CANTERBURY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 269, 21 November 1861, Page 3

CANTERBURY

Abernethy used to say, that men -would never attend to their stomachs till death stared them in the face. The same remark is equally applicable to the attention paid by the public to the sanitary condition of their cities ; indeed more .so, because death requires to stalk into-the dwellings of the rich and of the poor, before a community can be ' aroused .to strong, -practical, efficient action. •• Our purpose this day is, not to enter tiporra new field of political strife, but to •appealHio the strong’-comnioAsense of the inhabitants of Christchurch,- and -to ask our’-fellow-ditizens to lend us their sin-cere-and hearty Vo opcrctOiuu in a,-work winch ;'must materially contribute to the health and happiness.pf_their healths .and homes. : Teh years ha ve scarcely elapsed since the’ foundation of the settlement, but from the rapidity of its growth the period has been attained. when we must pause and look around, and see that in our rapid march towards maturity, we carry with us the various landmarks of civilization. Ah army marching onwards towards fresh victory ..’and increasing laurels’, can never expect to continue the pride and hope of its country, if, by wanton neglect, •it carries in its train the., sources of disease and death. In like manner shall the pioneers of a new settlement be judged by its countrymen and by posterity. We, standing in the really grand position of men'who, by stern energy and indomitable perseverance, have subdued and won to our own purposes an unoccupied position of the;; globe; must now call a halt, and see that, we also, in our stride towards wealth, do not carry in our .train those sources df" disease, misery, and death, which invariably accompany the grouping of men in a limited space. That limited space is Christchurch, and. the men we appeal to are its citizens. .None' of us can deny the fact, that disease lias been in every household, and death lias spotted out here and there a mark for its brand, leaving parents mourning for their child, or widow and children helpless and alone.

The inquiry into the source of this weakness has Been shirked by the. plain common sense laity, and glossed over by those learned men, the doctors, and styled in ail airy; easy way, malaria, epidemic, gastric, bilious, or typhoid fevers, gastroenteritis, or influenza. . But even as (it is said) Homer first created the Greek gods ; that is, he clothed wliat before were vague phantohis ;.with attributes familiar to humanity ; let us translate the talk of these prosperous and learned men into ordinary speech, and clothe theirhorrible and many-headed phantom in the guise of one demi-god too familiar to us all—filth.

The drainage of Christchurch deserves our most anxious consideration; therefore we write earnestly, because we mean what we say; advisedly, because we know the truth of it; and further, we venture to assert, that as long-as the present want of system in the sanitary arrangements of the f own exists, .so long, month by month, will cases of continued fever appear. Every house that is more than usually, crowded,- badly ventilated, and having the out-houses, in a state of filth and disorder —every such spot will become a centre-for the ;generation, continuance, and spread of the poison.

Ever and anon, as circumstances arise beyond our control, depression in trade, a season of untoward weather, anything whatever in fact that tends to depress the tone of mind, or enervate the frame of the members of this community, at such a time there will sweep through this town a worse-edition of the epidemic of last year—worse in proportion to the increase in virulence and number of those centres of disease, and worse in proportion to the increase in number of families; congregated in the same spot. There is a downright necessity that' we should rise up as one man to contend with this enemy, because it is of our- own creation. . It- is not a native of the soil like ague, it.is a .foul 1311 icCAI &Tu J? 0 iX~ ' CXvVv Igy . I.' • -gl—- J - • of all the rules of health. And nowpthai we arrogate to ourselves Jhe position of a wealthy and influential community.. ;.of the state, we must bend our hacks to the burthen, and show ourselves worthy of tlie name of a civilised and intelligent commonwealth. Evidence of the most undoubted character can he- adduced to confirm our assertions. A celebrated professor of New York speaking of this fever .says :.

“ From the above facts it must be inferred that the disease is produced by effluvia from the human body, or human excretions in a state of decomposition.” An eminent physician " of London., ascribes it succinctly to ■ “ filth and overcrowding.” Bretonneau g. ve l'ong ago as its undoubted qajise, “accumulated, human effluvia ;” and Allison says, “ the effect of bad draining and ventilation in favouring the production and diffusion of this disease, is explained by tlie deprassing effects of vitiated "air oh the human system,' by the ether circumstances of the inhabitants of such places and by- the concentration of-contagion necessarily occurring in such situations.” At the same time therefore ..that we ftilly and clearly recognise the difficulties we shall have to contend witli in: the ' accomplishment of the - ;drakihge' of; Christchurch, wte do now most earnestly urge the anxious coii-

sideration of^tb6^li^e!.)p.?ioer‘ v upon our fellow townsmen.'' So fully impressed are we that ere- loug. it will become so ra reprint ari.evil. tliat -the prosperity of ’the province will be sensibly affected thereby. -Strangers avoid ; the spot because it is unhealthy, . and -our,, .country friends -will.;think, twice beforerthey'"leave their houses, if sickness is to! Be the necessary accompaniment of a visit "to .’’their metropolis.

■ On a future occasion we may enter upon .the question- of 4/he .best- mode of effecting a remedy. High local authorities have declared that sewage-drainage in Christchurch is impossible. . If this be so, we shall have to provide for the removal of solid refuse matter in some such way as was suggested in a former number of this journal ; and we shall also have to carry out a thorough and complete system of surface drainage.' And, apart from the greater facility with which such - a plan could be carried .info effect, there are, as we have, before said, economical reasons fox' -preferring ■'•this course.

. At- any rate let its become awake to oko ikut tnat if we value our/liyesyvam* remedy must be adopted. The evil-ds urgent; " aridi. if; as his Honor declared in his speech, no step can be taken until we have declared; ourselves - a^Municipal District, let us at once make oUr choice —taxation or typas fever.— Canterbury Press,

[Alter Christchurch into Wanganui and with some modifications this.. article just repeats in stronger terms.what- has been so often urged on the attention, ©f our readers as yet without effect.] '