(60 311ttrupulio.

"The Thames" has been as prominent a subject of discussion in all quarters as ever. On Tuesday the Metropolitan Board of Works took it uR in the way of business. They began by passing a resolution author- izing the chairman to take what steps he thought fit "for the deodori- zation of the contents of the principal sewers," directing him to report the cost from time to time. Mr. Wright moved the adoption of a plan for the main drainage devised by the engineers. It proposes that the western sewage shall be deodorized at its junction with the Thames ; that a low level sewer should be carried in an embankment along the north side of the Thames between Westminster and London Bridges ; the Government paying a portion of the expenses and that the delivery of the sewage at the points named shall not be deemed a final measure ; but when the main drainage is completed the sewage shall be delivered into the Thames direct, or deodorized before delivery, or used for irri- gation and sewage manure, as experience may determine. Mr. Carpmael seconded the motion. Mr. Alderman Cubitt objected to the plan ; and Mr. Doulton moved a long resolution directed against it. This was negatived, by 24 to 11. Mr. Alderman Cubitt moved that "it be re- ferred to the engineer to report upon the feasibility and expediency of establishing forty deodorizing works at forty of the principal sewer out- lets." The amendment having been seconded, was put and lost. The original resolutions were then carried by 23 to 8.

Rag Fair in Petticoat Lane, the resort of thieves and immoral persons of both sexes, has long defied the City of London. It is happily placed for this purpose, being partly within and partly without the City bound- ary. But the Court of Common Council, on Thursday, seemed disposed to deal with it. On the motion of Mr. H. Hill, and in spite of some op- position, they resolved- " That the demnralivint effect produced to the surrounding neighbourhood by the Sunday mart held in Houndsditeh calla for the serious attention of this Court, and that, with a view to its suppression, it be referred to the Police Committee to inquire into the circumstances relating thereto, with instructions to call for the production of any papers in the hands of the Commissioner of Police connected therewith, and to report thereon to this

Court." .

The annual meeting of the friends and supporters of Queen's College, an institution for the education of ladies, was held on Tuesday. The Bishop of London presided ; and the Bishop of Oxford, the Reverend D. Laing, Mr. William Cowper, M.P. the Reverend Frederick Maurice and Sir John Forbes, M.D., took part in the proceedings. The report was satisfactory. There are, exclusive of those who attend the special course, 211 pupils. A new scholarship, called " the Cambridge Scholar- ship," has been founded by the Reverend Astley Cock. During his life the Reverend David Laing will nominate to this scholarship. Another scholarship has been founded by a number of ladies.

A testimonial of silver plate was presented to Mr. Masterman, late Member for the City, on Wednesday, by a number of his friends and admirers. Mr. Thomas Baring was the official donor of the token of esteem.

A shocking case came before a Jury in the Court of Queen's Bench on Tuesday—they had, virtually, to decide which of the witnesses in a case, the plaintiff, or the defendant and his wife, had been committing perjury by their solemn depositions in court. Mr. Robert Kennedy, a Lieutenant in the Navy, sought to recover damages from the Reverend Mr. Hunt, for an assault. Mr. Kennedy engaged Mr. Hunt to manage a school for him ; dis- putes arose ; they were about to part, Mr. Hunt taking away nearly all the pupils, who, however, had been obtained by his exertions. Mr. Hunt's wife called on Mr. Kennedy to settle the school accounts ; Mr. Hunt was sent for ; he came. Mr. Kennedy swore that Mr. Hunt, without any cause, struck him a violent blow behind the ear, rendering bins insensible. He was quite sober ; he did not squeeze Mrs. Hunt's hand ; he did not kiss her it was " an infamous falsehood " to represent that he did. The Reverend Mr. Nicholson, who was present, deposed that Mr. Kennedy did not behave with any impropriety; he did not kiss Mrs. Hunt ; the assault was utterly unprovoked. Cross-examined, he said he could not swear that Kennedy did not take hold of the lady's hand—" because I was not looking at them." [In his examination in chief, this witness had stated—" I had my eye on them the whole time, and saw all that passed."]

For the defence, the Reverend Mr. Hunt swore that Kennedy, who was tipsy, had hold of Mrs. Hunt's hand, and kissed her on the left cheek. Mr. Hunt then "pushed" his head away—he did not knock him down. Kennedy was not insensible. Mrs. Hunt deposed to the same facts. Ken- nedy was tipsy—he could not understand the accounts. A youth corrobo- rated the statement that Kennedy was tipsy.

Mr. Justice Hill in summing up, observed that the painful duty would devolve upon the Jury of deciding which of the parties had been telling them an untruth, and an untruth to their knowledge. If they were satisfied that the plaintiff had kissed or attempted to kiss Mrs. Hunt, the defendant was entitled to a verdict ; if they did not believe Mr. or Mrs. Hunt then their charge against Mr. Kennedy aggravated the case, and should increase the damages. The Jury returned a verdict for the defendant.

In the Court of Queen's Bench, on Monday, Bosehannah D. Fray sought to recover damages from Mr. Henry Edmund Voules, an attorney, for im- properly advising her to bring an action against the Earl of Zetland. Fray was lady's maid to Lady Zetland ; she was suddenly dismissed, she al- leged without good cause. A solicitor advised her not to bring an action against the Earl ; then she was introduced to Mr. Voules, who advised an action. It failed. Fray alleged that Mr. Venice must have known that there was no chance of success, and ought not to have advised an action. But after hearing the evidence of the plaintiff and her witnesses, Lord Campbell decided that there was no ease against Mr. Voules. Fray also claimed damages from Mr. Voules for a physician's recipes detained by him —wrongfully as she alleged ; Mr. Voules declared that they had been mis- laid. The Jury gave five guineas damages in regard to the recipes. The same court, sitting in banco, has declined to grant a new trial in the case "Eberhardt v. Mason," in which a Jury gave Mrs. Eberhardt da- mages against Mr. Mason for breach of warranty in regard to certain pic- tures he sold to her—so-called "Paul Potters," " Sneyders," and the like.

A Jury in the Court of Exchequer has refused to give compensation to Mr. Bird against the Great Northern Railway Company, for hurts received by carriages leaving the rails. They held that there was no proof of negli- gence by the Company.

Three men have been fined by the Lambeth Magistrate for frauds on the South-Western Railway Company. They arrived in London on Sunday night with excursion-tickets which purported to have been issued in London that day ; they were in reality halves of tickets issued five weeks before, the month and day having been altered : the colour corresponded with the colour used on Sunday last. It seems that some persons at Southampton are carrying on a fraudulent traffic in these tickets, buying them up cheap, forging new dates, and then selling them to persons who wish to go to Lon- don at a small expense.

Charles Rees, ajourneyman painter living at South Lambeth, has been remanded by the Lambeth Magistrate on a charge of neglecting and ill- treating his six children. The wife was charged with the like offence, but she and the children were sent to the workhouse. Rees and his wife are drunkards; the condition of their children was fearful before the police rescued them ; one a girl of twelve, had her legs chained together above the ankle, the chains fastened with padlocks : the flesh of the legs was swollen from the pressure of the chain. Bees said he chained the girl to prevent her running away. He acknowledged that he earned from 268, to 30a. a week.

William Wilmshurst, son of a gentleman who was formerly a banker at Cranbrook, has been committed by the Lord Mayor on a charge of uttering two forged cheeks, one for 4571. 10a., the other for 1500/., with intent to defraud the London and County Bank. 1Vilmshurst was formerly clerk at the London and County Bank branch at Cranbrook, and thus had a know- ledge of the method of conducting business. He presented a check for 4571. 10s. at the Tenterden branch ; it purported to be drawn by a *r. Smith ; a letter was received from "Henry Smith" in London directing payment of the 4571. 10.8. out of the proceeds of a check from " T. Beeman," for 15001., drawn on the Cranbrook branch. The whole scheme was fraud- ulent. It failed, suspicion having been aroused from the first. The Lord Mayor intimated that he held a certificate showing that the accused had been sentenced to be transported for life. A ease at the Thames light, Office, on Thursday, shows Mormonism in England in a disgusting light, though the dramatic scene before the Magis- trate provokes a smile. Hannah Brown, an elderly woman, dwelling at No. 4, Stratford Terrace, Thomas Street, Devonport Street, Commercial Road, appeared to answer a summons which charged her with assaulting and beating Mrs. Elisabeth Watson. Mr. Charles Young i solicitor, who ap- peared for the complainant, said, that Mrs. Watson had been a Mormonite for three years, and was for some time considered one of the most promising of the " Latter Day Saints," but in consequence of having discovered the disgusting tricks of the Mormon religion —Mr. Yardley—" Religion ! Are there any Mormons in this quarter ? " Mr. Young—" Oh, yes air ; there are some half-dozen places called chapels of the present, I mean Latter Day Saints—sinners they ought to be called, sir—where these people meet to in- culcate their pernicious doctrines among the ignorant. The husband of the defendant had also been a Mormon, but gave it up. The defendant had been jealous of Mrs. Watson ever since, and finding her talking to Mr. Brown attacked her with great fury, scratched her face, and beat her." Mr. Yardley, asked the complainant if she lived with the defendant's husband ? Mrs. Watson replied in the negative, and said—" I was a Mormonite three years. Mrs. Brown is a Mormonite. Her husband was ordered by the elders to walk with me, to instruct me in the principles of Mormonism, and to rob my husband and go to Utah, for the good of the church." Mr. Yardley—" I thought all the Mormons had gone to Utah? " Mr. Young—" No, sir ; there are troubles in Utah, and Governor Cumming and the United States army have taken possession of the place. There are plenty of Mormons left here." Mrs. Watson—" Well, I was cut off from the church because I would not rob my husband and leave him, and the de- fendant's husband was cut off from the church because he was not successful in teaching me how to rob my husband, and could not induce me to leave my husband and go to Utah to marry one of the elders there." Mr. Young —" Those are the principles of Mormonism?" Mrs. Watson—" Yes, sir ; I was taught that to rob my husband, leave him, and commit adultery, was to glorify the church." Mr. Young—" The Mormon church, you mean ? " Mrs. Watson—" Yes, sir. Well, sir, I found out the baseness of the Mor- mon doctrines, and I would not leave my husband or rob him, and the de- fendant has been persecuting me ever since. Last Saturday evening I was speaking to Mrs. Brown's husband, he having first accosted me, when Mrs. Brown came up and called me a great many infamous names, struck me with her fiat, and scratched my face. She threatened to kill me, and I had much trouble in getting out of her way." Mr. Yardley—" Did you volun- tarily leave the Mormouites ? " Mrs. Watson—" I did, sir ; the elders of the church wanted me to go into their apartments and be initiated into the mysteries of Mormonism, but I would not, and have been persecuted ever since by Mrs. Brown and her friends." The defendant said that Mrs. Wat- son did not, voluntarily leave the church of the Latter-Day Saints, but was publicly expelled and cut off, and had ever since been in the habit of meeting her (Mrs. Brown's) husband and walking about with him. Mr. Yardley—" Is not that according to Mormonism ?" Mrs. Brown—" No, sir, it is not. Mrs. Watson was cut off from the church, and my husband was pub- licly cut off from the church, and they have been in the habit of meeting each other." Mr. Yardley—" Is that any reason you should scratch the complainant's face ?" Mrs. Brown—" I watched her, the hussy ! She shook hands with my husband, and kissed him." Mr. Yardley—"Is that contrary to Mormonism ?" Mrs. Brown—" It has nothing to do with Mormonism." Mr. Yardley—" Then I am much misinformed on the subject." Mrs. Brown—" Yes, sir, you are." Mrs. Watson- " The meeting was accidental. I kiss her husband, indeed :—the wretch who wanted me to rob my husband, and go into the apartments of the elders ! Not I, indeed." Mr. Yardley—" I would recommend you to renounce Mor- monism if you wish to keep your husband to yourself.' Mrs. Brown—" It has nothing to do with Mormonism." Mr. Yardley—" I have nothing to do with Mormonism. With respect to the morality of it I say nothing." Mrs. Brown—" I have a large family of nine children, and have had twelve, and I won't let my husband go with her." Mrs. Watson—"I don't want the old man." Mr. Yardley—" Well, Mrs. Brown, it does appear she was exces- sively familiar with your husband on Saturday last, but that is no reason you should scratch her face, but a good reason for scratching his face. I don't recognize Mormonism, and I must not have a breach of the peace committed. Mrs. Watson had better not shake hands with Mr. Brown if she meets him again. As there was some aggravation I shall fine Mrs. Brown la. only, but if she molests Mrs. Watson again I shall bind her over in heavy sureties to keep the peace."

Another great fire!—this time at the London Docks. It occurred during the daytime on Tuesday, in the South Stack Warehouses—lofty and exten- sive piles, crowded with valuable merchandise, supposed to be worth up- wards of two millions sterling. The warehouses were divided into sections by thick brick walls, having iron doors of communication. It was about ten minutes to twelve when the discovery was made, just at a time when pro- bably the largest amount of business is being done in the dock. The ware- houses and loopholes were open, and gangs of labourers were busily em- ployed on the different floors, when a cry was raised that the to floor of the division warehouse, between what were called the 36 and 32 loopholes, in the centre of the South Stack, was on fire. On looking up smoke was seen faintly issuing from the windows, and a number of labourers ran up with buckets of water, conceiving that they would have little difficulty in quench- ing it. On reaching the fourth floor they found, to their astonishment, that the floor above them was completely in flames, and the fire rapidly descend- ing. Intelligence of the fact instantly spread through the dock, and the dock police and fire brigade immediately repaired to the spot with their land and two floating engines, but some delay was encountered in consequence of the crowded state of the quay and roadway between the warehouse and basin and the shipping that were lying alongside the south quay. Several lengths of hose and branches were laid on to different fire-cocks, and the firemen and labourers, of whom there were a vast number, exerted them- selves to their utmost in endeavouring to cheek the progress of the confla- gration. In the mean time it had gained prodigiously. Descending to the lower floors, (each of which was 120 by 50 feet, and where were stored hun- dreds of tons of jute, hemp, oil, tallow, and rice, sugar in bags, chests, and hogsheads, spi3ea, dyes, saltpetre, and many other articles,) its progress was fierce and terrific, and the heavy clouds of black smoke which rose from all parts completely darkened the river and neighbourhood. The Fire Brigade soon arrived with their engines, and the powerful floating engines were hauled into the Wapping basin. But although an immense mass of water was being thrown from some twenty branches—those of the dock and brigade floating engines alone throwing from fifteen to six- teen tons per minute—the flames advanced and seemed to spread with redoubled fury. By one o'clock the whole of the floors of the divi- sion were involved in one general blaze, each window and loophole emitting overwhelming clouds of the densest 'black smoke. Slight rumbling explosions within the immense area were now heard, evidently resulting frOm the ignition of the saltpetre in the warehouse. At about twenty minutes past one a very loud explosion took place, succeeded by another, if anything of a heavier character. It was apparent from the excited state of the dock workpeople that a greater explosion was dreaded. A cry was raised, " Run ! it's the saltpetre." The sudden expansion of a vivid white flame from the division which preceded the shocks confirmed in a measure their fears. A general movement of all near and along the quays had just commenced when three tremendous explosions occurred. The effect was appalling. An immense sheet of fire shot almost half-way across the basin, and the heavy concussion that shook the earth led to a belief that the whole range of the South Stack was coining down. The centre division was blown. to atoms. The front and back walls, of great thickness, were thrown out- wards and fell,—that at the rear on to some shed stores near the Wapping basin. It was not known at the moment whether any one had been buried under the ruins : several persons were hurt by falling bricks. As soon as the excitement consequent on the explosion had somewhat subsided, and the men were reassured that no further danger was to be apprehended, they resumed working at the engines. It was thought that the shock might have had some effect in aiding them to check the fire—at least in decreasing it. It, however, had a contrary tendency, for the explosion had forced in the division walls, and the goods on the different floors of the adjoining ware- houses were quickly in flames. It was not till six o'clock that the firemen had got the fire under control. The havoc had been very great, and the property destroyed was estimated as high as 150,0001.

" Two vessels wrecked at the East India Dock gates"—rather a strange announcement, yet the fact. On Saturday afternoon, two ships—the brig Ocean, laden with copper ore, and the collier-brig Lustre—got jammed to- gether in the entrance to the dock at Blackwell. Efforts were made to sepa- rate them, but they failed. As the tide fell, the collier—heavily laden— careened over on to the side of the Ocean. Part of the cargoes was removed, and empty.puncheons were put in the Ocean's hold to keep her afloat ; but when the tide flowed again both ships filled, and it was expected that the collier would have to be broken up before the obstruction of the entrance could be cleared.

A gentleman named Bamford has been killed by a news-agent's cart having knocked him down as he was crossing Fleet Street. A Jury have pronounced a verdict of " Manslaughter" against Perry, the driver, he having been dashing through Fleet Street at nearly ten miles an hour.

William Morris, a workman at the Brentford Distillery, has been killed by an explosion of vapour in a spirit-vat, which he had entered with a lamp contrary to the prohibition of the manager, who had pronounced the vat not "safe."

An inquiry, has been held by Mr. Selfe, the Thames Police Magistrate, and Captain Walker, into the circumstances attending the loss of the steamer Ave, off Ceylon. The result was that Captain Kirton was held to have been blameable to the extent that he had not taken precautions enough when he found a current setting in strongly—that he neglected the heaving of the lead ; in all other respects he was absolved from censure.