The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-10 00:00:00

COURT OF ALDERMEN.

Yesterday a Court was held fur the dispatch of
businass.
THE KING OF THE FRENCH AND THE CORPORATION OF
LONDON.

The LORD MAYOR read the following letter, which
he received from the King of the French, in answer to
the ardresses voted to his Majesty upon the occasion of
the late attempt upon his life.
Neuilly, May 16, 1846.
MY LORD MAYOR—I have to request your Lordship
to convey'to the Court of Aldermen, and to the Court
of Common Council of the City of London, the deep
sense of gratification with which I acknowledge the
addresses they have voted to me on the occasion of the
late attempt upon my life. Impressed as I am, with
the importance so justly attached to the manifestations
of your great metropolis, I duly appreciate this signal
testimony both of their high esteem and friendly dis-
position towards my nation and country, and of their
good will towards myself and my family. The
many tokens of kindness and the hospitality
I have received among yiu, at various periods of my
long career, have left an indelible impression on my
mind and on my heart. I aml grateful to hear from you,
that you do justice to my constant and unceasing efforts
to promote the good understinding and friendly inter-
course between France and England. It is with the
sincerest satisfaction that I see the progress of this policy
spreading more and more, under the protection of
Divine Providence, its beneficial effects not only in both
our countries, but over all the world, where the advan-

tages of that pacific policy are daily better felt and more
justly appreciated. It is with the gracious concurrence
of uty august friend and ally, your beloved Sovereign,
that I request your Lordship to convey this expression
of my feelings, not only in my own name, but also in the
name of the Queen and of all the members of my family,
to the Court of Aldermen and to the Common Council
of the City of London.
My Lord Mayor, your affectionate,
LOUIS PHILIPPE.
Alderman RUMPRERY rose to move that the letter,
which reflected such honour on the heart and under-
standing of the Ring of the French, should be treated
with signal marks of respect.—(Cheers.) It is a docu-
ment of the highest value, and he should propose that
after the Lord Mayor should have read it to the Court
of Common Council it be deposited in a box,
and placed in the library of the Corporation. He
(Alderman Humphrey) had with great pride and grati-
fication witnessed, in the kingdom over which his
Majesty presided, the high respect and cordial feeling of
hospitality with which his Majesty received the members
of the Corporation who had had the honour of waiting
upon him.—(Cheers.) It was impossible to hear the
fervent wish of his Majesty for the continuation of the
pacific relations of the world, without admiration of the
glorious terms in which that feeling was expressed, and
an anxious hope that his Majesty might long and happily
reign over the great people he so prosperously and
happily governed.—(Cheers.) Alderman Humphery
then submitted a motion to the effect described in his
speech.—(Great applause.)
Sir PETER LAURIE seconded the motion. The exam-
ple set by the King of the French was one which was
indeed' worthy of imitation. Rendering the most glo-
rious services to his own country by promoting the acts
of peace, that great monarch contributed largely to the
good of all mankind, by exhibiting the affectionate ferl-
ing with which he contemplated the happy symptoms of
the continued existence of peace and good-will amongst
his fellow-creatures.— (Cheers.) The citizens of Lon-
don would be delighted with perusing a document,
which alluded in such terms of kindness and affection to
their own beloved Sovereign, who, as it were, sanctioned
and recommended his Maj«-sty's most gracious acknow-
ledgment.—(Cheers.)
The motion was then unanimously, and amidst loud
acclamations, agreed to.

THE GOLDSMITHS' COMPANY AND THE SPECTACLE
MAKERS' COMPANY.
A gentleman, who was entitled to the freedom of the
Goldsmiths' Company, having applied to be allowed to
take his freedom up in the Spectacle-makers' Company
instead of the company in which he had the claim,
Alderman COPELAND rose to express his disapproba-
tion of such a course, and requested to be informed
whether the applicant hal made any application for
admission to the Goldsmiths' Company ?—The appli-
cant
-replied in the negative.

‘.
Alderman COPELAND could not see that, possessing
the right which the applicant had to take up his freedom
in the Goldsmiths' Company,he was at all warranted in
coming to the Court in such a matter.
The applicant said, his reason for not wishing to
belong to the Goldsmiths' Company was, that there was
an insurmountable difficulty in obtaining it in that com-
pany, and he did not know any company more suitable
to his purpose.

SWORN AND lINSWORN BROKERS.

When the Court was occupied in the examination of
gentlemen who appeared at the bar to be sworn in as
brokers,

Alderman COPELA.ND took occasion to observe upon
he ineffectual eff )rts he had been for a length of time
n the habit of making, to prevent the commission of
'raud in. the business transicted by brokers, and he ex-
..

pressed his regret that there appeared to be no chance
of making any reform by the interposition of that Court.
After a few observations from Alderman Wilson, Sir
Peter Laurie, Alderman Challis, and others, it was or-
dered, that with the view to the better protection of the
public, a list of the brokers sworn in by the Court of
Aldermen should be regularly transmitted to the Bank
of England.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Alderman WILSON presented the annual report of
those most useful officers the inspectors of the weights
and measures of the city of London. It stated, that al-
though the visits of the inspectors to the tradespeople
were by one-sixth more numerous than those of las
year, the number of the informations laid within the
year was smaller.
The following is the sum of the complaints made by
the inspectors. It is hoped that some remedy will be
applied to the evil, which is one of greater magnitude
than it is generally considered to be:—
The poor are defrauded frequently by those trades-
people who have their goods weighed in packets for
their customers—viz., flour by the bakers; tea, sugar,
cocoa, &c., by the grocers; snuff and tobacco, &c., by
the tobacconists; candles, starch, blue, &c., by the oil-
men."

The practice of some coal dealers is to use small
weigh►s in their machines, in order to confine their
customers who may require say half a hnndredweight of
coal. They. will use 281 b., 141 h., and 71b., and thus
ingnage to give 71b. short weight, as was proved before
the Police Committee a few days ago. The inspectors
are constantly coming in contact with cases of the kind,
but they cannot interfere.
The report was referred to the Gen( ral Purposes
Committee.—Adjourned.

DESTITUTION in—the SHETLAND

ISLANDS. From a communication dated "Lerwick, 25th Mayr,;,
in the John 0' Groat Journal of Fridayhleashiettiaapnpdeeas
rs.
that famine is spreading rapidly m
We sincerely trust that public asyrnorAtthy wilt be ex-
tended towards the sufferers without loss of time. The
following is part of the communication alluded to :
o want and misery are now written on many a face,
where, till now, such had not been seen ; and, if not
promptly relieved in some way or other, there is great
reason to fear that, during the summer, and before the
crops can come on so far as to be made available, even
in a half-ripe state, for the pressing wants of the popu
lation, cases of death, from actual starvation, will be
neither few nor rare. During the years 1837.38-39,
well named the bad years,' the want of food, through
these islands, was not greater than it is at the present
time. At this moment individuals are known to the
writer of this who have not tasted bread for a whole
week ; and others who have neither tasted bread nor
meal, in any shape, for periods varying from ten to fif-
teen days ; who, when they had scraped together the
sum necessary, had to take their bags under their arms,
and travel distances of from six to eighteen miles—z
a..
land miles, too—before they could p
to procure thsmet.
e
quantity of meal which they were able purchase
and that, too, at a most exorbitant price. The break-
orning,
fast of shell fish has to be gathered in gi at
the sea-side, among the rocks, before
meal,
of
hunger can be satisfied ; then the nextand i consisting
if they have
of fish, with perhaps a few potatlosees.
fish and potatoes,
a little meal, fish and bread, or
comprises all that they can
again, before going to bed,
f,maolmreoslitktehea •iff Id, fish and potatoes beibneffOinmth-eucsheide only
articles of diet, and bread
lux-
ury than as the staple article bring used
food. These are not
cases of rare occurrence.'

WARLIKE PREPARATIONK—The guns at the top of
the keep at the Castle are to be dismounted, and others of a larger
ealibre mounted in their place; and the fortitleattcns round Dovcr
tuitt the llue of entect an, to be placvtl iu the host possiblo state of tie-
&um—Dever Wog*.