London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1910
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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78
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1910
At the end of the year the number of seamen's lodging-houses under supervision was 37, situated in the following metropolitan boroughs:—
| Metropolitan borough. | Houses. | Lodgers. |
|---|---|---|
| Poplar | 11 | 317 |
| Stepney | 26 | 840 |
| Total | 37 | 1,157 |
In the following table will be seen the number of houses, the authorised number of lodgers, the number of convictions, with the penalties inflicted, and other particulars, during each year since the supervision of seamen's lodging-houses was undertaken by the Council:—
| Year. | No. of houses on register. | Authorised number of lodgers. | No. of day visits by inspectors. | No. of night visits. | No. of prosecutions. | No. of convictions. | Penalties and costs. | No. of cases of infectious disease. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | ||||||||
| 1902 | 97 | 1,665 | 2,842 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1903 | 102 | 1,748 | 1,956 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| 1904 | 90 | 1,585 | 1,298 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| 1905 | 77 | 1,509 | 1,509 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
| 1906 | 84 | 1,551 | 1,431 | 38 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 1907 | 82 | 1,550 | 2,169 | 70 | 8 | 7 | 38 | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 1903 | 85 | 1,571 | 2,081 | 78 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1909 | 80 | 1,524 | 1,983 | 84 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1910 | 37 | 1,157 | 2,404 | 197 | 15 | 14 | 90 | 9 | 0 | - |
In the year 1910 proceedings before the magistrate were instituted in 15 instances, resulting
in 14 convictions, the penalties amounting to £76 16s. and £13 13s. costs.
The increase in the number of prosecutions over previous years will be noted. The persons
convicted during 1910 were in all cases keepers of Chinese seamen's lodging-houses, the repeated
convictions of one such keeper accounting for half the total amount of the penalties inflicted during
the year. The renewal of this keeper's licence was subsequently refused.
No cases of infectious disease were reported among inmates of seamen's lodging-houses during
the year.
Transmigrants.
The Council has for some years endeavoured to use its influence to prevent the housing of transmigrants
in tenement houses, where the transmigrants were temporarily boarded with families occupying
the tenements, thus leading to overcrowding. In the absence of proper provision especially made for transmigrants
the use of particular common lodging-houses set aside for this purpose was encouraged, but
the need of permanent provision for persons of this class has been fully recognised, and the use of
common lodging-houses for their accommodation has been regarded but as best as a temporary expedient
until the arrangements for the housing of transmigrants were placed on a much better footing. In
March and April of 1910, circumstances occurred which manifested the need for suitable and permanent
provision being made for these people, and upon this need the Public Health Committee thus reported
to the Council in April:—
Our attention has been directed to the accommodation provided for transmigrants during their stay in
London. It appears that as the result of the institution of an especially cheap service by a shipping company, some
eight or nine thousand persons of many nationalities, including Russians, Italians and the mixed races from the
Balkan peninsula, are at Rotterdam, waiting to be sent to America. Some of these intending emigrants are being
brought to London from Rotterdam and re-shipped. The first batch of emigrants travelling by way of London
arrived here about 25th March, 1910, and was followed by other batches on 27th and 31st March, and succeeding
days. Arrangements were made by the persons who had undertaken this duty for finding accommodation for these
transmigrants during their stay in London, but, after the arrival of the first batch, great difficulty was experienced
in doing this. A certain number were housed in the Jews' Temporary Shelter, and in various common lodging-houses,
those in some of the lodging-houses being fed at the Friends' Meeting Hall, in Commercial-road. Unfortunately,
great confusion resulted from the transmigrants coming from the several lodging-houses to their centre for their food,
and to this the lack of interpreters contributed. As the numbers of new arrivals increased the confusion became
worse, and it became impossible even to feed such a large number of persons. Arrangements were, therefore, made
for food to be prepared in bulk at two lodging-houses in Poplar, and to be distributed to the several common
lodging-houses, where the transmigrants were housed. This system failed completely, and a number of emigrants
in a house in the Borough had nothing but bread and water from 3rd to 5th April. On 6th April between 700 and
800 of these aliens left the common lodging-houses to join the s.s. Cairnrona in the Surrey Commercial Docks.
Unfortunately, a fire broke out on the vessel when she was in the Channel and at midnight on 7th April the police
informed one of the Council's inspectors that 300 of the Cairnrona's passengers were expected at London-bridge
railway station that night. The inspector at once proceeded to the station, and, with the help of other of the Council's
officers, assisted in finding accommodation for all these persons in common lodging-houses. 485 more of the vessel's
passengers arrived at London-bridge on the 8th, but in the meantime the Salvation Army had arranged for their
accommodation at Great Peter-street, Westminster. Of the passengers of the Cairnrona who returned to London
the women and children were the most distressed, several of them having been injured in the explosion which