Volume 1

Second report.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on the State of Large Towns.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/518 (page 6)
    Causes of Disease. Decrease in tlie mortality in im- proved districts. Charges upon the community from ^ excessive disease. Second Report. ence of injurious emanations, especially in the case of fevers of the typhoid type, by far the greater proportion of cases occur amongst the heads of families between the ages of 20 and 30, the very period when they have generally the greatest number of young children dependent on them for support.* * * § The effect of the physical causes of disease is not confined to any class or age. The inquiries into the state of districts before and after improvement have distinctly shown, that increased facilities for the removal of refuse in and about the habitations of the poor have been rapidly followed by a marked improvement in the health, and by a reduction in the rate of mortality of the district. An instance of this kind was observed in Man- chester by ascertaining the amount of deaths in 20 streets before and after their improvement, by which it was ascer- tained that the deaths immediately subsequent to the drainage and paving of the streets were diminished more than 20 per annum out of every 110.1 This mode of exhibiting the im- mediate effects of structural improvement has been confirmed in other instances,! all(^ is cited in verification of the same results, obtained by estimating the mortality in improved and in unimproved districts of a like population. The loss of life which occurs annually from a neglect of the measures necessary for rendering wholesome the dwellings of the poor and the streets adjacent, must be accompanied by serious pecuniary charges both upon the sufferers themselves and upon the community. The prolonged attacks of sickness which precede this excessive mortality, render the victims of it incapable of following their daily occupations, and reduce them and their families to the necessity of seeking relief from the parish and other funds, which are eventually burthened with the maintenance of the surviving members of the family. The pecuniary saving from this and other sources which has been pointed out as the inevitable result of a large outlay for improvements, has been urged upon us as an argument to justify the interference of the Legislature ; and to show the enormous pecuniary loss incident on the present state of things, we refer to the Table given in the Report on Lanca- shire^ But we are unwilling to rest our case upon this foundation. The much higher and more important benefits to the health and morals of the community, which must * Evidence of Dr. S. Smith, First Report, vol. i. p. G. -f- Mr. Holland on Chorlton, First Report, vol. i. p. 204. + Returns from Leicester, First Report, vol. i. p. 269. § Report on Large Towns in Lancashire, Second Report, vol, i.