The Press. — London, England, 1853-12-03 00:00:00

lu 1 I I 724 MR. tilbloN's REPORT. Wrath we to announce that a battle on the Danube had been fought, and thousands slain, what excite ment would it not creute, how eagerly would the public listen to the details ! It is not of battle on the Danube, but of war waged here, daily and hourly, in this mighty metropolis, we would speak. tin the one side are nearly three millions of human ; on the other but a single warrior—Deuth. His weapon is poison. It permeates through all that surrounds nii,—the streets we tread, the river rolling at our feet, the atmosphere we breathe. The slaughter of Waterloo is insignificant (impered with the num hers that perish in this contest. }'rota the masterly report of Mr. Simon, the Medical Wirer of Health of the city of London, we learn that whilst the general mortality of the City has, on an average of five years, been twenty-four per thousand, the sub.dharicte which make up the aggregate vary from eighteen to above twenty-nine. The lowest rate of mortality know!' in this country is fourteen her thousand. In the healthier soh-districts of London the cold winds of winter perceptibly increase the mortality, whilst in unhealthy localities that effect is masked, and summer, with its peatilence, is the deadlier season. of 15,5117 who died, not one eighth had readied the age of seventy, whilst three•eightlia died within the first five years of life. But " life has not been capri ciously long in one place and short in another. . . . Where short it has been short red. ... I ts untimely extinction has depended en the direct operation of 'oral and preventable causes." Mr. Sit tttttt has proved the truth of this very efil:etnally, for, since he has been ill solliee, the deaths have been four per cent. fewer. The diminution, be antieipstais will be greater when extramural into: snouts, the extinction of Smith field, and the removal of the slaughtering-houses have been completely effected. But Mr. Minnon does not rile line his observations to the city of I.4milm : he takes a cienprehonsive view of sanitary reform generally, and especially in reference to the cholera, which will unquestionably slay its thoweohl,4 n ex t a u tumn, tw -leaa measures of Itreeltetifie are in the meantime taken. The experience of two former visitations has taught us that, ti Of we cannot prevent " this ob scurely-wandering plague" crossing the sea and hovering over our dwellings, yet we can reduce it to state of intmenons torpidity, by depriving it of those conditions which are essential to its activity. lithe venom lurks in the serpent's potison-fang, we can prevent the pntssure that came% it. to exude. 'Phu And point that, strikes the investigator is, that the cholera "is eminently a district. disease." Starting from its centres in the East, it. pursues the same winding and devious course until at. last. it reaeltes Iltunlinty, and thence crosses to our shores, when it invariably visits tine self-same spots. " I fampness, in conjunetton with oripinietlectanpitsition," eharactense these. lhunpuess alone world not "le►eali.o t he liestilence. To be afloat at men might he the safest edging." II amtm.rsmith is your feet above high• water mark, Southwark is six ; yet in Southwark the mortality from cholera was nearly eleven time s grester than that of lammersmiilt. It is, therefore, the decomposition Of Mill nal mailer, in imakinfictiiin with the dampness arising from the low level tif the locality, that causes this difference in the mortality. "The giant error of Lein k in is its present spoon of drainage . . . and that habitual itnprimonmenf of soil and air which is inseparable from our total drsinage." The incalculable amount of putrefying matter which is produced in London is all carried into the river, anti thew rolled latekwartis anti for. %arils for hours, or " trickling over bnityl belts of spong. bank, %hidh then dry their contaminated mud in the sunshine, exhaling fatter and poison." The sewers, for hours each day, either retain or re distribute that. which it is their business to remove and reject ; anti, "at every tomer° which strikes against their open mouths, at every title which en croaches on their inward %pave, their gases are breathed into the upper air—wherever outlets exist —into houses, footpaths, and carriage way "; ' SUM' iudi%iduul householder , dwelling at a high level, ell concern on the subject may seem to terminate with the &fluxion of Isis 18%11 sewage. Sit that his own pipes remain clear. little C 1111194 lie for the ultimate olitrall of his !illumines!! Pettis:. if he knew better, he would care more. His gill returns to him with ittensute. Inovit in the valley, whither his re fits.. runs, exatverge it iiiiiii ter. able kindred contributions. Ft oin city and submk— from 14111 area of one hundred square miles, covyrv i l by quarter of a million houses, wills their unprecedented throng of metropolitan lifc— there pour into that single t'hatll►t'l every conceivably s'NeiVIIIVat, Oat sire erring, garbage, RIO IN•AIsC, from tarn tinil Is nst, StIVOt WO Sllllll, Alfiltilde mid factorl, market and hospital. From the polluted bosom of Ate liver steam up incossantly, though unseen. the %swims of a retributive poison : densest mid most destructive, no doubt. along the wilder hanks and stinking sewung of lowest Irvtd. but sinv.ailling over miles of land— amuelintea nillisl high I.) wind, Willtltifill'S 1111'10(11 low with 1111 A, 81141 1.1134 W thlir Margin, that curls over theism tittle." THE PRESS. Whenever this poison shall be removed by an in►shwous system of drainage beyond the sphere of the London atmosphere, the liability of the metro polis to cholera will cease. (It' four bankside sub districts of London the mortality of two was four and a half greater than that of the other two ; but the former were "marginal to the valley of the Fleet," which, "for a considerable part of this district, may be regarded a creek of the Thames." But it is unneces sary to accumulate proofs; suffice it to say that ►t is the opinion of Mr. Simon that, " without the reten tion and soakage of organic matter," cholera could i►ot exist : " Past millions of scattered population it mores inno• 4110111. Through tl►e tinpolluted atmosphere of cleanly districts it migrates silently, without a blow—that which it can kindle into p►iaon lies not there. To the foul. damp br e ath o r low•lyiug cities it comes like a spark to powder. Hem hi contained that which it can swiftly make destrue tive---soidced into soil, ►tagau►t in water, griming the pavement, tainting the air—the slow rottenness of unrc tamed excrement, to which the first contact of this foreign ferment brings the 4 weludou Of changing lute new and more deathly combinations." As in certain conditions of the body it is more sus ceptible of infection, so in strict analogy are localities on the earth favourable to the development of cho lera according to their existing conditions. The remedy for this predisposition to be smitten by the Pestilence is as simple as to bathe in Jordan and be whole ; it is, ill a word, 43.EANtasums--cleaulittoss in its widest and most extended meaning. Thu Thames is beyond the control of those to whom Mr. Simon's report is addressed, but fifty miles of sewers are within their jurisdiction. The proof of good drainage is, that it should be itiodorous; and no ono who has inhaled the atmosphere of London in certain states— before a shower of rain after lung drought, for stance—can deny that there k mitch ro7m for im provement hero. Again, the duties of scavenger* and dwotmen should be diligently performed ; strict supervision should ho exercised over all " markets, slaughtering-houses, So., to prevent the retention of refuse matters, animal or vegetable." Another point of "paramount importance " is, that after the month of May the soil of the streets should not be diAitrbod by Ow various gas and water companies. A copious and frequent use of water is recommended : " With a view to the best alternative for n continuous simply. I would recommend that at leant a daily tilling of all eisternage take phtee, and expressly that Sunday form no exception to the advantages of this rule. if a choice of evils must he made, 1 trust it is no heathen's part to urge that the Christiau Sabbath settlers more desecration in the filth and preventable unwholesomeness of many tinmsanti humanoids than in the holiest industry of dozen turneoats." On this subject 3(1.. Simon mentions an interesting fact. "One popular pump" in the City owes its celebrity to the circumstance that the sources that feed it are drawn from underneath a churchyard. It is to the nitre derived from the animal matter that it is indebted for its brisk cold flavour. lint on this isolated instance it would he dangerous to base a system of pumps near churchyards, for it depends on the stage of decomposition which organic matter has reached whether it is beneficial or detrimental. A system of house inspection—the allotment of unlet houses for the reception of patients in poor neigh bourhoods—general care of the health—and espe c ially a judicious use of tunics, which it seems are peculiarly requisite in London,—these are some of the 'Wilkinsl precautions the adoption of which Mr. Simon recommends. We regret that its length has precluded us from giving his most valuable, mas terly, and interesting report entirely in his own words ; but the substance we have given ; and we think the reader will be of opinion that though the office Mr. Simon so ably tills is not political, and brings comparatively little time, yet, if the end and aim of government be to secure " the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number," he has done more by his quiet labours to attain that object, and is more entitled to the gratitude of mankind, than many others who occupy a larger space in the eyes of the world. A 111!Tr11147 linos been printed showing how Vail. chanted In the civil contingetwies of butt year Ws/1 e ;tended in crea tin g Gei t oesl Lonl Fitzroy Somerset a Lanni of the I:tvited kingdom. The l'rlovii.ogice ci la rg e s wer e Id., and the Potent-olliee charge •4111. Itts. Tlit. expeitsee are remarkable. To the Stamp-office, 14111.1 a.; Lail I itancellor, great seal fee, '2l. tle. SI; clerk of the IlattatiaT. 'W. 13s. Id. ; deputy ditto, 1!. la.; Lord l'hato cellar's pursehearer, ; porter to great seal, 1/. Is.; gentlemen to ditto. lt/. : sealer. IL tls. dd.; deputy ditto, ; chaff wax. I/. ; deputy ditto. Ills. Old.: roysl 11,111%,•11,11, lot/. 11.4. Itkl. ; principal usher of Scotland, I:Is. Itil. ; Scotch heralds. : English ditto, Mi. ; Earl %lusted. ; garter king at antis. •20/.; g o ld e mbl azo n e d skin and boxes to hold patent and told, It/ lit' the I omit °dice charges •20/. went to the Attorney-tieitend, anti 71. 7s. lid. to the clerk of the patent to the Attoniey• lienend, and I/. Itts. the stoup duty on warrant. To the engiossing clerk I/. Is. for engr.luing the warrant and for parrinuost. The authority fur all them: charges Is " auelent usage." SATURDAY, CORPORATION FINANCE. TITE Corporation Committee have added largely to their piles of collected evidence during the past week. Among the witnesses examined, however, the person whose testimony possessed most weight and presented most points of interest was Mr. W. E. Hickson, late editor of the Westminster Rer iete, and who had deeply studied the subject of corporate reform, on winch he had written a series of elaborate articles published in the pages of that periodical. lie was examined on Tnesday last. His evidence related chiefly to the extent and management of the City revenues, and the mode in which► their receipt and disbursement was accounted for by the corpora. tion officials : Mr. Hickson examined : I am the author of various articles which have appeared in the Westminster Review (.1 1 municipal reform. I have been commercially connected with the City for many years, and have property in the parish► of St. Dunstan, Fleet-street, and I ant often pain fully reminded of City burdens. I carried on the West. minder ftsrien , for eleven years, a►d 1 endeavoured to make it useful on all subjects of administrative reform. have always endeavoured nut to make out a came against the corporation, but to wake out a ease for the necessity of a better system of local government generally fur the city of London in its relation to the whole of the metropolitan constituenciew. I du nut think there is any individual corruption in either the Court, of Common Council or the Court of Aldermen, and, as a whole, 1 think they are fair templed of municipal institutions. Our principal griet once is, that our establishment charges are enormous mi d excessive. Ido not believe there is a city in the Wiorill in which the city burdens ought to be smaller, but in which they are larger, than in the city of London. The mode in which the City accounts NV kept also shows the prin ciple of divided management. The City publishes an annual statement, called " a statement of the profits and expenditure of the City funds." Nothing relating to act of Parliament feuds appears in that account, ►old, in cote sequence of this omission, these rondo( for the past year are only returned at 2 1 1IYInni. When the last committee sat, its income was reported at I i 5,0110/. only, whereas, if all the sources of income had been enumerated in one account, they would show something like 000,000/. a year. There is an erroneous impres with respect tocorpomte funds, which arises from tin• subdivision of accounts. There are upwards of sixty accounts kept by the City Chamberlain. and it is impoNsible for the most intelligent member of the Common Council to understand them. The Ulan who attempted it would be somewhat in the position of a fly on St. Paul's Cathedral, which paused to consider the magni tude oldie stone on which it alighted, without taking into consideration the vast aggregate of the whole. There is no balance-sheet published showing the whole receipts and the whole expenditure at one view. Every Item itt the annual statement published by the corporation appears to be flamed with a view to 'undyed. The account, for instance, state's that the salary of the Lord Mayor is 0,00/. per annum, whereas it is well known that he also receives cer. tain fees which raise the salary to 5,100;2. a year. Tho difference of 2,41001. does not appear in any account, that I ant aware of. With regard to the City tradesmen, it is well known that the ()Mee of a City tradesman is worth I,INNII. a year but it does not appear in the City accounts, Isocuure the items are entered in small aunts, mid the bills are sent in to the various committees, who classify them in their own way. The !ethnics of the commissioner of police and his chief offieers, the' latlTCyurS, Rail meters, are omitted, and, hr fact, salaries and e luments to the antionit of At I 4 MNIi , arc wholly ..nutted front the return of the income and expenditure of the corporation as made by the committee appointed to inquire, ascertain, and report on the t of the fixed annual moieties and emoluments of each officer of the corporutien during the last file yetnb. In the year 04.35 an incomplete return, furnish. by the officers tlenowlvt•s, was publishes), which showed that the mutual expenditure for legal staff; state Akers, ((T., amounted to 1 lil,oso/. Ws. 11►,1. The fees received in that year by officers of the corporation, and for which no account Was given. anemote•d to 110011/. These fees have sine*, been ( snasider a bly reolneed, but the whole amount !mid in salaries( and emoluments by officers of the corponition is now upwards of 1.44,40 011. per annum. It is my impression that 120,001. is considerably within the mark. Ido not include in that stint the receipts thou the admission of freemen. The question of (satirisation to t 'ity ofiieers will be one of the first things which the eons initiee will have to decide upon, and it will be a matter of extreme difficulty to deal with. I think if the cominitt( e were to report in favour of liberal compensation for abolished or consolidated (offices, an accurate return of the imolinnents could be obt ' 41. I think a compensation equal to two-thirds of the income of the officers ought to be given to them. and even then iny intiowssion is that the public will be huge tatilltiti. At present Ido not belicee the corporation know the amount of fres received by their own Ibitimrs. Mr. C. Lewis: Will yon state the unmeant those officers Witness : I would rather not be culled upon to do so, as it might appear invidious. I wish to deal with general principles only. Another proof of the t leii‘otive system of keeping the *twining may lw shown hy, the return of the salaiy. The mitlary of Nit gitlicvr 2, 6010 . a year. but the expense of the Whey is 9.,ltsg. a year, making the total charge to the country 1 r itali. per year. In the ulllO way the town clerk appear* to"tective ,Ms2l., liereas the elptilbe of 116 Otliee ex.32eds .1,01.10/. per dialing'. I haat:in my hand it return of the munieiPalexpenaes oldie INirough of Leeds tOr the year ending the Ist of September. 1 , 44, ley whiell it appears that the total ekpenditureby the borough, including apunt a y ear f u r ru n ee . h at eae hmeng riving, lighting, and cleaning, amounts to 17.110:ii. Os. aid. the population of Leeds is 174,470 parsons, biting CitiMa.s