The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-23 00:00:00

City Sewers Commission.

At a meeting of the commissioners, held yestere
day, at Guildhall, Dr Letheby (the medical officer)
submitted his quarterly report on the sanitary con-
dition of the City, which stated that, in the course
of the summer quarter in Sept. last, there were 660
births and 603 deaths registered in the City. Both
of these numbers were below the average for the
corresponding period of the last ten years; the
births having declined from the large proportion of
773 in the quarter, and the deaths from 667. The
distribution of the 660 births was as follows :-278
in the eastern division of the City, 183 in the wes-
tern, and 199 iu the central. There were in the
annual proportion of 27 per 1000 of the inhabitants
of the first named district, 27 4 of the second, and
only 17.1 per 1000 of the third ; the average for the
whole City being 23.6. In all England the pro•
portion of births during the roamer quarter was
about 33 per 1000 of the people. Of the 663 deaths
in the quarter 268 occurred in the eastern district
of the City, 166 in the western, and 229 in the cen-
tral. These numbers were in the annual propor-
tion of 23 5 per 1000 of the Eastern Union,24-1 of the
Western, and 19.7 of the City proper,making together
an average of 23.1 per 1000 for the whole City. In
the districts comprising the chief towns of England
the average mortality for the summer quarter
was 22.5 per 1,000, and in all England it is 20.
But everywhere duringthe last quarter the mortality
had risen above the average, for in the districts of
the chief towns it was 23.7 per 1,000 of the popu-
lation, and in the country generally it was 21.4 ;
although, therefore, the mortality in some of the
City districts had manifestly been excessive, yet the
total mortality for the whole City had not been so
great as that of our large towns, and in some parts
of the City the death-rate had not been much greater
than that of the small towns and rural districts of
England. 309, or about 43 per cent, of all the deaths
were among children of less than 5 years of age, and
132 were among persons of 60 and upwards. The
mortality of children had been a little above the
average,which is about 42 per cent. of all the deaths,
and this excess had been chiefly in the Eastern
Union, where the infant mortality had reached to
58 per cent. of the deaths. The chief cause of this
excessive mortality among children had been an une
due prevalence of diarrhces and measles; the num-
ber of deaths from the first-named disorder had risen
from an average of 49 in the quarter to 65, and that
of the latter from 17 to 44. Iu the corresponding
quarter of last year there were but 33 deaths from
infantile diarrl, eel, and only 4 from measles. 'The
proportion of deaths from other causes had been
nearly as usual—phthisis,for example, had been fatal
in 85 cases, tabes end scrofula in 45, hydrocephalus
in 9, convulsions and teething in 38, pneumonia and
bronchitis in 67, continued fever in 28, scarlet,
fever 22, whooping cough and croup 33, erysipelas
3, and the diarrfasa of adults 11—making together
139 deaths from tubercular diseases, 67 from inflame
matory affections of the lungs, end 206 from dis-
eases of a zymotic character—the averages for the
corresponding period of the last ten years being 151
from the first named maladies, 56 from the second,
and 176 from the third. It would seem, therefore,
that the circumstances which had augmented the
number of deaths from zymotic diseases, and espe-
cially from infantile diarrhcen had lessened the
mortality from tubercular diseases. This might per-
haps be explained in same measure by the facts re-
corded in the table of the meteorology of the _quar-
ter. The average temperature of the quarter (60.2)
had been fully one degree less than usual (61.5) ;
and the amount of rain-fall had been only 4.51 in.,
instead of 6.21. The number of wet days (34) had
also been under the average, and therefore the
hygrometric condition of the atmosphere had been
less than usual. In ordinary seasons the amount
of moisture in the air had been about 76 per cent
of saturation, but during the last quarter it was only
69 per cent. A dry and cold summer is therefore a
check on the development of wnsumptive diseases.
l'he sanitary work of the quarter was shown in the
last two tables of the appendix. It would be seen
that 1,796 houses had been inspected, and that 826
visits had been made to the common lodging-houses
of the City. These had resulted in the issuing of
768 orders for sanitary improvement, of which 642
were for cleansing and lime-whiting the interior of
houses. In consequence of the difficulty of Effecting
the required sanitary improvements of certain houses
in the City, it had been found necessary to take
legal proceedings against the owners or lessees, and
in several instances they had been fined and ordered
to pay the costs of the inquiry. The markets and
slaughterhouses had been duly inspected, and the
officers had condemned 76,283tb5., or upwards of 34
tons of meat as unfit for human food ; 46,5171b5.
were putrid, 22,8371b5. were diseased, and 5,9291b5.
were from animals that had died from disease. It
consisted of 380 sheep, 21 calves, 132 pigs, 375 qrs
of beef, and 1,090 joints of meat, besides 72 geese
2 deer, and 25 cases of rabbits,

HEALTH OF LONDON.

(From the Registrar-General's _Report.)

The rate of mortality in London for the week that ended
last Saturday was excessive, and its riso has been rapid.
The deaths were 1,742. In the three previous weeks they
were successively 1,409, 1,454, and 1,586. The number in
the second week of the present month was heavy; but that
which is now returned exceeds it by 156. The mean tern
perature of the air had been bl deg in October. In the first
week in November it fell to 42'4 deg; in the next to 37.5
deg, and last week it was 45.6 deg.

The average number of deaths for the 46th week of le
years, 1854-63, is, wich a correction for increase of popula-
tion, 1,411. The actual result exceeds the estimated num-
ber by 331.
The deaths of persons under 20 years of age were 877 in
the preceding week, and 565 last week ; those of GO years of
age and upwards rose from 280 to 360,
Phthisis, bronchitis, and heart disease exhibit a marked
increase in last week. To phthisis were referred 183 deaths,
the corrected average being 167 ; to bronchitis 249, the cor-
rected average being 160 ; and to heart disease 91, against
58. Those from pneumonia (inflammation of the substance
of the lungs) were 165 against 118. Bronchitis was by far
the most fatal of all diseases on the list.
Tae deaths of eight nonagenarians were returned in the
week.

The deaths in the Kensington district rose from 87 in the
previous week to 115; in Marylebono they rose trout 84 to
96; in Lambeth from 79 to 111; in Greenwich from Si to
99; in Whitcchapel from 52 to 71, In all these districts
they were much above the average.
Measles was fatal in 63 cases, 7 of which were recorded in
the district of Poplar, 6 in the west sub-district of Green-
wich. Scarlatina was fatal in 85 cases, 5 of which were in
St. John, Westminster, 5 in llaggerstone East, 4 in St.
George, Bloomsbury. There were 10 deaths from typhus in
Greenwich district, 3 in I'lumstead, 7 in Poplar district.
The total number in London was 86.

At 19, Buthby-street, Bethnal-green, on the 7th inst., a
bricklayer, aged 52, died of consumption accelerated by
want. (Inquest.)
At 14, Half Nichols-street, Bethnal-green, on the 4th
inst., the deughter of a labourer, aged 9 weeks, died from
exposure and want of nourishment. (Inquest.)
A boy, aged 10 months, died on the 15th inst. at 8, Blue.
gate-fields, St George-in-the-East, of disease accelerated by
destitution and neglect. (Inquest.)
A woman, aged 66 years, died on the 10th inst. in East-
street, Greenwich, of starvation accelerated by intoxication.
(Inquest),
A house painter died from lead poison. A labourer was
suffocated and burnt by falling into a limekiln, to which he
had gone to sleep.
Last week the births of 944 boys and 1,016 girls, in all
1.960 children, were registered in London. In the ten cor-
responding weeks of the years 1851-63 the average number
(corrected) was 1,906.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 29.081 in. The reading of
the instrument was 28.61 in on Monday; and rose to
29.72 in on Saturday. The mean temperature of the air in
the week was 45 5 deg,, which is 2 8 deg above the average
of the same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr
Glaisher). The mean daily temperature was constantly
above the average. On Thursday the highest day tempera-
ture was 51.3 deg; and the lowest night temperature
35.2 deg. These were also the highest and lowest in the
week. Consequently the range of the thermometer on that
day and in the week was 19.1 deg. The difference between
the mean dew-point temperature and air temperature was
3.4 deg. Tho mean degree of humidity of the air was 88,
comp ete saturation being represented by 100. On three
days saturation was nearly attained. The wind was mostly
S.W. and S.S.E. Rain fell to the amount of 0.83 in., the
greater part of which fell on Monday and Thursday. There
were dense fogs on the mornings of Tuesday and Wednes•
day.

GENERAL TODIABEN paid a chit On SAWNIay
fast to Naudin's studio, when a very successful full-
length photograph of the Cioneral was taken.