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Seamen's lodging houses.
Under the provisions of section 214 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, the Council has made
by-laws for the regulation of houses accommodating Seamen. These by-laws came into force on the
1st October, 1901. On the 31st December, 1900, the total number of seamen's lodging houses under
supervision was 84, situated in the following metropolitan boroughs :—
Metropolitan Borough. Houses. I.odgers.
Poplar 20 371
Stepney 63 1,154
Woolwich 1 26
Total. 84 1,551
During the year 1,431 day and 38 night visits were made to these houses by the Council's
inspectors, and in eight instances notices were served for the remedying of dirty or defective conditions.
Proceedings before the magistrate were instituted in 9 instances, resulting in 8 convictions, the
fines amounting to £34 3s., with costs amounting to £9 4s.
Only two cases of notifiable infectious disease were reported in seamen's lodging houses during
the year, viz., smallpox 1, enteric fever 1.
One case of beri-beri was reported. During February an inmate of a Chinese seamen's lodging
house in Limehouse-causeway was found to be suffering from this disease. From enquiries made it
was ascertained that the patient, a Chinese seaman aged 24, eighty-one days out of Hong-Kong, had
been in hospital in Sweden, and, on slight recovery, had been allowed to travel to London for the purpose
of being sent back to China by the shipping company. Arrangements were made for his removal to
the branch seamen's hospital, Albert Docks.
Aliens Act, 1905.
The need for better accommodation for transmigrants in London was under the consideration
of the Public Health Committee during the year. This accommodation was found to be unsatisfactory,
whether the aliens were taken directly from the ship to the railway station by which they left London
or whether they were temporarily housed in London pending the time at which they could be re-shipped
to their destination.
In July and December of 1906, the Committee presented to the Council the following reports
on this subject:—
31st July, 1906.
We have had under consideration the provisions of the Aliens Act, 1905, so far as they relate to the service of
public health. Section 5 of the Act requires certain returns to be made as to aliens landing or embarking at any
port in the United Kingdom, and we are in communication with the Home Secretary with a view to obtaining information,
if possible, which would be of service to the Council in connection with precautionary measures taken by it,
from time to time, for the prevention of the spread of such diseases as cholera and plague.