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7. The existence of badly-constructed, and carelessly conducted slaughter-
bouses.*
8. Nuisances arising from unwholesome trades, such as—
a. Bone boilers & bone crushers. g. Catgut manufacturers.
b. Grease manufacturers. h. Malt roasters.
c. Reburning of animal charcoal i. Malsters.
by some of the sugar refiners. k. Cow sheds.
d. Tallow melters. l. Piggeries.
e. Soap makers. m. Tripe dressers.
f. Marine store dealers.
9. The use of unwholesome food, a large quantity of which I have
reason to believe is consumed by the poor of this district.
10. The ignorance which prevails among the poorer classes in the
management of infants.
11, Children born of diseased parents.†
12. The overcrowded state of the houses of the poor.§
13. The defective state of the ventilation of many of the public
buildings which are much frequented. ||
14. The long retention of corpses in dwelling houses.
15. The existence, in several localities, of laystalls and manure heaps.
16. The want of a free current of air in many of the courts and alleys.
17. The want of ventilation in several of the houses, especially in those
which are built back to back; and where the privies are in the cellars, and
without a proper water supply.
18. The dampness of houses, owing to their imperfect original construction,
and their present want of repair.
*The 55th clause of the Building Act, 1844, enacts, "That it shall not be lawful
for any person to establish or newly carry on any of the following businesses, viz:—
blood-boiler, bone-boiler, fellmonger, slaughterer of cattle, sheep, or horses, soap-boiler,
tallow melter, tripe-boiler, and any like business, offensive, or noxious, either in any
building or vault, or in the open air, at a less distance than forty feet from any public
way, or than fifty feet from any other buildings of the first or dwelling-house class, or
if any person establishes anew any such business, on conviction, such person is liable to
forfeit for every day during which such business shall be carried on, a sum not exceeding
fifty pounds." By virtue of an Act of Parliament passed in the reign of Edward 3rd,
butchers were prohibited from slaughtering cattle within the City of London.
† How to mitigate the large amount of suffering, entailed upon the helpless portion
of the population by diseased parents, is a subject of immense importance, and has not as
yet been duly considered. It involves questions of morality; and the public, from false
notions of delicacy, shun the investigation of it. The mortality from congenital syphilis is
far greater than is shown in the returns of the Registrar General. Deaths occurring from
this disease, are frequently attributed to other causes.
§ The overcrowding of the population, in some of the districts in large towns, is
perhaps, the most prevailing cause of the great sickness, and high rate of mortality, which
is found to exist there. According to the density of the population, the annual deaths to
1,000 living, vary from 15 to 36.
|| It is not unfrequently remarked, by persons who have felt indisposed after having
spent a few hours in a crowded room, that " they had taken cold;" it would be more correct
to say, " they had taken poison."