3G6 Provincial Occurrences : Norfolk, Somersetshire, Sfc. 



plus poor, it was resolved " That all unemploy- 

 ed labourers shall inform the overseer of their 

 want of work, that their names may be presented 

 by him at the next vestry meeting, to be held on 

 the Monday morning in every week, at 10 o'clock, 

 that they may there be let at the best price that 

 can be obtained for them for th current week. 

 [Here follow the names of the churchwardens, 

 overseers, surveyors, and eight other indivi- 

 duals.]* 



SOMERSETSHIRE. The expenses for this 

 county from Dec. 1828, to Dec. 1829, amounted to 

 .24,22/ . 7s.0d. full .20,000 of which was con- 

 sumed in the law and punishment of crimes! 



In Castle Carey, the population is under 1,900, 

 and there are 1,000 names on the poor-hook, re- 

 ceiving more or less of parish pay!!! 



GLOUCESTERSHIRE. Jan. 28. A meeting 

 of the inhabitants of the city of Bristol took place 

 at the Guildhall, when it was resolved to petition 

 Parliament, " praying the reduction of the taxes 

 upon malt, beer, sugar, tea, coffee, candles, soap, 

 and other necessaries of life, so as to bring their 

 prices within the means of purchase by the la- 

 bouring part of our population." At the same 

 time the petitioners submit the necessity of " tax 

 upon absentees." 



HEREFORDSHIRE. The Herefordshire 

 Agricultural Meeting was most numerously and 

 respectably attended on Monday last, when the 

 whole of Broad-street was filled with the cattle 

 exhibited. Sir J. G. Cotterell, Bart, was in the 

 chair, supported by Sir Robert Price, Bart. ; se- 

 veral other landed proprietors, a long list of te- 

 nantry, and many principal graziers and dealers 

 in cattle from different counties. A discussion 

 took place on the depressed state of agriculture. 

 There seemed a general concurrence that govern- 

 ment had represented this depression to Par- 

 liament in terms far below its actual and uni- 

 versal pressure. The misfortunes of the country 

 were attributed to the principles of free trade, and 

 the state of the currency. The agriculturists of 

 this and every other county were advised to 

 unite as one man, and by firm and legal proceed- 

 ings compel the ministers to adopt measures for 

 the relief of the suffering country. 



DEVONSHIRE. A meeting was held at the 

 town-hall, Callington, on Tuesday, for the pur- 

 pose of considering the propriety of renting, en- 

 closing, and cultivating about 190 acres of com- 

 mon in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of 

 giving employment to the poor. W. D. Horndon, 

 Esq. was in the chair, and Mr. John Morshead 

 laid before the meeting a plan for dividing the 

 common into allotments, to separate the property 

 of each of the proprietors. The plan was ap- 

 proved, and is, we understand, to be acted on 

 forthwith. Plymouth and Devonport Weekly 

 Journal. 



WORCESTERSHIRE. The extraordinary 

 event of the perpetrators of two murders having 



* This is extracted from the Norfolk Chroni- 

 cle, Feb. 13, and signed T. B. JBeevor, who thus 

 apostrophizes the editor on the occasion, " Is 

 this England, Sir? Is it in that land of boasted 

 Happiness and Freedom that I see it advertised, 

 that ' The unemployed poor are to be let for 

 the highest price that can be obtained for 

 thcmf" 



been discovered, after a lapse of upwards 23 years, 

 has created a great sensation in this county ; and 

 three persons of the names of Clews, Banks and 

 Barnett, have been committed to jail to take their 

 trial for the murder of the murderer of the Rev. 

 Mr. Parker, who having occasioned much ill-will 

 and angry feeling in the parish, had been shot by 

 a man of the name of Hemmings, paid for the 

 purpose ; and afterwards he himself had likewise 

 been murdered by those persons who had hired 

 him to murder Mr. Parker. 



BUCKS. The Duke of Buckingham, as Lord 

 Lieutenant of this county, has published an im- 

 portant. letter, addressed to the magistrates of the 

 county, upon the glaring evils which result from 

 the system of paying for the labour of the poor 

 out of the Poor's Book. 



" You will (he says to the Clerk of the Peace) 

 be pleased to read this letter to the magistrates, 

 on the first day of their meeting. I need not say, 

 that feeling myself thus called upon to press my 

 opinions upon their notice, I shall feel it equally 

 my duty to be at their orders, and to assist them 

 in any manner in which they think that I can be 

 of use to check this growing and great evil." 



LEICESTER. A memorial has been presented 

 to Mr. Keck, as member for the county, on the 

 causes of the general distress ; " things," say 

 the memorialists, " have arrived at such a pass 

 that something must be done." 



SUSSEX. The expenditure for the better re- 

 gulating, paving, improving, and managing the 

 town of Brighton, and the poor thereof, from June 

 30 to Dec. 31, 1829, amounted to .1,536. 4s. 5d. 



SUFFOLK. At the late sessions, the Grand 

 Jurors expressed their deep regret at the alarm- 

 ing and distressing situation of the country, and 

 intreated the magistrates to use their exertions to 

 convene a meeting of the county, in order that the 

 state of the sufferers may be considered and laid 

 before parliament. In consequence, a requisition 

 was signed to the High Sheriff for that purpose ; 

 and on Feb. 6, a meeting, convened by the High 

 Sheriff, was held at Ipswich, to take into con- 

 sideration "the unparalleled distress of all classes 

 dependant on agriculture;" and notwithstanding 

 the inclemency of the weather, nearly 4,000 per- 

 sons assembled, including the county members 

 and a great many respectable owners and occu- 

 piers of land. A petition was voted to Parlia- 

 ment, calling its attention " to the causes which 

 are bringing our agricultural population and its 

 dependants in all trades to pauperism and ruin, 

 and to the wants of the country encumbered with 

 such enormous taxation !! !''* 



Rendlesham Hall has been destroyed by fire ; 

 the damages are calculated at 100,000, unin- 



* Sir Thomas Gooch regretted, " that the dis- 

 tress of the country was not expressed in the 

 King's Speech in terms adequate to what it really 

 is. Taxation must be reduced to what it was in 

 1792 the debt is .800,000,000 1 We must there- 

 fore strike at the root of all extravagance ! we 

 must all sink or swim together ; as landlords, 

 tenants, and labourers were all in the same boat." 

 (Here a person in the crowd said, " You ought 

 to have known that before !") " I will never as- 

 sist," continued Sir Thomas, " in laying one 

 farthing more of taxes on the country." (" You 

 have done enough already/' said another plain 

 dealer.) 



