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that it is a subject for congratulation to this Court
to know that, after years of continual struggle, you
have at last been able to overcome the difficulties
which beset the question, not the least important of
which were the antagonistic and unworthy prejudices
of those who should have been with you in
the matter.
I have also endeavoured, by means of my weekly
reports, to draw attention to the fact that a large
source of danger exists in the practice which is still
almost universally followed of conveying those who
are sick of fever and other infectious diseases to the
hospitals in the public cabs. The poor also employ
these vehicles to carry their dead to the distant
cemeteries; and often the cabs become soiled with
the corrupt matter that flows out through the
joints of the badly made coffins. This cannot fail
to be a prolific source of disease, and I regret that
means have not been taken to put a stop to both of
these practices.
Lastly, there is another subject on which I ought
to express myself freely and frankly: it is that of
the drainage of this metropolis, a matter in which
the metropolitan board is now debating. Without
doubt some plan should be adopted which will
effectually remove from London the sewage which
now saturates the soil and pollutes the river. I
do not pretend to offer an opinion on the locality