THE HEALTH OF GISBORNE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2448, 12 March 1909, Page 5

THE HEALTH OF GISBORNE.

DISCUSSED BY THE COUNCIiD.

The Chief: Medical. Officer of Health (Dr. J. .Mi. Mason) and tho District Health Officer (Dr. Deli Vile) wore prerjeut at a sepcial meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council last evening to submit a report upon the epidemic of typhoid in the town. There were present: Crs. Bcttie, Somervell; Mann. Darton, Williams, and Sawyer. Cr. Bettie was voted to the chair, and said that the Council had had the advice of Dr. DeLisie, and the matter had been, considered at the last meeting. The Council was pleased to have the assistance and the advice of Dr. Mason, and the best tiling to tlo was to take advantage of Dr. Mason’s advice and do as much as possible to carry out his suggestions. • .£ Dr. Mason said he was glad he was able to come to Gisborne to assist the Council, but was sorry ho. had been unable to prepare any detail'd report, as .most of his time had been taken up in visiting the houses where the enteric cases had occurred, and in making an inspection of the town. Bending the installation of a proper system of sewage, certain things should be done right away. In sanitation Gisborne was trying to wear the clothes of 20 years ago, and was the only large town in the Dominion that was without a system of sewage. The town never would get rid of enteric until it had a proper water carriage system of sewage. If the ratepayers agreed, to go on with a proper system of sewage it would take four or five years to complete, and he thought the Council should again face the question of installing a system and place it Indore ratepayers. In talking with the Mayor he had pointed out that 'for laymen to start urging •certain schemes was absurd, and if there was any difference of opinion as to the scheme, they should be placed before a council of experts. Pending the adoption of a. drainage scheme the Council should pass a by-law to compel every householder to put up a. proper-ly-constructed privy. In most cases tbcue in tho place were absolutely nnfiit for use. A by-law requiring every bonce to have a properly-constructed privv was urgently required, and he would send a plan of a cheap, up-to-date closet. He- thought the .Council should insist upon' that point _ There was no probability of getting rid of all the enteric, cases until a system of sewage had been installed. GisK-ne at the present time bad a Iwge butcher’s shop with absolutely no drainage, and lie bad come across a condition of things which the bv-laws should control” There was a house, at the back cf some shops that had no frontage on to a street, and the Council should insist upon all houses facing a street There should also be a by-law to control fowl runs. If the Council allowed fowls within the Borough they should h? kept hi nroperly nnooisrted o’ aces, because they harbored flies, and he had met more flics in Gisborne than be had .conn for eome time. He had taken a photograph of a nest of flies resting upon the meat in a butcher’s shop, and another nest in a closet close by. All the old wells shou’d also Ire filled in, for he had seen ail sorts of tlrngs in wells, except clean water; and now that Gisborne had a water supply all the. deep wells should be filled in. He had also visited the night-end depot-, and found it satisfactory from a sanitary point of view; but the system of removal was entirely wrong, and inost of the pans were found to be Ic-akuig. He thought the sealed pan system fdicukl at once be installed. Ihe Council could strike a pan rate, and insist upon a double pan system, for the present system was absolutely wrong and insanitary. Dr. Mason then exhibited a plan Oi the Borough, marked so as to show where the enteric cases bad occurred, and said that the Council mould put an invert in the Waikanae Creek so that the water could run out. and the slop water could be got rid of. He thought it-' would be wise if by-.aws were pasted to control the coverings in shops where foodstuffs are sold, because from a bacteriological point of view flics were certain carriers of disease. and it was necessary to protect the food from them. The water supply was good* and. the. epidemic could not be tr iced to tlic water supply > f' ut to the soil near the surface oi the ground, which was often sodden with slop water. Until there was drainage Gisborne would never be free from dusIn answer to Cr. Mann, Dr. Mason said the dry weather was, pornaps. to blame for the large number of cases this summer, but he often found periodical outbreaks in towns._ aliliougn tvphoid was fairly frequent in Gisborne every summer. Tlie soil around the house* bad probably become more sew-age-sodden through the extra slops being thrown about through there boin<' a plentiful water supply. He thoimht the councillors should go around and "see the condition of the c.osets in the borough. A visit would open tlieir eyes. Ifc had conferred with Dr. DeL'ule in reference to septic tanks, and in view of- the probability of drainage lming delayed lie thought it would be the .lesser , of two evils to allow ee-ptic'tanks in the town, provided tliev were properly constructed. Dr. DeLislo said that typhoid had been prevalent in Gisborne for many years, and Gisborne bad bad more typhoid than all the other towns m Ins d’strict- put together. In ye-ws past, in Napier, ho had found a variance m the number of cases, and that u \i h a wet summer the town was jauh ‘ e from the disease. In a hot summer there would be a good number oi cases, whilst the worst was a hot, saoa cr.j summer. He thought the Council should be careful about issuing permits for septic tanks, although ho would be pleased to give the Council all assistance to see that any tanks put don n were properly constructed. The Chairman said the Council was indebted to Dm. Mason and DeLislo for their reports, and he was pleased to hear what had been said about septic tanks. He would like to know :r tho Health Officers could see any objection to householders draining bath water to below low water mark in the river. , . . Dr. Mason thought such a dram would bo preferablo to throwing slop water on the ground, but lie thoug.it a water carriage drainage system 7 lion-ci be again' placed before, tho people, and lie would bo willing to come up and speak at a public meeting. ... In answer to Cr. Somervell. Hi. Mamon said be did not think it would be. wise to lock the river and aliow household water to drain mta.it, I because the solid matter would sink to The bottom. To lock the river and keep it free from drainage wou’d be beneficial. In answer to Or. Sawyer the v.hier Health Officer said ho thought it- would be well to get good closet pans, and offer fret- disinfectants to the householders; He would recommend some cheap -: and; good . in. i\tason Gn tliPi naid thfit,flies P’-mu

sod to . make all stable-keepers lia. proper receptacles for manure. Most" of the stables lie had seen in Gisborne were fairly clean, in fact some wore cleaner than some food shops. It would be a good thing if come of the butchers used kerosene in the water they washed down with, and kept the meat covered. He did not think any of the enteric could be blamed to the freezing works. In answer to C'r. Darton, Dr, ?v!ason said lie had not the slightest hesitation in saying the Councillors, had not done their duty to keep the- town clean. In answer to C'r. V. liliamo. Dr. Mason said he could not soy if the Makaraka cemetery was a source of infection, through drainage into the river but he would visit the cemetery. The Chairman, in thanking Df, Mason for hie report, said that Councillors would feel there was a duty upon them to carry out the suggestion;: the doctor had made, and he doped there would be a large public meeting to. hear what the Chief Health Officer had to say on sanitary matters.- He S reposed a hearty vote of thanks to >rs. Marion and De-Lisle for their interesting reports. In seconding the motion, Cr. Mann said there was too much of the tendency to let tliingo slide, and the overlooking of the fact that Gisborne-, was getting a large town, and too large to be without drainage. The motion wre carr’ed with acclamation, and Dr. Mason briefly replied. PUBLIC MEETING” Dr. Mason will deliver cn address on “Public Health and Sanitation” in His Majesty’s Theatre at 3 p.m. this evening. Admission will be- free, and as the Chief Health Officer will have ni3iiy interesting tlrngs to say for tlfe benefit of the town and its residents, it is hoped that- there will be a large attendance. SUGGESTIONS BY THE PROGRESSIVE league.

The following communication lias been sent to the Borough Council bv the. Progressive League; “Gentlemen, —I am instructed by the executive council of the Progressive ’League to respectfully approach you with a few remarks on the sanitary condition o; the borough, rs coming' under their notice, and a few suggestions that may not have- hitherto been brought before your Council. . “Ist. It is acknowledged that careless handling in the disposal of household refuse is prevalent in some quarters of the borough, doubtless causing the .spread of the present epidemic of enteric.

“2nd. In the face of the fact that vro have been up to the present unable to establish an efficient sewage scheme, the best and most practical mean; to cope with the evil should be adopted under circumstances, and on such Toepn--"-being decided on, immediate steps should be taken to have the adopted scheme carried out at once, and string^itiy

enforced. ..... . “3rd. j hat the'staff employed to rEmove and disinfect the receptacles should be ample and efficient for the service. E.

“4th. That- some cheap suitable cleansing and sterilising be decided on! such as = Little’s sheep dip, say, 1 In 50, and that the «ame be used onha.fi the vessels when being replaced, at thetime of removal of the refuse in every instance. 1

“sth. That the steriliser should he supplied to every householder at the cost price of about lid per gallon for the mixture, together with plant instruct tions for the efficient use of the same in deodorising house slops, _ before throwing them into holes •'provided;for them in'the earth, and that all ground known to be contaminated hitherto by such house slops or garbage shall -ho watered with the sc'.ution by an ordinary water-can. frequently, at sunset. - "6th. That a. weekly hcuse-to-heusd inspection be made to see that the system is thoroughly carried out. “7th. That a complaint book be kept at the Borough Chambers 'or written complaints, and that the stair er ter telephonic complaints in the f.urm. "Bth. That your Conned look up Con-: stable McL-ccd’s report, made aha it 12 or 14 years ago, on the nit-arum of G isborne, which ’may contain p:; 'Head hints on the method: he adopted,which were, found at the time very, chitrc-Rt-.---"lii conclusion. gentlemen, we need hardly impress on you the need ler instant and strong measures ovting taken

to stay the spread of tiro lev. r epicene*, ic. which is not only longerons to the inhabitants, but damaging to the good name of our town. —h ours. etc.. “WM. F. CBA'YFORD. "Chairman.'’