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At a Court of Common Hall, held on Saturday, Mr. Alderman Mugge- ridge and Mr. Crossley were chosen Sheriffs, Sir John Key Chamberlain, and Mr. Ledger and Mr. Jardine, Bridgemasters. For the last-named office a poll was demanded on behalf of Mr. Booth.

At the same Court, the Lord Mayor said that a resolution calling upon Baron Rothschild to resign his seat in the House of Commons had been placed in his hands. Ile declined to put it to the Common Hall, be- cause many gentlemen interested, not having received any notice, were absent. But if it were embodied in a requisition, he would summon a Common Hall to consider it.

A movement has originated in the City to celebrate the alliance be- tween France and England by giving national entertainments to distin- guished Frenchmen. The first meeting in furtherance of this scheme took place at the Mansionhouse on the 7th June on the invitation of Mr. Anderton ; and the proposal met with general approval, but some doubts were expressed as to the fitness of the time. A committee was appointed, and on Wednesday this week a public meeting was again held at the Mansionhouse to receive a report. The Lord Mayor stated that Lord Palmerston had been consulted on the subject; that it had been under the consideration of the Government, and approved of. Hence the meeting on Wednesday, to obtain general support. Subscriptions would be needed, not only to give banquets but to convey their guests from place to place. The sum already subscribed amounted to 3000/. Other speakers addressed the meeting; among whom were Mr. Mastermaa M.P., Mr. William Brown M.P., Mr. Gore Langton M.P., Mr. Me, Mr. Mechi, Mr. Geach M.P., Lord Ebrington, Mr. Oliveira M.P., and Mr. Francis Bennoch. It was resolved, that as the peace of the world, and the advancement of science and art, greatly depend on the cultivation of friendly relations with France, some distinguished Frenchmen should be invited to visit this country, with the view of demonstrating the alliance now happily subsisting between the two nations ; that the Municipalities and the heads of Universities and Colleges throughout the United King- dom be invited to cooperate; that a subscription be raised, and a com- mittee appointed to conduct the entertainments.

The annual dinner of the Law Amendment Society was celebrated on Saturday, at the Crown and Sceptre, Greenwich, by about thirty mein- hers; Lord Brougham in the chair. In proposing "Prosperity to the Law Amendment Society," the Chairman passed in review the principal legal measures of the session—_a session which will be by no means barren in the annals of law reform. In the course of his speech he made some remarks on the Bribery-laws and the Ballot— He grieved, indeed, as an enemy of corruption, to say that, after much time bestowed, much money expended, and masses of reports made by learned Commissioners of great ability, all proceedings against certain culprit bo- roughs had been abandoned. He thought that if the measures which had been proposed respecting them had been carried, the law on the subject of bribery, corruption, and intimidation, would have been much improved. Although he had always been, as was well known, opposed to the ballot, be thought that a proposition which had been made by Mr. Thomas Duneombe, to the effect that the elections in the boroughs in question should be by bal- lot, was very fair. Here was an opportunity of trying the experiment, and deciding the issue joined between the advocates and opponents of the ballot. Enemy though he was of the ballot, he should like to see the experiment tried in the way proposed.

In another part of his speech, adverting to the question of the consoli- dation of the law, he observed, that a contest had arisen upon the subject between the Committee of the House of Lords and the Judges ; and he trusted that truth and wisdom would be elicited by that collision of opinion. Such a difference, however, implied no unfriendly feeling on either aide. For his part, be could say that he revered the Judges in their public capa- city, and loved and esteemed them in private life; but he would not go sa far as to say that he would bow to them submissively in matters of legis- lation.

The troubles of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, are not ended. Two of the curates, Mr. Nugee and Mr. Parry, have resigned their curacies, and returned their licences to the Bishop of London. Mr. Liddell, it seems, bad announced from the pulpit that he would not alter the service ; and yet, at the desire of the Bishop and some of the parishioners, he issued a notice to the curates directing them to read the service instead of in- toning it. This conduct the curates regard as inconsistent and a deser- tiun of principle.

A shocking libel case was tried on Saturday in the Court of Common Pleas. The plaintiff was Mr. Lefroy, a solicitor ; the defendant was Mr. Cridland, "a gentleman living on landed property and a magistrate of Somersetsbire." Be was divorced a mensa et thoro from his wife, at her suit. While Mrs. Cridland was living at Taunton with her brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Upham, letters were received from Mr. Cridland of an offensive nature ; and one of them, containing the libel in question, enclosed in an envelope addressed to Mr. Upham, Mrs. Cridland handed to Mr. 'Upham unopened. by her direction, opened it, and read it as follows.

"Madam—So you have pawned my knives and forks, barometer, clock, and God knows what else, to keep your prostitute sister, who has been as common to me as yourself. Don't tell such lies as that flat you destitute you had money in your box, and made use of my credit, and tried to run into debt all you could. You never had a rag to your back till I gave you one; and as to your destitution, I have no doubt you made a living by taking charity. If it had not been for me, you would have died in a workhouse long since, unless you had done as your sister has to get a living. I shall go to all the pawnbrokers in Brompton and at the West- end to see if I can find where you have pledged these things ; and if I can't find them, I shall advertise for them in the Times, in which your name will appear, when I shall get them, unless you have made use of a false name, such as 'Mrs. Charity.' You need not refer me to your solicitor, Mr. Lefroy ; for the sneaking brute can't look me in the face without looking vs if he had been guilty of some dirty transaction. By the bye, how did you pay him his costs ? Did he take it out in kind from you and your sister ?"

Mr. Upham proved the receipt and reading of the letter; constituting the publication of the libel, and the sending it to Mr. Lefroy ; hence these pro- ceedings. Mr. Lefroy deposed that he had been solicitor to Mrs. Cridland in obtaining her divorce. He had declared he would send the letter to the Chairman of the Somersetshire Quarter-Sessions, and had said that a man like Mr. Cridland was not fit to sit with gentlemen. The defence sought to be established by Mr. Sergeant Byles was that the letter was a privileged communication ; and Mr. Lefroy's threat was described by him as an at- tempt to extort money.

In summing up, the Lord Chief Justice said, the question of publication was for him, and he thought there was sufficient evidence. It was not a confidential communication, or, as it was put by the defendant's counsel, confided to maternal discretion ; but a low, vulgar, and disgusting letter, written by a man to a woman from whom he was divorced, while they were living apart. As to the sanctity of domestic life, it strained one's powers of countenance to hear such topics in such a case addressed to gentlemen of common sense. As to the damages, no one, looking at this letter, could help concurring in opinion with the plaintiff, that a man who could write such a letter to a woman from whom he was divorced was not fit for the society of gentlemen. It is not pretended that the charges are true; they are admitted to be false. [His Lordship, after reading extracts from the letter, continued.] It was scarcely possible to restrain one's indignation in reading it, and the man who could write so must be a disgusting brute. His counsel says the action is to extort money—that because the libel is foul and unfit for pub- lication, in the exercise of discretion the action ought not to have been brought; so that the baser the charge the less are the grounds upon which the person attacked is to have redress; and it is also said, because the con- sequences may be serious to other persons, you must put up with the libel rather than expose those persons. The Jury must say what damages the plaintiff is entitled to.

After deliberating for a few minutes, the Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff—damages, 1000/.

John Murray, a rough-looking fellow, has been fined thirty shillings by the Bow Street Magistrate for an assault on Vice-Chancellor Sir William Page Wood. When the Vice-Chancellor was proceeding home on foot through Prince's Street, Drury Lane, he saw Murray threatening to strike a woman ; Sir William laid his hand on Murray's shoulder, and desired him to desist; Murray immediately struck the Judge on the head, but, fortu- nately, the hat preserved his head from much hurt. The complainant did not press the case severely : Murray had been drinking, and the woman greatly exasperated him. As the prisoner could not pay the mitigated fine, he was sent to prison for three weeks.

Mr. Pryse Loveden, Member for Cardigan, has been produced before the Marlborough Street Magistrate on a charge of drunkenness. The Police found him leaning against the railings in Piccadilly, and a woman talking to him : for safety they took him to the station-house. Mr. Loveden re- gretted his misconduct, and tendered his thanks to the Police. He was fined five shillings ; but that was remitted on his putting ten shillings into the poor-box.

Chinese beggars are rapidly on the increase in the streets. Three were arrested the other day. Chain made a desperate resistance ; 7s. 5d. was found upon him. The Marlborough Street Magistrate remarked on the ne- cessity of having some ready means of compelling those who bring over Chinese and Lascar sailors to provide for them while here, or send them home. He ordered Chem to be imprisoned for a fortnight; whereupon the Chinaman howled, kicked, and bit, like a wild beast, and several constables were required to drag him from the court.

Patrick Callaghan, a rogue who pleads "starvation" in the streets to ob- tain alms, was arrested this week with 2/. 7s. 6d. in his possession. He was sent to prison for a month by the Bow Street Magistrate; but he will pay for his keep while there.

At three o'clock on Monday morning a fire was discovered by the Thames Police on board the Kangaroo steamer, belonging to the Waterford Steam- packet Company, and lying in the river. The crew were asleep. The floating-engines were brought to the vessel, and after three hours' work the fire was got under. It seems to have originated among the coals, from the heat of the furnaces.

Another ease of fatal carelessness about fire-arms has happened at Stoke Newington. The son of Mr. Wortley, a market-gardener, who had been shooting birds, left a loaded gun in an out-house; two boys found the gun ; one of them, Charles Plumb, a lad of fifteen, got hold of it, and snapped the lock two or three times, without effect, and he concluded that it was not loaded. Presently Mary Sullivan and two other women approached; Plumb said he would frighten them, by exploding a percussion-cap ; he put a cap on the nipple, pointed the gun at Sullivan, and pulled the trigger—the piece Went off, and Mary Sullivan fell dead, her head shattered to pieces.

A man died of hydrophobia, on Monday, in King's College Hospital, after exhibiting much violence. He was bitten in the hand by a Newfoundland dog at Easter; but no symptoms of disease appeared till the end of last week.

A second fatal case is reported this week, at Bermondsey. Mrs. Holttum, an elderly widow, perished in consequence of a bite in the foot, inflicted by a strange cat four months ago. Her sufferings were in some degree alle- viated by chloroform.

The investigation into the death of the child Richardson, who died in con- sequence of an operation performed at the Royal Free Hospital, was con- tinued on Monday and Thursday. Mr. Brent, Deput3 Coroner, and Richardson the father, were examined on Monday. Mr. Brent's evidence showed that Mr. Wakley had done nothing to stop the inquest ; but that, on the contrary, when ne received a request in writing from Richardson, through the attor- ney Evans, to stop it, he had taken pains to verify the communication, and had not ordered the discharge of the jury until Ile was assured that Richard- son desired that step. Richardson's evidence showed that he believed that his attorney, Evans, had deceived him in procuring his signature to the demand for the withdrawal of the inquest. He also read out two items from a bill of costs sent in by Evans. One was this—" 16th May. Attending Mr. Steele of Lincoln's Inn Fields, informing him what had passed, and that you would not prosecute the inquiry further, on being paid 201." [The latter statement was denied by Richardson.] Another item was significant- " Attending Mr. Steele, to be paid 1001.; charged to Richardson, 6s. Sri." The other witnesses gave evidence, on Thursday, as to the cause of the child's death. Mary Rosser, the woman who attended the child to the Hospital, deposed to the shocking treatment be received from the nurse after the operation. The nurse dashed it down on the bed, saying—" It would be a good job if the dirty little wretch was dead." No surgeon came to see it until the following morning, when Mr. Cooke and Mr. Seobell came and closed the wound with their fingers. Mr. Popham, a surgeon, present at the operation, gave evidence as to the time it took—an hour suds half: he described the whole proceedings; and said that Mr. Cooke was the operator, and that Mr. Wakley junior attempted, at the close, to find the stone, using some instrument, but what he could not say. Mr. Cooke ex- hibited great care in performing the operation. Inquiry again adjourned.