i4 Alttrquitto.
At a Court of Aldermen, held on Tuesday, the opinion of the Corpora- tion law-officers on the petition of certain inhabitants of Southwark to be allowed to elect an Alderman for the Ward of Bridge-without was re- ceived ; and was found to be adverse to the prayer of the petition. The vacant gown was offered to Sir John Key, as the next in seniority to Alder- man Thompson, who had refused it. Sir John Key accepted ; the usual forms were gone through, and he was declared Alderman for the Ward of Bridge-without. A precept for a new election in the Ward of Langbourn, in room of Sir John Key, was issued.
The annual dinner by the Lord Mayor to the Judges of the Superior Courts, at the Mansionhouse on Thursday, was fully attended. Lord Campbell, the Chief Justice of England, was spokesman in reply to the toast of the evening— From ancient times there had been a high court of criminal jurisdiction in the city over which the Lord Mayor presided, mid when that court met the Judges had much pleasure in mixing with the Magistrates of the City. They went together, on solemn occasions, to the cathedral of St. Paul's, to offer up their prayers to the Almighty. Again, at the festive board they had the pleasure of being invited to the Mansionhouse and the Guildhall, to partake of the elegant hospitality of the City. In former times that hospitality used to be reciprocated by the Sergeants, but he was sorry that of late years that custom had fallen into disuse. He rejoiced in the prospect which existed that the ancient festivities were to be revived; for he had read in the news- papers—and therefore it must be true—that the Society of the Middle Temple were about to give a grand dinner and ball to the illustrious foreigners as- sembled on our shores, to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Lon- don, and to the Magistrates. Barristers would once more dance round the bonfire, and the grave Lord Keeper would again open the ball, the seals and the mace of office dancing along with him. Much laughter.) Thus would the festivities of Queen Bess be revived in the reign of Queen Victoria.
The toast of "Lord Cranworth and the House of Peers" gave Lord Cranworth the opportunity of twitting the Lord Chief Justice with his own concern in the disuse of festivities by the Sergeants, of whom the Chief Justice himself is the head.
The Canterbury Association gathered together at the East India Docks, on Wednesday, an interesting farewell meeting of emigrants on the eve of sailing for Lyttelton in New Zealand, and the Mends whom they are about to leave. Of the present emigration the larger moiety are of the labouring class, and the rest of a class able to take cabin-passages in the two ships which carry the whole party out. The Association gave a sub- stantial dinner to the labouring emigrants, and simultaneously, the cabin- passengers were joined by their friends at a public breakfast. The whole party, about five hundred in number, were accommodated in a spacious tent, erected on the quay alongside the ships. Lord Lyttelton presided ; and was accompanied by Lady Lyttelton—other distinguished ladies also lending the grace of their presence. The Duke of Newcastle made his first public speech since be took his seat in the House of Peers ; and Lord Wodehouse, the Dean of Carlisle, Mr. Adderley, with other influential friends of colonization, were among the numerous company of guests. The Chairman bade "farewell to the outward-bound" in a speech which pictured difficulties fairly, but set forth with encouraging clearness the prosperity to be achieved by honest exertion in young colonies. The Duke of Newcastle proposed con amore a tribute to his personal Mend John Robert Godley. Mr. Godley left this country in a state of health miserable and precarious ; the climate of New Zealand has re- stored him, so that he is now able to give such attention to the colonists on their arrival as lightens their difficulties and makes their task compa- ratively easy : though in New Zealand gold is not to be gathered as in California, Mr. Godley has never met there a person really discontented with his lot. Mr. Monckton Milnes proposed with cordiality " The emi- grants of the working classes,"—confident that they will carry with them " the true, honest, loyal, generous English feeling, true faith in God above and fraternity among men." The toast was answered from an un- expected quarter : Mr. Adderley had got into the midst of a group of agri- cultural emigrants, and was chatting with a family of father, mother, and eight daughters, at the moment when Mr. Monckton Mikes finished his speech : the working men around Mr. Adderley put him forward to speak for them in reply ; and this he did with a feeling of their position, and a kindly identification, at once most pleasing to them and instructive to the other classes whom he addressed.
A general meeting of the friends and supporters of the National Public School Association was held on Wednesday, at the King's Head, Poultry. Its most interesting incident was the reading of a letter from Mr. Thomas Carlyle, wishing success to the enterprise.
The University of London conferred degrees on its graduates, and pre- sented honours to its prizemen, on Wednesday ; the Earl of Burlington, Chancellor, presiding ; and Lord Monteagle, Lord Overstone, Mr. Hal- lam, Mr. Macaulay, being present. Last year, the ceremony took place in the lecture-room of King's College ; this year it took place in the newly-finished library of the sister institution, University College. The Registrar reported that the Queen has placed New College, London, in connexion with the University of London. The list of degrees shows that University College preserves its reputation of being the institution most resorted to by the " working " students.
King's College Hospital held its quarterly Court on Monday ; the Re- verend Dr. Jelf presiding. The in-patients during the quarter had been 414, and the out-door patients 6894: expenses had increased, but still the calls for further expenses were growing greater. A bill for the incorpora- tion of the charity was submitted and approved of.
The Exchequer Chamber has given judgment in the case of the Queen versus Hill, the attendant in one of the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylums, who was not long since convicted of causing the death of one of the pauper inmates by violent treatment. The conviction had depended on the evidence of a pauper lunatic, subject to insane delusions as to spirits ; who affirmed even at the trial that the spirits were then trying to make him think that the violence he witnessed had happened on another day than the correct one ; but who in other respects was highly intelligent and moral, and gave to the judge an excellent explanation of the moral obligation of an oath. It had been objected at the trial, that a person "non compos mentis " is never ad- missible as a witness ; but Justice Coleridge had admitted the evidence, and reserved the point for grave argument before the Exchequer Chamber. That Court now held that Mr. Justice Coleridge was right: the rule is, that the admissibility of the evidence rests with the judge, and then the effect and weight of the evidence rests with the jury. The wisest of men have been subject to delusions : Socrates believed that a &omen haunted him ; Martin Luther, that he had been in actual conflict with the Devil ; Dr. John- son, that he had heard his mother call him after her death. It would be impossible to reject testimony solely on the ground that the witness has de- lusions unconnected with the subject matter of his evidence at the trial. The conviction was affirmed.
At the Thames Police Office, on Saturday, Charles Hughes was accused of stealing a large box, containing jewellery, wearing apparel, and other pro- perty, on the Blackwell Railway. Miss Hughes, who resides at Gravesend, left Fenchurch Street for Blackwell, having a hat-box and an iron- bound deal box, addressed " Miss Hughes, Stepney Green." The pri- soner, a stranger of the same name, seems to have taken note of the deal box, and the address on it ; he went down the line to Shadwell, got out there, and asked for his luggage—to wit, the deal box. It was given to him, and he got away with it. When the robbery was discovered, Mr. May- nard, a railway-officer, went in pursuit of the thief ; traced him up to a certain point, but was then baffled. Returning home dispirited, he related the tale to his wife ; when she told him that she had seen that very box taken into a house at the rear of her residence. Maynard entered the house, and captured both thief and spoil : the box had not been opened, but the address-card had been torn from it.—Remanded.
Eight men with Irish names, coal-porters and labourers at the Vauxhall Gas-works, were charged at the Lambeth Police Court, on Monday and Wed- nesday, with the murder of Henry Chaplin, a Police-constable. Police-con- stable Newton stated, that at one o'clock on Monday morning, he found the prisoners making a great disturbance in Vauxhall Walk, and Chaplin trying to get them home. As they continued disorderly, Chaplin threatened to lock some of them up. Five or six of them then went away, but presently returned armed with sharp metallic clinker-atones which they had taken from the border of a neighbouring garden. One of them, John Heckey, threw his clinker at Chaplin, and struck him on the mouth : Chaplin stag- gered, but recovered himself, and struck Heckey with his staff. Patrick Cane and the others then rushed in, and shortly laid Chaplin on the ground insensible, from blows on the head inflicted with the heavy and sharp clink- ers. He died shortly afterwards, in Guy's Hospital. Newton grappled with some of the men, but they knocked him down, and all escaped for the time. When arrested at their several places of resort, Heckey and Cane were still bleeding from wounds given by the staves of the constables. Mr. Rhys, sur- geon of the Hospital, proved that Chaplin died from the wounds which Newton saw inflicted by Cane and others. The prisoners were remanded, for examination of further witnesses.
Some of the contents at the Crystal Palace were placed in danger of de- struction by fire on Thursday. The Times reports the circumstance. " The flue attached to a gas-stove in one of the offices of the contractors became heated, and ignited a piece of wood with bunting which rested upon or touch- ed it. A piece of the burning cloth fell into a small open cask of Indian corn, which stood, as the Irish say, convenient.' All this mischief was brewing in secret in the Southern part of the Colonial collection on the East side. The drapery of the counter concealed what had happened, and it was only when the smoke began to break forth that an alarm was raised. Fortunately, such casualties have been foreseen and amply provided for. There are no less than a dozen large fire-engines within the building, besides an ample supply of water easily obtainable, and a thoroughly organized force ready to act at a moment's notice. The fire was extinguished before it had time to do more than slightly char one plank of wood."
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