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A letter to the Lord Mayor of London from Lord Stanley commu- nicated, on Wednesday, the intelligence, that " it has pleased Almighty God to crown her Majesty's arms in China with complete success ; and that the Emperor of China has been compelled to recognize the claims of Great Britain."
By direction of the War Office, the Park and Tower guns were fired on Wednesday, to celebrate the receipt of the news from the East, and especially from China. In the evening, the Metropolitan church-bells rang. It is said that there will shortly be a general holyday and illu- mination, as at the peace of 1814.
The news had its immediate effect in the City in a rise of the Funds. The City article of the Morning Post said, on Wednesday—" The cotton-market has become brisk, in consequence of the encouraging accounts from India and China. An advance in price of one-eighth of a penny per pound has been established."
A full Committee of Aldermen assembled in the Guildhall, on Satur- day, to determine upon the course to be pursued in the inquiry respect- ing the charges made against Alderman Thomas Wood. At his re- quest, the doors were thrown open to the public, and many strangers were present Alderman Brown was called to the chair; and he pro- posed the following resolution as the basis of their procedure— "That Alderman Thomas Wood be requested to furnish the Town-Clerk, on or before the 31st day of December 1842, with a statement in writing, for the purpose of the same being laid before this Committee, detailing the several charges referred to in his request for investigation made to the Court of Alder- men on the 3d instant ; distinguishing in such statement which, if any, of such charges bath or have been brought under the consideration of any of her Ma- jesty's courts of law or equity, and the mode (whether by motion or otherwise) of bringing the same before, and the result of the investigation thereof' by any such court."
Alderman Thomas Wood objected to being called upon to charge him- self and upon paper too : he wished the charges to be made, and he would answer them : but he laid upon the table a large bundle of papers relat- ing to the proceedings which had taken place. It was on the other hand contended, that nobody was ignorant of what the charges were ; and ultimately the resolution was carried ; the Town-Clerk being requested to give notice to all the Aldermen of the receipt of Alderman Thomas Wood's statement.
A. Court of Common Council was held on Thursday. Lord Mayor Humphery took his seat for the first time. Thanks were unanimously voted to the late Lord Mayor. A petition was presented from Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, complaining that he had erroneously been excluded from the poll at the late election of High Bailiff for Southwark. As many as 90 members of the Court promised to attend and vote for him on the show of hands: 72 declared (in a document presented with the petition) that they actually did hold up their hands ; 4, who also did so, declined to sign the declaration for satisfactory reasons ; 5 were absent from severe illness ; 4 entered soon after the show of hands ; 2 lived too far off to arrive in time ; and for the remaining 3 Mr. Harvey could not account. The numbers on the show of hands were calculated by the Lord Mayor to be, 55 for Harvey, 56 for Pritchard, and 59 for Payne. Mr. Harvey was, on that calculation, excluded from the poll ; at whieh the numbers were, for Pritchard 87, for Payne 79. Mr. Harvey therefore prayed, "that the said election may be declared null and void ; or that no further proceedings be taken in respect to the election of the Bailiff of the borough of Southwark until the next annual election of officers." It was stated in the Court, that of the 72 who signed the declaration, 46 voted for Pritchard. The Recorder said, that the first prayer of the petition could not be put as a motion : the second was put by Mr. Wise, and negatived. The mo- tion for affixing the seal of the Corporation to Mr. Pritchard's appoint- ment was carried by a large majority ; and he was received as High Bailiff of the Borough of Southwark.
The Commissioners under the Property and Income-tax Act for the City of Loudon commenced their sittings in Basinghall Street on Mon- day, to hear appeals against assessments. The place was besieged by appellants. On that day, upwards of two hundred appeals were heard, and the reductions were allowed in nearly two-thirds of the cases. It is said that the hearing of appeals is likely to occupy the Commis- sioners until Christmas.
At Guildhall Police-office, on Thursday, Mr. Warwick of Cheapside, and a number of respectable hosiers and others, against whom the Caoutchoue Compar y had instituted proceedings in the Court of Chan- 'eery, for an infringement of their patent, and who had paid sums of money to compromise the matter, waited upon Sir Peter Laurie, and in- formed him that Mr. Leaf, the principal shareholder, had refunded all -the money out of his own pocket. One hundred and fifty actions in- -*hilted by the Company's law-officer had been stopped.
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