The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-10 00:00:00

COURT OF ALDERMEN.

On Saturday, the last Court of Ald,.•rinen of the
mayoralty of Sir John Musgrove, Bart., was held.
TILE RIGHT,/ II? FitEEMEN OF TICE CITY OF LONDON.
All. WILSON presented the following petition to the
court:
"To the Right Han. the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of
the City of Leedom—The humble petition of the under-
signed Common Council of the ward of Billingsgate
sheweth :
" That by the 3rd section of the Act of 12 & 13 Vie., rap.
94, it is enacted, ' That on the let day of November in every
year, the alderman and commas councilmen of each ward
shall make or came: to be made out au alphabetical list of
all persons who shall be eutitled to vote as freemen occu-
piers under this act, such list to be duly siauml by the
alderman of the ward, and the ward clerk shall keep a true
copy of ouch list, to be perused by auy person, without pay-
miut orally fee, at any reasonable houre,between lot and Lith
day of November in every year, and shall at all times de-
liver a written or printed copy of such HA to any perom
requiring the same on payment of a reasonable price for
such copy ; and the said list shall be the list of frcemen
occupiers entitled to vote after the passing of this act at any
election for aldermen or common councilmen or ward
officers for any ward. That, in pursuance of the above act
of parliament, your petitioners and the aldermau of their
ward met on the Ist day of November lust., and a list of all
freemen occupiers witlan the ward having bi en prepared
we, laid before the alderman and your pAitioners and such
list of freemen occupiers was approved by your petitioners,
but the alderman declined to affix his signatitro
thereto on the ground that lie had received a list of
residents in the ward who claimed to he placed
on the list of freemen occupiers in coasequence of a reso-
lution of the Court of Common Council of the !ith Sept.,
affirming a proposition of the freedoms comtuittee of this
city, ' That every person who shall occupy premises in the
0* of London fur the period of a year and a day, and shall
lirand bear lot, shall be a freeman eel citizen, unit
it• entitled to all the benefits mud privileges, and Ins
to all the duties thereof.' That your petitioners are
anxious and desirous that every inhabitant of the ward
should, in the terms of the above resolution, be admitted to
the freedom of this city, and enjoy ell the rights end privi-
leges of freemen ; but being advised that the foregoing rc-
sulution was not sufficient in law to make non-freemen free
of this city, and to entitle them to vote in elections under
the foregoing act of parliament, protested against the deci-
sion of the alderman, and on his determining to add
the names on his own authority, the folluwing re-
solution was moved and carried by a majority
of aldermen and common council then present :
That the list of freemen occupiers now produced he made
and signed, and that there be added thereto the names of
all occupiers rated to 10/. per annum to the police or Any
other rate, and who shall be registered in the register of
voters fur the City of London. That the meeting was there-
upon adjourned till Monday, 3rd November, when the list
of freemen occupiers, as originally prepared and agreed to,
was again submitted to the aldermen and common coun-
cil, and, with the names of all other occupiers within the
ward, added thereto, in terms of the resolution. That the
alderman again declined to sign the list of freemen occu-
piers so made in the terms of the act of parliament by the
alderman and common council, and on his own authority,
and against the consent of your petitioners, directed a new
list to be prepared in alphehetical orderdmixing the freemen
occupiers of the ward who had not taken up their freedom.
That the majority of the common council, after having the
opinion of the ward clerk as their legal adviser, voted
against the said order, and protested against any such new
list being signed by the alderman as the list required by the
act of parliament. That at present there is no alphabetical
list of all persons entitled to vote as freemen occupying under
this act, made by the alderman and common council, and
signed by the alderman of the ward. That in consequence
of this difficulty, and in order to protect the rights of their
constituents, your petitioners beg to represent the facts to
the consideration of your honourable court, praying that
you will be pleased to take the same into your consideration,
and make such order as your honourable court may think
right, so as to relieve your petitioners, and maintain the
constituency of the ward in their rights and privileges,—
William Curling (Deputy), Benjamin Bower, John Kuill,
James Roberts, William 'Williams, William George Barnes,
Joseph Causton."
Sir PETER LAURIE moved that the petition be re-
ferred to the committee of privileges before which the
opinions of the Recorder and Common Serjeant, upon the
subject of the resolution of the Court of Common Council
alluded to in the document, were expected to be laid.
Alderman WILSON seconded the motion, which was
unanimously agreed to.
The LORD MAYOR then took leave of the court. His
authority as Lord Mayor terminated that day, and he
could not quit his scat without returning hie grateful
thanks to his brethren for the kindness and forbearance
which they had uniformly shown toward: him in the course
of the efforts he had made to perform his duty to the satis-
faction of the public.
The court then adjourned.

TUE GREAT EXHIBITION.—The points which now
most interest the public in connexion with the Exhibition
are the disposal of the surplus, and the preservation or
otherwise of the building, both of which, although the
royal commissioners have given some indications of their
views, are still sub judice. It may be assumed as certain
that the surplus fund will be appropriated to the inculca-
tion and diffusion of scientific principles, and the applica-
tion of those principles to arts and industries ; but by what
organisation these indispensable desiderata are to be se-
cured remains to be determined. We shall probably have
to wait till the powers of the royal commissioners arc re-
newed before they promulgate their scheme. Prince
Albert has written to the Marquis of Anglesey ex-
pressing his gratification at the good conduct of the
engineers employed at the Crystal Palace, and adding :
The royal commissioners have thought fit to award a sum
of 6001., to be laid out either in drawing or mathematical
instruments, or in other suitable lasting memorial of their
connexion with the Exhibition, for the non-commissioed
to
officers and privates of the Royal Sappers and Aliners, n
be distributed by the officers.
CALLS TO THE BAIL—The Michaelmas Term calls
to the bar (Middle Temple) were made on Saturday, and
include Charles Pridham, Esq. ; Wooilthorpe 'Standen,
Esq. ; James Berrego Smith, Esq. ; James Motteram, Esq.;
and William Henfrey, Esq.
1 TILE SOOTIL-WESTERN DISTEICT.—It is generally
I supposed that Major-General d'Aguilar, who last week
assumed this command at Portsmouth, and who will become
a lieut.-general in the brevet, will retain this appointment
for a short time only.