Annals
Chapter 155 : FEBRUARY.1.-Died in Florida, while on leave of absence from Montreal, Lieut.-General S

FEBRUARY.

1.-Died in Florida, while on leave of absence from Montreal, Lieut.-General Sir Charles Ashe Windham, K.C.B., commanding the forces in Canada. He was the fourth son of Vice-Admiral Windham, of Felbrigg Hall, who was the son of the Rev. George William Lukin, Dean of Wells, and who a.s.sumed the name of Windham on succeeding to the estates of his distinguished relative, the Right Hon. William Windham. His mother was Anne, daughter of Mr. Peter Th.e.l.lusson, of Broadsmouth, Yorks.h.i.+re, and sister of the first Baron Rendlesham. He was born at Felbrigg in 1810, and married first, in 1849, Marianne Catherine Emily, daughter of Admiral Sir John P. Beresford, Bart., K.C.B., who died in 1865; and secondly, in 1866, Charlotte Jane, eldest daughter of the Rev. Henry Des Vux.

Educated at Sandhurst, he entered the Army in 1826, as ensign and lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards, and served in Canada during the time of the rebellion, from 1838 to 1842. He continued with the regiment until the outbreak of the war with Russia, when he accompanied the Eastern Army as a.s.sistant Quarter-master General of the 4th Division, and served from September, 1854, to July, 1856, without a day's absence. He was present at the battle of the Alma, at Balaclava, and at the repulse of the powerful sortie on October 26th, 1854, and was with Sir George Cathcart when the latter was killed at the battle of Inkerman. At the second a.s.sault on the Redan, on September 8th, 1855, Windham (then Colonel) greatly distinguished himself by his personal daring and gallantry in command of the storming party of the second division, and for his intrepid conduct was promoted Major-General. In September, 1855, he was appointed Governor of the British portion of Sebastopol, and in the following month was entrusted with the command of the 4th Division.

For his services in the Crimea he received numerous clasps, medals, and orders. In 1857 General Windham proceeded to India and commanded a division in the field, under Lord Clyde, during the advance to Kallee Nuddee. On June 17th, 1861, he was appointed to the command of the 46th Regiment of Foot, and in October, 1867, became Commander of the Forces in Canada. On the return of General Windham from the Crimea, in July, 1856, he was enthusiastically received at Norwich and presented with two handsome swords, purchased by public subscription. In April, 1857, he was returned to Parliament for East Norfolk, and remained its member for two years.

5.-A meeting of the Norwich Diocesan Church a.s.sociation was held at the Church Societies' Rooms, Norwich, for the purpose of discussing the question of national education, a subject which was brought prominently before the country during this year. The Bishop of Norwich presided, and the Dean moved, "That in any legislative enactments for promoting the education of the children of the working cla.s.ses called for by the dest.i.tution in this respect of many places in England and Wales, the inculcation of Christian truth ought to form an essential feature, and that provision for this purpose can be best made under existing circ.u.mstances through the medium of parochial and other schools attached to the Church of England or to other religious communions." A further resolution was moved by the Hon. Frederick Walpole, M.P., "That the present system, which has been successfully in operation during the last thirty years, carried on by means of voluntary efforts, and maintained by school fees, charitable contributions, and grants from the Consolidated Fund, is capable of further extension and improvement, and is able, if adequately a.s.sisted by the State, to supply the national wants of the country without resorting to local taxation for the purpose, unless in those extreme cases for which provision can be made in no other way." A third resolution was moved by Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., "That compulsory education, except under especial circ.u.mstances, such as the case of vagrant, criminal, and dest.i.tute children, would be an unnecessary interference with the rights and responsibilities of parents, and unless applied to all cla.s.ses of the community, create an unjust and invidious distinction between rich and poor, and its enforcement by pains and penalties would cause a general feeling of hards.h.i.+p and discontent, while its objects could be attained by other means, such as the extension, under due restrictions, of the Factory Acts and of similar measures regulating the employment of children's labour." The final resolution was moved by the Rev. Canon Heaviside, "That in the opinion of this meeting it is expedient that the promoters of Church education should consent that in schools aided by the Government grant provision should be made for securing perfect liberty of distinctive religious teaching combined with perfect liberty of declining it." These resolutions were adopted. The Elementary Education Bill, introduced by Mr. W. E. Forster on February 17th, was pa.s.sed, and received the Royal a.s.sent on August 9th. On October 11th a meeting of the clergy was held, under the presidency of the Mayor (Mr. A. F. C. Bolingbroke), at the Girls' Model School, Norwich, "for the purpose of consulting as to the steps to be taken under the Elementary Education Act," and it was resolved to convene a public meeting for the discussion of the question. This meeting was held on October 19th, at the Free Library, and was composed of "school managers and supporters of Church education." The Mayor again presided.

The Lord Bishop moved, "That, with the view of carrying out the objects of the Elementary Education Act, 1870, in this city, steps be immediately taken to supply and maintain sufficient, efficient, and suitable schools on the voluntary principle, in order to secure in Church schools religious education in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England." This was seconded by Mr. Henry Birkbeck. The Sheriff (Mr.

Henry Morgan) moved, "That an immediate appeal be made to the citizens of Norwich to provide funds on the voluntary principle for carrying out the object of this meeting." A further resolution was adopted, "That the Bishop of the Diocese, with the clergy of the city, the managers of Church schools, and such donors and subscribers as may be willing to act be const.i.tuted a council, and shall appoint, as soon as possible, a committee to carry out the former resolutions, and to report progress to the council from time to time." The body thus const.i.tuted was afterwards known as the Church Education Council. On November 28th the supporters of voluntary education held a large meeting at St. Andrew's Hall, at which were adopted resolutions framed on similar lines to the foregoing.

The supporters of unsectarian education held a meeting at the Free Library on the 30th, under the presidency of Mr. Jacob Henry Tillett, at which the Rev. G. S. Barrett moved, "That a request be sent to the Mayor to convene a common hall, in order that steps may be taken immediately for the formation of a School Board in the city." The Rev. J. Hallett seconded the motion, which was unanimously adopted, and a committee was formed for the purpose of carrying it into effect. The Church Education Council, on December 13th, announced that sufficient subscriptions had been obtained for providing necessary school accommodation in Norwich.

At a special meeting of the Town Council on December 20th, the return made under the provisions of the Act to the Education Department of the Privy Council was approved. It stated that the estimated population of the city was 82,000, the rateable value 212,129; the total number of a.s.sessments, 21,397; and the number of voters on the munic.i.p.al register, 10,909. "The returns from elementary schools as being in operation were 93; the number of schools to which forms were delivered but refused to fill them up was 27." (_See_ February 28th, 1871.)

6.-Died at Bethel Street, Norwich, in his 78th year, Mr. Henry Browne.

He was the youngest son of Mr. Alderman John Browne, and a liberal supporter of the charitable inst.i.tutions of Norwich. In his early days of business life Mr. Browne was led to join in those well-intentioned but unfortunately not permanently successful enterprises, the Yarn Company and the movement for making Norwich a port by communication with the sea at Lowestoft.

9.-Strong gales from the E. and E.N.E., accompanied by snow squalls, prevailed off the Norfolk coast, and increased in severity until the 14th. Several s.h.i.+pping disasters occurred. On the 13th the screw steamer Sea Queen, with her crew, was lost on the Scroby Sands, and the American-built barque Victoria, 700 tons, bound from North s.h.i.+elds to Barcelona, with a cargo of coals, went down. Of her crew, several hands were lost.

12.-The a.s.sembly Rooms, erected in 1862, on the Victoria Esplanade, Yarmouth, at the cost of 6,000, were destroyed by fire.

24.-Sir R. J. H. Harvey declined to accede to a memorial signed by 3,000 electors of Norwich, requesting him to allow himself to be adopted as Conservative candidate for the city.

26.*-"Since January 1st several rare birds have been met with in the neighbourhood of Swaffham, namely, a fork-tailed petrel, picked up at Gooderstone; little gull (_Larus minutus_), in good condition, and weighing only 3 ozs., shot at Beechamwell; stormy petrel, picked up at Narborough; bittern, shot at Weeting; pied thrush, shot at c.o.c.kley Cley; pied common partridge, shot at Didlington; dusky grebe, shot at Castleacre; and a peregrine falcon, a fine old female bird weighing 43 ozs. and measuring 47 inches from tip to tip of its wings, shot at Beechamwell."

28.-The organ at Yarmouth parish church was opened after restoration.

The instrument was built by Jordan, Bridge, and Byfield, in 1733, repaired by England (Jordan's grandson) in 1812, and again in 1840 by Gray. It was finally restored and enlarged by Messrs. Hill, of London.

MARCH.

20.-A movement known as "The Church's Call" commenced in Norwich. A simultaneous and united effort was made at all the churches in the city; "all seemed resolved to cast aside minor differences, and High Churchmen, Low Churchmen, and Broad Churchmen apparently vied with each other in doing the work set before them."

23.-Died at Warham All Saints, Margaret Green, aged 100 years. "The Thursford register testifies to her baptism in that parish on March 27th, 1769."

31.-At the Norwich a.s.sizes, before Mr. Justice Byles, Robert Hardiment, tanner and fellmonger, was charged on five counts with bribing voters at the last General Election to vote for Sir H. J. Stracey. The Attorney-General appeared for the prosecution, and the defendant was found guilty. His lords.h.i.+p remarked that this was a very serious crime, and, as he was desirous that sentence should be p.r.o.nounced by the highest judicature of the country, judgment was reserved. Another person, named Banfather, charged with bribery at the same election, was acquitted. On April 1st, at the same Court, John Hughes Hulme was found guilty of bribery, and sentence was reserved. Edward Stracey, son of Sir Henry J.

Stracey, was next charged. The Attorney-General conducted the case for the prosecution, and Mr. A. Staveley Hill, Q.C., was specially retained for the defence. On April 2nd the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

"No sooner was the announcement made than deafening cheers were raised in the Court, and it was in vain that the officers tried to suppress them."

The defendant Hardiment was indicted, before Mr. Justice Blackburn, on various counts, for committing acts of bribery at the Eighth Ward Munic.i.p.al Election, on November 1st, 1869. On being found guilty, he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. Joseph Stanley, solicitor, was charged with unlawfully conspiring with Robert Hardiment and others to induce, by means of bribes, certain persons to vote for Edward Bennett and George Gedge, candidates at the munic.i.p.al election in question. The jury acquitted the defendant. Anthony Freestone, baker, and Henry Ellis, shoe manufacturer, were also indicted for conspiring to bribe at the munic.i.p.al election, and were acquitted. On April 8th Messrs. W. H.

Tillett and Co., solicitors, addressed a letter to the newspapers, a.s.serting that "the jury drew lots to decide what their verdict should be in the cases of Freestone and Ellis." They added, "The verdict is, of course, bad, and we shall feel it our duty to lay the facts before the committee of gentlemen who instructed us in the prosecutions." No further action was taken, however. In the Court of Queen's Bench, on May 10th, before the Lord Chief Justice and Justices Blackburn, Mellor, and Hannen, Hardiment and Hulme were brought up for sentence. Mr. Bulwer, Q.C., applied for mitigation of sentence in the case of Hardiment, on the ground that he was then undergoing imprisonment for munic.i.p.al bribery; in the case of Hulme it was urged that imprisonment would be injurious to his health. The Court pa.s.sed sentence of ten months' imprisonment upon the first-named defendant, to run concurrently with the six months he had received for munic.i.p.al bribery, two months of which he had already served, to be cla.s.sed as a second-cla.s.s misdemeanant, and to be fined 100. Hulme was fined 100. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., subsequently presented to the Home Secretary a memorial, signed by 1,500 citizens, praying that Hardiment should be cla.s.sed as a first-cla.s.s misdemeanant.

APRIL.

4.-The Rev. Canon Greenwell, of Durham, "the well-known opener of the Yorks.h.i.+re wold tumuli," who had been making scientific investigations at Weeting, opened one of the peculiar mounds known as "Grimes' Graves," and discovered therein "two primitive picks _in situ_, with a splendid ground axe, the skeleton of a bird, a chalk bowl or lamp, and other curious relics."

18.-The Loveday Opera Company commenced an engagement at Norwich Theatre.

The celebrated pantomimists and dancers, the Paynes, and Mdlle. Esta, appeared with the company.

20.-Died at Aigle, Switzerland, the Rev. W. Beal, LL.D., vicar of Brooke, aged 54. Dr. Beal was the well-known originator of harvest festivals.

21.-Died at Holkham, the Countess of Leicester. Her ladys.h.i.+p was the eldest daughter of Mr. Samuel Charles Whitbread, of Cardington, Bedfords.h.i.+re, and was married to the Earl of Leicester in 1843.

26.-The portrait of the Rev. John Gunn, F.G.S., painted by Capt. H. H.

Roberts, of Thorpe, was hung at the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, "in acknowledgment of his munificent gift to the geological department of his unrivalled collection of local mammalian remains."

28.-The south aisle of Yarmouth parish church was opened. The Bishop of Rochester and the Bishop of the Diocese were the preachers.

-Died, aged 84, William Gurney, compositor, of Norwich. He had been for seventy years in continuous employment at the NORFOLK CHRONICLE Office.

30.-Died at his residence, Horsforth Hall, near Leeds, in his 74th year, Mr. John Marshall, who was Sheriff of Norwich in 1834 and Mayor in 1838 and 1841. Mr. Marshall, who was an advanced Liberal, went to Leeds in 1843, and there took an active part in the affairs of that town. His remains were interred at the Rosary burial-ground, Norwich.

MAY.

8.-Died at Cholmondeley Castle, Ches.h.i.+re, George Horatio Cholmondeley, second Marquis and Earl of Cholmondeley. He was the eldest son of George James, the first Marquis, by his wife, Lady Georgina Charlotte Bertie, second daughter of Peregrine, third Duke of Ancaster. Born January 16th, 1792, he married, first, on October 20th, 1812, Caroline, second daughter of Lieut.-General Colin Campbell, who died in October, 1815; and secondly, on May 11th, 1830, Lady Susan Caroline Somerset, fourth daughter of Henry Charles, sixth Duke of Beaufort, by whom he was survived. He succeeded to the marquisate on the death of his father, in 1827.

16.-Miss Heath, princ.i.p.al tragedienne of the Drury Lane, Haymarket, and Princess' Theatres, London, supported by Mr. Wilson Barrett, commenced an engagement at Norwich Theatre, in "East Lynne," "The Jealous Wife," "The Bond of Life," and "Masks and Faces." Mr. Wilson Barrett was described as "a painstaking and conscientious actor."

24.-The Queen's birthday was celebrated at Norwich by a review of the Royal Horse Artillery and the Volunteers on Mousehold Heath. The Mayor entertained a large party at the Drill Hall, and gave a dinner at the Corn Hall to the indigent blind and to poor children; and the Norwich Athletic Club held sports on the Newmarket Road Ground.

JUNE.

13.-At a meeting of 2,000 Liberal electors, held at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, Mr. Jacob Henry Tillett was adopted a candidate for Norwich. A meeting of the Whig party, convened by Sir William Foster, was held at the Royal Hotel on the 14th, under the presidency of Mr. I. O. Taylor, at which it was decided to adopt the candidature of Mr. Edward Warner.

17.-Died at Edgbaston, Birmingham, in his 72nd year, Mr. Robert Martineau, brother of the Rev. James Martineau and Miss Harriet Martineau. He was a native of Norwich, but settled in Birmingham as a manufacturer at an early period of his life, and took an active part in the Reform agitation preceding the Bill of 1832. For the last fourteen years of his life he lived in retirement, owing to almost total blindness.

23.-The annual show of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation commenced at Harleston, and was continued on the 24th. Mr. Edward Howes, M.P., presided at the dinner.

-The Earl of Rosebery visited his Norfolk estate for the first time. His lords.h.i.+p was met at the entrance to the village of Postwick by a bra.s.s band, which preceded the carriage to the rectory, where he was received by the Rev. W. and Lady Margaret Vincent, the Countess of Buchan, Lord Cardross, and other guests. The cottage tenants were entertained at dinner, and "the orator of the village" proposed his lords.h.i.+p's health, to which the Earl replied. A dinner to the tenantry was given in the school-room, at which his lords.h.i.+p presided, and the festivities ended with a display of fireworks.

JULY.

1.-The first annual meeting of the Norwich Meteorological Society was held at the Literary Inst.i.tution. After the visit of the British a.s.sociation to Norwich in 1868, the local committee, having defrayed all the expenses, had a balance in hand of upwards of 300. At a meeting of subscribers, 100 of this balance was devoted to the purchase of meteorological instruments, and on December 3rd, 1868, the society was formed, with Mr. S. Gurney Buxton as president.

4.-Died at his London residence, Clapham, the Right Hon. William Schomberg Robert Kerr, Marquis of Lothian. He was the eldest of the four surviving sons of John William Robert, seventh Marquis, by Lady Cecil Chetwynd Talbot, daughter of Charles, second Earl Talbot. Born on August 12th, 1832, he married, on August 12th, 1857, Lady Constance Harriet Mahonesa Talbot, eldest surviving daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. He succeeded to the marquisate on the death of his father, in November, 1844. Educated at Christchurch, Oxford, he took high honours, having been first cla.s.s in cla.s.sics in 1853, and first cla.s.s in jurisprudence and modern history in 1854. After he had finished his University career, he went to India for a year, but the climate had an injurious effect upon his naturally feeble const.i.tution. His lords.h.i.+p died without issue, and the family estates in Scotland and Norfolk were inherited by his brother, Lord Schomberg Kerr.

6.-The foundation-stone of St. Philip's church, Norwich, was laid by the Mayor (Mr. A. F. C. Bolingbroke), who was accompanied by members of the Corporation. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich on August 3rd, 1871. The architect was Mr. Edward Power, of London, and the builder Mr. J. Nelson, of Necton. It was designed to seat 775 persons, and the cost was estimated at about 3,575.

9.-The 1st Administrative Battalion Norfolk Rifle Volunteers went into camp at Hunstanton Park. The battalion was inspected by Col. Freer, 27th Regiment.

11.-The nomination of candidates to fill the vacancy in the representation of Norwich caused by the unseating on pet.i.tion of Sir Henry Josias Stracey, took place at the Guildhall. Mr. Jacob Henry Tillett was nominated by Mr. J. J. Colman, and seconded by Mr. Henry Birkbeck; and Mr. John Walter Huddleston, Q.C., by Sir Samuel Bignold, seconded by Mr. H. S. Patteson. The show of hands was in favour of Mr.

Huddlestone, and a poll was demanded by the Liberals. The polling took place on the 12th, and resulted as follows: Tillett, 4,236; Huddlestone, 3,874. Mr. Tillett, on the 14th, took the oath and his seat in the House of Commons. (_See_ August 3rd.)