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in 1870; and in 1871 no less than 72 percent., the mortality in
the same class, in the parish generally, being 43 per cent- The
known cases of Small Pox were 23. Had the parish generally
suffered in an equal ratio from this malady, the recorded cases would
have been 2,500 instead of 444, and the deaths 500 instead of 120.
The deaths from Diseases of the zymotic class were nearly 40 per
cent, of all the deaths, almost double the average in the parish, as a
whole, while those constitutional diseases which indicate a low and
unhealthy state of the system, were very fatal. That the district
was, and still is, in an unsatisfactory state no one acquainted with
the facts can doubt, or that the first step in the path of Sanitary
reform must be the removal of the pigs which give an especial
character to the locality. The efforts made, patiently and perseverinly
during many months, were very successful. But it is needless
to enlarge upon this subject here, as it has formed upon several
occasions a prominent feature in my Monthly Reports. Suffice it to
say that about 700 pigs were got rid of entirely, and the styes abolished:
their proprietors in many cases, moreover, having migrated to
more suitable quarters for carrying on their business. It is computed
that not more than 200 pigs, owned by about 20 persons, still remain.
This result, it will be readily believed, was not attained without
difficulty, and the expenditure of much time and labour. Every
impediment that could be devised by legal ingenuity was put forward.
Case after case was contested in the Police Court; and in one
instance an appeal against an adverse decision was made by the Pig
Keepers to Quarter Sessions, but to no purpose. A temporary check
was, indeed, sustained in one series of cases heard before a new
Magistrate, on the occasion of his first sitting at the Court. But as
this decision was obviously due to a misunderstanding, the same
cases were brought forward again subsequently and the former
decision reversed. In many cases the pigs were removed voluntarily
by their owners upon terms of compromise sanctioned by your
Vestry; and whenever it was possible a conciliatory course was
adopted, in order to make the removal of the pigs and the abatement
of the nuisance as little inconvenient to the parties mainly concerned
in it, as possible.
It would be unjust to conclude this subject without reference to
the great tact and firmness displayed by Inspector Langman (in
whose district the Potteries are situated) in the discharge of a very
unpleasant duty, which involved exposure to insult, obloquy, and,
I regret to add, violence. The proceedings taken by order of your
Vestry have rendered my department very unpopular in the district;
but as many persons have urged " respect for vested interests," and
appealed for " time," it should not be forgotten that the proceedings
in question have been going on for 20 years—time enough surely;
that the present pig keepers, as a rule, have no vested interests being
mostly new comers, and that the continuance of the trade in a place
long since and often condemned as unfit for the purpose, constitutes
a flagrant defiance of the law.