Part 24
The Committee of Physicians and Surgeons at Birmingham, in their report, indicate the powerful operation of depraved domestic habits as a predisposing cause to disease:—
“It cannot,” they say, “be doubted that whilst the arts and manufactures of the place prove in some instances injurious to health, and in a few possibly destructive to life, these evil consequences, as well as hereditary predisposition to disease, are promoted by intemperance, not that intemperance is an infinitely more frequent cause of disease and death amongst the artisans than all the various employments of all the manufactories combined.
“In the expenditure of their weekly earnings, improvidence and thoughtless extravagance prevail to a lamentable degree. The observations upon which this opinion is formed are made upon the habits of the people themselves, confirmed by extensive and recent inquiries among the shopkeepers with whom they deal. Tea, coffee, sugar, butter, cheese, bacon, (of which a great deal is consumed in this town,) and other articles, the working people purchase in small quantities from the hucksters, who charge an enormous profit upon them, being, as they state, compelled to do so to cover the losses which they frequently sustain by bad debts. Huckster dealing is a most extravagant mode of dealing; there were in this town, in 1834, 717 of these shops, and the number has greatly increased since that time. Meat is purchased in the same improvident manner; the working men generally contrive to have a good joint of meat upon the Sunday; the dinner on the other days of the week is made from steaks or chops, which is the most extravagant mode either of purchasing or cooking meat.
“The improvidence of this class of persons arises in many instances from the indulgence of vicious propensities. Drunkenness, with all its attendant miseries, prevails to a great extent, though it is by no means to be regarded as a characteristic feature of the mechanic of this town in particular. It most generally prevails among that class of workmen who obtain the highest wages, but who are often found in the most deplorable and abject condition. The improvidence of which we are speaking is to be traced in very many instances to extreme ignorance on the part of the wives of these people. The females are from necessity bred up from their youth in the workshops, as the earnings of the younger members contribute to the support of the family. The minds and morals of the girls become debased, and they marry totally ignorant of all those habits of domestic economy which tend to render a husband’s home comfortable and happy; and this is very often the cause of the man being driven to the alehouse to seek that comfort after his day of toil which he looks for in vain by his own fireside. The habit of a manufacturing life being once established in a woman, she continues it, and leaves her home and children to the care of a neighbour or of a hired child, sometimes only a few years older than her own children, whose services cost her probably as much as she obtains for her labour. To this neglect on the part of their parents is to be traced the death of many children; they are left in the house with a fire before they are old enough to know the danger to which they are exposed, and are often dreadfully burnt.”
_Mr. Mott’s_ report on the sanitary condition of the population of his district presents parallel instances of the different economy prevalent amongst these classes:—
_Contrast in the Economy of Families._
1. 1.
Cellar in Wellington-court, In a dwelling-house in Chorlton Chorlton-upon-Medlock; a man, his Union, containing one sitting-room wife and seven children; income per and two bed-rooms; a man, his wife week, 1_l._ 11_s._; rent 1_s._ and three children; rent 2_s._ 6_d._ per week; three beds for 6_d._ per week; income per week seven, in a dark, unventilated back 12_s._ 6_d._, being an average of room, bed-covering of the meanest 2_s._ 6_d._ per week for each and scantiest kind—the man and wife person. Here, with a sickly man, occupying the front room as a the house presented an appearance sleeping-room for themselves, in of comfort in every part, as also which the whole family take their the bedding was in good order. food and spend their leisure time; here the family, in a filthy destitute state, with an income averaging 3_s._ 5¼_d._ each per week, four being children under 11 years of age.
2. 2.
Cellar in York-street, In a dwelling-house, Stove-street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock; a man—a one sitting-room, one kitchen and hand-loom weaver—his wife and two bed-rooms, rent 4_s._ per week. family (one daughter married, with A poor widow, with a daughter also her husband forms part of the a widow, with ten children, making family), comprising altogether together 13 in family; 1_l._ 6_s._ seven persons; income 2_l._ 7_s._, per week, averaging 2_s._ per head or 6_s._ 8½_d._ per head; rent per week. Here there is every 2_s._ Here, with the largest amount appearance of cleanliness and of income, the family occupy two comfort. filthy, damp, unwholesome cellars, one of which is a back place without pavement or flooring of any kind, occupied by the loom of the family, and used as a sleeping-room for the married couple and single daughter.
3. 3.
John Salt, of Carr Bank (labourer), George Hall, of Carr Bank wages 12_s._ per week; a wife, and (labourer), wages 10_s._ per week; one child aged 15: he is a drunken, has reared ten children; he is in disorderly fellow, and very much in comfortable circumstances. debt.
4. 4.
William Haynes, of Oakamoore John Hammonds, of Woodhead (wire-drawer), wages 1_l._ per (collier), wages 18_s._ per week; week; he has a wife and five has six children to support; he is children; he is in debt, and his a steady man and saving money. family is shamefully neglected.
5. 5.
George Locket, of Kingsley George Mosley, of Kingsley (boatman), wages 18_s._ per week, (collier), wages 18_s._ per week; with a wife and seven children; his he has a wife and seven children; family are in a miserable he is saving money. condition.
6. 6.
John Banks, of Cheadle (collier), William Faulkner, of Tean wages 18_s._ per week; wife and (tape-weaver), wages 18_s._ per three children; his house is in a week; supports his wife and seven filthy state, and the furniture not children without assistance. worth 10_s._
7. 7.
William Weaver, of Kingsley Charles Rushton, of (boatman), wages 18_s._ per week; Lightwoodfields, wages 14_s._ per wife and three children; he is a week; he supports his wife and five drunken, disorderly fellow, and his children in credit. family entirely destitute.
8. 8.
Richard Barlow, of Cheadle William Sargeant, of (labourer), wages 12_s._ per week; Lightwoodfields (labourer), wages wife and five children, in 13_s._ a-week; he has a wife and miserable circumstance, not a bed six children, whom he supports to lie on. comfortably.
9. 9.
Thomas Bartlem, of Tean (labourer), William Box, of Tean (tape-weaver), wages 14_s._ per week; his wife wages 18_s._ or 20_s._ per week; earns 7_s._ per week; five supports his wife in bad health, children; he is very much in debt; and five children. home neglected.
10. 10.
Thomas Johnson, of Tean Ralph Faulkner, of Tean (blacksmith), wages 18_s._ per (tape-weaver), wages 18_s._ or week; his wife earns 7_s._ per 20_s._ per week; supports a wife week; three children; he is very and five children, three of them much in debt, and his family are deaf and dumb. grossly neglected.
_Mr. Harrison_, the medical officer of the Preston union, observes that—
“I have known many families whose income has exceeded 100_l._ a-year, who in times of sickness have been in great distress, and even some who have been obliged to have recourse to the parish for assistance. And I am acquainted with several families now of the best paid class of workpeople, whose total weekly earnings will average 2_l._, and in some cases 3_l._ a-week, who, should sickness overtake the head of the family, and some of the principal workers among the children, would be thrown upon the parish. I have been convinced from extensive observation, that the masters of these people have it in their power to improve the condition and happiness of their workpeople beyond what can be effected by any other agency.”
These descriptions are not confined to the English towns. Mr. Jupp and others cite instances from the rural districts. They are similarly prevalent in Scotland. As an example I would refer to the description given by Dr. Scott Alison, of the condition of the highly-paid collier population of Tranent. Take another instance of the condition of the same class, the colliers at Ayr, given by _Dr. Sym_, in his report on the sanitary condition of the population of that town:—
“Although the colliers have large wages, they are, from their want of economy and their dissolute habits, uniformly in poverty; and their families, though well fed, are miserably clothed, ill lodged, uneducated, and less industrious than the families of the weavers; the females of which work with great constancy at hand-sewing. The modes of living of these two classes are very different. The weaver is not intemperate, because he cannot afford to purchase ardent spirits, and the nature of his employment prevents him from having those hours of idleness during the day which the collier is so apt to consume in dissipation. He lives on very innutritious food, seldom eats butchers’ meat, and the most indigent, who are generally Irishmen, subsist chiefly on potatoes. The collier, on the other hand, indulges to excess in ardent spirits, and both he and his family partake of animal food every day. In short, the colliers live better than any of the other labouring classes in Ayr.”
_Dr. Scott Alison_, speaking of the colliers of Tranent, states that they obtain very high wages. “A man, his wife, and perhaps two children may earn perhaps 40_s._ a-week, if industriously employed during that time.” On the subject of appearances of destitution, on which medical men sometimes report, he observes—
“I have had occasion to know that medical men, judging from internal appearances of the dwellings of the labouring classes, are liable to be led into erroneous inferences as to the extent of destitution. The appearance of the place or of the person is no test of the want of means or of the highness or lowness of wages. Filth is more frequently evidence of depravity than of destitution; indeed, in places where the wages or means are really scanty, there is very frequently considerable cleanliness. If a stranger went into the house of a collier, he might exclaim, ‘What extreme wretchedness and destitution!’ when, in fact, on the Saturday they had received 30_s._, which before the Tuesday had all been squandered. I think medical men, who are not intimately acquainted with the character of people, are often drawn into mistakes.”
The domestic condition of this population admits of a contrast with the condition of individuals of their own description of employment, or with the condition of other classes of miners who receive no higher wages, but whose condition is highly superior, to show that the depraved habits and condition are not the necessary result of the employment. He contrasts the condition of the colliery population of Tranent with the condition of the agricultural labourers in the immediate vicinity of the town:—
“With very few exceptions, the condition of the interior of the houses of the hind population is excellent, most pleasing to the eye, and comfortable. These respectable people, in spite of the defective construction of their cottages, manage to throw an air of comfort, plenty, neatness, and order around their homes. I have often been delighted to observe these characteristics, and not less so to mark the co-existence of pure, moral, and religious principles in the inmates, the presence of practical religion and practical morals. When the floor wears away, it is repaired; when the walls lose their whiteness, they are whitewashed; and every few days the whole wooden furniture in the house is subjected to thorough cleansing with sand and warm water. The various articles of furniture, and the different household utensils, are kept in places allotted to them; and the earthenware and china well cleaned, are neatly arranged, and made to serve as ornaments to the apartment. The metal spoons, candlesticks, and pitchers for containing milk and water, are well burnished. The milk taken from the cow may be seen set apart in vessels kept in the nicest order; and beside them lie the churning-barrel and strainer. A fire sheds its cheerful influence over the scene; the kettle never wants hot water; and the honest, frugal housewife is ever discharging some household duty in a spirit of placid contentment, attending to her partner when present, or preparing his meals against his return from the fields.
“The external economy of the houses of the hinds is on the whole very good. The ground in front of the cottages is kept clean and free of impurities. The little garden, which is almost invariably connected with the cottage, is kept in good order, and is in general well cultivated.”
The like contrast, derived from an intimate knowledge of the population of another class, is presented in the following portions of a report from _Mr. Wood_, of Dundee:—
“There are many families among the working classes who are in the receipt of from 15_s._ to 22_s._ per week, who are insufficiently clothed, and irregularly and poorly fed, and whose houses as well as their persons appear filthy, disorderly, and uncomfortable. There are other families among them, containing the same number of persons, whose incomes average from 10_s._ to 14_s._ a-week, who are neatly, cleanly, and sufficiently clothed, regularly and suitably fed, and whose houses appear orderly and comfortable. The former class care little for the physical comfort, and far less for the intellectual, moral, and religious education of their children; in many cases, indeed, they neglect the education of their offspring when it is offered to them gratuitously, and in place of sending them to school, where they might be fitted for the duties and disappointments of life, they send them at a very early age to some employment, where they will earn the poor pittance of 1_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ a-week. The latter class, on the contrary, are most anxious to give their children a good education: they study to obtain it for them by every means in their power, and they pay for it most cheerfully. The former class again grasp at every benefit which the charitable institutions of the place have provided for the poor. When, for example, medical attendance is given them gratuitously, they not unfrequently despise and refuse it, unless medicines are given them gratuitously also. Whereas the latter description of families are not only ready and willing to pay for medicines when prescribed to them, but they generally manifest much gratitude, and very often present their medical attendant with a small fee.
“Now it is among the former class of families where generally there appears to me to be a deficiency of wholesome food and of warm clothing; where contagious, febrile diseases are most commonly found; and from whence they are most extensively propagated. Fever is no doubt found among the latter, more frugal, and therefore better conditioned families, but seldom of that malignant, contagious character which it invariably assumes among the other class of families. Here, then, we have on the one hand, filth, destitution, and disease, associated with good wages; and on the other, cleanliness, comfort, and comparative good health, in connexion with wages which are much lower. The difference in the amount of their incomes does not account for the difference in the amount of comfort which is found existing among the working classes. The statements just made make known the fact, that above a certain amount, say 12_s._ or 14_s._ of weekly income, wages _alone_, without intelligence and good habits, contributes nothing towards the comfort, health, and independence of the working population. * * * Were I asked how I would propose to relieve such a family, I would say, show them how they may live comfortably within their incomes; let them be taught and trained to habits of industry, frugality, sobriety, cleanliness, &c., and with this 12_s._ or 14_s._ they may live in health and happiness as others in similar circumstances have lived and are now living. The man who maintains himself and his family in comfort on 12_s._ or 14_s._ of weekly income, possesses what he well deserves, happiness at home, and he stands forth in his neighbourhood a noble example of honest independence. I am persuaded that the filth, fever, and destitution in many families is occasioned, not by their small incomes, but by a misapplication or a prodigal waste of a part, in some cases a great part, of their otherwise sufficient wages. Frequently cases are found where, with a want of skill and economy, there is combined the intemperate use of intoxicating liquors, and here the misery may be said to be complete.
“Such is the explanation which I have to offer regarding much of the misery now prevalent, and it is the explanation invariably given by the economical working classes themselves when questioned on the subject. Heads of families, having three or four children, whose incomes average from 14_s._ to 18_s._ per week, have assured me that a man with a wife and three or four children can live comfortably on 12_s._ or 14_s._ a-week; and they generally account for the misery and destitution existing among families by saying, that many who have good wages reduce themselves to poverty and deprive themselves of sufficient food and clothing by their mismanagement, want of frugality, and drinking practices. Cases of waste and dissipation have been related to me, where the husband having gone to the tippling-house to enjoy his glass and his friend, the wife, knowing this, sent for her bottle and her friend, and enjoyed herself at home. A single visit to one of these spendthrift families, who are in the receipt of good wages, would convince any one that their persons and houses might be far more orderly, clean, and comfortable, were they but half trained to the tastes and habits of household industry, sobriety, and economy.”
The more closely the investigation as to the causes of epidemic disease is carried the more have the grounds been narrowed on which any presumption can be raised that it is generally occasioned by extreme indigence, or that it could be made generally to disappear simply by grants of money.
In the great mass of cases in every part of the country, in the rural districts and in the places of commercial pressure, the attacks of disease are upon those in full employment, the attack of fever precedes the destitution, not the destitution the disease. There is strong evidence of the existence of a large class of persons in severe penury in some places, as in Glasgow, being subject to fever, but the fever patients did not, as a class, present evidence of being in destitution in any of the places we examined. _Dr. William Davidson_, the senior physician of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, who has written a Treatise on the Sources and Propagation of Continued Fevers, for which the prize instituted by Dr. Thackeray, of Chester, was unanimously awarded at the annual meeting of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, states in that treatise, when speaking of the influence of delicacy of constitution as a predisposing cause of fever,—
“We have kept a record of the physical habit of the patients admitted into the Glasgow Fever Hospital from May 1st to November 1st, 1839, and the following were the divisions adopted:—
“1. Moderate, by which is meant a person having an ordinary quantity of muscle and cellular substance.
“2. Full or plethoric, having an extra quantity of adipose texture or of blood.
“3. Muscular.
“4. Spare.
“5. Emaciated or unhealthy in appearance.
┌──────────────────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┐ │ │ Males. │Females.│ Total. │ ├──────────────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┤ │Moderate │ 116│ 93│ 209│ │Full or Plethoric │ 28│ 73│ 101│ │Muscular │ 44│ │ 44│ │Spare │ 24│ 41│ 65│ │Unhealthy or Emaciated│ 2│ 8│ 10│ │ │ │ │ ———│ │ │ │ │ 429│ └──────────────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┘
“The whole of these 429 cases were characterized by the typhoid eruption, and will therefore be considered as decided cases of typhus. It appears from this table that there were only 10 cases in an emaciated or unhealthy condition; and almost all of them, as far as could be ascertained, were engaged in their ordinary occupations at the time of their seizure. The spare and unhealthy, when added together, only form about 17 per cent. of the whole number.”
He gives two tables of the proportionate numbers of persons admitted, during the year 1839, into the Glasgow Fever Hospital, whose persons were clean or filthy:—
“These two tables show that, among 611 cases admitted as continued fever, there were 340 filthy and 271 clean, or about 55 per cent. filthy; that among 395 cases of eruptive typhus, there were 245 filthy and 150 clean, or about 62 per cent. filthy; and that among 48 cases of febricula there were 14 filthy and 34 clean, or about 29 per cent. filthy.”
Amongst the fever patients are found a larger proportion of the highly intemperate than appear to be usually found amongst the labouring classes.
_Dr. Davidson_, in remarking on the influence of intemperance on fever, adduces the following table to show the proportion of temperate and intemperate individuals who were admitted into the Glasgow Fever Hospital from November 1st, 1838, to November 1st, 1839, whose habits could be ascertained with more or less certainty. He states that the eruptive cases only are included:—
Temperate. A little Intemperate. Intemperate. Typhus (MALES) 125 51 73 Typhus (FEMALES) 76 8 30
I have been informed that those were classed as “temperate” who never indulged in strong liquors to the extent of inebriety; those a “little intemperate” who now and again, perhaps at long intervals, drank to intoxication; and those as “intemperate” who were habitually so—who drank whenever they could get ardent spirits.
He adds,—