Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-29 00:00:00

• HEALTH COMMITTEE.
. .
At the weekly meeting of this committee, yesterday, Mr.
Alderman Dover presided ; and the other members present
were—Messrs. Beckwith, Vernon, Barton, Avison, Haydock,
Anthony, Sheil, Bowring, Holden, Robertson, and Gladstone.
. The borough engineer, building surveyor, and inspector
.of nuisances reported various particulars of the operations in
their several departnrents during the week, from which it
appeared that 89 nuisances complained of by inhabitants
had been inspected, and means taken to remedy them ; 904
houses in the unhealthiest districts, containing 3,030 apart-
ments, and 584 cellars, had been put under examination,with
tho view of bettering their sanitary condition ; and 138 lod-
ging houses had also been examined and reported upon.
Mr. M`Gowen, the law-clerk, read the following report of
the sub-committee appointed to inquireinto and report upon
the sanitary rates laid for last. year, the state of the collec-
tion thereof, the expenditure in each township, and as to
rates required for the ensuing year :

The rates which wero laid by the Council in May, 1803, have
. proved sufficient for the works then proposed to be execthed ; but
during the past year, at the solicitation of the ratepayers in some
of the districts, additional works have been undertaken, the cost
of which will have to be provided for in the rates to be submitted
foe 1859-60.

The treasurer has prepared an abstract of all the receipts and pay-
ments, which is submitted herewith, showing the particulars of the
'whole transactions of the year ending the 31st of March last.

AS TO. THE COt LECTION.
The per centage of rates collected is £79 19s 9d, exclusive of the
'composition abatement of 50 per cent. in respect‘of small property;
but taking the net sum payable by cottage owners as the amountlo
be collected, then the collection crxeceds 92 per ,cent., a proportion
which has only once been exceeded since the Sanitary Act Came
into operation

E4rII4A.TF,S Von TIM TEAR
Your committee have applied the sum of £5,000, paid out df the
borough fund, towards the sewer and paving rates for Liverpool,
as follows :--L4,900 in -aid of the paving rate, and £lOO in aid-of the
sewer rate, to -which last mentioned rate they have also appned the
sum of £575, paid by the Council under /the Sanitary Amendment
.Act of 1854.
The portion of the general expenses of the public offices, and of
the salaries of the treasurer, his clerks, and the collectors, payable
by the health committee, together with the salaries of the borough
engineer, medical officer of health, and inspector of nuisances, and
their respedtive Staffs, have been distributed among the five dis-
tricts forming the borough. The cost of removing refuse, and
similar charges, have also been similarly dealt with.
Your committee have carefully considered the estimates for the
ensiling year. Some of the payments for which provision has to be
-mule, are obligatory ; such as interest on loans, contribution to
sinking fund, and the like. With regard to new works and other
matters of discretionary character, your committee have only
attended to the most urgent wants of the public, and have post-
poned everything which is not immediately required.
Your committee propose to execute all permanent works with
borrowed capital, but the increasing charges in respect of loans
farm aheavy item of annual expenditure, and will continue to do so
until the accumulated sinking fund is sufficient to discharge the
liability. The following statement shows the sums proposed to be
thus expended for paving and sewers.

PAVING.
Works•intended to be executed with borrowed capital :—Liver-
pool, £20,000 ; Kirkdale, £4,700 ; Evertou, £5,600 ; West Derby,
£800; Toxteth Park, 3,000.
Balance unexpended of loans already sanctioned by the Council :
Liverpool, £15,000; Kirkdale, £2,600 ; Everton. £4,300; West
Derby, £1,900 ; Toxteth Park, £9OO.
Amount required to be borrowed :—Liverpool, £5,000 ; Kirkdale,
£2,100; Everton, £1,300; Toxteth Park, £2,100.
SEWERS.
Works intended to be executed with 'borrowed capital :—Liver-
pool, £19,000 ; Kirkdale, £5,200; Everton, £B,OOO ; West Derby,
£2,200; Toxteth Park, £5,000.
Balance unexpended of loans already sanctioned by the Council :
Liverpool, £7,400.; Kirkdale, £'2,600; Everton, £2,300; Toxteth
Park, £4,700.
4 Amount required to be borrowed :—Liverpool, £11,600; Kirkdale,
£2,600 ; Everton, £5,700; West Derby, £2,200; Toxteth Park,
£3OO.

In reference to the rate for water for public purposes, the water
oommittee*have forwarded a resolution stating that they require
the sum of 2d in the pound, whichis an advance of id in the pound
beyond the rate for last year.
The Liverpool Improvement Act of ISM having now come into
operation, your committee are progressing with the necessary pur-
chases of property. To meet this branch of outlay the Council are
empowered to levy a rate of 2icl in the pound; but your committee
find that there is no occasion at present to raise this sum, but only
the amount hereafter mentioned.

RATES TO BE LAID.
Your committee, having most carefully considered the rates for
the year 1359-60, arc of opinion that the works entrusted to their
charge cannot be kept in a proper state of efficiency for less than
the undermentioned stuns, which they accordingly recommend to
be raised by rates as follows:

Descrip-
tion of
Work.

Rates to be Rates
laid for laid
1859-60. 1658-9

Descrip- Rates to be Rates
tion of laid for laid
Work. 1859-60. 1858-9.

LIVERPOOL.

WEST DER.BY.

Paving 0 8
Sewer 0 3
Water 0 2

Paving 1 1
Sewer 0 10
Water 0 2
General 0 6
Improvement-0 li 0 0

General • 0 3 ,
Improvement..o

1 512-
liIRKDAIE

Paving 1 3 ,
Sewer 0 7 .
Water 0 2 ,
General 0 3 .
Impronement 0

2 41
EVERTOIi,

Paving..
Sewer ..
Water ..

.0 11
0 7
.0 2

General 0 4
Improvement-0 1

The practice of allowing parties to appeal to the members of
Council, sitting as Commissioners, has this year been discontinued.
The precise result of the change cannot yet be ascertained ; but the
time of the Commissioners and the Magistrates has been saved,
together with the expense incident to the appeal sittings, and your
committee are not aware that any dissatisfaction has been expressed
by the ratepayers.

The medical officer of health reported that in the week
ending on last Saturday, the deaths in the borough were
204, being 30 less than in the corrected average of the same
week of the preceding ten years. In the parish the deaths
were 128, and in. the out-townships 76. The mortality
from diseases of the zymotic class was lower than in any
week of the preceding two years, the deaths being 37.
Nearly every disease of this class shows a low mortality.
Typhus has been only once lower in the last four months.
Scarlatina has been less fatal than it has been
for nearly two years No death was registered from
bowel complaint • a very unusual occurrence; and no fatal
case of small-pox has been recorded for the last fortnight—.
a longer interval than has been observed for the last three
years and a half. Diseases of the lungs, in consequence of
the inclemency of the weather, have caused a larger propor-
tion of the general mortality than in any week during the
winter. The deaths were 85, including 44 from consump-
tion, forming nearly 42 per cent. of the entire deaths.
The report was adopted.
Mr. Gladstone said he wished to call attention to a
matter which he thought was of very great importance
in itself, whilst, at the same time, he was sorry to observe
that he had every reason to believe they possessed no
legal power whatever to deal with it ; but it was to draw
the attention of the committee to the fact, that various
buildings had been constructed in late years, if -there
were not some now in process of construction, which
were erected in such a manner as by possibility might
become extremely dangerous to human life. Tie alluded
to those instances where a very large structure rested
upon iron pillars, without any solid foundation of brick-
work whatever (hear) ; so that in the event of any flaw in
the testing of those iron pillars, no one could tell what the
sacrifice of human life might be. The premises so erected
in past times, and -he believed at the present moment,
amounted in one or more instances to two, three, or four
storeys ; and he presumed the most accurate calculation
that could be made was, that in sonic ingenues a pressure of
something like 200 to 300 tons was dependent upon this sup-
port below. Now, rememberine• how many lives that might be
called upon to
pay the price of this course of procedure, it did
seem to him, whether they had the power or not, that it
was their duty to direct the attention of the Town Council
to the circumstance. He believed their officers had no
right whatever to say one word of what was going forward;
but that did not exonerate the committee from.the responsi-
bility which attached to their respective positions ; and it
seemed to him that something should be done, because if these
buildings were to give way, not alone would the people in
'them be made to pay the price of their lives, bat those
located on the opposite side of the street must be called
upon for a similar penalty. And, under these circumstances,
he wished to take the sense of the committee, to know
what sort of ropresentation it was their duty to make to the
Town Council. The borough engineer, and Mr. Rishton,
and, for aught he knew, the town-clerk also, were aware of
what be was stating ; but the thing was so serious that he
felt he should not be doing his duty if he did not clear his
conscience, because lie felt that some day or other 50 or 100
lives might be the price of that madness over which, it
seemed, they had no control legally.
Mr. Vernon said if his opinion would go to strengthen
the 'remarks which Mr. Gladstone had so well made, he
should be happy to give his opinion for that purpose. He
declared that when he had seen the buildings in course of
erection on such slender pillars without examining the
-foundation at sll, that he had actually trembled. He