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The Metropolitan constituencies are in full activity of preparation for electing Members to the new Parliament which the Queen has called.

In London, it now seems that the late Members will be reelected with- out opposition. A requisition signed by upwards of 3600 electors was presented to Mr. Crawford, and a meeting was held in the London Tavern on Wednesday to hear his determination. Mr. Charles Gilpin presided. Mr. Crawford stated, that after advising with Mr. Hume and his Parlia- mentary colleagues, and with Mr. Travers and the leading supporters of that party in the City, he had resolved not to stand ; as his doing so would imperil most the seat of Lord John Russell. All his advisers thought, that though the time is now come for Lord John Russell to resign his headship of the party he has so misled, yet it would be a fatal blow to the Free-trade policy for the City to reject him at the present juncture. It would not be right for any constituency to take the lead in deposing him, but rather to leave that act to be performed by all the constituencies as a general body. The resolution of Mr. Crawford was received by the meeting with marked regret, and Mr. Travers had to defend the policy advised; but no formal opposition has been made to it. The writ for the election was received on Thursday evening ; and Tuesday next is fixed for the nomination.

In Finsbury, meetings have been held, at which they have resolved to return Mr. Thomas Duncombe free of expense.

In Westminster, Sir De Lacy Evans and Sir John Shelley are vi- gorously attacked, on the one hand by Lord Maidstone, and on the other by Mr. W. Coningham of Brighton. In Southwark, Sir William Molesworth seems to have coalesced with Mr. Scovell ; who is a Free-trader and a friend of political progress, and opposes religious endowments, but would not now repeal the grant to Maynooth. A hope expressed by an elector who spoke at one of the meetings, that Sir William Molesworth may be Colonial Minister, drew great applause.

The Law Amendment Society had their annual dinner, at the Crown and Sceptre Tavern, Greenwich, on Saturday last. Lord Brougham did his recurring duties of President at the board; and in his review of the season's successful labours, made allusion to the incident that his speech of former days on Law Reform had actually been one of the translations selected for the Harrow speeches. " Straws she* how the stream runs. The selection of a subject so dry and intractable shows that it is ar- resting attention among portions of the community where it might lealit be expected to meet with a response."

The Ragged School " Shoe-black Brigade " have been started in a new branch of business—that of messengers. At certain stations parcels can be booked, the boys deliver them, and the Ragged School Union is answer- able for their honesty to the extent of Si. on each parcel.

As the drive and promenade extending from Hyde Park Corner to Kensington Gardens, skirting the North bank of the Serpentine, have of late become the most frequented in the Park, the Board of Public Works are widening the road and making a new gravel foot-path on the North side of it.

Lord Campbell recently tried at Westminister, before a Special Jury, an. issue of the Queen versus the Eastern Archipelago Company, which was a proceeding taken by the Law-officers of the Crown to repeal a patent or charter of incorporation, on the ground that the Company had failed. to per- form the conditions on which the charter was granted. The Attorney-Gene- ral stated, "that though taken in the name of the Crown, the proceedings were really instituted by Sir James Brooke, the distinguished Governor of Labuan, who felt a deep interest in the proaperity of that colony, with which his name was so honourably associated.' The charter was granted, on the 17th May 1846, to Mr. Melville, Mr. Anstruther, Mr. Wise, and others, to establish an incorporated company for several purposes, especially that of working certain seams of coal in the island of Labuan and the lands adjacent. Among the principal terms of the charter, were the conditions that the capital of the company was to be 200,0001., in 2000 shares of 1001. each, with a power to make it 400,0001. ; that half of the capital was to be subscribed for within twelve calender months, and 50,0001. of the capital paid up within that period ; and that the partnership should not begin business until it should have been certified to the President of the Board of Trade by at least three of the directors of the company, that at least one-half of the capital of the company had been subscribed for, and that the sum of 50,0001. at least had been paid up. The Crown now alleged that 100,0001. had not been subscribed for, nor 50,000/. paid. up within the period specified; that business had been commenced by the company before the conditions mentioned. in the charter had been fulfilled; and that a false certificate had been sent by the directors as to these conditions having been performed. The Company traversed these allegations. The Crown put in evidence the following certi- ficate to the Board of Trade, signed by five directors of the company. " We, the undersigned directors of the. Eastern Archipelago Company hereby cer- tify that the sum of 100,0001., being half of the capital of the said corporation, hath been subscribed for, and that the sum. of 50,0001. halls been paid up."

It was proved, that when the period of twelve months for raising the 50,000/. was nearly expired, the company had only obtained 50001.. and that they applied to Government for an extension of the time, which Go- vernment was unable to give. At last they purchased an unopened mine, for 46,0001. ; and the value of this mine they set down at the same sum as capital subscribed to that amount. This being done, they sent the above certificate to the Board of Trade.

The Jury held that the certificate was ,practically a false one ;_ and gave a verdict substantially for the Crown, subject to the decision of the full Court on certain points of law, which Lord Campbell reserved.

In the Court of Queen's Bench, on Tuesday, the case of Sill, a solicitor, came on for trial. There were two indictments, one for felony, the other for misdemeanour. It was alleged that Sill had extorted bills of exchange from the brothers Broome, to stop the prosecution against them for the "card cheating cheating case" at. Brighton. An application was now made on behalf of the prosecution to postpone the trial, on the ground. that it had been under- stood that the trial was indefinitely postponed by Lord Campbell, and that therefore indispensable witnesses were not now in court. Lord Campbell denied that he hadindefinitely postponed the trial: he had merely declined to fix a day, and had left it to take its course in the trial-paper. Ultimately, verdicts of acquittal were taken in both cases, because no evidence could be offered!

A case of some interest has come before the Thames Magistrate. On Monday, Mrs. Acock, wife of a timber-merchant at Stepney, was fined 5s. for an assault on Catherine Tierney, her servant. On Tuesday, Mr. Acock accused the girl of stealing four gold pins. Catherine Tierney is eighteen years old, a "decent-looking servant girl." Mr. Acock tried to make out that she had secreted a little box containing the pins in her clothes-box ; the girl's solicitor endeavoured to show that this was a conspiracy to ruin her, to revenge the fine for assault and a threatened summons from the County Court for wages. A policeman was called in to search the prisoner's box ; the contents were turned out; when they were nearly all returned, Mr. Ace& picked the pin-box off the floor, and accused Catherine Tierney of stealing it. The policeman gave very unsatisfactory evidence with regard to this box. It was wrapped m a piece of paper, and he first said that Mr. Acoek had declared it was a box containing pins before the paper was re- moved ; subsequently he retracted this, and said Mr. Acock made the remark after the paper was removed. Mrs, Mary Ann Curd stated that Mrs. Amok, after she was fined, exclaimed to the prisoner, "I'll have you before tomor- row ! I have not done with you yet; I'll have you up hard and fast !" Mrs. Curd went with Catherine for her box. Mrs. Acock was abusive. When she talked of searching the box, Catherine said a policeman should be sent for. The box was emptied of its contents, and the things turned over four times; and while they were putting the things in the box, Mrs. Acock stooped down and picked up, or pretended to pick up, something. Witness had emptied the prisoner's box, and shaken it, and turned it upside down, and was certain the red case did not fall out of it. Mr. Ingham decided, with such conflicting evidence before him, to send the ease to a jury ; but he offered to take bail—one surety for 20/. A gentleman who had heard the investigation, though quite unacquainted with the prisoner, kindly gave bail for the amount.

A little boy has been fined by the Clerkenwell Magistrate for throwing stones at a house occupied by Roman Catholic priests in Wilmington Square. It seems that it had become a practice to throw stones and mud both at this house and at one in Northampton Square occupied by nuns ; so the Police were set on the watch, to discover the offenders, and they captured the prisoner in the act. The boy said, "a gentleman" had offered. him a half- penny if he would break a window in the priests' house.

The Duchess of St. Albans and Lady Beauclerk were in peril on Wednes- day from an unusual accident. The Duchess had visited the exhibition of the Botanical Society in the Regent's Park, and was crossing the ornamental basin in her carriage by the bridge : suddenly the box on which the coach- man and footman were sitting gave way. The footman managed to gain his legs, but the coachman fell. The horses, being unchecked, plunged vio- lently, and started off. Before they passed through the gates, the coach- man, fortunately, got extricated ; he had apparently received no hurt, for 'he got up directly, and ran after the carriage, followed by the footman. The horses went at their utmost speed towards Marylebone Church ; where they came in collision with the iron railings in front of the portico, two bars of which were snapped : both the horses fell, and it was found afterwards that one of them had its neck broken. The ladies were taken from the carriage unhurt.

Twelve or thirteen workmen have been severely burnt, and one of them has lost his life, by an accident at Messrs. Mare and Co.'s engineering i es- tablishment at Blackwell. Twelve tons of molten iron were suspended n a pot preparatory to making, a casting ; some part of the apparatus gave way, the pot turned over, and the fiery flood dew in all directions.

A terrible steam-boat collision happened in the Thames, off Northfieet, on Thursday. The Ravensbourne, bound for Antwerp, was running down the river with full tide in her favour, almost in the wake (a little 6n the star- board quarter) of the Meteor, Gravesend steamer, and was nearly opposite Northfleet at two o'clock. Near Northfleet point, the Margate steam-ship, Duchess of Kent, was met coming up against the tide, hugging the Kentish shore closely. The Bavensbourne was about three parts over towards that shore, and as she came near to the point, she seemed to take the starboard tack, which would bring her nears to the Kentish shore. The Duchess of Kent was crossing over from the point, and was trying to go between the Ravens- bonnie and the Meteor, when the Ravensbourne came full upon her bows, about twenty feet from her figure-head, and stove her in to sueh an extent that she immediately began to fill, and in nine minutes of time she went down head-foremost, in deep water. A dreadful scene ensued. There were from seventy to a hundred. persons —many ladies and children—in the sinking steamer. Some were got onboard. the Ravensbourne. The Meteor approached alongside and took off the rest, except a Mr. Hale, who was too infirm to move. This gentleman went down with the veasel; but when in the water he rose, and kept afloat till a boat took him up. In the confusion of the moment, it was rumoured that some passengers were missing ; but it seems probable that all escaped. Mr. Hale was the only person seen in the water by the numerous boats that came to the spot. The people taken from the Duchess of Kent were landed at Graves- end. The Ravensbourne was so little damaged that she proceeded on her voyage.