909

SANITARY CONDITION OF OXFORD.

ON Monday night Mr. Gathorne Hardy announced thatMr. T. Cave, the hon. member for Barnstaple, had with-drawn his notice, in which he charged the Oxford autho-rities with 11 gross and wilful neglect" of the sanitary con-dition of the town. Mr. Cave explained that the notice,though withdrawn for the present, was only postponed ; hehad received since the first appearance of his notice ofmotion so many communications from various persons in-terested in the City of Oxford, that he wished to obtainfuller information on the subject before bringing it beforethe House. He hoped, however, at an early date to fix aday, and ptate in what mode he would bring the matter beforethe House. We are not sorry the question has for a timebeen postponed. We feel sure that the charge against theOxford sanitary authority as it stood in the late notice wasfar too sweeping, and could not have been sustained. Withinthe last few years undoubted improvements have been

effected in the sanitary condition of town by the authorities,and in answer to the charge of " gross and wilful neglect"they could point with satisfaction to the costly drainageworks now in progress, and request that any motion of cen-sure on their conduct should be postponed till these workswere completed, and their effect on the health of the cityjudged of. Mr. Cave will be wise if, instead of charging theOxford authorities with " gross and wilful neglect" in thegeneral sanitary administration of the town, he selects someof those points of sanitary management which by commonconsent have been shamefully neglected. Take, for instance,the water-supply, to which we have frequently referred. LetMr. Cave tell the House that the reservoir is simply an oldgravel pit, utterly unprotected from any chance impuritiesthat may be thrown into it. That the springs which fill thisreservoir set from the closely adjacent river, through a bed ofporous drift gravel which would form a natural filter had notthe authorities allowed acoHection of cottages to be built uponit, forming the suburb of New Hincksey. Let him state thatthese cottages are entirely undrained, and that the contentsof cesspools and privies leaking out into the porous soil con-taminate the water in its passage to the reservoir, so thatpractically the inhabitants of Oxford drink unfiltered thediluted sewage of Hincksey, the degree of dilution varyingof course with the amount of water in the reservoir. Lethim also add that for more than seven years eminent

sanitary authorities have pointed out this disgraceful stateof things, and that the local authorities have systematicallyignored their recommendations and suggestions. That thesuburb of Hineksey is still undrained, and that the chanceof the water being contaminated is daily becoming greater.It is terrible to think for a moment what would happen ifenteric fever became prevalent at Hincksey ; the interests ofOxford and hundreds of homes in England depend uponthe health of these few cottages. We are convinced thatthese facts placed before the House, and supported by suchevidence as is furnished by Dr. G. Buchanan’s Report on thESanitarv Condition of Oxford. bv the renort of our SanitaryCommissioners last October, and Dr. Gilbert Child’s com-munication to the Sanitary Record in the spring of this year,would lead to a strong expression of condemnation, and per-haps bring about the much-needed reform. We particularlycommend to Mr. Cave’s attention the black fetid mud, whichis thickly deposited at the bottom of the reservoirs, as likelyto illustrate the nature and character of the contamination.We are glad to find the sanitary condition of our universi-

ties is at last, likely to become the subject of Parliamentaryinquiry. With respect to their sanitary arrangements,Oxford and’Cambridge have for years been below the ave-rage of most country towns. The condition of Oxford beforethe new drainage works were commenced was most deplor-able. The old drains were inadequate to the wants of thetown, and during the floods the water pushed back the sew-age into the basements of the houses. The surface watercould not be got rid of, consequently the soil was alwayswaterlogged and damp. The new system of drainage

has already diminished these evils; the sewers are of acapacity considerably above the requirements of the town,and are well constructed, a separate system of drains carry-ing off the storm water. The water in the subsoil has been

lowered by these means, as is shown in the emptying ofseveral of the wells in the upper part of the town. Theflooding of the cellars with sewage during the winter floodshas been diminished, and when the proper outfall has beensecured will not occur at all. We record these improvementswith satisfaction, as showing that the Oxford authoritieshave not been altogether guilty of 11

gross and wilfulneglect," and we are anxious that full justice should be donethem in this respect. It is only by such discrimination thatwe can hope to draw public attention to points of individual

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neglect and carelessness, and direct the blame to the right

KNIGHTSBRIDGE BARRACKS.

FOR many years the inhabitants of Knightsbridge haveendeavoured to effect the removal of the Barracks in whichthe Household Cavalry are quartered, and which are situatedon the Park side of the Knightsbridge-road; but hithertono success has attended their endeavours. The presentoutbreak of scarlet fever among the troops and families ofthe 2nd Life Guards has afforded an opportunity for re-

newed agitation, and we are glad to see that the inhabitantshave promptly availed t,hp.m!’1p.1vp.R of it.

Last Saturday a very influential deputation - amongwhom were Mr. Lowe, M.P., Mr. Forsyth, M.P., Lord AlfredChurchill, Lord Howard of Glossop, Baron de Worms, SirT. E. Moss, and Sir Henry Holland-waited on Lord HenryLennox, the Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests, forthe purpose of laying before him their views on the subject.They urged the removal of the barracks upon the followingpleas: first, that they spoilt what ought to be the finestsite in London; secondly, that the purlieus round the bar-racks were the haunts of immorality and vice ; and, thirdly,that the buildings themselves were old, rotten, and utterly

unfit for habitation. Mr. Lowe stated that Lord Cardwell! and the late Government had determined upon their re-, moval, and had the Liberal Government remained in office

they would have carried out their determination. Lord

Henry Lennox promised to lay the complaints before theGovernment, and to urge on them the necessity of dealingwith what he acknowledged to be a

11 great nuisance." Theonly difficulty that appears to lie in the way is the proba-bility that the military authorities may object to their re-moval on military grounds. We hardly think that such aplea could be raised ; but if it is thought necessary to havetroops stationed in the immediate vicinity of the park, wewould suggestthat a guard-house would be sufficient, whilst

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the barracks themselves might be removed to some moreeligible spot. In these days of telegraphic communication,

; Chelsea or Wormwood Scrubs would be practically as nearLondon as Knightsbridge was in the days of George the

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The present barracks were erected about the time of theLord George Gordon riots, at the latter part of last century.The principal buildings are about 500 feet long and 50 feetwide, and stand on a bed of gravel of considerable depth ;but the site is absurdly too narrow for the accommodationthat it is expected to afford, and the requirements of thebarracks are much greater now than was the case whenthey were constructed, for the presence of women and chil-dren in the barrack was never contemplated in the originaldesign. The rooms are low, much too low, and in conse-quence there is great difficulty in ventilating them, andwhen the windows are closed the air speedily becomes foul.The difficulty experienced in obtaining sufficient ventilationis shown by the outside of the building, which is literallyriddled with shaft holes, yet in spite of all the means em-

ployed the air of the interior remains close and musty. Ofthe buildings themselves we can only say that they are old,badly constructed, and fast hastening to decay, and appearlikely to solve for themselves at an early date the question