The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-31 00:00:00

THE CHOLERA.

MANSION ROUSE RELIEF COMMITTEE.

Yesterday, this committee was specially convened
by the Lord Mayor to meet the Bishop of London,
who, as the principal almoner of a large fund col-
lected under his auspices for the relief of the dis-
tress consequent upon the visitation of cholera, had
invited a conference with the Mansion-house autho-
rities upon a matter which they and the committee
of which the Bishop is at the head were supposed to
be equally interested in administering the public
bounty. The Lord Mayor occupied the chair, and
there were present besides Sir Mordaunt Wells,
Mr. John Abel Smith, M.P., Mr. Alderman Cotton,
the Rev. William Rogers, rector of Bishopsgate ;
Mr. W. J. Maxwell, Mr. Charles Hutton, Mr. R.
B. Wade, Mr. H. W. Ripley, Mr. Richard Hoare,
Mr. Samuel Hoare, Dr. Andrew Clark, physician
to the London Hospital ; and Mr. R. N. Fowler
The Bishop was accompanied by the Hon. Arthur
Kinnaird, M.P., Mr. Tilson, Chairman of the Surrey
Bench of Magistrates, and Mr. Seymour Haden.
The Bishop of London, addressing the meeting,
who had received him with every mark of respect
and consideration, said an important point had
arisen in the administration of the fund at his
disposal—namely, -whether some 'portion of the
money should be expended for the benefit of con-
valescents. It was a great reason for thankfulness
that the disease was subsiding, and they trusted
that by God's blessing it would continue to sub-
side. In order that he might be in possession of
the feeling of the clergy of his diocess on the sub-
ject of convalescents, he had written to many of
them who had been hard at work in relieving the
distress in the districts where cholera had prevailed.
One or two preliminary questions seemed to sug-
gest themselves. First of all, it had been asked
whether it was necessary to take any steps at all
with reference to convalescents, or whether, when
a man who had had cholera and was recovering,
on b2ing discharged from an hospital, would
not be able to go about his ordinary work
in a short time. One of the clergy who had in-
terested himself in an hospital at Wapping stated
that by the kindness of the parochial authorities
there the patients had generally remained so long
that they were really cured when they left the insti-
tution, and that in point of fact the hospital might
be supposed to provide for convalescents, as well as
for those actually suffering from the malady. That,
however, appeared to be the feeling of one clergy-
man alone. He gathered rather from a statement
of a gentleman connected with the London Hospital
that when persons recovering from cholera left the
hospital they were not in a condition to return to
their ordinary work, and that it was necessary to
provide against a second attack of the disease. Miss
Marsh had done a great deal of good in connection
with the London Hospital in taking convalescents
from the institution to a temporary home in the
country. Those who were of opinion that it was ne-
cessary to make some provision for convalescents on
leaving the hospital seemed to be divided in opinion
as to whether or not it was better that that should
be done by individual efforts—that was, by persons
who were interested in convalescents paying their
expenses and sending them down to the country to
friends, or finding here and there a cottage in which
they could be received, or whether there should be
some combined efforts to provide a large building in
which some considerable number of those convales-
cents could be accommodated. He thought he was
right in stating that those who advocated the latter
course were influenced, not so much by the exigency
of the present emergency, as by a feeling that on
similar visitations, whether of cholera, typhus fever,
or any other of the scourges so frequent in London,
a great want was always experienced of the means
of providing for convalescents. The existing accom-
modation was by no means adequate to meet the
wants of the more destitute parts of London in that
respect. He found there was a strong opinion among
the clergy that it would be a great blessing if a large
hospital could be established for the reception of con-
valescents from cholera in the first instance, and
afterwards generally for convalescents from other
diseases. He had only to add that he and the gentle-
men with whom he acted wished to be guided by
the best possible advice. Unlike the Mansion-house
Committee, they had not opportunities of consulting
medical men, or of eliciting the opinions of the
local authorities who came there from day to day.
One plan had suggested itself to his mind as per-
haps the most practical. Many benevolent indivi-
duals were interesting themselves in this matter.
One lady, in particular, Miss Marsh, had secured
accommodation for a limited number of convales-
cents at Walton-on-Thames and other places.
Another lady, Mrs. Gladstone, had taken a house
at Clapton, where convalesdents had been already
and were still being received. Other movements
of the same kind were on foot, and perhaps the
wisest course for the committee to adopt would be,
without troubling themselves about establishing any
institution for the express purpose, but allowing
the zeal of tho'4e benevolent persons to take its
course, to grant a certain sum of money in propor-
tion to the number of convalescent cases that
might be brought forward. (Hear, hear.) But all
those were points upon which his committee would
be glad to have the advice of that of the Mansion-
house.

The LORD 'MAYOR, after expressing on behalf of
the committee their gratification at being afforded
an opportunity of conferring with the right rev.
prelate, said, with respect to the desirability of
establishing
a permanent convalescent hospital, not
with reference to the present occasion alone, but
for ordinary times, he thought they would be all
agreed. Many of the hospitals in London had
very large revenues. The question of establishing
an hospital for convalescents had often been dis-
cussed by the governors of St. Bartholomew's Hos-
pital, and the treasurer of that institution had pre-