4 SEPTEMBER 1847, Page 4

'1be ,Metropolis.

A special General Court of the Proprietors of Stock in the Bank of Eng- land was held on Tuesday, for the purpose of electing a Governor in the room of Mr. Robinson," disqualified." The ballot was taken with the usual forms, and resulted in the election of Mr. James Morris, the Director recommended to the Proprietors by the Court.

A meeting of the Vestry of St. Pancras took place on Wednesday, for the purpose of confirming the increased poor-rate of Is. 3d. in the pound required for the enlargement of the workhouse. There was a long discus- sion on the necessity of the proposed increase; but it was eventually car- ried, by 23 to II. Towards the close of the proceedings, charges similar to those made last year were preferred against the authorities of the Work- house; and an investigation into them was promised by the Chairman and Directors.

The Marylebone Reform Association was dissolved on Saturday, at a special meeting of the members. A motion having been proposed for the appointment of a committee to revise the laws, an amendment was moved by Mr. Douglas, that the Association be dissolved, and the funds in hand -(151.) appropriated to the purposes of the ensuing registration. The amend- ment was carried, after some warm discussion.

A soiree was held on Monday evening, at the New Globe Tavern, Mile- end Road, to celebrate the return of Mr. George Thompson for the Tower Hamlets. Upwards of nine hundred took tea on the occasion; the excite- ment being furnished by the speeches of Mr. Feargus O'Connor and Mr. Henry Vincent. Mr. Thompson promised at the end of every session to place in the hands of his constituents the seat to which he had been elected: the district would thus have the benefit of annual Parliaments.

The explosion of the boiler of the Cricket steam-boat has continued to excite much interest. It is now ascertained that the number of lives lost is five. An inquest on the bodies commenced on Monday; but chiefly pre- liminary matters were inquired to, and after the identification of the bodies the proceedings were adjourned till Monday next. Solicitors attended on behalf of the proprietors of the Cricket Company, and of Mr. Joyce, the maker of the engines. None appeared on the part of the Crown, or of the parochial authorities. Mr. J. Hooker, one of the passengers on board at the time of the explosion, described the occurrence— "I sat down in the stern part of the boat, about one third the distance of the vessel from the paddle-box, and sat there about five minutes. I should think there were more than 200 persons then on board, and that very nearly 100 were in the after-part of the boat. The boat was lying quiet. There was a sudden quiver, and the explosion took place. The after-deck of the boat flew into a thou- sand pieces, which were flying in every direction, but principally went aft. The deck on which I was sitting completely went from under me. The parcel in my lap and also my hat were blown away, and I was much bruised on the hip and legs. For a minute or two the boat was covered with steam, which struck me on the side of the head, as with a hand, with great force. When I looked on the ves- sel she was a perfect wreck. After the explosion, a small steamer, I think the Echo, came alongside, and took off the greater part of those who were clinging to the wreck. An elderly gentleman of about sixty was crying out that his leg was broken. There was a noise in the bottom of the vessel like the howling of a dog. I saw the shoulder of a man above the water, and dragged him up. He was bleeding at the nose and ears, and was within an inch of being drowned. Two men came and took him away. I do not recognize him among the persons killed. I saw neither captain engineer, nor stoker on board. I was wondering the cap- tain was not there. I did not look down the engine-room. The boat was delayed, and was much longer than usual in starting. She was lying quite erect, and I am quite certain that she was not aground. The stern part went down after the accident, and if she had been aground she could not have sunk. During the time I was on board, I saw no one connected with the vessel."

The deaths of the sufferers were caused either by severe hurts or from drowning; none appear to have been seriously scalded by the steam. Before the inquest was adjourned, it was arranged that the Coroner should appoint some scientific gentleman to examine the wreck and the remains of the engine, and that the Jury should also inspect them on the following day.

A number of the friends of William Henry Barber, the solicitor who was transported for his part in the will-forgeries by which the Bank of England was defrauded, are making efforts to obtain a remission of his sentence, in the belief that he was innocent. These gentlemen, most of them connected with the legal profession, held an open meeting at a tavern in Nelson Square, on Saturday evening. After a mass of correspondence and papers had been read, several gentlemen addressed the meeting; and a resolution was passed expressing an opinion on the case, and avowing a determination to adopt every legitimate means to obtain a pardon.

The Royal Exchange was closed on Thursday, the anniversary of the fire of London, till twelve o'clock. This custom has been observed for years.

The shipwrights in Woolwich Dockyard have been misbehaving. Mr. Chat- field, one of the Assistants of the Master Shipwright, had given offence to the workmen by complaining of their neglect of duty—lying about idle or asleep when they should have been at work: for this Mr. Chatfield experienced various an- noyances, and one evening lie was mobbed. The Times correspondent states that it has been proved that a more serious offence was in contemplation. " Some serious injuryis was intended to be inflicted upon Mr. Chatfield, and his escaping with his life s a very providential occurrence. The danger was averted by pri- vate information being given to him that he was to be made to ' walk the plank.' A plank of some thickness was sawn nearly through; and the apparently whole side of the timber placed uppermost in the Hydra steam-vessel, on which the men were at work, and over which it was expected Mr. Chatfield would walk when on board inspecting the work. To add to the enormity of the contemplated offence, it is said that a large piece of wood was suspended in such a manner that on the plank giving way the wood above would also fall down on the person who might be unfortunate enough to attempt to walk over the plank, and render the impossi- bility of escape from serious injury beyond doubt." In consequence of these occurrences, Captain Berkeley a Lord of the Admiralty, and Mr. Ward the Secretary, began an inquiry into the matter on Saturday at the Dockyard. The preliminary investigation resulted in the dismissal of fear persons, two of whom are to be prosecuted, and the suspension of nearly fifty others, among whom were three Inspectors and five other officers. The men in the yard exhibited so much excitement at the beginning of the week that extra Marines and Police were placed on duty.

A singular application was made to Mr. Justice Williams, sitting in chambers, on Thursday, on the part of Mademoiselle Jenny Lind in reference to Mr. Bann's action against her for breach of engagement. The plaintiff having threatened to hold the defendant to bail, Miss Lind desired to compel Mr.`Bann to make such application forthwith: she was apprehensive that Bunn might cause her to be arrested at the moment of embarkation for the Continent. Mr. Justice Williams said he could not grant the application.

Mr. Payne, the City Coroner, held an inquest on Saturday as to the cause of the recent fire in Beech Street, Barbican; and the result of the inquiry was the com- mittal of the occupier, Mr Hail, on a charge of arson. He insured in Jane last for 5001.

A lad aged sixteen, employed at the London Bridge Tavern, was committed for trial at the Southwark Police Court on Monday, for having attempted to fire a loaded pistol at another youth in the same employment, to whom he had taken a dislike. The mother of the culprit said, her son had " got romantic notions into his head," by attending a minor theatre, where he often witnessed combats, and that he tried to emulate the deeds of the stage heroes.

A Coroner's Jury on the body of a child two years old, whose parents lived in a court near Rosemary Lane, have returned a verdict, " That the deceased died of diarrhoea and fever, caused by the noxious and poisonous effluvium in Hayes Court, from want of drainage."

An adjourned inquest was concluded on Monday, before Mr. Wakley, on the bodies of two children named Hunt, of the ages of eight and nine years, who had died, according to the medical evidence and the verdict of the Jury, from dysen- tery produced by the want of a sufficiency of wholesome and nutritive food. The elder sister of the deceased said that for along time past the daily diet of the family consisted of bread and tea for breakfast, the same for tea, without supper, and boiled rice for dinner. She never tasted meat. Their mother seldom took her meals with them, as there was scarcely sufficient for the children. The mother was supported into court in a state of great exhaustion, and looked weirdly ema- ciated. It came out in the course of the inquiry, that the parish of Clerkenwell has no salaried relieving-officer.

An adjourned inquest was held at Poplar on Wednesday, on the body of Charles Simmonds, who was drowned at Blackwell in consequence of a Policeman having pulled him by the tails of his coat off the Vesper steam-boat. The Policeman had Simmonds in charge for disorderly conduct; and just as the Vesper was about to start, the prisoner jumped upon the edge of the deck; but, being palled back by the Policeman, he fell into the water and was drowned. The Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death."

John Hutchins, a cooper employed in the Victualling Yard at Deptford, was on Saturday committed for trial, charged with the murder of his wife by poison. He had for a long time treated his wife most cruelly, and she was often obliged to take refuge from his violence at the house of a neighbour.

John Augustus Olds, a bricklayer in Walworth, is charged with killing his wife, from a desire to obtain a sum of money which she had hoarded up. The evi- dence at the inquest, though confused, from the witnesses, two of them the children of Olds, delivering their testimony in a very hesitating way, was thought sufficient to warrant a verdict of " Manslaughter."

A general fall in the price of bread having taken place in the neighbourhood of the Lambeth New Cut, on Wednesday morning a number of persons were assem- bled at the shop of a baker named f tuner, in Lambeth Marsh, attracted by an announcement that he would sellat a halfpenny the loaf less than his neighbours. While they were waiting to be served, the floor gave way, and nearly thirty per- sons fell into the bakehouse underneath. Luckily all escaped with slight braises.