The Sun. — London, England, 1848-02-11 00:00:00

THE rUN, LONDON, details of an interest not only to awake attention, but to point out practical remedies against much human suffer ing and mortality. f ~`. a ~` (fr(' I RETURNS OF MORTALITY. The return of the mortality in 117 dist l ricts has Eng land for the quarter endin g December, 847,just been issued by authority of the Registrar-General, and presents many curious illustrations of the epidemic which has proved so fatal to the young, the old, and those afflicted with chronic disease. The districts from which the returns have been obtained contained, in 1841, a population of 6,612,800, and this num ber must of course have increased since that year. The increase of mortality from the increase of population may be estimated at 1.75 annually. In the of deaths arter en ding December 31, 1847, the number was 57,925; in the corresponding quarter of 1811 the number was only 39,292. The latter year, how ever, was very healthy, the difference below the calculated number of (!eaths being 2,655. If the mortality had increased at the usual rate, the number of deaths in the year 1841 would thus have been 41,947. In 1845 the number was 39,291, being 5,670 below the calculated number, and showing that this year was the rent healthy for seven years previous. The deaths in 1844 exceeded the estimated number by 7,315, and 1847 by 11,376. In the former year the number was 53,093, the number estimated 45,743; in the latter year the number was 57,925, the estimated number 46,549. To account for this extraordinary increase the report says:- " A slight increase in the mortality was noticed in the returns of the June quarter, 1846 ; the mortality in the following hot summer, when the potato crop failed, was excessive ; cholera and diarrbm I were epidemic ; in the autumn of 1816, as well as the winter and spring quarters of 1847, the mortality, was sel higher ; scurvy prevailed in the beginning of the year, b but in the summer the public health seemed ton e slightly improved ; epidemics of typhus and influza, however, set in, and made tho mortality of of the last quarter of 1847 higher than in any quarter any year since the new system of registration cd. " The deaths in the y ear 1845 were 166,000; in 1847, 215,000. The excess in 1847 is 49,000, or not less than 35,000 over the corrected average of 1839-45. " In London, the deaths registered in the quarters ending December, 1845-6 7 were 11,838, 13,221, and 18,553 (thirteen weeks). The greatest number regis tered in any quarter of the nine previous years was 14,686 in the severe winter of 1845." It is calculated that if the chance of a child in the country under 15 years of age will die in three months be represented by 1, the chance that a child in London will die in the same time is 2. Of course, it fellows that when any epidemic prevails the chance of escaping it is 2 to lin favour of the country. The following is descriptive of the rise of the influenza in the last year, and the probable causes of the diseases which prevailed: " The population was inadequately supplied with po tatoes, and scurvy was prevalent in the beginning of the year. Meat and bread were dear, distress was 'cit'e; vagrants flocked in from the country, the poor Irish came to their kindred, the workhouses were crowded. In Apfil and May typhus became epidemic; instead of the average 34, 50 died weekly; it steadily spread and burnt on until it killed 111 victims in a single week. Diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera, had been a little more fatal than usual throughout the year ; 17, however, only died of these diseases in the first week of July ; the mean temperature of the air was above 60 deg.; the number of deaths rose to 38, 47, 67, 125, 123, 188, by the middle of August, and then gradually übsided. .Notwithstanding the continued prevalence of typhus and scarlatina, the deaths in the last week of October were only 945 ; 1 person died of influenza, 36 of bronchitis (inflammation of the air tubes), and 62 of pneumonia (inflammation of the substance of the lungs). In three weeks following, ending November 20, the total deaths were 1,052 1,098, end 1,986; of which 2,4, and 4, were by influenza; 49, 58, and 61 by bronchitis ; 68, 79, and 93 by pneumonia. The wind had generally been blowing S.S.W. and S.W. since the first week in October; the weather was unusually warm; a brilliant aurora was observed, and shook the magnets on October 24; it appeared eight times during the quar ter ; on Tuesday, November 16th, there was a remarkable darkness ; the wind changed to N, W., and amidst various changes - still blow from the north over Greenwich at the rate of 160 and 250 miles a day. The mean temperature of the air suddenly fell from 11 deg. above to 10 deg. below the average ; on Monday it was 54 deg., Friday 32 deg. ; tfie air on Friday night was 27 deg., the earth was frczen ; the wind was calm three days, and on Saturday evening a dense fog lay over the Thames and London for the space of five hours. No electricity stirred in the air (luring the week. All was still : as if nature held her breath at the sight of the destroyer, come forth to sacrifice her children. On Sunday the sky was overcast, the air damp, the wind changed in the night to S. by E., and passed for four days over Green wich at the rate of 200 and 300 miles daily ; the temperature suddenly rose, and remained from 2 degrees to 9 degrees above the average through the week ending Nov. 27 : when the deaths of 1,677 per- SOO3, 819 males, and 858 females were registered ; 771 persons under 15 years of age, 528 aged 15-60, and 388 of . the ago of 60 and upwards. Influenza was epidem:c. On the first week of December two thousand four hundred and fifty-four persons died : 1,141 were males, 1,313 females; 1,012 children, 712 persons in the prime of life, 730 of the ago of 60 and upwards. On the week following two thousand four hundred end sixteen persons died ; 1,175 males, 1,241 females;l,ol6 under the age of 15 ; 698 at the age of 15- 60, and 702 at the age of 60 and upwards. The deaths in the weeks ending Saturday, Dec. 18, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1, wet e 1,946, 1,247, and 1,599. 11,339 persons died in six weeks, and altogether the epidemic carried off more than 5,000 souls over and above the mortality of the season. The epidemic attained the greatest in tensity in the second week of its course; raged with nearly eq'aal violence through the third week; declined in the fourth, and then partly subsided; but the tempe rature felling„ the mortality remained high not only through December, but through the month of January., " Adults and the aged seem to have suffered most from the epidemic ; thus, the deaths in the three weeks ending November 13, of persons under fifteen, were 1,553 ; in the three weeks ending December 18, they were 2,846. In the same periods the deaths of persons between the ages of fifteen and sixty were 966 and 1,970 ; at the age above sixty, 576 and 1.999. " The mortality in childhood was raised 83 per cent., in manhood, 104 per cent.; in old age, 0 47 per cent. From the age of 4 to 25, however, the mortality was comparatively not very much increased; at the age of 10 to 15, the healthiest period of life, it was scarcely increased at all-in girls." In cases of old age, and where chronic diseases ex isted, the influenza was generally fatal. "The poison, permeating the whole system, fastens ' chiefly on the mucous membrane lining the sinuses of the fce and head, and the air tubes of the lungs. Hence it is fatal to the asthmatic; the deaths directly ascribed to asthma in October and November were 12 weekly; in the six weeks of the influenza epidemic, 77, 86, 73, 5 9 , 11, 26, besides the numerous cases classed under influenza. - 36 deaths were ascribed to bronchitis in the week ending October 30, and 49, 58, 61, 196, 343, 299, 234, 107, and 138 in the nine following weeks. 62 deaths were as cribed to pneumonia in the same week, and 68, 79, 95, 170, 306, 294, 189, 131, 148 in the nine weeks following." The report goes on with some interesting details re specting the districts of London in which the epidemic prevailed to the greatest extent. These are well worthy the attention of our civic authorities who boast of the sanitary condition of the metropolis, and who have so loudly resisted all attempts at improvement. Taking the deaths in each of the London districts for the six weeks, from November 21, 1847, to January 1, 1848, the rate of mortality was 46 to every 1,000; the average during seven years from 1838 to 1844 was only 25 to every 1,000, thus showing that the epidemic raised the mortality eighty per cent. " Lewisham," says the re port, " including Blackheath, Sydenham, and Eltham, is one of the healthiest districts in London ; the ordi naryrate of mortality is 17 annually ; during the epidemic it was 27. St. George-in-the-East is one of the l 1,000; unhealthiest districts; the ordinary rate of mortality is 2 9 n i the rate of mortality during the epidemic was Geor The increase in Lewisham was 1 0 , in St. go - in - the-East 44; the latter district suffered four times as much from the influenza as the former. The epidemic people in the of influenza killed twice as many those less insalubrious unhealtz parts of London as it did in unhealthy.' Surely such facts must open the eyes of those in more /it entirely to the authority to the necessity of looking which they have cont ro l, cleanliness of the districts over The country districts do not appear to have been affected to any extent, a fact which with epid em ic diseases shows how much the purity of the air has to The influenza prevailed for the most part over England ; some parts have as yet escaped, t fend to a very small extent. Thet mortality was in creased in unhealthy towns , but no no London. There does the appearance have suffered to the same extent not appear to be any cause assigned for quarter seems to of this disease, unless indeed it takes its origin from want of that prop er nourishment which is in dispensable a in the mainiltaining of animal life. The weatherdoe not appear to have the influence which is sometimess ascribed to it. " Extreme cold," says the report, " never rai ses t h © weekly mortality in London above 1,500; extreme heat still less; intermediate changes affect th emb e mer ortality but slightly in ordinary circumstances; Nov fogs occur every year without giving rise to influenza. In Nallovoveem ber, 1847, the weather was nearly the same r England, yet influenza did not break out simultaneously. When once generated, the epidemic spreads throu g h the air. The great epidemics generally travel from-1. Russia,"over, 2, Germany; 3, Denmark, Sweden, Eng land, France; 4. Italy, Spain, in from three to six months, and then reach America. Influenza is often associated with o th er e pidemics. It appears to have preceded, or accompanied the plague, in the black deat h in the fourteenth century; f it preceded the great plag ue 1803, preced e d in loBllowea epidemicinLyndon, of London, 1665 ; it typhus epidemic o f 184377 typhus London, , an occurredd preceded in the and midst followed o f theth e epidemi c c h o l era in 1831-2 3." different countries And Aga i n as to the months in which it occurs in "By returns alre - ady received at the office of the Di beecnalDepartment of the Navy, Di rector-General of the Medical and with which I have favoured . by Sir William Burnett, it appears th s a t t ati lid s eirc . catarrh (Sr influenza the }car 1847, as and °l;:o.nli2;:e:try-on the coast prevailed on foreign under netcl, In January Spain.an Zealmel. of Portugal and south coast _February, March-in Newfoundland January, ' PetltiarA March-at Valparaiso. - , Jitiaiugust, September-West 13'11- , ast of coast of Africa, With OrflatrEquator. August-Hong-Kong." -The - r - eport,o accompanie by a brief account of the previous epidemics of influenza which have occurred in va g i an d . sinoi 1723 . Taking it altogether, this report is drawn up with more ability than we in general find in such documents. The research bestowed upon it is elldeatly great, and the deductions drama from the ELECTION COMMITTEES. GRIRLT YARMOUTH . . (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday). Samuel Amiss, a shipwright, proved receiving 31. in he same way as the previous witness, and also spoke to receiving 41. afterwards from a Mr. Powell. Mr. Robert Blake stated that ho met Coble on the morning of the poll. Coble told him that he was pre pared to pay him the" arrears " of the previous election, but witness declined to plump for the Reds, and Coble refused to pay him. Several other freemen deposed to having received 31. ih the manner described by former witnesses. The Committee adjourned at four o'clock, till eleven o'clock to-morrow morning. WAVENEY VALLEY AND GREAT YARMOUTH RAILWAY CO APANY. A special meeting of the scripholders in this com pany was held yesterday afternoon at the London Tavern. W. Wilshire, Esq., in the chair. WemeneseN, Req., solicitor to the company, read the report of the committee of management, which stated that, in accordance with a resolution at the last meeting of the scripholders, the directors had entered into an agreement with the Norfolk Railway Company, en 21st Oct., 1846, by which it was agreed that tho Norfolk Company should apply to Parliament for an Act to construct a line from Rcedham to Diss, with a branch from Becclee to Walesworth. To provide funds for that purpose the Norfolk Company agreed to create new stock, bearing a guaranteed interest at 5 per cent. The Waveney Valley Company were to be entitled to subscribe. for 20,000 shares, of 201. each, by payment of a deposit of 308. in each share, credit being given to them by the Norfolk Company as if 21. had been paid upon every share. It was also agreed that upon the applica tion to Parliament being successful, the Norfolk Company should pay the sum of ss. upon each share to the Waveney Valley Company. The Act had been ob tained, and in accordance with the agreement 5,0001. was due to this company, which, however, had not been paid, although the Norfolk Company had agreed to hand over that sum in October last. The directors, therefore, suggested the expediency of being entrusted by the scripholders with power to enforce their rights either by an appeal to a court of equity or by some. other means. 'The accounts showed the receipts of the coinpany to be 35,8751. Ss. 2d., of which only 1,2551... remained in the hands of the bankers, the rest having: been expended. Captain Aloorsorn, the engineer, had! made a further claim of 1,7251. against the company„ which, however, they considered exorbitant, and refused to pay. Atter a good deal of discussion, during which two or three shareholders objected to any proceedings being taken that might involve the company in a tedious law suit in Chancery, and urged upon the directors the propriety of endeavouring to make some arrangement with the Norfolk Company, The report of the committee of management was received and adopted. A resolution was then passed to the effect that the committee of matiaecment be requested to take steps with reference to the ' agreement with the Norfolk Com pany as they may be advised, and report thereon. to a meeting of the scripholders, to bo called for the pur pose, on as early a day as possible. Another resolution was then agreed to, giving the directors power to take similar proceedings to recover the money agreed to be paid by the Eastern Union and Chelmsford and Bury Companies as their quota of the expenst s incurred in proceeding to Parliament. A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. ST. MARYLEBONE BANK FOR SAVINGS. The eighteenth annual general meeting of this institution was held yesterday at the office, No. 76, Welheck-street, Cavendish-:kquare ; the Rev. John Hume Spry, D.D., in the chair. It appeared from the several reports read to the crieeting, that no less than 2,206 new deposits had been made in the last year ; 18,119 deposit accounts remained open on the 20th November last, of which no less than 13,437 held balances averaging less than 31. 7s. Id. each. Upwards of 301,6631. was then invested with the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. The continued evidence thus afforded of the dispo sition of the working classes to provide against the casualties of life will prove a source of gratification to all reflecting minds; and it may indeed be hoped that this provident disposition has its influence in im proving the character and conduct, materially contri buting to this class of workmen being the last to be discharged whenever establishments are reduced from scarcity of work. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. to. ,Sittings before the LORD CIIIEF BARON and Specie: Juries.) MAYHEW V. SPOONER. This was an action brought to recover compensa tion in damages for the use of slanderous language by the defendant, affecting the character of the plaintiff; at a meeting held at the Freemasons' Tavern. Mr. Cockburn, Mr. Martin, and Mr. Petersdorff appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. Sergeant Wilkins and Mr. M. llill for the defendant. The meeting in question was, it appeared, held for the purpose of considering an application made by the defendant to the Government for a new charter to the Veterinary College. During the proceedings the plaintiff stated that he had delivered lectures at that institution, which was deemed to be untrue by the defendant, who cautioned the meeting not to place any reliance on the plaintiff, who was " a convicted libeller and a ridiculer of the Christian religion." Mr. COCKBURN stated that the object of the plaintiff was not to obtain c xcessive damages, hut to clear his character from the foul blot cast upon it. Mr. Sergeant Wiramsstated that, after the state ment of the Learned Counsel, he should he even quite willing to suggest the withdrawal of the offensive ex pressions made use of by the defendant. Mr. COCKBURN was quite willing to let the matter drop upon payment of the costs of the action. This proposition was objected to by Mr. Sergeant WiLrcisis, who desired his Lordship to express an opi nion on the question of costs. The LORD CHIEF BARON said that if he were called upon to express an opinion on the matter, he would certainly recommend the defendant to pay the costs of the action. The Attorney for the defendant said, that he had not authorised the Learned Sergeant to make any such proposition as he had done. This proceeding on the part of the attorney caused much excitement. The LORD CHIEF BARON at length said, that he would postpone the case in order to afford time for the parties to consult together on the subject. The Attorney for the defendant said, that his mind was made up on the subject. The case ought to he allowed to go to the jury. Mr. Sergeant WILKINS said, that under the cir cumstances of the case, he felt it his duty to withdraw from the cause. After some discussion, it was at length argreed to withdraw a juror, the defendant consenting to a rule to pay all costs which had been paid out of the plain tiff's pocket. CHARGE OF CRUELTY. —Yesterday Mr. R. Hunt, of Old Brentford, was brought before the sitting magis trates of Brentford on a charge of cruelty to his nephew, Charles Hunt, a boy 14 years of age, who was suffering from ill-health, and was allowed a chair during the exa mination. It appeared from the evidence of Mr. C. Allen and Mr. Myers, the assistant overseer and over seer of the parish, from that of police-sergeant Carshaw, and from the statement of the boy himself, that he (the boylhad been a sort of servant to his uncle, that he had been kept in solitary confinement in a garret by his uncle for a fortnight, ending Saturday last, and fed on bread and water. There had been no fire in the room during that time, he had straw to sleep on, and during part of that time he had been tied by a cord by the leg to the grate, to prevent his escape. He had been very ill, and had been supplied with pills by his uncle. The uncle, in his defence, made a lengthened statement complaining of the boy's conduct, and saying that the police were prejudiced against him. The magistrates called upon him to find sureties for his appearance at the sessions, and, as he did not produce them at the moment, he was detained in custody. I ELECTION PETITIONS.—The following days have been s e l ec t e d f or the appointment of the Select Com mittees to try the matter of the petitions complaining of unduee 14 th of ele c ti ons : f or B o d m in and Bolton, on Thursday, t and North February; for Montgomery (borough) and Carlisl e , on Monday, 28th February; and for Bewdley Northern Division of Staffordshire, Thursday, 2cl of March. PENTIAND PIRTIT W have manned . Duneansbay, fosrhthipe two— laregleeawrnelltheaqtali4ppeexdpebroiaetnsceedt pilots purposevta of piloting vessels through the Or fir T h s may now with greater con fidence approach the w eather permitting, be met at as p they will at all times, Duncansbay by one of these boats, when a pilot may b e ta k en on board.—John o'CGtilitoctitoujsourlNnacliDENT.—On Saturday forenoon, absence orenoon, in the of Irosier-street, Calton , durin g th e temporary the mistress of t he house, a woman entered where two you n g men were sleeping, and, utter room care fully scrutinizing the inmates of the bed, remark e d tt herself " that it WaS all right," and quietly deposited a fine healthy inalc chi ld between the unconscients Sleepers. This transaction was wimc:sed by a young man who was lying in bed in another part of the room ; but, as ha was in a weak state of bc:ilth, having but, partially recovered from fever, he could no,'; in any INay interfere with the movements of the woman. The astonishment ,been selected of the mistress of the house may be imagined, when, on entering the door, the lusty squalling of the little hadn7r met her ear; and when she saw the place which sleepers, but they a fine boy of about ten months i t n ed tru to im r ,h i i t e s h d c e o p u o ld si t ha s v h e e awakened the of any circumstances both protested their entire ignorance over to the parochial authoritiea. unceremonious and we understand the child, led to such an —Edinbur#ll Mai/. old, has been handed IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 10. Tht : LORD CUANCELLOE took his seat upon the Wool s ack at Five o'clock. Es rl FITZHARDINGE presented a petition frore - Bristol in favour of Jewish emancipation. :Fad FITZWILLIAM presented several other pet aions from various places with a similar prayer. 57he Bishop of SALISBURY presented a petition from a the Archdeacon and clergy of Gloucester aga inst the measure ; also a petition from the same par ties complaining of the spiritual destitution pre vail ing in that diocese. HALIFAX AND QUEBEC RAILWAY. Earl FITZWILLIAM had a petition to present, to -which he wished to draw the particular attention of their Lordships. It was a petition for the grant of a ?loan of money for the construction of a rail wa y from Halifax to Quebec. It would be re collected that at the time of the outbreak of the re sellion in Canada, there was great difficulty in transmitting army and ordnance stores into the interior of Canada, and had there then existed a rail -wv.:er from Halifax to Quebec there would have been eye ry facility for the transport of these stores. It was a ls o important, as affording increased facilities for the t ransmission of emigrants to their place of destination in the interior of Canada from this port of disembarka tion, that every facility should he furnished them of railway accommodation. The sum of i 62,0001. was asked for as a loan, and in return for the loan the petitioners would carry the anail for nothing, and thus the sum now paid to the American Government for conveying the mails would "be saved. Lord ASHBURTON considered that while the United States were traversed in every direction by railways and telegraphs, our American colonies, which did not enjoy the same advantages, were placed in an unfair position • therefore he trusted that the Government would give every encourage ment for the construction of railways in Canada and Nova Scotia. The Noble Lord presented a petition from two townships in New Brunswick, praying for aid to the British North American 1 railways. Earl GREY assured their Lordships that the im portance of railways in Canada had not escaped the attention of the Government. They considered it of the greatest importance to establish a line of commu nication between Halifax and Quebec. The en gineering officers engaged in surveying the country had, he was happy to say, suc ceeded in finding a practicable route, but until their report was in the possession of the Government he could not give any opinion as to the propriety of assisting any particular company. At the present moment there were most pressing demands from every one of the colonies on the Govern ment for assistance in the construction of great public works, but the circumstances of the country did not permit of large advances being made for this purpose. With regard to furnishing employment for emigrants, he could say that although upwards of a quarter of a million of persons emigrated last year to New Brunswick, there was no lack of employment in that colony, and the Government had actually been obliged to send home for labourers to be employed in the construction of certain public works which were necessary for the public service. Certainly many of the emigrants were in a destitute condition, not because there was any lack of profitable employment, but because they were unused to, and in capable of performing the work required by the wants of the colony. POOR-LAW (IRELAND). Earl F 1 rz WILLIAM then rose to move for a return of the several unions in Ireland of which the boards of guardians have been dissolved, stating the population, the extent of acres, and rateable value of each such union. He had no doubt but that the law was better administered in many in stances by paid guardians appointed by the Government than by the local guardiars ; but it was an anomaly in this country . to find funds, the proceeds of local taxation, administered by official, appointed by the Executive Government, and it must be a matter of grave doubt whether a law which authorised the substitution of paid officers ap pointed by the Crown for guardians elected by the rate- payers was calculated to attain the object which the Legislature had in view in passing the law. The number of unions in Ireland was 130, and thirteen boards of guardians had been dissolved, but those thirteen unions comprehended a much greater proportion of the total acreage of Ireland than would appear by a comparison between 130 and 13. 'The principles of the poor-law established in this country were; totally inapplicable to Ireland. They would yet have to consider the whole question of the principles to be adopted in legislatingr Ireland. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE admitted that the power of appointing paid gilardians exercised by the Government was one which ought to be watched with peculiar attention by the Legislature. He had never shared in the enthusiastic hopes of those who had considered the introduction of the poor law as a complete remedy of the evils of Ireland. He had doubted the power even of Parliament to in troduce a measure of this nature which should be perfect, but he considered, and he believed the great majority of their Lordships had considered, that there would be great difficulties in the way of finding a local machinery for the working of the Bill, but yet it was better to attempt to find that machinery than to throw the whole power into the hands of the Government. But still, where no such local ma chinery existed, or where it was manifestly incom petent to the performance of its duties, it was necessary to give the Government the power of interfering. The Government had so interfered in thirteen instances, and he admitted thist those instances comprehended the largest unions, because in them the greatest difficulties existed. In some instances the Government had found it neces sary to interfere, because the guardians refused to perform their duties. In others the guardians had deposed themselves, on account of the diffi culties in which they found themselves placed-- difficulties more easily to be overcome by paid guardians than by themselves. He agreed that this was a state of things that ought not to continue, but the amount of poor-rate at pre sent collected would not have been collected but for the appointment of paid paid guardians. The collection of the poor-rate was a work of difficulty, and would be so for some months to come at least.—(Hear, hear.) He believed that it would always be a difficulty unless acconpanied by collateral measures of relief; and one of the wisest of those measures, was that which their Lordships had adopted last year, of au thorising advances to be made to the landholders for improvements. That measure was being rapidly brought into operation, and on the part of the Irish proprietors generally there had been exhibited the greatest anxiety to avail themselves of this measure. Up to the present moment the value of loans ap plied for by the Irish landowners, under the provi sions of that Act, was 2,460,000/. Of these, 896 ap plications had been sanctioned, and 1,068,2501. had been advanced, and was now employed in improving lands and in giving employment to the population. Great assistance had also been given to the schools in Ireland, which came in aid of the poor-rate. There were 774 national schools in Ireland, containing 94,000 children ; to those the Government had distributed 655,000 rations, averag ing bid. a head. He had no objection at all to the motion. In answer to a question from a NOBLE Loan, The Marquis of LANSDOWNE stated that the loan to the Irish proprietors for improvements was advanced by instalments Lord MONTEAGLE—So that, as the law stood, it was competent for the board of guardians, if they were unanimous, to substitute a union rating for a parochial rating. Now he had not made any objec tion to this so long as the guardians were elected, because it was very unlikely that an Irish board of guardians would be ever unanimous, or if they were, and were unanimous in taxing themselves, no one had any right to complain, but when three paid guardians were substituted for twenty guardians elected by the rate-payers and certain others sitting at the board ex officio, it became a very different matter, and he could not but view with great jealousy the power thus given to guardians appointed by the Crown to alter the whole system of rating, and substitute a union for a parochial rating, if to them it should seem meet. He could not sit down without stating how gratifying it was to find that English gentlemen of the highest rank had exposed themselves to all the perils of infection, and to fatigues and dangers, in order to aid in the efficient carrying out of this law. Earl FITZWILLIAM replied, and the motion, after a few words of explanation from the Marquis of LANSDOWNE, was agreed to. D i PLOMATIC INTERCO URSE WITH R O M E. Lord STANLEY wished to know what course the Government intended to pursue with regard to the Bill for regulating diplomatic intercourse with Rome. He wished to know, in the event of the Bill passing the second reading, what day would be fixed for the Committee. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE would move the second reading on Thursday, and should then go fully into the subject. No doubt there would be eonsiderble discussion, and in the event of the House consenting to the second reading of the Bill he thought no delay should take place, and he had in tended to propose going into Committee on the Friday should p or Monday foll o wing ; and he would now state that should th e Bill b e rea d a second time on Thursday, he heiri io r r o d p s e h e i goingpesthen a into Committee on the next day (Friday). T The S r il ft K r j e S it E t 0 0 0 k F t C h e j Chai r M M o s l V ho S r , t F l y e b 10 . 'Cho I before . Four o'clock. The Marquis of KILDARE took the oaths and his seat for the county of Kildare. FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRII.ARY IL ) !848?, SWITZERLAND. Sir 11. VERNEY wished to know from the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the decree of the canton of Friburg (as we understood), I of the 24th of November, 1847, would in any mar ,ner affect the interests of British residents in that c. ~rit y At and also whether the offers which had be , V i ta d e to mediate between the contending partie- , ~,,,a Swit zerland had been attended with any succ' ~,, ,d . Lord PAL INIERSTON said that he iras not aware of any British subject who had ber„. t at all affected by the decree referred to. With r e , spect to the latter part of the question it was true that her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires had made a communication with respect to arbitrating betw ''' en t h e part i es o f an un official nature, but he - ,(P:s not able to state whether any success had atte /ted that communication. ' WEST INDIA COLONIES. Sir R. PEET , presented a petition from the island of St. Vincent, praying relief to the West India colonies. PRISON DISCIPLINE. Lord NUGENT rose, pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal so much of the 2d and 31 Victoria, which gave the power of apply ing the system of separate imprisonment to persons before trial. The Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the - Home Department had paid a good deal of attention to this subject, and he hoped he should have the sanction of the Right Hon. Baronet to introduce the Bill. They had no right to imprison parties in this manner who had not undergone a trial. It was said, however, this system of separate confinement was established to prevent contvlnination amongst pri soners; but it was opposed 4 4;0 all principles of equity and justice to test experirants of this sort upon par ties who ought to be. considered innocent of any crime until they 'nad been convicted by a jury of their countrl; tnen. Besides, if this system were to be continued, there would be an end to the barrier which drew a distinction between those who were guilty and those whom Government was only justified in holding in detention. By the law as it at present stood, all letters from the nearest and dearest friends were taken from prisoners untried, and read by the authorities of the gaol. He might be told that all this was necessary, in order to prevent improper communications, but in his opinion nothing could justify such a tax upon an unhappy and unfortunate prisoner. It appeared to him to be a tyranny without any purpose whatever; he be lieved it to be totally inconsistent with the system of jurisprudence of which this country so proudly boasted, and it was an aggravation of punish ment upon the untried totally inconsistent N 1 ith the merciful policy of the English law. Separate punishment was a severe reformatory prin ciple. Sir James Graham, in his letter, printed in the first report of the Commissioners of Pentonville Prison, stated it to be a probationary punishment, instituted for the purpose of preparing criminals for transportation, and for regulating the nature of the punishment to which they were to be subjected. Hard labour was not described by the Commissioners as an additional punishment, but as a relief from the hor rors of separate confinement. Mr. William Merry, one of the prison inspectors, who took an active part in the construction of the gaol of Reading for seperate confinement, said, before the Committee of the House of Lords on criminal law, " I believe there is no man confined in a separate cell who would not escape from such confinement if he could for the purpose of labouring on the tread-mill ;" an I the pri son inspectors in their last year's report stated that persons separately confined " are obliged to work, irons the irksomeness of idleness." The Rev. Mr. Field, the chaplain of Reading gaol for 20 years, and the highest authority on the subject, stated in a book which he had written—" As a general rule I assert with confidence that prisoners prefer the hardest labour, even that under ordinary circum stances extremely irksome, to idleness which is con strained." Mr. M. D. Hill, the Recorder of Bir mingham, was of the same opinion; he said that the punishment was extremely severe in itself without any addition. And Mr. Baron Alderson, a most enlightened and benevolent man, said, " It appears to me that there will be no effectual reform in prison discipline so long as the county gaols continue as at present. What is wanted is this—we ought to have county houses of detention for untried prisoners." Most cordially did he agree with his Lordship's sentiments, as he belived, with him, that there never could be any effectual punishment until they had powers of detention, such as he re commended, separate from the ordinary gaols. Separate punishment fell far more severely on the poor than on the rich, as the friends of the rich were enabled to gather round him and to administer con solation to him, whereas the poor could not afford to pay travelling expenses, or the expenses incidental to an occasional stay in a country town for the pur pose of visiting their relations in confinement. The rich man might surround himself with many comforts which the poor man could not obtain. The poor man more than the rich required communion with his fellow-men, and from this he was entirely debarred. The authorities to which he referred showed that the punishment was a formidable refor matory one, and it might be said, if this was such a reformatory kind of punishment, why not carry it out to the utmost ? The answer to such a question would be that they had no right to apply refor matory punishment to unconvicted persons. To act upon the presumption that a party required referma tion was to act contrary to the whole presumption of the common law as declared by the judges, and by all the commentators upon the common law. The fun damental principle of that law was, that all persons should be held to be innocent till they were convicted. If the parties therefore were untried there was not one of them but might say they had no more business with their reformation until they were convicted than they had with his worrship who committed him upon suspi cion, and until the issue " not guilty " had been tried, and his guilt pronounced, they had no right whatever to apply to them any penal reformatory punishment. There were, however, exceptions to this rule. It was obvious that very young persons ought not to be allowed to associate with persons under the suspicion of having committe .1 grave offences. The child was very dif ferent from the adult, the child had no civil rights whatever with the exception of the right to protec tion. The State stood towards it in loco parentis, and was bound to exercise the same rights and per form the same duties as were required of the parent or other guardian of the child. There was also a certain class of offences with respect to which it was evident that it would be improper to allow persons suspected to mix in the so• ciety of ethers, and perhaps those who had been already convicted of offences might constitute another exception to the rule. All these were, however, examples that could easily be dealt with. It was the duty of the State to make this portion of the punishment as light as possible, and were it could not be mitigated in severity, in point of discipline, it was obviously necessary that the duration of the impri sonment should be shortened as much as possible. To this end it was necessary to afford more frequent opportunities to the prisoners to have their cases heard and determined, by multiplying the times of the various gaol deliveries throughout the country. He rested this motion on these grounds, namely—that this system was contrary to the principles of general justice. The system pressed heavier upon the poor than the rich, and while it interfered with the undoubted right of an accused party to prepare his defence without being subjected to the inspection of his detainers, it drew no distinction between the guilty and the innocent. Thanking the House for the indulgence it had affOrded him in allowing him to make this statement, he begged leave tc move the resolution of which he had given notice. Dr. BOWRING seconded the motion. Sir G. GREY gave his Noble Friend due credit for the motives which had induced him to make this motion, but he could not at the same time concur with him in the reasons he had just advanced in sup port of his motion. It was of the utmost importance that the Act to which the Noble Lord had so often alluded should be kept in force. The provision which the Noble Lord sought to repeal was a most valuable one. It had established one of the most wholesome rules at present existing in the system of prison discipline prevailing in the country. He fully agreed with the Noble Lord that, speaking generally, a distinction ought to be drawn between an accused party and a convicted criminal, but he could not go the length of the Noble Lord in asserting that all accused parties, previous to their conviction, ought to be placed upon an equl footing. For instance, a party charged with the wilful crime of murder ought never to be allowed to intermix with parties accused of lighter offences ; and here he must take leave to say that the Noble Lord was in error in supposing that the system of separate confinement, which the 2d and 34 of Victoria established, was opposed to the old common law of the country, for it was a notorious fact, that from time im memorial, parties charged with heinous offences had been kept separate from other prisoners while they were awaiting their trials.—(Hear, hear.) The whole object of subjecting untried prisoners to separate imprisonment was for their good, and in order to show the Noble Lord that the course he pro posed to pursue of repealing this statute was injudicious, he would refer to even' documents, some of which had been before the House. (The Right Honourable Baronet then read extracts from the report of the Committee of the house of Commons on Secondary Punishments ; also the report of the Select Committee in the House of Lords on the same subject ; the report of Mr. Clay, the Chaplain of the House of Correction ; and the report of M. Tocqueville to the Chamber of Deputies 'n France, all of which spoke of the neces sity, for, the good of untried prisoners themselves, of subjecting them to separate imprisonment.) Returns were presented at the bar from the Court of Chancery. MULLINGAR ROADS BILL. Colonel CONOLLY brought in the Mullingar Roads Bill, which was read a first and ordered to be read a second time. On the motion of Mr. BERNAL, the following motions were agreed to :—That it be an instruction to the Committee of Selection, not to appoint any Committee on any Bill relating to town improve ment, markets, or police, cemeteries, sewage, water works, or gas, to meet before the report which may be required to be obtained from the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, under the Act 9 and 10 Vic. c. 106, in each particular case, shall bane been printed. That it be an instruction to the Committee of Selec tion, not to appoint any Committee to meet on any Bill upon which it may be . necessary to obtain a report from the Lords Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral, under the Act 9 and 10 Vic., c. 106, until such report shall have been printed. Mr. MACGREGOR presented a petition from the Lord Provost of Glasgow in favour of the Jewish Disabilities Bill; also a petition praying for relief to the West India proprietors, without interfering with the Bill of 1846. Mr. 11. BERKELEY presented a petition from Bristol, signed by upwards of 6,000 persons, praying for a comprehensive Health of Towns Bill. Mr. LITTLETON presented a petition from Walsall in favour of the Bill now before the House for the removal of the Jewish disabilities; and also one in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. Mr. WOOD presented a petition from Oxford in favour of the Jewish Disabilities Bill. Mr. ORD presented petitions from Newcastle upon-Tyne, in favour of the Health of Towna Bill; and also a petition from the same place, against any increase in the military establishments without a pre- vious inquiry. Sir R. FERGUSON presented petitions in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. Mr. Alderman SIDNEY presented a petition from Stafford in favour of a comprehensive Health of. Towns Bill. Mr. COBDEN presented several petitions from places in the West Riding of Yorkshire against the increase of the army and navy. Mr. R. YORKE presented petitions from York, in favour of the Roman Catholic Relief Bill. Dr. BOWRING presented petitions from Bolton and Oldbury, both the same effect. Mr. STRUTT presented a petition from Derby in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. Sir W. HEATECOTE presented petitions from Hampshire against the Jewish Disabilities Bill. Mr. ANSTEY presented a petition in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. Mr. SCULLY presented a petition from Leeds to the same effect. Mr. BURROUGHES presented petitions from Norfolk against the Jewish Disabilities Bill. NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE ELECTION. The SPEAKER informed the House that he had received an intimation from the parties who had presented a petition against the return for North Staffordshire, stating that it was not the intention of the petitioners to proceed with their petition. WIND 0 W-TAX. . . Mr. C. LUSHINGTON presented a petition from St. Paul's, Covent-garden, praying the House to pass an Act for the abolition of the window-tax. Mr, HUME presented a petition from Arbroath, complaining of the operation of the legacy duty. SCOTCH lIIGHWAYS. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Arbroath, complaining of the present mode of managing high ways in Scotland.. The petitioners stated that the rates fell heavy on the poor, and suggested that under a proper system of management, a toll upon horses alone would be sufficient to keep them in repair. JEWISH DISABILITIES. An HoN. MEMBER presented a petition from Frome in favour of the removal of the Jewish disabilities. An lioN. MEMBER presented a petition from a place in Somerset to the same effect. DEFENCES OF THE COUNTRY. An HON. Ainmuna presented a petition against any increase of the defences of the country. THE CURRENCY. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Brechin, praying for the repeal of the Act of 1845, so far as it interfered with the banks of Scotland. COUNTY COURTS. Dr. BOWRING inquired whether it was the intention of the Government to bring hi a Bill to amend the County Courts' Act. The Act, particu larly with respect to the expense to which suitors were ut, was much complained of. His constitu y complained of its injustice. Sir G. GREY replied that it was unnecessary to bring in any Bill on the subject, as by the present Act the Secretary to the Treasury was empowered to alter the fees. A gentleman had been some time engaged in obtaining information from the various courts, and when he had collected sufficient information, the Government would determine what alterations should be made. The inquiry was in an advanced state, and no time would be lost in informing the House of the nature of any improvements which the Government might deem necessary. THE WINDOW DUTIES. Lord DUNCAN rose to give notice, that unless he was preceded by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, or by his Noble Friend the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, he should on this day fortnight, the 24th of February, propose a motion to the effect that the Committee of the Health of Towns Association and the directors of the Metro politan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Working Classes having declared that no sanatory improvement would be complete which did not in clude a repeal of the window-tax—(Cheers) —as it ; induced the bad construction of houses, and fell with quadruple force on the poor as compared with the rich, he should, in order that the people might be more equitably taxed, propose the total repeal of those duties.—(Hear.) The SPEAKER was understood to say that the Noble Lord should make his motion more positive in its character, or he might experience some diffi culty in bringing it on. Lord DUNCAN then gave notice that he would propose the total repeal of those duties on the day he had named. APPEALS IN CRIMINAL CASES. Mr. EWART said that he would on this day fort night bring in a Bill for granting the power of ap peal in criminal cases. DIRECT TAXATION. The HoN. MEMBER also stated that he would, unless the Government should themselves bring for ward some measure on the subject, again bring be fore the House his motion on the subject of a system of direct taxation. WASTE LANDS (IRELAND.) Mr. P. SCROPE gave notice that he would, upon an early day, bring before the notice of the House the report of the Poor-law Commissioners respecting the propriety of appropriating the waste lands of Ireland for the purpose of giving employment to the able-bodied poor. LIGHTHOUSES. Mr. HUME moved for a series of unopposed re turns, which were agreed to, with respect to the various lighthouses of the country. HYDROGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT. The Horn. MEMBER also moved for certain returns respecting the llydrographic Department of the Ad miralty, which were also agreed to. MARITIME SURVEYS. The HoN: MEMBER also moved for a series of unopposed returns on the subject of the nature and locality of the various maritime surveys, which had been made under the direction of the Admiralty. SCOTTISH ENTAIL. Mr. B. COCHRANE wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to bring forward any measure for altering the law relating to Scottish The LORD ADVOCATE was understood to say that the Government was not at present provided with any measure on the subject. LAND IMPROVEMENT ACT. Mr. MONSELL wished to know when the returns of the amount applied for and sanctioned under the Land Improvement Act would be laid upon the table of the House. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that in a few days he hoped to be able to hare the re turns ready for distribution. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS (IRELAND). Mr. MONSELL also wished to know when the returns of the agricultural statistics would be ready for Hon. Members. Sir G. GREY could not state precisely upon what day they would be prepared. He had endeavoured to expedite their preparation as much as possible. RAJA OF SATTARA. Mr. G. THOMPSON moved for copies of all correspondence between the Governor-General's agent at Benares and the Government of India, and between the Government of India and the Court of Directors of the East India Company, relative to the affairs of the late Pertaub Sing, the deposed Raja of Sattara, from the Ist day of October, 1847, to the present time; also for copies of all letters addressed by Run , ,Yoo Bipojee to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, dated, re pectively, the I.tt and 31st day of January, 1848, and the answers (if any) which had been returned.—Motion agreed to. CUSTOMS AND POST -OFFICE (INDIA). The HON. MEMBER also moved for copies of instructions issued by Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of India, when at Madras in the year 1834, to a commission of civil servants appointed by his Lordship to examine and report upon the Customs and Post-office systems; also a copy of the report of the said commission.—Agreed to. lie said separate confinement prevented con tarnino4..lon. The convention at Frankfort, which was a`tended by 80 or 90 persons who had taken an interest in prison discipline, from r ail parts of Europe, which would no doubt be in 1 the recollection of the Noble Lord, resulted in a resolution approving of separate confinement, the Ministers of Prussia, Poland, and France having fully assen'ed to the proposition. If the system did not prevail in the houses of detention great injury to the morals of the prisoners could not fail to be the result. The Noble Lord would find this ably . . set forth in a book entitled " Prisons and Prisoners." A house of detention had been established in "NEM: - sex, in which though the persons confined were kept in separate confinement, they were allowed to have free access to their friends and legal advisirs. The 10th Report of the Inspectors of Prisons, published in August, 1845, showed that the fears of the Noble Lord were groundless. It Stated that the prisoners had good and sufficient food, that they were protected from contamination or injury from the other prisoners, that they might obtain the pre sence at any time of the warden, the governor, the surgeon, and the chaplain ' that they might see their friendsfriendsand legal advisers, and read letters. They were not allowed to read objectionable books ; but they were allowed to work if they thought proper, to have exercise in the open air, and to attend chapel. Their tempers were not irritated by others and they concluded. by sa3ing that they bolieiecl the friends of persons committed for trial would rather see their relations placed in this confinement than in any other. lle bore testimony to the excel _ _ lence of the motives by which the Noble Lord was actuated; but, seeing that the subject had been fully considered by many benevolent individuals, he earnestly entreated the House not to consent to the motion, because hs believed it would be injurious, as it could net fail to partake of a retrograde character and to derange all the excellent arrangements for the improvement of prison discipline that.had been male during the last few years.—(Cheers.) 1)r. BOWRING recommended his Noble Friend not to press tha question. Lord MAIION should be glad to ascertain what was intended to be done respecting penal punishments ge nkTally. The question had last year been left in a mot unsatisfactory condition. Sir G. GREY said he should introduce a measure on the subject of punishments this year, but the wh,,le question was surrounded by great difficulties and em— barrassments. The plan indicated by Lord Grey last year would certainly undergo considerable modifications. Lord NUGENT replied, and the motion was by leave withdrawn. HIGHWAYS. Mr. OSBORNE asked if any measure was to be brought in on the subject of highways. Sir G. GREY said such a measure was in preparation. PUBLIC HEALTH. _ Viscount MORPETH then rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill for promoting the public health. His Lordship said that in rising to move this Bill for tl c second time, he certainly felt no diminution of the anxiety and earnestness which attended his first effort, and ho hoped he might say his last failure on the sub ject. Ile did not feel himself called on to enter into the subject of the proceedings which ended in that e:ef, at. What then passed, however, had left two feelings upi,er most in his mind; one, of his increased responsibility, that there should be no second failure; the other, that whilst last time a great deal was said and nothing done, so this time comparatively little might be said, and a great deal might be effected. It might be remembered that in the proceedings last year two injunctions were given to him—one to set forth in the Bill all that it was proposed to enact; the other, to bring in a Bill containing only two or tlys-e clauses. These injunctions were opposed to each ocher, and having to choose between them, he had decided to comply with the first. Aiming at as much concise ness and brevity as were attainable with the efficiency of the measure—discarding many adjuncts which they would have been glad to have included—they had sought in the first Bill to lay the basis of an efficient measure of sanitary reform. Perhaps he could not better state the objects which such a measure should aim at than by quoting from the petition of the working classes, pre sewed last session, in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. These were the classes, be it remembered, for whom they had to legislate. If health eluded the rich man in one place, he might pursue it in another ; but it the Parliament did not provide health for the poor they were quite unable to provide it for themselves. The petitioners he referred to prayed for seven things : for betn - r water—better sewers—the removal of nuisances-- the improvements of the dwellings of the poor—their better ventilation—the erection of public baths and washhouses—and the construction of gymnasia and pub lic places of amusement. He would nos proceed to state what the Bill itself proposed. They abided by their proposition to form a general board of health, consisting of five members, of whom two should be paid, and of whom the president should be personally responsible to Parliament. He was aware that this proposition would not meet the views of those who were specially impressed with the inconvenience of what they styled centralisa tion; but he was fully convinced himself that without some regulating central power, the Act could nevi r practically be carried out. And he had reason to think that public opinion coincided with this view, and that there was a general conviction that when duties we-re thrown on irresponsible local bodies, they would rarely be found to fulfil those duties satisfactorily. There fore, whilst he should leave the working to local bodies representing those who were mainly inter ested, he . considered it right that there should be a general board to provide indispensable preliminaries, to :;uggest plans, to check abuses, and to exercise a superintending control. This brought him to state what the constitution of the local board should be, and on that point they also adhered to the opinioes ex pressed lest year, that these local bodies should be more or less connected with the town councils of the different boroughs. Two objections were raised to that—firs', that the machinery was cumbrous ; and, second, that the boundaries of boroughs were not well defined. They prop >sea to meet the first objection by providing that after a, certain number of householders had applied fur the operation of the Act, and after the report of cone tent inspectors, then the order in Council issued by the Executive Board should define the number of which the local board should be composed, and that the town council should choose that number from among their own body. With respect to the question of boundary, they proposed that the same order in Council should prescribe the number of sanitary officers to act for the outlying districts, to be chosen from among the guardians of the poor. Towns and places where no town council existed would be subject to a similar arrangement. With regard to the limits of their operations, they proposed to make no exception in England and Wales with respect to the operation of the Act ; and hereafter, if the Bill was found to act well, they would hope to extend it to Scotland and Ireland. He had said they did net exclude any part of England and Wales, and thererore the House would understand that the Bill did not pro fessed!), exempt the metropolis.—(Hear, hear.) He did not wish to mislead the House. They had appointed a commission specially to report upon the measures re quired by the metropolis upon this subject, and he s hould hope to bring in a Bill specially applicable to it, for owing to the great extent of London, its largo popu lation, and the number of interests involved, he must candidly say that he did not contemplate that it would be easy, until the supplementary Bill was ready, to apply the provisions of this measure to the metropolis. lie now came to the question of the duties the local com missioners would have to perform. There would of course be some localities in which certain measures would be more expedient than others; but the duties which the local boards would have to conduct would be these:-- They would be bound to have regular meetings, to appoint an inspector of nuisances, to prepare a map of their localities, to require house-drains to be made, to cleanse and water the public streets, to fill np or cover in ditches, to keep a register of slaughter-houses and lodging-houses, and to provide sufficient water for general use. They would have permissive powers to cover sewers, alter privies, &c., whitewash and purify houses, provide buildings to be used as slaughter houses, alter public buildings improperly built, super vise their ventilation, provide public welks, and pur chase and maintain waterworks. These objects, of course, must be carried into effect by means of ratieg. The rating clauses will bo of the simplest construction, and would admit of the rates being levied on the districts specially to be benefited. He did not like to commit him self to the question of cost, but it had been estimated that all the necessary sanitary provisions could be de frayed at a rate of not more than 4d. a week per house He did not mean to include any clause respecting ceme teries in the Bill, but it would enact that whenever the Board of Health found a churchyard over-crowded they might have power to prohibit its use.—(Hear, beer.) With regard to the subject of ventilation, that had been put under the superintendence of a special board, and consequently, would not be comprised within the limits of the proposed Bill. Such were the main outlines of the measure which he proposed to lay before the House; but be could not conclude without endeavouring to im prcss on the House some of the grounds which, in his opinion, rendered it absolutely imperative that the pre sent, or some other equivalent measure, should be adopted without delay. Amonst those grounds he did not mean to lay much stress on the cholera. It that dreaded malady should arrive, the Government had already adopted all the precautions that could be devised. It might prove only a temporary visitation, and as such be met by temporary remedies, and in so tar the Govern ment had already done something by reviving the Cholera Act of 1832, which would admit of the speedy re-eStablishment of local boards of health. if they should he required. But what he more immediately sought to impress on the House was the fact, that they were not now called upon to provide temp orar y remedies against temporary evils, but against abiding evils of a vast cx tent, evils which were the permanent causes of by far the levier proportion of noisome ills that infested the popu lations of towns and cities, and which exceeded an their fatal ravages the bloodiest slaughter ever witnessed in the battle-tield.— (Hear, hear.) Ho was not about to trouble the lions° with any unnecessary quotations from those statistical proofs which right-minded men heel deemed it expedient to bring forward in defence and illustration of sanitary reform. There might have been errors in some of those estimates formed by enthusiastic inquirers, and in the deductions which they made from them, but even making a liberal allowance for those ex aggerations, there remained sufficient to appal, as well as to route, the House to exertion. One writer in a medical review thus states his views:— " The conclusions to which our examination o sani tary teats and estimates has led us are the following : 1. That the advocates of sanitary reform. are justified irt ussiimin two per cent. as the rate to •which the mor tality of all towns, ;:ni a fort' ori of the country at large, may, by p: per sanitary measure s, reduced. 2. That there ure fair grounds for assuming for the whole of the population a still more favourable rate of mortality. 3. That the estimated annual sacrifice of 35,000 lives in England and Wales, and of upwards of 60,000 in the United Kingdom, is i tot greatly exag gerated •, and that a more moderate estimate of 30,000 for England and Wales, and .51,000 for the United Kingdom, may be very safely assumed. 4. That the estimated amount of sickness, like .the estimated waste of life, expressed in years, has been soraewhat exaggerated by the advocates of sanitary reform ; that twenty cases of unnecessary sickness to one unnecessary death, is a safer proportion to assume than twenty eight to one ; and that the total cases of unnecessary sickness will have to be reduced accordingly." The reviewer then goes on to say:— " The annual waste of life and sacrifice of health reduced to equivalents in pounds, shillings, and pence, under the heads of sickness, funerals, and labour lost, is represented by a grand total for England and \Vales of 14,873,931/., or little less than 15,000, 000/. sterling. Of this ener.esous total the metropolis contributes very nearly 2,000,000/., and Lancashire upwards of 4,000,000/. The standards of comparason employed in these calcu lations are the rate of mortality and average age at death in the !nest h• ahhy registration district of each county; the ages of the living being disregarded, and the rates of sickness t•o death being taken at 1 to 28. If this essential element of age had been .taken into account, if tha more moderate standard of two per cent. had been substituted for the perhaps too favourable mortality of the most healthy district, and if the ratio of 1 to 28 between deaths and cases of sickness had been made to suffsr some abatement, it is not impossible that these 15,000,000/. might be reduced to considerably less than half. Possibly the tstal waste of money might net exceed the sum annually raised in the shape of poor rates." Discarding the higher figures of these computations, and taking them even at one-half, he would still be jus tified in asserting it as a truth, that thew were annually 30,000 lives sacritied which might be saved, and from 7,000,0001. to 8,000,0091. of unnecessary outlay, which, if not avoided in future, would be attributable less to the folly of the L-gislature than to its criminality. In a subsequent par: of the same review, the writer thus pre —cceesl— " The calculations published in the tables of the Health of Towns Association embrace only three heads—fune rals, sickness, and labour wasted. Orphanage and widowhood, which impose a perpetual burden upon the poor-laws of about 50 . 000 women and children, and an annual burden, which, though not yet ascertained, can not but bo considerable, are not taken into the account. Then there is another enormous item of waste or mis appropriation of money, not contained in these tables— namely, the sums squandered in the shape of defective, and costly structural arrangements above and below? ground. What all these barbarisms have cost and are , costing us, it would be difficult to say ; but that they amount to several millions a year no reasonable man can doubt. We refer our readers to the reports of the Health of Towns Commission, and the publication of the Health et.. Towns Association, for particulars. If they appear ex aggerated, let them halve or quarter every item, and there will still remain the most remarkable expose ever yet made of municipal and national extravagance. One broad principle may be safely - enunciated in respect of sanitary economics—that it costs more money to create disease than to prevent it; and that there is not a single structural arrangement chargeable with the production of disease which is not also in itself an extravagance." The return of the Registrar-General of the kingdom, for the quarter ending December 31 last, had just been presented, and in it he found the following statement:— " The quarterly returns are obtained from 117 dis tricts, subdivided into 582 sub-districts. 36 districts arc in the metropolis, and the remaining 81 comprise, with some agricultural districts, the principal towns and cities of England. The population was 6,612,800 in 1841. 57,925 deaths were registered in the last quarter. The average number of deaths deduced from the returns of the corresponding quarter of nine preceding years, and corrected for increase of population, is 46,509. There is, consequently, an excess of 11,376 deaths in. the quarter. The deaths re g istered in the December quarters of 1845, 1846, an d 1847. are 39,291- 53.093-57,925; the mortality in the first is to that of the last quarter nearly as 2 to 3. A slight increase in the mortality was noted in the returns of the June quar ter, 1846; the mortality in the following hot summer, when the potato crop failed, was excessive. Cholera and diarrhoea prevailed epidemically. In the autumn of 1846, as well as the winter and sprina- quarters of 1847, the mortality was still higher. Scurvy prevailed in the beginning of the year, but in the summer the public health appeared to be slightly improved. Epidemics of typhus and influenza, however, set in, and have made the mortality in the last quarter of 1847, higher than in any quarter of any year since the new system of registration commenced. About 16,000 a year, multiplied by 10, the recoveries to each death, a calculation lower by 18 than Dr. Playfair, we have yearly in England above 160,000 attacks of this loathsome disease which may be pre vented—a disease which does more to pauperise our po pulation, to fill our workhouses with widows and orphans than any other, and for this reason—the typhus fever for the most part attacks men and women in the prime of life—from twtnty to forty. This is the age at which the members of the working classes marry; and if the father of a family is cut off, the widow and her children are cast for support on the poor-rates. This is a painful case of pauperism, and it becomes more so from its per manence. A widow so left with children is seldom mar ried a second time. From the books of the unions it appears to take place only in one case out of thirty. No wonder, than, the poor-law unions have to support 40,000 widows and 100.000 orphans year after year. " The evidence afforded by the medical statistics, that typhus was a result of causes that could with certainty be prevented, was overwhelming and conclusive. Dr. Hall, of Preston, speaking of the sanitary condition of the town, said — The deaths of infants in Preston, stated by Dr. Hall, under one year, were—well-conditioned streets, 15 deaths to 100 births ; middling-conditioned streets, 21 deaths to 100 births ; ill-conditioned streets, 38 deaths to 100 births ; worst-conditioned streets, 44 deaths to 100 births. We see, then, and the remark holds good not only in Preston, but also in other towns, that the mortality is in proportion to the condition of the houses in which the children live and the streets in which they are situate, no less than 29 per cent, more of deaths taking place in the worst than in the best conditioned streets of Preston, the mortality being 15 and 44 per ant." The condition of Leicester and of Nottingham was ex emplified in the following manner : In the parish of St. Margaret, Leicester, the average age at death in 18-10 was—well-drained strcets, 23 ; partially drained st.reets, 17k ; and streets without drains, 131." " MORTALITY OF NOTTINGHAM. Ward. Deaths to each 100. ( Byrne's Ward Worst • St. Ann's Ward 1 in 36 ( St. Mars's Ward Castle Ward Best Sherwood Ward. Park Ward 1 in 50" What he (Lord Morpeth) wanted to show was, that death daily occurred from causes that the Legislature could remove. Very recently he bad seen a statement in one of the papers, which he would read to the Rouse:— " A long investigation recently took place before Mr. Baker, at the Windmill, Rosemary-lane, on view of the body of Mary White, aged two years. The inquiry was instituted by the medical officer of the White chapel Union, in consequence of the many deaths which have taken place from a similar cause. Ann Briant, married woman, said she had lived in Hayes court about a week ; during that period there was scarcely a house in which some one was not ill of fever. The child, her mother said, had been labouring under a fever for two mouths. Witness for the last week as sisted the mother to attend the child. It died on Tues day. Witness had no doubt that its death was caused by the impure atmosphere of the court. Several of the jury observed that the witness seemed to bo in a state of tever, and Mr. Webb, the summoning officer, said that the whole of the inhabitants of the court had the same appearance. Mr. John Liddle, surgeon of Whitechapel Union, said that he was first called to see the deceased on the 20th of August, in compliance with an order. It was then suffering from fever and diarrhoea. The parent would not let him go into the room, alleging that it was offensive and dangerous, and the mother brought the child to him at the next house. He prescribed for it, but the medicines would not act as they would have done in a healthy atmosphere. Witness has now six pAtients in that court. The first witness stated that she knew two children in another house, one of whom was dying of the fever, another was very bad.—Coroner (to the surgeon)—Do you register this a natural death? Mr. Liddle—No; a death from the poisonous effluvia of the atmosphere from the want of drainage. It has been proved that the gas, in its pure state, ari:ing from the decomposition of animal matter, is fatal; and M. Thenard, a French chemist, has found that 1.800 of its volume will destroy a dog, and 1 volume in 250 is sufficient to destroy a horse. Some course ought to be adopted, as the whole neighbourhood was liable to be attacked with fever. The jury returned the following verdict:—"lhat the deceased died from diarrhoea and fever, caused by the noxious and poisonous effluvium in Hayes-court from want of drainage.' " Mr. Roche, surgeon to the Lying-in Hospital, Liver pool, gives the followw•ing account to the editor of the ✓ournal of Public Health, of a case which had come under his notice:—_ " On the 28th of September, 1846, I was requested to visit a young man residing at Ilardwick-terrace, Present-street. I faund him suffering from a severe ate tack of dysentery; and via, not many minutes in the house when the smell all through the lower part of it became most offensive, arising from the privy and cess pool, which were situated about four feet from the ball. 011 making inquiry, I was informed that whenever any thing was throe is into it the stench was scarcely to be endured through the house, even to the upper rooms. One disaster after another occurred in this family; the father eed two younger children were attacked with dysen tery, the mother (who was near her confinement) soon beettnie a prey to the same disease ; and then, to crown the sivi catastrophe, the two eldest children were seized with typhus fever, and the father's case took on typhoid symptoms. Here, then, were seven human beings placed in jeopardy by a most unwarrantable nuisance ; and it is to be feared that this is only one instance among many in this town. The mother and youngest child with the infant died ; all the others were spared, but their recoveries were very tedious, until I had them re moved to another house in the neighbourhood, when in twenty-four hours the change in the father's case was most remarkable, nod all the children got rapidly better, but the pecuniary resources of the family were entirely r 3