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26
are freely disengaged. If it were intended to
contrive an arrangement for developing malaria in
the midst of a town population, nothing could be
better adapted for the purpose. In fact, the
conditions are precisely those which are recognized
as the source of danger in those countries in which
malarious diseases are endemic.
The subject has been very frequently under
discussion by the Sanitary Committee. I regret,
that though so strongly impressed with its importance,
I have been unable to suggest a practicable
remedy ; and I can only express the hope that my
successor in office will be more fortunate.*
Small.pox.
During the months of December, January,
February and March, small.pox prevailed throughout
the Metropolis, and cases occurred in
*There are three ways in which the material swept from the
paved streets and macadamised roads becomes a source of disease.
By the use of grit as an ingredient in mortar, a quantity of animal
matter containing infectious germs is introduced into the construction
of the houses of the poor. This practice affords, as I have
been long convinced, the true explanation of the otherwise
inexplicable fact that, although as a rule newly built houses are
better provided with sanitary appliances and better drained than
old houses, contagious diseases, and especially scarlet fever, prevail
more fatally in the former than in the latter. I would further
instance the use of slop collected from macadamised roads, as a
material for constructing roadways, which has long and justly been
regarded as a fruitful source of unhealthiness. Lastly, the storage
of slop alluded to in the text.