be ffiletropolfs.

The contest for the representation of Westminster between Captain Row, the new Lord of the Admiralty, and General Sir De Lacy Evans, was vigorous enough while it lasted. Each had an active Committee; Mr. Joseph Carter Wood presiding over the one, and the Honourable E. P. Bouverie, M.P., over the other. Canvassing meetings were held in the evenings, and it is understood that Sunday did not stand in the way. Two letters received by General Evans's Committee were deemed of im- portance; one from Mr. John Walter, declaring his intention to support the General for Poor-law reasons; and the other from Lord William Lennox, intimating the same intention, and assigning as a reason that where the choice lay between two Free-traders, he could not hesitate to give his vote " to the open, honest, consistent supporter of those sentiments, General Evans, in preference to Captain Rous, who at the last general election re- pudiated the very principles which he now comes forward so earnestly to maintain."

The nomination took place on Tuesday at noon, in front of St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden. Both candidates were attended on the hustings by a number of political friends, titled and otherwise. In front and around the hustings stood an immense crowd, so noisy and disorderly as frequently to interrupt the speaking.

Mr. J. Wood proposed Captain Rous. Declaring his own conversion to the Free-trade principle, he claimed for Captain Rous the credit of having acted as a Free-tradepiecumor among his ORR party, and of being willing to share with Sir Robert Peel the obloquy with which his measures were regarded by a large Section of his party. Lord Francis Egerton seconded the nomination: assuring the electors that the rejection of the Ministerial candidate would be" a heavy blow and great discouragement" to Sir Robert Peel.

Mr. Bouverie proposed General Sir De Lacy Evans; characterizing his poli- tical opinions as altogether in harmony with those of the Westminster electors, while those of his opponent exhibited a most extraordinary composition of opposite principles: Captain Rous was a sort of amphibious animal, a kind of horse- marine. Sir Robert Peel had courted an expression of opinion from the country on the question of his policy: Mr. Bouverie counselled the electors of West, minster to give their reply in the return of General Evans, who always had been a stanch Free-trader. Doctor Bainbridge seconded the nomination; reminding the electors, that in 1841 Captain Roue spoke openly on the hustings against a repeal of the Corn-laws, and told the advocates of free trade that their &ctrines would reduce the poor to live on bread and onions with " a suck at the pump," instead of feeding on bread and beef and beer. Captain Roils then presented himself. As a convert he was of older standing than Sir Robert Peel himself: in proof he referred to his motions in the House of Commons for free trade with the Colonies, and to a speech delivered in September to his own countrymen in Suffolk. Captain Rona attributed all the improvement which had of late years been experienced in the country to the measures of Sir Robert Peel; and called upon the Westminster electors to rally round the Minister, and protect him from the less of those half-and-half men who were deserting their colours every day. General Sir De Lacy Evans spoke next. The moral effect of the impending election upon the success of the Ministerial scheme had been spoken of; but there was another moral effect which General Evans valued more highly, and it was the effect of the contest on the honour, the reputation, and the fame of Westminster as an enlightened constituency. He applied Sir James Graham's rule for testing sincerity to Captain Rona; and found that his change of opinion had been followed by an excellent office with a handsome salary. General Evans's fate had been different: for many years he had been a supporter of free trade; but that sup- port, so far from resulting in advantage to himself, had produced only severe pro- fessional discouragement, and led to severe professional persecution. [What was this?] The show of hands was in favour of General Evans, and Captain Eons demanded a polL The polling began at eight o'clock on Wednesday morning. Evans took the lead from the beginning; his majority progressively increasing as the day advanced. The first vote for Captain Rous at the polling-booth of St, Margaret's Church is said to have been given by Sir Robert Peel; who, arrived as eight o'clock was striking. The poll was officially announced on Thursday, by the High Bailiff— for Evans, 3,843; for Rous, 2,906; majority for Evans, 937.

A Court of Aldermen was held on Tuesday. The report of the Gaol Committee, recommending the establishment of a third Court at the Central Criminal Court, and the building of suitable accommodation, was agreed to. Alderman Wilson brought under the notice of the Court the disgrace- ful state of the City Gaols particularly of Giltspur Street House of Correc- tion; accusing the City Magistracy of gross neglect in the discharge of their duty. He instanced a variety of facts, particularly of such as the want of' classification, exposing prisoners to the contamination of each other. Underthis head he hinted at some horrible facts. The Court evinced much reluctance to entertain a definite proposal on the subject; and it broke Up amidst warnings from the Gaol-reformers as to the judgment which public opinion would pass on the conduct of Sir Peter Laurie, tha- leading obstructer.

A Court of Common Council was held on Thursday. A report from the Parliamentary Committee was submitted relative to the extension of the North Kent Railway into the City. The projectors proposed to lay dowix the line between Union Street and Peter Street, in the Borough, carrying it over Southwark Bridge to Thames Street; with a provision that no- thing but passengers be conveyed along the bridge. The Committee re- commended the Court to sanction the scheme, certain precautions being adopted as to the details. Some diversity of opinion was expressed, but the report was ultimately referred to the Improvement Committee. A petition from the inhabitants of Southwark, praying that the Borough might be incorporated with the. City of London, as intended by certain charters, was referred to a Committee. Mr. Wire gave notice of his intention to propose at a subsequent meeting several motions having for their object to improve the City prisons, and facilitate the administration of justice.

The Lord Mayor convened a meeting of influential persons at the Man- .

sionhouse on Saturday, to devise measures for finding shelter and employ- ment for the destitute children who infest the Metropolis; and who, falling easy victims to crime, entail upon the community a greater expense than- would be required to make them useful members of society by a judicious system of moral and industrial discipline. The Bishop of London, Lori Robert Grosvenor, Lord Dudley Stuart, and many. of the City authorities, were present. A long paper, prepared by Mr. Charles Pearson, the City Solicitor, was submitted to the meeting.

It comprised statistics of crime, and a plan for a reformatory establishment. As to juvenile crime, the following results were shown. "The number of juvenile criminals annually convicted in England and Wales has increased in a greater degree than even the mass of criminals at large. Thus, the number of criminals, under twenty years of age, committed in the year of 1835, was 6,803, or one its 449 of the population between ten and twenty years of age; while in 1844 they amounted to 11,348, or one in 304 upon the population of the same age." It waa also deduced that the increase of crime is attributable to other causes than to mere ignorance and poverty; and that while adult crime has diminished during the past three years, the number of juvenile offenders has increased in the latter years ten per cent. Mr. Pearson's plan is thus described. "If when the child had been first charged with violating the law, or had been first found in destitution on the threshold of crime, it had been placed in a reformatory establishment, surrounded. with means and appliances for mental, moral, religious, and industrial training, instead of costing his country, in loss by plunder and in expenses of prosecutions, imprisonments, and transportation, from 100/. to 501., he would, for one-third of that price, have been rendered a useful and valuable member of society, either at home or in any one of our Colonies, to which, as a free emigrant, he might be willing to be transferred. To carry out this object in a cheap and efficient man- ner, it should not be undertaken by a mere union of parishes, or even of counties it must be by the establishment of national asylums, in which all objects, of botlx sexes, however numerous, may be received, and where they may be classified, ac- cording to their sex, age, and strength, and waere they may from time to timebe rearranged according to their conduct, character, and attainments, and according to their intended pursuits in after life. These establishments should be conducted. by Government officers under the supervision of inspectors and Boards of Magis- trates; they should be placed on the line of the great trunk-railroads, by which children could be transmitted safely, cheaply, and expeditiously, to and from any part of the kingdom, and by which market-garden stuff and other productions of the soil might be easily forwarded to the Metropolis or other large towns, where a ready consumption would be found. Out-door labour should be united with instruction in mechanical employment: it invigorates the frame, and is a good preparation for any situation that youth may be destined to fill in after life. The length of their continuance in the asylum should not be determined by a sentence of years and months, but by a modified application of Captain Maconochie's sys- tem, where good conduct, industrious habits, and proficiency in some industrial pursuit, will distinguish the inmates, as fit for apprenticeship in this country, or the Colonies, or to enter as volunteers in the naval or military service, as may best suit their taste and inclination."

As to the cost of supporting the establishments, Mr. Pearson proposes to con- tinue the liability of the parent to support his child; and failing the parent's, ability, to continue "to the parish, the obligation to defray the expense of the child's diet and clothing in the asylum, as they are now by law compelled to pro- vide him with food and clothing, if found destitute in the streets." Mr. Pearson's .impression is that the cost of these establishments will be inconsiderable compared with the enormous sums required to deal with crime under the existing system.

The Bishop of London and others present bore testimony to the value of Mr. Pearson's report. Mr. M. D. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, thought the Statistics adduced might be subject to some qualification: still, the amount of crime would be found to be enormous; and Mr. Hill was con- vinced that if the only result of the meeting were the publication of Mr. Pearson's report much good would arise from it. A resolution conveying thanks to Mr. Pearson for his report, and direct- ing it to be printed and circulated, and appointing a Select Committee to rprepare for a priblio meeting and arrange other preliminaries, was unani- mously passed.

A trial which has excited the greatest interest commenced in the Court of Queen's Bench on Saturday, before Mr. Justice Wightman and a Special Jury. It was an action for damages brought by Mary Elizabeth Smith against Earl Ferrers. 'The Solicitor-General stated the case for Miss Smith, to this effect. The intimacy which ripened into offers of marriage commenced in 1839; when the lady was only fifteen years of age, and the Earl, then Lord Tamworth, not much older. The parties came within range of each other in Warwickshire: Miss Smith residing at Austrey with her father and mother, people of respectability but not rich; and the young Lord living in the neighbourhood with Mr. Atcherley, his tutor. In 1839, the first stage of the courtship, the intimacy did not extend beyond occasional conversations. When Miss Smith's parents heard of the meetings of the youthful -couple they did not approve of the intimacy, and sent their daughter to London and then to France, to be out of the way. In 1840 Lord Tamworth went abroad; and returning in 1842, renewed the intimacy with the lady, began to write letters declaratory of love, made offers of marriage, and claimed pledges of acceptance. Efis Lordship proved an ardent and laborious letter-writer; penning the effusions on small scraps of paper, and sending them to Miss Smith with many apologies for the indistinctness of the penmanship. The lady drooped, under a sense of the in- feriority of her station, or an impression that his Lordship was too impetuous to be sincere; and many of Lord Tamworth's wraps are filled with expressions intended to raise her spirits, imploring her to take care of her health, and conveying an assurance that she was dearer to him than anything earthly. None of the earlier 'letters had been preserved; but those received in the first six months of 1844 were produced and read in Court. The contents were very multifarious. The staple was made up of declarations of affection and aspirations for a speedy union. The lover descended occasionally into more commonplace topics; mentioning little .personal incidents, giving critical notices of his companions and prominent public -characters, and making allusions to the engagement of servants and house-far- eaishings. He was never at a lass for a subject, or for an expression; obviously taking the words or phrase which came uppermost. The writer begins his letters after these fashions— Dearest Mary," "My own love," "Mary, dearest and ever- beloved," "My dearest Mary." A few extracts follow-

" Pray take every care of yourself, dearest—forget not you are the only hope of one to whom a palace would be a desert, and England no home without you—far dearer to me than each earthly blessing, without which no one, or any, would be of value. Mary, you, who are all in all to me, take care of yourself; and mind when you return from Walking you change your shoes. You may laugh at me, but you are not particular, I

know, in this respect, and you may take cold." • • I deeply regret the loss of that foolish 3,0001., but 'Us of no use only to make me -more careful: in justice, my grandfather and father lost much money In that way. It will not do for the son to follow their example, or %would make him a second Lord Httntingtower." • •

"Also I have purchased a beautiful carpet for your room at C—. Evelyn stepped In and caught me looking at my purchases. He laughed, and asked me what I, bachelor, should do with those fine things; or If they were for presents ? I said, I _should stud them to the country—that they were for myself. He admired my taste, and remarked the next thing would be a wife, he supposed. Nothing more was said. A piano must be the next thing thought of ; but of that more when we meat ' • • * "It needs not I should tell you again, Evelyn is a clever fellow—an Ultra-Tory ; even condemning Sir Robert for his measures." [The Solicitor-Geneml—" One would almost

-have supposed the letter had been of a more recent date."] * • • "Your parcel and last note reached me the day ere yesterday ; and, though much -engaged, I write immediately to thank you for them. The handkerchief I shall prize above all other handkerchiefs. Thank you much, dearest. Your note I have read and reread." •

"With several other gentlemen I often go to hear the speeches in the House. Really 'Gs a great treat, and what you would like, and your father too, much, I fancy. When we stay in London, for our marriage, he must come up. Then be will have the pleasure of hearing his friend Sir Robert speak. What a clever fellow he is. I have ,had sent to C. a dozen very pretty chairs, and a large sering-gia.ss for your especial use, fair lady, and have ordered furniture for your own room.

'The second handkerchief has been received, dearest Mary, and with it your own kind and sensible note. 'Tie good to hear from you, best and most beloved ; and those -notes make me more than ever satisfied with she whom I have chosen for my future wife. Only, for the shade of gloom contained in them, do I get Into what Is vulgarly termed a fidget, and wander."

The letters were signed for the most part " Washington Ferrers," and in some instances "Ferrets."

His Lordship was rather fastidious in the matter of dress; and Miss Smith's costume not exactly pleasing him, he desired her to purchase certain things, and tepid them as presents from himself; promising to supply the money. She corn- phed ; and, without the knowledge of her father and mother, made purchases to the amount of 2601. But, although often pressed, his Lordship did not send the money; and the creditors becoming clamorous, the lady was obliged to mention 'her difficulties to her parents. This led to a correspondence between the father and the Earl; the result of which was a promise to pay the money, and an ex-

-on of regret that his indiscretion should have caused "vexation to Mary." he money, however, was never forthcoming: ft was advanced by Hiss Smith's grandfather. Letters continued to pass between the lovers; May (1844) was named for the marriage; and the necessary preparations were made, but the wed- ding was afterwards postponed till August. This postponement, coupled with reyorts in the pa.pers that Earl Rulers was about to marry another lady, induced bk. Smith to write to him, demanding a declaration of the time that the marriage with his daughter was to take place. The reply wasin all respects satisfactory.

th Not so e a performance; for a notice shortly ads appeared of his marriage with Miss Chichester.

The pleas on behalf of Earl Ferrero amounted to this—that he had made no 'promise of marriage, and that the letters produced were forgeries.

The examination of witnesses for the plaintiff occupied Saturday, Monday, and part of Tuesday. Various witnesses were examined to prove that -the letters produced in Court were in the handwriting of Earl Ferrero. The Reverend Edward Francis Arden was one of them, and his story was a singular one. lie had been personally acquainted with Lord Ferrero before his go abroad; and on the Earl's return was appointed chaplain, retaining the office May 1844, He frequently resided with his Lordship at his seats, Chantey Castle and Staunton Harold. Daring these visits there was much conviviality, and "larking"; the chaplain wearing disguises like Lord Ferrera and sallying out at night in search of adventures. Mr. Arden expressed his belief that all the letters were in his Lordship's handwriting. He admitted that he had been engaged in gettIng up evidence for the prosecation. An ex-footman spoke decidedly to the

dwriting ; bat the other witnesses did not display the same confidence. Some persons living in Austrey swore to having seen the lady and this gentleman talk- mg together in the village, in 1843. The parents of the young woman were also .examined; and spoke to teeny of the facts already enumerated as to the progress

of the intimacy,—the reevipt of the letters, the purchase of " the presents," and the preparations which were made for the marriage. The mother stated that she had never seen Lord Ferrers in her life; but had seen letters addressed to him by her daughter, which were put into different post-offices br different persons: two handkerchiefs were forwarded in two of the letters. Her lAugbter received a bonnet from London, accompanied by a note from Mr. Devere Shirley, the Earl's brother; but at Christmas a bill for the bonnet was sent in b Miss Wyman, of Ashby. The witness thought there must have been some nes el her daughter denied solemnly, in the presence of Miss Wyman, that she had &tiered the bon, net, or had received it; but subsequently admitted to her mother that the account was correct- Her explanation was, that Lord Ferrers had desired her to pur- chase a bonnet; and, with the view of making it appear that it came from Lon- don, it was agreed that Mr. Devereux Shirley should meet her at Ashby and give her a note to enclose in the box. The meeting, she asserted, took place, and the note was put into the box which contained the bonnet. The witness also men- tioned an incident of some importance, as afterwards appeared, for the defence. It was, that shortly after Lord Fair-era's return from abroad, a ball took place at Tamworth, at which her daughter was present, and wore a single white rose in her hair. None of Lord Ferrers's letters to her daughter came by post; but, according to the girl's statement, they were delivered by Atkins and James, his Lordship 'S servants. The witness admitted that some of the letters purporting to be from Earl Ferrers bore a resemblance in certain parts to her daughter's writing. A little girl, sister to the plaintiff, stated, that in 1843 she had seen Lord Ferrers at her father's house in the drawingroom with her sister. Her mother told her not to go into the room, and she did not; but she looked in at the window. The second visit was on the day of the village-wake. On Tuesday the Attorney-General opened the case for the defence; promising to unfold one of the deepest and most dexterous cases of fraud and forgery ever known in a court of justice. It was admitted that Lord Ferrers and Miss Smith might have seen and talked to each other at Austrey ; but after his return from abroad he had neither seen her nor corresponded with her. As to the authenticity of the let- ters, one test was the post-marks but it so happened that they had never passed through the post-office at all, having, according to Miss Smith, been delivered by Lord Ferrers 's servants. Another test was the internal evidence of the letters; and from this it would be proved beyond a doubt that they were forged and fabri- cated: persons were mentioned in them who had no existence, others were erro- neously described; and as to Mr. Devereux Shirley, instead of being in a position to meet Miss Smith about the bonnet, he was in Scotland with his regiment. The Attorney-General now came more closely to the point. He produced four anonymous letters which Earl Ferrers had received after his return from abroad, written by a lady, and full of expressions of the most ardent affection. Man more had been received, but they were destroyed; and it was only after a search that the four now produced were discovered. Two handkerchiefs had also been received on separate occasions. The first letter was dated 19th December 1842 and contained a key to the "single rase" spoken of by Mrs. Smith. After an apologetic introduction, the fair letter-writer, under the designation of " Isa," goes on to say- ' Now for what I have to tell you; It is this. There is a public ball at Tamworth every Christmas, generally about the 6th or 8th of January. Go, I advise you go: there will, to my knowledge, be a young lady at the ball whom I wish you to see and dance with. She is very beautiful ; has dark hair and eyes; in short, site is haughty. and graceful as a Spaniard, tail and majestic as a Circassian, beautiful as an Italian; I can say no more. You have only to see her to love her—that you must do. She is fit for the bride of a prince. Go, look well round the room. You will find her by this description. She may wear one white rose in her dark hair. Go early. If you see her not there, you will never ace her ; as she is like a violet hid amidst many leaves, only to be found when sought for. I know she is young, and it is my wish that she should have some one to protect her." After counsel had closed his commentary, Mr. Evelyn Philip, the cousin of Lord Ferrers' Mrs. Hanbury Tracy, his sister, Mr. Hanbury Tracy, his brother-in-law, and Mr. Devereux Shirley, his brother, were examined. They declared that the letters were not in the handwriting of Earl Ferrers; that he was not in the prac- tice of writing on scraps of paper; they contained many mistakes as to names and incidents: it was proved also that Earl Ferrets was in another part of the country on the day that the little girl swore she saw him in her father's house for the second time; and that Mr.Devereux Shirley was in Scotland at the time of the alleged interview at Ashby.

On Wednesday, the Solicitor-General stated, that as he was not in a position to meet or explain the letters adduced for the defence, he should withdraw the case, and allow the plaintiff to be nonsuited. The Attorney-General and the Court approved of this course. The letters produced on both sides were impounded, also the two handkerchiefs which Earl Ferrers had received from his heart-sick correspondent, with a view to proceed- ings against Miss Smith and perhaps others for conspiracy.