The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-09 00:00:00

FOURTH DEPARTMENT.-PUBLIC HEALTH.

This department met in the Court of Queen's Bench, and
was very well attended, amongst those present being—Dr
Holland, Dr. W. Lewis, Mr. Itawlinson, Dr. Letheby, Dr
Ellis, Dr. Lankester, Dr. Ballard, Dr. Simon, Miss Night-
ingale, Dr. Fs rre, Sir Joshua Jebb, &c.
Mr. W. FAIRI3AIIIN, the president, in his opening address,
said there was no department of social science of greater
importance to a nation than the public health, and the
development of measures calculated to confer this benefit
could not be too highly appreciated by Governments, and
those whose object was to promote and improve the physical
as well as the moral condition of the people. In all ages
and in all countries this duty had not escaped the notice of
governors, philanthropists, and legislators ; and the ancient
nations of Europe were from the first dawn of civilisation
alive to the necessity of sanitary laws for the purpose o
inculcating ablutions end cleanliness in. the houses of the
people, and the towns and cities in which they dwelt. Since
the commencement of the present century much had been
done for the improvement of all classes, and now they
were better housed, better fed, and better clothed, than
at any former period ; and what were to their fore-
fathers luxuries, had to the present generation become
necessaries of life. In water supply much had already
been done for large and populous towns, but much had
yet to be accomplished in extending its benefits to the
smaller towns, and there was probably no gift so great,
and none so conducive to health and cleanliness, as a copious
and well-regulated supply of pure water. To every person
it was a luxury, but to the working man and his family it
was one of the greatest boons that could be conferred upon
him; and now that every principal town in the kingdom
had its watery' orks with a supply ranging from ten to
thirty gallons per diem to each person, they might reason-
ably look forward to greatly extended comforts in the
shape of cleanliness in the houses and persons of the in-
dustrial classes. The metropolis itself was probably worse
off than many other towns ; but he had recently seen the
outline of a gigantic project in preparation by
Mr. Bateman, the engineer of the Manchester and Glas-
gow Loch Katrine Waterworks, to supply London from
Wales by the construction of reservoirs and the
formation of aqueducts on a scale far beyond any-
thing that ever was before accomplished in ancient or
modern times. The scheme was not problematical, as he
believed the engineer was prepared to show from actual
surveys that 100,000,000 gallons per day could be delivered
in London, and works constructed for the conveyance of
double that quantity, for a sum not exceeding £7,000,000.
To London that would not be a large sum if they considered
the immense benefits it would confer on a population of
nearly three millioes of souls, and that with a quality of pure
soft water, which for washing purposes and other branches
of domestic economy was calculated to effect a saving of
£400,000 per annum. Next to water, an element which
largely contributed to the public health was food, which
was often depreciated and sometimes seriously injured by
adulteration. The maintenance and preservation of the
public health were dependent upon the {food they ate, and
any one attempting to depreciate its value by com -
pounds and adulteration was an enemy to his country and
mankind. Other conditions besides good food and pure
water entered into the catalogue of wants for the sustenance
of life and the maintenance of vigorous health ; and those
were that the people should be well housed and comfortably
clad. It was essential that they should not only be covered
from the inclemency of the weather, but that they should
live in a pure atmosphere, neither too hot nor too cold, and
free from noxious vapours and such compounds as carbonic
acid gas, which vitiated the air breathed, engendering dis-
ease, and ultimately, by slow degrees, producing death. The
subject of dwelling-houses was, therefore, ono of the
greatest importance. The draining of land was beneficial
in every way, as it improved the crops, improved health,
and carried off the superfluous waters not required for the
growth of plants. Many towns had no drains, but
depended on the absorption of cesspools. That imper-
fect system had not unfrequently given rise to disease and
epidemics, which a thorough system of drainage might
have prevented. It was necessary that in all the large
towns they should have thorough drainage, not only for the
removal of noxious vapours, but for purification of the at-
mcsphere in places which engendered disease from exhala•
tions. A well-devised system of thorough drainage of
towns, concentrated in one general outlet communicating
or rivers or the sea, was
highly advantageous to the public health ; and the trans-
port of organic matter, diluted with water, through water
taps and underground tunnels was one of the leading features
of the improvement of the present day. A large quantity
of water, which enter ed into the sewers and carried off the
refuse, was destructive to its properties as a manure ; but
he trusted the time was not far distant when they might
calculate on a separation of the contents of sewers, and pre-
serve for the benefit of the agriculturist the greater portion
of a valuable compost which on the present system was en-
tirely lost. Another impel.. ant question affected the consi-
deration of town drainage, and that was the pollution of
rivers. It would be a great relief to many towns and the resi-
dents on the banks of rivers to have the waters pure and
transparent, instead of a large black ditch coloured with
indigo, coal, and tar, and almost every other abomination
floating on its surface. Having referred to the metro-
politan drainage works in detail, he said this greatly
enlarged system of drainage was of the first import-
ance to the health of the metropolis, and the large
scale on which it was executed, and the means adopted for
preventing the return of the sewage, afforded a guarantee
for the purification of the Thames. He next referred to the
noxious effects of chemical and alkali works which polluted
the atmosphere into which they were discharged. The effects
of those vapours might be seen by the rapid decay of vege-
table life within the reach of their influence, and their noxi-
ous character might be felt at a considerable distance from the
spot where the manufacture was carried on; and although
tall chimney s had mitigated the evils, yet he was of opinion
that other means, by legislative enactment, were required.
Ile next enlarged on the necessity of an improved system
of warming and ventilating dwellings ; and he said it had
been found that a full- grown man required at least 10 cubic
feet of pure air per minute for respiration, but in close rooms,
in order to preserve a healthy atmosphere, double that
quantity was not too much, He might, he said,
enlarge on other topics involving considerations in
connection with the public health; but having occupied a
good deal of time, it only remained for him to direct atten-
tion to the different subjects as classified and arranged in
the programme for the consideration of the members of this
department. In those would be found abundant matter for
discussion; and confiding in the good sense of the meeting
over which he had the honour to preside, he ventured to
look forward to results calculated to improve the moral
and physical condition of the community.
Mr. G. GODWIN moved the thanks of the department be
given to Mr. Fairbairn for his able and valuable address.
Mr. BEN. SCOTT, chamberlain of the city of London, read
a paper on the " Ancient Water Conduits and Modern
Drinking Fountains of London," which at length explained
the value of those means of preserving the health of the
people.
Mr. RAWLINSON said it would not in the present day
do to rely on pumps or conduits for a supply of water,
although the water of the Thames above Teddington Lock
was becoming more impure every day.
Mr. GODWIN condemned the inadequate supply of water
in courts and alleys, where on Sundays they were often
kept for 24 hours at a time without a drop of water.
Mr. Bateman, Dr, Lankester, Dr. Holland, and other
gentlemen having addressed the department, thanks were
voted to Mr. Scott for his paper.
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the necessity of the person appointed devoting his whole
time to his duties.
Dr. WALLER LEWIS read a paper " On th.a Health, past
and present, of the Working Classes of the General Post-
offite."
After remarks upon it from Dr. Edward Smith, Dr.
Milroy, Mr. James Heywood, Mr. E. Chadwick, Mr. Ack-
royd, Dr. Warren, end Mr. Bracebridge, and thanks given
to Dr. Lewis fur his paper,
The department then adjourned.

The soiree given on Saturdsy evening by the asso-
ciation at the Houses of Parliament was attended by a
brilliant assembly of ladies and gentlemen numbering more
than three thousand. Beyond the usual routine of legisla-
tive labours tbid magnifient palace, with its countless
chambers and endless corridors, has never been used for
any other purpose, and this is the first occasion on which it
has resounded with the voices of a festive throng and the
strains of instrumental music. The company alighted in
Now Palace-yard, where a capacious awning had been
erected, and entering by the court-yard, formerly the site
of the Star Chamber, passed through the cloisters, and on
reaching the vestibule at the members' entrance to the
House of Commons, were received by Lord Brougham and
the Earl of Shaftesbury on behalf of the council, and then
dispersed themselves over the building. The arrivals con-
tinued from half-past eight until past eleven. The interior
of the lower house was first explored with much curiosity.
The whole of the doors along the corridors being thrown
open, there was an uninterrupted vista between the two
houses, and from the Speaker's chair a good eye could
readily see the woolsack in the far distance. The' votaries
of soia science nem took e, glance at Ward's hiatorieal