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A very numerous meeting of planters, merchants, shipowners, and other persons "interested in the preservation of the West India Co- lonies," was held on Monday, at the City of London Tavern. The Earl of Harewood was in the chair. Besides the gentlemen who moved and seconded the various resolutions, the following were present,— Lord Reay, Sir G. Rose, Sir J. R. Reid, Sir Richard Vyvyan, Colo- nel Baillie, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Godson, Alderman Cope- land, Mr. Marryatt, and Mr. Burge. At one o'clock, upwards of fif- teen hundred gentlemen had met ; and in the course of the day, the _Morning Chronicle states, five thousand persons attended.

The Earl of Harewood opened the business. He said that they were met to prevent, if possible, a gross injustice being committed upon them—to endeavour to save their property from confiscation and spolia- tion. The Government plan would saddle them for the future with estates and property, which it was now competent for them to get rid of. If an estate should prove unproductive, they could now sell the Negro population, and abandon it. But the plan proposed by Govern- anent would saddle the proprietor of perhaps an unproductive estate -with the expense of labour upon it for twelve years, when that labour -could not possibly be employed to advantage. A great clamour, he was aware, was raised in the country upon the subject of West India Slavery ; but that clamour had been got up by extreme exertion on the put of a well-organized body in London, who prepared petitions and sent them down into the country by hundreds. Those petitions by no means spoke the true sense of the inhabitants of those parts of the country from which they emanated. The Ministers were acting in re- demption of pledges. indiscreetly given. Many members of the Holm of Commons were also pledged ; and if once the measure passed thw House of Commons in its present shape, what other branch of the Le- gislature could prevent its passing into a law ?

The question had not been sufficiently digested for the Government to take upon themselves the forcing forward of their proposed measure, without incur-. ring the risk of the loss of the property in the West Indies. The proposition lei afford compensation by way of loan, was altogether inadequate for the purpose for which it was designed. Even now, the proprietors could not make their estates pay ; and how could they, in their consciences-for such he believed they possessed, though it was denied by some-accept a loan which they were not in a situation to repay? Were such parties to saddle an estate, from whir& nothing in the shape of profit could be realized, with the payment of 1,000/. or 2,000/. interest upon the loan? But even this compensation was suggested as a gift to the proprietors: what security or guarantee was there? Only the gua- rantee of the faith of the Parliament-that Parliament which was about to break its faith with the Colonists by the confiscation and spoliation of their property. The subject was interesting not merely to the West India proprie- tors, but to all possessors of' property. If they meant to protect the owners of funded property, arid to maintain their titles to their estates at home, they would now step forward and resist this project for de- spoiling the West India proprietary. Lord Combermere expressed his concurrence with what had fallen from Lord Harewood; and stated, that as be had been Governor of Barbadoes for three years, and had visited all the West India Islands, be knew something of the subject under discussion. He had great pleasure in proposing the first resolution- " That the cultivation of the Sugar Colonies, and their maintenance as dependencies- of Great Britain. have been justly considered as objects of vast importance to the prosperity and power of the British Empire ; the shipping employed in that trade amounts to 950 ships, with a tonnage of 240,000 tons. exclusive of the very considerable British tonnage engaged in the large and increasing trade between the Islands and Ow British North American Colonies ; the annual exports :mould to four millions ands half, and the revenue on produce imported to seven millions; while the gre.it bulk of the net proceeds of such produre is spent by proprietors resident in Great Britain, there- by giving immediate and extensive employment to British industry."

Sir Byam Martin seconded the resolution. He agreed with the im- mortal Nelson in thinking, that the moment England lost her Colonies, she 'would lose her navy. He dwelt with much earnestness on the ne- cessity of protecting the trade with the West India Colonies ; for the mercantile naval service was the parent of the British navy. The Government measure was one of the grossest injustice, and the moat wanton spoliation. Mr. G. F. Young also supported the resolution. The shipping en. gaged in the trade with the West India Colonies was stated to be 240,000 tons, but the latest returns presented to Parliament showed that it was nearer 270,000. Experience bad proved that if the trade with the West Indies were ruined, there was no ground to hope that employment for British shipping would be found in the trade with the East. The reciprocity system had failed.

The result of the maritime changes in this country on the system of recipro- city, hal been the displacement of a large quantity of British tonnage ; and ia particular lie would mention facts as regarded Anserican tonnage with reference to cotton imports. During the last year, the imports of cotton had been in the proportion of three fourths in American bottoms, and only one fourth in the tonnage of this country ; and the value in dollars of the exports from this country had been rue tenths in American ships, and but one tends in British bottoms. Froint1i suit he anticipated, that if, with fatal impolicv, reliance should rest upon British shipping taken from the West India trade .bring ent Owed in importations from other ports, sooner or later those importations would be made in foreign bottoms, by which navigation could be performed it a much cheaper site than at present could be done by British ships.

The resolution was carried unanimously, amidst loud applause.

Lord Colville proposed the second resolution ; and maintained that the Government plan would effect the destruction of the Colonies, and consequently of the British Navy. Sir R. Stopford seconded the resolution. It stated, that the most calamitous results to our revenue, naval power, foreign commerce, and manufacturing interests, would arise from the adoption of any measures which should suddenly extinguish or materially diminish the produce of the Colonies.

Mr. Fitzgerald supported the resolution ; and it passed unanithously. Mr. Jeremiah Harman proposird, and Sir Charles Price seconded the third resolution ; which also passed without dissent. It insisted upon the injurious consequences of the plan to the trading communities, and the banking and monied interests.

Sir M. S. Stewart, as member for Renfrewshire, in which we situated the ports of Greenock and Glasgow, proposed the fourth reso- lution. It called the attention of Government to the injuries which the adoption of their plan would inflict upon minors, widows, annui- tants, arid mortgagees on West India property, as well as to the trade of the country in general. Mr. H. Bliss (agent for Canada) declared, that the trade and pros- perity of our North American Colonies would receive a heavy bleat from the proposed measure. He insisted upon the impulse which it would give to the slave-trade, and the premium which it would hold out to foreign countries to perpetuate the system of slavery. Be hoped that the opinions of persons of influence, who were engaged in the red business of life, would prevail with the Legislature as much as that if the Dorcases, Tabithas, and Priscillas, who knew the world only front novels and romances.

This resolution was also unanimously carried.

Lord St. Vincent proposed the fifth resolution ; which was seconded by Mr. Neil Malcolm, and carried. It stated the willingness of the meeting to consent to a plan for the abolition of slavery upon the basis of the resolutions of the House of Commons passed in 1823, which re- cognized the right,of the slaveowners to compensation. M?., J. Irving moiersidd Mr. Andrew Colville seconded the sixth resolution,-,to the effect, that the Ministerial scheme would provide no security for the life and property of the Whites ; that it would re- tard the progress of the slaves in civilization destroy Colonial agri- culture, and indireC117 encourage the slave-tnke. This VMS Carfild unanimously.

Air. Horsley Palmer .moved the seventh resolution. It protested against the depriving the slaveowners of their property without ade- quate compensation ; and stated that there was no stronger title to pro- perty than the sanction of positive law, which sanction had been re- peatedly given to the property in slaves. Mr. Palmer attacked Minis- ters and their plan withigreat asperity, and was warmly applauded by the meeting. He said,

The present is a reckless measure, leading to a reckless spoliation, destructive of every thing which ought to be saved in the shipping and ctmmercial inte ests of the country, and in the mortgages, annuities, and settlements of every kind on West India property. By Heavens! my Lord, these Ministets have brought forward a measure which, if it were possible to be can ied, endangers the pro- perty of every man in this kingdom and its dependencies. What, my Lord, do the West India planters rest their confidence in ?—not on one but on one hun-. deed Acts of Parliament—all confirmatory of their rights.

Mr. Lewis, in seconding the seventh resolution, cited the opinion of Lord Stowell, which declared the slaves to be the inalienable property of their owners.

The resolution passed amidst much applause.

Lord W. Poulett moved, and Mr. George Hibbert seconded, the eighth resolution,--to the effect that petitions founded upon the reso- lutions should be prepared and presented to his Majesty and both Houses of Parliament. This was carried; and votes of thanks were passed to Lord Harewood for his conduct in the chair, and to Mr. .Hibbert for his able advocacy of West India interests. Lord Hare- wood alluded to the manner in which the decision of the House of Lords, which might have afforded some protection to the West India interest, had been recently overruled; and asked the meeting, whether or not they felt their property to be in a worse condition now than it • was previously to that event?

A petition from the shipowners of the port of London is about to be presented to the House of Commons, praying for that protection which they formerly enjoyed, and which is still granted to the agricul- tural and manufacturing interests, or for permission (in a national point of view a painful and injurious alternative) to build, and equip their vessels in foreign ports.—/Iforning Post.

The friends of Colonel Evans dined together at the Eyre Arms, St. Jo'in's Wood, on Wednesday, to celebrate his return for Westmin- ster. Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Lalor, Lord Dunboyne, the Honourable Charles Butler, Mr. O'Meara, Dr. Gilchrist, Colonel Hodges, and Dr. Bainbridge were among the gentlemen who attended. When the toast of " The King" was given, three fourths of the company loudly cheered, and the remainder hissed : it was finally acknowledged with three times three. When "The Queen " was given' as the next toast, the strongest execrations, with cries of " No, never," burst from several parts of the room. The gentlemen at the upper part of the table rose to cheer, but now the hisses decidedly predominated. It seems, that instead of " The Queen," it was expected that " The People, the only source of legitimate power," should have -followed. This toast was .drunk the next, with loud cheering. Mr. O'Connell, Colonel Evans, Dr. Bainbridge, and Dr. Carpue addressed the company at .great length.. Mr. O'Connell highly eulugiz Lai the conduct of the Cal- thorpc Street Jury ; and pledged himself to demonstrate, that the ver- dict of " justifiable homicide " was /end, as well as the only conscien- tious one that could be returned ; and he reminded the meeting, that no one had had more experience in the criminal law than himself. The conduct of Ministers was warmly attacked by all the speakers, appa- rently very much to the satisfaction of the meeting.

A meeting was held on Monday, at the National Exchange Bazaar, Gray's Inn Road, to adopt means for presenting the Jury who sat on the body of Cully, with some mark of approbation, and to consider the conduct of -Mr. Stirling, the Coroner, upon that occassion. Ano- ther meeting was advertised to be held, at the same place, to petition Parliament to inquire into the conduct of the Police, with Mr. Murphy for Chairman ; but the two meetings joined, and Mr. Hunt was chosen

Chairman. Mr. Hunt, Mr. Haydon, Mr. Savage, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Murphy, and others addressed the meeting ; highly lauding the conduct of the Jury, and reprobating that of the Police and the Go- vernment. Among the resolutions passed, was one declaring that the _Police should be chosen by a majority of the householders, and ano- ther that a subscription should be set on foot to present a "tribute of the nation's gratitude" to each of the Jurymen. The meeting sepa- _rated peaceably.

Upwards of 188/. has been already collected for the widow of Cully the Policeman. The Morning Post says, that "several of the officers of the Guards are subscribers to a large amount;" and that "subscrip- tions from noblemen pour in every day." So the Policeman's widow, at all events, will be provided for.

A meeting of the householders, resident in the Liberty of the Rolls -and its vicinity, was held on Tuesday, in Hopwood's large auction room, Chancery Lane, for the purpose of petitioning for the early abo- lition of the House and Window Taxes, Mr. Curwood, the barrister, in the chair. Several gentlemen addressed the meeting ; and resolu- tions expressive of the unjust and partial operation of these taxes were carried, and a petition founded on them agreed to. The attendance was highly respectable, and consisted in great part of lawyers.

The High Sheriff of Sorry has called a county meeting at Croydon, for this day, to consider the propriety of petitioning for a repeal of the House, Window, and Malt taxes.

The Grand Jury of Surry made another application, on Tuesday, to Mr. Hedger' the Chairman of the Sessions, for permission to inspect the County Gaol. Mr. Hedger replied that the Court could not de- part from the system adopted for the regulation of the County Gaol. .A Grand Juryman asked how they could make their report as to the state of the gaol, unless they visited it, and inspected every part of it ? The Chairman said they visited the gaol under the same restrictions that other Grand Juries had hitherto experienced.

The anniversary of the establishment of the London Orphan Asylum was celebrated on Wednesday, at the City of London Tavern ; Lord

Morpeth in the chair. The company was not so numerous as lastyear, but upwards of 1,500!. was subscribed in the course of the evening. -Between three and four hundred of the children made their appearance, at (Walked in procession round the room - The spring exhibition of the Horticultural Society took place ors Saturday, at the gardens of the society, near Turnham Green' and was most numerously and fashionably attended. Nearly two thousand jadies and gentlemen were present. Music was provided fbr the- en- tertainment of the company; and the flowers, fruits, and exotics, ex- hibited in the great tent, were beautiful beyond description. The large silver medal was awarded to Mr. J. H. Palmer; and Banksian medals were allotted to Messrs. Brown, J. Lee, Colley and Hill, Chandler and Son, Mills, Labouchere, Waterer, and Colvill.

The will of the late Reverend Rowland Hill has been proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The personal effects are sworn to be under 18,000/. One third of the property is bequeathed to the Re- verend Bryan Hill, his brother, and his descendants. He also-gives Si. to each of the women resident in the Sorry Chapel Almshouses, founded by him some years since. During his lifetime, M. Hill pro- vided amply for all his servants, in addition to which he leaves them 19 guineas each. The residue of the estate, after payment of these arid some other trifling legacies, is bequeathed to the Village Itinerary, or Evangelical Association for the Propagation of the Gospel.

Haymaking has commenced in the neighbourhood of London, and in some instances the hay has been already carried. The crops gene- rally are heavy.