The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-02 00:00:00

Rough Weather in the Mediterranean,

We read in the Malta Times of the 20th inst. :
" During the last few days we have had violent
gales from the northward and westward, which on
Monday night shifted to the northward and east-
ward, and on Tuesday occasioned a very heavy sea
to set into the harbour. A fisherman on Monday
evening was washed off the quay of the Marina and
drowned. His cap and fishing rod were found on the
following morning, with a fish attached to the line,
but the body of the man has not yet been recovered.
The English screw steamer Italian, which arrived on
Sunday morning from Liverpool, had very rough
weather in the Bay of Biscay, and parted one of
her stays. While putting up a preventer stay
to secure the mast the shackle broke, and a
block falling on the head of a seaman named
Lenning, injured him so seriously that he died seven
hours afterwards at sea, notwithstanding he had the
aid of the surgeon of the vessel. The English ship
Josephine, which left Malta on the 13th inst., after
repairing damages, for Cork or Falmouth for orders,
had to take shelter under Cape Passaro. Whilst
there a seaman fractured his leg, and she conse-
quently bore up for, and entered Malta harbour
again on Sunday last to procure surgical assistance
Intelligence has already reached this island of the
total loss of one vessel. Captain C. Hand of the
Greek brig Arianni, arrived yesterday from Burgas,
Constantinople, and Scio, reports that on the pre-
vious day (18th inst.) at two p.m., in the neigh-
bourhood of Mount Etna; he fell in with a small
brigantine, nation unknown, in danger, and soon
afterwards he saw her go down with all on
board. He could render her no assistance, owing
to the tempestuous state of the weather. During the
gale of yesterday an Austrian bark, the Cassimiro
C., Captain A. A. Marcovich, laden with wheat,
having become waterlogged, was abandoned by the
master and crew under the lee of Malta, near Filfla,
and landed in smooth water at Wied-iz-Zurriek.
This morning, the gale having abated, and finding
that the ship was still afloat, the marine police, with
the crew and some additional hands, went on board
of her, and, application having been made to the
Admiral for assistance, the
_Hearty was despatched
to tow her into port. In the meantime the Arcadia,
English screw steamer, from Liverpool, which
has been for the last three days at the south of
Malta for shelter, took the Austrian barque in tow
this morning ; but on the arrival of the Hearty
gave her up to her. Several vessels ran in for
shelter on Tuesday, chiefly on account of shifting
cargo. Some injury has been occasioned to the
moles by the heavy sea, which washed right up
against the merchants' stores on the Marina at the
Barriera, and most of them had, in consequence, to
be kept closed throughout Tuesday and 'Wednes-
day. The want of a powerful steam tug, to remove
some of the vessels in port out of the stream, was
greatly felt, but Capt. Allen, the master attendant,
acting for the admiral superintendent, absent on
leave, very considerately placed her Majesty's
steam tug Hearty at the disposal of any masters of
merchant vessels applying for her services. The
absence of rain generally is still matter of serious
anxiety to persons whose tanks have no communi-
cation with the aqueducts, though there have bee,
some heavy falls in particular localities."

HE PUBLIC HEAL 01.

The following is the weekly return of the Regis-
trar-General of births and deaths in London and in
12 other large towns of the United Kingdom :
General Register-offfd3, Somerset-house, Dec. 31.
In the week that ended on Saturday, Dec. 29,
the births registered in London and 12 other large
towns of the United Kingdom were 3,998 ; the
deaths registered, 3,071. The annual rate of mor-
tality was 26 per 1,000 persons living.
In London the births of 900 boys and 910 girls,
in all 1,900 children were registered in the week.
In the corresponding weeks of ten years 1856-65
the average number, corrected for increase of popu-
lation, was 1,871.
The deaths registered in London during the week
were 1,436. It was the 52d week of the year, and
the average number of deaths for that week is, with
a correction for increase of population, 1,554. The
deaths in the present return are less than the esti-
mated number by 118.
The daughter of a pen merchant, aged 16 years,
died on the 23d of December, at 3, Boar's-head-
yard, Whitechapel, of cholera Asiatic (14 hours.)
Fourteen deaths from diarrhoea were registered
during the week.
Smallpox proved fatal to 27 children and 8
adults; it was not stated in the returns that in any
case the patient had been vaccinated. In the sub-
district of Christchurch, Marylebone, five deaths
from smallpox were registered. The Registrar of
the sub-dizitrict of St. Giles South remarks that
" smallpox is very prevalent, and great inconve-
nience is felt from the want of proper accommoda-
tion for patients suffering from the dispase."
Twenty-five deaths from measles, 41 from scar-
latina, 10 from diphtheria, 58 from whooping-
cough, and 41 from typhus were registered during
the week.
The influence of the temperature on the morta-
lity from diseases of the respiratory organs is very
great. In the week which ended the 13th of
Oatober the mean temperature of the air was 52.4
deg., and the deaths from bronchitis were 89 ; as
the air became colder the deaths from bronchitis in-
creased ; last week the mean temperature was 44.0
deg., and the deaths registered from bronchitis
were 224.
Eight deaths from burns or scalds were registered
in the week ; one of the unfortunate victims was a
domestic servant, whose clothes took fire when dis-
tended by crinoline.
A child, aged one year, died Dec. 21 in conse-
quence of swallowing znistletoe berries.
The annual rate of mortality last week was 24
per
blino 1,00 in London, 28 in Edinburgh, and 24 in
Du ;25 in Bristol, 26 in Birmingham, 33 in
Liverpool, 30 iu Manchester, 25 in Salford, 28 in
Sheffield, 27 in Leeds, 23 in Hull, 37 in Newcastle..
upon-Tyne, and 27 in Glasgow.
The high rate of mortality which has prevailed
during the past 13 weeks in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
has been caused by an an unusually fatal epidemic
of scarlatina, from which 220 deaths have resulted
in the past seven weeks out of a total of 601 deaths.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 29.890 in.
The barometrical reading decreased from 30.27 in. at
the beginning of the week to 29.59 in. on Wednesday.
The mean temperature of the air in the week was
44.0 deg., which is 6.5 deg. above the average of
the same week in 50 years, as determined by Mr.
Glaisher. The highest day temperature was 514
deg., on Friday. The lowest night temperature was
34.5 deg., on Tuesday. The entire range of tempe-
rature in the week was therefore 16.9 deg. The
mean of the highest temperature of the water of the
Thames was 43.0 deg.; that of the lowest was 40.7
deg. The difference between the mean dew point
temperature and air temperature was 4.2 deg. The
mean degree of humidity of the air was 86, complete
saturation being represented by 100. Rain fell to
the amount of 0.16 in. The general direction of the
wind was S.W. and W. According to a return fur-
nished by the engineer of the Metropolitan Board of
Works, the average daily quantity of sewagepumped
into the river Thames at the southern outfall works,
Crossness, was 171,917 cubic metres,