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and I am happy to add, that although magisterial interference has been
necessary in some, yet in the majority of cases the directions of your
Board have been cheerfully complied with.
During my visits, frequent complaints have been made to me that,
while the owners of property are put to great expense in the construction
of drains, the gullies and openings in the streets emit gases of a more
deadly and offensive nature than any which can possibly escape from
individual property—resulting from the present very inefficient method
of ventilating and flushing the sewers; and as it is probable the individual
observations of the several Metropolitan Officers of Health may
draw the attention of the Legislature to this crying evil, I venture to
offer a few remarks upon the subject.
The present gigantic scheme to rid the Thames of its impurities,
and carry the soil of London to the sea, has reference only to an outlet
for the present sewage, and will not meet the existing evil of decomposing
soil detained in the sewers for an indefinite period, giving rise to
those unhealthy emanations previously referred to. To remedy this,
various plans have been proposed—one, by shafts to convey the effluvium
to the summit of the houses; another, by the construction of furnaces at
different outlets, whereby, the air being rarefied, a direct current would
be induced towards the furnace; and a third, by deodorization. Although
the first would relieve the basements, and permit, when the atmosphere
was in brisk movement, a more rapid dilution and dissemination, yet
I fear the canopy of smoke and generally dense state of the atmosphere
would retain a considerable amount of impurity. The second would
secure a rapid current of fresh air, and allow the several gullies to be
trapped; while the third, or that of deodorization, is only applicable to
depots of soil. Thus, in neither instance would the most desirable
object be secured—namely, that of keeping the sewers empty, and thus
preventing decomposition of soil. To effect such a measure, an enormous
quantity of water would be required; and whether this could be
abstracted from the Thames during certain portions of the tide, or, as
proposed by Mr. Francis Fuller, from the sea, must form the subject of
future inquiry.
There can be little doubt that water exercises a marked influence in
health and disease; and a reference to the recently published Report to
the Board of Health by their Medical Officer, Mr. Simon, offers a
striking illustration of its effects, when impure. Mr. Simon has instituted
inquiries in reference to the influence of water in cholera, and his
deductions clearly point to the alarming increase in that dreadful disease
as unquestionably depending upon the impurity of the then water supply.
Mr. Simon says, " in the 24,854 houses supplied by the Lambeth Com"pany,
comprising a population of about 166,906 persons, there occurred
"611 cholera deaths, being at the rate of 37 to every 10,000 living.
"In the 39,726 houses supplied by the Southwark and Vauxhall Com"pany,
comprising a population of about 268,171 persons, there occurred
"3,746 deaths, being at the rate of 130 in every 10,000 living. The
"population drinking dirty water accordingly appears to have suffered
" 3½ times as much mortality as the population drinking other water.