The Star. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1876.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2430, 6 January 1876, Page 2

The Star. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1876.

TheSe ia one disagreeable subject which, invariably, at this, season of the year, obtrudes itself upon the attention of the public tbrough the medium of the publi<rt>nntß. It is Feveb. In another column we publish, by request of the TJnder-Secretary for Immigration, a paper contributed to Public Health, embody ing precautions against the spread 0/ typhoid fever, drawn up by the medical officer for the combined districts of East Herts, and circulated by . the British authorities. That the request to publish such a mwmffi mm proceed from an officer of the General Government— from the General Government, in fact) —is itself of some significance, as Bhowing how generally prevalent typhoid fever is at this season of the yeitfin New Zealand, and he^re it may m passing be remarked that the Press of Victoria is also greatly exercised upon the same subjeot. Indeed just now fever seems to be prevalent in all the Colonies, and from the same causes -^defective drainage and the lack of other sanitary provisions. That such a cause of sickness should prevail is n>t |o be wondered at, when the rapid I growth of Colonial cities and towns is taken Jnto .... con^Ueration v Private enterptise in tHe matter of occupation of town lands for building purposes is 00 erratic and generally so rapid in its Action, that it is not to be wondered at that it outstrips publio enterprise in the direction of sanitary provision. Therefore it is rather the rule than the exception that Colonial town populations live under conditions eminently unfavourable to the maintenance of perfect health. In Cbristcburob, dcjsp^te anything that may be urged to the contrary, we fearlessly anserfc that 1 very much has been done, considering the; means at disposal, in the direction of securing improve^ sanitary conditiona, but compared with what must, and we trust at do distant date, will be

done, that very much is yet very little. The street channelling already put down, has done away with many a lengthy puddle of. semi-stagnant filth, and the sooner the crossstreets are channelled the better will it be for all. The abolition of cesspits within the city was an earlier but great step in sanitary improvement, and although the present mode of the disposal of night-soil is highly objectionable, it is manifestly better to have one huge dep6t for the disposal of that matter outside the city than to have thousands of small pits poisoning soil and atmosphere within the city limits. Comparatively speaking, then, it may be said that— -ana this, especially if we place it in contrast with other Colonial towns — the state of Christchuroh within the belts is fairly satisfactory. But the residents of Christchuroh proper, «<?., the districts within the belts, bear but a proportion to the inhabitants of" what is de facto the largest centre of population of the Province of Canterbury. Half the population of the Ohristchuroh district may be said to be living in total neglect of any sanitary precaution whatever. There are in the suburbs no drains properly so called, and what are yclept drains are foul and offensive to a degree, cesspits abound, and in some cases the quality of the water used for drinking and other purposes is none of the best. It is astonishing that the suburban residents have been content t<> live under such evil con ditions so long. They have evidentlynot regarded health as before wealth, for we can only trace the reluctance displayed in regard to taking advan« tflge of the provisions of the Fublio Health Acte to fear of being forced into private expenditure, or inoreased taxation for public improvements. Or it may be carelessness and indifference, and this idea is favoured when we remember* tine apathy displayed over the recent elections to the newly-constituted Christchurch Drainage Board. That Board has held its first meeting, and arranged preliminaries with, a view to settling down to the difficult task it has been created to fulfil. The Board has a great work before it, and one that must not be com* menced until a perfect scheme has been matured. We cannot, therefore, expect its completion for a considerable time to come, and meanwhile, we would urge the residents— in the suburbs especially—to take the fullest advantage of the machinery devised for their protection in the Fublio Health Acts. The local Boards of Health, and particularly those in the suburban Districts, have so far, done little or nothing for the protection of those for whose lives it may be said they in an eminently special sense are responsible. They have apparently waited for complaints from individuals before taking action in the direction of abating nuisances detrimental, or likely to be prejudicial to public health. While they continue to do this, they never will perform their duties. People have an objection to informing against a neighbour, and as in the suburbs there are few properties which have not a " nuisance" or nuisances upon them, there is not much likelihood of any step in the direction of purification being taken, unless the Road Boards in their other capacity of Boards of Health take it ot themselves in an energetic and sympathetic manner. We repeat that the drainage of the Christohurch District must be a work of time and that in the interim responsibility for the origin or spread of contagious disease must lie at the doors of the Local Boards of Health should they continue, as they have hitherto done, to neglect to adopt the most obvious measures for its prevention. ■ y , ; , v. • .