The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-24 00:00:00

THE STINt LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 24 1855.

occupied would make up his mind —not to put forward
fanciful theories—not to determine that there shall be one
rule for all parts of the country, but to frame an act that
was applicable to the peculiar circumstances of each local-
ity—he believed that the office would be respected rather
than shunned ; and though the department was not one of
the highest in the State, it certainly might be made one of
the most useful. The right hon. baronet concluded by
moving for leave to introduce his bill.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS was glad to find that the right
hon. baronet had taken up this question, which was one of
the greatest importance. He also approved of the inten-
tion of the right hon. gentleman to refer his bills to a
select committee. As he understood it was not the inten-
tion of the right hon. gentleman to make his first bill ap-
plicable to the metropolis, but his second bill, the Nuisances
Removal Bill, was to apply to the metropolis as well as
every other part of the country. He trusted that the
right hon. baronet would allow evidence to be taken by the
select committee ; for thero were many trades of great
importance which would, no doubt, be affected by the pro-
visions of the second bill. _ ...

Leave was then given to introduce the first bill.
Sir B. HALL, on rising to move for leave to introduce
t
his second bill, said that it was a measure that would affect
the metropolis most materially, and be knew of no measure
that was more wanted during the visitation of the late epi-
demic. At the time the metropolis was suffering from
cholera the act in existence upon the subject was found
c
by it.t were
Some par-
tieswholly inoperative. Innumerable complaints had
not
dbteen
made to him that the provisions of thatat
all adequate to the purposes intendedm
others comp
ion And almost all
parties seemed disp
were desliraoinuesdoof
fevtandeinefirnthberofuusl
pmroecneetdoifngths onierc de
sulyr y
in order to put the act into rat;
opkee
all sorts' of excuses for
ancte.enTnehiel lnorcaelnhieoiaerdesf
oint those officers who
aha noted comp
orl Nyav eurßg,
newexri with
eh poestf theeHd underetateolrHealth,
om: r
toadefe rte shp epi
ought to exist in every locality, whose duty would be to
suppress nuisances and to keep the country free from every-
thing that was calculated to engender sickness or disease.
On the 12th of August, when he went to the office of the
Board of Health, there was hardly one inspector in exist-
ence in the whole of the metropolis, and he had great diffi-
culty in getting boards of guardians to appoint inspectors,
and to make some of them do their duty. In one place,
Clerkenwell, he was obliged to threaten the holding
of an inquest in case of any more persons dying in the
district, unless it was properly visited by the board of
guardians. He did have an inquest upon one occasion.
The coroner sat, and everything connected with the case
was fully brought before the jury. A most excellent effect
was produced—the local body having been madeto do their
duty. Now, as to the expense attending upon the neces-
sary medical aid. In this parish, comprising a population
of 139,003, in which the rateable value was 500,0001., u
penny rate produced 2,0831., being a sum deemed sufficient
for the purpose. But in order to show the way in which
the health of the people was cared for in this metropolis,
he would read a copy of the directions sent from the Lain-
both Workhouse on the 12th of August, 1854. The docu-
ment stated that the authorities at the workhouse were
ofy qtnhael epidemicqualified
medical
men,
ipnrteop prepared de
ndsuargieni
ag e
nt ewpi
by which they would be paid ls. 6d. for the treatment of
rethvpalreon properly rl
each person suffering from diarrhoea, and 2s. 6d. for each
person suffering cholera. (Laughter.) That any such
medical gentlemen as were willing to agree to those terms
should sign the accompanying form, and enclose it back to
"W. T. Logan, clerk." Now, in alluding to particular
districts in the metropolis, he must say, that the parishes
of St. George, Paddington, Islington, and St. Pancras,had
lafforded him the greatest assistance he could desire, and
showed an example to other local boards in the metro-
polis which it would be well if they followed. There was
one remarkable feature exhibited in reference to what
might be effected by a system of constant sanitary supervi-
sion. He would take the case of the model-lodging-houses
in the metropolis. The report in respect to them showed
that where the commonest ears for the health of the inha-
bitants was taken the proportion of deaths was extremely
small indeed. He wished to draw the particular attention
of the house to the circumstances under which London it-
self was, comparatively speaking, spared during the late
awful visitation. Mr. Simon, who was appointed the medi-
cal officer of the City of London, whom he (Sir B. Hall)
had consulted in the framing of those bills, and to whom
his thanks were due for the great assistance he had ren-
dered him throughout, had sent in a report to the commis-
sioners of sewers, in which he stated that during a period
of two months, when the cholera was raging in the metro-
polis, the mortality within the city itself was only 16 to
10,000 persons, whereas, even in the neighbourhood of
Hampstead, and other elevated parts of the metropolis,
the mortality was nearly three times as great. Mr. Simon
attributes this difference to the precautionary measures
that had been taken to abolish nuisances, and to get
an improved supply of water within the City of Lon-
don. He was now going to ask the house to give the
same powers to other parts of the country as wet e
already given to the City ; and he thought if they did so
they would save a great deal of misery and human suffer-
ing which otherwise would ensue. Ho proposed to place
every district in England under the constant sani-
tary inspection of local boards, which would have the
power of removing nuisances, and of preventing the occur-
rence of fresh nuisances, and to deal with such houses as
were manifestly unfit for human habitations. They would
also have the power of removing or abolishing offensive
trades. The measure also proposed to compel the local au-
thorities to make reports of the proceedings under this bill
annually, and to furnish a copy of the same to each rate-
payer. In the event of inaction and carelessness in the
discharge of their duties by those local boards, they would
be compelled by the bill to perform their duties, and the
measure would inflict penalties upon them for a wilful ne-
glect of such duties. He now wished to call the attention
of the house to one of the most valuable reports ever pre-
sented to Parliament. It would be recollected that the
noble lord the Secretary of State for the Home Depart-
ment sent a commission to Newcastle last year to inquire
into the circumstances connected with the outbreak of
cholera in that, town. The report made by that commis-
sion was drawn up by Mr. Simon, Mr. Hume, and others,
and was as follows :
" The corporation of Newcastle is described as not only
being ancient, wealthy, and influential, but as having for
at least seven years possessed under its own local acts, he
1537, 1846, and 1853, unusually extensive sanitary powers.'
" The town is said to afford remarkable facilities for
draining.
" llnuor those of 1837 and 1846, they 'obtained complete
powers of supervision and extensive powers of control
over the formation of new streets and the erection a
houses, including the provision of proper domestic conve-
niences, and other important points.'
" Under the local act of 1846 they obtained power to lay
down rules for cleaning and whitewashing filthy and un-
wholesome dwellings, and to make regulations for tho re-
gistering of lodging-houses and the maintenance of cleanli-
ness therein.
"It is also enacted that the owner lof every house un-
provided with necessary outbuildings should provide them,
and that no house should be erected without them.
" It gave powers for the cleansing of all necessaries, ash-
pits, &c., and for the management of public necessaries ;
for compelling owners of houses te pave the streets on
which the houses abutted; for regulating the keeping of
swine, and for compelling manufacturers to consume their
smoke.
" By the act of 1853 the town council were empowered
to cause streets to be sewered, drained, &o.
" To make regulations as to the levels of houses, streets,
drains, &c.
"To order the closing of dwelling-houses unfit for hu-
man habitation.
"To order the erection of necessary out-buildings to
hotels and public-houses.
" To carry private drains into the common sewer at the
expense of the owner.
" To cause the owner if ahouse to repair and cleanse the
private drains.
" It was also enacted that no house should be erected or
rebuilt until the drains were made; and that all manu-
factories, fire-places, and furnaces, should be constructed
so as to consume their own smoke.
"These acts were obtained at great cost.
" In January, 1854, a commission was sent to Newcastle
to inquire into the cause of the late outbreak of cholera.
" They state that the average of deaths for 15 years was
28.6 in every 1,000.
"They ascribe the virulence of the outbreak of cholera
to the neglect of proper sanitary measures by the town
council.
" In the words of the town surveyor, the local acts 'have
been a dead letter altogether.'
" The powers conferred on the town council by these
acts are also said to have been allowed to remain wholly
inoperative,' no exercise or enforcement of them appears
te have taken place ;' and again the commissioners speak
of the entire neglect of the town council of their appa-
rently unlimited power as to cleansing filthy and unwhole-
some dwellings.'
" ' There are districts in Newcastle which were more
misconditioned probably than any other district of anything
like the same area in Great Britain.' •
" Many of the necessaries and ashpits are so built that
the liquid filth oozes through the walls' of the houses.
"New houses present the same evils as old ones, and
many of them are utterly unsewered and undrained.'
"The corporation property is, if possible, in a worse con-
dition than any other. A great part of their tenanted
property was really unfit for human habitation, and should
be condemned as such.'
"It was suggested to the commissioners that the act
was not enforced because the town council own house
property.
Inspectors have found in one room from 9 to 15, 16,
17, and 19 persons.
"Cholera broke out in rooms in which as many as 20
or 25 occupiers were congregated,' whichgave but 50 cubic
feet of air for each person.
"The stench in the rooms is described as overpowering
" No advantage has been taken of the Labouring Classes.
Lodging-houses Act (1851).
" There is no map of the drainage. Onlfil42l houses
have water-closets, or any drainage. The remaining 8032
are entirely unprovided.'
" In Sandgate, out of LI population of 4600, perhaps not
100 had right of access to any private necessary ; and at
the very lowest computation, more than nine-tenths of
that resident population, besides the casual population of
the shipping
public necessary.'
alongside, were wholly dependent on a single
•" In another district, containing 3000 inhabitants,
there were but one public and one or two private neces-
saries,' 15,000 families would have no right of access to any
private necessary.
" From the want of necessaries utensils called 'kits' are
used. These are kept in the house until the scavenger's cart
drives round, or else emptied out of the windows ; and In
some eases the roads aid footways have thus been raised
from 10 to 20 inches. The necessaries provided by the cor-
poration are of the rudest and least decent construction.
" Tho streets and roads are ill-paved ; and in a report
made in 1849 it is stated that not a single street had been
paved under the provisions of the act of 1846.'
" And the accumulations of filth in different parts of the
twow.tat the outbreak of the cholera, were so great, that it
deemed advisable not to remove them, but to cover
them with earth.
"The attention
beeno wholly by of
rt.hiet
icorporationnnsreport,
bays twohbeet repeatedly
called to all these L •
awl
33(A:111011S, and Arancee, especially
e ihOel s
bheaavred
guardianso yak disregarded.fr e,lu frequently s aptuhrioetcarereeyPd raeesd:
ag,a,iin,shtetphoewceorrpoofratiou enforcing
e
the consumption of smoke has
mil-
sauces of its own creation, it abate Cr remove
been ' left entirely in abeyance.'
" The expense occasioned by the outbreak 3 opal
which might have been avoided by timely prewcaausti!is—.
Now the bill proposed to establish a local authority in
every district of the country. The town council, where
such a body existed, would be that legal authority. And
in towns where there was no such body, the board of health,
or the trustees or commissioners appointed for the general
purposes of the district, would then be authorised to act.
The local authorities would be compelled to appoint a
duty it would be' to initiate pro-
sanitary inspector, whose
posed that the local authorities should. have powg; to ask
ceedings for the removal of all nuisances. He further pro.