tbt Attruputiv.

The elections of Common Councilmen took place on Monday ; the no- minations having been made on the previous Saturday, which was St. Thomas's Day. Some excitement was raised in a few wards by an agi- tation based on the narrowness of the constituency, and the mode in which Alderman Sidney's efforts at reform have been shelved for the pre- sent ; but no marked result on the body of the Council was effected some few Liberals crept inhere, some few old Liberals were excluded there, and the Council will be unaffected in its general tone. Attempts were made in some wards to raise an Anti-Smithfield cry ; but it seems to have been more prejudicial than contrariwise to the party raising it.

On Monday, the Times startled its Metropolitan readers by the an- nouncement.that the engine-drivers and firemen on the Northern division of the North-western Railway had threatened to strike that day en masse and without a day's notice, in the hope of gaining their. ends in some dis- putes with their employers, by stopping the whole passenger and goods traffic of the line, at the season when its whole capacity is most tasked to supply the needful public convenience. This threat the workmen say they never made : if they made it, they did not dare to carry it out, and the public have been carried as usual during the week. But the men on the Northern division of the chief Northern line really are at variance with their. managers; and they have made formal overtures to their fel- low-workmen on the Southern or Metropolitan division of the line, to give notices for a general stoppage of work if their terms be not com- plied with Those terms are in fact the retraetation of steps which the locomotive managers of the line have been taking to insure a more permanent control over the men, and therefore a more stable average of trustworthy service. The present arrangement on this line is, that the men may leave their employment on a fortnight's notice to quit the ar- rangement desired by the locomotive managers is, that a three-months notice to quit shall be given and taken. On most other lines the usage has prescribed a week's notice ; on the Great Western line they have al- ways taken and given a month's notice. There are other minor griev- ances complained of—for instance, the tendency to reduce. wages, exact more labour, and to discharge for trivial offences ; but this is the one on which the movement turns. Several interviews have taken place between the managers and the men; at which, the latter say, they were treated with exasperating rudeness. One interview, however, with Mr. George Carr Glyn, the-----tittnperiltie master-mind of ti Co!any, was in a diffarenk and cordial, srOpie, though it brought tl

min no hope of success, ilk Dire Airfield the locomotive man, gers on the elinef pond; inti their resolve to back theni even atoppingthe, main: of the line if that extre

step- were repined : Jefsei5ed, into their employ; in hands ; and had " directeclittiat every man desiring to leave their servi - should have a fourteen-days notice from the Company immediatel - handed to them." The daily press has been unanimous in its dee tons against the men; and so unanimous in its narrative of facts.1 that the inemhave. complainedief *rich misrepresentation. On Thursday' however, a meeting of the enginemen of the Northern division of th North-western line ended in a resolution which may lead to a healing o. the differences. The proposal to introduce the three-months notice re, lates only to the men on the Northern division of the line. At the meet - ing on. Thursday, a number of men from the .Southern diviSion- declared that their class had determined to decline standing out on the point of the three-months notice. Many driyers also attended 'from other Metropolitan 1 lines.; and Simpson of the Great Western. line—a. MDR much respected for his experience and personal character—propoeed.that the practice on his line, of giving and taking a month's notice; hould be adopted as a I compromise: The hesitating attitude of the SoUthern.men on their own I line, and the. conciliatory counsels of the men on the -other lines, pre-(vaded, and. it was resolved that-the proposal of a montli'S notice should

offered to the managers of the North-western as a concession that Awl& satisfy all parties.

A special jury of London citizens have given .a verdict of 50001. damages to Mr. James. Bohn, the seller of rare books and nianuseripts, against Slomani the Sheriff's-officer of London, for an illegal and injurious sale of a large por- tion of Mr.. Bolm's property, in 1816, under a wnt of execution wrongfully issued. The• decimation in the action imputedfraud and eollimion of Sloman with othei parties to gain increased Sheriff's poundage on the sale ; and Lord Chief Justice Campbell expressecthis astonishment-that a Sheriff's-officer of thirty years' experience should, have acted with so little precaution ea had been shown in some features of the ease.

Mr. Commissioner Holroyd has, in an elaborate judgment on the legal bearings of the case, determined that. Jardine, the defaulting actuary of at Dartford Savings-bank, shall be refused his bankrupt certificate, on the ground of fictitious trading on the credit procured by heartless embezzle- ment. In the course of his judgment, Commissioner Holroyd declared tht.t this was "one of those numerous cases which now almost daily oesur, . e hibiting the want of a public prosecutor." "The bankrupt had cominit a most grievous offence, in respect of which the public justice of the count,- has not yet been satisfied."

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A complaint was made to the Marlborough Street Magistrate, on Saturdi of a ticketing fur-shop in Oxford Street. Miss Earl, Matron of the House Charity in Rose Street, entered a shop to buy a boa; • she found none to a. and though much pressed to buy she declined. A shopman followed her another shop, where she made a purchase ; as she came out, he touched 11 ' on the shoulder, and desired her to return to the first shop. as a boa we . missing, which-she wee auspegted of having stolen., Miss Earl returned, 'f.' suffered a sort of search—of course without result. It was, urged by 31 Earl's friends that the object of the shopkeeper was to. compel personP purchase or submit to a charge of felony : a summons was asked for. _ Hardwick thought the touch ou the shoulder could hardly be called an sault ; but he hinted that damages might be obtained,iu, the County eon for the imputation of felony.

Theodore Joshua Sansbury, a, youth of seventeen, who,, has-been residinfti with his parents, very respectable people, at Islington, is in custody for nu-, merous robberies, and has been examined at Clerkertwell Police Office. IL; went to several schools, both for boys and girls ; got interviews with the principals, pretended that his parents had a son or-a daughter whom thei wished to place in a respectable school; thus completely putting the in slanders off their guard, and-getting them out of the room, for a minute, managed to carry off some portable articles, which he subsequently pawn The young man's relatives were deeply distressed at his. disgraceful position lint he himself seemed, quite unmoved. .

At Clerkenwell Police Office, on Saturday, an athletic. young fellow, who refused to give his name. was brought up in custody. - A person living at Canonbary had been alarmed the preceding night by seeing men lurking! about; and the Police were put on the alert. Policeman Gooderhani cans4 open two men who bad thrown a.rope with a grapnel over. a garden-wall he seized both the robbers, and a desperate struggle ensued.: the officer ma- naged to retain his hold of one, but the other escaped, leaving the shirts of his coat in Gooderham's hand. Near the spot were found two life-preservers. and some gags ; and the prisoner had a complete set of housebreaking im- plements. He was recognized, as one of. " HtteketVs gang," and as having been connected with the three men w.ho broke into. Mr. Holford'a mansion. The Magistrate highly praised the Policeman, and sent the culprit to endure hard labour in pnson for three months,—expressing regrets that he would

then be able to rejoin his gang, . .

Several railway collisions occurred at or near the Metropolitan stations during the fog on Saturday and. Monday, when the atmosphere was so murky that the signal-lamps could not be seen till the trains were close upon them, On the Eastern Counties Railway, on Monday afternoon, a Hertford train, which had steamed very slowly to Stratford, was overtaken by the Enfield express-train; a second-class carriage containing twenty persons was crushed, and a number of the passengers were maimed.for life. Misr; AnnOliver had both legs fractured ; Mr. Kirby, suffered fracture of a thigh, and, leg; Mr. Airey, a fracture of the leg,; Mr.. Robinson, elbow-joint crushed, and ampu- tation necessary ; Mr. Hooper junior, a broken leg; Master Greaves, a frac- tured thigh ; and nearly all got severe cuts and contusions. On the same line, the same day, a train from Colchester was going slowly near the Brick Lane goods-station, when the Norwich express-train over- took and ran into it. A third-class carriage was crushed ; and the passen- gers were much hurt, though, fortunately, no limbs were broken.

The directors instituted an inquiry on Tuesday ; and ascertained that there had been in both cases a disregard of orders on the part of the drivers. It is a regulation on the line that trains should pass junetions during a fog at only three miles an hour; • but Ilofield, the driver of the Enfield train, confessed that he was going ten miles an hour. The danger of such disco- bedience isvery great; for the fog both prevents any outlook, and, by making the rails slippery, renders it impossible to stop an endangered train promptly. In the other instance, the driver paid no attention to some of the fo,ti,.. signals ; declaring he did not bear them, though they were heard by has fireman.

During the thick-fog on Saturday.morning, in consequence of some Min take of a signal-man, two trains came into collision at the London Bridge terminus. Fortunately, both were moving slowly, and though several pan- sengers were bruised and cut, there were no broken limbs. Miss Brooks, a lady in her eighty-fifth year, and her niece, Miss Storey, a young woman, have 'both perished byburning, in Arlington Street, Pimlico. Miss Storey had put sonic paper on the fire ; the wind blew it into her lap, setting fire to her dress ; she ran into her aunt's bedroom, and the old lady got out of bed to assist her, but fell down, dislocating her hip and her wrist, and her clothes also caught fire. The neighbours, who were alarmed by the flames, found the sufferers in a dreadful state; and both died in a few hours.

The inquest on the two men drowned by the sewer accident near Scotland Yard was resumed on Monday. Mr. Frank Forster, the engineer to the Commissioners, was examined. In ssonsequence of a number of drains ha- ving been turned into the Parliament Street sewer, the pumps employed were insufficient to remove the sewage fast enough; this led the contractors to make a tunnel, that the water might be carried to a spot where a power- ful engine would be available to pump it out. The- work was done entirely at the instance of the contractors, -at their own expense, and without the knewledge of the Sewer officers. A great part of it was done on the Sunday; though the Commissioners prohibit labour on that day, if not absolutely, necessary. The bottom of the dock was paved; the earth over the tunnel was not sufficient in quantity considering its nature—clay and sand—to bear the pressure of ten feet of water to- which it was exposed on Monday. Mr. Forster did not think the tunnel indispensable; but it would here fa- cilitated the work, and if it could have been effected without risk it was very proper to do it. The Jury gave this verdict—" Accidental death by drowning ; and the Jury cannot separate without expressing their unanimous opinion that great negligence is attributable to the contractors, Messrs.

H. um and Thirst, and to their foremen; Wheeler and Parrett, in not consulting the engineer of the Commission before undertaking the work which led to the accident."

On the "grand day" at Smithfield, an ox escaped from the market, ranged about Clerkenwell and Islington, did much damage to property, and tossed several men and women. One man who was gored in the loins has since died. It was stated at the inquest, that the bull still remained in the pound ; no owner confessing his ownership or being otherwise discoverable. A Co- roner's Jury on the body of the poor man killed returned-a verdict of "Acci- dental death."