" and compelled them to keep their doors and windows 

 " shut. 



" That Professor Simpson (now Sir James Simpson, Bart., 

 " M.D.), showed from the mortality in the streets border- 

 " ing on the river, as compared with that away from its 

 " banks, that there was a greater death rate in the imme- 

 " diate neighbourhood of the Water of Leith than at a 

 " short distance therefrom. 



" Thus taking a similar class of houses in the Edin- 

 " hunjh district, and judging by the mortality among 

 " children under five years of age. Professor Simpson 

 *•■' found that in the streets away from the influence of the 

 " foul water the mortality was in the proportion of 100, 

 " while in the streets near the Water of Leith the mor- 

 " tality was as high as 160!! In the Leith district also 

 " the death rate was greater, as in the streets at some 

 " distance from the harbour the mortality was in the 

 " proportion of 100, with a death rate among children 

 " under five years old of 1 in 12, while in the same class 

 " of streets ?iear the river and harbour the mortality was 

 " 141, and the death rate among children 1 in 7 ! ! 



" That these statistics are positive evidence of the 

 " efiects of the foul state of the Water of Leith conveying 

 " the sewage of Edinburgh and Leith, and the results 

 " are supported by the concurrent testimony of many 

 " persons who speak to the nausea and sickness brought 

 " on by the gases and vapours evolved from the water, 

 " and to the general ill health connected therewith. 



Page 24. As regards the atmosphere near the Water of Leith. 



" The state of the atmosphere was not only judged of by 

 *' the test of the nose but special experiments were made." 



" Thirty-one samples of air were collected at various 

 " parts on different occasions. On the 7th April nine 

 " samples were tested, and whilst the degrees of purity 

 '' of the air at three stations in Edinburgh away from 

 " the influence of the Water of Leith were respectively 

 " (100 being absolute purity) 85, 70, and 67, and the air 

 " at the Water of Leith at Coltbridge before being 

 " mingled with sewage was 75, the atmosphere in the 

 " immediate vicinity of the sewers and of the Water of 

 *^ Leith conveying sewage had its degree of purity re- 

 " duced to 63, 58, 55, and 55, and in one instance, as 

 " below the dam under the Water of Leith village, the 



