ht Tartrefolio.
A Court of Common Council was held on Monday to receive a report relative to proceedings in Parliament upon the London Corporation BM. The sitting was "secret."
A deputation of persons connected with the railway interest, headed by Mr. Vance, waited upon Lord Derby and Mr. Henley at the Trea- sury on Monday. They complained of competition ; of the teat on passenger traffic ; of the poor-rates on railway property ; of Lord Campbell's act enabling persons to recover cumpensation for losses in curred in accidents ; of the operation of select committees on private bills as leading to competition. With a view to the remedy of these com- plaints, they would suggest the appointment of a railway commission, to inquire into the whole matter, and would recommend that the country be portioned into districts, and a distinct district assigned to each of the great railway companies. Mr. Henley questioned if Parliament would long allow the district system to remain in force, and mentioned that when Parliament did in- terfere and settle the battle of the gauges, the companies were them- selves the first to upset the arrangement. The Earl of Derby said he could not pledge himself to granting the commission, but would lay the subject before the other members of the Gevernment.
The National Protestant Society held a meeting in St. Martin's Hall on Monday for the express purpose of combating the National Sunday League on the question of Sabbath observance. The leaders of both associations were present, and a regular battle took place. The champions of the association asked their hearers to resolve that the non- observance of the Lord's day for purposes of trading or amusement is highly detrimental to the religions, and, therefore, to the social interests of the people. Their opponents proposed that the meeting should ex- press its cordial approval of the steps taken by the National Sunday League "to obtain rational recreation for the masses on Sunday afternoon.' The meeting concurred with the Leaguers, and carried their resolution by "an overwhelming majority."
On Saturday, Mr. Leman, chief clerk to Vice-Chancellor Wood, made a call of 501. per share on the shareholders in the London and Eastern Bank- ing Corporation. This call was upon those who held shares at the time of the stoppage ; it had been proposed to make a similar call on those who had sold their shares within the preceding three years ; but serious legal diffi- culties were in the way, and the project was abandoned. It is believed that the call on the actual shareholders will realize sufficient to pay all claims. Lieutenant-Colonel Tucker, who declared that he had been ruined by the failure of the bank, denounced the Directors for the gross; deceit they had practised on him and others ; and he called on the official managers to see that these persons were punished for their delinquencies.
Mr. Edwin James applied to the Court of Queen's Bench, on Monday, for a rule calling upon the Attorney-General to show cause why the indict- ment against Edward Truelove, for publishing a libel on the Emperor of the Frenoh, should not be tried at the sittings after the present term. Mr. James explained that Truelove was suffering in his business from the in- dictment hanging over his head, and he had been pht to useless expense. In the ordinary course the trial by a special jury could not take place before the sittings after Trinity term. The applicant's affidavit stated that, by the authority of the writer of the alleged libel, an offer to produce the author and to give proof of the authorship had been made to the Solicitor to the Treasury, on condition that this prosecution should be abandoned, but the offer was declined. Lord Campbell said, the Court could not enter into the merits of the case. After hearing Mr. James's statement, the Court de- cided that there was no ground for the application : there had been no de- lay on the part of the Crown. The Court for the Consideration of Crown Cases Reserved has quashed the conviction of Feist, formerly master of Newington Workhouse, for un- lawfully removing a body. It Will be recollected that Feist was tried for having, without authority, conveyed the bodies of paupers to a hospital for dissection, whereby he made a small gain. The Court quashed the con- viction on a legal point. The Anatomy Act allows any one having lawful ustody of a body to permit it to be dissected unless the nearest relatives object; no one " objected " to Feist's acts. In fact, the relatives were not aware of what he was doing, as he substituted one coffin for another. He had done wrong, but not the wrong of which he NVEIA convicted.
The Court also quashed the conviction of Sarah Smith, the wife of the Reverend Samuel Smith, who assaulted Leach at Tate: Mrs. Smith acted under her husband's coercion, and she herself did no act of violence.
Lithe Court of Bankruptcy, on Thursday Mr. Commissioner Evans gave his decision in the case of the London and Eastern Banking Corporation. He said—" This is an application to supersede the petition in bankruptcy in this case. I do not find that there is any distinction between this and the case of the British Bank, except that in that case the dissolution of the company was by the act of the company itself, and in this case the dissolu- tion was by the Court of Chancery. In both cases the dissolution appears to me to be equally conclusive as to future acts, but not to interfere with what the company had already done. If a person when in trade contracts debts he continues a trader till those debts are discharged. It is argued that all the property is vested in the official manager; if so he cannot suffer any injury from the bankruptcy, and the whole costs must fall on the petitioning creditor. I consider the case of the British Bank a decisive authority for refusing the application." Adjudication confirmed. It is expected that the matter will be re-argued before the Lords Justices of Appeal today.
The Reverend George Radcliffe, of Salisbury, is in custody, on a very serious charge—feloniously making a transfer of 1028/. of Consols. He was examined at the Mansionhouse on Saturday, and remanded. From the statement of Mr. Freshfield, which was supported in a great measure by the evidence of witnesses then present, it appears that Mr. Radcliffe was joint trustee for the marriage-settlement of a Mrs. Flower ; the other trustee, Mr. Robert Raxworthy, is now living ; there was 10281. in Consols standing in the names of the trustees. In July last Mr. Radcliffe wrote to Messrs. Capel and Co., stockbrokers enclosing what purported to be a certificate of the death of Mr. Raxworthy, and desired them to prepare to sell the stock. He was informed that an a davit identifying the deceased must be sent : he sent it ; it was signed "John Moore." Subsequently the stock was Bold, and the accused was paid 931/. 188. He opened an account with the London Joint-Stock Bank with this very sum, it would appear ; he has drawn out all but 2001. Recently, Mr. Raxworthy discovered that the stock had been sold. Inquiries were made, and the whole fraud was dis- covered. The pretended certificate had fictitious names attached as those of the clergyman who officiated at Mr. Raxworthy's funeral and his curate ; "John Moore," who was alleged to have made the affidavit, was also an imaginary person, and the magistrate who appeared to have received it is absent at sea. Mr. Radcliffe is a grey-haired elderly man, and he appeared to feel his position acutely.
On Wednesday, Mr. Raxworthy was examined. His evidence greatly strengthened the case. He said in cross-examination, that he knew Mr. Radcliffe had replaced the Consols in the same names since his act had been discovered. Mr. Wontner for the prisoner, and Mr. Radcliffe himself, de- clared that there had been no intention to defraud—there had been "an error " ; the ease could be explained satisfactorily to a .jury. The Lord Mayor said every one would be gratified if that could be done; but he had only one duty to perform, and that was to coriimit the accused for trial.
Henry Whetstone, lately steward's-room boy at Lord Foley's, De Pusey, a thief, Cherry, a ticket-of-leave man, and Margaret Picket, a young woman who lives with De Pusey, have been remanded by the Marlborough Street Magistrate, on a charge of stealing Lord i Foley's plate. Whetstone slept in the pantry; the door of the plate-room opens into the pantry. Mr. Miller, a person who was passing, saw two men in front of Lord Foley's house about midnight on the 10th of last month ; they had a cumbersome carpet- bag ; Miller believes that one of the men was De Pusey, while he also be- lieves that he saw Whetstone in the area. When Cherry and De Pusey were arrested there were proofs that they had recently been spending much money—watches, chains, rings, were found. It does not appear that any of the actual plunder was discovered. How the robbery was effected— no violence having been employed to :open the plate-closet—does not yet appear. Lord Foley has offered a reward of 3007. for the conviction of the robbers and the recovery of the property. It seems that nearly 800 pieces of plate were tarried off.
When Cherry and De Pusey were conveyed from the office to the police- tan, each made a desperate attempt to escape. But Walsh, the gaoler, had suspected that these fellows were not unlikely to put such a scheme in prac- tice, and he had extra constables at hand ; so that when the accused en- deavoured to obtain their freedom they were overpowered, their friends in the mob not daring to interfere. • Lath, the murderer of Heloise Thaubin, the Haymarket "unfortunate," was hanged on Monday morning. During his last days he wrote a second ,
pretended confession," in which he gave another version of the story how he came to kill the poor woman. In this paper he pretended that he found that his purse had been stolen while he slept ; words ensued with Thaubin, then violence.; she scratched his face, and he struck her on the breast—the blow was fatal ; to reimburse himself for his lost money, he took Thaubin's property. The falsehood of this statement in one particular was trans- parent—Thaubin died from strangulation, not from a blow. The motive of the wretched culprit for inventing such tales, minutely circumstantial, was alurking hope that his life might be spared—no one saw him kill his vic- tim, and by the Sardinian law he was too young to be hanged. However, almost at the last moment Lath really confessed—he went home with Thau- bin to rob her ; and strangled her : he expressed remorse for his crime. As the hour of death approached Lani's firmness gave way; he cried in a most piteous manner, and was hardly able to support himself. A vast concourse of persons had assembled to view the execution, and when the murderer appeared on the scaffold he was greeted with a terrific yell, and the uproar continued till the drop fell—apparently, the mob felt that this was a very base murderer. There were many, women in the mob, and a number of fonmes galantes were seated at windows.
Alderman Challis committed three men on Monday for stealing watches Irons persons who were witnessing the execution of Lam.
A pile of warehouses in the St. Katherine's Dock, lettered "E," on the north quay, was partially destroyed by fire on Tuesday evening A watch- man discovered the fire about eight o'clock. The Dock, Fire Brigade, and floating engines were soon on the spot, and strenuous efforts were made to extanguish the flames. They were confined to the upper part of the building in which they commenced.
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