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Leader (1850-1860), 17th September 1853, Edition Town of 2, Page 895, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      money in consideration of His vote . Inquiry verified the fact ; but it appe ared that the poor man was discovered in time ' to avert an immediately fatal result , and it is thought hs will ultimately recover .

      Untitled Article

      -THE CHOLERA IN ENGLAND . The Cholera Committee appointed by the Epidemiological Society of London are , we are informed , diligently engaged 5 n investigating the origin and progress of tlie present outbreak of cholera in this country . A case of cholera has occurred in Souihwark—in a locality surrounded by knackers' yards , bone boilers , and catgut makers . John Hickie was . taken ill on Saturday at one o ' clock ( " having violent pains in his bowels . " ) He came home : a doctor was sent for ; medicines were given , and his body was chafed , but he continued to have purging and severe cramps . He sank into collapse that evening , and died the next evening . The house where the man died was in a very dirty state : and it had a very bad smell from the knackers' yards and bone-boilers . There are several bone-boilers close together , besides catgut-string

      makers . The stench is most offensive from them . There is no back entrance or yard , to any of the houses , and but two p rivies , common to all , neither of which are drained . There is but one drain , and that is placed in the centre of the court for the refuse or slops of the ten houses , the stench , from which is most intolerable and suffocating . Nothing whatever has been done to these houses since the last visitation of cholera . The Buildings Act prohibits Jjone-boiling in towns , bat its prohibition was dated , thirty years from the passing of the act , that is , twenty-one years hence . Regarding this special Southwark nuisance , the neighbours had been anxious to remove it , but were baffled by the delays of the official people . The following verdict was returned by the jury who sat upon the body of the victim : —That the deceased died from Asiatic cholera , induced from the unwholesome trades carried on in the

      neighbourhood ; that at is the opinion of the jury that the Board of Guardians ought to be % ivested with the authority they formerly held under the Board , of Health in such matters , and that that power should be continuous . " The City Court of Sewers has got a report from its medical officer , pointing out the existence of offensive slaughter-houses in the city . The cholera continues at Newcastle . On Monday there were in that town 57 new cases , 10 recoveries , 23 deaths , andinGateshead , up to the same date , there were 27 deaths . Precautions are to be taken , now that the disease has broken out . The Board of Guardians has adopted the following suggestions :: — " 1 . That a sanitary officer beappointed to act in conjunction with the medical and relieving officer of the parish of All Saints . 2 . Tour or six nurses or female attendants to be employed ; also whitewashes . 3 . From

      places overcrowded means should be provided for removing to the vagrant ward . 4 . That the inspectors of provisions should visit the Hamburgh steamboats and fruit ships , with a view to ascertain and interdict the sale of rotten or unwholesome fruit . 5 . That a ' house to house' visitation bo established to treat all incipient cases , and to cause the removal of filth and nuisances . 6 . That a cholera station bo placed about the west end of the New-road , whero medicine and attendance can be promptly had during tho night . 7 . That animal food and bread , and coals be distributed to widows and other very destitute people in the neighbourhood of infected localities . 8 . That the police bo requested to stop the prevalent practice of throwing nightsoil out of the windows . 9 . That the scavenging of tho narrow lanes , &c ., be done in the morning , and not , as at present , in tho middle of the day . 10 . That all the lanes from tho head of tho quay to tho cast end of Sandgato bo wnshed out by the watcr-engino . "

      Slaug hter-houses are making preparations for cliolera in the City . " In consequence of tho suppression of slaughtering in cellars within the City , there has been a greater demand , especially in this locality , for other slaughtering places , and many of thoso persons who own registered slaug hter-houses in Nowgatc-miirket have been induced to share theso with tho displncod slaughterers . In consequence of . this hospitality , tho amount of slaughtering in particular premises hns incrensod very considerably , and such premises havo , in factassumed ' altogether tho

      cha-, racter of _ public slaughter-houses , where , on many ^ days , slaug htering goes on continuously . For this purposo they are absolutely unsuitcd , in respect of their dimensions and ventilation , so that neighbours wliohad patiently tolerated iho previous system havo raised loud objections against ' ¦ he recent aggravation of tho nuisance , it appoarn that J « i -i * slaughtering places of this locality there aro slaughtered annually about 141 , 800 animals , and , to moaauro iho mil accurately , it must bo remembered that thin iv ^ S'bl' - 'rinff comes uncouallv ia diflorant houses , and on

      OiHoront days . Thus , for inslimco , fn ono particular « iaiiglit , or-houHo , which is much complained of by its neighbours , there- have boen killed 250 animr . ls in a clay , "n < l tho ventilation of this plnco can only bo ofl ' ectcd «• n-ough a sort of Hhaft , 12 fool ; wide , which Is bounded on ' ¦«« ao » t , h siklo by the backs of thoso houses in Patorno . ster-° w . I'heHo houses , accordingly , cannot but receive tho ° » tiro oflhivia of t , ho shambles . ¦ In tho General Board of Health report from Newcastle ' "io progniHH of tho disease , wo find the following account ° i Uu ] conduct , of tho local authorities : — " Tho , Town ' ( Hincil havo miNpomlcd thoir by-lawa to pass'tho common loiiging-houHo regulations undor tho Act , which they have 'iiiowod to remain a ( load lottor up to this moment , though "ore m not , a place in tho kingdom in which its nrovwinns

      * ° \ " ? » r tf" » Hy required . " A . n < J in a let tor from Newcastle to tho Times wo find tho Cr ? r fwwTr ^ " of y ° rm < lera lM 5 | iovo ( hivfc ft << ¦ i hi , . ii > , U 00 1 , uniheHin this town uro destitute of wator-•«« oiH or privioH , nnd that fathor and daughter , mother ) . „ ' " , ' I ) rol ''»" ftnd sister , performgenerally in tlie mmo oiimM " "" linary Ametiona of nature ; and that , thin j H into I' . Hfcm ) t ' HO tlmt cu ( iro diotriote arc converted Ult ) G'Kantic ccBapooltj r "

      Untitled Article

      FALLING HOUSES . The inquiry into the causes of the fall of tho Strand houses has elicited some curious facts . A policeman deposed— " I was on duty in the Strand on Thursday morning last , about twenty minutes before eight o ' clock . I was standing opposite the house which has now fallen down , No . 184 . . 1 was looking up tovvarda this house , standing on the opposite side of the way . It seemed to me as if something gave way at the bottom of the house ; it directly gave a loud crack at ; the top , and down it fell into the hole , where there is an excavation for another house . The dust was so great that I was smothered and could not see for some time . The whole house went down at once , in about half a minute . " A suspicious juryman asked— " Had you any motive for looking up at that house more than at any other house ? " and the policeman answered , " No . "

      A carpenter who appeared as a witness , said—" I had noticed , the house before it fell down , and it had been the subject of conversation , as being in an unsafe state . This conversation was on the Tuesday . I had looked at the house myself , but had not expressed an opinion . Ifc was expressed to me by some labouring men . I shall be able to find them . " One of the inmates of the house , Elizabeth Stanhouse , a young girl of eighteen , told her story : — "I was in tlie house when the fall occurred , about a quarter to eight o ' clock . I was in the kitchen when I heard a slight crack . It was a very slight crack , and appeared to come from just where I was standing , close by the pavement in the area . I threw myself down , as I heard the house was not

      safe , instead of running up stairs , and I fell down the steps leading into the cellar . I was stunned , and as soon as I could recover I heard a noise like thunder , and it became perfectly dark . None of the ruins fell upon me , but it blocked up the vault door , so that it made the place completely dark .- I was there I think about an hour and a half , screaming 1 and crying out for aid , before any of the bricks were moved . The rubbish was moved off the grating where the coals were let down , and I then turned the gas off at the meter , which was in the cellar , as I feared an accident , and I was nearly suffocated by the escape of it . I have heard Mr . and Mrs . Thompson say the house was insecure . They have said so to friends , and Mr . Abrahams was there the day before , and said the party wall

      was coming down , and that they were to stop on the first floor while it t ? ame down . I am not awaro if they made any official communication to any one that they considered the house to he unsafe . " A person engaged on the working of the foundation of the adjoining houses said : — " When digging out the foundation , wo were in two or three _ places about eighteen inches below the foundation of the house which fell ; but it was not generally all the way , though at one of these places , about the centre , I caught sight of the wall bulging out . I can't say that the hole did anything to weaken tho wall . It did not do it any good . When I saw the earth falling down from the wall , I did not apprehend danger . It was shored up immediately . "

      A builder , who had examined the plans for the new works , and who liacl often examined the house , said : — " Had there been shores to support tho joists and planks placed under the ceilings , it would havo boen eal ' o and standing now . " Houses in town seem bent on falling . In Ludgato-hilU on Wednesday , two houses " bulged" and " threatened ;" and they were then shored up . They have not yet fallen . On Wednesday evening , in ' Fleet-streot , the back of a house fell in ; the front also bulged , and tho glass panes cracked . An optician ' s house in Long-acre also shows signs of decay ; and tho inmates aro afraid that it will fall .

      Untitled Article

      THE WORKING CLASSES . The London bootmakers have obtained tho advance they asked . There arc other metropolitan successes : the basket-makers have got ten per cent , increase , and the young 1 persons employed in ready-made clothing , slop-clothing , and shirt-making , havo obtained advances in some cases . Tho Dowlns colliers have established nn advance of thirty per cent , upon tho wages given last autumn , but many of them lmvc found even better wages elsewhere . Msiny demands are still outstanding . The general strike in the Manchester district proceeds : there rtro now sonic 5000 looms , and 2000

      workers idle in Manchester , and some few nt Fairfield , near tliat city . Tho colliers of the West Riding demand , that as coal 1 ms risen lOtl . a ton , they should get an advance of ' Ad . a ton . They havo inado openair demonstrations . They also demand that Government should hisint upon proper precautions against ; accidents in the working of mines . -The journeymen bnkci'H of London propose to demand an advance , making tho move by districts . Tho London polico propose to make another movement—privately to meet the objections of the Commissioners to gatherings of tho men . Tho Uinningham police , nomo of whom

      lately obtained an advance , are about to demand an uniform and fair advance of 2 s ., according to classes . A branch of tho Leicester hosiery workers havo demanded an advance of ' Id . per do zen up to sixty'leads , and ihl . per dozen above that width . This is a moderate request , and is likely to bo successful . Tlie eratomakeiH in tho Pottorii'H demand an artviinco of 7 ;} per cent . Women seem inclined to join tho general strike . At Maeelettuold , tho mangle-women demand 50 per cent , advance in their prices , and the laundresses of MaceloHueld are about to organizo a strike at a public meeting .

      Irish progress is shown in many departments . The railways have been especially served by the Exhibition , and it would appear that the dividends of shareholders must this season be very much above the former percentage on paid-up capital . The Great Southern and '" W estern ' s last week ' s returns amounted to 7 , 5417 . 14 s . 10 c ? ., against 6555 ? . 6 s . 9 d . at the same period last year . The Midland was 3078 / . 6 s . 9 d . against

      2739 ? . 7 s . 2 d . last yenr . The Ulster has made rapid advances in its weekly earnings ; the receipts for the past week were 1417 ? . 7 s ., against 1118 ? . 15 s . 3 d . same date of 1852 . The Queen ' s visit gave the Kingstown a start in the receipts ; 2091 ? . 5 s . lid . were raised on that little line , scarcely seven miles in length . The line ot railway from Waterford to Tramore was opened on Wednesday , thus affording a further instance of what an Irishman can do . The line is seven and a half

      miles long , and was completed by Mr . Dargan in sixteen weeks after the first sod was turned . An Ulster manufacturer gives an account of the condition of the people in the district adjoining the Ban : —• " There is not an idle man , woman , or boy in the whole district , unless in some case of incorrigible idleness . The manufacturers , the bleachers , and the linendealers , the muslin-working agents , the humble girls employed at embroidery—in fact , all classes are at full and profitable work ; and I assure you that there is no want of capital to carry on all this enterprise , but quite the contrary . There is a steady increase in the rents demanded for farms ; agricultural produce is higher than for many years ; and the traffic on the railways here is augmenting . "

      Here is another Irish fact . A Leeds firm lately started in Belfast , in the foundry business , have got large orders fo " r steam-looms from several of our spinners and manufacturers , and that the establishment is to be in full work in the month of November . It may reasonably be expected that , in future , the trade will occupy a still more commanding position , while the wages of the artizan will be increased , and the commerce of the town extended .

      To find the Queen showing a practical interest in the dwellings of the common working people is very pleasing . She has written by " C . P . Phipps" to Sir Edward Borough of Dublin , who is making an effort to establish a model lodging-house in that city : — " The Queen and Prince consider it of very great importance to the social condition of the people of Dublin that this attempt at the improvement of the habitations should be successful ; but her Majesty and his Royal Highness feel also very anxious that ; some attempt should be made to improve the feeling of the lower classes in

      Ireland with regard to the state of their clothing , and to induce them at least to make some exertion to keep their clothes , of however poor a quality , in a decent state of repair . It might , perhaps , be possible to join to the advantage of improved and cheap lodgings , some condition that the tenants of these apartments would be expected to make some attempt at mending their clothes , and they should bo inado to feel some shame at raggedncss , which is ( as is peen in . other countries ) by no means a necessary accompaniment of poverty . "

      Ihe following is interesting to persons of the craftsman class , and to others : — " The llev . Mr . M'Kenzie , of the Free Church , Leith , lately erected a row of eight self-contained houses for tho working-classes , each having a kitchen , scullery , and two bed-rooms , with ample conveniences , for less than 700 ? ., being at a rate of less than 88 ? . for each house . Under tho present forms of conveyancing , and tho multiplicity and the confused Htafcc of our records , the expense attending the transfer of each of these houses would not be less than 20 ? . Such expense consequently keeps tho working man out ; of the laud market . In America , and in some of our own colonies , house and laud property can bo conveyed from one to another by a few lines written on a single page of a public registor , and at tho cost of a ihw shilliii < rs . "

      Untitled Article

      STORY OF A WILL . Tun Kelly will case—ono of tho most remarknblo of tho day—has been in part ; revived by now legal proceedings . Tho fltory of tho whole transaction is ns follows : —In , 18 ; J 8 , Mrs . IJireh was married to the lato . 'Kdinund Kelly , who died in 1845 , leaving personal property to tho amount of UfiO . OOO / ., and real property yielding botweon 30001 mid 4000 / .. n year . Mrs . Kelly applied for probate of a will which silo « mid had boeii inado by Mr . Kelly , and

      which purported to convey to her the entire of tho deceased gentleman ' s real nnd personal property . Miss ThowloH , who , as solo next of kin , would be entitled to all tho personal proper ! . / if Mr . Kolly died intestate , on tered a c . avoat , upon which proceedings commenced in tho Prerogative ) Court . Mra . Kelly , it , would appear , introduced Mr . John Jtobort M alone , a solicitor , with whom who had been acquainted , to Mr . Kelly , representing him to bo n person having her confidence , and well united to carry out any arrangement ho wished to make respecting her . Tho destroyed letters woro written to this Mr . Malono by Mrs . Kolly in tho mouths oi' JUho > July , Mid

      Untitled Article

      September 17 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER , 895

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 17, 1853, page 895, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2004/page/7/