attrupplis.

The Court of Common Council sat on Wednesday to consider a report from a Committee upon the Corporation Reform Bill. This measure has been altered by a Select' Committee; but the clauses " confiscating the metage and other revenues have been allowed to 'remain unaltered in the bill." The report of the Committee not only objects to these and other clauses, but complains that the sittings of the Select Committee of the Commons were secret, thus depriving them of an opportunity of enforcing their ob]jections. It recommends immediate and energetic action in de- fence of the metage. After a smart discussion, the Court unanimously adopted the report, and also a petition to the House of Commons, reel

the objections to the " confiscation clauses " and praying that the might be recommitted, in order that the Corporation may be heard by its counsel, or that the clauses may be expunged from the bill. The Cor- poration bases its claim to the motage on the ground of an ancient grant from the Crown ; and contends that if these dues are abolished, com- pensation, as in other cases, should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund.

The annual meeting of the Royal Geographical Society was held on Monday at Burlington House,—the President, Sir Roderick Murchison, in the chair,—who detailed to a numerous audience the progress of the society during the past year, and invested two most distinguished geographers with the medals awarded them by the learned body over whom he presided. The Victoria gold medal was awarded to Alexander Dallas Bache, superintendent of the United States coast survey. Mr. Dallas, the American Minister, received it on his behalf. Captain Col- linson, of Arctic fame, received the Patron's gold medal. In the evening about one hundred and forty of the members attended the din- ner at the Freemasons' Tavern, Sir Roderick Murchison again pre- siding, and being supported by the Swedish Ambassador, Mr. W. Gladstone, M.P., Colonel Sykes, M.P. the Earl of Sheffield, Sir George Back, General Monteith, and the Rev. Dr. Worthington.

The annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society was held on Saturday in the Society's House, Hanover Square. There were but few members present. The funded property of the Society amounts to 92641. Last year its revenue was, in round numbers, 49191.its ex- penditure 35731., including 3001. a year spent upon the journal. On the motion of Mr. Barker, seconded by Lord Feversham, the Duke of Marlborough was elected president for the ensuing year. The next show will take place at Chester ; that in 1859 at Warwick, and that in 1860, if possible, in J.,ondon.

The Protestant Alliance held its seventh annual gathering at the Free- masons' Tavern on Monday, Lord Shaftesbury in the chair. The re- port submitted to the meeting stated some curious facts. Thus 241. have been distributed in prizes to young men who have studied "controver- sial subjects" and shown their proficiency at competitive examinations. The Alliance has carried on a successful war against " Ince's Outlines of English History " as regards its use by the Privy Council, but failed with the Society of Arts. In like manner the authorities of the Univer- sity of Oxford have been induced to set aside the recommendation of " Lingard's History of England" made by the Examiners. The finan- cial position of the Alliance is not sound. It hashed less receipts ; its assets are 291., its liabilities 1001. It cries for help.

The Lord Chancellor gave judgment on Monday in the case of the Lon- don and Eastern Banking Corporation, in which an adjudication of bank- ruptcy was sought to be set aside on the ground that an official manager had been already appointed to wind-up the estates of the bank. The Lord Chancellor decided in favour of the validity of the adjudication—all the creditors appear to be in favour of a bankruptcy, they cannot be restrained from exercising their legal right. As to the effect of the bankruptcy itself, the Lord Chancellor was of opinion that the assignees appointed under it were clothed with no other power than that of concurring with the official manager in carrying into effect the winding-up of the company. The as- signees were not left to pursue their own independent course under the bankruptcy, as they had no control over the estate, and such a proceeding could only lead to ruinous expense ; but the bankruptcy must be considered as only available for the purpose of carrying out the winding-up, and enabling the assignees, as representatives of the creditors, to cooperate with the official manager. He had therefore coma to tho conclusion that, al- though the adjudicatitvt in bankruptcy was valid, an injunction must be granted to the extent of is straining the bankruptcy being made use of for any other purpose than facilitating the winding-up of the company. with the official manager. The costs of all parties to come out of the estate.

The Lords Justices of Appeal have appointed Mr. Coleman to be an official liquidator of the Northumberland and Durham District Banking Company, in addition to the three appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

The Court of Queen's Bench, sitting in bunco, on Thursday, gave judg- ment in the appeal respecting the ship Windsor. The Windsor was bound to Melbourne; she was wrecked at the Cape de Verde; she had some pas- sengers on board. The passengers claimed the return of their passage- money on the ground that the vessel was a " passenger-ship." 1 he Lord Mayor decided in their favour, and ordered repayment. The Court of Queen's Bench reversed that order, deciding that the Windsor was not a " passenger-ship" under the statute. The Court of Exchequer have granted a new trial in the ease of Withers v. the Great Northern Railway Company. Mr. Withers was hurt by a dis- aster which occurred to a train in the valley of the Trent, during the night of the 13th August. There was a great tempest ; part of the railway was flooded, and the permanent way was destroyed; a night express-train ran through the flood on to the portion of the railway that was damaged, and a crash ensued. A Jury thought Mr. Withers entitled to compensation under these circumstances, and gave 1500/. damages. It was urged for the Company that there had been no negligence on their part—that the evidence did not warrant the verdict. The Court were unanimously of opinion that the verdict could not stand.

Messrs. Calvert and Co. have applied to the Bankruptcy Court under the Bankruptcy Consolidation Act for authority to carry on their business under inspection, six-sevenths of their creditors in number and value having no- tified their assent to the proposal. A fortnight is allowed for any dissenting creditor to object to the proposal. The debts of the firm are put down at 1,485,0001. Messrs. Courtauld and Co., of Carey Lane, refused, " from considerations of commercial morality," to accept any composition in a recent case of in- solvency, and threatened to appeal to the Bankruptcy Court : to avoid this,

the other creditors paid MOM. Courtanld and Co. in full ; but those gentlemen had acted from principle, not from a desire of gain ; and they have sent 721. 188. 7d. to the poor-box of the Mansionhouse, that being the amount they received beyond what the composition would have given them.

A commission in lunacy has been engaged in hearing an extraordinary case of alleged insanity. The subject of the inquiry was the Reverend Mr. Leach, a clergyman of the Church of England. The promoters of the in- quiry were his mother, his sister Mrs. Sedden, and the sister's husband. The evidence of insanity was curious. Mr. Leach believed that the millen- nium was dawning; he wore a beard; when burglaries were rife he pro- vided himself with four or five pistols ; he played at whist with his servants, read a chapter or sang a hymn between the deals, and kissed the maids, some on the cheek, one on the lips. The climax of his insanity, in the esti- mation of his friends, was that he proposed to marry one of the maid-ser- vants—the one whom he had distinguished in his osculations. When this became known, his relatives put him in an asylum, regarding his proposed marriage as an overt act of insanity. It came oueduring the inquiry that, on the death of his mother, Mr. Leach would become possessed of 30,000/. ; and that if he died without children and intestate this would go to Mrs. Redden. Several of the "symptoms" were explained away. For instance, the house of Mr. Leach, at Notting Hill, and of his next-door neighbour, had been attacked at night by burglars. Again, nothing was alleged against the young woman whom he has chosen except her lower station. In a letter to his brother-in-law, written with much vigour and point, he remarked that on such evidence as that brought against him about religious opinions, Quakers and many other sectaries might be declared mad ; while if marry- ing beneath his station was proof, it was observed that " half the bar" might be pronounced insane. The medical men called in as authorities in such cases, including Dr. Conolly, were of opinion that Mr. Leach was eccentric but not insane ; and the Jary returned a verdict that Mr. Leach was of sound mind and perfectly competent to manage his own affairs.

Mr. Rowland Flockton, a gentleman residing at Romford, was charged before the Worship Street Magistrate with smoking in a carriage on the Eastern Counties Railway. For the Company, it was shown that, in spite of by-laws and verbal expostulation, Mr. Flockton entered a carriage at the Shoreditch terminus smoking a cigar, and continued to smoke. But Mr. Flockton called witnesses who showed that it is quite the custom to smoke on the Eastern Counties line, that the officials know it, and that most of them have suffered it without interfering. Mr. D'Eyncourt said this testi- mony, greatly altered the complexion of the case, and he imposed a fine of only 58.

Sporting " gents " are hard put to it. The Marlborough Street Magis- trate has fined Thomas Senn 101. for keeping a place for the purpose of betting on horse-races--a loft in St. Giles's, which was found crowded with "sporting gentlemen," who appear to have paid a penny each for ad- mission. Semi paid the fine.

" William Rawson," who has gone by many other names, a gentleman- like person of thirty, has been committed by Alderman Carter on three charges of defrauding jewellers of watches, rings, and chains. His mode of operation seems to have been to take a lodging, or pretend to take it, for the sake of receiving those he honoured with his custom; then he gave orders for valuables—a bill and receipt to be sent ; on getting the goods into his bands, he retired to another room to fetch the money—that is, he hastened from the house, and the jeweller saw nothing more of his property. An attempt was made to trick Mr. Bennett, of Cheapside ; he waited on "Mr. Watson" personally' when the accused walked into an adjoining room with a chronometer and chain worth 671., Mr. Bennett followed, and recovered the articles. The property Rawson got from the three tradesmen in whose cases committals have taken place was worth respectively 751., 601., and 501. There seems reason to believe that he has cheated other persons, and of goods of a different kind—as hosiery ; but Alderman Carter thought it was not necessary to go fully into more than the three eases.

A lamentable affair has happened at Paddington. A man named Handy was about to emigrate to New Zealand. He was buying a gun of a neigh- bour, and he loaded it to try it ; unobserved, Philip Handy, his son, a boy of thirteen, carried off the gun, took it home, and snapped it at his sister Rebecca, a girl of sixteen—it exploded, part of Rebecca's face was blown away, and she died soon after. It is thought that the boy did not know the gun was loaded. He was taken before the Hammersmith Magis- trate, who liberated him on his father's recognizances ; and subsequently the child was discharged altogether, a Coroner's Jury having pronounced a verdict of " Death by misadventure."

The Thames Yacht Club bad a sailing-match on Saturday. The Amazon won the first prize, the Emmet the second. The club now reckons between 600 and 700 members, a fleet of vessels to the number of 200, with a ton- nage of nearly 9000, and giving, when the vessels are afloat, employment to 5000 seamen.