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At the meeting of the Court of Common Council, on Thursday, the most interesting part of the proceedings was the passing of a resolution to congratulate the Lord Mayor on his escape from the accident on the Great Northern Railway ; a compliment which he suitably acknow- ledged.

There is a talk in the City of some "stir" on the day for electing the Lord Mayor ; not to oppose Alderman Sidney, but to express public feel- iug on the subject of elections to the office of Sheriff.

The list of voters for the City of London was revised on Tuesday. The Conservatives made 1536 objections, the Liberals 288. From the list of the Livery the Liberals expunged 230, the Conservatives 21. The revi- sion of the householders' list is not yet concluded.

The annual orations by the students of Christ's Hospital were de- livered on Wednesday—St. Matthew's Day. The leading subjects were, as usual, the Royal Hospital itself and its founder Edward the Sixth. The old hall, enlivened by the joyous and queerly-dressed boys of the school, preseLted a picturesque scene. The orations referred with feel- ing to the death of the late Head Master, Dr. Rice.

The Hospital for Consumption at Brompton has had its funds aug- mented by the splendid gift of 15,0001. under the will of the late Mr. John M'Cullan, of Bedford Place.

In London, workpeople in several trades are making movements for an advance of wages. The carpenters employed at the Reform Club have struck for 6d. a day increase. The bricklayers persist in partial strikes; the masters being deserted one by one. Several of the small masters have been compelled to yield. The bricklayers' labourers have returned to work, failing to get a rise from 18s. to 21s. a week. The lamplighters and the bakers have also failed in their attempt to get higher wages. The basketmakers, demanding 10 per cent, have partially failed, but some shops have conceded the rise. The brass and iron founders are conspiring for a 10 per cent advance. Of the girls employed as seamstresses and slop-workers, many have suddenly left London and turned hop-pickers in Kent and Sussex ; while the masters widely placard London with offers of "constant employment at good wages" to every description of needle- workers.

At the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, Edward Butler, a labourer, was tried for attempting to drown John Thomas, mate of a. steamer, at North Woolwich. While drunk, at night, Butler wantonly pitched Thomas over the side-rail; the mate caught a lower rail, and then Butler tried to make him quit his hold, in which case he would have fallen into deep water. The master came to his aid, and the mate was saved. The Jury acquitted the prisoner' as they did not believe he intended to murder Thomas. Sub- sequently he pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault; and he was sent to prison for a year.

Sarah Liepman was convicted of endeavouring to conceal the birth of her illegitimate infant. This is the case where it was at first supposed the child had been burnt to death on a fire ; but a surgeon now expressed his belief that the infant was not born alive or full-grown. He said that the prisoner is. subject to hysterics. The Jury recommended her to mercy on account of her infirmities.

John Tonard, a lad of fourteen, formerly a page to Dr. Kahn, the proprie- tor of the Anatomical Museum, was convicted of feloniously accusing his. master of a hideous crime, with intent to extort 1001. The case was very clearly made out. Mr. linen Martin sentenced the young reprobate to transportation for life.

Thomas Swift pleaded guilty to applying a break to a carriage on the Black- well Railway, by which he endangered the safety of the passengers in a train. While intoxicated, he improperly got into a break-van at Blackwell, and three times he screwed down the break. It appeared that when other car- riagea are full the railway people allow passengers to get into the break-vans. Swifty by the prosecutors. The Recorder said, he though ' no more than they were bound to do in re-

e.°°1 " they were as much to blame as he-was. They had no right to let a drunken man get into the carriages at all, more parti. cularly a part where he could have access to the machinery upon which the safety of the train depended : he should punish the prisoner more for his drunkenness than for the act, and should.sentence him to one month's im- prisonment in Newgate.

Samuel Ellen, the man who forged an indorsement to a post-bill for 30/., which he seems to have obtained at the Bank by a trick, was convicted of the forgery. He was sentenced, under the new law, to four years of "penal servitude."

The inquest on the four persons killed by the fall of the house in the Strand was resumed on Monday. Mr. Stanford, an architect and surveyor, stated that he happened (standing in the open gateway) to notice on the day before the accident what was going on in the Strand ; he thought the workmen were digging too low, and endangering Mr. Thompson's house. He saw no jack-shores; the excavation was so badly done that no shoring would have rendered the wall safe. He went to Mr. Phillips' clerk to the Duke of Norfolk's surveyor, and represented to him that the house ought to be underpinned ; Mr. Phillips replied that the shoring rendered the building safe. Shrimpnell, a carpenter, declared that there were .jack-shores. Sidney Smirke, the architect, spoke to the competency of Rowe, the foreman of the works : the Jury said they were satisfied on that point. Mr. Cove, a clerk conversant with building,. deposed that he told Mr. Thompson six months ago that the house was m danger. He considered that the lower part of the house should have been "needled"—iron pins inserted from the shores through the wall; and the house should have been supported inter- nally from floor to floor. A labourer employed at the work stated that an excavation was made alongside the house 51 feet long and 10 deep. He cut underneath the wall in three places, to see what was the foundation. Mr. Angel, the district surveyor, said that he had pronounced the wall of Mr. Thompson's house good enough for those premises' but that a new wall must be built against it to support the structure about to be raised for Messrs. Smith and Son. Mr. Angel had not visited the place for some days before the disaster, as he had not received any notice that actual building was to commence. He expects to receive notice when building is proceeding ; but if he knew that works were going on, he would inspect them though he had received no notice.

A Juror—"Is not the district surveyor bound to attend from time to time to watch the progress of the works?" Witness—" I did not think that my duties had commenced until the works were begun. I think the district surveyor has not any jurisdiction as to the taking down of houses or digging out the ground."

A Juror—" If you had visited the place a day or two before and saw the state of it, would you have the power to give orders to have it made more secure ?" Witness—" If I saw anything of the kind, I would feel it to be my duty to give directions to have it made secure." . . . . If the builder were irregular, witness should serve hint with an eight-and-forty hours' notice to cure it. If he did not comply with that notice, witness bad to give intima- tion to the official referees and if they thought a breach of the act had been committed, it was their duly to inquire into it, and make an award before anything could be done. A building, however unsafe to the public, could not be touched by any process of law until after fourteen days.

The inquest was again adjourned for a week.

Pardington and Woods, the driver and stoker on the Great Northern Rail- way, were reexamined by the Clerkenwell Magistrate on Tuesday. No more witnesses were examined. Mr. Rawlings addressed the Magistrate at great length for the accused. He urged that the wrong men—the less culpable— were placed at the bar, while those more worthy of blame had been called as witnesses against them. How was it that the coal-train was shunted at a dangerous moment ? why did it break down at Colney Hatch ? Woods was placed on an express-engine though not an experienced fireman. The head guard had to sort parcels, instead of looking out for signals. The elec- tric telegraph had not been used to ascertain if the line was clear before starting the express-train. The Hornsey station-master was not properly fitted for his post. If the Magistrate thought it wrong and culpable in the station-master to shunt the luggage-train when he did, surely he would not commit the driver and stoker ? Mr. Clarkson, who appeared for the Rail- way Company, frequently interrupted Mr. Rawlings: he was merely assail- ing the management of the line, not showing that the prisoners had not been guilty of the matter charged. Mr. Tyrvrhitt intimated, that the argu- ments used by Mr. Rawlings might be urged before a jury, and it might perhaps be shown that the signals were insufficient; but he thought that sufficient had been shown to warrant his sending the men for trial; accept- ing bail, however, for their appearance.

The Coroner's Jury pronounced a verdict of "Wilful murder" against Jemes Hays; and the Hammersmith Magistrate has committed him for the murder of his wife.