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69
more economical than the old way of burning sulphur. There is a
great reduction in the time occupied: a couple of rooms in a
tenement house can now be treated in one hour, whereas with
sulphur they would have had to be closed for eight or twelve
hours, and the inmates to seek shelter with friends or in the rooms
provided for that purpose. Burning sulphur or generating formic
aldehyde gas is still resorted to in certain cases.
Shelters.— The need for shelters has been reduced by the adoption
of the method of disinfection just mentioned, and two of the
shelters (those in Commercial Road and Little Chapel Street) have
been closed, leaving one in Horseferry Road and one in Dufours
Place. Thirteen persons were admitted to these shelters in 1901,
three in March, one in April, one in July, three in November, and
five in December.
Mortuaries.
The number of bodies removed to public mortuaries in the
City during 1901 was 438. 391 were taken to Horseferry Road,
where the Coroner's Court is situated, 34 (two of these being
persons dead of an infectious disease) to Denzell Street, six to
Dufours Place, five to St. Martin's, one to Ebury Bridge, and one to
Dean Street Mortuary. There were 369 inquests held, all but one
being at Horseferry Road. There were seven mortuaries in the
City, the seventh one, in addition to those already mentioned, being at
the back of the Vestry Hall, Mount Street, but it has been but little
used. The Mortuaries Sub-Committee viewed each of them, and
resolved on the closure of those at Dean Street, Ebury Bridge, and
St. Martin's Church. In consequence of the increased use to which
the Horseferry Road Mortuary is being put, some re-arrangement is
necessary, and can be effected when the central disinfecting station
is provided, as the shed now used for this purpose can be utilised as
a store for trestles, shells, &c.
The Cleansing of Persons Act.
Since this Act came into force the Strand Guardians have been
providing free baths to all whom applied, and have stoved their
clothing in order to destroy vermin therein. During 1901 they
addressed a letter to the Council, suggesting that this was the duty
of the Council rather than of the Guardians, and asked to be paid
for the cleansing of such persons as were not inmates of the casual
ward. The Council agreed to do this for a period of three months,
at the rate of 2s. 6(/. per person, but at the end of that period, as