Attropulis.
The Gresham Committee have lately permitted the shops on the South or Cornhill side of the Royal Exchange to be thrust forward beyond the line of the building ; and complaints have been made against the pro- cess as disfiguring the Exchange. In the Common Council, on Thurs- day, Mr. Norris gave notice that he should move a resolution pronounc- ing further alterations of the shop-fronts undesirable. The defence set up was, that the shops were altered to suit the tenants, who complained that they were unprofitably situated.
The mode of electing Sheriffs was discussed at this meeting of the Common Council. The discussion arose out of a memorial from Mr. James Hartley, complaining that he had been elected last year without his consent; and that on his refusing to serve, on the ground that the duties of the office were incompatible with his private duties, he was fined 6001. A joint petition from Mr. Grissell and Mr. Moore who were nominated and fined at the same time, was also read. Mr. Blake there- upon moved, and Mr. Bennoeh seconded, the following resolution—
"That it be referred to the Freedom Committee to inquire into the duties, expenses, and emoluments of the -office of Sheriff; and to consider the expe- diency of preparing a bill to amend the act of Common Council of April 1748 touching the said office, by reducing the fine imposed by such act from the several sums of 4001. and 6001. to 1001.; and further, to consider the expe- diency of providing a fund for maintaining the dignity of the office, and to report forthwith to the Court." There was a good deal of objection to the proposal for providing a fund to maintain the dignity of the office ; and the result was, that the words "and further to consider the expediency of providing a fund for main- taining the dignity of the office" were struck out, and the resolution thus amended was agreed to.
The parish of St. Martins-in-the-Fields has, it is well known, made strong efforts to assist pauper emigration out of the rates. On the 24th of June, a Special Vestry was held to consider the propriety of raising 10001. for that purpose by a penny rate. The meeting, at the instance of Mr. Charles Cochrane was adjourned : since that time, Mr. Cochrane has been assiduous in getting up a public prejudice against the scheme. When the chair was taken at the resumption of proceedings on Saturday last, he appeared and created a disturbance. He would not suffer Mr. A. F. Ridgway to proceed, until the chairman Mr. Countze, had stated who is- sued two handbills. Ile called the chairman "my good fellow" • and
when there were cries of "Police," he exclaimed, Police that's! oh rt's a capital joke !" Ultimately, Mr. Ridgway was allowed to proceed, though harassed by constant altercations. Mr. Cochrane subsequently insisted on addressing the meeting; proposing an amendment which charged the Guardians with various acts of cruelty towards the paupers, and refusing consent to the levying of the rate. This amendment having been signed by the proposer and Mr. Riekie of the Strand, the chairman said it was "libelous, scandalous, and false, and one which he did not feel that he could put."
Mr. Cochrane—" Won't you put it, though, by Jove ? won't you ? Then, if you don't, mark—we'll keep possession of this place till you do. I tell you we insist on that being put. You tell us to go to the Poor-law Board : what the Devil have we to do with the Poor-law Board ? We pay our rates my good fellow, and this is our proper place." The Chairman—" Mr. Cochrane, I must call you to order." Mr. Cochrane—" I don't care for your calling me to order. Why, you ought to be removed from that chair, and you mustn't be surprised if you are removed from it by force. " The meeting has voted you out of it." At length the amendment was put, and declared to be lost. Where- upon Mr. Yates demanded a poll. The whole scene was as disgraceful as a row in a French Assembly. The poll was fixed for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
An adverse meeting was held at the Apollonicon Rooms, St. Martin's Lane, on Tuesday. Mr. Cochrane was the chief speaker,—always against the proceedings in the Vestry. A resolution was passed disapproving of those proceeding!, and calling on the rate-payers to vote against the pro- posed pauper emigration scheme.
The poll terminated in favour of the rate-1167 votes for, 380 against it. The actual number of persons polling was—for, 299; against, 189; many having a plurality of votes. There was a large majority for the rate from the first. The favourers of the scheme polled enough to make it decisive, while there is little doubt the opponents polled their full strength.
Lord Southampton has given 250 guineas to the Orphan Working School at Haverstock Hill, on condition that he be allowed to send one child to the school. There are at present 171 boys and 87 girls at the school ; and arrangements are in progress to enfranchise the copyhold property of the corporation at Haverstock Hill.
The Royal College of Physicians has received a new charter, by the provisions of which some important changes are introduced into its con- stitution. Its designation is changed from that of "Royal College of Phy- sicians of London" to that of "England," and its "licentiates," no longer so termed, but "members." All medical practitioners will be eligible to its membership who possess the degree of " M.D." from any university in the United Kingdom, or have received licence to practise from the Uni- versities of Oxford or Cambridge, Dublin or Edinburgh ; and, under cer- tain conditions, medical practitioners who exceed forty years of age, and are in practice.
Preceded by heavy clouds darkening the atmosphere, a thunder-storm burst over London on Sunday afternoon. Rain fell very heavily, and the flashes of forked lightning were very vivid and violet-coloured. In Wal- worth, where the severity of the tempest was chiefly felt, many persons were blinded for a moment; several houses were struck ; and one old bed-ridden lady was thrown to the ground. When the thunder had died away, the force and depth of the rain caused the drains on the South bank of the Thames to overflow and inundate the cellars.
The investigation into the frauds committed by the soi-disant " Australian Gold Mining and Emigration Company" was resumed at the Mansionhouse on Saturday. Lord Kilworth, Mr. Rhuston Reed, and Major Hawkes, whose names had been printed in a prospectus as directors of the company, appeared ; and Henry Graham Montague and Julius Tripe were brought up on warrants, the former coming from the Queen's Bench Prison on writ of habeas. After a full consideration of the ease, Alderman Carden decided that the names of the three gentlemen had been placed in the prospectus without their knowledge and consent, and he exonerated them from any imputation. Montague and Tripe seem to have been the persons who got up the company—or were "the com- pany "—and pocketed the cash obtained from dupes. One case was made out against both the *accused, and another against Thpe only. Mr. Jones paid 11/. as part of his passage-money in the Camilla ; the prisoners, who ap- peared as clerks or managers of the company, having falsely declared that the ship was chartered by the company. Mr. Gowland paid Tripe 9/. as 'mut of the fare of a nephew in the ship Medicer : the ship turned out to be not charter- ed by the company. In the course of the inquiry, it became evident that the whole affair was an impudent swindle. The company had sprung from a defunct "Gold Digging Company " ; it had three offices in succession ; there was a banker's name in the prospectus, but no money was sent to the bank ; lads who were employed as clerks were not paid thew wages; there were two prospectuses—one a safe version bearing no directors' names, the other bear- ing names inserted without authority, the latter to be used when necessary for influencing some doubter. As much as 301. or 401. has been paid at one time to the accused by persons who wished to emigrate : when the victims dis- covered the fraud if they were very resolute, the rogues refunded. Tripe and Montague carried' on negotiations with the owners of the two ships, but the vessels were not chartered because there were no funds or security. Alder- man Carden said that he should eventually commit the accused for trial ; but he remanded them for a week, that other cases might be gone into.
Collins, the man who obtained portraits on pretence of engraving them, but really to raise money by pawning them, was reexamined on Tuesday by the Westminster Magistrate. Collins had obtained a portrait of Mr. Robert James Tennent, and pawned it; but the Magistrate pronounced that no case of larceny was made out by the evidence, and the illegal pawning was of too distant a date to come within the law. The Earl of Desert's case also failed, as the shopman who received the picture, and who had long since left llie pawnbroker's service, cannot be found. The prisoner obtained a daguerreo- type of Mr. Power from Mr. Mayall, and pawned it : on this charge he was remanded. A fourth case could not be sustained, as certain witnesses were not in England.
Captain Atcherley, armed with a Police-staff, appeared in the Lord Chan- cellor's Court yesterday, with his Indian chief—and was about to address the Court as a constable, "on the part of the Crown." The Lord Chancellor told him to "hold his tongue " , and, after some violent resistance on his part, the intruder was ejected by the ushers of the Court. On Wednesday evening, the Herne Bay steamer Father Thames ran down a boat off Bermondsey, in which there were six men : the steamer went right over the boat. Four of the men were picked up ; the fifth was found en- tangled in one of the paddle-wheels, and the sixth was drowned. The man who was entangled in the wheel was got out by all the passengers' moving to the other aide of the steamer, which tilted up the wheel, and by means of a boat the poor man was removed. He was much hurt, and remained insen- sible for two hours. The accident appears to have arisen from the men in the boat having been seized with a panic as they saw the steamer approach, and they actually ran under her bows instead of getting out of the way.
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