The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-29 00:00:00

CITY COMMISSION OF SEWERS.

On Tuesday a court was held at the Guildhall.
Deputy PEICOCK, the chairman, stated that a deputa-
tion from the Court hail waited upon Lord Palmerston
and Sir G. Grey upon the subject of the difficulty con-
nected with the opening of the new City Cemetery, and
he felt much satisfaction in stating that there was reason
to believe that the difference which had led to the delay
would be speedily settled.

THE SANITAILY STATE OF THE CITY.

Dr. LEPHEBY (the Medical officer of Health) presented
the following report on the condition of some of the hor-
rible habitations in his extensive district of the metro-
polis :
"Ia accordance with the instructions I received from
the Court on Tuesday last, I beg to submit my report!on
the condition of the houses in Plumtree-court, Holborn.
The court is situated on the south side of Holborn, and
it extends from Shoe-lane to within a few yards of Far-
ringdon-etreet. Its length is about 240 feet, and the
width varies from 12 feet 9 inches, which is the average
width of the widest portion, to 5 feet, which is the nar-
rowest. There are 25 houses in the court, and they are
mostly three storeys high, with very small back yards.
In many cases there are not any yards at all. Each house
is occupied by many tenants, and in some instances theta
are two or three families in one room. In fact the Inca-
lity has been for a long timo past a sort of colony
for the most destitute of the poor. I have visited
the Court on several occasion', but I took the opportu-
nity of seeing it early on Wednesday morning, in com-
pany with the union medical officer, Mr. Digby, who
kindly undertook to point out the localities iii which
disease had been most prevalent. We arrived at the
court before the occupants were out of their bode, and
the sickening odour which pervaded the large rooms of
most of the houses was almost overpowering. At No.
28, on the ground floor, there was a small front room,
having an area of about 700 cubic feet, in which there
were two wretched beds, from which five adults and four
children had just arisen. Behind this was another dark
den of 640 cubic feet in area, on the floor of which there
were three heaps of rags, where two men, one woman,
and two children were then lying. They were huddled
together with the smallest regard to decency, and I was
informed that they were chance lodgers. The landlord
himself was one of the occupants of this miserable abode.
The other rooms of the house were in a similarly
wretched state, and for the accommodation of the
many families which tenanted them there was but one
water-closet in a small backyard, which was so abomin-
ably filthy that I could not approach it. No. ti, the
single room which formed the ground floor, had an area
967 cubic feet. In this there were three beds lying on
the floor, upon which two men, five women, and
children had been sleeping. In another small room at
the top of the house there were two wretched families of
six individuals, who had taken their night's rest upon a
heap of shavings. The room was destitute of every
article of furniture. At No. 9, which is a house of 15
rooms, the largest of which i 3 only 825 cubic feet, there
were 67 occupants, consisting of 14 men, 26 women, and
27 children. In two of the rooms the poor creatures
were wholly destitute, and they were taking their rest
upon the bare floor. The house was so overcrowded that
the average cubic space per individual was only 175 cubic
feet ; in one room it was only 861, and in another 931.
No. 24, which is a small house ofd storeys in height, with
4 rooms, contained 40 individuals, consisting of 18
adults and 22 children. It has no back yard, and the
ventilation is most imperfect. I might in this way de-
scribe to you the miserable condition of every house in
the court, but I am quite sure that I have presented to
your notice a sufficient body of facts to indicate the ne-
cessity for your interference in the matter, and for the
adoption of same means whereby the habits of the poor
may be more healthfully regulated. I have long thought
that one of the greatest boons that could be conferred on
these the poorest of our fellow-citizens would be the
bringing within their reach the means of enjoying more
cleanly, more decent, and more healthful habitations
than are now at their disposal. What with sanitary re-
gulations and street imprevewents, we are daily breaking
up the old haunts of the poor, and, as it were, narrowing
the circle within which they are confined. Little by
little are thus thickening the density of the untouched
localities, until they become like this of Pluialtree-
court, the very hot-beds of pestilence and immo-
rality. It must, I imagine, occur to all, who
reflect upon the condition of things, that it is a wise,
a rational, and, I may say also, a merciful con-
sideration, to think how provision can be made for
the dwellings of the poor man before we proceed to de-
molish those places in which he has hitherto found his
home. Ido not wish to trespass long on matters which
do not strictly pertain to tae duties of my office, but I
cannot avoid the remark, that as ling as the poor of this
great metropolis are driven to herd together as they now
are, while they are the victims of unfeeling landlords, and
the denizens of the wretched hovels which they now inha-
bit ; while they are removed from the influence of every
regulation, sanitary or moral; while in fact they hold the
faith that crime,
and disease, andsqualorare their inherit-
&ace, we can never expect to see them rising above their
present miserable condition ; nor can we even hope to find
that education, with ail its power, can have
any
influence
upon the minds of those who are too reader to receive the
stronger and earlier impressions of rice. That which has
already struck my attention during my visits to such toes-
lities has been the fact that young children are, from
their very infancy, made familiar with the worst scenes
of destitution and immorality ; fir to be kept in
idleness, and to witness day by day the conduct of
those who have no regard for the commonest decencies
of life, is to insure another generation of criminals whose
habits may be even worse than those of their predeces-
sors.
" But to come back to the question before us. I be-
lieve it is the duty of landlords to look into the habits of
their tenants, and as nearly all the houses in Plumtree-
court strictly come within the nieaning of the term
lodging-houses,' I beg leave to recommend that they be
at once subjected to the rules and regulations of corn non
lodging houses, which were reported upon by you on
the 16th March, 1852, and that notice be given that,
whenever more than one family occupy a room together,
the number of inmates shall be limited to the area of
300 cubic feet as a minimum for each adult, and that not
more than two persoce over 14 years of age, if of diffe-
rent sexes, shall inhabit any one room at the same time.
"I have further to recommend that all the dwelling.
houses throughout the court be put into repair, and be
cleansed and whitewashed throughout.—l have the ho-
nour to remain, your most obedient servant,
(Signed) " HENRY LETHEBY,
Medical Officer of Health to the City of Lcndon.
" Guildhall, May 27, 1356."
The suggestions in the medical officers' report, which
occasioned.a strong feeling in the court, were unani-
mously ordered to be adopted and acted upon to the
fullest extent.