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10
Mr. Horley, as an Assistant Inspector of Nuisances, in one of his
Reports to me, says: "It was part of my duty, during the last
" season of Cholera, to visit and point out to Dr. Greenhow, who
" was appointed to this District from the Board of Health, some of
" the poorer and most unhealthy portions of the two Parishes : and,
" contrasting the state of things then existing with what I have
"observed during my visits this year. I can testify to the great
" improvement that has taken place. The inhabitants generally are
"alive to the importance of clean water and clean closets, and,
" excepting where some fear exists of offending the landlord, show
" a laudable desire to aid in abating nuisances. Conspicuous among
"present evils is overcrowding. This probably exists in a greater
" degree than in 1854, for the difficulty of obtaining house room
" induces tenants to tolerate evils of which they would otherwise
" complain. In many parts of the District the pressure on the water
" is insufficient to cany it to the level of the closet, and, consequently,
"there is no connection between them. A want of cleanliness is
" most apparent in houses let in tenements, where I usually found
" the tenants could not agree as to their respective share in the
" necessary duty of cleansing. It appears to me desirable that all
"houses of that class should be periodically visited. Another
" prominent evil is the accumulation of dust and offal. The poorer
"classes complain of the fees that are exacted for its removal, and
"the absolute refusal to remove anything but dust without pay, so
" that the matter most injurious to health is frequently allowed to ,
"remain behind. These, however, are small evils compared with
" those existing in 1858-54. I remember the case of one court
" containing twelve houses, where the cellars of eight of them were
" literally filled with drainage from the privies, and it was necessary
" to issue eight summonses against the owner before the filth was
" removed. There was then scarcely anywhere the same appreciation
" of the value of a good supply of clean water, and the importance
" of its constant use in preserving health."
The total number of deaths in the District during the year was
910, which is 28 less than the average of ten years, but 122 more
than were registered in the year 1865. In this total, 35 persons
are included who died in Guy's Hospital, but were not previously
resident in the District. In the previous year there were only
18 deaths of the same class. It must be observed that last year
showed a lower mortality than any of the ten of which this Board
has any record, and that in the year now under review, this
District does not appear to disadvantage compared with the rest of
London. The mortality of St. Saviour's was in the ratio of about
25 to every 1,000 living persons, in the South District about 27,
and in the whole of London 28. These estimates are based upon
the population of 1861. The increase shows itself among persons
of all ages, excepting those above 80 years, in which class there was
a decrease of 9 deaths.