12.--A two days' cricket match, between eleven of the South of England
and twenty-two of Norfolk and Norwich, commenced on the Newmarket Road
ground, Norwich. Scores: South of England, 33--161; Norfolk and Norwich,
172--124.
13.--The advance party of the D Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, arrived
at Norwich, and on the 16th the B Battery marched _en route_ to Ireland.
19.--The Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the existence of
corrupt practices at the last election of members to serve in Parliament
for the city of Norwich commenced its sittings at the Shirehall, Norwich.
The Commissioners were Mr. George Morley Dowdeswell, Q.C., Mr. Horatio
Mansfield, and Mr. John Biron. On September 4th (the fifteenth day) the
Court adjourned until the 27th, when the inquiry was resumed. Sir Henry
Stracey was examined on October 9th (the 27th day), and Mr. J. H. Tillett
on October 11th (the 29th day). The inquiry terminated on October 15th
(the 32nd day). The Chief Commissioner acknowledged the assistance given
by the police and the Guardians. "We feel," he said, "that these bodies
have rendered us most efficient and signal assistance, and we only wish
that other officials in this city had also offered us that assistance,
and that we had not experienced obstacles on their part. We fear that
the encouragement which has been given by them to persons to withhold
information has led to many of those spectacles which have been to us a
source of signal pain in the course of our inquiry." The Commissioners,
in their report, dated February 15th, 1870, stated that corrupt practices
did not extensively prevail in Norwich at the election in November, 1868;
that Sir Henry Stracey was returned through such practices; and that
corrupt practices did not extensively prevail at the election of 1865 or
that of 1860. Several persons were scheduled for bribery and for
corruptly influencing voters by treating. The Norwich Voters
Disfranchisement Bill, by which it was proposed to disfranchise 119
electors, passed its second reading in the House of Commons on May 2nd,
1870, and received the Royal assent on July 4th in the same year. (_See_
January 31st, 1870.)
30.--The Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Musical Festival commenced at St.
Andrew's Hall, Norwich, with an evening concert, at which the "Hymn of
Praise" and "Acis and Galatea" were performed. The other works in the
programme were the following:--Wednesday morning, September 1st,
selection from "Hezekiah" and "The Fall of Babylon"; Thursday morning,
September 2nd, Sacred Cantata, by Horace Hill, "Messe Solennelle" (first
time of performance out of London), and the Dettingen Te Deum; Friday
morning, September 3rd, "The Messiah." Grand miscellaneous concerts were
given on the evenings of August 31st and September 1st and 2nd. The
principal vocalists were Mdlle. Tietjens, Mdlle. Ilma de Murska, Madame
Talbot Cherer, Madame Patey, and Madame Trebelli Bettini, Mr. Vernon
Rigby, Mr. Arthur Byron, Mr. W. H. Cummings, Signor Bettini, Signor Foli,
and Mr. Santley. Mr. Benedict conducted. A "dress ball" took place on
the evening of September 3rd. Financially the Festival was a failure,
and the total receipts, about 4,000, barely covered expenses.