—The new cemetery at Yarmouth was consecrated by the Right Rev. Bishop Spencer, acting for the Lord Bishop of the Diocese.
21.—An inquiry was opened at Yarmouth by Mr. W. D. Boase, one of her Majesty’s Charity Commissioners, “into the present circumstances and administration of the various endowed charities existing in the borough, with the view of hearing any complaints that might be made, and to suggest improvements in the disposition of the funds.” The inquiry concluded on the 24th.
23.—A performance of Costa’s “Eli” was given by the Norwich Choral Society, at St. Andrew’s Hall. The principal vocalists were Madame Rudersdorff, Miss Dolby, Mr. George Perren, Mr. A. Mann, Mr. Weiss, and Mr. Thomas. A performance of the same oratorio, under the personal direction of the composer, had already been advertised by Mr. Gedge, of Heigham Grove. The Mayor (Mr. J. G. Johnson) had given permission for the use of the hall, and his action was sharply criticised at the meetings of the Town Council and in letters to the newspapers. The following announcement was published on July 19th: “‘Eli,’ for the benefit of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, under the direction of Mr. Costa. Postponed. Mr. Gedge respectfully informs the public of the county and city that, as the Town Council has thought fit to set aside the Mayor’s prerogative and fixing a day for the performance in opposition to the one he announced under the early sanction and promise of the Mayor for the Assize week, in St. Andrew’s Hall, and as the Council thought fit, at their last meeting, to determine on other restrictive demands, of which he received a legal notice this day, he has resolved to postpone ‘Eli,’ under Mr. Costa’s direction, until a future opportunity, when he trusts he shall be able to benefit the charities and at the same time to gratify the public.”
26.—On this date was published a report of the action, Beaven v. Lord Hastings, heard before the Vice-Chancellor, Sir W. P. Wood. This was a bill by a bond creditor of Edward Astley, deceased, praying an account of the sum due for principal and interest upon his bond, and a decree for payment against the defendant, Lord Hastings, on the ground that he had made himself personally liable to pay the debt without regard to a sufficiency of the assets of the late Edward Astley. The bill also brought the declaration that the defendant had constituted himself executor de son tort of the intestate Edward Astley, and was accountable on that footing to the plaintiff as the rightful administrator of the intestate. Mr. Astley, who resided at Eneilles, in Belgium, having borrowed £1040 from the plaintiff, gave his bond, dated July 3rd, 1845, by which he became bound to the plaintiff in the penal sum of £2,080, with the condition for defeasance upon payment on July 3rd, 1847, of £1,040 with interest at 5 per cent. A warrant of attorney at even date was executed by Edward Astley, but no judgment was ever actually entered up under the warrant. In April, 1846, the dead body of Edward Astley was found, with marks of violence upon it, in the River Ourthe in Belgium. Lord Hastings and his mother, Dame Hester Astley, his sole next-of-kin, proceeded to Eneilles with his solicitor, and applied to the Juges de Paix to remove the seals and give him possession of his brother’s property. A procès verbal having been signed, possession of the property, “without description or inventory,” was delivered to Lord Hastings, who, by thus taking possession pur et simple became personally liable, according to the Belgian law, to pay the debts of the intestate, without reference to the value of assets. The Vice-Chancellor dismissed the bill, on the ground that the defendant, who had legally received the property in Belgium, could not be sued in England as executor de son tort.
AUGUST.
1.—General Windham was received in Norwich with a great demonstration of welcome, on his return to his native county. The hero of the Redan travelled from London by the Eastern Union line, and was presented with congratulatory addresses at various stations along the route. At Victoria Station he was met by the Mayor and Corporation of Norwich, the Earl of Albemarle, Lord Hastings, Lord Bury, &c., and escorted by the Royal Artillery, proceeded to the Guildhall, where he was presented with an address. A banquet, attended by officers of the Army and Navy connected with Norfolk and Norwich who had served in the Crimea, was given in honour of the General, at St. Andrew’s Hall. The Earl of Albemarle presided, and on behalf of the subscribers to the Windham Testimonial Fund, presented the General with a service sword and a dress sword.
2.—Several deaths were reported to have occurred from small-pox at Lynn. “In no instance has death ensued here after vaccination.”
9.—It was reported that at the Suffolk Assizes, at Ipswich, an action was brought by the Commissioners of Yarmouth Harbour, in the name of their clerk (Mr. Preston), pursuant to the direction of the Master of the Rolls, against the Norfolk and Eastern Counties Railway Company. The plaintiff complained that the defendants had wrongfully diverted and obstructed the waters of the Yare, the Wensum, and the Waveney, which of right ought to flow into and through Yarmouth Harbour, and had turned them into Lake Lothing, and thence into the sea through Lowestoft Harbour. The Eastern Union, the Norfolk, and the Eastern Counties Railways, had entered into an agreement for amalgamation, by virtue of which the latter company assumed the entire control over the network of railways constructed by those companies and the East Anglian Company, and, among other matters, they undertook the duties created by the Norwich and Lowestoft Navigation Act, one of which was the maintenance of Mutford Bridge where Lake Lothing joined Oulton Broad, for the double purpose of keeping in the fresh waters of the Yare and Waveney and preserving them for the use of Yarmouth Harbour, and of keeping out the waters of the sea, which would otherwise flood all the low lands at high water. These duties had not been discharged to the satisfaction of the plaintiffs. After discussion, terms of reference to Mr. B. Andrew, Q.C., were arranged, the defendants undertaking to repair the locks at once, the plaintiffs being let in to complain of acts of omission as well as of commission on the part of the defendants. A verdict was then taken for the plaintiffs, subject to a special case. (See January 26th, 1858.)
15.—Lieut.-Col. Edwin Wodehouse, C.B., Royal Artillery, on revisiting his former home at Hingham, after his return from the Crimea, was presented with an address by the inhabitants of the town. He was the eldest son of Admiral Wodehouse. At Inkerman a battery called “Wodehouse’s Battery” was furiously attacked and nearly all the men cut down by overpowering numbers of the enemy. By heroic courage and determination he rescued from the enemy the three guns lost early in the action. Two slugs passed through his cloak, and one, if not two, horses were killed under him.
18.—The London Grand Opera Company commenced a season at the Theatre Royal, Norwich. The artistes included Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Fanny Reeves, Mr. Borrani, Mr. Oliver Summers, Mr. J. B. Bowler, and Mr. Elliott Galer. Among the operas produced were “La Somnambula,” “The Bohemian Girl,” “Maritana,” “Lucia Di Lammermoor,’” “Fra Diavolo,” “Norma,” and “Daughter of the Regiment.” The company came direct from Drury Lane Theatre, on the termination of the season there.