The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-27 00:00:00

A court was held on Tuesday for the despatch of
public business.
Dr. LETHEBY'S annual report of the sanitary
condition of the City was presented, from which it
appeared, " That last year there were 3,184 births
in the City, 2,883 deaths, and 1,689 marriages. All
these numbers are below the average for the corres-
ponding. period of the last ten years. The falling
off in the several numbers has been very general
throughout all the districts of the City, but it has
been most marked in the Central division, where

from a slow but steady emigration of the wealthier
classes, and the encroachments for public improve-
ments on the domiciles of the poorer, the fixed

population has been greatly reduced. in the other
districts, where these influences have not been so

largely at work, the reduction of the death rate has
no doubt been caused by the exercise of sanitary
powers. Of the 3,184 children born in the course of
the year,1,643 were males, and 1,51 females, propor-
tions which are as 1,066 males to 1,000 females. The
2,883 deaths in the City were distributed as follows
—1,115 occurred in the Western Union, 703 in the
Eastern, and 1,065 in the Central. These numbers
are in proportion of 25 per 1,000 of the inhabi-
tants of the first named district, 24 per 1,000 of the
second, and nearly 19 of the third, the general
total being about 22 per 1,000 of the entire popu-
lation. 21 per cent. of all the deaths occurred in
the summer quarter, 24 per cent. in the spring, 25
in the autumn, and 29 in the winter. The high
mortality of the last named season is due, not merely
to the trying influences of the weather, but also to
the circumstance that this is the season when
there is always a large congregation of the poor in
the City, and with it the evils of overcrowding.
Besides which, the condition of the weather does

not permit of those sanitary operations which are
so largely employed in the summer and autumn_
The table of the principal causes of death showed.
that the number of deaths from violence has risen
from a general average of 130 per annum to 157 ;
those. from nhthisis from 519 to 523 ; and those
from -measles and the whooping.cough and croup
from 192 to 277. These last, in fact, are the
diseases which have been unusually prevalent
during the year, and although they are not at all
preventible to a like extent, yet there can be no
doubt :that in every case their force can be
lessened by the aid of sanitary science. The chief
increase in the mortality from zymotic diseases has
been notified in the East London Union, but

phthisis has prevailed to the largest extent in
the western districts. The mortality from
other diseases has almost in every instance
fallen below the average, for the deaths
from fever were but 88 instead of 150;
those from diarrhoea and dysentery among adults
have fallen from 153 to 38 ; scarlet fever from 103
to 50 ; smallpox from 24 to 6 ; and erysipelas from
26 to 19. Altogether, indeed, as regards the deaths
from zymotic diseases, excepting those from croup,
measles, whooping-cough and diphtheria, which
have so largely exceeded the average, there has
been a falling off from an average of 456 to 201,
or to less than half. This is a strong proof of
the value of the sanitary measures adopted,
for nothing speaks so forcibly of the general condi-
tion of a place as the death rate of these maladies.
During the yettr 5,340 inspections of houses were
made, and 2,446 visits to the common lodging-house's
of the City. The number of orders issued for sexi-
tary improvement amounted to 1,721."
Upon the motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr.
BARKLEY, the report was orderedto be printed and
circulated among the members of the court.
METROPOLITAN AND CITY IMPROVEMENTS.

The CHAIRMAN having given a general statement
of the financial business of the court for the paw
year,

Deputy HARRISON, a member of the Metropoli-
tan Board of Works, said he had endeavoured,
although ineffectually, to prevail upon the board to
carry out necessary improvements in Newgate-
street at their own expense, so that, as matters
stood, if they were done at all, although they were
mttropolitan improvements, they must be done at
the expense of the City ratepayers, who, at the
same time, had to bear one-tenth part of the ex-
pense of all improvements effected by the board in
the metropolis generally, whether the City was
benefited by them or not He moved, "that it be
referred to the Improvement Committee to consider
and report what further steps should be taken with
respect to the future improvements which have
been agreed to by thiscourt, and towards the costs
of which it was expected the Metropolitan Board
of Works would have contributed one-third of the
amount, but which they have decided nut to do
by their resolution dated the 21st of January."
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Ross seconded the motion, which was sup-
ported by Mr. H. L. Taylor, and carried unani-
mously, it being understood that this important
subject would be fully debated on the bringing up
of the report.
OMNIBUS SUBWAY COMPANY.

The engineer brought up a report stating that
this company proposed to construct a subway,
starting at the Royal Exchange, passing through '
Cheapside, the north side of St. Paul's, Ludgate-
hill, Fleet-street, the Strand, Charing-cross, Parlia-
ment-street, to the Houses of Parliament, having
stations at every quarter of a mile throughout its
length. It was to be constructed at but a moderate
depth beneath the streets, so as not to interfere with
the gas and water pipes, and was to be in the centre
of the roadway, to avoid interference with vaults
and cellars. The width of the carriages would be
only sufficient to carry two persons abreast in the
first class and three abreast in the second class
carriages, two lines of railway being laid. The
project, if carried out, would involve the re-con-
struction of the whole of the sewers throughout the
entire length of the subway within the City, as
well as• that of many others in collateral streets,
and would cause during its construction much
temporary inconvenience. The scheme would
require the careful attention of the Commission
before any decision could be safely given with
respect to it.
The report was adopted ; and after the transac-
tion of sonic routine business, the court adjourned.

CURIOUS CASES OF INJURY TO TILE

EYE.

_
We extract the two following extrarordinary
cases of serious injury sustained by the organs of
Yision from the fourth number of Dr. Krau's Cli-
nique Europeene, specially destined to record the
most remarkable clinical cases which have occurred
in all the hospitals of Europe. The first case, ob-
served at Prague about a month ago, was that of a
woman who, being engaged in splitting wood, was
struck on the left eyebrow by a log which rebounded
from the pavement. The blow caused a slight exco-
riation, which soon healed; but the eye, although
not directly touched, offered growing symptoms of
impaired vision in consequence of the violent con-
cussion it had sustained. The pupil was consider-
ably enlarged, and upon closer examination it was
found that the crystalline lens had been depressed,
and made to recline almost at right angles with its
natural position, towards the bottom of the vitreous
humour, just as if the operation for cataract by
couching had been successfully performed. The
patient was kept in observation at the hospital for
some time, and, as she experienced RO further in-
convenience, she was provided with proper spec-
tacles, and sent home.—The second case is still
more singular.—A day labourer, named Villeqdey,
aged 31, and living in Paris, was, in August
last, labouring under an attack of erysipelas, which
producing delirium caused him to fall out of bed.
In his fall his eye struck against a chair, he became
insensible, and remained lying on the floor until his
wife returned from market. She sent for the phy-
sician, who, finding the eye greatly swollen, or-
' dered poultices and leeches. The tumour subsided,
and eight days later the patient was sufficiently
recovered (to be removed to the country, where
another practitioner took him under his treatment.
But, as the eye continued to give no signs of reco-
very, he, three month, later, applied for advice to
Dr. Desmarres. The eye at that time appeared
quite flat, the upper eyelid, which was split in two,
banging down as if the socket was quite empty.
On raising the eyelid a granulous mass without
any distinct form was discovered. Dr. Desmarres,
on introducing a probe, felt a hard substance, and
to his astonishment soon extracted a piece of wood
5 centimetres in length and 51 in circumference,
which turned out to have belonged to the chair on
which the unfortunate man had fallen ! The ex-
traction, of course, produced an immediate cure,
and the natural eye has been replaced by an arti-
ficial one.

JEAN PAUL RlCHTER.—Essentially anti-French
in his sympathies and thoughts, it was his mission to create
a healthier and homelier tone iTierinan-literature than
Kotzebue and his followers had left. The humour might
be too ponderous for our tastes, as the language was too
difficult for even many Germans to thoroughly understand ;
but the human heart beneath was so noble, and the object
was so true to the best interests of literature, that he soon
and his words forced themselves a
with time ; as truth gains always
overbore
channel
which all e p pdoeseipt ieonn s,
strength and power with years. Richter now ranks as one
of the first men in German literature ; he has had his critics,
his commentators, imitators, his exponents. His rugged
language is no longer a stumbling-block, for is there not a
Richter glossary ? And in a day which runs more danger
of failing through cant than by levity, Jean Paul with kis
ardent religiousness of nature does not want admirers of all
classes. Indeed, he has narrowly escaped the curse of be-
coming a " fashionable study." 'Carlyle has done much to
make him known in England, we may say that he has dono
all. He was the first to render into intelligible Saxon the
deep Teutonic bass, which, until listened to attentively,
sounds but ride and inarticulate murmurings, as the wind
L through sea •side caves,—Literary Gazette,