The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-12 00:00:00

WHITECHAPEL.

'
Moderate supplies of moat are on sale here, and trade, on
the whole, is steady, at the annexed quotations :
Beef, from 28 10d to 4s 4d; mutton, 38 8d to 4s 8d •
veal, 35 10d to 45 8d; and pork, 3s 6d to 4s 10J per Blbs by
the carcase.

BOROUGH HOP.
The hop trade is dull, Fine samples are tolerably firm in
price; but inferior produce is obtainable at reduced
quotations.

FRENCII ACADEMY or SCIENCES,—At the last
sitting a letter was read froth M. Enault, calling
the attention of naturalists to the strength of the thread of
a garden spider, probably well-known to them ; the ad van-
tages, however, which might be derived from its threads,
which offer groat resistance, seem to have escaped their
natice. Dr Arentzen wrote from Copenhagen that in the
course of his researches touching the treatment of diseases
of the eye, he had discovered that electricity applied in a
wayincipient
nent ar to him, may stop the progress of an
Now, since the beginning of thi,
disease generally commences at a point where it is easy
cataract. peculi
to perceive it, whenever the diminution of vision
is attributable to that cause, the means. ho pro-
poses will not indeed restore the eye-sight as it was before,
but will prevent the evil from becoming worse. If the
Academy, he adds, should think such a result, however im-
perfect, sufficiently important to deserve further attention,
he will be happy to communicate all the necessary details to
enable practitioners in France to try the method which he
has now been employing with success for more than a year.—
M. Lespiault, who, at the last sitting, had announced that a
violent explosion had been heard in the air on the 24th Sept.,
and which did not seem to admit of any other explanation
save that of the bursting of a fire-ball, wrote again to say
that his supposition was correct; for that, in a private
letter from Mont-de-Marsan, and published in the Gu onde,
it was stated that on that day at 20 minutes 12 p.m., a fiery
globe of the sizs of a bomb-shell had burst in the vicinity
of that town with a violent noise resembling the simulta-
neous report of 20 pieces of ordnance. This noise lased 10
seconds ; the direction of the bolis was from north to south ;
but the phenomenon could not bo observed in all its splen-
dour because the sun was very brilliant, and unveiled by
the slightest cloud

CITY SEWERS COMMISSION.

Yesterday a meeting was h-Zid at the Guildhall of the City
Commissio nera of Sewers, Deputy De Jersey in the chair.

THE GAS QUESTION.

The following report from the special committee upon gas
was read and adopted :
" We, whose names are hereunto set, your special com-
mittee on gas, to whom it was on the 14th of June last re-
ferred to consider a motion of that date—' That the citizens
of London have for a long time been suffering from an in-
sufficient supply of gas, and that supply being under the
superintendence committee, they be appointed for the pur-
pose of ascertaining the cause of such insufficiency, with
power to make such investigation and take such steps as
may appear desirable, with a view to its improvement, both
in quality and quantity, and to insure to the consumer more
power and permanent light ;' and having had our attention
directel to the various complaints which have been made
from time to time of insufficiency of light from the public
lamps where the carburetter is fixed in the lantern, and to
the shadow cast by such carburetters round the base of
such lamps, after consulting with the chemical examiner
and gas engineer thereupon, we have decided to recommend
to your hon. Court that on the termination of the present
contract witti the Co operating Company on Ist Feb. next,
the use of the carburetter, so far as regards those lamps where
it is paced in the lantern, be discontinued.
" With regard to the very difficult question as to the ex-
cessive amount of sulphur found in the gas supplied to the
City,we are advised by the chymical examiner of gas, that,
in the event of yoar hon. Court desiring to take any pro-
ceedings to put in force the provisions of the act of Parlia-
ment in reference thereto, it is expedient that you should
have the best opinion you can get on the subject, and he
recommends that Mr Hawksley, the gas engineer, be re-
tained for such purpose and to advise as to the best mode of
reducing the amount of sulphur in gas, so that such opinion
be had at a cost not to exceed 20 guineas, and we recommend
that he be retained for that purpose accordingly, and that it
be referred back to us to obtain the same."
Dr LETUEBY reported that the average illuminating
power of the gas supplied to the City during the week had
been above the requirement of the Act of Parliament, but
that on six occasions out of 17 in the case of the Chartered
Gas Company it had been below the standard, and that once
in seven in the case of the Great Central Company it had
also been below. The average power of the City Company's
gas had been equal to 13.17 cantles, whereas that of
the Chartered and Great Central had not been 121 candles.
The amount of sulphur in the City and Chartered had ave-
raged 19'3 grains, but that of the Great Central had been
21.1 grains, and on every occasion the latter gas had con-
tained more sulphur than was sanctioned by the act.
Mr CHA.PLIN gave notice that when next the gas ques-
tion came before the Court he would submit the following
motion :—" That it be referred to the Special Gas Commit-
tee to confer with the gas companies in the City of London
with the view of obtaining a reduction of the price of gas to
that which was charged by the various companies from and
after the passing of the act of the Great Central Gas Com-
pany to the passing of the Metropolis Gas Act, and in the
event of the committee failing to obtain such reduction to
consider and report as to the advisability of applying to
Parliament for powers to obtain the same, and to secure to
the citizens the advantages they formerly possessed in re-
spect of the gas supply, and such other powers as may be
otherwise beneficial."
THE MEDICAL OFFICER'S REPORT.

The following report was read from the medical officer of
health :—" The inspectors' return which are before you re-
late;to 265 houses that have ,been inspected during the
week, and I submit a list of 62 places for sanitary improve-
ment. The markets and slaughter• houses have been duly
inspected, and the officers have condemned 2,3601 b of meat
as most unfit for human food ; 9701 b were diseased, b76lb
were putrid, and 8141 b were from animals that had died
from disease. It consisted of 9 sheer, 5 pigs, 10 quarters of
beef, 20 joints of meat, and 42 head of game and poultry.
" The mortality returns for the week are a little above
the average for the corresponding week of the last 9 years.
Last week the number of deaths was 51, whereas the average
number is 51; 28, or nearly half of the deaths, were among
children of less than five years of age, and 8 were among
persons of 60 and upwards. The chief causes of death are as
follows :—Phtlthis, s—mesenteric disease, 10—pneumonia,
3—bronchitis, 2—whooping-cough, I—diphtheria, 3—scar-
let fever, 4—measles, I—and 3 from infantile diarrho3.4"