The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-24 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday a special court was held for the purpose of
taking into consideration the reference of the Consoli
dated Corant:ittee upon the Report of the Royal Com
mission of Inquiry into the state of the Corporation o

London.
The court was crowded from the commencement to
the terminatio n of the proceedings with aldermen and
commoners, :end the discussion lasted upwards of six
hours, although the various matters touched upon had
been over and over again debated in both courts of the
corporation and at wardmotes during the last 20 years.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH.
The LORD D te.YoR, upon taking the chair, celled upon
the Town Clerk to read the translation of a letter trans-
mitted to him by the Consul-General of France, and
accompanied by certain books " presented to the London
Sewers Commis tion from the Prefect of the Seine." P
was as follows :--

" London Jan. 3.
" My Lord,—"i ishing to acknowledge the kindnessC with
which the authori ties of the city of London have always
welcomed the functionaries ef tlos French administration
charged to study in England the questions of the public
health, the Prefe(st of the Seine has given to me the agree-
able commission ho transmit to you from him the copy of
two records relating to the distribution of the waters of
Paris, and also tl ye report of M. Mille on the mode of
cleansing the town s of Great Britain.
" I am happy th tat the head of the Paris department has
been willing to choose me as his medium of communication,
and has famished 'ate with this opportunity of offering to
you this assurance) of the high consideration with which
"I have the hon our to be, my Lord,
" Your very humble and obedient servant,
" The CONSU L- GENERAL of France in England.
" To the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of the
City, of London."
CITY CORPORATION REFORM.
The CHAIRMAN of the Consolidated Committee, after
having stated that the committee had, with the greatest
anxiety and care, considered the various recommendations
in the report of the Royal Commissioners, said he believed
the most prudent course he could adopt was to propose the
consideration of this propositions in that report seriatim.
The propositions in the report of the Royal Comm
sioners are, it will be recollected, 32 in number, and th
comprehend all the. matters of public abjection which have
been so frequently' dwelt upon at public meetings, and
animadverted upo aby the press. In the most importan t
of these propositions the:Consolidated Committee signify
their concurrence. Some of the propositions they surge I
fall under their nue uati-
ought to be modified, and a few
fied disapproval. Among the first are propositions one to
five inclusive, as follows :
" 1. That a new charter be issued containing all such
provisions in existing charters of the corporation of Lon-
don and all such customs of the city as it may be deemed
expedient to preserve. 2. That the Lord Mayor be elected
by the Common Council from the Common Councillors or
from persons qualified to be Common Councillors. 3. That
the Aldermen be elected by the burgesses of the wards for
six years, and be re-eligible ; that they be justices of the
peace during their term of office. 4. That the powers of
the Municipal Corporations Act with respect to the ap-
pointment of stipendiary magistrates be extended to the
corporation of London. 5. That the Court of Aldermen
be abolished, and that its functions be transferred to the
Common Council."
The CHAIRMAN of the Consolidated Committee for-
mally moved that ' the first of these prepositions (that
relating to the charters) be agreed to, and upon that
question the whole subject was discussed.
Mr'. T. H. Far proposed an amendment, to the effect
that the recommendations of the Consolidated Com-
mittee, amounting to the surrender of the charters,
the restriction of the elective privileges of the citi-
zens by reducing the number of their representa-
tives, the disturbance of the well-known ancient
boundaries of the wards, the withdrawal of the
power of the Livery to elect their officers, and
the degradation of the magisterial office were proposi-
tions subversive of the rights and privileges of the citi-
zens, and in opposition to the administration of justice
and to the wishes of those who were most deeply inte-
rested.
Sir PETER LAURIE seconded the amendment, and
Several members spoke at great length upon all the
old points of litigation, especially that of the periodical
election of the aldermen.
A division at length took place, when there appeared
for the amendment of Mr. Fry 59, of whom 15 were
aldermen ; against it, 40, all of whom were commoners;
majority for the amendment, 19.
Mr. CAUSTON then moved the adjournment of the
Court, a motion which was immediately carried.
An oversight was then found to have been committed
in the neglect of tke advocates of the amendment to call
for the disposal of the original question, which thus re-
mains as open as ever to discussion ; so that the visitors
to the Court of Common Council on public days, who
may flatter themselves that they have taken leave of the
eternal bore of city municipal reform, are doomed to be
once more disappointed. It is understood that Mr.
W. Jones will move a new amendment at the next
Court.