A Court of the Governors of the Scottish Hospital was
held on Wednesday, being the festival of St. Andrew ; and the Duke of Sutherland was elected President of the Society. In the evening, the friends and subscribers to the charity dined together at the Albion, in Aldersgate Street. Among the distinguished Scotchmen present, were Mr. Fox Mettle, Sir Andrew Leith Hay, and Sir George Murray.
The Board of Guardians of Lambeth having been applied to by some of the parishioners to throw open their proceedings to the public, applied for instructions to the Poor-law Commissioners ; who, in reply, stated, that under existing circumstances it was deemed advisable to refuse the admission of strangers at the deliberations of the Boards of Guardians. Various reasons are assigned for this exclusion ; among which are, that the individual Guardians would become marked men in the parish in consequence of their opinions expressed at their meet- ings ; that the proceedings at open vestries have generally been carried by members of public-house clubs in opposition to the wishes of the majority of the respectable rate-payers ; and that in those instances where the deliberations of the Boards of Guardians have been open to the public, the practice has been found prejudicial to the paupers as well as to the interests of the rate-payers. The Commissioners ob- serve, that the publicity given to the proceedings by all the books being open for inspection is sufficient.
The amount of out-door relief in the parish of Lambeth was re- cently only 1091. weekly; whilst under the system which existed prior to the operation of the Poor-law Amendment Act, the amount of out- door relief in that parish was about 550/. weekly.
The proprietors of the Hungerford Market will probably soon make that establishment a profitable concern. At a recent meeting of the company, it was stated that an arrangement had been made with the projectors of the Hungerford and Lambeth Suspension Foot Bridge Company mutually advantageous to both companies and to the public ; and that the erection of a suspension bridge on the proposed spot held out prospects of great benefit to' the Hungerford Market Com- pany. From the statement of accounts laid before the meeting, it appeared there was a surplus revenue applicable to the purpose of a dividend ; but after a discussion of some length, it was determined by the proprietors to postpone the declaration of a dividend for the present.
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