The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-14 00:00:00

THE- LATE CRISIS IN HAMBURG.

(From the Times City Article)
The following description of the proceedings re-
sorted to at Hamburg for the liquidation of the
estates of the firms that have suspended during the
recent crisis furnishes some useful materials to aid
the discussion as to the reformed processes required
on this Bile :

" Sir,—l beg to forward a slight sketch, which at the
present moment may be instructive, of the measure
adopted by the Hamburg authorities on the 2d Dec. last
for the winding up of estates during the recent crisis.
" The Senate, seeing that many houses of solvent
means were unfortunately, is consequence of the sudden
pressure upon them, obliged to suspend payment passed a
decree stating that if any firm should find itself in such a
predicament it should he empowered within three days
of the suspension of payment to summon a meeting of
creditors at the Tribunal of Commerce. The member of
the firm applying is, however, required to take an oath,
swearing that he believes his estate will be sufficiently
solvent to satisfy his creditors, and that the method of
winding up nude: inspection will be, more conducive to
their interest than a declaration of bankruptcy. The
judge of the Tribunal of Commerce (Handels-Gericht) is
then to convene a locating of the creditors, who shall
elect either administrators to wind up the estate without
the intervention of the bankrupt or co-administrators to
carry on the business with his assiQtatice for the benefit
of the creditors. It is provided under the law that these
proceedings must take piece within three days of the
suspension of payment, or the estate ipso facto subsides
into the jurisdiction of the ordinary bankruptcy tribunals.
The administrators or co-administrators shall within four
weeks of their appointment call a meeting of the creditors
and lay before them a detailed statement of the liabilities
and assets of the insolvent estate, and sha I declare upon
their honour as citizens that they honestly believe their
valuation of the assets of the estate to be a true and fair
one, and that they anticipate the estate will realise as
much as it is valued at in the account they present.
" I may here point out the advantage of this proceed-
ing over the method employed under the English system
of inspection. The accountant here prepares a state-
ment of assets, and in it ho includes bills considered
good.' Now, ask the inspectors, if they be such men as
have been chosen in Hamburg, men of the standing of
Solomon Heine, L. Behrens and Co., Ferdinand
Jacobson, J. C. Sohle, Sec., whether they could upon
their honour as citizens declare that they believe such
bills good, ask the creditors who have signed the deed
under the anticipation that they would receive lie to 15e
in the pound, whether a month afterwards they did not
find that the accountant's estimate was far above the
real value. It is difficult to blame the accountant—it is
his business to make things pleasantAif he did not do so
he would lose his occupation ; but it would be very
desirable if in future creditors abstained from signing
until the statement of the accountant were confirmed
by the inspectors ; for the accountant, not being in
business, must necessarily rely on the bankrupt for
much of his information.
" But to return to the Hamburg proceedings. The
creditors, after the consideration of the report of the
administrators, decide whether tke estate is to be wound
up under inspection er be thrown into bankruptcy. If
they choose the former method, the administrators or
co-administrators have all the power of curatores bone-
rum (official assignees) in disposing of the assets, be-
sides having the power of selling things by private
contract (not enjoyed by assignees) should they think
fit. The administrators have also the right to use the
staff and officers of the Tribunal of Commerce for the
service of the estate. The bankrupt enjoys immunity
from arrest, but cannot leave the city. As under this
method of inspection the system of classification does
not obtain, the administrators must declare whether the
bankrupt pay 40, 60, 80, or 100 per cent. If he doe not
bankrupt
pay 40 per cent., the estate must be handed ovlerwt
a_seo
ordinary bankruptcy administration. The a. 1
provides that the names of those firms who wind up
under this Act shall be published in the Hamburg offi-
cial paper, in order that notaries shall be able to draw
up protests of security.
" Lastly, perhaps, a few words about protests of secu-
rity may be serviceable and interesting to many of your
readers, as in my opinion they are the 100
ost
A powerful
check upon accommodation paper
the possible.
house fail If takes
a bill of B upon a house C, and s, or refuses
to accept, the holder of the bill, A, can compel the
drawer or the endorser of whom he bought the bill, B,
to lodge in the Tribunal of Commerce, in their joint
names, security to the amount or the bill. Of course
this proceeding is not an entire check upon accommoda-
tion paper. If one commercial house give blank credits
to another, no law in the world can prevent
thntietr;e
hasbut
among the numerous insolvencies in Hamburg
not bee* a single case of one man drawing upon porters
and charwomen, paying for their acceptance at so much
a bill ; and why not Are we to believe that
Hamburg traders are so far superior to British in
honesty Not one whit I Under the system of protests
for security such bills and suc houses could not exist.

Suaose Messrs. Sadgrove and Ragg,,the exposure of
whose accounts created so much sensation a short time
back, had carried on business in Hamburg ' • they would,
perhaps, have put into7Ciretililion some of their paper
on nonentities. The holders of the billichaye mere to
get a notarial declaration that the. drawers are not
'solvent commercial houses,' and the organiser A
.the
fraudulent conspiracy must lodge in the cnstorly.4The
officers of the Tribunal of.Coromersevalid seciirity.
, .4
amount'of the bills. The Bank of England E,Viforee uch
a system here. All private solvent and respt:ctahle
'houses would gladly do the saine if the law would veist,
them. At present , the honest and cespectableicbioes.
itniutdia,!,ely take up their bills 'upon failed housw, :and.
the a eedy and disreputable takuthe chance of cireniu-
stances to assist them in meeting such bills at maturity.
"-I am, &c., '

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN.NAPLES..

The.following report of a gentlemanwhe returned
on Saturday last from the scene of suffering will.be
found to possess great interest :
," The first point of interest we arrived at 'was
Auletta, only 13 hours, distant from Naples, but as

it lies a little off the road, we left it till-Our return,
and went on to Pertosa, a commune with a.popu-
lation of 1,200 souls. For about two miles before
we entered it there were evident signs of earthquake.
On either side of the road houses lay prostrate and
abandoned ; at the immediate entrance of the town
we found what had been. a tavern, but the people
had abandoned it, and were living in a -species of
barn on the other side of the road. The innkeeper
gave us the following account of his escape. I was
in bed when the first awful shock took place, and
leaping out in my shirt dragged -my wife with Me,
but escape by the door _ was impossible, as beams
had fallen before it. There my child and its
nurse had perished. Turning off to the left-, I got
put by some other way.' Pertosa itself
completely destroyed—not more than Fix houses
remain standing, and those are all' leaning out of
the perpendicular, and are cracked. Already they
had dug out 143 bodies on the Ist of January, and
200 more were known to be missing : the number
of strangers .was unknown. Many persons were
dug out alive. Tents were Ix iug erected,. and a
wooden hospital for the sick and wouuded. A quan-
tity of grain had been sent also, by order of the
Government. The whole population who had sur-
vived seemed to be panic and sorrow struck, so
much so that no one begged. A. drive of two hours
brought us to Polio, situated on the side of a hill,
with a river flowing at its foot ; but before arriving
at it, abouttwo miles distant from the city, 'there is
a deep ravine, which we. crossed. The road, which
runs at right angles,to it on the opposite aide, had
been carried_ away en masse for about 200 palms,
and the bill on the other side of the ravine had been
cleft in two, so that we looked id and saw numerous
caverns formed in the limestone. Large masses of
rock, fall 12 feet square, had rolled dowirfrom the
heights on the road. In many parts of this neigh-
bourhood were large_ fissures in the ground into
which I could plunge my arm up to the shoulder.
The first object that struck us on entering Polla
was a wall about ten feet high, with an image of
the Virgin let in to it. This wall was • split from
top to bottom. The suburb of Polls, separated from,
•it by-a river, is called San Pietro, and both had
suffered equally. Half the houses were prostrate,
almost all had the roofs fallen in, and, those which
remained standing were unsafe. The population of
this place amounts to 7,000, and already_ 567 bodies
had been dug up and buried in the Campo Santo,
and they were still excavating, for nearly 1,000 were
missing. Already had a considerable shock been felt
throughout the district early in the morning, and
it was now about half-past:l2 p.m., Jan. 1, when
we were standing on_ the ruins of a house talking
to some people. On our right . hand was standing
the single wall .of a campanile (belfry tower) about
two stories high, and not far on the other side
a leanin„o• house. In a moment we heard a
heavy subterranean thunder, and felt the ground
heave violently under our feet. 'Earthquake ! j
Earthquake !' was the dry, and we all ran from
the spot as rapidly as possible. The leaning house
fell to the ground within 20 feet of us, and the
belfry, fell almost upon one heels. A woman who
was with us became hysterical, and I had great
difficulty in. recovering her. The scene that then
followed was remarkable. The priest brought out
a crucifix and the statue of the Madonna and,
together with,the entire population, formed in pro-
cession, everyone scourging himself with a rope. I
observed no tents as yet erected, but some boards
were being put up. Many of the poor population
had taken refuge, by day at least, in houses which
were falling, and were perfectly insecure ; and here
buying and selling were going on. Whilst looking
on, a fire broke out in the ruins, to which a priest
directed my attention, but it was an incident of a
trifling character, and as such wan treated.. We
had left the town, and wore sitting on a wall near
the bridge, talking with some priests, who remon-
strated with us for our carelessness. The ground
was continually in a tremulous state, and the wall
might be thrown down. About a quarter past 1
p.m., and whilst we were there, a third violent
shock came, and this, too, was felt throughout the
entire district. All the places on high ground
suffered much more than those on the level ;
and I must not omit, to mention that in some
places the stench from the disinterred- bodies
was insufferable. Polla was the extent of our.
trip, and thence we returned. to Auletta, situated
on the top of a bill, and" possessing a population
of about 3,000 souls. Here not more than 40 lives
had been lost. The city, however, had been much,
shaken. Nearly half the houses were destroyed, and
one-half were not fit to live were cracked, and
standing out of the perpendicular. Auletta is in-,
habited principally by Government Officials. A
large palazzo_ belonging. to Marebesee ----, and
rented by the Government, was prostrate, only the
outside walls standing. That was my room,'
said a priest, I had. time to escape in my shirt,
together with my brother, when the whole fell in.'
A gendarme saved himself. by jumping out of win-
dow.' Outside the,town a few buts had been erected,
but some still clung to their falling houses. Here, as
elsewhere, we experienced_ the greatest civility from
this suffering people. Act, about four 'miles distant
from Auletta, on the top of a' hill, we could perceive
Caggiano, where man houses had been destroyed,
and 30 people had been already dug out ; indeed,
throughout the country, prostrate houses were
everywhere visible, and each had lost its two, three
or four tenants. The last point we stopped at' was
that at which We slept on the first night of our trip,
Tiperno. But I have omitted to mention that on
leaving Pertosa, we went into some ruined houses,
and on the walls discovered four pictures of the
Madonna and saints still remaining. One I tore
off and took with me, as a great curiosity, for it re-
cords the visitation of Polla by earthquakes two
several times, and is engraved in honour of a cele-
brated image of the Madonna, placed in the very
church on the ruins of which we were standing
when we felt the shock of earthquake. In Tiperno
the people were too much alarmed to sleep iln their
houses, but we risked it, and had it all to ourselVes.
During our trip we heard, amongst other' extra-
ordinary caprices of the earthquake, that a tree had
been thrown out with' its roots in'the air, and the
top part planted in the ground—houses had been
similarly treated, and some had been &wallowed up
in the gaps which had been opened. Our guide at
Polla had. lost his wife and two children ; a gend-
arme had been dug up alive, but had died ; a child
of sixteen months had been dug up alive, and was
recovering."
From other sources we learn that children bad
been taken out alive with portions of their bodies
'-svouredl3- Aga.

yp

TFIE ENGLISH- ARMY AT CAWNPORB.

--..-----
In the present state of our information respecting
our forces at Cawnpore every scrap written is vali.i-
able. The following brief extracti—, as will
be seen, on the eve of going into action, and when
the artillery was roaring its hoarse prelude—though
brief, have this recommendation, that they are
written by one of the best officers in the Indian
army, and by one whose position affords him access
to the best inteelligence. The letter is dated Camp,
Oawnpore, Dc. 2:—
ii We have got back in time to save Cawnporo
from falling into the hands of the rebels. The
Gvralior force, with the Baiza Bliaio (widow of
late Maharajah) at their head, and that scoundrel
the
Nana Sahib, with all its forces,
the cantonments five days united and attacked
sent moment in possession ago, and are at the pre-
just opened a cannonade,of one-half. They have
to move ; and ere long, and we are under orders
decisive will g, in all probability, something
of Him wlioin we happen.
We are strong in the hands
victory to the serve, and who is able to give the
many or the few. It is a solemn
i moment."

Of the previous operations of his force under Sir
Cohn, the writer merely says :
‘ We have accomplished the relief of the garrison
of Lucknow, and brought off all the ladies, women,
and children to this place leaving a strong force in
position near that city. We had some very hard
fighting ; and Sir Colin allows that even Crimean
heroes will acknowledge it some of the very heaviest
fire they have ever been under. He :is warm in his
praise of the Bengal Artillery."
The following few words afford a glimpse into the
state of the Doab :
My last intelligence from Kussowlee was dated
9th November ; since that our communications
with the provinces above have been Interrupted!

IMPORTANT INQUIRY.

MAIDSITOgE, IA-N. 13.

This afternoon an adjourned inquest was held at .
the' Old English Gentleman Inn, Tovil, near Maid-
stone, before Mr. T. Kipping, the coroner for the
borough,
upon the body of Thtsy Brooke,r, the wife
of a labouring man residing at Tovil,, whose death
was suspected to, have been occasioned by the im-
proper use of instruments by the medical gentlemen
.who werecalled into assist the deceased in the coarse
of a prernatare delivery. -
M. J. Gorham, surgeon, Tonhridge, vivo made a
post mortem examination by direction, of. the coro-
ner, deposed that he saw no appeata:Aces to induce
him to, think that, with proper treatment, cthings
would not have taken a natural course, and that
death had been occasioned by a severe internal rup-
titre, or'wound, the result of some external me-
chanical violence. An instrument. Zilch as had been
used would be likely to cause tile i„;
jury, and, in
his opinion, it was most unjustifiable and cruel, as
' well as unnecessary, to have made use of such an
instrument in a case like the present. He also said
he considered that the use of such an instrument,
under any circumstances, would be very dangerous
and almost necessarily cause the death of the patient,
Mr.' Baldwin and Mr. Ayerst, the sufgeous who
had 'attended the deceased, and who were both
present during the proceedings, put some questions
to Mr. Gorham, in answer to hich he stateithewas
of course unable to say what the condition of the
deceased was when they were called in, or whether
the injury existed at that time.
Mr. Fry, a surgeon, of Maidstone, said that he
was passing through Tovil on the afternoon of the
28th, and saw the deceased standing by the fire.
He had previously sent her a bottle of medicine,
and she said that she felt better since she had taken
it, and did not at that time appear to be in very
great pain, and he did not think that the rupture
could have then existed. The witness. then pro-
deeded tostate that he assisted at the post-mortem
examination, and he concurred in the opinion ex-
pressed by Mr. Gorham as to the cause of death,
-and that the rupture was the result of external
violence. _ _

The Coroner, at this stage of the case, said, that
from the turn of the evidence he' thought that
Messrs. Ayerst and Baldwin ought to have an op-
portunity of considering what course they should
take, and of bringing evidence before the jury if
they thought proper to do so, and the inquiry was
consequently adjourned until half-past three o'clock
to-day for that purpose.

The jury having answered to their names, the
proceedings of the inquest were resumed.
Mr. Blundell, the superintendent of the Maid-
stone borough police, who has been • actively, en-
gaged in producing the necessary testimony, cas in
attendance, and Messrs. Ayerst and Baldwin were
also present. The former is a very aged man,- and
is stated to be between 80 and 90 years old. He
has been in practice in the county for nearly half a
century. A professional gentleman named King,
from Maidstone was present during the latter part
of the proceedings, to watch the case'on his behalf.
Mr. Baldwin had-no professional adviser.
The Coroner' then read over the evidence that
had been given ou the former occasion, and the
witnesses were re-ealled ; and, iu answer, to ques-
tions suggested by Mr. Baldwin, Mrs. Weller and
the sister of the deceased stated
_that a number of
instruments were produced. by gr. Baldwin, but
only two of them were used. They also stated that
Mr. Baldwin said from the, commencement that it
was a very difficult case, and he .reftised to act
unless be had the assistance -of some experienced
medical practitioner ; and all that was" done ap-
peared to be with the sanction of Mr. Ayerst.
In answer to a question put by the Coroner,
Mr. Blundell said the jury were now in posses-
sion of all the evidence, that it was in his power to
lay before them, and there were no more witnesses
to be examined.
, The Coroner was then about to sum up, when

Mr. King made an application for the. Postpone-
int-nt of the inquest, to give him an opportunity of
laying additional evidence before the jury. He
was, of course, he said, unable to say what view th•
jury might take of the matter, but it appeared to
him that there was little or no evidence to support
any criminal charge,•and he was anxious to shove
by conclasive testimony that there was no founda-
tion for suggesting that he had acted in any other
manner than-as a man of skill and humanity.
The Coroner said that the application wasin un-
expected one, as every facility was given to Mr.
. Ayerst and to Mr. Baldwin to obtain legal assist-
ance, and to produce evidence on the forther occa-
sion, and the inquest was adjourned for that pnr-
.pose. In so important an inquiry, however, it the
application for a postponement was made upon the
understanding that the object was to adduce addi-
tional evidence, he did- not think it cught to be
, .
refused.

The inquest was accordingly adjourned for a
week.

SUICIDE OE A BANK MANAGER AT
BOLTON.

A painful sensation was created at Bolton, on
Monday, by the intelligenCe that Mr. R S. Bar-
low, of Snow-bill, manager of the bank of Messrs.
Hardcastle, Cross, and Co.' Bolton, and a gentle-
man highly respected in the neighbourhood, had
committed suicide. It appears that Mr. Hard-
castle had arisen early in the morning and gone
into his bath-room, where he had blown out his
brains by discharging a gun at his head. He had
flied the gun between lis knees and moved the
trigger, it is supposed, with one of his toes. The
probable motive of the unfortunate gentleman was
disclosed iu the following evijence, given at an in-
quest held by Mr. W. S. Rutter, county coroner,
on Tuesday.
Mr. Thos. Lover Rusbton.iaid he was connected
with the deceased as a partner in the banking firm
of Hardcastle, Cross, and Co., of Bolton. Mr. Bar-
low was managing partner, and. had been so since
the death of his father, in 1849. A few weeks ago
the deceased came to his (Mr. Rushton's) office
in a state of great agitation, and said that
he bad come to tell him of his unfortunate involve-
went with a person to whom he had lent a large
sum of money. He also said that he had mentioned
it to one of the other partners. This led the com-
pany to investigate the general affairs of the bank.
The partners had a meeting on Saturday last, and
they had a conference with Mr. Barlow as to what
he proposed to do with the account iu question.
The deceased expressed great regret at the state of
the account, and said that he had been led into it
little by little, and that nobody could tell the
misery he had endured in consequence of it. This
led his partners to ask -how be stood in his own
personal affairs ; and he told them that he had bor-
rowed a few thousands from a friend, which had to
be paid back on the 15th January. He was told that
he would not be allowed to pay this mony out of the
bank, and that he ought to make goodthe other loss,
as it had been shown to them that he had been warned
against the party alluded to. He said that if there
was a loss he would take it upon himself. He said,
however, that lie could not pay it then. He was
asked if he had any proposal to make but he said
he had not. He was iu a state of extreme agitation
and distress of mind. This was on Saturday after-
noon, between two and five o'clock. No conclusion
was come to at the meeting. When it was broken
up. Mr. Hardcastle and witness had an interview
with the deceased immediately after. Witness said
to him it was a pity ha had not made some pro-
posal
with, as it was a matter of great
to the meeting, as if he had offered to do any-
thing the partners required he would have been
He said, " I thought I had done
so ; I thought I had told 3- ou that I would leave
il.eeguireenttlyto
myself entirely iu your hands."
Witness told him
dealtall
be had not done so, but that
he would say so
now, lie (Mr. Rushton) would communicate it to
certainly,
them. He said, " 011 • will leave my-
self entirely in their hands." Witness said he
was glad of it, for he
was sure they would
be lenient with 1 •
cm. This appeared to soothe
him, for up to that time he had been quite
hysterical. Mr. Hardcastle and witness then
shook hands with him,
and in parting witness
made an arrangement with him to meet the party
who owed the money to transfer some property which
he held as security to the bank. They were to
meet witness at his office at 10 o'clock on Monday
scorning. This was to transfer the property to the
bank, that they might make the best of the
account.
Mr. Rutter—Did he mention the person's name
Mr. Rushton—Oh, yes, the matter is well known,
and I don't see any reason for concealment ; the
person is Mr. Joseph Holden, the builder. I don't
think it was so much the loss of the money that
affected the deceased as the feeling that he had lost
the confidence of his partners. He was a man of a
high sense of honour. (Mr. Rushton was much
affected in speaking of the character of his friend.)
He had the means of meeting the loss ultimately,
but not then available. The loss on the account
would be about 15,0001. ; but he felt, more than
this, that he had lost the confidence of his partners.
I never saw him after that evening.
The jury found a verdict of. " Temprall
insanity."

An application undevrtortohat reeepnpt 11129 A:4 'tr.
presented to the Sheriff on Saturday by a resPect•sr-
looking man, for authority, in terms of theeet,
being
into and detain his wife in heina
a lunatic selleiv.a:Da
s.l„cilicto tuihe etsatuatbosry°.
described by the certifying
uuteerlyy frantic,
n the
oande
nai:aang se cause of her
qinsanity, the remarkable newer was—". The failure of
the Western 334021c1"—akoyom Daily Mail.

WHY WINDHAM WAS DEFEATED.

A correspondent, who was fourteen years in
Gwalior, has addressed the following letter to a
contemporary :—The Times is fortunate in its cor-
respondent, " Indophilus," in matters connected
with the civil history of Bengal, but it had better,
for the future, dispense with the services of its
military informant, one " F.8.M," who, in this
day's issue, in his endeavour to account for Wind-
ham's de feat, indulges in not a few fantasies re-
specting ti\e
.Gwalior Contingent. He begins by
telling the Imes that this force is not composed of
the same sort' of men that our native regiments are
e--that it is chiefly the disbanded Mahratta army
of 1843—that they are Mahrattas, " soldiers from
their cradles," i-nen who hold . sepoys con-
tempt ; and he concludes his description with the
remark that Windham had very superior soldiers, a
different class altogether from those vanquished by
Havelock, to contend against.. Now, all this repre-
sentation of the Gwalicar Contin gent is simple moon-
shine ; and I much queLltiou if "F• B. M." ever saw
a Mahratta foot soldier. Z was myself, at all events,
many years attached to th`e Court at Gwalior, and
witnessed many reviews of Scindia's troops in the
days of his greatness ; I was, too, in the battle of
Punniar, which, it will be reinembered, was fought
on one side of Gwalior, whilst that at Maharjapore
was carried on on the other side, and yet I never
saw one. "F. B. M." asserts that he saw the Com-
pany's Sepoys run away from these soldiers of
Scindia, and therefore he deduces the fact that
Windham had no contemptible enemy. Though on
the spot at the time, I never heard the fact of " the
running away" advanced before ; but of this there
is no doubt, that the Sepoy force of Sandia, dis-
banded by us in 1843, was the veritable Sinron Pure
Hindoo, " the mild, patient, humble Brahmin" of
the same caste, of the same kindred, and of the
same country, as the Company's Sepoys. So far
from being dreaded generally, Scindia's Sepoys
were not so smart nor so well organised as the Com-
pany's Sepoys, and, what was still more fatal, they
had no officers with them at Maharajpore.
The Mahratta, "who is a soldier fromhis cradle,"
allow me to tell "F. B. M.," is a slightly made
horseman, something like in size to our English
jockeys, and plunder rather than fighting is, while
on active service, always present to his imagination.
He scorns discipline, relying on the speed of his horse
and the dexterity of his spear, his only weapon. Any
one who has read Malcolm's History:of Central India
must be well aware of the real characteristics of a
M. ahratta, who is nothing more than a rugged sol-
dier of the jungle. No, Windham was engaged
against Sepoys who have been disciplined by very
excellent officers, by Vincent Eyre, by Close, by
Michell, by Grove, and by Hennessy, officers of
known reputation in India, but the men were the
Rajpoot, the Brahmin, and the Pythan, precisely
the same castes as the men of the late Bengal army.

HEALTH GP LONDON DURING TBE WEEK.

(Prone dig Report of the Registrar General.)
The total number of deaths in London in the week
that ended on Saturday, Jan. 9, was 1,327. In the
10 years 1848-57 the average number of deaths in
the weeks corresponding with last week was 1,230,
and if this is raised by a tenth part, as a correction
for increased population, it will become 1,353.
Hence it appears that the number returned last
week is not much less than that which the average
rate of mortality for the first week of the year
would have produced.
Bronchitis was fatal last week : the deaths from
it rose to 181, the corrected average being 142.
Nine deaths were referred to influenza. Measles
is on the increase, and carried off 60 children. Of
eight nonagenarians included in the return, one
was 90 years of age, one 91, one 93, two 94, one
95, one 97, one 98. Besides these, a silk-weaver
died in Bethnal-green Workhouse, who is reported
to have reached the age of 101 years.
In the improved nosological arrangement all the
causes of death are distributed in five classes. Of
the class of zymotic diseases 263 persons died ; of
the constitutional diseases (including consump-
tion) 243 persons died ; of local diseases, in-
cluding inflammations, 618 persona died ; of deve-
lopmental diseases, including the diseases peculiar
to the young, the puerperal and critical periods of
life, and the aged, 156 persons died ; and of violent
deaths 20 cases were registered. The last class,
namely, the violent deaths, is subdivided so as now
to show separately the deaths (1) by accident or
negligence, 17 ; (2) by homicide, 1 ; (3) by suicide,
2 ; (4) by public execution, none. The deaths in
battle form a fifth order, which is fortunately not
required in the London tables.
Dr. R. D. Thomson has analysed the waters
which were supplied by eight London companies
during the months of November and December.
Such analyses supply the best tests of the quality
of the water with which the people of London are
supplied. It will be observed that the waters are
much less impure than they were formerly ; but
that there are still great differences, and still
room for further improvement. Four grains of
organic matter were once detected in a gallon of
water of one company.

Analyses of Waters supplied in November and December
1857 by the London Water Companies ; showing
the number of grains of extraneous Matter in every
Gallon of Water.

NOVEMBER.

DEc MBES.

Total Organic Total Organic
Impurity. Impurity. Impurity. Impurity.
grs• 813. 81's• Brs•
Lambeth .. .. 21'56 I'4B 20-84 •56
Chelsea .. .. .. 23•52 19.96 •6a
West Middlesex .. 21'28 1•76 20'32 I*o4
Southwark • • .. 22'56 1•56 20.72 1•24
New River • • • • 21'24 1'52
Plumetead • • .. 20'04 2•12 19'68 2,18
Grand Junction .. 21'92 22•64 2'48
Kent .. .. .. 39•16 4'40 26*36 1.65
Last week the birth of 890 boys and 810 girls,
in all 1,700 children, were registered in London.
In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1848-57
the average number was 1529.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 30.148 in.
The mean daily reading rose above 30 in. on Tues-
day the 22d ult., and continued above it till the 9th
inst., a period of 18 days. The highest reading last
week was 30.39 in. on Sunday (the 3d). The mean
temperature of the week was 34.5 deg., which is
I's deg. below the average of the same week in 43
years. The variation of temperature was great ;
for on Wednesday the mean temperature was 25.4
deg., which is 10.6 deg. below the average, and
on that day the lowest temperature was 20.9 deg. ;
and on Friday the mean rose to 44.6 deg., which
is. 9.1 deg. above the average. The highest tem-
perature occurred on Saturday, and was 51.9 deg. ;
and on that day the lowest was 41.5 deg. On
Tuesday the range of temperature was so small as
3.8 deg. ;on Friday it was 37.3 deg% The dif
Terence between the mean dew point tem-
perature and mean air temperature was 2.8 deg.
The mean degree of humidity was 89. The mean
temperature of the water of the Thames was 41.3
deg. On the last three days the wind was mostly
in the south-west, having been previously in the
north-east. The rain measured was o'o9in., which
fell chiefly on Friday. Friday and Saturday were
unseasonably warm.

C0312/NIES.

FROM THE QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENT
TO THE WEEKLY RETURNS.
In the 14 weeks that ended January 2, 1858,
the deaths registered in London were 16,546. The
mortality was comparatively high ; for, after re-
ducing it to the proportion of the 13 weeks which
form a quarter, it will be seen that the deaths ex-
ceeded those of the last quarter of 1855 by 1,500,
and those of the same quarter of 1856 by 1,200.
The diarrhoea, which destroyed children in summer,
was succeeded by the influenza, whioh carried off
old persons, when a lower temperature, damp, and
fogs set in with the last months of the year. Pul-
monary complaints predominated; for the deaths
referred to this class were 3,732, besides 1,964
catised by phthisis (consumption), whilst those from
zymotic diseases were 3,313. Bronchitis (1,950)
was much more prevalent and fatal than usual last
quarter, and phthisis was also more fatal, though
its increase was leas considerable ; the two diseases
carried off very nearly the same number of per-
sons, and with pneumonia, which numbered 1,406,
they exhibited a great preponderance, as compared
with other special diseases in the list. That the
sickness of the season did not derive its prevailing
character from inclemency of the atmosphere, is
shown by the fact that the mean weekly tempera-
ture was below the average is only one of the 14
Weeks.
Out of 583 deaths from hooping-cough, only 76
tr°T,Ted in the west districts ; in the north dis-
ut tbi% nul3B, numberwas and in
the south 119,
though the latter are considerably more populous.
In the ce
ntra' Aultricts the complaint was fatal in
123 cases, and in
chiefly prevailed in thetl east in 127. Measles had
central and east divisions,
for out of 408 deaths fromnioit in London, 218 oc-
ourred in the parts
mefatal in the east districtsned. Fever was most
Small-pox was re-
turned in 26 cases, being not more than two in
a week.
Of 2,599 deaths in 117 public institutions
the quarter, 1,478 occurred in workhouges during2in
prisons, 71 in military and naval asylums,'76: •
general hospitals, 68 in hospitals for special disasesin,
3 (of women) and 8 (of children) in lying-in-hospi-
tals, 58 in military and naval hospitals, 14 in hos-
pitals and asylums for foreigners, and 107 in lung.
tic asylums.

A. gentleman named Young; died intestate, in St.
Pancras, a few days ago, leaving property worth 1,2051,
or 1,4001. to go to the Crown.