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London Country Council.
Public Health Department,
3rd December, 1895.
Memorandum by the Medical Officer of Health on the observations of the Sanitary
Committee of the Lambeth Vestry on Dr. Hamer's report.
(Printed by order of the Public Health Committee, 28th November, 1895.)
The Public Health Committee will, I feel sure, desire me to limit myself to a discussion of
questions of fact referred to in the communication of the Sanitary Committee of the Lambeth Vestry.
I therefore submit the following observations on the statements made therein—
Observations of the Sanitary Committee of
the Lambeth Vestry.
The Sanitary Committee of Lambeth thanks the
Public Health Committee of the London County
Council for the opportunity of making a few
observations on the report of Dr. Hamer on the
sanitary condition and administration of the
parish.
The Committee ventures to point out that the
Public Health Committee has taken the opportunity
of a transition stage in sanitary administration
in Lambeth to give Lambeth the benefit of
the visit of an expert, who appears unable to correctly
represent such elementary facts as the
number of officials engaged; the tenure of office
by temporary inspectors; the efforts of our Sanitary
Committee to apply the whole of the inspectors'
time to visitation; the method of the
distribution of his own visits; and the difference
between Lambeth property immediately adjacent
to the Thames, and that of districts like Whitechapel
and Mile End Old Town.
Comments by the Medical Officer.
Inasmuch as the Sanitary Committee in
their fifth paragraph state that they append the
details upon which their foregoing observations
are based, I reserve all discussion of them to the
time when the reader has these details before him.
At the present moment it may be useful that I
should state the circumstances that led to the
inquiry, and the course adopted by the Public
Health Committee of the Council in connection
therewith.
On the 10th of December, 1894, I presented
to the Committee a return showing inter alia the
number of sanitary inspectors employed in the
several sanitary districts of London. The Committee
on the 28th January, 1895, ordered copies
of this return to be forwarded to seven sanitary
authorities calling attention to the apparently small
number of officers employed by them, and inviting
their observations. Among these authorities was
the Vestry of Lambeth.
A letter, dated the 2nd March, 1895, was received
from the vestry clerk, stating that " although the
number of inspectors in Lambeth may be less than
the number in some of the other London parishes,
yet the vestry are not aware of defects in sanitation
which are not duly attended to by the present
inspectors."
On March 25th the Vestry's letter was under the
consideration of the Committee, and on the 3rd of
April a letter was written to the Vestry by the
Committee's order informing the Vestry of the
decision of the Committee that Dr. Hamer should
inquire into the sanitary condition and administration
of Lambeth, and asking that assistance
might be afforded him in the duty. To this letter
no reply was received. On the 14th May Dr. Hamer
called on the vestry clerk, and was informed that it
was not likely the Vestry would take any action on
the Council's letter, but the clerk stated that if a
further communication were sent stating more
precisely what assistance was required, it would be
laid before the Vestry at its meeting on the 16th
May. A further letter was accordingly addressed
to the Vestry, and to this letter again no reply was
received. The Committee therefore decided on
the 27th May that Dr. Hamer should commence
his inspection as soon as he could arrange to do so.
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