scrupulously accurate and undistorted by anything like party bias; of the faults of omission, no one can be so conscious as the writer himself, but the book, even now, is larger than he had at first intended. If errors should be found, those whose censure would be the weightiest will readily be able to suggest abundance of excuses, and to their forbearance he unhesitatingly trusts the following pages. WORCESTER, OCTOBER, 1852. INDEX. PAGE INTRODUCTORY REVIEW 1 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 20 COUNTY OF WORCESTER 21 CITY OF WORCESTER 28 EVESHAM 39 DROITWICH 45 BEWDLEY 47 KIDDERMINSTER 50 DUDLEY 53 ELECTIONS OF COUNTY CORONERS 55 PUBLIC MEETINGS 59 THE COUNTY MAGISTRACY 88 REMARKABLE TRIALS 110 THE ODDINGLEY MURDER 123 EXECUTIONS 144 RAILWAYS 150 BIRMINGHAM AND GLOUCESTER 150 GRAND CONNEXION PROJECT 154 THE SCHEMES OF 1845 156 OXFORD, WORCESTER, AND WOLVERHAMPTON 158 IMPROVEMENT OF THE RIVER SEVERN 165 WORCESTER TOWN COUNCIL 177 WORCESTER INFIRMARY 197 WORCESTER MUSICAL FESTIVALS 204 NATURAL PHENOMENA 209 MISCELLANEOUS OCCURRENCES 216 THE COUNTY ARISTOCRACY 312 THE CHURCH 318 THE EXECUTIVE 321 APPENDIX 328 WORCESTERSHIRE IN THIS NINETEENTH CENTURY. BEFORE entering on a detail of occurrences which possess, comparatively speaking, only an isolated interest, I shall occupy a few pages in the consideration of some general facts and statistics, which may enable the reader to judge of the advance which the County of Worcester has made during a truly remarkable half-century. No former period in the world’s history ever witnessed such mental activity and progress.