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44
infectious
diseases
continued.
clothes, &c., to be disinfected at their disinfecting oven, if the
Vestry provided a truck and made alterations at the oven. The
Vestry agreed to do this, and no doubt the doing of the disinfecting
in a proper way was of great service.
1877.
In 1877 another small pox epidemic broke out, and a Special
Committee was appointed with power to act on behalf of the
Vestry. The Committee came to an arrangement with the
Guardians to have 40 beds at Vestry's disposal, the Vestry undertaking
to pay cost of patients and the Guardians undertaking the
care of them. The Vestry assented to this arrangement, and it
was found to act well.
1880.
During the year 1880 the question of hospital accommodation
for persons of the non-pauper class received great attention from
the Vestry.
Under the Act 42 & 43 Vic. cap. 54, the Vestry is empowered
to provide this or to combine with other parishes in doing so; and,
under the Act mentioned, the Metropolitan Asylums Board, with
approbation of the Local Government Board, are empowered to
agree with the Vestries and District Boards of London to receive
such patients, and the Vestry can recover the expenses.
Having gone carefully into the matter the Vestry came to the
conclusion that it would be more beneficial to the Hamlet to
combine with the neighbouring parishes in having a separate
hospital of their own rather than to adopt the provisions of the
above-mentioned Act, for past experience of the mode of conducting
business by the Metropolitan Asylums Board did not at
all betoken economical arrangements. The Metropolitan Asylums
Board were accordingly informed that the Vestry did not intend
to adopt the provisions of the Act mentioned.
To meet any cases of infectious diseases which might arise
from time to time, until some definite plan was fixed 011, the Vestry
empowered their medical officer to send any cases to the Highgate
Small Pox Hospital or the Islington Fever Hospital, as the case
might be.
The Board of Works for the Poplar District having built a
hospital for the class of persons named, at Plaistow, the Vestry
negociated with them with reference to a joint ownership thereof,
or some other arrangement whereby the hospital might become
available for the non-pauper persons of this Hamlet suffering from
infectious diseases.
1881.
Whilst negociations were in progress (viz., in 1881) another
small pox epidemic occurred, which necessitated the making