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 663 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 largo 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 in 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 171 per 1000 of the third ; the average for the
whole City bcirg 23.6. In all England the pro-
portion of births during the tuarmer quarter was
about 33 per 1000 of the people. Of the 663 deathr
in the quarter 268 occurred in the eastern district
of the City, 166 in the western, and 229 in the cen-
tral. There numbers were in the anima proper.
tion of 23 5 per 1000 of the Eastern Uni0n,24.4 of the
Western, and 19 7 of the Cityproper,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-
Wien, 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
'han 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 hat been an un-
due prevalence of diarrhoea 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. In the corresponding
quarter of last year there were but 33 deaths from
infantile diarrhoea, 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 and 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 diarrtces of adults 11—making together
139 deaths from tubercular diseases, 67 from inflates
tratory affections of the lungs, and 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 iufantile diaracee, 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 season 3 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 consumptive 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 improvementsof 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
slaughterehouses had been duly inspected, and the
officers had condemned 76,2831b5., or upwards of 34
tons of meat as unfit for human food ; 46,5171bs
were putrid, 22,8371b5. were diseased, and 5,9291bs

were from animals that had died from disease. II

consisted of 380 abeep, 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 rise has been rapid.
The deaths were 1,742. In the three previous weeks they
were successively 1,409, 1,454, and 1,58 G. 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, with a correction for inc:ease 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 865 last week ; those of 60 years of
ago and upwards rose from 280 to 360.
Phthisis, bronchitis, and heart disease exhibit a marked

increase in last week. To pbthisis 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.
The 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 Marylebone they rose from 84 to
96 , in Lambeth from 79 to 111; in Greenwich from 85 t o
99; in IVhitechapel from 62 to 71. In all these districts
they were much above the average.
Measles was fatal in 63 oases, 7 of which were recorded in

the district of Poplar, 6 in the west sub-district of Green.
with. Scarlatina was fatal in 85 cases, 5 of which were in
St. John, Westminster, 5 in Haggerstone East, 4 in St.
George, Bloomsbury, There were 10 deaths from typhus in
Greenwich district, 3 in Plumstead, 7 in Poplar district.
The total number in London was 86.

At 19, Bushby-street, Bethnal-green, on the ith inst., a
bricklayer, aged 52, died of consumption accelerated by
want. (Inquest.)
At 14, Half Nichols-street, Bethnal-green, on the 4th
inst., the daughter of a labourer, aged 9 weeks, died from
exposure and want of nourishment. (Inquest.) _

A boy, aged 10 months, died on the loth 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 1854-63 the average number
(corrected) was 1,906.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 29081 in. The reading of
the instrument was 28 61 in on Monday; and rose to
2972 iu on Saturday. Tte mean temperature of the sit 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 carts 19.1 deg. The difference h9tween
the mean dew-paint tceiperaturo and air temperature was
3 4 deg. The rricin degree of humidity of the air was 88,
comp etc saturation being represented by ICO. On three
days saturation was nearly attained. The wind was mostly
S.W. and S.S.E. Rain fell to the amount of 0.88 in., the
greater part of which fell on Monday and Thursday. ihere
were dense fogs on the mornings of Tuesday and W canes.
day.

GENERAL TODLEBEN paid a viia on Saturday
last to Naudin's studio, when. a very successful, full-
length photograph of the General wao taken.