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
Port of London 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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9
ALIENS ACT, 1905.
The following figures are extracted from the quarterly Parliamentary Returns, and
are subject to correction when the complete returns are published :—
TABLE III. ALIEN PASSENGERS.
LONDON.
| Total. | Cabin. | Exempt 2nd Class Passengers. | Transmigrants, | Other alien passengers. | Proceeding to destinations outside the United Kingdom. | Holiday return tickets. | Seamen. | Refused leave to land. | Residents returning. | Balance. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2,386 | 1,094 | 473 | 260 | 559 | 33 | 16 | 76 | 14 | 93 | 327 | 559 |
| February | 2,203 | 952 | 362 | 370 | 519 | 76 | 10 | 93 | 3 | 28 | 309 | 519 |
| March | 2,880 | 1,205 | 599 | 485 | 591 | 43 | 13 | 124 | 17 | 39 | 355 | 591 |
| April | 3,489 | 1,777 | 748 | 368 | 596 | 78 | 38 | 142 | 16 | 49 | 273 | 596 |
| May | 3,988 | 1,857 | 725 | 540 | 866 | 70 | 73 | 188 | 34 | 57 | 444 | 866 |
| June | 4,610 | 2,180 | 833 | 531 | 1,066 | 223 | 95 | 210 | 34 | 90 | 414 | 1,066 |
| 19,556 | 9,065 | 3,740 | 2,554 | 4,197 | 523 | 245 | 833 | 118 | 356 | 2,122 | 4,197 |
TABLE IV.
Arrivals in the Port of London.
| Ships. | Alien Passengers on | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Immigrant. | Immigrant | Total. | Non-Immigrant Ships. | Immigrant Ships. | Total. | |
| January | 124 | 7 | 131 | 1,937 | 449 | 2,386 |
| February | 125 | 9 | 134 | 1,681 | 522 | 2,203 |
| March | 130 | 21 | 151 | 1,821 | 1,059 | 2,880 |
| April | 136 | 31 | 167 | 1,676 | 1,813 | 3,489 |
| May | 140 | 33 | 173 | 1,949 | 2,039 | 3,988 |
| June | 160 | 44 | 204 | 1,743 | 2,867 | 4,610 |
| 815 | 145 | 960 | 10,807 | 8,749 | 19,556 | |
| Other Ports | 3,879 | 1,710 | 5,589 | 63,158 | 138,519 | 201,677 |
| Total - | 4,694 | 1,855 | 6,549 | 73,965 | 147,268 | 221,233 |
| Note.—The figures for the six months, July to December inclusive, are not available. | ||||||
This Act having been superseded by legislation better adapted to the special
circumstances arising from a state of War, it may be of interest to review shortly the
routine and some of the points brought out by the Medical Examination of aliens
under the Act during the eight years now completed.
The Medical Inspection of aliens arriving in the Port of London was placed in
the hands of your Medical Officer of Health, by the Secretary of State, in conformity
with the powers of arrangement conferred by Section 6 of the Act.
An " immigrant ship " was defined by the Act to be " a ship which brings to the
United Kingdom more than twenty alien steerage passengers who are to be landed in
the United Kingdom, whether at the same or different ports, or such number of those
passengers as may be for the time being fixed by order of the Secretary of State,
either generally or as regards any special ships or ports."
It was arranged that the examination should be carried out between the hours of
6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on each day, and a Medical Officer had to be available within these
hours, and if more than one immigrant ship was expected, the services of an additional
Medical Officer had to be arranged for.