The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-08 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen was going on perfectly well towards
convalescence yesterday.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited
her Majesty yesterday at Buckingham Palace.
His Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen
visited his Royal Highness Prince Albert yesterday.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on
horseback yesterday morning, attended by Lieute-
nant-Colonel the Hon. Alexander Gordon.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of \Vales,
Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, the Princess
Alice, and the Princess Helena, took their accustomed
exercise yesterday in the garden of Buckingham
Palace.

Sir George Grey, Secretary of State for the Home
Department, has issued invitations for a full•dreEs
dinner on Wednesday next, the 15th inst , at the
Clarendon Hotel, in celebration of her Majesty's
birth day.
Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, has
issued invitations for a state dinner at his residence in
Carlton-terrace, on Wednesday next, the 15th inst.,
to celebrate the Queen's birthday.
Sir Charles Wood, Chancellor of the Exchequer,
issued invitations yesterday for a full-dress dinner on
Wednesday next, in celebration of her Majesty's
birth-day, at his official residence in Downing-
street.

Lord John Russell was better yesterday.
Mr. John Wood, Chairman of the Board of Inland
Revenue, and Mr. Pressly, had an interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official
residence in Downing street.

Dispatches were sent off last evening from the
Colonial-office for the Governors of Malta, Hong-
Kong, and Ceylon, and also for the Lord High Com-
missioner of the lonian Islands.

HEALTH of LONDON during the WEEK.
(From the Return of the Registrar-General.)
In the week ending last Saturday, the deaths re-
gistered in the metropolitan districts numbered only
829 ; a result whicb, if compared with the returns-
of corresponding weeks in ten previous years (1840-9),
is less than in any week, except. Those of 1841 and
1842. The average number of deaths in correspond-
ing weeks is 883, or raised in the ratio, of incirease'df
population 963 ; on which a decrease .is apparentlii
the deaths of last week, amounting .to 134. From
diseases of the zymotic or epidemic class, the total
deaths last week were 159, the corrected average
being 181 ; and to take particular diseases, small-
pox was fatal to • seven persons, or half the
average; scarlatina and hooping-cough respectively
to 17 and 36, also leas than the average; measles to
17, or about the usual amount. Bat croup des-
troyed 15 children, which is double the ordirtary fa-
tality from this complaint. Also the wi of a
butcher, aged' 36 years, died in. Halsey-terrace,
Chelsea, of " spasmodic croup (18 hours)." le yptius
was fatal in 28 cases—considerably less than; usual ;
erysipelas in 9; diarrheas in 10; the two latter being
near the average amount. Diarrhcei appears; to de-
cline, the deaths from it in the last three weeks!having
been 19, 11, 10; in the week corresponding to the last
in 1848 and 1849, they were 19 and 20. The tmorta-
lity from diseases of the respiratory organs difftt les little
from the amount that generally prevails at this season
of • the year;- from bronchitis, pneumoni4., and
asthma, there were respectively 44, 65, rancl 9
deaths, the last showing a slight decrease. ; It is
sufficiently worthy of remark, that con sump-
tion has recently carried off weekly ! much
less-. than the usual -number of its victims ; last
week the deaths from it were only 102, though in the
corresponding weeks of ten previous years they t:ranged
from 121 to 168, and the corrected average is 157.
A man of 44 years died of purpura hwmorrillagica.
A man and two children died of laryngitis ; maid three
children of laryngisrnus stridulus. Three cihildren
were accidentally suffocated in bed. Tbe dealth of a
child, aged 5 months, who was suffocated by impure
air, occurred at 7, Hayward's-place, in- St.-dfanes's,
Clerkenwell ;he was found dead in bed. His, father
was a jewel-case maker. In Blue Anchor -alley,
Finsbury, a bookbinder, aged 45 years, ''.tied of
" drunkenness, vomiting, and atrophy." A pensioner,
of 65 years, died in Greenwich hospital, from . " apo-
plexia a pots (13 days), pneumonia (6 days)." Last
week the deaths of 74 inmates of workhouse's were
recorded ; 63 persons were registered in geneg,',al hos-
pitals, 6 in military and naval, 8 in lunatic asiylums,
3 in the Small-Pox Hospital Camden-town ; a ttcl 3 in
the Fever Hospital, Islington.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
CALEDONIAN.
A numerous and influential meeting of tike 101.
Preference shareholders of this company toolic place
yesterday afternoon, at the London Tavern,Mishops-
gate-street, for the purpose of naming a deputaition to
the board of directors on the subject of reduciiog the
preferential claims, and of considering the reco‘nmen-
dation to elect delegates representing the 101. !Prefe-
rence shareholders, to confer with the directors and
conclude an arrangement.
Captain PLUNILET, R.N., having taken the chair,
said that, considering the state of the affairs of the
company, it was of the utmost importance that some-
thing should be immediately done to get thosde con-
cerned in it out of their present bad position. , The
amount of claims against the company was 570, 000/.,
and of this sum 107,0001. were what were callei i land
claims, and which, by the law of Scotland, we e im-
mediately enforceable in the most summary rnlanner,
and which must consequently be met at! once.
liven supposing the greatest possible patience were
exemplified by their creditors, it would require seven
or eight years to place themselves in a satist'actory
position. Another debt of a most serious clutracter
was the Clydesdale redemption money, which, added
to the floating debt, would make it ten or fifteen years
before matters were made straight. Yet till's was
taking the most favourable view of their situatia n—so
favourable, indeed, that he would argue nothing from
it, as in his opinion the only way of keepitig the
company on its legs would be by raising fresh capital.
The guarantees, which had bean so rashly sanctioned
by Parliament, were of such enormous extei)t that
they could be no longer paid by the company without
mulcting all prior claimants; and as the idea of pav-
ing the guarantees " for the credit of the convany,"
was a manifest exemplification of "robbing Peter to
pay Paul," he did not suppose that such an argiiment
would be used against the urgent demands of the
directors for reduction. The statement forth
by the present board of directors said that ,
the receipts that might be looked forwatd to
were ; but the exact average;
taken 6
from the
he awk
commencementee of the year, was a
weekly income of 5,8311. ; and their receipts might
be severely influenced by the opening in autumn of
the Nithsdale competing line. He concluded by
moving
theappointment of a committee such as
duties would be to consider the affairs of the
company, and such documents, &c., as it would be at
once inconvenient and disagreeable to publish to the
world at a public meeting ; to negotiate with the di-
rectors—to hear their reasons for the proposed reduc-
tions, and to consider whether the arrangements
were for the advantage of the shareholders. The
principal benefit arising from the appnintment of such
a committee would be, that it would give the• first
impulse to those arrangements which now engage
the attention and energies of the directors, and the
example of a cheerful acquiescence in a necessary but
disagreeable duty on the part of the shareholder*,
would greatly influence their operations, serve as the
best weapon in the hands of the directors for the suc-
The CHAIRMAN stated that negotiations had been
entered into with all of the preference lines.
ceslprosectuhtiqouneostfihthhes:r objects.—(Cheers.)
In answer
affairs 'of the
Several gentlemen addressed the meeting on the '
res) of the After which the resolution, with one or two emeti-
scuhhmjepcatnyof;the resolution and the general
&flow, was put and carried. It stood amended as
fhoelhloawifsh:f—"That
preferencea committ
( 1.
she n
ow
appointed on
Caledo-
nian Railway Company, with power to confer with'
the directors of the company in reference, to a
modification of the terms under which the preference
shares were issued, and to negotiate an arrangement
for such a modification of those terms as they may
think most advantageous—contingent on satisfactory'
arranements being concluded with the other guaran-
teed interests; such arrangements to be subject, to the
approval of an adjourned meeting of the general body
stock
of preference shareholders.
The committee appointed was composed of the fol-
lowing gentlemen :--Mr. Thornton (Wakefield), Mr.
Joseph Hough (Manchester), Mr. A. K. Baker, bin
Deputy Corney, and Mr. 'Ulster.
After a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting
adjourned till that day week, when the committee
would be able to report progress.
The first sitting of the committee was held after the
meeting had separated.

SOUTHAMPTON, M 7• AY- The Peninsular
and
Oriental Company's steam-ship Pacha,.Captain Meehan, with
the mails for Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar, left this day.
She took a full general cargo, with specie to the amount of
'I enil‘aillas,
13,400/., and several. posengers. The Euxine, Captain
55.. per 1 kvixio
Evans, Nelonging to the above company, from Constentino-:
pdrieid ,Scc ~
Captaini s expected‘veeli s
,i nw
itheth coursethe homoef
homeward
orro w.
Peninsulas
is expected on the 14th inst. The Herrmann, froipk/Saliii.:
York, is hourly looked for. 1 +
0
The bark harvest has commenced in this oounty.J
i is about 534- less than the
'of
prices , last year. ...4 1:04,w
Prices may be stated at from 31. 15e.. to It.
Journal.