tYr 3Iittrugult5.

The return of Lord John Russell, for the City of London, which took place on Saturday last, was mentioned briefly in our latest edition. The pro- ceedings were remarkable chiefly for want of interest, and for the unusual paucity of City notables on the hustings. The candidate was nominated by Mr. H. J. Prescott, and seconded by Mr. J. Dillon. The general tendency of the speeches went to a measured defence of Lord John's re- cent conduct, although doubts were expressed as to whether he ought not to have retired from the Government last summer. Mr. Dillon and Mr.

Bennoch made especial attacks on " the Peelites" ; to whom they im-

puted all the blame of the Crimean disasters, and whom they described as anxious to resist an investigation which they could not bear. The

strongest assertion urged upon the meeting as a reason for the return of Lord John was, that "his defeat that day would have a most calamitous effect upon the chances of peace." There was no real opposition. A Mr. Stoner made a show of proposing Sir Charles Napier - but he was

jeered by the meeting, and obtained no seconder. Lord Russell was therefore declared duly elected.

After the election, on the motion of Mr. S. Morley, seconded by Mr. Ingram Travers, the following resolution was passed unanimously- " That at a period like the present, when, by gross mismanagement on the part of the Executive Government, the high position of this country in the scale of nations has been in danger of being compromised, the citizens of London in Common Hall, having elected as their representative in Par- liament the noble Lord who has accepted office as one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, desire to place upon record the fact that they have discharged this duty in the earnest hope and trust that the Government of which the noble Lord is so important a member will immediately and firmly grapple with and effectually remove the causes of that disastrous mismanagement which has been displayed in the conduct of the present war, and which, whether it has arisen from adherence to routine in the depart- ments, from the incapacity of the men presiding over and employed in them, or from the overwhelming influence of political patronage, must, if left unremedied, involve the honour, the safety, and the free institutions of this country in extreme peril." Mr. P. A. Taylor moved a resolution, to the effect that "no treaty with Russia will be satisfactory that does not enforce some material ter ritorial change." But the Sheriff declined to put the motion to a vote.

The first anniversary of the Central Association in aid of Soldiers' Wives and Families was held on Wednesday, at Willis's Rooms; the Duke of Cambridge in the chair. In his opening speech, the Duke de- clined to say anything on the conduct of the war—it would ill become his position ; but be protested against his silence being understood as tying him down either to approval or disapproval. This did not preclude him from meeting, in order to contradict, the statement that the soldiers had been neglected by their officers.

"Now, I beg most distinctly to state to you—and remember I had an op- portunity of seeing everything that was going on in the different divisions' of that army—that there never yet were men more anxious, more zealous, and more desirous to perform their duty, than the regimental officers of the British army. If you wish to hear a real and true opinion upon the subject, I fearlessly ask you to appeal to the soldiers of that army ; for I am per- suaded that they will be the first to declare that their officers not only cannot be surpassed, but cannot be equalled. Whether in the time of fell disease, when the army was encamped in and round Varna—whether on the battle- field, or on the heights of Sebastopol, where, alas! they have now been suf- fering for a great many months—the officers of the British Army have nobly performed their duty by their men, and have set that example to them which has enabled the army to perform those acts of valour and undaunted courage which I am gratified to see have been duly appreciated by the coun- try. ' Having said thus much, he must add, that " there never were men who bore their sufferings with more patience and enduring fortitude than the noncommissioned officers and private soldiers of the British army. Every one of those men when he comes home—and, please God we shall see many of them come home—deserves well of his country; and I doubt not that the country will accord to those gallant soldiers a hearty welcome."

Major Powys, the Honorary Secretary, read the report. The total subscriptions collected amount to 104,835/. ; of this sum, 34,0001. has been expended in relief, and 60004 in expenses - leaving upwards of 64,0001. still in hand, Of the men who have fallen, only 15 per cent

have left widows. The number of soldiers' wives receiving relief exceeds 5000, the number of children 8000. There are ninety-five local commit- tees; including those at Constantinople, Malta, Gibraltar, Montreal, Qnebeo, Halifax in Nova Scotia, &c. Lord Shaftesbury, Mr. Stafford M.P., Mr. Napier M.P., Viscount Ingestre, Mr. Kinnaird M.P., Lord Feversham, and Lord Lilford, took part in the proceedings. In acknow- ledging the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman, the Duke of Cambridge became dramatic.

"As regards myself," be said, pointing to the wounded soldiers in the room, " I must say that those are the men—those gallant Highlanders, those gallant Guards, those noble Artillerymen—those are the men who have made me as a soldier. It is to them that any thanks are due for the high position in which I have the honour to stand before you as a soldier of the British army. I expected much from those men ; and afterwards, when it was their lot to be suffering in the manner in which I have seen them suffer, it would have been a disgrace to me if I had not endeavoured to assuage their anguish and to palliate the pangs which they must have ea- dured. What, therefore, has been lauded as a mark of friendly feeling upon my part, I regard only as an act of duty towards those whom I have had the honour to command."

These sentiments were of' course received- with "rounds of applause?'

At the annual meeting of the Royal Geological Society, last week, Mr. J. W. Hamilton announced from the chair, that the Wollaston Palladium medal had been awarded to Sir Henry de la Beebe ; and in recounting his merits, the President especially dwelt upon the fact that he was the chief author and promoter of the Government Museum of Practical Geo- logy and School of Mines. In the absence of Sir Henry, who was kept away by indisposition, Sir Roderick Murchison received the medal, and made appropriate acknowledgments on his behalf.

Alderman Hunter has remanded Charles Christian Moller on a charge of embezzlement. The offence was on a large scale, and nearly successful. Moller was in the service of Messrs. Nicholls, notaries, of King William Street; on Monday he was sent to present a number of bills of exchange; he got the money for them, changed two thousand-pound notes at the Ban of England, and again exchanged these notes for French and Belgian coin; he then hastened to Dover with his plunder. On Tuesday he was preparing to go on board a steamer for France, when Daniel Forrester the officer ap- prehended him and seized the money—upwards of 30001.

Francis Fowler was brought before the Lord Mayor on Monday charged with forging and uttering a cheek for 15001. Fowler was until lately a clerk to Messrs. Boddington and Co., underwriters ; recently, a check for 15001. was presented at Messrs. Martin and Stone's, purporting to be drawn by Messrs. Boddington, in favour of Mr. C. Walton, for " loss per the Mer- cury "; the check came through the London Joint-Stock Bank, it looked very businesslike and correct, and it was paid. This check was indorsed " F. Fowler,", smd the proceeds were placed to Fowler's account at the Lon- don Joint-Sto*Bank. It. was a forgery, and witnesses expressed a belief that all the writing on it was by Fowles,. Mr. Boddington stated that he had several other charges to make against Fowler, both of forgery and robbery. He was remanded.

While fining. a delinquent for creating a " smoke nuisance "—a daily custom with our Magistrates at present—the Thames Police Magistrate warned the offender that as the fines are doubled at each new conviction, a thirtieth offence could be visited with a fine sufficient to pay off the National Debt !

Mr. Charles Blackford Mansfield, a Cambridge M.A. and law student of the Temple, and George Coppin, a chemist's assistant, have lost their lives through an explosion of naphtha. Mr. Mansfield had invented and pa- tented an apparatus to be used in some way with naphtha ; last week he and Coppin were engaged in a building at Agar Town, St. Pancras, in making experiments with the apparatus ; the naphtha exploded ; the ex- perimenters ran out of the shed with their clothes blazing. Some persona put out the flames by rolling the sufferers on the ground : but they had been so dreadfully burnt that they died soon after.

Two fires on Thursday caused a loss of five lives. Soon after midnight flames broke out from the house of Mr. Lawford, a stationer in Clipetone Street : the place was full of lodgers; some of the people jumped from the lower windows, and others were rescued by means of a fire-escape; but four perished—Miss Kelso, and Mrs. Hayward and two daughters. IThe other fire burst out at noon, in the lower part of a pie-house in Farringdon Street : two young women were in the upper part of the building ; one in her fright leaped out and was killed, but the other was saved.