The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-09 00:00:00

HEALTH COMMITTEE.=-YESTERDAY.

The usual weekly meeting of this committee was held
yesterday, Mr. LANGSDALE in the chair. The other mem-
bers present were Messrs. Beckwith, Moss, Godfrey,
Halhead, Robertson Gladstone, Hodson, M'Nicoll, John-
son, Nicholson, and Fleming.
pi Ar• WtieT• I hiartATlL itBfl taktriVeTsTiVe fslictuEs
4.11
had been summoned by Feeney, one of the officers for
inspecting nuisances, for a nuisance on some land between
Great Homer-street and Scotland-road, and though it was
quite plain to any one who would take the trouble to inspect
the place, the officer swore in open court that the nuisance
arose not from the discharge from the neighbouring houses,
but from the surface water. Now the fact was, that the
nuisance solely arose from the discharge from those houses,
and the officer, if he had inspected the place, must have
seen it.

Mr. BECKWITH : Do you think that he was conscious
he was swearing to what was untrue, or that he erred
in judgment ?
Mr. HORSFALL : I can only believe one of two things—
either, that the man presumed to go into court and
swear to a statement merely upon hearsay, or else that
he swore to what he absolutely knew to be untrue. No
man in his senses could, on seeing the place, have sworn to
such a statement.
The CHAIRMAN : Has the case been settled befor. the
magistrates ?
Mr. HonsFALL No ; in consequence of the conflicting
evidence in the case it was referred to the borough engineer
to report on': But whatever the decision of the magis-
trates may be, it cannot justify the conduct of the officer.
My complaint is, that he stated in court either what he did
not take the trouble to investigate, or what he knew to be
untrue.

Mr. 11{'GowAx observed, that as the matter was still
under adjudication, it would be dangerous to express an
opinion which might effect the credibility of any of the wit-
nesses.

Mr. HORSFALL : All I can say is, that it is no matter of
opinion--it is a matter of fact.
Mr. M' GOWAN : The officer, probably, spoke according
to his judgment, and he may be able to explain his
conduct.

Mr. HoitsrALL : It comes to this, that if it had been a
poor man who was summoned, the officer's word 'would have
been at once taken, the man would have been bullied into
payment, and saddled with the extiense of draining the pro-
property. That is the consideration which induced me to
come here.

As the case is still before the magistrates, the committee
abstained from investigating the complaint until next
Thursday.

Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE stated that a gentleman from
Boston, Dr. J. Curtis, was in attendance, as he came to this
country to glean every information with reference to sani-
Dr. CURTIS was then introaucea, Auld L.-ring gt.‘f.,l that
his mission was more of a personal than public character, the
chairman informed him that the officers of the committee
would afford him every facility in obtaining the information
which he required.
The MEnicAL OFFICER reported that from the week end-
ing Saturday last, the mortality was greater than in any
week in the preceding eight months. The registered deaths
were 247, 41 more than in the week previous, and 26 more
than the average of the corresponding weeks of the six pre-
ceding years. This high mortality, however, was not owing
to the unusual prevalence of any epidemic disease, but to the
decreasing temperature of the season, which caused a larger
mortality from inflammatory and other affections of the lungs,
than has been recorded in any previous week since the month
of March, while the weekly mean temperature had fallen
since the end of October from 55.7 to 41.8. The deaths
from diseases of the lungs had gradually increased in each
week of the same period, as follows 34, 47, 55, 64,
73, and last week, 99. From zymotic diseases, the deaths
were 59 ? of these 18 were from cholera, 11 from hooping-
cough, 8 from typhus, 4 from scarlatina, 3 from measles, 2
from small-pox, and 1 from syphilis. The whole of the
deaths from cholera, with one exception, occurred in the
nighbourhood of Scotland-road and Vauxhall-road. The
medical officer had received a letter from the general board
of health, requesting information as to the steps which had
been taken for removing cess-pools in courts and alleys.
In answer to Mr. M'NicoLL,
The MEDICAL OFFICER stated that the cholera, from which
the above deaths resulted, was of that nature which proved
fatal in from 12 to 30 hours.

Mr. HousoN observed that, looking at the districts in
which the deaths occurred, the disease must have been more
the result of dirt and poverty than anything else.
Mr. ROBERTSON GLADSTONE said, that heretofore the
cholera cases were confined almost entirely to German emi-
grants calling at this port, but now the cases occurred
amongst their own population. That was the distinction.
The MEDICAL OFFICER stated that he got daily returns of
all such cases. and that in those returns he was also informed
whether there was anything about the house which required
improvement.
Mr. IlararEAD complained of the dirty state of the foot-
paths from Wapping-street to Brunswick dock.
The BOROUGH ENGINEER replied that it was impossible,
under present circumstances, to keep the streets in a better
condition, unless a man were employed on every foot-path.
It was a question of expense ; but so long as they had frost,
followed by a sudden thaw, the streets would continue
muddy.
Mr. Moss said that he and Mr. Fleming had visited every
house in Gibson-street and Tarleton-street, • and that they
had not found them in the condition described by Mr. Toul-
min. Many other parts of Toxthth-park were much worse.;
The Boitovon ENGINEER said that many of the eiiti now