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The papers this week contain the narrative a the Lord Mayor's eventful expedition last week for the purpose of making the septennial -survey of the Thames and Medway. The Duke of Wellington invited his Lordship to take water at the Tower ; and accordingly, attended by several members of the Corporation, and accompanied by the Lady Mayoress and a numerous party of guests, he embarked on board the Mercury steam-boat, on Thursday. The Mercury stopped at Black- well, in order to afford the Company an opportunity of witnessing the launch of the East Iudiaman built by Messrs. Wigram and Co. On arriving at the Nore, the party partook of an excellent dinner ; at which, of course, venison, turtle, and champagne abounded. At Sheerness, on Friday; the Lord Mayor was received by the Admiral of the Fleet with every demonstration of respect. The Lord Mayor, the Lady Mayoress, and some of their guests, were conducted by Captain Frederick Brace on board the Ctunperdown ; the yards of which were manned, and signals were hoisted in honour of the visiters. They were received by Admiral Sir Edward Brace, the Commander-in-Chief, and a brilliant party ; all of whom the Lord Mayor invited to dinner at Rochester. The Mercury then proceeded up the Medway to Upnor ; where the Lord Mayor landed to inspect the boundary-stone of his jurisdiction. The party formed a circle round the stone, upon which the colours of the City of London were flying. The Lord Mayor proposed a toast in honour of the City, and distributed wine and new coins among the multitude who assembled as spectators. The party afterwards returned to Rochester ; where the Lord Mayor gave a splendid entertainment, at the Crown Inn, to the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood.- ten o'clock on Saturday morning, the party reembarked, and went to Southend, and thence to Leigh, the boundary of the City jurisdiction in Essex. In passing the Camperdown, the Conservator was saluted by the crew of the flag-ship, who at the same time manned the yards. The salute was returned with three cheers. • The Lord Mayor "exercised his right of jurisdiction" by going three times round the boundary-stone, on the top of which the City colours were hoisted ; drank "prosperity to the City of London"; directed the usual inscription to be cut ; and distributed corn and wine to the populace. The party then returned to the Royal Hotel at Southend ; where a dejeuner was given ;: and soon after four o'clock, the Lord Mayor and his party returned to London on board the Mer- cury.

Mr. John Holmes, the High Bailiff of Southwark, who has filled that post for nearly twenty years, died at his house, The Retreat, Vauxhall, on Tuesday, in the eighty-third year of his age. The appointment, which is a valuable one, the emoluments being worth 2,0001. per annum, is in the gift of the Corporation of London.

At a Court of Common Council, on Thursday, Mr. Charles Pearson was appointed to perform the duties of High Bailiff of Southwark, until a successor to Mr. Holmes be chosen.

The following gentlemen are understood to be candidates for the -office—Mr. D. W. Harvey, Mr. Pritchard, Mr. Payne the Coroner, Mr. Ledger, Mr. Jupp, Alderman Brown, and Alderman Sir William Heygate.

A special General Court of East India Proprietors was held yester- day, for the purpose of considering a bill to grant certain furlough allow- ances to the Bishops.of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay ; but the time of the Court was occupied with a long and stormy discussion on the depo- sition of the Rajah of Sattara. Mr. George Thompson brought forward -some documents to prove the Rajah's innocence, the authenticity of which was questioned : he was not allowed to proceed; and the discussion was broken off by the motion of adjournment, proposed by the Chairman and -seconded by the Vice-Chairman, and carried by 24 to 1. The Court sat from noon yesterday till one o'clock this morning, the longest sitting remembered.

1 The Anti-Corn-law Conference has continued its sittings; Accounts of the distress have been furnished from Caulden Place, in the Potteries, where not a colliery was at work within a circle of ten miles acroSa Maesteg, near Bridgend, in Glamorganshire; Carlisle, where it is said the farmers only pay their labourers 10d. a day ; Leicester, Accrington, Westbury., Chorley, West Middlesex, London, Stroud, Bath, Forfar, Kirriemtur, Blorwich, Brighouse near Halifax, Darlaston, Lough- borough, Bilston, Willenhall, and Wolverhampton. Several of the communications related to turn-out movements in the coal-districts.

A letter was read from Mr. George Livesey, a veterinary-surgeon at Chorley, relating "one of those horrible cases of destitution which have of late been so frequent "—

" About the 19th of May last, a farmer, named Richard Pilkington, of Dux- bury, gave me the carcase of a cow which had been dead three days, for the purpose of feeding my dog with it. After having it near my stable for a day, the smell arising from it was so very offensive, that I determined to bury it : but before I had accomplished this object, a number of calico-printers, who had been out of work Mr some time, hearing that I had this carcase, came to me and begged and prayed that I would give them some of it. This I at first refused to do, as I could not think of allowing them to eat what I feared would prove injurious: but so urgent were their importunities, that at last I consented, after warning them repeatedly that I would not be accountable for the result : before doing so, however, I had suggested, that if they really would take it,it would be well to let it remain a day or two in a brine of saltpetre, to take away, if possible, some of the impurities arising from disease. They exclaimed, almost in these words, 'Walt a day or two ! it's impossible! we cannot wait. Think of our wives and families I—do give it us, pray do.' Unable to refuse any longer, I consented; when they set to work and cut up this putrid carcase, each man and woman taking as much as they could carry. By and by, in came one poor person after another, to get, if possible, some portion of this flesh. I understand about six families partook of it. "One man who was formerly in good circumstances, evidently reluctant to be seen taking such nauseous food, lingered about for sometime; but at length, as if driven to desperation, seized a piece, which he folded up in a cloth, and then hiding it under his coat walked away as quickly as he could. One of these men told me this morning, that when in full work he earned 20s. to 30s. per week ; but for the last six or eight months his earnings have not exceeded 2s. per week on the average. After this took place, one man, who got a share of the prize, actually took me to what he called his shambles, and showed me some of the flesh salted."

It was stated, that the number of paupers in the Brentford Union had increased from 1,742 at Lady Day in 1839 to 4,095 at Lady Day in 1842; the rates having increased from 3,8371. to 5,9031.

Mr. Shaw of London declared, from twenty-four years' experience' that he had never witnessed any thing to equal the depression of trade, the want of confidence on the part of the merchants and manufacturers, and the dishonesty of tradesmen, who endeavoured to procure goods for which they knew they could not pay. He attributed these evils to class-legislation.

Mr. Ashworth said, on Wednesday, that great quantities of common woollen goods used to be manufactured at Halifax for the clothing of the West Indian slaves; but the trade in that article has been rained, as the emancipated slaves refuse to take another yard of that cloth, which they consider the badge of slavery.

There was a crowded and respectable meeting in Keppel Street Chapel, on Tuesday, "for the purpose of recording its opinion that the Corn-laws are accessory to the starvation of the people." A deputation from the London Conference were present, and addressed the meeting. It does not appear whether any opinion was recorded; but the conclu- sion of Mr. George Thompson's speech is described in these equivocal terms by the Morning Chronicle- "Long-continued cheering, amidst which the learned gentleman, who touched on a variety of other topics, and who, frequently interrupted by the Chartists, as frequently (by aid of the good sense and respectability of the meeting) put them down, concluded, convincing the rational among them of their error, and castigating the wilful and constant disturbers of such meetings with unsparing hand. The meeting was declared dissolved hy the Chairman."

A number of persons assembled at a meeting-house in Deptford, on Tuesday evening, to hear a lecture from Mr. George Thompson ; but the Reverend Mr. Pullen, in taking the chair, stated that Mr. Thomp- son was unavoidably kept away by the necessity of attending another meeting where considerable oppesitioa was expected. A general dis- cussion was proposed instead of the lector* ; and it was moved that a working man should take the chair. A scene of 'great confusion arose, and a scuffle between the Anti-Corn-law party and some Chartists, which was made worse by the entrance of Police. At length order was restored. Two persons addressed the meeting, on Chartist doc- trines; and then the increasing pressure in the chapel induced them all to adjourn to the Broadway. While Dr. M'Donall was making a speech :• from the pump in the centre, Police Superintendent Mallalieu arrived with a number of the Force to disperse the crowd ; and in the disturb- ance they pulled Dr. M`Douall from the pump, and took him with seve- ral others to the Stationhouse. They were taken to the Greenwich Police-office on Wednesday ; and Dr. M‘Douall was ordered to find se- curity, himself under a penalty of 501. and two others of 25/., to keep the peace for six months.

Another meeting was held at Blackheath, on Wednesday, to discuss the new grievance ; and Mr. Thomas Dancombe, who had mentioned the affair in the House of Commons on Tuesday night, received ap-

proving mention. -

At Queen Square Police-office, on Thursday, James Wyatt, a rough, middle-aged man, was charged with throwing a stone at the carriage of Mr. Stuart Wortley, M.P., near the House of Commons ; Mr. Wortley and Lord Sandon being in the carriage. Mr. Thomas Collet, Superin- tendent of the Members' Waiting-room, deposed that he saw the act— Witness went up to the prisoner and asked him if he was mad or drunk? The prisoner replied, "Neither," and that he perfectly well knew what he was about. He was asked why he threw at that particular carriage ? and he an- swered,,that he had singled out no one carriage : he intended to throw at all of them until he could hat Sir Robert Peel. He was asked what could be his motive in desiring to injure the Premier ? he replied, that was best known to himself.

Another witness said that he was quite sober. In answer to Mr. Gregorie the Magistrate, Wyatt said that he was a carpenter out of work; but he would not say what he had been doing for the last six months. Mr. Gregorie thought him insane, and committed him to the House of Correction for three months, with the view of his being seen by the visiting Magistrates.

A terrific thundereterm visited the Metropolis on Wednesday night. The lightning began to play at about ten o'clock ; the clouds gathered around; and at midnight the storm burst with sudden fury over a wide district. It lasted, with long intervals, till six in the morning ; when it terminated in a renewed burst, followed by torrents of rain. Injury to life and property has been suffered in various quarters. The spire of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields was struck : the clock-house was seriously damaged, massive boards being torn from its floor ; two stones were dislodged and thrown upon the roof of the church ; the west angle was split from the bottom upwards ; a stone at the north-east corner was shattered to pieces; and the spire has been forced out of the perpendicular: orders have been given to render it safe, but the cost of the necessary repair is estimated at 1,000/. One of the most remarkable freaks played by the lightning was in a house at the corner of Norfolk Street, Vauxhall— "It was occupied by a person named Moss, together with his wife and four children ; the latter sleeping in the top room, and the parents below. A ball of fire descended the chimney into the ro,m %there the children were; breaking the Chimney-piece and hearth-stone, removing the grate, and breaking the bedstead on which they were sleeping almost to pieces; but, strange to say, without at all injuring its occupants. It then descended to the lower room, and, after scattering and demolishing every thing around, as in playful wantonness, forced its say out of the window, carrying the frame, shutters, and all with it into the street, leaving the house a complete wreck." The bolt or flash that struck St. Martin's Church stunned a Police- man as it passed across to the Golden Cross Inn. Two women were knocked down in Covent Garden market, but not injured. At Islington, near the Angel, a bricklayer was struck : the right sleeve of his coat was completely burnt off, and his arm severely scorched ; his right thigh was turned "completely black." A working man was struck by the lightning while crossing Kennington Common ; but the only injury he received was a slight scorch on the left cheek. Another was se- verely injured near Combe Farm Lane, on the Woolwich road. A Policeman on Camberwell Green was stunned, and blinded, it is feared, for life. Two men mowing grass between Dulwich and Peckham Rye were knocked down ; the grass was scorched, and the blades were torn from the handles of their scithes. At Turnbam Green, a labourer going to work was struck dead. A mass of fire fell on a barn at Rush- field : a father and son sleeping inside were struck, and the father's head was crushed by a part of the wood-work. Rushfield Church was partially unroofed. Several cattle and sheep have been destroyed, and trees have been felled in the neighbourhood of London.

A long-talked-of rowing-match between the Eton and Westminster scholars came off on Tuesday, on that part of the Thames which lies between Barker's Rails and Putney Bridge. The Westminster men were the victors.

The Queen's ships Goliah and Virago were launched on Monday, at the Chatham Royal Dockyard, in the presence of a great number of irisiters ; the yard being thrown open to the public, by Captain Sher- tiff the Superintendent. The Virago was "christened" by Mrs. Gray, the wife of Captain Gray, R.N. ; the Goliah by the Dutchess of Bac- ielench. Both vessels are built according to the newest improvements. The Goliah is an eighty-gun ship, and will carry 28 guns on her lower- deck, and the same number on her middle-deck; the remaining 24 guns to be on the quarter-deck and forecastle : her tonnage is a little above 2,595 tons : she measures in length of gun-deck 190 feet, and in length of keel l55f feet ; her extreme breadth being 56 feet NI- inches ; her depth in the hold is 23 feet 4 inches. The Virago is a steam-ship of 994 tons register : her length between perpendiculars is 180 feet, and on the keel 156 feet ; her extreme breadth is 36 feet, her depth in hold 21 feet.