st. thomas's hospital
TRANSCRIPT
797
IN answer to an inquiry by Dr. Lush, M.P., Mr. Stansfeld Istated that the time had hardly arrived for the final settle-ment of the question of dispensaries for the metropolis.He doubted very much if he should be able to introduce aBill on the subject this session. We shall be quitesatisfied if he will do so in the ensuing one.
Six CHARLES ADDERLEY’S promised[Bill for amendingand consolidating the laws relating to Public Health andLocal Government, which he was to have introduced onTuesday next, has been postponed till July 4th. Underthese circumstances its chance of passing this session issmall indeed.
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THE subscription-list for the testimonial to Mr. CordyBurrows, of Brighton, will close in a few days. Those ofhis numerous friends and admirers who may not yet havesubscribed should therefore make their contributions tothis most commendable object quanb primum.
DR. Guy’s third lecture, " On War in its Sanitary Aspects,with special reference to the period from 1793 to 1815," willbe delivered on Tuesday, the 13th, and not Wednesday, the14th inst., as previously stated.
H.R.H. the Princess of Wales has contributed twenty-five guineas to the National Hospital for Consumption,Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
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THE Emperor Napoleon has so far recovered from hisattack of rheumatic gout as to be able to walk about thegrounds at Chislehurst without difficulty.
DR. LYON PLAYFAIR obtained leave on Wednesday tobring in a Bill to amend the law relating to the Regis-tration of Births in England.
ST. THOMAS’S HOSPITAL.
By the kindness of Mr. Currey, we have once more hadan opportunity of inspecting the buildings of the new St.Thomas’s Hospital, in their state of approaching pre-
paredness to receive her Majesty upon the opening day.All scaffoldings and other impediments have been removedfrom the corridor, both above and below stairs ; thus
showing its great length and fine proportions unbrokenfrom end to end. The Parian cement that was applied tothe walls of the wards has not produced so good an appear-ance as was hoped for; and, although its surface leaveslittle to be desired, its colour is varied and patchy. Weare informed that this defect will be concealed by paintingthe walls in distemper. Two wards will be quite ready onthe day of her Majesty’s visit, and will be completely fittedwith their beds and other appliances; but no patients willbe received for about a month after the opening; from
which time they will be brought in by degrees, as the
arrangements for their reception can be made. The school
buildings are in a state of much forwardness; and all themachinery that once intervened between them and thehospital has been cleared away, leaving a space which isbeing levelled, drained, and provided with pathways. The
chapel still looks cheerless, in spite of the warm tone ofits walls and a certain amount of gilding in its ornament;and it much needs colour decoration, and stained windows.The waiting and examination rooms for out-patients, andthe dispensary, may be said to be complete in all but somesmall matters of fittings ; and the accommodation thus
provided is amply sufiicient for all probable requirements.Her Majesty will enter the hospital between the adminis-
tration block and the first block of the hospital proper; soas to be conducted at once into the ground floor corridor.
The Royal procession will pass along the corridor nearly toits centre, ascend to the first floor, pass into two wardswhich the Queen will name, and then down another staircaseto the principal entrance, by which her Majesty willdepart.
YELLOW FEVER IN BUENOS AYRES.
THE latest news from Buenos Ayres states that the re-duction in the mortality from yellow fever in the city isconsiderable. Out of a total population of 180,000, notmore than 25,000, it is estimated, remained in the city. Themunicipal authorities, paralysed in the first instance by therapid extension and excessive virulence of the scourge, aswell as by the great exodus which took place, and the im-practicability of organising systematic operations for therestraint of the epidemic in the height of the panic, arenow bestirring themselves very actively to remedy tempo-rarily some of the most glaring nuisances in and about thecity. An attempt to close the great meat-curing andslaughtering establishments when the epidemic had fullydeclared itself failed, from the impossibility of getting to-gether a quorum of the provincial authority at the time.These establishments, in which about one thousand head ofcattle are killed daily, are conducted, it would appear, so faras the slaughtering of the animals is concerned and cleanli-ness, with the same utter disregard for the future whichhas characterised the sanitary administration of the city.Each slaughtering-place has become a spot of abomination,and it is believed that the fouling of the atmosphere in thevicinity from the filth-sodden soil and putrid refuse has con-tributed not a little to the aggravation of the epidemic inthe adjoining localities. It is, perhaps, fortunate that themovement to close these establishments failed, as no pro-vision would appear to have been made, or even to havebeen contemplated, in the event of closure, for the mainte-nance of the persons working in them. One cause of wantof cleanliness in these establishments, and in the city gene-rally, was no doubt the very insufficient water-supply.The following account of the state of the City at Easter
is from a local journal :-" On Easter Monday, April10th,the plague reached its climax. Five hundred and forty’bolelos’ for interment were issued between sunrise andsunset; the gravediggers toiled on by the light of lanterns;.and more than 1000 bodies were interred on that day. Hereit is worth relating that of 360 grave diggers employed, notone died of fever. No pen can describe the aspect ofBuenos Ayres on this mournful day. Hearses and coffins
passed you every moment. The shops were closed, and borethe impressive notice, ’Closed till the plague is over.’Even the tower clock of the Cabildo had run down, as ifthere was no one to wind it up. Notices on the streetcorners called for policemen, the force having dwindleddown from death and desertion. On entering the StandardOffice we found butthree men; the rest were sick or missing.We began as usual our labours, as though our five-and-twenty hands were present; but as the day wore on thesolitude grew oppressive, and all efforts to get workmenwere in vain. At 12 o’clock one of our three men was takensick; an hour later the foreman had to go, as his familywere down. We were left with two men, and had just suffi-cient strength to get out the paper on the llth, taking leaveof our readers for a fortnight." Several other papers sus-
pended publication for the same reasons. Out of 130
doctors, only eighteen were surviving on the 30th of
April. " During holy week, gloom and desolation reigned.throughout the city. The straets were silent and de-serted, except where a hearse appeared, followed by asolitary coach. From nearly every door a piece of crapehung. The windows of the houses were open, sometimesalso the doors, but there was no sign of life within. The sunshone brightly, but the air was heavy with the odour ofdeath. No carts were in the streets, no carriages on thestands, no porters or labourers at work, no sound ofchildren’s voices, not even the dog’s bark to break the awful