—Mr. John Ellis, of Sprowston, received from the Treasury a grant of £150 “in consideration of his services to the nation in having been the founder of the first juvenile reformatory in England, that of Saltley, near Birmingham.”
6.—It was announced that her Majesty the Queen had conferred upon Mr. Edward Birkbeck, M.P., the honour of a baronetcy.
7.—Died, at Brockheath, Salisbury, General William Custance, C.B., colonel of the 11th Hussars, in his 75th year. The second son of Mr. Hamilton Thomas Custance, of Weston House, he entered the Army in 1831, and served with distinction in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.
13.—A deputation of unemployed workmen waited upon the Mayor of Norwich at the Guildhall and urged upon him the necessity of steps being taken to relieve the exceptional distress then prevailing in the city. On the 17th a public meeting was held, at which a fund was opened. Relief works were shortly afterwards started on Mousehold Heath.
14.—Died, at St. Helen’s House, Norwich, Mr. Edward Field, in his 75th year. He succeeded Mr. Thomas Bignold as solicitor to the Norwich Fire and Life Assurance Offices, and in 1857–8 served as Mayor of Norwich. On the death of Sir Samuel Bignold Mr. Field became leader of the Conservative party in the Town Council, and was for many years Chairman of the Board of Guardians. He drafted the Norfolk and Suffolk Fisheries Act, 1877, and was chiefly instrumental in getting it passed; subsequently he became honorary secretary to the Board of Conservators, of which also he was a member. Mr. Field, who was a magistrate of the city, for several years held the rank of captain in the Norwich Rifle Volunteers.
20.—Died, at 49, Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, London, Mr. George William Pierrepont Bentinck, aged 82. He was the eldest son of Vice-Admiral William Bentinck (a representative of the junior branch of the family of the Duke of Portland), by marriage with Lady Frances Eliza Augusta Pierrepont, only daughter of Charles, first Earl of Manvers. In 1853 he was returned as Conservative member for West Norfolk, and retained the seat until March, 1868, when he retired on account of ill-health. He was, however, re-elected by the same constituency in 1871, and sat till February, 1884, when he finally retired from Parliamentary life. Mr. Bentinck, who was a Tory of the old school, and maintained his principles to the last, was a magistrate and a Deputy Lieutenant for the county.
22.—In the House of Lords judgment was given in the case, Coaks and others, appellants, and Boswell and others, respondents. Their lordships held that there had been no fraud in the purchase of the Harvey life interest, and therefore reversed the order of the Court of Appeal and that of Mr. Justice Fry, dismissing the action with costs restored. The respondents were condemned in the whole costs of the case. On September 17th, 1887, it was announced: “The plaintiffs have discharged the taxed costs of the defendants. These amounted to £12,930 19s. 11d., of which £2,194 13s. 5d. was allowed in respect of the appeal in the House of Lords.” Mr. M. S. Emerson, solicitor to the plaintiffs, stated, in a letter published on September 24th, 1887, that they had the opportunity of compromising the case. “It is a fact,” he wrote, “that I refused £30,000 before the case came into court. . . . The six counsel engaged for the plaintiffs met, and were unanimous in their opinion that I was right in refusing the £30,000.” (See July 22nd, 1892.)
MARCH.
2.—At a special meeting of the shareholders of the Norwich Public Library, held for the purpose of taking into consideration the advisability of amalgamating the Library with the Literary Institution, according to a scheme prepared and approved by the committees of both institutions, it was agreed by 27 votes against 4 to adopt the proposal.
17.—The trial of the election petition presented by Mr. Henry Birkbeck and others against the return of Mr. Harry Bullard as one of the members for Norwich, commenced at the Shirehall before Mr. Justice Denman and Mr. Justice Cave. Counsel for the petitioners were Mr. Charles, Q.C., Mr. R. T. Reid, Q.C., and the Hon. Mark Napier; and for the respondent Mr. Gully, Q.C., the Hon. Mr. Denman, and Mr. Blofeld. Bribery, treating, undue influence, and personation by agents, were alleged. The only case of bribery that was proved was the gift of a two-shilling piece by an alleged agent, to a voter, but it was sufficient to render the election void, and Mr. Bullard was unseated. The judges, however, declined to give the petitioners their costs, and Mr. Bullard’s costs were defrayed by the subscriptions of men of all parties. (See May 7th.)