10.—Mr. Justice Patteson retired from the Bench. With the exception of Barons Parke and Alderson, he was, in point of official service, the oldest judge on the Bench.
19.—After many delays, the statue of Lord Nelson, executed by Mr. Milnes, of London, arrived in Norwich, and was placed in St. Andrew’s Hall for public inspection. The estimated cost of the statue was £700. A public subscription was opened in Norwich in 1847; by 1848 £175 had been contributed; in October, 1849, the fund reached £268, and in October, 1851, £300. “At present (1852) the whole amount subscribed, which is scarcely £400, will not repay the sculptor for the purchase of the block and his out-of-pocket expenses.” (See March 24th, 1856.)
21.—Died in London, Lieut.-Col. John Smith, of Ellingham Hall, “a generous supporter of the trade and interests of the district.” He served several years in India, in the 2nd Madras Light Cavalry, and resigned his commission shortly after succeeding to the Ellingham estate. The funeral took place at Ellingham, on February 27th.
MARCH.
2.—A requisition, signed by one thousand persons, was presented to Mr. T. O. Springfield, soliciting him to offer himself as a candidate for the representation of Norwich. Mr. Springfield declined the request, on the ground that Parliamentary duties would tend to the shortening of his life.
6.*—“Died, lately, on the West Coast of Africa, in the 19th year of his age, Charles, youngest son of Mr. Wood, of Morston. He was a midshipman on board H.M.S. Sampson, and was put in charge, under Lieut. Gilbert Elliott, with twelve of the best seamen and one carpenter, in October last, of a slave felucca captured by the Sampson, and was last seen off the island of St. Thomas on the 31st, and departed on that day for Badajoz, a distance of five or six days’ sail; but although anxiously expected, and notwithstanding several ships of war having since passed over her track, she has never been heard of since. Some heavy tornados are said to have occurred about the time she was missed.”
12.—A special meeting of the Norwich Town Council was held, “to take into consideration the recent gross insult to the citizens of Norwich in the person of their Chief Magistrate.” The Conservative members, with one or two exceptions, abstained from attending. It was resolved, “That the Mayor of Norwich for the time being is, by prescription and charter, the first citizen of Norwich, and by custom and courtesy has been always so esteemed in public and private; that the Council learn with regret that a gross insult has been offered to the Mayor in a place of public amusement, and it is the opinion of the Council that the conduct of the individual who offered the insult is derogatory to him as a magistrate and a citizen.” The resolution was adopted, and it was further agreed “That a copy of the resolution with respect to the insult offered to the Mayor by Capt. Ives, with the seal of the Council affixed, be transmitted to the Secretary of State, to the Lord Lieutenant of the county, and to the Mayor.” (No details were published.)
19.—At the Norfolk Assizes, before Mr. Serjeant Adams (sitting as Commissioner in place of Mr. Justice Crompton), Hannah Neale was indicted for the wilful murder of William Neale, her husband, by poisoning him, at Outwell, in July, 1851. The jury acquitted the prisoner.
24.—Died at Woolwich, Col. Courtenay Cruttenden, R.A. He served in the Army 48 years, and was present at the capture of Guadeloupe, in 1815. For several years he was inspector of drills in the garrison at Woolwich.
27.*—“The late Edward Lombe, Esq., of Melton Hall, Wymondham, recently deceased at Florence, has left his personal property, subject to a life interest to his wife, to University College Hospital. The property is estimated at more than £25,000.”