Zbe jittetropolis.

Meetings have been held at Lambeth, Walworth, and Hoxton, for the purpose of forming district associations in support of the objects and prin- ciples of the National Parliamentary and Financial Reform Association. Sir F. Knowles and Mr. Aline have been the Association missionaries; and their objects were warmly seconded by a sympathizing party in each

place.

The first stone of the great City Prison at Holloway was laid by the Lord Mayor on Wednesday afternoon; many members of the Court of Al- dermen and Common Council, with most of the City officers, taking part in the formal procession, and a numerous general company being present. On the plate inserted over the deposit of coins was a commemorative in- scription, finishing with these words—" May God preserve the City of London, and make this place ' a terror to evil doers.' The stone having been deposited, with due manipulations of trowel, hammer, and plumb, the Lord Mayor made an excellent speech—

He had been invited, he said inter alia, to lay the foundation-stone of perhaps the largest and most expensive building ever undertaken by them. The Corpo- ration of London, desirous to do all in their power to promote the public. welfare by adding to the security of life and property, yielded to the wishes of the Go- vernment in undertaking to erect the building. "It is no source of congratula- tion that there exists a necessity for a prison of more than ordinary dimensions: far otherwise. But it is a source of gratification to be assured that the moment the melancholy necessity had arrived, the City of London entertained too deep a sense of its duty to hesitate as to the adoption of measures calculated to meet the exigency. I cannot, however, help saying, that as this is to be a place for the reception of other criminals besides those who must be punished as offenders in the city of London, I expected that the Government would have made no trivial contribution towards the payment of the heavy cost it entails upon the Corpora- tion I hope and trust that the structure we are now engaged in raising will afford us facilities of improving the prison system, by enabling ns to classify, so that the reformation as well as the punishment of criminals may be more sa- tisfactorily carried into effect."

The Reverend Mr. Catley, Chaplain to the Lord Mayor, then read a prayer specially composed for the occasion, in a benevolent and hopeful spirit: it was read with emphasis and heard with deep attention.

At the Central Criminal Court, last week, James Newton was tried for the manslaughter of John Jones. This was the case that has been already men- tioned, where a man was killed on the Great Northern Railway at Battle Bridge, by the fall of a bridge on the East and West India Dock line. Some alterations of the bridge were in progress, and no vehicles should have passed over ; Newton ordered a man to pass it with a train of earth-waggons; the structure fell, and Jones, who was beneath, was killed. But at the trial it was not proved that Newton was cognizant of the state of the bridge, or that he had received any warning. So the Jury gave a verdict of "Not guilty," without calling for a defence.

Hening, Croton, and Roberts, were tried for defrauding divers persons of moneys The money was obtained on pretence that it was to be applied to the support of

an " Animals' Friend Society," which society had no existence. Hening was found guilty, and sentenced to twelve months' imeeisonment; the others were acquitted.

Weeks, who-attempted to shoot a policeenau, has teen sentenced to ten years' transportation.

At the Middlasen Sessions, on Wednesday, a earious.case of alleged railway robbery was tried: Margaret James and James Nicholls were charged with steal- ing a box and its contents, the property of Mr. James, a gentleman connected with the Eastern Counties Railway. Mr. James and his family came from Cheltenham by the Great Western Railway; among his luggage was a box, covered with can- vass, and labelled "Mr. James, passenger to London." By the same train, Mar- garet James,la servant, came from Brimscombe: she also had a box, canvass- covered, and labelled "Mrs. James, passenger to London." The two boxes were of nearly the same size. At the railway station in London, Margaret James's friend, Nicholls, met her, and, according to his account, went to the luggage-van to obtain the box; but instead of it he took Mr. James's box, and carried it away in a cab. Subsequently, Nicholls applied for Margaret James's box; and this eventually led to their arrest. It then appeared that Margaret James bad burnt Mr. James's box, destroyed one or two articles, and worn some of the female at- tire that was in it; but nearly everything else was found safe. The value of the contents of Mr. James's box was 201.; Margaret James's goods were only worth about 3/. When arrested, Nicholls stated that he had desired his female friend, on the discovery that she 'had got the wrong box, to return it ; but she said she was "ashamed." The Judge minutely pointed out to the Jury the peculiar na- ture of the circumstances of the case: was there any proof that the wrong box was feloniously taken from the railway? The verdict was " Not guilty." Mr. James and Margaret James then respectively received their property.

On Thursday, Richard Harrison and Maria his wife pleaded "Guilty" to charges of cruelty to their child Ellen, a girl between eleven and twelve years of age. The shocking particulars of this case were recently stated. Mr. Clarkson i addressed the Court in mitigation of punishment. The child had misbehaved on coming home from the country to her parents, whom, from long absence, she con- sidered only is "aunt and uncle." The father had very little to do with any ill- treatment of his child. A brother of his had offered to take charge of the girl for the future. The Judge sentenced the mother to be imprisoned for six weeks; but ordered the father to be liberated on his own recognizances, it being under- stood that the child should be taken care of by the uncle.

Mr. Jardine has determined that the Nuisances Removal and Epidemics Diseases Act does not give the Board of Health a power to arrest intramural interments. The proprietors of the Whitefield Burial-ground, in Tottenham Court Road, were summoned to the Bow Street Police Court, for disobeying an order of the Board (founded on Dr. Gavin Milroy's report, that the .ground was in a condition dangerous to the health of the persons living in the neighbourhood) for the dis- continuance of further interments until further orders. Mr. Bodkin argued for the validity of the order, on the foundation of the 9th section of the act: that sec- tion empowers the Board, after report of their Inspectors, " to issue such orders as the Board may think fit for the application of such disinfecting substances, and for the adoption of such other measures of precaution in relation to the premises, as may in the opinion of the said Board tend to lessen or remove the danger to health." After argument by Mr. Clarkson, and consideration during adjourn- ment, Mr. Jardine decided, on Thursday, that the word " other " in the clause restricted the character of the " precautions " to such as are " similar in kind " to those previously described: those specified consist in the application of disin- fecting substances; and measures of a cognate kind would be, the prohibition of piling the corpses one on another, the enforcement of deeper burying, or of using leaden coffins; measures which did not imply the power of ordering a total dis- continuance of the interments, and a taking away of property from private individuals. Mr. Bodkin declared that the Board was satisfied with the decision: they had only desired to ascertain their powers under the act; which both Magis- trate and counsel denounced as one of the most lamentable pieces of legislative bungling they had ever met with.

The Mannings were again brought hefore Mr. Seeker, on Thursday, for final examination; some of the witnesses were ill, however, and the proceedings could not be terminated. The prisoners were remanded till next Friday; and in order to end the needless dragging of the prisoners backwards and forwards before the public, if the evidence be even then incomplete the further examination will be made within the prison-walls, Mr. Seeker personally attending for the purpose. Stories about the prisoners appear from day to day. It is said that Manning busies himself in composing poetry"! "One of the pieces, 'The Prison-Bell,' is said to be worthy of a better mind.' "He grumbles at the presence of the other prisoners, as interruptions to his composition and to his devotions.' ", Henry Watson, a waiter at the United Service Club, has murdered his infant daughter, apparently during a fit of insanity. He had formerly been confined as a lunatic, but was thought to have recovered: on Thursday sennight, while his wife was absent from their home in Wood Street, Lambeth Walk, Watson was left with his children; Jane, a girl of eleven, put the infant to bed ; the father, un- observed, took it from the Led and thrust it into the water-butt: on the return of his wife, he told her what he had done-' and a man who had formerly lodged with him coming in, Watson rushed towards him and exclaimed, "Take me Into cus- tody, Mr. Watkins—I have drowned my child!" Mr. Watkins took the body from the butt; but life was quite gone. When asked why he had killed his child, the maniac replied, that he did it " to save its soul ": he had lost his own soul, and was eternally damned, and so he drowned the infant that its soul might be saved. The insanity that Watson laboured under formerly was of a religious kind. A Coroner's Jary has returned a verdict of "Wilful murder " against him; and he has been committed, at the Lambeth Police-office, on that charge.

A man who called himself James Wentworth, but whose real name is James Green, has been several times examined at the Mansionhouse on charges of swindling, and also on one of forgery. He obtained goods, and hired houses and chambers, as the son of Godfrey Wentworth, Esq., of Woolley Park, Wakefield, and nephew of Earl Fitzwilliam; he pretended that he was a civil engineer, and in that character obtained possession of a house in Saville Row. This house he hired of Mr. Reynolds, a surgeon, and was to pay 1351. down; be gave two pro- missory notes for the amount ; these notes were signed in his assumed name, and constituted the forgery. Several persons who had known the prisoner for years proved his real name: he very recently came out of Coldbatbfields Prison, where he had been confined for two years for fraud. A " pupil " of the engineer, whose parents were represented to have paid a premium of 5001., had also lately come out of gaol, after a two-years sojourn. The prisoner claimed acquaintance with many members of the aristocracy; introducing to some of his dupes persons pre- tending to bear titles. One house he took for " Lady Hamilton," as her agent; and then turned " eight or nine dirty children " into it. Throughout the exa- minations, Green behaved with the greatest coolness and impudence.

At the Thames Police-office, on Tuesday, Joseph Hadley Riddell, who has been for six years manager of the chemical works of Messrs. Pontifex at Poplar, and William Moore Eclipse Riddell, his brother, employed by the same firm, were charged with robbing their masters to a large amount. Property had often been missed from the premises, and many workmen had been discharged on suspicion of stealing it. The Riddells had a house and grounds at Greenwich; and thither, it now appears, the property abstracted from Messrs. Pontiffix's manufactory had been conveyed. A green-house, numbers of large flower-tubs, plate-racks, book- cases, mahogany sideboards, and many other fittings, had been constructed of materials stolen from the Poplar works; while the Riddells employed their mas- ters' men to fit up their own premises and garden, charging their wages to Messrs. pontifes. Materials and implements belonging to the Dye Extract Company, in which the prosecutors were interested, were also carried off. A safflower-mill was made of materials belonging to Messrs. Pontifex and taken to certain chemi- cal works with which the prisoners were connected. Mr. Edmund Pontifex stated that Joseph Riddell had made a false return of stock to the amount of 2,0001., to cover his defalcations. The prisoners were remanded for a week, as a preparative to committal. Four van-loads of propertystolen from Messrs. Pontifex have been taken from the premises of the Biddells at Greenwich.

At Lambeth Police-office, on Saturday, the Board of Highways of St. Mary's Newington obtained a warrant to distrain on the goods of Mr. Cheeseman, their collector, for the sum of 2271., the extent of defalcations in his accounts. He is also a defaulter for the poor-rate collection for upwards of 5001.; but it is said that the authorities have ample security for this.