Movement for a Harbour - Another "Skimmington" - Destructive Hailstorm
As regards politics during the week that would be ending on the 2nd of April the electors were excited by Mr. Warre's announcement that Lord Althorpe had offered him a Lordship of the Treasury, but after a canvas which did not appear sufficiently satisfactory, he wrote to Mr. Elphinstone, an opposing candidate, to the effect that he did not intend to vacate his seat. The Radicals however signed a requisition for him to do so, with which he did not comply.
In anticipation of a clearance of the Priory Ground this year, and it having been stated that Mr. Burton had obtained Parliamentary powers for constructing a pier at St. Leonards, a requisition was made to the Mayor to call a meeting to consider the propriety of getting permission to form a harbour at the soon-to-be vacated ground. It was urged that in 1806 Mr. Rennie was employed to inspect the spot; that he did so, and produced a plan, with an estimated expense of £500,000; and that it was rejected as being on too large a scale. The Mayor's meeting was held, but thinly attended, and there being no prospect of getting the necessary money for a survey, the meeting soon broke up with merely a resolution for certain persons to inspect and report.
At the Spring Assizes, three men - Page, Chatfield and Marchant were found guilty of unlawfully assembling with firearms for the purpose of running contraband goods and were sentenced to death; but the sentence was afterwards commuted to transportation for life. They were convicted chiefly on the evidence of a Preventiveman named Sullivan, although by other witnesses it was shown that no-one was wounded and that no shots were fired from the smuggler's boat. Some time after the trial, the witness Sullivan was himself indicted for stealing silk handkerchiefs from Mr. Bell's shop in All Saints street. He was convicted, and while in prison he was detected in an attempt to escape by means of a blanket cut into strips.
In a case of Waters against Wingfield, the defendant was fined 30s. for engaging in a Skimmington, the authorities being desirous of putting down a custom that was more honoured in the breach than in the observance. It had been a common practice at Hastings to mimic the quarrels of married people, as already described in the case of riding-master Stevens and his amazonian wife. In the present case, a nearly worn-out nag, as usual, was made use of, and also, as was the custom, a pair of panniers filled with brewers grains, being placed on its back, two imps of mischief - one dressed as a woman - mounted their Pegasus, and, sitting dos-a-dos, in padded clothes belaboured each other with bellows, skimmer or other utensils. At the same time, they recited some of the words uttered during the quarrel, while they threw the grains over each other.
The Skimmington appears to have been a survival or revival of a pageant burlesque common enough in earlier times, but which of late years had fallen so much into general disuse that Hastings was perhaps one of the very few places where even the semblance of the original mummery was still observed. The custom was satirically described by Butter in his Hudibras as long ago as the 17th century.
It has been shewn that the year was one in which cyclonic gales and destructive tides were numerous, and it should be added that the 14th of June was memorable for its terrific hailstorm. The damage at Hastings, though considerable was slight in comparison with that which was wrought in the more western parts of the county. At Brighton the smallest of the hailstones were said to be as large as marbles or bullets and one was picked up at Firle which was 12¼ inches in circumference.
On Lord Gage's estate 4000 squares of glass were smashed, whilst at Lewes and Brighton -
