tb lattropolis.

A Court of Aldermen was held on Tuesday, for the despatch of business. A report was made from the City Remembrancer, that Lord Brougham had given notice of a motion in the House of Lords with respect to the Municipal Corporation of the City of London. A report was presented from the Committee appointed to inquire into the con- dition of the Giltspur Street Compter ; stating that Mr. M'Murdo reported that more debility prevailed in the prison since the establishment of a new dietary : the Committee had obtained copies of the dietaries used in the Westminster Bridewell and the Model Prison at Penton- vine, and had framed considerable alterations in the dietary of the prison under consideration ; which they recommended to the adoption of the Court. Alderman Copeland compared the dietary of the Compter with that of the London Poor-law Unions : in the Compter, the allowance for each person was, of bread, meat, and potatoes, 210 ounces, with 17 pints of gruel ; in the East London Union, it was 183 ounces, and 17 pints ; in the West London Union, 148 ounces and 10 pints ; in the Strand Union, 131 ounces and 15 pints. Be could not acquiesce in that humanity which offered a premium to the choice of the prison by ap- pointing a more liberal distribution of food to thieves and other male- factors than to those against whom nothing criminal had been either proved or even imputed. He moved, that so much of the report as related to the dietary of the prisoners be referred back to the Com- mittee. Alderman Lucas did not think it likely that the number in the City gaols would increase in consequence of the fondness whichdis- honest people might have for their water-gruel : he recommended that the Gaol Committee should always supply a sufficiency for the prisoners, without the trouble to inquire what others did, or making comparisons. As to the cause of crime, he knew that a large portion of that crime arose from the want of employment. Sir Peter Laurie agreed with Alderman Lucas that the want of employment was a great source of crime : but how the Legislature could get employment for the vast population, he did not know ; and certainly the prisons ought not to be made more desirable receptacles than the places of refuge for those who were poor without being criminal— That the prisons were preferable, was evident from the fact that persons just discharged from prison had broken windows in order to be sent back to tke places they had quitted. He had never seen any reformation in individuals who were in the habit of going to prison ; and he therefore, whenever it WAS possible, avoided the practice of that alternative. It had been found neces- sary, some time ago, to alter the dietary at the Giltspur Street Compter. The thieves having ascertained the superiority' of that dietary, transferred their labours to the City ; and the Coldbath Fields Prison system was adopted, in order that such a temptation might not be held out to such visiters. It had

however, been stated by the surgeon, that in consequence of the confined air of the City in the comparison, a more liberal dietary was necessary. He sup- posed that the difference between the dietaries of the East and West London Union was to be accounted for on the same principle. He, however, wished that the report should go back, and that inquiry should be made ; for it was dreadful to think that prisoners should be better treated than those who merited compassion as well as assistance.

Alderman Gibbs said, it was necessary to supply the prisoners libe- rally, in consequence of the hard labour to which they were put in the House of Correction— He knew, whatever doctors and surgeons might say to the contrary, that good living was necessary, and useful, and wholesome. Be had been laid up for some time with a bad leg, and he had received a serious caution from the doctor; but he assured the learned gentleman that he would not give up his old regimen; and accordingly he stuck to his roast beef and his bottle of wine, and he was never better in his life. (Laughter and cheers.)

Alderman Copeland reminded the Court, that the Unions had their labour too—breaking stones and picking oakum. The Alderman's mo- tion was negatived, and the report was adopted.

A. Special General Conn of Proprietors of Stock was held at the East India House on Wednesday, to consider papers which had recently been printed and laid before the Proprietors, in relation to the commis- sion of inquiry held at Sattara in 1836, on the conduct of the ex-Rajah of that place. Mr. Lewis contended that those documents corroborated the statements of Mr. George Thompson at a former meeting. and that they proved bribes to have been offered for the production of evidence against the Rajah. He moved, That after a full and anxious consideration of all the circumstances of the case of the Rajah of Sattara, this Court is of opinion that justice, no less than the character of the British Government in India, require either that the Rajah be restored to his throne, or a full and impartial inquiry be instituted into all the circumstances of his case."

The Chairman regretted that the subject had been brought forward, because the opinion of the Court had been frequently and decidedly expressed that further interference was unnecessary. Rungoo Bapoo- gee a vakeel of the Rajah, addressed the Court in his native language, and his remarks were interpreted : he contended for the correctness and sufficiency of the new documentary evidence. After rather a long discus- sion, the Court adjourned till next day. The discussion having been renewed, Mr. Weeding opposed the motion, by the amendment "that the Court do now adjourn" ; which was carried, by 46 to 16.

The anniversary of the Humane Society was celebrated on Wednes- day, by a dinner, at Freemasons Tavern. The chair was taken by Lord John Russell ; supported by the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, Sir Mark Isambard .Brunel, Sir John Scott Lillie, Mr. G. Pendarves, M.P., Mr. G. Dodd, M.P., and other gentle- men. The gallery at the north end of the room was filled with ladies. After dinner, a long list of subscriptions was read ; the principal being— the Queen, 20!.; the Queen Dowager, 101.; the Duke of Northumber- land, 1001., being his eighteenth subscription to a similar amount ; the Marquis of Stafford, 20!.; the Lord Mayor, 101.; Lord John Russell, 10!.; the gross amount was 1,000/. In the course of the evening, per- sons who had been rescued from drowning showed themselves to the company, and medals were distributed to preservers.

An action for libel, which had been brought by Mr. Charles Pearson, the City Solicitor, against Mr. Lemaitre, formerly a watchmaker in the City, was tried in the Court of Common Pleas on Monday. The two had been intimate friends, and Mr. Lemaitre had rendered the other some assistance when young in business. Mr. Lemaitre took some part in settling the affairs of the deceased Count Zenobio ; to see whose sister, the Countess Albrizzi, he travelled to Venice. He employed Mr. Pearson as his attorney ; and one of the duties was to pay 5001. into the Secondaries Office, in 1820, in lieu of giving bail ; Mr. Lemaitre having been arrested for a debt alleged to be due by Count Zenobio's estate. That sum was subsequently applied by the attorney to his own neces- sities; he being at that time, as he afterwards confessed to Mr. Francis Place, in distressed circumstances. But some bill transactions subse- quently passed between Mr. Lemaitre and Mr. Pearson on account of this debt ; and in 1834 Mr. Lemaitre offered, through Mr. Place, to put several matters of dispute between the two in arbitration ; and the terms p- doing so were mutually agreed upon. When Mr. Pearson was c todilidate for the office of City Solicitor, Mr. Lemaitre wrote letters to Mr. Starling, a solicitor, and others, giving his own story of Mr. Pearson's conduct, and saying, among other hard terms, that the writer had been "swindled." In accordance with the view which Mr. Justice Coltman took in his charge, the Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, with 100/. damages.

Consumers of tobacco are interested in a case which occurred in the Court of Exchequer on Tuesday. Some years ago, the London tobacco. manufacturers discovered that they could not compete with the country manufacturers, who took a great advantage in carrying on a system of adulteration, and sent their goods to market at smaller prices than the duty alone amounted to. The subject having been then brought under the consideration of the Government, it became a question whether this system of adulteration should be thrown open to the trade generally, or whether there should be an increase in the number of Excise-officers in the country, with a view to its entire suppression. Eventually the Government decided that the system should be thrown open to the trade ; and accordingly an act was passed to that effect. Some time afterwards, it was found that this arrangement did not work well ; and therefore, in the course of last year, another act was passed, by which the use of anything besides water in the manufacture of tobacco should be liable to the payment of a penalty ; thus prohibiting the use of molasses, sugar, and honey, all of which had been permitted under the preceding enact- ment. This. last act was to come into operation on the 10th August. By a clause in the act;however, dealers were permitted, after that date, to dispose of stock prepared beforehand according to the old practice. The question's now raised were, whether the defendant had used sac- charine matter in the adulteration of tobacco subsequently to the 10th day of August 1842; and if so, whether the having done so was a vio- lation of the act. From questions put by the Jury to Lord Abinger, with whom they were rather at issue, they seem to have doubted Whether the increase in the stock of " prepared " tobacco, observed on the defendant's premises, might not have been caused by an admixture

of unadulterated matter ; and whether that would be an infraction of the law, as the Judge said it would. They found a verdict for the defendant.

In the Court of Bankruptcy, on Wednesday, counsel were heard for and against the granting of a certificate to Lord Huntingtower. The opposition was made by Mr. Davidson, on the part of Mr. Weedon, who had proved upon acceptances which be had received from Colonel Copland ; never at the time having seen the bankrupt. Mr. Chambers, who appeared with Mr. E. James on the other side, rested strongly on the fact that Lord Huntingtower's assets would pay the whole of his bona fide creditors. 'Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque delivered judg- ment, stating at considerable length the reasons which guided him. He reviewed :the circumstances which had led to Lord Huntingtower's bankruptcy- " At first I find him, at the early age of seventeen, without any legitimate resources or money, thrown upon the world without any selected friend or guide ; and I am not surprised that he fell into evil hands and bad company : hut I did not expect that his bad advisers would have gone so far, nor that he would have been surrounded by so large a knot of evil counsellors, and it would not be using too strong a word if I called them conspirators. It was not that the bankrupt went into the money-market, as many persons had done before, without any imputation having been cast upon them : these accommodation- people were not sought by him, but came to seek and sue him. Here the bankrupt's debts were considered to be a speculation, as in former years, when it was to be likened to scrip, foreign loans, bubbles ; and they were looking upon his signature to bills as an advantageous investment : in fact, he appeared to have been watched by a class of persons who watch the progress of heirs and their expectations from an early age, for the purpose of ultimately preying upon them. The learned counsel for the bankrupt, upon a former occasion, used an expression which I then considered to be very strong—namely, that the bank- rupt was a young man who bad fallen upon a 'den of thieves '; but I cannot now say that it was altogether uncalled for. This, I am aware, is not an ex- pression often used in a court between this and Farringdon Street ; but it was quite clear that Lord Huntingtower, to say the least, did fall among persons closely resembling thieves : not thieves of necessity—not thieves who rob to supply their daily bread ; but, in a moral sense, thieves more guilty—thieves who rob to supply their avarice. But I must say that I feel a little surprise at some portions of the conduct of the bankrupt, because I do think his sense of honour, his sense of nobility, and his sense of character and station, and what was due to all these, ought, however, to have made him revolt from such associates."

He blamed Lord Huntingtower for incurring, after he became of age, fresh liabilities on account of his " minority debts "--

" An infant who incurs debts does quite right to pay them when he becomes of age; but he has no right to incur a legal liability until the day arrives when he cau pay them in hard cash. 1 am particular in noting this point, as, from the course adopted by some of those persons calling themselves creditors, (though I do not as yet call them creditors,) they are lying by in the hope of obtaining great advantages, relying for their doing so upon the facility and tem- per of Lord Huntingtower ; when they would come forward, and make a merit of saying, that • we did not prove under your bankruptcy, and we therefore throw ourselves upon your honour.'"

In anticipation of such attempts, and conceiving that Lord Hunting- tower was not yet able to manage his own affairs. the Commissioner said, that he should grant the bankrupt his certificate at the end of three months from the time of his passing his final examination (on the 14th April next); reserving to the Court the exact terms for the future management of the estate until twenty shillings in the pound be paid; and also directing the assignees to make the bankrupt such reasonable allowance for his maintenance as the estate will afford.

Much surprise has been caused by the sudden disappearance of Mr. Ralph William Spearman, secretary to the Earl of Jersey, the Master of the Horse. A short time ago, certain rumours induced the Earl of Jersey to call upon Mr. Spearman to make up his accounts. On Friday the 27th January, he left his office in Pimlico, at a late hour, and he has not since been seen. At first his absence created no surprise, as he had frequently spent the Saturday and Sunday with part of his family who lived at Woolwich. Last week, however, the Earl of Jersey received a letter from Mr. Spearman, without date of time or place, stating that, in consequence of the deranged state of his accounts with the Master of the Horse, it was not his intention to return to the duties of his office. It is supposed that he has left the kingdom. The extent of his defalca- tion has been stated at 10,0001.; but that is understood to be far beyond the real amount. Mr. Spearman had held the appointment more than thirteen years ; his salary was 7001. a year, with a residence at the Queen's Mews, and " the usual etceteras."

Mr. George Lewis, Clerk of the Stables in the household of the Queen Dowager, has been appointed by the Earl of Jersey in the room of Mr. Spearman.

An inquest was held before Mr. Wakley, on Tuesday, at a public- house in Welbeck Street, upon the body of Mr. Courtney Smith, late of Park Street, Grosvenor Square ; the brother of the late Sir Sidney Smith, and uncle to Mr. Vernon StnIth, Member for Northampton. Stephen Stanners, a baker, in Hinde Street, Manchester Square, stated, that on Saturday afternoon Mr. Smith entered his shop, and asked to be allowed to rest: presently he seemed to faint ; and being asked if he was unwell, he shook his head, but could not speak : a surgeon was sent for ; but when he arrived, he pronounced Mr. Smith to be dead. The Jury returned a verdict of " Natural Death." The age of the deceased was sixty-nine.

A new turn has been given to the case of Cannell, the pot-boy at tia, Auction Mart Tavern, Ns ho shot Mrs. Magnus, the superintendent of the bar. Mrs. Magnus appeared in person against Cannel!, at the Man- sionhouse, on Tuesday, and repeated evidence previously given at second-hand. The case was adjourned till next day ; but then she was too much exhausted to appear. Mary Jones, the kitchen-maid, how- ever, was produced ; and she swore that she had found Cannell in the bed in which she and Mrs. Magnus slept, and that Mrs. Magnus tried to conceal him : Mrs. Magnus afterwards told her to say nothing about it, and often gave her gin as an inducement. John Harman, the cook, said that all the servants had talked about it. These two witnesses were bound over to appear at the trial, and Cannell was remanded.

The low grounds to the South of the Thames were flooded on Satur- day. At high-water about half-past three, the tide, owing to the strong Northerly wind that lasted all the previous night, was so high that the houses and wharfs on the banks at Lambeth, Vauxhall, and several other places, were overflowed to an alarming extent. The houses in Upper and Lower Fore Streets were inundated to the depth of upwards of ten feet ; and in consequence of the rapidity of the flood, aided as it was by the wind, much damage was done to the numerous vessels lying in the river, and also to the ground-floors of the several houses. With such rapidity did the tide overflow that the Police were unable to get round towards the river-side to call up the inhabitants. The overflow in the neighbourhood of York Road was the highest ever known, and boats took the place of the usual mode of conveyance. This was also the case at High and Broad Streets, Lambeth. At Westminster Bridge the rapid current rendered the lighters and other craft totally unmanage- able, and one man was thrown from the steerage of a lighter by the concussion of the vessel with one of the wrecks. The lighter, how- ever, was, after much tossing to and fro, brought to a mooring. The amount of damage done to the small vessels lying up in the river is very great. The inhabitants of the Belvidere Road, at Bankside, also sus- tained much loss by the overflowing of the river.