The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 13, 1854.

the coat of works which they have already provided in their
own. The attention of the commissioners is respectfully
invited to the report of Mr. Walker, Sir William Cubitt,
and Mr. Brunel, which was made in 1848, and will ba laid
before them. Since the period of that report further and
extensive works have been executed on the principle ap-
proved by these eminent engineers, till at last the sewerage
of the City is all but completed, and the reduction of the
rates has already commenced.
" Fifthly. It is said that the accounts of the corporation
are intentionally kept in an unintelligible form.
"We deny both the asserted fact and the motive im-
puted. The Chamberlain keeps the requisite set of books
for She oviduct of the business of his office, in which the
general transactions of all the various funds in his depart-
ment are daily posted and balanced. He keeps, in addi-
tion, a separate set of books for each of the distinct ac-
counts or trusts in respect of which he is treasurer, the
entries of which are regularly balanced with the general
cash books. This separation of funds (without which in-
extricable confusion would result) is provided for, at the
same time that an efficient check is furnished by the repub-
lication of entries. Those accounts ars again arranged for
audit according to the system known as charge and dis-
charge,' which has been in operation more than a century.
The system affords proof of accuracy, and has called forth
expressions of satisfaction from all who have made them-
selves acquainted with its working.
"That it is quite misunderstood by those who have
given evidence upon it before this commissionwill be made
apparent.
Abstracts of all the acoounts of funds arising from
public moneys under the control of the corporation, are
laid annually before Parliament.
" Upon this head it will probably be sufficient to add
that, apart from all theory, the efficacy of the system as
now established will be best proved by its practical work-
ing, which has afforded perfect security for the various
funds committed by the corporation to the charge of the
chamberlain.
" The statements made to the effect that the audit is
conducted apart from the check afforded by the comp-
troller's charge, that vouchers are not produced, and that
the audit is performed by the officers and not by the audi-
tors, are quite contrary to fact. Without asserting that
the corporation arrangements in these respects are perfect,
and admitting that from time to time all well considered
improvements should be introduced, we yet feel confident
that this branch of the corporation administration will
not be found unworthy of comparison with that of other
public departments, municipal or even imperial, and is un-
deserving of the censure bestowed upon it.
Sixthly—lt is said that the Lord Mayor, Aldermen,
and ommon Council, during the present century, have
been and are shopkeepers ; that they are greatly inferior to
the corporators of former times in rank, respectability, in-
telligence, and public spirit ; that they are unfit for their
positions, and have been regarded with disrespect by the
citizens.

" Statements to this effect have been made by many of
those who have been examined. One witness condescends to
refer to vulgar caricatures, and others indulge in coarse and
disparaging language, and in terms more or less offensive.
One witness alleges that a sharis cast upon us by the higher
classes of the commercial community, and insinuations
abound throughout the evidence that the corporation have
fallen into disrepute because the aldermen and common
councilmen, unlike the great corporators of former times,
are now taken froni the retail shopkeepers of an inferior
grade.

"As far as the commissioners are concerned, it would
seem almost unnecessary to notice such aspersions, for the
witnesses making them can hardly have hoped to bias the
judicial mind of the commissioners by such statements, but
as they have been circulated through the public press as
assertions made upon oath, some of them by men of cha-
racter and station, it becomes our duty to reply to them,
lest they should be considered unanswerable if left without
refutation or comment.
" One of this class of witnesses says that the corporation
impede all public improvements, and are guilty of jobbing
and mismanagement. He attempts to support it by ad-
vancing the following items :
" 1. He says that the corporation jobbed away the con-
trol of the New River, in consequence of which the citizens
are surcharged for water to ten times the amount they
ought to pay. 'The corporation relinquished all concern
with the New River two centuries ago.
" 2. That the corporation, by collusion with the Govern-
ment, jobbed away the Gresham-house and grounds, on
lease in perpetuity, for 5001. a year, by which the public
lost 108,000 Z.—the sum for which the lease has recently
sold. This transaction, be its character what it may, took
place in 1769..
" 3. He says that the corporation refused to make docks
from London-bridge to Blackwall, in consequence of which
the merchants abandoned the corporation, and established
the London Dock ; this, however, was in 1799. The wit-
ness says, from that time the downfall of the corporation
may be dated.
Another witness, though he employs less offensive lan-
guage, speaks with equal disrespect of the corporation, as
being now composed of persons of an inferior class ; he
fixes the same period as the former witness as the date of
the downfall of the body in commercial respectability.
Although this gentleman professes to speak as from his
own personal knowledge and observation, he totally mis-
takes facts, which if correctly stated would entirely nega-
tive the inference he draws from them.

" The witness represents that his friend, the late Mr.
Robert Williams, the banker, of Birchin-lane, threw up
his gown, and that a partner in Glyn's house did the same,
and that from that time there seemed to be a sort of slur
cast upon the position of aldermen.'
" How far Mr. Robert Williams, the gentleman referred
to, meant to cast any such slur upon the position of the
colleagues he left behind bim may be judged of by the fol-
lowing letter addressed to them on his retirement.

" ' TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD MAYOR AND

COURT OF ALDERMEN.

" My Lord and Gentlemen,—As I find myself quite I
unable, through the multiplicity of business in which I
am engaged, to give that time and attention to the duties
of a magistrate Nvhich I think such an office requires, and
knowing how important it is that they should not be ne-
glected, I think, it both for the interest and credit of your
respectable court and my fello .v-citizens in general, that by
retiring from my present situation I should give an oppor-
tunity to so respectable a part of the City to elect some
person better qualified to represent it in the magistracy.
On these uoundsl will requestyour lordship and thecourt
to accept the resignation of my gown. In th us reti ring from a
situation which I shall ever consider as the most honour-
able a citizen of London can be placed in, I beg to add
that I do so with the deepest sentiments of gratitude and
respect for the Court of Aldermen collectively, and to al.
most every individual of it, for such marks of cordiality
and friendship as I have received, and which I never can
forget.—l have the honour to be, my lord and gentlemen,
your most obliged and faithful servant,
ROBERT WILLIAMS, jun.
Bedford-square, 25th May, 1801.'
" When the late Mr. Robert Williams retired from the
corporation he left behind him Sir Wm. Curtis, Sir John
Pernng, and Sir Charles Price, all of them baronets and
bankers of London, who remained members of the court
till the day of their respective deaths, and also Sir Richard
Carr Glynn, the head of his eminent house who remained
for more than a quarter of a century, till he retired frill of
honours and of years.

" We deny that that there is any foundation for the as-
sertion so often made, in terms more or less disrespectful,
that the corporators, as a body, are inferior to the corpor-
ators of former times in the qualities essential to fill with
honour and usefulness the position they occupy.
"Several witnesses, who in their evidence appeared
anxious to separate themselves from their fellow-citizens
by fanciful distinctions of classes, speak of themselves as
merchants and gentlemen commercially connected with
the City;' while they describe the corporators by the title
of retail dealers of an inferior class,' who live in the City.
We deny the existence of such class distinctions in the
various walks of commerce and trade as has been assumed.
It is true you may define the characteristics which, in the
earlier history of commerce, distinguished the merchant,
the manufacturer, the wholesale and retail trader from each
other; but we say that commercial operations are now so
intermixed that it would be difficult to distinguish the
various classes referred to, and there are probably but few
of the members of either court who are engaged exclu-
sively in retail trade.
" Of the existing Court of Aldermen, eleven of its mem-
bers have graduated to their present position through the
Common Council.

"The personal honour and respectability of the alder-
men, and the perfect honesty and independence with which
they have discharged the duties of their office, have not
been impugned by any witness ; on the contrary, they
have been made the subjects of praise by some of the wit-
nesses, who, upon principle, would prefer stipendiary jus-
tices.

" We believe that there exists amongst the citizens of
London a very strong prepossession in favour of the reten-
tion of aldermen as magistrates, instead of having justice
administered in the City by stipendiaries ; and in our
opinion there exists well-founded reasons for this prepos-
session. Almost all the aldermen are or have been engaged
in the pursuit of commerce and trade within the City, and
have been accustomed to judicial inquiries, by occupying
the post successively of potty, special, and grand jurymen
for many years. In the great majority of cases that come
before the aldermen the matters to be investigated are
questions of fact, on which their commerce with the world,
and their knowledge acquired as jurymen prove of the
greatest value ; and the relative proportions of acquittal
and convictions of their commitments to the Central Crimi-
nal Court manifestly prove that the judgment exercised by
them is at least as frequently justified by the result of the
trial as in cases of other commitments to the same tribu-
nal. No witness has questioned the character and profes-
sional ability of the clerks in attendance upon the Lord
mayor and the aldermen in the justice-rooms. To them is
committed the exclusive duty of adjusting the forms of the
proceedings to meet the cases brought before the aldermen,
and they are men of legal education and attainment, which
qualify them to assist the aldermen with their judgment
and advice in cases where questions of a purely technical
character arise, upon which it may be supposed that alder-
men, like all other magistrates not of the legal profession,
are not so familiar.
" We consider that all questions as to the manner in
Which justice is practically administered by the Lord
Mayor and aldermen are more fitly the subject of evidence
than statement. We therefore propose to place before the
commissioners for examination the clerks and other wit•
nesses who can varnish facts upon which the commissioners'
judgment may be more safely formed. The objection raised
in the evidence against the aldermen is, that they are not of
the same rank and standing in the commercial world as
some of the aldermen in former times. We assert that it
would be difficult to find in the House of Commons, or in
any other largo body in the kingdom, the same number
of men who could be taken alphabetically, or by lot,
from the entire mass, who could produce so many evi-
deuces as these gentlemen do that they enjoy a large share
of public confidence expressed in so many different ways.
Besides being all elected by the inhabitants of their wards,
out o tho twenty-six, eight of them are, or have been,
members of the House of Commons, five of them for large
metropolitan constituencies. Fifteen of the aldermen,
as well as several members of the Common Council,
aro county magistrates, some of them for two or three
counties. One of the aldermen is, and has been for many
years, a Bank director, and. is the chairman of the Society
of Merchants Trading to the Continent ; one or them is
the chairman of the Committee of the Joint Stock Banks
of London ; two of them are dii ectors of the London and
Westminster Tank; two of them are direct ors of the London
Joint Stock -Bank, and two of them of the Union Bank ;
andin lost of them who have leisure and inclination, like many
of the Common Co an ci 1, are directors of insnrance compani es,
gas companies, canal and water companies, connected with
the metropolis. It is hardly necessary to observe that
Then are chosen for these offices of trust by their brother
shareholders, who possess the strongest motives to select
rsons
of character and station, of respectability and pro-
y, of business aptitude and habits, to be the guardians
of their money and their interests.
" There are occasions when men are compelled to assert
their true position. In the present case, therefore, we deem
it a duty not only to ourselves, but to the citizens who have
elected us, and to the important interests they have commit-
ted to our charge, to pursue this part of the subject still fur.

ther than we have hitherto done. The witnesses against
the corporation have not only failed to establish, but
they have almost abstained from making, any tangible
charge against our conduct as corporators ; as if they hoped
by casting imputations upon our respectability, and by
instituting invidious comparisons with former times, to
justify their attacks upon the corporation itself. We, who
are not conscious of any corruption in our administration,
are not surprised at this course having been taken. It will
be remembered that amongst the parties examined there
are some witnesses who have had the means and opportu-
nity of knowing all that we know, and have in their evi-
dence shown no disposition to screen or withhold anything
that could injure the character of the corporation or its
individual members. We therefore feel ourselves justified
in concluding that it is principally by a fallacious comparir
son of the present andpast generation of corporators that it
is hoped to succeed in this object. •
"It is almost as difficultto find a dividing line to separate
two generations as it is to make the separation of com-
mercial classes. But as two of the principal witnesses to this
part of the case have fixed upon the end of the last and the
commencement of the present century as the point on
which the respectability of the corporation was said to
turn, we will adopt that as the boundary line between the
two periods, and we will examine the condition of the cor-
poration in the 18th and 19th century.
"In the 18th century the aldermen obtained an act of
Parliament (the 11th Geo. I.), by which they contracted
the municipal constituency ; and, giving out of their own
hands the power to regulate their own proceedings, they
encumbered their elections with a mass of expenses and
dilatory forms, which are and have been the admitted ob-
struction to the many beneficial alterations which other-
wise have been made in our corporate constitution.
" In the 19th century the aldermen have joined with the
common councilmen in seeking to repeal this act, and to
place the constituency and the forms of election upon an
extended and solid foundation.

" In the 18th century, four years after the passing of the
act, the corporation raised the redemption fine for free-
doms to 251., besides the charge of the livery companies
and numerous fees to officers, thus imposing an additional
pecuniary impediment to the exercise of elective rights.
" In the 19th century the corporation remitted the 251.,
abolished most cf the fees, and passed a resolution ad-
mitting householders and persons carrying on trade in the
City without the intervention of the livery companies.
" In the 18th century non-freemen were constantly ha-
rassed and sued by common informers, who put the old
acts of Common Council in force for their own private
gain.
" In the 19th century the Common Council put an end
to the trade of common informers by passing an act inter-
dicting such proceedings.
" In the 18th century almost all the officers of the cor-
poration were remunerated by fees, and the offices were
sold or disposed of, both in possession and reversion ;
offices judicial and administrative were disposed of in this
manner, although the produce of the sale rarely found its
way into the corporation chest.
" In the 19th century as offices have become vacant the
fees have been diminished or abolished. Not only has the
sale of offices been discontinued, but the corporation has,
as occasion served, bought up the right of alienation wher-
ever it existed. _ _ _

" In the 18th century the corporation likewise sold and
leased, or authorised the Lord Mayor and the sheriffs to
sell or lease, at fines and at nominal rents, the profits of
the markets of the City, as well as the profits of certain
coal, corn, and other meters' places.
"In the 19th century no such sale can take place ; by pay-
ment of large sums of money, and by granting equivalent
annuities and post obit compensations, which have now
been almost all discharged, the corporation have bought
up the revenues thus wasted in former times.
In the 18th century, in consequence of the system of
administration then prevailing, the corporation became in
a very embarrassed state.
" During the 19th century, by increased attention to the
business of the corporation and by improved management
of its affairs, its old debts have been paid off, the revenue
has been lifted above its expenditure, and its credit has
been so completely re-establishc d that when, for the pur-
pose of effecting great public improvements, the corpora-
tion has had occasion to go into the market to borrow very
large sums of money, its seal has commanded the required
loans on the lowest and most advantageous terms.
" Daring the 18th century members of both courts
were eligible to corporate offices and employments in the
gift of the corporation, and such offices and employments
were held by them to a large amount.
"In the 19th century, none of these offices can be held
by a member of either court : by standing orders of the
Common Council every office is closed against every mem-
ber, and every employment and every contract is closed
against not only every member;but his partners also. The
self-denying regulations of the Court of Common Council in
this respect have perhaps extended beyond those of any
other popular assembly, for they render all its members
ineligible for office unless they have for three months before
the election ceased to be members of the court. The sons
of members of the court are likewise rendered ineligible
for office by a recent resolution.
" During the 18th century bankrupts and insolvents
might remain corporators. The Court of Aldermen thence
became a very mixed body. Bankers and bankrupts re-
mained seated together. The vicissitudes of commerce
that swept the merchant from his place left the magistrate
in his seat, and many men continued to retain office long
after the power to discharge its duties had ceased.
"In the 19th century this anomalous state of circum-
stances no longer existed ; the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and
commons obtained an act of Parliament, by which not only
were the seats of corporators vacated by bankruptcy and
insolvency, but absence from duty for six months worked
a forfeiture of office.

"In the 18th century, and even at the commencement
of the 19th century, the corporation, with an income of
80,0001. a-year, remunerated their four stranding commit-
tees with cash allowances to the annual amount of 1,1001.,
and tavern expenses ad libitum, amounting upon an ave-
rageupwards of 4,0001. per annum.
13)f v
u'einel:hyeeN to h
century, by a series of resolutions, the
same four committees, administering a revenue of 210,0001.
a year, discharge their duties without any money allow-
ance, and with tavern bills restricted to 1,2001. among
them all.

" In the 18th century the 251. redemption fine for the
admission of freemen was imposed and exacted, but two
donations of one hundred pounds each were all that was
returned out of the corporate funds to their indigent
widows.

"In the 19th century the fine has been remitted, but for
the last twenty years 500/, has been annually applied to
this just and beneficent purpose.
" In the 13th century no assistance was rendered to pub-
lic education in the City, and the corporation, resting sa-
tisfied with performing the liberal trusts of John Carpen-
ter's will, gave a superior education, with board and cloth-
ing, to four youths out of the revenue of an estate left for
that purpose.
" In the 19th century the corporation have interpreted
the same will in a liberal as well as a literal sense; they
still give board and education to four youths, and they
have likewise expended 20,0001. in the erection of the City
of London School, and contribute out of their own funds
900!...a year to aid in the education of the scholars.

" In the 18th century the corporation made no provision
for the education and maintenance of the orphans of free-
men who had contributed to their funds.

" In the 19th century the corporation has erected and
endowed an orphan school, in which provision is made for
boarding and educating orphans of freemen at the expense
of the corporation. The fines paid by persons for not
serving the office of sheriff, and the ancient fine of 21. 6s.
Bd. for freeman's admission, are applied to this fund.
" In the 18th century the corporation provided no alms-
houses for decayed freemen.
" In the 19th century the corporation have contributed
upwards of 5,0001. towards the erection of almshouses,
and have endowed them for the benefit of poor decayed
citizens.

"If blame is due to the alienation of the house and
grounds left by Sir Thomas Gresham for the purposes of
education, as stated by one of the witnesses, this took
place in 1769, and that reproach lies on the 18th, and not
on the 19th century.

" In the 19th century the present corporation have, not-
withstanding, obtained favour with distinguished persons
who have desired to find faithful guardians of funds destined
to the purposes of education. Mr. Beaufoy generously in-
vested 6,0001. for four exhibitions to the University for
scholars at the City School, and constituted the corporation
guardians of his bounty. Alderman Salomons, a member of
the existing corporation, has followed this example ' and
when the proprietors of the Times determined that a large
sum of money presented to them for a great service ren-
dered to the commercial community should be applied in
the endowment of a scholarship, they selected the City
School, and appointed the Lord Mayor and the Chamber-
lain of London trustees.

"In the 18th century it appears to have been the policy
of the corporation to avoid publicity in the conduct of its
affairs. The Common Council frequently, and the Court
of Aldermen and the Commissioners of Sewers constantly,
deliberated with closed doors. They did not publish ac-
counts or minutes, and gave no facilities for the reporters
of the public press.

i" In 19th century a totally opposite policy prevails;
the corporation publish their annual accounts, the minutes
of their proceedings, and the reports of their committees.
To insure a full attendance and a knowledge of the voting
of each member, lists of the members present at the courts
and the names on divisions are printed on the minutes.
The Court of Aldermen and the Commissioners of Sewers,
as well as the Common Council, hold their meetings in pub-
lic. They give every encouragement in their power to pro-
mote the publication of their proceedings, and afford the
roost ample and convenient accommodation to the reporters
of the pvblic press.
" We desire emphatically to say that, by thus setting
forth in comparison the acts of the corporation in former
days and the acts of the corporation at the present time,
we are but conducting to its legitimate conclusion an ar-
gument forced upon us by those who have impugned not
alone the acts of the corporation, but the character and
position of its members in the present day, as compared,
or rather contrasted, with the corporators of former times.
We confess that it had never entered into our minds to
institute such a comparison, until it was presented to us
by the observations of the witnesses who have been exa-
mined.
ofc,eitrvoifivivev.
" We have no desire to cast censure upon the members
of the corporation who lived in evil times. In those times,
C:hurch and the Crown itself, were wont to sell their pa-
tronage,
_erYne:ea<wli:gj judged, Ministers of State, the
and to disposes of places in their gift, as well in
possession as in reversion.
corruption against any of al-
leged before this commission against the corporation, and
the absence of all imputation of moral turpitude or per-
sonaleivtesrp,
raleslenthtamt
ehmasbebrsee,nandimpressed with the contrast above drawn between the ad-
ministration of its affairs in the late and the present cen-
turies, we hope and believe that much of the obloquy to
has
s abuses, for xfpoors ed
whichis attributable i bruetsaebnite
eo
lin re
fb body
ancient h
genera-
tion are not responsible, and to the errors ofp
our predeces-
rinduties,
twrandiciht:ththeson, which it has been our constant endeavour to correct.
consciouste rectitude
corporation
"
performance
has courted inquiry, and relies with confidence on the re-
sult. They believe it will relieve them from a load 0 f
undeserved and unjust reproach.
I
" Having nothing to conceal, and acknowledging the I
weighty trusts reposed in them, the corporation and all its
members appeal from prejudice and uninformed abuse to I
the impartiality and judicial wisdom of this tribunal, and i
while they seek the means of improved and more effective
action in extending the basis of popular confidence, on
which alone their institutions can safely stand, they chal-
lenge the severest scrutiny, and, contending for the main-
tenance of their just rights, they trust to the truth for
their vindication.
" By order of the committee,
' HENRY ALWORTH MEREWETHER, Town Clerk.
" Guildhall, Jan. 10, 1854."
Tommi •
The reading of the statement having been concluded,
The C
__rCommissioners proceeded to examine
M . Benjamin Scott, who stated that he had been con- ,
nected with the Chamberlain's-office rather better than 24
years, and for the last 12
years had been chief clerk in that

office. He had therefore had ample opportunities of mak- I
ing himself acquainted with the finances of the city of
London. The principal duties of the Chamberlain's chief
clerk were to attend to committees and afford information
as to the state of the accounts, and generally to superin-
tend the accounts in the chamber. He has never been con-
sidered as the deputy of the Chamberlain, but he has power
to sign cheques, and is removable by the Chamberlain, but
his appointment was subject to the sanction of the corpo-
ration. The whole of his emoluments as chief clerk
amounted to 9001. a year ; but he held another indepen-
dent appointment, that of clerk to prepare the accounts for
the auditors, which yielded him another 1001. a year. The
duties of this office consisted in arranging the Chamber-
lain's accounts in the form of charge and discharge pre-
vious to their being submitted to the auditors. He did not
think there was any foundation for the statement which
had been made, that the City accounts are kept in a cum-
brous and confused manner ; and he considered that those
who had made that charge could only have done so from
ignorance. In 1839 a committee of the corporation made a
report recommending a net account of the City revenues to
be made out, that was, an account showing the gross pro-
ceeds, with the expenses deducted therefrom. This was the
system of account that was pursued in Liverpool. The
Common Council were dissatisfied with this form of net
accounts, and the matter was referred back to the same
committee. The committee afterwards made a further re-
port, recommending a return to the former mode of keep-
ing the accounts—viz., the system of charge and discharge,
which was originally introduced a century ago, at the sug-
gestion of twelve merchants of the City, who were inde-
pendent of the corporation, and who were called in to ad-
vise. In 1810 the same committee made a farther report,
recommending the form of accounts now adopted, and in
1841. the Common Council agreed to this report. Mr. Ac-
land, in his evidence, had alleged that there were discre-
pancies to the extent of 9,000/. between the accounts of
the comptroller and the accounts of the Chamberlain. The
reply to this was, that the comptroller's account was a
prospective statement of what ought to be received, which
he, as the custodian of the corporate leases, could alone
calculate; and the account of the Chamberlain gave the
actual amounts which were received ; and if, therefore,
the two accounts perfectly agreed, it would be almost a
prima facie evidence of collusion. The difference between
the two accounts was caused by the amount of the arrears
at the commencement of the year and that of the arrears
at its close, which were carried to the next year. Each
committee could draw upon the City's cash by the signa-
tures of seven of its members. The Court of Aldermen
drew by the town-clerk, who was their officer ; the sepa-
rate power of the Cl►rrt of Aldermen to draw upon the
City purse being practically confined to certain heads of
expense, viz., prisons, conservancy, pensions, and matters
connected with the administration of justice. The corpo-
rate officers take no part in the audit beyond simplylaymg
the books before the auditors, who require the production
of a written warrant authorising every separate payment
The livery elect the auditors in certain cases. Wherever
the corporation is authorised to appoint additional audi-
tors it has always exercised that power, even where the
exercise of that power was not compulsory, but merely op-
tional. If the officers of the City Chamber were not such
as they have been for many years past, viz., men of the
highest integrity, the auditors elected by the livery some-
times would not afford an inefficient check over the ac-
counts. The office of auditor was not so valuable as to
make it one that would be greatly sought after. He
could not recommend the appointment of a profes-
sional accountant as an auditor, because, in his expe-
rience, he found that professional accountants had
generally some crotchet of their own, as to the form
of the accounts, which they paid more attention to
than to the items themselves. If the corpora-
tion were placed under a Government audit board
as regards their accounts, it would remove a great deal of
suspicion which now most unjustly attached to them. In
1829 an application was made to the Government for a
million of money to be placed at the disposal of the cor-
poration for the execution of public improvements, and
the Duke of Wellington, before acceding to such a request,
required that evidence should be adduced by the corpora-
tion as to the mode in which it kept its accounts. Its
accounts were accordingly submitted to a committee of
the House of Lords, who, in their report, expressed them-
selves highly satisfied with the manner in which the cor-
porate accounts were kept ; and subsequently a committee
of the House of Commons agreed to a report likewise eulo-
gising the corporate accounts as reflecting the greatest
credit on all connected with them.

The Chairman—Are there certain sums placed at the
disposal of the consolidated committee?
Mr. Scott—Your question refers to what has been called
the secret•service money, I apprehend?
The Chairman—Yes ; it has been stated that you are.
cognisant of that expenditure, and can give us any infor-
mation with regard to it which might be desired.
Mr. Scott—There is no specific sum placed at the dis-
posal of the consolidated committee for any such purpose.
The circumstances are briefly these :—The corporation
some few years back were very dissatisfied with the re-
ports of their proceedings which appeared in the public
papers. The reason why their reports were not so fully
given as they might bo were two-fold—first, because there
was no local press in London, as there is in the provincial
towns, which pays particular attention to municipal pro-
ceedings ; and next, that the reports were occasionally in-
accurate. As an illustration of the latter point, I may
mention that four years ago large sanitary powers were
vested in the corporation, and they appointed Mr. Simon
as their medical officer of health at a salary of 5001. or
6001. a year. By some accident one of the " noughts"
was dropped from the amount by the press, and the con-
sequence was that it appearing in the papers that 501. or
60/ was the salary, several articles were published reflect-
ing on the corporation for allotting so small a sum for
so important an office. This circumstance drew par-
ticular attention to the defective nature of the reports,
and the matter was taken up by the consolidated commit-
tee. There were three remedies proposed for the evil. One
was to engage official short-logncl writers to take notes at
the table ; but on inquiry of M. Gurney, it was found that
that would involve very considerable expense ; and that,
besides, professional short hand writers were not in the
habit of condensing their reports, but giving a tran-
script in full, which was not precisely what the corpora-
tion wanted, and would be too voluminous. Another
plan was the encouragement of the. more general atten-
dance of the reporters of the public press, by circulating a
certain number of newspapers containing good reports. The
third plan was, that a weekly organ should be established,
containing at greater length than heretofore reports of the
debates, for circulation -imong the members of the corpora-
tion and the constituency. Such report; it was conceived,
would prevent the misrepresentation and misapprehension
which frequently interfered with the discharge of the
duties of the corporation. The consolidated committee
thcught it desirable that a week:y organ should be encou-
raged, and in January, 1849, the Citizen was commenced,
but it commenced quite irrespective of the corporation or
or its officers, being started by a stranger named Pete.
Shortly after its commencement some difficulties arose as
to the management of this paper, and Mr. Toulmin Smith
became its solo proprietor and editor. I should not have
felt myself justified in giving evidence ou the subject had
Mr. Smith's solicitor not been before the commissioners,
and given evidence as to the proprietorship of that paper.
It is not strictly correct that I was joint proprietor with
Mr. Smith. I advanced a sum of money out of my own
private resources to carry on the paper. My views and Mr.
Smith's coincided very much on the subject, and it was
arranged that the paper should remain the sole property
and be conducted under the sole editorship of Mr. Smith.
The matter being before the consolidated committee, it
was suggested by me and others, that it would be conve-
nient that there should be an organ for reporting the cor-
porate proceedings, if it could be so arranged.
The Chairman—Were you a joint owner at this time?
Mr. Scott—No, I was not. I had advanced a sum of
money which was to give me " privity" of the proceedings
of the paper, but I carefully abstained, as an officer of the
corporation, from being a proprietor of the paper.
The Chairman—Does not what you state make you in
some way a joint proprietor?
Mr. Scott.—l do not think it does., It certainly never
was my intention to be so. I had a claim for the sum I
had advanced, but I was no proprietor. The paper was
sold without my knowledge or concurrence, and therefore
I conceive I was no proprietor. The consolidated com-
mittee had no power from the corporation to deal with any
such matter at that time, and when the subject was in
suspense certain officers of the \corporation advanced cer-
tain sums from their own pockets to keep the paper afloat
until a determination should be come to by the corpora-
tion. At the same time the consolidated committee ex-
pressed what the officers considered a justification of their
keeping the paper so afloat. lam not aware whether the
committee placed such an expression formally on the mi-
nutes, as that is not within my department; but certain
officers, including myself, kept the paper alive for four
weeks, in order that it might be in existence to carry out
the committee's object if it were deemed desirable.
The Chairman—This was under the expectation that the
paper would be ultimately taken up by the consolidated
committee, and that they would repay the officers their
advances?

Mr. Scott—Yes, it certainly was my impression that we
would be rapaid for keeping the paper alive until a decision
would be come to. While the paper was thus sustained, a
difference arose between certain officers and Mr. Smith ;
difficulties occurred, and the paper was sold by Mr. Smith
for a nominal consideration, pending the discussions of the
consolidated committee. The corporation ultimately re-
paid the officers the sum they had advanced. Mr. Smith
made a claim on the corporation for the money be had ad-
vanced, and his application was referred to the consolidated
committee ; but when they came to consider the subject,
Mr. Smith did not appear, and the matter dropped.
Twelve months after the transaction, the committee as an
act of grace (for I made no claim), repaid me the money
which they considered I had put in jeopardy with a sin-
cere desire to serve the interests of the corporation.
The Chairman—Out of what fund did the consolidated
committee make the repayment ?
Mr. Scott—The funds of the corporation, the matter
having been referred to them.
The Chairman—Can you give us the particulars of th•
sum ?

Mr. Scott—The total sum repaid to the other officers, in-
cluding Mr. Smith's (solicitor's) bill of costs was 2801., and
the amount subsequently repaid to me was 2501., making
5301. in all, It was certainly considered by the consoli-
dated committee as a confidential matter, and the 2801.
appears in their accounts as " disbursements." The 2501.
afterwards paid to me appears under the head of miscel-
laneous expenditure.
The Chairman—Was the money given to the consoli-
dated committee for this special purpose, or is there a fund
generally entrusted to them for distribution, under their
discretion ?

Mr. Scott—Therelwas a reference to them arising out
of the defective nature of the report, and they were autho-
rised to make temporary arrangement, and they had
drawn from the funds such sums, fr3m time to time, as
they saw it. It has been already stated by a witness, that
papers were circulated, containing reports of the corpora-
tion proceedings. In 1849, the sum paid to the agent of
the corporation for newspapers was 44/. 2s. 6d. ; in 1850
it was 1951. 318. 3d. ; in 1851, 3461. Os. 11d. ; and in 1852,
156/. 15s. ; giving an average annual expenditure for circu-
lating reports of corporate proceedings of 1851. 12s. 10d.
One witness has stated that a sum of 1,0001. a-year has
been so expended. This is a total mistake, and may have
arisen in this way : when the matter was under discussion
in the committee, it was proposed to abolish the payment
of 8001. a-year made for the Old Bailey reports, and it was
in contemplation to add 2001. to this amount, with the
view of obtaining sufficient reports of the corporation pro-
ceedings. The real sum spent, however, was 185/.125. 10d.
a-year, instead of 1,0001.
The Chairman—How was that sum expended ?
Mr. Scott—ln the purchase of papers which contained
the fullest reports of the meetings of the Court of Com-
mon Council, the Court of Aldermen, and the Court of
Sewers.

The Chairman—ls there any fund at all in the nature
of a secret service fund connected with the corporation?
Mr. Scott—There is no fund under that name.
The Chairman—ls there anything at all of that descrip-
tion ?

Mr.
.Scott---There is no fund approximating to that
which 14 annually voted by Parliament. There are mat-

ters of a kind occasionally which are considered confiden-
tial, and the object of which would be defeated if the
public were made aware of all the circumstances.
The Chairman—What kind of expenditure is there that
a public body like a corporation ought to incur which it
should not be ready to put before the world with the
greatest detail ?
Mr. Scott—lt was considered that -matters connected
with the establishment of a newspaper were of a confiden-
tial nature.

The Chairman—ls there any other object or class of ob-
jects in pursuing which a corporation, dealing with the
public money, ought not to put before its constituents
most fully all the details of its expenditure ?
Mr. Scott—l am not aware of any case of that kind, un-
less it may sometimes be the confidential expenditure of a
legal officer acting under professional confidence in behalf
of his clients.

Mr. C. Lewis—Do you consider expenses incurred in
parliamentary proceedings to be of such a nature ?
Mr. Scott—Expenses incurred in parliamentary pro-
ceedings are sometimes considered to be of a confidential
nature.

Mr. C. Lewis—Nave these expenses been considerable ?
Mr. Scott —The opposition to bills in Parliament has
often entailed considerable expense on the corporation.
The Chairman—Do you mean opposition to private bills?
Mr. Scott—l am not aware of that being the case in re-
gard to private bills.
The Chairman— Do you mean that any expenditure on
parliamentary proceedings cannot be fully stated?
Mr. Scott—l have no knowledge of any such.
The Chairman—Do you believe that there is any other
expenditure, beyond what you have stated, which can be
called of a confidential nature, and which ought not to be
made public ?
Mr. Scott—l am not aware of any expenditure of which
a perfect knowledge does not exist in the minds of those
who have to administer the funds, namely, the sub or
select committee, rather than the general body.
The Chairman—l suppose no such expenditure could
take place without your knowledge?
Mr. Scott—Not likely.
The Chairman—ls there any system of managing the ex-
penditure of the City under which money is spent on what
you call private and confidential purposes, and of which
money no detailed account is rendered?
Mr. Scott—There are many entries in the accounts of
which the totals are given without the details.
The Chairman—Does that arise from simple convenience,
or because it is thought there is some reason why the de-
tails should not be published ?
Mr. Scott—Full details would not be published of par-
liamentary expenditure ; the totals would be stated.
The Chairman—ls that because there is anything in its
nature which ought not to appear, or merely that it is not
thought necessary to give details ?
Mr. Scott—lt is not thought desirable to publish to the
world the precise nature of parliamentary expenditure.
The Chairman—Why not?
Mr. Scott—lt has been considered undesirable.

The Chairman—But tell us why? -----
Mr. Scott—Because it is not thought advisable that the
other party should know the precise mode in which the
opposition to a bill is carried on, or how public opinion is
elicited. Mr. Scott then proceeded to give evidence on
other points. He wished to correct some of the state-
ments made by Mr. Williams, M.P., before the com-
mission. That gentleman had stated the expenses of
the mayoralty in 1836 at 25,034/. ; but when the
report of Mr. Williams's committee making this
assertion came to be considered, it was found that
there were abatements to be made which reduced
the amount to 14,2521. instead of 25,0341. Mr. Williams's
committee's figures were called in question, the report was
referred back to them, but no amended report was after-
wards made. Mr. Williams also conveyed an exaggerated
impression to the commission of the amount of the salaries
ani emoluments of the corporate officers. That gentleman
stated that a committee of the corporation, which sat in
1836, reported large discrepancies between the returns
msde to the committee by the officers of their own emolu-
ments and the Chamberlain's account of these emoluments.
The cause of these discrepancies was, that the Chamberlain's
accounts stated the actual amount paid to the officers, and
the returns made to the committee gave the nett receipts of
each officer, after deducting the expenses of his office. Mr.
Bennoch had stated that, although a considerable sum
(19,6251.) appeared under the head of model lodging-houses
for the poor in the corporate accounts, yet not one of these
buildings had been commenced. Now, the answer to that
was, that when the Clerkenwell Improvement Act was
passed the improvement committee of the corporation was
authorised to purchase ground for the sites of dwellings
for the poor in that neighbourhood ; and of the sum of
43,0001. entrusted to them for this purpose they em-
ployed 19,4801. in buying ground at Cow-cross, which was
covered with knackers' yards and other nuisances. They
proceeded to clear the ground accordingly, but they were
served with notices by a projected railway company (which
was about to apply to Parliament) that the property would
be required by them, and the exertions of the committee
were suspended, and still remained so, until Parliament.
should determine whether the land would be required
by the railway—the Parliamentary notices having been
renewed from year to year. The corporation had no
power under the Act of Parliament to purchase land
for dwellings for the poor in any other locality than
Clerkenwell. The allowance to five committees be-
tween the years 1802 and 1809 amounted to 4,4861. 19s. ;
and in 1835-4-5 the total allowance to committees (which
had increased in number from five to thirteen) amounted
only to 4,6621. 19s. 6d. That amount had been still further
reduced, and was now only 2,7501. for fifteen committees.
The Chamberlain acts as treasurer or banker to a great
variety of trust funds, the corporation fund being one of
them. Sir J. Key attends in the office daily, and for a
great number of hours. It has generally been the habit of
the person holding the office of Chamberlain to perform
the duties himself, and to devote considerable time to the
discharge of them. The duties of the Chamberlain and those
of the chief clerk are entirely distinct. The Chamberlain is
the responsible officer and gives a large security and he ex-
ercises a moral control over the whole office. He also hears
complaints against apprentices in the outer chamber. The
statement of Mr. Williams that fees to the extent of 70,0001.
a-year had been received by the officers of the corporation,
which did not appear in any of the accounts, was a very ex-
aggerated statem, nt but he (Mr. Scott)could not tell what the
exact amount of those fees was. The practice of late years
had been to abolish fees, and substitute fixed salaries in
lieu of them. Great reforms had also been effected in the
Chamberlain's office. In 1842, 3,6001. was returned as the
annual receipts of Sir J. Shaw as chamberlain. This was
considered as excessive, and had since been reduced to
2,5001., and beyond that there was a considerable saving
effected yearly, because the proceeds of the Chamberlain's
office were now more than sufficient for the whole of its
expenses. 20,0001. out of these profits had been invested
in Consols for the relief of the various trust funds ; and
in the current year 1,7001. would be devoted to this pur-
pose. The net produce of the Bd. coal tax last year was
113,6001., and that of the ld. tax about 13,0001. The
City had no interest in 9d. out of the 13d. per ton levied
on coal, beyond a charge of 88,0001. for improve-
ments at Clerkenwell, which would come upon the Lon-
don-bridge approaches fund. With respect to the 4d. coal
tax there was a charge upon its proceeds of more than half
a million. The City paid the interest of that amount out
of the 4d. tax, but it provided no sinking fund. They
could pay off 40,0001. of the principal next month, and the
rest would be applied to the general purposes of the cor-
poration. The sums due to the Board of Works on the
Bd. rate, on the sth of January, 1853, exclusive of the
88,0001. for the Clerkenwell improvements, was 961,0001.
The amount of the produce of the coal tax expended within
the City was 1,190,8211.; expended without the City,
987,900/. ; and there was of expenditure of a mixed cha-
racter 1,818,2211. more ; making a total of 3,996,5431.
The City being the heart of the metropolis, the improve-
ments effected there must al ways be more or less beneficial
to the extremities. He (Mr. Scott) had contested the
election to the office of Chamberlain at the last vacancy,
and his election expenses altogether amounted to about
3,0001. This sum was spent upon polling lists, lists of
voters, advertising addresses, &c., canvassers' and clerks
salaries, cab-hire, refreshment to voters, and people em-
ployed, and money paid to persons who brought up voters
to poll. A great deal ofmoney went at an election without a
candidate knowing how it went. The expenses of bringing
up non-resident voters were not large. Large sums went
for refreshments to the committee-room, over which a can-
didate had no check. He dared say about 1,000/. was
swallowed up in tavern expenses. At a City election, peo-
ple— whether friends or foes—ate and drank at the candi-
date's expense. He had no personal knowledge of bribery
at the late contest, and believed that his agents had kept
themselves as clear of corruption as was possible at a City
election ; but charges for loss of time might have been
made, which were a consideration to certain men for
voting.
Mr. C. Lewis—Are the elections at common hall con-
ducted in a satisfactory manner ?
Mr. Scott—No ; I should say, far from satisfactory. The
poll might be taken in one day, instead of in seven. The
livery are a highly respectable body; but the electors were
practically in the hands of persons who were not real bona
fide liverymen at all. There were no two opinions about
that in the City. There is a class of liverymen in reduced
circumstances, and who are receiving charity from their
companies, and these men are tempted by a day's employ-
ment, or by bribes, to sell their votes. Then there were
the class who perjured themselves, and who personated
voters, upon whom there appeared no check at present ;
and a candidate, however honourable his intentions might
be, was victimised by being supported, as well as opposed,
by that spurious class of voters.
Mr. C. Lewis—Do you believe that the last election for
the office of Chamberlain was largely influenced by this
class of persons?
Mr. Scott—l would rather speak generally of the elec-
tions than confine myself to any one in particular; and I
believe that the elections are virtually decided by the low
class of voters to which I refer, who, by throwing their
weight into the scale, swamp the influence of the respect.
able portion of the livery. This evil, I believe, might be
corrected, otherwise I would abolish the existing mode of
election.

➢ir. Scott's examination was not concluded when tho
commissioners adjourned till Thursday.

CURLING CLUBS.—During the last year, sixteen new
clubs were admitted into the Royal Caledonian Curling
Club—twelve belonging to Scotland, one to England,
and three to the Canadian branch. There are ROW 270
associated clubs, embracing about 12,000 members.
[ADVERTISEMENT.)—Fifty thousand Cures have been
effected by Du Barry'sdelicious RevalentaArabica Food,
without medicine, inconvenience, or expense (as it saves
fifty times its costin otherremedies).—" Twenty-fiveyears
nervousness, constipation, indigestion, and debility, from
which I had suffered great misery, and which no medi-
cine could remove or relieve, have been effectually cured
by Du Barry's Food in a very short time. W. R.
Reeves, Pool Anthony, Tiverton." " Eight years' dys-
pepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spasms, and
nausea, for which my servant had consulted the advice
o :many, have been effectually removed by Du Barry's
delicious food in a very short time. I shall be happy
to answer any inquiries. Rev. John W. Piave', Rid-
lington Rectory, Norfolk." "Three years' excessive
nervousness, with pains in my neck and left arm, and
general debility, which rendered my life very miserable,
has been radically removed by Du Barry's excellent
food. Alexs. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross, Skibbereen."
—" Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia,
nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency,
spasms, sickness at the stomach, and vomittings, has
been removed by Du Barry's excellent food.
.Maria Jolly,
Wortharn Ling, near Diss, Norfolk." Copies of testi-
monials of .50,000 cures (including those of Lord Stuar
de Decies, Major-General Thomas King, Drs, Ure,
Shorland, and Harvey (gratis). In canisters, with full
instructions, 11b., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d. ; 51b., lls. ;
121 b., 225. ; super-refined, 51b., 225. ; 101 b., 335. The
101 b. and 121 b. carriage free. Barry Du Barry and Co.,
77, Regent-street, London ; also, Fortnum, Mahon, and
Co., purveyors to her Majesty, Piccadilly.

(Signed) A.
British Consulate, Venice,
Dc3C. 30, 1853.
WHITEHALL, DEC. 19.
The Lord Chancellor has appointed Thomas Kennedy
No. 23, Chancery-lane, Gentleman, to be a London Corn
missioner to, administer oaths in the High Court of Chan
eery.

MALCOLM, Vice-Consul.

Nichols and Doyle, Verualm-buildings Drake, East
Dereham.

Thomas Curtis Bird, baker, Lee, Lent, Jan. 21, and
March 4, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Nichol-
son, official assignee, Basinghall•street ; Bristow and Tar-
rant, Bond-court, Walbrook.
Joshua Woodhead, fancy woollen-cloth manufacturer,
Hogley-green, Yorkshire, Jan. 27, and Feb. 24, at eleven,
at the Leeds District Court. Young, official assignee,
Leeds; Clough and Bantoft, Huddersfield; Payne, Eddi-
son, and Ford, Leeds.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE.

(Fiona the London New Price Current of this day.)

SUGAR.—To-day the quantity of British Plantation
Sugar on offer, was again not sufficient to satisfy the
wants of home buyers, and rates close Gd per cwt above
last Friday. Operations are 201, making for the week,
1,013 hhds and tierces.
REFINED.—To-day home dealers were again free buyers
of Refined Sugar, and rates closed firm, brown lumps at
153 6d, low to fine grocery 46s to 40s. There are few sellers
of Crushed Sugar at previous terms.
31AriurTms.--This afternoon Mauritius sugar met with
ready buyers, and realised rates fully equal to last Friday.
At auction 11,120 bags were sold ; very ord brown at 26s
to 27s Gd, bettor sorts 28s to 33s Gd, low to fine yellow 34s
to 335, grainy 37s to 38s Gd for mid, and common to fine
refinining 32s to .36's 9,1 per cwt. During the week four
cargoes of Mauritius sugar have been sold for outports at
36s to 33s Gd.

EAST INDIA.—To-lay Bengal sugar met with a good
demand, and previous rates were well kept up. At auc-
tion, 3,200 bags were mostly sold. Benares ord to fine
wi site at 37s Gd to 40s, ord to fine Mauritius kind 32S to
38s 6d, fine soft. brown 30s to 31s, inferior 26s Gd to 29s
6d, and ord to fine yellow do. 31s to 36s per Cwt.
FOREIGN.—To-day several parcels of Brazil Manilla and
Havannah sugar were sold privately at full former rates to
a shade in advance. At auction 116 cases and 161 hags
Bahia wore taken in at 40s Gd to 41s 6d for good white,
and damaged 37s 6d, being above the value.
COCOA.—There is an increasing 'demand for British
Plantation for home consumption, and supply being
limited, rather higher rates have been obtained. Low to
fine red Trinidad, made at 35s to 40s, grey 33s to 355, and
Grenada 31s to 335, Guayaquil 34s to 34s 6d per cwt.
MoLAssEs.—There is an improving demand, and prices
rule firmer. West Incia selling at 17s to 18s Gd, Cuba and
Porto Rico 17s 6d to 18s 6d. Bengal and Mauritius 16s
6d to 17s per cwt. _

- . --
COFFEE.—To-day Ceyloncoffee was in improved request,
and 1,500 bgs were sold privately at 30s for good ord.
Demand increases for plantation, and prices are well main-
tained. At auction 198 casks and 39 bgs were sold, low
mid to mid at 59; 6d to 63.4 611, fine fine ord 57s to 595,
triage 52s to 565, and peaberry 69; to 70s.
TEA.—The dulness in the market for inferior congou
increases, and there being a larger supply prices show a
reduction of ld per lb. .Full terms are required for better
kinds, and there is no speculation, demand for consump-
tion has been small, and supply exceeds that of the previous
week. The currency is now for low to good ord sound
is id to is 10 per lb, rather blackish leaf to blackish leaf
is 2d to is 4d, and strong to pekoe flavour is 5d to 2s 5d
per lb. Supply increases of green, and dealers only pur-
chase sufficient for present consumption, there is no general
decline for good to fine, but lower qualities show a small
reduction.

SPIRITS.—In Demerara largo tran actions have taken
place, and there is a further advance, 4s to 4s 4d per gallon
having been obtained for 30 to 42 per cent. over proof.
Jamaica met with ready buyers, chiefly for home con
sumption, and there is a general rise ; superior qualities
36 to 40 per cent. over proof, realising 5s 4d to 5s Bd, good
to fine 4s 10d to 5s 3d, low to mid 30 to 35 over, 4s 7d to
4s 9d.

TALLOW.—In the early part of the week there was an
excited market, with a rapid advance. On Tuesday the
currency was for first sort P. Y. Candle on the spot 62s to
62s Gd, and 63s to 63s 6d for delivery. Since which de-
mand for consumption and speculation has much decreased,
prices have fallen to 60s 6d to 61s, on the spot, and 61s Oil to
62s for delivery. Home melted is now only in moderate
request, and can be obtained at 64s cash. Other sorts dealt
in with caution to-day : Australian mutton at 58s to 60s
6d, beef 57s Gd to 60s ; South American 56s to 60s 6d per
cwt. Only a moderate quantity was offered at public sale.
Stock of tallow is 3,500 casks deficient of last season, and
rates rule 15s to 16s per cwt. above.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE—Tats DAY.
Am5terdam............ 11 14% G'l'-,altar
Ditto, three:months .. 11 1614 Leghorn .............. 30 30
Rotterdam ...... 11 164 Genoa ................ 25 55
Antwerp .............. 25 20 Milan ................
Brussels .............. 25 '2O Venice ................
flamburgh . l3 syk Naples ..
Altona ................ Palermo .............. 1268
Paris .• ........ •• •• .... 25 5 Messina ..... 126%
Ditto, three months 25 32% 'Lisbon ................ 53
Marseilles.l. • ... •• • ..... 25 3 2 34' Oporto ......... . 53%
Bourdeaux 'Rio Janeiro ............
Frankfort-on-Maine .... 118 % !Buenos Ayres ..........
Berlin ................ 'New York, 60 days' sight
Vienna . ..... ..... 12 18 Philadelphia ..........
Trieste ............ •• .. 12 22 PRICES OF BULLION, PER oz.
Petersburgh ...• • • ...... 37% Foreign Gold in Bars £3 17 9
Madrid ................ 50% Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 0
Cadiz .................. 50% Mexican Dollars .... 0 0 0
Barcelona • ............. New Dollars ...... 0 0 n
Seville ................ iiiver in bars ...... 0 0 0

EDG WARE-ROAD NIGHTLY REFUGE
FOR THE POOR.

At the Westminster Police-court, John Abbot was
charged with receiving money under the false pretence
that he was the collector for the West-end Refuge for
the Houseless Poor in Market-street, Edgware-road.
It was shown, on the prisoner's previous examination,
that a person named Guyenette was the manager of the
refuge, and prisoner, up to 1850 his collector, was em-
powered to give receipts to the benevolent in his name.
The charge against the accused was that, since his dis-
missal, he had waited upon Mr. Locke, M.P., and
periodically drawn his guinea subscription, giving the
receipts as before in the name of Guyenette.
In remanding the case, Mr. Broderip observed that a
new complexion had been put upon it by Mr. Wontner
in his cross-examination. This was called a society,
when it seemed very questionable indeed whether it was
not the property of the witness Guyenette, who had
been examined at such length, and the benevolent pub-
lic were contributing to what they believed to be a
society. There were bill transactions and other things
which did not redound to witness's character, and he,
after what he had heard, should take till Thursday to
determine upon the case, and should take bail for pri-,
soner's appearance. He hoped the public would be put
upon their guard against this so-called society.
Yesterday Mr. Herring, a solicitor, appeared to con-
duct the prosecution, at which Mr. Broderip expressed
his satisfaction, and then proceed to make further in-
quires about the institution.
It appeared from the admission of this gentleman that
Guyenette had managed the society fifteen years, and
that the lease of the premises was in his name. Mr.
Herring was proceeding to say that Lord Dudley Stuart
was one of the acting committee, when
Mr. Wontner informed the court that his lordship
seceded from the "society" in 1852, fur sufficient rea-
sons.

Mr. Broderip asked where were the books of the

society which should have been produced on that day,
and was informed that they were at the institution. He
then asked what was the income of the refuge ?
Mr. Herring said that Mr. Walker, one of the com-
mittee present, had just told him it was about 801.
Mr. Broderip intimated to the solicitor that he had
been told on the last occasion that 7,700 persons had
been relieved last winter. How could that be ?
Guyenette said that the receipts last year amounted
to about 2101. or 2151.

Mr. Broderip wished to know the names of the audi-
tors of the society.
Mr. Herring replied that Mr. Brazier had audited
them.

Mr. Broderip thought it a most unusual thing for a
treasurer to audit his own accounts, and Mr. Brazier
had been represented as the treasurer.

Mr. Herring admitted that there were no regular
auditors. The account was made up, and duly sub-
mitted to the subscribers for inspection.
Mr. Broderip—l can get nothing tangible to show that
this is a real society—no books, no auditors, Mr. Her.
ring. lam asking for the bona fides of a society, and
can't get them. I wish Mr. Guyenette to be sworn.
The oath having been administered,
Mr. Broderip —I wish to ask you a question. You
will understand it is not with any wish to be offensive to
you. I ask it in consequence of a letter I have received
—Were you not tried at the Old Bailey on the 17th of
June, 1853, for uttering a forged note ?
Guyenette—l was.
Mr. Broderip—You told me it was a false charge, and
that an action was now depending on it.
Gueyenette—l did. I was accused innocently.
Mr. Broderip—When did you give notice of action ?
Guyenette—l am not versed in the law. I was told
there *as a summons or something necessary.
Mr. Broderip—For your own sake answer the ques-
tion cautiously, for you may hear of it elsewhere. I
ask you upon your oath whether you have given notice
of action at all ?

Guyenette—You may ask my attorney, Mr. Herring.
Mr. Broderip here read the letter alluded to from Mr.
West, who had prosecuted Guyenette at the Old Bailey,
in which be declared that having seen in the newspapers
that Guyenette had said an action was pending, he
begged to assure the magistrate that he had received no
notice of action.

Mr. Herring said that a writ was issued, but, from
circumstances, he proceeded no further.
Mr. Broderip—l have no doubt that from what I have
seen of your knowledge and experience as a lawyer, for
which you were entitled to much credit, you acted ♦ery
wisely.

Mr.
Broderip (to Guyenette)—How came you to
swear, when last here, that you were acquitted by Mr.
Bingham, at Marlborough-street ?
Mr. Herring explained that Mr. Bingham thought
i there would be no conviction, and would not have com-
mitted, but was pressed by Mr. Duncombe for the prose-
cution, and then took small bail for Mr. Guyenette's
appearance.
Mr. Broderip—How can I believe this man ? He
swore distinctly that he was acquitted by Mr. Bingham,
and kept back the fact that his acquittal was at the Old
Bailey. The trial was the 17th of June, and after six
months he comes here and swears an action was pending.
Mr. Herring was free to admit that after the meeting
of 1852 the institution did assume the appearance of a
private society. After that Mr Diazier and others con-
sented to be committeemen. Private or public it had
done much good.
Mr. Wontner having said something in favour of his
client's former respectability and affluence,
Mr. Broderip observed that there was no merit in the
prisoner's, whatever there might be on the other side. If
Guyenette did owe him money he had no right to have
paid himself at the expense of Mr. Locke. Under the
circumstances he would wish to know how Mr. Herring
could shape this case for a prosecution.
Mr. Herring admitted that he saw no probability of
getting a conviction upon the evidence of Guyenette,
and therefore withdrew the prosecution.
Prisoner was then discharged,

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

QUARANTINE NOTICE.

---
New Orleans is declared to be "simply suspected" of
yellow fever, thus altering the order of the 14th September
last.

CUSTOM HOUSE, JAN. 12.
ENTERED INWARDS.—The Caroline Johanna, from Ma-
riac,er ; Julius Cesar, St. Michael's; Erindring, Copen-
hagen ; Fury, Memel ; John Bunyan, Shanghai and S.
Helena ; Swan, Gothenburg ; Caroline, Frederickshaven
Pet, St. Michael's ; Mariner's Hope, Cronstadt ; Therese,
Rostock ; Henry Holman, Smyrna ; Louise, Galtstrom
Anna, Nykjoling.
ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING.—The Cosmopolite,
for Valparaiso ; America, Geelong ; Sir Charles Forbes,
Adelaide ; Glance, Mogadore ; Sarah, Leghorn ; Gretina,
Antwerp ; Adalheid, do. ; Norman Morison, New Zea-
land ; American Lass, Sydney ; Jeannette Phillipine,
Port Adelaide ; Isis, Sydney.
CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO The Waldemar,
for Valencia ; Sea Queen, Hong Kong ; Hellespont, Algoa
Bay ; American Eagle, New York.

LIVERPOOL, JAN. 12.
The Mount Washington arrived at this port from Mon
treal ; left Quebec, Nov. 25, and was seven days getting
down the river, which was much encumbered with float-
ing ice..

WARRENPoiNT, Jan. 10.—The Hartford, from Mobile,
at this port, experienced a heavy gale, Oct. 20, lat. 28,
and shipped a heavy sea, breaking the stern rail-
ing,
and 7 stoving the provision and water casks. She
sprang a leak, and next day passed four dismantled ves-
sels. When off Cork, experienced a heavy gale, and lost
jibboom and all her top sails.—The Genova (s. s), for this
port, has put back to Gibraltar damaged, having been in
collision, Dec. 27.--A bale of cotton, marked "Bullock,
R. W.," with a few Chinese characters, has been picked
up on the coast, about one and a half miles S. from New-
castle, and another at Dundrum.
NEWPORT, Jan. 11.—The Clarissa, for St. Thomas, has
put back in distress, and will discharge to repair.
LISBON, Jan. s.—lt has been blowing hard from S.W.
to W.N.W. for some days, and during the night increasing
to gales. Some damage has been done amongst the ship-
ping in the Quadro.
DROGHEDA, Jan. 10.—The Thomas Miller, Liverpool to
Shields, which was stranded on the North Bull, Jan. 7,
remains on her beam ends full of water. Should the wea-
ther moderate some of her materials may be saved.—The
Dolores, Bilboa to Liverpool, which was stranded north of
this bar, Dec. 20, after her cargo was discharged, became 9. wreck. The hull and materials were sold yesterday.—A
ship's boat, 18 feet long and 5 feet beam, carvel built,
painted black outside and yellow inside, with stern stove;
the figure-head of a large vessel, a lion with " British Em-
pire" eut upon it, and five bales of cotton, of fine texture,
have come ashore in this district.
BILBAO, Jan. 6.—The William, of Gloucester, from
Falmouth to Santona, which was on shore to the eastward
of this port, December 29, was got off and brought into
this river, 31st, but with trifling damage to her hull.

VESSELS SPOKEN WITH.
The Anna Maria, bound S., Nov. 24, lat. 5 S., long.
28 W.
The Thetis, from Liverpool to Hobart Town, Sept. 24,
lat. 11 N., long. 23 W.
The Oud Nederranden, from Hartlepool to Hong Kong,
Nov. 15, lat. 9 N., long. 24 W.
The R. K. Page, from New Orleans to Liverpool, off the
Banks. Acme from the Clyde, Dec. 25, lat. 51 N., long.
17 W.
H.M.S. Madagascar, for Rio Janeiro, Nov. 25, lat 4 N.
long. 22 W. Artistic, for Valparaiso, same day.
A barque, No. 9071, 2nd d. p., 26th, lat. 4 N., long. 22
W. The Lady of the Lake, for Natal, same day, lat. 5 N.,
long. 22 W.