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
St George (Southwark) 1867
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, The Vestry of the Parish of St. George the Martyr]
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20 Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
comfort may and would exist in the absence of trade ; but unfortunately there would be the
absence also of many other things, which would not prove so agreeable. Amid the din
the bustle, the dust, the confusion and smoke of traffick, we cannot expect that our sense
of smell shall escape offence, our hands remain unsoiled, our ears be not deafened by discordant
noises. It is upon commerce that the glory and prosperity of this country has been
built, and its lofty superstructure stands safe thereon. But hamper our industrial enterprise
and energy, as some of the Bills before Parliament propose to do, and the price we
shall be called upon to pay for our refined delicacy will be far too costly. There are certain
trades which from their nature, such as those where chemical processes are carried on, or
where the storage of combustible and explosive materials are necessary, should at once be
sent to a distance. In these cases not only the convenience but the health and lives of the
surrounding population are at stake. All possible means of lessening offenco from trades
should be rigidly enforced, but I doubt the propriety of either stopping them or sending
them away.
The analysis of the Metropolitan "Waters are now conducted by Professor Frankland,
F.K.S.: he lately changed the form of the Table, so that the one I present to you goes no
farther than December, 1866.
TABLE No. 7.
| NAME OF WATER COMPANY. | Solid Matter in 100,000 parts of the Water. | Organic and other Volatile Matter. | NAME OF WATER COMPANY. | Solid Matter in 100,000 parts of the Water. | Organic and other Volatile Matter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1866—7. | 1866—7. | ||||
| Southwark Company—April | 29.49 | 1.59 | Lambeth Company—April | 28.62 | 1.96 |
| ,, „ May | 27.32 | 1.55 | ,, „ May | 27.13 | 0.90 |
| ,, „ Jun | 24.74 | 0.93 | ,, „ June | 26.63 | 2.14 |
| ,, „ July | 25.55 | 1.55 | ,, „ July | 25.25 | 1.71 |
| „ August | 23.66 | 0.98 | ,, „ August | 25.51 | 1.53 |
| „ „ September | 28.18 | 1.30 | ,, „ September | 28.58 | 1.70 |
| ,, „ October | 28.18 | 1.30 | ,, „ October | 28.58 | 1.70 |
| „ „ November | 30.71 | 1.03 | ,, „ November | 30.84 | 1.30 |
| „ „ December | 31.18 | 1.10 | ,, „ December | 30.13 | 1.19 |
Steps, I am glad to say, will be taken to obtain a supply of purer water, even if the
Thames should continue to form the source of it. An Act was passed in the last session of
1866, one of the sections of which require that the Conservators of the Thames should cause
its surface, as far as possible to be scavenged, in order that substances liable to putrefaction
might be removed therefrom. Another section also provides that no sewer shall
open into the Thames. A very necessary requirement, inasmuch as water polluted with
cholera and fever discharges is believed to be the most certain means of conveying their
poisons. But assuming this not so, there exists no reason why we should drink water
fouled with cholera and fever discharges.