The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-21 00:00:00

SANATORY STATE OF THE CITY.

Dr. LETLIEBY, the medical officer of health for
the City, reported on the state of 205 houses that
had been inspected during the week, and he sub-
mitted a list of 40 places for sanatory improvement.
He likewise reported an indecent and unwholesome
overcrowding of a common lodging-house in Union-
court, Holborn, in which there were two small
rooms occupied by 17 persons, namely, four men,
eight women, and five children. In one of the
rooms, which had a capacity of about 1,100 cubic
feet, there were three men, four women, and three
children. He certified that the house required
supervision, and to that end should be registered as
a common lodging-house.
The markets and slaughter houses had been duly
inspected, and the officers had seized 3,3811 b. of
meat and 61 head of game and poultry as u nfit for
human food. ;It consisted of 13 sheep, 3 pigs, 1
calf, 22 qrs. of beef, 27 joints of meat. 3,0731 b were
diseased, 1801 b. were putrid, and the rest was from
animals that had died from natural causes.
The mortality returns for the week are below the
average for the season. Only 65 deaths were regis-
tered in the week, while the average number for
the corresponding periods of the last seven years is
71. The chief causes of death wore as follow :
Phthisis 7, pneumonia 8, bronchitis 9, continued
fever 2, scarlet fever 3, whooping cough 4, measles
6, croup 1, and infantile convulsions 7. Of these
causes the most important are measles, and whoop-
ing-cough, which have been unusually fatal.
After transacting some other business the Court
adjourned.

Murder of a Police Constable at Acton.

At the Hammersmith Police-court, yesterday, two
rough •looking men, who gave the names of Joseph
Brooks, aged 25 years, and Isaac Brooks, aged, 23, brothers,
and described themselves as labourers, were placed in the
dock before Mr. Dayman, charged with the wilful murder
of police-constable William Davey, No. 84 T division, by
shooting him in the head with a gun. _ _

The court was crowded to excess, and the street in front
was thronged with persons waiting the result of the exami.

nation.

Mr. Trehearne, a solicitor, of Gresham-street, attended on
the part of the police to prosecute the prisoners.
It appeared from Mr. Trehearne's statement that the de-
ceased was on duty at Acton in the course of Monday after-
noon, when he stopped two men carrying planks, and on
giving an unsatisfactory answer as to their possession, he
attempted to take both of them into custody. One succeeded
in escaping; while taking the other to the station the man
threw the planks down upon the feet of the constable and
also ran away. The constable afterwards mentioned the oc-
currence to the sergeant, and it was arranged they should
go to the place from where the planks had been taken and
endeavour to obtain further evidence. The sergeant was,
however, anxious for the constable to remain on his beat,
and he gave him leave to go home to get his supper first.
He went down Church-road at half•past 8 o'clock for the
purpose. He was taking care of Petherton-villa, which was
an unoccupied house. He had scarcely got into the back
parlour before there was a knock at the door. Ii is wife an-
swered the-door and then called "William." He passed
along the passage, and had scarcely got to the threshold of
the deer when a gun was fired at him, a greater portion of
his bead was carried away, and he was killed. Mr. Tre-
heatne also said that he should produce evidence to affect
the prisoners, and the only reasonable motive that he could
assign for it was that as they believed the constable knew
them they were afraid of being re-taken.
Police-sergeant Arthur Bonnick, 19 T, was examined.
He said--T knew the deceased constable. lam sergeant
of the division of which the deceased was a constable. I
was with him at half-past six o'clock in the evening in
Avenue-road, Acton. He was on duty, and continued so
until half-past 8 o'clock. He mentioned to me the circum-
stances about two men stealing planks. He said he knew
something of the men, and described them. The one he
took into custody was dressed in a corduroy suit and a cap,
and the other who escaped had a light jacket. Both the
men escaped. I asked him whether he could swear to them,
and he said no. He said the voice of one of them was fami-
liar to him, and that both resembled the two Brookses, who
were at work opposite the place from which the timber was
taken. After that he asked permission to go home for a
short time. That was about half- past 8 o'clock. From a
communication I afterwards received I went to PEtherton-
villa, where the constable resided. I saw the deceased
lying on his back, and part of his head blown off. There
is a small garden between the door and the gate. He was
quite dead. I assisted in making inquiries after the pri-
soners. I went to 1, Chapel-place, Windmill-lane, Turn-
ham-green. I got there about half-past one o'clock this
morning. The prisoners were in bed. Isaac is a married
man, and was in a room with his wife. I did not say any-
thing to the prisoners. _ _

The prisoner Joseph—l wish to ask the officer whether
he found any ammunition about me ?
Witness—l did not search you. I saw a gun and powder
found by an inspector.
The other prisoner, who looked exceedingly pale, and
wore a white jacket, said he had no questions to ask.
Inspector John Searle, of the T division, said—About 10

o'clock last night I was in Hammersmith,and received in-
formation that police-constable Davey had been shot. I pro
ceeded at once on horseback to Acton,where I met Inspector
Scotney. We both dismounted and proceeded to Petherton-
villa, where the deceased had been shot. We afterwards
went to I, Chapel-place, Back-common, Turnham-green.
We knocked at the door, and the prisoner Isaac answered
from a bedroom window upstairs. That was about half-
past 1 o'clock this morning. Inspector Scotney inquired
for Isaac Brooks. The prisoner said," Yes,it is me." Inspec-
tor Scotney requested him to come down, He came down
in his night clothes. We then asked him whether he had
any firearms, and whether he had a brother in the house.
He said, he is upstairs. He made no reply to the question
about the firearms. I then left him with Inspector Scotney
while I went upstairs. I found the prisoner Joseph in bed.
I said, Joseph Brooks. He was not asleep, and said, Yes.
He appeared to tremble very much. When I first saw Isaac
he trembled very much and appeared confused. I said to
Joseph, "You must consider yourself in custody for being
concerned with your brother Isaac in the wilful murder of
police-constable Davey, at Acton; have you any firearms?
you need not answer any questions, but what you say will
be given in evidence against you." I again said, " Have you
any firearms ?" He said, " I have none; I had a gun, but I
left it at the shop at Acton." I requested him to get out of
bed. He got out, and I then turned down the bed. In the
centre of the bed, under where he had been lying, I found
a gun between the mattress and the bed. I said, " What is
this ?" He said, " Oh, I forgot I had it there." While he
was dressing a powder-flask fell from his cord jacket. It
fell on the bed clothes, and it was picked up by Sergeant
Byden. After it fell from his pocket he endeavoured to turn
the clothes over it, to prevent it being seea. I took him
downstairs to Isaac. I told Isaac the same charge. I asked
Joseph where ho had been during the evening, and he re-
plied "Nowhere." While ho (Joseph) was dressing he
treated the matter as a joke. He laughed, and asked who
the man was that had been shot. I examined it before
leaving the room. If it had been discharged two or three
days it would have been rusty. The powder inside the bar-
rel was quite wet. I examined the lock. It is a cap lock.
There was no cap on it. I found neither caps nor shot. At
the station Joseph said, "The gun is dirty and has been
used , I sponged it out on Thursday, but not since." Before
leaving the house he said the gun had been pledged and was
redeemed the previous night. The wife of Isaac said, in pre-
sence of prisoners, that she had been to Hammersmith with a
young woman named Jane Lake and had redeemed the gun.
She afterwards said that Jane Lake went alone. I after
wards went to Petherton-villa at Acton. I made a search
in the passage and ceiling for shot. I picked up some shots
in the passage, and there were marks of shots in the ceiling.
There were portions of brains, skull, and blood scattered
about the garden, passage, and wall, as well as a large
stream of blood in the garden. There are also marks of
blood on the dress of the deceased's wife. She is in such a
delicate state to-day as not to be able to be produced. I
examined the clothes of the prisoners. I tried to match the
marks in the avenue made with their boots, but in conse-
quence of the traffic I was unable to do so, I was not able
to trace any marks upon their clothes. On the way to the
station Joseph asked who the man was that had been shot.
I told him. He then said " Where is he ?" I said, "At
the dead house at Acton." He seemed to shudder, butmade
no reply. He told me where the shop was at Mill-hill, Acton.
At the station he said, " That is the gun I had at the shop."
Mr. W. Ayres said—l am a pawnbrcker at Waterloo-
street, Hammersmith. The gun was pawned at my shop on
Saturday last. I delivered it to two femiles about half-past
7 o'clock on Monday evening. Tbey pledged a pair of trou-
sers for 7s. 6d., and took out the gun. I know one of the
females. Her name is Lake. he gun was pledged in the
name of Brooks. The gun was quite clean when I delivered
it out. My foreman, who is not here, took it in.
Mr. Dayman—Are you quite sure it was clean ?
Witness—Yes, sir.
The prisoner Joseph—Will your foreman swear the gun
was clean when I pawned it ?
Mr. Davman—The foreman will be here, and you can
ask him the question,

Prisoner—l can swear it was not clean on Saturday.
Mr. Trehearna then said he had no further evidence to
produce that day, and asked for a remand.

- Mr. Dayman remanded both prisoners for a week.
The prisoners were then removed without making any
further observation,

The Production of Cotton in the Southern
States of America in 1862.
-3-

(From go illanchester Guardian.)
We have received from Mr, G It. Haywood, secretary of
the Cottcn Supply Association, the following correspondence
relative to the quantity of cotton at present in the Southern
States of America :

Foreign Office, January 13, 1863.

Sir,--With reference to Mr.- Hamtnond's letter of the
25th of October last, I am directed by Earl Russell to
transmit to you, to be laid before the Committee of the
Manchester Cotton Supply Association, a copy of a further
despatch from her Majesty's Consul at Charleston rap,:ct-
ing the quantity of cotton produced in the Southern
States of America during 1862, together with a copy of a
despatch from her Majesty's Consul at Savannah on the
same subject.—l am, your most obedient servant,
(Signed) JAMES MUBRAY.

British Consulate, Charleston, November 24, 1862.

My Lord,—With reference to my despatch, No. 104, of
the 13th August last, in which I had the honour to submit
to your Lordship certain information on the subject of the
cotton then existing in the Southern States of America, I
beg leave to state that I have taken some pains, now the
crop of 1862 is gathered, to ascertain whether any alteration
is to be made in the estimate upon which my despatch was
based. I find, after careful inquiry, that a quarter of a mil-
lion bales may be added to the amount supposed to be on
hand. It may, therefore, be roughly calculated that there
remain in these States 4:260,000 bales of Upland cotton,
which could be exported in the event of the ports being
opened to trade.

I beg leave to repeat that the " long," or Sea Island cot-
ton, does not enter into my estimate for the reason given in
my despatch, No. 104.

It should be always borne in mind that the irregularity,
and in some instances total suppression, of communica-
tion between portions of the Southern States, render all
cotton calculations somewhat arbitrary.— I have the
honour, &c. (Signed) R. BUNCH,

British Consulate, Savannah, Dec. 6, 1862.

My Lord,—As at this period of the year a tolerably cor-
rect estimate may be formed of the quantity of cotton pro-
duced the last session in the Southern States, I beg to sub-
mit to your lordship, for the information of her Majesty's
Government, the results of my inquiries respecting this
important question, and to report more particularly on the
production in the State of Georgia.
In former years Georgia was the chief cotton-producing
State of the Union, but, as the cultivation of the plant be-
came more extended, Mississippi and Alabama, from the
rich quality of their lands, gradually surpassed her; Mis-
sissippi now holding the first rank, and Alabama the se-
cond.

According to reports made to the Comptroller-General
of this State by the tax collectors, the amount of land
planted in cotton this year in Georgia is about 200,000
acres, yielding in round numbers 60,000 bales of cotton
of 500 lb. each ; ordinarily the production is 700,000 bales
requiring an acre cf about 3,000,000 acres. I am, of course,
unable to report
,as accurately respecting the crops of
other States, but the best information at my command
strongly induces the belief that the entire crop gathered
this year did not exceed 1,000,000 bales; proving the
correctness of the approximate estimate transmitted by your
lordship in my despatch, No. 18, of the 10th May last.
The crop of 1861 was estimated at 4,500,000 bales, de-
ducting from the crops of 1861 and 1862 the quantity of
cotton which has run the blockade, the amount destroyed
to prevent capture by the Federalists, and the quantity used
for home consumption, which, since the commencement of
the war, has enormously increased, being now fully 500,600
bales per annum, will leave in the South not more than
3,500,0u0 bales. The urgent necessity for the cultivation of
breadstuffs since the Federal occupation of Kentucky and
the best grain growing regions of Virginia, Tennessee, and
North Carolina, and the consequent strong popular opposi-
tion to the planting of cotton, together with other causes of
hardly less importance, such as the entire want of bagging
and rope necessary to put the cotton into merchantable con-
dition, will tend hereafter to prevent any increase of the
stock, possibly to diminish it, while, should the Federals
succeed in making further advances into the interior of the
cotton-growing states, the cultiva' ion of that plant will be
entirely abandoned, and the negroes removed to the moun-
tainous districts, where breadstuffs alone can be raised.—l
have the honour, &c., (Signed) E. MOLYNEUX.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

LIVERPOOL-TUESDAY.

At our market to-day there was a fair attendance of the
town and country trade. Only a limited demand, however,
for wheat and flour, and prices rather favoured buyers.
Oats and oatmeal in improved demand, and sold at 6d per
load dearer. Barley and peas in retail sale at former rates,
but beans were at fully higher prices. Indian corn was in
brisk sale, at 30s to 30s 6d per 4801 b for prime mixed.

MARKET HARBOROUGH—TuEspAy.

White wheat, 52s to 57s ; red, 47s tO46TsPeia6 stone.
Barley at 38s to 40s per qr., grinding 29s to 32s per 30 st.
Oats, 27s to 325; new, 22s to 26s per 24 st. ; beans, 363 to
45s per qr.