The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-08 00:00:00

THE CHOLERA.

SOUTH LANCASHIRE.

Though every possible precaution appea»s to have
been taken by the authorities to prevent the spread
of the cholera, the epidemic seems to be making
good its position in the manufacturing and agricul-
tural districts between Liverpool. and Manchester.
The last weekly return for Wigan showed that the
deaths from cholera had been 10, from choleraic
diarrhoea 4, and diarrhcea 5, making together 19, or
an increase of one-third on the preceding week. On
Friday the clerk to the Board of Guardians stated
that, from an examination of the Registrar's book,
he found that in the month of September, 1865, the
deaths from diarrhcea were 9, and the deaths from
all causes 67 ; whereas in the month of September,
1866, the deaths from diarrhcea were 23, and from
cholera and choleraic diarrhoea 29, making together
52, as against 9 in 1865 ; while the total number of
deaths amounted to 140, or more than double
those registered in the same period last year.
The epidemic does not appear to be confined to
any one locality ; the cases have occurred in all
parts of the town, those considered healthy as
well as others in which infectious diseases gene-
rally find a home, and, with the exception of a few
children, the victims have been principally per-
sons in the prime of life. The water of the five
wells in the borough has been sent for analysis
to Dr. Angus Smith at Manchester, and his re-
port is a very unfavourable one. The Public Health
Committee have closed one, which held in solution
in each gallon 106.43 grains of solid residue and 28.0
of volatile matter, and they are about to take into
consideration the propriety of closing the other four
—one of which is nearly as bad as the above, while
the water of the other three is of bad quality. In the
out-townships there have been fatal cases in the
Hindley district, where, under the recent Sanitary
Act, the Board of Guardians have sent an inspector
who has discovered some pestilential nuisances ; and
diarrhcea is reported from Standish and Ashton. At
Newton and Haydock there have' also been more
eases of cholera, and diarrhcea is very prevalent, but
the malady seems to have left the neighbourhood of
Benscough, the inhabitants of which township have
very properly taken proceedings against the con-
tractor • for the removal of the Liverpool*night soil
for placing several boat-loads of the nuisance in
their midst, At Maghall, near Ormskirk, a French
artist has been attacked and carried off, and from
Bolton there is this week rather an alarming report.
At the end of the previous week a father and child
named Howarth were buried together, and on Sun-
day another of the family died, and on Tuesday one
of the persons who had attended to the sick people
also succumbed. A man named Peters, finding his
wife attacked, sent for his mother to attend to her,
but the mother was seized too and died first,' her
daughter-in-law following her shortly. Three other
fatal cases have occurred, one of a woman of 43,
who leaves a family of ten children. The epidemic
has for the present left Little London, the suburb
of Southport, where it committed terrible ravages a
few weeks back.