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3 Dictionary of Sanitary Appliances.

BY W. EASSIE, C.E.

(Continued from page 160.)

AIR.-VIII.

AIR INLETS (continued).-Air flushing inlets.-By air flushing is meant that process in ventilation whereby the atmosphere of a room is suddenly changed, and replaced by a volume of air direct from without. In houses, this is brought about chiefly by the action of the windows, which are suddenly opened to admit of a deluge of the purer element. The advantages which follow this process of extraordinary ventilation are at all times most grateful, and it can be effected by the use of the ordinary sash window in the following manner:-The window of a room has the top sash lowered and the bottom sash raised until the top and bottom rails of both the upper and lower sashes meet in the middle of the window, leaving a quarter space of the window open at the top, and the same at the bottom of the window aperture. As a rule, after this has been done, the cold air will rush in at the bottom opening, and find an exit at the top one. The clearing of the room is quickened if the door be opened, and the staircase window as well, whereupon a direct sweep of air will take place. It is astonishing how pleasant the atmosphere of a room can be made by this simple proceeding, when, after a long sitting with an

A

B

D

Air flushing by means of a common sash window. The outlet and inlet spaces reach from A to B and from c to D respectively. The sashes оссиру the space from в to c.

extra number of inmates, the ordinary ventilating media of the apartment have been overtaxed, and nothing can more readily restore a student who has been burning the midnight oil or, still wore, gas, in a close room, the ventilating arrangements of which are imperfect, than a resort once or twice during the evening to this simple cure. When the apartment has several windows, the process of air flushing is very quickly performed, as one window is certain to act as an outlet, and when the room is pierced with window openings made opposite each other a very few moments will suffice to make the requisite change in the atmosphere.

There is a very simple, effective, and inexpensive system of sash window, which not only permits of an instantaneous influx and efflux of air, but which allows of the sashes being reversed in order that they may be cleaned without the danger of venturing outside, either by standing upon the window-sill or making use of the weighted plank. It is known as Baker's Patent Ven

Baker's Patent Ventila

ting Sash Window.

tilating Window, and is manufactured by Lascelles, of Bunhill Row, London. The air is delivered upwards, towards the ceiling, but this need not interfere with the creation of a sufficient outlet. The sashes both swing on centres, affording a sufficient protection from the weather nevertheless, inasmuch as the wind and rain are met by the inclined plane of the glass. The delivery of the air can be controlled in its quantity by the amount of poise given to the sashes, and thus an excellent inlet can be got without an extraordinary amount of draught. There is another kind of sash window which very well performs the function of air flushing, and here the upper portion of the sash is hinged to the lower portion. It is much used in workshops and hospitals, but a sash of this description would be equally useful in houses, especially in the staircases. would deliver an astonishing quantity of air, and, what is of great moment, would give to the incoming air an upward direction. The bottom sash can be made fixed or it can be hung with weights in the ordinary way. If the latter style be adopted the process of flushing will be all the sooner completed.

Sash Window with Hanging Top.

It

Another system of window fitting is the sash window with a solid frame, where the sash is comprised of a single piece and hung upon centres, instead of being double and hung with lines and weights. It is also a very valuable pattern for use when a speedy changing of the air becomes necessary, and there can be no doubt that this kind of window would prove very desirable if used alternately with those of the common pattern; only in this case there should be a thicker bar in the centre so as to range with the meeting bars of the ordinary sash window.

Sash Window with

9

panes hung on centres

and with solid frame. There is a patent

form of sash window made by Elsley of London, which can be used with great success when a large influx of air is required, and which is equally valuable. A light iron rod and lever is here actuated, and there is formed a counterbalance to the sash which opens it to the required position. The sashes themselves can be hung on centres or hung falling inwards, and they can be manufactured either in wood or iron. The value of this contrivance lies in the upper opening portion of the sash, Elsley's Patent Sash which becomes valuable as an Lever Action, in addi- inlet or outlet, or both, depending tion to the ordinary sash system. upon the number of such sashes in an apartment.

Another advantage of the system is, that the window can be used as an ordinary sash apparatus, as the top sash can be lowered and the bottom sash raised in the usual manner. This is, in fact, an ordinary sash window, with a sash lever in combination therewith, and its usefulness is

very patent, whether used in houses, schools, hospitals, or workshops.

When casement windows prevail over the house-and they are very common in ground-floor rooms opening upon a lawn-nothing better can be desired when a restitution

of pure air is of importance. All that is necessary is to throw the casements open. But in the winter time such a procedure would be attended with objectionable draughts. The ordinary casement in that case would be useless as a means of carrying on a constant ventilation, however desirable they might be when a flush of air became a matter of importance. It is for this reason that the casement frames of windows are now for the most part fitted up with transoms, which allow of a fanlight portion to be opened or closed independent of the folding-door portions. And it is a matter worth consideration whether casements ought to be fitted up in a house without these lights over the transoms, seeing that they are of great value in bringing about a constant interchange of air. If the top light be so contrived as to fall down

Ordinary Casement Window,

without transom light over

head.

according to the circumstances of the case. Nothing equal to these have been before devised, and their value as a means of flooding a room with pure air is undeniable.

One of the most valuable methods of air flushing is that which is largely used in hospitals, and which was first introduced to notice in London. Upon the recommendation of Professor De Chaumont, who has frequently noticed its excellent working at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, etc., it has been copied and adopted elsewhere, and as far as regards inlet and outlet, and also the added air flushing actions, nothing better can be desired. The three upper sections of the window, which occupy about about threefourths of the entire height, are fitted up with louvres each the depth of a pane, and these are simultaneously opened and shut by means of a lever working on a circular plane, the amount of inlet being regulated by a pin action, as in the case of an ordinary casement set-open quadrant. The fourth and lowest portion of the window is hinged, and can, at a moment's notice, by the handling of a cord, be let down flush with the window sill, thus affording a sudden rush of cold air at the bed level. The full value of this system of window for sick rooms is difficult to estimate, and it is a matter of regret to me that I am unable to name the inventor. (To be continued.)

ward-flap fashion-the value of the added factor is greatly SANITARY INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

enhanced.

In the case of attics and rooms where, perforce, the lights must be placed beyond reach of the hand, no better device can be made use of, whether for ordinary or extraordinary inlet ventilation-i.c., whether for a constant inlet or as a means of air flushing-than that which is effected by the use of the patent quadrants of M. Beanland, manufactured in Birmingham. By their adoption the windows can be opened and fixed in any desired position by means of cords, and these quadrants can be adapted for windows hung in any position, whether with hinges or pivots. They are so adjustable that they will cause the light to open inwards or outwards, and the quadrant can be fixed at the side, at the middle, at the top, or at the bottom of the light,

Beanland's Quadrant Action for opening, closing, and fastening windows. The above shows a quadrant when fixed, the sash being partly opened.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR FURTHER EXPERIMENTS ON
COWLS AND OTHER AUTOMATIC MODES
OF VENTILATION.

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THE sub-committee appointed to test the cowls exhibited at Leamington, having carried out an elaborate series of experiments, have arrived at results of great value. These, however, show the necessity of further investigating the whole subject of ventilation by automatic means. It is therefore proposed to extend the inquiry to other appliances for ventilation besides those already submitted to trial. By permission of the Kew Committee of the Royal Society the experiments will be carried out at the Royal Observatory, Kew.

The Council of the Sanitary Institute have passed a resolution appointing Captain Douglas Galton, C.B., Eassie, C. E., as a committee to undertake such investigaF.R.S.; Rogers Field, B.A., M. Inst. C.E.; and W. tion with a view to the publication of the detailed results. The expense of the contemplated inquiry will be considerable, and the Sanitary Institute have not at the present time funds available for this purpose. It is therefore proposed to raise the requisite fund by special subscription among those interested in the thorough investigation of the subject.

Subscribers of a guinea and upwards will be entitled to receive a copy of the details of the experiments when published.

Subscriptions to be forwarded to Rogers Field, Hon. Treasurer, 5 Cannon Row, Westminster, and cheques should be crossed London and Westminster Bank, St. James's Square Branch.

The list of subscriptions already received is headed by His Grace the Duke of Northumberland with 100/., and it also includes ten, five, and one guinea subscriptions from many other well-known gentlemen, such as Norman Shaw, R. A.; Alfred Waterhouse, A.R.A.; T. E. Harrison, Past President Inst. C.E.; Chas. Hawksley, M. Inst. C.E., Professor De Chaumont, Professor Corfield, George Buchanan, M.D.; Saxon Snell, F. R.I.B.A.; Arthur W. Blomfield, F. R.I.B.A.; Ernest George, F.R.I.B.A.; R. R. Arntz, J. Bailey Denton, M. Inst. C. E., J. Noble, etc., etc.

See copy of the Report in SANITARY RECORD, Vol. VIII., p. 359

Notice of Meeting.

SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS. THE next general meeting of this society will be held at Burlington House, Piccadilly, on Wednesday, the 19th inst., at eight o'clock, when the following papers will be read :-On Violet Powder,' by Dr. Dupré, F.R.S.; 'On the Adulteration of Food, etc., Bill now before the German Parliament,' by O. Hehner, F.C.S.; On the Work done by Public Analysts under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act for 1878,' by G. W. Wigner, F.C.S.

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ANALYSTS OF THE OLDEN TIME.

ALTHOUGH Our English Adulteration Acts are of comparatively recent origin, John Bull has ever been anxious to have his beer pure and good. Accordingly we find that as many as 300 years ago the authorities of various towns took steps to ensure a supply of pure ale and beer to the public by the appointment of officials called 'aletasters. By the terms of their oath the tasters were called upon 'to try, taste, and assize the beer and ale to be put to sale in this liberty, whether the same be wholesome for man's body, and present those that offend or refuse to suffer you to assay it.' This practice of aletasting is still in existence in some places at the present time. Thus, at a recent court leet of Earl Bathurst at Cirencester, the 'aletasters' asked to be relieved of their office, on the ground that they were getting old men, and wished someone to take their places. The Analyst, to which we are indebted for these facts, gives a very curious piece of information as to the superiority of the processes adopted by the ale-tasters over those of the degenerate analysts of the present day. It seems that, in common with most persons, the tasters wore leather breeches, and when they went to test the ale for the presence of sugar, a pint of fluid was spilt on a well-cleaned bench, and the taster sat upon it till it dried. If, on rising, the leather continuations stuck to the bench, then sugar was present, but if not, the beer was pure.

INFLUENCE OF THE FAMILY STATE ON HEALTH

AND MORALS.

IT has been shown from statistics that in general married people have a less mortality than the unmarried or widowed. Among facts indicating the relation between marriage and physical health, it has been proved by M. Janssens, of Brussels, that at all ages widowers are about twice as liable to phthisis as other men, but that married people are generally more liable to this disease than celibates. This law is constant for women; for men it holds good only before twentyfive years of age and after forty-five. Such facts and their meaning are discussed by M. Bertillon in a paper following the one on Statistics of Marriage,' which we noticed lately. M. Bertillon goes on to show the influence of the family state on morals. Not only do fewer married people die than others, but they show less tendency to suicide, to mental derangement, to assassination, to theft, and other evils or crimes. Widowers commit suicide much more than married men. As regards crime generally they may be said to rank between the single (above) and the married (below). It is remarkable that men who have families commit less crime (including suicide) than those (married men) who have not; and the same applies to widowers. The presence of children recals them, doubtless, to a sense of duty. The influence of children further appears to be greater than that of a wife, and it keeps back married men from crime more than widowers. In all social situations women are found to be much less disposed to crime than men, and the presence of children greatly influences the morality of married women. Those who have children show only about half the tendency to crime of the others. Widows, on the other hand, seem to be more often inspired with criminal thoughts where they have children than where they are without them. Is this from misery or some other cause? As regards suicide, the presence of a young family exercises a peculiarly well-marked influence. Both in the case of married men and in that of widowers this presence diminishes by about one-half the tendency to commit suicide. Women are generally less disposed to suicide than men, but whether in the married state or widows, they show much less tendency to take away their own lives where they have children than where they have Some of these results are contrary to common notions.

not.

APPOINTMENTS OF HEALTH OFFI CERS, INSPECTORS OF NUISANCES, ETC.

ATKINSON, George Paul, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.S.A. Lond., has been reappointed Medical Officer of Health for the Pontefract Urban Sanitary District, at 40%. per ann. for three years. AYRE, Mr. G., has been elected a Member of the Winterton Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, vice Bennett, deceased. BELL, Mr. Joseph Carter, has been appointed Public Analyst for the Borough of Glossop, at 215. per analysis for the first fifty in one year, 10s. 6d. per analysis for the second fifty, and 5s. per analysis beyond.

BRINGLOE, Capel, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.S.A. Lond., has been appointed Certifying Factory Surgeon for the Westhoughton District. BUCK, Mr. John, has been appointed Inspector of Nuisances for the Hucknall-Torkard Urban Sanitary District, vice Raynor, resigned.

DOWDING, Alexander William Woodman, L. R.C.P. Edin., M. R.C.S. Eng., L S.A. Lond., has been appointed Certifying Factory Surgeon for the Ampthill District.

GOTHARD, Mr. S. Alfred, has been appointed Clerk to the Alcester Guardians and Rural Sanitary Authority, at 100l. per ann., as Clerk to the Guardians, 50%. per ann. as Clerk to the Rural Sanitary Authority, 207. per ann. as Clerk to the Assessment Committee, and 30. per ann. as Clerk to the School Attendance Committee, vice Jones, deceased.

HARVEY, George, L. R.C.P. Edin., L.R. C. S. Irel., L.A. H. Dub., has been reappointed Medical Officer of Health for the MatlockBath and Scarthin-Nick Urban Sanitary District, Derbyshire, at 12/. 125. for one year.

HERRING, Mr. Edward, has been elected a Member of the Altofts Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, Yorkshire, vice a Member disqualified by non-attendance for six months. HITCHINGS, Mr. Charles T., has been appointed Surveyor_and Inspector of Nuisances for the Malmesbury Highway and Rural Sanitary Districts, at 140/. and 60l. per ann., vice Adams, resigned, and Livermore, whose appointment has expired.

LUPTON, Harry, L. R.C.P. Lond., M. R.C.S. Eng., has been appointed Certifying Factory Surgeon for the Stratford-on-Avon District, vice Rice, resigned.

RADFORD, Mr. George, has been appointed Surveyor to the Hucknall-Torkard Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority, vice Raynor, resigned.

TERRY, Charles, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.S.A. Lond., has been appointed Certifying Factory Surgeon for the Newport-Pagnell District. VACHER, Francis, F.R.C.S. Edin., L.R.C. P. Edin., has been appointed Public Analyst for the Borough of Birkenhead. WILLIAMS, David Martin, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.S.A. Lond., has been appointed Certifying Factory Surgeon for the Olney District.

VACANCIES.

BROMYARD GUARDIANS AND RURAL SANITARY AUTHORITY, Here-
fordshire. Clerk. Application, 27th instant.
CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH GUARDIANS AND RURAL SANITARY Au-
THORITY, Derbyshire. Clerk.

HOLYHEAD GUARDIANS AND RURAL SANITARY AUTHORITY. Clerk.
HORNSEY URBAN SANITARY DISTRICT. Medical Officer of
Health.

KIDSGROVE URBAN SANITARY DISTRICT, Staffordshire. Medical
Officer of Health: 20l. for one year. Application, 19th instant,
to Thomas Sherratt, Clerk to the Authority.
RAWTENSTALL LOCAL BOARD AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY,
Lancashire. Surveyor. Application, 25th instant, to Thomas
Woodcock, Clerk, West View, Haslingden.

STAFFORD RURAL SANITARY DISTRICT. Medical Officer of
Health: 73. per ann.

ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR, Southwark. Medical Officer of Health.
THETFORD, CORPORATION AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY OF.
Surveyor. Inspector of Nuisances. Collector. Applications,
25th instant.
WALLINGFORD, CORPORATION AND URBAN SANITARY AUTHORITY
OF. Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances.

NOTICE.

THE SANITARY Record is published every Friday morning,
Annual
and may be ordered direct from the Publishers.
Subscription, 175. 4d.; free by post, 195. 6d.
Reading Covers to hold 12 numbers of THE SANITARY RE-
CORD have been prepared, and may be had direct from the
Publishers or through any Bookseller, price 35.

Original Papers.

WAITING FOR THE PLAGUE.

(BY OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.)

ST. JAMES' END, Northampton, which is within the jurisdiction of the Hardingstone Local Board of Health, has been in such a condition since 1871 as to warrant the heading of this paper. It cannot be doubted that the plague is an aggravated form of the worst order of dirt disease known to sanitarians. It is also admitted that the inhabitants of malarious districts are subject to outbreaks of fever of a low type, and that such outbreaks are aggravated by want of proper sanitary precautions; that an outbreak of the plague is usually preceded by an epidemic of glandular swellings, free from fever,' amongst the inhabitants of filthy, ill-drained, and overcrowded towns; and that wherever the plague has followed these glandular outbreaks, it has invariably assumed a most malignant type. With these facts before us we shall be justified in using the expression 'Waiting for the Plague,' if we produce evidence that the district, known as St. James' End, Northampton, has been for the last ten years, and is at the present time in a precisely similar condition, to many of those Eastern cities which have lately absorbed the plague pestilence with terrible avidity. Filth, overflowing middens, lagoons of liquid sewage, an absence of drainage, filthy houses, poverty, an extraordinary number of cases of lymphadenoma and of leucocythemia, these are a few of the plague germs which are to be met with in that most scandalously insanitary of rural districts -St. James' End, Northampton.

The history of the rise and progress of the district of St. James' End is instructive, because it not only shows the inefficient manner in which the Local Government Board carry out the powers entrusted to them by the Public Health Acts, but it proves that in rural sanitary districts where the members of the local board of health are for the most part owners of the insanitary dwellings over which the board exercises jurisdiction, such districts must inevitably remain in a condition dangerous to the health of the inhabitants, unless the Local Government Board can be persuaded to interfere. Immediately the authorities at Whitehall receive notice that a local health authority has been guilty of default, and when this charge has been proved to be well founded, it is their imperative duty to exercise the powers conferred upon them by the 299th section of the Public Health Act of 1875. Unfortunately, this clause has, since its enactment, too often remained a dead letter.

un

In April, 1871, Dr. Buchanan published a report on the sanitary state of Northampton, in which he gives the following account of St. James' End :-'Devonshire Street is made, undrained, swampy from slops thrown from the houses; miserable fragments only of foot-way. Here are seen two parallel streets, standing about 100 feet apart, of small two-storey houses, each 10 or II feet broad; in the open space between the backs of the houses are little gardens, with midden privies and pigsties; and now irregular groups of cottages are being built up here, with the result of removing the privies closer to the houses, and of

seriously overcrowding an area that before was not at all too extensive. In this suburb there is an absence of any regulations about new buildings. Houses 12 feet wide, with party walls half a brick thick, are seen in course of erection, the space behind them, containing the dustbin and privy, being scarcely larger than the area on which the houses stand. Elsewhere the window of a living room has, at about 8 feet distance, a direct prospect of a midden heap, 10 feet long and 4 high.' Commenting upon this state of affairs, Dr. Buchanan defines these streets as 'places so situated, so constructed, and so without regulation as to perpetuate all the worst sanitary evils. This suburb is in a miserably neglected state; the houses are built on water-logged sites, without plan, with undrained roads, filthy accumulations, and, except where the company furnishes the supply, with execrable water.' Such, then, was Dr. Buchanan's report of this district in the year 1871.

In October, 1874, the district of St. James' End was added to the Hardingstone district by order of the Local Government Board, and it has been from that time under the management of the Hardingstone local board. In February of the same year, the medical officers of the Northampton Provident Dispensary called attention, in their published report, to the great sanitary evils existing in this district. These gentlemen again referred to the state of St. James' End in their report dated February, 1876, and on February 14 of that month the honorary secretary of the dispensary wrote to the local board, in consequence of a resolution unanimously passed at the annual meeting of the governors of that institution. Mr. Becke pointed out that the medical officers had on several occasions drawn attention to the insanitary condition of St. James' End, and that in consequence of their last report it was determined to make application to the Local Government Board to interfere. This step would have been taken earlier had he not seen one of the members of the local board, who assured him that immediate measures would be adopted with the view of mitigating the evils complained of. The honorary secretary next proceeded to call attention to Dr. Buchanan's report, and to point out that since it was written nothing effectual had been attempted. The governors and medical officers of the dispensary had a direct interest in the question, inasmuch as very many of their free members resided in this district, and their health suffered from the absence of all sanitary arrangements. Mr. Becke was, therefore, desired to call the attention of the Local Authority to these facts, and to intimate that the committee of the dispensary had been instructed by the governors, to memorialise the Local Government Board under the 299th section of the Public Health Act, and to request that Board to issue the necessary order to compel them to make sewers and to provide a proper supply of water. As, however, the committee were simply anxious to have the necessary reforms executed at once, they would defer presenting the memorial for two months, so that the local board might have one more opportunity of removing the evils. Unless satisfactory measures were taken within that time the necessary proceedings would be instituted without further delay. On March 3 the clerk of the local board, in reply to this letter, stated, that the Local Authority had several schemes under consideration.

On receipt of this letter, the Dispensary Committee induced the medical officers of the

dispensary, with Mr. Haviland, the medical officer of health for the district, to visit the place. In the result, on September 20, 1876, Mr. Haviland presented a report to the Local Authority, in which he stated: "In consequence of there being no efficient means of sewage disposal in your district, there is at the present time a large amount of scarlet fever prevailing there of a malignant and fatal type. The malignancy of the mortality from this epidemic I attribute to the foul condition of the privies and closets, which are overflowing with sewage in every direction, and polluting both air and water.' He expressed regret that the evils, which he had so frequently pointed out as existing in this ill-fated district, had not been removed. Had the Goux system been❘ adopted some months ago, he did not hesitate to say that the deaths now registered from scarlet fever would in all probability not have occurred. He had lately visited Devonshire Street, and there found a large number of fever cases associated with the most loathsome sewage and sodden backyards which it was possible to imagine. In some cases the cesspits were overflowing through the privy flooring, and the sewage had found its way into the centre of the yard. In another case the filth had been taken out, a week before, from the cesspit, and had been placed in a hole, in the centre of the courtyard, between the privy and the backdoor. This sewage soon found its way to the surface, and formed a lagoon of the most pestiferous character. At the back of Park Street he found such a vast array of filth, overflowing cesspits and ashpits, as he had not witnessed for some time. On opening the doors of these fever generators he found them reeking with pestilential gases. With such conditions he was quite prepared to find typhoid fever, and on inquiry he discovered that there had been two cases at least of a severe type, and others might naturally be expected to follow, if the disgraceful state of things described was allowed to continue. He then gave a list of the cases of typhoid and malignant scarlet fever and of diphtheria, which he found at that time present in different parts of the district. Mr. Haviland further pointed out, that the local board had approved the adoption of a system, which was well calculated to meet the difficulties the district laboured under, and he therefore asked the members, without a moment's delay, to put this system in action, and to thus stay the mortality which was gradually increasing to a most alarming extent.'

Unfortunately, this report made no impression on the Local Authority. A memorial, dated November 30, 1876, recapitulating all the facts, was accordingly presented to the Local Government Board by the vice-presidents, medical officers, and members of the committee of the Northampton Dispensary. The memorial expressed the belief that all the evils, so ably pointed out by Dr. Buchanan, were still in existence, and that no effectual means had been taken to remove them, although a formidable outbreak of scarlet fever of a malignant type was then raging at St. James' End. The memorialists formally complained to the Local Government Board, that the Local Authority had made default in not providing their district with sufficient sewers, and that the supply of water was inadequate, although a proper supply could be obtained at a moderate cost from the Northampton Water Company. Further, the memorialists had reason to believe, that the Local Authority had made default in not issuing proper regulations with regard to the build

ing of new houses within their district. They, therefore, prayed that the Local Government Board would cause inquiry to be made under the 299th section of the Public Health Act, as to the sanitary condition of the district, and that they would issue such orders and directions thereon, as, after such inquiry, might seem fit and necessary. On February 17, 1877, the Local Government Board announced their determination to direct one of their inspectors to hold a local inquiry into the matter. This inquiry was held by Mr. Harrison, C.E., on March 21; and in consequence of his report, the Local Government Board wrote, on May 22, to the Local Authority, stating that it appeared to them, that the complaints in the memorial were well founded.'

More than a year now elapsed without any action being taken by the Local Board of Health. Malignant fever still continued to rage in the district, and in consequence the dispensary authorities again wrote to the Local Government Board on July 24, 1878, recapitulating all the facts, and adding that the committee had that day been informed by one of their medical officers, that the necessary steps had not been taken, and that the evils which the medical officers of the dispensary had feared had resulted from this neglect. Typhoid fever had broken out in the district. There were at that time three cases, and others were apprehended. The necessity for taking immediate action was therefore once more urged upon the Local Government Board. In acknowledging the receipt of this letter, about a week afterwards, the authorities at Whitehall stated, the local board had prepared a scheme of sewerage for St. James' End, and had applied for sanction to borrow the money to carry it into execution. It was necessary, however, that the notices required by Section 32 of the Public Health Act of 1875 should be issued. This had been done, and the three months within which objections might have been made to the work having expired, without any such objection being received, the Central Authority had informed the local board, on learning that agreements had been entered into for the purchase of the land for a pumping station and tank, and for the lease of the land required for sewage irrigation, they would sanction the loan for carrying out the scheme. This communication was received as far back as July 30, 1878, but up to the present time the district of St. James' End remains in the same insanitary state which Dr. Buchanan described in his report dated so long ago as April 1871. We make this statement after inspecting the district in question, and we would add to it the astonishing fact, that not only have the evils complained of been allowed to remain for ten years unredressed, but at the present time very many new houses are being erected in this neighbourhood, under conditions which must result in equal, if not in greater, disasters.

It was a fine breezy March day when we visited St. James' End, so that our inspection was made under the most favourable conditions. Devonshire Street was still unmade and undrained, and it was still swampy from the slops thrown from the houses on either side of the street. No footpaths had been made, and the midden privies and some pigsties, with here and there a cowshed, are still to be met with in the little gardens at the backs of the houses. In the courtyards lagoons of filthy water, evidently mixed with sewage, were frequently present. Taking

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