Norfolk Annals
Chapter 145 : 17.-The English Grand Opera Company, under the management of Mr. G. B.Loveday, commenc

17.-The English Grand Opera Company, under the management of Mr. G. B.

Loveday, commenced an engagement at Norwich Theatre. Madame Haigh-Dyer, Miss Annie Kemp, Miss Ada Taylor, Mr. Brookhouse Bowler, Mr. Grantham, Mr. E. Connell, Mr. Oliver Summers, and Mr. Henry Rowland were the princ.i.p.al _artistes_, and the works produced included "Faust," "Dinorah,"

"The Crown Diamonds," "Lucrezia Borgia," "The Lady of Lyons" (burlesque), "Satanella," and "Norma."

MAY.

17.-The Snettisham Hall estate of 2,600 acres and a rental of 3,600 was offered for sale at Garraway's. The highest bid was 99,000, and the reserve was declared at 130,000.

20.-In the Court of Queen's Bench, the action, le Strange _v._ Rowe, which raised an important question as to sea-sh.o.r.e rights, came on for hearing. The defendant was proceeded against for taking s.h.i.+ngle, sand, and sh.e.l.l-fish from the sea sh.o.r.e in the manor of Snettisham, belonging to the plaintiff. About twenty special pleas were set up by the defendant and demurred to in point of law, on the broad ground that there could not be in law any such rights as alleged, "either in all the subjects of the realm or by Royal grant or by custom or by prescription in inhabitants or occupiers." The Court deferred judgment, and ultimately referred the case to the Norfolk a.s.sizes for decision as to questions of fact. At Norwich, on August 4th, the case was adjourned to enable the plaintiff to amend the declarations. The case came before Lord Chief Justice Erle at the Norfolk a.s.sizes on August 13th, 1866, when the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damages one s.h.i.+lling. In the Court of Queen's Bench, on May 28th, 1867, application was made for a new trial, on the ground of misdirection and that the verdict was given for the plaintiff against the weight of evidence. The application was refused.

23.-An earthquake shock was distinctly felt along the coast from Scratby, on the north of Yarmouth, to Lowestoft, on the south.

24.-The Queen's birthday was observed as a general holiday at Norwich. A detachment of the 16th Lancers and the Volunteers were reviewed in Chapel Field, and fired a _feu de joie_ in the Market Place; the Mayor gave a luncheon at the Guildhall, and the Volunteers were entertained at the Corn Hall. The Mayor's ball took place in the evening, at St. Andrew's Hall.

27.-Considerable opposition was manifested, not only by the villagers, but by the citizens of Norwich, to an attempt made by Capt. Bellairs to enclose Mulbarton Common. A meeting was held in the village, at which a strong protest was made against the proposal, and it was a.s.serted that if ever the ancestors of Capt. Bellairs had possessed the power to effect the enclosure, they had allowed their rights to lapse.

JUNE.

2.-The detachment of the 16th Lancers, _en route_ to India, marched from the Cavalry Barracks, Norwich, accompanied to the city boundary by the officers and band of the Norfolk Light Horse Volunteers.

7.-Mr. A. Dennison, brother of the Speaker of the House of Commons, visited Norwich, for the purpose of hearing the bells of St. Peter Mancroft. "He rang the tenor in good style, and was highly delighted with the quality of tone of this far-famed peal of twelve."

9.-In the Court of the Queen's Bench, application was made in the action, the Queen _v._ the Middle Level Commissioners, for a rule calling upon them to show cause why a mandamus should not issue commanding them to make and maintain a bridge with a commodious road or hailing path in the place formerly occupied by their sluice which was destroyed in the great inundation in 1862. A rule was granted. (_See_ January 7th, 1867.)

13.-At a special meeting of the Norwich Town Council, a report was received from Mr. Bazalgette, C.E., who had visited Norwich with the view of determining what steps could be taken for the immediate purification of the river Wensum in the vicinity of the city. He stated that it would be impossible to render the river pure so long as it continued to be a receptacle for the town refuse; and he had examined the city and suburbs to ascertain how to improve the drainage and to dispose of the sewage.

The time would come, he added, when a drainage scheme would be urgently necessary, and very costly. The Council authorised the Sanitary and River Committees to expend a sum not exceeding 50 in obtaining levels and plans and other information required by Mr. Bazalgette, "to a.s.sist him in the preparation of his scheme for diverting the drainage from the river." On October 17th Mr. Bazalgette's scheme was laid before the Council. It provided for two intercepting sewers, one for the higher and the other for the lower parts of the city, both forming a junction on the opposite side of the river near Trowse Station, whence the sewage would be conveyed to a point on Mr. Harvey's estate at Crown Point, to the east of the old Whitlingham Road. The plan also comprised the completion of the drainage of the western part of the city, then unconnected with the main sewers. For the first part of the scheme 50,000 was required, and for the latter 30,000. On October 31st the Council adopted a recommendation of the Sanitary and River Committees, that it was desirable to try more fully the possibility of cleansing the river by flus.h.i.+ng and sluicing or otherwise before proceeding to carry out Mr.

Bazalgette's report; that the City Engineer be instructed accordingly; and that immediate steps be taken to improve the drainage on the south side of the city, at a cost not exceeding 10,000. (_See_ April 21st, 1866.)

15.-The first two-days' show of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation commenced in Chapel Field, Norwich. The society's dinner was held at the Royal Hotel, and was presided over by the Marquis Townshend.

17.-Died at Elm Lodge, near Hampton, Lord Charles FitzRoy, second son of the fourth Duke of Grafton. His lords.h.i.+p was born on February 28th, 1791, and married, in 1825, Anne, eldest daughter of George Augustus Henry, first Earl of Burlington. Lord Charles was at the battle of Corunna, and served in the Walcheren Expedition with the Guards. In 1811 he joined Lord Hill's staff, and was present at the siege and capture of Badajoz, and at the battles of Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Othes, Toulouse, and Waterloo, and received the war medal with eight clasps.

For two years he served with the army of occupation in France. His lords.h.i.+p sat in Parliament, as member for Thetford, from 1818 till the pa.s.sing of the Reform Bill, and at the General Election which ensued was elected for Bury, in the Liberal interest. He was Vice-Chancellor of the Household from 1835 to 1839, and was also appointed a Privy Councillor.

In four successive Parliaments he represented Bury, and resigned his seat in 1847.

JULY.

1.-The 5.30 p.m. express from London to Norwich had a narrow escape. On reaching a portion of the line near Harford Bridges, the engine, on running down the incline, left the metals, and, tearing up the permanent way for some distance, stopped on the wooden bridge which crosses the Yare a little below Old Lakenham. "One of the carriages was overturned, and the occupants, among whom was Lord Stafford, had to make their escape by climbing through the windows which were then uppermost." None of the pa.s.sengers were seriously hurt.

7.-At a Liberal meeting held at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, certain accusations founded upon letters received from Mr. John Bright, M.P., were made against Mr. Robert Edmond Chester Waters, one of the Conservative candidates for the representation of the city. The princ.i.p.al charges were that Mr. Waters (previously a Liberal) had been compelled to resign his members.h.i.+p of the Reform Club for cheating at cards, and that while he came before the Norwich electors as a Protestant Churchman, in Rome he professed to be a Roman Catholic. Mr. Waters declared these statements to be scandalous and false; and on the 8th announced that he had authorised legal proceedings to be taken against Sir William Foster and the Rev. George Gould for making imputations on his personal character. On the 10th a deputation, consisting of Messrs.

H. S. Patteson, Edward Field, D. Dalrymple, and J. H. Tillett, proceeded to London to investigate at the Reform Club the truth of the allegations, and in the course of the day the following telegram was received simultaneously by Sir Samuel Bignold and Sir William Foster: "We have the minutes. They have been produced before us, and we find that it is true that Mr. Waters was accused of cheating at cards at the Reform Club, and unanimously called upon by the committee to resign to prevent expulsion, and further that he did, on receiving that communication, resign on the 23rd November, 1860." The telegram was dated from the Reform Club, and signed by the deputation. In consequence of the telegram, Messrs. Fred Brown, J. B. Morgan, F. E. Watson, and Henry Ling issued a notice stating that they felt it their duty to withdraw their support from Mr. Waters as one of the candidates for the city. Mr. Waters thereupon stated that he would stand independently. The nomination took place at the Guildhall on the 11th. The other candidates were Sir William Russell and Mr. Edward Warner, Liberals; and Mr. Augustus Goldsmid, Conservative. The polling took place on the 12th, and was officially declared on the 13th, as follows:-Russell, 1,845; Warner, 1,838; Goldsmid, 1,466; Waters, 1,363.

Mr. Waters, who was exceedingly popular with what the NORFOLK CHRONICLE described as "the lower order of Conservatives," made a return visit to Norwich on October 10th, and was escorted by a torchlight procession round the city. Thirty thousand people a.s.sembled in the Market Place, the bells of St. Peter Mancroft were rung, and the late candidate, after making a complimentary call upon Sir Samuel Bignold, proceeded to the Norfolk Hotel and addressed from the window a dense crowd a.s.sembled in St. Giles' Street. On the 11th he was entertained at dinner by the Eldon Club; and at St. Andrew's Hall, on the 12th, was received with the utmost enthusiasm by a crowded audience. Mr. Waters, who was accompanied by Lord Henry Thynne and Sir Alfred Slade, was presented with a ma.s.sive silver epergne, "by a very large number of the Conservatives of Norwich, as an expression of their cordial sympathy and regard, and in appreciation of the gallant and chivalrous spirit in which, under difficulties unprecedented, he fought the battle of the Conservative cause loyally, courteously, and fearlessly at the Parliamentary election for Norwich, 1865." A "testimonial dinner" was given to Mr. Waters at the Norfolk Hotel on the evening of the 13th, when the Norwich Conservative a.s.sociation was inaugurated. Upwards of 100 members were at once enrolled, and on the 14th Sir Samuel Bignold, in response to the request of a deputation, accepted the presidency.

8.-A meeting of the independent electors of East Norfolk was held at the Swan Hotel, Norwich, for the purpose of selecting a candidate to contest the const.i.tuency in the interests of the supporters of the movement for the repeal of the Malt Tax. Mr. Clare Sewell Read, who had been for some time prominently identified with the party in favour of the repeal, was unanimously chosen. Mr. Jacob Henry Tillett attended the meeting and made a remarkable speech. If Mr. Read were nominated, he said, he would help him to the utmost of his power; and he added, "If you want money, if you want help, if you want what enthusiasm I can put into the cause, let your chairman write to me and I will respond with all my heart." The nomination took place at the s.h.i.+rehall on the 15th. Several times the proceedings were stayed and consultations held by the leaders of the respective parties, with the view of effecting a compromise. The candidates nominated were Mr. Edward Howes, Sir Thomas Beauchamp, and Col. c.o.ke. Mr. Robert Leamon offered not to proceed with the nomination of Mr. Read if the Liberal party would pledge themselves to return to Parliament a Malt Tax repealer; in the absence of that a.s.surance he nominated Mr. Read, whose candidature was seconded by Mr. H. S. Grimmer.

It was subsequently agreed by the friends of Mr. Howes to permit the name of Mr. Read to appear upon the election cards and posters issued by the former. The poll was opened on the 18th, and was officially declared on the 20th, as follows:-Howes, 3,100; Read, 2,985; Beauchamp, 2,150; c.o.ke, 1,994

11.-The nomination of candidates for the representation of Yarmouth was held at the Town Hall. Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., and Mr. J. Goodson, Conservatives, and Mr. Philip Vanderbyl and Mr. Brogden, liberals, were nominated. The polling took place on the 12th, and resulted as follows:-Lacon 828; Goodson, 784; Brogden, 634; Vanderbyl, 589. (_See_ March 20th, 1866.)

11.-At Thetford, the Hon. Alexander Hugh Baring and Mr. Robert John Harvey Harvey, Conservatives, and Mr. Thomas Dakin (Alderman of London and Sheriff of Middles.e.x), Liberal, were nominated to represent the borough. The poll, on the 12th, resulted as follows:-Harvey, 193; Baring, 137; Dakin, 69.

12.-Lord Stanley and the Hon. Frederick Walpole, Conservatives, and Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Liberal, were nominated for the representation of King's Lynn. The polling, on the 13th, resulted in the return of Lord Stanley, 445 votes, and Sir T. Fowell Buxton, 401 votes. Mr. Walpole polled 339 votes.

-Died at Herne Bay, aged 43 years, Mr. Samuel Peckworth Woodward, Ph.D., F.G.S., a.s.sistant in the Geological Department of the British Museum, and second son of Mr. Samuel Woodward, of Norwich. He was a member of several learned societies, and in 1845 was appointed professor of botany and geology at the Royal Agricultural College.

19.-The nomination of candidates for West Norfolk took place at Swaffham.

The Conservatives were Mr. William Bagge and the Hon. T. de Grey (the latter strongly opposed as "an excessive game preserver"); and the Liberals, Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart. (Conservative member for Cheltenham in 1847), and Mr. Brampton Gurdon. The poll was opened on the 22nd, and the following was the result: Bagge, 2,710; de Grey, 2,611; Jones, 2,133; Gurdon, 2,088. A pet.i.tion against the return of the successful candidates was dismissed, owing to informality in the recognisances.

Great disturbances took place at Swaffham, for which several persons were punished at the ensuing Quarter Sessions. Mr. de Grey, on his return to Merton, on the 24th, was most enthusiastically received at Watton and other places on the route.

26.-The comic singer Vance-"the Great Vance"-made his first appearance in Norwich at St. Andrew's Hall. "He is the original singer of the absurd 'Slap Bang,' and has better recommendations, but the judicious portion of the audience could not see enough in him to explain the great success he has achieved in the Metropolis."

AUGUST.

5.-A reminiscence of the old convict days was forthcoming in a case tried before Lord Chief Baron Pollock at the Norfolk a.s.sizes. Cornelius Bradnum, a fruit dealer, was indicted for being feloniously and unlawfully at large at Heckingham on February 6th, 1865, "he having been transported for the term of his natural life, in pursuance of a certain judgment against him at the Norfolk a.s.sizes on July 21st, 1847, on an indictment for burglary." The prisoner, in his defence, made a remarkable statement, to the effect that in consequence of his having given information of an intended mutiny of the convicts at Gibraltar, his sentence was mitigated to fifteen years. From Gibraltar he was sent to Swan River, Western Australia, where the Governor gave him his ticket of leave, and after "serving his ticket" he received a free pardon. He then went to Callao, in Peru. One evening, when standing on the Mole, he was kidnapped, put upon an American s.h.i.+p, and brutally ill-used and crippled.

Sixty-five dollars had been paid for him, but as he was useless he was put ash.o.r.e at Hamburgh, whence, after remaining some time in hospital, he came to England. Unfortunately, he had left at Callao the doc.u.ment conveying to him his free pardon. The prosecution denied that a free pardon had been granted. His lords.h.i.+p said it was for the prosecution to show that the prisoner's statement was untrue, after using that statement against him as evidence. The statement must be taken as true until it was contradicted. It had not been contradicted, and, he added, turning to the jury, "It is for you to say whether you believe it or not. I must say I don't see why you should not believe it, and why he is not ent.i.tled to a verdict of not guilty." The jury acquitted the prisoner.

5.-A large meeting of agriculturists was held at the Swan Hotel, Norwich, for the purpose of considering what steps should be taken to combat "a disease known as the Russian murrain, which had broken out among the cattle of Norfolk." Mr. Clare Sewell Read, M.P., presided, and, in the course of the proceedings, alarming reports were given of the spread of the contagion and of the immediate steps that were necessary to arrest its progress. A deputation, consisting of Mr. Read, Mr. Steeds, Mr. W.

Smith, and Mr. R. Leamon, was appointed to wait upon the Home Office, and at a committee meeting on the 9th Mr. Read reported what had taken place.

It was resolved, on the motion of Sir Thomas Beauchamp, who headed the list with a donation of 100, that a public subscription be opened at once, and Professor Simonds, in a long address, showed that the disease was of foreign importation, and was known in Russia, whence it came, as rinderpest. At this meeting it was reported that in the neighbourhood of North Walsham alone losses to the extent of 1,000 and upwards had been sustained. Isolation of the herds and the slaughter of diseased animals were the means advocated for stamping out the murrain. A Norfolk Cattle Plague a.s.sociation was at once formed, and at a large and influential meeting, held at St. Andrew's Hall on the 12th, under the presidency of Mr. Read, whose great services at this crisis were acknowledged by the Earl of Leicester, resolutions were adopted (1) recommending to the consideration of the public the means suggested by Professor Simonds for dealing with the disease, and urging that no farmer should purchase any store stock in any market for the period of six weeks; (2) that a subscription be entered into for the purpose of meeting the losses sustained by those who should conform to the resolutions drawn up by the committee, and for defraying the expenses incurred in carrying out the objects of the meeting; and (3) that no person who did not subscribe to the amount of twopence in the pound on his a.s.sessment should partic.i.p.ate in the relief. At this meeting the Earl of Leicester contributed a donation of 500. Meetings of the Cattle Plague a.s.sociation were then held weekly, reports were presented upon the state of the disease in various parts of the county, and matters of detail received attention.

On October 21st a public meeting was held at St. Andrew's Hall, under the presidency of the Earl of Leicester, "to consider the desirability of closing all markets in the county of Norfolk." Sir Thomas Beauchamp moved, and the Earl of Albemarle seconded, a resolution in favour of the adoption of this course, which was agreed to. During this month Mr. Read was appointed a member of the Royal Commission to inquire into the causes of cattle plague and to suggest remedies. The Commission recommended the slaughter of animals and the stringent prohibition of the pa.s.sage of cattle across public roads, &c. At Norwich and elsewhere there were frequent magisterial proceedings against dealers and others for contravention of the Orders of Council; medical men and veterinary surgeons suggested many remedies for the disease, and quacks advertised their nostrums, but the end of the year found the fatal rinderpest more rampant than ever. Science seemed confounded by the insidious character of the outbreak, and precautionary measures appeared to be vain to prevent its extension. It was officially announced that from September 6th to December 20th compensation had been given in respect of 1,486 animals, to the amount of 9,448 3s. 11d. (_See_ February 23rd, 1866.)

8.-A barque named the Edgar, of 600 tons burthen, built by Messrs.

Fellows and Son, for the South American trade, was launched from their s.h.i.+pyard at Southtown, Great Yarmouth.

11.-The Earl of Leicester issued to the tenants on his estate an address, in which he referred to an election circular sent out to them during his absence in Norway, the spirit of which he described as "a flagrant contradiction of the principles and practices that have been professed and followed on the Holkham estate for nearly a century." His lords.h.i.+p had counselled not coercion in any form, but the adoption of every legitimate measure to achieve the return of Mr. Gurdon and Sir Willoughby Jones at the West Norfolk election; but the zeal of his agent (Mr.

Sh.e.l.labear) in carrying out instructions which were only indicated and not given in detail led him to issue a circular which had caused much scandal, the impolicy and unfittingness of which no one now saw more clearly than his lords.h.i.+p himself.

12.-Died at Kew, Sir William Jackson Hooker, K.H., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. Sir William was a native of Norwich, where his father, Mr. Joseph Hooker, a manufacturer, took much interest in horticulture, and possessed a rich collection of succulent and other exotics. Hooker spent some of his earlier years in the study of agriculture with Mr. Robert Paul, of Starston Hall, but the death of a relative enabled him to devote himself to his favourite pursuit, natural history. With his brother, Mr. Joseph Hooker, the Rev.

James Brown, and other naturalists, he thoroughly explored the rich district of the Norfolk Broads in the study of ornithology. He was the author of several works, and editor of the "Botanical Magazine."

Resigning the appointment of Regius Professor for the curators.h.i.+p of the Royal Gardens at Kew, he received the honour of knighthood in 1835, and in 1845 had conferred upon him the degree of D.C.L. by the University of Oxford. He married a daughter of Mr. Dawson Turner, of Yarmouth. His eldest son, Dr. Hooker, F.L.S., was no less distinguished than his father for his valuable works in natural history and for the scientific explorations with which his name was a.s.sociated.

13.-Died at Southwell, the Ven. Archdeacon Wilkins, D.D. He was born at Norwich in 1785, and was the youngest son of Mr. William Wilkins, F.S.A., and brother of the Professor of Architecture in the Royal Academy.

Educated at the Grammar School, Bury St. Edmund's, under the headmasters.h.i.+p of Becher, he entered Caius College, Cambridge, in 1803, and having received his degree, removed to Oxford to prosecute his favourite study of divinity. He was ordained at Norwich in 1808, and was ultimately presented to the vicarage of St. Mary's, Nottingham, where he ministered single-handed to a population of 28,000. He was the author of "A History of the Destruction of Jerusalem," and of several other works.

18.-A sculling match, known as the "Great Lynn Sweepstakes," was contested over the Ouse champions.h.i.+p course in the Eau Brink Cut, a distance of 3,300 yards. The compet.i.tors were Robert Chambers, champion of the Tyne and ex-champion of the Thames; Harry Kelley, who just previously had wrested the champions.h.i.+p of the Thames from his formidable North country rival; and Robert Cooper, of Newcastle. The sweepstakes amounted to 50, with 100 added by the Lynn Regatta Committee. The conditions provided that if three competed the winner should receive 200 and the second man 50, and if only two came to the post a first prize of 200 only would be given. The race lay between Cooper and Kelley alone.

The former kept a slight lead, and as Kelley's efforts to pa.s.s him were unavailing, he rowed past the winning-post a quarter of a length ahead.

The referee decided that Kelley had won, disqualified Cooper on the ground that he had taken the other man's water, and awarded second prize to Chambers. At a meeting presided over by the Mayor of Lynn (Mr. W.

Monement), a protest was lodged by Cooper's backers against the second prize being awarded to Chambers. The Mayor decided to withhold the second prize until the referee had been communicated with, and handed to Kelley a cheque for 200. Cooper's protest was ultimately disallowed.

26.-The 13th Hussars, with headquarters, arrived at Norwich Cavalry Barracks.

SEPTEMBER.