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Whitechapel, in houses supplied by the East London Company, but 19 in
houses supplied by the New River. In one of the Haggerstone sub-districts,
belonging to Shoreditch, in the same time 12 deaths fell within the water
supply of the New River, and only 2 in that of the East London. In the
only 19 houses supplied by the New River in the western extremity of Wapping,
the mortality was considerably larger than in any other part of the
parish. In South Hackney, for six weeks ending 25th of August, the deaths
in houses supplied by East London Water was 13 in 10,000 persons, but at
that part of West Hackney supplied by the New River, 5½ persons died in
the same number. Haggerstone East lost 4½ in 10,000 from the East
London, while Haggerstone West has 7 deaths in the same estimate from the
New River Company.*
It is too contradictory and inconsistent, with these facts before us, to
talk about the mortality in the outset being co-extensive with the water supply
from Old Ford.
But the whole hypothesis is beginning to present itself in so extraordinary
a character that I am very much inclined to question even its practicability.
And here I will venture to say that if a suit of law had been going
on, depending upon some theory or unusual speculation, in which almost
a national interest had been aroused, the knotty points would have all been
settled long ago. The peculiarity of this case is that in a panic-stricken
public it has almost shut out discussion.
The charge against the Company consists, in an emergency, of distributing
foul water from two old uncovered reservoirs at Old Ford.
It is nothing to the point to say that gentlemen sitting on the bench of
justice, of unspotted private life, with their officials, having protested that the
water from the suspected reservoirs at Old Ford has not been used, and that
the subordinate employees aro all ready to a man to come forward, if required,
on oath, to declare that the sluice has not been opened for such purpose
for the last 2 years. I will regard all this as merely uttered in a commercial
spirit, and the vows of the men as simply the obsequieousness of
dependants due to authority.
But, supposing again the whole is a conspiracy to serve a commercial
corporation, at the risk of the public health, that from the Chairman downwards
the secret has been kept; that the fifty men, or whatever may be the
* For the 6 weeks ending October, 250 deaths from Cholera happened in the Eastern Districts of
London, and 358 in the South.