abbey tower welcomed their arrival; and the most enthusiastic cheers, from a vast concourse of all classes of the inhabitants, greeted them on their arrival and departure. In answer to a communication made to Her Royal Highness on the subject, on the day preceding, the Duchess commanded her equerry, Sir John Conroy, to convey to the authorities and principal inhabitants, Her Royal Highness's deep sense of the attention which they wished to shew to herself and the Princess; and to express her regret that their arrangements would not permit them to receive those attentions, nor afford them time even to view the abbey church, which it was their anxious wish to have inspected. 21. The furze on the Lord's Leys, Brockeridge Common, having been, for the fifth time within a few months, maliciously set on fire, the Rev. Wm. Geo. Maxwell, lord of the manor of Twyning, offered a reward of twenty guineas for the discovery of the offenders. 25.—A jeu d'esprit, with the imposing title of "A Mandate from the King to the Bailiffs of Tewkesbury," was printed and published anonymously. The object of the writer was evidently to ridicule the individuals who had recently signed a requisition to the directors of the poor for calling a meeting of guardians: it was penned with much caustic humour, but was far too personal. 25.-From the annual statement published by the trustees of the Severn Bridge and Roads, it appears that, although the principal and interest due to Mr. Olive's executrix, amounting to 7571.6s. 2d. have been discharged by means of a voluntary contribution, there is still owing to Thomas Taylor, esq. the sum of 190911. 7s. 9d.-independently of the principal and interest due to the original subscribers. 26. The following miraculous preservation of two lives occurred on the Severn, between Tewkesbury and Upton. A canal boat, laden with coal, was proceeding up the river, when, owing to unskilful management, she ran upon the bank, and instantly went over, turning completely bottom upwards. The crew gained the shore; but in the cabin of the boat were a female and her infant, for whose rescue no hopes appeared. However, it providentially happened that the boat held on the shelf of the bank, and the stern part, sustained by the roof of the cabin, remained some little above water. The female was thus enabled to stand upright, as well as to keep the child in her arms; by knocking, she gave the persons on shore to under stand they were still within reach of succour; these, with the most praiseworthy alacrity, procured tools, removed the planks at the bottom of the vessel, and thus succeeded in retrieving the incarcerated beings from that doom which appeared inevitably to impend over them. 29.-Seventeen of the incorporated "Guardians of the Poor" having signed a requisition to the body of Directors, complaining that "the state of the parish accounts have (sic) been for some time past unsatisfactory," and requesting them to convene a special meeting of the Guardians," for the purpose of adopting "measures for the reduction of the parish expenses," a meeting was accordingly held in the large room at the house of industry, at which about fifty persons attended. J.A. Hartland, esq. was called to the chair, and as personalities were much more generally resorted to on this occasion than arguments, he merited much praise for the impartiality with which he conducted the business of the meeting. The following proposition was adopted: "That the Guardians are perfectly satisfied with the conduct of the Directors of the Poor; that they are not so satisfied with the Accounts of the Gaol and Borough Stock; and that the Magistrates of the Borough be requested to watch the Expenditure of those Stocks, and to reduce it as much as possible." 31.-The Rev. Anthony Berwick Lechmere, M.A. Vicar of Welland and Eldersfield, and Domestic Chaplain to the Earl of Beauchamp, preached the anniversary sermon for the benefit of the Dispensary, in the Abbey Church, when the collection amounted to 231. 3s. 2d.* The annual subscriptions for 1830 amounted to 987. 14s. * The following is a list of the preachers, and the sums collected at the Church, since the establishment of this excellent charity : .... .... 1818. Rev. John Keysall, M. A. Rector of Bredon .£.30 15 2 28 6 11 .... 31 13 7 24 13 6 26 5 1 ..... 24 0 8 ..... 24 0 1 24 7 5 1824. Rev. I. J. Lates, M. A. Vicar of Winchcomb 1825. Rev. F. Aston, M. A. of University College, Oxford.... 25 5 6 1826. Rev. R. Corry, M. A. Rector of Tarrant Hinton, Dorset 1827. Rev. D. C. Parry, M.A. Rector of Kemerton... 1828. Rev. William Spencer Phillips, B. D. Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford... 24 2 1 23 10 9 1829. Rev. G. H. L. Gretton, M.A. Vicar of Elmstone Hardwick 24 11 11 Nov. 18.-A petition from the inhabitants of this borough was presented to the House of Commons against Negro Slavery. 18.-At a parish meeting, held "for the purpose of taking into consideration the subject of re-building the Almshouses between the Church and the National School, and on the propriety of adding the site of the present Almshouses, and also a portion of the Warkhay Garden, to the Church-Yard;" the Churchwardens reported, That Sir Francis Russell, bart. of Strensham, in the year 1674, gave ten chambers or tenements, bounded on the east by the Warkhay Garden and on the west by the Abbey Church-Yard; also a plot of land adjoining, being parcel of the ground called the Warkhay; and another plot of land in Smith's Lane, all in the Borough of Tewkesbury, to certain feoffees (to the number of five at the least, one of whom was to be the chamberlain,) upon trust, for the benefit of ten poor widows, of the age of fifty years or upwards. That these almshouses are now in so dilapidated and dangerous a state, that they will very shortly become wholly uninhabitable and useless. That the rent of the Warkhay Garden is two pounds per annum, and the rent of the property in Smith's Lane is one guinea: thus three pounds one shilling yearly is the only fund applicable to the repair of these houses -which is a sum quite inadequate to the purpose. That it has therefore been proposed to erect ten new substantial almshouses on part of the Warkhay Garden, a little to the eastward of the site of the present chambers-the estimated expense of which is £.700. It is intended to raise this sum of money by means of a voluntary subscription ;-by the disposal of the ground upon which the old almshouses now stand, as well as of a portion of the Warkhay Garden, to the churchwardens, for the purpose of enlarging the church-yard;—and by the disposal of another portion of the said Warkhay Garden to Mrs. Hayter, whose dwelling-house adjoins thereto. That it is the unanimous opinion of the feoffees of this charity,—of the body corporate, and of every intelligent person whom the churchwardens have consulted on the subject, that, if this measure can be accomplished, the admirable charity of Sir Francis Russell will derive the most important and beneficial advantages,―the comforts of the poor recipients of his bounty will be much increased,―a most desirable improvement and enlargement of the church-yard will be effected, and, as the north transept and a portion of the east end of the Abbey Church will be thus thrown open to view, the exterior appearance of that beautiful and venerable structure will be greatly heightened and improved. The Churchwardens' Report having been concluded,—it was unanimously resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting, the re-building of the almshouses and the enlargement of the church-yard, in the way proposed, would be highly desirable and advantageous both to the charity and to the parish; and that the churchwardens be requested to proceed with the measure as early as convenient. That it is the opinion of this meeting, a building might be added to the south end of the intended almshouses, for the purpose of depositing all or some of the church ladders, the bier, the roller, the sexton's implements, and various other articles which are now of necessity kept in the aisles of the church that the churchwardens be permitted to erect such a building, if it can be accomplished; provided the same do not in any way interfere with the almshouses, and that the party-wall be considered as belonging to the charity. That the parishioners now assembled conceive they cannot authorise the application of any portion of the parish money towards the re-building of the almshouses; but, in consideration of the church-yard being enlarged to the extent of upwards of three hundred and sixty square yards, the churchwardens be allowed to appropriate such sum of money, out of the church-rate, as may be necessary for carrying this design into effect, so that such sum shall not exceed £.200, which is in about the same proportion to that which Mrs. Hayter has offered for the land intended to be given up to her. That if it should appear to the churchwardens more desirable to borrow this sum of £.200, or any part thereof, than to take the whole out of the next church-rate, they be empowered to do so, in conformity to the Act of Parliament for the Building of Churches and Enlargement of Church-Yards. That the thanks of this meeting are due to John Edmund Dowdeswell and John Martin, esquires, the representatives of the borough in parliament, for kindly offering to contribute £.100 each towards this important object; and also to Lindsey Winterbotham, esq. for gratuitously consenting to give up a strip of land betwixt the south end of the Warkhay Garden and the Abbey Church. That the churchwardens be requested to take upon themselves the trouble of collecting subscriptions towards carrying the object of this meeting into full effect. 23. The dairy of Mr. Wm. Skeavington, of Gupshill, was feloniously entered in the night, and robbed of a quantity of cheese and 'butter. 30.-In consequence of the alarming tumults and diabolical acts of incendiarism which had recently occurred in various parts of the country, between three and four hundred of the inhabitants of the borough voluntarily stept forward and were sworn in special constables. This was merely a precautionary measure, for happily there was no direct cause for alarm in the immediate neighbourhood: it was conceived, however, that the best way to prevent disorders, was to shew that the respectable members of society were prepared to act in concert, in order to repress every movement approaching to outrage. The magistrates afterwards divided the town into sixteen sections, over each of which three superintendents were appointed: two of these superintendents, with about a dozen special constables, paraded the streets from ten at night until four or five in the morning, for nearly two months; and to this extraordinary C vigilance may be attributed the omission of any outrage in the town, during a period in which the utmost enormities were committed in almost every part of the kingdom. DEC. 6.-About one o'clock in the morning, a poor cottager, who was attending a sick child, perceived a thatched cowhouse, in the occupation of Mr. John Nind, of Dumbleton, a tenant of Edw. Holland, esq. to be on fire: without delay, he released all the cows from the stalls, except one, which was burnt to death, and another was so much scorched, that it was found necessary to kill her. The cow-house, together with a hay rick, and a stubble rick, were entirely destroyed; and had not the neighbours lent prompt assistance, the conflagration might have spread through the village. This calamity was occasioned by an incendiary, and 100l. reward was offered for his apprehension, independently of the 500l. offered by the government proclamation for the detection of any incendiary. 7. About six o'clock in the evening, a hay rick belonging to Mr. Crump, of Deerhurst, was discovered to be on fire, but by prompt exertion the flames were subdued before much damage was incurred: there were reasons for supposing it was maliciously set on fire. 8.-A large barley rick, standing in the midst of several other ricks of considerable value, the property of Mrs. Pacey, of Pardon Hill, near Winchcomb, was entirely consumed by fire, but the surrounding ones were saved, principally by covering them with wet carpets, blankets, &c. This was clearly the work of an incendiary, and although a reward of 100l. was offered for the discovery of the villain, he escaped detection. 8. The county magistrates, acting for this dictrict, were busily engaged at Mr.White's office, in Barton-Street, in swearing in special constables to the number of upwards of 450: these were divided into five sections, the heads of which were selected from the respectable inhabitants of the several parishes in the district, to whom directions were given for the establishment of night watches, for the preservation of property and the public peace. 15.-A public meeting of the inhabitants of the borough and neighbourhood was held at the Tolzey, to consider the propriety of establishing a Volunteer Cavalry Force: although several persons immediately enrolled their names, there was not a sufficient number to form a troop, and the project was in consequence abandoned. |