1I 311ttrniudio.

At a meeting of the Court of Common Council, yesterday, the some- what unusual course was taken of opposing the formal vote of thanks to the retiring Lord Mayor. When Mr. Bower proposed the vote, Mr. IL L. Taylor moved for a committee to consider and report upon the propo- sal,—on the special grounds, that Mr. Alderman Sidney had failed to clear the business paper ; that he had interfered in the affairs of the Naviga- tion Committee in the matter of the pier at London Bridge ; and that he had "frequently called others to order when there was no man so disor- derly in the Court as himself" ; with similar objections. The amend- ment was negatived by 63 to 22, and the original motion carried.

It has already been recorded that, on the 21st September, St. Mathew's Day, Dr. Jacob, the Head Master of Christ's Hospital, preached a sermon before some of the Committee of Almoners and the boys of the School, in which he pointed out great deficiencies in the course of instruction at the school, and the religious training of the boys, and condemned the Commit- tee of Almoners for the selection of Under Masters. This sermon gave great offence to the Committee ; and at a meeting on the 9th instant, they resolved "that Dr. Jacob was unfit to bold the office of Head Master in that institution." Hereupon, a special General Court of the Governors was called for the 21st instant, to consider that decision. On the day appointed, the board-room was crowded ; Dr. Jacob was permitted to take a seat and witness what passed ; and a long and vehement discussion en- sued. Certain letters were produced by the Chairman, which he Mid ought to be read ; but Alderman Sidney objected to the reading of " cri- minatory " letters ; and he made a motion accordingly, seconded by Al- derman ROBE. As an amendment on this motion, Mr. 111`Geachy moved " that the thanks of the meeting be given to Dr. Jacob for his sermon, as preached by him in the church of the Hospital on St. Matthew's Day last." Mr. R. G. Thomas seconded the amendment ; and it was warmly supported by Alderman Sidney, Alderman Wilson, the Reverend Mr. Xemble, Mr. Russell Gurney, and others. Mr. Darby defended the Com- mittee. He said that Dr. Jacob should have made his complaints and suggestions to the Committee first. He had been in constant communica tion with them, yet he had not done so. Dr. Hugh M`Neile of Liverpool, moved an amendment, to the effect that Dr. Jacob's sermon didnot justify his removal ; but that any alteration needed in the management of the institution should be carried out forthwith. On the part of the Com- mittee, Mr. Thomson Hankey said, that to approve the amendment would be to stultify their acts, to which the Committee would not consent ; and that if Mr. M`Geachy's motion were carried, the Governors must appoint another Committee to manage the institution. The apparent challenge was accepted ; and it was decided, by a vote of 106 to 74, that Dr. Jacob should be thanked for his sermon. The Court then adjourned.

The Danes resident in London met last week at the Freemasons' Ta- vern,—Mr. C. Moller in the chair,—to take into consideration the po- litical crisis in Denmark. Though the speeches on the occasion have not been reported, they are described as " firm but moderate " in language and tone. The resolutions adopted give a lively idea of the strength of the Danish sympathies both with the Danish nation and with England.

"1. That this meeting has observed with regret the strife which has taken place between the Ministry and the Diet in regard to the maintenance of the constitution ; and it is of opinion that only the strictest observance of those privileges which the constitution grants each of these respective bodies can preserve the internal peace ; as the Danish nation never would suffer that a sworn constitution be overthrown by force, be this applied in any form what- soever.

" 2. That this meeting considers it of the greatest importance that at the ensuing election, on the 1st of December, that large body of officials which is in any way dependent upon Government, and which embodies so great a part of the intelligence and moral weight of the country, be not deterred by any motive arising from their official appointment to come forward as candi- dates at the election : that this meeting, therefore, deems it necessary that a guarantee be offered by the people to those officials who in any way might suffer by availing themselves of the privilege to which every citizen is en- titled by the fundamental law. " 3. That this meeting form a branch of the society at Copenhagen esta- blished to uphold the constitution ; and that all Danish residents in this country be invited, by subscription, to erect a fund, which is to be placed at the disposal of the committee for the fund of the 29th of August, as soon as such subscriptions may have been collected by the committee in London. " 4. That this meeting avails itself of the present opportunity to express its cordial thanks to the leading English press for the thorough knowledge and justice with which it has treated Danish affairs, and thus so powerfully contributed to put these in a proper light before that large portion of the public which is beyond the reach of the Danish press.

" 5. That this meeting cannot separate without expressing its admiration and attachment for the free British nation and its institutions, its gratitude for the protection enjoyed ender the laws of the country, and its warm sym. path y for the cause of England and her allies in their present struggle in the Ead for civilization and right."

Letters were read from Danes resident in all parts of the country, fully coumueing is the .objects of the meeting. At a supper which followed the meeting, the toasts included the King of Denmark, the Queen of England, and the army in the Crimea.

The Marylebone Vestry lost no time in taking steps for supplying a successor to Lord Dudley Stuart. At a meeting of the Vestry of St. Pan- cras, on Tuesday, the day the intelligence of his death was made public, it was resolved to invite Sir Hamilton Seymour to permit himself to be nominated. Sir John Hamilton was also mentioned, but found no sup., porters. Others have been named ; among them, General Perronet Thompson and Mr. John S. Trelawny.

Guildhall, as decorated for the dinner on Lord Mayor's Day, was used on Wednesday as a ball-room ; the surplus monies collected to be in aid of the Patriotic Fund. It was remarked that the gay groups dancing and promenading were greatly out of keeping with the intelligence from the seat of war published in the Gazette a few hours before.

The Blackwell Railway Company propose to widen their line from the Minories to Stepney.

The stage-carriage proprietors of London have had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer this week, to urge their claims for a re- duction of duty on their vehicles. They say that they are taxed at a higher rate than railways, while steam-boats are altogether untaxed ; times are so bad, and the cab-fare is now so low, that there is less omni- bus-riding; many omnibuses in London and elsewhere have been taken off the roads, and more must be withdrawn if some relief be not given, for the proprietors are now paying their expenses from capital instead of income.

The Lord Chancellor gave judgment on Monday, publicly, in a case which he had lately beard several times in his private room. The case was called " Thornhill versus Thornhill." It came before the Court on a motion that George Augustus Hamilton Chichester, and Augusta Arabella Countess of Ferrers, should be committed to prison for contempt of the Court of Chan- cery, in endeavouring to induce Mies Thornhill, the plaintiff and a ward of the Court, to contract a marriage with Mr. Chichester without the sanction of the Court, and as far as relates to Mr. Chichester, in his having clandes- tinely attempted to remove her from the custody of her guardian. There was also a petition before the Court in which Mr. Chichester prayed for a re- ference to inquire whether any proposed marriage between himself and lien Thornhill was a proper marriage, and to be allowed to make proposals for a settlement on that marriage. Commenting on the distressing nature of the case, and stating that he bad endeavoured to siftthe matter to the bottom, the Lord Chancellor said that the charge against Mr. Chichester was established be- yond all possible doubt. With respect to Lady Ferrero, he was not quite confi- dent that he was discharging his duty, but he nevertheless had comet) the con- clusion not to commit her. The facts of the case, as told by the Lord Chan- cellor in delivering judgment, are these. Miss Thornhill, the heiress of a con- siderable fortune, and her guardian Mrs. Hungerford, paid a visit, in May 1853, to Lord and Lady Ferrers, at whose house Mr. Chichester was also stay- ing. There is conflicting evidence as to whether Mr. Chichester paid the lady any marked attentions on this occasion : Lady Ferrara declares that he did, and he says so himself ; but Mrs. Hungerford denies that statement. She admits that on the evening preceding their departure, Mr. Chichester, playfully alluding to his pecuniary embarrassments as obstacles in the way of obtaining the sanction of the Court, said he thought he should become a suitor for Miss Thornhill's hand : but Mrs. Hungerford supposed it a mere joke and laughed it off. Not so Mr. Chichester. He declares that he understood from what passed that Mrs. Hungerford deliberately sanctioned his suit. Time advanced. Miss Thornhill wished to make a present to Lady Ferrers, and let- ters were exchanged with the privity of the guardian. But shortly after Mrs. Hungerford discovered that Lady. Ferrers had crossed her open correspondence with writing in lemon-juiee, invisible until brought out by heat. Shortly afterwards, Lady Ferrers sent a basket in return for the purse presented by Miss Thornhill: Mrs. Hungerford took the precaution of inspecting it, and found a letter concealed in the lining, written not on paper but linen, and encouraging the ward to countenance the suit of her brother Mr. Chiches- ter; a man the writer admits to be in deep embarrassment. The Lord Chancellor characterized this conduct of Lady Ferrers as "most disgraceful" and " degrading to the chariteter of a lady"—it would " for ever lower her in the society of her equals." But he could not commit her for contempt, because it did not appear that she meant to induce Miss Thornhill to marry her brother without obtaining the consent of the Court. All intercourse between the pair, and between Miss Thornhill and Lady Ferrers, was now forbidden. What course did Mr. Chichester then take ? He went down to Market Harborough with two friends and a servant, and lodged at the inn there. Market Harborough is about a mile from Dingley Park, Mrs. Hungerford's house. From his inn Mr. Chichester sallied forth by night to hold clandestine interviews with Miss Thornhill and send her letters. It was absurd to put this intercourse on sentimental grounds ; for Mr. Chichester joked with his friends and the innkeeper about the matter—antieipated what changes he should mac, and the fine sporting he should have. Miss Thornhill had given up all the letters of Mr. Chichester. They endeavour to persuade her to elope with him; they enclose letters from Lady Ferrara to her brother, intimating that she would " receive dear Clara" if dear Clara "would go with you (Mr. Chi- chester) to be married " ; and they tell the young lady that she need not be afraid of the legal consequences, as the husband _can only be imprisoned, if caught, till the wife comes of age but husbands are only imprisoned when a ward runs away with a tutor or servant—and " in our case it would be different; in fact, the world and the Lord Chancellor would wonder what we ran away for." The Lord Chancellor, commenting on the fact that Mr. Chichester was deep in debt, was living on a salary attached to a clerkshl of the peace in Ireland, (" I am sorry that such a thing should be possible," and being certain that he tried to persuade Clara Thornhill to elope wit him, judged that he should be committed to the Queen's Prison; that he should pay the costa of the motion; and that his own petition should be dismissed with costs. " The tipstatiwill immediately take Mr. Chichester into custody." Sir Frederick Theaiger applied to the Court of Queen's Bench, on Monday, for a rule to show cause why a prohibition should not issue to the Arch- bishop of Canterbury to prohibit him from proceeding under the Church Dis- cipline Act in a ease of erroneous doctrine against the Venerable George An- thony Denison, Archdeacon of Taunton and Vicar of East Brent, in the diocese of Bath and Wells. The ground for this application is, that the matter had been already adjudicated, and is not within the jurisdiction of the Archbishop. The charge was, that certain sermons preached by Mr. Denison at Wells in 1853 contained doctrines on the subject of the holy communion repugnant to the Thirty-nine Articles. These charges were submitted by the Reverend Mr. Ditcher, Vicar of South Brent ; by due process they went before the late Bishop of Bath and Wells: he declined to send the charges before the Court of Arches, but "convented" the Archdeacon himself. Mr. Denison defended himself by letter ; and by letter the late Bishop, dissenting from some of Mr. Denison's opinions, yet regarding them though erroneous as uncenairred by the Church, "moms d" Mr. Denison not to put forward his own views of the real presence in his preaching. This, it was contended, at the hearing on Monday, determined the matter ; and a variety of legal arguments were used to sustain that view. Yesterday, Lord Campbell deliveredjudgment, to this effect,—that the proceeding of the late Bishop was not an adjudication of the matter at issue; and his refusal to grant letters of request was, in point of law, no bar to the proceeding taken by the Archbishop. Rule therefore refused.

Lord Palmerston has given orders fora vigorous enforcement of theSmoke Prevention Act, and numbers of offending manufacturers are summoned be- fore the Magistrates. Mitigated fines are at first imposed, and even these are not exacted at once, but time is given for the defendants to abate or stop the nuisances.

The active Sir Robert Carden is a terror to professional beggars about the Royal Exchange : he gives them in charge to a Policeman, in order that they may be relieved if really in distress, and punished if impostors : he finds that the real poor think this a kindness—not so the rogues. On Sa- turday last he got an old woman, a well-known beggar, sent to prison for seven days ; while a little girl she had with her was sent to the workhouse. Sir Robert says, that if every one acted as he does, begging imposture would soon be at an end in our streets.

Charles Maltby, the wharfinger implicated with Cole in his gigantic frauds on Messrs. Laing and Co., has at length been captured : he was found at Brentwood, by Detective Thais.

A fire broke out on Sunday evening in the tipper part of a house in Red Lion Street, Holborn, occupied by lodgers: the person who discovered it quickly alarmed the residents, and it was supposed that all had escaped. The Fire Brigade succeeded in confining the flames to the upper floors, and a watch-manufactory beneath was saved. Next day an unexpected and ap- palling disoovery was made in the ruins—the bodies of Mrs. Jones and her child, who had lodged in the house.

There was an exciting struggle on Monday for the " championship" of the Thames and for a 2006. prize. The competitors were Thomas Cole, the champion of last year, and James A. Messenger, of Teddington. Both are twenty-seven years of age, Messenger rather the heavier. The distance was from Putney to Mortlake. Cole was the favourite. Soon after the start he got ahead of his opponent, and his triumph appeared so certain that 10 to 1 was betted on him. But presently came a change : the wind was rough and dead against the rowers ; Messenger's superior weight now told ; he gra- dually regained his place beside Cole—got in advance—kept his position— and won by a length and a half, though Cole made a gallant struggle.