3.—The Norwich Poor-law Amendment Bill was considered by a Committee of the House of Commons. Its object was to repeal the Act passed in 1831, “for the better management of the several parishes and hamlets of the city and county of the city of Norwich”; to substitute another body for the Incorporation of Guardians; and to introduce certain clauses for the equalisation of the rates between the city and hamlets; and for the inclusion of the Cathedral Close, which was not then within the jurisdiction of the Guardians. The Bill passed through Committee on March 12th, and was directed to be reported to the House. The last meeting of the old Court of Guardians was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, on October 6th, and its existence as a corporate body expired on the 22nd, when the new Board was elected. Prior to the election, a meeting, presided over by the Mayor (Mr. Patteson), was held, at which was passed a resolution to the effect that, “considering the excessive poor-rates which have pressed upon this city for so many years, and the abuses which have sprung up in the administration of the Poor-law, it is incumbent upon the ratepayers to sink party and other differences and co-operate for carrying out the new Act with integrity and impartiality.”
10.—Great rejoicings took place in city and county, in celebration of the marriage of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. The streets of Norwich were gaily decorated, and the day was observed as a general holiday. A parade of the troops, namely, the 5th Royal Irish Lancers, the 1st Norfolk Light Horse, the enrolled pensioners, the staff of the West Norfolk Militia, and the Norwich Battalion of Rifle Volunteers, took place on Major Middleton’s field on Ipswich Road. “All the troops wore wedding favours of uniform pattern.” After the review a feu de joie was fired in the Market Place, where the members of the Choral Society sang, “God Bless the Prince of Wales.” The military were entertained at luncheon in a marquee erected on the parade-ground at the Militia Barracks; the Sheriff (Mr. Colman) gave a dinner to the aged poor, at St. Andrew’s Hall, and 14,403 Sunday school children were entertained. At night the city was illuminated, a firework display took place on the Castle Meadow, and the proceedings concluded with the lighting of a huge bonfire opposite the Shirehall. Similar celebrations took place at Yarmouth and Lynn, and festivities were held in all the smaller towns and villages in the county. At a special meeting of the Norwich Town Council on the 12th, congratulatory addresses were voted to the Queen and to the Prince and Princess of Wales, and it was announced that many of the textile manufacturers had decided to present to her Royal Highness articles of home manufacture. The citizens gave the famous “Norwich Gates” exhibited at the Great Exhibition, which were purchased by public subscription and afterwards erected at Sandringham. A county meeting was held at the Shirehall on the 14th, and congratulatory addresses adopted. Their Royal Highnesses arrived at their Norfolk home on March 28th. At Lynn railway station the Mayor (Mr. L. W. Jarvis) presented an address, and from Wolferton station to Sandringham the Prince and Princess were escorted by the Norfolk Light Horse, commanded by Capt. Hay Gurney, and by a large body of mounted tenantry.
12.—Died at Brentwood, Mr. Edward Taylor, professor of music at Gresham College, London, aged 79. He was a native of Norwich, and a son of Mr. John Taylor, who occupied a prominent position in the city as a wool and yarn factor, and displayed considerable literary and musical abilities. Mr. Edward Taylor had been many years resident in London, but he constantly attended the Norwich Musical Festivals, in the establishment of which he took a leading part, and was a frequent vocal performer. He was a pleasing composer, and some of his songs met with deserved appreciation.
16.—Professor J. H. Pepper lectured at Noverre’s Rooms, Norwich, on “Optical Illusions,” and for the first time exhibited in the city the now well-known illusion, “Pepper’s Ghost.”
19.—The Yarmouth Gas Bill, the object of which was to incorporate the Great Yarmouth Gas Company and to make further provision for lighting the town and certain neighbouring places with gas, was considered by a Committee of the House of Lords. The Bill was read a third time in that House on the 24th, and passed.
29.—Died at Wakefield Lodge, Northamptonshire, his Grace the Duke of Grafton. He was the eldest son of George Henry, fourth Duke, by Charlotte Maria Waldegrave, second daughter of James, second Earl Waldegrave and Maria, who afterwards became Duchess of Gloucester. Born on February 10th, 1790, he married, on June 20th, 1812, Mary Caroline, third daughter of Admiral the Hon. Sir George Cranfield Berkeley. He represented Bury St. Edmund’s from 1826 to 1830, and had a seat in the Lower House for Thetford from 1834 to September, 1844. By his death, his eldest son, the Earl of Euston, M.P. for Thetford since 1847, inherited the family honours.
31.—A remarkable charge of abduction was tried at the Norfolk Assizes, before Mr. Justice Williams. Frederick Burrell (21), a clerk employed at the Royal Arsenal, was indicted “for having, from motives of lucre, fraudulently allured, taken away, and detained Jane Burrell, a person under 21 years of age, she having a present legal interest in certain real estates in Norfolk, out of the possession and against the will of her mother, Mary Ann Hyder, and her guardian, William Silver Hyder, with intent to marry her, on January 20th, 1863.” Henry Richard Burrell, his brother, was indicted for aiding and abetting. The defendants were uncles of the girl, who was the daughter of the eldest son of one Daniel Burrell, who died without a will. As the eldest son died during Daniel Burrell’s lifetime, the daughter became possessed of all his freehold property. The girl left school at Norwich at Christmas, and went to Fakenham, but instead of staying with her mother and stepfather, went to the house of Henry Burrell, and on January 19th left for London with Frederick Burrell. The next day they were married at Plumstead, near Woolwich, the marriage licence obtained by Frederick Burrell being, it was alleged, “full of the grossest perjury.” The jury returned a verdict of guilty, but sentence was deferred, pending the argument of certain points before the Court for the consideration of Crown cases reserved. The defendants, on April 25th, appealed against their conviction, and the Court, after hearing arguments, reserved judgment. The case came before the Court for the consideration of Crown cases reserved, on November 24th. Their lordships were divided in opinion, not upon any question of law, but upon the facts of the case. Judgment was delivered upon the opinion of the majority, who held that the facts did not bear out that which was necessary to sustain a prosecution, and therefore, “with very great regret,” they quashed the conviction.
APRIL.
5.—Died at Chester Terrace, Regent’s Park, London, Mr. John Taylor, F.R.S. Born at Norwich on August 22nd, 1779, he was trained as a land surveyor and engineer, and in 1798 was invited to take the management of a mine near Tavistock. It proved very profitable. In 1803 he projected and commenced the Tavistock Canal, of which about three miles were tunnelled through a granite hill. The execution of this work led to the discovery of two other mines, which produced large quantities of copper, and yielded considerable profits. The success of these and other mines in the neighbourhood of Tavistock, in Cornwall, and in the North of England, brought Mr. Taylor into great repute as a mining engineer. He was the author of several useful papers on mining, and one of the first to propose the formation of a Mining School; he was, too, one of the earliest Fellows of the Geological Society, and for many years acted as treasurer and vice-president. In 1825 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was one of the founders of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, of which organization he was treasurer until 1862. An excellent portrait of Mr. Taylor was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1825, and afterwards engraved by Charles Turner. Another portrait was painted in 1861, by Mr. Sydney Hodges.
6.—Madame Celeste commenced, at Norwich Theatre, a short season, during which she appeared in a round of her favourite characters.