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Committee, I discussed the objections raised by the trade and by some of the sanitary authorities to the
proposals of the Public Health Committee in a report which was presented to the Council (see
Appendix III.). The subject is still before the Council, and it is to be hoped that, attention having
been thus strongly directed to the subject, some step will be taken to secure for London the provision
of a system of meat inspection, an advantage which many European cities already possess.
Disinfection.
During 1898, Dr. Young made enquiry as to the provision of apparatus for disinfection and the
methods of disinfection practised in the London sanitary districts, and his report on the subject is
appended. (See Appendix IV.).
The reports of medical officers of health also give information on this subject, and it is thus
seen that in only one district, St. Saviour, Southwark, is dry heat depended upon for disinfection.
The steam apparatus in use is not, however, efficient in all districts. In Mile-end Old-town a dry-heat
oven has been adapted for disinfection by steam, and the medical officer of health writes that he repudiates
any responsibility for the present mode of disinfection, as he does not think it can be properly carried out
with the apparatus now in use. In Plumstead the existing steam apparatus " requires four hours for
drying the articles in it after the thirty minutes saturation." A new apparatus, the provision of which
is contemplated, " will do the whole work in one and a half hours." In Paddington and Fulham the
work is done by a contractor, but in Paddington the vestry has decided to provide a steam disinfector,
and in Fulham the vestry has accepted tenders for such provision. In Kensington and St. Martin-inthe-Fields
also the work is done by a contractor, and there is no indication of any proposal to alter the
existing arrangements, although the medical officer of health of Kensington has repeatedly pointed
out the advantages which would result from the possession by the vestry of a steam apparatus of their
own. The remedy for St. Martin-in-the-Fields will probably be found in the amalgamation of this
district with others under the London Government Act. Disinfection of infected articles in the
parishes of Clapham, Putney, Streatham and Tooting of the Wandsworth district is also done by a
contractor. Steam apparatus has been provided for the parish of Wandsworth, and the experience of
its use will, it may be hoped, lead to an alteration in the method adopted in the other parishes of the
district. Additional steam apparatus has been provided in Marylebone and Lambeth. Charlton
parish, in the Lee district, remains as the only part of London which depends upon fumigation with
occasional destruction of infected articles. In Dr. Young's report will also be found an account of the
methods practised in each district in the disinfection of rooms. In several districts the use of formic
aldehyd for the disinfection of rooms has superseded the use of sulphur dioxide. The medical
officer of health of the Strand district has presented to his authority an interesting report on the
relative value of some of the disinfectants more commonly in' use for this purpose. As the result of
experiments he has made he has come to the conclusion that formic aldehyd, as a gas or in the form
of spray, gives the best results, and he has recommended its use in his district. In the large majority
of London districts the use of sulphur dioxide is depended on, chlorine being only exceptionally
employed.
Provision of Shelter during Disinfection.
Dr. Young's report (Appendix IV.) also gives account of the provision of shelters in the several
districts. The subject is moreover discussed in the reports of the medical officers of health.
There are still some districts in which no accommodation of a permanent character is provided for
persons who have to leave their homes while these are being disinfected, but in districts where shelter of a
permanent character has been provided, it has generally been increasingly used, and will no doubt be
further used as experience is gained of the advantages it affords. In Paddington, during 1898, 84 individuals
were accommodated, the period of their stay ranging from one to three days. In Kensington, there
is no shelter, and the medical officer of health points out that during the year 80 cases of infectious
disease occurred in families occupying single rooms, and that though the inspectors were authorised
to pay for lodgings for people dispossessed of their homes during the disinfecting process, it was not
easy to find accommodation for such people. In Fulham, a shelter containing four rooms with
bathroom and lavatory is being erected at the Townmead Wharf. In St. George, Hanover-square, the
shelter has been occupied once during the year. In Westminster "15 families were removed to the
vestry reception rooms." In Marylebone, the medical officer of health states, " The shelter was used
10 times, 14 males and 19 females were sheltered while their rooms were disinfected." The shelter in
St. Pancras was occupied by 15 adults and 21 children. The Hackney Vestry have not yet erected a
shelter ; during the year accommodation was paid for in three instances while the homes were being
disinfected. The medical officer of health states, " The need for this shelter becomes greater
every year, owing to the increasing population and density of the district." He also says
that the vestry have already agreed to provide a shelter, and he is "not aware of any powerful
reason why it should not be immediately erected." The shelter conjointly used by Clerkenweil
and Holborn has been occupied 21 times by persons from the former district and 17 times by persons
from the latter parish. In St. Luke, the shelter has only been used by two families, though conveniently
situated and furnished with all necessaries. The shelter in the City has been extensively used during
the year, 20 families comprising 36 adults and 30 children having occupied it, and on one occasion
every bed was occupied. In Shoreditch the shelter was in use on six occasions, 23 persons being
admitted during the year; the question of obtaining a shelter better adapted for the purpose is under
consideration. Nine families were received into the Limehouse shelter. In St. Georqe, Southwark,
where a shelter has lately been erected, 149 persons were admitted during the year, and the medical
officer of health considers it probable that these figures will " be largely increased in the near future."
The shelter provided by the district board of St. Olave was used 14 times and by 52 persons during the
year. The provision of a bath at the shelter was considered, but "for several reasons it was thought