The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-09-18 00:00:00

THE CHARGES LAID AGAINST THE VESTRY
BY THE BOARD OF HEALTH.

A Vestry meeting was held yesterday, with the object
of receiving the report of the committee appointed to ex-
amine into the truth of the charges recently made against
that body by the Board of Health. The members present
were Mr. Churchwarden Harbord, Mr. Molyneux, Mr.
Abraham, Mr. Hodson, Mr. Brown, Mr. Ireland, Mr.
Hand, Mr. C. Willmer, Mr. Woodruffe, Mr. Johnson,
(new member) and Mr. Cairns: Owing to the circum-
stance of the Bishop having arranged to preach a sermon
for a charitable purpose, in St. Peter's Church, yesterday
morning, both the Archdeacon and Rector Campbell were
absent from their places at the board. Mr. Church-
warden HARBORD was called to the chair, and briefly re-
lated the purport of the meeting, and stated that it was
.for them to determine whether the report furnished by
the Medical Relief Committee, be read and adopted. He
also referred to a written document which had been
placed in his hands by the Rev. Rector Campbell, which
was also a report on the same subject, but in a more con-
densed form than that emanating from the committee. It
might be a question whether this should also be taken
into consideration.

Mr. ABRAHAM said the Rector entirely approved of the
committee's report, but considered it too lengthy for pub-
lication. He (Mr. A.) would move that the report be
read, and afterwards, before its adoption, the written
documents furnished by the Rector, be also considered.
It appeared from a conversation, that the Rector's re-
port was furnished to the committee with a view to its
making use of it at a period when the committee's own
report had been drawn up, and that the Rector had seen
the report, which he approved of, but doubted the advisa-
bility of its being extended to the length the committee
had thought proper to allow it. All the gentlemen en-
gaged in drawing it up concurred in the opinion that it
could not be further condensed, and Mr. Abraham's
motion, to hear the report read, was carried.
Mr. WOODRUFFE expressed his opinion that it was
it was probable that the report, written by Mr. Campbell,
contained facts of value in the consideration of the ques-
tion, and therefore ought to become the property of the
public, Mr. Hart read the report, which was very lengthy,
but the principal features of which we have condensed in
a leading article.

The report having been read,
Mr. ABRAHAM moved the adoption of the report. He
expressed himself sorry it had been necessary to trouble
them with so long a report, but he felt convinced it could
not have been condensed without suffering in effect, and,
if it met the object for which it was undertaken, he was
quite sure neither the vestry nor that committee would
drudge their time and labour. Referring to the charges
that had been brought against them, he asserted that the
true economy in spending the money of the parishioners
was to exercise a liberality when that liberality was neces-
sary to ensure utility ; this course, he was convinced,
had ever been pursued by the vestry in regard to the
question of the medical provision for the poor. It was
the more surprising, under these circumstances, that the
Board of Health should have made the charges relative to
the spread of the cholera. He impugned the interference
of the Board of Health, on the ground that they were
incapable of controlling the ravages of cholera in London,
where facilities were available to them that could not
exist here ; he disputed the hypotheses which they held,
and contended generally that they were incompetent to
what they professed. They had said cholera was more
likely to be prevalent where typhus and diarrhoea pre-
vailed, but the contrary was the fact, for it was well
known that no place was more liable than Liverpool to
these diseases, and, therefore, cholera should have been
more prevalent here than in London to prove their theory
—unless, indeed, they were allowed to have made their
arrangements for the visitation so efficient that the exces-
sive liability was defeated that way. He went on to show
that the Board of Health had made themselves obnoxious
in every town where they had interfered. If they would
co-operate with thoseto whom they dictated it would be ano-
ther matter; but, he believed, they could not co-operate.
Until recently, he had never opposed the Board of Health,
on the contrary, he had felt the greatest confidence in
them, and approved of the course they had adopted :
when Mr. Grainger came down he was still of this opi-
nion, but regretted their interference was not more judi-
cious. (Hear, hear.) He did think Mr. Grainger was
entitled to their thanks, for he believed he was the first
person who discovered that diarrhcera had last year begun
to spread through the town, although he knew Mr. Hodson
did not think he was right in his conclusions. He (Mr.
A.) did not doubt he was right, Mr. Grainger found this
by the agency of the druggists, and he did think that gen-
tleman discovered facts unknown to them and to Dr.
Duncan. They (the Vestry) did not receive Mr. Grainger
with much deference, and he certainly did regret this ;
the Board of Health, in consequence, were offended,
and on no other grounds than this circumstance afforded
eould he account for their statements, which he would
submit, together with the reports, to any candid person.
With reference to the assertions relative to the injurious
effects consequent on the vicinity of cholera hospitals,
theirexperience had contradicted this theory. Mr. Abra-
ham concluded by moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. HODSON before seconding the motion would say a
few words relative to a remark which appeared in the
Mail of Saturday week, having reference to some obser-
vations made by him, and which were said to have been
rendered in a somewhat different dress by some penny-a-
liner ; he begged to say that his remarks were correct as
appeared in the paper to which the Mail referred. He
then approached the subject in discussion by stating that
he differed a little from Mr. Abraham with respect to the
Board of Health • he contended that it was not entitled to
the confidence ofthat board, nor to that of any board in
England ; a great many of their statements were totally
untrue, and little reliance was to be placed in others. He
thought they ought not to grudge their time in defending
themselves from charges which, if true, would shew them
to be a disgrace to that vestry and to society. He shewed
that in consequence of jealousy existing between some of
the members of a Joint Committee, only one meeting had
been held between December and June, and that really
all that was done had been done by the present commit-
tee. He referred to the report of the Board of Health,
where it was stated that diarrhoea was more prevalent in
Liverpool in June than it had been for many years. In
refutation of this statement he read the following return
from the Southern and Northern Dispensaries of diarrhoea
cases for the last four or five months:—

SOTJTIIERN DISPENSARY.
1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. ' 1849.
• .3 • .3 • .3 •
ti t:do >.
" ,-, 4 .4 4 4 .4 4 4
57 120 169 376 587 427 82 174 187 37 81 77 208 433 236
-

Cholera ..
Diarrhea

61 107 52
50 198 123

From 6th June to 28th Aug,
Total of Bowel Complaints in each of the following Years;—
1 I
851 2,725 845. I 1846. 1854 847. I 1848.
509

NORTHERN DISPENSARY
June, 1846 l2B
~ 1847
„ 1848 lO3
1849 ll3.
From this it would be seen there was actually a deficiency
in 1849. He next objected to the mode in which Mr.
Grainger obtained his information. He went to four
druggists' shops, and simply asked if they had many cases
of diarrhoea. The reply very naturally is in the affirmative.
He (Mr. IL) knew that among the lower classes, living
on a spare diet, there was a great amount of diarrhoea at
all times. He was not going to give Mr. Grainger credit
for the information some would allow him ; be would ask
what they knew of Mr. Grainger; he was a lecturer on
anatomy, but could know nothing in comparison with men
in daily practice in this town. All medical men have
agreed in what he (Mr. H.) stated, that diarrhoea was less
prevalent in the summer of 1849 than in the preceding
years. Then they came to the question of the hospitals :
At the very time that these injurious statements were
being made, the deaths were about 18. From this, Mr.
Hodson glanced at the assertion made by Mr. Granger
that cholera was always attended by the premonitory
symptoms of diarrhoea; but Dr. Sutherland, whom all
must admit was a far better authority than his coadjutor,
was of opinion that in many instances cholera is not ac-
companied by diarrhoea at all ;—the patient is swept away
without any warning. The truth was, that the disease
was one that was not to be judged of by ordinary
rules. He (Mr. H.) knew an instance of a case of
cholera at Everton. The situation was apparently
healthful, and the person attacked was surrounded
by all .the comforts of life. The first time that Dr.
Duncan saw the hospital in Vauxhall-road, he was
of opinion that it was not healthful. A hospital
would have been provided long before if one could have
been provided. The case which had been adduced of a
woman who expired as she was being taken from Henry
Edward-street to the St. Anne-street Hospital, he ex-
plained. The medical man attending her had advised her
removal the day before ; but the woman refused to leave
her family until all hope of recovery had vanished. The
distance was not great, and he contended that it was the
greatest possible act of humanity to remove patients from
such crowded and infected neighbourhoods as Sawney
Pope-street into a purer air. At the time the complaint
originated, (29th May,) there were only 16 cases reported
for the whole month. They had thirteen medical men,
who all concurred in saying they had less to do then
than at any other period of the year. Notwithstand-
ing this, they had taken the precaution to write to
solicit the assistance of a number of medical men, if need
were. Of this they were assured, and he would ask what
more could be done ? Their medical officers assured them
they were more than sufficient to the emergency, and
were they to dispute the words of such gentlemen ?- He
contended that they were more capable of providing for
the health of the town than four or five gentlemen in
London. He went on to detail the preparations made by
the committee to meet the calamity, and proved that the
most comprehensive measures had been adopted, at an
enormous expenditure, and then asked if the statement of
the Board of Health, that nothing had been done, were
true ? Mr. Hodson concluded a most emphatic speech by
indignantly rebuking the charges, and asserting that there
could be no doubt but that Mr. Grainger was the author
of the report in which they were contained. He entirely
acquitted Dr. Sutherland of participation. He was sure,
however, that the time would come when Mr. Grainger
would find he bad been too rash. When they came before
Parliament, it would be one reason why the Board of
Health would be abolished. _ _

Mr. BaowN rose to make a few remarks. He wished
to ask which of the deputies of the Board of Health they
were to believe, for they contradicted each other: if they
listened to one, they must disregard the other. He con-
sidered the present charge had been brought in order that
the blame due to the accusers should be transferred to
another place, and also to get increased powers conferred
on them. He referred to his having been a member of
the joint committee, but having attended one of their