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brought before them, which might tend to mitigate the evils and prevent
the spread of Choleraic disease.
Our Rector, tho Eev. S. Hansard, attended the Committee very regularly
; this, with his other duties, kept him fully employed. With
him was his most esteemed friend, the Rev. H. "Whitehead, who left the
salubrious locality of Highgate, and relinquished the enjoyment of an
autumnal tour, in order to come to Bctlinal Green, and pass his time
amongst the poor and stricken. Much good be did : reward he had
none here below; but it is long ere he will be forgotten, for he lives in
the grateful memories of many.
Trior to the outbreak of Cholera iu 1866, the water supply was very
deficient, and no doubt impure ; even if pure when delivered, it frequently
became contaminated in consequence of the filthy state of the receptacles.
This was specially noticed where the tanks were placed over the water
closets. Such water should never be drank ; in fact, the storage of water
for domestic purposes is radically bad, the butts, tanks, &c., being seldom
kept clean even by the better classes, while the negligence shewn by thepoor
in this respect is truly deplorable. As an instance of this, I may state
that, on one occasion on examining a water butt, of large size and in good
condition, I saw lying on the bottom a small-tooth comb. I pointed
this out to the inmates, who of course promised to remove it. Imagine
my astonishment and disgust, when, on another visit, nearly three
weeks afterwards, I saw the comb in exactly the same spot as when
I first discovered it. Such instances of culpable neglect are frequently
met with, and tend greatly to produce disease, and whatever were
the causes which led to the outbreak of Cholera, there can be no doubt
that the character of the water supply had a very great influence in
its development. It is generally believed that in June or July,
immediately after which date the outbreak occurred, impure water
from some adjoining ponds found admittance into the Old Ford reservoir.
However this may be, certain it is, that districts supplied from the
Old Ford reservoir suffered, while those drawing their supply from
other sources (even from the reservoirs of the same Company at Lea
Bridge), were nearly free. As an instance, Shorcditch, which is
principally supplied by the New River Company, had but 135 deaths
from Cholera. The water question being thus of the greatest importance.
I am glad to find that, upon a requisition made to the Board of Trade,
through the exertions of the East London Water Association, (which was