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would consent. But upon the proposal being submitted to a meeting, it
was rejected by a large majority, and as far as St. John's was concerned,
there was an end of the project. Negociations with the North London
Railway for a site of ground in rear of the Town Hall, have not yet
assumed a definite shape, and for the present the subject stands in
abeyance.
SMALL POX TEMPORARY HOSPITAL.
Towards the end of 1870 the Metropolis was visited with a severe
attack of Small Pox, and Shoreditch was one of the earliest and then
most severely afflicted districts. The Medical Officer will, no doubt,
treat of this exceptional event fully in his report. I propose here only
to allude to the means taken to meet the attack, and the expenses
attending them. The accommodation provided by tho Metropolitan
Asylum Board for the reception of Small Pox patients, was by no
means adequate to the demand, and it became necessary for the Local
Authorities to supplement that accommodation by other temporary
hospitals. The Medical Officer pressed upon the Vestry the extreme
urgency of such a provision in Shoreditch, and after an attempt to
acquire several places in or near to the Parish, which failed, it was
decided by agreement with the Charity Trustees, to erect a wooden
building on the site of the old Burial-ground in the Hackney Road,
using the present almshouses for the accommodation of the Medical
attendant and the Nursing staff, temporary provision being made for
the inmates of the almshouses elsewhere. Possession was taken of the
ground on the 20th of January, and the building was opened for the
reception of patients in ten days. The Medical Officer will, no doubt,
furnish details as to the hygenic results. I may, however, observe, that
it was originally intended for the accommodation of persons who were
not paupers, but who were unprovided with proper accommodation, and
were, consequently, a source of public danger. It was found that the
distinction between the pauper and the non-pauper class could not be
rigidly maintained, and considerable aid was afforded to the Board of
Guardians by means of this hospital. The building was prepared for
forty beds, at a cost, including fitting of the house, etc., of £663 10s. 6d.;
the total cost of the hospital from the commencement, including building,