The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-04 00:00:00

down into a deep dwelling, worse than Webb's if
possible. The family resided in a small front room,
sleeping in a little back room without any light or
ventilation whatever. In this house there was a
strong smell of gas, and upon searching minutely
the service pipe was discovered to be broken next
door, but the escape was more in the house I am
referring to.
Jane Saunders, living at 5, Church-street—l lived
in the same court as the deceased nine years back.
There was always a dead, heavy smell of damp and
gas, so bad that I was ill the whole of the last year
I was there. The drain in Church-street was opened
about six weeks. I noticed a smell of gas the whole
time. It was very bad. I noticed it to Mr. Williams,
Mr. Ellis, and Mr. Phillips, and asked them to re-
medy it, which they promised to do. The evening
of the accident I was standing at my door. I saw
the men raise two large deals from the drain. Half-
an-hour we smelt this tremendous smell of gas. I
was obliged to close the door. I became ill, and my
son, who had been bad, became worse. A month
before this we were annoyed by the gas, and slept
with the bedroom window a little open, while the
window downstairs was thrown completely up. I
spoke to the lamplighter, and requested him to
name it to Mr. Bryan. When the piles were pulled
out timber was put under them as they gra-
dually rose. My belief was that the gas-pipes were
strained. A dobbin cart was filled ofter that, but
it was not removed until the Friday, the day the
deceased was discovered. The cart was exactly op-
posite my door. The men were waiting for the
piles to be removed in order to fill the carts.
Mr. Nicholson asserted that he was correct in
stating that no cart was filled after the Tuesday
preceding the occurrence.
Examination continued—The piles were not
drawn opposite Webb's house, but opposite the
house above mine.

The Coroner remarked that the evidence of the
witness consequently threw no light whatever upon
the breakage, and in further conversing with the
jury, observed that it appeared still to be a matter
of doubt whether death resulted from carburetted
hydrogen or sulphuretted hydrogen. Mr. Jennings'
opinion was in favour of the former.
Mr. Jennings—There can be no question about
it. Death resulted from gas made from coal.
The Coroner here said this was all the evidence
to be adduced as far as he was aware, unless they
desired more or were anxious to wait to see whether
the woman might yet recover, although he did not
see what further information could be obtained. A
paper had been just handed to him to this effect :
A Juror—That is merely a matter of opinion.
The Coroner—Quite so ; and if the jury wish it
I will proceed further.
To this the jury dissented, and they were then
briefly addressed by the Coroner, who remarked that
the testimony brought forward did not, in his opi-
nion, throw any criminal blame upon any individual
or parties. It was their duty to decide that, and in
returning their verdict he called upon them to be
guided by neither fear, favour, nor affection.
The room was then cleared. Upon the readmis-
sion of the public in about a quarter of an hour, the
foreman read the following verdict :—" We find that
the deceased Charles Webb, John Webb, 'Margaret
Webb, and Mary Ann Webb, died from suffocation,
accidentally caused by inhalinc, carburetted hydro-
gen gas, and we cannot separate without expressing
our decided opinion that•there has been gross care-
lessness either on the part of the gas company or
the contractor for the drainage, or both, though
from the absence of any direct evidence we are
unable to determine upon which party the blame
should rest, and we recommend both the gas com-
pany and the contractor for the drainage to be
more careful in future operations. The jury also
wish to express their entire concurrence with the
remarks made by Mr. James, the surgeon, that the
houses, or rather hovels, in Jones's-court are, in their
present state, entirely unfit for human habitation,
and beg to call the earnest attention of the local
board of health to them with a view to their im-
provement or condemnation."
The proceedings then terminated.

QUARTERLY .RETURN OF BIRTHS,
DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES.

General Register-office, Somerset-house,
Oct. 28, 1858.

This return comprises the births and deaths re-
gistered by 2,197 registrars in all the districts of
England during the summer quarter that ended on
September 30, 1858 ; and the marriages in 12,303
churches or chapels, about 3,997 registered places
of worship unconnected with the Established
Church, and 629 superintendent registrars' offices,
in the quarter that ended on June 30, 1858.
The depression of the country diminished in the
spring quarter of the year. The marriages never-
theless remained below the average number.
The birth-rate was slightly below the average in
the summer quarter. The mortality was less than
the average of the summer season, and this is to
some extent the result of sanitary improvements.
MARRIAGES.-39,909 marriages were celebrated
in the quarter ending June 30th, consequently
79,818 persons married in three months. This
is nearly 20,000 in excess of the numbers mar-
ried in the previous quarter, but is somewhat
less than the numbers in the corresponding
quarter of last year. The people married at the
annual rate of 164, the average rate of the season
being 171, in 10,000. The rate of marriage is
lowest in winter ; and in the last winter it was 125,
or 16 below the average of that season ;' so that the
improvement of the prospects of the people in spring
is evident. The agricultnral counties of the south
of England, northern counties and London, were
but slightly affected; Staffordshire and Lancashire
experienced the greatest degree of depression, but
that was not very considerable.
BIRTHS.-157,449 children were registered in the
quarter that ended on Sept. 30th, or 3,766 less than
the births in the corresponding quarter of the pre-
vious year. The birth-rate was 3.195, or slightly
below the average rate of the season.
INCREASE OF POPULATION.-157,449 births and
98,260 deaths were registered, consequently the
natural increase of the population in the 92 days
was 59,189, or 643 daily in England. The probable
natural increase of population in thertUnited King-
dom was 264 daily. 10,803, or, allowing for per-
sons of undistinguished nationality, 12,844 English
emigrants sailed from the ports at which there are
Government emigration agents in the last ,three
months ; 6,859 to the Australian colonies, 692 to
the North American colonies, 4,877 to the United
States, and 416 to all other places. The emigrants
from the .United Kingdom amounted to 29,354 ; or
to fewer, by fifteen thousand, than have emigrated
in any corresponding quarter since 1847.
THE WEATHER THE PRICE OF PROVISIONS.
—The price of wheat fell progressively from 725.
3d. a quarter, in the months of July, August, Sep-
tember,
,1856, to 595. 1 ld. in 1857, and to 445. 7d.
on an average in the corresponding three months
of the present year. The decrease of price was
thus 38 per cent. The price of beef by the carcase
at Leadeilhall and Newgate markets fell in the two
years froin. 5%d. to 51d. a pound; mutton 6d. to
51d a pound, or 8 per cent, in price. Potatoes (York
regents) were sold at 78s: a ton at the waterside
market, Southwark ; or 26 per cent. less than the
prices of the same season in the previous year.
In this year ' 301bs. were sold for a shilling ; in
the last year 211bs. only. The price of potatoes
is now the same as the price was in 1856.
The weather during the three months presented
some peculiarities; at Greenwich the temperature of
the(.ls adieg.),
rin July was below, in August slightly above
in September 4.0 deg. above the ave-
rage of 87 years. The humidity was below, the
barometric pressure above the average. The rain-
fall 5.4 in. in the three months, or nearly two in.
below the average. The rain-fall was not so scanty
in the north ; in lat. 52 deg.-53 deg. it was 7.1
ill., in lat. 53 deg.-54 deg. it was 8.4 in, In the
Isle of Wight, Devon, and Cornwall- from 7 to 8 in,
of rain fell.
STATE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH.-98,260 deaths
were registered in 92 days ; and the mortality was
at the rate of 1,994 per cent. annually, or 146 below
the average. The average rate of the season ex-
ceeded 21 ; the actual rate of the last quarter was
less than 20 in 1,000.
During the last summer the annual rate of mor-
tality in the population of the country, of villages,
and of small towns, was at the rate of 17 in 1,000 ;
the average rate being 18. And in the same time
the town population died off at the annual rate of
24 in 1,000 ; the average rate being 26.
The deaths in the 92 days amounted to 98,260.
If the mortality had been at the standard rate de-
duced from 63 of the least unhealthy districts, the
deaths would have amounted to 73,088 ; conse-
quently the deaths in excess of the comparatively
healthy average, or the unnatural deaths, amounted
to 25,172 ; of which 20,146 happened in the large
towns, and 5,026 in the small towns and villages.
Diphtheria, which is often called "throat disease,"
has prevailed in some districts of the south, and has
now extended northwards ; it has been fatal in the
Horncastle district, Lincolnshire; prevalent in
Newark ; and several children have died of the
disease in Sheffield. Districts of the East Riding
and of the North Riding of Yorkshire have been
visited by the epidemic dipththcria.
Typhoid fever, which a young physician, Dr.
Murchison, proposes to call pythogenic fever, to
point at its origin from putrid animal effluvia, has
been prevalent in some districts. Several deaths
occurred from it in Daventrr- All the cases
were confined to a small space which was 'badly
drained. The Regius Professor of Medicine in
the University of Oxford has recently written
an interesting report. on. this fever occurring iv