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The City Commissioners of Sewers held a Court in the Guildhall on Tuesday; Mr. Deputy Peacock presiding. On the motion to confirm the report upon the New Gas Bill, about to be introduced to Parliament, Al- derman Lawrence made a speech in utter disapproval of the whole scheme, as too gigantic. He ridiculed the idea of the City's becoming a vast gas and naphtha company; and advocated the plan of invading the existing monopoly by admitting the competition of the companies at present excluded from the City. Mr. Harrison and the City Remembrancer also opposed the bill. Mr. Blake supported it. The Committee, he said, had minutely examined the statistics of the question; and 300,0001. would be ample for the purposes of the bill. The scheme of competition would not be avail- able; for on application to two companies, they had declared they could not supply City customers under 6s. per 1,000 feet. Mr. John Hall pointed to the successful example of Manchester and Liverpool, which had adopted plans similar to those proposed. On a division, the report was adopted by ten votes against seven; and the bill will go to Parliament without a refer- ence to the Common Council.
A meeting of the Ward of Farringdon Without was held on Tuesday, at Anderton's Hotel, to take steps for procuring a reduction of the price of gas to 48. per 1,000 feet. Statements were made of the price of gas in other great towns, as compared with the London prices. The price in London is 6s. per 1,000 feet: in Liverpool, the pries is 4s. 6d., but the gas there is so superior to that supplied in London, that it would be only equal in cost if charged at 14s.—so much more must be burnt here to obtain the same light. The price of coals is put forward in excuse of high prices here. The Lon- don price is 16s. 3d. per ton, and gas is 68. per 1,000 feet; at Stockport, coals are 19s. 4d. per ton, while gas is 4s. 3d. per 1,000 feet. At Chelten- ham, coals are 24s. per ton, and gas but 4s. per 1,000 feet. It was resolved to request the Lord Mayor to convene regular Ward meetings on the subject.
Notices have been served by the City Commissioners of Sewers on the incumbents and churchwardens of parishes within the City, warning them, under a penalty of 201., not to permit interments within their jurisdiction where the space from the top of the coffin to the surface of the ground is less than five feet; nor to allow any corpse to be placed in vaults or cata- combs within the ohnrch unless placed in a leaden coffin, or in a double wooden one having pitch half an inch in thickness between the outer and inner cases. Undertakers assisting in the ceremonies are liable to the same penalty.
At a meeting of the Middlesex Magistrates, on Thursday, a motion by Mr. Armstrong, "that the labour on the tread-wheel of our prison, having from its establishment to the present time been proved useless and totally inefficient as a reformatory punishment, be discontinued," was rejected al- most unanimously.
The Charterhouse foundation anniversary was celebrated on Tuesday, by a numerous and distinguished company, which included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Fox Mauls, and Lord Denman. Mr. Charles Greenwood Floyd was the senior scholar and Latin orator: he thus complimentarily acknowledged his debt of gratitude to Sir Robert Peel for placing him on the foundation- " Verum ubi tot et tante, res commemoro, ubi tot nomina illnstria coram vobia recenseo, imam tames, ut opinor, yes non me printerire sinetis, cujus propter splendidas mentis et mgenii facultates, virtutemque ejus et morumprobitatem, non Britannieum mode Seaatum, sect etiam totum orbem terrarum lama perm- gate est. Ilium igitur et patrocinii jure et nocessitudine conjunctnm familiari, anctorem mihi video beneficiorum eornm *bus intra has codes frai potuerim. Admonet me quot et quanta sint ea ipsa beneficia ex Fundatore Sutton in nos °muss .1;lelata."
The usual half-yearly gathering of the toys placed out during the last three or four yseze from the Philanthropic Society, was held at the Institu- tion, St. George's Fields, last Saturday, on the anniversary of the day when the chapel belonging to the Society was opened. Two hundred and twenty-five lads have been placed out by the Society during the last four years: of these, about fifty are in the Colonies, (as emigrants,) at sea, or with friends, or in situations in the country; of the hundred and seventy remaining, ninety-four attended at the anniversary, bringing good cha- racters from their masters, and bearing, with one or two exceptions, good evidence in their looks and manners that they are doing well. The Reve- rend John Hambleton, of Holloway Chapel, preached a sermon on a philan- thropic text; and a collection was made which yielded about 451. The visiting lads dined with the inmate lads, 138 in number; and speeches were made by the gentlemen present.
The Smithfield cattle-show closed on Saturday. The Count of Neuilly, the Prince of Joinville, the Duke of Nemours, the Duke of Aumale, and Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, were among the company of that day. It is stated that rather more than 100,000 persons have visited this year's exhibition.
The Royal Agricultural Society of England held a general meeting on Saturday, at its rooms in Hanover Square. In the absence of the Earl of Chichester, the Duke of Richmond presided. It appeared by the re- port, that in the past half-year 44 members have died, 105 have ceased to belong to the .Society, and 134 new members have joined it. The SoCiety now numbers 91 life governors, 181 annual governors, 661 life members, 5,232 annual members, and 21 honorary members. A tabular statement showed the entries of stock and of implements, and the general receipt; and expenses for each year since the first meeting at Oxford in 1839. In that year the entries of stock were 249, and those of implements 23; in the last meeting at York the entries of stock were 724, and those of im- plements 1,508/. The receipts have swelled from 2,394/. in 1839, to 4,8311. last year; but the annual expenses have augmented from 2,6881. to 5,9571. There has in fact been a deficit of actual receipts compared with expenses every year of the Society's existence. The Chairman and some influential members alluded to this state of things. It was stated that 6,000 copies of the valuable Journal were printed, and that the expenses of that publication alone were 1,4261. in the past year. However, it seemed to be conceded that the Journal was worth this money, and that the de- ficit must be reduced by more activity in the collection of outstanding debts and subscriptions of tardy members. Norwich is chosen for next year's exhibition.
In the Court of Chancery, on Wednesday, before. Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, Mr. Russell moved the dissolution of the injunction lately. graited against Mr.
Strange and others on the application of the Queen and Prince Albert. The ar-
guments pro and con, occupied the whole of Wednesday and most of Thursday; but the grounds of defence may be briefly stated. The plaintiff complained of an intended exhibition of certain etchings, and of the publication of a descriptive catalogue. The defendant alleges that he never had possession of any of the etchings, or control over them; and had abandoned all participation in any joint scheme of exhibiting them, as soon as he learnt her Majesty's objection. But he claims the legal right to publish his descriptive catalogue: at present he has not published at all, but has only printed some 50 private copies. As a pleading point, it was objected by his counsel, that the ownership of each particular etching by the Queen or the Prince, or the joint ownership, was not set out by their bilL The 3 and 4 Vic. cap. 3 enacts that the Queen's marriage with Prince Albert shall not give him any estate or interest in her property. The interest of each i plaintiff in the property litigated must always be shown before he can claim re- dress of an injury to it.
The Vice-Chancellor asked for documents, and reserved his judgment.
At Marlborough Street Police-office, on Saturday, Eugene Sanlier, or " Baron de &tiier," and Marie Delonie, otherwise " Baroness Richmond de Bassein," were charged with having unlawful possession of valuable pro rty belonging to
the Count de Neuilly. It appeared from the statement of Mr. kin, who acted for Louis Philippe, and from the evidence, that an old gentleman and the two per- sons at the bar had recently arrived from France, and were staying at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Leicester Street. It was found that they were endeavouring to dispose of property which had belonged to the Count de Neuilly when King, and a warrant was obtained from a magistrate. The old gentleman was found in bed, suffering from paralysis, and an officer was placed over him; • the two prisoners were with the old gentleman; in the rooms were discovered valuable property— jewellery, shawls, and a portion of a painting, cut from a larger one—altogether worth some 4,0001.; it was expected that a necklace worth 13,0001. would have been seized, but this was missing. One of the shawls had been all but sold for 5001. General Alfred de Chabanne, one of the Ex-King's Aides-de-camp, identi- fied the property as having belonged to the Royal Family. Mr. Bodkin asked for a remand of the prisoners. Mr. Wontner, who Paris, for the defence, said that the old gentleman had bought the jewellery at Parts, as his papers would show; he denied the competency of an English tribunal to deal with the matter,—not that he had any objection to a proper investigation. Ultimately, the accused per- sons were liberated on bail, to appear again in a week; the property seized to remain in the hands of the police. At Bow Street Police-office, on Wednesday, Thomas Casey, Alfred Marshall, John Bradshaw, Jobn Croft, and Thomas Manager, were summoned under the 42d George III. cap. 119, before Mr. Henry, for having, on the 4th September, unlawfully conspired with others to keep a certain office at No. 12 Haymarket, which was kept open and exposed, in which were to be played and drawn certain lotteries not authorized. by law, called "monster St. Leger sweeps"; and two other summonses varied the charge. Only Casey and Marshall appeared, as the officers had not been able to find the others. Mr. Bodkin appeared against the accused, assisted by a gentleman from the office of the Solicitor of the Treasury; Mr. Clarkson was present for the defendants. The case, however, was not gone into, as time was desired to search for the missing men; and there was a post- ponement to Saturday.
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