Report of a committee on a plan for cleansing the drains of Black Town.

Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of a committee on a plan for cleansing the drains of Black Town. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    62/105 (page 54)
    G4 PBOM SUPERINTENDING SURGEON TO THE APPENDIX 0, Madras, 18/7* May 1848. FROM SUPERINTENDING SURGEON P. GODFREY, TO THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE AND SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, MADRAS. SlIi,—In forwarding the accompanying Sanitary reports of the medical officers attached to the four Districts into which Madras lias heen recently sub- divided, I do myself the honor to call your attention to the subject as one of paramount importance in reference to public health. It is unnecessary for me to make many remarks, the Eeports having been so ably and explicitly drawn up by the District Surgeons. The nuisances which have been pointed out as a probable source of direct disease—are accompanied with the sad reflection—that the medical officer can do little more than administer to effects, whilst the causes are suffered to re- main. The residence in these malarious localities may not seem or be considered by some to be a cause of direct disease, yet it appears to me more than proba- ble that the general tone of the system is hereby reduced, and a predisposition engendered to receive the impression of any epidemic poisons or other occasion- al disorder of the system. With regard to the actual mortality and nature of prevailing diseases, I have no accurate means of judging, as official Eeports on the subjects (though very desirable) are not forwarded to the Superintending Surgeon's office, except occasionally in a general form by medical officers, when cholera exists epidemi- cally ; this precludes me from forming a comparison of the sanitary states of Madras with reference to European cities where accurate Registers are kept and publicly recorded. The circumstances which the accompanying Reports advert to as requir- ing consideration may be arranged under the heads — Cleansing—Drainage— Water supply—G-eneral ventilation. Under the head Cleansing may be noticed the highly offensive state of the drains, the imperfect manner of cleansing and the removal of the collected filth to the banks of the river and other ill-selected places ; then the offensive and disgusting exhibition of hundreds of human beings exposing their persons for the purpose of defsecation near to each other, within limits of the Supreme Court—and close to public thoroughfares is an occurrence that would not be tolerated in any really civilized part of the world, and must be a source of lowering the morals of the people and productive of the usual concomitants—