from the Hastings and St. Leonards News. The said journal under the heading of The Burgesses in a fix says —
”Our public men and politicians have lately experienced considerable excitement; and in the case of those who are not the sufferers, no little amusement by the Laches[1] of our respective overseers of the Holy Trinity and St. Michael parishes, Mr. Thos. Ross and Mr. John Smith. These official gentlemen in their capacities as overseers, should have forwarded to the Town Clerk, on or before the 5th instant, a list of persons entitled to rank as burgesses in their respective parishes; such list to be published by the Town Clerk at least seven days prior to the 15th inst. It so happened that the lists of the above parishes did not make their appearance before the public till something like five days before the 15th inst. Rumour, probably speaking truth in this case, states that the lists did not reach the Town Clerk by the required time. Such being the case, the fault rests with the overseers. To make ‘Confusion worse confounded’, among the burgesses thus threatened with a year’s disfranchisement are two members of the Town Council, Mr. Thomas Ross (1810-1881), himself, and Mr. Thomas Hicks. The latter, on finding that his franchise was lost in Holy Trinity, congratulated himself on retaining his position in virtue of his claim on the parish of St. Michael, when he found, to his dismay, that in that parish also the treacherous memory of an overseer had placed him hors de combat. In this predicament the unfortunate burgesses have resorted to the expedient of putting their names on the lists of claimants, which are to be published by the 22nd. It remains to be seen whether it is available. In the mean time, Mr. Anthony Harvey has published a notice that he intends opposing the claim of Mr. Ross to be entered as a burgess for the parish of Holy Trinity. As if to outrage the majesty of the law still further, the printed notice was issued without the printer’s name, whereby a penalty of £5 was incurred by everyone printing, publishing or distributing the same. An intimation to this effect was speedily given. As the case now stands, pains and penalties form a gloomy background to the picture, while in the foreground may be seen the disconsolate burgesses and apprehensive councillors encircled by eager politicians, lawyers, etc., the obnoxious overseers being the grand concoctors of this serio-ludicro tableau vivant.”
Civic Festivals
Public Banquets
To give here full details of public dinners and festivals is not intended, it being thought sufficient to do but little beyond an enumeration of them; but in the case of the Mayor’s banquet of 1850, the after-dinner speech of Mr. Emary, the Mayor-elect, was such as to be worthy of a record and was as follows: —
“Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, — I have been in the habit of attending public meetings and public dinners for the last half-century, but I never rose under greater embarrassment to return thanks for -
- ↑ Laches refers to a lack of diligence and activity in making a legal claim, or moving forward with legal enforcement of a right.
