The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-01-31 00:00:00

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COMMISSIONERS' MEETING.

The monthly meeting of this Board was held in
the Commissioners Room, Corn Exchange, on
Monday afternoon last; Mr. H. Turney in the
chair. There were also present Messrs. Platt,
Haskew, Collis, Jones, Palfrey, Woolley, Pearson,
Hicklin, Perkin, North, Parkes, Gillam, James,
Griffin, ant Penny.
The minutea of the last meeting were read and
confirmed. _ .

Report of the Finance Committee:—
Your Committee report that the teeasurer's
balance on the several accounts at this date are as
follows, viz :—Highway Account £662 10s Od; Im-
provement Account .£56 Ns 10d; Urban Sanitary
Account £303 19s Bd.—Your Committee having ex-
amined the following accounts and finding them
correct recommend that they be paid, viz :—High-
way Account £63 189 6d; Improvement Account
£7l lOs 3d ; Urban Sanitary Account £4ll us 9d,
Your Committee have examined the voucess of
accounts and also receipts for interests ordered to
be paid at the last meeting and finding them to be
correct your Committee recommend that the two
cheques ordered by a committee of the whole Board
held on October 20th, 1884,—namely, one for £225,
and the other for £75, making a total of £3OO, pail
to Messrs. Harward, Shepherd and Mills on the
Incorporation Account—be confirmed.
The report was adopted after some short re:-er-
ence to the incorporation accounts.
Mr J. Parkes moved a resolution that the Smith-
field Market be made a free market for one year.
He said that he had taken as much as £5O to £lOO
a day; but now it was in a very low state. He had
spoken to a few dealers about it, and they said they
would support him. The foot and mouth disease,
he said, had made a great deal of difference, and
also the stock sales ; but he thought that if it was
made free that it would be well patronised, and
also would bring people into the town, and money.
Mr.: Collis seconded the resolution, which was
carried unanimously.
Mr. C. H. Collis moved the rescinding of a
resolution of August 25, as to the definition of the
boundary of the property purchased by the Com-
missioners at the junction of High Street aed
Foster Street. He said that the property in ell:Ps-
tion eats purchased for improvement purposes, and
they hid improved the locality by pulling down
the oil hous J 3 which stood at the spot, and making
Foster Street wider; but he diei not think they had
crhd the improvement far enough. He thought
High S.rect, which was.only 18ft. wide at that.
ppot, s!lould be wade the same width as opposite
11r. etring r's property ; and he moved the resolu-
tion wth the view to the question of the idth of
the street being further considered by the Itn-
prow:went Committee. In time they might get
cea er pirts of the street widened.
Mr. Ha Lew seconded the resolution, to w:iieh
Mr. Wo)lley 'never' an amendment. He thoueht
High Street was wile enough. Other parts of the
town required attention, and it seemed to him
unju t that so much money should be expended on
the 'lag end of the town." Mr. Woolley did a t
find a s2conder to Lis amendment, and the re,si
tion was adopted.
A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs. Billing-
ham, Walker, and the surveyor, will ex imine, aset
report on, the painting, whitewashing and arcane°
went of the Market liaO.
The Medical Officer reported :—The number of
births registered in the township of Stourbridee,
from December 23 to January 19-20 viz., males 11,
and females 9. Number of deaths registered in the
same period-15 viz , males 6, and females 9.
Birth-rate 21 5; death-rate 18.4. The death-rate
for ti.e last month is lower than the preceding one;
the corresponding rate last year was 13.5. Tee
fact of the Board giving him leave to take pro-
ceediugs against Mary Hill for keeping pigs near
the bed room window, and that leave being re-
ported in the newspapers, has been sufficient to
make her remove the animals so that no action his
been necessary. The officer's annual report was
also laid before the Committee. The death-rate for
the past year is better than it has been for the past
3 years, as the following tab!e will show :
Deaths Rate
1881 190 19.1
1882 199 20.3
1883 • 204 209
1884 148 15.1
The number of births was 302, giving a rate per
thousand of 32 6. In the deaths and births, the
number of males and females were aim. at the same,
' viz, births, males, 150; deaths, males, 73. Births,
females, 152; deaths, females, 75. Total births
, 302—deaths 148. The deathe from zymotic disease
are as follows :—Cholera 1; small-pox 1; measles
' 0; scarlatina 1; diphtheria 2; whooping aough 3;
typhoid fever 0; diarrhcea 12; total 20. Deaths
under one year old, 46; over 60, 43. During the
year he has made a thorough inspection of all the
bakehouses and lodginghouses in the township,
anti found them, with one exception, in a very
s3tisfactor condition.
The testing of well water Las been extensively
carried on. Number of wells already examined,
56; the water was impure in nearly all of them;
and he is happy to state that the tap water is being
laid on—or promised to be done—in all cases where
notices have been served. His ceher inspections
are offensive privies and ashpits, 15. Houses in-
fected with zymotia disease, 6; offensive pigs (ro-
ported,) 2; overcrowding, 1.
The Town Officer's report was as follows :
Nuisances brought forward, 35. Reported daring
the month, 22-57. Removed. old, 2; remaining,
new, 15-17 ; remaining 40. Ninety-one privies,
8 ashpits, and 2 cesspools, belonging to 184 houses,
have been emptied and cleansed, and their contenis
removed. Number of lea Is, 144. The lodging and
slaughterhouses are reported to be in a good sani-
tary condition. The number oh ledging houses are
7; and they have been occupied during the month
as follows :—Daily 62; weekly 419; total 1673.
There have been no complaints.
The committee have granted the free use of the
Corn Exchange to the Fire Brigade for three drama-
tic performances on the 9th, 11th, and 13th ot
Febriiary next.
The Captain of the Fire Brigade presented his
annual report for 1884, to the General Purposes
Committse, and they recommended that the re-
quired couplers referred to therein be granted at a
cost not exceeding £2O.

The report was as follows :
Stourbridge Fire Bri4ad9.
Chief Officer's report for the year 1334.
To the General Parpos,!s Committee,

GENTLEDIEN, —I have the honour to report as
f lows for the year 1884:—
The brigade has been called to 15 fires durine
the year, being 3 more than the year 1883, and 5
more than the average for the previous 5 years
Eight fires were in the township and 7 occurred
beyond the town boundaries. Taking into con-
sideration the amount of damage in relation to the
value of property at risk, two fires were of a
serious character that is to say—the loss amounted
to more than one-sixth the value at risk ; upon
which boils the most reliable fire reports are nilde.
The total amount of loss for the year is estimated
at £458 and the value of property at risk at about
£38,131 as compared with £8,813 loss, and £58,450
ii, risk during 1883. The value of property at ri.k
is stated approximately only owing to the diffi-
culty of obtaining the correct matt:feint in some
eases. In addition to the 15 calls to actu tl fires,
the brigade h-tstened out to two malicious false
alarms. Five fires have been extinguishe I with •he
brigade hint pumps, 3 with the p'e-itu fire-engine,
3 from the street mains, and 4 by the own re or
occupiers before the arrival of the brigade. A tire
at the Stourbridge gas works creued a consil-rable
alarm, but was got under before much damage was
done, and the members of the brigade received the
thanks of the directors of the gas company tor their
serrices.—The, causes of fires : Two were caused
by beams in chimneys ; two by having goods near
gas jets; o ie by hol ling a naked light near an opsn
gas pipe; one putting goods on a boiler ; one by
upsett,ne a candle; two chimneys on fire; two
inc,n,lia! lee; four by causes unknown.—Nature
of property and trade :—Four fires occurred at
bit :1r or farm buildings; 3 at hay and straw
de tre and dwelling houses; 2 at public houses;
1 at a d-apers shop ; 1 at a dwelling house; one
at offices and dwelling house; and one at a gas
woks, From which it will be seen that farms
show the largest proportion as in previous years;
shops in connec ion with dwelling houses coming
next. In goin.r to and from fires the brigade has
travelled 32 miles. The total time occupied in ex-
tinguishiny,—including going to and Com—has
been 21 hours 4 minutes; an average for each fire
of 96 11 seconds; as compared with 5 hours !
2 minutes for the previous year. The average at-
tendance of in •inbers at fires has been 11. The
brigade has carried out 35 drills, including two
false alarm turn out drills; and I have to thank all
the members of the brigade for the assistance they
hare rendered me during the year; especially Mr.
.Williams, who has given valuable service as Super-
intendent. In .ny report for 1883 I mentioaed
that the Fire Bii:ade committee were considering
the desirability of putting down electric fire alarms
to the members re4dences. This has now been
done at annual expenditure from the brigade funds
of £l3. These alarms have no been in use for 9
months, with the result that the brigade has been
able to tirn out much more quicker than hereto-
fore; the time never exceeding 4 minutes when
horses .were required,_ and considerably quicker
for town fires when the hose reel only was used.
There being no public alarm bell under the pre-
sent system, the brigade is enabled to get away in
many cases before.the public are aware of a fire;
thus doing away with the old inconvenience of the