The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-23 00:00:00

THAMES.

THE LONDON DOCK COMPANY AND THE PARISH OF
ST. GEORGE-IN-THE-EAST.-Mr. John Taylor, a gentle-
man residing in Albion-grove, Islington, applied to Mr.
Yardley to take his recognisances to prosecute an appeal
against a rate or assessment made by the churchwardens,
overseers, and trustees of the parish of St. George-in-the
East on the docks, basins, sheds, warehouses, and build-
ings of the London Dock Company, situate in the parish.
It appears that the parochial authorities have recently in-
creased the assessment of the London Dock Company from
£17,000 to £70,000. The dock company maintain that they
are not rated according to the benefits derived, and have been
already successful in a very expensive ,litigation with the
parish in the Court of Chancery. The parochial authorities,
however, have resolved upon increasing the lighting and
paving rate from £17,000 to £70,000, at which amount the
dock company is assessed upon the poor rate. The increased
rating will involve a loss to the dock company of upwards
of £5,000 per annum, unless the new assessment is quashed
by the Quarter Sessions. The dock company have given
notice of their intention to appeal against the rate ; and Mr.
Taylor now attended to enter into sureties to prosecute the
appeal.
Mr. Yardley said that Mr. Taylor had better be sworn.
The oath having been administered, Mr. Yardley asked
Mr. Taylor if ho was worth £2O after all his debts were
paid. He answered in the affirmative, and his surety was
taken for that amount

STEALING PROVISIONS FROM THE WEST INDIA Docx.
—George Nash, a carman, was brought before Mr. Yardley
charged with stealing four tins of preserved provisions from
the ship Lauderdale, in the West India Export Dock,
Blackwall.

Police-constable Galloway, in the service of the East and
West India Dock Company, said that yesterday afternoon
the prisoner was about to leave the West India Export
Dock, with a horse and cart, and presented him with an
export pass. He asked the prisoner if he had anything in
the cart, to which he replied in the negative. He suspected
something wrong, and searched the cart, which contained
a quantity of straw, and under the seat, in the cart, where
the prisoner was seated, he discovered one tin of pro,girvaa
meat. Prisonorthen said there were three more in the cart, and
that they were all blown and rejected by the people on
board the Lauderdale, to which shop the prisoner had taken
several hundred cases of preserved meats. He went on
board the Lauderdale, which was about to sail for Bombay,
and both mats and steward denied that the cases had been
rejected. The meats were good, and the cases perfect.
Robert Horton, steward of the Lauderdale, said ho gave
a receipt for the preserved cases of meat and other things
left on board by the prisoner.

Mr. Yardley—Did you count thorn ?
Horton—No, I did not, sir ; I was too busy, and the
prisoner said he was in haste to get away.

Mr, Yardley said the witness had betrayed the interests
of his employers, and had no business to give a receipt for
the goods before he counted them.

Mr. Anderson, manager to Dixon and Ifogarth, pre-
served provision merchants in Cheapside, said the prisoner
was sent to the Lauderdale with 154 tins of preserved pro-
visions loose in a cart, 399 in baskets, and 72 tins of con-
centrated milk. He had been on board the Lauderdale
this morning. There was a deficiency of four large tins of
preserved moats, which the four tins now in court would
supply.
Mr. Joseph Smith, solicitor, set up an ingenious defence
for the prisoner.
Mr. Yardley—You may make that defence before a 'ay
if you like.

Mr. Smith—The prisoner would rather not,
Mr. Yardley—Then I sentence the prisoner to two mouths'
imprisonment and hard labour for unlawful possession of
the property, which must be restored to the ship,

LIVERPOOL, Sept. 22.—The screw steamship
Nova Scotian took her departure hence to-day for Quebec
and Montreal with the Canadian mails, and 50 cabin and
80 steerage passengers, besides a full cargo. The next
vessel is the Royal mail steamship Canada, which sails on
Saturday for Halifax and Boston.

AsTRoNOMICAL PIIENOMENON.—We find the
following in the Emancipation _Beige :—" An English
astronomer, Mr. Forster, has just observed an extraordi-
nary phenomenon, which has already been produced on
three occasions since the appearance of the comet. Ho has
observed a brilliant meteor, of a red and white colour,
appearing above the comet, and which has been wrongly
supposed to form part of that body. The skilful astronomer,
Mr. Forster, who has . remained 18 days in Brussels, has
just left for France, for the purpose of making new astro-
nomical observations in a more favourable climate,"