Zbe jiattropolis.

At a special general meeting of Proprietors of Bank Stock, on Tues- day, Mr. William Cotton was reelected Governor, by 98 votes, and Mr. John Benjamin Heath Deputy-Governor, by 97 votes, for the ensuing

year ; some important negotiations having to be continued. Mr. John Cooke was also proposed as Deputy. Governor, and had one vote.

A ballot was taken at the East India House, on Wednesday, for the election of six Directors in the room of Major-General Sir James Law Lushington, G.C.H., Mr. George Lyall, M.P., Mr. Elliott Macneghten, John Petty Muspratt, Mr. Martin Tucker Smith, and Mr.William Wigram, who go out by rotation. At six o'clock the glasses were closed and delivered to the scrutineers, who reported that the election had fallen on Sir Robert Campbell, Bart., Mr. James Weir Hogg, M.P., the Ho- nourable Hugh Lindsay, Major-General Archibald Robertson, Lieute- nant-Colonel William Henry Sykes, and Sir Henry Willock, K.L.S.

On Thursday, a Court of Directors appointed Mr. John Shepherd Chairman, and Sir Henry Willock Deputy-Chairman, for the ensuing year

At a vestry-meeting of St. Stephen's Walbrook, on Thursday, con- vened by the Rector, Mr. W. H. Rock and Mr. Thomas Flight were unanimously elected Churchwardens for the year ensuing ; and Mr. Crosby was elected Vestry-Clerk.

The Easter holydays were celebrated in the Metropolis and its neigh- bourhood by the usual amusements, facilitated by the extraordinary beauty of the weather. A few days in March seem to have performed the office assigned to April, in dispensing alternate sunshine and shower ; and April itself has thus far been more like a beautiful May. On Sunday, the roads were thronged by pleasure-bunting parties ; on the Thames no fewer than a hundred and Eve steam-vessels were em- ployed in conveying the holyday-folks ; and even with that number, every vessel was crowded.

Easter Monday, however, offers more varied entertainments, and all the thoroughfares were crowded accordingly, with parties bent on ex- cursions out of town or passing from one exhibition to another. Greenwich, with its fair, park, and hospital, appears to have been as well attended as ever ; although Stepney Fair, revived last year, was continued now, with increased gayety and attractions : indeed, it is said to eclipse the far-famed Greenwich ; and one thing that is likely to promote its rising repute is the excellent order preserved. The unceasing stream of visiters also poured into the Thames Tunnel and the exhibition-galleries in town—the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science, the Polytechnic Institution, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Chinese Collection, Egyptian Hall—where might be seen General Tom Thumb, the Ojibbeway Indians, and the Napoleon Mu- seum; the Diorama, the Cosmorama, the Panorama, the British Insti- tution's exhibition of paintings ; with Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Tower.

The great conspiracy to forge wills and fraudulently transfer stock has at length come before a regular tribunal—the Central Criminal Court. On Wednesday, William Henry Barber, Joshua Fletcher,William Sanders, Lydia Sanders, and Georgiana Dorey, were arraigned under several indictments accusing them of participation in frauds relating to the wills of Eliza Burchard, Anne Slack, John Stewart, and others. All the prisoners pleaded " Not guilty." Thomas Griffin was not ar- raigned, as he had been admitted to give evidence for the prosecution; which was instituted in the name of the Crown. The counsel for the Crown were, the Attorney-General, Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Bodkin, and Sir John Bayley ; for Barber, Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Parry ; for Fletcher, Mr. Graves and Mr. Ballantine ; for the Sanderses, Mr. Stone and Mr. Phinn ; for Mrs. Dorey, Mr. E. James; and Mr. Doane watched the proceedings for Griffin. On Thursday, the Court proceeded with the case ofJohn Stewart's will, in which Barber, Fletcher, and Georgiana Dorey were concerned. The forgery of the bond of administration was charged upon Susannah Rich- ards, Mrs. Dorey's mother, who died in 1841 ; the prisoners were charged, under various counts, with conspiring to utter it. The facts of this case were very fully described at the time when it was before the Police-court, and may be briefly recapitulated, as stated by the Attorney-General. It is necessary to premise that by a law which was passed thirty or forty years ago, it was provided that if stock bad remained without any claimant for ten years, it should, at the expiration of that time, be trans- ferred to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt ; but care was taken that the claim of any one who was entitled to it should not be prejudiced by that circumstance. Mr. Barber was an at- torney, practising in Bridge Street, Blackfriars, and living in Nelson Square ; Mr. Fletcher was a surgeon. In 1827, John Stewart, gardener to Mr. Strode, at Great Marlow, possessed 511. a year in the Long An- nuities, and be died in March of that year. He was born in Scotland, and had but one relation, a brother ; who had gone to America and had not been heard of for many years. The stock and dividend were un- claimed down to 1836, when the stock was transferred to the Commis- sioners of the National Debt. Stewart's death having thus become known, Mr. Fletcher, calling himself " Jones, " went down IO Marlow, stopped for some hours at the Greyhound Inn, kept by Henry Hyatt, and made inquiries about Stewart; Mr. Hyatt intro- ducing him to some old persons in the village who knew the gar- dener. Soon after, Mr. Barber went down, renewing the inquiries, and giving his address as "Clarence Peckham, Esq., 52 Nelson Square." In 1840, a lodging was hired in Camberwell Terrace for "Miss Elizabeth Stewart," who was no other than Mrs. Richards, a woman far advanced in life ; Georgiana Richards, then unmarried, passing as her niece. Mr. Fletcher often visited them ; and Barber acted as the old lady's attorney. Letters of administration were taken out for her as John Stewart's sister, newly arrived from America ; and Griffin made an affidavit at Doctors Commons, stating that he knew both Elizabeth Stewart and her brother, and that John Stewart bad told him a little before his death, that he meant to sell his stock, and to join his sister in America. The stock was ultimately retransferred to 'Elizabeth Stewart." There was some remarkable collateral evidence. The clerk at the Bank made an over-payment of about 3/., and on going after Miss Stewart, to recover the money, it was found that the notes in which it had been paid had been at once changed for gold. Barber then explained, that his clients were people from the country, and that they were foolishly afraid of a war with France. Barber tried to obtain John Stewart's stock-receipts from Mr. Strode and his solicitors, Messrs. Pickering and Co.; they denied the claim of Miss

Stewart to be the gardener's sister, and asked for further infor- mation and personal interviews ; which Barber did not grant. Fletcher wrote to Mr. Duncan Macpherson, Session-Clerk of Callen- der, for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of marriage between Robert and Janet Stewart, John's parents : Mr. Macpherson replied that he had found the entry, but he could not comply with the sugges- tion in giving any thing that might be construed to be a false extract from the register : that reply was found in Barber's possession. The Attorney-General having made his statement, the Court proceeded with taking the evidence. Among the witnesses were several official and professional persons to prove the documents, formal matters, and hand- writing ; Mr. Hyatt, the innkeeper, William Winsor, a baker, William Holmes, a labouring man, James M•Lean, persons of whom inquiries had been made at Marlow ; Sarah Hawkes, at whose house in Little Guildford Street, Georgiana Dorey requested that letters addressed to "Mr. Jones" might be received; Sophia Dixon, a charwoman, who knew Mrs. Richards, and received from her, as a present, a gown that "Miss Stewart" had been seen to wear ; Mr. Wybrow, a music-seller in Rathbone Place, with whom Mrs. Richards lodged before moving to Camberwell; Emma Heartwell, a servant at the Camberwell lodging ; and Mr. Duncan Macpherson, the Session-Clerk at Callender. At a quarter past five o'clock, the ease was adjourned. The examination of witnesses was continued yesterday. Among them were John Hadling and John Withersperne, who knew Stewart while he worked as a gardener for a Mr. Paterson in the county of Edinburgh, and for Mr. Rennie at Phantassie. Thomas Griffin, who is a tailor, related how some years ago he 'lodged in the same house with Mrs. Richards, in Oxford Street. In 1840, Georgiaoa Richards asked him to sign some papers ; and Mrs. Richards then told him that Mr. Fletcher advanced her money to obtain some property left by her bro- ther, who had lived as gardener with a gentleman in Berkshire. He signed the false affidavit mentioned above. He then had a sovereign for his trouble, and afterwards 10/. Extracts were read from a state- ment voluntary made by Mrs. Dorey. Her story included many of the things related already. Its general tendency as respects herself was, that she was gradually led into Fletcher's schemes, by payments of money and promises of future advantage, without a very clear comprehension of what she was doing. She mentioned a Mr. Stokes, said to hold a situation in the Bank, as implicated in Fletcher's proceed- ings. William Christmas, a clerk in the Bank, deposed that he had facilities of knowing particulars respecting unclaimed dividends, and be had told Fletcher of John Stewart's case : he received 50/. or 100/. from Fletcher after the stock was drawn out. The case for the pro- secution having closed, the trial was again adjourned till this day.

On Wednesday, Ann Elizabeth Earnshaw, aged thirty-four, and Emma Wells, aged twenty-eight, were tried for stealing articles from various shops. Mrs. Earnshaw was a married woman, who resided in Camden Town ; and Miss Wells lived with her as a companion. They appear to have carried on a regular system of shoplifting, as a number of trinkets and other small goods were found in their house. On the 17th February, they went to the shop of Mrs. Rose, a cutler in Farringdon Street, and examined some knives. Being suspected, they were fol- lowed, and a silver fruit-knife was found in Miss Wells's boa, which was slit and seemed to have been used as a secret pocket. Their arrest brought forward several tradesmen who had been plundered, and the two,women were now tried under four indictments. Wells was con- victed of stealing Mrs. Rose's fruit-knife, and three diamond rings worth 3/. 78.6d., from Mr. Clapham, in the Strand ; both were convicted of stealing a watch worth 30/. from Mr. Smith in the Strand, and a gold locket from Mr. Lamb, also in the Strand. They were sentenced to seven years' transportation.

At Guildhall, on Thursday, George Gamm was finally examined on a charge of stealing money-parcels containing 1,6001. from the City of Boulogne steam-packet, on the voyage to London, in September last.

Lord Huntingtower appeared as a plaintiff at Marlborough Street Police-office, on Thursday, demanding protection against Mr. Alexan- der, a horse-dealer. They met at Lawrence's stable-yard, in Oxford Street, on Tuesday ; and Mr. Alexander, accusing Lord Eluntingtower of owing him money, used very abusive language, threatened to kick him down some stairs, and actually did commit an assault by pushing him, to the danger of his life. On the other side, it was alleged that Lord Huntingtower's language was as bad, and the violence was denied. The defendant was ordered to find bail to keep the peace for six months.

At Worship Street, on Saturday, and again on Wednesday, Frances and Elizabeth Cranston, two girls six and eight years old, were charged with having robbed little children of their clothes ; and Ann Cranston, their mother, her companion George Folio°, and John Flowers, a clothes-dealer, were charged with feloniously receiving the stolen goods. A. Policeman detected the two children in an out-house near the Hackney Road, stripping a child ; he seized them ; and at the lodging occupied by Follon and Cranston was found a large quantity of children's clothing, much of which was identified by the owners. Twelve distinct charges were established against the children ; and all the prisoners were re- manded; Frances, however, was sent to the workhouse, as being below the age of legal responsibility.

A very cold-blooded attempt at murder was made in Woolwich, last week, somewhat resembling the more successful attempt in Marylebone. George Moore, aged twenty, was praying his addresses to Eliza Arnold, a girl a year younger, who lived with her mother at Ropeyard Rails. Disapproving of his conduct, she determined to part with him, and she told him so on the night of the 3d instant. He bade her good by, but presently returned, and asked for her. When she went to him, he pat his arm round her neck and said, "Then, Eliza, you really mean to give me up?" She said she did ; on which he drew a knife across her throat, and she fell backwards. He had borrowed a case-knife next door for the purpose I He afterwards said that he had tried to stab himself, but the top of the knife-blade bent. When arrested, at Poplar, he said that his cutting Eliza was accidental. Luckily, the wound was not deep, and the girl had sufficiently recovered on Tuesday to appear against the assassin at the Police-office. He was committed for trial.

Dickenson, the husband of the woman who killed her children and

attempted to kill herself, at Deptford, a few weeks ago, hanged himself at a public-house in the town, on Thursday. He had also taken poison. His mind had been affected ever since the death of his children. Mrs. Dickenson is under confinement in Bethlehem Hospital.

A Coroner's inquest was held on Saturday, before Mr. Higgs, the Deputy-Coroner for Westminster, on the bodies of the persons who perished by the fire at the Rose and Crown in Oxford Street, on the previous Thursday. They were, Mrs. Eliza Williams, aged thirty, Eliza, her daughter, aged four, William, an infant, Sarah Hodgson and Charlotte Fish, servants, and Jacob Pickering, the pot-boy. The origin of the fire was described by William Hewett, one of the bar-men, who was serving behind the bar when it broke out, at twenty minutes to twelve o'clock— Charles Goodwin, the head bar-man, bad left the bar about two minutes before, to pump spirits up from the cellars. The pump was in the counting- house, level with the bar. About three minutes after Goodwin had begun pumping, witness observed liquor coming over the casks which were in the counting-house and through the shutters; but he could not say if it was from their being overfilled by Goodwin, or whether a pipe had burst. The spirit, in its descent, caught the gas-light under it, and he then saw the spirit on the desk in the counting-house burning. Witness ran into the counting-house, and turned off the gas, and then found the spirit running about, burning, all over the boards in the counting-house. The front bar was full of people at thia time; did not see the head bar-man when he ran into the counting-house, but he had ceased pumping. The noise of the spirit rushing over the casks was so great that the people were all alarmed, and rushed into the counting-house. It was his impression that Goodwin had escaped up stairs; and witness pro- cured a ladder, and placed it against the parlour-window, over the counting- house door. Mrs. Williams's sister got out on the ladder, but the flames were- so powerful that she had to jump from the top of the ladder into the street, and was saved. The flames were so rapid, that in three minutes the whole counting-house was on fire. At the beginning of the inquest, it was stated Goodwin was to have been called as a witness, but he was in a state of raving madness. He was, however, subsequently produced ; and he was cautioned by Mr. Higgs not to say any thing that might criminate himself. He threw some further light on the origin of the fire— He had only been pumping two or three minutes when he saw the gin over- flowing in the counting-house. The reason of the overflow was, that the gin, instead of going into the large vat, went into a small cask, in consequence of the cock not being turned off. A considerable quantity overflowed. The gin, on his taking down the shutter, fell on the gas, and set light to the gin on the floor. Witness partly extinguished the flames by two pails of water. He then ran down for another pail of water, and when he came up again saw the counting-house all in flames. The first person that came to his assistance was a policeman. Witness called out, "For God's sake, run and get an engine." He immediately sprang his rattle, and gave the alarm. The next person who entered was a sweeper. Witness said, " For God's sake, run up stairs, and alarm Mrs. Williams and the family." The sweeper attempted to rush up stairs, but was obliged to come back, in consequence of the flames. Witness also made an attempt to get up stairs, but was prevented by two men who came into the house. Does not recollect any thing after that. The whole affair did not occupy more than five minutes. From the beginning all seems to have been confusion ; and scarcely an attempt was made to save the family, except the help offered to Miss Fritchley. William Hook, a Policeman, was standing outside the door when he heard the alarm, and he ran off to call the engines. William Butler, another Policeman, went on the same errand. According to the evidence of William Wiltshire, a chimney-sweeper, Goodwin offered to rush up stairs if anybody would follow him, but no one would do so. Wiltshire himself then tried to rush up, but he was nearly choked by the flames. If he had thought that any one was up stairs when he entered, he could easily have gone up to give the alarm to the family, in time for them to have saved themselves. Parker, an under-bar-man, was waked out of his sleep by the alarm, ran down stairs, and was driven back by the flames; which ran up stairs almost as fast as he did. He heard screaming in Mrs. Williams's bedroom ; he called out to those who were in the room to follow him ; and he thought that one did follow. He escaped from a window at the upper part of the house, facing Gilbert Street. Robert Tozer, engineer to the London Fire- office, said, that when he first arrived, no alarm was given that persons were in the house: he did not know that any lives were lost for two hours afterwards. James William Thompson, of 17 Gilbert Street, the inventor of a lire-escape, was alarmed by a lodger in the same house, and hurried to the place with his escape : he went to Mr. Truelock's, (next door to Mr. Williams's,) and told a Policeman that he wanted to enter to save anybody who might be in the burning house ; but the man replied that all were out, and the mob shouted the same thing. Sampson Low, Secretary to the Life Protection Society, said that the fire-escapes arrived before the engines ; but such was the rapidity of the conflagration, that they were unsuccessful. Butler, the Policeman, said that when a fire breaks out, the Police mostly run for the engines first, before attempting to save anybody. Hook said- " The Police have instructions in cases of fire, which say we are to give an alarm immediately, and render every assistance in our power. Those instruc- tions do not allude to trying to save the lives of inmates before doing any thing else. I believe our course of action is left to our own discretion. We get a reward of Is. for fetching the first engine when a fire takes place." Mr. Wilson, a friend of Mr. Williams, remarked, that alarms were given in every direction for twenty minutes; and although the poor creatures were running from room to room, no assistance was afforded to them : when the fire-escapes arrived they could not be got near to the windows on account of the flame. James Wiley, another friend of Mr. Williams, accompanied that gentleman to the Concert of Sacred Music at Exeter Hall: when they turned out of Davies Street, about half-past twelve o'clock, they saw that the house was on fire. They inquired whether Mrs. Williams and the family had been saved, but could get no answer.

The Jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death," with a recom- mendation to the Police that in all cases of fire they should direct their first and chief efforts to the saving of the lives of the inmates.

A frightful accident happened at the terminus of the Dover Branch Railway, in the Old Kent Road, on Thursday morning. The con- tractors, Messrs. Grissell and Peto, had undertaken to finish the build. togs by the 1st May ; and one, for the reception of carriages, was ad- vancing towards completion. It was about 500 feet in length, and 150 feet wide ; it had a gable roof, composed principally of iron, divided into three compartments, and supported on columns of iron 30 feet high and 53 feet apart. About 200 men were employed upon the structure, some covering it with slates, others laying the concrete foundation for the tram-lines. A. little before seven o'clock, some of the slates were observed to roll off; then the roof bulged, as if blown by a high wind : the workmen rushed away in all directions, as two compartments of the roof fell with a loud crash, raising an immense cloud of dust, and bury- ing some among the ruins, while others were struck by falling frag- ments. Every effort was at once made to rescue the sufferers, and in about an hour and a quarter, all, eight in number, were got out. One, May, a carpenter, was quite dead ; the rest were more or less seriously injured. Insufficient " bracing" of the columns, which allowed the weight of the roof to force them from the perpendicular, is considered to be the cause of the accident.

Yesterday an inquest was held upon the body of May. Among the witnesses were some engineers, who disputed the opinion entertained by the foreman, Mr. Edwards, that the insufficient bracing was the cause of the accident ; but they gave no very clear idea of the real cause : one imputed it to the fact that the skylights had not been fixed, which made the roof swerve: they were fixed in the part that remained standing. After some consultation, the Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental Death," with a recommendation " that greater care should be taken in future, in the construction of such roofs, to have the ridges of the roofs with the skylights, properly braced and supported whilst undergoing the process of completion."

A scaffold erected at the North side of the Opera Colonnade, for some workmen engaged in repairing it, suddenly fell on Wednesday morning, and four workmen were thrown down upon the pavement : three were dangerously hurt ; the fourth less so. The rottenness of the timber is said to have been the reason why the scaffold gave way.