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A special meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England was held on Friday, at their house in Hanover Square, to receive the report of the judges of implements at the late show in Derby, with other busi- ness. The judges reported, that they had not awarded the prizes for the ploughs best adapted to light or to heavy soils, because the soil used for the trial was of a mixed quality, not suited to bring forth the merits contemplated by the prizes. Mr. Gibbs reported a case of insult offered to himself and to the Society, by cert..ia parties who were anxious to exhibit a churn at the last meeting, but being too late for entry, pro- posed to him the acceptance of a bribe. Several members of the Coun- cil reprobated such conduct; and it was resolved that the parties guilty of such impertinence should not be allowed to exhibit at any future meetings of the Society. The show of next year was fixed to begin on. the 24th July, at Southampton, where a suitable site was chosen out of the many offered; the dinner pavilion to be capable of accommodating 1,400 persons. Earl Spencer, the President, read a report by Mr. Loudon on some English cotton alleged to grow at Edwinstow, in Not- tinghamshire: it proved to be nothing but a species of poplar, of which the seed was wrapped up in a cottony substance. The Directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company gave a splendid dejeuner on Thursday, on board their new steam-vessel, the Bentinck, during a trip down the river from Black-
wall. Among the guests, were Lord Elphinstone, the Earl of Leven, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, Mr. Emerson Tennent, the Lord Mayor, and a host of Members and commercial gentlemen.
The scullers' race for Doggett's coat and badge was decided on Mon- day. The boats started, as usual, on the 1st of August ; but the race was stopped by the crossing of a skiff, which arrested the progress of the actual winners—Fry and Scott; who on Monday, came in first and second, at Chelsea bridge, after a sharp race from London bridge : Hughes was third, Ligo fourth, and Staples fifth. The sculler in the first boat has the coat and badge, and 4/. is. 8d., five-eighths of the interest of 200/. South Sea Stock ; the second boat, 2/. 12s. 6d., the other three-eighths.
The final race for the silver sculls, the possession of which consti- tutes the " championship of the Thames," occurred on Thursday ; when Mr. Chapman obtained the sculls, his opponent being Mr. Wal- lace.
Father Mathew has somewhat varied the scene of his labours for confirming candidates in Temperance. The attendance at the ground in the Commercial Road, on Sunday, was larger than on the previous days. On Monday, Mr. Mathew made his appearance on Kennington Common, between eleven and twelve o'clock, in a barouche and six, accompanied by Mr. J. S. Buckingham, Father York, the Reverend Mr. Moore, and Mr. Dear, and attended by a long procession of Tea- total bodies, which formed in Bartholomew Close. There were at his arrival about 10,000 persons on the ground. The proceedings lasted till dusk. Among those who appeared on the platform on Tuesday, were, Mr. Monckton Milnes, M.P., and Mr. P. H. Howard, M.P. ; who cordially shook hands with the chief actor of the scene.
Father Mathew removed to Fulham on Thursday. The proceedings were a little interrupted by some who dissented from his mission ; but order was eventually restored. In the course of the disturbance, he stated that he had the approval of Ministers. Yesterday, Mr. Mathew administered the pledge at the Riding-school, in Albany Street, Regent's Park.
At Croydon Assizes yesterday, the printer of the Times sustained an action for libel. The paragraph which was the subject of trial charged Mr. Feargus O'Connor with being " venal," with taking money for assistance at Mr. Sturge's election for Nottingham, and with pocketing 21. of 5/. which had been paid to him to give to some one else. The Times had copied the paragraph at second-hand from another paper, and offered to insert an apology. The Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with 20/. damages. Chief Justice Tindal refused to certify in order that the plaintiff might obtain his costs.
At Marylebone Police-office, on Saturday, George William Hamilton, who calls himself a solicitor, of 39 Somerset Street, Portman Square, was reexamined on a charge of disgracefully attempting to extort money ; having been remanded from the previous Saturday. At the first examination, the servants of Mr. Hopper, a gentleman living in Derby Place, Bayswater, described Mr. Hamilton's prowling about the house on various occasions. At one time he made inquiries whether a young lady, Miss Jessie Hopper, who had returned from a walk, lived at the house ; then he threatened to advertise some- thing to her discredit ; and subsequently be left letters at the house conveying more distinct threats. These letters purported to come from one " Robert Bell "; who desired replies to be sent to the care of Mr. Hamilton : he threatened, in one of the letters addressed to Miss Emily Hopper, a sister, to subpmna Miss Jessie as a witness " against the brothel which she has so frequently visited in the morning during the last two months, in company with an officer, who, I believe, visits at your house,"—having first offered to "sell his secret" to Miss Hopper, although the editor of the Satirist would gladly purchase it. A fourth letter was from Mr. Hamilton to Mr. Hopper, stating that he had re- ceived instructions from Mr. Bell to prosecute the house, and advising Mr. Hopper to put his daughter in commuication with Mr. Bell. Hamil- ton was seized on Saturday morning, by Mr. Woodhouse, a friend of the family who had lain in wait for him. He then advised Mr. Woodhouse (apparently taking him for the young lady's brother) to "settle it" ; asserting that "Mr. Bell" was a most respectable man. To the Magistrate he said, that he knew nothing of the letters signed Bell, and denied that he had left anything at Mr. Hopper's house ; promising to bring witnesses to prove the fact. On Saturday last, be was attended only by his legal adviser, Mr. Flower ; who had advised him to call no witnesses ; but Mr. Flower insisted that Miss Jessie Hopper ought to have been produced. Mr. Clarkson, who supported the prosecution, stated that the prosecutor was the father, and that Miss Jessie's attend- ance was not at all necessary ; but, in fact, the result of the prisoner's conduct was, that the young lady was then lying in bed, in a dangerous if not dying state. He added, that Mr. Hamilton was no attorney at all; no such name appearing on the tong. The prisoner, who looked very dejected, was committed to Newgate for trial.
George Dawson Lowndes, a person of Independent property, who lives at No. 65, Poland Street, was charged at Marlborough Street Police-office, on Tuesday, with a vile assault on Thomas, a young man, while looking in at the window of a jeweller in Oxford Street, on the same morning. The prosecutor recognized Lowndes as a person who had before assaulted him. The prisoner was committed for trial. He has two prosecutions of the same kind hanging over him. [The repe- tition of these charges seems to indicate that the offender must rather be a " dangerous lunatic" than a responsible being: a confirmed insanity of the kind, if proved, would more than any other point at confinement as a proper restriction.] An inquest was held on' Thursday on the body of Mr. Frederick Ancona, who jumped off Waterloo bridge, on that day week, while walking with some friends. He had been laying a wager that he would jump off; and as he was accustomed to feats of activity, it is supposed that he meant to startle his friends by a show of doing so, but acciden- tally fell over, and was drowned. A verdict was returned accordingly.
Several destructive fires occurred in the Metropolis at the end of last week. Messrs. Moseley's tool warehouse and manufactory, at the back of New Street, Covent Garden, were destroyed on Saturday morning. The flames were discovered when the workmen came to their daily occupation at seven o'clock. Much damage was done to the build-
ings in New Street and Rose Street : the loss to Messrs. Moseley is esti- mated at 8,000/. On Saturday night, the premises of Mr. Mills, in Fore Street, Limehonse, were entirely burnt down. The fire, which was dis- covered by a policeman, quickly extended to the adjoining buildings the house of Messrs. Cater, agents to Pope's Wallsend Coal Company, was totally des(' oyed ; and the Steam-boat public-house, and two other houses, were seriously damaged. No lives were lost ; but a great amount of property was consumed. At three o'clock on Sunday morn- ing, a fire broke out in Great George Street, Westminster, at the house of Mr. Villars, surgeon ; and it spread to a private house belonging to Mr. S. Gurney, and to the warehouse of Mr. Cuthbert, tallow-chandler ; leaving the intervening house of Mr. Morris, an ironmonger, un- touched ; but extending in an angular direction to two other houses in Parliament Street, which were partially burnt.
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