The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-15 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The more we hear of the Russian epi-
demic the closer do we find its affinity to be with
types of disease familiar to English physicians. One
of its two prevailing forms appears to correspond
almost exactly with relapsing fever, the other with
typhus fever, and there is no reason to suppose that
its victims have exceeded the average rate among
typhus patients. The unknown being always more
terrible than the known, there are probably many
who will derive more infinite relief from this consi-
deration. Fevers are fevers, and we have been used
to hear of them without panic all our lives ; but a
Russian pestilence, a Siberian plague, a modern
black death, sounds something infinitely more for-
midable. Such is the influence of habit on im-
pressions. How few realise that the mere increase
of mortality during an unhealthy week in London
equals the loss of life in a great battle, or that some
privileged nuisance in a densely-crowded neighbour-
hood may be more fatal than the most tragical ship-
wrecks or explosions ! It is very natural, then, that
the spectre of typhus fever, in the disguise of a new
Oriental pest, depopulating St. Petersburg and ad-
vancing westward, should alarm people far more
than the actual presence of the same epidemic, walk-
ingin darkness and destroying at noonday close to
our own doors. This is very natural, but it is also
supremely unreasonable, and Dr. Jeaffreson, the re-
sident physician of the Fever Hospital, has done
good service in reminding us to look at home before
we think to keep out the invader by quarantine re-
gulations. Dr. Jeaffreson plainly tells us that
" typhus is most certainly on the increase in the
Metropolis," and as this fact has as yet occasioned
too little anxiety, we feel it our duty to point out its
real significance, and the urgent necessity of dealing
with it. Typhus fever is at all times one of the
most dangerous and intractable of maladies, and
when it developes into a virulent epidemic
becomes the most destructive scourge. of which
history makes mention. The Eastern Plague and
the Black Death itself are believed to have been
simply malignant varieties of typhus, and the in-
flammatory swellings characteristic of those fright-
ful maladies have been observed at the Fever Hos-
pital in no less than 150 cases within the • last three
years. " The important point for the public to
know," says the writer of an article on this subject
in the Lancet, " is that the poison which gives rise
to typhus withbuboes in this country is precisely the
same as that which causes typhus without buboes."
In other words, a very bad case of typhus fever is
the next thing to plague, and under certain condi-
tions may become identical with it. In Great
Britain the average rate of mortality from it is
about one in five, but our contemporary gives in-
stances in which one half of those attacked have
perished, and some in which it has carried off half
of a whole garrison numbering many thousand men.
In Ireland after the famine its ravages were fearful,
in the Irish quarters of Liverpool it hardly ever
ceases to rage, and it contributes largely to swell
the mortality of that and other great towns. In
London it was comparatively rare quite recently.
Fevers of all kinds are indigenous or naturalised
among us, but " the fever," as it is called par ex-
cellence, seemed to be on the decline. Two or three
years ago it broke out afresh, the Fever Hospital
became overcrowded, and a new wing was built,
nor is there at present any signs of abatement.
Dr. Jeaffreson's testimony on this point is very
startling. "Though the number of patients mainly
suffering from typhus admitted into the. London
Fever Hospital in 1864—viz., 3,610—exceeded by
a thousand the admissions for any previous year,
still those for the first ,quarter of 1865 exceed
by 200 the number received in the corresponding
period of last year." To these must be added the
cases—amounting to 42 at one time during last
winter—hitherto admitted into the workhouse of
St. Giles's. It is satisfactory to know that no other
considerable parish provided for its fever-stricken
poor in the same way, and that St. Giles's itself has
begun to send patients to the Fever Hospital. Such
being the nature and extent of the epidemic, the
first question is, how far it has distributed itself
over the metropolis ; and the next, by what means
it can be checked. On the former point Dr. Jeaf-
freson gives very definite information. He says that
on becoming resident medical officer of the hospital
he was soon struck by the comparatively small area
from which the great body of patients were drawn.
" The names of a few streets and courts became to
me as familiar as household words." He declares
that the very same districts and eventhe same houses
have furnished a constant succession of typhus cases
since 1862. One such district—that of St. George's,
Southwark—had been described by Mr. Rendle in a
letter which we published on Wednesday. He stated
that in one locality " of 100 houses inspected 90 were
in a very unwholesome condition," the water supply
deficient, the rooms densely crowded, and yet the
rents rising. " From one row of houses we sent 35
cases to the Fever Hospital, and although these cases
took many weeks in passing from house to house, I
cannot learn that any of them were emptied or
cleansed." Dr. Jeaffreson confirms this account, and
supplies a parallel to which his attention happened
to be drawn. " In the parish of St. Pancras is a
small row of houses, numbering about 50—Draper's-
place ; into this spot typhus fever found its way in
November, 1862, and it still holds sway there.
From it some 30 cases of typhus have been sent
here, half of .which came from one house, No.
14. The last admission from this nest was on the
23d of March, 1865." Ashby-street, in the same
parish, has supplied an almost continuous string of
35 fever patients. Having named these as speci-
mens, Dr. Jeaffreson wisely proceeds to enumerate
the main " hotbeds of typhus" at the present time,
—viz., the vicinities of Lansdowne-place, South-
wark ; of Francis-street, Lambeth ; of Golden-
Ilane, St. Luke's ; and of Drury-lane and Short's
Gardens, St. Giles's. That such a state of things
should be possible in this metropolis, that while
every petty grievance is sought out and redressed a
pest of this kind should be allowed to decimate the
inhabitants of certain spots, and endanger the health
of the whole community, cost what it would to expel
it, is a sin and a shame, disgraceful to our munici-
pal Government. Dr. Jeaffreson avows his con-
viction that " a firm administration of sanitary
regulations, such as compelling landlords to empty,

,clean, limewhite' and supply an adequate amount of
water to infected houses, would diminish by at least
three-fourths the amount of typhus in London."
Whether this view be too sanguine or not, and
whether or not Dr. Jeaffreson over-estimates the
obstacles offered by parish vestries to busy Officers
of Health, matters very little. There must be
selfish interests involved in maintaining the appa-
rent causes of all this disease, or they could not
exist after suspicion had been once aroused, and
the responsible authorities must be either unable
or unwilling to apply a remedy. If it be true that
one " obstructive vestryman owns a typhus nest,
which is named after him," and resists the introduc-
tion of sanitary precautions, we can only say that
he ought to be criminally liable for the consequences
of conduct so inhuman. The landlord who from
motives of lucre allows a fatal epidemic to be propa-
gated in the midst of a population of three millions,
and contrives to throw impediments in the way of
inspection, is a public enemy. Unhappily, his own
tenants, the immediate victims of his neglect, are
generally too poor and too ignorant to invoke pro-
tection against it. This is the very reason why they
ought to be protected by the law, and not only they,
but all who may suffer sooner or later by the infec-
tion thus generated—that is, the whole body of resi-
dents in London. There are no measures, however
stringent, which would not be justified for the pur-
pose of extirpating this source of epidemics. Cen-
tralisation is a much smaller evil than typhus fever,
and if the Board of Health, or any other official de-
partment, could be armed with powers to besiege
effectually these its noisome strongholds, we should
be quite content to sacrifice a little of self-govern-
ment. It is in vain that we despatch medical officers
to St. Petersburg and Dantsic, and multiply safe-
guards against the importation of plague from
abroad, if we shrink from the task of expelling that
fatal and contagious form of it which has become
domesticated in this country.
HERALD.—The great game of the City burglaries
is at length played out, and the gentlemen of the
crowbar find themselves heavy losers by the event.
The bank-book, the lease of a house, the pie-shop,
the glittering jewellery, all vanish from the view,
and are replaced by the cheerless cell, the prison
diet, the manacles, and the forced labour. The in-
genuity and daring which might have earned an ex-
cellent livelihood in some honest pursuit have merely
served to pave the way to penal servitude, and the
poorest man who plods at honest labour may con-
gratulate himself that he had no share in the golden
spoil of the London jewellers, or the silken plunder
of the Wood-street warehouse. Roguery must needs
play itself out at last, and the end is ruin. It iz the
business of the police to make the game as difficult
and as brief as possible. We wish the end had come
sooner in the present instance, but it came at
last, and when the police once laid hold they
made a clean sweep. Every tradesman who stores
his shop with articles of little bulk and great
intrinsic value may henceforth breathe the freer
when he remembers that the Whitechapel banditti
are fairly bagged. " Scotty" and Jeffery are safe
for 20 years, and as the former is 46 years of age
there is a probability that he will end his days in the
sick ward of some convict establishment. This ruf-
fian specially deserves incarceration, and his un-
happy paramour, Susan Price, is practically secure
from the vengeance which he doubtless held in
store for her. " Councillor Kelly" and "Velvet Ned,"
or, more correctly, Thomas Caseley and Thomas
Brewerton, take their 14 years a-piece. " Carroty
Fred,"otherwise William Wilkinson, is sentenced
to 10 years, as also Japes Hurley ; while David
Roberts, convicted of receiving some of Mr. Walker's
property, comes at the bottom of the list with seven
years' banishment from general society. This
wretched crew now disappear from public view, and
through many a weary day and dismal night will
have to bear the punishment due to their aggra-
vated crimes. The sentences are none too heavy. In
every case save that of Roberts the prisoners have
been previously convicted, and it is to be hoped
that there will be no after trifling with the terms
which are now allotted. For rogues like these to be
at large is a perilous thing for every honest man
who has much to lose. A more nefarious band never
infested London, and had they multiplied their suc-
cesses much farther there is no saying to what ex-
tent their mischievous example might have encou-
raged others in tlie- same path. Justice has at length
overtaken them, and although some of the same
genus seem to be still at work, we trust their career
will be speedily cut short. The depredations of this
formidable gang seem likely to mark a sort of epoch
in the history of our defensive and protective appli-
ances. When one great robbery after another was
narrated in the columns of the morning papers the
public began to ask what was the value of the
police force, and further, whether the customary
" safes" were really worthy of their name. For a
time there was a feeling of considerable discourage-
ment and dissatisfaction. It was thought that the
City police might and should be more efficient, and
that the safe-makers ought to be a little more dex-
terous. There was a talk of forming a sort of pri-
vate " guard," on which the possessors of valuable
goods might rely, in preference to the constabulary.
A great deal was said about a change which had
taken place in the administration of the civic police,
and the days of Daniel Whittle Harvey were looked
back upon as though they approached to the cha-
racter of the Saxon period, when golden chains
could be hung up on the highway without risk of
being purloined. The controversy grew almost
angry, and it is perhaps too much to expect that the
gentlemen who were plundered could be satisfied
with the arrangements which seemed to allow of
such results. One glance in the night through the
" peep-holes" of Mr. Johnson's or Mr. Walker's
shutters would have saved a prodigious loss ; and it
is obvious that if the burglars had been caught in
July the subsequent disasters would have been pre-
vented. From seven or eight o'clock on the Saturday
evening till eleven o'clock on the Sunday morningthe
thieves were ransacking the premises in Threadneedle-
street, in the full glare of the gas-light, and with
a policeman passing close •by them every seven
minutes. Thus to lose £4,000 net of a splendid
and well - chosen stock is enough to make any
man feel that the police ought to keep a better
look-out. It has since been explained that the
police cannot undertake to perform the duties of
a private watchman on every gentleman's pre-
mises, and reasons are shown why this cannot be
done. Unfortunately this was not understood by
the City jewellers in due -time, though it seems to
have been clearly apprehended by the rogues who
had a desire for fingering the gold watches and
walking off with a hatful of lockets. In future the
predatory hordes of the metropolis will find their
work a little more difficult. The security of our
iron safes and strong boxes has been much discussed
since the affair at Mr. Walker's and the almost in-
explicable robbery at the bullion merchant's. The
safe-makers contend that they are practically able
to resist the burglars, although theoretically no safe
is absolutely secure. We are as anxious to protect
the safe-makers as we are the police against any un-
reasonable complaints. Since we have offered some
remarks on this part of the subject we have been as-
sured that the public havelonly to pay the price,
and Messrs. Chubb, Tann, Marr, Milner, and others,
will provide what is wanted. Although Mr. Walker
may feel dissatisfied Mr. Johnson is well pleased.
The patent Reliance safe of the latter gentleman
resisted all the appliances of the Whitechapel crew,
headed by " Scotty" in person, who is said to have
declared that, what with bursting open the steel-
lined door, and tugging at this impracticable safe,
the attack on Mr. Johnson's treasures was the
hardest piece of work he ever had. Albeit." Scotty"
pronounced it also " the most profitable." Could he
and his colleagues but have opened the safe, they
would have added £15,000t0 theirbooty, Mr. John-
son would have been ruined, and the arcana of the
pie-shop would have blazed with such jewellery as
would have startled the most ambitious oyster-
woman. There was a considerable difference be-
tween the safe in Threadneedle-street and those that
were forced in Cornhill and Lombard-street. En-
couraged by the integrity of his iron box, Mr. John-
son afterwards had a second safe constructed by the
same maker, Mr. John Tann, of Walbrook. This
latter safe is said to be a model of strength, and
we are assured that it is so far secure that the bur-
glars may be allowed to try their very hardest for
its destruction, from Saturday afternoon to Monday
morning, without any chance of success. It may
apparently be styled a " 48-hour safe," if not some-
thing more. Simple, ingenious, and massive, it is
an encouragement to jewellers, and a perpetual
defiance to the whole tribe of " Scotties." The most
violent blow which could be dealt with a sledge-
hammer has failed so much as to leave a mark upon
this highly-creditable piece of workmanship, and
Mr. Johnson now locks up the whole of his jewel-
lery in the two safes with a very tolerable sense of
security ; though, like a wise man, he neglects no
other precautions that are practicable. So far the
safe-makers seem to be either keeping or regaining
their ground. But as those who bind can sometimes
loose, so it is said that one ingenious safe-maker
has pledged himself, under a forfeiture of £lOO, to
force open the iron door which protects the stock
in trade of one of our large West-end jewellers.
The question is mainly one of time. If the safe
cannot be forced in the longest interval which the
burglar could command, or without such a crash as
would shake the house to its foundation and frighten
all the neighbourhood, of course the defensive mea-
sures are all that can be desired. It is satisfactory
to find that our safe-makers possess the means of
giving us what we want if we will only pay the
price. But with the safe—as with the policeman—
we must clearly understand in the first instance
what is the amount of protection we may expect to
receive. Ratepayers and safe-buyers may both ex-
pect sometimes 0, little too much for their money.