STJAM 7 REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1900, made to the COUNCIL OF THE City of Westminster, by JAMBS EDMUNDS, M.D., Member of the Royal College of Physicians of London. Member of the Society of Public Analysts. Fellow of the Chemical Society. &c., &c., &c. MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH and PUBLIC ANALYST to the CITY OP WESTMINSTER FOR THE DISTRICT OF ST. JAMES'S. London: PRINTED BY GEORGE PULMAN AND SONS, LTD., Thayer Street, Manchestee Square, W. 1901. CONTENTS. I.— PUBLIC HEALTH. PAGES. General Report for the year 1900 5-15 Appendices. 1. UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS IN ST. JAMES'S. Tortuous and narrow streets occupying hinterland east of Regent Street—New street needed from Haymarket to Poland Street—Old residences now degraded into tenement houses—Tenement houses demolished for workshops and warehouses—Progressive rise in the value of land—Rents in St. James's now insupportable by working classes. Areas of land in St. James's now encumbered by old Union Workhouse and old Brewery should be used as sites for blocks of model workshops furnished with electric power and electric light, and a model restaurant for mid-day meals of workers. 2. OLD BASEMENT KITCHENS—"UNDERGROUND ROOMS." Occupants of the old basement kitchens in St. James's—Statutory requisites for underground rooms—Dispensing power as to certain of the requisites—Foreign workmen—Refractory and filthy tenants— Practical working of the law. 3. CHEAP TRAINS AND TRAMS. Deep-level tube railways as a means of transport between centres and suburbs of London—Facilities offered by the London Clay—The Greathead tunnelling machine— Cheap, rapid, timely, and comfortable transport between the centres and suburbs of London by means of deep-level tube railways is the true solution of the housing problem—The housing problem a Metropolitan, not a local question—Deep-level tubes as intercepting sewers. 4. BLOCK DWELLINGS IN CENTRAL LONDON. Blockdwellings in Central London do not provide the conditions for rearing a healthy national stock—Their further erection to be deprecated— Metropolitan subsidies, if assigned,should go to promote cheap transport not to the erection of further block dwellings in central London. Non-interference with commercial building enterprise. PAGES. 5. Summary of Causes of Death—Table A . 32-33 6. Population, Births, and new cases of Infectious Sickness—Table B 34-35 7. Cases of Notifiable Infectious Diseases—Table II. 36-45 8. Sanitary Inspectors' Work—Table III. 46-47 9. Summary of Sanitary Inspectors' Work—Table IV. 48 10. Underground Booms cleared of Occupants—Table V. 49 II.— PUBLIC ANALYSIS. General Report on Articles Analysed during the year 1900 51 Vinegar Prosecutions 52 The Milk Standards Inquiry 53-55 Table of Articles and Results of Analyses 56-60 TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL of the City of Westminster. Mr. Mayor, My Lords and Gentlemen, I submit my Annual Report for the year 1900, upon the Public Health of that portion of the City of Westminster which has been known hitherto as the Parish of St James's. This is the twenty-seventh Annual Report which I have had the honour to prepare. Eighteen Annual Reports had previously been prepared by Dr. Edwin Lankester, F.R.S.— my predecessor in this office. This therefore is the forty-fifth Annual Health Report for the District of St, James's, and it brings its data p to he end of the nineteenth century. Under the London Government Act, 1899, St. James's Parish, as a Local Authority, has merged in the new and great City of Westminster, This forty-fifth Annual Report therefore closes the series of Health Reports issued for St. James's as a separate area. The new City of Westminster has been dowered with an ancient and illustrious name, and its Municipal Council is charged with the administration of the local affairs of a community which, at the census of 1896, numbered 193,456 persons, and with the regulation of property already having an annual rateable value of £5,386,182 sterling. May the 6 GENERAL REPORT. career of this great Municipality become a pure and shining light—a light showing how to advance the social condition of the peoples of the world. The area and population of the district of St. James's are summarised in the following table :— Area in Acres 162 Population. Mean Density of Population per Acre. Census, 1831 37,053 229 1841 37,398 231 1851 36,406 225 1861 35,326 218 1871 33,619 214 1881 29,865 184 1891 24,995 154 1896 23,050 142 ,, 1901, March 31st In Registration London the average density of the population for 1896 is given by the Registrar-General as 59.2 persons per acre. In 1901 the average density of the population was given as per acre. In the District of St. James's, conditions obtain which render it impracticable to determine annually the flow of the numbers of the population, unless by actual enumeration. The figures tabulated above show, by the numbers found in the various census enumerations from 1831 to 1896, that the population of St. James's has for a long period steadily decreased. This decrease is due to the great value of land in the area of St. James's, and to the progressive conversion of tenement and other dwelling houses into shops, warehouses, and workshops ancillary to the trade of St. James's. There follow extrusion of the working class population, and emigration for residential purposes of the shopkeepers. The change now proceeding in St. James's is similar to that which has been practically completed in the City of London. GENERAL REPORT. 7 Under constant importations of foreign workmen, the pressure of population upon the house accommodation in St. James's has become so great as to have raised, continuously and largely, the rent of lodgings. What is needed is cheap, rapid, timely, and comfortable transport between the suburbs and the centres of London. The following table shows the deaths and the death. rates for the years 1874.1900 inclusive—upon the basis of the several census enumerations :— Number of Deaths. Enumerated Death Rate Year. Gross Net Population. per 1000. 1874 635 592 33,500 18.00 1875 686 621 33,500 18.50 1876 621 573 33,500 17.10 1877 554 517 33,500 15.40 1878 693 647 33,500 19.00 1879 608 568 33,500 17.00 1880 623 589 33,500 17.60 1881 569 545 29,865 18.22 1882 538 505 29,865 17.00 1883 527 501 29,865 16.80 1884 486 476 29,865 15.94 1885 476 451 29,865 15.10 1886 493 450 29,865 15.07 1887 463 426 29,865 14.26 1888 427 386 29,865 12.96 1889 373 314 29,865 10.51 1890 369 340 29,865 11.38 1891 541 493 24,993 19.73 1892 493 446 24,993 17.83 1893 515 470 24,993 18.80 1894 429 390 24,993 15.64 1895 458 407 24,993 16.28 1896 440 396 23,050 17.18 1897 427 388 23,050 16.83 1898 440 408 23,050 17.70 1899 439 387 23,050 16.79 1900 371 341 23,050 14.79 8 GENERAL REPORT. During the year 1900, the net mortality of the St. James's district has been 341 deaths. Taking the population as enumerated in the census of 1896, we have 23,050 persons, with 341 deaths—a death-rate of 1479 for each 1,000 persons sleeping in St. James's. The figures for the net mortality of St. James's are obtained by taking the deaths registered in St. James's, adding to this number the deaths in outside places of persons removed from St. James's, and then subtracting the deaths registered in St James's of persons who were noted as non-parishioners by the Registrar. This procedure gives results as follow :— 260 + 111 — 30 = 341 as the net mortality. These mortality data are shown in greater detail for the year 1900, in the following figures:— The deaths registered as having occurred in St James's, for the four quarters of the year, were as follows:— .First Quarter 91 Second Quarter 63 Third Quarter 59 Fourth Quarter 47 Deaths registered in St. James's during the year 260 Add deaths in outlying institutions among persons removed from St. James's 111 Gross mortality 371 Deduct deaths of persons reported as NonParishioners :— Dying in the Union House 14 Dying in Throat Hospital 8 Dying elsewhere 8 30 Net mortality of St. James's for the year 1899 341 GENERAL REPORT. 9 Of the 30 deaths of non-parishioners, 3 were of children under one year of age, and 12 were of persons 65 years of age or upwards. During the year 1900, 22 bodies were removed into the Mortuary. Eleven inquests were held upon bodies lying in the Mortuary, and 11 post-mort&m examinations for judicial purposes were made in the Examination Room adjoining the Mortuary. The following Table gives a summary of the causes of death, during the year 1900, among persons dying in outlying places, after having been removed from the district of St. James's, Westminster :— Cancer 11 Phthisis 15 Tuberculosis 2 Tubercular Peritonitis 1 Tubercular Meningitis 1 Acute Meningitis 1 Hydrocephalus 1 Senility 8 Prematurity 4 Epilepsy 1 Infantile Convulsions 3 Paralysis Agitans 1 General Paralysis 4 Brain Disease 7 Bronchitis 10 Pneumonia 10 Heart Disease 14 Aortic Disease 1 Kidney Disease 1 Liver Disease 1 Infantile Enteritis 1 Chronic Gastric Enteritis 1 Infective Endocarditis 1 Ear Disease 2 Stone 1 Urethral Stricture 1 Disease of Prostate 2 Suicide 1 Carried forward 102 10 GENERAL REPORT. Brought forward 102 Fractured Skull 1 Run over 1 Suffocated in bed 1 Diphtheria 4 Scarlet Fever 1 Congenital Syphilis 1 111 Of the notifiable Infectious Diseases, 133 cases came under notice during the year 1900. Of these 133 cases, 64 were of Scarlet Fever; 39 were of Diphtheria; 16 were of Erysipelas; and 14 were of Enteric Fever. Of the 133 cases, 100 were removed to Extra-Parochial Hospitals; 33 of the cases were not removed. Details of these 133 cases are appended in Table II (pages 36 to 45). Tables of the causes of death and other data for the year 1900 are appended. The births registered in St. James's during the year 1900 were 410. Of these 410 births, 25 occurred in the Union House. During the year 1900, 190 houses in the poorer quarters of St. James's have been visited and inspected—mostly apart from any direct complaint against these particular houses. In no case has admission been refused. Tenement houses about which any difficulty occurs as to their sanitary condition are registered so as to be kept under efficient control. Few or none of the tenement houses in St. James's fall below £100 a year in annual value. In the south-western part of St. James's the lodging-houses are private hotels or houses altogether different in character to those contemplated in the Bye-laws for the registration of "Houses let in Lodgings, or occupied by Members of more than one family." I have had to condemn 1,115 tins of food, also a large quantity of bacon, as putrid and unfit for sale as human GENERAL REPORT. 11 food. These materials would probably have been sold to cheap restaurants, in order to be worked up as food. A prosecution was ordered by the Vestry of St. James's, and the magistrate condemned the dealer to three months imprisonment with hard labour, also to the payment of a fine of one shilling and three guineas costs. The Parish has been visited by no epidemic during the year 1900. No death has been certified as due to arsenical poisoning; and, so far as is known, no case of sickness has been assignable to poisoning by means of fictitious beers, or sugars, or sweets. In connection with the recent poisonings by means of arsenicated beers, the question has been asked: What proportion of arsenic should be allowed to pass in beer and other food? I submit that a short and plain answer should be given to this question. The answer is that no food which shows any trace of arsenic—when properly examined by means of Marsh's test—should be saleable, except under the penalty of a criminal prosecution, and also the exposure of the vendor to a civil action for damages on the part of any person injured by such arsenicated food. The roasting of malt may be done perfectly in rotating iron cylinders without any sort of exposure to the fumes of arsenious coke, just as coffee may be roasted either in cylinders or by means of high-pressure steam at a baking temperature- As to the use of maize, rice, and other "substitutes' for barley and barley-malt, beers made from such materials ought to be declared as such; just as "artificial butter" has to be declared as "margarine," and is not allowed to be sold as butter. This manufacture of " malt substitutes" by means of sulphuric acid, and the loading up of ales with gypsum in order to 12 GENERAL REPORT. give them a fictitious brilliancy is meretricious and injurious to the consumer; probably as much so as is the greening of pickles with copper. Full reference was made to this subject in a special report on vinegars which will be found in my Report for the year 1899 upon the analysis of samples under the Adulteration of Food and Drugs Acts. WATER SUPPLIES. Samples of water from the mains of the four companies which supply the various portions of St. James's have been frequently examined throughout the year. Occasional samples have been faintly yellow in tint, and sometimes slightly turbid, but in general the samples have been bright and fairly colourless. They have always been free from pollution. On November 14th, 1900, new Regulations were proposed by the Companies which supply London with water. These new Regulations were proposed under the provisions of the Metropolis Water Act, 1852, the Metropolis Water Act, 1871, and the Metropolis Water Act, 1897. They were to replace the Regulations now in force. These Regulations, after provoking a remarkable commotion, were withdrawn. Much of the commotion was altogether unjustifiable, but some of the Regulations— such as those which proposed that all warning pipes should be made to discharge through the street-fronts of the houses—were uncommonly foolish. It is astonishing that these great Companies should have been so badly advised as to propose such a set of Regulations. Nevertheless, the duty of the Sanitary Authorities is to support energetically those who administer the water supplies of London, in so far as they endeavour to prevent the waste, misuse, or possible contamination of GENERAL REPORT. 13 the water supplies. It is well known that at present, owing to unsound and badly planned fittings, there is a vast waste of water and of the pumping power required to lift that water. This waste of water, in the event of long drought or other accident, could not be at once stopped, and it might put the water supplies of London in peril. Such waste should not be allowed to continue. This matter is entirely apart from the question of who should be the authorities to administer the water supplies of London. In order to stop this waste, misuse, and risk of contaminating the public supplies, it is essential that well-designed fittings of approved materials and construction be insisted upon, and that the Water Authority control "the communication pipe" up to the point at which it discharges the public supply water into the consumers' cisterns. This control is necessary, in order to exclude the possibility of the reflux of polluted water into the public mains; it is necessary also in order to prevent the loss of vast quantities of public water, and to prevent damage to the consumer's house by flooding, in the event of the bursting of a communication pipe which is either structurally unsound, or imperfectly protected against frost or mechanical injury. As to the question of house cisterns; in my judgment, no house is properly equipped unless it be furnished with a cistern which contains one day's supply. The cisterns, of course, must be properly planned, properly constructed and properly looked after. The overflow pipes should be the old-fashioned standing waste, with the outlet converted into a warning pipe. In this way efficient flushing out of all deposit is readily accomplished by simply lifting the overflow pipe and letting the water run for a minute pr two while the sides and bottom of the cistern are 14 GENERAL REPORT. lightly swept down with a soft house broom. Under the proposed New Regulations it would have been impossible to clean out the cistern without getting into it, and mopping out the last inch of water with a house flannel. A cistern so planned is, of course, objectionable. During the years in which Mr. John Percy Folland and Mr. Thomas Winter Calverley have held office as Sanitary Inspectors for the district of St. James's, I have invariably found them valuable and trustworthy colleagues. These gentlemen have always given me cordial and efficient assistance in Sanitary work. They are amply qualified in all respects for the duties of Sanitary Inspectors, and I have always found them assiduous, energetic and perfectly trustworthy. I believe that, under the auspices of the Council of the new City of Westminster, they will prove valuable officers. During the year 1900 the sanitary work of the District has been efficiently and carefully done. I have to thank Mr. Henry Clement Oliver for uniformly efficient, intelligent, and cheerful assistance as Clerk in the Sanitary Department. The duties of Medical Officer of Health have been discharged by me throughout the whole of the year. Mr. James Huntingford Morgan was the first Sanitary Inspector appointed by the Vestry of St. James's. He was appointed in 1856, and he retired in 1883, after serving the Vestry for 27 years. In the annual report for St. James's for the year 1883 (page 28), the Vestry Clerk made the following note:— "In consequence of failing health and increasing years, Mr. J. H. Morgan, who had held the office of Sanitary Inspector for 27 years, tendered his resignation, which was accepted with much regret by the Vestry, who felt that they were thus deprived of the valuable services of an experienced and upright officer. A Superannuation allowance of £86 6s. 8d. per annum, being the maximum allowed by law, was unanimously granted to Mr. Morgan on the 29th November." GENERAL REPORT. 15 In December, 1900, Mr. Morgan, when nearly ninety years of age, had a fall, and on January 2nd, 1901, he died at his house, No. 23, Priory Road, Kew, where— owing to the pension granted by the late Vestry of St. James's—the old gentleman had passed a fine old age in modest comfort. Mr. Morgan served the district of St. James's in his responsible post for 18 years under my predecessor, Dr. Edwin Lankester, F.R.S., and for nine years under myself. Mr. Morgan was fond of science and was devoted to the sanitary work of St. James's. He was a man of good judgment, a most able, assiduous, and absolutely trustworthy officer. No better selection could have been made for this important office. In closing my last Annual Report upon a department in which, for so many years, I have been the Chief Officer, it only remains for me to express my regret at the many short-comings and defects which will be observed by those who may refer to the last twenty-seven Annual Reports for the Sanitary Department of the district of St. James's, Westminster. In estimating these shortcomings and defects, I ask that the reader take into account the difficulties and obstructions which have attended the application of Sanitary Science to an old city in which almost every backyard had long been built over; and in which questions of light, air, and mechanical sanitation encountered a combination of difficulties-—the period, moreover, having been one in which the motive power of public conviction has only been slowly aroused. I have the honour to remain, Mr. Mayor, My Lords, and Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, JAMES EDMUNDS. 26, Manchester Square, W. APPENDIX I. UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS IN ST. JAMES'S. The unfavourable conditions which grow up in the central parts of old and progressive cities are strikingly exemplified in St. James's. Changes such as those which have practically completed themselves in the City of London are still progressing in St. James's. In the City of London the pressure of wholesale trade has already extruded the residential population, and the value of sites for business purposes adjusts itself from day to day by the action of the market. No one will ever be crazy enough now to suggest that land in the City of London should be diverted from its natural uses—that of an area for a great centre of trade offices —in order to construct block dwellings for the clerks and warehousemen who serve the city trade. But in St. James's a vast and growing retail trade for fine goods has encroached upon the hinterland of Bond Street, Piccadilly, and Regent Street, while the workers ancillary to such retail trade have never been provided with facilities for access to the suburbs in which they ought to live. Imprisoned, under these circumstances, by the exigencies of their work in St. James's, and by the want of cheap, rapid, timely, and comfortable transport to the suburbs, the cost of lodgings has become insupportable. This condition is not one peculiar to St. James's, except in so far as St James's has become peculiarly a great centre— the west-end retail City for fine goods. The problem is a Metropolitan one, and in St. James's it cannot be solved by erecting workmen's dwellings at the cost of the rates, unless, indeed, St. James's is to be made a reservoir into which to drain the dishoused population of the surrounding districts, and an El Dorado for a flood of immigrants from the country and abroad. Fashionable tailors, court dressmakers, and other retail trades, which have centred themselves in St. James's, employ a vast army of specialized and highly-skilled workers. If these workers are not to crowd into the hinterland of St. James's, they must be provided with morning and evening transport between their work-places and their homes—at such hours as will suit their business purposes, so rapid as not to waste time, so cheap as not to encroach too largely upon their wages, and so comfortable as not to fatigue them unduly. And for their mid-day meals, adequate model restaurants must be UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. 17 established in St. James's. The solution of the whole metropolitan problem, in fact, must be arrived at on these lines, and the wages of the workers will have to be adjusted to the market rates—just as, in the City of London, the pay of the clerk and warehouseman has had to provide for a suburban dwelling. Upon that basis the axioms of political economy will not be outraged, building by means of commercial enterprise will not be stopped, and the matter will work out to a sound result. In St. James's some special conditions, which do not exist generally in the Metropolis, should also be adverted to. To a great extent these special conditions have their analogue in the older City of London. In the hinterland of Cheapside a series of narrow and tortuous lanes are found—lanes which are practically known only to the habitues of the City, and in which the stranger loses himself. Similar conditions exist in St. James's. Those conditions were described in my Report for the year 1896 (pages 21, 22, and 23) as follows :— "If a line be drawn from St. James's Palace diagonally across the parish to the junction of Oxford Street and Wardour Street, it will be seen that south of Eegent's Quadrant the line traverses a rich and fashionable district, while north of Eegent's Quadrant the line traverses a labyrinth of small streets through which ordinary strangers would be unable to find their way. This northern area is covered to a great extent by old houses which have passed into the hands of tenementmongers, and are let out as lodgings to the working classes who are dependent upon the splendid shops, and busy warehouses of Regent Street, Bond Street, Piccadilly and St. James's Street. In these old tenement houses the rents paid by the working classes are high while the conditions under which they live are bad. The houses are largely held by tenement-mongers on short leases—a tenure which practically shuts out both freeholder and leaseholder from re-building or substantial improvement. The houses are cramped — often with basement buildings covering their entire sites; routes through the district are tortuous and the streets are narrow. These houses, in fact, are old-fashioned gentlemen's dwellinghouses which have been degraded and cut up into slices, and sub-let as lodgings for the working classes. Sanitary work, in the way of reconstructing drainage, the provision of additional water-closets, the repression of overcrowding, and the enforcement of periodical cleansings, has now been pushed with increasing severity for many years — as fast as public opinion and new Public Health Acts have supported and given power to the Vestry and its Sanitary Officers. In this quarter the need for wholesale warehouses and workshops subservient 18 UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. to the great retail shops of St. James's has caused a gradual process of extrusion with regard to the worst houses and the dirtiest of the inhabitants. A question for the consideration of the Vestry is whether the time has not arrived for quickening this process of extrusion by opening up a new street on the eastern side of and parallel to Regent Street." "Reference to the map will show that in this way the betterment of the eastern section of St. James's would be secured in combination with a great Metropolitan improvement. Starting from the south, and going north by north-west, such new street might be run in alingment with Waterloo Place, or with the Haymarket, or with Suffolk Street, or with Whitcombe Street. Taking the Haymarket as the southern base, a new street running straight through to Poland Street would be of very great use, both to the local property and to the Metropolis. It would also add largely to the value of the extensive site on which the old workhouse now stands. At present, the poor of the Westminster Union are consigned to a deplorable existence, and 1 earnestly ask whether a small receiving house in St. James's, with a comfortable and cheerful new workhouse in the country, would not be a great mercy to these aged people and a great saving to the ratepayers. The wretched and diDgy courtyard in which these aged people now hopelessly sit and walk—in an atmosphere grimy with the smoke of London—might be exchanged for pleasant fields and plots of garden ground in which the inmates could occupy themselves with the cultivation of vegetables or flowers. Several acres of most valuable ground in St. James's, with frontages on the new street, would be released for a splendid block of workmen's model dwellings, to which might be appended small workshops in which gas, water, steam, or electrical motor power could be let to the skilled artizans whose livelihood depends upon their proximity to the retail shops of St. James's. It is not necessary for me now to elaborate this proposal; it was suggested by me in 1875, but opinion was then adverse and it was allowed to rest. Now that I am directed by the Local Government Board to indicate 'the measures of sanitary improvement required in St. James's,' I bring the idea seriously forward. The advantage of a series of model workshops for tailors, dressmakers, jewellers, engravers, and other chamber-master workers, would conduce immensely to the prosperity of the splendid retail shops and warehouses which support St. James's. If a new street were cut through on the line here suggested, the new access would immensely increase the value of the large block of property lying between the new street and Regent Street, and the old houses of the eastern side UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. 19 of St. James's would disappear without further effort. I commend this question earnestly to the consideration of the Vestry of St. James's." In my Annual Report for the year 1898 (pages 33, 34 and 35), I reverted to the subject in the following words:— "As to conditions in the district of St. James's which are dangerous to the public health, they continue to exist on the north-east side of Regent Street. These conditions are due to the tortuosity of the streets in that district, to the survival of worn-out and short-leased old buildings now traded in as tenement houses, and to the influx of Polish Jews and other workmen. These foreign workmen have never seen a watercloset before being shipped to St. James's, and their ideas as to sanitation are utterly rudimentary. The landlords who take these people in as tenants have the greatest difficulty in reducing them to order, and in protecting the closets and drains from being stopped up. Often the landlord is worried by a malicious tenant, or a reprimanded servant, who purposely stops up a closet, and then makes a formal complaint to the Sanitary Department. But the only practical course is to saddle the landlord with full responsibility for the neglect or misconduct of the tenants whom he harbours, at large rents, for his own profit; and while this district remains occupied with old houses built upon tortuous and narrow streets through which no stranger can find his way, it is obvious that the sites cannot be properly utilized, and that they must continue to be appropriated by workmen of a rough sort. In my annual report for the year 1896 (pages 21, 22, and 23) I submitted a full statement as to the evils which exist in this part of St. James's, as to the rental value of this site in the very centre of Western London and within one minute's walk of Eegent Street, and as to how it could be opened up and improved. Nothing has been done as yet for the improvement of this part of St. James's. It is obvious that a new street—such as Baker Street—carried through from the north end of the Haymarket to Poland Street would enormously increase the value of the land in this district, and would profitably break up and transform this nest of old houses and tortuous streets." "The gradual reconstruction of this old quarter is, however, continuously progressing. Warehouses and workshops are taking the place of the old tenement-houses; and the Pall Mall Electric Light Company have, under their new Act, obtained powertoclear and absorb into their works a considerable area west of Broad Street, Golden Square. But these rebuildings, while a distinct improvement, are mostly cast in the old mould of 20 UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. these narrow and tortuous streets ; and, in point of fact, they every year make more difficult that radical replanning of the district which is called for. Moreover, the extrusion of the working classes, which is increasingly taking place in some parts of this district gives rise to a fierce competition for the tenement-houses which remain. This is a serious and increasing evil. Meanwhile the local authorities own from three to four acres of land in the centre of this unparalleled London site, and these acres are occupied by an old Union House, where aged and infirm people are lodged under miserable surroundings. 1 again earnestly submit that these poor people would be infinitely better and happier in the country, and that upon the site of this old Workhouse, and its surrounding old houses, a splendid area of model artizan dwellings, chamber work-shops, and workmen's dining-halls could be provided upon a basis which would combine a 3 per cent, dividend with an enlightened philanthropy. "It would certainly be desirable to provide lodgings, or chamber-master-workshops, under proper sanitary regulations, for such workers as are connected with the great shops and warehouses of St. James's. But the development of new suburban villages—such as those of the Artizans' Dwellings Company at Queen's Park, Harrow Boad; and at Noel Park, Wood G-reen—together with cheap trains and trams, will provide more health and comfort for the working classes than any possible block-dwellings upon costly sites in Central London. In the event of opening up this district by a new street, a question would arise as to the large site of the old brewery in Broad Street, Golden Square. It is obvious that a brewery is out of place in St. James's, in so much as it defiles the atmosphere, and burdens crowded streets of great importance with a vast amount of heavy traffic. "The encumbering of large and valuable areas in the centre of London by old workhouses, where the aged and infirm poor are cooped up under miserable surroundings, and by breweries and other coarse factories, is becoming a question of large metropolitan importance. These are cases to which an equitable Parliamentary persuasion should be applied. Moreover, in breweries and some other factories, the highest quality of production cannot be obtained except in a pure atmosphere and in newly-planned aseptic buildings furnished with modern plant." In my Beport for the year 1899 (page 11) appears the following reminder :— "In the north-eastern quarter of St. James's, the old back streets, the old brewery, and the old workhouse on its extensive UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. 21 and most valuable site, remain as described in my Report for the year 1896 (pages 21, 22, and 23), and again in my Report for the year 1898 (pages 33, 34, and 35). Rebuilding continues to go on upon the old streets, and each year it will become more and more costly to open up and fully utilize this important and very valuable area." Nothing has yet been done. It only remains for me to add that a new street, prolonging the Haymarket northwards into Poland Street, would transform this hinterland of St. James's, and at the same time would effect a great metropolitan improvement. The important and valuable site now occupied by tbe old Union Workhouse should be sold to pay for the improvement. It should be utilized as a site for a block of chamber-master workshops, with electric light and electric power for the small lathes, sewing-machines, and other light tools used by the jewellers, tailors, court dress makers, and other workers for the local retail trades of St. James's. These with " cheap trains and trams," and model restaurants for mid-day meals, would rapidly deplete the overcrowded centres. All these old houses in St. James's are destined to the same end as if they were in the City of London. They are destined to undergo demolition, and to be reconstructed as warehouses and workshops subservient to the retail trade of the St. James's centre. The only question is whether they shall be re-constructed upon the mould of the narrow and tortuous streets which constitute the present hinterland east of Regent Street, or be laid out upon a plan convenient for the purposes of a great trade centre, and conducive to the sanitation of a great city. In addition to this very valuable area now encumbered by the old union workhouse and its appendages, there is in the very centre of this district a secondary area of considerable size encumbered by an old brewery. Coarse factories, such as breweries, should be squeezed out of the central parts of London. They defile the atmosphere ; they bring a vast number of brewers' drays, and other such vehicles into the narrow streets; they overcrowd the centres with workmen who would be much better off in communities of suburban houses around their workplaces. The old factories would be replaced in the suburbs with advantage by new factories built on modern plans, and with up-to-date improvements which would cheapen and improve production. If all such factories in Central London were rated and taxed on the maximum possible value of the large sites they occupy, a useful stimulus would be applied, and many such sites would come into the market without direct parliamentary compulsion. APPENDIX II. UNDERGROUND ROOMS. The residences, which to-day are degraded into tenementhouses, had—like other houses in London—basement kitchens not at all describable as "cellars," but now coming under the statutory definition for "underground rooms." A large number of these are still utilized as lodgings in St. James's, and not always in full conformity with recent enactments. I have had considerable difficulty in advising the Public Health Committee as to how these " underground rooms " should be treated. In a large proportion these dwellings have been occupied by aged women belonging for many years to St. James's, whose earnings are supplemented by contributions from children still connected with the trades of St. James's. To turn such aged persons out of their old homes would have divorced them from all the associations of their lives, and often would have meant consigning them to the Workhouse, where their maintenance would have swollen the rates, while inflicting severe annoyance upon the aged people. Other considerations, which need not be detailed, also often suggested great tenderness in enforcing the strict letter of the law. Each such case was, in fact, considered and dealt with upon its merits, under the power of granting exemption which is vested by law in the discretion of the Public Health Committee. In all such cases where the basement rooms could be fairly regarded as healthy, and where young children were hot lodged, my recommendation to the Public Health Committee was that a full use of their power of exemption should be exercised. Otherwise, the whole of the basement rooms of St. James's would have been rendered untenantable, and a vastly increased pressure would have been thrown upon the very inadequate accommodation in St. James's. These considerations—partly personal to the particular case, partly general to the question of housing—were regarded by me as governing principles in shaping such reports as I have had the honour of submitting to the late Public Health Committee upon this question. The statutes referring to "underground rooms" are not very lucid in their terms. Under Section 96 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891 :— UNDERGROUND ROOMS. 23 "(1) Any underground room which was not let or occupied separately as a dwelling before the passing of this Act, shall not be so let unless it possesses the following requisites; that is to say :— (a) Unless the room is in every part thereof at least seven feet high measured from the floor to the ceiling, and has at least three feet of its height above the surface of the street or ground adjoining or nearest to the room: Provided that, if the width of the area hereinafter mentioned is not less than the height of the room from the floor to the said surface of the street or ground, the height of the surface may be less than three feet, but it shall not in any case be less than one foot, and the width of the area need not in any case be more than six feet. (c) Unless there is outside of and adjoining the room and extending along the entire frontage thereof and upwards from six inches below the level of the floor thereof an open area properly paved at least four feet wide in every part thereof," &c. Other requisites, occupying altogether eleven clauses, are also specified for—dryness, lighting by window area, access to water closet, &c., all which are very proper and practicable. But the two clauses (a) and (c) require the underground room to have its ceiling three feet above the level of the pavement, and also to have an area four feet wide in every part from six inches below the floor of the room. Now these requisites are very good for Battersea and some other purely suburban newly built-over disdistricts. But if we take the floor as 12 inches above the ceiling, it follows that the ground floor can only be reached from the pavements by a flight of six eight-inch steps. Anyone walking down Kegent Street or Piccadilly or other parts of St. James's will see that none of the houses are entered by six eight-inch steps. Therefore this one regulation would throw out of use all the basement kitchens in the ohler parts of Central London. This would amount to a confiscation of from 20 to 25 per cent, of the lodging house accommodation in St. James's, and would enormously intensify the pressure upon lodging house accommodation in just those centres where such lodgings are most urgently needed by the working classes. Sub-section (3), however, goes on to provide as follows:— (3) The foregoing provisions shall at the expiration of six months after the commencement of this Act extend to underground rooms let or occupied separately as dwellings before the passing of this Act, except that the Sanitary Authority . . . may dispense with or modify any of the said requisites which involve the structural alteration of the said building, if they are 24 UNDERGROUND ROOMS. of opinion that they can properly do so having due regard to the fitness of the room for human habitation, to the house accommodation in the district, and to the sanitary condition of the inhabitants and to other circumstances, but any requisite which was required before the passing of this Act shall not be so dispensed with or modified." Here the Sanitary Authority is charged with a dispensing power, but a dispensing power so limited that it cannot grant exemption from any requisite required before the Act of 1891. In order to define this dispensing power and its limitations the Sanitary authority is thrown back upon the Metropolis Local Management Act of August 14th, 1855, Sec. CIII. Here again the requisites are materially different in underground rooms in use at or before the time of the passing of that Act, arid for other underground rooms which might become separately let or occupied after the passing of that Act. For underground rooms, let or occupied separately before 1855, the only practical limitations are the requisite of "an area not less than three feet wide in every part from six inches below the floor of such room or cellar to the surface or level of the ground adjoining to the front, back, or external side thereof, and extending the full length of such side;" and that "such area, to the extent of at least 5 feet long and 2 feet 6 inches wide, be in front of the window of such room or cellar, and be open or covered only with open iron gratings." For underground rooms first let or occupied separately after the passing of the 1855 Act, the practical limitations are that there be a ceiling one foot above the level of the pavement, and an open area extending along the entire frontage thereof, and at least 3 feet wide in every part. Here, then, there are four sets of limits imposed upon the dispensing power of the Sanitary Authority in regard to underground rooms separately let or occupied. (а) As to rooms so let on or before 14th August, 1855. (b) As to rooms not so let on or before 14th August, 1855. (c) As to rooms so let on or before 5th August, 1891. (d) As to rooms not so let on or before 5th August, 1891. (d) As to rooms not so let nor occupied separately, on or before 5th August, 1891, the Sanitary Authority has no dispensing power, and the Public Health (London) Act, 1891 applies absolutely to prevent the letting of underground rooms after that date—unless such rooms have the requisites prescribed by the A.ct of 1891. UNDERGROUND ROOMS. 25 (c) As to rooms so let on or before 5th August, 1891, the law also applies—unless the Sanitary Authority exercise its dispensing power. (b) As to rooms not so let on or befcre 14th August, 1855, the dispensing power is limited by the Act of 1855. (a) As to rooms so let on or before 14th August, 1855 the dispensing power is so extreme that it ought never now to be used. In enforcing this penal statute or in considering the range of exemption that could be granted by the Sanitary Authority it might be needful to give evidence that the " underground room or rooms" had not been "let or occupied separately as a dwelling" at or before the date assigned. In an old district like St. James's it would often be extremely difficult to get such evidence. Neither in the Act of 1855, nor in that of 1891, do the limits apply only to rooms actually so " let or occupied separately " at the time of the passing of the Act. The words are "at or before," and "before the passing of this Act." It therefore follows that a room or rooms which had been so let at any time before the passing of the respective Acts would be entitled to claim exemption from the Sanitary Authority. Then again, sub-section (7) of Section 96 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, reads as follows :— "(7). Every underground room in which a person passes the night shall be deemed to be occupied as a dwelling within the meaning of this section; and evidence giving rise to a probable presumption that some person passes the night in an underground room shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that such has been the case." The object of sub-section 7 is clearly to facilitate conviction by rendering it easy to prove the alleged occupation as an under ground dwelling. But this sub-section cuts both ways by the breadth of its inclusion, and makes it correspondingly difficult to prove that a particular room had never been let nor occupied separately at, nor before, the time at which the Acts of 1855 or of 1891 had been passed. Foreign workmen are often shipped to St. James's in large numbers. These people cannot speak the English language, and their ideas of sanitation are primitive in the extreme. They pack themselves away in underground or other rooms. They regard a water closet as a receptacle for ashes, as they have been used to regard a foreign privy; and all sorts of difficulties arise among them from surreptitious overcrowding, and from the stopping up of water closets, drains, etc. 26 UNDERGROUND ROOMS. In other cases, English tenants are entirely to blame in insanitary conditions which come to light. Difficulties arising from tenants of this character, are well exemplified by two cases of death, and inquests thereon, in November, 1900. Those cases were reported upon by me, under date December 5th, 1900. My report was approved by the Public Health Committee of the Council of the City of Westminster. It was as follows:— "Referring to two inquests recently held by Mr. Troutbeck, I have the honour to submit:— "I. That the house, No. 10, Jermyn Street—stated at the inquest to be without water supply or sanitary conveniences — was amply supplied with water by two taps, one on the ground floor, and one in the back kitchen. A water closet in working order and well supplied with water was upon the ground floor. ''The condition of the house was due entirely to the neglectful and filthy habits of the deceased woman, and who, rather than go to the closet, used a pail in hei room as a receptacle for feculent and urinary matters. The deceased woman is reported as being frequently intoxicated. She and her husband lived in the house, rent free, as caretakers. The house was in a filthy condition. "The house was not and never had been a tenement house. It stands on the north side of Jermyn Street, east of Regent Street, and adjoins the Criterion Theatre. The house was entirely rebuilt under the Crown Surveyor in the year 1872, and afterwards the premises were let at £350 a year for twentyone years, upon an underlease containing the usual covenants for repair, etc., by the lessee. In 1895 the premises became empty, and a protracted law-suit occurred. The deceased woman and her husband lived in the house from 1895 up to the time of her death. They chose to live and sleep in the front basement room. "Immediately upon the facts becoming known to the Sanitary Department, the place was cleansed and disinfected. "II. No. 9, Upper John Street, Golden Square, is a well-built, light, airy house. It has a large open yard, and is kept in good condition. The three main floors are let as offices. The deceased lived, rent free, as caretaker in the back basement room. This room had a stone floor but was well shaped, amply supplied with light and air, with a good fireplace, and was in sound condition as to repair. There was no evidence of damp. The room had all the requisites required by the Public Health UNDERGROUND ROOMS. 27 (London) Act, 1891, for 'any underground room let or occupied separately as a dwelling before the passing of the Act.' The deceased was a hard-working respectable woman. She died from heart disease and bronchitis. The case was one of a poor sick woman, refusing to go to the parochial infirmary, shutting herself up alone in her room, and becoming neglected. "Immediately upon the facts becoming known to the Sanitary Department, the room was cleansed and disinfected. "III. In dealing with underground rooms separately let or occupied in St. James's, the late Public Health Committee always had regard to the great pressure for accommodation in St. James's, and to the enormous and increasing rents which the working classes have to pay for lodgings. It has, therefore, been its practice—in all cases where the basement rooms are regarded as "fit for human habitation "—to exempt such rooms from an exact compliance, in all respects, with the requirements of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. These requirements apply unavoidably to rooms subsequently let as underground dwellings. Power to make such exemptions is vested in the Sanitary Authority, under subsection (3), Sec. 96, Public Health (London) Act, 1891. "IV. (a) With regard to the house, No. 10, Jermyn Street, I am of opinion that, as the caretakers were in charge of the whole house, and chose to live and sleep in the front basement room, that room was not " let or occupied separately." [The distinction which I submit here is not whether the room was "let" or was "occupied "separately: but whether it was let or occupied separately from any other part of the house or not. Basement rooms let or occupied in conjunction with any other part of the house do not come under Sec. 96 of the Act. "(6) With regard to the back basement room at 9, Upper John Street, I am of opinion that the room is fairly entitled to the exemption hitherto allowed in St. James's by the Public Health Committee." In dealing with underground rooms in St. James's a purely practical view of the matter has been taken. If the rooms were "fit for human habitation " the dispensing power of the Public Health Committee has been freely exercised in favour of these old houses. If the condition of the rooms, or the conditions of the case warranted the closure of the rooms, the rooms were condemned. In no case has such condemnation of these basement rooms been contested at law. APPENDIX III. CHEAP TRAINS AND TEAMS. The formation of deep-level tube railways has recently opened up new prospects for communication between the suburban and central parts of London. Underlying the superficial patches of estuarine gravel, sand, and loam on which London stands, there is a vast bed of dense clay—so remarkable as to have been long known geologically as "The London Clay." This vast substratum of clay thins out towards Woolwich on the east and towards Reading on the west; but under western London it is hundreds of feet thick. This clay is absolutely impermeable to water; it is so stiff that it can safely be tunnelled through and lined with cast iron or brickwork so as to form a permanent tubular tunnel with all the necessary passages for lifts, staircases, and adits. The Greathead machine bores through this clay as a cheesetaster bores through a cheese, and the excavated clay is shipped off over the railed portion of the line without ever coming to surface in the London streets. Such tube railways run in a straight line from point to point; they run altogether below the sewers, water,and gas pipes; the house-basements and onestory underground railways; and they ventilate themselves. These tube railways are worked and lighted by electric energy, and they form an almost ideal means of transport. In fact, London stands in an unrivalled position for constructing communications between its suburban and central parts. The street traffic of London may now be relieved to any extent that is necessary, and suburban townships may be developed without involving that intensification of pressure which is caused by preliminary clearances and re-constructions at the centres. With proper facilities for communication by means of deep-level tube railways, private enterprise may be expected to develop around London all the accommodation that may be required. I see no reason why iron-lined tubes, driven some 50 feet below the surface of the streets, should not serve for improved intercepting main sewers. Such deep-level tubes in the impervious London Clay would take all the sewage out of London without defiling the river at any point. At outside stations the sewage would rise to its level in sewage wells, and might be pumped to a higher level and distributed over the land, or disposed of in other ways. Such tubes would run under the Thames as easily as elsewhere. APPENDIX IV. BLOCK DWELLINGS. Now that deep-level tube railways have added so largely to the facilities for transport between suburban and central London, the erection of more block dwellings is to be deprecated. To build block dwellings in such a district as St. James's would, while the necessary land is being cleared and the new buildings are being constructed, intensify the pressure which now exists. The value of land in St. James's is so large that such dwellings could not be let at rents available for the working classes —unless the sites were paid for out of the rates. Block dwellings in central London are a miserable expedient for the families of working men. The children have no playground except the London streets, or a paved courtyard; they rarely see a green thing or the beauties of nature. The health, the faculties, and the physical stamina of the growing children always deteriorate. Under the obscuration of the London atmosphere growing children develop an imperfect eye both for colour and for form. As a matter of experience, people living under such conditions as are seen in the block dwellings of central London degenerate rapidly at each successive generation. These Block dwellings do not provide the conditions for rearing a healthy national stock. If any charge upon the metropolis were made for this purpose, it would be better to subsidise "cheap trains and trams" than to encumber the central parts of London with block dwellings. A metropolitan guarantee of 3 per cent,, for, say 10 years—under proper conditions, upon capital invested in the construction of approved tube railways at low fares, would induce an ample flow of capital without the loss incurred by payments to underwriters and company promoters. 30 BLOCK DWELLINGS. It is obvious, that eleemosynary house-building by public bodies, unless it undersells commercial enterprise, will accomplish nothing. That, if it should undersell commercial enterprise, all such enterprise will be stopped. Pursuing the chimsera of building unlimited house accommodation for the working classes wholly or partially out of the rates, would draw multitudes of unemployed people into London. It would abnormally lower the wages of London workers, and lead the metropolitan ratepayers into bankruptcy. The history of the "National Workshops" in Paris should be studied by the side of schemes for eleemosynary house-building. It is obvious again, that the increased rentals under which the working classes now suffer arise to a large extent from recent enhancements in the cost of labour in the building trades. These enormous, and to a great extent, artificial enhancements have told also upon the rents of those dwellings which are occupied by the ratepaying classes. 32 33 Table A.—DEATHS registered during the year 1900 in the District of St. Jambs, in the City of Westminster—a Metropolitan District. Classified according to Diseases, Ages, and Localities. Localities. Mortality from all causes, at subjoined ares. Mortality from subjoined causes—distinguishing deaths of children under five. At all Ages. Under 1. 1-5. 5-15. 15—25. 25—65. 65 and upwards. Ages. (i) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Small-Pox. Scarlet Fever. ‡ Diphtheria. Membranous Croup. Typhus. Enteric. § Fevers. Puerperal. Cholera. Erysipelas. Measles. Whooping Cough. Diarrhoea and Dysentery. Rheumatic Fever. Phthisis. Bronchitis, Pneumonia, and Pleurisy. Heart Disease. Cancer. * Injuries. All other Diseases. Totals. Continued. Relapsing. (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) Parish of St. James (minus Union-House and Throat Hospital) 205 51 14 1 6 81 52 Under 5. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 2 10 ... 1 11 ... ... 2 38 68 5 upwds. ... ... ... ... ... 3 ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... ... ... 18 41 20 14 3 37 137 Westminster UnionHouse, Poland St. 47 3 1 ... ... 11 32 Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 4 5 upwds. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 3 8 4 ... ... 27 43 Throat Hospital, Golden Square 8 ... ... ... 2 6 ... Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 upwds. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 2 ... 5 8 Totals 260 54 15 1 8 98 84 Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 2 10 ... 1 11 ... ... 2 42 72 5 upwds. ... ... ... ... ... 3 ... ... ... ... ... 1 ... 1 ... 21 50 24 16 3 69 188 The subjoined numbers have also to be taken into account in judging of the above records of Mortality. Deaths occurring outside the district among persons belonging thereto † 111 11 8 4 7 62 19 Under 5 ... 1 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 9, ... ... 2 12 20 5 upwds. ... ... 2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15 19 14 12 2 27 91 Deaths occur'g within the district among persons not belonging thereto 3O** 3 ... ... 2 13 12 Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 3 5 upwds. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 7 5 2 1 11 27 * In the model form the heading of column 19 is left blank for the insertion of any other disease which it may be thought desirable to record. I have inserted "Cancer. One extra column might well be devoted to the tabulation of "Malignant Growths," and another extra column to the tabulation of "Tuberculous Diseases"; but, for this, a greater precision is needed than at present obtains in the Certificates as to the Causes of Death. ‡ The term "Scarlatina" often suggests that the cases are not infectious. As this is a dangerous mistake, Scarlet Fever is the only term used. § Enteric Fever is also called "Typhoid." The term Typhoid arose from the supposition that this fever was akin to Typhus. It is now known to be a distinct fever, generally marked by an affection of the lining membrane of the intestine, which is as characteristic as is the affection the skin in Small-Pox. It is described here as Enteric Fever. † More precisely, these figures are of "persons removed from St. James's." Some of these were more or less casually in the Parish, and are not fairly described as "belonging thereto." ** Including 3 deaths of persons of unknown address. 34 35 Table B.—POPULATION, BIRTHS, AND NEW CASES OF INFECTIOUS SICKNESS coming to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health, during the year 1900, in the District of St. James's, in the City of Westminster—a Metropolitan District. Classified according to Diseases, Ages, and Localities. Localities. (a) Population at all Ages. Registered Births. Ages. (e) Infectious Sickness Reported in each locality. Infectious cases removed to extra-parochial hospitals. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Totals. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Totals. Census 1891 (b) Census 1896. (c) Smallpox. Scarlet Fever. Diphtheria. Membranous Croup. Fevers. Fevers. Cholera. Erysipelas. Smallpox. Scarlet Fever. Diphtheria. Membranous. Croup. Fevers. Cholera. Erysipelas. Typhus. Enteric. Continued. Relapsing. Puerperal. Typhus. Enteric. Continued. Relapsing. Puerperal. (d) Parish of St. James (minus Union-House and Throat Hospital) ... ... 385 Under 5 ... 12 10 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 23 ... 12 8 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 5 upwards ... 46 29 ... ... 14 ... ... ... ... 15 104 ... 42 23 ... ... 8 ... ... ... ... 1 74 Westminster Union— House, Poland Street ... ... 25 Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 upwards ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Throat Hospital, Golden Square ... ... ... Under 5 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 upwards ... 6 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 ... 6 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 Parish of St. James's 24,995 23,050 410 Under 5 ... 12 10 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 23 ... 12 8 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 100 5 upwards ... 52 29 ... ... 14 ... ... ... 15 110 ... 48 23 ... ... 8 ... ... ... ... 1 80 "Notification of Infectious Disease" has been compulsory in the District since October, 1889. The Isolation Hospitals used by the sick are all outside the Parish. They are the various Hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. To these Isolation Hospitals 83 of the above removals took place, while 18 went to other extra parochial Hospitals (vide page 10 and Table II.). Many such cases in St. James's, again, are not completely described as "removed from their homes." To meet these facts and to increase the clearness of Tables A and B, I have slightly altered the wording of certain headings and the ruling of certain compartments. In the preparation of the above Tables A and B. as prescribed by Sec. 15 of Article 18 of the Order of the Local Government Board, I have given attention to the annotations which are endorsed upon the Model Forms.—J. E. 36 APPENDIX TO REPORT OP MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table II.—Cases of Infectious Diseases notifiable under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, Sec. 55, and coining to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year 1900. No. of Case. Date. Address. Sex. Age. Disease. Removed to. Patient's Occupation. Parent's Occupation. Remarks. 1 Jan. 2 3, Rupert street Female 5 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Poulterer 2 4 13, Gt. Pulteney street Female 22 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Domestic Servant 3 8 41, Brewer street Male 38 years Erysipelas Not removed Tailor 4 12 41, Brewer street Male 38 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Tailor 5 22 4, Harris' Place Female 5 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Foreman of Sweepers Died 6 22 4, Harris' Place Male 2 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Nil Foreman of Sweepers 7 24 54a, Marshall Street Female 10 years Diphtheria Tooting Hospital Scholar Labourer 8 26 Vine street Casual Ward Male 39 years Erysipelas St. Giles Infirmary, Bear Yard Unknown 9 Feb. 1 2, Rupert street Female 28 years Erysipelas Not removed Nil 10 5 14, Argyll street Female 27 years Erysipelas Not removed Nil 11 9 Raleigh Club, Regent street Female 21 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Domestic Servant 12 17 5, St. Alban's Place Male 44 years Erysipelas Not removed Domestic Servant 37 13 Feb. 19 7, Foubert's place Female 11 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar Hairdresser 14 27 25, Old Burlington street Male 32 years Diphtheria Not removed Mining Engineer 15 Mar. 1 Waterloo House, Regent street Female 24 years Diphtheria London Fever Hospital Shop Assistant 16 8 30, Great Windmill street Male 33 years Enteric Fever Asylum Board Hospital Basket Maker 17 13 9, Heddon street Male 1⅓ years Diphtheria University College Hospital Nil Tailoress 18 14 21, Poland Chambers, 10 Poland street Female 9 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar Tailor 19 16 10, St. James's Square Female 30 years Diphtheria Not removed Cook 20 17 77, Pall Mall Female 18 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Domestic Servant 21 20 I, 2, The Albany, Piccadilly Male 8 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar Housekeeper 22 20 20, Portland street Male 25 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Porter 23 April 2 51, Lexington street Female 1¼ years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Nil Police Constable 24 3 71, Berwick street Male 1⅓ years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Nil Printer Died 25 12 Throat Hospital, Golden square Female 23 years Scarlatina Fulham Hospital Nurse 26 12 Throat Hospital, Golden square Female 28 years Scarlatina London Fever Hospital Nurse 27 12 Throat Hospital, Golden square Female 20 years Scarlatina Fulham Hospital Nurse 28 19 41, Broad street Female 7 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Bootmaker APPENDIX TO REPOET OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table II.—Cases of Infectious Diseases notifiable under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, Sec. 55, and coining to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year 1900—continued. No of Case. Date. Address. Sex. Age. Disease. Removed to. Patient's Occupation. Parent's Occupation. Remarks. 29 Apl. 24 Throat Hospital, Golden square Male 25 years Scarlatina Fulham Hospital Porter 30 24 32, Lexington street Male 55 years Erysipelas Not removed Tailor 31 Feb. 14 4, King street, S.W. Male 50 years Erysipelas Not removed 32 Apl. 27 8, Charles street Male 44 years Erysipelas Not removed 33 30 1, Crown Court, Wardour street Male 7 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Scholar Tailor 34 30 52, Ingestre buildings, Broad street Male 5 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Nil French Polisher 35 May 8 76, Berwick street, Male 6 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar Printer 36 9 3, King street, Regent street Female years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Nil Tailor 37 15 137, Wardour street Male 3 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Nil Domestic Servant 38 21 16, Berwick street Male 4½ years Diphtheria Stockwell Hospital Nil Musician Died 39 23 Reform Club, Pall Mall Female 22 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Housemaid 40 25 Reform Club, Pall Mall Male 17 years Scarlatina London Fever Hospital Waiter 38 39 41 May 25 16, Berwick street Male 1⅔ years Diphtheria Stockwell Hospital Nil Musician Died 42 25 95, Wardour street Male 6 years Diphtheria Tooting Hospital Scholar Tailor 43 29 16, Berwick street Male 11 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Musician 44 31 16, Berwick street Female 51/1½ years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Musician 45 June 1 1a, King street, S.W. Female 8 years Scarlatina Tooting Hospital Scholar Caretaker 46 8 8, Livonia street Male 15¾ years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Messenger 47 13 22a, Foubert's place Female 2 years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Tailoress 48 14 Reform Club, Pall Mall Female 22 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Housemaid 49 14 37, Brewer street Female 5 years Scarlet Fever Not removed Scholar Baker 50 21 95, Wardour street Male 2 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Nil Tailor 51 23 6, St. James's street Male 33 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Police Constable 52 25 34, Brewer street Male 37 years Diphtheria Charing Cross Hospital Haverstock Hill Hospital Clerk Died 53 23 23a, Peter street Female 5⅔ years Diphtheria Scholar Widow 54 26 17, Lexington street Male 3 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Nil Tailor 55 27 18, St. Alban's place Male 10 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Scholar Coachman 56 27 45, Berwick street Male 2½ years Diphtheria 40 APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table II.—Cases of Infectious Diseases notifiable under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, Sec. 55, and coming to the know ledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year 1900—continued. No.of Case. Date. Address. Sex. Age. Disease. Removed to. Patient's Occupation. Parent's Occupation. Remarks. 57 July 4 6, Edward street Male 4 years Diphtheria Not removed Scholar Tailor 58 4 19, Duke street Female 15 years Scarlet Fever Not removed Nil 59 4 4, Little Pulteney street Female 29 years Diphtheria Not removed Wife of a Potman 60 6 69, King street, Regent street, W. Female 11 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Cellarman 61 9 9, Smith's Court Male 19 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Cellarman 62 9 16, Berwick street Female 51/1½ years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Musician 63 10 10, Arundell street Female 7½ years Scarlet Fever Not removed Scholar Hotel Keeper 64 11 Junior Carlton Club, Pall Mall Male 21 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Waiter 65 7 14, Berwick street Male 10 years Typhoid Fever Middlesex Hospital Scholar Charwoman 66 18 3, Swallow street Male 3 years Scarlatina Fulham Hospital Nil Greengrocer Died 67 25 21, Marshall House, Marshall street Female 12 years Diphtheria Haverstock Hill Hospital Nil Tailor 68 30 Derby House, St. James's square Male 23 years Scarlatina London Fever Hospital Footman 41 69 July 31 67, King street, Regent street Male 10 years Diphtheria Tooting Hospital Scholar Tailor 70 Aug. 1 1, Peter street Male 13 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Messenger 71 7 10, Arundell street Female 36 years Scarlet Fever Not removed Nil Hotel Keeper 72 8 21, St. James's dwlgs. Male 41 years Erysipelas Not removed Foreman 73 14 17, King street, Regent street Male 19 years Diphtheria Stockwell Hospital Engineer's Assistant 74 20 9, Elkington buildings, Archer street Female 5 years Diphtheria Homerton Hospital Scholar Cellarman 75 22 6, Ingestre place Female 32 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Wife of a Porter 76 23 Throat Hospital, Golden square Male 11 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar 77 27 15, Marlborough mews Male 7¼ years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Carman 78 31 7, Argyll street Male 19 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Waiter 79 Sept. 15 25, Foubert's place Female 8 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar 80 19 27, Berwick street Male 17 years Diphtheria 81 19 9, Elkington buildings, Archer street Female 5 years Scarlet Fever Homerton Hospital Scholar Cellarman 82 19 14, Ingestre place Female 7½ years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Tailor 83 20 43, Berwick street Female 38 years Erysipelas Not removed Wife of a Stovemaker 84 24 21, St. James's dwlgs., Silver place Male 41 years Erysipelas Not removed Foreman 42 APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table 11.—Cases of Infectious Diseases notifiable under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, Sec. 55, and coming to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health daring the year 1900—continued. No.of Case. Date. Address. Sex. Age Disease. Removed to. Patient's Occupation. Parent's Occupation. Remarks. 85 Sept. 25 6, Berwick street Male 67 years Erysipelas Not removed Costermonger 86 28 2, Hopkin street Female 4 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Nil Packer 87 Oct. 1 20, Peter street Male 30 years Typhoid Fever Middlesex Hospital Silver worker 88 4 132, St. James's resds., Broad street Female 7 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Tailor 89 9 Fire Station, Great Marlborough street Male 6 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar Fireman 90 13 8, St. Peter's b'ldings, Peter street Female 4½ mths. Erysipelas Not removed Nil Tailor 91 15 12, St. Peter's b'ldings, Peter street Male 12 years Diphtheria Tooting Hospital Scholar Tailor 92 16 90, Berwick street Male 4 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Scholar Publican 93 16 30, Great Windmill street Male 19½ years Typhoid Fever Stockwell Hospital Waiter 94 16 Fire Station, Great Marlborough street Female l¼ years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Nil Fireman 95 16 34, Beak street Male 28 years Typhoid Fever Not removed Waiter 96 16 23, Peter street Female 101/1½ yrs. Diphtheria Tooting Hospital Scholar Police Constable 43 97 Oct. 16 41, Broad street Female 5 years Diphtheria Not removed Scholar Tailor 98 16 15, St. Peter's b'ldings, Peter street Male 6 years Typhoid Fever Middlesex Hospital Scholar Tailor 99 19 90, Berwick street Male 8 years Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Scholar Publican 100 22 21, Foubert's place Male 47 years Erysipelas Not removed 101 27 14, Denman street Female 23 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Dressmaker 102 Nov. 3 31, Peter street Male 31/12 yrs. Scarlet Fever London Fever Hospital Nil Oilman 103 2 Fire Station, Great Marlborough street Female 3½ years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Nil Fireman 104 5 10, Vine street Male 24 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Police Constable 105 7 15, St. Peter's b'ldings, Peter street Female 5 years Enteric Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Tailor 106 8 46, Haymarket Male 13 years Typhoid Fever Not removed Scholar Publican 107 5 14, Little Marlborough street Male 23 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Tailor 108 13 26, Pall Mall Female 30 years Enteric Fever Not removed Assistant Housekeeper Died 109 13 27, Berwick street Male 70 years Erysipelas Not removed 110 15 1, King Edward street, Regent street Female 30 years Typhoid Fever Tooting Hospital Wife of a Hairdresser 111 15 7, Edward street Male 20 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Barman 112 17 7 Park place, S.W. Male 30 years Enteric Fever Not removed Gentleman Died 44 APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table II.—Cases of Infectious Diseases notifiable under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, Sec. 55, and coming to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year 1900—continued. No.of Case. Date. Address. Sex. Age. Disease- Removed to. Patient's Occupation. Parent's Occupation. Remarks. 113 Nov. 24 135, Oxford street Female 4 5/12 yrs. Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Scholar 114 24 135, Oxford street Female 5¾ years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Scholar Confectioner 115 24 135, Oxford street Male 12¾years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Scholar Confectioner 116 28 4, Air street Male 68 years Erysipelas Not removed Publican's Manager 117 28 25, Foubert's place Male 4 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Bootmaker 118 Dec. 3 6, Livonia street Female 5 years Scarlatina Stockwell Hospital Scholar Charwoman 119 3 1, William & Mary yard Female 12 years Typhoid Fever Tooting Hospital Scholar Shoemaker 120 3 15, Clifford street Female 25 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Servant 121 7 163, Wardour street Female 9 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Tailor 122 10 9, St. Peter's buildings, Peter street Female 6 years Diphtheria Fulham Hospital Scholar Tailor 123 11 Police Station, Great Marlborough street Male 23 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Police Constable 124 18 26, Berwick street Male 4 years Scarlet Fever Stockwell Hospital Scholar Labourer 45 125 Dec. 17 36, Broad street Female 6 years Scarlet Fever Fulham Hospital Scholar Tobacconist 126 19 Throat Hospital, Golden Square Female 23 years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Ward Maid 127 19 18, Broad street Female 9 years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Scholar Tailor 128 19 54, St. James's resdcs., Little Pulteney street Male 6 years Diphtheria Not removed Scholar Musician 129 20 9, Smith's court Male 6 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Scholar General Dealer 130 22 9, Smith's court Female 14 years Scarlet Fever Haverstock Hill Hospital Cap Maker 131 27 Conservative Club, St. James's street Male 18 years Scarlet Fever Tooting Hospital Club Servant 132 28 24 & 25, Noel street Male 49 years Typhoid Fever Not removed Publican Died 133 28 24 & 25, Noel street Female 35 years Typhoid Fever Not removed Wife of a Publican PARISH OF ST. JAMES, WESTMINSTER. APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. TABLE III.—ABSTRACT OF WORK DONE BY SANITARY INSPECTORS DURING THE YEAR 1900. NUISANCES REMOVED OR ABATED. First Quarter. Second Quarter. Third Quarter. Fourth Quarter. For the whole Year. Animals, Nuisances from, abated 0 0 1 2 3 Areas, whitewashed and cleansed 7 0 10 2 19 „ paving of, repaired 3 3 2 4 12 Basements, whitewashed and cleansed 10 4 6 6 26 „ floors, repaired and cleansed 2 3 2 3 10 „ lighted and ventilated 0 0 0 0 0 Baths, traps furnished to 0 0 0 0 0 Beds, disinfected 24 29 24 48 125 Bedclothes, disinfected 134 222 150 258 764 Bell traps, removed 4 11 20 5 40 Carpets, disinfected 2 0 0 5 7 Cisterns, cleansed 4 5 5 1 15 „ new ones provided 0 0 0 0 0 „ covers furnished to 1 6 5 1 13 „ repaired generally 0 0 1 0 1 „ apparatus repaired 1 0 1 1 3 Cesspools, abolished 1 0 0 1 2 Drains, reconstructed 23 20 17 35 95 „ ventilated 11 13 10 5 39 „ unstopped 9 5 7 9 30 „ repaired 3 1 5 2 11 „ traps furnished to 2 0 8 3 13 „ disconnected from sewer and ventilated 2 0 8 0 6 l6 Dustbins, repaired 0 0 0 0 „ new ones provided 10 17 12 3 42 „ abolished 0 0 0 0 0 Dung pits abolished 0 0 1 0 1 „ new provided 0 0 0 0 0 Foul matter removed 15 10 14 13 52 Food, unsound, seized and condemned 2 0 0 0 2 Gutters, cleansed and repaired 3 2 3 2 10 „ new ones furnished 0 0 0 0 0 Houses, water supply reinstated 0 1 1 4 6 „ closed, unfit for human habitation 0 0 0 0 0 Kitchens, whitewashed 3 7 2 0 12 „ underground, cleared of occupants 1 0 3 3 7 Lead flats, roofs cleansed 0 0 0 0 0 „ „ repaired 0 0 0 0 0 Mattresses, disinfected 20 19 15 26 80 Manure, removed 4 5 3 1 13 Miscellaneous articles disinfected 54 82 87 119 342 Passages, whitewashed and cleansed 5 4 3 2 14 „ floor of, repaired and cleansed 1 0 2 3 6 Pillows disinfected 49 80 57 93 279 Rain-water pipes, new ones furnished 0 0 4 4 8 „ „ unstopped, cleansed and repaired 5 5 2 2 14 „ „ disconnected from drain, 4 8 7 6 25 Rooms, whitewashed and cleansed 43 38 38 10 129 „ disinfected 19 37 25 48 129 „ overcrowded, abated 2 1 3 4 10 „ floors of, repaired and cleansed 5 5 3 1 14 Carried forward 488 643 567 741 2439 PARISH OF ST. JAMES, WESTMINSTER. APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. TABLE III—ABSTRACT OF WORK DONE BY SANITARY INSPECTORS DURING THE YEAR 1900—continued. NUISANCES REMOVED OR ABATED. First Quarter. Second Quarter. Third Quarter. Fourth Quarter. For the whole Year. Brought forward 488 643 567 741 2439 Roofs, repaired 2 3 3 2 10 Rooms, ventilation improved 0 0 0 2 2 Service pipes, new ones furnished 0 0 0 0 0 „ „ repaired 0 0 0 0 0 Sinks and lavatories, waste pipes disconnected from drain 9 4 14 6 33 „ „ repaired 4 1 2 0 7 „ new pipes and traps furnished to 1 2 11 4 18 „ unstopped and cleansed 4 1 0 1 6 Staircases, whitewashed and cleansed 10 8 8 4 30 „ steps of, cleansed Stables, cleansed and whitewashed 2 1 3 2 8 0 2 0 0 2 „ paving of, cleansed and repaired 1 4 6 3 14 Smoke, nuisance from, abated 6 0 1 0 7 Urinals (private) whitewashed 0 0 0 1 1 „ unstopped and cleansed 1 1 0 0 2 „ traps furnished to 0 0 0 0 0 „ furnished with water supply 0 0 0 0 0 „ abolished 0 0 0 0 0 „ reconstructed 0 0 0 0 0 „ repaired 0 0 0 1 1 Vaults, whitewashed 0 0 0 0 0 Water closets, cleansed generally 13 15 13 18 59 „ „ furnished with water 0 0 0 0 0 „ „ „ „ new apparatus 0 0 4 0 4 „ „ apparatus repaired 12 6 3 5 26 „ „ new pans furnished to 4 9 23 5 41 „ „ pans cleansed 12 12 16 23 63 „ „ water supply reinstated 3 2 2 2 9 „ repaired generally 6 8 8 3 25 „ „ abolished 0 0 2 3 5 „ „ soil pipes, new, furnished to 16 6 14 18 54 „ „ „ ventilated 2 2 8 3 15 „ „ reconstructed 6 5 3 5 19 „ „ new, erected 3 7 2 7 19 „ „ light and ventilation improved 5 5 11 4 25 „ „ soil pipes unstopped and repaired 1 3 0 0 4 „ „ . traps furnished to 1 5 22 5 33 „ „ unstopped 10 4 7 4 25 Yards, whitewashed 7 3 4 1 15 „ paving of, cleansed 1 0 0 4 5 „ „ repaired 7 1 1 1 10 „ „ new trap to drain 0 0 0 0 0 Water stopped from running as a nuisance 8 3 4 3 18 Wearing apparel disinfected 145 180 179 391 895 Wash-houses, whitewashed and cleansed 0 2 0 1 3 „ „ floors repaired 0 6 0 0 6 Workshops, whitewashed and cleansed 11 11 1 10 33 „ overcrowding abated 1 4 1 0 6 „ ventilation improved 0 3 0 0 3 Water, separate supply for drinking purposes provided 1 1 2 0 4 „ (drinking), disconnected from water-closet 0 2 1 0 3 Totals 803 975 946 1283 4007 48 PARISH OF ST. JAMES, WESTMINSTER. APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. TABLE IV.—SUMMARY OF WORK BY SANITARY INSPECTORS DURING THE YEAR 1900. nuisances removed or abated. First Quarter. Second Quarter Third Quarter. fourth Quarter For the whole year. No. of Complaints received 95 135 90 108 428 „ Smallpox cases visited ... ... ... ... ... „ Scarlet Fever 6 16 17 25 64 „ Typhoid (Enteric) Fever cases visited 1 ... 1 12 14 „ Continued Fever cases visited ... ... ... ... ... „ Puerperal „ „ ... ... ... ... ... „ Relapsing „ „ ... ... ... ... ... „ Typhus „ „ ... ... ... ... ... „ Diphtheria „ „ 10 15 8 6 39 Erysipelas „ „ 5 3 4 4 16 „ Cholera „ „ ... ... ... ... ... „ Membranous Croup „ ... ... ... ... ... „ Articles disinfected „ 425 603 538 931 3497 „ Rooms disinfected „ 19 40 25 43 132 „ Articles obtained for Analysis 20 19 19 35 93 „ Bodies received into Mortuary 6 4 9 3 22 „ Bakehouses visited ... 24 ... 24 48 JOHN PERCY FOLLAND, Sanitary THOMAS WINTER CALVERLEY, Inspectors. 49 PARISH OF ST. JAMES, WESTMINSTER. APPENDIX TO REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Table V.—Underground Rooms or Cellars cleared of Occupants, under the 96th Section of the Act, 54 and 55 Victoria, cap. 76, up to end of year 1900. 4 Archer street 3 Heddon court 11 Marshall street 5 do. 6 do. 25 do. 16 Berwick street 7 do. 29 do. 18 do. 8 do. 39 do. 26 do. 10 Heddon street 44 do. 28 do. 16 do. 47 do. 29 do. 1 Hopkin street, front 2 Noel street 30 do. 9 do. two rooms 5 do. 32 do. 10 do. 13 do. front room 36 do. 11 do. 21 do. 39 do. 1 Kemp's court 11 Peter street 43 do. 2 do. 20 do. two rooms 45 do. 3 do. 21 do. 49 do. 4 do. 22 do. 50 do. 7 King street, Regent st. 26 do. 56 do. 8 do. 12 Poland street 58 do. 20 do. two rooms 14 do. 66A do. 21 do. 21 do. 79 do. 26 do. 22 do. 81 do. front room 66 do. 56 do. two rooms 89 do. 12 Lexington street 57 do. do. 95 do. 14 do. 58 do. 50 Brewer street 16 do. 59 do. 4 Broad street 18 do. 4 Portland street 12 do. 22 do. 7 do. 13A do. 27 do. 11 do. 31 do. 28 do. 15 do. 35 do. 29 do. 19 do. 43 do. two rooms 30 do. 31 do. 44 do. 31 do. 7 Rupert court 45 do. 32 do. 11 Rupert street 52 do. two rooms 33 do. 30 do. 4 Carnaby street 44 do. back 31 do. 6 do. 47 do. 49 do. 17 do. two rooms 3 Little Crown court 2 Rupert street, Upper 18 do. do. 3 Livonia street 7 do. do. 27 do. do. 5 do. 43 Shaftesbury avenue, front room 30 do. 7 do. 7 Denman street 10 do. 2 Silver place, two rooms 1 Dufour's place 12 do. 1 Smith's court 3 do. back 13 do. 2 do. 9 do. 14 do. 3 do. 10 do. two rooms 2 Lowndes court 7 Sherwood street 2 Edward street 1 Marlborough row, two rooms 16 do. 3 do. 1 West street 24 Foubert's-pl.,oneroom 2 do. do. 6 do. 1 Ganton street 3 do. do. 8 do. 2 do. 4 do. do. 12 do. 3 do. 5 do. do. 14 do. 5 do. 6 do. do. 15 do. 17 do. 7 do. do. 24 Windmill street, Great 19 do. 9 do. do. 18 do. do. 26 Great Pulteney street back room 10 do. do. 30 do. do. 9 Marshall street 32 do. do. 7 Green's court 10 do. 41 do. front JOHN PERCY HOLLAND, Sanitary THOMAS WINTER CALVERLEY, Inspectors. 51 REPORT UPON ARTICLES ANALYSED DURING THE YEAR 1900, MADE TO THE Council of The City of Westminster, BY JAMES EDMUNDS, M.D., M.R.C.P.Lond., F.C.S., &c., Medical Officer of Health and Public Analyst to the City of Westminster, for the District of St. James's. Mr. Mayor, my Lords and Gentlemen, During the year 1900, under the provisions of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, I have examined 93 samples, all which were procured for examination by the Vestry Officers. In none of these samples was any poisonous ingredient discovered. Among the samples submitted for examination there were:— Vinegars 14 Milks 23 Butters 14 Coffees 13 Peppers 9 Cocoas 9 Mustards 11 93 Nothing, except the stipend paid by the Vestry, has been received by me in connection with these analyses. The results of the analyses are shown in the Table which is appended (vide pages 56 to 60). 52 VINEGAR PROSECUTIONS. It will be seen that, in cases 2 and 4, samples of vinegar were found to be charged with an amount of sulphates (chiefly gypsum) which is not found in a genuine malt vinegar made from barley, barley-malt, a good drinking water, and yeast. A "genuine malt vinegar" so made contains sulphates which yield only minute quantities of sulphuric acid (H2S04), say from •01 to •03 per cent. Sample No. 2 was found to contain sulphates (chiefly gypsum) which yielded •156 per cent. of sulphuric acid (H2S04). Sample No. 4 was found to contain sulphates (chiefly gypsum) which yielded •143 per cent. of sulphuric acid (H2S04). Such sulphuric acid is either put into the vinegar or into the materials out of which the vinegar is brewed. The conversion of maize, rice, and other cheap or damaged grain into fermentable glucose by digestion under heat and pressure with dilute sulphuric acid has, since my report on vinegar adulteration,* become widely and very distressingly known to the public in consequence of the introduction of arsenic into beer through the use of a rough cheap sulphuric acid for the purpose of so manufacturing glucose. In some cases, sulphuric acid used for the manufacture of brewer's substitutes—such as glucose from rice or maize—also introduces the gypsum. The sulphuric acid thus introduced has to be afterwards neutralised by means of lime, thus forming gypsum or sulphate of lime. In other cases where genuine "malt liquor" is brewed, gypsum as a mineral is dissolved into the water used for brewing in order to serve as a preservative, and to give brilliancy to the beer. In still other cases mineralized or natural gypsum waters are used for brewing, and this is called brewing with "pure spring water"—such water being not "a good drinking water" and being altogether ineligible for a municipal water supply. It is by one or other of these methods of manufacture that sulphuric acid in these quantities is introduced into beers— and similarly into vinegars. Full details on this subject will be found in my Report for 1899, already cited. It was entirely by this use of sulphuric acid that the arsenical poisoning by means of beer was caused. In cases No. 2 and No. 4, prosecutions were ordered by the late Vestry of St. James's, and it was found that the vinegars in question were manufactured by two of the oldest and wealthiest firms in the vinegar trade. Queen's counsel and a string of * Vide my Report for year 1899, pages 34-47. Vide also Notes on Vinegar, "The British Food Journal," August 1900, pages 210-214. MILK STANDARDS INQUIRY. 53 scientific experts were brought up to give evidence in favour of such methods of manufacture, and to contest the propriety of certifying that these vinegars contained "sulphuric acid," inasmuch as the acid was combined with lime and other bases. It is obvious that upon the same ground it might be denied that there is any "copper" in coppered pickles, or any "gold" in a sovereign, inasmuch as the "copper" does not exist in the metallic state, but is combined with the pickles; and in the sovereign the gold is combined with copper, and therefore exists only as an alloy. Equally well it might be denied that there was any arsenic in those poisonous beers, inasmuch as the arsenic existed in the beer in chemical combination and not in the metallic form. The purely technical fog thus raised, the penal nature of the statute, and the long practice of this use of gypsum led the learned magistrate to dismiss the cases; the defendants in each case paying their own heavy costs, and the learned magistrate saying that the cases were very proper ones to bring before him THE MILK STANDARDS INQUIRY. A large Blue Book has recently appeared from the Committee appointed by the Board of Agriculture to report upon Milk Standards and Regulations—under sec. 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899. The Departmental Committee recommends:— 1. That the "Total Milk-Solids dried at 100° C." shall be taken into account, and that, when the total milk-solids do not amount to 12 per cent. of the milk, the presumption shall be that the milk is not genuine, and the vendor be called upon to defend himself against a prosecution. 2. That where the "total milk-solids'' fall below 12 per cent., those milks, in which the amount of milk-fat falls below 3.25 per cent., shall be presumed to have had fat abstracted; and that those milks in which the non-fatty solids fall below 8.5 per cent. shall be presumed to have been watered In calculating the 54 MILK STANDARDS INQUIRY. percentage of fat removed, or the amount of water added, the analyst is to have regard to the above limits of 3·25 per cent. fat, and of 8·5 per cent. non-fatty solids; and, when the nonfatty solids fall below 8·5 per cent., the analyst shall also take into account the extent to which the milk-fat exceeds 3·25 per cent.* The above recommendations,if adopted, will be of great importance to farmers and to the consumers of milk. But it must be borne in mind that any forcing up of the natural standard will throw the poorer, but quite genuine and useful, milk out of the market —at the immediate loss of the farmer, and ultimately at the cost of a general rise in price to the consumer. This is eminently undesirable. In my judgment the requirement of 12 per cent. of total milk-solids is too high for a bottom limit. The "bottom limit" should be that already adopted by the Society of Public Analysts which is 3 per cent. fat, and 8·5 per cent. of non-fatty solids—making total milk-solids 11·5 per cent. Some genuine milks at certain times of the day, and at certain seasons of the year, undoubtedly contain less than 12 per cent. total milk solids. Again, the "standard," i.e., the percentage of milk solids contained in a good average milk, is quite a different thing from that "bottom limit," below which it may safely be assumed that the milk has been watered or skimmed. The "standard" is that with which a milk below the "bottom-limit" should be compared in order to calculate the percentage of watering or fat-abstraction to which the condemned milk has been subjected. In a special Report by me upon milk, milk standards, and bottom-limits—which was appended to my annual Report for the year 1897, these topics are exhaustively discussed. In that report I recommended adjudication by the "total milk-solids," as simpler to understand and fairer alike to the producer and consumer of milk. I have myself used the determination of total milk-solids in milk for many years in adjudicating upon milks, and I am glad to see that it has now been recommended by the Departmental Committee. The principle of raising a "presumption" against the vendor of milk containing less than a certain percentage of total milksolids, and then inflicting upon such vendor the task of defending * Here it is difficult to know what is meant in instructing the Analyst "to have regard to the above limits," and also "to take into account the extent to which the milk-fat exceeds 3·25%." In my special Report on Milk (year 1897), it was recommended that the whole of the milk-solids should be aggregated and regarded conjunctively—instead of being separated and regarded disjunctively. There is no material difference between the food-value of the milk-fat and of the "milk-solids-not-fat." MILK STANDARDS INQUIRY. 55 himself against a charge for which there is no real evidence, seems to be oppressive, and to be also a deviation from the great principle of English law, by which every man is presumed to be innocent of a criminal offence until he has been proved to be guilty. It would be simpler and better to make it illegal to sell as milk any milk which contains less than, say, ll·5 per cent. of total milk-solids (desiccated fully at the temperature of boiling water), and that, in calculating the percentage of dilution or of fat abstraction to which a condemned milk has been subjected, the condemned milk should be compared not with "bottomlimit" milk, but with a milk of good average quality, say of 12·5 per cent. of dry milk-solids. These alterations would make the law clear and just. 56 Table of 93 Samples submitted for examination during the year 1900. Note.—A good average milk should contain not less than 12·5% of Milk Solids. Milks containing 13% and over are described as "Excellent." Milks containing from 12 to 13% are described as "Good." Milks containing less than 12% are described as "Poor." Milks containing less than 11·50% are certified as adulterated; and, thereupon, the percentage of added water, or of fatabstraction, is calculated by comparison with a standard of fair average Milk containing 12·5% of Milk Solids. The Government Laboratory, when certifying Milk as adulterated with added water, calculates the percentage of added water by the standard of bottom-limit Milk. This bottom-limit Milk used to contain 11·25%, of Milk Solids of which 2·75% were fat, and 8·5% were solids-not-fat. During the year 1899, the standard for fat was raised from 2·75% to 3% making the present standard for bottom-limit Milk 11·50% of total milk solids. This limit is not to be held to anticipate or prejudge in any way the regulations as to standards which the Board of Agriculture may issue under the provisions of the 4th Section of the Act of 1899. Detailed remarks on standards will be found in my Report on Food Analysis for year 1896 (pages 48-50); also in the special Report on Milk Analysis appended to my Annual Report for year 1897 (vide pages 8 and 9). No. Article. Quality. Principal Facts of Analysis. Remarks. 1 Vinegar Genuine Contained 4·94% of Acetic Acid Contained Sulphates= ·024% of Sulphuric Acid 2 Vinegar Adulterated with Gypsum Contained ·156% of Combined Sulphuric Acid, chiefly as Gypsum Total acidity= 4·32% of Acetic Acid. Summoned.—Summons dismissed on defendant paying his own costs, the Magistrate remarking that "it was a very proper case to bring before him." 3 Vinegar Genuine Contained 3·78% of Acetic Acid Contained Sulphates= ·05% of Sulphuric Acid 4 Vinegar Adulterated with Gypsum Contained ·143% of Combined Sulphuric Acid, chiefly as Gypsum Total acidity= 4·38% of Acetic Acid. Summoned.—Summons 5 Vinegar Genuine Contained 3·54% of Acetic Acid dismissed as in case No. 2. Contained Sulphates= ·0302% of Sulphuric Acid 6 Vinegar Genuine Contained 3·60% of Acetic Acid Contained Sulphates= ·0416% of Sulphuric Acid 57 7 Vinegar Genuine Contained 4·50% of Acetic Acid Contained Sulphates = ·023% of Sulphuric Acid 8 Vinegar Genuine Contained 3·90% of Acetic Acid Contained Sulphates = ·008% of Sulphuric Acid 9 Butter Genuine 10 Butter Genuine 11 Butter Genuine 12 Butter Genuine 13 Butter Genuine 14 Butter Genuine 15 Butter Genuine 10 Butter Genuine 17 Cocoa Genuine Contained 2% of foreign Starch 18 Pepper Genuine 19 Coffee Genuine 20 Pepper Genuine 21 Cocoa Genuine Contained 2% of large granules of foreign Starch Warned by Letter from Vestry Clerk 22 Coffee Genuine 23 Mustard Genuine 24 Coffee Genuine 25 Mustard Genuine 26 Pepper Genuine 27 Coffee Genuine 28 Cocoa Genuine 29 Milk Genuine Contained 12.93% of Milk solids 58 Table of 93 Samples submitted for Examination during the year 1900—continued. No. Article. Quality. Principal Facts of Analysis. Remarks. 30 Milk Poor Contained 11·99% of Milk solids 31 Milk Poor Contained 11·61% of Milk solids 32 Milk Genuine Contained 13·16% of Milk solids 33 Milk Genuine Contained 12·28% of Milk solids 34 Milk Poor Contained 11·46% of Milk solids 35 Milk Genuine Contained 12·57% of Milk solids 36 Milk Genuine Contained 12·70% of Milk solids 37 Milk Poor Contained 11·79% of Milk solids Warned by letter from Vestry Clerk 38 Milk Genuine Contained 12·19% of Milk solids 39 Milk Genuine Contained 12·01o% f Milk solids 40 Pepper Genuine 41 Mustard Genuine 42 Coffee Genuine 43 Cocoa Genuine Contained 3%of large granules of foreign starch Warned by letter from Vestry Clerk 44 Milk Genuine Contained 12·34%of Milk solids 45 Milk Poor Contained 11·80%of Milk solids 46 Milk Poor Contained 11·63%of Milk solids 47 Pepper Genuine 48 Mustard Genuine 49 Coffee Genuine 50 Coffee Genuine 59 51 Pepper Genuine 52 Mustard Genuine 53 Mustard Genuine 54 Coffee Genuine 55 Coffee Genuine 56 Mustard Genuine 57 Cocoa Genuine 58 Coffee Genuine 59 Coffee Genuine 60 Mustard Genuine 61 Pepper Genuine 62 Cocoa Genuine 63 Milk Poor Contained 11·86% of Milk solids 64 Milk Genuine Contained 12·67% of Milk solids 65 Milk Genuine Contained 12·56% of Milk solids 66 Milk Genuine Contained 12·14% of Milk solids 67 Coffee Genuine 68 Cocoa Genuine 69 Mustard Genuine 70 Pepper Genuine 71 Milk Genuine Contained 12·81% of Milk solids 72 Milk Poor Contained 11·91% of Milk solids 73 Milk Genuine Contained 12·11% of Milk solids 74 Mustard Genuine 75 Cocoa Genuine 60 Table of 93 Samples submitted for Examination during the year 1900—continued. No. Article. Quality. Principal Facts of Analysis. Remarks. 76 Coffee Genuine 77 Batter Genuine 78 Butter Genuine 79 Butter Genuine 80 Butter Genuine 81 Butter Genuine 82 Butter Genuine 83 Mustard Genuine 84 Pepper Genuine 85 Cocoa Genuine 86 Milk Excellent Contained 14·68% of Milk solids Probably contained an undue proportion of Cream 87 Milk Genuine Contained 12·91% of Milk solids 88 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 5·04% 89 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 4·74% 90 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 4·65% 91 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 3·98% 92 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 3·98% 93 Vinegar Genuine Contained Acetic Acid 3·98%