1.--Died at Yarmouth, the Rev. H. R. Bowles, one of the ministers of the
Unitarian chapel in that town. He was master of the Yarmouth Academy,
and formerly an actor on the Norwich stage.
5.--Died at his house in St, Stephen's, aged 86, Mr. James Keymer, city
surgeon, and for upwards of fifty years surgeon and apothecary to the
Norwich Bethel. He was known as "the father" of the Norfolk and Norwich
Benevolent Medical Society (established in 1786), and "in his capacity of
accoucheur introduced no less than 8,000 children into the world, and
repeatedly attended three and four generations in succession."
5.--At the Norwich Consistory Court, the suit, Meachen _v._ Carter, was
tried. The parties lived at East Dereham, and the dispute arose about
the use of a pew in the church. The defendant was proceeded against for
"quarrelling, chiding, and brawling in church," and the court, in giving
judgment, declared him excommunicate, directed him to be imprisoned for
three days, and condemned him in costs.
10.--During a severe storm from the N.N.E., the streets of
Cley-next-the-Sea were inundated in places to the depth of six or eight
feet, and several families were rescued from the upper windows of the
houses. Many vessels were wrecked along the coast.
11.--The Relief Committee of the Norwich Court of Guardians determined to
erect two looms in the Workhouse for the employment of persons who might
apply for relief on the ground of not being able to obtain work. From
these looms, at a subsequent date, work was deliberately cut and
destroyed. On the 12th the riotous conduct of the weavers necessitated
the calling out of the 7th Dragoon Guards; and on the 13th Mr. John
Wright, one of the principal master manufacturers, had vitriol thrown
into his face in St. Faith's Lane. Mr. Wright, who was dreadfully
injured, discharged a pistol at his assailant, who escaped. The
Corporation offered a reward for the apprehension and conviction of the
miscreant. Richard Nockolds, who was executed for arson on April 9th,
1831, confessed to the perpetration of the outrage. The distress
continued throughout the winter, and on February 6th a meeting was held
at the Guildhall, at which a relief fund was started, and nearly 3,000
pounds raised. At the Norfolk Quarter Sessions, on March 10th, Lord
Suffield, in his charge to the Grand Jury, suggested means for the
alleviation of public distress. Mr. Cobbett came down to Norwich and
lectured at Ranelagh Gardens on March 12th and 13th, on "The State of the
Country." Half-a-crown admission was charged, and "he pocketed about 50
pounds, which, all things considered, was about as much as he could well
expect." A common hall was held on March 17th, "to consider the
unprecedently distressed situation of the country," and Parliament was
petitioned on the subject. Mr. W. J. Utten Browne, in the course of the
proceedings, described Mr. Cobbett as "one whose name it was pollution to
pronounce, and who had crawled up from the very dregs of the people to a
slimy popularity." In the report of this meeting the term "Liberal," as
used in a political sense, appeared for the first time. On May 15th the
welcome announcement was made that some of the principal houses in
Norwich had brought gros de Naples and other silks to such a state of
perfection that they had a decided preference in the market, and that so
numerous were the orders that scarcely a loom in this important branch of
the weaving trade was unemployed.
16.--A great meeting of freeholders of the county was held at the
Shirehall, Norwich, presided over by the High Sheriff (Mr. Andrew
Fountaine), at which a petition was adopted for presentation to
Parliament, praying for the repeal of the malt duties. (Meetings for the
same end were held in all parts of the county.)
19.--A prize-fight took place at Thurton, between T. Riches, 11 st., and
John Clarke, 15 st., for a purse of 10 pounds. The former was seconded
by Ned Painter and Loveday, and the latter by Gale and Mike Fenn.
Seventy-two rounds were fought in 1 hour 26 minutes. Riches won.
"Hundreds of persons from Norwich padded it through the snow to witness
this exhibition of science."
19.--Mr. Marsham Elwin resigned the chairmanship of the Norfolk Quarter
Sessions, and was thanked by the magistrates for the important services
he had long rendered to the county. At the April Sessions Mr. John
Weyland was elected in his place.
22.--A great fall of snow occurred in the Lynn district. The London
coach ran into a drift at Tottenhill. The snow was almost up to the
lamp-irons, and the vehicle was hauled out by teams of agricultural
horses.
25.--Miss S. Booth appeared at Norwich Theatre as Widow Cheerley ("The
Soldier's Daughter"). Her other impersonations included Little Pickle
("The Spoilt Child"), Sally Scraggs ("The Englishman in India"); Mary
("The Innkeeper's Daughter"), Aurelia Fairlove ("The Young Widow"); Lady
Elizabeth ("The Day after the Wedding"), Priscilla Tomboy ("The Romp"),
and Carline ("The Noyades, or the Maid of Venice").