The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-30 00:00:00

CITY COURT OF SEIVE.RS.

At a meeting of the Commissioners of Sewers
held yesterday, at the court-room, at Guildhall,
Mr. D. Jersey in the chair, Dr. Letheby, the me-
dical officer, reported that 262 houses had been in.
spected during the last fortnight, and he submitted
a list of 71 places requiring sanatory improvement
in various particulars, and he also submitted a list
of places requiring further proceedings on account
of orders already issued not having been complied
with. The markets and slaughter-houses bad also
been duly inspected during the last two weeks, and
the officers had seized 5,941 lbs. of meat as unfit for
human food. It consisted of 34 sheep, 6 calves, 4
pigs, 34 quarters of beef, and 40 joints of meat,
4,816 lbs. were diseased, 572 lbs. putrid, and 113
lbs. from animals that had died from natural causes.
The whole was destroyed.

The mortality returns for the last fortnight were
a little over the average for the corresponding
period of the last five years. The average number
was 116, and the actual number of deaths was 122,47
of which were among children of less than five
years of age, and 29 among old persons of 60 and
upwards. The causes of death were as follows
Phthisis, 18; pneumonia, 5; bronchitis, 16; mesen-
teric disease, 8 ; whooping cough, 5 ; continued
fever, 8 ; diphtheria, 5 ; scarlet fever, 5 ; croup, 1 ;
makirrs-together 26 4-eaqia from tuber-
cular diseases ; 21 from inflammatory diseases of the
lungs ; and 28 from diseases of the zymotic class.
One hundred and forty-one births were registered
during the week, viz., 78 boys and 63 girls.
Mr. PEARSON, the City solicitor, called the atten-
tion of the Court to a report which appeared in the
newspapers of that day, of a complaint made by Mr.
Shepherd at the Mansion-house justice-room, of
what he alleged was an incorrect statement made
by Mr. Daw in a case in which a man was charged
with stealing a coffin-plate from Barking church-
yard. He (Mr. Shepherd) said Mr. Daw had been
misinformed when he stated that the bodies were
removed by the authority of the Bishop of London.
A faculty had been granted for altering the church
porch, but it did not extend to the removal of the
bodies. Mr. Pearson said Mr. Shepherd was quite
right when he stated there was no faculty for re-
moving the bodies. It was not required. The
Sewers Act gave the commission the power to
remove them upon obtaining the sanction of the
Bishop of London ; and he produced an agreement,
signed by the Rev. J. Thomas, the vicar of All-
hallows parish, and the churchwardens; and also
beariLg the signature of the Bishop of London, con-
senting to the agreement ; and the agreement con-
tains a plan of the proposed alterations, not only of
the porch, but also of the setting back the churchyard
railings.

THE VOLUNTEER REVIEW AT BRIGHTON.—The
publication of the traffic tables of the London, Brighton,
and South Coast Railway Company for the week ending
the 26th inst., gives the aggregate of 269,210 passengers as
passing over the line during that week. The total money
return for the same period amounted to £22,467. The total
269,210 for the week gives an average of 38,400 and odd per
day.
NEW COURT IN THE KENSINGTON MUSEUM.-
The authorities at tho Kensington Museum having long felt
the inconvenience of having their art collections dispersed
through various rooms and galleries, have just completed a
curt on the north side of the building, in which they have
collected some of the finest specimens of medimval art, in-
cluding the Soulages and Campana collections. Tho Sou-
lages are already well known to the visitors, but the Cam
pana sculptures, which are ranged round the cloisters, will
be found to be an interesting novelty. This collection
consists of 400 specimens of sculpture in marble, terracotta,
Della Robbia, &c., in fact, a whole series making the era of
what art connoisseurs call the great revival. The court in
which these recent acquisitions are placed, is spacious,
light, and cheerful, and everything is set in the best posi-
tion for being seen. It will no doubt be a great additional
attraction to the museum, and will become all the more
attractive the more familiar the public become with its con-
tents.

The wine trade of 1861, as taken from W. and A.
Gilby's annual circular, appears to have received a great
stimulus from the introduction of the reduced duties,French
wines in particular, which contributed to the consumption
to the extent of 20 per cent. as compared with other wines;
and it is stated that Mr. Gladstone's system of assessing
the duties on wines according to strength has given univer-
sal satisfaction. Much of the increase in the use of wines
is attributed to the altered fashion of taking light wines at
meals in lieu of after-dinner drinking. W. and A. G. soli-
cited the opinion of every member of the medical profession
in the United Kingdom, to the extent of 8,000, as to the
use of light wines, and their opinion placed beyond doubt
the fact that the use of light wines is greatly to be pre-
ferred to the stronger, and even beer, on account of the
medical properties, besides being a step in the direction of
sobriety and moderation. The vintages last year in nearly
all the wino-growing countries were good, and nearly an
average crop was harvested of excellent quality. During the
year there were more than 2,000 wine merchants in Lon-
don paying duty at the Custom-house, and the three largest
firms out of that great number are—Martinez and Company,
241,274 gallons ; s„denian, Son, and Company, 218,925
gallons; W. and A. Gilbey, 14C,575 gallons.

Murphy, the Irish giant, who died a fow days
ago at Marseilles, of small-pox, was a native of Killowen,
a little village within a mile of Rostrevor, in the county of
Down. Before he had completed his 20th year ho stood
seven feet high, and weighed 20 stone. Having travelled
through all the principal countries of Europe, enjoying the
company and conversation of the highest and best educated
men in the different places where he sojourned, he returned
to his native village a highly accomplished gentleman,
and so enriched by the gifts of those who patronised him,
that he purchased a handsome estate at Killowen, which
he left a short time since for another tour through Europe.
While staying at Marseilles he was seized with small.pox,
and after a brief but determined struggle he died in his
26th year, being about 24 stone weight, and within a few
inches nine feet high. The Gazette du Midu states that
his body is to be embalmed and sent to the Museum. of
Natural History iu Paris,—Nocry Examiner.