The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-08-31 00:00:00

HEALTH COMMITTEE.

At the weekly meeting of this committee, yesterday
Alderman Dover presided ; and the other members pre-
sent were—Messrs. Crellin, Beckwith, Ridley, Nielson,
Haydock, Bowriug, Steel, and Stitt.

SANITARY OPERATIONS.
The borough engineer, building surveyor, and inspec-
Lor of nuisances reported various particulars of the

operations in their several departments during the week,
from which it appeared that 159 nuisances complained
of by inhabitants had been inspected, and means taken to

remedy them ; 961 houses, in the unhealthiest districts,
containing 3,144 apartments and 548 cellars, had been
put under examination, with the view of improving
their sanitary condition.

HEALTH OF THE BOROUGH.
Dr. Cameron, acting for the medical officer of health,
reported that the mortality of the borough continued
unusually low, 154 deaths having been registered in the
week ending Saturday, August 25th, less by 115 than
the corrected average for the corresponding week of the
last ten years. The difference is most remarkable in the
zymotic class of diseases, which occasioned last week
only 31 deaths, the average for the same week being 112.
Diarrhoea caused 16 deaths, against an average of 63 ;
simple fever, 4; typhus, 2; scarlet, 5 ; measles, 4.
Diseases of the lungs and consumption exhibited a com-
paratively high mortality, having caused 38 deaths ;
diseases of the brain, 13 ; convulsions, 12 ; diseases of
the liver, 2 ; wasting and debility, 28 ; old age, 4 ;
rheumatism, 2 ; paralysis, 2. The medical officer of
health further reported, that having examined the lake
in the Prince's-park, he is of opinion that, in its present
condition, it does not give rise to any effluvia injurious
to the health of the inhabitants of the surrounding
villas.

Mr. CRELLIN suggested that they should send a copy
of the medical officer's annual report to every medical
gentleman in the town.
Dr. CAMERON thought that it would be a very valua-
ble document to medical men.

Mr. BECKWITH remarked that it was always pub-
lished in detail in the daily papers of the town.
It was agreed that a copy of future annual reports
should be sent to the medical profession ; and that a.
duplicate copy of the weekly medical reports should be,
furnished to the reporters.
Mr. Nicxsox said he perceived that there was a great
decrease in the deaths arising from diseases of the
zymotic class. He would like to ask whether those
diseases were not for the most part under the control of
sanitary regulations.
Dr. CAMERON—Yes, sir.
Mr. Nicxsox—l think it an important fact.
The LAW-CLERK—It is a saving of a life in less than
every hour and a half in every day during the week.
Mr. CRELLIN thought the Courts and Alleys Com-
mittee had done much towards this result.

THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL ANSWERED.
The CHAIRMAN said his attention had been called to
the report of the Registrar-General. There were several
inaccuracies in it, and it seemed to him that the Regis-
trar-General should do more justice to Liverpool than
he did in that report. No doubt the injustice in a great
measure was done inadvertently. He would call upon
Mr. M'Gowan to read the report, so far as it referred to
Liverpool.
The LAW-CLERK read as follows, from the report of
the Registrar-General, issued on the 30th of June,.
1860 :
"We may now turn from this small resolute city in
an agricultural district (Ely) to Liverpool, the second
city of the kingdom, where the great work of sanitary
improvement is also advancing.
" Liverpool lies on the shore of the fresh, deep, wide
Mersey, which is lined by her magnificent docks, and
the houses rise from the river over the red sandstone
heights in long stretching lines. Lancashire and
Cheshire cover the plains and hills behind the
.queenly
town ; before her are Ireland, America, and the
ocean which her ships ride over, carrying foreign pro-
duce or the manufactures of the north to and from the
various regions of the world. The place is well chosen
for her health, and in Gough's Camden (ed. 1806)
Liverpool is said to be celebrated for her " beauty and
populousness." Yet it was found and published in the
first Registration Report that the mortality of the popu-
lation of this district was in the latter half of 1837 at
the rate of 39 in 1,000 annually ; while the population,
of West Derby, containing, with other parishes, the
outlying parts of the borough, died at the rate of 25 in
1,000. The strong contrast between the contiguous .
places, and the subsequent discovery that Liverpool was
one of the unhealthiest parishes in the kingdom, excited
surprise as well as regret in the public mind. A local.
association was formed of some of the best people,
and the causes of the mortality were investigated, and
were afterwards made known, by Dr. Sutherland, in a
series of lucid papers. Little, however, was done; the
prophets had been crying in the desert ; and in 1846
the mortality grew still more threatening. Cholera
raged fearfully in the borough in 1849. Steps were
now taken to carry out sanitary measures, under the
direction of Dr. Duncan and the other able officers of
the town. The sanitary school of Liverpool subse-
quently furnished some of the most efficient members of
the commission which did good service in the East.
Still, it is to be regretted, that the health of the great
bulk of the population of Liverpool has improved but
slowly. Liverpool has a good supply of water, but it is
still infested by cesspools, including under this name
the filthy Lancashire midden; and the drains pour their
contents into the dock basins, which exhale a malarious
sickly air over the people. The mortality in the borough
of Liverpool was at the rate of 29 in 1,000, in the year
1857. Much good, therefore, has been done since
the year 1837; thousands of lives have been saved.
Still Liverpool has not yet, like Ely, taken the bull
by the horns ; or why not the mortality be as low as
19 or even 17 in 1,000 ? What natural advantages
has. Ely, taking one thing with another, over Liverpool ?
If Ely has had thousands of cubic yards of dirt removed,
Liverpool has hundreds of, thousands of cubic yards to
deal will' ; but 'her means .rap.wir?o,,,,,,,alpth her
u a ty. Mr. IN ewlands can du for Liverpool what Mr.
Burns has done for Ely. The cesspool, the mitiden, or
call it what they may, for it is still the same, is the
chief destroyer of the Lancashire population. Crowded
dwellings, vice, want, do a part of the mischief; but in
Liverpool the cesspool destroyed a large proportion of
the 6,418 people who last year perished in excess of the
numbers who would have died at the rates prevailing in
country districts. The tender-hearted may shed tears over
them as they lie in the cemetery. Abolish the cesspools
of Liverpool and you immediately save the lives of thou-
sands of people. Yet the parties who have exerted them-
selves to put a stop to capital punishments have not been
roused by this ruthless destruction of men ; and no living
Becatia has written on these crimes and punishments.
A living poet in one of his last poems exclaimed—
Ah, it is the gallows tree I
Breath of Christian Charity,
Blow ! and sweep it from the earth.
But what number of lives did the ' gallows tree' take
away in 1857 ? Thirteen in all England and Wales;
two only in Lancashire. And these were the lives of
murderers, who were put to death for their crimes after
the most deliberate judicial inquiry. But the 6,418
men, women, and children of Liverpool were destroyed
Cruelly in that year without discrimination. Of tail
cesspool, rather than of the gallows tree, a wiser miase
will sing.—Sweep it from the earth."
The CHAIRMAN said the language there was more that
of a novel or romance than a document for men of busi
ness. It appeared to him not a fair report, far it treated
Liverpool as Liverpool was in 1857. The death rate
then was 29, but he believed now it was reduced to very,
nearly 25. There were further inaccuracies. First of
all, the report stated that the drains ran into the dock
basins. Now, he called the committee's attention to one
fact, that a sum little less than £lO,OOO had been spent
for the purpose of carrying the sewerage water through
the dock basins. (Hear hear.) Sa desirous were the
committee of carrying this work out, that though they
thought in their conscience' it should be done by the
Dock Board, and knowing there would be some delay
if they went to law, they chose rather to make an over-.
ture. They asked the Dock Board first of all to; bear
one-half of the expense, which was refused. At last a
kind of consent was obtained from the Dock Board, and
rather than delay so important a work as this, the
committee took one-fourth only from the Dock Board,
so that now in fact the drainage of Liverpool was not
turned into the dock basins, but was carried away into
the river. Then, again, the Registrar-General insti-
tuted a most unfair comparison as to Liverpool and a
country town. Ely was a place standing on much the
same extent of land as Liverpool, yet Liverpool had at
least, he believed, 60 times the inhabitants of Ely,
Mr. BECKWITH—EIy has only about 6,000 inhabitants.
The CHAIRMAN—But there was another very unfair
comparison, and that was that the Registrar-General
selected the most unhealthy part of Liverpool to coin,
pare it with what he considered the adjoining district.
No one expected for- a moment that the adjoining dis'
trict, which was composed mainly of agricultural land,
could be anything but a contrast. It was not likely that
the mortality of Liverpool would be smaller than that of
a country 4istrict. It did appear to himthat in all
these reports a great deal of harm was done by their
not being more accurate. He did not think there was
any design in it, but the tendeney would rather be to
deter other towns from going into expense for sanitary
improvements, if they found the results were such as
the Registrar-General made them appear. What bad
Liverpool done towards the promotion of the heal of
the people ? In ten years upwards of three millions of
money had been spent for sanitary purposes—that iv".,,s
is water, in sewers, in paving, and in ?Manilla' thQ
streets ; besides the sum of glenP.,'; laid out by Ovate
individuals. The ulatal;erg of the committee knes what,
a hard case it SACmed often to be when they imposed
upon it porl'r cottage-owner not only the cost of draining,
but sometimes actually the cod of re-draining. He walk
sure no gentleman of the committee ever passed those
motions, to give effect to the recommending of tha officer',
without feeliug that in many cases they inflicted 0.
Treat
dent of individual hardship. (Hear, hear.) ni
I hen,
again, he thought his remarks were due to te heads of
departments under the Health Committee. If they were
not present, perhaps he should speak more Strongly in
favour of them than he did now. But he must say that
the, heads of departments, beginning with Dr. Duncan,
the borough engineer, Mr. M'Gowan, and the law-clerk,
threw themselves completely into the work. Re believed
they felt as much interest in it aa any one could possibly
do where it was a milttel of pecuniary advantage. It
was his duty to snake these statements, in order to show
what the committee had done. No committee devoted
more time to the business of the Council than this com-
mittee did ; and he did not think there was ever a
period when the meetings were so well attended as they
were now, and with such very happy results. Again,
too, in justice to the ratepayers of Liverpool, who had
been heavily tave‘l for the purpose of carrying out these
improv•emont92 he thought it right that attacks like
these sha,uld be answered, The general effect upon
sanitary operations frosii reports like these would be
injurious. People would say—" Well, if Liverpool has
spent millions, and the results are these, what is the use
of putting the inhabitants to such useless expense"
124 that paint of view, the remarks he was now making
were somewhat called for. There was no doubt what.;
ever that the results of the labon.rs of the heads of de-
partments, and the labours of the committee, had beet;
successful ; that the money of the ratepayers had WO
results; and that these results were a saving of maul
thousands of lives every year. lie believed he WO
correct in stating that in 1839, at the time the health
bill came into operation, the death rate was 39; in
1857 it was 29; and he Wieved it was now 25.
Mr. Niexsox said the statements of the Registrar;
General were powered by Mr. Newlands at the Local
Congress at Bradford. It could not escape observation
that in high quarters there was a bias against Liverpa.°L,
with referee eto public health. There was an inditli
position tci apprlch44 the 494'4 anci tilt Ifigriggo W"