The Press.
London, England, 1856-02-02 00:00:00

illttropolitan.

THE LORD MAYOR gave a grand banquet on Wed-
nesday evening, to the members of the Metropolitan
Board of Works. Mr. Thwaites, the chairman, in
acknowledging the toast of the "Board of Works,"
alluded to the " industrious attempts " to sow dissen-
sion between the board and the corporation, and
assured the latter body that the desire of the metro-
politan board was frankly to accept the friendly co •
operation of the ancient corporation of London.
THE ADJOURNED MEETING OF RAILWAY PROPRIE-
TORS was resumed on Wednesday, with Mr. Malins
in the chair. The report of the committee was read,
suggesting various steps to be taken, as essentially
requisite to obtain such a concentration of proprie-
tary influence as must make itself felt in railway
affairs. Offers of liberal contributions had been
received, the establishment of local associations was
approved, and the committee generally expressed
great hopes that at no distant day the association
would be potent for good, and conduce to making
railway management as conspicuous for adherence
to sound commercial principles as railway enterprise
was for its pre-eminent magnitude. Mr. Matins,
Mr. Goldsmith, and several gentlemen addressed
the meeting, the report was unanimously adopted,
and a council of twenty -five, with an executive com-
mittee of twelve, at once appointed.
THE LAW AMENDMENT SOCIETY held a meeting on
Monday, when Mr. Pitt Taylor read a report of the
Statute Law Committee on the best means of consoli•
dating the statute law. The report mainly recom-
mended the publication under authority and in a
classified form of a revised edition of the statutes
from which all. obsolete or repealed acts should be
excluded, and the appointment of a Minister of
Justice or Secretary of State for Law. After some
discussion, in which Mr. l'ulling proposed a series of
resolutions upon the consolidation only of the local
laws, the original report was adopted, and Mr. Pal-
line's resolutions referred back to the committee.
THE REGISTRAR GENERAL'S RETURNS for last week
show 1,021) deaths, a number considerably below the
average of former years, which reached to 1,165.
Seventeen hundred and sixty-three births were regis-
tered for the same period.
THE HON. AND REV. MONTAGUE VILLIERS, at his
tenth serial lecture to the Young Men's Christian
Association at Exeter-hall on Tuesday night, spoke
upon the " Nobility of War." The rev. lecturer
explained that the various mental and personal qua-
lifications war developed were of a high order, and
enumerated courage, calmness, decision of character,
and generosity, quoting apropos of his subject many
well-known anecdotes of the present war. Passing
to the reverse of the medal, Mr. Villiers slightly
touched upon the battlefield and the hospitals,
disclaiming any sentimental alliance with the "peace-
at-any-price party."
He did not doubt the sincerity of those persons ; but, after
considerable reflection on the subject, he did not hesitate
to say that it was the result of individual folly ; that it
showed the most intense ignorance of human nature, and
sprung, in those who spok of it religiously, from a totally
wrong view of God's Holy Writ. If war were always to
be supposed to lie a sin in every party to war, then of
course the soldier's profession would be a sinful one ; but
when they found—and he did not confine himself to the
wars of the Old Testament—the centurion commended,
and numbers of soldiers in the time of John the Baptist,
and no desire being expressed to them to give it up, he
could not suppose that there was anything sinful in taking
lip arms to defend one's country. No doubt the time
would come when men would learn the art of war no more:
but that time was not yet come. Front these two extremes