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Evening Star, Issue 3504, 16 May 1874, Page 2

A short time since Dr Codghtrey was com missioned by his Honor the Superintendent to visit the township of Cromwell, and report on its sanitary condition. That some action of the kind was imperatively needed, has been only too clearly shown by the startling facts that have been by this means brought before the public. It appears, from particulars given in a report in the ‘ Cromwell Argus’ of a conference between the. Town Council and Dr Coughtrey, that during the period from August, 1868, to May, 1874, there have been 77 deaths in the Cromwell district, and that nearly one-third of these have taken place during the last ten weeks. The cause of this frightful mortality is typhoid fever of the most decided type. There cannot be the slightest doubt that the prevalence of this disease has been caused by a total disregard of every sanitary precaution. After learning the state of things existing at Cromwell, we can only wonder that the visitation which always follows a disregard of natural laws has been so'long delayed. We feel bound to conclude that Cromwell must be naturally an exceptionally healthy locality to have been so long without an epidemic like that from which it is now suffering. There are two main causes, according to Dr Coughtrey, which have brought typhoid fever to that town. The first is impure water, the second want of drainage. The greatest enemy of the people of Cromwell could hardly charge them with being overparticular about what they drink. The inhabitants of the town get their water from a race. “ All along the course of this race there are closets : in one instance, a privy is within two feet of the race.” The earth there is of an exceedingly porous nature, and the consequence is that the filth from the cesspools gets into the water in a nearly unchanged state; besides this, “the race is everywhere open to all kinds of impurities,” This is very bad, but the drainage is if anything worse. “Inmost cases the sewage runs under the buildings, then, into a gutter alongside, thence across the payment into the open street-gutter, and thence down to the bridge.” It appears, tpo, that the soil is saturated with animal matter : that in past years it has been able to deodorize the filth, but that its power to do so is now exhausted. Who can wonder that with these conditions typhoid fever should arise spontaneously ? Dr Coughtrey cannot be accused of, mincing matters ; indeed, he appears to have talked “like a father” to the Councillors, and to have told them almost in so many wor,d« that the epidemic had been caused originally by their own neglect, that ever since it had broken out they had been culpably supine, and that if they wanted their town to be tolerably healthy it would be necessary to go in for a thorough reform. We ourselves may learn a most useful lesson fiom the misfortunes of the people of Cromwell. We have a water supply that is, at all events, fairly satisfac-

Tory ; but we doubt whether the drainage of Dunedin ia very much better than that of Cromwell, We, too. have our cesspoo's, our gutters, and above all an accumulation of filth yof every kind on the shores of the bay, within a very short distance, of the moat thickly populated part of Dunedin. Nothing is done in the way ef finally disponing of the filth of the City—in getting rid of it for good and for all. It is accumulating, and the time will come sooner or later, unless wo take proper precautions, when typhoid fever will permanently take up its abode with us. When that time does come, we ought, in all fairness, not to ascribe the deaths which may occur to the “ dispensation of Providence,” to the-“will of God,” and so forth, but to our own shameful neglect. We hope that the Government will, as soon as possible, publish or Cotjghtrey’s report "; in all probability it will be interesting, and it will undoubtedly be very useful.