that court, it was decided "that Ireland was a place beyond the seas," and therefore liable under the Dock Act to pay a higher duty on goods than those brought to Bristol "coastwise."

15. On February 5th, at an adjourned meeting of the council, a Watch committee was appointed, which produced a scheme for an efficient police force, the estimated cost being about £9,000 per annum. Mr. Bishop was appointed police superintendent at £350 per annum.-Mr. Serjeant Ludlow, under protest, acted as town clerk. He contended that the most important duties had been detached from the office and inferior ones substituted, which he thought a barrister ought not to be called upon to fulfil, especially at a reduced remuneration; he would neither accept the new appointment nor give up his claim to compensation for loss of office. He afterwards, by letter, showed that his average income had been from salary and fees £913 58. 10d. per annum; he was allowed as compensation, £533 68. 8d. The learned gentleman, taking offence at some strictures by Mr. C. H. Payne, town councillor and ex-mayor, sent his friend, Captain Cooke, with a demand for an explanation and authority to act as circumstances might require. Mr. Payne, in reply, claimed his right to criticise, as one having a decided interest in the city's funds, but disclaimed any idea of imputing intentional misstatement, or anything inconsistent with the character of a gentleman to the learned serjeant.

The Duke of Beaufort was appointed lord high steward of Bristol; he had a majority of sixteen over

Lord Seagrave, the lord-lieutenant, who was also nominated.-On February 8th, the Fury, a small tug boat, which had been bought for towing ships on the Avon, was boarded by about thirty Pill boatmen, who carried her off and tried to scuttle her. She was picked up the next day drifting off Beachley; warrants were issued against eighteen of the rioters, and rewards offered for their apprehension.

In a debate in the Council chamber, on February 9th, it was shown that the annual imposts in the city amounted to £12,400; that deducting town dues, interest on debt, cost of new gaol, &c., there remained to meet this an income of about £13,000. That the amount of the poor, paving, harbour and compensation rates levied on Bristol in 1833 was £65,029, assessed upon 10,114 properties; that only £54,146 could be collected from 6,670 properties, whilst 3,444 other properties contributed nothing; that 2,488 persons were summoned for the rates, and that 1,400 of these were excused by the magistrates.

The report on the corporation property, presented this month by Mr. Sturge, was as follows:

There were besides, the public buildings, Council-house, Guildhall, Gaol, Bridewell, Mayor's chapel, Guard-house and City Library; the total indebtedness was £111,542 158. 10d. It was then moved to petition Parliament for leave to appropriate the sum of £35,000 in redeeming the rates levied under the Damages Compensation Act, and this was carried by thirty-two to twenty-three.

On Monday, February 15th, it was decided that the treasurer should have charge of the city plate, the mayor to have the use of it when he desired.-Twenty-four gentlemen were nominated as magistrates after great discussion, twelve from each party, the names being sent up to the Government. Twelve Whigs and six Tories were appointed. Objections to certain gentlemen nominated on the Conservative side of the House having been sent up, gave rise to a heated debate in Parliament, in which Sir R. Vyvyan charged Lord John Russell with being influenced by corrupt motives. The Speaker had to call on the noble lord and the hon. baronet to give their assurance that they would not carry the matter further. Of the gentlemen chosen, Messrs. T. Kington (Con.) and R. Bright (Whig) declined to serve.

On February 23rd it was shown that the cost of the law business of the town council, including town clerk, city solicitors and their various clerks, had averaged £3,350 per annum. Mr. Daniel Burges (father of the present town clerk) was appointed town clerk, and Messrs. Brice and Burges city solicitors, the salary, to cover all law business, payment of clerks, &c., exclusive of Parliamentary charges, to be £3,000. Mr. Brice had been a faithful servant of the city for twenty-nine, and Mr. Burges for seventeen years.

The Cholera ground and Scavengers' yard, Temple meads, were included in the twenty acres belonging to the corporation which was required by the Great Western Railway company. The council demurred to the railway taking the whole of the land. In answer it was said that the engineer, Mr. Brunel, said it would all be required. Moreover, as there were 8,000 shares, of the value of £200,000, held by inhabitants of Bristol, it was desirable to give every facility to the Great Western Railway company for their terminal arrangements being thoroughly complete in Temple meads. The company ultimately decided that the Cholera ground and Scavengers' yard, together with a portion of land near the Cattle market, specified by the council, should not be claimed by them; moreover, they were willing to insert a clause in the deed of conveyance that, at the end of ten years, they would give up any of the land not required by them on the same terms as those on which they purchased. The price asked for the ground (18a.

3r. 15p.) was £12,000; the company offered £11,300. In September, on arbitration, the sum asked, £12,000, was awarded.

In February, several acres of ground on the Bath road were purchased, with a view to form a Zoological Society's garden. It was afterwards decided to form one nearer to Clifton, and on May 12th the society reported that they had bought the ground (now occupied by them) of Mr. Francis Adams for £3,456 108., and had expended £8,800 upon it. The plot measured about twelve acres. The gardens were opened July 11th of the same year.

On March 10th the stock of wines belonging to the corporation, 520 dozen, was sold by auction for £1,507, realising a profit of £500. On the 15th, the furniture of the Mansion-house fetched £725 48. 2d.

coroner.

On May 4th Mr. Grindon was unanimously appointed -The common council, by forty-two to four, decided to petition for the removal of the civic disabili ties of the Jews.-It was ordered that henceforth the names of the members voting be entered in a division book. - Mr. W. O. Hare was appointed clerk of the peace. On Saturday, the 14th, a peal of bells was presented by Mr. John Bangley to the church of St. Matthew, Kingsdown.-On the 24th the prospectus of the Bristol Cotton Twist and Power Loom company (capital £200,000, in 4,000 shares of £20 each) was issued.

On June 4th steam communication by the steamship Star was opened with Ilfracombe and South Wales.-On the 5th two Persian princes, on the 23rd the Prince of Orange with his two sons and suite, and on July 21st the Prince of Oldenburg, nephew of the Czar of Russia, visited the city; they and their suites were entertained by the mayor.-On June 26th the new police commenced duty. The head-quarters was at the Guard-house, Wine street (see Vol. I., p. 303); the force numbered 227 men. -Prospectus of the Bristol and Bitton Cotton Twist company issued; capital, £300,000; shares, £100.

On July 2nd a grand horticultural fête was held at Mr. Miller's, Durdham down.-On the 14th a great dinner was given to Mr. Thomas Daniel, late senior alderman, to whom an address, signed by 7,000 of his fellowcitizens, was presented; five other gentlemen who had been in conjunction with Mr. Daniel, Messrs. C. L. Walker, J. George, N. Roch, A. Hilhouse and J. N. Franklyn, were also included in the entertainment.—On the 28th the sternpost of the Great Western steamship was raised from the keel amidst great rejoicing.

The first mention of the Teetotal Temperance society in Bristol with which we have met is a challenge of William Bulphin, a chimney-sweep of Steep street, in

town council.-In December the dean and chapter purchased the ruins of the Bishop's palace, College green, and the grounds belonging thereto, for £1,450.

17. In 1838, under a new survey of the city, the ratable value of the nineteen parishes was assessed at £213,417.-On January 19th the steamboat Killarney, on her passage to Bristol from Cork, was wrecked on the Rennies rocks; twenty-five persons perished, the others, after spending three days and two nights upon the rock, were saved by means of a basket swung on a rope from the opposite cliffs of the bay, and thence swept over the rock.

In February the cross rows of lime trees in King square were cut down and the iron railing put up-In the same month the following sums were paid as compensation to owners of slaves in the West Indies, who resided in Bristol or its neighbourhood, out of the sum of £20,000,000 voted by Parliament. The list does not include any sum under £3,000:

On February 16th the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley, whose return had been petitioned against, was declared duly elected.-June 4th, the Great Western railway was opened from London to Maidenhead.—On the 28th the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria was celebrated with great rejoicing; the funds were raised by public subscription, and not as of old, furnished by the corporation.—In April, the Great Western steamship was on view in Bristol, having returned from London, where she had been exhibited. She made several highly successful voyages to and from New York during the year, averaging thirteen days on her homeward passages.-On July 2nd Mr. Courtney made another successful flight down a rope from St. Vincent's rocks to Leigh woods.-On the 16th the fairs held in St. James and Temple parishes were abolished.-On December 26th, Fergus O'Connor held a Chartist meeting on Brandon hill, which proved a failure.

In January, 1839, calico was for the first time manufactured in Bristol.-On February 9th, William Davis murdered John Butt in Cold Harbour lane; he was hanged at Gloucester, April 6th-On April 18th, the

"Great Western" hotel, Hotwell road, was opened.September 6th, a shock of an earthquake was felt in Bristol.

On February 10th, 1840, there were great rejoicings. on account of the Queen's marriage.-On August 6th Sir Robert and Lady Peel visited Bristol; they stayed at the "White Lion" tavern, Broad street.-On September 10th the lords of the Admiralty arrived in the steamship Firebrand.

On June 28th, 1841, Mr. P. W. S. Miles and the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley were returned as members of Parliament for the city.-On July 22nd the new building at the top of Park street, intended for the Red Maids' school, was sold to the Charity trustees for £9,250. By consent of the Lord Chancellor, it was afterwards sold to trustees on behalf of the Bishop's (intended) college for £9,750.-On August 17th the report of the Bristol General Cemetery company was issued; it gave the total cost of land, roads and building as £13,340.On September 27th the mayor and officials began to beat the bounds of the city.-The new bridge from Bath street to St. Philip's opened; it was built by a company and cost £11,000, but with the approaches nearly £20,000.

On May 24th, 1842, the Victoria rooms, the foundation stone of which was laid by Mr. J. K. Haberfield in 1838, erected at a cost of £20,000, and occupying the finest site in Clifton, were opened. The noble portico is supported by massive Corinthian columns, which bear a rich entablature and pediment, with classic carvings in high relief representing the "Advent of Morning."On July 12th, the Royal Agricultural society visited Bristol; the exhibition was held at the back of the Victoria rooms, the ploughing, &c., in a field at Sneyd park.

On July 7th, 1843, Highbury Congregational church was opened, with accommodation for 700 people; the Rev. David Thomas became its first pastor in 1844, and continued to occupy the pulpit till his death, November 7th, 1875.-On the 14th the Roman Catholics bought, for £5,000, the Irvingites' chapel, near the Stone bridge, which had cost £13,000. Bishop Baines, who preached the opening sermon, died in his bed at Bath during the following night.-On July 19th H.R.H. Prince Albert visited Bristol to be present at the launch of the Great Britain steamship. He received addresses from the mayor and corporation, from the Society of Merchant Venturers, who gave him the freedom of their society in a gold box, and from the clergy; a procession was then formed through the city to Clifton, and thence by the valley road to the company's yard entrance in Cumberland road. After partaking of a banquet with

A.D. 1844.

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the élite of the neighbourhood, under the presidency of Mr. T. Kingston, the prince named the ship in the usual manner, by dashing a bottle of wine on her bows. He left immediately for London, having expressed himself highly delighted with all he had seen. There were 30,000 people on Brandon hill to view the launch.—On October 30th the foundation-stone of the new Guildhall

was laid by the mayor, Mr. James Gibbs, with great Masonic ceremony. - Several foreign princes visited Bristol during the year in order to inspect the Great Britain.

In 1844 the fronts of the picturesque old houses in Broad street, between the Council-house and the Guildhall, were taken down to widen the roadway.-In May the Bristol and Exeter railway line was completed and opened.-On July 6th the King of Saxony visited Bristol by rail from Bath to attend divine service at the Roman Catholic church on St. Augustine's back; he returned to Bath that night, but came back on Monday morning to inspect the Great Britain steamship.-On August 31st the Prince of Prussia, being a guest of the Duke of Beaufort, came with his grace from Badminton to see the huge ship.

On January 16th, 1845, Miss Ann Dimsdale bequeathed about £26,000 to ten various charities in Bristol.-In June, the foundation-stone of Horfield barracks was laid with Masonic rites.-On August 20th and 21st the Queen Dowager, with suite, visited Clifton, Kingsweston and Blaize castle.-William Knibb, the eminent Baptist missionary, died November 15th, 1845; he was, in 1816, an apprentice to Mr. Fuller, printer, Bristol.

In January, 1846, the statue of Chatterton was removed, by order of the vicar of Redcliff, from consecrated ground. The work of restoring St. Mary Redcliff church was begun April 21st, by the mayor at the head of an imposing Masonic procession.-On June 18th the foundation-stone of St. Simon's was laid by the mayor.Thomas Clarkson, the negro's friend, who was well known for his anti-slavery efforts in Bristol, died September 26th.-On October 28th, R. B. Crowther, Q. C., took his seat as recorder, in the room of Sir Charles Wetherell, deceased August 17th.

18. In 1847 the town clerk stated before the Government surveyors sent to examine into the merits of the "Street Improvement Bill" that the population was 140,158; the number of streets, 2,250; the lanes, 50; alleys, 10; courts, 380; houses, 20,000. The squares: Queen square, 6a. 3r. and some poles; College green, 4a. Or. 2p.; Brunswick square, 1a. Or. 36p.; Brandon hill, 19a. 2r.; Portland square, 2a. 1r.; King square, la. Or. 22p. That £800 had been laid out in forming

In February the directors of the Bristol and South Wales Junction railway purchased the Old Passage ferry, with 80 acres of land, and all the appliances of the ferry, for £20,000.-March 15th, the new County court was opened at the Guildhall by Mr. Arthur Palmer, jun., the judge.—March 27th, the first annual meeting of the Bristol Waterworks company was held at the "White Lion" tavern. The report stated that the company had paid to the Merchant Venturers' society for machinery, pipes, &c., £18,000; to Mr. Coates for Zion spring, £13,500; to Mr. W. Hamley for Buckingham spring, £2,014 108.; to Mr. John Coombe for Richmond spring, £4,950, the two latter by arbitration; total, £38,464 108. Bristol was at this time the most unhealthy large town in the kingdom, two only excepted.On June 2nd, Buckingham Baptist chapel, Clifton, was opened by the Rev. J. H. Hinton.-On June 18th, the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia visited the city and neighbourhood.-On July 30th, the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley and Mr. P. W. S. Miles were returned as members of Parliament for Bristol.-In August, Miss Ann Williams bequeathed to twelve of the Bristol charities the sum of £6,500; also Mr. Robert Suple bequeathed £8,800 to twelve charitable and religious institutions.-September 27th, Mr. Macready realised £1,500 profit by a visit of Jenny Lind to his theatre in King street. On October 1st, the water from Barrow was conveyed over Bedminster bridge.-On October 5th Miss Walsh, whilst botanizing, fell over St. Vincent's rocks. November 15th, the Branch Bank of England removed from Bridge street to their new premises in Broad street.

In 1848, the Bristol Free Grammar school, after being practically in abeyance twenty-five years, was re-opened under Dr. Evans; two hundred boys, sons of citizens, were admitted on January 24th.-An appeal from a decision of the Master of the Rolls, in the matter of Colston's school, was decided by the Lord