18.*—“An intelligent mercantile gentleman from Russia, who landed at Yarmouth, with whom we had some conversation on the subject of the free admission of foreign corn into this country, gave it as his opinion that the fears entertained here by the landed interest of excessive importations, at least for some time to come, are quite groundless. He admitted, however, that in eight or ten years, from the encouragement we shall have given to the foreign grower by our free trade system, if it should be extended to corn, abundant supplies may be expected. What will _then_ be the state of the agriculture of _this_ country by no means too flourishing _now_ may be easily imagined.” 21.—At a special assembly of the Corporation of Norwich, Mr. William Simpson, for 34 years Chamberlain, was elected Town Clerk and Clerk of the Peace, and steward of the several manors belonging to the Corporation, in the room of Mr. Elisha De Hague, deceased. 25.—A county meeting was held at the Shirehall, Norwich, for the twofold purpose of opposing the Bill presented to Parliament for the appointment of district surveyors of highways, and of expressing dissent from the practice which prevailed at the Shirehall of conducting county business with closed doors. With regard to the first subject a resolution was passed stating that the county-rate had increased from £7,200 to £20,400 in twenty years, and that it was undesirable to increase it by making the proposed appointments. It was decided to take counsel’s opinion upon the other matter. (_See_ January 12th, 1827.) 27.—The Rev. William Whitear, rector of Starston, met with his death under singular circumstances. He had gone out with a party to apprehend poachers; the party divided themselves into two bodies, and on proceeding to the place where it had been agreed upon to reassemble, Mr. Whitear was mistaken for a poacher and shot in the right side by another of the party, a young man named Thomas Pallant. He died from the effects of the wound on December 10th, and Pallant was committed for trial on the charge of manslaughter. The case was tried at the Norfolk Assizes at Thetford before Mr. Justice Gaselee, on March 26th, 1827, when the accused was acquitted. “He was so seriously affected during the trial that before its conclusion he became quite insensible, and was taken home in that state.” DECEMBER.