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personal care and attention of Miss Homewood, the Matron,
and her excellent staff of nurses, and having had a considerable
number of cases under my care at the hospital I
feel it proper to make this acknowledgment.
Mortuary
Last year I drew attention to the need there was for a
mortuary for the district and to the great inconvenience
occasioned to medical men by having to go so far for postmortem
purposes, and to them and to relatives and
witnesses by the inquests being under present circumstances
necessarily held at Kingston. If a suitable
mortuary were provided, the enquiries would be held here,
at a saving of time and expense to all concerned. Last
year there were no less than 16 inquests, with a postmortem
examination in nearly every case, on persons who
had died in this district. This is a strong case for the need
of such accommodation, and I trust your Board will take
the subject into consideration.
General Sanitary
Work
Last year I had occasion to comment on the "Report
on the drainage of Surbiton by the Lancet Sanitary
Commission "and on the Report by Dr. Seaton on "The
Health and Sanitary condition of Surbiton, made at the
request of the Surbiton Commissioners." I showed how it
was these were brought about, e.g., by letters, &c., in the
local press and elsewhere of a certain few who had found
their house drains out of order, and were striving to fix the
responsibility on some one—a very natural and proper
thing to do—and by others who were apparently anxious to
make out that the whole district was badly sewered and the
majority of the houses ill drained, &c. These two reports
were published, had articles devoted to them in the newspapers
and were discussed at your Board. Further, your
Chairman invited occupiers having reason to doubt their
house sanitation to apply for inspection, and promised every
facility to that end, and presuming that this alleged auxiety
must be based on general dissatisfaction or apprehension,
causcd a number of copies of Dr. Seaton's report to be