The Press. — London, England, 1857-02-14 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 14, 1857. of the act passed by the French Legislature on the same subject in July last. The paper was referred to the committee. THE CITY CORPORATION REFORM COMMITTEE re commends, among a mass of reforms, that the number of wards shall be reduced to twenty ; that the qualification for parliamentary franchise should be taken for the municipal franchise; that the num ber of common councillors should be 150, thirty to be a quorum ; daft the term of office should be one year ; that the Lord Mayor should be elected by the livery, with the municipal electors, from the alder men who have served the office of sheriff; that the sheriffs should be elected by the same constituency ; that the Lord Mayor and aldermen should be magis trates and commissioners of the Central Criminal Court, with the same duties and powers they now have; that the aldermen should submit to the Common Council quarterly accounts of their expen diture for magisterial purposes; that all exclusive rights of trading in the City should be abolished ; and that all street tolls should be abolished. There are several other subjects, including the conservancy and metage, upon which the committee would have offered suggestions, but they have abstained, the court baying referred such subjects to other com mittees of the corporation.—This report was con sidered at the Court of Common Council on Thurs day, and several of the propositions of the committee agreed to. Further discussion was adjourned till next court day. Da. SANDWITH, whose name is so well known to the public in connection with the siege of Kars, has been appointed Colonial Secretary of the Mauritius, in the room of Mr. C. J. Bayley, now Governor of the Bahamas. Sin BENJAMIN Heil., M.P., attended an anti income•tax meeting, at Marylebone, on Thursday evening, and expressed as his opinion that the Go vernment had no intention of continuing the war 9d., and highly complimented the Chancellor of the Exchequer upon his truthfulness, &c. Major Reed, M.P., thought that the right hon. baronet en deavoured to make it appear that the Government contemplated the removal of the war tax, and took credit to them for it : Now, his belief was that the Government would never have taken one farthing of that tax off but for the agitation throughout the country. Resolutions for the abolition of the war 9d., and the readjustment generally of the tax, were unanimously adopted. i c Rittropolitun. THE OPPRESSED CONDITION Or THE MILLINERS AND DRESSMAKERS of the Metropolis was considered at an influential meeting at Exeter hall, on Monday evening. The Bishops of London and Llandaff, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Dr. Lankester, and several other philanthropic gentlemen, addressed the meet ing, with the view of proving that the present system of protracted labour carried out by employers—viz., from fourteen to eighteen hours a day —was a dis grace to the age, and should be limited. Several resolutions, proposing a reduction in the hours of labour, and prompt payment for work, were carried unanimously. MR. CHARLES KEAN, Director of her Majesty's Private Theatricals, has thrown some fresh light upon the subject of Mr. Rogers' subscription last week to the Lambeth poor-box of 13s. 4d., as the Court payment for one night's performance at Wind sor. Mr. Kean writes When a theatre closes for this purpose (of performance at Court), every person of this company receives the same salary to which be would have been entitled if the theatre had remained open to the public, and those members who are engaged at Windsor, in addition to the payment of every incidental expense, receive an extra night's War). Mr. Wigan closed his theatre, and Mr. Rogers, therefore, must have been paid as much again as if he had acted on that night in London. Individual salaries are not specified, but the manager names the aggregate sum, which is handed to him accordingly. Until I read the paragraphs in the newspapers, I was not aware that 13s. Id. was Mr. Rogers' nightly payment at the Olympic Theatre. Vrailincial. THE SEAMEN or HULL have struck for the main tenance of the usual rate of wages—namely, for the East Indies, 3/. ; Mediterranean and West Indies, 31. 10s.; and America and the Baltic, 41. a month. The shipowners of Hull are attempting a reduction of 10s. per month. . _ A PARTY OF SOLDIERS, belonging to Chatham gar rison, last Saturday committed a violent attack upon the postmaster of the town, Mr. Dodd, who interfered to prevent their illtreating a soldier. Four men have been Arrested, and the matter has been reported by Colonel Eden to the Horse Guards. THE MANCHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE held their annual meeting on Monday, when Mr. Bazley, the president, spoke at great length upon the subject THE PRESS. of the cotton supply. The supply was unequal to the demand. We could not expect that the South American States, which now give five-sixths of the supply, could further increase their production at the rate required. Mr. Bazley then proposed, as the British empire contained more soil fit for cotton cultivation than any other empire in the world, to form a great confederation—a cotton league, to agitate for the encouragement of the growth of cotton in all capable colonies, especially in the East Indies, which alone possessed inexhaustible resources of soil and labour. ARCHDEACON WILBERFORCE, late Archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire, died at Albano, four teen miles from Rome, on Tuesday, Feb 3, of gastric fever. Xab3 anb Valict. THE CASE OF ALICIA RACE, heard in private before the Vice-Chancellor this week, has been concluded. The child is to be restored to the Orphan School An undertaking being given by the Rev. E. \V. Bicker steth and four other parties to clothe, maintain, and educate the infant, Alicia Race, in a manner suitable to her station, and to an amount not exceeding 25/. a year. The court appoint Captain Conolly and J. E. Woodroffe, Esq., guardians, if they will undertake the office, of the said infant ; it' not, refer it to chambers to appoint a fit and proper guardian. Child to be delivered to the matron of the Sailors' Orphan School, Hampstead, and to be brought up in the Protestant faith. SAWARD AND ANDERSON, charged with the extensive bank forgeries, were fully committed for trial on Wednesday by the Lord Mayor. A CASE FOR A REFORMATORY, not a gaol, came be fore the magistrates at Bow-street on Monday. A boy twelve years of age, one Seiby, and shop boy to the post-office keeper in Lamb's Con fact-street, was charged with stealing a registered letter con taining money. The robbery was discovered at the Post-office, and soon traced to the child, in whose bedroom the money was found, with the exception of 5d., which he accounted for thus :-3d. he had spent in regaling himself at a coffee-shop, Id. went in " bull's eyes," and Id. to a street beggar. The child was ful►y committed. ANOTHER " Necessaries for an Infant " case oo• curred at Westminster this week. The action was brought by " Dolan and Woulfe," tailors in Conduit street, against Mr. Propert, surgeon of New Caven dish-street, to recover their bill for clothes supplied to his son to the amount of NM while a student at Haileybury College in 1854-5. Woulfe, the tailor, in giving his evidence, described how " business " was done by a respectable firm : I furnished all the articles charged in this bill, except those which were put down as clothes, but really were money lent and silk furnished. Those items amount to 131. 13s. The first is in December 10, 1855 :—A super fine mixed frock coat and velvet collar, 51. 15s. The defendant had money at several times amounting to 81. 15s. This bill was made out to go to the defendant's father in this shape at the defendant's request. The CHIEF BARON : A grosser and more abominable traud I don't know of. If a tailor lends a youth money and charges it to his parents as goods sold, that is, in my opinion, worse than picking a pocket. Witness continued: The fictitious items amount to 131. 13s. All the rest are for clothes actually supplied. The CutEr BARON : Are you aware, sir, that if you had obtained this money from the father you would have been liable to be transported for fourteen years? Mr. Woulfe, on cross-examination by Mr. James, admitted that all London tradesmen are probih, from entering the college. " I tried it once. I was not turned out " Mr. J,►MEs : I suppose, Mr. Woulfe, you then went down in sheep's clothing. (Loud laughter.) Cross.examination resumed : I wrote several letters to the defendant soliciting intreduction to freshmen "at the college. The letters were then read to the witness. In one of these Woulfe announces his intention to visit Mansfield-house on the 20th of September with all the " new autumnal patterns" and solicits the intro duction of the defendant to the "new corners." Another thus concluded . If Mr. Propert can favour him (the plaintiff Woulfe) with a recommendation to any of the freshmen, Mr. Woulfe would not be unmindful of the obligation the first time Mr. Propert needs his assistance. A third thus concludes : Mr. Woulfe would not fail to return the compliment when Mr. Propert is in need of assistance. The defence was on the plea of infancy, the boy not being of age till September next. The Lord Chief Baron in summing up characterised the tailor's loan transactions as being " dishonest and fraudulent." The jury at once returned a verdict for the de fendant. MR. EDWARD W. Cox, of the Western Circuit, has been appointed to the Recorderships of the boroughs of Falmouth and He !stone, vice Mr. C. Bevan, op. pointed Judge of the Cornwall County Court. 155 Two UNDERGRADUATES OF CAMBRIDGE, Messrs. Hay cock and Fisher, of Clare Hall, a short time since, thrashed a "gyp " for some improper conduct. The case was brought before the Borough Court of Pleas on Monday, when the man was dismissed from the post, and the undergraluates fined 1301. for the assault. Mr. I YEYNCOURT, at Wor s hip- s t ree t Police-court, has this week received a communication from the secretary of the committee of unemployed workmen deprecating the street-begging system adopted by some of the destitute men, but at the same time protesting strongly against those workhouse regula tions which compel the skilled artisan to break stones in order to earn sixpence a day; and finally suggesting a national subscription to be appropriated under magisterial supervision to supply the wants of such as are deemed worthy of relief. Mr. D'Eyncourt said he entirely approved of the sensible and tem perate sentiments contained in the letter. BACON AND HIS WIFE were again examined before Mr. Elliott on Wednesday, and again remanded. Dr. Taylor, Professor at Guy's, was expected to have been present to give evidence respecting the analysis of the contents of the body of Mrs. Bacon, sen., but he had not then concluded his task. When the prisoner Bacon was brought out to the prison van he appeared much more cheerful than on any previous day. and, the gaoler observing him in such good spirits, asked him whether he was aware that the body of his mother had been exhumed and examined, and he replied that he wa.s " quite well aware of it." Cook, the gaoler, also asked him whether he was aware that his wife had confessed that she bad put arsenic into the broth taken by the old woman, and that he (Bacon) had subsequently put more arsenic into her medicine. Bacon's reply to this was that his wife had stated wrong, for that he knew nothing about it, and that he should act under the advice of his solicitor. SECOND EDITION. SATURDAY AFTERNOON. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. PERSIA AND THE PRINCIPALITIES. The Paris correspondent of the Morning Pcst (second edition) writes:— It is declared in political circles here that the Persian Envoy, in a day or two, will receive despatches enabling him to make peace with England. It is also stated that a large party in the Principalities are desirous of inviting Count Walewski to accept the nomination of Governor of the United Provinces, should it be decided to create a central Government at Bucharest, and one Hospodar, whose powers under such circumstances would be almost sovereign. CHINA. The steamer Calcutta arrived at Trieste on Feb ruary 13, bringing intelligence from Hong Kong up to December 30. All the foreign buildings at Canton have been pillaged and burnt down. Admiral Seymour had been throwing hot shot into Canton, but at the latest dates had desisted from hostilities and was strength ening his position. The Chinese (residents?) had threatened to burn down the town of Hong Kong. The lorcha Alma had been taken by Chinese, who are said to have mutilated the master. The steamer Thistle, while towing the lorcha Anonyme, was attacked by 2no junks, and her cap tain was obliged to cast off the lorcha and abandon her with her cargo. A very had feeling against the British was spread ing from Canton to other Chinese ports. It was rumoured that the Emperor of China was desirous of peace, but that the inimical feeling of the Cantonese was uncontrollable. PERSIA AND AFFGHANISTAN. According to intelligence received at Bombay from Bushire, dated Dec. 80, the Persians were medi tating an attack upon the British troops encamped near that city. General Sir James Outram, with his staff, sailed from Bombay for the Persian Gulf on the 16th of January. The Government was preparing for immediate despatch, reinforcements, to form a second division for service in Persia. Several interviews had taken place between Bost Mohammed and Sir John Lawrence. The nature of their communications had not transpired. The Russians are concentrating forces on the Caspian Sea. It is said that the head quarters of the Russian army of the Caucasus will be removed to Erivan.