View report page

27
The Inspector reported on the 23rd of March
that he had made the necessary enquiries in 280
houses, viz., in Salem Gardens, Brindley Street,
Alfred Road, Dudley Street, Church Place, North
Wharf Road, White Lion Passage. In these
streets he had met with eighty-three unvaccinated
children: as regards sixty-seven of these, Vaccination
has been since performed; in seven other
cases the operation has heen deferred on reasonable
grounds. The parents of the nine remaining
children have wilfully refused to fulfil their duty ;
and two of these have since taken small-pox and
died.
V. Surface Wells.
On the 3rd of June, 1850, I reported on the
condition of the spring-water derived from certain
public pumps in this Parish, used for drinking
purposes. A series of analyses were made, from
which it appeared that the water of two of these
pumps was decidedly impure and unfit for use,
containing not only putrescible organic matter, but
abundance of those mineral salts which are known
to result from the decomposition of animal excrements.
Although the absolute quantity of these
impurities was small, there can be no doubt that
the constant employment of water so contaminated,
is certain to be productive of serious injury to
health. It has been satisfactorily shown that in
localities in which the ordinary water supply is of
this character, diarrhoea is always prevalent. In