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"Wobkhoote.—There have been no fewer than 61 deaths in this building.
There have been 7 deaths from measles, 7 from consumption, 22 from chest
diseases, 4 from renal disease, 5 from old age, and 4 from cerebral disease. One
man died the day after Christmas-day from suffocation produced by plum pudding,
of which he appeared to be very fond, passing down into his windpipe. A very
large quantity of pudding was found in his stomach and some in the air passages.
There have been a great many cases of measles during the month, (35), and
although the mortality has been high the epidemic has not yet been so fatal as it
was last year; but there are still a considerable number of children very ill with
the disease. For the most part however it carries off the children who were
previously delicate and unhealthy.
The rooms to which the children, between one and twelve months of age
with their mothers, have been recently removed, are in their present state ill
adapted to the purpose to which they are allotted There is no water supply,
nearer to them than the basement floor; the rooms being on the second floor.
There is no water closet within twenty yards of the bottom of the stairs, and
no sink to receive refuse water. It is, I believe, intended that a water supply
lavatories, and water-closets should be provided, but the works are not yet commenced.
It is very important that they should be put in hand, and completed
without delay. In one of the rooms there is a small iron stove with an iron
flue passing for some distance in the room, around which the women congregate
and dry the children's wet napkins, producing a very offensive odour. They
allege that they have not a sufficient supply of linen to admit of their having all
the washing done at the laundry, and thus they are compelled either to use dirty
things or wash for themselves. Now that the washing apparatus is in full
operation and appears to answer so well, all laundry operations should be strictly
forbidden in any other part of the establishment.
At the other end of the Infant School Building, there is an evil of another
kind. The water closets are constructed in my opinion on a bad principle; the
soil drops into a trough containing water which is run off and fresh water supplied
only once a day. The water should be changed at least three times a day, and
even then the closets would not be always without objection. From these closets
there is a communication into the governess's closet. The purpose assigned
to this opening was to ventilate the latter; but its real effect is to ventilate the
children's closet into the private one which opens directly into the main building.
This may be readily ascertained by the strong inward current passing from one
of these places to the other, and from the evidence of those who are constantly
there. The opening ought properly to be not into the children's closet; but into
the open air by means of a small shaft passing outwards. Tho average number
of inmates has been 1622, many more than in the same month of 1857.
I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
21, Uppeb Gowee Sibeet. THOMAS HILLIER, M.D., L.R.C.F.