The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-02 00:00:00

twelve months, Marshall for three years, and Ellis I HEALTHOF LONDON DURING THE WEEK.
for nine months. He had seen them at Sheffield up (From the Registrar-General's Report.)
to about Saturday evening last, when he apprehended The deaths registered in the metropolitan districts
them at No. 2, Silver-street-head, in company with have declined from 1,206, the number returned in the
Mr. Graham and others. They were all there to- prcceding week, to 1,040 in the week which ended
gether. Graham was with witness, and he was in last Saturday. In the ten corresponding weeks of
the same room with the prisoners. Ellis asked him 1841-50 the deaths ranged from 910 in the year 1845
to take some brandy, which he did. He bad gone to 1,403 in the year 1848, and the average was 1,137.
there for the purpose of seeing if they were there, If this average be corrected in proportion to the
and he watched them till Graham got assistance, and greater amount of population now existing, is be-
they were then taken. comes 1,241, compared with which the mortality of
Cross-examined—The three prisoners were all in last week shows a decrease of 211.
the room, and had a decanter of brandy before them, It appears from a comparison of the results obtained
of which they appeared to be partaking, at all events in the present return with those of the previous week,
they were all sitting around the table. There was a that the mortality from nearly all classes of disease
" goose supper" in the house that night, and he had is diminished. Zymotic diseases, which, in the week
gone there on that account, expecting that the pri- ending December 20th, produced 251 deaths, reduced
soners would be present. There were six other per- their number last week to 203 ; diseases of the rea-
sons in the same room. He had seen the three pri- piratory organs declined from 252 to 219 ; tubercular
soners by themselves at Ellis's, when he kept the diseases from 204 to 140; diseases of the organs of
Flying Dutchman beershop, and he had also seen circulation from 55 to 37 ; diseases of the kidneys
them together, hut in company'with others, at No. 2, from 15 to 10. Diseases of te digestive organs have
Silver-street. Ellis was at the top of the stairs when raised the number of fatal cases from 51 to 61 within
he went in, calling to some one below, but it was not the two weeks.
to witness. On his going up stairs Ellis asked, The mortality from phthisis or consumption has
" Who is that ?" to which witness replied, " What is fallen from 150 in the previous week to 98 in the
that to thee ?" Ellis then went into the room and last. This latter number is lower than usual, for in
sat down with the others. Ellis was standing behind corresponding weeks of 1841-50 it ranged from 102
the bar speaking to the landlady when he was taken to 160. Among the complaints which form the
prisoner. He never said to witness that he was wait- class of "diseases of the respiratory organs," the
ing on the company, or that he was assisting the deaths of last week are distributed as follows :-90
landlady. He did not see him 'getting tobacco, nor were caused by bronchitis, '6 by pneumonia, 17 by
had he anything in his hands. asthma, 7 by pleurisy, 1 by laryngitis, 8 by diseases
Wm. Barton, a grocer at the Wicker, Sheffield, not described in specific terms.
knew Green by sight, who called at his shop about 10 The present return shows that in the .symotic or
o'clock on Christmas Eve. He wanted some groceries, epidemic class smallpox was fatal to 23 children and 6
which were supplied by Joseph- Bask, the sbopman, adults, measles to 8 children and 2 persons of 15
who came to witness on being offered a 101. note. I years or upwards, scarlatina to 36 children, hooping-
told him I did not know the note, but it purported to cough to 31, croup to 5, thrush to 1, remittent fever
be of the Yorkshire Banking Company, and was dated to 1, infantine fever to 1, diarrheas and dysentery to 21
4th December, at Doncaster, and signed by Wm. persons, influenza to 2, purpura to 1, typhus carried
Cooper. As I hesitated to take it, he said the bank off 42 persons, puerperal fever 7 women (besides
was well known, and that he lived in Silver-street. another case of death after childbirth), and erysipelas
He gave witness his name also, but he did not remem- 9 persons. Two deaths were caused by syphilis, and
lber what it was, but it was not Green. Witness sent sby noma or cancrum oris.
the note to Luke Sampson, one of his neighbours, who Of the 29 persons who died of smallpox it is stated
thought it a good one, and sent the change. t was that 3 had been vaccinated, 19 had not been vacci-
brought back to witness on Wednesday, but he could noted, and in 7 cases the fact is not mentioned.
not tell it again from any other of a similar descrip- At 6, Windsor-street, Bishopsgate, the son of a
tion. He felt convinced it was the same note, from labourer, aged 18 months, died of "variola (2
his knowledge of Mr. Sampson's character, who said weeks)." Mr. Spencer states that "the house con-
that it was the same. tained 16 families, numbering 83 persons, at the time
Cross-examined—Altbough he could not remember of taking the census. The mother of deceased affirmed
what name was given to him by the prisoner—he knew that the child had been vaccinated, but without effect.
it was not Green. He could not say that he would There are several other children in the house who
like to swear that it was not, but he felt certain that have been attacked with the disease, but are re.
if Green had been the name he would have remembered covering." In Mile-end Old Town Lower, at 3,
it. It was a strange name, something like an Irish Shipwright's-buildings, on the 21st of Dec., the
one. Neither Pask nor Sampson were present in the daughter of a carman, aged one month, died of small-
court. pox; and on the 23d of December, in the same house,
Charles Merryman, grocer, South-street, Sheffield- the son of a domestic servant, aged one year, died of
moor, had seen Green on Christmas-eve between 8 "suppressed variola (3 days), without vaccination."
and 9in the evening. He came in alone, and wanted The latter child caught the infection from the for-
+ lb. tea, 2 lbs. sugar, and some raisins and currants, mer. In Deptford, at 9, Rolt-street, the son of a
the price of which came to about 3s. 4d. in all. The labourer, aged three weeks, died of " smallpox, not
prisoner tendered in payment a 51. note of the York- vaccinated." The mother was suffering from small-
shire Banking Company. Witness knew there was pox when this child was born, but has recovered.
such a bank, and gave the change, and then put the The following cases occurred at the Smallpox
note in his desk with another, which was Hospital :
of the Sheffield and Rotherham Bank. It On the 20th of December a female tramp from
remained there until the Monday following, when Drury-lane aged.lo years, died of "small-pox, con-
he paid it to William Lodge, High-street, with fluent, modified pneumonia (16 days) ; vaccinated in
three sovereigns. Witness had never removed it in infancy at Frankfort ; two good cicatrices." This
the interim from the desk, which was locked, and he child had run away from her parents, several times,
had the key in his own possession. Lodge returned and just before her last illness had been from home
the note next day at dinner time, and said the note for more than a fortnight, crouching at night in door-
was bad. Witness took it from him, and gave it to ways and passages about Drury-lane.
the chief constable of Sheffield, having put his initials On the 201 a of December, a turner and gilder, aged
on it. He had it returned to him since, and now 82 years, from Brandon-street, Newington, "small-
produced it to the court. When it was received it pox, confluent, unmodified (14 days) ; vaccinated
was a whole note, but when given back to him by when young ; one indifferent cicatrix.
Lodge it was in two halves, and pasted together. It On the 21st of December, an engineer from Port-
was dated December 4, at Doncaster, and signed lend-place, New Kent-road, aged 16 years, "small-
William Cooper. He had never seen Green since pox, confluent, unprotected (15 days)."
until that day, nor did he think he had ever seen him On the 25th of December, a waggoner from Wil-
before. Liam-street Cottages, Camden-town, aged 21 years,
Cross-examined—That was the first time he had " smallpox, confluent, unprotected (16 days)."
ever seen Green to his knowledge, and he had never In the sub -district of St. John, Marylebone, at 5,
seen him from that day to this, but he could swear to Lower 'William-street, on the 23d of December, the
his being the man. He had observed the note par- daughter of a sailor, aged 5 years, died of " scarlet
ticularly, for he did not remember having taken such fever (22 days), abscesses in the neck (7 days)." Mr.
a note before, but there was nothing on it by which Bachhoffner observes that " this is the second fatal
he could distinguish it from similar notes. He did case of scarlet fever occuring in this family within
not put a mark on it until it :had been returned by seven days. The mother of the children is a laun-
Lodge, who had put a mark on it on receiving it from dress, and the wet clothes are dried in the room in
witness. Lodge was not in the court. which they live. In the opinion of the gentleman
Robert Demain, one of the Leeds detective police, who attended them the air of the room is unfavour-
saw a note which was received about eight o'clock able to the health of the inmates."
on Christmas Eve, from Mr. Samuel Exeley, relating In St. Andrew Eastern (Holborn), at 29, Lucy's-
to a forged bank note, purporting to be of the York- buildings, Vine-street, on the 26th of December, a
shire Banking Company, and dated at Doncaster, carman, aged 70 years, died of " typhus (3 weeks)."
Dec. 4, 1851. Witness marked the note, and iden- Mr. Holmes mentions that " Lucy s-buildings are
tified it. very close, thickly inhabited by working people, and
The prisoners were then remanded until Thurs- the greater part built over the old sewer. The inha-
day in nextweek, when we understand evidence is to bitants are very poor. There is a public pump, but
be had against them for uttering similar forged notes the supply of water scanty."
'n Huddersfield. In Brompton, at 6, Sloane-place, on the 23d of
December, the son of a wine porter, aged one year,
died of " inflammation of the lungs." Mr. Stone re-
ports that " the informant complained much to him
of bad smells arising from a cowshed and pigs being
kept in the immediate neighbourhood. The exist-
ence of this nuisance was reported during the preva-
lence of cholera in 1849."
Mr. Clark, the Registrar of Peckham, says :
"Although the recent returns for the metropolis
show a considerable increase of mortality above the
average, it deserves notice that in my sub-district,
during the last five weeks, there has been a decrease
of one death per week on the numbers of the five
corresponding weeks of the previous year."
A few special cases registered last week may be
recorded here :—A birdstuffer, aged 48 years, was
poisoned by arsenic (post marten). The deceased had
placed some arsenic on bread and butter to poison
mice, and afterwards ate the bread himself, whether
intentionally or by mistake is not known. On the
22d of December the son of a cheesemonger, aged 11
years4died.from " rupture of the appendix vermiformis
mei, from the lodgment of an orange pip (5 days)—
past mortem." In Bethnal-green, at 7, New-street,
Turk-street, on the 26th of September, the son of a
bricklayer's labourer, aged 11 weeks, died of " fits
brought on by inflammation of the bowels and divers
parts of the body, accelerated by want of proper me-
dical treatment (inquest)." A commission agent,
aged 26 years, died of " exhaustion from fasting (in-
quest)." He was a Jew, and was engaged in the
observance of one of the fasts that belong to his re-
ligion. A chemist, aged 24 years, was accidentally
suffocated by inhaling a large quantity of ether.

FIRES in LONDON DURING the PAST YEAR.
The returns kept by the principal insurance-offices
of the fires which have occurred in the metropolis and
suburbs during the year just closed, exhibit a consi-
derable increase as compared with former years. In
number they exceed 1,000, of which between 400 and
500 houses were for the most part destroyed. Several
of the fires, as doubtless rosy be remembered, were
of great magnitude, consuming property to the
extent of thousands. On the whole, however, they
were not generally of so extensive a character as in
past years. This may be attributed to the stringent
powers of the New Building Act, which requires the
formation of strong party-walls, and other precau-
tions against fire. The most serious one of the year
was that which burnt down the warehouses of Mr.
Alderman Humphery, M.P., near London-bridge,
last June. The mysterious way the fire originated
was never satisfactorily cleared up. An opinion
was general that it was the work of an incendiary,
and a reward of 5001. was offered for the
detection of the guilty party or parties. A large
number of the fires, we find, are attributed to what
is called " doubtful origin." There is no doubt,
however, that several of them were wilfully caused in
order to defraud the insurance-offices. In the absence
of evidence, however, to establish the fact, they never
came before the usual legal tribunals. The fatal fires,
we learn, have greatly decreased during the last year,
which may in a great measure be attributed to the
zeal and activity displayed by the police and the con-
ductors of the different fire-escapes in the metro-
polis, a large number of lives having been saved
by the aid of those valuable machines. In several of
the large parishes in the outskirts of the metropolis
meetings have been held, with a view of obtaining the
extension of the fire-brigade force to those districts,
which since the formation of the body have largely in-
creased their building property. The officials of the
fire-offices, however, do not appear to think the
suburbs so inadequately protected as represented, and
have therefore declined extending their stations.
There bas been no augmentation of the brigade force
since its establishment in 1883, although the whole of
insurance-offices, with the exception of one or
two, have joined in its maintenance. The amount of
the
property alone insured in London, and which is
nighty left to the protection of the brigade force, ex-
ceeds, we are informed, 300,000,000/. The corps
comprises 100 men, some thirty land-engines, and
two floating-engines. The police throughout the
metropolis are supplied with cards of instruction as
to how they should act in cases of fire, with a list of
the different engine-stations, where there is a
constant attendance of firemen on duty day and
night. The instructions give the follow-
ing, which perhaps cannot be too generally made
known :—" It is found very useful in preventing the
spread of fire to keep the doors and windows of the
premises shut (after the escape of the inmates) till
the water is ready to be thrown, as nothing causes a
fire to burn so rapidly as the admission of air." It
may be stated that the brigade, with the Sappers and
Miners, had charge of the Exhibition, and continued
their services until last Monday, when they were
withdrawn. The insurance-offices reaped a bountiful
harvest out of the Exhibition. Goods of the value of
several millions had policies of insurance effected
upon them at almost the highest possible rates.

SEABORNE MAIL S
[N signifies that the mails are sent front the General Post-office
by the night—and NI by the morning--dispatch.]

1 When made up in From what When
PLACES. I General Post-office port die- due.
London: patched.
America (by Brit. pkt.)N Jan 2 .. Liverpool .. Jan. 5
America (by U.S. pkt.) N Jan. 6 •• Liverpool Arrived
America (by U.S. pkt.) 2,1 Sonthampt. Jan. 9
Africa (West coast).. N 14th of the month Plymouth IJan. 3
Alexandria* ........ N 19th & 30th of mo. Dover ..'Jan. t 8
Belgium .. .. N Daily • • .. Dover .. Degy
Brazil .. . M 9th of the month ISouthampt. ;Jan. 16
Buenos Ayres .• M 9th of the month ,Southampt.lJan. 16
California(viaChagree)M 2d& 17th of month 'Southampt.lJan. 5
Cape of Good Hope N 14th of month 'Plymouth.. Jas. 3
Constantinople* .. • • Nl7th 17th 27th of mo 'Dover .. Jan. 10
Central America .. 242 d & 17th of mon. ,Southampt. Jaa. 5
Channel Isles •• NIMon., Wed., & Fri. Southampt. Ts. Th. Sat
Chili • • • • .. M 117th of the month ,Southampt. Jan. 28
France .. & NlTwice daily ..',Dover .. Twicedaily
Greece* •• Nl7th 17th27th of mo :Dover Jan. 10
Hamburgh NTuesday & Friday London .. Taos. Sat.
MlWednes. & Satur.lLondon Mea.Thur
Honduras . Nll7th of tho month Southampt. Jan. 20
Ireland M& N' Twice daily .. ..IHolyhead.. Twicedaily
India(via Southamp.) M 20th of the monthSeuthanipt. Jan, 23
India (via M arsoilles) N Bth& 24th efmonth'Dover . • Arrived
Mediterranean (via
Southampton) .. M 20th of the month ,Southampt. Jan. 23
Mediterranean (via 1
1 Marseilles) N Bth& 24th of month Dover .. Arrived
Mexico .. M2d of the month.. Southampt. Jan. 5
Madeira •• •• M 9th of the month Southampt. Jan. 16
Malta* 1 1 th,l7th,l9th,27th 1 Dover Jan. 10
& 30th of month
Naples* .. • • N 7,th 15th 25th of mil Dover ••• Jan. 2
Papal States* N sth 15th 25th ef mo Dover .. Jan. 2
enimular •• M 7th 17th 27th of mo Southampt.lJan. 6
Peru .. 2,1117 th of the month Southampt. ,Jan. 20
Tuscany* Nlsth 15 th 25th of mo Dover • • 'Jan. 2
West Indies .. 51,17 th of the month Southampt.lJan. 20
West Indies (except
Havanna & Nassau) M ad of the month —,Southampt. ,Jan. 5

.avanna
* The mails to those a ountries thas marked (5) are conveyed by
French packet 'rig Marseilles.
The direct Havre mall from London via Southampton during this
month will be made up three times a week only, instead of daily.
CaLiroama.—MaLls to and from California, via the United dtates
are now despatched and due by every American packs*.

LARGE liippocKs.—A novel importation of the
haddock tribe has been imported into our markets lately.
They are of large size, weighing from seven to nine pounds ;
are somewhat similar to the Dublin Bay haddocks; and are
caught in deep water beyond the Isle of May, with garvie
The Osservatere Romano states that the receipts of
the Pontifical Customs for 1851 will equal, if not exceed,
those of the Most prosperous year.
EXTINCTION OF A COAL MINE FIRE.—The fire
in
.Lord Bradford's coal mine at Great Lever, near Bolton,
which originated from an explosion of fire-damp a few weeks
ago, has been extinguished by Mr. Gurney's system of filling
the mine with chokedamp. The level where the fire existed
stillis ‘ very hot, but there is ro appearance of the existence
of fire. Search gas been made for the bodies of the two un-
fortunate men who lost their lives by the explosion, but
hitherto without success. A portion of their clothing, which
they took off before commencing work, was found near the
place where they were employed, bat the bodies were not
there, so that it is possible they may have perished in some
of the old workings, while endeavouring to make their
escape; or it may be that the bodies are covered, the roof
of the mine having fallen in various places.--Manchester
Guardian..

On SAturday evening some wickedly-disposed per-
son or persons removed two gates from their hinges, sad
placed them across the rails of the Eastern Counties (Cam-
bridge) line, near the Burnt Mills. Happily, however, they
were discovered and removed, or the most disastrous conse-
quences might have ensued.—Essex Herald.
LIVERPOOL, JAN. I.—Wind W.—Arrd. Lapland, New
Orleans...Sld. Devonshire, New Orleans; Dumfriesshire,
Batavia; Kirkland, Rio Janeiro; Commerce, Trinidad;
Sandusky, New
Orleans; Lord Warreston, Mobile;
Clara Wheeler, New York; Harvard, ditto.
PORTSMOUTH, JAN. I,—Wind E.S.E.—Arrd. H.M.S.
Champion, Valparaiso.