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Title: The Annual Report on the Health of the Parish of St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington, during the year 1874
Author: Dudfield, T. Orme
Language: English
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THE PARISH OF ST. MARY ABBOTTS, KENSINGTON, DURING THE YEAR 1874***
Transcribed from the 1875 J. Wakeham edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org
[Picture: Public domain cover]
THE ANNUAL REPORT
ON
THE HEALTH
OF THE
Parish of St. Mary Abbotts,
KENSINGTON,
DURING THE YEAR
1874.
BY
T. ORME DUDFIELD, M.D.,
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
* * * * *
KENSINGTON:
J. WAKEHAM, PRINTER, 4, BEDFORD TERRACE, CHURCH STREET.
1875.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Prefatory Remarks 5–13
Mortality, higher rate of, in 1874, accounted for 5
Death Rate, Metropolitan and Local 6
Kensington “Registration District”—what it comprises 6
„ Parish of, division into Wards 6
„ Town and Brompton “Sub-registration Districts,” 7
contrast in the vital statistics of
Sexes, relative rate of mortality in the 7
Sub-districts, character of the prevalent fatal diseases in 8
the
Kensington Town, greater fatality of Zymotic, Tubercular 9
and Lung diseases in
Deaths, (whole Parish) numbers of, from classes and orders 9
of diseases
Death Rate and Mean Temperature, monthly record of 10
Scarlet Fever, outbreaks of, supposed to depend on 10
Contamination of Milk
Dysentery and Diarrhœa, supposed to be due to the use of 11
the Milk of diseased Cows
Dairies, undesirable Multiplication of 13
Population 13
Males and Females, ages of, living at the Census, 1871 13
„ great disproportion in the relative numbers of 13
Parish, area of, density of Population, number of inhabited 14
houses, &c.
„ growth of Population: increase in Rateable Value of 14
Property
Marriages and Marriage-rate 14
Births and Birth-rate 15
Deaths and Death-rates of sexes and in Sub-districts 15
Death Rates at all Ages, the true method of calculating 17
„ Special causes of 17
Zymotic Diseases, deaths from 17
Measles, Epidemic of 18
Scarlet Fever 18
Puerperal Mortality 22
Public Institutions, Deaths in 24
Inquests, facts in relation to, requiring explanation 25
Deaths, “not certified” 28
Death, Certificates of the cause of, abuse of 29
Vaccination 30
Meteorology 30
Sanitary Work 31
Boiling offal for pigs’ food, nuisances from 31
Swine, convictions for keeping, on prohibited premises 32
Diseased Animal, conviction for allowing carcase of, in a 32
Licensed Slaughter House
Diseased Animal in slaughter house, no offence under 33
certain circumstances
Blood, Conviction for allowing offensive accumulation of, 33
in a Licensed Slaughter House
Diseased Meat, seizure of 33
Iron Foundry, nuisance at an 33
Slaughter Houses 34
Cow Sheds 38
Bakehouses 39
Dust Removal 39
Water Storage, domestic 40
Mortuary 41
Disinfecting Chamber 42
Baths and Wash-houses 43
Sewer Ventilation 43
Water Supply 44
Gas 49
Mortality, weekly returns of, services of the Sub-district 51
Registrars, in connection with the
Conclusion 51
TABLES, Statistical (Appendix) 55
NINETEENTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH,
Being for the year 1874.
_To the Vestry of the Parish of St. Mary Abbott’s_, _Kensington_.
GENTLEMEN,
I propose in this, the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Medical Officer of
Health, to follow the plan adopted in my previous reports: that is to
say, the vital statistics will be made up to the end of the registration
year (January 2nd, 1875), for the sake of comparison with the
Registrar-General’s figures for the entire Metropolis: the Tables,
showing the sanitary work carried out by your very competent staff of
inspectors, will be made up to the end of the Vestry year (March 25th,
1875); while, with respect to other matters calling for notice, I shall
bring the report down to the latest possible period, no useful purpose
being served by delay; it being, moreover, in every way the better plan
to refer to subjects while they are tolerably fresh in recollection, and
before they have lost their interest. I shall, as usual, preface my
report with some general remarks, which, I trust, will be found worthy of
perusal. And I may here mention that the first Six Tables in the
Appendix are given in the form settled last year by the Society of
Medical Officers of Health, with a view to ensure uniformity in
statistical returns. The subject was brought under the notice of the
Society by myself, and a great deal of thought and labour devoted to it,
in order to make the tables generally acceptable. I now pass on to
observe that the public health in this Parish, as gauged by the gross
mortality, was not so good during the year 1874 as in the previous year,
the deaths registered (2,696) showing an increase of 260. The increase
in the _rate_ of mortality, however, was not large in proportion, for as
the population increased by 5,000, 91 deaths have to be deducted on that
account, while 32 deaths are accounted for by an increase in the number
of deaths of non-parishioners registered at the Brompton Hospital for
Consumption and the Diseases of the Chest. The real excess of mortality,
therefore, was 137, and of these deaths 98 belong to the group of zymotic
diseases, and were due to a severe and prolonged epidemic of measles,
leaving 39 deaths to be spread over the remainder of Table 3 (Appendix);
but as a matter of fact the higher rate of mortality from chest diseases,
which will be referred to hereafter, more than accounts for this number.
If we assume that the deaths of Kensington parishioners outside the
parish were as numerous as the deaths of non-parishioners at the Brompton
Hospital, which is situated within the parish, the rate of mortality
during the year would be 19.5 per 1,000 persons living—a rate that
compares not unfavourably with the rate for the entire metropolis, which
was 22.5 per 1000. If, however, in the absence of definite information
respecting deaths of parishioners taking place out of the parish, we
restrict our view to the deaths of parishioners registered within the
parish—deducting 125 deaths at the hospital and 36 at St. Joseph’s
House—the rate of mortality was only 18.3 per 1,000. The subjoined table
shows the rate in the several great divisions of the metropolis, as given
by the Registrar-General in his annual summary, and in Kensington:—
DEATH RATE, 1874.
per 1,000
Kensington 19.5
All London 22.5
West Districts 20.9
North 21.8
Central 25.6
East 25.4
South 21.5
For registration purposes, Kensington {6a} is divided into two
sub-districts of very unequal size and population, and which, as we shall
see, are not less remarkable in other respects. The Kensington Town
sub-district embraces everything north of the Kensington main road, and a
good deal south of it. The Brompton sub-district completes the map of
the parish, which, I may say, is exceedingly awkward in shape, being very
long from north to south and very narrow from east to west, and therefore
present considerable difficulties in the task of sanitary
administrations. The Town sub-district comprises two wards, respectively
named the Ward of St. Mary Abbott’s, Kensington, and the Ward of St.
John, Notting Hill, and St. James, Norland. {6b} The latter ward
contains the largest proportion of poor inhabitants. The greater number
of poor comprised in this sub-district, as a whole, helps to explain the
marked difference in the vital statistics of north and south, to which, I
wish, in the present report, to give some prominence. The birth-rate of
the parish in 1874 was 31.7 per 1,000 persons living, that of all London
being 35.7, and of All England (1872) 35.8. But the birth-rate in the
Town district was 33.6, and in Brompton only 24.8 per 1,000. The
death-rate of the whole parish being taken at 19.5 per 1,000 (and the
necessary redistribution of deaths in hospital and workhouse, in
proportion to population, being made), it appears that the annual rate of
mortality in the Town sub-district was 20.4 per 1,000 and in Brompton
only 16.6. The above facts may be made more clear by a comparative
statement. If the births and deaths in Brompton had been as numerous in
proportion to population as they were in the Town sub-district, 1,122
children would have been born and 681 persons would have died; whereas,
in fact, only 815 children were born, and the deaths, after correction,
were only 548. Or, to put it the other way, if the births and deaths in
the Town sub-district had been on the Brompton scale only 2,567 instead
of 3,536 children would have been born, and only 1,726 persons, in place
of 2,147, would have died. These remarkable discrepancies, _quoad_ the
birth-rate, may be in part explained by the somewhat larger proportion of
females per 1,000 of the population in the Town sub-district compared
with Brompton. The total estimated population in July was 138,000, viz.,
males 56,240, and females 81,760. In every 1,000 living, females were
approximatively as 593 to males 407. In the Town sub-district there
were, at the census in 1871, 587 females to 413 males; in Brompton the
females were 608 and the males 392 per 1,000 persons living. We must
assume, therefore, that there are fewer marriages in Brompton, and that
those marriages are less fruitful than in the more densely-populated and
poorer northern section of the parish. {7}
Less difficulty is experienced in accounting for the lower rate of
mortality in Brompton, it being well known that the death-rate of females
is considerably less than that of the male sex. Taking the whole parish,
it appears that the rate of mortality was 23.9 in the male, and only 16.5
per 1,000 in the female sex. The magnitude of this difference may be
illustrated by the statement that if the mortality in the entire
population had been at the female rate, the deaths would have numbered
only 2,208 instead of 2,696, while they would have been no fewer than
3,298 at the rate that prevailed amongst males.
The difference between the two districts is not confined merely to gross
numbers of deaths. It is seen in the character of the prevalent fatal
diseases, and points to a generally better state of health in Brompton,
and to a better prospect of life for its inhabitants. This difference
depends, no doubt, on the superior status of a large proportion of the
population in the latter district, and on their possession of those
necessaries and comforts of life to which the prolongation of existence
is so largely due. I do not propose to enter at length upon this
interesting subject now. I shall content myself for the present with
putting on record the facts at which I have arrived, leaving them for the
most part, to speak for themselves. The subjoined table shows the number
of deaths from certain diseases in the two sub-districts, and the number
that would have occurred in the Town sub-district had the mortality been
on the same scale as in Brompton, due regard being had to population:—
Name of Actual No. Deaths in Calculated Excess or
Disease of Deaths the No. of Deficiency
in the Town Brompton Deaths in in Town
Sub- Sub- Town on the compared
District. District. Brompton with
scale Brompton.
The Seven 332 66 176 + 156
principal
Zymotic
Diseases
Measles 115 6 20 + 95
Diphtheria 24 2 6 + 18
Scarlet 28 4 12 + 16
Fever
Typhus 9 0 0 + 9
Fever
Enteric 19 9 28 - 9
Fever
Simple 11 4 13 - 2
Continued
Fever
Hooping 36 9 28 + 8
Cough
Diarrhœa 90 22 69 + 21
Puerperal 18 6 19 - 1
Fever
Croup 25 1 3 + 22
Erysipelas 14 8 25 - 11
Cancer 51 16 50 + 1
Tuberculous 268 59 186 + 82
Diseases
(phthisis,
scrofula,
&c.)
Brain 127 46 144 - 17
Disease,
(Apoplexy
and
paralysis)
Convulsions 50 9 28 + 22
Heart 102 33 103 - 1
Disease
Lung 461 93 292 + 169
Diseases
Enteritis 34 5 16 + 18
and
Peritonitis
Liver 30 7 22 + 8
Disease
Bright’s 14 8 25 - 11
Disease
Atrophy of 143 20 63 + 80
children
Premature 35 11 34 + 1
birth
Childbirth 11 3 9 + 2
Teething 26 9 28 - 2
Old age 79 15 47 + 32
The greater fatality of the zymotic diseases generally, and of measles in
particular, in the Town sub-district, cannot fail to be noticed; as well
as the high mortality from tuberculous and lung diseases, atrophy of
children, croup, &c. It is obvious, in fact, that the diseases which
depend on a lowered condition of vitality, or on hereditary taint, are
more prevalent in the Town sub-district than in Brompton. So are the
diseases that may be correctly described as of a more or less preventable
character, such, for example, as the lung diseases which are so fatal at
the extremes of life, when the influences of neglect and poverty, on the
one hand, and of care and comfort on the other, are so strong for evil or
for good in the exposure of young and old to, or their preservation from,
the predisposing causes of disease. The diseases which mark the later
periods of life are, as might be expected, prominently noticeable in the
Brompton mortality, such, for instance, as the brain diseases, apoplexy
and paralysis, and heart disease. Cancer was equally fatal in both
districts. Croup, on the other hand, was most fatal in the “Town,” and
Bright’s disease, by comparison, in Brompton. I say nothing on the
relative numbers of deaths attributed to “old age,” as the employment of
that term generally implies failure of diagnosis rather than death
without disease.
Under the heads of the various diseases, and in Tables 3 and 3a
(Appendix), I have specified in detail the causes of death; but in these
introductory general remarks it will not be out of place to refer to the
mortality in the parish as a whole from some of the principal classes and
orders of diseases. Thus the seven principal diseases of the zymotic
class (or rather _six_, for there was no death from small-pox) were
accountable for 388 deaths—a mortality equivalent to 2.8 per 1,000
persons living, and to 144 out of every 1,000 deaths. Chest diseases,
other than phthisis, killed 554 persons (an increase of 71 over 1873),
equivalent to 4 per 1,000 of the population, and to 208 per 1,000 deaths.
Tuberculous diseases (including phthisis, scrofula, rickets, and tabes)
were the causes of 326 deaths, or 2.3 per 1,000 living, and 121 per 1,000
deaths. Nearly allied to these diseases, if not identical in origin, are
the wasting diseases of children, viz., those registered as marasmus,
atrophy, debility, want of breast milk, and premature birth. These
killed 209 children under five years of age, equal to 1.5 per 1,000
living, and to 77 per 1,000 deaths. The convulsive diseases of infants
(hydrocephalus, infantile meningitis, convulsions, and teething) were
fatal to 161 infants under five, or 1.1 per 1,000 living, and 59 per
1,000 deaths (_vide_ Table 4, Appendix). Constitutional diseases caused
591 deaths = 4.2 per 1,000 living, and 232 per 1,000 deaths. Local
diseases caused 1,143 deaths = 8.3 per 1,000 living, and 434 per 1,000
deaths. Developmental diseases caused 356 deaths = 2.5 per 1,000 living,
and 138 per 1,000 deaths. Violent deaths (50) were equal to .3 per 1,000
living and to 18 per 1,000 deaths. The deaths of which the causes were
not specified, or were ill-defined, were 22 in number = .1 per 1,000 of
the population and 7 per 1,000 deaths.
The subjoined table shows the death-rate in the parish for 13 periods of
four weeks corresponding to my monthly reports, the deaths of
non-parishioners in the Brompton Hospital being excluded:—
Date of Report. Rate of Mortality Mean temperature
Four weeks ended per 1,000 living. of the air.
January 31 19.8 41.6
February 28 23.2 38.7
March 28 22.0 43.0
April 25 16.8 49.5
May 23 16.8 48.2
June 20 14.1 58.4
July 18 17.5 62.8
August 15 19.9 61.1
September 12 14.7 59.4
October 10 13.7 55.3
November 7 15.3 51.6
December 5 21.4 39.1
January 2 (1875) 24.7 32.7
Average 18.4
Before concluding these general and prefatory remarks, I think it right
to say a few words on the subject of certain outbreaks of disease due, it
is not unreasonably believed, to a contaminated condition of that
important article of diet, milk. It is true that the facts to which I am
about to advert belong rather to the sanitary history of the current year
than to 1874; I feel, however, that it would not be right to defer the
publication of them, and the subject can be referred to again, if
necessary. With reference first, then, to scarlet fever, a remarkable
outbreak occurred in the month of June (1875) in South Kensington.
Within sixty hours after a dinner party of sixteen in one of the most
splendid streets in the metropolis, and in a house which had no sanitary
defect and no infected inmates, six of the party were prostrate with
scarlet fever. There was a large assemblage at the “at home” after the
dinner, and four or five of the guests were stricken either with primary
scarlatina or with characteristic sore throat. Some of the servants and
others, likewise, were similarly affected. A vigorous enquiry excluded
all suspicion of personal contagion as the cause of the outbreak. The
one fact clearly proved was that all the sufferers had partaken of cream
in some form or other, cream being of course more largely consumed at the
dinner than at the “at home.” Many persons, doubtless, who partook of
cream escaped, and their immunity may be accounted for in a variety of
ways; but it is certain that every one who was attacked had partaken of
cream. There were several curious not to say crucial cases, pointing to
the cream as the nidus of infection. But how the _contagium_ found its
way into the milk-pot, if there, is a question that has hitherto baffled
enquiry. The dairy—in town, but not in Kensington—whence the offending
fluid was obtained was carefully scrutinised as to the state of health of
the cows and of the employés, but no fact was elicited to explain the
occurrence. {11}
As bearing on this subject, I may remark that it is not very long ago
that a number of cases of sore throat, occurring in families supplied
from a certain dairy, were brought under my notice; and I ascertained
that illness of a similar character had prevailed in the house of the
dairyman.
Referring to this subject, Professor Parkes, in his “Practical Hygiene,”
states that scarlet fever has appeared to get into milk from the cuticle
or throat discharges of persons affected with scarlet fever who were
employed in the dairy while ill or convalescent. Remarkable cases of
this kind have already been reported, and the fact that another zymotic
disease—viz., enteric or typhoid fever—has been spread widely through the
medium of milk, only serves to increase the importance of the subject in
a sanitary point of view. It is well ascertained, however, that enteric
fever has been conveyed in the foul water used in diluting milk—a double
evil being thus inflicted on unwary purchasers.
At about the same time as the scarlatina outbreak my attention was again
directed to milk as a probable source of disease by a leading
practitioner, who gave me the particulars of a very interesting series of
cases of dysentery, attributed on apparently sufficient grounds to the
use of milk from diseased cows; and of a further series of cases of
diarrhæa, attributed to some change in the character of milk supposed to
depend on the food on which the cows were being fed. The information
came too late to admit of an investigation of the subject, but the facts
deserve to be put on record for future guidance.
In the first set of cases, seven in number, the symptoms were generally
of a severe character. Three of the patients were young children, and
the other four adults. The child first attacked, aged 2½ years, died
after seventeen days’ illness. The dysenteric symptoms were sharp and
constant, and marked on the first evening by a strong convulsion. The
little patient sank, worn out by incessant tenesmus and exhausted
brain-power. The body temperature was high throughout. This was the
only fatal case. The second case was that of the child’s nurse. She was
sent home showing signs of fever, and was ill a long time. In the third
case the child, aged six years, had dysenteric straining of almost pure
blood. There was little constitutional disturbance, and the attack soon
yielded to treatment. The fourth case was that of a middle-aged
gentleman attacked with diarrhæa, which assumed a dysenteric character,
as many as twenty-five motions being passed in a day. The attack, which
left marked debility; lasted ten days. The next case was that of an old
nurse, who, ridiculing the idea of the milk being the cause of illness,
drank all that was left after tea one day, and was rewarded with a
violent diarrhæa that lasted a whole week. Another case was that of a
child (who, however, was teething, and) who, after partaking of milk from
the same source, suffered during six or seven days under a severe
dysenteric attack. The seventh case was that of a lady, who after some
days of bowel irritation, was prostrated with acute dysentery which was
long in yielding and left great debility.
Upon enquiry being made of the dairyman who supplied the affected
families with milk, he acknowledged that two, if not three, of his cows
were “wrong in their quarters”—i.e., they had diseased udders; but he
hoped that the small amount of bad milk they yielded would not be felt
with the large quantity of good milk with which it was mixed! In each
case the supply of milk from that particular dairy was cut short, and as
regards the families interested, a limit was thus set to the endemic.
But what mischief, if any, was done in other directions does not appear,
and it is too late to enquire.
The other cases referred to were eleven of diarrhæa, which occurred at
about the same period of time. The milk supply was derived in part from
a dairy and in part from cows kept for private use, the one point in
common between the two sheds being that “distillers’ wash” formed part of
the food of the cows. There is no history of any illness or disturbance
of the secretion of the cows themselves.
I regret that I had not an opportunity of investigating these cases—and
especially the first series—at the time of their occurrence, as they
might have thrown some light on an obscure but very important, an
increasingly important subject—viz., that of disease in animals as a
factor of disease in man. Professor Parkes states, _inter alia_, that
milk contaminated with pus from an inflamed udder will give rise to
stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth) in children and to apthæ (thrush)
on the mucus membrane of the lips and gums. But there is no mention of
these symptoms in the cases under review. Parkes also refers to the
power of milk which contains large quantities of the fungus _Oidium
lactis_, or _Pennicillium_, to produce dyspeptic symptoms, and even
cholera-like attacks. Gastric irritation and febrile gastritis are also
enumerated among the effects following the ingestion of impure milk.
But, after all the most important question is, how to prevent the
occurrence of such cases? And here the difficulty is apparent of getting
such regular skilled inspection of cowsheds (in Town, for it is hopeless,
I fear, to attempt any supervision of the extra metropolitan sources of
milk-supply!) as would suffice to detect disease in cows or employés, and
secure effectual separation of diseased men and animals from the dairy.
Probably nothing would have a greater effect in breeding caution in the
vendors of milk than legislative enactment imposing severe penalties (not
pecuniary only!) for the offence of selling for human food the milk of
diseased cows.
In the case before us, it would appear that the dairyman knew that some
of his cows were “wrong in their quarters,” and yet, though their milk
could be of small value (for disease diminishes the yield rapidly and
greatly), families were exposed to the risk of illness, and in one case
the calamity of death was brought on a household, that no portion of the
profits of business might be lost. We may charitably and reasonably
believe that the dairyman anticipated no such consequences; but what so
likely to prevent the recurrence of such a catastrophe as a consciousness
of the risk incurred by vending diseased milk?
Before quitting this subject I may express my opinion that dairies are
multiplied more than is desirable, and as a consequence (I have adverted
to the subject in another part of this report), the sheds are often of a
very unsatisfactory character. Large dairies, under careful supervision,
managed with a due regard to sanitary requirements in man and animals,
and situated in the suburbs or outskirts of the metropolis, would be a
boon the value of which is likely to be the more appreciated as facts
such as those noted above accumulate.
POPULATION, &c.
The estimated population of Kensington at the middle of the year was
138,000, an increase of 5,000 over 1873. The Town sub-district contained
about 105,000, and the Brompton sub-district about 33,000 in round
numbers. The males numbered about 56,240, and the females 81,760:—excess
of females over males, 25,520. In every 1,000 there were approximatively
407 males and 593 females. The subjoined table shows the number of
persons of each sex, arranged in groups of ages, at the Census, 1871:
AGES OF MALES AND FEMALES, 1871.
All Under 5 5 to 15 15 to 25 to 35 to 45 to 55 to 65 to 75 to 85 to 95 and
Ages. 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 94 upwds.
Males, 7065 10198 8948 8317 5963 4339 2464 1270 378 33 2
48977
Females 7147 11527 16585 14203 9080 6241 3768 2000 667 97 7
71322
Total, 14212 21722 25533 22520 15043 10580 6232 3270 1045 130 9
120299
From the above table it appears that there are an almost equal number of
the sexes under the age of 5. Between 5 and 15 the excess of females
begins, amounting to 1,329—this representing the “school” age, and the
preponderance of females being explained, with probability, by the large
number of girls’ schools in the parish. In the next three decades (15 to
45) there is a further large increase of females, viz., 7,637, 5,886, and
3,117 = (16,640), a considerable proportion of which doubtless consists
of domestic servants. The increase is maintained throughout the table,
but on a diminished scale, amounting in the three following decades
(45–75) to 3,936, viz., 1,902, 1,304, and 730. Of persons above 75 years
of age, 1,184 were enumerated; the excess of females being 358. The
preponderance of females at middle life and in old age is probably due to
the residence from choice of many independent persons, attracted by the
salubrity and by the social and other advantages of Kensington; and to
the greater longevity of women.
The superficial area of the parish is 2,190 acres, viz., 1,497 in the
Town sub-district, and 639 in Brompton. Some 300 or 400 acres are still
uncovered by buildings. The density of the population is about 74
persons to an acre. The total number of houses, including empties and
those in course of erection, slightly exceeds 20,000. The inhabited
houses at the middle of the year were about 17,667, an increase of 747
over the previous year. There were about 7.8 persons to each house on an
average throughout the parish; but at the census, 1871, it appeared that
the average in the Brompton Sub-district was only seven.
The subjoined table is of interest, showing as it does the remarkable
growth of the parish in wealth and population during the present century:
The Year. Population. Rateable Value. The Year.
1801 8,556 £75,916 1823
1821 14,428 93,397 1833
1841 26,834 142,772 1843
1851 44,053 257,103 1853
1861 70,108 375,333 1860
1871 120,299 590,711 1865
1874 (estmtd.) 138,000 817,326 1870
£1,119,442 (April) 1875
MARRIAGES.
The marriages celebrated during the year were 1,311; one marriage to
105.2 of the population. Nineteen persons were married out of every
1,000 living. The marriage rate in all England in 1872 (last year of
publication) was 17.5. The marriages in Kensington were celebrated as
follows:
In Churches 1077
At Nonconformist Places of Worship 71
At Roman Catholic 70
At the Superintendent-Registrar’s Office 93
Total 1311
The marriages in the three previous years were: 1871, 1,131; 1872, 1,132;
1873, 1,241.
BIRTHS.
The births registered—registration not being compulsory—were 4,351. The
annual birth rate in Kensington was 31.7 per 1,000 persons living, and in
the Metropolis 35.7. The births in the Town sub-district were 3,536, and
in Brompton 815: 2,216 males and 2,135 females were born. The males
formed about 51, and the females 49 per cent of the births—104 males
being born to 100 females: about the same proportion as in all England.
One child was born to 31.6 of the population. The birth rate in the Town
sub-district was 33.6, and in Brompton 24.8 per 1,000. The deficient
birth rate, as compared with that of the Metropolis and England, is the
result of the great disproportion in the relative number of the sexes
already alluded to; the rate, however, is slightly increasing, as may be
seen by reference to Tables 1 and 2 (Appendix.)
The subjoined table shows the quarterly number of births in each
sub-district:
KENSINGTON TOWN BROMPTON
Sub-District. Sub-District.
Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Grand
Total.
1st 484 475 959 94 111 205 1164
Quarter
2nd 464 409 873 102 95 197 1070
3rd 435 405 840 84 103 187 1027
4th 448 416 864 105 121 226 1090
Total 1831 1705 3536 385 430 815 4351
DEATHS.
The deaths registered in 1874 were 2,696, viz., 2,102 in the Town
sub-district and 594 in Brompton. After re-distribution of the deaths in
the Workhouse and Hospital (the deaths in the latter institution
remaining as a compensation allowance for the deaths of parishioners
occurring outside the parish), the numbers in the respective districts
stand thus: Town, 2,147; Brompton, 548. The death rate was 19-5 per
1,000 (all London 22.5), the death rate in the Town sub-district being
20.4, and in Brompton 16.6. Thirteen hundred and forty-seven males died,
and 1,349 females; the deaths of females being only two above the males,
although the females exceed the males in the population by no fewer than
25,520. The death rate of males was 23.9, of females 16.5 per 1,000.
The general death rate in the parish, excluding the deaths of
non-parishioners at the Brompton Hospital and the deaths at St. Joseph’s
House, Notting-hill, was 18.3 per 1,000. The subjoined table shows the
number of deaths in each quarter and in each district, excluding the
deaths of non-parishioners in the Hospital at Brompton:
KENSINGTON TOWN BROMPTON
Sub-District. Sub-District.
Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Grand
Total.
1st 295 307 602 63 64 127 729
Quarter
2nd 218 227 445 55 53 108 553
3rd 238 245 483 49 56 105 588
4th 294 278 572 58 71 129 701
Total 1045 1057 2102 225 244 469 2571
The deaths under one year of age (762) bear the proportion of 17.5 per
cent. on the registered births (London 15.5), and they were equal to 28.5
per cent. of the total deaths (London 24.6.) The deaths under five
(1,188) were equal to 27.7 per cent. on the number of births, and to 45.4
per cent of the total deaths; the relative proportions in all London
being 26.3 and 41.6. The deaths at 60 years of age and upwards (582)
formed 21.7 per cent. of the total mortality in Kensington, the relative
proportion in all London being 21.6.
Impressed with the imperfections of mere general death rates and
proportional relations as given above, I have, at considerable labour,
estimated the population in groups of ages, and worked out the death rate
for each group—showing the number of deaths per 1,000 persons living, as
follows:
Age. Estimated Actual Deaths per
Population. number 1,000
of deaths. persons
living.
Under 1 3,762 762 202.8
1 and under 2 3,153 223 70.9
2 „ 5 9,413 203 21.6
(0 „ 5) (16,328) (1,188) (73.)
5 „ 15 24,910 105 4.2
15 „ 25 29,262 105 3.6
25 „ 35 25,822 148 5.7
35 „ 45 17.267 151 8.7
45 „ 55 12,145 198 16.3
55 „ 65 7,154 199 27.8
65 „ 75 3,754 232 62.1
75 „ 85 1,199 183 153.8
85 „ 95 149 54 400
95 and upwards 10 8
138,000 2571
Since the preceding Table was worked out I have become acquainted with an
interesting and valuable paper by Mr. Thomas A. Welton, F.S.S., on “The
Effect of Migrations upon Death Rates,” read before the Statistical
Society on the 15th June, 1875, and which enables me to supplement it by
the following Table, in which are contrasted the death rates at certain
ages in England and Wales, and in the Metropolis during the 10 years
1861–70, and in the Parish of Kensington in 1874, calculated on the
number of deaths per 1,000 persons living at the several ages.
Place. Age.
0–5 15–25 25–35 55–65 65–75
England & Wales (10 years) 68.5 7.3 .. .. ..
London ( 1861–70) 81.9 6.3 9.8 38.8 75.4
Kensington (1874) 73.0 3.6 5.7 26.8 62.1
It must be obvious that the truest mode of calculating death rates is
that used in the above Tables, and the result of such calculations is by
no means unfavourable to the character for salubrity of the parish of
Kensington. Did time permit of following out the method for the sexes,
and in the two sub-districts, the results would, I doubt not, be very
much more favourable for Brompton, and for the female sex, than they are
for the entire parish, and for both sexes.
SPECIAL CAUSES OF DEATH.
ZYMOTIC DISEASES.—The deaths from the seven principal diseases of the
zymotic class, named below, were 388 in number, viz.: 332 in the Town
sub-district and 56 in Brompton, an increase of 98 over the previous
year: 96 of the additional deaths belonging to the Town sub-district.
Nevertheless, the mortality from these maladies was little above the
average of the previous 10 years (380), and considerably below the
corrected number, after due allowance for the increase of population.
The deaths were equivalent to 2.8 per 1,000 persons living, and to 144
per 1,000 deaths, as against an average of 178 in the 10 years 1864–73.
The deaths in London in 1874 from the same diseases were 147 per 1,000
deaths, and in all England in 1872 (the latest year of publication), 188.
_Deaths from the seven principal Zymotic Diseases_.
Town. Brompton. Total. Per 1,000
deaths.
Small Pox 0 0 0 0
Measles 115 6 121 45
Scarlet Fever 28 4 32 11.8
Diptheria 24 2 26 9.6
Whooping Cough 36 9 45 16.7
Fever 39 13 52 19.3
Diarrhœa 90 22 112 41.6
Total 332 56 388 144.0
It will be observed that there was no fatal cases of _small-pox_ during
the year: the first time during the decade of such immunity. But, on the
other hand, the year was marked by an epidemic of _measles_ of
extraordinary severity, and confined entirely to the Town sub-district.
During the year 1873 the deaths from this affection were 38, of which 31
occurred during the months of November and December, the commencement of
the epidemic. Of these 38 deaths, 28 belong to the Town sub-district.
The mortality in Brompton was 10 during the whole of 1873 but fell to 6
last year; while the deaths in the Town Sub-district rose to 115. Of the
total of 121 deaths, 119 occurred under the age of 5 years. The highest
total in the previous 10 years was noted in 1864, when 100 children died
of this complaint (vide Table 5 Appendix). The total mortality during
the last epidemic was 148, viz., 16 in November and 15 in December 1873,
and 107 during the first five months of 1874, viz., January, 25;
February, 31; March, 25; April, 16; and May, 10. Measles is always more
fatal when it occurs as an epidemic, and especially during the winter
months, the immediate cause of death being, in the majority of cases,
some intercurrent complication affecting the lungs. The brunt of the
epidemic fell on the poorer classes in the northern parts of the parish.
_Scarlet Fever_ was fatal in 32 cases—an increase of 22 over the
mortality of the previous year. 28 of the deaths took place in the Town
sub-district, and 4 in Brompton—21 of the victims being under 5 years of
age. The disease was, to a certain extent, epidemic in the Autumn, and,
fears being entertained that it might spread, through the agency of the
Board Schools, precautions were taken by the London School Board, acting
on the suggestions I laid before your Vestry, to prevent children
attending school from infected houses. The evil blew over as the winter
advanced; but, in accordance with the usual course of epidemic scarlet
fever, a more severe outbreak may be looked for during the current year,
the signs of which are not wanting at the present writing.
I have already referred (p. 10, _ante_) to a curious outbreak of scarlet
fever following on a dinner-party at South Kensington, and it may be here
mentioned that a report of the occurrence having found its way, with more
or less inaccuracy, into some of the papers, a good deal of alarm was
created, and an impression got abroad that the disease was very prevalent
in Kensington, his impression was not confined to the immediate locality,
and the effect of it was to cause a considerable exodus of the wealthier
classes at a prematurely early period of the “season,” as well as more or
less consequent injury to trade. Some suspicions connected with the
state of the Knightsbridge Barracks and the health of the soldiers’
families, including those that lived outside, added fuel to the fire, if
indeed they did not kindle it. I had no reason, myself, to suspect any
extensive prevalence of scarlet fever, for I knew that the deaths though
rather above the average were still few in the aggregate, and I was
aware, after repeated enquiry, that the cases under treatment at the
three charitable dispensaries and by the five district Poor Law Medical
Officers were astonishingly few. In fact, on several occasions when
enquiry was made, it turned out that only one or two, or at the most
three cases, were under the care of the Medical Officers, although they
have many thousand cases of sickness among the poorest classes under
their care during the year. I also ascertained from many medical men
that they had very few cases under their care, most of them none at all.
I stated these facts in my June report, but as the alarm was really great
I thought it well to address a circular letter to the two hundred and
fifty medical men whose names appear in the Medical Directory as
residents in Kensington, asking for information and stating all I knew as
to the actual dimensions of the epidemic, if it could be so called, and
the comparative abeyance of scarlet fever in dispensary and parochial
practice. To this letter I had fewer than fifty replies, including those
that were _viva voce_. As I had asked for positive information only, it
is probable that many of those who did not favor me with any reply were
silent for the best of reasons, viz., that they had nothing to
communicate. Of those gentlemen to whose courtesy I am indebted for
their replies only six had any cases under treatment. The testimony of
all my correspondents excepting two was unanimous in this—that the
disease generally assumed a mild form, and the correctness of this view
was supported by the fact that although adults formed a large proportion
of the cases, the few deaths that occurred were those of young children.
The exceptions referred to went to prove the rule. The first-named was a
group of seven cases in one house of a person in good circumstances, in
which it was subsequently discovered that the cistern was not only in
untrapped connection with the drains but was also in a disgusting
condition of filthiness, to which cause my informant attributed the
outbreak. This fact, however, may perhaps with greater probability be
the explanation of the severity of the disease, and the sharp _sequelœ_
in all the cases. There were no deaths. In the second group of cases,
eleven in number, occurring in three families of 21 persons occupying
rooms in two small houses in a street at Notting Hill, there were five
deaths, but, as I stated in my July report the causes of the severity and
the fatality of the outbreak were to be found in the circumstances of the
people and in their dwellings, “The fatality of the disease,” I remarked,
“has been great in proportion to the number of cases . . . and this I
attribute to the want of proper accommodation, etc., for the sick, the
spread of the disease being the direct and necessary result of the
retention for home treatment of first cases. It is practically
impossible to isolate the patients in the crowded houses of the poor, and
the parents are generally unwilling to allow their children to be removed
to the hospital, the prejudice against which, however rarely survives
actual experience.” In the same report I alluded to the concealment of
cases, and to the fact that the registration of a death is oftentimes the
first clue to the existence of the disease, and the information then
comes too late for practical, i.e., _preventive_ purposes. It is
obvious, also, after repeated experience that some of the poor who can
ill afford to pay a doctor, employ the services of private medical men
for fear that if they applied for Parish relief the sick child, or
children, will be sent to the hospital. Private practice, is, under such
circumstances, conducted under great disadvantages, for the payment of
the small fees with which the medical man is content in such cases,
deprives the poor of the means of purchasing those comforts, not to say
necessaries, of the sick chamber, on which, _inter alia_, recovery so
largely depends. It is heart-breaking to see the wan faces of little
sick children in their miserable rooms, especially when the contrast is
mentally made between the condition prevailing “at home,” and the
well-ordered hospital, with its staff of doctors and nurses, and all
requisites for every stage of illness and convalescence. Another case
that came under my notice in the course of the enquiry may be mentioned.
The child was attended by a non-qualified practitioner; the parents,
however, believing him to be a duly qualified medical man, for how should
a poor ignorant Irish labourer know the difference between “Doctors”?
“The child died at the end of the second week, and the existence of
scarlet fever in the house became known to us only on the
registration of the death: too late, in fact, for the mischief was
done. The two rooms occupied by this family contained seven persons,
viz., the parents and five children. Successively the father and two
more children fell sick, and were removed to the hospital, where they
are all doing well. The rooms and clothing were disinfected, and the
mother and two remaining children were reluctantly compelled to leave
the house; but no sooner had they done so than the elder child fell
sick, and was sent to the hospital. The mother and her infant are at
present well. The day following the burial of the deceased child
another family of nine persons left the house. They have been
traced, and two children found to be ill. They are tolerably well
isolated, however, and seem likely to do well. I am trying,
nevertheless, for the sake of the rest of the family, to have them
removed. The lessons taught by this story are too obvious to need
recapitulation; I will only observe, therefore, what the facts have
strongly suggested to my own mind, viz., that among the many
requirements in sanitary legislation, none is more needed than power
to provide quarantine for the apparently healthy members of poor
families in which infectious disease has broken out.”
The other cases that have occurred up to the present time are too few,
and otherwise offer nothing to call for special notice. All the fatal
cases occurred in streets wholly occupied by the poorer classes. But, as
I observed in my report,—
“A principal source of danger in the future lies in the carelessness
or ignorance which leads to the premature exposure of convalescents,
to which cause several cases have been referred by my correspondents.
A case of this kind occurred a short time ago. I ascertained that a
boy, who had been ill only a few days and whose skin was actively
peeling, had not only, by inadvertence, attended at the waiting room
of a public dispensary, but had also been to one of the largest and
most crowded of our parochial schools, while other members of the
same family, and out of the same room, had been in the other
departments of the same school, which moreover I found on inspection
to be in a very unsanitary condition. I am doing what I can to
prevent the recurrence of such a case by putting the teachers of
schools on their guard; and, mindful of the steps which the School
Board for London took, on our suggestion last year, with a view to
prevent the spread of the malady through the medium of Board Schools,
I addressed the Clerk to the Board lately, stating the facts as they
are known in this parish, and urging a repetition of the precautions
adopted last year; and I have had the satisfaction of receiving a
communication from that gentleman to the effect that ‘the notices on
the subject of scarlet fever, issued to the respective teachers in
the autumn of last year, will be re-issued to the teachers by the
time the various schools commence their work, after the summer
holidays.’”
Before concluding my remarks on this subject, I may mention that I
availed myself of the opportunity afforded by sending the circular letter
to medical men to place in their hands the “Suggestions for preventing
the spread of infectious diseases,” and other sanitary notices, pointing
out that copies were always available for the use of their patients;
asking their co-operation in aid of the efforts which it is at all times
my duty to make, with a view to arrest the spread of infectious diseases,
urging the importance of isolation of the sick, and the propriety of
sending patients to the hospital when the home accommodation does not
allow of isolation; offering the services of your sanitary staff in all
such cases, and explaining the arrangements made for the disinfection of
clothing, etc., in the absence of a public disinfecting chamber. It, of
course, remains to be seen to what extent the epidemic will grow, and
judging by past experience the disease may during this year and the next
be expected to prove fatal above the average, but come what may I have
the satisfaction of knowing that no means have been spared, or will be,
which it is in the power of your Vestry to adopt with a view to arrest
its progress.
_Diphtheria_.—This disease was the cause of 26 deaths (Town, 24;
Brompton, 2), an increase of 15 over 1873—entirely in the Town
sub-district. The deaths under five years were 14.
_Whooping Cough_.—The mortality from this complaint was 45, in the Town
sub-district 36, and in Brompton 9. The deaths under five were 44.
FEVER.—_Typhus_, was fatal in 9 cases, all in the Town sub-district. The
number in the previous year was 6—all likewise in the Town.
_Enteric Fever_.—The registered deaths from this disease were 28—viz., 19
in the Town and 9 in Brompton. The numbers in 1873 were 19 and 8
respectively. The term _Typhoid_ is often employed to designate this
disease, and leads to error in the tabulation of the mortality returns.
I have good reason to believe that some of the cases returned by the
Registrar-General as _typhoid fever_ were not cases of _enteric fever_,
the word _typhoid_ having been employed in medical certificates of the
cause of death to describe a condition of the patient in the last stages
of fatal illness of a nature entirely distinct from _enteric fever_.
_Simple continued fever_ caused 15 deaths (8 under five years), viz., 11
in the Town sub-district and 4 in Brompton. The deaths in 1873 were 7
and I respectively in the two districts.
_Diarrhœa_ was less fatal than in 1873, the deaths being in that year
145, and in 1874 only 112. The annual average number in ten years was
111, without allowances for increase of population. The deaths last year
in the two sub-districts were 90 and 22; in the previous year 121 and 24.
The large majority of fatal cases occurred in infancy, viz., 100 under
one year and 8 between one and five. Above 65 years of age the deaths
were 4. At intermediate ages there was no death. The principal
mortality was experienced in the warm summer weather, viz., in July 38,
and in August 31. Five deaths from _Cholera_ were registered, viz., 3 in
the Town and 2 in Brompton.
OTHER ZYMOTIC DISEASES.—_Croup_ was the cause of 26 deaths, 25 under five
years, and all save one in the Town sub-district. The deaths in the
previous year were 20.
_Erysipelas_ caused 21 deaths, viz., 13 and 8 in the Town and Brompton
respectively. The deaths in 1873 were 24.
PUERPERAL MORTALITY.—Some difficulty is experienced in procuring a
correct record of the deaths arising out of or connected with childbed,
owing to the fact that reference to the previous occurrence of childbirth
is sometimes omitted in the medical certificate of the cause of death.
Some of the deaths, therefore, registered as Peritonitis, Pyæmia,
Erysipelas, and even under less suggestive headings, may have been
connected with the puerperal state. The deaths actually ascribed to
childbed diseases were 24, other 14 being set down to the various
accidents incident to that critical period. These numbers together
represent a mortality somewhat below one per cent. (0.87) on the births
registered. Dr. Matthews Duncan, the successor of Sir James Simpson at
the University of Edinburgh, has promulgated an opinion that the true
average mortality of the puerperal state is one per cent., _i.e._, one
death in every hundred confinements; an estimate which a practitioner in
this parish, who has a most extensive midwifery practice, tells me
coincides with his personal experience. The causes of death as
registered were:—_Puerperal fever_, 4; _Puerperal peritonitis_, 9;
_Pyæmia_, 5; _Septicæmia_, 1; _Metritis_, 4; _Pelvic cellulitis_, 1.
Eighteen of the deaths occurred in the Town sub-district, the mortality
being pretty evenly spread over the parish, and none of the cases being
traceable to contagion. They occurred in the four quarters respectively
as follows—9, 6, 5, and 4. The ages at death were: 20–30 years, 18;
30–40 years, 4; 40 years and upwards, 2.
_Syphilis_ nominally caused 12 deaths—a number we may well believe below
the actual mortality from this Protean disease.
CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES.—_Cancer_ was the cause of 67 deaths, viz., 51 in
the Town and 16 in Brompton. Fifty-four of the deaths took place between
the ages of 45 and 75.
THE TUBERCULAR DISEASES caused 408 deaths, viz., 325 in the Town and 73
in Brompton. _Scrofula_ was the registered disease in 27 cases, _Tabes
mesenterica_ in 53, _Phthisis_ in 245, and _Hydrocephalus_ or
_Meningitis_ in 82 cases. The numbers of deaths in the several quarters
were—1st, 113; 2nd, 104; 3rd, 88; and 4th, 103:—216 in the winter and 192
in the summer quarters. One hundred and fifty-seven of the deaths were
those of children under the age of five years. This mortality is
exclusive of those brain affections, _Convulsions_, &c., and those
diseases called developmental which, under the names of _Atrophy_ and
_Premature birth_, are nearly allied to the tubercular diseases specially
so-called.
LOCAL DISEASES.—The diseases of the nervous system were fatal in 256
cases, viz., 199 in the Town and 57 in Brompton. Eighty-five of the
deaths occurred under five years of age. _Apoplexy_ was fatal in 64
cases, _Paralysis_ in 47, _Epilepsy_ in 13, _Convulsions_ in 59, and
_Brain disease_ in 62. Apoplexy and Paralysis are diseases of old age;
Convulsions, as a rule, of infancy. The deaths from this order of
diseases were very equally spread over the whole year, the quarterly
numbers being 66, 63, 61, and 66 respectively
THE DISEASES OF THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION caused 149 deaths, viz., in the
Town district 115, and in Brompton 34. Nine only of these deaths
occurred under the age of five years. _Pericarditis_ was the registered
cause in 5 cases, _Aneurism_ in 7, and “_Heart disease_” in the
remainder, 137.
DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS.—The deaths from this important order
of diseases were 554, viz., 462 in the Town sub-district, and 92 in
Brompton. Under five years of age the deaths were 244. The mortality
from these affections is greatly influenced by season, more deaths
occurring in winter than in summer, and a higher mortality prevailing in
proportion as the winter is severe. These facts are illustrated by the
subjoined figures, which show the mortality to have been in the four
quarters of the year respectively 189, 80, 58, and 227. Thus in the
winter quarters the deaths were 416, and in the summer quarters only 138.
The deaths in the summer quarters of 1874 were seven less than in 1873;
but there was an excess of 78 in the winter quarters of the former year,
due to the long-continued cold weather that prevailed in the latter
months. The several diseases of this order were the registered causes of
death as follows:—_Laryngitis_ 6, _Bronchitis_ 300, _Pleurisy_ 10,
_Pneumonia_ 176, _Asthma_ 12, and _Lung disease_ 41. The increased
fatality of Bronchitis and Pneumonia helps to explain the higher
mortality of 1874 as compared with 1873.
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS were fatal in 118 cases (18 under five
years), viz., 93 in the Town and 25 in Brompton. They include
_Enteritis_ 19, _Peritonitis_ 20, and _Liver disease_ 37.
DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS were fatal in 51 cases, including _Kidney
disease_ 12, _Blight’s disease_ 22; _Cystitis_ 7, and _Diabetes_ 5.
DISEASES OF THE ORGANS OF GENERATION caused 7 deaths, 6 of them
registered as _Uterus disease_, &c. These deaths are exclusive of
malignant affections of the organs included under the head of Cancer.
THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN were fatal in 75 cases, including _Premature
birth_ 46, _Teething_ 25, and _Malformations_ 4.
THE DISEASES OF ADULTS include 14 deaths returned as _Child-birth_, these
deaths being irrespective of those already alluded to under the head of
Puerperal Fever.
DISEASES OF OLD PEOPLE (so described) were returned under the head of
_Old Age_ as the cause of 94 deaths.
DISEASES OF NUTRITION, viz., _Atrophy_ and _Debility_, were the cause of
163 deaths, all under five years of age, (153 in the first year of life)
viz., 143 in the Town sub-district and 20 in Brompton.
VIOLENT DEATHS, 48 in number, were registered, including 10 due to
_fractures and contusions_, 17 (all under one year) to _suffocation_, and
four to _drowning_.
CAUSES NOT SPECIFIED OR ILL-DEFINED.—Twenty deaths registered came under
this description.
DEATHS IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
THE HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION AND DISEASES OF THE CHEST. At this
important institution 131 persons died, viz., 80 males and 51 females.
All the deaths, with the exception of eight, were due to that hitherto
incurable malady phthisis, or as it is popularly known, consumption.
Five deaths were caused by heart disease, one by aneurism, and two by
lung disease. The deaths in the four quarters respectively were 26, 30,
30, and 45. Six only of the deaths properly belong to the parish.
Seventy-five of the deceased came from other parishes in London and the
suburbs, and 50 from other than metropolitan counties. If the truth were
known, it is not improbable that some few deaths from phthisis outside
the hospital properly belong to other districts, the patients having come
to town for medical treatment attracted by the fame of the institution,
and being attended as out-patients.
ST. JOSEPH’S HOUSE.—This large charitable establishment of the Roman
Catholics, situated in Portobello Road, Notting Hill, is not classed as a
public institution, although its inmates (about 200) are drawn from all
parts. The deaths last year numbered 36—males 21 and females 15—all
above 60 years of age, and due to the more common diseases of senility,
as Brain disease 8, Lung and Heart disease 16, Cancer 3, Intestinal
diseases 3, “Old Age” 2, other diseases 4.
THE PARISH INFIRMARY.—At this large and important hospital there were 221
deaths, viz., in the four quarters respectively 61, 40, 44, and 76; males
117, females 104. The deaths included 37 of infants under one year of
age, and 86 of persons above 60 years of age, viz., between 60 and 70,
36; 70–80, 38; 80–90, 11; at 97, 1. Inquests were held in three cases,
the verdicts returned being (1) “Sudden, apoplexy, natural causes,” (2)
“Fall from a window, accidental,” (3) “Fall from a ladder, accidental.”
The causes of death may be summarised thus:—
Brain disease, Apoplexy, Paralysis, &c. 26
Lung diseases 37
Heart disease 7
Scrofulous or Tuberculous diseases, Phthisis, &c. 41
Wasting diseases, Debility, &c., of Children 21
Atelectasis (Imperfect expansion of lungs at birth) 5
Cancer 8
Enteric fever 2
Measles 4
Diarrhœa 3
Intestinal diseases, &c. 13
Kidney disease 4
Uterine diseases 2
Ulcer 3
Childbirth, &c. 3
Violent 2. Privation 1. 3
Old Age 23
Various 16
Total 221
INQUESTS.
A large proportion of deaths form the subject of enquiry in the Coroner’s
Court. Last year the number was 172, viz., 152 in the Town sub-district
and 20 in Brompton, equal to 6.4 per cent. of the total deaths. One
hundred of the subjects of enquiry were below the age of five years, 80
being less than a year old, mostly in fact infants of a few hours, days,
or weeks. Forty-eight inquests were held on persons between the ages of
5 and 60, and 24 on persons above the age of 60. The great majority of
the deaths were due to disease. Thus of the 99 sudden deaths the causes
of death as found by _post mortem_ examination (and _post mortem_
examinations were made in 154 out of the total of 172 cases) were as
follows:—
Brain, Diseases of the 13
Apoplexy 11
Lungs, Diseases of the 24
Heart „ „ 20
Scrofula 4
Convulsions 4
Spasm of the Glottis 7
Diarrhœa 3
Diphtheria 2
Syphilis 2
Premature birth and infantile debility 3
Visceral diseases (of Liver, Kidneys, &c.) 3
“Fever” 1; Thrush 1; “Sudden” 1 3
Total 99
Various diseases were specified in other six cases in which the deaths
were not returned as “sudden.” Death was found to be caused by disease
in many of the cases in which the deceased were “found dead,” either in
bed or otherwise, viz., from
Lungs, Diseases of the 6
Heart „ „ 6
Convulsions 4
Brain, Diseases of the, 2; Apoplexy 1 3
Laryngitis 1; Spasm of the Glottis 1; Scrofula 1 3
“Found Dead,” &c. 4
Total 26
The accidental and violent deaths were caused as follows:—
Falls 7
Barns 1
Drowned 4
Suffocation 16
Cut throat 2
Pistol shot 2
Hanging 2
Run over by railway train 1
Wilful Murder 4
“Accident,” “Violence” 2
Total 41
With respect to the accidental or violent deaths it may be remarked that
the 16 from suffocation were of infants and due to “accident.” One of
the newly born infants was found in a box and another up a chimney; these
being, as were some of the others, the children of single women. On four
newly-born children the verdict of “murder” was found. In one case there
had been “exposure,” in a second the child was found dead, and in the
other cases the verdict was simply “wilful murder.” Of the four drowning
cases one was suicidal. By hanging, cut-throat, and pistol-shot all the
deaths recorded (two from each cause), were suicidal, making a total of
seven suicidal deaths during the year. The remaining deaths by violence
were accidentally caused.
Having carefully analysed the facts relating to these deaths as they
appear in the weekly returns of mortality, I submit the results, which
are, I think, worthy of attention. Of course the primary cause of an
inquest being held is the absence of a medical certificate showing the
cause of death. The reasons why certificates are not forthcoming, and
therefore why inquests become necessary, may be inferred from certain
particulars which appear in the returns, and may be summed up as
follows:—
Sudden Death 99
Found dead in bed (22) or otherwise (26) 48
Accident 3
Violence 15
Doubtful (none of the above reasons stated) 7
Total 172
It is to the deaths from disease that I would draw particular attention,
the bare facts appearing to point to a large amount of neglect of the
sick, which, without explanation, would seem to border on the criminal.
Fatal visceral diseases, it need hardly be said, present symptoms which
the most ignorant cannot altogether overlook—fever, pain, exhaustion,
&c.; and each disease has a more or less prolonged course, varying with
the importance of the organ affected, and with the amount of care
bestowed on the sufferer. It is not credible that any medical man would
be unable to diagnose the existence of such a disease, _e.g._ as
pneumonia, or would refuse to certify the cause of death of a patient who
had died under his care. We are driven to the conclusion, therefore,
that, in a great number of cases of disease, many of the victims being
infants, no effort is made to obtain medical advice for the sufferers,
and hence, when death ensues, an inquest becomes necessary, as there is
no medical certificate to show the cause of death. A post-mortem
examination is made, and then it becomes known that death was caused by a
disease that might have been cured, and that certainly must have had a
well-defined and often a lengthened course. Passing over such maladies
as apoplexy and heart disease, it is only necessary to mention, in
support of this view, such diseases as pneumonia, &c. (30 deaths); brain
diseases (15); convulsions—a symptom rather than a disease (8); scrofula
(5); syphilis (2); diarrhœa, diphtheria, &c. The question then arises,
in connection with such cases as these, whether it is sufficient to
record the cause of death? whether, in fact, some one should not be made
responsible for the neglect to provide medical advice for a child who
ultimately dies “suddenly” or is “found dead” as a consequence of an
attack of pneumonia, that may have extended over one, two, or three
weeks, or even a longer time? Not many weeks before this present writing
one of the “Peculiar People” was found guilty of manslaughter, having
neglected to provide medical attendance for his child, who died of
pneumonia, although it was admitted that every care, otherwise, had been
bestowed on the patient; and, notwithstanding the well-known fact that
with such care a very large proportion of the cases, especially if one
lung only is affected, will recover. It need scarcely be added that the
parents’ neglect had its origin in conscientious motives, however
mistaken and absurd. Can such a plea be made in all or many of the cases
to which I have here alluded: and should negligent parents escape without
punishment—without censure even?
True, the facts I have thus briefly brought under notice may be
explained—and they certainly need explanation; for as they baldly appear
in the returns of mortality they would seem to indicate an indifference
to life which is not only shocking, but may be in some degree the cause
of that terrible infantile mortality which all thinking persons deplore.
I will only add that it is notorious that medical men are constantly
called in to see children sick beyond the hope of recovery, in order that
no fuss may arise after death—the death certificate being all-sufficient.
No doubt in many cases, where the diagnosis is quite clear, the
certificate is given, although the practitioner may be conscious of the
neglect of the parents in applying for assistance when “too late;” and, I
dare say, that in some at least of the cases which come before the
Coroner the inquest has been brought about by the judicious refusal of
medical men to give certificates under such circumstances. I venture to
think, however, that a certificate should not be given in any such case,
and that not only should an inquest be held, but that the mere fact of
the responsible person in charge of the infant having failed to obtain
that medical advice and assistance which the poor may have for the
asking, should be regarded as establishing a _prima facie_ charge of
neglect, for which he or she should appear and answer at another tribunal
in the absence of exculpatory evidence.
DEATHS “NOT CERTIFIED.”
The number of deaths “not certified,” that is, of persons who were
attended in their last illness by non-qualified practitioners—generally
professing to hold unregisterable foreign degrees, often obtained by
purchase, _in absentia_, was 33. The numbers in the two previous years
were 30 and 21. In my annual report for 1872 I mentioned that I had some
time previously called the attention of the Registrar-General to the
desirability of an addition to the form of certificate of death provided
for the use of medical men, whereby it would be made clear whether the
subscriber was or was not duly qualified, _i.e._, registered. The
Registrar-General approved the suggestion, and his attention having, at
my instance, been again directed to the subject by the Society of Medical
Officers of Health last year, he has, in the new form of certificate
brought into use at the commencement of the current year, added a line
immediately below the place for signature on which the subscriber is
required to enter his “registered qualification.” It is not probable
that any unregistered practitioner would venture to use the certificate,
should he inadvertently become possessed of it, as might happen through
the almost unavoidable ignorance in which the sub-district registrars are
left, from the want of an official list of registered practitioners. Not
long ago I ventured to direct the attention of the Registrar-General and
the Registrar to the General Medical Council to the importance of these
officers being supplied with the Medical Register, issued annually by the
Council; but these gentlemen, while appreciating the suggestion, were
unable to hold out any hope that it would or could be carried into
effect, inasmuch as the Government are unwilling to incur the necessary
expense, and as the Register is too inaccurate to be implicitly relied on
in doubtful cases. But now that medical men are required, under a
penalty for neglect, to give certificates of the cause of death, some
means ought to be found of restricting the use of them in any form, to
registered practitioners. The sub-district Registrars do not knowingly
accept a certificate from a non-qualified practitioner, but in some cases
where a medical title is used by a stranger, “invalid” certificates
obtain currency. In all other irregular cases the registrar returns the
death as “not certified,” making use, nevertheless, of the information as
to the cause of death contained in the certificate! If it were made an
offence at law for any unregistered practitioner to give a certificate of
death, the difficulty would probably be met. At present I do not know
what course would be best to adopt, unless to hold inquests on the bodies
of all persons who die under the treatment of non-qualified
practitioners. This course was adopted in some cases in the northern
part of the parish last year, and it led, in at least one instance, to
the unsatisfactory, not to say discreditable result, of the Philadelphian
M.D. who attended a sick child, calling in a registered practitioner at
the last gasp, so that he might certify to the cause of death. An
inquest, however, was held on the body, and the death was found to be due
to quite a different disease to that entered in the certificate. I may
add that the Board of Guardians, laudably anxious to put a stop to the
scandal, took proceedings at the Hammersmith Police Court against an
unregistered practitioner for signing a vaccination certificate, and thus
“falsely pretending to be registered.” The case was dismissed, however,
and no further steps have been taken in the matter. But something should
be done for the protection of the poor, who are almost exclusively the
patients of the unqualified man, being unable to realize the distinction;
and action is rendered the more necessary by the fact that
children—infants of tender age—are most commonly the victims of the
practice. Thus, of the 33 cases of uncertified deaths referred to, 25
were children, of whom 18 were less than one year old. The causes of
death returned included such diseases as typhus fever, scarlet fever,
measles, diarrhœa, inflammation of the lungs and of the brain, and
scrofulous maladies.
METEOROLOGY.
The mean temperature of the air at Greenwich during the registration year
was 49.4° F., the average of 35 years being 49.3°. The averages of the
four quarters were 41.6°, 53.5°, 60.6°, and 41.8°. The hottest week was
that which ended on the 11th of July, mean temperature 66.8°; and the
coldest week was that ended on the 2nd of January, 1875, mean temperature
28.8°. The highest reading of the thermometer was on the 9th of July,
92.0°, and the lowest on the first day of the current year 18.2°. The
dryness of the atmosphere (_i.e._, the difference between the dew point
temperature and air temperature) was 5.6 (average in 30 years 5.5.) The
rainfall was 24.1 inches.
VACCINATION.
I am indebted to Mr. Shattock, the energetic Vaccination Officer, for the
interesting particulars contained in Table IX, (Appendix), on the
important subject of Vaccination. From it we learn that during the year
4,357 births were returned to him by the sub-district registrars, and
that the successful vaccinations numbered 3,588. Twenty-three infants
were certified as insusceptible of successful vaccination; in 74 cases
the postponement of vaccination was sanctioned by medical certificate on
account of the state of health, &c.; 27 children were removed to other
districts, the vaccination officer of each district being duly apprized
of such removal; 9 cases were still under proceedings (at the date of the
report), by summons or otherwise; while 464 children died unvaccinated.
The cases unaccounted for—either through the removal of the children to
places unknown, or which cannot be reached, and cases not having been
found—amounted in all to only 172, or a fraction below 4 per cent. of the
total births—a result that must be considered very satisfactory, highly
creditable to the vaccination officer, and, I would add, to the Board of
Guardians; while I can hardly believe it has been surpassed in any other
district of the Metropolis.
The Guardians have lately (August, 1875) prosecuted successfully a
non-qualified practitioner for signing Vaccination Certificates. A
penalty of Ten pounds was inflicted; the offence with which the defendant
was charged being that of “falsely pretending to be registered” under the
Medical Act, none but registered practitioners being qualified to sign
Vaccination Certificates.
SANITARY WORK.
Table 6 (Appendix) contains a summary of the principal items of sanitary
work accomplished during the Vestry year ended 25th March, 1875. The
number of complaints received and entered in the complaint book was
1,482; viz., 820 in the North, and 662 in the South Sanitary District.
Seven thousand two hundred and eighty-six houses were inspected—viz.,
3,229 in the North, and 4,057 in the South district, besides mews, of
which there are about 140 in the parish. The number of sanitary notices
served for the amendment of houses, premises, &c., was 1,438, viz., 756
in the North and 682 in the South: 1,477 houses and premises were
cleansed, &c.: 68 were disinfected after infectious diseases. The drains
of 442 houses were cleansed and repaired; and trapped and ventilated in
341 other cases: 463 privies and water-closets were repaired and supplied
with water; and 6 new water-closets were provided: 31 new dust-bins were
erected, and 41 old ones covered, repaired, &c.: 8 water-cisterns were
constructed, and 75 cleansed, covered and repaired—a very inadequate
number it would seem, so far as regards cleansing, only that in a great
number of cases this operation—so commonly neglected—was directed and
carried out without formal notice: 115 accumulations of dung, stagnant
water, animal and other refuse were removed, and in 58 cases animals
improperly kept, or kept in unfit localities (swine especially), were
removed.
The number of inspections in each district, and in each period of four
weeks, covered by my monthly reports, may be seen, in Table 6A. Legal
proceedings were had recourse to in 100 cases, viz., 82 in the North, and
18 in the South district, and generally with a successful result. A few
of the cases deserve special notice.
And first I will mention the subject of boiling food for pigs. A greater
nuisance than this is, it would be difficult to imagine in a parish like
Kensington. The effluvia given off from the boiling of a quantity of
animal and vegetable refuse, collected from the wash-tubs, and often in a
semi-putrid state before cooking, is sickening and offensive to the last
degree. It constitutes by far the greater part of the nuisance arising
from the keeping of swine in an improper locality; and the efforts
persistently made during the last four years to improve the condition of
the Potteries have been sadly marred by the continuance of the process of
food collection and preparation, which still goes on to some extent,
although nearly all the swine have been removed. As no means were ever
adopted to prevent the escape into the air of the noxious effluvia
resulting from the cooking, we resolved to attack the nuisance under the
27th section of the Nuisances Removal Act, which enacts, in effect, that
“If any building, or place for boiling offal . . . or used for any
trade, business, &c., causing effluvia, be at any time certified to
the local authority by any Medical Officer to be a nuisance or
injurious to the health of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and
that the person carrying on such business shall not have used the
best practicable means for abating such nuisance, or preventing or
counteracting such effluvia, the person so offending shall, upon a
summary conviction for such offence, forfeit and pay a sum of not
more than Five Pounds nor less than Forty Shillings, and upon a
second conviction for such offence the sum of Ten Pounds, and for
each subsequent conviction a sum double the amount of the penalty
imposed for the last preceding conviction, but the highest amount of
such penalty shall not in any case exceed the sum of Two Hundred
Pounds.”
Several prosecutions were undertaken successfully—fines varying from
Forty Shillings to Five Pounds (including costs) being inflicted. The
steps already taken will, it is hoped, prove sufficient, and render
unnecessary any further appeal to the law, especially as a notice of your
Vestry’s intention to proceed against offenders in every case has been
widely distributed in the Potteries.
Twenty-four convictions were obtained against old offenders for keeping
swine in an improper locality, and Mr. Bridge, one of the magistrates at
the Hammersmith police-court, announced his intention of throwing on the
defendants in any future cases that might be brought before him, the onus
of proving that the pigs were not on the premises on days intervening
between the days for which the defendants might be summoned for the
offence of keeping pigs in a place under the ban of a “prohibitory
order,” the penalty for this offence being Ten Shillings a day. Hitherto
we have been required to prove the presence of swine on each day, so
that, for example, to obtain in one week penalties to the amount of three
pounds, it was necessary to visit the prohibited premises every day in
the week. But if Mr. Bridge should feel justified in carrying out his
views, it would only be necessary to visit the premises on Monday and
Saturday to obtain the same amount of penalties which would be imposed,
unless the defendant should be able to prove that the pigs were not on
the premises on the intervening days, viz., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
and Friday.
The proprietor of a licensed slaughter-house in the Potteries,
Notting-hill, was fined in the sum of Ten pounds and costs for having on
the premises the carcase of a cow, diseased and unfit for human food.
The cow had been brought dead from another place, and after seizure it
was stated that the carcase was not intended for food. But it was
dressed in the usual way, and the meat having been condemned by Mr.
Ingham, proceedings were taken before Mr. Bridge, with the result above
stated, the magistrate ruling that the fact of the carcase being in the
slaughterhouse was sufficient evidence of the intention to pass it off as
food for man. The cow, it may be added, having died, or been killed, at
a licensed cow-shed in the same locality, I pointed out to the licensee
the great impropriety of his proceedings, and the risk he would run of
losing his license, to say nothing of other consequences, on a repetition
of his indiscretion. Subsequently, I received notice from the proprietor
of a licensed slaughter-house that the carcase of another cow that had
been killed in the last stage of the “lung disease” (pleuro-pneumonia)
was awaiting my opinion of the fitness, or otherwise, of the meat for
human food. I condemned the meat, which was removed to a knacker’s yard.
No proceedings were taken in this case, but I cautioned the licensee not
to admit diseased animals—living or dead—on his premises at any future
time. Some time after the occurrence of this case I learnt, to my great
surprise, that the instructions issued by the Metropolitan Board of
Works, to the district veterinary cattle inspectors under the provisions
of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act authorised the removal of
diseased cows from cowsheds to a licensed slaughter-house for the purpose
of being killed; or if killed at the shed, of being dressed, there to
await the _fiat_ of the inspector as to the fitness, or otherwise, of the
meat for human food. This instruction seems to be at variance with the
slaughter-house bye-laws, to say nothing on the question of the propriety
of using for food the flesh of diseased animals. In the provinces it is
the practice, I believe, to destroy and bury animals affected with
pleuro-pneumonia; and I am under the impression that heavy fines have
been inflicted on persons for selling or exposing for sale the flesh of
such animals. In London cowkeepers are required, under a penalty for
neglect, to give notice to the Metropolitan Board of Works of the
occurrence of cases of pleuro-pneumonia; and they are entitled to
compensation from the Board to the extent of a moiety of the value of any
animals that may be killed with a view of “stamping out” the disease. It
follows that the larger the amount realized by the sale of the carcase,
for whatever purpose, whether for the food of man or of cats, the less is
the amount payable to the owner in the way of compensation.
The proprietor of the slaughter-house in the Potteries first referred to
above, was fined Five pounds and costs for allowing a large accumulation
of putrid blood, &c., to remain on the premises after his attention had
been repeatedly called to the necessity of properly storing and regularly
removing all such matters before they became offensive.
A seizure of meat unfit for human food was made at Norfolk Terrace—at a
mis-called “co-operative” store—and the defendant was fined Twenty pounds
and costs.
A person who had formerly kept a licensed cow-shed was fined Forty
shillings and costs for keeping cows for dairy purposes without a
license.
A somewhat serious nuisance having been complained of, arising at an iron
foundry at Notting Hill, from the escape of noxious fumes and grit from
the low but capacious chimney above the melting furnaces, I gave a
certificate to the effect necessary to found legal proceedings, which,
however, were not had recourse to, the proprietors of the foundry having
expressed their willingness to adopt any measures I might advise, with a
view to remove the cause of complaint. They have done this by carrying
up the shaft some 20 feet, and by the interposition of diaphragms to
intercept the fine grit carried up by the draught; and I hope that in the
result these measures will be found adequate for the purpose.
LICENSED SLAUGHTER HOUSES.
The licensed slaughter-houses—49 in number—viz., 28 in the North Sanitary
District, and 21 in the South, have been duly inspected. In my last
annual report I gave some account of the Slaughter Houses (Metropolis)
Act, 1874, under which the Metropolitan Board of Works, as the “local
authority,” were empowered to frame bye-laws, for regulating the conduct
of the business of a slaughterer of cattle, and the structure of the
premises in which the business is carried on. As it was impossible to
get the bye-laws framed and confirmed by the Local Government Board
previous to the annual licensing day in the month of October (as a matter
of fact they were not confirmed until the 27th of May in the present
year), your Vestry, on the recommendation of the Sanitary Committee,
unanimously resolved that certain conditions were essential in order to
fit a slaughter-house for the business, and decided to oppose the renewal
of licenses in every case that did not come up to the standard. The
conditions were as follows:
1. A slaughter-house should have an independent entrance, so that the
cattle may not have to pass through the house or shop; and it should be
at a reasonable distance from other buildings, particularly inhabited
houses.
2. It should be open to the roof; or, at least, should have no
inhabited rooms over it.
3. It should be well ventilated and properly lighted, so that the
slaughtering may be done, as it always should be, with closed doors.
4. It should have walls and floor of smooth and impervious
materials—the flooring being laid on concrete.
5. It should be well drained, with stone ware pipes, and the drains
should be permanently trapped.
6. It should have attached to it ample and separate lairage,
constructed with a due regard to sanitary and other requirements.
7. It should be effectually separated from any lair, stable, dung-pit,
w.c., &c., so that the meat may not be exposed to any offensive
effluvia.
8. It should be of adequate size, and should not be used for any other
purpose than that for which it is licensed, and particularly it should
not be used as a stable, a lair, or a cow-shed.
Upon viewing the several slaughter-houses by this standard, so many were
found defective in one or other respect that it was thought best to give
the formal notice of opposition required by the Act, in every case, but
your Clerk and myself were directed to oppose the renewal of the license
in those cases only that did not come up to the standard. We did this,
but the justices overruled our objection in every case, on the ground
that the premises, however faulty, had been licensed in former years, and
time must be allowed to put them in proper order. At the same time, the
justices gave the assembled licensees notice that at the next licensing
day (in October of the current year, namely) they would not renew the
license in any case that was not up to the standard. With reference to
the decision of the magistrates, and the ground on which it was based, it
is, perhaps, hardly necessary for me to state the fact, so well known
already, that the existing slaughter-houses, were, without exception,
licensed before I entered upon the duties of my appointment, and that the
reason your Vestry did not oppose the renewal of the licenses in either
of the subsequent years was that, in common with myself, you believed
that the private slaughter-houses would be finally closed in 1874, under
the operation of the Building Act, 1844. It only remains to add that the
slaughter-houses will now have to be judged by the standard of the
bye-laws; and it may therefore be useful to state in what respect the
bye-laws differ—either in excess or defect—from the standard adopted by
your Vestry in 1874. As regards new slaughter-houses, the requirements
of the “local authority” are fully up to that standard; and, as regards
existing slaughter-houses, the only material differences between the
bye-laws and the standard relate to the points dealt with in clauses 1
and 6 (_supra_). The bye-laws do _not_ require that a slaughter-house
shall have an independent entrance, or be at all removed from other
buildings; and they do _not_ require provision to be made for housing
cattle previous to slaughtering; but it is enacted that no animal shall
be detained on the “premises” for a longer time than “absolutely
necessary” previous to slaughtering, and that the “slaughter-house”
(which is only a part of the “premises”) shall not be used for “any other
purpose than that for which it is licensed,” viz., killing. It follows,
then, that the slaughter-house itself may not be used as a lair, and the
question arises—Where shall the animals be kept, if there be no lairage?
It appears to me that the existence of lairage is assumed, and that the
absence of this necessary accommodation would form a reasonable cause for
opposition even under the bye-laws. But whether this is so or not, I
venture to think that your Vestry would be fairly entitled to oppose the
renewal of a license in the case of premises so obviously defective, and
that you would be fully justified in taking the opinion of the justices
as to the suitability of premises for a slaughter-house to which there is
no access save through a butcher’s shop or dwelling-house.
(The Vestry subsequently adopted these views. I here subjoin a synopsis
of the bye-laws, which I have prepared for the guidance of the Sanitary
Inspectors.)
OBJECTS OF THE BYE LAWS:—To regulate the conduct of the business of a
slaughterer of cattle, and the structure of the premises on which such
business is carried on, and the mode in which application is to be made
for sanction to establish such business anew.
DEFINITIONS.—The Metropolitan Board of Works, as the “Local Authority,”
is styled the “Board.” “The premises” include the Slaughter House and
all the premises used for the business of a slaughterer of cattle. The
“Slaughter House” means the portion of the premises used for the
slaughtering and dressing of cattle. The “Occupier” means the occupier
of premises where the business of a slaughterer of cattle is carried on;
and “Slaughterer of cattle” means a person whose business it is to kill
any kind of cattle for the purpose of its flesh being used as Butchers’
meat.
BYE-LAWS AS TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE PREMISES, (Nos. 15 to 21
inclusive.)—The slaughter house to be well paved with asphalte or
flagstone set in cement, laid with a proper slope and channel towards a
gulley, and effectually drained by an adequate drain of glazed pipes
communicating with the public sewer. The gulley to be trapped by an
appropriate trap and covered with a grating, the bars of which to be not
more than ⅜ of an inch apart (16).
The inner walls of the Slaughter House to be covered with hard, smooth
impervious material, to the height of four feet at the least, and to be
always kept clean, and in good order, and repair (17).
No room or loft to be built by owner or occupier over any Slaughter House
(20).
An adequate tank or other proper receptacle for water and water supply to
be provided, and so placed that the bottom of the same shall not be less
than 6 feet above the floor level (15).
The Slaughter House to be well and thoroughly ventilated (15).
No water closet, privy, cesspool, urinal, or stable to be within, or to
communicate directly with the Slaughter House (19).
The occupier to cause all needful works and repairs to the premises to be
forthwith done and executed, as and when the same shall become requisite,
and not to make any alteration in respect of the paving, drainage,
ventilation, or water supply, to, or in the premises, without the consent
of the “Board” (18).
PENALTIES.—For breach of any of the bye-laws, 15 to 20 inclusive, whether
by omission, commission, or neglect, £5; and in the case of a continuing
offence, the sum of £1 for every day during which such offence is
continued after a conviction for the first offence (21).
BYE-LAWS AS TO THE CONDUCT OF THE BUSINESS NOS. 1 to 14 INCLUSIVE:—The
inner walls of the Slaughter House to be always kept clean and in good
order and repair; and the internal surface of the roof and upper portions
of the walls to be washed with quick-lime at least once in every three
months (6).
The Slaughter House to be thoroughly washed and cleansed within three
hours after the slaughtering is completed (7).
A sufficient number of tubs, boxes, or vessels, formed out of proper
non-absorbent materials, with tight and close fitting covers thereto, to
be provided for the purpose of receiving and carrying away all manure,
garbage, offal and filth, and these products to be placed in the tubs,
&c., immediately after the killing and dressing of any cattle. Blood to
be put into similar but separate tubs, &c., and all such tubs, &c., with
their contents to be removed from the premises within 24 hours (5).
The fat of any animal slaughtered to be kept freely exposed to the air
until its removal from the premises; and all such fat, and also hides,
skins, and tripes to be removed within 24 hours after the slaughtering is
completed (9). Carcase, bone, hide, skin, and all meat, fat, offal,
blood, garbage, and other articles, to be removed before the same have
become putrid or offensive (10).
Every covered and other receptacle used in the Slaughter House to be kept
cleansed and purified so as to avoid any offensive smell (8).
Cattle not to be kept in the “premises” except for the time absolutely
necessary previous to slaughter (1). The Slaughter House not to be used
for any purpose other than that for which it is licensed; and
slaughtering not to be conducted within public view (4).
No animal that is not intended or fit for human food to be slaughtered in
the premises (1); and if any diseased cattle should be brought to the
Slaughter House, the occupier to give information thereof, forthwith, to
the “Board,” and to the cattle inspector for the district, with all
particulars in his knowledge as to where, from whom, and from what place
it was received (11).
No fowl, pig, or other animal used for human food (except cattle about to
be slaughtered), and no dog to be kept in or about the premises (2).
No room situated over the Slaughter House to be inhabited under any
pretence whatsoever (3).
All persons lawfully entitled to admission to have free access to the
premises during the times of slaughter and at all reasonable hours (12).
PENALTIES.—For breach of any of the Bye-laws, 1 to 12 inclusive, whether
by omission, commission, or neglect, £3; and in the case of a continuing
offence, £1 for every day during which such offence is continued after a
conviction for the first offence; and every Court of Summary
Jurisdiction, having Jurisdiction to hear and decide complaints of the
breach of the Bye-laws, may by Summary Order suspend or deprive any
occupier of a Slaughter House altogether of the right of carrying on any
such business, as a penalty for the breach of any one of these Bye-laws
(13–14).
AS TO THE MODE IN WHICH APPLICATION IS TO BE MADE FOR SANCTION TO
ESTABLISH ANEW THE BUSINESS OF A SLAUGHTERER OF CATTLE.—THE APPLICANT to
furnish the “Board” with a plan of the premises and sections of the
building in which it is proposed to carry on such business, drawn to a
scale of a quarter of an inch to the foot, and showing the provision
made, or proposed to be made, for the drainage, lighting, ventilation,
and water supply of the same; and also to furnish a key plan of the
locality, showing the buildings and streets within 100 yards of the
premises, drawn to a scale of five feet to the mile (22).
_Notes_.—It is required that the Slaughter House, in respect of
structure, be brought into conformity forthwith with the Bye-laws (15 to
20); when this has been done, the Bye-laws, (1 to 12), which relate to
the conduct of the business, will principally engage attention. The
points to which attention will have more especially to be given are those
that apply to—
1. The daily and quarterly cleansing.
2. The provision and condition of impermeable and covered vessels for
the reception and removal of blood, offal, &c.
3. The exposure to air of fat, and the regular removal of all parts of
animals, including blood, offal and manure, before the same become
putrid or offensive.
4. The exclusive use of the Slaughter House for slaughtering. (It may
not be used as a lair, or as a stable, or as a cart shed).
5. The exclusion from the “premises” of fowls, pigs, dogs, &c.
6. The detention in the premises for so long only as absolutely
necessary of animals about to be slaughtered. The “Occupier,” it may
be added, is the party responsible for the due execution of the
Bye-laws.
LICENSED COW-SHEDS.
The licensed cow-sheds, 33 in number—viz., 17 in the North and 16 in the
South district—have been regularly inspected. Your Vestry, after a
careful consideration of the subject, and after making enquiries as to
the practice adopted in other districts, have adopted a standard of
capacity to be complied with in respect of cow-sheds, viz., an allowance
of 800 cubic feet of space for each cow, no height of shed above 16 feet
to be reckoned in the computation of cubic space; each single stall to be
4 feet, and a double stall for two cows, 7½ feet in width. It is to be
desired that steps should be taken to obtain powers to frame bye-laws for
regulating the structure of cow sheds, the same as slaughter-houses.
Great improvements are necessary in many of the cow-sheds; some of the
sheds are, in fact, ill-adapted for the purpose, and in the category I
would include those that are not open to the roof—being, in fact,
imperfectly ventilated stables. The importance of properly
constructed—which means well drained, well paved, well lighted, and well
ventilated—cow-sheds, is becoming better understood every year, and
events to which reference has already been made (p. 10 _ante_) are likely
to give an impetus in the direction of bringing cow sheds under much more
strict supervision, as to construction and management than heretofore.
It is not uncommon to hear complaints of offensive smells from cow-sheds,
even where the premises are very well kept, and where the smell is really
not greater than must needs be expected, regard being had to the number
of cows kept, and the removal of manure, &c. Should cow-sheds become the
subject of legislation, and precise regulation thereunder, it would be
desirable to provide for a notice being posted, outside the premises,
some days before the annual licensing day, the same as is done in the
case of public-houses, and as ought to be done in respect of
slaughter-houses, so that householders in the vicinity might, if
necessary, attend and show cause against the renewal of the license.
BAKEHOUSES.
The bakehouses, 108 in number—viz., 60 in the North and 48 in the South
district—have been regularly inspected during the year, and the
provisions of the Act relating to them carried out as efficiently as
circumstances would admit.
Complaints arising out of the neglect of Contractors to fulfil the duty
of
DUST REMOVAL
occupied, as usual, an inordinate amount of time in the way of
inspection, correspondence and clerical work, the letters, and other
communications received during the year being 5,891, viz., 2,560 in the
North, and 3,331 in the South district. The actual number of complaints
was 1,010, viz., 357 in the North, and 653 in the South contract
district; while the orders issued for the removal of dust were 10,177,
viz., 3,868 in the North District, and 6,309 in the South. The vexatious
difficulties attending this important question led your Vestry to
consider again the possibility of dispensing with the assistance of
contractors; but no result has hitherto come out of the trouble that was
taken by a Committee and by the Clerk of the Vestry to solve the
difficulty. The same as with respect to the mortuary and the
disinfecting chamber, the lack of a suitable site for the storing of the
dust in the intermediate stage between the dust-bins and the final
disposition of their contents, has practically rendered nugatory all the
labour bestowed on the question. Towards the close of the contract year
the complaints became so numerous that your Vestry not only employed a
staff of horses, carts, and men to make up for the deficiencies of the
contractor (and at his expense) but, also, imposed heavy pecuniary
penalties. A somewhat curious result of this strictly equitable and, in
fact, unavoidable severity was, that the new contractors for the North
district expressed unwillingness to sign the contract, and did not sign
it for a period of three months, during which time, as they preferred to
set about their work in their own way, which only brought matters right
after a considerable interval, the complaints in this district became
very numerous, and the difficulty experienced in the first quarter of
1875 in the South district, was, in the second quarter, transferred to
the North. But as not seldom happens, so in this case—out of evil came
good, for your Vestry temporarily appointed, at my request, a Dust
Inspector, whose services having given satisfaction, and proved very
useful, have been permanently retained, thus affording a very much needed
accession to the strength of the sanitary staff at my disposal.
DOMESTIC WATER STORAGE.
Next to the unwholesomeness of houses arising from the neglected state of
dust bins—to whatever cause the neglect may be attributable—no subject,
perhaps, so often engages the attention of Sanitary Inspectors as that of
water supply and the neglected state of cisterns. It would almost seem
as if many householders thought that the water supply needed no more
attention than that of gas, which is usually comprised in a quarterly
settlement with the collector. Months and probably years elapse in some
cases without any attention being paid to the condition of cisterns
which, I need hardly say, ought to be cleaned out periodically, and not
less frequently than once a month. It is true that the inconvenient
position in which the cisterns are sometimes placed occasions
difficulties in getting at them, which may in some measure account for
the neglect. But in other cases where no such difficulty exists the
result is the same. One among the “water regulations” by which the
Companies are almost constituted a sanitary authority, and which might be
enforced with public advantage, relates to the position of cisterns which
are required to be placed in accordance with their views. This
regulation is of a retrospective character, but so far as I know it is
not carried out. Another valuable regulation would abolish the “waste
pipe”—a fertile and unsuspected cause of foul water, and, in many cases
of illness, being often untrapped and then serving as a ventilator to the
drains, giving exit to noxious gases which the water absorbs freely. But
I cannot say that I have heard of any instance in which the Companies
have exercised their powers in this respect—powers, be it understood,
claimed by and conceded to them, not on sanitary grounds, but simply to
prevent the waste of water. It is one of my most often repeated
instructions to the Inspectors to view the apparatus for water supply
when making a house inspection, and to abolish waste pipes whenever
practicable. Another regulation has for its object, to prevent waste of
water, by the intervention of a service box for the supply of the water
closet, thus limiting the discharge at each elevation of the lever to a
maximum of two gallons. This regulation I have no doubt is carried out
in the case of new houses; but it is perhaps of even more importance in
old ones, in which, as too often happens, the domestic and the closet
service are drawn from one and the same cistern. In a special report
(November 20, 1872) I referred to all these points, and to many others,
and I have seen no reason to modify the expressions of regret with which
I then had occasion to speak of the stringency of the regulations, which
is, I apprehend, the main, if not the sole cause of our being still
without the constant system of water supply which it was supposed the Act
of 1871 would give us. The stringency to which I allude has reference
principally to the costliness of the apparatus and fittings on which the
companies insist as a condition of constant service; and not to the
exercise of the powers they possess, but do not as a rule employ, to
improve the present system by insisting on the due carrying out of the
really useful and valuable regulations quoted above. The adoption of
this constant system would enable us to get rid of our cisterns, if not
altogether, yet so far as the supply of water for culinary use and
drinking is concerned. The neglect of cisterns to which I referred
above, would then be a matter of less moment; and as the pipes would be
always charged, we should be less liable, than we are now, to the
contamination of water, for such an accident as I am about to mention
would be almost impossible.
Complaint was made that the first portion of water entering certain
cisterns in a street and mews at Notting Hill, each time the water was
turned on, was of a disgusting character; and this happened at a time
when there was an obstruction of the sewer in the mews, the effect being
to saturate the ground and flood the surface with sewage and surface
drainage. I surmised that the main was defective, and that when the
water was turned off the sewage was sucked into the pipe to fill the
vacuum, and then forced through the service pipes so soon as the water
was turned on. It turned out, so I was informed by the Company, that the
defect really existed in a service pipe of one of the houses; the effect,
however, was the same, and dangerous nuisances of this kind may occur at
any time, or in any locality, under similar circumstances, so long as the
intermittent system of water supply is continued. In the present
instance several cases of illness were traced to this fouling of the
water, and had the sewer contained typhoid excreta, the results might
have been lamentable in the extreme, and of the same kind as at Over
Darwen, and at Lewes during the recent epidemics of Enteric Fever. As I
have remarked in another place, we seem as far off as ever from the
constant system, the only gleam of hope in respect of it being that the
companies have made, and are making extensive preparations, so as to
enable them to supply their districts when called on to do so. They are
enabled to give a constant supply even though it should not be required
of them by the Metropolitan authority, and they would be gainers by so
doing, if the prevention of waste is really of any moment to them, which
may be reasonably doubted. The Metropolitan authority is the
Metropolitan Board of Works, a body which it is well known are unwilling
to execute the authority conferred on them by the Act, strongly
disapproving, as they do, of the regulations, the stringency of which
they did their utmost, but in vain, to modify.
MORTUARY.
I cannot allow the subject of a mortuary to pass without a brief
reference, and an expression of my great regret that the parish is still
unprovided with one. As I have stated in former reports, the burials, at
the public expense, of poor persons, occupants in life of single rooms,
are reckoned by hundreds every year; and I cannot doubt that in a large
proportion of these cases the survivors would avail themselves of the
privilege of depositing their dead in a public mortuary of suitable
construction, and in a suitable locality. Poor persons in somewhat
similar circumstances, but above the pauper class, would, in all
probability, also use the mortuary. The law provides for the removal of
the bodies of those who have died of an infectious disease, viz., on
medical certificate and by Justice’s order. Bodies of persons found dead
or accidentally killed, and not identified, would be received as a matter
of course. A properly-designed mortuary would embrace a room for
conducting _post-mortem_ examinations, which are now often made under
painful and distressing circumstances, to say nothing of the
inconvenience to which the operator is put—and there were 154 such
examinations last year by coroner’s order. It should also embrace a
suitable Court for the due and proper execution of the coroner’s office.
No progress in this matter has been made since my last report, a
conference with a Committee of the Board of Guardians, with a view to the
appropriation of a portion of the stone yard at the Dispensary Buildings,
Mary Place, Potteries, having proved abortive. I cannot say I regret
this result, as I do not consider the site a desirable one. The mortuary
should be quite distinct from any association with pauperism, and though
privacy of site is desirable, I hold that it should be placed in the most
respectable and the most central locality that can be obtained, in order
to ensure its being used. I am still of opinion that the
DISINFECTING CHAMBER
should, if possible, be so far associated with the mortuary as to enable
one and the same person to have the charge of both establishments.
Proceedings in respect of both are alike at a standstill, because we have
not been able to procure a site. Fortunately, during a considerable
portion of the year there has not been very much need of a chamber, so
far as need depends on the prevalence of infectious disease; but I am of
opinion that a great amount of good sanitary work might be done with an
efficient chamber, if only in purifying by heat the often foul and
otherwise offensive bedding and clothing of the poor. Latterly, owing to
the increased prevalence of scarlet fever, and also during the latter
period of 1874, a good deal of disinfection has been satisfactorily
carried out for your Vestry by Messrs. Wellan & Co., of Manchester Mews,
Walmer Road, Notting Hill, by chemical agents and heat combined. As to
the value of disinfection properly done there can be no doubt and I am
not acquainted with a single instance in which clothing, bedding, &c.,
that has been properly submitted to the process, has been the medium of
contagion.
BATHS AND WASH-HOUSES.
No steps were taken during the year to supply the parish with these
valuable institutions. I hope, however, that the subject will be taken
up again before long, your Vestry having already expressed an opinion
favourable to the principle. I have no doubt that in a few years, and at
whatever reasonable cost, Baths and Wash-houses will be regarded as
indispensable parts of a well-regulated system of sanitary
administration.
SEWER VENTILATION.
The subject of sewer ventilation has made little or no progress during
the year, and, as usual, numerous complaints have been received of
noxious smells emanating from the gullies and ventilators. Each case has
been dealt with as far as possible; and in many of the cases charcoal
filters have been introduced, with the result of putting a stop to
complaints. I am, nevertheless, somewhat sceptical as to the value of
this plan, as I cannot divest my own mind of the suspicion that they
impede ventilation, and may prove effectual only by preventing the escape
of foul air. The subject was brought very prominently before your Vestry
during the current year, in consequence of numerous complaints by
inhabitants of Elsham-road of bad smells, not only in the roadway, but
also in the houses. I made an exhaustive report on the locality, and
advised measures for diminishing pressure in the sewers, by opening up
blind ends, and so allowing the gas to circulate, or, at least, to escape
innocuously into the open air, rather than into the houses. I described
the sanitary defects which existed in the houses, and recommended
ventilation of the house drains by independent pipes carried from the
highest point of the drain to some distance above the parapets of the
houses, and I pointed out that this remedy alone would go far to remove
the cause of complaint. To what extent the plans have been carried out I
have not yet ascertained, but it is certain that a long period had since
elapsed without any communication on the subject having been received in
my department.
With respect to the question of circulation of air in sewers, _plus_
ventilation, I may mention that a striking illustration of the value of
this plan was afforded in the locality of Notting Hill Square. At one of
the houses at the southern, or loftiest side of the square, there had
been numerous cases of fever, and there was clear evidence of the escape
of sewer gas into the house in question. Upon careful enquiry into the
drainage of the locality, 1 ascertained that the sewer which received the
house drainage originated in a dead or blind end, and that the
ventilation was insufficient. Your Vestry directed a communication to be
made between the blind end in question and another very near to it, thus
setting up a free circulation in the system; and at the same time freely
ventilated the sewer near the junction. The effect was everything that
could be desired: for certain improvements in respect of the trapping and
ventilation of the house drains having been carried out, the evil
complained of was effectually removed, and no farther illness has been
reported.
It is much to be wished that some effectual plan may be soon discovered
for ventilating sewers; and, although I do not profess myself competent
to decide what direction such a discovery is likely to take, the most
promising idea I have yet heard proposes the extraction of foul air by
the action of fans placed in suitable localities, the present ventilators
being retained in the capacity of inlets for pure air, instead of outlets
for foul air; acting, in fact, like the down draught in a mine. We all
know, by reading, what great lengths of galleries in mines deep below the
surface of the earth are ventilated, and very efficiently, in this
manner, and it seems not unreasonable to hope that the system may be
found applicable to the purpose under consideration. Certainly, there
seems no reason to doubt the almost illimitable power of steam fans to
induce currents in any direction; and leaving the question to be worked
out by those who are making a practical study of it, I can but wish them
every success, believing an effectual system of sewer ventilation to be
one of the chief sanitary _desiderata_ of the present day.
WATER SUPPLY.
The Report, by Professor Frankland, on the analysis of the waters
supplied by the Metropolitan Water Companies during the several months of
the year, is, on the whole, somewhat more favourable than usual. As
regards “temperature,” he notices the wide variation in the waters
derived from riverian sources, as compared with the narrow range in the
deep well water of the Kent Company, derived from the chalk. The
temperature of the Thames water varied from 36° Fahr. in February to
68°–9 in June, a range of 34°; while the range in the water of the Kent
Company was only 7°–9 Fahr., viz., from 51–l° in May to 59° in September
and October. The total solid impurities—composed of a great variety of
substances, some of which are organic and very objectionable, and at
times eminently noxious, while others are either entirely or
comparatively harmless—was rather less than in previous years, the
progressive increase in the quantity which had been noticed during the
years 1871–2–3 having apparently ceased. The maximum was observed in
January, and the minimum in July. The character of the Thames water, in
respect of organic impurity—as represented by its two most important
constituents, carbon and nitrogen—was practically the same as in the
previous years. The maximum pollution occurred in March, April, and
December, when the river was in a very objectionable condition. In
December the Chelsea Company supplied this foul water in an unfiltered
condition, and contaminated with fœcal matter. The subjoined table shows
the maximum, minimum, and average quantity of organic matter in the
water, the amount of organic element (organic carbon and organic
nitrogen) in the Kent Company’s water being taken as unity, or the
standard of comparison:—
Name of Company. Maximum. Minimum. Average.
Kent 1.0 1.0 1.0
West Middlesex 4.3 2.0 3.0
Grand Junction 4.9 2.4 3.3
Chelsea 7.1 2.3 3.7
Professor Frankland remarks that the water of the Thames is at its source
as free from pollution as the chalk well water, but on its downward
course becomes largely and progressively contaminated by sewage and the
washings of cultivated land, especially during winter.
The average hardness of the Thames water—or the weight of carbonate of
lime, or its equivalent of other soap-destroying substances, found in
100,000 parts of water was 21° or parts in 1873, and 19.7° in 1874.
Large quantities of soap or soda are required to soften the water before
it is used for washing; but this process could be accomplished for a
small portion of the expense by substituting lime for soap or soda, as
practised on similar waters at Aylesbury, Canterbury, Caterham, and
Tring. The following table exhibits the degree of efficiency of
filtration of the waters:—
Name of Company. No. of occasions No. of occasions No. of occasions No. of occasions
when clear and when slightly when turbid. when very
transparent. turbid. turbid.
Chelsea 6 5 0 2
West Middlesex 12 1 0 0
Grand Junction 7 5 1 0
The exceptional occasion on which the water supplied by the West
Middlesex Company was slightly turbid was in December, when the condition
of the Thames was bad for a lengthened time, so that even the large
storage of the Company proved insufficient to render them independent of
flood water; it being impossible, moreover, to separate by filtration the
whole of the finely divided clay to which the turbidity of the water was
due. The Kent Company’s deep well water, having already undergone
natural filtration through an enormous thickness of chalk, is always
clear and transparent, without artificial filtration. The appliances of
the Companies supplying river water are, excepting in the case of the
West Middlesex Company, unequal to the filtration work required of them.
The microscope is called into use in the examination of potable water,
and it always reveals numbers of living and moving organisms in the
sediment deposited by turbid water on standing. The annexed table
exhibits the results of such microscopic examinations during the past six
years:—
Name of Company. Number of occasions when living
organisms were found.
1869. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873. 1874.
Chelsea 3 2 2 3 2 5
West Middlesex 0 0 0 0 0 0
Grand Junction 4 1 1 2 3 5
To Professor Frankland’s valuable report, the main features of which I
have thus summarised, are appended numerous tables setting forth, in
detail, the various information condensed in the text. I subjoin, as of
greatest general interest, Table M, which exhibits the
AVERAGES FOR 1874.
(The numbers in this Table relate to 100,000 parts of each Water.)
NAMES OF COMPANIES. Temperature in Total Solid Organic Carbon. Organic Ammonia. Nitrogen, as Total Combined Previous Sewage Chlorine. Total Hardness. Proportionate
Centigrade Impurity. Nitrogen. Nitrates and Nitrogen. or Animal Amount of
Degrees. Nitrites. Contamination. organic
(Estimated.) Elements, that
in the Kent
Company’s Water
being taken as
1.
THAMES.
Chelsea 11.8 26.46 .211 .039 .001 .155 .196 1250 1.87 19.3 3.7
West Middlesex 12 5 26.62 .176 .028 .001 .124 .153 930 1.83 19 4 3.0
Southwark 12.7 26.68 .192 .030 .001 .125 .155 940 1.83 20.0 3.3
Grand Junction 11. 4 27.00 .186 .033 .001 .129 .164 990 1.83 20 0 3.3
Lambeth 12.0 27.88 .196 .037 .001 .144 .181 1120 1.87 20.0 3.4
OTHER SOURCES.
New River 12.2 26.02 .087 .015 .001 .146 .162 1150 1.67 20.1 1.5
East London 11.8 27.13 .153 .027 .001 .076 .104 560 2.04 19.3 27
Kent 12.4 40.36 .057 .012 .000 .371 .383 3 40 2.48 28.1 1.0
But it is not to Professor Frankland alone that we are now indebted for
information respecting the water we drink, many very interesting facts
being supplied by Major Bolton, R.E., the water examiner appointed by the
Board of Trade, under the provisions of the Metropolis Water Act, 1871.
Major Bolton’s reports, which, by his courtesy, I receive every month,
afford information on all points relative to the machinery for water
supply, and to the provisions already made, or in progress, for giving a
constant supply, the main object of the Act; and which, I suppose, we
may, at some remote future, hope to obtain. As the information in
question is not generally accessible, I make no apology for presenting a
_resumé_ of it on this occasion. And, first, with respect to the
constant service, we learn that the West Middlesex Company are giving
constant supply to a number of houses, on the application of the owners,
and are fully prepared to extend the supply when called upon. Extensive
works and additional engine power of 120 horse power are in course of
construction at Hampton.
The Grand Junction Company have formed a high service reservoir near
Kilburn, to contain 6,000,000 gallons, for constant service, and are
completing the line of main pipes to connect up this reservoir with the
works at Campden-hill; they are likewise erecting boilers and works at
Hampton, for which place an additional 70-inch engine of 125 horse power
is being constructed, and an extra 30-inch main from Hampton to Kew has
been ordered to be laid down. The Chelsea Company does not appear to
have taken, as yet, any steps in this matter, having, as we shall see,
other and more pressing work in hand. The Act of 1871 provides power to
compel the companies to give a constant supply as and when the “public
authority” may see fit to move. The authority (Metropolitan Board of
Works) has not seen fit to move in respect of the companies supplying
this parish, nor is it probable that any steps will be taken until the
stringency of the water regulations, to which I have already referred,
has been modified.
The number of miles of streets in the Metropolis which contain mains
constantly charged, and upon which hydrants could at once be fixed, is
666—including 67 in the West Middlesex, 41½ in the Grand Junction, and 50
in the Chelsea Company’s district. The companies are prepared to affix
hydrants thereon when required by the authorities; but, in fact—although
hydrants might be used for street watering—of 2,531 hydrants already
erected, 1,996 are for private purposes, and only 535 for public
purposes, including 267 for street watering, in the entire Metropolis.
The companies supplying this parish obtain water exclusively from the
Thames, viz., the West Middlesex and Grand Junction Companies at Hampton,
and the Chelsea Company at Ditton. The bad state of the water supplied
by the last-named company in December appears to have been caused by the
intake being “below the filthy outflow of the rivers Mole and Rye.” The
total volume which may be supplied daily by each company is 20,000,000
gallons. The average daily supply during the month of December was—West
Middlesex, 8,600,000; Grand Junction, 10,200,000; and Chelsea, 7,200,000
gallons—eleven to fourteen per cent. of the water (exclusive of waste, an
enormous but unknown quantity!) being delivered for other than domestic
purposes. The number of houses supplied in the several districts is—West
Middlesex, 46,404; Grand Junction, 35,144; and Chelsea, 28,395. Only 401
houses in the West Middlesex district have a constant supply. The
estimated population supplied is—West Middlesex, 348,000; Grand Junction,
316,000; Chelsea, 210,000. The West Middlesex Company possess eleven
engines of 1,341 horse power; the Grand Junction, eleven of 1,820 horse
power; and Chelsea, eight of 1,025 horse power. The number of miles of
mains possessed by these companies in the Metropolis is—West Middlesex,
248; Grand Junction, 200; Chelsea, 170. The West Middlesex Company have
three subsiding and storage reservoirs for unfiltered water—area, 20½
acres; available capacity, 57,000,000 gallons: and three covered
reservoirs for storing filtered water, of an aggregate capacity of
10,922,000 gallons. This company, by means of its large reservoir
capacity, avoids taking in water during floods. The Grand Junction
Company have four subsiding and storage reservoirs for unfiltered
water—area, 7 acres; available capacity, 19,500,000 gallons: the number
of covered reservoirs for filtered water being three, their capacity
18,000,000 gallons. This company requires additional impounding and
subsiding reservoirs. The Chelsea Company have no reservoirs for
unfiltered water, and only two (capacity, 11,000,000 gallons) for storing
filtered water. The filter beds of the several companies are as
follows:—West Middlesex, five in number, area 8 acres, depth 5 feet,
viz., Harwich sand 1ft. 9in., Barnes sand 1ft., and gravel (screened to
different sizes and arranged in layers) 2ft. 3in. The average rate of
filtration per square foot of area was, during December, 1½ gallons per
hour. (It may be here observed that the quality of the water is improved
by a slow rate of filtration—the rate should not exceeded 2½ gallons per
square foot of filter bed per hour: this will give 540 gallons per square
yard each 24 hours, and at this rate filtration should be effectual.)
Grand Junction: Number of filter beds, 4; area in acres, 7¾; depth, 5ft.
6in.—viz., Harwich sand, 2ft. 6in.: Hoggin, 6in.: fine gravel, 9in.:
coarse gravel, 9in.: boulders, 1ft.: average rate of filtration, 1⅓
gallons per square foot of area per hour. Chelsea: Filter beds, 7; area,
6¾ acres; depth, 8ft.—viz., Thames sand, 3ft. 3in.: shells, &c., 3in.:
gravel, 4ft. 6in.; rate of filtration, 2⅓ gallons per square foot per
hour. It will be observed that notwithstanding the greater depth of the
filter beds of the Chelsea Company, the water supplied by the Company in
all times of difficulty arising from a flooded state of the river is
unfit for drinking, although the rate of filtration is slower than that
deemed sufficient by the water examiner. This is due to the total
absence of impounding and storage reservoirs for unfiltered water, to the
exceptionally bad quality of the water taken in by the Company, owing to
the improper situation of the intake at Ditton, and to the impossibility
of filter beds removing suspended matter when in any large quantity;
that, moreover, being a principal object of the subsiding reservoirs.
The disgusting condition in which the water of the Company was sent out
during parts of the months of November and December formed the subject of
many complaints, both in the public press and in communications addressed
to myself, and was referred to in my reports, dated December 16th, 1874,
and January 13th, 1875. I had, on former occasions, reported specially
on the subject, and particularly in February, 1872. The dissatisfaction
which the condition of the water at the latter date gave rise to induced
the Company to take steps to improve their means of supply by enlarging
their storage. The scheme submitted to Parliament in the Session of 1873
included the embanking of the Thames at Hampton Court, and was defeated
by a strong public opposition, on what I described at the time as
æsthetical grounds. No further attempt appears to have been made by the
Company to put their supply on a proper footing until the great outcry
referred to arose. On the 18th December, however, at a special meeting
of the proprietors, a resolution to the following effect was passed:—
“That the directors be authorised to take such steps as in their
judgment may be necessary or expedient to obtain a fresh intake, with
reservoirs and other works connected therewith, and lay the necessary
main pipes from the site of such proposed intake to the works at
Seething Wells, with the least possible delay.”
The measures taken by the directors to secure the land—an area of 50
acres, near Molesey—for the construction of impounding reservoirs, were
approved and adopted, and the directors were authorised to apply to
Parliament in the now current Session for the necessary powers. This
they have done, and there is every probability that their Bill will pass,
and that with the completion of the contemplated additions to their works
this Company will be able, at no distant time, to supply its customers
with water as clear and transparent as any derived from the River Thames.
GAS.
During the first half of the year the parish was supplied with cannel gas
of 20 candle lighting power, and at the increased price of six shillings
and threepence per thousand cubic feet. Since July common coal gas of 16
candles has been exclusively supplied at a charge of five shillings per
thousand. The subjoined table, taken from the quarterly returns of the
chief gas examiner, shows the results of the daily testings of the gas
supplied by the Gas Light and Coke Company, at the testing station at
123, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill:—
Month. Illuminating AMOUNT OF IMPURITY. Number of
power in Examinations.
Sperm
Candles.
Sulphuretted Ammonia per Sulphur per
Hydrogen. 100 feet 100 feet
Grains. Grains.
January 21.28 4.11 21.92 25
February 21.76 1.15 18.46 23
March 21.47 0.86 15.63 26
April 22.04 0.56 17.37 22
May 21.53 0.39 17.97 23
June 21.28 0.48 17.93 20
July 17.13 0.50 18.76 26
August 16 70 0.37 17.79 23
September 16.83 0.15 17.17 25
October 16.53 (Present 3 0.19 16.44 26
times)
November 16.67 0.19 17.02 24
December 16.68 (Present 3 19.01 25
times)
The next table shows the maxima, minima, and averages of lighting power
stated quarterly:—
Period. Maximum. Minimum. Average.
1st Quarter (Cannel 22.9 19.6 {49a} 21.50
Gas)
2nd do. do. 23.0 20.3 21.62
3rd do. (Common Gas) 17.6 16.1 16.89
4th do. do. 18.2 15.5 {49b} 16.63
As regards sulphur impurity, the amount was in excess of the permitted
quantity (25 grains in 100 cubic feet of gas), on one occasion only
during the year, viz., 26.4 grains on 30th July. Sulphuretted hydrogen
was found on three occasions—in the months of October and December
respectively.
Ammonia was in excess on 19 occasions in the month of January, but of a
total of 25 testings: the average for the entire month being 4.11 grains
(maximum 7.5.) This excess above the maximum allowance (2.5 grains in
100 feet of gas) was due to unavoidable causes, in connection with
alterations being then made in the purifying machinery, which, having
since been perfected, the ammonia has sunk to an almost infinitesimal
quantity.
In the Appendix I have given the quarterly returns of the chief examiner,
showing the results of the _daily_ testings—for which I am indebted to
the courtesy of Mr. Wakefield, the Clerk to the Metropolitan Board of
Works. These returns show in detail the facts above stated, and prove
that the gas has been up to the Parliamentary standard, as estimated by
the prescribed tests. Nevertheless, complaints have been made by persons
living in various parts of the parish, of the deficient lighting power of
the gas. It must be assumed, therefore, that in some cases the burners
in use have been in fault. There can, indeed, be no doubt that many
consumers fail to obtain a proper light, owing to the habitual use of bad
burners, or to the neglect to cleanse good ones. Burners that were of
sufficient capacity for the cannel gas, with which the parish was
supplied during the first half of the year, are inadequate, and are not
adapted to burn common gas so as to produce a good light. Some consumers
who have reported the sufficiency of the light when proper burners have
been employed, have complained of the great increase in the amount of
their gas bills, and in a few instances, I understand, the
dissatisfaction has been so great as to lead to a discontinuance of the
use of gas. It is a remarkable fact, often observed—a fact that makes us
almost despair of ever getting “cheap gas”—that the bills seem always to
increase when the price is lowered! How this is brought about I do not
pretend to explain; but, so far as my experience goes, it would seem that
gas bills never were lower than when the price per thousand feet was at
its highest. I do not think that extravagance in consumption—as a result
of decrease in price—can be admitted to be a sufficient explanation of
the phenomenon. There are mysteries in gas manufacture and supply, which
may be revealed hereafter, and the discovery may both enlighten us on the
point now mentioned, and also explain the occurrence of complaints of bad
light, concurrently with the satisfactory results of the nightly
examinations of the gas at the appointed testing station.
During some portion of the year the supply was scarce. The Company, when
applied to for an explanation, attributed the scarcity to the refusal of
a “sister Vestry” to allow the roads in their parish to be broken up for
the purpose of laying down a larger main from the works at Horseferry
Road, to supplement the supply from the Kensal Works, which are
inadequate for the large district hitherto dependent on that source. I
am not without hope that when the new 24-inch main is completed some of
the causes of dissatisfaction to which I have adverted may be removed,
and that a sufficient and well-regulated pressure, with a full supply of
gas, will be obtained.
The dissatisfaction with the gas led your Vestry to adopt a curious
experiment during the current year, viz., that of burning mineral oil
with the Silber light in a certain number of street lamps in the
Kensington Road. I offer no opinion at present on the comparative value
of the two sources of light; but I may mention the fact already well
known, and referred to in my monthly reports, that the lighting of the
streets in this parish is very unsatisfactory, inasmuch as we are still
using burners adapted to consume three feet per hour, as in the days of
cannel gas, whereas 4½ feet burners, at the least, should be employed. A
suggestion has been made that the average meter system should be adopted
in this parish, and it has my cordial approval—already expressed in my
monthly reports—as it is only fair and proper that public bodies should
pay for the gas they consume and no more. The average meter system has
been adopted in the parishes of Paddington and St. Pancras. It has given
entire satisfaction, and in a very short space of time the first cost of
applying the meters to every twelfth lamp will have been defrayed by the
saving in expenditure on gas. In Paddington the Vestry have undertaken
all the necessary work of lighting and repairing the lamps. The gas has
been burned for a somewhat shorter average period nightly, and a further
large saving in expenditure has thus been effected. With reference to
the cost of gas in this parish, I may be permitted to mention that during
the year the revenue of the Company was many thousand pounds more than
necessary to pay the ten per cent. dividend—which, in fact, might have
been paid without the increase in the price of the gas, sanctioned by the
Commissioners appointed by the Board of Trade, in the month of January.
If, however, the price had not been raised during 1874, it is probable
that the price charged in 1873 would have been maintained. But, in the
face of the enormous over-taxation of gas consumers in 1874, and the
reduced cost of coal, the Company could not apply to the Board of Trade
for a revision of the price in 1875, the result being that the charge
reverted on the 1st of January to the Parliamentary price of three
shillings and ninepence per 1,000 cubic feet.
* * * * *
I cannot conclude my report without special acknowledgment of the
assistance rendered to me by the sub-district registrars of births,
deaths, &c., during the past year, which has been one of crisis. For
many years the Registrar-General had presented to the several Medical
Officers of Health of the Metropolis the original manuscript returns of
the causes of all deaths registered within their districts during the
previous week, these returns being forwarded by the sub-district
registrars to Somerset House, and forming the basis of the
Registrar-General’s “Weekly Return.” For this duty the sub-district
registrars received no remuneration. The necessity of similar
information being supplied to Provincial Medical Officers of Health arose
out of the passing of the Public Health Act, 1872, but no such returns
being in existence, the information was not forthcoming. Hence many
difficulties, into which I need not enter. Suffice it to say that in the
Public Health Amendment Act provision was made for the payment of the
sub-district registrars by Provincial Sanitary Authorities for
information of a precisely similar character to that which had hitherto
reached the Metropolitan Medical Officers without expense to the Local
Boards. On the passing of the last-named Act, the London registrars,
feeling themselves entitled to remuneration for the “secondary use,” by
the Medical Officers of their manuscript returns, applied to the
Registrar-General on the subject, and he, in turn, requested the Society
of Medical Officers of Health to bring the question of payment on a
proposed scale before the several Vestries and District Boards. The
Society, however, declining the somewhat invidious task, the
Registrar-General addressed a similar application to the Local Boards.
In the result very few of them consented to the requisition of the
Registrar-General, who thereupon gave notice to the Medical Officers that
after an appointed day in October he should no longer forward the weekly
returns; and he was as good as his word. Greatly to their credit,
Messrs. Barnes and Hume spontaneously put themselves in communication
with me, promising to send me a duplicate copy of the returns as before;
and this they did, until, some time afterwards, a fair and mutually
satisfactory arrangement was completed between your Vestry and these
gentlemen. The upshot is that I obtain the returns early on Monday
morning instead of on Wednesday evening, and I am thus enabled to
tabulate the vital statistics up to a period within four days of the date
of my monthly reports, instead of eleven days, as under the former
arrangement. Additional information of value is also supplied by the
registrars, and they continue to forward from day to day, on special
forms, notice of any deaths that may have been registered from small-pox,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhus, enteric, and simple continued fevers,
and puerperal fever, &c., so that no time is lost in taking the necessary
steps after _fatal_ cases of these infectious diseases.
I have to express my obligations to the officers of the Board of
Guardians for information of cases of infectious diseases, &c.; and I am
happy to testify my sense of the cordial support I invariably receive
from the Sanitary Inspectors, and of the efficient manner in which their
onerous, often delicate, and always important duties have been performed.
Some portion of the time of Messrs. Wood and Langman has been taken up in
attending to the new duties imposed on them under the Adulteration of
Food, &c., Act—especially in attending the police court to conduct
prosecutions. Much of the work of general inspection is still done in a
desultory way, owing to the magnitude and inconvenient configuration of
the parish, and to the necessity of attending to complaints as they arise
from day to day—a necessity that impedes, more or less, the important
duty of systematic inspection of the houses in streets, &c., inhabited by
the poorer classes of the population. It is desirable that the 35th
clause of the Sanitary Act, 1866, should be adopted, in order to the
registration and regular inspection of all houses which are let out in
tenements. No doubt this would involve much additional work for a time,
but the benefits would be commensurate, for the risk of overcrowding
would be diminished, ventilation would be improved, and the cleansing of
the rooms, staircases, &c., would be systematically carried out. It
seems to me that this is the direction sanitary improvement should take
in the future; and the staff having been increased by the appointment of
an additional officer, I am not without hope of being able to bring the
subject under the notice of your Vestry at an early date, with reasonable
prospect of success. A principal difficulty in connection with sanitary
administration is that of securing an efficient record of work done—a
difficulty which has been much lessened in this parish by the conspicuous
care and ability with which Mr. Rudman has performed the clerical duties
of the department.
I am, Gentlemen,
Your very obedient Servant,
T. ORME DUDFIELD, M.D.,
_Medical Officer of Health_.
VESTRY HALL, KENSINGTON,
_August_, 1875.
APPENDIX.
NOTE—The forms for Tables I.–VI. have been settled by the Society of
Medical Officers of Health to ensure uniformity of Statistical returns.
TABLE I.
Estimated population 1874, at the middle of the year, and in 10 previous
years; number of inhabited houses; Births, Deaths and Marriages (gross
numbers).
Year. Estimated Number of Registered Deaths. Marriages.
Population. Houses. Births. {57b}
{57a}
1874. 138,000. 17,667. 4,356. 2,696. 1,311.
1873 133,000 16,920 4,182 2,436 1,243
1872 127,400 16,206 4,041 2,171 1,132
1871 121,500 15,394 3,804 2,328 1,131
1870 116,350 15,279 3,705 2,473 892
1869 111,350 14,654 3,625 2,249 891
1868 106,350 14,029 3,522 2,232 984
1867 101,350 13,404 3,158 1,938 974
1866 96,350 12,779 3,080 1,966 984
1865 91,350 12,154 2,619 1,733 920
1864 86,350 11,529 2,494 1,849 No
Information
Average of 10 109,135 14,234 3,423 2,137 „
years, 1864–1873
Notes.
Population at Census, 1871, 120,234.
Area in Statute Acres, 2,190.
Average number of persons in each house at Census, 1871, 7.8.
TABLE II.
Showing Birth and Death Rate: Deaths of Children, and Deaths in Public
Institutions 1874, and 10 previous years.
The Year. Births per 1000 Death rate per Deaths of Deaths of Deaths of Deaths in Public
of the 1000 living. Children under 1 Children under 1 Children under 5 Institutions.{58}
Population. year per cent. to year per cent. to years per cent.
Total Deaths. Registered to Total Deaths.
Births.
1874. 31.7 19.5 28.5 17.5 45.4 352
1873 31.4 18.3 27.0 15.9 40.0 272
1872 32.1 17.0 28.9 15.6 44.2 264
1871 31.3 19.1 25.0 15.0 41.6 252
1870 32.1 21.2 24.4 16.4 42.9 330
1869 32.5 20.2 † † † 318
1868 33.1 21.0 † † † 303
1867 31.2 19.0 † † 40.6 221
1866 32.0 20.4 † † 41.6 248
1865 28.7 19.0 † † † 250
1864 28.9 21.4 † † 41.6 281
Average of 10 31.3 19.6 † † 41.8 273
Years, 1864–1878.
† = No information.
TABLE III.
Deaths Registered from all causes during the year 1874.
(The Deaths in Public Institutions of non-residents being excluded.)
CAUSES OF DEATH. AGES. Total deaths Grand Total. SUB-DISTRICT.
under Five.
Under 1. 1 to 2. 2 to 5. 5 to 15. 15 to 25. 25 to 35. 35 to 45. 45 to 55. 55 to 65. 65 to 75. 75 to 85. 85 to 95. 95 and Kensington Brompton.
upwards. Town.
(CLASSES).
I. ZYMOTIC 187 89 95 40 24 26 13 13 10 8 3 1 ... 371 509 424 85
DISEASES
II. CONSTITUTIONAL 69 46 44 40 49 60 58 56 32 29 8 ... ... 159 491 399 92
III. LOCAL 242 66 52 21 27 54 75 121 152 180 129 22 4 360 1145 921 224
IV. DEVELOPMENTAL 228 16 4 ... 4 6 4 1 1 14 43 31 4 248 356 296 60
V. VIOLENT DEATHS 28 ... 2 4 1 2 1 7 4 1 ... ... ... 30 50 44 6
(Not specified.) 8 6 6 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 20 18 2
_Total_ 762 223 203 105 105 148 151 198 199 232 183 54 8 1188 2571 2102 469
I. ZYMOTIC DISEASES.
_Order_ 1.—MIASMATIC.
Small-pox ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Measles 37 47 35 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 119 121 115 6
Scarlet Fever 1 8 12 11 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 21 32 28 4
(Scarlatina)
Diphtheria 3 2 9 7 ... 2 1 1 1 ... ... ... ... 14 26 24 2
Quinsy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Croup 7 4 14 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 26 25 1
Whooping-cough 14 17 13 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44 45 36 9
Typhus ... ... 1 2 ... ... ... 3 1 1 1 ... ... 1 9 9 ...
Enteric or Typhoid ... 3 2 7 6 1 4 3 ... 2 ... ... ... 5 28 19 9
Fever
Simple continued 3 1 4 1 ... 1 ... ... 2 2 1 ... ... 8 15 11 4
Fever
Erysipelas 3 ... 1 2 4 3 2 3 2 1 ... ... ... 4 21 13 8
Puerperal Fever ... ... ... ... 9 12 3 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 18 6
(Metria)
Carbuncle ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... 3 2 1
Influenza ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Dysentery ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 ... ... ... ... ... 2 2 ...
Diarrhœa 100 6 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 1 ... 108 112 90 22
Simple Cholera 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 5 3 2
Ague ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ...
Remittent Fever ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Rheumatism 1 ... 2 5 5 3 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 17 13 4
Other _Zymotic_ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Diseases
_Order_ 2.—ENTHETIC.
Syphilis 11 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 12 10 2
Stricture of ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Urethra
Hydrophobia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Glanders ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
_Order_ 3.—DIETIC.
Privation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Want of Breast-milk ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Purpura and Scurvy ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1
Alcoholism: Del. ... ... ... ... ... 2 ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... 5 3 2
Tremens
Alcoholism: ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... ...
Intemperance
_Order_ 4.—PARASITIC.
Thrush 2 ... ... 1 ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 4 2 2
Worms, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
187 89 95 40 24 26 13 13 10 8 3 1 ... 371 509 424 85
II. CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES.
_Order_ 1.—DIATHETIC.
Gout ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 2 ... ... ... ... 3 3 ...
Dropsy ... ... 1 1 ... 1 1 2 ... 1 2 ... ... 1 9 7 2
Cancer ... ... ... ... 1 1 6 17 18 19 5 ... ... ... 67 51 16
Cancrum Oris (Noma) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Mortification ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 1 ... ... 1 4 3 1
_Order_ 2.—TUBERCULAR.
Scrofula 11 6 4 2 1 ... 1 2 ... ... ... ... ... 21 27 23 4
Tabes Mesenterica 33 15 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 53 53 45 8
Phthisis 1 7 8 25 46 56 50 35 12 6 ... ... ... 16 246 200 46
Hydrocephalus and 24 18 25 12 1 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 67 82 67 15
Tubercular
Meningitis
69 46 44 40 49 60 58 56 32 29 8 ... ... 159 491 399 92
III. LOCAL DISEASES.
_Order_ 1.—NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Cephalitis 1 ... ... 3 ... 1 ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... 1 6 6 ...
Apoplexy 2 1 1 ... 1 1 2 15 16 18 7 ... ... 4 64 45 19
Paralysis ... 1 ... 1 ... 1 3 6 7 15 13 ... ... 1 47 32 15
Insanity ... ... ... ... 1 1 ... ... ... 2 ... ... ... ... 4 4 ...
Chorea ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1
Epilepsy 1 ... 1 ... ... 2 4 2 2 1 ... ... ... 2 13 9 4
Convulsions 47 8 4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 59 59 50 9
_Brain Disease_, 9 4 5 2 2 1 6 7 9 11 6 ... ... 18 62 53 9
&c.
_Order_ 2.—ORGANS OF CIRCULATION.
Pericarditis ... ... 2 ... 1 ... 1 ... 1 ... ... ... ... 2 5 5 ...
Aneurism ... ... ... ... ... 1 3 2 ... 1 ... ... ... ... 7 6 1
_Heart Disease_, 2 2 3 3 5 5 6 13 23 29 31 12 3 7 137 104 33
&c.
_Order_ 3.—RESPIRATORY ORGANS.
Laryngitis 2 ... 2 ... 1 ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... 4 6 6 ...
Bronchitis 91 25 10 3 3 6 13 19 32 53 48 5 1 126 309 258 51
Pleurisy ... 1 1 ... 2 ... 2 2 1 ... 1 ... ... 2 10 9 1
Pneumonia 55 20 19 3 4 14 13 18 11 13 5 1 ... 94 176 150 26
Asthma ... ... ... ... ... 2 ... 1 4 3 2 ... ... ... 12 7 5
_Lung disease_, &c. 14 2 2 ... ... 2 1 1 11 3 4 1 ... 18 41 32 9
_Order_ 4.—DIGESTIVE ORGANS.
Gastritis ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... 2 1 1
Enteritis 7 1 ... 1 1 3 1 1 2 2 ... ... ... 8 19 16 3
Peritonitis 3 ... ... 4 1 4 2 1 2 2 1 ... ... 3 20 18 2
Ascites ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 2 ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 1
Ulceration of ... 1 ... ... ... ... 2 3 3 ... ... 1 ... 8 19 16 3
Intestines
Hernia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... 3 20 18 2
Ileus ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 ... ... ... ... 3 3 ...
Intussusception 1 ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 8 5 3
Stricture of ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 ... ... ... 2 1 1
Intestines
Fistula ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
_Stomach Disease_, ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... 5 2 ... ... ... ... 8 6 2
&c.
_Pancreas Disease_, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
&c.
Hepatitis ... ... ... 1 ... 1 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 4 1
Jaundice 3 ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 ... ... ... ... ... 3 7 6 1
_Liver Disease_, 2 ... ... ... 2 1 6 9 6 7 2 2 ... 2 37 30 7
&c.
_Spleen Disease_, ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1
&c.
_Order_ 5.—URINARY DISEASES.
Nephritis ... ... 1 ... ... 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 3 2 1
Ischuria ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1
Blight’s Disease ... ... ... ... 1 2 3 5 4 5 2 ... ... ... 22 14 8
(Nephria)
Diabetes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 1 1 ... ... ... 5 4 1
Calculus (Stone) ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ...
Cystitis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 5 1 ... ... ... 7 6 1
_Kidney disease_, ... ... ... ... 1 ... 3 3 3 1 1 ... ... ... 12 10 2
&c.
_Order_ 6.—ORGANS OF GENERATION.
Ovarian Dropsy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ...
_Uterus Disease_, ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 3 2 ... ... ... ... ... 6 4 2
&c.
_Order_ 7.—ORGAN OF LOCOMOTION.
Synovitis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
(Arthritis)
_Joint Disease_, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ...
&c.
_Order_ 8.—INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM.
Phlegmon 2 ... 1 ... ... 1 ... 1 1 1 ... ... ... 3 7 7 ...
Ulcer ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... 2 2 ...
_Skin Disease_, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
242 66 52 21 27 54 75 121 152 180 129 22 4 360 1145 921 224
IV. DEVELOPMENTAL DISEASES.
_Order_ 1.—DISEASES OF CHILDREN.
Premature Birth 46 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 46 35 11
Cyanosis 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 1 ...
Spina Bifida ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Other Malformations 3 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 3 1 2
Teething 25 19 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 35 35 26 9
_Order_ 2.—DISEASES OF ADULTS.
Paramenia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Childbirth (_see_ ... ... ... ... 4 6 4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14 11 3
Puerperal fever)
_Order_ 3.—DISEASES OF OLD PEOPLE.
Old Age ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 14 43 31 4 ... 94 79 15
_Order_ 4.—DISEASES OF NUTRITION.
Atrophy and 153 6 4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 163 163 143 20
Debility
228 16 4 „, 4 6 4 1 1 14 43 31 4 248 356 296 60
V. VIOLENT DEATHS, &c.
_Order_ 1.—ACCIDENT OR NEGLIGENCE.
Fractures and 1 ... ... 1 1 2 ... 2 2 1 ... ... ... 1 10 10 ...
Contusions
Wounds ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 2 ...
Burns and Scalds ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 1 ...
Poison ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Drowning 1 ... 1 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 4 3 1
Suffocation 17 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17 17 15 2
Otherwise ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1
_Order_ 3.—HOMICIDE.
Murder and 4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 4 2 2
Manslaughter
_Order_ 4.—SUICIDE.
Wounds: Gunshot, 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 ... ... ... ... 1 4 4 ...
Cut, Stab
Poison ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Drowning ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ...
Hanging ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 ... ... ... ... ... 2 2 ...
Otherwise ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
_Order_ 5.—EXECUTION.
Hanging ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Violent Deaths (not 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 2 2 ...
classed)
Sudden deaths 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 2 2 ...
(cause
unascertained)
28 ... 2 4 1 2 1 7 4 1 ... ... ... 30 50 44 6
_Causes not 8 6 6 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 20 18 2
specified or ill
defined_
TABLE IV.
Showing Mortality from certain classes of Diseases, and proportions to
Population, and to 1,000 Deaths, 1874, viz.—
Diseases. Total Deaths. Deaths per 1000 Proportion of
of Population. Deaths to
1000 Deaths.
1. Seven 388 2.8 144
Principal
Zymotic
Diseases
2. Pulmonary 554 4.0 208
(_other than
Phthisis_)
3. Tubercular 326 2.3 121
4. Wasting 209 1.5 77
Diseases of
Infants
(_under_ 5).
5. Convulsive 161 1.1 59
Diseases of
Infants
(_under_ 5).
NOTES.
1. Includes Small Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Whooping
Cough, Fever and Diarrhœa.
3. Includes Phthisis, Scrofula, Rickets, and Tabes.
4. Includes Marasmus, Atrophy, Debility, want of Breast Milk, and
Premature Birth.
5. Includes Hydrocephalus, Infantile Meningitis, Convulsions and
Teething.
TABLE V.
Showing the number of Deaths in the 10 years 1864–1873, from the seven
principal Zymotic Diseases, and the number in 1874, &c.
Disease. 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 Annual Proportion 1874 Proportion
Average 10 of Deaths of Deaths
years, to 1000 to 1000
1864–1873. Deaths in Deaths in
10 years, 1874.
1864–1873.
Smallpox 5 18 10 29 4 6 8 120 68 1 26.9 12.5 121 45
Measles 100 52 40 19 84 27 70 64 43 38 53.7 25.3 32 11.8
Scarlet 90 31 28 35 170 106 198 95 29 10 79.2 37.1 26 9.6
Fever
Diphtheria Not separately registered. 9 14 11 14 11 5.9 2.7
Whooping 56 37 28 68 34 71 55 72 77 44 54.2 25.3 45 16.7
Cough
Fever 60 77 33 46 52 42 46 48 42 41 48.7 22.8 52 19.3
Diarrhœa 63 104 112 78 113 108 154 129 110 145 111.6 52.3 112 41.6
TOTAL, 374 319 251 275 457 369 545 539 383 290 380.2 178.0 388 144
KENSINGTON
TOTAL, 16,029 14,272 14,761 11,660 14,925 17,413 16,476 19,455 12,699 11,385 14,907 198 11,230 147
London.
TOTAL. 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1862–71 1872 1872 1872
England &
Wales
1862–1871
{60}
73,220 98,490 96,279 92,030 82,692 72,587 97,352 90,380 100,497 103,801 90,732 188 91,743 188
TABLE VI.
Inspectors’ Report of the Sanitary Work completed in the year ended March
25th, 1875.
Sub-Districts. No. of No. of Houses Results of Inspection. House Drains. Privies and W.C.’s. Dust Bins. Water Supply. Miscellaneous.
Complaints and Premises,
received during &c., inspected.
the year.
Orders issued Houses and Houses Repaired, Trapped or Repaired, Supplied with New provided. New provided. Repaired, Cisterns (new) Cisterns No. of Lodging No. of Dust Removal of Removal of Regularly Inspected Other
for Sanitary Premises, &c., Disinfected Cleansed, &c. Ventilated. Cleansed, &c. Water. Covered, &c. erected. Cleansed, Houses Complaints accumulations of Animals Proceedings,
Amendments of Cleansed, after Infectious Repaired and registered under received and Dung, Stagnant improperly kept. _e.g._ Legal
Houses and Repaired and Diseases. Covered. 35th Clause of attended to. Water, Animal Proceedings.
Premises. Whitewashed. Sanitary Acts, and other
1866. {62} Refuse.
Bakehouses. Licensed Licensed
Cowhouses. Slaughterhouses.
North. 820 3229 818 567 40 207 76 163 69 .4 20 25 5 38 ... 2560 64 46 60 18 32 82
South. 662 4057 664 496 28 235 59 178 53 2 11 19 3 37 ... 3331 51 12 48 18 22 18
Total. 1482 7286 1477 1063 68 442 135 341 122 6 31 44 8 75 ... 5891 115 58 108 36 54 100
TABLE VIa.
Summary of Monthly Returns of Sanitary Work performed by the Inspectors.
Date of Houses Inspected. Mews Inspected. Slaughter Cowsheds Bakehouses Offensive Sanitary Orders Letters &c. Complaints of Orders issued for
Report. Inspected. Inspected. issued. Received _re_ non-removal of the removal of
Dust Dust. Dust.
North South North South North South North South North South North South North South North South North South North South
May 6, 388 532 48 72 11 14 13 14 15 8 9 0 65 88 136 258 15 95 302 601
1874
June 3 360 475 42 61 7 16 19 14 14 23 11 0 61 31 161 222 14 64 294 528
„
July 1 416 520 58 75 18 14 12 10 14 9 10 1 39 86 208 193 26 42 312 335
„
July 29 314 337 48 69 16 8 14 14 13 12 16 0 81 32 187 189 31 36 254 360
„
Aug. 20 219 336 31 74 6 13 3 10 9 19 7 0 37 26 57 88 9 21 87 180
„
Sept. 189 216 22 47 11 9 14 8 10 11 4 0 42 35 69 84 12 10 95 106
23 „
Oct. 21 176 240 32 60 42 32 31 32 9 7 9 0 53 42 109 91 5 6 172 209
„
Nov. 18 225 364 36 62 14 7 12 9 13 16 10 2 48 61 150 121 22 19 210 231
„
Dec. 16 238 285 48 65 9 3 11 8 10 7 13 2 71 80 214 186 46 63 307 377
„
Jan. 185 202 30 37 10 6 11 9 16 12 3 0 59 32 345 372 69 66 565 635
13,
1875
Feb. 10 207 198 36 43 12 8 9 9 12 11 13 0 70 72 393 446 51 67 553 839
„
Mar. 10 186 214 24 22 8 7 9 6 12 10 14 0 67 55 293 622 18 96 392 1021
„
April 7 126 138 16 14 8 7 5 9 12 12 8 0 63 42 238 459 39 68 325 887
„
Totals. 3229 4057 471 701 172 144 163 152 159 157 127 7 756 682 2560 3331 357 653 3868 6309
TABLE VII.
Showing the Death rate per 1,000 living; the annual rate of Mortality per
1,000 living from seven Zymotic Diseases; and the proportion of Deaths
from these Diseases to the total Deaths in Kensington and in all London
in 1874, and in the ten years, 1864–73.
The Year. Deaths per 1000 living. Total Deaths Annual rate of Proportion of Deaths
from Mortality per to 1,000 Deaths from seven
seven 1,000 living from seven Zymotic diseases.
Zymotic Zymotic diseases.
diseases,
Kensington.
Kensington. London. Kensington. London. Kensington. London.
1864 21.4 26.5 374 4.3 5.4 204 204
1865 19.0 24.5 319 3.5 4.7 185 196
1866 20.4 26.4 259 2.6 4.8 133 185
1867 19.0 23.0 276 2.7 3.7 142 166
1868 21.0 23.6 457 4.2 4.7 208 200
1869 20.2 24.6 369 3.3 5.5 164 227
1870 21.2 24.1 545 4.6 5.1 222 213
1871 19.1 24.7 542 4.4 6.0 233 242
1872 17.0 21.4 390 3.0 3.8 181 179
1873 18.3 22.5 290 2.1 3.3 119 149
AVERAGE OF 19.6 24.1 382 3.4 4.7 179 196
TEN YEARS
1874 19.5 22.5 388 2.8 3.3 144 147
TABLE VIII.
Comparative Analysis of the Mortality in all London and in Kensington, in
53 weeks, ended 2nd January, 1875.
LOCALITY. Annual Death Annual Death Per centage Per Centage of Deaths to Total Deaths.
Rate per 1000 Rate of Deaths
Living from per 1000 under 1 year
all causes. Living to Births
from Registered.
principal
Zymotic
Diseases.
Under 1 year At 60 years From 7 From Registered Registered in
of age. of Zymotic Violence. upon large
age and Diseases. information Public
upwards. of the Institutions.
Coroner
(Inquests.)
London 22.5 3.3 15.5 24.6 21.6 14.7 3.6 7.2 17.2
Kensington 19.5 2.8 17.5 28.5 21.7 14.4 1.8 6.4 13.1
TABLE IX.
Shewing the Principal Localities in which of the chief Zymotic Diseases
occurred in 1874.
Name of Measles. Scarlet Diphtheria. Whooping FEVER. Diarrhœa. Total.
Street or Fever. Cough.
Place.
Typhus. Enteric. Simple
Contind.
Absolom l 1
Road
Admiral 2 1 3
Place and
Terrace
Abingdon 2 1 3
Road
Acklam Road 1 1 2
Brown’s 2 2
Buildings
Blenheim 3 3
Crescent
Blechynden 6 2 1 9
Street
Bramley 2 2 1 5
Road
Bomore Road 2 2
Boundary 1 1
Villas
„ Cottages 2 2
Bangor 1 1 2
Street
Cromwell 1 1
Road (West)
Cornwall 1 1 1 3
Road
Child 3 3
Street and
Place
Coleherne 1 1
Road
Clarendon 1 2 2
Road
Crescent 1 2 3
Street
Campden 3 1 1 1 5
Street
„ Hill Road 1 2
Calverley 1 1 2
Street
Dartmoor 1 1 2
Street
Devonshire 1 1
Terrace,
Kensington
Dulford 2 2
Street
Edge 1 1 1 3
Terrace
Earl’s 1 2 3
Court Road
Faraday 1 l 1
Road
Fulham Road 1 1
Gordon 1 1
Cottages
Golborne 1 4 5
Road
Glo’ster 1 1
Terrace,
Kensington
Grange 1 1
(The)
Holland 1 1 2
Street
Hurstway 4 1 5
Street
Holland 1 1
Villas Road
Ifield Road l 2 1 4
James’ 1 1
Street,
Kensington
Kenilworth 1 1 2
Terrace
Kensington 1 1
High Street
Kensington 1 1 2
Park Road
„ „ Gardens 1 1
Mews
Ladbroke 2 1 3 6
Grove Road
Lancaster 2 1 1 1 2 7
Road
Lockton 1 3
Street
Lonsdale 1 2 1 4
Road
„ Mews 1 1
Montpelier 1 1
Street
Manchester 2 2 4
Street
„ Road 1 2 3
New Street 2 1 2 5
Neville 1 1 2
Street
Powis l 1
Square
Prince’s l 1
Gate
„ Mews 2 2
Pembroke 2 1 1 4
Place
Pelham 1 1
Crescent
Peel Street 2 1 1 1 5
Portland 3 2 2 7
Road
Portobello 7 1 2 5 15
Road
Phœnix 1 1
Place
Phillimore 1
Place
(Lower)
Royal 4 4
Crescent
Rillington 1 1 2
Place
Raddington 2 2
Road
Swinbroke 1 2 3
Road
Silchester 1 1 2
Road
„ Terrace 2 2
South 2 2
Street, St.
Mark’s
St. James 2 1 2 5
Street,
Notting
Hill
St. 1 2 1 4 8
Katherine’s
Road
St. 1 1 2 4
Clement’s
Road
Stanley 1 1
Gardens
Mews
Southam 11 1 1 2 15
Street
Stoneleigh 2 2
Street
Sheffield 1 1
Gardens
St. Ann’s 2 1 3
Road
St. Luke’s 1 1
Mews
Seymour 1 1
Place
Thistle 2 1 1 4
Grove
Thomas 4 2 1 7
Mews, Place
and Street
Notting
Dale
Testerton 1 1 2 1 5
Street
Tabernacle 2 1 3
Terrace
Talbot Mews 1 2 3
Talbot 2 1 1 1 1 6
Grove
Warwick 1 1
Place
Wornington 1 1
Road
Wilby Mews 1 1
Warwick 1 2 4 7
Road
Walmer Road 4 2 1 3 10
William 2 2 4
Street,
Norlands
„ Notting 2 2
Hill
Workhouse 4 2 3 9
There were no fatal cases of Small Pox.
There was a single case of Measles in each of 32 other Streets.
In addition to the cases of Diarrhœa here referred to five cases of
Simple or English and Infantile Cholera were registered, viz., one each
in Child Street, Ladbroke Road, Pembroke Square, Portland Road, and St.
Philip’s Terrace.
TABLE X.
PARISH OF SAINT MARY ABBOTTS, KENSINGTON.
Return respecting the Vaccination of Children whose Births were
Registered during the year 1874.
DATE. Registration Number of Number of these Births duly entered in Columns Number of these Births which are not entered
Sub-Districts Births 10, 11, and 13 of the Vaccination Register in the Vaccination Register, on account, as
comprised in returned in (Birth List Sheets) viz.:— shown by Report Book) of
Vaccination Birth
Officer’s List Sheets.
District.
Column 10. Column 11. Column 13. Postponement Removal to Removal to Cases still
Successfully Dead. by Medical Districts, places under
Vaccination. Un- Certificate. the unknown, proceedings
vaccinated. Vaccination or which by summons
Officer of cannot be and
which has reached, and otherwise.
been duly cases not
apprized. having been
found.
Insusceptible Had
of Successful Small-pox.
Vaccination.
1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10
1st January Kensington 1833 1520 12 209 20 8 64
to 30th June. Town
Brompton 400 338 1 35 6 4 16
1st July to Kensington 1708 1380 9 178 40 12 82 7
31st Dec. Town
Brompton 416 350 1 42 8 3 10 2
TOTALS 4357 3588 23 464 74 27 172 9
TABLE XI.
LICENSED SLAUGHTER HOUSES.
SOUTH SANITARY DISTRICT, (20.)
LOCALITY. LICENSEE.
Glo’ster Grove East Mrs. Nutkins
11, Church Street, Kensington Mr. Stimpson
11, Peel Place, Silver Street „ Andrews
The Mall, Silver Street „ Wright
57, Fulham Road „ Turner
356, Ditto „ Smith
37, Brompton Road „ Shackell
121, Ditto „ Cox
183, Ditto „ French
12, New Street, Brompton „ Lidstone
7, Montpelier Street, Brompton „ Hall
60, Kensington High Street „ English
Phillimore Mews „ Clayton
1, Newland Place „ Sandford
15, High Street, Notting Hill „ Short
133, Ditto ditto „ Candy
6, Hope Terrace, Notting Hill „ Beall
35, Earl’s Court Road „ Matson
Ditto ditto „ Collins
Warwick Road „ Fazan
NORTH SANITARY DISTRICT, (28.)
13, Archer Mews Mr. H. Rush
Ditto „ Ward
20, Bolton Mews Messrs. Smith and Son
195, Clarendon Road Mr. J. W. Rush
142, Ditto ditto „ Rutland
10, Edenham Mews „ Gibson
Tavistock Mews, Portobello Road „ Hughes
8, Vernon Mews, Portobello Road „ Young
196, Portobello Road „ Scoles
Ledbury Mews „ French
Lonsdale Mews „ Olney
50, Prince’s Road, Notting Hill „ Parratt
98, Ditto ditto „ Roser
10, Prince’s Mews, Notting Hill „ Cole
10, Prince’s Road Mews, ditto „ Coles
Portland Road ditto „ Colley
41, Prince’s Place ditto „ Pickworth
23, Norfolk Terrace „ Matthews
61, Silchester Road „ Matthews
5, James Street, Potteries „ Van
Mary Place, Potteries „ Nind
7, Thomas Street, Potteries „ Squire
27, Ditto ditto „ Squire
Royal Crescent Mews „ Blackburn
Ditto ditto „ Macpherson
Ditto ditto „ Down
140, Walmer Road „ Seaton
144, Ditto „ Baker
TABLE XII.
LICENSED COW SHEDS.
SOUTH SANITARY DISTRICT. (16.)
LOCALITY. LICENSEE.
5, Glos’ter Grove East Mrs. Reeves
7, Silver Street Mr. Mackenzie
7, The Mall, Notting Hill. „ Edwards
Ditto ditto „ Draper
Fulham Road (St. Mark’s Place) „ Starr
Holland Park Farm Messrs. Tunks and Tisdall
Newland Terrace Mr. Harman
Gore Lane „ Thompson
Earl’s Court Road (Pembroke Place) „ Harman
Ditto ditto „ Jones
Ditto ditto „ Clark
Warwick Road „ Pool
South End, Kensington „ Woolhouse
Ditto ditto „ Lunn
Stratford Road „ Clark
Addison Cottage, Lorne Gardens „ Lyons
Thistle Grove „ Burgar
NORTH SANITARY DISTRICT, (17.)
191, Portobello Road Mr. D. Hughes
207, ditto Aylesbury Dairy Company
Ditto (Angola Mews) Mr. Johnson
Wornington Mews „ Jones
Ledbury Mews „ Boon
Ditto „ Liddiard
Notting Barn Farm „ Liddiard
James’ Street, Potteries „ Arnsby
5, Ditto ditto „ Van
21, Thomas Street, Potteries „ Bidgood
12, Blechynden Mews „ White
14, ditto „ Copperwheat
15, ditto „ Cockman
9, East Road Mews „ Stephen Keen
165, Walmer Road „ Fredk. Keen
10, Talbot Mews „ Hornsby
3 & 4, Archer Mews „ Skingle
TABLE XIII.
QUARTERLY RETURN
OF THE CHIEF GAS EXAMINER.
Cannel Gas.
_Results of the Daily Testings of the Gas supplied by the Gas Light and
Coke Company to the Testing Station_, _at_ 123, _Ladbroke Grove_,
_Notting Hill_, _during the months of January_, _February_, _and March_,
1874.
JANUARY.
Illuminating Power in Amount of Impurity.
Standard Sperm Candles.
Sulphuretted Ammonia per 100 Sulphur per
Hydrogen. feet, grains. 100 feet, grains.
1 20.7 None 7.4 23 0
2 21.1 „ 5.0 23.3
3 20.3 „ 4.6 ...
5 20.2 „ 7.5 23.7
6 22.2 „ 6.4 23.1
7 22.4 „ 4.6 22.1
8 22.4 „ 4.2 22.5
9 22.7 „ 3.8 21.4
10 21.9 „ 3.2 21.8
12 22.7 „ ... 22.3
13 22.2 „ 4.6 22.6
14 22.2 „ 5.0 18.4
15 22 3 „ 5.2 15.1
16 22.1 „ 5.2 20.3
17 20.2 „ 3.2 19.7
19 20.7 „ 2.0 21.0
20 21.0 „ 4.0 22.4
21 Not received.
22 19.7 „ 4.6 22.8
23 20 8 „ 2.4 23.3
24 19.6 „ 2.2 24.2
26 22 2 „ 2.4 24.0
27 Not received.
28 20.2 „ 4.0 23.6
29 20.9 „ 3.0 17.3
30 21.0 „ 2.6 24.3
31 20.5 „ 1.7 24.0
Mean 21.28 „ 4.11 21.92
FEBRUARY.
2 20.7 None 1.8 21.0
3 20.5 „ 1.6 20.8
4 22.1 „ 1.8 19.2
5 20.9 „ 1.2 18 8
6 21.1 „ 0.6 19.1
7 21.7 „ 1.2 ...
9 21.7 „ 1.2 ...
10 21.2 „ 1.4 ...
11 20.7 „ 1.2 ...
12 21.7 „ 0.8 ...
13 22.1 „ 0.6 20.6
14 22.0 „ 1.0 20 9
16 22.8 „ 1.3 19.1
17 22.9 „ 1.6 18.8
18 22.5 „ 1.2 18.8
19 22.5 „ 1.2 15.7
20 21.1 „ 1.0 15.4
21 Not received.
23 22.6 „ 0.6 16.1
24 21.3 „ 2.0 16.4
25 21.3 „ 0.6 16.8
26 22.6 „ 1.0 16.0
27 23.3 „ 1.2 19.2
28 21.1 „ 0.0 19.6
Mean 21.76 1.15 18.46
MARCH.
2 21.4 None 2.4 19.2
3 21.0 „ 0.2 10 4
4 21.9 „ 0.8 13.0
5 21.3 „ 1.0 14.5
6 22.8 „ 1.0 15.1
7 21.9 „ 1.0 15.1
9 22.1 „ 0.8 15.3
10 21.0 „ 1.4 15.3
11 21.4 „ 0.0 12.9
12 20 4 „ 1.0 14.3
13 20.9 „ 0.6 15.1
14 21.0 „ 0.6 16.4
16 21.1 „ 0.4 17.7
17 21 6 „ 1.2 17.1
18 21.5 „ 2.0 17.2
19 21.4 „ 0.8 17.5
20 21.2 „ 0.5 17.3
21 21.8 „ 1.0 17.3
23 21.9 „ ... ...
24 21.2 „ ... ...
25 21.7 „ ... ...
26 21 4 „ ... ...
27 21.0 „ 0.8 ...
28 21.4 „ 0.6 15.5
30 21.1 „ 0.8 15.7
31 22.9 „ 0.0 16.0
Mean 21.47 „ 0.86 15.63
TABLE XIV.
QUARTERLY RETURN
OF THE CHIEF GAS EXAMINER
Cannel Gas.
_Results of the Daily Testings of the Gas supplied by the Gas Light and
Coke Company to the Testing Station at_ 123, _Ladbroke Grove_, _Notting
Hill_, _during the months of April_, _May_, _and June_, 1874.
APRIL.
Illuminating Power in Amount of Impurity.
Standard
Sperm Candles.
Sulphuretted Ammonia per 100 feet, Sulphur
Hydrogen. grains. per
100 feet,
grains.
1 22.1 None None 17.0
2 23.0 „ „ 13.7
3 Not received
4 22.1 „ 0.4 14.2
6 Not received
7 21.7 „ 2.4 16.8
8 21.5 „ 0.6 17.8
9 22.5 „ 1.2 16.9
10 22.2 „ ... 17.2
11 22.3 „ None 17.2
13 22.7 „ 0.4 17.3
14 21.0 „ 0.4 17.3
15 21.0 „ 1.4 17.1
16 22.9 „ 0.7 17.4
17 21.6 „ 0.4 19.0
18 21.2 „ 0.2 17.9
20 22.2 „ 0.0 19.5
21 Not received
22 22.5 „ 0.2 9.5
23 22.5 „ 1.4 18.7
24 22.2 „ 0.6 18.1
25 23.0 „ 0.4 18.2
27 22 2 „ 0.0 18.0
28 22.0 „ 0.0 18.1
29 21.2 „ 1.0 15.4
30 Not received
Mean 22.04 „ 0.56 17.37
MAY.
1 21.9 „ 0.2 16.6
2 21.5 „ 0.6 16.4
4 20.9 „ None 18 4
5 21.5 „ „ 18.9
6 22.0 „ „ 17.4
7 21.4 „ 0.8 17.4
8 21.4 „ None 20.2
9 20 5 „ „ 17.9
11 Not received
12 21.5 „ „ 18.9
13 21.6 „ 1.0 1 .8
14 22.0 „ 0.8 16.7
15 22.2 „ 0.2 16.3
16 20.7 „ None 17.9
18 21.2 „ 0.4 16.0
19 21.6 „ 0.4 17.3
20 21.8 „ 0.8 17.8
21 21.4 „ 0.6 17.7
22 Not received
23 21.7 „ 0.4 18.0
25 Not received
26 21.7 „ 0.6 18.4
27 21.7 „ 0.4 20.0
28 21.7 „ 0.6 19 9
29 22 0 „ 0.5 19.3
30 21.4 „ 0.6 18.3
Mean 21.53 „ 0.39 17.97
JUNE.
1 21.3 None None 17.9
2 21 3 „ 0.4 19.1
3 21.5 „ None 18.2
4 21.6 „ „ 17.8
5 22.0 „ „ ...
6 Not received
8 22.0 „ „ 17.8
9 21.9 „ „ ...
10 21.8 „ 0.8 ...
11 20.8 „ 1.2 17.7
12 20.3 „ 0.5 17.8
13 20.7 „ 0.8 17.1
15 20.6 „ 1.0 17.3
16 20.8 „ 0.6 17.3
17 21.1 „ 0.6 16.9
18 21.1 „ 0.5 16.1
19 Not received
20 Not received
22 21.4 „ 0.5 16.2
23 21.4 „ 1.0 17.4
24 Not received
25 Not received
26 Not received
27 21.4 „ 0.8 17.3
29 21.4 „ 05 17.3
30 21.3 „ 0.4 16.4
Mean 21.28 „ 0.48 17.39
TABLE XV.
QUARTERLY RETURN
OF THE CHIEF GAS EXAMINER.
Common Gas.
_Results of the Daily Testings of the Gas supplied by the Gas Light and
Coke Company to the Testing Station at_ 123, _Ladbroke Grove_, _Notting
Hill_, _during the months of July_, _August_, _and September_, 1874.
JULY.
Illuminating Power Amount of Impurity.
in Standard
Sperm Candles.
Sulphuretted Ammonia per 100 Sulphur per
Hydrogen. feet, grains. 100 feet, grains.
1 18.6 None 0.8 16.4
2 17.6 „ 1.2 19.2
3 ... „ 0.0 19.1
4 ... „ 1.2 19.6
6 ... „ 0.0 20.4
7 17.6 „ 0.8 20.1
8 17.6 „ 0.8 20.2
9 17.4 „ 1.0 20.2
10 17.4 „ 1.0 20.3
11 17.3 „ 0.0 19.3
13 17.5 „ 1.8 19.6
14 17.3 „ 1.0 20.3
15 17.5 „ 0.0 20.5
16 16.6 „ 0.0 19.5
17 16.6 „ 1.0 19.4
18 16.7 „ 0.6 19.4
20 16.9 „ 0.2 19.4
21 16.8 „ 0.0 16.0
22 17.0 „ 0.0 14.4
23 17.2 „ 0.0 16.0
24 Not received
25 16.8 „ 0.0 16.5
27 16.7 „ 0.0 16.0
28 16.7 „ 0.0 16.3
29 16.5 „ 0.4 16.2
30 16.6 „ 0.6 26.4
31 17.1 „ 0.6 16.5
Mean 17.13 „ 0.50 18.76
AUGUST.
1 16.8 None 0.3 15.7
3 Not received
4 17.0 „ 0.8 17.0
5 16.6 „ 0.6 17.2
6 16.6 „ 0.6 17.4
7 17.2 „ 0.0 17.1
8 16.9 „ 0.6 16.9
10 16.9 „ 0.4 18.5
11 16.9 „ 0.4 18.1
12 16.5 „ 0.0 18.5
13 16.8 „ 0.4 18.4
14 16.9 „ 1.0 18.8
15 16.7 „ 0.4 8.4
17 16.5 „ 0.6 18.6
18 16.1 „ 0.3 18.1
19 16.4 „ 0.4 17.6
20 16.3 „ 0.5 17.5
21 Not received
22 16.5 „ 0.5 17.4
24 16.9 „ 0.6 19.8
25 16.5 „ 0.0 19.7
26 16.5 „ 0.0 18.4
27 16.9 „ 0.0 17.7
28 Not received
29 16.4 „ 0.0 ...
31 17.3 „ 0.0 ...
Mean 16.70 „ 0.37 17.93
SEPTEMBER.
1 16.8 None ... ...
2 16.7 „ ... ...
3 16.7 „ ... ...
4 16.6 „ ... ...
5 17.1 „ None ...
7 17.3 „ „ 16.5
8 16.7 „ „ 16.6
9 16.6 „ „ 16.5
10 16.2 „ „ 21.8
11 17.0 „ 0.6 18.6
12 16.6 „ 0.3 15.3
14 16.5 „ 0.4 18.1
15 17.1 „ 0.0 16.9
16 17.0 „ 1.2 16.8
17 Not received
18 16.7 „ None 17.1
19 16.8 „ „ 17.1
21 16.7 „ „ 17.1
22 16.8 „ „ 17.4
23 16.6 ... „ 17.4
24 16.8 ... „ 17.1
25 16.9 ... „ 17.0
26 17.1 „ 0.5 17.1
28 17.5 „ 0.0 16.9
29 16.6 „ 0.6 14.3
30 17.4 „ 0.6 17.9
Mean 16.83 „ 0.15 17.17
TABLE XVI.
QUARTERLY RETURN
OF THE CHIEF GAS EXAMINER.
Common Gas.
_Results of the Daily Testings of the Gas supplied by the Gas Light and
Coke Company to the Testing Station at_ 123, _Ladbroke Grove_, _Notting
Hill_, _during the months of October_, _November_, _and December_, 1874.
OCTOBER.
Illuminating Power Amount of Impurity.
in Standard
Sperm Candles.
Sulphuretted Ammonia per Sulphur per
Hydrogen. 100 feet, grains. 100 feet, grains.
1 17.3 None 0.8 16.5
2 16.7 „ 0.2 18.1
3 16.6 „ 0.3 16.2
5 16.4 „ 0.2 15.3
6 16.6 „ 0.1 13.2
7 16.4 „ 0.2 14.1
8 16.3 „ 0.0 17.0
9 16.5 „ 1.0 16.1
10 16.3 „ 0.5 15.6
12 16.3 „ 0.4 16.1
13 16.1 „ 0.2 16.2
14 16.3 „ 0.0 17.1
15 16.7 „ 0.0 17.2
16 16.6 „ 0.0 17.3
17 Not received
19 16.6 „ 0.0 17.5
20 15.5 „ 0.0 17.4
21 16.2 „ 0.6 15.7
22 16.5 „ 0.4 15.7
23 16.4 „ 0.0 16.2
24 16.4 „ 0.0 15.8
26 17.8 traces 0.0 15.4
27 17.4 much 0.0 15.3
28 16.8 trace 0.0 18.4
29 16.3 None 0.0 18.2
30 16.4 „ 0.0 18.2
31 16.3 „ 0.0 17.8
Mean 16.53 prsnt. three 0.19 16.44
times.
NOVEMBER.
2 16.3 None None 17.6
3 16.9 „ „ 17.5
4 16.9 „ „ 17.5
5 16.7 „ „ 17.3
6 16.8 „ „ 16.5
7 16.1 „ „ 17.3
9 16.7 „ „ 18.1
10 16.8 „ „ 14.5
11 16.7 „ 0.4 15.5
12 Not received
13 16.7 „ 0.4 15.0
14 16.6 „ None 16.0
16 16.6 „ „ 14.4
17 16.5 „ 1.0 18.3
18 17.7 „ 0.8 19.1
19 17.3 „ 0.6 ...
20 16.7 „ None 18.8
21 16.2 „ „ 18.8
23 16.1 „ 1.0 16.7
24 16.4 „ None 16.7
25 16.6 „ „ 16.5
26 16.6 „ „ ...
27 16.5 „, 0.3 ...
28 16.9 „ 0.0 16.9
30 16.7 „ 0.0 18.4
Mean 16.67 „ 0.19 17.02
DECEMBER.
1 18.2 None None 15.9
2 17.1 „ „ 16.8
3 17.1 „ „ 16.8
4 16.4 „ „ 16.1
5 17.0 „ „ 16.0
7 16.5 „ „ 19.4
8 17.0 „ „ 19.5
9 16.7 „ „ 19.1
10 15.8 prsnt. „ 18.2
11 17.4 do. 0.4 22.0
12 17.2 trace None 22.1
14 16.6 None „ 24.0
15 17.0 „ „ 22.1
16 16.6 „ „ 15.9
17 16.5 „ ... 16.2
18 16.5 „ ... 16.1
19 16.5 „ ... 16.3
21 15.9 „ „ 16.6
22 16.4 „ „ 22.4
23 16.5 „ „ ...
24 17.2 „ „ 22.2
25 ... ... ... ...
26 ... ... ... ...
28 16.6 „ „ 22.3
29 16.7 „ „ ...
30 16.0 „ „ 20.5
31 15.8 „ „ 20.7
Mean 16.68 prsnt. „ 19.01
three times
FOOTNOTES.
{6a} The “Kensington” Registration District, by which most persons
understand the parish of Kensington, really comprises a much larger area,
embracing within its limits the whole of Paddington, Hammersmith, and
Fulham. The subjoined table shows the proportion which Kensington proper
bears to the other parts of the district.
Area in Inhabited Population,
statute acres. houses, 1871.
1871.
Kensington 2,190 15,735 120,299
Paddington 1,251 11,847 96,813
Hammersmith 2,287 6,719 42,691
Fulham 1,716 3,469 23,350
{6b} The subjoined table shows the area, inhabited houses, and population
of the three wards into which the parish is divided for parochial
purposes:
Name of Area in Inhabited Population, Rateable
Ward. statute houses, 1871. annual
acres. 1871. value of
property,
1871.
Holy 439 3,224 22,128 £246,716
Trinity,
Brompton.
St. John, 905 7,730 62,475 £365,012
Notting
Hill, and
St. James,
Norland.
St. Mary 846 4,781 35,696 £323,992
Abbott’s.
2,190 15,735 120,299 £935,720
{7} The births that took place in the Workhouse are all included in the
Town registration, but the number (120) is too small to affect the
calculation.
{11} P.S.—(_August_.)—It may be mentioned that no new facts came out
subsequently either to strengthen or to weaken the suspicion above stated
of milk being the carrier of the scarlatinal poison—beyond this, that
there were several cases of the disease in another parish in which the
dairy is situated, and in families supplied from the dairy. It may be
added that the Kensington cases, which were remarkable for the suddenness
with which the attack followed on the application of the supposed cause,
all did well. They ran the usual course, and were followed by very free
desquamation. There were no derivative cases. A similar outbreak was
reported subsequently also within a few days after a dinner party at West
Brompton. In this case, however, so far as I can gather—for I received
little direct information on the subject—though the idea of a common
cause of disease, as in the previous outbreak, was suggested, absolutely
nothing could be traced to support the suspicion of milk-poisoning, for
the dairy—several miles from Town—was found to be in an unimpeachable
condition, and no sickness was discovered in the employés or their
families, or at the London depôt. A very small quantity of cream
appeared to have been consumed, the actual supply on the day in question
being one shilling’s worth. For the present the bare facts of these
cases can be simply stored for future use; and with the inferences which
have been sought to be drawn from them must be taken _quantum valeant_.
{49a} On two occasions (January 22 & 24) the Gas was less than 20
Candles.
{49b} On two occasions (October 20 & December 31) the Gas was less than
16 Candles.
{57a} The population is estimated to the middle of the year. Between
1863 and 1871 inclusive, a yearly addition has been made to the
population based on the total increase between the Censuses of 1861 and
1871. The same principle has been adopted with regard to the number of
inhabited houses, in the absence of specific information on the subject,
such as has been forthcoming since 1871. Some of the figures in this and
subsequent Tables differ from those in former reports, as the result of a
revision of the estimated population, based upon the best attainable
information. The population at the Census 1861 was 70,108.
{57b} The returns of marriages for the years 1865–70, inclusive, do not
include those that took place at the Superintendent Registrars Office,
concerning which I have no information.
{58} Viz. The Workhouse and the Hospital for Chest Diseases at Brompton.
{60} The Totals for England and Wales are for 10 years 1862–1871,
compared with the year 1872, the latest year of publication at the
present time.
{62} The Act has not been put into operation.
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