22 FEBRUARY 1834, Page 7

Ebe SlictropaIitc.

In a Court of Common Council, held on Wednesday, a proposition to consolidate the Day and Night Police of the City (in other words, to assimilate the Police of the City to that of the suburbs) was again proposed ; but so strenuously resisted, that it was ultimately abandoned. A deputation of Marylebone electors had an interview with Sir John Hobliouse on Thursday evening; when they presented a requisition, most numerously and respectably signed, requesting him to allow them to place him in nomination to fill the expected vacancy in that Borough, and, in that event, to render him their zealous support. Sir John, upon examining the signatures to the requisition, and obtaining from each member of the deputation information to ascertain the general feeling towards his claim for public support, which being most satisfactory, readily acceded to the wishes of the requisitionists.—Tinnes. The friends of Mr. John Cntwfurd held a meeting on Thursday evening, at which that gentleman spoke at length in explanation of his political principles. A resolution, declaring Mr. Crawford a fit person to represent the Borough of Marylebone, was passed unanimously. Mr. Hume took the chair at this meeting; Colonel Evans and Major Beauclerk were also present.

In reply to the address of a deputation from the parish of Clerken- well on Saturday, Mr. Sergeant Spankie undertook to support their petition to Parliament against the Window-duty. Mr. Grant declined giving any promise to support the petition ; and recommended the de- putation to rely on the patriotism and integrity of his Majesty's Ministers, whose only motive for taking office, and all whose efforts since, had been to remove the burden of taxation from the shoulders of the people. Mr. Hume undertook to present the petition. Mr. Tin-

dell, one of the deputation, told Mr. Sergeant Spankie, that when his promise to vote for the repeal of the 1Vindow-tax appeared in the papers, he would rise 50 per cent. in the estimation of his constituents; especially in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, the deputation from which had misunderstood him. [As they have misunderstood him once, they may misunderstand the wily Sergeant a second time.]

A meeting of the merchants, shipowners, tea-dealers, and others con- cerned in the East India and China trade, was held on Monday, at the City of London Tavern, to receive the report of a Committee appointed on the 2d of last January to bring the Government to some determina- tion on several important points connected with the regulation of the trade to the East. Mr. Grote, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Lyall, were among the gentlemen present. Mr. J. Horsley Palmer was in the chair. He opened the business of the meeting by stating, that

As soon as the alterations mule by the Government in the affairs of the tea.trade generally became known, the nwrchants of Loudon expected to have found SOIlle regu- lathe's made Ity which they would have been enahhal to take the place Or the East India Company, ns regarded that trade ; and when the matter a as first agitated, n11 means then in the mover of the merchante were made use of to obtain from the Board of Control some ■letertninntion in favour of that object ; bet all those efforts were at that time ineffectual. The period was then fast approachino a hen all the mercantile

operations si Id lie commenced ; but the trade ans. notwitrotatuling. still kept in the dark as to this lllll st important branch of the new legislatiou. They were led to expect that they would reeeise the necessary ittformation, but no such information came.

A Committee was appointed on the 2d of January, whose attention was principally directed to the following points.

" I. The dispesal of the enormous stock of tea in the 110,1SeSSi011 of the East India company; s about the regulation of which tpled.ion. it W011111 I,u impossible fur auy merchants to embark in competition tapou au) fair and .equitable terms. " 2. 'rile Itet Or arrangement of the Kettle ad' duties on tea fixed upon under the late act of the Legislature ; to net nem a hich, vs it It any regularity or fairness, a•as impos- sible, and is la lett iii faet opened the door for the commission of frauds, and for the en- couragement of t i llicit trader.

" 3. A question of vital importance to the trade—vie. the duties imposed by the Orders in Council on goods in the porter Canton ; the operation of us Welt, unless under better arrangement, mould be so prejudicial to the interests a the trade, that it a as quite maelstrom.: that they should ever have been proposed. and by which the trade would be exposed to such diffiettlties that they %you'd never have been able to hare gone on. Or that they must have been obliged to open a new outport. " 4. What is the intention of the East India Company as to advances on tea cargoes and India cargoes, lookittg at the present state of the exchange and of their charter ; a matter which, if not properly settled, would effect such an aReratMn in the exchange and prices. as to prove (tar a time at least most detrimental, ruinous, and destructisc to the commerce of India, already affected by the state of credit in Bengal, and more so by the state of the remittances of the Company to this country.

" 5. Whether the limits of the port of t !anton were to be considered as sufficiently deigned simply by the letter from the Board of Contrel to 1,10)41s.

" And 6. IS hether the Commissioners uneditted for tile mat of Canton are to have authority el :ewhere ; a matter of the inaportauce (Xis hint the Douse of Conuttotts could not have been mode properly aware."

The persons interested in the trade had been kept in the dark as to these points from July to February.

he was not :Mate that an instance of tau+ negligence on the part of a Government had ever 011,1111,1 before, on an oceas where stub important interests Isere at stake - and he Indies et' t hat nothing Ind a direct application to t he Premier. %%Idyll was at last resorted to, a 4111111 haVe etlectefl their Igtfret at all. At the same hue, he itunq say_ in justice to Earl ire' and Loot Althorp, that the blame_ if any. did not rest wit 11 the higher department et' tit,. I it ernment ; for as stall to /hat thrust allillieall011 to t hem- selves Olt:: made, those Minkters gate ti the quest Mu their most nompt :and decided attention. His object ilk imputing blame at all a as a Rh reference to the prepulicial effect a hint delay had men al to the vast quantit) of East India shipping now in the decks, three parts of %%Well might have been employ ed if the necessary information haul been delivered to the ajtplicants for it before.

The report was then read ; it gave the following answers to the above six questions.

I. That the East India Company still give instructions to their agents in China, and to their Governments iii India. present iig no unforeseen impediments to arise from the state of the Indian finamees, to make advances upon the cargoes to he shipped iii India and Chum for this country in the court., of the present year, under certain regula- tions, width may be seen at the Secretary's office at the East India House: suell ;ad- vances for the year I834 being limited to about the stun of 1.000.000/. or 1,:200,00111. stet, Hog. it moiety of a MA will be applicable to the shipments front China. The Commit-

tee were nut her informed that in future years the • of the advances will probably be considerably increased.

" That the rates of exchange for bills taken in India and China will be fixed at the time of making the advances at the rates then current.

" That parties abating to avail themselves of the opportunity of fixing the rates of exchange upon the conamencement or their operations in this country, may take advan- tage or the East India Company's offer to draw direct from London upon their Govern- ment at Calcutta.

2. Tit it the East India Company will limit their sales of tea in 1833 to 16,060,000 of pounds ; unless the ntarket volute should. (luring that year. exceed the proposetl upset prices now advertised for the sale in June next ; in which case, they reserve to themselves the right to putt up for sale at sash upset prices any further quantity suhtichi they unity deem to be expedient. " 3. That his Majesty's Government will not at present make any alteration in the proposed scale or mode for collecting the duties upon tea after the 24th of April next.

" 4. That his Majesty's Ministers will recommend to Parliament to withdraw the duties ptoposed to be levied by the late Orders in Council upon the British trade and Shipping mu the port of Canton; pros Well the East I uitlia Company will concur in defray itsg one-third of the charge for maintaining the consulate establishment at that

port.

•• The Committee have further to report, that they were informed. at their interview with his Majesty's Mitaisters on the ;tit instant_ that the construction of Government as to the limits of the port uf Canton a as in conformity with the letter addressed to the Chairman of Lloyd's, viz. within the Boma Tigris; anal that the President of the Board of Control would give any more formal assurance to that effect which the merchants might require.

" It was further stated to the Committee at the same interview, that the Commis- sionere at Canton had tat authority to extend the exercise of their powers to any other port in China than (7anton, a ithout a lures touts declaration to that effect in the 1.01$110II Gazette ; and that the Commissioners would take no cognizance of any clearances of ships end cargoes for the United Kingdom from any other part of the Chinese empire than the port of Canton."

Votes of thanks to the Chairman and the members of the Commit- tee were then voted, and the meeting separated.

A numerous meeting was held at the Freemason's Tavern on Wed- nesday, to devise means for the further support of the unfortunate Poles exiled to this country ; the funds of the Committee last appointed by the Society for that purpose having now become nearly exhausted. The Secretary to the Committee read the report ; from which it appeared, that the total amount received by them for the above-mentioned purpose bad been 1,0471.; that their expenses up to the present time had been 1,0001 ; and that there was therefore only a trifling balance remaining. It further appeared, that 200 Poles had recently landed at Portsmouth from Prussia ; and that Government had been applied to for a grant for their support ; but that the reply was, that there were no funds at the disposal of the Government which could properly be applied to that object. The meeting was addressed by Colonel Evans, Lord D. Stuart, the Earl of Darlington, Mr. Cutler Fergusson, Mr. Sheil, Mr. &Con-

nell, and others ; and a petition to Parliament, praying that relief might be granted to the Poles, was agreed to.

One of the Select Vestry of the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields has been engaged in procuring signatures to a lay declaration of attach- ment to the Church Establishment, with the rate-book under his arm, —thereby conveying a very intelligible hint to those who are in arrears, of the probable consequences of a refusal to sign.

This is, we presume, the same declaration as that which was sent to the Reverend Dr. Kenney, Rector of St. Olave's, Southwark, with a request that he would procure the signatures of his parishioners to it. Dr. Kenney, however, having consulted some of them upon the sub- ject, wrote to the parties who had sent him the declaration, stating that his parishioners objected to sign it, because they feared that by so doing they should be considered as opponents to Church Reform, which they considered highly necessary. A statement to this effect was made, at a meeting held on Wednesday, by the parishioners of St. Olave's, at which resolutions expressive of attachment to the Church, and of their belief in the necessity of reforms in it, were passed unanimously. The worthy Rector, Dr. Kenney, also received the thanks of the meeting for his conduct.

On Thursday morning, Mr. John Smith, Mr. Pease, and Mr. Martin, the Members for Bucks, Durham, and Tewkesbury, had an interview with Earl Grey, for the purpose of presentitig. memorials from their Dissenting constituents, un the subject of theiigrievances. Earl Grey was interrupted in his reply to these gentlemen by the sudden fall of Mr. Martin, in an apoplectic fit. Medical assistance was immediately procured, stud Mr. Martin soon recovered.

The state of the City Hospitals, and the management of the Gresham College property, are the principal subjects which have occupied the attention of the Corporation Commissioners during the past week.

About sixty gentlemen, principally artists, met on Saturday last at the Freemason's Tavern, and resolved to found an asylum for decayed artists, to be called the Artists' College. It is proposed that the cost of the building shall not exceed 5,000/. and that it shall contain twenty distinct tenements.

As it appears to have formed part of the presumed policy of Minis- ters, that in increasing the duty on wines and spirits, a corresponding deduction was to be made on that of brandy, the additional quantity imported has been very considerable. In the London and St. Katharine Docks the spirit quays are completely covered.

Under Duckett's and Morland's bankruptcy the amount of ascer- tained debts is 152,000/. A dividend of 10d. in the pound was declared this week ; making in all 6s. 10d.

On Sunday morning, soon after the commencement of divine service, the congregation of St. Margaret's, Lothbury, was alarmed by the bursting of one of the pipes lately put up for warming the church by means of hot water. It occurred in the organ-gallery, on the charity girls' side : the noise resembled a discharge of a cannon, and several of the girls were scalded severely. Had the steam from the fissure taken a different direction, the consequences to the congregation, and to the poor children particularly, would have been very serious.