Zbe grIttropolts.

The Court of Aldermen entered upon two exciting topics of discussion on Saturday: the resolution of the Court of Common Council forbidding the City Chamberlain to pay the expenses of the Lord Mayor's proposed excursion to Oxford in his capacity of Conservator of the Thames; and an attack made by Lord Brougham in the House of Lords, on Friday even- ing, on the manner in which justice is dispensed by the Aldermen.

Alderman Wilson brought the stoppage of the supply question under notice— The resolution passed by the Court of Common Council was a direct infringe- ment upon the rights and privileges of the Court of Aldermen. In 1819, a

resolution was passed in reference to the expense of prosecutions ordered by the Court of Aldermen; but it was met by a counter-resolution by that Court, declaring its right to draw upon the Chamberlain for such expenses, or for any other that it might deem necessary for the purposes of justice. Nothing, surely, could be more ndicalous than the repetition m 1846 of the denial of the power of the Court of Aldermen, after the Court of Common Council itself had, upon a reference to a Committee, decided that from the time of Edward the Second, when the Court voted 100s. to the Recorder beyond his salary, the Court of Aldermen had exercised the authority which was thus questioned. Alderman Wilson quoted several instances showing the exercise of this power; and moved a resolution similar to that formerly passed, asserting the independence of the Court, and its power to expend the funds of the Corporation without limit in the prosecution of their labours.

Alderman Farebrother seconded the motion. Sir Peter Laurie upheld the opposite view.

Alderman Wood would vote for the resolution, because he knew the Court had the right contended for—

He did not think, however, that it would be judicious to act upon the resolution. Such a course would involve the Court in a very awful dilemma; for, amongst the precedents of the power of the Court of Aldermen, was one which showed that if a person treated the Court of Aldermen with indignity, they might sentence him to have his hand chopped off in Cheapside. The Court ought to be guided by the signs of the times; and one of these signs imported that it would be wise ni the Lord Mayor to limit his journey to the acknowledged boundaries of his jurisdiction.

No decision was come to; Sir Peter Laurie having noticed that there were too few members present to constitute a Court. The Aldermen were indignant at this mode of getting rid of the resolution; but the Lord Mayor intimated that he should-give them an early opportunity of disposing of it.

Lord Brougham's case came next; the Aldermen entering upon it not as a Court but as a Committee. Alderman Wilson mentioned the painful particulars•' and his indignation at the strictures of Lord Brougham was shared by all present; but some of them found a palliative in the fact that the words were spoken "after dinner "— fir Peter Lantie remarked, that the City was alternately the subject of his Lordships commendation and his censure; and it was his after-dinner custom when at the Mansionhouse to be very liberal of the former. (Laughter.) Alder- man Farebrother said that the words uttered were certainly spoken after dinner; so that his Lordship had to excuse himself behind a double privilege. (Laughter.) On Tuesday, a Court of Aldermen was again held; and Alderman Wil- son's motion asserting the power of the Court over the City funds was put and carried, only one hand being held up against it.

A Court of Common Council was held on Thursday. A proposal from the City Lands Committee to expend 1,000 guineas in improving the en- trances to the Mansionhouse, led to a renewal of the argument about the right of the Court of Aldermen to vote money from the City funds. On a division, the money was voted by a large majority.

The Lord Mayor has been informed by Sir Peter Laurie that cholera ex- ists in some parts of the suburbs of the Metropolis. As a precautionary measure, his Lordship has suggested to the New River Water Company, UM propriety of letting out water during the night, so as to purify the gni- Teye, drains, and sewers, and thereby prevent noxious exhalations.

Yesterday week, judgment was given by Vice-Chancellor Sir James Knight Bruce in the cause of the Attorney-General v. the Glasgow College. In De- cember 1677, Mr. John Snell of Uffeton in Warwickshire, conveyed some property in treat to be applied to the maintenance of a certain number of boys, natives of Scotland, at certain Colleges in Oxford. It was a condition that each of the boys must have passed a certain time at the College of Glasgow; and it was also stipulated, under a penalty of 5001., that he should enter into holy orders, that he should not accept of preferment in England, but return to Scotland and look for it there. The defendants contended that the will must be administered in refer once to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The object of the plaintiffs was to make the will directly auxiliary to the Episcopal communion in Scotland. His Honour decided in favour of that view. After directing certain inquiries to be made by the Master, the judgment proceeds-so And the Court declares its opin

ion, that the Principal, Professors, Regents, and officers of Glasgow College, in so.adiknistering the said charity, ought to have regard, so far as conveniently may be in the present state of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Scotland, to tha cireitmstance that the said testator is to be considered as having been, when he made and republished his will, a member of the Established Church of England or Scotland, and therefore an Episcopalian Protestant; and that by the express, sion holy orders,' he meant holy orders by Episcopal ordination."

At Worship Street Police-office, on Thursday, Benjamin Alexander Forcle, who has been uttering a great many forged checks, was committed for trial on six or seven different charges. Many more could have been substantiated, but it was not considered necessary by the Magistrate. Sergeant Brannon stated, that no fewer than seventy forged checks uttered by the prisoner since 1839 had been sent to the stationhouse, some of them for sums of nearly 2001. The signature forged. by Forde was that of his brother-in-law, Mr. John Bargees Watson, an architect.

The inquest on White, the soldier of the Seventh Hussars who was flogged at Hounslow, was resumed on Monday.

Elsworth, a private in the regiment, stated that the punishment inflicted on the deceased by Farrier-Major Critton was exceedingly severe, the farrier rising on his toes and striking with all his strength at each lash: when Evans, the second- farrier, struck with less force, the Adjutant, who stood on the right of the Colonel, said threateningly, " Do your duty." He saw the crime committed for which Whit* was punished. Deceased, who was a sober man generally, had got drunk at the canteen; while Sergeant Daley was calling over the roll in the sleeping-room,' White struck him on the breast with a poker; he tried to repeat the blow but missed his aim, and fell down. " I don't say that the punishment was so severely inflicted on others as it was on White. The farriers strnck harder. In one case referred to, the man was able the day after the punishment to go on duty. There was more blood drawn at White's punishment than I ever saw at any other flogging. The same farriers flogged in all these instances. During the whole of the time of White's flogging, neither the Colonel nor the Doctor went near him. The Doctor never moved, in the half-hour daring which the flogging lasted, from the position which he first took up." In cross-examination, the witness admitted that he had been convicted of desertion twice; on one occasion because he had been ordered to be flogged. " I have been in the regiment five years, and I have been flogged seven times. Man menin the regiment have been tried for desertion; many have deserted morefrequently than I have." The Reverend Mr. Trimmer, Vicar of Heston, said, that w en he was applied to for the burial of the deceased,' it was said that he had died of liver complaint: he demurred to interring the man; then a certificate'was produced from Dr. Warren, stating the cause of death to have been disease of the heart. Evans, one of the farriers who flogged White, said that all the orders he had received from the Adjutant was " Go on I" he never heard the words " Do your duty.' No complaint was made that he had struck too severely. It was always left to the farrier how hard he should strike. He had flogged eight or ten men. There were never any orders given. [The Coroner refused to examine this man farther, as it appeared that no special orders had been given to him to flog the deceased.]

The surgical evidence was now opened. Dr. James Warren, surgeon of the regiment, stated, that he had certified previously to White's trial, that he was in a fit state of health to undergo punishment. At the execution of the punishment he had not interfered: he had given no orders; it was not necessary that he sh do so. The deceased suffered no convulsions while being flogged; he did not

and he never appealed to him. He steed close to dw,msa. He asked him questions, and he never felt his pulse: it was not neeeseutry. After the punish- ment, which took place on the 15th June, the back healed rapidly for the first two weeksj at the end of two weeks it was nearly quite well. On the 4th of July the entry in the hospital memorandum-book was, His back is now quite well, and he is fit for duty.' On the 6th, deceased made complaints of pains at the heart. There had been no previous complaint of internal pains. He was not ex- amined by the stethoscope. He had never admitted that White's illness arose from the flogging. The statement of Matthewson to that effect was a falsehood. &post mortem examination was made by the witness, Dr. John Hale, and Dr. F. Reid. Dr. Hale drew up a long statement of the morbid appearances; and en three gentlemen signed this certificate—" Having made a careful post molten; examination of Private Frederick White, of the Seventh Hussars, we are of opinion that he died from inflammation of the pleura and of the lining membrane of the heart: and we are further of opinion that the cause of death was in nowise con- nected with the corporal punishment he received on the 15th June last." Dr. Hale stated in his examination, that the skin of the back had been removed to see the condition of the parts beneath: in his account of the postmortem examination he said, that under this skin the condition of the flesh was sound and natural. He did not think the death of White had any connexion with the punishment he re- ceived. "I have seen a great number of men punished during my long experi- ence in the Army, but I never heard such complaints made before of the conse- quences produced by flogging. I was struck by what Matthewson said; and hav- ing since examined him, I found that his chest and lungs were quite healthy." Dr. Reid thought the punishment had nothing to do with the cause of death. Mr. Day, surgeon, of Isleworth, agreed with the preceding witnesses: he supposed_ death was produced by change of temperature and exposure to cold.

Mr. Erasmus Wilson, the eminent anatomical lecturer, took a different view of the matter. As we stated last week, this gentleman examined the corpse id Heston churchyard; and he directed his attention especially to the back and spine: He says in his observations on the case—" On raising the muscles or flesh from off the ribs and spine, I find a part of the deepest line of muscles, viz. that which lay in contact with the bones, in a state of disorganization, and converted into it soft pulp: in medical language, I should call this a pulpy softening of the mus- cles. The seat of this pulpy softening was the sixth and seventh ribs, near their attachment to the spine, together with their intervening space and the hollow be- tween the sixth and seventh piece of the spine. The extent of the disorganiza- tion was about three inches in length, by about one inch and a half in greatest breadth, and between a quarter and half an inch in thickness. In the space be* tween the ribs, the muscles had undergone this pulpy alteration, even so deep as the membrane of the chest, the softened muscles being in absolute contact with

the membrane: that portion of the flesh which occupied the groove of the spine, an had undergone a similar disorganization, was one of the little muscles known to medical men under the name of the multifidie spinet. In addition to softening this little muscle, it was partly surrounded with blood. It was in a state medically called echymosed." "The cause of the pulpy softening I believe to have been the excessive contraction of the muscles taking place during the agony of punishment. This excessive contraction would produce laceration; subsequent inflammation of the muscles; and the inflammation, instead of being reparative, would, in consequence of the depressed state of the powers of the nervous system of the sufferer, be of the disorganized kmd which results in pulpy softening. Had the man lived, the disorganization of the muscles would in time have been repaired." " The presence of a portion of muscle in a state of disorganization and inflammation, in close contact with the lining membrane of the chest, might be adequate to the production of the same effect. Certainly no surgeon would feel comfortable with regard_ to the state of his patient if he were aware of such dangerous proximity." In his evidence Mr. Wilson said—" It was such an appearance as I was far from expecting; and I am not surprised that military medical officers should not be aware of its existence, because I don't think it is stated in any work extant The place of the change in the muscles corresponding with the side of the cheat on which there was inflammation of the lungs, I am since I came here still more convinced that the muscular disorganization in question took a promi- nent part in causing that inflammation. The pulpy softening was in contact with the bone, and from one inch to an inch and a half from the surface. I am speak- ing of parts on the opposite side to that where the skin had been removed. It was deeply seated, and caused by a rupture of the muscles from their own spontaneous contraction. There can be no doubt that the disease of the heart and lung, and its lining membrane, were the proximate cause of death." " I think there can be no doubt the man would have been alive now, had it not been for the corporal punishment he was subjected to." "I have lectured on anatomy for more than twelve years, and have opened between five hundred and a thousand bodies: I have never seen in the muscles of the back any change of the kind." In answer to a question, witness said—" There was no straggling; and the appearance could not have resulted from a bruise, for the muscles were in a protected position. A part of the change was in the groove of the back, which was protected. The man was too tightly fastened down to struggle; but there was involuntary and spas- modic action, and under that the muscle gave way. The whole of the muscles down the back were affected. I think the appearance was caused by the anguish of punishment."

Mr. Day was reexamined. He agreed with Mr. Wilson as to the change of muscle; but could not say that that accounted for death. Lieutenant Ireland, the Adjutant of the regiment, stated, that he never knew of men in cavalry corps being flogged by any except the carriers. All the di- rections he gave to Evans and the other farrier was, " Go on." No orders were ever given to the floggers as to how they were to use their strength in punishment.

Lieutenant-Colonel Whyte explained what he said to the men after the punish- ment. " I said, that I deeply regretted the necessity under which I had laboured, of inflicting a punishment so disgraceful to the man and so disgraceful to the regiment; a punishment, too, which was of such rare occurrence in it. I further stated, that this man had brought it upon himself by a long course of the same particular crime for which he had now been punished; that within the last three years he had been brought before me, or before the commanding officer, four times for assaults; that he had now ended his catalogue of crime by a cowardly assault with a poker upon an unarmed man; and that it was in consequence of such conduct that he found himself in the disgraceful position in which he had just been witnessed." This witness explained how desirous officers are not to occasion un- necessary suffering: " At the end of every twenty-five lashes there is always a

use. If the man wishes for water or to have the cords, which may be hurting

, moved, he is accommodated; and that being over, the next farrier takes the whip, and the Adjutant again says,' Go on.'" The punishment was by no means severe: Farrier Evans "hardly struck at all"; he is "a nervous, mild-ffispoeitioned man, and always flogs lightly ": Farrier Critton did not make up for this le- niency, that the Colonel knew of.

Dr. Hale and Dr. Reid were recalled, and stated their opinions were not changed by the evidence which they had heard from Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson adhered to his view of the case; although, as Dr. Reid had truly said, it was very difficult to point out the causes of the disease. He had no doubt, however, that the moral depression caused by his punishment took a very important share in the subse- quent disease of the deceased; who, if he had received a double allowance of grog instead of a flogging, would unquestionably be alive now. It would be wrong to say positively that flogging was the cause of death, because the intermediate cause might have arisen from flogging or cold; but it was quite certain that a man depressed by flogging would be more likely to take cold than if he was in a state of perfect comfort. The inquest was again adjourned till Monday next.

One death has resulted from the recent accident on the Eastern Counties Rail- way at Stratford. Mr. Hind, a gentleman in business in the City, but residing at Dalston, was a passenger from Ilford by the train: it was reported that he had received a concussion of the brain, but it turns out that his injuries were internal. He died at Dalston yesterday week.

An inquest was begun on Monday. The deputy chairman, the secretary, and the solicitor of the Railway were present. Mr. Rawlings attended on behalf of Clare and Quinlan, the driver and stoker of the truck-train which caused the disaster- but the two men were not permitted to attend; the chairman of the bench of Magistrates, who committed them for trial on a charge of misdemean- our, refusing to allow them to quit Word Gaol. Mr. Tomlinson, a surgeon of Hackney, described the condition of the deceased from the time of the accident to his death. In conjunction with Mr. Bransby Cooper, he made a postmortem examination of the body. The cause of death was internal injury to the abdomen. Witnesses showed how this was infficted. After the collision, ]air. Hind was found lying on the wooden platform between the rails, with a portion of a second-class carriage resting upon him. Mr. Richard- son, the Stratford station-master, described the collision as he did at the inquiry before the Magistrates. Clare, the driver of the track-train, had but one eye. There had been an increase of two hands at the Stratford station within the last three months, but the traffic had nearly doubled during the same period. In cross- examination the witness said—" b ormerly, there were a clerk and a station-master at Stratford; but I now fulfil the duties of both offices. The increase of the es- tablishment has been among the porters. The parties who perform double func- tions, to my knowledge, are myself, as station-master and clerk; Greene, as signal-man and pointsman; Clare, as engine-driver and fitter; and Quinlan, as labourer and stoker. Formerly, two persons were employed to perform the distinct duties of signal-man and pointsman at the junction. " It was not un- usual for track-trains to be without guards. Had a guard been with Clare's train, it is likely the train might have been stopped before its arrival at the sta- tion, and the accident prevented. In consequence of the dangerous situation of the Stratford station, its removal has been contemplated by the directors for up- wards of a year and a half. Since the collision, another man has been appointed as signal-man below the Maryland Point bridge. I have always known the signal in question to work well. There were two horse-boxes between the last passen- ger-carriage and the rest of the train. Had the passenger-carriage been placed on the other side of the horse-boxes, the passengers would have escaped serious inThejary."

inquiry was resumed on Tuesday; when many witnesses were examined.

Their evidence was generally to the same purport as that given last week. Un- win, the lad who worked the Stratford si , admitted that it sometimes failed. This witness could not point out the rule or working the signal: he could read and write imperfectly only; he had read some of the rules, but others had been merely read to him by the station-master. Blatchford, a guard, explained, that it would take a quarter of an hour to put a horse-box last when it is necessary to add a passenger-carrisaee to a train. John Craven had been in the service of the company ten weeks; he had seen a copy of the rules, but never had one given to him. Captain Coddiugton, of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, described the experiments he had made as to the possibility of stopping a train within given distance, and as to the distance the Stratford signal could be seen. As regards accidents from defective signalling, he said —" I have searched the records of our office, relating to all railway accidents, which extend over a period of five years; and I cannot trace any accident that can be effec- tually referred either to a defect in the signals themselves or to the mis- understanding them:" When he spoke of the stopping of a train, he presumed the parties conducting it were competent persons. He did not think Clare in- capacitated from driving because he had but one eye—some people can see further with one eye than others can with two. Mr. Hunter, superintendent of the Strat- ford and Ilford locomotive department, in cross-examination admitted, that he could not deny that it was his duty to have seen that Clare, being an occa-

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sional driver, should have been provided with the rules of the company, and that he had neglected to do so. Witness had been appointed to the situation which he held by Mr. Hudson, the chairman of the company. The men were not over- worked on this line. Mr. Scott, general superintendent at the Stratford station, said that drivers and stokers were to become acquainted with their duties by reading the printed regulations. Daniel Armstrong and John Birch, ser- vants of the company, and Mr. James Samuel, resident engineer, were ex- amined in reference to the progress of the truck-train from Eford to Stratford. The usual signals had been shown, with the exception of those at the Forest Gate station, one mile from Stratford, which had not been shown. Mr. Samuel said there ought always to be signals exhibited at the passing of a train.; but if no signal was exhibited, then the driver of an en e would be justified in concluding the line to be clear. Forest Gate had only been a station two months. The signals at present used there were hand- signals for the temporary purpose; but the signal-posts had already been ordered six weeks. He considered that the hand-signals were sufficient for safety. The permanent signals are an additional safety. Mr. Rawlings—" Had the signal been exhibited at the Forest Gate station, thus causing a delay, this accident would never have happened." Mr. Hare, who appeared for the friends of the deceased- " I feel that had the signal been exhibited at the Forest Gate station, my friend's life would have been saved." It was proved that Clare had driven an engine ten times, twice or thrice on the Colchester line. In June 1845,155 persons were em- ployed on the railway between London and Romford; in June 1846, 352.

The inquest terminated on Wednesday. No more evidence was adduced. The Coroner summed up at great length, and read the evidence. Mr. Green, the Fore- man of the Jury, wished to know, supposing the Jury considered criminality at- tached to the high officers or managers of the company, or even to Mr. George Hudson himself, whether it was necessary to include such parties in a verdict of manslaughter? The Coroner replied, that the question of culpability of pert was one for the consideration of the Jury. If they returned a verdict of man- slaughter, and sought to attach criminality to the railway authorities, they could only do so as principals. A Juror—" We have it in evidence that Mr. Hudson appointed Scott, the superintendent, and other officers." The Jury deliberated for an hour, and then returned this special verdict-

" The Jury are of opinion, that the death of William Rind was occasioned by the reckless driving of William Clare, the driver of the Firefly engine, on the 18th of July instant ; against whom, therefore, they return a verdict of manslaughter.

" The Jury desire also to record their deliberate opinion, that a degree of culpability attaches to the managers of the Eastern Counties Railway, in not taking due care that their own rules are most scrupulously observed, as regards the time of departure of one train after another from all the stations, the exhibition of the signals at all the stations, the keeping of exact time In the arrival and departure of all the trains, and the appoint- ment of only thoroughly competent persons in all departments." [The Foreman added, that they exonerated the stoker, Quinlan, from all blame.]