ebe gictropoIN.
A Court of Commone Council was held on Thursday. „ The only matter worth noticing, Was a resolution to provide four receptacles for cholera indiums, in the event of the disease visiting London.
The reelection of Sir John Cam Hobhouse for Westminster took place on 'Wednesday. Sir John was accompanied to the hustings by Lord Ebrington, Mr. Hume, Mr. Pendarve§, Mr. Clive Mr. Ver- non, Mr. Shaw Lefevre, Mr. Stephenson, Mr. T. Dun n
co;be, Colonel Jones, and Sir F. l3tirdett. Mr. Pouncey nominated the member, and . Mr. De Veiir seconded the nomination. As there was no other can- didate, Si,- John \vas of course declared unanimously elected. He afterwards addressed the electors ; and in the course of his speech, put very fairly the reasons which induced him, as a Reformer, to support the Ministry— so long as he fbund the King's Government pushing the great cause of Reform, so long should. he not find Ihult w ith trifles. The people of England should be kind to their virtues, and to their faults a little blind ; fbr they had serious difficulties to con- tend against—difficulties not created by themselves, but by their predecessors. It would be playing into the hands of their enemies to scrutinize,thc conduct and inea- • sures of Government too severely. Not that he would call upon his constituents to . repose in anv Government a blind and indiscriminating confidence. The Government had declared: themselves thorough Reformers ; and he would say, that every indepen- dent member of Pztrliament should .rive them that support without which they must fall. They threw themselves into the hands of the people, and they must now look to the people for support, or Reform might yet be lost.
The electors, with a very few exceptions, hardly noticeable, seemed fully to concur in these sentiments. Sir Francis also addressed the meeting very briefly ; and the members then withdrew. A Mr. Est- court [the member for Oxford ?] afterwards addressed the lingerers on . the curse of a Whig Ministry and the crimes of the Belgian and French • Revolutionists; but he was very indifferently listened to.
The Council of the National Political Union met on Wednesday, when the names of the members of the Council for the ensuing year were read over. Among them we perceive the names of Mr. Car- penter, formerly the editor of the Political letter, and Mr. Wakley. A good deal of angry discussion took place on the petition against . Ministers ; whit+ Mr. Place characterized as, in respect of composition, weak and pointless. It was referred to the Business Committee, for correction. Mr. Rowel, one of the Council, not of the working classes, noticed a proposal for a dinner on the national fitst-day ; be did - not think it all called for, and therefore moved that it would be preju- dicial to the Union. Mr. Place also considered the motion for a dinner as contemptible : the Council ought to discourage it, though individual members could do as they pleased. Mr. Howel's motion was carried.
A deputation of 'rate-payers of the parish of St. Marylebone,— - consisting of Sir Gerard Noel, Bart. M. P., Joseph Hume, Esq. • M. P., Sir Samuel S. S. Whalley, Dr. Harrison, Alexander Boswell, . Esq., Colonel Jones, Mr. Underwood, and Mr. Green, accompanied by Mr. Jackson, the Honorary Secretary,—yesterday presented to the Churchwardens (the Honourable B. Bouverie and John Hall, Esq.) a . requisition signed by about seven hundred householders of the first re- spectability, calling for the abolition of the present sytsem of self- elected mai irresponsible vestries, and the adoption of Sir John Hob- house's Vestries Act, by which the election of vestrymen is placed in the hands of the rate-payers, who would thus have a control over • the parochial funds,—which in this great parish amount to nearly - 200,0001. per annum.
A meeting of the West India planters and merchants took place at the Thatched House Tavern on Thursday-. It was brief, and not im- portant. The formal purpose of the meeting was the reception of the report for the past year. It was stated by Mr. Browne, agent for • Antigua, that from all he could learn, Ministers were not prepared to make any reduction of the duties on West India produce ; which reduction alone could serve West India interests. Mr. Carrington advised the West India interests to push the question of the duties vigorously, now that the Ministers were compelled to court their aid for the passing of the Reform Bill. No resolution was come to.
The supplement to the Gazette of the 3rd, contains a proclamation for a general fast in England and Ireland on the 21st March, and in Scotland on the 22nd of the same month. The following are the ends proposed in the appointment--" That so both we and our people may humble ourselves before Almighty God, in order to obtain pardon of our sins, and in the most devout and solemn manner send up our prayers and supplications to the Divine Majesty, for averting those heavy judg- ments which our manifold provocations have most justly deserved ; and particularly beseeching God to remove from us that grievous disease with which several places in the kingdom are at this tune visited."
We took the liberty of asking, last week, what the Metropolitan Health Committee were about. We understand that the exertions of the ladies of the Health Committee are actually on the point of being suspended for want of funds to continue the work which they had so well begun. The water does not yet run ; has it been stopped for want of funds too ?
At the last meeting of the Society for promoting Christian Know- ledge, it was moved that the East India Company and the Govern- ment should be memorialized (befOre the renewal of the Charter) against the continuance of the large revenue derived from the heathen temples and their worshippers. The motion was withdrawn, but it was understood that it will be renewed at the next board.
A highly respectable meeting of the friends of Scriptural Education in Ireland was held in Exeter Hall on Wednesday. Lord Lorton was in the chair; and several resolutions expressive ot the sentiments of the Anti-Catholics on Irish education were passed. Another meeting will be held on the 15th, for a similar purpose.
A company whose capital is proposed to be half a million, and which ptisa)oses to purchase 500,000 acres of hind in Canada, for the purpose of forming a land company, was formed on Thursday. Mr. Galt is to be the Secretary.
On Tuesday, the despatches were closed at the East India House, and delivered to the Pursers of the following ships, viz. Thomas Coutts, Captain Alexander Chrystie ; and George the Fourth, Cap- tain Thomas William Barrow, consigned to Bombay and China.
The poll which was to determine whether the ancient edifice of Our Lady's Chapel was to be pulled down or repaired, commenced on Thurs- day, and finished yesterday. On the first day, the numbers stood— pull down, 106 ; repair, 265. On the second—pull down, 115; repair, 34. Gross majority on the two days' poll in favour of repairing the chapel, 240.
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