alttruinlis.

Sir James Graham, Admiral Richard Dundee, and Captain Milne, Lords of the Admiralty, accompanied by Sir Baldwin Walker, made an official visit to the Deptford Dock and Victualling Yards on Tuesday and Wednesday. They entered the biscuit-baking department, and wit- nessed the whole process, each gentleman tasting the newly-baked biscuit. "The steam-machinery for kneading, rolling, and stamping the biscuits, is capable, with three or four hands, of making 16,800 pounds of biscuits per day, and were it necessary on an emergency to work night and day, the machinery could make 40,000 pounds of biscuits in twenty-four hours. Ad- joining the bakery is the flour-mills, in which six pairs of stones have been put up on a new patented principle, each pair of stones being capable of grinding ten bushels of wheat per hour."

They also inspected the stores, and ordered two tierces of salt beef and one of pork to be opened, and the contents emptied into separate troughs. The provisions appeared in good condition. The men in both yards were mustered and inspected. The same official gentlemen went through the Woolwich Yard on Thursday.

A deputation from the Polish Historical Society of Paris waited on Lord Palmerston on Saturday, and presented him with gold, silver, and bronze medals, of their President, Prince Adam Czartoryski. Lord Dud- ley Stuart introduced the deputation, and explained that they were old soldiers who had fought in the battles for Polish liberty, and desired to take this method of expressing their gratitude for the sympathy of Lord Palmerston with the cause of Poland. Count Malachowski, M. Fontana, M. Chodzko, and Lieutenant Charles Szulezewsld, made speeches, and handed a memorial to the Home Secretary. Lord Palmerston made a complimentary speech in return.

There is no Englishman, he said,' who does not feel a deep interest in the very painful history of Poland. He had felt a deep sympathy with Poland and her sufferings ; on a recent occasion he had done what he could to give aid to the Poles ; and at all times he should be most happy to do so, in so far as it is not incompatible with his duty as a member of the Government. If anything could enhance the value of the gift they brought, it was that Lord Dudley Stuart, the tried friend of Poland and of liberty, had presented it.

At a Court of Directors, held in the East' India House on Wednesday, Major-General Staveley C.B. was appointed Commander-in-chief of the Company's forces in Madras.

The Estates Committee of St. Thomas's Hospital met on Tuesday to receive tenders for a piece of land belonging to their Corporation, and which has reverted to them in the course of the improvements in the neighbourhood of the Royal Exchange. The land in question is situated at the North-west corner of Finch Lane, which is to be widened and rounded, and contains only about 400 square yards ; it is let on lease for a term of eighty years ; and for this small piece of land the enormous rent of 13001. per annum has been given by the Australasian Company, with a condition to build upon it a substantial stone building. This letting, if calculated at its freehold value at the present price of Consols, would represent the sum of rather more than 520,0001. per acre.

The London coal-heavers have been "striking" this week. They de- manded that they should have the same pay as they formerly received— Hid. a ton for conveying coal from the barges to the wharf, instead of 9d., to which it had been gradually reduced. The merchants on the Sur- rey side immediately gave the advance asked ; but only a few on the Middlesex shore, who had contracts to complete, would grant it.

The workmen in the employ of Messrs. Holland, builders, dined to- gether on Wednesday at Highbury Barn, to the number of three hundred. Mr. H. Holland had contributed to the dinner-fund, and was to have taken the chair, but., on the morning of the same day, the bricklayers of the firm waited upon him by deputation, and told him that they would not resume work without an advance of 10 per cent on their wages.

Major Beresford attended at Bow Street Police Office on Saturday, and put in bail for his appearance to answer the indictment arising out of the Derby election—himself in 801., and Lord Wynford and Mr. Whately in 401. each.

On Wednesday, an application was made tto Mr. Baron Platt to allow the indictment to be removed into the Court of Queen's Bench. Mr. Bodkin, winespneared for Major Beresford, grounded the application on the fact that difficult questions of law would arise, and on the probability that a special

jury would be less likely to be influeireed.}y ;popular prejudice, in a case which had been so much discussed in Parliament and the press, than a com- mon jury at the Old Bailey. 'air. Baron Platt :thought that sufficient rea- sons had been shown to ,proes that this WAS ta'fit case for a superior court; and he granted. his flat far &milt Mr. Coppock attended as solicitor for the prosecution ; but.no oppasition.was offered to the removal of the cause.1 Mr. Norman'Wilkinaon appeared before the-Lord Mayor on Monday, to answer a charge of unlawful bargaining for the purchase of an office in the gift of the East India Company. Mr. W. A. Wilkinson M.P. was the only witness examined ; and his testimony did not in any degree advance the case ; Mr. Wilkinson, although closely cross-examined, still declining to mention any names. Mr. -Clarkson, counsel for the East India Company, prayed that Mr. Wilkinson might be committed for contumacy. As no re- ply was given, Mr. Clarkson called upon the Court to order the defendant to give sureties that he would appear to answer the charge at the Central Cri- minal Court. Mr. Bodkin, for the defendant, submitted that the Lord Mayor had no jurisdiction in the case, as it had not been ascertained where the of- fence was committed. Mr. Clarkson contended that there was abundant prima fade evidence for a committal. The Lord Mayor took time to con-

.

The Lord Mayor gave his decision on Thursday. As there was no evidence to prove that the offence charged was committed in the City, he decided that he had no jurisdiction in the case. He concurred in the testimony borne to the honour and integrity of Mr. Wilkinson and his brother ; and whatever construction might have been put on the law, the Lord Mayor was quite satisfied that until apprized by a friend, Mr. Norman Wilkinson was not con- scious that the proceeding alleged against him was illegal, and that as soon as he'discovered its illegality he retired from all participation in it. Mr. Clarkson applied for the committal of Mr. Arthur Wilkinson for his con- tumacy at the previous sitting ; and supported his application by an elabo- rate argument. The Lord Mayor refused to commit; as Mr. Wilkinson had , always attended when required, and had reasonable ground for the course he pursued.

At Middlesex Sessions, on Monday, Thomas Thompson was tried, and con- victed, on the charge of endeavouring to extract money from Lord Palmer- ston, on the' false pretence that he was one of the Brandling family, who had fallen into distress, and wished to raise money to emigrate to Australia. He succeeded in obtaining 21. from Earl Grey by a similar false tale. He is an old offender in the begging-letter line. The sentence was a year's imprison- ment, with hard labour.

On Tuesday, George Newman pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to obtain a shilling by false pretences. Newman carried on a system of sell- ing forged orders of admission to the Adelphi Theatre, of course at a rate be- low the usual price of admittance : one night no fewer than sixty of these worthless orders were presented at the doors. The rogue has been sentenced to a year's imprisonment.

Elizabeth Billings, a girl of nineteen, was tried for stealing a box, con- taining rings and other valuables, the property of Selina Deane, in the dwellinghouse of Abraham Simmons. The case was remarkable from the at- tempted defence. Selina Deane is the mistress of Simmons, who formerly kept a public-house in Brydges Street, Strand ; Billings was a servant there. When arrested, she said, "I took the things, and afterwards pledged them." At the Police Court, she stated that Simmons had given them to her, as a seductive inducement ; that she took the box, but resisted his advances. Simmons is the man who recently figured as plaintiff in the action to which the " fast " young gentleman Parkinson was defendant. He now appeared as a witness. He denied the girl's statements. In oross-examination, Mr. O'Brien very successfully lowered his character, by compelling him to.make unfavourable admissions about other transactions, with the view of inducing the Jury not to believe his evidence in the present case. The witness was violent and impudent ; the Judge told him he was behaving with "great impropriety." Asked if he had ever been tried himself, he replied, care- lessly, "I don't know." Mr. O'Brien—" Don't know, sir! Do you expect that Jury there to believe anything you say after giving that answer The witness then admitted that he had been put on his trial about a thou- sand-pound note, but acquitted, by the Judge's direction, before " three words had been said." A barman supported Simmons's evidence in denial of the prisoner's statement.

Mr. O'Brien called upon the Jury to acquit, urging that Simmons was not to be believed : he and the barman had got up the denial together. He pointed out a suspicious discrepancy between the evidence of the two men as to a little sister of the prisoner's who was present at the time when the girl said Simmons assailed her. The prisoner's father was examined. He .deposed that previously to the final examination before the Magistrate, Simmons sent for him, and offered to forego all prosecution if the prisoner would withdraw the charge she had made. Mr. Witham, in summing up, dwelt strongly on the admission made by the prisoner, that she had taken the things. If the defence were not true, it was an infamous one ; for then the prisoner had taken advantage of Sim- mons's bad character to make up this charge against him.

The Jury found the prisoner guilty, with a strong recommendation to mercy. Mr. Witham inquired, on what ground? The Foreman said, under all the circumstances of the ease. Mr. Witham did not think it was a case for mercy at all, after the defence set up. Mr. O'Brien protested that he be- lieved the woman. Sergeant Pocock then stated that he had found the prisoner's character was a very loose one. Mr. O'Brien wished to know if any inquiry had been made as to the characters of Simmons, or Miss Deane, as to morality. Mr. Witham said, almost every one knew that Simmons's character was bad ; Miss Deane's was certainly not good : but that was no excuse for their servants to rob them. The sentence on the prisoner was that she be kept to bard labour for twelve calendar months.

Joseph Mobbs, a jobbing wine-cooper, living in a court near the Minories, has murdered his wife. He was a drunken and savage husband, frequently beating and flogging her : the neighbours nicknamed him " General. Hay- nau." On Wednesday, the landlady of the house went to the Lord Mayor to get an ejectment summons, that she might expel her troublesome lodgers: she had hardly returned home before she heard screams, and Mrs. Mobbs ran out of the place bleeding at the throat ; before she could be conveyed to the hospital she was dead. After thus cutting his wife's throat, Mobbs gashed his own : he was found in his room in a desperate condition, but was received at the hospital alive. He has four children, whom he sent into the streets for a " half-holyday" before he-murdered their mother.

On Tuesday evening, a Mr. Lawrence, of Bermondsey, applied to the Southwark Magistrate for a summons against Mr. Stevens, a tradesman of Bermondsey, for indecently assaulting his wife. The Magistrate told him his wife must make application on oath. Mr. Lawrence went away in an excited state, got a loaded gun, and seeing Mr. Stevens on the opposite side of the street, fired at him, wounding his legs so seriously that it was thought he would lose both limbs. The assailant escaped for the time.

Daniel Driscoll, a second " Cannon" in strength and ferocity, has again got into trouble. He has been 'frequently in custody for attacking police- men, and has just -concluded a sixemonthd imprisonment for indulging his vicious taste; but on Sunday morning-he resumed his old practices, and committed a savage assault on Policeman Avery. After a desperate struggle, fix or seven constables got the ruffian to the stationhouse ; freely using their truncheons upon him, as they alleged in self-defence : a mob of Irish sur- rounded them and threw stones. When brought before the Southwark Ma- gistrate, the prisoner had s severe wound on his head, which, with his shirt and .waistooat, was covered with blood. Mr2Combe seemed to think he might have been captured without so much violence. Inspector Branford justified the Police, Driscoll being such a desperate and powerful fellow. lir. Combo said, the prisoner had met with a good deal of ill.usage some- where, both from the constables' truncheons and the handcuffs, or he 'should most certainly have committed him for trial. He should, however, sentence him to two months' hard labour at Wandsworth. The prisoner seemed agreeably surprised at this lenity : he thanked the Magistrate, and laugh- ingly leaped out of the dock.

The Lambeth Magistrate has put in force the new act with respect to three children who had been grossly neglected and barbarously treated by Henry Ball, their father, and Jane Ball, their stepmother : the cruel pair were sent to prison for six months each, with hard labour.

A cabman summoned a. gentleman before the Southwark' Magistrate for sixpence. The gentleman gave the driver sixpence ; the man took the money and said nothing; afterwards he began to think that the distance was over a mile, and he took out the summons. The gentleman said he was not aware the distance was more than a mile. Mr. Combo decided, that after receiving a certain sum without demur, the cabman had no right to sum- Mona .a fare for more : he dismissed the case.

:During Tuesday night and up to nine o'clock on Wednesday morning, London was visited with a premature fog. Near the Thames, and on the river itself, it was very thick, impeding the navigation.

A. boat-race interesting to the sportsmen of both the Thamerand the Tyne tame off on Tuesday. The opponents were James Candlish, the champion of the Tyne, and James Messenger, of Teddington ; the distance from Put- ney to Mortlake ; the prize 2001. Last season Candlish beat liLickinney, of Richmond, in two races. On the present occasion, Messenger took the lead at starting, and, in spite of desperate efforts by his opponent, kept it, winning by a clear length. Candlish was much distressed. Messenger's style of rowing was greatly admired. There was a great assemblage of spec- tators on shore and in steamers and wherries ; many gentlemen having come from the North to be present at their champion's triaL