A report on the hygienic condition of the mercantile marine in the Port of London / by Harry Leach.

  • Leach, Harry.
Date:
1871
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A report on the hygienic condition of the mercantile marine in the Port of London / by Harry Leach. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    their unwillingness, even when laid up from sickness, to go to hospital. The obstinacy of Jack in this matter is proverbial; but by so much the more does this fact emphasise the necessity for inspectorial autho- rity, so that mercantile marine officers may be assisted in a duty pertinent to tbe welfare of the population, but very difficult of execution. I have in the fore- going remarks endeavoured to point out the insani- tary conditions of existence that obtain in the Port of London, and propose next to show how inefficient are the means at present adopted to remedy these evils. Before explaining the present want of supervision as to sanitary matters that exists in this port, it is well to record certain statistical facts in connection therewith. By an official return for 1867, it is found that 24,406 vessels were entered inwards and 14,948 entered outwards during the year, giving a total respectively of 6,676,420 and 3,666,629 tons. This return includes, of course, repeated voyages. There are also 2,385 sailing barges and 4,000 dumb barges belonging to the port, and it is calculated that these latter craft alone represent a floating population of about 15,000 souls. During the year above quoted, 1,400 casualties occurred in the coasting trade of the United Kingdom, and 250 casual- ties of various kinds in the trade between Great Britain and the Continental ports. It is shewn that these casualties occur oftenest to small coasters, for of a total of nearly 2,000 casualties in 1867, 99 only took place in the case of vessels over 600 tons, and 150 only in the case of steamships. The waste of seamen in vessels belonging to the United Kingdom is at the rate of 16,000 annually; this total being exclusive of firemen.