The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-24 00:00:00

COURT OF ALDERMEN.

Yesterday v. Court was held for the dispatch of
business.

Alderman WILSON presented the petition from Mr.
Budd praying that the City Solicitor should be directed
to stay the proceedings against him for having neglected
to serve on the inquest jury, on which he had been
elected as a juryman in 1845. The consideration of the
petition had been postponed in consequence of the
abience of the petitioner, on the last day of the meeting
of the Court.

Mr. Budd appeared at the bar, and
Alderman WILSON said that the petitioner had ex-
pressed much regret that he was prevented by unavoid-
able circumstances from serving on the inquest, and had
offered to attend upon any future occasion with promp-
titude and punctuality. It would be, therefore, no more
than fair play in the Court to direct the Solicitor to stay
the proceedings adopted in the case as they could have
no other object than the performance of the duties of the
office. The Alderman moved accordingly.
Several members said they could not think of agree-
ing to the proposition of Alderman Wilson without
being assured that Mr. Budd had paid the costs.
The RECORDER said, if the matter stated in.the peti-
tion had been represented before the proceedings were
commenced, there would have been no occasion for the
present application.
After some observations from members who were of
opinion that the refusal of Mr. Budd to serve on the
inquest, was made in defiance of the authority of the
Court of Alderman, the petition was ordered to lie on
the table. Mr. Budd will therefore be called upon to
answer for his rerusal to serve.

Alderman lItiMPTIERY begged to state to the Lord
Mayor that he had received intimation from Mr. R.

Ferguson that the mayor of Londonderry sod a deputa-
tion were expected to arrive in London with respect to
a dispute between them and the Irish Society. His
object in noticing the circumstance to the Court was to
secure to the gentlemen a hearing at the next Court of
Common Council, and to have a perfect understanding
established between the corporation of Londonderry and
the Irish Society.
The general opinion of the members was that they
had no right to ask the Lord Mayor to grant a hearing
to the deputation at the Court. That was a matter
which depended entirely upon his Lordship's own inde-
pendent choice.
Alderman SIDNEY moved that the following be stand-
ing orders of the Court :
First, that no business be proceeded with, nor any
gratuity be voted, nor any account be ordered for pay-
ment, unless notice of such business, gratuity, or pay-
ment be inserted on the summons.

Secondly, that the recorded proceedings of this Court
in future be printed, and circulated to each member
after every sitting.
The first of these prepositions was, after some modi-
fication, referred to a committee. The second was
negatived by a considerable majority.

THE LIEUTENANTS, R.N.
(From the Devonport Independent.)
The following memorial to which we referred a fort-
night since, has been presented to the FirA 14-,rd of the
Admiralty. A deputation has waited on Lord Auck-
land and from the courtesy with which his Lordship
received them, and the attention paid to their repreeen-
tations, we are justified in hoping that the claims of this
class of officers will be duly considered by the Board.
To the I?ight Hon. the Earl of Auckland, and the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty.
The Memorial of the Lieutenants of tier Majesty's Fleet
most humbly shewtet :
Tina your Memorialists have seen with much satisfac-
tion, the promotion and retirement that has been granted
to the senior Captains, Masters, and Paymasters, of her
Majesty's fleet, as it will be the means of rendering the
service more efficient, by bringing forward young active
officers, fitter to bear the fatigues and privations incident
to the service.
That there are twelve hundred and fifty one of your
memorialists that have served with credit to themselves
and benefit to their country, many of whom had the
honour to serve under the immortal Nelson, at the
battles of the " Nile," " Trafalgar," and other memorable
engagements through the whole of the French and
American wars at the termination of which they were
consigned to a life of inaction and pecuniary difficulties,
without a shadow of hope to brighten or relieve its
monotony, and this not arising from want of energy in
themselves, but purely from circumstances over which
they had no control, and were thus excluded from em-
ployment, promotion, or the means of benefiting their
families.
That the peculiar position of your memorialists differ
from every other rank of officers in the service in conse-
quence of their number, two thousand four hundred and
forty eight, of which a very large majority cannot, from
their long standing, he employed, otherwise than in com-
mand, or as first lieutenants, which would exclude
younger and more efficient men, at the same time de-
prive the captains of their long established privilege of
selecting their first lieutenants—added to this there are
one hundred and ninety eight at the head of the list,
bearing rank as retired commanders of 1830, without
increase of pay or benefit accruing to their widows,
having the shadow without the substance—thereby pre
venting the junior officers receiving the increased half
pay, until age renders it of little value, from the short
period of enjoyment.
Your memorialists therefore humbly trust. that your
Lordship will be pleased to take a favourable view of their
position, as well as of the justice of their claim and bene-
volently recommend the Government to extend to your
memorialists such retirement to themselves, with pen-
sions to their widows, in like proportion to that granted
to the captains, masters, and paymasters of her Majesty's
fleet.
And your memorialists as in duty bound, will ever
pray.

DEFEAT OF THE DEER PRE-
SERVERS.-RIGHT TO DROVE ROADS IN
SCOTLAND.

A case was decided lately in the Court of Session
of great importance to the Highlands, and indeed to
1 the country at large, by which the right of the pub-
lic to what are termed " drove roads" is established.
The case originated a few years ago in an attempt by
the Marquis of Breadalbane to abolish the long-used
cattle stance at Invervcach, on the great drove road
through Argyllshire, with the view of more strictly
preserving his Lordship's deer forest in the Black
Mount. The attempt necessarily created a great sensa-
tion, not only throughout the whole Highlands, but
among the graziers of the northern counties of England,
who are so much interested in the cattle trade of the
north of Scotland. Public meetings were held at various
places, a deputation was appointed to correspond with
the Noble Marquis and his agents, with the
view to an amicable arrangement of the nietter, and
that failing a public subscription was raised to
try the question in the persons of the tenants at In-
verveach, on whose grounds the right of interference,
was first exercised. With the exception of Lord Ful-
lerton, who rather qualified the broad view taken by the
rest of the Bench, their Lordships unanimously sus-
tained the right of the public to the roads in question;
and Lord Jeffrey explained the justice of the principle
thus established in his usual felicitous style of illustra-
tion. The case may, no doubt, be protracted by appeal;
but, in the face of such an opinion as that delivered, we
can hardly suppose such a course will be adopted.—
Ross-shire Advertiser.

INQUESTS ON CONVICTS AT WOOLIVICII.--011
Saturday inquests were held at Woolwich on the bodies of
three more of the convicts who had died, and in each case a
verdict of death from natural causes were returned. Each
of the deceased had been in a bad state of health when sent
to Woolwich, and Mr. Bossey, the surgeon, said he thought
it highly important to let it go forth to the world that the
cause of the large mortality at Woolwich arose from Govern-
ment having made the Royal Arsenal the convict invalid
depot, from both home and foreign establishments. Recently
a large draught of these unfortunate sick beings arrived
from Bermuda, which would account for the mortality being
so large, as all the aged and infirm were sent to Woolwich to
be restored to health or die. The labour they performed was
comparatively light.
An act of outrageous villany has been committed
on the Hamburg and Berlin Railway. Some sailors from the
former place, who imagined their means of subsistence to be
affected by the railroad, took up the rails not far from Berlin,
for the distance of a few yards, some few evenings since,
shortly before the expected passage of the train from Ham-
burg. Fortunately the conductor, seeing something wrong
about the lights at the station which he was approaching,
stopped the train and entered the house, where he found the
station-keeper lying on the floor, bound and gagged. He
thereupon proceeded to examine the line, when he made the
discovery, which happily prevented a fearful disaster. We are
happy to say that the parties by whom this atrocity is sup-
pond tt) haya been connittad, ara in cuatQdy.