23 NOVEMBER 1844, Page 2

Zbe liftettopolts.

The first Court of Aldermen of the present Mayoralty was held on - Tuesday. In taking the chair, the Lord Mayor said, much in the usual way, that he relied upon the support of his brethren in performing the duties of his office. The thanks of the Court to Sir William Magnay, for his conduct during the year of office, were unanimously voted. The Inquest of the Ward of Farringdon Within presented that 146 whole- sale dealers carried on business in the Ward without being free. The F. vs px4sentment was referred to the Chamberlain, with directions to put - _the law in force. A. report from the Chamberlain was read, stating " -that, hy'.an eriter which the Court had formerly passed, he was pre- vented from giving effect to the law without express order in each in-

• dividtal case ; ahd he suggested that that order should be rescinded. A. Motion to that effect, made by Sir Peter Laurie, was carried unani-

mously. Alderman Thomas Wood rose to move that the late Lord Mayor be respectfully requested to lay /before the Court the letter he let* received from Sir James Graham, urgently recommending the discontinuance. ,of the evening sittings at the Central Criminal Court, and the appointment of a third Court for the despatch of business. The discussion was proceeding, when Sir Peter Laurie observed that " stran- gers " were present : the Court was therefore cleared, and the discus- sion proceeded with closed doors. [The face of justice at the Central Criminal Court, after dinner, is accused of assuming a bacchanalian glow more jovial than judicial : the inference from this exclusion of "strangers ' is, that the subject was felt to be too delicate for public discussion.] A Court of Common Council was held on Thursday, for the despatch of business ; and here also the Lord Mayor declared his reliance on the Court for support. The thanks of the Court were voted to Sir William Magna), for his conduct in office, and to the officers of the Artillery Company for their aid on the 28th October. Among the list of appli- cants for the freedom of the City, was the name of Sir John Rae Reid, M.P. ; which was much cheered, evidently in exultation at the triumph over the great men of the City who have hitherto scorned civic duties. Among some other business of detail, motions for considering the best means of obtaining a supply of pure water for all classes of citizens, and especially of providing pure water for the poor, were referred to a com- mittee.

The ball for the benefit of the Polish refugees took place at Guildhall, on Tuesday night ; and a concert commenced simultaneously, about' ten o'clock, in the Council Chamber, several popular musicians contributing their aid. M. Jullien presided among the musicians in the hall-room; the floor of which was chalked, or rather painted, after a new fashion, to avoid the dust which is caused by the old method of chalking. In other respects, the decorations of the hall were the same as those for Lord Mayor's Day. Seven or eight hundred persons were present ; and dancing was kept up to a very late boar on Wednesday morning.

The parish of Tottenham is in "considerable agitation" on account of a dispute between the clergy and the seat-holders, on the subject of the restored observance of the Rubric. There are three churches in the parish, all of which are concerned ; but the clerical leader in the matter is the Reverend George B. Twining, the officiating clergyman at Trinity Church. The practices the restoration of which occasions the dispute are—the omission of the anthem at the commencement of the service ; the giving out the psalms by the clergyman instead of by the clerk ; and the offertory, with a collection from pew to pew on the oc- casion of charity sermons, Queen's letters, &c. The seat-holders of Trinity Church presented an address to Mr. Twining, deprecating the changes, as tending to produce dissatisfaction and to prevent the suc- cessful preaching of the gospel. In reply, Mr. Twining addressed a letter, worded in a very courteous and conciliatory manner, to Mr. Mushet, the gentleman whose name stood first on the list of signatures. In substance, Mr. Twining declared that his sense of duty obliged him to make the alterations ; referring for his reasons to a sermon which he had recently preached. Mr. Mushet answered, in a very long letter, controverting the necessity and the policy of the changes. He pointed out that the Rubric, consisting simply of rules for the regulation of the Church service, has authority only so far as it may be expedient or necessary for the better performance of the public worship, and may be modified by the beads of the Church, without disparagement to religion or religious belief. He reminds Mr. Twining, that although the clergy, "who attach such weighty importance to the Rubric, the offspring of not the purest mra of the Church," may draw distinctions between religious truth and the mere human accessories of religious worship sufficient to relieve them from the charge of falling into super- stitious observances, persons not so gifted are sure in time to be per- plexed. The Scriptures, the standard of faith recognized by the Church, distinctly declare that God, being a spirit, must be worshipped in spirit and in truth- " Rites and ceremonies cannot bring us near to God; they cannot please Him ; and though they may not altogether be abandoned in public worship, still they are essentially marks and tokens of man's infirmity, and not of his strength or perfection. They must be employed, because the weakness of human nature requires them to prompt the heart or to excite the languid de- votion of the soul. But there is a point where they become offensive to those who have a clear perception of true religion; and when such reliance in their efficacy is placed, as implied in the conduct of some of the clergy, they must in time degenerate into frivolity and superstition. The rite or ceremony, or the point enforced, may be harmless in itself, but a wise man will look to the consequences of magnifying the importance of such things as form no essential part of religious faith or conduct." Granting that the changes were in themselves simply good, harmless, or indifferent, the clergyman would not be justified in disturbing the peace of his congregation for objects that really form no part of religion. On the contrary, whatever engenders strife or scatters the flock must injure true religion. We extract two more passages from Mr. Mushet's long and argumentative letter- " Religious truth is eternal; but is it not also spiritual? It is spiritual and pure as the spirit of God, because it came from Him; and any form or cere- mony must (abstractedly speaking) diminish the purity and sully the lustre of that truth : and I think, therefore, it would become the clergy—when nobler thoughts of religion are gradually appearing—to elevate and purify religious ideas, and not debase them ; above all, to impress strongly on the minds of the people the inutility of the shadow when the substance is lost. * * "Again, I say respectfully, that the object you would attain is not worth the sacrifice you must make. So long as you were not compelled, by a higher authority, to revive those forms, or make those changes, you cannot, in my mind, be justified in raising strife where before all was concord, in forcing your opinions where almost every man is opposed to them ; in causing ill-will and separation, when your mission is to preach peace and unity."

A meeting of subscribers to the newly-built church at Wood Green was held, and the clergy were mach blamed for taking subscriptions to the building without declaring their intention not to conduct the service in the way to which the subscribers had been accustomed. A deputa- tion, which included Mr. Mushet, was appointed to wait on the Bishop of London; who met the remonstrants with complaints of the objections and dissent in the parish. He said, that as the alterations were ordered by the Church, no reasonable person ought to object ; and, for himself, he at once declared that he would not preach in any church in his dirt- -ease where that regarding the offertory was not adopted. In answer to a remark, that it was not so much the forms or changes proposed that were complained of in themselves, but their tendency to ulterior doc- trines, the Bishop said, he was entirely opposed to " Puseyite or Trac- tarian " opinions, and that he would prevent any of his clergy from disseminating them. He remarked, that if any clergyman exceeded or fell short of ,his duty as laid down in the Rubric, he would be liable to a penalty of 5001. Ultimately, at the instance of a gentleman in the deputation, the Bishop agreed that the alterations should be suspended for a year; and an announcement to that effect was officially made by the parish clergy on Friday last.

In the Arches Court, on Thursday, Sir Herbert Jenner Fust pro- nounced judgment on the articles exhibited against the Reverend Wil- liam H. Chapman, for refusing to bury the corpse of a child named Jane Bumbold, having had notice thereof. The gravamen of the charge was, that Mr. Chapman had refused to bury the child because it had only been baptized by an Independent minister; but the law requires that "convenient warning" shall be given to a clergyman that his services are needed ; there was no sufficient proof that such warning bad been given ; and in the absence of evidence so necessary to make out the case, the Reverend Mr. Chapman was discharged from all fur- ther observance of the suit, with costs. In delivering judgment, Sir Herbert said, that on sufficient proof, the offence charged against the clergyman is punishable with three months' suspension.

An application was made to the Lord Mayor, on Wednesday, for a warrant to arrest M. Besset, a French merchant residing in London, for fraudulent bankruptcy committed in France. A former commit- ment, by the late Lord Mayor, was held by the Court of Queen's Bench to be bad, the warrant being deemed insufficient in distinctness; and M. Besset was liberated. His Lordship now refused to grant a warrant, as the kind of fraudulent bankruptcy charged is not a crime recognized by this country, and therefore a man cannot be arrested for it here.

The inquest on the bodies of Mr. Jacob Samuda and the six other persons who were killed with him on board the Gipsy Queen, at Black- well, closed on Saturday. Several friends of Mr. Samuda, with many engineers, machine-makers, and other gentlemen interested in steam- engineering, were present. Some further evidence was adduced ; but it did not vary from what had been given before. James Riley, who was on board the vessel at the time of the accident, bore testimony to Mr. Samuda's talent, assiduity, and regularity. The witness's brother was one of the sufferers who died at the London Hospital : he was not only able to speak after the accident, but had actually walked to the hospital ; and he never complained of any want of caution on the part of Mr. Sa- nada. The Jury returned a special verdict, describing the accident, and then say ing that death "was caused by the false and improper con- struction of the joint of the main steam-pipe, and on its not being suf- ficiently secured ; and they express their opinion in order that due cau- tion may be used to prevent similar accidents, which it appears to the Jury may be effected by a collar or ring, to prevent the severance of the pipes in future."

The adjourned inquest on the body of Mr. Sergeant Andrews was resumed on Saturday. A post mortetn examination had distinctly ascer- tained the cause of death to be a bleeding in the lungs, which had no- thing whatever to do with the wound in the throat. That wound had severed the windpipe, but had not injured any important blood-vessel. The verdict was—" That the death of the deceased was caused by na- tural disease, produced by a flowing of blood in the lungs." It is un- derstood that a policy of insurance for 10,000/. on the Sergeant's life would have been vitiated had it been proved that he committed suicide.

Messrs. Smith's distillery at Whiteehapel has been seized by the Ex- cise. The exact cause of the seizure is not known, the statements on the subject being various.

London and the suburbs were shrouded in a thick fog on Thursday. It did not assume its greatest density till the afternoon ; but as daylight closed in, the mingled vapour and smoke grew thicker and thicker. Carriages were led by the drivers on foot, or harbingered by link boys, who came out in great force. The ear performed the office of the eye, and shouts of warning were constant. After a while, the omnibuses on some lines ceased to run. On the river, too, the navigation was at first difficult and dangerous, and was then entirely suspended. There were many accidents, but comparatively few of a serious kind.

Early in the day, however, two workmen were killed on the Great Western Railway, near West Drayton, by a train which passed over them. The engine-driver was not aware of the accident till some time afterwards.