The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-05 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 5, 1847.

PROVINCIAL.

PER CENTAGI OF CHANGE IN THE COUNTY REMOTER.
—Mr. J. Moorhouse, who has paid much attention to the
registration of this county during the last four years, states
that the average annual amount of change in the register—
the result of the registration and revision of the lists—he
finds to be about 101 per cent., of which he says 24 per cent.
is due to deaths alone.
YORKSHIRE.
THE RESULT OF THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION of the
late fatal railway accident at Heinle exonerates the railway
servants. The conclusion Captain Coddington coma to is,
that the rails were originally adapted for lighter locomotives
than those recently
c 2 introduced, and that the latter arc dis-
prortioned to the strength of the rails.
THE SCHOOLMASTERS AND THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME.
—The following memorial to the Lords of the Committee of
Council on Education wan adopted at a meeting of school-
masters in Yorkshire, end signed by no less than 48 of those
present:—" We, the undersigned Church of England
schoolmasters, assembled at Brighouse, in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, February 27, 1847, at our quarterly meeting
for mutual improvement, humbly show that the scheme of
education propounded by your lordship" committee for the
advancement of the moral and intellectual training of youth
deserves the warmest approbation of every enlightened En-
glishman. The undersigned desire to acknowledge the skil-
ful mode in which the details of the measure are adapted to
the wants of this country, and in particular the generous
manner in which the services of their own profession are re-
cognised, both by the increase of their stipends, and the
provisions made for those amongst them who are worn out
In the service of the public."
DURHAM.
AN IGNORAMUS "ON PRINCIPLE." The Durham
Chronicle, in a noties of the late educational controversy in
Stockton, says: " During the early part of the discureion,
the meeting was highly edified by a speech from a man in
fustian [a very appropriate garb], who coademned educa-
tion as an evil, and said that be at one time had the offer of
a good education; which offer he, however, on principle, re-
fused. He then stated to the meeting that be confidently
believed that but for this refusal of education he would have
been hanged long since for forgery, or some other crime
appertaining to education alone." If ever he be hanged for
incendiarism, it will not be for " setting the Tees on fire."
xon.TIMAPT.AMII_

REPRESENTATION OF RIINDAL.—A. reply has been le.
raised from Mr. Warburton, M.P. for this borough, acknow-
ledging the receipt of the requisition of a majority of the
electors, calling upon him to offer himself sa a candidate at
the next general election. He declines to accede to their
request, in consequence cf hie age, his growing infirmities,
and distaste for parliamentary duties, Mr. Warburton con-
tradicts the report thr.t means have been used by parties in
the borough to prow m his withdrawal. A_public meeting
of the liberal electors is to be held on Wednesday next,
for the purpose of appointing a committee to inquire as to a
future candidate. Mr. Glynn and Mr. Bouverie have
been named. A correspondent sari We want a radical,
and one acquainted with trade
Kand. commerce."
WARWICSHIRE.
Tan ZDECATIOX QVISTION IN BIRMINORAW.—At the

request of the opponent,' of the government measure, the
Mayor of Birmingham has called a public meeting of the
inhabitants of that town on Friday next. In connexion
with this 'abject, a petition to the House of Commons from
the Umbers of the Sunday-schools supported by the Unita-
rians was adopted on Friday. The following is an extract:
That notwithatandinv all voluntery eserims male to any
oat the great wort of edosation mono the rising generation
of this empire, your petitioners, from their own knowledge and
experience, can teddy that in the very populous district in
which they reticle, all the means at present in operation,
though very coosiderable, are oltogee.er bailigicient to meet the
demand ; and they feel certain ram, unaided by government,
the friends of education will never be castled egitiently to afford
that more minded amount of gaily rdues,ion witch the bumbler
clams require, under the eircumstal ces in which they are placed.
Your petitioners, therefore, feeling dee,ily the importance of the oda
jftst, hail with gladneva the measure rat, lyintrodund by the members
of kQ llakinrs government into your honourable house, for the
better education of the people, under t:ie direction and control of lot
=4as recommended in the mind. of the commatee of sound-
estioct, prevented to your hcocuribte house by command of her
laqaty; and they verily believe the time, if curried out under wise
and peeler direction, ant upon the broad pr:neples of religions
liberty, will be of immense auvantage to society at large.
THE WHATHEII.—On &aunt iy there was a very heavy
fall of snow at Birmingham: it commenced about one
o'clock, p.m., and continued until bete eon six and seven
o'clock in the evening.
THE SANITOHY QUESTION.—InPoRTANT INQUIRY IN
BIRMINGH•II.—For three days during the past week, Alfred
Austin, Esq., the assirtant poo-.law commissioner, has been
holding a special court of inq tiny in Birmingham, on the
subject of the eligibility of the site of the present workhouse
in that town for the erection f a new and larger building.
The existing house is situate i Lielifield.,treet, a short dis-
tance eastward of the centre and ii,Frile,t part of the town.
The evidence adduced, that of medical men, and other per-
seas competent to form an opinion on [hes. mitten, has ex-
tended to great length, and the inquiry has not yet termi-
nated. On one side, it ia con tended that not only is the
present site an unhealthy one to being in a very densely-po-
piloted part of the town, and contiguous to* very large
grave-yard, but that a sufilci, et area cannot be procured for
the erection of a building large enough; they, therefore, re-
commend the Heath, which is situate two miles and a half
lion the centre of town ; this spot is declared to be high and
Se,gsand consequently more salubrious. Against this, it is
that the present site is the more healthy of the two,
se much so as can be procured near so large a
town ; that a sufficiei t area can be obtained
for all useful purposes, for that it is better
to extend the out-door retie, than to crowd a large house
with inmates. We give aO, et summary of the evidence, as
containing some rather impo-tant facts with reference to this
subject :—The site of the pr. sent building comprises an area
of eight thousand yard. ; the number of inmates
now in the house is ; it is not pretended, how-
ever, that there is nearly sufficient of proper accom-
modation for these, but it is proposed that the new
house shall be sufficiently capacious to accoerriodate 600 in-
mates ; it came out in evide, ce that the number of sick Irish
applicants for relief had lat. iv been immense; and that out
of the 581 inmates now in th, house, net lea than 281 out of
that number were sick. A r port was read from the medical
officers, which set forth that " the ptesent site was sufficiently
elevated for the purposes of ventilation, without being un-
duly exposed, and that its a ilubrity as a town residence was
established by facts, and ton 4 observation; further, that the
disown which are most prev..lent amongst the inmates of the
workhouse could always be traced to causes independent of
locality." One of the house-surgeons (Mr. Thomas Green)
reported that the proposed site at Birmingham-heath was
"cold, damp, and unfit for the purposes of a workhouse,"
and that during the last two years he had been more than
ever convinced of the insalubrity of that site. An
important question was raised as to whether there
had not been a frightful degree of mortality extended
amongst the children born in the present building for several
years. On that subject the witness just named maid his
atteation had been called to the report that very few of the
ehildren born in the house lived to the age of three
years ; but that, in Isis opinion, this arose from the weakly
and diseased state of the mot en, and not front the insalu-
brity of the site. lie would p7efer, however, a place outside
the town for the children, but recommended the existing
site for general purpose', beet we most of the inmates were
persons advanced in years, sea, required warmth. He gays
the following reasons for having declared his preference of
the situation of the present house over the spot at Birming-
ham-heath, that the land at the latter " was unhealthy,
being based upon a clay honor., twenty feet deep, which was
impervious to water ; and although it stood nearly thirty feet
above the natural level of ilia drainage, there was only an
actual fall of about ten feet. He alio observed that the health
of the town would be materi..lly improved by the present
extensive system of drainage in its centre, which would
render that part as healthy as the outskirts, if such was not
already the ease." A medical report showed that out of
1,500 cases of sickness in the house, during a period of ten
months in 1846, there had ben only 133 cues of fever.
Residents near to the Birmin; ham-heath gave it as their
°plena that the land was unhealthy, and incapable of being
easily drained. The point as to the mortality amongst the
children was much canvassed ; the register showed that of
210 children in the house between the lst of January, 1643,
and September, 1846, no less than 201 had died before they
attained the age of two years; but these included those
taken into the house eubsequeutly to their birth. From a
statement handed in to the commissioner, it appeared that
for the last five years all the children left in the workhouse
had died, except four. That is, of forty-eight left, forty-four
had died. The statement was demurred to by Mr. Knight,
the borough treasurer and superintendent registrar • and
further evidence with respect to it will be offered= a
future day. Mr. Coo, a surgeon of between thirty and
forty years' standing, declared in favour of the existing site,
supposing a suitable house were , rested. He gave it as his
opinion that the sickness amongst the children did not
arise in consequence of the unhealthiness of the site,
but that the mothers were very frequently in a high state of
disease when admitted, and the children when born partook
of the disease. lie alluded to ryphilitic, scrofulous, and
other disease', which he considered a great cause of the mor-
tality among the infants in this establishment. Sometimes
the mothers neglected to suckle the children. A tabular
statement of the deaths in the workhouse during the years
1841, 1842, and 1843, was produced; and Mr. Cox declared
that it did not appear to him there were any arising from
disorders which had been increased by the locality. The
most important evidence adduced which was unfavourable to
the existiag site was that given by Mr. Thomas Gutterid,
a surgeon of twenty yearn' general practice. Ile said: " Thgee
site of the present workhouse is most unhealthy; it is
in • town containing 40,000 house., and • great num-
ber of steam-engines, mills, workshops, and chemical
works. The land on which it stands is nearly on a
level ; and the drainage is not good. The neighbour.
hood is densely thronged. It stands where houses are thick-
est, and there are the greatest number of old, small, and
dirty houses, inhabited for the most pert by the poorest and
dirtiest people." " A great many (eontinurd Mr. Gutteridge)
are low lodging-houses, and the greatest portion of those who
would be called outcasts reside there ; at least such is his im-
pression. As regards the salubrity of the site, for two-
thirds of the year the wind brings the smoke and effluvia of
the town over it, the air is thus deteriorated. In cause-
queen of the situation, the workhouse is insufficiently
ventilated for the purposes of health to a lame number of
human beings kept constantly within its walls. This feet
had more weight in regard to the inmates of a workhouse,
because their mental condition is unfavourable to health.
Sorrow and disappointment are unfivoushble." Ia
another part of his evidence this witnesa said that
the proportion of deaths in the whole country is
one-half of the children under two years of age;
and referring to the contiguity of the present building to •
grave-yard, he Raid " The fact of the workhouse being sur-
rounded by several large grave-yards is highly detrimental
to the health of the inmates. The grave-yards he meant
were St. Mary's, St. Philip's, St. Bartholomew's, and the
Park-street burial-ground. There are upwarde of 100,000
corpses in St. Philip's churchyard. Had lived for six years
by the aide of that churchyard, and had experienced bad
effects from it. Was aware that there was a bill now before
parliament, or about to be, by which interments would be
prohibited in towns. If that were pared, it would gradually
restore salubrity to the district. Although there should be
no other corpses buried in St. Philip's, the evil from exhala-
tion and percolation of ftetid matter into the water would take
many yean to peas sway." The inquiry is still pending;
but so far as it has gone it has furnished some valuable
evidence, showing the necessity there is for Dome sanitary
measures in such towns as Birmingham.

NARROW ESCAPII;I3;I77I7/40aT101f IN A ORIIRCII.
—On Sunday ee'nnight, during the morning service at
Powick Church, a young lady was observed to he in a faint-
ing condition, and the same symptoms almost immediately
afterwards affected others of the congregation, to the number
of about twenty. They were conveyed into Steepen air and
to the adjoining houses, and after acme time and trouble,
they all recovered, haring apparently suffered severely front
isapient suffocation. It was found on investigation, that
the alarming occurrence was caused by the sulphureous
vapour evolved in t►e process of combustion from the coke
used for the purpose of warming the building.

NORFOLK.
TENN.—The formation of a quay, to extend from Common
Staith to Millfieet, is in conternrlation ; and at a meeting
held at the Town-hall, on Monday, a committee woo nomi-
nated to make inquiry as to the expense of this im-
provement.
THE UNUSUAL NUMBER OF 5,300 SHEEP were offered for
sale in Lynn market on Tuesday last, but in consequence of
the sanity of grass for feeding, few bales were effected.

RZLIOIOINI FANLTICIB/4 IN frIXDINO.—This town was
the scene of come excitement last week, in consequence of
predictions of the approach of the "Day of Judgment,"
which according to these false prophets was to commence en
Wednesday last, March 31. It appears that a party aims-
ties, in London and elsewhere, had aimed a tract, with the
following title :—" The mighty angel's midnight roar; or,
the Cry—' Behold the bridegroom come* ; go ye out to
meet him !' This cry will be universaly heard, sad the
authoritative command obeyed at the commissioned of the
vest day of God's wrath. In the night of the penever, on
the 31st March, 1847." In Reading, amass newseillinhen,
• grocer, made himself very active la diseemkeetkg these
tracts and holding forth in defines of their orateslis. On
the evening in questins• WM& d pmems gathered read
his honor, and on kr seem home, *dig And
ridiculing the Rang "prophet" We (Berkshire Chen.
mete) cannot vouch kr all the reports current about his in-
tentions, but it was understood he had prepared a robe of
scarlet and white, with which he was to reseed to the
high ground above Caversham„ menspeeici erne d hie
disciples, to have the first view of the weatiortel wads he
had predicted. This intention wee frustrated by a motel
regard—altogether unbecoming a gifted emr—to kin
comfort, the mob being extremely opposed to his
views, and sundry railway labourers having premed wpm
and other accompaniments to an intended ducking. There
was so muck confusion in the street that several policemen