THIRTY-THIRD GENERAL REPORT OF THE VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY, FOR THE YEAR ENDING 25th MARCH, 1889. Pursuant to the Act, 18th and 19th Vic., cap. 120. London: FREDK. SHAW & CO., "Eagle" Printing Works, Dockhead, S.E. 1890. 2 WE, Joseph Daniel Rose, William John Stevens, and William James Alley, the Auditors appointed by the Parishioners of the Parish of Rotherhithe, in the County of Surrey, to examine and audit the Accounts of the Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe, aforesaid, for the year ending 25th March, 1889, having carefully and diligently examined and investigated the Accounts of the said Vestry, for the period aforesaid, and the Vouchers in support of the same, and the Books, Papers, Instruments, and Writings in their custody or control relating thereto, do hereby certify and declare, that We have this dav audited the said Accounts of the said Vestry, at the Board Room, at the Workhouse, Rotherhithe, in the County of Surrey, in the presence of the following, viz.: Joseph Daniel Rose, Chairman, William John Stevens, and William James Alley, and that the said Accounts are true and correct in all particulars, and We do allow the same accordingly, and sign the same in token of such our allowance thereof. Given under our hands this 20th day of May, 1889. (Signed) J. D. ROSE, W. J. STEVENS, W. J. ALLEY,Auditors. Vestry Office.—Lower Road, Rotherhithe, S.E. ACCOUNT IN ABSTRACT. Showing the Receipts and Expenditure for One Year ending 25th March, 1889, under the "Metropolis Local Management Act," 18th and 19th Victoria, cap. 120. RATE. Cash Balance. RECEIPTS. PAYMENTS. Cash Balance 25th March, 1889. In Credit. In Debit. Rates. Contribu'ns. Loans. Interest. Totals. Metropolitan Board. Works. Establishment. Loans. Watering. Lighting. Totals. In Credit. In Debit. £ s. d. £ s. d. £. s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d £ s. d £ s. d £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Paving and General Purposes Kate 2828 4 7 Paving Jobbing Works Salaries. 1859 2 0 398 13 0 » 3776 19 8 786 0 0 Interest 398 13 0 - Commissn. 574 3 0 249 12 5 2433 5 0 2828 4 7 612 5 11 Valuation Committee Special Paving Works 50 0 0 660 8 9 Rents Day Labour 153 13 11 1540 12 7 Accounts 18701 0 0 Cartage 473 2 4 18701 0 0 16S3 1 3 1712 8 8 Stone New Streets 8 0 0 573 10 0 38 7 4 8 0 0 Dusting Sundries 871 16 0 77 1 2 School Board 6902 13 10 115 8 6 Accounts 339 18 4 Lighting Rate.. I366 0 0 13184 6 8 1366 0 0 Account 1 18 3 9 10 0 1 18 3 9 10 0 1632 3 2 Commissn 1632 3 2 19 18 6 19 18 6 7230 14 11 Sewers Rate 9338 0 0 7230 14 11 9338 0 0 Sewers Jobbing 190 11 4 3 10 0 Labour Salaries Drains 3 10 0 725 9 5 460 0 0 64 9 9 Cartage Commissn Sundries 321 6 9 121 11 5 25 7 6 Accounts 581 11 5 89 17 3 235 0 1 1472 7 7 32451 18 7 28674 18 11 4 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. GENERAL ABSTRACT OF WORKS. Executed under Contracts, Agreements, &c., for Special and General Works. One Year ending 25th March, 1889. Paving and General Purposes Rate. Paving. Watering. Cleansing and Repairing Macadamized Roads and Streets. Improving. Removing Dust. Totals. Footway. Carriageway. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Paving Jobbing Works 341 0 7 341 0 7 Ditto ditto ... ... 271 5 4 271 5 4 Broken Stone for Roads ... ... ... ... 573 10 0 Wages of Day Labourers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1540 12 7 Cartage ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1683 1 3 3797 3 10 Watering ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 398 13 0 398 13 0 Removing Dust ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 871 16 0 871 16 0 5679 18 9 5 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. GENERAL ABSTRACT OF WORKS. Executed under Contracts, Agreements, &c., for Special and General Works. One Year ending 25th March, 1889. Lighting Rate. Lighting. Contribut'ns. Commission. Sundries. Sundries. Total. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ S. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. South Metropolitan Gas Co. 1632 3 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... 1632 3 2 Collector's Commission 19 18 6 19 18 6 Sundries ... ... ... ... 9 10 0 9 10 0 £1661 11 8 6 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. ABSTRACT OF WORKS. Executed under Contracts, Agreements, &c., for Special and General Works for the Year ending March 25th, 1889. BRICK SEWERS. COST. PIPE SEWERS. COST. Openings to Sewers. COST. Repairs and A Iterations _ to Sewers and Gullies. Cleansing including Flushing, Casting. Lifting, Cartage. and Repairs caused thereby. Incidental Works Improvement Works. TOTAL. Iron. Stonsware. Side Kntrances. Air & Flushing Shafts. Gullies. Drain Months. Flaps. £ s. d. £ s. d. 18 in. 15 in. 12 in. 9 in. 6 in. 4 in. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 214 32 2 0 113 .. .. 12 14 3 196 .. 12 5 0 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 57 1 3 2 16 10 5 16 10 5 3 7 11 3 7 11 6 2 gt ings 24 2 0 24 2 0 15 27 19 0 27 19 0 1 10 0 1 10 0 15 14 4 15 14 4 21 2 8 21 2 8 2 8 0 2 8 0 Grounds Lime. 169 15 7 1 4 0 1 4 0 Deduct Contractor's per-centage. 170 19 7 34 3 7 I abor & Teams 136 16 0 1025 4 5 Total £1162 0 5 April, 1889. GgORGK ! E£fiK 7 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. SUMMARY STATEMENT OF ALL CONTRACTS Entered into by the Vestry in the year ending 25th March, 1889, and of all Contracts subsisting at the commencement of that year, and continuing during the same, and of the Works commenced and completed in the year ending 25th March, 1889, and the Works remaining in progress at the termination of the same year. CONTRACTS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF SPECIAL WORKS. Rate. Date of Contract. Locality. Name of Contractor. Nature of Works to be performed. Contract Price. Quantity of work commenced and completed during the year. Amount of extra work Annual cost of works. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Paving 5th June, 1888. Rotherhithe Street by Durand's Wharf. (Section No. 2.) James Henry Etheridge. Paving the carriageway. 525 15 0 525 15 0 525 15 0 8 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. CONTRACTS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF GENERAL WORKS AND SUPPLY OF MATERIALS. Existing at the commencement of, or entered into, during the Year ending 25th March, 1889. Rate. Date of Contract. Name of Party with whom Contract was made. Nature of Works to be performed, and Materials to be provided. Term of Contracts. Paving & General Purposes. 26th March. 1889. William Reed Dusting (Vestry to pay the Contractor £1,025) Entered into for One Year from 25th March. 1889. „ „ 28th March, 1889. Frederick Shaw & George Jolly Grace Printing and Stationery as per Schedule of Prices Ditto. „ „ 30th March, 1889. James Henry Etheridge Paving Jobbing Works as per Schedule of Prices Ditto. „ „ 25th March, 1889. Alfred Thomas Hobman & John George Hobman Team hire and cartage as per Schedule of Prices Ditto. Lighting 25th March, 1889. The South Metropolitan Gas Company For Lighting the Public Lamps at £3s. 9d. each per annum ... Sewers May, 1889. George Butler Sewers General Jobbing Works as per Schedule of Prices Entered into for One Year from 25th March, 1889. 9 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. Statement and Account of Arrears of Rates and other Moneys owing to, and of the Mortgages, Debts, and Liabilities owing by the Vestry on the 25th March, 1889. Rate. Moneys owing to the Vestry. Debts and Liabilities owing by the Vestry. Total. Cash Balance. Due from Overseers. Contributions. Loans. Total. Cash Balance. Assessment by Metropolitan Board of Works. Loans, Mortgages. &c. Special Contracts Outstanding. Tradesmen's Bills and Accounts. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Paving. 3269 12 1¾ Eagle Insurance Company 3038 0 11 3269 12 1¾ 3038 0 11 Parfitt Road 2000 0 0 Atlas Assurance Company 8 6 0 Eugenia Road 3225 0 0 Metropolitan Board of Works 5 11 8 J. H. Etheridge, Rotherhithe Street Paving Acorn Place 1722 0 0 21 10 11 Metropolitan Board of Works 37 8 7 131 8 9 1300 0 0 Metropolitan Board of Works 131 8 9 1350 0 0 Metropolitan Board of Works 223 0 0 Metropolitan Board of Works Lighting 312 0 9¼ 3600 0 0 13420 0 0 Sewers 195 6 9 312 0 9¼ 405 6 11 195 6 9 405 6 11 275 4 I 275 4 11 3814 8 3 17270 1 6 10 VESTRY OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. SUMMARY STATEMENT. ONE YEAR ENDING 25th MARCH, 1889. PAVING AND GENERAL PURPOSES ACCOUNT. £ s. d. £ s. d. To Balance on 25th March, 1888 2173 16 11¾ By paid Salaries 786 0 0 „ Cash from Overseers on account of Paving Rates 18701 0 0 „ Commission 249 12 5 „ Rent of Vestry Offices 100 0 0 „ Interest on current account with London and Westminster Bank 8 0 0 „ „ Stone Yard 48 13 11 „ „ Board Room at Workhouse 5 0 0 „ Contributions from Owners towards paving New Streets 38 7 4 „ Paving Jobbing Works 612 5 11 „ „ at Lady Dock Bridge 134 13 9 „ „ Rotherhithe Street at Durand's Wharf 525 15 0 „ The Churchwardens of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, on account of Plaistow Charity Estate 70 0 0 „ Day Labour 1540 12 7 „ Cartage 1683 1 3 „ Sundry Contributions 7 1 2 „ Broken Stone, &c., for Roads 573 10 0 „ Watering Roads 398 13 0 „ Loans repaid and Interest 2433 5 0 „ Valuation Committee Expenses 50 0 0 „ Removing Dust 871 16 0 „ Stationery, Printing, &c. 75 1 9 „ Expenses under Sale of Food and Drugs Act 13 7 3 „ Expenses under Nuisances Removal Act 88 17 9 „ London School Board Precept 6902 13 10 „ Expenses of Ballot for Vestrymen 59 17 5 „ Repairs to approach to Kings Stairs 27 0 0 „ 1000 Galvanized Iron Dust Pails 77 5 0 „ Tar Paving, approach to Park from Abbeyfield Road 41 5 0 „ Law Costs and Fees 42 11 2 „ Ordnance Plan of the Parish, and placing New Streets thereon 15 15 0 „ Tradesmen's Bills, &c. 372 0 4 17728 13 4 3269 12 1¾ '£20998 5 5¾ £20998 5 5¾ 11 SUMMARY STATEMENT.—(Continued.) LIGHTING ACCOUNT. ONE YEAR ENDING 25th MARCH, 1889. £ s. d. f, s. d. To Balance on 25th March, 1888 605 14 2¼ By paid Lighting, one year 1632 3 2 „ Cash received from Overseers on account of Lighting Rate 1366 0 0 „ Commission 19 18 6 „ Lamp, opposite Vestry Offices 9 10 0 „ Interest on current account with London and Westminster Bank 1 18 3 1661 11 8 £ '1973 12 5i 312 0 9½ 1973 12 5¼ SEWERS ACCOUNT. ONE YEAR ENDING 25th MARCH, 1889. £ s. d. £ s. d. To Balance on 25th March, 1888 48 13 5 By paid Salaries, one year 460 0 0 „ Cash received from Overseers on account of Sewers Rate 9338 0 0 „ Commission 121 11 5 „ The Metropolitan Board of Works Precept 7230 14 11 „ For putting in Drains 64 9 9 „ Day Labour 725 9 5 „ Interest on current account with London and Westminster Bank 3 10 0 „ Cartage 321 6 9 „ General Drainage Works 190 11 4 „ Rent of Ground over Sewer 0 7 6 „ Expenses of maintaining and water supply to Urinals 66 3 4 „ Mr. W. Stotesbury on account of Costs of Sewer, Redriff Road, on Plaistow Charity Estate 25 0 0 „ Stationery, Printing, &c. 54 3 9 „ Marking the Sewers upon the Ordnance Map of the Parish 16 16 0 „ Tradesmen's Bills, &c. 97 17 0 9284 13 11 Balance 195 6 9 £9480 0 8 £9480 0 8 12 THE THIRTY-THIRD GENERAL REPORT OF THE Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe, Surrey, For the Year ending 25th March, 1889. During the past year 23 General and Special Meetings and 33 Committee Meetings have been held. Sewers Works. The following lengths of Pipe Sewers and Drains have been laid during the year, viz.:— 214 feet of 12-inch pipe. 113 „ 9 „ 196 „ 6 „ Total 523 feet Two side entrances, four air and flushing shafts, six gullies, two gratings, and fifteen drain mouths have been formed and constructed, the cost of which in detail is shown in the General Abstract at page 6 hereof. The following is a statement of applications made to the Vestry to drain houses and premises, and the results consequent thereon:— Number of Notices received. Number of Houses permanently drained into covered Sewers. Buildings and Premises other than Houses drained. House drains cleared. Total number of Houses and Buildings inspected for drainage. 27 21 - 18 39 13 The following applications for the erection and drainage of new houses and buildings have also been checked and approved:— Number of Notices. Number of Houses. Additions to Houses. Warehouses and other Buildings. Total number of new Buildings. 25 8 22 10 40 A length of 214 of 12-inch pipe Sewer has been laid in Renforth Street and Risdon Street at a cost of £32 2s., £10 of which cost was contributed by the owner of nine houses situate respectively in Renforth Street, Risdon Street, and Mary Street, for the drainage of the same into the said pipe Sewer. Paving Works. The following materials have been used during the year, viz.:— Broken Guernsey Granite 480 cubic yards. Gravel and Hoggin 333 „ Slop and snow carted 10235 loads. Water for watering roads 8908 van loads. Broken Stone 89 loads. Hard Core 20 „ Bombay Stone 51 „ Materials carted 520 „ Flints 52 „ The paving of the carriageway, Commercial Dock Road, at the west approach to Lady Dock Bridge, has been relaid to an improved level, the old material being used as far as it would go, and the residue paved with new stone at a cost of £134 13s. 9d. A concrete floor upon iron girders has been executed in the covered approach to King's Stairs, Rotherhithe Street, at a cost of £27. The carriageway and footways, Rotherhithe Street, at Messrs. Burt s premises, Durand's Wharf, Section No. 2, has been repaved under a contract with Mr. James Henry Etheridge, Pavior, at a cost of £525 15s. The carriageway of Dodd's Place, Clarence Street, has been paved with some of the old stone removed from Rotherhithe Street. The footways were also curbed and made up; and some York paving laid in the footway in Forsyth Street at the corner next Dodd's Place, previously unpaved, at a cost of £45 8s. Acorn Place, Trinity Road, has been made up, repaved, and drained, the owners of the property having entered into agreements to pay the estimated amount 14 of the cost, after deducting the usual allowance made by the Vestry, according to the time the properly had been rated. Estimate for paving, £59 11s. 4d.; estimate for four gullies and drains, £21 12s. The carriageway paving, Union Road, from the west entrance to the Park westward to Union Bridge, has been relaid at a cost of £63 4s. 9d., the Southwark and Deptford Tramways Company paying £16 18s. of such sum for relaying their portion of the paving outside the tramway where it was out of repair. The approach to the Park Entrance, from Abbeyfield Road across Dilston Grove, has been paved with tar paving 2½ inches in thickness, at a cost of 5s., the work having been carried out by Mr. A. C. W. Hobman. Paving Jobbing Works. Mr. James Etheridge is the Contractor for Paving Jobbing Works at a Schedule of prices. (For particulars of Contract see page 8). Lighting. Eight additional Gas Lamps have been set up and lighted during the past year, viz.:—One in Union Road ; one in Silwood Street ; four in Lower Road; one in Portland Place, and one in Princes Place, making the total number of ordinary lamps lighted by the South Metropolitan Gas Company, 473, at a cost of £3 7s. 4d. per lamp per annum up to Christmas, 1888, and from and after Christmas, 1888, at a cost of £3 3s. 9d. per lamp per annum, one ordinary lamp at £3 4s. 9d., and four Sugg's lamps by meter at 2s. 5d. per thousand feet up to Christmas, 1888, and after Christmas, 1888, at 2s. 3d. per thousand feet, less £5 per cent. discount upon payment within one month from Quarter day. Cleansing, Watering, &c. Messrs. A. T. Hobman & Son contract for the supply of men, horses and carts, and for the removal of scrapings from the whole of the roads and streets after the same have been swept by the labourers employed by the Vestry to a shoot provided by the Contractors, at a specified price per man, horse and cart. Messrs. Hobman & Son also contract for the supply of horses, harness and drivers for the Vestry's water vans (see page 8). I he Vestry having had under consideration the cost of labour and cartage in cleansing the streets for the years 1885, 1886, 1887 and part of 1888, on the 4th December, 1888, the Vestry passed a resolution as follows, viz.:— "Resolved upon the recommendation of the General Purposes Committee that the Surveyor of pavements be requested to reduce the amount of cartage by £500 during the ensuing year, and that it be left to the Surveyor of Pavements to use his discretion as to how such reduction is to be effected." 15 Dusting. Mr. William Reed is the Contractor for removing dust, ashes, &c., from the dwellings of the inhabitants, and out of the Parish. The Contractor also agrees to remove, when required, from mills, factories, and premises, trade refuse, &c., upon payment by the occupiers thereof at 2s. 6d. per cubic yard. (For particulars of Contract see page 8). In January, 1889, the Vestry resolved to increase the district to be dusted under the pail system for collecting the dust from the dwellings of the inhabitants twice a week, by the addition of the whole of that portion of the Parish east of the northern boundary of the Surrey Commercial Docks as far as Plough Bridge, including about 2,000 houses, which with the 1,000 houses supplied with pails in 1888, made a total of about 3,000 houses in the Parish so supplied. The Contract entered into by Mr. William Reed with the Vestry in March, 1889, for removing dust for 12 months under the said resolution was as follows, viz.:— £ s. d. For District No. 1 under the Pail system 600 0 0 For District No. 2, Dust Bins 425 0 0 £1025 0 0 Removal of Nuisances, &c. Inspector's Report for the Year ending 25th March, 1889. Houses and Premises inspected 1411 Complaints received (sanitary defects) 413 Notices served for abatement of nuisances 638 Infectious cases removed to Hospital 17 Houses, &c., disinfected 21 Bedding and Clothes purified (lots) 10 Bedding destroyed and compensation allowed do. 4 Summonses issued for abatement of nuisances 3 Houses closed being unfit for human habitation 7 Magistrates' orders obtained 3 Bodies removed to Mortuary awaiting interment 2 Bakehouses Slaughterhouses Cow Sheds Regularly inspected. Dust Complaints received 1045 J. EDWARDS, Inspector. Slaughter Houses. Three notices were received in September, 1888, from butchers of their intention to apply to the Special Sessions for licenses for slaughter houses, and they having been severally inspected by the Medical Officer of Health, were all dully licensed by the Magistrates in October, 1888. Cow Houses. Five Cow houses were licensed by the Magistrates in October, 1888, they having been previously inspected by the Medical Officer of Health. 16 Sanitary. In July, 1888, the Vestry received a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, as follows, viz.: — Whitehall, 10th July, 1888. Sir, I am directed by the Secretary of State to acquaint you for the information of the Vestry of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, that the Local Government Board have referred to him the recent correspondence between themselves, the Vestry and the Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the People, on the subject of the alleged unhealthy condition of certain premises within the Parish. As an inspection in which the Vestry are themselves concerned would probably be most satisfactory to all parties, the Secretary of State is of opinion that the best way of accomplishing the desired object would be to follow the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes (see page 36, first report, second paragraph,) which runs as follows:— "With the view therefore of bringing especially under public attention the sanitary condition of the different districts of the Metropolis, your Majesty's Commissioners recommend that the Secretary of State should be empowered to appoint one or more competent persons for the purpose of inquiring as to the immediate sanitary requirements of each district having regard to the several powers entrusted to the local authority, whether the Metropolitan Board of Works, or the Vestry, or the District Board; that the local authority should be empowered to nominate members of their own body to act with the officers so appointed, and that the report of the result of such inquiries by the officers appointed should be transmitted to the local authorities and should also be laid before Parliament." The Secretary of State therefore proposes in accordance with the above recommendation to appoint an officer to inquire into the immediate sanitary requirements of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, and also a coadjutor of medical sanitary knowledge and experience, and I am to request that you will be so good as to move the Vestry to nominate two members to co-operate with the officers so appointed, and to cause the Secretary of State to be acquainted as soon as convenient with the names of the gentlemen nominated. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, To James J. Stokes, Esq., (Signed) Godfrey Lushington. Clerk to the Vestry of Rotherhithe. The Vestry thereupon nominated Mr. John Bulmer and Dr. William Astley Cooper to meet the gentlemen appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose of inquiring as to the sanitary requirements of the Parish of Rotherhithe. 17 A letter dated 15th August, 1888, was received by the Vestry from the Secretary of State relative to the proposed inquiry into the sanitary condition of Rotherhithe, and asking to be informed what further progress had been made in the sanitation of the parish since April, 1888, to which the Vestry caused a reply to be sent as follows, viz.: — ' - The Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe, Surrey, Offices: Public Baths, Lower Road, Rotherhithe, S.E. 8th September, 1888. Sir, I am directed by this Vestry to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th ult., requesting to be informed what further progress has been made in the sanitation of this Parish since April last, and in answer thereto to inform you that since the period referred to, special attention has been given by the Vestry and their officers to the sanitary requirements of the houses in this Parish. Notices have been served upon the occupiers in all cases where nuisances have been found to exist, which have in almost every case proved effectual for the abatement thereof. Repairs have also been done to yards, sinks, and drains in all cases where necessary, and the Vestry are carrying out the general duties imposed upon them by the several Acts of Parliament to the best of their judgment and ability. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, James J. Stokes, Vestry Clerk. To Godfrey Lushington, Esq., C.B., Secretary of State's Offices, Home Department, Whitehall. On the 9th October, 1888, the Vestry received a communication from the Under-Secretary of State, stating that the Secretary of State had appointed Mr. D. Cubitt Nichols and Mr. Shirley F. Murphy to hold the proposed inquiry into the sanitary condition of the Parish of Rotherhithe. The inquiry was held at the Board Room, at the Workhouse, Lower Road, Rotherhithe, in October and November, 1888, and the Commissioners having inspected the houses in several of the streets of the Parish, the Vestry subsequently received a letter dated 27th March, 1889, from the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, stating, "With reference to the previous correspondence I am directed by the Secretary of State to transmit to you herewith, to be laid before the Rotherhithe Vestry, a copy of the report of Mr. Cubitt Nichols and Mr. Murphy on the inquiry recently made by them into the sanitary condition of Rotherhithe. 18 The following is a copy of the report:— Report of an Inquiry held by Mr. D. Cubitt Nichols and Mr. Shirley F. Murphy, as to the Immediate Sanitary Requirements of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe. 4216 B— 20 THE PARISH OF ST. MARY, ROTHERHITHE. 3, Howard Street, Strand, 19th March, 1889. Sir, In pursuance of your instructions that an inquiry should be made as to the immediate sanitary requirements of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, in accordance with the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes, and that we should hold such inquiry:— We have the honour to report that we placed ourselves in communication with the Vestry Clerk and also with Mr. J. Bulmer and Mr. William Astley Cooper, the gentlemen nominated by the Vestry to co-operate with us in such inquiry, and gave notice to the Vestry Clerk and to the Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the People, that we should proceed with such inquiry at the Board Room, Lower Deptford Road, on the 19th October, 1888. In pursuance of the above notice we attended at the place named and proceeded upon the inquiry. Mr. Bulmer and Mr. Astley Cooper being present. Mr. James John Stokes, Vestry Clerk, appeared on behalf of the Vestry of Rotherhithe. Mr. R. Reader Harris, Barrister, appeared on behalf of the Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the People. At this meeting a list of 643 houses in which it was alleged sanitary defects existed was put in by the Mansion House Council. As to 525 of the above, the Vestry admitted the receipt of notices, and contended that some of the defects had been dealt with, but as to the remaining 118 houses, these were the result of an inspection made by the Mansion House Council in October, and of which no notice had been served on the Vestry, and it was accordingly arranged that an inspection should be made, and that after such inspection the public inquiry should be proceeded with for the purpose of taking evidence as to matters relating to the general sanitary condition and administration of the Parish. We then proceeded to inspect the houses above referred to, and generally throughout the Parish, being accompanied by Mr. Bulmer, Mr. Astley Cooper, and by Mr. Stokes, Vestry Clerk, Dr. Shaw, Medical Officer of Health, Mr. Burley, Assistant Clerk to the Vestry, and the Sanitary Inspector, on behalf of the Vestry; and by Dr. Parkes on behalf of the Mansion House Council. Speaking first of the matters of actual complaint, we found by such inspection that as regards the 525 houses, as to the condition of which the Vestry admitted notice, they had been dealt with in the following manner:— Notices served and sanitary defects partly remedied (excluding supply of water to closets) 74 houses. Notices served 196 „ Not dealt with 255 ,, Total 525 19 Houses with sanitary defects, included in the list of the Mansion House Council, of which notice was given to the Vestry, but not dealt with 255 Houses with sanitary defects, included in the second list of which notice was not given 118 Houses not dealt with 373 Alleged sanitary defects in the above houses, found by our inspection generally to exist excluding those under notice:— Dilapidated and dirty houses 62 Houses with structural defects, i.e., floors below street, &c. 88 Defective gutters and stack pipes 6 Water closets without water supply 564 (Note.—The notices of Vestry did not include water supply to closets.) Defective and foul pans 34 Unpaved and badly paved yards 87 Defective yard traps, &c. 24 Untrapped sinks 1 Uncovered cisterns 2 No dust bins 43 Dilapidated dust bins 25 The inquiry was resumed at the Board Room on 30th November, 1888. Mr. R. Render Harris. Barrister, appeared on behalf of the Mansion House Council. Mr. Meadows White, Q.C., appeared on behalf of the Vestry. The following gentlemen were examined:— Dr. Parkes, Medical Officer of the Council. Dr. Shaw, the Medical Officer of Health. Mr. George Legg, Surveyor of Sewers to the Vestry. Mr. Edward Thomas, Surveyor of Pavements to the Vestry. Mr. Joseph Edwards, Sanitary Inspector to the Vestry. Mr. Stokes, Clerk to the Vestry. The contention of the Mansion House Council was:— 1st.—That the Parish in its poorer parts was in an insanitary condition. 2nd.—That the Vestry have power under existing laws to remedy this state of things. 3rd.—That the Vestry have not only power to remedy this state of things, but the obligation is imposed on them by the Legislature to enforce the laws. 4th.—T hat there was on absence of proper supervision under two heads— (a) There being but one Medical Officer of Health, and but a part of his time being given to the work; (b) There being but one Sanitary Inspector. In reply, the contention of the Vestry was:— 1st.—That the Parish is not in an insanitary condition, and in proof of this they instance the death rate, which they allege compares favourably with adjoining Parishes. 2nd.—That great difficulty is found in exercising the powers under Torren's Act. It was further contended that the great age of the houses, and their be:ng held in many cases by persons without means, rendered the application of the Acts difficult, if not impossible. 20 3rd.—That the present sanitary staff is sufficient. The Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, is situated in the South-East of the Metropolis and on the South bank of the Thames, which bounds it on two sides. The soil consists of made ground, brick earth, alluvial gravel or sand, which is shown by borings for wells, or cuttings along the lines of sewers to extend to a depth of from 20 to 35 feet, or more. The area of the Parish is stated in the last Census Report to include land occupying 579, and water 175 acres, with adjacent tidal water 152 acres. Until 1870 the Parish of Rotherhithe was conterminous with the registration district of that name, but in that year it was included in the registration district of St. Olave, Southwark, of which it now forms a sub-district. A map of the date 1843, published by the Registrar-General, shows Rotherhithe to consist at that time almost altogether of a fringe of houses on the banks of the river, the rest of the district being open fields. The population some 50 or 60 years ago consisted largely of persons engaged in retail trade or in handicrafts. In the year 1831 as many as 2,340 men were thus employed, while 146 were agricultural labourers, and 396 engaged in labour of other sorts, only 25 ranking among "capitalists, bankers, professional, and other educated men." The large docks which have been constructed led further to the residence in Rotherhithe of persons of the poorer class, so that in 1861 in every 100 persons of 20 years of age and over, there were 29.3 engaged in industrial occupations, 0.8 in agricultural, 9.3 described as indefinite and non-productive, while 3.1 and 18.9 were engaged in professional and commercial pursuits respectively, the remainder, 38.6, consisting of those who bad domestic occupations. The character of the population necessarily influenced the condition of dwellinghouses. More than 50 years ago, the local registrar of the time, reporting on certain houses let out in tenements, stated that they contained "six or eight rooms occupied by as many families of the poorest kind, chiefly Irish." The sanitary condition of such houses will be understood by the statement of this officer, that they were "in a very old and dilapidated state," and the drainage was defective. Others again were exposed to the offensive exhalations of an open sewer which received the filth of the whole neighbourhood. While the increase of population led to the letting in tenements of many of the existing houses, new dwellings were erected to meet the wants of single families, mostly brick houses of two stories in height, amongst which were interspersed those of older date, many of them timber-built structures. This growth in the earlier part of the century was not rapid; thus the population only increased by 3,621 inhabitants between 1801 and 1841, or 35.2 per cent. in 40 years; but after the latter year the increase in the two successive decades was 27 9 and 37.6 per cent, respectively. In the 10 years ending 1871 the increase was no more than 10.5 per cent., but during the subsequent 10 years rose again to 32.9 per cent. These figures differ widely from those which the increase of population in London gives, the London increase being in the 10 years ending 1851, 16.4 per cent., and in the decades ending 1861, 1871, and 1881, 17.48, 16.23, and 16.16 per cent. respectively. It is seen therefore that the diminished increase in Rotherhithe in the decade ending 1871 was not shared by London as a whole. This reduction of rate of increase in Rotherhithe can be explained, firstly, by the removal from the district of much of the shipping *which formerly frequented that part of the river, leading to loss of trade and the migration to other localities of persons engaged therein, and secondly, to the destruction of in houses by the extension of the East London Railway. *It is believed locally that the removal of shipping from Rotherhithe was due to the replacement of wooden ships by iron ships, which were less easily accommodated in the Rotherhithe dock. 21 The Census Returns enable the amount of the former loss to be appreciated for while in 1861, 1,544 persons were found to be living on vessels in the district in 1871 the number of persons so living had fallen to 1,211, and in 1881 to 648; Rotherhithe had in fact in the 20 years lost nearly three-fifths of its shipping and its water side labourers. The variation in the rate of increase of population was attended by a corresponding variation in the rate of increase of houses. In the decades ending 1851 and 1861 the rate of increase of houses was 15.3 per cent. and 257 per cent. respectively, and as the increase of population was less in the decade ending in 1871 than in that preceding so that of houses was only 11.3 per cent., rising again in the subsequent decade to 2.2 per cent. The rapid extension of house building and of population in the last decade was caused by the laying out and opening of Southwark Park by the Metropolitan Board of Works, giving a great impetus to building in the neighbourhood, and further by the increased facilities for reaching central parts of the Metropolis given to residents in Rotherhithe by the opening of the East London Railway. With these changes the population gradually increased in excess of the number of houses, so that in 1851 the proportion of inhabitants to each house was 5.26, in 1861 it was 6.52, in 1871 it was 6.58, and in 1881, 7.29. With this increase the poorer parts of Rotherhithe appear to have become more largely inhabited by persons living in houses occupied by more than one family. The population of Rotherhithe, when enumerated in 1881, consisted of 36,024 persons, of whom 35,376 were living in 4,847 houses. The proportion of population at the several age periods differed much from that of London as a whole. In 1881 in Rotherhithe, 15.4 per cent. of the total population were under five years of age, and an additional 13.04 per cent. from five to ten years. In London, in the same year, 13.02 per cent. were "under five years of age, and an additional 10.9 from five to ten years. The difference is of old standing, but has been less marked in previous census years. Thus, in Rotherhithe, the proportion of population under five years, per cent. of total population was in the census years 1831, 1861, and 1871, 1.0, 1.8, and 1.2 respectively in excess of that of London at this age period, while in 1881 it was 2.4 in excess. A further difference between the constitution of the populations of Rotherhithe and London deserves to be noted. The census of 1881 shows that in this parish at that time 50.9 per cent. of the total population were males, this excess of males occurring more particularly in the wage-earning period of life; whereas in the London population males constituted but 47.0 per cent. of the total population. In former years this difference was more conspicuous; in 1851 for instance, the males of Rotherhithe constituted 51.2 per cent. of the population, while the males of London were but 46.8 per cent. But during each successive decade, while the proportion of the male population in London has been increasing, that of Rotherhithe has been diminishing, this diminution being doubtless due to the changes in the trade of Rotherhithe, to which reference has already been made, and to the increase of building operations in the district, giving opportunity for more permanent residence. Rotherhithe, in fact, which had before had an excess of males, constituting probably a floating population, came to have a residential population, and thereupon the proportion of females and children to total population began to increase, while that of males to decrease. The birth rates of Rotherhithe in the census years 1841, 1851, 1861, were very much the same as in the whole of London, those in Rotherhithe being respectively 30.8, 33.4, and 34.3 per 1,000 of population, and in London 30.5, 33.1, and 34.6. In 1871 the Rotherhithe birth rate fell somewhat, being 32.3, while that of London was 34.6; but in 1881 the birth rate in Rotherhithe rose to 39.0, that of London being 34.8. This increase in the Rotherhithe birth rate appears to be due to the immigration of persons of a child-bearing age to those parts of Rotherhithe which were being covered with houses. 22 This conclusion is supported by the fact that the marriage rate has been on each of the census years since 1841 below that of London as a whole. The number of marriages in Rotherhithe to each thousand of population has been in the years 1851, 1861, 1871, and 1881, 7.07, 5.3, 77, and 8 9 respectively, and in London 11.4, 9.5, 9.7, and 9.06. No special increase in the number of marriages can therefore be held to explain the rise in the Rotherhithe birth rate, nor indeed is any different result obtained by an examination of the Rotherhithe marriage rates between 1871 and 1881, for only once in this decade did the number of marriages in that district in proportion to each thousand of population exceed even to a trilling extent the number in 1881. In fact, in the majority of years the proportion was much smaller than that noted. It is to be inferred, therefore, that there has not been in recent years in Rotherhithe indication of return of prosperity of former local industries, but that the place has become attractive on account of new trades and occupations, and as a convenient and cheap locality of residence for persons having employment in contiguous parts of London ; however this may have been there is ground for believing that recent increase of population may have been largely an increase of married immigrants. In the year 1881 the death rate of Rotherhithe was 237, this rate being calculated on the total number of deaths registered in the parish. In the same year the death rate of London was 21.2. But Rotherhithe has situated within its boundaries the Workhouse and the Workhouse Infirmary of St. Olave, Southwark, and of the inmates of these institutions, Rotherhithe, which is part of that Union, contributes only a proportion. The Rotherhithe death rate should therefore be calculated on the number of deaths registered in Rotherhithe, exclusive of those of persons not usually resident in the Parish, but who died in public institutions situated therein, and inclusive of those Rotherhithe parishioners who died in public institutions beyond the limits of the district. The death rates should be further corrected, for the purpose of comparison with London, for the difference between the age and sex distribution of the population of Rotherhithe and London. The Vestry have supplied us with the information necessary for the former correction of the years 1885 and 1887. The amount by which the registered number of deaths must be thus corrected is nearly the same in each year, and if we correct the deaths registered in 1881 to the same extent, we obtain a Rotherhithe death rate of 227; this when corrected for the difference between the age and sex distribution of the London and Rotherhithe population, gives a corrected death rate for Rotherhithe of 21.8, or 0.6 above that of London. We hesitate to draw conclusions from the death rate of any recent year, for the reason that it is necessarily calculated upon an estimated population, and such estimate is especially liable to error when many years have elapsed since the census was taken, and when the population, as in Rotherhithe, is in a transitional state. But we may mention that if the population be estimated on the assumption that the number of persons to each house is in 1887 the same as in 1881, and if the same number of residents in ships be added as in 1881, a corrected death rate is obtained for the year 1887 of 20.5, that of London being 19.6. On this estimate of population the birth rate in Rotherhithe was in that year 37.5, and in London 31.7. Further, in that year the proportion of deaths under one year of age to every thousand births was in Rotherhithe 1737, and in London 157.9. It should be stated that the population of Rotherhithe in 1888, is estimated locally to be 44,366, which is considerably in excess of that arrived at on the assumption that the proportion of persons in each house is the same as in 1881. The proportion of deaths from special diseases appears to be much the same in Rotherhithe and London as a whole. The Parish of Rotherhithe has a ratable value of £194,606. The rates for the year *A trifling deduction of about 04 might perhaps be made for the number of deaths from drowning, for which the river and docks in Rotherhithe give special opportunity. 23 ending October, 1888, were 5s. 11d. in the pound, of which 2s. 8d. related to the maintenance of the poor, 1s. 5½d. to the precepts of the Metropolitan Board of Works and the School Board respectively, and 1s. 9½d. to the requirements of the Vestry, but consequent on the rates on houses of a rating value of £20 and under being compounded for and premises being empty, a penny in the pound, produced but £740. For the current year ending October, 1889, due to riverside premises being unoccupied, a penny in the pound is estimated to produce but £656. In 1871, the ratable value was £136,697, and in 1881, £192,231; the increase in the ratable value was therefore in the 10 years 1871-81, 46 per cent., while that of the number of houses was 23 per cent. But from 1881 to 1888 the increase in the ratable value has been 1.2 per cent., and the increase in the number of houses was 14.1 per cent. Since 1881, therefore, the increase in the ratable value of the Parish has not kept pace with the increase of requirements of sanitary administration. Beyond this, while the precepts of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1871 required payment by Rotherhithe of £3,251, in 1888, the amount equalled £6,870, and again, while in 1871, Rotherhithe made no contribution to School Board expenses, in 1888, this item equalled £7,023. The Parish of Rotherhithe, according to the last Census Report, has an area of 754 acres (exclusive of tidal water) of which 360 acres are devoted to docks, 63 acres occupied by Southwark Park, the remaining land being covered by 5.531 houses, of which 4,660 have a ratable value of not more than £20. The greater part of the district is below high water mark, and is protected from flooding by the river by an efficient sea wall. The houses are for the most part brick structures, and except on the main thoroughfares, of two stories in height, and situated in fairly wide streets. In the neighbourhood of the river the streets are more narrow and irregular, and in this older part are to be found courts occupied by the poorest of the inhabitants. Here, also, are a number of timber-built houses interspersed with those which are constructed with brick. Some of the timber-built houses are protected by brickwork to the first floor, and a proportion of the others are covered with cement, but the majority appear to remain as they were originally built, probably from one to two hundred years ago. The houses, both brick and timber built, are of various descriptions. Many are provided with an entrance passage giving access to the two rooms which are situated on the ground floor, and to a staircase leading to the rooms on the upper floors. The top or attic rooms are usually in the sloping roof, and sometimes of a height not greater than six feet. In such houses the staircase is generally sufficiently lighted and ventilated except on the attic floor. In other houses a similar entrance passage is provided, but the staircase leading to the upper rooms is situated between the front and back rooms, and inasmuch as the only light which it obtains is at times when the doors of these rooms are open, for the greater part of the day the staircase is absolutely dark, and is moreover without ventilation. The need for the lighting and ventilation of these staircases becomes especially urgent when the house is occupied by several families as in Rotherhithe. The largest houses in the district are usually arranged on this plan. The smallest houses consisting of two or three rooms, the one above the other, are often without an entrance passage, the front door opening directly into the room on the ground floor, access to the upper rooms being gained by a staircase situated in the lower room. This staircase is without external ventilation, and the occupation of the ground floor room leads to the supply of a vitiated atmosphere to those above. Such houses have most often no space in their rear belonging to them, the watercloset under these circumstances being situated in the front yard or by the side of the house. Other houses are exceptionally placed back to back, but in no instance did we find either in regard to houses so placed, or without open spaces at the rear, that there was more than one room on each floor, and the objection to the continued occupation of such premises is, therefore, less than where each house possesses two rooms on each floor, the one behind the other. 24 Many of the houses in the district are faulty in that the ground floor is below the level of the adjoining pavement. This difference of level is, it is stated, due to the paving of the street or yard at a date subsequent to the erection of the houses. The difference between the two levels varies in different streets; in some cases it is not more than a lew inches, in others two feet or more. The effect of the level of the floor being below the adjoining paving is to give opportunity for water, from rain or otherwise, to enter from the street or yard, and to lead to dampness and unwholsomeness of such houses. With certain exceptions, the houses of newer Rotherhithe are provided with open space at their rear, and with through ventilation, but in some instances this space is encroached on by wooden erections which darken and impede the ventilation of the back rooms. The watercloset in connection with every house inspected during the inquiry was found to be situated outside the house, and usually in the back yard, Not uncommonly it is a considerable distance from the house, and the drainage instead of passing directly into the sewer beneath the roadway, discharges into a drain common to a group of houses, and situated in their rear, this drain eventually passing beneath a house into the road sewer; thus in each group of houses all but one are practically secure against drain nuisance. Waterclosets in Rotherhithe are almost invariably fitted with pans of the long hopper kind, and with the exception of houses recently erected are generally not supplied with water, the flushing being effected by the use of pails. In respect of waterclosets to which water has been laid on, each has its supply through a cistern, but in numerous instances the fittings are defective, and the discharge pipe itself of insufficient diameter. Closet pans, especially where no provision had been made for flushing, were abundantly found dirty and offensive. In man}' cases these receptacles were worn out, corroded, and sometimes broken, giving rise to definite nuisance; the whole closet structure, moreover, in certain cases was ruinous. The sufficiency of watercloset accommodation in respect of number of persons inhabiting each house was found generally to be sufficient. The waste pipes of sinks and the overflow pipes of cisterns are in almost all cases aerially disconnected from the drains; only in exceptional instances during our inspection did we find drain connection to exist. Rotherhithe is supplied with water by two companies, the Southwark and Vauxhall, and the Kent Water Companies. In the districts of both companies the houses are on constant service. With few exceptions each house has its own supply; in a few instances a tap common to several houses is situated in the court yard in front. The house supply is usually drawn from a tap directly connected with the company's main through a service pipe commonly fixed against the wall of the house. In numerous cases the tap was either faulty or left turned on, so that water escaped and washed out the mortar joints of the brickwork rendering the walls of same damp, and also destroying the setting of the bricks or stones with which the yard is paved. In other cases the water to a house is first received from the company's main directly into a cistern often situated over the watercloset and occasionally supplying it directly with water. The condition of houses in Rotherhithe in regard to state of repair and cleanliness is necessarily not uniform, but in those occupied by poor persons, and these constitute a large proportion of the houses in the older part of the district, there is evidence of marked sanitary neglect. Throughout the whole of the area which came most under our observation, houses were to be abundantly found with defective roofs, admitting rain, with damp and broken plaster on walls, worn out and broken floors, dilapidated window frames, dilapidated staircases and dirty interiors; the external condition of such premises corresponded with that within, broken eaves gutters, broken and defective rain water pipes, defective pointing of walls, permitting damp to freely enter the house, dilapidated waterclosets with foul or broken pans, and an absence of water supply to same. The yards are as a rule either unpaved, or the paving very limited in extent, and usually so imperfect as to constitute a nuisance. Bricks or flag stones are commonly used, which at the time of inspection were found broken into numerous fragments, preventing drainage of the surface, 25 the earth beneath becoming sodden and oozing between the fissures of the stone and leading to dampness beneath the house. The unwholesome condition of these yards which is attributed to the habit of chopping wood upon the pavement, is added to by the custom which generally obtains in Rotherhithe of keeping animals in the rear of houses During our inspection, in the large majority of yards there were found fowls, rabbits, goats ducks geese or pigeons, &c., and often not maintained in any proper condition of cleanliness' Further, the unwholesomeness is increased by the defective condition of surface traps, the absence of dust bins or the broken state of these receptacles, in numerous instances' the dust being piled upon the earth in default of any better place of deposit, while the broken wooden palings which separate yards, and the manner in which yards are often littered with old timber, demonstrate the general neglect to maintain these premises in proper order or repair. In justification of what has been said in this report in condemnation of the conditions of dwelling-houses occupied by the poorer classes, it needs to be emphasised that we have personally visited in various parts of Rotherhithe several hundred houses, and that in the majority of them unwholesome conditions of the sort we have enumerated abounded. It would be invidious under these circumstances to particularise houses exhibiting the defects described, but it will be convenient as illustration of the conditions referred to, to give more in detail the actual facts witnessed as regards certain dwelling-houses, which were not the worst of their class. A few will suffice for this purpose, although illustrations might be easily multiplied indefinitely. 1. A house of two stories.—On the ground floor the woodwork dilapidated. On the upper floor, the back room uninhabitable, plaster of ceiling and walls dilapidated, roof dilapidated, admitting rain, window falling out (other rooms in better condition), bad settlements in brickwork of wall, watercloset in yard dirty, and without water and water supply apparatus. 2. A house of two stories.—One room and a wash-house on ground floor, and one room above to which access is gained by a staircase in the lower room. Woodwork of ground floor dilapidated. Upper room, floor broken and mended with zinc by inmates. Yard paving very defective. Watercloset without water and water supply apparatus, but clean No dust bin, vegetable matter and dust lying over yard, and soaking into ground ; pigeons and ducks kept here. 3. Old timber-built house.— Roof defective, attic flooded when it rains, a pan used to catch the water which enters room, rain also enters rooms on floors below, and a pan used here for same purpose. Throughout the house, with the exception of oue room recently papered, rooms filthily dirty ; staircase dark, wanting in ventilation, dilapidated, and smells offensively. Yard paving defective, offensive channel caused by passage of discharge from sink to gully. Watercloset pan corroded, without water and water supply apparatus. Setting of pan defective. 4. Old timber-built house.—Of four rooms, very dilapidated, lower floor 2 feet 3 inches below level of street, and 5 feet 6 inches below level of churchyard immediately adjoining it. Rooms very low. damp enters through walls and roof. Overcrowding in houses is not known to the Vestry's officers to be of frequent occurrence, and as a fact, only in a few instances at the time of our inspection did we obtain evidence that the average cubic space for each individual fell short of the amount generally required in the metropolis, and specified in the model bye-laws of the Local Government Board as to houses let in lodgings. Houses recently constructed are much less open to criticism than those of older date. In respect of each house there was found no deficiency of the open space at the rear required by parliamentary enactments ; the waste pipes of sinks and the overflow pipes of cisterns are aerially disconnected from drains; waterclosets are provided with water supply, but the pans are of a kind which give no sufficient opportunity for the maintenance of cleanliness, and further, drain and soil pipe ventilation is generally wanting. No evidence as to insufficiency of sewers came under our notice. The Vestry have now under their jurisdiction a length of sewers amounting to 10 miles and 80 yards, while a length of 5 miles and 306 yards is vested in the Metropolitan Board of W orks. Since Lady-day, 1881, the Vestry have expended £8429 in the construction of new, and the maintenance of existing sewers. 26 The condition of paving of roads and public footways with a few exceptions we found to be satisfactory. From the year 865 to 1881 the Vestry payed an area of 216,560 yards at a cost of £65,622, the total length of roads in the 1 and being 17 miles. There are three licensed slaughter-houses in Rotherhithe. Exception might be taken to the proximity of one of these to the dwelling-house. They were in a cleanly condition, and complied with the requirements of the bye-laws of the Metropolitan Board of Works. The cow-sheds, of which there are five, were found to be clean, and to comply with the requirements of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Milk stores were also inspected with a similar result. The bake-houses which were inspected were in certain instances wanting in cleanliness; in other respects there was no infringement of the provisions of the Factory and Workshops' Act. There are five registered common lodging houses in Rotherhithe ; in one, registered for five beds, the cubic space allotted to each bed amounted only to 216 cubic feet, and there were no sufficient arrangements for personal cleanliness as required by Clause 7 of the Regulations of the Metropolitan Police. One un-registered common lodging house was also inspected; the house contained 21 beds in four rooms. No sufficient arrangements were found here for personal cleanliness. During our inspection we visited some excellent public baths and wash-houses, which have been provided by the local authority, and which ore largely used by the inhabitants. This building which has been erected at a cost of £29,000 on a site since presented to the Commissioners of Baths and Wash-houses, in the year ended last March, accommodated nearly 60,000 swimmers, while nearly 40,00 persons have availed themselves of the opportunity for private bathing, and nearly 18,000 have made use of the wash-houses. The average gross receipts are over £2,000 per annum. For the purposes of the sanitary administration of Rotherhithe, the Vestry have appointed a Medical Officer of Health who is also engaged in the private practice of his profession ; one Inspector of Nuisances, and a Superintendent of dust collection, who also assists the Inspector of Nuisances. The Medical Officer of Health further acts as Examining Officer under the Canal Boats Act for the Vestry of Rotherhithe, who are a registration authority; and the inspector is employed in the collection of samples (about a dozen annually) under the sale of Food and Drugs Act. There are, moreover, in the service of the Vestry, a Surveyor of Pavements, a Surveyor of Sewers, and a Clerk of the Works for Sewers. The Sanitary Committee, which is a committee of the whole Vestry, meets whenever necessity arises, and the same members meet as a Vestry twice in each month. The Inspector of Nuisances is not required by the bye-laws of the Vestry to act under the instructions of the Medical Officer of Health, but is instructed to report to him the existence of nuisances needing that officer's attention. The inspector is required by the bye-laws to keep a book in compliance with the provisions of section 133 of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, for the entry of all complaints made by any inhabitant of the Parish. I his complaint book has, however, been very imperfectly kept, and there is evidence that many complaints have not been entered. Further, there is no book kept that shows the results of action taken by the Vestry's officer, whether the proceedings have been successful, or whether abortive. In reply to a question, the inspector stated that he trusted to his memory in such cases. Books containing the notices served in respect of nuisances with counterfoils, have been provided by the Vestry, but in numerous instances no record whatever has been made on the counterfoil, or elsewhere, of the nature of the notice which has been served. In instances in which the counterfoils gave information as to these notices, there was much evidence of want of exactness, and of knowledge of the conditions which in Rotherhithe demand the active interference of the Vestry. Systematic house-to-house inspection has not been made in Rotherhithe, even in localities occupied by the poorest of the inhabitants. The Inspector stated, however, 27 that he had not confined his attention to those houses to which his attention had been directed by complainants, but that he had often on the occasion of visiting house thus brought under his attention, inspected the neighbouring, premises, and the Sanitarv Committee had, moreover, from time to time visited various localities. The proceedings of the Vestry in reference to the faulty conditions found to exist in Rotherhithe houses, have been practically limited to those which can be taken under the powers conferred by the Nuisance Removal Acts and the Sanitary Acts. The Vestry, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by the 35th section of the Sanitary Act, 1866, made regulations for houses let in lodgings. These regulations were confirmed in the year 1867, a year after the Act was passed, but although some half-dozen houses were registered, no further action was taken, and the regulations fell into abeyance. The regulations which can be made under this section may relate to the registration of houses let in lodgings, or occupied by more than one family ; to the fixing the number of persons who may occupy a house so let, to the inspection of such houses, and the keeping the same in a cleanly and wholesome state ; to enforcing therein the provisions of privy accommodation and other appliances and means of cleanliness in proportion to the number of lodgers and occupiers, and the cleansing and ventilation of the common passages and staircase; to the cleansing and limewhiting at stated times of such premises. Under the Diseases Prevention Act of 1874, the regulations may extend to ventilation of rooms, paving and drainage of premises, the separation of the sexes, and to notices and precautions to be taken in case of any dangerously infectious or contagious disease. The regulations made by the Vestry of Rotherhithe embrace all these subjects, and would, if enforced, enable the authority to maintain the numerous houses thus occupied in condition very different from that which characterises them at the present time. One advantage which would attach to the application of regulations is the facility with which the Vestry would be able to enforce their requirements, inasmuch as they would be enabled to proceed at once for penalties for infringement of regulations, instead of being compelled to adopt the more tedious process of serving notices under the Nuisance Removal Acts. Until recently the Vestry have only required a water supply for waterclosets in newly built houses. The desirability of such supply in all houses is still not acknowledged by them, and further, it has been claimed in this behalf that the local authority possess discretion as to the requirements of water supply to waterclosets. In regard to this contention, it may be said that the desirability of water supply to waterclosets in newly built houses is not greater than in houses of older date. Concerning the statutory duty of the local authority, the 81st section of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, specifies that if at any time, it appear to the Vestry or District Board that if any house in their district, whether built before or after the commencement of the Act, is without a sufficient watercloset or privy, or ash-pit, furnished with proper doors and coverings and with other apparatus and works as aforesaid (i.e., furnished as regards the watercloset with suitable water supply and water supply apparatus) the Vestry or District Board shall, in case the same can be provided without disturbing any building, give notice in writing to the owner or occupier of such house requiring him forthwith or within such reasonable time as shall be specified in such notice, to provide a sufficient watercloset or privy and ash-pit, so furnished as aforesaid. We would submit that the discretion of the Vestry is limited in its exercise to determining the question whether there is or is not "a sufficient watercloset with water "supply and water supply apparatus for such house," and not whether a watercloset can be held to be sufficient which is without water supply and water supply apparatus. On the question of desirability of water being laid on to all waterclosets in Rotherhithe, we entertain no doubt. No reliance can be placed on the willingness of the inhabitants to carry water in pails from the house to the watercloset, and in Rotherhithe, where the distance the water would have to be carried is often considerable, an expectation that 28 generally they should do so is certain to be disappointed. Indeed, the condition of these places in that district emphasises the necessity for the interference of the Vestry. No doubt in many instances closets so supplied with water were found to be dirty and offensive, but not infrequently the pan had corroded by use antecedent to the date of this provision, and again, much of the apparatus is of a fragile character, readily becoming out of order. In regard to the latter point the Vestry can only proceed in respect of each watercloset when thus defective, but the diameter of the discharge pipe of the water supply apparatus, important in its relation to the usefulness of the apparatus, can be controlled by the Water Companies under regulations approved by the Board of Trade. The Sanitary Authorities are empowered equally with the Water Companies to enforce such regulations, the absence of the prescribed fittings constituting a nuisance within the meaning of the Nuisance Removal Acts. There are, however, in Rotherhithe many houses requiring structural improvement for which the legal powers hitherto mentioned are inadequate. For these, the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Act, 1868, provides a remedy when the premises are injurious to health so as to be unfit for human habitation. Whether such condition arises, as in Rotherhithe, from dilapidations, from dampness due to the ground floor being below the level of the street pavement, or other cause, or from deficient ventilation of staircase or dwelling rooms, section 6 of this Act appears to be applicable. This section provides that "Every report made under this Act by the "Officer of Health shall be made in writing and delivered to the Clerk of the local authority, "and the local authority shall refer such report to a surveyor or engineer, who shall "thereupon consider the report so furnished to him and report to the local authority "what is the cause of the evil so reported on and the remedy thereof, and if such evil is "occasioned by defects in any premises, whether the same can be remedied by structural "alterations and improvements or otherwise, or whether such premises, or any, and what "part thereof ought to be demolished." The Vestry are required under this Act to make an order for the improvement or demolition of the premises reported on by the Health Officer. Hitherto the powers conferred by this Act have not been exercised in Rotherhithe. Further, under the Metropolis Management and Building Act (Amendment Act), 1882, the Metropolitan Board of Works (London County Council) possess the opportunity of controlling the condition of dilapidated houses. Section 17 of this Act provides:— "Where a building or structure is ruinous, or so far dilapidated as thereby to have "become and to be unfit for use or occupation, or is from neglect or otherwise in a "structural condition prejudicial to the property in or the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, "the Board (Metropolitan Board of Works) may make complaint thereof to a Justice of the "Peace, who shall thereupon issue a summons requiring the owner and occupier of such "building or structure, hereinafter referred to as a ' neglected structure,' to appear at a "time and place to be stated in the summons, to answer such complaint, and if at the "time and place appointed in such summons the said complaint is proved to the satisfaction "of the Justice before whom the same is heard, such Justice may, if he sees good cause, "order the owner, or on his default the occupier, to take down or repair or rebuild the "neglected structure or any part thereof, or to fence in the ground upon which the same "stands or any part thereof, or otherwise to put the same or any part thereof into a state "of repair and good condition, to the satisfaction of the Board, within a reasonable time "to be fixed by the order, and may also make an order for the cost incurred up to the "time of hearing." "If the Order is not obeyed the Board may with all convenient speed enter upon the "neglected structure or such ground, as aforesaid, and execute the order." The exercise of the powers conferred by the Nuisance Removal Act, would enable the Vestry to enforce the much needed improvement of the paving of yards at the rear of houses, and the 100th section of the Metropolis Local Management Act of 1855 gives 29 opportunity for the maintenance in proper condition of the paving and drainage of courts, passages, or public places, not being thoroughfares. The Metropolitan Board of Works are the local authority under the Building Act, and upon this Board devolves the duty of controlling the mode of erection of new houses and of the provision of open space in their rear. The Board have been empowered since 1855 by the 202nd section of the Metropolis Local Management Act of that year, to make byelaws for regulating the dimensions, form, and mode of construction, and the keeping cleansing, and repairing of the pipes, drains, and other means of communicating with sewers, and the traps and apparatus connected therewith. These byelaws have, however not been made. The Vestry have under section 75 of this Act, power to require in respect of any newly built house, or any house rebuilt which has been pulled down to or below the ground floor, that the drain and branches thereto and other connected works and water supply be constructed and provided to the satisfaction of the surveyor to the Vestry. The Vestry in pursuance of the provisions of this section, require that a plan of the drainage of every house, newly erected or rebuilt, shall be submitted to their surveyor, and that the waste pipe of every sink shall be aerially disconnected from the drain. There is, however, no control over the kind of apparatus used, nor is the ventilation of drains or soil pipes insisted on, but the laying of all new drains is executed under the superintendence of the Vestry's Clerk of the Works. Cow-sheds and slaughter houses are annually licensed by the justices, and the Vestry, whose officers inspect these premises, are able at the Sessions held for this purpose, to bring to the notice of the licensing authority any complaint as to the unfitness of the premises for such use, or default in administration. Cow-sheds and slaughter houses and the method of conduct of the trade of cowkeeper or slaughter-man are also subject to regulation by the Metropolitan Board of Works, whose officers also inspect for the enforcement of the regulations. The inspection of bakehouses is performed by the Medical Officer of Health under powers conferred by the Factory and Workshops Act. For the removal of dust, the Parish is divided into two districts. To one of these as many as 1,000 galvanized iron pails have been supplied by the Vestry during the year 1888, and it is incumbent on the contractor to call at every house in this district twice in each week for the removal of the dust. In regard to other houses where the old system of wooden dust bins still obtains, the contractor is required to collect dust from the houses in each street once in each fortnight. He does not, however, call at every house but makes his presence known by the usual cry. The collection of dust in the latter district was stated by the Inspector of Nuisances to be unsatisfactory, but in all cases of failure of removal the inspector is authorised to procure the use of extra carts at the cost of the contractor. The use of pails in Rotherhithe has been so far satisfactory that it is proposed to extend this system throughout the whole Parish. The alteration in the arrangements for deposit and collection of dust is cited as explaining in some degree the dilapidated condition in which many wooden dust bins have been found, the Vestry being represented as hesitating to enforce repairs at a time when there was no expectation of continued need for this apparatus. We found during our inspection that in respect of many houses supplied with pails, the old and dilapidated dust bins had been permitted to remain, and to be a source of nuisance, owing to their continued use by the inmates. Cases of infectious disease are removed in the ambulances of the Metropolitan Asylums Board to the hospitals belonging to that Board, the Vestry's Sanitary Inspector, aided by an assistant, disinfecting rooms thus vacated by burning sulpher in them. The walls of these houses are subsequently stripped and washed with a chemical. Disinfection of articles of clothing, bedding, &c., are undertaken by the Vestry at their cost, and are sent by the authority to a contractor for this purpose, but when infected by cases of typhus are burnt. 30 A public mortuary situated in the disused burial ground of the Parish Church of St. Mary, has been erected by the Vestry for the use of the Parish. It contains no separate accommodation for bodies of persons dead of infectious disease. From what has been said it will be seen that during recent years the population and houses cf Rotherhithe have greatly increased, that the district is now, as heretofore, burdened with large numbers of persons largely dependent upon the action of the Sanitary Authority for the maintenance of their dwellings in condition fit for habitation, and that the administration has not kept pace with the increased demand made upon it by the development of the Parish. It is in fact no exaggeration to say that the results of lax administration abound in Rotherhithe, and especially in houses occupied by poor persons. The duties of the staff employed by the Vestry for the remedy of conditions which have been described, need careful organisation to render their operation as effective as possible. At the present time, however, there is a complete absence of any system which would ensure that unhealthy conditions, becoming known to the Vestry, are remedied. In the first place, therefore, we would recommend that the work of the officers of the sanitary department should be placed under the direction of the Medical Officer of Health, and that a book should be kept in which should be recorded with the date, each proceeding taken by the authority, whether the issue of notice or summons, and the result. Secondly, a broader view should be taken of the conditions which the Vestry as a sanitary authority should control. As far as could be judged from such records as were available, the notices hitherto issued, have not sufficiently particularised many conditions which are prejudicial to health, and which come within the scope of the Metropolis Local Management, the Nuisance Removal, and the Sanitary Acts. Further, no advantage has been taken of the powers possessed by the Vestry under the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Act, 1866, for enforcing structural alterations or repairs of houses in accordance with the terms of specifications, such as should have been prepared by their surveyor; or for requiring the demolition of houses brought to their notice as not capable of being made fit for human habitation. The contention of the Vestry, that in Rotherhithe many houses, to which this Act is applicable, are owned by persons of limited means, unable to bear the expense of such improvements, cannot be entertained as affording reason for the Vestry to hesitate to exercise powers necessary in the health interests of the inhabitants. In considering the measures which must be adopted for the improvement of many houses in Rotherhithe, we are convinced that procedure under this Act is an absolute necessity. In regard to houses dilapidated, so as to render them unfit for use or habitation and concerning which the Officer of Health is unable to certify that they are "in a condition or state dangerous to health," the Vestry should at once draw the attention of the Metropolitan Board of Works, or their successors, the London County Council, to their circumstances. For other houses, the provisions of the Metropolis Local Management Acts, Nuisance Removal Acts, and Sanitary Acts will suffice, and we would desire especially to urge the registration of houses let in lodgings, and the enforcement of regulations for maintaining them in wholesome condition. The statutory duty devolves upon the Vestry under the Nuisance Removal Act, to make from time to time, either by itself or its officers, inspection of the district with a view to ascertaining what nuisances exist calling for abatement, and for the maintenance of the district in proper sanitary condition, systematic and periodic house-to-house inspection by the officers of the Vestry, is urgently needed. In considering the staff which the Vestry require for this purpose, it is necessary to bear in mind the character and condition of the houses in Rotherhithe, the nature of the population, and the length of roads to be traversed (17 miles). In this connection, we may refer to one fact already stated, that 4,660 houses of the total 5,531 houses in the Parish, have a ratable value not exceeding £10 a year; and 31 further, to the opinion of the Medical Officer of Health, which is in accord with our own that if a system of periodic house-to-house inspection were carried on in the Parish fully one-third of the houses would require to be thus dealt with. When further consuderation is had for the necessity that many of these houses should be inspected more than once in each year, and that each house found faulty, would necessitate subsequent visits on the part of the inspector, upon whom would devolve also other duties, we are satisfied the employment of one inspector, with an assistant, as at present, is quite inadequate for the requirements of the district. We may, therefore, briefly summarise the immediate sanitary requirements of Rotherhithe, as follows:— 1. The re-organisation of the sanitary department so that the work of the officers is more largely superintended or controlled by the Medical Officer of Health. 2. The institution of a system of house-to-house inspection in the district, especially in those parts occupied by the poorer people. This, in our opinion, would necessitate the employment of three inspectors until the condition of the Parish is materially improved. 3. The better keeping of the complaint book and of the record of the various steps taken by the Vestry or its officers, with the result. 4. The enforcement of regulations made under the Sanitary Act of 1866, and the Diseases Prevention Act of 1874, as to houses let in lodgings. 5. The exercise by the Vestry and Metropolitan Board of Works (London County Council) respectively, of the powers conferred by the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Act, 1868-82, and the Metropolis Local Management Act, and Building Acts (Amendment) Act, for the removal of structural conditions rendering houses unfit for occupation. 6. The more complete exercise of the powers under the Nuisance Removal Acts, and the Metropolitan Local Management Acts, for keeping houses in a clean and wholesome state, for providing water supply to waterclosets, and for the better paving of yards. 7. The making of bye-laws by the Metropolitan Board of Works (London County Council) as to house drains and fittings under section 202 of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855. In the course of our inspection we have received every assistance from Mr. J. Bulmer and Mr. Astley Cooper, and our thanks are due to the Vestry for the use of the Board Room, and also to their officers, who supplied us with all the information required. We have, &c., (Signed) D. CUBITT NICHOLS, SHIRLEY F. MURPHY. To the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Home Office, Whitehall. 32 APPENDIX. Houses in defective structural condition will be found in the following streets:— Adams Gardens Adam Street Anstey Street Bakers Place Castle Buildings Charlotte Row Church Street Clarence Place Clarence Street Clarke's Orchard Corbett's Lane Cow Court Cow Lane Debenham Road Derrick Street Donne Place Elephant Lane Essex Place Faustin Place Frederick Place Gilliam's Court Globe Street Gooch Place Hatterick Street Lavender Lane Love Lane Mary Street Neptune Court Nolan Place Oak Place Osprey Street Paradise Street Prince's Place Purnell Place Queen Street Risden Street Roney Street Ross Cottages Rotherhithe Street St. Helena Road St. Mary's Place St. Paul's Lane Sedgers Buildings Silver Street Southwark Park Roa< Staples Rents Stephens Place Stroud Cottages Swan Lane Thames Street Houses having defective yard paving will be found in the following streets:— Adams Gardens Adam Street Anstey Street Charlotte Place Charlotte Row Clarence Place Clarke's Orchard Corbett's Lane Cow Lane Debenham Road Derrick Street Donne Place Elephant Lane Elizabeth Place Essex Street Faustin Place Forsythe Street Gilliam's Court Gooch Place Hatterick Street Irwell Place Kenning Street King Street Lavender Lane Love Lane Mary Street Neptune Court Oak Place Paradise Street Prince's Street Pump Court Purnell Place Queen Street Randell's Rents Renforth Street Risden Street Roney Street Ross Cottages Rotherhithe Street St. Mary's Place St. Paul's Lane Seven Step Alley Seth Street Silver Street Southwark Park Road Staples Rents Stephen's Place Swan Lane Thames Street Houses with staircases wanting light and ventilation will be found in the following streets:— Donne Place Globe Street Love Lane Queen Street Rotherhithe Street Silver Street West Lane Wormald Place Houses back to back or wanting in through ventilation will be found in the following streets:— Adams Gardens Bakers Place Church Street Dodd's Place Fisher's Court Globe Street Pump Court Ross Cottages Houses of which the ground floor is lower than the street or yard pavement will be found in the following streets:— v^nurcn street Clarke's Orchard Cow Lane Donne Place Elgar .Street Essex Place Faustin Place Frederick Place Gilliam's Court Globe Street Hatterick Street Moreton Terrace Mary Street Neptune Court Neptune Place Neston Street Prince's Place Prince's Street Pump Court Randell's Rents Risden Street Rotherhithe Street Seth Street Southwark Park Road Somerset Place Staples Rents Thames Street Three Sisters' Cottage Wormald Place. 33 The report of the Commissioners were laid before the Vestry on the 16th April 1889, and referred to a Committee of the whole Board for consideration and report! The report of the Committee was laid before the Vestry on the 4th June 1889, and resolutions passed thereon as follows, viz.:— "Resolved, with reference to clause No. 1 of the conclusions of Mr. Nichols "and Mr. Murphy as set out in their report, that the Vestry do not increase its "sanitary staff at present." "Resolved, that the Medical Officer of Health have control over the Sanitary "Inspector, and the man appointed to assist in the collection of the dust, and that " clause No. 2 of the list of duties of the Inspector be amended accordingly." "Resolved, with reference to clause No. 2. of the summary of the report of "the Commissioners, that the Sanitary Committee be divided into three sub"committees to visit the insanitary parts of this Parish, and that the Medical Officer "of Health and the Sanitary Inspector accompany such sub-committee with the "view of having the necessary sanitary works carried out,'' At a Meeting of the Vestry held on the 7th May, 1889, it was moved by Mr. Churchwarden Smith, seconded by Mr. Mabbs, and unanimously "Resolved, that the best thanks of this Vestry be given to Mr. John Bulmer "and Dr. William Astley Cooper for the services rendered by them to the Vestry "on the occasion of the inquiry recently held by Mr. Cubitt Nichols and Mr. "Shirley Murphy into the sanitary condition of this Parish. ' Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875. The following is a copy of Dr. Tohn Muter's (the Analvst) Report:— Report of the Public Analyst appointed for the Parish of Rotherhithe, Surrey, upon the Articles analysed by him under the above Act, during the Quarter ending 30th September, 1888. Articles submitted for Analysis. By whom submitted. Result of Analysis. The sum paid in respect of the Analysis. Observations. Ale Inspector of Rotherhithe Vestry. Genuine 10/- It is to be noted that however much the Public Analyst may suspect the addition of water to beer, he has no power to prove it There is no legal standard for the strength of beer, and the only persons who can satisfactorily make even an attempt to deal with the matter are the Officers of the Excise, who have the power to enter the cellars and seize samples from broken and unbroken casks of the same delivery. Brewers will also assist the Excise by proving the strength of the beer as they delivered it but, so far as I know, they decline to thus assist the Parish Officers in this way, and even if they did, the vendor could not be made to criminate himself by showing where he purchased the article sold. Ale ditto suspected as reduced by water to some extent 10/- Milk ditto Genuine 10/- Milk ditto ditto 10/- Milk ditto ditto 10/- Milk ditto ditto 10/- Milk ditto ditto 10/- Milk ditto 13 % of added water & 1/3 of cream extracted. 10 /- Total number of samples analysed during the quarter, eight Dated 3rd October, 1888. (Signed,) JOHN MUtER, I .R.S.L., Public Analyst. 34 Canal Boats Acts, 1877, and 1884. Copy of the Annual Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe (the Registration Authority in regard to the Grand Surrey Canal) to the Local Government Board, as to the execution of the Canal Boats Acts, 1877 and 1884, within their district for the year ended 31st December, 1888. Number of Boats on Register 17. Number of Boats registered during the year Nil. Number of Boats Inspected 9. No infringements of the Acts and regulations with respect (a) Registration; (b) Notification of change of Master; (c) Absence of Certificates; (d) Marking; (e) Overcrowding; ( f ) Separation of the Sexes; (g) Cleanliness; (h) Removal of Bilge Water; (i) Notification of Infectious Disease; (j) Refusal of admittance to Inspector. No legal proceedings have been taken. No cases of Infectious Disease have been dealt with. No detention of Boats for cleansing and disinfection. Dr. Josephus Shaw is the Inspector, at the same remuneration as hitherto. The Inspector reports results of his inspections as follows:— Yearly Report Jor 18&8 of the Inspector of Canal Boats—Surrey Canal. January 24th, 1888.—Barge "Kenley. Master, Albert Kirby; Stone and Ballast to work. One person; one-cabin; no berth. "Queen of the East. Master gone ashore. Captain and Mate; no family. Not one "narrow" boat along the route. April 24th, 1388.—"Sydney," narrow boat. Master, John Rogers, No. 435; registered at Wolverhampton by Fellowes, Morton & Co. Crew: master, wife and one child (not sent to school); cabin clean and tidy. "Ladywood," narrow boat. Master, Joseph Ball, No. 608; registered at Birmingham by John Griffiths. Crew: master, wife and boy. Clean. "William," narrow boat. Master, Thomas Turner, No. 231; registered at Wolverhampton to Fellowes, Morton & Co. Crew: master, wife, boy and girl. Cabin clean and tidy. "Elizabeth," narrow boat. Master, William Bradshaw, No. 143; registered at Wolverhampton to Fellowes, Morton & Co. Crew: master, wife, and mate aged 13 years, who can neither read nor write. Cabin neatly kept. 35 July 24th, 1888.—"Taine," narrow boat. Master, Benjamin Smith No 32; registered at Birmingham to William Clayton. Crew! master, wife and three children—boy aged 11 years girl 6 years, boy 2 years. No illness; never been ill since they were born. Cabin neat and tidy and clean. "Edith," sailing barge. Master, William Bannister, London; No. 1859. Two hands, master and man. Certificate shown; master inclined to be obstinate. "Mabel," narrow boat. Master, Thomas Poley; registered at Brierley Hill to Harris Brothers, No. 142. Crew: Poley, his wife, and two young women. This boat was in the lock, and before I could get on board it had moved out. October 24th, 1888.— No boats on the Canal during the time of my journey, 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. (Signed) J. SHAW, January 26th, 1889. Dated this 12th day of February, 1889. (Signed) JAMES J. STOKES, Clerk to the Vestry. Financial. The loan of £9,462 borrowed in 1868 of Mr. Robert Lawrence (afterwards transferred to the London Life Association), for paving the carriageway in Union Road and part of Deptford Lower Road, was paid off in June, 1888. £8,000 has been paid off the loan of £10,000 borrowed in the year 1872 of the Eagle Insurance Company, for paving the carriageway in Deptford Lower Road, from the Surrey Commercial Dock entrance to the "Red Lion public-house, leaving £2,000 to be repaid by equal annual instalments within a period of four years, with interest at £5 per cent. per annum. £4,355 has been paid off the loan of £6,730 borrowed in the year 1875 of the Atlas Assurance Company, for paving the carriageways of Plough Road and Rotherhithe Street, from Lavender Bridge eastwards, leaving £2,345 to be repaid by seven annual instalments, with interest at £4 5s. per cent. per annum. £1,320 has been paid off the further loan of £2,200 borrowed in the year 1876 of the Atlas Assurance Company, for paving the carriageway at Broadway, Paradise Street, also the carriageway, Church Street, from Paradise Street to Elephant Lane, leaving £880 to be repaid by eight annual instalments of £110, with interest at the rate of £4 5s. per cent. per annum. 36 £378 has been paid off the loan of £2,100 borrowed in August, 1880, of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, towards repaying the expenses of the purchase of the ground for the improvement of Rotherhithe Street at the Gas Works and at Carolina Wharf, leaving £1,722 to be repaid by 41 consecutive annual instalments of £42, each with interest at the rate of £3 15s. per cent. per annum. £700 has been paid off the loan of £2,000 borrowed in November, 1881, of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, towards defraying the expense of paving the carriageway and footways in Rotherhithe Street at the Gas Works and Carolina Wharf, leaving £1,300 to be paid off by 13 consecutive annual instalments of £100 each on the 31st day of October in each year, with interest at the rate of £3 15s. per cent. per annum. £450 has been paid off the loan of £1,800 borrowed in November, 1883, of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, towards defraying the expenses of paving Commercial Dock Road, from the Engineer's office, Surrey Commercial Docks, to the east corner of Elgar Street, leaving £1,350 to be repaid by 15 consecutive annual instalments of £90 each on the 1st day of October in each year, with interest at the rate of £3 10s. per cent. per annum. £27 has been paid off the loan of £250 borrowed in July, 1885, of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, towards defraying a portion of the expense of the purchase of a house, No 69, Abbeyfreld Road, for the formation, on the site thereof, of a passageway from the said Abbeyfreld Road to the wicket-gate entrance to Southwark Park, in Dilston Grove, leaving £223 to be repaid by 27 consecutive annual instalments on the 1st day of April in each year, with interest at the rate of £3 10s. per cent. per annum. £400 has been paid off the loan of £4,000 borrowed in October, 1886, of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, towards defraying the expense of paving the carriageway, Rotherhithe New Road, from Bush Road, westward, to the viaduct of the South Eastern Railway, also the carriageway of Raymouth Road, leaving £3,600 to be repaid by 18 consecutive annual instalments of £200 each on the 31st July in each year, and interest at the rate of £3 10s. per cent, per annum by equal quarterly payments on 31st January, 30th April, 31st July, and 31st October in each year. Charitv Estates. The accounts of Messrs. Edmund Rumney Smith and Francis Thomas Talbot, Churchwardens of the Parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe, for the year 1888-9, have been audited, and the following is a copy of the Charities' Account: 37 Statement of Churchwardens' Accounts for the Year 1888-1889. Receipts and Expenditure, Stratford & Plaistow (1645-1659), Hill & Bell. (1613), and Smith's Charities (1642). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To Balance from late Churchwardens 1 15 0 By Bread Accounts 148 1 7 ,, Ground Rents re Plaistow Estate 234 0 8 ,, Vestry (repayment) 74 5 0 „ ,, re Stratford Estate 71 10 2 ,, Printing, &c. 0 18 0 „ Smith's Charity 40 0 0 ,, Balance handed to new Churchwardens 127 1 3 ,, Hill and Bell's Charity 3 0 0 £350 5 10 £350 5 10 To Balance handed to new Churchwardens £127 1 3 Details of this Account can be seen at the Parochial Offices, and the names of the 108 recipients of these Charities at the Parish Church. Receipts and Expenditure, Bennet's Charity (1620). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To amount from Poor Rate 9 0 0 By Churchwardens and Overseers, 180 Tickets at 1/- 9 0 0 The Books of Tickets, giving the names of recipients, can be seen at the Parochial Offices. Receipts and Expenditure, Embleton and Horncastle's Charities (1811). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To Dividends per the Rector 4 2 0 By 41 poor persons' Gifts at 2/- each 4 2 0 The names of recipients, and details of Account, can be seen at the Parochial Offices. 38 Receipts and Expenditure of Coat and Cloak Charity (1839). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To Dividends per the Rector 4 17 8 By Balance due to Treasurer 1 0 3 ,, Balance due to Treasurer 1 10 7 ,, Jackson & Co.—Six Coats and Cloaks at 18/- 5 8 0 £6 8 3 £6 8 3 By Balance due to Treasurer £1 10 7 The names of the recipients can be had at the Parochial Offices. Receipts and Expenditure of Kid's Charity 1851). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To Balance 4 18 4 By School Fees—Two Boys, St. ,, Bonus on Conversion of Stock 1 7 2 Olave's Schools 10 10 0 „ Dividends 19 17 4 ,, Balance 15 12 10 £26 2 10 . £26 2 10 To Balance £15 12 10 The names of the recipients of this Charity can be seen at the Parochial Offices. Receipts and Expenditure of Sprunt's Charity 1877). Dr. £ s. d. Cr. £ s. d. To Dividends per Mr. R. Foottit... 7 3 6 By Six Widows, Gifts at £1 each 6 0 0 „ Balance 1 3 6 £7 3 6 £7 3 6 To Balance £1 3 6 The names of recipients can be seen at the Parochial Offices. Audited and found correct, WILLIAM JOSHUA CARR, THOMAS COOPER WILLIAMSON, Auditors E. RUMNEY SMITH, FRANCIS T. TALBOT, churchwadens.. January 29th, 1890. The Vestry having had under consideration the "National Debt (Conversion) Act, 1888," and the effect of its provisions with reference to the Charities of this Parish where the funds thereof are invested in Consols, on the 6th April, 1888, they passed a resolution as follows, viz. :— "Resolved, that this Vestry assent to the exchange of such of the Charity "Trust Funds as are under their immediate control for an equal nominal amount of 39 "the new stock to be created in pursuance of the 'National Debt (Conversion) "'Act, 1888,' and that the Trustees, in whose names the several sums of Consols "belonging to the several Charities are standing, be requested to sign the forms of "assent provided for that purpose by the Bank of Eng and; also that this Vestry "recommend the Feoffees and Trustees of the Amicable School to assent to the "conversion of the several sums of stock belonging to that School " The Vestry having, on the 3rd July, 1888, received a report from the Plaistow Charity Estate Committee, dated 27th June, 1888, to the effect that they had inspected the houses built, and in course of erection, upon the Plaistow Charity Estate, and found as follows, viz.:—26 houses completed, 4 houses in carcase 2 foundations in ; in total 32 houses finished and in progress ; and pointing out that, by the building Agreement, Mr. Stotesbury should have erected and completed fit for habitation by the end of January, 1888, 42 houses, whereas up to that time only 26 had been completed and six were in progress, it was "Resolved that the Clerk be instructed to write Mr. Stotesbury, calling his "urgent attention to the Agreement, and request him to carry out the terms of the "same by erecting and completing the specified number of houses upon the Estate "without delay." On the 18th September, 1888, the Vestry, finding that a new building was being erected at Church Stairs Wharf, belonging to the ancient Free Charity and Amicable School, and that the new wall at the west end of the premises had been erected 2 feet 7½ inches eastward of the boundary of the Charity property, it was "Resolved, that the attention of the Trustees of the Wharf be called thereto.'/ Baths and Wash-houses. At a Meeting of the Vestry held on the 6th November, 1888, Messrs. Ralph Westall Walker and Thomas William Clarke were re-elected Commissioners for Public Baths and Wash-houses to carry out the provisions of the Baths and Wash-houses Acts in this parish, in conjunction with Messrs. John Bulmer, Edward James Talbot, Lawrence Stevens, Francis John Bisley, and Samuel Brownfield. At the same Meeting of the Vestry, Messrs. Henry Lovell Bartlett and George Mabbs were re-elected Auditors of the Accounts of the Commissioners for Public Baths and Wash-houses for the ensuing year. The following is a copy of the Balance Sheet for the year ending 25th March, 1880:— LOANS ACCOUNT. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Cash received from Overseers 1600 0 0 By Instalments off Loans 970 13 4 Transferred from Working Account (Profit) 168 1 6 ,, Interest on Loans 797 8 2 1768 1 6 £1768 1 6 £1768 1 6 4o WORKING ACCOUNT. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ S. d. £ s. d. Receipts to Lady-Day, 1889— By Balance on 25th March, 1888 31 5 3 Baths 1133 15 8 ,, Wages 795 4 0 Wash-houses 595 0 7 ,, Clerk's Salary 40 0 0 Sale of Soap, Soda, &c. 35 5 4 „ Water 154 3 5 „ Coal and Coke 333 17 6 Hire of Concert Bath, &c. 2 10 0 ,, Gas 20 10 0 ,, Soap and Soda... 24 19 1 Rent of Offices 110 0 0 ,, Insurance 25 0 0 1876 11 7 ,, Rates and Taxes 34 9 2 ,, Printing and Stationery 9 16 0 „ Boiler Fluid 20 0 0 ,, Oilman's Goods 27 2 0 ,, Removing Ashes 7 6 3 ,, Carpenter's Work and Wood 2 0 4 ,, Leather Bands, Hose, &c. 6 14 0 ,, Ironmongery 16 6 2 ,, Cement, Fire Bricks, &c. 2 19 2 ,, Cleaning Boilers, Flues, &c. 11 2 0 „ Repairs to Engine, Furnaces, &.C. 19 1 2 ,, Repairs 59 14 5 „ Jubilee Tablet 30 10 0 ,, Repairs to Chandeliers 3 2 6 Sundry Small Account 22 6 4 Clerk's Disbursements 0 17 7 Superintendent's petty Expenses... 6 15 6 29 19 5 1705 1 10 Balance 171 9 9 £1876 11 7 £1876 11 7 Balance brought down £171 9 9 Transferred to Loan Account £168 1 6 Balance at Bank 3 8 3 £171 9 9 Audited and found correct, 17th April, 1889. H. L. BARTLETT, GEORGE MABBS, Auditors. Note.— In the year 1884-5 the Commissioners transferred to the Loans Account out of profits the sum of £500, in 1886-7 the sum of £463 14s. 11d., and in 1887-8 £50445. 1d., and they have during the past year transferred the further sum of £168 is. 6d, to the same account, making together £1636 0s. 6d., 41 which has been applied towards repayment of the moneys borrowed from the Metropolitan Board of Works and the interest thereon and in aid of the Poor Rate. £ s. d Total amount of Loans borrowed from Metropolitan Board of Works 29000 0 0 Amount paid off 8424 0 0 £20576 0 0 Public Libraries (England) Acts, 1855 to 1887. At a meeting of the Vestry held on the 19th March, 1889, the Vestry proceeded to determine by ballot the three Commissioners under the "Public Libraries Acts," who were to retire this year, and a ballot of the Vestrymen present at the meeting having been taken accordingly, it was declared that Mr. Robert Leishman Stuart, the Rev. Edward Josselyn Beck, Rector, and Mr. John Bulmer were the three Commissioners who were so to retire. At the same meeting the Vestry re-elected the following gentlemen as Commissioners for carrying into execution in the Parish of Rotherhithe the Public Libraries (England) Acts, 1855 to 1887, viz. : the Rev. Edward Josselyn Beck, Mr. John Bulmer, and Mr. Robert Leishman Stuart to act in conjunction with Messrs. Edmund Rumney Smith, John Reeson, Henry Lovel Bartlett, Henry Hayward, Lawrence Stevens, and George Mabbs On the 19th March, 1889, the Vestry having received an application from the Commissioners of Public Libraries and Museums for the Parish of Rotherhithe for the sanction of the Vestry to borrow the sum of £3,000 for the purchase of a site and the erection of the library buildings thereon, Mr. Bulmer stated the Commissioners had arranged for the purchase of a site at Riches Place, Lower Road, for the erection of the Library Buildings ; and he moved "That this Vestry hereby sanction the Commissioners for Public Libraries and " Museums for this Parish borrowing at interest the sum of £3,000 on the security " of a mortgage of the rates to be raised in this Parish under the provisions of the " Public Libraries (England) Acts, 1855 to 1887, such sum of £3,000 to be applied " and expended by the Commissioners in the construction of a Free Public Library " in this Parish, or otherwise for the purposes of the before mentioned Acts," which was seconded by Mr. Beasley, and unanimously Resolved. Thames Communications. On 4th july, 1888, the Vestry received a communication from the Clerk to the Metropolitan Board of Works referring to the memorial presented to the Board in June, 1887, by the Vestry of Rotherhithe, and several other Vestries and District Boards, asking the Board to obtain powers for the construction of a lowlevel bridge across the Thames between Rotherhithe and Shad well, and stating he 42 was directed to inform the Vestry that under present circumstances, and having regard to the large outlay which will have to be made for the construction of the Tunnel under the Thames between Blackwall and Greenwich, the Board did not see its way to make an application to Parliament next Session for powers to provide means of transit between Rotherhithe and Shadwell. Miscellaneous. At a meeting of the Vestry held on the 17th April, 1888, it was "Resolved, that a Deputation consisting of the whole of the Vestry wait "upon the Directors of the South Eastern Railway Company, to urge them to make "speedy provision for the accommodation of the public, by the erection and "opening of a new station between Spa Road and Deptford on the Greenwich "line," also "Resolved, that the members of Parliament for Rotherhithe and Bermondsey "Divisions of Southwark, also the members of Parliament for Deptford and "Camberwell, together with the principal Ratepayers of Rotherhithe, be invited to "join the Deputation in support of the object in view." On the 3rd of May, 1888, the Deputation attended by appointment, and met the Directors of the South Eastern Railway Company at the Cannon Street Hotel, and urged upon them the necessity for the provision of the requisite station accommodation upon their line between Deptford and Spa Road as desired, in which the Deputation were supported by J. R. Kelly, Esq., M.P., for Camberwell, Charles Darling, Esq, M.P. for Deptford, John Tolhurst, Esq., member of the Metropolitan Board of Works, and others. The Deputation were informed, the matter should have the consideration of the Directors, and it was arranged that a Committee of this Vestry and of the Ratepayers should meet a Committee of the Directors and confer with them, as to the acquisition of the property required for the purpose of the proposed new station, &c. The Vestry have since caused several communications to be sent to the Directors, urging upon them to take the necessary steps for the formation of the said Railway station, and on the 11th March, a letter from the Secretary of the South Eastern Railway Company in reply to a letter of the Clerk to the Vestry on the subject, was received as follows : — South Eastern Railway, Secretary's Office, London Bridge Station, S.E., 11 th March, 1889. Dear Sir, I have your letter of the 9th. It may become necessary for the Directors to confer with the Vestry as was originally proposed, but hitherto, I think such a conference would have been useless. The only difficulty is the excessive price claimed by one Landowner, a Freeholder in possession, and I do not suppose 43 the Vestry would have any influence with him ; and if they appeared in the matter he would come to the conclusion that the land was essential to the Company and that would destroy the chance of his lowering his demands. If we find we cannot buy his land, it may be necessary to look for a site elsewhere, and in that case, the Directors would be very pleased to have the assistance and co-operation of the Vestry. Yours faithfully, J. J. Stokes, Esq., (Signed) W. R. STEVENS. Clerk to the Vestry of the Parish of Rotherhithe, Surrey. The following roads and streets have been re-named and re-numbered under the formal orders of the late Metropolitan Board of Works, viz. : — Carline Crescent re-named "Litlington Street;" Adams Place, St. Helena Place, Martin's Terrace, Baltic Place, Elizabeth Terrace, and Suffolk Place, re-named "Old Road," and the houses re-numbered. Suffolk Street re-numbered. Deptford Lower Road re-named " Lower Road, Rotherhithe," S.E. Bracton Road re-named "Eugenia Road'' in continuation of the latter Road. On the 19th February, 1889, upon the consideration of the application made by the London Electric Supply Corporation, Limited, under the Electric Lighting Acts, for a Provisional Order for the supply of Electricity in the Parish of Rotherhithe, the Vestry passed a resolution as follows, viz. : — " Resolved, that this Vestry consent to the application of the London Electric " Supply Corporation, Limited, for a Provisional Order for the supply of Electricity "in this Parish, subject to the objections delivered in writing by this Vestry to the "Board of Trade on the 29th day of January, 1889, being allowed." On the 19th February, 1889, the Vestry passed a resolution as follows, viz. : — "Resolved, that after the 1st day of April next, the two members representing "the Rotherhithe Division of,the London County Council be invited to attend the "General Meetings of this Vestry, and that a notice and agenda of such meetings "be sent to the members." At a General Meeting of the Vestry held on the 19th March, 1889, it was moved by Mr. Bulmer, seconded by Mr. Walker, and unanimously "Resolved, that the hearty thanks of this Vestry be accorded to John "Tolhurst, Esq., for the very able services he has rendered as the Representative "of the Parish of Rotherhithe at the Metropolitan Board of Works during the last "thirteen years, and for his assiduous attention at all times to matters affecting the "welfare of the Parish." It was also 44 "Resolved, that the foregoing resolution be engrossed upon vellum, suitably "mounted, and presented to Mr. Tolhurst." By the invitation of the Vestry Mr. John Tolhurst attended a subsequent meeting, when the chairman, the Rev. Edward josselyn Beck, the Rector, at the request of the Vestry presented him with the before mentioned resolution of thanks, suitably engrossed and mounted, for which Mr. Tolhurst returned thanks. The Valuation (Metropolis) Act, 1869. Under the provisions of the above Act, the totals of the Gross and Ratable Values of properties in the Parish of Rotherhithe in the Supplemental Valuation List coming in force on the 6th day of April, 1889, are as follows, viz. :— Gross Value. Ratable Value. £244,924. £194,759. 45 APPENDIX NO. 1. THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, From March 25th, 1888, to March 25th, 1889. To the Chairman and Members of the Vestry of Rotherhithe :— Gentlemen, I have the pleasure of offering to your consideration, the subjoined statistics relating to the sanitary state of our Parish. They form a brief epitome of what has at your general fortnightly meetings been read to you. In estimating the death-rate, I have calculated it on the number 44,525, which has been assumed to be the probable number of inhabitants. I am aware that this number has been called in question, and that it has been accused of being too high an estimate. There will be no absolute certainty as to the number of the population until the result of the next census has been issued. Ten years is a long period —too long in the opinion of many Medical Officers of Health—to wait for the rectification of the numbers issued by the Registrar General. I have consequently united with other Medical Officers of Health and Statisticians in petitioning the House of Commons, that the census should be taken every five years, that is, made quinquennial instead of decennial. Much more accurate and reliable information will thus be obtainable ; and any reasons for suspecting the accuracy of vital statistics will be done away with. Number of Births registered : — Males. Females. Totals. In the first quarter 198 158 356 In the second quarter 185 163 348 In the third quarter 172 190 362 In the fourth quarter 219 161 380 774 672 1446 Number of Deaths registered :— Males. Females. Totals. In the first quarter 85 98 183 In the second quarter 124 I02 226 In the third quarter 107 102 209 In the fourth quarter 123 109 232 439 411 850 46 Increase :— Males. Females. Totals. In the first quarter 113 60 173 In the second quarter 61 6l 122 I In the third quarter 65 88 153 In the fourth quarter 96 52 I48 335 261 596 A comparison of the number of Births and Deaths registered for the year ending March 25th, 1888, with the year ending March 25th, 1889, gives the following results :— Males. Females. Totals. Births, 1888 726 705 1431 Do. 1889 774 672 1446 Deaths, 1888 492 443 935 Do. 1889 439 411 850 Increase, 1888 234 262 496 Do. 1889 335 261 596 By comparing these figures, some interesting facts may be ascertained : First, that in the year 1888-9, the increase of population is exactly a hundred more than in the preceding year, 1887-8; Second, that this increase is made up largely by a less number of deaths being registered than in the previous year ; Third, that the actual number of deaths registered is less by 85 than in the foregoing year ; Fourth, that the births of males have greatly preponderated in the year 1888-9 over the births of females ; Fifth, that, as in several years past, the fourth quarter (December to the following March) is the one in which the greatest increase and greatest decrease occur. Deaths of Parishioners in Outlying Institutions. It will be of some interest to give a detailed account of the Parishioners who have died in outlying Institutions. There have been 71 such deaths recorded from Somerset House—38 males and 33 females—as against 89 in the year 1887-8. Two of them certified as Parishioners, were upon inquiry proved not to be so ; one living in Deptford, the other in Old Kent Road. The actual number therefore is 69 : 37 males and 32 females, showing a decrease of twenty persons. The Institutions and their numbers are as follows :—Guy's Hospital, 26; London Hospital, 6 ; St. Bartholomew's Hospital, 6; Children's Hospital, Shadwell, 3; Royal Hospital for Incurables, 2; King's College, Seamen's, St. Thomas's, Great Northern Fever, City of London Chest, and Brompton Hospitals, 1 each; Workhouse, Horselydown, 4; Workhouse, Bermondsey, 9; Workhouse, St. John's, 47 I; Baths and Wash-houses, Whitechapel, i; Camberwell Infirmary 2; County Lunatic Asylum, i; Peckham House Asylum, i; and Middlesex Asylum Wandsworth, i. Deaths in Rotherhithe of Non-Parishioners. These include 112 persons whose deaths are registered from the Infirmary of whom 95 were from Bermondsey; 11 from St. John's ; 3 from St. Olave's; I from Deptford ; 1 from Horselydown ; and 1 from St Thomas's. Eleven persons found drowned in the Docks and River Thames, and 1 person killed by falling from main top-sail. The total number is 124, as compared with 137 of the previous year the decrease being partially due to a smaller number of deaths in the Docks; for whereas there were 25 deaths in the Docks from drowning and falls in Ships, noticed in my report for 1887-8, this year (1888-9) there are only 18. Birth-rate. The Birth-rate per thousand per annum is 32.4. Death-rate. The Death-rate per thousand per annum is 17.9. This rate is ascertained by adding the deaths of Parishioners in outlying Institutions to the number registered in the Parish, and deducting from this total, those of Non-Parishioners, thus : — 850 + 69 - 124 = 795. Uncertified Deaths. In this year there have been five deaths not legally certified ; all of them being of children, a few hours or a few days old. Last year all the causes of death were legally certified either by the Coroner or a Medical Practitioner. Inquests. Fifty-six inquests have been held ; the verdicts were as follows :—Drowned in the River Thames and Surrey Commercial Docks, 16; Convulsions, 11; Suffocated in bed by overlying, 4; Natural causes, 3; Concussion of brain from fall, 3; Sudden syncope, 2; Accidentally burnt, 2; General debility, 2; Senile decay, hanging, killed in Upper Globe Wharf, Syphilis, injuries from falling from main top-sail yard, injuries received eight months ago, mentally deranged, Apoplexy, rupture of Aneurism of Aorta, run over by a van, fall down stairs, exhaustion from fracture of thigh caused by accidental fall in the street. Zymotic Diseases. The deaths due to these diseases are :—Diarrhœa, 30, (all these cases were infants); Measles, 17; in eleven of these, the measles were complicated either 48 with Pneumonia, Broncho-pneumonia or Bronchitis, one of these three diseases being in all probability the true cause of death; Whooping cough, 7; Scarlet fever, 7; Typhoid fever, 6 ; Fever (not defined), 1; one death is attributed to Typhus, but of this, after most careful inquiries into all the circumstances of the case, I have grave doubts; Diphtheria, 1; Small-pox, none. For the past three years there has been no death from Small-pox. The total number of deaths due to these diseases is 69 as against 73 in 1887-8, and 81 for 1886-7, showing a small decrease. The death-rate per thousand per annum for the entire number of Zymotic diseases is 1.55. The following tables give the number of deaths from each form of Zymotic disease, and the death-rate per thousand for the last four years :— 1888-9. 1887-8. 1886-7. 1885-6. Typhus Fever 1 ? none none none Typhoid ,, 6 .139 6 .14 5 .12 7 .175 Scarlet ,, 7 .148 14 .3 6 .142 8 .198 Fever (not defined) 1 .024 none none none Small-pox none none none 7 .175 Measles 17 .362 7 .15 24 .54 15 .37 Diphtheria 1 .024 6 .14 2 .047 1 .025 Whooping Cough 7 1.47 3 .07 — — — — Diarrhœa 30 .695 37 .84 44 1.04 22 .69 Diseases of the Respiratory Organs. 1 he number of deaths due to affections of the lungs and their coverings is 198; in the year 1887-8, the number was 316; and in the year 1886-7, the number was 323. 1 he death-rate per thousand per annum is 4.44. It has not been possible for me to estimate the number of patients who have died from Chronic Bronchitis as distinct from those who have died from the acute form of the disease. The table 49 given below shows the number of deaths due to these various diseases and the death-rate per thousand per annum for the last three years : — 1888-9. 1887-8. 1886-7. Phthisis 61 1.37 90 2. 114 2.7 Bronchitis 77 1.73 114 2.59 149 3.54 Pneumonia 30 .67 71 1.6 36 .85 Broncho-Pneumonia 23 .51 34 .77 23 .55 Pleurisy 2 .045 3 •07 None Pleuro-Pneumonia 5 .11 4 .09 1 .024 Bake-houses. These houses, of which there are twenty-six, have been twice inspected. My first notice of them, in the early part of the year, spoke of their condition as much more commendable than heretofore, my words being :—"Most of them are in excellent order. There are only three against which complaints of a somewhat serious character are lodged." My last report was not satisfactory. It would be very unfair to include all the Bake-houses under the same condemnation. The great majority are usually found in excellent condition, and are worthy of praise for the admirable manner in which they are kept. There are however three or four owners whom at every inspection it has been found needful to caution, or to serve notices upon, as their Bake-houses and adjoining yards show signs of carelessness and indifference as to cleanliness. Slaughter-houses and Cow Sheds. These places have been several times visited. No objections were raised to a renewal of the licenses when the annual applications before the licensing magistrate were made. No new licenses have been granted. Pail System. On the 19th of July, 1888, I reported that the first distribution of pails had taken place. Some months afterwards a second distribution was made. the dust bins of the houses supplied with pails have since been destroyed. the dust under "the pail system" is removed regularly twice a week, so that there can be no accumulation, the yards are kept cleaner, the drains are less frequently choked with 50 ashes ; there are now no bad smells from dust heaps of long standing, and altogether the housewife finds a great comfort in having the pails. Another very noticeable feature is the abolition of "blackmailing " frequently carried on to an oppressive degree by the dustmen amongst the poorer inhabitants, when a large dust-bin required to be cleared. Railway Arch, No. 519, Attention was called to "an abominable stench "coming from this arch in a letter received from a Parishioner, living in the immediate locality. I visited the premises on the day following the receipt of the letter. My report is as follows :— In the arch, No. 519, the manufacture of paint is carried on ; the nuisance complained of is due to fumes emanating from the melting of resin and pitch. There are three vats for melting ; these at the date of the visit were open. The foreman promised to have them covered in, so that the fumes and effluvia would be conveyed into a shaft reaching to the level of the arches. A further promise was made that the melting should take place on an average of not more than one day per week. I called upon the complainant, informed him of the arrangement made, and asked him to let me know if the nuisance was not abated. Up to the present there has been no further complaint made to me. Piggeries in Corbett's Lane. On March 5th, 1889, I reported that your Medical Officer of Health and Sanitary Inspector paid a visit to the piggeries in Corbett's Lane; we found between sixty and seventy pigs on the premises ; the owner in reply to my questions told me that the greatest number the styes could hold when full, was one hundred and twenty ; that the number kept varies from twenty to a hundred; that the pigs are kept here only for a few days, as fresh supplies are being constantly received from the country ; that no breeding is carried on, and that there are no arches in our Parish where pigs are kept. The condition of the entire yard, also of the styes, and of the pigs themselves, was satisfactory. No notice had been given to the owner of our intended inspection. The floor of the whole yard was cemented some years ago at the suggestion of your Sanitary Inspector. The floors of the styes (wooden floors) are raised about three inches from the cement. When we were there, there was no offensive odour, even when in the midst of the styes, and when outside the fencing there was no perceptible odour. I am, Gentlemen, Very truly yours, JOSEPHUS SHAW, Medical Officer of Health. 51 APPENDIX NO. 2. VESTRYMEN, AUDITORS, AND OFFICERS OF THE PARISH OF ROTHERHITHE, SURREY. Under the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855. 1889. Vestrymen. The Rev. EDWARD JOSSELYN BECK, M.A., Rector, The Rectory, Church Street. Mr. E. RUMNEY SMITH, Lime Tree Lodge, Lower Road, Church- To go out of ,, FRANCIS THOMAS TALBOT, 198, Rotherhithe Street, wardens. Office in „ JOHN BULMER, 34, Lower Road 1890 „ FRANCIS JOHN BISLEY, 68, Union Road ,, THOMAS ALDRIDGE, 34, Albion Street ,, ,, Ralph WESTALL WALKER, 14, Rebecca Terrace, Gomm Road ,, ,, SAMUEL WARD COPPING, 09, Lower Road ,, „ „ WALTER BEASLEY, 187, Lower Road ,, ,, GEORGE MABBS, 74, Lower Road ,, ,, JAMES PAINTER, 25, Lower Road ,, ,, „ WILLIAM GEORGE WELLS, 20, Rebecca Terrace, Gomm Road 1891 ,, FRANCIS THOMAS TALBOT, 198, Rotherhithe Street ,, Dr. WILLIAM ASTLEY COOPER, 36, Rotherhithe New Road Mr. WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 4, Bush Road ,, ,, WILLIAM BROWN, 204, Rotherhithe New Road ,, ,, JOHN REESON, 249, Lower Road ,, „ CHARLES J. THOMPSON, Swedish Yard, Surrey Commercial Docks ,, ,, THOMAS KIMBER, 98, Raymouth Road " „ Robt. LEISHMAN STUART, 194, Lower Roa 1892 „ EDWARD JAMES TALBOT, 72, Union Road ,, „ WALTER STREETON, Corbetts Lane ,, ,, ALEXANDER MILLER, 56 and 58, Derrick Street ,, ,, STEPHEN RANSON, 39, Ainsty Street ,, ,, HENRY ANCONA, 206, Rotherhithe Street ,, ,, HUGH YOUNG, 17, Lower Road ,, „ THOMAS WM. CLARKE, 90, Union Road ,, Auditors of Accounts. Mr. WILLIAM GREENWOOD, Mr. WILLIAM Joshua carr, Mr. REUBEN KIBBEY, Mr. T. COOPER WILLIAMSON, Mr. JOSEPH DANIEL ROSE. Officers of the Vestry. JAMES JOHN STOKES, Clerk, Vestry Offices, Lower Road. WILLIAM BURLEY, Assistant Clerk, 72, Lower Road. Dr. JOSEPHUS SHAW, Medical Officer of Health, 151, Lower Road. GEORGE LEGG, Surveyor of Sewers, 61, King William Street, E.C. EDWARD THOMAS, Surveyor of Pavements, 159, Lower Road, JOSEPH DAY, Collector of Paving, Lighting, and Sewer Rates, 48, Union Road "Sale of JOSEPH EDWARDS, Inspector of Nuisances, Street Keeper, and Inspector under the bale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875," Vestry Office, Lower Road. JAMES EDWARD POOLE, Clerk of the Works for Sewers, Lower Road. Representatives at the London County Council. FRANCIS CULLING CARR-GOMM, Esq., 31, Cadogan Square, S.W. LAWRENCE STEVENS, Esq., 191, Lower Road, S.E.