Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-26 00:00:00

HEALTH COMMITTEE.

The usual weekly meeting of this Committee was held
at half-past two o'clock on Tharp:lay, in the Town hail,
Mr. Anthony in the chair.
Other members present—Messrs. Barton,
Bowing. Robertson Gladstone, Beckwith, Johnson,
Hodson, Haydock, and Vernon.
Mr. Beckwith called attention to a report which was
presented to the sub committee, in reference to the non-
Interment of a poor woman who died on the 15th inst.. in
the house, 17, Jordan-place, Mill-street, Tocteth Park.
The woman died cn the 15th, and though she had no
relation able to bear the expense of her burial, Mr.
Barnett, the relieving officer, refused to have her interred.
The body was allowed to remain in the louse in a state of
decomposition, and at length, after an interval of nine days,
is was interred by the parish authorities
Mr. M•Gowan, Deputy-town-clerk, said that the facts
were much as stated by Mr Beckwith, bat that, when the
matter was commutAicated to Mr. George Hors-fall. chai-man
of the Toxteth Park Board of Guardian', he at or,ce directed
the relieving officer to have her interred.
Mr. Fresh, Inspector of Nuisances, said that they never
had any difficulty in those cases with the parish authori-
ties of Liverpool—the bodies were at once interred. In
this case the body was in an advanced state of decompo-
sition before it was buried,

The Chairman observed that he believed the Relieving
Officer would be censured at the meeting of the Board that
day.

The facts of the case will be found fully detailed in the
following:— _ _ _

"Tuesday Morning, Dec. 22, 1857

" The Inspector of Nuisauces reports that, complaints
having been made to him, on Saturday last, that the body
of Elizabeth Hughes, who died on Tuesday, the 15th of
December, instant, at No. 17 Jordan-place, Mill-street,
Tox.teth Park, had not been buried, although application to
the parochi 4l authorities had been made for that purpose,
a sAnitary officer attended at the nremiees and saw the body
in a state of decamplsition, with vermin creeping about
the ftcr, the deceased being at her death a pluvr receiving
out-door parish relief, and who had suffered much from an
ulcered leg. The officer attended Mr. Rowlands, at the
Toxteth Park parish office, on tho eu\ject, who admitted
the case was a bad one, and said, if he were the relieving
officer, be would give the requisite orders for in'crment,
bat that Mr. Barnett was the proper party to attend to the
matter. The officer saw Mr. Burnett, who objected to bury
the &ad body, insiazing thet the occap'er 44f the house
ought to do ir, and also areging that there were pl -nty of
goods belonging to deceased to pay expensas. A broker
was subsecrien.ly called in, who valued the gods at 15s,
but refused to take them at that price. Mr. Barnett was
apprised of this, but he still declined to inter the body.
"On Monday morning the officer twain attended at the
premises, and found the body still lying in the room, but
more decomposed and offensive.

" The facts were reported to Mr. M'Gowan, who, at
noon on Monday, tent to Mr. Cleaver the following letter :
" Public Offilev 2, Cornwallis-street,
21st Dtc, 1857.

" Sir,—l at informed thati woman died last Tuesday,
at 17, Jerdan-place, Mill-stre4t, Tcoxteth.park, in desti-
tute ci camstances, h tying for some time previously. been
receiving out-door relief from the guardians of the poor
of the district. It appears that she ie not yet. buried, and
one of the sanitary officers who has seen the bidy states
that decomp isition is proceeding rapidly. On grounds of
public health and dececcy, the body ought to be buried
at once, otherwise serieus consquences might arise.
" 'I am told she had no frieeds able to bury her; that
she was lodging in a stranger's leousea person almost as
poor as herself and to whom she owed four weeks' rent at
her death. There are no effects sufficient to pay the
expenses of the funeral.
" It seems that one of your officers raises some diffi-
calty about burying her ; but I am sure it will be suffi-
cient to call the above facts to your attention to emu, e
what is necessary being immediately don-, and thus sp,re
the health committee the pain of taking penceedings in
the matter.—l remain, s'r, your obedient servant,
"' William Cleaver, Esq. "W. T. M`Go WAN."
"On attending again at the premises this morning
(Tuesday), the body was s'ill.unattended to.
" Mr. INl‘Gewan and your inspector then attended at a.lr.
Ceaver's office to urge that the burial should take place
without delay. It was there learned that Mr. Cleaver had
yesterday forwarded a copy of the above letter to Mr.
Barnett, and had stated that although he (Mr. Clover) had
no authority to order the burial, he had no doubt the
guardians would sanction the expense.
" Up to this moment matters remain in the same posi-
tion. It is most desirable that the burial should take place
promptly. Great dissatisfaction is expressed by people in
the neighbourhood, as well es those living in the house, as
to the delay which has taken place.
"Tree above facts were reported to the cu.') committee of
the Health Committee, which met on Tuesday last, and
who directed that they should be sent to the Toxteth Board
of Guardians, thr'ough Mr. Cleaver, their clerk, and also to
George Henry Hersfall, Esq., the chairman of the Board,
and to which was also appended a copy of the following
letter

" Public Offices. Cornwallis-street, Medical Officer
of Health's Department, Dec. 22, 1867.
" Dear Sir,—With reference to the complaint made of
nuisance from an unburied body, at 17, Jordan-place, M 11-
street, I have this nwning visited the house, and find that
the body (that of an old woman, who died oa the 16,h
inst.,) is In 5u.311 a state as t 3 render immediate interment
desirdble.—Yours, truly,. " W. H. DUNCAN.
" To T. M. M.G3wa-,, Eeq."
In less than an hour after the papers left the Health
offices, Mr. George Henry Harsfall called there, and wrote
the following note to Mr. Barnett (he relieving officer,
throagh whose objections the body was left unburied), and
which was delivered the same evening, by a sanitary kflicer,
to hire :

liv.rpool, 22nd December, 1857, 5 30, p.m.
"' Sir,—lf the body of El z ihsth Hughes, recently
deceased, at No. 17, Jordan-place, is not already interred,
you will hare the body bur ed immediately, and cousider
this your authority for so doing.

(Signed) GHORGE H. HORSIPALL.
Chairman ut the Board of Guardians of Tosteth Park.

" Mr.. Barnett, relieving offi.:er.'"
On inquiry, on the following morning, it was found
that no steps bad been taken by Mr. Barnett, either to
provide a eetfin or to inter the corpse. In the coarse of
t' ,e forenoon, however, Mr. Barnett called at the Public-
of'fieel, Cornwallis-street ant had a long conversation
with Mr. M.G.)wan, Dr. Dancau, and the inspector of
nuisances, and he still contended that he was right in
refusing to bury the corpse ; but at length, upon the urgent
remoastraners of Mr. M‘Gowan and Dr. Duncan, he
agreed to it tcr it, and finally it was buried on the afternoon
of Wednesday, the 23rd of December, being the 9.6 day
after death.
"Mr. Barrett s'a•ee tts his nasoa for refusing to inter
the deceased, that Mr. It!es, the auditor, would not allow
in his audit any costs he might incur under suck
eiruttnstances; bat however tins nr,a,„, it is a grave
question to consider whether the public health should in
future be endangered by any such vexatious proceedings,
and if so, upon whom the responsibili y should rightly
rest.. " G. Inept-A:tor of Nuisances."

IIEaLTII OF TIIE TOWN.

The Medical Officer of Health reported that in the week
ending on Saturday last 268 deaths were registered in the
borough, being about the average of the same week of the
preceding ten years, corrected for increase of population
The deaths in the parish were 180, and is the out-town-
ships 88. The mortality from diseases of the lungs showed
a decrease, the deaths. being 97-17 less than in the
previous week, and fewer than in any of the preceding six
weeks. Diseases of the zymotic class, on the other hand,
caused a mortality somewhat higher than usual, the
diseases chiefly prevalent being scarlatina, typhus, and
small-pox. Of 91 deaths from diseases of this
class, 34 were from scarlatina. 16 from typhus, 12
from small-pox—a number which has been only
once exceeded since the Sanitary Act came into operation.
In one case only of the twelve, vaccination is recorded to
have taken place. Twelve children died from hooping-
cough, four horn measles, three from croup, and one
infant from syphilis. Delirium trenzcns was fatal to two
males, egad twenty-five and twenty-seven, one of them a
licensed victualler. ' The temperature was four and a-half
degrees above the average.
A memorial was reed from certain parties in Waterloo-
real, protesting against the erection of a slaughter.house
in that locality.
Mr. Hodsoli expressed considerable surprise at the
memorial, for when the slaughter-house was about to be
erected he and Mr. Stitt called upon the parties by whom
the memorial W 33 signed. and they, so far from opposing
the project, we:e in vour of it.
•
No resolution was moved on the subject.
This concluded the business.

The Albsons, with the 94th regiment, arrived at
Malta, from Plymouth, on the 20, and left for Alexandria
on the same day.
TROOPSHIPS FOR INDIA.—The steamer Queen of the
South, at the Cape of Good Hope on 21st October, and left
in eight days for India. Also steamer Scotia, on the 26th
October. The Imperatrix (s a.), arrived at Hong Kong on
the Ist November, with 539 troops. The Viscotnt Can-
ning, at Ascension, and the Indomitable, at St.. Vincente,
on the sth December.