AITtrufulio.

On Friday week, the,deputatiou named by the late meeting at Hano- ver Square, on the question of Outfalls, waited on the Home Secretary to urge upon him the need of some strong and large measure being brought in by Ministers to enable majorities in flooded districts to obtain an ontfall for their waters in spite of obstinate individual landowners, and in spite of local acts "for navigation, Sm." Sir G. C. Lewis ex- pressed his willingness either to introduce or facilitate the passage of a bill founded on Lord Carlisle's Act of several years ago, from which, however, it is to differ in certain important points pointed out as its de- fects by the gentlemen of the deputation.

The charitable institutions of the metropolis have come prominently- before the public this week. The Field Lane Ragged Schools and Night Refuges for Homeless Poor ; the St. Giles' and St. George's, 19, Broad Street, Bloomsbury ; the North-West London Preventive and Reforma- tory Institution, 237, Euston Road ; the Reformatory Refuge Union, 118, Pall Mall; the Ragged School. Plough Court, Fetter Lane; the Ratcliff Cross Refuge, of which Mr. W. Hill, 70, Welbeek Street, Caven- dish Square, is Treasurer; the Reverend John Lingham, the Rectory, Lambeth; the Boys' Homes (for unconvicted boys too often forgotten in the fashionable rage for the criminal), 44, Ruston Road; and the Isling- ton Roman Catholic Ragged Sahools, 39, Duncan Terrace, Islington, have all appealed for subscriptions and donations. We have but a faint con- ception of the misery and privation which these admirable institutions prevent. Their funds are insufficient to grapple with cold, and hunger, and nakedness, to say nothing of orphanage and friendlessness. To any one of these institutions, money or cast-off clothes will be acceptable. From personal inspection and inquiry, we are able to assure our readers that any sum sent to Mr. Williams, Secretary of the Ragged Schools and Refuges, at 19, Broad Street, Bloomsbury, W.C., will be well spent in sheltering, feeding, and educating the lost young ones who are found often wandering the streets, not knowing where to find a pillow or a crust.

The Court of Licutenanny for the City of London:has granted permission to the Working Men's Brigade to wear the uniform, including a bright crimson tunic already provided and purchased by some thirty of the corps. The uniform.of the.London Rifle Brigade is a sombre green, and uniformity was insisted,upon, but common sense prevailed, though only by a majority of one.

Mr. Alfred Smee objects to the contemplated demelition of Finsbury Circus, in the course of railway improvements ; it is the most import- ant lung of the city-of London ' —

" The centre constitutes a circle, planted with exquisite taste with the choicest trees, and forms a tout ensemble which might be admired in any part of tho world. It challenges for beauty the garden of any square in London, and it is the admiration and astonishment of foreigners as an affair of private enterprise, and not a creation of the State. " &return made by the gardener states that it contains three trees 60 feet high, and 180 feet in the circle of the head ; 20 trees between 95 and 55 feet high ; 34 trees between 35 and 45 feet high ; 60 trees between 25 and 36 feet high ; and 107 trees between 15 and 30 feet high; besides upwards of 700 fine shrubs, and several beautiful weeping trees, all of more than half a century of growth. The effect of trees in the centre of towns cannot be too much appreciated. They carry up large quantities of water into the over- dried atmosphere, and this little forest of trees must play an important and beneficial part to the neighbourhood."

On Christmas Day, several thousand persons, including members of the- aristocracy, ladies, and a vast number of soldiers, wentto the Parks to skate or slide. Main.-' Monday night, the body of an unfortunate man who was drowned in the Serpentine was recovered. The poor fellow has since been identified as being connected with a firm in Cbeapside. He went on Satur- day to the Serpentine, but finding the ice floating about, he would not ven- ture on it ; but being more determined on. Monday, be lost his life. The thermometer, as registered by Negretti and Zambra's patent glass, at the- Receiving-house in Hyde Park, was on Monday night as low as 12 deg., being 20 deg. below freezing point. On Tuesday morning, the mercury stood, at nine o'clock, at only 15 deg., being 17 deg. below freezing point ; at noon, it was 23 deg., and towards the evening was 28 deg., being only 4 deg. below-freezing point. The Serpentine in Hyde Park had between 4000' and 5000 sliders and skaters upon the ice, and a great number of persons were tripped up and had their heads cut. Two persona suffering from con- cussion of the brain were also attended to by the Royal Humane Society. The- Round Pond in Kensington Gardens and the Long Water were crowded with skaters and sliders during the day. At St. James's Park, the ice on the ornamental waters of the enclosure was crowded until dark. Several persons were immersed, but no fatal accident occurred. The Regent's Park had a very large assemblage of skaters and sliders.

"One who values human life," writes to the limes, to relate a strange piece of stupidity—" A gentleman skating had incautiously ventured be- yond the cord which indicated the boundary of safe ice. He fell through, but struggled long. and perseveringly to keep himself afloat. The alarm wii.9 immediately given to the 'society's men who came along with one of their wheeled ladders, and pushed it towards the gentleman - but, about half way, the wheels broke through the ice and stopped. further progress. One of the men walked along it with a confused bundle of knotted cordage in his hand, and made a cast. The result was what any one might have foreseen. The entangled mass fell not more than six feet from the thrower's hand. Another man, came forward with a similar cord and repeated the experiment, with slightly better effect-. His went about twelve feet, or nearly half way, to the drowning man. In the meantime, two other wheeled ladders were pushed forward and sunk,—one alongside, and the other be- hind the first one, and all three perfectly useless. One of the society's men lost his footing and got his legs through the ice ; but, as he was perfectly safe on the ladder and easily got at, he became the object of exclusive at- tention to his mates,' and the stranger's last struggles were unheeded. He sank from our sight, while those who ought to have saved him were helplessly wrangling among themselves ; and I could bear them coarsely abusing the bystanders, who now began to express their natural indigpa tion at the miserable clownish stupidity and brutal indifference which t se men exhibited." The writer suggests the use of builders' ladders in such cases.

Christmas is celebrated with revels at the Crystal Palace, and thousands have visited Sydenham this week for the purpose of- joining. in the games. Six thousand skaters have disported themselves on the ice.

The Warrior is to be launched from the Thames Ship-building Yard to- day, at 2:30 p.m. Her length over all is 420 feet ; extreme breadth 58 feet; depth from the upper deck is 41 feet 6 inches. Her burden in tons (builder's measurement) 6177. She will be propelled by engines of 1250 horse-power.

Mr. Newell, of telegraph cable celebrity, obtained an injunction from Vice-Chancellor Wood to restrain Mr. Elliott from fitting up and construct- ing upon three steamers, Victoria, Rangoon and Malacca, a patent inven- tion of Mr. Newell's for paying out submarine cable. In 1855, when Mr. Newell was engaged by Government to lay down the submarine cable from Varna to Balaclava, he invented machinery "to pay out." In 1856, there was an attempt to infringe the patent ; a reference to Mr. Webster took place, and he found for Mr. Newell on all points, but subject to a special case for the Common Pleas. That Court decided also in his favour on the points of law reserved. An appeal against the injunction granted by Vice.. Chancellor Wood was presented, and argued before the Lords Justices. They dissolved the injunction on Saturday, but without prejudice to the right of either party, it being impassible to ascertain in the present state of the facts, on which side the truth lay. Mr. Newell is to sue at law, and either party is to be at liberty to apply to the Court of Appeal.

In 1810, the followers of Emmanuel Swedenborg formed a society for the sale of his works, and in 1855 they acquired a legal estate in premises. in Bloomsbury Street to serve as the depot. A Mr. White was appointed agent at a salary of 75/ a year, a commission of 35 per cent on the sale of Swedenborg's works a right of residence in the house, and liberty to sell other publications of New Church authors. But Mr. White commenced to sell works on the modern theory of Spiritualism, which the trustees and committee believed would operate injudiciously against the doctrines of Swedenborg, and they put an end to White's engagement. They gained possession `of their premises by force, and White, not relying on spiritual mediums, but rather on carnal weapons, regained possession with the aid of Jim Dillon and other devotees of the art of.j pugilism. Vice-Chancellor Stuart was asked on Saturday to interfere by injunction between the belli- gerents, and he did so, by restraining White from acting as the agent of the society, or selling their books or .receiving their moneys without permis- sion; nor is he to interfere with them in the transaction of business; but be is to be allowed to reside for two months in the house. A cause is to be tried at law to settle the damages, if any.

M. Louis Dethier, a Frenchman was charged with keeping a lottery con- trary to the statutes, before Mr. Henry, on Wednesday. /A. Dethier had invited small contributions, the sum total of which Ice had invested in plums and cake -for Christmas purposes, but the Attorney-General no more approving of Twelfth-cake than horseracing lotteries, had directed Dethier to be summoned. He pleaded that he might be allowed to keep faith with the public, who had paid- him, and whom he wished to pay in return. But Mr. Henry-was inflexible and goodnatured, for being determined to convict, he yet talked Dethier over, and settled the matter by adjournment sine die.

Among the candidates for the vacant rectory of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, are the Reverend Professor Christmas, M.A., F.R.S., Thursday Morning Lecture: at St. Peter's, Cornhill ; the Reverend Henry Burgess, LL.D. ; and the Reverend Tresham D. Gregg. The living is in the gift of the Gro- cers' Company ; next time in that of the Lord Chancellor.

The Reverend Bryan King has just addressed a second letter to the Bishop of London, designed as "a public and solemn protest" against the conduct of the Bishop towards its author and, his parishioners. The letter resumes the history of the St. George's riots from the point where the other letter left off, and concludes as follows—" Even you, my lord, can scarcely be sanguine enough to imagine that I shall respect the acts of your late illegal aggression upon my return to my charge."

A young man, a clerk out of employment, threw himself into the Serpen- tine, on Sunday the 16th. A splash was heard by a policeman on duty, who ran to the boatman of the Royal Humane Society. The boat was pulled across the river, and the body of the young man was recovered by the first throw of the drag. He was apparently quite dead, but the code of treatment of the Society was adopted, and he recovered. It is calculated that he must have been at least five or six minutes submerged in the water before he was recovered, and it is therefore ascertained that to this extent of time life may be resuscitated after an immersion.

A fire, attended with the loss of three lives, occurred on the premises of Me. Hoppa, Back Church Lane, Whitechapel. Police constable 158 II., in passing the premises, noticed smoke issuing from the lower part. He raised an alarm, and managed, with much difficulty, to awaken the inmates. Mr. Kappa, his wife and daughter, and Mr. and Mrs. Hibbet, escaped by means of a ladder from the first floor. The fire-escape having arrived, some person imprudently broke open the street-door, thus driving the flames completely through the house, which prevented Wood from entering. The father and mother were almost frantic, knowing that the three children were in the second-floor back room, and could not be approached. As soon as the fire was subdued, firemen Yelland and Ford went in search of the missing bodies, and found Sarah Hoppe, twelve, Elizabeth Hoppe, eight, and Henry Kappa, six, burned to a cinder. The origin of the calamity is unknown.

" D. B." writes to the Daily News, and says—" On Thursday last, be- tween twelve and one o'clock mid-day, with the sun shining, I was robbed of a valuable gold watch and chain, and knocked down by three men, who waylaid -me in an open and much-frequented street in Whitechapel. There were no police at hand ; and although this daring deed was committed in sight of many persons, the thieves were able to escape."