The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-07 00:00:00

THE CHOLERA.

On Friday and Saturday a marked diminution in
the number of cholera cases brought to the London
Hospital gave rise to a hope that the.seserity of the
outbreak in the East-end had become mitigated,
and that its cessation might shortly be looked for-
ward to, but on Sunday and yesterday the applica-
tions for admission became as numerous as ever.
From 10 o'clock on Sunday until the same
,hour
yesterday 16 persons suffering from cholera were re-
ceived into the hospital, and 12 deaths took. place
during the same period ; of those admitted S were
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choleraic diarrhcea. The number of deaths in all
is 187, of which 178 were from cholera and 9 from
diarrhcea. From cholera 56 persons recovered, and
51 out of the 73 cases of diarrhcea were cured,
leaving in the hospital at present 9.1 sufferers from
cholera and 13 from diarrhcea-107 in all. In
Poplar and the adjacent districts the disease appears
to have increased, in Bethnal-green and Mile-
end to have decreased in severity. In Bethnal-
green the workhouse is so crammed that 94 persons
had to sleep in the corridors during at least one
night in the past week, consequently the admission
of cholera cases was rendered highly dangerous, if
not impossible. After consultation with Mr. Far-
nall, the Board of Guardians have decided to pur-
chase for £lOO an iron building from the Fever
Hospital for the use of cholera patients. A medical
assistant and two paid nurses have also been en-
gaged to meet the exigency. Since the 11th July 30
cases of cholera had been admitted to the house,
and of these 17 have proved fatal. The dangerous
overcrowding of the house arises from the practice
of offering the " house test" to all applicants for re-
lief. To diminish the number the guardians have
resolved to give 3s. a week to single persons and 4s.
6d. to married couples who would leave the house ;
but, strangely enough, they determined still to
bring into the house all new applicants for outdoor
relief. In Shereditch several cases of cholera have
occurred, but no serious outbreak has as yet taken
place. The medical men of the district say that the
cases hitherto have come from the east—that is,
from Bethnal-green. The vestry has divided the
parish into six districts, each presided over by the
Poor-law medical officers, the surgery of each of
whom is to be a dispensary where medicines can be
had gratuitously, and under each of the medical
men there are two medical visitors whose duty it
will be to make a daily visitation of 600 houses.
The staff will certainly be found inadequate if a re-
gular outbreak should occur, for the six doctors have
their Poor-law duties and their private practice to
attend to. But the vestry promise to deal with future
difficulties as they arise, and local committees are
being formed to aid in the duty of visiting the 600
houses of the very poor in each of the six districts.
At the Westminster Hospital 90 cases of choleraic
diarrhcea were treated on Sunday. Yesterday there
was a diminution in the number of applicants. Some
of those who applied offered to pay for the medicine
which was prescribed. At St. Bartholomew's Hos-
pital the applications hitherto for relief in cholera
cases have been very few. Yesterday, a gentleman
who had been seized with cramp in a Whitechapel
omnibus was brought to the institution.
Cases still continue to occur among the floating
population of the river and in the docks, though up
to this time the increasehas been by no means great.
According to the statistics of the Belleisle hospital
ship, nearly one-half of the cases hitherto received
have come from vessels lying in the Commercial
Dock. The epidemic is still unchecked by any kind
of inspection, and, as most districts in London are
now organising a regular system of visitation, it
appears strange that no action is taken with respect
to this very insanitary portion of the community. It
is presumed that the health officers of districts
through which the river flows arc responsible for
the sanitary government of the floating population,
but it is impossible that these officers, at such a
time, can take river as well as land duty, and it is
imperative that some sort of preventive aid should
be afforded to that vast collection of small craft
constantly moored or moving on or about the
Thames, and which, by the locomotive tendencies
of their denizens, are specially prone to propagate an
epidemic. Upwards of 20 cases have been treated
on board the Belleisle; but this by no means repre-
sents the amount of cholera existing on the river,

as many cases have occurred among women and
children, who have no such refuge at hand as that
afforded to sailors by the Seamen'silospital Society.
Appledore, in Devonshire, Sherborne, in Dorset,
and Charlestown in Cornwall, have been visited by
cholera, several persons having died in these places.
During the last few days the disease has abated.
The Town Council of the city of Exeter have
advertised for paid sanitary inspectors to make
periodical house-to-house inspections. The St.
Thomas Local Board are most vigilant in detecting
and abolishing nuisances, and a powerful disinfectant,
hitherto used with great success in deodorising the
parochial sewage, is to be served out to the poor
people.