Author: Volunteers

Nelson’s Column was constructed over a number of years from 1840 onwards, in the wake of many criticisms and controversies. The four bronze lions at its base, by Landseer, were finally added in 1867. Here’s an early article on one of the first meetings of the Committee established to facilitate the construction of Nelson’s Column. The article also has to tell readers the location of Trafalgar Square, near Charing Cross, of course.

“The Committee appointed to take measures for erecting a monument to Nelson, assembled at the Thatched-house Tavern on the 11th inst., Sir George Cockburn in the chair. There were also present the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Anglesey, Lord Byron, Mr. Croker, Mr. Spring Rice, Lord Minto, Sir Thomas Hardy, and Sir John Barrow. The chairman announced that the Duke of Buccleugh had consented to act as chairman of the Committee. A letter from Mr. Spring Rice was read, approving of Trafalgar-square, near Charing-cross, as the site of the monument, provided the plans and designs are submitted to Government. The Duke of Wellington suggested that an advertisement for plans should be issued immediately, with an intimation to artists that the sum to be expended would be about 25,000l.: the Duke of York’s column cost 23,000l. After some discussion, a resolution in accordance with these suggestions passed.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

St. Lucia, as part of the British Empire, was subject to British justice. An early article on the treatment of the population of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia by their English governor shows how this power was dispensed. The one consolation for the St. Lucians was that it didn’t last long; Bunbury was recalled and by 1839 he was causing havoc in New South Wales.

‘But the most extraordinary proceedings are those at St. Lucia. The inhabitants of this small island are French, in habits, feeling, and language. Col. Thomas Bunbury has for some time been their provisional Governor ; his fitness for the post may be estimated by one of his recent acts. The St. Lucia Gazette of Feb. 23d contains a proclamation, ordering the language used in the courts of justice in the island to be changed from French to English. This monstrous enactment, under which justice is to be administered to a people in an unknown tongue, is couched in the most insulting and contemptuous terms. Colonel Bunbury says, the British Government, in the hope that the advocates would conform themselves to the wishes of the Government, and learn the language of the mother country, had “conceded the use of the French language in their written and verbal pleadings;” but now, having ascertained that those advocates refuse to appear in court, with a view to dictate to the Government the appointment of a Judge of their own choice, he has resolved, in order to “reduce a spirit in these said advocates, so utterly repugnant to that exercised by him,” to order and appoint that, from the 1st of March, “the English language shall be the sole language to be used in the future written pleadings of the said court, and by the advocates of the said court ; and that the French language is alone to be used by the Chief Justice in his addresses and charges to French assessors, empannelled in said court, and by the sworn interpreter of said court : and as a fit and just punishment for the offences so set forth, and by the said advocates so committed,” he prohibits them from practising “in said court as aforesaid.” It is difficult to imagine anything more arbitrary than this. According to Governor Bunbury’s own showing, the only sin of the advocates was refusal to enter the Governor’s Court, which certainly they might do or not as they pleased ; and for this offence, the entire people are punished by a decree amounting substantially to a denial of justice.

This is not all : it appears that Governor Bunbury, towards the end of last year, thought fit to suspend Chief Justice Reddie, and one of the Puisne Judges, Lafitte, for declining to act with another Puisne Judge provisionally appointed by the Governor to try only certain causes ; which arrangement, the old Judges maintained, amounted to a denial of justice to the parties whose causes were put out of court. The result was, the appointment of three new Judges, Englishmen ; and we conjecture that it is before this court that the advocates refuse to plead. Be that as it may, it is certain that among suitors as well as advocates, great anger and excitement prevails ; and there is, at any rate, prima facie evidence of gross misconduct on the part of the Governor.’

Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

Subterranean forests have been found throughout the country and around the world but when this subterranean forest in the Fens was first written about only the local inhabitants were aware of the wealth of raw material just below the surface of the land they ploughed.

“SUBTERRANEAN FOREST.–An immense subterranean forest, of which even tradition preserves no account, lies buried under a part of the fens between Lincoln and Boston ; although its existence is almost unknown, except to the thinly scattered population of the district. The soil consists mainly of rotted wood, mixed with a sort of earthy deposit, evidently left by the subsidence of a large body of water. On passing a lately ploughed piece, a stranger is surprised by observing heaps of wood, many loads to the acre, piled up over its surface, as if a crop of huge black logs had succeeded to the previous one of corn. These have been torn up by the plough ; and it is singular that after forty years of tillage, the yield of these logs in many places continues as great as ever. The occupiers ascribe the phenomenon to the gradual rising of the forest, which lies prostrated a foot or two under ground, though it is probably caused by the sinking of the top soil into a boggy substratum, which is called the sock. The trees force themselves up entire, announcing their approach to the surface by the decay of all verdure above them. When a farmer observes this indication, he digs down and removes the tree from its bed of centuries, and is frequently well rewarded for his trouble. The trees are all oak, and frequently of dimensions which would almost stagger belief. Some years ago the writer of this article saw one taken up which contained no less that 1440 cubic feet of timber ; and, so recently as the winter of 1836, he removed another, the bole alone of which contained nearly 1000 feet. The wood of these gigantic monarchs of the forest, when first bared, is sodden with moisture and apparently rotten ; but, after a short exposure to the air, becomes so hard that none but the best-tempered tools will touch it. It is nevertheless worked into rails and fencing, because the grain is so straight that it rends like a reed. Many gentlemen in the neighbourhood, have a few plain articles of furniture manufactured out of it, as matters of curiosity, as in time it becomes not only as hard, but as black as ebony, and is capable of the highest polish. Every tree is either plucked up from its roots, or snapped short about three feet from them ; and all appear to have fallen pretty much in the same way. It is probable that at some distant date an irruption of the sea may have done the havoc, aided, perhaps, by one of those tornadoes which even now, in a milder degree, are occasionally experienced thereabouts.”

Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

Two hundred years ago tea companies, the importers, the government and the retailers were all making excess profits, prompting the writer of this article, no doubt a tea drinker, to expose their malpractice.

“CONSUMPTION OF TEA.–The principal article of our commerce with China, tea, is perhaps more singular in its history than any other article of commerce in the known world. A simple and unsophisticated shrub, in little more than half a century, has become an article of such general consumption, that it seems to form one of the prime of articles of existence among the great bulk of mankind. It is the peculiar growth of a country, of which it forms almost the only link of connexion with the rest of the world. It forms the source of the largest commercial revenue to the British Government of any other commodity whatever, and of the largest commercial profits to the individuals concerned in its importation. Withal, it is the simplest, the most harmless thing that ever was offered for the gratification man,– having, it is agreed and argued by many, a moral influence wherever it is diffused. It is the rallying point of our earliest associations ; it has given an additional charm to our fire-sides ; and tends, perhaps, more than any one thing, to confirm the pre-existing domestic habits of the British public. Its exhilirating qualities are eagerly sought after as a restorative and a solace from the effects of fatigue or dissipation ; the healthy and the sick, the young and the old, all equally resort to the use of it, as yielding all the salutary influence of strong liquors, without their baneful and pernicious effects. Yet this shrub, so simple and so useful, is delivered to the community of this country so surcharged with duties and profits beyond its original cost, that, did it contain all the mischievous qualities that are opposed to its real virtues, it could not be more strictly guarded from general use. For the whole of our imports, including factory expenses and commission, the original cost in China amounts to the sum of 2 millions sterling. This is wonderfully increased before the British public can have any access to the article of consumption, thus:–

1. The value of the Company’s importations from China into Great Britain, as established by their own statement, is	£2,000,000
2. On this they charge 100 per cent, for their own especial benefit	£2,000,000
3. And the Government duty, as by law established, is equal to the original cost and the profits charged by the Company	£4,000,000

This gives a total of eight millions, which is nearly doubled by the profits of retailers.”

The Stamford Mercury, 10th October 1828.

Corn prices were high in 1828 thanks to the Corn Laws which ensured that nobility and large landowners made a good profit from their land at the expense of the rest of society. The right to vote was not universal, depending largely on land ownership, consequently, there was absolutely no desire to reduce prices. These Grantham ladies decided to rebel and get merry at the same time. If only they had restricted themselves to drinking tea.

“Some little disturbance took place at Grantham on Monday evening last, in consequence of the recent advance in the price of flour. A party of the softer sex having assembled in the course of the afternoon to dignify the street in which they reside with the appellation of New-Street, in lieu of the vulgar one of “Sandpit-Lane,” chose to celebrate the important event by a tea-drinking. From the effects of this refreshment, probably, no mischief would have ensued, had not sundry donations from their more opulent neighbours enabled them to purchase too large a portion of the evil spirit gin, which overpowered the bohea, and produced its usual wonderful and calamitous consequences. The ladies threw off their meek and quiet dispositions, and suddenly became lords and masters : and having taken it into their high consideration that the millers and bakers had acted unfairly in being guided by the value of wheat in fixing the price of flour, they proceeded to inflict summary punishment : being joined by a number of boys and other rabble, they succeeded in demolishing several windows, before the police could assemble and put a stop to their proceedings.”

The Stamford Mercury, 24th October, 1828.

Suicide among the clergy is not unknown, but in Great Casterton it’s astonishing and noteworthy, judging by the length of this article. Here is some up-to-date advice designed to prevent the desperation the clergy sometimes feel, that can ultimately lead to suicide.

“DISTRESSING SUICIDE OF A RUTLAND CLERGYMAN

A painful sensation was caused in the district around Stamford on Thursday morning by the circulation of a report, which unfortunately only proved too true, that the Rev. Edwd. George Sellman, for many years Rector of Great Casterton-with-Pickworth, had shot himself with a revolver on the previous night. It transpired that about 11 p.m. the occupants of the Rectory were alarmed by the report of firearms, and subsequently Mr. Sellman was discovered by his son Edgar lying on the library floor in a pool of blood. In the right hand was clutched a revolver from which three shots had been fired, and two of these had entered the body, one penetrating the heart and causing immediate death. In the jacket pocket a six-chambered revolver, fully loaded, was afterwards found, proving that the sad act had been deliberately planned. Deceased was addicted to taking morphia in large quantities, and he had been rather eccentric in his manner of late. He was educated at Cambridge, ordained in 1875, Curate at Holy Trinity, Taunton, from that year to 1877, Curate at Clyst St. George, Devon, 1879-81, and Curate at Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks, up to 1883, when he was appointed to the living at Great Casterton. He was nearly 50 years of age, and leaves a wife, two sons, and a daughter.

Mr. E.W. Phillips, county coroner, held an inquest at the Crown inn on Thursday night, Mr. J. Clark being foreman of the jury. Lieut.-Col. White, agent to the Marquis of Exeter, who is patron of the living, was present. The Coroner having remarked upon the very unpleasant duty they had been called together to perform, said it was most unfortunate the presence of Mrs. Sellman would be required at that inquiry, but as she was the last person to see the deceased alive her evidence could not be dispensed with.–Mrs. Ellen Elizabeth Sellman was then called. She said she last saw her husband alive at 10.30 on the previous night, when he said “Good night” to her. He then appeared as usual, and she saw nothing strange in his manner.–Edgar Neville Newmarch Sellman, student, son of the deceased, stated that he was lying on his bed, fully dressed, at about 11 o’clock, when he heard a noise which sounded like a revolver shot. He went down to Mrs. Sellman’s boudoir and spoke to her about the matter, and then went downstairs to see what was going on . The library door was shut, and he entered the dining-room adjoining and looked through the key hole. He saw there was a light in the room and he went out of doors round to the library window, which he found wide open. He then discovered his father lying just inside the room with a pool of blood near his head. He felt the pulse and, having satisfied himself that life was extinct, went and saw his mother and roused Mr. Dexter, who came to the house. Witness then cycled to Stamford and called for Dr. Middlemist.–The Foreman : Was deceased in the habit of sitting up longer at night than the other member of the family? Witness : Yes ; he was occasionally in the habit of going into the church in the evening and playing the organ, and at such times he went to bed fairly late–later than the rest. He would go out after dinner and supper and come back at any hour of the evening, frequently late.–He did not give you any cause for suspicion last evening? No ; I did not think he was any different yesterday form usual.–A juryman : Had you any particular reason for not taking your clothes off last night ? Yes, simply because I was not going to bed just then.– P.c. Plant asked what made the witness feel his father’s pulse to satisfy himself that he was dead.–The Coroner : That is an absurd question ; I shall not allow that.–Mr LeBoeuf (a juror) : was it known that your father had a revolver and was in the habit of practising with it ? Witness : It was known that he had a revolver, but he was not in the habit of practising with it.–You say you did not see the revolver at the time ? Yes, the right hand was under the body, and I thought I should be doing wrong in moving it.–Has he fired the revolver before in the house ? Yes.–William Dexter, farmer, Great Casterton, spoke to the last witness calling him up. When he saw deceased he was lying with his head just on the edge of the window-sill, face downwards, and his arms were underneath him. He pulled out the right arm and found a revolver underneath him.–By the Coroner : I am sure both arms were underneath him.–The son was then recalled and asked by the Coroner which hand he took to feel the pulse ? He replied that it was the left. As far as he could remember the hand underneath deceased was the right in which the revolver was subsequently found.–P.c. Plant, stationed at Ryhall, deposed to a bloodstained revolver, from which three shots had been fired, being handed to him. It was a central-fire weapon, and contained two loaded cartridges. In the deceased’s jacket pocket witness subsequently found a pin-fire revolver loaded in all six chambers.–Mr. R. C. Middlemist, surgeon, Stamford, stated that he had been deceased’s medical attendant nearly three years. He usually attended him when suffering from some eccentricity which he should say was of a temporary nature. He had not been organically ill, but generally suffered from depression.–By the Coroner : To my knowledge deceased had taken narcotic drugs for some time. I have known it for the last six months. He took them without my orders and in excessive amounts–sufficient to kill two or three people who were not used to taking drugs. I have proof of that in a bill in my pocket.–The Coroner : And was he when under the influence of these drugs as rational as at other times ? No, he took morphia to such an extent that natural depression followed. Continuing, witness said he saw deceased on the previous afternoon speaking to his (witness’s) coachman. He observed to his coachman that he thought deceased looked very strange indeed, and he considered he was under the influence of morphia. He was not quite compos mentis, and the pupils of his eyes appeared to be very contracted. Mr. Middlemist then described the result of his examination of the body. The waistcoat was open and the shirt was covered with gunpowder–proof of the shots having been fired at close quarters. There were two bullet wiounds–one under the sixth rib and the other under the fourth. The lower bullet penetrated the lung and the upper one the heart. The latter would cause instantaneous death.–In reply to the Coroner witness said when the first effect of a drug worked off very great depression, almost amounting to melancholia, supervened. He had not doubt the wounds were self-inflicted.–The Coroner having reviewed the evidence, the jury deliberated in private about 20 minutes, when the Foreman said their verdict was that deceased comitted suicide when under the influence of morphia.–Mr. Le Boeuf said that was not a unanimous decision. For his own part he thought deceased was temporarily insane at the time.–The Foreman observed that he would also have liked the jury to have come to that conclusion, but the majority seemed in favour of the verdict. Dr. Middlemist said there was not the least doubt the man was temporarily insane. At the time he was not under the influence of morphia, but was suffering from the effects of that drug. The jury, however, did not alter their decision. In answer to Mr. Le Boeuf, the Coroner said the verdict amounted to practically the same thing as temporary insanity. In thanking the jury for so patiently listening to the evidence, Mr. Phillips remarked that the regretted there had been some little friction amongst them and that they had not come to a unanimous decision. He thought it was a case in which there was very little doubt according to the medical evidence as to what the verdict should have been, and he considered their verdict rather a remarkable one.

The funeral of the deceased took place at Great Casterton on Monday, and was attended by a large concourse. The Revs. Canon Williams and G. Steer (Vicar of Ryhall) officiated.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1900.

Following last week’s post, more is revealed about the female husband found in Manchester. Apparently, female husbands have been known for centuries. A recent book by Jen Manion comprises dozens of anecdotes and narratives detailing the lives of people who were considered girls at birth but who adopted masculine names and loved and lived with female wives. Also, Henry Fielding’s novel, ‘The female husband’, fictionalised the life of Mrs. Mary, alias Mr. George, Hamilton.

“THE WOMAN HUSBAND.–Subsequent enquiries confirm the truth of the statements made in the Manchester Guardian of the 11th, as to this singular case. This woman-man who for probably more than 25 years has succeeded in concealing her sex, and in pursuing a trade of a more than ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a degree of skill and ability which has led to her establishment in a good business in Manchester, bound herself apprentice, at the age of 16 or 17 years, to a Mr. Peacock, a bricklayer and builder at Bawtry, a small market town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the River Idle, which separates the counties of York and Nottingham. She did not remain with Mr. Peacock during the whole period of her apprenticeship, but was ‘turned over,’ as it is called, to another person in the same business. It was during her apprenticeship that she met with her present wife ; and they were married at the old parish church of Sheffield, in the year 1816, when the wife was only 17 years of age. Since the investigation and disclosure of the circumstances on Thursday week, the wife and husband have separated. The latter was for many years a special constable, in the 13th division of that body ; acting for Manchester ; and we are assured that, on all occasions where the services of the division were required, as at elections, orange processions, meetings of trades’ unions, turn-outs, &c. &c., so far from absenting herself, from what, as in the case of well-grounded apprehensions of a riot, must have been, to a woman, a post of some unpleasantness, she is remembered to have been one of the most punctual in attendance, and the most forward volunteer in actual duty, in that division. We understand that she is only no longer a special constable, because she did not, on the last annual special session, held for that purpose at the New Bailey, present herself to be re-sworn. She was not discarded or discharged ; there was no complaint against her ; and probably the extension of her own business was her only motive for not resuming the duties of this office. Altogether, this is by far the most singular case of the kind which has ever reached our knowledge. The celebrated Chevalier D’Eon was not married ; and James Davis (so-called), the discovery of whose sex took place only after death, had not been married for so long a period as the woman whose case is now under notice. There, too, the discovery was made too late to obtain from the party herself any clue to the motives which led her to so unfeminine a course of deception ; but here both parties to the supposed marriage are alive, and the one who assumed the male sex is still alive to give, if she chooses, the true history of her reasons or fancy for laying aside the garb and character of her own, and assuming the appearance, and undertaking the toil, of the other sex, which would certainly be a very curious chapter of biography.–Manchester Guardian of Saturday last.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

Female husband: lesbian, transvestite or woman seeking worthwhile employment and enjoying the benefits of a wife at home? What would Queen Victoria have made of this, bearing in mind that she refused to believe lesbianism existed ?

“FEMALE HUSBAND.–In the Manchester Times of the 8th inst. was a paragraph to the following effect :–“UNFOUNDED REPORT:–A silly report has been industriously propagated this week, to the effect that a respectable female in this town has been married for about 17 years to a person who, within the last few days, is discovered to be a woman. As it was not impossible for such a circumstance to have occurred, although very improbable, we had curiosity enough to make inquiries on the subject and find that the alleged ‘remarkable discovery’ was a gross fabrication.”–We, too, (Manchester Guardian,) have had curiosity enough to make inquiries on the subject, and find that the “unfounded report” of the “remarkable discovery, which, though not impossible, is very improbable,” is true. All the circumstances communicated to us relative to this singular case we do not feel justified in publishing ; but we may mention a few of the principal facts connected with what is here known of the history of this chevalier d’Eon in humble life, of course suppressing the names of the parties. A few days ago a respectable female waited upon an attorney in this town, and asked his advice in a case of a very peculiar nature. It seems that her husband, a master bricklayer, who had been in the habit of trusting her implicitly in his business, even leaving to her management the book-keeping requisite in his trade, had of late, had some cause or other, refused to allow her the weekly usual sum for housekeeping. Having also, in other respects, treated her as she considered in an unkind manner, she came to take advice as to how she could proceed, under the circumstances, against her husband, whom, to the no small astonishment of the professional gentleman she was then consulting, she declared to be, not a man, but a woman. The attorney thought it his duty, under such singular circumstances, to bring the matter under the notice of Mr. Foster, the magistrate, who directed that Mr. Thomas should take the case under his management, and bring the parties for private examination before him (Mr. Foster) at the police-office. Mr. Thomas took the necessary steps ; and on Thursday last the parties were brought before Mr. Foster, in the deputy-constable’s room at the police-office, when the truth of the wife’s averment to the attorney, was corroborated in the most distinct and unqualified manner by Mr Ollier, surgeon to the police, who gave a certificate declaring the individual in question was a woman. The woman-husband, we believe, did not make the least attempt to deny her sex, but contented herself with stating that her wife had only been led to make this exposure because she had withheld from her the weekly allowance of money for housekeeping expenses. The wife replied that this was not the only cause of complaint against her spouse, for that she (the husband) was occasionally intoxicated, and that, when in that state, treated her very ill. The wife also stated that she accidentally made the discovery of the sex of her husband as much as two or three years back, but that she kept the secret to the present time.

From what could be gleaned of the history of this female husband, it would seem that she assumed the garb and character of a boy at an early age, and that in that character she was apprenticed, at the age of 16 or 17, to a master builder, in one of the large towns of Yorkshire. Being of good exterior, with prepossessing appearance and manners, and of features rather handsome, the supposed young man attracted the attention of many females in the same condition of life ; and, amongst others, was the one who afterwards became the wife. The attentions of the young bricklayer was [sic] acceptable and accepted ; and the union took place shortly after the expiration of the apprenticeship. Soon afterwards this couple came to Manchester, about the year 1829, where the husband commenced the business of a builder, and by considerable ability and attention to trade was tolerably successful. Amongst other branches of the business, this builder became remarkable, indeed almost to celebrity, for skill and success in the erection of flues, ovens, &c. ; and we believe is at this moment in very good business, employing several hands, and giving very general satisfaction to those for whom any work has been executed. The wife had the entire management of the books and accounts in the business, and, as far as we have heard, there was not the slightest imputation on her character. We believe that nothing was done in the way of legal proceedings. Several articles claimed by the wife as her property have been sent to the police-office by the husband, who, so far as we have heard, has not offered any reparation to the wife for the cruel and painful position in which she is now placed. One thing is now certain, that after the exposure which has taken place, and the affair was currently talked of as early as Thursday and Friday last, the woman who has ventured to assume the character of a man will no longer be able to continue to carry on business in this town, and that she must either lay aside her disguise and resume the appearance which most befits her sex, or if she will retain her unfeminine appearance and character, she must seek to hide her imposture in some place where she is not known, and where she may hope for a while to escape detection. We believe that many persons who have employed her join in declaring that they had not the slightest suspicion that she was other than what she seemed.

It is somewhat remarkable that this is not the first case of this nature which has been brought under the notice of Mr. Thomas. In January, 1829, a labourer in the service of Mr. Crisp, shipbuilder, at Dockhead, London, while assisting in sawing a log of fir, was struck by the severed part of the log with such force on the head as to die of the injury while being conveyed to St. Thomas’s Hospital. On stripping the body to prepare it for interment, it was discovered that the deceased, who was about 38 years of age, was a woman. She had been known for about 22 years to have filled various situations, as groom, shipwright’s labourer, and other subordinate occupations in dock-yards, vitriol-works, &c., and had been 21 years married, and her wife declared in the most solemn manner, on the inquest, and before the police-magistrates at Bow-street, that during the whole of that period she had been in utter ignorance of the real sex of her supposed husband.–Manchester Guardian.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

More reminiscences from Mercury memorist, “S.H.E.” Here she remembers a lonely man from Tinwell with a much-rumoured, tragic past.

“A tragic figure was Mr. Cooch, a recluse, who lived in a nice house near Tinwell: I forget its proper name, but it was commonly called ‘Rag Hall’. It was said to have been built with money made out of marine stores. There were curious tales told about this man – that he had man-traps and guns set in the grounds to keep away intrucders; that no woman was allowed in the house; and that there were two rooms kept locked from everyone but the owner – the dining room, where was set a wedding breakfast, with wedding cake complete, untouched, and a bedroom, where, on the bed, lay the bridal array of a fair young bride, who died on her wedding day. It was said that he was never afterwards seen to smile, and he rarely spoke to anyone.

Another tale they told was that he once took a vow never to enter the village of Tinwell, and he kept it! If he wanted to go to Ketton, he crossed the foot-bridge near the Mill, crossed the meadows and railway and skirted the parish. Various reasons were given for his vow. One was that he quarrelled with the Tinwell parson, but I somehow this it had to do with the tragedy of his youth. I saw him only once or twice in the town, always alone a speaking to no one – an erest spare figure, with rigid greyish features and tragic eyes, always looking forward, but , apparently, seeing nothing. Poor soul!

His style of dress was nost eccentric. I suppose it had been in vogue once, but it was sadly out-of-date. Here is one rig-out in which I saw him: BLakc and white check trousers (the squares at least half-an-inch square), a short black velvet jacket bound with braid. a winged collar (such as is usually associated with the last Mr. W. E. Gladstone) tied round with narrow blue ribbon, in lieu of a ite; patent leather shoes and silk socks; a glengarry bonnet on the side of his head; and a silver-mounted swagger cane with tassel. Altogether a weird sight!”

The Stamford Mercury, 6th May, 1938.

Necessaries were the basic things needed to sustain life – food, clothing, shelter (see the lowest ‘rung’ of Maslow’s heirarchy of needs). This price fixing ensured that wages were in line with the cost of living. Today, however, necessaries seem to include all the needs Maslow lists, plus mobile telephones, cars, televisions . . .

“By the Statute of Richard II. Anno septimo*, all who sold wines and victuals, either wholesale or retail, were under the government of the Mayor of London; and by an Act of the 13th year of that reign, the Justices of the Peace were empowered to settle the price of wages of labourers and others, according to the prices of provisions, and to fix the value of provisions also. By an Act of the 25th of Henry the VIIIth, the Lord Chancellor and other great Officers had the authority of fixing the prices of necessaries, as had also the Magistrates in Cities and Corporations ; and there are various statutes which ascertained the value of beef, mutton, pork, veal, &c. by the pound.– Such a benign practice now, renewed by law, would be the greatest blessing which can descend from a legislature to the people.”

Stamford Mercury, 11th August, 1768.

*In the seventh year (of his reign)