BOARD OF WORKS FOR THE FULHAM DISTRICT. % EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT TO 25TH MARCH, 1874. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH; ' BOARD OF WORKS FOR THE FULHAM DISTRICT. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT TO 25TH MARCH, 1874. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH; ABSTRACTS OF ACCOUNTS; &c., &c. HAMMERSMITH : PRINTED BY CHARLES CORDINGLEY, ADVERTISER OFFICE, HAMMERSMITH. OFFICERS of the Board of Works for the Fulham District. 1875. BOARD. FULHAM. Agar, Mr. W. F., Walham Green Ardin, Mr. J., Sands End Bailey, Mr. C. I. C., Fulham Braid, Mr. W., Bridge street Cockerell, Mr. M., Dorcas terrace Curtis, Mr. S., Prospect place Derrick, Mr. F., Cedar road Doughty, Mr. G., North End HAMMERSMITH. Representative to Metropolitan Board. W. H. Lammin, Esq. Medical Officer of Health. Mr. F. J. Burge, Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith. Surveyor, Mr. A. C. Bean, Goldhawk Eoad. Mr. T. E. Jones, Brook Green, Hammersmith. Assistant Clerk. Mr. F. Webb. Inspectors of Nuisances. Mr. Keall, Fulham. Mr. B. Chamberlen, Hammersmith II00K, Mr. B. C., Edith villas Lines, Mr. R. S., Dorcas terrace Lammin, Mr. W. II., Shorrolds, Walham Green Parker, Mr. C. J., Dorcas terrace Pitts, Mr. O., Beach House Seymour, Mr. T., Fulham Road Wright, Mr. B. T., Church street Braithwaite, Mr. T. Westcroft p1 Beayen, Mr. S. Elvyn road Bird, Mr. E., Brook green Bruton, Mr. G., Latymer road Brooks, Mr. G., Shepherd's bush Brown, Mr. G., King Street west Chambers, Mr. E., Rosedale Chamberlen, Mr. T., Cornwall road Crooks, Mr J., Brook green Cotes, Major, the Mall Green, Mr. J., Augustus road Gwynne, Mr. PI., Rivercourt Hunt, Mr J., Old Oak villa Keen, Mr. J., Latymer road Keene, Mr. R., Mall road Mussared, Mr. W., King street east Osmond, Mr., Elm grove Pilbeam, Mr. A , Uxbridge road Slattery, Mr. T. Keith terrace Stevens, Mr. W., 22, Stowe road Stollard, Mr. W., 9 Wilton villas Thompson, Mr. F., Shepherd's bush Waddell, Mr. J., West Kensington gardens. Wilson, Mr. c., Bridge avenue Board of Works for the Fulham District. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT. Eighteenth Annual Report,Presented pursuant to 198th section of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855 The Board of Works for the Fulham District present to the Inhabitants of the District the following summary of their proceedings during the past year, and an Abstraet of Receipt and Expenditure for the year ending 25th March, 1874. In the Sanitary department, the Board have caused to be removed Nuisance cases as follows : Privies and Cesspools emptied, repaired, &c. 902 Drains and Gullies cleansed, do. 1003 Houses do. do, 747 Swine Nuisances removed 594 M iscellaneous 235 Houses benefitted in Fulham 817 Do. do. Hammersmith 453 The Board have carried out permanent Works of Paving and Road making in the under-mentioned places :— Stanley Park Road, Stanley Road, Grove Road, Church Road, Oxford Road, Southerton Road, Overstone Road, Kilmarsh Road. Footpaths paved and kerbed, and carriage-way formed. Sewers have been constructed in Star Road, Greyhound Road, Munster Road, Union Road, Church Road, Farm Lane, and Lillie Road. Presented herewith is a copy of the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health. BOARD OF WORKS, FULHAM DISTRICT. AUDITOR'S CERTIFICATE. Broadway House, Hammersmith, 16th day of May, 1874. Gentlemen, We, the undersigned auditors, having during three sittings carefully examined the accounts and vouchers of your Board for the year ending 25th March, 1874, have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the accuracy with which the several Books have been kept. We found a balance at the commencement of the year of £497 14s. 1d., and we leave one in your favour of £1839 3s. 5d., and a Bum of £5000 deposit at the Hammersmith Branch of the London and County Bank. Signed, HERBERT LOVELY, W. H. VAN BAERLE, WM. CHAS. SMITH. Abstract of Contracts entered into by the Board during the year. Messrs. Long and Lnckhurst, for the supply of the best gray flints, at 5s. per cube yard. Mr. Gale, for the removal of dust, ashes, &c., from the several houses, yards, and premises, in the Parish of Hammersmith, for six months, the Board paying him £640 per annum. Mr. Wright, for the removal of dust, ashes, &c., from the several houses, yards, and premises, in the parish of Fulham, for six months, the Board paying him £440 per annum. Mr. Churchman, for printing and stationery, at certain prices set forth in the schedule, and embodied in the contract. Mr. Serff, for the removal of slop and road rubbish from the roads for Fulham, £485. Mr. Gav, for the removal of slop and watering roads in the Parish of Hammersmith, £1300. Mrs. Coat, for watering the roads in Fulham, £455. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. To the Board of Works, Fulham District. Gentlemen, Again 1 have to present to you an Annual Report, and again 1 have the pleasure to lay before you a favourable picture of our sanitary condition : indeed, I feel there would be something wrong if after nearly 20 years of sanitary work in the district, we could not give a favourable account of it. It would be idle, as I have said before, for me as your Officer of Health, to state that all I could have desired on the score of public health has been accomplished, because we have still desiderata to be supplied. The main features of a good sanitary condition you have been instrumental in carrying out. Through the length and breadth of the Fulham District large and effective sewers run, and under the direction of your Board almost every private as well as public thoroughfare has now been drained into them. Neither dismal swamps, nor lakes, nor open rivers of sewage matter prevail as in former times, though here and there remnants of byegone defects present themselves. The Creek at Hammersmith, the Black Bull Ditch, and the open Stamford Brook sewer, &c., should no longer pollute our air. A large number of Piggeries exist where they should not, but recent efforts seem to promise an annihilation of even these at no very distant date. These places ought to be placed under special statute as Slaughter and Cowhouses are, and should be licensed as they are. I am of opinion that an effort ought to be made by the London Suburban Vestries to accomplish this object in the approaching Session of Parliament. Could not the Fulham District Board take the initiative and secure through our Local Members the introduction of a short Bill for that purpose ? It will be in your remembrance that in my last Annual Report I referred to the probability that in the Autumn of this year (1874), all private slaughter-houses would be abolished under the provisions of the first Metropolitan Building Act, passed in 1844. The Select Committee of the House of Commons have since reported on this matter, and under a now regime private slaughter-houses may still exist. The Slaughter Houses' Metropolis, &c., Act (37 & 38 Vict. c. 67), 1874, has since been passed, and it is necessary that I should refer you to its provisions. 1 must remind you also that the inquiry of the Corn- 9 mittee was not restricted to Slaughter houses, but embraced the generality of what are called Noxious businesses, and the new statute invests the Metropolitan Local Authority with powers to make bye-laws lor regulating the management ot such of these trades as are already existing, whilst clause 2 of the same actually prohibits the establishing anew of any of the following businesses, viz., that of blood boiler, bone boiler, manure manufacturer, soap boiler, tallow melter or knacker, under a penalty of £50, and a further penalty of £50 for every day during which, after establishment, such business is carried oh. The 3rd clause of this Act prohibits the establishment of certain other businesses anew without the sanction of the Local Authority Section 4 refers to the making and enforcing of bye-laws for regulating the conduct of any businesses specified in the Act, and " If for a period of four months after the passing of this Act the local authority 'fail in exercising the power:?' of making bye-laws given by this Act, the Local Government Board may, by order to be published in such manner as that Board may direct, make such bye-laws of their own motion, and may by a like order alter and repeal such bye-laws, and make other bye-laws in lieu thereof; and all bye-laws, so made, shall have the same effect and may be enforced in like manner as byelaws made by the local authority, and duly confirmed by the Local Goverment Board. The subsequent clauses, 5 to 9 inclusive relate to legal and miscellaneous proceedings under the Act. Clauses 10 and 11 relate Specially to Slaughter-houses, and the remainder of the enactment includes definitions (12 & 13), repeal and savingclauses, 14 to 17 inclusive. This Act will no doubt be productive of much good, since it will bring under stringent regulations many Offensive trades which hitherto have escaped official supervision.Of all the noxious trades, however, carried on within our district, Pig keeping is the one most troublesome to you as the Local Authority, and this business is not included in the Act. A large number of ceedings have been taken either for the improvement or suppression of Piggeries, and in the great bulk of cases we have been successful. I should be glad to see them moved further away from us, for I believe it to be impossible to have them near inhabited localities without being a source of nuisance and annoyance to the residents. The boiling of Hotel and Tavern refuse, with the ordinary housewash collected from the houses of our London Aristocracy, form part and parcel of pig keeping upon a large scale, and although one cannot say that these ingredients, 10 when fresh, carry with them indivirtually any actual poison in the strict sense of that term, yet such a combination of animal and vegetable refuse, oven in a recent state, mixed with decomposing entrails of fish and poultry, will, during the process of boiling, give off such sickening vapours, as to prove most unraistakeably, to those who suffer from them, injurious to health. Further, I am quite certain that the prosperity of the Fulham District, as a place of residence, is now chiefly marred by the continuance in some parts of it of this damaging element, and I truly hope your Hoard will not hesitate to follow the example of Kensington, and not rest satisfied until you have removed it. The question of the drainage of our own district we may consider not only settled but actually accomplished. Not so that of outlying districts beyond it, and it will be necessary to keep a watchful eye over the proceedings of other parishes to the West of us. Barnes, Mortlakc, and Richmond on the south of the river, and Chiswick, Brentford and Acton on the northern bank, have yet to solve the problem of how to dispose of their sewage. During the early part of this present year the three former parishes have been proposing to establish close to us, just such a gigantic nuisance as some years since we successfully resisted being brought immediately into our own di strict. The Richmond scheme has, I believe and hope, boon abandoned. The Acton and Ealing district will sooner or later have to provide for sewage works, and we must keep our eyes upon it. It is interesting to observo the enormous increase in the population of the Fulnam district in the last three and twenty years. In 1851 it was 29,646; in 1801 it was 39,951; in 1871 it was 66,0,041; and the estimated number for the middle of 1873 was 68,107, the accession partly arising from immigration, and partly from natural increase. The natural addition hap been well maintained during 1873 as in former periods, for in that year 2,700 births were registered, showing an excess of births over deaths of 1,205. The excess of births over deaths for several years has been marked and Satisfactory :— In 1808 the excess of births over deaths was 708 „ 1869 768 „ 1870 772 „ 1871 900 „ 1872 1088 ,, 1873 1205 In 1856 the excess of births over deaths was only - 346 The systematic improvement in the number of our population has not been interfered with during the year either by disease 11 within or by emigration from it. As a rule, the Working classes have been well employed, and no special distress has existed amongst them. I do not wish by this report to draw any golden rule by which to measure the sanitary condition of a neighbourhood, but I say that such statistics do speak a language of their own, inasmuch as they actually show that the birth-rate is considerably above the death-rate, as it has been uniformly so of late, and that although the mortality amongst infant children under five years of age still ranges high, it is not sufficient to counterbalance the diminution of deaths amongst the more adult population. I am happy to be able to speak favourably under the general phrase of public health. No epidemic has prevailed within our district throughout the year to which this report applies, and the sickness and mortality from all causes were moderate. The number of deaths registered during the 53 weeks ending Jan. 3, 1874, was 1,504. Of these 426 were of children under one year of age, and 347 were of persons of 60 years of age and upwards, leaving only 731 deaths during the intermediate ages, out of a population estimated at 63,107. Infant mortality then still prevails with us as in otherdistricts, and why ? The utter recklessness of infant life amongst the lower classes by undue exposure to the depressing influences of temperature and improper food, with a considerable amount of injudicious over-feeding in the more well-to-do portion of the community, each contribute to this result. The entire range of Zymotic disease has given us a mortality of 209 during 1873. Of these measles has contributed 20; scarlet fever 23; diphtheria?; whooping cough 24; fever (of various types), 26 ; diarrhoea, 103 ; and choleraic diarrhoea, 4. Reviewing the general death-rate of the Fulham. District, and more especially that arising from Epidemic diseases, we have reason to feel that at any rate a moderate amount of benefit has accrued from sanitary measures. It is admitted and indeed proclaimed by one of the highest medical authorities, "The Laucct," that " the general death-rates are useful indicators of public health fluctuations, and their value in this respect increases with the number and extent of the observations upon which they are based." Now, we have here before us the observations of 19 years' continuous work. There are some Members still amongst your body who took their seats at this table in 1856, who well remember the almost forlorn condition of Hammesrmith and Fulham in all the main essentials tending to public health. The change from chaos to something like regime has been from necessity slow, but it has been sure, and if, as your Officer of Health through this J 2 Iong vista of years, I have been an instrument in your hands for effecting thus much of good to our present community, and if (as I hope) I retain your confidence as one of your faithful servants from the beginning, it will be a lasting gratification to Gentlemen, Yours still faithfully, FREDERICK J. BURGE, Medical Officer of Health, Fulham Dictrict. Hammersmith, Dec. 2,1874. BOARD OF WORKS FOR THE FULHAM DISTRICT. ABSTRACT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 25™ MARCH, 1874. Dr. general cash account. Cr. March 25th, 1874 £ s. d. £ s. d March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. £ s. d. To Balance- Cash 4497 14 1 By Disbursements on General Rate :— Receipts on General Rate:- Works, Wages, and Materials 28972 2 3 Overseers on Precepts 23789 7 0 Establishment Charges 1279 17 3 Contributions and New Streets 4461 3 O Repayment of Loan and Interest 1163 1 11 Amount Credit in Error 817 19 0 London School Board 913 4 3 29068 9 0 Amount credit in Error 817 19 0 33146 4 8 To Receipts on Sewer's Rate Disbursements on Sewers' Rate :— Overseers Precepts 12349 17 7 Metropolitan Board's Precepts 4069 7 10 Contributions 533 1 6 Works, Wages, and Material 1565 1 6 Loan from Metropolitan Board 12000 0 0 Permanent Works 8538 9 7 24882 19 1 Establishment Charges 639 18 8 To Receipts on Lighting Rates :— Repayment of Loan and Interest 5972 17 0 Overseers on Precepts 6170 19 1 6170 19 1 20785 14 7 Disbursements on Lighting Rate :— Erecting, Lighting, Cleansing, and Maintaining Public Lamps, three quarters 3848 18 7 57780 17 10 Balance at Bankers 1788 4 9 Do. Wages 50 18 8 1839 3 5 Balance on Deposit Account... 5000 0 0 6839 3 5 £64620 1 3 £64620 1 3 Dr. establishment account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. Salaries. Advertisements. Printing. Rent. Repairs. Law Costs. Sundries. £ s. d. £ s. d £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d £ s. d £ s. d £ s. d £ s. d. To General Purposes Account, being § of £1919 15s. lld and paid out of General Rate 1279 17 3 Medical Officer 162 10 0 162 10 0 Surveyor 350 0 0 350 0 0 Clerk 286 13 4 236 13 4 Sewers' Account, being 1/3 of £1919 15s. lld., and paid out of Sewers Rate 639 18 8 Assistant Clerk 64 15 10 64 15 10 „ Surveyor 115 10 0 115 10 0 Wharf Keeper 39 1 0 39 1 0 Superannuations 47 8 0 47 8 0 Clerks of Works 203 14 0 76 19 10 203 14 0 Advertisements 117 18 5 76 19 10 Printing 117 18 5 Rent, &c. 157 5 7 100 7 11 157 5 7 Repairs 55 14 10 100 7 11 Law Costs ... 55 14 10 Sundries 191 17 2 191 17 2 £1919 15 11 1219 12 2 76 19 10 117 18 5 l57 5 7 100 7 11 55 14 10 191 17 2 £1919 15 11 Dr. general purposes account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. £ s. d. By Balance brought forward 311 14 0 To Cash from Overseers 23789 7 0 Works in Now Streets 5790 15 7 Contributions 455 16 2 Do. for Masonry 424 0 5 do New Streets 4005 6 10 New Tools and Repairs 369 9 7 Amount Credit in Error 817 19 0 Cartage 1280 15 4 Balance 4389 9 8 Watering, Slopping, and Dusting 3864 14 4 Wages—Roadmen 3949 6 1 Do. Inspectors 92 14 0 Do. Unloading Barges 422 7 0 Materials—Core and Gravel 221 2 1 Do. Flint 2200 0 0 Do. Granite 9461 10 2 Miscellaneous Works 895 6 10 Establishment Charges 1279 17 3 Repayment of Loan and Interest 1163 1 11 London School Board 913 4 3 Credit in Error 817 19 0 £33457 18 8 £33457 18 8 Dr. lighting account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. To Balance brought forward 1242 19 7 By Brentford, London, and Western Gas Companies, Lighting, &c. 3848 18 7 Cash from Overseers 6170 19 1 Balance 3565 0 1 £7413 18 8 £7413 18 8 Dr. sewers account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. To Balance brought forward 433 11 6 Cash from Overseers 12349 17 7 By Metropolitan Board's Precepts 4069 7 10 Contributions 533 1 6 Works, Wages, and Materials 1565 1 6 From deposit account 11000 0 0 Permanent Works 8538 9 7 Establishment Charges 639 18 8 Repayment of Loans and Interest 5972 17 0 Balance 2663 13 0 23882 19 1 £23,882 19 1 (Signed) HERBERT LOVELY. W. H VAN BAERLE, WILLIAM C. SMITH, Auditors. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES. Dr. general purposes account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. To Amount of Liabilities 3307 8 2 By Amount overpaid on this account 4389 9 8 Amount due from Overseers 2666 0 2 Unpaid Accounts Estimated 450 0 0 £5973 8 4 New Streets Account 1133 18 8 £5973 8 4 Dr. lighting account. Cr. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. March 25th, 1874. £ s. d. To Balance—Cash 3565 0 1 By Unpaid Accounts Estimated 2575 0 0 Amount duo from Overseers 764 10 10 Balance 1754 10 11 4329 10 11 £4329 10 11 Dr. sewers account. Cr. March 25th. 1874. £ s. d. March 24th, 1874 £ s. d. To Balance—Cash 2663 13 0 By unpaid accounts—Estimated 300 0 0 Amount due from Overseers—Local 1138 13 10 Amount due to Metropolitan Board 6187 2 1 Do. do. Metropolitan Board 6187 2 1 Permanent Works 2108 19 7 Balance 1393 / 3 £9989 8 11 £9989 8 11 (Signed) HERBERT LOVELY, W.H. VAN BAERLE, WILLIAM C. SMITH, [