London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lewisham 1857
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham District]
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to a temporary loan of £2,000, until the monies due upon the precepts
issued by them should be paid. And after endeavouring in
vain, by advertisement and otherwise, to effect their object on easier
terms, they were under the necessity of accepting the amount from
their Treasurer, at £6 per cent., repayable on a month's notice at
any time after the expiration of nine months. This sum was taken
up on the 14th May, 1857, and one-half of it paid off on the 14th
February last, the expiration of the nine months, and it is hoped
that the remainder will be paid off during the present year, although
the position of the Board, on the 25th March last, was but a slight
improvement on that of the previous year. At the first date,
£2,726 out of the £8,000 borrowed for sewerage works had been
applied to general purposes, and on the second, £1,000 was due on
the temporary loan, and £1,201 6s. 9d. out of the sum so borrowed
for sewerage works remained unapplied to its legitimate purpose.
lo meet the estimates lor the year commencing 2oth March, 1857, which were made in the July of that year, the Finance Committee recommended the issue of the following precepts:—
| £. | 8. | d. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For Watering the Blackheath Roads | 200 | 0 | 0 |
| ,, Lighting Lewisham Village | 300 | 0 | 0 |
| „ Ditto Sydenham | 1000 | 0 | 0 |
| „ General Purposes—Lewisham . | 4500 | 0 | 0 |
| „ Sewerage Purposes | 1000 | 0 | 0 |
| „ General Purposes—Penge | 800 | 0 | 0 |
| Making a total Income for the Expenditure of the Board of | £7,800 | 0 | 0 |
In the above sums provision was made, in several instances, for
deficiencies on the previous year, amounting to upwards of £1,000,
and on reference to the statement shewing the financial condition
of the Board, and of each separate head of expenditure, it will be
seen how nearly such estimates approached to the actual necessities
of the Board.
The above estimates were adopted by the Board, and precepts
were issued in July, 1857, for the several amounts, payable by four
equal instalments, at as nearly equal intervals as possible between
the date of issue and the 25th March, 1858, in order to facilitate
the proceedings of the Overseers of the Poor of Lewisham and
Penge, and enable them to make equal quarterly rates at fixed
periods of the year. This intention was, however, frustrated, as
regards Lewisham, by the Local Board of Guardians, who held that
they were bound (under section 161 of the Act) to raise the full
amount specified in any precept by one rate, even although the
sum was expressly directed to be paid by instalments ranging over
an extended period. The precepts, with the exception of the one
for sewerage expenses and that issued upon Penge, to which no