The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-15 00:00:00

HEAL2'II OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK.

( F roes the Report of the Registrar-Gemeral. )
The o Ecial report says :—The mortality of London
is still high for the season. In the week that ended last
Saturday the number of deaths registered was 1,100.
In the te m corresponding weeks of the years 1844-53 the
average number was 910, which, if raised in proportion
to increase of population, becomes 1,001. Hence it ap-
pears that about 100 persons died last week above what
the rate of mortality in previous years would lead to ex-
pect at the beginning ofJune.
The di laths returned weekly since the middle of May
have beOn consecutively 1,188, 1,143, 1,093, 1,100.
There diod last week from zymotic complaints 306 per-
sons, a number which is almost exactly the same as that
of the preceding week. The deaths from scarlatina,
which is at, present twice as fatal as usual, were 68 ; in
the previous return they were 72. Within the same
time measles has declined from 46 to 31, hooping-cough
has risen. from 53 to 63, typhus from 57 to 64, diarrhoea
front 22 to 31. Three aged women died on 4th, sth,
and 10th. June respectively, of passive diarrhoea, in St.
Georcre's 'Workhouse, Little Chelsea.
0

Last week the births of 822 boys and 130 girls, in all
1,625 children, were registered in London. In the nine
corresponding weeks of the years 1845-53 the average
number was 1,391.

MORTALITY IN THE METROPOLIS.
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED
IN THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY; JUNE 10
Zymotic Diseases
Diseases of Uncertain Seat
Tubercular Diseases
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves and Senses
Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 4l
Diseases of the Lungs and other Organs of
Respiration 149
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs
of Digestion
Diseases of the Kidneys, &C.
Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c.
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c.
Malformations 1
Premature Birth and Debility 26
Atrophy .. l3
Old Age . . 37
Sudden
Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 34
Causes not specified

DEATHS FROli ALL CAUSES
Population Deaths in corre- Deaths
Enumerated. aponding week in the

1851. - of 18.53. Week.
West Districts
North Districts 490,396
Central Districts 393,256
East Districts 485,522 „ 201
South Districts

-- -
Totals
Males
Females 543

BIRTHS IN THE WEEK
Males
Females

1,625

Total

MEXICAN GUANO COMPANY.--It appears that the
Government of Mexico have recently granted for ten
years to Senor Jose 0. Forns and others, representing
a body to be called the Mexican Guano Company, an
exclusive privilege for the exportation of guano from all
the coasts and islands belonging to that country, with
the exception of three islands in the Pacific known under
the name of the Marias. Circulars have accordingly
been issued, notifying the conditions on which it may
be obtained, the professed object of the proprietors being
to leave the trade as open as possible consistently with
their own claims for remuneration. The quality of the
guano existing on the Atlantic side of the coast has been
more thoroughly examined than that on the other,
owing to several cargoes having already been taken
thence to the United States, as well as a few to Liver-
pool, and is stated to be entirely distinct from the Peru-
vian descriptions, its richness consisting of 60 per cent.
of phosphate of lime. That which exists on the islands
and promontories of the Pacific coast and in the Gulf of
California is described as of a more varied character,
some parts which are rainless being expected to supply
high qualities, while in others the descriptions are in-
ferior. Thus far, however, there seems to have been no
accurate classification of the respective sorts, nor any
reliable estimates as to the quantities obtainable. The
discovery of' these deposits as regarded the Atlantic por-
tion is only of recent date. The islands containing the
principal amount are called the Triangles, near the
coast of Yucatan ; and no knowledge of the circum-
stance seemed to have been possessed by the Mexican
Government until very lately, when, after two American
vessels had filled there, one of them, with more than
200 tons on board, was stranded in a storm on a neigh-
bouring point, and the matt!! was brought t 9 light.

Dr. CROLY moved that a petition be presented to the
House of Commons against the bill. He said he could
not reconcile to his conscience the digging up of th•
dead and the sale of burialgrounds for secular purposes.
It approached, as nearly as he could conceive, to the
crime of sacrilege. The sepulchre, in Scripture, was
always regarded as a perpetuity, and never to be dis-
turbed. When Abraham bought a sepulchre of the sons
of Heth, lie insisted that it should be his in fee simple ;
and it was the greatest stigma on a king not to be buried
in the sepulchre of his fathers. The temple at Jerusalem
was a consecrated spot ; the final ruin of the nation was
sealed when the temple was desecrated. In 1786 the
great burialground, close to the Church of the Inocents,
in Paris, was desecrated ; everything was to be sacrificed
to public utility, and a cry was raised for making a mar-
ket•place of it. The dead bodies, the remnants of the
millions of HO years, were carried to the quarries
under the city, and hurled, there without decency.
What was the result ? The populace, first shocked,
became hardened. In liti,le more than two years
the Revolution began, and the first act of the Re-
volutionists was to desecrate every tomb they could
find and 1-:o tear up the coffins of their Kings. The de-
cencies of burial were disregarded, and, ,in a few years
the nation was involved in the guilt of the denial of God,
of immortality, and of religion. The King and the Royal
family were " buried with the burial of an ass," and
covered with lime to extingush every remnant of their
being. (He4r, hear.) He (Dr. Croiy) thought it an in-
vidious thing to reckon the value of a church by the
number of the congregation.
(Hear, hear.) Christ said,
that " where two or three were gathered together, He
was in their midst." They mast all come to a time
when they would fail ; years would come upon them.
Was a man to be degraded because he grew old ? (Hear,
hear) We had no right to alienate property once con-
secrated to God.
The clergy were consecrated men.
People would begin to ask whether they too could be
unconsecrated if it became profitable ? The proprietors
of cemeteries would plead the precedent of this bill when
it became profitable to build over the ground. It would
be said, " Why keep a useless cathedral like St. Paul's
on such valuable ground ?" The principle once intro-
duced would be progressive. (Hear.) Were the utili-
tarians to be allowed to disturb the bones of Milton in
Cripplegate, of Coverdale, at St. Magnus, of Gresham,
at St. Ethelburga's ? (Hear.) The bill was to apply
also to Bristol, Chester, Chichester, Exeter, Lincoln,
Norwich, and York—all places with noble monuments.
(Hear.) This was a crisis. If we began with desecra-
tion, the crime would enlarge. The church was in
danger. Sects were active. He implored the clergy
to consider well before consenting to an act of public
desecration.

Dr. M`CAut. said, that not being of a poetic turn of
mind he could not see the connexion between this bill
and the French Revolution. France, at the time re-
ferred to, was infidel, whereas Christianity now prevailed
in this country more than it had ever done since the
earliest ages of Christianity. (Hear.) The rev, gentle.
man had referred to the destruction of the temple ; but
it was destroyed by God himself when it had accom-
plished his purpose in "putting his name there," and it
was laid desolate for the very purpose of spreading
Christianity in the Gentile world, and that the great
truth might be established that not alone in Jerusalem,
but in every place, whosoever should call upon God in
truth should be accepted. (Hear.) This was really not
a question of principle, but of expediency. Churches had
been pulled down before, graveyards devoted to secular
purposes, and the bodies removed. The bones of Cover-
dale now reposed at St. Magnus because they had been
removed from a church pulled down to make room for
the Royal Exchange improvements. St. Michael's,
Crooked-lane, was taken down for the London-bridge ap.
preaches, and the statue of William IV. now stood on
the site. According to the census, church accom-
modation was wanted for thousands upon thousands
in Shoreditch, Whitechapel, St- George's-in-the-East,
and in other parts, and in the city of London district
there were 13,000 more sittings than were wanted. The
bishop must consent under this bill ; so must the Church
Building Commissioners ; it must be deemed by them to
be "for the advantage of the interests of religion ;" aid
six weeks' notice must be given for the parishioners to
make representations to the contrary, if they -could.
The Church of England was not to stand stiff and petri-
fied, like a pillar of salt, but to " know the time of her
visitation," and prove herself a living organisation, able
to meet the spiritual wants of those committed to her
charge. (Hear, hear.) He moved, as an amendment,
the meeting approve the principle of the bill.
Mr. DAVIS maintained that when clergymen pleaded
for a church " where two or three could be gathered to-
gether," they ought to think of 20,000 or 30,000 or more,
with no church in which they could be gathered to-
gether, and of the responsibility of the London clergy
for these thousands. Were the interests of living souls
to be disregarded for the sake of keeping up a few cenc-
taps for the dead ?

A_ very long discussion followed. The possibility of
old churchyards being being built over was the point
chiefly made, and the provisions for the removal of the
bodies received some consideration. There was a dif-
ference of opinion on the propriety of giving the vestry
a veto ; it was stated that in small parishes the church
glazier, the painter, the carpenter, and other tradesmen
employed would be able to prevent a really desirable
measure. It was urged that it was not proposed to
withdraw, but to transfer to a place where it would be
more useful, properly pledged to sacred purposes. Some
clergymen insisted that there was work enough for the
city clergy if they would reside and go into the courts
and alleys; but it was stated that many had no parson-
age•house, and had not income enough to take one where
property was so valuable, though they would have it if
this bill passed and two parishes were united. A oity
clergyman, who was against the bill, assured the meet-
ing that on a Sunday morning he had a congregation of
nearly 100. Another argued that, as the churches were
intended for daily service, on the week days the po-
pulation of the city was immense, the foundation of
the bill failed. Another suggested that 50 years hence
the population might come back to the city, and then.
there would not be churches enough for them.
Eventually Dr. ArCaul's amendment was rejected by
13 votes against 15, and the motion of Dr. Crely carried
by 19 to 15.