The Express.
London, England, 1852-03-22 00:00:00

MILITARY.

STAFF APPOINTMENTS.—The following appoint-
ments are, it is said, settled and will take effect from the
Ist of April :—Major-Oeueral Simpson, from the command
at Chatham, to be Lieut.-Governor of Portsmouth, and to
command tha south-wt stern district; Colonel Deresford,
Assistant Adjutant-General at Cork, to succeed Major-
General Simpson at Chatham ; Major-General S. Kennedy
to succeed Lieut.-General Riddell at Edinburgh; Colonel
Eden, Assistant Adjutent-G I in Scotland, to succeed
Maor-General Cochrane as Deputy Adjutant-General in
Dublin; Colonel romans, commanding the let battalion
23rd Fusiliers, to be Assistant Adjutant-General in Edin-
burgh.

THE METROPOLITAN COAL TAX.—On Saturday,
at the meeting of the vestry of Marylehone, Mr. Hodges
brought forward his motion for a committee, founded on a
memorial from the Ratepayers' Protection Association, on
the subject of the privileges granted to the city of London in
respect of tho coal duty and the toll on carts entering or
leaving the city. The memorialists complained, and as he
thought yen justly, that the city of London taxed the rate-
payers of the metropolitan districts Is. Id. per ton on coals,
within a circuit of 20 miles, the revenue derived Irom which
was expended in embellishing, widening, and beautifying
the streets within the city of London, and in addition to
this they also levied a toll of 2d. upon every tradesman's
cart entering the city. Now they also complained that that
portion of the metropolis which anumed this power of
taxation, namely, the city of London, had only a rental of
800,0001., whilst Morylebone was upwards of a million.
Marylebone had 17,000 houses—or 1,000 more then the City,
and 800 more public lights. It was estimated that each
hones in blarylebone consumed on the average eight tons of
coal per annum, so that they were taxed by the City
7,33 W. per year for their coals, and if they took
into consideration the difforitoos which would be
made in the price of gas to the consumers if the
tax;were off, they would find it another 3,0001., making a
total taxation imposed by the City of London on the parish
of Marylebone alone of 10,3061. per annum. Now, the
memorialists declared that either this taxation ought to be
taken off, or that it should be appropriated to the purism's
of the metropolitan parishes who had to pay the money.
The power was conferred upon the city by a charter of
James 1., and it was continued until 1694, when the cor-
poration was obliged to obtain a fresh act, in consequence
of debts incurred by the fire of London, &c., but in 1823
the debt of 1691 was paid off; but even then, in 1831, the
city obtained another set, which gave them power to levy •
tax of Is. per ton on 'seaborne coals, and Is. Id. on inland
coals, to last for seven years, after which they were to re-
turn to their old meterago granted by the charter. This
tax they had taken care to preserve by a continuity of
acts, and they stuck to it with the greatest pertinacity, like
most people who, when once they obtained power, were
very loth to give it up. There could be no doubt that this
was a real grievance, and therefore he felt justified in mov-
ing fur a committee.—After seine discussion, in which Sir
Peter Laurie defended the city corporation, the resolution
was carried unanimously, and Sir Peter Lurie, Mr. C.
Geor, Mr. Breese, Mr. Gray, Mr. Hodges, and Mr.
Joseph Hume, M.P., were appointed as a committee.
GUN COTTON.—'fho military commission of the
Germanic Diet has granted the sum of 40,000 florins to Pro-
fessors Schonbein, of Basle, and Banger, of Frankfort, as •
reward for their invention of gun cation.
THE ENGINEERS' STRIKE.— Another week—the
tenth of the strike—has passed without producing any ar-
rangement of the dispute between tho operatives and their
employers. On Saturday a reduction took place in the
allowance paid to members of the Amalgamated Society,
who received only 10e. per man for the peat week, instead
at las. paid since the first week of the strike up to Satur-
day, the 13th of March. The non-society men received 10s.
as usual, thus placing the whole of the skilled workmen
belonging to trades in connexion with the Amalgamated
Society upon a common footing. The reductien in the
allowances to society men is said to have been made with a
view of preparing against a lengthened continuance of the
contest, rather than from tho lea of any immediate and
severs strain upon the resources at the command of the
executive council of the melety. Subscriptions in aid of
the operatives still flow in. The labourers continue in a
most deplorable condition; as an inomce of the destitu-
tion to which they have been reduced, it may he mentioned
thvt in the West London hunch they have only shared
lls. M. per man since the commencement of the strike, or
Is. 2d. per week for ten weeks.