The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-17 00:00:00

MEETING OF MIDDLESEX
MAGISTRATES.
On Thursday there was a numerous meeting of the
magistrates for the county of Middlesex at Hicks's Hall,
Clerkenwell-green, for the disposal of certain matters of
business connected with the county.—Mr. C. Devan took
the chair.
Mr. H. Pownall was then re-elected chairman of the
sessions for the ensuing year, accompanied by many
eulogistic observations upon the conduct of the Hon.
Gentleman during the past year, and the very able
manner in which he discharged the onerous duties which
were attached to that office.
Mr. Powsum. was then introduced into the court, and
on re-assuming his former position as Chairman, re-
turned his thanks for the re- election.
THE CORONERS' ACCOUNTS.
The Denufv-Clerk of the Peace having read the report
of the " Conakeittee for Accounts and General Purposes,"
Captain COTTERELL rose and said, he was reluctantly
called upon to direct the attention of the Court to one
of the items in the account of :dr. Waltley, the coroner,
which was a charge for the expenses attendant upon
an inquest said to have been held within his district.
He had some personal knowledge of this particular
case, and in consequence of the circumstances which
had reached him hi reference to it, he could not but
say that it was too bad that the funds of the county
should be voted away without what he considered a suffi-
cient inquiry. There were so many of these cases that,
in his opinion, the Court was bound co look more closely
into them. The case to which he was anxious par-
ticularly to allude was that of George Plummer, a
little boy who had been suffocated on the 21st of
June last, by falling into a cesspool at Barnet. The
day the accident had occurred nutice of the event had
been forwarded to Mr. Wakley, but as the friends did
not hear anything from that gentlemen as to the in-
quest, on the second day afterwards they determined,
.as the body had become very much decomposed, to
put it into the coffin and have it screwed down. On
the fifth day the deputy-coroner, Mr. Mills, came
down, but then the child's friends were opposed to
the coffin being opened, upon the ground that they
wished to be spared the pain of seeing the child in
such a condition of further decomposition as the addi-
tionel lapse of time must have produced. Upon this
Mr. Mills said, that if the friends would bring the man
before him who had screwed down the coffin lid,
he would, to meet the wishes of the family, dis-
pense with the " view " of the body, and at once
take the evidence as though the " view " had taken
place. Tho friends at once assented to this ar-
rangement, and the inquest, such as it was, was held.
Now, for that inquest he found Mr. Wakley had charged
16s. To that item, therefore, under the circumstances,
he should object.
Mr. A RMSTP.ONG considered that for the sake of so
sm -11 a sum as 16-. it was scarcely worth while to alter
th. .ceotint.
Mr. Sergeant ADAMS said, that, in truth, there had
not been amv inquest, because there had been no" view"
of the bode. and therefoz.e, in his opinion, the county
could not to called upon to pay.
Captain COTTELLELL observed, that his objection was
not to the vat/mint, but to the principle.
After some further discussion the item was ordered to
be struck out of the account.
The report was then received.
STATE or THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
The report or the visiting justices of the House of
Correction stated, that there were at the date of the re-
port as many as 1,206 prisoners in confinement within
• its wali . This report also set forth, in official terms,
the recent murder of one of the officers of that prison,
named Woodhouse, by a prisoner of the name of llew-
son, who had since been convicted and condemned to
death at the Central Criminal Court. It likewise an-
nounced that the county solicitors had been instructed to
defend an action which had been commenced against
Colonel Chesterton, the governor of the prison, by a
• person of the name of Pollett, who had been com-
mitted to that gaol by the judge of the county court
at Whitcclmpel. The report then went on to say,
that a memorial had been received by the visiting
. justices from the widow of Woodhouse, praying for pe•
cuniary assistance, and that as the committee had no
funds at their disposal for such a purpose, they had trans-
ferred the appeal to the Secretary of State for the Home
Department, with the hope that as the Government had
been 'vet the expense of the prosecution, they would,
if possible, afford the poor woman some aid.
The` report was received and adopted.
THE WESTMINSTER EftIDEWELL.
The report of the visiting justices for this prison re-
comtnended that there should be an additional chaplain
appointed to the prison, at a salary of 2001. a year.
(This reeommendation was, after the report had been
read, turned into a notice of motion for the next
county day.)
The report was received and adopted.
THE ROUSE OF DETENTION.
The report of the visiting justices of the House of
Detention, Clerkenwell, was next read, when it appeared
that it contained 106 prisoners, of whom 77 were males,
and 29 were females. This report also alluded to the
suicide of one of the prisoners.
The report was received and adopted.
HOUSES OF INDUSTRY.
Mr. ARMSTRONG, pursuant to his notice on this
subject on the last county day, now rose to move—
" That as great numbers of the male and female pri-
soners discharged from the prisons of this county, from
being totally ignorant of any trade or business, and for
' want of au honest calling, have no means of obtaining
a livelihood, and are consequently, tempted again to the
immediate commission of crime, whereby they again and
again incur the penalty of the law, to the great injury
of society rind heavy expense to the ratepayers of the
county, it is expedient that this Court sanction the
establishment of a voluntary House of Industry to
which such discharged prisoners may resort for in-
struction in some useful employment, handicraft, or
trade, by the industrious exercise of which they may
be rescued from the temptations incident to ignorance,
idrenees. and vice, and be no longer a disgrace to the
community and a burden on the public ; and that a
committee be appointed to consider and report to this
Court ou the best mode of establishing the same, and to
• What extent."
Mr.- J. Wessex must object to this motion being
proceeded 'MU), especially as the Court were without
any power to vote away money to carry out such an ob-
ject as was Wight by his Hon. Friend to be carried out.
Mr. Wieees fully concurred in the observations of the
last Holt Member of that bench. The course the Hon.
Gentleman on the other side of the court (Mr. Arm-
strong) should adopt was to give notice of a motion to
petition both Houses of Parliament for powers to apply
funds to this particular object.
The CHAIRMAN considered that-this motion could not
be entertained by the Court in its present form.
Eventually Mr. ARMSTRONG withdrew his motion, and
gave notice that on the next county day he would bring
the matter forward in its amended form.
sk variety of other business having been disposed of,
the -meeting separated.

ELECTION COMMITTEE.
DUBLIN.

The Committee were occupied the whole of Saturday
in hearing counsel argue pro and con. as to the validity
of the grand jury cess rate. At the termination of the
argument the room was cleared, and the Committee,
after a short deliberation, decided that the cess was not
legally due at the time the election took place.

The rumour is revived that Lord Hardinge is to
succeed Lord Clarendon as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
It has been thoug'at that the appointment of a military
Governor would have the effect of irritating the already
sufficiently irritable Irish, and so the change has been
postponed until the country is comparatively tranquil,
and free felons upon paper have become incarcerated
felons on bread and water.—United Service Gazette,
INVALID DEPOT, CDATRAM.-1,702 invalids, wait-
ing their final discharge from their respective regiments,
are now at this place, where their cases will be decided
on by the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital, for the
purpose of being placed on the pension list. That
board granted pensions to near 5,000 men daring the
year 1847.—Ibid.
Captain Robert Fitzßoy (1834), late Governor of
New Zealand, and who commanded the Rhadamantha,
steam-vessel on her first being fitted, it is confidently
reported will have the command of the new 46-gun
frigate Arrogant, when she has her screw propeller ma.
chinery fitted.—/bid.
HER MAJESTY'S DOCKYARDS.-0a making a pro..
motion recently of an officer who had shown great supe-
riority over his competitors, the Board of Admiralty, in
a public minute, expressed on anxious desire that the
artificers of her Majesty's dockyards should be
thoroughly satisfied that merit alone is considered in the
selection of men for advancement; and that by perse-
verance and ability they may obtain the highest honours
and the highest position in their department. Their
Lordships desired to impress upon the dockyard men
that their patronage is distributed with the strictest im-
.partislity. We recommend the Admiralty not only to
avow but to practise the same impartiality in the selec-
tion of officers for promotions and appointments in the
navy !—lbid.

A greater proof cannot be afforded of the ex-
cessive poverty of the island of St. Vincent than is fur-
nished by the account of a conference between the mem-
bers of the Assembly and the Lieutenant-Governor of
the colony. It appears that a supply of rifles was ap-
plied for some months since, " when the colony vral in a
position to defray the cost thereof," but now that they
have arrived—some time having intervened since they
were ordered—the colony is too impoverished to pay for
them. It is, therefore, asked that the rifles be made a
grant to the colony.—lbid.
THE IRISH " FELox."—The back of rebellion was
fairly broken in Ireland by the arrest, trial, and de-
parture of Mitchel. Since then, Lord Clarendon has
placed it on the rack, and joint by joint he dislocated
the monster. Duffy has been stopped—Meagher is in
thi, bands of the law; nod now Messrs. M'Gee and
Hollywood have been arrested. Bat little sympathy is
manifested by the people. They appear heartily tired of
sedition, and its effects upon the general prosperity of
the country.—lbid.
THE MURDER AT LIVERPOOL.—The inquest on
the body of the woman Gallagher has resulted in the
committal of her husteind fur the capital offence. The
other man was discharged.
BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, JULY 14.—A large
b.i.in,iss has been transacted this week both in Bri
tish
plantation and foreign descriptions, at steady prices.
Xor ruin we are still without inquiry.—Bristol Mercury.
RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Wednesday morning,
one of the guards on the Caledonian Railway lost his
balance by his head coming in contact with a bridge
while leaning over a carriage to look at a wheel sup-
posed to be on fire, and falling off the train
he was killed
on the spot.