Cie atrtrapolis.
The Westminster Reform Society, and the London Parliamentary Re- form Committee—Mr. Bright's constituents—have met and declared open war with Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill. The leading men in these move- ments are Mr. Samuel Morley, Mr. Doulton, Major Lyon, Mr. George, Mr. Bidgood, and Mr. Beal. Both these bodies are backers of Mr. Bright.
The Duke of Cambridge presided, on Wednesday, over the annual dinner in behalf of the funds of the German Hospital. During the even- ing the large sum of 22001. was subscribed.
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society. on Monday, a paper was read by Mr. Atkinson, relating to his travels in Central Asia; and some despatches from Captain Strachey were communicated to the meet- ing touching the wanderings of Adolphe Schlagintweit in Thibet. A report was current in the summer that this enterprising traveller was dead. This arose from the fact that his guide deserted, carrying off pa- pers. These papers were recovered, and hence the report. M. Schla- gintweit had, however, been heard of subsequently. It is admitted that the chances of escape from the barbarous people among whom he has been sojourning in Khoten and Yarkend, were precarious.
The South Eastern Railway has decided on applying for a terminus, at Charing Cross, for an extension line uniting London bridge station with the Waterloo station and passing over, as the late Mr. Wyndham Hard- ing frequently urged on the South-Western Directors, Hungerford bridge to Hungerford market, the basement of which, will as now, con- tinue to be used for wharfage purposes. Northumberland "louse, suggests the Building News, may be annexed as a hotel ! As the line will pass through the property of St. Thomas's Hospital, close to the edi- fice itself, it is fitly enough asked, why not remove the hospital to a healthy site in the suburbs of London, such as the high ground at Brent- ford Butts ?
The Court of Divorce, Lord Chief justice Cockburn presiding, delivered judgment on Wednesday, in the case of Robinson versus Robinson and Lane. 'The Court were of opinion that Mrs. Robinson's diary was not evidence, and that it had no evidence before it of adultery on which it would be justified in pronouncing a sentence of divorce. It regretted the position of Mr. Ro- binson, who remained burdened with a wife who had placed on record the confession of her misconduct, or, at all events, even taking the most favour- able view, of unfaithful thoughts and unchaste desires ; but redress could only be afforded by that Court on legal proof of adultery, and that proof the Court could not find in the incoherent statements of a narrative so irrational and untrustworthy as that of the respondent. Entertaining this opinion of the evidence derived from the journal, it would be unnecessary to enter into the consideration of the evidence given by Dr. Lane, and therefore the only course open to the Court was to dismiss the petition.
The Court declined to give Mrs. Robinson her costs, because it could not say that Mr. Robinson was not justified in asking for a divorce, and it ap- peared that Mrs. Robinson had a separate income. They did not, therefore, think it was a case for costs. The Court would not then give any opin- ion on the question of Dr. Lane's costs.
The Western Bank of Scotland brought an action in the Court of Queen's Bench to recover upwards of 17,000/. upon fourteen bills of exchange dis- counted by the bank for the firm of John Monteith and Co. of Glasgow. The defendant was a Mr. Needell, who was alleged to have been a partner in the Glasgow firm. But Mr. Needell insisted that he had ceased to be a partner before the earliest of the bills was discounted. He said that he had given Mr. Taylor, the manager of the bank, verbal notice that he was not a partner. This Mr. Taylor denied. It was shown, however, that Mr. IsTeedell had never given public notice of his withdrawal from thepatner. ship, and also that he had taken some active part in the affairs of Monteith and Co. Under these circumstances the jury found a verdict for the plain- tiff.
At the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, Alfred Skeene and Archi- bald Freeman, previously oonvieted of the offence of misappropriating a warrant for a cargo of timber intrusted to them for sale, were, to their great amazement, sentenced each to one year's imprisonment with hard labour.
A fire, unusually fatal to life, occurred on Saturday morning. A constable observed that the shop of one Reeves, an eating-house-keeper, in Great James Street, blaryleboue, was on fire. He raised an alarm and sent for the fire-escape. The noise brought Reeves, his wife, their children, and two servants, to the windows. Their position was perilous in the extreme. The fire was rushing up the staircase, and the smoke eddying round the room. Some one brought a ladder. It was too short, but, aided by Mr. Reeves, his cook got her feet on the upper round, and descended in safety. Two fire-escapes now arrived, under the charge of Hall and Home. By these means two of the children were immediately got down in safety, and con- stable Hobbs had gone up, and had secured Mrs. Reeves and one of the children, when some person broke open the street door, thereby at once giving vent to the air, which drove the flames with tremendous force through the shop shutters and first-floor windows. The result was to set fire to the escape on which the poor fellow Hobbs was, with Mrs. Reeves and one of her children in his arms, burning him so that he was forced to let go his hold, and he fell with his burden to the ground with a frightful crash. The poor fellow was picked up almost insensible, and on raising him it was found that the thigh of one leg and the ankle of the other were broken. The child was also insensible. Some of Mr. Reeves's children had already dis- appeared from the windows, no doubt from the effects of suffocation, when escape-inspector Home, finding it impossible to plant his escape in front of the now blazing building without its sharing the same fate as that belong- ing to his brother officer Hall, placed it against the adjoining house, and having unshipped his short ladder, reached the roof, in the hope of being enabled thus to rescue Mr. Reeves and the other persons still clinging in the deepest agony and suspense to the front of the window. He had just com- pleted his preparations, when a loud and sudden crash was heard—the flooring had given way, and the unfortunate man, with his aged nurse and two of his children, was plunged into the midst of the flames. The mob had to forcibly dispossess two "ladies" of a cab in order that the injured per- sons might be taken to the nearest hospital. No engine arrived for three quarters of an hour. Then several came, and the fire was prevented from extending.
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