The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-09 00:00:00

ABOLITION OF RELIGIOUS TESTS.

Mr. Deputy C. REED moved that the City of Lon-
don School, of which this corporation is the Patron,
having sent up to the University of Cambridge
several scholars who have taken high positions in
the university examinations, but have been debarred
from acquiring the honours and emoluments to
-which they were entitled by their scholastic attain-
ments by reason of their inability to subscribe the
declaration prescribed by the Act of Uniformity, this
corporation do petition both houses of Parliament to
pass a bill " to repeal certain portions of the Act of
Uniformity relating to the declaration made by
fellows of colleges." The hon. deputy in the course
ofan able speech, urged the impolicy of retaining
this declaration in enlightened times like the pre-
sent; and the great injustice that was done to young
men of
high attainments solely because they were

This motion was also agreed to, and the court
then adjourned.

The Betting Nuisance in the City,

At the Guildhall Police-court yestere,ay, Mr.
Lawley, of Farringdon-street, and Mr. Walter, of
Shoe-lane, members of the Court of Counnon Coun-
cil ; Messrs. Holditch, Comfort, Bone, R. Barclay,
Arnold, Dickinson, Simms, Herring, Kimber, Wil-
liamson, and Dr. Wilson, and a large number of
the influential inhabitants of the parish of St. Bride,
waited upon Mr. Alderman Hale, the presiding
magistrate, to complain of an evil which had re-
cently assumed such a serious aspect as to threaten
the entire suspension of the business of many of the
inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and the total
blockade of the chief thoroughfares going east, west,
north, and south.
Mr. Lawley, who headed the deputation, said he
appeared there at the request of a number of re-
spectable inhabitants and tradesmen in and near
Farringdon-street, to complain of a very great evil
which had become a public scandal—he alluded to
the daily congregation of betting men and others of
an equally disreputable character, to the number of
1,000 and upwards. They took possession of the
footpath, swarmed into the carriage way, and, in
fact, occupied the entire 2troct, 60 that not only was
the business of the inhabitants brought to a stand-
still, but the public traffic was seriously obstructed,
and unless most stringent measures were promptly
adopted would become one of the greatest scandals
ever known in the city of London. The police, it
appeared, were powerless to mitigate the evil, having
no authority to interfere, notwithstanding the tho-
roughfares were completely stopped up. The deputa-
tion accompanying him represented the parish of St.
Bride, and they came to the court to ask the worthy
alderman, with the co-operation of his brother ma-
gistrates, and the assistance of the police, to adopt
similar proceedings which proved so successful in
mitigating the evil some years ago. Until very re-
cently these men had been in the habit of congre-
gating on the Ruins in Farringdon-road, or Victoria-
street, but even there the nuisance was so great that
upon the complaint of the inhabitants, the open space
known as " the Ruins" was enclosed by a hoarding,
and the betting fraternity shut out, and, conse-
quently, driven back to their old quarters. There
was a bill now before Parliament which would give
the magistrates and police increased powers to deal
with the public traffic ; but he would suggest that
the opportunity should not be lost to obtain further
powers to deal with the betting nuisance.

Mr. Walter said he had spoken to the police with
the view to get rid of the nuisance, but their reply
had been that they had no power to interfere. He
wished, however, to remind the court that on a for-
mer occasion, when the matter was taken up by the
order of the magistrates, the evil was so far abated
that there was no very serious ground for complaint
afterwards, and it was now hoped that the magis-
trates would again take the matter in hand, and put
the same law into force that was found so effectual
in remedying the evil on the occasion he referred to.
Mr. Bone said the nuisance was increasing day by
day, and it was so great that at the time they left
Farringdon-street that morning to come to complain
to the magistrate there were not less than 2,000
persons congregated there.

Mr. Alderman Hale said he understood that the
betting men did not now infest the Sunday Times
corner of Fleet-street as formerly, but that they now
congregated at the north-west corner.
Mr. Walter said that was the fact, but that the
inconvenience extended all up Farringdon-street
and Fleet-street.

Mr. Alderman Hale said the police should be ap-
plied to, for he remembered that on former occa-
sions men had been brought before him, and ho had
sent them for trial at the Central Criminal Court,
and they were convicted. If the police would bring
any one of those men before him he could assure
them that all parties should have ample justice. The
nuisance complained of four years ago was a most
dangerous one, as it was not merely an inconve-
nience to every one, but it was a hindrance to busi-
ness, an obstruction of the thoroughfare ; it tended
to corrupt public morals, and was calculated to be
productive of the most serious consequences in pri-
vate families. In this case the nuisance appeared
to have outgrown its former dimensions, and if it was
found necessary to invoke the strong arm of the
law to suppress it the inhabitants might rest as-
sured that the magistrates would exercise their
power to the utmost to assist them in getting rid of
such an intolerable evil.

Mr. Martin, the chief clerk, said if it could be
proved that the men were engaged in betting trans-
actions they might be proceeded against by indict-
ment.
Mr. Alderman Hale said if the police saw men
with memorandum books in their hands, and a num-
ber of persons around them apparently interested in
what they were reading or writing, they might
fairly assume that such men were conducting bet-
ting transactions, and interfere accordingly, parti-
cularly if they saw the same men so engaged day
after day. It would, in his opinion, be a clear in-
fringement of the law, and the persons so engaged
must take the consequences of their conduct on
themselves.

Mr. Martin said there were several betting men
who had been prosecuted and allowed their liberty
upon recognisances to appear when called upon. He
would supply the police with the names of those men,
so that if they should be found in connection with
the nuisance complained of, they could be deal
with at once, as an example to all others offending.
Mr. Foster, the assistant superintendent of City
police, said he would give instructions to the officers
to look out for these men, and in the meantime he
would report upon the present proceedings to the
commissioner.

Mr. Alderman Hale said before the ruins were
enclosed the betting men assembled there and were
in the habit of taking possession of the covered
portion of the Metropolitan Railway station when-
ever it rained ; but an application to Sir Richard
Mayne eventually led to the routing of the fellows.
It appeared in this instance that in driving them
from the Ruins it was getting rid of one evil to
make room for another of greater magnitude, for
they were out of the way to a certain extent upon
the Ruins.

Mr. Holditch, of the corner of Farringdon-street,
said he had more opportunity of seeing the real ex-
tent of the evil than perhaps any one in the parish,
and he assured the magistrate that on the previous
day he sent one of his young men out to count the
number of persons congregated, and after counting
1,500, he came in and said there were so many more
that he could not count them all.

Mr. Alderman hale said if they met in such im-
mense numbers it must be a great obstacle to busi-
ness of all kinds, and there was quite enough for tho
police to act upon.
Mr. r. ilolditch said there were public-houses in the
neighbourhood to which great numbers were at-
tracted in consequence of persons advertising their
betting transactions from their houses.
Mr. Alderman Hale said he remembered one of
the houses to Which Mr. Hold
itch had referred. He
was against granting the licence in the
ttrst instance,
but he would take care and mention matter at
the approaching licensing day. In the
meantime
wished the police and the public to understand thathe
he was prepared to render them every assistance
in
his power, and that in all cases brought under his
notice he would exercise all the powers vested in him
a 5 a magistrate with the utmost rigour to put down
the nuisance arising from the congregation of such

---------- d laza- hp'
unable conscientiously to subscribe to tl.‘e ec . ~e numbers of disreputable characters in the pub-
tion required of them, before they could obtainlie thoroughfares.
, _received
Th atbtehi
being
mg ,t
haen do
nrleyti retired.
fellowship, that they were bona fide members o the The deputation then thanked the worthy Alder-
Established Church ; and he concluded by inzoxing 1 • man for the kind consideration with which he had
the resolution for the adoption of the Court.
business brought under the
Alderman HALE seconded it, and the motion Ins
criminal case, Mr. Alderman Hale claimed,
,presiding magistrate's notice, and that not being an
agreed to unanimously•
'.ding to ancient custom, a pair of white gloves,
The Hon. DEPUTY then moved another res‘blu. ordina-,7
tion :—" That, regarding the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge as national institutions, the full ad-- a "'presentation indicative of, as termed on circuit, a
vantages of which should be enjoyed by all classes; '' maiden assize."
of her Majesty's subjects, without respect to religi—
ous distinctions, this corporation do petition both
houses of Parliament to pass a bill to provide for
I the abolition of religious tests in connection wit) i
academical degrees and offices in the University of
1 Oxford."

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The ironclad frigate Bellerophon,:l4, 1,000-horse
power, Capt. E. Tatham, having received on board
a supply of coals and had her compasses adjusted,
was under orders to leave the Nore yesterday after-
noon for Spithead, to which she will be navigated
by a number of seamen, engineers, and stokers be-
longing to the Medway Steam Reserve. Mr. W.
Eames, assistant chief inspector of machinery at
Chatham dockyard, will proceed round to Ports-
mouth with the Bellerophon to note the working of
her machinery. During the time the Bellerophon
has been lying in the Medway since being put out
of dock she has been inspected by Vice-Admiral
Sir Charles Talbot, K.C.8., Naval Commander-in-
Chief, yr ho expressed himself in unqualified terms of
approval of the manner in which she has been fitted
and despatched from Chatham dockyard. On arrival
at Spithead she will commence her speed trials over
the measured mile in Stokes Bay at light draught of
water. The trials of this ship are looked forward to
with great interest, as decisive of the true measure
of value of the French bow as possessed by the ships
Magenta and Solferino, and adopted by the English
Admiralty in the Bellerophon.
The Racoon, 22, screw corvette, Captain Count
Gleichen, accompanied by her tender, the screw
gunboat Whiting, 4, 60 horse power, Lieut.-Com-
mander James M. Morris, sailed from Spithead yes-
terday afternoon for Queenstown, Ireland.

The Minotaur, screw, iron frigate, Master Frank
Inglis, is having her outfit continued alongside
Portsmouth dockyard. The coal bunkers of the
ship are being filled up to their full capacity ; the
cupola furnace has been taken out of the ship, and
an auxiliary steam boiler shipped and fixed in the
space vacated by the cupola, and a stern gallery is
being constructed round the line of the stern win-
dows of the admiral's cabin. The Minotaur is nearly
three months ahead of the Agincourt in her outfit,
and it is therefore not unlikely that she may finally
be selected as the flagship of the present Secretary
of the Admiralty on his assuming the command of
her Majesty's ships in the Mediterranean. The
Minotaur and Agincourt, when armed with the new
seven and nine inch rifled guns, will be unrivalled
in speed and power of attack and defence among
the broadside gunships of war of all nations.
The screw storeship Fox, 200 horse power, Staff
Commander H. A. Moriarty, arrived at Chatham
yesterday from Plymouth and Portsmouth, with
supplies of copper and other stores for the use of the
dockyard. The Fox took up moorings in the har-
bour opposite the dockyard.
The headquarters of the 13th Hussars will leave
Norwich towards the end of this month. York is
understood to be the future destination of the regi-
ment.

The 62d Regiment has left Pembroke dock for
Gosport, Weymouth, and Portland. The men were
despatched by a special train drawn by two engines
via Heyland. During the time the regiment was at
Pembroke dock the conduct of the men was excel-
lent, and a general feeling of regret was evinced at
their departure.
A numerous party of convicts arrived at Chatham
yesterday from Pentonville, for employment on the
works at St. Mary's Island for the enlargement of
the dockyard. Another large party of convicts will
also arrive at Chatham from London to-day. The
convicts, to the number of about 1,000, employed
at Chatham are engaged in making the excavations
and constructing the walls and foundations of the
large basins and docks now in course of formation.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Commander E. J. Lawson, to
be inspecting commander in the Coastguard service,
vice Commander C. A. J. Heysham ; Sub-Licut.
Reynell. J. Fortescue and Sub-Lieut. Robert N.
Hamond to the Icarus ; Sub-Lieut. J. F. Hodgkin-
son to the Pallas ; William E. Campion, chief
engineer, to the Pallas ; George W. Hill and
Francis J. S. H. Napier, midshipmen, to the Pallas ;
James J. Conway and William Stewart, first-class
assist.-engineers, to the Pallas ; and Edward J.
Huystnans, acting second class assist.-engineer, to
the Pallas.