gbe Jfiftetropolts.
The determination announced last week by the Revising Barrister for the City of London, Mr. M'Cbristie, that he would give costs in all cases where groundless objections were brought forward—assuming objections to be groundless when not supported, but suffered to drop by the objectors— has had a magical effect upon the business of the Court. In the interval between Friday and Monday last, both parties revised their lists of ob- jections; and under the wholesome pressure of Mr. M'Christie's screw they have been reduced from an amount between three and four thousand to something under three hundred.
At a Special Court of Proprietors of the Bank of England, held on Wed- nesday, the dividend of 4- per cent exclusive of Income-tax, proposed and carried at the meeting last week, was confirmed by ballot.
A quarterly General Court of Proprietors of East India Stock was held on Wednesday. A letter was read from General Sir George Pollock, thanking the Court for the annuity of 1,0001. a year recently allotted to him. The Court then proceeded to the standing dishes of discussion,— the money payment to Juggernaut, introduced by Mr. Poynder; and the case of the Rajah of Sattara, advocated by Mr. Lewis. Mr. Poynder's mo- tion for interference wasn egatived on a division; 4 voting for, and 40 against it. The Rajah's case fared better this time; the Chairman con- senting to produce all the papers in the possession of the Directors.
According to immemorial usage at Christ's Hospital, the annual orations were delivered on Tuesday, St. Mathew's Day, in the great hall of the Hospital, by the senior scholars about to proceed to the Universities; the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and other Corporation authorities, attending to listen, besides a crowded general audience. The orations consisted of a Latin discourse, delivered by the second Grecian, Mr. Edward Hayman; an English oration, spoken by Mr. John Daniel William, first Grecian; an oration in Greek, by Mr. Charles Edward Searle, the third; and one in French, by Mr. William Allen Russell, the fourth Grecian.
Some recent proceedings in the drapery trade have ended in the exposure of extreme dishonesty amongst the manufacturers and wholesale houses. The retail dealers have been combining lately to procure a more equitable measurement of various goods supplied to them by the wholesale houses. For this purpose, a meeting was held a few days ago, at which several ex- porters were present, to investigate certain allegations against the wholesale dealers. The course of proceeding was, to examine sealed packets of goods which had been sent in; and the results were rather startling. Among other instances, reels of cotton thread marked " warranted 100 yards" were found to measure respectively 92k, 89, 86k, and in some cases even as little as 75; while in no single instance did the measurement reach the full standard. In tapes the deficiency was found to be still more considerable: it is usual to make white tapes in lengths of nine yards, one dozen of these lengths being packed in a parcel, and then issued from the wholesale house with the vender's mark upon it as " warranted." On measuring these " nine- yard lengths," it was found that in every instance they fell short. In some descriptions the nine-yard lengths were under seven yards, in others under six; whilst another sample, where the tape itself had been stamped at the end in indelible ink as nine yards, there were found to be but 51. Other goods were submitted to the same ordeal with like results. The manufac- turers' account of the deception is, that they are compelled to follow the instructions of the wholesale houses; who on their side extenuate their conduct by throwing the blame on the system of competition in respect of low prices, which compels them to resort to dishonest practices. It is some gratification to know that an active movement is in progress to wipe out the stain by adopting at once an honest system.
At the Central Criminal Court, on Monday, a number of carcase-butchers and their servants appeared to answer indictments preferred against them by the Cor- poration for keeping slaughterhouses in the neighbourhood of Newgate Market, and allowing filth and offal to collect, thereby creating a public nuisance. None of the cases, however, were gone into, the defendants having all removed the cause of complainl, or promised to do so forthwith. They were ordered to enter into their own recognizances to appear again before the Court if required.
On Tuesday, John Ball, an "agent," was tried for obtaining by false pretences a bill of exchange for 2001. from John Alexander. Alexander was a draper in Kelso; he answered an advertisement offering to lend money; and sent a bill for 2001. to Bull to be discounted in London. The bill had been aocepted in the Scotch method, Alexander writing his name under that of the drawer: the agent wrote to him that he could not negotiate such a bill in England; and induced Alexander to forward another 2001. bill- The Scotchman got no money; and he discovered that the second bill was obtained from lin by a false pretence, for Bull had endeavoured to negotiate the first. The "agent" was found guilty, and sen- tenced to be imprisoned for two years, with hard labour.
On Thursday,John Hutchings, a oeoper of Deptford, was tried for the murder of his wife, by poisoning her with arsenic. There was no direct proof that Hutch- ings had administered.the poison; but Milled been heard to threaten the woman; on the 27th August he had broken open his son's drawer, and had taken out a bottle of arsenic; he was seen to throw some into the fire, and he gave the phial to one of his children to-fling away: the wife was taken ill on the someday. Mr. Baron Platt summed up favourably to the accused; and the Jury deliberated for nearly two hours; but the verdict was "guilty," and sentence of death was pro- nounced.
At Guildhall, on Saturday, Mr. John Friskin, one of the trustees of Elim Chapel, Fetter Lane, was summoned by the Commissioners of Sewers to show cause why he should not abate a nuisance arising from an accumulation of offen- sive or noxious matter under the chapeL There has been a considerable stir re- specting this place, in consequence of the alleged removal of some of the corpses. Surgeons had signed certificates that the effluvia from the vaults were dange- rous to public health. One of these, Mr. Farquhar, stated that he had seen the mutilated remains of three bodies forced into -one coffin. Coffins were closely packed six deep, without any mould between them. -In some parts it was twelve feet from the surface of the pit to the flooring of the chapel; in others only four feet, from broken coffins and bones being piled up. Mr. Cl. A. Walker, the writer on "Graveyards," deposed that hailed inspected the place a week before: it was a mass of human remains; a thousand bodies had been placed where there should not be a hundred; many persons in the neighbourhood had suffered in health. The defendant denied that any noxious effects were produced by the vault: there bad been no interments for three years. After some discussion, the Magistrates made an order for the suppression of the nuisance within forty-eight hours, by laying concrete over the ground, bricking over the vault, and stopping up the holes which emitted the stench.
The evidence given on Saturday, at the adjourned inquest on the persons killed by the Cricket explosion, tended to confirm the previous statements respecting the malepractices on-board the vessel. Henry Knight stated that he succeeded Edwards as stoker. He was ordered by Clark to tie down the valves: when the captain called out "Stand by !" for the boat's starting, Knight regularly tied the valves, and set them free when the steamer made the other pier. He did not understand the machinery; and during six weeks he coatinued to tie the valves, thinking that it was part of the ordinary business in driving an en:ene. When these valves were fastened, no steam came from the screw:valves. He had seen the gauge indicate a pressure of 80: it ascended to this when the valves had been tied a few minutes before the engine was put in motion. When others informed Knight of the danger of the practice, he was afraid to report the matter to the " proper authorities," lest he should be " served out" as Edwards was. The boat frequently left the pier with hardly any water in the boiler; Clark treating to the tamp filling it when the en- gine began to work. John Alfred Skinner, engine-driver, deposed that he had been engineer of the Cricket for a time. When about to start on the first journey, he observed that Edwards was tying down a valve; he stopped him, and then found that the other valve was fastened. He had expected an accident on board the Cricket, from the engine's having been left in inexperienced hands; and had told Mr. Poletti, one of the officials, that such was his apprehension. The people had to work very long hours—from early in the morning till ten at night, or later, and Sundays as well ; and they must not be absent a minute. In cross- cramination, the witness said—" When I spoke to Mr. Poletti of the probability of an accident, he said he had nothing to do with it; Clark must be answerable for everything, as Mr. Smith had placed him there in a confidential situation. Mr. Poletti then knew of the practice [of tying the valves] having been resorted to byClark. He knew it as well as I did." On Wednesday, Mr. Portwine, a writer on engineering, was examined, but at no great length. Mr. Thomas Lloyd, chief engineer and inspector of machinery in the Royal Navy, stated the results of the inquiries which he had been directed to make by the Government. He described the form and construction of the Cricket's boilers and the valves. He objected to the practice of allowing the valves of high-pressure engines to be in the power of the engineer; and he pro- nounced the construction of the boiler to be dangerous for the purpose of high- pressure. There was a fiat plate in front of it, imperfectly stayed, on which all the pressure of the steam would impinge. He did not think a pressure of 66 pounds would burst the boiler, until it was more worn. Supposing there was a pressure of 60 pounds and the valves closed, in five minutes the pressure would increase to 93 pounds, in ten minutes to 130 or 140, and in a quarter of an hour to 180. If the two lever-valves were tied, and the spring-valves free, still a dangerous pressure might arise. The iron used in the Cricket was of a bad quality—laminated. The workmanship of the boiler was not such as it ought to have been. He had tested the other boiler by a water pres- sure, and had leaked so much at 136 pounds pressure that the experiment could not be carried further. His opinion was that there must have been a pres- sure of 136 pounds to cause the explosion • there could be no doubt that an im- proper degree of pressure caused the disaster. There are very few engineers who
u nderstand their business thoroughly. Thomas Clark, the engineer, was allowed to give evidence. The value of it is easily tested. He said the valves " were never tied down while I was in the boat "- and yet, in cross-examination, he ad- mitted that he had "generally "directed Knight to tie the strings when the boat started. He pretended that the ropes were merely to shake the valves to set them free; then he fenced about, saying that the ropes were "not so taut but the valves could lift." " Either Edwards or Buttriss might have tied the valves out of spite to me; and I believe they did so." He thought that the explosion had been caused by the "listing" of the vessel at the pier, whereby one of the valves had been prevented from acting. The inquiry was again adjourned, to Friday. The proceedings were brought to a close yesterday. The principal witness examined was Henry Robert Reesman, who was engineer to the Cricket at the time of the explosion_ He denied that the valves had been tied down. He had come on deck just before the accident; and he admitted that the steam was escaping when he left the engine-room; though he took no notice of it on deck. Several other witnesses were examined, but no new fact was elicited. The Coroner having summed up, the Jury retired at eight o'clock; and, after an absence of more than tw-o hours, returned the following verdict-
" We lind that Thomas Shed, John Littleton, John Blunt, George Shute, and John Buckley, came to their deaths through the bursting of the boiler of the Cricket steam- boat, on the 27th of August 1847. We find a verdict of Manslaughter against Henry Robert Hemmen. We consider Thomas Clark highly culpable, and unfit to hold a situation of engineer. We likewise consider Mr. Smith's conduct shamefully neglectful in not properly investigating the complaint made against Clark." The Coroner immediately issued his warrant fbr the apprehension of Heasman. The day's proceedings occupied more than twelve hours; the inquiry itself having lasted for seven days.
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