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The Queen and Prince Albert visited Christ's Hospital on Sunday evening, to see the scholars' eat' their supper. They were, received by Alderman Thompson, the President, and Mr. Hotham Pigeon, the Treasurer. Strangers " were ex- eluded for that evening; but some two. Iiindred persons, the Governors of the Hospital and their ladies, were present. The Queen sat in a chair of state at the end of the Hall, with Prince Albert by her side. The supper is a very simple matter, the viands being bread and small beer; but, after the monastic fashion of the Hospital, it is preceded and accompanied by devotional observances—sing- ing of psalms, reading from the Gospels, : with the addition, for this evening, of the National Anthem, to which new words had been put. At the close, the scholars removed their lablecloths and other table furniture; carrying all away with them. The eight or nine hundred boys passed two and two in procession before the Queen and Prince Albert,—first the twelve Grecians, next the mathematical scholars, then the rest of the school, divided into wards; each ward headed by its nurse. The Queen and her consort seemed much amused at the " basket-boys,' bearing the supper things in this solemn procession; but the Royal couple did not neglect to bow in return to the obeisance of each pair of boys.

A Court of Aldermen was held on Tuesday; but the chief business was con- ducted with closed doors. A long discussion arose on the subject of the Queen's visit to Christ's Hospital : it ended in a resolution to the effect that the Lord Mayor is at the head of all the hospitals in the city of London.

The subject was alluded to at a meeting of the Common Council, on Thursday. It seems that the Lord Mayor had applied to be joined with the President and Treasurer in receiving the Queen, and had been refused. The matter was re- ferred to the Royal Hospitals Committee. Mr. Ashurst moved a petition to Par- liament for a measure to enable Jews to make affirmation instead of taking oaths; which was unanimously adopted. A petition from the Committee for erecting and promoting the establishment of baths and wash-houses for the la- bouring-classes, to treat for the purchase or renting of part of Farringdon Market, for the first model establishment, was negatived.

At a half-year] General Court of Proprietors of Bank Stock, on Thursday, the Governor pro a dividend of 3, per cent on the half-year; which would leave an addition 9,7271. to the "rest. . After paying the dividend, the rest would be =261. The motion was affirmed. Thanks were unanimously voted to the and Deputy-Governor, for their zeal and ability in carrying out the new system.

The Council of the Royal Society of Agriculture met on Monday, at the So- ciety's house in Hanover Square; the Duke of Richmond presiding. There was a numerous attendance of leading agriculturists. Thirty-seven new members were announced. An abstract of the accounts to the 1st March showed a Capital of 7,7001., together with a current cash balance of 1,2961. - It was resolved that a further sum of 5001. be invested in the Public Funds. The report of the Journal Committee stated, that among the prizes which would be contested this year, there were three for the best essays on the agriculture of the counties of Corn- wall, Kent, and Nottingham. There were also several prizes for essays on mis- cellaneous subjects. The number of essays sent in was fifty-five, embracing every subject proposed in the prize-sheet. The Committee had set apart 3201. for that purpose, exclusively of a prize of 201. offered by Lord Kenyon for the best essay en the preparation of gorse as food for cattle. These prizes will be awarded at the next country meeting of the Society, to be held at Shrewsbury, in July next. Mr. Evelyn Denison suggested, that at the Veterinary College provision should be made for securing among the students special proficiency in the patho- logy of cattle; as great loss arises from mistakes in that matter. The President promised to communicate with the Secretary of State on the stbject. Some routine business disposed of, the meeting brae up.

A special meeting of the General Committee of the Central Agricultural Pro- tection Society has been held, to consider the effect which the remission of the several duties proposed by Sir Robert Peel in his recent financial statement is likely to have on the interest of the British agriculturist. After a very long dis- cussion, the following resolution, moved by Mr. William Fisher Hobbs, and seconded by the Duke of Richmond, was unanimously agreed to—" That it is the opinion of this Committee, that the remission of several of the duties which Sir Robert Peel proposes to abolish, in his revision of taxation, will tend materially to lessen the employment of the agricultural labourer, and to reduce the price of various productions of the soil. That the principle upon which the Agricultural Protection Society is based is to maintain protection to British agriculture, not less than that which existed at the time of its formation; and this Committee recommends to the provincial Protection Societies to urge, by deputations or otherwise, their local Representatives in Parliament to support Mr.Miles's motion and to use their best endeavours to arrest the progress of these Free-trade measures."

The third annual meeting of the Metropolitan Drapers Association was held on Wednesday evening, in the large room of Exeter Hall. The main object of the Association is to put an end to " the late-hour system" of shopkeeping. Lord. John Russell presided; and he dwelt emphatically on the necessity of obtaining time for intellectual improvement, and for that which ought to claim so much of a man's time—preparation for another and a future life. Speeches were also de- livered by Mr. Redmayne, Dr. Lankester, Mr. J. Payne, the Reverend Baptist Noel, Mr. Charles Buller, and other gentlemen. Resolutions were passed assert- ing the expediency of abridging the hours of business, for the sake not only of the employed, but of the employers and of the public at large; and pledging the assembly to codperatc in the furtherance of that object.

The annual meeting of the members of the Literary Fund was held on Wed- nesday, at the chambers of the corporation in Great Russell Street; Sir William Chatterton in the chair. The report stated, that the sum dispensed during the past year to distressed authors and their families was 9551.; and that the total amount applied to this purpose since the formation of the gociety was 31,1831. The Committee announced that the Queen had granted the institution the privi- lege of bearing the imperial crown as an addition to its armorial bearings, with the title of the "Royal Corporation of the Literary Fund." The report having been adopted, the Marquis of Lansdowne was reelected President; Archbishop Whately was elected one of the Vice-Presidents; and the following gentlemen were added to the Committee—Mr. Charles Dickens, Mr. Fraser Tytler, the Reverend Dr. Mill, Sir Harris Nicolas, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, Mr. William Brockedon, and Mr. Edward Gandy.

At the Middlesex Sessions, on Tuesday, Edward Smith, the young man who has been robbing divers hospital-libraries of books, was convicted of several such offences, and sentenced to be imprisoned three months for each.

Another lady-thief has been taken. At Worship Street, on Saturday, Eliza- beth Farmer, an elderly elegantly-dressed widow, who resides at a respectable house in the City Road, was charged with stealing a piece of salted beef from the shop of Mr. Flowerday, a butcher at Hasten. • Unluckily, the shopman saw-her hide it under her cloak; and she was given in charge. The lady entreated the Magistrate not to commit her; averring that she had acted under a sudden and uncontrollable impulse, which she felt it impossible either to account for or excuse l She was of highly respectable family, and had been a householder in the pariah for twenty years. Mrs. Farmer was ordered to be remanded till Monday; upon which she burst into tears, and was removed, fainting,-from the dock.

On Monday, the shopman was not in attendance to support the charge"; and he eluded a Policemen who endeavoured to bring him to the court. The Policeman had been informed by some of the prisoner's friends that they had been in cora, munication with the prosecutor that morning, and the prosecutor had now ni wish to proceed further with the charge. The Magistrate, declaring that justice should not be thus defeated, again remanded the prisoner; and ordered summonses to issue to compel the witnesses against her to attend.

Another complaint has been made, at Guildhall Police-office, against the Heir, at-law Society. In this-case' a man living in Lancashire had been simple enough to send twelve pounds to the Society, that they might. obtain a legacy for him of 4,0001.: he his since been unable to obtain the legacy, any news of the state-of the affair, or the twelve pounds back. Sir Peter Lauriesaid he could not assist the applicant.

George May, shoprnan of Mr. Montague, the Camberwell tradesman who was poisoned with his wife a short time back, was charged at the Lambeth Police- office, on Monday, with embezzling money which bad been paid to him for goods supplied by Mr. Montague. The sums were not entered in the account-books as pant • but the prisoner said his master had told him not to enter them, in order that he might deceive his creditors by showing that he had so much owing to him. The prosecutor was Montague's heir-at-law. May was remanded.

More evidence implicating Rocker as the murderer of Delarue was given at his final examination, at Marylebone Police-office, on Tuesday. The prisoner, as before, behaved with the most perfect nonchalance, paying attention to the evi.- dence, but quite unmoved by it. Policeman Baldock made an addition to his former evidence. While he was with the body of Delarue in the field, waiting for the arrival of a stretcher that it might be carried away,. he heard a man coming along the foot-path, and he hailed him. They entered into conversation. " Are you sure he is quite dead ?" said the stranger; and then felt if there was any pulse in Delarue's wrist. He said he "felt very queer" at the sight, but would stop with the Policeman till assistance came; and added, that he transacted business in London during the day, and generally returned in that way after- wards, often, on those occasions, with money in his pocket, as well as a gold watch, and rings. Presently, he said he must have some brandy• and he gave the constable a shilling to get some for himself. The man had a cloak on, and was muffled up. When other Policemen came up with the stretcher, Baldock lost sight of the stranger. Policeman Euston, who watched the prisoner in the Police-office cell last week, stated, that Hecker had told him that be went to the Swiss Cottage public-house, and had a glass of rum and water, on the night of the murder, about a quarter of an hour after it occurred. The prisoner further said of Baldock the Policeman—" I stood in the field twenty-five minutes with him close to the deceased. I had my cloak on, for it was a cold night; and I asked him to have some brandy, which he refused. I pressed him to have it very much ; and at last he received a shilling. I remained there till the stretcher came." In answer to the Magistrate, Rocker said this statement was quite correct. A heavy thorn stick with a large knob at the end was produced, and Hocker's brother and father identified it as the prisoner's: there were marks of blood on it. This stick was found by a boy named Taylor, near Macclesfield Bridge; but the lad said he had found it three weeks ago. He gave it to his father. -The father said his son found the stick eight or nine days before the murder. Neither, how- ever, could say on what particular day. When the cudgel was produced, the prisoner smiled, and elevated his eyebrows. Joseph Henry Nash deposed that he was proceeding along the Avenue Road on the night of the murder; when he heard cries of " Murder !" " I did not pay much attention to the sound, as I did not hear them more than once to my best knowledge. I stood; however for ten minutes listening; and then I saw a man coming close along the hedge towards me, and from the quarter whence the cries proceeded. He ran right wagainst me and stopped at once, all in a bustle. I said to him, ' Did yon bear the cry eif murder P Vat he never answered, and off he ran. lain confident the prisoner is

the same Pei; for I have seen him before. It was a very fine night too, being between light and dark; and I am quite sure, I have no doubt, that it was the prisoner I then saw." To the Magistrate's inquiry, whether he had any defence to make, Hocker replied, " I decline saying anythingtoday." Finally, he was com- mitted to Newgate for trial.

The inquest on the four men who were killed by the explosion at Mr. Samuda's factory at Blackwell was resumed on Monday; when fear persons were examined. Their evidence implicated Lowe, the foreman of the works, as having caused the disaster by interfering with the safety-valve. Mr. Lowe himself was not suffi- ciently recovered to attend the inquiry. Cockayue, a grinder of railway-plates, and Burnand, a millwright and engineer, stated, that on the morning of the acci- dent the engine could only be made to work very slowly; and Lowe caused a pole with a nail driven into the end to be so placed under the lever of the safety-valve as almost entirely to prevent its action, thereby creating an enormous pressure of steam within the boiler, and causing the explosion to occur a quarter of an hour after. The boiler was a low-pressure one, put to a high-pressure use. Burnand thought the slow motion of the engine was caused by the steam from the boiler having to pass through a very long pipe, in which it was condensed; and then the water thus produced, not being drawn off, still more rapidly condensed the steam which succeeded. Mr. John Farey, thdengineer, who examined the ruins after the accident, said that the safety-valve must have been fastened down; for the ex- plosion had been one of frightful violence, such as only gunpowder usually produces. ble was not a convert to the notion that such explosions are caused by the disen- gagement of gas through the decomposition of water. The pressure must have been at lebst 100 pounds on the square inch. Mr. E. Bell, another engineer, en- tirely concurred in the view taken by Mr. Farey. The inquiry was then ad- journed to next Monday, in order that Lowe might be examined.

On Wednesday, Mr. Commissioner Winslow and a Special Jury sat to inquire into the state of Mr. William Austen's mind. Mr. Austen is the once celebrated adopted son of the late Queen Caroline, who left him a property, now.about 4,000L, invested in the Funds. He is about forty years of age. He has hitherto lived at Milan; but has just been brought to this country by order of Sir Thomas Wilde and Dr. Lnshington, trustees to the property. In 1830 he was seized with alienation of mind, and has sunk into complete idiotcy. For three years he has not spoken; he shows an insane fondness for a piece of vine-stick, which he will not part with; but he is as tractable as an infant. When spoken to by the Commissioner, he took not the smallest notice, but twirled his stick in blank unconsciousness. The Jury pronounced him to have been of unsound mind since September 1841; the inquiry not having been extended further back, is order to save expense.