The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-22 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN WATERS IN MAY.

The condition of the waters supplied by the dif-
ferent companies, as determined by the analyses of
Dr. Robert Dundas Thomson, F.R.S., of St.
Thomas's Hospital, is an indication of the existence
of much dry weather during the month of May.
For the sake of comparison the composition of the
water about to be supplied to Glasgow is given,
and likewise that of one of the shallow pump wells
of London which have been proved to be prejudi-
cial to health.

Total impurity Organicini-
per gallon. purity.
grs. or deg. grs. or deg.
Distilled Water O,O 0.0
Loch Katrine water, new supply
to Glasgow
THAMES COMPANIES.
Chelsea
Southwark
Lambeth
West Middlesex l7'BB I'2l
Grand Junction lB'oB 1.56
OTHER k,;OMPANIES.
New River
East London
Kent
Well, Castle-street, Oxford-street 110.80 8.96

The table is read thus :—Loch Katrine water
contains in the gallon 2.14 degrees or grains of
foreign matter in solution, of which 0.8 degrees are
of vegetable or animal origin.
Dr. Lankester says—" The analyses of 76 surface
wells situated in various parts of London give the
quantity of organic and inorganic impurities in
grains per gallon. In no one instance is the quan-
tity of organic matter less than four grains per
gallon, whilst in many cases it exceeds 150 grains,
and in two instances is above 200." _ _

Last week the births of 852 boys and 841 girls,
in all 1,693 children, were registered in London.
In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1849-
58 the average number was 1,470.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 29.812
in. The barometer rose from 29.55 in. on Sun-
day to 30.01 in. on Saturday, being respectively
the lowest and highest readings in the week.
The mean temperature of the week was 59.7 deg.,
which is 0.7 above the average of the same week in
43 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The
thermometer in the shade reached its highest point
on Monday, when it was 77 deg., and fell to its
lowest point, 47 deg., on Friday. The extreme
range of the week was therefore 30 deg.; the mean
daily range was 21.5 deg. The range on Sunday
was 11.5 deg. ; that on Saturday was 27.3 deg.
The difference between the mean dew-point tem-
perature and air temperature was 8.4 deg. The
mean degree of humidity of the air
w
three days it was only 65. The mean temperatureits 7
of the water of the Thames was 65.8. The wind blew
most frequently from the north-west.li Thehraoi:
there was _ a
efaulrlroedf
ethuesuwuedeaky.waos
On this
inch.,hi3s day aof
whicthun-
derstorm in the afternoon ; and at Lewisham rain
fell to the depth of more than half an inch.

ARRIVAL FROM AUSTRALIA.—FALMOUTH, Tues-
day.--The ship Suffolk, Martin, master, has arrived from
Melbourne, and landed mails and passengers ; on freight
about 43,000 ounces of gold dust, including the Welcome
nugget.
About £llO,OOO in gold has arrived from St.
Petersburg • £25,000 has been taken to the Bank, and the
remainder has'
been sold for exportation. About £220,000
of the gold by the Asia has also been taken for the Con-
tinent.
SUNDAY SAILING ON THE CLYDE.—A lawsuit
for some years pending in the Court of Session in reference
to the use of the piers at Gareloch by passengers landing
from steamers plying on the Clyde on Sundays has just
been brought to a termination. When the Sunday steamer
was first started on the Clyde, in 1853, Sir James Coiqu-
houn, proprietor of the piers of Garelochead, Row, and Row-
more, took forcible measures to prevent the landing of the
passengers there, and for several Sundays the piers were
the scene of unseemly contests between the passengers at-
tempting to land and the servants of the proprietor resist-
ing the attempt. Legal measures were then taken on the
one side to interdict, and on the other to claim, the use of
the pier by the public on Sundays. The Court
in the first instance refused to interdict the public
use of the pier on Sundays until the proprietor had
established his rights in a possessory action to exclude the
public. In the action as ultimately brought it was ad-
mitted by the .defenders (Paton and others, owners of the
steamer Emperor) that the three piers in question had all
been built by Sir James Colquhoun at his own expense,
and the question at issue was whether the piers being used
by the public on the six days of the week the public were
entitled also to use them on the seventh. The Court held
that in the circumstances in which these piers had been
erected the proprietor was entitled, in virtue, of possession
and of usage.previous to 1853, to restrict the public use of
the piers in the way he sought to do, and that the proprietor
did not necessarily sacrifice his private rights by giving the
public access to the piers, there being no grant of free-port
in the case. The court therefore interdicted the defenders
from landing passengers at the piers in question in .vessels
leaving and returning to Glasgow on Sundays.