The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-18 00:00:00

City sewers Commission.

Yesterday the Commissioners of Sewers met at Guild-
hall for the despatch of public business. Deputy De Jersey
presided, and among those present were Deputy Read,
Deputy Owden, Deputy Elliott, Deputy Farrar, Deputy
Jones, Deputy Cork ; Messrs. George Walter, F. Cox,
Waterlow, Israel, Chaplin, Cole, Dadswell, Robson, &c.
Among a number of applications laid before the Court
was one from /IV. C. Stacey, Superintendent of the City
of London Cemetery, asking for an increase of his present
salary.
The application was referred to the General Purposes
Committee for inquiry and report.

One of the contractors under the commission was sum-
moned for not removing the dust from a house within his
district, and fined £3 for the neglect.
The Clerk (Mr. Daw) laid before the Court a letter from
the clerk to the guardians of the West London Union, en-
closing a copy of a communication they had received from
Dr. Read, one of their district medical officers, upon the
subject of the report addressed to the commissioners, and
forwarded by them to the guardians, respecting certain cases
of typhus and other fever cases reported upon by Dr. Read.
The letter furnished to the guardians the particufars of four
cases of typhus fever, one of common fever, and two of
febricula„ which he had attended. Commenting upon the
statement contained in Dr. Letheby's report, "that these
returns are likely to occasion unnecessary alarm in the pub-
lic mind," Dr. Read observed that he was not aware that
returns of that kind were made public, as they did not ap-
pear in the usual quarterly report of the sanatory condition
of the City. He did not observe any mention whatever of
information collected from any of the books of the various
medical officers of the city of London, whom he believed to
be 12 in number. That being so, he was at a loss to know
in what way the returns were likely to occasion unneces-
sary alarm to the public mind, except through the publicity
given to them by Dr. Letheby himself, as in the present
unusual instance.

Dr. LETIFEBY, upon being appealed to, reiterated the
statements made in his report last week, and added that in
the eases referred to by the medical officer of the union as
typhus and other fever cases, that not one of the persons
named had been laid up in bed, and that there was one case
of cold with slight feverish symptoms.
The motion then dropped.

A report was brought up from the Improvement Com-
mittee, in which they stated that they had arranged with
the Corporation of London for the carrying out of a public
improvement at the corner of Bishopsgate-street and Camo-
mile-street for the sum of £5OO, an arrangement which they
submitted to the Commissioners for adoption.

The Court confirmed the recommendation of the com•
mittee.

SEIZURE OF UNWHOLESOME FISH.

The usual return of_ fish seized by the meters of the
Fishmongers' Company during the past three months were
laid before the Court. In October the number seized was-
-13 brills, 69 cod, :500 dabs, 11 dories, 500 garnets, 1,020
haddocks, 2,675 herrings, 1 ling, 340 lobsters, 5,236 plaice,
1 salmon, 4 skate, 48,226 smelts,lo4 soles, 290 thornbacks,
20 turbot, 600 whitings—total, 59,612. Also 33 kits and 50
tons of pickled salmon, and 456 gallons of shrimps. The
number seized in November was as follows-8 brills, 30
cod, 1,600 dabs, 200 garnets, 6,330 haddocks, 1 hake, 1,000
herrings, 2 ling, 5,444 plaice, 13 skate, 1,100 smelts, 143
soles, 91 thornbacks, 9 turbot, 17,050 whiting—total,
33,021. Also 118 cases of preserved fish, 35 bushels sprats,
12 bushels of whelks, 116 gallons of shrimp; and 1 kit of
pickled salmon. The returns for December show a seizure
of 2 brills, I,4oo.dabs, 300 garnets, 1,160 haddocks, 598
plaice, 500 smelts, 120 soles, 6 turbot, and 4,300 whiting,
making a total of 8,394 ; also 6 bushels of sprats, and 12
gallons of shrimps.
Mr. HAYWOOD, the engineer to
.the Commission, brought
up a report of paving works required to be carried out in
the ensuing year, and which he estimated would cost be-
tween £9,000 and £lO,OOO. Among other thoroughfares,
he says that Newgate-street, Old-bailey from Fleet-lane to
Skinner-street, and Hart-street require repaving with new
stone ; that several important thoroughfares will have to be
relaid, and that Gracechurch-street and Cornhill require
repaving with wood. Towards the cost of the latter, how-
ever, he suggested that the ordinary course of calling upon
the inhabitants of the localities for a contribution in conse-
qoence of the extra cost of wood pavement should be fol-
lowed.

The report was referred to the committee for considera•
tion.

SANATORY CONDITION OF THE CITY.

Dr. LETHEBY, the medical officer of health, reported as
follows on the sanatory condition of the city of London :
" To the Honourable the Commissioners of Sewers for the
City of London.

Gentlemen,—The inspectors' returns which are before
you relate to 267 houses that have been inspected during the
week, and I submit a list of 34 places for sanitary improve-
ment. I have also to report that, in accordance with the
provisions of the Bakehouse Regulation Act, all the bake-
houses in the City (109 in number) have been inspected
during:the week, and I submit a list of 41 which require
periodical cleansing and lime-whiting.
" The markets and slaughter-houses have been duly in-
spected, and the officers have condemned 1,9981b5. of meat
as unfit for human food. It consists of 11 sheep, 4 pigs,
19 quarters of beef, and 8 joints of meat. Most of it was
in a diseased condition, and 3671b5. were from animals that
had died from natural causes.

" The mortality returns for the week (55) is greatly below
the average (65)for the corresponding week for the last nine
years. Twelve of the deaths were among children of less
than five years of age, and 22 among persons of 60 and up-
wards. The chief causes of death were as follows :—Phthisis
5, pneumonia 3, bronchitis 12, mesenteric disease 2, con-
tinued fever 3, small-pox 1, croup 2, and whooping-cough
1; making altogether 7 deaths from tubercular diseases, 4
from inflammatory affections of the lungs, and only 7 from
diseases of a zymotic character.

" The number of births registered in the week was 43,
namely, 30 boys and 13 girls,--I remain, gentlemen, your
obedient servant,

(Signed)

" HENRY LETHEBY."

THE GAS SUPPLY TO THE CITY.

Dr. LETHEBY reported that the illuminating power of the
gas supply to the city during the week had, except in one
instance of the Chartered gas, been less than the require-
ments of tho act of Parliament, and the proportion of sul-
phur in the gas had, except in the case of the Great Central
gas, been less than the quantity sanctioned by Parliament.
In the case of the Great Central gas the quantity had
ranged from 21 grains to nearly 23 grains per 100 cubic feet.
The Commissioners after transacting some further busi-
ness, adjourned.

A JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO PERSEPOLIS ;
including Wanderings in Daghestan, Georgia,
Armenia, Kurdistah, Mesopotamia, and Persia. By J.
Ussher, Esq., F.R.G.S. Royal Bvo., with numerous beau-
tifully coloured illustrations.—A more interesting book of
travels than the one now before us has not been published
for some time. The countries which were visited, and the
interesting records and monuments of past time, and the
evidences of progress and decay of various eastern races,
which alternate throughout the volume, attract towards it
in an unusual degree the interest of the reader. The style
in which the journey is described is exceedingly pleasant.
The volume is illustrated by many well-executed coloured
plates.—Observer.

JANUARY 18, 1865.