Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-07-15 00:00:00

HEALTH CONMITTEE.

The usual weekly meeting of this Committe,e was held,
yesterday, in the Town Hall, Mr. Robertson G'iadstone pre-
siding ; and there were also present Mess ts. Beckwith,
Avison, Heydock, Stitt, and Crellin.

The borough engineer, building surveyor., and inspector
of nuisances, reported various particulars of the operations
in their several departments during the week, from which
it appeared that 52 nuisances had been. inspected, and

means taken to remedy them ; 947 houses, in 'the un-
heahhiest districts, containing. 3,005 apartments, and 547
cenars, had been put under examination, with the view of
improving their sanitary condition, and 112 /edging-houses
qiad also been examined and reported upon-.
The Chairman said, complaints bad been made in refer-
ence to 'the state of the pavement in the 'neighbourhood (Jf
the docks. A complaint was made 'by Mr. James Strong-
fellow, d Chatham-street, in -reference to a nuisance ecist-
ing on-a piece of land adjoining that street. Three holes
had been found there, in which was etenoiited about a cart-
load Of stable mannre. Children also assembled there to
play, -and created a great 'noise, solnuch sons to annoy the
neighbourhood. Carts 'were alsa put upen the land Itt
&c. The land was the property of Mr. Riding.
aria the complainant had applied to him, 'brut without effect.
The committee had ne 'power to put 'up .a fence, but valid
deal with a nuisance if founil'on the ground. The portion
laving reference to 'tie children was -reerred to the watch
rcommittee.

A letter was read from Mr.,Tames'llebbs, Old "Haymarket,
complaining of a imisance wising from a suffocating vapour
from the foundry- TV Messrs,. Bankine. It was rtfarred to

Dr. Duncan

The medical ,dlScer 'health 'reported that, in .the first
'week of Tray, the deathslregisteredin Liverpool were 191;
of which 126 were in the parish and 63 in the out town-
ships, showing a decrease of 28 'us compared with the cor-
rected average .ef the same week Of the preceding nine years.
In this calc.tilstion rthe mortality of St. George's district
(comprising iCastle-street andl3t..Petees Ward) has been
assumed to be the same as in• the previous week, no return
having been weceivedironitthis,'district, in consequence of a
vacemcy inthe office of Itegistrar. The deaths from diseases
of the lungs end those' fronyzymotic diseases were the same
member, triz. 46. )f the letter, 16 were From diarrhoea
(14 being infants), 'beiides one from dysentery and one from
elwolera. Hoopinr, cough -caused 8 deaths, fever 7, scarletina
4, measles '3, -small-nox (unvaccinated) 1, diphtheria 1,
syphilis 1, purpuria 1. A-sailor, aged 55, died from exces-
sive drinking. The :mean tersperature was '65 1-5 degrees,
nearly four degrees above the average. The rainfall was

' about one-fourth ,of an inch.
During the ,qnarter •ending the 2ntl -July, 2,802 deaths
were registered in Liverpool, incltiding 191 sudden and
violent deaths, and deaths-in hospitals not comprised in the
weekly returns. The mortality of. the quarter was 430
below the corrected average of the „corresponding period of
the eleven years preceding. The deaths from Zymotic
diseases were 555, being JBO less than the average of the
same quarter of previous years, and .265 less than in the
quarter immediately preceding. Prom typhns, &c., the
deaths were 149, against 1.46 in the previous quarter;
diarrhoea 63, against 48. The other principal diseases of
this class show a decrease. The mortality from hooping-
cough was 128 in the last, and 190 in the previous quarter ;
scarlatina 63, and 187 ; measles /6, and 83 ; troop 24,
and 44 ; diphtheria 19, and 20 ; small-pox 11, and 39 ;
syphilis was fatal in 13 eases.; purpuria-3,; carbuncle 2 ;
scurvey 1; chicken-pox 1; mumps 1.; diseases of the lungs
caused 841 deaths, about 50 less than the corrected average.
More than one-half the number were from consumption.
The fatal case of small-pox last week was that of a child
who died on the 6th inst, at 6 court, Hughes-street, Toxteth-
park, and with regard to this case the medical attendant
certifies as follows. If Bernard Curver had been properly
attended to in time, he would have ,recovered. It. would
appear under the present arrangements in Toxteth Park it
was out of the power of the parents to procure the necessary
attention ; consequently the child's life was sacrificed to the
new economical mode of relief.
It was resolved that a copy of this report be furnished to
the guardians of the district, and also .to the coroner.
Mr. Stitt said, he was sorry that the borough engineer
was not present, as he intended to ask a question as to the
result of the communications with the Mersey board, in re-
ference to the outlet sewers. He had spoken to a very
influential member of the board en the subject, and was told
the board had asked the advice of their legal advisers on
the subject, and they were informed that they were not
The board, therefore, refused to ‘do anything, in
consequence of, their non-liability. He had earefully read
over the sanitary act of 1847. In the .71st clause of that act
the board were bound to make sufficient outlet sewers through
their own property for the wants of the corporation, and the
corporation had the power of carrying their drains into those
of the board though they could not interfere as to how they
were to be made, as was stated in clause 62 B, which said they
were to make the drains as they thought .fit. He said, these
drains, however, were to be effectual. They were to con-
struct their own drains, but they were to be effectual. But
the board thought they were not liable, and that was the
reason why the present intolerable nuisance existed at St.
George's and Prince's docks. It seemed to him, .if the
Mersey; Dock Board disputed their liability, the best course
would -be to submit the act to council and see what was the
real meaning of the act. Clause 72 provided that, if a
questioaas to capacity or sufficiency should arise as to those
drains, it should be referred to arbitrators. But they could
not could mot call in arbitrators so long -as the board said
they were 'not liable

This matter had been under con-
sideration -ever since he had been a member of that com-
mittee ; and the population on the other side of the water
were increasing so fast, and on their coming over here, were
exposed to this ,nuisance, that he thought it would be
well if the matter could be settled at once, or as soon as
possible.

Mr. M‘Gowan said, Mr. Stitt had explained the meaning
of the act, exaetly as he took it to be. He understood from
a statement made by Mr. Newlands some time ago, that he
and Mr. Hartley had almost come to a conclusion on the
matter.

As Mr. Avison 'was a member of the paa•liamentary
committee, the matter was left in his hands. He -said he
would call on the ,deputation to ask them to report on the
subject.

The Chairman said ,he wished to mention, as a thing for
future consideration, in reference to the act for dealing with
prenCses built in an insufficient manner. He wished it to
be considered, as to whether in case of their having build'
ings in existence that were dangerous—which they had--
whether they could Rot apply to 'the government to give
them powers retrospective, as well as -prospective.
Mr. M'Gowan said, he thought that rawer could not be
granted, ant if it were, he thought, in case of litigation,
ttlere mightrbe difficulty.
This was ail the business.

JOCRNALISTIC MATTERS.—The past week Us been
marked by the sale of two well-known periodicals. The
London Journal, Which by no means continued its previous
course of prosperity In the hands of its late proprietary, has
gone back to its old owner, Mr. Stiffe, as has indeed been
already publicly announced, on terms which, it is rumoured,
contrast somewhat with those on which the last sale wan
made. This would of course dissolve the injunction against
the appearance of the Londosi .Daily Journal, but I believe
that there is no present intention to resuscitate the interest-
mg patient, which expired so suddenly after a three days'
life: It did not tha, The other is the Welcome Guest,
,
which has, we hear, passed from Irr. Vizetelly to Mr.
Maxwell, who is, I believe an advertising agent, and was
for a short tine oils of the proprietors of the Morning
Herald, after its sale under the bankruptcy of )f r, Baldwin.