The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-01 00:00:00

cutting sarcasms that appeared in the speech of
Mr. LINDSAY that roused the indignation of the
hon. member for Leicester to such a pitch of fury,
and made his remarks so excited.. Well might Mr.
LINDSAY say that many entertained the notion that
if her Majesty's Government had used the same
exertions to find out about the enlistments as they
employed to discover what vessels were built for the
Confederates, the enlistments would have been
stopped. This is most probaY.e, and the whole
conduct of the Government has proved how very
differently they act in respect tc, the several comba-
tants. Doubtless if matters bad been reversed,
and there had arisen a discussion as to
the character of the vessels built in certain
places we should have hes rd that it was not expe-
dient to interfere with the rights i,f English sub-
jects, and that it was almost impossible to ascertain
correctly who were the real owners of these vessels ;
and that, in fact, no steps could be taken. Such
inconsistency is very marked, and it must strike all
who notice it. Mr. LINDSAY represents the opinions
of the people of this country when he said that they
in general believed this to be a " vain war," and
that the North cou'd never succeed in subjugating
the South. The impression produced on the House
by the excellent speech of Lord EDWARD HOWARD,
and by the remarks of others who followed, will
no doubt have its effect upon the country in general,
and perhaps serve as a warning to the infatuated
individuals themselves not to be drawn into the
vortex, and be enticed from their country to
meet with a deplorable fate in a foreign land.
It would be well also if it serves as a salutary chock
upon the machinations of the Federals and arrested
them in their present iniquitons mode of inveigling
oar subjects on false pretences, and then betraying
them in a dastardly fashion. It is high time that
something should be done, and it is therefore very
satisfactory that this debate should have taken place.
The last night of the session could not have been
occupied in a more befitting manner, and if only a
practical advantage is gained still it will be better
than nothing. There is no immediate prospect of
the war terminating in America, and if they chose
over there to sap the strongholds of their own
resources, that is no reaso❑ why they should be
allowed to waste our population, and bring misery
and want upon a large portion of her MeJEsTi's
subjects,

The quarterly return of Dr. LETHEBY respecting
the sanitary condition of the City is always a mat-
ter of some interest. Although year by year the
number of citizens who fix their pieces of abode out
of reach of its smoke and dust is rapidly increasing,
still there are enough inhabitants lett to render the
condition of its health a matter of public importance.
We may, indeed, expect within a very brief period
to see the City still more depopulated, since rail-
ways and railway lines are about to invade its pre,
cincts, to intersect its thoroughfares, and to convert
its few green and open spots into stations and open
depots. The railways are now about to do directly
for the City what they have long been doing indi-
rectly by transporting its residents elsewhere. So
rapid and easy have they made communication with
the suburbs that John Gilpin's excursion to Edmon-
ton is now an every-day journey to many citizens;
but the forced removal of the poorer classes is likely
to create among them a good deal of temporary
annoyance and distress. When the removal is,
however, accomplished and fitting habitations pro-
vided at a distance for the cutcasts, instead of fore.
iug them to take refuge in the already over-crowded
courts and lanes around them, there is no doubt that
the health of those who remain will be greatly be-
nefited. The two great evils of City life in regard
to health are want of fresh air and overcrowd-
ing, and neither of these is its necessary and
inevitable attendant. To look at the closed win-
dows in the miserable alleys of London one might
almost suppose that too much ventilation and not
too little was the danger the people had to dread,
while the horrors of overcrowding are, as we all
know, to be avoided by a plentiful supply of cheap
and suitable houses for the working man, and, by
trade being good enough, to enable him to secure
them. An important feature of the sanitary work
now goiag on is the inspection of houses. So
actively is this work carried on that during the last
quarter there have been no less than 2,547 inspec-
tions of house, and 905 visits to the common lodg-
ing-houses of the city. That these visits were
neither superfluous nor fruitless is proved by their
results : 1,477 orders have been issued for sanitary
improvement, "among which there were 1,209
orders for cleansing and limewasbing, 205 for im-
proving the drainage, and 134 for amending the
water supply." This system of inspection is an
element in preserving the public health, and
another valuable part of the sanitary arrange-
ments is the inspection of the markets and seizure
of putrid and unwholesome meat. The quantity
seized this quarter has for some unexplained reason
been nearly double the amount usually forfeited.
The immense quantity thus endeavoured to be
palmed off upon the public at a serious risk to
life and health is something surprising,
notwithstanding the rigour which such en
offence is dealt with. In visiting the mar.
kets and slaughter-houses, the officers employed
have this quarter found occasion to condemn
60,823 lbs., or more than 27 tons of meat as unfit
for human food. In the corresponding quarters of
the last three years the amount was little more
than half that sum. The sudden heat of the weather
early in the year had probably much to do with
it, since a great part of the putrid meat, which
forms the largest item, was seized in the third week
in May, when the temperature suddenly rose above
77 degs. Fahrenheit. The amount of meat forfeited
being from animals that had died of accident or
disease, lays a great part of the blame at the door
of the sellers as well as of the weather, and the
fact that 11,058 lb. of meat was seized from this
cause shows the necessity of close and careful super-
vision. Prairie birds which are imported from
America appear to be a rather dangerous article
of diet, since frequent complaints of illness are
made after eating them, although Dr. LETHEBY
says that he cannot detect anything of a poisonous
nature in their flesh or food. Under these ciraum-
stances a little caution should be exercised respect..
ing them. The general account of the public health
is tolerably satisfactory. As usual the mortality
of the western part of the city has been considerably
above the average, while the total of the city was
below it. As usual too, unfortunately, the deaths
of children under fire have been 40 per cent. of thee
whole number. A great proportion of this infantile
mortality
was probably due in this quarter to the
remarkable prevalence of measles. The fluctuations
of zymotic disease are, as Dr. LETHELY observes,
among the problems yet to be solved. The meteo-
rological report is interesting, and it is instructive
to notice the rapid decrease of mortality as the
temperature rises. This is in decided contradiction
of the general theory that cold weather is the most
healthy. The rainfall of the quarter has been re-
markably small, so as fully to account for the com.
plaints of drought which meet us from various
parts of the country. Had it not bean for the low
state of the temperature the Thames, owing to the
small amount of fresh water, would, it is thought,
have been in as unpleasant a cond ~013 as in the